I have a cellphone (iPhone on AT&T) that will cost $0.20 per minute (perhaps more) to make a call from the United States to Canada. I'm a cheap bastard and would like to avoid this charge whilst still using my cellphone to place the call. What options are available for me to do this more cheaply? Would I buy and use a calling card (and are there issues I need to worry about with this option), or are there apps that I can run on iOS through which I can call another country more cheaply than through AT&T?
posted by Blazecock Pileon
on Mar 20, 2013 -
20 answers
I need a service that will allow me to generate an automated call to a small group of telephone numbers in the event of a software failure.
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posted by DWRoelands
on Jul 13, 2012 -
11 answers
Non-American who occasionally travels to America wants a Southern California phone number (Los Angeles area) that has data and that my friends can text to. My phone works on all USA carriers. What's the cheapest
permanent solution? A web-based (or other non-cell) solution is also welcome as long as people can text to the number.
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posted by You Should See the Other Guy
on May 11, 2012 -
11 answers
What is a good conference calling service for use in Canada (Ottawa specifically), which allows people to connect by computer or by phone in a single conference? I'm on a budget too.
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posted by Nish ton
on Apr 15, 2012 -
4 answers
How much did long distance telephone calls cost in the late 1970s and early 1980s? I'm mainly interested in hearing about rates for the USA but data from other countries would be welcome as well.
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posted by jason's_planet
on Mar 31, 2012 -
21 answers
Help me prepare and organize my business phone network utilizing a Landline/Fax (copper-USA), Iphone (AT&T), Skype, Google Voice, etc (other services?) as optimally as possible. I want viable international business line(s) I can easily express on a Business Card. PS, I have to connect with Fiji as cheaply as possible.
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posted by DetonatedManiac
on Aug 8, 2011 -
1 answer
I've got a VOIP service that's really inexpensive, a first year, new client deal. That's about to expire and my rate will bump. While it's still inexpensive, I'm wondering how I can get control of this and not be at the affect of a external company, specifically how can I control my public phone number, keep my calling rates low, and avoid having an external company call the shots.
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posted by diode
on Apr 4, 2011 -
4 answers
I have a grandfather in western Oklahoma with great stories, and I'd like to record phone calls with him for later transcription. It seems like there should be a simple, cheap technology solution to this, but I'm having trouble.
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posted by blueshammer
on Mar 10, 2011 -
9 answers
Where does my SMS go on it's way to where I've sent it? Does it hang out at the phone company at all or does it go out like a phone call?
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posted by From Bklyn
on Jan 26, 2011 -
10 answers
Legal status of inadvertently sent (supposed to be internal) automated test calls which could be viewed as "prank calls" that go accidentally to 7-13 unsuspecting recipients. And more. YANML i know, please read details.
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posted by anonymous
on Nov 21, 2009 -
10 answers
TorontoFilter: We're moving next week from the US and have a few questions. Can you help us hit the ground running?
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posted by setanor
on Aug 24, 2009 -
45 answers
I work in a small office with a small budget where the only full-time employees are my assistant and I, and we have separate offices. Our office has two phone lines. When one is busy, the other rings. Line one is our published office number. We each have our own voice mailbox. The problem is that you only get the "Press 1 to speak to [her], press 2 to speak to [me]" when both lines are busy or no one answers. I want to set up things so that people can select who they would like to speak to before the phone rings on our end.
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posted by 4ster
on Aug 4, 2009 -
4 answers
Is VOIP (Voice over IP) really mature enough to get rid of the landline, and what would you do with my personal phone/business phone(s) situation?...story to follow.
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posted by teg4rvn
on Mar 27, 2009 -
16 answers
Can anyone recommend an open-source-protocol-based just-for-home-use VOIP provider & software? I'm pretty sure I don't want Skype, pretty sure I don't want Yahoo Messenger - security issues, not knowing what's really going on with these packages once they're installed, plus the license/privacy/etc. agreements are long and pretty bad.
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posted by amtho
on Oct 6, 2008 -
8 answers
How do I hook up a mobile phone to a regular, POTS "hard phone"? Most of the time, I'm at home and it would be easier for me to use a regular, large-size telephone instead of craning my neck to try to use the little mobile phone that I have.
If it matters, I'm in the USA and have Sprint.
posted by Electrius
on Sep 24, 2008 -
10 answers
Asking for a friend: What is a very good technical text for understanding current and future wireless telephony standards, beginning with the basics about CDMA and TDMA and covering through 3G, LTE, LTE-Advanced, WiMax and beyond?
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posted by Pastabagel
on Aug 19, 2008 -
2 answers
Important Skype Issue! I primarily use Skype for voicemails, however I am getting lots of complaints that Skype's line is busy. Every time I open Skype the preferences are set to only allow calls from people in my contact list. I keep setting them to allow calls from anyone and they keep going back to only accepting calls from people in my contacts list.
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posted by arniec
on Aug 14, 2008 -
3 answers
I need suggestions for a Google Grand Central alternative. Namely a telephone web app that lets me have use of a local number. No VOIP suggestions, please.
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posted by mr. creosote
on Apr 2, 2008 -
4 answers
I have terrible cell reception in my house so I have been forwarding my cell calls to my home phone when I'm at home. This has worked great. There's a problem though.
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posted by jdl
on Jan 14, 2008 -
7 answers
My wife and I both
loathe our Motorola RAZRs, and fortunately, we're able to replace them at subsidized, new-customer pricing at the end of this month (October 28th, to be specific). We're Verizon Wireless customers for a slew of reasons, and are going to stick with VZW; does anyone have recommendations for phones we should consider?
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posted by delfuego
on Oct 15, 2007 -
24 answers
Finally getting a cell phone. The
only "feature" I care about is reception. I don't need any doodads, email, mp3s, video etc. etc--the only exception is I need to store 75 numbers or more. Price doesn't matter. What phone should I get? I'm in Toronto (east end/beaches) but am willing to buy thru eBay or whatever if necessary. Should I go with Rogers? Fido? Telus? (Refuse to go with Bell so that one's out). Lastly, I'm okay with doodads and whatnot as long as they don't affect reception so if you've got opinions on those, please share. I'm on a Mac.
posted by dobbs
on Mar 27, 2007 -
17 answers
Internet Telephony Query: What combination of hardware and software runs JaJah.com?
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posted by markovich
on Mar 10, 2007 -
8 answers
Does Skype "smooth" your voice to make it sound mellower, more seductive etc.? That's my impression; but is there any evidence to support it? I suppose an analogous means of customer retention might be the use in shops of "slimming mirrors".
posted by londongeezer
on Feb 20, 2007 -
15 answers
TelephonyFilter: Is there any Internet telephony provider that will allow you to receive incoming calls, but does NOT require that you have voicemail service? When I spoke with representatives at Skype, they said that the voicemail feature can not be disabled. I would be more than happy to use Vonage, however, due to the way my Internet is set up, it doesn't work (a known issue with this particular ISP). All I want is some way to set up a phone number and receive incoming calls ONLY--with NO voicemail, NO forwarding, NO call waiting. Is there any such service out there?
posted by polexxia
on Dec 12, 2006 -
7 answers
Experience with Vonage or any VOIP in Toronto? I know it's been asked before but figure the technology may have improved. Also, what about some of their other
products?
posted by Manhasset
on Aug 18, 2006 -
9 answers
Scriptable multiline voice menu system for a one-day event. Does anyone offer this service?
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posted by aubilenon
on Jul 26, 2006 -
4 answers
I'm strongly leaning toward dumping Verizon and switching to
Gizmo. What I'm curious about is the actual user experience of making and receiving VOIP calls. Is it be a hassle to be tethered to the computer via a headset? Do I need to leave my computer on all the time? How do I check voicemail (it's got something to do with e-mail, apparently -- does Gizmo e-mail me WAV files or something)? How do I dial out? If I'm making a call to an automated system that requires touch-tone data entry, how would I do this? How expensive and complicated would it be to route my calls to a conventional handset?
posted by Artifice_Eternity
on May 11, 2006 -
8 answers
We've decided to get rid of our landline and go with a softphone. The question is: which to choose? We have cable internet. We'd need call in (our own phone number) and call out (ability to call landlines from our PC). For the most part, we'd be talking to people with landlines. I know we can't dial 911 with these-- we have an old cell phone (no more minutes left, but kept charged up) for this purpose. What's better? Skype? Gizmo? Yahoo? Or something else?
We know that USB handsets are available with Skype-- what about the others? Also, how would this work with a home network? Are we restricted to calling from one PC or can we do it from any PC in the house?
posted by Shoeburyness
on Apr 17, 2006 -
8 answers
For the next 18 months I will be regularly traveling in the UK, Ireland and US (pleasure and business). What is the best strategy to optimize international compatibility and consolidate telephony, email and internet access into one (or the fewest) devices.
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posted by rmhsinc
on Oct 20, 2005 -
3 answers
Can anyone recommend a decent inexpensive telephone headset for home use?
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posted by phrits
on Sep 1, 2005 -
5 answers
Wanted: a relatively simple wired-to-the-wall phone with headset jack, message-waiting blinking light (phone company voicemail), speaker phone, and maybe a few speed-dial buttons (caller ID optional but preferred). Only need one line, no answering machine, no wireless. Does this phone exist?
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posted by amtho
on Aug 21, 2005 -
6 answers
Is there any free, public resource that will tell me who owns a particular block of 800, 866, etc. phone numbers in North America?
posted by gimonca
on Apr 26, 2005 -
2 answers
Telephone message software. What are some good voicemodem-telephony programs for Windows? I need a program where callers who enter a certain PIN (via touch tone) can hear a recorded announcement that I provide. I've seen some telephony software but I don't recall any support for touch tone entry. Seems something that theater movie lines use would be perfect.
posted by rolypolyman
on Apr 9, 2005 -
4 answers
I would like to buy a voice chat headset for my Windows-2000 based computer to use in UT2004/other games and also with Skype. I would like a quality piece but I don't want to pay a lot of money. Suggestions?
posted by selfnoise
on Feb 22, 2005 -
4 answers
Internet Telephony - What is the best way - quality and price - to do PC to PC or PC to phone communication with Windows? Headset recommendations (wireless??) ? USB versus soundcard plugs?
posted by srboisvert
on Jul 13, 2004 -
1 answer
