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  1. #1
    Joshua Beall
    Guest
    Hi All,

    So I got my phone hooked up to my computer and all ready to go to connect to
    the internet by using it as a modem, so I could dial in to my ISP. Doing a
    little research (I actually called Motorola, and they told me this), I
    discovered that I had to call my provider (Cingular) and get them to add
    "Data Services", or "CSD" to my account.

    Ok, not a problem. Don't see it online, better call customer service... ok
    great, talked to a rep and she said I was all set to go, it would be
    $3.99/month to turn it on. Terrific, set it up, I told her.

    45 minutes later still not working. Call Cingular back and ask them if the
    CSD service has been turned on yet (rep said it would happen within 15
    minutes). The new rep I'm talking to says "yes, I can see that there is a
    note on your account to activate CSD... let me see why it was not
    activated..." (puts me on hold).

    Several minutes later she comes back and says "I'm sorry but we no longer
    offer CSD on our phones, if you would like internet access through your
    phone you will need to purchase one of our packages, the cheapest being
    $20/month and providing 5 megs of download."

    I politely said no and hung up... This seems outrageous to me. If I
    understand all the technology correctly, they are actively choosing to
    *block* access to the internet via other ISPs.

    Is there really nothing I can do at this point? I'm no lawyer, but this
    strikes me as the sort of anti-competitive behavior that caused the Feds to
    break up Ma Bell way back when. They are prohibiting me from using someone
    else to access the internet, and then charging me an outrageous amount of
    money in order to access the internet via their service. Has anyone else
    experienced this? What did you do?

    -Josh





    See More: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?




  2. #2
    Jim Wiant
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?


    "Joshua Beall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:VFEFd.11704$u47.1624@trnddc09...
    > Hi All,
    >
    > So I got my phone hooked up to my computer and all ready to go to connect
    > to the internet by using it as a modem, so I could dial in to my ISP.
    > Doing a little research (I actually called Motorola, and they told me
    > this), I discovered that I had to call my provider (Cingular) and get them
    > to add "Data Services", or "CSD" to my account.
    >
    > Ok, not a problem. Don't see it online, better call customer service...
    > ok great, talked to a rep and she said I was all set to go, it would be
    > $3.99/month to turn it on. Terrific, set it up, I told her.
    >
    > 45 minutes later still not working. Call Cingular back and ask them if
    > the CSD service has been turned on yet (rep said it would happen within 15
    > minutes). The new rep I'm talking to says "yes, I can see that there is a
    > note on your account to activate CSD... let me see why it was not
    > activated..." (puts me on hold).
    >
    > Several minutes later she comes back and says "I'm sorry but we no longer
    > offer CSD on our phones, if you would like internet access through your
    > phone you will need to purchase one of our packages, the cheapest being
    > $20/month and providing 5 megs of download."
    >
    > I politely said no and hung up... This seems outrageous to me. If I
    > understand all the technology correctly, they are actively choosing to
    > *block* access to the internet via other ISPs.
    >
    > Is there really nothing I can do at this point? I'm no lawyer, but this
    > strikes me as the sort of anti-competitive behavior that caused the Feds
    > to break up Ma Bell way back when. They are prohibiting me from using
    > someone else to access the internet, and then charging me an outrageous
    > amount of money in order to access the internet via their service. Has
    > anyone else experienced this? What did you do?
    >
    > -Josh
    >

    MediaWorks gives you unlimted access for $20





  3. #3
    Joshua Beall
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?

    "Jim Wiant" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news[email protected]...
    > MediaWorks gives you unlimted access for $20


    Yes, but only on your phone! At least that is the answer I have been
    getting repeatedly from Cingular when I call customer service. If I want to
    connect it to my laptop, I have to get a separate data plan, and that starts
    as $20/month for 5 megs of download.

    Have you had success connecting your phone to your laptop and getting on the
    internet using only MEdia Works?

    -Josh





  4. #4
    John Navas
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?

