PC Internet card activation fee?

About a week ago I purchased a 2 year Cingular plan after having my
GoPhone stolen. The new plan came with a free LG C2000 phone, and I
opted for the MediaNet unlimited $20. plan. I purchased a FutureDial
data cable hoping to tether the cellphone to my laptop but never got
it to work. The only thing that does work is one of the LG
applications that allow me to sync my phone numbers with Outlook.

So I canceled MediaNet and called Cingular to purchase their unlimited
PC card Internet service which is currently on promotion for
$60./month with a free PC card. The promotion is supposed to be for
new customers only but Cingular allowed me to switch to it. I applied
on the Internet but balked when I learned I would have to pay another
$36.00 activation fee. The customer service rep said the fee was for
the new dial up phone number I would need for the PC card. She also
said it would have to be a separate number from my cellphone. I have
never heard of PC cards needing such a number. Can someone verify if
this is true? Thanks in advance.

---

› See More: PC Internet card activation fee?

Keep calling back and asking (nicely) for the activation fee to be waived.

In <[email protected]> on Mon, 17 Oct 2005 13:03:59
-0500, M.L. <[email protected]> wrote:

>About a week ago I purchased a 2 year Cingular plan after having my
>GoPhone stolen. The new plan came with a free LG C2000 phone, and I
>opted for the MediaNet unlimited $20. plan. I purchased a FutureDial
>data cable hoping to tether the cellphone to my laptop but never got
>it to work. The only thing that does work is one of the LG
>applications that allow me to sync my phone numbers with Outlook.
>
>So I canceled MediaNet and called Cingular to purchase their unlimited
>PC card Internet service which is currently on promotion for
>$60./month with a free PC card. The promotion is supposed to be for
>new customers only but Cingular allowed me to switch to it. I applied
>on the Internet but balked when I learned I would have to pay another
>$36.00 activation fee. The customer service rep said the fee was for
>the new dial up phone number I would need for the PC card. She also
>said it would have to be a separate number from my cellphone. I have
>never heard of PC cards needing such a number. Can someone verify if
>this is true? Thanks in advance.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

M.L. wrote:
> said it would have to be a separate number from my cellphone. I have
> never heard of PC cards needing such a number.

Call again and ask in a amazed voice if people can call that new number
and talk to you. If they say yes, ask how you would answer the call.
<snicker>

>> said it would have to be a separate number from my cellphone. I have
>> never heard of PC cards needing such a number.
>
>Call again and ask in a amazed voice if people can call that new number
>and talk to you. If they say yes, ask how you would answer the call.
><snicker>

Thanks for your prompt response. However, I need an unequivocal
statement that what she told me was nonsense so I can have ammunition
to have the fee waived. She claimed that the number was needed to
"dial in" to the network with the PC card.

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Mon, 17 Oct 2005 18:22:11
-0500, M.L. <[email protected]> wrote:

>>> said it would have to be a separate number from my cellphone. I have
>>> never heard of PC cards needing such a number.
>>
>>Call again and ask in a amazed voice if people can call that new number
>>and talk to you. If they say yes, ask how you would answer the call.
>><snicker>
>
>Thanks for your prompt response. However, I need an unequivocal
>statement that what she told me was nonsense so I can have ammunition
>to have the fee waived. She claimed that the number was needed to
>"dial in" to the network with the PC card.

That last is of course nonsense -- the PC Card uses GPRS, not any sort of
switched connection, for access. A number is "needed" only for CSD, and even
with CSD, the PC Card would only really need a number to *receive* calls, not
make them. The charge is to activate the account, not for a number.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

"John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> That last is of course nonsense -- the PC Card uses GPRS, not any sort of
> switched connection, for access. A number is "needed" only for CSD, and
> even
> with CSD, the PC Card would only really need a number to *receive* calls,
> not
> make them. The charge is to activate the account, not for a number.
>
Actually , the charge is to activate a unit (in this case the data card),
not for activaing an account. It is not an uncommon charge for any company
in the industry, but can usually . As for the number, the card will need a
unique number to access the network. That is the only way forthem to track
usage and billing. Whether it is a ten digit number (like a phone number)
is up to the company, but makes sense from a billing application standpoint.

Gee, John- that was an easy one. I would have expected you to be a little
closer to the answer on that one.

On Mon, 17 Oct 2005 22:36:27 GMT, DecTxCowboy
<[email protected]> wrote:

>M.L. wrote:
>> said it would have to be a separate number from my cellphone. I have
>> never heard of PC cards needing such a number.
>
>Call again and ask in a amazed voice if people can call that new number
>and talk to you. If they say yes, ask how you would answer the call.

My Sierra Wireless GPRS PC card has a headphone jack, and is perfectly
capable of placing and receiving voice calls.

On Mon, 17 Oct 2005 18:22:11 -0500, M.L. <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>>> said it would have to be a separate number from my cellphone. I have
>>> never heard of PC cards needing such a number.
>>
>>Call again and ask in a amazed voice if people can call that new number
>>and talk to you. If they say yes, ask how you would answer the call.
>><snicker>
>
>Thanks for your prompt response. However, I need an unequivocal
>statement that what she told me was nonsense so I can have ammunition
>to have the fee waived. She claimed that the number was needed to
>"dial in" to the network with the PC card.

Unequivocally, you can simply swap the SIM card from your regular
phone into your PC card, if you're willing to put up with the hassle.
NO extra phone number, NO activation fee.

On Mon, 17 Oct 2005 23:44:06 -0400, Zeng <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Mon, 17 Oct 2005 18:01:05 -0600, "Scott" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>>"John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected]...
>>
>>> That last is of course nonsense -- the PC Card uses GPRS, not any sort of
>>> switched connection, for access. A number is "needed" only for CSD, and
>>> even
>>> with CSD, the PC Card would only really need a number to *receive* calls,
>>> not
>>> make them. The charge is to activate the account, not for a number.
>>>
>>Actually , the charge is to activate a unit (in this case the data card),
>>not for activaing an account. It is not an uncommon charge for any company
>>in the industry, but can usually . As for the number, the card will need a
>>unique number to access the network. That is the only way forthem to track
>>usage and billing. Whether it is a ten digit number (like a phone number)
>>is up to the company, but makes sense from a billing application standpoint.
>>
>>Gee, John- that was an easy one. I would have expected you to be a little
>>closer to the answer on that one.
>>
>
>M.L. ,
>Scott is correct. After all, the PC Card requires a SIM. You
>authenticate onto the Network and if you're using the Cingular
>Communications Manager software, as well as a couple others, you'll
>also be able to send & rcv SMS msgs from the PC card.
>
>For that matter, if you had that data option added to your account and
>wanted to keep swapping the SIM between your handset and PC card, that
>should be an option too. Maybe that's where the 'disconnect' is? You
>probably intended to keep swapping the SIM?
>
>
>Zeng

Thanks Zeng, and thanks to everyone who replied. No, I have no
interest in swapping SIMs (what for??). I just wanted to know why I
had to pay two activation fees, one for my cell phone, and another for
the PC card Internet access.

"John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]
>
> In <[email protected]> on Mon, 17 Oct 2005
> 18:22:11
> -0500, M.L. <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>>> said it would have to be a separate number from my cellphone. I have
>>>> never heard of PC cards needing such a number.
>>>
>>>Call again and ask in a amazed voice if people can call that new number
>>>and talk to you. If they say yes, ask how you would answer the call.
>>><snicker>
>>
>>Thanks for your prompt response. However, I need an unequivocal
>>statement that what she told me was nonsense so I can have ammunition
>>to have the fee waived. She claimed that the number was needed to
>>"dial in" to the network with the PC card.
>
> That last is of course nonsense -- the PC Card uses GPRS, not any sort of
> switched connection, for access.

I read it to mean that the "Phone" (ie:PC CARD's SIM) needs a number which
of course it does. GPRS/EDGE is connected just like any phone using the
IMEI/SIM information to connect.