MYERSTON@kl.sri.com (HECTOR MYERSTON) (04/05/89)
John Higdon writes about how to avoid post-earthquake dial tone delays if one has a PBX voice Centrex. John, think about it. The blockage and/or dial-tone delay are not caused by the equipment but by an abnormally large number of user going off-hook. What makes you think that PBX users will act any differently? (You even suggest calling the Third Floor to check!). Even the best "Non-Blocking" [ :-) ] PBXs cannot support everyone going off-hook simultaneously without service delay. In big shakers many "calls" are caused by cheap light weight sets falling off hook. In this area (SF Bay) the radio stations advice everyone to stay off the phone and, in the next second, ask everybody to call THEM with the same tiresome "Gee, I'm OK but I really felt it..." reports. In between calls they (the radio stations) gang-dial USGS, Berkeley Seismology Lab etc to ask inane questions. -------