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North American Network Operators Group Date Prev | Date Next | Date Index | Thread Index | Author Index | Historical Re: New N.Y. Law Targets Hidden Net LD Tolls
Hi, On Thu, Aug 18, 2005 at 03:54:38AM -0400, Richard A Steenbergen wrote: > To quote the original pasted article: > > > Consumers, however, must act on the warning that Internet providers must > > soon post by contacting their phone companies to find out whether a > > number is truly local. It used to be standard practice until last year that SBC (dial-up and DSL provider here in this area, as well as the 'Bell' phone company) let you look up dial-in numbers for 'your' local area code and exchange. However, the results only came back without any numbers in your own area code, just the ones from other area codes where they had dial-in numbers. If you did not know how to work the system, you would be using one of the numbers that are truly a toll call for you. And you'd pay to SBC-the_phone_company to get to SBC-the_ISP because the ISP withheld the local numbers from you. The way how to work the system was to enter another valid area code and exchange, then look for dial-in numbers in your area code and finally determine (e.g. by checking in the listing in the local phone book front pages or by inquiring from the 'dial zero' operator) which of the numbers are inside your toll free calling area. Since then (I can't tell exactly when, because I only used this lookup feature when I was about to travel out of town) SBC has changed this practice and you can get all numbers listed from their search page at http://sbcyahoo.prodigy.net/openPhone/ . Note the disclaimer explanations right on that page "Long Distance Charges" and "Finding the Best Exchange for You". -andreas -- Andreas Ott [email protected]
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