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From: seanwilliams@attmail.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: No Outgoing Calls Allowed ... Why?
Message-ID: <15810@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 4 Jan 91 20:59:39 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 9, Message 6 of 8


I recently acquired a job at a local pizza shop in Enola, PA.  They
have two phones which customers call to place orders.  The number is
732-4000.  When a customer calls, the first phone rings in a
"2-short-ring" pattern, similar to Bell Atlantic's "Identa*Ring"
service, I would assume.  When another customer calls, but the first
customer is still on the line, the call rings on the second phone,
with the same ring-pattern.

A few days ago, I needed to use one of the phones to make an outgoing
local call to a customer to verify something on an order.  I was not
permitted to do so (another employee stopped me).  He said that the
phones could not be used to make outgoing calls.  This seemed odd to
me, so I asked another employee.  The other employee told me that the
two phones were somehow linked with the payphone in the lobby (on the
same line), and that's why the two phones can't be used to initiate
calls.  I picked up the receiver on one of the phones, and there was a
dial tone.  I did not try to make a call, however.

The two phones are each typical AT&T wall-mount model type phone.  The
local telco is Bell of Pennsylvania (Bell Atlantic Company).  Does
anyone have any information about this?  Or can prove why the other
employees are incorrect?

Thanks!

Sean E. Williams

AT&T mail:  seanwilliams@attmail.com


[Moderator's Note: Semi-public (that is a billing distinction only)
coin phones can legitimatly have extensions on them for answering
purposes only. If what your co-worker said is true -- although it
seems to be an odd configuration -- then although you get dial tone
when the extension goes off hook, when a number is dialed money would
be demanded, and where would you insert it?  I say it is an odd
configuration because I've never heard of two payphones being arranged
to hunt each other when busy. Some incoming only lines do provide dial
tone when taken off hook (others -- most? -- simply have battery on
the line) but dialing anything but maybe 911/611 returns an intercept
message. Maybe your co-worker meant you should *use* the payphones to
make calls out. Try some calls and let us know what happens.  PAT]