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I Basics of Phone Phreaking I I
I by Long John Silicone I
I Oct. 1983 I
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A rather broad subject to attack, I must say. The debate over just
what to discuss has occupied my thoughts for many an hour. Perhaps if
I approach this subject legally, in an informative manner that is, my
problems might be solved. Nonetheless, here it goes.
Ma Bell can rattle on for hours on methods for saving money on your
long- distance calls. Unfortunately, most people still think that AT&T
is the only game in town for long-distance service.
What Ma Bell won't tell you is that there comes a time in a telephone
user's life to leave Mom. There are now several companies which
compete with AT&T in the long-distance market: MCI, Southern Pacific's
"SPRINT" (which is currently being purchased by General Telephone and
Electronics Company), U.S. Transmission System'S "Longer Distance" (a
susidiary of ITT), Western Union's "MetroFone", and Satellite Business
System's "Skyline." They all boast of opportunities for large savings
on the long-distance portion of your monthly phone bill.
Someone unaquainted with these new competitors, which are called
"specialized common carriers" (or SCCs), might ask, "Isn't it a
duplication of effort for a lot of different companies to be running
long- distance lines all over the country? And how can a company that
is just a fraction of the size of AT&T provide a similar service for a
lower price?" The answer is that these new competitors have built
their base by concentrating on routes where long- distance traffic is
heavy, so the cost of carrying each call is relatively low. Also, the
competitors transmission equipment consists almost exclusively of
computers and microwave links, which they have built themselves or
which they lease from other carriers. Thus, these networks can be less
expensive to construct and maintain then the cable-based systems that
Bell has used for years. There's also another class of competitors
called "resellers", who lease and resell both AT&T's and other
carriers' lines. More about resellers in a moment.
Initially, most of the SCC competitors could reach only a limited
number of cities. But as they've grown, the number of cities served by
their microwave networks has steadily in- creased, and today most of
the SCC's reach 70 percent or more of all area codes in the United
States and continue to increase the number of cities served every
month. Sattelite Business System's "Skyline" is the first to offer
service to the entire U.S. over its own network. The other SCC's are
phasing in uninversal service by using Bell's WATS system. But while
users of these services will soon be able to call 'to' anywhere in the
U.S., they will still be able to call 'from' only a limited number of
places, usually the major metropolitan areas.
To use any of these SCC services, you currently must have a Touch-Tone
service or the equivalent Tone gener- ator. (This is changing as a
conse- quence of the AT&T/Department of Justice divestiture agreement,
which will require the newly independent local phone companies to
grant all carriers "equal access" at equal rates.) There is an
additional monthly charge by the phone company for Touch- Tone service
(check the "Customer Guide" in your local White Pages, or call your
Bell business office for details); however, you don't have to rent or
buy a Bell telephone to get Touch-Tone service. (Hurrah for K-mart)
If your local phone lines already are equipped to handle both rotary
and Touch-Tone calls, you may be able to avoid the need for Touch-Tone
service in this way: using a regular rotaray phone, you place a call
to the SCC's computer; then, to 'converse' with the computer simply
use a touch pad conver- ter or a tone generator, held up to the
mouthpiece of your rotary phone.
It's reasonably easy to use the SCC systems. You must first dial a
seven digit local phone number (an 'access' number), which connects
you to the SCC's computer. When you hear a tone on the other end, you
then dial a five-or six-digit number (an 'authorization code') that
tells the computer you're an authorized user and to bill your account
for the call. Immediately after dialing the authori- zation number,
you dial the area code and number you wish to call. The SCC's computer
in your area then sends your call out over its own long-distance
network to a computer in the area you called; the computer on the
other end then hooks your call into the local phone network to reach
whomever you've called. Each month you recieve a bill from your SCC
(seperate from your reg- ular phone bill) detailing your calls and
billing you for the service charges plus your calls.
Note: This varies on occasion, prime example being "Longer
Distance". Instead of the standard code- number format, they elected
the number-code input.
"SPRINT" uses a six-digit code followed by a two digit travel code.
A moment of speculation is due..
What would happen if you entered someone elses 'access code', then
dialed the destination number? The answer is usually Grand Larceny;
however, it is quite possible since only the general place of origin
is possible to detect on a call placed without notice.
For information on the competitive long-distance services:
MCI:
Write MCI, MCI Building, 17th and Streets, NW Washington, D.C. 20036.
Call toll free (800) 521- 8620 or in Michigan (800) 482- 1740.
"Execunet"
SBS:
Write SBS, John Marshall Building 8283 Greensboro Drive, McLean, VA
22102. Call toll free (800) 698- 6900. "Skyline"
ITT:
Write ITT, U.S. Transmission Systems, INC., P.O. Box 732, Bowling
Green Station, New York NY. 10004 Call toll free (800) 438-9428 or in
New York (212) 797-2511. "Longer Distance"
SPC:
Write SPC, One Adrian Court, Burilingame, CA. 94010, or call (800)
521-4949 or in Michigan, (800) 645-6020. "SPRINT"
WU:
Write WU, 1 Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, NJ. 07458. Call (800)
325-6000 for the number of your local service office. "MetroFone"
A final note, don't do anything I wouldn't. And above all, if you do:
DON'T GET CAUGHT.
Yours in trade,
Long John Silicone