649 lines
37 KiB
Plaintext
649 lines
37 KiB
Plaintext
===================================
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EQUAL ACCESS AND THE AMERICAN DREAM
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===================================
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by
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Mark Tabas
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P.O. Box 620401
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Littleton, CO 80162
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July 7, 1985
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The American Dream means many things to many people. To the small, typical
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businessman, it means building a good, strong business based on hard work and
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perseverence; indeed, with nothing limiting his potential but he amount of
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work he is willing to put into his business. To a large businessman, the American
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Dream means living and working in a country where a single corporation can
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have a profit exceeding the gross national product of an entire third world
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nation. To the individual, the American Dream is the right to choo3e)--
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everything from one's breakfast cereal to a long-distance service, as well as
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the formal right outlined by our founding fathers: those of life, liberty, and
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the pursuit of happiness.
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To the phone phreak, I think the American Dream is, in a sort of twisted
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way, the uninhibited pursuit of knowledge. This quest could scarcely remain
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unchecked in many other countries. Analagous to this quest is the thriving of
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the Bell System, which until January 1, 1984 consisted of the American
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Telephone and Telegraph Company, the largest corporation in the history of the
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world. Did the American Dream die on January first or did the divestiture of
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AT&T cause a giant step forward for competition and free enterprise in the
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United States? I do not know. I do know that the other nations of the world
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were amazed that the United States would dissolve the entity that brought the
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finest and most universal telephone system in the world, and did so at a time
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when the majority of the rest of the world was still using two dixie cups and
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a string.
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The unfairness of the situation is that AT&T built the telephone system of
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this nation and is now being bound and gagged and having its possessions
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distributed to others, whom AT&T also wrought. All in the name of fairness,
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free competition, and "equal access". Where was was MCI during the century
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that AT&T built he communications system of this nation? Well, I believe in
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Equal Access. Wholly. And, since I believe in equal access and its
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implications for equality for all so strongly, I feel that MCI, Sprint, and
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others should take the same amount of time to build their respective toll
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networks: 100 years. Therefore, if the United States Justice Department were
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truly the fair and just administrator that it portrays itself to be, MCI would
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not have a hand in the long-distance cache until about 2080. That's only fair.
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There is no doubt that MCI is a sub-standard organization. They consist of
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incompetent employees, inferior equipment, and an inferior marketing strategy.
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They are mockingly imitative of AT&T, except in the quality of their service,
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which is practically unusable. It is also interesting that with less than 2%
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market share, MCI calls itself "the nation's long-distance company."
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The point to this diatribe is this. It's time for these long-distance
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companies such as MCI and Sprint to grow up. With Equal Access, they are going
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to become real long-distance companies, not the joke organizations they are
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now, and I think it may just take them one hundred years to do so.
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============
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Equal Access
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============
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Equal Access, as it applies to the telecommunications industry, is "the
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requirement that each Bell Operating Company provide exchange access to all
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long-distance carriers that is equal in type and quality to that provided AT&T
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communications." This is the official provision set forth by the United
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States Justice Department in the Modification of the Final Judgement, August 24,
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1982.
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All this means is that each long-distance-distance company will have "equal
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access" to all of the same types of services that AT&T currently enjoys. There
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are four types of long-distance carrier services, divided into "feature
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groups." They follow.
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FG A: "line side access." This is the standard 7-digit dialup+code (for
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billing purposes) +destination telephone number. It is currently
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in use by most long-distance carriers.
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FG B: "trunk side access." These are the 950 exchange numbers. They also
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utilize an authorization code for billing. As with FG A, automatic
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number identification (ANI) (i.e. calling number) is not provided to
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the carrier, but will be in the future.
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FG C: "1+ dialing." Currently, only AT&T is able to get this type of service.
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It is 1/0+7 of 10 digit direct long distance dialing. ANI (for billing)
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is provided.
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FG D: "equal access." This will allow for 1/0+7 or 10 digit direct
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long-distance dialing (presubscription carrier) and 10xxx+1/0+7 or 10
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digit long-distance dialing (alternate carrier). ANI for billing is
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provided at the long-distance carrier's option. Billing may also be
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handled by the individual long distance company or the local Bell
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Operating Company.
