Internet phone calls

[david mcnamara]

Hello all,
I will be on vacation for two weeks in Mexico and was wondering if anyone had any experience with making phone calls back to the states. I know it is expensive to call collect and I already checked into using our cell phones which is also high in cost. I wondered if there was a internet calling service or something similar. Someone out there has done this before and we are traveling with a couple that has a child who is diabetic and may need to contact the states to talk to a medical professional to balance diet and such. I am just worried that they may be stuck on hold for some time and I don't want them to have a massive phone bill when they return. I don't think we will need to use this at all but once a boy scout always a boy scout "Be prepared"
Thank you in advance,
David McNamara

[Larry Browning]

David,
I have used Skype quite a bit to call from the US to a foreign country. It works quite well for that. I do not know how it would work from a foreign country to the US, but I would think it would work ok for that as well. The main drawback with any internet phone hookup would be having access to high speed internet. Dialup connections do not work for voice communications.
If it were me I would go to Skype's web site and do a little research there. If you cannot find the answer directly on their site, I'd bet they have a "contact us" page, where you would find a phone number or email address or some way to ask them your question.

BTW: If you can talk your the people you are wanting to call into also getting a Skype account, I know for a fact that you can call and talk Skype to Skype for free as long as both parties have high speed internat access. But it sounds like you will be calling a Dr. office or dietition that won't be willing to monitor a Skype phone.

Good luck!

[Paul Ryan]

David,

I am not a huge text messager but this past winter my wife and I went on a cruise. We left out 14 month old son with my parents. To keep in touch with out costing an arm an a leg we sent text messages. My blackberry has a text message plan so incomming messages were free to me, and out going on the ship was .10 a message. I think they might be free if you are in mexico because you wont have to use a ships satelite transmitter. Call your carrier and check it out. You could send messages and make a phone call if there is an emergency.

[Frank Hagan]

Skype might be the answer, but I don't know if you can call from a Mexico IP address using Skype (it depends on the country's laws). You do have to pay for the plan that calls a regular land line phone number, so it might not be worth signing up for one trip.

Check with your cell plan also. Sometimes you can upgrade to include Mexico or Canada for little cost. Or check out a prepaid phone you can rent (see This Link (http://www.cellularabroad.com/mexicophone1.php) for one plan). I think the rentals are going to be $50 plus minutes for two weeks, and the minutes are at .99 per minute incoming or outgoing.

Trip insurance might be cheaper if there is an emergency.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

My Brother travels all over the world Africa Belgium Spain you name it. He uses Skypie all the time.

[Curt Harms]

something like this (http://www.mindlogic.com/SIM_CTRY_mexico_DTL.shtml) might be worth checking into. If you existing cell phone isn't GSM, unlocked GSM phones are readily available on Ebay. Make sure they're quad band-quad band will work anywhere in the world AFAIK. I bought one for use in the caribbean; it also works with AT&T and T Mobile in the U.S.

HTH

Curt

[Jamie Delker]

I use Skype religiously to call around the world... granted, my friends all have it too. I don't think where you use it to call from if you're placing a call to a land line matters, you just have to have the software installed on the computer you're using, which might be an issue unless you're bringing your own laptop.

Or you could always rent a satellite phone for 30-40 bucks a week.

[Dave Lehnert]

Can you use a prepaid phone like tracfone? You can pick up a phone at the dollar store for $10. Airtime cards as low as $10-$20. I use a Tracfone and it works very well but only in the US for me. Never used one outside the US.

[Frank Hagan]

I use Skype religiously to call around the world... granted, my friends all have it too. I don't think where you use it to call from if you're placing a call to a land line matters, you just have to have the software installed on the computer you're using, which might be an issue unless you're bringing your own laptop.

Or you could always rent a satellite phone for 30-40 bucks a week.

Different countries have different laws, so its worth a check before you sign a contract. The reason I brought it up is that Mexico's phone company, Telmex, used to be a government utility and back in 2005 people suspected they were blocking VOIP calls. It is now "private" but is still a virtual monopoly.

So I Googled "skype in mexico" and got a few hits for the VOIP blocking (all from 2005) and then a few that said it was OK dated in 2008. The Skype forums at http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=215871 have a post about good Skype phones to use. One poster has some cautions about calling into Mexico on Skype (the rates are .31 per minute if the receiving phone is a cell phone; much cheaper if you are calling someone's land line phone).

The OP was talking about a temporary solution to call FROM Mexico back into the US, so that probably wouldn't apply unless Telmex flexes their muscle again.

[James Jaragosky]

Different countries have different laws, so its worth a check before you sign a contract. The reason I brought it up is that Mexico's phone company, Telmex, used to be a government utility and back in 2005 people suspected they were blocking VOIP calls. It is now "private" but is still a virtual monopoly.

So I Googled "skype in mexico" and got a few hits for the VOIP blocking (all from 2005) and then a few that said it was OK dated in 2008. The Skype forums at http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=215871 have a post about good Skype phones to use. One poster has some cautions about calling into Mexico on Skype (the rates are .31 per minute if the receiving phone is a cell phone; much cheaper if you are calling someone's land line phone).

The OP was talking about a temporary solution to call FROM Mexico back into the US, so that probably wouldn't apply unless Telmex flexes their muscle again.
From the skype site. for €3.95/month
Call any time of day, any day of the week without the need for a long term contract. You can choose a subscription to call a country that’s different from the one you live in. Also, you can make calls using your subscription from any other country - great for when you’re traveling.
My wife and I are going to Europe this fall and we will bring our mini laptop to make skype calls home, we purchased a skype phone # for $15 for 3 months and choose a local US phone number, so all calls home to the U.S. should be free. We will be staying in hotels that have free high speed internet included. People calling us will only pay the local U.S. rates not international.
If you wanted to talk to family in mexico you could get a skype # based in mexco and it would be a local call for them, same goes for about 40 other countries.
all you need to know is on the skype site.
Regards
Jim J.

(http://www.skype.com/intl/en/allfeatures/subscriptions/mexico/)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

David,

Check with some locals there before you go....call the hotel etc.

In our recent trip to New Zealand we were stunned at the cost of calling the US from NZ.

For us to call NZ from the US was terribly expensive BUT.....

We bought prepaid calling cards while we were there for 12 days and we could call the US for 4 cents a minute. I was shocked! The calling cards were available all over the place there....coffee shops...drug stores....

[Bob Lloyd]

David

My brother has used Kallback in the UK when calling the US.

http://www.kallback.com/

Bob