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What about phone service?
By Editor | August 28, 2007
I’m writing in response to Kathy’s comment about phone service. We made a couple of mistakes at first about phone service here, so it’s a very good question.
Cellphones first. One, we thought we might be able to use our Verizon cell phones here. We could, but because we were on roaming, we had difficulty with voicemail, local calls, and cost. The 611 customer service was also not available so it was very difficult to resolve these problems. Our opinion is that US cellphones are a bad option if you are going to live here.
Cellphones are available from TelCel from about $50.00. They are pay-as-you-go phones like the throw away phones you’re familiar with in the United States. Nextel is also available here, plus some small providers I’m not familiar with. Telcel is the most popular and most logical cellphone provider. We bought a $50.00 Nokia, but could have spent as much money as we wanted for a more advanced or tricked-out phone. There is an almost endless array of choices. The locals love their phones.
If you go with TelCel, we recommend you buy the $500 peso calling card. You’ll get double minutes when you activate so it’s the best discount available. Texting is very popular here, and is cheaper than voice calls. Your minutes will expire in 60 days, but you don’t have to use them in 60 days. Your minutes will rollover once you purchase another card.
For example, you purchase a $500 peso calling card and you get 1000 minutes when activated. You use 800 minutes in the 60 days and your phone locks up. You go buy another $500 peso card and get 1000 minutes plus the 200 minutes you had remaining at the end of your 60 days, so you now have 1200 minutes to use in the next 60 days. Unused minutes always rollover on expiration of the 60 day calling period. A good deal for Telcel. They keep you coming back to the trough at least every 60 days for more calling time.
Next, calling the United States. The preferred method is Voice over IP, acronym VOIP. The best solution is Vonage, but it is not available in Mexico. The work around is to subscribe to Vonage in the US, get your equipment shipped to you before you leave, and bring it with you. You can then set it up using your Internet connection here, whether you use Cablemas (the local cable company) or TelMex DSL for Internet service. There is a rumor that Cablemas will soon be offering VOIP to their subscribers for about $200 pesos a month. The catch is that it only includes 100 minutes of International calling, or so we were told by a Cablemas representative.
We’re currently using Skype for international calling on our TelMex DSL line. It works great, call quality is good, and the cost to the U.S. is 2.1 cents per minute. We use it for both family and business calls and $15.00 USD a month in Skype credit has been more than adequate. We also have a SkypeIn number (small additional charge) in Florida so our children can call us using a local number. Again, had we planned better, we would have brought a Wireless WiFi Skype phone with us. As it is, we are tethered to our computer with a headset, but it’s a small inconvenience for the money saved.
Skype and Vonage equipment is not yet available in Playa del Carmen or even Cancun. TelMex is very protective of its monopoly in Mexico. So again, you must get your equipment while in the U.S. and bring it with you or ask someone to mule it down here for you.
There are many Internet and international phone centers in Playa. Walk down any street in the tourist area, and you’ll probably see one. The cost is in the 2 to 4 peso per minute range. For a permanent resident, this is usually a service rarely used. However, we have stopped in to make a quick call on occasion when it was more convenient than going home. When we first arrived, we used our laptop at some of these Internet centers for email and Internet access. There are also many places to get wireless Internet access in coffee shops and restaurants.
Calling the U.S. from either your house phone or TelCel mobile phone is expensive and probably something you will not want to do on a regular basis.
Topics: Phone & Utilities |
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