Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Chris Davies Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Mercury in the UK: A Question Message-ID: <6106@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 6 Apr 90 12:24:48 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: Chris Davies Organization: VisionWare Ltd., Leeds, UK Lines: 42 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 235, Message 2 of 11 In article <5997@accuvax.nwu.edu> contact!djcl@uunet.uu.net (woody) writes: >I have heard about this Mercury service in the UK, which is something >like a competing phone company. Sort of. The Home Office has only licensed British Telecom and Mecury Telecommunications as public telephone operators. Mercury leases lines from BT and resells the capacity to domestic/business users. However, Mercury is also installing their own (fibre-optic) lines where possible. >Are they into long distance, also, in the manner that Sprint or MCI >would be in the US? Yes, they are only Long Distance carriers. To subscribe is easy (ish :-) You call a freephone number (0800-424194) and they charge you ten pounds, providing you with a 10/12/13 digit PIN in return. Unfortunately you are only able to use this PIN from the city/town in which you live (you are only supposed to use the PIN from your one home/business phone number). >If so, how would calls be dialed through (ie. what >is the UK equivalent of 10XXX+ or 950 service, if any?). Not everyone in the UK has access to Mercury when making a call, but if there is a Mercury node in your town/city you can make a call to anywhere else (whether or not there is a Mercury node at the destination). If you do have a Mercury node nearby, you dial 131 (a free BT number), enter your PIN followed by the STD (long distance number) and, voila, there you are: somewhat cheaper LD calls! Chris VISIONWARE LTD | UK: chris@vision.uucp JANET: chris%vision.uucp@ukc 57 Cardigan Lane | US: chris@vware.mn.org OTHER: chris@vision.co.uk LEEDS LS4 2LE | BANGNET: ...{backbone}!ukc!vision!chris England | VOICE: +44 532 788858 FAX: +44 532 304676 "VisionWare: The home of DOS/UNIX/X integration"