Confused About Mobile Phone Plans

I am trying to find the best mobile (cellular) phone or wireless solution.

My blood relatives are within a 200 mile (360 km) radius, and I live less
than 2 miles from my job site.

My wife and daughter however are overseas, about 11,000 miles (17,000 km)
away. I want to be able to dial from my mobile to either a mobile or
landline to the target country.

What bothers me is the widely varying per-minute rates on calls to the
country from the United States (note: I don't want international
roaming...I don't care if my phone works when I travel to that
country...and it probably won't anyway, even with the promise of carriers)

Consider:

Recommended to me was a carrier called Metro PCS, which wants $0.05/min
from my mobile to any landline in the target country, and $0.24/min mobile-
to-mobile. I don't know what individual plan I want.

T-Mobile, whose Get More 1000 Plus Promotional seems a fit for me, wants
$0.69 / minute to the target country.

Verizon wants $1.49/min under their "Standard International Dialing" but
$0.35/min if one pays $4 fixed a month under the "International LD Value
Plan."

I talked to a girl at customer service from Sprint-Nextel whose English
could have used a lot of improvement and who sounded like she was talking
from a can strung to a wire (can it be heard in New Dehli?), and she told
me at first that the rate was 2.49 / minute WITH a per month flat $4
international calling option, and $4.19/minute WITHOUT the plan. I could
hardly believe what I heard, then went to the website and found out she did
not know what she was talking about: there is a $4 fixed month to join an
international special plan, which costs $0.34/min with the plan (add
$0.12/min if made to a mobile) and $1.99/min without the plan ("standard").

I have not yet checked AT&T/Cingular yet.

The MetroPCS rates look quite attractive to me.

But as with anything: what's the catch?

I know that MetroPCS is some kind of pre-pay rather than post-pay system---
still don't know how it works.

I am guessing that MetroPCS has lower rates, and a no-contract system
because of what? Poor coverage? Poor voice quality because they use the
Internet (packet-switched networks) instead of dedicated circuits (PSTN)?

Someone please tell me why wireless companies vary so much in terms of
plans and prices and quality.

On Jul 17, 2:07 am, Five By Five <5...@5x5.com> wrote:
> My wife and daughter however are overseas, about 11,000 miles (17,000 km)
> away. I want to be able to dial from my mobile to either a mobile or
> landline to the target country.

What about VoIP... do they have reliable internet access?

Buy a VoIP box and register it locally and then ship it to them. Then
they can call you or you can call them and it's a "local" call.

-Eric

Brontide <ericew@gmail.com> wrote in
news:1184686821.624941.239190@z28g2000prd.googlegroups.com:

> On Jul 17, 2:07 am, Five By Five <5...@5x5.com> wrote:
>> My wife and daughter however are overseas, about 11,000 miles (17,000
>> km) away. I want to be able to dial from my mobile to either a
>> mobile or landline to the target country.
>
> What about VoIP... do they have reliable internet access?
>
> Buy a VoIP box and register it locally and then ship it to them. Then
> they can call you or you can call them and it's a "local" call.

Isn't that basically a low rez webcam with microphone attached to the PC?
Like Yahoo/Microsoft/Google/ICQ chat or Skype?

How are these technologies distinct?

Thanks.

Five By Five wrote:
> Brontide <ericew@gmail.com> wrote in
> news:1184686821.624941.239190@z28g2000prd.googlegroups.com:
>
>
>>On Jul 17, 2:07 am, Five By Five <5...@5x5.com> wrote:
>>
>>>My wife and daughter however are overseas, about 11,000 miles (17,000
>>>km) away. I want to be able to dial from my mobile to either a
>>>mobile or landline to the target country.
>>
>>What about VoIP... do they have reliable internet access?
>>
>>Buy a VoIP box and register it locally and then ship it to them. Then
>>they can call you or you can call them and it's a "local" call.
>
>
> Isn't that basically a low rez webcam with microphone attached to the PC?
> Like Yahoo/Microsoft/Google/ICQ chat or Skype?
>
> How are these technologies distinct?
>
> Thanks.

Depends on which you use.

