TELECOM Digest     Tue, 21 Feb 95 15:12:00 CST    Volume 15 : Issue 112

Inside This Issue:                           Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Pair Gain Line Problem, Help! (Bennett Wong)
    Re: What is Loop Start? (Martin McCormick)
    Re: What is Loop Start? (William Wood)
    Re: What is Loop Start? (Wally Ritchie)
    Re: What is Loop Start? (Sharon Prey)
    Re: Pre-Paid Phone Cards - Evening Rates? (Jeffrey Kagan)
    Re: Pre-Paid Phone Cards - Evening Rates? (Cliff Lam)
    Re: Pre-Paid Phone Cards - Evening Rates? (Shawn Gordhamer)
    Re: Motorola Flip Phone and Low Battery (David Chessler)
    Re: Motorola Flip Phone and Low Battery (Shawn Gordhamer)
    Re: Motorola Flip Phone and Low Battery (Ry Jones)
    Re: What is DMS-100? (Sharon Prey)
    Re: What is DMS-100? (Greg Habstritt)
    Re: What is DMS-100? (Mike Boyd)
    Re: Area Code/Prefix Trivia (Philip V. Hull)
    Re: Area Code/Prefix Trivia (David W. Tamkin)

TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the 
moderated
newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. 

Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:

                 * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu *

The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax 
or phone at:
                    9457-D Niles Center Road
                     Skokie, IL USA   60076
                       Phone: 500-677-1616
                        Fax: 708-329-0572
  ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu **

Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using
anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email
information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to
use the information service, just ask.

************************************************************************
*
*   TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the              
*
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland    
* 
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES)   
* 
* project.  Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-
*
* ing views of the ITU.                                                 
*
************************************************************************
*

Additionally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such
as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help 
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per
year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.

All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 21 Feb 95 08:56:16 PST
From: wong@pairgain.com (Bennett Wong)
Subject: Re: Pair Gain Line Problem, Help!


> I have been told by a Pac Bell (i'm in CA) tech that the reason that I
> cannot connect above 9600 is because I'm on a "Pair Gain" line to the
> C.O. My roommate has no problem, the tech says he's on a copper line
> to the C.O.

> Problem: Pac Bell refuses to change me over to a copper line, saying
> that they are only required to provide a 'voice-grade' line which only
< has to support transfer speed of 1200 bps (HA HA HA HA HA).

Matt,

I can't offer any specific advice, but I can give you some information
that might be helpful. Assuming that by using the term "Pair Gain" you
mean that Pac Bell has you on an AML line, you're probably on an
analog "added main line". My tech guys tell me that the most you will
probably get is 2400 baud.  If you're on a digital AML, then you
should be able to go above 9600 baud with no problem.

The company that I work for, PairGain Technologies, sells a digital
AML called PG-2 that can support dialup modems at speeds up to 19.2
kbits/s with no problem. (It may be able to support higher rates, but
19.2 kbits/s is what they last tested a PG-2 unit at). However, my
tech guys also tell me that Pac Bell doesn't buy any PG-2 units from
us. Instead, they buy units from Rockwell, Wescom, and Adtrans.  I
don't know if these are digital or analog AML's, but it seems the
trend is to not buy anymore analog AML's.

Maybe you can ask your phone company to move you over to a digital AML
(perhaps, from PairGain Technologies ;) from an analog AML.


Hope this helps,

Bennett Wong     PairGain Technologies, Inc.
14402 Franklin Avenue     Tustin, CA 92680
wong@pairgain.com

------------------------------

From: Martin McCormick <martin@dc.cis.okstate.edu>
Subject: Re: What is Loop Start?
Date: 20 Feb 1995 19:45:31 GMT
Organization: Oklahoma State University  Stillwater, OK


In article <telecom15.107.15@eecs.nwu.edu> nagle@netcom.com (John Nagle) 
writes:

> When a subscriber goes off-hook with intent to originate but
> actually answers an incoming call, the situation called "glare" has
> occured.  This is a big problem for heavily-used lines used for both
> incoming and outgoing calls,

Where did the term "glare" ever get to be used in this context?


Martin McCormick WB5AGZ   Stillwater, OK
OSU Center for Computing and Information Services Data Communications 
Group


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Imagine two motorists driving in opposite
directions down a narrow one-lane road with no room to pass each other.
They meet in the middle somewhere, and each one leans out the window and
glares at the other, wanting *them* to the be one to back up and get
out of the way. 'Glare' in the conventional sense means to look in a
hostile fashion at another person. Two calls on one pair each going in
the opposite direction are certainly hostile and/or incompatible with
each other. 

A state law on the books in Kansas at the end of the 19th century 
detailed
exactly how to handle the problem of glare, where railroad trains were
concerned:  "If two trains both on the same track approach each other
 from opposite directions, then each shall come to a complete halt and
wait until the other train has passed entirely."  Yes, that was a law in
Kansas over a hundred years ago, repealed quite a few years ago when the
Kansas legislature did a major overhaul and re-codification of the 
statutes
of that state.  In the case of telephonic glare, there is really no 
other
option except for both parties to disconnect and start all over again
unless the party on the inside line of the PBX is willing to be nice 
about
it and try to transfer the call off his line and back to the attendant
somehow, even though she did not give the call to him in the first 
place. 
PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 21 Feb 1995 10:38:52 -0800
From: wewood@ix.netcom.com (William Wood)
Subject: Re: What is Loop Start?


Paul Garfield (garfield@vanilla.cs.umn.edu) writes:

> Long ago I remember terms like loop start and ground start as
> different protocols for handling signaling bits on a T1 line ...

Paul, it couldn't have been reeeealy long ago or you'd know that loop, 
ground, wink, etc. originated on analog lines (local loops from the dial 
tone switch, etc.) and trunks (facilities between switches). See ..... 
sometimes it pays to be old. The best way to look at your question is to 
begin by understanding that T type carrier is simply the transporter of 
signaling information. It doesn't do anything but extend the native 
signaling/supervision form of the equipment to which it is connected, 
which is (in voice applications) usually a switch, but sometimes private 
line equipment. The T (or any other type of carrier) is at its core 
nothing more than a distance extension methodology to allow devices such 
as telephones to be located beyond metallic circuit distances. The 
circuit signaling type is unrelated to the carrier system (other than 
its ability to transparently transport the supervision states). So, the 
first part of answering your question is to divorce the carrier from the 
signaling. The next part is just basic phone stuff relating to signaling 
and/or supervision. 

Loop start is the type of supervision generated by your local POTS 
(plain ol' telephone service) telephone set. The local serving dial tone 
switch applies (normally in the USA) -48v battery to one (usually the 
ring) of the wires in the pair coming to your phone. It applies switch 
ground to the other. When you go off hook, your telephone set connects 
the tip and ring wires together thus forming a "loop" from the switches' 
point of view. This loop starts the call process.

Ground start adds one new wrinkle. In the idle state the switch still 
applies -48 battery on the (usually) ring wire but leaves the tip open. 
When you want to make a call your device (PBX or special phone) must 
first apply a local ground to the (usually) ring wire. This will cause 
current flow on that wire which the switch will interpret as a request 
for ground on the (usually) tip wire. From here on out the process works 
like loop start. We've always called this operation RING GROUND START 
because you have to ground the ring wire to start the dialing process. 
This process also helps prevent glare, but I'll leave that explanation 
for another posting.

The other types of supervision you asked about are usually not line
oriented. They are used on trunks. Wink just means a momentary off/on
hook change which alerts equipment to follow on with some action. MF
outpulsing is a good example of what happens after one switch sees a
wink on a trunk from a distant switch. The word wink comes from an old
type of signaling test box which had two lights that lit up when the
line and drop were on hook. The lights would go out on off hook
conditions. A momentary change from on to off and back to on would
cause the light bulbs to blink or wink at you.

Hope this helps - we have a two day on-site only seminar which covers
these basic processes, if you re interested in more details.


