From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon Aug 12 11:23:13 1996
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Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 11:23:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
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To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #401
TELECOM Digest Mon, 12 Aug 96 11:23:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 401
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Republicans Come to Town - The Lights Go Out! (Stephen Satchell)
Re: Republicans Come to Town - The Lights Go Out! (Steven Lichter)
"Genuine Nynex Payphone" Limiting Number of Touch Tone Digits (D. Burstein)
"Wrong numbers" in Britain (Dave Close)
Help Needed With Apartment Building Wiring (scorpio1@interport.net)
Re: 612/320 and Beyond (John Cropper)
Re: 612/320 and Beyond (Rob Wood)
Re: Pay Phone 800 Number Charge? (Kyle Rhorer)
Re: Satellite TV Services (Larry Irons)
Re: Number Crunch (Ron Kritzman)
Re: Number Crunch (Clint Gilliland)
Re: ISDN D-Channel Data and Internet Voice (John Agosta)
Re: How Low Can Loop Voltage Go? (Jean-Francois Mezei)
Re: Why Do US Online Phone Directories Only Have Stale Data? (Mike Fox)
Re: Caller ID: Names Passed Between LECs? (Art Kamlet)
Re: Caller ID: Names Passed Between LECs? (Tony Harminc)
Re: Touch Tones in Movies? (Ed Ellers)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 01:45:21 -0700
From: satchell@accutek.com (Stephen Satchell)
Subject: Re: Republicans Come to Town - The Lights Go Out!
Organization: Satchell Evaluations
In article <telecom16.400.1@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
(TELECOM Digest Editor) wrote:
> So, the weekend brought another major power outage to the western USA
> once again. Millions of people without power -- most important perhaps
> their lights and air-conditioning in hundred degree temperatures --
> for several hours. Tsk, tsk ...
> As the Republicans were arriving in southern California for their
> convention, the power went out. What a great way to greet your visitors,
> guys!
> Anyone have the true story/facts/excuses made this time around?
From San Francisco radio station KCBS during the coverage (I was at ISPone
during the fiasco):
At the Oregon/California border, the monitors on the Pacific Intertie
detected that there was a frequency mismatch, and the breakers operated as
they were supposed to. This caused a HUGE load-shedding event in nine
states as the local generators could not begin to keep up with demand.
The interesting point about this is that the shedding was spotty. For
example, the area around Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco (the
center itself, and the traffic lights around it) had power, but two blocks
away in just about any direction the power was GONE.
Even more funny, as area by area would be restored, sometimes the
newly-restored area would drop again, sometimes only after minutes.
My home in Incline Village (Lake Tahoe) never lost power, based on the
fact that my VCR and microwave oven all show the correct time and not
"blinking 12s". I don't know if Reno, Virginia City, or Carson City lost
power, but I'll find out on Monday when I compare notes at the local
restaurant here.
Footnote: when I was driving home, I discovered that Vacaville -- on I-80
about 50 miles east of SF -- had lost power *today*.
Stephen Satchell, Satchell Evaluations
http://www.accutek.com/~satchell
------------------------------
From: slichte@cello.gina.calstate.edu (Steven Lichter)
Subject: Re: Republicans Come to Town - The Lights Go Out!
Date: 12 Aug 1996 05:34:21 -0700
Organization: GINA and CORE+ Services of The California State University
ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) writes:
> As the Republicans were arriving in southern California for their
> convention, the power went out. What a great way to greet your visitors,
> guys!
> Anyone have the true story/facts/excuses made this time around?
The power outage I'm sure you know effected everyone from Canada to
Mexico and as far east as Texas. They are saying it was a fire that
caused wires feeding California to short which in turn caused breakers
all over the west to shut down and operate on their own, leaving
California with not enough power and the northwest with too much. The
outage was from a few seconds to several hours with a couple of areas
being out over 24 hours. It caused a bit of a problem because I saw
where many stop lights went nuts once the power came back on and all
the electronic ran gas pumps had to be reset; I was getting gas at the
time and was a little annoyed even thought the power came back right
away since I had to wait another five minutes for them to reset. My
systems at home stayed on since I have a rather large UPS that was
made for a Lan, so all was fine here, with the exception of my air
conditioner being a little confused for a while.
SysOp Apple Elite II and OggNet Hub (909)359-5338 2400/14.4 24 hours,
Home of GBBS/LLUCE Support for the Apple II and Macintosh computers.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 05:26:05 EDT
From: danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
Subject: "Genuine Nynex Payphone" Limiting Number of Touch Tone Digits
Maybe someone could explain the rationale behind this one? I can't
figure out any. To make this even more ironic I discovered the problem
when calling a Nynex number ...
Earlier today I paid my (home) Nynex bill at an authorized payment
location. (These are "outsourced" by Nynex, which has very, very, few
of their own offices, or employees, anymore).
After getting my receipt I called Nynex's automated accounting system to
let it know I had paid. This involves a 1-800 number, then punching in
the billing number, a code, etc.
About two thirds of the way through the menu sequences I got a synthesized
voice announcement which said something like "no additional digits may
be dialed at this time".
And sure enough, anytime I hit a touch tone key I heard the tone, then
got the same msg.
I suspect that the tone I heard was _not_ sent over the link, and that
the voice I heard was generated by the payphone itself, but I can't
readily verify this.
Anyway, I've been scratching my head to come up with a reason why a
"genuine Nynex payphone" (i.e., not a cocot) would have any use for such a
limit, and can't come up with any that warrant the disruption and
annoyance such a "feature" provides.
Oh, I'll be sending off a PSC complaint a bit later today, as I can
easily see this blocking my access to other voicemail systems as well as
my long distance carrier.
dannyb@panix.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Hint ... it has something to do with
drug dealers using payphones and the other nemesis of society, toll
fraud. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Dave Close <dave@compata.com>
Subject: "Wrong numbers" in Britain
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 23:01:28 -0700
Organization: Compata, Costa Mesa, California
To avoid copyright infringement, I'll merely send along the URL. This
article discusses the issue of phone number exhaustion in Britain and
the continent. http://www.economist.com/issue/10-08-96/br3.html
Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA
dave@compata.com, +1 714 434 7359
dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu
------------------------------
From: scorpio1@interport.net
Subject: Help Needed With Apartment Building Wiring
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 10:06:42 -0400
Organization: Interport Communications Corp.
I have is this question; I'm in NY my telco is NYNEX. Where I
live there are two buildings, that share a inside wall, and other
things. We have a main line that come from a pole, to one of the
building's basement; like 150ft to 200ft, from the pole to the
building basement. From there the main line splits in to two, one
for each building going like 75ft each apart to each box. These are
the old terminal boxes that need a nut wrench to connect the wires.
There is so much of a mess in the boxes with a bunch of wires every-
where, that when telco comes to repair or connect a new service always
they break someone else's line. I told them that if this happen again I
not going to let anyone go there and work in the lines; they better
fix it from the street. Usually when some line is not working, the
first thing they said is that the problem is in the basement. I know
for a fact that the problem is not there; the problem is where the
other telco men are working on the street someplace else and breaking
the lines on there. Later they want to come to the building and
try to find an empty pair so they can change the line to other pair.
1) Can I tell NYNEX to put a new box (one 66 block or two 66 blocks )
where the main cable enters the basement; just there instead of the
two boxes? I think one place is much better, so all the lines from
each building can go to only one place. Can I specify what type of
block like cat 4 or 5 or can I buy a 66 block myself, install it
there and tell NYNEX to put all the wires in there?
2) Can I make them change the old main line, and put a new from the
basement box to the pole or some where else? Can I specify what type
and how many wires, I think 100 to 200 pairs is enough, since there is
a total of 24 apartments between buildings.
3) Right know the main line that is coming to the buildings sucks.
In that line are I think ten exchanges. None of them offers ISDN or some
of the other services like CALL ANSWERING, etc. The problem is that the
line routes to some place and that place don't support this services,
some of the exchanges do, but since they route to that place is not way
to get some of the services. Is there anything that I can do about it?.
4) Is there going to be any charge to the building or that is the
telco responsibility.
Any ideas, or other things that I can ask them.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You raise a lot of questions and I will
answer just a few and pass the others along to whoever wants to answer
them. First of all, you do not indicate if you are the landlord (or
the landlord's representative) or simply a tenant in the building. If
you are the latter, there is nothing at all you can do. If you are the
landlord's representative, i.e. caretaker for the property, then I
would suggest the best thing you might do is speak to a foreman or
supervisor at Nynex responsible for outside plant and tell them what
you said here. Tell them you believe it is time to install a new
demarc and completely organize/identify the wire pairs coming in to
the buildings because of the repeated problems with service interupptions
and other problems identifying each subscriber's wires. I do not think
you can force them to change any of their own equipment/wiring, and
it does belong to them until it reaches the terminal box. From that
point on throughout the building is sort of a grey area: some telcos
define 'demarc' as the point where the wires enter each individual
tenant's apartment. In other cases 'demarc' is the spot in the
building where all the 'house pair' wires take over from the wires
coming in from outside the building. Typically in real old buildings
such as yours, most telcos are willing to make a liberal definition
of 'demarc' and not hold the landlord/tenants responsible for the
costs of replacement/repair, particularly if telco did all the
inside wiring as well how ever many decades ago. See if you can speak
with someone in authority at Nynex involved in outside plant repairs
and maintainence and relate what you said here. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 06:23:05 GMT
Subject: Re: 612/320 and Beyond
From: psyber@usa.pipeline.com (John Cropper)
On Aug 08, 1996 23.53.40, '"Rob Wood" <robwoo19@skypoint.com>' wrote:
> I recently had the opportunity to review a US West flyer relating to
> NPA 320 and found out that 612 will be down to its final 54 prefixes
> by late August. Hopefully Round 2 will not cut it as close.
If 612 keeps adding prefixes at the rate it has the first two quarters of
this year, US West should begin another permissive period NO LATER than
4Q96, to be mandatory 4Q97. Given the reduced area, I'd have to recommend
an overlay this time around ...
> Once the permissive period ends, I count 244 prefixes comfortably
> available. Therefore, I would anticipate that at the rate we're
> using phone numbers, Round 2 may start late 1997 since relief may be
> needed perhaps summer 1998 ...
Much sooner, I'm afraid ...
AT&T's "big experiment" in local service will be in Chicago (they'll
actually be laying their *own* fiber). I'm sure they'll want to test
the waters in other nearby markets, and this could intensify number
consumption.
> The vast majority of 612's NXX's will consist of the Twin Cittes
> calling area. All calls between any number in the region are local
> calls. Therefore, I expect the debate over the next relief to be a
> contentious one, since we would be looking at ten-digit local calls.
As I said above, an overlay would probably be the recommendation of
anyone with common sense. Unfortunately, the heavy hitters (AT&T, MCI,
et al.) won't let it happen without a fight.
John Cropper * NiS / NexComm
Content is the sole property of the * PO Box 277
originating poster. Please relegate * Pennington, NJ USA 08534-0277
ALL on-topic responses to this * Inside NJ : 609.637.9434
newsgroup. Unsolicited private mail * Outside NJ: 888.NPA.NFO2 (672.6362)
is prohibited, and will be referred * Fax : 609.637.9430
unabridged to sender's ISP. * email: psyber@usa.pipeline.com
------------------------------
From: Rob Wood <robwoo19@skypoint.com>
Organization: Rob Wood - Minnetonka, MN USA
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 09:01:12 -0500
Subject: Re: 612/320 and Beyond
John Cropper responded:
> AT&T's "big experiment" in local service will be in Chicago (they'll
> actually be laying their *own* fiber). I'm sure they'll want to test the
> waters in other nearby markets, and this could intensify number
> consumption.
>> The vast majority of 612's NXX's will consist of the Twin Cittes
>> calling area. All calls between any number in the region are local
>> calls. Therefore, I expect the debate over the next relief to be a
>> contentious one, since we would be looking at ten-digit local calls ...
> As I said above, an overlay would probably be the recommendation of anyone
> with common sense. Unfortunately, the heavy hitters (AT&T, MCI, et al.)
> won't let it happen without a fight.
Given that Minnesota considered an overlay this time, I would be
surprised to see an overlay in this case. Mandatory dialing of the
NPA for long distance in all cases came in September 1994 - to all
parts of Minnesota at the same time, and I doubt that mandatory
ten-digit local dialing will sell well outside the Minneapolis-St. Paul
area. Hence, I am thinking split instead of overlay. However, I am
envisioning a lengthy battle with various municipalities jockeying for
position on the matter - CO's do not seem to respect city or county
boundaries to a major extent. I anticipate that the dialing scheme
will be akin to the Seattle area following the three-way split in
Round 2.
Rob Wood robwoo19@skypoint.com
Minnetonka, MN USA
------------------------------
From: rhorer@phoenix.net (Kyle Rhorer)
Subject: Re: Pay Phone 800 Number Charge?
Date: 11 Aug 1996 23:55:14 GMT
Organization: KB5IMO
Wes Leatherock (wes.leatherock@hotelcal.com) wrote:
> You must not have visited Texas recently. I did, a month or
> month and a half ago, and did not find a single pay phone which did
> not charge for calls to 800 numbers. (I also did not find a single
> SWBT [RBOC] pay phone, although I noted a few such indicated by
> signs at places where I did not need to make a call.)
I have lived in Texas my whole life, and have only encountered ONE pay
phone that wanted money to complete an 800 call. I'm sure that just
like everything else, policies vary from region to region (and Texas
*is* a big state), but generally speaking it has been my experience
that 800 calls from Texas pay phones are still free.
Kyle Rhorer rhorer@phoenix.net
http://www.phoenix.net/~rhorer
------------------------------
From: Larry Irons <irons@qadas.com>
Subject: Re: Satellite TV Services
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 23:07:46 -0600
Organization: Qadas Online
Curtis Wheeler wrote:
> On another note. While this is not really laid out in black and
> white, you don't necessarily have the right to do what you wish with
> radio signals coming into your back yard. At least this is the
> argument I would use if I was representing the government in court. The
> way I look at it, when the communications act of 1934 was adopted, and
> the FCC was created, the radio spectrum in the U.S. was, for practical
> purposes, comdemned by the government under what may be called it's
> imminent domain. Just like they can condemn your house and force you
> to move so they can put in a freeway. Essentially the regulated
> "airwaves" have an easment in your back yard. The government took
> over because it was obvious that technologies were going to require
> that the spectrum be managed and regulated if it was going to do the
> public any good.
> Could you imagine what it would be like today if there was no management
> of radio spectrum and everyone just did as they please?
When the federal govenrment condemns property, they must compensate the
individual for its fair market value. That's written in the Bill of
Rights.
If the Federal government seized all radio frequencies for their own
use, did they take something without due process and without due
compensation. In other words, have they compensated my ancestors,
myself, and my descendants for the control of the airwaves. Obviously,
prior to the FCC, the airwaves were unregulated and free to be used by
anyone without payment. Today, the government auctions off the
frequency bands to the highest bidder. Where is my royalty?
Now that's a case that I await.
Larry Irons irons@qadas.com
Lakewood, Colorado
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: No more smart talk like that from you
if you please. If you keep making suggestions like that, you will
get listed as one of those 'extreme right' type people the government
is trying so hard to get rid of right now. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Ron Kritzman <ronk@ais.net>
Subject: Re: Number Crunch
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 09:15:22 GMT
Organization: Kritzman Communications
Lauren Weinstein wrote:
> First, it is far too easy for entities to reserve huge blocks of
> numbers for services before they are needed, eating up large segments
> of the numbering space.
My many years in the beeper business confirm this. If you want the
telcos to connect you as a telco rather than as an end user, you get
whole prefixes and take T spans (or higher) from the tandems. When
you're running 30,000 calls per hour through your paging switch, you
can hardly sit there as an end user hanging off of whatever CO is
local to your office building. However, when you hit subscriber 50,001
you need 10,000 more numbers.
As early as 1980 someone suggested going back to "overdial" paging to
avoid a future number crunch. (Overdial is where instead of each
pager having a phone number the caller dials an access number to get
into the paging system, then punches in the pager number.)
The phone companies, he said, could set up a special three digit
access code instead of a seven digit number. This would allow the
callers to dial three digits, then the pager number.
Hey ... wait a minute ... that sounds like an overlay areacode for
wireless. DOH!
Ron
------------------------------
From: clintcrg@aol.com (Clint CRG)
Subject: Re: Number Crunch
Date: 11 Aug 1996 14:10:30 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Reply-To: clintcrg@aol.com (Clint CRG)
There are costs to reserving numbers. Pacific Tel charges us $45 per 100
numbers for our DID blocks. There is a $1500 charge if we release the
numbers before two years. You can't tie up large blocks of numbers without
some cost. This prevents frivolus hoarding.
Clint Gilliland
TCI/BR Communications
Sunnyvale, CA
------------------------------
From: jagosta@interaccess.com (John Agosta)
Subject: Re: ISDN D-Channel Data and Internet Voice
Date: 11 Aug 1996 16:01:05 GMT
Organization: Agosta and Associates
In article <telecom16.391.6@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, azur@netcom.com says:
> Does anyone know which states have tariffed D-channel service, and how
> they are priced?
Ameritech has D channel packet service available, and you can access
thier WEB page for pricing and other specifics. However, I don't think
you'll be able to use the Dx.25 service for voice calls, internet or
not.
ja
------------------------------
From: Jean-Francois Mezei <jfmezei@videotron.ca>
Subject: Re: How Low Can Loop Voltage Go?
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 00:31:12 +0000
Organization: Vaxination Informatique
Reply-To: jfmezei@videotron.ca
I have an accoustic coupler which provides an RJ11 so that a normal
modem thinks it is plugged into a phone line when in fact, it is
accoustically plugged into a telephone handset.
The accoustic coupler works on a 9vdc battery.
If the idle line voltage is anywhere between 30 and 80 volts, how does
this affect a modem when the voltage provided by the accoustic coupler
wouldn't be much higher than 9vdc?
Is the high voltage required because of the very long lines between the
CO and the telephone?
------------------------------
From: Mike Fox <mjfox@raleigh.ibm.com>
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 08:33:12 GMT
Subject: Re: Why Do US Online Phone Directories Only Have Stale Data?
>> Some of my friends moved *months* ago, as well as some businesses I deal
>> with. Their new addresses don't show yet in online directories.
> I moved 19 months ago. One of the directories (switchboard.com) still
> lists the old number, even though at least one (perhaps two) new
> editions of the phone book have appeared since then. Of course they
> can't find a new number for me, which may be why they keep the old
> one. Or they may have lost interest.
I moved from a listed number to another listed number in the same city
in February, 1995. New phone books with the correct information have
been out for six months. But Switchboard is still not up to date,
even though their homepage says they were refreshed in August, 1996
(maybe the refresh is ongoing?).
Infospace (http://206.129.166.101/people.html) does give my old
address, the date it was last updated, and a notation that "this is
the last known address before a note of change of address was
received." I wonder where they got the fact that my address changed,
but didn't get the new information?
I wonder what source they are using. wyp.net was shut down because
they were using a commercial phone disc for their data; the phone disc
maker found out about it and sued. I would imagine that other pages
like this that are using phone discs are pretty short-lived.
I don't think these web listing services are any good. I have yet to
find one that has my correct information, and I moved 18 months ago!
I'm not impressed with the completeness or usefulness of these
directories.
Later,
Mike
------------------------------
From: kamlet@infinet.com (Art Kamlet)
Subject: Re: Caller ID: Names Passed Between LECs?
Date: 11 Aug 1996 11:54:11 -0400
Organization: InfiNet
Reply-To: kamlet@infinet.com
In article <telecom16.395.13@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Jeffrey Rhodes
<jeffrey.rhodes@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> This is where the magic takes place. The delivered CPN can be used to
> locate the calling CO. It would be very intensive to have every CO
> "know" the SS7 point code of every NPA-NXX, in order to send the TCAP
> query message. This is where Global Title Translation at the STPs is
> used. The CO only needs to know the SS7 address of its supporting STP
> and only the STPs need to keep track of the NPA-NXX SS7 point
> codes.
A few questions (This is fascinating.)
- Who owns the STP? (LEC? Bellcore? IEC?)
- I know GTT is based on ten digits for 800 numbers (and I assume
888 numbers too.) With Local Number Portability (the ability
of a subscriber to keep his local telephone number when he
changes to another local carrier, e.g., from Ameritech to
Warner) will GTT have to be ten digits for every NPA?
- Who will own those STPs? Who will update those STPs?
When will this happen?
Art Kamlet Columbus, Ohio kamlet@infinet.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 96 18:06:53 EDT
From: Tony Harminc <EL406045@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU>
Subject: Re: Caller ID: Names Passed Between LECs?
Jeffrey Rhodes <jeffrey.rhodes@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>> When the IAM arrives at the CO that serves the called number, that CO
>> returns an Address Complete message (ACM) back through the built-up
>> string of CO's, and the circuits are actually connected together
>> "backwards" from the called CO to the calling CO as the ACM message is
>> passed back to the calling CO.
> This opens the talk path in the forward direction so that the caller
> can "hear" the audible ringing generated from the called CO. The
> called CO is able to keep the audible ringing separate from the power
> ringing that the called phone receives. These do not necessarily
> occur simultaneously.
This is what I would call the backward direction -- that is from the
called to the calling end.
>> When the call is answered an Answer message (ANM) is returned.
> This opens the talk path in the backwards direction and marks every
> billing record at every office used in the call as "answered".
Surely *this* is the forward direction. Your terminology conflicts
with all other usage I've read.
>> Calls to busy numbers don't return an ACM. Instead, they return a
>> Release Complete message which includes a Cause Code of Subscriber
>> Busy. All trunks are released, and the originating CO gives the
>> caller a busy signal.
> Correct. Contrary to popular opinion, trunks are unusable for billable
> calls during the period of time between IAM and REL when the called
> number is "busy" or "out of service". The SS7 signals are quite a bit
> faster than the MultiFrequency signaling methods that they replace, so
> there is about a 7% trunk efficiency gain as a result of faster "busy
> handling".
Surely the efficiency arises not from faster signalling, but because
MF signalling has no provision for releasing trunks on busy, or
generating calling-end busy signals in the first place.
Tony Harminc
------------------------------
From: Ed Ellers <edellers@delphi.com>
Subject: Re: Touch Tones in Movies?
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 96 22:16:51 -0500
Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice)
Lionel Ancelet <la@well.com> writes:
> I see a great potential market for a VCR that would pause recording during
> advertising, using CC2 signals!
Then the networks would just change their procedures.
This happened in Japan a while back, when Mitsubishi introduced a VCR
that would automatically pause during commercials, *if* the program
had bilingual audio (as do many U.S. shows and movies shown in Japan).
This worked because Japanese TV stations shut off the "bilingual"
pilot signal during commercials, since those don't have bilingual
audio. Of course, when these VCRs appeared the TV stations started
leaving the encoder in bilingual mode during commercial breaks (unless
a commercial was in stereo).
------------------------------
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #401
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon Aug 12 12:47:14 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
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Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 12:47:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608121647.MAA09473@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #402
TELECOM Digest Mon, 12 Aug 96 12:47:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 402
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (Mike Morris)
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (David W. Tamkin)
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (Bill Walker)
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (Nevin Liber)
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (Matthew B. Landry)
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (Sam Ismail)
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (Scot E. Wilcoxon)
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (Christopher J. Whaley)
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (Marc Schaefer)
Is Moderator Having Memory Loss? (jeichl@acxiom.com)
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (Mark Brader)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: morris@cogent.net (Mike Morris)
Subject: Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 16:35:47 PDT
In article <telecom16.395.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu> ptownson@massis.lcs.
mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) writes:
> Last Sunday night I got on line about 10:00 p.m. here to do some work
> on the Digest and I had a bright idea about a new script I wanted to
> try out. Well the script flubbed, which was not anything unusual for
> scripts that I write or try to hack on, but the main annoyance was
> it left me with a directory full of about a hundred .h, .c. and .o
> files to clean out when I decided to quit the experiment.
> Now, I try to be smart with potentially disasterous commands like
> 'rm' and I personally have 'rm' aliased to 'rm -i' meaning to not
> erase a file without asking for confirmation. The problem is, if
> you have a whole directory full of garbage files to get rid of
> then if you go to that directory and do 'rm *' it will stop over
> and over again, asking about each file. The command 'rm -f' will
> NOT overrride 'rm -i' on this machine at least, although 'rm -f'
> will work in a script running in the background with its own shell
> regardless of what arguments I happen to have attached to 'rm'
> for my use in the foreground.
(rest clipped to save space)
Yeah, I've had bad cases of brain fade too.
I used to have a shell account and the admin had rm aliased to a
script that moved the files into a /save-for-delete directory (in the
users own space), and a chron job that flushed anything over 14 days
old.
I don't know enough shell script to write something like that, but
maybe you do, or know somebody who can. (If you do, please email me a
copy -- I'll be getting a Linux machine runnig here in a month or two
and would like to have that functionality).
Mike
------------------------------
From: dattier@wwa.com (David W. Tamkin)
Subject: Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 19:04:51 CDT
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: David wrote me to say that creating
an alias which was the name of the command itself was a very bad
arrangement. That letter is not available now, however I wrote
back to him asking why it was bad. PAT]
ptownson responded to dattier:
> What is the 'bad arrangement' where aliasing rm -i to rm is concerned?
> It has caught me a couple times when I almost erased something in error.
It's a very good idea to have an alias for "rm -i" and to be in the
habit of using the alias instead of the name of the executable most of
the time. It's shortsighted, though, to name the alias "rm". The
time can come when:
(1) you're using a different system and don't have your aliases in place;
(2) your own system for some reason didn't source your alias definitions;
(3) somehow your aliases got unset; or
(4) you're advising someone else who doesn't have your aliases in his or
her environment,
and you'll type or dictate "rm" in expectation of your tame substitute but
get the feral /bin/rm instead.
That's why the alias for "rm -i" should be named something like "delete" or
"del" or "erase"; you won't get into the habit of typing "rm" to mean some-
thing that isn't the same as rm(1). If any situations like those four exam-
ples come up, the worst that will happen is a "delete: not found" message.
As a general rule it's not advisable to make an alias name supersede a pro-
gram's name, but with something destructive like rm it's especially risky.
Because I was used to typing "scratch" for local files on my Commodore
equip- ment, I named my alias "scr". Sheer dumb luck (I didn't know
at the time that aliases outrank names of executables, so I didn't
know that it was possible to alias "rm -i" to "rm") kept me from
doing it; I can't claim to have acted out of knowledge or foresight.
But if ever my aliases weren't in place for some reason and I were to
type "scr *", I'd get "scr: not found" and lose no files.
Of course now, after years of typing "rm" to get "rm -i", if you
changed it suddenly you'd still be in the habit of typing "rm" instead
of your new alias, and then you'd still end up with feral /bin/rm.
[I know that this is not what happened to you on Monday. "/bin/rm *"
in the wrong directory will have the same results no matter what your
alias for "rm -i" is called.]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 17:14:31 -0700
From: wwalker@qualcomm.com (Bill Walker)
Subject: Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
Organization: QUALCOMM, Inc.
In article <telecom16.395.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, ptownson@massis.lcs.
mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) wrote:
> Losing all the processing scripts in a clumsy session at the
> keyboard! What a way to wind up fifteen years of this Digest!
> And this weekend approaching does mark fifteen years of it and
> the start of year sixteen. Thanks to my heroes at lcs, I'll be
> around to annoy you, abuse you and otherwise amuse you for
> another year I guess.
Pat, here's a safety tip: change the file attributes on all your
valuable scripts (and other "permanent" files) and make them
read-only, so that you have to go change the file attributes before
you can delete them. That way, an inadvertant "rm *" won't blow them
away.
I'm not a Unix guy, but I know you can do this on DOS and VMS, so I've
gotta assume you can do it on Unix. I mean, really, if _MS-DOS_ can
do it, how hard can it be? :-)
Bill Walker, QUALCOMM, Inc., San Diego, CA USA
WWalker@qualcomm.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: All the archives files (except those
which rely on scripts to update them regularly) are set as you suggest
for read only. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 07:18:32 -0700
From: nevin@cs.arizona.edu (Nevin Liber)
Subject: Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
Organization: University of Arizona CS Department, Tucson Arizona
I do an accidental rm about once a year. Welcome to Unix. :-(
The current trick I use (which saved me last month) is to do a
mkdir ./-i
chmod 000 ./-i
in every directory I create.
Now, when you do an
rm -rf *
it either (depending on your shell and settings) expands to
rm -rf -i ...
(since "-" is relatively early in sorting order) and the "-i" usually
overrides the "-f" since it appears later on the command line, or it
expands to
rm -rf -i/ ...
which is an error, since "-/" is not a command line option to "rm".
Note: I found that aliasing rm to "rm -i" doesn't work for me, since I
end up ignoring the messages if I am prompted for them each and every
time.
Nevin ":-)" Liber nevin@CS.Arizona.EDU (520) 293-2799
http://www.cs.arizona.edu/people/nevin/
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 15:42:05 EDT
From: Matthew B Landry <mbl@conch.aa.msen.com>
Subject: Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
Organization: Flunkies for the Mike Conspiracy
In article <telecom16.395.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu> TELECOM Digest Editor wrote:
> laughing, believe me you. Now all that remains is one of these
> days I should make a pilgrimage to Boston, where after an
I've wondered for a while now ... why is the Digest hosted on a site
at MIT, when you're in Chicago? It's not like Chicago is lacking in
quantity of local ISPs, and I'm sure any number of them would clamor
for the right to have their domain stamped on every issue. MIT doesn't
need publicity to survive ... most ISPs do.
> And this weekend approaching does mark fifteen years of it and the
> start of year sixteen. Thanks to my heroes at lcs, I'll be around to
> annoy you, abuse you and otherwise amuse you for another year I
> guess.
Congratulations. The Digest's history truly is an impressive
achievement, of which you should be proud. However much some of us may
disagree with some of your opinions, we all appreciate the work you
put in to make this medium work, and keep quality up.
(BTW, if that Zip+4 with no address trick really works, you
should see a $20 bill from me in the next couple of days. That is the
"suggested subscription fee", right? I just figured ... why not kill
two birds with one stone ... check out a neat hack, and finally get
off my arse and pay my share to help the Digest and c.d.t.)
Matthew Landry
Well, yeah. Actually I do sometimes speak
for Msen. But not from THIS account. O-
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for your kind note of support.
The 'suggested amount' of $20 is because only about one out of every
twenty readers send anything. About five percent of the readership
participates in all. I'd be happy if everyone who reads the Digest
sent a dollar per month. Seriously; I'd be happy if half of them
sent a dollar a year. If I were to give a Treasurer's Report, it
would go like this: my income is about $1200-1500 per month, and
this comes from (1) the ITU grant; (2) royalties from the CD-ROM;
and (3) reader support. It is hard to live in the rich, white,
northern suburbs of Chicago on that sort of income. Having two
heart attacks in two years with an accumulated indebtedness to
Rush/North Shore Medical Center of about $51,000 did not help.
I'm told they wrote that off under Hill-Burton, and from time to
time I go see the village food pantry and social worker. I am
the village's favorite poor person; they get to practice their
liberal social policies on me, and I don't complain. They do
mumble occassionally when the water bill is not paid on time.
I am fully aware that MIT has no need of me, and I have a very great
need of them. MIT has housed the archives since 1988 (they were at
Boston University when the archives were much smaller) and although I
have done my production work from other locations (including bu.edu
in the beginning and at Northwestern University for quite a few years)
I happen to like MIT and the great technical support they give me.
I've got a Sparc-20 workstation pretty much to myself (massis) and
*lots* of storage space for the archives; more than I will use for
awhile. I am not really interested in being on the .com domain
although to hear Mr. Pfieffer tell it, that's the only way to go. I
could move Digest production and distribution to an account at bu.edu
anytime I wanted to do so or to berkeley.edu at any time, as I am a
user at both sites. PAT]
------------------------------
From: dastar@crl.com (Sam Ismail)
Subject: Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
Date: 11 Aug 1996 13:04:27 -0700
Organization: CRL Dialup Internet Access (415) 705-6060 [Login: guest]
TELECOM Digest Editor (ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu) wrote:
> Last Sunday night I got on line about 10:00 p.m. here to do some work
> on the Digest and I had a bright idea about a new script I wanted to
> try out. Well the script flubbed, which was not anything unusual for
> scripts that I write or try to hack on, but the main annoyance was
> it left me with a directory full of about a hundred .h, .c. and .o
> files to clean out when I decided to quit the experiment.
<blah blah>
Duh. Can you say "backup"? DON'T LEAVE ALL YOUR IMPORTANT FILES IN
JUST ONE PLACE.
(Sorry, PAT. Don't mean to be so rash but you need to learn your
lesson :)
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 12:44:19 -0500
From: Scot E. Wilcoxon <sewilco@fieldday.mn.org>
Subject: Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
You neglected to mention if you finally decided to make backups of your
recovered files.
Scot E. Wilcoxon sewilco@fieldday.mn.org
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Backups? What are those? PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 13:15:30 -0400
From: cwhaley@calsun.gtri.gatech.edu (Christopher J. Whaley)
Subject: Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
Reply-To: chris.whaley@gtri.gatech.edu
The way around the rm -i alias is to use the direct path to the
command, e.g., "/bin/rm *". That bypasses the alias. Two other
suggestions. First, change the permissions on all of the files you
have which are "permanent" by using "chmod -w .*". This will take
write permission away from you and if you try to delete a file it will
prompt you with a message about "over-riding" the lack of write
permission. Second, make a copy of all of your dot files and other
scripts in another directory and on your hard disk.
Christopher J. Whaley
chris.whaley@gtri.gatech.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 00:11:27 +0200
From: schaefer@vulcan.alphanet.ch (Marc SCHAEFER)
Subject: Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
In article <telecom16.395.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, ptownson@massis.lcs.
mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) writes:
> Now, I try to be smart with potentially disasterous commands like
> 'rm' and I personally have 'rm' aliased to 'rm -i' meaning to not
> erase a file without asking for confirmation. The problem is, if
That's very dangerous, because you get used to answering yes
anyway.
> you have a whole directory full of garbage files to get rid of
> then if you go to that directory and do 'rm *' it will stop over
> and over again, asking about each file. The command 'rm -f' will
> NOT overrride 'rm -i' on this machine at least, although 'rm -f'
> will work in a script running in the background with its own shell
> regardless of what arguments I happen to have attached to 'rm'
> for my use in the foreground.
Do a \rm which overrides any alias you did. Or type unalias rm
> did 'unalias rm' then I did 'rm *' -- but the trouble is I had
> ** forgotten to change directories to the one I wanted **.
Go to your friendly system administrator and ask for backups :-)
> "In the future we will not use tape backups to restore
> individual files. We will use them only for restoration
> after a disk failure or other major system problem. I have
> 400 other users to support here besides you."
There are automated backup software, like Networker for UNIX, allowing
any user to backup their own files and restore their files.
BTW: I suggest you take the backup tape with you.
------------------------------
From: JEICHL@acxiom.com
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 09:06:13 CDT
Subject: Is Moderator Having Memory Loss?
> I decided just this one time I would unalias 'rm' instead.
> So I did 'unalias rm' then I did 'rm *' -- but the trouble is
> I had ** forgotten to change directories to the one I wanted **.
> Ooops!
Pat,
They say that loss of memory is a sure sign of advancing age<G>. Hope
this does not apply in this case ;)
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What was it I was going to say? I
seem to have forgotten. Oh yes! Senile Dementia strikes 75 percent
of all newsgroup moderators over the age of fifty. ummm .....
------------------------------
From: msb@sq.com (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 00:53:02 GMT
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For the final item in this issue,
I saved the best for last. If this does not get your juices
stirred up and moving, I do not know what will. You might like
to save this article and put it up on a few bulletin boards around
your office. PAT]
Pat (ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu) writes:
> So I did 'unalias rm' then I did 'rm *' -- but the trouble is ...
(The audience leaps to its feat shouting "No!")
> I had ** forgotten to change directories to the one I wanted **.
Gee, you'd think he'd be nervous about typing *'s like that now. :-)
I'm reminded of the following article, which first appeared on Usenet
back in 1986. Familiarity with UNIX is assumed; that's what most of
Usenet ran on in those days.
--------------------------
Mario Wolczko wrote:
Have you ever left your terminal logged in, only to find when you came
back to it that a (supposed) friend had typed "rm -rf ~/*" and was
hovering over the keyboard with threats along the lines of "lend me a
fiver 'til Thursday, or I hit return"? Undoubtedly the person in
question would not have had the nerve to inflict such a trauma upon
you, and was doing it in jest. So you've probably never experienced the
worst of such disasters ...
It was a quiet Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday, 1st October, 15:15
BST, to be precise, when Peter, an office-mate of mine, leaned away
from his terminal and said to me, "Mario, I'm having a little trouble
sending mail." Knowing that msg was capable of confusing even the
most capable of people, I sauntered over to his terminal to see what
was wrong. A strange error message of the form (I forget the exact
details) "cannot access /foo/bar for userid 147" had been issued by
msg. My first thought was "Who's userid 147?; the sender of the
message, the destination, or what?" So I leant over to another
terminal, already logged in, and typed
grep 147 /etc/passwd
only to receive the response
/etc/passwd: No such file or directory.
Instantly, I guessed that something was amiss. This was confirmed
when in response to
ls /etc
I got
ls: not found.
I suggested to Peter that it would be a good idea not to try anything
for a while, and went off to find our system manager.
When I arrived at his office, his door was ajar, and within ten
seconds I realised what the problem was. James, our manager, was
sat down, head in hands, hands between knees, as one whose world has
just come to an end. Our newly-appointed system programmer, Neil, was
beside him, gazing listlessly at the screen of his terminal. And at
the top of the screen I spied the following lines:
# cd
# rm -rf *
Oh, shit, I thought. That would just about explain it.
I can't remember what happened in the succeeding minutes; my memory is
just a blur. I do remember trying ls (again), ps, who and maybe a few
other commands beside, all to no avail. The next thing I remember was
being at my terminal again (a multi-window graphics terminal), and
typing
cd /
echo *
I owe a debt of thanks to David Korn for making echo a built-in of his
shell; needless to say, /bin, together with /bin/echo, had been
deleted. What transpired in the next few minutes was that /dev, /etc
and /lib had also gone in their entirety; fortunately Neil had
interrupted rm while it was somewhere down below /news, and /tmp, /usr
and /users were all untouched.
Meanwhile James had made for our tape cupboard and had retrieved what
claimed to be a dump tape of the root filesystem, taken four weeks
earlier. The pressing question was, "How do we recover the contents
of the tape?". Not only had we lost /etc/restore, but all of the
device entries for the tape deck had vanished. And where does mknod
live? You guessed it, /etc. How about recovery across Ethernet of
any of this from another VAX? Well, /bin/tar had gone, and
thoughtfully the Berkeley people had put rcp in /bin in the 4.3
distribution. What's more, none of the Ether stuff wanted to know
without /etc/hosts at least. We found a version of cpio in
/usr/local, but that was unlikely to do us any good without a tape
deck.
Alternatively, we could get the boot tape out and rebuild the root
filesystem, but neither James nor Neil had done that before, and we
weren't sure that the first thing to happen would be that the whole
disk would be re-formatted, losing all our user files. (We take dumps
of the user files every Thursday; by Murphy's Law this had to happen
on a Wednesday). Another solution might be to borrow a disk from
another VAX, boot off that, and tidy up later, but that would have
entailed calling the DEC engineer out, at the very least. We had a
number of users in the final throes of writing up PhD theses and the
loss of a maybe a weeks' work (not to mention the machine down time)
was unthinkable.
So, what to do? The next idea was to write a program to make a device
descriptor for the tape deck, but we all know where cc, as and ld
live. Or maybe make skeletal entries for /etc/passwd, /etc/hosts and
so on, so that /usr/bin/ftp would work. By sheer luck, I had a
gnuemacs still running in one of my windows, which we could use to
create passwd, etc., but the first step was to create a directory to
put them in. Of course /bin/mkdir had gone, and so had /bin/mv, so we
couldn't rename /tmp to /etc. However, this looked like a reasonable
line of attack.
By now we had been joined by Alasdair, our resident UNIX guru, and as
luck would have it, someone who knows VAX assembler. So our plan
became this: write a program in assembler which would either rename
/tmp to /etc, or make /etc, assemble it on another VAX, uuencode it,
type in the uuencoded file using my gnu, uudecode it (some bright
spark had thought to put uudecode in /usr/bin), run it, and hey
presto, it would all be plain sailing from there. By yet another
miracle of good fortune, the terminal from which the damage had been
done was still su'd to root (su is in /bin, remember?), so at least we
stood a chance of all this working.
Off we set on our merry way, and within only an hour we had managed to
concoct the dozen or so lines of assembler to create /etc. The
stripped binary was only 76 bytes long, so we converted it to hex
(slightly more readable than the output of uuencode), and typed it in
using my editor. If any of you ever have the same problem, here's the
hex for future reference:
070100002c000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000dd8fff010000dd8f27000000fb02ef07000000fb01ef070000000000bc8f
8800040000bc012f65746300
I had a handy program around (doesn't everybody?) for converting ASCII
hex to binary, and the output of /usr/bin/sum tallied with our
original binary. But hang on---how do you set execute permission
without /bin/chmod? A few seconds thought (which as usual, lasted a
couple of minutes) suggested that we write the binary on top of an
already existing binary, owned by me...problem solved.
So along we trotted to the terminal with the root login, carefully
remembered to set the umask to 0 (so that I could create files in it
using my gnu), and ran the binary. So now we had a /etc, writable by
all. From there it was but a few easy steps to creating passwd,
hosts, services, protocols, (etc), and then ftp was willing to play
ball. Then we recovered the contents of /bin across the ether (it's
amazing how much you come to miss ls after just a few, short hours),
and selected files from /etc. The key file was /etc/rrestore, with
which we recovered /dev from the dump tape, and the rest is history.
Now, you're asking yourself (as I am), what's the moral of this story?
Well, for one thing, you must always remember the immortal words,
DON'T PANIC. Our initial reaction was to reboot the machine and try
everything as single user, but it's unlikely it would have come up
without /etc/init and /bin/sh. Rational thought saved us from this
one.
The next thing to remember is that UNIX tools really can be put to
unusual purposes. Even without my gnuemacs, we could have survived by
using, say, /usr/bin/grep as a substitute for /bin/cat.
And the final thing is, it's amazing how much of the system you can
delete without it falling apart completely. Apart from the fact that
nobody could login (/bin/login?), and most of the useful commands
had gone, everything else seemed normal. Of course, some things can't
stand life without say /etc/termcap, or /dev/kmem, or /etc/utmp, but
by and large it all hangs together.
I shall leave you with this question: if you were placed in the same
situation, and had the presence of mind that always comes with
hindsight, could you have got out of it in a simpler or easier way?
Answers on a postage stamp to:
Mario Wolczko
Dept. of Computer Science ARPA: miw%uk.ac.man.cs.ux@cs.ucl.ac.uk
The University USENET: mcvax!ukc!man.cs.ux!miw
Manchester M13 9PL JANET: miw@uk.ac.man.cs.ux
U.K. 061-273 7121 x 5699
------------------------------------------
When I reposted the item in 1993, by the way, Hugh Grierson noted in a
followup that in addition to booting off tape or diskette, one might
have a spare "miniroot" partition on the hard disk, normally unmounted.
If you can boot off that partition, you're all set; if not, if you can
copy files you at least have a place to copy them from.
Mark Brader, msb@sq.com | "True excitement lies in doing
SoftQuad Inc., Toronto | 'sdb /unix /dev/kmem'" -- Pontus Hedman
My text in this article is in the public domain.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There! I told you you would love it!
Thanks very much for a nice close to this issue, Mark. PAT]
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
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Phone: 847-329-0571
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Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is:
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
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file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of
the help file for the Telecom Archives.
*************************************************************************
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* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #402
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Aug 13 01:30:38 1996
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Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 01:30:38 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608130530.BAA06865@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #403
TELECOM Digest Tue, 13 Aug 96 01:30:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 403
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: AT&T (NY) Adding Extra Charges to 'Casual' Users (Art Kamlet)
Re: AT&T (NY) Adding Extra Charges to 'Casual' Users (Jeremy S. Nichols)
Re: How Low Can Loop Voltage Go? (Tom Watson)
Re: A Short History of 911 Service (Michael D. Adams)
Re: USA Technology is Awfully Backward (Roger Marquis)
Re: USA Technology is Awfully Backward (Zev Rubenstein)
Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers? (Tye McQueen)
Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers? (Tony Harminc)
Re: Cable Companies (Christopher Wolf)
Re: "Genuine Nynex Payphone" Limiting Number of Digits (Michael Schuster)
Re: SOS - TAPI, Caller ID, and Visual C++ (Chris Sells)
Re: Need Help Fast With Voice Mail (Craig Owens)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: kamlet@infinet.com (Art Kamlet)
Subject: Re: AT&T (NY) Adding Extra Charges to 'Casual' Users
Date: 12 Aug 1996 12:07:01 -0400
Organization: InfiNet
Reply-To: kamlet@infinet.com
In article <telecom16.396.13@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Henry Baker
<hbaker@netcom.com> wrote:
>> This filing proposes to introduce a Non Subscriber Service Charge. A
>> service charge is applicble for Dial Station Calls originated from
>> residential lines which are presubscribed to an interexchange carrier
>> other than AT&T, or are not presubscribed to any interexchange
>> carrier. This charge is in addition to the initial period charges for
>> calls within the state of New York.
>> Non-Subscriber Service Charge: Per Call: $.80
> Has ATT lost their (its?) mind? If I'm at someone's home and want to
> call using ATT, why would ATT want to penalize me for this?
I am guessing, but it seems AT&T prefers customers to pick AT&T as
its PIC, and so would not have this charge.
And AT&T has been withdrawing from billing arrangements with many
RBOCs, and likely wishes to avoid paying RBOCs for billing services.
Dialing 10(10)288 could cause a billing charge from RBOC to AT&T. Or
could cause a bill to be generated to a customer of unknown credit
worthiness, and possibly for a single call a month. So AT&T may wish
to avoid those customers. And it seems to be working. Their last
quarterly report showed decreased small residence subscriber income :^(
One more item: If the non AT&T PIC goes out of service, many callers
might suddenly try to use AT&T as its fair weather friend, placing a
sudden high load on AT&T circuits. Isn't is fair to charge those who
are only fair weather friends more? Like a delayed insurance premium.
After all, AT&T is sitting there providing "insurance" in case of
other PIC failure, but is otherwise not receiving any premium for this
service.
> Is this also true for 1-800-CALL-ATT?
They have been encouraging people to use 800 CALL ATT instead of
10(10)288, and since that probably involves using an AT&T calling
card, the calling card use aleady has a charge built in. Besides,
they don't have any other charge today for 800 CALL ATT so it seems
like the answer to your question is no.
Art Kamlet Columbus, Ohio kamlet@infinet.com
------------------------------
From: jsn@maroon.tc.umn.edu (Jeremy S. Nichols)
Subject: Re: AT&T (NY) Adding Extra Charges to 'Casual' Users
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 01:27:02 GMT
Organization: University of Minnesota
hbaker@netcom.com (Henry Baker) wrote:
> Has ATT lost their (its?) mind? If I'm at someone's home and want to
> call using ATT, why would ATT want to penalize me for this?
They aren't penalizing you, they're penalizing the person whose phone
you're using.
Jeremy S. Nichols, P.E. jsn1@rsvl.unisys.com
Minneapolis, MN jsn@maroon.tc.umn.edu
------------------------------
From: tsw@3do.com (Tom Watson)
Subject: Re: How Low Can Loop Voltage Go?
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 19:51:39 -0700
Organization: The 3DO Corporation
In article <telecom16.387.7@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Lawrence Rachman
<74066.2004@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
> My employer is working on a product that will simulate a telephone
> exchange, and the question of what is a reasonable battery voltage for
> worldwide applications has come up. In North America, the open loop
> voltage is 48 volts nominal (I believe that's what part 68 demands).
> In Europe, 62 volts seems to have a strong following. My Panasonic PBX
> at home measures approximately 24 volts.
> Now, if all you've got is a POTS telephone, none of this is typically
> an issue. But nowadays, there are gadgets like fax machines and
> answering machines that monitor the open loop voltage to determine if
> another extension is off hook, or possibly for other reasons. Obviously,
> if one of these gadgets considers >36 volts to be on-hook and <36 to
> be off-hook, its going to get seriously confused by my Panasonic PBX.
> Does anyone out there have any personal or anecdotal experience with
> telephone devices that sense line voltage this way? Just how low can
> the open loop voltage go?
The ON HOOK voltages can (and do) vary all over the place. Modern CO's
are usually in the 48 volt range, but if you are on a "line extender" it
could go up as high as 72 (even more) volts. Sometimes this is over the
trigger voltage of a neon lamp (sometimes used to detect ringing voltage),
and can cause false trips. Be sure to put a capicator in series with the
ring detector!!
As for OFF HOOK voltage, this is a fairly constant thing. The set wants
to draw a constant current, and will take the voltage down quite a bit. I
have a small PBX at home, and it runs single phones with a 12 volt (open
circuit) battery. Now it won't run two phones in parallel, but ti works
just fine. The problem is that some equipment that has "busy lights"
looks at the tip-ring voltage and if it is "low" it thinks that someone
else has a phone off hook. If the battery voltage is low to begin with,
the indicator is lit up all the time (yes, it happened to me!!).
The threshold for on-hook to off-hook voltages should be somewhere about
10-20 volts (lower is better). I'd experiment by putting a resistor in
series with my home set and seing when the central office thinks it is
on/off hook. Always an interesting subject.
Tom Watson
tsw@3do.com (Home: tsw@johana.com)
------------------------------
From: mda-960812b@triskele.com (Michael D Adams)
Subject: Re: A Short History of 911 Service
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 01:34:33 GMT
Organization: Triskele Counsulting
Reply-To: mda-960812b@triskele.com
On Sun, 11 Aug 1996 23:31:27 GMT, wes.leatherock@hotelcal.com (Wes
Leatherock) wrote:
>> Almost all postal address (and the addresses on the phone bill) were
>> encoded similar to "Rural Route 15 Box 428" referring to the postal
>> carrier route and the box number along the route. There was no street
>> name nor street address associated with the location of the phone. To
>> implement E911 first required that the post office go through the
>> entire county and assign street address to rural and semi-rural homes,
>> and in a few cases, assign street names where none had existed. This
>> process took over a year of time. Then, each resident, had to notify
>> their personal or business contacts of new mailing addresses.
> I was involved or an observer in many of these addressing
> projects in Oklahoma exchanges, and I never heard of the post office
> having anything to do with making the assignments.
That may depend on the locality. I just recently moved from a town in
rural Alabama which formerly had no house numbering standards.
Whenever a new building went up inside street delivery area of the
post office, or when the post office expanded its street delivery
area, the property owner usually "inferred" the new house number from
surrounding properties or distance to the nearest numbered property,
and then advised the town postmaster, making the number official.
This of course led to a few interesting numbering schemes along some
roads, as the town grew. On one street in particular, there is a
string of houses on similarly sized lots that are numbered: 201, 203,
205, 301, 401, 401.5, 403, 451, 501, 601, 661.
Across the street from 661 is 662, and from there it's 664, 700,
668 ... 700 on that street is a new church, and for some reason they
didn't want the number "666". :)
When the town got E911 service, it was decided to extend that service
to include the police jurisdiction zone (special taxing district,
officially unincorporated, but receives city police and fire protection
and city cable TV), so street addresses had to be assigned. The town
government provided the maps, residents provided street names where
necessary, and the postmaster provided the actual house numbers.
> Local authorities, committees, whatever, decided what they would
> do, just as happens in cities. I have seen the same thing in Texas,
> too.
I witnessed a number of E911 implementations in that part of Alabama
(usually a lead story on the local newscast; many slow newsdays down
there). In many cases it was the county or town government that
assigned street names and house numbers. In a few cases, the utility
company assigned them. In a couple of cases, it was the post office's
responsibility. In one case rural routes were retained, but the E911
system reported a map coordinate in addition to the mailing address --
the local police, fire, and ambulance agencies were already familiar
with the rural routes, and decided that having a map coordinate "just
in case" would be sufficient.
> Are you sure the postal addresses changed at all? Most of
> them are still Route xx, Box xx.
That also probably depends on the jurisdiction. In all but one (guess
which one :) of the cases I described above, it was announced that the
new E911 address was to be the official mailing address, and that the
USPS would honor rural route addresses for only a year after the
changeover. Also, at my prior job (at an insurance company), I was
sometimes drafted to help open mail. I saw an awful lot of "new E911
address" notices coming from Alabama and Georgia.
Michael D. Adams Triskele Consulting Baltimore, Maryland ma@triskele.com
------------------------------
From: marquis@roble.com (Roger Marquis)
Subject: Re: USA Technology is Awfully Backward
Date: 13 Aug 1996 04:32:46 GMT
Organization: Roble Systems (http://www.roble.com)
Anthony (HXM3@PSUVM.PSU.EDU) wrote:
> simply impossible in USA because companies like the big three simply
> would not bother to put billions of dollars in upgrading their out
> dated technology. Sad for Americans.
It is unfortunate but at least we have the most reliable telephone
system in the world, if not the most sophisticated.
> And I wonder when would the US Congress approve some extra money
> so USA can adapt the international metric system and catch up with the
> rest of the world? Why Americans still use the length of the feet of a
> British King who died thousands of years ago to measure the length of
> every thing?
The reason we're no longer making progress towards the metric system
is because Ronald Regan canceled the metric program. Anyone know of
an interest group behind this one?
Roger Marquis
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 18:42:02 GMT
From: zev@attmail.com (Zev Rubenstein)
Subject: Re: USA Technology is Awfully Backward
Anthony wrote:
> And I wonder when would the US Congress approve some extra money
> so USA can adapt the international metric system and catch up with the
> rest of the world? Why Americans still use the length of the feet of a
> British King who died thousands of years ago to measure the length of
> every thing?
Under the presidency of Jimmy Carter, a law was passed to convert the
US to the Metric system over ten years. During that time the auto
manufacturers began putting km/h along with mph on speedometers and
the now-ubiquitous two-liter soda bottles appeared. We were on the
way.
Unfortunately, when President Reagan was elected, one of his first
acts was to put an end to metrication. That is why we are still behind
the rest of the world. Many companies applauded what Reagan did (just
as they applauded his evisceration of the EPA and other so-called
pro-business acts that took place under his administration). Unfort-
unately, as US industries have gone increasingly global, the cost of
manufacturing to two standards hampers their competitiveness.
I don't know what, if any, initiatives exist today to speed up
metrication. The last time I complained about Reagan's killing
metrication II was told that one item that Reagan signed before
leaving office was to move government procurement to a metric-based
standard. The logic used was that since the US government is such a
large purchaser of nearly everything it would pull the rest of the US
toward a defacto metrication. Well, it hasn't happened, has it.
Zev Rubenstein
Nationwide Telecommunications Resources
------------------------------
From: tye@metronet.com (Tye McQueen)
Subject: Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers?
Date: 12 Aug 1996 16:32:37 -0500
Organization: Texas Metronet, Inc (login info (214/488-2590 - 817/571-0400))
James E Bellaire <bellaire@tk.com> wrote:
> Of course in the United States we do have the FCC, which has shown
> interest in protecting phone numbers as property of the user.
singular@oort.ap.sissa.it (Poll Dubh) writes:
> But not area codes, it would seem, or else overlays would be the rule.
No, here the _courts_ are to blame. They have decided that old area
codes are "pretty" and forcing potential future competitors or cell
phone providers to use (mostly) new "ugly" area codes would be an
unfair competitive advantage.
It really upsets me that the courts think it is more important to
protect potential future competitors from some perceived disadvantage
by instead forcing thousands of businesses to incur real costs
associated with changing their phone number. And that doesn't even
count the harder-to-quantify costs of the residents and of those who
call these businesses and residents.
