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From: johnl@ima.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.telecom
Subject: A Calling Card Feature/Bug
Message-ID: <8611090139.AA07291@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Sun, 2-Nov-86 23:40:53 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8611090139.AA07291
Posted: Sun Nov  2 23:40:53 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Nov-86 03:27:08 EST
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In response to the person who wondered why his New England Tel calling card
had a space for the international number, but no number there -- it turns out
that calling card numbers are assigned by the local operating companies, and
then given to AT&T.  You actually have two calling cards.  Your local telco
calling card is used for intra-lata calls, even outside your local company's
territory, and your AT&T card is used for inter-lata and international calls.
Since the two cards have the same number, this distinction makes little
difference except for which page of the phone bill the calls show up on.

The international number is slightly different from the domestic number,
presumably because it has to adhere to some CCITT standard.  Since the local
telco's card isn't useful for international calls and AT&T's is, the
international number now appears only on the AT&T card.

Something I do not understand at all is MCI's calling card scheme.  It appears
that they are making up their own calling card numbers which are in the same
format as telco numbers (generally your 10-digit phone number followed by a
four-digit PIN) but the number is different.  This is a huge pain.  It seems
to me that if the local telcos can supply calling card numbers to AT&T, they
should equally well be able to provide them to MCI and other carriers.  If MCI
used the regular numbers, then anybody who had a calling card could use MCI
pay phones in airports without having to slide through a Visa card, which would
be a big marketing advantage over the current scheme.

I also note that MCI almost has 0+number working -- if I dial 0+number from my
MCI subscribed line it sometimes gives me a recording encouraging me to dial my
MCI card number, although dialing the card number doesn't work.

John Levine, ima!johnl or Levine@YALE.somethingorother