cell phone plans

Mr. Hollywood says on Sep 21, 2004, 11:15:

Not sure what you mean What exactly do you mean? My Comcel plan treats all domestic calls the same, whether they're LD or local. So what you're really paying for is minutes, not national long distance. International LD on my Comcel is about 900 pesos a minute, I believe. Which is a lot better than international LD on my US cell phone.

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oldbongo says on Sep 21, 2004, 11:41:

i mean this: can you make international calls calls exclusively
on your plan without having to pay for unused minutes
on national calls... and 900p is costoso... i hope to find
a plan that prepays for considerable international use,
but little national use,capiche? gracias a todos.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Sep 21, 2004, 11:56:

I see If you think $.35-$.40 a minute for cell phone intl. LD is pricey, I don't know how much luck you're going to have.

As a point of comparison, my US cell phone provider costs 2 buck a minute to call Colombia and I think that's pretty standard.

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pointofview says on Sep 21, 2004, 17:37:

VOIP As I have posted before "call bridging" and VOIP are the answer to your question. I use a remote access device to access VOIP from my cell phone or any phone to make all my international calls. I pay US$20 per month for unlimited calling to USA and Canada which I can access from any phone anywhere (including my cell phone).

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oldbongo says on Sep 21, 2004, 19:55:

thanks for your pointofview senorito
now i have to learn about these magical things.

can you help?

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pointofview says on Sep 22, 2004, 05:29:

Call Bridging I use a Johnson Electronics (USA) RAD-AMP remote access device which works for this application in its default mode from the factory (no programming necessary) http://www.vikingelectronics.com/

These devices are expensive ($250 wholesale) but work very well without any problems. Less expensive alternatives can be found at the following website:

http://store.voxilla.com/customer/home.php?cat=250

http://store.voxilla.com/customer/product.php?productid=16144&cat=0&page=

The Sipura 3000 has this capability built in including the VOIP ATA and with this you are set to go.

All you do is connect a local access phone line to the call bridging port and dial the local access number from any phone to acess dialtone and place a long distance call on VOIP. It works flawlessly.

VOIPCOLOMBIA (from Bogota) can aim you in the right direction.

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oldbongo says on Sep 22, 2004, 12:28:

thanks again.. for your help
the only part i don't unerstan is ??local access # ??
i have begun to reread your previous posts
on this matter and they will be a big help.
muchas grassy ass.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Sep 22, 2004, 13:47:

VOIP Oldgringo, to use the system that pointofview describes you first need 5 things:

1. An existing Colombian cell phone and plan ($20-$40 month)
2. An exisiting VOIP account (such as Vonage. $30 a month)
3. An existing Colombian land line ($6-$10 a month)
4. Broadband internet to your Colombian residence ($50 a month)
5. the bridging device he's talking about. ($100)

So while it's a wonderful solution if you already have all these things, it's neither simple nor cheap for a person who just wants a roaming number to use within Colombia.

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oldbongo says on Sep 22, 2004, 19:55:

gracias por your kind assistance to an oldgringo.

this is just what i need to move on.

K.I.S.S....so, doctorito, do you have any

other advice re the comparison service/cost of comcel o bellsouth?

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Mr. Hollywood says on Sep 22, 2004, 21:50:

Service Both Comcel and Bellsouth have comparable levels of service. Ola is the laughingstock of Colombia because their coverage sucks and half the time you're out of service if they're your provider. As far as prices, both Comcel and Bellsouth have websites where you can do your own shopping.

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pointofview says on Sep 23, 2004, 06:33:

Mr. Hollywood - VOIP Remote Access Your summary of requirements and costs are pretty close. The remote calls can be made from any phone (celular or otherwise). The broadboand service costs about US$40 but serves many other uses. Our local access line costs less (in Medellin).

The advantage of this system is that several people can share that VOIP line rather than just one (home bound) VOIP user. I use www.iconnecthere.com and two other VOIP providers that bill US$20/mo. for unlimited minutes. If your usage is much less you can get service from Vonage (as an example) for 500 minutes LD (USA & Canada) for US$13.00/mo. My work requires 20 hours a week (USA telephone time) so there is not another alternative for me that is better. Of course very low volume users can choose from other alternatives and options.