WE Wood     Technotranslater
Techtrans Animatics Group
Techish to English Translations

------------------------------

From: writchie@gate.net
Subject: Re: What is Loop Start?
Date: 21 Feb 1995 06:06:09 GMT
Reply-To: writchie@gate.net


In <telecom15.106.5@eecs.nwu.edu>, garfield@vanilla.cs.umn.edu (Paul 
Garfield) writes:

> Long ago I remember terms like loop start and ground start as
> different protocols for handling signaling bits on a T1 line (although
> I didn't know the details).  Recently I've seen the following terms
> applied to ANALOG lines: loop start, ground start, wink start, earth
> recall.  What do these mean?  I always thought all analog lines were
> the same.

The relevance to T1 is only that the AB signalling bits control the
signalling functions performed in the particular channel units that
provide the analog interfaces. The base definitions for the interfaces
are analog. To summarize:

Loop start is the regular POTS line where closing the loop signals
off- hook to the Office and power ringing signals an incoming call.
Disconnect from the office following an answered call is typically
indicated by removal of battery (which dropped the hold relay on the
once pervasive 1A2 key system. The major difficulty with loop start is
that an incoming call can be connecting during the silent interval of
the power ringing and it is possible to close the loop for an outgoing
call during this interval. The incoming call will then be answered.
This can be reduced by immediate ringing (connecting the line to an
active cycle of power ringing immediately upon seizure) but this is
typically not available.

Ground start originates calls to the Office by grounding tip. Calls
from the Office are indicated by tip ground (and power ringing).
Ground start also provides positive disconnect indication from office
under all conditions. Ground start is the typical analog PBX trunk
interface.

Wink Start is not a trunk type but a signalling protocol that can be
used on Reverse Battery (DID) or E&M trunks. The wink indicates
readiness to receive digits. The wink is a momentary offhook after
which the originating end transfers digits by either pulse dialing or
inband tones.  Off-hook is returned when the addressed station
answers.

Reverse battery uses battery from the CPE with normal polarity
indicating on-hook and reverse polarity indicating off-hook. Reverse
battery is one way in to the CPE. The channel units are called DPO and
DPT (Dial Pulse Originating and Terminating).

Earth recall is the U.K. version of ground start. Perhaps someone on
the other side of the pond can elaborate on this and other European
Interfaces.


Wally Ritchie    Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

------------------------------

From: Sprey@ix.netcom.com (sharon prey)
Subject: Re: What is Loop Start?
Date: 20 Feb 1995 23:30:04 GMT
Organization: Netcom


In <telecom15.106.5@eecs.nwu.edu> garfield@vanilla.cs.umn.edu (Paul 
Garfield) writes: 

> Long ago I remember terms like loop start and ground start as
> different protocols for handling signaling bits on a T1 line (although
> I didn't know the details).  Recently I've seen the following terms
> applied to ANALOG lines: loop start, ground start, wink start, earth
> recall.  What do these mean?  I always thought all analog lines were
> the same.

   Most of your regular phone lines are loop start; you pick up the 
phone 
and there is a loop or circle from the phone thru the equipment and back 
to you. Ground starts lines that require a ground on one side to give
dial tone, and they may be business lines or lines other than the
regular residential lines (they can be ground start but not usually).
Loop and ground start are not just analog. Wink start is on a trunk or
connection that requires the other end to send a wink.  The wink is
like saying it's okay to send digits to connect your call.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Don't you think however that ground start
lines are a lot more secure in applications like modem dial in lines or
situations where the power could go off and concievably leave an inbound
caller connected to your system with the ability to use one of your
outgoing lines?   PAT]

------------------------------

From: jefkagan@netcom.com (Jeffrey Kagan)
Subject: Re: Pre-Paid Phone Cards - Evening Rates?
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 1995 13:57:27 GMT


There is not a standard program. Some offer a time of day sensitive 
program, and others do not. You just have to sort through the different 
deals till you find the one that satisfies your criteria.


Jeffrey Kagan  *  KAGAN TELECOM ASSOCIATES * Atlanta GA    
Telecommunications industry analyst, market researcher, consultant and 
speaker
(404)419-2222  *  PO Box 670562  *  Marietta GA 30066 
Internet Address: jefkagan@netcom.com

------------------------------

From: clifflam@interlog.com (clifflam)
Subject: Re: Pre-Paid Phone Cards - Evening Rates?
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 95 00:29:33 GMT
Organization: interlog.com


pwinston@cs.hmc.edu (Philip Winston) wrote:

> I was thinking about tracking down some of those pre-paid phone cards
> (even AT&T has them now I think) as a gift for someone. 

