Urdu Press Clipping

[Tee Emm]

This Urdu press clipping is saying that PTCL is putting up voice notification on certain ARPU customers.

The clip is claiming that calls would be charged if someone gets to receive such a notification when trying to reach a busy subscriber.

Such notifications are generally not accompanied by an ANM (on the SS7 messaging front) and hence the call is not considered as being completed (and hence not charged in the first place). Also, it is not a 'hard'/'physical' answering machine that the clip wants us to believe PTCL is putting up for us :)

-T

[Shakeel Ahmad]

I just ended up calling a landline at Lahore and dropped them a voice message as the caller was busy :) i still wonder how much of our population is aware of Voice Mail concept and specially when the lady tells you to drop a message in english :).

[Imtiaz]

hehe.....whats interesting is that the clip plays automatically quite often, and fact of the matter is, its not determined by ARPU.

 

On certain exchanges across the city, if the call target is busy, a recording plays "aap ka matlooba number filhaal masroof hai, barai meherbani kuch dair baad koshish keejiye, the number you have dialed is busy now, please give a retry" and its that weird accent in english that makes it so memorable.

 

 

---

From: telecom-gr...@googlegroups.com [mailto:telecom-gr...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Tee Emm
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 4:02 PM
To: telecom-gr...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Urdu Press Clipping

[ptcl_engr]

Actually its a new PTCL facility.It was meant tofacilitate people,but
has ended up doing otherwise.PTCL had sent a list of all phone numbers
whose monthly bill was upto certain amount, and they wanted to have
Call Forwarding activated for Busy and No reply on these numbers to
voice messge system.To retrieve these messages ,one has to dial
1276,and its charged as one local call.So when u dial a number and
that is busy or doesnt reply , you are being automatically forwarded
to message box.The calling number is charged for this, while call
forwarding to the message box is FREE.It means that called number wont
b charged anything.
Now here is what hapenend after we activated this call forwarding.
1) If some one's number was dead and gave busy tone when u dialled it,
the calling number was forwarded to messages box and was CHARGED.And u
never knew whetehr it was busy or dead. :)
2)If your number was busy normally, the same thing happened.
3) The voice message system was NOT functional. It had some technical
problems.People couldnt record their messages or retrive them.It was
just a dummy.

Regards

On Oct 25, 5:21 pm, "Imtiaz" <inspi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> hehe.....whats interesting is that the clip plays automatically quite often,
> and fact of the matter is, its not determined by ARPU.
>
> On certain exchanges across the city, if the call target is busy, a
> recording plays "aap ka matlooba number filhaal masroof hai, barai meherbani
> kuch dair baad koshish keejiye, the number you have dialed is busy now,
> please give a retry" and its that weird accent in english that makes it so
> memorable.
>
> _____
>

[Shakeel Ahmad]

I beg your pardon, but has PTCL supplied phone which notify that they have a message waiting for them ? How will and end user know he have a message .They really haven't - and regarding bill - from past 3 years, i think i have only received 2/3 bills only - I've been using my bank to pay my bills online in all this time. Its no doubt a good facility but the way its been activated is not correct.

[Tee Emm]

This 'facility', as it is now turning out from the details appearing, is more of an effort towards increasing the number of calls 'terminated'. The 'free' forwarding thing is also entertaining at best. And if the voice mail system was not 'functional' in the first place, the change actually amounts to network fraud of sorts  and I am now impressed by the reporting of Jang! :)

On 10/25/07, ptcl_engr <invisible....@gmail.com> wrote:

MSN:t...@hotmail.com
Active Cell #        http://tinyurl.com/2ob35t
Industry Blog: http://pakng.wordpress.com

[Shaheer Khan]

We're a victim of this voice-mail messaging facility. Whenever our
phoneline's busy, many people report that it gets redirected to some
voicemail system. Trouble is, we haven't signed up for it, and we
don't know how to retrieve our messages.

We've lodged a complaint with our PTCL exchange, and with 18. But in
vain.

@PTCL dude, why exactly is this on? I mean - there must be a reason?
Were we one of the few test-users, who, ironically, don't get to test
the facility? It's quite bothersome, actually. And - the other person
gets charged unnecessarily.

