March 27, 2007
I miscall, you miscall...
Here is a new term for the telecoms lexicon ... to miscall. As in "I just gave him a miscall" or "I just got miscalled".
This is something you do when you don't have much cash left on your mobile phone pre-paid card - especially when you are calling someone richer than you.
You dial the number, allow half a ring, then end the call. If all goes to plan, the person you were calling will see your number in his list of missed calls and call you back, taking on the cost of the conversation.
You can either admit it up front, appealing to you richer friend's sense of charity, or you can blame it on yet another glitch in the Ethiopian Telecoms system.
Posted by aheavens at March 27, 2007 6:41 AM
Comments
And I thought this behaviour was exclusive to Vietnam :)
Posted by: Graham at March 27, 2007 9:18 AM
also known as the 'miskin call' ... it's common here in London too, amongst the young 'uns
Posted by: yonas at March 27, 2007 12:03 PM
As they say - necessity is the mother of all invention ...
Posted by: tom at March 27, 2007 12:19 PM
That's actually what we call a "miskin call". as in Miskin = pitiful
Posted by: lily at March 27, 2007 2:29 PM
You are really funny :-).
BTW, that is what many ethiopians do when they call overseas to their relatives. Usually you get a call from Ethiopia, they quickly say "call me" and hang up. Than you call back. O
In the old days when the operator used to connect international call, the operator will say "you have a call from Ato. So and So. You tell the operator that you don't know Ato. So and So and hang up. The call is never charged to the caller from Ethiopia as you denied the call. Than you call back Ato. So and So who happens to be your brother.
Another trick used by Ethiopians in Saudi Arbaia. Say someone wants in Saudi wants to call a relative Ethiopia. The caller from Saudi goes to a phone broker in Saudi who works with a phone broker in Pakistan. The Saudi or pakistani broker calls the person in Ethiopia and sets up an appointment to connect him/her with the friend in Saudi. At the designated time, the broker in Pakistan calls the two friends and connects them via three way teleconference calling. I don't quite understand it but that three way call Pakistan to Saudi and Ethiopia is cheaper than a direct phoning Saudi to Ethiopia.
The brokers make money and the caller from Saudi saves money. Everyone is happy except Saudi telecom and ETC (I think).
Beat that!
:-)
Posted by: Safiya at March 27, 2007 3:14 PM
Also,
miscall a.k.a. "miskin call"
"miskin" is an Amharic adjective meaning someone/something deserving or arousing your sympathy (pity).
Posted by: TazzmaB at March 28, 2007 1:18 AM
Hey Andrew,
Indeed, this has been in effect for a long time. It is also known as "miskin" call which has a nice ring to it, and somewhat cannot be translated well enough .
Posted by: Yonas Tibebe at March 28, 2007 2:04 AM
I borrowed a phone from a friend during my last visit. It took me the first week to figure out what was going on as his friends were calling me and hanging up. I kept calling them back thinking it might be for something important. After a week of calling people I didn't know to begin with, and about EtB 50 gone down the drain, it was time to wake up.
Posted by: abe at March 28, 2007 6:53 AM
aha...I always thought they were saying 'missed call', after the fact that the phone would say just that. Same thing really, I suppose.
Posted by: Terri at March 28, 2007 11:40 AM
This is a phenomenon that has been going on for years in Africa. In French-speaking African countries they call it "bipper" or "to bip someone". Some operators even have that option in mobile phone prepaid packages, which avoids you the unfortunate possibility that the person you're bipping will actually pick up their phone at the speed of lightning and then YOU do get charged for the call!
Posted by: me at March 30, 2007 3:05 PM
its nice to know my name, is being put to good use as stupid slang overseas.
Posted by: jeff miskin at October 6, 2007 3:38 AM