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Topic: How do people answer the phone in Britain?  (Read 32005 times)

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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #60 on: September 23, 2007, 12:39:58 AM »
Do please! I love this stuff...

O.K., you asked for it!   ;D

Let's start the story about 50 years ago, since this is just before STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialing) arrived on the scene.   Only local calls could be dialed directly, and although you were charged for each call they were not timed, so you could talk for 2 minutes or 2 hours for the same price.   

Every subscriber had a meter at the exchange which registered "units," the readout looking much like the odometer on a car.   These meters were read periodically for billing and the charges were then simply so many pence per unit (the amount gradually increased over the years, of course). 

A local call within one's own exchange clocked up 1 unit.  Calls to elsewhere within the local area used a multi-fee metering scheme based upon the distance involved:

Up to 5 miles = 1 unit
5 to 7½ miles = 2 units
7½ to 12½ miles = 3 units
12½ to 15 miles = 4 units

These were the distances between the two telephone exchanges involved, so if the exchange serving the person you were calling was 6 miles from your exchange you'd be charged 2 units for the call, even if your actual geographical locations placed your homes 4½ miles or 8 miles apart.   It would have been impractical to charge based upon the actual distance between the telephones.   The phone book for a particular area listed all the places you could call for 1, 2, 3, or 4 units.

Anyway, these were the only calls which could be dialed direct.  Calls beyond the 15-mile multi-fee range were classed as long-distance and had to be completed by going through the operator, who filled in the call details (date, time, number called, duration) on a docket.  These dockets were used to add long-distance calls to the bill separately, charges being based upon time, length of call, and distance involved. 

Now, refer back to the A/B coinphone pictured above, which was the standard payphone of the time.  Just as with regular residential lines, local calls were untimed, so you could talk all day for your initial deposit (or at least until the crowd waiting in line to use the phone started to get ugly!  ;) ).   

A long-distance call from one of these phones worked very much the same way as in America, except for the "A" and "B" buttons.   The operator would look up the rates for the place called, then ask for the appropriate amount to cover the first 3 minutes.  The caller would deposit the required amount, the operator counting it by listening to the gong signals as the coins dropped.   As for a local call, the caller would then have to press button "A" when his party answered and the call could proceed.  After 3 minutes the operator would cut back in to ask for more money and the process repeated.

Subscriber Trunk Dialing was inaugurated in December 1958, allowing telephone users to dial long-distance calls directly for the first time.  It had been decided that the charging system would need to be overhauled considerably from the existing multi-fee metering for local calls plus numerous different rates for long distance.    The new scheme divided the country up into more than 600 "charge groups."  The typical charge group contained several exchanges and covered an area of approx. 150 sq. miles, i.e. a radius of about 6 to 7 miles from its central point (obviously the groups were not completely uniform to allow for local variations).  There were notable exceptions, such as the London charge group which extended over a much larger area.   You can see the legacy of these groups in many of today's area codes, as a separate code was allocated to each charge group. 

Under the new charging system, all calls within one's own charge group and to adjacent charge groups were classed as local (with a few exceptions, such as where a natural feature formed a boundary between two adjacent groups).   Calls to charge groups outside this local area and up to approx. 35 miles were classified as long-distance "a" rate, and calls to all points beyond that were "b" rate.   

The STD scheme was designed to make use of all those existing subscriber meters.  The equipment responsible for routing the call and billing it (going by the rather non-technical-sounding name of GRACE - Group Routing And Charging Equipment) sent pulses back to the meter to step it one "click" at a time at regular intervals.  Local calls now became chargeable by duration, the meter stepping one unit at the start of the call and then every few minutes until the call ended.  Long-distance "a" and "b" rate calls simply caused the meter to increment at more frequent intervals.   The meter pulsing rate also altered depending upon the time of day, giving cheaper calls (i.e. more time per unit) at off-peak times. 

This system is very significant because it formed the basis of the British telephone billing method for the next 20+ years.   The amount per unit kept increasing over time, and sometimes the time allowed per unit for different rates or time-of-day changed, but it was otherwise the same.   

So how did this new arrangement apply to coinphones?  This is where Jim's comment about continually feeding coins into the phone comes into the picture.  The new style of payphone introduced from 1959 onward (the one pictured above with the green handset and dial ring) was designed to fit in with this so-much-time-per-unit billing method.   "GRACE" determined whether the call was local, "a" rate or "b" rate, just as for a call from any normal line and set the meter pulsing rate.   The caller deposited the minimum fee for one unit when his party answered, and that registered at the exchange and allowed him whatever time that bought for the time-of-day and place called.  When the next meter pulse arrived (which might be, say, after 3 minutes for a local call or only 40 seconds for a "b" rate call), the equipment would again apply paytone to the line to request more money.  The caller could actually deposit extra coins any time during the call to build up credit, but the same principle applied; when an incoming meter pulse reduced the credit to zero, more money would be demanded.  Unlike the first demand for coins when the call was answered, these requests for extra coins always allowed a little leeway to wrap up a call, i.e. when your existing coins ran out you'd hear the "beep-beep-beep-beep" of paytone for a few seconds to request more, but if you didn't insert any extra coins the paytone would disappear again and you'd get a few more seconds to finish up before the call would be disconnected.  (Just about enough time to say "Oh, there's the pips; I don't have any more coins left, see you later," or something along those lines.)

