Telecom-Request%usc-eclc@brl-bmd.UUCP (Telecom-Request@usc-eclc) (11/25/83)
TELECOM Digest Friday, 25 Nov 1983 Volume 3 : Issue 106
Today's Topics:
Can the operator ring a phone that's off the hook?
sprint credit cards
Access Charge Clarification !
800 routing.
General Tel brings you their version of MCCS
More on 900 numbers
telco routing databases
new national standard rental rates for phones
Query: what service is the phone company committed to provide ??
French phone company experiments
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Date: 22 Nov 83 17:32:57 PST (Tuesday)
From: Ron Newman <Newman.es@PARC-MAXC.ARPA>
Subject: Can the operator ring a phone that's off the hook?
Is there any way for an operator to cause my phone to ring while it is
off the hook?
/Ron
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Date: 23 Nov 1983 05:15-PST
Subject: sprint credit cards
From: SAC.ADR@USC-ISIE
Sprint has a travel card feature. They give you a list of Sprint
access numbers in all the cities where SPC has a switch. You dial the
access, enter your account number, enter a code telling the machine
you're not calling from your home switch, and then enter the number
you're calling. Travel calls show separately on the bill, cost the
same as regular calls. SPC doesn't charge extra for the service like
MCI does. You can call from any place with a Sprint switch, and to
any place Sprint normally allows you to call.
A useful application of the travel card is opening one Sprint account,
and giving your account number to <trusted> people -- family? business
associates? -- in several parts of the country. Naturally, everyone
has to keep track of which calls they made, and this method assumes
everyone's honesty.
George Rezac, SAC.ADR
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Date: 23 November 1983 13:14 est
From: LSchwarz.Activate at RESTON
Subject: Access Charge Clarification !
I am sorry, I don't agree with Jon's message. It is clearly
understood that if the access charges were not utilized, the long
distance common carriers "CAN" bypass economically the local access
transport areas (LATA's) which are controlled by respective local
phone companies. Thus, the local phone companies, who maintain the
dial tone service, will be hurt - the quality of local lines may be
hurt - therefore, may be harmful to innocent non-long distane users.
Without such Access Charge theory, the long distance common carriers
can bypass via various means; microwaves, computer networks, private
phone equipment systems, etc. It is my clear understanding that Judge
Greene thought of such "Access Charge" idea to prevent innocent local
phone companies from being crushed out for at least another ten years.
However, I am against such charges just because they are not fair to
those customers (regardless of residential or business usage) who may
never need the long distance carriers features. Can you suggest any
better solution to make three parties: customers, local operating
companies, and long distance common carriers be reasonable satisfied
on their wants and economic needs?
Happy Thanksgiving!
<LJ>
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Date: Wed, 23 Nov 83 11:38:37 EST
From: Ron Natalie <ron@brl-vgr>
Subject: 800 routing.
It was mentioned by AT&T at one of the UNIX meetings that every 800
call placed gets processed by two UNIX machines for routing.
-Ron
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Date: 23 Nov 1983 2031-EST
From: John R. Covert <RSX-DEV at DEC-MARLBORO>
Subject: General Tel brings you their version of MCCS
Like AT&T's version of MCCS, GTE's accepts a DTMF dialed calling card
after a 0+ call.
Also like AT&T's version, sequence calls can be made if the called
party doesn't answer or after they've hung up. Pressing "#" allows a
new telephone number to be entered.
AT&T accepts another domestic (0+number or just number, but not 1+) or
international (01+country+number but not 011+country+number). This
emphasizes the fact that additional calls are still at the calling
card rate.
Both of these work on GTE; however, GTE seems to have implemented this
by simply ignoring the leading 0. This means that if someone dials 1
612 333 1234 on AT&T he gets an error, because he should really have
dialed a 0 or no access code. On GTE, he is likely to reach a number
in Sydney, Australia. And find $9.45 on his bill.
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Date: 24 November 1983 04:11 est
From: Lauer.SoftArts at MIT-MULTICS
Subject: More on 900 numbers
If you dial information for the 900 exchange (900-555-1212), you will
get a recording that reads the 900 "phone book" to you. Needless to
say, it is quite short.
/Hugh Lauer
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Date: 24 November 1983 09:51 EST
From: "Marvin A. Sirbu, Jr." <SIRBU @ MIT-MC>
Subject: telco routing databases
AT&T has been offering for about a year a service in which you dial a
single 800 number, but the call gets routed to different actual
numbers (locations) depending upon where you are calling from or the
time of day.
Does anyone know anything about how the routing tables for this
service are organized? Is there one copy of the database that every
switch accesses over the CCIS network? Are there multiple copies one
at every switch? Is the database partitioned, perhaps by the exchange
number?
Any pointers to written references would also be appreciated.
Marvin Sirbu
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Date: Thu 24 Nov 83 10:30:50-CST
From: Werner Uhrig <CMP.WERNER@UTEXAS-20.ARPA>
Subject: new national standard rental rates for phones
BELL PHONE RENTAL RATES SET TO NATIONAL STANDARD
=====================================================
( New York Times Service )
NEW YORK - The Federal Communications Commission set standard national
rental rates for millions of Bell System telephones Wednesday, and
ruled that after a two-year transitional period starting Jan 1, phone
rentals and sales would no longer be subject to regulations.
The commission decision, which affects an estimated 120 million
telephones rented by consumers and businesses, clears up one of the
last major uncertainties facing users in connection with the coming
breakup of the ATT company. It will allow customers to make more
informed choices about wether to continue renting their phones or to
buy them.
Most telephones are rented from the local Bell companies at rates set
by state commissions. These rates vary from state to state. Because
the rates announced Wednesday will be national in scope, they will
bring down some rental charges and raise others. In addition,
starting Jan 1, state commissions will no longer have jurisdiction
over phone rental rates.
When the Bell System is broken up Jan 1, ..., ownership of the phones
will shift from the local companies to AT&T under the approved
divestiture plan.... ... The new national rate ceilings will range
from $1.50 a month for a standard rotary-dial phone to $4.60 a month
for a Trimline Touchtone telephone. ... After Jan 1, 86, ATT would
be able to charge whatever it wants .... or even stop renting them
...... ......
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Date: Thu 24 Nov 83 10:46:00-CST
From: Werner Uhrig <CMP.WERNER@UTEXAS-20.ARPA>
Subject: Query: what service is the phone company committed to provide
Subject: ??
Thinking about digital interlacing of phone communications, I wondered
if the phone company is committed to provide a communications channel
of a certain band-width to me. and from there I realized, that I
never got a contract from the phone company, spelling out what service
they are giving me for my money. So ....
Given that I develop some nifty black box which uses the analog
channel (voice-grade) to do a certain job, when the next thing I
notice, the phone company goes to digital communications via a
satellite, and my nifty communications network falls apart due to
timing problems and limitations of the digital communication (well,
lets say, before I was able to transmit at 2400 Baud, and now I can't
anymore).
What recourse do I have? And what exactly is the service that I have
a right to by paying my monthly dues?
And, for good measure, what's the max Baud rate which anyone has
achieved over public voice-grade phones ???
Cheers, ( very small ones, when I think of the coming phone
rates )
---Werner
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Date: 23 Nov 1983 12:22 EST (Wed)
From: Kimberle Koile <KK@MIT-XX.ARPA>
Subject: French phone company experiments
I am looking for a reference describing the French phone company's
experiments to put computer terminals in customers' homes in place of
paper phone books. Any leads would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Kimberle Koile
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End of TELECOM Digest
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