Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!clyde!watmath!sunybcs!leo From: leo@sunybcs.UUCP (Leo Wilson) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems Subject: Re: touchtone dialing always works Message-ID: <1706@sunybcs.UUCP> Date: Mon, 15-Dec-86 10:16:02 EST Article-I.D.: sunybcs.1706 Posted: Mon Dec 15 10:16:02 1986 Date-Received: Wed, 17-Dec-86 05:33:33 EST References: <750@sdcc12.ucsd.EDU> Reply-To: leo@gort.UUCP (Leo Wilson) Distribution: na Organization: SUNY/Buffalo Computer Science Lines: 33 In article <750@sdcc12.ucsd.EDU> wa371@sdcc12.ucsd.EDU (Bernd Riechelmann) writes: >Whenever I order telephone service installed, the phone company asks >if I want to have Touchtone service (for an extra charge.) >I have learned to politely refuse this feature , because Touchtone always >works, whether ordered or not. >To be fair, the extra charge should apply to pulse dialing instead, because >it is much slower, tying up their dialing equipment for a longer time. I'm pretty sure this isn't a good place for this article, but lemme put in my two cents: The phone company seems to always want to charge people more fo this tone service that saves them money! There has been some discussion of it locally, but I think it's really a national (maybe inter-nat) problem. When I reported to the phone company that I was installing my modem they asked if I'd like to pay to save them money and when I gave the rep an earful he said something about the $2.00 charge (per month, NOT one-shot!) being imposed by the FCC. I don't know, I haven't the time to check, but it seems to me that the FCC would "allow" this charge, not "impose". I am using pulse dial still because I don't want to encourage people to charge more for cheaper service no matter how much more convenient it is, and as far as the services I'm supposedly missing out on, my phone has a convenient little switch that switches between pulse & tone. It sure would be nice if the phone company either gave some incentive for switching to tone service rather than charging, or just made it freely available. And it sure is stupid for anyone to pay extra for a service that costs the supplier less! -- Leo E. Wilson(leo@buffalo.csnet) Niagara Paper Company 364 West Delavan Avenue 99 Bud-Mil Drive Buffalo, NY 14213 Buffalo, NY 14206 (716)883-7573 (716)856-5135 (0830-1700)