************************* TELECOM DIGEST - Issue 15 ************************* From: "Marc T. Kaufman" Subject: Re: Cellular Phone & E911 Date: 26 May 89 15:50:25 GMT Reply-To: "Marc T. Kaufman" Organization: Stanford University In article "james.j.sowa" writes: ->First of all E911 means two things: ->1) an ability to route the calling number to the proper ->serving PSAP. This means if one house has Police A and Fire ->A and the next house has Police B and Fire A the 911 call ->would go to the primary answerer (maybe police) in this ->case both calls go to poilce A at the PSAP when it is ->determined it is a fire call all the PSAP attendant will do is ->press a button labeled fire and the call will route ->correctly to the proper Fire department . The routing function is applied on a number-by-number basis, so that a single exchange may have more than one primary answerer, if the exchange slops over multiple jurisdictions (as many do). In my area in California, we got Police and Fire from two different dispatch centers, (because we use the county sheriff for police, and a neighboring city for fire). The sheriff put up quite a fight to get us to dispatch through the county com center. We finally prevailed, and now all calls go first to fire dispatch. This is because over 2/3 of all calls to fire are for medical aid, and may be life threatening -- so we felt fire response time optimization was more important. Marc Kaufman (kaufman@polya.stanford.edu) ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Cellular Phone & 911 - two replies Date: 27 May 89 01:50:13 GMT Organization: ATI Wares Team In article , intercon!kdb@uunet.uu. net writes: > I have had several occasions to use 911 from my cell phone. On all of them I > might as well have not called. On the other hand, one of the most satisfying calls I ever made in my life was to 911. I was driving I5 to Los Angeles, about 50 miles north of Grapevine. Traffic was relatively light. As I approached a slow-moving vehicle in the right lane, I prepared to move momentarily to the left to pass. Suddenly, the other car sped up and when the driver realized that his increase in speed would not in any way prevent my passing him, he suddenly veered into the left lane, forcing me into the median strip. When I got back onto the roadway, I approached him again (he was poking along at around 40 MPH) and he sped up again. This time I backed off and watched as another motorist tried to pass him and got the same response that I had earlier. That did it. I picked up the phone and dialed 911. It was the Bakersfield system that responded and I was connected to the CHP, the initial call handling agency. I described the car and its actions and location. Not five minutes later, two CHP cruisers zipped onto the highway, and off in the distance I could see the gentleman being forced to the side of the road. You talk about instant gratification! In article , ron@ron.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) writes: > The more interesting question is which 911 operator you get > when you dial 911 from a cellular phone, since the cellular > coverage areas almost always span more than one 911-service > area. > > My guess is that it's just handled by the MTS operator. In California, or at least in the San Francisco area, the calls from both cellular providers are handled by the CHP. The operator asks for your mobile number (they don't see it on a display), your location, and type of emergency you are reporting. You are then connected to the appropriate agency. The calls are free of all charges. *All* mobile telephones are allowed to call 911, regardless of roaming or service status. You can even call 911 with a test NAM in your radio. -- John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.uucp | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o ! ------------------------------ Date: 25 May 89 19:25:27 PDT (Thu) From: "Dave L. Speed" Subject: Routing Incoming Calls on Home Phone I'm experiencing a lot of demand on my "home" phone line; home phones, home office phone, answering machine, modem(s), and a fax machine. In addition, I'm besieged with telephone solicitations. With today's use of telecommunications, I don't think I'm alone in this situation. One solution might be a home PBX, where a caller gets a second "dial-tone" and selects the proper internal line with a touch-tone code (perhaps with a 10 second wait default to the answering machine line). This and roll-over on busy from outside line A to outside line B would go a long way towards congestion relief. I've seen only two "home" type PBX systems advertised so far; one from Nutone in the $1200 range and one from Toshiba in the $400 range. I have requested literature on both; that which was sent to me was inadequate to make any rational decision. Would either of these offer a realistic solution? Are there other systems available? Are they compatible with modems (both 2400 baud and/or Telebits? Are they compatible with (common) fax systems? Are they reliable? What necessary questions am I not asking? Dave Speed (dspeed) : "Don't Crush That Dwarf, : 8908 Van Gogh Circle : Hand Me The Pliers" - Fireside : Fair Oaks, CA 95628 : : UUCP: (known universe) pacbell!sactoh0!dspeed BELL: (916)966-4188 >>> As a matter of fact, my opinions *are* those of my company <<< ------------------------------ From: David Lewis Subject: Re: Area Codes and N10 style numbers Date: 26 May 89 12:47:23 GMT Organization: Bell Communications Research In article , nvuxg!mjs1@bellcore. bellcore.com (Sonnier) writes: ] So, the bottom line is that all N11 and N00 codes are reserved, for the ] obvious reasons. The N10 codes (except 610) are all included in the ] unassigned codes. This can be ascertained by looking at the tables of ] assigned NPA codes, and see which 19 are not assigned. ] The 610 code is (apparently) used in Canada, so is reserved. ] ] [Moderator's Question: So does this mean codes 210-310-410-510-710-810-910 ] *will be* used as area codes or *won't be* used? If not, why not? I think ] the thing with 610 is that unlike here where Western Union operates the ] telex machines, in Canada many (or all?) are run by the telephone people. ] If those numbers, plus the two 'regular' left overs are still available, ] then indeed it will be several years before we run out, no? PT] Will be used. They're included in the list of unassigned codes; to clarify what Mike said, the list of unassigned codes is the list of legally-assignable but as-yet-not-assigned codes. The same source Mike was quoting (Notes on the BOC Intra-LATA Networks (1986)) estimates that the 152 available NPA codes will be exhausted in 1995. At that time, it'll be necessary to go to NXX format NPA codes; that also occupies several pages of Notes explaining what that'll be all about. -- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= David G Lewis "If this is paradise, I wish I had a lawnmower." Bellcore 201-758-4099 Navesink Research and Engineering Center ...!bellcore!nvuxr!deej ------------------------------ Date: Fri May 26 03:39:58 1989 From: caf@omen.UUCP (Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX) Subject: Hum on local loop Organization: Omen Technology Portland OR Recently the local phone company (US West) replaced two junction/arrestor boxes and three cable drops to my houseboat with a single multi-pair cable and a 5 or 6 pair junction box. This rewiring is the result of a month's complaining about static on one of the lines. The lineman swore he'd replace the junction box with a style that allows for isolating the internal wiring UNTIL he discovered a loose connection in a telco distribution box. With the new junction box, connecting the box's ground to a "ground line" running along the boardwalk induces an annoying hum on one and one of the three lines - the other two are not affected. The lineman that responded to the hum complaint is convinced my computers are causing the problem. Nevermind that the two lines that *do* have computers (modems/fax) on them are NOT affected! The voice line has three regular phones and one feature phone on it. Obviously a fault in my wiring or the feature phone could cause a hum, but an MSEE and 25 years electronics experience doesn't give me any idea how my wiring or equipment would cause a hum that depends on the grounding of the phone company's arrestor block. Faced with a choice between an aggravating hum and leaving the ground off, I told the lineman to get rid of the hum. Obviously there is something wrong with the arresting block or the juction box wiring, but there doesn't seem any way to convince US West of that. Meanwhile what little protection was afforded by the ground wire (which appears to be connected to the power line neutral) is gone. Between US West and me, one of us has been smoking bad dope. Has anyone run into something similar? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 May 89 11:04:14 CDT From: TELECOM Moderator Subject: New Enhancements From the BOC's Three of the Bell Operating Companies have started new innovative services in recent weeks. Here is a summary of each -- MICHIGAN BELL now allows customers in several suburban Detroit communities to order Touch-Tone service and Custom Calling features on a trial basis using an automated dial-up system that turns on the services within minutes. The service is available 24 hours per day. The system provides ordered services within 15 minutes, according to the telco, compared with the previous waiting period of up to 48 hours. The service is accessed by dialing an 800 number, and features recorded information and prompts for users of tone-dial phones. The trial is scheduled to continue until the end of the year. About 200,000 customers are in the test area. BELL OF PENNSYLVANIA now is offering something called 'I.Q. Services', which is a combination of Custom Calling and CLASS services into a single personal call-management system. I.Q. enables subscribers in the Philadelphia area to redial busy/no answer numbers automatically, block unwanted incoming calls, assign a special ring to selected numbers, forward only on selected calls, and initiate a trace. Custom calling services of course include call-waiting, three-way calling, call forwarding and speed calling. CLASS call-management services include return call, priority call, repeat call, call block, select forward, and call trace. The CLASS offerings *do not* include caller identification service at the present time, as this feature is subject to Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission review at the present time. SOUTHWESTERN BELL has begun a telemetry trial that allows utilities to read home utility meters over a single telephone line. The test is being conducted at about fifty homes in Kansas City, MO. Water and gas meters at each site are equipped with meter encoder/digitizers that link to a telemetry interface unit at each home. Readings collected at each site are sent over the telephone line to meter reading access circuits at a Southwestern Bell central office, which relays the readings to computers at the gas and water company offices. The system delivers a reading in about ten seconds, and automatically disengages if the subscriber is using the phone. Southwestern Bell also announced they have signed a contract with MCI to provide billing and collection services for MCI's long distance service, beginning in the fourth quarter, 1989. Southwestern Bell subscribers in that company's five-state region who opt to use MCI will begin seeing long distance charges from that company on their October, 1989 phone bills. Patrick Townson Date: Mon, 29 May 89 18:49 EDT From: "Scott D. Green" Subject: Re: New Enhancements From the BOC's Yes, Bell of PA has started offering CLASS services, with no subscription necessary. All of the features are available right now for your (and the kids') endless enjoyment. Here's the list of codes, services, and rates: *57 Call Trace $1.00/use *60 Call Block $.50/day or $5/month *61 Distinctive ring (up to 6 #'s) $.50/day or $2.75/month *63 Selective Call Forwarding (up to 6 #'s) $.50/day or $3.50/month *66 Auto Redial $.25/use or $1.75/month *69 Return Call $.25/use or $2.50/month Bell of PA has apparently realized that, once the kids get ahold of these codes, they are going to be pretty popular at recess. In fact, on their in-house newsline last week, they felt it necessary to warn their employees of exactly that, suggesting that customers may be in for a shock when the bills come in. Bell asked their employees to tell their kids not to play with the IQ services. Is it really fair, though, for the BOC's to offer these value-added services to a customer's line without his or her consent or even knowledge? Is this something akin to the flap over 976- services, which led to the BOC's offering no-charge blocking of these numbers as well as placing the racier material on exchanges that require advance sign-up in order to access them? Where is the PUC? Is this arrangement a concession to Bell of PA, because of the investigation of the CallerID service (proposed at $6.50/month)? Just wondering. -scott green ------------------------------ From: Mark Robert Smith Subject: Re: New Enhancements From the BOC's Date: 30 May 89 02:16:08 GMT Organization: M. R. Smith Consulting, New Brunswick, NJ Our home in NJ (Tenafly) has had telemetry on our water meter for some time. The new meter has a box connected to it, with a line running to our (nearby - just 6 feet above the meter) telephone service terminator (whatever it's supposed to be called - the box on the outside of the house except that ours is inside). I have no idea how it works, but the phone does not ring, nor are we charged for a call (could be local). Mark -- Mark Smith (alias Smitty) "Be careful when looking into the distance, 61 Tenafly Road that you do not miss what is right under your nose." Tenafly, NJ 07670-2643 rutgers!topaz.rutgers.edu!msmith msmith@topaz.rutgers.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 May 89 17:59:39 PDT From: "I'll be back..." Subject: Re: Cellular and 911 I've tried 911 from my cellular phone on MetroOne in Central New Jersey (specifically the I287 corridor from Piscataway to Bedminster) and gotten nothing but "invalid" messages. I have the State Police Edison and Somerville barracks numbers programmed into my phone though. About a year ago, I called to report an accident. The MetroOne Operator did not even have a *listing* for the State Police Edison Barracks (their territory). So I asked for the Totawa Division HQ. They *REFUSED* to report the accident to Edison, and did not have the number handy for the Edison barracks so the operator could call!! I wrote a letter to the State Police, answered by a Captain in their communications division. The letter said, in the future, just use 911. But it did not work, at least up to a few months ago! Nevertheless, with the direct numbers programmed in, it's easy to be a good samaritan now and then... /lou ------------------------------ From: Ron Schnell Subject: More 911 cellular experience Date: 30 May 89 06:06:40 GMT Organization: MIT EE/CS Computer Facility, Cambridge, MA Last week I was driving in Los Angeles and I came upon an overturned van. The accident had occured within the previous two minutes so I figured I would call 911 to make sure that the proper people knew about it. The conversation went something like this: Woman's voice: Mobile 911 emergency, what freeway are you calling from? Me: I'm not calling from a freeway, I'm on Westwood Blvd in Westwood, there is an overturned van in the intersection. Woman: Are there any injuries? Me: Possibly, there are people trying to pry someone out of it. Woman: Hold on, I will transfer you to L.A. Police. (Several clicks later a phone started ringing and continued to ring about 10 times) Finally... Another woman's voice: please hold... (I could then hear her talking in the background): "How many people? ... What time? And you say you had a reservation?" Woman (to me): Restaurant may I help you? By the time I finally redialed and got through to the right people, I was informed that they already knew about it. And no, I didn't make a reservation. #Ron -- #Ron (ronnie@mit-eddie.