mjs@mozart.att.com (Martin J Shannon) (12/15/89)
In article <2121@accuvax.nwu.edu> merlyn@iwarp.intel.com (Randal Schwartz) writes: >In article <1966@accuvax.nwu.edu> somebody writes: Stuff about 411 & 611 in the northwest USA. But what *I*'d never heard of is referred to in Patrick's moderatorial note: >[Moderator's Note: Hah! *He* thinks 611 gives calling-number-ID! Here >in Chicago we know it reaches the Illinois Bell Repair Service. And >for many years, 211 reached the Long Distance Operator for 90 percent >of the subscribers, while 811 reached Long Distance for the other 10 >percent or so. And what we used to call Enterprise numbers *he* >probably called Zenith numbers. Just a local yokel myself! :) PT] Well, I've spent all my (phone-aware) life in either Staten Island (now 718), and northern NJ (201), and I've never heard of either Enterprise *or* Zenith numbers. What are they? Marty Shannon; AT&T Bell Labs; Liberty Corner, NJ, USA (Affiliation is given for identification only: I don't speak for them; they don't speak for me.) [Moderator's Note: Enterprise and Zenith were the same difference. Some telcos used one name; other telcos used the other. These numbers were the granddaddy of 800 service. In mostly manual, pre-dial-direct times, companies offered Enterprise xxxx or Zenith xxxx numbers as a way to induce customers to call them. They were automatic reverse billing numbers, functioning just like 800 numbers do today. You would raise the operator, and ask for Enterprise xxxx. The operator would consult with Rate & Route to find the 'real' number (remember that phrase from the past few days here?), and she would connect the call. Getting permission from the called party to accept the charges was not necessary. Like 800 numbers today, the old fashioned style could be set up to accept local, regional, intrastate, interstate or international calls, or various combinations. Believe it or not, there are a few companies still listed in the Chicago phone book with Enterprise numbers, but they are few and far between. In the early 1970's, I had Enterprise 5479, which rang my office phone, WEbster 9-4600. The charges came on the regular long distance phone bill. PT]
jsol@buit5.bu.edu (Jon Solomon) (12/20/89)
Telecom readers, What John Levine was talking about is really true. I know a radio station in Connecticut which used enterprise numbers to determine which exchange it would accept incoming calls from on a talk show. "Today's exchange is Middletown", for example. They didn't give out their real number, so only if you called enterprise 9842 would the call go through. Incidentally the call letters for that station were WTIC, and their enterprise number spells out that call. 800 numbers don't provide the granularity this sort of thing offers. Also, the telephone companies probably won't let you change the 800 number's calling area every day like the Enterprise numbers would. Enterprise numbers (at least in CT) were billed as collect calls. jsol
Paul Fuqua <pf@islington-terrace.csc.ti.com> (01/08/90)
Date: Thursday, December 14, 1989 12:26pm (CST)
From: mjs at mozart.att.com (Martin J Shannon)
Subject: Enterprise Numbers? Zenith Numbers?
[Moderator's Note: Enterprise and Zenith were the same difference.
Believe it or not, there are a few companies still listed in the
Chicago phone book with Enterprise numbers, but they are few and
far between. PT]
The only Enterprise numbers I see any more in Dallas are the ones on
the "don't dig here, there's cable/pipes underground" signs that seems
to be everywhere. Most recently, there was one on the telephone
junction box (or whatever) attached to my old apartment. Since it was
built in 1985, I guess they're not phasing Enterprise out very quickly
for their own stuff.
Paul Fuqua pf@csc.ti.com
{smu,texsun,cs.utexas.edu,rice}!ti-csl!pf
Texas Instruments Computer Science Center
PO Box 655474 MS 238, Dallas, Texas 75265