INFOFONE -- The Basics

As an Information Provider, you'll need several specialized support services from NYNEX in order to offer your call-in services to the public. For one thing, you'll need phone lines and switched to bring in your calls, and special connections if your service is based on having groups of people talking at the same time. And, of course, you will need a way to bill your callers and collect your money.

NYNEX provides these services and many others to IPs of all sizes.

How it works in a nutshell:

1. You, the Information Provider, come up with an idea for a new information or entertainment service.
   
2. You produce the program itself, and update it as needed.
   
3. People call you program and are charged for their call on their monthly NYNEX bill.
   
4. We send you the money we collect for each call, less our charges for carrying the call and for doing the billing.

You don't have to be a big company, either. IPs range in size from individual entrepreneurs to the biggest corporations. Organizations of all sizes are profiting from our InfoFone Services...you can too!

Equipment:

You must provide your own terminating equipment. Terminating equipment could include answering and call routing devices -- in other words, the machinery that answers the phone, directs the calls, and delivers the program. This type of equipment is widely available for lease or purchase at reasonable costs.

With NYNEX InfoFone Services you can reach the largest metropolitan area in the United States. New York State has 17.7 million business and residential phone subscribers in New York Local Access and Transports Areas (LATAs). These LATAs include the following regional areas:

• New York Metropolitan
  
• Albany
  
• Binghamton
  
• Buffalo
  
• Poughkeepsie
  
• Syracuse

They cover NYNEX customers with Area Codes: 212, 718, 516, 518, 607, 716, 914 and 315. IPs may operate programs in any or all of these LATAs.

New Yorkers are avid consumers of every type of information and entertainment, and they're proven fans of InfoFone. New York's diversity means that you could offer programs as specific as child care tips in Spanish, news from the Balkans, or bond prices in London -- and find a large potential audience for each one -- all with local advertising.

NYNEX has tailored its InfoFone Services to meet the needs of our customers -- New york's demanding InfoFone users and Information Providers. We offer several technical and marketing advantages including billing and collection services and a Client Support Team dedicated to your account.

Four Kinds of Service:

1. Mass Announcement Service (MAS/976)
   
2. Interactive Information Network Service(IINS/540 & 970)
   
3. Group Bridging Service(GBS/550)
   
4. Information Numbering Plan Service (INPS/394)

Mass Announcement Service
The most basic method for delivering information over the telephone. The caller dials your number and listens to a recorded announcement of, for example, the time, local weather, sports scores, a comedy routine, health care advice, etc.

These numbers begin with the 976 exchange. Calls can run as long as 57 seconds and are heard by thousands of callers simultaneously. Anyone in the New York Metropolitan area (212, 516, 718, and lower portions of the 914 area code) can reach your program by dialing seven digits. Your program can be reached from anywhere in the U.S. by including the 212, 516, 718, or 914 area code when dialing. Long distance charges apply. Information providers will only receive remittance for those calls which NYNEX bills and collects.

Once your service is set up, callers within the New York Metropolitan LATA will pay a fixed rate to use it. Per Call (up to 57 seconds) charges to caller:

Non-coin Phone: $0.40
NYNEX Coin Phone: $0.40

Interactive Information Network Service
This goes one step further than MAS. Callers can use the buttons on their touch-tone phones to respond to selections offered by the various programs, e.g., signs of the zodiac for horoscopes, or different cities for weather reports. The caller can also reach a live person, if you want to provide one, for services like medical advice, home repair tips and more.

These numbers begin with 540 and 970 exchanges. The 970 numbers are reserved for adult programming and are available in the New York Metropolitan LATA only. Calls can run for any length of time. You set the price for your service. Callers in the area where your program is provided can reach you by dialing seven digits.

Group Bridging Service
Like a conference call, in that the number of callers within a geographic area can talk to each other at the same time. Common Group Bridging service programs include date and teen lines.

NOTE: A live monitor must check each Group Bridging program periodically to ensure the service is being used properly. Numbers begin with the 550 exchange and calls can run for any length of time. Charges vary depending on the length of the call. Callers in the area where your program is provided can reach you by dialing seven digits.

Information Numbering Plan Service
INPS enables IPs to provide customers access to various types of information. The program may be in the form of a pre-recorded announcement, interactive program, live conversation or any combination of these. A seven digit ubiquitous program number, starting with the 394 exchange, will be assigned to IPs who wish to subscribe to INPS. The IP's information will be accessible by telephone customers in the New York Metropolitan LATA by dialing the seven digit program number. Callers from this area are charged the applicable fixed tariff rate. INPS programs may be accessed from outside the New York Metropolitan LATA by dialing 212 plus the 394 program number. Appropriate long distance charges would apply.

No amounts will be remitted by NYNEX to the IP for calls made by telephone users to INPS. IPs may find alternative sources of revenues, such as from sponsors or advertisers who will advertise products or services on the IP's programs. This service is designed for a variety of applications including advertiser or sponsor selected programs, product and service promotion, market research, government agencies, charitable organizations, etc.

The network facilities used for INPS are capable of handling numerous calls, based on separate access lines ordered by the IP. The 394 exchange is used for INPS programs.

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Rates & Charges

Frequently Asked Questions

Glossary of InfoFone Service Terms