{UUCP,ARPA}) Home: (914) 352 - 7694 ------------------------------ From: Mike Morris Subject: NPA, etc... Date: 29 May 89 23:31:53 GMT Reply-To: Mike Morris Organization: What - me organized? Recently there has been a discussion of the n10 area code and the fact that it is in use in Canada for TWX machines, but not used in the US. Well, I decided to try dialing it and see what happened. I got the local ANI! It seems that both 1223 and 1610 goes to the same set of ANI trunks. as Spock would say, "Interesting..." US Snail: Mike Morris UUCP: Morris@Jade.JPL.NASA.gov P.O. Box 1130 Also: WA6ILQ Arcadia, Ca. 91006-1130 #Include disclaimer.standard | The opinions above probably do not even ------------------------------ ----------------------------- Date: Tue, 30 May 89 23:06:43 CDT From: TELECOM Moderator Subject: Area Code 710 According to Harry Newton, in the June, 1989 issue of [Teleconnect Magazine], 'area code' 710 is now assigned to Government Services. Would anyone care to comment, elaborate or refute his claim? By Government Services, does he mean an 'area code' under which all FTS and/or Autovon lines are handled for billing purposes, etc? Inquiring Moderator wants to know. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 89 16:49:46 PDT From: John Gilmore Subject: Re: New Enhancements From the BOC's > *57 Call Trace $1.00/use > *60 Call Block $.50/day or $5/month > *61 Distinctive ring (up to 6 #'s) $.50/day or $2.75/month > *63 Selective Call Forwarding (up to 6 #'s) $.50/day or $3.50/month > *66 Auto Redial $.25/use or $1.75/month > *69 Return Call $.25/use or $2.50/month Gee, I knew the price of DRAM was high, but 50c/day for a few bytes? Of course, the service that provides the calling number to customer equipment will cost even more than this. People would figure out that rather than paying $5 or $10/month, they could buy a smart answering machine that would do all this for them, and start saving money within a year. So do-it-yourself will be even more expensive than "rent my DRAM...please". ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 89 16:55:52 PDT From: John Gilmore Subject: HR 1504 (Beeper Abuse Prevention Act) The bogonz in congress assembled are at it again. Three years in jail for selling a pager to a minor? If you didn't believe when Abbie Hoffman said that the drug hysteria was just an excuse for more control of the citizens, think again. "Pagers don't commit crimes, Congressmen do." From: rgt@beta.lanl.gov (Richard Thomsen) Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns Subject: The future is now - future bans are being considered Keywords: drugs, beepers, bans Message-ID: <25244@beta.lanl.gov> Date: 30 May 89 19:16:49 GMT There were some articles guessing what would be banned next, after guns were banned and did not have an effect on the war on drugs. I was given a copy of _USA_ _Today_, and saw a "face-off" on the issues. According to this article, Representative Kweisi Mfume (D-Md) says the following (reprinted without permission, spelling errors are probably mine): The drug business is using the latest technology to promote its deadly trade. One such advance, the paging device, or beeper, is now appearing in classrooms and schoolyards. I have introduced the Beeper Abuse Prevention Act to curtail the use of beepers by young people who deal drugs. It would require the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe regulations that would restrict the possession and use of paging devices by persons under age 21. Law officers say dealers and suppliers send coded messages via beeper to youths in school. The codes translate into messages like "meet me at our regular place after class to pick up the drugs." Drug traffickers are even using 800 numbers now available with regional paging services. A supplier could actually conduct a transaction in Baltimore from Miami, for example. My bill, H.R. 1504, would require any person selling or renting paging devices to verify the identification and age of every customer; encourage parents and businesses to take more responsibility in their children's or employees' activities; make it unlawful for a person to knowingly nad willfully rent, sell or use paging devices in violation of rules prescrived by the FCC (there are provisions for stiff fines and up to three- year prison terms for adults who illegally provide beepers to youths); and require parents or businesses who allow the use of beepers to state that intention with and affidavit at the time of purchase. He goes on to say that he recognizes that there are legitimate uses of beepers, but we can no longer stand by and watch drugs flow into our neighborhoods. The opposite side is taken by Lynn Scarlett, from Santa Monica, CA. She asks what beepers have to do with the drug trade, and regulating their use will not put a dent it it. She also says that there is little evidence that gun control keeps guns out of the hands of gangsters, and it will take a good dose of wizardry to keep beepers away from bad guys. She finishes with: The logic of the Beeper Abuse Prevention Act opens the door for laws to make us sign promises that we won't, we swear, use these things for illicit acts when we buy them. De Tocqueville, that eminent observer of our nation, waned that our loss of freedom would sneak in through passage of quiet, seemingly innocuous and well-intended laws -- laws like H.R. 1504. So all of you who were guessing the next thing to be banned did not guess the real truth. I saw no guesses that it would be beepers. Before you ask, I cut the article out of the newspaper, and did not cut out the part that shows the date of the paper. But it was last week, which means from 22 to 26 May. It was probably the Wednesday or Thursday (21 or 22 May) issue, on the opinion page at the bottom. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 89 16:41:14 EDT From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) Subject: Statewide Uniformity Recent messages in telecom say that area code 404 in Georgia is apparently preparing for N0X/N1X prefixes. Does this affect area 912? (912, by the way, is an "easier-to-dial" area code on a dial telephone.) Other cases where a state has 2 area codes, one of which got N0X/N1X prefixes: New Jersey, areas 201 and 609; 201 got N0X/N1X, and the new dialing require- ments also applied to area 609 for statewide uniformity (and later, two N0X/ N1X prefixes were made local to Barnegat, in area 609). Virginia, areas 703 and 804; 703 got N0X/N1X, apparently limited to the DC area suburbs (all but the outermost ones also being reachable in area 202). 804 did NOT get the new dialing requirements (however, DC and Maryland did, so that 703, 202, and 301 all now dial long-distance and 0+ calls the same way). (Did 817 get the same dialing requirements as 214 did when the latter got N0X/N1X?) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Jun 89 11:10:37 PDT From: HECTOR MYERSTON Subject: USADirect Clone Saw an ad in a [military] newspaper for a USADirect clone. It sounds like an AOS-like overseas operator. THE AD [abridged but without comments]: To call the States from Overseas and to charge the call to a Credit Card or Phone Company Calling Card or to Call Collect or to call Person-to-Person or to an 800 number or to directory assistance..In English..In the USA ...and in Dollars Just dial any Toll Free number below: (list on number in most of Europe, Australia and parts of the Far East) THE SMALL PRINT: Charge calls = $4.80 plus $1.35 (UK) per minute or part $1.55 (Europe) " $1.95 (Asia) " $3 surcharge for person-to-person 800 calls are NOT toll-free and cannot be charged to Telco cards In several European countries there is a local charge for the "Toll-free" access number The company is not named other than "A service of Credit Card Calling Systems Inc, Suite 2411 67 Wall St, NY, NY, 10005" MY OPINION: It is a true test of your confidence in mankind to be travelling overseas and give someone in "suite" in New York City your credit card number over the phone. %-) ------------------------------ From: William Mihalo Subject: Re: Atlanta Company Offers Residential 800 service Date: 1 Jun 89 21:35:44 GMT Reply-To: William Mihalo Organization: Chinet - Public Access Unix The number to call for Telecom USA is 1 800-476-9000 They have a $10 installation fee and a $2.75 monthly fee. The rates that were quoted over the phone were $0.29/minute 8 AM to 5 PM and $0.21/minute all other times. BTW, when I called Telecom USA I could barely hear the person at the other end. It was a very poor connection. I don't know if they are using their own 800 numbers for business purposes. I just thought I'd mention this. ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Atlanta Company Offers Residential 800 service Date: 2 Jun 89 03:59:16 GMT Organization: ATI Wares Team In article , CER2520%ritvax.bitnet@ eecs.nwu.edu (C. E. Reid) writes: > [Information about Atlantic Bell offering residential 800 service] > Much like the toll-free services commonly used by businesses, the > Personal Hotline accepts incoming calls only, at no charge to the caller. To > call a residential 800 line, callers dial 1-800 plus the regular seven digits > of the number. So I have had a statewide 800 number in my home for my personal use for years. It's tied in with my Commstar II (residential centrex) so that I can answer it from any line in my home. My question is this: What makes residential 800 service different from business 800 service? My "business" 800 service couldn't be much cheaper, and I had no trouble at all associating it with my residential service. ------------------------------ Subject: Area code data for Autovon number From: CIS@s41.prime.com Date: 01 Jun 89 11:07:30 EDT /* Written 2:20 am May 27, 1989 by telecom-gateway@vector.UUCP in S41:comp.dco m.telecom */ /* ---------- ""area code" data for Autovon number" ---------- */ >I'd like to mash a copy of the area code program to return locations >for Autovon prefixes (and vice-versa). Does anyone have an online >copy of Autovon prefixes+locations I could grab for this purpose? >--Frank /* End of text from S41:comp.dcom.telecom */ I'd like to point out here to anyone who might be listening in on this is that what Frank wants to do is Not Especially Legal, at least according to what I know about DSN (Defense Switched Network). DSN is FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY. So are its phone books. That means that the information contained therein is for use only by DoD employees (civilian and military) and contractors, and for business only. That we give out DSN phone numbers in clear text over the phone is not relevant here. Please, Frank, cease and desist. For anyone to want that information is a bit suspect, and sets of a flag with . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chuck Stern "Keep your feet on the ground, keep reaching for Prime Computer, Inc. the sky, pray for rain, keep the humor dry and 500 Old Connecticut Path keep eating those Powdermilk Biscuits" Framingham, MA 01701 cis@s41.Prime.COM /* I do not claim to even KNOW who speaks for Prime, much less claiming that I do so myself. */ [Moderator's Note: As a point of clarification, the original message to which Mr. Stern is replying was NOT in this Digest. The notations with the message would indicate it appeared in (or was written to) one of the various local telecom bulletin boards receiving the Digest for redistribution. PT] ------------------------------ From: "thomas.j.roberts" Subject: Re: Area Code 710 Date: 1 Jun 89 19:14:55 GMT Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories From article , by telecom@eecs.nwu. edu (TELECOM Moderator): > According to Harry Newton, in the June, 1989 issue of [Teleconnect Magazine], > 'area code' 710 is now assigned to Government Services. > Area Code 710 is used for "Special" government services, NOT FTS, FTS-2000, or AUTOVON. It is wierd. Tom Roberts att!ihnet!tjr [Moderator's Note: So, can you please explain what are 'Special' government services? What would happen if I dialed one of those numbers? How are they accessed from government phones? Details, please....spare no details! Anybody?? PT] ------------------------------ From: Daniel Senie Subject: 4-Party Lines vs. ESS Date: 1 Jun 89 14:35:47 GMT Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc., Marlboro, MA My dad has a summer cottage in western Mass. which currently is on a 4-party line. I have been looking in to the pricing alternatives for him for switching to single party service, since a Rabbi and his wife are also on the same line and talk for 3 or 4 hours at a time. NET charges about $3.50 per month for the service, which we can't complain about... My dad is willing to pay the extra $4.26 per month for private service, but does not want to pay $32 for the privilege of conversion. One interesting thing came up in the conversation I had with NET. The CO is supposed to become an ESS (probably a satellite off a 5ESS) in 1992. During the year prior to the conversion, the 4 party lines are eliminated by offerring 2-party lines, single party timed, or single party unlimited service. It seems there is no way to support 4-party service on an ESS. I was surprised that a 2-party service would work. (With party lines it is required by law that you be able to hear the other party talking when you pick up the phone -- so that you can tell them to get off in an emergency). During the conversion period, NET will do the conversion free. I'm somewhat surprised that they don't just do it for free now if desired. The party line service is responsible for at least 5 service calls a year of the variety where they need to come out on a Sunday (all summer cottages). The best service call was to CUT the line to one of the other houses when they plugged in an answering machine... All long distance calls are operator assisted, since it is not possible to determine which house is originating calls. Thought people on the net would be amused by the archaic equipment we deal with in the little forgotten towns... -- Daniel Senie UUCP: harvard!ulowell!cloud9!dts Stratus Computer, Inc. ARPA: anvil!cloud9!dts@harvard.harvard.edu 55 Fairbanks Blvd. CSRV: 74176,1347 Marlboro, MA 01752 TEL.: 508 - 460 - 2686 ------------------------------ From: "John R. Covert" Date: 2 Jun 89 08:51 Subject: RE: Cellular Rates Steve Elias (eli@chipcom.chipcom.com) asks: >could any cellular phone users out there tell me how expensive it is >to use a cellular phone? what are the different minimum rates, charges >per call, local calling areas?? This is a complicated question -- there are over four hundred different sets of rates depending on location, and they vary drastically, from incredibly low rates such as Washington, D.C., with a $10/month off-peak rate INCLUDING 100 minutes of off-peak usage to very high rates such as in L.A. with $45/month and no minutes included. Since you're in Boston, you would probably take service from NYNEX Mobile or Cellular One (Southwestern Bell). NYNEX rates are: (monthly - peak minutes - off-peak minutes) A: $19 .45 .30 B: $45 .35 .30 C: $ 5 .65 .65 D: $9.95 .60 .25 (best plan for non-business users) E: $44 .45 .30 includes 60 minutes peak On outgoing calls, in addition to air time, you pay the same rates a business telephone user would pay. For local calls, this means that you pay for a local call from one of: Boston, Providence (RI), Worcester, New Bedford, Framingham, Brockton, Lynn, Lowell, or Lawrence regardless of where you are in the three state area (Eastern Mass, Rhode Island, Coastal New Hampshire). Local calls are charged in message units of .111 cents each, and for calls to places local to multi-message unit towns, such as Burlington (charged from Boston) you'll pay .333 cents for the first three minutes and .111 each additional minute (same as from a Boston phone). For non-local, intra-LATA calls, you'll pay the toll charge from the closest points. Since I have a Boston number, I don't know whether all inter-LATA toll is charged from Boston or if it is charged from the zone office (one of the nine above) which corresponds to your mobile number. When you're roaming in the Nashua/Manchester (Contel) system, the Biddeford, ME (Star Cellular) system, or the Portland, ME (Maine Cellular) systems, you'll pay .45/minute regardless of time of day. Note that you are _not_ roaming in Southern Massachusetts if you're a NYNEX customer; it is one continuous system. NYNEX has nationwide roaming agreements with mostly B but many A carriers, allowing you to choose the lowest rate and best service in many other cities. In particular, in New England and the Northeast, you are less likely to be hit with daily usage fees when roaming if you're a NYNEX customer. You'll also have roaming agreements with companies in Los Angeles, which Cellular One does not currently have. Cellular One rates are: $19 .44 .29 $44 .43 .28 w/ 60 $59 .42 .27 w/ 100 after 300 mins .35 .27 The points of interconnection for Cellular One are: Lynn, Lawrence, Waltham, Framingham, Worcester, Quincy, and Brockton When roaming on the A carriers in Nashua/Manchester, Biddeford, ME, Portland, ME, New Bedford, MA, and Providence, RI, you pay .44 and .29. When roaming outside this area, you will have roaming agreements with mostly A and some B carriers. You will be more likely to encounter daily fees, especially in the Northeast. Please realize that charging algorithms vary drastically from company to company and from city to city. For example, Contel in Nashua/Manchester does not charge a local call or toll call charge for anywhere in either their system or in the NYNEX system, even when roaming (or so I'm told by their customer service department). U.S. West in the Seattle area charges you for outgoing calls based on where you are and where you're calling within the area. Rates are changing faster than anyone can keep up with them (mostly going upward as fast as the market will bear). /john ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Jun 89 13:54:42 CDT From: Will Martin Subject: Cellular phones in Beijing? A telecom-related point came up in the news coverage of the recent troubles in Beijing over this past weekend. When describing and playing back the tape of the incident where the troops took the CBS correspondents into custody during the clearing of the square, Dan Rather referred to the audio feed as coming from "a cellular telephone" on at least two separate newscasts. This sort of surprised me. Does Beijing have cellular telephone service? I would have expected them to have some form of mobile telephones, but maybe only for official government use, not available to foreign correspondents or even ordinary citizens. I certainly may be wrong in that supposition, though. Having cellular phone service readily available just doesn't seem to me to be that likely. Also, that it was still working during that period is surprising; I would have thought the telephone service would have been shut down by the Army. Just how worldwide IS cellular telephone service implemented? I didn't think it even was available all over Europe yet. Where in the Third World can one use a cellular phone, and are all the systems interchangeable and compatible? Or would what the CBS correspondents had been using have been some system that they took with them and installed themselves to support their newsgathering activities? I recall seeing a military-oriented portable cellular system advertised in one of the magazines, maybe Defense Electronics. Are such things available for private purchase? (I would think the red tape and paperwork involved in getting official approval for bringing such a system into a foreign country, especially a Communist country, would be monumental and prohibitive.) Maybe all this technology has run on far faster than I realized, and it is not unusual to have a cellular phone in Nairobi or Quito. Any comments on this situation? Regards, Will Martin ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: new area code Date: 6 Jun 89 01:56:01 GMT Organization: ATI Wares Team Heard it on the Channel 7 news: the new area code for the east bay (east side of 415) will be 510. Must be true. Puts to bed all those speculations about it being 9XN something or other. -- John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.uucp | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o ! ------------------------------ From: Brendan Kehoe Subject: Maine fiber optics plan approved Date: 3 Jun 89 00:54:47 GMT Reply-To: brendan@jolnet.orpk.il.us Organization: Jolnet Public Access Unix This is from the Kennebec Journal, the newspaper that serves the Augusta, ME area.. AUGUSTA(AP) -- A state plan to permit telecommunications companies to lay fiber optic cable within interstate highway rights-of-way has been approved by the Federal Highway Administration, Gov. John R. McKernan's office announced Thursday. Maine is the first state to obtain the federal approval, the governor's office said. Officials said the plan is designed to ensure motorist safety while promoting the modernization of the state's telecommunications network. McKernan, in a prepared statement, said that "in today's economy, the ability to 'move' information is becoming as important as the ability to transport commodities. It is appropriate that our highways of the future should lay alongside our highways of the present." -- Brendan Kehoe brendan@cup.portal.com | GEnie: B.KEHOE | Oh no! I forgot to say goodbye brendan@chinet.chi.il.us | CI$: 71750,2501 | to my mind! brendan@jolnet.orpk.il.us | Galaxy: Brendan | - Abby Normal ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Saturday business with the Business Office Date: 3 Jun 89 18:52:20 GMT Organization: ATI Wares Team Last Thursday I placed a residential order with Pac*Bell and was given a Monday due date (my tenth line). She said if I had any questions to give her a call *even on Saturday*. So today I tried it out. The business office is really open! Do you suppose they are following the banks' example? Imagine, the phone company open on Saturday! Never thought I'd see it. -- John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.uucp | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o ! [Moderator's Note: Illinois Bell Business Offices have been open on Saturday for about a year now. Of course, there is but one walk-in business office these days, at the downtown HQ building. But the telephone reps are available on Saturday. And AT&T reps are available 24 hours per day, as are Sprint and MCI reps. PT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun Jun 4 10:16:22 1989 From: "Randal L. Schwartz" Subject: Re: Cellular Phone & E911 Organization: Organization? You've got to be kidding! In article westmark!dave@rutgers.edu (Dave Levenson) writes: | The mobile number is probably less useful than the approximate | current location of a mobile telephone. If I see an emergency | situation while driving, I'd like to be able to report it to the | local authorities, not the PSAP who handles the home address | associated with the mobile number (which may be hudreds of miles | away!) I differ. I have called 911 roughly once a week since I received my cell phone. I have learned that all calls go to the Portland 911 office, no matter where I am, so it is a simple matter to ask for the appropriate agency (State Police, XXXX County Sheriff, etc.). If the Portland 911 office doesn't handle dispatch for that agency, they just push a button. Now, they've always asked for my phone number, so I presume my number is not showing on their boards. (I know they can get the phone number of a call from a landline phone, because they call people back, and the local 911 operators did some stupid things with that info...). Just two days ago, I called to report a deer on the road (yes, this is Rural America :-), and gave them a bad vector. The 911 operator called me back to resolve the inconsistant information. But, suppose it had been an emergency, and I didn't have time to give them the number, and then got one of the infamous "cutoffs" that happen only when you don't want them to. Yeah, I'd much rather have them have the cell phone number than the cell antenna number. -- Randal L. Schwartz, Stonehenge Consulting Services (503)777-0095 quality software, documentation, and training at affordable rates ...!uunet!agora.hf.intel.com!merlyn ------------------------------ Date: Sun Jun 4 