Phone booths in Ashburn, Ontario. Photo by Rick Harris.

Here’s how I slashed my cellphone bills by 70%. The goal:

• Make free calls without depleting your daytime minutes
• Make unlimited long distance calls within Canada and the US
• Receive calls anywhere within Canada without long distance charges

Requires:

• Skype account ($3.25/mo)
• Cell phone on Rogers with MY5

Free Outbound Calls

Making free calls from your computer is simple thanks to VOIP services such as Skype, but calling from your cell phone is way better.

1. Get Skype To Go.

Skype To Go lets you call any phone number (cell or landline, globally) by first calling a Skype access number. Get Skype’s “Unlimited US & Canada” plan for about $3.25/mo. You’ll get unlimited calling from your computer, voicemail on your Skype account, and call forwarding (calls to your Skype username can be forwarded to your phone).

It also gets you Skype To Go: just choose your area code and Skype will assign your very own local access number. Now you can call that number, key in your destination number, and enjoy nearly-free long distance calls. Your cell number will still be passed along as your caller ID.

2. MY5 it.

Calling your Skype To Go number will still rack-up airtime charges (daytime minutes) on most plans. So add your Skype access number as a Rogers MY5 number to make your calls completely free. Some other carriers have similar plans.

If you travel much you’ll want Rogers’ MY5 Canada-wide plan, letting you call your access number for free wherever you are in Canada. This came standard with older Rogers plans, but newer plans only get MY5 Local unless you upgrade.

3. Get a dialer app.

Optional step: using your access number is much easier if you have a smart phone. Get a calling card dialing app (such as Easy Dialer for BlackBerry). Then you can call your contacts as normal, and the app will call the access number first before sending the destination number.

Free Inbound Calls

Most of my long distance charges came from answering my phone outside of my local calling area.

1. Signup with FreePhoneLine.ca.

FreePhoneLine.ca is a great service. Use their PC/MAC app to make free local VOIP calls (and free long-distance between certain cities). You’ll get a number in the area code of your choice. That number will display as your caller ID, and calling it will ring your computer (if the application is running).

2. Forward your number.

FreePhoneLine.ca also lets you forward incoming calls to another number. Forward all calls to your cell. Now you’ll have to tell everyone your new number. It hurts but what can you do.

3. MY5 it.

Set your FreePhoneLine.ca number as a (Canada-wide) MY5. Now you can fearlessly answer your phone anywhere in Canada.

Notes

• This system has worked great for me so far. I use Skype To Go for both local and long distance calls during the day, and the quality is excellent. Sometimes a lag is noticeable, and sometimes a call does not go through. I’ve noticed some toll-free numbers cannot be called this way.
• Since Skype will pass your cell number as your caller ID, people may call you back at the same number unless you tell them otherwise. There’s no way to change the ID.
• Google Voice is a better system, but not currently available in Canada. There are ways around this but you’ll be assigned a US number.
• Kevin Kane wrote a great summary of the above including screenshots and setup details.

Know any other tricks to keep the bills down? Any way to use Google Voice with a Canadian number?