Date: 8 Sep 2000 06:15:14 -0400 Message-ID: <20000908101514.17895.qmail@xuxa.iecc.com> From: owner-telecom-digest@telecom-digest.org (Telecom Digest) To: telecom-digest@telecom-digest.org Subject: Telecom Digest V2000 #45 Reply-To: editor@telecom-digest.org Sender: owner-telecom-digest@telecom-digest.org Errors-To: owner-telecom-digest@telecom-digest.org Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 0beb4fb3613849eb36d7ed73424fdad6 Status: RO X-Status: Telecom Digest Friday, September 8 2000 Volume 2000 : Number 045 In this issue: IDMS 2000: Call for Posters and Demonstrators Re: legality of automated telphone spam Re: Bell Atlantic redefines 24x7 service Re: wanted: anglophonic customer service contact at airtel spain (preferably with e-mail) Verizon to cut prices for N.E. DSL customers Re: Bell Atlantic redefines 24x7 service Re: ISDN and Billing Re: Bell Atlantic redefines 24x7 service on CNN tonight to talk about video game ratings Re: Cannot change my long dis Computer Telephony Resource on CNN tonight to talk about video game ratings telecom digest Toll-free numbers that lead to charges on phone bill 9/7/00 ICBTollFree.Com HEADS UP HEADLINES Re: Caller ID and answer supervision? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 6 Sep 2000 06:21:14 -0400 From: Johan Kunnen Subject: IDMS 2000: Call for Posters and Demonstrators [Our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this Call] Call for Posters and Demonstrators IDMS 2000 7th International Workshop on Interactive Distributed Multimedia Systems and Telecommunication Services CTIT/Univ. of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands October 17-20, 2000 http://www.ctit.utwente.nl/Docs/news/idms_2000.htm In cooperation with ACM SIGCOMM and SIGMM Sponsored by KPN Research, Lucent Technologies and Philips The goal of the IDMS series of workshops is to bring together researchers, developers, and practitioners from academia and industry; and to provide a forum for discussion, presentation, and exploration of technologies and advances in the broad field of interactive distributed multimedia systems and telecommunication services. Topics covered in IDMS workshops range from basic system technologies such as networking and operating system support to all kinds of teleservices and distributed multimedia applications. IDMS 2000 consists of a full day of tutorials, a three days technical program, and demonstrations during the workshop. For the latter, we solicit proposals for posters and demonstrators associated with the scope of the workshop. Posters and demo's offer oppertunities to researchers and developers to present and discuss their work in progress and practical results through more informal interaction. Posters and demo's will be selected based on their suitability for the workshop and their technical feasibility. Posters should be presentable on 1 or 2 A0 sheets; demo proposals should indicate which technical infrastructure facilities are required. Selected posters and demo's will be announced on the IDMS website, together with short descriptions, if provided. Proposals can be sent to: Richard Bults, bults@ctit.utwente.nl Deadline for receipt of proposals: October 2nd, 2000 - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 6 Sep 2000 08:39:45 -0400 From: Ian Phillipps Subject: Re: legality of automated telphone spam Melvin Klassen wrote: > On Mon, 28 Aug 2000 03:39:57, djb0x7736d717@scream.org (Dan) wrote: > The voice-mail system optionally used by Telus (Alberta & British > Columbia) residental subscribers lets one call the "message-pickup" > number, e.g., 250-881-9000 in Victoria, and then select a mailbox for > any subscriber, by entering their telephone-number, and then leave a > message. > Nah, nobody would abuse this feature, would they? Orange, the UK mobile operator, has a feature like that on its voice mail, with the added twist that you can compile lists of numbers, and leave a message for all of them at one go. It would be difficult to do any major spams this way, though - you'd have to implement a robot to navigate the inevitable "press 1 to select this" menus and continually reconfigure the lists. I have received two or three spam messages in as many years of phone service. If there were more, I'd raise stink, since I have to pay to listen to them. At least one Orange tariff has no line rental, and no charge to access answerphone... Hmm... Ian - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 6 Sep 2000 11:01:29 -0400 From: ackphnman@my-deja.com Subject: Re: Bell Atlantic redefines 24x7 service yeah these poor guys are so