BajaNomad - Telephone Baja to US etc

Telephone Baja to US etc

Paladin - 5-31-2008 at 07:36 PM

I have tried search for the fairly recent post on International use of cell phone.
Is there a chance some can point me back to that thread???

Help would be much appreciated

Yep that means Im finally getting back to Baja Sur for the trip of dreams
18 days with a buddy (no wife) driving with a boat.

Firsr Bahia Asuncion, then Loreto, then Mulege, then BOLA on way home.

Im going to make Jimmie Houston proud.

Limits?? What limits :lol:

BajaWarrior - 5-31-2008 at 07:46 PM

Verizon doesn't work at all, which I have for the U.S.

However I also have a Cingular (now AT&T) phone which I use exclusively for Baja. It works perfectly using TelCel's towers and it did work in Bahia Asuncion last summer, for that matter, almost all the way there from the border.

Paladin - 5-31-2008 at 08:53 PM

Thanks so far...I have AT&T..

If it helps anyone, I just (this PM) stopped by the Company Store, asked to have Mexico put on, checked ID etc, said $49 per month (one month) and something like 9 to 25 cents a minute.
In and out in 15 minutes or less.

June 3 rd will have dinner in BA and looking for some of that famous abalone...maybe even a Lobster thrown in for grins.

Nothing to good for this vacation :bounce:

Diver - 5-31-2008 at 09:04 PM

Hmmm, I think those are better rates than Telcel for all but local calls in Baja.

If you haven't already, check in with Santiago.
He has trailered his boat into Asuncion and launched there and at BOLA recently.
The whoop-di-do's going into Asuncion are veeery interesting with a trailer.
Have fun !! I'm jealous !!

Paladin - 5-31-2008 at 09:11 PM

My buddy and his boat are being hauled by a big chevy 2500 4 wheel diesal. (bruce's spelling)

If we get stuck, I just chase lizards for grins.

No hurry,no worry.

BajaNuts - 5-31-2008 at 09:14 PM

Here's what I found out on a trip in May-
I bought a $14usd SIM card for my Nokia cell phone in Ensenada. It came with a Mex phone number but the telcel store didn't speak english and all the menus were in spanish, so I never did get it activated.

After arriving in La Paz I went to the big TelMex store on 5 de Febraro, bought a $32 mex cell phone and had the sales agent activate it before I left the store. You can buy "Amigo" minute cards many places to recharge the time. My family called me on the mex cell number using an MCI calling card (at .59/minute MCI charges plus the Amigo cell charges). I was told you can buy international calling cards that work from land lines and pay phones, but I never got around to that.

BIG NOTE---I could call Mex land and cell phones but I could not call USA. USA and Mex could call me. Maybe if I'd had an international calling card????

I was also told to buy an international SIM card for my Nokia at a the airport or you can buy them online for $60.

When we were there in December, our US cell phones picked up the Telcel network and we could make local phone calls........at $3.99 per minute! That showed up on the cell phone bill after be got home. Still could not call USA on the Telcel network.

One thing you will hear when researching international cell phones is "unlocked" cell phones. Basically, phone companies that also sell cell phones (AT&T, Verizon) LOCK their phones so they only work with their networks or other US networks. Companies like Nokia, Erickson, or Motorola make cell phones to be used by any carrier anywhere and most newer ones will accept an international SIM card with no issues. These are considered "unlocked".

******************
The following is copied from another website------
How to call into Baja Sur, Mexico

From the US to Mexican phones:

To call land lines, dial 011-52 and then the number (example, 011-52-612-555-5555)
To call cell phones, dial 011-52-1 and then the number (example, 011-52-1-612-555-5555)

If calling a US number that is located in Mexico, dial 1 and then the full number, including area code (example, 1-213-555-5555)

These dialing instructions apply if you are calling from the US to Mexico, using a telephone with a US number, whether it is a land line, cell phone or Internet phone

****************

I also used a MovieStar phone belonging to another gringo before I had my own cell phone. They'd had their MovieStar phone for 4 years and were happy with it. It did phone calls in 15{?}minute segments. time's up...phone call ends. You want to talk more, you call again. But it did call to USA with no issues.
Good Luck.

bajamikey - 5-31-2008 at 10:22 PM

paladin......i have at&t.for service in baja is $ 4.95 per month more plus the phone calls on my plain

Paladin - 5-31-2008 at 11:36 PM

I either got ripped or my hearing is no darn good.

4.95 or 49.50

Either way, Im not going to sweat it.

Anyway I think the girl was an immigrant from Russia or something...my ears don't pick up all the accents around here. :lol:

Calling home

Carol - 5-31-2008 at 11:52 PM

Do you have a laptop and can connect to the Internet?
http://www.magicjack.com

Quote:

Originally posted by Paladin
I have tried search for the fairly recent post on International use of cell phone.
Is there a chance some can point me back to that thread???

Help would be much appreciated

Yep that means Im finally getting back to Baja Sur for the trip of dreams
18 days with a buddy (no wife) driving with a boat.

Firsr Bahia Asuncion, then Loreto, then Mulege, then BOLA on way home.

Im going to make Jimmie Houston proud.

Limits?? What limits :lol:

Bob and Susan - 6-1-2008 at 05:21 AM

we are using this...

http://messenger.yahoo.com/

you do need to go to the store and buy a set of headphones with a microphone for about $15 usa

calls are .01 cents a minute to USA and canada
you need to "charge up" your account with $10 usa

we are very happy with this service

to call mexico is 7 cents a minute $$$ :saint:

but....

we need to call the propane company for "service fills"

AND...

our PACIFICO driver for "service fills" too :biggrin:

remember we are in an area with NO cell service and no land lines :light:

rob - 6-1-2008 at 08:54 AM

Bob and Susan - I have friends with "high-end" Vonage (commercial satellite plan), Skype ec and they all complain of the dreaded satellite latency - that laws-of-physics-gap in the conversation.

Maybe Yahoo has managed to corcumvent this - for the cost of headphones and mike, I'll give it a try!

losfrailes - 6-1-2008 at 11:47 AM

Rob, what satellite server are they using? If it is Hughes, have them upgrade to the Pro Plan and their VOIP experience will get better. If not Hughes, get Hughes and then follow above instruction.

shari - 6-1-2008 at 12:06 PM

What some folks do in these parts is just buy a cheap Telcel cell phone...they are about $20...actually $30 but with $10 of free minutes...then you get a combo plan where long distance calls to USA and Canada is only 11 pesos for 20 minutes!!! Good deal eh! Also Skype works like a charm here...no delay with the new high speed. Look forward to seeing you Paladin.

Cypress - 6-1-2008 at 12:10 PM

Skype!

Works for me. :yes:

Udo - 6-1-2008 at 12:53 PM

Perhaps I'm overstepping my boundaries...
but some one explain how Skype, etc. work?
Do they issue you a phone number?
What do you do? Buy a skype phone and then make cals over the internet while hooked up to the internet? I would guess that the computer would have to be connected 24 hrs a day.
Does a fax machine work from Skype as well?
I am thinking that this is something I have to consider since we plan on retiring in Baja in a couple of years.

BajaNuts - 6-1-2008 at 01:24 PM

I'll let someone else answer the Skype question, but there is another program available for internet users.

It's a free program, but not for the technologically-challenged computer user. It's called TeamSpeak and was designed for people who play real-time online games to communicate using headsets. One computer has to be set up as a server for the program and then several other people's computers can sign on and using a simple headset with earphones and a mic, you can talk for hours for free. Multiple people can be on the channel at the same time.

For the gamers that use it, they can have 100 people online at the same time from all parts of the world. There is no sattelite lag-time. For my family, we had the home computer set up as the server and the I had my laptop in Mexico set up as a user. We would talk for hours. It does not have a ring like a phone, but if we didn't have a pre-arranged time to talk, he would call me and I'd go online and then we could talk. Or one person could be online and just wait until the other one showed up. You can surf, email, send links back and forth, and basically do everything you ever do on the computer while talking. The only time I had a little cutting out was if I was running on my laptop's battery and I didn't have a good signal strength.

I'll have Honey post a link for it.

As I said, someone has to be a little computer savvy to be able to install the program, and set up server IP addresses and such. Once installed, it's very simple to use.

If someone is interested and wants further info or needs help to install the program, send us a u2u.

rob - 6-1-2008 at 02:06 PM

Skype, Vonage etc seem to work fine on land lines - what is Asuncion? Microwave?

Losfrailes - the friends mentioned above are on commercial-level Starband, for myself, there is a Hughes in the near future.

Cypress - 6-1-2008 at 02:18 PM

udowinkler, About skype, it's magic.

Only used it to make calls.

Worked fine, had some weak and broken connections a time or two.

losfrailes - 6-1-2008 at 02:34 PM

Rob,
Have your friends run a speed test on the system, if such a thing is available with SB.
Then, if they are connected thru a router, disconnect the router, hook up their computer directly to the modem and run the speed test again.
If there is a significant improvement in upload speeds without the router, taadaa, check out the router.
Unless you get really good upload speeds, you will not have much luck with either SKYPE or Vonage on satellite internet.
Either, however, work really well with hard landline. Tho I have heard that there has been some policing done by Telmex on it use.

[Edited on 6-1-2008 by losfrailes]

Bob. Try magicjack.com.

Keri - 6-1-2008 at 04:00 PM

I have had mine over a year. No charge for any calls to the states. You can get your home area code or any area code for that matter.You computer does not have to be on 24/7 as it also has a free answering service. It's 39.95 for the first year and 19.95 for the second year. Are you in Mulege full time yet or still in Riverside? Your place looks great. Mike and I want to stop by next time down,k :yes: