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Cellular forums Home > Archive > Cellular phones topics > March 2007 > Cellphones in US -- how relevant is the Area Code?
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Cellphones in US -- how relevant is the Area Code?
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|
| frog_escalator@hotmail.com 2007-03-13, 10:33 am |
| Hello, I wonder if anyone can advise.
If going to the US to stay in one city for a few months, is it better
to get a cell phone/SIM card with an area code local to that city? Or
does it make no practical difference? Just I'm being offered a very
cheap deal on a SIM card, but its area code is for a city 2000 miles
away.
So yes, I'm just wondering what the practicalities involved are. (Here
in the UK landline and mobile numbers are separate; i.e. cellphone
numbers all begin 07 and are non-geographic).
Thanks very much for any advice.
| |
| RobertPatrick 2007-03-13, 10:33 pm |
| frog_escalator@hotma
il.com wrote in
news:1173795942.875697.129110@c51g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
> Hello, I wonder if anyone can advise.
>
> If going to the US to stay in one city for a few months, is it better
> to get a cell phone/SIM card with an area code local to that city? Or
> does it make no practical difference? Just I'm being offered a very
> cheap deal on a SIM card, but its area code is for a city 2000 miles
> away.
>
> So yes, I'm just wondering what the practicalities involved are. (Here
> in the UK landline and mobile numbers are separate; i.e. cellphone
> numbers all begin 07 and are non-geographic).
>
> Thanks very much for any advice.
>
>
I'd get a cell phone local to the city. You'll be staying for a few months
so that could be a lesser cost for you.
I use Tracfone. When you sign up with them, you have to tell what city you
want to be local. My landline and cell are different numbers. But calling
out of my area code are considered long distance.
| |
| Todd Allcock 2007-03-14, 10:33 am |
| At 13 Mar 2007 07:25:43 -0700 frog_escalator@hotma
il.com wrote:
> Hello, I wonder if anyone can advise.
>
> If going to the US to stay in one city for a few months, is it better
> to get a cell phone/SIM card with an area code local to that city? Or
> does it make no practical difference? Just I'm being offered a very
> cheap deal on a SIM card, but its area code is for a city 2000 miles
> away.
It probably makes very little difference. Most wireless providers charge
no extra for "long distance" calls, so your rate will not be affected by
geography. Landline users will have to pay long-distance charges to call
your cell since it will not be a local call, but that's in the $0.02-0.05
US/min range. Most wireless providers allow you to change the number, so
it's possible you could select a new number in the locale you'll be in.
(Assuming this isn't a borrowed SIM you'll be returning later!)
> So yes, I'm just wondering what the practicalities involved are. (Here
> in the UK landline and mobile numbers are separate; i.e. cellphone
> numbers all begin 07 and are non-geographic).
>
> Thanks very much for any advice.
Keep in mind that the US does NOT have a "caller pays" system, so you are
charged for incoming cell minutes the same as you are for outgoing.
Have a good trip!
| |
| Larry 2007-03-14, 10:33 am |
| frog_escalator@hotma
il.com wrote in news:1173795942.875697.129110
@c51g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
> If going to the US to stay in one city for a few months, is it better
> to get a cell phone/SIM card with an area code local to that city? Or
> does it make no practical difference? Just I'm being offered a very
> cheap deal on a SIM card, but its area code is for a city 2000 miles
> away.
>
>
Landline telephone companies in the USA are still playing the "Long
Distance Game", charging their customers for calling out of the local
area, just like they have since an operator had to hook you to ATT Long
Lines to route the calls out of her manual phone system. Even with
government deregulation forcing them to allow other, cheaper LD companies
to route the call, they're still charging by the minute to call out of
town on landlines, even though it costs nothing because it's all data,
now.
Cellular companies, trying to keep customers who can now carry their
phone numbers with them to someone else, and there's lots of someone
elses to to go to, have stopped playing this scam. It costs me airtime
to call next door. It costs me airtime to call California, on the other
side of the country. I can even call Canada for just airtime. If I wait
until 9PM weeknights or anytime on the weekend, it's all free without the
airtime charges.
So, it really isn't important that you have a local number for most
American callers. It's just an inconvience for them to have to dial 10
digits to get you, instead of 7. If your number is local, the system
assumes the same area code as your number, so you only have to dial 555-
1212 to call 843-555-1212 if you live in the 843 area. They'll get over
it.
If you have a deal, take it. Calling outside one's local calling area is
either very cheap or no extra charge, here, across the USA/Canada, mainly
because of the intense competition that BT doesn't have in the UK.
Too bad you can't have multiple phone numbers on a cell like I have on
Skype (www.skype.com). I have two landline phone numbers on Skype....one
in Charleston, SC, USA and one in London for my UK friends. Skype is
REALLY cheap at $38/year for these numbers. Both numbers have automatic
call forwarding if I don't answer. If I'm not home, or not connected to
a free wifi hotspot with my Netgear SPH101 Skype pocket phone, either
number will forward to my cellular number, allowing my UK friends to call
my cellphone in America as a LOCAL call, not paying BT through the nose
to call America. You don't need to leave any computer on to make this
happen. Skype call forwards from its system, not yours. Both my local
Charleston number and my London number forward this way to my cellphone.
You might consider downloading Skype (free) and buying Skype In numbers
in both places, plus Skype Out to call out from Skype to landlines,
worldwide. Skype to most civilized places not ripped off by local
government phone companies is $US0.021/minute, .015 Euros I think. If
anyone calls you from their Skype to your Skype name, all on the
internet, that call gets forwarded to your cell, too, which is really
nice. You can have up to 10 Skype In phone numbers in the few countries
that have Skype In numbers so far, simultaneously. Unlike cellular, too,
you can run the same Skype account on multiple computers and they all
ring at once and whichever answers gets the call, something we've wanted
on cellular all along.
You can also use Skype FROM your cellphone, if you leave a computer
running someplace on the planet, even back home in the UK. Download "VOX
for Skype", free at the moment, from www.voxlib.com and install it on all
your Skype-enabled computers. When you boot VOX, and let it boot Skype
automatically, VOX becomes an automatic conference creation system for
Skype's conference mode. It also answers and forwards incoming calls to
you. When you call your own Skype In number, VOX answer the call, sees
from your caller ID that it's you not someone else calling, and reads you
a menu by a pretty English gal with a tiny bit of Cockney accent, which
should make you feel quite at home...(c; You press 2 to call telephone
numbers FROM that computer OUT on Skype Out at Skype Out rates from your
pre-charged account. You press 3 to have VOX read your contact list so
you can hear which of your friends has their Skype running, then press
the first 3 letters of their Skype name and VOX will put you in a
conference with them through your home computer as server so you can talk
to them from your cellphone to their computer on Skype. So, your
cellphone can be your Skype phone when you don't have wifi for your
laptop. Way cool...(c;
Larry
--
| |
| Steven J. Sobol 2007-03-14, 3:33 pm |
| In article < Xns98F34A61E403Cnoon
ehomecom@208.49.80.253>, Larry wrote:
> Landline telephone companies in the USA are still playing the "Long
> Distance Game", charging their customers for calling out of the local
> area, just like they have since an operator had to hook you to ATT Long
> Lines to route the calls out of her manual phone system.
You do realize that the phone companies charge other telcos for
termination of calls on their networks, right? The cost is low, but
not zero.
AT&T is now offering unlimited calling to AT&T landline and Cingular
Wireless customers. AT&T and Verizon both have unlimited flat-rate
local and long distance calling packages for residential and business
customers. (Verizon's is called Freedom - I looked into it before
deciding to switch my dialtone to Charter Cable when we bought the new
house.)