Tye McQueen tye@metronet.com || tye@thingy.usu.edu
http://www.metronet.com/~tye/ (scripts, links, nothing fancy)
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How about in downtown Chicago, where
a mere half-dozen or so *very large* companies gobbled so many
numbers that Ameritech is starting area 773? They would have had
to start it anyway, but my point is that handful of very large
corporations absolutely refused to consider having downtown Chicago
get the new code so the rest of the 2.9 million residents and
business places could stay 312. Instead, the majority of the city
is being forced to change area codes to 773 in order that a few
businesses downtown can keep 312 instead. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 96 15:52:44 EDT
From: Tony Harminc <EL406045@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU>
Subject: Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers?
mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk (Richard Cox) wrote:
> Er, no. Psychologists confirm that eight digits is the maximum number
> of digits that can be reliably remembered and dialled by the average
> user. Introduction of ten-digit numbers (which is effectively what the
> result of splitting an Wz1 NPA means) will lead to greater incidence
> of misdialling.
Citation, please! I've dealt with eight-digit numbers in Paris, and I
have great trouble remembering them long enough to copy from one place
to another. But I have little or no trouble with NANP ten-digit
numbers. I'm sure this is because I mentally partition the area code
from the easy-to-remember seven-digit number. In Paris, I mentally pull
the leading digit (usually 4) off the front, and then remember (say)
42 34 56 78 as 4 234-5678. Much much easier for my brain to deal
with. In Toronto I do much the same thing -- except that instead of a
leading 4 it's a leading 416 or 905.
> So a change by the US to eight-digit local dialling, eliminating all
> overlays and NPA splits, would actually reduce the proportion of calls
> that end up reaching a wrong number.
I very much doubt it. I think the "eight is easier than ten" claim
misapplies the research. Three plus three plus four is easier, IMO.
Tony Harminc
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 15:11:34 CDT
From: Christopher Wolf <cwolf@micro.ti.com>
Subject: Re: Cable Companies
Curtis Wheeler wrote:
> On another note. While this is not really laid out in black and
> white, you don't necessarily have the right to do what you wish with
> radio signals coming into your back yard. At least this is the
> argument I would use if I was representing the government in court. The
> way I look at it, when the communications act of 1934 was adopted, and
> the FCC was created, the radio spectrum in the U.S. was, for practical
> purposes, comdemned by the government under what may be called it's
> imminent domain. Just like they can condemn your house and force you
> to move so they can put in a freeway. Essentially the regulated
> "airwaves" have an easment in your back yard. The government took
> over because it was obvious that technologies were going to require
> that the spectrum be managed and regulated if it was going to do the
> public any good.
On a (only) slightly related note, is it legal for a cable company to
tell subscribers in it's area that they cannot get one of those small
dishes to pick up satellite broadcasts? Says they interfere with
their satellite dish's pickup. The cable company that supplies to my
apartment complex (in Texas) made them sign a form stating they will
not allow anyone to use the satellite dishes -- that we have to buy
from them to get cable. This seems fishy to me. Anyone have some
facts?
Short Story: Two people in this small complex got the dishes, and when
I saw them I asked the people in the office about getting one. They
said they would ask us to remove them, and told us the story about the
agreement with the cable company. A few days later, the two dishes
disappeared. I checked out our lease (standard lease) and since it in
no way mentions cable connections or things handing on our balcony, I
went back and asked them again. I let it die after the only thing I
could get them to say (after pointing out the lease) was "we'll ask
you to take it down". Funny enough, the two dishes in the complex
re-appeared a few days later, so I assume they had the same idea I
had.
(Note: cable is $35 for ABC/NBC/CBS, FOX/NICK/CNN, every shopping
channel, Mexican oriented channel, and religious channel known to man,
while five miles away with a "real" cable company its $20 for twice as
much -- which is why nobody wants to pay for it.) Then again, to get
phone service from them also requires you use their long distance
service, and if you dial 1-800-CALL-ATT on their payphones, you get
put through to their operators.
Wolf
------------------------------
From: schuster@panix.com (Michael Schuster)
Subject: Re: "Genuine Nynex Payphone" Limiting Number of Touch Tone Digits
Date: 12 Aug 1996 14:46:51 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC
In article <telecom16.401.3@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, danny burstein
<dannyb@panix.com> wrote:
> About two thirds of the way through the menu sequences I got a synthesized
> voice announcement which said something like "no additional digits may
> be dialed at this time".
> And sure enough, anytime I hit a touch tone key I heard the tone, then
> got the same msg.
This happened to me, while using a NYNEX pay phone to check my NYNEX voice
mail. There's a certian irony there.
Mike Schuster schuster@panix.com | 70346.1745@CompuServe.COM
schuster@shell.portal.com | schuster@mem.po.com
------------------------------
From: csells@teleport.com (Chris Sells)
Subject: Re: SOS - TAPI, Caller ID, and Visual C++
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 96 19:34:36 GMT
Organization: Sells Brothers
Actually, it turns out there's more to using a USR Sportster Voice
with Unimodem/V then I had thought (I just installed one myself). For
a full report, go to http://www.teleport.com/~csells/sportv.html.
Chris Sells
Windows Software Consulting and Development
http://www.teleport.com/~csells
------------------------------
From: ctooffcon@aol.com (CTO OFFCON)
Subject: Re: Need Help Fast With Voice Mail
Date: 12 Aug 1996 16:00:22 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Reply-To: ctooffcon@aol.com (CTO OFFCON)
TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to John M Elliott (stellcom@
ix.netcom.com):
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Have you considered the use of a single
> 800 number which terminates in an answering service? Each pet's tags
> would say something like, "Animal is registered with a pet identification
> service. Please call 800-xxx-xxxx and notify the operator that pet # xxxx
> has been rescued." Each person who purchases your product would be
> automatically enrolled with their name/number on file at the answering
> service, or perhaps with your office. When the rescuer of the animal
> called the answering service, the service would in turn notify your
> office or the animal's guardian/caretaker.
Pat -- you must have been talking with one of our customers! This is
exactly how we have established numerous such programs.
It's quick, cost-effective, relatively simple to update, and (fairly)
painless!
Craig Owens -- Office Concepts
Phone 800-604-9839
Email OffConGR@aol.com
Office Concepts provides complete business support services including live
telephone answering and voice mail services, and customized telemessaging
solutions.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
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* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
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*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #403
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Aug 13 03:09:12 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id DAA12756; Tue, 13 Aug 1996 03:09:12 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 03:09:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608130709.DAA12756@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #404
TELECOM Digest Tue, 13 Aug 96 03:09:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 404
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Expansion to Longer-than-Ten-Digits in NANP (Mark J. Cuccia)
International Conference on Spoken Language Processing (Jim Polikoff)
Convention Attendees Receive Wireless Welcome to San Diego (Mike King)
New Wireless Phone Network Comes Through Power Outage (Mike King)
Requesting Internet Fraud List (DVIEI1@jcpenney.com)
Re: Reselling Cellular Airtime (Michael P. Mullineaux)
DTMF Tone Keypads Wanted (David Michael)
Telecom Instructors Needed at UC Berkeley Extension (course@berkeley.edu)
Mixing Voicemail and Unix (Ed James)
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (Christopher Wolf)
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (Jon Solomon)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 13:28:16 -0700
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Expansion to Longer-than-Ten-Digits in NANP
No, I don't have any specific plans, yet.
The INC mailings I have been receiving talk about *various*
possibilities for expanding from ten-digits, some of which include a
"national destination code" (i.e. there would be a two-digit or
three-digit code inserted between '+1' and the area code, indicating
US, Canada, particular Caribbean location, etc), four (or more) digit
area codes, four (or more) digit central office codes, five (or more)
station line numbers, etc. There were also combinations of such, as
well as discussions of *where* to tack on the additional digit(s) in a
particular subset code.
But I had been under the impression that we would tack a '0' or a '1'
to the end of existing three-digit area codes, and that there would be
a permissive period. Also, during the permissive period, I would have
thought that N9X0, N9X1, and/or N9XN would have been the 'new'
four-digit area codes.
*IF* this would have been the case (current NPA codes using NXX-1 or
NXX-0 as four digit area codes, during the permissive period), I was
curious as to how non-line-number-based RAO/CIID calling cards would
have been handled, unless *all* calling cards had gone to the
mandatory use of the '89' format, described in earlier issues of the
Digest. Since presently, no 0XX/1XX codes are used for *customer*
dialable NANP POTS numbers, they are used for "special" calling cards,
of the form NXX-1XX/0XX-xxxx plus PIN (nxxx). The first group, the NXX
here, is the RAO or the beginning of the CIID in these card
numbers. Also, operators and network test people use 0XX/1XX codes for
internal network/system code purposes. All of this could cause a code
ambiguity.
However, James Bellaire <bellaire@tk.com> recently stated what seems
to be the most likely (and completely overlooked by me) way to give
permissive dialing of current area codes into a four digit
format. Since the N9X range are reserved for expansion purposes,
current area codes (NyX, where y is not '9') would be permissively
dialed as N9yX and as NyX. When mandatory use started, they would
*have* to be dialed as N9yX, and new four-digit NPA codes would be
assigned NyXX, where 'y' is any digit except '9'. I don't know what
they would then reserve for *further* expansion from that, other than
probably reserving another possible digit in the new 'four-digit'
format.
This method allows continued use of 1XX and 0XX codes for special
calling cards as well as network/system routing codes without any
ambiguity.
I also recently spoke with someone (who wishes to remain nameless),
who used to be with Bell Labs for some decades, and retired from
Bellcore a few years ago. His area of work was in switching, but the
areas related to the Numbering Plan. He had suggested a few years ago
that the easiest way to expand to four-digit area codes, as far as
memorization of rules goes, would be that when the NNX format of area
codes was being planned for, to *reserve* those codes where the first
and second digit are identical.
i.e. 22X, 33X, 44X, 55X, 66X, 77X, 88X, 99X
This is eighty codes, the same number reserved when using N9X. When
the time comes when permissive dialing of four-digit area codes would
come about, before any *new* four-digit area codes would be actually
assigned, tell the customer to *double* their first digit.
i.e. 312 would become 3312, 630 would become 6630,
847 would become 8847, 708 would become 7708, etc.
There would not be any three-digit area codes 331, 663, 884, or 770
since those *would have been* reserved. The thinking was that it would
be easier for everyone involved (telco and customer) to simply
'double' their NPA's first digit, rather than 'inserting' a specific
digit somewhere inside the area code or tacked on to the end (such as
what most likely will be happening, placing a '9' between the present
first and second digits).
However, Bellcore/NANPA/ICCF/etc. didn't follow that plan, as we've
seen the introduction of:
330 Ohio, 334 Alabama,
440 Ohio, 441 Bermuda, 443 Maryland,
664 Montserrat,
770 Georgia, 773 Illinois,
880 "Caller-pays-800", 881 "Caller-Pays-888", 888 additional toll-free,
and the various other codes in these ranges now reserved for
"easy-to-recognize" (888, 777, 666, 444, 333, 222; 555 is now
"unassignable");
and the 99X codes are more of the use of '9' in the middle reserved for
expansion.
With that never adopted proposal aside, If I remember correctly, all
expansion plans for the total number of digits of an NANP number being
discussed by the INC and other industry forums assume that the final
length will be a *fixed* length number. True, we presently do have
dialable strings of various lengths (0, 00, N11, 1/0+ten-digits,
ten-digits, *-XX/11-XX prefixes, etc.), and a permissive period of
three-digit and four-digit area codes would appear to be 'mixed'
length, but an existing three-digit area code permissively dialed as
three or four-digits would eventually (one year? six-months?) become
a mandatory four-digit area code, as new codes assigned would be
four-digits, thus a fixed-length system. It is always nice to know how
many digits to expect when dialing a number, visually reading a
number, or when quoting a number or hearing a quoted number. Use of
timeouts, as well as instructing the use of the '#' to cancel/cut-thru
right away is IMO always a nuisance.
Of course, all of the above assume that we will continue to use
'traditional numbering', rather than some form of new technology or
scheme, such as an "electronic directory" (similar to using a webpage
to click a choice of URL's to visit). Also, other factors involved
include number portability, etc. Whatever does happen during the
evolution is the fact that 'numbering' or 'identification' will become
less-and-less associated with the actual *switches* involoved, as well
as geography or location.
MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497
WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497)
Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to
Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail
------------------------------
From: polikoff@asel.udel.edu (Jim Polikoff)
Subject: International Conference on Spoken Language Processing
Date: 12 Aug 1996 17:24:03 -0400
Organization: AI duPont Institute
ICSLP 96 -- Update and Reminder
Fourth International Conference on Spoken Language Processing
******
October 3-6, 1996
Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel
Philadelphia, PA, USA
******
There is still time to register for ICSLP 96. ICSLP 96 offers a strong
and diverse program covering all aspects of spoken language
processing. ICSLP 96 presents an opportunity to keep up with the
latest research and developments as well as network among other speech
professionals. Registration information, as well as other information
about the conference, can be found on our WWW site at
http://www.asel.udel.edu/icslp/. This site provides registration
forms, information about hotel accomodations, airfare information, and
general information about Philadelphia as well as listings of the full
contents of the technical program.
_____________________Registration Information______________________________
Full registration includes:
Admission to technical sessions, Reception, Banquet,
Proceedings (printed & CD-ROM)
Limited registration includes:
Admission to technical sessions, Reception, Proceedings on CD-ROM
Early Registration fees:
Member* Non-Member Student
Full $425 $525 $250
Limited $300 $400 $150
Late registration:
After July 1, add $60
After August 9, add $100
Additional Tickets:
Banquet $60
Reception $50
Additional Proceedings:
Printed $125
CD-ROM $15
* Sponsoring and Cooperating Organizations:
The Acoustical Society of America
The Acoustical Society of Japan
American Speech and Hearing Association
Australian Speech Science and Technology Association
European Speech Communication Association
IEEE Signal Processing Society
Incorporated Canadian Acoustical Association
International Phonetic Association
Linguistic Society of America
ICSLP 96
A.I. duPont Institute
P.O. Box 269
Wilmington, DE 19899
E-mail: ICSLP96@asel.udel.edu
URL: http://www.asel.udel.edu/icslp/
Phone: +1-302-651-6830
Fax: +1-302-651-6895
------------------------------
From: Mike King <mk@wco.com>
Subject: Convention Attendees Receive Wireless Welcome to San Diego
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 14:40:32 PDT
Forwarded to the Digest FYI:
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 11:39:38 -0700
From: sqlgate@list.pactel.com
Subject: Convention Attendees Receive Wireless Welcome to San Diego
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Linda Bonniksen
(213) 975-5061
John Britton
(619) 237-2430
Convention Attendees Receive Wireless Welcome to San Diego
Mayor Golding Uses Pacific Bell Mobile Services PCS Phone to Send a Text
Message
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Using PCS, a digital wireless telecommunications
technology from Pacific Bell Mobile Services, Mayor Susan Golding
today delivered a short-text message welcoming the Republican National
Convention to San Diego.
Message Sent to 600 PCS Phones
Mayor Golding sent her welcome message at 6 a.m. The 85-character
message appeared on the screens of approximately 600 PCS phones being
used at the convention. "San Diego is America's city of the future so
it couldn't be more appropriate for PCS to premiere here at the same
time we host the Republican National Convention," Mayor Golding
said. "I am thrilled that Pacific Bell Mobile Services brought this
exciting new technology to our city first."
"Since July 1, more than 200,000 calls have gone through the Pacific
Bell Mobile Services network," said Lyn Daniels, president and chief
executive officer of Pacific Bell Mobile Services. "When it comes to
technology, PCS is the hot property."
The digital wireless technology is called Personal Communications
Service (PCS), a more reliable and secure alternative to cellular. The
service makes its California debut this week at the Republican National
Convention where Pacific Bell Mobile Services is the official provider
of wireless telecommunications services. The Republican National
Convention and Pacific Bell Mobile Services have distributed more than
600 PCS phones among convention organizers, party officials, candidates,
security agencies and media.
Pacific Bell Mobile Services activated PCS service for the convention
last month. The coverage area includes the San Diego Convention Center,
downtown hotels, tourist attractions, the airport, major transportation
corridors and the coastline. Convention attendees are using their PCS
phones to send and receive calls and short-text messages. The phones can
also be plugged into laptop computers for wireless faxing and Internet
access.
After the convention closes, Pacific Bell Mobile Services will prepare
for a consumer product launch in California and Nevada in early 1997.
The company plans to broadly distribute PCS phones through drug stores,
consumer electronics stores and warehouse retailers. Industry analysts
expect PCS to cost less than existing cellular service, particularly in
California where cellular subscribers pay among the highest rates in the
nation.
Pacific Bell Mobile Services is the wireless communications subsidiary
of Pacific Bell. Pacific Telesis Group, the parent company of Pacific
Bell and Pacific Bell Mobile Services, is a diversified
telecommunications company headquartered in San Francisco.
-------------
Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com
------------------------------
From: Mike King <mk@wco.com>
Subject: New Wireless Phone Network Comes Through Power Outage
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 14:41:04 PDT
Forwarded to the Digest FYI:
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 11:48:44 -0700
From: sqlgate@list.pactel.com
Subject: New Wireless Phone Network Comes Through Power Outage
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Linda Bonniksen
(619) 917-0951 - PCS Phone
(619) 237-2430
John Britton
(619) 917-1048 - PCS Phone
(619) 237-2430
New Wireless Phone Network Comes Through Power Outage
Pacific Bell Mobile Services Reports 100 Percent Increase in Call
Volumes at Republican National Convention
SAN DIEGO, Calif., -- Pacific Bell Mobile Services announced today
that its new wireless phone network serving the Republican National
Convention performed flawlessly through yesterday's power outage
affecting nine western states.
When the power outage occurred at 3:45 a.m. Saturday, 25 antenna sites
in San Diego automatically switched from a commercial power source to
their on-site back-up batteries.
Additionally, the company's master switching center in San Diego and
its network operations center in Pleasanton, Calif., switched to
diesel generators. As a result, the company's new Personal
Communications Services network stayed on the air to process 8,000
calls from 3:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., a 100 percent increase in calls
from the same time period Friday. Pacific Bell Mobile Services is the
official provider of wireless telecommunications services for the
Republican National Convention.
"The network didn't miss a beat," said Frank Casazza, operations vice
president for Pacific Bell Mobile Services. "We built back-up power
sources into the network for exactly these types of crises, and our
planning paid off. More than 600 people using our Personal
Communications Services at the Republican Convention made call after
call after call without any interruption or delay."
Personal Communications Services (PCS) is a new wireless
telecommunications technology that offers a secure and private
alternative to cellular. Unlike cellular, PCS is 100 percent pure
digital. Being digital, PCS offers superior sound quality and
reliability, as well as built-in complex encryption for maximum
privacy and protection from cloning.
The Republican Party and Pacific Bell Mobile Services have distributed
more than 600 PCS phones to party officials, candidates, their staffs,
event organizers, city officials, security agencies and the news media.
Pacific Bell Mobile Services is the wireless communications subsidiary
of Pacific Bell. Pacific Telesis Group, the parent company of Pacific
Bell and Pacific Bell Mobile Services, is a diversified telecommunications
company headquartered in San Francisco.
------------
Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com
------------------------------
From: DVIEI1@jcpenney.com
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 11:38:44 -0500
Subject: Requesting Internet Fraud List
Would somebody know if there is a list of actual cases in which the
Internet was used as a fraud tool against enterprises? (i.e.: theft,
viruses, security breaches, etc...) Thanks.
Cordially,
Demian Vieira de Souza - Comm Analyst
JCPenney Communications Systems
12700 Park Central Place M/C 6009
Dallas, TX 75252, USA
Office:(214)591-7361 FAX:(214)531-7361/591-6721
Internet: DVIEI1@JCPENNEY.COM / PROFS ID: DVIEI1
------------------------------
From: michael.p.mullineaux@arthuranderson.com
Date: 12 Aug 96 11:48:06 GMT
Subject: Re: Reselling Cellular Airtime
Dear Readers,
I am searching for additional information on cellular reselling; have
your inquiries/responses generated any addtional data that you might
share?
Kind Regards,
Mike
------------------------------
From: David Michael <david@OiT.co.uk>
Subject: DTMF Tone Keypads Wanted
Date: Tue, 09 Aug 1996 04:08:37 +0100
Organization: OiT Ltd.
Hi,
I want to purchase about 1,000 DTMF tone keypads (you know the things
you get with your answerphone), but I only want to spend about $3 max.
Does anyone know of a good cheap supply?
Thanks,
David Michael http://www.oit.co.uk/~david
Technical Director, OiT Ltd. tel: +44 1865 785002
Oxford OX4 2JZ, UK fax: +44 1865 785100
------------------------------
From: course@garnet.berkeley.edu
Subject: Telecom Instructors Needed at UC Berkeley Extension
Date: 13 Aug 1996 01:10:06 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
INSTRUCTORS NEEDED for...
*** UC BERKELEY EXTENSION'S ***
Telecommunications Engineering 4-Month Diploma Program
UC Berkeley Extension is seeking part-time instructors to teach
daytime credit courses in Berkeley.
The 4-Month Diploma Program in telecommunications engineering is an
intensive, focused program, developed for both international and
residential students to complete in a concentrated time frame. The
curriculum is designed to provide an in-depth understanding of
telecommunications essentials and to develop a technical awareness of
current practices and future directions.
If you are a highly-qualified and experienced telecommunications
professional, with a bachelors or higher degree, successful teaching/
training experience, and the desire to teach, we would like to hear
from you.
We are particularly looking for people with experience in:
Data Communication;
Computer Networks;
Digital Telecommunications;
Broadband Communications;
Advanced Local Area Computer Networks;
Internetworking;
Wireless/Mobile Communications;
Design and Applications of Mobile Data Networks.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED ...
FAX your resume to (510) 642-6027 with a covering note mentioning your
interest in teaching in the 4-Month Telecommunications Engineering
Diploma Program. Please be sure that the resume specifies your
experience as it relates to this program.
Or send your resume ELECTRONICALLY to course@garnet.berkeley.edu
(attn: 4-Month Telecommunications). Please mention your interest in
teaching in the 4-Month Telecommunications Engineering Diploma
Program.
You may send your resume to us by snail mail
at the following address:
4-Month Telecommunications Engineering
Diploma Program
c/o UC Berkeley Extension
Engineering
1995 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94720-7010
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 18:29:48 -0700
From: Ed James <edjames@migration.com>
Organization: Migration Software
Subject: Voicemail and Unix
Has anyone had any experience hooking a unix box up to a vociemail
system that isn't designed for it?
Specifically. I have a NorTel Startalk of some configuration (floppy,
scsi port on the back, parallel port, one card with two lines
connected, labeled 1-2 and 3-4), and I would like to have it send
email to folks when they get voicemail.
Most of our employees are at client sites, and checking one's voicemail
daily can be cumbersome. I'd like to instead deliver a piece of email
to the mailbox owner that indicates that new voicemail arrived at a
certain time.
If I could hook the unix box up to the parallel port of the Startalk,
and if I could convince the startalk to generate reports on a daily
basis (or more frequently), I could parse the report on the unix side,
and generate the required voicemail.
I have no idea how to make the startalk do this, though. Does anyone
out there have any experience with the startalk? Can it be made to
generate reports regularly, and can they be easily directed to the
parallel port for "printing"?
Thanks in advance,
ed
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 09:53:41 CDT
From: Christopher Wolf <cwolf@micro.ti.com>
Subject: Re: Speaking Ahout Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
On Thu, 8 Aug 1996, TELECOM Digest Editor wrote:
> Last Sunday night I got on line about 10:00 p.m. here to do some work
> on the Digest and I had a bright idea about a new script I wanted to
> try out. Well the script flubbed, which was not anything unusual for
> scripts that I write or try to hack on, but the main annoyance was
> it left me with a directory full of about a hundred .h, .c. and .o
> files to clean out when I decided to quit the experiment.
> Now, I try to be smart with potentially disasterous commands like
> 'rm' and I personally have 'rm' aliased to 'rm -i' meaning to not
> erase a file without asking for confirmation. The problem is, if
> you have a whole directory full of garbage files to get rid of
> then if you go to that directory and do 'rm *' it will stop over
> and over again, asking about each file. The command 'rm -f' will
> NOT overrride 'rm -i' on this machine at least, although 'rm -f'
> will work in a script running in the background with its own shell
> regardless of what arguments I happen to have attached to 'rm'
> for my use in the foreground.
> So far so good. Instead of having to answer 'y' a 120 times for
> every garbage file in the garbage directory I am abolishing, I
> decided just this one time I would unalias 'rm' instead. So I
> did 'unalias rm' then I did 'rm *' -- but the trouble is I had
> ** forgotten to change directories to the one I wanted **.
Pat,
I use the idea of a trashcan when I activate remove. I alias rm to
be the following script, which actually moves files to a hidden
directory called .trashcan in my home directory and removes
directories and symbolic links. Doesn't handle the more complex
forms of rm, but it works fine.
BTW: I also run a crontab job to clean out the directory every
morning ...
20 4 * * 1-5 (/bin/rm /home/cwolf/.trashcan/* /home/cwolf/.trashcan/.??* > /dev/null )
If you use tcsh or csh like I do, you can then use \rm <files> when
you want to override the alias. A backward slash before a command
means to ignore any aliases for it.
#!/usr/local/bin/tcsh -f
foreach i ($*)
if (-d $i) then
echo Removing directory $i
/bin/rmdir $i
else if (-l $i) then
echo Unlinking symbolic link $i
/bin/rm $i
else if (-f $i) then
if (`/bin/ls -l $i | /bin/cut -c23-31` > "500000") then
set SIZE=`/bin/ls -l $i | /bin/cut -c23-31`
echo -n "NUKING $i of size $SIZE. "
/bin/rm $i
echo "BOOM! No Backup."
else
echo Removing file $i to temporary trashcan.
/bin/mv $i ~/.trashcan
endif
endif
end
------------------------------
From: jsol@eddie.mit.edu
Subject: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 96 16:53:02 EDT
Here's how to avoid this in the future:
% mkdir .backup
Copy all the files you want to save into that directory. Put the
dot before it so you don't accidentally delete it.
Then make .backup2, which should contain a copy of all incoming mail
in .backup2/inbox. Clean this out every so often.
This way you should not need the backups.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'.
Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
or phone at:
Post Office Box 4621
Skokie, IL USA 60076
Phone: 847-329-0571
Fax: 847-329-0572
** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is:
http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
a note to tel-archives@mirror.lcs.mit.edu to receive a help
file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of
the help file for the Telecom Archives.
*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #404
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Aug 13 18:53:20 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id SAA01366; Tue, 13 Aug 1996 18:53:20 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 18:53:20 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608132253.SAA01366@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #405
TELECOM Digest Tue, 13 Aug 96 18:53:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 405
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Three Charged in Telephone System Scam (Tad Cook)
Cellular Service! Flat Rate! Scam? (Raymond B. Normandeau)
When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In? (Paul Houle)
Phone Privacy: Collecting Damages From Solicitors (Ken Hamel)
Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers? (Spyros C. Bartsocas)
Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers? (Fred R. Goldstein)
Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers? (Jay R. Ashworth)
Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers? (Linc Madison)
Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers? (Jim Jordan)
Re: USA Technology is Awfully Backward (Mark Tenenbaum)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Three Charged in Telephone System Scam
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 10:51:39 PDT
Three Floridians Charged in Telephone System Scam
By Simon Barker-Benfield, The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 13--State officials said yesterday three people have been charged
in a nationwide scam headquartered in Jacksonville that sold
dealerships for telephone answering systems.
Three people associated with Commercials on Hold of America Inc. were
arrested over the weekend and charged with racketeering and conspiracy
to commit racketeering, said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Bob
Crawford.
Arrested were Ray Lynn, 53, and Amber Yvonne Lynn, 46, both of
Jacksonville, and Philip Axt, 52, of Neptune Beach.
"Other arrests are pending," Crawford said.
The company offered answering systems that were supposed to play
customized, pre-recorded advertisements for a business while callers
were on hold, Crawford said.
The dealerships were offered in packages priced from $12,995 to
$19,995 and included training, equipment and supplies.
The company is accused of defrauding victims of more than $350,000 by
falsely claiming to manufacture a unique system, setting up false
testimonials, misrepresenting how much money could be made and not
providing the systems in accordance with the dealer contracts.
Crawford said the scheme operated through 1992 and most of 1993.
Commercials on Hold of America does not have a telephone number in the
Jacksonville area.
The company has no connection with Commercials on Hold in Macon, Ga.
(c) 1996, The Florida Times-Union. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune
Business News.
------------------------------
Date: 13 Aug 96 13:29:18 EDT
From: Raymond B. Normandeau <73770.121@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Cellular Service! Flat Rate! Scam?
Pat:
This smells like a scam:
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It certainly does seem strange. You
will notice he did not include any 800 number in his message ... <g> ...
but that in and of itself does not prove anything. Let's see what
the other Digest readers think of this offer ... PAT]
Date: 08-06-96 (09:54) Number: 126730 of 126994 (Refer# NONE)
To: RAY NORMANDEAU
From: azimuth@loop.com, AZIMUTH
Subj: Re: Cellular Service! Flat Rate! FREE Phone with Signu
Read: 08-06-96 (22:33) Status: RECEIVER ONLY
Conf: email (500) Read Type: GENERAL HAS REPLIES
Message-ID: <32075B77.68D6@loop.com>
Date: Tue, 06 Aug 1996 07:49:27 -0700
From: azimuth <azimuth@loop.com>
Reply-To: azimuth@loop.com
To: Ray Normandeau <ray.normandeau@factory.com>
Subject: Re: Cellular Service! Flat Rate! FREE Phone with Signu
AZIMUTH ONLINE SERVICES AND WESTERN CELLULAR, INC. ARE HERE, SERVING
YOUR CELLULAR NEEDS! WE'RE ONLY A PHONE CALL AWAY!
Dear Mr. Normandeau,
Thank you for responding to our online ad for a new cellular service and
pricing plan that has until now, been unheard of. Flat rate cellular
airtime! I know this may sound too good to be true, and truly there must be
a gimmick. Well I can tell you this is not one of them. This is quite
possibly the best cellular service and pricing available anywhere.
We are Azimuth Online Services, and we represent Western Cellular and their
phenomenal pricing plan for people just like you who want and need to stay in
touch.
Western Cellular, Inc. is offering cellular service, cellular service with
UNLIMITED AIR TIME in your metro or rural cell area for only $450.00 a year!
that is only $37.50 per month, and that price will not change if you use it
on weekends, weekdays, weeknights, or holidays. This does, however, apply to
local usage. If you use long distance, then your long distance carrier will
bill you on their bill, not ours.
You no longer need to worry about how much your bill is GOING to be per
month, because you are paid up for a whole year, with your subscription of
$450.00. Nor do you need to continue to pay high prices for air time. (Of
course, you will be billed for long distance, but from the Carrier of your
choice.)
Some cellular bills will cost that much in just a couple of months, and for
using only local service!
Whether you are a business traveler, business owner, salesperson, parent, or
student, you9ll appreciate the convenience and low, low price of just
$450.00 a year for unlimited local calls!
We also have several value-added services such as voice-mail, call
forwarding, three-way calling, and toll free numbers (888 area code) with
some of the lowest rates available for your new cellular phone and service!
We service all area codes, and every calling area in the nation!
Your new cellular service even comes equipped with a free cellular phone!
Choose between two different makes and models!
The bottom line is this: 1.) You pay a flat rate for cellular service that
is $450.00 for your first year of service. 2.) You get a choice of two
different makes and models of cellular phone. 3.) You DO NOT get charged
roaming fees, relay fees, or have to pay ANYTHING for receiving a call while
out of your calling area. 4.) You do not get charged roaming fees, relay
fees, or have to pay ANYTHING extra for making a call while out of your
calling area EXCEPT for long distance charges that are billed to you from the
long distance carrier of YOUR CHOICE. 5.) Your second, third, fourth, and
every year after that will cost you $400 a year for all of the above (except
the free phone, because you already have one).
Still sound too good to be true? Call us and see for yourself, I can promise
you, this is the way to go when it comes to low cost cellular service! We
are so confident that you will like our service that we are offering a 30 day
money back guarantee with no questions asked, if you are not completely
satisfied with your new cellular service from Western Cellular, Inc.
There are a couple of ways to reach us:
Give us a call TODAY at 818-295-3746
Or
Send us an e-mail at: azimuthos@aol.com with your name, city, state and
telephone number and we will call you (please also specify the best hours to
reach you).
I would like you to know that these two options are temporary, due to the
fact we are waiting for our toll-free line to be installed. Please be sure to
include your city, state and telephone number in your e-mail, so that I can
take a survey of what regions need our services the most.
I would very much look forward to talking to you about this exciting service
plan. Please feel free to call anytime I can be of service in providing you
and those you know with superior cellular service that cost less than you
ever thought possible.
Thank you for your interest in Azimuth Online Services and Western Cellular,
Inc.
Sincerely,
Jess Medina, Jr.
President, Azimuth Online Services
------------------
Date: 08-07-96 (00:55) Number: 127077 of 127083 (Refer# NONE)
To: RAY NORMANDEAU
From: azimuth@loop.com, AZIMUTH
Subj: Re: Cellular Service! Flat Rate! FREE Phone with Signu
Read: 08-07-96 (02:02) Status: RECEIVER ONLY
Conf: email (500) Read Type: GENERAL
Message-ID: <32082E9F.2789@loop.com>
Date: Tue, 06 Aug 1996 22:50:23 -0700
From: azimuth <azimuth@loop.com>
Reply-To: azimuth@loop.com
To: Ray Normandeau <ray.normandeau@factory.com>
Subject: Re: Cellular Service! Flat Rate! FREE Phone with Signu
>> Is Western Cellular the carrier, or are they a reseller?
>> If a reseller, whose service are they reselling?
>> Is your service available right now or is this something in the future.
>> Which counties of NYC do you consider local?
>> Thanks.
Hi Mr. Normandeau,
Western Cellular is the carrier, I am the reseller.
They are not reselling service, they are providing satellite cellular
coverage to all of their subscribers across the country. They do have
an affiliation with AT&T and are considered a subagent, but they do
not resell directly to consumers.
This service is available right now with a standard 10 day waiting
period for service to take effect after signup.
We service all counties in all states of the country. What is
considered a local call depends on where you want your service to stem
from. For example, if you want a particular area code with a
particular prefix (like your prefix on your home phone, with a
different last four digits) then the local calling area would be all
the prefixes that are considered local for your home telephone
service.
The best way to determine that, I always suggest, is to look at your
phone book and look at what prefixes in your home service calling area
are local and not billed as toll, local toll, or long distance. The
prefixes that are local are what would be your local calling area for
your cell phone (provided you and your phone are physically in that
local region as well). If you are physically out of the region, then
you incur a long distance call and are billed from the LD carrier of
your choice. No extra charges apply. You will NEVER receive a bill
from Western Cellular.
I hope that answers all your questions. Thank you for your interest.
Jess Medina
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Does anyone want to investigate this
a bit further and tell us what is known about Jess Medina, his
company, and the company he is an agent/reseller for? That phone
number he gives is of interest, as is loop.com. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Paul Houle <houle@msc.cornell.edu>
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 18:25:57 GMT
Subject: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In?
I have a historical question which I hope isn't a FAQ in this
group, but which I have not been able to find an answer on the web or
the telecom archives.
I'm trying to find out exactly when DDD (direct distance
dialing) was cut-in in the US. I have the impression that there was a
specific date in the late 50s or early 60s but I've had bad luck
looking for it. This surprises me because of the fact that such a
date may be a good watershed for the development of our civilization
-- the first moment when it was possible for an individual to make a
connection across a continent without human attention.
------------------------------
From: hamelk@rintintin.Colorado.EDU (Ken Hamel)
Subject: Phone Privacy: Collecting Damages From Solicitors
Date: 13 Aug 96 13:52:10 GMT
Organization: University of Colorado at Boulder
Hello:
I have been checking out the Telephone Consumers Protection Act (USC
Title 47 Section 227 online at:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/47/227.html)
and it sets forth $500 damages for telemarketers that phone you back
after requesting not to be called.
Can anyone give me a step-by-step to how one would begin collecting
the damages? Has anyone reading this group successfully collected
damages from telemarketers?
I'm expecting AT&T will try yet again: I documented their previous
calls and am ready to pounce!
Please respond via email.
Cheers,
Ken Hamel --==*==-- Ken.Hamel@Colorado.EDU --==*==-- Boulder, CO
--++*++-- http://rintintin.Colorado.EDU/~hamelk --++*++--
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The person you want to speak with is
Robert Bulmash of the Private Citizen organization. He has a directory
of people like yourself which he circulates to telemarketers each
year, and when the telemarketers break the rules, he helps the members
of his organization collect the penalty they are due. Bob is a regular
reader here, so I expect he will see this and be in contact with you,
however you can call him if you want. He is listed in the phone book
for northern Illinois in the 847 area code under 'Private Citizen'. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 17:12:08 GMT
From: Spyros C. Bartsocas <scb@hol.gr>
Subject: Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers?
> In Europe, the area code can be of variable length as can the number.
> Here everything is fixed. Why?
> ie - in Germany a firm's fax number has more digits than the voice
> number. A rural area code has more digits than an urban one in
> Greece.
Although, I can not comment on German numbers, numbers in Greece have
a fixed length of 8 (i.e. Length of AreaCode+Length of Number is
always equal to 8).
The following cases exist:
The Athens Metropolitan Area is 1+7
Major Cities and Mobile phones are 2+6
Other Areas and Services are 3+5
Athens used to have a 2 digit area code and six digit numbers, but
when it was running out of numbers a couple of decades ago, its area
code was changed from "21" to "1", and seven digit numbers were
introduced.
Also for billing purposes Telex numbers, regardless of their location
appear in Area code 1 and start with a 0 (e.g. Telex 234567 is
1+0234567). Total length is still 8.
Spyros Bartsocas scb@hol.gr
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 10:43:49 -0400
From: Fred R. Goldstein <fgoldstein@bbn.com>
Subject: Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers?
One of the management fads that the "Dilbert's Bosses" was the phrase
"thinking outside the box". They stopped talking about it when they
realized, I suspect, that they were the boxes.
Most of the discussion of NANP numbers has focused on two details,
overlays and the possible alternative of eight-digit numbers, and the
difficulty of changing the phone network itself. The real cost of a
change is largely outside of the network.
The Bell System adopted the 3+3+4 numbering plan back in the days when
its high-end CO switch was the crossbar. A crossbar switch had a sort
of relay processor (marker) which could "translate" a dialed digit
string into an action. But it only worked on fixed-length strings.
So prefix codes had to be 3 digits, and line numbers had to be 4.
These numbers were arbitrary but locked into hardware. Newer
processor-controlled systems are compatible with this assupumtion.
Remember that the cost of software is MUCH greater than the cost of
computer hardware these days, especially when it changes! So while
new switches are "programmable", it's by no means simple or cheap to
change fundamental assumptions.
I've written automatic route selection tables for many PBXs. In
America, most of them are written around three and six digit
translation tables. It's hard coded. You dial 1617 and it knows that
the 1 means area code follows; 617 is thus the fixed-length area code,
and it translates that. If it needs to, it'll then translate on the
next three digits. Toll restriction tables are similar.
Switches designed for other countries are "flexible". Thus the
European software releases for, say, the Meridian SL-1 are different
in this regard from the North American ones. The Mitel SX-2000, a
"world" switch, was unusual in allowing a flexible translation scheme
into the NorAm market, where it matches on arbitrary-length digit
strings. That was interesting to look at, as it was the first time I
saw how a European switch would be translated. Of course it works fine
here too ... but I suspect there's an efficiency boost in fixed-length
scans, and PBX CPUs were until recently notoriously weak.
But as I said it's not the switches that matter. It's the rest of the
world. Europe grew up with mixed-length phone numbers, so every data
base that has a phone number in it allows variable-length fields.
Here, most data bases and the applications that feed them (insurance,
bank, credit, employer, cash register, utility company, newspaper
subscription, whatever, you name it!) are based on FIXED-length
numbers. If you think the Year 2000 problem is big, just try to
switch over to variable-length phone numbers! It'll take decades.
Europe didn't have many crossbars; they did more with steppers, which
accomodaste variable-length numbers. This affected their expectations,
including data bases, point-of-sale software, etc. What started as a
switch architecture decision by telco monopolies took on a life
elsewhere! What's simple for Europeans, like adding a digit, is thus
nigh-on impossible here.
Back outside the box: Why do we always assume, as telcos are quick to
do, that overlays mean ten-digit dialing? New York's 917 overlay
didn't affect seven-digit dialing. Why should others? I agree that
ten digits is too many to handle. I also don't like mini-areas. But
we also assume that a seven-digit number is always one in the same
area code as one is in. How silly! It is quite possible even in
today's technology to have seven-digit numbers default to one's
*primary* area code, with ten-digit numbers for one's *own* area code
if that happens to be less-often dialed.
Look in the Manhattan phone book for a 917 number. Not there. They're
unlisted! Who lists cellular phones? (Remember, non-US readers, that here,
the cellular user usually pays airtime for all calls in both directions.)
Let's extend that. We put in overlays. We reserve the remaining numbers in
the old code for LISTED numbers and perhaps some residential unlisted ones.
(Resi line growth is not the problem!) We put all new BULK numbers (DID
blocks, PBX trunks, pagers, fax servers, cellular, SMDS, ATM, etc.) in the
overlay. But we allow them to choose a default seven-digit local-destin-
ation-NPA that is not their own. So my home unlisted "data" ISDN line
might be in the overlay but it can still dial 7 digits and get 617, or
11 digits for itself. And if a business NEEDS a non-overlay unlisted
number, then it can have it FOR A PRICE; this safety valve will cover
ISPs, etc, who need say ten numbers in a DID or MSN block, as well as
hospitals, etc., who provide a sort of "tenant service" to medical
practices who locate there. Fax server users don't want to pay extra
for a "familiar" NPA; most business DID users won't either.
Competitive LECs should get to share the last remaining prefixes in
the old non-overlay codes. Bells should recycle the codes they have,
migrating most bulk users to the overlays over time.
This is consumer-friendly (seven-digit dialing plus the old number doesn't
change) and competition-friendly (CLECs get dibs on what's left until number
portability moots the issue). And it doens't muck with ingrained
assumptions about 3+3+4 which will take DECADES to change!
Fred R. Goldstein fgoldstein@bbn.com
BBN Corp. Cambridge MA USA +1 617 873 3850
------------------------------
From: jra@scfn.thpl.lib.fl.us (Jay R. Ashworth)
Subject: Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers?
Date: 12 Aug 1996 16:16:57 GMT
Organization: University of South Florida
John Nagle (nagle@netcom.com) wrote:
>> Simple answer: The hundreds of "mom & pop" LECs who still have
>> antiquated equipment out there _hardwired_ for seven-digit local
>> numbers.
> The last panel CO shut down years ago. There are very few
> step-by-step COs left, and by now most of them have microprocessors in
> between the line finder and first selector that capture the dial
> digits for processing. Electronic marker upgrades are available for
> crossbar COs, and everything later is programmable.
Yes, John. You're right.
AT&T/Lucent, NorTel and Siemens people:
_HOW_ much code is going to need to be re-written _and tested_ in order
to expand either half of a NANP style phone number? (My standard
fallback:) Deej?
Cheers,
-- jr 'and what happens after 23:59:59 31 Dec 1999?'
Jay R. Ashworth jra@scfn.thpl.lib.fl.us
Member of the Technical Staff Junk Mail Will Be Billed For.
The Suncoast Freenet *FLASH: Craig Shergold aw'better now; send no cards!*
Tampa Bay, Florida *Call 800-215-1333x184 for the whole scoop* +1 813 790 7592
------------------------------
From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison)
Subject: Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers?
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 02:22:00 -0700
Organization: Best Internet Communications
In article <telecom16.399.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com
(Bob Goudreau) wrote:
> Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison) writes:
>> All area codes with '9' as the second digit are reserved for the
>> future expansion to four-digit area codes. The main question at
>> this point seems to be whether we will go from 3+7 to 4+7 or to 4+8.
> Are you sure it's even been nailed down that specifically? The info
> that Mark Cuccia has provided has noted merely that the N9X series of
> area codes are "reserved for future expansion of a longer-than-ten-digit
> NANP number". Unless something has changed in the past few months
> since Mark submitted the following to the Digest, the four-digit NPA was
> only a strong contender, not a done deal:
The only way that the N9X area codes could be used for a 3+8 scheme
would be if everyone else kept 3+7. That could happen, but I doubt it
will. I think that we will preserve the notion that all numbers in
the NANP are the same length.
Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 15:14:10 GMT
From: jim jordan <wjjordan@nortel.ca>
Subject: Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers?
Organization: Nortel Technology, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
In article <telecom16.400.11@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Ed Ellers
<edellers@mis.net> wrote:
> James E Bellaire wrote:
>> Hiding in tarrifs of the phone companies is the little comment that
>> 'phone numbers do not belong to the subscriber and can be reassigned
>> and any time.' (Or words to that effect.)
>> Although forcing a number change is usually avoided by the telcos, it
>> has occurred. In North Carolina a few towns had their exchange
>> changed (as well as their NPA) recently. It is possible.
> That's exactly what happened when the the present plan was adopted.
> Until the 1950s most of North America had local numbers that were four
> to six digits; seven-digit local numbers only existed in a few large
> cities.
Some of these "short" numbers persisted until the early 1970s in
northwestern Ontario. The town of Red Lake had some two-digit numbers
until Bell Canada assigned each of the communities in the district its
own prefix code and allowed direct dialing. (Most of the neighbouring
towns, such as the one I grew up in, had four-digit numbers, and we
considered Red Lake privileged to have these shorter numbers.)
However, when the change-over was made, people (and businesses) in Red
Lake were more excited about being able to call people in the next
town without having to go through an operator than they were annoyed
about having to give up their two-digit number.
Ah, the memories of growing up in a small town ...
W. Jim Jordan, Nortel Technology, Mailstop 314 Qualicum,
PO Box 3511 Station C, Ottawa, ON K1Y 4H7 Canada
(613) 763-1568
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: An interesting case here in the USA
back in the 1960-70's (and for some time before that) was in the towns
of Lafayette and West Lafayette, Indiana. Although the towns had
seven digit numbers and could dial any other numbers in town, they
were non-dialable from outside their town. While much of the rest
of that part of the state was in area code 317, operators were
quick to point out that Lafayette/West Lafayette was not 'direct
dial'. From here in Chicago, to make a call to those towns we
had to dial '211' and tell the long distance operator that we wanted
<seven-digit number> in Lafayette. The operator plugged into a
tie-line on the switchboard and anywhere from two or three seconds
to ten seconds later a voice on the other end would answer saying
'Lafayette' and the operator on this end would say the number
desired.
An exception to the seven-digit number rule in town was Purdue
University, whose 'telephone number' could be given one of two ways:
If the five digit extension number at Purdue was not known, locals
in town dialed '90'. There would be no audible ringing sound, but
after a few seconds a voice answered saying 'Purdue' and you went
on from there. Purdue had their own 'information' and the operator
would transfer you to that if what you wanted was not readily known.
'Information' would look up the number, flash the operator back and
tell the one who always answered 'Purdue' what number to connect
you with. If you did know the five-digit extension desired at the
university, then you could dial '92' followed by the five digits.
But callers from out of town nonetheless could not dial anything. It
always had to go through your long distance operator to the Lafayette
operator. Layfayette 'information' (and the printed phone book) also
had quite a bit of Purdue's number information listed, but Purdue's
own 'information' was presumably more up to date. If you asked your
long distance operator for 'Lafayette, Indiana, 92-xxxxx' she would
pass it that way to the Lafayette operator and the call would go
through to the desired extension. Everything else in that part of
Indiana was completely dialable as 317-whatever for several years
before finally one day Lafayette/West Lafayette was converted, with
the Purdue operator also getting a new number in the process.
I was in the town occassionally during that period of time, and I
recall it was GTE service. I needed to make a call to Chicago and
the instructions said to dial '112' or '114' -- something like
that -- and tell the operator what you wanted. I quite logically,
I thought, told the operator I wanted (in these words) 'area code
312, (rest forgotten).' The operator sort of snapped at me and
said 'we do not use area codes here'. The process was reversed
with her plugging into a jack on the board and after a few seconds
the distant end answered 'Chicago' and the Lafayette operator told
her what number in Chicago/suburbs was wanted. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 96 09:44:22 -0500
From: Mark Tenenbaum <mark.tenenbaum@telops.gte.com>
Subject: Re: USA Technology is Awfully Backward
In article <telecom16.395.3@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Anthony <HXM3@PSUVM.PSU.
EDU> writes:
> And I wonder when would the US Congress approve some extra money
> so USA can adapt the international metric system and catch up with the
> rest of the world? Why Americans still use the length of the feet of a
> British King who died thousands of years ago to measure the length of
> every thing?
Makes *me* wonder:
Upon ultimate conversion to the metric system, would that mean that the #
button will need to be referred to as the "Gram" button rather than the
"pound" button?
And wondering even further:
Who says the rest of the world is necessarily right?
Mark D. Tenenbaum
Plano, TX (214, Soon to be 972)
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #405
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Wed Aug 14 09:08:28 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
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Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 09:08:28 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608141308.JAA29999@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #406
TELECOM Digest Wed, 14 Aug 96 09:08:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 406
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In? (Mark J. Cuccia)
Re: AT&T (NY) Adding Extra Charges to 'Casual' Users (John Higdon)
Re: Cellular Service! Flat Rate! Scam? (Dave Keeny)
Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers? (Poll Dubh)
Re: Hardware/Software Required for CallerID via TAPI (WSchochet)
Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954 (Linc Madison)
Re: How Low Can Loop Voltage Go? (John McHarry)
Re: Call for a Universal Phone Number Format (Alistair Knox)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 19:09:36 -0700
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In?
Paul Houle <houle@msc.cornell.edu> wrote:
> I have a historical question which I hope isn't a FAQ in this group, but
> which I have not been able to find an answer on the web or the telecom
> archives.
> I'm trying to find out exactly when DDD (direct distance dialing) was
> cut-in in the US. I have the impression that there was a specific date in
> the late 50s or early 60s but I've had bad luck looking for it. This
> surprises me because of the fact that such a date may be a good watershed
> for the development of our civilization -- the first moment when it was
> possible for an individual to make a connection across a continent without
> human attention.
*Customer* DDD was *phased* in, beginning in November 1951 and continuing
through roughly the mid-1960's.
Englewood NJ was the *FIRST* place to have an experiment of outward
customer DDD, beginning 10 November 1951, just four years after the
North American (US/Canada) Area Code format was finalized in October
1947. Operators had been 'dialing' or 'keying' toll calls of various
distances in various parts of the US and Canada since the 1920's, but
there was no standardized national (US and Canada) numbering plan
until 1947. Even then, and throughout the 1950's and early 1960's,
there were places where an operator had to manually connect to a
party, even if the called party had dial service itself. Even today,
there are about 1500 or so locations in the US, Canada, Mexico and
Caribbean where you need an AT&T, Bell or local Canada or Caribbean
telco operator to place calls to/from there, but these locations are
*very* rural and remote!
However, with the right equipment in place, in 1949 there was some
limited *Operator* toll dialing from San Francisco to certain metro
areas (including to New York), using the *Area Code* plus the exchange
name and remaining station digits, ringing the called party without
the need of a second operator in the terminating city!
The November 1951 Englewood NJ experiment of outward customer DDD (the
term Direct Distance Dialing wasn't standardized until the late 50's
or early 60's, and was referred to as Customer Long Distance Dialing
for most of the 1950's) was available from all single (non-coin) and
two-party lines, but *only* to certain selected metro areas in the
continental USA. The customer dialed straight seven digits (2 letters
plus 5 numbers) for northern NJ local and dialable toll locations,
without any mention of area code 201. New York City itself was dialed
from NJ (and the same is true in the reverse direction, from New York
City to northern NJ) as '1-1' plus the 2L-5N. The NY City suburbs of
Nassau County (Long Island) was dialed from Englewood NJ as 516 plus
the 2L-5N. The NY City suburbs of Westchester & Rockland Counties
(including parts of Orange and Putnam counties) was dialed as 914 plus
the 2L-5N.
Other customer dialable cities from Englewood NJ in November 1951
included Boston metro (617+), Chicago metro but not northwest Indiana
(312+), Cleveland metro (216+), Detroit metro but not Windsor ON
(313+), Milwaukee metro (414+), Oakland CA (east bay) metro (415+),
Philadelphia metro but not Camden NJ (215+), Pittsburgh metro (412+),
Providence RI metro (401+), Sacramento metro (916+) and San Francisco
(west bay and north of the Golden Gate) metro (318+).
Please note that all area codes are still the same for these areas,
although there *have* been some splits, *except* for the SF Bay
area. In October 1947, area code 415 actually covered *all* of central
coastal CA, but the November 1951 DDD "first" for Englewood NJ used
318 for reaching San Francisco points. This was only a temporary use,
as AT&T/Pacific-Tel. wanted to have better trunking into San Francisco
and Oakland, using distinct area codes. The originating #5XB local
office in Englewood NJ could only "three-digit" translate in 1951/52,
using internal relays, as the electromechanical Card-Translator box
hadn't been introduced. The Card-Translator box was introduced in
1952/53 and was located at #4XB Toll offices (and probably later at
XB-Tandem) could "six-digit" translate a much larger block of NPA-NNX
codes and establish complex routing and alternate routing arrangements
and switching, something an individual local #5XB office wasn't
expected to do.
San Francisco and Oakland each had toll-switches which would handle
inbound customer dialed or operator dialed (or connected) calls,
specifically for that city, although there has been local dialing
between the two cities for quite some time even before 1951. Sometime
in the early to mid 1950's, Area Code 318's use for San
Francisco/west-bay was 'reclaimed', and San Francisco 'returned' to
area code 415. Area Code 318 was assigned to the 1956/57 split of
Louisiana's only area code in 1947, '504', and covers all of
Louisiana, except for 504 which covers southeastern La. (at least it
will continue for another couple of years, when both 504 and 318 will
need some form of split or overlay). Oakland/east-bay split off from
415 in 1991, into Area Code 510, which was previously one of the
special TWX area codes!
Now, as for the phasing in of customer long distance dialing, it all
depended on how fast Bell and the independents were introducing
Crossbar equipment into the network, at least #4(A)XB Toll and
XB-Tandem, as well as improvements in the transmission portion of the
network, and also *numbering* plan standardization. Locations which
were *not* on a fixed seven-digit basis (or 2L-5N) were usually *not*
able to be dialed direct from areas which did have outward customer
DDD. Changing to seven-digits (2L-5N) wasn't mostly realized until the
early 1960's. This didn't mean that even an area on a seven-digit
basis couldn't continue to dial local calls as three, four, or five
digits, which has usually continued to happen in many rural areas and
small towns. But the 'official' directory listings and other telco
publicizing of numbers had to be seven-digits before a customer could
DDD to that location.
Operators had special codes in their Rate and Route Guides to dial
into a 'less-than-seven-digit' city, which customers weren't permitted
access to. And the digits dialed for outward customer DDD weren't
always standardized. Areas which had panel and crossbar equipment
usually dialed "Home NPA" toll calls as "straight" seven digits, and
"Foreign" NPA calls as "straight" ten digits. There was no numbering
or code ambiguity, since all area codes were N0X/N1X and all central
office codes were NNX as they had been based on the first two letters
(and previously in some areas, the first letter or first three
letters) of a name (with *few* exceptions, there are no letters on the
'1' or '0').
