Instructions & Steps For "How To “SaveAs” a Huge Facebook Page".

…Are Here: Click Here To View These Insrucions.

Dear Economy Minded (and Quality Minded) Telephone & Internet Users:

This Document, At Length, Describes The Ways You Can Significantly Lower Your Over-All Telephone Costs. (Plus Some Internet Mentions)
'''This Information Is Offered In The Hopes It Will Be Of Some Use To You
Please let me know if you find errors or needed improvements to this page you are reading.
by Henry Gurr, ZMMQ Site Master & USCA Professor Of Physics Emeritus.

NOTE: This Very Long Page Below Was Correct When Last Edited Back In Sept 2016. And Althourh Generally True For All Discussion Points Made, Many Of The Specifics & Detailes, Are Now Badly Out Of Date.

…I (Henry Gurr) can’t ake time to revise this page below, but readers may send Email asking for information or advice to me at HenryG__USCA.edu

Signed Henry S Gurr ZMMQ WebMaster, and Author of this page.
Saturday June 11, 2022.

Disclaimer: What is stated in this document is true to my experience. I am NOT being paid, or remunerated for this writing in any way. (NO kickbacks, freebies, price reduction, etc.).
Over the years, even for this very document’s info, I have greatly benefitted from the highly useful work of others, much of it free or at low cost. These conclusions, such as the low cost telephone service suggestions contained in this document, were first worked out for my own family. Having found this information, I now pass it on as my way of making a public service contribution, and “paying back” for all that I have received.
(Dear Reader: I urge you to help others by sharing your time and knowledge as well.)

This Page Intends To Inform You Of The Lowest Cost Services, How/Where to Sign Up, and How To Get these Installed In Your House. 'Please let me know immediately if you find better cost effective telephone service, than the ones I describe..

'You May Also Want To Study My Discussion, Which You Will Find Both Above And Below, My Discussion Titled =>

PLEASE NOTE POTENTIAL CONFUSION OF TERMS

This Document uses the term “PrePaid Phone Card” This should NOT be confused with the term “PrePaid CellPhone Plan” Although sounding like the same product, they are completely different. Both of these topics are successively discussed, at length, in the upper half of this document below:

A SIDE NOTE HISTORY EXPLANATION =>

Concerning The Use Of The Word “CARD” When You Purchase Telephone Minutes.
Back in the 1970’s, various major Telephone Companies started offering Long-Distance Credit Cards. These (like standard Credit Cards), were plastic, had your name, account number, and a magnetic strip, and were the same size. You could use these, in place of cash, to pay for your telephone call at most public telephones, such as a street corner booth, gas station, stores, bus stations, airports, etc. These public phones allowed you to swipe (like at a grocery store cash-register, gas pump, or ATM) your Long-Distance Credit Cards to pay for the call, an alternative to carrying a bag of coins which had to be inserted one at a time and were inconvenient in other ways as well.

Soon various OTHER companies started to offer competing products, especially after de-regulation of the USA Phone Systems. These so called Calling Cards, became “PrePaid”, and purchased at various stores, gas stations, from the company itself, etc. These often were styled to look the same, but could be made of cardboard, or just a cash-register paper print. Lacking the magnetic strip you paid for your call by keying in your account number (often the same as your home telephone number), and a PIN. The money for the call was deducted from your Pre-Paid Calling Card by computers, managing your call identification.

This Calling Cards system continues to today, with the only difference being you can ALSO purchase your Pre-Paid Calling Cards over the internet! But even in the case of an Internet Purchase these are still called “Calling Cards” despite the fact that there is NO physical CARD, just an email telling you your account number and a PIN, plus instructions how to use it.
(This eventual change has happened to other words than just “card”. [[http://web.usca.edu/math/faculty-sites/henry-gurr/OwenBarfieldInterpretMythV67.dot |You can read more about these “Formal Relics”, at my WebPage. After this page comes up scroll down to Appendix II: Form vs. Function In Human Societies )

A CLICKABLE INDEX OF TOPICS THAT ARE FULLY EXPLAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT: (EACH TOPIC’S DISCUSSION FOLLOWS IN SEQUENCE BELOW THIS INDEX)

Topic A) Pre-Paid Calling Cards: You can get good quality service for as low as 3-4 cents/min for Long Distance Within the USA,: And typically 4-6 cents/min On INTERNATIONAL Calls, Plus These Special ADVANTAGES:

Jump Down To => VirtuesPrePaidCallingCards

Topic B) You Can Get ~30% Off On Verizon Service, purchased through PagePlusCelluar.Com, a Re-Seller Of Cell Service on Verizon’s Own System.

They have a complete range of lower cost plans for you to choose from.
AND, for persons like myself who rarely use their phone, PagePlusCelluar Prepaid Plan can be maintained for as low as $36 per year for 300 minutes per year, offering a good Cell Phone service for emergency and when away from home. Similarly, for $10 per year, for 100 minutes per year, cell service is available Through T-Mobile.
Jump Down To => you can get BudgetVerizonPurchThruPagePlusCelluar

Topic C) With An ATA, You Can Continue To Use Your Old Land Line System (Plain Old Telephone Land Line System - POTS) by Augmented With VoIP Which Is Added To Your Existing Internet Service.

Get Lowest Rates For Digital Phone Service Using Internet Connection: These hardware devices are collectively called Analog Telephone Adapters (ATA), and are one of many ways to use what is called “VoIP” = Voice Over Internet Protocol.
If you already have Internet (even the lowest of speeds), you can really lower your land-line phone bill with:

Jump Down To => YourHomePhoneServiceUsesYourInternetVoIP

A SIDE NOTE: There Are Two Ways To Phone Call (VoIP) Through Your Internet Connection: A) Analog Telephone Adapter Devices (ATA), & B) The Softphone Idea. '''

These Two Choices Are Somewhat Similar, But Should NOT Be Confused With Each Other.
A) The above Analog Telephone Adapters (ATA) VoIP Devices use your internet connection, but do NOT require your computer since you are sent a ATA Box. This device, having its own internal computer, does everything.
B) You should be aware of the so-called Softphone idea, which is another way to achieve VoIP Phone calls, but DOES use your computer, saving you cash because you don’t purchase the ATA Box. The Softphone (also a VoIP), uses your internet connection, a headset plugged into your Tower or Laptop, and a specially downloaded and installed app. With a Softphone (For example Skype or Google Voice), you can very successfully place free (or low-cost) Phone Calls over the Internet. Skype or Google Voice are fairly well known in USA, but there are a wide range of alternatives.
Jump Down To => Topic G) “Headset<>Computer Options” (Softphone) such as VOIP.cheap.com, Skype and Google Voice.

Topic D) With XLink (also a VoIP), You Can Continue to Use Your Old Land Line System (Phone Devices, Wires, Etc (Called POTS). XLink Is For Persons Who Want To (Or Must) Be “Totally On Cell Phones”

Re-Purpose Your Cell Phone Service Via Bluetooth Radiowave Inter-Connection. The Device Is Called “XLink Adapter” And Is Great For Persons Who Already Are “Totally On Cells” AND Want Their Old Land-Line Phones To Get Their Calls Through Their Cell Phone Provider.
The XLink Will Supply Good Phone Service That Will Plug Into To Your POTS RJ-11 Wires. The Connection, From Your Cell Phone, To the XLink Is Via Bluetooth.
Jump Down To => HomePhoneServiceXLinkUsesYourCellPhone

Topic E) Republic Wireless Is “A Game Changer”, For Low Cost Cell Phone Service, ONLY On Their Cell Phone called “MotoX” an Android OS Smartphone.

Republic’s System Mostly Uses Free Wifi But Seamlessly Auto-Switches To Sprint Cell Tower When You Move Beyond Range of Wifi.
Jump Down To => RepublicWirelesCellServiceGameChanger

Topic F) FreedomPop.com Is “An Even BIGGER Cell Phone Service, Game Changer”, For Low Cost: Cell Phone, Their Android SmartPhone Cell Phone service declared as “Freedom”

Similar To Republic Wireless This FreedomPop Cell Phone Service Tries To Use Free Wifi, When Available. But When You Move Beyond Range of Wifi, (and without your awareness), FreedomPop’s System May Automatically Start (or continue?), Your Call On Their Network of Sprint Cell Towers. FreedomPop's Approved Handsets Are All SmartPhones, Mostly iPhone or AndroidOS.
Jump Down To => FreedomPopWirelesCellServiceGameChanger

Topic G) Using A Headset Plugged Into Your Tower Or Laptop, You Can Very Successfully Place Free (or Low-Cost), Phone Calls Over The Internet:

This topic is unfamiliar for me, but I personally know many people who quite successfully place low cost phone calls, over the internet. Because of the low cost they would not go any other way. Googling this you will find many, many other persons who are similarly happy with these services. But Googling will find many persons who have lost much money this way. The Free (or Low-Cost) Phone Calls Over The Internet (with “Headset<>Computer”) companies that I have some knowledge of are => 1) VOIP.cheap.com, 2) Skype, and 3) Google Voice.
'''NOTE: Items 2) & 3) above are fairly well known in USA, but be aware that there are MANY others.
Jump Down To => SoftphoneHeadsetComputerCallsOverInternet

Topic H) Henry Gurr’s Recommended Low Cost INTERNET Services (This Part of My Information WebPage Is In Development & Will be here ASAP.)

My “Low Cost Internet” Information is not ready to post here. Please let me know immediately if you need this information, have questions, or find better or lower cost Internet Service.

** DETAILS **** DETAILS **** DETAILS **** DETAILS **

The BELOW Is Full Discussion on EACH of the ABOVE Listed Topics:

Topic A) The Many VIRTUES of So Called “Prepaid Calling Cards” For Use On Either Cell or Landline Phones or Practically ANY PHONE YOU CAN TALK INTO:

Even if you are quite satisfied with your current Phone Service(s),

Prepaid Calling Cards actually have many practical additional advantages: Sometimes for a “specialized niche” such as foreign travel. You will soon discover that there are some VERY good reasons why PrePaid Phone Cards are SO VERY POPULAR!

You Get Lowest Rates Using The So Called “Prepaid Calling Cards” Which Can Be Use On Any Cell Phone OR Any Land-Line OR Practically ANY phone:

THINK: For many practical uses, sometimes for a specialized niche, these cards have their uses. Thus these Cards are AN IDEA WORTH REMEMBERING!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FOR EVEN LOWER COST, USE “LOCAL ACCESS” When you are in the USA AND Are able to Dial the so called “Local Access Number” you can get a rate LOWER by 1 cent/min

AND On the SAME (suitably chosen) PrePaid Phone Card, you can make international calls, typically at 2-5 cents/min.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BUT BEYOND COST, PREPAID PHONE CARDS HAVE IMPORTANT ADVANTAGES

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WHEN GOOGLING INTERNET IN STRANGE TERRITORY, WHAT CAN YOU BELIEVE AND TRUST?

When faced with sketchy, confusing, or inadequate information, I try to combine information from MANY different sources (sketchy or not), gradually leading me to a tentative decision. Then, having made a choice and about to spend money, I type into Google => (The Name Of The Product) and several words, like Forum, Complaint, etc.
So far I’ve been reasonably successful. For example this is, in essence, how I found the PrePaid Phone Cards from http://web-stel.pushline.com/ and among their card lineup I successfully used their Jupiter PrePaid Phone Card back in Oct 2008. (As discussed below, it was just one Forum WebPage, where just one person said the Jupiter card was successful for them. AND finding no other clues out of the jungle of choices, I went that way with success! Later I also used, with success, several of their other cards, such as their Bison and Cardinal.
Eventually I figured out that the Jupiter Card I started using Oct 2008 (form the above-mentioned http://web-stel.pushline.com/ ) happened to be from one of the many card re-sellers, hosted by a single “Master Company” called http://PushLine.com This is truly a PrePaid Phone Card Empire, since they provide the sponsorship for some 20 – 40 independent re-sellers. PushLine also provides the re-sellers a WebHosting, called Platform for Creating Affiliate Commercial Sites, at http://www.comfi.com/ This accounts for the fact that they all offer the essentially the same lineup of PrePaid Phone Cards.

WHAT INFO CAN YOU TRUST: AN INSTRUCTIVE ILLUSTRATION: The “British Expatriates” Webpage (Link Below) Offers An Instructive Example Of “Finding Useful Information” From Various “Out-Of-The-Blue” Internet Forums & Discussions:
Continued from the 3 Paragraphs above:
Sometimes forum-type information is all you can get when faced with a tangled jungle of possible choices. This is most certainly the case with PrePaid Phone Cards, the topic of this section.
Here are some things you will see on the Expatriates Page, link below
Although most of the long list of “discussions” looks taken directly from a card sellers’ WebPage, this is not all smoke. If you study each discussion for each card (with link), it looks as if the actual choice of information text was made by a real live intelligent person. In these situations I’m inclined to believe that this person wants their site to be reliable and trustworthy, so their site gets a good reputation. Thus, what you see there can be used as basis of preliminary choices of, in this case, an OK PrePaid Phone Card. Please study all of this here: http://britishexpats.com/resources/telecommunications/phone-cards/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And having successfully used these http://web-stel.pushline.com/ Jupiter PrePaid Phone Cards, for ~2 years, subsequent curiosity lead me to continue investigating lowest Cents/Min rates

I eventually got into complex & involved searches for a Local Access Number for our use here (Metro Area of Aiken SC & Augusta GA, Email me if you want to know how I do these searches) To repeat my statements above: Such a phone number allows a person to dial a local (non-long distance) number, to access long-distance service, and save typically 1 Cents/Min, typically a 30% savings in cost.

