...or New Delhi, for that matter. I am leaving for China next week, and was struggling with how to handle cell phone calls (with no caller ID) at $1.29 per minute. Additionally, I don't want to be bothered with calls when I am on vacation. At the same time, I don't want to disconnect from the world or family--at least on this trip.
I am so happy to have discovered a solution:
1. Make sure you have call forwarding with your cell carrier.
2. Go to Skype and set up a free account. Once that this accomplished, purchase a local telephone number from Skype for $38.00 per year. It includes free voice mail. It is not necessary to have a Skype number for the service to function. I only purchased the number so I would have one to which I could forward my calls.
3. Prior to departure to far points in the world, set up call forwarding to your local Skype telephone number by dialing *72 on your cell phone and dialing your local Skype number.
4. If you are bringing a computer with you (I am), be sure to include a headset with microphone, or a snazzy new Skype phone. Skype will keep a record of all incoming calls--which I can check at any internet cafe or from my laptop.
5. You should only be charged for regular minutes within your cell plan.
I called Verizon this morning and ran the game plan by tech support. They had not heard of this.
Yippee!
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