How DO Soldiers Really Call Home?

According to a recent commenter on my post about AT&T ripping off American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan by charging them $.21/minute to call home from AT&T payphones in PXes, many soldiers actually have several much less expensive options available to them for calling home.  Below is the comment in its entirety but with the caveat that I have not independently verified that the poster is a soldier in Iraq NOR the information he presents.  What he says sounds credible but I do not KNOW that its true. I welcome comments from others with direct experience either to support, refute, or supplement this.

I am in Iraq. Right Now.

My options to call home are:
#1 - AT&T Phones: Sometimes laggy, sometimes poor connection, expensive. Also the phone trailer smells terrible inside.
#2 – MWR [nb. Morale, Welfare, and Recreation] VOIP Phones (Available in most posts): $0.01/minute, small lag, connection quality is pretty darn good.
#3 - Government DSN phones: $0.00/min, no lag, very good connection quality. Requires you to call a military operator nearby your intended phone number, and have them forward it, also requires that your DSN phone work to call out. You can also call 800#'s to use a regular phone card using non-surcharged "US->US" calling rates.
#4 - Iraqi Cell Phones: Yes, they exist. I do not know the pricing for them, and coverage varies based on what towers the terrorists are destroying at the time, but pretty good coverage on-post.
#5 - Webcams/Internet voice chat: $0.00 - Available at most MWRs on most posts.
#6 - Thuraya (Satellite Phones): Very expensive, but coverage is everywhere.

So why does anyone use AT&T? Good question. My only guess is simply that people do it because the phone cards are sent by family and friends, or the soldier doesn't know about the other, much, much cheaper options available to them.

Smaller posts may be more limited in their commercial VOIP phones and internet accessability, however, the DSN option should be available to more soldiers in some form.

I asked my correspondent (who prefers to remain anonymous) how available MWR phones are to troops.  His answer:

On Camp Victory, there are at least three locations with the free MWR internet terminals.  They also have the VOIP phones ($0.01/min) at these locations.  At the MWR closest to the barracks I stay in (which has it's own MWR internet/phone center inside due to the high density of soldiers inside) there is rarely a line to user the internet or VOIP phones.  I have never had a need to visit the ones by the trailers, but I have not heard any complaints regarding wait times by those who do utilize them.

I doubt that these locations and the scope of their services provided are well known to some of the soldiers who are not a permanent resident like myself, as the duty of my unit does not send us outside of the gate.  Maps of military camps are not readily available, for obvious security reasons, so it falls upon the unit commanders to find out about these locations for their soldiers and inform them.

The Victory Base Complex is much more developed than other forward operating bases, which is why I recommend using the government/DSN lines for calls if the MWR option is not viable.

So, assuming this is all good data, at least some soldiers can call home for $.01/minute or less – I would consider anything up to $.03/minute “reasonable”.  I don’t know who the VoIP provider is supporting the MWR service the government provides to the soldiers and, of course, don’t know what the government is being charged for the service. However, assuming the government is providing IP access at the bases in Iraq, any competent VoIP provider could profitably sell this service to the government for one cent a minute or less so no large subsidy needs to be involved.

Soldiers with this option only use the AT&T calling cards because they are “free” – e.g. someone at home was ripped off when they thought they were helping a soldiers and overpaid for the card.  Mary and I almost did this until we looked into the price and compared it to what we know from our professional experience is the COST of calls to the US from Iraq.  In fact, we would happily pay this price to help soldiers call home IF it were remnotely justified by the cost of providing the service.  Our problem is that this seems to be a way to help AT&T profits more than a way to help the soldiers.  AT&T may need help but it is not on our preferred charity list.

I’m looking for more firsthand information on this.  Are there soldiers somewhere in Iraq and Afghanistan who can only call home through the AT&T payphones which allegedly only accept over-priced AT&T calling cards?  If not - if all  soldiers already have a better way to call home - the answer is simple: buy something other than these calling cards for troops.  If so – if there are soldiers in these countries with no other options than using these overpriced cards – then there has to be some government action to make sure that either other options are made available to the troops or the AT&T monopoly of payphones in Iraq and Afghanistan is ended or AT&T is forced to allow access without surcharge to other prepaid card providers through these payphones.  Or all of the above.

