How is that a scam?
As it is now, some 403 numbers are long distance and others are local.
If I want to call Medicine Hat from Calgary, they're both 403 numbers, but it's still long dissance.
How is the 587 any different than that?
I don't know....I just feel like "the man" is finding another way to take money from "us". I don't really know what I'm complaining about anyway...its all free for me anyway.
I was thinking the same thing actually. If some 587 calls are local and some are long distance then it seems like we are getting scammed somehow!
Totally a scam. One thing that irks me is that if I'm in Calgary and I call a friend on his cell phone and he's in Miami, neither of us pay long distance. If I'm in Kelowna with a friend and he's at the bar across the street, if I call his cell phone from my cell phone, I pay long distance.
I don't understand why long distance has to be so mysterious. The call is either long distance or it isn't.
As for our upcoming world changing event of a 3rd area code, if it's going to cover the whole province, calls from 403 to 587 or 780 to 587 should be considered local regardless of where they originate or end up. And for that matter, the whole province should be considered local. If you start dialing 250 or something, then yeah, fine, long distance. Just set boundaries and stick to them. Then nobody will care if there are 18 different area codes within Alberta. 10 digits. Fine. Make charges linear.
Location: In my office, at the Ministry of Awesome!
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slava
I don't know....I just feel like "the man" is finding another way to take money from "us". I don't really know what I'm complaining about anyway...its all free for me anyway.
That's great that you feel that way, but the truth is "the man" isn't taking any more money from anyone.
__________________
THE SHANTZ WILL RISE AGAIN. <-----Check the Badge bitches. You want some Awesome, you come to me!
Totally a scam. One thing that irks me is that if I'm in Calgary and I call a friend on his cell phone and he's in Miami, neither of us pay long distance. If I'm in Kelowna with a friend and he's at the bar across the street, if I call his cell phone from my cell phone, I pay long distance.
Oh, he's paying long distancefrom Calgary to Miami.... plus roaming likely.
In the second scenario, you both pay long distance. You pay from Kelowna to Calgary, he pays from Calgary back to Kelowna.
Quote:
I don't understand why long distance has to be so mysterious. The call is either long distance or it isn't.
As for our upcoming world changing event of a 3rd area code, if it's going to cover the whole province, calls from 403 to 587 or 780 to 587 should be considered local regardless of where they originate or end up. And for that matter, the whole province should be considered local. If you start dialing 250 or something, then yeah, fine, long distance. Just set boundaries and stick to them. Then nobody will care if there are 18 different area codes within Alberta. 10 digits. Fine. Make charges linear.
It isn't mysterious. The problem is that cell phones move so it seems mysterious. There are boundaries though in some cases they are odd... for example if you're in Whistler you can call Vancouver and it's local but if you're in Vancouver, Whistler is long distance.
Hell, when training for Telus we spent a whole day on long distance scenarios so I could explain how long distance is charged to people.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grimbl420
I can wash my penis without taking my pants off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moneyhands23
If edmonton wins the cup in the next decade I will buy everyone on CP a bottle of vodka.
Totally a scam. One thing that irks me is that if I'm in Calgary and I call a friend on his cell phone and he's in Miami, neither of us pay long distance. If I'm in Kelowna with a friend and he's at the bar across the street, if I call his cell phone from my cell phone, I pay long distance.
that's not how i understood it. I call someone who's cell is based in calgary, i pay local and they are charged like it is a long distance call (or roaming) and if both in same city like kelowna both pay long distance. I could be wrong through, but that is always the impression i got. Thats why telus used to have that 511 number that you would dial on your phone and neither of you got charged long distance. Just like when you have your cell in Kelowna you can call local numbers there and there is no long distance charges.
That's great that you feel that way, but the truth is "the man" isn't taking any more money from anyone.
Problem is that it's an antiquated way of charging the consumer. Telephone calls used to actually go through wires. They don't anymore. But they still charge as if they do.
If they're called 'area codes' they should be geographically assigned. Which, to an extent, they are, but there is no definition of what is long distance and what isn't. Lethbridge is long distance but Canmore isn't. Actually, Canmore is long distance on Telus Mobility, but not on Rogers. Why?
Location: In my office, at the Ministry of Awesome!
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4X4
Totally a scam. One thing that irks me is that if I'm in Calgary and I call a friend on his cell phone and he's in Miami, neither of us pay long distance. If I'm in Kelowna with a friend and he's at the bar across the street, if I call his cell phone from my cell phone, I pay long distance.
I don't understand why long distance has to be so mysterious. The call is either long distance or it isn't.
