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Not that it's Skype's fault they're getting throttled, but I wish I had an alternative to Skype. I haven't found a service that lets me dial worldwide (particu
by newsbinator 8y ago
Not that it's Skype's fault they're getting throttled, but I wish I had an alternative to Skype.
I haven't found a service that lets me dial worldwide (particularly USA/Canada) at anywhere near the rates Skype offers.
- chmars 8y agoDo you really still need to dial? Haven’t all the persons you call a computer (smartphone!) with free VoIP capabilities?
- newsbinator 8y agoIn North America, it's unusual to ask for a business person's WhatsApp or Telegram or whatever. These contacts are not often published or shared for work. It's more common to receive their landline extension or cell phone number. When establishing a business relationship, saving a few cents by trying to figure out mutual VoIP options isn't worth the friction and lost opportunities.
- artemisbot 8y agoAren't Whatsapp and telegram both tied to your cell phone number though?
- et-al 8y agoThe use case is: traveler in _______ country uses Skype to call local numbers. Be it a local restaurant, or a new business contact.
- et-al 8y agoIt's very possible people are calling relatives or friends whose landline offers a more reliable connection than their internet. And if having a conversation, I'd rather have an uninterrupted voice conversation than a mediocre video call that drops every 3 minutes.
- Tor3 8y agoWhen I'm in Japan and want to talk with my insurance company, bank, or airline over on the other side of the world, there's just one way: A phone number. Which is the (main) reason I'm still using Skype. There are other, and sometimes better, alternatives for video/chat/group chats/photos etc. But still nothing that competes with Skype's phone support, although Skype in general has degenerated a lot since the early days.
- kingosticks 8y agoIs viber still around? I used to use that.
- Tor3 8y agoviber is still operating. But I've never used it. Their landline calling system is 'package'-based, unlike the very straight forward Skype setup. On viber's web site there's not even a simple way of listing the countries they support. You have to 'search' for a country, and then you get an offer of various packages to use. Way too much hassle, and too limited (you have to buy a 'package' for each country you want to call. Not very convenient). For ordinary chats, groups, video conversations, file / movie / photo / album sharing etc. I use Naver Line, as nearly every Japanese do as far as I can tell.
- newsbinator 8y agoVery popular in Eastern Europe.
- jackson1way 8y agoI use Google Voice For the same reason! It‘s even better: it has a free US phone number. So my insurance could call me on that number while I‘m in Japan.
- Tor3 8y agoGoogle Voice as a service is limited to the US and Canada, so if you're a North American it's a good alternative I guess. Otherwise, not so much.
- chipperyman573 8y agoFwiw Google voice has free US calling and pretty decent reache rates
- icebraining 8y ago(if you have an US number to sign up with)
- newsbinator 8y agoI can't get my phone to ring with Google Voice / Google Hangouts incoming calls. Tried every setting possible: always goes to voicemail.
- chipperyman573 8y agoReally? That's exactly how I have it set up. In Google voice, attach your cell phone number (verify the text etc), then go to settings-calls-incoming calls and enable it.
- newsbinator 8y agoAh, my current location/phone number is not in the USA/Canada, so I can't link it.
- Tepix 8y agoDIDlogic is usually much cheaper than Skype. Takes a bit of SIP knowledge to setup.
- hycaria 8y agoWell it's not the same rate but you can't be throttled on pure dial. You pay the price for that.
- Rjevski 8y agoSign up for a wholesale VoIP provider like Twilio or Nexmo.