Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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VOLUME ONE. NUMBER TEN
I-55
VITAL INGREDIENTS
SWITCHING CENTERS AND OPERATORS
Every switching office in North America (the NPA system) is operator came on and said, "What number are you callingfrom?" Out
assigned an office name and class. There are five classes of offices of curiosity. I gave her the number to my CO, she thanked me, and then
numbered I through 5. Your CO is most likely a class 5 or end office. I was connected to a conversation that appeared to be between a
All Long-Distance (Toll) calls are switched by a toll office which can be frameman and his wife. Then it started ringing the party I originally
aclass4. 3. 2. or I office. There isalsoa4X office called an intermediate wanted to call and everyone phreaked out (excuse the pun). I
point. The 4X office is a digital one that can have an unattended immediately dropped this dual line conference')
exchange attached to it (known as a Remote Switching Unit-RSU). You shouldn't mess with the TSPS operator since she knows where
The following chart will list the office number. name. and how many you are calling from. Your number will show up on a lO-digit LED
of those offices existed in North America in 1981. read-out (AN I board). She also knows whether or not you are at a
Class Name Abb. # Existing fortress fone and she can trace calls quite readily. Out of all of the
I .•.... Regional Center ••.•.....••• RC ....••.•...... 12 operators. she is one of the most dangerous'
2 ...•.. Sectional Center ....•..•... SC .: ••.........• 67
• INWARD Operator. This operator assists your local TSPS ("0')
3 ...... Primary Center .....••..... PC •........•... 230
operator in connecting calls. She will never question a call as long as
4 ..•.•• Toll Center •......•..•.... TC ..••........ 1,300
the call is within her service area. She can only be reached via other
4P •.... Toll Point ...•.•.•.....•.• TP ....••........•.
operators or by a Blue Box. From a BB, you would dial
4X •.... Intermediate Point ••.....••• IP ......••.......•.
KP+NPA+121+ST for the INWARD operator that will help you
S •..... End Office .....••......••• EO .....••••.. 19,000 connect any calls within that NPA only.
R ..... RSU ....•............... RSU •.........••...
• DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE Operator. This is the operator that
When connecting a call from one party to another. the switching yOU are connected to when vou dial411 or NPA-555-1212. She does
equipment usually tries to find the shortest route between the Class 5 not readily know where you are calling fro'm. She does not have access
end office of the caller and the Class 5 end office of the called party. If to unlisted numbers. but she does know if an unlisted number exists for
no inter-office trunks exist between the two parties. it will then move a certain listing.
up to the next highest officefor servicing (Class4). If the Class 4 office There is also a directory assistance for deaf people who use
cannot handle the call by sending it to another Ciass 4 or 5 office. it will Teletypewriters (TrY's). If your modem can transfer BAUDOT (45.5
be sent to the next office in the hierarchy (3). The switching equipment baud the Apple Cat can). then you can call himl her up and have an
first uses the high-usage interoffice trunk groups. If they are busy it interesting conversation. The number is 800-855-1155. They use the
goes to the final trunk groups on the next highest level. If the call standard Telex abbreviations such as (;r\ for Go Ahead. They tend to
cannot be connected then. you will probably get a reorder [120 IPM be nicer and will talk longer than your regular operators. Also, they are
(Interruptions Per Minute) signal-also known as a fast busy]. At this more likely to be persuaded to give more information through the
time. the guys at Network Operations are probably going berserk process of "social engineering".
trying to avoid the dreaded Network Dread lock (as seen on TV!). Unfortunatelv, they don't have access to much. I once bullshitted
It is also interesting to note that 9 connections in tandem is called with one of these operators and I found out that there are two such DA
ring-around-the-rosyand it has never occurred in telephone history. offices that handle TTY. One is in Philadelphia and the other is in
This would cause an endless loop connection (an interesting way'to California. They have approximately seven operators each. Most of
really screw up the Network). the Try operators seem to think their job is boring. They also feel they
The 10 regional centers in the United States and the 2 in Canada are are underpaid. rhey actually call up a regular DA # to process your
all interconnected. They fom1 the foundation of the entire telephone request no fancy computers here! (Other operators have access to
network. Since there are only 12 of them. they are listed below: their own DA by dialing KP+NPA+13I+ST (MF).
Class I Regional Office Location NP A The TTY directory assistance, by the way, is still a free call, unlike
Dallas .( [SS ..•...................•......•....... 214 normal DA. One might beable to a\'oid being charged for DA calls by
Wayne, PA ............................•......... 215 using a computer and modem at 45.5 baud,
Denver 4T ...........................••........•. 303 • CN/ A Operator. CN A operators do exactly the opposite of what
Regina No.2 SPI-4W )Canada) ...•.....•............. 306 directory assistance operators a re for \ ou give them the number. they
St. Louis 4T .••......•••••......••.•.....•........ 314 give you the name and addre" (CuslOmer Name Address). In my
Rockdale, GA .•.....•....................•..•.... 404 experiences, these operators kno\', more than the DA operators do and
Pittsburgh 4F: .•......•...........•••..•..••.....•. 412 they are more susceptible to "social engineering." It is possible to
Montreal No. I 4AETS [Canada] ..•........•.......... 504 bullshit a CN A operatorfor the !'<O\ -PI! B DA # (i.e .. you give them
Norwich, NY ........................•............ 607 the name and they give VOll the lInli~ted number). This isdue to the fact
San Bernardino, CA ....••.•.....•..........•.••.... 714 that they assume you are a kllow company employee. The divestiture,
Norway.IL ....................................... 81S though, has resulted in tht' break-up of a few \ON-PU B #'s and policy
White Plains 4T, NY ....••••.......•................ 914 changes in C"I A.
