If the device you use to access the Internet has a web camera, you can use Skype for video-conferencing. We do that a lot at work, to communicate with scientists in Chicago.
It beats having to travel there to talk to people. If you wish to use Skype to make phone calls to phones (either cell phones or land lines) it will cost you some money. Last I looked it was only a few cents a minute inside the US. It requires you to sign up for the pay service. If you are traveling outside the country and wish to call home, Skype doesn't know that you aren't in the US, so you still pay the same few cents a minute for the call. Sure beats the roaming fees on a cell phone (AT&T charges $0.99 per minute if you sign up for International roaming). Of course, if you are hoping to use that same phone to make local calls in the country you are in and don't want to be gouged, you'll have to sign up for a second Skype account that's based in the new country. Your friends and family will still be able to call you using your US phone number, and they won't be charged for an International call, either. Of course, all this depends upon you having a stable, easily accessible wireless connection. Once the power goes out, you no longer have phone service for emergency calls. Most cell phone companies now have more reasonable pay-as-you-use plans--have you looked into those? Diana *********************************************** Diana R. Tomchick On Aug 12, 2011, at 8:55 AM, "Sheryl Rieck" <[email protected]> wrote: > Do any of you us VoIP phone service? I really need a home phone because my > cell service here is horrible. But, I do not want to give Verizon $100 a > month for a home phone. > > Thanks. > Sheryl ________________________________ UT Southwestern Medical Center The future of medicine, today. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
