INTERNATIONAL  TELECOMMUNICATION  UNION	

CCITT	F.40
THE  INTERNATIONAL
TELEGRAPH  AND  TELEPHONE
CONSULTATIVE  COMMITTEE

TELEGRAPH  AND  MOBILE  SERVICES
OPERATIONS  AND  QUALITY  OF  SERVICE

INTERNATIONAL  PUBLIC  
TELEMESSAGE  SERVICE

Recommendation  F.40

	Geneva, 1991	

Printed in Switzerland

FOREWORD
	The CCITT (the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee) is a permanent organ of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). CCITT is responsible for studying technical, operating and tariff questions and issuing Recommendations on them with a view to standardizing telecommunications on a worldwide basis.
	The Plenary Assembly of CCITT which meets every four years, establishes the topics for study and approves Recommendations prepared by its Study Groups. The approval of Recommendations by the members of CCITT between Plenary Assemblies is covered by the procedure laid down in CCITT Resolution No. 2 (Melbourne, 1988).
	Recommendation F.40 was prepared by Study Group I and was approved under the Resolution No. 2 procedure on the 11 of March 1991.

___________________

CCITT  NOTE
	In this Recommendation, the expression "Administration" is used for conciseness to indicate both a telecommunication Administration and a recognized private operating agency.

ã  ITU  1991
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from the ITU.

PAGE BLANCHE

Recommendation F.40
Recommendation F.40
INTERNATIONAL  PUBLIC  TELEMESSAGE  SERVICE
1	Introduction
1.1	Scope
1.1.1	Administrations providing the international public telemessage service as a form of telecommunication in accordance with Article 4.3 c) of the International Telecommunication Regulations (Melbourne, 1988) should explicitly agree to this on the basis of this Recommendation, which contains the relevant operational provisions.
1.1.2	The international public telemessage service may operate in parallel with, or as an alternative to, the international public telegram service. The international public telemessage service shall provide the capability of operating in conjunction with the international public telegram service in those cases where it is used as an alternative to the international public telegram service.
1.1.3	The tariff principles for the international public telemessage service are laid down in Recommendation D.45.
1.1.4	While this Recommendation implies an implementation related to the long established message retransmission system defined in Recommendation F.31 the telemessage service is not restricted to the F.31 based techniques.
1.2	Service definitions
1.2.1	telemessage service
	An international public service provided to enable the transmission of character-coded messages input electronically on national public telecommunication networks or by other means for physical delivery by a postal service (or equivalent) in the destination country, normally on the next working/business day.
1.2.2	telemessage
	Document printed in letter style preferably including the printing of capital and small letters and delivered in a distinctive envelope designed for use with the service. A telemessage includes the address of the recipient and, where possible of the sender.
1.2.3	telemessage switching centre
	A unit used to automatically switch international and/or national telemessage traffic.
1.2.4	national telemessage input centre
	An office used for accepting telemessages.
1.2.5	national telemessage distribution office
	An office used for the printing and enveloping of telemessages for subsequent entry into the mail network (or equivalent).
1.2.6	printing station
	Equipment used to print messages in the national telemessages distribution office. The printing station shall be capable of accepting a minimum of 69 printing characters (including spaces) per line.

1.3	General operating principles
	The telemessage service is made up of the following elements.
1.3.1	Processing/switching
1.3.1.1	Once the telemessage has entered the telemessage switching centre, it may be processed to ensure speed and code compatibility, then queued for switching to another point in the network or for onward transmission internationally.
1.3.2	Transmission
1.3.2.1	The telemessage switching centres are connected internationally as outlined in § 4.
1.3.3	National distribution and delivery
1.3.3.1	Telemessages are printed locally in national telemessage distribution offices, which are located to meet the quality of service criteria (see § 6). Final delivery is achieved by the ordinary mail service or other means of physical delivery.
2	Acceptance of telemessages
2.1	Individual Administrations will decide what methods national customers may use to lodge telemessages. However, in principle it is expected that telemessages would normally be accepted via a wide range of national subscriber service, sucha as telephone (including public payphones), telex, teletex, telefax, videotex and by computer inputs.
2.2	In the basic service, the characters used in composing telemessages may initially be restricted to those available in the telegram service (Recommendations F.1, A.16 to A.18) i.e. International Telegraph Alphabet No. 2 (ITA2). Nevertheless, noting the ability to preserve the distinction between capital and small letters in ITA2 where the method of lodgement permits, customers should be encouraged to use capital and small letters, so that in the preferred case where the method of international transmission also allows it, this distinction will be preserved for delivery at destination (national matter).
2.3	In relations where appropriate bilateral agreements exist, the following more extensive character sets should be used in lodging telemessages:
a)	the international reference version of International Alphabet No. 5 (IA5) defined in Recommen-dation T.50;
b)	the Teletex basic repertoire of graphic characters defined in Recommendation T.61.
2.4	The text and the signature of a telemessage may be written in any language.
3	Telemessage switching centres
3.1	A telemessage switching centre shall, in the basic service, conform to the requirements of a telegram retransmission centre as defined in Recommendation F.31 except where otherwise specified by this Recommendation.
3.2	A telemessage switching centre must be capable of switching ITA2 as described in § 2.2 above.
4	International network requirements
4.1	The telemessage service may utilize by bilateral agreement:
i)	dedicated circuits between telemessage switching centres; and/or
ii)	a public data transmission network; and/or
iii)	the public switched telephone network (or circuits allocated for DATEL services); and/or
iv)	any other network e.g. telex or Gentex.

