Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!rutgers!bellcore!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway From: uuwest!watcher@apple.com (the Watcher) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Local Area Calls in Silicon Valley Message-ID: Date: 14 Jul 89 11:50:47 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Organization: The Dark Side of the Moon +1 408 245 SPAM Lines: 18 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 240, message 3 of 11 In response to "what the billing is like around here", it seems to have been arranged for the phone company (pacific*bell and/or GTE, depending) to make lots of money. Unmeasured service is available, except that calls outside of an 8-mile radius of where you are calling from are "zone" charges. If you happen to live in the GTE service area, just about everywhere else in the valley ("silicon" valley, also known as 408) costs money (ridiculous amounts, at that) to call. I happen to be one of these unfortunates; by being less than a quarter mile from where the pac*bell service area ends, my phone bill is about three times what it would be otherwise (or six times what would be reasonable). There is also no "metropolitan" option, so it all boils down to getting the most strategic 8-mile radius you can. watcher@uuwest.UUCP [Moderator's Note: And per your notes to me: 'watcher@uuwest.uucp' is a bad address. Mail is returned. Phrasing it as 'watcher@uuwest.apple.com' causes it to bounce. Likewise, 'uuwest!watcher@apple.com' fails. Please provide an alternative address to reach you. PT]