telecom@ucbvax.ARPA (03/07/85)
From: Jon Solomon (the Moderator) <Telecom-Request@BBNCCA>
TELECOM Digest Wed, 6 Mar 85 16:57:10 EST Volume 4 : Issue 166
Today's Topics:
Equal access in Boston dead
No Long Distance Service
abuse of long distance services
new england telephone business office becoming more useful
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Date: Tue 5 Mar 85 12:46:11-EST
From: Robert Scott Lenoil <G.LENOIL%MIT-EECS@MIT-MC.ARPA>
Subject: Equal access in Boston dead
To: telecom@BBNCCA.ARPA
Saturday morning, I tried to make a long distance call by dialing
10444-areacode-phonenumber, 10444 be the prefix for ALLNET. I received a
recording saying that "my long distance phone call could not be completed
as dialed...." Some experimentation revealed that not only did NO prefix
work, but my default carrier, which had been MCI, had defaulted back to
AT&T. (I discovered this by dialing 0-areacode-phonenumber, which would
normally give me an MCI recording telling me that MCI doesn't have operator
service; try AT&T. Instead, I directly received an AT&T operator.) I
called New England Telephone repair service, and they told me "It's not our
problem; contact your long distance carrier." Even the supervisor on duty,
while willing to admit that it probably WAS their problem, insisted that the
rules require that I contact my long distance carrier, who in turn would
notify New England Telephone of the trouble.
Yesterday I called New England Tel's business office. The people there were
much more understanding, and willing to address the problem. They are
supposed to be getting back to me today. However, in the interim, my
curiosity led me to check if other phones in the back bay were having the
same problem. My conclusion: Each of four phone lines I've checked has had
its equal access seemingly disconnected. Therefore it is very possible that
this condition exists throughout the Back Bay, and that unwitting consumers
are having their calls routed through AT&T. Should this prove to be the case,
I certainly hope that these people, as will I, hold New England Telephone
accountable for the difference between AT&T's prices, and what they rightly
should be paying for these phone calls.
Robert Lenoil
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Date: Tue, 5 Mar 85 17:33:39 EST
From: Brint Cooper <abc@BRL-TGR.ARPA>
To: telecom@BBNCCA.ARPA
Subject: No Long Distance Service
My son is looking for local telephone service only. He shares an
apartment, and one of the crew abuses long distance calling. The area
is northern Virginia.
Is it possible to get such service from the phone company? (Yes, I
know; call the phone company.) No doubt, most central offices have such
a capability, but does any BOC actually provide this "non-service?"
Alternatively, do they provide a service similar to alternate
long distance carriers in areas without equal access? That is, every
long distance call is made only by someone who knows a special code.
Obviously, physical solutions (short of no phone at all) will not work.
Thanks,
Brint
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Date: Wed, 6 Mar 85 14:04:47 EST
From: Jon Solomon <jsol@bbncca.ARPA>
Subject: abuse of long distance services
To: abc@brl-tgr.arpa, telecom@bbncca.arpa
I was once in that situation (where people would abuse my phone).
What I ended up doing is locking the whole phone in a box and telling
the others that they would have to get their own phone service. If
that didn't work you could wire the jacks in the apt so the phone line
only works in his bedroom.
If that fails, tell him to look for another apartment. If his roommates
refuse to respect his wishes, then he has no choice but to move out.
Cheers,
--JSol
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To: telecom@bbncca
Subject: new england telephone business office becoming more useful
Date: 06 Mar 85 16:08:07 EST (Wed)
From: jsol@bbnccv
Lately I have noticed that the New England Telephone business office
is becoming more and more educated as time goes on. More and more of
the service representatives are becoming aware of what the procedures
are and it takes me much less time to explain what I`m looking for
from them. Most of them know about equal access (in the areas that
offer it), most of them know about central office sorts of things,
like I wanted two numbers, one on each ESS computer in the Back Bay
Central office, and I didn't even have to explain what a ESS computer
was (although they called it a different central office, she knew
what I was talking about).
I think NET needs to be given a commendation for its service reps.
Anyone notice similar experience/education out of the Business office
in your areas?
--JSol
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End of TELECOM Digest
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