                        ===================================
                        EQUAL ACCESS AND THE AMERICAN DREAM
                        ===================================
                                      by
                                   Mark Tabas
                                   P.O. Box 620401
                                   Littleton, CO 80162
        
                                   July 7, 1985
        
     The American Dream means many things to many people. To the
small, typical businessman, it means building a good, strong business
based on hard work and perseverance; indeed, with nothing limiting
his potential but the amount of work he is willing to put into his
business. To a large businessman, the American Dream means living and
working in a country where a single corporation can have a profit
exceeding the gross national product of an entire third world nation.
        
     To the individual, the American Dream is the right to choose -
everything from one's breakfast cereal to a long-distance service, as
well as the formal right outlined by our founding fathers: those of
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
        
     To the phone phreak, I think the American Dream is, in a sort of
twisted way, the uninhibited pursuit of knowledge. This quest could
scarcely remain unchecked in many other countries. Analogous to this
quest is the thriving of the Bell System, which until January 1, 1984
consisted of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, the
largest corporation in the history of the world. Did the American
Dream die on January first or did the divestiture of AT&T cause a
giant step forward for competition and free enterprise in the United
States? I do not know. I do know that the other nations of the world
were amazed that the United States would dissolve the entity that
brought the finest and most universal telephone system in the world,
and did so at a time when the majority of the rest of the world was
still using two dixie cups and a string.
        
     The unfairness of the situation is that AT&T built the telephone
system of this nation and is now being bound and gagged and having
its possessions distributed to others, whom AT&T also wrought. All in
the name of fairness, free competition, and "equal access". Where was
was MCI during the century that AT&T built the communications system
of this nation? Well, I believe in Equal Access, Wholly. And, since I
believe in equal access and its implications for equality for all so
strongly, I feel that MCI, Sprint, and others should take the same
amount of time to build their respective toll networks: 100 years.
Therefore, if the United States Justice Department were truly the
fair and just administrator that it portrays itself to be, MCI would
not have a hand in the long-distance cache until about 2080. That's
only fair.
        
     There is no doubt that MCI is a sub-standard organization. They
consist of incompetent employees, inferior equipment, and an inferior
marketing strategy. They are mockingly imitative of AT&T, except in
the quality of their service, which is practically unusable. It is
also interesting that with less than 2% market share, MCI calls
itself "the nation's long-distance company." The point to this
diatribe is this. It's time for these long-distance companies such as
MCI and Sprint to grow up. With Equal Access, they are going to
become real long-distance companies, not the joke organizations they
are now, and I think it may just take them one hundred years to do
so.
        
                                 ============
                                 Equal Access
                                 ============
        
     Equal Access, as it applies to the telecommunications industry,
is "the requirement that each Bell Operating Company provide exchange
access to all long-distance carriers that is equal in type and
quality to that provided AT&T communications." This is the official
provision set forth by the United States Justice Department in the
Modification of the Final Judgment, August 24, 1982.  All this means
is that each long-distance-distance company will have "equal access"
to all of the same types of services that AT&T currently enjoys.
There are four types of long-distance carrier services, divided into
"feature groups."  They follow.
        
  FG A: "line side access." This is the standard 7-digit dialup+code
(for billing purposes) +destination telephone number. It is currently
in use by most long-distance carriers.
        
  FG B: "trunk side access." These are the 950 exchange numbers. They
also utilize an authorization code for billing. As with FG A,
automatic number identification (ANI) (i.e. calling number) is not
provided to the carrier, but will be in the future.
        
  FG C: "1+ dialing." Currently, only AT&T is able to get this type
of service. It is 1/0+7 of 10 digit direct long distance dialing.
ANI (for billing) is provided.
        
  FG D: "equal access." This will allow for 1/0+7 or 10 digit direct
long- distance dialing (presubscription carrier) and 10xxx+1/0+7 or
10 digit long-distance dialing (alternate carrier). ANI for billing
is provided at the long-distance carrier's option. Billing may also
be handled by the individual long distance company or the local Bell
Operating Company.
        
