Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!texsun!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway From: clements@bbn.com Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Residential 800 service? Message-ID: Date: 6 Sep 89 03:35:44 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Lines: 45 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 350, message 7 of 9 In article telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) writes: >On the other hand, TELECOM USA (provider of my residential 800 service) > ... This has been bothering me for a few days now. Could someone please explain why in the world one would want an 800 number in one's home? To me, 800 service seems very much a business service. I can't see why one would want to accept charges from just anyone anywhere on a residential phone. (Unless, of course, it is really business use of a residential phone - theoretically a no-no.) Maybe the 800 number is unlisted, but even then why are collect calls, call-home service or credit card calls not adequate? I'm sure there must be a reason, I just don't see it. Bob Clements, clements@bbn.com [Moderator's Note: Depending on the time of day and othe circumstances, an 800 number is less expensive than an incoming call on a Calling Card. The 800 number I have from Telecom USA costs $2.45 per month plus the cost of the calls (29 cents daytime, 21 cents off peak). Therefore a local metro Chicago area call of one or two minutes is much cheaper than the Calling Card, with its surcharge for local use. Naturally, I keep the 800 number non-pub, although it could be listed in the 800-555-1212 data base for a few dollars per month if I was running a company. If a call sent not-paid from elsewhere is going to last more than a minute or two, then the Calling Card rates turn out to be a better deal. I also have my Calling Card (both restricted and unrestricted PINs) tied into my Reach Out America service, meaning in the middle of the night, or weekends the use of the card is almost always a better deal than 800. But there is another catch: These days, the rotten AOS people are likely to seize your call, *AT&T card or not* and divert it, charging whatever they can get away with. So if my sister uses my restricted PIN to call me late at night from a payphone in Florida where she lives, I am at the mercy of whoever controls the payphone, am I not? Maybe she gets AT&T, and maybe not. If billed by AT&T, great; if billed by Telesphere or such, who knows how much I will pay? At least with the 800 number, most AOS outfits just pass them along; and my rate has been fixed at 21 cents by the carrier. So I answer, and if the party is calling on the 800 number, I take their number, hang up and call them right back on my Reach Out account. In summary, there is no rule that 800 has to be for businesses only, and it actually gives me more flexibility in accepting incoming 'collect' calls without worrying about the cost. I think its a great deal. PT]