If you know something about this, please post a comment (it can be anonymous).  If you don’t but the issue is important to you, stay tuned: I’ll let you know what I find out.

Comments

[Cheap International Calls]

If the wives can call the soldiers, Cheap International Calls works a treat, and doesn't require any PINs or registration

[call China]

While i was at my course at Afganistan ( just came home) i've used VoIP and i should say it was not as good as it is at home but what could you expect from a third world country?
Anyway great post. Thanks

[call China]

I dissagree with you "spg"

Even if it is free why it should be uinlimited or so perfect as it sounds?
Who is going to work for free ?!
"no money no funny"

[NC1 Stockman]

Please try this for morale calls... call from an overseas DSN to 5061110 (overseas operator) and ask to be switched to a local number of your choice. ex: 94-318-area code - prefix- last four.

[cheryl]

Hi, I was just wondering I am in contact with a soldier in Iraq and we would like to be able to talk to each other over the phone but the rate tht has been asked is way out there. The minimum is 200.00 for 1 call, does it make a difference that I live in Canada?

[htck1955]

can anyon tell me if the phone lines in kosovo go down alot, my husband tells me they do and it's difficult to call on his day off? which he uses the internet lines

[Al]

Does anyone have access to the DSN? Someone once told me only mid and high-ranked troopers did... Nevertheless, this option sounds as the best one (despite having to use a US calling card in some ocasions)

[LoveMySoldier]

After six months of AT&T satellite phones, I am really getting fed up. Its not the breaking up, jumbled words, and dropped calls. At least when these things are going on I am actually TALKING to him. I read on digg.cm that someone was saying that 21 cents a minute is reasonable for soldiers calling home. I think that it is sick that these companys, that have commercials or spokeswomen somewhere who "support the troops", take advantage of not just the war but the men risking their lives to fight it. Yes, they did sign up for it, but there is nothing that the fact that they are there. If I miss a single call, there is no calling back. There isnt a way to hear him at night. I know that there are alot of troops over there. But when there are teams with small amounts of people who live in a building alone, they should be able to recieve incomming phone calls, especially if they are paying out the ass to do it. It is sickening.

Anyone feel the stress?

[Liv Watt]

I receive calls from Camp Fallujah in Iraq on my cell number which only indicates a 7 digit number. I don't know if it's a DSN stateside number or the DSN number in IRAQ that shows up on my cell. How do I find out the DSN #'s in Camp Fallujah to call there.

[Tom Evslin]

Ernestine:

Try telephonydepot.com for SIP phones. I've had good luck with them.

[Tammy]

I have also used the 504-391-7900 number to contact someone in Iraq/Kuwait and the number has been busy for well over a week. If anyone has any information, please let me know. Thank you.

[shauna]

Hello!!! I used to dial the 504-391-7900 number to keep in contact with a soldier in Iraq. Now the line appears busy every time I call. Does anyone know why? Or do you know of another number I could call that could connect me to him?

Thanks.

[shauna]

Hello!!! I used to dial the 504-391-7900 number to keep in contact with a soldier in Iraq. Now the line appears busy every time I call. Does anyone know why? Or do you know of another number I could call that could connect me to him?

Thanks.

[Mary Tate]

Free calling card for the military that can be used from any DSN phone anywhere in the world to call family in the US, Hawaii and Alaska.
http://www.usafreecall.com

[Ernestine]

Where can these SIP phones be purchased?

[Jim]

Public access numbers for the military DSN are very rare, it is actually a violation of federal law to use the dsn from outside a military installation for non-official use. (that's not to say it there are not other access numbers out there).
be careful how you use it.
http://www.disa.mil/gs/dsn/tut_users.html

[Michael]

I have been trying to use the 504 391-7900 number to call a DSN in Kuwait. Every time I call the number using a phone card it gives me a busy signal. Does anyone know of another number besides the 504 391-7900 number to call a DSN? Any info would be great. Thanks

[anonymous]

Ok if someone you know has a DSN phone you can call them from the states this way. Dial 504-391-7900 wait for the prompts then dial 94-318-XXX-XXXX (the 318 is for Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, ect) you can do a search for DSN Phone Directory to find other numbers. The XXX-XXXX is the number they have.
Also all military camps have DSN access. Communications guys have to have it to do reports and such. Anyways I hope this helps people. Ohhhh yea, the DSN Phone Directory is the only way I know to get free calls you just call the base closest to your family and have them transfer you.
The AT&T is a rip off, DSN is free, military does have VOIP (kind of new though), internet is military so best to pay so you can use messengers and such or you can use government computers and email for free.