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Feature groups C and D are mutually exclusive (i.e. both cannot exist in a
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particular area at the same time). Areas which have Feature Group C (AT&T
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long-distance only) are non-Equal Access, and areas which have Feature Group D
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(multiple long distance carriers) are Equal Access regions.
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Feature Group B, the 950 exchange numbers will be used in areas in which it
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is not feasible to provide with Equal Access, such as step-by-step offices
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(yes, they CAN have 950 numbers), some crossbar offices, and some independent
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telcos, which are not bound by the provisions of Equal Access and may provide
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to their customers any type of long-distance service(s) they wish. The 950
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exchange is now active in many areas. It is mainly used as a universal
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"roaming" access port for many long-distance carriers, but when an office is
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converted to Equal Access, the 950 capability is removed. Thus, in an Equal
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Access region, one cannot complete a call to a 950 telephone number.
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I personally am looking very forward to Equal Access. My area is not
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scheduled for full implementation of it until late 1985 or early 1986, and by
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this time many of the alternate long distance carriers' networks will be in
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place (or well under way). Think about what Equal Access means. Equality for
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all long distance carriers. Access to common facilities, such as: busy-line
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verification lines, Bell System information, signalling specifications. etc.
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After full implementation of Equal Access, one will be able to take advantage
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of and manipulate the services of more than just one carrier. It will no
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longer be phreaks vs. AT&T.
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When your area is ready to initiate Equal Access, you will receive a notice
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in the mail informing you of some of the details of Equal Access, and will ask
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you to specify your choice of "primary carrier." In some cases you will need
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to specify both inter-LATA carrier (IC), which handles calls out of your LATA
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(Local Access and Transport Area), and an international carrier (INC), which
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ill handle calls destined for other countries. Recent market studies have
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shown that between 80 and 90 per cent of residential customers will continue to
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be served by AT&T for their long-distance service after Equal Access. So much
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for competition.
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You will probably be faced with many long-distance companies to choose from,
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including but not limited to: AT&T, MCI, Sprint, ITT, Western Union, Dial U.S.,
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Call America, TMC, and U.S. Telephone. Whichever you choose will become your
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"primary carrier." Your primary carrier will handle your call each time you
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pick up you fone and dial 1+7 or 10 digits or 0+7 or 10 digits, inter-LATA
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only. That is, if you dial a toll call that is within your LATA, it will be
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handled by your local telephone company (Bell), not by your primary carrier,
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even though it is a toll call. Let's use an example. The state of Colorado
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consists of two LATAs. For this example, I will use three cities in Colorado:
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Denver (in LATA1), Sterling (LATA1 also), and Colorado Springs (in LATA2).
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Note here that even though Denver ad Sterling are in the same LATA, and Denver
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and Colorado Springs are not, Sterling is actually much farther away from
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Denver than Colorado Springs. This is because LATA boundaries were designed
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giving consideration to high toll-traffic regions, to bring in revenue. Toll
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traffic between Denver and Colorado Springs is very high, so the two cities
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were placed in separate LATAs (or, more correctly, they were separated by a
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LATA boundary). Toll traffic between Denver and Sterling is very low, of the
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two cities were allowed to remain in the same LATA. Now, if everyone in
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Colorado Springs were to pack up and move to Sterling (though who knows what
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the hell for), the LATA boundaries in Colorado would be changed so that Denver
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and Sterling were in different LATAs. The primary factor in determining LATAs
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is money.
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If I made a call to Sterling from my home in Denver, the call would be routed
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entirely via Mountain Bell long-distance facilities. No long distance carrier
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would be involved because Denver and Sterling are in LATA1. If I made a call
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to Kelley, the blonde babe in Colorado Springs, the call would be handled by a
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long distance carrier (in this case, AT&T) because Denver is in LATA1 and
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Colorado Springs is in LATA2. Here is a table to simplify this:
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Customer dials LATA carrier
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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7 digits same Bell
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1+7 digits same Bell
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1+7 digits diff LD carrier (currently AT&T)
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1+10 digits diff LD carrier (currently AT&T)
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Note several things here. First, not all areas need to dial a 1 when dialing
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any number, local or long distance, but the central offices will still discern
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whether the call is in the same LATA as the customer or a different one and
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handle the call appropriately. Secondly, some step-by-step offices require a
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1+NPA to be dialed for calls within the same LATA and, in fact, all numbers
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outside of the office itself. But, for the most part, the above table is
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standard for common switching networks.
