davel@relay.eu.net> (04/06/90)
In article <5997@accuvax.nwu.edu> contact!djcl@uunet.uu.net (woody) writes: >X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 229, Message 7 of 10 >I have heard about this Mercury service in the UK, which is something >like a competing phone company. Originally, I believe they were into >public telephone service (like COCOTs or something like that). >Are they into long distance, also, in the manner that Sprint or MCI >would be in the US? If so, how would calls be dialed through (ie. what >is the UK equivalent of 10XXX+ or 950 service, if any?). Mercury provide several services in the telecommunications area. Each service has a four digit number (most of which I can't remember) but the services are basically: 1. A dial-up (10XXX+ like) service. Here, you get a PIN (like a bank card PIN 10 digits) from Mercury for about nine pounds ($13) per year. To use the service, you dial "131" from a conventional (British Telecom) phone, wait for the tone, enter your PIN followed by the required DN. The advantages are mainly on costs. Mercury charge each call on duration (at different levels for different destinations) to 1/100th second, then round up to the nearest penny. British Telecom charge everything in "units" which cost around 5p - in other words, if a unit for a particular distance is 60sec in length, and you make a 61sec call, you'll be charged for two units. Also, Mercury rates are cheaper than BT in most cases (including International and Cellular). It's actually slightly cheaper to call 0898 numbers (same as 900 numbers) via Mercury, too! 2. A Mercury "line" service. Actually this is a digital 2Mb/sec private microwave link into the Mercury dial network. Costs around 32000 pounds to setup I understand and gives 32 64kb/s channels. (Yes they do come and stick a microwave dish on your roof). 3. Mercury local service. Only available in a very small part of the UK. Get a phone line (and phone) from Mercury! 4. Mercury private circuits. National and International. 5. Mercury X.25 network. Sorry, fairly new, know nothing about it. Disclaimer: We are a user of service (1) above, and reduce our phone call charges by 15 to 39% :-). Other than that, no connection. Dave Lockwood These opinions are shareware. Technical Consultant If you like them, send $10... davel@vision.UUCP VisionWare Ltd, ...!uunet!mcsun!ukc!vision!davel 57 Cardigan Lane, Leeds, LS4 2LE +44-532-788858 X224 United Kingdom VISIONWARE DOS/UNIX Integration
chris@relay.eu.net> (04/06/90)
In article <5997@accuvax.nwu.edu> contact!djcl@uunet.uu.net (woody) writes: >I have heard about this Mercury service in the UK, which is something >like a competing phone company. Sort of. The Home Office has only licensed British Telecom and Mecury Telecommunications as public telephone operators. Mercury leases lines from BT and resells the capacity to domestic/business users. However, Mercury is also installing their own (fibre-optic) lines where possible. >Are they into long distance, also, in the manner that Sprint or MCI >would be in the US? Yes, they are only Long Distance carriers. To subscribe is easy (ish :-) You call a freephone number (0800-424194) and they charge you ten pounds, providing you with a 10/12/13 digit PIN in return. Unfortunately you are only able to use this PIN from the city/town in which you live (you are only supposed to use the PIN from your one home/business phone number). >If so, how would calls be dialed through (ie. what >is the UK equivalent of 10XXX+ or 950 service, if any?). Not everyone in the UK has access to Mercury when making a call, but if there is a Mercury node in your town/city you can make a call to anywhere else (whether or not there is a Mercury node at the destination). If you do have a Mercury node nearby, you dial 131 (a free BT number), enter your PIN followed by the STD (long distance number) and, voila, there you are: somewhat cheaper LD calls! Chris VISIONWARE LTD | UK: chris@vision.uucp JANET: chris%vision.uucp@ukc 57 Cardigan Lane | US: chris@vware.mn.org OTHER: chris@vision.co.uk LEEDS LS4 2LE | BANGNET: ...{backbone}!ukc!vision!chris England | VOICE: +44 532 788858 FAX: +44 532 304676 "VisionWare: The home of DOS/UNIX/X integration"
carroll@beaver.cs.washington.edu> (04/10/90)
In article <5997@accuvax.nwu.edu> contact!djcl@uunet.uu.net (woody) writes: >I have heard about this Mercury service in the UK, which is something >like a competing phone company. Originally, I believe they were into >public telephone service (like COCOTs or something like that). >Are they into long distance, also, in the manner that Sprint or MCI >would be in the US? If so, how would calls be dialed through (ie. what >is the UK equivalent of 10XXX+ or 950 service, if any?). Disclaimer: I don't live in the UK; these observations are based on a brief visit last year. Mercury long distance service is available to individuals on a subscription basis, analogous to US "dial 1" service. In order to access Mercury away from home, you have to use a special Mercury phone. In most of London that I saw, Mercury phones were much in evidence, though not as plentiful (of course) as BT phones. Don't know of much if any functional difference between the Mercury and BT card phones; about half of BT's phones these days seem to use phone cards. Jeff Carroll carroll@atc.boeing.com