drmath@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu (Doctor Math) (01/29/91)
john@bovine.ati.com (John Higdon) writes: > All right, I cannot stand it any more. With all the crowing about RBOC > inovations, it is only fair that Pac*Bell be represented. So let me > see... [ good stuff deleted] > But I digress. By 1988, Pac*Bell had actually implemented FGD in 78 > percent of its exchanges. WOW! Not by actually replacing old wornout > 1940's crossbar, but by gluing in a horror known as CONTAC. This > system is so troublesome, I am told that the trouble recorders in the > COs had to be shut off for fear of deforesting the planet from the > cards that were dropped continually. (I can only assume that the other > 22 percent of exchanges were either manual or just could not be made > to accept the CONTAC abortion.) I lived in the "Santa Clara 11" (244, 246 etc) back then and remember getting a little card with my bill stating something about CONTAC. I didn't pay any attention at the time, but shortly thereafter, I noticed that I could discern three different dialtones! They were all dialtones, but each one sounded a little different. I wonder how long it will be before Pac*Bell gets CLASS? (peals of laughter) !!