bernhold@qtp.ufl.edu (David E. Bernholdt) (08/21/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0311m02@vector.dallas.tx.us> Mike Morris <morris@jade. jpl.nasa.gov> writes: >X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 311, message 2 of 10 >Comment aside: When will Ma Bell offer combined billing? Sprint lists > the toll calls from both lines on one bill (saving postage, > paper (a.k.a. trees), etc. Why can't Ma Bell? (In my case, > Pacific Bell) In the Chicago 'burbs about 9-10 years ago, I convinced my parents to put in a second line for me to use. We checked out the options and found that the best thing for us was to add a second line, but have both lines charge against a single "CallPack 60" service. CallPack 60 mean that we could make up to 60 units of calls and would be charged beyond that. Local calls were free, calls to the rest of the Chicago area (AC 312) were charged a x units/min. based on distance. So we had both lines charging against the CallPack without distinction as to which line they originated on. Same for LD calls. For this we had to pay the one-time installation charge and a few dollars a month for the second line, in addition to the CallPack 60, which they already had. Although I'm not there anymore, they still have the second line and as far as I know, the billing arrangement has survived to the present. I have no idea if this service had a special name, or if you can still get it, but it may the same as PT referred to in his addendum to the note I quoted. It was great for us, since almost all of my calls were local. -- David Bernholdt bernhold@qtp.ufl.edu Quantum Theory Project bernhold@ufpine.bitnet University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611 904/392 6365 [Moderator's Note: Call-paks and modem-all-night-for-a-nickle in northern Illinois went the way of the California Condor, I am afraid. Everyone in 312 except Central Telephone Company subscribers, i.e. all Illinois Bell residence subscribers now get an approximate eight mile radius of 'local calling' billed at one unit, untimed. Everything else is pay as you use it, even in the Chicago metro area. But we still get consolidated billing. All phone lines on the same prefix under your control can be billed on one invoice, and all usage requirements relating to discounts or savings (i.e. Reach Out America) can be spread over the same lines. PT]