[Electronics-Talk] free 411

[chaltain at outlook.com]

I'd be careful believing everything in the post below. I don't have time to research all of the statements I thin are incorrect, but I'll point out one obvious one. " Verizon, which is the largest phone service provider and the only one which still has a historical connection to the old Ma Bell/American Telephone & Telegraph company" isn't true, at least not without some qualifications. Verizon is descendant from NYNEX and Bell Atlantic, two of the original seven Baby Bells that was created when the original AT&T was broken up. Today's AT&T was formed when SBC, which was the merger of three of the original Baby Bells, purchased the AT&T Corporation, which was the remnants of the old AT&T's long distance business again spun off when Ma Bell was broken up. In addition. The new AT&T also purchased Bell South, another of the Baby Bells. I'm not sure why Verizon is the only company that has a historical connection to the old AT&T when the current AT&T has a historical connection to at least five of the businesses that were created when the telecommunications giant was broken up including the parent company itself. Here's just one link of many with more information. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Bell_Operating_Company

--
Christopher (AKA CJ)
Chaltain at Outlook

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Electronics-Talk <electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of
> Gerald Levy via Electronics-Talk
> Sent: Saturday, January 9, 2021 6:10 AM
> To: Rob Kaiser via Electronics-Talk <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Gerald Levy <bwaylimited at verizon.net>
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] free 411
> 
> 
> Here's the problem with directory assistance services, whether it's
> 800-FREE-411 or the traditional 411.   In the good old days, when big bad Ma
> Bell, aaka the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, actually a
> collection of separate wholly-owned regional operating companies under the
> so-called Bell unbrella, was the only provider of phone service,all companies and
> individuals were listed in their database, so when you dialed 411, an operator
> could look up the number for you, and there was a better than 90% chance that
> she could find it.  For instance, before 1982, when Ma Bell was broken up into 7
> separate, independent regional Bell operating companies, New York Telephone
> was a wholly owned subsidaiary of AT&T, so if you dialed 411 in New York City,
> you could get the phone number for a company located in Los Angeles, because
> the phone company there, Pacific Bell, was also a wholly owned subsidiary of
> AT&T.  But today, thanks to deregulation, there is no single phone company or
> service provider that maintains a centralized list of all phone numbers for every
> company and individual in the US, so 411 and free 411 services have become
> essentially useless.  So if your land-line or cell phone carrier is Verizon, which
> became the successor to New York Telephone through a series of mergers and
> consolidations since 1982, , for instance, and you dial 411 you will only have
> access to phone numbers for companies and individuals who are registered with
> Verizon. If their primary carrier is another phone company such as AT&T or T-
> Mobile or Consumer Cellular, then you will be out of luck.  Welcome to the new
> and chaotic wild, wild west of totally unregulated and fragmented telephone
> service. What a mess!!!  When you dial 411 on your Consumer Cellular cell
> phone, they will probably only have access to phone numbers for companies and
> individuals registered with Consumer Cellular, which is a relatively small number,
> because most listings are still registered with Verizon, which is the largest phone
> service provider and the only one which still has a historical connection to the
> old Ma Bell/American Telephone & Telegraph company.  Don't confuse Verizon
> with today's AT&T, which has no connection to the original company of the
> same name and is actually the successor to MCI, which was one of the 7 original
> RBOC's created in 1982. If all this sounds confusing, you're right.  You need a
> Philadelphia lawyer to figure all this out.
> 
> 
> Gerald
> 
> 
> 
> On 1/8/2021 11:50 PM, Rob Kaiser via Electronics-Talk wrote:
> > I don't know what list to send this to, so, I'll try this 1. I'm with
> > consumer Cellular. My internet was down a few days agao & I needed to
> > look up a phone number. The only way I could get free directory
> > assistance was to use free 411. This is what consumer cellular told
> > me. If I used their 411 there was going to be a fee. When I called
> > free 411, I wasn't even able to give them a name of the business I
> > wanted to look up. Now, I've had problems with free 411 before, but
> > this was the worst. Is free 411 not working any more? If this is so,
> > do we have any platforms where we can get free directory assistance if
> > our internet is down? Or, are we doomed to having to either wait until
> > our internet comes up or pay a fee to call Directory Assistance?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Rob Kaiser Email;
> >
> > rcubfank at sbcglobal.net
> >
> >
> >
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