Travel Technology - Skype, Vonage V-Phone, or Wireless VOIP Phone?

Hi there,

What is your recommendation for calling while abroad? I will be traveling to multiple countries. Is Skype, Vonage V-Phone, or Wireless VOIP Phone the right choice?

Thanks for any help!

Hi there,

What is your recommendation for calling while abroad? I will be traveling to multiple countries. Is Skype, Vonage V-Phone, or Wireless VOIP Phone the right choice?

Thanks for any help!

if u have access to internet, high speed preferably then skype is your best bet. calls usa canada are free till end of the year, and calls from anywhere else to pretty much anywhere else are usually are about 0.015 USD a minute..

all u need is a headphone and or mic/speakers on your computer.

u can check radio shack, they used to sell a promo a while back ago for i think 10USD, u got 10$ credit and a pair of in ear headphones with built in mic.

ciao ciao..,
a.

if u have access to internet, high speed preferably then skype is your best bet. calls usa canada are free till end of the year, and calls from anywhere else to pretty much anywhere else are usually are about 0.015 USD a minute..

all u need is a headphone and or mic/speakers on your computer.

u can check radio shack, they used to sell a promo a while back ago for i think 10USD, u got 10$ credit and a pair of in ear headphones with built in mic.

ciao ciao..,
a.


I second Skype, as it's free or inexpensive, easy to use, and has had consistently good call quality for me.

I got a 30 minute credit with my headset for $10.

I have a Nokia E61 sect-band (800/900/1800/1900/2100mhz) phone with wifi. On the wifi side, I signed up for a free account with truphone.com which has free calls to the US until the end of the year. Where I am on wifi, I'll call free. Where I am off wifi, I can pretty much roam anywhere. Underneath the dashes is a solution I am using when I am in Europe or most of Asia. I originally posted it to a different thread so it might seem a little non-responsive.


=============================

I have skimmed through the past eleven pages of the forum post, but if I am hitting things previously covered please excuse me. I travel a great deal and just wanted to share my solutions.

I have a Cingular with their Global Blackberry plan which gives me unlimited Blackberry data access all around the world. I also pay Cingular $2.99 a month for a feature called fast forward which gives me unlimited domestic call forwarding. When I jump on a plane, I literally forward my calls just before the cabin doors shut.

When I get on a European bound plane, I pack a second phone which is basic quad band unlocked phone. I have a Riiing SIM like the prior posters. I purchased for $1 a month a US 800 number from callbackworld.com that forwards to my Riiing SIM at US$0.14 a minute. I also normally use their callback service. I trigger their callback service using my Cingular phone. This permits me to make outgoing calls to the States at $0.14 a minute.

Something prior posters have not focused on is the cost of voicemail when abroad. There is a little covered “gotcha” here. When you are standing in Europe and miss a call or are on the phone, the call gets routed back to the US on a conditional call divert. This means that you are billed for a call to Europe and back again or double the roaming rates. Most people don’t want to turn off their voicemail which means that the carrier charges you at least double for these calls. When I was in Africa, I once got nailed with $15 voicemails -- $5 to call Africa, $5 to forward the call back to the States, and $5 to retrieve the message. I was hit with these charges even when my phone was shut off because I had registered on the Tanzania network and carriers generally hold on to your registration.

Riiing coupled with callbackworld has changed my roaming rates hugely. I used to buy prepaid SIMs for the major countries I visited. I found that despite the slight inconvenience of the callback, this approach is worth it.

I also use a Nokia E61 (not an E62) as my Blackberry (connect) device. It has built in wifi and a voip client. Where I am in a wifi zone, I can make free calls. It is also possible to receive free calls, but that requires more tinkering if you want to always be reached at one number.

By the way, checkout prepaidgsm.net. It is a forum which specializes in roaming on the cheap. Prepaidgsm was favorably cited in a recent EU report criticizing the rates charged for international roaming.

Stu

Hi there,

What is your recommendation for calling while abroad? I will be traveling to multiple countries. Is Skype, Vonage V-Phone, or Wireless VOIP Phone the right choice?

Thanks for any help!

Skype for me.

As long as you have a fast internet connection it will work. No need to tinker and config - it always works.

Hi there,

What is your recommendation for calling while abroad? I will be traveling to multiple countries. Is Skype, Vonage V-Phone, or Wireless VOIP Phone the right choice?

