FINALLY – Unlimited calling plans with Skype!

Well it was about time that Skype (Google) came out with there unlimited calling plans. I was waiting for this for a long time. All of our siblings live in Canada, so you can imagine the long distance bills we were getting each month. For a while I managed to cut down the phone bills since by using a VoIP calling card with tel3advantage. But the call quality and reliability was still not good enough. Frequently we would hear echo, calls not going through, always had to go through their 1800 number. But for 3 cents a minute to make a call from the US to Canada, it was worth swallowing the pill and accepting the hit on quality to save on monthly bills.

When Skype (Google) announced their unlimited long distance calling plans from a Skype account to regular land line phones, with Skypeout, that’s when they got me really interested. They have 3 different unlimited calling plans:

1. Unlimited calls to landlines and cell phones in the US and Canada for $2.95/month;

2. Unlimited calls to landlines in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey for $5.95/month. And discounted rates to landlines and cell phones in the rest of Mexico ;

3. Unlimited calls to landlines in 34 countries worldwide for $9.95/month.

Plus you save 1/3 when you buy a 3 or 12 month subscription by June 1st 2008.

So a month ago I went on the NewEgg website and purchased what they call a Skype certified VoIP cordless phone. After a lot of research on different VoIP phones I concluded on the Philips VOIP8411B. It looked pretty slick, nice features, it was a little bit pricey ($119) but considering the fact that I would be saving around $25 on long distance per month it would take little less than 5 months to come even so it was worth the purchase.

So this is how it works: the skype cordless phone can be used without having to boot up your PC. With this phone you can make Skype calls (skype users to skype users), SkypeOut calls (skype users to regular landlines), and regular calls (landline to landline). All you need is:

• High speed Internet connection (DSL or cable);
• Router or Modem Router;
• 1 Free LAN port;
• Skype account (free sign up).

It took me 15 minutes to install. You connect the base station to your modem or modem router, another connection goes to your regular land line phone jack and of course one connection to power. The cool thing is that you can set the handset anywhere in your house close to a power jack (far from the base station if desired). Once the handset is powered-on it searches for its network (connects to the base station) and asks you to sign-in the same way you would sign-in to your skype account on a pc. Once signed in you go through a couple of basic setting steps and then retrieves you’re skype contacts if any. And voila you are ready to make calls. So here is my take on this phone:

pros:

• easy to install;
• nice color lcd display;
• different ringtones;
• great call quality;
• built-in skype software;
• automatic update (if necessary);
• good range between the handset and the base station;
• can use the phone (landline or skype) without the need to turn my pc on;

cons:

• weak speakerphone;
• can’t set the line preference (landline or skypeout) for programmed phone numbers in memory;

My wife and I have been using this phone for over a month now and we are still very pleased with it. In average we make 2 to 3 long distance calls a day and so far no dropped calls, crisp clear conversations with the handset. We basically dedicated the Skype phone for our outgoing long distance calls (you can still receive regular local calls on it) and our other regular phone for outgoing landline calls.

On last thought: A nice advantage about all this setup is the fact that if the Skype phone is in use for a long distance call, it is not keeping your regular land line busy. So basically you have two independent lines. You can talk as long as you want on the skype phone (only on outgoing long distance call with Skypeout or incoming/outgoing Skype call) and still not miss/send a call from your regular land line phone!