telecom@ucbvax.ARPA (01/12/85)
From: Jon Solomon (the Moderator) <Telecom-Request@BBNCCA>
TELECOM Digest Fri, 11 Jan 85 17:18:20 EST Volume 4 : Issue 146
Today's Topics:
Touchstar and Caller's Anonymity
Touchstar display delete / new Long Distance plan
Re: Touchstar display delete / new Long Distance plan
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From: Jon_Tara@Wayne-MTS
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 85 03:04:12 EST
From: Jon_Tara%Wayne-MTS%UMich-MTS.Mailnet@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA
To: TELECOM@BBNCCA.ARPA
I just heard a rumor that ATT will no longer guarantee non-satellite
transmission on domestic dial-up connections.
1) Is this true?
2) Did ATT *ever* guarantee non-satellite connections?
I *have* noticed some awfully suspicious-looking delays in my
XMODEM data transfers lately. At first I thought my long distance
carrier was pulling my leg when they said they use only ATT WATTS
lines, but now I've noticed the delays on ATT. (Which brings up
another question: questions 1 and 2 above repeated for WATTS...)
Between this and the (soon) wide avaiability of 2400bps modems,
guess it's time for the BBS people to come up with a new public-domain
protocol for file transfer. Most recent micros should be able to
handle incoming characters as interrputs or DMA, and continue to
receive while computing CRCs, writing to disk, etc. and should be
able to do away with the silly turn-around after each block. Suspect
the quick-fix will be increasing block size...
I shudder to think what this is doing to Kermit, with it's
64 byte default block size.
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From: hou4b!dwl@Berkeley (d.w.levenson)
To: Telecom-Request@BBNCCA
Date: 9 Jan 1985 8:46 EST
Subject: Touchstar and Caller's Anonymity
While unlisted numbers may be unavailable to the TOUCHSTAR-equipped
recipient of incoming calls, nuisance calls may still be traced. If
the called party inputs the appropriate *+ code and then notifies
the telco that the `marked' call was a nuisance call, the telco can
probably take the appropriate action, even if the called party does
not know who has been `fingered'.
Calls from businesses may come from un-numbered (outgoing only)
trunks or from WATS trunks which have non-dialable numbers. They may
arrive from out-of-town central offices which are not-yet
CCIS-equipped. Subscribers who buy TOUCHSTAR service, for the time
being, will not be guarranteed identification of *every* call
received.
Dave Levenson
AT&T Holmdel
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From: vax135!petsd!peora!jer@Berkeley
Date: Thursday, 10 Jan 1985 19:32-EST
To: telecom@BBNCCA.ARPA
Subject: Touchstar display delete / new Long Distance plan
Recent contributors have suggested that callers can disable the callback
feature, or that it will not work if the number is unlisted. This is not
correct. Only the DISPLAY of a number is inhibited by display delete or
unlisted numbers, according to the documentation in the phone book.
Second, I have a question on a new topic. Recently we see on TV that AT&T
has introduced "something rather radical", something that cigar-smoking men
in large armchairs find more interesting than the newspaper: a plan whereby
you can call anywhere in the US for $10/hour, "and the next hour is even
less."
It had been my understanding that AT&T was presently constrained from offering
rates equivalent to those offered by MCI, Sprint, etc., "to encourage
competition." So how do they offer this new service?
One thing I notice is that the new $10/hour service resembles outward
WATS a lot ... is the new service, from an accounting/legal standpoint,
somehow equivalent to WATS? or does it in some other way circumvent this
restriction? Or is it not really less expensive than the more conventional
AT&T rates?
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Date: Fri, 11 Jan 85 14:31:55 EST
From: Jon Solomon <jsol@bbncca.ARPA>
Subject: Re: Touchstar display delete / new Long Distance plan
To: vax135!petsd!peora!jer@ucb-vax.arpa
Cc: telecom@bbncca.arpa
AT&T is offering $8.50/hour service to any point in the US. It's
called "Reach Out America" service (I have it on my phone). The
restrictions are that you can only use it on the night-weekend rate
times, and for an additional fee you can get 15% off evening calls.
Day rates are still the typical high AT&T rate, so they aren't
competing with the other's price wise.
I don't think AT&T is restricted from offering off-peak calling
bargains, just peak ones.
--Jsol
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End of TELECOM Digest
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