But non-senderized step originating DDD locations had to dial an
*access prefix* to gain direct access to incoming dialpulse registers
of a #4(A)XB or XB-Tandem office, which could handle the (NPA)-NNX-XXXX
dialed digits. In the 1950's, most 'step' areas which did have
originating customer DDD used '112', which was one of the usualy
'step-style' local service codes, 11X. In some areas, the customer
might have even had to wait for a second dialtone from the XB
toll/tandem office before dialing (NPA)-NNX-XXXX. This '112' step
access prefix was changed over to '1+' in most step areas about 1960,
as well most step areas changed their service centers from 11X codes
to N11 codes, or local seven-digit numbers. For standardization, many
crossbar/panel areas also adopted the use of '1+', if there were some
local step offices in the area which used '1+'. Now, the use of '1+'
has two somewhat different meanings:
1+ indicates a ten-digit number follows, regardless of local or toll,
while seven digit numbers without a 1+ could also be local or toll;
and the 1+ indicates toll, which now means 1+ a full ten digit number
if it is toll, while local calls HNPA are dialed seven-digits, and local
FNPA are usually dialed straight ten-digits.
Hopefully, as overlays become more the rule, 1+ will continue to be a
toll-indication prefix, permissible for local ten-digit calls (without
incurring toll/extra charges), and straight ten-digits will be all
local calls whether in the home HNPA, adjacent/nearby NPA, or within
the *overlayed* but different NPA!
By the mid-1960's, most parts of the (continental) US and Canada were
aware of customer DDD, even if they didn't have it. Most North
American telcos were putting Area Code maps and listings in the front
of the directory, so the customer would be aware of area codes and
even if they didn't have DDD, they could verbally tell the (long-distance)
operator the NPA plus seven-digits of their called party, which the
operator would readily key in, and the equipment would complete the
call within (usually) ten-seconds.
But the *rate* of introduction of customer outward DDD (as well as
locations which could be inwardly reached DDD by customers *as well
as* DDD-keyed by operators all depended on the type of equipment
already in place and constantly being upgraded all over this *VAST*
US/Canadian telephone network.
And there is one other equipment factor to consider ... that of
automated ticketing (billing) equipment being introduced
(AMA/CAMA/SAMA/LAMA/etc), although DDD *has* been provided with
Operator Number Identification, and in the case of any remaining four
and eight party lines, ONI is still the rule!
MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497
WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497)
Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to
Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail
------------------------------
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 00:26:16 -0700
From: John Higdon <john@bovine.ati.com>
Subject: Re: AT&T (NY) Adding Extra Charges to 'Casual' Users
kamlet@infinet.com (Art Kamlet) writes:
> And AT&T has been withdrawing from billing arrangements with many
> RBOCs, and likely wishes to avoid paying RBOCs for billing services.
> Dialing 10(10)288 could cause a billing charge from RBOC to AT&T. Or
> could cause a bill to be generated to a customer of unknown credit
> worthiness, and possibly for a single call a month. So AT&T may wish
> to avoid those customers.
The long distance carriers have always hated the casual calling code
system and have purposely misled the public into the assumption that
you had to "subscribe" to a long distance carrier to use its
services. This is what has given rise to the over-use of the word
"switch". "SWITCH to MCI and save..." It has been the availability of
casual calling that has made possible true competition in the long
distance business. Just as you can walk into a supermarket and select
a particular brand of a can of peas, you can select who will carry
your long distance call on the fly.
The latest strategy by AT&T, MCI, and others yet to come is to eliminate
this option by making casual selection expensive.
> One more item: If the non AT&T PIC goes out of service, many callers
> might suddenly try to use AT&T as its fair weather friend, placing a
> sudden high load on AT&T circuits. Isn't is fair to charge those who
> are only fair weather friends more?
Long distance companies are not my friends; they are vendors with whom I
may or may not choose to do business. None of the carriers is so close to
the edge of capacity that a few casual callers would overload circuits.
What it amounts to is a way to wring just a few more bucks out of the
public without actually raising rates. Casual callers always pay more since
they do not participate in those rate plans available to all regular
subscribers. Adding a surcharge is adding insult to injury.
> Like a delayed insurance premium.
> After all, AT&T is sitting there providing "insurance" in case of
> other PIC failure, but is otherwise not receiving any premium for this
> service.
What about the reverse? There are times that AT&T is unusable and
other carriers provide backup to AT&T. Is that why MCI has begun this
practice as well? No, it has to do with REMOVING instantaneous choice
from the hands of consumers.
Hopefully, it will bite them in their respective posteriors. I am
aware of a company who has been using MCI for years. The firm is a
major user of long distance, to the tune of many thousands of dollars
per month. So dedicated to MCI is this customer that they programmed
10222 in front of all calls outdialed by the PBX, making all trunks
"slam-proof". Unfortunately, they WERE slammed to another carrier
without anyone's knowledge. One month the MCI bill showed up with
thousands of dollars-worth of SURCHARGES -- one for each and every
call made on the PBX, which dutifully dialed the 10222 before each
one.
So far, MCI has refused to even consider removing those charges even
after hearing a complete explanation of what happened. Needless to
say, this loyal MCI customer is having serious second thoughts about
re-PICing to MCI at all, ever.
If the name of the game is "Grab All You Can Get", then the long
distance companies will reap what they sow: a non-loyal, steadily
churning base of dissatisfied customers. And you talk about
"fair-weather friends"?
John Higdon | P.O. Box 7648 | +1 408 264 4115 | FAX:
john@ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | +1 500 FOR-A-MOO | +1 408 264 4407
| http://www.ati.com/ati/ |
------------------------------
From: Dave Keeny <keenyd@ttc.com>
Subject: Re: Cellular Service! Flat Rate! Scam?
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 07:58:03 +0500
Organization: Telecommunications Techinques Corporation
Reply-To: keenyd@ttc.com
Raymond B. Normandeau wrote:
[big snip]
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Does anyone want to investigate this
> a bit further and tell us what is known about Jess Medina, his
> company, and the company he is an agent/reseller for? That phone
> number he gives is of interest, as is loop.com. PAT]
Pat,
An alt.cellular poster received the same offer from Azimuth, with the
following address:
> Azimuth Online Services
> 120 S. San Fernando Blvd.
> Suite 403
> Burbank, CA 91502
> 818.295.3746 Phone
The poster made the following note:
Note: I called directory assistance and there is no local listing for
Azimuth, no 800 listing, and the 888 number I got for Western Cellular
was a cell phone itsself! Also, the person who called me back (no
one answers their phone) knew nothing about cellular service or his
company.
I don't know which Western Cellular he called, but there is one in LA
that is listed under telephone equipment and systems:
Western Cellular...Los Angeles, CA 90016
Phone: (213) 731-6349
The business phone number of Azimuth is the home phone of:
Rachel & Jess Medina
534 E Harvard Rd,
Apt. #aa
Burbank,CA 91501-1800
(818)295-3746
Jess also has been advertising a free online service, using the account
lineofsite@aol.com:
Azimuth Online
Your Free Online Service
818.567.1981
I couldn't reverse-lookup that number.
These particular postings went out to *way* off-topic newsgroups, and
prompted a spate of cancel messages. Advertising as azimuth@loop.com,
he has been much more well behaved in terms of on-topic postings
(mainly forsale, and some business groups).
He's posted a job offer for VP of Sales:
New online services company is seeking entreprenurial minded team
player for a new startup venture. There is a lot of work to do, and
[snip]
This position will require hard work and some risk (no financial
investment required). Although this position is executive level, the
[snip]
Finally, loop.com is an ISP (http://www.loop.com) that seems to be
just another access provider. They don't respond to fingering, but
that's not too unusual.
I know there is not much new information there, but, IMO it does raise
a few red flags. It does for me, in any case.
Dave
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, it certainly does create a few
additional questions. Any readers in the Burbank, CA area wish to
look into the address given and try to find out more? PAT]
------------------------------
From: singular@oort.ap.sissa.it (Poll Dubh)
Subject: Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers?
Date: 13 Aug 1996 17:42:51 GMT
Organization: Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch'entrate
mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk (Richard Cox) wrote:
>> Er, no. Psychologists confirm that eight digits is the maximum number
>> of digits that can be reliably remembered and dialled by the average
>> user.
Tony Harminc <EL406045@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU> replied:
> Citation, please! I've dealt with eight-digit numbers in Paris, and I
> have great trouble remembering them long enough to copy from one place
> to another. But I have little or no trouble with NANP ten-digit
> numbers.
There are two different issues here.
One is what constitutes a "digit" from a psychological standpoint. If
you have a handful or two of local area codes, you may consider each
of these familiar three-figure sequences as a single "digit" of a
base-<whatever> system.
The other point is that claims about eight digits being the maximum
(I've also heard it claimed that the maximum is seven) are usually
based on the well-known "7 plus or minus 2" limit on human short-term
memory. But there is little to keep us from using our long-term memory
instead, even for such tasks as copying a number from one place to another.
(I think "short-term" means a fraction of a second in this context,
although I could be wrong about that.)
> I'm sure this is because I mentally partition the area code
> from the easy-to-remember seven-digit number. In Paris, I mentally pull
> the leading digit (usually 4) off the front, and then remember (say)
> 42 34 56 78 as 4 234-5678. Much much easier for my brain to deal
> with. In Toronto I do much the same thing -- except that instead of a
> leading 4 it's a leading 416 or 905.
Each of us does it a little differently. I don't partition the initial 4
off (especially as it could easily be a 3 or a 6). Instead, I split the
whole number into 4+4 (others would say 2+2+2+2) and remember each half
exactly as I would the last four digits of an NANP number.
> I very much doubt it. I think the "eight is easier than ten" claim
> misapplies the research. Three plus three plus four is easier, IMO.
My guess is that they are about par, once people have had time to
optimize their learning strategies for the new scheme. I would still
expect a purely mechanical linear scaling of the error rate with the
number of digits, so that ten-digit dialing is about 25% more
error-prone than eight-digit dialing. More opportunities for your
fingers to fumble or for your keys to rebound, that's all.
------------------------------
From: wschochet@aol.com (WSchochet)
Subject: Re: Hardware/Software Required for CallerID via TAPI
Date: 13 Aug 1996 11:33:49 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Reply-To: wschochet@aol.com (WSchochet)
There are a couple of diferent ways to support TAPI on Northern Telecom
systems. Unfortunately, all NT keysets say Meridian on them from the
smallest key system to the lagest PBX's and the exact requirments vary.
Assuming you have a Meridian 1 switch, you can do TAPI 1.0 stuff, which
should support your screen pop type applications using an MCA (Meridian
Communications Adapter) and a digital keyset. MCA's are a couple hundred
bucks a pop as I recall. There is a TAPI driver for the MCA.
TAPI 2.0 stuff (ie third party call control) requires Meridian Link, a
product that will interface your PBX to your other systems -- a few
bucks there and Nothern isn't exactly the most helpful when it comes
to getting the nitty gritty on how the thing actually works -- they
would be happy to refer you to an authorized Northern Developer who
will do it for you ...
Check out http://www.nortel.com/
------------------------------
From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison)
Subject: Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 02:12:49 -0700
Organization: Best Internet Communications
In article <telecom16.399.10@massis.lcs.mit.edu>,
wes.leatherock@hotelcal.com (Wes Leatherock) wrote:
>> If the call isn't a toll call, you MUST dial 10 digits, and you MUST
>> NOT dial a 1. Doesn't this go against all other major cities that
>> have split?
> Nope, sure doesn't. This is true in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,
> and will probably be true in any other Southwestern Bell areas which
> have similar splits.
> Some customers (by far the vast majority) are not like the
> people in this newsgroup and are very concerned to know when they are
> dialing a toll call.
BUT THIS FEATURE DOES NOT PROVIDE THE BENEFIT YOU DESCRIBE.
There is **NO** benefit to PROHIBITING dialing the '1' for a local call.
NONE. ZERO. NADA. ZILCH.
If you want to know if a call is toll or not, try dialing it without
the '1'. If it goes through, it's local. If it doesn't, you'll get a
message telling you to redial with the '1', and you know it's toll.
(This is in the areas that have the strict "1+ for all toll calls"
rule.)
However, if you don't care one way or the other, why should you be
forced to redial simply because it's a local call? There's NO EXCUSE
for it!
Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com
------------------------------
From: John McHarry <mcharry@pop.erols.com>
Subject: Re: How Low Can Loop Voltage Go?
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 06:19:10 -0700
Organization: Erols Internet Services
Tom Watson wrote:
> The threshold for on-hook to off-hook voltages should be somewhere about
> 10-20 volts (lower is better). I'd experiment by putting a resistor in
> series with my home set and seing when the central office thinks it is
> on/off hook. Always an interesting subject.
The CO, like the telephone set itself, is current, not voltage driven.
Old analog COs used relays in series with the line that would pull in
when a certain amount of current was drawn. Digital COs have feed
resistors instead and measure the voltage drop across the feed
resistors. Both of these arrangements can allow things like 25 volt
feed for short loops (sounds better on some phones) and higher voltage
feed on long loops to push enough current.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 22:55:05 +0100
From: Alistair Knox <ajknox@macrovision.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Call for a Universal Phone Number Format
Organization: Macrovision UK Ltd.
In article <telecom16.374.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, markus.uhlirz@aut.
alcatel.at writes:
> In many European countries the international access code is "00",
> but in France it is "19", 990 in Finland, 095 in Norway, 011 in USA,
> 010 in UK, 009 in Sweden, 07 in Spain and so on.
Actually, the UK changed its international access code to 00 (instead
of 010) back in April 1995.
Alistair Knox
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
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On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
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The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
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*************************************************************************
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*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #406
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Wed Aug 14 10:49:37 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id KAA10402; Wed, 14 Aug 1996 10:49:37 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 10:49:37 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608141449.KAA10402@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #407
TELECOM Digest Wed, 14 Aug 96 10:49:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 407
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Telecom Archives CDROM Ordering Details (TELECOM Digest Editor)
BA-NJ Proposes "Overlay" in 609 Area Code (John Cropper)
Information Needed on Koll Telecom, Skycom and Globalcom (Steve Samler)
Christian Coalition Uses Motorola Envoy (Stephen Satchell)
InterLATA Connectivity in 609? (Andrew White)
Cellular Tower Agreement (Emily Van Dunk)
Jeopardy Situation in NPA 407 (Florida) (Mark J. Cuccia)
Recent Bellcore NANPA "PL's" (Mark J. Cuccia)
Detritus of 708 Area Code Change (H.A. Kippenhan Jr.)
ATT (Lucent) Computer Telephone 8130 (x@worldnet.att.net)
Rural Internet Access (Brian M. Sharp)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 09:22:18 EDT
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Subject: Telecom Archives CDROM Ordering Details
People have been asking how to order the Telecom Archives CDROM by
mail order. Not everyone has been able to find it in a store as of
yet. If you can find it in a store, you will save on the shipping
charges, however it might simply be easier for you to order it
direct from the publisher, so details are given below.
The Telecom Archives is a fifteen year collection of the stuff which
has appeared in TELECOM Digest since 1981 along with a few hundred
other files of telecom related material. There are a lot of technical
files, historical files, etc. Everything that was there through the
end of 1995 is included. The cost is $39.95.
Please buy a copy, as the royalties will help me a lot. Also, if sales
are good, there will be an update with the 1996 material on it at
some future point.
============================================================================
shipping information:
============================================================================
Shipping is $5 in the USA, Canada, and Mexico for First Class. Overseas is
$9 PER ORDER. There is an additional $3 COD charge (USA Only). UPS Blue
Label (2nd day) [USA Only] is $10 PER ORDER, UPS Red Label (next day) [USA
Only] is $15 PER ORDER. Federal Express (next day) [USA Only] is $20 PER
ORDER. For overseas courier rates, please email us.
Ordering Information:
You can order by sending a check or money order to
Walnut Creek CDROM
Suite E
4041 Pike Lane
Concord CA 94520
USA
1 800 786-9907 (Toll Free Sales) [open 24HRS]
+1 510 674-0783 (Sales-International)
+1 510 603-1234 (tech support) [M-F 9AM - 5PM, PST]
+1 510 674-0821 (FAX)
orders@cdrom.com (For placing an order)
info@cdrom.com (For requesting more information or for
customer service questions)
support@cdrom.com (For technical questions and technical support)
majordomo@cdrom.com (Info Robot-automated product information and support)
We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and Diner's
Club. ALL credit card orders MUST include a phone or fax number. COD
shipping is available for $8.00 in the US only, NO COD shipping to P O
Boxes. Checks and Money Orders payable in US funds, can be sent along
with ordering information to our normal business address.
California residents please add sales tax.
Shipping and handling is $5 (per ORDER, not per disc) for US, Canada, and
Mexico, and $9 for overseas (AIRMAIL) shipping. Please allow 14 working
days ( 3 weeks ) for overseas orders to arrive. Most orders arrive in
1-2 weeks.
--------------------
Therefore, unless you want next day delivery by FedEx which would make
it quite expensive you would send $39.95 plus $5 to Walnut Creek at
thier address above, or authorize them to charge your credit card, etc.
As noted also, customers outside the USA need to pay additional
shipping costs. Write to Walnut Creek at the addresses above.
If you can find it in a retail outlet then you save shipping and
handling charges. In any event, please buy one today!
PAT
--------------------
The Telecom Archives remains a free resource for the Internet and
is available using anonymous ftp massis.lcs.mit.edu.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 21:12:28 GMT
Subject: BA-NJ Proposes "Overlay" in 609 Area Code
From: psyber@usa.pipeline.com (John Cropper)
For Immediate Release Contact:
August 12, 1996 Tim Ireland (201-649-2279)
SOUTH JERSEY TO GET NEW AREA CODE
Bell Atlantic Proposes "Overlay" Plan for 609
Newark, N.J. -- Ever wonder how many grains of sand repose on the
seashore? Or how many stars twinkle in the sky? Or how many
telephone numbers fill the White Pages?
Unlike the infinite stars and grains of sand, the number of telephone
numbers is fixed, and eventually the supply will run out. That's
about to happen in New Jersey's 609 area code.
The unprecedented popularity of cellular telephones, business lines,
multiple residential lines, pagers, FAX machines and dedicated
computer lines is about to exhaust South Jersey's supply of telephone
numbers.
So Bell Atlantic is preparing to create a new area code, and we're
about to ask the Board of Public Utilities how we should do that.
One method for creating new area codes would split the 609 area in
half, divide communities and force millions of customers in suburban
Philadelphia to change their telephone numbers.
The alternative, known in telecommunications parlance as an "overlay,"
doesn't cut towns in half and doesn't force customers to change their
telephone numbers. Bell Atlantic favors this plan.
Here's how an overlay would work in 609: before telephone numbers are
exhausted, a new area code would be created within the same geographic
boundaries as 609. When all 609 phone numbers have been taken, new
numbers would be issued with a new area code.
As simple as the overlay sounds, it does come with one minor
inconvenience. Once an overlay has been introduced, South Jersey
callers will need to dial ten digits (area code + seven-digit number)
to make some local calls.
Next-door neighbors, for example, could have different codes.
But thousands of New Jerseyans already dial ten digits to make local
calls. A call between Princeton and Monmouth Junction is a local
call. But because Princeton is in 609 and Monmouth Junction is in
908, a caller from Princeton must dial ten digits to reach Monmouth
Junction.
Moreover, statewide ten-digit dialing is inevitable even with a
geographic split because the demand for numbers will continue even
after new area codes are added. The 908 area code was split from 201
in 1991 -- just five years ago. If geographic splits are used to
create new area codes every three-to-five years, New Jersey will be
dotted with town-sized area-code zones.
So after a series of splits, customers will be dialing ten digits to
call from town to town, anyway. The only difference is, that every
time another split is announced, thousands of businesses will have to
spend millions of dollars changing telephone numbers on stationery,
trucks, billboards, print ads, television ads, business cards,
automatic dialers and fax machines.
With an overlay, all of that inconvenience and unnecessary cost can be
avoided.
Questions commonly asked about the overlay:
If I have one area code and I make a local call to another area code,
will that call cost me more than it did before the addition of the new
area code?
Absolutely not. New area codes do not mean higher telephone rates.
Regardless of how many digits a customer dials, a local call before
the addition of new area codes will remain a local call afterward.
Bell Atlantic computes its rates by measuring the distance between the
origin of the call and the place of completion. The number of area
codes a call passes through does not by itself determine the price of
the call.
What part of the current 609 area would change its numbers if a split
is approved?
The western portion of South Jersey -- the area that corresponds
roughly to the suburbs of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Del. -- would
receive a new area code under a split.
In other words, with a split one million customers in Burlington,
Camden, Gloucester, Salem and Cumberland counties would need to change
their area codes.
How many towns would be broken by a geographic split?
A geographic split would cut through eight towns: Dennis, Maurice
River, Buena Vista, Monroe, Winslow, Waterford, Medford and
Willingboro.
How many towns would be broken by an overlay?
Not one -- now or in the foreseeable future.
How many South Jersey customers would need to change their current
area codes with an overlay?
Not one. An overlay allows customers to keep their current area codes
and numbers.
Will either method of area-code relief affect plans for local
competition?
Not at all. Customers who take their business to a local-service
provider other than Bell Atlantic will not have their telephone
numbers changed. This feature of local competition, known as number
portability, is mandated by the Federal Telecommunications Act of
1995.
Why can't New Jersey do a geographic split without dividing towns?
Because telephone circuits frequently cross municipal lines and cannot
be reconstructed at anything approaching a reasonable cost. The
circuits are situated that way for two reasons:
The first is that New Jersey's telephone system evolved with
population, not town boundaries in mind. That is, circuits were
constructed near population centers, and those centers did not
necessarily correspond to town boundaries.
The second is that many circuits, while now constructed of modern
equipment, originally were laid down before some New Jersey towns were
incorporated.
How many telephone numbers are there in New Jersey?
Theoretically, each area code generates eight million numbers. But
because some number combinations can't be used -- numbers that begin
with 1 or 0, for example -- each area code actually has about 7.7
million useable numbers. So New Jersey's three area codes have a
total of 23.1 million numbers.
When did New Jersey get its first area code?
The 201 area code was created in 1951. It was followed in 1963 by
609, and in 1991 by 908. When 908 was carved out of 201, the new
telephone numbers created in both area codes were projected to last
until 2005. Currently, 201 is expected to run out in June 1997 and
908 will run out in October 1997. Numbers in the 609 area are
expected to exhaust in the second quarter of 1998.
Have other states approved an overlay like the one Bell Atlantic is
proposing for New Jersey?
State regulators in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York have approved
overlays.
Bell Atlantic Corporation (NYSE: BEL) is at the forefront of the new
communications, entertainment and information industry. In the
mid-Atlantic region, the company is the premier provider of local
telecommunications and advanced services. Globally, it is one of the
largest investors in the high-growth wireless communication
marketplace. Bell Atlantic also owns a substantial interest in
Telecom Corporation of New Zealand and is actively developing
high-growth national and international business opportunities in all
phases of the industry.
----------------------
John Cropper NiS / NexComm
PO Box 277
Pennington, NJ USA 08534-0277
Inside NJ : 609.637.9434
Outside NJ: 888.NPA.NFO2 (672.6362)
Fax : 609.637.9430
email: psyber@usa.pipeline.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 17:13:04 EDT
From: Steve Samler <steve@individual.com>
Subject: Information Needed on Koll Telecom, Skycom and Globalcom
Koll is purportedly in the the wireless equipment business.
Skycom is owned or controled by Globalcom Holdings. Both of these
companies are in wireless and paging services business.
Any help would certainly be appreciated.
Steve Samler
Editorial Manager, Communications
Individual, Inc.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 18:34:47 -0700
From: satchell@accutek.com (Stephen Satchell)
Subject: Christian Coalition Uses Motorola Envoy
Organization: Satchell Evaluations
I have been avoiding the coverage of the Republican National
Convention, but while trying to channel-surf away I stumbled across an
interesting story being covered either on CNN or PBS about how the
Christian Coalition is using the Motorola Envoy as a way to link up
their floor people with a central data collection center.
For those of you not familiar with the Envoy, it's a personal message
pad (using the MagicCap operating system) with a built-in radio. This
means that the Envoy can use a radio data link to communicate with a
base station in both directions -- a rather nifty thing when trying to
poll the sense of the delegates. This means that not only can each
delegate-watcher get and send mail, but the applications written for
the Christian Coalition can also receive a survey request from the
base station over the air, which means that any delegate survey can be
set up and running in minutes.
(NB: I have worked with the Envoy and find it a pretty neat package.)
It's a slick setup using off-the-shelf hardware and technology.
Stephen Satchell, Satchell Evaluations
http://www.accutek.com/~satchell
------------------------------
From: Andrew White <awhite@dca.net>
Subject: InterLATA connectivity in 609?
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 22:37:58 -0400
Organization: DCANet - Delaware Common Access Network
Hello, fellow telecom enthusiasts.
I am working on a project that requires that I run a T1 circuit
between the two LATAs in South Jersey, the Atlantic LATA and the
Delaware LATA. These two LATAs comprise the 609 area code.
I've gotten some quotes from national vendors of Inter-LATA DS1 and
frame-relay circuits, but the prices are outrageous -- mostly over
$3,000 per month. I've gotten quotes from EMI, Cable & Wireless, and
LDDS/WorldCom. I can't imagine MCI, Sprint, or AT&T would be any less
expensive.
Does anyone know of a vendor, or a less expensive approach, to obtaining
768kbps or greater connectivity between the two LATAs?
If you post a follow-up message, an e-mail copy of your message is
appreciated.
Andrew White | DCANet: Internet Access for the Delaware Valley
andrew@dca.net | Offering dialup, ISDN, and dedicated Internet access
(302) 654-1019 | in the 215/302/610 area codes.
http://andrew.white.org/ | e-mail: info@dca.net web: http://www.dca.net/
------------------------------
From: Emily Van Dunk <emily@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu>
Subject: Cellular Tower Agreement
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 22:45:30 -0500
Organization: Internet Connect, Inc. The Wisconsin ISP 414-476-4266
Reply-To: emily@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu
I am looking for some information.
Our church has been approached by a major cellular service provider to
place their antenna on our steeple. Our church is located in a rather
densely populated area in Milwaukee, WI (about one mile from a major
interstate). They are offering $7000 a year. After doing some poking
around it seems that this is quite low (most agreements I've heard
about are around $25,000). Can anyone give advice, or references
regarding a fair price ... or any other issues? Any information is
much appreciated.
TIA,
Emily Van Dunk
emily@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I'd think you could get them to go a
wee bit higher in their payments. You might also want to hold out
for something which will cost them virtually nothing: cellular phone
service for your key employees, i.e. the pastor; office personnel
who need to keep in touch regularly; the building engineer/custodian;
etc. You are looking at perhaps $200-300 per month in cellular service
if it were billed for, but it does not cost the company nearly that
much, particularly if it was known that "cellular phone service for
church employees was provided through the generosity of xxx company".
I'd try to get a bit more than the $7000 per year, but I would not
push too much harder, particularly if they are willing to toss in
free service and essentially have their tower totally out of sight
and handle all required changes to the building wiring needed as their
complete responsibility. Its not like you were out in a rural area
and the cellular company had nowhere else close by to locate their
tower. If you push for too much more, they'll find someone around
there with a tall building to do it for them. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 09:23:53 -0700
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Jeopardy Situation in NPA 407 (Florida)
From a search on "PL-" documents on Bellcore's Catalog via the web, Area
Code 407 in Florida seems to be in a "jeopardy situation". The document
which declares this is "PL-NANP-007", dated 6 August 1996. The description
of the document (which is *outrageously* priced at US$10.00) indicates that
it is only *TWO* pages long, probably just a cover sheet and a single page
with a brief paragraph describing that central-office NXX codes are being
used up rather fast.
Area Code 407 was just recently split, with the new Area Code 561, going
into permissive dialing on 13 May 1996, with mandatory dialing to begin on
13 April 1997.
MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497
WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497)
Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to
Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 09:39:52 -0700
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Recent Bellcore NANPA "PL's"
In another submission to the TELECOM Digest, I mentioned the Bellcore
NANPA "PL" (Planning Letter) regarding the "jeopardy situation" in NPA
407 (Florida), and the fact that these PL's are now US$10.00.
Other new NANPA "PL's" (Planning Letters) now available, which I found from
a search on Bellcore's Catalog webpage, and all PL's are now at a price, at
US$10.00 (although some 'longer' PL's could be priced more) include:
PL-NANP-001 (2 July 1996) (six-pages)
Introduction of NPA 869 for St.Kitts and Nevis (split from 809)
PL-NANP-002 (11 July 1996) (four-pages)
Introduction of NPA 345 for Cayman Islands (split from 809)
PL-NANP-003 (12 July 1996) (four-pages)
Introduction of NPA 767 for Dominica (split from 809)
PL-NANP-004 (5 August 1995) (six-pages)
Introduction of NPA 671 for Guam
PL-NANP-005 (5 August 1995) (thirty-four-pages)
Split of NPA 214 (Texas) (it doesn't mention 972 as the new NPA code in the
description, however)
PL-NANP-006 (5 August 1995) (thirty-two pages)
Split of NPA 713 (Texas) (it doesn't mention 281 as the new NPA code in the
description, however)
And for those who might hope that I have received these PL's,
unfortunately, NO, I have not received them, as I have *NOT* allowed
myself to be placed on automatic standing order for Bellcore NANPA's
'new' and *priced* Planning Letters, costing (at least) US$10.00 per
PL. However, I have not yet decided if I will purchase any of these
PL's, as they do include the Caribbean and Guam. There was no mention
of a PL announcing anything on CNMI, 670. I wonder if the Guam and
Caribbean PL's include maps or lists of central office NXX codes, as
these PL's are more than just one or two pages, according to the
description. I have absolutely *NO* plans to purchase the two-page PL
indicating that Florida's 407 Area Code is going into a 'jeopardy'
situation, even if this PL were only 50-cents!
MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497
WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497)
Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to
Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 10:27:22 CDT
From: H.A. Kippenhan Jr. <kipp@hep.net>
Subject: Detritus of 708 Area Code Change
Hi:
We've just gotten our first notification here at Fermilab about switch
software updates that will change the SPID values on all NI-1 ISDN BRI
lines. As an example, the 5ESS that serves Geneva and the 5E Remote
Module that provides Centrex service to Fermilab will be upgraded on
Oct. 17. You may wish to enquire if any of the readers have the
complete list for the entire 708 (er, now 630) area code and would
care to post it?
Best regards,
H.A. Kippenhan Jr. | Internet: Kippenhan@FNAL.GOV |
HEP Network Resource Center | HEPnet/NSI DECnet: FNDCD::KIPPENHAN |
Fermi National Accelerator Lab. | Voice: (630) 840-8068 |
P.O. Box 500 MS: FCC-3E/368 | FAX: (630) 840-8208 |
Batavia, Illinois 60510 | http://www.hep.net/people/kippenhan.html|
[TELECOM Dgiest Editor's Note: I live around here, and I don't even
have a copy of the 630/708 split which took place last week. I do not
know if Ameritech has even printed a complete copy of the list of
which prefixes go where for public use, but I suppose they must have.
630 has been in use for cellular/paging only since January, 1995 when
they quit assigning any more cellular/paging numbers in 708. As of
this past week, the far western suburbs of Chicago (Dupage County)
split from 708 and went into 630.
You can begin by looking at the '630-708-847' files in the Telecom
Archives in the /areacodes directory therein. You will find there what
information I have available although I am sure it needs to be updated
somewhat. PAT]
------------------------------
From: x@worldnet.att.net
Subject: ATT (Lucent) Computer Telephone 8130
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 11:50:22 GMT
Organization: AT&T WorldNet Services
I recently bought the ATT Computer Telephone 8130. This turns out to
be a new, but discontinued, product that is now somewhat supported by
Lucent. It's a CTI (Computer-Telephony Integration) product - a TAPI
compliant two-line caller id phone with a serial cable connecting it
to your Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 PC.
The only application software included is a very basic address book
and call log application, but no facility is provided for import or
export of the data. Because this is a TAPI device, it should be
usable with various PIMs, but there are a variety of limitations
involved. Also, the driver software seems to put an inordinate load
on the CPU.
Since this unit is discontinued and all but unsupported, I'm looking
for other people who have bought this unit and have advice (or even
shareware) to help me make the most of it or, if need be, return it
while I still have the option.
Also, I'm wondering if there is a newgroup for users of CTI or TAPI
(especially SOHO users such as myself). I was unable to find one.
Please email me directly as well as replying to this post. Thanks.
------------------------------
From: bsharp@cris.com (Brian M. Sharp)
Subject: Rural Internet Access
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 22:28:51 GMT
Organization: Concentric Internet Services
Is there any way people living outside a metropolitan area can get
internet access without having to pay per hour? With all the interest
in the internet, isn't there some service that can see the huge number
of people in this uncomfortable position?
B.S.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Some small towns have an ISP or two
in the community. Bill Pfieffer has told me for example that where
he lives, there are two or three ISPs including a Free Net in the
nearby (also relatively small) town of Springfield, Missouri. I think
it is just a matter of time until small towns everywhere are included
in the net. Maybe we need someone like Andrew Carnagie, the steel mill
baron of the 19th century who went around to small towns all over the
United States building public libraries, to do the same now with
Free Nets. A century later, there are still a large number of 'Carnagie
Library' facilities all over the country; for the most part still
using the endowments established for them by Andrew Carnagie.
Bill Gates is to be praised for the donation he made to the Chicago
Public Library system getting them 'online'. Now if Gates and a few
others would just do the same thing for libraries all over the United
States, so that even if there was no Free Net in town, people could
at least go to their local library and participate in the net.
A century ago at the (then) very prominent Central Church of Chicago,
Dr. George Gunaslov preached one day on the topic 'The Million Dollar
Dream'. The things I could do, he said, if I had a million dollars;
and he talked about starting a university. Afterward, he was approached
by Mr. Armour -- of the meat packing/processing company -- who offered
to do just that. Out of it came the Armour Institute which today a
century later we know as the Illinois Institute of Technology, one of
the finest schools of higher education in the midwest. Will we ever
again experience the greatness of the latter years of the nineteenth
century as all the new promises for America -- the things we take for
granted today -- came to pass?
I guess you could say this is my million dollar dream: to see libraries
throughout the USA connected to the internet; and to see Free Nets
in small towns everywhere. Today the great promise is that thing
sitting in front of your face as you read this message. Where are the
Carnagies and the Rockefellers to do today for America what those men
did a century ago? Where are they to join Bill Gates? I'll close
this issue with a quote from the poet John Bunyan who said, "I am opp-
ressed by things undone; oh! that my dreams and deeds were one." PAT]
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'.
Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
or phone at:
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Phone: 847-329-0571
Fax: 847-329-0572
** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is:
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
a note to tel-archives@mirror.lcs.mit.edu to receive a help
file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of
the help file for the Telecom Archives.
*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #407
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Wed Aug 14 18:00:08 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id SAA26570; Wed, 14 Aug 1996 18:00:08 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 18:00:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608142200.SAA26570@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #408
TELECOM Digest Wed, 14 Aug 96 18:00:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 408
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System (Atri Indiresan)
Northern Telecom List Online (Terry Grace)
Teen's Calls From Jail Costly to Parents (Tad Cook)
Need Calling Card Rates to Mexico (Yosef Rabinowitz)
What is Davar? (Tad Cook)
Voice-Band Modem Over VHF/UHF? (Roland Welte)
Re: Rural Internet Access (John R. Levine)
Re: Cellular Tower Agreement (Bill Sohl)
Re: Cable Companies (Mike Fox)
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (Marc Schaefer)
Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things (Christopher Wolf)
Re: KT&T 101XXXX Codes (Dave Stott)
Re: Article on Bell Labs in Invention & Technology (Charles Cryderman)
Re: Cellular Service! Flat Rate! Scam? (Jim Holmes)
Loop is an ISP Only (was Re: Cellular Service! Flat Rate!) (Greg Wiley)
Re: InterLATA Connectivity in 609? (Bill Sohl)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 12:23:40 -0400
From: Atri Indiresan <atri@eecs.umich.edu>
This morning, I had a visit from our housing management regarding
phone extensions. Many units in our housing complex do not have phone
extensions upstairs, and plans are being made to install these
extensions. One candidate is the traditional wiring, and the other is
the GE 916 wireless phone jack system. It is rather cheap - retailing
at $80 (additional extensions are $50), and claims compatibility with
answering machines, cordless phones, modems, fax, RCA DSS Receiver
(what does this have to do with the phone system?). The limitations
mentioned are that modems are limited to 14.4 Kbps, and it will not
work with caller-ID units. What follows is a description of the unit,
and how it works, summarized from their literature.
The system includes a base unit and an extension unit that plug into a
regular two-pin electrical socket. The base unit has two telephone jacks
- one to connect it to the wall jack, and the other to the phone. The
extension unit has a single jack, to which we can attach any telephone,
or related device.
How it works: Communication with the base is established using FM
frequencies transmitted over the electrical wiring in the home -- this
clearly does not use typical cordless technology. At most one extension
may be used at a time. For conferencing, the base unit and one
extension may be used. There are facilities for transferring between
extensions, and if one extension is in use, the others give a busy
indication.
Security: If a neighbor uses a wireless phone jack, there could be
some interference like static or a background noise. Each unit has a
security code button. First, press the security button on the base
unit, and then, within five seconds on the extension unit, and a light
flashes once if a compatible security code can be established. This
may be repeated until a compatible code is found.
In general, it seems cheaper and more versatile than an ordinary phone
jack, with some limitations. The main concerns here are of privacy. I
plan to visit my neighbor to see if they can pick up my dial tone
using my extension unit plugged in their house. Another wireless jack
unit is also being acquired for my neighbor, so we can see if there is
any interference.
If anyone knows more technical details, and comment on its suitability
for extensive use in an apartment complex, please do let me
know. Also, are there any other competing products that offer
something similar. I will follow up on this based on what I find out,
both by my experience/experiments with the system, and perhaps, I'll
call GE for more information as well (their web site had nothing
useful).
Thanks,
Atri Indiresan
http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~atri
------------------------------
From: netmaster@pmh.on.ca (Terry Grace)
Subject: Northern Telecom List Online
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 16:37:36 GMT
Organization: Peel Memorial Hospital
Reply-To: netmaster@pmh.on.ca
After searching high and low for an internet mailing list dealing with
Northern Telecom products (specifically the SL1 switch) I finally gave
up and created one myself.
If anyone's interested, send an e-mail message to LISTMASTER@PMH.ON.CA
containing only the following:
JOIN NORTEL_LIST@PMH.ON.CA
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Teen's Calls From Jail Costly to Parents
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 09:31:32 PDT
Here is a subject we haven't discussed in this forum for some
time; exhorbidant pricing on phone calls from jails. As
was discussed here before, once a jail contracts with one of
these costly "alternate operator services", families of inmates
have no other way of talking with them on the phone without
paying huge charges. What often drives this is competetive
bidding on phone services, where the provider offering the
best deal to the municipality gets the contract. Often the
highest paying provider is the one that gouges the caller
the most.
Tad Cook tad@ssc.com
Teen's Jail Calls to Parents Prove Costly
ST. JOHNS, Ariz. (AP) -- The parents of Justin Ballinger decided to
teach the 18-year-old a lesson by letting him go to jail rather than
pay his $1,200 fine.
The lesson wound up costing them $1,425 in phone calls. Now they're
ready to riot.
"I think that's a bigger crime than what Justin did," Marsha Ballinger
said. "It's ridiculous."
Her ex-husband agreed.
"It's a scam," said David Ballinger, whose bill included a $125 charge
for a 22-minute call.
Justin served a week-long sentence for marijuana possession at the
Apache County Jail after his parents refused to pay his fine.
Like many jails, Apache's collect phone calls are handled by a private
phone service that charges much higher rates than larger, well-known
phone companies.
Zero Plus Dialing of San Antonio got the phone service by paying hefty
commissions to the jails, as it does with 100 other jails nationwide
despite complaints from its captive audience.
"I'm not paying it. Zero," Mr. Ballinger said. "They can take my phone
out."
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Mr. Ballinger should be assured that
his local phone service may *not* be disconnected for failure to pay
the bill from Zero Plus Dialing. ZPD can attempt to collect from him
and place him with a collection agency if that is their choice, but
the local telco is no longer permitted to disconnect on the basis
of unpaid charges for other companies contracting to bill through them.
There is sort of a mixed bag here: Phone fraud caused by inmates of
correctional institutions is a very severe problem. The big three
carriers (AT&T, Sprint, and MCI) are really not interested in having
business from the 'corrections industry' at all, so bad is the fraud
rate. If the prison/jail is to have any phone service at all -- which
the Supreme Court has said is required -- then the service is going
to come from outfits like ZPD and other con-artists who themselves
might benefit from a term of enforced penitence in an instituiton
somwhere. Service from AOS outfits like ZPD became profitable only
when universal service -- as the established telcos knew it -- was
tossed in the trashcan as a relic of the past. If 'transient guest'
service as it was handled by AT&T until about 1983 or so was still
being practiced, inmates would be treated as 'guests' behind a PBX
at the institution and billed by the institution for their calls.
The institution would in turn remit to AT&T less an agreed upon
commission. But the institution does not want the headaches which
would be involved, and neither do the established carriers. So along
comes ZPD and a few others who agree to do it, but at a high enough
markup that they don't lose anything due to fraud either.
Another view of this is that generally correctional institutions and
the government look at the Supreme Court and basic human rights and
human dignity as obstacles in their path. Whether a person in jail
is guilty or not guilty is quite immaterial to them. They really
cannot be bothered with 'formalities' like that. The idea is to keep
the inmates as demoralized as possible; fighting among themselves;
and generally out of touch with the rest of the world. Over the
years as the courts have ruled that inmates are to have some modicum
of rights, the government has found ways to work around it. None of
the prisons/jails like the idea of having to allow prisoners to use
telephones. They would much prefer to operate their institutions in
the same way they were operated during the early part of this century
but the courts won't allow that. So the 'work around' to this terrible
thing the court has allowed; i.e. prisoners able to have contact with
their families, their attornies, etc., is to make it as restrictive
and expensive as possible. "You want to be friends with one of these
miserable prisoners? Okay, then we will do what we can to drive a
further wedge between you and the prisoner ..." and they select the
lousiest and most expensive phone service they can find. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Yosef Rabinowitz <yosefr@webspan.net>
Subject: Calling Card Rates to Mexico
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 10:05:37 -0700
Organization: Telephone Bill Reduction Consulting
I have a customer who rents office space in a standard business
center. The landlord has exclusivity on the phone lines and charges
AT&T's standard rates + 20%. Customer does a few thousand minutes to
Mexico zones 4 and 7. I cannot give 10XXX service since the landlord
has blocked it. I am looking for a calling card platform (pre-paid or
otherwise) that has rates to Mexico at 50 cents per minute or less.
Email to yosefr@webspan.net
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: What is Davar?
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 11:07:23 PDT
In GTE territory east of Seattle, you can dial 411 (which was retired
about a quarter century ago as the directory assistance number) and
get a computer voice which reads back the number you are calling from.
If you dial # before the voice starts, then it reads back the number
in the form of a rapid DTMF sequence.
I've heard this system is called DAVAR. What is it used for? I can
understand how the voice announcement could be useful for pair
identification, but exactly how is the DTMF readback of the calling
number used?
Tad Cook tad@ssc.com Seattle, WA
------------------------------
From: Roland Welte <100070.3321@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Voice-Band Modem over VHF/UHF?
Date: 14 Aug 1996 16:38:32 GMT
Organization: CRYPTO AG
I am looking for information on using voice-band modem technology for
transmitting digital data (4800 bps) over VHF/UHF radio links. For
instance, could a standard modem (e.g. V.27) be suitable for this kind
of application?
Any help/pointers/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Roland
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 96 12:44 EDT
From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: Rural Internet Access
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
> Is there any way people living outside a metropolitan area can get
> internet access without having to pay per hour?
I live in Trumansburg N.Y., population 1700. Our local independent
telephone company resells flat rate dial-up PPP access (from a larger
telco in Pennsylvania) for about $19/mo.
We also happen to be a local call from Ithaca, which isn't a very big
city but since it's home to Cornell University and Ithaca College,
there are two independent ISPs, dial-ins for Sprint, Compuserve, IBM,
etc., and NYSERNET has multiple T3 Internet feeds into their POP at
the downtown phone CO. This admittedly isn't your typical small town.
My sister lives in rural Cornwall, Vermont. She gets service from
Sovernet's POP in Middlebury, a small town with a small college.
Sovernet has dial-ins all over Vermont and seems to be making a go of
it. Vermont's a worst case for an ISP, since it's very rural, local
calling areas aren't very big, and intra-state toll rates are
extremely high. (It can easily cost more to call from Burlington to
Brattleboro than from Burlington to France.) Even so, it seems that
you don't need a whole lot of customers to make it worthwhile to put
in a POP.
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof
------------------------------
From: billsohl@planet.net (Bill Sohl)
Subject: Re: Cellular Tower Agreement
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 15:58:40 GMT
Organization: BL Enterprises
Emily Van Dunk <emily@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu> wrote:
> Our church has been approached by a major cellular service provider to
> place their antenna on our steeple. Our church is located in a rather
> densely populated area in Milwaukee, WI (about one mile from a major
> interstate). They are offering $7000 a year. After doing some poking
> around it seems that this is quite low (most agreements I've heard
> about are around $25,000). Can anyone give advice, or references
> regarding a fair price ... or any other issues? Any information is
> much appreciated.
The township I live in gets $25,000 a year from NYNEX to hahe a NYNEX
antenna on a township watertank. We're in rural NW New Jersey
adjacent to an interstate.
That agreement was signed eight years ago. Given inflation, etc. I'd
think $7000 in today's market is considerably low.
Bill Sohl (K2UNK) billsohl@planet.net
Internet & Telecommunications Consultant/Instructor
Budd Lake, New Jersey
------------------------------
From: Mike Fox <mjfox@raleigh.ibm.com>
Date: 13 Aug 96 08:46:20 GMT
Subject: Re: Cable Companies
> On a (only) slightly related note, is it legal for a cable company to
> tell subscribers in it's area that they cannot get one of those small
> dishes to pick up satellite broadcasts? Says they interfere with
> their satellite dish's pickup. The cable company that supplies to my
> apartment complex (in Texas) made them sign a form stating they will
> not allow anyone to use the satellite dishes -- that we have to buy
> from them to get cable. This seems fishy to me. Anyone have some
> facts?
The cable companies cannot put this restriction on you. Unfortunately,
the only people that can legally put this restriction on you are
landlords. Last week, the FCC issued rules that basically said that
no state, local, or homeowner's association rule can be enforced that
interferes with TV or satellite reception. This overrode all those
homeowner's covenants and local laws that restrict satellite dishes.
However, they specifically said that landlords could make this restriction
(which makes sense because it IS their own property).
I bet your landlord got a kickback or a deal for signing that agreement
with the cable company. Makes them kinda like a cable COCOT ...
Later,
Mike
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 13:52:16 +0200
From: schaefer@vulcan.alphanet.ch (Marc SCHAEFER)
Subject: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
> suggestions. First, change the permissions on all of the files you
> have which are "permanent" by using "chmod -w .*". This will take
> write permission away from you and if you try to delete a file it will
> prompt you with a message about "over-riding" the lack of write
Far better is to remove the w from the directory: UNIX deletion
depends on the right to modify the containing directory.
First example: overridable-delete (dangerous if you have the
habit of answering y to whatever you see)
<mips> schaefer:/usr/var/tmp2/t1> ls
<mips> schaefer:/usr/var/tmp2/t1> touch a
<mips> schaefer:/usr/var/tmp2/t1> chmod 444 a
<mips> schaefer:/usr/var/tmp2/t1> rm a
rm: a: 444 mode. Remove (y/n)? y
Better security with:
<mips> schaefer:/usr/var/tmp2/t1> touch a
<mips> schaefer:/usr/var/tmp2/t1> chmod -w .
<mips> schaefer:/usr/var/tmp2/t1> rm a
UX:rm: ERROR: a not removed: Permission denied.
<mips> schaefer:/usr/var/tmp2/t1>
Some UNIX systems like HP/UX offer a temporary trashcan where your
deleted files go. This is also easy to implement with a small sh
script. Then you can add a purge command, executed manually, or on too
old files in this temporary trashcan directory.
The SunOS filemanager for example implements a manual trashcan.
> permission. Second, make a copy of all of your dot files and other
> scripts in another directory and on your hard disk.
I would say start by doing
cd important_place
tar cvf - . | gzip -9 > $HOME/backup.tar.gz
Can be extracted with
gzip -d < $HOME/backup.tar.gz | tar oxvf -
If you don't have gzip, use compress without the -9 argument. Some
operating systems use the z option of tar instead, but this one
should work.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 09:53:41 CDT
From: Christopher Wolf <cwolf@micro.ti.com>
Subject: Re: Speaking About Crashes and Doing Dumb Things
On Thu, 8 Aug 1996, TELECOM Digest Editor wrote:
> Last Sunday night I got on line about 10:00 p.m. here to do some work
> on the Digest and I had a bright idea about a new script I wanted to
> try out. Well the script flubbed, which was not anything unusual for
> scripts that I write or try to hack on, but the main annoyance was
> it left me with a directory full of about a hundred .h, .c. and .o
> files to clean out when I decided to quit the experiment.
> Now, I try to be smart with potentially disasterous commands like
> 'rm' and I personally have 'rm' aliased to 'rm -i' meaning to not
> erase a file without asking for confirmation. The problem is, if
> you have a whole directory full of garbage files to get rid of
> then if you go to that directory and do 'rm *' it will stop over
> and over again, asking about each file. The command 'rm -f' will
> NOT overrride 'rm -i' on this machine at least, although 'rm -f'
> will work in a script running in the background with its own shell
> regardless of what arguments I happen to have attached to 'rm'
> for my use in the foreground.
> So far so good. Instead of having to answer 'y' a 120 times for
> every garbage file in the garbage directory I am abolishing, I
> decided just this one time I would unalias 'rm' instead. So I
> did 'unalias rm' then I did 'rm *' -- but the trouble is I had
> ** forgotten to change directories to the one I wanted **.
Pat,
I use the idea of a trashcan when I activate remove. I alias rm to
be the following script, which actually moves files to a hidden
directory called .trashcan in my home directory and removes
directories and symbolic links. Doesn't handle the more complex
forms of rm, but it works fine.
BTW: I also run a crontab job to clean out the directory every
morning....
20 4 * * 1-5 (/bin/rm /home/cwolf/.trashcan/* /home/cwolf/.trashcan/.??* > /dev/null )
If you use tcsh or csh like I do, you can then use \rm <files> when
you want to override the alias. A backward slash before a command
means to ignore any aliases for it.
#!/usr/local/bin/tcsh -f
foreach i ($*)
if (-d $i) then
echo Removing directory $i
/bin/rmdir $i
else if (-l $i) then
echo Unlinking symbolic link $i
/bin/rm $i
else if (-f $i) then
if (`/bin/ls -l $i | /bin/cut -c23-31` > "500000") then
set SIZE=`/bin/ls -l $i | /bin/cut -c23-31`
echo -n "NUKING $i of size $SIZE. "
/bin/rm $i
echo "BOOM! No Backup."
else
echo Removing file $i to temporary trashcan.
/bin/mv $i ~/.trashcan
endif
endif
end
------------------------------
From: dstott@uswest.com
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 96 10:46:07 MDT
Subject: KT&T 101XXXX Codes
In Telecom Digest #390, ronnie.grant@mogur.com (Ronnie Grant) writes:
> A while back someone mentioned that interexchange carrier
> KT&T, based in Fort Worth, Texas, had subsidiaries named
> "I don't know," "It doesn't matter," and "Whoever," so
> customers making operator-dialed calls would get hit with
> their rates. For anyone who is interested, I have the
> 101XXXX codes for KT&T and its subsidiaries.
I noticed the same thing in the FCC's 1995 report on CIC/CAC
assignments. At the time, U S WEST was attempting to procure the
assignment of a second CIC for handling our own intraLATA traffic in
Minnesota. We were told we couldn't have a second CIC, but KT&T got
those four. Go figure.
MOHO,
Dave Stott
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 96 15:55:17 EST
From: Charles Cryderman <ccryderman@ccm.frontiercorp.com>
Subject: Re: Article on Bell Labs in Invention & Technology
rh120@namaste.cc.columbia.edu (Ronda Hauben) wrote:
much snipped
> Companies need to watch their bottom line and thus they can't and
> don't put the needed investment into the long term research that
> produces important scientific advances like the transistor and the
> other significant scientific developments made possible by Bell Labs.
Now if you really want to talk about invention, lets go to WAR. There
were more invention during the Civil War then any other time in
history (followed by WWII.) The need to be more efficient killers
(without sacrificing oneself) will always help motivate invention.
Chip Cryderman
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Oh yes, indeed, and war does wonders
for the economy also. Nothing like a good, protracted war with lots
of American troops involved to stimulate the economy. Those of us
who lived through Vietnam know how there was always lots of money
to spend. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 09:47:13 -0400
From: holmesj@disney.crd.ge.com (Jim Holmes)
Subject: Re: Cellular Service! Flat Rate! Scam?
Pat et all,
This is what I get on loop.com from whois:
Domain Name: LOOP.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact, Billing Contact:
Wiley, Greg (GW138) greg@LOOP.COM
(213) 465-1311
Record last updated on 28-Nov-95.
Record created on 23-Feb-95.
Domain servers in listed order:
JANIS.LOOP.COM 204.179.169.2
AUTH00.NS.UU.NET 198.6.1.65
AUTH01.NS.UU.NET 198.6.1.81
Their web page says they are an LA ISP.
I'll let you know what I find out about Azimuth and Western.
One can always hope it's for real :-)
Jim Holmes | holmesj@crd.ge.com
IMS/UNIX Client Services | One Research Circle/KW-C255B
GE Corp. Research & Development Center | Schenectady, NY 12345
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 12:39:28 -0700
From: Greg Wiley <greg@loop.com>
Subject: Loop is an ISP Only
Dear Mr. Townson:
Garry Spire, a subscriber to your TELECOM digest passed along an item
of interest to me. In the digest, you suggest researching Western
Cellular Services and also The Loop (loop.com).
I operate The Loop Internet Switch Company, a Los Angeles-based
internet service provider. Azimuth@loop.com is one of our access
subscribers and has no other relationship with The Loop.
I hope this clears up at least some of the mystery. Feel free to
contact me if I can be of additional help.
Regards,
Greg Wiley
Chief Operating Officer
The Loop Internet Switch Co, LLC
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yeah, I figured he was just one of your
subsciribers among many. Thanks for the note of clarification. PAT]
------------------------------
From: billsohl@planet.net (Bill Sohl)
Subject: Re: InterLATA Connectivity in 609?
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 15:52:43 GMT
Organization: BL Enterprises
Andrew White <awhite@dca.net> wrote:
> Hello, fellow telecom enthusiasts.
> I am working on a project that requires that I run a T1 circuit
> between the two LATAs in South Jersey, the Atlantic LATA and the
> Delaware LATA. These two LATAs comprise the 609 area code.
Are you sure that you are dealing with an inter-lata situation? The
609 area code is ONE (1) lata and any two sites in the 609 area code
can be served by Bell Atlantic also. When the LATAs were created in
1984m NJ was split into two. One was the 201 area and the other was
the 609. Since then the 201 has split into 201 and 908.
Bill Sohl (K2UNK) billsohl@planet.net
Internet & Telecommunications Consultant/Instructor
Budd Lake, New Jersey
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
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*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #408
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Wed Aug 14 22:32:19 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id WAA22043; Wed, 14 Aug 1996 22:32:19 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 22:32:19 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608150232.WAA22043@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #409
TELECOM Digest Wed, 14 Aug 96 21:53:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 409
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Jeopardy Situation in NPA 407 (Florida) (John Cropper)
Re: Detritus of 708 Area Code Change (John Cropper)
Re: USA Technology is Awfully Backward (Demian Vieira de Souza)
Joys of Deregulation (Tad Cook)
Additional NPA Details: Jamaica, Houston, Dallas (Mark J. Cuccia)
CMC 7900 SC Batteries Wanted (aschrock@ziplink.net)
Software/Maps for NAP-NXX, LATA Info (National) (Thomas P. Brisco)
Re: Voicemail and Unix (Andrew Robson)
Re: Information Wanted on Digital PBX (Stan W. Mosley)
Re: Calling Card Rates to Mexico (Keith W. Brown)
Delay in CLID Release in New Zealand (Ken Moselen)
Software Translation Engineer - German and/or French (Paul Smith)
Does Lucent or Nortel do PRI on DS3? (William J. Halverson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: psyber@usa.pipeline.com (John Cropper)
Subject: Re: Jeopardy Situation in NPA 407 (Florida)
Date: 14 Aug 1996 21:58:48 GMT
Organization: MindSpring
On Aug 13, 1996 09.23.53 in article <Jeopardy Situation in NPA 407
(Florida)>, 'Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>' wrote:
> From a search on "PL-" documents on Bellcore's Catalog via the web, Area
> Code 407 in Florida seems to be in a "jeopardy situation". The document
> which declares this is "PL-NANP-007", dated 6 August 1996. The description
> of the document (which is *outrageously* priced at US$10.00) indicates that
> it is only *TWO* pages long, probably just a cover sheet and a single page
> with a brief paragraph describing that central-office NXX codes are being
> used up rather fast.
