                       CHAPTER FOUR: OPERATORS

     This chapter will deal with the various types of operators, 
office hierarchy, & switching equipment.


                             OPERATORS:
                             ----------

TSPS Operator:

     The TSPS [(Traffic Service Position System) as opposed to This 
Shitty Phone Service] Operator is probably the bitch (or bastard for 
the female liberationists) that most of us are use to having to deal 
with.
     Here are her responsibilities:

          1) Obtaining billing information for Calling Card or 3rd 
number calls.
          2) Identifying called customer on person-to-person calls.
          3) Obtaining acceptance of charges on collect calls.
          4) Identifying calling numbers.  This only happens when the 
calling # is not automatically recorded by CAMA (Centralized 
Automatic Message Accounting) & forwarded from the local office.  
This could be caused by equipment failures (ANIF - Automatic Number 
Identification Failure) or if the office is not equipped for CAMA 
(ONI - Operator Number Identification).

     You shouldn't mess with the TSPS operator since she KNOWS where 
you are calling from.  Your number will show up on a 10-digit LED 
read-out (ANI board) She also knows whether or not you are at a 
fortress fone & she can trace calls quite readily.  Out of all the 
operators, she is one of the MOST DANGEROUS.


INWARD Operator:

     This operator assists your local TSPS ("O") operator in 
connecting calls.  She will never question a call as long as the call 
is within HER SERVICE AREA.  She can only be reached via other 
operators or by a Blue Box.  From a BB, you would dial KP+NPA+121+ST 
for the INWARD operator that will help you connect any calls within 
that NPA only.  (Blue Boxing will be discussed in a later chapter)


DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE Operator:

     This is the operator that you are connected to when you dial:  
411 or NPA-555-1212.  She does not readily know where you are calling 
from.  She does not have access to unlisted #'s, but she does know if 
an unlisted # exists for a certain listing.
     Other operators have access to their own DA by dialing 
KP+NPA+131+ST (MF).
     In the confusion due to the aftermath of the Bull System break-
up, it seems that it will now cost 50 cents per DA call!  Exceptions 
seem to be Canadian DA & the TTY DA (for the time being).  Thus you 
might be able to avoid being charged for DA calls by using your 
computer [running at 45.5 baud!] and their 800 TOLL-FREE #!	If 
they decide to charge from fortresses also, the method of making DA 
calls from the fortress and purposely asking for an unlisted # so you 
can have the operator credit you home # will no longer work!


CN/A Operators:

     CN/A operators are operators that do exactly the opposite of 
what directory assistance operators are for.  See part II, for more 
info on CN/A & #'s.  In my experiences, these operators know more 
than the DA op's do & they are more susceptible to "social 
engineering." It is possible to bullshit a CN/A operator for the NON-
PUB DA # (ie, you give them the name & they give you the unlisted #).  
This is due to the fact that they assume your are a fellow company 
employee.  Unfortunately, the break-up has resulted in the break-up 
of a few NON-PUB #'s and policy changes in CN/A.


INTERCEPT Operator:

     The intercept operator is the one that you are connected to when 
there are not enough recordings available to tell you that the # has 
been disconnected or changed.  She usually says, "What # you 
callin'?" with a foreign accent.  This is the lowest operator 
life form.  Even though they don't know where you are calling from, 
it is a waste of your time to try to verbally abuse them since they 
usually understand very little English.
     Incidentally, a few areas do have intelligent intercept 
operators.


     Problems with an Operator?  Ask to speak to their 
supervisor...or better yet, the Group Chief (who is the highest 
ranking official in any office) who is the equivalent of the Madame 
in a whorehouse (if you will excuse the analogy).
     By the way, some CO's that will allow you to dial a 1 or 0 as 
the 4th digit, will also allow you to call special operators & other 
phun Telco #'s without a blue box.  This is very rare though!  For 
example, 212-121-1111 will get you a NY Inward Operator.

                          OFFICE HIERARCHY
                          ----------------

     Every switching office in North America (the NPA system), is 
assigned an office name & class.  There are five classes of offices 
numbered 1 through 5.  Your CO is most likely a class 5 or end 
office. All Long-Distance (Toll) calls are switched by a toll office 
which can be a class 4, 3, 2, or 1 office.  There is also a 4X office 
called an intermediate point.  The 4X office is a digital one that 
can have an unattended exchange attached to it (known as a Remote 
Switching Unit-RSU).
     The following chart will list the Office #, name, & how many of 
those offices existed in North America in 1981.

