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A comment on Why 56k Modems Relied on Digital Phone Lines You Didn't Know We Had. Parent comment

Re:Why 56k Modems Relied on Digital Phone Lines You Didn't K... by timthorn on Friday March 07, 2025 @04:13AM (#43288509)
Yes, the Intelligent Network was the big thing in the 1990s. It allowed for routing as you describe as well as calling cards and many other features: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_Network
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Re:Why 56k Modems Relied on Digital Phone Lines You Didn't K... by pantulis on Friday March 07, 2025 @11:07AM (#43291306)
Oh the joys of watching terminal logs with SS7 data frames!
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Re:Why 56k Modems Relied on Digital Phone Lines You Didn't K... by xattt on Friday March 07, 2025 @01:23PM (#43292675)
Was there any way for the customer to somehow interact with SS7 frames?

We’ve had techs come to our home in Canada in the 1990s, and I remember being fascinated with their mystical toolbox phone that seemed to uncover hidden phone line functionality. Almost like the whip in Indiana Jones.

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Re:Why 56k Modems Relied on Digital Phone Lines You Didn't K... by pantulis on Friday March 07, 2025 @03:26PM (#43294181)
I don't think so, but who knows. In my case I was working at a telco so everything was very obvious at the dev environments.
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