HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Date: 19 Aug 1992 05:56:22 GMT
From: haynes@cats.ucsc.edu (Jim Haynes)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Deterioration of POTS
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 643, Message 13 of 13

> [Moderator's Note: But do you remember the Anti-Digital-Dialing League
> which formed in Berkeley, CA in the early 1960's to fight the
> conversion of named exchanges into three digit numbers?  PAT]

Known within the phone company as the "2335 committee" (from what you
get when you dial A-D-D-L).


haynes@cats.ucsc.edu    haynes@cats.bitnet
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 92 12:12:57 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <cmoore@BRL.MIL>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Dial a #, Connect Quicker?
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 645, Message 2 of 17

# is useable when placing AT&T Calling Card calls; it gets you a
prompt about being able to dial another AT&T-handled call now.

What domestic calls are you talking about for # to speed up the
processing, aside from the cases discussed by the Moderator?  Phone
numbers are of fixed length in country code 1.  Time-out cases NOT
discussed by the Moderator:

0 + seven digits in area code 213.  At least back before the 213/818
split, this was the published way in the phone book for making 0+
calls within 213, even though this made a time-out necessary to
distinguish between, say, 0-413-xxxx and 0-413-xxx-xxxx.

When 215 area (southeast PA) gets N0X/N1X (any such prefixes there
yet?), it will make a time-out necessary in some direct-dial calls
from Adamstown and Denver (say, if a 907 prefix is installed in
Philadelphia, you will have 1-907-xxxx and 1-907-xxx-xxxx).  Adamstown
and Denver are to convert in 1994(?) to conform to the rest of 215
(i.e. change to 1+NPA+7D for local calls to another NPA, and drop
leading 1 for toll within 215 -- probably need to do this in separate
stages).
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 92 00:09:34 CDT
From: varney@ihlpf.att.com (Alan L Varney)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Pacific Bell Ads for CLASS
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 628, Message 9 of 11

In article <telecom12.614.1@eecs.nwu.edu> 0005075968@mcimail.com (Jeff
Garber) writes:

> Pac Bell's advertising for CLASS services is really starting to get to
> me.  I just heard an ad that said, "Priority Ringing - another new
> idea from Pacific Bell." How about, "another new idea *for* Pacific
> Bell"? ...

   Are you sure it wasn't:

   "Priority Ringing(SM) - another new idea ..." ?
   {Priority Ringing(SM) is a Service Mark of Pacific Telesis}

   You see, you can offer a known product as a "service", give it a
new MARKETING NAME, and claim/register it as your own.  In fact, there
are many lawyers making a good living off of the courts and this
little gimick -- they register lots of names and acronyms as theirs,
and then sell you the right to use them (because you won't find any
desirable one's left).  Another method of decreasing our national
productivity ...

   Anyway, if they marketed it as "Distinctive Ringing", they'd have
to say (somewhere):

"Distinctive Ringing(SM) - a CLASS(SM) offering from ..."
{Distinctive Ringing and CLASS are Service Marks of Bell Communication
Research(CO), Inc., a research unit of Pacific Bell(CO), which is a
subsidiary (for a while) of Pacific Telesis(CO).  The company names
are each Copyright by their respective owners, and this statement is
also Copyright of Pacific Telesis.  The use, mention, in anticipation
or placement of a Distinctive Ringing(SM) call without the prior
written consent of the owner may result in legal action toward all
parties involved in the call or toward any party who could have placed
such a call during the period of fault.}
        
   Seriously, with the many names of CLASS services across the
country, it's no wonder non-telecom folks think the telephone system
is in shambles.  Interestingly enough, Illinois Bell doesn't use the
word CLASS, but names (without SM, TM, or CO symbols) the CLASS
services the same way Bellcore names them, except for "Repeat
Dialing."  Maybe the marketing folks weren't looking too closely...

> ...(Doesn't everyone read TELECOM Digest or crack open the phone
> book as soon as they get in their hotel room if they are traveling? :)

   You bet I do.  In fact, I noticed that Ottawa, Canada, has one of
the largest selection (in the Yellow Pages(TM)) of "Escort Services"
I've ever seen.  Big ads, with big ...  Oh, you meant the Calling
Instructions in the front. ...  Never mind!!

{Yellow Pages may be Trade Marked by some Telephone companies or by
some computer companies that think electronic look-up originated with
them.}


Al Varney - just MY opinion ... really!
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 12:56:18 GMT
From: rdippold@cancun.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Portable DTMF Generator With ABCD?
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 623, Message 5 of 11

mickeyf@vnet.ibm.com (Mickey Ferguson) writes:

> The DTMF standard allows for up to 16 touch tones. I believe the four
> besides "1234567890*

> Does anyone know of a telephone set or a portable device (with a
> speaker that could be held up to a microphone) that generates these
> tones?