     Feature groups C and D are mutually exclusive (i.e. both cannot
exist in a particular area at the same time). Areas which have
Feature Group C (AT&T long-distance only) are non-Equal Access, and
areas which have Feature Group D (multiple long distance carriers)
are Equal Access regions.
        
     Feature Group B, the 950 exchange numbers will be used in areas
in which it is not feasible to provide with Equal Access, such as
step-by-step offices (yes, they CAN have 950 numbers), some crossbar
offices, and some independent telcos, which are not bound by the
provisions of Equal Access and may provide to their customers any
type of long-distance service(s) they wish. The 950 exchange is now
active in many areas. It is mainly used as a universal "roaming"
access port for many long-distance carriers, but when an office is
converted to Equal Access, the 950 capability is removed. Thus, in an
Equal Access region, one cannot complete a call to a 950 telephone
number.

     I personally am looking very forward to Equal Access. My area is
not scheduled for full implementation of it until late 1985 or early
1986, and by this time many of the alternate long distance carriers'
networks will be in place (or well under way). Think about what Equal
Access means. Equality for all long distance carriers. Access to
common facilities, such as: busy-line verification lines, Bell System
information, signalling specifications, etc.  After full
implementation of Equal Access, one will be able to take advantage of
and manipulate the services of more than just one carrier. It will no
longer be phreaks vs. AT&T.
        
     When your area is ready to initiate Equal Access, you will
receive a notice in the mail informing you of some of the details of
Equal Access, and will ask you to specify your choice of "primary
carrier." In some cases you will need to specify both inter-LATA
carrier (IC), which handles calls out of your LATA (Local Access and
Transport Area), and an international carrier (INC), which will
handle calls destined for other countries. Recent market studies have
shown that between 80 and 90 per cent of residential customers will
continue to be served by AT&T for their long-distance service after
Equal Access. So much for competition.
        
     You will probably be faced with many long-distance companies to
choose from, including but not limited to: AT&T, MCI, Sprint, ITT,
Western Union, Dial U.S., Call America, TMC, and U.S. Telephone.
Whichever you choose will become your "primary carrier." Your primary
carrier will handle your call each time you pick up your fone and
dial 1+7 or 10 digits or 0+7 or 10 digits, inter-LATA only. That is,
if you dial a toll call that is within your LATA, it will be handled
by your local telephone company (Bell), not by your primary carrier,
even though it is a toll call.
        
     Let's use an example. The state of Colorado consists of two
LATAs. For this example, I will use three cities in Colorado: Denver
(in LATA1), Sterling (LATA1 also), and Colorado Springs (in LATA2).
Note here that even though Denver ad Sterling are in the same LATA,
and Denver and Colorado Springs are not, Sterling is actually much
farther away from Denver than Colorado Springs.  This is because LATA
boundaries were designed giving consideration to high toll-traffic
regions, to bring in revenue. Toll traffic between Denver and
Colorado Springs is very high, so the two cities were placed in
separate LATAs (or, more correctly, they were separated by a LATA
boundary). Toll traffic between Denver and Sterling is very low, so
the two cities were allowed to remain in the same LATA. Now, if
everyone in Colorado Springs were to pack up and move to Sterling
(though who knows what the hell for), the LATA boundaries in Colorado
would be changed so that Denver and Sterling were in different LATAs.
The primary factor in determining LATAs is money.
        
     If I made a call to Sterling from my home in Denver, the call
would be routed entirely via Mountain Bell long-distance facilities.
No long distance carrier would be involved because Denver and
Sterling are in LATA1. If I made a call to Kelley, the blonde babe in
Colorado Springs, the call would be handled by a long distance
carrier (in this case, AT&T) because Denver is in LATA1 and Colorado
Springs is in LATA2. Here is a table to simplify this:
        
  Customer dials          LATA          Carrier
  -----------------------------------------------------------------
  7 digits                same          Bell
  1+7 digits              same          Bell
  1+7 digits              diff          LD carrier (currently AT&T)
  1+10 digits             diff          LD carrier (currently AT&T)
  -----------------------------------------------------------------
        
     Note several things here. First, not all areas need to dial a 1
when dialing any number, local or long distance, but the central
offices will still discern whether the call is in the same LATA as
the customer or a different one and handle the call appropriately.
Secondly, some step-by-step offices require a 1+NPA to be dialed for
calls within the same LATA and, in fact, all numbers outside of the
office itself. But, for the most part, the above table is standard
for common switching networks.
        
