Phone Companies Combine Familiar Services for New Call Waiting ID

Ever since call waiting became a hit in the 1970s, phone companies have been looking for ways to cash in on additional phone service features.

The latest whistle on the phone menu is call waiting ID, a service that--for an additional cost--combines the incoming notification capabilities of call waiting with the name and number identification features of caller ID.

Pacific Bell, the state’s largest local phone company with about 10 million residential customers, launched its service in mid-June. GTE has offered the feature since January 1998. And smaller phone carriers, such as Cox Communications, also offer call waiting ID.

The service aims to solve the dilemma faced by millions of call waiting customers: Should you risk irritating the person you’re talking to just in case a bigger name caller is ringing in?

With call waiting ID, you still hear the familiar call waiting beeps that signal the arrival of a second call. But you also can see the incoming caller’s name or phone number displayed on a special screen. With one glance at the screen, you can decide whether the new call is worth the interruption.

If you don’t answer the second call, that caller’s phone number would be saved by your caller ID function. If you have voice mail, the incoming call could be routed there.

To use the new feature, you must subscribe to caller ID ($7 to $7.95 per month for GTE customers or $6.50 a month with PacBell) and call waiting ($3.50 to $4.50 a month from GTE or $3.40 per month from PacBell). In addition, you need to have a phone or display equipment that works with both services.

Sometimes, phone companies offer deals where the necessary equipment comes free, but naturally, they also would be happy to sell you what you need for about $40. Electronics stores may provide a wider selection, with the combination phones selling for $40 to $140 or more, or from $13 to $25 for just an add-on display unit.

It’s important to keep in mind that the service will only be useful if there is a display on the phone you’re using at the time--and not, for example, several rooms away in the bedroom.

So if you’ve established that you have all the prerequisite services and equipment, and you’re a GTE customer, you can get call waiting ID at no additional charge. PacBell charges $3 a month for call waiting ID, plus a one-time $5 installation fee. PacBell customers who buy a multi-feature package that includes caller ID can add call waiting ID for $1.50 per month.

The service is likely to be most popular among those who use both caller ID and call waiting, especially in households with just one phone line, according to Hongjun Li, telecommunications analyst at Parks Associates, a research and consulting firm in Dallas.

In 1998, about 19% of all U.S. households subscribed to both call waiting and caller ID, according to a Parks Associates survey of more than 1,500 homes.

That percentage may be lower in California, where the penetration of caller ID still lags behind the industry average. Among PacBell customers, about 50% buy call waiting, while about 18% buy caller ID, according to PacBell spokesman Steve Getzug.

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Times staff writer Elizabeth Douglass can be reached at elizabeth.douglass @latimes.com.