What is World Call airtime, and how do you call overseas for less?
One airtime balance for every country.
Many South Africans remember the World Call card: a prepaid card you bought to phone another country without the frightening per-minute price. People still search for it every week. The idea was right. One balance, bought in rands, that you could spend on a call to anywhere.
Cloud Airtime is that idea, without the card.
You load airtime into your Ukutel account, in rands. From the app, you dial a number in South Africa, in the rest of Africa, in Europe, anywhere. The call is charged per second at the rate for that country, from the same balance. There is no separate international bundle to buy and no PIN to scratch.
Why it costs less. A normal international call travels across several networks, and each adds its fee. A cloud call travels most of the way over the internet and joins the telephone network close to the person you are calling. Fewer hands, lower price.
What you should check before you rely on it:
- The rate for your country. Rates differ a great deal from one country to another, and between landlines and mobiles. The calculator on our World Call page shows the real rate before you spend anything.
- Your internet. The call needs Wi-Fi or mobile data on your side. The person you call needs nothing special; their phone simply rings.
- Your number. They see your South African number, so they know it is you.
Who uses it: families with relatives abroad, people who travel, small businesses with suppliers or customers in other countries, and South Africans overseas who still need to phone home.
Airtime you top up does not expire, so a balance you load for one long call is still there for the next one.