From: Dave.Leibold@f730.n250.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Dave Leibold)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Holiday Overseas Callbacks From Bell Canada Operators
Date: 27 Jan 93 05:00:29 GMT
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 13, Issue 46, Message 1 of 12


 From Bell News (Bell Canada - Ontario edition) 11th January 1993]

Operators give special assistance for overseas calls.

Bell operators in the 416 area offered special assistance to callers
trying to make holiday connections with friends and relatives in
non-dialable parts of the world.

Starting four days before Christmas, between the peak-demand hours of
8 a.m. and 11 p.m., operators called back customers once they had made
a connection with the overseas party.

That special service saved callers hours of repeated tries to
operators, hoping they could instantly obtain an a available circuit.

Having placed their request, customers were assured by operators that
their calls would be placed, and that they would be informed when the
connection was made.

"Initial response has been great. We'll be testing the special service
for six months in the 416 area code," explained Nazir Lalani, section
manager, Operator Services. "If it continues to be successful, it will
be expanded to other area codes in Bell Ontario territory."


Dave Leibold - via FidoNet node 1:250/98
INTERNET: Dave.Leibold@f730.n250.z1.FIDONET.ORG


[Moderator's Note: This used to be the custom here in the USA many
years ago, when all overseas calls to Europe/Africa/the Middle East
were routed through operators at the old international center at White
Plains, NY. You'd ask the long distance operator for an international
operator and be connected to White Plains. After giving the operator
the details, she'd have you disconnect and wait for a call-back which
could be in less than a minute, or sometimes several hours, depending
on where you were calling and the time of day, etc.  I seem to recall
a call to Cairo, Egypt in the late 1950's, and the AT&T operator
saying it would be several hours before the call could go through
because 'we have to book the call with the international operator in
Paris; the telecom administration in France only lets AT&T use the
circuit (*the* circuit?) to Cairo for an hour in the morning and two
hours in the afternoon ... and I think we have one or two calls ahead
of yours waiting ..."  And to this day, 35 years later, where are many
of the still non-direct-dialable international points from the USA?
Quite a few are in northern and central Africa; countries which used
to be French colonies. 

For British colonies it was the same difference only London controlled
who got to call where and when. The overseas operator in Montreal,
Quebec controlled the circuits to the far northern wilderness in
Ontario and Quebec, with calls frequently going by AM radio from a
site in Val-D'or, Quebec. White Plains told Montreal, Montreal told
Val-D'or and the lady at Val-D'or would go on the radio calling
alternatly in French and English, "Miquelon, Miquelon, this is
Val-D'or with a call on Channel 2 ..." and after a couple minutes of
this she would report, "they are not answering, White Plains; you know
I told you before they only promise to listen to the radio in the
morning at ten o'clock." Sometimes Montreal would not even bother to
ring Val-D'or, admonishing White Plains that "we are not supposed to
call her after 10 PM unless it is an emergency.  The radio station and
telephone exchange is in her home and she goes to bed at ten. We give
her a wake up call at six each morning ..." 

 ... eventually the call to Cairo would go through; after a period of
time the phone would ring and as soon as it was answered an operator
would ask us to hold on a second ... then from across the ocean a
man's voice speaking English with a French accent would be heard:
"Hello White Plains, I've got Cairo for you now ... Cairo, this is
Paris with a call from the States, they want, umm, oh, uh, White
Plains, wait a minute, he rang off on me, I'll try to raise him again
but you know dear, you've only got seven minutes, the cable closes
down to American Telly at 2100 Greenwich; won't open again until 1100
Greenwich tomorrow ...  um, oh, Cairo, wait a minute! Don't cut me
off! Put the States onto <number> ... " *That* was an international
call years ago.  PAT]