> Area Code 407 was just recently split, with the new Area Code 561, going
> into permissive dialing on 13 May 1996, with mandatory dialing to begin on
> 13 April 1997.
That is entirely possible, since the 407 NXXs are still being tied up
in permissive dialing. Permissive dialing periods are being dragged
out WAY too long; Ameritech made theirs 90 *days* in the cases of
708/847 and 708/630; there's no reason why other areas of the country
need as much as fourteen months per ...
John Cropper NiS / NexComm
Box 277
Pennington, NJ USA 08534-0277
Inside NJ : 609.637.9434
Outside NJ: 888.NPA.NFO2 (672.6362)
Fax : 609.637.9430
email : psyber@usa.pipeline.com
------------------------------
From: psyber@usa.pipeline.com (John Cropper)
Subject: Re: Detritus of 708 Area Code Change
Date: 14 Aug 1996 22:03:12 GMT
Organization: MindSpring
On Aug 13, 1996 10.27.22 in article <Detritus of 708 Area Code Change>,
'H.A. Kippenhan Jr. <kipp@hep.net>' wrote:
> We've just gotten our first notification here at Fermilab about switch
> software updates that will change the SPID values on all NI-1 ISDN BRI
> lines. As an example, the 5ESS that serves Geneva and the 5E Remote
> Module that provides Centrex service to Fermilab will be upgraded on
> Oct. 17. You may wish to enquire if any of the readers have the
> complete list for the entire 708 (er, now 630) area code and would
> care to post it?
Here you go:
CHICAGO AREA CODE CHANGE INFORMATION
EXCHANGE PREFIXES MOVING FROM AREA CODE 708 TO 630 ON AUGUST 3, 1996
203 207 208 212 213 217 218 220 221 222 223 224 226 230 231 232 234 237
238 241 243 244 245 247 249 250 251 252 253 255 256 257 259 260 261 262
263 264 265 266 267 268 271 272 273 274 275 278 279 282 284 285 287 289
291 292 293 294 300 304 305 306 307 314 315 321 322 323 325 329 332 336
337 347 350 351 355 357 363 365 368 369 372 373 377 378 380 393 405 406
407 408 415 416 420 431 434 436 443 444 462 464 466 469 471 472 477 483
494 495 502 505 507 510 512 513 515 525 527 528 529 530 535 537 538 539
542 543 545 552 553 554 556 557 558 564 565 571 572 573 574 575 582 584
585 586 589 595 600 601 602 603 609 610 612 613 616 617 620 624 627 628
629 632 637 641 648 653 654 655 663 665 668 676 680 682 684 690 691 695
698 702 713 714 716 717 719 722 726 731 736 739 743 744 746 751 752 759
766 767 769 773 775 778 782 783 787 789 790 792 794 801 807 810 814 819
820 826 828 829 830 832 833 834 837 840 844 845 847 850 851 852 856 858
859 860 867 871 875 876 879 887 889 892 893 894 896 897 898 904 905 906
907 908 910 913 916 920 924 930 932 941 942 953 954 955 960 961 963 964
968 969 970 971 972 977 978 979 980 983 985 986 987 990 993 997
ALL EXCHANGE PREFIXES NOT MOVED TO 630 OR 847 REMAIN IN THE 708 AREA CODE.
Permissive dialing period begins at 2:00 am CDT on August 3, 1996.
Permissive dialing period ends at 2:00 am CDT on November 30, 1996.
Test number: (630) 204-1204 gives recording if successfully dialed.
Source: Bellcore IL-95/07-015. Accuracy of sources not guaranteed.
Compiled by: Pierre Thomson, Telecom Manager, Rifton Enterprises
John Cropper NiS / NexComm
PO Box 277
Pennington, NJ USA 08534-0277
Inside NJ : 609.637.9434
Outside NJ: 888.NPA.NFO2 (672.6362)
Fax : 609.637.9430
email : psyber@usa.pipeline.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 18:36:37 -0500
From: Demian Vieira de Souza <DVIEI1@jcpenney.com>
Organization: JCPenney
Subject: Re: USA Technology is Awfully Backward
Mark Tenenbaum (mark.tenenbaum@telops.gte.com) wrote:
> In article <telecom16.395.3@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Anthony
> <HXM3@PSUVM.PSU.EDU> writes:
>> And I wonder when would the US Congress approve some extra money
>> so USA can adapt the international metric system and catch up
>> with the rest of the world? Why Americans still use the length of the
>> feet of a British King who died thousands of years ago to measure the
>> length of every thing?
> Makes *me* wonder:
> Upon ultimate conversion to the metric system, would that mean
> that the # button will need to be referred to as the "Gram" button rather
> than the "pound" button?
Well, some people and some automated telephone systems refer to "#" as
the "number button."
> And wondering even further:
> Who says the rest of the world is necessarily right?
True, but before perpetuating "Here in the US this is what we do..."
and referring to other nations as "...the rest of the world," it is
also correct to say that not adopting world standards only creates
difficulty in international business, as quoted in some of the other
replies concerning automobile production, T1 vs. E1, etc ...
On the other hand the use of measurements is particular to the field
of work you are in. For example aviation uses "feet", particularly
"thousands of feet" worldwide (according to some pilots I know). And
we techies all over the world do have an affinity for those darn 1's
and 0's we call "bits." So it is all relative.
Cordially,
Demian Vieira de Souza - Comm Analyst
JCPenney Communications Systems
12700 Park Central Place M/C 6009
Dallas, TX 75252, USA
Office:(214)591-7361 FAX:(214)531-7361/591-6721
Internet: DVIEI1@JCPENNEY.COM / PROFS ID: DVIEI1
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Joys of Deregulation
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 11:45:03 -0700 (PDT)
From http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/carroll/index.html
Tuesday, August 6, 1996 + Page E8
1996 San Francisco Chronicle
The Joys Of Deregulation
JON CARROLL
I HAVE FIVE PHONE BILLS. I'm supposed to have six phone bills. Where
is my other phone bill? This is not a question one used to hear.
I have three phone lines. Two people have home offices in my home, so
we need three phone lines. One for voice, one for modem, one for
fax. At times, that doesn't seem like enough, but we are resisting
adding a second voice line. Next, we'd have to hire a receptionist.
Back in the good old days, as we call 1995, I got three phone bills,
one for each line. That was an arrangement my brain could understand.
It was oh so merry and innocent, back in 1995.
Then things changed. I don't know why. Perhaps we did something. It
is so very hard to understand the deregulated phone system. Every
company is competing for my business. They've got Candice Bergen and
Whoopi Goldberg and Whitney Houston and 800 happy Asian businessmen,
all of them making me an offer I can't refuse.
Also: an offer I can't understand.
I suppose I could read all the literature that comes with my phone
bill, but who has the time? Last time I read one of those pamphlets,
it appeared to be offering me a chance on a mountain bike. What does
that have to do with phones?
So I pretty much drift with the breeze, phone- wise. My friend Adair
adopts the opposite tack. She signs up for every introductory offer;
she changes phone companies every two weeks. She's a phone slut.
Me, I go with the flow.
TWO MONTHS ago, I suddenly got three bills from Pacific Bell, as is
normal, and two bills from AT&T. That's three lines, five bills. I was
concerned.
Apparently, while I was off getting my hat blocked, responsibility for
my phone service was sundered in twain. Pacific Bell handles calls to
people named Ed and everything that happens under my house. AT&T
handles videoconferencing, teleporting and all calls to women named
Candy who want to give me an earful.
But AT&T sent me only two bills. ("Only two bills" -- there's a '90s
phrase). What happened to the bill for the services not covered by Pac
Bell on Line No. 3?
I thought perhaps AT&T had forgotten to send me the third bill. You
can see how insulated I am from the real world.
So I called AT&T and asked where my third bill was. I was transferred
from human to human in an amusing roundelay of brief interpersonal
interactions punctuated by long stretches of soothing music. Finally,
a woman said, "We're not supposed to tell you who your other carrier
is."
"Ah."
"Perhaps if you give me your account numbers." I did so. She left; she
came back. "I have received permission. Your other carrier is MCI."
"So I should be getting a bill from MCI?`
"I couldn't say. Perhaps."
SO NOW I am in the clutches of three distinct telephonic
entities. There used to be one phone entity, but we all hated it a lot
and demanded that it be broken up. So now it has been, and we are
beating our heads upon the flagstones and saying, "Dumb dumb dumb, we
were soooo dumb."
I have a vague memory of someone asking me if I wanted to save
$100. Well, sure I do. But I didn't sign anything. Tracy didn't sign
anything. Can things really be switched around just on the word of
whoever answers the phone?
Maybe it was a houseguest. I have several friends who are easily
puckish enough to agree to whatever proposal a telephonic stranger
makes. Maybe it was one of those Columbia Record Club kind of
mailings: "If you don't want us to change your phone service every
month, please make an X in the box below the box labeled Z unless this
is August."
My plan is to do nothing. That is always my plan.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 14:36:35 -0700
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Additional NPA Details: Jamaica, Houston, Dallas
The latest from Bellcore NANPA's webpage:
(http://www.bellcore.com/NANP/newarea.html)
876 Jamaica split from 809 (http://www.bellcore.com/NANP/876.html)
permissive dialing begins: 01 May 1997
mandatory dialing begins: 01 Nov 1997
test number: 876-JAMAICA (876-526-2422)
contact (tel): 809-967-9783
contact (fax): 809-967-2298
Houston Split (http://www.bellcore.com/NANP/281.html)
central (core) area remains 713, outer (ring) area becomes 281
permissive dialing begins: 02 Nov 1996
mandatory dialing begins: 03 May 1997
test number: 281-SWB-TEST (281-792-8378)
Dallas Split (http://www.bellcore.com/NANP/972.html)
central (core) area remains 214, outer (ring) area becomes 972
permissive dialing begins: 14 Sep 1996
mandatory dialing begins: 14 Mar 1997
test number: 972-SWB-TEST (972-792-8378)
No contact numbers were given for Dallas or Houston. Houston's 281
already has cellular numbers in that area code. I don't know if
Dallas' 972 has any cellular or other wireless numbers already active
in its new area code. Both 281 and 972 (as well as 630 in the Chicago
area and 562 in the Southern CA area) have been available in
switches/equipment that *I've* used for *quite* some time now. Of
course, there are those COCOTs which don't have any new NNX format
NPA's validly programmed even by now, but I would use the 800 (or 950)
access to the carrier of my choice anyway when calling from a COCOT,
and *NEVER* 0+NPA- from them!
MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497
WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497)
Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to
Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail
------------------------------
From: aschrock@zipnet.net (Andrew)
Subject: CMC 7900 SC Batteries Wanted
Date: 14 Aug 1996 18:10:11 -0400
Organization: ZIPNET.NET - The NorthEast US's premier ISP
I picked up a CMC 7900SC at an electronics flea market ... A
description is a black handset w/chinrest with the standard keypad,
plus a set of option keys. In the middle of the handset is a mute and
another button, which I'm not sure of what it does.
Problem: I brought it home before testing it and realizing that the
batteries are dead. The phone number on the handset was disconnected,
so I really have no way of getting their type. They are flat and
oblong, with "VARTA V100R" stamped on them. There are four of them
together used in the phone.
I would assume that they are 1.5 volt lithiums, but I'm not sure. I
have tried just hooking up four AAA batteries to the correct leads
with no effect. If anybody has any ideas about this handset, please
let me know. It's appreciated.
Sincerely,
Andrew
aschrock@ziplink.net
------------------------------
From: Thomas P. Brisco <brisco@ieee.org>
Subject: Software/Maps for NAP-NXX, LATA Info (National)
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 18:10:06 -0400
Organization: IEEE
I've been doing a lot of work lately with Telcos in some particularly
spread-out regions, and have been banging my head against problems
finding out particular information about LATAs, NPA-NXX, and service
providers in the areas (these areas range from Virginia, to New York
State, to California).
Does anyone know of a complete North America (or, I'll take
just the US) LATA MAPS including NPA-NXX for the major carriers (LEC
and IXC) within those LATAs? I think software would be preferred, but
I'll take paper ... (street address for COs would be a big plus!!).
Or am I looking for the Telecom holy grail?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Tom
------------------------------
From: arobson@nv2.uswnvg.com (Andrew Robson)
Subject: Re: Voicemail and Unix
Date: 14 Aug 1996 21:48:10 GMT
Organization: U S WEST NewVector Group, Inc.
Ed James (edjames@migration.com) wrote:
> Has anyone had any experience hooking a unix box up to a vociemail
> system that isn't designed for it?
Hooking boxes together that weren't designed for each other is allways
lots of fun. Be prepared to spend a while at it. I can advise on part
of your question.
> If I could hook the unix box up to the parallel port of the Startalk,
> and if I could convince the startalk to generate reports on a daily
> basis (or more frequently), I could parse the report on the unix side,
> and generate the required voicemail.
I recomend buying a parallel to serial converter. Check at a local
computer shop or try some catalogs (e.g. Black Box). You should be
able to read serial data into UNIX without much trouble. Causing the
machine to generate reports is something else. Does it have a serial
port you could cable to one on the UNIX machine and drive from a chron
file job?
Best of luck,
Andy
------------------------------
From: telescan@tricon.net (Stan W. Mosley)
Subject: Re: Information Wanted on Digital PBX
Date: 15 Aug 1996 00:07:08 GMT
Organization: Telescan, Inc.
In article <telecom16.397.11@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, reddp@ix.netcom.com
says:
> What is a "digital" PBX and when and where would it be used? Would it
> carry/conduct normal telephone traffic, say between an internet
> service provider and a modem over phone lines ... or is strictly for
> connection of computers, e.g. mainframe and satellite systems? I'm
> doing research. Thanks!
A digital PBX is simply an on premis switch which primarily provides
voice services. What makes it "digital" is the matrix which is based
on the T1 digital protocol (Time Division Multiplexing). These
switches normally have T1 (DS1) interfaces which connect with the
local telco and/or interexchange carrier. The line side of the switch
provides POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service). Analog to digital
multiplexing (and vice versa) is performed on the line side of the
switch so that normal telephone instruments (analog) can communicate
through the matrix.
------------------------------
From: Keith W. Brown <newsinfo@callcom.com>
Subject: Re: Calling Card Rates to Mexico
Date: 15 Aug 1996 00:28:13 GMT
Organization: CallCom International
Yosef Rabinowitz <yosefr@webspan.net> wrote in article <telecom16.408.4@
massis.lcs.mit.edu>:
> I have a customer who rents office space in a standard business
> center. The landlord has exclusivity on the phone lines and charges
> AT&T's standard rates + 20%. Customer does a few thousand minutes to
> Mexico zones 4 and 7. I cannot give 10XXX service since the landlord
> has blocked it. I am looking for a calling card platform (pre-paid or
> otherwise) that has rates to Mexico at 50" per minute or less.
If your customer has direct access out without having to dial "9"
first (can't be on a PBX), we can offer him in Band 4: Peak - $0.53
and Off-Peak - $0.39 per minute. Band 7: Peak - $0.66 and Off-Peak -
$0.61per minute. Peak Periods run from 0700 to 1900 hours, all other
times are off-peak. This is not calling card access. Hope this
helps!
Keith W. Brown
URL: http://www.callcom.com
E-mail: newsinfo@callcom.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 07:54:39 +1200
From: Moselen, Ken <Ken.Moselen@ccc.govt.nz>
Subject: Delay in CLID Release in New Zealand
Gidday Pat,
Just a couple more things on the introduction of Call Display into New
Zealand, which was to be launched this week.
As of Monday this week, Telecom said the launch will be delayed until
September at the earliest, due to technical difficulties.
Apparently the problem has to do with using *67 to block the display
of your number. In some cases this is also blocking the delivery of
your number to Telecom's Billing Computer -- which makes it
understandable that Telecom _wants_ to fix it.
On a different but related front, BellSouth New Zealand has announced
that it will be offering a Caller ID service on it's GSM Cellular
Network by the end of the year.
Oh, the * feature codes that are/will be current in New Zealand at the
moment (these are generally different to those in the USA and
Canada) ...
*52 - Disable call waiting for the current call only
*67 - Disable the display of your CLID
*65 - Enable the display of your CLID
Ken Moselen
CAD Administrator, City Design, Christchurch City Council,
PO Box 237, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Ken.Moselen@ccc.govt.nz
Tel: +64.3.3711708
Fax: +64.3.3711783
Gsm: +64.21.337963
------------------------------
From: lloydpc@ix.netcom.com (Paul Smith)
Subject: Software Translation Engineer - German and/or French
Date: 14 Aug 1996 21:34:55 GMT
Organization: Netcom
Our client, located on Long Island, is in the process of converting
their lead software products specifically for other countries across
the world. These software products are well known and leading edge.
As a Software Translation Engineer you will be reviewing all
translated software for workability and functionality. Specifically
you will create and maintain test specification, test scripts, perform
testing, perform "look and feel" test, support third party vendors,
repair bugs, meet deadlines, prepare reports, etc.
It is essential that you have strong linguistic abilities in both
English and (German and/or French). Additionally you must be able to
grasp complex technical subjects quickly and explain them both orally
and in writing. You must be able to work effectively with both
company employees as well as third party German and/or French trans-
lators and developers.
A BS in CS, EE, EET or MIS or equivalent work experience is desired
along with at least one year in software localization. A working
knowledge of DOS, Windows, Macintosh, OS/2, NetWare, Windows NT, and
UNIX would be desirable.
If you are looking for a growth position in THE dynamic department of a
dynamic software company, this could be the answer.
All face-to-face interviews will be at Corporate Headquarters and at
their expense. FULL RELOCATION AND/OR VISA SPONSORSHIP IS AVAILABLE.
Compensation is planned in the high $30K to low $50K range. A superior
benefits package is included.
If you should have an interest in pursuing this opportunity, please
forward your resume and then contact:
Paul D. Smith, President - Lloyd Staffing
Phone - 603-424-0020 or 800-763-6707
Fax - 603-424-8207
Email - Paul@Lloydstaffing.com
Snail Mail - 7 Medallion Center, Merrimack, NH 03054
------------------------------
From: William J. Halverson <wjhalv1@PacBell.COM>
Subject: Does Lucent or Nortel do PRI on DS3?
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 17:28:12 -0700
Organization: Pacific Bell's Healthcare Market Group
One way is to take 28 PRI T1s and just M13 up to DS3, but that
is not elegant, as 27 other DS0s are wasted on signalling for their
respective T1's B channels. [I.e. why use all those DS0 for D channels,
when all the BRIs are connected to the same DS3 port at the other end?]
Curious if anyone knows of a 'native' PRI-on-DS3 approach, wherein one
DS0 of the DS3's 28x24 = 672. DS0 is the D channel for the other 671 B
channels.
Would same _alot_ of space and hardware $$$ for the ISPs, boy,
letmetellya ...
Bill Halverson Pacific Bell
PH 415 542 6564 wjhalv1@pacbell.com FAX 415 542 4744
PGP Key at http://www-swiss.ai.mit.edu/~bal/pks-toplev.html
------------------------------
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #409
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Wed Aug 14 23:30:25 1996
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Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 23:30:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
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To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #410
TELECOM Digest Wed, 14 Aug 96 23:30:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 410
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Modem Access Fees (Tim Gorman)
The Free Speech Issue No One is Talking About (Jack Decker)
Re: Questions on Multi-Drop Serial Communications (Scott Nelson)
Dedicated Rates to the West Indies (Antilles Engineering)
Re: Wireless Satellite Communication - A Challenge (William J. Halverson)
PBXs and Year 2000 Problems? (John G. Brouwer)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Tim Gorman <tg6124@tyrell.net>
Subject: Re: Modem Access Fees
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 21:29:10 -0500
Bob Wulkowicz <bobw@enteract.com> wrote in TELECOM Digest Vol 16,
Issue 390:
> Maybe I took it badly, but I read Mr. Robeson's post as a pompous
> dismissal of us as the technologically and managerially unwashed.
I don't know if he meant it that way but it is true that with no real
understanding of traffic patterns, density, and provisioning
requirements it is difficult to judge whether fees established for
service are reasonable or not. "Common sense" is not typically a very
good judge.
> E.G. The telcos send a packet of information along with each call that
> contains internally useful information for system and billing
> purposes, etc. As a customer of 40 years, I have paid for the creation
> of that system and still pay its "costs" as a part of telco overhead.
> Then, access to that same packet is sold to various agencies as 911
> information so they can determine information about any callers into
> their PSAP. As a taxpayer, I pay for that as well -- and there are no
> competitive or market-driven forces avavilable to keep those costs
> down -- the telco charges what it wants. If a telco has 200 such PSAP's
> inside their jurisidiction, they have 200 little cash cows.
The "system" is a design on a piece of paper specifying protocols and
requirements and you DID pay for this in the past - it is real overhead.
What was NOT paid for in the past as part of overhead is the physical
equipment necessary to route each additional packet of information to
each various user.
Saying the telco "sends a packet of info along with each call" is
really meaningless. It doesn't work that way. The telco is NOT selling
access to that "same packet" several times.Several call setup packets
get sent between the originating and terminating switch to facilitate
call setup and to provide information like caller id and transfer
number. These data packets ride an SS7 network infrastructure which
must be grown and updated as usage grows and technology updates. Other
packets of data get sent to the billing system. These ride other
infrastructure which is also needs to be grown as usage increases and
technology updates. Call information queries for such as caller number
or AIN, while riding the SS7 network, may very well propagate
partially or totally separate infrastructure which is, again,
sensitive to usage and technology changes.
> And if I choose to use Caller ID, I buy personal access to yet that
> same packet for four or five dollars a month. The sales departments of
> the telcos spend large amounts of ratepayer's money to convince us of
> the importance of those features and their revenue generation is
> significant.
Providing that caller id to you required the telco to invest in new
software in every central office switch to handle the feature, not a
cheap thing. It also required them to invest in the analog modem
equipment in every central office necessary to send that caller id
down your phone line, again not a cheap proposition. You ARE paying
for much more than some access to a "phantom" data packet.
> So, it depends on whose side your're looking from: for the telcos it's
> a proper "subdivision" of services for different customers. From our
> side as wallet owners, we've had real money extracted 3 times. That's
> a ripoff.
You may look at it as a ripoff. Respectfully, I would suggest that much
of your outlook is based on not seeing the "invisible" infrastructure
involved in doing all of this that you never see or hear about. Caller
ID modems WERE installed in all CO's providing the service. It was NOT
cheap.
> Also, replacing digital switches for analog has capital life expectancy
> extended by a magnitude or two, so the only real equipment issue left
> would be additional purchases for capacity.
In fact, most telco planners will tell you today that infrastructure
(and therefore capital) life expectancy is a fraction of what it was
20 years ago. Then a central office could be expected to last 25 years
or longer. Today, central office lives are measured in years instead
of decades. Many of the digital central offices installed in the late
80's and early 90's are going to need replacing early in the next
decade as further advances in optical switching and ATM infrastructure
enters the market leaving a capital life expectancy of barely more
than a decade. The depreciation expenses associated with this shorter
life does result in a change in fee levels required to stay in
business in a capital intensive market.
> If there is a shortfall, the telcos probably have skimped on needed
> equipment purchases thinking they could get along on the float --
> routing based on the average call Mr. Robeson mentions -- but that's
> really their problem, they're paid to be smarter.
In a competitive environment, infrastructure managers are paid to wring
the last dollar out of investment - skimping is a way of life. You are
playing the typical game of putting the telco's between the rock and
hard place. Damn them if they do and damn them if they don't.
> Robeson's equipment issue is vaporcrabbing; modem use isn't a threat,
> or if it is, it's not in the area of equipment. ISP's are charged for
> new hard lines and where available, they're probably not copper, so
> capacity can't be >an issue there.
Frankly, this is based on a view of "fiber" from about 15 years ago
when it was thought that a few fibers laid around the nation could
"never" be exhausted. We are installing a Newbridge frame relay frame
every three months in a town of 150,000 in a rural state and STILL
can't keep up with demand. As has been usual in the telephone network
over the past 100 years, we can barely keep up with the bandwidth
demands of the customer base as it moves around from locale to locale
and grows and grows. If nothing else provides a foothold for
competitors, that does.
> Hard lines run, individual and isolated, from residences and businesses
> to some collection point where they can be identified and accessed. If
> I am connected to some customer at the same CO there is simply a point
> to point link that is of no consequence outside that office. The
> connection can be three minutes or three hours; the duration really has
> no cost despite what may be claimed.
If that connection is on a voice channel you are tying up memory in a
line frame on each end, network crosspoints (be they physical or
memory), and ancillary memory and CPU cycles tracking your call and
signaling. There IS a cost no matter what you claim. That equipment
has to be there whether it is operating at capacity or is under/over
capacity. The fact that YOU are using it and require it to be there
means you are requiring a cost to be incurred to provide you service
when you want it. You are merely grunching about having to pay the
freight for the infrastructure you are causing to be placed.
As competition comes you will have the option to move to a lower cost
provider. You will also find that you don't get something for nothing.
Much as has been found out in the long distance market today, the low
cost, niche competitors may provide lower costs for specific things but
they either don't provide 24x7 full service, they don't provide the same
levels of call blockage, etc.
> Any connection between CO's simply ties up a line between.the two, but
> it also has no real cost -- again these physical lines were fully paid
> for years ago.
There IS a cost. You just don't recognize it. If the equipment wasn't
there when you wanted to make the call, it would cost *you* something.
If nothing else, aggravation for not being able to make the call you
wanted. It's kind of the equal and opposite reaction thing. It also
costs the phone company to make the infrastructure available for
*your* call. If they didn't they could use the infrastructure for
another purpose or could forego putting it in altogether. I would also
bet the multimillion dollar digital central office serving you has NOT
been paid off years ago.
If it were all paid for years ago, your phone calls would be free and
Internet access would be free and long distance would be free and coin
phones wouldn't exist and we would all be living in Camelot. The phone
network in this country is NOT a grand conspiracy scheme no matter
what anyone tells you.
Tim Gorman Southwestern Bell
------------------------------
From: jack@novagate.com (Jack Decker)
Subject: The Free Speech Issue No One is Talking About
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 05:40:07 GMT
Organization: Altopia Corp. - Affordable Usenet Access - http://www.alt.net
Pat wrote:
> Mark my words: there will be one battle after another with the government
> and the big corporations. First it was CDA and they lost that, now it
> is copyrights. They'll probably lose on that also ... then it will be
> something else.
Funny you should write this. I wrote an article about exactly this
topic last week for TechKnow Times, an e-mail newsletter published by
a friend of mine. I'm attaching the article below. Also, please
review the Web page at http://www.knowledgetech.com/tktmenu.html
Select the August 7, 1996 issue. They're going through a
DNS/webserver transition there, so if the August 7 issue doesn't show
up right away, it should be there within a day or two (I hope!).
Jack
--------------------------------------
The Free Speech Issue No One is Talking About!
Far too often, looking closely at the workings of government is like
turning over a rock or a log out in the woods. Once in a while you
may find something good -- a few coins or a hidden treasure for you.
But more often than not, you'll see slimey, disgusting things that
tend to run and hide when exposed to the light of day.
For several months now, folks have been up in arms about the
Communications Decency Act. They turned Web pages black, and
protested mightily about the loss of "freedom of speech." I wasn't
really worried about it, for two reasons. First, I don't necessarily
buy the argument that if you restrict pornography on the net, it
follows that all forms of expression can then be restricted. People
have this illusion that our Constitution guarantees absolute freedom
of speech, any time, any place.
Try getting on a commercial aircraft sometime, and start joking about
explosives in your suitcase, or make cracks about hijacking the plane
-- or, if that isn't a big enough thrill for you, try threatening the
life of a high government official. You will quickly find out that
your "freedom of speech" AND a few hundred thousand dollars MIGHT get
you out of jail on bail until your trial. And that's just two
examples of where "freedom of speech" is restricted. You don't have
the absolute right to say anything at any time and any place. You
never did. And yet, our freedom to express political dissent in a
peaceful manner has always been protected by the courts (well, unless
you want to picket outside an abortion clinic, but since that's not a
"politically correct" form of protest we'll just look the other way on
that one. I'm not trying to pick a fight with anyone here, just
pointing out that the courts HAVE recently restricted the "freedom of
speech" of a particular group that holds a political view that is not
looked upon favorably by some. Who knows, but if these same judges
had been around during the days of the civil rights protests of the
50's and 60's, Martin Luther King might have remained in jail for
quite a long time).
But putting that aside, the CDA was simply "showcase" legislation from
the start. The legislators that passed it knew from the beginning
that it wouldn't hold up in court, but it lets them go home to their
constituents and say, "Look, we TRIED to put an end to pornography on
the Internet, but the courts stopped us." Since federal judges are
appointed and not elected, they can't be voted out of office, and
therefore can be made convenient scapegoats at times like this.
Still, I wouldn't have any problem with the protests if they weren't
so narrowly focused. You get one piece of legislation that threatens
"freedom of speech" (mostly pornographic speech, although I do realize
that there were potentially serious implications for all of us), and
everyone on the Internet is up in arms -- yet these same folks ignore
the laws that place some of the most serious restrictions on freedom
of speech. Maybe it's because we've lived with them so long that
nobody thinks about them anymore, or maybe it's because when "common
folk" break these laws on an occasional basis, they are seldom
punished, although the threat is ever present.
I'm speaking of so-called "intellectual property" laws, and copyright
in particular. Like many laws, these started out with a good purpose
-- to encourage creative people to develop their ideas and talents.
And like many laws, they have come to be exploited and misused by a
few rich and powerful people, at the expense of the rest of us (even
some of those that they are supposed to protect). And also, as with
many laws, our legislators seem to have bought the argument that "if a
little is good, a lot is better." So now we are about to see
copyright protection extended yet again, so that works from back in
the 1920's that would have fallen into the public domain in the next
year or two will now be "protected" for another 20 years, at a
minimum. You can find out more about this at the Public Domain
Information Project's page on the Copyright Extension Act, at this
URL: http://ne1.bright.net/pdinfo/copyrite.html
It seems to me that this is a movement in exactly the wrong direction.
We are living in a day when things have a much shorter "shelf life"
than ever before. It must be comforting to software authors, for
example, to know that the software they write today will be obsolete
in a couple of years, but protected by law until 70 years after they
are dead and gone!
Common sense ought to tell us a couple of things. First, an author is
probably not going to be more motivated to write if copyright
protection extends to 70 years after his death rather than 50. The
fact is that in most cases, the only beneficiaries of this copyright
extension will be the large companies that have been assigned
copyrights on works that still may be of commercial interest. But
also, when works are under copyright, it imposes a "gag order" of
sorts on those who wish to discuss them, or share them with others.
Yes, there is the so-called "doctrine of fair use", which says you can
quote portions of works for specific purposes, but nobody seems to be
really sure of how much quoting is too much -- and in any case, you're
limited to quoting bits and fragments out of context, which is hardly
the best way to present anyone's work.
Another problem is that works that are not commercially viable tend
not to get distributed. For example, let's say you find a book from
the 1940's or 1950's that seems to contain a lot of wisdom. You'd
like to share the thoughts of the author with others, but the book is
out of print and nobody seems to know where the current copyright
holder(s) are. Yet you don't dare just reprint the book without
permission -- for one thing it's illegal, and for another, the current
copyright owner just might crawl out of the woodwork and sue you for
infringement. By the time the book actually falls into the public
domain, it will in all probability be long forgotten, so neither the
present generation nor a future one will benefit from this work.
Now there is a lot of talk about tightening down on the information
that is presently freely available on the World Wide Web, by yet
another expansion of the scope of the copyright laws. Someone sent me
a clipping earlier this week, where an author was quoted as saying
that the slogan "Information wants to be free" is equivalent to saying
"I want information to be free ... and I want gasoline to be free."
That is utter nonsense, of course. Gasoline is a product -- it has to
be manufactured, and there is a fairly fixed cost to manufacture it
(probably a lot less than what the oil companies would like us to
believe, but still there is a very definite cost). But the big
difference is that if you have a gallon of gasoline, you can burn it
in your car, or you can give it or sell it to your neighbor and they
can burn it in their car, but you can't both use the same gallon of
gasoline.
Information is quite different -- much of the information we come by
in life is information we acquire for free, and even if we do pay,
there's no set price for any given piece of information -- it's
whatever the buyer and seller can agree on (at least, this SHOULD be
the case in a truly free market, which isn't what we have now in some
cases -- music licensing in particular comes to mind, although
admittedly that's "entertainment", not "information"). But the
biggest difference between information (and, indeed, many types of
so-called "intellectual property") is that you can give it away and
still keep it for yourself. If you have specific knowledge, you can
pass that on to others, and yet retain it yourself and continue to use
it in your daily life.
What's really slimey about this is that no one talks much about
copyright issues (except of course for the lawyers that are making big
bucks off of the copyright laws), and there's a reason for that.
First, the entertainment industry is a big contributor to various
political campaigns. As the saying goes, "money is the mother's milk
of politics", and when they are getting $10 to $15 for a CD that costs
about fifty cents to manufacture, you know they have plenty of money
to throw at cooperative politicians. But also, what major publication
or news organization is going to come out attacking copyright
protection? They are all making money from it! So it would hardly be
in their interest to come out and tell all the negatives about
existing intellectual property laws. In my mind, this is one of the
biggest news stories that is not being told, because people ARE losing
their rights to freely share information and knowledge, if someone
else can possibly claim "ownership" of that information.
I could go on and on about this topic ad nauseum -- we could talk
about how "intellectual property" is a legal fiction, similar to the
idea that a corporation is the same as a person. We could talk about
how copyrights often benefit the folks who didn't do the actual work,
while those who actually did the work got peanuts -- and how in other
cases it's more like a giant lottery, where certain "superstars" get
big money for little effort while others expend great amounts of time
and effort and have little or nothing to show for it. We could even
wonder why those who write, or make films or music, should be entitled
to be paid over and over for work done once, when most of the rest of
us only get paid once for the work that we do. I'm sure that any of
the topics could promote a heated argument for quite some time
(indeed, I've seen it happen in various discussion groups). But let's
cut to the chase here, as it pertains to the Internet.
Quite simply, there are people who are unhappy that a lot of
information is being given away free of charge on the Internet. They
don't like it a little bit, because people can access the Web or
Usenet News and find out the same things that are in high priced books
sold at bookstores. And these people would dearly love to have the
copyright laws further tightened, to the point that you'd hardly be
able to put anything useful on a Web page (unless it was entirely your
own original thinking), unless you (or the viewers of your page) paid
some sort of royalty to someone.
Now I can understand that if you are the author of a current book,
piece of music, or software title, you're not going to want to see
people accessing your work free of charge. I have no quarrel with
those who want to make sure that people receive fair compensation for
work done. It's just that I think that "intellectual property" laws
have reached the point of absurdity. If they'd had the type of "look
and feel" lawsuits that we've seen recently back in the first half of
this century, no two automobiles (from different manufacturers) would
have the same layout for steering wheel, foot pedals, etc.! And while
some may see the rationale for allowing people to make money off their
work for seventy years after they are dead, I certainly do not --
particularly, again, when the vast majority of people in this world
get paid only once for the work they do!
So the point is, if you truly value freedom of speech -- if you really
want to be able to communicate ideas and concepts to people on your
Web page, or in other material you'd like to make available on the
internet, you have to be aware of what your politicians are doing all
the time. Just because the magic words of "obscenity" or
"pornography" or "sex" or "profanity" aren't used in a particular
piece of legislation, does not mean that your ability to communicate
with others is not under attack. And folks, right now there's not a
whole lot of light being placed on this issue by the media, so don't
just assume that because you're not hearing anything about it, all is
well.
Take a lesson from history -- the most damaging attacks are the sneak
attacks that you don't see coming until it's too late. I'd give you
some examples from the American Civil War, but for all I know, that
might be violating someone's copyright!
* * * * *
Here are a couple of more Web pages that deal with intellectual
property and copyright issues:
Intellectual Property Issues
http://sunsite.unc.edu/negativland/intprop.htm
"If creativity is a field, copyright is the fence."
http://kzsu.stanford.edu/uwi/vircomm/anticopy.html
------------------------------
Date: 14 Aug 96 18:05:06 EDT
From: Scott Nelson <73773.2220@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Re: Questions on Multi-Drop Serial Communications
On 8/1/96, Don Nordenholt <intl1@onramp.net> wrote:
> My company makes a SONET multiplexer that offers a wide variety
> of low speed interfaces (voice, data, video, LAN, etc.).
I would like to know more about these products. I admit that I am a
little confused, however, because the bulk of your post seems to be
focussed on overhead telemetry channels in the SONET mux -- not the
actual payload. Am I correct?
> 1. I am familiar with a scheme that was used in the old days
> for monitoring microwave and fiber optic equipment in long-haul
> repeater sites.
Me too. My experience came from Rockwell International's Collins
Radio division (purchased from Rockwell by Alcatel in 1991). We could
create "fault alarm" networks using the analog modems you described.
The transport would be the analog orderwire link that was bridged
between all the radios in the network. For modems, we could use
standard 202T modems rigged to transmit data to the RMU when they
detected an active carrier and only to transmit (activate their
carrier) when data was coming from the RS-232 port. The RMU was
responsible for determining if the incoming data was addressed to that
particular RMU or not. We also had proprietary modem cards that
weren't used that often to do the same function.
When digital microwave came along (and later, fiber optics), we still
supported the analog telemetry channel, but also provided a digital
channel. This was synchronous as you described. It had separate TX
and RX data as well as corresponding clocks. There was a 5th signal,
but I cannot recall its purpose at the time ...
The point to note is that all this was Rockwell-proprietary format
called MCS-11. It initially ran at 32 kb/s, and moved up to about 56
kb/s with the later fiber transmission systems. A few third party
vendors like Westronics (now part of Harris) developed compatible
remote units that would talk MCS-11, but it was already being
displaced by TL-1 by that time, so not a whole lot more came out of
it.
> 2. The next question is jump ten years to the present. How would
> something like this be done now? We can lease data circuits or
> provide them directly out of muxes made by manufacturers like
> Premisys, Newbridge, etc.
You will mainly want to focus on SONET. With SONET, you at least get
an analog orderwire channel that is bridged between all terminals in a
network. (With most manufacturers, the orderwire can be blocked from
being received over a span or selected sites as well. And some
products incorporate a DTMF function right on board that will ring a
local buzzer when the local site is dialed -- the channel is still a
party line; however, so you can always "listen in" ...) There is also
an express orderwire, that not all vendors provide, that bypasses
repeater/regenerator sites on a SONET network.
You can use this orderwire channel just like in "the old days", but it
will be incredibly slow versus the information that can be obtained
from the in-board data communications channel on the SONET equipment
(the section DCC is 192 kb/s, and the line DCC is 576 kb/s).
On the other hand, SONET also specifies two 64 kb/s "user channels"
that are supposed to come out on all terminals -- one of them (the
path user channel) skips regenerators. Specifically, the user
channels are part of the STS-1 overhead and are present in every
STS-1. For instance, an OC-3 would be made of three STS-1 and have 3
discrete section user channels and 3 discrete path user channels, and
OC-12 would have 12+12. But technically, you only have access to the
user channels if you fiddle with the STS-1 (ie. manage it's payload:
drop a DS3, add/drop DS1 in the VT mux, terminate the DS1, etc.), and
I am not sure if it is passed from one device to another that are
connected via an electrical STS-1. Also, I am not sure if any vendors
bring out any more than just the path and section user channels that
are part of the 1st STS-1 in an OC-n system.
So how do you use the 64 kb/s channel? As far as I know, it is a
balanced TX/RX connection only. No sync/lock signals. For terminals,
the application is fairly straightforward, but what about add/drop
terminals and rings? Does the signal get dropped/added and
added/dropped at each box? In other words, for a route running east
to west, is there a TX/RX for the east route, and a TX/RX for the west
route. Of course, hubs make this even more demanding.
I am most familiar with Lucent (AT&T) SONET gear, and they don't bring
it to a physical connector at all. As for other vendors (if they
provide user channel access), my hunch is that the TX from your RMU is
broadcast to all the outgoing STS paths and the RX to your RMU is a
bridged version of all the user channels from incoming STS paths.
Scott Nelson
Director of Sales
ANTEC - Digital Systems Division
73773.2220@compuserve.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 14:16:43 -0400
From: Antilles Engineering <antilles@madriver.com>
Subject: Dedicated Rates to the West Indies
The only segment of the telecom industry that I have grown to loath is
in dealings with aggregators and brokers. Many promises, much hype
and very little delivery.
We're an engineering firm that runs over 70,000 minutes a month on a
T-1. Seventy percent of this traffic is to the West Indies (not
including PR and USVI). The balance is equally divided on calls to
Europe, US and Canada.
Is there someone on the list who can provision us (or has direct
contact with someone who can provision us) with dedicated (T-1)
service using a reliable underlying carrier at highly competitive
rates, particularly on the West Indies route?
Please respond to us directly at our e-mail address.
Best,
Doug Terman
Antilles Engineering, Ltd.
PO Box 318 Warren, VT 05674
Tel: (802) 496-3812
Fax: (802) 496-3814
------------------------------
From: William J. Halverson <wjhalv1@PacBell.COM>
Subject: Re: Wireless Satellite Communication - A Challenge
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 08:06:51 -0700
Organization: Pacific Bell's Healthcare Market Group
Mark Rivers wrote:
> Marvin Demuth wrote:
>> WHAT WE NEED:
>> We need facilities, preferably involving satellite communication with
>> voice, fax and email capabilities, at low cost. I have seen figures
>> from $1.49 to $9.00 per minute on the Web for satellite service. We
>> need something better than this. We need to be spending our funds on
>SNIP<
> It can be done now but it is not inexpensive!
I suggest you check out what Iridium and Teledesyc [sic] have planned
for LEOS systems. Iridium [Motorola initiated] is designed to provide
voice comm, while Teledesyc [a Bill Gates venture] aims to provide
mobile videoconferencing via satellites.
Hughes also has a project called Spaceway that will use satellites to
provide greater bandwidth at lower cost.
Bill Halverson Pacific Bell
PH 415 542 6564 wjhalv1@pacbell.com FAX 415 542 4744
PGP Key at http://www-swiss.ai.mit.edu/~bal/pks-toplev.html
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 96 14:12:18 PDT
From: John G. Brouwer <JGBROUWE@BCSC02.GOV.BC.CA>
Subject: PBXs and Year 2000 Problems
My question for all of your wise and knowledgeable readers/
participants is this:
Will the "year 2000 issue" which is reported to be threatening so many
mainframes, workstations and PCs also have an impact on PBXs or other
telephone equipment ?
For those who aren't familiar with the issue: simply put, it appears
that the internal representation of date in many systems will cause
them to crash or otherwise misbehave on or about the first of January,
2000. More details about the problem can be found on the web; there's
a good collection of information at http://www.year2000.com
John Brouwer Tel. +1 604 360 7128 Fax +1 604 356 0237
Fundamental Planning, Voice Communications
ITSD, Ministry of Finance, BC jgbrouwe@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca
----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #410
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Thu Aug 15 12:15:02 1996
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Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 12:15:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
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To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #411
TELECOM Digest Thu, 15 Aug 96 12:14:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 411
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Internet Sleaze King? (Tad Cook)
Call For Papers: AMAST '97 (Mehmet Orgun)
AT&T Wants to Buy my Calling Card? (Andrew C. Green)
Bellcore TAs and TRs (Stacey B. Lebitz)
Clarification of What a T1 Does (john@a3bgate.nai.net)
Newsgroup for CTI in Small and Home Offices (Michael Stanford)
Video Capture/Compression PC-Board (Qi Li)
For Sale: M8000 PictureTell Video Conference Bridge (Doug Neubert)
Selecting Local Telco (Theron Derx)
G.703 Card For PC Required (Lee Kok Seng)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Internet Sleaze King?
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 00:25:37 PDT
Irate Internet Clients Claim Florida Business Cast Worldwide Web of Deceit
By James McNair, The Miami Herald
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Aug. 15 -- Steven West duped 50 FBI agents --
and thousands of others -- into paying $99 each for a plug in bogus
Who's Who directories. He confessed, but didn't spend a single night
in jail.
House arrest, a federal judge in New York decreed last year.
Prosecutors were flabbergasted. West was the ringleader of a $14
million scam and now he could sleep in his own bed.
So West, 55, whose real name is Steven Samuel Watstein, went back to
Florida -- to a $350,000 house in Weston Hills Country Club. Back to
the home with the maid and the wife's leased Jaguar. Back to a routine
in which his chauffeur drove him to work, to restaurants and, on
Saturdays, to his psychiatrist.
"I drove him all over the place," said Ronald Roth-Watts, the chauffeur.
Even before he went to court, West had assumed a new career. The man
who penned "How to Live Like a Millionaire on an Ordinary Income" in
1977 was on to a new way to make big money -- on the Internet.
Through a succession of Fort Lauderdale-based companies, West has
offered a full package of Internet services to get business people up
and running on the World Wide Web. He conducts seminars and expos. He
sells videotapes. He designs Web sites.
For a while, money poured in, sometimes more than $200,000 a week. In
his company's current Web site (http://www.internetworldwide.com),
users are welcomed to the "nation's largest conglomerate of Internet
services."
But a lot of people believe that West's lifestyle came at their
expense. In interviews with 34 suppliers, customers and former
employees, West is consistently described as a con man extraordinaire.
Creditors and government agencies have hit West's companies with a
stream of lawsuits, default judgments and tax liens. Some don't even
bother suing, believing that it would be a waste of time.
"There's a lot of flim-flammers down here, but he makes them all look
like pikers," said Chuck Meyer, who claims that West owes him $12,000
for public-relations work. "I look at him as the plague."
Had people seen West's rap sheet, they might have spared themselves
the grief. West pleaded guilty to fraud and income-tax evasion in the
Who's Who directory scam that ran from 1988 to 1991. His 38-year-old
wife Sherri, who fronted for West, pleaded guilty to income tax
evasion.
Facing U.S. District Judge Jacob Mishler in Uniondale, N.Y., West
cited his work for charities and pleaded for leniency. Mishler
responded with six months of house arrest, three years of probation
and a $50,000 fine. Federal agents who cracked the case were outraged.
It wasn't West's first brush with controversy.
In 1992, after the Who's Who scam collapsed, West's brand-new,
19,800-square-foot mansion in posh Mill Neck, N.Y., burned
down. Authorities called it arson. No one was charged, but the
government seized West's $1.3 million in insurance proceeds on the
grounds that the house had been bought with dirty Who's Who money.
In the '70s, several West-owned stores in Detroit burned under
suspicious circumstances, according to Newsday. West said he passed a
lie detector test. He was not charged.
In 1977, West made the front page of {The Wall Street Journal}, which
called him an "illusionist, merchant and slow payer of bills." To this
day, his critics note his uncanny ability to excite people on a "work
now, get paid later" basis.
"We gave him a check for 13 grand, and they did absolutely nothing,"
said Robert Soleau, president of Diversified Group Brokerage, a
Marlborough, Conn., health insurance company. It won a $12,900
judgment against West's Internet Marketing Corp. last December, but
hasn't collected.
West made his move on the Internet in early 1995, when he ran a
company called West Adams Christopher & Associates.
The Internet, a network of computers around the world, was attracting
businesses like flies. Companies were scrambling to establish a
presence on the World Wide Web. To do that, they needed someone to
create Web "pages" that would attract potential customers.
West went into high gear. He obtained mailing lists and hired sales
people to pursue prospects for seminars, videotapes and creative
work. He contracted out the Web site design work, the videotape
production and all of the printing, mailing, faxing and public
relations vital to a marketing campaign. He booked meeting rooms in
hotels around the country.
The public loved it. The $99 seminars often drew more than a hundred a
pop, while the $99 videotape, a poor rendering of the seminar, sold by
the thousands. Companies like Bloomingdale's, Weight Watchers and
Drake Beam Morin paid to have Web sites done. Some companies paid $500
for a Web address (as in www.xyzcorp.com), even though that was far
above the going rate.
One of West's crowning moments came last December, when he drew 10,000
people to a three-day Internet expo at the Broward County (Fla.)
Convention Center. Visitors paid $7.50 each. Nearly 120 vendors set
up booths.
But the mood wasn't celebratory at the office. West's employees were
upset because they weren't being paid in full.
"Nobody knew where the money was going," said Pat Grady, a former
Internet Marketing Corp. employee. "We dealt with hundreds of calls a
day from unhappy customers."
"We were getting thousands of video orders, and we weren't sending
them out," said Frank Rocco, a salesman from October to July. "The
excuse was that we were overwhelmed with orders, or that they had to
be sent back to the factory."
When customers did receive a Web site, the work didn't live up to its
billing.
Bob Sterling of Drake Beam Morin, a big consulting firm in New York,
said he "wasn't terribly impressed" with West's preliminary work, so
the firm dropped him. Peter Sardella, a vice president for Prometheus
Information in King of Prussia, Pa., described the quality of West's
Web sites as "weekend-beginner level."
When West delivered Web sites, they would be "hosted" on computers run
by Internet service providers, which sell telephonic access to the
Internet. West made victims of ISPs, as well.
Said Jim Rennie, president of Internet Gateway Connections in Fort
Lauderdale: "This guy (West) all of a sudden doesn't pay his bill,
he's got five or ten customers on our server, we shut it off, and they
don't have Web sites anymore."
Federal probation guidelines require defendants to tell third parties
of their criminal records. In West's case, clients and creditors say
they never heard a word about it. And if West was on house arrest last
year, hardly anyone noticed.
Then there were the acts of charity West spoke of in court. Right
about that time, West was creating a free Web site for Goodwill
Industries of Broward County.
Actually, West recruited a Fort Lauderdale company called Proclus to
do the work, said Proclus President Susan Wallach. She did a needs
analysis, a site flow chart and a Web site for Goodwill, she said --
and West still owes her $2,700.
"I'm assuming that if the court assigns you to do pro bono work,
you're not supposed to hire someone else to do it for you," Wallach
said. "That would be like having someone serve your prison sentence
for you, wouldn't it?"
Some of the bigger claims against Internet Marketing come from
companies that printed, mailed and faxed its sales materials.
Innovative Marketing Technologies of Pompano Beach, Fla., said it is
owed $35,000 for printing and mailing services. M.O.R. Printing of
Davie wants $20,000 for a job that ended in March. Sandy Gilmore,
owner of Gilmore Associates in Davie, said she's out $10,000 for
mailing out tens of thousands of letters to companies nationwide.
West, in an interview by fax, said he will honor all valid judgments,
but said nothing about all other debts. He said he has no reservations
about courting new customers and vendors in the meantime.
"Just like the Chrysler Corp. had its low ebb, this company continues
to do this in an effort not only to serve new customers, but to
discharge all valid obligations," he said.
West doesn't deny having problems. But he takes issue with accusations
that he's reneging on his debts at Internet Marketing Corp.
West said he formed his new company, Internet World Wide, in an
attempt to rebound from massive employee evacuations, poor management,
a decrease in seminar attendance, greater competition and the theft of
$50,000 worth of equipment at Internet Marketing.
Unfortunately for West's creditors, judges don't enforce default
judgments. Creditors can wave a judgment in a deadbeat's face and
still not collect.
"A judgment is kind of like a fishing license, and a lot of times you
go fishing without catching anything," said Herbert Dell, a Plantation
lawyer who won a $10,148 case last November for a California company
that did advertising work. "If you can't find any assets, you go back
empty-handed."
Larry Farber, owner of the Farber Lewis & Paul collection agency in
Coral Springs, said he stops at nothing when trying to collect unpaid
debts. Shrewd debtors, however, run up smaller debts that aren't worth
the cost of lawsuits or collection, he said.
"He'll laugh at you and say, 'Come and get me,"' Farber said.
West's financial dealings are not lost on the Internal Revenue
Service. It already alleges that West Adams Christopher & Associates
owes $29,534.51 in payroll withholdings from 1992 and 1993 -- a debt
that West said he will pay.
But West could be in big trouble -- much sooner -- from his federal
probation officer.
"If he's scammed people while he's on probation, he's certainly
violated his probation," said Seth Marvin, the federal prosecutor in
the Who's Who case in New York.
"If you're on probation, a probation officer can get a warrant for
your arrest, and you can go to jail."
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 12:47:27 +1000
From: Mehmet ORGUN <mehmet@mpce.mq.edu.au>
Subject: Call For Papers: AMAST '97
Reply-To: Mehmet ORGUN <mehmet@mpce.mq.edu.au>
Preliminary Call for Papers
Sixth International AMAST Conference
AMAST '97, December 13-17, 1997, Sydney, Australia.
Goals
The major goal of the AMAST Conferences is to put software development
technology on a firm, mathematical foundation. Particular emphasis is
given to algebraic and logical foundations of software technology. An
eventual goal is to establish algebraic and logical methodologies as
practically viable and attractive alternatives to the prevailing
approaches to software engineering. Previous meetings of AMAST were
held in Iowa (1989 and 1991), Twente, Holland (1993), Montreal (1995)
and Munich (1996). During these meetings, AMAST has attracted an
international spread of researchers and practitioners interested in
software technology, programming methodology and their algebraic and
logical foundations. In addition, the first day of each conference has
been dedicated to Mathematics Education for Software Engineers. Following
this successful trend, the sixth AMAST International Conference will be
held at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, from December 13 to
December 17, 1997.
Submissions
As in the previous years we invite papers reporting original research
in algebra and logic, suitable as a foundation for software
technology, as well as software technologies developed by means of
logic and algebraic methodologies. The topics of interest include, but
are not limited to, the following:
* SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY
systems software technology, application software technology,
concurrent and reactive systems, formal methods in industrial software
development, formal techniques for software requirements, design.
* PROGRAMMING METHODOLOGY
logic programming, functional programming, object paradigms, constraint
programming and concurrency, program verification and transformation,
specification languages and tools, formal specification and development
case studies.
* ALGEBRAIC AND LOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
logic, category theory, relation algebra, computational algebra,
algebraic foundations for languages and systems, theorem proving and
logical frameworks for reasoning, logics of programs.
* SYSTEMS AND TOOLS (for system demonstrations) software development
environments, support for correct software development, system support
for reuse, tools for prototyping, validation and verification, computer
algebra systems, theorem proving systems.
All papers will be refereed by the program committee, and will be judged
based on their significance, technical merit, and relevance to the
conference. As in the past, we expect the proceedings to be published by
Springer-Verlag in their Lecture Notes in Computer Science Series.
Important Dates
Submission of Papers: February 15, 1997
Submission of System Demo Proposals: March 15, 1997
Education Day: December 13, 1997
Conference Days: December 14-17, 1997
Further Information
For bulletins on current status of the conference:
http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/amast97 amast97@mpce.mq.edu.au
For subscribing to the AMAST'97 mailing list: amast97@mpce.mq.edu.au
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 08:17:09 -0500
From: Andrew C. Green <acg@dlogics.com>
Subject: AT&T Wants to Buy My Calling Card?
AT&T wants to send me $80 to sign up with them for long-distance
service. Great, but there are some complications. Follow me
closely here:
We've been issued Ameritech long distance calling cards here at the
office. The card number is the employee's direct office line (like
mine, below) and a four-digit PIN, and is for use whenever we need to
make a long-distance business call from somewhere other than the
office. Fine.
So about, oh, ten days ago I was at home and needed to call Atlanta
on business. Consulted my Ameritech card, dialed 0+Atlanta-number,
punched in my Ameritech number at my (home) AT&T ka-bong, and all
went well.
So yesterday an envelope arrives from AT&T, blaring "CHECK ENCLOSED"
on the envelope. They would like to switch my _office_ number, listed
on the check along with my _home_ address, to AT&T. Yes, this was
send to my home address. I see no way for AT&T to figure out that my
office number, in area code 312, has any connection to any particular
home address in area code 847, though the 847 number I used to make
the call is served by AT&T.
So AT&T computers handled a call from an AT&T home using an enemy
calling card, and this triggered a letter to that address on the
theory that the enemy calling card resides there? If so, I could
go from one house to another in this manner, making quickie
long-distance calls somewhere and leaving a trail of $80 AT&T
checks in my wake, sent to the happy homeowners, each of whom gets
to temporarily lay claim to (312) 266-4431 until the next homeowner
cashes in? This is an income opportunity I hadn't thought of. Perhaps
someone here might offer some insight into what AT&T is thinking?
Andrew C. Green (312) 266-4431
Datalogics, Inc.
441 W. Huron Internet: acg@dlogics.com
Chicago, IL 60610-3498 FAX: (312) 266-4473
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 10:18:30 -0400
From: Stacey B. Lebitz <slebitz@notes.cc.bellcore.com>
Subject: Bellcore TAs and TRs
Pat,
I was just looking at the new-readers FAQ on your web site, specifically
at the question "How do I contact Bellcore".
You mention TAs and TRs. I just wanted to let you know that for new
documents or older documents that are re-issued we are not using TAs
and TRs anymore, but rather GRs (Generic Requirements). We used to
produce TAs to share preliminary info. and to provide an opportunity
to comment on documents to the industry. TAs were available at a
nominal cost. The "final" requirements would then go into the TRs,
which we hoped the industry would buy at a higher price. That wasn't
always the case!
Now we offer "Early Industry Interaction" (which is described in the
"Bellcore Digest of Technical Information". Also, this publication
tells you which Bellcore documents have been released and what plans
for new/existing documents are.) to get industry input on a topic and
then we publish a "GR" that can be subscribed to. With a subscription
you would also get any "Issue Lists Reports" that would contain
outstanding issues. Thus we are not giving our intellectual property
away anymore now that we are trying to become a commercialized
company.
TAs/TRs would typically be numbered "TA-NWT-000778", while GRs would
look like "GR-778-CORE" for the main document and "GR-778-ILR" for the
issues list report. To order everything, it would be "GR-778".
Just thought you might like to know.
Stacey Lebitz
Bellcore
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for the update. Readers can also
contact Bellcore directly using the Telecom Archives web page by going
to the section where 'other telecom-related links' are maintained and
clicking on the entry for Bellcore. The archives URL is:
http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives PAT]
------------------------------
From: john@a3bgate.nai.net (john)
Subject: Clarification of What a T1 Does
Date: 15 Aug 1996 03:11:30 GMT
Organization: North American Internet
Hi,
When one gets a T1 line, can that line be used for a combination of
data/voice/fax line?
Can I use a T1 to call long-distance or overseas by voice/data?
Please post or email your response. Thanks!
John
------------------------------
From: Michael Stanford <stanford@algocomm.com>
Subject: Newsgroup for CTI in Small and Home Offices
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 13:03:50 -0400
> Also, I'm wondering if there is a newsgroup for users of CTI or TAPI
> (especially SOHO users such as myself). I was unable to find one.
Please email David MacCallum <davidmac@algocomm.com> if you are inter-
ested in such a newsgroup. If we receive enough interest we will
start one.
------------------------------
From: runner!qli@uunet.uu.net (Qi Li)
Subject: Video Capture/Compression PC-Board
Date: 15 Aug 1996 02:13:54 GMT
Organization: The Unversity of Texas at San Antonio
Hi folks,
I'm anxiously looking for a PC plug in board (any BUS), which can
capture AND compress PAL video under 2 Mb (about 10 frames/s, or other
resolution frame rate trade-offs).
And I needs about 100 of them.
Thanks in advance!
Gary
------------------------------
From: dougneub@ix.netcom.com (Doug Neubert)
Subject: For Sale: M8000 PictureTell Video Conference Bridge
Date: 14 Aug 1996 17:35:30 GMT
Organization: Netcom
If you are or know someone who is looking to buy one of these I've got
one. Send me E-mail and we can go from there.
Thanks,
Doug Neubert
dougneub@ix.netcom.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 12:17:48 -0700
From: xred@ix.netcom.com (Theron Derx)
Subject: Selecting Local Telco
Pat,
Are you aware of any legislation pending, or in place now, that
permits a person or a company to select their local telco? For
example, if I live in Southwestern Bell country, but would prefer to
have GTE, is there any legislation that would permit me to do that?
If it is, (or will be in the future) will it work much the same way as
the selection of an LD carrier? I would greatly appreciate any
information you could send me. Thank you in advance for your time.
Sincerely yours,
T.A. "Tad" Derx
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If/when competition in local service
becomes a real thing in your community, you will be able to choose
between the companies providing it. Now in a sense, you have always
been able to do that using a feature called 'Foreign Exchange Service',
but typically a decision to use FX lines was not based on your interest
in using a 'competing' telco so much as it was based on your traffic
patterns and a decision that FX would wind up costing less than
long distance *or* a decision that FX would allow your company a
'presence' in a distant location for the convenience of your customers.
FX service -- or the right to use a telco from a distant community --
was never thought of as 'competition' for the local telco, but as
noted above you did -- and still do -- have the right to pick a telco
located in some other community as your service provider. Your phone
number will be a number used by that distant community and generally
you will *pay dearly* for the service.
You can also at present get *incoming only* service from any telco of
your choice by using 'remote call forwarding'. This is a procedure
where the telco of your choice -- but normally we think of it as the
geographic location of your choice, the telco being immaterial to the
discussion -- provides a 'phantom number' in the distant community.
The number just terminates on the switch in that town, and anyone
who dials it is automatically forwarded to you at the location you
specify at direct-dialed rates. This is a hardwired configuration; you
cannot change the terminating point by dialing codes as you do with
regular call forwarding.
In general, if you are looking to do business with a 'local' carrier
who is not part of your local community area you can do so, but it
will cost you *big money*, and it is not defined as competition. Now
if you are interested in doing business with another 'local' carrier
or telco *in your community*, the 'laws' have already been passed.
When a telco indicates it is accepting customers in your community,
you are free to subscribe to their service in place of the service
you have always had with the established telco. It is your choice now,
and generally the rates will be similar to what you are paying now;
probably very competitive. PAT]
------------------------------
From: kokseng@iss.nus.sg (Lee Kok Seng)
Subject: G.703 Card For PC Required
Date: 14 Aug 1996 01:33:47 GMT
Organization: Institute Of Systems Science, National University Of Singapore.
Hi Everyone,
I need help to identify a source for purchsing a PC card that has a
ITU-T G.703 interface (or E1). Please help if you know of the
existence of such a card. I would appreciate if you can email any
information to me at this address: kokseng@iss.nus.sg
Thanks,
Lee, Kok-Seng, Project Leader, Multimedia Networking Initiative
Institute of Systems Science , National University of Singapore <==+
Work eMail: kokseng@iss.nus.sg Home eMail: leetan@singnet.com.sg
Compuserve: 70313,2555
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
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On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
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The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
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*************************************************************************
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*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #411
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Thu Aug 15 15:09:22 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id PAA04592; Thu, 15 Aug 1996 15:09:22 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 15:09:22 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608151909.PAA04592@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #412
TELECOM Digest Thu, 15 Aug 96 15:09:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 412
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Caller ID: Names Passed Between LECs? (Jeffrey Rhodes)
Re: Voice-Band Modem over VHF/UHF? (Eric Chan)
Re: Dedicated Rates to the West Indies (Keith W. Brown)
Re: Area Code Stalemate (Paul Wilson)
Re: Article on Bell Labs in Invention & Technology (Ronda Hauben)
Re: CPUC Orders Splits for 415, 916 Area Codes (David W. Crawford)
Re: Modem Access Fees (Eric Florack)
Re: Cellular Payphones (Robert Raymond)
Re: Cellular Payphones (swwv53a@prodigy.com)
Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In? (Art Kamlet)
Re: Why Do US Online Phone Directories Only Have Stale Data? (Ron Newman)
Re: AT&T (NY) Adding Extra Charges to 'Casual' Users (Ed Fortmiller)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 00:28:57 -0700
From: Jeffrey Rhodes <jeffrey.rhodes@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: Caller ID: Names Passed Between LECs?
In article <telecom16.395.13@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Jeffrey Rhodes
<jeffrey.rhodes@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> This is where the magic takes place. The delivered CPN can be used
> to locate the calling CO. It would be very intensive to have every CO
> "know" the SS7 point code of every NPA-NXX, in order to send the TCAP
> query message. This is where Global Title Translation at the
> STPs is used. The CO only needs to know the SS7 address of its
> supporting STP and only the STPs need to keep track of the NPA-NXX SS7
> point codes. A few questions (This is fascinating.) Who owns the
> STP? (LEC? Bellcore? IEC?)
The carrier that wants to deliver names owns STPs. If a call is
end-to- end on my network then only my STPs will perform one final
translation to find the Name Database (read LIDB) for Caller ID
delivery within my network. Some LECs have worked out the GTT
translations for calling number conversion to LIDB SS7 point code
between their networks. If one LEC starts a call, it can go to an IEC
then back to a LEC. The calling LEC STP delivers the CPN to the IXC
STP which delivers (as of 6/96) the CPN to the called LEC STP.
Now the backwards (yes, I mean backwards this time) STP global title
translation, that uses the delivered CPN's calling number as an
address, would be sent from the called LEC EO's STP, which may perform
an intermediate GTT (all it needs is three to six digits to know that
it isn't theirs), requesting final GTT at the calling LEC's STP, which
presumably is keeping track of their own network and knows where the
LIDB database is for that calling number.
> - I know GTT is based on ten digits for 800 numbers (and I assume
> 888 numbers too.)
Not really, the 800 and 888 are kind of redundant so they really are
only seven digit GTTs. They used to be four digit until 800 number
portability came along.
> With Local Number Portability (the ability of a subscriber to keep
> his local telephone number when he changes to another local carrier,
> e.g., from Ameritech to Warner) will GTT have to be ten digits for
> every NPA?
Every call will eventually require a ten digit GTT in a portability
numbering plan, even for numbers that have never been ported. Or you
could do "Remote Call Forwarding" and tie up part of your network to
port a subscriber to your competitor, duh? That's a double whammy,
the customer says goodbye and you still have to provide resources
without any revenue.
Calling Name Delivery will require two ten digit GTTs to work in a
portability numbering plan. First, you have to send the dialed number
to a lookup database that returns another alias for the ported number,
to deliver the call to the ported switch. (If that database knew how
to do IS-41 and GSM mobility signaling it would be really nice ;-)...
Then the terminating trigger for the delivered unrestricted calling
number might be a ported number too, so this will require a ten digit
GTT lookup, too. If I port my number I expect that number to continue
appearing on caller id displays, right? I mean, that's why I decided
to port my number in the first place, so it wouldn't change anything,
right?
> Who will own those STPs?
Well, if you want customers you need a network, STPs are useful for
routing intelligent messages for fancy services like Caller ID which
includes Calling Number and Network Name. I like to think these are
services that benefit both callers and calleds.
> Who will update those STPs?
The North American Cellular Network is a working example of connected
SS7 STPs by many different cellular A-band IS-41 roaming networks.
Each network has a person assigned to consult a private web-site for
all the updates which must be in place by a given date. PCS-1900
non-GSM systems can also use this network for intersystem roaming.
I'm not sure how the LNP translations will be synced, seems like another
opportunity to slam.
> When will this happen?
Who's gonna know?
Jeffrey Rhodes at jeffrey.rhodes@worldnet.att.net
------------------------------
From: chaneric@hknet.com (Eric Chan)
Subject: Re: Voice-Band Modem over VHF/UHF?
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 03:48:13 GMT
Organization: Westel International
Reply-To: echan@wimsey.com
Roland Welte <100070.3321@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
> I am looking for information on using voice-band modem technology for
> transmitting digital data (4800 bps) over VHF/UHF radio links. For
> instance, could a standard modem (e.g. V.27) be suitable for this kind
> of application?
> Any help/pointers/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
There are two important considerations when using radio links:
modulation and error correction.
Modulation is more related to the radio hardware. Most radios will
have preemphasis and deemphasis circuit in the audio input/outputs.
There are also splatter filters to meet FCC spectral mask requirments.
These will distort the normal voice band modem signal too much
particularly for phase modulated modems. Typical low speed radio
modems will use simple FSK or have direct connection to the radio
modulator if higher speed is used with MSK or PSK.
The other is the fading and multi-path characters of the radio
channel. This will create errors that is not expected nor corrected
for in wireline modems. Most radio modems will have some form of
packetization and error detection / correction. The good ones will
even have different correction algorithms for different frequency
bands as the fading characters are different.
Like most who have tried using voice band modems with cellular phones,
if you are lucky and make sure that the in/out levels are adjusted
properly, it will probably work at 4800 baud but not more. Make sure
you use modem with error correction or error correction in software.
The best choice is to buy modem made for radio. There are a few
manufacturers like Repco, Maxon, Ritton and Dataradio. Most of them
sell the modem with their own radios.
Eric
------------------------------
From: Keith W. Brown <newsinfo@callcom.com>
Subject: Re: Dedicated Rates to the West Indies
Date: 15 Aug 1996 05:01:02 GMT
Organization: CallCom International
Antilles Engineering <antilles@madriver.com> wrote in article
<telecom16.410.4@massis.lcs.mit.edu>:
> The only segment of the telecom industry that I have grown to loath is
> in dealings with aggregators and brokers. Many promises, much hype
> and very little delivery.
Try this site: http://www.webcom.com/~longdist/dldfaq.html . Here you will
find a list of Carrier's and Reseller's that you may contact directly in
your search for the lowest T-1 rates to the West Indies. Good Luck!
Keith W. Brown
URL: http://www.callcom.com
E-mail: newsinfo@callcom.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 04:48:03 -0700
From: Paul Wilson <pw7240@popi.net>
Subject: Re: Area Code Stalemate
John Cropper (psyber@usa.pipeline.com) wrote:
> OVERLAYING a new code means people on the same block, even in the
> same home, will end up with different area codes, and local calls for
> the first time will require dialing an area code -- or ten numbers for
> every call. "If you go with a split, you can stay with seven-digit
> dialing," AT&T spokesman Dan Lawler said yesterday. "Surveys we've
> conducted show (customers) prefer that method." "Down the road,
It's strange AT&Ts "study" supports their position while my experience
shows just the opposite preference. In the matter of the 214/972
split in Texas the majority of my neighbors and most of the speakers
at the PUC public hearings supported the overlay solution. The major
support for the split came from AT&T, MCI, the cable companies, etc. -
just the folks who felt they would be disadvantaged in the impending
competitive local market. Ten digit dialing (forget about the concept
of "area" codes) is inevitable. The state commissions will have to
stop caving in to the "anti-competitive" argument eventually. I just
wish the Texas PUC could have had the fortitude to do it this time!
Paul Wilson Rowlett, Texas
------------------------------
From: rh120@namaste.cc.columbia.edu (Ronda Hauben)
Subject: Re: Article on Bell Labs in Invention & Technology
Date: 15 Aug 1996 06:28:10 GMT
Organization: Columbia University
Charles Cryderman (ccryderman@ccm.frontiercorp.com) wrote:
> rh120@namaste.cc.columbia.edu (Ronda Hauben) wrote:
>> Companies need to watch their bottom line and thus they can't and
>> don't put the needed investment into the long term research that
>> produces important scientific advances like the transistor and the
>> other significant scientific developments made possible by Bell Labs.
> Now if you really want to talk about invention, lets go to WAR. There
> were more invention during the Civil War then any other time in
> history (followed by WWII.) The need to be more efficient killers
> (without sacrificing oneself) will always help motivate invention.
But Bell Labs wasn't a war! So to compare it to such is to change the
issue that I was writing about. Bell Labs was an important research
institution that needed to be cherished, and AT&T needed to be
supported, not broken up to support some corporate entities that cared
only for their own bottom line, rather than for the social fabric of
the society they were part of.
Ronda rh120@columbia.edu
------------------------------
From: dc@panix3.panix.com (David W. Crawford)
Subject: Re: CPUC Orders Splits for 415, 916 Area Codes
Date: 15 Aug 1996 04:28:43 -0400
Organization: Woo Studios Ltd.
Mike King <mk@wco.com> writes:
> CPUC Orders Splits for 415, 916 Area Codes
> Both area codes are running out of new prefixes which are the first
> three digits of the seven-digit number. The 415 area code may run out of
> new prefixes by October 1977; 916 may run out by April 1998. There are
^^^^
No doubt this should be October 1997.
David W. Crawford <dc@panix.com> <david@ricochet.net>
Los Gatos, CA.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I was just checking to see if you were
awake and actually reading the Digest, David. :) PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 06:30:30 PDT
From: Eric_Florack@mc.xerox.com (Florack,Eric)
Subject: Re: Modem Access Fees
Tim Gorman <tg6124@tyrell.net> spoke with Bob Wulkowicz
<bobw@enteract.com> re Modem Access Fees in #410, and caused some
windmill tilting on my part:
>> Maybe I took it badly, but I read Mr. Robeson's post as a pompous
>> dismissal of us as the technologically and managerially unwashed.
> I don't know if he meant it that way but it is true that with no real
> understanding of traffic patterns, density, and provisioning
> requirements it is difficult to judge whether fees established for
> service are reasonable or not. "Common sense" is not typically a very
> good judge.
Hmmmm. Common sense isn't what drives telcos? Look out Dilbert. Here
comes Telco.
>> And if I choose to use Caller ID, I buy personal access to yet that
>> same packet for four or five dollars a month. The sales departments of
>> the telcos spend large amounts of ratepayer's money to convince us of
>> the importance of those features and their revenue generation is
>> significant.
> Providing that caller id to you required the telco to invest in new
> software in every central office switch to handle the feature, not a
> cheap thingIt also required them to invest in the analog modem
> equipment in every central office necessary to send that caller id
> down your phone line, again not a cheap proposition. You ARE paying
> for much more than some access to a "phantom" data packet.
A common sense examination of this is in order:
Let's assume that every CO has 10,000 customers, just to keep the
figure nice and round. Let's say half of them take the LEC up on it's
offer of CID. Lessee ... $5/mo it what was quoted here, and its a nice
figure. So ...
5000*$5=$25000 per month or, of income, or 12*$25,000= $300,000/yr on
CID alone.
Over a quarter million on CID profits per year alone, on a per-switch
basis! Can you confirm that CID cost telco more than that to install?
If not, the initial investment is in reality paid off in less than a
year. That leaves aside the multiple data-use issues.
Speaking of the modem use issues, you say:
> As competition comes you will have the option to move to a lower cost
> provider. You will also find that you don't get something for nothing.
> Much as has been found out in the long distance market today, the low
> cost, niche competitors may provide lower costs for specific things but
> they either don't provide 24x7 full service, they don't provide the same
> levels of call blockage, etc.
Fact is that as competition comes, Telcos are going to find that they
no longer have the capacity problems they once did. People will be
leaving in droves for cable modems to run everything ... including
voice traffic ... and the telcos know it ... which is why Jack Brooks
is not exactly considered the best friend of the telco, these days.
The fact is that all this complaining about modems sucking up capacity
is utter nonsense, on several levels. The telco would be involved no
matter what the traffic on the wire is, no matter what format it is.
Matter of fact, I suggest that capacity problems would be far WORSE,
if not for the modem. Modems convey information far faster than voice,
after all. And the information would need to be transmitted in /some/
form. Or are you suggesting we'd all be using the USPS?
This is naught but the Telcos trying to obtain more money for
providing what is essentially the same service; an audio channel of
300-3000cps on a point to point connection. The bitching and the
clamoring for additional price increases, based on what is /in/ those
limits; IE; the type of data being put on that audio channel, will end
up driving the data traffic off the telcos. It's true. data traffic
will leave for cheaper, less regulated pastures. Cable being only one
such option.
But what the telcos have not planned on, in my opinion, what they'll
be caught flat-footed by, is the amount of voice traffic that leaves
with it. Internet voice calls are, I think a harbinger of something
the telcos don't want to talk about much; the fact that the people,
the customers, are getting nearly as technical as the telcos ... at
least enough that they're able to get around technical and legal
roadblocks set up by people whose only interest is maintaining a
hammerlock on the nation's communications.
I'm sorry, but I find it hard indeed to work up any sympathy for
telco's cries of 'foul'.
------------------------------
From: Robert <rraymond@mobility.com>
Subject: Re: Cellular Payphones
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 13:27:30 -0700
Organization: Mobility Canada
Romesh C.D. Singh wrote:
> I am looking for a list or contacts with manufacturers/distributors of
> cellular payphones. Can anyone help?
You can contact Absolu Technologies in Quebec City ... they are specialze
in this service area code 418 ... sorry don`t have the number.
Robert
------------------------------
From: SWWV53A@prodigy.com
Subject: Re: Cellular Payphones
Date: 15 Aug 1996 01:06:42 GMT
Organization: Prodigy Services Company 1-800-PRODIGY
I think a company called Telular makes cellular pay phones for use on
boats and places far from a wireline payphone. Their stock symbol is
WRLS and is on Nasdaq. I think they are undervalued and should be
bought.
------------------------------
From: kamlet@infinet.com (Art Kamlet)
Subject: Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In?
Date: 15 Aug 1996 11:00:13 -0400
Organization: InfiNet
Reply-To: kamlet@infinet.com
In article <telecom16.406.1@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Mark J. Cuccia
<mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu> wrote:
> plus the 2L-5N. The NY City suburbs of Nassau County (Long Island)
> was dialed from Englewood NJ as 516 plus the 2L-5N. The NY City
> suburbs of Westchester & Rockland Counties (including parts of Orange
> and Putnam counties) was dialed as 914 plus the 2L-5N.
Well, maybe it was "called" 2L-5N, but how you said it to the operator
sure made a difference.
In New York, my number was CLoverdale 2-5862. But my fiance's number
in Detroit was LIncoln-77938. The latter following the 2L-5N.
When I called the operator to get a call placed to NY or Detroit I
found myself using the parsing of the place being called, until one
day.
That day I was in NY and asked the opertator for a number in Detroit,
"LIncoln (pause) 77938) and the NY operator said That's not a legal
number, please state the number correctly. I hadn't caught on yet, so
I again said, more slowly, Lincoln (pause) 77938, and she got mad and
said she could not connect me. I caught on, being a New Yorker and
all that, and corrected to LIncoln 7 (pause) 7938 and she said, that's
a number she could try.
One more note: In the movies, they used KLondike 5 (XXXX) for 555-XXXX
numbers, even back then, though they still had Murray Hill 7, and
BUtterfield 8 (I think with Elizabeth Taylor).
(Not to mention PEnnsylvania 6 - 5000).
Art Kamlet Columbus, Ohio kamlet@infinet.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And what was that movie they made about
vampires where the phone number was TRansylvania 2 - 5000? PAT]
------------------------------
From: rnewman@cybercom.net (Ron Newman)
Subject: Re: Why Do US Online Phone Directories Only Have Stale Data?
Date: 14 Aug 1996 00:12:48 -0400
Organization: Cyber Access Internet Communications, Inc.
In article <telecom16.401.14@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Mike Fox
<mjfox@raleigh.ibm.com> wrote:
> I moved from a listed number to another listed number in the same city
> in February, 1995. New phone books with the correct information have
> been out for six months. But Switchboard is still not up to date,
> even though their homepage says they were refreshed in August, 1996
> (maybe the refresh is ongoing?).
I have had the same listed phone number for almost twelve years, and
I'm not in Switchboard. Wasn't there before this supposed "August
1996 update", and still not there right now.
I don't know where Switchboard is getting its Boston-area listings,
but it sure isn't from NYNEX.
Ron Newman rnewman@cybercom.net
Web: http://www.cybercom.net/~rnewman/home.html
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Count your blessings. I mean, were you
writing to complain or writing to express your thanks? :) PAT]
------------------------------
From: egf@ultranet.com (Ed Fortmiller)
Subject: Re: AT&T (NY) Adding Extra Charges to 'Casual' Users
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 08:29:06 -0400
Organization: UltraNet Communications, Inc.
In article <telecom16.396.14@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, vantek@northcoast.com
(VANTEK COMMUNICATIONS) wrote:
>> From an AT&T small print advertisement in the {NY Daily News},
>> Wednesday 7-Aug-1996, p. 67.
>> Title: Service charge for AT&T Communications of New York, Inc.
>> AT&T Communications of New York, Inc., has filed a tariff with the NYS
>> Public Service Commission to become effective August 23, 1996.
> AT&T has already implemented this charge on INTERSTATE calls for
> several months now. It was originally $.40, but that didn't last
> long. MCI quickly followed suit, and has its own $.80 surcharge.
> Sprint (still) has none. WorldCom and its subsidiary WilTel have also
> been charging a $.35 per call surcharge to casual callers for several
> months now.
Is this true in ALL states or just New York?
Ed Fortmiller | Hudson MA | egf@ultranet.com
[TELECOM Dgiest Editor's Note: Since the New York PSC as of yet has
no authority outside that state, I assume it only applies there. But
I have seen a similar notice in the Chicago papers regarding AT&T
in this state. It really seems incredible to me the way AT&T lately
seems to have gone out of its way to alienate its long time allies
(the local telcos) and its customers. Anyone else think so? PAT]
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #412
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri Aug 16 00:14:09 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id AAA25498; Fri, 16 Aug 1996 00:14:09 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 00:14:09 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608160414.AAA25498@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #413
TELECOM Digest Fri, 16 Aug 96 00:14:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 413
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Pacific Bell Spins A More User-Friendly, Customer-Focused Website (M. King)
New California Area Codes Unveiled (Tad Cook)
USAir Orders Gag On Phones (Mike Pollock)
Re: Rural Internet Access (Joel Upchurch)
Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut in? (Wes Leatherock)
Re: InterLATA Connectivity in 609? (Bill Sohl)
Re: AT&T Wants to Buy My Calling Card? (John R. Grout)
Re: AT&T (NY) Adding Extra Charges to 'Casual' Users (Stanley Cline)
Employment Opportunity - Voice Network Service Eng / Admin (B. Gallatin)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mike King <mk@wco.com>
Subject: Pacific Bell Spins A More User-Friendly, Customer-Focused Website
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 12:29:04 PDT
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 17:13:50 -0700
From: sqlgate@list.pactel.com
Subject: Pacific Bell Spins A More User-Friendly, Customer-Focused Website
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
David A. Dickstein
(213) 975-4074
dadicks@legal.pactel.com
Pacific Bell Spins A More User-Friendly, Customer-Focused Website
SAN FRANCISCO -- New sites appear everyday on the World Wide Web, from
personal home pages to large corporations just establishing an Internet
presence. But for companies like Pacific Bell, host of one of the
original corporate websites, it's time for the second generation.
So now it's out with the old and in with the new for visitors to
www.pacbell.com . The Pacific Bell website, first launched in February
1994 and thus ancient by Internet standards, has been completely
redesigned to be more user-friendly, while reflecting the needs and
priorities of its on-line guests. The new look was unveiled today.
"We've learned a lot about what is and isn't effective in a website
since we first launched, and this new site reflects that," said Jona
Roomian, Pacific Bell webmaster. "Our site has been redesigned to
respond to our visitors' needs, rather than being focused exclusively on
products. Visitors to the site can not only find information on the
company, they can do practical things, like ordering services on-line
any time of the day or night. We're making it easier for them to do
business with us at their convenience.
"In short, the new-look website provides solutions to customers rather
than acting as just an information repository."
The 24-hour on-line ordering feature will be of particular benefit to
Pacific Bell customers, as more than 60 percent of e-mails requesting
services from Pacific Bell are received after normal business hours.
Besides offering tremendous convenience to customers, the
around-the-clock ordering service shifts calls away from peak business
hours, allowing Pacific Bell to serve its customers more efficiently and
cost-effectively.
In keeping with the people-orientation of the redesign, everyday
Californians are profiled on the site, each talking about the specific
ways they use the Pacific Bell Network of products and services in their
homes and businesses. The profiles, which can be reached by clicking on
an icon titled "How Do Other People Use It?" on the home page, add a
human element to the site, while providing visitors with insights into
the many ways Pacific Bell can benefit them. Profiles will grow in
number and constantly evolve, encouraging continuing visits to the site.
Other home page icons include "Help Me Find A Solution," "Good Ideas and
Special Offers" and "About Pacific Bell." In addition, a branded, robust
search center icon allows visitors to search all of the site's pages by
keywords, pull-down menus, customer need and a site map.
Among the other unique tools that will be up at launch are a calling
simulator, which allows visitors to preview a variety of calling
features prior to purchase, and a bandwidth simulator that enables
consumers to compare the speed of Internet connections at 14.4, 28.8,
ISDN and ACN.
Even more enhanced sections are scheduled for winter when video clips
and other features will be added. As a special service to parents, the
Pacific Bell website also will eventually offer software that can be
downloaded into visitors' home computers. The software will be designed
to teach children how to use the telephone in emergencies, including
instructions on dialing 911.
Pacific Bell is a subsidiary of Pacific Telesis Group, a diversified
telecommunications corporation based in San Francisco.
-----------------
Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: New California Area Codes Unveiled
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 15:39:02 PDT
New Area Codes Unveiled For Large Portions Of 415, 916 Regions;
650 New Area Code for San Francisco Region;
530 To Be Added In Northern California
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 15, 1996--The California Area
Code Administrator announced today that the 650 area code will be
assigned to the geographical area south of San Francisco being split
off from the 415 area code.
He also announced that 530 will be the new area code for a very large
portion of the existing 916 area code, generally to the east, north,
and west of Sacramento County.
The numbers represent California's 17th and 18th area codes, assigned
to areas whose boundaries were approved by the California Public
Utilities Commission earlier this month.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the CPUC has ordered the 650 area code
to go into effect on August 1, 1997. It will cover most of San Mateo
county, and the northern portion of Santa Clara county, plus a very
small portion of Santa Cruz county (see map). This area was split off
from the remainder of the current 415 area code, including Marin
County and the city and county of San Francisco.
Under the 916 geographic split, most of Sacramento County, south
Placer County, including the cities of Roseville, Loomis and Rocklin,
and the city of West Sacramento in Yolo County will keep the existing
916 area code.
The remainder of the 916 region, which includes all or portions of 23
Northern California counties with more than one million residents and
businesses, will receive the new 530 area code and must change that
portion of their phone number. This area includes all of Nevada, Yuba,
Sutter, Colusa, Sierra, Butte, Glenn, Plumas, Tehama, Lassen, Shasta,
Trinity, Modoc and Siskiyou counties and the rest of Placer County,
the majority of Yolo County (excluding West Sacramento), the 916
portions of El Dorado and Alpine counties and small portions of
Solano, Mendocino, Lake and Humboldt counties as well as the Mono
County community of Coleville. The 530 area code is expected to take
effect for these areas on November 1, 1997.
`One of the most difficult challenges in developing these relief plans
was to keep as many communities of common interest as possible in the
same area code, but at the same time obtain the longest life span for
both the existing and the new area codes,` said Bruce Bennett,
California area code relief coordinator. `It's a delicate balancing
act. We need to minimize inconvenience to the largest possible number
of people, while making sure these area codes last as long as
possible,` Bennett added.
Industry estimates indicate that the new 530 area code should last
about 18 years while the remainder of the existing 916 area code will
have enough numbers to accommodate growth through the year 2002,
Bennett said. Similarly, the new 650 area code for the southern San
Francisco peninsula is expected to last about 11 years while the
remaining portion of the old 415 area code should last until mid-2002.
While customers in the new 650 and 530 area codes will have to change
the first three-digit portion of their telephone number, the new area
codes will not affect the price of telephone calls in any of these
areas, Bennett said. Call distance determines the price and is not
impacted by the creation of a new area code, he explained.
`It's also important for customers to know that PBX's, auto-dialers
and other telecommunications equipment will have to be re-programmed
to recognize the new area codes,` said Bennett. `Historically, area
codes always had either a `1' or a `0' as the middle digit for
identification purposes, but all of those codes have been used up and
are gone.`
These new number combinations will allow area codes to be any three
digits from 220 to 999, creating an additional five billion telephone
numbers, Bennett said.
The estimated three million residents and businesses who will need to
change to the new 650 or 530 area codes will get to keep their
existing seven-digit telephone numbers. When the new area codes are
introduced next year, there will be a permissive dialing period of at
least six months where callers can dial existing numbers in either the
old area code or the new one.
Plans for the two area code splits were collectively developed by a
telecommunications industry group representing more than 30
companies. They included Pacific Bell, GTE, Contel, Roseville
Telephone Co., Evans Telephone Co., Citizens Utilities, Foresthill
Telephone Co., AT&T, MCI, SPRINT, AirTouch, Pagenet, AT&T Wireless,
MFS Communications Co., Teleport Communications Group (TCG), the
California Cable Television Association and others.
CONTACT: Pacific Bell
John Lucas, 415/542-9509
Dave Miller, 916/972-2811
Dick Fitzmaurice, 415/394-3764
Bill Kenney, 916/972-6604
Business Wire's full file on the Internet with Hyperlinks to your
home page. URL: http://www.businesswire.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 17:30:40 -0700
From: Mike Pollock <pheel@sprynet.com>
Organization: SJS Entertainment
Subject: USAir Orders Gag On Phones
NEW YORK (AP) -- If you were on a plane and it suddenly was in
trouble, would you want to phone a relative -- or even alert the news
media?
Two weeks after the crash of TWA Flight 800, USAir pilots were advised
to disable their in-flight telephones during potential disasters, The
New York Times reported today. The memo seemed to say it was for the
airline's image, but USAir says the rule is really for safety's sake.
"There may be occasions where an in-flight anomaly could occur where
it is desirable to disable the phone system," the memorandum read.
"USAir prefers to furnish press releases for in-flight anomalies
instead of having the information reported live via telephone from the
aircraft!"
Richard M. Weintraub, a spokesman for USAir, the nation's sixth-largest
carrier, told the newspaper that senior management had been unaware of
the memo's wording.
"The language has been rescinded," Weintraub said, adding that the
memo was intended "to prevent a situation where a phone call from a
passenger on an aircraft could have interfered with the safety or
security of the aircraft."
The memorandum was written by Capt. Paul Sturpe, manager of flight
operation procedures for USAir, and circulated on Aug. 2, two weeks
after the New York-to-Paris flight exploded off the coast of Long
Island.
USAir just retained G.T.E. Airfone to install the in-flight telephones
earlier this month. The phones have become increasingly popular,
allowing passengers to conduct business during flights or call ahead
to their destinations.
G.T.E. Airfone spokeswoman Laura Littel said she could see a need to
disconnect the phones in certain disasters.
"The only thing I could think of would be a hijacking," she said.
"Someone could use this phone to say, 'I want this plane to go to XYZ,
or I'm going to do something.' That is a potential."
------------------------------
From: joel@oo.com (Joel Upchurch)
Subject: Re: Rural Internet Access
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 96 01:58:18 GMT
Organization: Upchurch Computer Consulting
In article <telecom16.407.11@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, bsharp@cris.com
(Brian M. Sharp) wrote:
> Is there any way people living outside a metropolitan area can get
> internet access without having to pay per hour? With all the interest
> in the internet, isn't there some service that can see the huge number
> of people in this uncomfortable position?
I remember reading an announcement several months ago, that Southern
Bell was going to offer Internet service. I hope this something
different from their recent announcement of offering ISPs the ability
to have the same local number accross the Southern Bell region. It seems
to me that if Southern Bell does offer Internet access it will cover
their whole region and not just the major metro areas.
Joel Upchurch @ Upchurch Computer Consulting joel@oo.com 28 27 23 N
718 Galsworthy Ave. Orlando, FL 32809-6429 phone (407) 859-0982 81 23 11 W
------------------------------
From: wes.leatherock@hotelcal.com (Wes Leatherock)
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 01:46:43 GMT
Subject: Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In?
Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu> wrote:
[ ... text deleted ... ]
> ... The originating #5XB local
> office in Englewood NJ could only "three-digit" translate in 1951/52,
> using internal relays, as the electromechanical Card-Translator box
> hadn't been introduced. The Card-Translator box was introduced in
> 1952/53 and was located at #4XB Toll offices (and probably later at
> XB-Tandem) could "six-digit" translate a much larger block of NPA-NNX
> codes and establish complex routing and alternate routing arrangements
> and switching, something an individual local #5XB office wasn't
> expected to do.
Six-digit translation later became a common feature of 5XB
offices, but required additional hardware.
When Waxahachie, Texas, originally got DDD (the third office
in Southwestern Bell to do so, as I recall), Italy, Texas, was
specifically deleted from the list of dialable points furnished
to customers.
The reason was because Italy was a class 5 office homing on
Waxahachie, and if a customer dialed 214+the Italy 7D number the call
would go into the Dallas 4A machine, then back through Waxahachie to
Italy. Waxahachie had only three-digit translation, as you noted, and
remember that in those days channels were precious.
Later, as similar cases proliferated all over the country,
and 5XBs offering DDD became very common, six-digit translation was
added to many, if not most, 5XBs.
[ ... text deleted ... ]
> Now, as for the phasing in of customer long distance dialing, it all
> depended on how fast Bell and the independents were introducing
> Crossbar equipment into the network, at least #4(A)XB Toll and
> XB-Tandem, as well as improvements in the transmission portion of the
> network, and also *numbering* plan standardization.
One of the biggest factors delaying the points which authorized
for customer dialing were the channel capacity. A point would not be
made customer-dialable unless it had a final group with a capacity of
P.01, and comparable routes between higher class offices. (Generally,
by this time, the capacity of the final group was controlling.)
Presumably there would have been too many failed attempts, too
much load on trunks resulting from these failed attempts, and too many
calls for operator assistance if the busy hour probability of reaching
all-trunks-busy was greater than .01 (1 per cent).
[ ... text deleted ... ]
> But non-senderized step originating DDD locations had to dial an
> *access prefix* to gain direct access to incoming dialpulse registers
> of a #4(A)XB or XB-Tandem office, which could handle the
> (NPA)-NNX-XXXX dialed digits. In the 1950's, most 'step' areas which
> did have originating customer DDD used '112', which was one of the
> usualy 'step-style' local service codes, 11X. In some areas, the
> customer might have even had to wait for a second dialtone from the XB
> toll/tandem office before dialing (NPA)-NNX-XXXX. This '112' step
> access prefix was changed over to '1+' in most step areas about 1960,
> as well most step areas changed their service centers from 11X codes
> to N11 codes, or local seven-digit numbers. For standardization, many
> crossbar/panel areas also adopted the use of '1+', if there were some
> local step offices in the area which used '1+'.
Sherman and Denison, Texas, are similar sized and competitive
cities in North Texas. When Southwestern Bell introduced DDD in
Denison, GTE apparently had so much pressure in Sherman that they had
to introduce DDD in Sherman, too (I believe Sherman was SxS). Their
access code was 70+. (I believe Denison, a 5XB office, was using 1+
by then, although as you noted no access code is actually required
operationally in a 5XB office ... or wasn't until interchangeable office
and area codes came into existence.)
Wes Leatherock
wes.leatherock@hotelcal.com
wes.leatherock@origins.bbs.uoknor.edu
------------------------------
From: billsohl@planet.net (Bill Sohl)
Subject: Re: InterLATA Connectivity in 609?
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 03:06:01 GMT
Organization: BL Enterprises
billsohl@planet.net (Bill Sohl) wrote:
> Andrew White <awhite@dca.net> wrote:
>> Hello, fellow telecom enthusiasts.
>> I am working on a project that requires that I run a T1 circuit
>> between the two LATAs in South Jersey, the Atlantic LATA and the
>> Delaware LATA. These two LATAs comprise the 609 area code.
> Are you sure that you are dealing with an inter-lata situation? The
> 609 area code is ONE (1) lata and any two sites in the 609 area code
> can be served by Bell Atlantic also. When the LATAs were created in
> 1984m NJ was split into two. One was the 201 area and the other was
> the 609. Since then the 201 has split into 201 and 908.
Boy was I wrong ... several people have sent me email detailing the
exact information about the two LATAs in southern NJ. But even with
two LATAs, isn't it possible for Bell Atlantic to provide the
interLATA intrastate service also because of the recently based
telecom bill?
Bill Sohl (K2UNK) billsohl@planet.net
Internet & Telecommunications Consultant/Instructor
Budd Lake, New Jersey
------------------------------
From: grout@polestar.csrd.uiuc.edu (John R. Grout)
Subject: Re: AT&T Wants to Buy My Calling Card?
Date: 15 Aug 1996 16:46:16 -0700
Organization: Center for Supercomputing R and D, UIUC
In article <telecom16.411.3@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Andrew C. Green
<acg@dlogics.com> writes:
> So AT&T computers handled a call from an AT&T home using an enemy calling
> card, and this triggered a letter to that address on the theory that the
> enemy calling card resides there?
Quite possibly.
> Perhaps someone here might offer some insight into what AT&T is thinking?
Between the new telecom act and the last round of divestiture at AT&T
(done in anticipation of it), AT&T's goal is for their subscribers to
have AT&T local service, AT&T long distance service, AT&T calling
cards and AT&T credit cards.
It surprises me that AT&T has honored Baby Bell LEC calling cards and
Baby Bell LECs have honored AT&T calling cards for this long ... one
reason (beyond the tradition of dear old departed Ma Bell) is that
calling cards are a traditional way of paying for calls at payphones,
and, since AT&T has been the only IXC outside New Jersey to handle
coin-paid inter-LATA calls at non-COCOT telephones, they have
continued to provide inter-LATA service at these non-COCOT telephones.
Ironically, in AT&T's home state of New Jersey, Bell Atlantic's New
Jersey Bell has limited IXC privileges into New York City and
Philadelphia from nearby counties, and their ads encourage people to
dial 10NJB before calls made at payphones, including those paid for
with coins. It would not surprise me to see the Baby Bells provide
coin-paid inter-LATA long distance service (and IXC payphones) as they
(and the IXCs) ramp up to compete with each other on all fronts.
As far as I know, MCI and Sprint never generally honored LEC calling
cards (and vice versa), but, since Sprint now owns some LECs, and was
in the same corporate family with GTE's LECs before that, I suppose it
is possible that they might have (or might have had) arrangements with
those LECs.
Within the last few years, those state public utility commissions
around the country which didn't do it earlier have mostly acted to
allow competition (and, at least here in IL, "dial 1" pre-subscription)
for intra-LATA calls, which used to be the province of the LECs (I
believe Judge Greene's decree allowed state PUC's to totally reserve
intra-LATA calls to the LEC at the PUC's option, but the model of
local phone service competition established in New York requires LECs
to allow, or even subcontract, competition for both local and
intra-LATA service, and I expect that this will become general in the
wake of the new telecom act).
In Illinois, the competition for intra-LATA phone service has already
seen some ugly incidents. Earlier this year, Ameritech's notice to
their customers about selecting an intra-LATA carrier (printed on
their local phone bills) was so slanted against IXCs (playing on
people's fears about being slammed to get in the way of IXCs
soliciting their _own_ inter-LATA customers to change to their
intra-LATA service) that Ameritech was required by Illinois regulators
to issue a clarifying statement to their customers on a subsequent
bill and give them another opportunity to choose an intra-LATA
carrier.
In recent months, in response to AT&T's plans to stop allowing AT&T
calling cards to be used when someone dials "0" at enemy (i.e.,
Ameritech) payphones, Ameritech has run a ad campaign warning AT&T
customers that they will now _have_ to dial 1-800-CALL-ATT at
payphones to use an AT&T calling card (ironically, neither ad campaign
mentions the existence of the much more convenient to use 10ATT prefix
code).
For the last several years, AT&T has been issuing dual-purpose
calling/major credit cards, but they have begun to push them much
harder since the most recent divestiture. In a recent well-documented
case, AT&T "slammed" some of their traditional calling card customers
by replacing their AT&T calling cards with dual purpose calling/major
credit cards _without permission_ (they gave people a chance to refuse
by calling a special 800 number) ... an action worthy of the kind of
shady competitors AT&T ads warn people against.
John R. Grout Center for Supercomputing R & D j-grout@uiuc.edu
Coordinated Science Laboratory University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
------------------------------
From: scline@usit.net (Stanley Cline)
Subject: Re: AT&T (NY) Adding Extra Charges to 'Casual' Users
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 22:55:55 GMT
Organization: Catoosa Computing Services
In comp.dcom.telecom, kamlet@infinet.com (Art Kamlet) wrote:
>> Is this also true for 1-800-CALL-ATT?
> They have been encouraging people to use 800 CALL ATT instead of
> 10(10)288, and since that probably involves using an AT&T calling
> card, the calling card use aleady has a charge built in. Besides,
> they don't have any other charge today for 800 CALL ATT so it seems
> like the answer to your question is no.
In the Atlanta paper today, there was yet another "Notice to AT&T Long
Distance Customers" -- it said that as of August 16, that the
surcharge would be added to *some* (they didn't say exactly which
ones) "Operator Handled" calls as well. I am not sure if they are
referring to:
a) someone at their home uses 10(10)288+0(0) and has the AT&T operator
place a call (to a remote location, does number verify/interrupt,
etc. AT&T is still the only carrier that can do some of these
things,)
b) calling card/collect calls billed to a customer who is not PICed to
AT&T (AT&T has raised their charges for use of LEC calling cards
again, to $1.20,) or
c) both.
If b) or c) is true, then AT&T will be joining the ranks of "AOSlime"
that heavily surcharge calls in addition to high calling card charges.
BTW: *MCI*'s surcharge does NOT apply to 900 numbers or 0+ calls (my
phone bill this month is proof positive) ... I am not sure if AT&T
applies the surcharge to 900 calls or not. (I believe the FCC would
not allow AT&T to do so, given the already notorious nature of 900
numbers.)
Stanley Cline (Roamer1 on IRC) ** GO BRAVES! GO VOLS!
mailto:scline@usit.net ** http://www.public.usit.net/scline/
CompuServe 74212,44 ** MSN WSCline1
------------------------------
From: Bryan Gallatin <gallatin@onramp.net>
Subject: Employment Opportunity - Voice Network Service Eng / Switch Admin
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 15:14:55 -0500
Organization: DynetX
Reply-To: gallatin@onramp.net
email resumes to: gallatin@onramp.net
Voice Network Service Engineers
Project Management experience needed;
Voice Network Service Evaluation;
PBX traffic study analysis and routing evaluation;
Initiate requests for optimization orders / track optimization savings;
Understand Nodal services (SDN, Megacom, Megacom 800, TSAA, SDDN, LESA);
Working knowledge of BC services databases (TIRKS, DOCITS, TSP,
WATS/SOP);
Familiar w/ PBX hardware.
Switch Administrators:
Responsible for ARS Patterns updates for networks;
Knowledge of SDN, MEGA, MEGA 8, TSAA, LESA, DLD/DOD, IDA, ISDN;
Knowledge of Call Routing Patterns and Load Balance.
All are long term positions in Orland, FL area.
Rates determined by position and experience levels.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #413
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri Aug 16 00:44:05 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
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Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 00:44:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608160444.AAA28027@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #414
TELECOM Digest Fri, 16 Aug 96 00:44:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 414
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Pacific Telesis Launches Field Tests Of Both xDSL And Cable Modems (M King)
Major Telco Ships Internet Voice Product (Peter Judge)
Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954 (Greg Monti)
Re: Clarification of What a T1 Does (John R. Levine)
Re: GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System (Bill Newkirk)
Last Laugh! Recent Telecomics (Dave Leibold)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mike King <mk@wco.com>
Subject: Pacific Telesis Launches Field Tests Of Both xDSL And Cable Modems
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 12:25:35 PDT
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 14:30:09 -0700
From: sqlgate@list.pactel.com
Subject: Pacific Telesis Launches Field Tests Of Both xDSL And Cable Modems
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Craig Watts
(415) 394-3708
chwatts@legsf.pacbell.com
Pacific Telesis Launches Field Tests Of Both xDSL And Cable Modems
Parallel Six-Month Tests In San Francisco Bay Area Presage New
High-Speed Services for Consumers In 1997
SAN FRANCISCO -- To meet the explosive growth in consumer demand for
ever-faster access to data services such as the Internet, Pacific
Telesis is launching separate field tests in the San Francisco Bay
Area of two promising high-speed access technologies for consumers:
cable modems and xDSL (high-speed Digital Subscriber Line) modems.
"Every day more Californians seem to want faster Internet access as
new applications using higher bandwidth continue to emerge," said
Glenn Estes, President of Telesis Technologies Laboratory, a
subsidiary of Pacific Telesis. "It's no wonder that California leads
the nation in Internet usage as well as demand for ISDN (Integrated
Services Digital Network) lines.
"Our Pacific Bell FasTrak ISDN service already meets the high-speed
needs of 80,000 residential and business customers, and will serve many
more in the near future," he said. "In addition, we're also now testing
xDSL and cable modem services to give consumers even higher-speed
options. As part of our product line, these three services will offer
Pacific Bell customers some serious horsepower for their on-line
travels, for both business and pleasure," Estes said.
Since the two new services use different kinds of networks, according to
Estes, Pacific Bell customers in the future will be offered one of the
high-speed services but not both, depending on which type of network
serves their neighborhood. That's because xDSL modems make full use of
Pacific Bell's traditional copper telephone lines which today serve over
9 million homes. Conversely, cable modems operate on broadband networks
such as Pacific Bell's advanced communications network, which the
company is building to replace its copper network in San Jose and San
Diego.
xDSL: Dedicated Speed
Short for high-speed Digital Subscriber Line, xDSL will use existing
copper telephone lines to connect people to Pacific Bell's network at
speeds up to 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps). That makes xDSL 12 times
faster than ISDN, and 50 times faster than today's 28.8 kilobits per
second (Kbps) analog modems.
"xDSL will turbo-charge people's on-line and Internet sessions," said
Mark Gallegos, Director - xDSL Product Management, Pacific Bell. "xDSL
will download in 10 seconds the kind of complex graphic that now takes
18 minutes for users with today's fastest analog 28.8 Kbps modem. That's
warp speed," Gallegos said.
He added that this same acceleration will benefit other network uses
such as videoconferencing and exchanging multimedia files. Other
applications ideally suited for xDSL include working at home, access
from home to a company's computer or Local Area Network (LAN), and
related off-site applications.
"In addition to faster speed, xDSL technology offers customers two key
benefits by giving each customer a dedicated circuit to the network,"
Gallegos said. "First, having a dedicated circuit means getting the same
fast connection speed to an on-line gateway, every time." For users
accustomed to Ethernet-type access at their workplace, xDSL will provide
comparable speed and convenience for linking their home PC to their
workplace, the Internet or other destinations, with none of the slowdown
in data transmission rate that can occur with shared circuits.
"As a second key benefit," said Gallegos, "our dedicated xDSL circuit
will offer unmatched network security. This can be vital for telecomm-
uters, people working in remote offices, and home businesses which
send confidential information over the public network."
In addition, he said, an xDSL-equipped line will provide a virtual
channel for regular phone conversations conducted at the same time as
high-speed information access.
According to Gallegos, the company's xDSL technology test will be
conducted in two phases, starting on August 15 with about a dozen
pre-selected customers in San Ramon, California. For phase one, Pacific
Bell will use an asymmetrical service with a data rate of 1.5 Mbps for
participants to receive or download information, and a data rate of 64
Kbps to send information to others. Higher sending rates up to 768 Kbps
will be used as the technology test progresses. Test participants will
use Pacific Bell Internet Services as their pre-selected Internet
service provider.
While Pacific Bell has not yet selected an equipment vendor for the
future commercial service, the company has chosen Westell Technologies,
Inc. for the first phase of the test. Westell will provide their FlexCap
modems as well as multiplexing equipment and software for the gateway in
Pacific Bell's central office. In addition, Cisco Systems, Inc. is
providing technology to multiplex services onto Pacific Bell's
high-speed backbone network. Pacific Bell plans to test other vendors'
products for the gateway during the second test phase.
Phase two could begin in November with an increase in trial size to
about 100 pre-selected consumers. If the technology performs as
expected, Pacific Bell plans to introduce service to consumers in a
limited area in Spring 1997, followed by a broader service launch
mid-year.
Cable modems on the Full Service Network
In June, Pacific Bell began testing cable modems in Santa Clara County,
California, by initially connecting a dozen households to Pacific Bell's
full service, advanced communication network.
"Our new broadband network is uniquely engineered to support two-way,
interactive technologies and applications that require greater
bandwidth, such as high-speed access to the Internet through cable
modems," said Lou Pelosi, Director of Broadband Data Services - Pacific
Bell Video Services.
"Cable modems need a highly reliable, hybrid fiber/coax network with a
clean upstream signal, something Pacific Bell's advanced communications
network provides because it is designed to support telephone services,"
he said. "Cable modems can provide significantly faster data speeds
through this network than is possible with analog modems over
conventional copper telephone lines." According to Pelosi, these faster
speeds will open the door to dynamic video and multimedia applications
for consumers, such as two-way videoconferencing that connects distant
homes.
"We believe peak information access rates as high as 10 Mbps delivered
to the PC are possible through Pacific Bell's advanced communications
network," Pelosi said. However, he added that a more realistic typical
speed will be approximately 1.5 Mbps. He cautioned that actual response
times and data throughput may depend on how many people use the network
at the same time and which applications they use.
Pacific Bell will continue to test the cable modem service through the
end of this year. "By year-end," said Pelosi, "our cable modem test
could include about 100 homes. If all technical issues are resolved, we
could begin a marketing trial in early 1997, and start commercial
service later on in cities served by the new network."
In addition to resolving technical issues, the test also will help the
company understand operational issues involved in delivering a highly
reliable, customer service-intensive solution. Initially, Pacific Bell
is using Zenith cable modems, Hewlett-Packard file servers, and is
partnering with Hewlett-Packard to provide customer support.
"Consumers in San Jose currently are receiving superb telephone and
video services over Pacific Bell's advanced communications network,"
Pelosi said. "Now we want to add high-speed access to the Internet and
other multimedia services to increase the network's value and reach." He
said likely target markets for the new service would include Internet
users, telecommuters and home businesses.
Pacific Telesis is a diversified telecommunications corporation based in
San Francisco. Pacific Bell is the largest subsidiary of Pacific Telesis
as well as California's leading telecommunications provider, serving
more than 10 million residence and business customers. Pacific Bell
Video Services, a separate subsidiary of Pacific Telesis, is pursuing a
comprehensive strategy to offer customers new choices in video services.
Pacific Bell Internet Services, a subsidiary of Pacific Bell, provides
value-added Internet access services to consumers and businesses.
---------------
Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 17:53:13 +0100
From: Peter Judge <peter@pjudge.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Major Telco Ships Internet Voice Product
<< News story from Internet Business, a CMI Technology Watch service >>
BT ships Internet voice
=======================
No one expected a major telco to encourage the use of the Internet for
telephone calls, but this is just what British Telecom is doing - albeit
by accident.
BT will be supplying its Internet subscribers with the Microsoft
Internet Explorer browser - a product which includes NetMeeting, a voice
telephony / whiteboard product. Although BT could theoretically switch
off the voice links on its servers and prevent users from making
connections to each other, this is most unlikely. Shipping a Net
telephony product which didn't work would be a worse PR blunder than
shipping one which does.
A BT spokesman shared our amusement at the situation, but expressed the
opinion that Internet telephony was a toy' which would not have a
serious impact on voice traffic. The major telecoms providers in
Ireland, Switzerland, Pakistan and other countries, which have at
various times attempted to ban Internet voice, clearly do not agree.