back logged that .They all decided to have breakfast @ 0930 (Just saw 6 bucket trucks @ the local greasy spoon)there super must be off the island today!!! Nantucket that is In article , Roy Smith wrote: > oldbear@arctos.com (The Old Bear) wrote: > > I made two more attempts, all with the same result. > > Figured they don't care if they have a cable down. I'm > > just glad it wasn't a pole. > > If you really want to get hold of somebody at any large company, you > need to call an office which is a high corporate priority for them. For > Verizon, repairs would be a poor choice. Try mergers and acquisitions; > it's probably better staffed. > -- > The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail > messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 6 Sep 2000 13:57:52 -0400 From: Brad Ackerman Subject: Re: wanted: anglophonic customer service contact at airtel spain (preferably with e-mail) In article <4.3.2.7.2.20000906000814.00c4c370@pop.verve.org>, henry mensch wrote: > (all the replies i receive from here instruct me to dial numbers on > my GSM phone that won't get me anywhere since i'm in north america > where there's no GSM service) If that's the case, then you'd better get the tinfoil hat out -- I'm in Cambridge (Massachusetts), my phone shows an S9+ signal, and it doesn't do anything other than GSM. Of course, that doesn't really matter in this case, because the Deutsche Telekom or Microcell network[1] (depending on your location) would be the one trying to parse those numbers. Airtel's HQ address appears to be: (from www.nic.es) Airtel Movil S.A. Avda. Europa, 1 Parque Empresarial La Moraleja. Alcobendas, Madrid E-28108 Get their main switchboard number from directory enquiries (00), then call it. [1] Yes, I know there are still a few more unmerged GSM nets left here, but it won't be long now. - -- Brad Ackerman N1MNB "It is in fact our contention that...the U.S.-Canada bsa3@cornell.edu border is likely to disappear before any politician PGP: 0x62D6B223 finds the political courage to negotiate its removal." http://skaro.pair.com/ -- Papademetriou and Meyers, ceip.org, June 2000 - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 7 Sep 2000 11:26:33 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Verizon to cut prices for N.E. DSL customers Throw in dinner with James Earl Jones and it's a deal. Verizon says it will cut the price of digital subscriber line high-speed Internet access for business and residential customers in New England, including waiving installation charges and the $99 modem fee for customers taking DSL for a year. BOSTON GLOBE http://www.digitalmass.com/news/daily/09/06/verizon_dsl.html - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 7 Sep 2000 11:26:59 -0400 From: "Ed Ellers" Subject: Re: Bell Atlantic redefines 24x7 service The Old Bear wrote: "This afternoon a high truck took down an overhead drop across a major street near where I live. I saw cars trying to steer around the wire which was hanging down into one lane. I stopped, identified that it was a telco (not power!) line, and pulled it down from the tree branch it was caught on and rolled it up in a coil by the side of the road. "I then tried to call Verizon repair service at 1-617-555-1611." Next time, call 911. Even if it isn't a power line, if the cable is hanging down into a lane it's a traffic hazard. They'll know how to get hold of the right department at the phone company. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 7 Sep 2000 12:13:46 -0400 From: "Kurtiak, David" Subject: Re: ISDN and Billing > In article "Telecom Digest V2000 #36" Gunnar Liknes wrote: > >Hello, > > > >We are looking for a company in the US which can deliver 100 digital > >subscriber lines to a location in Florida. We also need 1000 numbers > >and a billing solution enabling us to charge 10-15USD per minute on > >inncomming calls. > > > >I have tried AT&T, Bell south and MCI but I just get put trough to a lot > of > >people > >who doesnt understand what I want. > > > >Gunnar Liknes > > > > You might want to try TelcoExchange -- they specialize in ISDN ordering. > I've placed several orders through them and have been nothing short of > delighted with the service responsiveness. The primary contact I have > there is Ray Dunetz, at "ray@telcoexchange.com". They also have a website > you can get some addition information from: www.telcoexchange.com > > I have no affiliation with Telco Exchange other than being a very > satisfied customer of theirs. Hope this helps! > > -David M. Kurtiak > Sr. Network Engineer > Loral Skynet, Bedminster, NJ > dkurtiak@loralskynet.com > 908-470-2458 > - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 7 Sep 2000 15:13:35 -0400 From: abuse@cabal.org.uk (Peter Corlett) Subject: Re: Bell Atlantic redefines 24x7 service Roy Smith wrote: [...] > If you really want to get hold of somebody at any large company, you need > to call an office which is a high corporate priority for them. For > Verizon, repairs would be a poor choice. Try mergers and acquisitions; > it's probably better staffed. I certainly note that it takes 30 minutes in a queue to get to speak to a human[0] at BT. Even calling Sales takes a few minutes. The "I'm fed up with BT, I'm switching to cable" line gets answered on the second ring by people asking you to stay. [0] For small values of human, IME. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 7 Sep 2000 15:50:49 -0400 From: Bennett Haselton Subject: on CNN tonight to talk about video game ratings [sent to journalists on Peacefire's press contacts list] CNN's Newsstand is doing a piece tonight on KMart's decision to start carding purchases of "M"-rated video games: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000907/bs/violent_videos_1.html Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) will be on arguing in favor of video game restrictions; I'll be on arguing that they do more harm than good. This is off the topic of Internet censorship that Peacefire usually focuses on, but CNN couldn't find any formal organizations supporting "video game First Amendment rights", since most anti-censorship types tend to focus on "serious" media like _Schindler's List_ as opposed to _Mortal Kombat 3_. The core arguments are similar anyway (I'll be arguing that when rulemakers come across as not knowing how much teenagers are capable of handling, teenagers tend to lose all respect for the rulemakers, for one thing). The "Newsstand" show starts tonight on CNN at 10 PM Eastern time, but the video game piece doesn't start until 10:30. This is a live broadcast, so if you're watching, you might be able to make me screw up just by sheer psychic power of concentration. -Bennett bennett@peacefire.org http://www.peacefire.org (425) 649 9024 - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 7 Sep 2000 17:42:45 -0400 From: wierdo@ulna.net (Nathan) Subject: Re: Cannot change my long dis Andy.Ballp0.f2.n8.z8@fmlynet.org (Andy Ball) wrote in <0001.39ad9c7c@fmlynet.org>: > Obviously, it's not always easy to find out in advance >who is going to work well for you. Hopefully someone here will be able >to recommend a long distance provider that they've had a good experience >of. My own experience would make me avoid Vartec Telecom (10-10-811), >BigZoo.com and MCI Worldcom. Long Distance service needs depend completely on the person. In your case, reliability appears to be your main concern. In mine, it's the rate, since I use between 3000 and 5000 minutes of long distance a month. If it was for my business use, I'm sure that the lack of rock-solid reliability which BigZoo.com gives would be distressing to me, but since it's only out every once in awhile, and then usually not for long, I don't mind it. For 3.9c a minute, I find that I'm getting what I pay for, and it works for me. If I have a need to make a call right now and BigZoo doesn't work, some dial-around provider will. In the case of the original poster, if, somehow it turns out that it's not illegal for them to not provide equal access (which I would highly doubt) the best course of action would probably be to use some sort of cheap calling card, since they're regular toll-free numbers. - -Nathan - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 7 Sep 2000 18:09:22 -0400 From: "Keith Harper" Subject: Computer Telephony Resource NEW!! If you are interested or involved in IVR, CTI, VoIP, Computer Telephony, visit our telephony resource website. TelephonyIndex provides a comprehensive resource for locating Computer Telephony products and services. You can include your own telephony related website in our directory for FREE. The site also includes a forum where you can buy or sell surplus equipment. Visit - http://www.TelephonyIndex.co.uk/ Enjoy! keith@telephonyindex.co.uk - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 7 Sep 2000 20:00:27 -0400 From: Bennett Haselton Subject: on CNN tonight to talk about video game ratings [sorry if you received this twice, it doesn't look like it went through the first time] [sent to journalists on Peacefire's press contacts list] CNN's Newsstand is doing a piece tonight on KMart's decision to start carding purchases of "M"-rated video