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tashby

Feb 16, 2008, 12:18 PM

Post #1 of 14 (3467 views)

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Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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Hi all. We're moving to Mexico from the U.S. in about a month on a VERY tight schedule. I know there are lots of cell phone threads, but I need to make a decision as soon as possible and don't have lots of time to research. Thanks to raeferguson's article, I think I know what I may need. (I've never owned a cell phone in my life....so apologies for my ignorance on the topic.) I'll explain my needs/situation.

--While in Mexico I will be working for clients based in the U.S. I also have a business partner in Boise, who I wiil need to call frequently.
--I freelance, and often work under very tight deadlines and quick turnarounds, and need to be completely available and responsive
--I need as close to bullet-proof telecommunications as possible
--I need a US Cell Phone plan, as I can't expect them to call a Mexico #.
--I work from home via the internet and telephone exclusively
--I will have SKYPE. This will work for communications with my biz partner, but I need backup redudancy, and also can't expect my clients to necessarily have SKYPE.
--I'm pretty sure I could get a SKYPE "in" US number, and that would work great. But if the internet goes down, I'm dead. Plus, sometimes the connections are a bit wonky, and can't expect clients to endure that.

--I will also, of course, need a phone to make calls within Mexico.

We don't know where we are going to live in Mexico yet. Our plan is to head to the Lake Chapala area in late March, rent a place for a month or more, so we can gradually - and easily - take care of all the transitional logistics we may not have gotten done during our fast exit from the U.S. (House sold in four days....thought we'd have a lot more time for this.)

--Wherever we rent in the interim, I will get high-speed internet, as I need that for work. Again, Skype will be fine, but I need backup.

--After checking out the Lake Chapala area, we will either decide to stay for several more months, using it as a base to explore other areas of Central Mexico. During all of the above, I will need to remain available for work as much as is realistically possible.

I *think* my best bet is therefore to get a US based cell phone plan from either AT&T / Cingular OR T-Mobile, with a GSM phone. Then I can buy SIM cards from Telcel once in Mexico for calls within the Republic. Does this sound correct?

If so, does swapping out the SIM card effectively turn the cell phone instrument from one number (the US Card) to another phone number entirely, a Mexican # via the TelCel card? I'm assuming it must. So I will primarily keep the US card in the phone since it will be my work number, and whenever I need to make a Mexico call, just change the cards out. Then put the US card back in when done with the local call.

I'd love to hear any feedback from you all as to this plan, and if it's solid or stupid? If the approach sounds right.....is there any reason to choose AT&T/Cingular versus T-Mobile, or vice versa? I assume either is fine and depends upon which offers the better deal based on what my calling patterns are?

If it matters, we currently live in Seattle.....but not for long.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for any guidance. Because I need to give existing and future clients a new phone number, I'm trying to get it nailed down asap.

tashby

Feb 16, 2008, 5:48 PM

Post #2 of 14 (3449 views)

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Re: [tashby] Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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Ouch. (Sorry for that long, uber-specific post, by the way.)

Well, assuming the approach mentioned above had any merit....I now realize I'm going to be hammered by international roaming fees. After exploring their websites, and talking to customer "service" on the phone, the best I could come up with was:

AT&T: Their most basic plan (since I won't be using the minutes within the US) for $40/month. Plus the $5 per month to activate intl roaming feature. Then, after $45/month, each incoming and outgoing call for US phone numbers would be "reduced" to 59cents per minute, rather than of 99cents per minute.

T-Mobile: Same basic drill. Buy their cheapest plan for whatever it was, probably $40/month. Activate roaming for additional $5/month. And then my incoming and outgoing would be billed at $1.50/minute.

Plus, no doubt, whatever additional fees they didn't disclose on the phone call.

Horrifically, because my schedule is so compressed and the to-do list surreal, I may just go sign up for an AT&T plan and suck it up for the first year. (In which case, I'd try to only use the their SIM card for business.....and emergencies.)

At least that would give me some time/breathing room to look for other, more cost-effective alternatives once we've got settled.

(This post was edited by tashby on Feb 16, 2008, 5:54 PM)

raferguson

Feb 17, 2008, 8:53 AM

Post #3 of 14 (3429 views)

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Re: [tashby] Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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There is a different approach. Get a US number and forward it to your Mexican cell phone or land line. The service below costs $4 a month, and 14 cents a minute to forward to Mexico.

http://www.uwtcallback.com/call_my_us_number.html

These guys will give you a US 800 number for $10 a month, and include 63 minutes of calls to Mexico for that price, with extra minutes 16 cents a minute.

http://www.tollfreeforwarding.com

Or get a local phone number in Washington state. Or have both a Washington number and an 800 number, and forward both to your Mexican number.

http://www.tollfreeforwarding.com/...n-phone-numbers.html

I think Skype is pretty good. When you get Skype In, you get voice mail as well. Skype will also let you forward your Skype number to any other phone number, so if Skype quality was not adequate, you could still forward the number.

http://www.skype.com/...ures/callforwarding/

If all you need is a US phone number, there are lots of better ways than having a US cell phone, at $45 a month plus high per minute charges.

I would probably get a US 800 number and forward it to whatever number I want. You could forward to your US phone when in the USA, then change to a Mexican cell phone, then change to a Mexican land line, and then back to a Mexican cell phone when you go out of town. As long as you could easily change the forwarded to number, you would be in good shape. Toll free forwarding promises that it is easy to change the forwarded to number. I recall that 800 numbers are portable, so you should be able to change from one forwarding service to another, if you don't like the first one.

Even smarter is to get both Skype in as well as an 800 number. If you were not going to be reachable for a while, just forward the 800 number to the Skype in number, and let Skype take your voice mail, which you could retrieve on your computer for free. That would be an elegant solution while you were transitioning from the USA to Mexico, and it would not cost much extra.

I have my US home phone automatically forward to my US cell phone whenever the home phone is busy, so I can't miss a call, and you can't get a busy signal. I have had this service full time for ten years, costs me $0.30 a month, works great. I have the outgoing message on both numbers almost the same, so the caller doesn't know which number that they have reached. (I know the difference in the outgoing message, however). It really confuses users when they call one number, expecting one response, and then get something different. If all the outgoing messages are similar, it is transparent to the caller.

Richard

http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

tashby

Feb 17, 2008, 10:30 AM

Post #4 of 14 (3422 views)

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Re: [raferguson] Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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Thank you so much! Your reply is incredibly generous. I'm copying it into my telecom file, so I can return to it when I have more info. This morning I've realized that because so many things are undetermined (where we'll live, what will be available there, etc.) that it's almost impossible to address this. What I also realized is that as of 3/14 I will be completely phonless because that's when we close on our house.

There's no way we'll be settled in Mexico by then, and may need to rent short-term housing here in Seattle to take care of everything on our way out. So in the short term, I have no choice but to get a US cell phone. Even if I'm only using it for the first couple of months as we transition from the US to Mexico.

Once we're semi-settled in Mexico, I can look into the services you've mentioned. (Obviously, I can't use a forwarding service until I have a phone number to forward it to.)

Unless I could eventually have the cell phone itself forwarded and thereby somehow avoid the excessive fees. Gah. I think my head just exploded.

Thank you again!

(This post was edited by tashby on Feb 17, 2008, 10:31 AM)

tashby

Feb 17, 2008, 1:44 PM

Post #5 of 14 (3409 views)

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Re: [tashby] Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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I think I've finally figured out a (somewhat inelegant) solution that will work.

Get a Skype in # in my Seattle area code

Go sign up for a T-Mobile plan, get an unlocked Quad-band GSM phone.

Forward the Skype # to my new US T-Mobile Cell phone #. (This will allow me to give clients a new # - the Skype one - which I won't have ask them to change a few months later. I really don't want to have to do that.)

