--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 223 CELLULAR Ref: E5D00007 Date: 05/07/97 From: SCOTT CURRIER Time: 12:08pm \/To: THE REAL TOM MARKS (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: Ukraine / GSM-900 -TM> I heard that in Florida or one of the other southerns -TM> states they were offering -TM> unlimited calling for $50 regardless of peak/offpeak. That -TM> is a really good -TM> deal, but it will probably make them go bankrupt. When -TM> peopple use as many -TM> minutes as you do, I think it will make their system crash -TM> :) That was powertel that was doing that. Wireless week in one of their articles on the subject said that the average use with a plan like that would be about 1000 minutes a month. Of course, nut's like me would drive that average up a bit :) I've mellowed out a bit. Will be interesting to see how this months bill is. Unlimited flat rate calling will be great. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for it. --- * Origin: Computer Castle / 20 Lines / Newton, NH / 603-382-0338 (1:324/127) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 223 CELLULAR Ref: E5D00008 Date: 05/07/97 From: SCOTT CURRIER Time: 11:50am \/To: THE REAL TOM MARKS (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: calling party pays -TM> Yeah, I was looking at that a while back. I heard the -TM> first CDMA system in -TM> the US was from GTE in the Dallas area but I'm not sure, -TM> since how long have -TM> you guys had your CDMA system up? Where I live, it's only -TM> been up 2 months. We're still waiting for Bell Atlantic to turn their system on, should be fairly soon. -TM> You think 3 times the capacity is better than 6 times? -TM> Hmm, it's strange -TM> though, I don't think the TDMA system can even handle -TM> double half of the time. -TM> You always get retry signals, I get them on CDMA only -TM> because the system is -TM> crappy out here where I live. I also heard there were 2 -TM> CDMA systems. I -TM> heard there is a 13k system (the one I have) and in LA a -TM> company called With only a 3 fold increase you can make the time slots bigger and everything becomes less critical so it's likely to work and sound better. -TM> That's ridiculous, for your peak calling rate. Mine is .28 -TM> a minute, but -TM> I guess yours is high because your on a low montly rate -TM> plan. I pay $80.35 -TM> a month to get mines to .28 and have 180 minutes included, -TM> but I pretty much -TM> use around 170-190 a month so it's worth it to pay more to -TM> get the included -TM> minutes. 52 is high but I get the free offpeak, so it's a tradeoff. I use 0 peak minutes so the plan works out great for me. If they did drop the peak rate in half I'd be tempted to use it which would be a win-win, they get more money, I get to use the phone at a more reasonable rate. -TM> How long do you think it's going to be before analog -TM> systesm are phased out? Long time, too many of them out there. Lot's of people with phones just for emergency use, no need for them to upgrade. I think that AMPS will be in use for at least another 5 years, maybe even longer. Amps does work well, and there are a heck of a lot of amps phones out there so it's not going to go away quickly. I like my analog phone, it's a 3 watt transportable, I plan to stick with it for as long as I can. However, if the rates drop for digital, and drop a lot, I may be tempted to give in and go with one. --- * Origin: Computer Castle / 20 Lines / Newton, NH / 603-382-0338 (1:324/127) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 223 CELLULAR Ref: E5D00009 Date: 05/07/97 From: SCOTT CURRIER Time: 11:54am \/To: THE REAL TOM MARKS (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: calling party pays -TM> Only if they had caller ID or something. *69 don't work -TM> over here on cellular -TM> phones. I guess wasting one minute isn't that bad to have -TM> unlimted incoming -TM> calls during peak time :) Caller ID would make it much easier to do this. I have the one ring scheme setup with a couple of friends that I talk to on a regular basis, they hear a one ring on their phone and call me back. It's not perfect but for people I talk to on a regular basis, once a day or so, it works well. In this market, both cellular providers are supposed to be sending the cid data, I haven't tested it yet, previously, the cell phones showed up as "out of area" on cid boxes. Now they're supposed to work just like home phones, the number should show up