Forums > Specific Focus > Technical Mexico

zoeq

Apr 20, 2005, 11:59 AM

Post #1 of 25 (4487 views)

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phone cards

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What phone cards or long distance service do you use from US to Mexico and Mexico to US. Right now I'm paying .17/minute. Any suggestions? I tried AmericaOneMD.com but the internet doesn't recognize that address. Thanks.

manda405

Apr 23, 2005, 3:15 PM

Post #2 of 25 (4383 views)

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Re: [zoeq] phone cards

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I have used a variety of different phone cards to call from US to Mexico. The one I like best is called Blue Seattle. It may only be available here and it can't be used to call from Mexico to the US.
I also like the MCI International card which says on the card that it can be used to make calls back to the US from other countries by dialing a special code. I haven't tried it from MX yet though. Do you have a Long Distance provider on your home phone? I know that Qwest Long Distance offers a calling plan that for a $2 monthly fee, you can direct dial anywhere in Mexico for 10 cents a minute.

What happens down in Mexico...Stays in Mexico.

johanson / Moderator

Apr 23, 2005, 5:10 PM

Post #3 of 25 (4368 views)

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Re: [manda405] phone cards

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Hey Manda:

Tell us more about Blue Seattle. The card I got from Costo, an MCI card, cost me 19 cents or so per minute the last time I was in the states.

When I did an Advanced Google search sadly this is what I got Your search - "blue seattle" "telephone card" - did not match any documents.

Do you have a contact number or preferably a URL, you know web address? I will be back in WA in 18 days and would love to find a cheap way to call my friends in Mexico. Sadly where I will be in the country in Skagit County it will not be practical to use VoIP

zoeq

Apr 23, 2005, 9:52 PM

Post #4 of 25 (4337 views)

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Re: [johanson] phone cards

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I've been shopping rates from the states to Mexico and I came up with Comcast at $2.95/month and 9 cents a minute to Mexico. QWest is about the same.

I've been using the MCI to call out of Mexico at about .17 per minute - I got it at Costco last year. That's the cheapest I've found for calling out of Mexico. Even using a home phone in Mexico is still .17/min on a 100 minute calling plan which you must keep track of yourself.

Thanks for your responses.

Bear

Apr 24, 2005, 5:47 AM

Post #5 of 25 (4322 views)

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Re: [johanson] phone cards

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While in California or Washington state, try Latino Phone Cards sold at Seven/Eleven and Quick Stops near any corner where Mexican day laborers congregate for work. Latino gives 120 minutes for $5.00 US. They are dependable and can be used in English or Spanish. Latino phone cards on the Internet also.

manda405

Apr 24, 2005, 2:20 PM

Post #6 of 25 (4271 views)

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Re: [johanson] phone cards

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I have only found the Seattle cards at panaderia and a Conoco down the street from my house. I actually have to go buy another card today so I will look for a number or a website that you may be able to buy cards from.

What happens down in Mexico...Stays in Mexico.

"El Gringo Jalapeño"

Apr 24, 2005, 9:10 PM

Post #7 of 25 (4224 views)

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Re: [zoeq] phone cards

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Have you tried the VoIP services on the Internet? I use www.stanaphone.com (US 2.6 cents a minute!) or www.dialpad.com (US3.9 cents a minute) with excellent results. Right now as I am writing this reply I am talking with my mother in Spokane, WA as if she were across the street(probably much better!!!). It costs US 3 cents a minute with Stanaphone to call Mexico City(Monterrey and Guadalajara even less!) or US 11 cents to the rest of the country. Anyway it is a bargin. Give it a try! My savings easily pay my broad-band internet connection.
Roy B. Dudley "El Gringo Jalapeño" See more about Xalapa at www.xalaparoy.com

zoeq

Apr 24, 2005, 10:40 PM

Post #8 of 25 (4215 views)

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Re: ["El Gringo Jalapeño"] phone cards

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Roy, it sure was nice to meet you on the phone. This sounds like the way to go. It will sure save me from spending several hundred on phone calls over the next six months. I appreciate the info all the kind people have freely given on Mexconnect. It's a fine service. Thanks again. Zoe

Christopher

Apr 25, 2005, 5:13 PM

Post #9 of 25 (4155 views)

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Re: [zoeq] phone cards

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How about rates and phone cards from people who call to Canada from Mexico?