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==================
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Alternate Carriers
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==================
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Your normal long distance carrier will handle all your toll calls which cross
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over LATA boundaries when you dial directly, 1+. If you wish to place your
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call via another carrier's network, whether for cost, quality, or circuit
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availability reasons, you may do so in Equal Access regions. To access an
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alternate long distance carrier after Equal Access, a customer dials
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10xxx+1/0+7 or 10 digit telefone number. Note that xxx is the "carrier access
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code (CAC)." A few CACs currently in use are listed below.
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222 ........ MCI 333 ........ US Telefone
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444 ........ Allnet 666 ........ Lexitel
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777 ........ Sprint 888 ........ SBS
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220 ........ Western Union
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Thus, in an Equal Access region, to dial Fred in Orlando, a customer would
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dial 1+305+994+9966 to place his call on his primary carrier, or to place it on
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another network, he could dial: 10222+1+305+994+9966, and the call would go
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over MCI facilities (in this case). Eventually, after many more long distance
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services get into the act, there will be a directory of the various long
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distance companies and their CACs, and deciding which carrier to use for any
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particular call to get the bet rate will be beyond the ability of everyone
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except phone phreaks.
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================
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The 950 Exchange
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================
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As discussed, the 950 central office exchange is currently a "roaming" access
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port for various long distance carriers. In areas that have 950, the access to
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carriers is standardized. Thus, someone travelling to several different areas
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need only know the 950 number of the carrier he uses to access it from any area
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(provided that it have 950 active). Originally, the 950 exchange was designed
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to correspond with the 10xx carrier access code used for Equal Access. For
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example, 950-1022 would be the same carrier as 1022 (+telephone number).
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However, it was later found that the 100 codes available for use as 10xx CACs
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would be insufficient to handle he number of long distance carriers. So, the
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common carrier access code was increased by one digit, to 10xxx, thus
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increasing the number of possible CACs to 1000. To keep the 950 exchange
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consistent with the ne CAC, the Bell Operating Companies have opted to change
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the 950-10xx to 950-0xxx. The xxx in the 950-0xxx remains the same as the xxx
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in the 10xxx carrier access code. The new modified 950 numbering pan is now
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active in Philadelphia (Bell Atlantic) among other areas.
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After Equal Access is well under way, the 950 exchange will be used in
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certain areas that cannot be equipped for the standard Equal Access dialing
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plans. This includes step-by-step, #1 crossbar, #5 crossbar, #2ESS, and #3ESS
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offices. Customers in areas served by these types of switching equipment will
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dial information and ANI will not be provided by the local Bell Operating Company.
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There are three main advantages to the 950 central office exchange and
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protocol. They are: a) universal access for all areas, b) 950-exchange numbers
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are "trunk side access." This means that the long distance carrier has direct
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trunks going to it from a Bell toll office or local central office. These
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trunks are interoffice lines, not customer type (POTS) lines, and supposedly
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insure higher quality of connection. And, c) 950-exchange numbers are toll and
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message unit free. On metered-usage (i.e., not "flat rate") customer lines,
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they cost nothing. In most areas they are free from coin stations, with
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Colorado as one notable exception.
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=====
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Costs
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=====
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Each long-distance carrier must choose the type(s) of service it wishes to
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provide to its customers. These different types of service were outlined
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earlier as "Feature Groups." The costs of these Feature Groups vary directly
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with the complexity and quality of the service itself. The following table
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outlines the cost to the carrier of each available Feature Group. It is based
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on the monthly rate per line for 9000 minutes of circuit use, and assumes the
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carrier and Bell switch are 15 miles apart.