Class	    Name       Abb  # Existing
----- ---------------- --- ------------
  1   Regional Center  RC	  12
  2   Sectional Center SC	  67
  3   Primary Center   PC	 230
  4   Toll Center      TC      1,300
  4P  Toll Point       TP
  4X  Intermediate Pt  IP
  5   End Office       EO     19,000
  R   RSU	       RSU

     When connecting a call from one party to another, the switching 
equipment usually tries to find the shortest route between the Class 
5 end office of the caller & the Class 5 end office of the called 
party.  If no inter-office trunks exist between the 2 parties, it 
will then move up to the next highest office for servicing (Class 4).  
If the Class 4 office cannot handle the call by sending it to another 
Class 4 or 5 office, it will be sent to the next office in the 
hierarchy (3).  
     The switching equipment first uses the high-usage interoffice 
trunk groups, if they are busy it then goes to the final trunk groups 
on the next highest level.  If the call cannot be connected then, you 
will probably get a re-order [120 IPM (Interruptions Per Minute) busy 
signal] signal.  At this time, the guys at Network Operations are 
probably shitting in their pants and trying to avoid the dreaded 
Network Dreadlock (as seen on TV!).
     It is also interesting to note that 9 connections in tandem is 
called ring-around-the rosy and it has never occurred in telephone 
history.  This would cause an endless loop connection.  [a neat 
way to really screw-up the Network]
     The 10 regional centers in the US & the 2 in Canada are all 
interconnected.  They form the foundation of the entire telephone 
network.  Since there are only 12 of them, they are listed below:


Class 1 Regional Office Location    NPA
----------------------------------  ---
Dallas 4 ESS			    214
Wayne, PA			    215
Denver 4T			    303
Regina No.2 SP1-4W   [Canada]	    306
St. Louis 4T			    314
Rockdale, GA			    404
Pittsburgh 4E			    412
Montreal No.1 4AETS  [Canada]	    504
Norwich, NY			    607
San Bernardino, CA		    714
Norway, IL			    815
White Plains 4T, NY		    914


     The following diagram demonstrates how the various offices may 
be connected:

          +----------+----------+      Regional
        +-+-+      +-+-+      +-+-+    Offices
        | 1 |<---->| 1 |<---->| 1 |     ~~~~~
        +---+      +-+-+      +---+
                     |                Others\/
  +---------+--------+---------------+---------+
+-+-+     +-+-+    +-+-+           +-+-+     +-+-+
| 2 |     | 3 |    | 4 |           | 4P|     | 5 |
+-+-+     +-+-+    +-+-+           +-+-+     +---+
  |         |        |               |      
  +-----+   |     +-----+            |
  |     |   |     |     |            |
+-+-+ +-+-+ |   +-+-+ +-+-+      +---+---+ 
| 3 | | 4 | |   | 4 | | 5 |      |       |
+---+ +-+-+ |   +---+ +---+    +-+-+  +-+-+
        |   |                  | 4X|  | 5 |
      +-+-+ |                  +-+-+  +---+
      | 5R| +--------------------+
      +-+-+             +--------+---------+
        |               |        |         |
      +-+-+           +-+-+    +-+-+     +-+-+
      | R |           | 4P|    | 4 |     | 5 |
      +---+           +---+    +---+     +---+


                         SWITCHING EQUIPMENT
                         -------------------

     In the Network, there are 3 major types of switching equipment.  
They are known as:  Step, Crossbar, & ESS.

