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From: chris@mimsy.UUCP (Chris Torek)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.misc
Subject: Re: Pending FCC ruling threat to modem users
Message-ID: <4851@mimsy.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 18-Dec-86 15:25:19 EST
Article-I.D.: mimsy.4851
Posted: Thu Dec 18 15:25:19 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 19-Dec-86 01:39:24 EST
References: <1575@brl-adm.ARPA>
Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742
Lines: 23

In article <1575@brl-adm.ARPA> OCONNORDM@ge-crd.arpa (OCONNOR DENNIS
MICHAEL) writes:
>First: MODEM calls DO NOT cost the phone company the same amount as
>other calls. They tend to be longer, and don't tolerate noise as well.
>... If the phone company always charged for local service BY THE
>MINUTE, well, no problem, but phone companies usually charge BY THE
>CALL or BY THE MONTH.

I may well be wrong---I am no expert on telephone systems---but as
I understand it, in most areas there is a twisted pair of wires
running from your telephone all the way to the local Central Office.
When you make a local call that does not require routing between
different COs, this ties up only the two twisted pairs and whatever
it takes to cross-connect them.  It is only when you use a long-
distance trunk that you begin using a shared resource.  (I am not
at all certain that the connection at the CO is `free', though.)

As for noise, I have never had a modem exhibit noise trouble unless
there was quite audible line noise, which I, too, would not tolerate
well.
-- 
In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept (+1 301 454 7690)
UUCP:	seismo!mimsy!chris	ARPA/CSNet:	chris@mimsy.umd.edu