GemaTech Technology Blog » last mile http://www.gematech.com/blog Changing the way we work Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:41:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 Phone scam: be aware of the latest scam to get your money http://www.gematech.com/blog/2009/09/21/phone-scam-be-aware-of-the-latest-scam-to-get-your-money/ http://www.gematech.com/blog/2009/09/21/phone-scam-be-aware-of-the-latest-scam-to-get-your-money/#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:57:20 +0000 Karen Jones http://www.gematech.com/blog/?p=262 A new phone scam is making the rounds. This time someone may call you up claiming that they are from BT and that your account is an arrears. If they are unsuccesful in getting your account details out of you to make any ‘alledged’ due payments, they threaten to cut off your line. If you don’t believe them they have a neat little trick up their sleeve.

In order to convince you that they can cut you off, they ask you to put the phone down and then to check the line. The customer puts the phone down and then picks up again…there is no ring tone and it appears as though the line has been cut off. The caller then calls back saying that they have retsored the line but that this should convince you to pay up. How is this done? Well, when you put the phone down the caller does not, they simply press the mute button, keeping the call open and silent thus giving the impression that the line is dead when in fact it isn’t.

The only way your line can be cut is if a true BT engineer does so, or you are affected by any of the many ways in which the ‘last mile’ circuit between the local BT exchange and your premises is severed. This could include scenarios such as:

1. Road works cut through the cable by accident
2. Someone has been able to vandalise the green BT cabinet which serves your premises
3. Cable thieves have ripped up the copper cable between the local exchange and your premises (an increasingly UK-wide problem)

My advice is stay vigilant and if you don’t think you owe BT any money then you probably don’t!

]]> http://www.gematech.com/blog/2009/09/21/phone-scam-be-aware-of-the-latest-scam-to-get-your-money/feed/ 0 How long will it take to re-connect your telephones in an emergency? http://www.gematech.com/blog/2009/07/09/how-long-will-it-take-to-re-connect-your-telephones-in-an-emergency/ http://www.gematech.com/blog/2009/07/09/how-long-will-it-take-to-re-connect-your-telephones-in-an-emergency/#comments Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:43:14 +0000 Karen Jones http://www.gematech.com/blog/?p=102 Few people realise that the most vulnerable cables within their telephone circuits are those situated between the local serving exchange and their offices. Known as ‘the last mile’ these cables are often situated only 15cm beneath the road and are at genuine risk from road works and facility maintenance. In addition many telephone switches are situated within the basement of office buildings, quite literally sitting beneath main water pipes serving the offices.

In contrast BT is required to ensure that its exchanges provide a resilience of 9.9999% so that in the case of floods, fires or any other emergency event, phone calls still can be served from the exchange. Unfortunately many companies do not have a sufficient business continuity plan to accomodate for these strengths and weaknesses within their telecoms circuits.

An innovative new solution to serve such customers is being launched into the market. The Portable Recovery Unit from GemaTech is a subscription based service, whereby for a small annual fee and a cost per use if it is activated, should the worst happen and the cable between the exchange and office buidling is cut, or the pipes above the switch burst, the PRU can be installed within the exchange within 4 hours to re-route incoming calls to alternative mobile phones and landline phones. What I like about this product is that it is so simple and effective that any type of business can benefit from it. The initial investment is low and if the worst happens, you have a rapid response to recovering your customer’s incoming calls without relying on your last mile circuit provider, who could take considerably longer to restore your normal service.

Author: Karen Jones

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