Pacific Bell unveiled three new phone services this week, including a feature that allows customers to program 10 numbers into their phones that will produce a distinctive ring.
The Priority Ringing feature, dubbed the "Mother-In-Law" service, allows users to easily identify the calls they want and those they would prefer to avoid.The new services will be available in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas beginning July 21.
The company said Priority Ringing contains a feature that allows for a special tone to sound if a customer is on the phone when he or she gets a call from someone on the 10-number priority list.
While similar in some aspects to the controversial "Caller ID" program, phone company executives are quick to point out the differences.
"It uses the same signaling technology of Caller ID, but it's not a Caller ID clone," said Craig Watts, Pacific Bell spokesman. "All this does is give you more control over incoming calls."
Spokeswoman Kate Flynn said Pacific Bell, which has 11 million customers, has not yet made a final decision on the Caller ID program, which allows customers to identify a caller before they answer the phone.
Consumer groups across the country have criticized the proposed service because they say it invades the privacy of callers.
California's Public Utilities Commission instituted tough restrictions on the service last month. GTE California, which has 3 million customers, has dropped plans to offer Caller ID.
Pacific Bell also debuted two other services Wednesday - Repeat Dialing and Select Call Forwarding. The new features cost between $3.50 to $4 a month.
Repeat Dialing provides for automatic redials of a number with a "busy" signal for up to 30 minutes. Select Call Forwarding provides for up to 10 telephone numbers to be forwarded to another telephone in any home, office or vehicle.