Telecom-Request%usc-eclc@brl-bmd.UUCP (Telecom-Request@usc-eclc) (01/08/84)
TELECOM Digest Sunday, 8 Jan 1984 Volume 4 : Issue 5
Today's Topics:
time of day in Md.
MCI Mail Telex Service
Line polarity
InterLATA calls
InterLATA calls by the RBOCs
Beverly Hills Courier advertisement
Happy 818 day!!
MCI Mail
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Date: Thu, 5 Jan 84 9:44:41 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <cmoore@brl-vld>
Subject: time of day in Md.
Time of day is available as a local call anywhere in Md. If you are
in DC calling area, call 844-2525 for DC time of day. Elsewhere in
Md., call 844-1212 for Baltimore time of day.
------------------------------
Date: 5 Jan 1984 1141-EST
From: John R. Covert <RSX-DEV at DEC-MARLBORO>
Subject: MCI Mail Telex Service
Well, it's up.
The following glitches, which will hopefully be removed soon, exist:
On a message sent to an ITT TELEX in DC, the message arrived three
times; the last two said "suspected duplicate." (Better they send
duplicates than not at all.)
On an attempt to reply from that Telex machine, the number was not
accepted. ITT hasn't figured out how to route ten digit numbers (all
other numbers beginning with six (other MCII Telex numbers) are
shorter). However, by dialling the MCII gateway, waiting for a
response, and then entering the 6501046199 (my MCI Mail Telex ID), the
message was delivered.
When MCI mail Customer service was asked about this, they said it only
works from outside the continental US. Not good if you can send a
message to someone who can't reply. But this customer service rep
also thought that you could only send to Telexes outside the U.S. But
they give rates for domestic telex.
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Date: 5 Jan 1984 1950-EST
From: Philip A. Earnhardt <S.PAE at MIT-EECS>
Subject: Line polarity
I have a touch-tone telephone. About every 20th dial tone, I'm unable
to generate any tones. I'm able to generate tones after getting a new
dial tone.
This has been happening for at least a year. Is this caused by somehow
getting reversed line polarity? What else could be causing this? If
helpful, I'm in the (617) 625 exchange.
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Date: Fri, 6 Jan 84 11:26:38 est
From: ulysses!smb@Berkeley (Steven Bellovin)
Subject: InterLATA calls
A few days ago, I inquired about the LATA boundaries in the New York
area. I had received a bill from NJ Bell that showed calls to New
York City in the intraLATA section, which made no sense to me -- NJ
Bell and NY Bell are not only separate companies, but they're owned by
two different RBOCs (Regional Bell Operating Companies), Bell Atlantic
and Nynex. I've just learned that this is legitimate. It seems that
there are two "corridors" where interLATA calls are handled by the
local operating companies; these are most of northern NJ and the 212
area code, and calls between NJ's Delaware Valley LATA and the
Philadelphia LATA. I confess that the logic of this escapes me.
--Steve Bellovin
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Date: 6 Jan 1984 1432-EST
From: John R. Covert <RSX-DEV at DEC-MARLBORO>
Subject: InterLATA calls by the RBOCs
I suspect that the exceptions in these two cases are a result of the
fact that, due to the very high volume of traffic in these areas,
there are an extremely large number of circuits from Class 4 and Class
4/5 offices (these kind of offices usually remained with the BOCs -- a
class 5 office is an end-office and a class 4/5 office is an
end-office which concentrates toll connecting trunks for telephone
users in that office and nearby class 5 offices) in one LATA to
offices in the other.
Another exception was recently made in the Balto-Wash corridor because
of the large number of simulated FXs in that area. Northern New
Jersey also has a large number of simulated NYC FXs.
I wonder whether the exception also includes the operation of the
physical circuit across the LATA boundary, or whether the BOC has to
lease that circuit from a long-distance carrier?
