Free calling into these 'CITIES' but ...
Posted: 06/16/2012
It has been an ongoing issue for some time. Fongo_Steve had an answer, but I am still confused by it (and people telling me "because I said so" just doesn't satisfy me - sorry Steve, no personal offense meant - I just like KNOWING!).
The issue, in short: For 'CITIES' in which Fongo does not offer DIDs (available phone numbers), the FREE area seems to include only the 'CITY' itself, and not the surrounding areas, which in traditional wireline (POTS -- aka Bell, Telus, Aliant ... landline service) would be part of the local calling area (LCA from here on out).
The term 'CITY' is used, although more correctly we should be referring to RATECENTRES -- as that is what telco's base things on, where the wires are, where the switches are, not where the municipal boundaries are -- and this sometimes leads to some confusion.
'CITIES' or ratecentres in which Fongo offers DID's are POPS (points of presence) ... other 'CITIES' are places where Fongo has some kind of telecom interconnect agreement with another carrier to provide termination/service into these areas. And from what Steve told us earlier, this is one of the reasons that the actual calling coverage is LIMITED rather than being the traditional LCA.
Most of my information comes from either firsthand knowledge, or also from local calling guide (www.localcallingguide.com) or CNAC (www.cnac.ca) or a combo of that and more.
The confusion around this comes that if either Fongo or one of the interconnect carriers is offering service into the PRIMARY ratecentre ('CITY') then any calls to that ratecentre's ('CITY's') LCA should also be free, by the very definition of what an LCA is ...
Two prime examples of 'CITIES' that have issues are Winnipeg and Halifax ... others that have popped up recently are Victoria, BC and St Johns, NL
In each of the following posts, I shall examine one ratecentre (city) in detail and note the differences.
Maybe someone from Fongo (hi Neil!) will finally take some initiative or explain the inconsistencies in depth so we can understand!
The issue, in short: For 'CITIES' in which Fongo does not offer DIDs (available phone numbers), the FREE area seems to include only the 'CITY' itself, and not the surrounding areas, which in traditional wireline (POTS -- aka Bell, Telus, Aliant ... landline service) would be part of the local calling area (LCA from here on out).
The term 'CITY' is used, although more correctly we should be referring to RATECENTRES -- as that is what telco's base things on, where the wires are, where the switches are, not where the municipal boundaries are -- and this sometimes leads to some confusion.
'CITIES' or ratecentres in which Fongo offers DID's are POPS (points of presence) ... other 'CITIES' are places where Fongo has some kind of telecom interconnect agreement with another carrier to provide termination/service into these areas. And from what Steve told us earlier, this is one of the reasons that the actual calling coverage is LIMITED rather than being the traditional LCA.
Most of my information comes from either firsthand knowledge, or also from local calling guide (www.localcallingguide.com) or CNAC (www.cnac.ca) or a combo of that and more.
The confusion around this comes that if either Fongo or one of the interconnect carriers is offering service into the PRIMARY ratecentre ('CITY') then any calls to that ratecentre's ('CITY's') LCA should also be free, by the very definition of what an LCA is ...
Two prime examples of 'CITIES' that have issues are Winnipeg and Halifax ... others that have popped up recently are Victoria, BC and St Johns, NL
In each of the following posts, I shall examine one ratecentre (city) in detail and note the differences.
Maybe someone from Fongo (hi Neil!) will finally take some initiative or explain the inconsistencies in depth so we can understand!