If you have been using those popular “free” conference calling services (FreeConferenceCalls and FuturePhone) that route calls to the 712 area code, you may already be finding out that calls to those access numbers are no longer being connected. This is because Cingular/ATT is on to your plan. You will no longer be able to dial into these access numbers and have free access to conference calls with people nationwide.
Mark Seigel, Cingular spokesperson, explains Cingular’s position in this whole situation. “We have to pay terminating access for every minute the person is on the line,” says Seigel, “typically these companies run them through local exchange companies that charge high access rates, so we end up paying high access charges.” So it seems that Cingular doesn’t like getting reamed on ridiculously high rates that are based on nothing. Welcome to the club Cingular! Now you see why people are always complaining about the high cost of wireless service? Karma sucks doesn’t it?