BT's Internet service is one of the newest in the UK, and has a small
market share.
---------------------------
(c) Cambridge Market Intelligence (CMI), 1996. This story is an extract
from Internet Business, a 'Technology Watch' service from CMI, edited by
Peter Judge.
CMI can be found at http://www.cmi.co.uk
Peter Judge is at peter@pjudge.demon.co.uk
---------------------------
Peter Judge, 89 Upper Tulse Hill, London SW2 2RA Tel/Fax: +44 181 671 4842
"Normal people believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Engineers
believe that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet."
----- S. Adams, The Dilbert Principle
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 00:08:37 -0400
From: cc004056@interramp.com (Greg Monti)
Subject: Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954
On Aug 07, 1996 01.30.31 in article <Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954>,
'Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison)' wrote:
>> If some states want to have a rule that you must dial the '1' for any
>> direct-dialed toll call, that's fine. However, they should NEVER
>> prohibit dialing the '1' for local calls.
And on 12 Aug 96, John Cropper (psyber@usa.pipeline.com) wrote:
> Actually, they should also NOT prohibit it, as it impinges on the
> customer's ability to route calls through the carrier of their choice,
> as well ...
John, you are implying here that the '1' dialed at the beginning of a
long distance call chooses the *company* that carries the call. No.
The company carrying the call is chosen by regulatory boundaries, by
default carriers, and by 10XXX or 101XXXX codes.
To positively choose a carrier, the caller would need to dial a 10XXX
(or 101xxxx) code first. The remainder of the number would be dialed
just the way it would be if no 10XXX code had been prepended. For
example, in area code 609 in southern NJ, to make an inter-LATA,
intra-NPA toll call from Camden to Atlantic City using your default
inter-LATA carrier, you would dial, say, 345-XXXX. To force it to be
on, say, MCI, you would dial 10222-345-XXXX. No '1' and no area code
are required. They are permitted, however: 10222-1-609-345-XXXX would
be perfectly legal and would route and rate the call the same way.
There aren't very many area codes where this works, but 609 is one of
them.
In toll-alerting area codes, the '1' also does *not* determine the
carrier. In Virginia's 703, a call from Herndon to Quantico, is toll
and must be dialed 1-703-640-XXXX. But it will be carried by Bell
Atlantic because both ends are in the same LATA. The '1' does not
force the call to a long distance company.
By the same token, from Herndon, VA, calling the White House as
202-456-1414 or 1-202-456-1414 has no bearing on what company carries
the call. Both of these would also be carried by Bell Atlantic. If
you want to force that call to be over AT&T, you could dial either
10288-1-202-456-1414 or 10288-202-456-1414. Both would work.
'1' may or may not be a toll indicator. But it is definitely not a
carrier indicator.
Greg Monti Jersey City, New Jersey, USA gmonti@interramp.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 96 21:12:00 EDT
From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: Clarification of What a T1 Does
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
> When one gets a T1 line, can that line be used for a combination of
> data/voice/fax line?
> Can I use a T1 to call long-distance or overseas by voice/data?
A T1 line is four copper wires that deliver 1.544 megabits per second
in each direction between one place and another. I have one (one end
of one, to be precise) here on my desk. Beyond that, it's up to you.
A common way to use a T1 is to treat the 1.544 megabits as 24
independent channels of 64K bits/sec* apiece. You use a device called
a channel bank to split out the channels. By making suitable
arrangements with whoever's on the other end of your T1, your local
telco most likely, you can attach some of the channels coming out of
the channel bank to a data device like an Internet router, some of
them as dedicated trunks to a long distance company, and some of them
to the telco's switch and treat them like regular phone lines. If you
plug your end of a T1 into a PBX, the PBX often can split out the 24
channels as well.
Regards,
John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, Trumansburg NY
Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies"
and Information Superhighwayman wanna-be
* If you use a channel for voice transmission, sometimes you can only
use 56K of the 64K bits because some of the bits are borrowed to
indicate the status of the call using that channel.
------------------------------
From: Bill Newkirk <wenewkirk@rodes.cca.rockwell.com>
Subject: Re: GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 19:14:07 -0400
Organization: Rockwell Avionics/Collins
Atri Indiresan wrote:
> One candidate is the traditional wiring, and the other is
> the GE 916 wireless phone jack system. It is rather cheap - retailing
> at $80 (additional extensions are $50), and claims compatibility with
> answering machines, cordless phones, modems, fax, RCA DSS Receiver
> (what does this have to do with the phone system?). The limitations
The DSS (and similar boxes) need to call in to get authorization for
certain actions (such as ordering a movie on demand ...)
> mentioned are that modems are limited to 14.4 Kbps, and it will not
> work with caller-ID units. What follows is a description of the unit,
> and how it works, summarized from their literature.
The limit of 14.4 kbps would be a stopper for me ...
> How it works: Communication with the base is established using FM
> frequencies transmitted over the electrical wiring in the home -- this
The idea is similar to "carrier current" radio, however there's lots
of harmonics and they don't stay in the wires apparently. The
harmonics are also modulated so someone with the right kind of
receiver close enough could listen in. I saw one article on the GE
"wireless phone extension" interference in a recent CQ magazine. One
carrier is at 3.03 MHz (so there could be harmonics a 6.06, 9.09,
12.12, 15.15, 18.18, 21.21 (i think that's the frequency that the
article author first detected the "birdie" from the unit ...) etc.
There's probably more to this.
> clearly does not use typical cordless technology. At most one
"Typical cordless technology". It's radio fer crying out loud.
Put a new name on it and everyone thinks it's not the same..
I'd go for wired extensions.
------------------------------
From: Dave.Leibold@superctl.tor250.org (Dave Leibold)
Date: 06 Aug 96 00:22:28 -0500
Subject: Last Laugh! Recent Telecomics
Here are the latest sightings of telecom-related daily funnies as can
be found in the newspapers. Comic names and dates of issue (where
determined) are followed by a description of what went on.
Not all comics, let alone newspapers can be read, thus some eligible
material will be missing. Contributions to fill this gap are welcome at
this e-mail.
'Net addresses for some comics appear at the end.
. . . . . .
Non Sequitur (mid-1996, exact date unknown): Tarzan goes cellular ...
and the monkeys "don't have to listen to that annoying yell anymore".
Shoe (weekend of 3 Aug 1996): Wizard extols the virtues of on-line
commerce ... but admits to being out $300ish on web software upgrades.
Perfessor decides it's time to pick up a lottery ticket instead.
Beetle Bailey (18 July 1996): Sarge gets an "obscene" phone call ...
actually one suggesting romance with his ever-unrequited suitor, Sgt
Louise Lugg.
Adam (somewhere in 1996): Adam gets e-mail from USPS, advising him to
pay less attention to the e-mail and more attention to all his snail
mail left piling up outside.
Shoe (10 Aug 1996): Professor calls his insurance company, only to
get the "Shaft" theme for music on hold.
The Better Half (16 Mar 1996): Harriet Parker calls the Women's
Forum ... press the appropriate key according to the husband's
character deficiency ...
PC and Pixel (30 Jul 1996): This is a fairly new comic in town
(though it did kick out On The Fastrack on the funnies locally) ...
the cat logs onto Contortionist Cyberworkshop with relevant results.
Peanuts (weekend of 21 July 1996): On special occasions, Charles
Schulz will stray into a telecom topic. In this episode, Snoopy
reassures a bird buddy that his mother can find him: "aren't you on
the Internest"?
Reality Check (12 Jul 1996): The big bad wolf gets a restraining
order. The huffing and puffing at the three pigs now has to be done
as an obscene phone call.
Ernie (12 July 1996): Ernie surfs up some cyber-trash ... of course,
he's reluctant to switch websites.
The Better Half (weekend 13 Jul 1996): Stanley's willing to discuss
his lack of attention to his wife ... but she needs to sort it out
with him via e-mail.
Hi and Lois (14 Jul 1996): A call for Chip, but he's apparently
nowhere to be found ... until he shows up after already taking the
call in the den.
Adam (9 Jul 1996): Laura fought traffic congestion on the way home
... Adam fought it on the 'Net at home.
On the Fastrack (8 July 1996): Bud and Chelonia have to say goodbye
to the 'Net ... they surfed to the edge of the World Wide Web.
The Better Half (6 Jul 1996): Does the cat really need a web site?
On the Fastrack (27 Jun 1996): Ms Trellis doesn't want the employees
using the 'Net for personal amusement. Even if Bud was accessing a
computer resource page (though one's work is another's amusement
there).
Beetle Bailey (1 Jul 1996): Beetle does a live emulation of voice
mail. Sarge barges in and provides the "BEEP".
Animal Crackers (weekend 30 Jun 1996): Bird goes wild over products
on a home shopping channel ... of course, he won't go broke since he
had his phone disconnected.
Suburban Cowgirls (weekend 23 Jun 1996): Someone tries to train his
dog to dial 911, hoping to be on Hard Copy or to get a trip to
Disneyland ...
The Better Half (weekend 16 Jun 1996): Play telemarketers' sales
pitches back to the telemarketers and watch them buy stuff from
themselves.
Reality Check (8 May 1996): Beggars keep with the time ... a spider
bum has a "No Web Site" sign.
Adam (somewhere in 1996): Laura's unimpressed by chat rooms ... she
gets multiple conversations for free from the kids.
Sherman's Lagoon (13 May 1996): Little fish are telling Fillmore
about their web sites ...
Sherman's Lagoon (14 May 1996): Sherman gets a web site complete with
all the multimedia thrills. Too bad his life isn't as exciting.
Sherman's Lagoon (16 May 1996): Someone suggests Fillmore put up a
web site to pick up a 'Net romance. He's reluctant at first until it
was pointed out he went on Love Connection.
Sherman's Lagoon (17 May 1996): Fillmore's website only gets two
hits ... Sherman suggests replacing the poetry with porno ...
Doonesbury (1 May 1996): Zack goes on line and gets a job at Intel as
Mike tries to console Zack for the loss of the last job.
Reality Check (1 May 1996): Breakfast of robots - fibre optics.
Adam (sometime in 1996): The road to the info. highway is paved with
strewn toys ...
Charlie (19 Apr 1996): A modern wedding ceremony ... the part where
the minister asks for objections is updated to include a double-click
option on "no marry" for the Internet audience.
Family Circus (19 Apr 1996): One of the kids makes a premiere on a
radio talk show ... "I just learned how to dial".
Hi & Lois (4 Jun 1996): Garbage day was changed ... Hi could have
found this out on the garbage collector's website.
Charlie (27 May 1996): Telephone booths ... with a shower booth among
them.
Adam (11 Jun 1996): Clayton was too late in calling up a friend ...
Dad was on the line with the computer for too long ...
Adam (sometime in 1996): More time with cyberspace that with family?
Adam e-mails his wife a response on the subject.
Hi & Lois (1 Dec 1995): Lots of messages on the answering machine ...
which means Chip has to deal with a very interested girl.
Bound & Gagged (sometime in 1996): An update to the tin can string
phone ... use a big barrel on one end and it becomes "Kid's Speaker
Phone".
Family Circus (4 Jan 1996): Kids get tired of building a snowman ...
so they decide to find a virtual one on the 'Net.
Charlie (5 Jun 1996): Some folks can't stop their beepers. Charlie,
on the other hand, needs to run a classified ad to get people to beep
him.
Dave (some time in 1996): New 'Net products from the World Wide Wait
catalogue: including Internet Clock that's stopped "just like your
browser" (but it's at least correct twice a day) ... or Chia Inter-Pet
which grows on the monitor and at least provides something to see ...
and more.
On the Fastrack (1 Apr 1996): Ms Trellis notes how "archaic and neander-
thal" tapping in on employee phone conversations is ... e-mail tapping
is the in thing to do instead.
I Need Help (21 May 1996): Wrong number ... but the callee had to get
up to answer it anyway.
Charlie (21 May 1996): The boxer shorts company calls on Charlie to
see how things are with their product ... but Charlie wonders how
Inspector #32 got his number.
Bound & Gagged (some time in 1996): Smoke signals that say
"http://pow.wow.com/".
On the Fastrack (20 May 1996): Videoconferencing on a slow modem is a
bit of a drag ... almost like ... a comic strip.
Adam (sometime in 1996): Adam gets an e-mail ... from his wife to
remind him to get this from the store, do that, etc etc.
Adam (seen 26 May 1996): Laura believes the 'Net is a guy thing. Adam
disagrees, pointing out the number of females he's chatted with. Now
Laura wants that one explained. Adam then backtracks suggesting you
never know who you're really communicating with ...
Reality Check (seen 26 May 1996): Explorers discover an inscription
inside a pyramid ... http://www ... etc.
The Better Half (weekend 5 May 1996): Stanley calls a tone menu ...
press 1 for midlife crisis counselling but is advised to "do it
carefully" to avoid back injury.
Blondie (6 May 1996): Dagwood has to wait through a bank's voice menu
options ... he protests that he doesn't want any of those... to which
he gets a response "... what DO you want? We're very busy over here!".
Peanuts (27 Apr 1996): Lucy is leaving the ball game to go home. If a
ball is hit to field, Charlie Brown can contact Lucy via phone number,
fax, or e-mail.
Adam (some time in 1996): Adam gets excited over being on line, being
able to communicate world wide ... Laura gets less than excited over
Adam not being able to communicate with "those only steps away".
Adam (some time in 1996): A day without e-mail is a complete waste ...
especially at 9:05 in the morning.
Shoe (12 Aug 1996): Wizard wires up Professor for the 'Net. Wizard
gives the invoice; Professor says "the check is in the e-mail".
Family Circus (8 Aug 1996): One of the kids gets an experience with
Grandma's voice mail ...
Charlie (13 Aug 1996): Charlie comes home wondering if any e-mail has
arrived... but he did get a brick through his window.
Beetle Bailey (5 Jul 1996): Soldier is at a payphone, only to get
orders to get back to base. Before he does, some phone grafitti is in
order: "For a bad time, call Sarge ..."
Doonesbury (series, mid-Aug 1996): A series where Mike goes to
France, meets a recent ex-girlfriend, returns home after realising
his daughter Alex was intercepting his ex's e-mails ...
. . . . . .
e-mails and other comix net addresses:
Adam adamathome@aol.com
Dave http://www.davetoon.com/dave, davetoon@aol.com
Doonesbury http://www.doonesbury.com/
Ernie piranhaclub@aol.com
Farcus 74777.3301@compuserve.com
For Better or Worse http://www.uexpress.com/
Frank and Ernest FandEBobT@aol.com
Ghost Story Club http://www.comicspage.com/ghostclub/
I Need Help friknfrak1@aol.com
Mary Worth TellMary@aol.com
Mother Goose and Grimm http://www.grimmy.com
Non Sequitur sequitoon@aol.com
On the Fastrack 76711.2174@compuserve.com
PC and Pixel artattak@astral.magic.ca
Sherman's Lagoon http://www.slagoon.com/lagoon
Shoe http://macnelly.com/
The Better Half http://www.borg.com/~rjgtoons/bh.html
... and no doubt more are available using the search sites like
Yahoo, Open Text or Alta Vista.
Fidonet : Dave Leibold 1:259/730@fidonet.org
Internet: Dave.Leibold@superctl.tor250.org
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #414
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri Aug 16 01:31:35 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id BAA02057; Fri, 16 Aug 1996 01:31:35 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 01:31:35 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608160531.BAA02057@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #415
TELECOM Digest Fri, 16 Aug 96 01:31:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 415
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
LATAs: Numbers and "Names" (Mark J. Cuccia)
Numbering Chaos in the UK (Peter Judge)
Pulse Metering on D-channel (ISDN) (Florian Damas)
Looking for English/French Telecommunications Dictionary (Florian Damas)
Re: Calling Card Rates to Mexico (Michael Wengler)
Re: Wireless Satellite Communication - A Challenge (Michael Wengler)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 12:56:34 -0700
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: LATAs: Numbers and "Names"
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This was published in the Digest a few
months ago, however Mark has since made some changes. PAT]
I have made some modifications to this, including some additions (details) and
fine-tuning.
Thanx! Mark.
---------------
While inTRA-LATA competition (particularly being able to choose a primary
1+/0+ default toll carrier for inTRA-LATA) and even *local* competition is
becoming more available, as well as the local carriers being able to offer
toll inTER-LATA, the concept of "LATA's" might become meaningless or
obsolete in the near future, But presently, LATA's still do exist. LATA's
(<L>ocal <A>ccess <T>ransport <A>reas) were "created" in the early to mid
1980's as part of the divestiture (breakup) of the one corporate Bell
System and the MFJ (<M>odification of <F>inal <J>udgement). As mentioned
below, there was an "initial" LATA scheme, but there were some changes to
this just at the time of divestiture and the beginnings of "Equal Access"
services.
I am interested in what the original LATA scheme really was intended to be,
including the LATA codes. I mention below *some* of the original intended
LATA's and how they were actually changed when LATA's "officially" took
effect in January 1984. If anyone has a list of the 1982/83 LATA's and the
associated "LATA Codes", I'd be interested in some of these original but
later modified LATA situations.
LATA codes are three digit codes assigned to each LATA or LATA-Like
territory. I don't know who did the original numbering scheme (AT&T/Bell?
DOJ? USITA? NECA? FCC? or a combination of them?), nor do I know who
maintains the LATA numbering for any slight modifications which might be
necessary (Bellcore? FCC? ATIS or their forums? etc). The LATA codes are
used for "administrative" and "organizational" purposes. They are not
really intended to be network routing or switching codes (but what a
particular interexchange carrier does *within its own network* for routing
and switching is really its own business), but used to organize listings of
NPA-NXX codes of a particular carrier or switching entity as well as for
billing functions, such as division of toll revenues. LATA codes are
indicated in such materials as:
-tariffs filed with the FCC by AT&T and other toll carriers,
-Bellcore TRA products,
-NECA products,
etc.
The listing below has been compiled from various sources, particularly from
tariff filings.
So any additions, corrections, further details will be appreciated!
---------------------------------------------
LATA Names and Service Regions by LATA Number:
Within "Bell" LATA's, there can be and are independent telco central
offices and even independent telco operator/toll/tandem switches and
regions. (there are 164 total "Bell" Latas)
Within an "independent" LATA, there can be and some do have central
offices of other (usually smaller) independents.
LATA's can and most do cross state/NPA lines--
sometimes in rather large chunks;
sometimes just 'zigzagging' about a state/NPA boundary.
There are even cross-state situations where one LATA contains central
offices of an adjacent state served by a *different* Regional Bell Company
(i.e. Some Bell South LATA's can extend into portions of TX and AR,
and include central offices of Southwestern Bell as well as some
small local independent telcos-
Likewise, some Southwestern Bell LATA's can extend into portions of
LA, TN, and include central offices of Bell South as well as
some small local independent telcos)
Also, there are some individual LATA's which are geographically
discontiguous, split into two parts by another LATA.
LATA's are grouped by Regional Bell company as follows:
1NX NYNEX
2NX Bell Atlantic
3NX Ameritech
4NX Bell South
5NX Southwestern Bell
6NX US West
7NX Pacific Telesis
8NX "offshore" and "international"
Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, US Virign Islands;
also includes 'pseudo' LATA's for Canada, other Caribbean, etc)
9NX "independents" -- LATA's and Lata-like regions of:
Cincinnati Bell, Southern New England (Bell),
large "independent" telco regions
This listing represents the Bell, "offshore" and "independent" LATA's
of the US (including AK, HI, PR, USVI, etc) as finalized around 1984/85.
There were some modifications made to the "initial" LATA scheme as
submitted in 1982/83.
Originally, there were to be only 161 "Bell" LATA's. After further
negotiations betweem AT&T and DOJ/Greene, there were changes to some of
LATA boundary lines origianally drawn up. In the complete list, most "Bell"
LATA's are identified by consecutive even numbers. But there are some
"skipped" even numbers, as well as some "odd" numbers for the LATA code.
The following summarizes which even numbers were skipped and which odd
number codes were probably added:
(start off with 161 "Bell" LATA's)
Delete the following four:
#372 (part of IL - east St.Louis area?)
#622 (part of MN - Brainerd MN?)
#642 (part of SD? NE?)
#662 (part of UT? NM?)
Add the following seven:
#133 Poughkeepsie NY
#325 Akron OH
#477 Huntsville AL
#521 Westphalia MO (was to be LATA #959 Jefferson City & Columbia MO)
#570 Hearne TX (was to be an indep.LATA 9NX Bryan TX)
#635 Cedar Rapids IA
#721 Pahrump NV (was to be an indep.LATA 9NX Las Vegas NV)
(end up with 164 "Bell" LATA's)
There were also to have been some other "independent" LATA's using "9NX"
codes such as:
(9NX) Ashland KY (GTE) -absorbed into existing #466 Winchester KY
#955 Dothan AL (GTE) -absorbed into existing #478 Montgomery AL
#959 Jefferson City MO (United) & Columbia MO (GTE)
-transformed into NEW #521 Westphalia MO
(9NX) Bryan TX (GTE) -transformed into NEW #570 Hearne TX
(9NX) Las Vegas NV (Centel) -tranformed into NEW #721 Pahrump NV
Some of the above "deleted" independent LATA's had their boundaries
redrawn to become a "Bell" LATA, by adding some Bell central offices
of an adjacent "initial/existing" Bell LATA. Others were just
completely absorbed into an intial/existing adjacent "Bell" LATA.
There were also some additional "independent" LATA's added in 1984/85.
1NX - NYNEX (12 total)
===========
120 Maine
122 New Hampshire
124 Vermont
126 western MA
128 eastern MA
130 Rhode Island
132 New York City METRO
(also includes the exchanges of the towns in southwestern
CT handled by NYNEX- Byram and Greenwich, but not SNET's
'Old Greenwich' exchange; also includes Long Island and
portions of counties just north of Bronx NYCity)
133 Poughkeepsie NY (*added to 'original' 1982/83 scheme*)
134 Albany NY
136 Syracuse NY
138 Binghampton NY
140 Buffalo NY
2NX - Bell Atlantic (19 total)
===================
220 Atlantic Coastal area (NJ)
222 Delaware Valley area (NJ)
224 northern NJ area
226 Capital PA
228 Philadelphia PA (includes entire state of Delaware)
230 Altoona PA
232 northeastern PA
234 Pittsburgh PA
236 Washington DC METRO (includes MD and VA suburbs)
238 Baltimore MD
240 Hagerstown MD
242 Salisbury MD
244 Roanoke VA (discontiguous LATA; split by LATA #932)
246 Culpepper VA
248 Richmond VA
250 Lynchburg VA
252 Norfolk VA
254 Charleston WV
256 Clarksburg WV
3NX - Ameritech (29 total)
===============
320 Cleveland OH
322 Youngstown OH
324 Columbus OH
325 Akron OH (*added to 'original' 1982/83 sheme*)
326 Toledo OH
328 Dayton OH
330 Evansville IN
332 South Bend IN
334 Auburn-Huntington IN
336 Indianapolis IN
338 Bloomington IN
340 Detroit MI
342 upper peninsula MI (incl. part of northwest WI)
344 Saginaw MI
346 Lansing MI
348 Grand Rapids MI
350 northeastern WI
352 northwestern WI
354 southwestern WI
356 southeastern WI
358 Chicago IL METRO (includes some WI and IN suburbs)
360 Rockford IL
362 Cairo IL
364 Sterling IL
366 Forrest IL
368 Peoria IL
370 Champaign IL
(skipped 372, was to be IL east of St.Louis???, now part of #520)
374 Springfield IL
376 Quincy IL
4NX - Bell South (38 total)
================
(note within Florida, there are *also* "sub-LATA zones" as per
state regulatory stipulations. They are known as "Equal Access
Exchange Areas", EAEA's; this *also* happens in "independent"
areas in Florida using '9NX' LATA codes)
420 Asheville NC
422 Charlotte NC
424 Greensboro NC
426 Raleigh NC
428 Wilmington NC
430 Greenville SC
432 Florence SC
434 Columbia SC
436 Charleston SC
438 Atlanta GA
440 Savannah GA
442 Augusta GA
444 Albany GA
446 Macon GA
448 Pensacola FL
(448-13 WA-EA; 448-14 CR-EA; 448-15 FW-EA)
450 Panama City FL
(450-09 PC-EA; 450-10 SJ-EA; 450-11 QC-EA; 450-12 MR-EA)
452 Jacksonville FL
(452-04 CL-EA; 452-05 LO-EA)
454 Gainesville FL
(454-02 NW-EA; 454-03 OL-EA)
456 Daytona Beach FL
(456-01 PO-EA)
458 Orlando FL
(458-06 OR-EA; 458-07 LB-EA; 458-08 WI-EA)
460 southeastern FL
(460-17 GG-EA; 460-18 GR-EA)
462 Louisville KY
464 Owensboro KY
466 Winchester KY (includes GTE- Ashland KY, was to be own LATA)
468 Memphis TN
470 Nashville TN
472 Chattanooga TN
474 Knoxville TN
476 Birmingham AL
477 Huntsville AL (*added to 'original' 1982/83 scheme*)
478 Montgomery AL (includes GTE- Dothan AL, was to be own LATA 955)
480 Mobile AL
482 Jackson MS
(Incl.part of LA across the Miss.River from Natchez MS)
484 Biloxi/Gulfcoast area MS
486 Shreveport LA
488 Lafayette LA
490 New Orleans LA
492 Baton Rouge LA
5NX - Southwestern Bell (27 total)
=======================
520 St.Louis MO
(also includes a rather sizeable portion of central IL
Ameritech and independent central offices)
521 Westphalia MO (includes
United- Jefferson City MO and GTE- Columbia MO, was to be
its own LATA 959)
(*LATA 521 was added to original 1982/83 scheme*)
522 Springfield MO
524 Kansas City MO/KS area (northwest MO, eastern KS)
526 Ft.Smith AR
528 Little Rock AR
530 Pine Bluff AR
532 Witchita KS
534 Topeka KS
536 Oklahoma City OK
538 Tulsa OK
540 El Paso TX
542 Midland TX
544 Lubbock TX
546 Amarillo TX
548 Witchita Falls TX
550 Abilene TX
552 Dallas TX
554 Longview TX
556 Waco TX
558 Austin TX
560 Houston TX
562 Beaumont TX
564 Corpus Christi TX
566 San Antonio TX
568 Brownsville TX
570 Hearne TX
(incl. GTE- Bryan TX, was to be its own LATA)
(*LATA 570 was added to original 1982/83 scheme*)
6NX - US West (27 total)
=============
620 Rochester MN
(skipped 622, was to be Brainerd MN???, now part of #636)
624 Duluth MN
626 St.Cloud MN
628 Minneapolis-St.Paul MN
630 Sioux City IA
632 Des Moines IA
634 Davenport IA (incl. some of northwest IL indep/Ameritech)
635 Cedar Rapids IA (*added to 'original' 1982/83 scheme*)
636 Brainerd MN / Fargo ND (northwestern MN and eastern ND)
638 Bismark ND
640 South Dakota
(skipped 642, was to be somewhere in SD??? NE???)
644 Omaha NE (incl. part of southwestern IA)
646 Grand Island NE
648 Great Falls MT
650 Billings MT
652 Idaho (southern)
654 Wyoming
656 Denver CO
658 Colorado Springs CO
660 Utah
(skipped 662 southeast UT? northwest NM? now part of Navajo's #980/981?)
664 New Mexico
666 Phoenix AZ
668 Tucson AZ
670 Eugene OR
672 Portland OR (incl.part of southwestern WA)
674 Seattle WA
676 Spokane WA (includes part of central Idaho)
7NX - Pacific Telesis (12 total)
=====================
720 Reno NV
721 Pahrump NV
(southern NV, including Sprint's Centel Las Vegas, was to be own LATA)
(*LATA 721 was added to original 1982/83 scheme*)
722 San Francisco CA
724 Chico CA
726 Sacramento CA
728 Fresno CA
730 Los Angeles CA (extends into 'independent' southwestern AZ)
732 San Diego CA
734 Bakersfield CA
736 Monterey CA
738 Stockton CA
740 San Luis Obispo CA
8NX - "offshore & international"
================================
820 Puerto Rico (ITT)
822 US Virgin Islands (ITT)
824 Bahamas (pseudo-LATA) (C&W)
826 Jamaica (pseudo-LATA) (C&W)
828 Dominican Republic (pseudo-LATA) (GTE/ITT)
830 "other Caribbean islands" (pseudo-LATA) (C&W)
(Trinidad & Tobago, Bermuda, Cayman Is, Turks & Caicos Is,
British West Indies from British Virgin Is to Grenada
including Barbados)
832 Alaska (AT&T Alascom)
834 Hawaii (GTE)
836 Midway-Wake (also CNMI-Guam-Am.Samoa?) (GTE/RCA)
838 Mexico (pseudo-LATA) (Telemex/ITT)
840 "international/overseas" (pseudo-LATA)
Canadian "pseudo" LATA's
850 Bell Canada- Quebec
(BCE- Bell Canada Enterprises;
this "LATA" also includes many of BCE-Telebec's local and toll
switches, particularly in central/western PQ and the Iles-de-la-
Madeline area in the Gulf of St.Lawrence, also Schefferville PQ
on the PQ/NF(LB) border; also in this "LATA" are local central
offices of a number of small indep.telcos in Quebec which home
on a Bell Canada toll/tandem switch)
851 Bell Canada- Ontario
(BCE- Bell Canada Enterprises; this "LATA" also includes:
the ON Govt/Railways owned Ontario Northland Telecommunications
local and toll office switches (which BCE-Northern Tel homes on)
and BCE-Northern Telephone's local central offices, as well as
the local central offices of a number of small independent telcos
in Ontario which home on a Bell Canada toll/tandem switch,
in particular: Thunder Bay Telecommunications and
Manitoulin-Is.Tel/Amtelicom)
881 Edmonton AB (EdTel, now part of "Telus" Corp)
882 Prince Rupert City BC (municipally owned "independent")
883 GTE's Quebec Telephone
(discontiguous- separated into two parts of Quebec, eastern and
southern by some of Bell Canada's territory;
this "LATA" also includes a number of small independent telcos in
Quebec which home on a GTE-Quebec toll switch, in particular:
Sogetel with about a dozen local offices in the southern PQ part
of this "LATA"; BCE-Telebec's Fermont PQ local exchange on the
PQ/NF(LB) border is in the eastern PQ part of this "LATA")
884 Alberta (except Edmonton) (AGT is part of "Telus" Corp)
885 Newfoundland (NewTel is partially owned by BCE)
886 GTE's British Columbia Telephone Co.
887 Prince Edward Island (Island Telephone, owned by MT&T of NS)
888 Manitoba (MTS)
889 Nova Scotia (MT&T- Maritime Tel & Tel, partially owned by BCE)
890 New Brunswick (NBTel is partially owned by BCE)
891 Saskatchewan (Saskatel)
892 "Northwestel" (owned by BCE)
(northern BC, YT, NWT-incl.old Bell Canada in eastern/Arctic NWT)
9NX - "independent" LATA's (continental US)
===========================================
920 Connecticut (SNET)
(two NYNEX exchanges in southwestern CT- Byram and Greenwich are
NOT in this LATA- they are in NY City Metro, #132 but SNET's
'Old Greenwich' IS in this LATA; also a local independent,
Woodbury (CT) Tel is in this LATA)
921 Fishers Island NY (Fishers Is Telephone Co)
922 Cincinnati OH METRO (Cincinnati Bell Telephone)
(includes suburbs in OH, KY, IN; some nearby small independents
are also in this LATA)
923 Lima-Mansfield OH (SPRINT-United)
(discontiguous- separated into two sgmnts by LATA #324 Columbus OH,
into Mansfield area in central OH and Lima area in western OH)
924 Erie PA (GTE)
927 Harrisonburg VA (GTE-Contel)
928 Charlottesville VA (SPRINT-Centel)
929 Edinburg VA (Shenandoah Telephone)
930 Epps Fork VA (SPRINT-United's Carolina Tel & Tel)
932 Bluefield WV (Citizen's Telecom, southern WV; GTE, western VA)
937 Richmond IN (GTE) (incl. part of western OH)
938 Terre Haute IN (GTE) (incl. part of eastern IL)
939 Ft.Myers FL (SPRINT-United)
(939-01 Avon Park EA; 939-02 Ft.Myers EA)
949 Fayetteville NC (SPRINT-United's Carolina Tel & Tel)
951 Rocky Mount NC (SPRINT-United's Carolina Tel & Tel)
952 Tampa FL (GTE)
953 Talahassee FL (SPRINT-Centel)
956 Bristol TN/VA - Johnson City TN
(SPRINT-United's Inter-Mountain Tel)
(northeastern TN and extreme southwestern VA)
958 Lincoln NE (Lincoln Tel & Tel)
960 Coeur d'Alene ID (GTE)- north Idaho, parts of northeast WA
961 San Angelo TX (GTE)
963 Kalispell MT (Northwestern Telephone Co. of Montana)
973 Palm Springs CA (GTE)
974 Rochester NY (Frontier's Rochester Tel)
976 Mattoon IL (Illinois Consolidated Telephone Co)
977 Macomb/Galesburg IL (GTE)
978 Olney IL (GTE)
980 Navajo Communications of Arizona (northeastern AZ)
981 Navajo Communications of Utah (southeastern UT)
999 (default "LATA" code for NPA's 500, 800, 900, etc)
MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497
WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497)
Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to
Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 17:58:54 +0100
From: Peter Judge <peter@pjudge.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Numbering Chaos in the UK
Dear Patrick,
Here is a story, from another publication which I edit, which might be
of interest to TELECOM Digest readers.
<< from Telecoms Newsline, a news service sponsored by Hewlett-Packard >>
------------------------------
Oh no! It's PhoneDay again!
===========================
UK telephone subscribers are to face further upheaval in the national
numbering scheme by the end of the decade, says Oftel. Despite the
extra digit 1 added to most area codes on the so-called PhoneDay
barely 16 months ago, codes in London, Cardiff, Portsmouth,
Southampton and Belfast will all have to change to meet demand for
numbers. If the proposals go through, London will have its third code
change in ten years.
Oftel's Director General Don Cruickshank - who inherited a shambles on
the numbering front - did the only thing possible in the
circumstances, confessing; "Our ability to forecast the increase in
demand for numbers hasn't been too good."
On a more robust note, he added, "The UK is in the forefront of the
information revolution because we have one of the world's most
competitive and dynamic markets in telecoms networks and services. If
we are to maintain our leading position and its rewards, our numbering
scheme must keep pace."
For London, the proposals would mean a new code, 020 (and possibly
022), followed by eight digit numbers consisting of the existing phone
number, preceded by a 7 or 8.
The proposals also aim to iron out inconsistencies involving mobile
phones, premium rate numbers and other 'special' tariffs. Mr
Cruickshank said that between 25 and 30 other areas are running out of
numbers and would need action in the next 15 or 20 years.
Oftel has been reported as predicting that these changes, taken
together will be the last - though similar things were said about
PhoneDay. They should last for thirty years, reported Radio 4's Today
programme, by which time everyone will use portable numbers and
Internet addresses.
TN particularly enjoyed the pithy views expressed by Mr Derek Broom of
Northampton on 7 August in a letter to the Financial Times: "BT's
PhoneDay swept the problem under the mat, and the industry regulator,
Oftel, is again lifting a carpet bulging with effluvium.
"Eleven digits imply an ultimate address potential of 99 billion,"
says Mr Broom. "Where have all the numbers gone?" He blames holdovers
from the electromechanical Strowger system (such as the initial zero
in UK numbers), and from BT's monopoly.
His interesting suggestion is an Internet-style agency to register
numbers to subscribers and hold directory information, paid for by
enquiry and registration fees.
"Although Oftel has now taken responsibility for numbering,", he says,
"it has neither the resource nor the scope to tackle this fundamental
problem."
------------------------------
(c) Hewlett-Packard. Telecoms Newsline is a free independent news
service cvering the UK telecoms market, sponsored by Hewlett-Packard.
Editor: Peter Judge Contributor: Annie Turner
To subscribe, send a message to hp@globalnews.com, with the word
'subscribe' in the subject or the body of the message.
------------------------------
From: Florian <104665.1403@compuserve.com>
Subject: Pulse Metering on D-channel (ISDN)
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 15:05:50 -0400
Organization: CyberGate, Inc.
Reply-To: 104665.1403@compuserve.com
What are the solutions for pulse metering using the D-channel?
Are there any specifications/recommendations available on the subject
for the US and the European market?
Florian Damas
mailto:104665.1403@compuserve.com
------------------------------
From: Florian <104665.1403@compuserve.com>
Subject: Looking for English/French Telecommunications Dictionary
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 15:01:54 -0400
Organization: CyberGate, Inc.
Reply-To: 104665.1403@compuserve.com
Are there any good telecommunications dictionaries on the Web in English
with the translations of the terms in French?
Florian Damas
mailto:104665.1403@compuserve.com
------------------------------
From: Michael Wengler <mwengler@qualcomm.com>
Subject: Re: Calling Card Rates to Mexico
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 09:24:06 -0700
Organization: QUALCOMM, Inc.
Yosef Rabinowitz wrote:
> I have a customer who rents office space in a standard business
> center. The landlord has exclusivity on the phone lines and charges
> AT&T's standard rates + 20%. Customer does a few thousand minutes to
> Mexico zones 4 and 7. I cannot give 10XXX service since the landlord
> has blocked it. I am looking for a calling card platform (pre-paid or
> otherwise) that has rates to Mexico at 50 cents per minute or less.
The VoiceNet International Travel Card has these rates to Mexico:
Mexico band 1 $0.45
Mexico band 2 $0.51
Mexico band 3 $0.63
Mexico band 4 $0.71
Mexico band 5 $0.79
Card can be used from any US phone, requires making an 800 number call
to access. This is a credit card, customer is billed after calls are
made.
Charge is 6-second increment with a 30-second minimum per call. No
other charges apply (no signup, monthly, surcharge or anything. Just
pay for minutes on the phone.)
http://www.he.net/~wengler/VoiceNet for information, rates, and
application form.
Thanks,
Mike
------------------------------
From: Michael Wengler <wengler@qualcomm.com>
Subject: Re: Wireless Satellite Communication - A Challenge
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 09:37:45 -0700
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc.
William J. Halverson wrote:
> Mark Rivers wrote:
>> Marvin Demuth wrote:
>>> WHAT WE NEED:
>>> We need facilities, preferably involving satellite communication with
>>> voice, fax and email capabilities, at low cost. I have seen figures
>>> from $1.49 to $9.00 per minute on the Web for satellite service. We
>>> need something better than this. We need to be spending our funds on
> >SNIP<
>> It can be done now but it is not inexpensive!
> I suggest you check out what Iridium and Teledesyc [sic] have planned
> for LEOS systems. Iridium [Motorola initiated] is designed to provide
> voice comm, while Teledesyc [a Bill Gates venture] aims to provide
> mobile videoconferencing via satellites.
1) Motorola's Iridium is not there yet. I *think* they are scheduled
for commercial service in 1998, but a quick glance at their web pages
didn't yield the date to me.
2) Teledesic is, I'm pretty sure, even further into the future.
3) Globalstar will also be up for commercial service in 1998 (I don't
speak officially, I'm just trying to accurately present plans that have
been made public in the past.) Some info on Globalstar can be found at
http://www.qualcomm.com/IR/stockmtg/comm/P001.html and following pages.
Mike Wengler
NOT speaking officially for Qualcomm, but as a TELECOM Digest reader
only.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #415
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri Aug 16 02:24:17 1996
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Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 02:24:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
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To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #416
TELECOM Digest Fri, 16 Aug 96 02:24:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 416
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Internet Law Symposium 96 (ils95@halcyon.com)
Destiny Telecomm Spam (Clive Dawson)
Inbound Call Blocker (Glenn Kurtzrock)
Agis - Formerly Net99 Performance (Eberhard Weber)
Need Simple Phone Line Tester (Dave Close)
Re: What is Davar? (John Dearing)
Re: PBXs and Year 2000 Problems (Mickey Ferguson)
Re: Voicemail and Unix (Jailbait)
Re: What is a Panasonic 12/32 Worth? (Michael N. Marcus)
Re: Wireless Satellite Communication - A Challenge (Marvin Demuth)
Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954 (Ron Schnell)
Re: ISDN D-Channel Data and Internet Voice (Gary Sanders)
Re: USA Technology is Awfully Backward (Craig Morton)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Internet Law <ils95@halcyon.com>
Subject: Internet Law Symposium 96
Date: 16 Aug 1996 02:50:02 GMT
Organization: IGI
A N N O U N C I N G
INTERNET LAW SYMPOSIUM 96 http://www.internetlaw.org
THE SECOND ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL LAW & POLICY SUMMIT FOR THE GLOBAL INTERNET
internet.l@w/symposium/96..Seattle, Washington..USA..September 9 & 10, 1996
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O I L S 9 6
INTERNET LAW SYMPOSIUM 96 (ILS96) is the second annual international
law and policy summit for the global Internet. Within a few years,
the Internet has dramatically changed the way the world shares
information in a borderless environment. Because law is an
information business, it too will undergo immense change as the
Internet re-configures domestic and international political and
economic structures.
INTERNET LAW SYMPOSIUM 96 soars beyond other Internet conferences by
providing a platform where technology and law converge in a healthy
tension balanced by experts or delegates from business, education,
policy, legislation security, and justice. From this wealth of
perspectives ILS96 will develop a sound framework for Internet law,
regulations, and legislation.
INTERNET LAW SYMPOSIUM 96 not only provides a platform for conversing
with many international Internet legal and technology experts, it will
present some of the latest Internet technology breakthroughs in the
areas of electronic commerce and distance collaboration -- and even a
glimpse into the future.
INTERNET LAW SYMPOSIUM 96
September 9 & 10, 1996 - Seattle USA
Host: Seattle University School of Law
Approved CLE Credits: 10.5
With Support of:
IBM
MICROSOFT
US WEST
AT&T
CHRISTENSEN O'CONNER JOHNSON & KINDNESS
CORPORATE COMPUTER INC.
INTERNET GROUP INC.
In Cooperation With:
PROGRESS & FREEDOM FOUNDATION
CENTER FOR INTERNET FUTURE
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESOURCE CTR. (ARPA)
WASHINGTON ST. DEPT. OF INFORMATION SERVICES
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON CLE
e-COMM NORTHWEST
P R E S E N T I N G
HON. ALEX KOZINSKI
A highlight of ILS96 will be the appearance of Judge Alex Kozinski of
the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Pasadena). Associates describe
Judge Kozinski as a "path breaker who refuses to do things the same
old way. He innovates as he goes ... The sky is Judge Kozinski's
limit. "His non-judicial talents include bungee jumping, snow
boarding, and performing magic tricks . According to Professor
Laurence Tribe, Judge Kozinski possesses "one of the few genuinely
interesting minds in the judiciary."
D I S T I N G U I S H E D F A C U L T Y
...Neil Abrams, Counsel, Internet Division, IBM
...Bret Arsenault, Director, Internet Western Division, Microsoft,
San Francisco
...Eric Bozich, Market Development, US West !NTERPRISE, Denver
...Lisa Brownlee, Attorney, Trenite Van Doorne, Amsterdam
...Scott Charney, Computer Crimes Division, Department of Justice,
Washington DC
...Tony Clapes, Senior Advisor, IBM, Armonk NY
...Robert C. Cumbow, Associate, Perkins Coie, Seattle
..Carl R. Middlehurst, Asst. Gen. Counsel, Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
...Dr. Peter Gemmell, Sr. Member Technical Team, Sandia National Labs,
Albuquerque,NM
...Neal Friedman, Attorney, Pepper & Corazzini, LLP,
Washington DC
...M.Graeber Jordan, Sr. Mgr., Electronic Commerce Implementation,
Boeing Co., Bellevue
...Margaret Chon, Assoc. Prof., Syracuse Univ. Law School; visiting
Seattle Univ. law professor
...Michael J. Phillips, Pres. & CEO, The Frank Russell Company, Tacoma
...Robert Gellman, Exec. Director, Virtual Magistrate Project,
Washington DC .
...Richard T. Black, Associate, Christensen O'Connor Johnson Kindness,
Seattle
..Giuliano Chicco, Mgr. Legal Resources, General Electric Company,
Faifield, CT
...Rex B. Hughes, Internet Strategist, Corporate Computer, Seattle
...Charles C. Marson, Outside Counsel, Netscape, San Francisco
...Tom C. Rose, Consultant, Market Response/ Sr. Applications Engineer,
GTE Northwest, Everett
...James E. Bond, Dean, School of Law, Seattle University
...Chun M. Ng, Attorney,Christensen O'Connor Johnson Kindness, Seattle
...Joan Rogers, Legal Editor, ABA, Bureau of National Affairs, Washington
DC
...Robert C. Smith, Sr. Engineer, Electronic Commerce Resource Center/
Concurrent Technologies Inc.,Bremerton
...Mark Ryland, OLE Business Systems Group, Microsoft, Redmond
...David Skover, Professor, School of Law, Seattle
University
...Horton Smith, Exec. Direc., Pacific Basin Council, RAdm. US Navy,
Attorney, Seattle
...Walter Taucher, President, Corporate Computer, Inc.
...Dr. Robert Spitzer SJ, CPA & Professor of Ethics, Seattle University
...Daniel J. Weitzner, Co-founder Center for Democracy & Technology,
Washington, DC
...Dr.Peter Gemmell, Sr. Team Member, Sandi National Laboratories,
Albuquerque ...
...Dan M.Waggoner, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine, Seattle
...Jonathan Wallace, Author, Attorney & VP Operations, Pencom Systems,
Brooklyn
...Charles C. Marson, Outside Counsel, Netscape, San Francisco
...Hon. Walter E. Webster, Presiding Chief
Judge. Wash. St. Court of Appeals, Seattle
...Hon. Rick White, US House of Representatives, WA 1st District
(w/ US Congress Internet Caucus)
Quick Info................Quick Info................Quick
Info..............
Information 206 329 3392
Tel Registration 206 236 9559
Fax Registration 203 329 3225
Secure Internet Registration by IBM: http://shop.ibm.com/shopping/law
Mail Registration coupon at end of this message:
ILS96 - PO Box 1400 - Seattle, WA 98114
Housing Hotline (Seattle Visitors Bureau) 800 535 7071
Seattle University Location: Broadway & Madison
SU Parking: Broadway parking garage
Email: ils96@internetlaw.org
On the World Wide Web: http://www.internetlaw.org
ILS96 program chair Robert C. Cumbow of Perkins Coie Seattle explains the
purpose of this annual forum:
"INTERNET LAW SYMPOSIUM 96 is an important event that will address
growing concerns about digital communications and Internet issues that
face the entire international community--attorneys and clients
alike. There is worldwide interest in this second annual meeting to
update our ongoing analysis of legal and civil rights issues related
to the Internet."
Who? What? How?
Hence, with sleeves rolled up during the two days of INTERNET LAW
SYMPOSIUM 96 managers, executives, educators, lawyers, judges,
engineers, developers among others will examine the Internet as a
medium with no equal and one that challenges all sectors. Through
lively Q&A delegates from all walks of life will offer advice for the
scheduled faculty of experts.
ILS96 Program Topics
...Reviewing the Year of the Internet
...Questions & Advice for US Congress Internet Caucus: Live
...Harmonization Across the Global Internet
...Black Letter Law & Blue Ribbon Rights: Internet Civil Liberties
...Alternative Dispute Resolution via the Internet
...Net Crime Report from US Dept. of Justice
...Internet Technology Break Throughs Especially for Professionals
...Intranets in Corporate Legal Departments
...New Directions in Electronic Commerce
...Intellectual Property Adventures on the Internet
...Netiquette, Etiquette, & Ethics
...The Futurists Look at the Internet, the Law, & You
WHAT GEORGE GILDER SAID AT INTERNET LAW SYMPOSIUM 95...
As Forbes ASAP contributing editor, George Gilder, noted at last
year's INTERNET LAW SYMPOSIUM: "In the future, virtually, all law will
be Internet law in one way or another ... Law is an information
business, and like all other informational businesses, it will be
transformed."
For the sake of your company or profession, by attending ILS96 you can
do your part to make sure that the information/communication
transformation works for you and your interests!
REGISTRATION FEE
The cost of the program is $345 per person with advanced registration
paid on or before August 20, 1996. After August 20, the fee is $395.
SEPTEMBER 9-10
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY USA
http://www.internetlaw.org
ils96@internetlaw.org
Name___________________________________________________________________
Firm/Company___________________________________________________________
Practice_______________________________________________________________
Address________________________________________________________________
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Tel____________________________Fax_____________________________________
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PAYMENT INFORMATION:
Charge: __Visa __MasterCard
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*Essential Information*
Street Address of
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CANCELLATION/REFUND POLICY: Cancellations must be made in writing. All
refunds are based on U.S. Postmark date of written notice. Cancellations
postmarked on or before August 10, 1996, receive full refund less $50
processing fee. No refunds will begiven after August 20, 1996.
Substitutions are allowed when notice of such presented in writing. By
my signature below, I hereby authorize ILS 96 to debit my credit card
for the total amount. I have read and understand the terms and
conditions of this registration agreement.
________________________________Date___________________Total
$_______________
(Signature) ________________________________________________
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 96 17:04:50 CDT
From: Clive Dawson <Clive.Dawson@amd.com>
Subject: Destiny Telecomm Spam
Hi Pat,
I just got spammed by somebody representing Destiny Telecomm
International which is apparently in the business of reselling prepaid
calling cards. Apparently you can sign up to be one of their
"agents", and then you get to sign up still more agents, etc. Of
course it's not long before one or more of them resorts to spamming.
Have you heard of this outfit before? I would be VERY surprised if
you haven't already been asked to publish this drek in the Digest.
Cheers and congrats on getting to year 15!
Clive Dawson
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, I've heard of Destiny and I get
their junkmail now and then ... every couple weeks or so. What you
say is true; its just another MLM scheme with lots of spamming and
junkmailing to the net as part of the process. Thanks for your
kind note of encouragement on the latest anniversary here. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Glenn Kurtzrock <glennk@pegasus.rutgers.edu>
Subject: Inbound Call Blocker
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 01:49:24 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC
Hello, I was wondering if someone could help me out. I'm trying to
find a place that sells inbound call blockers (you may know it by a
different name). What it is, is a device which you hook up to your
phone line, and when anyone calls you a recording asks them to enter a
code. If they type in the correct code the phone rings, if they don't
it hangs up on them. This obviously is a fantastic way to eliminate
unsolicited telemarketers, wrong numbers, crank calls, etc. I've
spoken to several electronic retail outlets and a few of them said
they sold these years ago (one said they ran out a few months ago). I
would figure an item like this would be very popular (one place told
me it was only about $45). I have been looking for this for some
time, if anyone knows where I might be able to get one, please let me
know, it would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
------------------------------
From: glosys@valleynet.com (Eberhard Weber)
Subject: Agis - Formerly Net99 Performance
Date: 15 Aug 1996 15:31:28 -0700
Organization: Research Project On Global Systems
My service provider uses Agis, formerly net99, and the performance of
Agis is pathetic, to be generous in my choice of terms.
Invariably, if traffic slows down or is interrupted, it is due to
Agis.
Does anyone else share this experience? I am puzzled that a company
is allowed to remain part of the internet communication links when its
performance is routinely far below acceptable standards.
Your experiences/impressions would be appreciated.
Eberhard Weber glosys@psnw.com
Research Project On Global Systems
------------------------------
Subject: Need Simple Phone Line Tester
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 23:09:17 -0700
From: Dave Close <dave@compata.com>
I've looked through a few catalogs but I haven't found what I really
need. We have quite a few users with portable PCs using PC-Card
modems in strange locations daily. All too frequently, they connect
those modems to digital phone lines and then get very upset when their
calls don't go through. Sometimes they destroy the modems. What I'd
like is a simple test tool they could use to verify that the phone
line is appropriate and working before they connect their modem.
I know that a handset connector device would solve the problem. But in
a portable world, carrying a separate power supply, indeed carrying
anything more than a three-inch line cord with a green light at one
end, just wouldn't get done. I don't need a solution for a permanent
location, I need a test that can be performed in a minute or
less. And, of course, price is important; I suspect such a device
should be possible for less than ten dollars.
Any suggestions?
Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA
dave@compata.com, +1 714 434 7359
dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu
------------------------------
From: jdearing@netaxs.com (John Dearing)
Subject: Re: What is Davar?
Date: 15 Aug 1996 17:06:32 GMT
Organization: Philadelphia's Complete Internet Provider
Tad Cook (tad@ssc.com) wrote:
> In GTE territory east of Seattle, you can dial 411 (which was retired
> about a quarter century ago as the directory assistance number) and
> get a computer voice which reads back the number you are calling from.
> If you dial # before the voice starts, then it reads back the number
> in the form of a rapid DTMF sequence.
> I've heard this system is called DAVAR. What is it used for? I can
> understand how the voice announcement could be useful for pair
> identification, but exactly how is the DTMF readback of the calling
> number used?
DAVAR is used by the Telco to verify what is actually on each
pair. The results are then passed on to folks that compare the DAVAR
records with the mechanized database. Discrepancies are then corrected
in the mechanized databse. This is a quick way to verify large numbers
of pairs that appear at places like SAI (Serving Area Interface) boxes
and large DC terminals in businesses.
There are plenty of opportunities for discrepancies to creep in to the
databases placing the database "out of sync" with the Real World. 'Fer
instance ... It's late in the afternoon and pouring rain. You just
fixed a customers trouble by dropping the "out pair" at a SAI. Everything
is OK now and you head off to the C.O. to dry off and give the updated
information to the inside forces. You call and call but can't get
through because there are too few inside folks for the call volumes.
It's getting late and it's time to start heading back to the garage to
drop off the truck and go home.
Back at the garage you make one last try to get through ... no
luck. You make a mental note to call back again on Monday but forget.
And so it goes ...
(Been there, done that)
John Dearing : Philadelphia Area Computer Society IBM SIG President
Email : jdearing@netaxs.com
U.S.Snail : 46 Oxford Drive, Langhorne PA 19047 (USA)
Voice Phone : +1.215.757.8803 (after 5pm Eastern)
------------------------------
From: Mickey Ferguson <mickeyf@stac.com>
Subject: Re: PBXs and Year 2000 Problems
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 10:18:56 -0700
Organization: Stac, Inc.
John G. Brouwer wrote:
> My question for all of your wise and knowledgeable readers/
> participants is this:
> Will the "year 2000 issue" which is reported to be threatening so many
> mainframes, workstations and PCs also have an impact on PBXs or other
> telephone equipment ?
Short answer: Absolutely! When I worked for Rolm, we had even talked
about this issue back at least four years ago. We knew it was coming,
and were putting plans into place to deal with it. But let's face it;
some companies keep their equipment in place for many years, so a PBX
which was built in 1992 may still be in service, yet never dealt with
the issue. Every company with their own equipment (not under a
maintenance contract which would / should cover this) will have to deal
with it.
Typical issues that are affected are things like Call Detail Recording
(Rolm's term, maybe not industry-wide), where they make a record of all
calls made. Basically, just about any statistics gathering will be
affected, and PBXes have many areas where they gather and analyze stats
that have time and date impact.
Note that I no longer work for Rolm and obviously have no official word
from them.
------------------------------
From: jailbait@asylum.apocalypse.org (Jailbait)
Subject: Re: Voicemail and Unix
Date: 15 Aug 1996 12:55:22 -0400
Organization: JB Distribution Uninc.
Reply-To: jailbait@apocalypse.org
Ed James (edjames@migration.com) wrote:
> Has anyone had any experience hooking a unix box up to a
> vociemail system that isn't designed for it?
> If I could hook the unix box up to the parallel port of the
> Startalk, and if I could convince the startalk to generate
> reports on a daily basis (or more frequently), I could parse
> the report on the unix side, and generate the required
> voicemail.
Not that it's acutually helpful in this instance, but FYI: If you want
to consider changing voicemail systems to Meridian Mail, I know that
the controling hardware/software behind the system is a HP/UX box.