When I traveled to Taiwan, I took my Vonage box with me. I plugged it
into the hotel ethernet port, plugged the hotel phone into the Vonage
box, and was then able to use the phone both sending and receiving calls
with no extra charges exactly as if I were sitting at home in New Mexico
- except that everybody at home was asleep when I was awake. I'm on the
$15/mo plan, which is actually about $22/mo with taxes and fees. But
what you really pay for with Vonage is being able to dial to non-VOIP
users, which you don't really need if you're just calling your wife.

There are also "pure" VOIP solutions like Skype. I haven't used them
but I think maybe you can buy a special phone that's more normal instead
of sitting at your PC.

If you don't want to rely on a company like Vonage or Skype and just
want direct VOIP with regular telephones, you could buy SIP adapters for
both you and your wife (again,assuming you both have broadband). That
takes a little knowhow, but you can figure it out if you do some digging
on the Web. Actually I think that could be a very good solution since
you're mainly calling one person and can ensure they have an IP address.

Five By Five <5x5@5x5.com> wrote in news:Xns996FEB50DB30F5x55x5@
207.115.33.102:

> NNTP-Posting-Host: 67.166.145.199
>

I see from your Comcrap exposed IP you are in Sacremento if the reverse
DNS lookup is correct, right?

About any cellphone company that provides a usable signal has free long
distance in Sacremento to the 200 mile radius, no problem.

Overseas, is a problem on all of them. Greed sets in and they want some
god-awful LD rates to call Europe or anyplace else. But, I'm using the
solution.

Free is always nice. If the wifey has a laptop and broadband thousands
of miles away, you can talk to her for free 24/7 by simply downloading
Skype from www.skype.com and installing it on both computers. Make up
two accounts so she can have hers and you can have yours. You don't need
to buy Skype Out or In to talk to her Skype-to-Skype, which is always
free. Plug in your webcam and you can have live video with her, also
free. Put the whole family on Skype and you can conference all of them
anyplace on the planet that has broadband internet...all for free.

To call landlines from Skype, the US price is $30/YEAR, no time limits.
It's the cheapest landline telephone on the planet! To call from
landlines/cellphones INTO your Skype and have your own numbers (you can
have up to 10 incoming lines in LOTS of places/countries, not just home)
the price this year is $60/number. I have Skype phone numbers in SC and
London, UK, for my English friends. In the USA, you can get Skype In
numbers in thousands of places across the country. I have a friend with
5 numbers...Boston, NYC, Atlanta, San Francisco and Seattle. Call any
one of them, his Skype phone rings. We both use Netgear SPH101 wifi
Skype phones at home on our wifi LANs. When away from home, Skype
forwards any calls from any numbers or Skype-to-Skype to my cellphone on
Skype Out. Skype Out is on unlimited service if it connects to ANY wifi
in the USA or Canada including AK and HI. Anyplace my laptop or Netgear
Skype phone find a hotspot...I can make and get calls from Skype out or
in or Skype-to-Skype....no extra charges or other cellphone gimmicks.

Skype Out charges up from your credit card either on the interface on
your computer or via the webpage $10 at a time. That's over 7 hours of
LD to Europe or Asia or Australia at 1.9c/min. What a bargain! But not
as cheap as Mobivox....read on....(c;

If you insist on calling her from your cellphone, either to her Skype or
cellphone or landline, you can very cheaply bypass the greedy cellphone
bastards and make up two Mobivox accounts to match your Skype accounts.
Go to www.mobivox.com and simply sign up. Charge up Mobivox for $10 with
your credit card. Find the closest Mobivox access port, a telephone
number you will call from your cellphones here and there to MAKE calls.
With free LD, you'll only burn up airtime during primetime, no charge if
you have unlimited nights/weekends and make calls during free time. I
live in Charleston, SC, and the closes Mobivox port for me is in
Charlotte. Works fantastic. Most civilized countries cost you
$US0.019/min FROM YOUR CELLPHONE or any phone, even pay phones. When you
setup your Mobivox account, use your cellphone as the access number so
Mobivox automatically identifies your caller ID and never requires
username/password access...automating access. Mobivox uses a very
intelligent voice interface you simply talk to. If you feel better, it
also accepts phone tones. Mobivox accesses your Skype contact list from
the Skype server. You store all your Skype contacts and telephone
numbers on your Skype on your computer. Skype stores all your contact
info on the SERVER, not the program, so up to 10 Skype computers/phones
on your account will have access always to the same contact list which
downloads at bootup. Mobivox reads your contact list when you call it.
It will read you who is on Skype and invite you to call them by simply
saying their Skype name. You can also tell Mobivox to "Call (country
code-number)" and it will dial it for you at 1.9c/min, unless you're
calling her cell with a shared charging system where you have to pay some
of her phone charges. The LD rates on Skype and Mobivox are on their
respective websites. Calling Bahrain cellphones costs me 25c/min.

