I get the impression that a great many people have Caller-ID at both
home and work.
Would anyone know roughly the percentage of subscribers, by residence
and business types, who have Caller-ID? In some areas I suspect the
percentage is quite high.
I don't have it myself. At work, we have a basic 2500 sets and no
callerID, although I believe other divisions of my employer have more
modern phones that have C-ID as part of a display.
At home, I will normally answer the phone, but I will ignore it if I'm
not in the mood to talk, regardless of who the call is from. That is,
if I'm plopped down in front of the TV or eating dinner, I don't want
to be bothered getting up or interupted -- which I'd have to do to check
the caller ID box. I admit having an answering machine is a big help.
I'm not sure if C-ID curtails tele-solicitor calls. If you don't
answer a solicitor, they just call back later or the next day, and
keep calling until you actually talk to them. (Aren't computers
wonderful!)
While the laws have reduced the calls quite a bit, I still get some
from market researchers, charities, politicians, and people who claim
they've done business with me in the past. (I wish I reported the
last SOB who did that since it was a blatant lie).
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Mike Sandman sells a little device
which immediatly emits the three-tone signal (number not in service)
upon you lifting the phone receiver. That tends to get rid of a
number of telemarketers who use automated equipment. It goes in series
with the phone pair and responds to the change in voltage when the
phone goes off hook. Its not expensive, and you put one either in
front of each phone, or if you wish, just one unit at the demarc so
it catches all phones going off hook. Contact http://sandman.com for
details. PAT]
hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com