BT makes international mobile calls cheaper with SmartTalk smartphone app

BT has announced the launch of its own VOIP app for smartphones which offers mobile phone calls at the same rates as a BT home phone line.

The SmartTalk tool is available for iOS and Android, and links to a BT landline account so calls are billed at the same rate as your home phone package, regardless of where you are in the world.

With some BT plans including free calls to UK landlines that means you can take your smartphone on holiday and call home for free, giving international travellers a significant saving over the extortiante prices currently charged by mobile operators for roaming.

But this isn't just useful for international calling - mobile users within the UK can still dial with SmartTalk to place calls at landline rates, something which may be particularly beneficial for those low on pay-as-you-go credit. It also gives you a means of calling 0800, 0845 and 0870 numbers for the same price as a landline.

As it's a VOIP app you do need a data connection, but SmartTalk will work with either 3G or Wi-Fi and it's easy to find mobile deals offering large, sometimes unlimited, mobile data allowances. Or you can simply utilise one of the many thousands of Wi-Fi hotspots scattered about the country.

Holidaymakers will need to be more cautious as using 3G data abroad can involve a high per-MB fee which will likely wipe out any savings, however Wi-Fi is commonplace, and BT broadband subscribers do also get free access to a worldwide network of 7.5 million wireless hotspots.