Don't believe the telecom bull**** that says Skype is awful quality,
echos like mad, drops calls, all the bad stuff. It just doesn't happen.
Talking from South Carolina to Perth, Australia, with full colo(u)r video
is just like calling next door on a landline...but with video. You
CANNOT make Skype calls on low bandwidth dialup. It takes about 110Kbps
for voice, lots more with colo(u)r video. You're not using Skype calling
Mobivox from your cellphone, by the way.

So, to call her cell, you add her phone number to your Skype contact list
in Outer Slobovia. Give it a simple name, like "Karen". You autodial
your Mobivox access number, airtime starts on your cell. "Call Karen"
you tell it. Mobivox sees you have $12.42 in your pre-charged-with-your-
credit-card Mobivox account and calls her using Mobivox's long distance
service. Karen's cellphone rings seconds later and you've beat the
bastards out of $2.49/minute to call her.

Much better......(c;

Set up a schedule to call her when you are both "at home" on both ends,
on Skype-to-Skype, not phones. Talk for hours. Set up both Skypes to
autoanswer the calls with the video camera on and you can even watch your
house from someplace else if you like. (Don't do this if you have a
local girlfriend, obviously!...(c

Larry
--
While in Mexico, I didn't have to press 1 for Spanish.
While in Iran, I didn't have to press 1 for Farsi, either.
While in Florida, I had to press 2 for English.
It just isn't fair.

On 2007-07-17, Five By Five <5x5@5x5.com> wrote:
> I have not yet checked AT&T/Cingular yet.
>
> The MetroPCS rates look quite attractive to me.
>
> But as with anything: what's the catch?
>
> I know that MetroPCS is some kind of pre-pay rather than post-pay system---
> still don't know how it works.
>
> I am guessing that MetroPCS has lower rates, and a no-contract system
> because of what? Poor coverage? Poor voice quality because they use the
> Internet (packet-switched networks) instead of dedicated circuits (PSTN)?
>
> Someone please tell me why wireless companies vary so much in terms of
> plans and prices and quality.

Every one of the wireless companies does stuff to attract customers,
and then does other stuff to try to get their money. MetroPCS has
sparse coverage (at least in the SF bay area), expensive domestic
roaming (usually included by the other companies) and extracts additional
monthly fees from you for services like call forwarding, voice mail
and domestic long distance which other companies throw in for free.
To attact customers despite this they offer quite competitive prices for
people who use their phone a lot but would have trouble with a credit
check, and they have those very nice overseas long distance rates (often
cheaper than domestic long distance if you don't include the $5/month add
on). Other companies have other features to attact customers, but generally
set overseas long distance rates to make a lot of money and to cover losses
when post-paid phones are used to make a lot of calls that aren't paid
for.

I think MetroPCS' overseas long distance is provided by a VoIP service.
The two calls I made using the service had okay quality, but you might
want to check this as well as the coverage in your area before investing
too much in their service. I have no idea what the return policy for
their phones is.

I sometimes make overseas long distance calls from my phone, so I
looked at MetroPCS at one point. I really needed a phone I could travel
with, however, so I decided to go elsewhere. AT&T has the next best
overseas long distance rates if you pay them $4/month.

Dennis Ferguson

Five By Five wrote:
> Brontide <ericew@gmail.com> wrote in
> news:1184686821.624941.239190@z28g2000prd.googlegroups.com:
>
>> On Jul 17, 2:07 am, Five By Five <5...@5x5.com> wrote:
>>> My wife and daughter however are overseas, about 11,000 miles (17,000
>>> km) away. I want to be able to dial from my mobile to either a
>>> mobile or landline to the target country.

>> What about VoIP... do they have reliable internet access?
>>
>> Buy a VoIP box and register it locally and then ship it to them. Then
>> they can call you or you can call them and it's a "local" call.
>
> Isn't that basically a low rez webcam with microphone attached to the PC?

No, it's a telephone that runs over the internet protocol instead of
over a cellular network or a traditional landline. VoIP doesn't
imply anything about a microphone or webcam. That, too, can be done
over the internet, but VoIP (to me at least) implies that there is
some connection to the PSTN (the regular public telephone network).

In other words, you can ship them such a box and they will have a local
phone number in whatever area code you choose. Probably that would be
your area code since you could then call without paying a toll.

- Logan

In article <Xns996FEB50DB30F5x55x5@207.115.33.102>,
Five By Five <5x5@5x5.com> wrote:

> I am trying to find the best mobile (cellular) phone or wireless solution.
>
> My blood relatives are within a 200 mile (360 km) radius, and I live less
> than 2 miles from my job site.
>
> My wife and daughter however are overseas, about 11,000 miles (17,000 km)
> away. I want to be able to dial from my mobile to either a mobile or
> landline to the target country.
>
> What bothers me is the widely varying per-minute rates on calls to the
> country from the United States (note: I don't want international
> roaming...I don't care if my phone works when I travel to that
> country...and it probably won't anyway, even with the promise of carriers)

You are going about this search the wrong way. Rather than placing cell
phone plans and cost at the top of your list, I suggest you look into
reliability and service quality first, then look at cost.

Even the lowest cost cell phone plan will be useless to you if it
doesn't work in your community. Ask friends, neighbors, and coworkers
what they recommend, then select from the calling plans of those
providers and ignore the providers that get the most complaints in your
area.

I agree that you need to find the best cellular provider first. It could be
Metro PCS whose unlimited minutes and nothing else can save you some bug
bucks. Coverage and roaming capabilities are their sacrifice. Bego borry
or steal a phone to make sure it works where you go.

Then, as an alternative, check for international long distance cards, they
could be very cheap. Many cards focus on just one country and some sell a
block of LD time, like:

http://globetalk.primustel.com/prepaidWeb/index.jsp

Any string of required numbers can be programmed into any wireless phone,
and you can make calls with the press of just a few buttons. With these
int'l LD cards, your choice of wireless carrier is moot...pick the best rate
since you'll oly be callin a local, 800 or, possibily an US LD number, only.


-Bill Radio
-Cellular Reviews and News at:
http://www.mountainwireless.com



"Five By Five" <5x5@5x5.com> wrote in message
news:Xns996FEB50DB30F5x55x5@207.115.33.102...
>
> I am trying to find the best mobile (cellular) phone or wireless solution.
>
> My blood relatives are within a 200 mile (360 km) radius, and I live less
> than 2 miles from my job site.
>
> My wife and daughter however are overseas, about 11,000 miles (17,000 km)
> away. I want to be able to dial from my mobile to either a mobile or
> landline to the target country.



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Jul 17, 11:56 am, Five By Five <5...@5x5.com> wrote:
> Brontide <eri...@gmail.com> wrote innews:1184686821.624941.239190@z28g2000prd.googlegroups.com:
>
> > On Jul 17, 2:07 am, Five By Five <5...@5x5.com> wrote:
> >> My wife and daughter however are overseas, about 11,000 miles (17,000
> >> km) away. I want to be able to dial from my mobile to either a
> >> mobile or landline to the target country.
>
> > What about VoIP... do they have reliable internet access?
>
> > Buy a VoIP box and register it locally and then ship it to them. Then
> > they can call you or you can call them and it's a "local" call.
>
> Isn't that basically a low rez webcam with microphone attached to the PC?
> Like Yahoo/Microsoft/Google/ICQ chat or Skype?
>
> How are these technologies distinct?
>
> Thanks.

VoIP has come a long way since the days of sitting in front of your
computer with a 3 second delay on the conversation. I started with
Vonage in 2003, they shipped me a box about the size of a hardcover
book I plugged in power, ethernet, and a phone and started making
calls. No one complained once about the quality of the call. I
swapped services recently. I swapped out the one box for one that is
smaller than a paperback. Just like last time plugged in and started
making and receiving calls.

Quality is somewhere between cell phone and a clean copper line
depending on settings and network issues. Provided there is decent
internet access and power, these proconfigured boxes will work
anywhere in the world.

-Eric

Brontide wrote:
> I started with
> Vonage in 2003, they shipped me a box about the size of a hardcover
> book I plugged in power, ethernet, and a phone and started making
> calls. No one complained once about the quality of the call. I
> swapped services recently. I swapped out the one box for one that is
> smaller than a paperback. Just like last time plugged in and started
> making and receiving calls.

