Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!texsun!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway From: zygot!john@apple.com (John Higdon) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Rival Claims PacBell Gave It A 'Virus' Message-ID: Date: 5 Aug 89 06:11:56 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Organization: ATI Wares Team Lines: 29 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 276, message 10 of 11 Back in '85, GTE Mobilnet began cellular service in the San Francisco bay area. It did a horrible job. In late '86 Cellular One came in as the non-wireline carrier and offered greatly superior service. There was a mass exodus to the new system that was owned 50% by Pacific Telesis. They also offered a new twist: calls from anywhere in the service area directed to a mobile would be toll-free no matter where the mobile prefix was actually located. GTE Mobilnet, which was by now getting its act together got the same arrangement. But even though granted this "land line-no toll" by the PUC, it doesn't really do them much good. Why? Pacific Bell runs the phones. To this day, you can pick up virtually any PB pay phone in the greater SF bay area and dial any Cellular One prefix from Santa Rosa to San Jose for twenty cents. If you try it with a GTE Mobilnet prefix, the automatic coin voice will ask for the prevailing toll rate for that call, even though they have the identical tariff in the matter. This is IMHO a blatant, clear-cut example of Pacific Telesis using its control of the local telephone network to serve its own ends. The standard answer from Pac*Bell whenever you confront them with something like this is, "We would never do that intentionally. We don't have to do business that way." I've been given that line from them many times. While I am generally a fan of deregulation, I have seen enough evidence that Pac*Bell tends to be slimy and the PUC should go very slowly in the direction of removing controls. -- John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.uucp | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !