From: Paul Robinson <[log in to unmask]> Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA ----- Marty Hoag <[log in to unmask]>, writes on list [log in to unmask]: > I did see something similar but different on one other list I'm > on. But it asked if they were toll numbers and how they made money > if not like our 900 numbers... I think they posted this on every news group they could find; the guy probably has a monetary interest in them. > 011-239-1xx-xxxx & 011-592-2xx-xxx If you were to get a rate quote for these, you'd discover there is no surcharge, they are billed as regular calls. The "592" indicates South America; there are several chat or sex lines terminating to special facilities in some of those countries. The way they make their money is the "Termination Fee" e.g. the national telephone company in that country pays the information provider part of the fee it gets from the carrier that connects the call, based on the increased traffic the calls generate. I made up a name for this, "The Nevada Plan". There was a company in Nevada at a 702 area code number that had a sex line, and someone could call it by dialing the number. The catch was that the call had to be placed via AT&T; if you called it via another carrier, the caller got a recording telling the caller to dial 10288 first. The recording was the *real* number; AT&T terminated the calls to the number in question someplace else (the chat line equipment), and paid the provider the 2c per minute termination fee for each call made over AT&T. There is a company is Oregon called Speedway, that is running a dial-up Unix system and will provide SLIP, UUCP or any other internet connections you want; and it doesn't cost anything extra, but you have to be connected via AT&T. If you were to dial the number 1 503 520 2222 by any means except AT&T (either local in the 503 area code, or dialing it over MCI), you'd get a busy signal. If you dial via 10288 or your long distance company is AT&T, you'd get a modem carrier. AT&T pays them the 2c per minute connection fee that would have to be paid to the local company; means no difference to them. --- Paul Robinson - [log in to unmask] ----- The following Automatic Fortune Cookie was selected only for this message: Nine-track tapes and seven-track tapes And tapes without any tracks; Stretchy tapes and snarley tapes And tapes mixed up on the racks -- Take hold of the tape And pull off the strip, And then you'll be sure Your tape drive will skip. -- Uncle Colonel's Cursory Rhymes