[Ginger]

My husband has a DSN phone in his room in Afghanistan and he gave it to me to give him a call but I did not know how to go about calling from a cell phone and getting switched over to a DSN. Is there a way to do to the transition that way as well? I do not live very close to any military base so I am not sure who to ask.

[spg]

using voip to call the USA paying anything more than $0.00 is paying too much. you can use earthcaller.com or click2voice and call for free unlimited from anywhere on the planet. if you do not like either of these there are about 100 other options.

[spg]

This whole AT&T being expensive thing has nothing to do with iraq. I remeber that on all military bases in germany were dotted with special AT&T phones for 'cheap calls.' compared to all other options(calling cards or just a regular german pay phone) these phones were extremely expensive. the funny thing is that there was nearly always a german payphone right next to each AT&T phone. the line of people was always at the AT&T phones since very few soldiers were educated on the cheapest way to call home. Today the biggest problem is that people call internationally on their cell phones like crazy even though it can cost 200(thats correct 200) times as much as using a cheap calling card from a landline(or payphone.)

[Carlton]

I have DSN numbers for the state side DSN operator. Just give them your city and they will connect you to the local dsn operator in your area to place your moral call. If you are in the Washington D.C. area the DSN operator system is automated so you dont have to talk to anyone. You just say the phone number you want to call and the automated system will connect you. Also you can use calling cards on this network. So if you dont have a local DSN Switch near your home just call 312-622-1110 and press 2 to make a moral call. So everyone here has a good number to call for instate rates. email me if you need the DSN Operator number for other areas. iraq@carltonjames.com

CJ Al Sad Air Base Iraq

[TOTE]

I have a number you can call from your home phone to VA and they will transfer you to a DSN number

[russellm]

I just wanted to post another option I found for soldiers calling home (not necessarily deployed). I'm stationed in Germany and calling home, even with phone cards has sometimes been a pain. The service offered here http://www.militel.com/default2.asp?ag=undefined lets me call home from Germany for about $0.05/min. The service is billed directly through your credit card, I call home everyday for about 30 minutes and my bill is always under 50$. They offer service in just about every country around the world, although I think it might be a little pricey to call from Iraq ($0.25/min).

[russellm]

If anyone needs to have a DSN call routed to the New Mexico area the DSN number is (312) 246 0011 (Kirtland Airforce Base).

[SSG in Victory]

Wren Hunt has the best idea, although SIP phones seem pretty cool. The best calling cards are online (Nobelcom.com is ok) I call home from Camp Victory as well. I call the States in addition to China. You can buy specific calling cards for each nation you're trying to reach. The thing to really look at on a calling card is the taxes, the billing increments and any maintenance fee. I have a calling card that automatically recharges. This means for my 10+ months in country I have used the same number and the same pin; very convienent.

Just be aware that online callings cards can change.

[SSG in Victory]

Wren Hunt has the best idea, although SIP phones seem pretty cool. The best calling cards are online (Nobelcom.com is ok) I call home from Camp Victory as well. I call the States in addition to China. You can buy specific calling cards for each nation you're trying to reach. The thing to really look at on a calling card is the taxes, the billing increments and any maintenance fee. I have a calling card that automatically recharges. This means for my 10+ months in country I have used the same number and the same pin; very convienent.

Just be aware that online callings cards can change.

[Nina Wyche]

My son deployed to Afghanistan on 16 February, 2007 and within a weeks time our cell phone bill was almost $6,000.00.
It is really a shme because i called my wireless provider, ( Cingular ) and asked that they cut the line that was assigned to my son's phone in Afghanistan. I was told that I could pay the $5.99 a month for their international calling plan and only pay 48 cents a minute and it would only charge to the phone that initiated the call. ( Found out later that , although it was logged by the representative that told me that, Cingular reps told me that they don't even offer an international plan for 48 cents a minute.
( To make a long story short ) , Cingular agreed to adjust the phone bill, but I was told that because the operater that told me these things did not log in that the 48 cents would only be charged to the phone that initiated the call) they could only adjust my bill for a total of four thousand and something dollars, which was a lot, BUT rightfully so. By the way, every call that was made to or from my son's phone was chrged ONLY to my son's line.
The day I told my son what Cingular had told me, his girlfriend in Washington, went and purchased a plan from Cingular just so that she and my son could take advantage of what I was told, guess what ? her phone was never charged one cent. EVERY CALL , whether it was made to my son's phone or whether he initiated the call was chrged to his line, ( at the international rate ).
So beware when purchsing a plan from cell phone companies ... because we can't be sure of how much they actually log concerning our conversation with them about the plan and charges .