Some phones have them, most phones can have them added (otherwise
known as a grey or silver box depending on whose colors you believe).
Quite a few of the "smart phones" for conferencing have them (with
another name).  The Novation Apple-CAT could dial them, and there are
several computer programs that will generate them (as well as many
other telcom tones such as KP1, etc.)


> What else are these extra tones used for?

AUTOVON (the military) used them.  The tones are otherwise designated
as Flash, Immediate, Priority, and Routine (with variations).

Some voice mail / company phone systems use them.  It's an extra four
buttons to attack commands to in addition to "*" and "#"!

They used to be useful in areas that had an automatic call distributor
(ACD).  You'd call directory assistance (555-1212) and hold down the
"D" key to knock the operator off the line ("Oh, another SOB who
called and then hung up!").  You then get a pulsing dial tone that
indicates that you're in ACD test mode.  6 and 7 would put you
opposite sides of a loop, you could supposedly do a REMOB test which
would allow you to tap phone lines using a special code and then the
seven-digit phone number.  Mass conferencing, etc.  Even in 1984 ACDs were
hard to find, however.  I doubt anyone still uses them.  In fact, with
ESS it could be dangerous to try it.
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 05:06:11 GMT
From: pyrros@braindamaged.cis.udel.edu (Christos T. Pyrros)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: How to Trigger a Pager From a Modem
Organization: University of Delaware, Newark
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 626, Message 12 of 15

In article <telecom12.620.5@eecs.nwu.edu> pfalstad@phoenix.
princeton.edu (Paul Falstad) writes:

> Hi!  My boss has a Bell South Mobilecom pager.  Apparently, there's a
> way to trigger it from a modem.  We called the 1-800 modem number, and
> got a prompt that read "ID=".  We tried typing the pager number, but
> it just gave us another "ID=" prompt.  Nothing we tried here did
> anything.  After four or five tries, it just logged us out.  Anyone
> know how to do this?  Apparently, this can be done from the PC program
> Sidekick.  It might be possible to leave an alphanumeric message as
> well.

Yes, absolutely!!

What you want is an "IXO Protocol" paging program.  This allows you to
send alphanumeric messages to someone's alphanumeric pager, provided
you have the proper phone number and the PIN number of the desired
party.

I know of free programs for Macs and Unix machines, but not for PCs.
Anyone?


Chris
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 92  00:23:23 EDT
From: Roger Fajman <RAF@CU.NIH.GOV>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Overblown Centrex
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 629, Message 6 of 6

> We hear how the March of Dimes and other prestigious charitable
> organizations have "selected" Centrex for this, that, or other bogus
> reasons. Of course, the real reason that bonafide charities use
> Centrex is a matter of accounting: they are not allowed to collect
> capital assets, such as a PBX switch. It has nothing to do with cost,
> practicality, reliability, or functionality. But Pac*Bell would have
> us believe that these well-run organizations know something that we
> ordinary mortals do not.

Not allowed to collect capital assets?  I don't believe that is the
case.  It's more like not being able to finance large capital assets.
I'm on the board of directors of a small 501(c)(3) organization.  It
has a number of capital assets, including a small PBX (which I had
nothing to do with selecting).  But it isn't able, purely for
financial reasons, to buy anything very big.  There's no law against
it, though.
Date: 14 Aug 92 11:26:39 EDT
From: Toby Nixon <tnixon@hayes.com>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: 710 and ABCD?
Organization: Hayes Microcomputer Products, Norcross, GA
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 628, Message 5 of 11

In article <telecom12.621.6@eecs.nwu.edu>, TELECOM Moderator noted:

> [Moderator's Note: An interesting question to me is what would happen
> if those tones were sounded to a regular CO. For example what would
> happen if I gave those to the CO here? Would they even break the dial
> tone, and if they did, how would the CO react to them?  I've heard of
> cases where people used those tones as part of passwords on voicemail
> systems, etc.  Any answers?  PAT]

I tried this on our ROLM CBX.  DTMF "A" breaks dial tone, but
otherwise appears to be completely ignored no matter where it is used.
DTMF "B", "C", and "D" all cause an immediate error if you dial them
as the first digit; if you dial them after a "9", they cause an error
(alternating high/low pitch tones) when you finish with all the
digits.

I don't even have an outside line here to try it direct to the CO.


Toby Nixon, Principal Engineer      | Voice   +1-404-840-9200  Telex 401243420
Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc.  | Fax     +1-404-447-0178  CIS   70271,404
P.O. Box 105203                     | BBS     +1-404-446-6336  AT&T    !tnixon
Atlanta, Georgia  30348             | UUCP uunet!hayes!tnixon  Fido   1:114/15
USA                                 | Internet                tnixon@hayes.com
From: elitman@wam.umd.edu (Eric A. Litman)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: 710 and ABCD?
Date: 14 Aug 92 06:05:47 GMT
Reply-To: elitman@wam.umd.edu
Organization: U. of Maryland, College Park.
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 627, Message 5 of 16


 From the keyboard of PAT: 

> [Moderator's Note: An interesting question to me is what would happen
> if those tones were sounded to a regular CO. For example what would
> happen if I gave those to the CO here? Would they even break the dial
> tone, and if they did, how would the CO react to them?  I've heard of
> cases where people used those tones as part of passwords on voicemail
> systems, etc.  Any answers?  PAT]

Well, here on a standard residential class C & P line in Silver
Spring, MD the tones produce nothing but a fast busy -- immediately.
When they are used as part of a phone number, I can dial it as a
whole, and receive different intercept messages from different
numbers. Perhaps there is some significance to this, perhaps not.


Eric A. Litman  #import <std/disclaimer.h>
NeXTMail, MIME accepted - please indicate in Subject line.   
U. of Maryland, NeXT Campus Consultant
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 92 12:11 GMT
From: Richard Cox <mandarin@cix.clink.co.uk>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Pounding on an Octothorp                
Reply-To: mandarin@cix.clink.co.uk
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 645, Message 7 of 17

In the UK, some people did call it an "octothorp" at first.  But no
"e" on the end !.  We *don't* call it the pound sign, however, for
faily obvious reasons (like we have a pound sign all of our own !)

The common name for it here, is "hash": but BT, when they introduced
facility codes for PABXs and Network Services, decided they would give
it their own name.  They sold phones with the "thorps" missing from
the octothorp symbol: and then told us all to call that key the
"square".

Even today, when you set up any diversion or call barring, an
automated voice tells you what the network is about to do, adding "If
incorrect, dial square."


Richard Cox

Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, Wales CF4 5WF
Voice: +44 222 747111      Fax: +44 222 711111      VoiceMail: +44 399 870101
E-mail: mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk             (Off Internet until 31/8/92)
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 92 18:49:12 PDT
From: aimla!ruby!rudholm@uunet.UU.NET (Mark Rudholm)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: GTE Thinks I live in 213
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 642, Message 5 of 10

In Telecom Digest V12, I636, message 8 of 9, gast@CS.UCLA.EDU (David
Gast) writes in reference to a GTE card promotional:

> While the information is full of what might be called misinformation,
> the best part is that the marketing blurb says only GTE can offer me a
> calling card with my home telephone number, but the printed
> information has my phone number in the 213 area code.  Astute readers
> of this forum have no doubt noticed that the 213 area code split nine
> months ago and my new area code is 310.  I can think of an
> explanation, but it still looks funny seeing my phone number with the
> 213 area code.

God help us!

This is evidence of GTE California's complete stupidity in light of
the fact that since the 213/310 NPA split, GTE has NO subscribers in
213, None, zero, zip, 0.  213 has been for some time now the exclusive
domain of Pacific Bell!

Can't somebody put GTE out of our misery??!!!


Mark D. Rudholm   rudholm@aimla.com     Philips Interactive Media
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 92 00:24 GMT
From: John C. Fowler <0003513813@mcimail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: 710 and ABCD?
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 627, Message 9 of 16

Once, when I was living in White Rock, New Mexico, a friend bought a
new modem and called me up to tell me about it.  The modem was capable
of generating the A-B-C-D tones, and he asked me what they would do if
he dialed them on a normal phone line.  I said I didn't know, so he
went to three-way calling and tried them.  I don't remember what A, B,
and D did, so they probably weren't interesting, but when he dialed C,
it hung up his second dial tone and transferred him back to me (as if
he had flashed twice).

Another friend, also with an A-B-C-D-generating modem, tried in San
Diego, but got immediate reorder as soon as the switch heard A, B, C,
or D.  So I suppose it's dependent on the switch (or location or
RBOC).


John C. Fowler, 3513813@mcimail.com
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 92 01:00 PDT
From: john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!
Reply-To: John Higdon <john@zygot.ati.com>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 653, Message 7 of 11

toddi@mav.com (Todd Inch) writes:

> In article <telecom12.620.9@eecs.nwu.edu> msb@pegasus.att.com (Michael
> Scott Baldwin) writes:

>> My grandmother is in need of one of these infamous devices. 

> I'd be a bit careful about this one -- you want very high reliability.