The T-Mobile phone will get me through the time I spend in the US without a land line, and during the transition/move to Mexico. I'm going to need this because I don't know how long it will take for us to tie up loose ends/move.

Once I'm in Mexico, and have telephone there (either land, or on the T-Mobile instrument with a new Telcel plan and SIM card) change the Skype forwarding info to that phone number.

Then once I'm assured I have solid telephone in Mexico, cancel the T-Mobile contract. This will incur a $200 cancellation fee, but I'm willing to eat that to get over the hump/transition.

Or something like that.

Judy in Ags

Feb 17, 2008, 4:16 PM

Post #6 of 14 (3395 views)

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Re: [tashby] Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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Hi,
I don't know if I'm missing something in your list of needs. But having read through it, I don't see why you couldn't you Vonage. $305 a year (or $24.99 a month) and you can choose your home number any place in the U.S. Your clients wouldn't be calling you in Mexico. They are calling your U.S. number. Vonage also has 800 numbers available. It is an additional $4.99 a month for 100 minutes. You can also pay for an additional number, if you like. Their service is excellent.

If you have high speed internet connection while you are traveling or in the U.S., you can use their V-phone (buy through Vonage or EBay).

The great thing about a Vonage phone is that you don't have to even have your computer on while using it (except when using the V-phone while traveling.)

www.vonage.com

johanson / Moderator

Feb 17, 2008, 4:20 PM

Post #7 of 14 (3393 views)

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Re: [tashby] Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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Tashby be thankful that you are from Gods Country, the Seattle area, you know a 206 area code, me too. Our real estate values are still going up, although only about 3.1% during the last year. At least that's what they said on the Seattle NBC affiliate, KING 5 in HD a couple of days ago here in Ajijic.

I know I am supposed to be talking only about cell phones, and I have learned much from these posts. It's just as I sit here in Ajijic where the temperature is a nice 75 F or about 23 C, I wanted to let you know that you all can continue to watch your Seattle, Spokane, etc affiliates here in Mexico on the Canadian Ku band system called Star Choice. Sadly of all the channels from Seattle and Spokane, only 4 of them, all from Seattle can also be watched in HD.

Getting back to the subject of phones, yes SKYPE is a very good solution recommended by many to include the local owner of one of the ISPs here in Ajijic. Although I don't happen to use SKYPE, many of my techie friends here do. I happen to use www.iconnecthere.com another good solution.

Kimpatsu Hekigan

Feb 17, 2008, 7:30 PM

Post #8 of 14 (3383 views)

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Re: [tashby] Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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Quote

What I also realized is that as of 3/14 I will be completely phonless because that's when we close on our house.

There's really no reason to give up your current Seattle phone number. Qwest has a service they call "Stand-Alone Voicemail" that allows you to keep a phone number without it being associated with a physical location. Qwest voicemail service (the business version) has all sorts of forwarding options, too.

FWIW,

-- K.H.

Before enlightenment: Chop wood, haul water.
After enlightenment: Chop wood, haul water.

raferguson

Feb 17, 2008, 9:13 PM

Post #9 of 14 (3374 views)

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Re: [tashby] Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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Don't sign a cell phone contract in the USA, go for prepaid service in the USA, readily available, if not promoted as much as two year contracts. You can pick up a prepaid phone at Walmart or Radio Shack, or ebay. I got Virgin Mobile for my spouse, because it had a low monthly minimum. I would buy the unlocked quad band GSM phone now (today), and then you can just pick up a prepaid SIM in the USA, and later get a prepaid SIM in Mexico.

You might want to check if Skype can forward to a Mexico cell phone. Not sure about that. Maybe somebody here living in Mexico right now could help you run a little test. The other services definitely can forward to the USA or Mexico. Go ahead and get a Skype-In number for Seattle right now, whether you give it to your clients today or not.

For a short term solution, call the local phone company and ask about forwarding your previous business number to another number. They can do it whether you still have a physical phone or not. That way you don't need to give your clients a new number right now.