                              ==================
                              Alternate Carriers
                              ==================
        
     Your normal long distance carrier will handle all your toll
calls which cross over LATA boundaries when you dial directly, 1+. If
you wish to place your call via another carrier's network, whether
for cost, quality, or circuit availability reasons, you may do so in
Equal Access regions. To access an alternate long distance carrier
after Equal Access, a customer dials 10xxx+1/0+7 or 10 digit telefone
number. Note that xxx is the "carrier access code (CAC)." A few CACs
currently in use are listed below.
        
        220 ........ Western Union   666 ........ Lexitel
        222 ........ MCI             777 ........ Sprint
        333 ........ US Telefone     888 ........ SBS
        444 ........ Allnet
        
     Thus, in an Equal Access region, to dial Fred in Orlando, a
customer would dial 1+305+994+9966 to place his call on his primary
carrier, or to place it on another network, he could dial:
10222+1+305+994+9966, and the call would go over MCI facilities (in
this case). Eventually, after many more long distance services get
into the act, there will be a directory of the various long distance
companies and their CACs, and deciding which carrier to use for any
particular call to get the bet rate will be beyond the ability of
everyone except phone phreaks.
        
                               ================
                               The 950 Exchange
                               ================
        
     As discussed, the 950 central office exchange is currently a
"roaming" access port for various long distance carriers. In areas
that have 950, the access to carriers is standardized.  Thus, someone
travelling to several different areas need only know the 950 number
of the carrier he uses to access it from any area (provided that it
have 950 active). Originally, the 950 exchange was designed to
correspond with the 10xx carrier access code used for Equal Access.
For example, 950-1022 would be the same carrier as 1022 (+telephone
number). However, it was later found that the 100 codes available for
use as 10xx CACs would be insufficient to handle he number of long
distance carriers. So, the common carrier access code was increased
by one digit, to 10xxx, thus increasing the number of possible CACs
to 1000. To keep the 950 exchange consistent with the non CAC, the
Bell Operating Companies have opted to change the 950-10xx to
950-0xxx. The xxx in the 950-0xxx remains the same as the xxx in the
10xxx carrier access code. The new modified 950 numbering plan is now
active in Philadelphia (Bell Atlantic) among other areas.
        
     After Equal Access is well under way, the 950 exchange will be
used in certain areas that cannot be equipped for the standard Equal
Access dialing plans. This includes step-by-step, #1 crossbar, #5
crossbar, #2ESS, and #3ESS offices. Customers in areas served by
these types of switching equipment will dial 950-0xxx, wait for
acknowledgement tone from the carrier, and then dial a "personal
identification number" and destination telefone number,and the call
will be completed on the selected carrier's facilities. Initially,
billing will be handled by the carrier itself, and supervisory
information and ANI will not be provided by the local Bell Operating
Company.
        
     There are three main advantages to the 950 central office
exchange and protocol. They are: a) universal access for all areas,
b) 950-exchange numbers are "trunk side access." This means that the
long distance carrier has direct trunks going to it from a Bell toll
office or local central office. These trunks are interoffice lines,
not customer type (POTS) lines, and supposedly insure higher quality
of connection.  And, c) 950-exchange numbers are toll and message
unit free. On metered-usage (i.e., not "flat rate") customer lines,
they cost nothing. In most areas they are free from coin stations,
with Colorado as one notable exception.
        
                                     =====
                                     Costs
                                     =====
        
     Each long-distance carrier must choose the type(s) of service it
wishes to provide to its customers. These different types of service
were outlined earlier as "Feature Groups." The costs of these Feature
Groups vary directly with the complexity and quality of the service
itself. The following table outlines the cost to the carrier of each
available Feature Group. It is based on the monthly rate per line for
9000 minutes of circuit use, and assumes the carrier and Bell switch
are 15 miles apart.
        
