VOIP Magic Jack Skype January 24, 2009, 01:38:10 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98773I seldom use the phone or get calls. Gave up my cell phone last year and haven't missed it. I believe that my non-subscribed cellphone must still handle a 911 call according to federal law; so it could still function for a true medical emergency. Landline gets used a couple of times every few months, mostly for incoming calls. Would a voip phone like Magic Jack or Skype work for a full-timer that mostly boondocks and drycamps? Is anyone using them to replace a regular cell phone?
Re: VOIP Magic Jack Skype Reply #1 – January 24, 2009, 06:51:14 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98778"Would a voip phone like Magic Jack or Skype work for a full-timer that mostly boondocks and drycamps? Is anyone using them to replace a regular cell phone?"Both Magic Jack and Skype, like any VOIP (voice over internet protocol) phone, require a computer with a broadband internet connection. If you're dry camping, where does that broadband connection come from?Well, it could come from a HughesNet or similar satellite-internet system... but that costs $1,600 or more in equipment, plus $60 a month in fees, which is a lot more than a cell phone account costs. Moreover, in my experience, VOIP over a satellite internet connection works awkwardly if at all, because of the delays involved: .05-2 seconds, partly because of the 50,000-mile signal path but mainly because of delays at the network ops center.The more popular and more affordable way to get a fast internet connection while camping is to use a cellular modem ("aircard"). That costs nothing in equipment, but you'll be paying $60 a month--same as with a satellite internet setup. That's roughly twice what it would cost you for a basic cell phone account.In short, if your RV already has broadband internet in one form or another, you can *try* VOIP, though you may or may not find the results satisfactory. But if you don't, VOIP will cost you considerably more than a cell phone subscription--not less. The bottom line is that VOIP is only "free" if you pretend that your high-speed internet connection doesn't cost you anything.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: VOIP Magic Jack Skype Reply #2 – January 24, 2009, 09:19:10 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98780Quote from: Andy Baird" "The bottom line is that VOIP is only "free" if you pretend that your high-speed internet connection doesn't cost you anything." Sorry, but I thought it would be understood that a sat-internet would be in place to do the VOIP. And it's not free anyway although way cheaper than a separate cell. So, why spend additional monthly fees for a cell phone for occassional use? My understanding is that an air-card has the same dead-spot issues as a cell in rural areas, and bandwidth limits. Just curious if anyone has tried the internet phone option instead of a cell phone. I've never been sold on the cost and use of a cell phone, and as a light user I was wondering about the alternatives.
Re: VOIP Magic Jack Skype Reply #3 – January 25, 2009, 03:30:57 am Yahoo Message Number: 98782We've used VOIP for phone in areas where cheap cell phone service was not available, so far that has been in Guatemala and Honduras. It doesn't really work well unless there is no other alternative. The delay makes it more like a radio transmission, you spend a lot of time saying "over" and wondering if the other person is really there. If you have any other way to communicate, it will be better. We've happily used Hughes satellite for internet as far south as Honduras but once we return to Mexico we go back to cell phones for voice communication as it is much better.[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: VOIP Magic Jack Skype Reply #4 – January 25, 2009, 06:49:28 am Yahoo Message Number: 98783So, why spend additional monthly fees forQuotea cell phone for occassional use? We tried to use VOIP with a satellite Internet hookup and it was less than satisfactory because of the delay that everyone's mentioned. I certainly wouldn't want to rely on it for a regular "phone." Perhaps if we were out of range of a cell phone signal and an emergency cropped up, but other than that, no. Have you looked into the prepaid plans? Because we are not heavy phone users, it didn't make sense for us to be paying nearly $60 per month for a cell phone when we never came close to using all the minutes. Instead, we have a Net10 phone which costs $.10 per minute (Net10 is owned by TracPhone). We've been using it for about 2 years now and have had very good coverage.Linda Hylton http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
VOIP Magic Jack Skype Reply #5 – January 25, 2009, 09:46:24 am Yahoo Message Number: 98786What about a prepaid cell phone, where you only pay for the minutes that you use?Glen w/SOB[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: VOIP Magic Jack Skype Reply #6 – January 25, 2009, 10:26:57 am Yahoo Message Number: 98787"I've never been sold on the cost and use of a cell phone, and as a light user I was wondering about the alternatives." One alternative is the pay as you go programs, like Tracfone. For $100 or so I got a cell phone, a year of service and several hundred minutes. At the end of the year, I still had well over a hundred minutes unused. At that point I signed up for their $6 a month plan to keep the minutes and phone service active. The phone is seldom used, but is there when needed. My wife has the identical plan with another phone.Gary Estep Chico, CA Know Your Numbers: Get tips and tools to help you improve your credit score. (http://www.walletpop.com/credit/credit-reports?ncid=emlcntuswall00000002)[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: VOIP Magic Jack Skype Reply #7 – January 25, 2009, 03:02:45 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98801"One alternative is the pay as you go programs, like Tracfone." Thanks for the replies. I'm aware of the pre-paid plans and have used them. But, even those have gone way up in price and I don't even use the minimum minutes allowed.I had heard from some that the voip options had improved greatly. I supposed using them with a cable connection is superior to a satellite, and that may be the difference. I was asking about the voip option since I would likely be using the satellite tripod for the internet anyway. My understanding is that the air-card option is only available with a typical cell contract, not the pre-paids. Is that correct?
Re: VOIP Magic Jack Skype Reply #8 – January 25, 2009, 03:44:55 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98803"I had heard from some that the voip options had improved greatly. I supposed using them with a cable connection is superior to a satellite, and that may be the difference." Yup. By most accounts, VOIP can work pretty well with a cable or DSL internet connection. Alas, it works very awkwardly (as Jonna described) via a satellite internet link. Too bad--it would be nice...Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
VOIP Magic Jack Skype Reply #9 – January 25, 2009, 09:59:28 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98814I use Magic Jack at home on my desktop for outgoing calls and outgoing faxes. In the few months that I've had it, I would not want to expect it to be my only phone and I don't use it at all for incoming calls. You need a broadband connection, a fast processor, USB 2.0 and you must leave your computer on all of the time that you want to use it. Otherwise, it is great!!Glen w/SOB at home, working:-([Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: VOIP Magic Jack Skype Reply #10 – January 27, 2009, 06:44:17 am Yahoo Message Number: 98829Quote Yup. By most accounts, VOIP can work pretty well with a cable or DSL internet connection. Alas, it works very awkwardly (as Jonna described) via a satellite internet link. Too bad--it would be nice... Actually, the VoIP part works fine over satellite connections. It is the human interaction with the service under those conditions that fails-Dave '06 MB, Indianapolis
Re: VOIP Magic Jack Skype Reply #11 – January 27, 2009, 12:00:10 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98834I use Vonage as VoIP on my PC with a broadband connection so I asked them the question about satellite use. Here is their answer, verbatim:"I understand you would like to know whether Vonage is compactiable with the satellite Internet.Yes, our service generally works with DSL Satellite Internet connections or any Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) device (i.e. your home router). DSL requires Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) authentication "username & password" to access the Internet so you will have to configure your Vonage adapter or home router for this service. There may be some latency inherent on a satellite connection or line of sight issues that could affect audio quality when making calls through the Vonage service. Our calls require 90 kbps of consistent upload/download speed to make and receive calls through the Vonage network.However, we do not recommand Satellite Internet connections, Vonage works with almost any high-speed Internet connection (like DSL or Cable Internet) to provide you with award-winning quality and reliability."So the provider doesn't even recommend it...
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