ABOVE NOTES CONTINUED:
So long as you work with reputable companies, the discussion above

Although I believe that this is surely the case I haven’t attempted to prove this (Please let me know what you discover!)
…..
Once I learned the important cost savings of a PrePaid Phone Card’s Local Access Number, I found that the Cardinal PrePaid Phone Card (In the http://PushLine.com collection) had a usable Local Access Number for us in Aiken SC. This gave us a 1 cent/min lower rate (compared to ~3.5 cent/min) is ~30 % saving! This provided successful use, for ~ 6 months, until this local number failed to respond. They happily moved my remaining minutes to their Bizon Card.

ABOVE NOTES CONTINUED:
When Hi-Speed Broadband Cable Service Became Available At Our House We Discontinued Land Telephone Service, as well as PrePaid Phone Cards.
Finally, in Dec 2011, The Atlantic BroadBand Company (ABB), opened up Cable Internet Service along our road. Since ABB offered overall better service (at overall lower price for our overall Tech Needs), we shut off our Bellsouth Telephone Service and our Computer Dial-Up with PeoplePC. We switched over to ABB Cable, which provided both Computer Internet and their own VoIP Phone Service. Since ABB’s first year introductory offer of VoIP Phone Service was quite reasonable money-wise we used it satisfactorily one year, then switched to lower cost MagicJack.com With MJ unlimited nationwide phone, we no longer needed a PrePaid Phone Card.

ABOVE NOTES CONTINUED
In this document I have mentioned (and recommend) the PrePaid Phone Card Re-seller http://web-stel.pushline.com/ ''' This is based on my ~6 years of experience with them, which were though many different transactions and interactions! (Even getting my remaining balance re-instated when I did not renew my card at one year deadline date!)
'''BUT: Of course, there are plenty of OTHER good sellers of PrePaid Phone Cards, so please send me an email if you find a better or more cost-effective option!
If you Google around for Pre-Paid Phone Cards you will see it is nearly a zoo of offerings, with NO CLUES to pick a winner, or ever even a somewhat OK good one! Years ago I was searching the Phone Cards on forums, just one person stated that the “Jupiter Card was good” Having no other info (except this one recommendation) I started using the Jupiter Phone Card, successfully I might add! Later, with more Googling and study, I eventually teased out what I write below:

ABOVE NOTES CONTINUED In many cases, the decision as to which card will be made for you, since there will be only one card that has a Local Access Number for your Metro-Area:

Here are some of the choices you will face: (But for guidance, I have found it is successful to call their Customer Service, as mentioned above)
1) Are call minutes rounded up to 1 or 3 minutes?
2) Does this card have to be renewed monthly, quarter yearly, or yearly?
3) Are there various add-on fees for => Each call, each month, each …. You name it!
4) Do they offer Auto Renew and Convenient Credit Card signup?
5) Do they offer various convenient short cuts such as Speed Dial or quick PIN # ID so you can call quickly? Such as this next:=>
6) Does this card offer the so called PIN-less dialing? This is where your home phone and password are automatically recognized. All you do is pick up the phone, hit your phone’s auto dial list, and then dial the person you are calling (NOTE: When away from home same service is available, but the sequence of steps gets somewhat longer, and typically there will be a 1 cent/min higher rate, unless you take the time to find the Local Access Number for the new Metro-Area you have traveled to. But, these steps you can get used to, and money saved for your effort and patience can, in a way, pay you back!
7) But again, there may be ONLY one card that has a Local Access Number for your Metro-Area. So, you do lots of Googling of this card name (or Seller WebSite Name), plus complaint problem forum, to be sure the company is ok.

Summary: I Had Good Success, For ~6 Years With Web-Stel.Pushline. Thus I Most Definitely Recommend Them For Any Of The Cards They Sell.

If you need a card which includes any (or all) of the Prepaid Phone Cards’ Virtues mentioned in list above, they are most certainly worth trying http://web-stel.pushline.com/ BUT, besides this (AND SinoCalling.com, which is fully discussed BELOW), there are several other websites offering just fine Pre-Paid Phone Cards options. Among all these choices, you should make cost effective choices based on their features important to you.
But, in reality, your final decision likely will be SOLELY based on what card will have your (or your friends’), Local Access Number, for your Metro Area’s Local Call Area (IE, within the no extra cost Local Phone Dialing Area for you).

More Information About The PrePaid Phone Card the Master Company => http://PushLine.com/ or what appears to be the same http://www.pushline.biz/

This one Master Company partners with some 20 – 40 different and independent webpage Re-Sellers, all of which offer the same lineup of Phone Cards. In addition their webaites are all quite similar in appearance! They most assuredly get all of what you see from The Big Guy, their homepage being http://www.pushline.com/ (Before I understood all this (as stated above), I had been purchasing (For about 6 years, with good success), my Phone Card minutes from http://web-stel.pushline.com/ discussed at length above, and d) in list below.)

Here Are Six Examples Of Prepaid Phone Card Re-Sellers Working Under the Sponsorship of the PushLine Master Company. =>

http://PushLine.com <Appear To Be Same> http://www.pushline.biz/
You will see the offered Phone Cards (each with example cents per min), as well as the similarity of the offerings, because something like 20 - 40 seller’s WebSites are all clones off of the Master Company:

SIDE NOTE: The link g) above, Goes to a VERY Interesting Oriental WebPage which has their Japanese Version of a PushLineWebSite. Click the following link to have a look! =>
http://shopping.at-newyork.com/prepaid-card/index2.htm

So you may understand what you are looking at => Next below is English translation of this Japanese WebPage’s Language and Symbols (All I had to do is click “yes” when, in Chrome Browser, Google asked if I wanted a translation). Notice somewhat fractured English, at phrases like these:

When Translated To English, You Will See Several More Items Of Interest On This Above Mentioned Japanese Webpage:
(At the Lower left on the above linked WebPage: Here you will see more Chocolate Emphasis and Involvement!)

Also Of Note On This Japanese Webpage:'

Considering the difficulty, Google Language Translation of Japanese to English is remarkably good! So, when your Chrome Internet Browser says at top “Translate This Page?” Go ahead and “Try It, You’ll Like It!” =>
http://shopping.at-newyork.com/prepaid-card/index2.htm

The several above-mentioned http://Web-Stel.Pushline.Com/ Cards we used were successful AND true to their WebSite Statements! AND since Pushline.com was just fine for our family’s purposes there was NO need for us to look further, all this time.

UNTIL Late 2012, I learned that my Wooster OH friend was using a VERY expensive, ~35 cents / min, PrePaid Phone Card:

35 cents per min!! => Caveat Emptor => "Let the buyer beware" !

This card was purchased by his sister at a Grocery Store in New England (Name on request). She sent this card to him so he could call her long-distance. I decided to see if I could find a better deal. I wanted to see if what I had learned about finding low cost PrePaid Phone Cards would be successful for this small town, away from a big Metro Area. Read on for (in detail) what happened =>The following is what I emailed this to my Wooster, OH, friend on Jan 18, 2013 at 1:26 PM =>

EMAIL SUBJECT: None of the Cards in the http://www.pushline.com/ offerings, had a Wooster OH area Local Access #, but http://SinoCalling.com did: So after checking Google for (and not finding) any complaints, and seeing OK Cents / min , decides “all-was-good-enough-to-go-with-them.

Hey There O’l College Dayy Roomie!!

This http://SinoCalling.com "E-Card" looks good at ~3 cents/min & can cancel, for refund.
I found this by Googling PrePaid Phone Card Local Access Number 330. The number is the area code of Wooster. Then starts the problem of very carefully picking through the Google hits. Sometimes it is necessary to do Google Advanced Search for 330 INSIDE the Site of the Card Company found.
After finding SinoCalling.com, and checking it out for any warning signs, then do some Googling of this Company on Complaint forums. Since I found only one complaint this speaks well of them, considering that SinoCalling.com Is a BIG International Company, with gobs of facilities, connections, and users all around the globe.
This was good enough for me to sign up for $19 worth of services and see how it goes! I have just set up (and paid $19) for their Prepaid Card, which is named eCallNet Telcom. If you want to hear what the log-on sounds like, you may call 330 516 0004, and when voice comes on, dial 1 for English. This 330 516 0004 (Akron OH Metro Area), happens to be within the local call area of your Wooster OH landline phone. Thus you will get your companies’ local call rates, and AVOID your phone company’s normally quite high, long-distance phone rates. In other words, the 330 516 0004 call number is free from your local phone company’s long-distance charges.

We will NOT be able to get our minutes back if we fail to pay by deadline date!

SUMMARY FOR => http://SinoCalling.com (PrePaid) "E-Card"

A) As you will see, this PrePaid Phone Card is only ~3 cents/min, anywhere in lower 48 states (a very respectable deal)!
B)With Google I was able to only find one complaint I think this speaks well of them, since they have gobs of people using their cards, and connections, around the globe!
C) Our renewal payment is yearly (Many Cards are either monthly or three times yearly)
Our ability to make calls with SinoCalling.com has been excellent! They’re always clear, no garbled or dropped words, static, or hiss. Every time we made a call their service is always instantly available, ready to go.
D) If you want to hear that their phone lines (and service) are clear and free of static, plus see “what-comes-on” Please follow these steps:

E) WORDS OF CAUTION Concerning http://SinoCalling.com
A) Don’t Forget To Pay Yearly Renew when due => You will promptly LOSE your Remaining Balance, even if you are late by one day!
B) You will NOT get Remaining Balance back (re-instated) BECAUSE
C) You almost NEVER can contact their Customer Service. Their Customer Service is worthless because They Mostly NOT Available by Phone or Email

When the 1 year renew Sino E-card deadline date came up there may have been a voice reminder, on 330 516 0004, to renew. However, neither I or my Wooster Friend were actively using this card then, and thus missed the announcement until too late. Additionally (my fault), I did not remember to check the renew deadline, nor was there was a reminder email. Calling 330 516 0004 and giving the PIN #, the voice said something like “That account Is not active.”
F) Of course I wanted to contact Sino’s Customer Service, to request a reinstatement of my ~ $9 worth of un-used minutes. Starting Feb 25 and continuing through 28 2014, I have sent 7 help requests (with no reply) to their “Contact Us” link => https://www.sinocalling.com/shopcustcontact.asp
E) Since about Feb 26 2014, for ~ 3 weeks, I have been calling their Customer Service at 1-888-350-1888 (PST 10:00 AM-5:30PM), as stated on their webpage. I have called every day, several times per day, at various times within PST 10:00 AM-5:30 PM. The early first day I got several busy signals. Ever since the voice says “The Voice Mail you are calling has not been set up”. During the last two days (having discovered what I believe is their correct email => support@sinocalling.com), I have sent ~ 6 emails asking for help. There has been no reply.

PLEASE NOTE WELL: MY MANY REASONS FOR CHOOSING THIS ABOVE-MENTIONED SINOCALLING.COM PREPAID PHONE CARDS. (You Will Notice These Reasons Below, Are Similar To My Reasons for Using The PrePaid Phone Cards of web-stel.pushline.com)

A) http://SinoCalling.com Seems To Be The ONLY Calling Card Seller That Has a Local Access Number Specifically For The Home Town Of My Wooster OH Friend, Ditto for my sister and another friend who live in Oberlin Ohio Local Access Number Phone Area.
B) Thus this card gives the very desirable 1 cent/min lower rate for Ohio Metro-Areas above.
C) Repeat Explanation on the 1 cent/min lower rate => The lower re=ate is because North-Central OH Metro-Area residents, when sighed-up with http://SinoCalling.com "E-Card" company can dial from ANY of their phones, Cell or otherwise, to this Local Access Number, and can get long-distance phone calling with NO-Long-Distance Fees Charged by their own local Phone Company! This includes Overseas Calls as well! (Similar for http://web-stel.pushline.com/)
D) http://SinoCalling.com Company has lower cents/min rates across programs than most.
E) I believe this “SinoCalling.com Phone Card” is backed by a BIG Company, and thus has what it takes to offer good Global Service.
F) My Internet Search found practically NO complaints!
G) This company’s Phone Card offers Global Service From ANY phone (Cell or Otherwise)!
H) One year later (as of Feb 23, 2014): Good service with SinoCalling.com. It’s always clear quality: no garbled or dropped words, no static. Every time I make a call it’s ready to go, with no “Busy, call later” or similar message.
I) You Can Dial a 1-800 Number, and with this card, You Can Call From ANYWHERE to ANY Phone ANY destination ANY Time!
J) AND if you can find, for your Metro Area, their Local Access Number, there is 1 Cent/min lower rate!
K) What more could you ask for?
L) Try it! You will like it!
M) If you want to know more, or give your comments for helping myself or others, please contact me!

