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From: RAF@cu.nih.gov (Roger Fajman)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: FTS = Fouled-up Telephone System
Message-ID: <10437@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 3 Aug 90 03:45:43 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 539, Message 6 of 13


FTS is only for long distance calls, so poor connections between the
Palo Alto VA Medical Center and Stanford can't be blamed on it.  Poorly
documented dialing instructions are not the fault of FTS either, since
it's up to the agency to distribute dialing instructions.  They may
vary from agency to agency, depending on the phone system installed.
As for constantly changing dialing procedures, the dialing instructions
for FTS here at NIH have been the same since I first started work here
in 1969.  

We did have to change the way we dialed internal extensions when NIH
went to Centrex back in the 70s.  But that was not caused by and did
not affect FTS.  We may have to change the way we dial if the
procurement for a digital PBX for NIH ever gets done.  Anyway, the one
problem mentioned that can be blamed on FTS is the operator's giving
incorrect instructions for how to make a credit card call.  The Palo
Alto VA Medical Center may well have a phone system that works like a
COCOT, but it's not the fault of FTS.