The telephone was invented on March 10, 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell. Despite the fact he is the one coined with making the phone, there were others who were doing the same research. Only a few hours after Bell filed for his patent, Elisha Gray filed for a patent as well. Therefore, in the 1860s and 70s, people were obviously ready for the phone to be released. And, when it was released, the first words used were, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” The telephone works by Read More

Computer telephony software can be divided into a number of categories, each of which provides a set of functionality for Computer Telephony Integration (CTI). Automatic Call Distributors (ACD’s) Automatic Call Distributors are used by inbound call-centers to evenly distribute telephone calls between available customer service representatives. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Interactive Voice Response systems are used to gather data from callers before transferring them to a customer service representative. IVR systems are well known for their frequent repetition of “Press or say 1 for …”. Screen Population Screen pop programs Read More

Doctor Martin Cooper invented the modern cell phone. He invented the technology responsible for the cell phone when he was the Director of Research and Development at Motorola. Dr. Martin Cooper is also known as the first person to make a call on a cell phone. His revolutionary call took place in April of 1973 in New York. He is currently the CEO of an antenna corporation. The Cell Phone’s Ancestors The modern cell phone originated with Martin Cooper. However, in order to completely understand the invention of the cell Read More

IntraLATA refers to any telephone call that is made between two separate local telephone companies that are close enough to not constitute a long-distance call. To fully understand IntraLATA and InterLATA systems, a user must understand that a LATA, or Local Access and Transport Area, is a local telephone company that is responsible for managing a city or subdivision of a county. When making calls to someone who is in the same LATA, one telephone company can manage the call and does not need to outsource the call to anyone Read More

Country Direct numbers are used so that you may connect to an operator from a foreign telephone network, without incurring long distance charges. These numbers may be useful in blue boxing, as many countries still have older switching equipment in use. List of Country Direct Numbers Australia (Telstra) (800)682-2878 Austria (Telecom Austria) (800)624-0043 Belgium (800)472-0032 Belize (BTL) (800)235-1154 Brazil (Embratel) (800)344-1055 Cayman (Cable & Wireless) (800)852-3653 Chile (800)552-0056 Costa Rica (800)252-5114 Croatia (800)367-9842 Denmark (800)762-0045 France (800)537-2623 Germany (Deutsche Telecom) (800)292-0049 Greece (800)443-5527 Hong Kong (PCCW) (800)992-2323 Hungary (800)352-9469 Indonesia Read More

This is the “right hand” of both the professional and the amateur lineman. Basically, it is a customized portable telephone which is designed to be hooked onto raw cable terminals in the field and used to monitor the line, talk, or dial out. The monitor function is usually the main difference between the “butt-in” test set and the normal phone. If you don’t have a real test set already, the following circuit can convert a normal $4 made-in-taiwan phone into a working test set. The “all-in-one” handset units without bases Read More

Excerpt from: 2600, Spring 1990, Page 27: In some places, scanning has been made illegal. It would be hard, though, for someone to file a complaint against you for scanning since the whole purpose is to call every number once and only once. It’s not likely to be thought of as harassment by anyone who gets a single phone call from a scanning computer. Some central offices have been known to react strangely when people start scanning. Sometimes you’re unable to get a dialtone for hours after you start scanning. Read More

Most people send text messages from the very small keypads on their mobile phones, and most people who receive text message messages read them on the tiny screens of their mobile phones. Because of those considerations, and because many service providers limit text messages 160 characters in length, most people who use text messages learn to type their messages using a number of popular text message shortcuts. Text Message Shortcuts These are some of the more common text message shortcuts. 2D To Delete 2G4Y Too Good For You 4E Forever Read More

NEBS (Network Equipment-Building System) is a standard for telephony equipment. NEBS was developed in the 1970's by Bell Labs (now Telcordia). Many equipment vendors build their equipment to NEBS standards, even when they do not intend for their equipment to be placed in a Central Office. Equipment vendors do this because compliance with the NEBS standards shows buyers that the equipment is well built. NEBS Standards NEBS is officially documented in a collection of Telcordia documents, including: GR-63-CORE Network Equipment-Building System (NEBS) Requirements: Physical Protection GR-1089-CORE Electromagnetic Compatibility and Electrical Read More

The MIN (Mobile Identification Number) is a number that uniquely identifies a mobile telephone subscriber. MINs are 34-bits in length. The first 10 bits are sometimes known as MIN2, while the last 24 bits are referred to as MIN1. Together they are simply known as the MIN. In the United States, the MIN is derived from the 10 digital decimal telephone number assigned to the handset. For the telephone number (303)866-1010, the area code (“303”) becomes the 10 bit MIN2 and the local portion of the telephone number (“866-1010”) becomes Read More