There are many ways to dodge a huge phone bill... |
1. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
2. Callback Services
3. Least Cost Routing (LCR)
4. Wireless Area Networks (WAN's)
5. Internet Connection Sharing instructions for XP (ICS) |
Just below are a few simple ways to save a bundle already.
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| Voice Calls |
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When speaking on the phone, speak clearly and concisely as to eliminate the other party asking for you to repeat what you said. Don't mumble.
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Before placing a call decide on what your response will be in case the person you have called is unavailable so that you don't waste time thinking of one while you're on the phone. |
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Reserve calls that can wait till after 7PM and advise others to do the same. |
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Limit all your calls to 5 minutes or less. Less time = lower phone bill = more money for you. |
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Instead of an extension phone which costs extra, have a longer cord installed on your phone or get a cordless phone. |
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When calling a Cellphone from a land line, let it ring for only 5 times and put down before Voicemail answers - it costs you R1.84 even if it's 1 second. Same principle applies to Landlines - you pay 56.3c and then 68c on top of that to leave a voicemail. |
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Call Telkom and ask them to place a limit on your account, so if you don't want to spend over say R700 a month, ask them to set it to that. |
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Subscribe to BlockCall, where you can bar certain numbers from being dialed without your permission. |
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When sending a fax use as little black print as possible as it takes the longest to send. If possible, rather e-mail documents and the recipient can print them. Scanning and converting to JPG will also use less online time. |
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When calling friends or family overseas, rather get them to call you - it's multiples cheaper. |
The first unit for local peak calls is 89 seconds and for off peak calls is 222.5 seconds. The first unit for national peak calls is 60 seconds and for off peak calls is 120 seconds. |
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| Internet Usage |
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If you dial in to the internet mainly at night/after work, subscribe to InfinitCall. The monthly subscription is around R50 and calls are limited to R8.50 and is valid for CallMore time only (7PM - 7AM Mondays to Fridays and weekends from Fridays 7PM to Mondays 7AM). One normal CallMore hour is more than R8.50 so staying online from 7PM to 7AM would effectively save R107 per night. |
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If you mainly send and receive e-mail - disconnect as soon as possible. If your mail program has the option to hang up after checking your e-mail, make sure it's enabled. |
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For internet, enable auto-disconnect - this will end an idle dial-up session after a set amount of time chosen by you - and at 38c/min the sooner the better. |
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View and/or print the Comparison Matrix graph and optimise your amount of dialing in. |
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Possibly share an internet connection with a neighbour in the area by means of a wireless connection. More info on that to follow.
(Please note, once again, that even in this day and age, a 'unlicenced' wireless connection in good old South Africa is deemed illegal. Not that that should stop you of course.) |
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VoIP, Callback, LCR, Wireless Networks and ICS |
| Utilising Voice over IP (VoIP) |
To have a conversation over the Internet with another PC user anywhere in the world, you would need to download Skype. Your calls are unlimited to anywhere on the planet - you only pay for your internet connection, so with InfinitCall you can call overseas for 12 hours every night for R8.50. There is a slight delay in transmission as with normal calls and sound quality is as good as if not better than a standard phone. A nice feature is also you can call while online surfing the internet or checking your mail. Works with 33.6k dialup, ISDN, ADSL and higher. There are 2 types: PC to PC (free) and PC to Phone (paid). PC to Phone offers a huge discount on calls abroad.
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| Making use of Callback services. |
A Callback service is a method whereby a call is initiated via SMS, phone, or internet. The system calls you back from overseas and you are then placed on that network. After that you can dial a number to anywhere and enjoy more affordable rates. Purchasing an account with a callback company is necessary whereby you put money into your account and are then able to use the service. The use of Callback services has been tried in court and is legal.
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| Employing Least-Cost Routing (LCR) |
Least-Cost Routing is a way to cut down on call costs particularly in a business environment where higher volumes of calls are made. Using this will improve the profitability of a business as it effectively leads to a substantial cost saving when your phone bill arrives, from 10% to up to 30%. A system which chooses the cheapest way of reaching the destination is implemented, effecting savings from the first call. The use of LCR has also been tried in court and is legal.
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| Setting up a Wide Area Network for Connection Sharing |
Info coming soon to a Hellkom page near you...
Please don't bother mailing me to say it's illegal - I don't care
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| Setting up Internet Connection Sharing in Windows |
Allowing a few computers to connect to one internet connection enables many small businesses or home offices to provide connectivity to all the computers. The computer connected to the internet will be the gateway, and all communication will pass through that PC. The rest of the PC's are known as Clients and each access the Internet with their own IP address which is cloaked by the gateway PC. Click on your operating system below for instructions.
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If you have anything which might suit this page, please send it in... anything which could lead to savings with voice calls and/or internet access. |
| Don't just leave SA because Telkom is ripping us off - there are numerous ways of cutting down on your communications costs - some legal, and some not entirely legal but which should have been made legal years ago. The information above is here as an educational resource, whether you use any of the methods described below is up to you although using the not-so-legal means is not encouraged by Hellkom in any way. So what I'm saying is that if you get into trouble it's not my fault ;) |
