Michael Graff <0004450555@mcimail.com> (06/10/91)
On Friday, May 31, {The San Jose Mercury News} (motto: "Not John
Higdon's Favorite Newspaper") printed an article describing the new
expanded local calling area in California. I'm no telecom expert,
just a reader of this Digest, but I cringed at some of the
misstatements and confusion that permeated the article. By comparison
the mailing sent by Pacific Bell explained the changes much better.
I'm not sure where to begin ... how about the headline:
"Calls up to 12 miles away to be free starting Saturday"
Well, 12 miles from your "rate center" anyhow, and free only if you
have unmeasured service. The Pac Bell mailing said "Your local
calling area is expanding" which is a more accurate description.
"Those who do not make a minimum number of calls will find their bills
increasing slightly."
I'm not sure what this means at all, but perhaps it's a reference to a
reduction in the billing credit ("Rate Surcharge" on our bill).
Discussing measured rate service, they say it includes "$3 worth of
free local calls a month, about 50 calls."
If they're free, how can they be worth $3? <smirk> Actually, you get
a $3 allowance toward your zone 1 (local, 0-12 miles) and zone 3
(13-16 miles) calls. At the daytime rate, $3 is equivalent to 50
3-minute local calls.
"A customer who uses less than the $3 a month can apply the excess to
other calls."
The $3 applies only to zone 1 or zone 3 calls. You can't apply it to
more distant calls.
There are probably a few other mangled details that I missed, but
that's the general idea. Overall, the article was just plain sloppy
with details and seemed to be written by somebody who didn't have any
understanding of the subject.
MichaelJohn Higdon <john@zygot.ati.com> (06/10/91)
Michael Graff <0004450555@mcimail.com> writes: > "Calls up to 12 miles away to be free starting Saturday" What the Merc failed to mention -- a considerable oversight for a San Jose paper -- was that the largest San Jose rate center, San Jose 2, had no change whatsoever. It has never had a "Zone 2" to become a "Zone 1". When ZUM (Zone Usage Measurement, pronounced "zoom", as in "zoom your bill up") was first set up, Los Gatos was to have been a Zone 2 call from San Jose 2. There was an outcry, and a little gerrymandering later it magically became a Zone 1 call before the plan was even implemented. I have an area phone book printed right at the transition that shows LG to be Zone 2 to downtown San Jose. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !