Internet, Skype, and Keitai vs. Ground Line
I'm going to Shiga-ken this August, and I've heard from my predecessor that he uses Yahoo BB for phone service and the Internet. He recommends it and has offered to try to switch it over to my name before I arrive, though he says it's a little expensive. (6,500 ¥/mo) The plan he uses includes Internet and a calling plan -- 2 ¥/min to call the United States. Which sounds pretty great to me.
Then again, it's not necessarily as great as my original plan, which was to use Skype for calling the US and get only a cell phone, no ground line, for use in Japan. When I worked in Japan before, our organization paid for a phone and DSL connection for us, but we never used the phone, all using our keitais instead. (My family called me on my keitai, which didn't seem too expensive -- I don't think I was charged for incoming calls, as I recall. But now I think it was more expensive than it needed to be.)
So I'm looking for some advice. What set-up do you recommend for Internet and phone calls, both international and within Japan? Is 6,500/mo as good as I'm going to get for a package? Is Skype a viable alternative? (I know it works on my computer to call the computer downstairs, but I've heard of other people having trouble with it.) Are there other Internet providers you think are better than Yahoo BB? It seems like that one's popular.
Basically, should I jump on the chance to have him transfer this to me? Or should I just go for the Internet, forget the calling plan, and depend on Skype for International calls?
Thanks for any advice you can give me!
Then again, it's not necessarily as great as my original plan, which was to use Skype for calling the US and get only a cell phone, no ground line, for use in Japan. When I worked in Japan before, our organization paid for a phone and DSL connection for us, but we never used the phone, all using our keitais instead. (My family called me on my keitai, which didn't seem too expensive -- I don't think I was charged for incoming calls, as I recall. But now I think it was more expensive than it needed to be.)
So I'm looking for some advice. What set-up do you recommend for Internet and phone calls, both international and within Japan? Is 6,500/mo as good as I'm going to get for a package? Is Skype a viable alternative? (I know it works on my computer to call the computer downstairs, but I've heard of other people having trouble with it.) Are there other Internet providers you think are better than Yahoo BB? It seems like that one's popular.
Basically, should I jump on the chance to have him transfer this to me? Or should I just go for the Internet, forget the calling plan, and depend on Skype for International calls?
Thanks for any advice you can give me!