Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Bob Breum Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Modem Leapfrog to Avoid Toll Charges Message-ID: <5292@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 17 Mar 90 21:18:44 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Lines: 77 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 181, Message 3 of 12 kabra437@athenanet.com (Ken Abrams) writes: >In article <4984@accuvax.nwu.edu> you write: >>Is it illegal to have two modems tied up to each other so that a person could >>call the one modem and bounce to another (3d) modem to avoid toll charges? >I doubt that this lash-up is illegal anywhere in the U.S. It's >probably not worth the trouble to really find out. If you think about >it for a few minutes, there are a couple of other (better) ways to >accomplish the same thing. Redialers or call diverters are available >on the open market that will do what you want without the added cost >of the modems. >If the intermediate office in your example has call forwarding >available, it will also accomplish the same thing using only one line >instead of two. The drawback of the above two options is that you are >locked into a single terminating number to call. Guess your modem >option would allow you some flexibility. The cost of two lines and >two modems seems a pretty high price to pay to avoid paying the >short-haul toll charges. There's a better answer. I have used a device which allows you to reprogram the call forwarding number remotely to accomplish this same purpose. My home is a long distance call from my newsfeed in Orlando (and most of the commercial online service access numbers). My mother's house is roughly halfway between, and is a local phone call from either site. I had an extra phone line installed in her attic, billed to me at a rate of $17.02/month for unlimited local calls and call forwarding. Previous to this, I had a special calling plan which allowed me to call Orlando for the discounted rate of $ 0.13/minute. Forwarding my calls through the intermediate number saves me hundreds of dolllars a month in LD charges. The Remote Phone Forwarder (mfgd. by Cynex in N.J.) device is programmed by means of the following sequence: assuming that the phone line is already forwarded, you must first dial the intermediate site and let it ring once or more. Although the C.O. will, of course, forward your call as programmed, it also rings the intermediate site once to "remind" it that its phone has been forwarded. This alerts the Remote Phone Forwarder that you may wish to alter its programming. It then goes offhook and disables call forwarding. It waits thirty seconds or so for you to call back and reprogram it using touchtones and a two-digit security code. If no call is received, or if the reprogramming attempt fails, it redials the C.O. and reestablishes the previously programmed call forwarding. This process is cumbersome, and does not lend itself to frequent programming changes. It is also offensive if used for voice calls, as you must ring the forwarded number again to alter its programming. It has, however, served very well in my data application. I note that Mr. Townson has repeatedly poo-poohed this idea on account of metered local phone service. I've lived in at least eight different service areas around the southern and midwestern U.S., and I've never encountered metered local service. I have seen a similar concept offered, where you are allowed a handful of free local calls monthly, after which you pay so much _per call,_ not per minute, for which you pay a reduced monthly rate. I'm not disputing the existence of metered local service; I merely question Mr. Townson's perception of its ubiquity. Bob Breum uunet!tarpit >---v--< petsd 1701 Missouri Avenue hoptoad >---| Sanford, FL 32771-9722 USA ucf-cs >---+-----------------> !peora!cmpfen!bob +1 407 322-2002 uiucuxc >---' [Moderator's Note: If unmetered, local talk-as-long-as-you-like service is available, then of course this method works well. But in many of the larger metro areas, unmetered calling is becoming very rare. Even in Chicago, where very limited free local calling is available to *residence lines*, stringing together a series of call-forwarded lines to defeat the meter is tenuous at best. If it works in your community, great! PT]