        FG              non-Equal Access            Equal Access
        --------------------------------------------------------
        A                  $329.94                    $709.20
        B                   329.94                     721.80
        C                   752.40                    ** N/A **
        D                  ** N/A **                   752.40
        --------------------------------------------------------
        
     These figures are a lot more significant than they might appear.
They indicate that after Equal Access, in order to compete with the
giants such as AT&T, MCI, etc., smaller long distance companies will
use Feature Group A or B type service in order to provide
significantly lower rates to their customers than companies
subscribing to Feature Group D service (like AT&T, MCI, etc).  This
will cause a unique type of equilibrium to form. Customers willing to
dial an access number, authorization code, and destination number and
put up with lower quality service will be able to save a lot of
money. This seems faintly reminiscent of pre-Equal Access times.
        
                             ====================
                             Directory Assistance
                             ====================
        
     Each Bell Operating Company will be responsible for providing
intra-LATA operator services. When a customer dials (1)+411 or
(1)+555+1212 for local directory assistance, he will reach a Bell
operator who will service requests for listed numbers within the
customer's LATA. Requests for numbers in LATAs other than the calling
customer's may be handled at the discretion of the local operating
company. Initially, the Bell Operating Companies will meet the
responsibility for providing directory assistance services by
contracting it to a long distance carrier or carriers (currently
AT&T). All inter-LATA directory assistance services will be provided
by the inter-LATA carrier (IC). ICs may also provide 800 Enterprise
service or other toll free type directory assistance services.  See
table.
        
=================================================================
  Intra-LATA:
=================================================================
          HNPA            411/555-1212         BOC
         *FNPA            NPA+555-1212         BOC
          HNPA            10xxx+555-1212       intra-LATA carrier
         *FNPA            10xxx+NPA+555-1212   intra-LATA carrier
        
=================================================================
  Inter-LATA:
=================================================================
          HNPA            (10xxx)+1+555-1212       IC
          FNPA            (10xxx)+1+NPA+555-1212   IC
=================================================================
  * When LATA boundaries cross NPA boundaries (rare).
  FNPA = Foreign Numbering Plan Area (area code).
  HNPA = Home Numbering Plan Area (area code).
        
     At first glance, the above table appears somewhat complex. But,
if you understand the concept of LATAs and carriers, it is easily
understood. Essentially, all local Bell Operating Companies will
maintain their own directory assistance services. When a customer
dials 411 or 555-1212, he will reach a BOC directory assistant.
Additionally, each long distance carrier that wishes to provide
directory assistance to its customers will also have DA facilities.
And, when a customer dials a directory assistant (NPA+555-1212) on a
carrier, he will reach an operator of that particular long distance
carrier. The key here is LATAs. If a customer wants to find a number
that is within his LATA, no long distance carrier is involved. It is
handled strictly by the Local Bell Operating Company. If a customer
is seeking a number that is not within his LATA, he must use the
services of an inter-LATA (long-distance) carrier.
        
                            ======================
                            TSPS Operator Services
                            ======================
        
     Traffic Service Position System (TSPS) operator services will be
handled much in the same fashion as directory assistance services,
with a few differences. As with DAs, each Bell Operating Company and
each inter-LATA carrier will maintain its own TSPS operator
facilities (or cordboard I suppose, if they cannot afford TSPS). When
a customer dials simply 0 (operator), he will reach a BOC TSPS
operator. The BOC TSPS will be able to handle all types of intra-LATA
operator-assisted traffic including (but not limited to): collect,
third party billing, Bell credit card, coin, verification and
emergency interrupt, and requests for emergency aid.
        
     BOC TSPS will be unable to complete calls for customers outside
of the customer's LATA. Thus, inter-LATA operator assistance will be
handled by an inter-LATA carrier TSPS (IC TSPS). An IC TSPS will
handle all previously mentioned types of calls that require
inter-LATA transport (i.e., the call originates and terminates in
different LATAs). When a customer dials 0+NXX- XXXXX or
0+NPA+NXX-XXXX, the central office will determine if the call is
destined for another LATA. If it is not, the call will be sent to the
Bell TSPS for appropriate handling. If the call is bound for another
LATA (and his determination is made based on the NXX or NPA+NXX),
then the call will be sent off to the customer's primary
long-distance carrier (since only 0+ was dialed).
        
