=========================================================================== NorthWestern Syndicate Presents: THE SYNDICATE REPORT Issue No. 2 Written by The Sensei =========================================================================== NOTE: The Syndicate Report is stictly Bell information, and without some background, could cause a problem to understand completely. =========================================================================== CENTREX/CENTRON CALL FORWARDING (CONTINUED FROM TSR ISSUE #1) In the first article on Centrex/Centron Call Forwarding, I stated I would list a few Alternate Access Codes in the 5 state area. If you need the Alternate Access Codes in your area, try to contact me on most Ascii Express Lines. ALTERNATE LOCATION CENTREX/CENTRON ACCESS CODE -------------------------- ----------- IOWA Sioux City (712-279) 8 Council Bluffs (712-328) 8 Des Doines-Northwest (515-270,278) 8 "" "" -Dwtn. (515-286) 110 "" "" -Ashworth (515-223) 8 "" "" -East (515-263) 111 Watererloo (319-291) 8 Davenport 319-383) 8 Cedar Rapids (319-399) 8 MINNESOTA Mpls.-Dwth. (612-344) 101 Plymouth (612-536) 101 Golden Valley (612-542) 111 Bloomington (612-887) 101 St. Paul-Midway 111 New Brighton (612-631) *19 St. Paul-Shoreview (612-482) 101 St. Paul-Dwtn. (612-221) 111 St. Cloud (612-255) 101 Rochester (507-285) 111 Brainerd (218-828) 111 NEBRASKA Omaha-Dwtn. (402-422) 101 Omaha-Izard (402-554) 101 Omaha-Fort (402-496) 101 Grand Island (308-381) 8 NORTH DAKOTA Fargo (701-247) 8 Bismark (701-222) 8 SOUTH DAKOTA Rapid City (605-394) 115 Aberdeen (605-622) 115 Sioux Falls (605-339) 115 Two additional locations are scheduled for conversion to Centron service soon and will be required to use the alternate access code for call forwarding at that time. IOWA Dubuque (319-588) 8 due late June'86 NEBRASKA Norfolk (402-644) 8 due mid July'86 =========================================================================== COMPETITIVE PHONE COMPANYS REACT: MCI and GTE Sprint announced plans to reduce their LD rates effective June 1. The two companies said their rates would be competitive with AT&T, which had been earlier announced in TSR Issue #1 of the rate cut also effective June 1. Including 11.4 percent for day and evening hours and many other similar reduction. =========================================================================== NWB'S INTRO TO 'SMART PHONES': NorthWestern Bell's Public Services line of business is field trialing a new coin phone product - one it had a hand in creating. The new coin phone product is the NBT(tm) 1062 Coin Phone Retrofit Kit designed by NWBell Technologies. The kit converts standard public coin phones - dependent on central office electronics - into "stand alone" coin phones, which has been labeled by codename as "Smart Phones." There are many new features of which customers will not notice. Although the only noticeable change between the retrofited coin phones and the raditional public coin phones is the voice in the retrofited mode, generated by the kit's electronic circuit board. It instructs user to deposit money. Currently the Smart Phones are being tested in 40 coin phones around the NorthWestern Bell. =========================================================================== LOCAL AREA NETWORKS (LAN): A Local Area Network is a system of hardware and software that connects a variety of similar and dissimilar communications devices. These devices typically are operated by a single company for internal use within a limited geographical area. The System allows high speed communications between devices on the network while maintaining data security, Bell so boldly claims. A variety of transmission media are available in the LAN marketplace. These categorize the major types of Local Area Networks in use presently. The most prevalent are twisted pair (copper) and fiber optic cable. Because of its superior transmission capabilities, fiber is considered to be the media of choice for the foreseeable future within Bell. More info. on LAN will be presented in issue #3. =========================================================================== QUESTIONS: If you come up with any questions on the articles in The Synicate Report, please contact me anyway possible. I will be happy to clear up and eliminate unwanted confusion. ======================================================================= This concludes this Issue No. 2 presented by: The Syndicate Report Copyright (C) 1986 July 4 by The Sensei =========================================================================== Other System Operators may use this file as long as nothing is altered ===========================================================================