This question is purely speculative only, not for real use.
Suppose we wanted to install a PABX using step-by-step gear in a condo complex. We need 250 stations. My question regards the most efficient station number assignments.
One person says the stations ought to have a four digit number that corresponds to the apartment number. There are 19 buildings with
10-15 units per building. So unit #103 would get phone number 0103 and unit #1513 would be phone 1513.While the above is easier to remember, wouldn't that be a waste of SxS terminals and require more switch units without any gain in efficiency? Isn't a four digit code inherently more complex than a three digit in an SxS environment? I think the phone ought to be numbered strictly sequentially, starting from 111 and going upward.
The Bell System history talks about "graded multiples" to more efficiently use trunks and switchgear in central offices, but I don't think that would apply in this application.
Now if we wanted to implement the above using modern technology, would only a PC be required with appropriate software and cards? I guess we'd need capacity for about five conversations at once.
P.S. (For real). We had in-house maintenance staff which had three Nextel "push to talk" walkie talkie cell phones -- two guys and the manager. The maintainence staff was let go and replaced by outside contractor. The phones were surplus. They had to pay $600 to get out of the contract (stll cheaper than the 18 months left ). The homeowners were annoyed at that. Some were annoyed at the termination of the inhouse staff, but not very much.
Thanks.
Public replies please.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The problem as I see it with matching apartment number to intercom number is a security issue. Do you really want to let strangers know that the tenant in apartment 103 (0103) or the tenant in apartment 1513 (1513) is or is not at home? With the Bell System 'Interphone' (or the competitor's 'Enterphone') arrangement, the intercom numbers were used randomly for more security. PAT]