I know that you are super busy, but I think that you could do all the things I suggest above in about 90 minutes or so. A little time on the internet and a phone call or two.

Richard

http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

Jerry@Ajijic

Feb 18, 2008, 9:07 AM

Post #10 of 14 (3355 views)

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Re: [raferguson] Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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If you get Vonage you could get a 800 number or a local Seattle number and have the calls sent to your "home" phone wherever it might be. Then put a answering machine on your home phone. You could then retrieve your messages from anywhere by "calling your answering machine" and return calls by using your Vonage service anywhere in the US, Canada or Mexico. When you return calls they will display your "home" area on people's caller ID. Ours shows "Texas".

tashby

Feb 18, 2008, 10:44 AM

Post #11 of 14 (3347 views)

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Re: [raferguson] Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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You guys are Rock Stars! Thanks for helping me through this!

Can anyone tell me for certain if you can forward a Skype In # to a Mexico cell phone number? I think this is definitely the way for me to go. (Keeping my current Qwest #, and having them forward it, would be super elegant, too. But after having been a Qwest customer for the past 14 years, completely severing my ties to that company is something I look forward to very, very much.)

I've been looking at the Skype website re forwarding, but can't tell about forwarding to Mexico, but I have to think you can....

Re: going with prepaid cell in US versus a plan. I considered that, but the rates are pretty bad with prepaid. Almost a $1 per minute, I think. I looked at all my phone records from last year, and one month I had used over 1500 minutes. The average per month useage was around 600 minutes. One of the things about the T-Mobile plan is they have what they call "five faves" wherein in you can choose the five numbers you call most frequently, and you get unlimited minutes to those numbers in addition to the monthly minutes you purchase depending upon which plan you choose. (This is great for me, because the lion's share of my minutes are spent between me and my business partner.) So even if I'm only using the US plan for a couple months, and have to pay $200 to cancel it, I think it'll be more cost-effective than going prepaid.

Thank you all again! Time to go buy an unlocked, quad-band, GSM telephone. (I write it out so I'll remember the key ingredients!)

Oscar2

Feb 18, 2008, 1:13 PM

Post #12 of 14 (3338 views)

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Re: [raferguson] Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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Great thread. Valuable information, a must print for future use. Thanks guy’s, you are rock stars!

raferguson

Feb 18, 2008, 4:43 PM

Post #13 of 14 (3327 views)

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Re: [tashby] Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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The standard virgin mobile plan is 18 cents a minute. They have monthly plans with no annual contract at various prices, such as $45 for 400 minutes. They even have a deal where you pay $7 a month, and then all your minutes are 10 cents, a good plan if you figure to use a lot of minutes, but are now sure how many you will use.

In my area, Cricket has a deal for $40 a month with unlimited airtime. Cricket is also a prepaid deal, as I understand it.

A lot depends on how many more months you plan to be in the states. The shorter the time the less attractive the annual contract, as you split the cancellation fee over a smaller number of months, making the true monthly fee much higher than it appears.

Good luck in any event. If you go Skype, work with somebody in Mexico to test the Skype forwarding to Mexico. Worst comes to worst, you could forward the Skype number to another US number, and then have the other number forward to Mexico, but I don't recommend it, hard to debug if it doesn't work right.

The US prepaid plans are a good way to go if you are living in Mexico, but need to go north of the border for a while. For $5 a month, Virgin mobile will hold your US phone number, whether you use the phone or not. You could change your outgoing message on Virgin Mobile to let people know how to reach you when you are in Mexico. No, I don't have any financial interest in Virgin Mobile, just a satisfied customer.

Richard

http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

whistler

Feb 21, 2008, 8:09 PM

Post #14 of 14 (3297 views)

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Re: [raferguson] Help me choose a cell phone plan/solution (please)

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Yes you can forward through skype to Mexican phone. Just watch the Skype rates to Mexico. Expensive!