> to route the call, they're still charging by the minute to call out of
> town on landlines, even though it costs nothing because it's all data,
> now.
No, it doesn't cost "nothing." Doesn't cost a lot, but it doesn't cost
zero either, unless the call stays on the same network. You call my
old home phone number or my office number, both of which are Verizon,
from your Alltel cell phone, or your Alltel or BellSOUTH landline (I
assume it would be either Alltel or BellSOUTH), Verizon's charging
your telco for call termination. You call my current home phone
number, your telco will be charging my cable company for termination.
Works exactly the same if I call you too, except your telco is charged.
Now, LD *is* cheap enough that the cost is pretty minimal, and that's
probably why the telcos have come out with those unlimited flat-rate
landline calling plans. They wouldn't have put them out there if they
thought they'd lose money.
On the other hand, the fact that you can get a landline or cell plan
without any long distance charges would make your LD rant irrelevant,
so you're probably ignoring it. :)
--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows
Victorville, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED
It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room.
| |
|
| "Steven J. Sobol" <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote in
news:slrnevgg2g.o34.sjsobol@amethyst.justthe.net:
> No, it doesn't cost "nothing." Doesn't cost a lot, but it doesn't cost
> zero either, unless the call stays on the same network. You call my
> old home phone number or my office number, both of which are Verizon,
> from your Alltel cell phone, or your Alltel or BellSOUTH landline (I
> assume it would be either Alltel or BellSOUTH), Verizon's charging
> your telco for call termination. You call my current home phone
> number, your telco will be charging my cable company for termination.
> Works exactly the same if I call you too, except your telco is charged.
>
Isn't it simply AMAZING, armed with all this knowledge, that Ebay's Skype
can connect me for a WHOLE YEAR to any landline in the USA and Canada,
for as long as I like, any time I like, daytime/nighttime/weekends
without limits....for $30/YEAR? I paid HALF that for 2007 on a special
for Skype Out that ran until Jan 31/2007.
Isn't it simply AMAZING, Ebay can let me use a rental phone number in
America and another one in England for $38/YEAR each?
This is not "per month" or "just weekends". This interconnect from Skype
to landlines and cellphones is PER YEAR!
You must be right, Steve, it must not cost a lot, at all, for those
numbers and interconnect minutes.
Now, if my Alltel phone is roaming on Verizon, for instance, Verizon is
charging Alltel X/min to route the call. But, alas, Verizon customers
roaming on Alltel are being charged to Verizon by Alltel, X/min in
return, right? So, if Verizon buys 400,000,000 minutes from Alltel...and
Alltel buys 400,000,000 minutes from Verizon....what is that bottom line
charge at the bottom of the last page of the bill? I have $70M in debits
and $70M in credits. Letting each other roam like this is SO convenient
to the CUSTOMERS, in market, in the holes....and SO cheap to the
carriers, if BOTH participate. If X is paying more than Y...he needs
MORE TOWERS...and conversely.
Larry
--
Roll up to the long checkout line....
Yell, "ICE RAID!"
It's your turn to load the grocery belt...(c;
| |
|
| "Steven J. Sobol" <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote in
news:slrnevgg2g.o34.sjsobol@amethyst.justthe.net:
> In article < Xns98F34A61E403Cnoon
ehomecom@208.49.80.253>, Larry wrote:
>
>
> You do realize that the phone companies charge other telcos for
> termination of calls on their networks, right? The cost is low, but
> not zero.
>
> AT&T is now offering unlimited calling to AT&T landline and Cingular
> Wireless customers. AT&T and Verizon both have unlimited flat-rate
> local and long distance calling packages for residential and business
> customers. (Verizon's is called Freedom - I looked into it before
> deciding to switch my dialtone to Charter Cable when we bought the new
> house.)
>
Qwest is now offering the same thing- unlimited LD for a set price. Hell,
after the "bundle discount", $10/month for unlimited LD.
| |
|
| Larry <noone@home.com> wrote in
news:Xns98F3E7E85A2C
Dnoonehomecom@208.49.80.253:
>
> Isn't it simply AMAZING, armed with all this knowledge, that Ebay's
> Skype can connect me for a WHOLE YEAR to any landline in the USA and
> Canada, for as long as I like, any time I like,
> daytime/nighttime/weekends without limits....for $30/YEAR? I paid
> HALF that for 2007 on a special for Skype Out that ran until Jan
> 31/2007.
Enjoy it while it lasts- I'm betting that they'll be gone by the end of
'08. Wanna lose a shitload of money- start a consumer VOiP company.
>
| |
| Steven J. Sobol 2007-03-15, 4:33 am |
| In article < Xns98F3E7E85A2CDnoon
ehomecom@208.49.80.253>, Larry wrote:
> Isn't it simply AMAZING, armed with all this knowledge, that Ebay's Skype
> can connect me for a WHOLE YEAR to any landline in the USA and Canada,
> for as long as I like, any time I like, daytime/nighttime/weekends
> without limits....for $30/YEAR?
I can't comment intelligently about that as I am not familiar with
everything that Skype offers. Aside from the lack of 911, is there
anything else a landline offers that Skype doesn't? (please educate me!)
> You must be right, Steve, it must not cost a lot, at all, for those
> numbers and interconnect minutes.
No, it doesn't. You can get wholesale long distance for 1-2 cents per
minute.
Note that I'm not disagreeing with you, just trying to paint an
accurate picture. Landlines use the copper plant that has been sitting
there for years. It's not like the telcos have to pour money into it.
One voice channel is equal to a measly 64K of bandwidth. One channel
out of a 24-channel T-1.
> Now, if my Alltel phone is roaming on Verizon, for instance, Verizon is
> charging Alltel X/min to route the call. But, alas, Verizon customers
> roaming on Alltel are being charged to Verizon by Alltel, X/min in
> return, right? So, if Verizon buys 400,000,000 minutes from Alltel...and
> Alltel buys 400,000,000 minutes from Verizon....what is that bottom line
> charge at the bottom of the last page of the bill?
You assume that they are buying that airtime in bulk. I have no idea
whether they do or not.
> and $70M in credits. Letting each other roam like this is SO convenient
> to the CUSTOMERS, in market, in the holes....and SO cheap to the
> carriers, if BOTH participate.
I don't think that's a bad idea, as long as the carriers can
accurately predict roaming usage from month to month.
--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows
Victorville, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED
It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room.
| |
| Todd Allcock 2007-03-15, 4:33 am |
| At 14 Mar 2007 22:05:50 -0500 Scott wrote:
> Enjoy it while it lasts- I'm betting that they'll be gone by the end of
> '08. Wanna lose a shitload of money- start a consumer VOiP company.
While true, I suspect eBay is experimenting with Skype for the long haul.
Free in '06, and cheap in '07 might be getting people used to Skype and
willing to pay a more realistic (for Skype) price in the future.
On the other hand, they might be using a buffet restaurant model- the
"skinny" people subsidize the "fat" ones. For every guy like Larry who
uses Skype almost exclusively, there's one like me, who paid $15 for a
year "just in case" and hasn't used a single minute yet this year...
| |
| frog_escalator@hotmail.com 2007-03-15, 7:33 am |
| Wow, thanks Larry -- this is really helpful information.
I missed out on the cheap deal (it was going to be =A31/$1.90 for a $30
T-Mobile SIM card with an L.A. number; went for =A36/$11, which is still
very cheap.) I wish I'd known about the Skype thing!
Having a UK number that people can dial through as a local call will
be very useful; I'm wondering what will be the most useful set-up...
I'm thinking either:
Get a cheap USA SIM card, likely from T-Mobile with a number local to
a random place in the States; buy two Skype numbers, one in the city
where I'll be staying (Chicago), and one in London.
Or... get a US SIM card local to Chicago, and buy one Skype number in
London (this won't allow me to save money on calls from the US to the
UK though; although I could just text and get people to phone me for
peanuts/for free from the UK via the Skype In London landline
number...)
Incidentally, I was told somewhere else that 51% of your calls out
from some cellphones in the States have to be from your local calling
area, or else there's a risk of having your account terminated. Though
I imagine this wouldn't affect me too much for just a few months.
Thanks again Larry -- really helpful information in addition to
answering my original question!
Johnny Dee
On 14 Mar, 11:18, Larry <n...@home.com> wrote:
> frog_escala...@hotmail.com wrote in news:1173795942.875697.129110
> @c51g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
>
>
> Landline telephone companies in the USA are still playing the "Long
> Distance Game", charging their customers for calling out of the local
> area, just like they have since an operator had to hook you to ATT Long
> Lines to route the calls out of her manual phone system. Even with
> government deregulation forcing them to allow other, cheaper LD companies
> to route the call, they're still charging by the minute to call out of
> town on landlines, even though it costs nothing because it's all data,
> now.
>
> Cellular companies, trying to keep customers who can now carry their
> phone numbers with them to someone else, and there's lots of someone
> elses to to go to, have stopped playing this scam. It costs me airtime
> to call next door. It costs me airtime to call California, on the other
> side of the country. I can even call Canada for just airtime. If I wait
> until 9PM weeknights or anytime on the weekend, it's all free without the
> airtime charges.
>
> So, it really isn't important that you have a local number for most
> American callers. It's just an inconvience for them to have to dial 10
> digits to get you, instead of 7. If your number is local, the system
> assumes the same area code as your number, so you only have to dial 555-
> 1212 to call 843-555-1212 if you live in the 843 area. They'll get over
> it.
>
> If you have a deal, take it. Calling outside one's local calling area is
> either very cheap or no extra charge, here, across the USA/Canada, mainly
> because of the intense competition that BT doesn't have in the UK.
>
> Too bad you can't have multiple phone numbers on a cell like I have on
> Skype (www.skype.com). I have two landline phone numbers on Skype....one
> in Charleston, SC, USA and one in London for my UK friends. Skype is
> REALLY cheap at $38/year for these numbers. Both numbers have automatic
> call forwarding if I don't answer. If I'm not home, or not connected to
> a free wifi hotspot with my Netgear SPH101 Skype pocket phone, either
> number will forward to my cellular number, allowing my UK friends to call
> my cellphone in America as a LOCAL call, not paying BT through the nose
> to call America. You don't need to leave any computer on to make this
> happen. Skype call forwards from its system, not yours. Both my local
> Charleston number and my London number forward this way to my cellphone.
> You might consider downloading Skype (free) and buying Skype In numbers
> in both places, plus Skype Out to call out from Skype to landlines,
> worldwide. Skype to most civilized places not ripped off by local
> government phone companies is $US0.021/minute, .015 Euros I think. If
> anyone calls you from their Skype to your Skype name, all on the
> internet, that call gets forwarded to your cell, too, which is really
> nice. You can have up to 10 Skype In phone numbers in the few countries
> that have Skype In numbers so far, simultaneously. Unlike cellular, too,
> you can run the same Skype account on multiple computers and they all
> ring at once and whichever answers gets the call, something we've wanted
> on cellular all along.
>
> You can also use Skype FROM your cellphone, if you leave a computer
> running someplace on the planet, even back home in the UK. Download "VOX
> for Skype", free at the moment, fromwww.voxlib.comand install it on all
> your Skype-enabled computers. When you boot VOX, and let it boot Skype
> automatically, VOX becomes an automatic conference creation system for
> Skype's conference mode. It also answers and forwards incoming calls to
> you. When you call your own Skype In number, VOX answer the call, sees
> from your caller ID that it's you not someone else calling, and reads you
> a menu by a pretty English gal with a tiny bit of Cockney accent, which
> should make you feel quite at home...(c; You press 2 to call telephone
> numbers FROM that computer OUT on Skype Out at Skype Out rates from your
> pre-charged account. You press 3 to have VOX read your contact list so
> you can hear which of your friends has their Skype running, then press
> the first 3 letters of their Skype name and VOX will put you in a
> conference with them through your home computer as server so you can talk
> to them from your cellphone to their computer on Skype. So, your
> cellphone can be your Skype phone when you don't have wifi for your
> laptop. Way cool...(c;
>
> Larry
> --
| |
| frog_escalator@hotmail.com 2007-03-15, 7:33 am |
| Wow, thanks Larry -- this is really helpful information.
I missed out on the cheap deal (it was going to be =A31/$1.90 for a $30
T-Mobile SIM card with an L.A. number; went for =A36/$11, which is still
very cheap.) I wish I'd known about the Skype thing!
Having a UK number that people can dial through as a local call will
be very welcome; (although calls from the UK to US are extremely cheap
anyhow). I'm wondering what will be the most useful set-up...
I'm thinking either:
Get a cheap USA SIM card, likely from T-Mobile with a number local to
a random place in the States; buy two Skype numbers, one in the city
where I'll be staying (Chicago), and one in London.
Or... get a US SIM card local to Chicago, and buy one Skype number in
London (this won't allow me to save money on calls from the US to the
UK though; although I could just text and get people to phone me for
peanuts/for free from the UK via the Skype In London landline
number...)
Incidentally, I was told somewhere else that 51% of your calls out
from some cellphones in the States have to be from your local calling
area, or else there's a risk of having your account terminated. Though
I imagine this wouldn't affect me too much for just a few months.
Thanks again Larry -- really helpful information in addition to
answering my original question!
Johnny Dee
On 14 Mar, 11:18, Larry <n...@home.com> wrote:
> frog_escala...@hotmail.com wrote in news:1173795942.875697.129110
> @c51g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
>
>
> Landline telephone companies in the USA are still playing the "Long
> Distance Game", charging their customers for calling out of the local
> area, just like they have since an operator had to hook you to ATT Long
> Lines to route the calls out of her manual phone system. Even with
> government deregulation forcing them to allow other, cheaper LD companies
> to route the call, they're still charging by the minute to call out of
> town on landlines, even though it costs nothing because it's all data,
> now.
>
> Cellular companies, trying to keep customers who can now carry their
> phone numbers with them to someone else, and there's lots of someone
> elses to to go to, have stopped playing this scam. It costs me airtime
> to call next door. It costs me airtime to call California, on the other
> side of the country. I can even call Canada for just airtime. If I wait
> until 9PM weeknights or anytime on the weekend, it's all free without the
> airtime charges.
>
> So, it really isn't important that you have a local number for most
> American callers. It's just an inconvience for them to have to dial 10
> digits to get you, instead of 7. If your number is local, the system
> assumes the same area code as your number, so you only have to dial 555-
> 1212 to call 843-555-1212 if you live in the 843 area. They'll get over
> it.
>
> If you have a deal, take it. Calling outside one's local calling area is
> either very cheap or no extra charge, here, across the USA/Canada, mainly
> because of the intense competition that BT doesn't have in the UK.
