International Call Forwarding: Stay Connected Even When You're Traveling

Many years ago, before technology had graced us with its amazing tools, traveling abroad had a lot of setbacks when it came to communication and international calls. But things have changed now as there are a lot of great and beneficial services where you can call overseas easily. Take a look below at what you need to know regarding international call forwarding.

It's Possible With The Right Provider

If you do your research right, finding a good international call forwarding provider will allow you to forward incoming calls to your mobile phone so that you can pick them up wherever you are in the world. So be sure to find one that can help you achieve anything with international call forwarding, phone number forwarding, or a close variant of services. It's the perfect tool for every businessman, entrepreneur, and salesperson; you can use it to your advantage in your line of work. The number of deals, calls, and negotiations that you can do if you tend to travel a lot would be tremendous and highly beneficial.

The Benefits A Provider Can Offer You

When you travel abroad, sometimes it's difficult to get your phone to work out of your country. This forces you to pay a lot of money in getting a new phone or buying a new SIM card. But a call forwarding provider can make all that hassle go away. People will dial the same toll-free or local number they always do, and you are reached on whatever phone number you're using while traveling. 

Not to mention the different features you could get; there are three basic call forwarding which include all calls, forward on busy, and when you choose not to answer after a predetermined number of rings. Also, there is usually no expiration date on your account balance after setting it up, and you can top off your credit online. 

Don't Forget About The Time Zone Change 

Obviously, on most of your travels, you'd be taken to a different time zone, so it may be worthwhile to change the call forwarding hours on your phone extension. It's smart to do this because now your calls will only be forwarded to you during the hours that make sense in the country that you're in. You can even change the time zone on your phone extension to adjust your call history and voicemail timestamps for your location. It would make things a lot easier for you.

It's Great For Business

It can allow your business to establish a virtual presence in a specific market to receive phone calls. It will automatically forward all your incoming calls from a certain country to a designated destination phone number anywhere in the world. The great use that can come with this is owning a local or toll-free number in a foreign country and forwarding calls back to your landline or cell phone. And one of the biggest advantages countless businessmen would have is that the landline or cell phone can be located anywhere in the world, allowing you to have a virtual presence in any market you choose.

Be Careful With The Charges

Even though most providers give you a chance where you can try the top call forwarding service with a 30 day risk-free plan, you have to be sure that your carrier does not charge for each call that is forwarded. Some rate plans may assess a one-time, or per minute surcharge. And that can be annoying if done frequently.

Do I Need a Specific Software on My Phone?

In regards to the different handsets and call forwarding connections, most smartphones and a lot of the older handsets will allow you to enter call-forwarding codes directly from the keypad. You just need to make sure you have network access at the time, and there is no special software that is required on the phone to make it work.

What Happens If They Aren't Forwarded?

In the off-chance where you don't forward your calls and your phone is turned on in the country you're in, then your call will be reverted to voicemail after a preset number of rings if you haven't answered. When that happens, you will generally be charged for a toll call from that location where your phone is to your original home carrier.

This service has helped thousands of people worldwide, it's something very beneficial and it can save you a lot of money on free international calls. It's highly recommended that you apply for this kind of call forwarding, especially if you're a frequent traveler.

How to Tether an iPad to any 3G, 4G & 5G Phone

Since the iPad was first released, sophisticated users have been getting smart to avoid unnecessary additional data costs by tethering 3G phones to the iPad when a Wi-Fi signal is NOT available.  Android smartphone users have it easiest tethering ipad to a 4G phone, especially on T-Mobile. Not a surprise to see that AT&T has not been very consumer-friendly to iPhone users and has made it very difficult for their data subscribers on the iPhone to tether any devices to their 3G service.  However, the Wi-Fi-only iPad oan be used on the 3G network of any carrier to avoid purchasing another expensive data plan if they are already on Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile or a smaller regional carrier. So here is a great option especially if your carrier never intends to cap your data plan.  Android users will likely be the heaviest adopters of this since most are already on other networks.

AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega Executive Compensation

Ralph de la Vega CEO of AT&T Mobility Made $11 Million in 2010

The CEO of AT&T Mobility makes $10 million dollars per year. See the latest numbers of Ralph de la Vega's Compensation for 2010 from Forbes.  Ralph took a modest salary of $820,833 and other stock bonuses that grossed him exactly $10,894,670 in 2010.

Ralph de la Vega was the former CEO of AT&T Mobility, which is the mobile phone division of AT&T Inc. He held the position from 2007 to 2016. During his tenure, de la Vega played a significant role in expanding AT&T's wireless business, including the launch of the iPhone exclusive partnership in 2007.

Under de la Vega's leadership, AT&T Mobility experienced notable growth, expanding its network coverage, and launching initiatives such as the deployment of the 4G LTE network. He also oversaw the acquisition of Alltel's wireless assets and the integration of AT&T's wireless business with its wireline operations.  

How does this compare to his superior Randall Stephenson's executive compensation who took home $27 million in 2010.  Sounds like a wonderful Ponzi scheme to me or a house of cards that is waiting to come crashing down has also paid out $10 billion dollars of dividends to shareholders.   See the details of Ralph de la Vega's compensation in 2010. 

Salary	$820,833.00
Bonus	$0.00
Restricted stock awards	$4,000,024.00
All other compensation	$96,850.00
Option awards $	$36,513.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$1,700,000.00
Change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings	$4,240,450.00
Total Compensation	$10,894,670.00

Does Your School Have Cell Phone Service Problems?

Do Schools Block Cell Phone Signals? 

