Re: Hardest rpg that you've managed to finish?

arioch wrote:
In article <9NGdnUgzxq2E3qfVnZ2dnUVZ_t7inZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Briarroot@xxxxxxxxx says...
arioch wrote:
In article <4838A691.B04EC80C@xxxxxxx>, don@xxxxxxx says...
Briarroot wrote:

There were FidoNet BBSs in nearly every area code in the US and Canada
by 1985, and since there was no entry fee to join beyond the cost of the
PC itself, thousands of hobbyists set up their own.
Yes, there were a lot of BBSs in my area code, but they were all long
distance from my town. I remember it taking something like 2 hours to
download a game, and at 20 cents a minute, it cost as much as the
average retail game back then.

Back in the "good ole days" of Divestiture, when it was often more expensive to call across town that out of state.

I guess that's a function of population density. In my state, any number within an area code is a local call; and it's always been that way.

Maybe, but that would be, as you said, an artifact of your state's Central Office (prefix) distribution. After Divestiture, local calling was divided into several Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). The RBOCs were still monopolies, so could charge monopoly prices (and yes, they did wherever you lived if it was in the U.S.). AT&T was required to allow competition for long distance, so LD prices were (surprise) lower, which is why it was cheaper.


My state (Ohio) "deregulated" the telcos and now we have half a dozen different companies offering both local & long distance service. I'm still with AT&T (which used to be Ohio Bell, then became Ameritech and then SBC) because I make so few calls per month that the other services don't really offer me any savings. The only gripe I have with them is the amount they charge for long distance service: $4/month plus .07 per minute; which is ridiculous.


In recent years the telcos have shrunk the calling areas so that what were once multi-county area codes are now divided into many smaller ones resulting in a lot more long distance calls. Their rationale is that they needed the new area codes because of the huge demand for new telephone numbers caused by the emergence of cell phones. That makes sense, but the result is that cross-town calls which used to be local are now made to a different area code and hence billed as long distance. What bothers me about this state of affairs is that they still charge more for long distance calls even though distance has not been a factor in the actual cost of a phone call for several decades. :-/

I don't like to get personal, but what state/RBOC are we talking about? Most calls now need you to use the area code, but unless you have to dial a '1' first, it's still billed as local call.


Area codes are not required when dialing another number in the same area code, and all such calls are billed as local.


Also, are you talking about land line calls or cell calls (they don't have to bill the same)?


I don't have a cell phone (and don't want one). All my outgoing calls are billed at the same rates (one rate for local and one for LD) regardless of what type of phone they connect with.


--
"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or
the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to
their own interest." - Adam Smith
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Hardest rpg that youve managed to finish?
    ... and since there was no entry fee to join beyond the cost of the ... number within an area code is a local call; and it's always been that way. ... to allow competition for long distance, ... telephone numbers caused by the emergence of cell phones. ...
    (comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg)
  • Re: Hardest rpg that youve managed to finish?
    ... and since there was no entry fee to join beyond the cost of the ... In recent years the telcos have shrunk the calling areas so that what were once multi-county area codes are now divided into many smaller ones resulting in a lot more long distance calls. ... Their rationale is that they needed the new area codes because of the huge demand for new telephone numbers caused by the emergence of cell phones. ... but the result is that cross-town calls which used to be local are now made to a different area code and hence billed as long distance. ...
    (comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg)
  • Re: Hardest rpg that youve managed to finish?
    ... my telco didn't try to pull that trick. ... the territory covered by my former area code was divided into thirds and two completely new area codes were created. ... The result is the same - what were once local calls are now long distance - but at least everyone is aware of that fact since those numbers now require one of the two new area codes. ... It doesn't cost AT&T any more when I call a location 2000 miles away than it does when I call a location 2 miles away, and I shouldn't be billed as if it did. ...
    (comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg)
  • Re: dated/failed predictions
    ... long-distance income. ... and now cell phones and the ... occasionally be confused at the strange area code, ... anyone even mention the fact that it's a long distance call to reach me. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)
  • Re: Scientific illiteracy at CNN
    ... You're saying it's possible to make a local phone call to a remote ... area code, if the phone with that number really is local? ... treated as a long distance call. ... or that so few people don't have cell phones that we can be ignored. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.fandom)