Add International Capability To Your Cell Phone

The move from landlines to wireless phones is picking up steam. That offers an opportunity for mobile professionals to always be able to connect with prospects, customers and suppliers. One limitation, though, is that cell phone plans tend to exclude international calls or impose rates that make international long distance service impractical. Is there a solution?

There is a terrific solution in the form of a third party add-on service that integrates seamlessly with whatever cellular service you have now. Technically, it’s called international dial-around. You are not changing providers. Instead, you use the dial-around service to literally “dial around” your current cellular service when you need to make overseas calls from the US and Canada.

TEL3Advantage is a leader in the international dial-around space. Take one look at the per minute rates to the destination of your choice and you’ll see why. Let’s just choose to call China, for instance. The Flex Plan rate is 1.32 cents per minute. You read that correctly. It’s cheaper to call your contacts in China using Tel3Advantage than it is to call another city with most landline long distance services. Actually, this service will work just as well from a landline as a cell phone, so it makes sense to get Tel3Advantage and use it from all your phones.

By the way, you can call China for 30 days at just a penny a minute using the special Promo Plan when you sign up for Tel3Advantage service. Compare quality and service with your current long distance service or the calling cards you get at the convenience store. You’ll be so impressed by the calling rates, connection quality and customer service that you’ll gladly continue after the 30 day introductory period is over.

Give it a fair test. The stated rates are impressive enough. But note that there are no hidden fees involved like you run into with prepaid calling cards. Did you know that you almost never get the stated rate from a calling card? There are connection fees, inactivity fees and so on that reduce the number of actual minutes you get for your dollar. The true rate is often several times what’s printed on the face of the card when you actually start making calls. With Tel3Advantage you’ll pay the stated per-minute rates. You only get charged extra for calls from a payphone, if you can even find one anymore, or if you call from Alaska, Hawaii or US territories beyond the 48 continuous states.

Also note that your cellular provider will probably charge you minutes for the time spent calling through Tel3Advantage unless you are making calls during the free nights or weekends provision of your plan. That’s probably not important for most users, since you are paying for a bundle of minutes per month anyway. It can be a consideration for pre-paid cellular plans. Even so, just where are you going to get cheaper international rates even including the per minute charges of a pre-paid cell plan?

So, how does this service actually work? It’s pretty easy. You dial a local or toll free access number to reach the Tel3Advantage platform. Then you dial the international number you want to reach. There are no long PIN numbers to remember. You register your phone numbers with Tel3 and the system recognizes your phone when you call. You can avoid even dialing the access number yourself by downloading a TEL3App for your iPhone or smartphone. Then it’s no harder to make an international call than to place a call to a business across town.

Your Smartphone Business Office

Thanks to the miracle of microelectronics, we have now reached the age of the business office in the palm of your hand. This is great news for the empowerment of employees on the go and independent professionals. No longer are you tethered to a desk in a building just to have your necessary tools available. No longer do you have to lug a ton of equipment to gain mobility. Well, most of us sure don’t.

The key to all this freedom of movement is the smartphone. The smartphone takes a cell phone and adds a computer. They each have their own wireless networks, but can work in concert to help you get your job done.

Your voice connection is through the cell phone. Many business people add a Bluetooth headset to eliminate the weight of holding the phone to their ear, but also so that they can see the screen and use the apps while they are talking.

Here’s a point to consider when you select your phone and carrier. Some 3G smartphones can operate as cell phones and computers simultaneously. The iPhone 3GS is advertised as having this capability. Some other phones on the AT&T network can do this too if they have UMTS/HSDPA capability. But there are other phones and networks can only work in one mode at a time. If you need to actively search the web or enter data as you are talking, make sure that your device can do voice and data at the same time.

What makes a cellphone a computer is specialized software and a broadband connection. Cellular broadband is also called 3G or third generation. Connection speeds similar to basic DSL services are typical. On the small screen, Web pages should load quickly and give you that interactivity you are used to on a larger computer. Some smartphones have virtual keyboards that appear on the touchscreen. Others have hidden QWERTY keyboards that slide out so you’ll have that familiar tactile feedback.

Another thing to note with cellular broadband is that 3G coverage areas are often smaller than voice service areas. If you range outside of the 3G footprint, you’ll still have a data connection but the speed will slow way down. Most carriers have decent 3G coverage in metropolitan areas. It’s when you get out of town that 3G is harder to find. Check coverage maps for the areas where you tend to spend the majority of your time to make sure you have solid network signals and broadband data speeds.

WiFi Internet is even faster than 3G. If you really want blazing fast Web access, get a phone that supports both the carrier’s 3G network and WiFi b/g networks. That way you can park at a coffee shop, enjoy a cup of java and a muffin, and get lots done. Just be sure to find a quiet corner and talk softly if you are going to be on the phone a lot.

There are a couple of accessory services that can enhance your smartphone office. A low cost toll free number gives you a professional image and encourages prospects and clients to call you from wherever they happen to be. The Kall8 toll free service also sends you voice mail and FAX messages as email attachments. You can change the ring-to number from your cell to your home or office phone if desired. That way people have only a single number to remember to get in touch with you.

If you make overseas calls, you know that calling from a cellphone is either very expensive or impossible. But add the Tel3 international dial-around service and you can call from the US to just about anywhere on Earth for just pennies a minute. Now your smartphone becomes an international business phone. If you are going overseas, be sure to get a smartphone that has quad band GSM capability so it will work on foreign networks. A OneSimCard international SIM card can make those calls from outside the country a lot less expensive that they would otherwise be.

If you can make all of this work, you can pack really light for those trips away from the home office. You entire tool set tucks into a shirt or jacket pocket. Checked luggage? What’s that?