Cost effective ways to make calls between NZ and Australia

Forums › VoIP › Cost effective ways to make calls between NZ and Australia

jamesla1

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#317566 26-Oct-2024 10:57

I'm living in NZ for the next few years.

I have to keep my Australian mobile number functioning as I run a small business.

For the past year or so I have an NZ mobile plan and an Australian plan which doubles up. On top of that when I receive a call it automatically enables roaming for the day which is $5 per day so costs are adding up.

I must be paying around $250 a month on my mobile plan(s). I currently use an iphone with dual sim.

I'm looking for a simple solution with requirements being:

I want to be able to receive calls from my Australian number while I am in NZ.
I want to do it as cost effectively as possibly.
BONUS - if I can make calls on the Australian number that's great
BONUS - if we can make the calls go to my cellphone that's great but otherwise softphone etc is fine also.

I have looked into twilio but apparently it takes about 6 weeks to port a number and they can't guarantee they will let you port it back.

So I thought I would ask here. What approach would people here take?

Batman

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#3301736 26-Oct-2024 11:10

most if not all NZ mobile providers offer free AUstralian texting and calls as part of the calls and text allowance

so your NZ mobile phone will work

not sure if this is the same for Australian mobile. maybe get them to whatsapp you.

jamesla1

9 posts

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#3301738 26-Oct-2024 11:32

Unfortunately I don't really know who they are, as it's a customer base/network I've built up over many years so I really need that number to continue working.

DjShadow

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#3301742 26-Oct-2024 11:44

Does your Australian Telco support WiFi Calling? If so, does it work from NZ?

jamesla1

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#3301750 26-Oct-2024 11:57

It does support wifi calling however it does still require roaming to be active to work.

DjShadow

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#3301752 26-Oct-2024 12:00

jamesla1:

It does support wifi calling however it does still require roaming to be active to work.

That doesn’t sound right, if you put your phone with the Australian Sim on Airplane mode then manually turn WiFi back on, does the WiFi Calling work?

gehenna

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#3301753 26-Oct-2024 12:01

Forward all calls to a cheap local SIP number that you can access via data? Means you can return their calls cheaply too.

Asteros

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#3301780 26-Oct-2024 14:53

Are you currently on Telstra Mobile? Telstra Monthly and Prepaid customers can use Wifi Calling overseas

https://www.telstra.com.au/support/mobiles-devices/telstra-wifi-calling

"You can make and receive calls to devices in Aus at no additional charge."

If you are not on Telstra Mobile, maybe port (if it is free) to Telstra before leaving Aus?

When you move to NZ utilise Telstra wifi calling with a dual sim phone - 1 SIM Telstra, 1 SIM NZ provider.

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jamesla1

9 posts

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#3301784 26-Oct-2024 15:25

DjShadow:

jamesla1:

It does support wifi calling however it does still require roaming to be active to work.

That doesn’t sound right, if you put your phone with the Australian Sim on Airplane mode then manually turn WiFi back on, does the WiFi Calling work?

Just tried this and definitely doesn't work. Call goes through fine, then I switch it off and call back and I just get a message saying "the phone is switched off".

jamesla1

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3301785 26-Oct-2024 15:25

gehenna:

Forward all calls to a cheap local SIP number that you can access via data? Means you can return their calls cheaply too.

This is what I intended to do with Twilio, where would I find a cheap local SIP number?

jamesla1

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3301786 26-Oct-2024 15:28

Asteros:

Are you currently on Telstra Mobile? Telstra Monthly and Prepaid customers can use Wifi Calling overseas

https://www.telstra.com.au/support/mobiles-devices/telstra-wifi-calling

"You can make and receive calls to devices in Aus at no additional charge."

If you are not on Telstra Mobile, maybe port (if it is free) to Telstra before leaving Aus?

When you move to NZ utilise Telstra wifi calling with a dual sim phone - 1 SIM Telstra, 1 SIM NZ provider.

Interesting!

Ok i'm with Optus - let me call them!

Sounds like this might be the path forward. I will do some research - didn't even think of this.

cokemaster

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#3301847 26-Oct-2024 17:35

So I've had some experience going the other way (NZ -> AU) but have had postpaid services with most of the Aussie providers in one form or other.

Some thoughts...

Wifi Calling:

Optus and Vodafone geolock their Wifi calling to Australian IP addresses. There has also been some 'discussions' on some online forums that Optus may also require the device to attach to their network periodically to keep Wifi calling enabled (presumably for enabling local calling).
Telstra Retail (including Boost) does allow Wifi calling worldwide.
Telstra Wholesale services (eg. Aldi, Everyday Mobile etc) does allow Wifi calling worldwide.

