Randal Schwartz <merlyn@iwarp.intel.com> (07/14/90)
Here's an article seen in pnw.general recently. I [merlyn] am merely forwarding it uncommented. Refer to the original author for comments. In article <12552@june.cs.washington.edu>, jon@cs.washington.edu (Jon Jacky) writes: Here are excerpts from a story in THE SEATTLE TIMES, Wed. July 11, 1990 p. F1 "State Rejects US West Bid for Caller ID for a Business" by Mark Matassa OLYMPIA - State regulators (the Utilities and Transportation Commission) today rejected a US West Communications request to install Caller ID telephone service for an unidentified Seattle business. Caller ID allows a customer to see, displayed on his or her telephone, the phone number of the person making a call. Commission Chairwoman Sharon Nelson said the panel is in the midst of conducting hearings around the state on privacy issues and caller ID service. She said she had no intention of approving the service ... before completing the policy discussions. The request came as a surprise to the commission, members said, because US West said just two weeks ago it wouldn't pursue the controversial technology in the forseeable future ... A spokeswoman for US West acknowledged the contract rejection by the commission includes the capability to view and store incoming phone numbers. But she said the feature is incidental to the contract's larger business package, known as Integrated Serviced Digital Network (ISDN), which includes in-house network for computer, facsimile and voice-phone transmissions. As a minor feature of a larger system, the identification technology does not represent a breach of the company's recent position on Caller ID, said the spokeswoman, Lisa Bowersock ... Mike Moran, US West executive director for regulatory affairs, argued that the ISDN service should be considered separate from Caller ID. The key difference, he said, is that ISDN would automatically screen and not display unlisted telephone numbers. "Any number transmitted by ISDN could be found in the white pages," Bowerstock said ... Bowerstock said two other Washington customers, both unidentified, already have the integrated service network technology that includes Caller ID technology. But in those cases, she said, the identification service applies only to in-house calls. (Washington State) Assistant Attorney General Charles Adams said it appeared US West was trying to sneak the issue past the public. - Jon Jacky, University of Washington, Seattle jon@gaffer.rad.washingtonl.edu | Randal L. Schwartz, Stonehenge Consulting Services (503)777-0095 ==========| | on contract to Intel's iWarp project, Beaverton, Oregon, USA, Sol III | | merlyn@iwarp.intel.com ...!any-MX-mailer-like-uunet!iwarp.intel.com!merlyn |
peter@ficc.ferranti.com (peter da silva) (07/17/90)
In article <9703@accuvax.nwu.edu> Randal Schwartz <merlyn@iwarp. intel.com> writes: > A spokeswoman for US West acknowledged the contract rejection by the > commission includes the capability to view and store incoming phone > numbers. But she said the feature is incidental to the [ISDN package]. > (Washington State) Assistant Attorney General Charles Adams said it > appeared US West was trying to sneak the issue past the public. I doubt it ... they probably didn't even consider that ISDN included the equivalent of Caller-ID. The contract rejection was probably as big a shock to them as to the PUC. Peter da Silva. `-_-' +1 713 274 5180. <peter@ficc.ferranti.com>