PREPAID CALLING CARDS FOCUSED SUMMARY:

BOTH http://SinoCalling.com "E-Card" AND http://Web-Stel.Pushline.Com/

Are For ANY Phone You Can Pick Up and Place a Voice Call From, Whether:

Cell, LandLine, Cell, Internet, Cable, Satellite Dish, or Otherwise:

~~~~~~~

PrePaid Phone Cards Are For Surprisingly Low Cost!

From ANY phone To ANY Phone.

“Round-The-World”!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This Is Why PrePaid Phone Cards Are So

VERY VERY VASTLY POPULAR !!!

“Around-The-World” !!!!!!

Please let me know immediately if you find better cost effective PrePaid Phone Card, service.

Hints & Info: How To Use This Above-Mentioned http://SinoCalling.com Company:

To get a 1 cent/min lower rate, when your calls are (both to and from) within the continental 48 United States, you should dial the Local Access Phone Number. For example: When my friend in Wooster OH, wants to use this low cost long distance he dials this Dalton OH number, 330 516 0004, hears an announcement of minutes remaining on account, then dials the number he wants, perhaps his sister. BUT finding a good Local Access Phone Number is not easy. Ask me for my document “Finding If Your Town Has It” for help. Even having learned the ropes, it took me approximately an hour of Googling to find this provider, which works great!
http://www.sinocalling.com/rate/E-card_Local.htm
Customer Service: 1-888-350-1888 (PST 10:00 AM-5:30PM)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For Your Convenience, Copied and Pasted Information From The SinoCalling.com WebSite is shown below. This is for your convenience, so you may see what is available:

'''ATTENTION => YOU MUST SEE SinoCalling’s OWN UP-TO-DATE INFO, TO BE ABLE TO CLICK ON THEIR LINKS YOU WILL NEED TO GO TO THEIR ACTUAL SITE HERE => http://www.sinocalling.com/shopexd.asp?id=36

ECard Pinless Phone Card Card Info: (( SinoCalling means ChinaCalling!! ))
Rechargeable & Pinless: Yes
Connection Fee: 0
Billing Increment: 1
Maintenance Fee 0
Taxes: 0
Payphone Surcharge: 75¢
Expiration: 180 days, (Or possibly 1 year, depending on initial sign-up.)
Local Access Number: Yes

Go to their actual site to click to View all local access numbers AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI.

(To recharge this card, please order an ECard Rechargeable Pin then Dial toll free access number 1-866-396-2759 (USA) or 1-866-889-9293 (Canada) to transfer balance)

Instructions: [For SinoCalling ECard]
Access Numbers
Toll Free Numbers
(from USA 48 states)
1-866-396-2759

Call from Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands and Saipan
1-877-332-1085 (Do not use this number if you call from other areas)
Call from Canada:
1-866-889-9293

Canada Local Access: [For SinoCalling ECard]
1-514-448-9791 Montreal
1-604-484-8088 Vancouver
1-647-722-9333 Toronto

Local Access Area [For SinoCalling ECard]
AZ: 480, 520, 602, 623,
CA: 213, 310, 323, 408, 415, 510, 530, 562, 619, 626, 650, 707, 714, 760, 817, 818, 858, 909, 916, 925, 949, 951,
CO: 303, 720,
CT: 203
DC: 202,
FL: 561, 727, 786, 813, 941, 954,
GA: 404, 678,
IL: 312, 630, 708, 773, 847,
IN: 317, 765
KY: 859,
MA: 508, 617,781, 978,
MD: 443, 240,
MI: 248, 313, 586, 734,
MN: 612, 651, 763, 952,
MO: 816, 314, 636, 662,
NC: 704,
NJ: 201, 732, 908, 973,
NV: 702
NY: 347, 516, 518, 585, 631, 646, 716, 718, 845, 914,
OH: 216, 330, 440, 513, 614, 740,
OR: 503,
PA: 215, 267, 412, 484, 717, 724,
SC: 803,
TN: 615, 901, 931,
TX: 214, 281, 469, 512, 713, 817, 940, 972,
UT: 801,
VA: 703,
WA: 206, 253, 360, 425, 509,
WI: 262, 414, 920,

Dial Instructions Call from USA [For SinoCalling ECard]
1.Dial Access Number
2.Enter your PIN number(skip this step if pinless has been setup)
3.To call the North America:
Enter 1 + area code +phone No.
To call other country:
Enter 011 + country code + city code + phone No.
Pinless and
Recharge Instructions Please dial local access number or toll free access 1-800-260-8608 or 1-866-396-2759 (USA) or 1-866-889-9293 (Canada) and
enter your PIN# then:

Add DirecDial (Pinless) Feature (register up to 3 phone numbers) [For SinoCalling ECard]

Remove DirecDial Feature

Transfer Balance / Recharge
Press "92#"as the system prompts for the destination number. Enter the PIN number that you would like to transfer the balance from; followed by the "#" key. Confirm when prompted.
Note:

Check Remaining Balance [For SinoCalling ECard]
Press "93#" as system prompts for destination number, then system will announce the remaining balance of your card.

Use [Your] Phone Card (at the phone number where DirecDial is already set up)

Redial the Previous Call [For SinoCalling ECard]
Right after you've finished the previous call, enter "99#" when you hear "Please enter your destination number" and the system will automatically redial the last number you called.
Note => IMPORTANT:
When calling from a cell phone using a phone card, DO NOT press "Send" or "Talk" key after entering your destination phone number. We recommend our customers to cancel international service with your cellular phone or local phone carrier.
Calls terminating at wireless receivers may be charged a higher price. Some schools' dormitory phone or office phone are identified as payphone. Usually phone in hotel, motel, inn are identified as payphone.

Disclaimer Rates subject to change without notice. Pins are non-refundable.
Tell a friend about this site or product Question about the product

Examples for Over-Seas Phone Rates cents/min [For SinoCalling ECard]

THE MIN’s BELOW ARE FOR MY PURCHASE. YOU MUST GO TO SINO CALLING SITE FOR EXACT DATA. => http://SinoCalling.com

For Continental USA (ie Lower 48 States):
[NOTE: I Actually Purchased Their $19 Calling Card, and for this $19 purchase, the Below Shows Examples TOTAL Number of Minutes, IF I called that respective destination, for respectively:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COUNTRY [C&P From their page: http://www.sinocalling.com/rates.asp ]
For comparison $19 per 400 min is 4.75 Cents/Min

'''ATTENTION => YOU MUST SEE SINO-CALLING’s OWN UP-TO-DATE INFO, AND TO BE ABLE TO CLICK ON THEIR LINKS, YOU WILL NEED TO GO TO THEIR ACTUAL SITE HERE =>. http://www.sinocalling.com/shopexd.asp?id=36

DESTINATION``````````DIAL LOCAL ACCESS```` ````DIAL 800 ACCESS
USA (Lower 48states)````877 min````````````````````````````427 min
Canada``````````````````````750 min````````````````````````````394 min
Australia````````````````````125 min````````````````````````````108 min
Belgium`````````````````````260 min`````````````````````````````98 min
China```````````````````````1388 min````````````````````````````520 min
Hong Kong````````````````1041 min`````````````````````````````462 min
France````````````````````````961 min`````````````````````````````446 min
Germany````````````````````877 min````````````````````````````427 min
Japan````````````````````````375 min`````````````````````````````258 min
Malaysia````````````````````500 min`````````````````````````````312 min
Singapore``````````````````1041 min`````````````````````````````462 min
Taiwan`````````````````````1250 min`````````````````````````````500 min
Taiwan(cell)`````` `````````187 min`````````````````````````````153 min
UnitedKingdom(AreaCode1,2 only)`` 1000 min`````````````454 min
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Call China Clear Prepaid Phone Card, Calling Card, Pinless Rechargeable
©2002-2007 ECallNet Telecom Inc. Email: support @ sinocalling.com All rights reserved.

**** END DISCUSSION: SinoCalling.com (As Well as PushLine.com) ****

******** And END OF TOPIC A) Pre-Paid Phone Cards *******

!!!READERS
PLEASE NOTE POTENTIAL CONFUSION OF TERMS:
'''This Document mentions above (&below) the term “PrePaid“Phone Card”:
This should NOT be confused with the term PrePaid Cell Phone Plan, mentioned next below:
Although sounding like the same product, they are completely different: The latter is discussed at length, in the middle of this document, next below: '''

Topic B) Budget Verizon Service, purchased through PagePlusCelluar.com.

PagePlusCelluar Offers A Complete Range Plans, At Typically ~30% LOWER COST, When Compared Most Other Cell Service Providers!

PagePlusCelluar, OFFERS CELL SERVICE ON VERIZON’S OWN SYSTEM, With Plans Comparable To Verizon Itself, BUT At ~30% Lower Cost!

Why Is My Discussion Below So Long and Detailed For Both 1) http://PagePlusCellular.com and 2) http://www.kittywireless.com/ ?
Answer: Because I believe that PagePlusCelluar offers good cellular service at one of lowest costs (up through Jan 2012), AND as of this writing we actually extensively use their Prepaid Plan, with quality success! '''

'''AND The Foremost PagePlusCelluar Dealer Is Kitty Wireless, who certainly live up to all their Internet Acclaim => No other PagePlusCelluar Dealer can match their automatic services and hands-on prompt help (More evidence and links are below).

‘PagePlusCelluar On Verizon Network: Nearly Same Service, Less Cost! '

PagePlusCelluar is among your good choices for: 1) The minimal user, and 2) For Older, Less Expensive Handsets. For example, as of this writing, we have had two phones on PagePlusCelluar; Mine for 6 years and my wife’s for 2 years. They are:

Two Lowest Cost Per Year Options To Have Cell Phone Service on Verizon, but Purchase from http://www.kittywireless.com/ who is a Re-Seller of plans from http://PagePlusCellular.com
(Yes I know, this way to purchase service is somewhat “round-about” but it does get you good, and lower cost, Verizon Cell Service!) Here’s My Cost Calculation =>

Example Calculations Of The Above Discussed, Two PagePlusCellular PrePaid Plans, As Well As One From T-Mobile.com.

a) For $36/year You Can Purchase 300 min/year.. : …..

THREE renewals/year each a minimum purchase of $10. Plus a 50 cents added monthly fee.

b) For $86/year You Can Purchase 2000 min/year. …..

ONE renewals/year each a maximum purchase of $80. Plus a 50 cents added monthly fee.

c) For $10/year You Can Purchase 100 min/year, PrePaid Plan From T-Mobile.com
If you are a REALLY low user, or just want a Cell Phone for Emergency Uses (or just an Occasional Call, say while traveling), T-Mobile has a very attractive plan compared to a) and b) above. Just ask around for an old GSM Handset (one with a SIM Card) compatible with T-Mobile. For this purpose, a Samsung SGH-T209 is a very good, durable basic Cell Phone, as is stated many places elsewhere on this page.

ONE renewal/year each a minimum purchase of $10, would be

Above I stated => “Web-Stel.Pushline.Com/ is among your good choices for: 1) The minimal user, and 2) For Older, Less Expensive Handsets” HOWEVER, if you can go to a Larger, More Complex, and More Expensive Handset, You can get Far Lower Monthly Cost Cell Phone Service from rather recent “Game Changer” Companies, such as Republic Wireless and FreedomPop, which are discussed below.

A SIDE NOTE: “AVOID CREDIT CARD USAGE”

You may already be aware that you can pay your Monthly Bills by various versions of Auto-Pay, through your bank account, at NO extra charge and WITHOUT using a Credit Card! (For example, this is how I pay my Electric and Home Depot monthly bills, etc. The System that does this is called Automated Clearing House (ACH) [for Clearing Checks], a system originally set up by the banks to Exchange money, and thus highly secure.) This ACH System is just as convenient, and just as secure, as Credit Card payments.
TO SET THIS UP QUITE SIMPLY:

http://truth-out.org/members/donate .

Thus, I heartily recommen ACH Method A) or B) above, for the reasons given. ALSO =>
This is one good way to help companies you do business with, since they must otherwise pay ~3% of your purchase to the Credit Card Company. AND This ACH is a good, easy way to keep that 3% away from those evil, money grabbing, Credit Card Guys!

A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE CONCERNING EMERGENCY 911 SERVICE ON CERTAIN OLDER CELL PHONES:
Older Cell Phones will ALWAYS work just fine to call 911 Emergency Service, but you will have to TELL them your physical location. You will have to remember, as various WebPages point out, these older phones do not have the Auto-Location Responder for 911 calls, and these will NOT be allowed with major carriers such as Verizon.
You CAN Activate Your Older Verizon Phones, With PagePlusCelluar.com.

OUR FAMILY’S EXPERIENCE WHICH BROUGHT US TO USE THE PHONE SERVICE PROVIDER COMPANIES DISCUSSED ON THIS WEBPAGE.

Our Family’s First Cell Phone (Samsung SGH-T209), And Service Provider (T-Mobile), How We Found Out About Budget Verizon Service, purchased through Http://PagePlusCelluar.com
Back around 1998 our son David started working at GE Medical Systems, West of Milwaukee WI. While there, he rarely did personal phone calls, but when needed used his work phone. But when, in June 2006, he was packing up to move to SC, he needed a cell phone with him to properly coordinate with his furniture moving Company, ABF Trucking, the place and time to drop-off a Semi-Truck-Trailer, for the loading of his furniture into the moving truck. Then when he was done loading, again needed a phone to tell them to come back for the filled trailer. Once he had his Cell all of its myriad potentials got used. It was important for us to be in touch with him while he drove down here, plus safety, in the form of the ability to make Emergency Calls. In researching the phone alternatives David found T-Mobile’s $100 Samsung Cell Phone SGH-T209 , into which he added $10 for 100 min of T-Mobile’s Pre-Paid Plan. As of this writing this => T-Mobile $10 for 100 min (10¢/min) is still the same price as it was in 2006. Yes, I know it’s now hard to believe, but in those days $100 for a relatively basic simple-functions-only cell, was, an excellent deal! Especially considering this was (and still is) a very good, and quite durable phone. The SGH-T209, although basic, is well worth the $10 - $20 cost to get one on Amazon or eBay. For simple service you can’t beat it. But be SURE you get a phone that is branded for the Network you expect to use it on, such as T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, ATT, etc.

SIDE NOTE: The Samsung Cell Phone SGH-T209 Is An Older, But Still Excellent, Basic Cell Phone For => Emergency 911, Very Low-Cost Service On T-Mobile, OR Just Keep In Your Vehicle, Just In Case Your Primary Cell IS Lost, Stolen, Or Smashed.

After seeing David’s T209 I looked into getting another Cell for 911 Emergency. I Googled around, especially the Cell User Forums and Cell Review Articles, and discovered this phone was very well liked, quite functional, reliable, and even said to survive being dropped on hard surfaces! Based on these recommendations I purchased 3 for family, friends, and a spare backup. These were used and second hand, from eBay. Overall I was quite satisfied with my new purchases; This phone is still a good buy for use as a backup and emergency Cell Phone. I suggest you keep a workable Cell (with charger) in your car, you never know when it will be crucial to have it there! If you need to buy a Cell for this, the Samsung SGH-T209 is available ( on eBay or Amazon) for around $25 new with shipping and handling added on, and for $15 used, again with shipping and handling added. To me, it’s worth every penny of it!

Before David got his T209 we were completely unaware that the low cost cell service we had been wanting Was actually available!