4.2	Coding of the character sets permitted in §§ 2.2 and 2.3 above shall be in accordance with Recommen-dations S.1, S.2 (ITA2), T.50 (IA5 IRV), T.61 (Teletex), or others as appropriate.
	In these cases the telemessage centres can be interconnected in accordance with the Message Handling service, Recommendation X.400-Series, or other protocols by bilateral agreement.
4.3	In the case of transmission in ITA2, distinction between capital and small letters should be retained wherever possible using the coding convention defined for this pupose in Recommendation S.2. This implies that telemessage switching centres (including transit centres) should not delete possible superfluous shift characters, although this is permissible if three or more of them appear in succession.
4.4	The international connection between switching centres may, by bilateral agreement, operate at any modulation rate.
5	Format
5.1	General
5.1.1	In the basic service, telemessages shall be transmitted in a format in conformance with Recommendation F.31 (Telegram retransmission system), except that the specific provisions below shall apply. Format examples in ITA2 and IA5 are given at Annex A.
5.2	Message header
5.2.1	The pilot line shall include, apart from the destination and origin indicators as specified in Recommendation F.1 and the number of actual words, the priority indicator C and the tariff indicator T.
5.2.2	The actual word count shall include all the words in the text, the signature (if any) and the sender's address (if any). Consequently, the delivery address and the service indication line (if any) are excluded.
5.2.3	The preamble line shall include the office of origin (as specified in Recommendation F.1), the actual word count, date and legal time of acceptance.
5.3	Address part
5.3.1	Service indications
	In relations where the telegram and telemessage services share common facilities, the first line of the address part shall begin with the service indication TELEMESSAGE1). The only optional service indication is LXx which designates de luxe cards (see § 9.1). This indication has to be separated by a space character from the indication TELEMESSAGE.
5.3.2	Postal address
5.3.2.1	The postal address must include all reasonable requirements for delivery without any enquiries in the destination country. Wherever possible the postal code should be included. In some cases a country code may be added to the postal code. Even where this is not the case, the destination country should not be shown in the address.
5.3.2.2	The postal address will be composed preferably of six lines of up to 30 printing/spacing characters each. In some cases (e.g. in relations where the telegram and telemessage services share common facilities) a postal address of five lines of up to 43 characters each shall be accepted.
5.3.2.3	The last line, or at most the last two lines, of the address will be used in many cases to switch the telemessage to the appropriate national distribution office. Accordingly, it (or they) shall consist of the following elements:

