A recent news story (first half of Jan) reported that Sprint and SBC were having trouble reaching an agreement on "roaylaites" for LD call transfers and pass thru's. Sprint uses SBC as their primary LD service and pays SBC for the service. Also, Sprint had boosted PCS sales in 2004 by offering "Free Long Distance Anywhere in the Sprint Network".
This is like the airlines free miles situation redo. The example is that up until two weeks ago I could dial my San Jose office (408 area code) from my Sprint PCS phone while in Austin or anywhere else. Now, when I try to dial, I get a message that the number has been disconnected. But wait! Thers's more! I CAN dail the number directly, no glitch-no problem, from my SBC hard line in my Austin office - it rings right through to the 408 area code number.
Although they won't admit it, Sprint has put a block on certain high call volume LD areas in and effort to A) stop the hemorraging of losses they are experiencing from all those "Free Long Distance Contracts", and B) SBC has cut them off in certain areas because Sprint will not agree to new contract terms.
This is very serious, folks. Sprint has placed the "number disconnected" message in the communication line, not SBC. The reason Sprint did this is pure FRAUD. Their customer service people can now have you on the line, dial the number your are complaining about from another line (either a PCS or "special message line" - who knows) and then say, "See, sir, the number is disconnected".
I went to my local Sprint store, told them about the problem, demonstrated it on my phone and then asked them to dial my San Jose office (408) from their hard line. They wouldn't do it. When I asked why not, they said they have to have Manager Approval to make a LD call from their hard lines in their facility. I put five $20's on the counter and said, "I'll cover it - let's do it." They got real nasty and said, "Nothing we can do, now please step aside so we can help the next customer."
This will most assuredly wind up in a class action. Big deal. Remember how long it took to prosecute AA for their "triple miles" scam? My message. BEWARE of signing new contracts with Sprint. Before you do, check all the numbers you frequently call. You might be surprised. Of course, if they pull certain trunks out of their "LD Service Area" later there's nothing you can do. I went with Sprint in the first place because of the "all inclusive, ease-of-use, one charge for everything" plan. Now I have a house full of whizzy expensive cell phones that only allow calls to certain areas...
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