If you're looking at the AT&T branded Note 8, SGH-i467, there's a thread in this forum on getting the phone capability enabled. I don't think anyone has been totally successful doing that:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2430527
If VoIP will sufficiently meet your calling needs, you'll be fine with that model. If you don't want to deal with the idiosyncrasies associated with VoIP, get the international version, GT-N5100. The LTE frequencies won't work on AT&T's or T-Mobile's networks so you'll be at HSPA+ speeds, but it is a true 8" smartphone.
Sent from my GT-N5100 using xda app-developers app