A member of my family needed one of these things. As we sat through
some of the sales pitches, I could not help but think that there would
be cheap and dirty ways of accomplishing this. But it all came down to
monitoring: who would always be able to summon help twenty-four hours
a day?

Well, it turns out that very good arrangements can be made through
local agencies and hospitals. The Santa Clara County Council on Aging
provides an excellent unit with the little pendant and all for $30 per
month. There is no up-front cost and the fee includes rental and
monitoring. The agency takes all the information that the expensive
late night TV outfits do: people to call in an emergency, doctor's
name and number, etc.

Unless you intend to sleaze it (remember that monitoring), I would
shop around in your area for organizations that provide these things.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   +1 408 264 4115
    john@zygot.ati.com      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !
Date: 20 Aug 92 17:40:29 EDT
From: Toby Nixon <tnixon@hayes.com>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Portable DTMF Generator With ABCD?
Organization: Hayes Microcomputer Products, Norcross, GA
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 648, Message 10 of 10

In article <telecom12.627.15@eecs.nwu.edu>, leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.
com (Leonard Erickson) writes:

> Alas, many of the newer ones are capable of translating those "cute"
> numbers like 1-800-ABCDEFG. Which means that when you dial A, B or C
> you get 2. And you get 3 for D. *Older* Hayes and USR modems could
> dial the ABCD tones. <sigh>

> [Moderator's Note: When dialing letters on the modem aren't they
> required to be put in quotes, i.e. 'DIAL THIS'. I'd think the modem
> could see that 123-'ABCD' was different than 123-ABCD (no quotes). PAT]

Hayes has specified that alphabetic dialing be as Pat states it,
except I think we say it should be a double-quote character ("). 
This is necessary to avoid confusion with dial modifiers such as T,
P, W, R, and S, and the dial digits A, B, C, and D.  I think
Practical Peripherals has already implemented this in at least one
of their modems, and Hayes will soon (if we haven't already; I just
come up with the ideas, I don't write the code!). 


Toby Nixon, Principal Engineer      | Voice   +1-404-840-9200  Telex 401243420
Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc.  | Fax     +1-404-447-0178  CIS   70271,404
P.O. Box 105203                     | BBS     +1-404-446-6336  AT&T    !tnixon
Atlanta, Georgia  30348             | UUCP uunet!hayes!tnixon  Fido   1:114/15
USA                                 | Internet                tnixon@hayes.com
From: jhenderson@pomona.claremont.edu
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Dial a #, Cconnect Quicker?
Date: 18 Aug 92 05:28:55 GMT
Organization: Pomona College
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 640, Message 8 of 8

Hello,

On a dialing instructions booklet I received from AT&T recently, it
suggests to dial a # after the last digit on international calls, so
the call can be completed quicker.

Since then, I've been dialing a # after the last digit on all my long
distance calls, both domestic and international, and they all seem to
complete faster.  Is this just my imagination, or is the # really
helping? My LD company is MetroMedia, in case it makes a difference (I
have no idea why AT&T sent me the booklet, they've never been my LD
carrier.)


Javier Henderson    jhenderson@pomona.claremont.edu


[Moderator's Note: In Metromedia's case, I think pounding off in the
middle of a call will reset the dial tone for you, and allow another
call to be dialed. At least that's my experience with that carrier. I
think maybe AT&T allows this also on calling card calls, no?  In the
dialing sequence, the # acts like a carriage return and forces the
processing to begin on what has already been dialed without waiting
for a timeout. I don't think it makes any difference with domestic
calls since 11 digits is expected and you have entered that many when
you pound off.  But since international numbers can be of variable
length, it certainly helps in those cases, sometimes saving up to 30
seconds or so in the time you wait for the call to set up at the other
end. It also matters on the few variable-length dialing situations we
have in the USA; ie, zero-pound eliminates the wait required to see if
your intention was to dial zero-zero or zero plus ten digits; and in
the case of placing a (Bell) credit card call to the number to which
the card is assigned, dialing just the PIN after the "dial your card
number now" prompt is permitted. Pounding off after those four digits
is a good idea, as it relieves the tension which you might experience
while waiting for the equipment to decide what to do about the mere
four digits you dialed (proceed at that point, wait for six more,
etc). Likewise, service codes like 72 and 73 process faster with the #
appended, but will work without it.   PAT]
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 11:02:45 GMT
From: hps@sdf.lonestar.org (Holt Sorenson)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: What CLASS Features Are Available?
Organization: sdf Public Access UNIX, Dallas
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 639, Message 9 of 14

Hi. The switches that are digital in my NPA are #1 ESS, #5 ESS, and
DMS-100. I was wondering what CLASS features are available for these
switches. I've heard of the SS7 switch. How does it fit in with the
above and what are it's capabilities? Thanks in advance.