kd6caeP2p Shouldn't Be A Crime
join:2001-08-27
Palmdale, CA Reviews:
 ·Vitelity VOIP
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| want to get pay per call but don't want E911 if possible? Hi everyone. I've had a call centric account for some time, though haven't actively used it in over 2 years, since the time I was playing with an asterisk box. Back then I had a dirt cheap DID for my area and an unlimitted plan and things worked well.
However now I want to just have a softphone registered with callcentric as a line for making outbound calls on a pay as you go basis. I have no intention of using this as a primary residential line as I did back when I was playing with asterisk. Therefore I do not wish to have E911 and it's associated cost recovery fee on this plan if that's possible. The card I wish to use to initiate the pay as you go plan has just enough funds on it right now to do a $5 add to my balance, which I believe will give me about 5 hours of outgoing call time, which is fine for now. Can I get this plan and not have E911 available? If I cannot, is that fee going to be charged every month as the FAQ seems to indicate that at least part of it wil be?
Finally, regarding caller ID, can I set the caller ID for outgoing calls placed to PSTN lines, to a number folks can call me back at such as my home or cell number, since I won't have a DID for this plan? Thanks for any responses. |
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PX EliezerPremium
join:2008-08-09
Hutt River
kudos:12 Reviews:
·voip.ms
·callwithus
·Callcentric
·Vitelity VOIP
·Optimum Voice
·Gizmo5
| The company is very strict on this 911 issue for US and Canadian residents. One could discuss the ups and downs of it all day, but it is what it is.
One choice is to falsely claim on the signup that you are based outside those countries.
But frankly, it may be better, for the purpose you seek, to just do a PAYG with CallWithUs. They don't even have 911 so it is not an issue.
You can easily set your outbound CID with CallWithUs. (You can also have CallCentric do that by request). |
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RogerD
join:2008-07-15
Sunnyvale, CA Reviews:
·Callcentric
| said by PX Eliezer:The company is very strict on this 911 issue for US and Canadian residents. One could discuss the ups and downs of it all day, but it is what it is.
Of course they are... That's extra money in THEIR pocket.
Lines terminated to soft phones or not permanently connected to a phone set should be exempt from these fees. Firing up my laptop to make an emergency call just ain't gonna happen. Not to mention it would not be linked to the proper address.
Specify out of country use and forget it. |
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PX EliezerPremium
join:2008-08-09
Hutt River
kudos:12 Reviews:
·voip.ms
·callwithus
·Callcentric
·Vitelity VOIP
·Optimum Voice
·Gizmo5
| said by RogerD:said by PX Eliezer:The company is very strict on this 911 issue for US and Canadian residents. One could discuss the ups and downs of it all day, but it is what it is.
Of course they are... That's extra money in THEIR pocket. No, you are wrong for 2 reasons.
First, they don't really make a profit on this. That fee gets paid over each month to 3rd-party companies that maintain the 911 service, companies like Intrado.
Second, strict adherence to the policy actually causes them to lose some customers. So it's not any kind of gain for them, rather a loss.
Even their competitors agree that CC management is smart, not dumb.
The fact that they maintain a policy that costs them to lose some business, shows the sincerity of their beliefs.
Your other arguments raise valid points, but CC is just strictly enforcing the FCC regs as they are written. Some other companies skimp. CC is not responsible for the way the FCC regs are written, nor for the conduct of competitors. |
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RogerD
join:2008-07-15
Sunnyvale, CA Reviews:
·Callcentric
| reply to kd6cae
When I read the FCC regs telcos are ALLOWED to charge for 911 recovery costs etc...
Telcos are required to provide free services to 911 providers and instead of those providers paying for the service and raising taxes to cover them, the consumer is being charged by the telcos in a way that allows them to lowball the cost of their service and jack the bills with junk fees. Accessing these fees per line is excessive anyways. Homes with five lines aren't likely to have five times the emergencies, or get service five times quicker.
Since I have programed out 911 access in my dial plan, I have no intention of paying for the service. |
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PX EliezerPremium
join:2008-08-09
Hutt River
kudos:12 Reviews:
·voip.ms
·callwithus
·Callcentric
·Vitelity VOIP
·Optimum Voice
·Gizmo5
| said by RogerD:Telcos are required to provide free services to 911 providers and instead of those providers paying for the service and raising taxes to cover them, the consumer is being charged by the telcos in a way that allows them to lowball the cost of their service and jack the bills with junk fees.
You are referring to POTS telcos, that has nothing to do with VoIP providers. Nothing!
You apparently are unaware of the whole function of companies like Intrado, that help the VoIP providers maintain 911 access.
CallCentric is about the most honest VoIP company out there. They do not add on any regulatory recovery fees, intellectual property fees (Vonage does that), Universal Service Fund fees, etc.
The only fees they add on are the 911 fee, and NY State sales tax for NY State residents only.
As I said, CallCentric is trying to enforce the FCC and CRTC regs as best they can.
They can't take into account whether you are using a regular phone or a softphone or even your laptop---especially when you could change your setup in 20 seconds.
They can't take into account how many other providers you may be signed up with.
Is it a broken system? In some ways, yes. But that's not their fault.
BTW, if you were signed up with VOIPo, PhonePower, Vonage, Ooma, or a whole bunch of other companies, you WOULD be required to have 911, and it WOULD be included as part of your total cost. So CallCentric is hardly alone here. |
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