smk@attunix.att.com (S M Krieger) (12/31/90)
While trying to place a call from a COCOT in Fort Myers, FL last week, what happened made me wonder how they interface with GTE. After getting an "invalid number" synthesized message as I started pushing 10288, I pushed "0". It took about 8 rings for the GTE operator to answer, but if she had answered earlier, she would have heard a synthesized message from the phone, repeated twice, that said something like, "Operator, this is a private phone. Do not allow any billing to this number". When the operator did answer, I told her the phone did not allow LD company selection and asked her to connect me to AT&T. She said I should dial 10288, but when I told her that either the phone or line was broken (yeah, right) and treated 10288 as an invalid number, she connected me to AT&T. So I wonder what exactly the interface between the COCOT and phone company is. For example, in Bell Operating Company areas, the operators know that the line is a COCOT, and often refuse to provide any assistance because of it, but in this case, between the phone's recorded message to the operator (which she didn't hear because it took about twenty seconds to answer the phone and the recorded messages ended in about ten seconds) and the fact she splashed me over to AT&T, I wonder if the line appeared to her to be a normal phone line. Stan Krieger Summit, NJ ...!att!attunix!smk
dattier@gargoyle.uchicago.edu (David Tamkin) (01/01/91)
Stan Krieger wrote in volume 10 (yeah, back then), issue 908: | While trying to place a call from a COCOT in Fort Myers, FL last week, | after getting an "invalid number" synthesized message as I started | pushing 10288, I pushed "0". It took about 8 rings for the GTE | operator to answer. | So I wonder what exactly the interface between the COCOT and phone | company is. For example, in Bell Operating Company areas, the | operators know that the line is a COCOT. What amazes me is that you got a telco operator by dialing 0 at a COCOT. It amazes me that you could reach a telco operator by dialing *anything* from a COCOT. Stan seems not only to have reached a GTE operator from the COCOT in GTE's satrapy but also to have reached local BOC operators from COCOTs in Bell jurisdictions. David Tamkin Box 7002 Des Plaines IL 60018-7002 708 518 6769 312 693 0591 MCI Mail: 426-1818 GEnie: D.W.TAMKIN CIS: 73720,1570 dattier@igloo.scum.com [Moderator's Note: The COCOTS in this area (I'm east of David T. by about five miles) get the IBT operator from dialing zero. But there is a class of service or treatment on the line which tells the operator you are at a private pay phone and you need to make arrangements for billing other than 'bill to this number', which the operator will refuse to do. IBT is very sophisticated about this sort of thing. They have numerous classes of service restricting incoming/outgoing calls; the type of billing permitted on the line, etc. COCOTS pose no hassle for them in this respect. PAT]