Does your cell phone bill ever go down? Not in a million years, right? And I know a number of people who have to keep going to a higher tier plan because of all the minutes they consume. One of the best tips I can think of for saving those precious phone plan minutes is using WiFi to make calls.
2 Good reasons for Using WiFi to Make Calls
- Using WiFi does not count toward your "on-air" phone plan minutes.
- If you live in an area where you don't get a good signal, or maybe a completely non-existent signal, going to WiFi could solve the problem since you're not using a cell phone tower.
Get a Router for Home WiFi
Okay, here's the downside, although it's not too down. If you don't already have a wireless router/WAP (Wireless Access Point), you will need one if you use your cell phone frequently at your house. You can get a good wireless router at an electronics or PC store for about $70, along with a Cat-5 cable (a few dollars) to connect the router to your cable modem.
When you make a call, you are going from your phone to the router wirelessly, and the router sends the voice data over a connected Internet line via your cable modem. Also keep in mind that you can connect to a WiFi public hotspot with the phone, just like you can with your laptop, so if you're in a Starbucks having coffee, you're all set.
Most of the cell phones now have WiFi capability. Go into your phone's System Settings to locate it. If this is a challenge, your phone manual will tell you exactly how to find it on your specific model. Once you've found it, make sure to enable it. I have an LG Viper smartphone, and it will also keep track of how many minutes I used the WiFi, a great feature that I love. You should not notice much of a difference using the WiFi in terms of call quality; in fact the quality is quite good.
Other Router Benefits
There's also a non-phone related side benefit to having the router. Now you can compute from anywhere in the house. If you enjoy sitting on the couch in the living room while computing, you can now do it and surf the Web. You can also relocate your desktop PC to a better location if its current spot is not to your liking. If you've purchased a PC within the last few years, it probably has WiFi capability. If not you can purchase an adapter for it for about $30 dollars.
There are a number of benefits to using WiFi and who knows, it just might make the difference in your phone bill so you don't have to buy that more expensive plan. That should definitely put a smile on your face.
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