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

    In <BVTFd.874$c%6.469@trnddc03> on Fri, 14 Jan 2005 18:09:37 GMT, "Joshua
    Beall" <[email protected]> wrote:

    >"Jim Wiant" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >news[email protected]...
    >> MediaWorks gives you unlimted access for $20

    >
    >Yes, but only on your phone! At least that is the answer I have been
    >getting repeatedly from Cingular when I call customer service. If I want to
    >connect it to my laptop, I have to get a separate data plan, and that starts
    >as $20/month for 5 megs of download.


    That's what Cingular wants, but MEdia Works works.

    >Have you had success connecting your phone to your laptop and getting on the
    >internet using only MEdia Works?


    Yes. As several have reported here.

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



  5. #5
    John Navas
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?

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

    In <VFEFd.11704$u47.1624@trnddc09> on Fri, 14 Jan 2005 00:48:53 GMT, "Joshua
    Beall" <[email protected]> wrote:

    >So I got my phone hooked up to my computer and all ready to go to connect to
    >the internet by using it as a modem, so I could dial in to my ISP. Doing a
    >little research (I actually called Motorola, and they told me this), I
    >discovered that I had to call my provider (Cingular) and get them to add
    >"Data Services", or "CSD" to my account.


    True, but only as part of a data plan.

    >Ok, not a problem. Don't see it online,


    <http://www.cingular.com/media/media_net_purchase>

    >better call customer service... ok
    >great, talked to a rep and she said I was all set to go, it would be
    >$3.99/month to turn it on. Terrific, set it up, I told her.


    Correct -- that was probably "Wireless Internet".

    >45 minutes later still not working. Call Cingular back and ask them if the
    >CSD service has been turned on yet (rep said it would happen within 15
    >minutes). The new rep I'm talking to says "yes, I can see that there is a
    >note on your account to activate CSD... let me see why it was not
    >activated..." (puts me on hold).
    >
    >Several minutes later she comes back and says "I'm sorry but we no longer
    >offer CSD on our phones, if you would like internet access through your
    >phone you will need to purchase one of our packages, the cheapest being
    >$20/month and providing 5 megs of download."


    That was nonsense. Just get "Wireless Internet" and ask to have CSD
    provisioned.

    >I politely said no and hung up... This seems outrageous to me. If I
    >understand all the technology correctly, they are actively choosing to
    >*block* access to the internet via other ISPs.


    No, they are trying to get you to use a more expensive data plan. You can
    still access other ISPs.

    >Is there really nothing I can do at this point?


    See above.

    >I'm no lawyer, but this
    >strikes me as the sort of anti-competitive behavior that caused the Feds to
    >break up Ma Bell way back when. They are prohibiting me from using someone
    >else to access the internet, and then charging me an outrageous amount of
    >money in order to access the internet via their service. Has anyone else
    >experienced this? What did you do?


    It's not and they're not.

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



  6. #6
    Joshua Beall
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?

    "John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    >>Several minutes later she comes back and says "I'm sorry but we no longer
    >>offer CSD on our phones, if you would like internet access through your
    >>phone you will need to purchase one of our packages, the cheapest being
    >>$20/month and providing 5 megs of download."

    >
    > That was nonsense. Just get "Wireless Internet" and ask to have CSD
    > provisioned.


    I might be reading what you are saying too literally, but Wireless Internet
    is not available to me, only Wireless Internet Express. We are in a GSM
    market with GSM-only phones. See here:
    http://www.cingular.com/media/media_net_purchase

    I already have Wireless Internet Express; I can get on the net one my phone
    using Cingular as my ISP. They charge $0.01/kb. And they wouldn't give me
    CSD when I called and asked for it (twice!).

    Is what you are saying applicable only to TDMA plans?

    And at the end of it all you are saying I should call back and ask to get
    CSD added to my plan? Or should I get MEdia Works... then what? How do I
    then hook my phone up to my laptop and get online with MEdia Works?

    Thanks for your help, I really appreciate any pointers you can give me.

    -jb





  7. #7
    Jeff Snodgrass via CellPhoneKB.com
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?