games: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000907/bs/violent_videos_1.html Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) will be on arguing in favor of video game restrictions; I'll be on arguing that they do more harm than good. This is off the topic of Internet censorship that Peacefire usually focuses on, but CNN couldn't find any formal organizations supporting "video game First Amendment rights", since most anti-censorship types tend to focus on "serious" media like _Schindler's List_ as opposed to _Mortal Kombat 3_. The core arguments are similar anyway (I'll be arguing that when rulemakers come across as not knowing how much teenagers are capable of handling, teenagers tend to lose all respect for the rulemakers, for one thing). The "Newsstand" show starts tonight on CNN at 10 PM Eastern time, but the video game piece doesn't start until 10:30. This is a live broadcast, so if you're watching, you might be able to make me screw up just by sheer psychic power of concentration. -Bennett bennett@peacefire.org http://www.peacefire.org (425) 649 9024 - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 7 Sep 2000 22:09:13 -0400 From: "James Keryan" Subject: telecom digest Heard about Pat's troubles through Mike Sandman. I was wondering what happened to the Digest since there has been no activity since May. John, I guess you are running the show for now. Please sign me up for the Digest. Mike sent a picture of Pat during a recent visit. He looks pertty well considering his health problems. Jim Keryan - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 7 Sep 2000 22:27:50 -0400 From: "Damon Brownd" Subject: Toll-free numbers that lead to charges on phone bill I know I've seen discussions about this here, but I can't find them in the archives. Info or pointers will be greatly appreciated. The courtesy phones on our PBX are restricted to calling local and toll-free numbers. I recently had several international calls appear on our phone bill that were submitted by OAN on behalf of Martel communications. Examination of our call logs showed that they had been dialed via a toll-free number that doesn't require any identifying info before placing a call. I have blocked that number to prevent future charges, but wonder if there are others I need to block. OAN has placed a block on this number for us, but refused to block all of their clients and refused to remove the charges. A call to Southwestern Bell removed it from our bill and it will be a cold day in hell before OAN gets a dime out of me. Is billing calls to an 800 number like this legal? It seems that the ONLY reason for a service like this to exist is to shaft companies with publicly accessible phones. After much searching of the FCC web site, I'm still not sure. Is there a source that provides a list of such numbers so I can block them in our phone system or do I have to be burned once by each one? We can't block all toll free numbers because we frequently have to have our patients call their insurance company from our waiting rooms. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2000 23:51:48 -0400 From: "Judith Oppenheimer" Subject: 9/7/00 ICBTollFree.Com HEADS UP HEADLINES ************************************************************************* ICBTollFree.Com HEADS UP HEADLINES ************************************************************************* from ICB Toll Free News - Daily News and Intelligence covering the Political, Legal and Marketing Arenas of 800 and Dot Com. ************************************************************************* CONTENTS - - PROBLEMS FACED BY OWNERS OF INCOMING 800 NETWORKS - - UDRP PANELISTS LOSING SIGHT OF MANDATE - - I-DNS AND THAI URL DISPUTES UNRESOLVED - - EMAIL-SQUATTING - - LIQUIDATION DOMAIN NAMES - - FREETELEPHONE.COM - - DOT TV OPENS EU AND ASIAN OFFICES - - NO SURPRISE WHO TOP 10 POLITICAL DONORS ARE ************************************************************************* CUSTOMER SERVICE NOTES: ICB Premium Service is on Summer Sale for $99 for a 12 month subscription, including access to all 'P' articles and Premium areas of the web site. (regular price $549) LAST WEEK - SALE ENDS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH! ACT NOW! - http://www.icbtollfree.com/order.cfm ICB is a popular research destination, with all content archived indefinitely. Find all ICB headlines, current and archived, at http://www.icbtollfree.com/icbheadlns.cfm. ************************************************************************ !!! YOUR TEXT AD HERE !!! 