I said earlier that STD started in 1958, but of course you can't change an entire national telephone network overnight.  It took a good many years for STD to be applied right across the country, so both charging systems ran side by side for a long time during the conversion process.   Londoners couldn't start dialing long-distance calls directly until 1961, for example, and then only in certain districts.  It was the late 1970s before STD was available right out to the remote districts.  And yes, that last A/B coinphone in the Scottish Highlands was still giving untimed local calls as late as 1983/84!

Anyway, the charging system underwent a few tweaks in the 1980s, but really just minor changes.  An extra "b1" rate was introduced for slightly cheaper calls to certain common places which would otherwise have been "b" rate.  In later years the peak rate (which had been 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) was dropped, leaving just day and evening rates. 

By this time digital switching was starting to appear on the scene, and the old STD charging system was nearing the end of its reign.  As exchanges across the country went to the new computerized "System X" switching systems from the early 1980s computer billing took over, with call charges by the second in place of the former "per unit" basis.  The old local, "a" and "b" rates (the latter already having been renamed "regional" and "national") were merged into just "local" and "national" rates.

Under the old unit-based system there was no itemized billing, since all direct-dialed calls just stepped the meter.  All you got was a bill showing so many units at so much per unit.  The only calls which could be listed specifically were those placed via an operator.  The computerized systems allowed calls to be itemized, which of course is the norm today. 

The modern changes are better known.   The list of tariffs is now so complex that it would be practically impossible to handle without the computer control -- There are literally hundreds of different rates for calls to mobile phones, pagers, "personal" numbers, premium-rate numbers, 118xxx directory numbers etc.   BT did effectively abolish the distinction between local and national calls just recently though.

As for current BT payphones, the good news is that for a call to a regular number anywhere within the U.K. the minimum initial deposit now lasts for 20 minutes.  The bad news is that the minimum fee recently increased to 40 pence.   

Now, aren't you sorry you asked?   :)
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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #61 on: September 23, 2007, 12:41:26 AM »
Do you actually expect people to read all of that Paul?  :-X  ;D


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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #62 on: September 23, 2007, 12:43:39 AM »
Only if they're as mad as I am......   :P  ;D
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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #63 on: September 23, 2007, 11:31:37 AM »
Do you actually expect people to read all of that Paul?  :-X  ;D

Yes he does. And he knows there are a few fellow geeky types that will read it.

 [smiley=mad.gif]
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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #64 on: September 24, 2007, 10:03:18 AM »
Hey, I read it.  Thanks Paul.

You never know when a little phone history might come in handy...   :D
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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #65 on: September 24, 2007, 01:59:11 PM »
I read it. AND enjoyed it.


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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #66 on: September 24, 2007, 02:05:35 PM »
Yep, if you see somebody using a phone in an old movie or something like that, it might help to explain things. 

Knowing the history can also help you understand why people sometimes do things a certain way.  For example, you'll still come across a few people who will try to leave non-urgent phone calls until after lunch, even though it's been several years since the peak rate tariff which made calls between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. more expensive was scrapped.   They've either not realized that the peak rate no longer exists, or it just slips their mind due to years of avoiding morning calls whenever possible.

« Last Edit: September 24, 2007, 02:08:07 PM by Paul_1966 »
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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #67 on: September 25, 2007, 09:26:43 AM »
love your avatar, desert dreamer

That's Mt. San Jacinto, over Palm Springs, it's a great view from my parents place, so it reminds me a lot of home.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jacinto_Peak
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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #68 on: September 29, 2007, 07:41:05 PM »
I say Hello, or Hi or something like that, but my grandpa always says the full number.


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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #69 on: September 30, 2007, 12:13:06 PM »
And he knows there are a few fellow geeky types that will read it.   [smiley=mad.gif]

Fellow geeky types who read all that nostalgic stuff above might also enjoy the posts I made here, all started by a query about the party line used by Doris Day & Rock Hudson in the 1959 movie Pillow Talk:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053172/board/flat/9341365?p=1

 :)

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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #70 on: September 30, 2007, 12:29:54 PM »
I'm geeky enough to have had to register just so I could read that. Think I may have bumped into another UKY-er in there, besides you.

We had a party line as a kid and it was ok, don't think my sisters thought so.

But I can't imagine a 10-number party line. That just seems so unworkable
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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #71 on: September 30, 2007, 12:36:00 PM »
I'm geeky enough to have had to register just so I could read that.

Oops!  I forgot you had to be registered to read the debates.   :-[

Quote
But I can't imagine a 10-number party line. That just seems so unworkable

The average home didn't use the phone so much in those days, and in rural areas where there was a shortage of lines it might have been the only option for some people, unless they wanted a long wait.  They were also cheaper, which made phone service available to people who might not have been prepared to pay more for a private line.