------------------------------
Date: 7 Jan 1984 0003-PST
Subject: Beverly Hills Courier advertisement
From: Ian H. Merritt <SWG.MERRITT@USC-ISIB>
On the back page of the Beverly Hills Courier newspaper of January 6,
1984, I found the following add:
[This is printed on a tombstone which I couldn't easily reproduce
here]
I N N M M EEEEE M M OOO RRRR I AAA M M
I NN N MM MM E MM MM O O R R I A A MM MM
I N N N M M M EEEE M M M O O RRRR I AAAAA M M M
I N NN M M E M M O O R R I A A M M
I N N M M EEEEE M M OOO R R I A A M M
MM MM AAAAAA BBBBBBBB EEEEEEEEEE LL LL MMMM MMMM AA AA BB BB EE LL LL
MM MM MM MM AA AA BB BB EE LL LL MM MMM MM AAAAAAAAAA BBBBBBBB
EEEEEEEE LL LL MM MM AA AA BB BB EE LL LL MM MM AA AA BB BB EE LL LL
MM MM AA AA BBBBBBBB EEEEEEEEEE LLLLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLLL
DIED DECEMBER 31,
OF GOVERNMENT MEDDELING,
IN HER 98TH YEAR.
SHE PROVIDED US WITH THE
GREATEST TELEPHONE SYSTEM
THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN.
THE CONFUSION RESULTING
FROM HER LOSS WILL BE
A LIVING TESTAMENT
TO THE EFFICIENCIES
SHE PROVIDED.
BEING BIG
IS NOT NECESSARILY BAD!
Lone Star Industries, Inc.
[Signed James Stuart]
------------------------------
Date: 7 Jan 1984 2001-EST
From: John R. Covert <RSX-DEV at DEC-MARLBORO>
Subject: Happy 818 day!!
Well, it's 818 day, and a happy 818 day to all Telecommers.
Aside from the lack of 818 in most private PBX ARS patterns nationwide
(well, duplicate dialling exists for 9 months, but if you're given an
818 number, unless you're a phone hacker you won't know to dial 213 if
818 misbehaves) the 818 cut seems to be going remarkably well here in
New England, where I've checked.
Around the country in general (not General Tel, well, one) things are
interesting.
Most interesting is Memphis, where 818 sort of works, at least for
some exchanges, but 818 555-1212 isn't in the toll machine, or is in
wrong.
It's missing in the following local exchanges I've checked (and
certainly many more I won't be checking): Quincy, Mass 471,
Contoocook, NH 746, Rochester, NY 223, Tyngsboro, MA 649, Houston, TX
977 (But ok in 953), and not in the Band 5 WATS Table in whatever
machine our Band 5 WATS in Houston comes from, Rolling Meadows, IL
640, Chicago, IL 569, Ann Arbor, MI 665, and Tampa, FL 879.
That's actually only about 10% of the exchanges I've checked. I'll
certainly find more, but I won't bore you with the details (at least
not until 9 months from now when it really matters).
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Date: Sat 7 Jan 84 23:06-EST
From: Joseph D. Turner <RG.CUTTER%MIT-OZ@MIT-MC.ARPA>
Subject: MCI Mail
Having just recently gotten MCI Mail (well, my brother, actually), I
wanted to comment on it a litttle bit.
I think that the terminal-to-terminal part of it is fine. Even the
U.S. Snail service is O.K., if not a slight bit slow --- I mailed
myself a letter on a Friday, and it got to me Wednesday --- but
everything else is completely overpriced. 4-hour delivery? Hell, I
could call someone for far less cost (and faster, too!). The computer
itself isn't bad, in fact it's quite user-freindly. The quality of the
letter, however, was disappointing. They advertise "laser printing"
--- well, maybe they should think twice about that. My letter was
readable, but faint. Maybe they should use the laser for the custom
letterheads, and use a NEC Spinwriter or some such for the letter
itself? Who knows. Their laser printer might have been having a bad
day when my letter was done. In any case, if they reduced the prices a
bit and put an on-line directory of subscribers so one could find the
User Name of someone if you didn't know if they were on the service or
not, then I think a) I would like it better, and b) it would (maybe)
get a little more popular than it is now. Thought -- forget the US
Snail stuff, and provide users witth a cheap terminal/300bd modem?
Hmmm, sounds like what The Source did/does...
-- cutter --
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End of TELECOM Digest
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