TELECOM Digest Fri, 28 Oct 94 02:35:00 CDT Volume 14 : Issue 405 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Bell Canada Ends Messaging Trial (Dave Leibold) Mounties Join Video-on-Demand Test (Dave Leibold) Pac*Bell Touch-Tone Refunds (Linc Madison) Pac*Bell Info About New Dialing Procedures (Linc Madison) AT&T Launches WWW Server (Andrew B. Myers) T1 Costs and Specifications (Dan Kahn) RochesterTel Calling Cards Dump 10XXX Dialing (Rob Levandowski) AM Expanded Band Allotments (Monty Solomon) AT&T Throws in the Towel ... err Card (Paul Robinson) AT&T Takes Action Against MCI 800-CALLINFO (Will Martin) New List for Telecommunication Rules (David Devereaux-Weber) Phone Fun 800 (Monty Solomon) 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: Dave.Leibold@f730.n250.z1.fidonet.org (Dave Leibold) Date: 28 Oct 94 00:03:20 -0500 Subject: Bell Canada Ends Messaging Trial Organization: FidoNet: The Super Continental - North York, Canada [from Bell News, 24 Oct 94; content is Bell Canada's; e&oe] Star Messenger to be withdrawn Our new Star Messenger[tm] service will be withdrawn at the end of the trial period ending October 31. "The disappointing trial results and the requirement for further technological development played a major part in the decision to remove the service," says Janet Garrod of Consumer Market Management. Star Messenger, a pay-per-use service, allowed customers to leave a one minute voice message when they received a busy signal or no answer on an alternately billed long distance call to most points in North America. A new trial to address the needs of local and direct distance dialing (1+ calls) messaging along with possible payphone messaging is being considered in selected locations during the first quarter of '95. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This is interesting, since Illinois Bell is testing the same thing on a limited basis including a couple of exchanges here in Skokie, Illinois. I found out about it only by chance when using a payphone about a week ago at the bus station. I dialed a local number, it rang *only three times* and a recorded message popped on the line while the ringing continued in the background. It said, "your party did not answer. You may leave a one minute message which we will attempt to deliver every thirty minutes for the next eight hours by depositing 25 cents, then wait for instructions before beginning to speak your message; or if you prefer, stay on the line and continue to wait for your party to answer." I've never heard that before, and only hear it when I use payphones on the 708-675 exchange. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Dave.Leibold@f730.n250.z1.fidonet.org (Dave Leibold) Date: 28 Oct 94 00:03:32 -0500 Subject: Mounties Join Video-on-Demand Test Organization: FidoNet: The Super Continental - North York, Canada [from Bell News, 24 Oct 94; content is Bell Canada's; e&oe] RCMP joins our Video on Demand trial in Ottawa RCMP staff and hundreds of Ottawa-based public school students have just gained access to a storehouse of educational and training videos through personal computers at on-site locations. The delivery of this information last Monday marked the beginning of Phase II of the Business Video on Demand Trial (VOD), involving programs in three RCMP locations in the Ottawa area and eight Ottawa-Carleton public schools in four school boards. The trial is part of the recently-announced Bell Canada and Stentor Beacon Initiative, a 10-year, $8 billion plan to build a coast-to-coast broadband infrastructure for the delivery of new multimedia services. Phase I of the trial, which tested the underlying technology and the design for users of VOD, offered video on demand from key locations at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. Phase II expands on the earlier test by simulating a city-wide environment, serving more customers and testing operational methods and procedures and an enhanced user interface. The trial, scheduled to last until May 1995, connects a minimum of 14 sites in the Ottawa-Carleton area. Through computers in their school libraries, students have access to more than 70 video titles to complement their learning environment. Video content for the echools is provided by Magic Lantern Communications Limited. RCMP users are able to obtain easy access to the force's own wide range of training videos. The system offers full VCR-like controls such as rewind, fast-forward, pause, etc. There's great potential in new multimedia services as educational and business tools. Possible serving applications include training, product and service information, stock footage for advertising and public relations, as well as video clippings for educational, industrial and financial use. The trial is funded by Bell Canada and Stentor with technical assistance from Bell-Northern Research and MPR Teltech. The first VOD services for business customers should be available starting in late 1995. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 23:55:37 -0700 From: LincMad@netcom.com (Linc Madison) Subject: Pac*Bell Touch-Tone Refunds In the insert with my monthly Pacific Bell bill is a notice that some customers who had Touch-Tone service between 5/4/87 and 5/3/90 may be due a refund of up to $66.20 (business) or $48.20 (residence), plus 12% interest. The affected customers are those who moved or discontinued Touch-Tone service during the time in question, in certain, mostly rural, prefixes. There is a complete list in the insert, but I'll just hit a few highlights: 209: Chowchilla, Coalinga, Lodi, Modesto, Turlock, Yosemite 408: Ben Lomond, Felton, Salinas 415: Crockett*, Moss Beach, Pescadero, Pittsburg* (* now in 510) 619: Borrego, Furnace Creek, Imperial, Shoshone 707: Arcata, Eureka, Napa, Ukiah 805: Bakersfield, Mojave, Morro Bay, Ventura 916: Mount Shasta, Placerville, Redding, Yreka For more information, contact Pacific Bell, Sacramento CA 95851. The same billing insert also has a form to remove your listing from the Street Address Telephone Directories, explaining that they are "sometimes used by businesses or emergency services to contact you when they don't know your last name. For example, lost children may know their addresses but not how to spell their last names." There are also blurbs about the statewide uniform dialing plan and the new 562 area code for Los Angeles; I'll include those in a separate message. Linc Madison * Oakland, California * LincMad@Netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 23:55:42 -0700 From: LincMad@netcom.com (Linc Madison) Subject: Pac*Bell Info About New Dialing Procedures I got my Pacific Bell bill today, including an insert with information about several things, including the touch-tone refunds and the new area code 562. Here is the blurb about the dialing changes required for 1995: STATEWIDE UNIFORM DIALING IS ALMOST HERE! On October 11, 1994, dialing procedures will become standard throughout California. After that, you'll dial calls the same way, no matter where you are in the state. HERE'S HOW CALIFORNIANS WILL DIAL: -> Always dial "1" first when you call *outside* the area code you're in. -> Never dial "1" to begin a seven-digit call. -> *Always* dial the area code on any operator-assisted or Calling Card call (calls that begin by dialing "0"), whether you're calling long distance or not. OUR CHARGES FOR CALLS WILL REMAIN THE SAME. [map of California with 916, 209, 805, 310, 562, with middle digits emphasized, and a 1+ to the side] WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO? If you have Speed Dialing or Call Forwarding, you *may* need to re- enter the numbers you programmed into your telephone. Also, if you have a PBX or other customer-provided equipment, you *may* need to make programming changes. Please contact your vendor if you need more information or assistance. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? Telephone companies are running out of numbers for new area codes. In the past, either a zero or a one was used for the middle number of any area code. When the uniform dialing project is completed, new area codes will use any of the numbers two through nine as the middle number. This allows for 640 new number combinations for area codes throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean Islands. Linc Madison * Oakland, California * LincMad@Netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Oct 94 10:53:54 EDT From: myers@hogpa.ho.att.com (Andrew B Myers) Subject: AT&T Launches WWW Server AT&T LAUNCHES WORLD WIDE WEB INTERNET SERVER CHICAGO, Oct. 19, 1994 -- AT&T is extending its commitment to global communications and computing with the launch of its own information site, or "home page," on the Internet. AT&T's new Internet site was described yesterday by William Holland, a technical manager at AT&T Bell Laboratories, in a talk at the Second International World Wide Web Conference here. Holland heads a group responsible for AT&T's electronic gateway services. The AT&T site, called "www.att.com," is situated on the Internet's World Wide Web -- often abbreviated as "the Web" or "WWW"--a fast-growing and user-friendly section of the Internet. Offering a range of information about AT&T, its products and services, a sampling of what's available includes: o Historical, current and financial information; o Descriptions of business units, joint ventures and global operations; o News releases; o Full text of the current annual report; o Product and service descriptions, including many