TEL

TEL (Telephone Electronics Line) was a small publication that was dedicated to phone phreaking and hacking. The Teletronics Company of America began publishing it monthly in November 1974 with Jack Kranyak the Editor-in-Chief. TEL was similar to TAP, but was geared totally toward phone phreaking.

In 1975, Pacific Telephone & Telegraph (PT&T) won a lawsuit against the publishers of TEL. The Superior Court of California ordered TEL to stop publishing immediately. Though never challenged in court, this was truly a violation of First Amendment rights. A letter was mailed to all subscribers advising them to destroy all back issues of TEL.

TEL ceased publishing after only seven issues.

Contents

TEL Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 1 (November 1974)

• TSPS ... Traffic Services Position Systems

TEL Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 2 (December 1974)

• How to Call Long Distance Toll-Free
• How Many Attachments Can You Wire to Your Telephone Line?
• How to Handle Obscene Telephone Company Employees
• What You Can Get for the Price of a Dime
• The Automatic Wiretap
• Call Santa This Year and Wish Him the Best!

TEL Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 1 (January 1975)

• Toll: A General Introduction
• The Intricacy of Credit Card Fraud
• Modern Phone Preaking
• Detection: How to avoid it
• Area Code 900
• TEL Tips
• Construction Project: The Hold Button

TEL Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 2 (February 1975)

• Telephone Answering / Recording Devices
• When the Phone Company Turns a Deaf Ear
• Dial Tone Speed Measurement - Part One

TEL Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 3 (March 1975)

• Overseas Dialing Techniques
• Fresno - Way Station for Tax Returns
• Pay Phone Special
• The Telephone: A Basic Introduction
• Dial Tone Speed Measurement - Part Two

TEL Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 4 (April 1975)

• Touch-Tone - What it is, What it does!
• Construction Project - Add Four New Tones to Your Touch-Tone Phone.
• Central Office Operations - Part One, Step-by-Step
• Anatomy of a Phone Bust - or, "How to Get Caught"
• Dial Tone Speed Measurement - Part Three
• Construction Project - Television Remote Control
• PUC vs. Telco - California Ruling on Interconnection

TEL Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 5 (May 1975)

• Trashing the Phone Company - A Look at "Ma Bell's" Garbage
• Construction Project - Poor Person's Telephone
• Construction Project - Telephone "Beeper"
• Central Office Operations - Part Two, No. 5 Crossbar
• European Reports
• Big Mother is Watching