Telecom-Request%usc-eclc@brl-bmd.UUCP (Telecom-Request@usc-eclc) (10/13/83)
TELECOM Digest Saturday, 8 Oct 1983 Volume 3 : Issue 70
Today's Topics:
Re: Bell Breakup
Re: TELECOM Digest V3 #69
re: area codes
Re: Multi Line Switch
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Date: Thu, 6 Oct 83 12:10:55 EDT
From: Brint Cooper (CTAB) <abc@brl-bmd>
Subject: Re: Bell Breakup
The best "support for the contention that residential and small
business phone service is going to degrade or become more expensive"
with the Bell break-up is experience:
1. Folks now have to shell out $10.00 to $50.00 to own their
telephone instruments or face a five-fold increase in the rental fee
from Bell.
2. There's an immediate move to add a $2.00 surcharge to all
residential monthly phone bills to cover costs of providing hook-ups
to the long distance phone companies. (Rather than the long-distance
companies paying such charges themselves.)
3. The telephone companies, themselves, are filing rate
increases and justifying increases in our costs of 15% to 40% in part
on the increased costs of doing business brought about by the
break-up.
4. The instruments which we purchase for rather inflated
prices are not nearly so durable and reliable as those made and
severely tested by Western Electric.
You know, the telephone business is a bit more complex than Pet Rocks.
One problem with SBS is that it's not the only show in town.
Unfortunately, the local Bell Operating Company is.
Brint
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Date: 6 Oct 1983 1457-PDT
Subject: Re: TELECOM Digest V3 #69
From: Ian H. Merritt <MERRITT@USC-ISIB>
Will Martin: The switch is indeed to enable generation of the tones;
the central office parameter is to enable detection, as you suspected.
You bring up an interesting point about the quality of the switch.
The answer is undoubtedly manufacturer/model dependent. I suspect
that some will provide the life you need.
It appears that we have entered the era of the disposable telephone.
If I recall corectly, the GTE flip-fone was supposed to sell for $8
and be disposable as well, but somebody up in corporate management
decided that the public wouldn't go for it, so they bumped up the
price and offered some sort of warranty.
Michael Fryd:
I suspect you will have to build the device, but take heart; it should
indeed be pretty simple to do. The parts required would be 3 4PDT
relays (if you don't have a key system, DPDT would suffice), or
similar analog switch networks, the DTMF decoder, and some logic
(perhaps a small microprocessor). But as long as you are doing this,
why not support some more features. Like being able to put the lines
on hold, conferencing, etc? You could set it up so that when you
flashed your handset switchhook (out of band break signal), all active
lines were put on hold, conferences intact and remembered, and you
were put in a touch-tone command mode. This would allow you to do a
variety of other tasks. You would of course, need a small matrix
switch consisting only of a few more relays, but this could all be
done fairly easily. You could even have common bells on the handset,
and a way to automatically answer the ringing line without your direct
intervention.
<>IHM<>
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Date: 6 Oct 1983 17:13:19-PDT
From: Douglas W Martin <CCVAX.martin@Nosc>
Reply-to: CCVAX.martin@Nosc
Subject: re: area codes
Several recent issues of the telecom digest have discussed unused
area codes. Can anyone tell me the status of codes 200, 300, ...,
700? Are any of these area codes in use, and/or what about future
plans? Doug Martin
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Date: Fri 7 Oct 83 13:41:22-EDT
From: Gene Hastings <HASTINGS@CMU-CS-C.ARPA>
Subject: Re: Multi Line Switch
It sounds like the device you want is a Mitel MT8870 (ca $45
from some random place in New Jersey, got it from Mitel distributors
list). It is a REAL decoder, incorporating all filters and detectors
in an 18pin dip, 5v power supply. Add a couple r's and c's and a
colorburst crystal and you're in business. BCD outputs for all 16
combinations and signal detect strobe, latched outputs.
Gene
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End of TELECOM Digest
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