Internatioal phone call to china

[tombio5]

Hi all

I am having some problems calling a friends mobile in china via a international calling card. I am calling form Australia and cant seem to to get through using the calling card at all.

i can call the number normally via my mobile on normal international rates using +86 592 85xxx04. But this is rather expensive and it would be a shame to waste the phone card i bought.

whenever i call the number of my card and attempt to then call the number of my friend through the card it always says number is out of service or not available. i have tried the following combinations on the card. i have also tried their customer service but i keep getting people with strong Indian accents i cant understand and they never seem to understand the problem i am trying to explain to them

+86 592 85xxx04 (says number is not available as soon as i try to enter the plus sign)

+86 0592 85xxx04

0086 592 85xxx04

0086 0592 85xxx04

if it helps its a Telstra PhoneAway prepaid calling card im using. As far as i know it should be capable of calling china.

if anyone knows what i am doing wroing or has any suggestions it would be much appreciated.

[tuxoar]

I know there have been some problem with using calling cards in taiwan as a result of the communications problems related to the earthquake (which also heavily affected mainland china). I am not sure if that could be the cause of the problem.

Just for kicks try dialing a 0011+86+ phone number with no leading zero.

I have heard the leading zeros sometimes cause problems when calling into China from overseas.

just my 兩角

[Jockster]

If you have a computer and a broadband connection, try skypeout. I've used it to call my friends in China, and it works really well. Also, it is cheap - it's only 2 cents a minute to call GSM numbers in China. Heck, that's cheaper than calling my buddy next door.

[adrianlondon]

VoIP services are a bit ropey at the moment within China, due to the number of sea-bed cables which were severed in the recent earthquake near Taiwan. As all calling cards use VoIP (this just means that the call is routed over the internet), they're all affected.

You should be able to get through eventually, but the call quality might not be as good as usual (which is not great in China at the best of times). At least, that's my experience calling from Beijing to London.