     If the customer wishes to use a different carrier's operator
services, he would dial 10xxx+0+number, and the carrier specified by
the 10xxx carrier access code would receive the call. Note: if a
customer dials 10xxx+0+number, and the call is an intra-LATA call, he
will get a recording, "We're sorry, the number you dialed cannot be
reached with the carrier access code you dialed.  Please check the
code and try again or call your carrier for assistance." (Western
Electric KS-22550 central office tape list no. 46.)
        
     Until the Bell Operating Companies can install their own TSPS
facilities and networks, they will (continue to) lease capacity from
AT&T TSPS. That is, AT&T will handle the intra-LATA traffic for the
BOCs on a contract basis. In the meantime, AT&T will continue to
handle its own long-distance operator services while the other
inter-LATA carriers will have to implement their own operator
networks from scratch. My estimation is that you won't be able to
dial 10222+0 for an MCI TSPS operator until sometime around the year
2590. And even then they will probably be cordboard.
        
     In addition to the changes in TSPS described above, there will
be certain modifications to the software and hardware involved in the
TSPS operator system. Most critical, and of paramount importance to
the telecommunications enthusiast is changes in circuit associated
signalling (CAS). This is signalling to and from the TSPS facility.
When a customer dials 0 (operator) or 10xxx+0 (IC operator), a
succession of events occurs. First, the end office seizes a trunk to
the appropriate operator facility (this assumes that no access tandem
is involved). The operator service facility responds with a wink
(proceed signal) and the end office outpulses the CALLED number (or
KP+ST if 0 only dialed). The operator service (OS) facility will then
come off-hook to signal that it is ready to receive ANI information.
The end office outpulses the ANI information in the format of KP+II+7
digits+ST (or ST'). If there is ANI failure, a KP+02+ST (or ST') will
be sent. "ST'" stands for STart "prime", and is indicative of a coin
call (i.e., dial 0 from a coin station). A normal ST terminating the
ANI sequence means that the call is originating from a noncoin
station. See table for ultimate description.
        
  Inter-LATA calls MF-pulsed
        
  type of call       customer dials    cld num          ANI
  ============================================================
  noncoin:
   ============================================================
    direct dialed    10xxx+1+7/10d   KP+7/10d+ST''   KP+II+7d+ST
    operator assist  10xxx+0         KP+ST'''        KP+II+7d+ST
    special toll     10xxx+0+7/10d   KP+7/10d+ST'''  KP+II+7d+ST
  ============================================================
  coin:
  ============================================================
    direct dialed    10xxx+1+7/10d   KP+7/10d+ST     KP+II+7d+ST
    operator assist  10xxx+0         KP+ST'          KP+II+7d+ST
    special toll     10xxx+0+7/10d   KP+7/10d+ST'    KP+II+7d+ST
  =============================================================================
  Intra-LATA calls
  =============================================================================
  noncoin:
  =============================================================================
    direct dialed       10xxx+1+7/10d        KP+7/10d+ST''         KP+II+7d+ST'
    operator assist     10xxx+0              KP+ST'''              KP+II+7d+ST'
    special toll        10xxx+0+7/10d        KP+7/10d+ST'''        KP+II+7d+ST'
  =============================================================================
  coin:
  =============================================================================
    direct dialed       10xxx+1+7/10d        KP+7/10d+ST           KP+II+7d+ST'
    operator assist     10xxx+0              KP+ST'                KP+II+7d+ST'
    special toll        10xxx+0+7/10d        KP+7/10d+ST'          KP+II+7d+ST'
  =============================================================================
     Note: ST=Start, ST'=STart prime, ST''=Start double prime, ST'''=STart 
        triple prime.
        
