Why is a dial-up connection not a normal call?

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ebudae

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My friend Sandi recently got Telkom's closer 2 package. Shegot it because she could make free telephone calls after 7 in the evening as long as the are kept below 1 hour.

So, making calls only after 7 and connectingto the internet via dial-up only after 7, she expected to get a bill that was R145. Instead, what she got was a bill that cost her approximately R280.

She discovered to her dismay that she was being charged normal call rates for her connections to the internet.

Outraged for her part,I decided to go and look up the closer promotions on Telkoms website because she could not find the original closer ad she had seen in a magazine. Now while Telkom's webiste does state that calls to your ISP are charged at normal rates, I am wondering why.

These are not premium numbers, and they are not long distance numbers. The reason people use dial-up is because they cannot afford or do not feel they need broadband.

This woman is a single mother of two on a tight budget who cannot afford unexpected surprises at the end of the month. I am disgusted at the way Telkom is taking advantage of people who cannot afford better.
 
Unless you can get your ISP's direct dial-up number (e.g 011-956-3400), you will have to pay for the Sharecall (0860) dial-up call.

To you and me a dial-up call is a normal call, but being Telkom and the only oafs that offer Dial-Up Internet, they can make the rules to suit them!

By the way, in the Closer brochure, it makes mention that Dial-Up calls to ISP's and Cellphones are not included in the 60-minutes free promotion. Right at the very end, and at the very bottom...but it's there...
 
modem: modulator, demodulator.

takes the bits and bytes and encodes them into thousands of little frequencies and sends them down the line, taking up much space. voice capacity is trivial by comparison. that is why you can pretty much always make a voice call, but hardly ever connect at 56k, because you are using a lot "more" of the phone line...more than was intended when the cable were laid.

so, really, ja, a data call uses up more space in the system than a voice call. i'm sure somewhere along the line it costs them more money.
 
If your ISP number is a local 021 for example for myself.... doesnt that call still get detected as data?
 
Yea. You will see in very very fine print, that Telkom say the free calls do not apply to Internet Connecting... So They will find out and break off a finger if you manage to get them for free...

Bastardos
 
I had the exact same plan. Failed miserably after some research on this forum.

Weird Q: Can't one use this to connect to a friends PC and transfer some files for free at night, with a program that reconnects every 50mins? (At horrible speeds of course)
 
Telkom does have an option where you pay extra and get a certain amount of 'internet hours' added to your closer package. Not as good as using your closer minutes, of course, but better than paying normal rates.

I seem to remember that they have a list of ISP numbers that they use - so even an 021 number could be picked up. I think. I could be wrong :)
 
The internet hour packages are a SERIOUS waste of money, unless you only spend 3 minutes a day to check Outlook Express for messages and thats it... I mean nothing else.
 
The only way Telkom knows you are making an internet call is by checking the number that you are dialling, that is according to testing I did a year ago when I had closer. I've since switched to 3G.

I was able to dial into a well known ISP and not get charged for internet calls. That was only a few test calls as I mostly used Closer 2 to dial into the analog modem at work for free for 1 hour calls at a time.

But don't take my word for the above!!!
And don't PM me for more details as I won't give any.
 
Haha, ajax, you hacker you ;)

Should be interesting to see which providers are free and not. maybe some people could post numbers they know DONT work.

Please dont post anything you know works, that tends to ruin it for some.

Telkom should really make it free anyways, there is no real reason for them to charge ridiculous amounts anymore.
 
this is the reason why ppl should invest in a cell using it as a modem,I do and i am happy with paying ppdb.So no telkum is involved at all.I will not give telkum a cent,and i have been like this since i canceled my adsl.that was 2 years ago i think
 
Renamed20070410 said:
modem: modulator, demodulator.

takes the bits and bytes and encodes them into thousands of little frequencies and sends them down the line, taking up much space. voice capacity is trivial by comparison. that is why you can pretty much always make a voice call, but hardly ever connect at 56k, because you are using a lot "more" of the phone line...more than was intended when the cable were laid.

so, really, ja, a data call uses up more space in the system than a voice call. i'm sure somewhere along the line it costs them more money.
Click to expand...

Um, it doesn't use up any more "space" or capacity in the Telkom system and doesn't cost them any more. Its circuit switched so a circuit is dedicated to the connection, whatever its used for.
 
ajax said:
The only way Telkom knows you are making an internet call is by checking the number that you are dialling, that is according to testing I did a year ago when I had closer. I've since switched to 3G.

I was able to dial into a well known ISP and not get charged for internet calls. That was only a few test calls as I mostly used Closer 2 to dial into the analog modem at work for free for 1 hour calls at a time.

But don't take my word for the above!!!
And don't PM me for more details as I won't give any.
Click to expand...

MrG said:
Haha, ajax, you hacker you ;)

Should be interesting to see which providers are free and not. maybe some people could post numbers they know DONT work.

Please dont post anything you know works, that tends to ruin it for some.

Telkom should really make it free anyways, there is no real reason for them to charge ridiculous amounts anymore.
Click to expand...

The list of numbers they use is on the Telkom website somewhere in the Surfmore section or whatever those packages are called that give you 60 internet hours etc. The same numbers that are allowed for those packages are marked as internet numbers and charged for on the closer packages.
 
The fact of the matter is you can sit day and night sending faxs on the closer plan - Telkom like it better when you don't know you are being had, but as a protected self serving monopoly... do you think they care
 
Renamed20070410, your use of the word "space" is incorrect and irritating for the technically minded amongst us, I believe. It might be useful to clarify the fact that a temporary "dedicated" connection is established between yourself and the ISP (or any other party) when making the call. It doesn't matter if you talk/transmit/sing or just stay quite, the line is reserved for you and can't be used by others during that time.

As for the Closer package: I'm on Closer 2 + 150 Internet hours. Works well for me. I know there is 75 hour package available too for R85 p/m. It obviously isn't great that Telkom doesn't allow free ISP calls on basic Closer, but to be fair when getting the internet package you pay ~R1 per hour versus R10 per hour at normal callmore rates. It is getting better...
 
DragonLogos said:
With fixed line everyone is connected all the time - it costs no extra to make calls,
Click to expand...

What do you mean? It does to an extent, the network only has so much capacity, its not possible for everyone to make calls simultaneously so in that sense it does "cost" more.
 
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