johnl@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us (John R. Levine) (02/02/90)
Re complaints about whether you put in the money before or after
you dial:
It is a local call from West Lebanon NH to Woodstock VT, even though
they are in different states and different LATAs. Maine, New Hampshire,
and Vermont are each one NPA and one LATA, very tidy.
So I was at the mall in West Leb and I wanted to call my wife in
Woodstock. I discovered that if I just dial the local number
457-xxxx, I have to deposit a dime first. (Seven digit local dialing
is universal, none of the NPAs are very full.) On the other hand, if
I dial 1-802-457-xxxx, it gives me back the dime if I deposited one,
the nice lady asks me to "please ... deposit ... ten ... cents," and
when I do so, thanks me for using AT&T. Now that's confusing.
Also, in Harvard Square I came across one of these Call America COCOTs
that offers a flat rate of 25 cents/minute anywhere in the continental
U.S., and states that you get AT&T calling card or collect rates
otherwise. The phone didn't work, of course, but if it did it's the
first decent COCOT ever.
John R. Levine, Segue Software, POB 349, Cambridge MA 02238, +1 617 864 9650
johnl@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us, {ima|lotus|spdcc}!esegue!johnl
"Now, we are all jelly doughnuts."John Higdon <john@bovine.ati.com> (02/03/90)
"John R. Levine" <johnl@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us> writes: > On the other hand, if > I dial 1-802-457-xxxx, it gives me back the dime if I deposited one, > the nice lady asks me to "please ... deposit ... ten ... cents," and > when I do so, thanks me for using AT&T. Now that's confusing. A few years ago, the coin phones in one of the San Jose COs were still served by #1 crossbar. A call to Mountain View from San Jose is local. However, it crosses an area code boundary. So using one of those coin phones went something like this: You deposit $.20, dial 415-969-1234 (or whatever). Immediately, your money is returned, as if you have dialed a toll call. Then the snotty automated voice comes on (the one used for intraLATA toll calls) and says, "Twenty cents, please. Please deposit twenty cents FOR THIS CALL." In goes your money that you retrieved from the coin return and your call goes through. When they cut these phones to ESS, this charming exercise went away. > Also, in Harvard Square I came across one of these Call America COCOTs > that offers a flat rate of 25 cents/minute anywhere in the continental > U.S., and states that you get AT&T calling card or collect rates > otherwise. The phone didn't work, of course, but if it did it's the > first decent COCOT ever. I have heard of these. And every time someone mentions one, they also mention that it doesn't work. Do you suppose there is the possibility that they are dummy phones planted to try to prop up the sagging image of COCOTs? Anyone run across one that does indeed function? John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !
dam@mtqua.att.com (Daniel A Margolis) (02/06/90)
John Levine writes: >Also, in Harvard Square I came across one of these Call America COCOTs >that offers a flat rate of 25 cents/minute anywhere in the continental >U.S., and states that you get AT&T calling card or collect rates >otherwise. The phone didn't work, of course, but if it did it's the >first decent COCOT ever. This doesn't seem so decent when you consider that you can make the same call for 11.5 cents/minute on nights or weekends with Reach Out America. MCI's Prime Time is probably similar. I would think that most people in Harvard Square (students) make enough calls (at night) to warrant a calling plan. Dan Margolis dam@mtqua.att.com Disclaimer: I don't have anything to do with long distance, except that I pay a bill each month.