Once David was situated here in Aiken SC, he let us use this phone (still on http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans ) when we traveled out of town. Because of our low overall use, our net cost per year was something like $10/year. See Side Note 2 below.
Side Note 1:
One retired friend (seeing this document in draft) agreed with above, saying: “I thought I had a good deal with T-Mobile that was $100 per year for 1,000 minutes. I seldom use my cell phone anymore. My reply to her => below:
Side Note 2:
Having paid $100/1000 min, this qualifies you for T-mobile’s, fairly good deal, as follows => : Each new One Year Anniversary => You can (as a minim required, for renewal) => pay $10 and get 100 min added to your remaining unused minutes!! For persons who have suitably low minute usage, this is a great low cost way to Have a Cell for Emergencies and when you are away from home, such as shopping, long distance trips, etc.
SUMMARY: T-Mobile PrePaid Plan => “Pay As You Go” =>Cell Service for as low as $10/year !!
After your first $100 purchase for 1000 minutes, you can continue indefinitely for as low as $10/year: This is pretty good, if you have suitable low usage!! “

We probably would have just continued http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans for a long time (Re Side Note 2 above) BUT

~Summer 2011, we came upon http://PagePlusCellular.com While visiting my Sheridan IN Cousin, Joe Willhite, I learned that his job was traveling to Local Indiana Gasoline Stations and installing a Credit Card Reader, so customers could Purchase Cell Phone Minutes. This was for the company called http://PagePlusCellular.com He suggested I look into this. Seven months passed, until I was given a very nice Cell Phone.

So back to internet: On the WebPage of PagePlusCellular.com , I readily set up an account and filled in the blanks to get the Pin Number that will put the minutes into my CENTRO. WONDERFUL! This must have been around Aug 2011, but checking my Centro Call Logs, shows my first call was 05/09/2011.

Thus, with our low usage, we could carry a cell for emergency and travel away from home for as low as ~ $36/year, from PagePlusCellular!

!! OUR FAMILY STORY CONTINUED:
So, this is how we started with PagePlusCelluar, May 2011. Having our PalmOS Based Centro Smartphone, on PagePlusCelluar, worked out great! Especially since it was powered by PalmOS, and thus I could continue to use on it my Palm PDA Based Address Book. In Jan 2012, we decided to get a second Cell Phone for my wife, also on PagePlusCelluar. But she wanted a much larger key pad than the tiny keys (a full alphabet) on the Centro.

 .

I Googled around, especially the Cell User Forums and Cell Review Articles, and discovered that the Kyocera 7135 (also PalmOS) phone was very well liked, quite functional, reliable, and even said to survive several times, being dropped. Based on these recommendations, Jan 2012, I purchased our first Kyocera 7135, for $25 + Free shipping. Although used, it had been well cared for. It came with Charger, USB Computer HookUp Cradle, manual, etc., in original box. It instantly worked very well, after several minutes of charging, and was fairly easily, using PalmDesktop, to Sync this K7135, to my computer, and thus get my Palm PDA Based Address Book, moved into it. Soon thereafter my wife was using it successfully.

SIDE NOTE: I purchased our second Kyocera 7135 for $15 + $10 shipping. It was likewise well cared, and came with accessories, and worked just as well as the first. Overall we have been satisfied with my purchases. (One hang-up has happened with the second K 7135: Somehow, I made a mistake (using an incorrect user name), when trying to Palm Sync it to my computer. It jammed, and refuses to turn on. It probably needs a software reload, but I haven’t had the time to do the needed trouble shooting.) *****
But just the same: You Should Know the (above mentioned) Verizon Branded Kyocera 7135, Is STILL a Good, Durable, Reliable, Basic Cell Phone. It has the virtue of large keys and the PalmOS, plus has the Palm PDA, quick writing “Graffiti” pads, in place of the clumsy, tiny keys of a full alphabet. You Might Want One Around For “Just In Case” such as a spare to switch over to, if your normal phone fails, is smashed, or lost. Or for a spare phone for 911 Emergency Calles, among other possibilities.

Around July 2012, I discovered our first Kyocera 2135. (Note DIFFERENT Model # from the above mentioned Kyocera 7135.)
I found it at Aiken Habitat For Humanity Resale Store for ~$5.00. Although this was probably a used phone, it looked new and works well, and according to the local Verizon Store, meets all tests, and is ready for service on their network. However, some setting inside of it prevents it from being activated, through PagePlusCelluar.
Stumped by this, but still curious about it, I Googled around, especially the Cell User Forums and Cell Review Articles. I did not find how to remove this limitation, but instead found that:
Kyocera 2135 Is a Good VERY Durable Reliable Cell Phone, With All the Excellent Qualities You Need For A Basic Cell Phone!

Since this K2135 is a basic, no frills phone you can purchase and use VERY economically, you may want to purchase PagePlusCelluar minutes for this phone, as described elsewhere on this page. BUT, even with no minutes purchased, this would be a good 2nd spare phone for 911 Emergency Calls AND/OR You Might Want To carry the K2135 in your vehicle for “Just In Case” As spare cell, if your normal phone gets stolen, smashed, lost, or fails.

This page shows the Kyocera 2135 Specifications & Photo: Click on the Tab => “Reviews” for Testimonials.
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=8

Having found above mentioned good qualities in the Kyocera 2135, I was even more curious about it. So I Googled around, especially the Cell User Forums and Cell Review Articles. I discovered this Kyocera 2135 phone was very well liked, quite functional, reliable, and even said to survive several times, being dropped of a hard-surface!!! (See last paragraph, and link.) Based on these recommendations, Nov 2012, I purchased 2 more.: These were an eBay.com, single purchase of 2 Kyocera 2135’s (without chargers), second hand: Both must have been used a VERY LONG (successful) time, b/c showed very, very, much cosmetic wear, but instantly worked very well, after several minutes of charging, with a charger I already had. My winning bid of $.99, plus $8.49 shipping, thus calculates to $4.74 for each. Overall I was quite satisfied with my purchase, one of which works very well in service for nearly two years as of this writing 22 Dec 2014.

Back In Sept 2011, When We Needed To Add More Minutes, I Went Back To Google, and Searched for => Help Forums PagePlusCellular

Google found all sorts of user discussions of Cell Phones: And with this, I discovered that http://callingmart.com was/is a good, trustworthy reseller of practically EVERY different cell phone service in the USA! They sell service plans for a HUGE lists of cell service provider companies, with various plans and costs: If you go to their site, you will see, as I did, that PagePlusCelluar rates are the best! ALSO http://callingmart.com offered 5% off Coupons on FaceBook, practically every USA Holiday. Checking around, I found this company was just fine, so I started purchasing my PagePlusCelluar minutes from them, unless I ran over the renew deadline, in which case the most expedient was to add minutes atPagePlusCellular.com, as mentioned above. For 2 years I happily purchased my PagePlusCelluar minutes from http://Callingmart.com

With Continued Internet Reading On Cell Phone Providers, I Began To Hear About An Even BETTER PageplusCelluar Dealer (Verizon Service, but sighed up though a PagePlusCelluar Re-Seller, called http://www.kittywireless.com/ )

Having once found a good, and very cost effective, product, I’m on the alert for better! Over these same 2 years, as a result of family/friends conversation, or WebPage News Articles, I again searched for Quality phones and cell phones. In many Forums I began hearing about the virtues of => http://www.kittywireless.com/
According to many testimonials (and my own experience), not only is PagePlusCelluar.com very desirable, but Kitty is no doubt the BEST of PagePlusCelluar Re-Sellers!! And perhaps the BEST company you can deal with when it comes to phone service for ANY phone...period!'''
Although Kitty’s price discount system is different from callingmart.com, Kitty does have their own special deals which you have to study closely. You’ll have to make up your own mind on what is best for you cost/benefit wise. (SIDE NOTE: Kitty’s URL, seen above, just has their own name. By contrast, below, you will see URL’s with Kitty’s name AND PagePlusCelluar’s name. This is your tipoff that Kitty has redirected you to their PagePlusCelluar Dealer’s WebPage. This is similar to what I mentioned near the beginning of this doc, The various PrePaid Phone Card Independent Dealers are having their WebSites, Shopping Carts, and Accounting Hosted By the Big Guy’s at http://PushLine.com and for an example here => http://Web-STel.PushLine.com/ )

A) As of this writing, I Have Just Been Using http://KittyWireless.com/ , WebPage Based, Automatic System For Doing The Activations, Often offered FREE on certain months. This is where you switch your Cell Phone’s Service Provider, from one Telco to a new one. On Kitty’s WebPage you type in for your Cell Phone the needed ID Numbers, plus info to set up your Account with them. Click “GO” And their auto-sys does the rest. Pretty Slick! After using this to check (and trouble shoot) 4 different old Cells, and subsequently Activate one, I actually said aloud to myself “Pretty good actually!”
http://kittywireless.com/pageplus/activation.html

B) The Above KittyWireless.com Experience, Has Been Duplicated & Verified Many-A-Time!!! Repeatedly I have seen their name highly-spoken or, on various Internet WebPages, This out-standing ovation => “The Best Out There” is on various Internet Forums and Help Pages, where users discuss their Trouble-Shooting problems. Often the writer will insert their experiences with Kitty, writing testimonials of their very positive experience (and opinion) of Kitty!
C) My evaluation also comes also from using their Cell Phone Users: Help & Query WebPage: <= This is just my name for their WebForm, which Kitty calls simply “ContactUs”. This WebForm, like the point in my A) above, is Pretty Slick!
Usually, Kitty will have a good answer back in your email in several hours, or over-night. Even before purchasing any of their products, I received great trouble-shooting help and advice, when I sent in my questions (& problems) to Kitty’s Free Help Page here http://kittywireless.com/pageplus/contact.html
E) But caution: They have a schedule of hours when they reply to your question, which is a somewhat ~11:00am EST - 8:00pm EST, and closed ?Thurs? and ?Sun?, plus major USA holidays , with one week/yr for R&R. Check their home page to be sure, b/c their schedule of hours do changes.
F) After many years of seeing these great testimonials concerning the out-standing services of http://KittyWireless.com/ , I finally broke loose from my normal Stick-In-The-Mud, and decided my next purchases of http://PagePlusCellular.com minutes would be from Kitty, who calls themselves a PagePlusCelluar Dealer.
G) The easiest way for me (& most persons) would have been to go to Kitty’s “Order Plan or Minutes” WebPage => http://www.kittywireless.com/pageplus/cards.html BUT the Scotch in me: Went for their ~$160 Level 2 Membership, which affords considerable price breaks.
H) You should know that Kitty’s enrollment times for new Memberships are quite scarce: In fact, two or three enrollment times went by w/o knowing they existed: Successful solution was to sighed-up for their weekly email Announcement News Letter: The rest is history!!!! :-)) :-)) :-))
I) You can study Kitty’s range of services, by starting here: http://KittyWireless.com/

K) Eventually (late 2013) Kitty opened-up a new slots for their $150 Membership Plan, Which Offers Kitty’s “Special Deals For Members”
I signed up, for Membership, and expect that perhaps I will get enough savings to pay for my membership in around 8 years, depending on my total Kitty purchases, both for myself and extended family. Of course it would take some figuring what savings this would be, but at least it includes Free Activations, Free Porting, and perhaps 15% off various plan minutes.
http://kittywireless.com/

END: OUR FAMILY’S EXPERIENCE, WHICH: BROUGHT US TO USE COMPANIES DISCUSSED ON THIS WEBPAGE.

UpDate 30 Dec 2014: I just checked, and saw used Kyocera 2135’s, available eBay (or Amazon), for around $6-12 + $9 shipping. This phone is still a good-buy for use as a very economical, regular phone, as many persons do. Or as a BACKUP and Emergency Cell Phone. I suggest you keep a workable Cell (with charger) into your car. "You never know when it will be CRUCIAL to have it there! A working Kyocera 7135 will be worth every penny you pay for it!

This eBay.com Reviews & Comments WebPage has Incredible Survivability Testimonials Concerning the Basic Cell Phone => Kyocera 2135!!! You should especially see the story of atightwad2 here =>
http://www.ebay.com/rvw/Kyocera-2135-White-Unlocked-Cellular-Phone-/100041347/

IMPORTANT NOTE RE EMERGENCY 911 SERVICE: This vintage year 2001, K2135, works just fine to call 911 Emergency Service, but you will have to TELL them your physical location. You should remember this => As the above link points out, this phone (technically) does not have the Auto-Location Responder for 911 calls: And although, this K2135 will not be allowed with major carriers such as Verizon, you CAN activate this K2135, and MOST OTHER older Verizon phones with PagePlusCelluar.com.

(Please let me know ASAP if you find better cost effective cell service.)

SUMMARY: PagePlusCelluar.com IS ALL GOOD, BUT PLEASE PAY THESE due ATTENTION:

THESE ARE REPUBLICWIRELESS.COM AND FREEDOMPOP.COM, DISCUSSED BELOW => BUT TO GO THIS WAY, YOU MUST USE A SMARTPHONE, WHICH ARE MORE EXPENSIVE, AND FAR MORE COMPLEX DEVICES AS WELL AS MORE THEFT PRONE!!. '''

Please let me know immediately if you find better, more cost effective cell service.

L) SUMMARY: Many, many, people have had very good experiences http://kittywireless.com/ Because of their great encounters with Kitty, these persons thus have volunteer their written testimonials => On “The Internet”: Hence we see Kitty’s long standing excellent public reputation!!

THUS: We Heartily Thus Agree With Kitty’s Homepage Which Opens With

'''“Welcome to Kitty Wireless:
THE PREMIER PAGEPLUSCELLUAR ONLINE DEALER!!'''

'''It’s OFFICIAL
We are the World’s #1 Page Plus Authorized Dealer!!”'''

'''HENRY GURR’s BOTTOM LINE
If You Find Better, More Cost Effective Telephone Plans
Cell
Landline
PrePaid Phone Card
Cable Or FiberOptic Service'''
PLEASE LET HIM KNOW, IMMEDIATELY

Topic C) Use Your Internet Connection For Your Home Phone Service, With the So Called “Voice Over Internet Protocol” (VoIP): Plus How To Install & Use VoIP Devices.

If you already have Internet You can greatly lower your landline phone bill ….. And even do so, using your Internet Provider’s lowest speed!!

SOME HOME ALTERNATIVES: FOR “PHONE OVER-THE-INTERNET” = VoIP:

Below Are Examples Of This Service You Could Look-Into, But Please Be Aware There Are MANY More. Some VoIP’s are for an entire University, or Company (Called a PBX)

These Three Are Varieties Analog Telephone Adapters (ATA), Plus There Are MANY More.

These Three Are Varieties of Softphone (a service that simulates a phone line), Plus There Are MANY More.

MY (HENRY GURR’S) BRIEF INTRO TO VoIP HOME TELEPHONE SERVICE:

Cable TV, ATT, BellSouth, Comcast, Atlantic Broadband, are examples of Broadband Service Providers (BSP). (These are often abbreviated to just Broadband Providers, or BSP’s.) Broadband Service Providers (in addition to offering TV), usually offer Internet Service and Phone Service (VoIP), that also comes over their cables, be this copper wire or fiber-optic.

But you should know that in addition to the VoIP Phone Service offered by BSP’s (Listed at A) thru F), you can set up your OWN VoIP Phone Service, by purchase a Home Analog Telephone Adapters (ATA)!! These ATA’s are in many ways, just as good alternatives, but at far lower cost!!! All of these Home ATA Devices, essentially work the same (technical bits & bites) way as does the Phone Service provided by your BSP Cable Or Fiber-Optic Company, '''BUT will be at far lower cost!

Many of these alternatives allow you to continue to use your very same RJ-11, house landline/POTS phone equipment, you have been using. Whether answering machine, cordless, multiple phones, etc. After you sign-up with your choice A) thru F) above, and they send you your VoIP Device (so called ATA = Analog Telephone Adapter.), you follow their instructions. But basically you will => a) plug- in AC power, b) the supplied internet cable to your router, and c) just move the RJ-11 plug from the wall, where your original phone lines comes into your house, and d) plug the RJ-11 Wire into the newly supplied ATA Device!

NOTE1: An analog telephone adaptor (ATA) is a device That “Adapts” your POTS Telephone to the Internet. The ATA is used to connect a standard telephone to a computer or plug direct to network, so that the user can make calls over the Internet. If you have a working Hi-Speed Internet, you plug ‘em in and they work.
NOTE2: If you can’t figure out how to do above-mentioned swap, get help from techies!
NOTE3: If you know of other good low cost phone services, please let me know!

a) Type into Google “Best VoIP Phones” Among the results that come up, you will be able to find lots of good information:
b) Also the following 3 links; are good VoIP Information, I found this way.

ATTENTION: After this last link comes up, be sure to ”Click AND Read” ALL THREE TABS AT TOP. More information is available if you have a paid subscription to Consumer Reports, on-line version or US Mail paper magazine version.
PS: Helping $ support Consumer Reports, is what I do, and urge you Dear Reader do also!! Just $ Subscribe, or send a IRS Tax Deductible Deduction!!

Our How We Decided To Use “MagicJack Plus”, And Our Continuing: MJ+ Experience.

By 13 Nov 2011 we had been on Atlantic BroadBand Cable Service for about a year. This included their First Year Introductory Offer VoIP Phone Service. At the one year point ABB VoIP Phone Service was due to go up in cost. After Reading Up On the VoIP Choices (such as links above), and Getting Friends’ Advice, we decided to purchase our first “MagicJack Plus” for ~$55 from our local Radio Shack. The “MagicJack Plus” is advertised as: “Simply Plug It In And It Works”. And work it has, very well in fact, ever since! In addition to cancelling our ABB Telephone service, we turned in their Cable Modem, which was being rented for $5/month. I was able to find a very nice %35 Cable Modem, Motorola Surfboard SB ?305?, at our local Habitat For Humanity Resale Store. It’s worked well ever since, but we are sure to completely unplug it well in advance of Summer Lightning Storms.
(See Dec 2011 above for discussion on why and how we signed-up with The Atlantic BroadBand Company (ABB), Cable Internet Service)
(See below for discussion of problems we have had with our “MagicJack Plus” with dropping words, after 30 minutes into a call)

'''IMPORTANT NOTE: You should NOT get the older version of MagicJack! This is the less expensive version, without the added word “PLUS”, because these older style ones require your computer to be on ALL the time while you want to send/receive phone calls.

1) At first, the New Improved, “MagicJack Plus”, was only available from their WebSite. Finally, when MagicJack Plus first arrived in stores, we purchased ours from our local Radio Shack. This was both convenient, and allowed us to easily return it if problems arose or we decided we disliked it. Soon thereafter Walmart and other Techie Stores had MJ’s. As of this writing, you can purchase MJ’s many different places, for instance stores (~$50), discount shopping on-line (~$40), or even MJ’s own website (~$50), which include “free phone service” for first year, and after that a rate of ~$33/yr (Naturally there is the process of setting up an account, but this goes relatively quickly).
:
2) We learned of MJ’s nice advantages for persons who already have a house full of devices like their => “Plain Old Traditional Telephone Service” (POTS). EXPLANATION: Anyone who has had the older landline telephone service knows that most POTS devices are plugged in with a small connector called RJ-11: They likely have a house with wires and myriad phone devices (as was also our case) for their older, existing phone system, such as:

3) All the homeowner has to do is un-plug the incoming phone wire (often in a junction box our side the house), and then figure a way to plug this same place into your MJ’s RJ-11 jack! (You may need to get some help from a friend who knows all this stuff!). After you plug in the abovementioned “small connector” into your MJ, you can pretty much continue to use, all the above-mentioned various phone devices you had already had wired-up. Your old POTS home system, converted to MJ, will continues just as before! But now the source of your telephone connection is your Internet Provider, running on whatever billing account this happens to be on! (Caution: Some older POTS handsets will cause your MJ to get warm enough that you may notice garbled or missing words. So in general, add one POTS phone device, one at a time, to your MJ’s overall POTS system. Use each new set-up for several days, until all seems OK, before adding any more devices (For our “MJ getting warm” experience, read more below, at “problems with our “MagicJack Plus” with dropping words after 30 minutes into a call”).

4) We learned some MORE of MJ’s nice advantages:
a) MJ has a very nice Voice Mail Service Equivalent to (and much like) a POTS telephone answering machine, MJ Nationwide System, will ”answer your calls when you are not at home, and invite the caller to Leave a Message” in the same way as you yourself can on a POTS. As is true for many “Voice Mail” services, your MJ will, over-the-internet, record the message and then send to you an email having: The time/date of the call, the caller’s phone number, and an attached Voice.wav file. This file, similar to any .mp3 file, will play the Voice Message through your computer speakers.
b) MJ Offers “Caller ID Service” In Two Ways:

c) So: Because MJ was less, cost-wise, we canceled our ABB VoIP Phone Service
d) We plugged our new “MagicJack Plus” into our computer’s USB, and a good operational spare land phone was plugged into the MJ’s RJ-11 jack, and in a few minutes it was working! Following directions, and intuition, we made some successful initial trial calls with our new phone number, Then clicked on “Set up Account” (something like that), to start our free first year of MJ Phone Service.
e) We then removed our house’s phone line from the Bell South Service Box outside our house, plugged this line into our new “MagicJack Plus”, which was in turn re-plugged into our LinkSys Internet Router. This router was already attached to the Cable Modem, which in turn was receiving Internet Signals from our subscription to Atlantic BroadBand Cable (ABB) that came into our house. Thus we had our “MagicJack Plus” Phone (VOIP), and our Computer’s Internet, both over ABB. Of course we got advice and help from ABB how to do this. Naturally there is the normal process of (on an internet webpage) setting up your account, and after the first year of free service, remember to pay yearly or set up for automatic bank draft auto pay. So, we followed the package’s instructions, and as is said on many forums: “You just plug in your “MagicJack Plus”, and it works! WOW! ”

We are currently using ABB’s lowest speed service, currently $38/mo,

which is just fine for “MagicJack Plus”, and adequate for our computer internet needs. We do NOT have TV with our AtlanticBroadband.Cable Service..

But we have to remember about Emergency 911 Service And Loss of Power at the House:
1) Traditional phone services automatically help the Emergency 911 People to know the physical location of your house. And since this 911 location reporting is not available with MagicJack Service, we need to be ESPECIALLY careful to say our location clearly when calling 911.
2) In addition, when our house electrical power goes off, unlike traditional phone service, we lose power to our Cable Modem and our MagicJack, landline phone service! Because of this we are careful to keep our cell phones(s) charged, in working order, and handy.
3) In Case of Loss of Electrical Power, it is a good idea to have Emergency Back-Up Electrical Power, and/or a Solar Cell Electricity System. We are considering this seriously, especially since this is best to reduce our contribution to Global Warming, as well as lower our Electricity Bill. Our own Solar Power, in the future, will be a necessity because Electrical Power Rates WILL RISE, A LOT!
4) SUMMARY of 1), 2), & 3) Above: When we lose power at our house, we are especially mindful our main house phone (our MagicJack), is also gone! Thus our cell phone is our only Emergency 911 service''', as well as our only phone service, not to mention loss of being able to use computers to communicate outside our home. For this reason we are sure to keep our cell phone fully charged, so when we lose our only means of charging it it is charged and ready. AND we make sure this cell is also where we can immediately find it (and not miles away in someone’s vehicle).
5) CAUTION: For all MagicJack’s good qualities, and low price, they have some fees that are, to me, way too high for what you get. My Favorite Rant is their Special Fees => $10 to “Port-In” your previous phone number, such as your old Landline number. Then, because this is just as if you had specially asked for some other new number, for both of these “specials”, MJ wants $10 every year thereafter! What’s worse, if you request MJ to release (port-out), one of your old numbers with them, they charge $30.

But on the flipside, there is the long trip and travel advantage of being able to take your Laptop and your “MagicJack Plus” and a RJ-11 phone hand set, on trips. Most hotels have free WiFi Just plug ‘em all in for phone service at no added cost!

A Forum Commenter stated: “ … Magic Jack lets you use a regular telephone on a Broadband Internet connection. Magic Jack lets you plug in a standard telephone RJ11 connector, so you can use any standard phone as a microphone and headset. There isn’t really anything Magic about it. It seems an unlocked SIP ATA adaptor would be a better solution for you. If you don’t mind using your PC to make calls, you don’t need a Magic Jack, just use a headset. If you really want to use a phone with your PC, you can just get a USB to RJ11 convertor, but you probably can’t pick one of those up in your local store. This is one of the things I find most interesting about Magic Jack. You still can’t buy an unlocked SIP ATA in Wal-Mart or Staples, or Best Buy, or anywhere else I have seen for that matter, but now Magic Jack, like Ooma, is or will be available at some of these locations. ... [But to me:] When compared [MagicJack, to an unlocked SIP ATA], it seems silly.” Another forum stated: “ … “MagicJack Plus” only provides online chat support…” On other forums commenters speak highly of “netTALK Duo” for a comparable alternative.

We (Gurr Family) have had problems with our “MagicJack Plus” with dropping words after 30 minutes into a call. Our unit happens to be an “early purchase” Perhaps the “first run of the assembly line”, are weak somehow? Ours tends, after prolonged use, to warm up quite a bit. Assuming this was the cause of the dropped words, I made a few hacksaw cuts, removed the outer plastic housing, and placed our MJ where cool air can flow but fingers, etc won’t touch the circuits inside. For the last 6 months (as of this writing) we have had none of this word drop anymore. Send email for more information and how to remove the plastic housing on your MajicJack so it will run cooler, and thus not have the problems I report above. More here => How To Best Cool Off Your MagicJack Internet Phone Device.

In Summary, Our Total Communications below ~$50/month. AND With

Magicjack.Com Sent To Me, By Email, This Good Compact MJ Summary, (Original had Good Photos, Please Email Me If You Want To See Them)

This HALF PRICE DEAL WAS ONLY FOR ONE DAY, but gives you a sample of their promo and How To Set Up. For more information click tabs at top here => http://www.magicjack.com/how-it-works.html
For een more info, and what other people say, type into Google => “MagicJack Plus” Forum Complaint.

Dear Henry & Suzanne Gurr
I am offering my newest invention, the “MagicJack Plus” at half price, only to our existing customers. This will be the last discount ever offered again. Most of you will want the option to continue using the magicJack as you have (with a computer), or now just plug into the wall and internet (without the computer) it's your choice and so easy to use as always. The new “MagicJack Plus” is the same size as the old one, and it is basically a computer/system on a chip. Our chip developer Dr.YW Sing really outdid himself this time.
The “MagicJack Plus” is in Radio Shack and Walmart for $69.95. It contains everything you need and the first year of service will be free. You will be able to use the same number you had before or you can even port a number to the new “MagicJack Plus”. That is just one reason why we are offering a 48 hour special to buy the “MagicJack Plus” at half price. The price right now is $34.95.
The reviews for the “MagicJack Plus” by bloggers and reporters have been so positive. It makes me very proud for them to rave about the call quality and ease of use.
Thanks for being a great customer.
Dan Borislow
CEO MagicJack, Inventor and Founder

Topic D) This “XLink Adapter”, Is Great For Persons Who Want Their POTS House Phones, To Receive Their Voice From Their CELL PHONE! Plus How To Install & Use XLink Device.

XLink Will Supply Good Phone Service, that will Plug with a wire, into to the RJ-11 Connector of your POTS. The telephone voice signal go to the XLink Via Convenient Bluetooth.

I learned about the XLink in recent conversation with an Aiken friend, who had been happily using XLink, for a year or so. He had in turn learned of it from his Techie Son, an employee of ATT. There may be, on the market, various OTHER manufacturers of this interesting, well-functioning home phone device, but as of now this is the only one I know about. Let me know if you know of other such devices!

What is nice about XLink is that it uses your existing POTS phone system, but requires a somewhat expensive Cell Phone Service. (But you may already have Cell Service, perhaps even unlimited calling and data, so this may not be important to you)

Through all of this => You should keep in mind that using your existing POTS phone system is also accomplished by the many ATA Devices extensively discussed in this document above. These ATA devices, such as MagicJack, will give you good service at FAR lower overall cost, so long as you have (or can get), even low speed Internet Connection. This works out well since most people have (or might actually want), an Internet Connection for their several computers or TV Streaming.

XLink Phone Adapter User Reviews, taken from Amazon.com’s WebPages that sell the “XLINK” device.

Below are the following interesting excerpts, copied from Amazon User Reviews. These user discussions indicate, in non-technical terms overall, how this device works, what they can do with it, and how they like it. These excerpts are chosen because of their good description, thus saving me the struggle to compose equivalent! Similar to what these excerpts say, my Aiken Friend reports his satisfaction with the same good service and convenience advantages.

[Amazon Reviewer #0 ]Helps Use Cell Phones Like Land Lines - With Some Flaws [Rewviewer # 0 Means his XLink nicely “puts to work”, his original whole house phone system. You should be aware that other ATA Devices (discussed on this page), also can do this, but so far as I am aware, only XLink works off of your Cell Phone & Paid up Service.]'''

Grace Digital XLink Bluetooth Device comes in two versions:
1) ITC-BTTN with which you can use a land line in addition to Bluetooth cell phone
2) ITC-BT which pairs with only Bluetooth cell phones and has no provision for landline

They both can make cell phones work just like land lines. Once your Bluetooth cell phone is paired to Xlink your other phones work just like land line handsets and you can use your cell phones in multiple rooms with multiple cordless handsets. You can pair up to 3 cell phones with each Xlink unit and one land line in addition on BTTN. Xlink finds a new use for old landline handsets.

Although it works, Xlink is not flawless. Once your cell phone is paired, you cannot receive the call on cell phone itself because you do not hear the audio, you have to pick up the call on other non-cell paired handset; but there are no audio problems with outgoing calls from cellular handset.

There is also a second or two delay in hearing sound on incoming and outgoing calls. Cell phone pairing does not take place automatically each time after the initial pairing. Caller ID does not show up on the cordless handsets although it shows whether the call is on cell phone or land line.

[Amazon Reviewer # 1 ] My original purpose in ordering this unit was to see if I can replace 3 business land lines with 3 cheaper cell phone lines but after using it for a month I am not sure if it works like good old reliable land lines. There are other new Bluetooth cordless units that pair with cell phones but as of November 2008, Xlink is the only device of its kind that lets you use your old land line handsets with cell phone.

[Amazon Reviewer # 2 ] This is a very cool device! We did away with our home phone system last year because we so seldom used it, and started using cell phones exclusively. The problem with this is that signal strength on the first floor of our house is weak, and of course that you need to have your cell phone with you or go chasing after it when it rings. Enter the XLink. I installed it upstairs where line-of-sight to the closest cell tower is much improved adding a couple of bars on the signal strength meter. It [this XLink device, by means of blue tooth radio waves, which ability most cell phones have] links to my[cell] phone, my wife's and/or my daughter's [landline phones & wires] quickly and reliably at the touch of a button (and unlinks just as easily when [for example, when I’m] leaving the house and taking the cell phone along. When installing the XLink]. I disconnected the line coming in from the street and connected the XLink to my phone distribution system. We now have six phones throughout the house, all connected to whatever cell phone(s) we link. [Meaning: Their house full of their old landline phones (cordless or not), with their original answering machines, plus their original Caller ID Box, All can be plugged into your Xlink’s RJ-11 jack!

[Amazon Reviewer # 3 ] The Intellitouch Xlink is a great product. After being one of the thousands of people who had suddenly lost my Sunrocket VOIP service, we decided to pursue making our cellphone as our home phone. The problem was you pretty much needed to have the cellphone near by when someone calls or you'll miss it. The other problem is that a cell phone is not that comfortable when talking for very long.
Enter the Xlink. This device works off of bluetooth, so you simply set your cellphone near the xlink unit, no need to plug in. At this point any calls coming in or out will connect to your regular cordless phones. In our case the caller id from the cellphone carries over to the cordless phone including names that are in my cellphones address book.
Bottom line benefits:
1) Cellphone does not need to be with you at all times
2) Xlink transmits all cellphone calls to your home phones
3) Since cellphone stays in one place, you can get constant best reception
4) Can support up to 3 cellphones via bluetooth (haven't tried this yet)
5) Can make or receive calls. Use your home phone just like normal.
Bottom line Cons:
1) Can have potential interference with 2.4GHz devices.
NOTE: We have 2.4GHz cordless phones and a Wireless PreN router and have not experienced interference. However, a DECT cordless phone is probably the best way to go.
2) Does not sound perfect like a landline, but it does sound about as good as a cellphone can get.

[Amazon Reviewer # 4 ]
4.0 out of 5 stars Bluetooth Version, February 16, 2009
By RobFather "Rob" - See all my reviews
This review is for: Xlink BT Bluetooth Gateway - Extend your wireless service to your home phone system! (Wireless Phone Accessory)
The reviews on this product are for the most part spot on. The only thing I could add is that be sure to be informed on what version of Bluetooth your cell phone has. My new Blackberry is bluetooth 2.0 and works wonderfully with this device, but my wife's Samsung is version 1.1 and she can answer the phone thru this device but she can't hear anyone speaking and cannot make outgoing calls. So my advice is to make sure you have at least a bluetooth version of 2.0 to get the full functioning of this device.'''

[Amazon Reviewer # 5 ] Surprise! It works fairly well. October 19, 2007
By Darthvagrant (Planet Earth)
Xlink BT Bluetooth Gateway - Extend your wireless service to your home phone system! (Wireless Phone Accessory
I've had an Xlink in service for a couple of months now. The operation was vastly improved after I downloaded the latest software, which was a piece 'O cake. It isn't totally "seamless" at all times, but for what it does it's a miracle! Go for it! It has proven to be sound technology. (No pun intended) The only 'down' side is 'ya can't do Faxing. House phones work a-ok! All advertised functions operational, even voice commands to my cell phone from any house phone.Stuff it, Sunrocket! I no longer need a "landline".
.UPDATE 2-12-08: Still goin' strong! It even differentiates (house phone ring pattern) between my wife's phone and mine. It will accept up to three (bluetooth cell) phones and provides a distintive ring for each on the house phones. I got the maximum number of Panasonic DECT 6.0 cordless phones (6) to circumvent the fact the X Link will only support three or four phones. Now I've got phones all over the house. My LG830(now replaced with a Samsung Flip-Shot; ditto immediate hook-up) automatically links with it as soon as I enter my office. My wife's Motor-oh,no CRAP V3M Razr sometimes must be manually re-linked.
.Re-UPDATE: 9-30-2008-couldn't get by without this device. Negates the need for a land-line. Couple this with a "Magic Jack" (sort of an ersatz VOIP device)for $20.00/ year and save your 'cell minutes. Niether device still totally "seamless", but I'm getting by just fine.
. SIGH ...9-20-10....ANOTHER UPDATE. I acquired two LG Prime GS390, AT&T GSM cell phones. The X Link absolutely WOULD NOT work with the LG phones. Went to the X Link site and downloaded an "LG patch" to supposedly correct problems with LG phones. Still 'no go'. The operation of tha X Link is ESSENTIAL to me, as I stated earlier. Sold the LG phones back to AT&T (on the 28th day of my 30 day window) and am now using Nokia 2720 bare bones cell phones. X Lnk back up and running better than ever! [END Amazon Reviewer # 5 ]

[Amazon Reviewer # 6 ] 5.0 out of 5 stars Exceeds all my expectations., January 9, 2008'
BySteve A. Feinstein (Nashua, NH United States) –
I have been hoping to find a product just like this to solve the problem I have of not being able to hear my phone, and not being able to find my phone and running all over the house trying to track it down in less than four rings.
You plug it into the house's phone wiring, pair it with your cell phone, and plug it into the A/C power. That's it.
I thought this would do the trick, but [surprise!] not only does it work, it's easy to set up, the voice quality is as good, or better than speaking on the cell phone itself.
The cost may seem high, but when you compare it against a $40 a month that you have to pay to the phone company for a landline, it pays for itself quickly.
I could not be happier with it. It's one of those rare products that you order and have high hopes that it will make your life easier and it not only does what you hoped, it works better than you expected!
[END Amazon Reviewer # 6, and END of these Amazon XLink User Reviews. ]

XLINK SUMMARY by me, Henry S Gurr.

After you install your XLink in your house you continue using your same POTS
As is the case for “MagicJack Plus”, XLink pretty much will work with nearly all the above-mentioned various phone devices you had wired-up, your POTS home system: When you plug your phone system into XLink, all will (should?) continue as before!! …But now the source of your telephone connection is your Cell Phone, running on whatever $ billing account this happens to be on!! When you leave hone, you don’t have to have a second cell phone (costing more). Just take the cell with you! ...Of course, while you’re gone, people at home are without the cell phone. But if your house has internet, people at home can use a Softphone, such as Skype or GooglePhone to give good phone service in your house, until you get back with the cell!
''' END XLink SUMMARY by Henry Gurr:

General Internet Information About Cell Phone Service Called “WiFi Calling: Which Can Use WIFI When Available: And When WiFi UNAVAILABLE, Ten Either Manually OR Automatically, Can Switches to CELLULAR. What follows is Discussion (and Links) Collected

By me Henry Gurr, Author Of This Page.

With the arrival of Cell Phones called “SmartPhones”, we had a Cell Phone Handset, that ALSO could do practically everything that a Regularr Computer (or Laptop) could do. Essentially because a Cell Phone IS a computer, many of them in fact. It just took time to innovate from just Voice on a Cell Phone TO => All of the other things that a Palm, Blackberry, iPhone, or Android can do, to give examples. However, on SmartPhones, bringing in “Heavy Data”(such as TV, Movies, App Downloads, Internet, Etc), on Cellular Signal, was usually quite slow and costly. With more innovation (and time), it was shown that these Heavy Data Activities could be run far faster running on WiFi, with practically zero added cost.

Soon thereafter we had in our hands affordable '''SmartPhones that:

I just Googled “Cell Phone Work Off Of WiFi” and WiFi Calling ability appears to be rather recently gaining ground, as of the writing of this page. A Sept 2014 Internet News Page discusses T-Mobile’s new “WiFi Calling” service. T-Mobil’s own WebPage re “WiFi Calling”, expresses this excitedly, inferring it is new for them, saying, no need to install an App, and there is no extra charge, when you make the WiFi choice on your, phone. Of course you must have” the correct cell phone, and all their new ones are.”)

Wikipedia Also mentions “WiFi Calling”, but gives the trade name “Generic Access Network (GAN)”, with initial standards being set Sept 2004. An interesting excerpt says: “In its most common form, GAN is used to allow UMA-compatible mobile phones to use WiFi networks to connect calls, in place of conventional cell towers. This can be useful in locations with poor cell coverage where some other form of internet access is available, especially at the home or office. The system offers seamless handoff, so the user can move from cell to WiFi and back again with the same invisibility that the cell network offers when moving from tower to tower.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_Access_Network

Now ... In recent conversation with my above-mentioned Aiken Friend, I also learned he had been using an Android Cell Phone to Achieve 1) and 2) above. However, his Android phone does NOT have the ability to perform 3) above. I imagine that if he is Cell Talking on a WiFi, that has gotten weak signal (because he walking to a new location), he must end the conversation, then manually switch to Cell Tower, and manually re-call, to continue the conversation: In previous several years there has been a lack of mention of various other providers saying (or hinting) about “Auto-Switch-Over (as in 3) above), my suspicion is that there has been only a few Cell Providers where 3) above is available. I understand that Android phones (at least up to now), generally do NOT have WiFi Calling, but you can get an App for this. Most likely, you will have to be signed up with some sort of a Cell Service Provider, who will get your calls onto the National Phone Systems. I gather that most major carriers, can (or soon will) offer you “WiFi Calling”, but each will have its own fee structure. One forum writer suggested “carriers might take your call out of your bucket of minutes.”

But if you do your research, you will find some very exciting low cost (or even free), cellphone providers, that offer 3) above, which do WiFi Calling when available, and Cellular otherwise, and thus offer you this very important money saving convenience, or should I say nowadays, Necessity!

Although various major carriers have (or soon will) offer you “WiFi Calling”, these as a general matter do NOT have 3) available. Moreover, as a general matter, SmartPhones, Most do NOT have this ability, unless you add various apps. BUT, to my knowledge, there are only 3 companies that DO offer 3) above. These are a) RepublicWireless.com b) FreedomPop.com and c) ScratchWieless.com, which are individually discussed below with links.

Here is A Forum Page That Discusses: “Top 3 Prepaid Mobile Phone Services” This is a WebPage (found by Google), Which has a good Introduction to these three unusually low cost SmartPhone Service Plans => FreedomPop, Ting, and Republic Wireless.
Save A Ton Of Money On Your Cell Phone Bill With These Free Or Cheap Plans!