color images; o Product and service customer contact numbers; o Product and service technical data and specifications; o Product and service monthly featured items; o Access to research and development activities at Bell Labs; o Access to the company's Customer Information Center; o AT&T's YOU WILL commercials (graphic, audio and video versions); o An AT&T Phone Center locator; o Offerings of AT&T Technical Education Center courses, with on- line registration, and other AT&T technical consulting services; and o Other features, data bases and pointers to additional resources in AT&T and elsewhere on the Internet. Visitors to the AT&T Web home page may also win T-shirts, books and other prizes that will be offered through random drawings and other promotional activities at the site. AT&T's home page has been designed for access by Internet users of all kinds, from those with multimedia (sound, graphics and video) capabilities to text-only browsers. The system offers a number of full-color images and sounds. In the near future the AT&T Web site will offer a number of leading edge "You Will" type technology demonstrations, lists of frequently asked questions (FAQs), and a self-guided electronic tour of AT&T and its global operations. "This is just the beginning for AT&T," said Ron Ponder, AT&T chief information officer. "We believe we have some interesting things to offer, but we want to listen to our readers and customers. In response, we will ensure that our site always carries information, capabilities, features and tools that people tell us they want." It is estimated that some 20 to 30 million people have access to the Internet, either directly or through various commercial on-line services, Internet access providers, and corporate and academic networks. The number of Internet users is also growing dramatically as more user friendly browsing software, such as National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) Mosaic, becomes widely available. (Mosaic is the most popular graphical browser for the Internet. More than two million copies of Mosaic are in use, and an additional 30,000 copies are being downloaded each month from the Internet.) The World Wide Web is based on "hypertext" documents and files linked to each other through key words or "pointers" so that readers may pursue whatever interests them by pointing and clicking on highlighted words with a computer mouse, or by moving their cursor to the highlighted text and hitting the ENTER key. The linked file or document may be located anywhere on the global Internet on any one of several thousand graphical, hyperlinked databases around the world. Users may download any information they are reading, or request the file or document to be sent via e-mail. Ponder said AT&T's home page on the Web is expected to expand as more AT&T business units and organizations join the company-wide project. He said the company envisions three primary uses for its World Wide Web Internet server: 1. Customers can have real-time access to products and services with video, graphical and audio support capabilities. 2. Customers can access distributed databases, such as information help line numbers, easily, quickly and on-line. 3. Customers can provide real-time feedback on their needs to enable AT&T to provide faster and better quality service. AT&T also expects to use the Web internally in various ways. For example, AT&T employees in one unit could use it to locate or identify resources or people in other AT&T organizations, faster and easier than they ever could before. Other internal applications may include database or resource sharing, collaboration on product and service development, and various other communications and data processing activities. As AT&T's Web server continues to evolve, the company will enable customers to place orders for products and services directly while on-line. Work is continuing on the development of processes and systems to facilitate on-line ordering, purchasing and other financial transactions. Internet users may access the AT&T site from various "What's New" pages and directories available on the Web, or they may connect directly by providing the proper Universal Resource Locator (URL) address of http://www.att.com/. CONTACTS: Andrew Myers, 908-221-2737 (office), 908-522-9485 (home) Jim Byrnes, 908-221-7876 (office), 908-689-6040 (home) ------------------------------ From: kahn@physics.unc.edu (Dan Kahn) Subject: T1 Costs and Specifications Date: 28 Oct 1994 00:17:32 GMT Organization: Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, UNC Hi, I'd like to get the answer to some questions -- which may not make much sense since I'm new to the telecom world. I'm trying to get some other folks interested in doing a more