>
> Too bad you can't have multiple phone numbers on a cell like I have on
> Skype (www.skype.com). I have two landline phone numbers on Skype....one
> in Charleston, SC, USA and one in London for my UK friends. Skype is
> REALLY cheap at $38/year for these numbers. Both numbers have automatic
> call forwarding if I don't answer. If I'm not home, or not connected to
> a free wifi hotspot with my Netgear SPH101 Skype pocket phone, either
> number will forward to my cellular number, allowing my UK friends to call
> my cellphone in America as a LOCAL call, not paying BT through the nose
> to call America. You don't need to leave any computer on to make this
> happen. Skype call forwards from its system, not yours. Both my local
> Charleston number and my London number forward this way to my cellphone.
> You might consider downloading Skype (free) and buying Skype In numbers
> in both places, plus Skype Out to call out from Skype to landlines,
> worldwide. Skype to most civilized places not ripped off by local
> government phone companies is $US0.021/minute, .015 Euros I think. If
> anyone calls you from their Skype to your Skype name, all on the
> internet, that call gets forwarded to your cell, too, which is really
> nice. You can have up to 10 Skype In phone numbers in the few countries
> that have Skype In numbers so far, simultaneously. Unlike cellular, too,
> you can run the same Skype account on multiple computers and they all
> ring at once and whichever answers gets the call, something we've wanted
> on cellular all along.
>
> You can also use Skype FROM your cellphone, if you leave a computer
> running someplace on the planet, even back home in the UK. Download "VOX
> for Skype", free at the moment, fromwww.voxlib.comand install it on all
> your Skype-enabled computers. When you boot VOX, and let it boot Skype
> automatically, VOX becomes an automatic conference creation system for
> Skype's conference mode. It also answers and forwards incoming calls to
> you. When you call your own Skype In number, VOX answer the call, sees
> from your caller ID that it's you not someone else calling, and reads you
> a menu by a pretty English gal with a tiny bit of Cockney accent, which
> should make you feel quite at home...(c; You press 2 to call telephone
> numbers FROM that computer OUT on Skype Out at Skype Out rates from your
> pre-charged account. You press 3 to have VOX read your contact list so
> you can hear which of your friends has their Skype running, then press
> the first 3 letters of their Skype name and VOX will put you in a
> conference with them through your home computer as server so you can talk
> to them from your cellphone to their computer on Skype. So, your
> cellphone can be your Skype phone when you don't have wifi for your
> laptop. Way cool...(c;
>
> Larry
> --
| |
| Dennis Ferguson 2007-03-15, 12:33 pm |
| On 2007-03-15, frog_escalator@hotma
il.com < frog_escalator@hotma
il.com> wrote:
> Get a cheap USA SIM card, likely from T-Mobile with a number local to
> a random place in the States; buy two Skype numbers, one in the city
> where I'll be staying (Chicago), and one in London.
If your SIM card is from T-Mobile I'm pretty it isn't a problem to
get them to change the number to whatever you want (as long as T-Mobile
has service there). When you get to the US call 611 and ask customer
service to give you a new number.
> Incidentally, I was told somewhere else that 51% of your calls out
> from some cellphones in the States have to be from your local calling
> area, or else there's a risk of having your account terminated. Though
> I imagine this wouldn't affect me too much for just a few months.
If I understand what you are saying correctly, it's not quite right.
The big US cellphone companies don't care where you are in the US
when you use your phone as long as you are using their network. The
problem is that most operators allow roaming to other networks at no
charge in places where they have no native coverage, and they may
object if you spend all your time using your phone on another company's
network. This is unlikely to be a problem to you if you spend most of
your time in Chicago.
Dennis Ferguson
| |
|
| Scott <how.do@you.do> wrote in
news:FfadnabVo9iTJWX
YnZ2dnUVZ_tjinZ2d@ad
elphia.com:
> Enjoy it while it lasts- I'm betting that they'll be gone by the end of
> '08. Wanna lose a shitload of money- start a consumer VOiP company.
>
>
Ebay's motives are much different. I don't think they care if it does
more than break even......as long as it connects BUYERS to SELLERS on
Ebay, which it does quite nicely.....even without the landline
interconnects.
I was so glad to see Ebay buy Skype, and have been rewarded that they are
not going to move it from Luxembourg into the American Taxation Zone for
further ripoffs.
As I type this, my contribution appears to be 4 connects from other Skype
users whos Skypes are using my bandwidth for command and update relay.
All 10,000,000 online Skype users are, involuntarily for most,
contributing to Skype's great connectivity and holding costs down.
I don't mind at all....If they didn't use it, SETI would be...(c;
Larry
--
Roll up to the long checkout line....
Yell, "ICE RAID!"
It's your turn to load the grocery belt...(c;
| |
|
| "Steven J. Sobol" <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote in
news:slrnevhml2.tr9.sjsobol@amethyst.justthe.net:
> I can't comment intelligently about that as I am not familiar with
> everything that Skype offers. Aside from the lack of 911, is there
> anything else a landline offers that Skype doesn't? (please educate
me!)
>
>
Nothing. Skype's telephone service is only a small part of its total
footprint, now. With Version 3 Skype, the software now provides a whole
new era of public conferences ANYONE on Skype can host for the planet to
join. Whole ethnic groups, in their own languages, can be joined on
Skypecasts that run for hours and days. AS I type this after midnight on
the East coast, There are Skypecasts going on for Wiccan witches in
English, always a fun group if you want to "sit a spell", one group each
in Urdu, Arabic, Farsi, English ("Americans having a good time", it says)
and a script language I have a font for, but cannot place, probably
Middle Eastern, but not Yiddish. Anyone can create a free Skypecast and
talk to people across the planet. Simply amazing.
Of course, Skype-to-Skype includes full motion color video, if you have
any webcam installed. I fixed a TV in Siberia in a Skype call to someone
I met by chance on Skype. He scanned the schematic and transferred it to
me on Skype's binary file transfer. While I poured over the schematic,
that looked like an old Zenith TV from the early 60's in nature, he was
doing the measuring and hands-on testing on the video/audio channel. One
of my other ham buddies had called me on my cell for something, and I had
him boot his Skype so I could put him in a conference with Sergei and I
as he was a Magnavox TV engineer in TN for years. We had a great time,
all 3 of us, all with full color video and full duplex audio, fixing that
Russian TV. Great fun across the planet no landline phone could provide.
Oh, we found a arcing capacitor in the flyback circuit that was pulling
down our horizontal output's HV to the CRT. He called me back in an
hour, having gone to his parts house for a replacement. The three of us
on Skype watched Russian TV from Siberia over his webcam....Boy was he a
happy camper!...(c; It set me a new troubleshooting-by-remote-control DX
record. Maybe I can fix one in New Zealand or Oz to stretch the miles
longer....??
Besides the color video and full duplex audio on Skype-to-Skype, it also
provides you with a full text chat mode that even stores text until you
logon for you like SMS does. In the chat window, you can also send any
kind of file, directly from your IP to his as fast as you have bandwidth
for. You are not required to call him on Skype to text/transfer to him
and you can easily limit who can connect to chat/file transfers to/from
you. It acts like a cute little FTP server the FTP jambots cannot
connect to to screw it, like on port 21 they scan, constantly. On crap
ISPs that forbid everything like Comcrap, because Skype can be assigned
to ANY port number, making it impossible, or at least inconvenient, to
scan from the ISPs snoops, you can leave it uploading or downloading,
privately, to your friends/associates without interference. Unless you
set Skype's status to "Skype Me", which is akin to telling the whole
world, "Hey! I'm here. I dare you to call me.", you get no troublesome
crapper calls, at all because Skype also provides a complete audit trail
directly to their IP/nameserver/skypename for disposition. No danger
like IRC's recent hacking.
Skype is capable of sending/receiving SMS message, direct to your
cellphone, and if you buy a Skype In phone number, you get great
voicemail for free that not only can landline callers use, but skype-to-
skype computer callers over the system can use. Skype IN supports many
modes of call forwarding, like any cellphone does, and I have no-answer-
transfer sending all Skype calls to my cell when I'm not home. Call
forwarding works without your computer, even from other Skype computers.
Very smart.
Unlike cellphones, you can run 10 Skypes simultaneously on the same
account name and all 10 will "ring" or text simultaneously. I run, at
home, Skype on my main computer and on my Netgear SPH101 Skype Phone to
the wifi router. I can answer either one when someone calls. Skype,
unlike cellular, doesn't care.
AS you can easily see, Skype has far more capabilities than a landline
home phone. Nope, being an international phone service, you can't call
911, but 1-area code-cop dispatcher's number works just as well, here.
It took me a while to figure out why I was calling Vietnam and getting
connected to interesting people. Charleston's area code is 843. I was
forgetting the 1 on the Netgear Skype Phone. So, dutifully, Skype dialed
+84-3-555-1234 instead of 1-843-555-1234. 84 is the country code for
Vietnam, which also has Skype....and landlines from Skype.... I met some
really nice people who spoke passable English from back when we Americans
had invaded their country. Most interesting random contacts, but Vietnam
ISN'T 2.1c/min so I didn't talk long....(c;
Larry
--
Roll up to the long checkout line....
Yell, "ICE RAID!"
It's your turn to load the grocery belt...(c;
| |
|
| frog_escalator@hotma
il.com wrote in news:1173958403.633232.115460
@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:
> Incidentally, I was told somewhere else that 51% of your calls out
> from some cellphones in the States have to be from your local calling
> area, or else there's a risk of having your account terminated. Though
> I imagine this wouldn't affect me too much for just a few months.
The average must be really long termed or they'd be dumping millions of
customers on a month-long vacation to Florida every winter. My aunt has
a Verizon cellphone from Syracuse, NY and spends every winter out of the
snow piles in Vero Beach, FL, with her same Verizon number for 5-6
months. They never threatened her with a disconnect. Her number stays
local to Syracuse where her kids like. She's 84 and STILL DRIVING!
Scary...(c;
>
> Thanks again Larry -- really helpful information in addition to
> answering my original question!
>
>
Quite welcome. Read the Skype.com webpages and it explains everything.
There's a full manual available in pdf format. I can't believe MOST
people wouldn't be better off on a VoIP like Skype because they don't
REALLY need full-mobile-in-motion cellular service.
There's gonna be a helluva battle coming when WiMax rolls out where your
wifi follows you....(c;
Larry
--
Roll up to the long checkout line....
Yell, "ICE RAID!"
It's your turn to load the grocery belt...(c;
| |
|
| Todd Allcock wrote:
> At 14 Mar 2007 22:05:50 -0500 Scott wrote:
>
>
> While true, I suspect eBay is experimenting with Skype for the long haul.
> Free in '06, and cheap in '07 might be getting people used to Skype and
> willing to pay a more realistic (for Skype) price in the future.
>
> On the other hand, they might be using a buffet restaurant model- the
> "skinny" people subsidize the "fat" ones. For every guy like Larry who
> uses Skype almost exclusively, there's one like me, who paid $15 for a
> year "just in case" and hasn't used a single minute yet this year...
Voicestick is free, for "just in case" and you pay by the minute (or you
can pay by the year).
| |
|
| frog_escalator@hotma
il.com wrote:
> I'm thinking either:
> Get a cheap USA SIM card, likely from T-Mobile with a number local to
> a random place in the States; buy two Skype numbers, one in the city
> where I'll be staying (Chicago), and one in London.
That's really over-doing it. Get a One-Suite account for calls to the UK
(2.2¢) so you won't use up your cell minutes. You could give out the UK
toll free access number to people in the UK to call you (9.9¢), then you
call them back.
> Incidentally, I was told somewhere else that 51% of your calls out
> from some cellphones in the States have to be from your local calling
> area, or else there's a risk of having your account terminated.
Doesn't matter on prepaid. Especially with T-Mobile prepaid where you're
not going to be roaming much because they limit roaming.
You're better off getting a Verizon CDMA phone and signing up with Page
Plus because you'll get better coverage, and it'll be cheaper than T-Mobile.
| |
| Todd Allcock 2007-03-16, 12:33 pm |
| At 16 Mar 2007 07:20:32 -0700 SMS wrote:
>
> Voicestick is free, for "just in case" and you pay by the minute (or
> you can pay by the year).
I have a Voicestick account as well- it's much cheaper than Skype for
occasional use and includes the incoming number for free (another
business model dooomed to failure, I suspect!)
However, Voicestick is a "real" SIP-compliant VoIP, which, while usually
an advantage in my book, presents a problem in one specific instance:
there isn't a stable, high-quality, SIP software solution I've found for
low-horsepower Pocket PCs (like my 200MHz T-Mo MDA), while the Skype PPC
software is now stable and pretty decent quality even at low CPU speed.
Having some sort of VoIP backup on my phone for when I'm out of T-Mo
coverage but still have Wi-Fi access (i.e. rural hotels off the beaten
track) has come in handy once or twice to call back home. Also, in
Cancun for a week last month, I could use Skype over the hotel's
overpriced Wi-Fi ($11 for 30 minutes!) cheaper than the $1.49/minute
roaming on my cell phone.
I intended to use Voicestick for my PPC VoIP solution ($5 vs. Skype's $15
and includes free incoming) but Voicestick has some SIP-compatibility
quirks that require tweaking some advanced settings on SIP software that
the PPC versions I've tried don't always let you adjust. (Ironically, I
can't get the PPC version of SJPhone to work reliably with Voicestick,
yet Voicestick uses the desktop version of SJPhone for their "Voicestick"
OEM softphone!) I have SJPhone on the PPC using Stanaphone- they
officially support the SJPhone PPC software, but the audio quality is
lower than the Skype client on my MDA (both worked quite well on my old
400MHz Dell Axim.)
Also, Skype (at least the mobile version) will work over port 80 if it
can't find another way out, so heavily-firewalled setups will often allow
Skype calls where other VoIP might not work (Voicestick needs 5060 and
8080 open.)
But Voicestick is certainly a fun toy- I like it more than Skype for call
quality, and I scored two of their MG-3 ATA adapters on eBay for $25
including shipping, so I can use VS without a PC and with "real"
telephones for international calling at home.
| |
|
| Todd Allcock wrote:
> At 16 Mar 2007 07:20:32 -0700 SMS wrote:
>
> I have a Voicestick account as well- it's much cheaper than Skype for
> occasional use and includes the incoming number for free (another
> business model dooomed to failure, I suspect!)
Sadly, I think you're right. Skype has eBay to subsidize it, but the
other VOIP companies are probably doomed. However Voicestick isn't like
Vonage which spends a fortune on advertising. Maybe there's a place for
a niche provider that keeps costs low, just like PagePlus does for
prepaid wireless.
| |
| Todd Allcock 2007-03-16, 12:33 pm |
| At 16 Mar 2007 08:45:58 -0700 SMS wrote:
> You're better off getting a Verizon CDMA phone and signing up with
> Page Plus because you'll get better coverage, and it'll be cheaper
> than T-Mobile.
