Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request
From: tfd!kent@uunet.uu.net (Kent Hauser)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: High-Seas Communications
Message-ID: <2285@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 19 Dec 89 20:57:41 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 9, Issue 584, message 2 of 10


In article <2084@accuvax.nwu.edu>, thomas%mvac23.uucp@udel.edu (Thomas Lapp) 
writes:

> In several of the messages in the last week or so, it has been
> mentioned that the Pittsburgh International Operator was used for
> making high-seas calls.
 

There is also satellite communications to ships at sea. 

Three country codes exist for ships: 871 = Atlantic, 872 = Pacific, &
873 = Indian ocean.  Calls are placed just like a normal int'l call:
e.g. (in the US) 011 871 1234567 #

All ship numbers are seven digits (octal representation of a 21-bit ID
number). When a ship moves from one ocean to another, it's number
doesn't change, only it's `country code'.

In the US, the ground stations for INMARSAT (as the system is known),
are located just outside of Danbury, Conn. & Ventura, Calf. Other
countries also have ground stations.  The American stations are
directly connected to the ISCs for AT&T, Teleglobe, & MCI. (Who says
there is only one country code in North America?)

Further technical info can be obtained out of the CCITT docs. I
believe that Q.170 is gen'l info.  Also one of the previous versions
of the CCITT docs (I think it was the yellow books) had a supplement
to the No. 5 signalling spec (Fascicle VI.2) showing some additional
info.

On an non-technical note -- a real problem for the system is that when
someone calls the operator (AT&T Employee) & asks for a ship, they are
normally connected with the high-seas operator (AT&T Run), not the
INMARSAT system (non-AT&T).


Kent Hauser			UUCP: {uunet, sun!sundc}!tfd!kent
Twenty-First Designs		INET: kent@tfd.uu.net