2600 Flash
No More Free Info
In a move that caught almost everyone off guard, AT&T quietly put an end to the age-old tradition of free directory assistance. As of the end of May, it now costs 50-cents for each call to long-distance information (XXX-555-1212) within the United States. And unlike previous instances of local telephone companies charging for directory assistance, there is no way to avoid this by using a public phone! Information costs 50-cents from everywhere with these exceptions: local directory assistance, which is still controlled by the local companies and not AT&T; 800 & 900 info; Canadian info; and overseas info. AT&T is also generous enough to allow you two free calls to long-distance info per month, providing you make at least two long-distance calls per month. No, other calls to information don't count as long-distance calls!)
Reaction to this change ranged from total ignorance to complete disbelief. An AT&T operator told us, "We didn't even know about this until today! [the day it went into effect] I don't understand these people - they're going to lose a lot of customers by doing this. What they should do is charge only the people who aren't using AT&T as their primary carrier. Then we can advertise 'free directory assistance' which no other company can..."
As it happens, other companies such as Skyline now allow customers to dial long-distance information on their networks. The calls are billed as if they were regular calls to that area. Since calls to directory assistance generally last less than thirty seconds, the charge winds up being less (sometimes significantly) than 50-cents. If you choose this way to call information, you may be lucky enough to hear one of the info operators say, "Thank you for dialing AT&T." You can then have a good laugh at their expense.
Meanwhile, phone phreaks around the country were particularly indignant. "This puts a real crimp on Silver Boxing," one said. "And I'm sure our favorite corporations won't enjoy paying for our information calls now on top of all the other ones." Others have suggested ordering as many free telephone books as possible, and distributing them around the country or actually setting up an alternate directory assistance center. Free telephone books can usually be obtained through local phone companies.
2600 Writer Indicted
It's been reported here and there that the editor of an underground magazine called 2600 has been charged with wire fraud in connection with the GTE Telemail investigation (see previous issues for details on this case).
One of our coordinating writers is, in fact, involved with this case - however he is not the "editor" of our magazine. 2600 is not handled by a single person, but by different people all over the country who contribute whatever they can, according to their abilities.
We are not an "underground" magazine; we don't break laws or publish items that are illegal to publish. We simply discuss interesting things that can be done with today's technology. There is certainly no reason for us to go underground.
As for the investigation, we are confident that our writer will be vindicated and left alone. He is planning to write a story concerning this "adventure" when it's all over, regardless of how it ends. He as our full support and we hope he has yours as well.
Computer Threat Causes Chaos in Albany
Federal and local officials were baffled by a message which appeared on a computer terminal May 19 at Albany County Airport in Albany, New York. The message said that armed individuals would be boarding a plane, according to the FBI.
At about 7: 15 am, the message was found on a computer screen at Boarding Gate 3. It warned that if anyone tried to interfere, "people would die." Security personnel searched a plane that was coming in at that gate, but found nothing.
The FBI and local authorities are trying to determine if the message was left by an airport employee or by an outsider who somehow broke into the computer system.
E-COM is Going Away
The Board of Governors of the Postal Service has voted to get out of the computer mail business and possibly tum it over to a private contractor.
E-COM is what the Postal Service calls its computer mail operation, short for Electronic Computer-Originated Mail. The system was designed for mass mailers, but never met its expectations since it began in January, 1982. The chief users of the system had been financial institutions, retailers, airlines, and hospitals.
AT&T Limits Use of Their Credit Card
AT&T is in the process of barring direct-dial credit card calls from south Florida to 26 countries. The nations include most of Central and South America, some in the Caribbean and some in Asia, including Israel.
"The countries selected for the suspension of credit card calls are places to which a majority of international fraudulent calls are being made," said Barry Johnson, an AT&T spokesman.
The Israeli prime minister was unavailable for comment.
FCC Actions
*) The Federal Communications Commission has ruled that operators of the so-called "dial-a-porn" phone services must restrict children's access by limiting hours of operation to after the sun has gone down. Under the ruling, which goes into effect on July 12, tape-recorded messages will be restricted to between 9 pm and 8 am. Live services will still be available on a 24-hour basis, however. They usually require a credit card number.
*) The FCC has voted to use a lottery to select three "network organizers" who would be responsible for constructing nation-wide paging services. Such systems would allow a New York businessman traveling in California to be "beeped" by his home office (or anyone else who knew how to tap into the system).
The organizers will construct a long-distance transmission system using either satellite or telephone facilities to link local paging companies across the country. They will also oversee the use of one of the three special frequencies that have been set aside by the FCC to transmit the paging signals.
*) Over the protests of MCI and GTE Sprint, the FCC has decided to allow AT&T to immediately begin a service that sets a flat monthly rate for an hour's worth of long-distance calls.
Under this new option, customers can pay $10 a month for an hour's worth of calling time each month for direct-dialed domestic calls placed during night rate periods. Wow.