http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/mobile-devices/tp/The-Three-Best-Free-or-Cheap-Prepaid-Mobile-Plans.htm

Here Are Two Articles That Give You An Overview On FreedomPop.com, RepublicWireless.com, and ScratchWireless.com
http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/technology/scratch-wireless-offers-free-smartphone-plan/ncwtb/
http://www.clarkhoward.com www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/technology/smartphone-guide/nbWF4/

Topic E) Republic Wireless Is “A Game Changer”, For Low cost Cell-Phone-Type Service:

NOTE: RepublicWidreless will require you to be on WiFi a certain portion of your call minutes, or you will get warnings and possible termination of service.

Republic’s MotoX Android Mostly Uses ~Free (or Low Cost) Wifi, But When You Move Beyond Range of Wifi, Your MotoX Seamlessly AutoSwitces To a Sprint Cell Tower!

by Marguerite Reardon January 4, 2014 12:00 AM PST
First, let me explain how Republic Wireless works. It's a [relatively new company & new type of] service that uses both Wi-Fi and cellular wireless technology to offer voice, text messaging, and data service. When Wi-Fi is unavailable it automatically switches to a cellular wireless network. It leases capacity from Sprint, which means wherever Sprint offers cellular service is where you will be able to access Republic's network when Wi-Fi is not available.
The company claims that the switch between Wi-Fi and cellular is seamless. And you can even be on a call and roam from a Wi-Fi hot spot into cellular coverage without the call dropping. Of course, the actual experience customers using the service have may be very different. Keep in mind that switching between cellular networks and even some cell towers on a traditional cellular wireless network can be challenging. And many people experience dropped calls from even the most traditional and robust wireless networks.
Because Republic Wireless uses Wi-Fi whenever possible instead of leasing capacity from Sprint, it's able to keep the overall cost of its service very low. This is why the carrier can offer a $5-a-month service that includes unlimited talk, text, and data while in Wi-Fi coverage.
Here's the catch
It doesn't come without drawbacks. As I mentioned earlier there can be issues with the hand-off between cellular and Wi-Fi. That said, I have heard from customers that this experience is getting better as Republic Wireless improves its technology.
Another drawback is that because this technology that hands off between Wi-Fi and cellular is tricky to engineer, it requires customers to use specialized handsets. One of the first of these specialized devices was the Motorola Defy XT, which in all honesty was a mediocre Google Android smartphone that was using a 2-year-old version of the Android software. The voice quality on this phone was rather poor and lots of customers complained.
In November 2013, Republic Wireless, introduced a new phone to the mix: the Motorola Moto X. (Especially Programmed for AutoSwitch Between WiFi <> Cell Tower) This phone, which is also available on major carrier networks, is a newer, popular high-end Google Android phone. Customers who have used both devices say there is a huge improvement in terms of call quality with the Moto X over the Defy XT. And at $299, the price tag on this device is reasonable considering that it's a high-end smartphone that comes with lots of nifty capabilities. As I mentioned earlier CNET blogger Rick Broida was impressed with the Moto X on Republic Wireless. I have used the phone with AT&T service for several months, and I also think it's a terrific smartphone. It's small and light without sacrificing too much valuable screen space. And I really like the voice activation features, which allow you to activate many features like search by speaking the phrase "OK Google."
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57616584-94/is-republic-wireless-too-good-to-be-true/

More at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_Wireless

From Republic Wireless’s WebPage Concerning: Their Monthly Plans: From Their Cell Phone Service, You can select from: $5, $10, $25, and $40 Per Month.

WiFi calling Links for Lo$PhSvc.doc

Topic F) FreedomPop Is “A Second Game Changer”, For Low cost Cell-Phone-Type Service:

Back in Fall ‘13, My Tech-Savvy Son David said =>

”THIS FREEDOMPOP 4G/3G CELL PHONE SERVICE IS SPECIAL”

To which I add:
YES …. AND WELL WORTH YOUR TIME TO LOOK INTO IT.

If you study FPP, FreedomPoP.com SmartPhone Service & Costs, you will see that you may save from $1000 to $2000 yearly, after you have purchased your Smart Phone from them, or BYOD, chosen from a list of ~10 approved phones.

A SIDE NOTE CONCERNING THAT FREEDOMPOP’S PHONES RUN ENTIRELY ON “IP”, THE NEW WAVE OF THE FUTURE You may have heard of Major Cell Phone Providers (Carriers) now newly offering Extra Fast Cellular Service called 4G, and the fact that this service requires so called LTE Cell Phones. LTE means Long Term Evolution, a new standard for the future. Besides being faster, and with less latency, 4G & LTE Cell Phones use ALL Internet Protocol (IP), even for voice, instead of the older Cellular ways. The so called Internet Protocol (IP), happens to be the same digital signals standard as is used for your Computer’s Internet Connection that you have used all these years. Now here is the point => FreedomePop’s System uses ALL Internet Protocol (IP), even for voice, and is thus VERY progressive, and thus yet another reason, FreeomPop.com’s Service plans are worth your attention!

My brief summary of FreeomPop.com’s Service plans: (Be sure to get Up-To_Date Info, & Learn more at links below:)

SERVICE`````````````$``PER`````````PREPAY````````````VOICE``````````TEXT``````````````````INTERNET

``PLAN```````````````````MONTH`````SEE NOTE**```````MINUTES ``````MESSAGES`````````DATA`MB`

Basic (FREE)`````````$0.00```````````ZERO`````````````````200``````````````500````````````````````500*** ```````

UnlimTalk/Text ```````$6.67 <= <=``$79.99** `````````````UNLIMITED ```UNLIMITED ````````500*** ``````

UnlimTalk/Text ````````$4.58 <= <=``$109.99** ````````````UNLIMITED`````UNLIMITED ``````500*** ``````

AllThreeUnlimited`````$19.99`````JustPayMonthly`````````UNLIMITED````UNLIMITED`````UNLIMITED

Special Introducty ``` $10.99 FreeFst>ThenPayMonthly``UNLIMITED```UNLIMITED``````UNLIMITED

** 12 month (& 24 month) plan, is billed as a one-time payment, as shown above.
*** No overage penalties. Additional data can be purchased for 2 1/2 cents per MB.
*** Data throughput reduced to 3G speeds after first 1 GB
CAUTION: FPP does mean living with some weak signal areas of Sprint Network.

NOTE: FreedomPop’s above “Basic FREE Plan works well for me: But to be sure I stay within my Free Minutes, Texts, & Megabytes, I regularly go to my FPP Account WebPage and watch my current usage. One time, on a particularly long call, I ran out of minutes, and with a quick voice announcement, my call ended. No more calls could be made until the next new month’s allocation was posted which, for me, is the 26th of the month, the same day as my first service.

ANDROID USERS: IF YOU HAVE EXPENSIVE MINUTES ON YOUR PHONE, HERE IS A NEW SERVICE SO YOU GET BENEFITS OF FREEDOMPOP's LOW COST SERVICE PLANS & Features!!

Besides a new plan and a new expanded selection of approved handsets, FreedomPop is also launching an Android version of its FreedomPop Free Voice and Text app, which had previously been available only on iOS.

ATTENTION: DO NOT TAKE MY ABOVE SUMMARY TABLE TO BE THE LAST WORD:

Instead you MUST use their own website to be sure of the actual prices. As of this writing, on 15 Dec 2014, the above summary table is my interpretation of FreedonPop.com page, link next below, and various other news releases. http://www.freedompop.com/phone/plans_voice?experience=phone.default
However, to see this page, you may have to do a partial-incomplete, signup:
Start at http://www.freedompop.com/offer/HolidayLogInAcctBannPhone/devices > Type-In your Email and Home Address, > Choose one of their cell handsets, > then hit enter.

FreedomPop offers unlimited talk, text for under $5 per month.
02/10/2014 at 2:58 PM by Brad Linder 5 Comments
“FreedomPop has been offering some of the cheapest wireless phone plans in the US since the company launched its phone service in October. Basic service with up to 200 minutes and 500 texts was available for free, with unlimited talk and text plans running $10.99 per month.
Now there’s an even cheaper option for unlimited plans — you can get service for as little as $4.58 per month.
In order to get that low price you need to pay for two years in advance. But that’s still just $110. In other words, for the price of a month or two of service with a competing carrier, you get unlimited talk and text for 2 years, as well as 500MB of data per month.
You’ll have to pay for any extra data you use on a pay-as-you-go basis. Bandwidth goes for 2.5 cents per megabyte.
Customers who don’t want to pony up the cash for a 2-year plan can pay $80 for one year, which comes to $6.67 per month. Or you can continue paying $11 per month for the same service… or nothing at all for basic service.
There are a few catches: FreedomPop only offers a few phones (~12 are approved, and five tablets), which seem to trend toward not-so-new models (as you can see in this link => http://forums.freedompop.com/discussion/145/supported-phones-what-phones-can-i-activate-with-freedompop-on-byod); and FreedomPop operates on Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network. If Sprint doesn’t offer strong service in your area, FreedomPop won’t either (This is because FredomPop service is over the Sprint Celluar System) ( We give thanks for the above article to Liliputing.Com).
http://liliputing.com/2014/02/freedompop-offers-unlimited-talk-text-for-under-5-per-month.html

Naturally, you might be suspicious when you see FREE for something that is normally as expensive as Cell Phone Service!!!
AND on this account, you should look into this with all your “check this carefully” instincts and abilities. That is what I did. However, as you can see Chart above, FreedonPop.com offers VERY reasonable low prices, for a full range of Cell Phone Services. From this, I believe we can reasonably conclude that the “FREE” is a way to get customers to give it a try. FredomPop expects the satisfied user will gradually find they need more Minutes, Texts, or Data, and gradually become paying customers!! With the ever-increasing number of customers they expect to become profitable, even with their astoundingly low prices.

Once you’ve studied FPP, please send an email as to what you conclude! Click on the “Contact Me” at the bottom of this page.

Here Is My, Henry Gurr’s, Experience With FreedomPop.com, Smartphone Cell Service, From April 2014, To Time Of This Writing 22 Dec 2014:

But Don’t Take My Word For It; Spend Some Time Doing Your Own Convincing!
For This, Please Carefully Study my new WebPage (and Various Links), by scrolling down to my FreedonPop.com discussion:

Once you’ve studied FPP, please send me an email, as to what you conclude about =>
1) FreedomePop.com OR
2) This entire WebPage => The Ways You Can Use, To Significantly Lower Your Over-All Telephone Costs. And How To Do it

ATTENTION: Please be aware that FreedomPop (FPP), service will work on an ever increasing list of “FPP Approved” Smart(Cell)Phones, which are announced on their WebPages: 2nd ATTENTION: You can get your FPP compatible Cell directly from FPP, OR TO SAVE MONEY, you can Purchase a FPP Approved SmartPhone, perhaps used from Amazon, eBay, etc. You can get good ones for $75 to- $100, and then you have do a software install for FPP toenable your cell. See next below =>

Now In Order to Save $50 to $75, In Purchasing Their FPP SmartPhone, Lots Of People Have HAPPILY Completed the Following steps:
But WARNING: They MUST Get Done Correctly!
2nd WARNING: Remember, The Burden Is On You To Be Sure, BEFORE select a phone, and even think about clicking “Confirm Purchase”!

Here are the steps you must take if you try to save money by purchasing your SmartPhone from sources other than FreedomPop =>

In addition to the Choices Above ($150, ~$50 to $75) I Recently Have Noticed eBay Sellers Have “Re-Furbished” Cell Phones, Which Seem To Be FreedomPop Ready.
Since I already like FreedomPop on my Samsung Galaxy SII, I am considering getting the same for my wife. Googling for eBay FreedomPop Sprint Galaxy SII gets the following link, these are Sprint Branded and seem (perhaps) to ready for FPP Activation, without need for any additional software installation. I would, of course, ask the seller these questions.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_kw=refurbished+galaxy+s2+phones

Concerning FreedomPop = FPP, I need to mention one worry: You may NOT have Sprint Signal at your home
But that is OK!! Because your FPP Phone can run off your WiFi Connection to Your Internet Connection! (Below is an actual email to one of my friends.)

Dear Katrina: (Name changed to protect her privacy)

Here is some important FreedomPop (FPP) information for you: The FPP SmartPhones work off Sprint Network, (which on average does not have the best coverage), and I thus suddenly realized a possible limitation with your "remote" Montana Mountain Home Location:: (( This was my AHA Mental Arrival )): It is probable that Sprint is weak signal or not available at your house, because of your "remote" location. ( I seem to remember this already a problem with your current cell?? )

But FreedomPop has

Similarly, whenever you leave home, and do not have Cell Tower Signal, you just search for but good WiFi (Friend’s house, Starbucks, McDonalds, Gas Station, other Business, Etc.) you will be good to go.......11 . :-) :-)

Sincerely Henry
(END my Email To Katrina.)

Do You Really, Really, Need A Cell Signal At Your Home? If You Have Either:
1) A Good Land Line Phone
2) A Smartphone Which Is Wifi Capable, Which Is the Case For FreedomPop Phones

 Then You Can Make Your FPP Cell Phone Call Through Your Internet Connection! 

Think about it!! When you have at home

( ** For your Internet Connection it is nice, but not required, to have a Wifi Router. This allows typically four internet devices to directly plug-in with Ethernet Cables or make your Internet Connection through the Router’s WiFi feature.)

In these above cases: Your real use for a cell phone is then mostly AWAY from home'!!!
This is when you are on errands or on long trips. In either case, if one place has weak cell signal, you can sometimes just continue your errands (or travel), until you drive into an adequate signal location, or at least learn where such is to be found. For myself, I already have a good home phone service with Magic Jack connected to our Atlantic BroadBand Cable Service. Hence my important FPP usage is primarily away from my home, and FFP is such a low cost that I am willing to suffer the inconvenience of having to drive a mile or so, out of my way, to get to a Sprint Signal. In the very, very, few circumstances, where it is imperative to make a cell call right away, I am willing to drive, if necessary, to where there is a good signal. Even strangers will usually help if there are urgent circumstances. I can borrow even a stranger’s cell, go into a business, or find a pay phone. There are lots of ways to do what is necessary.
