1996_04 Insight April 1996

              ARPIL 24,1996
In Focus
Caller ID reveals who's ringing your line
I Selective blocking,
complete blocking:
the caller's choice
by Jefferson Beavers
Staff Writer
Caller Identification, one of the latest technological advances in telephone systems nationwide, will make
, its California debut June 1, 1996.
CalifbmiaState University, Fresno
will not be part of the upgrade.
Caller Identification (ID) provides
recipients of telephone calls with instant notice of an incoming caller's
identity through new, nationwide signaling technology. Caller ID boxes
show a calling party's phone number
on a display unit. They're no farther
away than the nearest Radio Shack.
The service is already offered in 49
states. California being the only exception.
Darrcl Martin, associate director of
Computing, Communications and
Media Services (CCMS), said the
university's phone system may not be
compatible with the Caller ID technology.
"We don't really know if we even
have the capability," Martin said.
A phone switch technician from
Pacific Bell is further investigating thc
campus' status, Martin said.
The telephone system at Fresno
State operates on a Fujitsu switchboard, located in the CCMS office in
McKee Fisk 137. All campus extensions operate on a Private Branch
Exchange (PBX) system, which currently lists only thc main campus di
rectory number, 278-4240, as (I
identifiable calling party number.
Martin recognizes the usefulness
Caller ID to university phone users.
He said that revamping or upgrading
thc current Campus phone system may
prove costly. Dcviccs,exist to upgrade
existing campus phones but cost and
practicality issues would have to be
considered.
"Getting Caller ID is no problem."
Martin said, "as long as someone will
pay for it."
Your privacy, your choice
Like our campus, the entire stale of
California has been rushed into Ihe
Caller ID scramble.
■ The move to Caller ID was
prompted by a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate in
May 1995 that finalized national rules
for the service.
The original FCC report on Caller
ID was issued in March 1994. Several issues were confronted by the
commission that took time to resolve.
These included thc installation of
newer signaling technology allowing
phone numbers to be transmitted from
party to party. Also confronted were
issues of privacy regarding ihe potential reuse or sale of numbers generated by Caller ID.
However, individual privacy is the
central issue.
Pacific Bell, the company providing
three quarters of the telephone serv ice-
in California, is in the midst of the most
extensive education campaign ever
undertaken by a U.S. telephone company, according to Eric Johnson. Pacific Bell public affairs director.
Thc goal is offer customers an in-
Caller ID   TIMELINE
FCC Mandate
Finalized
National Rules
- May 1995 •
California
debut for
Caller ID
June 1996 -
J
T
CPUC Appeals - claims that state
not FCC authorize standards for
Caller Blocking - Ruling denied
 - Nov. 1995 •	
Keeping constant watch over the
works the campus switchboard.
formed choice about sending and receiving calls in the Caller ID age.
"Wc really urge people lo become
informed about their options."
Johnson said. "Il's sour phone, your
privacy, your choice."
Pacific Bell's S30 million education
campaign details the Caller ID blocking options that will be available in
California. The effort includes advertisements, phone bill inserts and funding to 43 non-profit groups targeting
hard-to-reach audiences.
The phone bill inserts have returnable stubs for customers to indicate
options they want.
Numbers not too revealing
Without using the blocking options,
calling party numbers will be automatically transmitted with every call
made as of June I.
Under FCC law. free and automatic
per-call blocking must be available.
Pacific Bell calls its blocking scheme
"selective blocking.*' It blocks transmission of the calling party's number
if star-67 is dialed before making a
call.
If star-67 is entered, thc calling
party's number is blocked for only
that call.
Thc FCC has allowed states io decide if they want to participate in full
per-line blocking availability. CaliforS
campus communications system,!
nia decided to offer full per-line
blocking in efforts to provide maximum privacy options
Pacific Bell calls its per-line blocking strategy "complete blocking." It
automatically prevents ihe transmission
of the calling party number on all calls.
If a calling party, with full blocking options, wishes to selective!)
transmit their number on one specific
call, an un-blocking option of dialing
star-82 is available.
The campus' PBX phone lines are
not equipped for receiving Caller ID.
Blocking outgoing numbers will be
available through the selective blocking option.
Johnson said the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) opted
for both per-call and per-line blocking to offer maximum choice to California residents, but only after the
FCC mandate.
The CPUC originally disagreed
with the FCC's mandate for blocking
options. Thc CPl'C contended in a
November 1995 appeal to the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals lhat states
should have the authority to set standards for blocking.
Previous decisions by the CPUC lo
offer per-line blocking as the default,
with the per-call option available only
by request, were overridden in the
appeal process.
The court decided that the FCC did,
in fact, have the authority to set Caller
ID blocking standards. Providing consistent blocking options for interstate
calls was the primary factor in siding
with the FCC.
In light of that decision. Johnson
said thc CPL'C has looked to the track
record of maximum Caller ID options
in other states in formulating its new
education-driven stance.
Caller ID has existed since 1988. It
was first offered on an intrastate basis in New Jersey. The service has
blossomed nationwide since then.
John Goldman, media relations manager for BellSouth, estimates his
company's Caller ID service now extends to nearly 1.5 million customers.
BellSouth is the major telecommunications outfit in thc Southeastern
United States, with service in nine
states stretching from Louisiana to
North Carolina and from Kentucky to
Florida. It was the first company to
reach 1 million Caller ID customers
in February 1995.
Goldman said he uses the Caller ID
serv ice himself to strategically decide
whether to answer his phone or to allow the call to go to his voice mail,
based on time considerations and his
present workload.
Goldman said misgivings about
Caller ID. most notably from spousal
abuse centers and law enforcement
agencies, were pacified after introduction of the service.
Privacy advocates have followed
Caller ID through its infant stages,
determining in the majority of cases,
that the service does not actually reveal a significant amount of information, y
Jonah Seiger. policy analyst for the
Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington DC. said the
Caller ID issue should not be diminished in light of greater civil liberties
issues related to Internet regulation.
He said Caller ID basically defaults
to surrendering one's phone number.
"A phone number is not as revealing as an E-mail address." Seiger said.
"An E-mail address is yours no matter where you are. A telephone is not
necessarily personally identifiable
right now."
Goldman said consumer advocacy
groups have done a favorable job in
his region. They have documented
complaints and adequately addressed
privacy ci
Area stores stock boxes
Johnson reported that Pacific Bell
customers have responded favorably
to the debut of Caller ID in this state,
pointing to his company's instruction
on the service as the key.
"Between now and June, we're just
informing people of the options,"
Johnson said. "But already, the landscape is changing."
Johnson said that eventually Pacific
Bell will be able to provide extended
service and hardware, becoming a
"one-stop shopping" center for Caller
ID sen ice.
Caller ID boxes are currently available at area electronics stores. A basic Caller ID box at Radio Shack costs
S39. A more advanced model, with
number storage capability and additional features, costs $89.
Radio Shack also has phones that
have built-in Caller ID displays.
Eventually, deluxe Caller ID packages could become available to the
public in California, much like those
used now by BellSouth. Deluxe Caller
ID boxes can receive both the number and name of tbe calling party.
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