As to Ola everyone has there own experiences. I personally love Ola because I bought prepaid phones in December of 2003 which have worked well (for the most part). More importantly the prepaid credit in the phones when they were activated was CP$8.000 and that remains the same today. I have named my phones "Ola Gracias".

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Mr. Hollywood says on Sep 23, 2004, 08:20:

POV question Point of view, I have a question. When you're using your VOIP line through the bridge, it can still only handle one call at a time, right? So, for example, a person is bridging in from a cell phone to the VOIP line it can't also be in use by someone at home?

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pointofview says on Sep 23, 2004, 08:42:

Mr. Hollywood Call Bridging or Extender Mr. Hollywood:

This is correct but you can install a 4 or 8 port router in back of the broadband modem and hook up multiple VOIP devices (or computers) and use them all at once assuming you have adequate bandwidth. 128/64 kbps bandwidth will not support more than two devices at once and they need to be adjusted down to 30 kbps (bandwidth). I now use 256/128 kbps bandwidth and have no problems with more than one device.

You could use a phone from http://www.meritcall.com which has no monthly charge and only a 1.9 cents/minute charge to USA in addition to the other dedicated VOIP unit used in call bridging. That way you always have a spare phone to make outgoing calls if the other unit is busy.

All of this is legal (in Colombia) if you "do not" charge anyone to use this service or if others just share in the cost as a co-operative. If you charge for the usage as a "commerical business" then that's a felony in Colombia under its current reglatory intrepretation.

VOIPCOLOMBIA (a regular poster) knows the drill and could help someone get set up (installation).

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toneloc24 says on Feb 22, 2005, 07:16:

Does anyone know the bandwidth on which Comcel, Bellsouth, and Ola operate their cellular service?

I have an unlocked tri-band phone that works with TIM in Peru, but does not when I try to use the same phone in Colombia. I was trying to buy a SIM card in Comcel, but only got the "Emergency Only" message. I spoke to the rep and she said that the phone couldn't be used with Comcel.

Please assist.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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viewpoint says on Feb 23, 2005, 05:42:

Toneloc24 An unlocked tri-band GMS cell phone should work with OLA or COMCEL using one of their SIM cards. Just try using a SIM cards from a friends cell phone that uses that service (OLA or COMCEL) and if it fails to work there must be properitary software blocking their usage. I have almost every cell phone know to man and have no problems. I even have a TREO 600 and use it on OLA.

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zhallart says on Mar 1, 2005, 16:33:

cell Viewpoint

Hi

I have a Samsung X426 that uses a SIM card.

Not sure which frequencies it has, but is GSM.

Do you know if this will work with Col. SIM?

Also have a phone that works in both Singapore and Thailand
on different SIM cards with different phone numbers.

Probably should bring both phones and try a SIM in each?

Thanks

Zart

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viewpoint says on Mar 2, 2005, 06:16:

ZART (Zhallart) Your phone is a dual band phone 850/1900 MHz. As long as it's unlocked you should have no problem using it in Colombia with a SIM card from Comcel or Ola using a prepaid plan. If not cell phones are cheap in Colombia.

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zhallart says on Mar 2, 2005, 18:29:

Cell Correctomundo

850-1900

You are the expert.

I am sure someone in Bog can unlock it.

Do you know about Jayphones from Asia?
I have one of those also, but the mhz are at home.
Works in Bangkok and Singapore with different SIM cards.

Thanks

Zart

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viewpoint says on Mar 3, 2005, 04:58:

ZART (Zhallart) It may well be operational in it's current form but if not you can obtain the codes to "unlock" the phone for a few dollars (US) from a seller of "unlocking" codes for cell phones on Ebay.

You need to obtain a USB port VOIP phone for $30-$35 US and then you are all set as you can call worldwide for pennies per minute. http://www.iphonecenter.net or http://www.meritcall.com and you will find their phones on ebay for about $26 plus freight buy make sure they are configered for www.iphonecenter.net or www.meritcall.com so it's just plug, download software (2 minutes) enter user name, telephone number and password (5 minutes) and you are set to make calls. These phones work well with Windows XP Home or Professional but will work with most every other operating system out there. No monthly charge just minutes used !!!

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YEP says on Mar 3, 2005, 10:11:

"Point of view" would that include linux too ??
I'd be a bit sceptical on that one .... but hell wonders happen even in the backyard of HW-vendors ;-)

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Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

------------------------------------------------------------------- Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

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