Thanks,

Chris

zoeq

Apr 25, 2005, 9:26 PM

Post #10 of 25 (4127 views)

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Re: [flysouth] phone cards

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Hello, I checked into Vonage today at Radio Shack. To use this system, you must have hi-speed internet to use it. You can call all over the world. You receive a phone number of your choosing - near US or Canada home, for instance. Then, when someone uses your phone to call you, it is free to them and incoming calls are free to you. Once you have the system, you can take the Vonage box with you and plug it into hi-speed internet wherever you travel. You pay only one monthly fee, 16 for 500 mins and 27 for unlimited minutes anywhere. The only other equipment you need is a phone - not a phone line - but just a phone.

I'm trying to buy a Vonage unit and take it to Mexico to hook it up on the internet there. Vonage tells me I can still choose my area code and city for the number, even a US one. So I may do that so I don't have to pay for hi-speed internet both in the US and Mexico.

The best phone card I found was at Costco - MCI at about .18 /minute either from LA or from Mexico. I spend a lot of money with that card. Good luck. All we can do is the best we can.

Christopher

Apr 26, 2005, 6:54 PM

Post #11 of 25 (4077 views)

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Re: [zoeq] phone cards

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Thanks Zoeq for the reply and info.

Can anyone from Canada pass on some of there long distance calling experiences and prefferences.

Thanks,

Chris

esperanza

Apr 26, 2005, 7:33 PM

Post #12 of 25 (4067 views)

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Re: [flysouth] phone cards

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I'm not from Canada, but I do occasionally call Canada from Guadalajara. I use Iconnecthere (www.iconnecthere.com) and make the calls using my computer. Calls to Canada cost 1.5 cents (US) per minute and the quality is tiptop. I have cable Internet which runs at 1mbps.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

zoeq

Apr 26, 2005, 8:40 PM

Post #13 of 25 (4055 views)

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Re: [esperanza] phone cards

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Hello there Esperanza,

What do you use to get your voice on the internet?

esperanza

Apr 26, 2005, 9:51 PM

Post #14 of 25 (4044 views)

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Re: [zoeq] phone cards

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A megaphone, or if I want to sit in the living room instead of in the office, a bullhorn.

NO NO NO, I'm just kidding.

I use a headset that plugs into the front of my computer. The headset has earphones and a microphone. When I am using Iconnecthere, I simply turn off my computer speakers and all the sound is directed into my earphones.

The thing really works like a dream, and so inexpensive! I pay $4.95 a month for 400 minutes of talk time to either the USA or Canada. Time to other countries is a bit more expensive--I think it costs about five cents a minute to call France.

I've been recommending www.iconnecthere.com for years. I used it when I was using dial-up and it worked just fine then--now with cable Internet, man oh man. It's the next best thing to being there. Oops, that's somebody else's slogan!

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

Christopher

Apr 27, 2005, 6:05 PM

Post #15 of 25 (3994 views)

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Re: [esperanza] phone cards

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Thanks Esperanza for the reply. I'm going to check them out.

Thanks again,

Chris

Anonimo

Apr 28, 2005, 3:15 AM

Post #16 of 25 (3961 views)

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Re: [zoeq] phone cards

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A couple of weeks ago, I used SkypeOut to call friends in Mexico City, from Little Rock, Arkansas. We spoke about 15 minutes, and it cost me around 36¢

Requirements: a high-speed connection, a Skype account with purchased minutes credited; Windows XP or Mac OS X.

Headset highly recommended because you get audio feedback if you don't use it.
Skype-to-Skype calls are free. A friend in Colorado and I spoke for 40 minutes last week with no charges.

