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From: moocow!drmath@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu (Doctor Math)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Pac*Bell, the Industry Stinker
Message-ID: <16511@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 28 Jan 91 20:43:44 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 76, Message 8 of 9

john@bovine.ati.com (John Higdon) writes:

> All right, I cannot stand it any more. With all the crowing about RBOC
> inovations, it is only fair that Pac*Bell be represented. So let me
> see...

[ good stuff deleted]

> But I digress. By 1988, Pac*Bell had actually implemented FGD in 78
> percent of its exchanges. WOW! Not by actually replacing old wornout
> 1940's crossbar, but by gluing in a horror known as CONTAC. This
> system is so troublesome, I am told that the trouble recorders in the
> COs had to be shut off for fear of deforesting the planet from the
> cards that were dropped continually. (I can only assume that the other
> 22 percent of exchanges were either manual or just could not be made
> to accept the CONTAC abortion.)

I lived in the "Santa Clara 11" (244, 246 etc) back then and remember
getting a little card with my bill stating something about CONTAC.  I
didn't pay any attention at the time, but shortly thereafter, I
noticed that I could discern three different dialtones! They were all
dialtones, but each one sounded a little different.

I wonder how long it will be before Pac*Bell gets CLASS? (peals of
laughter) !!