DSL in Kazakhstan..?

[DizzyD]

Hi..

the lady that i have been corresponding with, lives in Kazakhstan, and not one of the major cities... and recently acquired a high speed internet connection, or at least has told me that she did? however I came across this report about DSL costs in Kazakhstan...
 
http://www.tech2.com/india/news/internet/kazakhstan-dsl-net-costs-$3355-per-month/10842/0

and i don't quite know what to make of it. I'm thinking that it can't be quite as extreme as this... she has a very good job.... but costs like those mentioned, are to much for any individual to afford... maybe the report is BS.. i don't know... but if it's not then something doesn't add up..

we have been chatting quite a bit lately on MSN, (for about 1.5 hours this morning as a matter of fact) but the whole "cost" thing has me wondering...

Any thoughts on this, from some of you with more knowledge on her area? 

DD

[Kuna]

Maybe some other members have specific info for you but if you've got any doubts at this stage I think you should listen to what you're telling yourself.

Have you spoken on the phone?

Do you have a phone number?

How about an address?  Have you confirmed the address?

[DizzyD]

Hi Kuna..

yes we have spoken on the phone.. although not in our most recent round of communication... I have called her and she has called me,,, she speaks some english but not all that well,,, and yes i have her home address and cell number and i know who her employer is..

I don't really know how to verify any of this info, but i have done extensive searching on the internet for anything which would indicate that she is not legitimate, and i have found nothing...

we have exchanged many pictures,, and i can verify that the photo's she sends have been taken at the times she says they were. ( i do computer work for a living ) and they all seem quite normal... not provocative in any way...

As i mentioned in my intro thread she seems to be a genuine person, and at times a little shy... definitely not the "come on strong" type..

yeah if any other members have any thoughts I'd like to hear them

DD

[Kuna]

Dizzy,

I hate it when people become paranoid about scammers so I am not trying to pique your suspicions too much...

If you want to confirm an address send some flowers... If they can't be delivered you'll know something is up.

If you want to confirm the person in the photos is her, send flowers and get a photo taken at the same time (which sme thing is too intrusive)... or encourage her to buy a web cam to go with that DSL connection.

I would say a lady calling you before meeting is unusual at least.  My Girl has a very good job... earns good money compared to her peers... but I think there would be NO CHANCE she would have called me before meeting. 

Again...  I am opposed to those that create paranoia but you should be aware the risks are high and not al scammers are obvious.  Take it step by step and never send money... that way you can't be scammed (at least not prior to meeting).

Good luck.

Kuna

(By the way... I have a feeling BillY's fiance is from Kazakhstan... maybe I'm dreaming...  it might be worth sending him a PM to ask his opinion.)

[DizzyD]

I have been thinking of sending her some flowers, but not to determine if the address is legit, more just as pleasant gesture. and no i wouldn't ask for a picture to be taken, i think that would be interpreted to be a suspicious move on my behalf...

I'm not paranoid about scammers, i'm just trying to take a common sense approach to this...

can you tell me BillY's member name,, there seem to be 2 or 3 that you could be referring to

DD

[Misha]

Hi..

the lady that i have been corresponding with, lives in Kazakhstan, and not one of the major cities... and recently acquired a high speed internet connection, or at least has told me that she did? however I came across this report about DSL costs in Kazakhstan...
 
http://www.tech2.com/india/news/internet/kazakhstan-dsl-net-costs-$3355-per-month/10842/0

and i don't quite know what to make of it. I'm thinking that it can't be quite as extreme as this... she has a very good job.... but costs like those mentioned, are to much for any individual to afford... maybe the report is BS.. i don't know... but if it's not then something doesn't add up..

we have been chatting quite a bit lately on MSN, (for about 1.5 hours this morning as a matter of fact) but the whole "cost" thing has me wondering...

Any thoughts on this, from some of you with more knowledge on her area? 

DD

I don't know about Kazakhastan, but I will relate my experience with another monopoly in Russia that offers DSL.

A few things: did the woman you are writing with get DSL at home or at work? Very often women will use their internet access at work to chat online, to surf the web, etc... simply because it is too expensive to do it from home.

Also, the article does not mention any other DSL options. 1.5 mbps would be quite fast by DSL standards in Russia for example. The DSL provider that I looked into while I was in Russia would offer a more "reasonably" priced DSL that would have a speed of 258 kbs. This service would cost at $50-100 per month. The amount of traffic you were allowed was ridiculously small: 200 or 300 megs and you would be charged ridiculous rates for any traffic that exceeded your monthly limit.

The rates that are being cited in the article you found are clearly destined for businesses and not for normal folk wanting DSL at home. Kazakhstan may have something cheaper for individuals, but it will nonetheless be horribly expensive by our standards.

[DizzyD]

A few things: did the woman you are writing with get DSL at home or at work? Very often women will use their internet access at work to chat online, to surf the web, etc... simply because it is too expensive to do it from home.

she has DSL both at work and at home and i have chatted with her on both connections...

DD

[wxman]

Have you done an ip trace on her email to see if she really lives in Kazakhstan? That is easy to do just take it from the header and plug it into
http://www.ipligence.com/geolocation/?lang=en&search#

[DizzyD]

Have you done an ip trace on her email to see if she really lives in Kazakhstan? That is easy to do just take it from the header and plug it into
http://www.ipligence.com/geolocation/?lang=en&search#

Yeah i've done all the obvious things, and like i said everything so far checks out,,, it was just this DSL question that confused me,

DD

[Shadow]

First of all, while prices are relatively high, the amounts mentioned here are off-scale. My fiancee paid in Moscow $20 a month for a high-speed DSL, her connection was fast enough for active gaming.

Now if you really want to know what she is paying the solution is simple. As you have already traced her IP you should find the reverse DNS of her provider. Type in the website (use an online translator if needed) and see for yourself the price list they offer.

[wxman]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_Kyrgyzstan

Interesting that the cost through a Moscow based company ranges from $20 a month and up.

[Shadow]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_Kyrgyzstan

Interesting that the cost through a Moscow based company ranges from $20 a month and up.

Given the less developed infrastructure and realtively young status of the internet business in the FSU this is not surprising.
In a couple of years there will be more backbones and data centers available, and bith cost will go down and use will increase at dramatic speed. The 'internet bubble' is bubbling there right now.

[ScottinCrimea]

In Simferopol we have high speed internet cable in our apartment and it costs us $6 a month.  There is a limit on how many MB you can download every month but we never once reached that limit, even with heavy usage.

[Shadow]

A small search got me to http://www.nursat.kz/page.php?lang=2 which probably is not the cheapest.
They offer a flat-fee dial-up for $30 a month, although limited to nights and weekends.

Per-hour service is $1,60 an hour, which is enough for mail but could be expensive if she uses Messenger or Skype.

[DizzyD]

Hi guys...

thanks for the help... her ISP is Kazakhtelecom... and as i suspected those astronomical DSL costs don't seem to be an accurate representation of the current situation... as you said Shadow the infrastructure is developing and things are changing quickly....

it seems to work well most of the time but it has been having some problems for the past 3 or 4 days starting on saturday... 

Kuna.. still wondering which account is BillyY  I'd like to send him a PM.. maybe he can give me some insider knowledge on KZ

DD

[Ste]

My beloved's bessie mate lives in Kustanai, Kazakhstan during the summer (she's KZ born, ethnic Russian, studies at South Urals Uni) and has some sort of broadband at home. I'd ask her but she's a bird, she wouldn't have a clue.

She's even got a cool easy to remember phone number sth like 230000 - smart! Not that smart tho if I cant remeber it.

Watching the US version of Fever Pitch - pretty bad but it's just increased it's stock by playing Nick Drake's Northern Sky, Nick Drake is, or was the Dogs Bollocks...

[Kuna]

Kuna.. still wondering which account is BillyY  I'd like to send him a PM.. maybe he can give me some insider knowledge on KZ

   .... and that's for me...  here, I'll give myself another one!   

Sorry Dizzy... BillyB... I think his lady is from there... but I might be wrong....

[Ste]

  .... and that's for me...  here, I'll give myself another one!   

Sorry Dizzy... BillyB... I think his lady is from there... but I might be wrong....

I think she's from Uzbekistan.

GF's mum is from KZ! So I say she's half Kazakh, she doesn't like that.....

[BillyB]

My fiancee is from Uzbekistan but probably not to much different than Kazakhstan. Some people are rich in those countries and could afford Mercedes and other high dollar items and probably could afford DSL. But what are you trying to determine DizzyD? If she is honest? If you call her on the phone enough, you will be able to determine her interest in you. Also, if you're lucky to get their phone number, scammers and insincere girls can't maintain a high level of enthusiasm if you call often. It's also interesting that you said she called you. Maybe she does have a few dollars stored away. Just let the communications take it's natural course and see what happens. Unless you really want to as an expression that you're interested in her, I wouldn't send flowers just to see if a person is real. Enough times on the phone will give you the answer you're looking for.

[Misha]

Type in the website (use an online translator if needed) and see for yourself the price list they offer.

It took me a bit of googling, but here is a page from the Kazakh Telekom website in English detailing how much it costs to set up an ADSL broadband connection in Kazakhstan: http://portal.telecom.kz/portal/page/portal/ext/telecom/020_packages/040_internet%20IDSL.

The rates provided are in the local currency and according to the site oanda.com, the going exchange rate: 1 US Dollar = 128.146 Kazakhstan Tenge.

Hope this helps :-)

[DizzyD]

Thanks Bill

So your the mysterious "Billy" Kuna referred to I couldn't resist that, i tried looking up your account based on just the Billy reference but there were 2 or 3 that it could have been... so i asked for clarification instead.. I've seen many of your posts and enjoyed them.. yeah she seems to have some money, and i think thats what made me think about what might be at play.. so to speak... as far as the flowers are concerned, i think i might send some,,, but it won't be to verify anything,, just to show her what i think of her... i won't be asking for any pictures.. if she likes them she would probably take a picture herself and send it to me...

and thanks to Gabaub to...

I had already done the reverse DNS lookup and managed to find the Kazakhtelecom site but i didn't tunnel down far enought to get that page... even if i had i don't know it would have helped.... talk about a "Dizzying" array of payment options..!

if anyone has any more to share about northeastern KZ... Pavlodar Oblast.. i'd like to hear it

Thanks
DD