Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Anyone else get this letter?

Even though I do know how to use the phone as a modem at (14.4k), I
have not been using it as a modem. And why would I do that anyway,
considering that I've had a SprintPCS datacard for 2+ years?

Customer service said it was a mistake, but refused to send a letter to
void the letter below. Executive Services said it was a mistake and
said they would fax a letter; I have yet to see that, and suspect that
was idle talk, too.

A supervisor told me that even an old lady, who had no clue whatsoever
about how to use her phone as a modem, was also threatened with
cancellation.

============================

July 1, 2005

Dear Firstname Lastname:

A recent review of your Sprint PCS Account noted an unusually large
amount of data usage with your Sprint PCS Phone. In our experience
usage of this level is typically the result of using the phone as a
modem. Using your Sprint PCS Phone as a modem in connection with any
other device (computers, etc) is strictly prohibited under the terms of
your unlimited Sprint PCS Visions Plan. To the extent you wish to
continue to use your Sprint PCS Phone as a modem, you will need to
change your Sprint PCS Vision Plan. Sprint offers a number of data-only
plans, which are similar to our voice plans, whereby you are allotted a
certain number of megabytes for a monthly recurring charge. These data
plans are in addition to the voice calling plan that you have on your
phone. Please note that continuing to use your Sprint PCS Phone as a
modem on your current unlimited Sprint PCS Vision Plan is not an option
and may result in cancellation of your Sprint PCS Vision Service. To
find out more about our data-only plans, please visit a Sprint Store or
contact Sprint at 1-888-211-4727 today. We look forward to working with
you to set you up on a plan to serve your wireless data needs. We
apologize for any confusion and thank you for your continued business,

Sprint Customer Service

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Yea, I got that letter, been using #777 for about three years downloading
over a Gig a month. Game Over?

I don't think so...


ER



<resident_of_wa@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1123014827.101951.40650@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> Anyone else get this letter?
>
> Even though I do know how to use the phone as a modem at (14.4k), I
> have not been using it as a modem. And why would I do that anyway,
> considering that I've had a SprintPCS datacard for 2+ years?
>
> Customer service said it was a mistake, but refused to send a letter to
> void the letter below. Executive Services said it was a mistake and
> said they would fax a letter; I have yet to see that, and suspect that
> was idle talk, too.
>
> A supervisor told me that even an old lady, who had no clue whatsoever
> about how to use her phone as a modem, was also threatened with
> cancellation.
>
> ============================
>
> July 1, 2005
>
> Dear Firstname Lastname:
>
> A recent review of your Sprint PCS Account noted an unusually large
> amount of data usage with your Sprint PCS Phone. In our experience
> usage of this level is typically the result of using the phone as a
> modem. Using your Sprint PCS Phone as a modem in connection with any
> other device (computers, etc) is strictly prohibited under the terms of
> your unlimited Sprint PCS Visions Plan. To the extent you wish to
> continue to use your Sprint PCS Phone as a modem, you will need to
> change your Sprint PCS Vision Plan. Sprint offers a number of data-only
> plans, which are similar to our voice plans, whereby you are allotted a
> certain number of megabytes for a monthly recurring charge. These data
> plans are in addition to the voice calling plan that you have on your
> phone. Please note that continuing to use your Sprint PCS Phone as a
> modem on your current unlimited Sprint PCS Vision Plan is not an option
> and may result in cancellation of your Sprint PCS Vision Service. To
> find out more about our data-only plans, please visit a Sprint Store or
> contact Sprint at 1-888-211-4727 today. We look forward to working with
> you to set you up on a plan to serve your wireless data needs. We
> apologize for any confusion and thank you for your continued business,
>
> Sprint Customer Service
>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

<resident_of_wa@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1123014827.101951.40650@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> Anyone else get this letter?
>
> Even though I do know how to use the phone as a modem at (14.4k), I
> have not been using it as a modem. And why would I do that anyway,
> considering that I've had a SprintPCS datacard for 2+ years?
>
> Customer service said it was a mistake, but refused to send a letter to
> void the letter below. Executive Services said it was a mistake and
> said they would fax a letter; I have yet to see that, and suspect that
> was idle talk, too.
>
> A supervisor told me that even an old lady, who had no clue whatsoever
> about how to use her phone as a modem, was also threatened with
> cancellation.

Considering you have been using a data card for the past 2 years, it does
sound like an error on sending out the letter. They aren't talking about
14.4K, they are talking about Vision. You do have a data plan on your
account with them, don't you?

No, I haven't seen that letter yet, but then again, I don't do a lot of
tethered use.

Bob

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

ER wrote:
> Yea, I got that letter, been using #777 for about three years downloading
> over a Gig a month. Game Over?

Now we know what the probable trigger point is: 1 GB per month.

--
John Richards

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

> Considering you have been using a data card for the past 2 years, it does
> sound like an error on sending out the letter. They aren't talking about
> 14.4K, they are talking about Vision. You do have a data plan on your
> account with them, don't you?

