Telephone and Internet in Playas Baja California Mexico

The best phone service is a VOIP phone. Vonage is one  VOIP but there are others like Broadvoice. VOIP phones operate through your computer utilizing a modem.  The first month is free usually but the modem must be purchased.   Vonage charges about $40 for a modem. It must be sent to a USA address.  All  payments  to Vonage by credit or debit card only.  For $24.99 plus taxes Vonage offers unlimited calls to anywhere in USA and Canada as well as six European countries. 

For an additional $15 a month, unlimited calls to Mexico and Latin America including all of South America.  This is great for making local calls in and around Playas and Tijuana.  Vonage offers unlimited calls to 60 countries for $15 a month but this does not permit calls to Tijuana, Mexico.  Having both unlimited plans (South America including Tijuana Mexico and 60 other countries world wide) is not permitted. 

Introduce a friend or relative and get a free month. Broadvoice is USA based and if you need tech support you will be connected to an English speaking call center in the USA.  The one complaint  with Vonage is contacting  their customer service means calling India or the Philippines which is not the greatest but common these days. Log on to both web sites, Vonage and Broadvoice, to take a look at what they offer.  There are other companies but these two are tried and true. 

Cablemas offers telephone service also and it is fairly reasonable nad reports are favorable.  

Telnor is the government owned telephone company providing land lines and internet services. Telnor is expensive for both phone and internet service. Vonage does not work well with Telnor.  On a limited budget, Telnor is not an option. I had Telnor for one month when I first came, big mistake as it wrecked my budget. Switching to Cablemas for internet was a saving and permitted Vonage to function well. Eliminating local land line was the best thing I did in terms of saving money.  Internet service with Telnor  was about $50 or $55 per month and there was an installation charge, which is more than Cablemas.

Cablemas is the best internest service in terms not only of price but in service. There is a small application fee of several dollars, under five dollars. Installation is free as are most service calls.  I have moved 4 times and have not ever paid a service fee for having the cable moved.  Nice to give the installer a small tip (5$) but it is optional.  I have not experienced any serious service problems.  On 2 occasions they have done maintenance and service was interrupted.  Once for the better part of a day (damage to a pole by a truck) and another time for 2 hours.

If you are a techie, some will argue that you might have a bit more up and down links (which I don't understand to begin with).  I find Cablemas' lower velocity absolutely great and I am on the computer for hours on end. It is definitely NOT SLOW. I did try their high velocity for one month (another $10) but found it was not significantly different for my purposes.

I have had a couple of Cablemas service calls and paid no service fee. Part of the  service problems I experienced had to do with my computer set up and secondly with my being computer challenged. With Telnor I paid an installation fee and I paid for service calls.  That was in 2006. I do not know their policies today other than they still charge for installation.

I do not use cable TV.  I find that with a good indoor antenna (costing about $25, a step up from the traditional "rabbit ears") I get all the major networks: ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, KPBS (from San Diego) and two local San Diego stations as well as a couple of Spanish stations.   Cable TV is basically Spanish television although they do have some English programming and frequently have subtitles.  However is this an expense I don't require.  I have no idea what will happen when we switch to digital but I assume my antenna will still be working well.

Basic high speed internet with Cablemas is  $35 a month and if paid 3 or 4 days ahead of due date, bill will be discounted. This discount varies.  The largest discount I received was $7.  I have no idea how this is computed.

I use my  USA server, sbcglobal.net (now ATT) which I had in the USA.  I am not sure how I do this.  Using whatever Cablemas provides ( I think it is Prodigy)  is  not a problem.

I have a USA cellular phone (ATT).  I do not have roaming charges for Mexico (expensive). It works within a limited range of the border.  I only use my cell phone if I am in the shopping area of Playas and need to call for a taxi to take me home or if I am crossing the border and need a taxi to pick me up.   I also use it when I am shopping across the border if needed. I prepay the service.  Service is available at $15 (good for 30 days) $25 good for 90 days (best for me) and $100 good for one  year.  I seldom use $15 a month. I choose to get $25 so that I can carry it over from one month to another.  I end up using most of the $25 within the 90 day period.  Prepaying $100 was an initial outlay I didn't choose to make.  I don't use $15 a month so I would lose any of that balance at the end of 30 days.

Calling Mexico from the USA can beexpensive but........ with the cell phone I get a $20 prepaid phone card from Just Phone cards which is available on the internet.   I use this when I need to make international calls to countries other than South America (including Central America and Mexico) which I do on occasion.  It is cheaper than making them on Vonage althoughVonage has great international rates.  

It is also helpful if I need to call Mexico when across the border in the USA.  In the border village there are a number of pay phones that permit calls to Mexico 3 minutes for 1$ if it is necessary to call someone to meet you when you cross the border.  Phones are in the Trolley McDonald's and along the street throughout  the border village.  

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