Did GSM kick your dog when you were little Steve? ;-) I realize you
have a pro-CDMA bias for your rural hiking/backpacking, etc. adventures
in San Fransisco, but international traveling is what GSM does best!
I think the OP's attaction to T-Mo is cost and convenience. He
apparently can procure a cheap US T-Mo SIM prior to his visit, stick it
in the phone he already owns and has viable US service the moment he
lands here.
PagePlus has no storefront presence I've ever seen, so he needs to obtain
a Verizon-compatible CDMA handset after he gets here (not a tremendous
amount of those laying around the UK is there?), either from thrift-shop
hunting, or for $50 at a Wal-Mart, then buy an "activation" on-line or
over the phone with a credit card or Paypal. All to save a few pennies a
minute? T-Mo is 10-cents a minute with $50 or $100 recharge cards, and
he doesn't have to buy a phone- he's already lined up a started SIM for
$11 US, so I doubt PagePlus will save him a cent. So for roughly $60
he'll have a working phone with about 600 minutes.
Sure Verizon has better coverage nationwide than T-Mobile does, but I,
like 25 million other Americans, use T-Mo and we LIVE here- I think our
holiday-maker friend from the UK will find T-Mo service to be more than
adequate, and very inexpensive compared to other options!
I second your idea about using low-cost calling cards like One-Suite vs.
Skype. Calling cards let you leverage the low costs of VoIP without the
hassles of actually running the VoIP setup yourself, particularly on very
competitive rates like US to UK and vice-versa. One-Suite is a good one.
I used them quite a bit when a friend moved to France for six months.
Cheap, yet decent voice quality.
| |
| Todd Allcock 2007-03-16, 3:33 pm |
| At 16 Mar 2007 09:38:34 -0700 SMS wrote:
> Sadly, I think you're right. Skype has eBay to subsidize it, but the
> other VOIP companies are probably doomed. However Voicestick isn't like
> Vonage which spends a fortune on advertising. Maybe there's a place for
a
> niche provider that keeps costs low, just like PagePlus does for prepaid
> wireless.
I'm sure there's room for a few good low-cost VoIPs, but they'll have to
survive any looming shake-out, then modify their marketing plans
realistically. The marketing VP of Voicestick said on Broadband Reports
that those free accounts cost them $2-3/month each. I've had mine since
November and I've still got $4.80 of my original free $5 balance. So
they're upside down on me and getting deeper every month. Frustrations
with software and hardware would unlikely make them my first choice for
any serious use (but I've used the "cellular bridge" feature to place an
international call or two from my cell instead of needing a no-pin
calling card.)
A service like callwithus.com might be the future of low-cost VoIP-
everything pay-per-use, and you rent a DID based on their actual cost (i.e.
more desirable AC's like NYC's 212 cost more than Peoria, Il's.) This way,
they don't have to subsidize a "free" DID with higher per-min rates.
(Call With Us charges $0.0127 vs. $0.02 at VStick, for example.)
| |
| Dennis Ferguson 2007-03-17, 4:33 am |
| On 2007-03-16, Todd Allcock < elecconnec@AmericaOn
Line.com> wrote:
> At 16 Mar 2007 08:45:58 -0700 SMS wrote:
[...][color=darkred]
> I think the OP's attaction to T-Mo is cost and convenience. He
> apparently can procure a cheap US T-Mo SIM prior to his visit, stick it
> in the phone he already owns and has viable US service the moment he
> lands here.
I agree with this. For prepaid service for people who aren't going to be
in the country for a long time there is no better alternative than T-Mobile.
> I second your idea about using low-cost calling cards like One-Suite vs.
> Skype. Calling cards let you leverage the low costs of VoIP without the
> hassles of actually running the VoIP setup yourself, particularly on very
> competitive rates like US to UK and vice-versa. One-Suite is a good one.
My experience with calling cards in foreign countries is that whether they
are a good idea or not depends on whether you have free phone service or
free broadband service. If you have to use the calling card from a
prepaid mobile phone you need to add 10 or more cents per minute to the
long distance rates (more like 20 or more cents per minute in Europe),
which makes them not so nice; it is only really good if you have a way
to phone the access number at no charge. If you have broadband (either
for free or for other reasons) Skype or some other service is attactive.
Since broadband seems to be more easily available than phones which make
free (or cheap) local calls when you travel these days, I've not bought
a calling card anywhere for a long time.
To tell the truth, Skype's rates to anywhere where they charge more than
2.1 cents per minute aren't all that wonderful (long distance on my
Cingular phone usually matches or beats it), I doubt they are losing money
on any of it. For travel they're a godsend, though, particularly Skype
since it can work its way around most firewalls and other blockage.
The rates they charge are the same where ever you are even if the
rates you've found from the phone companies where you are are extortionate.
Dennis Ferguson
| |
| Steven J. Sobol 2007-03-17, 4:33 am |
| In article <eteeoj$844$2@aioe.org>, Todd Allcock wrote:
> I have a Voicestick account as well- it's much cheaper than Skype for
> occasional use and includes the incoming number for free (another
> business model dooomed to failure, I suspect!)
Incoming minutes are free? or do you get the number for free but still have to
pay for the minutes?
--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows
Victorville, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED
It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room.
| |
| Todd Allcock 2007-03-17, 4:33 am |
| At 17 Mar 2007 02:01:26 +0000 Steven J. Sobol wrote:
> In article <eteeoj$844$2@aioe.org>, Todd Allcock wrote:
>
>
> Incoming minutes are free? or do you get the number for free but still
have to
> pay for the minutes?
Incoming number AND minutes are free. This is nothing new really,
Stanaphone has given free numbers and incoming for free for years, but
they issue New York numbers only- Voicestick lets you choose a number
from almost every area code.
| |
| Todd Allcock 2007-03-17, 4:33 am |
| At 16 Mar 2007 17:14:01 -0500 Dennis Ferguson wrote:
> My experience with calling cards in foreign countries is that whether
they
> are a good idea or not depends on whether you have free phone service or
> free broadband service. If you have to use the calling card from a
> prepaid mobile phone you need to add 10 or more cents per minute to the
> long distance rates (more like 20 or more cents per minute in Europe),
> which makes them not so nice; it is only really good if you have a way
> to phone the access number at no charge.
True, but he'll be in the states- finding a phone to place a local or
800# call will be easy to find assume he stays with friends or at a hotel.
> If you have broadband (either
> for free or for other reasons) Skype or some other service is attactive.
> Since broadband seems to be more easily available than phones which make
> free (or cheap) local calls when you travel these days, I've not bought
> a calling card anywhere for a long time.
>
Depends where you travel, I guess. Unless you're backpacking in the
Rockies finding a phone to make a card call shouldn't be too hard.
They're at least as ubiquitous as a broadband "hotspot."
> To tell the truth, Skype's rates to anywhere where they charge more than
> 2.1 cents per minute aren't all that wonderful (long distance on my
> Cingular phone usually matches or beats it), I doubt they are losing
money
> on any of it. For travel they're a godsend, though, particularly Skype
> since it can work its way around most firewalls and other blockage.
Agreed. I've yet to find a broadband connection Skype couldn't get around,
while other (SIP-compliant) VoIPs were blocked.
| |
|
| Todd Allcock < elecconnec@AmericaOn
Line.com> wrote in
news:etfpa9$2k7$5@ai
oe.org:
> Agreed. I've yet to find a broadband connection Skype couldn't get
> around, while other (SIP-compliant) VoIPs were blocked.