and you have the option to per call block or have your number blocked on a permanent basis. --- * Origin: Computer Castle / 20 Lines / Newton, NH / 603-382-0338 (1:324/127) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 223 CELLULAR Ref: E5D00010 Date: 05/07/97 From: SCOTT CURRIER Time: 11:57am \/To: THE REAL TOM MARKS (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: Two Phones -TM> If you switch the phone off before you switch the other one -TM> on, I don't think -TM> there is any way they could do it, especially since neither -TM> will be used at -TM> the same time, and that usually one of them will be off. Rf fingerprinting will look at various characteristics of the signal coming from phone. It will store them and compare each time you make a call. My reading indicates that the system works well and will very quickly detect a different phone using the same esn/min pair. If you're on the net, you may want to look up rf fingerprinting and see what info you can find on it. If neither authentication nor rf fingerprinting are in use in the market you're in, then as long as you don't use both phones at the same time, you should be ok. --- * Origin: Computer Castle / 20 Lines / Newton, NH / 603-382-0338 (1:324/127) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 223 CELLULAR Ref: E5D00011 Date: 05/07/97 From: SCOTT CURRIER Time: 12:01pm \/To: THE REAL TOM MARKS (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: Ukraine / GSM-900 -TM> Is that just all off peak time? You must be on the phone a -TM> ridiculous amount, -TM> the biggest offpeak usage I've ever had is 2110 minutes, -TM> and I was on the phone -TM> all the damn time. Now usually it's down around 1000-1400 -TM> minutes. All offpeak, three way calling, which I do a lot of, will put two minutes on the bill for each minute that you're using it. I also was doing a lot of call forwarding, would use the forwarding to call a bbs out of my local calling area, sometimes the calls would be lengthy. Occasionally, I'd be forwarding and on the phone with a 3way so I was running up 3 minutes every minute. That month, my actual use of the phone, was about 2 hours during the week and on weekends about 3 or more hours a day. Actuaally using the phone 6660 minutes, or over 100 hours a month offpeak would be tough. Last months bill was about 3500, and this months will probably be even less. --- * Origin: Computer Castle / 20 Lines / Newton, NH / 603-382-0338 (1:324/127) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 223 CELLULAR Ref: E5D00012 Date: 05/07/97 From: SCOTT CURRIER Time: 12:05pm \/To: THE REAL TOM MARKS (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: Multiple carriers (3 or m -TM> Over here we have a cheap plan called zone saver, where if -TM> you stay inside -TM> a certain radius, for $24.95 a month you can make calls -TM> peak/offpeak for -TM> .39 a minute, but the PCS plans are going to kill that now, -TM> with $49.95 for -TM> 300 minutes peak or offpeak and .20 a minute flat rate. -TM> The PCS phones -TM> are great for use in the daytime. That's high, even without pcs in this market, the zoned plans are 12.99 per month, .39 peak or offpeak, just like your market, and outside of your zone the rate is 99 cents a minute. Not very popular, you do need to sign a two year instead of a one year committment. For $19.99 a month you get a non zoned plan, 50 cents peak, 35 offpeak, no interconnect charge, and 30 minutes of offpeak included. The current promotion gives you unlimited offpeak calling till the end of the year. Offpeak begins at 8pm and ends at 6:59am and includes the whole ekend. --- * Origin: Computer Castle / 20 Lines / Newton, NH / 603-382-0338 (1:324/127) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 223 CELLULAR Ref: E5D00013 Date: 05/07/97 From: ZIGGY MALTER Time: 09:28am \/To: CARL OWENS (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: Ukraine / GSM-900 Hi Carl, CO>Yes, we pay for all incoming and outgoing calls on the cell phones. We CO>further pay depending upon the provider for other things as well. Since CO>a cell phone is a luxury item, the pricing need not be overly CO>competitive. I feel that with most things that are initially considered luxury items, most people who have had a cellphone for a while would argue that they are a necessity. Most businessmen cannot run their businesses without being contactable, so the cellphone is a real asset. I know that having had one now for a couple of years, I