Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!ria!uwovax.uwo.ca!telecom-request From: rees@pisa.citi.umich.edu (Jim Rees) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Questions About New Service Being Installed Message-ID: Date: 25 Mar 91 22:36:39 GMT Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Reply-To: rees@citi.umich.edu (Jim Rees) Organization: University of Michigan IFS Project Lines: 30 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 240, Message 4 of 11 In article , drears@pica.army.mil (Dennis G. Rears (FSAC)) writes: > I found out my new service will be serviced by a 1ESS switch. Can > anybody explain the difference between that and a 5ESS switch? The 5ESS is the HAL-9000 of telephone switches, doing its work in complete silence. The one in our CO handles about a dozen prefixes, and is half the size of the 1ESS next to it that only handles three prefixes. The 1ESS has relays in it, not to do the actual switching, but to switch ringing voltage and the like on to the loop. It makes a lot of noise, although nothing like a panel office! The 5 is "modern" and will do SS7 things like Caller*ID. The 1 only does the basics, like Call Waiting. The 5 is digital, the 1 analog. The 5 has no moving parts in the actual switching circuitry. What I'd like to know is what are 2 and 3ESS? What's the difference between a 1 and a 1A (is it just the processor? Does 1A run Unix?) And what kind of hardware does a 4ESS have (I've never seen one)? > ($42 seems unreasonable to me for one line when you consider it is a > $15 hookup charge for electric and $14 for gas). Most installations only require a table change at the CO, but some may require actual field work (ask Patrick about the multiples on the cables in his neighborhood some time). The electric and gas companies don't have to do anything except turn on the billing usually, and if they do, they charge extra for it (they wanted $10k to bring 3-phase into my garage for my IBM System/3).