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FG non-Equal Access Equal Access
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--------------------------------------------------------
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A $329.94 $709.20
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B 329.94 721.80
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C 752.40 ** N/A **
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D ** N/A ** 752.40
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--------------------------------------------------------
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These figures are a lot more significant than they might appear. They
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indicate that after Equal Access, in order to compete with the giants such as
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AT&T, MCI, etc., smaller long distance companies will use Feature Group A or B
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type service in order to provide significantly lower rates to their customers
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than companies subscribing to Feature Group D service (like AT&T, MCI, etc).
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This will cause a unique type of equilibrium to form. Customers willing to
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dial an access number, authorization code, and destination number and put up
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with lower quality service will be able to save a lot of money. This seems
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faintly reminiscent of pre-Equal Access times....
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====================
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Directory Assistance
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====================
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Each Bell Operating Company will be responsible for providing intra-LATA
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operator services. When a customer dials (1)+411 or (1)+555+1212 for local
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directory assistance, he will reach a Bell operator who will service requests
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for listed numbers within the customer's LATA. Requests for numbers in LATAs
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other than the calling customer's may be handled at the discretion of the local
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operating company. Initially, the Bell Operating Companies will meet the
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responsibility for providing directory assistance services by contracting it to
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a long distance carrier or carriers (currently AT&T). All inter-LATA directory
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assistance services will be provided by the inter-LATA carrier (IC). ICs may
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also provide 800 Enterprise service or other toll free type directory
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assistance services. See table.
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intra-LATA:
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HNPA 411/555-1212 BOC
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*FNPA NPA+555-1212 BOC
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HNPA 10xxx+555-1212 intra-LATA carrier
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*FNPA 10xxx+NPA+555-1212 intra-LATA carrier
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inter-LATA:
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HNPA (10xxx)+1+555-1212 IC
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FNPA (10xxx)+1+NPA+555-1212 IC
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* When LATA boundaries cross NPA boundaries (rare).
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FNPA = Foreign Numbering Plan Area (area code).
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HNPA = Home Numbering Plan Area (area code).
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At first glance, the above table appears somewhat complex. But, if you
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understand the concept of LATAs and carriers, it is easily understood.
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Essentially, all local Bell Operating Companies will maintain their own
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directory assistance services. When a customer dials 411 or 555-1212, he will
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reach a BOC directory assistant. Additionally, each long distance carrier that
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wishes to provide directory assistance to its customers will also have DA
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facilities. And, when a customer dials a directory assistant (NPA+555-1212) on
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a carrier, he will reach an operator of that particular long distance carrier.
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The key here is LATAs. If a customer wants to find a number that is within his
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LATA, no long distance carrier is involved. It is handled strictly by the
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Local Bell Operating Company. If a customer is seeking a number that is not
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within his LATA, he must use the services of an inter-LATA (long-distance)
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carrier.
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======================
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TSPS Operator Services
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======================
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Traffic Service Position System (TSPS) operator services will be handled much
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in the same fashion as directory assistance services, with a few differences.
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As with DAs, each Bell Operating Company and each inter-LATA carrier will
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maintain its own TSPS operator facilities (or cordboard I suppose, if they
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cannot afford TSPS). When a customer dials simply 0 (operator), he will reach
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a BOC TSPS operator. The BOC TSPS will be able to handle all types of
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intra-LATA operator-assisted traffic including (but not limited to): collect,
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third party billing, Bell credit card, coin, verification and emergency
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interrupt, and requests for emergency aid. BOC TSPS will be unable to complete
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calls for customers outside of the customer's LATA. Thus, inter-LATA operator
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assistance will be handled by an inter-LATA carrier TSPS (IC TSPS). An IC TSPS
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will handle all previously mentioned types of calls that require inter-LATA
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transport (i.e., the call originates and terminates in different LATAs). When
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a customer dials 0+NXX-XXXXX or 0+NPA+NXX-XXXX, the central office will
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determine if the call is destined for another LATA. If it is not, the call
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will be sent to the Bell TSPS for appropriate handling. If the call is bound
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for another LATA (and his determination is made based on the NXX or NPA+NXX),
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then the call will be sent off to the customer's primary long-distance carrier
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(since only 0+ was dialed). If the customer wishes to use a different
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carrier's operator services, he would dial 10xxx+0+number, and the carrier
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specified by the 10xxx carrier access code would receive the call. Note: if a
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customer dials 10xxx+0+number, and the call is an intra-LATA call, he will get
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a recording, "We're sorry, the number you dialed cannot be reached with the
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carrier access code you dialed. Please check the code and try again or call
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your carrier for assistance." (Western Electric KS-22550 central office tape
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list no. 46.)