Are there other more attractive options for making long distance calls 
at
pay phones without a bag of change or some form of credit card?  I am
interested in situations of placing calls from Canada to US, Europe,
Asia and the Caribbeans.


Cliff Lam


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes there are. For example AT&T's 500
program now allows what you are asking, and one equally as good or
perhaps better is the 800 number service called 'My Line'. It also
offers outdial capability.    PAT]

------------------------------

From: shawnlg@netcom.com (Shawn Gordhamer)
Subject: Re: Pre-Paid Phone Cards - Evening Rates?
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 1995 12:55:34 GMT


pwinston@cs.hmc.edu (Philip Winston) writes:

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: They are a pretty lousy deal. Most 
charge
> fifty cents per minute, in one minute increments. That's not 
surprising,
> considering there are so many hands in the pot trying to cash in on 
them.
> Many/most pre-paid card are multi-level-marketing things; everyone 
wants
> a commission. For example, a couple years ago I experimented here with 
the
> Digest readers with a type of pre-paid card called 'Talk Ticket'. For
> two dollars, you got four minutes of time in increments of one minute 
each.
> I paid, I think, $1.45 per card and resold them for the published 
price
> of $2.00.  Whoever I bought them from got them for about 85 cents each
> I believe. A unit is a unit is a unit; day or night, weekdays or 
Sundays;
> it does not matter. You could also, if desired, spend the four minutes
> on the extra features offered such as voicemail, news weather and 
sports,
> hot chat on a conference bridge, etc. 

> Prepaid cards are promoted as a way to allow someone to use your 
telephone
> card a limited amount of time -- presumably for calls made to you -- 
without
> the worry of that person abusing your regular card. They are also 
promoted


> as a way to greatly reduce toll fraud, since if you lose the card or
get
> shoulder-surfed at the train station all stand to lose is the 
remaining
> balance on that card. Those are good reasons, but the other side of 
the
> coin is you pay so much for them by comparison.  I put prepaid phone 
cards
> in the same category as American Express or Traveler's Express Money 
Orders.
> You pay them money for the privilege of lending them money until you 
> get around to cashing it in.

Well, UpFront @ 1-800-888-3510 is a pretty good deal for a prepaid card.  
I know NOTHING about the company, if it's an MLM.  I just called the
company and they sent me a card.  You can recharge it with check or
credit card.

Rates are $.20/min day, $.16/min eve, and $.13/min nite, anywhere in the 
US, including IN YOUR OWN STATE.  This last point is better than a lot 
of 
calling cards.  There is a $.10 surcharge per call though.

I plug this company because I like the rates; I have nothing else to 
gain.

If someone knows something more about UpFront, please post.  I'm 
curious.


Shawn Gordhamer   shawnlg@netcom.com


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It sounds like a decent deal. Anyone from
UpFront out there care to comment?  PAT]

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Motorola Flip Phone and Low Battery
From: david.chessler@neteast.com (DAVID CHESSLER)
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 95 02:49:00 -0500
Organization: Online Technologies, Inc. - 301-738-0001
Reply-To: david.chessler@neteast.com (DAVID CHESSLER)


> My instructions for my xt-pak ni-cad batteries say to maintain long
> lifetime, I should discharge them fully before recharging (all the
> time, not just the first five times), so I've found I must stuff the
> phone under the couch cushions overnight so it won't wake me up.

> Maybe this is an opportunity for a third party product - a cell phone
> silencer (sound proof box), or a battery drainer (something that just
> puts a load on the battery until it drains completely).

I've handled ordinary nicads by putting them in a flashlight, turning
it on, and waiting for the light to go out.

With a cellular battery of peculiar voltage and conformation, just
build a small battery-drainer on a scrap of pegboard, using a
flashlight bulb of appropriate size.


david.chessler@neteast.com
chessler@capaccess.org     chessler@trinitydc.edu

------------------------------

From: shawnlg@netcom.com (Shawn Gordhamer)
Subject: Re: Motorola Flip Phone and Low Battery
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 1995 18:49:49 GMT


I remember reading an article about cellular phone programming where
there was a way to select the voltage at which the phone beeps or goes
off.  If I got it right, you could change the voltage so that it would
never have a chance to beep before the phone died.  Maybe this was
only for when the phone powers off. I don't have the article any more.
I wish I did, since I now have a Motorola!


