How do you get one hooked up? Does anyone use VOIP? How is the service?

Hey! I use Vonage. It runs thru my cable that way my family in the states can call me anytime. but you have to order it before you move to Japan. bc it has to be shipped to a state side address..

You can use the magicjack! It is only $19.95 a year. You might need to purchase it before you come over as well.

Base phones are about $37 a month depending on the options and also your long distance if you use it which provides you a "class B DSN" line. The cost to call the states is about 7-9 cents a minute through that, but the nice thing is that you can dial all the bases as part of the price you pay.

Also one other thing to consider is that if your spouse "deploys" and has access to a DSN line, then they will be able to call while deployed.

Thanks for the info. Been thinking of getting Vonage. I haven't read very good reviews of Magic Jack.

I used Skype, which is free to download and install. For $60 I purchased a North Carolina phone number (local for my mom and brother) and they could call me for free. No charge to them to call a local number, no charge to me to receive calls from ANYWHERE. Two cents a minute to call out to almost anywhere (a few countries cost more) was way cheaper than even a Japanese land line or Japanese cell phone. Most of my friends had Skype or Vonage,a nd both systems had their fans.

Skype is web based, meaning you can download the free Skype software to any computer and log into your Skype account from any computer.

When we travel, we take a little laptop with skype on it and we use it as our phone. That way anyone can make and recieve calls no matter where you are. Plus, we can video chat for free with our family in the states.

Only downside is that you have to use a headset that is tethered to your computer unless your computer has a microphone. I lilke to walk around the house while I talk so that sucks.

I have Vonage Global and love it. I've been able to keep the same stateside number for 10 years despite moving to several different countries. A big difference between Vonage and skype/magicjack is that Vonage does not need a computer to work. You plug a Vonage box into your router and a phone into the Vonage box, then your computer can be turned off & the phone still works. I have a cordless phone so I can use it all around the house. We have friends in many countries, and Vonage Global lets us call them at no charge. This includes Japan, so we use it to call Japan landlines for free. Calling Japan cell phones is NOT free, so we use our Softbank phones for that. We don't have a Japanese landline.

Voice quality is rock-solid; I never have any problems. One more thing: All Vonage accounts have free voicemail with Visual Voice Mail included. So if i'm out of the house & miss a call, it emails the voicemail to me which I can open and listen to on my Softbank iPhone. The visual voicemail includes a written transcription of the voicemail, so I can read the message as well as hear it. It gets a lot of typos but it's always good enough to see when the message was about if I don't want to play the voicemail. Way cool!

You can sign up overseas; just have the box sent to someone in the States who will send it to you. It's worth it. Also, if you reference a Vonage user when you sign up then both you & them get a free month of service. PM one of us Vonage users before you do it so we can both get credit. TIA!

With Skype, I use a bluetooth headset, so I am not tethered to the computer (my laptop is bluetooth enabled). So, if you have a bluetooth enabled laptop, you don't have to be tethered to it. My brother just carries his little Netbook around, and uses Skype to give his friends a live "video tour". Ha ha!

Oh..sorry...didn't see your question, NurseFlyer. Skype is on my computer. We used the computer as a "landline" because it was WAAAY cheaper than a Japanese landline, and then we both had Japanese cell phones with SoftBank. Of course, the computer went with us when we traveled, so our landline was able to "travel with us". I can also use Skype for voice calls on my iPhone (both in Japan and in the U.S.) as long as I am near a wireless Internet connection. You can't use the Skype voice calls if you are on 3G though -- only when you have wireless Internet.

And ThaiGuy, that's good to know about Vonage Global. I've enjoyed keeping the same North Carolina Skype number for the past five and a half years, in Japan, in the U.S. and while we've been "in transit" for months at a time.

Thai Guy.... Can you tell me if calling to a cell phone in the US from my vonage number would cost more, or is that included in my bill? My parents do not have a home phone, so I will be calling their cells.. Thanks!

With Vonage calling plans, I'm pretty sure it costs the same calling a US cell phone or landline. I've been on unlimited plans for years & never got charged more for calling cell phones.

Magic Jack is awesome. Buy it and register it in the states, or get someone to register it for you. Then all calls from Japan to the states are free, clarity is near perfect these days. Also the number you pick in states is free for them to call you from if you register in FL and your caller lives in CA they will incur a long distance call from CA to FL depending on their plan.

[Magic Jack runs through your internet connection, I have noticed that you can't really surf the web while using MJ for phone calls, at the same time and your computer has to be on for MJ to work, just FYI]  It doesn't matter if you call a land line, cell phone or computer w/ MJ.

I haven't used Vonage, but Magic Jack works fine. For local calls we have Japanese cell phones, they run around 17.00 a month each it's more if you get the iPhone just like in the states.