Best options for VOIP or other when overseas

[Spike]

Hey all, I just moved overseas (EU) and am currently investigating mobile options. I still have my t-mobile account but that won't be active much longer. I'm going to port my number over to google voice and then likely get local service of some kind. What I'm curious about is what options are out there for communicating around Europe and back to the US?

I'll have a work mobile so this would purely be for personal use. I can just ask all my family and friends to install viber or whatsapp and get a local contract that has low min and high data, I just wanted to see what others options there may be that I'm not considering.

So how does the average highly paid international ATOT playboy communicate while aboard?

 

[blackangst1]

You know with TMobile wifi calling you can call anywhere in the US for free right?

 

[Spike]

You know with TMobile wifi calling you can call anywhere in the US for free right?

Yup, but tmobile says they will deactivate my account if the phone does not ping a US tower every so often. Plus that would require me to maintain a tmobile account plus a local account, something I'm trying to avoid.

That wifi calling the US for free has been a life saver with all my work travel overseas. But now that I live overseas, it won't be of much use for long. Though at this point it's mostly moot anyway as my nexus 6P does not seem to like to wifi call.

 

[John Connor]

Not sure if Magicjack works in the EU, but that might be an option. I've also heard good things about Ooma, but once again I don't know if they work in the EU.

Ah! Question asked & answered many moons ago. http://www.ooma.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9426

 

[Imp]

I've heard people taking their Ooma boxes overseas. Never done it so don't know how well it works.

 

[mikeford]

Tmobile wifi calling still counts against monthly minutes, so only free with unlimited min plan. I have the inverse 100 min voice, unlimited data.

 

[Lyfer]

Pretend like it's 1991 and send a letter.

 

[Printer Bandit]

Talking is overrated. just email everyone.

 

[Gooberlx2]

If you're doing google voice anyway, just use hangouts and get a local plan with high data.

 

[Spike]

If you're doing google voice anyway, just use hangouts and get a local plan with high data.

I just discovered that. There is a local plan for 20 euro that gives me 15gb a month. I'll add another 10 or so euro to get some local min, but that data should cover me for calls back to/from the US and surfing. Now I just need to port over my current tmo number to gv and I'll be good to go.

Last question then, SMS. It sounds like receiving SMS to my GV number will work just fine through hangouts as it will come in via data. However, sending SMS would use my local contracts messaging allotment and would count as intl as far as I can tell. So it looks like messaging would work best via skype, facebook, viber, whatsapp, etc... but not using my GV number.

Fun times!

 

[Scarpozzi]

I just discovered that. There is a local plan for 20 euro that gives me 15gb a month. I'll add another 10 or so euro to get some local min, but that data should cover me for calls back to/from the US and surfing. Now I just need to port over my current tmo number to gv and I'll be good to go.

Last question then, SMS. It sounds like receiving SMS to my GV number will work just fine through hangouts as it will come in via data. However, sending SMS would use my local contracts messaging allotment and would count as intl as far as I can tell. So it looks like messaging would work best via skype, facebook, viber, whatsapp, etc... but not using my GV number.

Fun times!

Who do you send SMS to? If you know the carrier, a lot of them have Email equivalents.... (Verizon, for instance is phone_number@vtext.com)

 

[jlee]

Yup, but tmobile says they will deactivate my account if the phone does not ping a US tower every so often. Plus that would require me to maintain a tmobile account plus a local account, something I'm trying to avoid.

That wifi calling the US for free has been a life saver with all my work travel overseas. But now that I live overseas, it won't be of much use for long. Though at this point it's mostly moot anyway as my nexus 6P does not seem to like to wifi call.

You probably have a fair amount of time - I spent 3.5 months in Canada last year and they didn't seem to care.

 

[11thHour]

Fwiw, Voip.ms has servers in Amsterdam, London, Melbourne, and Paris. Skype is another option.