THE DREADED FAST BUSY

InterNet Access Network ( )
Fri, 23 Apr 1999 11:30:58 -0400

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>Free Internet Tip of the Day:
>
>THE DREADED FAST BUSY
>
> When you pick up your phone and dial a phone number,
>your phone company tries to connect you to the person on the
>other end. If there are too many people in your area using the
>phone at the same time it overloads the phone system.
> The way that many phone companies let you know that their
>system is overloaded and that your phone call cannot be
>connected is by giving you a fast busy signal. A fast busy
>signal sounds just like a normal busy signal, except that the
>busy tones occur much faster.
> Personally, we think this is a little sly. Most people
>hear the fast busy signal and think the person they are calling
>is on the phone, when in reality your phone company just can't
>complete the phone call because of inadequacies in their
>system.
> This fast busy signal really upsets Internet Providers a
>great deal. Many people hear the fast busy and assume that
>their Internet Provider doesn't have enough phone lines to
>service their customers. Because a fast busy sounds so
>close to a real busy signal, your modem won't be able to tell
>the difference and it pops a window up on your computer stating
>that your Internet Provider's phone is busy, which may not be
>the case at all.
> If you try to dial somebody and you hear the fast busy
>signal, you must hang up and try your call again. When
>somebody else in your area hangs up their phone it will make
>room on the phone system for your phone call to be placed.
> If your area has a real problem with fast busy signals and
>your phone company doesn't seem to be correcting the problem,
>you may wish to contact your state public utilities commission.
>Your state PUC can impose fines and force your telephone
>company to improve the quality of service they provide.
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Web Site of the Day:
>
>You can learn a lot more about how modems work by visiting
>Curt's High Speed Modem Page.
>
>http://www.teleport.com/~curt/modems.html
>
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Dayton, OH