macy@usenet.ins.cwru.edu (Macy Hallock) (02/21/91)
In article <telecom11.118.9@eecs.nwu.edu> John Higdon writes: > This prompts a question: Do other telcos (than Pac*Bell) always > consider ground start lines to be design circuits? It depends. In Ohio Bell territory, they are always design circuits. That's because, under Ohio tarrifs, gound start is only offered on TMC service (Trunk Measured Combination) ... which is more expensive that 1MB (Single party Measured Business) service. There is an extra charge for the ground start ($3.50/mo over TMC rate). Touch tone on a TMC is also more expensive that on a 1MB, too. TMC costs about $ 7.50/mo more than 1MB service. That makes a TMC with touch tone and ground start about $ 45.00 a month, with 70 free calls, overcalls are $ .09/ea (no timing). Ohio Bell always engineers TMC's. They do a good job, too ... they are nearly always 3.5 db down, very seldom any lower. TMC's are repaired by the Special Service dept., which even has its own repair number. DID lines are considered a premium service offered on a TMC. You pay an additional $ 30.00/mo for a DID arrangement on a TMC. Installation interval on TMC's is ten working days ... 25 days for DID service. In GTE and United territory, the story is different. You pay for a PBX trunk (flat) and can specify ground start if you want it. PBX trunks cost more than key trunks, which cost more that single business lines ... They do not do any special transmission engineering on PBX trunks unless you pitch a fit. Then they will, very grudgingly, treat the circuit. It should be noted that GTE is getting very tough about PBX services now that they offer Centrex (centranet). GTE has raised the rate for a same CO Off Premise Station from $12 four years ago to (are you ready?) $90.00 !!! Rates on PBX trunks are going up, too. Its called forced migration to Centrex, folks. (And just try and get one fixed quickly, too! ... I pitched a fit about a dead OPS to GTE for a client of mine recently, and the GTE rep called the customer and said "You wouldn't have so much trouble if you got Centranet!") Still steaming from that one ... Macy M. Hallock, Jr. macy@fmsystm.UUCP macy@NCoast.ORG uunet!aablue!fmsystm!macy