I don't know how many other small/dialup ISPs are seeing this problem. BellSouth just turned it on in our area. Sent our support calls through the ceiling during busy evening hours.
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 14:39:31 -0600 Subject: Please Help Us From: "Howard Shere" <hshere@watervalley.net>
BellSouth recently added a feature to your phone service called "Busy Connect". This service plays a recording whenever you dial and get a busy signal offering to keep trying the number for 75 cents. This service will interfere with your modems ability to detect a busy signal and your computer will report that "the computer you are dialing is not answering" or some similar message.
2 weeks ago BellSouth told us that this service was on our lines and we asked that it be removed. They told us that this would solve the "no answer" problems that our customers were reporting. We have continued to get complaints from customers about "no answer" problems and when we talked to BellSouth today, we were told that this service was on our customers lines and not on ours. We are not sure why we were given the wrong information when we first reported this trouble.
We are asking that all of our customers call BellSouth and ask to have this service removed. They have refused to help us directly and have said that the only way to have this service removed is for our customers to call them directly.
BellSouth can be reached at 557-6500 (for home telephone customers) or 557-6000 (for small business customers). Tell them you want the "Busy Connect" service removed from your line. There is no charge from BellSouth for removing this service.