    You are not alone in trying to resolve this issue. I have the Motorola V551, Cingular service, and the $19.95/mo Media Works plan, which states, "Our MEdia packages include Wireless Internet access, Instant/Text Messaging, and Multimedia Messaging." So I sit on the phone for almost 45 minutes waiting for tier 2 technical support, only to be told that I need a seperate "Data Access Package", ranging in price from $29.99 for 10mb of data/month to $79.99 for Unlimited data/month. All that I am trying to do here is dial into my ISP and/or my corporate RAS (Remote Access Server). I have Motorola's mobile PhoneTools, which converted my existing Windows Dialup connections to seperate connections for my V551. I have changed the "Maximum speed (bps)" on the phone/modem to 460800 as suggested in several places both here and on other forums. When I dial with one of the V551 connections, no matter which ISP or RAS that I attempt to connect to, I get the following error:

    "Error 678: The remote computer did not respond."

    I've tried putting the "+" in front of the number, as suggested here and on other forums, but I still get the same error.

    What I am trying to understand here is should CSD be turned on for the Media Works package that I am already paying for, and is that actually the problem? If so, can someone direct me to someone at Cingular that understands this?

    Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. I am very frustrated with Cingular. Their web site has no useful help link, and wading through four or five voice menus, only to be put on hold for 45+ minutes is trying my patience.

    Thanks,
    Jeff

    --
    Message posted via http://www.cellphonekb.com



  8. #8
    Joshua Beall
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?

    > "Error 678: The remote computer did not respond."

    This, this is exactly the error I am getting.

    > What I am trying to understand here is should CSD be turned on for the
    > Media Works package that I am already paying for, and is that actually the
    > problem?


    I called Motorola and described the error I was getting (Error 678: The
    remote computer did not respond) and he said, with great confidence, and
    multiple times (as I queried him repeatedly), that the problem was that I
    needed to call Cingular and request they turn on "Data Services" or "CSD."
    He said that Cingular effectively was preventing access to other ISPs unless
    you explicitly called them and requested CSD to be turned on.

    This all seemed to make sense, especially because when I called Cingular
    they (eventually, once I found somebody who knew what I was talking about)
    told me that it would be $3.99/month to turn this on. Great, I can handle
    that. But then they later said that they "no longer offer that service!"

    > If so, can someone direct me to someone at Cingular that understands
    > this?


    I think the problem is that Cingular *does* understand this, but they are
    trying to force us into one of their higher priced plans...





  9. #9
    Jeff Snodgrass via CellPhoneKB.com
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?

    Ok, I got it. Here is what I had to do.

    1. Sign up for the $3.99 Wireless Internet package, although I already have Media Works. (Work is paying for MW, so I don't mind.)

    2. Call Cingular and (as several have said before!!) get them to provision (turn on) CSD. Advise them that you have signed up for Wireless Internet, and you need CSD provisioned. I told them exactly what I was trying to do, which was connect to the Internet on my Laptop via a USB Cable connected to my V551.

    3. Configure the following Network Connection (WinXP)

    Name: Cingular (or whatever you want)
    User Name: [email protected]
    Password: CINGULAR1
    Dial: *99***1# (may need to use 2 or 3 instead of 1)
    Go to Properties of the Dial up Connection
    Select the Mobile Phone as the modem that you are configuring
    Select the Security Tab and ensure that "Typical" settings are selected,
    and Allow unsecured password.
    Go to Device Manager, open the modem properties and select the Modem Tab
    Up the Maximum Port Speed to 460800 (EDGE)
    Select the Advanced tab and add the following string to the "Extra
    initialization commands:" window: &f&d2&c1+cgdcont=1,"IP","isp.cingular"

    Save the entire configuration and you are ready to go. The key here is to get Cingular to provision CSD. Once that is done, you should be able to get through.

    Since I have the Media Works package, which SHOULD include Wireless Internet Express, I shouldn't have had to do this. The up side is I SHOULD have unlimited data transfer at no additional charge.

    I hope this helps someone else. I've been struggling with this all weekend, and it has been really frustrating.

    Jeff

    --
    Message posted via http://www.cellphonekb.com



  10. #10
    Jeff Snodgrass via CellPhoneKB.com
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?