Shawn Gordhamer    shawnlg@netcom.com

------------------------------

From: rjones@rjones.oz.net (Ry Jones)
Subject: Re: Motorola Flip Phone and Low Battery
Date: 21 Feb 1995 10:36:22 GMT
Organization: The SenseMedia Network, http://sensemedia.net/


Patrick Wolfe (pwolfe@mcs.com) wrote:

> My instructions for my xt-pak ni-cad batteries say to maintain long
> lifetime, I should discharge them fully before recharging (all the
> time, not just the first five times), so I've found I must stuff the
> phone under the couch cushions overnight so it won't wake me up.

Buy some Ni-MH battery packs. My fat pack lasts about 12-18 hours. I
bought a trickle charger for my car and use the battery conditioner at
work. It discharges and recharges in a few hours. And, I think if you
turn the volume of the ringer down, it might affect everything else. I
don't recall.

------------------------------

From: Sprey@ix.netcom.com (sharon prey)
Subject: Re: What is DMS-100?
Date: 21 Feb 1995 23:21:53 GMT
Organization: Netcom


In <telecom15.106.4@eecs.nwu.edu> stahara@xlate.hsc.usc.edu (Stanley 
Tahara) writes: 

> Can someone give me some information?

> I just got a letter from Pac Bell stating that on 10 March they are
> going to install DMS-100 at the Los Angeles Central office and that my
> prefix would be affected.  The letter also states:

> "... If you have other equipment connected to your telephone, such 
> as an answering machine or a computer, you may want to contact the 
> manufacturer or thee dealer from whom you purchased the equipment. 
> Some devices need to be adjusted so they will function properly with 
> our new switching equipment."

DMS-100 is a Northern Telcom digital switch. They may be replacing an 
older switch or just upgrading the DMS. You shouldn't have any problems 
attaching your modem to your phone line. 


sprey

------------------------------

From: gregicg@cadvision.com (Greg Habstritt)
Subject: Re: What is DMS-100?
Date: 21 Feb 1995 01:14:51 GMT
Organization: Intellitech Communications Group


> I just got a letter from Pac Bell stating that on 10 March they are
> going to install DMS-100 at the Los Angeles Central office and that my
> prefix would be affected.  The letter also states:

> What can I expect in the way of problems, if any, using a modem to 
> send or receive call? 

I would guess you won't have any problems at all in the conversion.  It 
sounds like a typical phone company, warning people that their lives may 
change as a result of work they are doing.

A DMS-100 is a Northern Telecom "switch" that is installed in the CO.
It's the actual switch, controlling all network in that particular
area (as they say, "within that switch").

Sounds like they have to add another switch because they need more
capacity that what they have installed presently.  Other than your
prefix changing (prefixes generally can't be shared across switches ...
Centrex is an exception), I wouldn't expect much else to change.

Bottom line is that plain old telephone service (POTS) is POTS.  It
won't affect your modem dialing, etc.  God only knows why they would
even send out such a notice, because other than your prefix probably
changing, you probably won't notice anything different at all.


gregicg@cadvision.com        Greg Habstritt               
Intellitech Communications Inc.   Calgary, Alberta, Canada

------------------------------

From: Mikeboyd@voyager.cris.com (Mike_Boyd)
Subject: Re: What is DMS-100?
Date: 21 Feb 1995 12:10:37 -0500
Organization: Concentric Research Corporation


The DMS-100 is a central office switch manufactured by Northern
Telecom. It should have absolutely no effect on standard consumer
electronics connected to a standard telephone line. If you have any
problems, contact PacBell and tell them to fix it. Central office
equipment from any manufacturer is designed to be transparent to the
end user.