I have two separate Sprint accounts: 1 for phone, 1 for data card. The
letter telling me I could not use my phone as a modem was presumably
about the phone account. (In Sprint's infinite wisdom, they didn't
include an account number on the letter.)

I finally got a letter faxed to me today from Executive Services
stating that the original threat letter was a mistake -- because they
could see that I did not have any data usage on my phone. They also
included a copy of a post card that was mailed out advising that the
letter was a mistake. I never got the postcard.

Now, here's the interesting part that is still not resolved. Back in
2002 or so I did use the phone as a modem and got the $.40/minute
charge. I learned the hard way. Sprint Customer Service told me that
the way to avoid the per minute charge was to sign up for Wireless Web
($5/month) and get a data connection kit. I did both. So, I did
continue to use the phone as a modem for a while without additional
charge (just minute usage). According to the Sprint web site today,
Wireless Web STILL includes using the phone as a modem:

"Sprint puts the power of the wireless Internet in your hand. Sprint
PCS Wireless Web includes the following:

Sprint PCS Wireless Web Browser - Gives you the power to access a
wide variety of specially designed Web sites, including ESPN, CNN, The
Weather Channel, and more!

Sprint PCS Wireless Web Connection - Allows you to use your Sprint
PCS Phone in place of a computer modem. Whatever you've done before by
connecting via a telephone wall jack, you can now do with your Sprint
PCS Phone and a Sprint PCS Connection Kit. With Sprint PCS Wireless Web
Connection, your computer connects over the Sprint Nationwide PCS
Network, giving you the freedom to access information when and where
you choose.

Sprint PCS Wireless Web Updates - Allows you to get the information
you want, when you want it, automatically. Includes weather reports,
stock quotes, and news headlines, directly to your Sprint PCS Phone.

Sprint PCS Short Mail - Allows you to send and receive messages on
your Internet-ready Sprint PCS Phone (you must also have a Sprint PCS
Wireless Web Browser installed)."

Based on the language in Sprint PCS Wireless Web Connection, using the
phone is clearly contemplated and authorized.

Even with this reasonably clear language, Sprint Customer Service says
that Wireless Web does not include using the phone as a modem. When I
read back the paragraph that authorizes it the reps seem to go brain
dead and say "I'm not a lawyer." They clearly do not want to admit to
what is already in writing.

So, even if I had been using my phone as a modem, the Wireless Web
feature on my account should cover such use.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

resident_of_wa@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> <snip>

It sounds like you and/or CS are confusing Wireless Web
with Vision.

They're not the same.

Notan

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Here's the text of the post card Executive Services claims was sent to
some, if not all, recipients of the threat letter. I didn't receive
this post card:

"
Sprint
P.O. Box 15955
Shawnee Mission, KS 66285-5955

Dear Valued Sprint PCS customer:

We are writing to inform you that we recently sent you a letter about
using your SprintPCS Phone as a modem. Please disregard that letter as
it was sent to you in error. No action on your part is required.

Sprint values you as a customer and is committed to offering you a
better wireless experience. We regret any confusion this may have
caused and are sorry for any inconvenience.

Thank you for your patience, and we look forward to continuing to serve
you.

Sincerely,

Sprint Customer Service
"

[I don't know why they sign these things with "Sprint Customer
Service"; when you call customer service, none of the reps have a clue
what was sent out in their name.]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

In article <1123138397.308687.311070@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
resident_of_wa@yahoo.com writes:
> Here's the text of the post card Executive Services claims was sent to
> some, if not all, recipients of the threat letter. I didn't receive
> this post card:
[snip]
>
> Dear Valued Sprint PCS customer:
>
[snip]
>
> Sprint values you as a customer ...
[snip]
>
[snip]
>

[Not picking on Sprint, here, necessarily...]

Do companies really believe that "dear valued" and "values you"
clap-trap really impresses the customer when the company's actions
say just the opposite? I'm not only not impressed by such
falseness, I find it patently offensive.

--
Jim Seymour | "There is no expedient to which a man will not
jseymour@LinxNet.com | go to avoid the labor of thinking."
http://jimsun.LinxNet.com | - Thomas A. Edison

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

On 3 Aug 2005 23:43:10 -0700, resident_of_wa@yahoo.com wrote:

>Is there somewhere, or someone, who can get into the nitty gritty
>difference between Wireless Web and Vision? More than just a different
>protocol?

Different protocol, different gateway, mostly different network
infrastructure, different billing method (per minute vs per KB),
etc...

--
Paul Miner

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

resident_of_wa@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Sprint Customer Service
> "
>
> [I don't know why they sign these things with "Sprint Customer
> Service"; when you call customer service, none of the reps have a clue
> what was sent out in their name.]

Yeah, you'd think they would make the CSRs read a Plan of the Day
or something like that before they begin their shift answering
customer calls.

--
John Richards

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Jim Seymour wrote:
> Do companies really believe that "dear valued" and "values you"
> clap-trap really impresses the customer when the company's actions
> say just the opposite? I'm not only not impressed by such
> falseness, I find it patently offensive.

