Letters: LETTERS FROM OUR READERS

Dear 2600: A few exchanges in my vicinity have recently upgraded their switching equipment.  On 11/5/83, 914-268 switched from a SxS to a Northern Telecom DMS-100.  914-634 and 638 also switched from a No. 5 Crossbar to a DMS-100 on 6/9/84. Through trashing, 99XX scanning, and "social engineering," I have found out the following: The suffix -9901 is a "verification" recording.  In 268: 9903, 9906, 9909, 9911, 9912, & 9913 are all various recordings. Another neat function on DMS-100 is that you can hear the MF tones after most calls.  NYTelco calls this the sound of their new system helping to serve you better. Also, these COs are under NYTelco jurisdiction.  Yet, they bought from Northern Telecom DMS-100 instead of a "nice" ESS system from Western Electric.  Could this be the breakup at work? This equipment offers ESS functions such as Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, Dial Tone First fortresses, etc.  My question is: What type of toll-fraud equipment is standard or optional for the DMS-100?  Does it record everything like a pen register?  Etc...       Curious First off, our compliments on your ability to notice the changes that most people miss.  As far as your 9901 discovery, many exchanges in your area have been known to do that.  If you dial XXX-9901, you'll hear a computer read the exchange and area code.  It doesn't really serve much of a purpose.  But interesting things can always be found in the 99XX area, if your company uses it. Concerning the DMS-100, it is the breakup of the Bell System to an extent.  New York Telephone has been buying equipment from Northern Telecom for some time now.  But since the divestiture, they've become a little more flagrant about it.  You'll see quite a bit more experimentation with products from other suppliers in the near future.  The DMS-100 is a very good switch, but it's got certain drawbacks as far as phone phreaking is concerned.  It does have certain "devices."  These don't work exactly like a pen register, but they wind up having the same effect.  What is done is this: if you happen to send a 2600 Hertz tone down the line, DMS-100 will make a computer record of whatever you did in the surrounding time.  They automatically investigate your line if this is detected more than an undetermined amount of times.  This is where the pen register comes in.  The system is already equipped to handle a pen register through a special box in the exchange that's set up entirely for that purpose.  This box ties into their automatic surveillance equipment.  So it's kind of a two step process, but the DMS-100 makes it much easier. So far, we haven't been able to find any advantages (or bugs) in a DMS-100.  We will continue to look, though.  Regarding the MF tones, they're simply not being filtered as they are in most places.  The GTD-5 (made by GTE) and the DMS-100 both, as a rule, only filter about ten percent of the MF tones.  They also don't filter out rotary outpulses, whenever they exist.  Perhaps it's a way of cutting comers. DMS-100, as you know, sounds just like ESS.  About the only way you can tell if you've dialed into one is if you hear absolutely no clicks or pops when the party answers, as you do with ESS, crossbar, and step.  Instead you hear a real faint, mild tick.  When dialing out on one, you won't hear any clicks either.

Dear 2600: I hear you people are keen on answering people's questions, so answer me this: What ever happened to that operator who was so damn nasty that she refused to call that ambulance for this guy's dying mother just because he used a couple of cuz words on the telephone?  By the way, the lady died a horrible violent death, I think.  (I think the operator didn't die yet.)  Oh yea, I also think that there was some sorta lawsuit against the nasty-oppy or the telco or someone.       RC The incident you're referring to took place a few months ago.  It happened in Dallas, Texas and it concerned a man who was trying to get an ambulance for his mother-in-law who was having a massive heart attack.  Not only did the operator refuse to send an ambulance until the woman herself got on the phone, but her supervisor also got on the line and said something to the effect of, "Sir, if you don't quit cussing out the operator, I'm going to have to hang up on you." The operator was fired and the supervisor demoted.  But both are currently claiming that they were only following orders.  The city of Dallas allegedly said that at all costs an ambulance shouldn't be sent out unless it was an extremely life threatening situation.  Anonymous people have even come forward and claimed that bonuses were offered to those who sent the least amount of ambulances out! We should say that this doesn't involve the phone company, since it wasn't their operators who handled this call.  Any lawsuits would be against the city of Dallas, in all likelihood.  It's also interesting to note that there is no 911 service in Dallas.  Residents there dial 744-4444 instead.  Perhaps an advanced 911 service might cut back on the fake calls they're supposedly plagued with since such systems immediately trace back the number calling and do an instant CNA on it.