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Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is the service
available in Goodwood or Coppins
Corners?
2. What happens if
there's a power outage?
3. Can I keep my
existing number?
4. Do I have to sign a
contract?
5. Does 911 work
properly?
6. Will I be in the
phone book?
7. Do I need to contact
my current provider to cancel
service?
8. Is this another one
of those "VOIP" phone services?
9. Is there an
installation fee or rental fee for
the phone modem?
10. Can I subscribe to
an alternate long distance provider?
11. Can I call 900 or
976 numbers?
12. I'm currently
paying $5 extra for my Internet as a
non-cable subscriber. If I
sign up for phone, do I still have
to pay that charge?
13. I live in an
apartment, can I get the service?
14. Can I get an out
of market number?
15. What is my local
calling area?
16. How are long
distance charges calculated?
17. Will all my long
distance calls show up on my paper
bill?
18. Does your service
use Bell's outside wiring?
19. Can I keep my DSL
line if I switch to your phone
service?
20. Can I use your
service with medic alert services?
21. If I cancel the
phone service, what happens to the
equipment you provided?
22. Will I still
receive a bill or any charges from
Bell?
23. Can I receive
collect calls?
1. Is the service
available in Goodwood or Coppins
Corners?
Service is now available in Coppins
Corners.
Unfortunately, Goodwood is not
available just yet. Compton
Home Phone is only currently available in areas that
are serviced by our cable plant and
normally have a 982, 985, 852, 862
or 649
phone number. We are planning
to expand our service to cover Goodwood in the
near future.
2. What happens if
there's a power outage?
Our network has battery backup as do
the telephony cable modems we
install. You can expect your
service to work for at least 6 hours
in the event of an extended power
outage.
3. Can I keep my
existing number?
Yes, as long as it's a Port Perry,
Uxbridge or Coppins Corners number.
4. Do I have to sign
a contract?
No, though we do ask you to sign our
Terms and Conditions, which our
installer will bring out to your
home the day of installation.
You'll need to sign this to agree to
transfer your number from Bell to us
(if applicable) and to agree to a
credit check, if we determine one is
necessary. If you decline a
credit check, a deposit might be
required.
5. Does 911 work
properly?
Yes. Your address will appear
in the 911 database and appear to
the 911 operator when you call.
911 works exactly the same way as if
you had a Bell line.
6. Will I be in the
phone book?
Yes, unless you specifically
ask us for an unlisted number ($2
monthly charge).
7. Do I need to
contact my current provider to
cancel service?
If you're transferring a number from
Bell, then we'll make all the
arrangements. If you subscribe
to a long distance plan from a
third-party carrier, you may need to
contact them to cancel your plan.
8. Is this another
one of those "VOIP" phone services?
Not at all. While it does run
over our internal network, the
bandwidth used by the phone service
is separate from your Internet
bandwidth and is guaranteed quality
of service until it hits the public
telephone network. You won't
have those annoying problems you're
subject to with many VOIP services.
9. Is there an installation fee or
rental fee for the phone modem?
The installation fee is $29.95, but
is currently waived, so you'll pay
nothing for phone installation.
Installation fees may apply for
other services installed at the same
time. There is no rental fee
for the phone modem.
10. Can I subscribe to an alternate long
distance provider?
That depends. You can use an
alternate long distance provider in
a situation where you use a
"call-around" number - that is, you
call a local number first, then call
the long distance number.
However, you cannot use a service
such as Primus or the enhanced
version of Distributel where there
is no number to call first.
11. Can I call 900 or 976 numbers?
No, due to the issues around abuse
of these services, all 900 and 976
calls are blocked. We
recognize that there are many
legitimate uses for these numbers,
but if you need to use those
numbers, then Compton Home Phone is
not for you.
12. I'm currently paying $5 extra for my
Internet as a non-cable subscriber.
If I sign up for phone, do I still
have to pay that charge?
That charge will be removed if
you sign up for phone service - so
you're saving an additional $5!
Sign up for TV service and you'll
save even more - check out our
buyback offers.
13. I live in an apartment, can I get the
service?
At this time, only selected
apartment or multi-dwelling unit (MDU)
buildings can receive the service.
This will expand over time as
upgrades are performed. If
your building is on the following
list, then you can receive
service: Uxbridge: 1
Testa Rd, 2 Testa Rd, 22 James Hill
Crt, 220 Main St N, 57 Enzo Cres, 3
Norm Goodspeed Dr, 10 First Ave, 40
Maple St, 264 Main St N, 170 Reach
St, 41 Ash St
Port Perry: 385 Rosa St, 293 Perry
St, 169 North St, 171 Shanly St, 327
Kellett St
14. Can I get an out of
market number?
At this time, no.
15. What is my local
calling area?
The same as it is with Bell.
Detail is below:
Uxbridge: Claremont, Markham, Mount
Albert, Port Perry, Stouffville,
Toronto, Udora
Port Perry: Blackstock, Brooklin,
Oshawa, Uxbridge, Whitby
Coppins Corners: Ajax-Pickering,
Bethesda, Claremont, Gormley,
Markham, Stouffville, Toronto,
Uxbridge
16. How are long
distance charges calculated?
Charges are calculated by rounding
to the nearest 30 second interval,
with a minimum of a 30s charge for a
call. At six cents per minute,
here are examples of what you would
be charged:
17. Will all my long distance calls
show up on my paper bill?
No. If you want to see
detail of your calls, you can use
our online customer management
interface that you can find at
http://cableanytime.net/Compton/.
Detailed information will become
available monthly with each billing
cycle.
18. Does your
service use Bell's outside wiring?
No, Compton Home Phone uses our
hybrid fibre-coaxial cable network to your house,
and does not use Bell's outside
wiring in any way.
19. Can I keep my
DSL line if I switch to your phone
service?
No. Bell has informed us that
they are unable to keep DSL active
on your current phone number
if you switch to our phone service.
You can arrange a "dry loop" with
Bell to keep DSL service. That being said, we think our
service is better than theirs in a
lot of ways, so give us a shot, you
won't be disappointed.
20. Can I use your
service with medic alert services?
We do not recommend use of our
phone lines with this service due to
issues with initiating two-way
conversation between the user and
the monitoring station.
21. If I cancel the
phone service, what happens to the
equipment you provided?
Customers are responsible for
ensuring that the Arris MTA is
returned to Compton's office in the
event of telephone service
cancellation. If Internet
service is continuing, we will
provide a replacement cable modem at
the time the Arris MTA is returned.
A charge may be applied to the
customer's account if the Arris MTA
is not returned.
22. Will I still
receive a bill or any charges from
Bell?
If you no longer have your phone
service with Bell, you will not
receive any charges or bills from
them after any final bill they issue
following the changeover to Compton.
23. Can I receive
collect calls?
Yes, but please be aware that these
calls will be billed at the full
rates charged by Bell Canada, which
can approach 40 cents per minute
depending on the time of day.
Collect calls from out of country
can be obscenely expensive - be
prepared to pay upwards of $7 per
minute for certain calls. We
strongly recommend you look at
purchasing a calling card before
going abroad. |
