Goodbye AIS

[morrand 1]

Interesting news for AT&T Illinois customers (at least, though probably all of ex-Ameritech, if not all of AT&T's ILEC territory) on this month's landline bill:

 

Quote

INTERCEPT CHANGE

AT&T will be changing its Intercept/Referral Service to a standard announcement on or after 12/31/2019. Intercept is provided when a customer's telephone number is disconnected or changed. Currently, calls to the intercepted number are provided a recorded message, indicating the number has changed and, if the customer elected, a referral to a new number. On or after 12/31/2019, the standard announcement will inform callers of the following: "We're sorry, you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error, please check the number and try your call again." Note: Verbiage may vary slightly based on customer location. All customers currently using Intercept, including those with existing Referral announcements, will be moved to the standard announcement on or after 12/31/2019. For questions, please call us at the toll-free number on your bill.

 

In other news, White Pages are moving to a 14-month publication schedule (where they are available), so good luck checking that number as the recording suggests. Also, Band C calls are 59¢ per minute starting in November. Because charging more for less is just another way that the Bell System puts service first.