CALLER ID LAUNCH DATE PUT ON HOLD : CARRIER BACKLOGS PROMPT DECISION.Byline: Dawn Yoshitake Daily News Staff Writer Call it a busy signal. State regulators voted Wednesday to delay the June 1 launch of Caller ID A telephone company service that sends the caller's telephone number between the first and second ring of the call. If the calling number is not blocked, the calling number is displayed on the handset or base station of the called party. services that Pacific Bell and GTE GTE General Telephone & Electronics GTE Génie Thermique et Énergie (French) GTE Gas Turbine Engine GTE Global Tropospheric Experiment GTE Geothermal Energy GTE Gas Turbine Efficiency plc (Sweden & USA) want to offer in California. The carriers, meanwhile, have asked federal regulators to delay the June 1 deadline for releasing customers' numbers to phones equipped with Caller ID equipment in other states. Caller ID displays the phone number of incoming calls. The California Public Utilities Commission The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC; also often commonly referred to as simply the PUC) [1] is a state Public Utilities Commission which regulates privately-owned utilities in the state of California, including electric power, has required that the phone companies inform customers that they can choose to have their numbers blocked to protect their privacy or allow them to be revealed when they make calls. Under the PUC (Public Utility Commission) A regulatory body in every state in the U.S. that governs public utilities within its jurisdiction such as electricity, gas, oil, sewer, water, transportation and telephone service. Some states call it the Public Service Commission (PSC). ruling, Pacific Bell cannot offer Caller ID until it finishes sending confirmation letters to customers who asked to have their numbers blocked. Pac Bell also must notify customers who have not responded that their phone numbers will be displayed to people with Caller ID. Pac Bell initially had asked for a delay because it had a backlog of 4 million blocking requests, but it has since processed the overload, company officials said. Marlyn Solis, new product development director for San Francisco-based Pacific Bell, said the carrier expects to send out letters during the first part of June and hopes to offer the service by July 1. Timothy Sullivan Timothy Daniel "Big Tim" Sullivan (July 23, 1862 – August 31, 1913) was a New York politician who controlled Manhattan's Bowery and Lower East Side districts as a prominent figure within Tammany Hall. , an aide to CPUC CPUC California Public Utilities Commission CPUC Current Procurement Unit Cost Commissioner Henry Duque, said no new start date for Caller ID has been set for Pacific Bell. ``Caller ID can't be in place until those letters go out. They can take as long as they want to resolve it,'' he said. GTE, meanwhile, had its Caller ID plans delayed until the carrier can upgrade a portion of its equipment to allow customers to receive and transmit out-of-state numbers when using the service. However, GTE officials say they were ready to offer Caller ID within the state and were miffed miff n. 1. A petulant, bad-tempered mood; a huff. 2. A petty quarrel or argument; a tiff. tr.v. miffed, miff·ing, miffs To cause to become offended or annoyed. that the California PUC put the entire program on hold, said Carrie Hyun, a GTE spokeswoman in Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. . Hyun said the PUC mistakenly believed GTE wasn't ready to offer the service within the state since the carrier had requested a delay from the Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. in providing telephone numbers out of state. GTE expects to offer Caller ID both within California and out of state by June 15. Sullivan said about 50 percent of California's 14 million residential users have submitted their blocking option requests - and 90 percent of those have been for complete blocking. Hyun said about 30 percent of GTE's 3 million residential customers have asked for complete blocking. The carrier has received blocking option responses from about 50 percent of its customers. Pacific Bell has received responses from about 50 percent of its 14 million business and residential customers. Solis declined to disclose the number of customers who have asked for complete blocking. California is the last state to offer Caller ID and release its numbers to other states. Pacific Bell wants the federal deadline extended to July 1, citing its need to meet the mailing requirements. GTE asked to postpone the release of some of its customers' numbers until June 15, when those people receive their equipment upgrades. Hyun said some customers' numbers will be transmitted out of state beginning June 1 as required by the FCC (1) (Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, www.fcc.gov) The U.S. government agency that regulates interstate and international communications including wire, cable, radio, TV and satellite. The FCC was created under the U.S. . The California PUC agreed to send letters of support to the FCC regarding the carriers' waver requests. ``Their requests have come in recently and we'll make a decision quickly,'' said an FCC official. ``It's important for us to be respectful of what the other states want.'' |
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