In your case, you may want to badger your verdor for as much technical
information as possible, wherein you may find out that the underlying
hardware is already something much more useful than you thought.
My big switch question is:
WHY haven't they built TCP/IP support into phone switches yet? With a
little bit of work you could make a secure system that could be
programmed from the office of the person who does the programming work
and not just from a dedicated terminal in the same room with the
switch.
Hell, at a very very minimum, I want NTP (Network Time Protocol)
support built in. Having to reset the time and date manaually on my
(well, my (previous) company's (previous)) switch everytime power went
out or such, and having to check it regularly for drift when we had a
perfectly good ntp server sitting ten feet away from the switch was
always really annoying.
JB
------------------------------
Date: 15 Aug 96 13:00:10 EDT
From: Michael N. Marcus <74774.2166@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Re: What is a Panasonic 12/32 Worth?
> I have a Panasonic PBX that is a 12/32 (but configured as an 8/32)
> that I want to sell, and am curious what it is worth. It is mfg'd in
> Dec. 94, and was lightly used between 1/95 and 3/96. I think we paid
> about $2700 for it. Any suggestions as to how I can find out the
> going price for this item would be appreciated (and any offers will be
> considered).
The price you get will depend on how close to the "end-user" you can
sell it. If you can sell directly to an end-user, you should be able
to get 60-80% of what you paid. If you sell to a dealer, probably 40 -
50% of what you paid. If you sell to a wholesale distributor (or
"refurbisher"), who sells to dealers, you might get only 25-30% of
what you paid.
You did not indicate whether this is the analog or digital 1232. There
is currently much less market for the analog 1232.
My company (Able Communications, Inc.) specializes in Panasonic KX-T
systems. Our Website has a "flea market" page, with free classified
ads for people who want to sell used equipment. There is no charge for
a listing, and we don't make any money on the sale. Take a look at
www.ablecomm.comm, and send email if you want to list your system.
Good luck,
Michael N. Marcus
Able Communications, Inc.
74774.2166@compuserve.cpm
www.ablecomm.com
------------------------------
From: MarvinDemuth@worldnet.att.net (Marvin Demuth)
Subject: Re: Wireless Satellite Communication - A Challenge
Date: 15 Aug 1996 14:18:30 GMT
Organization: AT&T WorldNet Services
Earlier I wrote:
> WHAT WE NEED:
> We need facilities, preferably involving satellite communication with
> voice, fax and email capabilities, at low cost. I have seen figures
> from $1.49 to $9.00 per minute on the Web for satellite service. We
> need something better than this. We need to be spending our funds on
> drilling wells and providing medical care for people who have no
> resources. Preferably, we need to be able to operate at both ends with
> non-licensed operators, just the same as it would be if we were making
> a telephone call.
Mark Rivers confirmed the cost of INMARSAT-M at $4.50 (US) and wrote:
> A cheaper alternative would be using an MSAT which provides coverage
> over North and Central America. Currently the system offers voice and
> data capabilities but does not offer fax. The fax capability should
> be out soon but do not hold your breath. Cost for this system is
> approximately $4K US for the equipment (+ or - $1K depending on the
> model) and airtime rates vary but range between $1.55 - $2.75 per
> minute CANADIAN. I am not sure how the rates and billing proceedures
> work in the states.
Can anyone give their experience with MSAT from the US to the
Caribbean area?
Can anyone give me by posting or e-mail the best rates available in
the US for this service?
Does anyone know of any special MSAT arrangements that can be made for
organizations engaged in humanitarian work?
Marvin Demuth
------------------------------
From: ronnie@twitch.mit.edu (Ron Schnell)
Subject: Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954
Date: 15 Aug 1996 12:33:40 GMT
Organization: MIT
In article <telecom16.399.10@massis.lcs.mit.edu> wes.leatherock@hotelcal.
com (Wes Leatherock) writes:
> Some customers (by far the vast majority) are not like the people in
> this newsgroup and are very concerned to know when they are dialing a
> toll call.
Your sarcastic generalization is misplaced. How does allowing
customers to dial 1 before any ten digit number prohibit this? If you
want to know if it is a toll call, don't dial 1. If the call goes
through, it isn't a toll call. It would be the same as it is now.
The only difference is that software and people who expect to be able
to dial 1 would be able to. If you had read previous posts, it would
be obvious that "people in this newsgroup" don't want to prohibit what
you are looking for.
Ron ronnie@space.mit.edu
------------------------------
From: gws@monroe.cb.att.com (Gary Sanders)
Subject: Re: ISDN D-Channel Data and Internet Voice
Date: 15 Aug 1996 12:41:55 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Columbus Ohio.
Reply-To: gary.w.sanders@att.com
In article <telecom16.401.12@massis.lcs.mit.edu> is noted:
> Ameritech has D channel packet service available, and you can access
> thier WEB page for pricing and other specifics. However, I don't think
> you'll be able to use the Dx.25 service for voice calls, internet or
> not.
They may have it but it doesnt go anywhere outside ameritech as of a few
months ago.
Gary W. Sanders (N8EMR) gws@sunray.cb.att.com
AT&T Columbus,Ohio 614-860-5965
------------------------------
From: Craig Morton <cmorton@ozemail.com.au>
Subject: Re: USA Technology is Awfully Backward
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 14:51:38 -0700
Organization: Communications Engineer / Moving Data P/L
Reply-To: cmorton@ozemail.com.au
Demian Vieira de Souza wrote:
> On the other hand the use of measurements is particular to the field
> of work you are in. For example aviation uses "feet", particularly
> "thousands of feet" worldwide (according to some pilots I know). And
> we techies all over the world do have an affinity for those darn 1's
> and 0's we call "bits." So it is all relative.
I believe its feet for vertical, metres for horizontal - standardization
at work.
Do you count your bits from the left or right? Ha Ha
Craig
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
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http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
a note to tel-archives@mirror.lcs.mit.edu to receive a help
file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of
the help file for the Telecom Archives.
*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #416
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri Aug 16 11:11:02 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id LAA05595; Fri, 16 Aug 1996 11:11:02 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 11:11:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608161511.LAA05595@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #417
TELECOM Digest Fri, 16 Aug 96 11:11:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 417
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Prefix Changes in Houston (Tad Cook)
Calififornia Peninsula Gets New Area Code (Tad Cook)
California Split (Tad Cook)
A Particularly Vicious Bulk E-mailer (Dave Keeny)
Announcement: Third Workshop on Telematics (Johann Ong)
Letter to New York PSC (Danny Burstein)
Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954 (Robert McMillin)
Re: Calling Card Rates to Mexico (Yosef Rabinowitz)
Re: New California Area Codes Unveiled (Jared Gottlieb)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Prefix Changes in Houston
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 23:58:13 PDT
Change in 36 Prefixes is First Step Toward New Area Code in Houston
By Michael Davis, Houston Chronicle
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 16--Houston takes its first step toward a new area code Saturday
with the change of 36 existing phone number prefixes.
The prefix changes -- affecting mostly cellular phones -- are being
made to eliminate duplication among numbers involved in the overall
split of Houston into two area codes over the next nine months.
The prefix is the first three digits of a seven-digit telephone number.
Under the final area code split, numbers outside of a boundary that
roughly follows Beltway 8 will carry the 281 area code. Those within
will remain 713 numbers. About 1.2 million people outside the beltway
will see their numbers change when the split takes place.
Thousands of people will get a new phone number Saturday with the
change in prefixes. Most of the numbers affected in this initial
changeover involve cellular phones and pagers, although some
traditional lines will change, too.
Southwestern Bell estimates about 60 of its customers will be affected
by the change in prefixes. GTE estimates it will have about 600 to
1,000 customers affected. GTE Mobilnet, which as a rule does not
disclose how many customers it has, would say only "several thousand"
will be affected. A Houston Cellular spokeswoman said several thousand
of the company's customers will see a change.
Although the 281 area code has been in use for more than a year for
wireless telecommunications devices, such as cellular phones and
pagers, Saturday will mark the first time a 713 number will change to
the 281 area code.
The majority of prefixes changing Saturday are existing 281 wireless
numbers. Only three 713 residential prefixes -- in Kemah, Stafford
and west Houston near Cinco Ranch -- will change.
"GTE Mobilnet is personally contacting all customers affected by this
ruling and will be making every effort to make the transaction as easy
as possible," said Karen Puckett, president of GTE Mobilnet-Texas.
Customers of Houston Cellular who will see number changes have been
notified by letter, said Peggy Mahoney, company spokeswoman. They will
have to come in and have their phones reprogrammed at a company
outlet, she said.
The problem of duplication arose when the Public Utility Commission
ordered the city geographically split into two area codes rather than
allow Bell to overlay a second area code over 713, as was originally
planned.
Because Bell and other companies have been issuing 281 numbers for
wireless communications since March 1995, many of the 713 numbers that
will change to 281 will duplicate already-issued 281 numbers. The 36
new prefixes will eliminate the duplication.
For example, (281) 256- numbers will change to (281) 270- because
there is an existing (713) 256- group of numbers outside the beltway
that will have to change to (281) 256- in November.
"The PUC mandated that whoever had the number first gets to keep it,"
said Chris Talley, spokesman for Southwestern Bell in Houston. "This
is what needs to be done for a clean geographic split in Houston."
Clovis McCallister, spokesman for GTE in Irving, said the company
notified its customers of the coming change in a July 12 letter.
To assist people whose numbers will change, a "mini-transitional"
period will be established from Saturday through Oct. 2. During this
time, callers may reach people with either their old or new number.
From Oct. 3 through Oct. 23, if someone dials an old number, a
recording will ask the caller to redial using the new number.
The full area code split for all of Houston is scheduled for
Nov. 2. For six months after that date, callers will be allowed
"permissive dialing" in which those called can be reached by either
their old or new number. The final split is set to occur on May 3,
1997.
After May 3, calls from 281 to 713, or vice versa, will require
dialing of all ten digits of the number. Callers will not be required
to dial 1 before the area code, since the calls will still be
local. Calls made within an area code will require only seven
digits. Toll-free dialing will not change.
People whose numbers are changing should remember to reprogram all
speed-calling programs on their telephone systems, fax machines,
computers and cellular phones. Security systems should be checked as
well.
Callers wanting more information on the changeover can call Bell's hot
line/resource center at (281) 464-9000.
Separately on Thursday, AT&T Corp. said it will seek arbitration in 20
states, includng Texas, to allow it to offer local phone service in
areas served by GTE Corp.
Currently, Southwestern Bell and AT&T are in arbitration over how they
will interconnect their networks so AT&T can provide local phone
service and Bell can expand into long-distance service.
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: California Peninsula Gets New Area Code
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 00:00:09 PDT
California Peninsula to Get New Area Code
By Howard Bryant, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 16--When the Peninsula's 49-year-old area code marriage to San
Francisco ends next summer, the new number to remember will be 650.
The new area code territory, the result of a vote earlier this month
by the California Public Utilities Commission to split the Peninsula
from the 415 code, will begin just south of the San Francisco County
line, dividing Daly City and Brisbane, and will end slightly south of
the Santa Clara County border, where the 408 area begins.
The new code will also exist in a small portion of northern Santa Cruz
County.
The 650 code is scheduled to take effect Aug. 1 of next year, said Bruce
Bennett, the state's area code administrator.
After the code takes effect, callers will be able to use either 415 or
650 when dialing into the Peninsula for a six-month grace period,
Bennett said. After that, 650 will become the Peninsula's only code.
Because telephone charges are based on distance instead of dialing
between area codes, no rates or charges in the new code areas will be
affected, according to the PUC.
Pac Bell also announced that 530 will be the new area code when the
916 area is geographically split on Nov. 1 of next year. The city and
county of Sacramento will remain 916, while most of the rest of the
current 916 area changes to 530.
The 415 and 916 territories might be two of the last area codes to
undergo geographical splits. Earlier this month, the PUC voted to use
area code "overlays" -- where one code is placed within an existing
one -- as a preferred method of relief.
However, overlays cannot be considered until Pac Bell puts into effect
"number portability," which allows customers to keep their numbers
should they opt to change phone companies, and "10-digit" dialing,
which means people must dial both the area code and phone number for
all calls. Until these standards are met, geographic splits will
continue to be the method the state uses to create new area codes.
According to PUC regulatory analyst Natalie Billingsley, number
portability and 10-digit dialing aren't expected to be in place for 18
months to two years. Thus the 408 area code, San Jose's since 1959,
could be one of the first area codes to be subject to an overlay when
it reaches capacity, which is expected in the first quarter of 1999.
The recent code crunch is the result of the rapid growth of cellular
phones, pagers and homes with multiple phone lines, combined with the
rising number of prospective new entrants to the state's $6 billion
local phone market. AT&T and MCI are among the companies that will
need a pool of numbers for customers when they begin offering local
phone service.
The new codes are the state's 17th and 18th. By the year 2000 or
shortly thereafter, California is expected to have 26 area codes,
according to the PUC.
The split of the 415 area code comes not a moment too soon, Pac Bell
said. The company had begun rationing numbers in that region. It
estimates that the 650 area code will last 11 years.
"We're responding to a crisis," Bennett said.
This marks the second time in five years the 415 area code has been
split geographically. In 1991, the East Bay split off into the 510
area code.
Pac Bell and the PUC will have to repeat this move, Bennett
predicts. He estimates 415 will need yet another new area code within
five years.
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: California Split
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 23:43:43 PDT
415, 916 Area Codes to Split in Two
By BURT HERMAN
Associated Press Writer
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Two of California's three original telephone area
codes will be split in two next year, Pacific Bell announced Thursday.
The 415 and 916 area codes will be divided to accommodate the
increasing demand for phone numbers brought on by cellular phones,
facsimile machines and pagers.
About three million people will fall into the new area codes, to be
known as 650 and 530.
The new 650 code for the southern San Francisco peninsula begins at
the southern city line and extends southward to include most of San
Mateo and parts of Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties.
San Francisco International Airport will be included under the new
area code, which is expected to last for 11 years before another area
code split is needed.
The 650 area code will go into service Aug. 1, 1997, and include about
two million people.
One million subscribers in northeastern portion of the state will be
put in the new 530 area code on Nov. 1, 1997. Sacramento County and
parts of southern Placer and eastern Yolo Counties will retain the 916
area code.
There will be a six-month grace period after the area codes go into
effect during which the old numbers will still work.
Callers will be charged the same rates that are currently in effect,
regardless of whether they have to dial seven or ten digits to make a
call, said Bruce Bennett, California code administrator for Pacific
Bell.
"The number of digits that you dial has no impact on the cost of the
call," he said.
The remaining portions of the 415 and 916 area codes are expected to
last until 2002 before further relief is needed. Currently, more than
50 percent of the phone numbers in both area codes are assigned to
cellular phones and pagers.
Growth of both area codes is at an annual rate of more than 720,000
each.
The day where all calls will have to be dialed with ten digits is close
at hand, Bennett said.
"There's a crisis going on throughout the nation," he said.
In the future, new area codes will not be assigned by splitting up
existing areas, but by overlaying new numbers on top. But before this
can happen, Bennett said the state Public Utilities Commission has
mandated that ten-digit dialing and number portability -- where a
person's phone number stays with them no matter where they go -- be
fully operational.
Bennett estimated technology would reach that level by the beginning
of 1999.
To decide what the new area codes will be, research is done with focus
groups to determine the most easily recognizable numbers, said Dave
Miller, spokesperson for Pacific Telesis, the parent company of
Pacific Bell.
In the next five years, 13 new area codes will be introduced in
California.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 09:50:44 +0500
From: Dave Keeny <keenyd@ttc.com>
Reply-To: keenyd@ttc.com
Organization: Telecommunications Techinques Corporation
Subject: A Particularly Vicious Bulk E-mailer
I wonder if anyone has heard of or had dealings with:
Tim Luedtke
Owner, First Look
P.O. Box 770441
Orlando, FL 32877
(407)438-8892 Phone
(407)438-7083 Fax
He's been advertising bulk e-mail services, search engine
registration, and the like for some time now, under various e-mail
accounts (at least four that I know of). In his latest incarnation
(see the "New Bulk Email Program" thread in misc.consumers) an
individual who complained to him was threatened with 300,000+
e-mailings. Luedtke made good with his threat, from his
1stlook@digital.net account. The recipient called Luedtke's ISP and
they pulled his account within 30 minutes.
Within a couple hours, apparently, Luedtke was back again, this time
flinging mailbombs from A1stlook@aol.com. I don't know how else to
combat this type of miscreant other than to let others know who he is
and how he operates so that, with any luck, his own reputation will
drive him out of business. Too bad he has no 800 number <g> ...
Dave
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 16:54:32 HKT
From: Johann Ong <johann@asti.dost.gov.ph>
Subject: Announcement: Third Workshop on Telematics
Third Regional Workshop on Telematics
The Third Regional Workshop on Telematics is being organized
by the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste,
Italy and the United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan in collaboration
with the Advanced Science and Technology Institute of the Department
of Science and Technology, Government of the Philippines, and the
National Engineering Center of the University of the Philippines at
Manila, Philippines from 18 November 1996 to 6 December 1996.
The workshop will be directed by Professor M.V. Pitke of Tata
Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay, India and Professor Romeo
G. Solis of the Advanced Science and Technology Institute, Manila,
Philippines. Mr. M. Periasamy will be the co-director in charge of
the laboratory sessions.
I. PURPOSE AND NATURE
The workshop aims at upgrading the technical and analytical
capabilities of scientists and engineers of academic institutions, R&D
organizations and the industry. It will also help faculty members in
establishing new and strengthening existing programs in
telecommunications and information technology.
The three week program will focus on fundamental aspects of
communications technology and its role in the present and evolving
information networks of the future. In addition to basics, modern
communication techniques, technologies, systems and networks will be
covered. A set of specially developed laboratory exercises will form
an integral part of this Workshop, giving participants a unique
hands-on experience. The faculty is drawn from leading academic and
R&D institutions around the world.
The Workshop programme will broadly cover the following topics:
Communication Basics
Digital Transmission, Switching, Signalling and Networking
SS7 and Intelligent Networks
Optical Fibres
Broadband Networks
Wireless and Cellular/Mobile Technology
DSP and Multimedia
VLSI Design for Telecommunications
Communications Software
Rural Communications
Power System Engineering for Telecommunications
Outside Plant Engineering
Product Engineering and Technology Transfer
II. PARTICIPATION
The Workshop is open to scientists, engineers and faculty members from
academic institutions, research agencies, and industrial companies in
the ASEAN region and the neighboring countries. Participants should
preferably have experience in research and/or knowledge of digital
telecommunications and computers. They are also expected to have
adequate working knowledge of English language, since the workshop
will be conducted in this language.
The workshop will be divided into two groups, alternating formal
lectures and laboratory classes in the mornings and afternoons. As a
rule, travel and subsistence expenses of the participants should be
borne by their home institutions. However, limited funds are available
for a few participants selected by the organizers.
For technical reasons, the total attendance will be strictly limited
to 50 participants.
The closing date for requesting participation is August 30, 1996.
The "Request for Participation" form, attached at the end of this document
should be completed, signed and posted to:
Advanced Science and Technology Institute
4/F National Engineering Center
U.P. Campus Diliman, Quezon City
Philippines 1101
Republic of the Philippines
Department of Science and Technology
ADVANCED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE
4/F NEC Bldg., U.P. Campus Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101
Tel. No: +63 2 918 813 9017
Fax No: +63 2 922 4714 or +63 2 932 5703
E-Mail: juvy@asti.dost.gov.ph; ode@asti.dost.gov.ph
WWW: http://www.asti.dost.gov.ph
Additional Note: There is an online version of this announcement
including an online "request for participation" form that can be accessed
at
http://www.asti.dost.gov.ph/announce/telework.html
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 06:22:36 EDT
From: danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
Subject: Letter to New York PSC
Danny Burstein
New York, NY 10027
August 13, 1996
NYS Public Service Commission
Telecom division
1 Penn Plaza CSD 8th floor
New York, NY 10119
via UPS Blue
re: Problems with (genuine) Nynex pay phones and touch tone cut-off
Good day:
I'd like to report some difficulties with Nynex which I believe
warrant investigation, and definitive action, by the Public Service
Commission.
Ironically, I discovered this problem when calling an inhouse Nynex
number.
As I'll explain further, I suspect that these problems are widespread
and, as such, should not be considered as a single phone line
complaint but rather as a major issue and should warrant a full scale
PSC investigation.
Yesterday, August 12, 1996, I paid my Nynex bill at an authorized
service location. I then proceeded to go to a "Genuine Nynex
Payphone", (212) 678-9601, located at 110th street and Broadway in
Manhattan, to report this to Nynex's automated accounting system.
This involves punching in a 1-800 number, followed by the billing
number, and then accessing a menu of choices.
In the midst of doing this, I got a response from the phone that said
(roughly) "no further digits may be dialed at this time".
I tried again and got the same response.
It seems evident that some sort of limit has been programmed by Nynex
as to the number of digits that can be entered through the keypad.
(This may have been done via a physical count of digits or a timeout).
This is clearly an inconvenience, and is quite disruptive. While this
specific incident "only" caused me aggravation and wasted time, I can
easliy see situations when this "feature" installed by Nynex would prevent
access to voice mail, long distance carriers, or numerous other services.
Accordingly I would appreciate it if:
a) this gets counted by the PSC as not a single line complaint, but as
one reflecting all the Nynex coin lines in the NYC region, and that
this larger figure be used in calculating Nynex's service record,
and
b) the PSC assigns this matter a Case Number and advises me of any
actions it undertakes.
Thank you,
Danny Burstein
------------------------------
From: rlm@netcom.com (Robert McMillin)
Subject: Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954
Organization: Charlie Don't CERF
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 13:26:34 GMT
On 15 Aug 1996 05:33:40 PDT, ronnie@twitch.mit.edu (Ron Schnell) said:
> In article <telecom16.399.10@massis.lcs.mit.edu> wes.leatherock@hotelcal.
> com (Wes Leatherock) writes:
>> Some customers (by far the vast majority) are not like the people in
>> this newsgroup and are very concerned to know when they are dialing a
>> toll call.
> Your sarcastic generalization is misplaced. How does allowing
> customers to dial 1 before any ten digit number prohibit this?
> If you want to know if it is a toll call, don't dial 1.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Heh? Jeez, Louise, tell that to anyone living in El Lay, Chicago, or
New York, with their tower-of-babble area codes. Dialing 1+ doesn't
imply a toll call in those places, nor should it anywhere else. For
those of you living in states with erstwhile single area codes where
this used to be true, I have a suggestion: get used to it. Sorry the
telcos lied to you about 1+ == toll, but sometimes, them's the breaks.
In any event, 1+ to other area codes regardless of toll is mandated by
the F-C-C. If your local telco still allows ten-digit dialing without
the prepended 1+, well, good luck trying to keep it.
Robert L. McMillin | rlm@helen.surfcty.com | Netcom: rlm@netcom.com
------------------------------
From: Yosef Rabinowitz <yosefr@webspan.net>
Subject: Re: Calling Card Rates to Mexico
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 10:01:26 -0700
Organization: Telephone Bill Reduction Consulting
Recently, I wrote:
>> I have a customer who rents office space in a standard business
>> center. The landlord has exclusivity on the phone lines and charges
>> AT&T's standard rates + 20%. Customer does a few thousand minutes to
>> Mexico zones 4 and 7. I cannot give 10XXX service since the landlord
>> has blocked it. I am looking for a calling card platform (pre-paid
>> or otherwise) that has rates to Mexico at 50" per minute or less.
In the last couple of days, many wrote to me with a variation of the
following response:
> The VoiceNet International Travel Card has these rates to Mexico:
> Mexico band 1 $0.45
> Mexico band 2 $0.51
> Mexico band 3 $0.63
> Mexico band 4 $0.71
> Mexico band 5 $0.79
> Mexico band 6-8 $0.82
Thank you to all who responded, Except ...
1) I already sell the VoiceNet card.
2) Can't anybody read? I said I need a rate of 50 cents (FIFTY CENTS) for
BOTH zones 4 and 7.
Please, no more e-mail with offers of more than 55 cents on a calling
card.
Thanks,
Y.R.
------------------------------
From: jared@netspace.net.au (jared gottlieb)
Subject: Re: New California Area Codes Unveiled
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 19:32:18 +1000
Organization: NetSpace Online Systems
In article <telecom16.413.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Tad Cook
<tad@ssc.com> wrote:
> New Area Codes Unveiled For Large Portions Of 415, 916 Regions;
> 650 New Area Code for San Francisco Region;
> 530 To Be Added In Northern California
> SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 15, 1996--
> While customers in the new 650 and 530 area codes will have to change
> the first three-digit portion of their telephone number, the new area
> codes will not affect the price of telephone calls in any of these
> areas, Bennett said. Call distance determines the price and is not
> impacted by the creation of a new area code, he explained.
Except for a number of hotels whose logic is if it's another area code
it must be long distance. This was a problem along the 415 / 408
boundary. Even if one pulls out a phone book and shows the desk
clerks what the directory says is a local call, they can't change the
computer.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Even if the desk clerk cannot change
the computer the desk clerk generally has the authority to write off
certain small amounts of the total bill which are disputed without
further approval/verification. PAT]
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'.
Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
or phone at:
Post Office Box 4621
Skokie, IL USA 60076
Phone: 847-329-0571
Fax: 847-329-0572
** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is:
http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
a note to tel-archives@mirror.lcs.mit.edu to receive a help
file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of
the help file for the Telecom Archives.
*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #417
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri Aug 16 12:54:31 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id MAA15940; Fri, 16 Aug 1996 12:54:31 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 12:54:31 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608161654.MAA15940@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #418
TELECOM Digest Fri, 16 Aug 96 12:54:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 418
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: InterLATA Connectivity in 609? (Mark J. Cuccia)
Re: InterLATA Connectivity in 609? (John R. Levine)
Re: GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System (John R. Levine)
Re: GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System (Atri Indiresan)
Re: Teen's Calls From Jail Costly to Parents (Stormy Trevino)
Re: 900 MHz Digital vs. Analog Cordless (Kenneth R. Teleis)
Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In? (The Old Bear)
Re: USAir Orders Gag On Phones (Jean-Francois Mezei)
Re: Information Wanted on Digital PBX (Jay R. Ashworth)
Clarification on ISDN Rate Proposal (Robert Deward)
Interswitch Voice Messaging Interface (Celine Anelone)
Wireless Phone With Modem Connection? (Ken Mandelberg)
Information Wanted on Furst Group (Maude Lin)
Help!! Need Fiber Optic Network Provider in Washington DC. (Eric Brobeck)
Transfer Powerpoint to VHS (blair@instep.bc.ca)
Books About T-1/E-1 Wanted (Marc Samson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 12:24:45 -0700
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Re: InterLATA Connectivity in 609?
billsohl@planet.net (Bill Sohl) wrote:
> Andrew White <awhite@dca.net> wrote:
>> I am working on a project that requires that I run a T1 circuit
>> between the two LATAs in South Jersey, the Atlantic LATA and the
>> Delaware LATA. These two LATAs comprise the 609 area code.
> Are you sure that you are dealing with an inter-lata situation? The
> 609 area code is ONE (1) lata and any two sites in the 609 area code
> can be served by Bell Atlantic also. When the LATAs were created in
> 1984 NJ was split into two. One was the 201 area and the other was
> the 609. Since then the 201 has split into 201 and 908.
New Jersey has *three* LATA's:
220 Atlantic Coastal area (NJ)
222 Delaware Valley area (NJ)
224 northern NJ area
The three-digit LATA-code numbers are a Bellcore-created (or maybe a
concept created by pre-divestiture AT&T, circa 1982/83, as well as the
DOJ/etc) industry standard used for administrative purposes, the first
digit '2' indicating Bell-Atlantic as the (primary) LEC operating in
that LATA under the mid-1980's understanding of LATA's and Local Telco
jurisdiction vs. Long-Distance Company operations. These codes are
not intended to be routing codes used by the switching network(s)
themselves, although what one Long Distance Company (interexchange
carrier) does internally within its own switching network as far as
routing and switching of traffic is more-or-less its own business.
LATA and NPA boundaries and regions do *NOT* necessarily coincide. One
LATA can contain all-or-part of one-or-more NPA(s). Conversely as
well, an NPA can contain all-or-part of one-or-more LATA(s).
The northern NJ LATA (#224) is primarily NPA's 201 and then the split
off 908.
LATA's #220 and #224 are primarily NPA 609. Atlantic City NJ is in LATA
#220, Atlantic Coastal area (NJ). Trenton NJ is in LATA #222, Delaware
Valley area (NJ).
LATA boundaries *CAN* and many *DO* contain portions of more than one
state! Some LATA's in the central plains and mountain area states
contain portions of as many as *SEVEN* states! It might be that the
large number of states contained in a single LATA is due to instances
of only single telco switches or central office NXX codes of an
adjacent state, but it does happen!
What *does* remain uncertain to me is how (if) the "LATA" concept will
continue under the latest regulations and legislation, where it could
happen that everyone can compete with everyone else, in all aspects of
the telecom industry.
MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497
WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497)
Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to
Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 96 13:52:00 EDT
From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: InterLATA Connectivity in 609?
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
>> I am working on a project that requires that I run a T1 circuit
>> between the two LATAs in South Jersey, the Atlantic LATA and the
>> Delaware LATA. These two LATAs comprise the 609 area code.
> Are you sure that you are dealing with an inter-lata situation? The
> 609 area code is ONE (1) lata and any two sites in the 609 area code
> can be served by Bell Atlantic also.
Sigh. Don't you hate it when people make definitive sounding
statements that are 100% wrong? New Jersey has three LATAs: 201/908
(North Jersey), western 609 (Trenton/Camden), and eastern 609
(Atlantic City.) Look in any N.J phone book if you don't believe me.
The middle of 609 is mostly empty pine barrens which make a natural
boundary between the two areas. NJ Bell Atlantic, or whatever they're
calling it this week, provides all the local service in 609, but
that's unrelated to where the LATA boundaries are.
I can also report from experience that all of the phone calls between
my beach cottage in Harvey Cedars and my parents' house in Princeton
were handled by my long distance carrier, not Bell. Both places are
in the 609 area.
Trivium: Ocean County N.J. spans three LATAs, with most calls across
the LATA line in fact being handled as toll calls. (Only Toms River
in 908 to Barnegat in 609 is treated as inter-LATA local.) Are there
any other three-LATA counties in the U.S.?
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 96 13:54:00 EDT
From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
My one attempt to make one of those GE carrier things work was a
complete failure. I couldn't get it to work at all. In retrospect, I
think that the problem was that the house had a 220V feed and the two
places I was trying to use it were fed from opposite sides of the 220.
This is a problem you'll probably have in your apartment complex, too.
I'd bite the bullet and pull some real phone wire.
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You know, the same thing is true for me
where 'wireless intercoms' are concerned. I have yet to find one that
works correctly with my electrical wiring here. They always have a small
hum in the background or never seem to transmit at all. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 13:58:41 EDT
From: Atri Indiresan <atri@eecs.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System
I had no problem getting it to work -- I got a dialtone when I plugged
it in upstairs, both in 110V sockets. My concern is privacy/noise, and
I still need to talk to my neighbor about it. I'll get back to you as
soon as I have more information.
Thanks,
Atri
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Do you think your neighbor will be
honest about it and *actually tell you* if he can hear you on similar
appliances in his home? <grin> ... "Oh no, Atri, its just fine with
me, you go right ahead and keep using your wireless equipment." PAT]
------------------------------
From: Stormy Trevino <strevino@callamerica.com>
Subject: Re: Teen's Calls From Jail Costly to Parents
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 12:10:24 -0700
Organization: Call America Business Communications
Most of article deleted:
> Zero Plus Dialing of San Antonio got the phone service by paying
> hefty commissions to the jails, as it does with 100 other jails
> nationwide despite complaints from its captive audience.
(more clipping)
Pat wrote:
> the Supreme Court has said is required -- then the service is going
> to come from outfits like ZPD and other con-artists who themselves
> might benefit from a term of enforced penitence in an institution
> somwhere.
I think a correction needs to be made here. ZPDI is not an OSP or an
AOS. ZPDI is a billing clearing house that contracts with OSPs and
AOSs to provide their billing (since it is extremely expensive to set
up LEC billing agreements for smaller carriers). To misleadingly group
ZPDI with con-artists (like Integratel) is not too cool in my book.
Call America (we are legit, you'll agree I think) uses ZPDI as
our billing clearinghouse for our operator services and we have
never had any trouble of this magnitude (of course our rates aren't
sky high so I'm saved the headaches that higher rated OSPs have to
deal with). The exorbitant rates are set by the OSP or AOS that
provides the service.
It is this very same OSP or AOS that pays the jail the commission.
ZPDI doesn't pay a cent to the jail. The money ZPDI collects goes
directly back to the OSP. I think this is something that is too easily
lost on the majority of people who use LEC calling cards. If the
person who received the bill were to look at the bill he would have
seen that the calls were billed by ZPDI ON BEHALF OF ________.
ZPDI would have directed the customer to contact the OSP or AOS
directly if they didn't feel the charges were warranted. I know
because I've dealt with customers who have contacted ZPDI about bills
they have received on our behalf (most want to know who we are). I
hope this helps out a little. I really didn't feel that ZPDI was
treated too fairly, Pat, in your reply.
Thanks,
Stormy Trevino http://www.callamerica.com
Call America Business Communications Customer Service Manager
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: First, I'll say without hesitation
that Call America is a very legitimate company, and their 800 number
service called 'MyLine' is in my opinion the best of its kind. I
have used MyLine 800 service for a few years now and strongly
recommend it to anyone who needs an 800 number. In fact it is
probably about time to print a detailed article on the MyLine
service once again for newer readers not familiar with it. Their
web page noted above is a good starting point for information.
The best thing Zero Plus Dialing might do to enhance its image
is to be a wee bit more selective in who it chooses to accept as
clients. Like Integratel, some of its clients are better than
others, and some are the pits. Although it is true that ZPD
refers customers with complaints direct to their client for any
adjudication required, it is also true that like many of the
clients of Integratel, making *actual contact* with someone at
the carrier is nearly impossible. Who was the 'carrier' we
attempted to locate that time in the Empire State Building
responsible for a hot-chat phone service with ripoff rates and
service? According to Integratel, they were only allowed to
give out a street address for the company. After some effort,
a phone number became available. Dialing that number at any
time merely got us to an answering machine which was full of
messages and would not accept any more. Calls and correspondence
were never answered. ZPD has a few clients of the same genre.
Now it is not the fault of ZPD or Integratel that some of their
clients are really bad news in the industry, and both firms do
provide a valuable service as Stormy points out by handling the
often-times complex and expensive business of getting billing
tapes into the systems of the local telcos. But still, you'd
think both firms might set some standards of minimum compliance
for their clients if for no other reason than the common
misconception of the general public that Ripoffco = ZPD and
vice-versa. If the billing agencies repeatedly take on clients
who are ripoffs where the public is concerned, can you blame
the public for its perception of ZPD/Integratel as companies
'with a reputation' for high priced calls? It may be a lose/lose
proposition however. By the time the local telcos get their cut
for accepting the billing and by the time the billing agency
grabs some for itself, the proceeds may have thinned out enough
that the original carrier has so little left over they have to
charge the rates they do, especially if great gobs of their
traffic has to be written off to fraud, etc.
Overall Stormy, you are correct; I just wish the agencies would
turn the screws a little better on some of their clients. PAT]
------------------------------
From: ken@marconi.w8upd.uakron.edu (Kenneth R. Teleis)
Subject: Re: 900 MHz Digital vs. Analog Cordless
Date: 16 Aug 1996 03:49:22 GMT
Organization: University of Akron Amateur Radio Club
Geordon Portice (gap@plotit.com) wrote:
> I've been looking into purchasing a two-line 900 MHz phone, and have
> seen a number of comments/complaints of sidetone and echo with certain
> models. Is this only a concern with digital phones? If so, what are
> the disadvantages of using a 900 MHz analog phone.
> Are most 900 MHz phones analog, unless digital is specifically
> advertised? More specifically, how about Panasonic, AT&T, and Uniden?
I have a two line Uniden digital spread spectrum, the model number of
which I can't recall. The only complaint I have is that is doesn't
seem to have enough volume on the handset. If you have any background
noise at all it is very difficult to hear. Otherwise the phone
quality is very clear. I can walk at least a half block away with no
problems.
If I can be of further help to you please let me know.
Regards,
Ken Teleis, KZ3E/8
System Administrator
University of Akron Amateur Radio Club (W8UPD)
E-mail: ken@marconi.w8upd.uakron.edu
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Chances are likely if you get inside
the handset and look around, there is a trim-pot in there somewhere
you can adjust slightly to get more volume. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 00:20:14 -0300
From: The Old Bear <oldbear@arctos.com>
Subject: Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In?
Organization: The Arctos Group - http://www.arctos.com/arctos
Paul Houle <houle@msc.cornell.edu> writes:
> I have a historical question which I hope isn't a FAQ in this
> group, but which I have not been able to find an answer on the web or
> the telecom archives.
> I'm trying to find out exactly when DDD (direct distance
> dialing) was cut-in in the US. I have the impression that there was a
> specific date in the late 50s or early 60s but I've had bad luck
> looking for it. This surprises me because of the fact that such a
> date may be a good watershed for the development of our civilization
> -- the first moment when it was possible for an individual to make a
> connection across a continent without human attention.
Mark Cuccia did a fine job of answering this question. I just wanted
to add a personal note from my own memories ...
About 1957, when I was in the 5th grade, a woman from New England
Telephone came to talk at an assembly at my elementary school in
Boston about "Direct Distance Dialing" and how it would work. Not
many kids in those days made long distance calls, so I'm not sure why
this program was conducted as part of the product roll-out. Possibly
it was a good way to get all the handouts (area code maps, dialing
instruction cards, etc.) into the hands of the parents.
Most of the kids figured it was a "wonders of technology" topic,
that being the year that the USSR launched the first Sputnik space
satelite and all the schools were going nuts to get more scientific
stuff into the curriculum.
I also recall that following the dialing of the number, a human
operating would come on the line and as "Your number please!" to which
you were to respond with your own number and not the number which you
were calling. Rumor had it that this was for billing purposes and if
you gave someone else's number, they would be billed for your call.
(I was an honest kid and never tried it, however, so I don't know if
this was true.)
At the beginning of "DDD", the "access code" of 1+ was not
required, with the result that many people unknowingly placed wrong-
number toll calls while attempting to dial a local number. (The
newspaper would periodically carry some little story about a toddler
who had managed to place a call to the other side of the country by
playing with the telephone set. I never figured out how the toddlers
managed to give their number to the operator, however.)
It was only in the 1960s that collect and person-to-person calls
could be placed by direct dialing with the 0+ access code. Until then,
we dialled 211 (?) and asked the long distance operator to place
such calls.
Cheers,
The Old Bear <--now feeling even older!
The Arctos Group [Information Strategies for the Real Estate Industry]
Post Office Box 329 - Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02167-0003 USA
tel: 617.342.7411 - fax: 617.232.0025 - email: arctos@arctos.com
visit our WWW site at URL: http://www.arctos.com/arctos
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: We had the same program at our school
with a speaker from Illinois Bell about the same time. I was probably
in 9th grade or 10th grade. If you dialed the call direct, then your
number got captured by the equipment in most cases, but if you either
(a) wanted to make a person-to-person call; (b) a collect/third number
billing call; or (c) get assistance in dialing then we had to dial
'211' (except hotels and other places requiring time and charge
information for rebilling to guests on a PBX, etc dialed '811').
The operator at 211 would always ask for *your* number and you had
to at least give a number on the same prefix. They could tell what
prefix you were on, just not what the last four digits were. If you
gave incorrect (last four) digits then that person got billed for
the call instead of yourself.
But international calls were a different matter: all those had to
be placed manually through the operator at 211 but she only looked
up the gateway point for the call and handed it off, so that as soon
as you said you wished to call an international point she dialed in
to the overseas operators at White Plains, NY or Oakland, CA to
have them complete the call. Those operators would likewise ask for
your entire number, and you could say whatever you wanted because
they had no way to tell anything. But the catch was then the overseas
operator would say, "Thank you. Please hang up and I will *call you
back on a direct line* and try to establish the connection." If
you had given incorrect information by accident or otherwise you just
did not get the callback. In addition to White Plains and Oakland
for many international calls, other gateways were Miami and San Diego.
Now and then the gateways were outside the USA as in the case of
Montreal (much of the Yukon/NWT area); Alma, Quebec (radio relay
points in the eastern Arctic area); New York City Operator 478 (ships
on the high seas); Paris, France (most of Africa); and Sydney, Australia
(the Antartic region). PAT]
------------------------------
From: Jean-Francois Mezei <jfmezei@videotron.ca>
Subject: Re: USAir Orders Gag On Phones
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 02:46:10 +0000
Organization: Vaxination Informatique
Reply-To: jfmezei@videotron.ca
> G.T.E. Airfone spokeswoman Laura Littel said she could see a need to
> disconnect the phones in certain disasters.
> "The only thing I could think of would be a hijacking," she said.
> "Someone could use this phone to say, 'I want this plane to go to XYZ,
> or I'm going to do something.' That is a potential."
Au contraire. In the case of a highjacking, a quiet passenger in the
back might be able to establish a connection with the ground and relay
VITAL information or even leave the phone connected and hope that the
ground can hear what is going on (place phone on floor under seat, or in
seat-pocket etc.
I think that those who decided on the gag order probably saw Die Hard II
(the movie) and decided that should there be a reporter on board,
it would ruin the airline's image with live coverage from the lavatory.
This whole business about electronics on board has to be settled once
and for all. If such integrated phones interfere with the plane's
instruments during a disaster, why would they not interfere during
normal times?
I am even more surprised that an airline would leak/release this policy
to the public.
------------------------------
From: jra@scfn.thpl.lib.fl.us (Jay R. Ashworth)
Subject: Re: Information Wanted on Digital PBX
Date: 15 Aug 1996 20:56:16 GMT
Organization: University of South Florida
reddp@ix.netcom.com wrote:
> What is a "digital" PBX and when and where would it be used? Would it
> carry/conduct normal telephone traffic, say between an internet
> service provider and a modem over phone lines ... or is strictly for
> connection of computers, e.g. mainframe and satellite systems? I'm
> doing research. Thanks!
A 1A ESS.
:-)
Seriously, a "digital" PBX is simply one in which the internal voice
switching is digital rather than analog. Some companies will attempt
to bill stored program control (ie: computerized) analog switched PBXs
as "digital", I suppose, but if they do, they're a) lying, and b)
stupid.
Most of them do switch voice, but newer ones use BRi lines for the
internal connection, allowing the connection of (more) standardized
ISDN phones, as well as TA's for data service.
This can cause some excitement with the LEC, deciding what information
to believe when the PBX supplies it.
Cheers,
Jay R. Ashworth jra@scfn.thpl.lib.fl.us
Member of the Technical Staff Junk Mail Will Be Billed For.
The Suncoast Freenet *FLASH: Craig Shergold aw'better now; send no cards!*
Tampa Bay, Florida *Call 800-215-1333x184 for the whole scoop* +1 813 790 7592
------------------------------
From: bobd@well.com (Robert Deward)
Subject: Clarification on ISDN Rate Proposal
Date: 15 Aug 1996 21:07:08 GMT
Organization: The Well, San Francisco, CA
I'd like to clarify some misinformation that's been circulating
concerning who opposed and who supported a proposal from Pacific Bell
that FasTrak Home ISDN increase from $24.50 monthly to $29.50 and
include 200 free hours of "off-peak" usage. During the peak usage
period and if the 200-hour allowance were exceeded, users would have
paid normal voice rates. The proposal would have replaced an earlier
rate increase request by Pacific Bell.
In fact, the only parties who opposed this proposal were Intel and
UCAN, a consumer group headquartered in San Diego. Signing the
proposal were the California Cable Television Association, Jetstream
Communications, FlowPoint, and Siemens-Rolm.
Unfortunately, opposition from Intel and UCAN scuttled the possibility
that the California Public Utilities Commission would accept the
proposal. Now the Commission will hold full scale hearings on ISDN
rates, which could result in rates higher than those sought by Pacific
Bell and the other parties to the proposal.
Find further information at the Pacific Telesis Web site
at http://www.pactel.com/cgi-bin/getrel?1250.
Bob Deward, Pacific Telesis External Affairs, S.F.
voice: 415-394-3646
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 96 12:33:00 EDT
From: Celine Anelone <0002027431@mcimail.com>
Subject: Interswitch Voice Messaging Interface
All:
I am looking for information on "Interswitch voice messaging Interface:
(ISVM) also called or ten digits SMDI.
1- Technical overview
2- What are the RBOCs offering this service? Is it tariffed anywhere?
3- What is the price per RBOC?
Thanks for your help.
Celine
------------------------------
From: km@mathcs.emory.edu (Ken Mandelberg)
Subject: Wireless Phone With Modem Connection?
Date: 16 Aug 1996 15:05:18 GMT
Organization: Emory University, Dept of Math and CS
Reply-To: km@mathcs.emory.edu
Are there any wireless (not cellular) phones with a rj11 jack for a
modem connection? Presumably a 900mhz phone would be best.
Ken Mandelberg | km@mathcs.emory.edu PREFERRED
Emory University | {rutgers,gatech}!emory!km UUCP
Dept of Math and CS | km@emory.bitnet NON-DOMAIN BITNET
Atlanta, GA 30322 | Phone: Voice (404) 727-7963, FAX 727-5611
------------------------------
From: mlbockol@midway.uchicago.edu (Maude Lin)
Subject: Informtion Wanted on Furst Group
Organization: University of Chicago -- Academic Computing Services
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 04:43:53 GMT
What is the general opinion about this private reseller?
Thanks.
Please mail me at mlbockol@midway.uchicago.edu
------------------------------
From: fv2@aol.com
Subject: Help!! Need Fiber Optic Network Provider in Washington DC.
Date: 13 Aug 1996 12:48:36 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Reply-To: fv2@aol.com (FV2)
Our client needs access to four single or multimode fibers between two
office sites in downtown Washington DC:
1255 23rd Street, NW
1875 Connecticut Ave, NW
The local phone carrier -- Bell Atlantic -- no longer provides "dark"
fiber; rather they only provide very expensive "circuits" (consisting
of fiber + transceivers as a "circuit package".
Your referral to any firm that has a network in place, that can lease
these fibers or refer any one to us, would be greatly appreciated.
Eric Brobeck
Future View - fv2@aol.com
202-882-7400
202-882-7450 - fax
1250 Taylor St, NW
Washington DC 20011
------------------------------
From: blair@instep.bc.ca
Subject: Transfer Powerpoint to VHS
Reply-To: blair@instep.bc.ca
Organization: InStep Mobile Communications Inc.
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 20:11:55 GMT
Does anybody know how I can transfer a timed PowerPoint presentation
(version 7.0 running on Windows 95 on a PC) to VHS video? Resolution
should be 1024x768.
Any information will be greatly appreciated!
Please respond to blair@instep.bc.ca
------------------------------
From: Marc Samson <marc@iswitched.com>
Subject: Books About T-1/E-1 Wanted
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 14:24:36 GMT
I was looking through the archives for a good reference on T1 and E1.
I did not find anything, and was woundering if you could point us in
the right direction. We have a strong background in SS7 and are doing
some T1/E1 work. We are looking to get good reference material on the
message structure, differences in implementation
Any pointers or ideas are welcome.
Thanks,
Marc Samson I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be
true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to
live up to the light I have. -Abraham Lincoln
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
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Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #418
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Sat Aug 17 09:09:09 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id JAA11667; Sat, 17 Aug 1996 09:09:09 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Sat, 17 Aug 1996 09:09:09 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608171309.JAA11667@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #419
TELECOM Digest Sat, 17 Aug 96 09:09:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 419
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Timed Local Internet Calls (Stewart Fist)
Latest ITU Bulletin Available (Zev Rubenstein)
415, 916 and Jeopardy in 510 (Tad Cook)
EMail Bombs From the Mad Hacker (Tad Cook)
Getting a Semi-Public Pay Phone? (Lisa Hancock)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 17 Aug 1996 13:23:21 +1000
From: fist@ozemail.com.au (fist)
Subject: Timed Local Internet Calls
I write a weekly column on telecommunications in Australia's national
newspaper "The Australian", and last week I wrote a piece attacking
the claims being made by the CEO of Telstra (ex-Telecom Australia)
that Internet users were costing the carrier money because they locked
up the telephone exchanges through long-held calls. My information
was based on my own knowledge plus confirmation from some
telecommunications consultants.
The CEO (ex-AT&T executive Frank Blount) is lobbying the Australian
government to be able to impose timed-local calls on Internet users (God
knows how!).
Or perhaps he is just using the Internet users (again!) as a whipping
boy, to gain some political sympathy. Telstra is required to maintain
fixed-price local calls, but can offer timed local calls as an option
(they do already with ISDN) - this may be a way to introduce
timed-calls for all data transmissions.
Here is the guts of the piece I wrote:
> In an interview last week with Kirsty Simpson of the Melbourne
> Herald Sun, Blount railed against the iniquities of the Internet
> and called, once again, for the right to impose timed local calls on
> domestic and residential users. "We have to do something," he
> said. "We can't have people on the Internet ring up for 25c and
> sit there for 24 hours; they tie up the whole exchange."
> He said much the same a couple of weeks before to another
> Melbourne journalist.
> Frank's advice about exchange-blocking must be coming from
> some real old-timer from the Telstra Sunset Retirement Home.
> Anyone who thinks Internet users can "tie up the whole
> exchange" was obviously weaned from Strowger switches to
> Crossbars only in his declining years, in the early 1970s.
> The old Crossbar exchanges were limited in the number of calls
> they could handle, but, these days, digital exchange switches are
> virtually unblockable.
> At least, that's is true in all other countries and in switches not
> owned and operated by Telstra.
> Hopefully, in the budget, Senator Alston could find the
> pennies to buy Telstra a pocket calculator. Then, if they train
> someone to work this strange new technical device, they may be
> able to calculate exchange loadings.
> Can you imagine a network built to handle Xmas, Mother's Day,
> stock-market panics and natural disasters which is unable to
> cope because of the load imposed by the 5% of Australians who
> seriously use the Internet - mostly at midnight?
> The average digital switch and inter-exchange network can
> handle about 75% of all connected lines simultaneously - except
> for some of the older inter-exchange city connections which,
> perhaps on Monday morning during the peak-load period, run
> close to their limits.
> But that's just a matter of dragging cables through existing
> ducting - with each fibre-pair then able to carry another 40,000
> calls. A single length of the same cable used for Pay TV trunks
> (by the thousands), would carry individual connections for every
> Internet user in Australia, a couple of times over.
> So if all Internet users sat on their service-provider connections
> for 24 hours next Monday, they could perhaps increase Telstra's
> capacity problems by 2-3 percent in a few inter-exchange
> connections, for a few minutes around 10 am, in some
> circumstances, at some old exchanges.
> Mind you, all those companies that use long-held inter-office
> voice and data links between PABXs and LANs at their various
> sites, might also contribute somewhat to the same problem - if
> such a problem ever exists. Frank will need to turn his eagle-
> eye on corporate users next.
---------------------------------------------
In reply to this article, I received a number of comments and criticisms
from Telstra technicians. This is typical:
> You make several remarks about the capacity of the digital
> exchange to switch calls, but have not identified the bottleneck
> that exists in switching customers. There are two stages in our
> AXE digital switch, the customer stage, (where customers are
> connected) and the group stage (where the switching occurs).
> The bottleneck referred to by Frank Blount , occurs at the
> connection between these two stages.
> Typically for 2048 customers there are a maximum of 512
> connections available to the group switch, providing a maximum
> capacity of 25 percent. Your figure of 75 percent refers to the
> capacity of the processor to switch calls through the group
> switch, which as I have just mentioned is not the bottleneck.
> I hope this has clarified the situation and illustrated that there
> are indeed technical limitations with the current day digital
> switches.
------------------------
And another from an on-line discussion group:
> It would be nice if the argument was so simple. Unfortunately
> the underlying problem here is the basic model that telco's have
> used (quite rightly) for sizing the switches at their exchanges.
> This model uses an average call hold time of approximately 3
> minutes, which is entirely reasonable in a voice (and even fax)
> world. The exchanges concentrate a large number of subscriber
> tail circuits into a *much* smaller number of active crosspoints
> in the switch. A subscriber line is only connected to the switch
> when the phone is taken off hook, and released again when its
> hung up.
> Now enter the wildly different call hold patterns typical of
> Internet usage. Calls are routinely held by dial up users for
> hours at a time which causes resource depletion and potential
> denial of service to other customers on that exchange.
> And the same problem is considerably worse at the exchange
> which services the ISP, where there are hundreds or thousands
> of lines that are tied up virtually 24 hours a day. This is causing
> terrible problems to telcos world wide with *all* of them facing
> meltdown in key central office resources. The result of course
> will be lack of dialtone to *all* telco customers which is good for
> no one.
-----------------------
Since I am getting different information from Telstra insiders and
Telstra outsider/critics and telecommunications consultants, I'd like
to hear the opinions of those of you who know about these switches,
and who don't have any local vested interest. The switches are
Ericsson AXEs and Alcatel System 12s.
Is Telstra's CEO Frank Blount right when he claims that long-held
Internet calls block Telstra's exchanges, and are therefore unfair to
other normal customers - needing, as he says (when he is lobbying the
politicians) to become "timed-local calls"?
If so. Is there some mechanism that allows the carrier to do this -
to identify which calls on a line are to an ISP (other than just
looking for modemised data) - bearing in mind that Telstra also has a
mandatory requirement to maintain the option of 25 cent, fixed price
local calls?
Would the carrier be able to read the CLI of each call going to an ISP,
link back to the home exchange billing mechanism where the call originate,
and implement timed-calls on that line for the duration?
Or are the Telstra critic's right in claiming that a modern Ericsson AXE
and Alcatel System 12 digital exchange doesn't block at any conceivable
load-increase imposed by long-held Internet calls? And therefore, there is
no technical justification for timed-local call-charging specifically aimed
at Internet users.
One writer claimed that System 12 exchanges don't block at all. Is
that right?
Thanks in anticipation for your input. I'll use this stuff in another
column as follow-up.
Stewart Fist
Technical writer and journalist.
Homepage:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/stewart_fist
Archives of my columns:
http://www.abc.net.au/http/pipe.htm
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The Telecom Archives web page has a
link to Stewart Fist enabling users to read his columns on line. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 20:54:42 +0000
From: zev@attmail.com (Zev Rubenstein)
Subject: Latest ITU Bulletin Available
Readers of TELECOM Digest may find the Operational Bulletins issued by
the ITU to be a valuable resource. The latest one (# 625) is now
available.
I have added below excerpts from the summaries generated by a
colleague at AT&T of the contents of some of the earlier
bulletins. This should give an idea of the variety of information
available in them.
To track when they become available, monitor the following URL:
http://www4.itu.ch//itudoc/itu-t/op-bull.html
Zev Rubenstein
Nationwide Telecommunications Resources
----------------------------
Bulletin No. 625:
MARITIME MOBILE SERVICE
Spain announces that coast station HUELVA RADIO has closed.
MOBILE COUNTRY OR GEOGRAPHICAL AREA CODES
Mobile Country Code (Rec. E.212) 901 has been assigned as a shared code for
Global Mobile Satellite System (GMSS).
OPENING AND CLOSING OF CIRCUITS
India - list of "closed" circuits is announced
Malawi - list of new (opened) circuits is announced
TELEPHONE SERVICE
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA
C&W (West Indies) announces that a new geographical area code NPA 268 has
been assigned to Antigua and Barbuda by the NANPA.
JAPAN
International prefixes for KDD, International Telecom Japan and
International Digital Communications are provided.
MONTSERRAT
C&W (West Indies) announces that a new geographical area code NPA 664 has
been assigned to Montserrat by the NANPA.
ROMANIA
New numbering ranges for the city of Predeal, area code 68, are provided.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
TSTT anounces that on August 1, 1996, Trinidad and Tobago's international
prefix will change from 01 to 011 for automatic dialled calls. The
permissive dialing period is six months.
