1970's phone bills-Brady Bunch

[Larry G]

[Cross-posted to alt.culture.us.1970s, rec.arts.tv]

I recently got the first season DVD set of "The Brady Bunch". Very
entertaining, I highly recommend it, though in moderate doses. All those
primary colors are a bit much on the senses. ;-)

Anyway, in the first season episode where Mike Brady installs a pay phone,
he makes a comment about the family's high phone bill, and he says that
they've gone over their message units.

????

Were local calls not free or unlimited in the 1970's? I was around in the
1970's (what was the obsession with olive green and orange anyway? <g>), but
was too young to be aware of things like that.

How did these message units things work and when did it all change?

Larry

[Kristina Forsyth]

There were several plans. You paid for the line into the house, and on top
of that, you could pay for a set amount of local time a month, or unlimited
calls in various calling locations. Actually, where I live, I think this is
still the case. I haven't had a land line in 5 years, but 5 years ago those
were my options.

T

Post by Larry G
[Cross-posted to alt.culture.us.1970s, rec.arts.tv]
I recently got the first season DVD set of "The Brady Bunch". Very
entertaining, I highly recommend it, though in moderate doses. All those
primary colors are a bit much on the senses. ;-)
Anyway, in the first season episode where Mike Brady installs a pay phone,
he makes a comment about the family's high phone bill, and he says that
they've gone over their message units.
????
Were local calls not free or unlimited in the 1970's? I was around in the
1970's (what was the obsession with olive green and orange anyway? <g>), but
was too young to be aware of things like that.
How did these message units things work and when did it all change?
Larry

[James Jones]

Post by Larry G
[Cross-posted to alt.culture.us.1970s, rec.arts.tv]
Were local calls not free or unlimited in the 1970's? I was around in
the 1970's (what was the obsession with olive green and orange anyway?
<g>), but was too young to be aware of things like that.
How did these message units things work and when did it all change?

Here in Louisiana, we had 3 levels of phone service--flat rate, message
rate, and measured service. I don't know if they are still available
today, but back in the early '80's I ran a BBS and I got the cheapest
2nd phone line I could get using message rate. It was $12 a month with
unlimited incoming calls.

Most everyone back then had flat rate service which allowed unlimited
calling. Measured service had a cheaper monthly rate, but you were also
charged for outgoing calls based on call duration and distance within
the local calling area. You would get so many "message units" per month
and would be charged extra for any overages--kinda like cell phones
today. Message rate service was really cheap but you were charged a set
fee for each outgoing call. I think I got 10 free outgoing calls a month
and each additional call was something like 10 cents. Since my BBS line
was never used to make outgoing calls it worked out well.

James

[Derek Homsberg]

"> Anyway, in the first season episode where Mike Brady installs a pay
phone,

Post by Larry G
he makes a comment about the family's high phone bill, and he says that
they've gone over their message units.
Were local calls not free or unlimited in the 1970's? I was around in the
1970's (what was the obsession with olive green and orange anyway? <g>),
but was too young to be aware of things like that.

Message units were one way of being billed. There were probably flat rates
for unlimited calling, or you could choose message units, which is just like
being billed for minutes. Local calls were free, but that was only in your
immediate area. As you moved away from your town, there were zone calls
that were not free. It's not that different from today, but now there are
so many phone companies and options you can choose.

[Kelly]

Post by Derek Homsberg
"> Anyway, in the first season episode where Mike Brady installs a pay
phone,

Post by Larry G
he makes a comment about the family's high phone bill, and he says that
they've gone over their message units.
Were local calls not free or unlimited in the 1970's? I was around in the
1970's (what was the obsession with olive green and orange anyway? <g>),
but was too young to be aware of things like that.

Message units were one way of being billed. There were probably flat
rates for unlimited calling, or you could choose message units, which is
just like being billed for minutes. Local calls were free, but that was
only in your immediate area. As you moved away from your town, there were
zone calls that were not free. It's not that different from today, but
now there are so many phone companies and options you can choose.

