O2 announces International Favourites VoiP service

O2 - breathing life into the international calling market
O2 - breathing life into the international calling market

O2 has announced it is launching International Favourites, a bolt-on service that looks to cut the cost of oversees calling.

The service has been borne out of O2's acquisition of VoiP client Jajah and sees the phone carrier curbing the cost of international calling by using voice over web technology.

The way it works is that for £10 a month, O2 will allow users to speak for 3,000 minutes (50 hours) to three international landline numbers.

If you want to up this, then £20 per month will get you 3,000 landline minutes and 200 mobile minutes to five international numbers.

Oversee and over here

In the package, O2 also offers up a Call Me number which can be in one of 42 countries which will connect to your mobile.

If someone in the country calls that number, then they can get around international calling charges.

So, if you are an international playboy / spy / regular EasyJet bargain hunter (delete as appropriate) then this could be the bolt-on for you.

"International calling is a poorly served market," said Sally Cowdry, O2 Marketing Director.

"It can be expensive, complex and is renowned for hidden catches and scams.

"With International Favourites we have used the innovation that the Jajah acquisition brought us to create a genuinely unique proposition which offers a fresh approach to the market. It gives our customers a great value and convenient option for connecting with their friends and families abroad through their mobiles."

International Favourites has a UK release date of 26 October for pay monthly and PAYG customers.

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.