Call Waiting and Modem FAQ

Special Report:

Call Waiting and Modem FAQ sharing one phone line with a modem, dealing with busy signals

Here are the alternatives I have found so far to deal with call waiting and a modem - please write me with any other options that can be added to the list.

Please confirm with any companies before purchasing - this info may change or may possibly not be 100% accurate. Most of this list may only be used in the US and Canada.

Last updated early October.

(Telco = Local Telephone Company = LEC)

Call waiting vs. modems

Generally, if you take a (call waiting) call in the middle of an on-line session, when you dial back in later, you'd be able to continue from where you left off- IF you were using something like your web-browser or reading mail or Usenet newsgroups from software running on your local computer. If you were downloading a file using FTP, you'd be able to continue from where you left off only if you have FTP software which supports it and the host side also supports it.

Of course, if you were in a telnet session or dialing into a shell account or BBS, you'd have to start over again. You could also continue FTP or other web browser downloads if you use the below mentioned MidPoint Teamer software (about $50) <http://www.midcore.com/team.htm> or other similar software such as GetRight ($17.50): <http://www.headlightsw.com/get.html> or Go!Zilla (Freeware with ads - $20 w/o) <http://www.gizmo.net/gozilla/download.html>.

Take a look at Tucows, in the download manager section:

http://www.tucows.com

A) Dialing *70, or #70, (WITH the comma in your modem settings) before each call, in most US areas, disables call waiting per call on touchtone phones. Use 1170, for pulse dial phones. Windows 95/98 has a setting in Dialing Properties to allow you to do this.

B) Lower the modem's S10 register without disabling call waiting to get SOME modems to HANG UP at least SOME of the time (can't really be relied upon).

C) Pagoo http://www.pagoo.com The caller calls an 800# (US/Canada) to then leave a message. The Internet user will then get a message on their computer. The Internet user can listen to the voicemail that was left.

Pagoo has changed their pricing: There is a 14 day free trial. After that, Pagoo is $3.33 per month, paid yearly ($39.95)

D) If you live in Canada, Bell Canada <http://www.bell.ca/icd> has Internet Call Display for $5 a month which will tell you who is calling (Caller ID) while you are online - and then you can decide what to do - hang up or stay on.

E) Other phone services which may be of some help (call your local Telco - these services have different names and prices in different areas)

i) Voice Mail - Acts as an answering machine, even when you are online. You will not know that someone is trying to reach you until you get off line.

ii) Call forwarding on busy/Call Hunting similar services that automatically will ring your second phone line. That is, if you have a second phone line. In NYC at least, call hunting only has an approximate $42 one time charge - no monthly charges. Call hunting will only allow you to 'link' two phone lines under the same name. Call forwarding will allow you to call any phone number, including a cell phone.

iii) Call Waiting Caller ID - Tells you who is calling when you get call-waiting. May be useful with some of the below options to decide whether to go offline or not.

F) Internet Call Manager (ICM) US/Canada - not all features available at all locations

http://www.internetcallmanager.com

ICM has different plans for different prices. All forms of ICM will tell you who is calling on your computer screen (Caller ID). There is also a free Trial available.

ICM Classic, the caller gets a message to call back or you'll call back.

ICM Plus, you can immediately take the call or even have the call forwarded to another phone line. $30 for 6 months

ICM Deluxe includes full voice mail capabilities. (Toronto area only) $6.49 per month or $32.94 for 6 months

ICM Direct (meant for locations where ICM Classic/Plus aren't yet available) similar to Pagoo, people call a toll free number to reach you. $5 a month or $25 for 6 months.

There may also be an additional charge from your local phone company for Classic/Plus service (for Call Forward Busy service which ICM uses).

G) CALL WAITING BOXES - These boxes allow you to use your modem without disabling call waiting. The box will beep when you receive call waiting. You can then take the call or ignore it. You won't get any caller ID though,unless you also have Busy Caller ID service from your local Telco. These boxes differ in how you answer the call after you hear the beep/see the LED. At first, none of these devices will be available in stores. At least two out of the three companies have money back guarantees - give them a call to check. Also check about any applicable shipping or tax fees. All three companies claim that it does not hurt modem speed and it doesn't disrupt the hold button of phones.

i) Call Waiting Switch (CWS/CWS-2) $79/$99 From Computer Peripheral Systems -

Recently improved. Responding to customer's requests, both models of the CWS now have an Auto/Manual toggle switch - for the same prices as before. In automatic mode, the switch beeps, automatically hangs-up your modem and then the phones in your house ring. In manual mode, the switch acts as it always does - described below.

There are two versions of this box. The $99 "Flash-Hook" version, allows you to just pick up the phone connected to the box, if you want to take the call (and disconnect the modem). If you'd like, you could press the button located on the box to do the same (if let's say you wanted an answering machine or fax to pick up).

The $79 version only has the button, to answer the phone. Besides the standard Call Waiting and power LEDs, it also has an LED to tell you if the phone line is in use (great if you have an internal modem and aren't sure if you are actually still on-line- or if you want to know if someone is on-line before you start dialing). I own this box and am very pleased with it (and don't work for the company).

http://www.cpscom.com/uprod/cws.htm

ii) Hot Call $134.95 (note the price went up) From Command Communications.

With this device, you pick up the phone connected to the box when it beeps and the modem automatically disconnects. No other disconnect options are available.

http://www.command-comm.com/hc2000.html

An article:

http://cnn.com/TECH/computing/9809/18/onhold.idg/index.html

iii)Call Waiting Detector $49.95

This unit is aimed at the budget minded consumer. With this device you manually disconnect from your ISP and then pick up your phone when it rings. The box should be turned off while you are on the phone since it can think that your voice is a call waiting tone. The company is eager to improve their unit by balancing customer's requests and the price point the budget minded customer is looking for.

http://www.mbay.net/~rsb

G) Boca Research has a 56K TidalWave modem ($108.95 direct - less in stores) which should automatically hang up your modem connection when it receives call waiting. You must decide whether or not you want to be thrown off by call waiting before the phone call. The modem will continue downloads after you get off the phone and restart the connection. This is done with the included MidPoint Teamer software. This software also allows you to bond two modems together. You can download and use this software with any modem. It is available from:

http://www.midcore.com/team.htm

I don't know anything else about the modem other than it uses a Rockwell chipset.

http://www.bocaresearch.com/docs/tidalwav.htm

Final thoughts

I have removed the editorial comments as the reactions of one or two people may have misrepresented some products. Also, the reactions were second hand. You can email me for more of my reaction to the CPS box which I own and use - first hand.

In general, make sure that you can return whatever you purchase in case it doesn't work properly in your situation.

You may find some reactions, or ask for reactions, in Usenet newsgroups such as comp.dcom.modems - which can be found in <http://www.dejanews.com>. Of course these reactions may not accurately represent a consensus or the results which you may have in your situation. All systems may very well improve over time, so an early problem may have been fixed by the time you purchase the product.

The only review of any of these things has been Hot Call at the above address. CPS' switch was reviewed in a British magazine, CTI, but it isn't available on the web <http://www.cti-mag.com> . If anyone has seen any others, please tell me. Of course, once we all eventually go to these new technologies, none of this will be necessary.

- by Daniel Rosenzweig