kevinc@uunet.uu.net> (05/14/91)
I recently attended Texpo `91, an annual show held in San Francisco
and sponsored largely by our friends at Pac*Bell. One of the seminars
offered was about CLASS; it was given by two of Pac*Bell's Product
Managers. Below is a brief summary of my impressions.
The basic gist of the presentation was an overview of the CLASS
features and a brief explanation of how SS7 enabled Pac*Bell to
provide them. As may be expected, however, the seminar was a bit vague
on a few points:
1) Deployment: Phase 1 of the rollout (10/1/91) was specified as area
codes 415, 408, and 510 in NoCal and area codes 213, 818, and 310
in SoCal. There seemed to be a definite implication that *all*
offices in those NPA's would be upgraded; when pressed, however,
the PM's admitted that only "most" offices would be CLASS-capable.
2) Functionality: Another point not even mentioned by the PM's but
raised by an attendee was that all of the features would only work
within the subscriber's LATA until SS7 is fully implemented by the
IXC's. In fact, the examples given on how the features worked
involved a call between SF and NY!
The most annoying misrepresentation was about Caller ID and per-call
blocking. Pac*Bell is totally opposed to offering per-line blocking,
even to holders of unlisted numbers or crisis centers. To quote two
paragraphs from a brochure entitled "Caller ID and Your Privacy":
"For the new COMMSTAR features to be beneficial, it is necessary for
all numbers, including those not listed in the telephone directory,
to be treated the same. Otherwise, any caller could hide his
identity and remain unaccountable for his actions simply by having
an unlisted number. But if your number is unlisted, you will still
be able to retain your anonymity through *Per Call Privacy*.
[dialing *67 before every call - KC]
"Importantly, *Per Call Privacy* does not hamper the basic function
of the other services. So, you retain the ability to deal
effectively with unwanted callers through Call Trace, Call Block
and Call Return."
To me, the implication here is clear: any privacy option stronger than
per-call blocking would prevent features such as Call Trace from
working. This is, of course, pure hogwash! All per-line blocking means
is that the calling number of a certain line will never be delivered
to the called party, *not* that the calling party number would be
unknown to the CO. The fact that Pac*Bell is attempting to foist this
BS on their customers as validation for not offering per-line blocking
merely illustrates their obviously low opinion of their customers'
perception.
So Pat, what are my chances of getting a FX line from IBT out here to
Sunnyvale? :-)
Kevin Collins | Aspect Telecommunications
USENET: ...uunet!aspect!kevinc | San Jose, CA
Voice: +1 408 441 2489 | My opinions are mine alone.John Higdon <john@zygot.ati.com> (05/19/91)
Kevin Collins <aspect!kevinc@uunet.uu.net> writes: > So Pat, what are my chances of getting a FX line from IBT out here to > Sunnyvale? :-) Kevin, just take it like a man! I have lived with Pacific {Telephone/Bell} all of my life. There is no escape. California has been offically designated as a Bad Telephone Service Area. Besides, YOU are not "served" out of a crossbar switch. [Ka-Klunk] John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o ! [Moderator's Note: How does a man take 'it', John? PAT]