Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!lll-winken!netsys!vector!telecom-gateway From: asuvax!gtephx!hw-4h62!nogeea@ncar.ucar.edu (Allen Nogee) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Caller ID Privacy Question Message-ID: Date: 22 Aug 89 16:00:44 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Organization: gte Lines: 39 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 320, message 2 of 10 I'd like to dispel some of the myths that have been going around about Calling Line Identification. I have been involved in the hardware design of this feature for GTE. The following info is transmitted from the CO to your home about 1/2 second after the first ring is completed: 1) Month and Day (01 - 12, and 01 - 31) 2) Military Local Hour and Minute (01 - 23, and 00 - 59) 3) One of the following: a) Directory number, 2 - 10 digits b) ascii 'P' for Private Number or c) ascii 'O' for Out of Area With the present standard, nothing more or nothing less can be transmitted. Sorry, but words and letters are not possible. In the future, if the display boxes and standard are changed, we could transmit up to 256 ascii characters with many more interesting possibilities. The latest I've is that if your number is unlisted, you will get the Private Number code. (Displayed as 'PRIVATE #' on most boxes.) I also hear that the phone company allows callers to type a code (* 7, for example) to cancel the output of their numbers. They do, however, have to do this for every call. > With Caller ID I'll be able to buy a box > from Panasonic to do it all without an extra monthly fee. Not quite true. This feature, like touch-tone, requires the CO to install special equipment in the switch. You can have all the boxes you want, but without the feature you don't get the number. I've heard you can buy boxes for about $50 - $100. AT&T does supply the box in NJ when you subscribe, but in the future, I can guess there will be a rental charge. (Like a cable box.) I hope the above is helpful, as this is a very new and controversial feature. Allen Nogee