STEP-BY-STEP (SxS)
     The Step-By-Step, a/k/a the Strowger switch or two-motion 
switch, was invented in 1889 by an undertaker named Almon Strowger.  
He invented this mechanical switching equipment because he felt that 
the biased operator was routing all requests for an 'undertaker' to 
her husband's business.
     Bell started using this system in 1918 & as of 1978, over 53% of 
the Bell exchanges used this method of switching.  This figure is 
probably substantially less now.
     Step-by-Step switching is controlled directly by the dial pulses 
which move a series of switches (called the switch train) in order.  
When you first pick up the fone under SxS, a linefinder acknowledges 
the request (sooner or later) by sending a dial tone.	If you then 
dialed 1234, the equipment would first find an idle selector switch.  
It would then move vertically 1 pulse, it would then move 
horizontally to find a free second selector, it would then move 2 
vertical pulses, step horizontally to find the next selector, etc.  
     Thus the first switch in the train takes no digits, the second 
switch takes 1 digit, the third switch takes 1 digit, & the last 
switch in the train (called the connector) takes the last 2 digits & 
connects your calls.  A normal (10,000 line) exchange requires 4 
digits (0000-9999) to connect a local call & thus it takes 4 switches 
to connect every call (linefinder, 1st & 2nd selectors, & the 
connector).
     While it was the first, SxS sucks for the following reasons:

     [1] The switches often become jammed thus the calls often become 
blocked.
     [2] You can't use DTMF (Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency a/k/a Touch-
Tone) directly. It is possible that the Telco may have installed a 
conversion kit but then the calls will go through just as slow as 
pulse, anyway!
     [3] They use a lot of electricity & mechanical maintenance. (bad 
from Telco point of view)
     [4] Everything is hardwired.

     They can still hook up pen registers & other shit on the line so 
it is not exactly a phreak haven.

You can identify SxS offices by:

(1) Lack of DTMF or pulsing digits after dialing DTMF.

(2) If you go near the CO, it will sound like a typewriter testing 
factory.

(3) Lack of speed calling, call forwarding, & other custom services.

(4) Fortress fones that want your money first (as opposed to dial 
tone first ones).

     The preceding don't necessarily imply that you have SxS but they 
surely give evidence that it might be.  Also, if any of the above 
characteristics exist, it certainly isn't ESS!  Also, SxS have pretty 
much been eradicated from large metropolitan areas such as NYC (212).

CROSSBAR:
     There are 3 major types of Crossbar systems called:  No. 1 
Crossbar (1XB), No. 4 Crossbar (4XB), & No. 5 Crossbar (5XB).	5XB 
has been the primary end office switch of Bell since the 60's and 
thus it is in wide-use.  There is also a Crossbar Tandem (XBT) used 
for toll-switching.
     Crossbar uses a common control switching method.  When there is 
an incoming call, a stored program determines its route through the 
switching matrix.
     In Crossbar, the basic operation principle is that a horizontal 
& a vertical line are energized in a matrix known as the crosspoint 
matrix.  The point where these 2 lines meet in the matrix is the 
connection.


                                 ESS
                                 ---

     Electronic Switching System (ESS) is a Phreak's Nightmare Come 
True.  ESS is Bell's move towards the Airstrip One society depicted 
in Orwell's 1984.
     With ESS, EVERY single digit that you dial is recorded--even if 
it is a mistake.  They know who you call, when you call, how long you 
talked for, & probably what you talked about (in some cases).  ESS 
can (and is) also programmed to print out #'s of people who make 
excessive calls to 800 #'s or directory assistance.  This is called 
the "800 Exceptional Calling Report." ESS could also be programmed to 
print out logs of who calls certain #'s--like a bookie, a known 
communist, a BBS, etc The thing to remember with ESS is that it is a 
series of programs working together.  
     These programs can be very easily changed to do whatever they 
want it to do. This system makes the job of Bell Security, the FBI, 
NSA, & other organizations that like to invade privacy incredibly 
easy.
     With ESS, tracing is done in microseconds (Eine Augenblick) & 
the results are printed at the console of a Bell Gestapo officer.  
ESS will also pick up any "foreign" tones on the line such as 2600 
Hz!
     Bell predicts that the country will become totally ESS by the 
1990's.  You can identify ESS by the following which are usually ESS 
functions:

[1] Dialing 911 for help.
[2] Dial-Tone-First fortresses.
[3] Custom Calling Services such as:  Call Forwarding, Speed Dialing, 
    & Call Waiting.  (Ask your business office if you can get these.)
[4] ANI (Automatic Number Identification) on LD calls.

     Phreaking does not come to a complete halt under ESS though--
just be very careful, though!!!  Due to the fact that ESS has a 
computer generated "artificial" ring, you are not directly connected 
to the called parties line until he picks up.  Therefore, Black Boxes 
& Infinity Transmitters will not work under ESS!
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