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File: BASIC TELCOM IV
 Read 66 times



Revised:  15-JUN-84

PREFACE:
--------

Part IV will deal with the various types of operators, office hierarchy, &
switching equipment.


OPERATORS:
----------

There are many types of operators in The Network and the more common ones
will be discussed.

TSPS Operator:

The TSPS [(Traffic Service Position System) as opposed to This Shitty Phone Service] Operator is probably the bitch (or bastard for the phemale
liberationists) that most of us are use to having to deal with.

Here are her responsibilities:

1) Obtaining billing information for Calling Card or 3rd number calls.

2) Identifying called customer on person-to-person calls.

3) Obtaining acceptance of charges on collect calls.

4) Identifying calling numbers.  This only happens when the calling # is not
   automatically recorded by CAMA  (Centralized Automatic Message Accounting) &
   forwarded from the local office.  This could be caused by equipment failures
   (ANIF - Automatic Number Identification Failure) or if the office is not
   equipped for CAMA (ONI - Operator Number Identification).

  <I once had an equipment failure happen to me & the TSPS operator came on and
said, "What # are you calling FROM?"  Out of curiosity, I gave her the # to my
CO, she thanked me & then I was connected to a conversion that appeared to be
between a frameman & his wife.  Then it started ringing the party I originally
wanted to call & everyone phreaked out (excuse the pun). I immediately dropped
this dual line conference!>

You shouldn't mess with the TSPS operator since she KNOWS where you are calling
from.  Your number will show up on a 10-digit LED read-out (ANI board) She also
 knows whether or not you are at a fortress fone & she can trace calls quite
readily.  Out of all the operators, she is one of the MOST DANGEROUS.

INWARD Operator:

This operator assists your local TSPS ("O") operator in connecting calls. She
will never question a call as long as the call is within HER SERVICE AREA.
She can only be reached via other operators or by a Blue Box.  From a BB,
you would dial KP+NPA+121+ST for the INWARD operator that will help you connect
any calls within that NPA only. (Blue Boxing will be discussed in a future part
of BASIC TELCOM)

DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE Operator:

This is the operator that you are connected to when you dial:  411 or
NPA-555-1212.  She does not readily know where you are calling from.  She does
not have access to unlisted #'s, but she does know if an unlisted # exists for
a certain listing.

There is also a directory assistance for deaf people who use Teletypewriters
If your modem can transfer BAUDOT [(45.5 baud)/ (the Apple Cat can)], then you
can call him/her up and have an interesting conversation. The # is:
800-855-1155. They uses the standard Telex abbreviations such as GA for Go
Ahead. They tend to be nicer & will talk longer than your regular operators.
Also, they are more vulnerable into being talked out of information through the
process of "social engineering" as Cheshire Catalyst would put it.

<Unfortunately, they do not have access to much.  I once bullshitted with one
of these operators and I found out that there are 2 such DA offices that handle
TTY.  One is in Philadelphia and the other is in California.  They have
approximately 7 operators each.  Most of the TTY operators think their job is
boring (based on an official "BIOC poll").  They also feel they are under-paid.
They actually call up a regular DA # to process your request (Sorry, no fancy
computers!).>

Other operators have access to their own DA by dialing KP+NPA+131+ST (MF).

In the confusion due to the aftermath of the Bell System break-up, it seems
that it will now cost 50 cents per DA call!  Exceptions seem to be Canadian
DA & the TTY DA (for the time being). Thus you might be able to avoid being
charged for DA calls by using your computer [running at 45.5 baud!] and their
800 TOLL-FREE #!  If they decide to charge from fortresses also, the method of
making DA calls from the fortress and purposely asking for an unlisted # so you
can have the operator credit you home # will no longer work!


CN/A Operators:

CN/A operators are operators that do exactly the opposite of what directory
assistance operators are for.  See part II, for more info on CN/A & #'s.  In my
experiences, these operators know more than the DA op's do & they are more
susceptible to "social engineering." It is possible to bullshit a CN/A operator
for the NON-PUB DA # (ie, you give them the name & they give you the unlisted
#).  This is due to the fact that they assume your are a phellow company
employee.  Unfortunately, the break-up has resulted in the break-up of a few
NON-PUB #'s and policy changes in CN/A.

INTERCEPT Operator:

The intercept operator is the one that you are connected to when there are not
enough recordings available to tell you that the # has been disconnected or
changed.  She usually says, "What # you callin'?" with a foreign accent.  This
is the lowest operator lifeform.  Even though they don't know where you are
calling from, it is a waste of your time to try to verbally abuse them since
they usually understand very little English.

Incidentally, a few areas do have intelligent intercept operators.

OTHER Operators:

And then there are the:  Mobile,Ship-to-Shore, Conference, Marine Verify,
"Leave Word & Call Back," Rout & Rate (KP+800+141+1212+ST - new # as result of
Bell breakup), & other special operators who have one purpose or another in the
 Network.

Problems with an Operator?  Ask to speak to their supervisor...or better yet,
the Group Chief (who is the highest ranking official in any office) who is the
equivalent of the Madame in a whorehouse (if you will excuse the analogy).

