Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: John Higdon Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Screwy PUC Policies Message-ID: <8641@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 4 Jun 90 18:27:40 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: John Higdon Organization: Green Hills and Cows Lines: 26 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 412, Message 5 of 13 In my CO there are eight prefixes of grossbar and four prefixes of 1ESS. I have just been informed that the 5ESS that is soon to be installed in the office will replace only the X-bar, not the 1E. Why? It turns out that anywhere else in the country the entire office would be converted to the 5E, but not in California. The PUC seems to be of the opinion that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." This explains at least some of the backwardness of telephone technology in California. "As long as the customer has dial tone, you're fine." Obviously, Pac*Bell was able to convince the fools at the PUC that unless the X-bar was replaced, customers might lose dial tone. After all, the X-bar was installed in 1956 and one might think that 34 years is sufficient service life. But the twenty-year-old ESS? Hell, that's still cooking along just fine. So while the rest of the country has ISDN, CLASS, and you-name-it, we Californians get to pretend that we are in Bulgaria. Excuse me, that's an unfair comparison. The Bulgarians realize it's bad and are trying to do something about it. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !