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From: blake@pro-party.cts.com (Blake Farenthold)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Cable Company's 10xxx
Message-ID: <4681@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 2 Mar 90 20:38:21 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 140, Message 5 of 9


richr@etl.army.mil (Richard Rosenthal) wrote the digest about 6 digit PPV 
(pay per view) ordering from his cable & phone company and asked,

>Question:  What is the story with 6 digit phone numbers?  How do
>they work?  I would like to know more.

>I guess that they work something like the way equal access to long
>distance works.  I know that I dial 102-221 (usually written 10-222-1)
>to dial direct with MCI.  Any relation here?

I'm almost certain that's how the system works.  It's interesting on
two points.. first.. I wouldn't think the phone company would WANT to
do this for your cable company.  I attended a CLE (continuing legal
education) seminar at last years NAB (National Association of
Broadcasters) convention in Las Vegas and one of the hot topics was
cable company phone company competition (regulatory framework
primarily) but with a broadband coax coming into your home,
technologically the cable company could start providing phone/data
service delivery/transmission.

The cable companies on the other hand are scared to death that the
phone companies will win approval to start bring in (and/or taking
out) video services.  If you get a fiber optic phone cable to your
house it has the capacity to carry lotsa television stations.

Clearly the phone company has the money to destroy most "mom and pop"
cable companies.  Personally, I'd probably rather get my cable company
from a baby Bell. At least the phones work when it rains. The cable
however....

The other issue is weather or not a 10xxx number was the only/easiest
way to get ANI information to your cable company.  My Cable company
stores my records by phone number so with ANI all I'd have to do is
dial 10xxx-0-channel and presto I'd have the PPV show on and the cable
company would know which converter to address to activate the program
and who to bill.  The use of ANI also prevents my calling up and
ordering every pay per view event offered for an unsuspecting "friend".


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Blake Farenthold         | Voice: 800/880-1890     |    MCI: BFARENTHOLD
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