dias@iris.ucdavis.edu (Gihan Dias) (07/24/89)
I noticed recently that MCI and US Sprint have started operator service. (at least here in Northern California) I haven't seen an announcement about it in comp.dcom.telecom so I thought I'd report it. Dialling 10222 00 gives "MCI, operator xxx" and 10333 00 gives "US Sprint, may I help you" so I assume these are really MCI/Sprint operators and not some AOS as somebody reported a while ago. Dialling 10222 0 XXX XXX XXXX gives a "BINGg" tone and an operator comes on-line if I don't enter a calling card no. Trying the same thing a few months ago resulted in a recording asking me to dial 10288 so this IS a new development here. What I'd like to know is, is this implemented across the U.S., or only in Calif.? What operator services do MCI and Sprint provide? What is their pricing like? (I'm not officially an MCI subscriber so I don't get their blurbs.) Gihan <dias@iris.ucdavis.edu> <...!ucbvax!ucdavis!gdias> [Moderator's Note: I noticed it (with MCI) for the first time about three weeks ago when I answered my ringing phone to hear a man say, 'This is the MCI Operator. I have a collect call for anyone at this number, will you accept the charges?' My first concern, of course, was that it was some AOS outfit about to give me a thrill on my next phone bill, but further investigation revealed that indeed, MCI was now equipped with operators, or at least contracting for operator services at a legitimate rate for same. My July bill from IBT had a section for MCI, with that collect call listed at a decent rate. The use of '00' is only required to bring up a long distance operator via default carrier dialing, versus '0' to raise the local telco operator. If you are using 10xxx codes, then a single '0' following the code will work. Neither Sprint nor MCI operators can test lines or call via Inward, however. PT]