gay@venice.sedd.trw.com (Lance Gay) (10/22/90)
When I was younger growing up in Southern California, there existed ZENITH phone numbers. A typical one might be "ZENITH 1234". You accessed this number by dialing the operator and asking for ZENITH 1234. The operator would then manually connect you to the appropriate party. I think they might have been an early form of local toll-free number. Do these still exist? Lance J. Gay (N6BKQ) Internet: gay@venice.sedd.trw.com TRW Systems Engineering & Development Div. Phone: 213-764-9292 Redondo Beach, CA 90278 [Moderator's Note: In some parts of the country, like Chicago, they were known as 'Enterprise numbers', and yes, they were an early form of 800 service. Some Enterprise/Zenith numbers were for local calling only, while others were national in scope. They were no longer offered once 800 service became universal, but they were grandfathered to existing customers who wanted to keep them. I guess there are still a few -- very few -- operating. I did see one or two in the last issue of the Chicago alpha directory. The recipient of the call paid for the call itself and if memory serves me, a 25 cent surcharge. PAT]
tanner@ki4pv.compu.com (10/27/90)
Around here, they're called WX numbers, and they are of the form
WX-xxxx, where the x are replaced by digits. Ask the operator for
one. Due to the form of the number, there aren't many of them
available. An 800 number is obviously preferred in most cases, but
the railroad still has the old WX number to reach the Pecan (Palatka)
operator.
...!{bikini.cis.ufl.edu allegra uunet!cdin-1}!ki4pv!tanner
[Moderator's Note: There really doesn't need to be that many of them
available since by whatever name, Zenith, Enterprise, or 'WX', they
are purely local convention. All the prefix and four digit suffix do
is describe the local telco's billing arrangement with some subscriber
(not necessarily their own) somewhere. PAT]