ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 12, 1994                   TAG: 9408120118
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                 LENGTH: Short

NEXT: MESSAGES FOR THE UNLISTED

When it comes to phone numbers, unlisted might no longer mean unreachable. Nynex Corp. is testing a service that for the first time would allow callers to leave taped messages for people who prefer to keep their numbers off the books.

People who call directory assistance and are told the number is unlisted will then hear a recorded voice giving them the option of leaving a message.

Customers with unlisted numbers will have the option of refusing all incoming messages.

After a free, three-month trial run, Nynex plans to charge the person leaving the message $1.

The service is being offered as a pilot program involving 2,600 customers in suburban Westchester County and the Bronx who agreed to participate.

If the program is well received and wins regulatory approval, it could be introduced all over Nynex territory - New York and New England - within months. Other Bell system companies have not indicated whether they will offer the service.

Nynex has about 2 million customers in New York state with unlisted numbers.

- Associated Press 


 by CNB