Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!bu.edu!telecom-request
From: csense!bote@uunet.uu.net (John Boteler)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Forts Meade and Ritchie in Maryland
Message-ID: <74327@bu.edu.bu.edu>
Date: 9 Feb 91 05:39:24 GMT
Sender: news@bu.edu.bu.edu
Organization: Common Sense Computing, McLean, VA.
Lines: 52
Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 101, Message 7 of 13


 From article <16673@accuvax.nwu.edu>, by cmoore@brl.mil (VLD/VMB):

> With this year's 301/410 split coming in Maryland, I thought I'd
> review two prefixes (both at military bases) which seem to have a wide
> calling area.  

> 688 at Fort Meade -- This appears in Baltimore call guide as "Fort
> Meade (Waterloo)", and in Washington-area call guides as "Fort Meade
> (Berwyn)", 

The Greater Washington Area is especially interesting to phone phreaks
because of the stunts C&P pulled to please Uncle Sam.

The fact that Fort Meade and Fort Ritchie can be reached as local
calls despite the fact that they lie a better distance away than
VLD/VMB thinks they should is a simple matter of the rate mapping.
There are lots of central office codes which are locally dialable
around D.C., but which are FXed or remoted in from farther out COs.

For instance, North Beach, which lies about 30 miles east/southeast of
D.C. offers 855 as a Marlboro rate area (local to D.C.); 855 is listed
as an FX to provide this local service. This will stay in 301 because
of its calling area; it will not switch to 410 merely because it is
served by a switch in 'Culvert' County.  That would prove cumbersome
and artificial for users.

An interesting flip-flop on this is 831, providing Suburban Maryland
service to Mount Airy, MD (an abbreviated Gaithersburg rate area). It
is dialable only from Suburban Maryland west of and including Silver
Spring. It basically gives Mt. Airy residents the ability to call into
suburban MD when they would otherwise have a local cow pasture calling
area.  (Thanks to Judge Greene for this one.)

Same difference with Fort Meade. I can receive calls from Fort Meade out of
677, but that exchange is a toll call for me. Meade's dilapidated
office selects a tie line for either B-more or D.C. service depending
on the destination of the call.

688 is FXed out of Laurel CG0 with a Berwyn rate area.  It could just
as easily be rated a toll-call by C&P if they wanted to; half the
Greene-isms like Columbia and Mt. Airy could just as easily not be
here. That's the difference between a technical consideration and a
political one.

Personally, I think Mr. Moore thinks too hard for his own sanity. It's
much easier to try the Zen approach to telephony around D.C. ...
you'll live longer!


John Boteler   bote@csense                {uunet | ka3ovk}!media!csense!bote
SkinnyDipper's Hotline: 703 241 BARE | VOICE only, Touch-Tone(TM) signalling