Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request
From: "George A. Theall" <theall@rm105serve.sas.upenn.edu.sas.upenn.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Answer Call Service
Message-ID: <10192@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 27 Jul 90 13:23:25 GMT
Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu
Organization: University of Pennsylvania
Lines: 53
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 522, Message 7 of 7


In article <10138@accuvax.nwu.edu> Greg Monti writes:

>"Announcing Answer Call from C&P Telephone.  Thanks to the Bell
>Atlantic Intelligent NetworQ(sm), you no longer need to buy an
>answering machine to enjoy all the advantages of automatic telephone
>messaging. 

    Bell Atlantic is offering Answer Call now with what look to be the
same features as the service from C&P Telephone. Since I frequently
tie up my phone while dialing into the campus computing system I have
been considering this service. Here are a few of my concerns:

	- When the service is initiated you must specify how many 
	rings occur before the call is passed to Answer Call. Bell
	Atlantic will change this setting in the future, albeit for 
	for a $16 fee. What's involved in this change that would
	justify such a fee? Are there similarly high (IMHO) charges
	for, say, altering the mailbox password?

	- Each mailbox will store up to 30 minutes of messages, as
	Greg noted. Apart from this, though, there is no limit on
	the size of any single message. Once the mailbox is full,
	subsequent callers get a recording saying there is no space
	for their message. Does this means callers at least would 
	hear a message saying "I'm unable to come to the phone right 
	now..."? How likely is it that an abusive or talkative 
	caller would monopolize the mailbox?

	- Those with measured phone service are charged for not 
	only their own calls to check the mailbox but also calls 
	forwarded there. I'm curious as to the reason(s) for these
	charges. Is Answer Call targeted primarily at users with 
	unmeasured service? From perusing the articles in this 
	newsgroup I gather Answer Call works by intercepting calls 
	to a number; hence the charge. Isn't this the same way, 
	though, that the phone company handles calls to numbers 
	that have been changed?

	- Would it be better (in terms of cost and convenience)
	to simply install another phone line with basic service
	and hook an answering machine up to that line? How long
	does the average answering machine last?

I'd appreciate your comments on Answer Call, especially if you've ever
used it. If there's sufficient interest, I'll summarize my findings
for the group.


George A. Theall, Dept of Economics, Univ. of Pennsylvania
theall@rm105serve.sas.upenn.edu
(yes, I know our mailer's broke and the "From:" line is wrong)