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I imagine by the time computerised exchanges & playout systems came along this was possible, but not with the earlier ones.
Strowger telephone exchanges had numerous counting and timing circuits. It wouldn't be too difficult to create a circuit that counted the pulses on a uniselector that were generated whenever a loop of tape has completed its cycle. After a certain number of pulses have been counted, the circuit disconnects the call.
There were also slow acting relays that worked using a small heating element that would activate after about 5 minutes.
The sicker side of Thatcherite capitalism. A bit like the Deregulation of the Buses Act 1986 and the Housing Act 1988.
One problem with premium rate numbers is that they coud be reused for completely different services in a short space of time. I can remember a time when a kid from my primary school phoned a premium rate number for some service about wildlife and the number had been reused for an erotic adult service. Her mother was absolutely horrified and wrote a letter of complaint to Oftel about it.
I am not going to go into the whys and wherefores, but all I am saying is that I don't agree with a telephone number which could be local for all we know, but would cost the same as calling Australia. I believe in transparency.
Another problem was that many services played in a loop, so if you didn't hang up properly it would keep playing and run up a big bill!
There could have been a timeout mechanism that disconnects the call after the tape has played a certain number of times, but I will have to further investigate this.
It made me wonder why on earth Premium Rate telephone services were introduced in this country in the first place when we had this sort of stuff originally - if it ain't broke...
The sicker side of Thatcherite capitalism. A bit like the Deregulation of the Buses Act 1986 and the Housing Act 1988.
One problem with premium rate numbers is that they coud be reused for completely different services in a short space of time. I can remember a time when a kid from my primary school phoned a premium rate number for some service about wildlife and the number had been reused for an erotic adult service. Her mother was absolutely horrified and wrote a letter of complaint to Oftel about it.
It made me wonder why on earth Premium Rate telephone services were introduced in this country in the first place when we had this sort of stuff originally - if it ain't broke...
I bet that the regulator at the time was the same as the ones for general telephone services and so unnecessarily didn't have a separate one.
Most recorded information services in London had the number 01 246 80xx. 246 was the replacement number for ASK after London changed to all figure numbers.
Here are technical details how the services were provided
I remember going to the phone box and listening to dial a disc, it was standard rate , the 2p got you the standard time usually just less than the full song, it was played on a loop so you’d usually be connected halfway through the record
Of course, 8091 is an anagram of 0891 - a Premium Rate code used many years later. I am surprised that they were standard rate to be honest - I assume that there were no smutty chat lines in existence back in 1981, although only five years later they were advertising all over the place in the Sunday tabloids.
I bet Club Call was for Division 1 (now Premiership) clubs such as Man Utd.
I assumed that 0800 only started in around 1986 as before that, most advertising invited us to "dial 100 and ask for Freephone (name of company)".
The numbers, and even services, varied slightly from place to place. The services with 80xx numbers were available from main telephone exchanges, so a dialling code was required to reach them from smaller telephone exchanges with a different STD code.
The 1981 dialling code book for Haywards Heath also includes:
Leisureline – Sport and entertainment 91 8045
Seagull Line – Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club, latest news and information 91 8049
Seastate – Information for Anglers, Bathers, Sailors and Watersports 91 8046
Tele-Radio – Radio Brighton 91 8069
Services are provided from Brighton telephone exchange except those listed with an STD code. 91 was the local dialling code for Brighton from Haywards Heath. These services could be accessed nationally using the STD code for Brighton even if they weren't published in local dialling code books, for example, 0273 8049 for Seagull Line.
The Weather Forecast for London is 01 246 8091 and for Sussex Coast is 91 8091. Time is 91 8081.
Were a lot of these numbers Premium Rate? - I thought that Premium Rate numbers were only introduced in around 1986-1987, but they feel "Premium Rate" in nature to me with regards to the "bedtime stories" and the weather reports ones.
And for reasons that I won't go into on here, I hate any Premium Rate telephone number so much!
I checked the dialling code book and calls were standard rate. Those without a dialling code were local rate; 01 numbers a (not local but under 56km) rate; 031 numbers b (over 56km) rate.
Were a lot of these numbers Premium Rate? - I thought that Premium Rate numbers were only introduced in around 1986-1987, but they feel "Premium Rate" in nature to me with regards to the "bedtime stories" and the weather reports ones.
And for reasons that I won't go into on here, I hate any Premium Rate telephone number so much!
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