Re: [a/s] Tele Communications

[Cindy & Carl Johnson <cjohnson@xxxxxxxxx>]

For phones, pagers.... we researched & researched (for our situation) - 'course
we wanted to reassure family they w/b be able to be in touch w/us over & above
e-mail.
Phone plans, cell phones, voice messaging, etc. - this is what we finally
worked out for "us" -
A. Bought answering mach from Radio Shack ($39 on sale from $59). Has remote
capabilities so we can change greeting & family, friends know where we
currently are traveling. They can also leave message for us if they need us to
call ASAP (rather than now & then.
    a. this model also has battery back-up in case of electrical blips,
outages, etc. We can go back in when we are away & reset greetings.

B. Have one our kid's extra cell phones - can use it for emergency/911 - not
necessary to buy into a contract if you want it just for emergency & save
yourself from being tied into a contract.

C. Phone cards - we bought a $20 card at Wal-Mart (there are various $ amts one
can buy there).
There are all sorts of screaming signs telling one to buy "their" card for 2.9
c/min, etc.  Check them out - access chgs, etc. bring the actual costs up, up
to much more than the 2,5 or whatever cents/min. It's difficult to say which
company is the best - your friends say "their" card is the best-it may be, but
find out how the cards work & what the various hidden chgs are. We're not
saying Wal Mart is best - that's what we went with after being tired of trying
to figure out the best for "us"

C. E-Mail is our life saver - there is nothing like it for staying connected.
    ** Again, every provider is different. I feel one of the deciding points is
what areas you will be in. If you're going to be in SoWest - look at the
providers list of "local" free access #'s - are they generally where you will
be?
    ** The 800 # they offer when you are out of the local access area... how
much is it per min??