Can ya hear me now???

[wizard]

Like many of us, I call LA frequently... Like every day... Needless to say, my telephone bills are about the same as the gross national product of some small countries... The problem is that my girl only has a cell phone... The rates are much higher to call cell phones in LA... Being the prudent norte americano, I shop around for the best rates on LD service...

I recently got an email solicit from noblecom... I've used their service before, but lately have found a better service... Anyway, their e-ad said they had a "new" service, offering 8.9cpm to call cell phones in Colombia... I jumped all over it... I thought, what a deal!!! So I bought $40 worth of service, roughly 7.5 hours of LD to Colombia... No connect charges, no weekly/monthly service fees... Too good to be true... Right...

Well, remember the old saying, "you get what you pay for"... Yeah, about half the time I can't get a connection... When I do get a connection the circuit is awful... Echoes on the line, warbling voice modulation and constant disconnects... Really very agravating... I feel like I'm on a TV commercial going "Can ya hear me now???"

Just thought I'd pass this along in case any of you guys have received the same e-ad... It's not worth it...

I know this subject has been beat to death, but has anybody found a decent service to call cells phone in LA???

[Michael B]

... in response to Can ya hear me now???, posted by wizard on Mar 21, 2003

[This message has been edited by Michael B]

Well here's one NOT to use. I wasn't at any of my usual haunts yesterday to buy one of the phone cards I know, so I stopped in a little place and bought 'E-Z Connect Mexico', a CLEVELEND product, which SAYS no connection fee and $5.00 gives 100 minutes to Colombia. What they actually delivered was several 'static then silence' calls, each of which sucked between 4 and 40 cents out of the balance. The $5.00 card is now down to about $3.00 and I never have gotten through. Don't buy CLEVELAND phone products, sorry piece of garbage.

follow up:
Finally got through, talked for 17 minutes, the '100 minute' card now says I have 42 minutes remaining.

[lswote]

... in response to Can ya hear me now???, posted by wizard on Mar 21, 2003

Mark,
I am surprised to hear of the poor quality.  I used Noblecom to call my wife everyday, and now that she is here she uses it to call her family and friends.  I even use it to make calls in the states.  I do have problems getting connections, I have had it take 20 minutes before to get a connection, but most of the time I get connected the first time.  I have never called a cellphone though, so maybe that is different.
Bruce

[wizard]

... in response to Re: Can ya hear me now???, posted by lswote on Mar 23, 2003

Congrats Bruce...

I KNOW you are very happy that Zulma is with you now and that your DONE with the process... If everything goes well, Francy will be here by June 1st...

I have used the Noblecom service many times and have had no problem calling hard-wired phones, but their service to call cell phones leaves much to be desired... The odd thing is that I can have a bad noblecom connection, hang up and call right back using the COGNI dial-around service and get a good connection... Go figure...

I wish you much luck and happiness with your new family...

Mark

[Hiker]

... in response to Can ya hear me now???, posted by wizard on Mar 21, 2003

Nobel.com sucks big time.  I got fed up and started using 10-10-345 to ensure a good connection.  Recently a Mexican friend suggested I try a card that can be purchased in about any 7-11.  The card is called Tele-Centavos.  I have been using it two weeks and I have yet to loose a connection and the quality is fantastic so far.

[Ralph]

... in response to Re: Can ya hear me now???, posted by Hiker on Mar 22, 2003

I have spent a ton of money over the years on Nobelcom cards. I have had a great luck with them. It appears they are less than great for Colombia. I wonder how they are for Brazil, Mexico, peru etc.

[valuedcustomer]

... in response to Can ya hear me now???, posted by wizard on Mar 21, 2003

The quality of the nobel cards is all over the map especially when it is raining in Colombia.  It is difficult to get through on weekends.  However, tonight, I got through after calling three times.  I keep detailed records and on my last "card" I got 10.49 cents a minute with good sound quality.  That is still better than the 16-18 cents per minute I get with 10-10-345.  For those who don't know, you are given the pin number over the internet in an E-mail file and there is no physical card.  It doesn't matter whether you get the pin in an E-mail file or printed on a card.  I like the convenience of having an account with Nobel and getting the pins over the Internet.  The one really nice thing about Nobel is they offer a cell phone card to Colombia.  If you use the other methods for calling, a cell phone call can cost alot more than a call to a house.

[wizard]

... in response to Re: Can ya hear me now???, posted by valuedcustomer on Mar 21, 2003

I agree that the noblecom service is very convenient, in that you can purchase PIN numbers over the internet, have them delivered to your email address in less than ten minutes and away you go... I have used their more expensive phone cards / PINS in the past with no problem, but this new cheaper service just doesn't cut it... I think they are using VoIP (Voice over IP) to make these connections, and they are not very good...

Interesting point about the weather effecting the quality of service... It has been raining in Bogota for most of the last two weeks, which is the time frame I have been trying to use the new service...

My only solice is that my girl will be here soon, so I can stop paying these outrageous telephone charges and redirect those funds to retiring the national debt... lol...

[papa suave]

... in response to Can ya hear me now???, posted by wizard on Mar 21, 2003

To this point I haven't had any luck with any of those cheapy cards. You just never know what type of connection you're gonna get. How many repeaters does the signal pass through before getting to your chica? You never know.

[wizard]

... in response to Re: Can ya hear me now???, posted by papa suave on Mar 21, 2003

I agree papa suave... Like I said, you get what you pay for, and that is the quality of service... When I can't get through or have a bad connection with the "cheap" service, I just call back using the "muy costoso" service and get a good connection with no problems... Go figure...

[Georgina]

... in response to Can ya hear me now???, posted by wizard on Mar 21, 2003

Have you tried phone-cards? There are a bunch of them that work pretty well when calling to South America. You just have to go to the Mexican stores and request their pamphlets with the different phone cards rates and choose the one that works best for you or by like two or three different ones for $5 each and see which one is the best one to call Colombia. I use one that for 5 dollars I can talk for 140 minutes to Peru. The communication is as clear as calling the person next door.

[wizard]

... in response to Re: Can ya hear me now???, posted by Georgina on Mar 21, 2003

Hola Georgina...

Thanks for the idea, but yes, I have tried a good number of phone cards from a variety of companies... The noblecom service I was refering to is technically marketted as a phone card too... Some of these services are better than others, and this new noblecom phone card had the best rates I have found for calling a cell phone in LA... There are many inexpensive calling services for calling regular telephones in LA, but there are very few that have a good rate for calling cell phones... My girl only has a cell phone... Some of the phone cards that have the better rates for calling regular phones "jack up" the rates when you make calls to a cell phone... The average rate is around 29 cents per minute...

[Onephd]

... in response to Re: Re: Can ya hear me now???, posted by wizard on Mar 22, 2003


Hey I found a great card plan a while back and I use it for all my international calls. It has a clear rate plan, online recharging, and a detailed log of your calls.  I always get through and the quality is great for the places I tend to call.  Check the rates for Colombia and see if its something you might want to try.  I am not sure where you are calling so you'll have to check the rates, which you can do before you pay any money.  Here is the link

http://www.click4prepaid.com/index.asp?rid=onephd