These days I pay a flat rate for unlimited calls within the US and Canada.

Kelly

[Derek Homsberg]

Post by Kelly
These days I pay a flat rate for unlimited calls within the US and Canada.

I use something called www.onesuite.com. It's like a virtual calling card.
You reload it periodically. The rate is 2.5 cents per minute to anywhere in
the US if you call from your home. 2.9 cents otherwise. Rates to foreign
countries are very cheap also. There's no monthly fee. I just pay for what
I call.

I do not have a "long distance carrier." Many people think you need to have
one, but you don't.

[Kelly]

Post by Derek Homsberg

Post by Kelly
These days I pay a flat rate for unlimited calls within the US and Canada.

I use something called www.onesuite.com. It's like a virtual calling
card. You reload it periodically. The rate is 2.5 cents per minute to
anywhere in the US if you call from your home. 2.9 cents otherwise.
Rates to foreign countries are very cheap also. There's no monthly fee.
I just pay for what I call.
I do not have a "long distance carrier." Many people think you need to
have one, but you don't.

I use to use calling cards all the time when I was living in hotels, even
afterwards it was a great way to keep my long distance costs under control.
At this point I have no need for them. My cell phone is great for traveling,
and my home phone has the unlimited costs. My home phone bill is $35 a
month, every month. It covers call my calls, call waiting, caller id, etc.
It is through the cable company. I have had it for a year and I am very
satisfied with the service.

Kelly

[Bud Hufstetler]

Post by Kelly

Post by Derek Homsberg
"> Anyway, in the first season episode where Mike Brady installs a
pay phone,

Post by Larry G
he makes a comment about the family's high phone bill, and he says
that they've gone over their message units.
Were local calls not free or unlimited in the 1970's? I was around
in the 1970's (what was the obsession with olive green and orange
anyway? <g>), but was too young to be aware of things like that.

Message units were one way of being billed. There were probably flat
rates for unlimited calling, or you could choose message units, which
is just like being billed for minutes. Local calls were free, but
that was only in your immediate area. As you moved away from your
town, there were zone calls that were not free. It's not that
different from today, but now there are so many phone companies and
options you can choose.

These days I pay a flat rate for unlimited calls within the US and Canada.
Kelly

We pay a flat fee here, too. We got lucky and were grandfathered in on what
was originally a promotional rate of just under 6 bucks a month added to
our basic bill for unlimited calls. But back in the old days our house was
at the western edge of a calling zone. We were able to make free calls to
friends that lived up to about 25 miles east of us for free, but had to pay
for any calls more than 2 streets to the west until my folks got a 2nd
phone from the foreign exhcange installed that allowed toll-free calls to
the west. When I was very young all phone lines here were metered, though
each phone # was allotted x amount of free message units per month and you
wouldn't be charged additional fees until you exceeded those minutes.

Telephone bills have become ridiculously cheap compared to our other
utilities and expenses in California. My combined phone bill which includes
basic service, caller ID, long distance and a 3000/512kbps DSL line totals
out to under 60 bucks a month. One of my friends pays $41.00/ month for
basic service and a 1500/286kbps DSL line.

Bud

[Larry G]

Post by Bud Hufstetler
Telephone bills have become ridiculously cheap compared to our other
utilities and expenses in California. My combined phone bill which includes
basic service, caller ID, long distance and a 3000/512kbps DSL line totals
out to under 60 bucks a month. One of my friends pays $41.00/ month for
basic service and a 1500/286kbps DSL line.

Wow! I want that deal. Mine's running close to $100 right now (it makes my
electric bill seem like bargain basement in comparison, it's insane), but
then again I've got AOL tacked onto it. I like it for the radio. Maybe if I
dumped AOL and switched to XM or Sirius radio I could probably save a few
bucks and the bill would be similar to yours. That $41 sounds amazing too.

