TELECOM Digest Thu, 15 Sep 94 14:55:00 CDT Volume 14 : Issue 366 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson New Members of Ontario's Information Council (Joan McCalla) Colorado NPA 303 Split (Jim Hebbeln) Colorado Assigned New Area Code (Jeff Shaver) 24-Hour Callback Lines Needed (Bruce Hahne) EDI Recommmondation (Phil Khan) Modem Handshake Between Canada and Chile (James Piercy) The Deep Jungle: PLUS, CIRRUS, etc. (Michael O'Brien) Singapore Reaches Digital Milestone! (Thomas Ho Inn Min) Block Local Calls to 800 Number (James Deibele) GTE Mobilnet Woes (Dave Rand) ADSL - What Does it Stand For (Ken Adler) Using Non-ISDN Modems and Fax Machines With ISDN? (Andrew E. Page) Re: Where Do I Pay my NYNEX Bill? (Carl Oppedahl) Re: Where Do I Pay my NYNEX Bill? (Stan Schwartz) Re: Where Do I Pay my NYNEX Bill? (Wes Leatherock) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: 9457-D Niles Center Road Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 708-329-0571 Fax: 708-329-0572 ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. 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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: mccallj@gov.on.ca (Joan McCalla) Subject: New Members of Ontario's Information Council Organization: Government of Ontario Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 14:06:49 GMT FOUR NEW MEMBERS EXPAND INFORMATION COUNCIL TORONTO - Four new members have been appointed to the Council for an Ontario Information Infrastructure, reflecting its expanded role to include the computing sector, Economic Development and Trade Minister Frances Lankin announced today. "These new appointments will add a wide range of computing industry expertise and knowledge to the council. This will link computing and telecommunications to help build an information infrastructure for Ontario's future economic and social well-being," she said. "Assisting these high tech industries is one of several initiatives we have undertaken to foster the growth of various sectors of the economy by helping them become more competitive and create the high skill, long- term jobs of the future." New members on the 20-member council are: Jim Hayward, Vice-President, Consulting of CGI, Toronto Benjamin J. Mair, President and Founder of Quantum Leap Inc., Toronto Ruth Songhurst, Vice-President of Marketing and Sales for Mortice Kern Systems Inc., Waterloo Jean-Pierre Soubli Ottawa. "We welcome these industry leaders to our council and look forward to their valuable contributions to advancing Ontario's information technology sector and the development of the province's information infrastructure," said council chair Jim Coombs. Representing a partnership between business, labour, and communities, the council is an advisory body to the provincial government on developing strategies to promote the development and use of information technologies. The council recently released its first annual report, Full Speed Ahead, linking telecommunications and computing. The council will also launch a public awareness campaign about the importance of building on the information infrastructure. Bios of the new members are attached Contact: Lucy Rybka-Becker Minister's Office MEDT (416) 325-6909 Martine Holmsen Marketing & Public Affairs Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (416) 325-6687 Joan McCalla Information Infratrsucture Branch MEDT (416) 326-9627 New Members of the Council for an Ontario Information Infrastructure Jim Hayward With a background in engineering, psychology and management consulting, Jim Hayward is Vice-President, Consulting of CGI in Toronto. Jim served as Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Computing Sector Strategy for Ontario and is Acting Director of Information Systems for Spar Aerospace. He has worked on organizational development and training in information systems for such companies as Noranda, Bramalea and Ferranti-Packard as well as Canada's nuclear power industry. Jim is co- founder of Gellman, Hayward & Partners and is active as a member of several charitable boards and committees. Benjamin J. Mair Benjamin Mair is President and Founder of Quantum Leap Inc. of Toronto, a leading interactive multimedia company serving the consumer and professional markets. Prior to 1989, he was a co-founder and Vice-President, Marketing for Heritage Communications Inc. following extensive sales and engineering experience with such companies as LSI Logic Corp., Intel and Litton Systems of Canada. He is co-founder and Chair of the International Multimedia Development Association. Benjamin served on the advisory committees developing strategies for two Ontario sectors, the computing and cultural industries, and is a member of an advisory committee to Canada's Information Highway Advisory Council. Ruth Songhurst Ruth Songhurst is a principal and Vice-President of Marketing and Sales for Mortice Kern Systems Inc., a high-profile Waterloo-based software development firm. Under her leadership, MKS launched Internet Anywhere, a mass market software program to provide easy Windows access to Internet mail and news. Ruth was active in forming a computer technology network in Canada's "technology triangle" of Guelph, Cambridge and