ghg@en.ecn.purdue.edu (George Goble) (11/07/90)
I received notice last month that GTE Mobilnet was dropping the ability to direct dial international calls from cell phones, even if you were roaming on somebody else's system. All they cited was rising "fraud". The notice said that operator made calls on credit card, etc. would still be possible though. What kind of "fraud" do you think is going on? I thought "bandit" roamers and all that were pretty well under control with "positive verification" now? The local switch engineers say that bandits can sometimes get one call off before being shutdown (maybe a long one?) All the local switch operators knew about the dialing restriction was that it was "national", and they were not given a reason other than what we got. Just think of all the scanner bait of people passing credit card numbers on voice now! This sounds far less secure to me, but "somebody else" gets stuck with the charges, not Mobilnet. ghg [Moerator's Note: The more I think about it, the more I realize what a good deal Ameritech Cellular is: very inexpensive rates and an excellent signal. Re international dialing on GTE, I suspect you will still be able to zero plus the calls through the desired carrier; i.e. 01 + overseas number + calling card number. While you can't fool all the phreaks all the time, translating the sounds of a card number being entered requires more effort than copying down with a pencil what you hear on the scanner when a subscriber passes the card number to an operator. PAT]
john@bovine.ati.com (John Higdon) (11/13/90)
George Goble <pur-ee!ghg@en.ecn.purdue.edu> writes: > I received notice last month that GTE Mobilnet was dropping the > ability to direct dial international calls from cell phones, even if > you were roaming on somebody else's system. A call to Mobilnet's "competition", Cellular One (PacTel/McCaw) reveals that company allows international dialing. They also informed me that if I wanted to switch and break my "Business Club" contract with Mobilnet, they would help me. Business Club is Mobilnet's way of tying you into a year-at-a-time service commitment. You agree to stay on for a year (automatically renewable) and they will give you all custom calling and $5.50 off the normal monthly charge. Even if you don't use the custom calling, it's worth it to save on the monthly. Anyway, according to the Cellular One rep, by eliminating the international dialing, Mobilnet has themselves broken the contract in that you are getting less service than you signed up for. Then I called Mobilnet and pointed out that I was unable to place an international call the night before. She confirmed that due to "roamer fraud", it was necessary to restrict international dialing. She indicated that someone would call me back. Since this was obviously a front line person with no horsepower, I saved the speech. When I get that call back, I will point out that taking the easy way out and penalizing the customer is the least acceptable option. Why doesn't Cellular One have this problem? The answer could lie in the fact that unlike Mobilnet, Cellular One allows equal access. The customer deals directly with his long distance company and if there is any LD dispute, Cellular One is left out of the discussion and not holding the bag. My question will be to the Mobilnet rep, "Why doesn't Mobilnet allow equal access?" I haven't decided whether or not to actually switch carriers yet. GTE's attitude, as usual, is reprehensible. On the other hand, I make maybe 2 or 3 international calls per year and switching my TWO cell phones is a pain in the rear. The MicroTac I can do myself but the 6000 has the wrong head for self-programming. Perhaps I'll make that decision based on what this Mobilnet person says when my call is returned tomorrow. > [Moerator's Note: The more I think about it, the more I realize what a > good deal Ameritech Cellular is: very inexpensive rates and an > excellent signal. Re international dialing on GTE, I suspect you will > still be able to zero plus the calls through the desired carrier; i.e. > 01 + overseas number + calling card number. Patrick, it must be nice living in civilization. You have superior cellular service for a fraction of what we get reamed here. I just called my deep throat at Pac*Bell and found out that my crossbar MAY be replaced AS EARLY AS December, 1991. Think about that next time you play with your CLASS features! You are correct: international can be dialed '01+' and you get ka-bonged. And wonder of wonders, Sprint didn't even block my test call to Japan through their 800 number from my cell phone! John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !