Making phone calls in Chile

Yes, i agree with Eric. We brought a magic jack which is VOIP. Plug into your computer with internet service and you are talking!
We can call the USA and friends can call us like we were still in the USA.
Once you get residency, you can get a landline or cell phone plan. You must show them a proof of income or even that you just have money in the bank. Movistar, a cell phone co. here, just wanted an ATM receipt showing our balance.
We do not have a plan on our cell phone but just pay for minutes as we go. It may be slightly more per minute but we can get away with just paying $20 or less per month. The problem with this is though you may run out of minutes while in the middle of a call! But you can still receive calls.
Another consideration is that if you don't use all your minutes by the end of the month, you lose them!