In nonemergency cases (and no signal), With proper Spiritual Attitude, I can nicely wait, relax and continue whatever (trip or shopping) I’m doing. There are excellent chances I will move into a good Sprint Signal, and get the call done then in Good Time, as Robert Pirsig says in the book “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”!

What To Do When FreedomPop. Sign-Up WebPage Says => "Service In Your Area NOT Available": (This is a problem you may have when you are trying to “sign-up: for FPP Service.)

First Off, You Must Decide, Whether You Really Must Have Cell Signal At Your Own Home =>
Ask yourself: Is it all that important to have Cellular Phone Service at your own home if you already have other good phone service such as a good land line or a good Cable/Satellite Internet Service?

This was my case, back in April 2014, as I was using the FreedomPop.com WebSite to attempt my first sign up for their service. One of the first steps was to supply my Street Address and Zip: After I clicked to activate my FPP plan, immediately their webpage said "Service in your area NOT available"

But close by (in tiny print), there was a link ~"Click Here To Sign-Up Any Way"!
Starting there, I quickly and easily completed their whole sign-up form, which set up my FPP Service Plan, and Credit Card paid for my Android Galaxy SII Phone. Immediately I got email confirming my purchase as to how soon my Galaxy SII was projected to arrive. In 7 days my GalaxySII was in my mail inbox, and works great!

'''Even though the FreedomPop WebPage warning said "Service in your area NOT available", I purchased it anyway, because three of these three reasons:

CAUTION: YOU MAY (OR MAY NOT), GET THE SAME RESULTS, AS I DID.
As you see below, my luck held out! But your physical Cell Signal situation (or personal needs), may be different. So you will have to investigate your situation carefully. For example, you could find someone who has a Cell Phone that receives Sprint. Ask them how good the signal is in the areas you are likely to want to use say your future (Sprint based) FredomPop Phone.

You could even ask if they are willing to bring their Sprint Phone to places you plan make calls in future, to see how good the service is. Do your best to do actual trials like these, but even then you still must be prepared to live with the consequences.

Up-Date: My Detailed FreedomPop Experience As Of This Writing, 22 Dec 2014:

My FPP Service (Thru Sprint), On My Galaxy SII, INSIDE My HOME Has Been Quite Satisfactory, For The Last Eight Months.
This is despite the fact that the FPP Sign-Up WebPage, said "Service In Your Area NOT Available" This, of course, meaning for my house address that I typed into above mentioned FPP Sign-Up WebPage.

And although there is WiFi in our house, we can’t get our WiFi Password to work on my GSII: (The problem is probably our fault, not FPP or GSII.) But the fact that my GSII does not get WiFi, (which is the normally desirable, lower cost (and faster data) option), seems ok, since FPP has not requested our WiFi to be used. This of course means my GSII is totally on the Sprint Signal, which works well for my needs.

Examples of Satisfactory Work on My Android Galaxy SII Phone:

Thus In Summary: For My Eight Months of FreedomPop.com (FPP) Service With My Android Galaxy SII Phone:
Both inside my home and Away, whether on shopping trips around Aiken, or away on a 1400 mile trip to IN and OH, I experienced satisfactory service from FPP!

Ever since my original Sign-Up April 2014, Eight Months Ago: I can truly say “I am a VERY, VERY, happy Galaxy SII user on FreedomPop’s Sprint Network in Aiken, SC!

Links To WebPages About FreedonPop Cell Service You May Find Useful & Interesting

A) More About FreedomPop (FPP) At Wikipedia

B) SII S2 Matt Knollman’s great Review of the Galaxy SII, a somewhat older, but still great, smartphone. It’s typically available second hand for ~$75. As he demonstrates this smart phone he discusses the virtues (and limits) of using this cell phone on FreedomPop.com! This is a super good video presentation!

C) The merger of cellular and Wi-Fi: The wireless network's future. From a user's viewpoint cellular and Wi-Fi networks will be merging within the next few years.
D) T-Mobile announced a combination Wifi-cellular phone and service.

E) CNET editor Dong Ngo explains the difference between Wi-Fi and (wireless) Internet and answers frequently asked questions on connectivity matters. Wired Internet (aka residential broadband), Satellite Internet (aka satellite broadband), Cellular Internet (aka wireless broadband)

F) From here “Increasing need for offloading solutions is caused by the explosion of Internet data traffic, especially the growing portion of traffic going through mobile networks. This has been enabled by smartphone devices possessing Wi-Fi capabilities together with large screens and different Internet applications, from browsers to video and audio streaming applications. In addition to smart phones laptops with 3G access capabilities are also seen as a major source of mobile data traffic. Additionally, Wi-Fi is typically much less costly to build than cellular networks.[2] It was been estimated that the total Internet traffic would pass the 500 exabytes/year milestone in 2013. Annual growth rate of 50% is expected to continue and it will keep out phasing the respected revenue growth.[3][4][timeframe?] Alternatives Wi-Fi and femtocell technologies are the primary offload technologies used by the industry ...”

Topic G) A “Softphone,” Is Where You Use a Headset Plugged Into Your Tower Computer Or Laptop, With Which You Can Very Successfully Place Free (or Low-Cost) Phone Calls Over Your Internet Connection.

With the specially Downloaded and Installed App, Effectively your computer becomes an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA), where Voice Signals are “Adapted” into Digital Signals, for your Internet, per Internet Protocol (IP). This is of course VoIP, and all similar to ATA discussed above in Topic C). With the Softphone set-up (as for ATA), you sign-up and pay the modest fees. Then, following their instructions, you download and install their special App and start using your internet connection (even with lowest speed), for phone calls.

This topic is partly UN-familiar for me, but I personally know many people who quite successfully Place Free (or Low-Cost)Phone Calls Over The Internet. Because of the low cost, they would not go any other way. Googling, you will find many, many other persons who are similarly happy with these services: But Googling will also find many persons who have lost much money this way. The Free (or Low-Cost) Softphone Calls Over The Internet Companies I have some knowledge of are: VOIP.cheap.com, Skype, and Google Voice.

Wikipedia Has A Tabular Listing Of All Of The Main Softphone Client Software & Service Providers. It Has This Introduction =>
This is a comparison [chart] of Voice over IP (VoIP) software used to conduct telephone-like voice conversations across Internet Protocol (IP) based networks. For residential markets, VoIP phone service is often cheaper than traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) service and can remove geographic restrictions to telephone numbers, e.g. have a PSTN phone number in a New York area code ring in Tokyo.
For businesses, VoIP obviates separate voice and data pipelines, channelling both types of traffic through the IP network while giving the telephony user a range of advanced capabilities.
Softphones are client devices for making and receiving voice and video calls over the IP network with the standard functionality of most "original" telephones and usually allow integration with IP phones and USB phones instead of utilizing a computer's microphone and speakers (or headset). Most softphone clients run on the open Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) supporting various codecs. Skype runs on a closed proprietary network but additional PBX software can allow a SIP based telephone system to connect to the Skype network.[1] Online "Chat" programs now also incorporate voice and video communications.
Other VoIP software applications include conferencing servers, intercom systems, virtual FXOs and adapted telephony software which concurrently support VoIP and PSTN like IVR systems, dial in dictation, on hold and call recording servers.
Some entries below are Web-based VoIP; most are standalone applications.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_VoIP_software

BUT BEYOND COST, SOFTPHONES HAVE IMPORTANT ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS: Softphones, per the above discussion, Means using a headset plugged into your tower or laptop to make phone calls Over The Internet.)

HERE ARE SOME SOFTPHONE INTERNET ARTICLES THAT PROVIDE USEFUL INFORMATION:

A) Skype Jumps The [Microsoft] Shark: Seven Alternative VoIP Services.
Summary: Microsoft is adding advertising to its voice over IP (VoIP) service Skype. Fortunately, there are lots of alternatives that don't stick an ad in your face while you're talking.
[The Above Article Also Has Many Useful And Important Links, The Most Important Of Which Are Those Of David Gewirtz, Re How To Get Going On Google Voice..]
http://www.zdnet.com/article/skype-jumps-the-shark-seven-alternative-voip-services/

A) Continue) This Article (Same as Above) Also Has MANY USEFUL AND IMPORTANT LINKS => In My Opinion, The Most Important Of Which Are Those Re How To Get Going On Google Voice. Google Talk and Google Chat, Which I C&P Below:
Google Voice:
Why use just a VoIP service when you can replace all your phone needs with Google Voice? In a series of ZDNet articles David Gewirtz gives a complete how-to for replacing your land line with Google Voice. As Gewirtz also wrote, you can also use Google Voice on your iPhone and other mobile phones.
OK, say you don't want to go that far. There are other excellent free alternatives from Google.
Google Talk:
“Google makes a thing a wee bit confusing when it comes to their communications offerings. Besides Google Voice, which is a personal private-branch exchange (PBX)...[But then] there is Google Chat, which is Google's IM service, and Google Talk, which is its VoIP and video service. Unlike Skype, there's no client as such, except for Windows, for these services. Instead, Linux and Mac users need to install a Google Talk video and voice plug-in to their Web browsers. Once you have the plug-in though you can use the services from many Google pages. For example, I use it all the time from Gmail and Google Plus.”
Speaking of Google Plus, there's also:
Google Hangouts:
“These are free video -conferences with up to nine people. You can also now broadcast or record these conferences for a world-wide audience. You can also do what I do sometimes and just use them as a quick way to have a one-on-one conversation. This is also a service you run directly from a Web browser. There's no need to download a client. [Click link below to see whole article]”

http://www.zdnet.com/article/skype-jumps-the-shark-seven-alternative-voip-services/

B) Skype vs. Google Voice: A Feature-By-Feature Showdown.
by: Kara Deyermenjian Associate Site Editor
“Two companies are competing to rule the free-VoIP market. This chart offers a feature-by-feature comparative look at Skype vs. Google Voice.”
http://searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com/feature/Skype-vs-Google-Voice-Feature-by-feature-showdown

C) Google Hangouts Gets Google Voice Integration And Free VoIP Calls.
Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday September 10, 2014 @02:26PM, from the dial-g-for-google dept.
I suggest you scroll down this Forum Page to the longer discussion starting with these words “Longer explanation: Google Voice and Hangouts are two separate things stuck together...”

D) A Good Discussion Of How To => Use Gizmo and Google Voice, For a Free Equivalent To $60/year Skype.
As I am working overseas, I’ve been using Skype to call US phones, paying 2 cents/minute for each call. Additionally, I have a Skype number where folks in the US can call a local number and get forwarded to my Skype account. This service costs $60/year.

By using Google Voice and Gizmo in conjunction, I can replicate both of these Skype features for free- here is how:

Thanks so much Google for creating a great service and saving me money.
Complete Thread Here =>
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/voice/CdojHZ5_WBU%5B1-25-true%5D

D) Cont: A Forum Discussion of Obi, Google Voice, Hangouts. Include some rants re "dumbed down" Apps.
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/voice/CdojHZ5_WBU%5B1-25-true%5D

E) A Very Extensive Summary Tabular Chart of Softphone => Providers, Plan Details, Long Distance $ Rates, Setup Fees , Monthly Fees & Links to Reviews For Each
http://www.voipreview.org/softphones

F) Our 5 Favorite Softphone User Interfaces (UIs)
March 4, 2014 by Craig Borowski
Good design is one of those things which people often overlook. Bad design, however, has a way of finding center stage.
http://www.voipreview.org/softphones

G) A Listing of Software-Based VoIP Services & Applications: Skype & Its Alternatives.
By Nadeem Unuth, Voice Over IP Expert
This page also has many links concerning VoIP use.
http://voip.about.com/od/voipsoftware/a/SoftphoneList.htm

H) FOR GOOD AND BAD: One Example Of How A SoftPhone Service Can Work Out.
My Indianapolis IN Friend Suggests a Softphone Service, Which He Has Successfully Used In Europe, To Call Back To USA: He said he uses VoipCheap.com paying 10 Euro for 3 months of their unlimited serviced VoIP call service, over his computer and internet connection..

According to the VOIPcheap WebPage, link below, you can sign up for “free” calls for a limited time, with their DownLoaded App in your computer. Then for continuing calls, you start paying what they say are low rates. For a full explanation of how this works (and to request a free trial), you should go to the NEXT link down (Perhaps the free part of this phone service is similar to that of Google Voice, which is also free, but has limitations). Although I have no experience, this comes with his solid recommendation, and is worth your investigation.

CAUTION: If you type into Google the name of this company and problem , you will see many complaints concerning VOIPcheap

....

Apparently my friend has not (YET), run into any problems, but the above is what you can expect if something goes wrong!! Thus you should proceed with due caution. =>
http://www.voipcheap.com/free_trial
For more explanation, and to get their App, go here =>
http://www.voipcheap.com/dashboard

BOTTOM LINE
If You Find Better, More Cost Effective Telephone Service Plans
Cell
Landline
PrePaid Phone Card
Various VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) Methods

 Analog Telephone Adapters (ATA),
 Headset-Computer-SpecialAPP SoftPhone

Cable Or FiberOptic Service
PLEASE LET ME KNOW, IMMEDIATELY!!

Written by Henry S Gurr 25Feb2014, MajorRevs+FreedomPop UpDate 27July&23Dec2014. Edited by Ryan George 7Sep2016
File = GoodLow$CostCell&Land} PrePdCard; WwwPhoneVoip;Verizon;PgPls V66.4 Rpg01.doc
HSG C&P from ZMMQ Server and save S5268 & LX8GB210901 > File =
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220611 Moved following down from top?
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