As do I. Especially offensive is the fake groveling they do when
apologizing for some royal screw-up.

--
John Richards

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

In article <1123137790.190145.40880@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
resident_of_wa@yahoo.com says...
> When I signed up for Wireless Web I had a Kyocera 2035. I now have a
> Kyocera 2345. I deliberately bought the 2345 (when the 2035 finally
> fell apart) because it uses the same batteries and data cable as the
> 2035. As far as I know, both are 2G phones and won't work with the
> Vision stuff. The built-in, simple, web browser works when I need to
> get into my Yahoo address book.
>

Ah, I hadn't caught that previously. That's exactly correct. That's
what I get for assuming you'd "moved up" to a Vision phone by now.

Both phones are "2G" Wireless Web phones. So Vision is completely
irrelevant to this. And, indeed, renders that threatening letter that
much more silly.

> 4) I have a data card with unlimited usage so it doesn't make a lot
> of sense to use the phone as a modem (unless in an emergency if the
> data card got damaged).

If the data card is a Vision card, then it makes NO SENSE whatsoever.
The two technologies are inherently different in several ways. And #3
is right also. Under Wireless Web, you *can* use your phone as a modem.

> Is there somewhere, or someone, who can get into the nitty gritty
> difference between Wireless Web and Vision? More than just a different
> protocol?

It is indeed more than that. Wireless Web falls under the IS95 CDMA
specification (I think. a year away from Sprint has weakened some of my
memory here). It is a "circuit-switched" data technology, requiring a
dedicated connection in order to provide data services. This is one
reason why it uses minutes: it's a continuous connection just like a
voice call is a continuous connection.

Vision is the first generation of 3G (third generation) data service:
1xRTT (although purists will snort and say it's really more like 2.5G,
and they would largely be correct). It is a "packet-switched"
technology, meaning, among other things, that no dedicated connection to
a tower is required in order to provide data services. It can, quite
literally disconnect to dormancy a few seconds after serving up the
desired data (or accepting it from you). That is both the problem and
the solution to why minutes no longer apply to Vision.

A Vision data connection can, quite literally, connect and disconnect
several times in any given minute. The way minute usage is tracked,
every single one of those connections would tack on a minute of use
against your voice plan just by connecting. One minute of data usage
could quite literally eat up three, four, or more plan minutes. So,
instead, Vision "virtualizes" the data session, and simply tracks the
packets that go back forth from phone to network and back again.
Packets are most easily measured in bytes, although the industry
universally prefers kilobytes over bytes, just as it does minutes over
seconds.

CDMA has largely been championed by Qualcomm, so they would probably be
a good place to start. They run a kind of CDMA chearleading site called
3gtoday.com if you're interesting in a little bit of information. Also,
an industry group called the "CDMA Development Group" can also be a
great source of information: http://www.cdg.org They do, however, tend
to be very technical.


--
RØß
O/Siris
-+-
A thing moderately good
is not so good as it ought to be.
Moderation in temper is always a virtue,
but moderation in principle is always a vice.
+Thomas Paine, "The Rights of Man", 1792+

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

John Richards wrote:
> Jim Seymour wrote:
>
>> Do companies really believe that "dear valued" and "values you"
>> clap-trap really impresses the customer when the company's actions
>> say just the opposite? I'm not only not impressed by such
>> falseness, I find it patently offensive.
>
>
> As do I. Especially offensive is the fake groveling they do when
> apologizing for some royal screw-up.

Okay, then what you both propose as an approrpiate wording for such a
letter, hmm? "Hey jerk, we screwed up, just lettin' ya know, now piss
off?"



--
E-mail fudged to thwart spammers.
Transpose the c's and a's in my e-mail address to reply.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Isaiah Beard wrote:
> John Richards wrote:
>> Jim Seymour wrote:
>>
>>> Do companies really believe that "dear valued" and "values you"
>>> clap-trap really impresses the customer when the company's actions
>>> say just the opposite? I'm not only not impressed by such
>>> falseness, I find it patently offensive.
>>
>>
>> As do I. Especially offensive is the fake groveling they do when
>> apologizing for some royal screw-up.
>
> Okay, then what you both propose as an approrpiate wording for such a
> letter, hmm? "Hey jerk, we screwed up, just lettin' ya know, now piss
> off?"

How about, "We apologize for the trouble, and as a gesture of goodwill
we have posted a $25 credit to your account." As they say, money talks.

--
John Richards

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Notan wrote:

> It sounds like you and/or CS are confusing Wireless Web
> with Vision.
>
> They're not the same.
>
> Notan

In preparation to bring Sprint into mandatory arbitration (more on that
to be posted later), I ran across this in the terms of service:
"Wireless Web. Wireless Web Services may be available depending on your
device and Service plan/option. This is not a Vision service."

Well, that's speaks very clearly that they are not one and the same.
So, if I have Wireless Web on my account and not Vision, and then they
accuse me of abusing Vision (which is not on my account), then it is
clear Sprint really did mess up with the letter to me.

Thanks to you folks who have helped me clearly understand the
difference between Vision and Wireless Web.