Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!netsys!vector!nobody From: telecom@bu-cs.BU.EDU (TELECOM Moderator) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: A Comparison of Starlink and PC Pursuit Message-ID: Date: 4 Feb 89 06:00:10 GMT Sender: chip@vector.UUCP Lines: 63 Approved: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-Submissions-To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 46, message 3 Both Mssrs. Tamkin and Kingsland pointed out something which I missed in my initial, admittedly quick evaluation of Starlink: International calls can be made *from* the UK and Canada, not *to* those countries. Tamkin asks for clarification on the surcharges for calls made from the Tymnet outdialers: Several months ago I made a call to Tymnet when I was considering signing up with them. At that time, their sales representative discussed the use of the outdialers with me, and quoted me the 110% of telco rate. He said I would pay for the phone call, and a 'surcharge' for the billing and extra record keeping which had to be done. When I was in chat last Sunday morning with the fellow at Starlink, we discussed the outdialers, and he said Starlink customers would be billed for any phone calls made from the outdialers outside the local calling area. I briefly mentioned to him my conversation of several months earlier and the 110 percent quote from Tymnet, and if I am not mistaken, he responded by saying, 'Tymnet may put some small surcharge on the phone call'. Using that as my authority, and remembering the earlier comments of the Tymnet representative, I beleive the effective charge will be 110 percent, that is, unless Starlink has some other arrangement with Tymnet on this point allowing phone calls to be handled at no extra surcharge above the cost of the call itself. A problem I see with the use of the outdialers to make extended area calls is that only on rare occassions is an intra-state call going to be less expensive than an interstate one. That is, a call from San Jose to a nearby (but considered long distance) town in California will easily cost me the same thirteen cents per minute that calling from Chicago via Reach Out would cost. And, I would be paying for the Tymnet circuit also. I think at the very least you could expect charges of 10-15 cents per minute on any intra-state call. My reaction is that this 'feature' of Tymnet's service is not particularly valuable, considering how inexpensive long haul interstate calls have become at night. The $10 minimum fee per month on Starlink is attractive for persons who use this type of thing no more than 12-13 hours per month. As I pointed out in my previous message, 60 hours on PC Pursuit is $60; the same 60 hours on Starlink is either $85 or $100, depending on the package you choose. If international calls outbound from the States were allowed -- apologies for my earlier misreading of this! -- then Starlink's 'pay per hour for what you use' plan would be valuable, since Telenet does not offer international calls to PC'ers regardless of what we are willing to pay. To access my mailbox on West Germany's [Tele-Box Mail Service], I now dial direct via AT&T. Likewise, for my occassional visits on Mercury, I dial direct to the UK. Too bad neither Telenet nor Tymnet will market this service; they certainly have the circuits available. Without the international access to UK and Canada, Starlink actually becomes less valuable to me, and as I said earlier, dialing an intra-state call from an outdialer is not where one will find any savings. I'm still waiting for my package to show up from Starlink (it has been a week), and when it arrives I will sign up, but probably confine my usage to the places not served by Telenet. Again, those phone numbers to call for more information or to signup: Voice 804-495-4693 Modem 804-495-INFO They bill to various credit cards, and they also offer a 'check-free' option. The fellow I spoke with last Sunday was most cordial, and spent about an hour in chat with me, discussing Starlink. Patrick Townson