"John R. Covert 22-Dec-1989 0755" <covert@covert.enet.dec.com> (12/22/89)
>> I know of no case where customers in one country can call the >> directory assistance number in another country. >Canada and the U.S. constitute an exception, both ways. I would >suspect that the sharing of a country code (or having a notional >country code that consists of another country's code plus more digits, >as with the Vatican) would tend to indicate a similar degree of >integration in other places. I'd be surprised if Liechtenstein and >Switzerland aren't treated as one country for telephonic purposes, for >instance. Yes, these sorts of things have never been treated as real international calls. In the case of CH and FL, although FL is a sovereign country, CH is responsible for the phone system. The Vatican isn't even separate from Rome; it's just a local phone number there. >Within the North American area (country code 1), however,, area code >809 covers a number of small countries. I just tried 1-809-555-1212 >and it gets intercepted. Are directory assistance calls from 809 to >here and between 809 and the U.S. also not allowed to be direct-dialed? The U.S. can call 809 555-1212; an operator in Jacksonville answers and routes the call to the correct directory assistance operator based on the destination. And you get charged if it's Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands; D.A. for the other locations in the Caribbean is free. I suspect the reason Canada can't dial 809 D.A. is that Canada never saw fit to dedicate an operator to splitting the traffic. /john
"John R. Levine" <johnl@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us> (12/24/89)
In article <2366@accuvax.nwu.edu> you write: >The U.S. can call 809 555-1212; an operator in Jacksonville answers >and routes the call to the correct directory assistance operator based >on the destination. And you get charged if it's Puerto Rico or the >U.S. Virgin Islands; D.A. for the other locations in the Caribbean is free. How does the billing information get passed back? I was under the impression that billing information for DA calls is collected just like any other, either at the caller's exchange or at the calling POP. And if they can do that, it seems to me it should be equally possible not to charge for calls to any other DA when they can't provide the desired number. Regards, John Levine, johnl@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|lotus}!esegue!johnl
"John R. Covert 12-Jun-1990 1528" <covert@covert.enet.dec.com> (06/13/90)
This Digest has discussed international directory assistance in the past, including the fact that CCITT recommendations provide that the service should be provided by calling an operator in the country of origin who will provide the connection; the CCITT recommendations also specify that the numbers in the distant country should be blocked, so that subscribers can't call them directly, and they usually are. We also discussed the fact that AT&T provides an operator who answers 809-555-1212 (when called from the U.S.) and extends the call to the correct operator in the destination country, but that the Canadian International Carrier does not provide such a service; Canadians have always had to dial their "0" operator and ask for D.A. in the 809 locations. Well, I've recently visited Bermuda. From phones in Bermuda, it is possible to dial NPA-555-1212 for U.S. points, but to get Canadian Directory Assistance, you have to call the "0" operator and ask to be connected. /john
covert@covert.enet.dec.com (John R. Covert 11-Oct-1990 2031) (10/12/90)
Issue 728 mentioned the AT&T ad with: >"I'm sorry ... We don't offer directory assistance for Europe." >"I'M SORRY ... WE DON'T HAVE DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE FOR LONDON." I just called my MCI operator and asked for Directory Assistance in Europe. She told me to dial 10288-0. (As did my Sprint operator.) I said, "But that's AT&T! Why is MCI telling me to call AT&T?" Because MCI does not provide that service; AT&T does. I said, "Sounds like AT&T's the real phone company." What really worries me is that International Directory Assistance, now free, might start costing money. Why should AT&T carry the D.A. traffic to all the international countries? And why won't the other carriers do it? john [Moderator's Note: As a matter of fact John, your concern about international DA eventually having a price tag on it is well grounded. For the past couple years, those of us who make extensive use of international calling via AT&T have seen things get tighter and tighter at the Pittsburgh Operating Center. They are becoming quite aware of the fact that MCI and Sprint are telling their customers to get DA from AT&T for free, then to come back and place the actual call on their carrier. That's nothing new; MCI has been notorious for skimming the cream since they began operations in the late sixties. I make many business (international) calls from home at night to countries where the time is offset by 9-15 hours from me simply because there is no 'window' available during the regular business day to conduct business with, say, India. I have to bring the file home with me at night. Circuits to India are *jammed tight* all night long. Its bad enough I have to put it on the Demon Dialer and then bang away for 45 minutes to break through ... without having to spend 15-30 minutes on the line to reach directory in New Delhi. I used to get DA from the office in the daytime, simply because at (relative to their time) 2 AM everyone is asleep in India: low traffic, fast connect to DA, on and off in a couple minutes typically, five minutes at most. Now Pittsburgh won't do it any longer ... get the DA when you are ready to have *us* place the call, they tell me. Why is this? Ask the MCI cream-skimmers and abusers why! They know the scoop. PAT]