11:40:41 1989 From: Lang Zerner Subject: Re: NPA-NXX databases Reply-To: langz@asylum.UUCP (Lang Zerner) Organization: The Asylum; Belmont, CA There is a New Jersey, USA number (probably at Bell Labs) which reads area codes from your touchtone pads, then uses a DECtalk speech synthesizer to speak the name of the city as it appears in their database. This seems to be the database that AT&T uses in itemizing its long-distance calling charges. The reader is pretty smart, but has problems in cases where vowels are removed from the city name because it would otherwise be too long. Then it just reads the letters in the name. Also, it tries to read out as words the two-letter postal codes for state names. So you get interesting results with something like SNCRLS-BLMNT, CA (which is close to the text representation of San Carlos/Belmont NPA-NXXs). Still, the system is fast and correct. I don't have the number handy, but I will be happy to look it up for you if you *MAIL* a request (remember to try the addresses below if you get a bounce, or call me at 415/327-9232). -- Be seeing you... --Lang Zerner ARPA:langz@athena.mit.edu MX:langz@asylum.sf.ca.us UUCP:bionet!asylum!langz "...and every morning we had to go and LICK the road clean with our TONGUES!" ------------------------------ Date: 2 Jun 89 08:17:34 PDT (Friday) Subject: The High Cost of Telco Features From: Michael_Krause.henr801E@xerox.com I'm getting nauseous hearing about all of these phone services being talked about on this dl. You people toss references to the services around like they're free or something. (Sarcasm mode has been on since the begining of this msg, no hook-up charge involved). In Wayne County, NY New York Tel will let us, those of us who already pay over $35 just for the grand pleasure of using the noisey, intermittant pulse only services of a private line, will let us pay an additional $2.21 per month to be able to dial our phones with TONES!! And if we sign up for these services before July 21 we won't be charged the $9.20 hook-up charge!! We can also enjoy the furturistic features of call waiting, call blocking, speed dialing (max of 8 numbers) and who knows what all else as a package deal. Buy now to avoid the $15.50 hook-up charge and you can then begin to pay $13+ per month. Sorry, you missed the deadline, Sarcasm Mode turned off. Is NYT for real, do real people in the rest of the world get charged rates like this? It's not like NYT has to get out of their chair or anything to enable these services, is it? I thought it was bad when I paid a base rate of just over $30 to get a lousy connection that might let me carry on a short 300 bps modem conversation to my office just 30 miles away, long distance at that. Do I really want to pay almost $50 per month to utilize the telephonic state of the art? Mike Krause Xerox Corporation The remarks above are my own and do not reflect the opinions of any other irrational human being. ------------------------------ From: "K.BLATTER" Subject: Re: Atlanta Company Offers Residential 800 service Date: 2 Jun 89 19:13:26 GMT Organization: AT&T ISL Lincroft NJ USA In article , mihalo@chinet.chi.il.us (William Mihalo) writes: > The number to call for Telecom USA is 1 800-476-9000 > BTW, when I called Telecom USA I could barely hear the person at the > other end. It was a very poor connection. I don't know if they are using > their own 800 numbers for business purposes. According to the TELECOM Digest Guide to North American Area Codes dated Jan 19, 1989 800-476 is "owned" (if that's the proper term) by Teleconnect. Kevin L. Blatter AT&T - Bell Labs ------------------------------ From: carlson@gateway.mitre.org (Bruce Carlson) Subject: Re: Area code data for Autovon number Date: 2 Jun 89 19:33:55 GMT Reply-To: carlson@gateway.mitre.org (Bruce Carlson) Organization: The Mitre Corporation >X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 184, message 10 of 11 >/* Written 2:20 am May 27, 1989 by telecom-gateway@vector.UUCP in S41: comp.dcom.telecom */ >/* ---------- ""area code" data for Autovon number" ---------- */ >>I'd like to mash a copy of the area code program to return locations >>for Autovon prefixes (and vice-versa). Does anyone have an online >>copy of Autovon prefixes+locations I could grab for this purpose? >>--Frank >/* End of text from S41:comp.dcom.telecom */ I have a copy of the Department of Defense Telepone Directory for the National Capital Region [Washington, DC for the nonmilitary types]. This directory provides the numbers for all DoD offices in Washington, DC and also includes the AUTOVON prefixes and information numbers for almost all DoD installations. There is a statement on page one that says this directory is "For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402". If they will sell you a copy I assume it is legal to do so and it should solve your problem with determining location of AUTOVON numbers. Bruce Carlson MITRE Corp Disclaimer: My comments do not necessarily reflect the views of MITRE Corp or any government agency MITRE supports. ------------------------------ Date: 2-JUN-1989 19:22:05.26 From: "DOUGLAS SCOTT REUBEN)" Subject: re: Call-Waiting Not to spoil that amusing article a few Telecoms back about the loud "clicks" you hear on old ESS Call-Waiting, but... I've noticed that on newer exchanges, mainly DMS-100 (-200?) and 5ESS niether party hears a click. The called party hears only a beep, while the person talking to the called party hears nothing. Only if the person who gets the Call Wait is talking or if there is a lot of noise in the background will you hear a small gap of silence while he receives the Call-Wait tone. This is pretty nice, but it also means that you can't tell if the person who is Call-Waiting you has hung up or not (ie, you don't answer the Call-Wait.) On the an older ESS, you would hear a final "click" after the person calling you would hang up. On a DMS (and I presume 5ESS, although I never tried it), you only hear the two Call-Wait tones, and that's it. The person Call-Waiting you could stay on the line and keep ringing for hours, and as long as you were still talking, you'd never know, and may miss other Call-Waits. (Silly, but it can happen...) (DMS's do other weird things, like not let you make a 3-way call until you connect to your other party, even if it's long distance. Most older ESS's only do this locally (or only to 'tandem' exchanges?) so if you call someone in Toronto (assuming you don't live there) and he is busy, you can 3-way that call with someone else. (Again, silly, but you may want to for some reason...) On a DMS, it *knows* you didn't complete the call, and won't give you the three-way tone, and will just drop the Toronto/busy call and give you a dial tone. I guess it all depends on how much info the switch is given... If has a way to test for call completion, I guess it uses that info when processing 3-way calls... ) Anyhow, have fun with Call-Waiting! -Doug dreuben@eagle.wesleyan.edu dreuben%eagle.weslyn@wesleyan.bitnet (and just plain old "dreuben" to locals! :-) ) (I hear the local count reading these is up to 3!!! wow!) ------------------------------ Subject: The Term "Touchtone" -- No Longer Protected? Date: Fri, 2 Jun 89 17:48:32 EDT From: "Dr. T. Andrews" At one time, the term "touchtone" (wiht possible capitalization) was protected as a trademark by The Phone Co. Has TPC given up the rights to the name? I have close at hand an advert from a candy seller offering cheap "touchtone" phones markedlN`-9 name of the candy. There is no trademark ACK in the fine print, either. If the term is no longer protected, then I should be interested to know. No one knows what I mean when I say "DTMF". Repies via e-mail; I'll post a summary unless there is a moderator note with this message indicating that I shall e-mail results to interested parties. Thanks. Dr. T. Andrews, Systems CompuData, Inc. DeLand -- ...!bikini.cis.ufl.edu!ki4pv!tanner ...!bpa!cdin-1!cdis-1!ki4pv!tanner or... {allegra killer gatech!uflorida decvax!ucf-cs}!ki4pv!tanner ------------------------------ From: "John R. Covert" Date: 6 Jun 89 19:10 Subject: Cellular around