don't move without it. In fact my phone is switched on 24 hours a day apart from when I am actually doing a job, which precludes me from answering it anyway. When it is switched off for those short periods, the SMS and voicemail come into play so I don't miss one call, because my business relies on me being reachable quickly. I would hazard a guess that cellphones, like cars have now fallen into the realm of necessities, not luxuries. Cheers - Ziggy ___ * UniQWK v4.1 * The Windows Mail Reader --- Xenolink 1.984, XQwk 1.6 [REG 10062] * Origin: Archer BBS 61-293710347 ArcherNet 61-293716018 (3:712/392) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 223 CELLULAR Ref: E5D00014 Date: 05/07/97 From: ZIGGY MALTER Time: 09:20pm \/To: BRIAN LINGARD (Read 2 times) Subj: Bell Atlantic/NYNEX Hi Brian, BL>In Canada a lot of cellular subscribrs have found they have been BL>asked for $500 or $1,000 security deposits, usually due to BL>previous cellular payment problems. What's wrong with that? Any business which gives a line of credit to a person with a previous history of bad payment without indemnifying itself is just being stupid and certainly not acting responsibly to its shareholders. This is the raison-d'etre for credit checking bureaux. Nobody should have to tolerate being ripped off by people who are known to be bad payers. If a person with a history of defaulting on debts wishes to avail himself of a line of credit such as a telephone account, then he must cut the risk to the provider with some sort of guarantee, such as a security deposit. BL>In Canada, with my carrier, overseas calling is something you get BL>only after several months of satisfactory credit history with the BL>carrier. I have had it at times but had it put on my line say in BL>the morning and when I got in touch with my overseas party, had BL>it removed forthwith. Wow, that must be a real problem in USA/Canada. In Australia, you automatically get access to the world the minute you get hooked up. The only thing one has to actually request is activation of the global roaming facility if required. Roaming in any part of this continent is automatic. Most people I know have certain barring in place to prevent events such as international calls being made on their phones. Cheers - Ziggy ___ * UniQWK v4.1 * The Windows Mail Reader --- Xenolink 1.984, XQwk 1.6 [REG 10062] * Origin: Archer BBS 61-293710347 ArcherNet 61-293716018 (3:712/392) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 223 CELLULAR Ref: E5D00015 Date: 05/06/97 From: LEN MORGAN Time: 12:00am \/To: THE REAL TOM MARKS (Read 2 times) Subj: Two Phones Hello The, Monday May 05 1997 00:06, The Real Tom Marks wrote to Len Morgan: TM> If you know someone that works at a phone store, it's a big plus. TM> But otherwise it's kind of hard I think to find someone that will TM> change your ESN for you, and besides it is illegal. I don't have any contacts for this, but I'll keep my ears open for one. Thanks for the suggestion. Salutations, Len A thought for today: ...Are 12 lines at 1,200bps as good as 1 line at 14,400bps? InterNet: len.morgan@730.gigo.com Node 1 1:203/730 HST/DS/FAX 33.6 - Node 2 1:203/731 HST/DS 14.4 --- GoldED/386 3.00.Alpha5+730LM7 * Origin: QST Sacramento's Premier Ham BBS V.ALL 916-920-1288 (1:203/730) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 223 CELLULAR Ref: E5D00016 Date: 05/07/97 From: LEN MORGAN Time: 09:21am \/To: SCOTT HOFFMAN (Read 2 times) Subj: Two Phones Hello Scott, Tuesday April 29 1997 10:14, Scott Hoffman wrote to Len Morgan: SH> I'll point out two last problems though. After you program your SH> handheld, it still needs to be activated. You can prevent this SH> problem, by not terminating the service for your large mobile SH> phone. That was my intention. I don't want to get rid of the larger phone, only be able to kuse a portable when out of the car. I need to larger phone for power. We are campers and go to places where phone service is difficult. We need the power to stay in touch. SH> Second problem you might run into is the anti-fraud SH> protection mechanisms which some providers now sport. I don't know what this is or what kind of a problem it poses. Greetings, Len A thought for today: ...Xerox never comes up with anything original. InterNet: len.morgan@730.gigo.com Node 1 1:203/730 HST/DS/FAX 33.6 - Node 2 1:203/731 HST/DS 14.4 --- GoldED/386 3.00.Alpha5+730LM7 * Origin: QST Sacramento's Premier Ham BBS V.ALL 916-920-1288 (1:203/730)