Saludos,
Anonimo

Gringal

Apr 28, 2005, 1:37 PM

Post #17 of 25 (3913 views)

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Re: [zoeq] phone cards

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We bought a house in SMA last year with no phone line. The builder had signed up for Telmex service months before, but there was a long waiting list. After more months of having no phone service (other than a cellphone), a friend told us about Vonage internet phone service. We signed up and the device was sent. "Free" but cost $45 import duty - never mind why. The monthly service is about $16 for the first 500 minutes anywhere in the US or Canada, using one U.S. area code of our choice. More area codes cost about $5. (As of my most recent information, there was no way of using this as a "local" service in Mexico in our area.) There is an answering service that also goes through the net so that your missed calls are recorded and can be accessed through the Vonage website. Having this service has worked especially well in doing banking business in the U.S. since they will not accept a cellphone number as the "telephone of record", citing security concerns. Vonage service does require a high speed internet connection. It doesn't work when the 'net is down, of course, but generally I am well satified with it.

Carol Schmidt

Apr 28, 2005, 3:17 PM

Post #18 of 25 (3901 views)

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Re: [gringal] phone cards

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We use Vonage also, and since we had the most likely callers from AZ we chose a Phoenix area code. Some people may not even know we've moved! $16 a month for 500 minutes, and we haven't used them all any month yet. Excellent.

Carol Schmidt

jeana

May 4, 2005, 7:29 AM

Post #19 of 25 (3825 views)

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Re: [zoeq] phone cards

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I use Nobel's international phone card service (enjoyprepaid.com). There are several plans to choose from, but for the no fee, no surcharge plans, per minute rates average 4 -9 cents, depending on where in Mexico you're calling. The highest per minute rate is 14 cents to cell phones. Rates are a little higher when calling from Canada.

Jeana

genes

May 4, 2005, 1:29 PM

Post #20 of 25 (3787 views)

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Re: ["El Gringo Jalapeño"] phone cards

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It was posted on a Zihuatanejo Web Site recently that Telmex has been squeezing the bandwidth on VoIP IP's to a point where they have become useless. Have any of you VoIP users experienced this in the last couple of months. I believe Skype (sp?) have run some tests and reported this is happening.

"El Gringo Jalapeño"

May 4, 2005, 4:23 PM

Post #21 of 25 (3777 views)

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Re: [genes] phone cards

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Genes:
Sounds like typical TELMEX tactics to keep out the competition from their gold mine telephone service where they give us s*@ty service for horrendous prices, many times charging calls never made, etc., etc.
I am waiting for the day when AT&T or AVANTEL give us local service. It will be a mass migration from TELMEX, I can guarantee you!
¡Abajo TELMEX, arriba la competencia!
Roy B. Dudley "El Gringo Jalapeño" See more about Xalapa at www.xalaparoy.com

Chumley

May 5, 2005, 5:07 AM

Post #22 of 25 (3744 views)

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Re: [genes] phone cards

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Go to the Technical Mexico Forum and read the article regarding how Telmex is screwing with DSL service to customers because they have detected the use of VoIP systems. We finally dumped Telmex and went with Telecable Broadband because they don't care if I use the service for something other than computers.

Marta R

May 5, 2005, 2:50 PM

Post #23 of 25 (3700 views)

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Re: [Chumley] phone cards

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Is Telecable available generally in the country, or is it regional?

Marta

MARIA CUERVA

May 5, 2005, 3:28 PM

Post #24 of 25 (3683 views)

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Re: [Carol Schmidt] phone cards

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Once you buy Vonage box and have high speed cable(with whom in SMA) do you need a router? Can you call the states as a local call as well as them being able to call you?I'm looking into this. I spoke with someone at Radio Shack. They also recommended I look into LINGO.com. It's supposed to be cheaper with the same service.

Cynthia7

May 5, 2005, 9:11 PM

Post #25 of 25 (3654 views)

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Re: [cuerva] phone cards

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You might need a router. Packet8 is $19.95 a month unlimited and this month in honor of Cinco de Mayo the charge is $.05 a minute to Mexico City. Lingo offers western Europe along with Canada and the US for about the same price. What does Telmex charge to Mexico City from other cities in Mexico? Your Voip phone number is in your hometown usually. Everyone in that town calls you for no charge.