[BC] putting phone calls on the air

[Peter Moncure]

Gary Glaenzer wrote:
> ah yes
>
> we had 4-digit dialing when we got our phone (1958 ?) in Columbia, IL
> (Monroe
> County, just wouth of St. Louis on the IL side)
>   
There was massive discontent when the Woodstock, NY exchange went to 
seven digits in the early 60's, there would have been trouble if they 
hadn't promised us that only five digits would be necessary.  ORiole-9 
IIRC.  I wonder who had the job of finding labels for all those two 
letter combinations?

OTOH, they didn't care much what we hooked up to the lines, the 
Carterphone decision left us all puzzled what the fuss was about.

I distrusted NY Telephone.  Policy when ordering a remote line was to 
call ten times, noting time and names, and choose the lowest price of 
the ten different answers.

Then they had this habit of running 400 pairs down a two house road so 
they could bloat their local budget.  We still had eight-party lines in 
some of the distant areas even into the 80's.  And folks complained 
again when they made them get "private" lines, they cost more.  We all 
knew how to "ring back" the neighbors.  Then they made us pay more for 
touchtone, even though it saved them trunk time and money!  Grumble.

-- 
Peter Moncure, VP RadioSoft