2.5 time limit per call

[ZR]

During Covid-19 2.5 hours time limit per phone connection can lead to someone death. 

Waiting time for vaccination booking is  longer than 2.5 hours which is making booking impossible. I think it could also lead to legal action in the future. 

Please remove this 2.5 hours limit for safety and health of Public Mobile users.

[Nezgar]

Given that toll-free numbers generally incur per-minute costs for the operators, it surprises me that callback systems aren't more common... Cost savings for the operator, and the caller would appreciate not having to listen to hours of elevator music and/or promos.....

[Korth]

A variety of answers given here ...

https://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-time-limit-for-a-single-call

From what I can see, there is also a "hard limit" built into the network equipment itself. Most Cisco units, for example, seem to have internal/firmware settings for connection times which default at 3600 seconds (1 hour) but can be reconfigured by the operator.

Most US carriers impose 3 hour maximum call time before auto-termination. Canadian carriers can apparently do whatever they like (no regulation about this detail) but they probably maintain rough equivalence with American counterparts for best-fit intercompatibility.

[darlicious]

@Nezgar 

As per my earlier"message not found" reply.....

This issue was brought up last spring when customers were being cut off trying to get thru to the COVID-19 hotline and it had the same result. It's doubtful that anything will change in this regard.

[computergeek541]

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@Nezgar wrote:

 My response from the moderators:

"I'm afraid that the fail safe cannot be removed since it's implemented to protect customers from accidental usage."

Funny Telus Mobility and other postpaid carriers don't "protect customers from accidental usage" ... seems to me more like its to protect the network from excessive usage...

Anyhow, ticket was closed with these comments: "I really understand your situation and I will communicate your concern but for the moment this is our only option."

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The accidental usage part is possible, but accidental usage has a minimal effect to customers at a carrier that doesn't have pay-per-use charges.  This is mainly about network resources.

[Nezgar]

 My response from the moderators:

"I'm afraid that the fail safe cannot be removed since it's implemented to protect customers from accidental usage."

Funny Telus Mobility and other postpaid carriers don't "protect customers from accidental usage" ... seems to me more like its to protect the network from excessive usage...

Anyhow, ticket was closed with these comments: "I really understand your situation and I will communicate your concern but for the moment this is our only option."

[gpixel]

I highly doubt Telus will let their welfare brand be prioritized over Telus/bell/koodo/virgin

[Nezgar]

It sounds to me like the vaccination appointment hold time would be a good reason to start a campaign for everyone reading this to open a ticket with moderators using this example to bring it to their attention. The more people that do this, the more likely they will actually do something about it / escilate. I think I'm going to do it right now.

Edit: ticket opened. Call to friends/family? Whatever - redial... dropped medical related calls? Thats worth making a stink about.

[darlicious]

@hTideGnow @hTideGnow 

My sister's initial reaction was that she got cut off on her end.....with koodo. So who knows? She initiated the call if that makes a difference?

Just made breakfast.....check it out in What's for dinner?

[hTideGnow]

Thanks @darlicious . 

For me, It will be more an issue as I am  now working from home.  On Thursday, i just got cut off from a long meeting call after exactly 4 hours, but not PM, it was on Freephoneline.

 I understand with government  call  or some important one, it might be an issue.   But I think 2.5 is not a bad limit.  The other day, i got cut off from my Bank after exactly 2 hours.  Yes, it was the bank not my phone line, because there was a message from the bank asking me to call back right at 2 hours mark.  So, my point is, some company will cut you off with their hard time limit anyway.

[Spudster]

Okay @darlicious ,  that looks delicious.  

I wouldn't worry about having wasted your time posting on this thread.

It looks like the 'solution' that was accepted was to move providers (absolutely no offense to you, @gpixel ) - yes, a feasible option.

 Wonder if any of us knows for certain whether Telus or Koodo have similar talk time cut-offs?  I know someone on Koodo who could try it - if they could find someone willing to talk for over two and a half hours.

LOL

[darlicious]

@hTideGnow 

Sigh....I had answered every question related to this issue but alas it was not to be.....I need to learn to reply to the original post and not the last one!

