jer@peora.UUCP (11/02/85)
From "J. Eric Roskos" <talcott!topaz!peora!jer> X-From: "J. Eric Roskos" <jer@peora.UUCP> ReSent-Date: Tue 5 Nov 85 17:05:58-EST ReSent-From: The Moderator <TELECOM-REQUEST@MIT-XX.ARPA> ReSent-Sender: JSOL@MIT-XX.ARPA.#Internet ReSent-To: Telecom-Individual-Messages-List: ; ReSent-Message-ID: <12156907241.30.JSOL@MIT-XX.ARPA> I have just had a fairly amazing telephone experience. At least, it seems that way to me. Presently I am in the process of moving from one apartment in my apartment complex to another. A few days ago, I called up the local Southern Bell office to ask them to switch my phone service, keeping the same number, from my old apartment to my new one. But, not thinking, I asked them to connect at the new one today, and disconnect the old one tomorrow. Well, this evening I was sitting eating dinner when I suddenly thought, "Wait a minute! How could they do that?" So I checked it out. Sure enough, when you dial my number, the phone rings in both apartments! Now, if this was done in software, it seems to be a fairly amazing feature to me... amazing that anyone would have thought to implement that. I had always believed that for apartments, they just left all the wiring in the local loop intact, and just told the ESS system to enable or disable a particular line. But if that's the case right now, then whenever my phone rings, it's having to send the ring signal down two separate local loops that it would normally treat as separate, besides watching for the off-hook condition, etc. I haven't tested yet to see if the two apartments behave entirely as if the phones were physically connected to the same loop, i.e., if I can pick up one phone, talk into it, and hear myself on the other (since I'd have to be in two places at once and all that, as the song says). Of course, it could be some human person went and connected the two together with a physical wire... I guess if so, maybe I will discover some big charge for this special service on my next bill... but if it was done in software, it is a fairly impressive feature to me... (but then, I'm still trying to figure out how the switches actually work!).