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Until the Bell Operating Companies can install their own TSPS facilities and
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networks, they will (continue to) lease capacity from AT&T TSPS. That is, AT&T
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will handle the intra-LATA traffic for the BOCs on a contract basis. In the
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meantime, AT&T will continue to handle its own long-distance operator services
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while the other inter-LATA carriers will have to implement their own operator
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networks from scratch. My estimation is that you won't be able to dial 10222+0
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for an MCI TSPS operator until sometime around the year 2590. And even then
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they will probably be cordboard.
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In addition to the changes in TSPS described above, there will be certain
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modifications to the software and hardware involved in the TSPS operator
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system. Most critical, and of paramount importance to the telecommunications
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enthusiast is changes in circuit associated signalling (CAS). This is
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signalling to and from the TSPS facility. When a customer dials 0 (operator)
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or 10xxx+0 (IC operator), a succession of events occurs. First, the end office
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seizes a trunk to the appropriate operator facility (this assumes that no
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access tandem is involved). The operator service facility responds with a wink
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(proceed signal) and the end office outpulses the CALLED number (or KP+ST if 0
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only dialed). The operator service (OS) facility will then come off-hook to
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signal that it is ready to receive ANI information. The end office outpulses
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the ANI information in the format of KP+II+7 digits+ST (or ST'). If there is
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ANI failure, a KP+02+ST (or ST') will be sent. "ST'" stands for STart "prime",
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and is indicative of a coin call (i.e., dial 0 from a coin station). A normal
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ST terminating the ANI sequence means that the call is originating from a
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noncoin station. See table for ultimate description.
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inter-LATA calls
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type of call customer dials MF-pulsed cld num ANI
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===============================================================================
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noncoin:
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direct dialed 10xxx+1+7/10d KP+7/10d+ST'' KP+II+7d+ST
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operator assist 10xxx+0 KP+ST''' KP+II+7d+ST
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special toll 10xxx+0+7/10d KP+7/10d+ST''' KP+II+7d+ST
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coin:
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direct dialed 10xxx+1+7/10d KP+7/10d+ST KP+II+7d+ST
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operator assist 10xxx+0 KP+ST' KP+II+7d+ST
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special toll 10xxx+0+7/10d KP+7/10d+ST' KP+II+7d+ST
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intra-LATA calls
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===============================================================================
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noncoin:
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direct dialed 10xxx+1+7/10d KP+7/10d+ST'' KP+II+7d+ST'
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operator assist 10xxx+0 KP+ST''' KP+II+7d+ST'
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special toll 10xxx+0+7/10d KP+7/10d+ST''' KP+II+7d+ST'
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coin:
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direct dialed 10xxx+1+7/10d KP+7/10d+ST KP+II+7d+ST'
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operator assist 10xxx+0 KP+ST' KP+II+7d+ST'
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special toll 10xxx+0+7/10d KP+7/10d+ST' KP+II+7d+ST'
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Note: ST=Start, ST'=STart prime, ST''=Start double prime,
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ST'''=STart triple prime.
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Once again, the above table appears somewhat intimidating in its complexity.
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All these STs, ST primes, etc. Actually, the only purpose of the starts is to
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distinguish to the TSPS machine exactly what type of call the customer is
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placing and from what type of telefone he is calling. "Special toll" calls are
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collect, credit card, and third-party billing type calls. Here is an example
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of a complete dialing and outpulsing sequence for an operator service call:
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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 (those blue fuckers). 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. After the
|
||
end office has seized a trunk to the IC, the IC will return a wink, which is
|
||
the signal to proceed. 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
|
||
information 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 identifcation), 07 (coinle
|
||
ss, 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
|
||
ountry 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
|
||
and 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 give a shit
|
||
because by then the fucking 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.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Ackowledgements: 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.
|
||
|