[IP] Getting Around the Hotel Voice Costs

[Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>]

I use a cell phone .. dave@farber.net

------ Forwarded Message
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@warpspeed.com>


[Note:  This item comes from reader Dave Hughes.  What Dave neglected
to mention is that as long as his Vonage device is connected to the
Net, you can also call him on his Vonage assigned phone number.  That
number follows you around wherever you are.  I've done the same thing
that Dave has and once got a call from Tonga that way.  DLH]

At 23:41 -0700 4/22/03, Dave Hughes wrote:
>From: "Dave Hughes" <dave@oldcolo.com>
>To: "'Dewayne-Net Technology List'" <dewayne-net@warpspeed.com>
>Subject: Getting Around the Hotel Voice Costs
>Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 23:41:01 -0700
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>
>
>Hurrah! I fooled the Westin Hotel, Santa Clara with my Vonage VOIP!!!
>
>As anyone who travels much and has to stay in major chain hotels, you
>increasingly get ripped off when making long distance calls from hotel
>rooms - either voice calls or modem calls. Not only do you pay the long
>distance charges, but hotels charge surcharges, and even up front
>charges to 'initialize' long distance calling. From 10 cents a minute
>up to $1 a minute.
>
>Now of course, many of the chains now offer, from your room 'high speed'
>internet connection - for like $9.95 a day. Which, on top of a $150 a
>day room, IF you can go out to the net high speed - not telephone
>modem long distance dial - and get your email and spam, and browse the
>net,  that's an acceptable flat rate charge for temporary high speed
>internet when you are on the road.
>
>I have done that many times. But THIS time I brought my VOIP Cisco AT
>186 Vonage service and a small touchtone phone to plug into it (hotel
>phones with their fancy dual line setups I wouldn't trust) AND a small 4
>by 6 inch
>Netgear router.
>
>So I initialized the Internet Service in my room by plugging its
>ethernet into my laptop, turned it on, ran the browser which
>automatically comes up with the 'offer' screen. I accepted the offer and
>immediately  went out on the net and read/answered my email browsed a
>bit.
>
>THEN having already plugged in my travelling phone to the Cisco AT186,
>powered it up, connected it by ethernet to a port on the router, plugged
>the Hotel ethernet into the router 'upstream port' added a Second
>ethernet between it and my computer, and finally powered up the router.
>
>Well, as expected ( a few retries to get the sequence right) the
>router took the DHCP ip address from the hotel net, and the router gave
>out the two public (192.168.0.x) DHCP addresses to my laptop and the
>Cisco AT 186, I pinged out to see if all was well. It was. So picked up
>the telephone handset and placed a call to back home, it rang, and I
>conversed just fine WHILE ALSO using my laptop on the net.
>
>The VOIP voice call was essentially free ( being already covered by the
>flat monthly rate of $40 for unlimited calls across the US and Canada,
>and the $9.95 fast internet connection served both the VOIP device AND
>my laptop at the same time, broadband. I used both for almost 3 hours,
>catching up with my work.
>
>And I managed to make NO long distance - in fact any - voice phone calls
>from my room!
>
>Perfectly legal and ethical. Just avoiding the gouging hotels now
>administer for voice callers from hotel room phones. VOIP, your time is
>here.
>
>Just a Hack I have been waiting to try since I got my home Vonage VOIP.
>Cause I will have to be doing lots of travelling the next six months.
>
>Dave Hughes
>dave@oldcolo.com

Archives at: <http://Wireless.Com/Dewayne-Net>
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