is there international cell phone plan?

[andiwm2003]

hi,

i'm trying to find my way through the US cell phone market. AAAAAARRGGHHHHH....

What i want is a cell phone contract for the US. That is easy.

But i call frequently to Germany so i would like to have:

1.) low rates for calls to germany
2.) no charges or only regular minutes if somebody calls me FROM germany
3.) the german caller should pay low rates (~3 euro cents) when they call me on my cell phone.

point one could be done with a calling card i guess.

point two should be normal minutes by default.

point three is very hard to achieve because german phone companies don't know how much american providers charge for german calls into the american cell phone network. american providers are to stupid or not willing to give the rates. it could vary by time and day. it could be a dollar per minute.

i would like to go with the german t-mobile because they own the american t-mobile. but of course they also don't know anything and they don't work together.

does anybody have an idea what plan to choose?

 

[xsedrinam]

This may not be what you're asking or looking for, but we've been very pleased with Vonage. From South America, it's unlimited minutes package is $US25/mo and we call anywhere with an assigned U.S. area code. Our kids use their cell phones in the States to call us and vice versa. Reception is excellent.

 

[Dr.Gargoyle]

I am also looking for an international cell phone plan, but I don't think it will happen soon.
Regarding # 3)
My ex lived in Tampa, FL and I used to call her cellphone with a calling card from www.cloncom.com. They have the same price for land lines as cellphones. The current rate from Germany to US is 0.5c (USD). I used to be able to talk for weeks on a $20 card.
I hope it helped.