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Millions of us have family, friends, and business associates that are located outside of the country. Calling and even text messaging internationally can rack up a sizable bill quickly. Luckily options have expanded. VoIP and international calling cards have provided some of the most economical options in the recent past and today.

Many consumers who have wanted to constrain their expenses overall however have opted for affordable prepaid services. Such services give budget conscious consumers the advantage of not having to commit to a contract nor to pass any type of credit check.  The monthly charge tends to be significantly less than that of a traditional plan, but users have also tended to get bare bones calling and messaging services. Prepaid services have also traditionally offered more basic phones for their customers. Since the phones aren't subsidized, this has helped to hold down the cost to the consumer.

Things appear to be changing in the prepaid world however. Smart phones have begun to appear through these providers. Talk is they will begin offering 4G services in the future, just like other traditional providers. Another change that's very attractive however, is the increased availability of international calling and text messaging. MetroPCS for example now offers unlimited voice and text messaging plans for $45-$50/month. For an additional $5/month, users get unlimited international calling to 100 countries across the globe. There is no charge for incoming international calls under the plan. Their TextTalkGlobal service is part of the $45 and $50 plan which allows international texting at no additional cost.  The service is $3/month for those with a $35 or $40/month plan.