Roaming:

Optus generally will not disable roaming AND will not disable the ability to disable $5/day roaming. They always suggest using flightmode.
Telstra generally will not disable roaming but will allow you to disable $5 a day roaming packs. IF you are on their modern upfront plans, this effectively disables roaming (you'll be able to receive SMS, but no voice or data)... however if you are on their older siebel plans, you will be on PAYG roaming (dangerous!).
Vodafone Postpaid will allow you to disable roaming outright. I haven't been able to get prepaid disabled.
Some MVNO's offer favorable roaming options eg. Felix (Vodafone-TPG MVNO) offers 365 day roaming packs... https://felixmobile.com.au/plan/international-roaming offers 100 minutes + 4GB data. May be useful if you want to get the odd call and then call back using your NZ sim.

An ideal situation:

NZ Mobile + AU mobile on the move: If you have a non-iphone, you may be able to force your AU SIM to not be able to attach to a network and therefore force it to engage Wifi calling over mobile data. This may difficult as One NZ still operates a GSM network (so you can't force the 2nd connection to 2G only). With iPhones, because Telstra has a 5G profile, you only have the options of 4G, 5G Auto and 5G on... and Telstra can roam on all three networks.
NZ Mobile only. Call forwarding enabled on the AU number. Most NZ plans include calls to AU and a lot of AU plans include calling to NZ (note: Telstra postpaid has 30 minutes unless you purchase the $10/month addon). I haven't personally checked if prepaid plans allow you to forward calls. You could then turn on the AU sim time to time for texts.

Some considerations:

If you retain your AU ID (eg. DL and medicare), you can switch and activate services overseas... using eSIM. This works for Optus and Vodafone. Telstra supports direct provisioning to esim for new numbers only (port ins will trigger a physical SIM).
If you can put a VPN infront of your device, I've had luck running both Optus and Vodafone Wifi calling from an Australian IP. Obviously there is some 'overhead' doing this eg. using a wifi network that goes straight into a VPN.

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cokemaster

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#3301870 26-Oct-2024 20:29

Apologies for double posting but potentially this could be a solution too… https://crazytel.com.au/virtual-mobile-numbers/

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jamesla1

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3301926 27-Oct-2024 07:15

cokemaster:

So I've had some experience going the other way (NZ -> AU) but have had postpaid services with most of the Aussie providers in one form or other.

Some thoughts...

Wifi Calling:

Optus and Vodafone geolock their Wifi calling to Australian IP addresses. There has also been some 'discussions' on some online forums that Optus may also require the device to attach to their network periodically to keep Wifi calling enabled (presumably for enabling local calling).
Telstra Retail (including Boost) does allow Wifi calling worldwide.
Telstra Wholesale services (eg. Aldi, Everyday Mobile etc) does allow Wifi calling worldwide.
Roaming:

Optus generally will not disable roaming AND will not disable the ability to disable $5/day roaming. They always suggest using flightmode.
Telstra generally will not disable roaming but will allow you to disable $5 a day roaming packs. IF you are on their modern upfront plans, this effectively disables roaming (you'll be able to receive SMS, but no voice or data)... however if you are on their older siebel plans, you will be on PAYG roaming (dangerous!).
Vodafone Postpaid will allow you to disable roaming outright. I haven't been able to get prepaid disabled.
Some MVNO's offer favorable roaming options eg. Felix (Vodafone-TPG MVNO) offers 365 day roaming packs... https://felixmobile.com.au/plan/international-roaming offers 100 minutes + 4GB data. May be useful if you want to get the odd call and then call back using your NZ sim.
An ideal situation:

NZ Mobile + AU mobile on the move: If you have a non-iphone, you may be able to force your AU SIM to not be able to attach to a network and therefore force it to engage Wifi calling over mobile data. This may difficult as One NZ still operates a GSM network (so you can't force the 2nd connection to 2G only). With iPhones, because Telstra has a 5G profile, you only have the options of 4G, 5G Auto and 5G on... and Telstra can roam on all three networks.
NZ Mobile only. Call forwarding enabled on the AU number. Most NZ plans include calls to AU and a lot of AU plans include calling to NZ (note: Telstra postpaid has 30 minutes unless you purchase the $10/month addon). I haven't personally checked if prepaid plans allow you to forward calls. You could then turn on the AU sim time to time for texts.

Some considerations:

If you retain your AU ID (eg. DL and medicare), you can switch and activate services overseas... using eSIM. This works for Optus and Vodafone. Telstra supports direct provisioning to esim for new numbers only (port ins will trigger a physical SIM).
If you can put a VPN infront of your device, I've had luck running both Optus and Vodafone Wifi calling from an Australian IP. Obviously there is some 'overhead' doing this eg. using a wifi network that goes straight into a VPN.

Wow what a detailed post.

Looks like I'll change to telstra prepay (with the help of a friend over there to do the initial physical activation).

Thanks you very much :-)

Eva888

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#3301937 27-Oct-2024 09:03

I’m no expert but wonder if Skype can be of use here. You can pay for a Skype number which can receive calls and texts from anywhere in the world or there is call forwarding. https://www.tech-recipes.com/skype/how-to-enable-call-forwarding-from-skype-to-landline-or-mobile-number/

https://secure.skype.com/en/skype-number