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Can I use OBi100 to call US phone numbers from Austria?

Started by tags, January 31, 2012, 10:15:48 AM

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tags

Hi.  My daughter is going to Austria for a semester.  I would like to give her my OBi100 which is setup with Google voice.  Will she be able to just plug it in and make calls from Austria to her friends in the US freely?

Thanks!

Stewart

Quote from: tags on January 31, 2012, 10:15:48 AM
Hi.  My daughter is going to Austria for a semester.  I would like to give her my OBi100 which is setup with Google voice.  Will she be able to just plug it in and make calls from Austria to her friends in the US freely?
There is no problem related to being in Austria.

However, it's always possible that a modem or router will require a special setting to work with the OBi, or in rare cases be completely incompatible.  If she will be in a dormitory or other shared living situation and does not have administrative control of the router, there might be a problem.  There are usually workarounds for such issues, e.g. connecting via a VPN.

tags

Quote from: Stewart on January 31, 2012, 10:56:13 AM

.....If she will be in a dormitory or other shared living situation and does not have administrative control of the router, there might be a problem.  There are usually workarounds for such issues, e.g. connecting via a VPN.

Stewart,

She will be in a dorm.  Can you point me to some link that talks about the VPN method so I can read about it? Thanks

Stewart

Quote from: tags on January 31, 2012, 07:31:53 PM
She will be in a dorm.  Can you point me to some link that talks about the VPN method so I can read about it?
Sorry, I don't use a standalone VPN service (the one I have is included with a web hosting package), so I can't make a recommendation.  If you Google "US VPN service", you'll get lots of hits, but I don't know anything about them.  You can search the net for reviews.  It's also possible to run your own VPN server, if you are willing to leave a PC always on.

Most likely, a VPN won't be required.  Try to get some feedback from other students, e.g. can they make calls from Gmail without issue?  If so, the OBi will probably work fine.

Also, you need to look at what physical connection is provided.  If it's Wi-Fi only, there won't be a place to plug in the OBi.  In that case, she could use her PC as a bridge, or buy a separate Wi-Fi bridge device.

Huib

According to Google there's a 1 dollar cent charge per minute for calls originating outside North America to North America. Haven't experienced it first hand but will soon find out when I station an OBi110 in the Netherlands.

dudlee

Tags,

I don't know if this would be the same but I have two kids in college that are staying in apartments.  They both have plug in internet in their rooms.  I got both of them a router and they plug the Obi into that and it has worked fine, also they now have their own wifi for their laptops.  When they both stayed in the dorms, they had plug in internet within the room but the college would not allow individual routers within the rooms.

tags

Stewart,Huib, thanks for the info.

dudlee, good point.  I called and they don't have wireless, but Ethernet cable for internet.   I will give her a router (wireless not allowed)

I think among Skype, magic jack, and OBi100, something will work out for sure.

Thanks again all who responded.

dudlee

Tags,

If she is going to be staying in a college dorm room, then make sure the college allows routers to be connected to their system.  A lot if not most do not allow this.

Lavarock7

I started a lengthy reply and then saw that this was a resurrected thread.

I would have suggested the person use a Voip provider like Voip.MS and the obi, or use a cellphone with Wifi capability and Zoiper on the phone to allow calls back to the states.

With the ability to get a cheap US number and cheap calling, voicemail for after hours calls and so on, this solves many of the GoogleVoice issues and the cost is minimal.
My websites: Kona Coffee: http://itskona.com and Web Hosting: http://planetaloha.info<br />A simplified Voip explanation: http://voip.planet-aloha.com