Stafford North

Many have ask about the best plan to use to communicate back home while we are overseas. The most important thing to know about this is to plan before you go how you will communicate home. Here are some notes about communcation while we are on the trip overseas.

Email

• Some of our Hotels will have some internet access, so if you have web based email you can send and receive emails from the hotel.
• There is WiFi in some locations that you can use if you have a WiFi device like an iPhone. Free wi-fi access is common in cafés. All branches of ‘Aroma Espresso Bar’, ‘Arcaffe’, ‘Café Café’, ‘McDonalds’ and ‘Yellow’ convenience stores have free wi-fi access, though in some you will have to approach the staff for a password. Recently, the “Jerusalem WiFi” project started. This government started project aims to cover the entire Jerusalem area with WiFi although at the moment the only areas covered are in the city center. A similar project has started in Tel Aviv.
• There will be internet cafés in some locations that you can pay to use.

Voice

• Use your current mobile phone with an international calling plan.
  • You should check with your carrier (usually on their web site) to see if your phone will work in the countries we are visiting.
  • You should check the carriers plan for roaming and data for the countries we are visiting.
    •  The rates for ATT roaming in Isreal, Jordan and Egypt are 2.49/min
    •  Check the data plan for your phone for texting, email, etc. Sending text, pictures, email are usually pretty expense if you don’t have an international data plan. ATT does have international data plans
    • You should make sure you set up the plans for your cell phone in advance an advance with your carrier.
• Use Skype on the Internet – www.skype.com
  • Skype allows you to make low cost voice and video calls via the internet.
    • Skype to skype calls are free.
    • Skype to land lines and moble phone have very low charge ( 2 or 3 cents a minut)
  • Any location with a computer with internet access and is equipped with microphone and speakers can use Skype.
  • If you have an iPhone (or some other phones that support internet access), you can use Skipe (with Fring app) when there is wifi access.
  • You should set up the Skype service and learn how to use it before you go.
• Rent a cell phone
  • We have a group plan for mobile phone rental in Israel. Here are the significant points about it.
    1. If you get a phone and never use it, it will not cost you anything (it says $1/day but that is waved for us, as well as the delivery charge)
    2. Calling within Israel (like to other members of our group while we are in Israel it cost $. 19/min. (pay as you go plan)
    3. Calling to the US is $.38 per minute. (pay as you go plan)
    4. Local Number Service – For $10 you can get a US number (should get the number before we leave) that people in the US can call and you pay $.14/min.
    5. These are just for our stay in Israel. They will be available at our first hotel and be picked up our last hotel in Isreal.
    6. To sign up this plan you can do it on line Israel Phones 

 This will let us call each other while we are in Israel.

•  Get a calling card there and use a public phone or hotel room (may be some charge) to call
  • You can buy them when we arrive or order them now
  • Rates as low as 1.5 cents per minute to US land lines
  • Usually require dialing an access number and using a PIN

Here is what I am doing:

• Taking my iPhone.
  • Get International Plan turn on for my iPhone account
  • Get International Data plan for my iPhone account
• Set up a Skype account
  • I can use this from PC internet access in Hotel or Internet café
  • I can use this on my iPhone
• Set up Fring on my iPhone
  • This lets me use skype on my iPhone
• Getting a International calling card
• Renting a cell phone.