Job Discussion Forums

[Dominique]

I came across a few sites for this:
www.vonage.ca
www.spectravoice.com
www.comwave.com
www.primus.ca
www.sprint.ca
www.babytel.ca

and I was wondering if anyone has used anything like this and does it work in Japan well?
I was thinking about getting a 416 area code number and bringing it to Osaka so that I would not have to pay long distance and neither would my friends and family. You do need a broadband connection or else it won't work.

[JimDunlop2]

Just e-mailed Vonage and asked them the same question directly. Here is the reply they e-mailed me a couple days ago.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your interest in Vonage.

If you are interested in our Vonage Canada service, we require a
Canadian Shipping Address, and a Canadian Billing Address for your
credit card. Currently we do not ship internationally or accept
international billing addresses. However, our service will most likely
work in other countries. We advise you to check the local VoIP laws of
the country that you are using it in as some countries regulate the use
of VoIP. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the quality of service due
to the long latency between your local ISP provider and our service in
Canada.

If you would like to use our service in another country, you will have
a Canadian telephone number and pay our international rates to call
within your country. Our current international rates may be viewed at:
http://www.vonage.ca/intrates.php. All calls placed from your Vonage
number to Canada or the US would be included in your plan. You would
not be paying international rates for these calls.

Please let us know if we may be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Kristin
Vonage Sales

[ Sun Nov 14 08:04:52 2004]:

> I have a Canadian shipping address and credit card, but frequently
> travel internationally for long periods of time.
>
> Is it possible
> to use your service with a broadband (ADSL connection) that I have
> when I am in the Far East? (e.g. Japan). (They use the same POTS
> equipment as in Canada).
>
> Thank you.
>

[canuck]

www.skype.com

Phone problems solved. It's free. Or cheap if you want to go PC to phone.

[Dominique]

What if you want people calling you??

[Dominique]

I called ComWave for their deals:
http://www.comwave.net/iphone_email/xiphone/Red%20Flag%20Deals.htm
If you have access to a canadian or american shipping address, this may be the way to go.
you can't really beat $14.95 or even $9.95 for a North American phone line.

They said that there should be no problem using this in Japan, however you will need to upgrade the service to unlimited global calling in order to send/receive calls from Japan.

[shmooj]

[Dominique]

Not really, but what if that person is busy all the time or they have something that they have to tell you right now and they need to get a hold of u. I don't have ESP and know when to call

[Glenski]

skype, Microsoft NetMeeting, America Online Instant Messenger...

They all have pretty much the same package. With pretty much any computer, all you do is download the program (unless it's already installed), then buy a headset with microphone, and you're in. If you want to add a special touch, get a web cam to send live video of yourself, too.

There will always be compatibility issues with the web cam, but as for the "phone service" quality, I can vouch for AOL AIM. Not bad.

As someone else has mentioned, the people on the other end must have the same programs downloaded in order to send and receive with you. Just having all of this will save you money, but both of you must be online at the time you desire to call.

[shmooj]

[Dominique]

It's too bad the people I talk to aren't really computer savvy. They would rather use a phone.

[stretch]

Why pay when I can talk long distance for free. Oh yeah, skype also sounds clearer than my long distance phone carrier here in anyway. Small hassle of the comp to comp thing but $ is $.

[canuck]

[Dominique]

but doesn't that mean you have to sit on your computer for the whole conversation? bleh. but it's free right?!

[shmooj]