jfowler@ucsd.edu (John C. Fowler) (01/25/91)
An interesting experience happened to me today. I was dialing a long distance call from a pay phone (true Pacific Bell) via AT&T. After dialing my card number, the call went through as usual, but there was no answer. I decided to try calling another number, so I pressed the switchhook for about half a second and released it, expecting a dial tone. (Using "#" hadn't occured to me at the time.) Instead, an AT&T operator came on the line. I asked how she got there, and she said she didn't know; my call had just come through as usual. After I explained what had happened, she just advised me to hold down the switchhook longer in the future. Now I wonder, on phones with no three-way calling, is flashing the switchhook designed so that rotary users can place additional calls in the same way tone users can press "#"? John C. Fowler, jfowler@ucsd.edu
john@bovine.ati.com (John Higdon) (01/27/91)
"John C. Fowler" <jfowler@ucsd.edu> writes: > Now I wonder, on phones with no three-way calling, is flashing the > switchhook designed so that rotary users can place additional calls > in the same way tone users can press "#"? Flashing the switchhook during the course of an operator-assisted call has signaled and recalled the operator since the beginning of time. Little has changed in the manner that the LEC connects to AT&T for operator assisted calls, even since divestiture. A tone-entered calling card call is functionally identical to an operator-assisted call. When such a call is made, control of the calling connection is passed from the caller to the IEC. Hence, when you hang up the connection remains until the IEC releases it. Pressing the switchhook for just a moment does not release the connection but signals the operator instead. This is why you were told to "hang up longer". This has nothing to do with providing convenience for rotary callers. Ever call operator-assisted as the second connection for a three-way? When you are through talking, you can't just drop the connection with a flash of the switchhook. Usually an operator comes back on the line and sometimes you get a really stupid one who cannot seem to just push "release" without giving you a ration of excrement. The fact that you as the caller cannot break the connection with the operator was sometimes used in pre-E911 days to send help to an emergency caller when the phone was hung up or the connection was otherwise broken before the operator could get an address. The operator would keep the connection up until the call could be traced. TSPS made this unnecessary, since the calling number was displayed on the TSPS console. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o ! [Moderator's Note: Here in IBT-land we can flash and dial 110 to recall the operator under these circumstances. PAT]