There are lots of ways to make cheap international phone calls but most require you to purchase call time in advance. But what if you need to make an overseas call quickly and don't have time to open an account. Or perhaps you don't want to buy credit but just want the opportunity to save money with no hassle. Well if you are in the UK there is a very simple way to cut the cost of making international calls and you don't need to open an account or pay any money up front. It's simply dial and go.

So how is this achieved? Well for some years the UK has had special number ranges with the prefix 08 that are called Number Translation Services. They are widely used by business because they permit the user to charge the caller either nothing or anything up to about 10p per minute to make a call.

If the call charge is nothing, the user receiving the call must pay. However, if the caller is being charged, say, 5p per minute, the user receives a portion of this cost as a rebate. If a telephone company can buy bulk international minutes for less than the rebate, the difference is profit.

This facility enables phone companies to offer consumers the opportunity to make international calls for less than the normal cost. And this can be done without needing to sign up to anything because the call charge appears on the caller's normal phone bill.

For instance, a UK call to India can cost between 22p and 25p per minute. Instead, by first dialling 0844 570 4037 then entering the Indian number, the cost is only 5p per minute.

Similarly, most European, North and South American countries can be called for just 3p per minute by dialling 0844 431 4079 then entering the destination number including the International dialling code.

To enable calls to every country including mobile phones requires fifteen access numbers ranging in cost from 3p to 75p per minute, with every one offering savings over normal call costs. As the maximum charge to an 08 number is 10p per minute, they are supplemented with 09 premium rate numbers

Of course, this isn't the cheapest way to make an international call (alternatives will be explored in other articles) but it is the most convenient and is especially suitable for those who want to make calls from time to time or don't wish to buy call minutes in advance.