CAPEK%YKTVMT.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu (Peter G. Capek) (03/14/91)
In late January, I was visiting Washington, DC. I was forced to use a COCT in the basement of the hotel at which I was staying, and had an bizarre experience which I had intended to write about here, but never got around to. It is that I was unable to use 10288 to use AT&T, but, when I dialed 0, expecting to get either AOS/COCOT operator, after a LOT of delay and clicking, I got an operator who identified himself as being "AT&T". That seemed strange, but I accepted it. I billed the call to my AT&T card number. I've just gotten the phone bill for that period and discover the call shown as provided by an AOS ($6+ for five minutes, less than fifty miles) and NOT by AT&T. I wish I had written down at the time exactly what happened when I made the call, but the appearance is that of the AOS identifying itself as AT&T. Has anyone else experienced this? Peter Capek
roy@cs.umn.edu (Roy M. Silvernail) (03/16/91)
CAPEK%YKTVMT.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu (Peter G. Capek) writes: > when I dialed 0, expecting to get either AOS/COCOT operator, after a > LOT of delay and clicking, I got an operator who identified himself as > being "AT&T". That seemed strange, but I accepted it. I billed the > call to my AT&T card number. I'd bet that, if you pressed the operator, you'd find that s/he was saying "ATNT" instead of 'AT&T'. I steer clear of COCOTs for long distance. Here in Minneapolis, a fair number of AT&T COCOTs are appearing, and I've used them for local calls. It's surprising, at first, since they hand you dial tone, accept the number, and after a brief pause you hear another dial tone and the number you dialled being pulsed out. When the second blast of dial tone comes on, it sounds strange by comparison. (The locally generated DT you get at first isn't quite a match for DT from the CO.) I haven't checked the keypad to see if it remains active. (I'll do that next time I see one of these phones.) Roy M. Silvernail |+| roy%cybrspc@cs.umn.edu