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From: gauthier@ug.cs.dal.ca (Paul Gauthier)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Turning Off Call Waiting Remotely
Message-ID: <14165@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 30 Oct 90 09:58:02 GMT
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In article <14145@accuvax.nwu.edu> gauthier@ug.cs.dal.ca (Paul
Gauthier) writes:

>[Moderator's Note: What you say is all well and good, but *why* would
>a telco extend new dial tone by flashing the hook when there is no
>place to go with it? Surely not just for suspending call-waiting ...
>or is it just for that reason? What happens when you attempt to dial
>an actual number against that flashed-in dial tone rather than just
>dialing *70?  Does your new call go through or get denied?   PAT]

	When you attempt to dial you get a rapid busy signal type
tone.  Thus, the call is denied. Something else that's interesting is
that if I pick up the phone right now and receive a *real* dialtone I
can do a flash and obtain a secondary dialtone exactly like the one
described before.  This secondary dialtone is discernable from a
regular dialtone because when it begins you hear a 'triple dialtone'
kind of like someone flicking the sound on and off three times
quickly; then comes a normal sounding dialtone. 

Trying to dial on this secondary dialtone, even if it is obtained
straight from a normal dialtone via flash, gets you the same rapid
busy signal. Also of interest is the fact that once you commence
dialing a number on your normal dialtone until you are connected
(actually have someone answer the other end) a flash terminates that
call, and does not simply offer you a secondary dialtone. No matter
how you obtain one of those secondary dialtones (whether from a
regular dialtone or in mid-call) another flash will return you to
where you came from (the regular dialtone or the other call). "*70",
as mentioned before disables call waiting in mid call and puts you
back through to your party.

	Hope someone finds this trivia interesting. I assume that as
well as performing call-waiting disabling from this secondary dialtone
you can initiate a 3-way call, or work with any of the other special
features offered (like call-forwarding) if you've paid for them (I
haven't, so I don't know much about them).


gauthier@ug.cs.dal.ca
tyrant@dalac