17,000+ weekly readership, over 108,000 targeted impressions every month! Space is limited -- ORDER NOW! -- email editor@icbtollfree.com. ************************************************************************ ARTICLE ACCESS CODE LEGEND ICB Toll Free News offers two valuable service options: F = Free - News and Features articles P = Premium - Unlimited Site Access including all Articles and Documents. ************************************************************************* HEADLINES for September 7, 2000 P - PROBLEMS FACED BY OWNERS OF INCOMING 800 NETWORKS ... ... And Some of Their Solutions. “Logical networks” can be complex animals. Much is lost when the “logical network” gets translated into the raw “physical network”. The details are further masked by the load to the 800 number vendor’s equipment. Part 3 of a series by Bud Jay. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4435 F - UDRP PANELISTS LOSING SIGHT OF MANDATE ... in favor of respect for a trademark owner's famous reputation. "I believe that the fact that Crew.com was a functioning Web site, which actually earned receivables, makes this UDRP decision an excellent example of the arbitrariness of the current process." Editorial by Brian Livingston, Contributing Editor of InfoWorld and CNET News.com. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4434 F - I-DNS AND THAI URL DISPUTES UNRESOLVED Seven tentative names are dot-com and dot-net for companies, dot-ongkorn for organisation, dot-suksa for education, dot-taharn for military, dot-rat for government and dot-isara for individuals. Regarding the new Thai domain name standard family, Mr Pipat said once the standard was announced, existing customers would receive all those extensions automatically since ThaiURL.com believed that the name should belong to the legitimate owner solely, he added. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4437 F - EMAIL-SQUATTING "This is not only in breach of property rights and user agreements, but more fundamentally, it is violating the very values that our company is built upon," said Lars-Odin Mellemseter, Nameplanet CEO. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4436 ************************************************************************* **************************************************advertisements********* >>>>>>>>>>>>> http://1800TheExpert.com <<<<<<<<<<<<< 800 & Domain Name Acquisition Management, Lost/Stolen 800 # Retrieval, Litigation Support, Regulatory Navigation, Correlating Domain Name & Trademark Matters. ************************************************************************* Are you a local or regional business that advertises in newspapers, direct mail, on radio or tv? 1 800 BRAND IT shared use marketing programs can help your sales skyrocket! http://www.1800BrandIt.com ************************************************************************* FT Telecom Conferences In its 20th year, this event will bring leading personalities in the telecomms industry to discuss opportunities and challenges which technological advancement, increased competition and restructuring will pose to the future of global telecommunications. Book before 1/09/00 to receive your 10% discount. www.ftconferences.com/dynamic/conferences/ftwt00.htm?bn=icb ************************************************************************* EVERY 3.6 SECONDS SOMEONE DIES FROM HUNGER http://www.hungersite.com/ ************************************************************************* Visit Global Telecom Domains(SM), 'The Best Names in Telecom' www.GlobalTelecomDomains.com ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* more HEADLINES for September 7, 2000 F - LIQUIDATION DOMAIN NAMES Bid4Assets.com sells off assets of dying internet companies including domain names, and is currently conducting an auction of the assets of Latinofon.com, a telecommunications provider. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4441 F - FREETELEPHONE.COM "Free long distance market is finally catching up with the technology," says Mike Lloyd. "This means the money and focus on the technology will be greatly increased. We should be seeing incredible improvements in internet communication and enormous drops in telephone companies prices by the end of y2k." CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4440 F - DOT TV OPENS EU AND ASIAN OFFICES With the objective of further accelerating the company's international growth, the new offices will facilitate localized marketing and regional business development. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4439 P - NO SURPRISE WHO TOP 10 POLITICAL DONORS ARE The communications and electronics industry has now surpassed Big Oil and commercial banks in contributions to political candidates and parties nationwide. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4438 ************************************************************************* **************************************************advertisements********* TelecomCareers.net - Cutting Edge Telecom Careers, #1 Telecom Job Site! http://TelecomCareers.net ************************************************************************* P.A.T. - a real Live person inside your voice mail? Yes. P.A.T.LiVE, a division of ATG Technologies, Inc., rents live secretarial services through a toll free number. P.A.T. (Personal Assistance Team) can enhance your productivity and image with rates as low as 3 cents per minute. http://www.patlive.com or 800.775.7790 ************************************************************************* Free Timely Time Management Tips to increase your personal productivity and give you more time and balance for your personal life. Subscribe now at: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement ************************************************************************* Read TOLLFREE-L online at http://www.egroups.com/group/tollfree-l/info.html ************************************************************************* ABOUT ICB ICB HeadsUp Headlines Daily Email is sent by request. Subscriptions are free to qualified applicants. Visit http://www.icbtollfree.com/reg.cfm?NextURL=Index.cfm to sign up. Please feel free to pass along a copy to a friend, within reason so long as the message is not modified or used unfavorably. To unsubscribe mailto:editor@icbtollfree.com, subject: unsubscribe. *************************** ADVERTISING INFORMATION *************************** For information on advertising in ICB HeadsUp Headlines emails, see http://www.icbtollfree.com/advertiz.cfm ************************************************************************* Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. ************************************************************************* Copyright © 2000 ICB, Inc. All rights reserved. ************************************************************************* ------------------------------ Date: 8 Sep 2000 00:10:27 -0400 From: quonk@my-deja.com Subject: Re: Caller ID and answer supervision? > Here's what happened, as far as the exhorbitant rate, not necessarily the > one-min situation of whether or not the call actually "suped": > > the call was placed as a "0+" type call... AT&T's rates for card calls > placed via 0+ as opposed to 800- dialups, ESPECIALLY 800-CALL-ATT, and > where the card is a LEC-issued card rather than an AT&T-issued card, > and whether or not one is on a discount plan or not.... > > The "basic" 0+ domestic (state-to-state) card rates, 24/7, for the past > several months are: > > 89-c per min !!! (OUCH) > > PLUS a $2.25 per-call surcharge (when billed to an AT&T-issued card) > PLUS a $4.99 per-call surcharge (when billed to a LEC-ussued card) > > (DOUBLE/TRIPLE OUCH) > > And if originating the card call from a payphone, there's that extra > 30-c per call surcharge that the COCOT industry has extorted out of us, > via the LD carriers. > > SO, add that up: > > 4.99 LEC-card surcharge, plus > 0.89 one-min, plus > 0.30 payphone-origination extortion, and you get.... > > $6.18 for one minute. > > Don't even ask how much the surcharge would have been had you asked the > AT&T Operator to dial the destination number or even just key-in the card > number (if you were on a rotary dial phone)-- you probably don't want to > know that the Operator-Handled surcharge is (probably now) as high as > aprrox $10.00 per call. > Geez, Mark, do you work as a customer service rep? Their rates are bad enough that you don't have to exagerate them! The standard non-special-plan rate is $.89 per minute plus a service charge. The service charge is: If placed using 1-800-CALL-ATT: $1.25 using an AT&T card. $2.25 using a "commercial" card (MC, AMEX, etc.) $4.99 using an LEC card. If not placed using 1-800-CALL-ATT: $2.25 using an AT&T card. $4.99 all other cards. So there is no advantage to dialing 1-800-CALL-ATT with an LEC card. The rate for a live operator assisted calling card or collect call is $5.50 plus $.89/minute. (Collect rate is new as of 9/1/00). No difference how you dial or what type of card you use. The rate for most other kinds of live operator assisted calls is $9.99 plus $.89 per minute. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ End of Telecom Digest V2000 #45 *******************************