I'll start by saying I've never owned a cell phone in my life. (Go ahead....laugh...get it out....I can wait.)

The reason is I hate them. And they don't work. Other than that, they're brilliant. My problem is, I plan on moving to another country (in my case Mexico), and continuing to work for clients in the U.S. The nature of my work requires that I have (as close as possible) bullet-proof communications at any given time.

For the sake of disucssion, assume I will have semi-solid internet via a satellite wi-fi connection... as long as the signal stays up, which is.....again, semi-solid. Assume I will have SKYPE. I will also need standard telephone. When working, I'll need to be in constant contact with my biz partner in the U.S., and be available by phone for US clients. (I can use SKYPE with my partner, but for clients, if the signal is even semi-sketchy, I'll need a backup.)

Naturally, I will also need telephone for making local and national calls within Mexico. The location where I could very well end up living also does not offer land-line telephone. I'll need cell-phone service.

My question is this: What's the simplest solution for me that still provides, as much as is possible, constant telecom access?

For the life of me, I can't figure out how I WON'T need not one, but TWO cell phones. (Because I can't expect clients to be willing to call me internationally, I figure I'll need a US-based phone and number for US clients and for when SKYPE is either unavailable or the connection is dodgy. PLUS a Mexican-based cell phone for calls within that country.)

Is there a simpler solution that doesn't occur to me?

Thanks so much!

Clients will email, fax, Skype or call you (even internationally). For example, the very popular Mike's Sky Ranch doesn't supply their clients with a US number.

Get used to the world of cellphones, baby!

quote:

Originally posted by static:
Get used to the world of cellphones, baby!

Nice looking place, that Sky Ranch. But I'm not talking about those clients, static. I'm talking about manic, coked up, Type-A, I'm-the-Center-of-the-Universe New Yorkers working on a nasty, super-tight deadline. Ya know, people who need other people to tie their shoes for them. Because they are incapable. If I don't answer the phone immediately, they just call somebody else.

Sadly, I'm very replacable.

All the solutions I have for you will require a dependable, high-speed internet connection.

Thanks Co-Op. I'm going back down there in a couple weeks and will be trying to determine just how reliable the internet/wi-fi signal is. My first visit to the location just happened to coincide with thier lightening/electrical storm season....so the reliability issue is giving me pause. "Most" of the time things were up and running, but....between a couple of electrical outages and the satellite going down temporarily.....yeah.

It's very possible I'm over-worrying about this. I don't work that much any more anyway.

P.S. To the Mod: If you guys think I should just consolidate this info into the original "Becoming an Expat" thread, just let me know and I'll copy and paste and you can kill this thread.

quote:

Originally posted by Not the first Travis:but....between a couple of electrical outages and the satellite going down temporarily.....yeah.

As long as the satellite's upload speed is 128Kbps or higher, you should be able to make a solid phone system work in a dependable fashion. You know, unless it rains or is particularly windy. :/ A hard line DSL connection would be much better if it is indeed available.

In terms of cellular service, Movistar and Telcel are both pretty horrible, but they'll do.

quote:

As long as the satellite's upload speed is 128Kbps or higher, you should be able to make a solid phone system work in a dependable fashion.

Thanks! This gives me enough time to learn how to ask that in English. And then Spanish.

quote:

A hard line DSL connection would be much better if it is indeed available.

It ain't available there. At least if we go the route I'm exploring. (A place OUTSIDE of a small town, electrical wires yes, telco no. Satelitte tower on the hill opposite. And yeah, they get weather....

quote:

In terms of cellular service, Movistar and Telcel are both pretty horrible

Yep. I've heard. That's why I'm looking into redundant availability.

Gah. THANKS for the info. It sounds like I at least have a semi-handle, in the crudest way, on the key issues. More than anything, I just wanted to check my thinking before going down there and exploring, so this helps. Fortunately, there *is* a neighbor not too far off who deals with similar issues (I think) so I can pick her brain.

Now, Co-Op. No more posting til I get back....

Try this site:

http://www.onebox.com/

if thats not quite what you're looking for, just google "Virtual PBX"

Here is an option:

Get a skype-in US number. This way your clients are calling domestically. Then get a Mexican cell phone and have your skype forward your calls to the cell phone when you are not online or if you tell it to because the signal is bad. This works super cool and is probably the easiest and cheapest solution.

I this should work even if the you are not logged into Skype, and the quality should be good, if skype isn't doing it for you with good enough quality switch to someone else that offers all this too, but guarantees better quality. ^^Like onebox mentioned above.