I got cut off just the other day during a long phone call with my sister in Portugal. Bang on 2.5 hours. I have also had it happen at the 60 and 90 min mark but that is uncommon. 150 minutes is pretty much a guarantee. I multi-tasked during the phone call and made spanakopita.

[hTideGnow]

real?  there is such a limit for us? 

I never talked that long, but would like to confirm still..

[gpixel · Accepted solution]

@ZR I suggest moving to either Koodo or virgin. this is one of the downsides to a cheap provider. remember cheaper is never better... compromises need to be made. don't take a chance, switch providers

Koodo and Virgin have revamped their prepaid to mimic public mobiles plans. they are basically $5-7 more dollars than public. Koodo prepaid is still 30 days while virgin is monthly. I think virgin has overages though not too sure ...

[darlicious]

Well I had some advice but got that dang "message not found" which deletes your post so now I cant't be bothered. Forget it. It won't change....get fongo if you have a smartphone.

[HALIMACS]

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@ZR wrote:

Thank you for your advice. 

I know some of my friends don't have landline. They use Public Mobile as a main and only one phone line. Those people are on tide budget. Some of them are in their golden ages and to use other applications is not easy for them. They use "seniors" type phones. 

So my concern is about safety of those people.

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Funny you say that, @ZR 

We recently switched providers for other home services and debated removing landline services altogether.   In hindsight, I'm glad we didn't given the various results some seem to be getting from Public Mobile.

I FULLY AGREE with you re our elderly folks.   The good thing about it is dialing 911 doesn't require active service, or even a SIM in a mobile phone, so there's always that.

[ZR]

Thank you for your advice. 

I know some of my friends don't have landline. They use Public Mobile as a main and only one phone line. Those people are on tide budget. Some of them are in their golden ages and to use other applications is not easy for them. They use "seniors" type phones. 

So my concern is about safety of those people.

[esjliv]

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@ZR wrote:

During Covid-19 2.5 hours time limit per phone connection can lead to someone death. 

Waiting time for vaccination booking is  longer than 2.5 hours which is making booking impossible. I think it could also lead to legal action in the future. 

Please remove this 2.5 hours limit for safety and health of Public Mobile users.

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@ZR While I can see this time limit not affecting a lot of customers, I can see how it could affect others.

Perhaps you can add this to this Wishlist thread:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Community/The-Community-s-Public-Mobile-Wishlist/m-p/...

Not sure if Public Mobile representatives refer to it at all, but it is never a bad thing to express feedback.

We are all Public Mobile customers here on the Community Forum. If you ever need to contact Public Mobile employees/representatives, here is how:

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-help/articles/contact-a-moderator

[HALIMACS]

@ZR  @Spudster 

Here's an interesting prior thread on this very topic.   It appears call-time is very much YMMV based on various users:

PM voice calls cut off time - Community (publicmobile.ca)

[Spudster]

@ZR 

Bring this to the attention of Public Mobile moderators, expressing that you must have extended calling times for services such as Covid-19 vaccinations and government departments, such as CRA.

Here's how to contact them:

To contact a moderator, there are 2 methods:

1. Use the ticketing system for a faster response time. Click here and type moderator assistance, then select account-related issue, then select you need a human now.  Follow the prompts to submit a ticket,  or, 
2. Send a private message to the moderator by clicking here  You’ll need to be logged into your Community account for the link to work.

Watch for their response in your Community private mailbox which will be indicated by a number on the small envelope icon to the left of your Community avatar.

[HALIMACS]

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@ZR wrote:

During Covid-19 2.5 hours time limit per phone connection can lead to someone death. 

Waiting time for vaccination booking is  longer than 2.5 hours which is making booking impossible. I think it could also lead to legal action in the future. 

Please remove this 2.5 hours limit for safety and health of Public Mobile users.

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@ZR 

Good point!!!

I would probably recommend anytime you need to call a normally  S L O W   government department in answering, that you NOT RELY on calling from a Public Mobile number.

Some recommend a landline, some recommend a calling app like Fongo or Whatsapp.

[ZR]

• During Covid-19 2.5 hours time limit per phone connection can lead to someone death. 

Waiting time for vaccination booking is  longer than 2.5 hours which makes booking impossible. I think it could also lead to legal action in the future. 

Please remove this 2.5 hours limit for safety and health of Public Mobile users.