Thanks for any help!

I have an MPLAT flash phone http://www.mplat.com/ and like it a lot. It has integrated sound card, so all you need is to find a computer (internet cafe, hotel, your own laptop, or whatever) with an internet connection and a USB port (computer doesnt even need a sound card).

It is loaded with Skype and you will need a Skype account for this.

Note that some hotels ... even some countries (eg Dubai) block VOIP phones and this solution wont work in those cases. I have used successfully everywhere except Dubai so far.

if u have access to internet, high speed preferably then skype is your best bet. calls usa canada are free till end of the year, and calls from anywhere else to pretty much anywhere else are usually are about 0.015 USD a minute..

all u need is a headphone and or mic/speakers on your computer.

u can check radio shack, they used to sell a promo a while back ago for i think 10USD, u got 10$ credit and a pair of in ear headphones with built in mic.

ciao ciao..,
a.

Given my most recent experience, calling US numbers (other than US toll free numbers) via Skype is not free if overseas, for example, in Europe. That, or something else is going on.

Given my most recent experience, calling US numbers (other than US toll free numbers) via Skype is not free if overseas, for example, in Europe. That, or something else is going on.
I think its around 2 cents per minute ...

I think its around 2 cents per minute ...

€.02 per minute is right for what I last pulled up. The upside is that US toll free numbers are still free.

I have an MPLAT flash phone http://www.mplat.com/ and like it a lot. It has integrated sound card, so all you need is to find a computer (internet cafe, hotel, your own laptop, or whatever) with an internet connection and a USB port (computer doesnt even need a sound card).

It is loaded with Skype and you will need a Skype account for this.

Note that some hotels ... even some countries (eg Dubai) block VOIP phones and this solution wont work in those cases. I have used successfully everywhere except Dubai so far.

Skype is blocked in most of the UAE. It is not blocked in the Free Trade Zone, e.g. Internet City, Media City, Knowledge Village, etc. It also works in the Greens, the Lakes, Emirate Hills, etc. If the distinction seems arbitrary, it is because those areas are served by a competing ISP/phone company.

Given my most recent experience, calling US numbers (other than US toll free numbers) via Skype is not free if overseas, for example, in Europe. That, or something else is going on.

i stand corrected, what i meant to say is calls from skype to another skype individual (computer to computer and its various interpretations ie computer to pda with skype etc) are all free...

numbers to a landline are charged as per GUWonder and others have stated.

Skype is blocked in most of the UAE. It is not blocked in the Free Trade Zone, e.g. Internet City, Media City, Knowledge Village, etc. It also works in the Greens, the Lakes, Emirate Hills, etc. If the distinction seems arbitrary, it is because those areas are served by a competing ISP/phone company.

Two weeks ago, I used SKYPE from the JW Marriott and the OW lounge at the Dubai airport. Flawless.

Skype is blocked in most of the UAE. It is not blocked in the Free Trade Zone, e.g. Internet City, Media City, Knowledge Village, etc. It also works in the Greens, the Lakes, Emirate Hills, etc. If the distinction seems arbitrary, it is because those areas are served by a competing ISP/phone company.

Two weeks ago, I used SKYPE from the JW Marriott and the OW lounge at the Dubai airport. Flawless.


Good to know ... thanks. It was the Raddisson, I think, where I couldnt get it to work. When I asked the hotel they told me the block was countrywide. Now I know that isnt quite the case. Thanks again!

I personally favor a very nerdy approach involving my own Trixbox VoIP server and some fancy footwork with an unlocked GSM phone....but its probably more than most people want to get into.

I've played with several WiFi phones and I can safely say that I'm not aware of any at this point that will give you what you want. The two biggest problems you'll face are 1) clearing captive portals (log in pages for wifi hotspots) and 2) some way to traverse NAT. Since wifi phones dont typically have a screen with an internet browser (exception is the WIP330) its hard to log in, even to free hotspots that have splash screens. The second problem is the one that most people dont think about. Since 2 way audio requires incoming packets and most people arn't going to change their NAT settings for you...then it can be a problem. If you find a phone with VPN or STUN support, or a provider that does "symetrical RTP' then you might not have problems (broadvoice, for example supports SRTP).

I guess what I'm saying is this...its not the absloute cheapest or nerdiest method but Skype is probably your best bet.

