[PLUG] Anyone Using Google Voice with T-Mobile?

[Mark Phillips]

Daniel,

Thanks....just a few questions below to clarify your comments.

Mark

On Wed, Jan 26, 2011 at 1:42 PM, Daniel Pittman <daniel at rimspace.net> wrote:

> On Wed, Jan 26, 2011 at 12:34, Bill Barry <bill at billbarry.org> wrote:
> > On Wed, Jan 26, 2011 at 12:25 PM, Mark Phillips
> > <mark at phillipsmarketing.biz> wrote:
> >>
> >> Wifi calling on my android phone with T-mobile is not very reliable.
> Some
> >> wifi points connect, some don't, those that connect drop calls, etc. I
> think
> >> google voice is VoIP, so it sounds as if it would be a replacement for
> the
> >> wifi calling app on my phone. But some boards say that T-mobile
> customers
> >> get charged minutes even when using GV.
>
> As far as I know the wifi calling thing lets you be billed minutes,
> indeed.  GV definitely does.
>

If I understand correctly, there is a cost to use GV, so I pay for that. And
I get billed minutes from my carrier to use GV. Am I correct?

>
> >> Anyway, I was wondering if anyone on the list uses GV + Android +
> T-mobile
> >> and what their experience has been.
>
> Solid.  My partner and I have very occasional quality issues,
> typically low volume, when calling to or from Australia, but local
> stuff has been dead on.
>
> >> Also, in reading about GV, it says I have to get a new phone number. How
> >> does that number relate to my mobile number, or is it something in the
> >> background that the world does not see? The google docs are not very
> helpful
> >> in explaining just what GV provides.
>
> So, the best way to use Google Voice is that you have people call the
> GV number, and it then calls whatever set of phones you tell it to.
> Those phones need their own number, but that is hidden from the rest
> of the world.
>
> AFAIK, GV actually intercepts the request to call from Android, talks
> over the Internet to their servers, has GV call your mobile, picks
> that call up silently, and then connects you through on the outbound
> leg.
>

If GV is actually calling my Tmo number, then where does the wifi come in?
With T-mobile, any minutes that I talk over Wifi, and not their network are
free - no charge against my plan minutes. It doesn't sound, from your
description, that GV works within that framework.

>
> Anyway, you can also just redirect your voicemail stuff into GV, but
> that isn't nearly as nice.
>
> Finally, if you port your number it *stops* working on your current
> mobile; you would need to establish a new mobile service with T-Mobile
> for GV to be able to call through to the bit of hardware.
>

Lovely!

>
> If you have more specific questions feel free to add 'em on, though I
> am pretty busy right now so might be high latency in responding. :)
>
> Regards,
>    Daniel
> --
> ⎋ Puppet Labs Developer – http://puppetlabs.com
> ✉ Daniel Pittman <daniel at rimspace.net>
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