Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!know!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!bionet!hayes.ims.alaska.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: eli@pws.bull.com (Steve Elias) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: 800 Numbas Message-ID: <14066@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 26 Oct 90 09:07:04 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 24 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 766, Message 9 of 9 MCI's claim that they can give you an 800 number with the last seven digits being the same as your home phone # has got to be BS. MCI doesn't own all the 800 "exchanges", so there's no way they can assign the numbers as they say ... at least not for all customers. Also, doesn't their "security code" feature mean that people at pulse phones can't call? eli [Moderator's Note: Even if MCI *did* own all the 800 echanges, it should be easy to see the fallacy in their presentation: My home exchange 743 is duplicated in many area codes. If I got one of their 800 numbers, along with someone with the same number as mine in another area code, then what? If the security codes were not used properly by the caller, we'd wind up getting each other's calls. And what about my existing 800 number which begins 747? If a 747-subscriber somewhere signs up with MCI for 800 service, does this mean I now have to start using special codes to distinquish my calls from his? Steve is correct: someone at MCI got it *all* wrong! PAT]