the world >Does Beijing have cellular telephone service? Most certainly. And not just available to the government -- it really is there for the use of the foreign business community. Beijing was really trying very hard to be a modern city. I agree that it is amazing that the phone service was not shut off, but it's equally amazing that essentially all international long distance service is still working normally. >Just how worldwide IS cellular telephone service implemented? I didn't >think it even was available all over Europe yet. We Americans tend to think we've got the best of everything, but we're often wrong. Cellular phones are much more common in some European countries (Sweden in particular) than here. And in many cases the systems are much more fully developed and quite sophisticated. The NMT-900 system operating in the Nordic countries works automatically in all four countries. Even for incoming calls, with no nonsense with "roamer ports." Germany's C-Netz (which I used during a recent trip) operates almost all over the country, even in some fairly rural areas. No matter where I was in Germany, I could be called from all over the world on the same number. Incoming calls were at no cost to me. The system in the U.K., which uses the same hardware as the U.S. system, but different software in the phones, is likewise a nationwide integrated system. In the 1990s, Europe is supposed to introduce a new pan-Europe system which will work no matter where you are in Europe. Cellular users in the U.S. can hope that our regulators will get their heads out of the sand and allow our systems to connect together by then. (We just got Follow-Me-Roaming here in Boston, and I refuse to use it, because NYNEX Mobile has decided to charge local airtime in addition to the long distance call and roamer airtime. Fortunately, I have a computer at home that can transfer callers to the roamer port.) The following table lists countries with cellular systems. The protocol used in the U.S. is "AMPS." Theoretically, a U.S. cellular user would be able to use his phone in any of those countries. In fact, local regulations often do not permit you to even bring your own phone into many countries. I do know that American visitors can sign up to use their own phones in the following countries: Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Netherlands Antilles, St. Kitts & Nevis, and Zaire. American Samoa AMPS American Samoa Government (PTT) Argentina AMPS Companie de Radio Commun. Mobiles (CRM) Australia AMPS Telecom Australia (PTT) Austria NMT-450 PTV Bahamas AMPS Bahamas Telecomms Corp. Belgium NMT-450 PTT Bermuda AMPS Bermuda Telephone Co., Ltd. Brazil AMPS British Virgin Islands AMPS CCT Boatphone Canada AMPS Cantel (A) or Local Telco (B) Cayman Islands AMPS Cable & Wireless China (PRC) TACS/NMT PTT Denmark NMT-450/900 PTT Dominican Republic AMPS Codetel Finland NMT-450/900 PTT France Radiocom 2000 PTT NMT-450 Hong Kong AMPS & TACS Hutchison Radio TACS Hong Kong Telephone AMPS-type Chinatel Iceland NMT-450 PTT Indonesia NMT PTT Ireland TACS-900 PTT Israel AMPS Motorola Tadiran Italy RTMS SIP Jamaica AMPS JTC Japan NAMTS NTT & others Kenya AMPS Kenya PTC Kuwait NAMTS PTT Luxembourg NMT-450 PTT Malaysia NMT-450 JTM Mexico AMPS DGT Netherlands NMT-450 PTT Netherlands Antilles AMPS East Carribean Cellular, N.V. New Zealand AMPS PTT Norway NMT-450/900 PTT Oman NMT PTT Panama AMPS Philippines AMPS 1) PLDT 2) Express St. Kitts & Nevis AMPS CCT Boatphone Saudi Arabia NMT PTT Singapore AMPS The Telecommunications Authority South Korea AMPS Korea Telecomms Authority Spain NMT-450 La Co. Telefonica Nacional de Espana Sweden NMT-450/900 PTT Switzerland NMT-900 PTT Taiwan AMPS Thailand AMPS CATS NMT-450 TOT Tunisia NMT-450 PTT Turkey NMT-450 PTT United Arab Emirates TACS PTT United Kingdom TACS-900 1) Cellnet 2) Vodaphone Venezuela AMPS CANTV West Germany C-Netz PTT Zaire AMPS Telecel ------------------------------ Subject: Access Code for Mercury (UK) Reply-To: K.Hopkins%computer-science.nottingham.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk Date: Mon, 05 Jun 89 15:30:04 +0100 From: Kevin Hopkins In the UK the only company allowed to provide an alternative telephone service to British Telecom (BT) is Mercury (part of Cable & Wireless). Access to Mercury is gained over the ordinary BT exchange line by pressing the Mercury button before dialling a phone number. This Mercury button is really just a memory button which zaps an access code down the line, causing the switch from the BT system to Mercury system, and follows this with the subscribers authorisation code. Could someone please tell me what form the *ACCESS* code to Mercury is? Is it of the form of an area code 0NXX or of a special operator-like code 1XX? It's just one of those things that have been bugging me recently. +--------------------------------------------+--------------------------------+ | K.Hopkins%cs.nott.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk | Kevin Hopkins, | | or ..!mcvax!ukc!nott-cs!K.Hopkins | Department of Computer Science,| | or in the UK: K.Hopkins@uk.ac.nott.cs | University of Nottingham, | | CHAT-LINE: +44 602 484848 x 3815 | Nottingham, ENGLAND, NG7 2RD | +--------------------------------------------+--------------------------------+ [Moderator's Note: Any problem with simply asking Mercury, if you wish to sign up for the service or use it occassionally? PT] ------------------------------ From: Brian Jay Gould Subject: Re: Atlanta Company Offers Residential 800 service Date: 6 Jun 89 13:48:57 GMT Organization: NJ InterCampus Network, New Brunswick, N.J. In article , klb@lzaz.att.com (K. BLATTER) writes: > In article , mihalo@chinet.chi.il.us > (William Mihalo) writes: > > The number to call for Telecom USA is 1 800-476-9000 > > > BTW, when I called Telecom USA I could barely hear the person at the > > other end. It was a very poor connection. I don't know if they are using > > their own 800 numbers for business purposes. > > According to the TELECOM Digest Guide to North American Area Codes dated > Jan 19, 1989 800-476 is "owned" (if that's the proper term) by Teleconnect. > > Kevin L. Blatter > AT&T - Bell Labs Yes Kevin, Telecom*USA is the parent company to Teleconnect (as well as a half dozen or more other carriers. In fact, I believe that Telecom*USA is the fourth largest long distance carrier in the country. If your guide is more than three weeks old, it is out of date. As for the problems with the 800 number, I called and had no problem. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Brian Jay Gould :: INTERNET gould@pilot.njin.net - - UUCP rutgers!njin!gould Telephone (201) 329-9616 - - BITNET gould@jvncc Facsimile (201) 329-9616 - - Vice President, Systems Integration --- Network Design Corporation - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Jun 89 22:26:10 -0800 From: "Michael C. Berch" Subject: Details on new area code 510 The press release from Pacific Bell, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, gives the phase-in dates for the new NPA 510. (By the way, is this the first "real" [i.e., geographical] N10 NPA?) Inception is scheduled for 7 October 1991, with a four-month grace period when NPA 415 will still work for the affected numbers. Final cutover is scheduled for 27 January 1992. NPA 510 will encompass Alameda and Contra Costa counties, which currently have 842,388 customers. -- Michael C. Berch mcb@tis.llnl.gov / uunet!tis.llnl.gov!mcb ------------------------------ Date: 6 Jun 89 16:41:43 GMT From: Lars Poulsen Subject: Re: The High Cost of Telco Features In article Michael_Krause.henr801E@xerox.com writes: > In Wayne County, NY New York Tel > [pulse-only private-line service is over $35/month] > [tone dialing offered as a new service for $2.21/month, $9.20 hook-up] >furturistic features of call waiting, call blocking, speed dialing (max of >8 numbers) and who knows what all else as a package deal. Buy now to avoid >the $15.50 hook-up charge and you can then begin to pay $13+ per month. These rates are certainly much higher than what the much-maligned GTE is charging me; for $22.50/month I get two private lines, one tone and one pulse. For another $6.50/month I could get a feature pack; I am not taking any of those, though; I think this is grossly overpriced. One new offering has me intrigued, though: They have just announced a new expanded feature pack which includes camp-on !!! I think it was $11/month for *all* optional features. Is that a true camp-on, or is it just "busy number redialing" (which is the official name) ? I'd expect camp-on for local calls, redialing for toll calls. It always seems to be toll calls that get the frustrating permanent busy. And for a couple of hundred dollars, I could buy a very fine demon dialer of my own :-). / Lars Poulsen (800) 222-7308 or (805) 963-9431 ext 358 ACC Customer Service Affiliation stated for identification only My employer probably would not agree if he knew what I said !! ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Mercury Reply-To: K.Hopkins%computer-science.nottingham.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk Date: Wed, 07 Jun 89 12:43:42 +0100 From: Kevin Hopkins In reply to your comment, Patrick, companies of Mercury's ilk don't like you asking for their access codes. They think you are trying to find the full format of the codes (including the authorisation codes used for billing) in order to crack their system, which I am not of course. The code is in fact 133, an operator-like code. Thanks to Peter Morgan at Brighton for supplying the information. I know of the following operator-like codes in the UK, anyone care to add to these: 100 Operator Services 133 Mercury Access Number 142 London Directory Enquiries (from London numbers only) 150 Phone Hardware Enquiries (maybe only locally defined) 151 Fault reports 153 International Directory Enquiries 155 International Operator 191 Other Enquiries 192 Directory Enquiries Kev. ------------------------------ Subject: Denmark has changed all area codes! Date: 7 Jun 89 18:57:09 MET (Wed) From: "Kim F. Storm" Starting May 16th, all area codes in Denmark were changed from the old 01 to 09 (where the 0 was left out on international calls) to area codes in the range 31 to 99, while the last 6 digits are the same for MOST subscribers. This has effectively expanded the numbers from 7 digit (+ leading 0) to 8 digit. The change was very well prepared, and everything has worked very well from day one. The reason for the change was that the old number scheme ran out of numbers in the Copenhagen area (which were split into two areas a couple of years ago). The old 7 digit numbers (+ 0) will work until January 1st 1990, and so will international calls using the old numbers (a time out is used to distinguish old 7 digit numbers from the new 8 digit numbers). The problem with the approach is that the assignment of new area codes is almost arbitrary in large areas. For example, 01 becomes any of 31, 32, through 39, 02 becomes 42, 43, ... 49, 03 becomes 52, 53, ...., etc. The only way you can know the new number is to lookup the old 7 digit number in a conversion table. The really funny thing about this number change is that except for the numbers in the central of Copenhagen, all area codes will change again sometime within the next 15 years as the centrals are replaced by digital exchanges, i.e. about 50000 numbers will change each year! So be prepared for problems dialing into Denmark for the next 15 years :-) The market has been flooded with programs (mainly for the PCs) which can go through files and replace phone numbers correctly. However, many companies use the phone number as account numbers for their customers, so I can imagine all sorts of problems if these programs are used by the average non-expert PC user. I think this example puts some perspective on the "oh no, now we have to use the 404 area code inside the 404 area" and similar debates. We went through the same excercise one year ago when the tel.co. prepared the transition to 8 digit numbers: We had to learn to use the 0N area code inside all 0N areas! I also think this demonstrates that Danes are very tolerant people. --- Kim F. Storm storm@texas.dk Tel +45 429 174 00 Texas Instruments, Marielundvej 46E, DK-2730 Herlev, Denmark No news is good news, but nn is better! ------------------------------ Date: Tue Jun 6 23:15:10 1989 From: Lang Zerner Subject: Touch-tone charges going away? Reply-To: langz@asylum.UUCP (Lang Zerner) Organization: The Great Escape, Inc. When I got my basic service installed here in Palo Alto, CA, the guy on the other end asked if I wanted the touch-tone "option". I asked him what the additional cost was, and took it. Then I gave him the old "Did you know..." about how when the phone-using public was paying for the research that led to touch-tone, it was told (correctly) that touch-tone would bring down the cost of running the phone system and (incorrectly) that the savings would trickle down to the consumers. He was surprisingly knowledgeable for a sales rep, and we had a nice conversation about the current state of digital systems implementation and arbitrary restrictions on ISDN services. He also said that "PacBell is lobbying (some regulating body (the PUC?)) to kill the extra charge for touch-tone". PacBell is a business. It wouldn't try to kill the touch-tone charge unless (a) they believe that the cost of supporting pulse dialing will soon exceed the revenue of touch-tone charges, or (b) they have been overcome by an irrational urge to charge for a service proportionally to its cost. If PacBell is anything like other BOCs I've done business with, I find (b) to be exceedingly unlikely. Anyone have any evidence suggesting (a)? Any other reasons PacBell would be lobbying for such a move? Any evidence that the sales rep was mistaken (i.e. that PacBell is making no such lobbying effort)? I have always felt that tone "service" charges were one of the most irrational BOC charges. There is no extra cost to the BOC, and in some cases it results in *lower* operating costs. I am very interested to learn if there is any truth to the rumor that the charge may be removed. -- Be seeing you... --Lang Zerner ARPA:langz@athena.mit.edu MX:langz@asylum.sf.ca.us UUCP:bionet!asylum!langz "...and every morning we had to go and LICK the road clean with our TONGUES!" ------------------------------ From: Richard Childers Subject: Re: Cellular Phone & 911 - two replies Date: 7 Jun 89 20:13:35 GMT Reply-To: Richard Childers Organization: Metaprogrammers International decwrl!apple!zygot!john@ucbvax.berkeley.edu (John Higdon) writes: >When I got back onto the roadway, I approached him again (he was poking >along at around 40 MPH) and he sped up again. This time I backed off >and watched as another motorist tried to pass him and got the same >response that I had earlier. That did it. I picked up the phone and >dialed 911. It was the Bakersfield system that responded and I was >connected to the CHP, the initial call handling agency. Yup, a real emergency there. >I described the car and its actions and location. Not five minutes >later, two CHP cruisers zipped onto the highway, and off in the >distance I could see the gentleman being forced to the side of the >road. You talk about instant gratification! Talk about juvenile power trips. You could have waited a few minutes to get past him. This sounds like an infantile power trip. Instant gratification, indeed. -- richard * "We must hang together, gentlemen ... else, we shall most assuredly * * hang separately." Benjamin Franklin, 1776 * * * * ..{amdahl|decwrl|octopus|pyramid|ucbvax}!avsd.UUCP!childers@tycho * ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest Received: from gamma.eecs.nwu.edu by decwrl.dec.com (5.54.5/4.7.34) id AA15655; Wed, 7 Jun 89 23:32:06 PDT Received: from gamma.eecs.nwu.edu by decwrl.dec.com (5.54.5/4.7.34) for covert::telecom_request; id AA15655; Wed, 7 Jun 89 23:32:06 PDT Received: from mailinglists by gamma.eecs.nwu.edu id aa19611; 8 Jun 89 1:18 CDT Received: from mailinglists by gamma.eecs.nwu.edu id aa19606; 8 Jun 89 1:15 CDT Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by gamma.eecs.nwu.edu id aa19602; 8 Jun 89 1:15 CDT Downloaded From P-80 Systems 304-744-2253