Although rare, there were even places in remote parts of the U.S. which had up to 20-way party lines at one time!   

P.S.  Believe it or not, there were places which used to have numbers such as 39F011 or 42F12.    Geek-of-the-week award goes to anyone who can explain those!  [smiley=smart.gif]
« Last Edit: September 30, 2007, 12:42:01 PM by Paul_1966 »
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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #72 on: September 30, 2007, 01:29:53 PM »
I don't have an answer to that weird number question, but in our "remote" area of Northern Michigan we were forced to have a three-way party line with our neighbors until the 1990's!

I think we were on the wait-list for a single line for 20-some years if not more.  Sometimes people could listen in on others' calls.  Mostly a case of old people listening in on teenagers I think - but who can say?

Also, every call we made was a long distance call except to our party line.
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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #73 on: September 30, 2007, 02:23:40 PM »
So whats a party line then?
Is it where 10-20 people have the same phone line? and if you pick it up you could hear the person down the road talking?



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Re: How do people answer the phone in Britain?
« Reply #74 on: September 30, 2007, 05:08:29 PM »
in our "remote" area of Northern Michigan we were forced to have a three-way party line with our neighbors until the 1990's!

BellSouth still has a tariff listed for 8-way party line service, so presumably it's still in use somewhere within its territory.   It could well be that the remaining 8-way party lines only have two or three parties on them by now though as people have changed over to private service.  I can't imagine the phone company actually signing anybody up for 8-way service these days, so when the existing subscribers change they'll probably be gone forever.

Quote
Mostly a case of old people listening in on teenagers I think - but who can say?

I have an interesting little anecdote on that from a satellite radio tech show -- I'll have to try and dig out the CD it's on and post the clip.

So whats a party line then?
Is it where 10-20 people have the same phone line? and if you pick it up you could hear the person down the road talking?

You got it, although it can be anything from two parties upward sharing a line.  For those who can't access the Internet Movie Database link, here's a copy of the explanation I posted there.   :)

There were many different arrangements of party lines used in the past. They all shared the common feature of having each party connected to the same pair of wires back to the central office, but they differed in how many people shared the line, how incoming calls rang the phones, and so on. Some arrangements were favored in certain areas over others, and independent telephone companies often used different arrangements from the Bell System.

The attributes shared by all party line systems were that anybody picking up a phone on the party line would hear any conversation already in progress, and that when any party on the line was using the phone then all numbers associated with that party line would be busy. That's why if you tried to dial a number on the same party line as yourself, you would always get a busy signal, and hence the need for a special code to call someone on your own party line (because you had to hang up for the other party to be rung).

The simplest arrangement was a 2-way party line, as suggested in this movie. These generally had fully selective ringing, meaning that your phone would ring only for your own calls, not for the other party as well. Any two numbers within the same central office could be coupled together to form a party line, e.g. a PLaza 2-xxxx number could be combined with any other PLaza 2-xxxx number.

It was also possible to have a 4-way party line with fully selective ringing, again with your phone ringing only for your own calls. However 4-way lines could also be partially selective, in which case coded ringing was employed. Your phone would ring for your own calls and for those of one of the other parties; one person had a single ring, the other a double ring to differentiate. The other two people on the same line had their own single and double rings, but you would never hear them.

This coded ringing could be extended with different ringing patterns to allow for larger party lines.

A 10-way arrangement was quite common in rural areas at one time, with everybody on the same party line having the same telephone number except for the last digit. All the preceeding digits determined which physical line the call was destined for, and the last digit simply selected the type of ringing. There were a number of different ringing schemes employed, but a typical arrangement might have been 1=single long ring, 2=two short rings, 3=long-short, 4=long-short-short, 5=four short rings. The last digits 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0 then repeated this sequence of ringing patterns, but on the other side of the split ringing.

Let's assume your phone number was 2482. You would hear your phone ring not only for your own calls, but also for 2481, 2483, 2484, and 2485. You just had to remember that your ring was short-short. You would not hear the ringing for 2486, 2487, 2488, 2489, and 2480, but anyone who had one of those five numbers would hear the ringing for the other four (but would not hear the ringing for 2481 thru 2485).

This splitting of the line into two groups was only for ringing. It was still the case that anybody picking up on that party line when it was in use would overhear the conversation of any of the other nine, and when any one party was using the phone then all ten numbers would become busy.

There were also party lines on manual (non dial) exchanges which had different numbering arrangements. One common scheme had 4-way party lines with a letter J, M, R, or W suffixed to the line number. So if your number was 389-M, the other three parties sharing your line would be 389-J, 389-R, and 389-W. The operator just had a single jack on her board for line 389, then she operated the appropriate ringing key for the required party.

I hope that explains things a little better. Note that this description applies to the U.S.A. and Canada -- Other countries could have different arrangements.
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