—	wherever possible the postal code (which may contain letters and/or figures in any order);
—	the name of the town or city in a form acceptable to the destination country, which may accept more than one version (e.g. LONDON, LONDRES);
—	the name (or an accepted abbreviation) of the state, province or county (if applicable).
5.3.2.4	The position of the postal code should be in accordance with the requirements of the destination country.
5.3.2.5	Where practicable and convenient, the town or city name should also appear in the last line of the address, preceding the state/province/county name. Otherwise it should be given on its own in the second last line of the address.
5.3.2.6	The relevant list of telegraph offices may be consulted when composing the address.
5.4	The text and signature
5.4.1	The text and signature (if any) of any one telemessage shall not exceed 35 lines, including blank lines for paragraphing and separating the signature from the text. The number of text and signature (if any) lines can exceed 35 by bilateral agreement. Each line may consist of a maximum of 69 printing/spacing characters with an option, by bilateral agreement, for 80 characters maximum providing service is not via a transit centre.
5.4.2	The text may be freely formatted, e.g. it may include columns, separate paragraphs, etc., as might be expected in a conventional letter. In principle the text shall be transmitted in the precise format accepted from the customer.
5.5	The sender's address
5.5.1	The sender's address, while not obligatory, should normally follow the signature and should consist of a maximum of six lines of up to 30 printing/spacing characters each (the inclusion of the sender's address may facilitate possible service action).
5.5.2	The last line of the sender's address should be the internationally recognized name (or abbreviation) of the country of origin.
5.5.3	There may be an option for the date and legal time of acceptance in the country of origin to be added by the accepting Administrations on a separate line.
6	Transmission and delivery
6.1	International telemessages should be transmitted to the telemessage switching centre in the destination country within two hours of acceptance.
6.2	The location of national telemessage distribution offices should be arranged to ensure that at least 95% of sufficiently addressed messages received in the destination country by 1600 hours legal time (at the destination town or locality) will be delivered on the next working/business day.
6.3	In view of § 6.2, customers may be advised that, as a general rule, telemessages received by 1600 hours at the destination will be delivered on the next working/business day. Customers will need to take due account of any time zone differences and public holidays in the destination country. It should also be noted that, while every effort will be taken to achieve “next working day” delivery, this is not always possible for remote or sparsely populated regions, nor can any guarantee of delivery time be given in the international telemessage service.
7	Servicing procedures
7.1	Non-delivery
7.1.1	If a telemessage cannot be delivered by the postal service in the destination country, due to an incorrect address, insufficient address, addressee moved, etc., the telemessage should be forwarded to the international telemessage switching centre in the destination country.
7.1.2	When one or more telemessages are returned to that centre by the postal service, the centre shall advise the outgoing centre of the origin country. This advice should consist of a report generated each working day listing all undelivered returned telemessages and, where possible, a brief reason for nondelivery2) . The recommended format is to quote in one line per message, the date of acceptance, channel sequence number and the reason for non-delivery in plain language (e.g. addressee moved).
7.2	Check of word count
7.2.1	No systematic check of actual word count need be performed on reception. Nevertheless, when a gross error is detected, normal service procedures in accordance with Recommendation F.1 may be used.
8	Archives
8.1	It should be possible for a telemessage to be retransmitted at the request of a destination or transit centre for a minimum period of seven days after the initial transmission.
8.2	All outgoing messages should be stored in telemessage switching centres for a minimum period of three months to meet the requirement in Recommendation D.45, § 4.2 on justifying a refund for non-delivery. Nevertheless, to minimize operator involvement, investigations into non-delivery should be avoided as a general principle.
8.3	Essential accounting information shall be held in archives for a minimum period of six months counted from the month after that in which the telemessage was handed in. This information shall include:
a)	the numbering line;
b)	the office of origin;
c)	date and time of acceptance;
d)	brief identification of the address (e.g. addressee's name and country);
e)	outgoing route if necessary;
f)	time of transmission.
9	Facilities
9.1	Greetings/deluxe messages
9.1.1	As an optional service, telemessages may be delivered with a greetings/deluxe card, preferably in a range of designs to suit a number of different occasions. The first line of the address part shall contain the service indication LXx. Values of x are listed below.
	When a choice is offered the following range of card types and indications is suggested, although it may be extended or modifed. Specific designs chosen are the responsibility of the destination Administration.
11	General Greetings
22	Weddings
33	Adult Greetings
44	Child Greetings
55	Birth
66	Condolences
9.1.2	Any translation of the card indication necessary in the country of destination to effect delivery shall be performed by the terminal telemessage switching centre.

9.1.3	If the requested deluxe card is not available in the country of destination, it should normally be substituted by the general greetings card, with the possible exception when 66 (Condolences) has been requested.
9.1.4	Administrations that do not admit GREETINGS/DELUXE messages listed in § 9.1.1 must let them pass in transit except in the case of suspension of service provided for in Article 20 of the Convention (Nairobi, 1982).
9.2	Cancellation
	The facility to cancel a telemessage after it has been accepted is not offered.

ANNEX A
(to Recommendation F.40)
Format examples
A.1	Standard telemessage in ITA2 with service indication
	º
	ZCZC ZYX3174 DGR118 2-3170698 º
	GBXX CT UDNX 084 º
	TDMT AKRON OHIO 84 3 1605 º º º

	TELEMESSAGE º
	MR P C JENKINSON º
	216 GREAT BADDOW STREET º
	WHITTON º
	TWICKENHAM º
	MIDDLESEX TW7 9RY º º º

	WE REFER TO YOUR REQUEST FOR REPLACEMENT PARTS WITH COST FOR YOUR º
	DIATRON SYSTEM. WE HAVE PLEASURE IN SUBMITTING THE FOLLOWING º
	ESTIMATES. º º

	PART NR.			AVAILABILITY	PRICE		DELIVERY º º
	263-471				61			1273.70		6 weeks º
	263-472				12			1118.86		2 weeks º
	1973A26			6	62			1316.00		1 month º
	7168/A6				N/A º
	7168/A7				22			2316.70		in stock º º