    BTW... after all of this I still can't dial up my RAS Server at work, or my ISP. So, since I can access the internet via Cingular, I'll just use their equipment, and VPN into my network at work. Haven't tried it yet. Looks like they cut their nose off to spite their face on this one. Unlimited access for $19.99 + $3.99 compared to their "push" of the $29.99+ wireless packages.

    Jeff

    --
    Message posted via http://www.cellphonekb.com



  11. #11
    Jeff Snodgrass via CellPhoneKB.com
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?

    Don't know what changed, but I can now dial up my RAS Server at work and my ISP. 460+KB throughput, I'm a happy camper now!!

    Jeff

    --
    Message posted via http://www.cellphonekb.com



  12. #12
    Joshua Beall
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?

    "Jeff Snodgrass via CellPhoneKB.com" <[email protected]> wrote in
    message news:[email protected]...
    > Ok, I got it. Here is what I had to do.
    >
    > 1. Sign up for the $3.99 Wireless Internet package, although I already
    > have Media Works. (Work is paying for MW, so I don't mind.)


    Couple questions:

    1) What kind of phone do you have? I have the V220.
    2) What exactly did you say to the Cingular rep in order to get them to do
    this for you? I called TWICE and they wouldn't turn on CSD for me!
    However, I don't have MEdia Works, I wonder if that has something to do with
    it... ?






  13. #13
    Jeff Snodgrass via CellPhoneKB.com
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?

    I have the Motorola V551. The rep that I spoke with was willing to work with me as soon as I started speaking with her. I advised her that I had just signed up for the $2.99 Wireless Internet package and I needed CSD provisioned on my account. She had me turn my phone off after doing some things in the background, but it still didn't work. She had me hold while she re-checked some things and advised she was seeing things coming together. She then had me power cycle my phone again, then things began to happen. I was able to get connected but a login box (almost like a DOS window) opened up requesting a login. I tried the above login, but it didn't work. I then closed the connection, input the above user name and password in the Windows Dial Up Network configuration, and was in.

    I believe the reason that I was able to get this acomplished was because I acted like I knew what was needed and gave the (polite) impression that I wasn't going to accept no for an answer. I really believe I just got lucky and got a person that was willing to help, and half knew what she was doing and what I was talking about.

    As I was typing this, I tried connecting to my ISP on the laptop, through the V551 again. I received the "DOS" login box, so I cancelled and tried the Cingular dial-up. Got in with no problem. Tried the ISP Dial-up again, and got the DOS login box again. I cancelled out of it, and it logged in and connected to my ISP with no problem. Funny, I didn't have to do that earlier.

    Good luck, and let me know if you have any additional questions.

    Jeff

    --
    Message posted via http://www.cellphonekb.com



  14. #14
    John Navas
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?

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

    In <BaTGd.1106$J6.810@trnddc02> on Mon, 17 Jan 2005 18:08:33 GMT, "Joshua
    Beall" <[email protected]> wrote:

    >"John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >news:[email protected]...
    >>>Several minutes later she comes back and says "I'm sorry but we no longer
    >>>offer CSD on our phones, if you would like internet access through your
    >>>phone you will need to purchase one of our packages, the cheapest being
    >>>$20/month and providing 5 megs of download."

    >>
    >> That was nonsense. Just get "Wireless Internet" and ask to have CSD
    >> provisioned.

    >
    >I might be reading what you are saying too literally, but Wireless Internet
    >is not available to me, only Wireless Internet Express. We are in a GSM
    >market with GSM-only phones. See here:
    >http://www.cingular.com/media/media_net_purchase


    Wireless Internet is listed there for my market. It may not be available in
    your market.

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



  15. #15
    Joshua Beall
    Guest

    Re: Cingular no longer offering CSD service!? Are there no other options besides their data plans?

    What is this "Wireless Internet" package that you got for $2.99, can you
    link me to something on cingular.com that talks about it? The only thing I
    was able to find was a package called "Wireless Internet" that is available
    only in TDMA markets, and we are in a GSM market and my phone is GSM only
    (V220).

    In GSM markets they have "Wireless Internet Express" and I was not able to
    find anything that costs only $2.99/month.

    Just want to make sure I understand everything before I call and get the run
    around again.

    -jb





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