In message , at
20:27:07 on Wed, 4 Jan 2012, Arthur Figgis
remarked:
I dare say that _all_ of the price drops was due to a change in
technology (computerization of switches, optical fibers, better channel
division).

= attacks on the jobs of the girls who plug the connections in to put
calls through.

Long ago [c1975] I employed (as a PA) one of the last remaining manual
telephone exchange operators. The tales she used to tell me about the
antics of customers has coloured my outlook ever since.
--
Roland Perry

"Roland Perry" wrote in message

In message , at 19:03:33
on Wed, 4 Jan 2012, Charles Ellson
remarked:
Mercury was also mentioned but unlike BT they had nothing in the way
of a universal service obligation and served a very small market.

I'm not aware that dialling the Mercury Access code was in any way
restricted, other than people, wherever they were, signing up for a
Mercury subscription.

I still use a phone that has a blue Mercury button! I was never a
Mercury customer, and never worked out how to reprogram the button to do
something more useful.

In message , at 14:41:13 on
Fri, 6 Jan 2012, Recliner remarked:
I'm not aware that dialling the Mercury Access code was in any way
restricted, other than people, wherever they were, signing up for a
Mercury subscription.

I still use a phone that has a blue Mercury button! I was never a
Mercury customer, and never worked out how to reprogram the button to do
something more useful.

I think they came programmed to prepend "131", not sure if that can be
changed.
--
Roland Perry

On 06/01/12 14:32, Roland Perry wrote:
I'm not aware that dialling the Mercury Access code was in any way
restricted, other than people, wherever they were, signing up for a
Mercury subscription.

The original 131+PIN service was only available to some exchanges,
though the number of those increased with time. The later 132 service
was, I think, available everywhere.

Ian

On 06/01/12 14:52, Roland Perry wrote:

I think they came programmed to prepend "131", not sure if that can be
changed.

The one I had did 131, pause, PIN. You only entered the PIN and couldn't
get rid of the 131, so it was no use for anything else.

Ian

On Fri, 6 Jan 2012 14:32:30 +0000, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , at 19:03:33 on
Wed, 4 Jan 2012, Charles Ellson remarked:

Mercury was also mentioned but unlike BT they had nothing in the way of
a universal service obligation and served a very small market.

I'm not aware that dialling the Mercury Access code was in any way
restricted, other than people, wherever they were, signing up for a
Mercury subscription.

Mercury was not providing the infrastructure for that service, merely
using an established provider to connect the calls to their much
smaller network, a bit like Sainsburys being obliged to allow a
competitor to set up order desks within its premises.

On Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:09:38 +0000, The Real Doctor
wrote:

On 06/01/12 02:14, Charles Ellson wrote:
On Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:44:20 +0000, The Real Doctor
wrote:

On 05/01/12 13:55, Lüko Willms wrote:
Does he fire any gay person from the Scotrail operations he manages?

He doesn't manage Scotrail. He owns it. We call that "capitalism".

He doesn't own ScotRail, he is joint owner of Stagecoach Group. The
brand "ScotRail" (not to be confused with "ScotRailprefixed or
suffixed Ltd.") belongs to the Scottish Government.

I know. I was simplifying things to a level which I thought Lüko would
be able to understand.

Not always a good idea, IME it sometimes actually makes it more
complicated. :-(

Mind you, I think I was wrong, anyway, 'cos Scotrail is run by First, isn't it,

IIRC only on the basis they are the only current contractor/franchisee
for the services covered by that brand.

who are Stagecoach's biggest rivals.
I was thinking of Virgin.

Am 05.01.2012 15:50, schrieb Graham Nye:
The links are legitimate. You can look at them safely.

If that is the case, why are they hidden? Is there something to be
ashamed of?


L.W.

Am 05.01.2012 15:56, schrieb The Real Doctor:

But you did think it appropriate to introduce the Hitlerzeit, the
Falklands and so on. You raised 'em, you deal with 'em.

Sometimes I do descend to your level. You know, like Dante. Not to
the lowest, though.

But you always try to avoid addressing the issued under debate and
try instead staging a show trial. But your victim is not ready to
undergo your treatment. And the judge always throws your case out of court.


L.W.

Am 05.01.2012 16:07, schrieb Graham Nye:
Given your constant evasion of questions about life in the DDR and its
fellow travellers you must be aware of its shortcomings. Why don't you
belatedly join the rest of your fellow citizens in welcoming the fall
of the DDR? If you don't like living in modern-day Germany you can at
least leave it without being shot in the back.

You try to stage a show trial, but your victim is not disposed to
masochism. And the judge threw your case out of court.

Come back to the subject of debate. Ask your questions about it, and
you might get answers.

But Stalin's show trials, or the ones of king Henry VIII won't be
repeated here. Sorry for you, but you do not have the necessary police
force for that.