I live in Argentina and want Vonage, but need advice.

Posts: 5 · New Forum Member Joined: May 28, 2007 Posts: 5

I am considering signing up with Vonage, but have a few questions, forgive me if they have been addressed here before:

I am an American in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I want to sign up for Vonage so I can call my friends in the U.S. and vice versa.

From my understanding, I will be able to make unlimited calls to the U.S. (with the $24.99 plan), but what will it cost my friends to call me in Buenos Aires?

Also, I have a Wi-Fi connection. My router (TP Link TLR460) has four out lines, three of which are used for the Wireless Access points in my house. I can use the fourth one to connect to the Vonage router, correct? You can use Vonage with Wi-Fi, yes?

Can you use a portable phone, as opposed to a handheld one?

Many thanks.

Posts: 433 · Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 7:58 pm Post subject:

Are you asking about your friends in the US calling you or your friends in Argentina calling you? Your Vonage device will come with a US phone number programed into it. So ideally you should pick a number and area code where you have the most family and friends in the US so it will be a local call for them to call you. Vonage does offer two features that can help people avoid paying long distance charges to call you as well. They are V-Access and Virtual numbers. You can read more about them on the Vonage website. If people in Argentina call you, essentially they will be calling a US number so they will have to pay international long distance rates to call you.

When you say that you have a WiFi connection I assume you have a Modem(cable or Dsl) going into your router and then 3 lines feeding wireless access points in your house? Yes, you can plug the Vonage device into the 4th port on your router and then plug a phone directly into the Vonage adapter and you are all set. You can use any type of phone that you like. Corded or cordless. The only problem you may have is if using a cordless phone, make sure and use a 5.8Ghz model because with your whole house essentially covered with WiFi, you could have some interference if you use a 2.4Ghz phone as that is also the same frequency that your wireless uses. It would also be a good idea to run a Voip speedtest to see that your internet connection is sufficient for Vonage to work. Ideally you should run this on a computer connected directly to your router and not over a wireless connection. So if you can, I would plug a computer into that 4th port on your router to run the tests. Here is the link for the test on this site http://www.vonage-forum.com/voip-speed-test.html Also you can go to www.testmyvoip.com to run another test.

Posts: 5 · New Forum Member Joined: May 28, 2007 Posts: 5

Tglea,

Many thanks for your response and all the helpful info.

Yes, I am referring to my friends in the U.S. calling me in Argentina. Will they pay the 1 cent/min. rate that I have seen listed on the Vonage site?

It's good to hear that I will be able to use the 4th out line from my router (DSL) to connect to the Vonage box.

I will attempt to run the speedtest as well.

Thanks for the tip on the 5.8 Ghz cordless phone.

Any other ideas or insight are appreciated. Thanks!

Posts: 433 · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 5:07 pm Post subject:

Well what they pay will depend on their phone service and provider. The fact that you are in Argentina has no influence on the cost for people to call you. Look at it this way: If you get a number with an area code in Chicago it will be a local call for anyone else in Chicago to call you. So they would pay nothing. If somebody from New York calls your Chicago number, they would pay whatever long distance rates their phone company charges to call Chicago.

The .01cent/min rate is the cost for you to call Buenos Aires from your phone. The rates on the Vonage website are for international calls that you make from your Vonage phone. You just have to look at it with the concept that you have a US phone number even though you will be using it through the internet in Argentina. People in the US can call you like any other domestic local or long distance number. If someone from Argentina calls you it will be no different then calling any other number in the US, they will probably have to pay some hefty long distance charges, even though they could live right next door to you.

I have been using Vonage in Mexico for the last 7 months and I can tell you that it is great to be able to pick up the phone and call the US without having to worry about "how much is this going to cost." I have a number from Omaha NE in the 402 area code so all of my friends and family from there can call me just like any other local call and my phone rings here in Mexico. It costs them nothing to call me.

One thing to keep in mind. If you do order the service, you have to have a credit card with a US billing address or a US checking account for the payment. Also, to the best of my knowledge, Vonage will not ship your adapter to Argentina. So you would have to have it shipped to a friend or family member in the US and then have them ship it to you. Good luck Smile

Posts: 5 · New Forum Member Joined: May 28, 2007 Posts: 5

Tglea,

Many thanks again for all the helpful info.

I'm glad to hear that you have had a good experience with Vonage, living in Mexico.

I have a US credit card billling address and will be visiting soon, so will pick up the gear there.

Thanks again!

Posts: 56 · Full Forum Member Joined: Nov 27, 2006 Posts: 56

To recap -

You will get a US phone number. "YOU" below means your Vonage phone number

US Callers --> YOU = Standard US Local or LD rates

Arg Callers --> YOU = Arg. telco International rates

YOU --> US = FREE (if on the $24.99 plan)

YOU --> Arg = Vonage Int'l rates depending on city (ie BsAs non-cell is currently 1 cent a minute)

Hope this helps and covers your basis...

BTW, have a "mate con facturas" this weekend Smile

Posts: 5 · New Forum Member Joined: May 28, 2007 Posts: 5

s-ua-ve,

Thanks a lot for the info. It was very helpful.

Indeed, I'll be having a mate y facturas today, y un lomo con Malbec tonight!