I'm bumping this thread because now I have a real need.

Still don't own a cell phone. Have to be out of our house on March 14, and will lose my land line. Don't know where we'll end up in Mexico. Will probably have to stay in Seattle in temporary housing for a while so we can tie up loose ends. Then we'll head to Mexico. Still need to give people (especially clients) a new phone #, and don't want to have to ask them to change that again a couple months later. What do you guys think of this scenario:

---------

Get a Skype in # in my Seattle area code

Go sign up for a T-Mobile plan, get an unlocked Quad-band GSM phone (so it'll work in Mexico).

Forward the Skype # to my new US T-Mobile Cell phone #. (This will allow me to give clients a new # - the Skype one - which I won't have ask them to change a few months later. I really don't want to have to ask them to do that.)

The T-Mobile phone will get me through the time I spend in the US without a land line, and during the transition/move to Mexico. I'm going to need this because I don't know how long it will take for us to tie up loose ends/move.

Once I'm in Mexico, and have telephone there (either land, or on the T-Mobile instrument with a new Telcel plan and SIM card) change the Skype forwarding info to that new Mexico phone number.

Then once I'm assured I have solid telephone in Mexico, cancel the T-Mobile contract. This will incur a $200 cancellation fee, but I'm willing to eat that to get over the hump/transition.

Or something like that. Believe it or not, this is the simplest solution I can come up with so far.

My folks live in Mexico and in addition to a Mexican land line, they have a Vonage number for the US. It's a Washington state number for some reason, but it works out to be a lot cheaper than a Mexican cell or land line for calling to the US or for people calling them from here. I have Skype (out only) but the connection from my home phone to their Vonage number is usually better. I'm not sure that Vonage is technically legal in Mexico but a lot of ex-pats use it, I think.

Might want to check out Iridium satellite telephones. They are expensive per minute, but work most anywhere on earth... so long as you are outside or have an antenna outside.

http://www.stratosglobal.com/products/page-products_iridium.cfm#9505a

I know some folks that use them, but I think the cost is in the "If you have to ask..." range!

Thanks HampdenHoop. From what I've heard (but haven't researched) Vonage would be a great solution, but I think I need to be settled somewhere before I can take advantage of it. I don't really expect to be settled in either this country or the next one for several months, if that, and I *think* the SKYPE scenario offers me a bit more flexibility in the meantime. I think. I'm scrambling...

RocknRod, thanks also. But I'm not that important, and neither are my clients. They just think they are.

It's a dark day, people. I just bought the first cell phone of my life today. Ewwww....I don't even know how to use it, and I'm not kidding. Gah.

Just curious...Why T-Mobile?

You could also get a cell phone with an international plan...then you can keep your number. Do Vonage or other VOIP-type phone systems work down there, or is that only US-domestic?

quote:

Originally posted by anniebanannie:
Just curious...Why T-Mobile?

CONTEXT: This is all about clients, not friends. Eh, friends. You'll find me, won't you????

In Mexico, the two biggest providers, especially the biggest/most coverage (Telcel....no wonder Carlos Slim is the 3rdish richest man in the world) are on a GSM network. Only other big GSM USA provider is ATT/Cingular. GSM phone will enable me to, once I'm there, swap out the T-Mobile SIM card with a Telcel version. (For calls within Mexico.) And it will/should (at horrific intl roaming rates if I have to call back to US) actually work from Mexico all by itself with the T-Mobile SIM. As is.

So it came down to ATT/Cingular versus T-Mobile. Again, all about clients/business. I reviewed my US landline long distance for the last year, which is how I've conducted biz AND my home long distance. Didn't slice and dice the numbers too much, but the VAST share of minutes are to my business partner (in Boise, ID). T-Mobile offers a plan that lets you pick your 5 most frequently called numbers and gives you unlimited minutes to them.....in addition to the minutes you buy based on the plan you purchase. Only within the US, but still...

One month last year I was on the phone long distance for 1500 minutes. I averaged 600 minutes LD from landline over the course of the year. The choice became clear. (Hope the signal is!)

The entry of SKYPE into the equation is to try to reduce the rest of the transitional crap, since we don't know how long we'll be in the US til we're on the road, then don't know where we'll land/end up in Mexico, nor what will be available wherever that is. It's all about the flexibility.

Sorry for the ramble, don't have time to be cogent.

BEST QUOTE EVER: (I think Orwell? paraphrased/butchered) "If I'd had more time, I would have written less."