As for our upcoming world changing event of a 3rd area code, if it's going to cover the whole province, calls from 403 to 587 or 780 to 587 should be considered local regardless of where they originate or end up. And for that matter, the whole province should be considered local. If you start dialing 250 or something, then yeah, fine, long distance. Just set boundaries and stick to them. Then nobody will care if there are 18 different area codes within Alberta. 10 digits. Fine. Make charges linear.
As far as long distance goes, what boundaries are they changing?
A call from Calgary to Calgary will still be local regardless of the area code.
A call from Calgary to Medicine hat will still be long distance regardless of the area code.
You seem to think that if you call into the same area code today that it isn't long distance, but that isnt' the case, so why should that change?
__________________
THE SHANTZ WILL RISE AGAIN. <-----Check the Badge bitches. You want some Awesome, you come to me!
Location: Close enough to make a beer run during a TV timeout
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz
A lot of the opposition to this seems to be based on the mentality that this is going to be a minor inconvenience to me instead of a big inconveneince to a bunch of folks you don't know, so it must be a horrible way of doing things.
I guess for me it is like taking off a band-aid. I would rather one quick busrt of pain vs spending the next 20 years always slowly peeling it off.
And was it really that big of a deal when Northern Alberta switched to 780? All my suggestions would do is make everybody have to switch once in their lives, Norther Alberta would be twice. Then it would not be an issue. But as it stands, this is going to be an issue for some forever. There will be the odd surprise long distance charge- $2 so not worth fighting over. Another guy will be building a new house and will now pay to keep his number reserved; not that he likes his number but he likes the area code.
And the funny thing is each and every time somebody is out of pocket for this changeover, the phone company will make a profit.
Location: In my office, at the Ministry of Awesome!
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4X4
Problem is that it's an antiquated way of charging the consumer. Telephone calls used to actually go through wires. They don't anymore. But they still charge as if they do.
If they're called 'area codes' they should be geographically assigned. Which, to an extent, they are, but there is no definition of what is long distance and what isn't. Lethbridge is long distance but Canmore isn't. Actually, Canmore is long distance on Telus Mobility, but not on Rogers. Why?
How is that antiquated?
Calgary is still 300km from Medicine Hat.
Whether it is going throug wires, or microwave towers, more infrastructure is still being used to cover a greater distance, so they should charge more.
You want to talk about antiquated? How about assuming that since something has alwasy been called an "Area Code" that it should be geographically assigned?
As it is now, you have to know where a number is based to figure out if it is long distance or not. Sure you can say in Calgary "I know it's 780 so it is long distance" but the 403 doesn't tell you if it's long distance or not, you have to know if it's in Calgary or somewhere else to figure that out.
Is it really that big a deal to have to figure that out with 2 3 digit nubers instead of 1?
Let's see, I'm calling my buddy Ed, who lives in Ft. McMurray, but it's a 587 number, i wonder if it's long distance? Really is that gonna cause mass confusion?
And really, you have trouble figuring out why it might be that Lethbridge is long distance but Canmore isn't?
Maybe it has something to do with extra 100 km distance from calgary for Lethbridge.
As for Telus vs Rogers? Serioulsy, you've never seen two companies with different billing rates/strategies?
I suppose if that's the case I can understand why an extra 3 digit number might cause you some headaches.
__________________
THE SHANTZ WILL RISE AGAIN. <-----Check the Badge bitches. You want some Awesome, you come to me!
Last edited by Bring_Back_Shantz; 04-24-2008 at 01:42 PM.
no thats not a big deal. but lets says i get someone call me and its a 587 number, they leave a message to call back but dont specify where they are located. Whereas now they leave a message and it is a 780 number i know it is long distance.
But i see the other side of this argument because I don't know all 403 area codes are local.
Thats why it should be calgary gets 2 area codes now (since they say we would need 2 in 5-10 years anyways), Edmonton same thing, Central AB (from lets say Ponoka to Balzac) gets one, and then southern AB (every place except calgary south of balzac) and then northern (every place north of ponoka except edmonton) that should tide us over quite well. Then lets make cell phones have their own, if we had cell phone companies like the states do it would be a lot easier to do this.
How is that antiquated?
Calgary is still 300km from Medicine Hat.
Whether it is going throug wires, or microwave towers, more infrastructure is still being used to cover a greater distance, so they should charge more.
You want to talk about antiquated? How about assuming that since something has alwasy been called an "Area Code" that it should be geographically assigned?
As it is now, you have to know where a number is based to figure out if it is long distance or not. Sure you can say in Calgary "I know it's 780 so it is long distance" but the 403 doesn't tell you if it's long distance or not, you have to know if it's in Calgary or somewhere else to figure that out.
Is it really that big a deal to have to figure that out with 2 3 digit nubers instead of 1?
Let's see, I'm calling my buddy Ed, who lives in Ft. McMurray, but it's a 587 number, i wonder if it's long distance? Really is that gonna cause mass confusion?
And really, you have trouble figuring out why it might be that Lethbridge is long distance but Canmore isn't?
Maybe it has something to do with extra 100 km distance from calgary for Lethbridge.
As for Telus vs Rogers? Serioulsy, you've never seen two companies with different billing rates/strategies?
I suppose if that's the case I can understand why an extra 3 digit number might cause you some headaches.
Ease up on the condescending tone, dude. All I'm saying is that with the millions of calls made everyday, it'd be a heck of alot easier to KNOW that the number you're calling is long distance, based on "area" code.
I'm surprised that you're having such a hard time wrapping your head around what I'm getting at. Consistancy. Like the metric system vs imperial.
Location: In my office, at the Ministry of Awesome!
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4X4
Ease up on the condescending tone, dude. All I'm saying is that with the millions of calls made everyday, it'd be a heck of alot easier to KNOW that the number you're calling is long distance, based on "area" code.
I'm surprised that you're having such a hard time wrapping your head around what I'm getting at. Consistancy. Like the metric system vs imperial.
how is that consistent though.
as it is now, there are only two situations where you know that it'll be long distance
1) when calling from 780 to 403
2) when calling from 403 to 780
and two where you won't know unless you know exactly where you are calling
1) when calling within 403
2) when calling within 780
As is going to be, the 587 is really just an extension of 403 or 780 depending on where you live.
So yeah, you may not know if a 587 number is long distance, but that's no different than before with 403 and 780.
__________________
THE SHANTZ WILL RISE AGAIN. <-----Check the Badge bitches. You want some Awesome, you come to me!
How is that antiquated?
Calgary is still 300km from Medicine Hat.
Whether it is going throug wires, or microwave towers, more infrastructure is still being used to cover a greater distance, so they should charge more.
I'm on the same side as 4x4 in this. I'd be interested to know exactly what kind of infrastructure the telecommunications industry is using that isn't covered by general phone charges vs the cost to connect two parties long distance.
I'd wager that there is virtually no difference between making local and long distance calls on the telecommunications networks and in that case yes, long distance charges are a total scam. s!
__________________
Who is in charge of this product and why haven't they been fired yet?
Location: In my office, at the Ministry of Awesome!
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4X4
And what I'm saying is that if they're going to tinker, they might as well fix - once and for all.
Fix what?
Either way, calls within the same area codes are sometimes going to be long distanc and sometimes they'll be local.
Why make a bunch of people change their phone number for no real reason.
Why make a bunch of people/businesses change their phone number when the inconveninece to the general public is minimal at worst? Especially consindering that for some companies, having to change all of their promotional material could be a fairly sizeable burden.
I'll bet any company that just got their business cards/callendars/borchures printed, are fairly happy that their only inconvenience is going to be having to know where they are calling to figure out if it is long distance.
__________________
THE SHANTZ WILL RISE AGAIN. <-----Check the Badge bitches. You want some Awesome, you come to me!
Location: In my office, at the Ministry of Awesome!
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by kermitology
I'm on the same side as 4x4 in this. I'd be interested to know exactly what kind of infrastructure the telecommunications industry is using that isn't covered by general phone charges vs the cost to connect two parties long distance.
I'd wager that there is virtually no difference between making local and long distance calls on the telecommunications networks and in that case yes, long distance charges are a total scam. s!
I tend to agree that they're probalby charing more for it than they should.
But they are certainly using infrastructure over a longer distance so there is some case to be made that more infrastructure involved should equal a higher price.
They've got to pay for all of those microwave towers one way or another so I'm sure it's a case of big long distance fees, or higher local fees, and I know based on my calling habits, which one I'd prefer.
__________________
THE SHANTZ WILL RISE AGAIN. <-----Check the Badge bitches. You want some Awesome, you come to me!
Alright, BBS, I'm on the verge of agreeing to disagree, but I want to remind you that the reason we're bickering about this is because I suggested that all of Alberta should be local. An area code should be local. 403 to 403 should be local. If 587 is going to overlap 403, it should be local to call 587 from 403. All the time.
You're saying that it is long distance to call Lethbridge. I'm saying that in the grand scheme of the world, it isn't. If it were, it should be a different area code. The area code system is antiquated and needs to either get organized once and for all by dishing out area codes or else concede that all calls to a common area code are local.
<-----Check the Badge bitches. You want some Awesome, you come to me!
