My Life Without Cell Phone Service Part II

My  cell phone plan with Verizon ends in less than a month.

After two (2) years of dealing with Verizon my contract could not end soon enough.

After paying over $85.00 a month for a cell phone that I use maybe 30 minutes a month I realized every call cost me well over a dollar a minute which is a raw deal.

Have finished creating my own cell phone operating system to some degree. It has a holographic display.  The operating system is going to be open source so everyone can make it even better it runs on most devices with Android OS installed.  
You do not need to root your phone to run the software on Android phones. Magic  Cell Phone comes with Facebook, Groove IP, Pandora, Twitter, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Instagram and the fifty most popular Android applications already installed.

Our phone under development uses only wireless networks to route your calls.

I realized in  order to save $85.00 a month; I would have to get Google Voice and a free number to replace my cell phone number.  Got Groove IP for Android.  This App is essentially a VOIP Application that routes all your calls through wireless networks and gives you voice without minutes.

After using this new breed of cell phone for a month I realized it works everywhere I go from the local grocery to Target and Starbucks.  Although it does not function when out of range of a wireless networks.  I can easily find a hot spot always in a few minutes as the application works when you are not connected to the internet.   This application actually lets you type in the zip code of an area and find all the places with free Wi-Fi.

Here are a few places it does work:

Academic Locations

Many academic institutions that offer Free Wi-Fi on their campuses restrict the access to members of their academic community - students, staff, etc. - and require some kind of login procedure to control access, but, there are some that don't have any restrictions. So, in academic locations, it is free but maybe not free for all.

Hotels, Motels and Resorts

If these locations offer Free Wi-Fi in their guest rooms then you'd need to be a registered guest to use the access, thus, free may mean it's included in the price of the room. If these locations offer Free Wi-Fi in common areas of the location - lobby, pool area, restaurant, bar/lounge, meeting rooms - the use may be restricted to guests but they may make the access available to non-guests as well. Assume that most Hotel type free Wi-Fi is meant for guests only, even in the common public areas, but you can alays try it at a listed location just in case it is not.

RV Parks and Campgrounds

Most locations of this type will require users to be registered guests of the location. Be sure to check whether the Free Wi-Fi access is available only in or near a "clubhouse" type of building or whether the access reaches the RV pads and campsite areas of the property.

Vacation Rental Properties

You must be the renter of the property to access the wireless high speed internet access provided by the property owner as an amenity.

Cafes, coffee shops, restaurants, miscellaneous, etc.

Most of these locations do not require a purchase to access the Free Wi-Fi. But, I'm sure it would certainly be appreciated. Let your conscience be your guide.  Support local merchants who offer free Wi-Fi.

This brings me to my next point, although Verizon is more than willing to sell you a device to turn your property into a free wireless hot spot, their stores lack free Wi-Fi as they know people use minutes waiting in their stores for excessive amounts of time due to poor customer service. When paying my monthly bill I quickly realized the line at the Verizon store was often held up by people in the store who were upset with the company.

I believe I will be paying my final bill in full to Verizon using only nickels which I have been saving for no reason whatsoever for the last few years as I like the new nickels 
and always ask for them in change.

I also looked closely at my bill from Verizon which lists a Universal Service Fund fee which amounted to over $30.00 a year.  These funds buy free cell phones for people receiving government assistance.  By doing business with Verizon I was actually paying for free cell phones for people who cannot afford to do business with Verizon, what a joke.