According to the United Nations, the major earthquake that hit Haiti last Tuesday is the worst disaster the international body has ever confronted. The infrastructure had already been weak before the earthquake hit which slows down international help, the Haitian government does not function properly anymore, people in Haiti lack food and medical supplies, criminals are on the loose, and authorities estimate that 200,000 people have died following the magnitude-7 quake. People in Germany who are worried about friends or family members will probably not get through when trying to call Haiti now because communications infrastructure in that country is down. And: Making a landline or a mobile phone call from Germany to Haiti can be really expensive. We show you how to keep costs low when calling friends or families in Haiti now or later.

While T-Mobile USA will waive international long distance calling charges for any of their American customers wishing to call Haiti this month, there is no German home phone or mobile phone provider offering a similar. People calling from Germany either by home phone or cell phone can save money by using call by call providers or call-through services. But be careful: Some call by call and call-through providers change their tariffs every other day and you may end up being charged much higher rates than expected when not checking current prices before making a phone call to Haiti.

Call by Call with Deutsche Telekom Landline

Landline subscribers of Deutsche Telekom (T-Home) can make phone calls to cheaper rates offered by other telephone companies. By dialing a prefix before the Haitian country code 00509 and the phone number of the person they want to call, T-Home subscribers can use the phone service of an alternative provider. Most call by call services can be used spontaneously and without any registration or paying any monthly fees. At the moment, rates of call by call providers for phone calls to Haiti begin at EUR 0.10 or EUR 0.11 per minute. In comparison, T-Home customers with a Call Plus price plan pay at least EUR 1.53 per minute when making a phone call to Haiti.

Web portals such as www.teltarif.de provide a good overview of call by call rates for all kinds of phone calls and update their data base on a daily basis. The following two links will take you to a list of call by call services that currently offer cheap rates for landline calls to Haiti. General information is in German, but you will easily recognize the providers (“Anbieter”), the service prefixes (“Netzzugang”) and the price per minute (“Minutenpreis”). “Mit Tarifansage” means you will be informed about the current charge before the call will be put through. Make sure you check prices just before making the phone call:

• Recommended Call by Call Services for Calling a Home Phone in Haiti
• Recommended Call by Call Services for Calling a Mobile Phone in Haiti

Read more about making home phone calls and using call by call services in Germany:

• Guide: Home Phone Packages and Making Phone Calls in Germany

Call-Through by Home Phone or Mobile Phone

Subscribers of alternative home phone providers or mobile phone users cannot use call by call services. For them, one way to save money when making a phone call to Haiti is call-through. Call-through is suited especially for making cheap international calls by home phone or cell phone when the user has already booked a flat rate tariff for calls to German home phones because the call-through access number is usually a German landline number. First, the call-through user dials this access number and then the Haitian country code and the destination number. Call-through users without a flat rate tariff of their home phone or mobile phone provider are charged for the call-through connection as well as for the connection to the access number. The teltarif.de database will also show you cheap call-through services for phone calls to Haiti. For example, expect rates of EUR 0.14 or more per minute for home phone calls to landlines in Haiti.

Calling a Haitian Landline:

• Making a Call-Through Call by Home Phone Without a Flat Rate Tariff to a Haitian Landline
• Making a Call-Through Call by Home Phone With Flat Rate Tariff to a Haitian Landline
• Making a Call-Through Call by Mobile Phone Without a Flat Rate Tariff to a Haitian Landline
• Making a Call-Through Call by Mobile Phone With Flat Rate Tariff to a Haitian Landline

Calling a Mobile in Haiti:

• Making a Call-Through Call by Home Phone Without a Flat Rate Tariff to a Mobile in Haiti
• Making a Call-Through Call by Home Phone With Flat Rate Tariff to a Mobile in Haiti
• Making a Call-Through Call by Mobile Phone Without a Flat Rate Tariff to a Mobile in Haiti
• Making a Call-Through Call by Mobile Phone With Flat Rate Tariff to a Mobile in Haiti

Getting a Special Prepaid SIM Card for International Calls

When making phone calls to Haiti on a regular basis mobile phone users might want to buy a prepaid SIM card of a mobile phone provider offering special rates for international calls from Germany (not suited for roaming calls!). Such a prepaid SIM card with a little amount of calling credit can be bought at kiosks, at mobile phone stores or at online stores for EUR 10.00 to EUR 15.00. Usually buyers just have to show their ID, only some prepaid providers require their subscribers to have a residence in Germany and a German banking account. Rates for mobile phone calls to Haiti with such a prepaid SIM card begin at EUR 0.24 to EUR 0.30, sometimes users are not only charged per minute but have also to pay a connection fee of EUR 0.15 or EUR 0.19 per minute.

German mobile phone providers specialized in international calls are Blau (Blauworld), Ortel Mobile, PAM Mobile, Ring, Lebara Mobile, Sunsim, Talk Tiger or The Phone House (Mobile World). The teltarif.de database lists their rates for mobile phone calls to Haiti:

• Prepaid Price Plans for Mobile phone Calls to Haiti