Text 9139, 74 rader
Skriven 2010-07-10 06:45:30 av Bob Ackley (1:300/3)
   Kommentar till text 9059 av David Drummond (3:640/384)
Ärende: Cellphone woes
======================
Replying to a message of David Drummond to Bob Ackley:

 DD> Bob Ackley -> David Drummond wrote:

 DD>>> No such transfers of minutes possible here - we all get at least
 DD>>> 43200 free inbound minutes per month (except February) - that's 60
 DD>>> minutes per hour, 24 hours per day - 30 (or 31) days per month
 DD>>> (except February)

 BA>> The transfers are *possible*, they just don't do them -

 DD> No, there is no transfer of inbound airtime because there is NO charge
 DD> for inbound airtime.

I've never bothered to check with Tracfone but I think incoming calls are not
charged; I use the thing so little that it's not an issue, I always accumulate
minutes
as I run out of months long before I run out of minutes.  When I had a cell
phone
provider's phone at first incoming calls were billed but after a while they
stopped
billing for them (and advertised the free incoming calls as some sort of
'benefit' of
their service).

Tracfone does offer prepaid cards that have more than 60 minutes/60 days, I saw
one that was good for a year - but it costs US$99, about $20/year less than
what
I pay for the 60minute/60day cards.

 BA>> and it would appear that
 BA>> the service is unlimited anyway so it wouldn't be necessary, you're
 BA>> not buying minutes of usage.

 DD> Indeed, no charge for inbound airtime.
 DD> [...]

 DD>>> Sounds like US users are really fucked over... Why do they stand for
 DD>>> it?

 BA>> Addicted to the things?  Some people here just can't stop using them.

 DD> Same here - especially as there is no charge for inbound airtime.

 BA>> FWIW, Tracfone is a prepaid system, it costs US$20 for 60 minutes/60
 BA>> days.  My days always expire before the minutes do because I hardly
 BA>> ever use the thing.  I don't have a pathologic need to be connected
 BA>> with everybody else on the planet.

 BA>> When I had a permanent cell phone, that thing cost about US$60/month
 BA>> - switching to the prepaid Tracfone to save US$50/month was a
 BA>> no-brainer.  The permanent cell phone people used to charge for
 BA>> "roaming" (you're travelling someplace and aren't in your local
 BA>> area) and for long distance; competition from prepaid cell companies
 BA>> pretty much eliminated the separate 'long distance' charges, dunno
 BA>> about roaming.

 DD> There is no cell phone roaming charge within the whole country of
 DD> Australia. A call cost is the same if the other party is next door,
 DD> or 3000km away.

 DD> Distance charges still apply to land line calls.

 BA>> My landlines (I have two, one for people, one for computers)

 DD> Oh? I have just the one land line - and both voice and computer
 DD> (ADSL2+) can use it at the same time.

ADSL isn't available here, neither is DSL or ISDN - although Qwest (the
landline company in this area) advertises all three services.  I have DSL
and ISDN capable gear here now, I just can't use them.

--- FleetStreet 1.19+
 * Origin: Bob's Boneyard, Emerson, Iowa (1:300/3)