[Renee]

Hello. My hubby is fixing to go out on deployment and i know how to use a DSN phone only problem is that i dont have a dsn # that i can call from my house. We have a special needs child who needs to talk to his dad alot. I dont care if i have to call long distance to access the dsn but i need to be able to access it from my home line. We cant afford to call at overseas charges and alot of the time the dsn lines are not avaible for us or where they are it is too late to go or there is not time enough to get to a base dsn line. Anyone with a number and acess code please let me go. I have a dsn # for where he will be i just need it so i can access the line here to call him. THANKS ALOT!!!
Renee

[xquzit307]

My husband is currently serving in Iraq and he's asked me to find him a DSN number and I honestly have no clue at all on how to get one. I dial the numbers that I find to make sure they work and it's usually a non working number. What is this 312 area code? Can someone please help me find a DSN number for New Jersey.

[xquzit307]

My husband is currently serving in Iraq and he's asked me to find him a DSN number and I honestly have no clue at all on how to get one. I dial the numbers that I find to make sure they work and it's usually a non working number. What is this 312 area code? Can someone please help me find a DSN number for New Jersey.

[phone cards]

I don't understand, why other phone cards can't be used in Iraq? AT&T service is very expensive now! It's monopoly...

[gloria martinez]

There is someone in Iraq who is trying to contact me from a government phone to my DSN phone in Germany?

[Tom Evslin]

Hi Robert:

Best way to find that is to call the univsersal DSN number Susan Burke posted DSN (312) 231-1311. Whoever answers that can give you the dsn near your home.

Thanks for serving.

[Robert J Bennett]

I am looking for a DSN number for Pennyslvania, preferably Carlise Army Barracks or Letterkenny Army Depot since both are close to us.

[Jeremy]

Is there a way I could make a phone call from the U.S. to my brother who is serving in Iraq?
What would be the procedure for that?
Thnks,
Jeremy

[Tom Evslin]

Thanks to reader Susan K. Burke, we now now that the Universal DSN number to find the right numbers to call in any state is DSN (312) 231-1311.

Good luck and please feel free to use this blog for posting information useful to soldiers and families trying to call each other at a reasonable rate.

[Linda Haddad]

My brother is in Iraq. He has a cingular wireless blackberry phone. While in Kuwait he was able to email but now he is not. I would like to know if anyone knows if there is any cell phones that we can purchase in the U.S. and send to him so that we can talk to him. I have read all the stuff about AT&T phone cards and at this point and due to my lack of understandin Military terms, I feel it is my only option no matter what the price. It you have any info and could tell me in non-military terms, I would greatly appreciate your help.

Take care,
Linda

[brianspringer]

hello .i need to know what the free morale dsn numbers to norfolk va and and the closest base to glensfalls ny is so i can call my family

[Susan K. Burke]

I am an operator on a military base in Massachusetts. Soldiers can call their loved ones by calling through their DSN line to the States; all MA phone calls are free, with the exception of area code 413. We are staffed 24/7.
The number is DSN (312)478-5980. MA only. We also put through calling cards to anywhere.

[KE]

My husband just arrived in Iraq this past Monday (October 2nd) for an 8 month tour with the USMC (his first tour in Iraq). In this very short window, we've learned that AT&T has a monopoly on the pay phone service; they've set up their phones to only accept AT&T cards. Phone cards that offer cheaper rates (from other companies) cannot be used. To top it all off, to recharge these cards ($42 buys you approx 165 minutes of talk time; to compare, when he was stationed in Japan, $30 bought us 375 minutes of talk time), there is a 10% "recharge fee." Though this can be avoided by just buying a new card from Iraq, my husband does not always want to be carrying cash on him. Further, we thought it would be easier for family members to just recharge this card than to send him new ones. Well, I was charged almost $7 in "taxes & fees" to recharge this card yesterday. Calls to AT&T revealed that they are no longer charging the surcharge fee as of Oct. 31, but that does me no good now. I'm just outraged that AT&T and the government have essentially created a monopoly systems with the pay phone service. Even though cheaper options do exist, the general public has been given the impression that to "support the troops," you should buy these AT&T cards that have these outrageous rates and hidden fees.