It may be worthwhile to mention here that while Mobilink and Ufone (as
far as I remember) charge the caller the moment the voicemail greeting
is played, Telenor doesn't (i.e. Telenor doesn't start charging for a
call unless and until the beep is heard, and I think this should be
the way so that callers don't get charged unnecessarily.)

On Oct 25, 6:36 pm, "Tee Emm" <tariq.must...@gmail.com> wrote:
> This 'facility', as it is now turning out from the details appearing, is
> more of an effort towards increasing the number of calls 'terminated'. The
> 'free' forwarding thing is also entertaining at best. And if the voice mail
> system was not 'functional' in the first place, the change actually amounts
> to network fraud of sorts and I am now impressed by the reporting of Jang!
> :)
>

> --
> Tariq Mustafa MSN:t...@hotmail.com

[Shaheer Khan]

By the way, can someone please translate the text into English? (Urdu
is my "official" mother tongue, but English is my unofficial.... long
story)

[ptcl_engr]

If you want to retrieve ur messages ,you have to dial 1277.You will be
charged 1 local call for that.There is no notification like the one
you get in mobile service thru sms.Its your duty to check it.(Means
more calls n more revenue.;) }
Your number was selected because you have been paying more than 1000Rs
per month.PTCL management wanted to "facilitate" its "valued"
customers.(But it has done otherwise.)
Its a long long story on how and why PTCL did all this.Actually some
ppl in H/Q wanted to show off their efficiency n vision to the
Arabs.Secondly,they wanted to give (and take) some benefit to the
company that actually manages these voice mail boxes.(You know what I
am saying ).
It also goes to show you how PTCL is run by the new "enlightened
moderated" management. PTCL has hired ppl in higher management who
have never been to a telephone exchange b4 in their lives.(except may
b for registering their complaints). There is a "consultant" in PTCL
who didnt know what exchange is.So my firend had to take him on a
ride to nearest F8 exchange and show him what that monster was. :)
May God help us all.

On Oct 25, 8:56 pm, Shaheer Khan <shaheer.a.k...@gmail.com> wrote:

> > Industry Blog:http://pakng.wordpress.com- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Shakeel Ahmad]

> There is no notification like the one
you get in mobile service thru sms.

 

I guess you are mistaken, even if you don't get message - 90% (atleast i am sure of Nokia) of the new cell phone comes with a feature which shows a small tape on top of screen if there's voice mail and if you keep pressing 1, it will automatically take you to your mailbox without dialing.

 

[ptcl_engr]

I dont think they actually meant to do network fraud.Its actually a
case of ill planning and incompetence on the part of "planners".They
activated a system with out testing it offline.
In the good old days, when ever PTCL wanted to start somehing new, a
team of technical experts would go to satellite town exchange and test
the new thing on real time system.Nowadays they just activate the
thing and tackle the problems as they occur.

> > > Industry Blog:http://pakng.wordpress.com- Hide quoted text -

[ptcl_engr]

That is a facility in the set.It has nothing to do with mobile
operator.Your messages are saved in memory of ur own set and not at
operators system.

On Oct 26, 4:26 pm, "Shakeel Ahmad" <shakeelah...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > There is no notification like the one
>
> you get in mobile service thru sms.
>
> I guess you are mistaken, even if you don't get message - 90% (atleast i am
> sure of Nokia) of the new cell phone comes with a feature which shows a
> small tape on top of screen if there's voice mail and if you keep pressing
> 1, it will automatically take you to your mailbox without dialing.
>

> > > > Industry Blog:http://pakng.wordpress.com-Hide quoted text -
>
> > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

[Shakeel Ahmad]

I am no expert on GSM protocols, but from IN perspective, GSM protocol identifier have provisions to send a voice mail notification to the handset that message is present in the voice mail. Thats when your handset shows that there's a message waiting for you.

 

And this notification is different from an SMS which says, you have a message. And you are referring to my original thought, why PTCL started this facility without providing telesets to customers whcih have notification support. (There are sets available for that).

 

Secondly, if we speak generaly, i am using voice mail on my lines from past 3 years (specifically for International callers) - 99% of people who call my numbers don't even understand the concept of voice mail and hangup before tone or just keep saying hello hello.

 

 

On 10/26/07, ptcl_engr <invisible....@gmail.com> wrote:

[ptcl_engr]

Yes GSM and WLL has this facility,but not in PSTN.For SMS and other
such facilities on PSTN u need to have those special sets available in
some customer service centers.In ufone u also recieve sms whenever u
have a new voice mail.
If u dont want this facility on ur phone u can deactivate it from ur
set too.
To deativate just dial this.*09# (To deactivate Call forwarding on
Busy),and *06# (To deactivate Call transfer on No Reply).
Remember, we have activated this on both Busy and No Reply conditions,
so you need to do both.

On Oct 26, 4:56 pm, "Shakeel Ahmad" <shakeelah...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I am no expert on GSM protocols, but from IN perspective, GSM protocol
> identifier have provisions to send a voice mail notification to the handset
> that message is present in the voice mail. Thats when your handset shows
> that there's a message waiting for you.
>
> And this notification is different from an SMS which says, you have a
> message. And you are referring to my original thought, why PTCL started this
> facility without providing telesets to customers whcih have notification
> support. (There are sets available for that).
>
> Secondly, if we speak generaly, i am using voice mail on my lines from past
> 3 years (specifically for International callers) - 99% of people who call my
> numbers don't even understand the concept of voice mail and hangup before
> tone or just keep saying hello hello.
>

> > > > > > Industry Blog:http://pakng.wordpress.com-Hidequoted text -

[Babar]

I wanted to thank "PTCL Engr" for providing the explanations and
responding to our questions. Appreciated!

> > > > > > > Industry Blog:http://pakng.wordpress.com-Hidequotedtext -

[Tee Emm]

Same here. Also, this 'deactivation thing' seems to be important enough to be posted out on the web.

-T

--
Tariq Mustafa         MSN:t...@hotmail.com

Industry Blog: http://pakng.wordpress.com

> > > > > Arabs.Secondly ,they wanted to give (and take) some benefit to the

[Shaheer Khan]

Thank you alot.

Now I have to disconnect (from the net) to try.

But thanks again. :)

> > > > > > > Industry Blog:http://pakng.wordpress.com-Hidequotedtext -

[Ashar]

On Friday 26 October 2007 20:05:12 ptcl_engr wrote:
> To deativate just dial this.*09#  (To deactivate Call forwarding on
> Busy),and  *06# (To deactivate Call transfer on No Reply).
> Remember, we have activated this on both Busy and No Reply conditions,
> so you need to do both.

What if I want Call forwarding on Busy/No Reply with no Voicemail?
--
Best Regards,

Ashar Iqbal, CISSP

[ptcl_engr]

Here is the complete procedure for all kinds of Call Transfers/
Forwarding.
1)call Forwading Unconditional/Immediate
To activate
*21*Telephone number#
To De-Activate
*21#
2)For Busy
To Activate:
*09*Telephone number#
To de activate
*09#
3) For No Reply
To Activate:
*06*Telephone number#
To Deactivate
*06#

The number to forward to voice mail box is 1276 and to retrieve your
messages it is 1277.One thing more.You can also activate call
forwarding on your number to Mobile/Land line numbers of other cities
as well.You will have to give area code+phone number in that case.e.g
0512250000.But to do this you need to call your local exchange first
and ask the switching staff to have this facility on your number.To
get the telephone number of switch room, dial 17 and ask them about
the switch room number of your area.

Regards

> application_pgp-signature_part
> 1KDownload

[Shaheer Khan]

So this means that we (victims of the voicemail) have call forwarding
enabled already?

[Faried Nawaz]

In the States, if you had voice mail, you'd find out because the dial
tone would stutter once or twice when you picked up the headset. That
worked with all land line phones. Who knows -- maybe the exchanges
here can be configured to act like that.

[Muhammed Nasrullah]

Same here,  Riaz is very candid with the truth and takes criticism very constructively. Bravo!

On 10/26/07, Babar < babar....@gmail.com> wrote:

> > > > > Arabs.Secondly ,they wanted to give (and take) some benefit to the