Calling Cards and Dialup Services

In theory, any number that can be dialed by a person listening to prompts can also be dialed with a modem. Consquently, if you're in a remote location and you would use a calling card to call a University office, you can also use that calling card to connect to the campus dialup services (both regular and Premier).

In practice, there are as many variations on how to do this as there are calling card providers. This means that getting your particular calling card to work will probably require experimentation.

Note: These pages can be complex. You may decide that you would like a simpler alternative. CITES provides 800-number dialup access, which would eliminate the need to calculate a calling card's dialing sequence.

Three of the most common ways to use a calling card with a modem are:

Option 1: The human makes the connection on a phone, then hangs up and lets the computer take over.

Using a line splitter or a dual-jack modem, dial to the calling card number with the modem, then pick up the handset on a phone and respond to the prompts yourself. Hang up the handset to return control to the modem.

(Some modems have two phone jacks; plug one into a phone and the other into the wall, much the way that an answering machine is set up. Some modems care which line connects to the phone and which to the wall; others do not. If your modem does not have two phone jacks, many hotel rooms have a data port provided in their walls or phones; otherwise you'll need a line splitter.)

Option 2: The modem makes the connection.

First, dial the number yourself, noting any prompts that require a response and the length of pauses between prompts. Then write a string of numbers and pauses that allows your modem to navigate this set of prompts automatically.

Option 3: The system's networking configuration has a preconfigured profile for calling cards.

On some operating systems, pre-configured calling card profiles are installed with the dialup networking system. If you use one of the cards available in the profile set, your connection can be simplified; if you don't use one of those cards, you can duplicate an existing profile and modify it to match the way you use your card.

Troubleshooting calling card connections

If you have difficulty getting these methods of connection to work for you, some calling card troubleshooting tips are available. In addition, general modem troubleshooting tips can help if the problem is not directly related to your calling card.