------------------------------

From: hullp@COGSCI.Berkeley.EDU 
Subject: Re: Area Code/Prefix Trivia
Date: 21 Feb 1995 06:27:21 GMT
Organization: Institute of Cognitive Studies, U.C. Berkeley


In article <telecom15.101.3@eecs.nwu.edu> MSTRANDREW@aol.com writes:

> The Point is in the United States because the portion is south of
> the 49th.  For many years, the local prefix 946 was assigned to the
> 604 area code and local coin phones were desinged to accept Canadian
> currency.  Sometime in the early 1980s, the 946 prefix was reassigned
> to the 206 area.  I have not been there since, so I cannot offer an
> update if the coin phones were transfered to accept US currency.

A similar situation exists with Hyder, Alaska which is accessible by
road only from BC, Canada.  Phone service is provided by the BC phone
company and is in the 604 area code, rather than in the 907 Alaska
area code.


Philip V. Hull

INTERNET: hullp@cogsci.berkeley.edu
BITNET: hullp@cogsci.berkeley.bitnet 
UUCP: ucbvax!cogsci!hullp  OR: ucbvax!cogsci.berkeley.edu!hullp

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Feb 95 12:59 CST
From: dattier@wwa.com (David W. Tamkin)
Subject: Re: Area Code/Prefix Trivia
Organization: World-Wide Access, Vernon Hills, Illinois  60061-0285


The Moderator commented on <telecom15.101.3@eecs.nwu.edu>:

> Did you know it is impossible to travel from Point Roberts to anywhere
> else in the United States by automobile without going through Canada?

When a Nova Scotia native and I were looking at a map of Minnesota
together, he pointed out that the Northwest Angle was cut across
completely by Lake of the Woods, leaving part of it attached to
Manitoba but separated from the rest of Minnesota.

He said, "Look.  There's a part of the United States where you have to
go through Canada to get to the rest of the U.S., unless you fly or
take a boat."

I answered, "Yes.  It's called Alaska."

Point Roberts is not unique.  I don't know whether telephones in the
detached portion of Minnesota (occupied mostly by Northwest Angle
State Forest and the Red Lake Reservation) are in area code 218 or
204.


David W. Tamkin  Box 3284  Skokie, Illinois  60076-6284
dattier@wwa.com    MCI Mail: 426-1818   +1 312 714 5610


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: According to my Rand McNally state
map of Minnesota, Northwest Angle *Provincial* Forest is located
entirely within Manitoba. The small section of the Red Lake Indian
Reservation (separated from the rest of the reservation, which
occupies a huge chunk of northern Minnesota according to the map)
is entirely in the USA. A small community up there is called Angle
Inlet. The boundary seems to come down through the water in such
a way that neighboring Bigsby Island, Big Island and Falcon Island
are all in Ontario, Canada. A couple of small unnamed islands sit
very close off the southern tip of Falcon Island, between it and
Red Lake Indian Reservation which are barely inside the USA. Even
though it appears to be in the USA, the only road shown on the
map which leads from the provincial forest up to Angle Inlet is
referred to as provincial highway 525, even within the USA part.

Now if you look at a map of Manitoba or a map of western Ontario
on those the boundary line is drawn so that a small portion of
Falcon Island and Big Island are also part of the USA -- just the
western and southernmost tips of each. I am amazed that David,
who once took an entire evening driving me all over the northern
boundary line between 312/708, carefully pointing out house by
house, street by street and backyard by backyard where 312 ended
and 708 began, as well as where Centel's territory started and
Illinois Bell's ended does not know whether the phones at the
Indian Reservation -- if there are any -- are serviced out of 218
or 204. Actually, I think they are serviced out of 807, and the
central office in Kenora, Ontario which is the nearest town of
any size.  

And what area code covers the largest geographical area?  Probably
403 which is all of Alberta and the Yukon/Northwest Territories,
although 907 in Alaska is also large. 808 has now become huge also
since where it traditionally was only Hawaii in the past, now it
also includes Midway Island, some distance away and the islands in 
the US Pacific Trust. Also, watch and see if 'country code 671' in
Guam doesn't soon become 'area code 671' in the USA dialing plan.
It is the one remaining place in the scattered possessions of the USA
which still has to be dialed as an international point -- and although
you young'uns wouldn't remember it, we used to have to call Hawaii
through the operator as an international call also, *even after it 
became a state in the USA* for a few years until 808 was assigned.  PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V15 #112
******************************

                                                                               