Kitchener- Waterloo. Her firm, MKS, has been cited for three consecutive years by Profit magazine as one of Canada's fastest-growing companies and by Software magazine as one of the top 100 software companies to watch. Jean-Pierre Soubli Jean-Pierre Soubli International in 1994 following a 17-year career with the company. During this period he occupied a series of increasingly responsible management positions. Prior to joining SHL, he worked for Canada Post Corp., Carleton University and Northern Telecom. Jean-Pierre is active in a wide range of business, university and charitable organizations. He is on the Board of the Canadian Advanced Technology Association, the Carleton Education Network and the Ottawa-Carleton Development Corporation. He is also a member of the Carleton University Presidential Advisory Council and served as campaign chair of the United Way/Centraide Ottawa-Carleton in 1989-90. Backgrounder: The Council for an Ontario Information Infrastructure An advisory committee to the Minister of Economic Development and Trade on developing an information infrastructure (computing and telecommunications); Consists of 20 business, labour and community representatives; Established in 1993; held inaugural meeting May 28, 1993; Original mandate: to campaign for an Ontario information infrastructure under the province's telecommunications strategy; Mandate later broadened, on recommendation of the Computer Sector Advisory Committee, to include computing sector strategy; Issued first annual report, Full Speed Ahead, in July 1994. New, broadened mandate: Raise public awareness of information technology; Advise on development of Ontario's information infrastructure and development of information technology industries; Recommend new computing and telecommunications initiatives under the government's Ontario Network Infrastructure Program, the Sector Partnership Fund and similar programs; Advise on the Ontario government's use of information technology; Four members from computing industry added to council in Sept. 1994 to support new mandate. The Council for an Ontario Information Infrastructure Membership List Chair: Jim Coombs, former President and Chief Executive Officer ofSaskatchewan Telecommunications (SaskTel). Vice Chair: Don Tapscott, President of New Paradigm Learning Corporation. Vice Chair: Sheelagh Whittaker, President of EDS Canada. Members: Andrew K. Bjerring, President and Chief Executive Officer of CANARIE (Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research Industry and Education). Dr. Barbara Cameron, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Atkinson College in York University. Kim Cameron, a co-founder and the Vice-President of Technology of ZOOMIT Corporation and BCH Information Systems Inc. Desmond Cunningham, Chairman of Gandalf Technologies Inc. and past Chairman of the Canadian Advanced Technology Association. Douglas Cunningham, Vice President and Director, Investment Banking of Wood Gundy Inc. Brian Davey, a Deputy Grand Chief for the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation. Jim Hayward, Vice-President, Consulting of CGI. Richard Long, Administrative Vice-President, Ontario Region of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP). John D. MacDonald, retired senior executive in information technology with Bell Northern Research, Northern Telecom Canada Ltd and NT Limited. Benjamin Mair, President and Founder of Quantum Leap Inc. and Chair of the International Multimedia Development Association. Janice M. Moyer, president and chief executive officer of the Information Technology Association of Canada. Hasan Y. Naqvi, President/owner of CM Inc. Rory O'Brien, Programme Manager at Nirv Community Resource Centre in Toronto. Kirk Reiser, Manager of the Computer Braille Facility at the University of Western Ontario. Ruth Songhurst, a principal and Vice-President of Marketing and Sales for Mortice Kern Systems Inc. Jean-Pierre Soubli Harriet Velasquez, Vice President, Delivery Program at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 08:16:59 From: jim@Telcom.OTC.ColoState.EDU (Jim Hebbeln) Subject: Colorado NPA 303 Split U S West announced September 14, 1994, that Colorado Area Code 303 will be split into two NPAs 303 and 970. Permissive dialing to NPA 970 will begin April 2, 1995. Mandatory dialing of NPA 970 then begins October 1, 1995. NPA 303 will continue to serve the Denver Metro calling area, Boulder, Longmont, Fort Lupton, and surrounding suburbs. (Relative to the rest of the state, this is a "little" circle about 80 miles across.) New NPA 970 will serve Northern Colorado (Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Sterling) and the Western Slope (Grand Junction, Durango, Aspen, Vail, Steamboat Springs). Jim Hebbeln 303-491-1014 (970-491-1014!) Colorado State University Telecommunications Fort Collins, CO 80523 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Sep 1994 22:37:34 -0600 (MDT) From: Jeff Shaver Subject: Colorado Assigned New Area Code According to the late news on KCNC TV (Denver, Colorado) 9/14/94, Colorado has been assigned an additional area code. The map indicated that 303 will shrink to serve mainly the Denver metro area. Everything else that was previously