Larry

[Stan Brown]

On Sun, 15 May 2005 04:29:24 -0700, "Larry G"

Post by Larry G
Were local calls not free or unlimited in the 1970's?

Yes, they were not -- in some areas.

My grandmother had limited service in suburban Baltimore. I believe
New York City kept message units much later.

[David Chesler]

Post by Stan Brown
I believe
New York City kept message units much later.

The first time I experienced any sort of unlimited service
was when I left New York City for Boston in September 1979.
My parents lived there until 1991 and I don't know that
there was ever an option for any plan with any sort of
unlimited calls (except that local calls were 1 message
unit regardless of the length of the call.)

The area where calls were untimed (that is, a fixed number
of message units regardless of length) may have been
large, or the minimum number of message units may have
been generous, because I don't remember any screaming
when we got acoustic modems and were calling from the
Bronx to Queens and Manhattan.

[S John M-M]

On Sun, 15 May 2005 23:16:07 -0400, Stan Brown

Post by Stan Brown
My grandmother had limited service in suburban Baltimore. I believe
New York City kept message units much later.

I'm certain your Grandmother would correct you... not about the phone
service, but about the phrase "Suburban Baltimore". There's "Baltimore
City" and everything that's NOT "Baltimore City" is "Out in the
County"... People IN Baltimore City seem to apply "Out in the County"
to EVERYTHING within Maryland. I grew up in "Suburban D.C." (which we
refer to for non-natives as "DC"... and to natives "Montgomery
County"-- or "PG County," whichever applies). Anyhow, all my friends
in Baltimore referred to my being from where I was from in Montgomery
County as simply "Out in the County" which when you stopped to
untangle it would literally mean "Baltimore County," but not really.

No wonder I left as soon as I could. LOL.

--S. John in Back

[record hunter]

Post by S John M-M
On Sun, 15 May 2005 23:16:07 -0400, Stan Brown

Post by Stan Brown
My grandmother had limited service in suburban Baltimore. I believe
New York City kept message units much later.

I'm certain your Grandmother would correct you... not about the phone
service, but about the phrase "Suburban Baltimore". There's

"Baltimore

Post by S John M-M
City" and everything that's NOT "Baltimore City" is "Out in the
County"... People IN Baltimore City seem to apply "Out in the County"
to EVERYTHING within Maryland. I grew up in "Suburban D.C." (which we
refer to for non-natives as "DC"... and to natives "Montgomery
County"-- or "PG County," whichever applies). Anyhow, all my friends
in Baltimore referred to my being from where I was from in Montgomery
County as simply "Out in the County" which when you stopped to
untangle it would literally mean "Baltimore County," but not really.
No wonder I left as soon as I could. LOL.

I knew someone who always said he lived "in the county" (no "out"), and
what that meant to him was anywhere in Montgomery County that wasn't
Potomac, Bethesda, or Chevy Chase.

[record hunter]

Post by S John M-M
On Sun, 15 May 2005 23:16:07 -0400, Stan Brown

Post by Stan Brown
My grandmother had limited service in suburban Baltimore. I believe
New York City kept message units much later.

I'm certain your Grandmother would correct you... not about the phone
service, but about the phrase "Suburban Baltimore". There's

"Baltimore

Post by S John M-M
City" and everything that's NOT "Baltimore City" is "Out in the
County"... People IN Baltimore City seem to apply "Out in the County"
to EVERYTHING within Maryland. I grew up in "Suburban D.C." (which we
refer to for non-natives as "DC"... and to natives "Montgomery
County"-- or "PG County," whichever applies). Anyhow, all my friends
in Baltimore referred to my being from where I was from in Montgomery
County as simply "Out in the County" which when you stopped to
untangle it would literally mean "Baltimore County," but not really.
No wonder I left as soon as I could. LOL.

I knew someone who always said he lived "in the county" (no "out"), and
what that meant to him was anywhere in Montgomery County that wasn't
Potomac, Bethesda, or Chevy Chase.

[S John M-M]

On 22 May 2005 12:37:42 -0700, "record hunter"

Post by record hunter
I knew someone who always said he lived "in the county" (no "out"), and
what that meant to him was anywhere in Montgomery County that wasn't
Potomac, Bethesda, or Chevy Chase.

I'm product of Potomac... moreover WCHS, LOL. Anyhow, When I left to
go to sKooL (the first time) I moved to Columbia, MD. At the time it
felt like I was moving 1000's of miles away particularly since it
coincided with the beginning of the 410 area code. Columbia,
equidistant between Baltimore and DC ended up "local calling" to
Baltimore with the 410 area code. Then I REALLY left and ended up in
California.

Damn. How the fuck did I wind up here at Ft. Bragg so permanently?
--S. John

[h***@bbs.cpcn.com]

Post by Larry G
I recently got the first season DVD set of "The Brady Bunch". Very
entertaining, I highly recommend it, though in moderate doses. All those
primary colors are a bit much on the senses. ;-)

I'm not sure if it's "primary" colors but rather vivid and bright
colors. Houses and offices looked like that back then. You don't
see many rooms painted orange today, but then you did.

Post by Larry G
... they've gone over their message units.
Were local calls not free or unlimited in the 1970's?

Phone service plans varied by area. As others mentioned, generally
many places offered at least two plans: 1) "message rate" limited
calling--where you paid a low monthly amount but had to pay per call,
and 2) "flat rate" unlimited calling where you paid a higher monthly
amount but had free local calling. In some places nearby calls were
free but more distant calls triggered units (I'm skipping lots of
details.)

"Message Units" were a way the phone company could charge per call
without itemizing every call on your phone bill. Each line had a
counter associated with it at the phone company and the usage was
put on the monthly bill. For the volume of small local calls, it
was easier to use a small counter rather than have expensive
equipment track and itemize as was done for toll calls.
In some areas the traditional local service plans--with message
units--exist to this day. Of course, nowadays you may get unlimited
national service.

Public replies please.

[David Chesler]

Post by h***@bbs.cpcn.com
I'm not sure if it's "primary" colors but rather vivid and bright
colors. Houses and offices looked like that back then. You don't
see many rooms painted orange today, but then you did.

For examples, see kitchen appliances or office supplies from that era
on eBay. (I bought a mechanical/electric desktop calculator, burnt
orange case, etc.)

[Jamie]

I've been wondering about the phone in that episode for years now. The
kids were talking to other kids from school--at least that's was what
assumed about the "imaginary phone friends" (something that occured
throughout the "Brady Bunch"'srun--unseen "friends" of the family who
were on the other end of a phone conversation) that they were talking
to in the pay phone epsiode. What I wondered was why they were
being charged for calls to their own city. Carol was also talking to
a friend in thie episode. I could understand if *that* call was long
distance. But wouldn't the kids' classmates live in the same city and
school district as the Bradys? Peter is trying to help someone with
math problems and Marcia tells the girl she's talking to "meet (her) on
the banches at recess" so they must have gone to the same school. I
mean, were they using someone else's address to attend the school the
Brady kids attended?
Only having been born in 1971 I then began to wonder if phone bill
charges were different then.

[r***@vt.edu]

Post by Jamie
I've been wondering about the phone in that episode for years now. The
kids were talking to other kids from school--at least that's was what
to in the pay phone epsiode. What I wondered was why they were
being charged for calls to their own city. Carol was also talking to

Fairly common in the 1970s was a rate plan called a "message unit"
plan. This basically cost 10 cents per phone call in the local area,
but with no time limit.

Actually, I have this service now. My monthly bill is fairly low,
and I pay 10 cents (well, 9.6 cents) per local call made from
my home phone. Since my wife has a cell phone we rarely make
calls from our home phone and it is cheaper than unlimited local
calling.

Some places had 1 message unit for each 3 minute or part thereof.
So a 4 minute call is 2 units and a 15 second call is 1 unit. There
were some other variations.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.