Received: by bu-cs.BU.EDU (5.58/4.7) id AA17812; Sat, 4 Feb 89 01:37:59 EST Message-Id: <8902040637.AA17812@bu-cs.BU.EDU> Date: Sat, 4 Feb 89 1:05:16 EST From: The Moderator Reply-To: TELECOM@bu-cs.BU.EDU Subject: TELECOM Digest V9 #46 To: TELECOM@bu-cs.bu.edu TELECOM Digest Sat, 4 Feb 89 1:05:16 EST Volume 9 : Issue 46 Today's Topics: Re: A Comparison of Starlink and PC Pursuit Re: A Comparison of Starlink and PC Pursuit Re: A Comparison of Starlink and PC Pursuit [Moderator's Note: The phone numbers to call for information/signup at Starlink are (voice) 804-495-4693 and (modem 3/12/24) 804-495-INFO. In case you missed the earlier message in the Digest on Monday, 1-31-89, Starlink brokers Tymnet circuits with a program much like PC Pursuit. Their rates are $10 per month plus $1.50 per hour or $25 per month plus $1.00 per hour. It seems to be a good bargain for the very casual (less than 13 hours per month) user. P Townson] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: ames!claris!portal!cup.portal.com!David_W_Tamkin@harvard.harvard.edu To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu Subject: Re: A Comparison of Starlink and PC Pursuit Date: Thu, 2-Feb-89 19:05:29 PST Patrick Townson commented on Nia Bennett's comparison of Starlink and PCP: B> You can precede the number to be dialed with a "1" and call any BBS in that B> area code. You will be billed for the long distance call from the outdial B> port to the host computer at the local phone company's rates. Is the 1 needed for Starlink or is Ms. Bennett thinking of how things work in area code 804, where telcos require it for non-local intra-NPA calls? B> Outdial Host Numbers Sorted by Time Zone, State, They still copy Tymnet Information's error in placing Detroit in the Central Zone. I've pointed that out to Nia. B> California B> Alhambra 9204 818 m B> Anaheim 9184 714 B> Colton, CA ---- 714 D/CACOL/3/12/24 B> El Segundo 9203 203 m B> Glendale, CA ---- 818 D/CAGLE/12 B> Long Beach 9205 213 m B> Los Angeles, CA ---- 213 D/CALAN/3/12/24 B> Newport Beach 9184 714 B> Oakland 8963 415 D/CAOAK/3/12/24 B> Palo Alto, CA ---- 415 D/CAPAL/12 B> Pasadena 9204 818 m B> Pleasanton 9202 415 m B> Sacramento 9179 916 D/CASAC/3/12/24 B> San Diego, CA ---- 619 D/CASDI/3/12/24 B> San Francisco 9533 415 D/CASFA/3/12/24 B> San Jose 6450 408 D/CASJO/12 B> Santa Ana, CA ---- 714 D/CASAN/12 B> Sherman Oaks 9206 818 m B> Vernon 3173 213 B> Walnut Creek 9202 415 m The California list seems to show a lot of gaps for Starlink, but notice that the Vernon and El Segundo outdialers cover the territory of CALAN; that Alhambra/Pasadena and Sherman Oaks cover that of CAGLE; that Anaheim and Newport Beach cover that of CACOL and CASAN; that CAPAL's territory is reachable from the Walnut Creek Tymnet outdialer. There are, to my knowledge, only four PCP cities not covered by Tymnet's outdialers: NCRTP, UTSLC, ORPOR, and CASDI. T> However, Starlink allows calls to Canada and the UK, something Telenet T> absolutely forbids. Starlink allows calls *from* Canada via Tymnet Canada's indials and *from* the UK via Mercury's indials. They also take calls from ConnNet indials to Tymnet, so they are a local call everywhere in Connecticut. Nia has told me that a Starlink account can access any domestic DAF connected to Tymnet (though you may get a separate billing from the DAF provider). I don't know whether international addresses are surcharged or locked out. T> My understanding is that the $10 per month or $25 per month fee, which T> allows purchase of Starlink at $1.50 per hour or $1.00 per hour respectively T> also gives you a certain amount of free time on their own system. Of T> course, you have to use Starlink to call them, and pay for the Starlink T> time. Galaxy BBS charges $2 per hour, but the first two hours each month are free for Starlink customers. Their explanation is that two hours is an allowance for Starlink customers to check their current billing and keep up with news and announcements. PCP gives no way to check on running usage. Another point Starlink advertises is that they can get you a new password in fifteen minutes. (It would be better yet if Starlink account holders could log into Galaxy BBS and change their own passwords, but it's still an improvement over PCP, except that PCP staffers frequently bend the rules and give you a new password, for better or worse, over the phone.) T> Finally, Starlink allows the placement of calls via an outdial modem to T> a point outside the local calling zone. Telenet does not. With some clever T> planning, you can use a nearby outdial to call anywhere. Starlink told me T> the surcharge for this would be 110% of telco. 100% or 110%? There is a discrepancy here. At any rate, *Tymnet*, not Starlink, appears to restrict these to calls within the area code, since Tymnet Information's description of the outdial service states that you must use an outidaler in the same area code as the number you want to reach. David_W_Tamkin@cup.portal.com ... sun!portal!cup.portal.com!David_W_Tamkin ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Feb 89 23:27:19 EST From: David A. Kingsland To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu Subject: Re: A Comparison of Starlink and PC Pursuit I would take exception to the moderators comment about "Starlink allowing calls to Canada and the United Kingdom" Tymnet (and so Starlink) allows calls *FROM* Canada and the UK *TO* anywhere in the 48 states. We have not implemented the outdial service here in Canada because there hasn't been enough demand. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Feb 89 01:00:10 EST From: telecom@bu-cs.BU.EDU (TELECOM Moderator) To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu Subject: Re: A Comparison of Starlink and PC Pursuit 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 ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest *********************