     Once again, the above table appears somewhat intimidating in its
complexity. All these STs, ST primes, etc. Actually, the only purpose
of the starts is to distinguish to the TSPS machine exactly what type
of call the customer is placing and from what type of telefone he is
calling. "Special toll" calls are collect, credit card, and
third-party billing type calls. Here is an example of a complete
dialing and outpulsing sequence for an operator service call: From a
coin fone, a customer dials 0+ (or 10xxx+) 303+979-9997.  The central
office would seize a trunk to the operator service facility and
outpulse: KP+303+979-9997+ST'. This indicates to the operator service
facility that the call is a special toll call originating from a coin
telephone. The OS facility comes off-hook and the central office
would then outpulse KP+00+232+9969+ST. This is he ANI information,
and the ST indicates that the call is inter-LATA (if it were
intra-LATA, the sequence would be terminated with ST' instead).
        
     Perhaps now I should explain screening. Certain telefones are
"screened" against placing certain types of calls. A screening code
is a two digit information carrier. For instance, 00 is "identified
line" (no special treatment), 01 is multiparty ONI (operator number
identification), 02 is ANI failure, 06 is hotel/motel, 07 is coinless
(hospital/inmate fone), 08 is inter-LATA restricted, 68 is hotel
inter-LATA restricted, 78 is coinless (hospital inmate) inter-LATA
restricted, etc. A 98 is an AT&T Charge-A-Call fone. More screening
codes are allocated as they are needed. Note that the original TSPS
screening design only allowed for single digit information digits.
They were later found to be insufficient.
        
     I believe that the operator services have been adequately
covered, so I will now move on to other aspects of Equal Access.
        
                                 =============
                                 Routing Codes
                                 =============
        
     The TTC (terminating toll centre) and special routing codes will
continue to be used in inter-LATA networks. These 0xx and 1xx type
codes, which sometimes precede operator routing codes, will be
assigned to various ICs on an individual basis. When 0xx and 1xx
codes serve as pseudo-central office code, they will be coordinated
such that it will avoid IC conflicts. The Numbering/ Dialing Planning
Group of the Central Services Organization (sounds like some sort of
Communist governing body) will provide assistance where the
assignment of coordinated codes is necessary.
        
                              ==================
                              Special Area Codes
                              ==================
        
  Special area codes, also called Service Area Codes (SACs) presented
the designers of Equal Access with an interesting problem.  SACs are
N00 type area codes, such as 700, 800, and 900.  They are used for
special services and unlike normal area codes, are not associated
with a particular state or region.  Each long distance carrier will
be allocated its own exchanges in each service area code.  Thus, when
a customer places a call to a number in a service area code, the
central office will examine the exchange of the telefone number and
route the call over the proper carrier's facilities.  The customer
will be totally oblivious to this process. Current SACs include 700
(teleconferencing), 800 (toll free services), and 900 (dial-it
services).  There are currently plans under way to implement the 600
area code, although its exact uses are not yet clear.
        
                               ================
                               Signalling to IC
                               ================
        
     Each long distance carrier that wishes to serve a particular
LATA must establish a point of presence (POP) in that LATA. A
carrier's POP is a toll office that receives toll traffic destined
for another LATA. A POP is a centre for inter-LATA transport of toll
traffic. This traffic will be directed to it from a Bell central
office, either an end office or an access tandem (AT). An access
tandem is simply a Bell office which directs long distance traffic
from a number of local end offices to a number of different
inter-LATA carriers. To pass call details (such as called and calling
numbers) from the Bell local office to the inter-LATA carrier, a
signalling system was designed that employs current multifrequency
(MF) signalling protocol. When a customer dials 10xxx+ (1/0)+ (NPA)+
NXX+, the end office will seize a trunk to the appropriate IC as
determined by the 10xxx CAC (or primary carrier if no CAC is dialed).

  Note: this happens as soon as the customer finishes dialing the exchange, 
     even though he may still be dialing the last four digits of he telefone 
     number. Then, the end office will send ANI information, in the format 
     of: KP+II+10 digit ANI+ST. If the carrier is not to receive ANI informa-
     tion from the Bell Operating Company (i.e., they are not paying for it), 
     then only KP+ST is sent. Presumably, by now the customer has completed 
     dialing the last four digits of the destination telefone number, so the 
     end office will send: KP+7 or 10 digit CALLED number+ST. 
        