In the Network. there are three maiortvpes of switching equipment. • INTERCEPT Operator. rhe intercept operator is the one that you
They are known as: Step. Crossbar, and ESS. Check past and future are connected to when there arc not enough recordings available or the
issues of 2600 for complete details on how these systems work. area is.not set lip to tell \oU that the number has been disconnected or
Operators changed. They usually say. "What number did you dial"" This is
Another vital ingredient of the Network is the telephone operator. considered to be the lowest operator Iifeforn1 since they have no power
There are manvdifferent kinds. What follows isa discussion of some of whatsoever and usuallY kno\', vcr\, little.
the more common ones. • OTHER Operators:And then there are the: Mobile. Ship-to-Shore,
• TSPS Operator. The TSPS [Traffic Service Position System (as Conference, Marine. Verif\. "Leave Word and Call Back," Route and
opposed to This Shitty Phone Service)] Operator is probahly the bitch Rate (K P+XOO+ 141 +1212+S r new number as a result of the break
(or bastard for the phemale liberationists) that most of us are used to u·p). and other special operators who have one purpose or another in
having to deal with. the Network.
Here are her responsibilities: Problems with an Operator') Ask to speak to their supervisor. ..or
f) Obtaining billing information for Calling Card or 3rd number better yet. the (jrollP Chief (who is the highest ranking official in any
cal". office), the equivalent of the Madame in a whorehouse (if you will
2) Identifying called customer on person-to-person calls. excuse the analogy).
3) Obtaining acceptance of charges on collect calls. Some CO\, bv the way. haw hugs in them that allow yOU to use a I
4) Identifying calling numbers. This only happens when the calling or a 0 as the 4th digit \',hen dialing. (This tends to happen mostly in
number is not automatically recorded bv C AMA (Centrali7ed crossbars and it dnesn 't work consistent Iv.) This enables a caller to call
Automatic Message Accounting) and forwarded from the local office. special operators and other internal telet) numbers without having to
This could be caused by equipment failures (ANIF Automatic use a blue box. For nample, 415-121-1111 would get you a San
Number Identification Failure) or if the office is not equipped for Francisco-Oakland I~WARO Operator
CAMA (aNI Operator Number Identification). (The uhOl'(' 1I'1I1 IUkell {mm Ra>le Telecommunications Part IV.
(I once had an equipment failure happen to me and the TSPS "'fll11'11 hi' BIO(' Agent (iOJ.)
1-56
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NSA Wants Better Phones private communications system linking corporate offICeS of
The Nrw York rimes Sears and its subsidiaries in 26 United States cities. This would
The National Security Agency is proposing that the be the largest private system ever developed caPable ofoffering
Government and industry be equipped with as many as 500,000 full-motion video teleconferencing.
telephones that can be secured against interception.
The agency is convinced that the Soviet Union and the other Loopholes Around Wiretap Laws
nations are obtaining important intelligence from United Tlx New York Times (apin)
advised by a sheriffs deputy to change her name to avoid future A notorious hoax caller who has plagued 911 switchboards
arrests, is one of a growing number of people in New Orleans for three years has been nabbed reporting another bogus crime,
who have gotten in trouble with the law because of inaccurate, police say.
outdated, or misused information in police computers. Cops say the suspect-who they have been unable to
The New Orleans computers are part of a national network. identify made more than 500 false reports ranging from
From a local terminal, a computer check can be run through the strangulations in progress to rapes and shootings of police
National Crime Information Center in Washington, operated officers.
by the FBI, in less than a minute. He was arrested at a Penn Station pay phone while telling a
The New Orleans case, said Robert Ellis Smith, publisher of 911 operator he had just raped and strangled his girlfriend with
PrivaC:I' Journal, a newsletter that reports on privacy cases from her pantyhose. That was the fabricated crime he reported most
Washington, DC, is "symbolic of a larger national problem, an frequently, according to police.
incredibly high rate of inaccuracy" in criminal records and "an "He called every day of the week at all hours," said Sgt.
inordinate amount of mistaken identity cases in the criminal Stephen McDonald.
justice information systems." "He was causing a lot of problems and the 911 people were
really looking for him," said Officer James Lapiedra who
Sears Satellite Network collared the hoaxer.
According to McDonald, news of the hoaxer's capture was
The American Satellite Company has signed a contract with jubilantly received by 911 operators: "There was a lot of
Sears, Roebuck and Company to construct and operate a cheering."
In the words ofLapiedra, "He was surprised he was caught."
1-57
LETTERS FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD
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Security
as close as your fingertips
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I-59
eHumm-mm-mm. That's the
dial tone--your "go ahead"
The wheel thc~
signal to start dialing. Please after you
finish your
•
.
lets you roll
wait for it.
call...... ~_~ around town
without leaving
Answer (&~ be sure to replace the receiver
home.
Prompt1v ~~) Try One-Plus Dialing.
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eTelephone cords and water
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don't mix. A wet cord can put
I ,--- 'I your telephone out of order. So
~. ", I-I please keep your telephone
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from your office I r~;'-f'
• I
-whO /I answer
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your phone? J~1
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your firm, or your department. It': .~/> /
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@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ IF YOU'RE See "Telephone Answering ,
\~~
You'll save time
and trouble