TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Thrifty Tel Inc. Apparently Defunct: The small long-distance telephone company, which had been operating under bankruptcy law protection, apparently shut down and directed its customers to find another long-distance carrier. The Garden Grove company filed a Chapter 11 petition late last month to reorganize its debts. Customers who tried to make long-distance calls Tuesday got a recorded message telling them to contact Pacific Bell or other carriers at a toll-free number. Calls to the company and to the toll-free number went unanswered, and one number for Thrifty Tel had been disconnected.