We were interviewed today by CBS TV in Fort Lauderdale, Florida which is doing a news story on cell phone coverage in schools.  They were asking questions about whether schools block cell phone signals in schools or whether cell coverage is just a factor of the cell phone tower being located too far from the school.  

The cell phone coverage in each school depends on a lot of factors.  

1)  Does the school block signals using a cell phone signal jammer?

2)  How far is the school from the nearest cell phone tower? 

3)  What material is the building made out of concrete, steel, or wood?

4)  Are hills or trees blocking cell phone signals?

5)  Does the school allow students to make phone calls and send text messages over WiFi when a cellular signal is not present?

6)  Has the school installed cell phone DAS antennas/repeaters?  

7)  Does the school have adequate WiFi coverage in every classroom and location throughout the school campus?  

Here is another community in California concerned about cell phone towers causing cancer on school campuses.  Sprint actually removed a cell phone tower on campus because it was thought it could have caused 4 cases of cancer. 

Please add your comments to this story below about cell phone coverage and policies in your school.  What are your thoughts about having cell phone coverage in the school?  

Southwest Airlines Request A Call Back Has Major Problems

Southwest Automatic Request A Call Back Has Major Issues

For several years Southwest has had a problem with its automatic call back feature.  Instead of waiting on hold for 5, 10 or 20 minutes call customer service at their phone number 800-435-9792 it gives you the option of calling you back.  When the system does call you back and you follow the instructions to of hitting any key when " " is on the line.   It just hangs up.

I have even experimented with turning WiFi calling off on the phone and the problem still persists.  I also added the Southwest 800 number to my phone book so it wouldn't be blocked.  The reason I am writing about the problem is that apparent customer service is aware of it based on this discussion Serious Problems.  Yet nothing has been done to fix the issue in the last two years.

I assume Southwest is a problem outsourcing their call back feature to a third party telecom company.  I would like to know what telecom company is providing this service and would love to call them out also in this blog post.  Southwest always has had great customer service and this happens to be something that does not seem to be getting resolved.   I would bet AT&T and/or Verizon are providing this 8000 call back service and scamming Southwest by dropping calls and then charging them for each call.  Wouldn't put it past them to do this.  

This hangup problem has occurred with me several hundred times and it's annoying and wastes my time.  The problem seems to happen most when the wait is longer than 10 minutes.  Please chime in below under discussion and let us know if you have had similar issues with customer service.

I am also a huge fan of Southwest Airlines and think they are light years above every other airline by far.  I think their customer service is amazing when you can reach them and love their credit card point system.  Hopefully, enough people will read this post so they can do something to fix the problem.  Comments appreciated.  

How Famous Youtubers are Earning Money

It is possible for a young person today to earn millions of dollars annually, thanks to YouTube’s partnership program. Back in 2018, Ryan Toys Reviews - a five-year-old YouTuber who makes videos that review different toys – became the top earner, profiting $22 million from his videos. It started to gain the interest of a lot of people as to how it is possible for young content creators to earn that much, considering that all they need to do is to make videos and upload it on the website. Back when YouTube was acquired by Google, vloggers who have made a following on the website were informed that they will be entitled to monetize their content. Monetization allows videos to generate money per advertisement created, and it is possible with the integration of Google Adsense with YouTube.

With a reliable internet service provider like Suddenlink, many vloggers in the United States started creating their videos and editing it to gain more attention. Channels began to grow as more people became interested in subscribing to their favorite YouTubers, and more videos were made in a shorter span of time. In the end, those who had the most number of subscribers had the most advantage in dominating the YouTube Partner Program. However, YouTube manages to change the rules every few years, and those who are earning money through the monetization of their videos would sometimes receive various amounts. The total earnings that each YouTubers make depend on a lot of factors, and they do not earn a constant amount.

There are rules to be followed if someone wanted to become a YouTuber who makes videos for a living. The first requirement would be creating a YouTube account or a Google account, and once your account has been verified by either YouTube or Google, you should go straight into your channel and review the settings. Make sure that you check the box which will automatically monetize your videos. The next thing that you have to do is to visit the Google Adsense website and review the settings. This is where you will be putting information like how you wanted to get paid and the bank of your choice. Once you managed to set it up, you can start shooting your videos and uploading them into your channel to start earning money.

The first thing that you need to do is to increase the number of subscribers who are tuning into your channel. The secret to increasing your subscribers would be adding a "Subscribe" plea on your videos to remind the viewers to subscribe. You can also ask your friends and family members to subscribe on your YouTube channel to get your subscribers tally a kickstart. Once you managed to earn your first few subscribers, work hard to gain additional people who would be viewing your videos. Once you are able to create a huge following, like 10,000 subscribers, try to make daily uploads so that the subscribers will be enticed to watch more of your videos. The next thing that you need to work on is increasing the views on your videos. This part requires a lot of luck, and you should think about the strategies on how to make a video go viral, like having a fast internet service to monitor directly how the views are unfolding. Watch tutorials available on YouTube and read blogs online to see how others made it possible for their videos to go viral.

Once your video goes viral, and it managed to produce millions of views, expect your earnings to skyrocket. You can check your channel dashboard quickly if the internet signals are strong and see how your video is performing. If you allowed the video to be monetized, there should be a green dollar sign right next to your video thumbnail, showing that your original content is earning money. If your earnings reached up to $100 a month, you will be receiving a paycheck from YouTube, and it could be in the form of electronic money transfer to your bank. The cycle would continue for months, and it should encourage you to create more videos and uploading them online. However, remember that there are rules that you need to follow when monetizing your videos, and one of the most dreaded rules imposed by YouTube would be preventing other people to steal content and copyrighted materials, so make sure that all of the materials used in your video is 100% original.