A lot of foreigners use Popcorn. It gets good reviews. Sure, you pay $69 a month, but you get unlimited 4G/5G data through Smart or Globe towers and you keep your US number. Calls to the US are free. Those of us on a budget use Tello for $12.50 (or less) for calls and texts over Wi-Fi. Calls to the US are free, but you have to be on Wi-Fi. In Tello's defense, a lot of us also put a Smart or Globe eSIM on our phones (a carrier-unlocked phone with two eSIMs). The Smart or Globe eSIM handles data. You save a few hundred dollars a year compared with Popcorn. It's a lifestyle choice.

I kept my US phone and switched to Mint Mobile. Very cheap, and I only use it for business when needed. In my other SIM slot I have Globe postpaid. That's the number I use for everything local: GCash, Grab, InDrive and local businesses. You can get any SIM card for a local number and pay as you go.

I don't think you can bring ham through customs

I used Skype for many years

Tello. Around Manila, Angeles and Subic I've noticed it uses Globe towers. I use it for 2FA. $6 a month, 1 cent per text, 1 cent per minute for calls, and I think 1 cent per GB of data. When I go back to the States I switch it to the $25 unlimited plan on T-Mobile towers. For data I just use my local SIM: 449 pesos a month for unlimited data. Nobody I've met actually calls or texts except delivery services. They all use Facebook