served by 303 will be switched to the new area code, 970 (basically all of northern and western Colorado). Area code 719 will not be affected. The change is to take effect beginning April 2, 1995. jshaver@panesu.esu14.k12.ne.us ------------------------------ From: hahne@netcom.com (Bruce Hahne) Subject: 24-Hour Callback Lines Needed Date: 15 Sep 1994 05:16:34 -0500 Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway I'm doing some investigation on behalf of a company which wants to purchase two to four callback accounts (more in the future) which will be used 24 hours a day to call from Japan to the U.S. They want to pay one flat monthly fee in exchange for the right to use the call-back circuits continuously. I'm aware of numerous companies offering per-minute rates, but I don't yet know of anybody offering the same at a per-month rate, hopefully with a sizable discount over the standard per-minute rates. If you work for a company which could offer such a flat rate for callback accounts, please feel free to contact me. Yes, I'm aware that normal human beings in this situation would go talk to the phone company to get leased lines, but due to numerous stupidities in Japanese telecommunications law, this needs to be done via call-back technology or something very similar. These lines will be used to bring Internet access into Japan, so if you can offer this service you'll be helping us poor net-deprived folks in Japan to get more connected. Thanks, Bruce Hahne hahne@acm.org Work: +81-3-5330-9380 Fax: +81-3-5330-9381 ------------------------------ Subject: EDI Recommmondation From: phil.khan@uttsbbs.ness.com (Phil Khan) Date: Tue, 15 Sep 94 08:59:00 -0800 Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591 Reply-To: phil.khan@uttsbbs.ness.com (Phil Khan) Hello All ! Does anyone know a good PC EDI package (under dos or windows) that can be used to receive orders from other EDI packages "Directly"? P.S. "Directly" <==> Does not need to retrive them from third party EDI mail box (IBM EDI info exchange for example). Your recommendation is greatly appreciated. The Transfer Station BBS (510) 837-4610 & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines) Danville, California, USA. 1.5 GIG Files & FREE public Internet Access ------------------------------ From: jpiercy@nbnet.nb.ca (James Piercy) Subject: Modem Handshake Between Canada and Chile Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 08:37:53 GMT Organization: NB*Net Here's a question that I am sure has a simple answer. One of our computers is now in Chile. It has a 14400 Sportster modem (internal) being controlled by PcAnywhere for Windows. This hookup worked fine here in Canada at 14400 V42.BIS. The computer is now installed in Chile and the modems will not handshake. There was one exception when we did manage a handshake and established a PcAnywhere session at 9600 BAUD (Modem speed set back from my end). The software worked flawlessly throughout this session. Handshake did not sound normal on this occassion however, but we did hear the "white noise" of the digital communication. Have tried many times since with no "white noise" and no joy. Audio quality on the line is good. Answer tone sounds normal, but gets cut off prematurely and is followed by a steady tone for 30 seconds or so and then the dial tone on my end. Oh yes, the Chileans have been able to dial into the modem from within Chile, and get as far as the request for a password, so they are definitely past the modem handshake. They report no problem to do this. I would really appreciate any input that I can get on this. Thanks, Jim Piercy ------------------------------ From: obrien@aero.org (Michael O'Brien) Subject: The Deep Jungle: PLUS, CIRRUS, etc. Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 13:57:05 GMT Organization: The Aerospace Corporation I recently took a trip up through Nevada and Utah and discovered a highly unpleasant fact: Banks in that strip of territory have started putting fees on their ATM machines up front. In the past, fees for ATM transactions have generally been levied by one's own home bank. But with these banks, you can get hit up both at the front end AND the back end. I decided that a little consumer advocacy was called for, and called my credit union to see if they wouldn't register a complaint with Cirrus. Not only wouldn't they do that, they wouldn't even give me the phone number of the Cirrus network. In fact, they didn't even seem to see what my point was. Their attitude was that banks could join any network they pleased, and the notion that the network might require certain things of these banks (like, no front-loaded fees) was so completely alien to them that they didn't even know what I was talking about. That's when it occurred to me that the operations of networks like PLUS, Cirrus, et al. are closed shops. The public never sees them and we never see them. On this list we know that ATM machines are (or at least used to be, last I heard) gussied-up 4270 terminals running the old IBM polling protocol, but about Cirrus and the like, I've not heard a word. Anybody got the skinny on these nets? Phone numbers? Advocacy groups? Is there any oversight at all? Mike O'Brien obrien@aero.org ------------------------------ From: tho@iscs.nus.sg (Thomas Ho Inn Min) Subject: Singapore Reaches Digital Milestone! Date: 15 Sep 1994 01:06:26 GMT Organization: National University of Singapore From a recent issue of {Straits Times}, Friday, Sept 2 1994, p. 2 (Life! section): "Telecom goes 100 per cent digital" Singapore's telecommunications system took another big step towards the 21st century yesterday. At a ceremony officiated by Mr. Mah Bow Tan, Minister for Communications and the Environment, Singapore Telecom commemorated the total digitalisation of its telephone network. This makes the Republic one of the first countries to have such a network. Telecom's transmission network and all its 28 telephone exchanges are now digital. Dr. Thomas I. M. Ho WWW WWW http://biomed.nus.sg:80/people/tho.html WWW WWW Senior Fellow National University of Singapore Department of Information Systems & Computer Science Internet: tho@iscs.nus.sg ------------------------------ From: jamesd@teleport.com (James Deibele) Subject: Block Local Calls to 800 Number Date: 15 Sep 1994 15:32:41 -0700 Organization: Teleport - Portland's Public Access (503) 220-1016 We have been asked to submit a bid to a government agency that wants to make information available all over the state. We currently have service in two major cities (well, as Oregon goes -- this ain't New Yawk) and hope to be in others by the end of the year. In the interests of cutting costs, we'd like to things up like so: we publicize a voice 800 number. The voice 800 number gives the Portland number, the Salem number, and a data 800 number for people who don't live in Portland or Salem. So far so good. The cost reduction comes (we hope) by not allowing someone in Portland or Salem to use the data 800 number. We supply (if necessary) a list of prefixes that we don't want used to the phone company providing the 800 data number. If someone in Portland tries to use the 800 number they get a recording or a busy signal or something. They never get through. There are a lot of advantages to having an 800 number -- a data line -- to promote. But I'm afraid that it will be very expensive and a lot of people who call a local number either won't realize it or just not care -- it's "free" right? I'd appreciate hearing whether this is possible and who might be able to deliver it. I thank you and the taxpayers will thank you. :-) jamesd@teleport.com "7104 newsgroups & nothing on ..." Full internet (ftp, telnet, irc, ppp) available. Voice: (503) 223-4245 Portland: (503) 220-1016 2400, N81. Login as "new" to setup an account. Vancouver: (206) 260-0330 Salem: (503) 364-2028 FAX: (503) 223-4372 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Restricted 800 numbers, available from only certain areas, are very common. This should provide no problem for your local telco to implement. Callers not entitled to reach the number usually get an intercept saying 'the 800 number you have called is not dialable (or reachable) from your calling area.' PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Sep 94 06:04:00 PDT From: dlr@daver.bungi.com (Dave Rand) Subject: GTE Mobilnet Woes I currently subscribe to Cellular One for my cellular telephone service. Recently, I purchased a new telephone for my wife, and (on the advice of the dealer), signed a one year contract for GTE Mobilnet service. When I first started out using cellular telephones, about two years ago, I used GTE. I found at that time that they were charging two to three TIMES the AT&T standard rate for intra-state calls, and also had a significant markup on international calls. I was told by GTE (then as now) that GTE does not rate long distance calls, but simply passes on the bill to the consumer from AT&T. This is not true. I was finally able to convince a GTE supervisor to call AT&T to verify the rates on a number of my calls, and they were very surprised to find that I was correct, GTE was in fact billing several times the AT&T rate. The error was dismissed as having "an old billing tape loaded". I was issued a credit of over $100 -- for calls dating back at least ten months. Can you imagine a billing tape loaded incorrectly, for ten months? I then asked about correcting the bills of the thousands of other customers affected by this "error", and I was told that it would be too hard to do. When I subscribed with GTE again, I was very suspicious. I called multiple times, and was given various conflicting information. Each person that I spoke to was absolutely convinced that they were correct. 1. We use AT&T for our long distance service, and you are billed by them - call AT&T for rate information. 2. You are billed your regular airtime rate, plus your regular airtime rate for long distance (ie: 0.75/min airtime plus 0.75/min LD for a call to Australia!). 3. We use AT&T or Sprint, whichever is cheaper for the call you make. We look at the time of day, and the place that you are calling, and make the selection for you, based on the cost of the call. (But they were unable to tell me how much any call in particular would cost -- the CSR got very upset when I pointed out that they could not route the call the cheapest way unless they knew how much it would cost). 