Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!att!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!texsun!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway
From: claris!apple!netcom!onymouse@ames.arc.nasa.gov (John DeBert)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Non-Dialable Points
Message-ID: 
Date: 8 Aug 89 20:59:36 GMT
Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US
Organization: NetCom Services - Public Access Unix System (408) 997-9175 guest
Lines: 42
Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us
X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 282, message 3 of 9

In article , gmw1@cunixd.cc.columbia.
edu (Gabe M Wiener) says:
> X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 277, message 2 of 11
> Recently it was mentioned that there are thousands of non-dialable points
> left in California.  Just out of curiosity...

If one were to include toll stations, non-coin and COPT phones and other
lines or services with a COS that prevents indial access (including
OUTWATS of course), then there are surely thousands not only in CA but
everywhere.

>
> 	What cities (or should I say villages) are still-non dialable?
> 	Do such places have outbound dialing or is all calling
> 		still operator-assist?

On the Central Coast, I can only recall of one set of toll stations that
remain: Tassajara Hot Springs has somewhere from 4 to 9 stations.
There was one to the east of SIllyCon Valley called "San Antone" which
belonged to Pac Bell. The area served by the toll stations was taken
over by a private party in 1983 ( +/- a year). They have their own
prefix (408-897) and DDD in and out is available. They have a few
equipment problems, though, including coin stations that are installed
but never work. It's anywhere from 20 to 60 miles to the nearest town
or point with coin phones.

> I would think that with today's telephone technology, DDD would reach _all_
> points in America.  Can anyone explain the holdouts?

Toll stations usually still exist because the phone company does not feel
that there is enough reason to justify installing cables, trunks and
remote facilities to serve such remote areas as Tassajara Hot Springs and
San Antone and others. They are a long way from existing CO's - Tassajara
sites are more than 50 miles from the nearest CO and all points in San
Antone are 20 to 70 miles from the nearest 408 CO in San Jose. (The
present CO is in Patterson, in the 209 area about 40 miles from the middle
of San Antone.) That's a lot of money to invest in an area that is very
sparsely populated and with no expected increase in population in the
near future and cannot be considered to pay for itself.

Small independent telco's often end up providing service using very old
equipment as is the case with SAn Antone and Pinnacles in CA.