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AT&T Mexico Cell Service? Muy Bueno o Muy Mal?


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46 minutes ago, mudgirl said:

Occasionally I get a bad connection when calling Canada on my Telcel Sin Limites, but then I just hang up and call back and it's usually fine. I don't understand why anyone would pay an extra $34/month for Vonage when you can make calls to Canada and the US for free with the Telcel package.

I agree about Vonage...crazy rate. Ooma, on the other hand, charges only the local monthly tax that is levied on any phone. In our case it is $4.85 and for that we maintained a Houston number that we had had for many years and friends and family did not make any change in calling us. I think that's super cheap and we also have any calls on that forwarded to our cell phones so it doesn't matter if we aren't home.  YMMV

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There are still a lot of senior friends, and family, back home who don't need an overpriced long-distance plan just to call Joe Blow in Mexico. They are not interested in Whatsapp, Skype, and all the rest of the current crop of comms techniques. For those people, Vonage and Ooma mean they can call here without incurring long-distance charges. Having Vonage on this end, though, for reasons other than this, is a waste of money these days.

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1 hour ago, mudgirl said:

Occasionally I get a bad connection when calling Canada on my Telcel Sin Limites, but then I just hang up and call back and it's usually fine. I don't understand why anyone would pay an extra $34/month for Vonage when you can make calls to Canada and the US for free with the Telcel package.

Because I can and the Alberta # has been ours for 3 years before we even moved so everybody has it including even businesses in both NOB countries. And it's on my card printed  here 14+ years ago along with my cell and e-addy.

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Sometimes 'what we have is what we keep', regardless if there is a 'better way'.

Having said that, buy Ooma for $100, port the Alberta # and after a 3-month return-on-investment ($34 X 3 = $100) the phone is 'free'.  Same number. Same quality. 

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How is what? Tech service? I have never needed it.  I learned how to use a phone when I was a little kid. And I already know what to plug the various cables into. There are only a couple. One that goes to the router and one goes to the phone. Oh and because the phone is wireless, I have to plug that into the power. It is all so basic and simple.

 

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6 hours ago, johanson said:

How is what? Tech service? I have never needed it.  I learned how to use a phone when I was a little kid. And I already know what to plug the various cables into. There are only a couple. One that goes to the router and one goes to the phone. Oh and because the phone is wireless, I have to plug that into the power. It is all so basic and simple.

 

Are you telling us that Ooma is so good that nothing ever happens to the service that may require tech backup? That would be truly amazing because I can't think of any other company that provides a service on computers that never has a problem. WOW!

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I got my wife an Ooma line about 3 years ago and haven't had to call/contact them for 'technical service' ever.  If we have an Internet signal, she has telephone service. Truly amazing I guess, but I had another Vonage-like service for 15 years and only had to contact them maybe once or twice. 

 

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On 11/20/2020 at 3:39 PM, JGiff said:

Panda Networks cellular signal booster.   Telcel in San Nicolas went from 3G 3-4 down to 4G 80 down. Put it on the roof pointed to cell tower and boom. Done. Haven't gone down once.   No need for 2 services like some people have because they loose Ilox or Telmex

Thanks for heads up on Panda. We're moving to north of the carretera near Tlachichilco. I'll definitely keep this in mind for internet.

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On 11/21/2020 at 9:38 AM, happyjillin said:

I researched Vonage Canada long before we moved here and can call and take calls all over the world without the problems that you're having. Cost:$33.73cdn/month. As I said before I only use telcel on my cell or making and taking calls in Mexico only.Unlimited for $200pesos/month.We also have Telmex land line which includes Infinitum.

I was under the impression that Vonage just works with landlines. I went to the website and they said I could connect Vonage to my cell but I would need to use an access number: You can link your Vonage service to any mobile or landline phone number. When you make a call from the linked phone number, you must use an Access Number and your Security PIN to ensure you are billed at the same low rates as your Vonage home phone.

I have a landline that works well with with my internet connection. It seems like this would be a hassle to use. But thanks for the information. Who knows what will transpire in the future. Right now I have Telcel Sin Limites. I pay 200 pesos a month and it does cover my needs for phone and data. I use my smart phone alot to call my daughters in the states. In fact when I am home I always use WhatsApp video. It sure beats a regular phone. I get to see my adult "babies" beautiful smiles. Makes an old dad very, very happy.

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23 hours ago, pappysmarket said:

 Ooma, on the other hand, charges only the local monthly tax that is levied on any phone. In our case it is $4.85 ....... I think that's super cheap and we also have any calls on that forwarded to our cell phones so it doesn't matter if we aren't home.  YMMV

Pappy, you mention $4.85 taxes and you also mention 'forwarding'. I can only get call forwarding IF I get Ooma Premium which costs an additional $10.  ???

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Technically 'landlines' are the old phone services coming into the house on wires from the Ma Bells of yester-year.... so Vonage is not a landline. It is a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service.... so using your Internet not wires coming in from outside. When you say 'landlines' you are probably just referring to the actual  'phones' that you are using and not the type of service. It's a common 'mistake'. 

VoIP service like Vonage started out years ago and were just connected to phones in your house using the Internet but with the advent of smartphones they can now also be connected to your "cell" phone. The purpose generally is so you could/can 'take a call directed to your Vonage number' right on your cell smartphone while out and about. Just a nice convenience to some.... a headache to others. 

 

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17 hours ago, RickS said:

Technically 'landlines' are the old phone services coming into the house on wires from the Ma Bells of yester-year.... so Vonage is not a landline. It is a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service.... so using your Internet not wires coming in from outside. When you say 'landlines' you are probably just referring to the actual  'phones' that you are using and not the type of service. It's a common 'mistake'. 

VoIP service like Vonage started out years ago and were just connected to phones in your house using the Internet but with the advent of smartphones they can now also be connected to your "cell" phone. The purpose generally is so you could/can 'take a call directed to your Vonage number' right on your cell smartphone while out and about. Just a nice convenience to some.... a headache to others. 

 

Yes Rick you are right and I made that common mistake. As I am challenged in so many aspects of life especially with computer and hand held devices I try to opt for the simplest and paths of least resistance as possible. My wife uses our Voice Over Internet Protocol. Never heard of that before but see I learned something today. She calls her sister in Mexico City on it. I think I have used that phone about 3 times in the last 8 years. It really comes in handy when she calls me when I walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain on my yearly pilgrimages. I get a Spanish SIM card and she can call me without additional charges wherever I am in Europe. I can't call her except of WhatsApp. If I have bad wifi or data I just text her. By the way for a month of service in Spain I pay 20 Euros and get 80 minutes of calls which I barely use and 15 gigabytes of data. I use that alot more. It is a great deal. You can get plans with more minutes and less data but that is what works for me. Just in case you are traveling to Spain anytime soon😀

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