Telecom-Request%usc-eclc@brl-bmd.UUCP (Telecom-Request@usc-eclc) (01/12/84)
TELECOM Digest Thursday, 12 Jan 1984 Volume 4 : Issue 7
Today's Topics:
Alternative LD Services Comparison
local calls in California
time & temperature numbers
Telex and Teletex
Re: TELECOM Digest V4 #6
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Date: 9 Jan 1984 1348-PST
From: WMartin at Office-3 (Will Martin)
Subject: Alternative LD Services Comparison
Since there has been interest expressed in comparing the alternative
LD services, I typed in the following chart:
>From USA TODAY, Friday, 30 Dec 83:
Comparative LD Services. Rates shown are for a New York-Los Angeles
call.
(Original chart also has a Denver-Chicago call, but the whole thing
won't fit in 80 columns.)
Day Eve Night Sign-up Monthly Minimum Billing
Wkend Fee Fee Charge Unit
______________________________________________________________________
AT&T $4.17 $2.50 $1.66 None None None 60 sec.
AT&T(new-4/84) $3.74 $2.24 $1.49 None None None 60
MCI Full-Time $3.46 $1.70 $1.33 None $10 None 60
MCI Super
Saver $3.76 $1.70 $1.33 None $5 None 60
MCI Basic $3.76 $2.12 $1.41 $10 None None 60
(1000-1600 hours "restricted")
GTE-Sprint $3.72 $2.16 $1.45 None None $5 60
Allnet $3.35 $1.55 $1.21 $7.50 $5 None 6 sec.
Homeline $3.96 $1.75 $1.00 None $5 None 60 sec.
(US Telephone, Inc.)
ITT Longer $3.89 $1.59 $1.17 None $5 None 60
Distance
Skyline $3.12 $1.44 $1.12 $16 None $15 6 (After 1 min)
(Satellite Business Systems, Inc.)
Western Union:
Metrofone I $3.44 $1.60 $1.55 None $10 None 60 sec.
Metrofone II $3.44 $1.60 $1.55 None $5 $40* 60
Metrofone $3.44 $1.60 $1.55 None None $10 60
Off-Peak (0900-1700 "restricted")
* = After first 60 days
I'm sure this changes quite often, so be sure to check with the
companies yourself instead of relying on this data. It might be a
useful tool when trying to compare them, though. I wish they
would include an intrastate call on these kind of comparisons,
though. They never do...
Will Martin
PS: Since the sign-up fee is usually waived in sales periods and
as a part of come-ons, I would never pay one myself; probably
you could always wait a bit for a sale in which is is waived.
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Date: Tue, 10 Jan 84 16:01:55 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <cmoore@brl-vld>
Subject: local calls in California
It's noted that charges for calls are not changed by areacode split
(but see earlier Telecom note for question about directory
assistance). However, local calls across 213/818 line will have to be
prefixed with 1+areacode, right? (During the period when 213 OR 818
can be used to reach 818, how are such calls made?)
[If you dial 213-213 just dial 7 digits. If you choose
to dial 818, you MUST put a 1 before it. This is both during and after
the final split]
Local calls from old 213 area outside such area require 1+areacode;
what of the reverse? (And what of local calls from 408/415 to other
areas?) I take it that you can still dial local calls across 714/619
boundary with only the 7-digit number; these areas don't have N0X and
N1X (neither do 408 & 415, which do require area code on local calls
across 408/415 line).
[714/619 is the same as 213/818. Local calls across
the boundary require 1+areacode before the number. Whether an area
code has N0X/N1X doesn't have anything to do with the standard of
dialing 1+areacode+number --JSol]
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Date: 10 Jan 84 1609 EST (Tuesday)
From: Thomas Rodeheffer@CMU-CS-A (C410TR30)
Subject: time & temperature numbers
Does anybody know of a time & temperature number you can call from
Kitty Hawk, NC 919-261-xxxx? The yellow pages don't list anything and
the locals I asked didn't know of any. You can get boating reports by
calling Norfolk, but that's 80 miles away in Virginia and seems like
overkill. My parents are moving down there this spring and they're
wondering how they're going to set their clocks.
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Date: 11-Jan-1984 1532
From: (John Covert) <decwrl!rhea!castor!covert@Shasta>
Subject: Telex and Teletex
Telex will soon be passe if Teletex catches on. Teletex is a new
service similar to Telex but which operates at significantly higher
data rates (Telex is 50 bps asynch; Teletex is 2400 bps synch) and
using a much larger character set.
Sending Teletex messages is much less expensive than Telex (for
example, from the U.S. to Germany compare MCI Mail's Telex mini-ounce
(400 characters) at $1.82 with a Teletex full page (8 1/2 x 11 or DIN
A4) for $1.00).
But the equipment is more expensive, and it may be (I'm not sure) part
of the requirement that the equipment have the full character set
defined in the CCITT recommendation for Teletex service which includes
the alphabets of all the European languages and a large number of
special characters.
I've asked for more details on the service in the U.S. Western Union
is the carrier which is providing the service today. There are very
few machines in service, though several contracts are in effect
waiting for installation.
All Telex terminals are reachable from any Teletex terminal, and vice
versa. I've communicated with a Teletex terminal located in Germany
from MCI Mail. Of course, since MCI Mail is considered Telex, all the
nice upper/lower case available on both MCI Mail and Teletex
disappears in the converter.
Last week I received the following statistics on the status of Teletex
in Germany:
Relatively shortly after the W-German Teletex Service has been
implemented by the DBP the number of network termination points
(NTP's) reached 3335 Ttx connections.
The growth rate within 2 months (Aug. to Oct.83) was 12%. The highest
connection density we will find in Munich with 502 NTP's and Frankfurt
with 375 NTP's. Above statistics are from Oct.83 and are representing
DBP figures.
The list of DBP approved Ttx equipment is growing too. DBP informed
me that presently 35 different Ttx terminals or stations are permitted
for connection to the Teletex Service (General Connection Licenses
only; trial licenses are excluded). The above number reflects at
least 24 different manufacturers.
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Date: Tue, 10 Jan 84 02:26:21 pst
From: sun!gnu@Berkeley (John Gilmore)
Subject: Re: TELECOM Digest V4 #6
Ralph Hyre asks if telco might hassle him about possession of an
Apple-Cat modem which can generate blue box signals.
I recall the venerable Captain Crunch mentioning this topic while he
tried to recruit me for his software company. (He founded it while in
prison for phone phreaking; I wonder if IBM knew who they bought their
first PC word processing program from?) Anyway, he said that his
Apple was impounded as evidence when he was arrested. This was before
the Apple-Cat existed; I'm not sure what kind of special equipment, if
any, he had; nor if it was actually used as evidence in his trial.
Nor if he got it back.
Any old Walkman held up close to the mike can generate DTMF tones too.
I doubt you'll get it any trouble unless they actually detect illegal
activities on your phone line.
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End of TELECOM Digest
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