  Note several things here: 1) The IC does not send a wink when it is ready 
     to receive CALLED number information.  2) ANI information is ten digits, 
     plus a two-digit screening code, and 3) The central office's outpulsing 
     to the IC overlaps the customer's dialing.
        
     Some ANI screening codes include: 00 (identified POTS), 01 (ONI
multiparty), 02 (ANI failure), 06 (hotel without room
identification), 07 (coinless, hospital, inmate, etc.), 08
(inter-LATA restriction), 10 (test call), 20 (AIOD calls, listed DN
sent), 27 (coin call), and 95 (test call). These are the same or
similar as the screening codes used in operator service signalling.
        
     In addition to the domestic signalling design outlined above, a
new international signalling system has been designed for use with
Equal Access.  It also uses two-stage, overlapping outpulsing. After
a customer has completed dialing (10xxx)+011+CC (CC is country code),
the Bell end office will seize a trunk to he appropriate IC (or
international carrier, if direct routing is available). The IC/INC
will respond with a wink, and the end office will outpulse:
KP+1NX+YXX+CCC+ST. Each of these three groups of routing information
indicate something different abut the international call being
placed. The 1NX is the "international system routing code, one for
each type of call routing." I have absolutely no idea what that
means, and no one I have talked to at Bell, AT&T, MCI, CCITT, ITT,
the CSO and FCC have any idea either. Next, the YXX is the carrier
routing code. It is actually XXX, Which is the three digits of the
10xxx CAC for the particular carrier being accessed. Finally, CCC is
the country code, padded with a zero if necessary.
        
     One may wonder why the CAC is signalled forward when a trunk is
seized directly to the carrier itself. The reason for this is that in
some cases a direct trunk to the carrier is not available and the
call must be routed through an access tandem, which is responsible
for routing calls to a variety of different long distance carriers.
        
                             ====================
                             Switch Compatibility
                             ====================
        
     Full-feature Equal Access will become available first for
Western Electric #1ESS switching systems. It will be available first
in generic 1E8 (1AE8 for #1A ESS). Later, generic 5E2 for #5ESS,
generic 2B4 for #2B ESS, generic BCS-16 for Northern Telecom DMS-100,
and generics 209 and 302 for DMS-10 will provide full-feature Equal
Access capabilities in those types of end office switching equipment.
The Western Electric #4ESS, #1 and 1A ESS, #5ESS, and the Northern
Telecom DMS-200 machines which serve as toll offices or access
tandems will be capable of receiving the new Equal Access signalling
format, after required generic development.  Other switches (such as
all crossbar offices) will not be able to handle the new signalling
format.
        
                                     =====
                                     LATAs
                                     =====
        
     LATAs, Local Access and Transport Areas, are the entire key to
the administration of Equal Access. They can be thought of as
miniature area codes. A telefone call can never cross a LATA boundary
except on an inter-LATA carrier.  However, there are certain
exceptions to this. For example, in the state of Colorado, which
consists of two LATAs, the local Bell Operating Company (Mountain
Bell), which serves as the intra-LATA (i.e., calls to/from the same
LATA) carrier, may also serve as inter-LATA (to/from different LATAs)
carrier within Colorado.
        
     There are also exceptions in the corridor region of the New
York/New Jersey/ Pennsylvania area.
        
     The forty-eight continental United States consist of 161 LATAs.
Some states, such as Deleware, consist of only one LATA, while
others, such as Illinois, can have up to 14 or more. Each LATA is
given a name. For instance, Pennsylvania consists of six LATAs:
Philadelphia, Capital, Northeast, Altoona, Pittsburgh, and Erie
(independent telco).
        
                                ==============
                                A Few Thoughts
                                ==============
        
     In 1973, Chrysler, A&P, RCA, Phillips Petroleum, S.S. Kresge,
Boeing Aircraft, International Harvester, Woolworth's, Greyhound,
Firestone, Litton, and General Foods, among others, each reported
annual profits of less than $150 million. In that same year, the
Telephone Company wrote off, as being uncollectable, debts of $150
million.
        