>
>
>
Even works great on a forbidden Verizon Aircard.....(c;
Larry
--
Roll up to the long checkout line....
Yell, "ICE RAID!"
It's your turn to load the grocery belt...(c;
| |
| frog_escalator@hotmail.com 2007-03-18, 10:33 am |
| > Agreed. I've yet to find a broadband connection Skype couldn't get aroun=
d,
> while other (SIP-compliant) VoIPs were blocked.
Ah, would this apply for VoiceStick, i.e. would it be more likely to
get blocked than Skype?
I thought I had my options sussed out now, but if Skype is more
dependable than VoiceStick, maybe it'll be worth paying the $38 a year
extra (cost of a UK landline number)... This is what I'd thought to go
ahead with though, given everyone's advice here:
1) Buy a T-Mobile SIM card with a Chicago area code (for =A315/$28),
including $30 credit. This will go in my spare 1900 MHz unlocked
mobile phone.
2) Get a free London landline number through VoiceStick on their free
Next2Nothing tariff. Calls redirected to a US number cost only 2c a
minute incoming, or if I've got the PC switched on and use that for
the incoming calls, it'll be free. Calling out via the computer to UK
landlines with VoiceStick only costs 0.9c. I'm not likely to bother
making a lot of UK calls via the mobile phone, but I could do it for
just as cheaply using the VoiceStick i2Bridge feature (then paying the
10c/min T-Mobile cost; also pretty minimal really).
The internet connections I'd be using are likely to be domestic or
business (i.e. office, rather than say hotels etc.).
So... I guess the decision is between Skype or VoiceStick!
VoiceStick's call charges are less and the UK London landline number
is free, but that has to be balanced against how reliable/accessible
the service is in terms of firewalls blocking it.
Thanks again and thanks in advance for any further clarification. The
information from people here has been invaluable!
Johnny
| |
| Steven J. Sobol 2007-03-18, 10:33 am |
| In article <1174157437.976821.68630@e1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>, frog_escalator@hotma
il.com wrote:
>
> Ah, would this apply for VoiceStick, i.e. would it be more likely to
> get blocked than Skype?
A lot of places don't normally open port 5060.
> I thought I had my options sussed out now, but if Skype is more
> dependable than VoiceStick, maybe it'll be worth paying the $38 a year
> extra (cost of a UK landline number)... This is what I'd thought to go
> ahead with though, given everyone's advice here:
Not a question of more dependable - simply uses a port that isn't
widely blocked... port 80 is primarily used for HTTP and no place I
know of blocks it.
--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows
Victorville, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED
It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room.
| |
| Todd Allcock 2007-03-18, 10:33 am |
| At 17 Mar 2007 11:50:38 -0700 frog_escalator@hotma
il.com wrote:
> Ah, would this apply for VoiceStick, i.e. would it be more likely to=
> get blocked than Skype?
To a point, yes. Ports 5060 and 8080 have to be open for Voicestick t=
o
work. Skype needs 80, which is the port used for web browsing, and
always open.
> I thought I had my options sussed out now, but if Skype is more
> dependable than VoiceStick, maybe it'll be worth paying the $38 a ye=
ar
> extra (cost of a UK landline number)... This is what I'd thought to =
go
> ahead with though, given everyone's advice here:
>=20
> 1) Buy a T-Mobile SIM card with a Chicago area code (for =A315/$28)=
,
> including $30 credit. This will go in my spare 1900 MHz unlocked
> mobile phone.
>=20
> 2) Get a free London landline number through VoiceStick on their fre=
e
> Next2Nothing tariff. Calls redirected to a US number cost only 2c a
> minute incoming, or if I've got the PC switched on and use that for
> the incoming calls, it'll be free. Calling out via the computer to U=
K
> landlines with VoiceStick only costs 0.9c. I'm not likely to bother
> making a lot of UK calls via the mobile phone, but I could do it for=
> just as cheaply using the VoiceStick i2Bridge feature (then paying t=
he
> 10c/min T-Mobile cost; also pretty minimal really).
True. T e nice thingabout that is that the PC doesn't have to be on f=
or
the "bridge" to work.
>=20
> The internet connections I'd be using are likely to be domestic or
> business (i.e. office, rather than say hotels etc.).
In that case, you probably have control (or at least access to the peo=
ple
in control) of the firewalls and can open the necessary ports.
Even most hotels don't block a lot of ports- I did run into one in
Bellevue, Nebraska that did- when I called their tech support they tol=
d
me it was because someone staying at the hotel was doing some major
league file-sharing and they were trying to cut him off!
=20
> So... I guess the decision is between Skype or VoiceStick!
> VoiceStick's call charges are less and the UK London landline number=
> is free, but that has to be balanced against how reliable/accessible=
> the service is in terms of firewalls blocking it.
Again, millions of people use VoIP, and if you'll be using home/office=
broadband providers you should be fine. Worstcase scenario you can ca=
ll
out with the mobile via i2bridge, and you could set the Voicestick UK
number to forward to your cell if unaswered I believe.
=20
> Thanks again and thanks in advance for any further clarification. Th=
e
> information from people here has been invaluable!
Enjoy the trip!
| |
| Dennis Ferguson 2007-03-18, 10:33 am |
| On 2007-03-17, Larry <noone@home.com> wrote:
> Todd Allcock < elecconnec@AmericaOn
Line.com> wrote:
>
>
> Even works great on a forbidden Verizon Aircard.....(c;
This may be why I don't often have difficulty finding a broadband
connection to use Skype over when I travel in the US...
Dennis Ferguson
| |
|
| Todd Allcock wrote:
> At 16 Mar 2007 08:45:58 -0700 SMS wrote:
>
>
>
>
> Did GSM kick your dog when you were little Steve? ;-) I realize you
> have a pro-CDMA bias for your rural hiking/backpacking, etc. adventures
> in San Fransisco, but international traveling is what GSM does best!
Maybe he can obtain such a SIM, but if you go to T-Mobile, it's about
$50 for a prepaid SIM with a phone number.
The visitors I see to the U.S. are typically visiting places like
National Parks, and driving all over the place, Grand Canyon,
Yellowstone, Yosemite, etc., and are the ones that are most likely to
value the coverage that they get with CDMA/AMPS and be disappointed that
the U.S. GSM coverage isn't up to the level of what they get in Europe.
> I think the OP's attaction to T-Mo is cost and convenience. He
> apparently can procure a cheap US T-Mo SIM prior to his visit, stick it
> in the phone he already owns and has viable US service the moment he
> lands here.
>
> PagePlus has no storefront presence I've ever seen, so he needs to obtain
> a Verizon-compatible CDMA handset after he gets here (not a tremendous
> amount of those laying around the UK is there?), either from thrift-shop
> hunting, or for $50 at a Wal-Mart, then buy an "activation" on-line or
> over the phone with a credit card or Paypal. All to save a few pennies a
> minute? T-Mo is 10-cents a minute with $50 or $100 recharge cards, and
> he doesn't have to buy a phone- he's already lined up a started SIM for
> $11 US, so I doubt PagePlus will save him a cent.
Apparently he has not lined up such a SIM. Furthermore, he's planning to
use it in a 1900 MHz-only phone. Maybe this is okay with T-Mobile which
has conflicting statements on its web site regarding roaming onto 800
MHz networks, but his coverage is really going to suck.
