OLE@SRI-NIC.ARPA (Ole Jorgen Jacobsen) (08/30/86)
I just got off the phone with a Pacific Bell representative. They have a nice little folder (produced quarterly) called "Easy Access Shoppers Guide", which I wanted another copy of. I also suggested they produce a handy little quick reference card with all the 10XXX codes on it. He responded with "...we don't really care. We're just providing a contact between you and the various long distance carriers." I responded that someone SHOULD care and that one of the main features of easy access is that you can choose your carrier on a per-call basis. His said that most people want just one long distance carrier and don't care about the rest. I couldn't argue with that except to point out that the 10XXX feature has been very carefully kept in the obscure by everyone from the BOCs to the LDDs and the BIG issue in all advertising and such has been the selection of your default carrier. I guess this ploy worked. Foo Ole
S.PAE@DEEP-THOUGHT.MIT.EDU (Philip A. Earnhardt) (09/01/86)
I was paying a bill in the NET Cambridge, MA office and decided to ask them about the 10xxx codes. The representative knew nothing about them. He said that, if there were codes, the individual LD companies would have to tell me about them, since they didn't know anything about them. I pointed out that THEIR computer that had to know the codes, since it had to route the calls. He didn't understand. From what I've heard, I almost get the feeling the local operating companies have set a policy of pleading ignorance. It's as if their lawyers have told them exactly what they should say about the whole equal access question, and their response is limited to info about choosing a primary LD carrier. Alternatively, perhaps they simply like to discourage experimentation with other carriers, since there may be problems setting up the company billings. They'd probably be lots happier if they got a "start up" fee for your first use of a LD carrier. (It makes about as much sense as a $42 connection fee for just flipping a switch at the CO). Or perhaps they just really don't care. Has anyone out there gotten useful information (either in a printed form or personally) from a local company about the 10xxx codes?
de@moscom.UUCP (09/23/86)
In article <8609012345.AA19872@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> S.PAE@DEEP-THOUGHT.MIT.EDU (Philip A. Earnhardt) writes: >Has anyone out there gotten useful information (either in a printed form or >personally) from a local company about the 10xxx codes? The Rochester Telephone telephone book, not only includes about a dozen 10XXX codes, but describes how to use them. It also includes two pages on the difference between Inter and Intra LATA calls. My exchange has not yet gone Equal Access, but I understand that the information included in the kits gives a fairly good explanation of how to use 10XXX dialling, and how Equal Access works. Of course, Rochester Telephone is an independant phone company, and not part of the ex-Bell System. rochester \ David Esan | moscom ! de ritcv/