JDurand@cup.portal.com (10/30/90)
I had a problem with one of the "free" options that comes with a business GTE Mobilnet cellular account, call waiting. For various reasons I do not want call waiting active at any time and have figured out how to disable it until I wish to turn it back on. There is an option for FORWARD-ON-BUSY (*74) and if you program this to forward back to your own cellular number, a call which would normally generate the call waiting clunk will now just get a busy. I have had my service programmed this way for over a month and it seems to work fine (no infinite loops). I don't know if you can set something like this up on regular phone lines, but it could let people turn off call waiting for extended periods such as when you go out and don't want your answering machine interrupted or have a BBS active at night. Jerry Durand, Durand Interstellar, Inc., jdurand@cup.portal.com, 408 356-3886
SKASS@drew.bitnet (03/19/91)
In issue #206, Dave Levenson <dave@westmark.westmark.com> writes: > In New Jersey, the subscriber must subscribe to the feature that > allows disabling of call-waiting for this to work. This is a feature > that may be ordered and priced separately from call waiting. > If disable call waiting is purchased, then the subscriber may disable > call waiting on an established call by flashing the switchhook, and > dialing *70, and may then expect to be reconnected with the call that > was in progress. > [Moderator's Note: Illinois Bell gives *70 for free. PAT] NJ Bell gives *70 for free, too, at least if you DON'T have call waiting to begin with. I've been annoyed for several months now by not being able to hang up my phone with a quick flash. Instead, I get a new dial tone, and the call goes on hold. The only thing that I can dial through the new dial tone without getting a reorder is *70, after dialing which I am returned to the call in progress. Calls to the business office and 611 get me nowhere. I really don't have call waiting, but I have every symptom of having cancel call waiting [and don't want it]. Weird. Steve Kass/ Math&CS/ Drew U/ Madison NJ 07940 2015141187/ skass@drew.edu