I'm curious why you swapped services? Did you get out of Vonage without
a hefty disconnection fee?

Brontide wrote:

>
> Quality is somewhere between cell phone and a clean copper line
> depending on settings and network issues. Provided there is decent
> internet access and power, these proconfigured boxes will work
> anywhere in the world.
>
> -Eric
>

I find conversations with cordless phones unpleasant. Consonants can be
hard to understand and women's voices can be badly distorted. I think
most of the problem is in the design of the phones.

I use a headset, partly to have my hands free and partly to keep the mic
at an ideal position relative to my mouth. Listeners often identify
noises in the room, so I guess it improves the acoustics not to have the
mic in a plastic handset. However, this does nothing for the quality of
the audio I get from them.

By contrast, computer-computer conversations using Gizmo VoIP are clear
and pleasant for me.

E Z Peaces <cash@invalid.invalid> wrote
> Brontide wrote

>> Quality is somewhere between cell phone and a clean copper line
>> depending on settings and network issues. Provided there is decent
>> internet access and power, these proconfigured boxes will work
>> anywhere in the world.

> I find conversations with cordless phones unpleasant. Consonants can be hard to understand and
> women's voices can be badly distorted.

Then you have a **** cordless phone.

> I think most of the problem is in the design of the phones.

Mine doesnt do that.

> I use a headset, partly to have my hands free

I use a decent speakerphone almost all the time, the
speakerphone function on the well designed cordless phone.

> and partly to keep the mic at an ideal position relative to my mouth.

Not necessary with a properly designed cordless phone.

> Listeners often identify noises in the room,

Then its a badly designed headset, its sposed to eliminate those.

> so I guess it improves the acoustics not to have the mic in a plastic handset.

Guess again.

> However, this does nothing for the quality of the audio I get from them.

> By contrast, computer-computer conversations using Gizmo VoIP are clear and pleasant for me.

They are with a properly designed cordless phone too.

In article <f7tgs9$2er$1@registered.motzarella.org>,
E Z Peaces <cash@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> Brontide wrote:
>
> >
> > Quality is somewhere between cell phone and a clean copper line
> > depending on settings and network issues. Provided there is decent
> > internet access and power, these proconfigured boxes will work
> > anywhere in the world.
> >
> > -Eric
> >
>
> I find conversations with cordless phones unpleasant. Consonants can be
> hard to understand and women's voices can be badly distorted. I think
> most of the problem is in the design of the phones.

That depends on your cell phone. I used to have a lousy cell phone and
if it was the only one I used, I would agree with you. Now, I use a Palm
Treo 700p and the audio quality is as good as my landline phones at home
and work. I don't use a headset, but I do use my cell phone's
speakerphone feature when I can't hold the phone, such as when I am
driving, and it works fine.

Shawn Hirn wrote:
> In article <f7tgs9$2er$1@registered.motzarella.org>,
> E Z Peaces <cash@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Brontide wrote:
>>
>>> Quality is somewhere between cell phone and a clean copper line
>>> depending on settings and network issues. Provided there is decent
>>> internet access and power, these proconfigured boxes will work
>>> anywhere in the world.
>>>
>>> -Eric
>>>
>> I find conversations with cordless phones unpleasant. Consonants can be
>> hard to understand and women's voices can be badly distorted. I think
>> most of the problem is in the design of the phones.
>
> That depends on your cell phone. I used to have a lousy cell phone and
> if it was the only one I used, I would agree with you. Now, I use a Palm
> Treo 700p and the audio quality is as good as my landline phones at home
> and work. I don't use a headset, but I do use my cell phone's
> speakerphone feature when I can't hold the phone, such as when I am
> driving, and it works fine.

In my limited experience with cell phones, they have sounded better than
cordless phones. Nowadays, I think most landline conversations use
cordless phones. I've used several models over the last twenty years
and have never liked the fidelity.

I don't recall the problem with corded phones. In fact, I resort to my
cheap corded phone for maximum clarity although it's less convenient
than a cordless. People I call may get a name wrong until I spell it
with the phonetic alphabet, so I'm not the only one who has trouble.

Talking computer-computer with Gizmo VoIP is a pleasure because it's
clearer than cordless phones in my experience.