Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!decwrl!hayes.fai.alaska.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: dplatt@coherent.com Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: COCOTery Message-ID: <12551@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 24 Sep 90 17:11:10 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: Coherent Thought Inc., Palo Alto CA Lines: 51 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 675, Message 8 of 9 In article <12453@accuvax.nwu.edu> you write: > An informal cruise of COCOTs in the "Post PUC Reform Era", reveals > that little if anything has changed. Every (read that EVERY) COCOT > that I have fiddled with since that fateful day in August when all was > supposed to be made right has at least one significant PUC violation. > Some are still charging $0.25 for local calls. Some restrict 950. Most > restrict 811. A few don't allow end-to-end DTMF signaling. None allow > 10XXX dialing. None post rates or instructions on how to access > different carriers. > So what is the point of regulation? COCOT owners will do what they > please, anyway they please. No one will enforce anything in this > arena. I have reported many of the more flagrant violators by phone > and in writing, using a Pac*Bell form designed expressly for the > purpose. Not one reported phone has yet cleaned up its act. Well, I've had somewhat better luck, in the one case I've dealt with. I ran into a COCOT in Palo Alto (Liddicoats, on University Avenue) which was in violation of most of the new regs: $.25 for a local call, 950 restricted, 1-800 restricted, 10xxx restricted, no instructions or rates. I called the operator and reported the problem (the PacBell operator tranferred me to her supervisor, who took the actual report). A couple of days later, the phone was still in violation ... so I stuck a laserprinted "Out of order, programming violation" sticker over the coin-slot and checked off all of the violation categories. The next week, most of the violations had been corrected ... $.20 for a local call, 950 works, 1-800 works, and the tonepad wasn't disabled after connection to 950. 10xxx still didn't work. I spoke with the folks at PacBell, and they said they'd need to give the COCOT owners a couple of weeks to reprogram the phone and get someone out to post instructions and rates. I don't think this has happened yet; I may call in a new complaint later this week if the phone is still not quite up to snuff. The two COCOTs outside the Long's in Mountain View seem to have been brought fully into compliance ... the rates are right, there seem to be no invalid dialing restrictions, and the necessary information is posted. So ... things are getting better ... but we aren't there yet. Dave Platt VOICE: (415) 493-8805 UUCP: ...!{ames,apple,uunet}!coherent!dplatt DOMAIN: dplatt@coherent.com INTERNET: coherent!dplatt@ames.arpa, ...@uunet.uu.net USNAIL: Coherent Thought Inc. 3350 West Bayshore #205 Palo Alto CA 94303