By the way, some CO's that will allow you to dial a 1 or 0 as the 4th digit,
will also allow you to call special operators & other phun Telco #'s without a
blue box.  This is very rare though!  For example, 212-121-1111 will get you a
NY Inward Operator.


==================
=OFFICE HIERARCHY=
==================

Every switching office in North America (the NPA system), is assigned an office
name & class.  There are five classes of offices numbered 1 through 5.  Your
CO is most likely a class 5 or end office. All Long-Distance (Toll) calls
are switched by a toll office which can be a class 4, 3, 2, or 1 office.  There
is also a 4X office called an intermediate point.  The 4X office is a digital
one that can have an unattended exchange attached to it (known as a Remote
Switching Unit-RSU).

The following chart will list the Office #, name, & how many of those offices
existed in North America in 1981.

Class       Name       Abb  # Existing
----- ---------------- --- ------------
  1   Regional Center  RC         12
  2   Sectional Center SC         67
  3   Primary Center   PC        230
  4   Toll Center      TC      1,300
  4P  Toll Point       TP
  4X  Intermediate Pt  IP
  5   End Office       EO     19,000
  R   RSU              RSU

When connecting a call from one party to another,the switching equipment
usually tries to find the shortest route between the Class 5 end office of
the caller & the Class 5 end office of the called party.  If no inter-office
trunks exist between the 2 parties, it will then move upto the next highest
office for servicing (Class 4).  If the Class 4 office cannot handle the call
by sending it to another Class 4 or 5 office, it will be sent to the next
office in the hierarchy (3).  The switching equipment first uses the high-usage
 interoffice trunk groups, if they are busy it then goes to the final trunk
groups on the next highest level. If the call cannot be connected then, you
will probably get a re-order [120 IPM (Interruptions Per Minute) busy signal]
signal.  At this time, the guys at Network Operations are probably shitting in
their pants and trying to avoid the dreaded Network Dreadlock (as seen on TV!).

It is also interesting to note that 9 connections in tandem is called
ring-around-the rosy and it has never occurred in telephone history.  This
would cause an endless loop connection. [a neat way to really screw-up the
Network]

The 10 regional centers in the US & the 2 in Canada are all interconnected.
They form the foundation of the entire telephone network.  Since there are
only 12 of them, they are listed below:

Class 1 Regional Office Location    NPA
----------------------------------  ---
Dallas 4 ESS                        214
Wayne, PA                           215
Denver 4T                           303
Regina No.2 SP1-4W   [Canada]       306
St. Louis 4T                        314
Rockdale, GA                        404
Pittsburgh 4E                       412
Montreal No.1 4AETS  [Canada]       504
Norwich, NY                         607
San Bernardino, CA                  714
Norway, IL                          815
White Plains 4T, NY                 914

The following diagram demonstrates how the various offices may be connected:

              ^----------^----------^ Regional
             _!_        _!_        _!_Offices
        ~~~~~!1! <----> !1! <----> !1!~~~~~
             ---        ---        ---
              !             Others\/
     -^-------^-------^------^---------^
     _!_     _!_     _!_    _!__      _!_
     !2!     !3!     !4!    !4P!      !5!
     ---     ---     ---    -^^-      ---
      !       !       !       !
      ^----^  !     ^----^    !
     _!_  _!_ !   __!_  _!_   !
     !3!  !4! !   !4X!  !5!   ^-----^
     ---  -^- !   ----  ---  _!__  _!_
           ^  !              !4X!  !5!
         __!_ !              ----  ---
         !5R! !-------------^
         -^^-      /--------!---------\
          _!_      _!__    _!_      _!_
          !R!      !4P!    !4!      !5!
          ---      ----    ---      ---


=====================
=SWITCHING EQUIPMENT=
=====================

In the Network, there are 3 major types of switching equipment.  They are known
as:  Step, Crossbar, & ESS.


STEP-BY-STEP (SxS)

The Step-By-Step, a/k/a the Strowger switch or two-motion switch, was invented
in 1889 by an undertaker named Almon Strowger.  He invented this mechanical
switching equipment because he felt that the biased operator was routing all
requests for an 'undertaker' to her husband's business.

Bell started using this system in 1918 & as of 1978, over 53% of the Bell
exchanges used this method of switching.  This figure is probably substantially
less now.

Step-by-Step switching is controlled directly by the dial pulses which move
a series of switches (called the switch train) in order.  When you first pick
up the fone under SxS, a linefinder acknowledges the request (sooner or later)
by sending a dial tone.  If you then dialed 1234, the equipment would first
find an idle selector switch.  It would then move vertically 1 pulse, it
would then move horizontally to find a free second selector, it would then
move 2 vertical pulses, step horizontally to find the next selector, etc.  Thus
the first switch in the train takes no digits, the second switch takes 1 digit,
the third switch takes 1 digit, & the last switch in the train (called the
connector) takes the last 2 digits & connects your calls. A normal (10,000
line) exchange requires 4 digits (0000-9999) to connect a local call & thus it
takes 4 switches to connect every call (linefinder, 1st & 2nd selectors, & the
connector) .

While it was the first, SxS sucks for the following reasons:

[1] The switches often become jammed thus the calls often become blocked.

[2] You can't use DTMF (Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency a/k/a Touch-Tone) directly.
It is possible that the Telco may have installed a conversion kit but then the
calls will go through just as slow as pulse, anyway!

[3] They use a lot of electricity & mechanical maintenance. (bad from Telco
point of view)

[4] Everything is hardwired.

They can still hook up pen registers & other shit on the line so it is not
exactly a phreak haven.

You can identify SxS offices by:

(1) Lack of DTMF or pulsing digits after dialing DTMF.

(2) If you go near the CO, it will sound like a typewriter testing factory.

(3) Lack of speed calling, call forwarding, & other custom services.

(4) Fortress fones that want your money first (as opposed to dial tone first
ones).

The preceding don't necessarily imply that you have SxS but they surely give
evidence that it might be.  Also, if any of the above characteristics exist,
it certainly isn't ESS!  Also, SxS have pretty much been eradicated from large
metropolitan areas such as NYC (212).


CROSSBAR:

There are 3 major types of Crossbar systems called:  No. 1 Crossbar (1XB),
No. 4 Crossbar (4XB), & No. 5 Crossbar (5XB).  5XB has been the primary end
office switch of Bell since the 60's and thus it is in wide-use.  There is
also a Crossbar Tandem (XBT) used for toll-switching.

Crossbar uses a common control switching method.  When there is an incoming
call, a stored program determines its route through the switching matrix.

In Crossbar, the basic operation principle is that a horizontal & a vertical
line are energized in a matrix known as the crosspoint matrix. The point where
these 2 lines meet in the matrix is the connection.


+===+
=ESS=
+===+

                        Electronic  Switching System (ESS)
                         The Phreak's Nightmare Come True
                      (or Orwell's Prophecy as 2600 puts it)


ESS is Bell's move towards the Airstrip One society depicted in Orwell's 1984.

With ESS, EVERY single digit that you dial is recorded--even if it is a
mistake.  They know who you call, when you call, how long you talked for, &
probably what you talked about (in some cases).  ESS can (and is) also
programmed to print out #'s of people who make excessive calls to 800 #'s or
directory assistance.  This is called the "800 Exceptional Calling Report."
ESS could also be programmed to print out logs of who calls certain #'s--like
a bookie, a known communist, a BBS, etc The thing to remember with ESS is that
it is a series of programs working together.  These programs can be very
easily changed to do whatever they want it to do. This system makes the job of
Bell Security, the FBI, NSA, & other organizations that like to invade privacy
incredibly easy.

With ESS, tracing is done in microseconds (Eine Augenblick) & the results are
printed at the console of a Bell Gestapo officer.  ESS will also pick up any
"foreign" tones on the line such as 2600 Hz!

Bell predicts that the country will become totally ESS by the 1990's.

You can identify ESS by the following which are usually ESS functions:

[1] Dialing 911 for help.
[2] Dial-Tone-First fortresses.
[3] Custom Calling Services such as: Call Forwarding, Speed Dialing, & Call
    Waiting.  (Ask your business office if you can get these.)
[4] ANI (Automatic Number Identification) on LD calls.

Phreaking does not come to a complete halt under ESS though--just be very
careful, though!!!

Due to the fact that ESS has a computer generated "artificial" ring, you are
not directly connected to the called parties line until he picks up. Therefore,
Black Boxes & Infinity Transmitters will not work under ESS!

NOTE:  Another interesting way to find out what type of equipment you are on is
       to raid the trash can of you local CO--this art will discussed in a
       separate article soon. Asking for a tour of your CO for a "school
       report" can also be helpful.

Coming Soon:

In the part V, we will start to take a look at telephone electronics.

Further Reading:

For more information on the above topics, I suggest the following:

Notes on the Network, AT&T, 1980.

Understanding Telephone Electronics,Texas Instruments, 1983.

And subscriptions to:

TAP, Room 603, 147 W 42 St, New York,NY 10036.  Subscriptions are $10/year.
Back issues are $0.75.  The current issues is #90 (Jan/Feb 1984)

2600, Box 752, Middle Island, NY 11953. Subscriptions are $10/year.  Back
issues are $1 each.  The current issue is #6 (June 1984).

They are both excellent sources of all sorts of information (primarily
phreaking/hacking).

NOTE:  For the most part, I have assumed that you have read my previous 3
       courses in the BASIC TELCOM series.

Excelsior,


           Knights of Shadow

            April 13, 1984
       {The Year of Big Brother}

           <<=-FARGO 4A-=>>


     [ RACS III - (914) 942-2638 ]
[ Sherwood Forest ][ - (914) 359-1517 ]

PS Sysops of other BBS's are welcome to use this series on their own boards
   providing that you don't change anything.

PPS Due to the radical changes taking place in the Network due to the break up
    this January, I have been forced to make many revisions of certain parts of
    my BASIC TELCOM series.  If something does not seem right, please keep the
    current revision date in mind.  I have tried to keep this series as current
    as possible.

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