4. You may select either AT&T or Sprint for your long distance service, and be billed directly by them. You may also use a calling card. 5. We charge the AT&T business rate plus a 3% surcharge. 6. We buy time in bulk from AT&T and Sprint, and bill you for the time that you use. But we don't know exactly how much we charge (the only correct answer). This one was from a supervisor. Since those conversations, I have asked for a copy of the rate tariff that GTE uses to bill calls. GTE Mobilnet sent me a copy of the California intrastate portion of the tariff, and I have confirmed that this agrees with the current AT&T rate information for calls within California (rougly 0.15/0.14 day, 0.13/0.11 evening and 0.12/0.10 night). They told me (verbally, and on the FAX) that they are not required to file a tariff for interstate and international calls. I find this unlikely, but I do have it in writing. They have still been unable to tell me how much three sample calls that I have provided will cost me. I have confirmed that GTEM does resell long distance, and should be able to provide long distance rate information. Further, GTEM does not offer Equal Access, and has no plans to do so. If anyone else subscribes to GTE Mobilenet in the Bay Area, and uses long distance services (including Follow-Me-Roaming), please get in touch with me for the latest information. ------------------------------ From: ken@hk.net (Ken Adler) Subject: ADSL - What Does it Stand For? Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 01:09:07 Organization: Penril Datability Networks (Asia/Pacific) In the context of teleco network ... which is the proper translation of this acronym: asynchronous digital subscriber loop asymetric digital subscriber line. A short explanation of each would be appreciated. Thanks, Ken [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This is just a reminder to readers that the Telecom Archvies has several acronymn/glossary files available. If you want them, you can use anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu to get them. When logged in, cd telecom-archives/glossaries. On the other hand you can also use the Telecom Archives Email Information Service to request individual entries from the glossary files. Your entry would look like this: mail to tel-archives@lcs.mit.edu. The subject does not matter. REPLY yourname@site (this must be first) GLOSSARY argument GLOSSARY argument END (this must be last) 'argument' is the acronymn you are searching for, as in this example: GLOSSARY MFJ or GLOSSARY ISDN. Do not use periods or spaces between the letters. When your email hits the script at MIT which handles the archives inquiries, several of the glossary files will be grepped looking for what you want, and the answers returned in email to you, generally within minutes or less. Try it out for fun. If you need a copy of the help file showing how to use the Telecom Archives Email Information Service in general, just write me and ask for a copy. I will probably print it here soon anyway. PAT] ------------------------------ From: aep@world.std.com (Andrew E Page) Subject: Using non-ISDN Modems and Fax Machines With ISDN? Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 16:57:10 GMT I am going to be adding a second phone line to my office. I'm considering ISDN since I've checked and it is available in my area. However there are a couple of things that I need to know. Can exising(e.g. non-ISDN) modems (V.42bis etc) and fax machines be used with ISDN voice channel? Many of my online services, clients and colleagues do not have ISDN. In order to communicate with them I would need to be able to use non-ISDN modems and faxes. Andrew E. Page (Warrior Poet) Mac Consultant Macintosh and DSP Technology ------------------------------ From: oppedahl@panix.com (Carl Oppedahl) Subject: Re: Where Do I Pay my NYNEX Bill? Date: 15 Sep 1994 07:40:35 -0400 Organization: Oppedahl & Larson In ulmo@panix.com (Bradley Allen) writes: > Does anybody know where to send my payment for my NYNEX bill? > I have all this cash and a NYNEX account that's due around now, and I > can't find an address to pay it. I'm worried they're going to turn > off my phone! > The billing line, 212-890-2100, is busy every time I call. > I called the administrative offices, and after holding for 25 minutes, > they told me an address at 412 W. 36th St. I went there and it was > closed. The Manhattan telephone directory has a place (pages 33 and 34) that lists all the places you can go to pay your bill in person. Carl Oppedahl AA2KW Oppedahl & Larson (patent lawyers) Yorktown Heights, NY oppedahl@patents.com ------------------------------ From: stans@panix.com (Stan Schwartz) Subject: Re: Where Do I Pay my NYNEX Bill? Date: 15 Sep 1994 08:40:59 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I don't really believe some of the mail > I get from one day to the next. This is a good example. I would suggest > to our correspondent that you wait until NYNEX renders a bill for the > service. There will be an envelope enclosed to be used for payment, and > an address on the statement enclosed. I don't really think they are > going to cut you if you wait until their bill arrives and then pay it > in a timely way upon presentation. Is there