ISP Information:
A flat panel display technology that requires no backlight and could someday be simpler to construct than LCD screens. Check out OEL technology as well.
ISP Glossary:
OLED - OK, here's the wrap-up on this situation. We finally got Call Controlinstalled and configured; hopefully this will solve the problem.Strangely, Call Screening is not available in this area even thoughCall Control is. Perhaps there's a regulatory requirement for CallControl?It seems to be implemented in a pretty kludgy fashion (see below).When I called to actually get Call Control installed (BTW I'm inIllinois and the Call Center I was talking to was in Spokane, WA), therep said, "OK, what type of call control would you like?" They didn'tknow that Call Control was the name of a specific feature. Once wegot over that hump, they had to poke around in several differentscreens before they found it.Before Call Control was ordered, dialing "*95" got reorder and nothingelse. After ordering Call Control but before it was working, for awhile *95 got a recording: "Your call cannot be completed as dialed."The recording was very scratchy and almost unintelligible.Now that Call Control is installed, here's how it works: You pick upthe phone and dial *95. There is a long delay, I counted 6 secondsbefore anything happened. You are prompted to enter your telephonenumber, then your PIN (default is "9999"). Then a recording says,"Please wait while your phone number and PIN are verified." The firsttime (only) you are then taken immediately to the "change PIN"routine.A system of menus walks you through setting up numbers to be blocked,or permitted, and exceptions. For instance, you can block all LD,except this number, or this AC. All we're using here (so far) is the"block specific numbers" feature.Every time you dial *95, you are prompted to enter your telephonenumber. I don't know why this should be needed, as you can onlyprogram it from the line it's been installed on.Once the service is programmed, if you dial a blocked number you get a(very bad!) recording saying, "The number you have dialed is notauthorized." At least, I _think_ that's what the recording says.It's so scratchy and distorted I really can't understand the last fewsyllables. But the service does work, in that you can't complete adirectly-dialed call to blocked numbers.The way Call Control is programmed, and the way it acts in operation,lead me to believe it's implemented outside the switch -- at least in708-354. It seems quite rough around the edges. I can't believe howcrappy those recordings are! But it gets the job done, anyway.[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Two questions: How much was the chargeto set it up and how much is the monthly fee? Does *95 also allowfor numbers/codes, etc previously blocked to be removed from the listor re-authorized once again as needed? Another question of a morepersonal nature: How has the alzheimers patient reacted to thischange in service? PAT]
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