     In 1974, the Bell System had direct interests in at least 276
organizations, many of them not related to the telefone industry.
Bell also had interlocking financial arrangements with such
corporations as the Chase Manhattan Bank, IBM, Prudential Insurance,
Sears Roebuck, General Motors, U.S. Steel, and Lever Brothers. Should
the need have arisen, the Bell System in 1974 could have exercised
control of 400 billion dollars, fully one-third of that year's gross
national product.
        
     From: Hyde, J. Edward, The Phone Book. Henry Regnery Publishing
Company, Chicago Illinois, 1976.  ISBN 0-8092-8008-6.
        
     There are many viewpoints as to the future course of the
telefone industry. The general consensus among most Telco employees
is that the children of AT&T (i.e., the seven regional holding
companies into which the Bell System was divided) will someday be
reassembled into the original Bell System, and all will be well and
good in the world of telecommunications again. I tend to disagree
with this. I think that within three decades the entire telefone
industry will be consolidated and nationalized. It will be owned and
operated entirely by the United States Federal Government. This will
accomplish several goals of the government. First, the immense
revenue from telefone services will provide great financial resources
for the federal government. Rates for telefone services will
skyrocket far out of the range of affordability, quality of service
will deteriorate to a point of unusability, and meanwhile politicians
will get rich.
        
     Second, once the government controls the telefone system,
monitoring the general public will become infinitely easier. Big
Brother will be able to keep an eye, or rather, an ear on the general
population, and giant step forward in ultimate government control of
peoples' lives will be achieved. Most people won't know anything
about this, and even if they do, they won't care because by then the
government will have already invaded every remaining private aspect
of the individual's life.
        
     To those who find it utterly unthinkable that the federal
government would ever assume control of the telefone industry, I
would call attention to the situation that existed between 1917 and
1919. During this time the government controlled the phone system of
the United States. J. Edward Hyde sums it up beautifully:
        
  Between 1917 and 1919, the Federal Government did control the phone
industry. Since then, the most charitable historians have blamed the
subsequent mess on the First World War. Others blame it on the
democrats. But the fact is that it was a fiasco of the bureaucracy's
own making, combined with intracompany sabotage.
        
  Today, in those countries where the phone service is nationally
owned, the service runs from poor to nonexistent. Would you want the
government that gave you the Russian wheat deals, Defense Department
overruns, Amtrak, and the Postal Service handling your phone
problems?
        
     From: Hyde, J. Edward, The Phone Book. Henry Regnery Publishing
Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1976.  ISBN 0-8092-8008-6, p. 170.
        
Technical References:
       
  Notes on the BOC intra-LATA Networks.  American Telephone &
Telegraph Company, 1983.
        
  The Phone Book.  J. Edward Hyde, 1976.
        
  Bell System Technical Journal.  Volume 58, Number 5.
        
  Engineering and Operations in the Bell System.  American Telephone
& Telegraph Company, 1983.
        
Acknowledgements: 
        
  Karl Marx, Telenet Bob, and the scores of Telco employees in
Denver, White Plains, Omaha, and North Jersey who were very helpful
in patiently answering my many questions about Equal Access.
        
  Thanks to Mack the Knife for magnetic transfer of this illustrious
file, a tedious task for which I have no time.

  Thanks to the following printers for their cooperation and
professional manner in helping me with final production of this file:
        
  Kinko's Print Shop
  7155 West Colfax
  Lakewood, CO
        
  Office Products and Printing
  5035 S. Kipling Suite B4
  Littleton, CO
        
     This has been a Mark Tabas Encounter Series production.
Questions, comments, and requests may be addressed to:
        
        Tabas
        P.O. Box 620401
        Littleton, CO 80162
        
     Requests for copies of this or any other Encounter Series file
are honored for free, but please enclose a self-addressed medium
sized first class mailing envelope with 73 cents postage.
        
     Special thanks to Steve Reger, who was kind enough to shoot my
neighbor's dog, whose incessant barking constantly distracted me as I
labored to complete this file.
        
(for Amy) cl/KIABB!/jd
