Skype over 3G with no cell voice plan

[Sureshot324]

Is anyone doing this? I hear AT&T is allowing Skype over their 3G network now so it should be possible.

 

[pm]

Is it possible in the US to get 3G data service without a voice plan from anyone other than Sprint? I didn't think it was.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

AT&T does not allow plans without internet or voice.

 

[Sureshot324]

Can't you get a USB 3G modem with just a dataplan? And then take the SIM card from that and put it in your phone?

 

[pm]

That's a very good question and I had never thought about it, but that should work.

This should work too - unlimited internet for $40/month without a voice plan.
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/c...rnet-Rate-Plan

But I don't know what T-Mobile does about routing Skype packets. Probably they route them just fine given the sensitive nature of net neutrality rules right now.

Ok, next question - how do you background a Skype app on other Android or an iPhone to tell it to ring through Skype inbound calls? Or were you thinking of just outbound only?

 

[Sureshot324]

That's a very good question and I had never thought about it, but that should work.

This should work too - unlimited internet for $40/month without a voice plan.
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/c...rnet-Rate-Plan

But I don't know what T-Mobile does about routing Skype packets. Probably they route them just fine given the sensitive nature of net neutrality rules right now.

Ok, next question - how do you background a Skype app on other Android or an iPhone to tell it to ring through Skype inbound calls? Or were you thinking of just outbound only?

Not sure, but I figured with the openness of Android it would be possible. They claim any app has full access to the hardware, so it should be able to make the phone ring or vibrate.

 

[abaez]

I've tried a couple of times with both AT&T and TMO to get data only and they would not let me.

I'm now with AT&T prepaid - Voice is like .25 cents a minute (I use maybe like 100 minutes a year so no big deal). And $20 for 100MB of data (I use about 20MB of data per month). You have to buy another MB of data at $5 to extend your data deadline, but that's no biggie. It works well. No SMS needed as Google Voice routes SMS's to email.

For the TMO internet only I'm sure they'll force you to get on a voice+data plan on any Android phone worthwhile (G1, MyTouch, Nexus One, Cliq). They can enforce it too. You can probably get another GSM Android phone they don't officially offer but then it probably won't have their 3G bands.

I also don't think you do it with Skype.. probably SIPDroid if you have Google Voice.

 

[frostedflakes]

How does VoIP work with higher latency? I thought it was kind of latency sensitive, and 3G networks can have pretty high latency (a few hundred milliseconds). Might be worth looking into first.

edit: Also, something kind of cool to think about. Last year the FCC set aside some of the old analog TV spectrum for unlicensed use, and a lot of big companies like Google, Microsoft, etc. are wanting to use this spectrum for wireless networking and internet. If this takes off, I'd imagine eventually we'll see mobile internet devices with compatible radios built in. This opens up all kinds of cool opportunities, for example cell phones that use this network and free services like Google Voice for calls. So basically you could get a wireless data plan for maybe $30/mo and do your calling, texting, internet, etc. over it and not get nickel and dimed by incumbent cellular operators.

 

[pm]

VOIP works ok on 3G. Not amazing quality - there were some echoes that were odd, but it's workable.

As far as spectrum, Verizon bought the majority of the previous analog spectrum auctions - and AT&T bought a lot too (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_2008_wireless_spectrum_auction ). But it's still looking interesting going into next year...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20091223/bs_ibd_ibd/20091223tech

 

[Chapbass]

I can test it on Tmo 3g if someone wants to chat with me on skype, I've got my account set up on my n900, but ive never made a skype call to anyone.

 

[Sureshot324]

I've tried a couple of times with both AT&T and TMO to get data only and they would not let me.

I'm now with AT&T prepaid - Voice is like .25 cents a minute (I use maybe like 100 minutes a year so no big deal). And $20 for 100MB of data (I use about 20MB of data per month). You have to buy another MB of data at $5 to extend your data deadline, but that's no biggie. It works well. No SMS needed as Google Voice routes SMS's to email.

For the TMO internet only I'm sure they'll force you to get on a voice+data plan on any Android phone worthwhile (G1, MyTouch, Nexus One, Cliq). They can enforce it too. You can probably get another GSM Android phone they don't officially offer but then it probably won't have their 3G bands.

I also don't think you do it with Skype.. probably SIPDroid if you have Google Voice.

So you use Google voice as your main phone line? That sounds like a nice setup. Do you get charged anything for text messages? You're able to do both outbound and inbound calls and texts with no problems?