by Calvin Robinson on March 29, 2010.

We’ve all been screwed by the big mobile phone networks at some point. Whether it be unsolicited charges, poor quality/coverage or just incompetent customer service. Well I say why bother with them? Don’t give them the satisfaction of a 18/24month contract – there’s no need to be tied in these days.

VoIP on a Smartphone is the key. If you’re always in a WiFi environment, this is even easier for you to setup – if you still require a 3G connection, I’ll get to that later.

If you’re in the US, you can use services like Google Voice for calls. This isn’t available everywhere yet though (including the UK), so we have to look at other options. If you have a Skype number, you could use that – or you can use a SIP Provider like SIPGate. With most SIP providers you can select a telephone number from a selection of countries, and most area codes within those countries. You’re also not forced to stick with one inbound number – you could have several numbers directed to your mobile – one for your customers in the US, one for family in the UK and one for your friends in New Zealand?

Once you have a number, you’ll need to setup some VoIP software on your Smartphone. Skype, SipDroid, Fring, Truphone are a few examples. You can generally call Skype-to-Skype, GTalk-to-GTalk and SIP-to-SIP for free, so depending what services your friends are on, you may not even need to spend a penny. For traditional landline/mobile calls, you can use your SIP provider to make calls at cheaper rates that traditional telecoms can provide (including international), usually on either a pay-as-you-go or pay-monthly service – with no contracts. That’s calls taken care of.

Most of these services provide SMS messaging too (Skype, Google Voice). But with SmartPhones there’s not even a need to use traditional SMS messages. With more and more apps coming out like Ping! and WhatsApp – you can send free messages to your friends, directly from mobile to mobile.

If you do need a 3G connection, there are niche sub-providers like GiffGaff who offer free SMS/Calls inter-network, but more importantly free Data access. All you need to do is top-up £10 every 3 months. That’s £3.33 a month for unlimited data usage. If you pair this with VoIP calls, you could be running your mobile phone for significantly less than what you’re paying at the moment.