Cellular Services

Cellphone Hell: 2017 Minefield Navigation Guide

Cellphone Hell: 2017 Minefield Navigation Guide

Thursday, February 16, 2017

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Well, it’s been an interesting week. RingPlus, a Sprint MVNO, has gone belly up after Sprint pulled the plug on them. Lawsuit details are here. Then, not surprisingly, Sprint announced a new "unlimited" talk, text, and data plan: 5 phones for $90 with a free iPhone with trade-in. After first year, Sprint price escalates to $160 for 4 lines or $190 for 5 lines. And then, Verizon surprised everyone with an "unlimited" plan of their own: 4 phones for $180.… Read More ›

R.I.P. RingPlus: Don't Panic, Google Hangouts Is Your Friend

R.I.P. RingPlus: Don’t Panic, Google Hangouts Is Your Friend

Thursday, February 9, 2017

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Three months ago, we warned you that RingPlus appeared to be on its last leg and to begin planning your exit strategy. February 11 appears to be their Drop Dead Date although Ting apparently will now absorb all RingPlus accounts that aren’t ported out but under markedly different terms. For openers, there’s a $6 per month charge per phone before you even turn it on. After that, it’s pay-as-you-go for minutes, messages, and data. While the buckets are pooled between… Read More ›

The Autonomous Car: Tesla & The Winding Road

The Autonomous Car: Tesla & The Winding Road

Monday, January 9, 2017

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We kick off 2017 with a new series on autonomous vehicles and, for the short term at least, the focus will be on Tesla simply because they’ve moved the needle the quickest and have a billion+ driver-tested miles under their belt already. I’m reminded of a quip from a pilot friend who said, "Anybody can fly a plane at 30,000 feet with autopilot. What separates the living from the dead is what you do when something goes wrong." A recent… Read More ›

Santa's Secret: Deploying Google Pixel as a Free VoIP Phone

Santa’s Secret: Deploying Google Pixel as a Free VoIP Phone

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

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Nov. 21 UPDATE: As rumored, RingPlus has now announced the termination of ALL existing plans. Details here. NEWS FLASH: We interrupt our normal editorial schedule to bring you this update. Many of our readers joined us in embracing RingPlus cellular service with the promise of free monthly calling in exchange for a modest upfront contribution. As with almost every something-for-nothing deal, it looks as if the death spiral may have begun with the abrupt termination of more than a dozen… Read More ›

2016: The Year of the May Bromance with XiVO, Asterisk 13, and the GPL

2016: The Year of the May Bromance with XiVO, Asterisk 13, and the GPL

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

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Remember that girl that you never much noticed in high school that happened to cross your path years later and there was that instant attraction. It’s one of our favorite country songs. What a month it has been. 30 days ago we’d never met. And then it happened. We were introduced to XiVO by a single post on the PIAF Forum. It’s difficult to choose a single adjective that describes how feature-rich XiVO is as a real-time Asterisk platform. Ten… Read More ›

The XiVO Adventure Continues: Adding Incredible PBX Goodies to Your Sandbox

The XiVO Adventure Continues: Adding Incredible PBX Goodies to Your Sandbox

Thursday, May 12, 2016

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We began our XiVO adventure last week by introducing a terrific new communications platform for both businesses and hobbyists. This week we begin the task of incorporating the Incredible PBX Goody Bag into an already amazing PBX, and we’ll cover about a dozen new topics. We’ll also address a few XiVO basics such as where to find and how to use the backups that XiVO makes every morning while many of us are still sleeping. Since a new XiVO release… Read More ›

No Brainer: Free Cell Service, Free Texting, Free Data Plan + Free SIP Trunk

No Brainer: Free Cell Service, Free Texting, Free Data Plan + Free SIP Trunk

Sunday, April 24, 2016

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Suppose we told you there was a cellular reseller in the United States that would give you 3,250 minutes of free calling every month with a free Sprint phone. And, to sweeten the pot, you could also use those minutes as a SIP trunk on any Asterisk® server to make 3,250 minutes of free calls in the United States every month. Let’s not stop there. Suppose the provider would also throw in 3,250 SMS messages as well as 3,250 megs… Read More ›

Smartphone Trifecta: 2016's Very Best Cellphones with Two Awesome Surprises

Smartphone Trifecta: 2016’s Very Best Cellphones with Two Awesome Surprises

Thursday, March 31, 2016

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Every year we try to check out the latest and greatest smartphones with emphasis on finding those that are the best fit with Asterisk®. So this year is really special because our three favorite new phones all come with a couple of surprises. First, monthly cellular service can be FREE on all of them! Second, all of the phone numbers associated with the three phones can be used as free SIP trunks with Incredible PBX™ or your favorite Asterisk server.… Read More ›

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