BobT wrote:
>> Brief summary follows. Location, SBC, former Ameritech, specifically
>> Chicago. Incident involved intrastate local toll rather than
>> interstate LD. I had switched interstate LD carriers, and during the
>> transaction, without my knowledge, local toll carrier on one of my two
>> lines apparently was listed as unassigned, as you speculate. ...
> A common problem. Telephone providers, both local and long distance,
> have to spend time and money resolving such issues. Sometimes the
> dollar amounts are significant and the dispute makes the newspapers.
> It's tough to say who is at fault -- customer, base telephone provider,
> or long distance carrier, or combination.
> We all have to pay for this through higher rates and aggravation.
> I noticed some respondents said this was a reason they're switching to
> VOIP, but I it seems most VOIP are keeping one POTS line as a backup.
> I suspect getting VOIP to reach that "last mile" of service
> reliability to equal or exceed classic POTS will take some time in
> coming and be considerably expensive. (Can VOIP handle faxes
> transparently?) As an example, the 911 requirement was repeatedly
> extended; that was something the VOIP people should've had all set up
> and included from day one. In other words, down the road VOIP will
> cost much more than it does now.
The whole E-911 issue is a red herring. It is not that the VoIP carriers can't connect to it, it's that incumbent companies are playing #*%@# hardball.
I want to see the incumbents die by their tariffs.