Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!bionet!hayes.ims.alaska.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: aurs01!roberson@uunet.uu.net (CharlesChip Roberson) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: *Long* Phone Calls -- What Does Ma Think? Message-ID: <15095@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 26 Nov 90 19:36:09 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: Charles "Chip" Roberson Organization: Alcatel Network Systems, Raleigh NC Lines: 32 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 855, Message 11 of 11 A friend of mine works from home and also operates a BBS. He recently moved from the Washington, DC area to Raleigh, NC. Apparently it is a common practice for BBSes to take a modem off-hook when the system is down or the sysop is performing maintenance. In DC this wasn't a problem but in Raleigh, every time this happens the phone company disconnects his line and charges him $35 to reconnect his line. He can reconfigure the BBS program to not go off-hook but his mailer can hang the modem in an off-hook state at various times. Needless to say, this has become quite expensive to him. The last time this happened, it wasn't with the BBS it was with his development computer. The power supply started to go on the day before thanksgiving so he turned off the system and replaced the PS the day after Thanksgiving. When he turned it back on, the phone company had cut him off. I think he has had his phone lines re-connected four times over the last month. Is this standard practice for phone companies to react so strongly to off-hook lines? Obviously, he is doing everything he can to avoid leaving his modem off-hook but every now and then he still gets nailed. Is there a more user friendly (cheaper) way to take care/avoid of this? Thanks, chip * Work: 2912 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh, NC 27609 (919) 850-5011 * (...!mcnc!aurgate!roberson) || (roberson%aurgate@mcnc.org) || * (71500.2056@CompuServe.com) || (Chip.Roberson@f112.n151.z1.fidonet.org) #include