Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Legacy "message unit" telephone service still available [telecom]
288 views
Skip to first unread message
HAncock4
May 1, 2014, 2:02:25 PM5/1/14
to
To my surprise, Verizon in NJ still offers message rate service using message
units. Message units date way back as a way to bulk bill customers for calls
made. Panel and No. 1 crossbar switches had message registers for each line
that would count up local calls. These would be recorded and posted to the
customer's bill. In a few places, suburban calls (short-haul toll) were
billed via message units as well.
This directory listed some basic POTS telephone service rates. There may also
be premium plans with unlimited long distance not shown. Some excerpts from
the phone book:
Subscriber Line charge $6.30/month.
. Flat Rate service: $16.45/month.
. Message Rate service, 75 units: $14.90/month.
. Low use message rate, 20 units: $12.70/month.
The local calling area has a radius of about 20 miles. Calls beyond that are
regional toll calls, billed at 25c/minute daytime, 17c/minute evening-weekend,
and 15c/minute late night. The regional calling areas are roughly 50 x 100
miles in size; beyond that requires a long distance carrier.
Regional Toll calls also still have optional operator services. This include
collect (reversal of charges), person-to-person (charges do not start until
the desired person or extension is on the line), third number billing, and
time and charges (immediate notification of length and cost of call).
Operator handled calls have an additional charge of $3.00, except
person-to-person which is a $4.50 additional charge. [Given that a call is at
most 25c/minute, it would seem very unlikely to utilize operator services at
these rates.]
I've tried searching for legacy local calling plans in other cities but I've
had no success. The carriers appear to only show their premium modern plans
on the web. At one time local telephone directories were available in the
library, but they generally do not publish phone books these days, and
libraries don't carry them.
Some years ago, I had the impression that certain cities, like New York and
Chicago, offered _only_ message rate local service, not flat rate. There may
have been premium packages with large message unit allowances, but there was
still always an upper limit. Would anyone know more about that?
In the 1970s, Bell proposed Usage Sensitive Pricing, where local flat rate
service would be replaced by message rate service, even in places that were
only flat rate. Computerized AMA systems had been developed for step-by-step
and they could accomodate message rate billing.
[public replies, please]
[moderator pro tem's note: Most of the old tariffs are still around, available if you ask for them. Verizon's tariff library is on line at the Verizon Global Wholesle web site. VZ-NJ's local calling areas are usually much less than 20 miles though, typically limited to contiguous rate centers.]
units. Message units date way back as a way to bulk bill customers for calls
made. Panel and No. 1 crossbar switches had message registers for each line
that would count up local calls. These would be recorded and posted to the
customer's bill. In a few places, suburban calls (short-haul toll) were
billed via message units as well.
This directory listed some basic POTS telephone service rates. There may also
be premium plans with unlimited long distance not shown. Some excerpts from
the phone book:
Subscriber Line charge $6.30/month.
. Flat Rate service: $16.45/month.
. Message Rate service, 75 units: $14.90/month.
. Low use message rate, 20 units: $12.70/month.
The local calling area has a radius of about 20 miles. Calls beyond that are
regional toll calls, billed at 25c/minute daytime, 17c/minute evening-weekend,
and 15c/minute late night. The regional calling areas are roughly 50 x 100
miles in size; beyond that requires a long distance carrier.
Regional Toll calls also still have optional operator services. This include
collect (reversal of charges), person-to-person (charges do not start until
the desired person or extension is on the line), third number billing, and
time and charges (immediate notification of length and cost of call).
Operator handled calls have an additional charge of $3.00, except
person-to-person which is a $4.50 additional charge. [Given that a call is at
most 25c/minute, it would seem very unlikely to utilize operator services at
these rates.]
I've tried searching for legacy local calling plans in other cities but I've
had no success. The carriers appear to only show their premium modern plans
on the web. At one time local telephone directories were available in the
library, but they generally do not publish phone books these days, and
libraries don't carry them.
Some years ago, I had the impression that certain cities, like New York and
Chicago, offered _only_ message rate local service, not flat rate. There may
have been premium packages with large message unit allowances, but there was
still always an upper limit. Would anyone know more about that?
In the 1970s, Bell proposed Usage Sensitive Pricing, where local flat rate
service would be replaced by message rate service, even in places that were
only flat rate. Computerized AMA systems had been developed for step-by-step
and they could accomodate message rate billing.
[public replies, please]
[moderator pro tem's note: Most of the old tariffs are still around, available if you ask for them. Verizon's tariff library is on line at the Verizon Global Wholesle web site. VZ-NJ's local calling areas are usually much less than 20 miles though, typically limited to contiguous rate centers.]
David Scheidt
May 1, 2014, 4:51:50 PM5/1/14
to
HAncock4 <with...@invalid.telecom-digest.org> wrote:
:Some years ago, I had the impression that certain cities, like New York and
line!) to have only metered calls. There were three zones, A, B, and
C. A was closest, which was things within 7 miles (I think that's the
right distance), wire center to wire center. Those calls were billed
per call, not per minute. B and C were further out, and were billed
at per minute rates, or maybe call set up + per minute rate. In the
mid-ninties, which was the last time I had a chicago area land line,
it cost much more for me to call a band C number than it did to make a
long distance call, and only slightly less than using a cell phone.
There were some premium plans that lowered that rate, but I don't
remember the details.
Distance was calculated on the historical wire center locations, not
the actual location, so for instance, it was a zone B call for me to
call my office from home. Both numbers had been consolidated on the
the same swtich.
--
sig 107
:Some years ago, I had the impression that certain cities, like New York and
:Chicago, offered _only_ message rate local service, not flat rate. There may
Chicago metro area used (I don't know the current status, I don't have a land
line!) to have only metered calls. There were three zones, A, B, and
C. A was closest, which was things within 7 miles (I think that's the
right distance), wire center to wire center. Those calls were billed
per call, not per minute. B and C were further out, and were billed
at per minute rates, or maybe call set up + per minute rate. In the
mid-ninties, which was the last time I had a chicago area land line,
it cost much more for me to call a band C number than it did to make a
long distance call, and only slightly less than using a cell phone.
There were some premium plans that lowered that rate, but I don't
remember the details.
Distance was calculated on the historical wire center locations, not
the actual location, so for instance, it was a zone B call for me to
call my office from home. Both numbers had been consolidated on the
the same swtich.
--
sig 107
Julian Thomas
May 2, 2014, 11:14:51 PM5/2/14
to
On 1 May 2014, at 16:51, David Scheidt <dsch...@panix.com> wrote:
> :Some years ago, I had the impression that certain cities, like New York
and
> :Chicago, offered _only_ message rate local service, not flat rate. There
may
Back in the 1950's in the Boston Mass area, there was an an option for
> :Some years ago, I had the impression that certain cities, like New York
and
> :Chicago, offered _only_ message rate local service, not flat rate. There
may
'unlimited suburban' calls, but calls to the downtown Boston exchanges were on
message units.
jt (been there, done that)
[moderator pro tem's note: NET/NYNEX/BA kept its residential options until around the turn of the century, when they got rid of Suburban and Metropolitan. By then there were domestic LD bundles that included those areas. Suburban was local to everything in the "metro" area except the Boston Central exchange. Metro added Boston, but in the outer suburbs, it also included other outer suburbs that inner-metro exchanges didn't get. And a random smattering of exchanges could get "circle" service, local for 20 miles regardless of the metro area. Now the tariffed rates are just 1MR and 1FR, the latter being contiguous exchanges only, and measured rate elsewhere. I suspect most people buy packages.]
0 new messages