If you want to go the nerdy route let me know...you can do this for next to free (as in beer) :)

If you want to go the nerdy route let me know...you can do this for next to free (as in beer) :)

Please share!

Please share!
Ok...but I warned you, its geeked out! :D

Here's a post I did a while ago, pretty close but not the same thing I used last time (2 weeks ago)
http://www.archatechs.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3

I've also mentioned that here once or twice but I cannot find the threads.

Here's the basic idea: I run my own VoIP server using something called Trixbox (http://www.trixbox.org) which is basically a linux CD you download, stick in an older PC and it installes a fully functional VoIP server in less than an hour (so they claim). Once installed you controll this beast via a web interface.

Since I use VoIP for my home, and home office, I have a few different providers. I use a company called <a href="http://www.broadvoice.com/?ReferredBy=8045628636">
BroadVoice</a> (theres a referral built into the URL, I'm shamless!) which is frankly so-so. I've had a lot of success with them, but a lot of people I talk to say they can be flaky. Regardless they offer unlimited or very inexpensive (less than $0.02 / min) to Europe. You can also search around on Voip-Info (http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/) and often find FREE services that will let you call Europe. I've been told that many don't include free calls to euro cells though.

So, for all intents that takes care of outbound calling to Europe. It can be free or nearly free for me since I have them for home phone anyway. However, like I said, its easy to find other options including pay-as-you-go...where you charge an account with like $10 using paypal.

Then I try and find an inbound DID (local number) for the country / place I'm going to visit. I've used Voxbone (http://www.voxbone.com) with GREAT success, but they arn't free (and I did say free, as in beer)...so another option is something called an ENUM gateway. This gets tricky but think of it like this...you sign up for a free "internet only" phone number...its more than 7 or 10 digits, and can only be called from one VoIP device to another. BUT there are tons of free PSTN-> Enum gateways around the world. You call up, they prompt you for an enum number then connect you for free.... so that gets closer. Alternativly, there are services like Freedigits (http://www.freedigits.com) in the US that actually give you a free DID. They are rare in Europe, but can be found.

Thats where a Trixbox feature called "callback" come into play. But first...the phones.

I have 2 unlocked GSM phones with some SIM cards I've collected from various trips. Each has anywhere from 5 euros - 10 euros but not much more. I know the numbers for each of these cards. So, I go into Trixbox and setup an "inbound route" that says 'when I call one of my own numbers (including enum) from one of my own SIM cards give me a busy signal'...in effect the call never goes through, so I'm never charged against my outbound credits. Then the trixbox server calls me back on which ever number I called from (this is all automated and configured through the web interface, remember...easier than it sounds)...so thats an incoming call...which is free for most providers! Then when I answer it, I get a dialtone...so I can turn around and call out again...and since its a dialtone coming from MY server in Virginia, USA the call goes out just like I was at home (or I can select another 'trunk' like my Georgia trunk).... regardless Broadvoice offeres free unlimited calls around the US...

So... considering I already pay for Broadvoice and I have already amassed the SIM cards for Spain, Ireland and France...its nearly free for me. If I dont want to pay for a Voxbone DID (or cannot find a free one) then I can use Enum, which takes about 15 seconds max to make the (paid) outbound call...but I still use callback in that case.

That leaves people calling me.
I can do any number of things there too. On my incoming work line I change my "digital receptionist" from "press 1 to leave me a message" to also include, usually, an unannounced option of pressing, say 7, to connect to my phone in Europe. Since it goes out over VoIP it doesnt the calling party any more than calling me in Virginia...and since you can get tollfree DIDs for next to nothing...well I wont go there. You can even put time constraints around things to make sure no one calls during sleepy time in Europe.

So, its not 100% free and it takes a LOT of nerd work...but if you are of the geeky sort and doing mind tinkering and researching, you can do this very cheaply... and that enum thing has saved my tons of times... no cell service? just go to a pay phone, make a local call in the country you are in and get a dial tone on your home server.

I also setup a way to call the server from one call, have it hang up and call both of my cells back and "conference" us...so its like free cell-to-cell calling...but thats another trick :D

finally, and here's why it may also make sense to do this...with a headset (bluetooth or wired) and a 'softphone' you can use your PC just like Skype (which won't be free much longer) or Vonage... And if you migrate your home phones or at least one to VoIP (or use an adaptor) then you can call b/t home and your PC for free too...which is nice for the solo traveler with family.