Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: john@bovine.ati.com (John Higdon) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Centrex, Everyone? Message-ID: <3655@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 8 Feb 90 07:34:16 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: John Higdon Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 50 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 86, message 9 of 9 Vance Shipley writes: > [In response to my statement that there are no feature phones] > This will probably not be the first response to point out that Centrex > can and does (Northern Telecom DMS at least) allow for ALL these > features and many, many more! You're right; I have received considerable mail pointing this out. I already know about that. But Pac*Bell doesn't offer any of this, and my entire diatribe was a response to all of those expensive Pac*Bell commercials. I have been told that "feature phones" will become available with ISDN. A friend of mine pointed out that Pac*Bell would probably impose a corkage charge if I showed up with my own CO switch when ordering Centrex :-) Read my lips: Pac*Bell only offers vanilla, single-line-style Centrex. BTW, more spots have emerged, each one proclaiming a different "exclusive" feature of Centrex. The latest laugh is the one that shows a power outage. The split screen shows the hapless PBX user slamming his phone down (presumably because it doesn't work) and the Centrex user calling someone, and then saying, "Oh, the power's out here...". I'm sure with his computers down, his lights out, etc., he's going to get a lot of work done! But it's all moot: battery backup is quite common in PBX these days. Particularly in radio stations. > [Moderator's Note: The service order changes handled via Centrex Mate > are batched with all other changes, and put into effect sometime > around three in the morning when all other changes for the day are > done. How handy. Changes I type into the maintenance port of the ITT switch take effect immediately, at no charge. > Did you know Amoco Oil > Company, which is headquartered here, gets billings from Illinois Bell > for about one million dollars *per month* on local service and > equipment only? Its an 8000-line Centrex; the CO (Chicago-Lakeshore) > is in the third sub-basement of the Amoco Building itself. PT] Sounds like a bargain to me. Why don't they just call it rental of telco provided equipment? Or would that be a violation of the MFJ? Do you suppose Centrex is a very sneaky way to get around the proscription against telcos providing equipment? John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !