OBi200 from Hotel Room in Italy & Spain

[Looking4Help]

All, I need some advice please.

1. I am traveling in Europe staying at hotels (might have line-in or just wifi) I am wondering how or if this device will work for dialing & receiving calls from US numbers. Please advise.
2. Also, would recommend I port my Skype number to GV for use with the OBi200?

I've been looking for clear answers on these items, but I can't seem to get a clear update and/or detail in how to do 1 or the other.

Many thanks for your help and support.

[drgeoff]

Unlike electricity,  our wired ethernet in Europe is just the same as you have in the USA. Our WiFi is extremely similar too. In one respect it is better; we have 13 channels to pick from versus your 11.

Will your OBi work? Chances are pretty much the same as the chances in a US hotel. GV or any other SIP ITSP doesn't really care about where in the world you are. Latency, bit rate and packet loss are the issues.

In a nutshell, it is likely to vary from hotel to hotel. You won't know until you try it.

[LTN1]

All, I need some advice please.

1. I am traveling in Europe staying at hotels (might have line-in or just wifi) I am wondering how or if this device will work for dialing & receiving calls from US numbers. Please advise.
2. Also, would recommend I port my Skype number to GV for use with the OBi200?

I've been looking for clear answers on these items, but I can't seem to get a clear update and/or detail in how to do 1 or the other.

Many thanks for your help and support.

If you have a compatible smartphone, using Hangouts with your Google Voice number would be a bit more convenient than lugging an OBi on your travels.

[SteveInWA]

I don't know about Italy and Spain, but many hotels restrict use of their WiFi or Ethernet service by requiring you to first go to a web page and enter a user ID and password or PIN.  This is known as a "captive portal".

Since you are traveling, rather than lug around the extra OBi hardware and a telephone, it would be easier to just use the internet VoIP calling service of your choice, on a laptop, tablet or smartphone.  You'd first log into the hotel (or internet cafe's) service, then use a softphone app on the computer to make and receive calls.

If you want to use Google's service, download and install Google Hangouts.  Calls to most phone numbers in the USA are free.  If you want people to be able to call you, then you need to sign up for a Google Voice phone number.

Check out the help documents over on the GV site for instructions:  https://support.google.com/voice/#topic=1707989

Of course, you could also use Skype, Vonage, or any of the many SIP VoIP providers instead of Google Hangouts.