Voice mail?
Dec. 17th, 2004 07:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexpgpI don't believe I mentioned that I acquired both a a cell phone and a phone number in Moscow during my infamous weekend at the beginning of last month.
While the phone (a Siemens C60) was in the near-$100 range, the cost of a prepaid phone number was laughably inexpensive. I paid 150 rubles for something called "Super Jeans" (Супер Джинс), which started me off with an effective balance of $5 (or 5 "standard units," which is how things are priced when the seller want to peg the price to the dollar). In effect, the cost of setting up the account and getting a SIM card is zero, because the exchange rate is slightly less than 30 rubles to the dollar. If you do the math, the starting balance and the cost of the account pretty much wash.
The per-minute rate is pretty good. I seem to recall it's something like 0.14 "units" per minute. I used the phone some during my weekend and left the country with about 1.80 "units" left in my balance. Refilling the credits is fairly simple: there are a number of automatic machines throughout the town that'll eat rubles and jack up your balance for you.
The only fly in the ointment is the inability to roam outside Russia, unless I go by the offices of MTS (the service provider) and show my passport and a legit "propiska" (residence). This is actually a requirement for all account holders, as a method of making sure they can collect on calls made while roaming (the use of credit cards is not widespread in Russia). OTOH, I can use the phone while in Moscow and can make use of voice mail at other times, as long as I perform some kind of action that decreases the credit in my account at least once within a six-month interval.
I just did so by checking my voice mail. (Of course, nobody had left me any messages, so I had to call first and leave myself a message, just to make sure the system works. Which it does.)
At any rate, now I, too, can look like the typical Muscovite when I'm in town (that is, I can walk around with a phone glued to my ear).
Technically, I could use the same phone with a different SIM card and use the unit in the U.S., but AT&T is the only outfit I know of that offers GSM technology, and (a) they don't service Pagosa, and (b) they really don't offer a no-no-nonsense prepaid GSM service, preferring instead to nail customers with a monthly fee. It's just as well, as I have about 20 months left on my current contract with Verizon Wireless.
I guess the key question at this point is: how can I turn having a Moscow phone number into a marketing tool?
Cheers...
While the phone (a Siemens C60) was in the near-$100 range, the cost of a prepaid phone number was laughably inexpensive. I paid 150 rubles for something called "Super Jeans" (Супер Джинс), which started me off with an effective balance of $5 (or 5 "standard units," which is how things are priced when the seller want to peg the price to the dollar). In effect, the cost of setting up the account and getting a SIM card is zero, because the exchange rate is slightly less than 30 rubles to the dollar. If you do the math, the starting balance and the cost of the account pretty much wash.
The per-minute rate is pretty good. I seem to recall it's something like 0.14 "units" per minute. I used the phone some during my weekend and left the country with about 1.80 "units" left in my balance. Refilling the credits is fairly simple: there are a number of automatic machines throughout the town that'll eat rubles and jack up your balance for you.
The only fly in the ointment is the inability to roam outside Russia, unless I go by the offices of MTS (the service provider) and show my passport and a legit "propiska" (residence). This is actually a requirement for all account holders, as a method of making sure they can collect on calls made while roaming (the use of credit cards is not widespread in Russia). OTOH, I can use the phone while in Moscow and can make use of voice mail at other times, as long as I perform some kind of action that decreases the credit in my account at least once within a six-month interval.
I just did so by checking my voice mail. (Of course, nobody had left me any messages, so I had to call first and leave myself a message, just to make sure the system works. Which it does.)
At any rate, now I, too, can look like the typical Muscovite when I'm in town (that is, I can walk around with a phone glued to my ear).
Technically, I could use the same phone with a different SIM card and use the unit in the U.S., but AT&T is the only outfit I know of that offers GSM technology, and (a) they don't service Pagosa, and (b) they really don't offer a no-no-nonsense prepaid GSM service, preferring instead to nail customers with a monthly fee. It's just as well, as I have about 20 months left on my current contract with Verizon Wireless.
I guess the key question at this point is: how can I turn having a Moscow phone number into a marketing tool?
Cheers...
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Date: 2004-12-19 05:57 pm (UTC)Cheers...
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Date: 2004-12-19 09:18 pm (UTC)sorry for bitching, but... IMnsHO it _is_ better when whole continent uses one common standard - it makes life of people much easier and cheaper (if country-in-question has _real_ telecom competition).
Technically, however, it's a dead end (and what's worse, a government-enforced dead end, which is just about the worst kind). Economically, it's another monument to protectionism.
well... it is not that bad as you appear to think about - 3G _is_ coming, and it is based on WCDMA, so we will have even better thing soon.
on the other hand, I must admit that I am in the country of best cellular coverage and support, so my view is kind of biased ;)