cantor%evetpu.DEC@decwrl.dec.com (David A. Cantor) (02/04/89)
In Vol 9 Iss 38, James Harvey (jbh@mibte.uucp), referring to ringback codes, writes: >...More frequently, people use the ringback numbers as an intercom, (call >ringback, wait till somebody upstairs picks up extension, talk). In the bad old days (mid-50s, Everett, Mass.), I recall the phone book had a paragraph which said to call the business office for instructions for calling another party sharing your party line. I had a friend who had a party line, and did just that. Guess what code they gave him. Ringback (911-wait for tone-6-hang up). (That's how I learned about the ringback code and how I got interested in this sort of thing.) Years later, when moving from one part of Arlington to another, I had "duplicate service" (same phone number at two addresses simultaneously) for a few days. I talked the phone company representative into giving me the code I could dial so that I could speak to a roommate at the other residence. They gave me the ringback code and asked me not to use it except for the purpose of calling someone at the other residence. Dave C.
prh@uunet.uu.net (Paul R. Haas) (02/14/89)
Why not provide Ringback as a "550" service. You could charge something for the initial call plus a per minute charge. The local phone company could bill itself for the service at a reduced rate. This way capacity can easily be matched to demand. If the price of the service covers its cost to the provider, then there is no longer a need to keep the numbers secret. It might be possible to provide other test equipment in the same way ie., calibration tones. The equipment required is rather simple in exchanges that provide "Caller*ID". ---- Paul Haas, InterACT Corp., 136 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10016 (212) 696-3653 uunet!actnyc!prh