something I am missing here > somewhere? PAT] Pat: Maybe this person has a past due bill. I don't know how Ameritech works, but NYNEX has become fairly strict about due dates and service restrictions. They also no longer publish payment center locations in the local directory (they're usually stationery stores and supermarkets and they change very often). Bradley: Call the NYNEX President's Help Line at 1-800-722-2300. I'm sure that someone there will have a location list for you. Stan ------------------------------ From: wes.leatherock@oubbs.telecom.uoknor.edu Date: Thu, 15 Sep 94 10:19:28 GMT Subject: Re: Where Do I Pay my NYNEX Bill? Have you looked in the telephone directory? Many telephone companies have a list of offices which accept payment and payment agencies in the information pages at the front of the directory. Many telephone company business offices have a "night depository" (but usually available day and night) where bills can be paid; often there is such a depository at the administrative offices. As a matter of fact, probably the question most asked of the security desk at the administrative office is "where can I pay my bill?" But of course Pat's correct; if they haven't even sent a bill yet, and haven't called asking for advance payment because of high toll, it's unlikely they're worried at all or planning to cut off your service. In any event, the Public Service Commission undoubtedly has rules requiring notice to, probably in writing, before they can cut off your service. Wes Leatherock wes.leatherock@oubbs.telecom.uoknor.edu úÿ (continued next message) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: 09-15-94 Msg # 538239 To: ELIOT GELWAN Conf: (700) email From: TELECOM Digest (Patrick Stat: Private Subj: TELECOM Digest V14 #366 Read: No ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ÿ@FROM :telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu) úÿ(Continued from last message) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Around here, you can either go to one of a couple actual telephone company offices to pay or you can pay at an agency. Usually the agencies handle all utilities, not just phone. A few are 'online' with the utilities, meaning as soon as you pay them it is immediatly recorded at the telco business office. Most agents however are 'manual' and they have to submit batch payments to the utility companies each day. The trick, for an old deadbeat like me is to pay at an online agency so the payment will be recorded immediatly (thus avoiding a service cut) but the check does not get deposited until it actually reaches telco sometimes a week later! I generally go to the Howard/Ridge Currency Exchange to pay my utility bills. The agent there has an online terminal to IBT. I pay by check and take my reciept over to the payphone to call the IBT collection office to give them the payment advice, 'transaction XXX by agent YY in the amount of $$$'. The IBT collector looks it up on his terminal at the same time. That of course prevents the cut which was pending, usually for the same or next day; or if I was cut it gets me turned back on usually within an hour or two. But Howard/Ridge *used to* only batch the paperwork and checks twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday. I'd pay on Tuesday just after the batch was cut so my check got held over until Friday, with IBT actually getting it the following Tuesday. If they were running behind in the remittance room, the check would not hit my bank until a few days later. It took no effort at all to get seven to ten working days 'float', meaning I paid my phone bill whether the money was in the bank or not! Then one day Howard/Ridge had a sign posted on the wall: "No More Stalling!" with a smiley face drawn on the sign. It said henceforth all checks in payment of Illinois Bell accounts would be deposited *same day* direct to the Federal Reserve without recourse to Howard/ Ridge. Sure enough, I paid on Tuesday and the check *hit my account on Wednesday, with Illinois Bell getting the NSF condition on their system on Thursday*. Even though I made the check payable to IBT (Howard/Ridge refuses to accept checks payable to themselves for any of their utility clients) the agent had deposited it direct. The endorsement on the back said 'pay to the order of the payee named, Howard/Ridge as agents of payee, no recourse'. The federal reserve endorsement was there as well. When IBT called me just two days later to say my check had not cleared and I had until five that afternoon to show up with cash in hand at the agency I was astounded. I went with the money, but it happened to be one of the days each month when the State of Illinois welfare checks are issued (Illinois Department of Public Aid is also a client of Howard/Ridge) and even with four agents on duty the line stretched out the door and down Howard Street for half a block as the welfare mothers with their squalling brats and the food stamp recipients waiting to get their money and rations for the month stood in line with all the deadbeats waiting to get their phone or gas/electric service turned back on. No more stalling, indeed! PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #366 ******************************