This week, Bezeq International (Beinleumi) is offering all private customers free calling to Western European landlines and the US.
“Happy Hour” is here. But, instead of drink specials, you can catch up with friends and relatives or just make crank calls to someone in Malta like you’ve always dreamed of.
Details of the offer
- When is the offer valid? Sunday through Thursday (through 17.11.2011) from 16:00 to 17:00
- Is registration necessary? Nope!
How do I dial? Just dial 014 then the complete international number including country code.- What time do I have to finish my call by to not be charged? Finish by 17:00.
- Can I call every day of the offer? Yes!
- Is it actually free even from my cell phone? 014 will not charge anything for the call, but your cell phone provider may. (When I called my current cell phone provider four times, I received four different answers for how much it would cost!
UPDATE 13 November: An 014 representative called in reply to my earlier inquiry about this. She said that there will be no cost whatsoever to private mobile phone customers. 014, as part of the special offer, will absorb all charges for private customers (not business lines). Of course, No Fryers cannot guarantee this offer, but the representative said that if there are any problems with billing of the offer you should be in touch with pniot@bezeqint.co.il.
UPDATE #2 13 November: Now, we have it in writing!
Me: אם אני מתקשר מנייד שלי, זה גם חינם? או, אני אמור לשלם משהו לסלקום? Friday at 1:39pm
בזק בינלאומי אכן השיחה היא חינמית לגמרי 🙂 מוזמן להתקשר כבר עכשיו about an hour ago - Are calls from business lines eligible? No. Don’t use your work phone for this.
- Need a reminder? Bezeq Int’l will send you a reminder by SMS if you give them your number.
Bezeq International reserves the right to end the offer early but would make an announcement on their website. Make sure you read the full terms and conditions which can be found on the Happy Hour site under “בכפוף לתקנון.”
Countries included
The “Happy Hour” special includes calls to Western European landlines only and US landlines and mobile phones. The full list of included countries is:
UPDATE 15 November 2011: Canada is included as well!
- US
- Britain & Northern Ireland
- France
- Belgium
- Germany
- Austria
- Italy
- Spain
- Portugal
- Switzerland
- Sweden
- Finland
- Holland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Norway
- Andorra
- San Marino
- Monaco
- Malta
- Luxemberg
- Liechtenstein
Enjoy free international calling this week! And, share the free call offer with your friends; I’m sure they’ll thank you.
Thanks for responding. I just don’t trust them. Been burned too many times. Truth in advertising is an elusive concept in Israel 🙂
In the Hebrew ad it says:
בחיוג ליעדים נייחים רגילים בלבד
You’re right to be cautious in general, Amalia. If it makes you feel any better, Mrs. Matzliach and I are taking them at their word and enjoying the free calls. Three more days!
In your post, under “Countries Included” you’ve written that US mobile lines are included. However, according to the Bezeq ad and fine print, it is to LAND LINES only.
See at the bottom of the page here: http://sherut.bezeqint.net/014/happyhour/mini/
And Section 2, here: http://camp.d-say.co.il/bezeqint/014/happyhour/bell/takanon/takanon.pdf
Amalia, it’s good you are getting into the details and checking for yourself.
The wording states that it is limited to “the US and Western European landlines,” and not “landlines in the US and Western Europe.” It would seem that it is merely a matter of 014 just not taking care to be very clear for two reasons.
First, unlike the vast majority of the world, there is no difference in cost between calling a landline and calling a mobile phone in the US. Why? Throughout most of the world, if person A calls person B’s cell phone, person A is paying for both sides of the conversation. (It’s free for person B in this scenario in Israel, right?) In the US, each person pays for their own costs.
Second, the representative I spoke with at 014 made it clear that all numbers in the US are included as there is no cost difference and no way for them to identify which numbers are mobile and which are landline.