detailed study of getting T1 between our facilites (about 1/4 mile apart) so I only need to be armed with some ballpark figures and ideas about T1. I'd like to know what T1 services costs, and how it is billed. I'm interested in a connection within a small town, so only the local phone company would be involved. Is it billed monthly, per amount of data what does the equipment on the ends of the line run, etc. I'm also interested in installation costs, is in necessary to install special wires or are ordinary voice lines used (T1 is supposed to be úÿ equivilent of 24 voice lines, but does that mean one only needs 24 voice lines, or does coax need to be run?) The line would be used for data communications not voice communications, so if T1 would be less appropriate than something else please let me know. The project is short term (about a year) which means equipment could be rented, instead of purchased, so if anyone can give me ideas about the cost of renting necessary equipment I'd appreciate it. Thanks, dan ------------------------------ From: rlvd_cif@redshirt.cc.rochester.edu (Rob Levandowski) Subject: RochesterTel Calling Cards Dump 10XXX Dialing Organization: University of Rochester - Rochester, New York Date: Fri, 28 Oct 94 00:40:55 GMT I got an interesting letter from Rochester Telephone the other day. They recently sent me a new (hideous purple) calling card, which had my old PIN imprinted (but not my phone number), along with instructions for dialing an 800 access number for RCI, RochesterTel's long-distance arm. The letter, which trailed the card by several months, explains that the Rochester Telephone calling card can no longer be used for 0+ dialing after November 15th. In order to use your standard RochesterTel calling card, and have the call billed to your local telephone bill, you must dial the access number and use RCI Long Distance. I called their customer service and asked: will I still be able to use 10XXX codes to select an alternative long-distance carrier for my calling- card calls? The answer is NO. Apparently they're taking their cards out of the database. The letter explains that this change is to help prevent calling-card fraud. I'm concerned ... how much fraud can an 800 access code prevent? Is the savings in fraudulent calls worth relinquishing the ability to choose which carrier your local-telco calling card calls are carried by? Is it even legal for RochesterTel to prohibit 10XXX dialing on their cards? I suppose I could just get an AT&T card for those times I want to use AT&T, or whoever ... I already have an RCI calling card, which is completely seperate from my RochesterTel calling card, because if I use RCI via my RochesterTel card, I don't get any of my plan discounts. The RCI Pronto card does. Two cards for one phone number is bad enough ... will I have to have accounts with any LD company I want to use in the future? I'm writing a letter of complaint to RochesterTel and the PSC and FCC, in hopes that someone else will see that forcing calling card users to use an affiliated division's LD service is kind of fishy. (Isn't this what Bell used to do before it was broken up?) If anyone else reading this is a RochesterTel customer, I urge them to do the same. The addresses are in every RochesterTel phone book. Most of all, I'm amazed at RochesterTel's hypocrisy. They've been patting themselves on the back for months now, in every billing and throughout the newspapers and TV, on their "Open Market Plan" that will, as of January 1, enable local telephone service to competition with recipocrity, etc. Now, they turn around and monopolize their customer's calling card service. This sounds more like lip service than phone service to me! :) Rob Levandowski Computer Interest Floor associate / University of Rochester macwhiz@cif.rochester.edu [Opinions expressed are mine, not UR's.] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: My understanding is that independent telcos are under *no legal obligation* to offer 10xxx dialing or for that matter access to any long distance carrier other than whatever they choose. Certainly there are a large number of tiny little telco cooperatives and the like around the USA who still shunt all their long distance traffic to AT&T. Divestiture only applied to AT&T and the Bell Companies. GTE also implemented much of the same when it became common knowledge that the Justice Department was going to get after them next when it finished with AT&T if they did not voluntarily change their ways ... so they did. But as for Rochester and the other independents, I think they are still pretty much free to do as they please. Certainly where their own calling card -- thus, an extension of credit they are granting to you -- is concerned, they are perfectly free to say what the card (account) can and cannot be used for. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 13:10:18 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: AM Expanded Band Allotments Forwarded to the Digest, FYI. Date: 19 Oct 1994 05:33:47 GMT From: fcclaw@cais2.cais.com (FCC World) Subject: AM Expanded Band Allotments Organization: Capital Area Internet Service Newsgroups: rec.radio.broadcasting FCC UPDATE October 18, 1994 An update on news from the Federal Communications Commission written by: Shaun A. Maher, Esq. Smithwick & Belendiuk, P.C. 1990 M Street, N.W. Suite 510 Washington, D.C. 20036 fcclaw@cais.com INTERNET E-MAIL (202) 785-2800 VOICE (202) 785-2804 FAX (202) 887-5718 FCC WORLD BBS FCC ANNOUNCES AM EXPANDED BAND ALLOTMENTS In its Review of the Technical Assignment Criteria for the AM Broadcast Service, 6 FCC Rcd 6273 (1991), recon. granted in part and denied in part, 8 FCC Rcd 3250 (1993)["AM improvement Order"], the Commission adopted measures to facilitate an overall improvement and revitalization of the AM broadcast band and to effectuate the necessary incorporation of new spectrum between 1605 and 1705 kHz into the AM broadcast band. The Commission concluded that the public interest would be best served by using the expanded AM band to improve the overall quality of the AM service by lessening interference and congestion in the existing band. On May 3, 1993, the Commission opened a filing window for existing AM stations to file petitions to migrate to the expanded band. On December 3, 1993, the Commission announced a ranking of all petitions to migrate in accordance with the priority groups and improvement factors described in the AM Improvement Order. This Public Notice announces the expanded band Allotment Plan, and identifies the stations that are eligible to apply for authorizations associated with specific allotments, based upon the previously announced ranking of the petitions. Stations not receiving an allotment were precluded by one or more of the following: the Canadian agreement, the Mexican agreement, the Region 2 agreement, Federal Travelers' Information Service Stations ("TIS"), harmonic frequency relationships with existing stations, or preclusion by stations of higher ranking. The Canadian agreement restricts the assignment of stations within 500 km of the common border to 1620, 1640, 1660, 1680, and 1700 kHz with a US priority on 1680 kHz and a Canadian priority on 1630 kHz. Stations on 1620, 1640, 1660, and 1700 kHz must be notified to Canada. A comparable restriction applies to Canadian stations. The Mexican agreement restricts assignments within 450 km of the common border to 21 specified frequencies at specific locations. If an expanded band proposal for a station was within 45 km of an allotment specified in the Mexican agreement it received an expanded band allotment provided it was not precluded by a station with a higher ranking or other factors. U.S. Government TIS facilities were protected in accordance with the guidelines of 47 C.F.F 90.242(a)(2)(i). Expanded band stations were not allotted within 30 km of an existing station if the frequency relationship being considered was twice the frequency of the existing station. The allotments also maintain a separation of 53 km from existing 1590 khz stations and 200 km from existing 1600 kHz stations. Finally a proposed station may have been precluded by the allotment of a frequency to a station(s) having a higher ranking. Stations not selected for migration will be afforded thirty (30) days to file for reconsideration of the Allotment Plan with arguments limited to addressing errors in the selection process. After the Allotment Plan has become final and no longer subject to Commission reconsideration, the Commission will enter the allotments into the Commission's AM Engineering Data Base. The Commission will issue a Public Notice of the finality of the Allotment Plan and call for applications to be filed. Stations selected for migration will be afforded sixty (60) days from the date the plan becomes final in which to file an application for construction permit on the allotted channel The application should be filed on Form 301 and must be accompanied by the normal filing fee for such application. After acceptance of the application for filing, the Commission will then put the application on a cut-off list. The application will then be subject to petitions to deny but not to competing applications. After grant of the construction permit application and construction of the authorized facilities, the expanded band permittee will then file a covering license application on FCC Form 302. Licenses for stations in the expanded band will be issued for a term that is concurrent with the existing license for operation in the 535-1605 khz band. For more information, contact Jim Buttle at (202) 418-2660. AM EXPANDED BAND ALLOTMENTS Pres.Ex.Bd. Call Licensed to State kHz kHz WEUP Huntsville AL 1600 1610 KFVR Cresent City CA 1310 1610 KECN Blackfoot ID 690 1610 KENN Farmington NM 1390 1610 KXBT Vallejo CA 1190 1620 KHMO Hannibal MO 1070 1620 WVMI Biloxi MS 570 1620 WLNC Laurinburg NC 1300 1620 KQWB West Fargo ND 1550 1620 WEHH Elmira Heights NY 1590 1620 KPAR Granbury TX 1420 1620 WGOD St. Thomas VI 1090 1620 KRIZ Renton WA 1420 1620 KSHY Fox Farm WY 1530 1620 KIDR Phoenix AZ 740 1630 WPGS Mims FL 840 1630 KCJJ Iowa City IA 1560 1630 KYUU Liberal KS 1470 1630 WSYD Mount Airy NC 1300 1630 KTMT Phoenix OR 880 1630 WTAW College StationTX 1150 1630 KTKK Sandy UT 630 1630 KLOQ Merced CA 1580 1640 KRKS Denver CO 990 1640 WAOK Atlanta GA 1380 1640 WIWO South Bend IN 1580 1640 KLXX Bismark/Mandan ND 1270 1640 WTRY Troy NY 980 1640 KTRT Claremore OK 1270 1640 KPHP Lake Oswego OR 1290 1640 KURV Edinburg TX 710 1640 KITA Little Rock AR 1440 1650 KFRN Long Beach CA 1280 1650 KNRO Redding CA 600 1650 WBIT Adel GA 1470 1650 KCFI Cedar Falls IA 1250 1650 KSVE El Paso TX 1150 1650 KSOS Brigham City UT 800 1650 WPMH Portsmouth VA 1010 1650 KBLU Yuma AZ 560 1660 KRCX Roseville CA 1110 1660 KCOL Ft. Collins CO 1410 1660 WCCF Punta Gorda FL 1580 1660 KAGY Port Sulphur LA 1510 1660 WRGC Sylva NC 680 1660 WJDM Elizabeth NJ 1530 1660 WPJC Adjuntas PR 1020 1660 KHVN Fort Worth TX 970 1660 KEYF Dishman WA 1050 1660 WNNO Wisconsin DellsWI 900 1660 KWHN Fort Smith AR 1320 1670 KECR El Cajon CA 910 1670 WRCC Warner Robins GA 1600 1670 WTGM Salisbury MD 960 1670 KKOJ Jackson MN 1190 1670 KKIS Concord CA 1480 1680 KQXI Arvada CO 1550 1680 WELX Callahan FL 1160 1680 WKCT Bowling Green KY 930 1680 WNSW Brewer ME 1200 1680 WEBC Duluth MN 560 1680 WNED Buffalo NY 970 1680 KDSX Denison-ShermanTX 950 1680 KPOZ Seattle WA 1590 1680 WKRG Mobile AL 710 1690 KFRE Fresno CA 940 1690 WBCI Normal IL 1440 1690 WGHB Farmville NC 1250 1690 KCRC Enid OK 1390 1690 WRRA Frederiksted VI 1290 1690 WFMH Cullman AL 1460 1700 KCEE Tuscon AZ 940 1700 KAHI Auburn CA 950 1700 WOKB Winter Garden FL 1600 1700 KRGI Grand Island NE 1430 1700 KAHZ Fort Worth TX 1360 1700 WAGE Leesburg VA 1200 1700 KCPL Olympia WA 920 1700 WKSH Sussex WI 1370 1700 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 20:09:00 EST Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA From: Paul Robinson Subject: AT&T Throws in the Towel ... err Card AT&T finally gave in and set up an 800 bypass number the way its competitors did. AT&T has finally caved in on another marketing concept. Visiting Staples, a discount office supply store today, I saw a display card and brochures for: THE AT&T PREPAID CARD It's a typical prepaid calling card in which you purchase telephone time on it in advance, and you dial a special 1-800 number (800 357 PAID) to use it. (They are also apparently trying to claim trademark rights on the term "PrePaid".) Here are some of the points from the brochure: {Where does it work} You can use the AT&T PrePaid Card to call anywhere in the U.S and to over 200 countries - from any touch tone phone. (And this one probably is accepted for calls to those countries that "don't accept AT&T's card". :) {How much is it worth} You can purchase PrePaid Cards in 10, 15, 25, 50 and 100 calling unit denominations. Calls within the continental U.S. cost just one unit per minute. Calls outside the continental U.S, are 3-5 units per minute, depending on destination. {Is it good for more than one call} You can use the PrePaid card for as many calls as you like, up to the face value of its calling units. After each call, you'll be told how many units remain on the card, And you'll get a 1-minute warning if the card is about to expire during a call. The two quoted prices at Staples were $11.99 for a 25-unit card (list price $14.99), and $7.99 for a 15-unit card (list price $8.99). As you can see, this translates to a "list" price of 60c per unit, Staples' price being 48c and 53c a unit for the 25 and 15 unit cards, respectively, about twice AT&T's highest interstate call, e.g. LA to DC or New York which is nominally about 26c, and 1 1/2 times their highest intrastate rate, usually 35 or 40c. About the only type of call this makes sense on is calls to very expensive overseas calls such as Israel or Russia, assuming they are the 5-unit per minute rate ($2.45) vs a credit card call to Israel at $6.94 for the first minute and $1.39 each additional. On a call to Moscow Russia, the prepaid card makes more sense with the credit card price being 7.25 for the 1st minute and 2.89 each additional, a 25-unit card costs less. I expect if this continues, that some of the higher overseas rates will come down or they will soon (if it doesn't already) bar the most expensive overseas calls via this prepaid card. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Oct 94 9:31:47 GMT From: Will Martin Subject: AT&T Takes Action Against MCI 800-CALLINFO This was over on misc.consumers -- I don't think it appeared in Telecom yet: Topic: AT&T files with FCC challenging MCI on 800- calls WASHINGTON (Reuter) - AT&T Corp. said Wednesday it filed a formal complaint against MCI Communications Corp. over a new MCI charge for calling an MCI 800 phone number. The complaint, filed with the Federal Communications Commission, charges that MCI is billing customers for 800 calls without informing them beforehand. ATT said this violates federal legislation prohibiting phone companies and information providers from charging 800 call customers. Charges can only be imposed for 800 calls when the caller uses a credit card or calling card or has an established billing agreement with the provider before the call, it said. ATT said MCI's newly announced 1-800-CALL-INFO service would charge customers for directory assistance calls placed to an MCI 800 number. MCI had no immediate response. -------------- (There wasn't any reference pointer as to where this article came from.) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Oct 94 10:36:12 CDT From: David Devereaux-Weber Subject: New List for Telecommunication Rules Announcing TelecomDocs: An Internet Listserver for the distribution of telecommunications rules and regulations. This list is not limited to just the FCC or even the US. We also welcome submissions of telecommunications rules from local, state or international entities. You are welcome to subscribe. úÿ TelecomDocs is an electronic forum for the distribution of telecommunications rules, regulations and other official communications. It is operated on facilities provided by the University of Wisconsin - Madison Division of Information Technology (DoIT). TelecomDocs is moderated - messages are reviewed by the listowners before they are posted. Only messages pertaining to the purpose of the list will be posted. For discussion of telecommunications issues, we refer you to other related lists, like TelecomReg or Telecom Digest. Subscriptions are available to anyone, anywhere there is email (including people connected to the Internet, CompuServe, Prodigy, America On Line, BIX, Delphi, and so on). There is no charge for a subscription. TO SUBSCRIBE, send the message: subscribe telecomdocs firstname lastname to the host: listserver@relay.adp.wisc.edu (for example, I would send the message: subscribe telecomdocs David Devereaux-Weber to the listserver.) 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Barry Orton Voice/fax: (608) 262-2394 Professor of Telecommunications Internet: borton@macc.wisc.edu University of Wisconsin-Madison 6l0 Langdon St. Madison, WI 53703 David Devereaux-Weber, P. E. Voice:(608)262-3584 The University of Wisconsin - Madison Internet: djdevere@facstaff.wisc.edu Division of Information Technology 1210 West Dayton St. Madison, WI 53706 22-October-1994 v1.01 David Devereaux-Weber, P.E. weberdd@doit.wisc.edu (Internet) The University of Wisconsin - Madison weberdd@wiscmacc.bitnet (Bitnet) Division of Information Technology djdevere@facstaff.wisc.edu (Internet) Network Engineering (608)262-3584(voice) (608)262- 4679(FAX) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 13:06:10 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Phone Fun 800 Forwarded to the Digest, FYI. Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 15:30:52 -0700 From: "Brock N. Meeks" Subject: Phone Fun 800 CyberWire Dispatch// Copyright 1994 // Jacking in from the "There's No Free Lunch" Port: Washington, DC -- So you think that all calls to an 800 number are free? Think again. Not only are some calls to an 800 not free, you may be getting popped for the bill without knowing it. I know, I know. Where is the trust? A free call to an 800 number is one of the few remaining "free lunch" perks us ordinary Joe's and Jane's had going for us. Actually, the practice of allowing companies to charge for 800 number calls has been going for a while now. Funny how such rules slip into being without much fanfare, eh? Do you recall any of the long distance phone companies taking out ads to tell you this news? I mean, MCI could have taken their obnoxious Saturday Night Live frontman -- the one that does the insufferable 1-800-COLLECT ads -- and had him whine: "Hey, Phoners... not all 800 calls are FREE anymore. Get a Clue, Phone Dude." Although there are legitimate uses of "for fee" 800 services, the practice is still highly dubious. Why? Because it does run against a certain "trust" telephone companies have built up. Don't believe me? Try this. Ask the next 10 people you see this question: Are calls to an 800 number free? I'll bet 9 of 10 tell you "Yes." Of course, the Dial-A-Hard-On sex chat lines were the first to learn how to abuse the "right" of being able to bill for 800 calls. The sex chat folks would, in essence, issue an instant 'calling card' to some sweaty, heavy breather, creating an "business relationship" which was allowed under the for-fee 800 billing rules. The caller would get a PIN with his instant calling card. On subsequent "visits" the caller tapped in the PIN and the meter began ticking. The tricky part came in on the billing side. Businesses, hotels and college dorms routinely block calls to 900 numbers, afraid of the potential for untraceable and astronomical bills. But such isn't the case with calls to 800 numbers. "Why block calls to free 800 numbers?" goes the thinking. Here's another bit of "Inside Telco" info for you: Whenever you make an 800 number call, all sorts of information is "captured" by the service you're calling. Name, address, telephone number, etc. Neat trick, eh? It's done using a nifty piece of software called Advanced Intelligent Network or AIN or short. Well, these porn lines would issue an instant PIN tied to the AIN information off the original 800 number call. So, if you called a sex line using an 800 number from the Rectory of your local Catholic Church or the office of a congressman and were issued a PIN, any later calls you made would be *billed to the church or congressman's phone* because the porn line guys "captured" the billing address information from that phone. Suddenly, businesses, hotels and college dorms (don't know about churches or congressman's offices) were hit with tens of thousands of dollars in bogus billings, all tied to porn lines. The FCC and Federal Trade Commission hammered such loop holes last August after a hue and cry of public complaint. The trick for billing to an 800 number is that it can done if one of three criteria are met: (1) The call is billed to a credit card. (2) The call is billed to a pre-subscribed calling card. (3) An established billing agreement between caller and service provider is in place. For example, say an Internet service provider wants to establish nationwide service, but doesn't have local calling numbers in place in every city. The answer might be to buy a huge block of time from a long distance company to get cheap rates and then allow callers to connect via an 800 number that is billed to a credit card. Not perfect, but legitimate. AT&T To MCI: Hold The Phone ============================ But on Wednesday those madcap pranksters of the long distance market, AT&T, decided that MCI had pissed on their parade one too many times. So, AT&T, October 19, filed a formal complaint with the FCC against its closest competitor over a service it launched called 1-800-CALL- INFO. AT&T claims the service is illegal because it violates federal rules governing billable 800 calls. The MCI service connects the caller to an information operator. Anywhere, anytime, from any phone. It's an ingenious service, and one that, if left intact, is sure to eat into AT&T profits just as the brilliant 1-800-COLLECT service has kicked AT&T's ass in the collect calling market. But like the 1-800-COLLECT service, MCI has chosen not to "brand" the service. In other words, they don't tell you it's an MCI service. Are they embarrassed of their own brand? Some folks at AT&T think so, but they cherish their pension plan and wouldn't go on record saying it. So, having been embarrassed at the drubbing they've taken in collect calling market, AT&T's gone to the FCC complaining about the MCI's 800 directory service. AT&T's complaint says that MCI bills customers for the service without informing them beforehand of the cost. (Hey, AT&T ... it's right there in *really, tiny print* on the TV screen ...) Dispatch called MCI for comment; no calls were returned. 1-800-MEEKS-OUT... [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The mail has been rolling in here on this very topic the past week and perhaps soon I should print another issue with some responses and commentaries. I don't think MCI will lose the case for the simple reason that like all the other information providers using 800 as their carriage, they are not billing for the call itself but for the information rendered as a result. You can see this for yourself if you call from a payphone: they won't give out the information without asking for alternate billing advice, yet I am sure the local telco is none-the-less billing MCI for that one minute call you made (from a payphone) which MCI declined to service. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #405 ******************************