John Higdon <john@bovine.ati.com> (04/06/90)
Steve Howard <showard@ucqais.uc.edu> writes: > 1) Why hasn't my telco found this? (I haven't gone out of my way to > tell them, I enjoy it the way it is :-) ). Shouldn't a flag/bell/ > whistle/alarm go off in the CO telling them of the problem? Or do > they just ignore the alarms? When a number is taken out of service, it is forwarded to the auto-intercept. The number, as transmitted to the intercept machine, is looked up to determine what message is to be played (referral, disconnected, etc.). If the number is not in the data base, the generic recording, "The number you have reached <blah blah blah> is being checked for trouble" is played. This in itself would set off no alarms, since it is a "normal" condition. > 2) I called the repair service a few months ago to complain about data > errors on my line. The rep. punched a few keys and said "your line > isn't showing any errors." I could understand their inability to > detect data errors, but, they should have found the hunting error. > What type of error counter are they looking at? (Or, was she faking > it just to shut me up? :-) ). There was no hunting error. It was hunting perfectly to a number that happened to be forwarded to the auto intercept. This is a perfectly technically legitimate condition. > Here is the best part: A friend was trying to call me from a local bar > while I was talking on the phone. She found that if she dialed the > number from a (telco) payphone *without depositing a quarter*, she > would get the "number is being checked for trouble" message. I > checked this out later ... if you call from my local area this is > true. If my line is not being used, the recording is "please deposit > 25 cents." If it is in use, the recording is "...checked for > trouble." So, it would seem that the CO checks out the line before > asking for the quarter. This adds a new twist to the toll-saver/ "getting > information for free" debate -- you don't need a quarter or a > credit-card number to get your free information!!! Your observation is perfectly correct. A 1ESS does not check for totalized deposit in a coin phone for a busy or intercepted line that is within the switch itself. If you are not on the phone, the line is available and subject to coin check just like any other working number. If you are on the phone, the system sees not your line, but the intercepted line as the called number. No coin required for that. As far as getting "free information" is concerned, all you will find out is that the line is either busy or out of service--info that is free anyway. This quirk only applies to calls within the same control group. You need to speak to a supervisor in the business office and get them to clean up their line assignments. Don't expect that the problem will go away by itself; the condition is well within the bounds of "normal" programming. > This "problem" has some interesting advantages -- I few months ago, a > date cancelled plans and claimed that she tried to call but said she > "kept getting a busy signal"!!!! While this is possible, I find it > *highly* doubtful. The only time I know of people getting a busy > signal was whe there was a cable cut and I couldn't even get a dial > tone. Try this sometime: in your 1ESS, forward two lines to each other. The lines will, in effect, swap numbers. Calls directed to one will, of course go to the other. Features, such as call waiting, stay with the physical line. Now for the quirk--while each line will get the calls directed to the other, any calls placed from a coin telephone from within the switch to either line will get a busy signal. Weird, eh? John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !