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From: hpa@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Peter Anvin)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Touch-Tone Specifications
Message-ID: <15893@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 8 Jan 91 04:04:37 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 17, Message 4 of 9


In article <15804@accuvax.nwu.edu> Kari Hardarson <hardarso@cs.
unc.edu> writes:

>I'm particularly concerned with whether the touch-tone features on a
>phone bought in USA will work in Scandinavia - or whether
>the phone will work at all for that matter.

Yes, the phone will work.  I have tried myself to use U.S.-bought
phones in Sweden.  However, a few things to keep in mind (this applies
to Sweden, and may or may not apply to the rest of Scandinavia):

1. Get a touch-tone phone.  If you have to use pulse dial, Sweden had their
   "0" where the U.S. "1" was, so you have to change all phone numbers
   around according to this cipher:
   for "0" dial "1", for "1" dial "2", etc, for "8" dial "9", for "9" dial
   "0".  This does not apply to touch-tone.

2. (This applies to all Europe): Do not bring a cordless phone!  Europe is
   in a different ITU region (1) than the U.S. (2), and have different
   frequency allocation.  It is illegal to bring in a cordless phone, being
   an unauthorized radio transmitter.

3. Swedish touch-tone phones have 13 buttons, "0".."9", "*", "#", "R".  I
   don't know what the "R" button does, but its functions are similar to
   the ones U.S. phone companies flash the hook for, so it might be exactly
   what it does.

4. The Swedish phone net provides a lower current level than any other
   phone system in the world.  Thus, a current-hungry foreign phone may not
   work properly.  It shouldn't matter for modern electronic ones.

5. Get a phone that supports all four RJ-11 wires (including black/yellow).
   Swedish Televerket warns that a "pirate" (non-compliant) telephone may
   not hang up properly, running up your bill long after you hung up.

6. Get a Swedish phone cord when you get there; Televerket has recently
   picked up on the rest of the world and started using RJ-11 modular
   plugs, so you can easily get a phone cord with a modular plug in one end
   and a Swedish phone plug in the other in any local Telebutik (Televerket
   shop).

Happy travelling!


H. Peter Anvin +++ A Strange Stranger +++ N9ITP/SM4TKN +++
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