Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Sun, 28 Apr 91 17:13:06 -0700 From: Steve Forrette Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: 900 Blocking Message-ID: Organization: University of California, Berkeley Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu 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 314, Message 7 of 8 Lines: 40 In article David Cantor writes: > I wish that were true. The latest (issued, March 1991) San Diego Pac > Bell directory states: > "Most customers can choose to have California 900 and > 976 blocked from their telephone line." > Note that Pac Bell limits blocking to "most customers" and "California > 976 and 900" (whatever that means) and GTE has a similar restriction > for 976 numbers. Some of the older exchanges (such as #5 crossbar) can't handle it on a line- by-line basis. Last year, I had service from 415-848, which was #5 crossbar (since cut over to something else just last month), and to prevent unwanted 900/976 calls, they were blocked from *all* numbers in the exchange. That's right, if you were on that exchange, and wanted to be able to call 900/976 numbers, you would have to change your number to a newer exchange. I assume that this policy is in effect everywhere that Pacific Bell serves. As far as I can tell, the blocking is in effect for ALL 900 numbers, and to California 976 numbers. Although Pacific Bell will allow calls to inter-state 976 numbers, no major long distance carrier will carry them, so they are in effect blocked as well (I tried AT&T, MCI, US Sprint, and ComSystems). The MCI recording said that "MCI does not complete calls to 976 at this time." All the others had more generic "can't be completed as dialed" recordings. And 900/976 calls cannot be billed to a calling card by a LEC or major IXC. A 0+ call to 900 or California 976 will be blocked at the switch if you're calling from Pacific Bell's territory. It used to be that an AT&T operator would complete a calling card call to an inter-LATA, intra-state 976 call if you asked nicely, but now the "policy" forbids it. Notice I say "major" IXC - see my next message! Steve Forrette, forrette@cory.berkeley.edu