Path: utzoo!telecom-request
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1991 9:36:26 EDT
From: "KATH MULLHOLAND, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, X1031" <K_MULLHOLAND@unhh.unh.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: 900 Discussion on CNN
Message-ID: <telecom11.305.4@eecs.nwu.edu>
Organization: TELECOM Digest
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 305, Message 4 of 16
Lines: 35

Ron Greenburg commented that he wondered if the new FCC proposals would
apply only to 900 numbers, and that he wasn't sure how to provide
input regarding the proposal.

You can provide input by writing or calling your Congressional
Representative.  I called my Senator, and was sent a copy of HR328,
which is intended to regulate "Audiotext services" (definition below).
It took about four days for it to come in the mail.  The bill would
not be specific to 900 numbers.

Definition:

"For the purposes of this Act, the term 'audiotext services'

1)  includes various electronic communications products and services
    that enable users to send or receive information by interacting
    with a voice processing system via a telephone connection using
    audio input;
2)  encompasses the following types of services:  information retrieval
    from a remote database, messaging capability permitting users to 
    communicate with each other, conferecing services for simultaneous
    voice conversations; and
3)  does not include electronic communications for the purpose of
    conducting financial transactions."

I assume that last is meant to exclude things like ATM machines, but
it's also possible that it's meant to exclude the voice response
tellers that my Credit Union has recently started using.  (And I'm
thrilled (not) since they selected one that is extremely poorly
written and user unfriendly.)


Kath Mullholand    UNH  Durham, NH