	PLEASE NOTE ALL PRICES ARE US DOLLARS CIF. WE LOOK FORWARD TO º
	RECEIVING YOUR ORDERS. 	º º º

	HIRIAM P THURSTON º
	AKRON ASSOCIATES º
	3167 MAIN STREET º
	AKRON OHIO 12345 º
	UNITED STATES OF AMERICA º
	4.05 EST 3 JULY 1986 	º º º º º º º º º º

	NNNN

A.2	Standard telemessage in IA5 without service indication but with control characters for reformatting
	º
	ZCZC ZYX3174 DGR118 2-3170698 º
	GBXX CT UDNX 079 º
	TDMT AKRON OHIO 79 3 1605 º º º

	MR P C JENKINSON º
	216 GREAT BADDOW STREET º
	WHITTON º
	TWICKENHAM º
	MIDDLESEX TW7 9RY º º º

	3) WE REFER TO YOUR REQUEST FOR REPLACEMENT PARTS WITH COST FOR YOUR º
	DIATRON SYSTEM. WE HAVE PLEASURE IN SUBMITTING THE FOLLOWING º
	ESTIMATES. º º

	PART NR.			AVAILABILITY	PRICE		DELIVERY º º
	263-4719				61			1273.70		6 weeks º
	263-4720				12			1118.86		2 weeks º
	1973A26			6	62			1316.00		1 month º
	7168/A6				N/A º
	7168/A7				22			2316.702	in stock º º

	PLEASE NOTE ALL PRICES ARE US DOLLARS CIF. WE LOOK FORWARD TO º
	RECEIVING YOUR ORDERS. º º º

	HIRIAM P THURSTON º
	AKRON ASSOCIATES º

	4) º
	3167 MAIN STREET º
	AKRON OHIO 12345 º
	UNITED STATES OF AMERICA º º º º º º º º º º

	NNNN

A.3	Standard telemessage in IA5 without service indication or control characters for reformatting
	º
	ZCZC ZYX3174 DGR118 2-3170698 º
	GBXX CT UDNX 084 º
	TDMT AKRON OHIO 84 3 1605 º º º

	MR P C JENKINSON º
	216 GREAT BADDOW STREET º
	WHITTON º
	TWICKENHAM º
	MIDDLESEX TW7 9RY º º º

	WE REFER TO YOUR REQUEST FOR REPLACEMENT PARTS WITH COST FOR YOUR º
	DIATRON SYSTEM. WE HAVE PLEASURE IN SUBMITTING THE FOLLOWING º
	ESTIMATES. º º

	PART NR.			AVAILABILITY	PRICE		DELIVERY º º
	263-4719				61			1273.70		6 weeks º
	263-4720				12			1118.86		2 weeks º
	1973A26				62			1316.00		1 month º
	7168/A6				N/A º
	7168/A7				22			2316.70		in stock º º

	PLEASE NOTE ALL PRICES ARE US DOLLARS CIF. WE LOOK FORWARD TO º
	RECEIVING YOUR ORDERS. º º º

	HIRIAM P THURSTON º
	AKRON ASSOCIATES º
	3167 MAIN STREET º
	AKRON OHIO 12345 º
	UNITED STATES OF AMERICA º
	4.05 EST 3 JULY 1986 º º º º º º º º º º

	NNNN

A.4	Standard telemessage without service indication or sender's address in ITA2
	º
	ZCZC LYX2314 DDN2716 1234FILT º
	GBXX CT FRXX 026 º
	PARIS 26 3 1729 º º º

	MARIA C COSTELLO º
	216A PERCY ROAD º
	FILTON º
	BRISTOL º
	AVON BS6 7PL º º º

	ON THIS YOUR DAY I WISH TO SEND YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND MY SINCERE BEST º
	WISHES FOR A HAPPY LIFE TOGETHER. º º º

	CLAUDE MALEVAL º
	1729/3ER JUILLET 1986 º º º º º º º º º º

	NNNN

A.5	Standard telemessage with service indication greetings/deluxe and without sender's address and date and time of acceptance in IA5 but with control characters for reformatting
	º
	ZCZC LYX2314 DDN2716 1234LOND º
	GBXX CT FRXX 023 º
	PARIS 23 3 1729 º º º

	TELEMESSAGE 11 º
	MARIA C COSTELLO º
	216A PERCY ROAD º
	FILTON º
	BRISTOL º
	AVON BS6 7PL º º º

	5) ON THIS YOUR DAY I WISH TO SEND YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND MY SINCERE BEST º
	WISHES FOR A HAPPY LIFE TOGETHER. º º º

	CLAUDE MALEVALº
	5) º º º º º º º º º º

	NNNN