The information on these VIOP phones is very helpful, and I intend to pass this information along to him when he calls next. However, the other postings have indicated that they have problems, too, so I'm not sure which is worse. My husband has indicated that at his location, internet service is unreliable and when it does work, incredibly slow (7-10 minutes to load a page in its entirety), so I don't think that VIOP would really work well for him. We'd be happy with consistent email as a way to communicate, but that can't happen with his options right now, and we're stuck with these pay phones.

To top it off, when I called AT&T this morning to express my outrage at this issue, I asked how they could justify these charges for the phone cards. Well, the "friendly" customer service agent indicated that because of the cost of operating phones in Iraq (which I do not dispute) is higher than it is in other countries because of the instability, they need to recoup their costs somehow. And instead of AT&T just sucking up the difference to save these troops some money, they've elected to pass along those charges to the troops and their families. Outrageous. I hate the fact that we're being nickeled and dimed by the government and AT&T. I have enough to worry about without figuring out how to fund calls home.

[Mike Whatley]

Another point of view on Soldiers and calling home

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[Ethan Hess]

So what about the soldiers that have loved ones that are not in the United States?? I have a fiance and she lives in Nicaragua and a few of my soldiers have family and or husbands and wifes that live in places other than the U.S. So what is the choice for them? I know that there is no easy way to do it but there has to be a cheaper way. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated by all.

[Wren Hunt]

Tom, have you learned anything more on this situation? I was reminded of it again today as I saw a sign in my local coffeeshop with a basket asking for donations so that "Our Troops can call home". I think it's disgraceful that we require our military personnel overseas, in a combat zone no less, to pay to call home.

I'm all for free enterprise but one would think that sometimes patriotism would obviate corporate greed.

I'd love to hear more from you on this issue! Thanks so much!

[John Days]

As i write this, i am sitting at my desk in Baghdad, (Camp Victory) where i have been for the last 20 minutes. I have spent that 20 minutes on a DSN phone trying to get through to a DSN operator, who would be able to direct my call to ATT.
See, by dialing a DSN number in the states, i can then have my ATT card dialed through their operator, and i pay ATT state to state fees, which is cheaper. Better yet, when my ATT card runs out, i have another phone card i bought online, which is much cheaper. (1 cent a minute)
However, it takes much persistence to get through to the operator; sometimes five minutes, sometimes thirty, sometimes more.
But the fact is, when you really want to call home, you're going to sit there until you can.
Sure, there is Segovia, the voip phones in the MWR. But the delay is 8 seconds either way. You can be having a completely different conversation than the person on the other line by the time they hear you. Those are really cheap, and then of course the MWR also has the ridiculously overpriced ATT phones. You get a 200 minute phone card, and you talk for 15 before it runs out.
Not complaining... i know what i signed up for. But there is always a better way, and there is always more to every story. Im sure we could have better contact with home than we have. People assume that just because we are soldiers we should not have anything, which is not true. We signed up to fight, but anything that can be done to make the time not spent fighting easier should be done.

[Patricia Flahave]

I believe that AT&T is ripping off the soldiers. When we first arrived in Kuwait, I used an AT&T phone with a 1200 minute calling card. When I made my first call it conervted it to 120 minutes. I was furious! It didn't take me long to find DSN lines. Sometimes all you need to do is ask. There was a a three story barracks with 12 DSN lines on each floor. Although you had to wait to use the phone, it was well worth it. The majority of our uniformed service members respect others and limit their calls to under 30 minutes.

[Sean Bailey]

There are SIP phones available that a soldier can purchase. If the soldier has one and his family here in the states has one they can call each 24/7 for one low monthly fee. All that is needed is a router to plug the SIP phone into. No software to download, the phone comes ready to use, pick up the receiver and dial. You can dial another SIP phone or to any landline.