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Aucbvax.2817 fa.telecom utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!telecom Wed Aug 26 01:29:46 1981

>From geoff Wed Aug 26 01:29:41 1981 >From JSol@RUTGERS Tue Aug 25 21:45:21 1981 Date: 26 Aug 1981 0025-EDT From: Jonathan Alan Solomon <JSOL AT RUTGERS> Subject: TELECOM Digest V1 #2 To: Telecom: ;

TELECOM AM Digest Wednesday, 26 Aug 1981 Volume 1 : Issue 2

Today's Topics: SJM Editorial on Dimension - Replies International Direct Distance Dialing - How It's Done ----------------------------------------------------------------------

TRB@MIT-MC 08/25/81 09:15:05 Re: SJM Editorial on Dimension

We had a dimension at school about five years ago and here at Bell Labs there are Dimensions all over the place. I believe that the Dimension tries to implement good features. On the other hand, the editorial writer just sees these features as an invasion on his humanity. Just another case of the industrial revolution doing its thing; we'll just have to wait for all the old fashioned people to die, and all that.

My complaints about Dimension are not with its intent, but rather its actions. Dimensions crash now and then, not nearly as often as DEC hardware, but too often. Centrex never used to crash. Dimensions here get fried by electrical storms and have other problems. With the good old Centrex, I never had to worry about how long I depressed the switchhook. With Dimension, this is a major problem. Not only that, but our Dimensions (which are used for data transmission, I have six handsets in my office, two each for three people, one for talk, one for data) do not have the call forwarding features enabled (so it seems). But I still have to depress the switchhook for a full half second, though depressing it for shorter never buys me any functionality. What a pain in the ass. Also, many of the tie-lines are noisy, but that probably isn't a Dimension problem.

So I, Bell System drone, have complaints about this Bell System product, but unlike that editor, my complaints involve its action rather than its intention. Andy Tannenbaum Bell Labs Whippany, NJ

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From: Jonathan Alan Solomon <JSOL AT RUTGERS> Subject: Dimension switching, ESS, delays, contests

The first day our town got ESS switching I was down at the phone store ordering all the nifty features I could get my paws on. I was about 12 years old and my parents had to vouch for me, but they were "old fashioned" so I had to settle for my own line (was I complaining?) with the nifty features. It was easy for me to adjust to using ESS's features, so when I was introduced to Dimension I was impressed at how ESS's features were improved (Don't ya just LOVE those loud CLICKS and BEEPS in your ear when a second call comes through?).

I also did not like having to hang up for a WHOLE 2 SECONDS before the machinery would reset and allow me a fresh dialtone, what a royal pain it was dialing up the radio station trying to be a contest winner ("be the 9th caller at 555-2345 and win a free ticket to nowhere!"), but that was only if the line was outside the ESS computer, because if it was internal it would immediately know you didnt complete the call and reset at a 1/2 second "click" of the "switchook". I won many contests due to having my radio station contest line in one of the Accumulators of 3-way calling. Thank goodness for user-changable codes, I was driving the Phone company crazy changing the codes once a week or so!

My point (trying not to digress TOO much) is that the long delay is not specific to Dimension, in fact it is an improvement over ESS!

/Jsol

(Not-Working-For-Ma-Bell)

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Date: 25 Aug 1981 1348-PDT (Tuesday) From: Lauren at UCLA-SECURITY (Lauren Weinstein) Subject: International Direct Distance Dialing To: TELECOM at AI

The standard format for IDDD calls from the U.S. is:

011 -- IDDD access code Country Code -- one to three digits City/Regional Code (where required -- length varies widely) Subscriber Number (varies VERY widely)

So, for example, a call to the speaking clock in Sydney would be:

011+66+2+2074+#

(where '#' does indeed avoid the necessity of waiting for incoming register timeout on dialed digits.)

Also existing within the IDDD plan (though not fully implemented at the subscriber level, apparently) is an alternate dialing sequence for operator assistance in the terminating country. This would be the sequence used for direct-dialed person-to-person and special calls, as well as operator dialed calls. For this type of call, the access code is 01 instead of 011, with the remainder of the sequence identical to above. This is exactly analogous to intra-U.S. "EDDD" calls where 0 is used as the toll access instead of the more usual 1.

IDDD calls are completed in two stages. First, the local office (or more usually, the local TSPS) connects over the domestic toll network to an overseas gateway "sender". Once the sender is connected, the office sends the actual destination address (country code, city code, etc.) to the sender, which then completes the call via the international "trunks". In the case of calls requiring operator assistance in the destination country, the sender also sends a "language digit" to the terminating country, so that an appropriate operator can be selected. (In the case of English, the language digit is 2.)

That's probably more than anyone really wanted to know.

--Lauren--

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End of TELECOM Digest **********************

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