> Sure Verizon has better coverage nationwide than T-Mobile does, but I,
> like 25 million other Americans, use T-Mo and we LIVE here- I think our
> holiday-maker friend from the UK will find T-Mo service to be more than
> adequate, and very inexpensive compared to other options!
Unless he travels outside native T-Mobile coverage area, something that
is very easy to do, and with prepaid you don't get full access to Cingular.
| |
| Todd Allcock 2007-03-18, 10:33 am |
| At 17 Mar 2007 18:02:18 -0700 SMS wrote:
> Maybe he can obtain such a SIM, but if you go to T-Mobile, it's about
> $50 for a prepaid SIM with a phone number.
Or $30 for a phone with the SIM in it.
> The visitors I see to the U.S. are typically visiting places like
> National Parks, and driving all over the place, Grand Canyon,
> Yellowstone, Yosemite, etc., and are the ones that are most likely
> to value the coverage that they get with CDMA/AMPS and be disappointed
> that the U.S. GSM coverage isn't up to the level of what they get in
> Europe.
>
I also travel to National Parks and I concede I sometimes have no
service, (much like the millions of visitors who traveled to them before
the cellphone was invented!) ;-)
Sure T-Mo's service isn't as ubiquitous as Verizon's but again, it's
seemingly good enough for the 25 million T-Mo USA customers. There are
degrees of service. If you argue that you should only use Verizon
because T-Mo (or Cingular, or whoever) doesn't have coverage as good as
Verizon's, then the logical conclusion to that argument is that you
should only use a satellite phone because it works in places that Verizon
doesn't.
> Apparently he has not lined up such a SIM.
He simply hasn't purchased it yet- he posted it's about $28 with $30 of
airtime.
> Furthermore, he's planning to use it in a 1900 MHz-only phone. Maybe
> this is okay with T-Mobile
> which has conflicting statements on its
> web site regarding roaming onto 800 MHz networks, but his coverage is
> really going to suck.
1900-only is perfectly ok with T-Mobile, since all native T-Mo coverage
in the US is 1900. T-Mo does have 800 MHz coverage with roaming partners
but these are mostly rural. Off the top of my head I can't think of
anywhere I've been where my phone (quad-band with 800) worked and my
wife's (tri-band with no 800) didn't, except maybe some small portions of
interstates 80 and 70 driving from Denver to Omaha and Denver to Kansas
City.
> Unless he travels outside native T-Mobile coverage area, something that
> is very easy to do, and with prepaid you don't get full access to
Cingular.
You don't get full access to Cingular on post-paid either, but I haven't
found that to be a significant problem. I've used Cingular TDMA prepaid
phones as backup because my T-Mo phone is my business phone. Other than
not wanting to miss potentially important business calls when I'm off the
beaten path, I don't really feel the need for ubiquitous coverage for
personal calls. In addition, I was amazed at how little I've needed a
backup phone in the last year or so- T-Mo has added so much coverage in
the last couple of years (mostly through expanded roaming agreements)
that my TDMA/analog phone has used less than ten minutes in the last two
years!
| |
| frog_escalator@hotmail.com 2007-03-18, 10:33 am |
| Regarding coverage, the vast bulk of my time during this visit to the
US will be spent in Chicago. I'll probably also do some trips to
Kansas City MO and Spokane WA/Coeur d'Alene ID (all of which have good
coverage according to T-Mobile's map).
Blanket coverage in rural areas isn't something that is important for
me. My main reason for having the phone is to be contactable in
Chicago and to be able to function socially and business-wise in the
city -- these days, it seems mobile phones have become almost
indispensible for that. And as I already have a spare phone that I
know works in America, I wouldn't be interested in spending money on a
new and different type of phone.
Whenever I visit rural places, it's generally when I'm on holiday or
wanting to relax, so at those times (whichever country I'm in) I'll
often turn my phone off, or ignore it if it rings/bleeps. I like being
uncontactable at times!
| |
|
| Todd Allcock < elecconnec@AmericaOn
Line.com> wrote in news:ethjii$r7s$1
@aioe.org:
> Skype needs 80, which is the port used for web browsing, and
> always open.
>
Skype doesn't "need" any port. You can assign it any port you want in its
preferences options. I run 3 Skypes on the same account, at home, one on
my laptop, one on the main computer with Vox For Skype so I can use Skype
with my cellphone and one on the Netgear SPH101 Skype Phone roaming around
the house. All 3 are on different ports.
They do open up the ports, which simply eliminates the need to PORT the
router for calls, which is very convenient. The data routed through your
Skype for other users, which uses very little bandwidth, opens up those
ports, as well.
My Skype doesn't use port 80 at all....??
Larry
--
Roll up to the long checkout line....
Yell, "ICE RAID!"
It's your turn to load the grocery belt...(c;
| |
|
| Dennis Ferguson <dcferguson@pacbell.net> wrote in
news:slrnevoteq.8p.dcferguson@akit-ferguson.com:
> On 2007-03-17, Larry <noone@home.com> wrote:
>
> This may be why I don't often have difficulty finding a broadband
> connection to use Skype over when I travel in the US...
>
> Dennis Ferguson
>
All my Skypes are assigned some really high, unused, port numbers which
are always available. If the assigned port isn't available, Skype just
opens one at random and tries it, anyways. Assigning it a port just
makes it logon faster.
Larry
--
Roll up to the long checkout line....
Yell, "ICE RAID!"
It's your turn to load the grocery belt...(c;
| |
| Todd Allcock 2007-03-18, 3:33 pm |
| At 18 Mar 2007 18:13:32 +0000 Larry wrote:
>
> Skype doesn't "need" any port. You can assign it any port you want in
its
> preferences options. I run 3 Skypes on the same account, at home, one
on
> my laptop, one on the main computer with Vox For Skype so I can use
Skype
> with my cellphone and one on the Netgear SPH101 Skype Phone roaming
around
> the house. All 3 are on different ports.
Fair enough- "needs" was a very poor choice of words. Unlike other
VoIPs, Skype can utilitize port 80, which is darned convenient sinc few,
if any, firewalls block port 80 (since it's used for http.)
While you're free to assign any ports you like for any purpose at your
home, Larry, we were talking about environments with very restrictive
firewalls, like some hotels, (or even cellular providers!) that close ALL
"unnecessary" ports. In these cases Skype's ability to fall back on port
80 allows it to work where other VoIPs might not.
One of those rare times when "non-standard" implementation has benefits!
;-)
| |
|
|
|
| Todd Allcock < elecconnec@AmericaOn
Line.com> wrote in news:etk5s4$8v5$1
@aioe.org:
> In these cases Skype's ability to fall back on port
> 80 allows it to work where other VoIPs might not.
>
>
Good point. I hadn't considered it. I seem to have Skype on the high
ports at all wifi hotspots, even the commercial ones I have to logon to
through a webpage. Perhaps I will change the laptop to Port 80 if it
becomes necessary.
I sure wished the Sony Mylo hadn't been such a disappointment. It's the
first wifi Skype phone with a built-in web browser you can logon to these
damned web browser based hotspots with that my Netgear SPH101 will
not..no browser. But, after seeing it had no speakerphone for $350, even
though it HAS A SPEAKER AND MP3 AUDIO THROUGH IT....Someone at Sony must
have been too drunk on saki to engineer it. Just like Betamax, Sony has
pulled another major boner in Mylo. I wanted one just so bad. Maybe
version 2 will fix it. There are lots of other Skype things it doesn't
do...for $350....
Larry
--
Message for Comcrap Internet Customers:
http://tinyurl.com/3ayl9c
Unlimited Service my XXX.....(d^:)
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