DATA TRANSMISSION SERVICE
Japan announces two new data network identification code assignments and
one change.
CHANGES IN ADMINISTRTIONS/ROAs
ISRAEL
Bezeq International has received the status of a recognized operating
agency
and is licensed to supply international services ONLY.
SLOVENIA
A new address and telephone number for the Ministry of Transport and
Communications of Slovenia is provided.
AMENDMENTS TO SERVICE DOCUMENTS
LIST OF COAST STATIONS (LIST IV)
Changes to the List of Coast Stations is provided for the following
countries:
Sweden
Turkey
LIST OF SHIP STATIONS (LIST V)
Changes to Sub-Section 2A are provided.
LIST OF DATA NETWORK IDENTIFICATION CODES (DNIC) (REC. X.121)
Changes are provided for the following country:
Japan
LIST OF INTERNATIONAL SIGNALLING POINT CODES (ISPC) (REC. Q.708)
ISPC changes are provided for the following countries:
Cyprus
Sweden
United Arab Emirates
LIST OF MOBILE COUNTRY OR GEORGAPHICAL AREAS CODES (REC. E.212)
901 has been assigned as a shared code for Global Mobile Satellite System
DIALLING PROCEDURES (International prefix, national prefix and national
significant number) (REC. E.164)
Changes to the dialing procedures for the following countries has been
announced.
Japan
Trinidad & Tobago
-------------------------------
Bulletin No. 625:
TELEPHONE SERVICE
Andorra: Reminder to all administrations detailing the telephone numbering
plan for Andorra.
Japan: The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of Japan announces
the introduction in the public land mobile telephone service of
the following new series of numbers. Companies, assigned numbers
and implementation dates are provided.
Peru: Telefoncia del Peru, Lima, announces the introduction of a new
numbering format for the cellular telephone system.
CHANGES IN ADMINISTRATION/ROAs
United Kingdom: C&W PLC, London, has ceased to occupy the "90 Long Acre"
address. C&W's new address is provided.
SERVICE RESTRICTIONS:
CALL BACK:
Tanzania: The administration of Tanzania announces that Call-Back
practices
are not authorized in Tanzania
AMENDMENTS TO SERVICE DOCUMENTS
LIST OF SHIP STATIONS
Various changes to sub-section 2A and 2C are provided.
LIST OF INTERNATIONAL SIGNALLING POINT CODES (ISPC)
The following countries have revisions to their respective information
contained in the list.
Brunei
Spain
France
Macau
Sweden
LIST OF NAMES OF ADMINISTRATION MANAGEMENT DOMAINS
The following countries have revisions to their respective information
contained in the list.
Austria
Denmark
Hongkong
LIST OF ISSUER IDENTIFIER NUMBERS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION
CHARGE CARD
Denmark: New IIN Assignment: Telia A/S 89 45 03
Ukraine: New IIN Assignment: Ukrainian Mobile Comm. 89 380 01
New IIN Assignment: Ukrainian Radio Systems 89 380 02
-------------------------------
Bulletin No. 622:
MARITIME MOBILE SERVICE
List of Ship Stations (List V) (36th Edition-June 1996) (3 volumes) is
available.
ASSIGNMENT OF SIGNALLING AREA/NETWORK CODES (SANC) (ITU-T REC. Q.708)
Assignment of SANC codes: United Kingdom, Northern Ireland
TELEPHONE SERVICE
Australia: Austel announces modifications to the numbering scheme for
specific localities.
Monaco: The country code 33 will change to the new country code 377 effective
June 21.
TELEX SERVICE
Subscriber telex numbers in Uruguay are provided.
DATA TRANSMISSION SERVICE (ITU-T REC. x.121)
Austria: Additional data country code of 233 is assigned to Austria.
CHANGES IN ADMINISTRATIONS/ROAs
Change of name from ARENTO to EGYPT TELECOM
OTHER COMMUNICATIONS
Botswana: Request to respond to BTC if other administrations are operating
"ELTEX V BETA" equipment.
Tanzania: Tanzania Telecommunications Company Ltd. announces corporate
appointments and contacts.
Zaire: New address for correspondence and transactions regaring the
settlement of accounts, debt collection or consolidation.
SERVICE RESTRICTIONS
Service restriction in force.
CALL BACK
Yemen: Call Back to obtain international telephone access from the Republic
of Yemen is prohibited.
AMENDMENTS TO SERVICE DOCUMENTS
List of Coast Stations
List of Ship Stations
List of international carrier codes
List of international signalling point codes
List of signalling area/nework codes
List of data country or geographical area codes
List of names of administration management domains
List of issuer identifier number for the international telecommunication
charge card
Barbados: Barbados Telephone Company IIN: 891 012
Change in corporate telephone and fax numbers at Barbados Tel. Co.
TA Table - transferred account telegraph and telematic service
International Telecommunication Union - universal postal union
------------------------------
Bulletin No. 619:
Ship station selective call numbers
Legal time changes
Telegram destination indicators
Telegram service
Telephone service
China: Announces the introduction of international inbound service for the
mobile telephone network (GSM)
Columbia: old numbers vs. new numbers
->Finland: Expansion of the Finnish telephone numbering plan beyond 12 digits
United Kingdom: Areas Code 1734 replaced by 118
Changes in Administration/ROAs
Ecuador
Pakistan
Other
United Kingdom: Changes of address
Kenya: Public holidays
Service Restriction
Call Back (positions on Call Back service)
Ecuador
Kazakstan
Moroco
Viet Nam
Amendments to Service dcouments
List of Coast Stations
List of Ship Stations
List of Internatinal Monitoring Stations
International Signalling Point Codes (ISPC) for Signalling System 7
List of Signallig Area/Network Codes (SANC)
List of International Carrier Codes
List of Indicators for the Telegram Retransmission System (TRS) and Telex
Network Identification codes
List of Administration Management Domains (ADMD)
List of Issuer Identifier Numbers for the International Telecommunications
Charge Card Service (no reported changes this edition)
Table of Rates for Telegrams
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: 415, 916 and Jeopardy in 510
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 12:27:58 PDT
California's San Francisco Bay Area to Get Another Area Code
By George Avalos, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 16--In less than a year, Bay Area telephone customers will have a
new area code -- 650 -- to memorize.
The current 415 area code stretching from Marin County through San
Francisco and taking in most of the Peninsula will be split into two
phone regions. One area, primarily the Peninsula, will be served by
the new 650 area code. San Francisco, Marin and a sliver of northern
San Mateo County will retain the current 415 code, telecommunications
officials said Thursday.
The 916 region will be split to add a 530 area code; Sacramento and
some surrounding cities will remain in 916. A huge area that includes
the Interstate 5 corridor north of Sacramento, the Sierra foothills,
northeastern California and the Lake Tahoe area will be in the new 530
service region, according to the California Area Code Administrator.
Some parts of California are about to run out of phone numbers. The
state's phone companies are struggling to serve not only a growing
population and expanded business needs, but also an explosion of
demand for second phone lines for homes, fax machines, beepers,
wireless phones and online services.
About 840,000 customers will be assigned to the 650 area code. Another
one million people will keep their current 415 numbers, said John
Lucas, Pacific Bell spokesman. Each area code that is split off from
an old one costs about $7 million to $10 million to establish, Lucas
said.
The new area code for the Bay Area is scheduled to go into effect
Aug. 1, 1997. But that might not be soon enough to mitigate the
exhaustion of area codes.
"It's very uncertain if there is enough time," Lucas said. "Numbers
may not be available for everyone."
"Not everyone may be able to get phone numbers immediately," said
Joanne Collins, Area Code Administrator for Northern California. Pac
Bell has proposed a plan to ration phone numbers. The state Public
Utilities Commission is evaluating the company's suggestions.
According to Collins, officials may deny or delay the orders of:
-- People who need a second phone line in their home.
-- Large business customers who need large blocks of phone numbers.
-- Wireless phone customers
What's more, some customers may be placed on a waiting list. Others
might not be assigned initially to the local phone company of their
choice.
The East Bay's 510 area also is running out of phone numbers. That
region could suffer some shortages of numbers as more prefixes are
assigned.
"The 510 is in jeopardy," Collins said.
So far this year, officials have assigned 102 prefixes serving about 1
million phone numbers in the 510 area code. In all, 588 prefixes
serving 5.9 million phone numbers have been assigned in the East Bay,
said David Miller of Pac Bell.
The 510 area code can accommodate no more than 204 more prefixes. The
region will max out at 7.9 million phone numbers, Miller said.
(c) 1996, Contra Costa Times, Calif. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune
Business News.
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: EMail Bombs from the Mad Hacker
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 15:15:54 PDT
Mad Hacker Burying His Enemies in E-Mail
Via AP
By JARED SANDBERG
The Wall Street Journal
Anyone trying to send electronic mail to Sandy Gookin, author of
"Parenting for Dummies," won't get through to her. She was
"mailbombed" -- Internet parlance for a hacker prank that sends scores
of unsolicited e-mail messages.
Ms. Gookin has some impressive company: Her fellow victims in this
mailbombing attack, waged by a vitriolic hacker who calls himself
"Johnny (Xchaotic)", include many of America's rich and famous -- or
merely powerful. The hacker had the temerity to publicly claim
responsibility for the stunt -- the on-line equivalent of
short-sheeting every bed at summer camp -- and posted a manifesto
explaining why, in each case, he did it.
For the less-known Ms. Gookin, the missive mischief began last Friday
night when the hacker (or hackers) was adding her name to
subscriptions for thousands of Internet "mailing lists," or group
discussions that take place via e-mail. Her mailbox was flooded with
20,000 pieces of e-mail daily -- some pages long -- crippling her
account on CompuServe and making it impossible for her to log on.
"My CompuServe account is ruined," says Ms. Gookin. While the hacker
probably used an automated mailing program to sign her up for so many
lists, she had to manually "unsubscribe" to each of the thousands of
sources -- to no avail. "I'd send out 50 messages to unsubscribe and
70 more subscriptions would come back. I couldn't send them out fast
enough. Then I started getting the mail," she says.
And what mail it was! It came from groups of cat lovers, tuba lovers
and Germans. Another mailing list gave her hourly updates on wind
conditions around the country.
Johnny Xchaotic, in his posted message, said Ms. Gookin was hit
because, "Anyone who needs a book to be a good parent should not have
kids. You are contributing to the overall stupidity our society
possesses."
Needless to say, Mr. Xchaotic couldn't be reached for comment.
------------------------------
From: hancock4@cpcn.com (Lisa)
Subject: Getting a semi-public pay phone?
Date: 17 Aug 1996 02:16:42 GMT
Organization: Philadelphia City Paper's City Net
My condominium has a swimming pool and clubhouse. There is an
extension phone (from the office line) for emergency calls from the
pool. We are finding more requests by people to use that phone to
check their home machine for messages, call friends, etc. Also,
guests at clubhouse events want to call home to check the babysitter,
etc.
The emergency phone is abused -- we get overseas calls on it.
We called Bell about installing a pay phone, but they wanted a very
high installation charge and a guaranteed minimum use which we do not
expect to meet. We expect maybe average five to ten calls per week in
summer, and two calls per week in winter, spring, and fall.
Could anyone suggest perhaps a tariff on how we could get a Bell pay
phone more inexpensively? I've seen Bell phones at other condo pools
with a layout similar to ours that can't get that much usage.
Or, could someone suggest how we'd find and _evaluate_ a vendor to
provide privately owned pay phone service? We want it to be revenue
neutral -- not costing us anything, but not getting any commission.
We don't want users price gougaged either.
Any general suggestions would be appreciated.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
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*************************************************************************
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*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #419
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon Aug 19 11:25:19 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id LAA16106; Mon, 19 Aug 1996 11:25:19 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 11:25:19 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608191525.LAA16106@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #420
TELECOM Digest Mon, 19 Aug 96 11:25:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 420
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Hackers Deface Justice Web Page (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Trouble Using 888 Toll Free Services (Bruce Bergman)
DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing in 954) (Greg Monti)
Inmarsat Prices Tumble (Van Hefner)
Microwave Rural Phone System? (Dave Perrussel)
Does New Area Codes Mean New Caller Cost? (Lou Jahn)
Will Full Number Portability Occur? (Lou Jahn)
TCP Parameters For GSM Data? (Tom Worthington)
1+ Dialing and How it's Billed (John Cropper)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 09:51:28 EDT
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Subject: Hackers Deface Justice Web Page
Friday overnight into Saturday morning, it appears someone was busy
at their keyboard ... <grin> ... the web page maintained by the United
States Department of Justice (http://www.usdoj.gov) was looted and
ransacked by hacker(s) of identity yet unknown who replaced the page
installed by the government with one of their own which, to put it
mildly, as charitably as possible, was most unflattering to Janet Reno
and President Clinton.
The official web site of the Department of Justice, which was taken
off line when the webmaster discovered it on Saturday morning had
been renamed to "United States Department of Injustice". A swastika
was at the top next to the government agency name.
The text of the page was written over a background of grey swastikas.
Large letters declared that 'this page is in violation of the
Communications Decency Act' ...
The page included a picture of Adolf Hitler, who on the web page
is referred to as the attorney general. Another picture is of
a topless Jennifer Aniston, one of the stars of NBC's 'Friends' show.
Numerous sexually explicit images were on the page, and interspersed
with the lewd and sometimes crude images of Ms. Reno, President
Clinton and others engaged in rather preposterous (funny, though!)
sexual acts while Hitler watches and leers at them was text criticizing
the Communications Decency Act, signed in February but in suspense at
the present time pending litigation regards its constitutionality.
A defiant Adolf Hitler (US Attorney General) is pictured saying 'anyone
who does not agree with me on everything I say and do will be sent to
jail. Anyone who is different in any way must be jailed or murdered.'
President Clinton looks on approvingly.
The text continues, "it is hard to trick millions of people into
allowing us to take away their Bill of Rights and basic freedoms but
if Clinton is elected for another term we should be able to complete
the job by the end of this century ... "
Then there were links to 'other pages of interest', each marked with a
little swastika or a little picture of Hitler where one would click to
go to that other page. The other pages, equally rude, had a variety of
sexually explicit pictures and/or cartoons. All of the links were very
unflattering to Clinton, Republican nominee Bob Dole and Pat Buchanan.
In one, Clinton is identified as President Ben Dover and he is sexually
assaulting someone identified as John Q. Public while Bob Dole waits
patiently in line for his turn. A sheet of paper marked 'Bill of Rights'
flies out the window in the breeze.
In another link, Hitler is said to be Pat Buchanan's campaign advisor, and
Hitler explains why his candidate is better than Clinton: "At least he
doesn't lie about his intentions; you always know right where you
stand with Buchanan. There is no putting him in office and finding out
the bad news later. Look at how Clinton lied to all the gay people and
tricked them into supporting him. Are they in for a surprise later on!"
--------------------------
Justice Department officials were alerted Saturday morning to the
hacking which had been done. The site was taken off line immediatly
and restoration is underway now to put the 'official' page back up.
It is expected that http://www.usdoj.gov will be back on line by Monday.
Washington bureaucrats who had an opportunity to view the 'Department
of Injustice' page before it was removed were outraged. Justice
Department spokesman Joe Krovisky said Saturday afternoon it was not
clear at this point what statutes had been violated 'by whoever
defaced our web page'. Janet Reno did not comment or respond.
I suppose President Clinton could get on television and say that they
will catch whoever did it and charge them with defacing government
propaganda ... ooops, I mean government *property*.
--------------------------------------
Election '96 ... one of the nastiest yet. And although you did not
ask my opinion, I'll give it anyway: I think the government simply
has no conception of how difficult it would be to police or censor
the net, even if they *really tried*. There are an awful lot of
fourteen year old kids out there with more knowledge of the most
obscure workings of the net than all the government agents combined.
The government will eventually get down to business and try to put the
net offline so to speak, reserving its use mostly for the government
itself and large corporations. They'll fail, but it should be fun
watching them try.
PAT
------------------------------
From: bbergman@westworld.com (Bruce Bergman)
Subject: Trouble Using 888 Toll Free Services
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 06:22:08 GMT
What are the legal time requirements for Customer Owned Pay
Telephone providers to program access to 888 Toll-free services? 888
was announced well over a year ago, and most providers should have
changed their programming by now. However, *every* time I have tried
to access our small business' 888 line from a COPT in the greater Los
Angeles area, it has met with failure. And every time I contact the
various COPT vendors, I get no answers or satisfaction. And even when
I go through the local or Long Distance Provider operators, I've only
been successful once out of about a dozen tries. And this has never
been a problem with either 800 numbers, or when using Telco owned
paystations
Can anybody provide information on the legal requirements for
allowing connection, or is the only recourse to start a California PUC
complaint file on every carrier? I have been reading through
comp.dcom.telecom for several months now, and am amazed that I'm the
only one with this problem!
Of course, being an electrician with 13 years of telco experience
both in installing steppers and digital switchrooms, and as an OSP
splicer, I've never had insurmountable problems. ( Though one *must*
be discreet when using Butt Sets, there's almost no problem that a
Dracon TS-32 can't solve :-P )
P.S.: Anyone else noticed how quiet switchrooms are today?
Bruce L. Bergman Woodland Hills, CA. bbergman@westworld.com
Electrician, HVAC-R Mechanic, Telephone Tech, And More.....
WARNING: SPAM FREE ZONE. Send *NO* Junk E-mail. Violators will be shot.
Survivors will be persecuted. ISP's will be notified.
Other steps taken as necessary. You have been warned.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: 888 is merely an extension of 800, and
for all intents and purposes is considered to be the same thing. For
example, 800-555-1212 gives out the information for both 800/888. If
the one group of numbers is made available then the other should be
also. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 1996 15:30:01 -0400
From: cc004056@interramp.com (Greg Monti)
Subject: DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing in 954)
Of late, there have been several complaints posted about the dialing
patterns required by Southwestern Bell and by GTE in the Dallas-Fort
Worth area. The gist of the complaints havs been that 1+10 digit
dialing should be allowed for all calls from all phones in the NANP,
even if the call is local. The concept is: even if the caller
mistakenly dials the call using the "toll procedure" of 1+10, they
should be pleasantly surprised when they are not billed for this call
because it is local. I wholeheartedly agree with this position.
Like Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Dallas-Forth Worth does not allow 1+10 dialing
on cross-area-code local calls. Subscribers are forced to dial exactly ten
digits, no more, no less. Although I disagree with this, I can see how it
came about.
Dallas and Forth Worth began being required to dial 10 digits for local
calls between them about four years ago. Prior to that, local calls which
crossed the area code boundary between the two metro areas were dialed with
just seven digits.
There are two levels of local calling area that can be purchased from
telephone comapnies in the DFW area: ordinary service and Extended Metro
Service (EMS). The EMS level of service lets you call (and be called by)
virtually every number in the Dallas Metro area and in the Fort Worth metro
area without toll charges. The local calling area from downtown Forth Worth
and the local calling area from downtown Dallas -- from non-EMS phones --
touch each other but do not overlap. Obviously most businesses which deal
with their customers by phone have EMS service, which offers almost 100%
overlap.
For tens of years, businesses advertised in newspapers and on the
sides of their vans, their seven-digit local number (preceded by
"Dallas" or Fort Worth") and their seven-digit EMS number (preceded by
the word "Metro"). It was assumed by callers that the Dallas number
was in 214 (which never had to be dialed if you were calling from
Dallas), the FW number was in 817 (which never had to be dialed if
calling from Forth Worth). The metro number was perceived NOT to have
an area code because it could be dialed from everywhere with seven
digits. Of course, each EMS number did have an underlying area code,
they just weren't published except in the fine print of exchange lists
in the front of the phone book.
Then came mandatory ten-digit dialing. All of a sudden, businesses
had to identify which area code their Metro number was in. Some
people, as soon as they saw ten digits printed anywhere, assumed that
that call was toll. So they refused to do business with that company
and called somebody else. A great hue and cry was raised by the
consumers (who thought half of the EMS numbers had been made into toll
calls) and by the business (who were losing customers).
The solution was to do everything possible, even if it was technically
stupid, to train the consumers and businesses that cross-area-code
calls that were local in the old seven-digit era, were still local in
the ten-digit era. In 1993 editions of the Dallas phone directory, the
businesses who had EMS numbers in the 817 area stood out dramatically.
Their metro numbers were printed in boldface capitals preceded by
asterisks:
*** TOLL FREE 817 NXX-XXXX
The same was true of Dallas EMS numbers printed in the Fort Worth directory:
*** TOLL FREE 214 NXX-XXXX
The phone numbers and the "TOLL FREE" designations were actually printed in
larger type than the name of the business itself.
The phone companies were required to do one more thing to *absolutely
assure* the little blue-haired ladies that local calls between area
codes were still local: They disallowed the 1+ on toll calls. This
way, your Aunt Tilly in Richardson could not possibly -- not even
accidentally -- dial a call to a Fort Worth EMS number as 1-817-NXX-XXXX
and get through. She would instead receive the assuring recorded
message that the call was local and must be dialed without a '1'.
Sure, this is an inconvenience for laptop users who plug into hotel
room lines and have to try two or three times to get through. Sure
this is an inconvenience for people who move and have to figure out
how to reprogram their memory telephones. Who is the phone system
supposed to serve anyway? Those big, rich businesses? Those
newfangled internet users (who run up over $100 per month). Or those
lowest common denominator subscribers who make no long distance calls
and get a bill for $20 a month? If you are the Texas PUC, subject to
appointment by elected officials, how would you answer that question?
And don't worry. The culture that got us to this point is about to
strike again. When I was in Dallas last week, I saw a story on the 10
PM news about a public hearing on splitting the 817 area code. *All*
of the commenters who were shown by the TV station were age 70 and
over. (Everyone else was at work.) One of them said (paraphrased
here), "Old people don't like change. Do what you need to do, but
don't change anything that old people have to dial." I swear.
Why do Miami and Fort Lauderdale now have the same dialing procedure
as Dallas and Forth Worth? Well, what percentage of the Mia-FtL
population consists of persons over 70?
Greg Monti Jersey City, New Jersey, USA gmonti@interramp.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 1996 08:50:10 -0700
From: vantek@northcoast.com (VANTEK COMMUNICATIONS)
Subject: Inmarsat Prices Tumble
Bethesda, MD, August 17, 1996 (DLD DIGEST) -- COMSAT Personal
Communications (CPC) took an important step recently toward offering
global satellite communications to consumers by placing the world's
first personal satellite communications (PSC) call using its PLANET
1(SM) service. COMSAT officials in Malaysia placed the call with the
NEC- and COMSAT-developed PLANET 1(TM) phone through the Inmarsat-3
satellite operating over the Indian Ocean region. The call was
received by CPC vice president and general manager, Christopher
J. Leber, while on business travel in Germany.
"Today, COMSAT celebrated an historic milestone as PLANET 1 opened a
new era for global communications -- the world's first personal
satellite communications call," said Leber. "The first phone call
demonstrated the potential uses for our PSC technology -- it was
successful because of a team effort with NEC, Inmarsat, Telecom
Malaysia, and COMSAT RSI, which built and installed the ground network
equipment for PLANET 1 service. COMSAT's PLANET 1 service will enable
individuals who travel internationally and work or live outside
cellular coverage to be in touch and conduct business by phone, fax,
or E-mail."
The PLANET 1 service coverage area will initially include: Africa, the
Middle East, Russia, Western Australia and Asia, including Japan,
China and India. COMSAT expects to offer PLANET 1 service in this
initial coverage area by fourth quarter 1996. Four additional
Inmarsat-3 satellites are scheduled to be launched by October 1997,
including one operational spare. Worldwide PLANET 1 service is
expected to be available at that time.
"With the completion of the world's first PLANET 1 personal satellite
communications call, COMSAT has secured a place in telecommunications
history," said Warren Grace, director general of Inmarsat. "As one of
Inmarsat's leading service providers, COMSAT is committed to bringing
satellite communications solutions to market -- PLANET 1 is an
excellent case in point."
The world's first PSC call originated from the shores of the South
China Sea, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From there, the call was
picked up by a "spot beam" emanating from the satellite which is in
geostationary orbit over the Indian Ocean. The call was then
transmitted to COMSAT's Indian Ocean region ground station and routed
to Chris Leber via the public switched telephone network.
PLANET 1 phones will retail for about $3,000, with an all-inclusive
(fully terminated) call charge of approximately $3 per minute (pending
FCC approval). The PLANET 1 system will integrate cellular and mobile
satellite technologies to offer seamless global, personal voice and
data communications.
COMSAT's PLANET 1 phone will incorporate the functionality of a
standard business phone with fax and data capabilities. It will also
use subscriber identity module (SIM) cards for security and
flexibility. SIM cards will allow companies to create a "terminal
pool" where multiple employees, each with their own SIM card and
billing account, can share a limited number of terminals.
Additionally, future PLANET 1 services will include voice/fax mail
notification, call-in absence indicator, E-mail and Internet access,
and short messaging service.
A proven leader and innovator with more than 30 years of experience in
global satellite communications, COMSAT, via Inmarsat, is the first
service provider to introduce a complete PSC solution to the global
marketplace. COMSAT Personal Communications is a business unit of
COMSAT's International Communications (CIC) division. CPC is
responsible for personal satellite communications services including
PLANET 1 and future hand-held personal satellite communications
services planned to be offered through the ICO Global Communications
satellite network.
Certain statements in this press release related to PLANET 1 service
are forward-looking and are based on management's current
expectations, which may be affected by subsequent events (e.g.,
unexpected delays in completion of product testing, delivery of
terminals or satellite launch schedules).
PLANET 1 is a trademark and servicemark of COMSAT Corporation. COMSAT
and the COMSAT logo are registered trademarks or COMSAT Corporation.
Van Hefner - Editor
Discount Long Distance Digest
The Internet Journal of the Long Distance Industry
http://www.webcom.com/longdist/
------------------------------
From: diamond@viper.nauticom.net (Dave Perrussel)
Subject: Microwave Rural Phone System?
Date: 18 Aug 96 02:47:15 GMT
I work for a company that has a field station in the middle of the New
Mexico desert.
We currently have phone service there via two ways:
The older service uses a "open wire carrier" that transmits phone data
over two bare copper wires for over 30 miles from the nearest town's
telco building (the local telco is GTE). We can successfully transmit
data at 9,600 baud and sometimes up to 14,400 baud. The problem with
this is that the technology is vacuum tube based and the local GTE
people will no longer support it.
Our new system uses a VHF or UHF low power signal to a phone system on
a nearby mountain (30 miles away). This works well for voice, but only
does data at 1,200 baud -- if its a good day weatherwise. This is not
good enough for what we want to do. We need a higher bandwidth but the
local telco will not (or cannot) give us a system with higher bandwidth.
Is there a commercially available product that will do a high bandwidth
(say 14,400 baud or 28,800 baud) using point to point microwave that is
reasonabally priced?
Thanks in advance. Please E-mail me at diamond@interserf.net
Dave
------------------------------
Date: 18 Aug 96 00:38:32 EDT
From: Lou Jahn <71233.2444@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Does New Area Codes Mean New Caller Cost?
Can anyone help with a minor pricing point? As the new area codes are
introduced, are callers forced to pay higher costs for things such as
Directory Assistance?
Right now in NJ - when I dial 411, I can get any telephone number in
the 609 Area code - my cost after six free calls is 20 cents per 411
call. If 609 is split into two area codes will I need to call long
Distance (NPA-555-1212) to the new area code and then be charged 90
cents per DA call by AT&T? While it doesn't sound like much the
numbers of "extra 70 cents/calls" will add up and somebody makes a
bundle -- yet I get no better service than before. Can anyone justify
the extra cost?
If 609 is split into two area codes several smaller towns end up being
split 65/35% into both area codes. If someone dials 609-555-1212 for
such a split city, will the 609 DA operators be able to give the DA
info for the non-609 part of town or will remote DA callers simply get
billed for the DA call and be told to redial the correct area code
(which happens on wrong NPA-555 calls today)?
Any comments? Can anybody provide some call volumes from prior NPA
splits which might size the "extra costs to Callers"?
Secondarily -- Bell Atlantic charges differing amounts fo DA services
in each state or situation:
NJ Residential = six free DA calls then 20 cents/call thereafter
PA Residential = two free DA calls then 57 cents/call thereafter
Yet as C-LECs and IXCs work with Bell Atlantic for handling their DA
traffic, BA charges somewhere between 28 to 35 cents per DA call
landed and given out -- can anyone attempt to explain so many prices
from the same business for the same service? Isn't DA one of the
"cost plus" services under the FCC ruling?
Lou
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: At least around this part of the country
in Chicago (Ameritech territory) we are able to still use 411 regardless
of the actual area code (312/630/708/773/847) involved. There is no
extra cost involved other than what is usually charged for directory
assistance. Area 815 however is not included, and never was available
through our local 411. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: 18 Aug 96 00:38:36 EDT
From: Lou Jahn <71233.2444@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Will Full Number Portability Occur?
While the FCC has just started LEC's moving toward Number Portability
several of us were arguing whether "Full" Portability will ever occur
(or how far does the FCC plan to go)? Within an area code the FCC is
stating that in two-three years I can keep my telephone number as I
move amoung local LECs, but does the FCC and industry plan to go
eventually to "Full" portability so I can take my NPA-NXX-#### with me
to Cailifornia, PA or FL?
If this can occur someday -- why keep on expanding NPAs -- aren't they
about to become just part of the routing game? Once I can take my
number across a LATA boundary, dont' we have universal routing similar
to 800/888 services? Who pays for re-engineering the full network to
provide such service?
First -- can I assume "local Number portability" will occur no matter
the cost? If that is a definite, can anyone shed a longer term
prognosis for number portability beyond a given LATA? Suppose you
move to the next town in a diffeent LATA, do you need to take on new
numbers yet someone moving within a LATA will not? How will it be
Handled in "overlay area codes"?
I'd love to see a "Dick and Jane" story version of the longer term
industry plans for portability ... sounds like we are headed for ten
digit dialing either due to increasing NPAs or from portability.
Lou
------------------------------
From: Tom Worthington <tomw@acslink.net.au>
Subject: TCP Parameters For GSM Data?
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 1996 16:27:18 -0700
Can anyone suggest appropriate settings for the TCP/PPP software to
work with the GSM standard? The parameters are:
* Maximum Transmission Unit
* Receive Window
* TCP Maximum Segment Size
* TCP Retransmission Time Out
I purchased a GSM mobile phone with a PC card interface cable a few
weeks ago. It works very well with the dial-up PPP software for
connecting to the Internet (http://acslink.net.au/~tomw/travel/balloon.htm).
I just used the same parameters as for the land line connection. However
I assume GSM uses some sort of packetised data and it would be better
to have the software set to suit the GSM packet size.
Tom Worthington <tomw@acslink.net.au> President, Australian Computer
Society, GPO Box 446, Canberra ACT 2601 http://www.acslink.net.au/~tomw
1996 World Conference on Mobile Communications, Sep 96 in Canberra:
http://www.acs.org.au/ifip96/mobile.html
------------------------------
From: psyber@usa.pipeline.com (John Cropper)
Subject: 1+ Dialing and How it's Billed
Date: 16 Aug 1996 17:44:55 GMT
Organization: Pipeline
On Aug 16, 1996 00:08:37 in article <Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954>,
'cc004056@interramp.com (Greg Monti)' wrote:
> John, you are implying here that the '1' dialed at the beginning of a
> long distance call chooses the *company* that carries the call. No.
> The company carrying the call is chosen by regulatory boundaries, by
> default carriers, and by 10XXX or 101XXXX codes.
Actually, in my case, Yes. If I dial intra-NPA to AC, as in your
example, using 345-xxxx, the charge appears on the LEC portion of my
bill. If I dial using 1-609-345-xxxx, it appears on the LD carrier
portion of my bill (or at least it has been appearing there.)
Of course, BA was also charging me for local calls to my neighbor
before they realized that my (new) local exchange was part of the same
Trenton calling area.
So is my experience a fluke, or is it policy to refer ALL 1+ calls to
my LD provider?
John Cropper NiS / NexComm
PO Box 277
Pennington, NJ USA 08534-0277
Inside NJ : 609.637.9434
Outside NJ: 888.NPA.NFO2 (672.6362)
Fax : 609.637.9430
email : psyber@usa.pipeline.com
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #420
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon Aug 19 13:53:06 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id NAA00629; Mon, 19 Aug 1996 13:53:06 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 13:53:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608191753.NAA00629@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #421
TELECOM Digest Mon, 19 Aug 96 13:52:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 421
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Northern Canada Exchange Profile (Dave Leibold)
Setting Up Server - Requesting Advice (Mark A. Weiss)
Re: Detritus of 708 Area Code Change (Allan Munsie)
Re: Transfer Powerpoint to VHS (Greg Monti)
Re: Cable Companies (Ed Ellers)
Re: 1+ Dialing and How it's Billed (John R. Grout)
Re: GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System (Bill Newkirk)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Dave.Leibold@superctl.tor250.org (Dave Leibold)
Date: 18 Aug 96 21:08:12 -0500
Subject: Northern Canada Exchange Profile
Northern Canada NPA/NXX Profile
17 August 1996
David Leibold <dave.leibold@superctl.tor250.org>
This is a list of NXX ("exchange" or central office codes) as used in
various northern Canadian points. The Northwest Territories and Yukon
points (switching to NPA 867) are listed, as well as associated
northern British Columbia and Quebec points (i.e. those British
Columbia points operated by NorthwesTel, those northern Quebec points
operated by Bell Canada).
403/819/867 split (the territories):
NPA (area code) 867 has been assigned for use throughout the Northwest
Territories and Yukon. This will be in service as of 21 October 1997
and NPAs 403 and 819 will cease to operate into the territories as
from 26 April 1998 and 867 (or "TOP" on the phone dial) becomes
"mandatory" in the territories.
Northwestel has set up a hotline to deal with the area code changes:
1 888 777.1867. A test number (867) 669.5448 will be in effect when the
new 867 code is activated.
604/250 split (British Columbia):
Northern British Columbia points operated by Northwestel will change
area code from 604 to 250 beginning 19 October 1996. NPA 604 can still
be used in parallel with 250 until 6 April 1997, at which time NPA
250 becomes "mandatory".
Test numbers when 250 comes into effect will be (250) 371.0123 and
(250) 371.0124.
Contents:
* 403 Northwest Territories (western part), Yukon
* 819 Northwest Territories (eastern part)
* 819 Northern Quebec (Nunavimmiitunut directory area)
* 250 (from 604) Northern British Columbia
* General Notes
-----------------------------------------------------
-- 403 Northwest Territories (western part), Yukon --
-----------------------------------------------------
[These NorthwesTel points will be changing to the 867 NPA]
206 Trout Lake ; NWT; new as of July '96
360 Gjoa Haven ; NWT
370 Lutselk'e ; NWT; formerly Snowdrift
371 Edzo ; NWT; connected as Rae-Edzo
390 Teslin ; Yukon
392 Rae ; NWT; connected as Rae-Edzo
393 Whitehorse ; Yukon; formerly for Pine Point, see [note 2]
394 Fort Resolution ; NWT
396 Holman ; NWT
399 Tagish ; Yukon; also Marsh Lake, see [note 4]
536 Watson Lake ; Yukon
537 Pelly Crossing ; Yukon
561 Taloyoak ; NWT; formerly Spence Bay
573 Wha Ti ; NWT; formerly Lac La Martre
580 Paulatuk ; NWT
581 Wrigley ; NWT
587 Norman Wells ; NWT
588 Tulita ; NWT; formerly Fort Norman
589 Deline ; NWT; formerly Fort Franklin
598 Fort Good Hope ; NWT
602 Nahanni Butte ; NWT; new as of July '96
633 Whitehorse ; Yukon
634 Haines Junction ; Yukon
667 Whitehorse ; Yukon
668 Whitehorse ; Yukon
669 Yellowknife ; NWT
690 Sachs Harbour ; NWT
695 Fort Simpson ; NWT
699 Fort Providence ; NWT
709 Colville Lake ; NWT; see [note 3], new as of July '96
713 Snare Lake ; NWT
769 Pelly Bay ; NWT
770 Fort Liard ; NWT
821 Carcross ; Yukon; see [note 5]
841 Destruction Bay ; Yukon; also Burwash Landing, see [note 6]
851 Swift River ; Yukon
862 Beaver Creek ; Yukon
863 Carmacks ; Yukon
872 Fort Smith ; NWT
873 Yellowknife ; NWT
874 Hay River ; NWT
920 Yellowknife ; NWT
952 Fort McPherson ; NWT
953 Tsiigehtchic ; NWT; formerly Arctic Red River
966 Old Crow ; Yukon
969 Ross River ; Yukon; see [note 7]
977 Tuktoyaktuk ; NWT
978 Aklavik ; NWT
979 Inuvik ; NWT; NXX to be changed, see [note 1]
982 Kugluktuk ; NWT; formerly Coppermine
983 Cambridge Bay ; NWT; also Ikaluktutiak
984 Enterprise ; NWT
993 Dawson ; Yukon
994 Faro ; Yukon
995 Elsa ; Yukon; also Keno, see [note 8]
996 Mayo ; Yukon
997 Rae Lakes ; NWT
** Notes:
[note 1]
403-979 Inuvik will need to have an NXX change as NPA 867 is established.
This is because it conflicts with 819-979 Iqaluit which will become 867-979.
Inuvik's new NXX is unknown at this point.
[note 2]
Some exchanges that had been listed for NWT have apparently been removed
from service. Recent examples are:
- 391 Lady Franklin NWT (test pack), now assigned to Red Deer, Alberta
- 393 Pine Point NWT, now assigned to Whitehorse, Yukon
- 777 Tungsten NWT, now assigned to Calgary, Alberta
Some explanations for 391, 393 and 777:
391 was a code only used for calling cards associated with DEW Line
personnel. These would be used for billing when placing calls with the
Northwestel operator at Fort Nelson. These were replaced with 148-numbered
cards in the early 1980s. 391 was retained as a "mark-sense" code for
billing/ID purposes until it became obsolete circa 1990-91.
393 Pine Point has vanished. 393 has been assigned to Whitehorse since
1994 initially in service for "switched 56" services, then for Centrex
and eventually for conventional lines.
777 Tungsten was decommissioned due to the 1989 shutdown of the tungsten
mine in that centre. The exchange then only had two or three telephones
in service and was eventually shut down two years after the mine shutdown.
[note 3]
The 1996 NWT directory has a page for Colville Lake. The catch is,
there aren't any Colville Lake numbers to be found on it; just external
numbers such as NorthwesTel contacts, RCMP, territorial services etc.
403-709 (to become 867-709) is the designated NXX for this locality.
[note 4]
399 Tagish is the main rate centre. Marsh Lake is a remote Nortel DMS-100
type switch off Whitehorse exchange, established December 1989.
Marsh Lake telephone numbers are in the 399-4xxx range.
Tagish has all other ranges: 399-2xxx, 399-3xxx, 399-9xxx.
Calls between Tagish and Marsh Lake are long distance, despite the
use of the same NXX.
[note 5]
One pay phone and one or two business phones in Fraser, BC (approx 55 km
from Carcross) are connected to the 821 Carcross exchange. Canada Customs
for the Klondike Highway is based in Fraser.
[note 6]
Burwash Landing is connected to the 841 Destruction Bay exchange, albeit
at an extra $4.19/month local service rate representing the connection
distance to the central office. The two communities have local calling
with each other.
[note 7]
969 Ross River used to have a remote number series with Ketza River
having the 969-7xxx number range. Long distance applied between
Ross River and Ketza River.
[note 8]
Keno (or Keno Hill, or Keno City) has rural multi-party service off
995 Elsa central office.
[note 9]
Direct dial access is expected to two other communities in 1997: Jean
Marie River and Kakisa. Assignments under NPA 403 may be needed if the
introduction of these exchanges is prior to the activation of NPA 867.
Umingmaqtok (Baychimo) is another place slated to have a direct dial
connection. This is contingent on the installation of commercial power
in that community, likely after NPA 867 comes into effect.
----------------------------------------------
-- 819 Northwest Territories (eastern part) --
----------------------------------------------
[These NorthwesTel points will be changing to the 867 NPA]
252 Resolute Bay ; NWT
253 Little Cornwallis Island ; NWT
266 Sanikiluaq ; NWT
436 Nanisivik ; NWT
439 Arctic Bay ; NWT
462 Repulse Bay ; NWT
473 Pangnirtung ; NWT
645 Rankin Inlet ; NWT
793 Baker Lake ; NWT
857 Arviat ; NWT, formerly Eskimo Point
896 Whale Cove ; NWT
897 Cape Dorset ; NWT
898 Chesterfield Inlet ; NWT
899 Pond Inlet ; NWT
924 Clyde River ; NWT
925 Coral Harbour ; NWT
927 Broughton Island ; NWT
928 Hall Beach ; NWT
934 Igloolik ; NWT
939 Kimmirut ; NWT, formerly Lake Harbour
979 Iqaluit ; NWT, formerly Frobisher Bay
980 Grise Fiord ; NWT
** Notes:
[note 10]
980 Grise Fiord was billed by Bell Canada as the world's most northerly
exchange some years ago. Whether this accomplishment has been beaten is
not known.
----------------------------------------------------------
-- 819 Northern Quebec (Nunavimmiitunut directory area) --
----------------------------------------------------------
[These Bell Canada northern points are in Quebec and as such will not be
changing to the 867 NPA]
254 Inukjuak
255 Salluit
331 Umiujaq
337 Kangiqsualujjuaq ; formerly Port-Nouveau-Quebec
338 Kangiqsujuaq
491 Aupaluk
492 Quaqtaq
496 Akulivik
633 Tasiujaq
922 Ivujivik
929 Poste-de-la-Baleine ; Kuujjuarapik
935 Kangirsuk
988 Puvirnituq ; was listed Povungnituk - Misspelled? Changed?
** Notes:
[note 11]
Interestingly enough, Bell Canada doesn't use the standard 310.BELL
business office number in this region, but instead uses 811 (with the
exception of 1-811 used in Kangiqsualujjuaq and Kangiqsujuaq exchanges).
----------------------------------------------
-- 250 (from 604) Northern British Columbia --
----------------------------------------------
[These points will not be changing to the 867 NPA]
232 Toad River ; also Summit Lake (232-7xxx)
233 Fort Nelson ; new, cellular and Centrex only as of Aug. '96
234 Iskut
235 Telegraph Creek
236 Bearskin Lake
237 Bob Quinn
239 Good Hope Lake ; [note 12]
471 Fort Ware
771 Dease Lake
774 Fort Nelson
772 Wonowon ; also Upper Halfway, see [note 13]
773 Prophet River ; formerly referred to as Minaker
776 Muncho Lake ; also Mould Creek (776-7xxx)
778 Cassiar
779 Lower Post ; see [note 15]
** Notes:
[note 12]
239 Good Hope Lake is local to Cassiar 778. This local connecion adds
$4.98/month to local rates in Good Hope Lake.
[note 13]
772 Upper Halfway (772-50xx), Wonowon (772-3xxx, 772-4xxx)
772 Wonowon is the main centre with numbers in the 772-3xxx and 772-4xxx
range. Upper Halfway (772-50xx range) is a "Rural Serving Area", costing
customers $41/month extra, but connected to the Wonowon switch with local
calling between places.
[note 14]
Atlin (604-651, soon to be 250-651) is a northern BC Tel exchange, but
listed in the Northern BC/Yukon directories for reference.
[note 15]
779 Lower Post has locality with Watson Lake, Yukon (403-536)
and an extra $2.91/month per line local service rate.
-------------------
-- General Notes --
-------------------
Telephone directories for these regions are currently:
- Yukon and Northern British Columbia (NorthwesTel)
- Northwest Territories (NorthwesTel)
- Nunavimmiitunut (Northern Quebec, Bell Canada)
Phone book information was used in updating the above NXX listings.
Prior to a corporate shuffle in recent times, the phone book areas were
split along corporate lines: NorthwesTel areas (western NWT) had
directories for Yukon/northern BC (similar to today) and a western NWT
directory (their NPA 403 points). Bell Canada had one northern directory
which consisted of its eastern NWT and northern Quebec points (their
NPA 819 points).
The Nunavimmiitunut phone book is small, but is tri-lingual (Inuktitut,
French, then English). There were three introductory sections (one per
language) and two sets of listings (one with the Inuktitut character
set, and the other which was for French and English).
NorthwesTel's Northwest Territories phone book had Inuktitut and English
sections. The Yukon/Northern BC book is in English only.
Phone bill forms are English and French in the Northwestel 403/604 (or
soon 867 west/250) regions, and English/Inuktitut in the 819 (soon 867
east) regions. Printed details are in English in these cases.
Disconnect notices are in English, French and Inuktitut.
No other regional language such as Dogrib or Loucheux is used by Northwestel.
Information compiled from various Northwestel, Bell Canada and other telco
sources. Thanks to Geoff Capp and Ray Chow for additional info for this
document.
Fidonet : Dave Leibold 1:259/730@fidonet.org
Internet: Dave.Leibold@superctl.tor250.org
------------------------------
From: mweiss7401@aol.com (MWeiss7401)
Subject: Setting Up Server - Requesting Advice
Date: 19 Aug 1996 00:08:06 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Reply-To: mweiss7401@aol.com (MWeiss7401)
Hello everyone,
I'm seeking advice on setting up a server on the internet. The
application is going to be field support, primarily. My job will be to
build and administer the site. We plan to have e-mail support to field
reps and clients, as well as ftp and www service to the reps, to
provide and exchange information, software updates for the company's
proprietary application, etc. Some degree of security will be needed
for guarding against unauthorized access to certain file areas.
My questions are as follows:
What type of connection do we need to become linked to the Internet?
(Some suggest 56K Frame Relay)
What does it cost to get an IP address?
What is the monthly cost of the data line? We're in a rural
area. Does that pose a special problem to getting high speed lines
brought in?
Are there ongoing expenses to having an IP address registered on the
Internet?
Will a Pentium box with Windows NT Server provide adequate support for
a small organization?
How many users can a midrange PC handle concurrently?
Can you list any additional issues/items I need to address with this
project?
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Weiss
Media Consulting Services
------------------------------
From: allenm19@mail.idt.net (Allan Munsie)
Subject: Re: Detritus of 708 Area Code Change
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 1996 12:13:19 -0400
Organization: IDT Corporation
In article <telecom16.407.9@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, H.A. Kippenhan Jr.
<kipp@hep.net> wrote:
> We've just gotten our first notification here at Fermilab about switch
> software updates that will change the SPID values on all NI-1 ISDN BRI
> lines. As an example, the 5ESS that serves Geneva and the 5E Remote
> Module that provides Centrex service to Fermilab will be upgraded on
> Oct. 17. You may wish to enquire if any of the readers have the
> complete list for the entire 708 (er, now 630) area code and would
> care to post it?
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I live around here, and I don't even
> have a copy of the 630/708 split which took place last week. I do not
> know if Ameritech has even printed a complete copy of the list of
> which prefixes go where for public use, but I suppose they must have.
I work for a CAP in the Chicago area, and the talk around our office is
that Ameritech has been quiet about the 630 change due to the problems
that came down with the 847 change - people calling across the street and
being charged long distance rates, etc. They want to make sure that the
switches are handling things before the big media blitz. We'll probably
see something around mid-October, near the end of the grace period.
Allan Munsie
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 1996 15:29:56 -0400
From: cc004056@interramp.com (Greg Monti)
Subject: Re: Transfer Powerpoint to VHS
On 15 Aug 96, blair@instep.bc.ca wrote:
> Does anybody know how I can transfer a timed PowerPoint presentation
> (version 7.0 running on Windows 95 on a PC) to VHS video? Resolution
> should be 1024x768.
I assume that what you want to do is to transcode the video of each
PowerPoint still frame into several seconds (or minutes) of video
which can be recorded and played back *readably* on a Canadian-US
style VHS video tape recorder. You can't do it at that resolution.
The "System M" (also sometimes called NTSC) television scanning
standard used in the US and Canada (among other places) has 525
horizontal scanning lines, of which about 50 are not usable for video
because they contain the vertical frame synchronizing signals. This
means that 475 lines are usable, so the vertical resolution is 475
pixels.
Horizontally across the screen, NTSC (being an analog encoding system)
supports more than one resolution, depending on how good the equipment
and transmission path are. For studio-grade professional cameras,
video tape recorders and monitors, the horizontal resolution can
probably approach 500 pixels per line. Once it has been broadcast
over the air on a limited-bandwidth television channel, the horizontal
resolution falls to about 300 or 350 pixels per line. VHS recorders
are as cheap as they are because they remove even more of the video
resolution, which the human eye finds acceptable. Once this video is
recorded and played back on VHS, even at the highest speed, the
horizontal resolution will be about 250 pixels per line.
So your presentation will be blurred down to from 1024 (horiz) by 768
(vert) to 250 (horiz) by 475 (vert) pixels per frame. Yes, even
though the TV screen is wider than it is tall, there are fewer pixels
horiziontally than vertically. That's the black and white resolution
of NTSC.
The resolution of color NTSC is even worse. The human eye accepts a
picture with blurry-edged color objects if the black and white outline
of the object is relatively sharp. The color resolution in NTSC
varies by what the color is. I think the finest color resolution is
about 150 pixels per horizontal line.
I'd recommend:
- Restrict yourself to using only very large type, 50 points or larger, in
any part of your presentation.
- Limit yourself to about six lines of text per "slide" (you may have to
divide complex slides into two or three simpler slides).
- Make sure you have no small areas of color which are significant to the
content.
- Don't crowd together color characters with fine horizontal resolutions
(The "Illi" in "Illinois" may come out looking like a rectangle of blurry
color).
- Avoid vertical stripes of any color, especially black and white (they
cause flickering herringbone effects in NTSC).
Look in the yellow pages to find a service house that can do the job
of converting it to VHS for you. You may want to "test" their service
out on your more complex slides (since they will be the most difficult
to reproduce) before committing to the full job. Companies listed
under "Slide Printing Services" may not be able to do the job
themselves but could refer you to companies that can. Good luck!
Greg Monti Jersey City, New Jersey, USA gmonti@interramp.com
------------------------------
From: Ed Ellers <edellers@mis.net>
Subject: Re: Cable Companies
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 1996 15:34:21 -0400
Organization: Mikrotec Internet Services, Inc. (MISNet)
Christopher Wolf wrote:
> On a (only) slightly related note, is it legal for a cable company to
> tell subscribers in it's area that they cannot get one of those small
> dishes to pick up satellite broadcasts? Says they interfere with
> their satellite dish's pickup. The cable company that supplies to my
> apartment complex (in Texas) made them sign a form stating they will
> not allow anyone to use the satellite dishes -- that we have to buy
> from them to get cable. This seems fishy to me. Anyone have some
> facts?
What often happens in these deals is that the cable company, when it is
not required by its franchise to provide service to an apartment complex
(or a new subdivision), demands such a clause in order to make the
service available. The developer of course has to knuckle under, or
else he'll be stuck with an apartment building (or subdivision) that 60%
or more of Americans would not be willing to live in -- why move to
Evergreen Manor and settle for a few off-air signals when you can live
in Brookwood Estates and get cable?
This is why, in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the FCC was ordered
to strike down such non-governmental restrictions on small satellite
dishes, conventional TV antennas and MMDS antennas. They've done so for
private homes, but the Commission is still wrestling with exactly how
far to go with regard to apartments and condos.
FWIW, DirecTV, USSB and (AFAIK) Echostar's The DISH Network are moving
to make their service available in apartment complexes using a 2-3'
master dish feeding every unit; Sony already has a system that will feed
the signals, and those of a normal TV antenna or cable system, into each
apartment through a single cable, using a small diplexer box connected
to the DSS receiver.
------------------------------
From: grout@polestar.csrd.uiuc.edu (John R. Grout)
Subject: Re: 1+ Dialing and How it's Billed
Date: 19 Aug 1996 11:07:58 -0700
Organization: Center for Supercomputing R and D, UIUC
In article <telecom16.420.9@massis.lcs.mit.edu> psyber@usa.pipeline.com
(John Cropper) writes:
> On Aug 16, 1996 00:08:37 in article <Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954>,
> 'cc004056@interramp.com (Greg Monti)' wrote:
>> John, you are implying here that the '1' dialed at the beginning of a
>> long distance call chooses the *company* that carries the call. No.
>> The company carrying the call is chosen by regulatory boundaries, by
>> default carriers, and by 10XXX or 101XXXX codes.
> Actually, in my case, Yes. If I dial intra-NPA to AC, as in your
> example, using 345-xxxx, the charge appears on the LEC portion of my
> bill. If I dial using 1-609-345-xxxx, it appears on the LD carrier
> portion of my bill (or at least it has been appearing there.)
> Of course, BA was also charging me for local calls to my neighbor
> before they realized that my (new) local exchange was part of the same
> Trenton calling area.
> So is my experience a fluke, or is it policy to refer ALL 1+ calls to
> my LD provider?
It sounds like a clumsy way to provide choice of intra-LATA
carriers ... but plausible enough. By comparison, the situation is
much cleaner here in Illinois.
At the best of the state PUC, this spring, Ameritech gave its
customers the opportunity to choose an IXC as one's presubscribed
intra-LATA carrier or to retain Ameritech (they had to reissue the
notification a few months later after IXC complaints that the first
notification was too slanted against choosing an IXC instead of
retaining Ameritech).
So, here in Illinois, if you don't dial a "10xxx" prefix, it shouldn't
make any difference how you dial an intra-LATA toll call ... it should
go to your presubscribed intra-LATA carrier.
I can imagine things being much murkier in states where the concept of
"local" calls is fuzzier. For example, from New York City, you can
call anywhere in the NYC LATA except the few exchanges in Connecticut
as a "local" call ... so what would presubscription to a carrier for
intra-LATA "toll" calls _mean_ within NYNEX territory in New York
state? What if you wanted to keep NYNEX for the closer rate bands,
but use an IXC for the really far out ones?
John R. Grout Center for Supercomputing R & D j-grout@uiuc.edu
Coordinated Science Laboratory University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
------------------------------
From: Bill Newkirk <wenewkirk@rodes.cca.rockwell.com>
Subject: Re: GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 09:55:59 -0400
Organization: Rockwell Avionics/Collins
John R Levine wrote:
> My one attempt to make one of those GE carrier things work was a
> complete failure. I couldn't get it to work at all. In retrospect, I
> think that the problem was that the house had a 220V feed and the two
> places I was trying to use it were fed from opposite sides of the 220.
> This is a problem you'll probably have in your apartment complex, too.
> I'd bite the bullet and pull some real phone wire.
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You know, the same thing is true for me
> where 'wireless intercoms' are concerned. I have yet to find one that
> works correctly with my electrical wiring here. They always have a small
> hum in the background or never seem to transmit at all. PAT]
You have to bridge the two sides of the transformer with a small value
high voltage capacitor to let the RF across. The transformer's inductive
reactance (2*pi*frequency*inductance) is very high at rf and acts to
block the signal.
I don't remember the values we used to use back when i was involved with
a carrier current radio station in college. seemed like it was a 1000V
cap (or maybe 1500 V) and on the order of 1 uF or so, maybe smaller.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #421
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon Aug 19 18:00:46 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id SAA24482; Mon, 19 Aug 1996 18:00:46 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 18:00:46 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608192200.SAA24482@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #422
TELECOM Digest Mon, 19 Aug 96 18:00:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 422
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing in 954) (Linc Madison)
Re: 1+ Dialing and How it's Billed (Linc Madison)
Re: Rural Internet Access (Tony Toews)
Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In? (Ed Ellers)
Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In? (John R. Levine)
Re: Phone Privacy: Collecting Damages From Solicitors (Big Drum)
Re: Wireless Satellite Communication - A Challenge (Curtis Wheeler)
Re: Need Simple Phone Line Tester (Jeff Becklehimer)
Re: Getting a Semi-Public Pay Phone? (Dave Sellers)
Re: Getting a Semi-Public Pay Phone? (S.J. Slavin)
Re: Modem Access Fees (Tim Gorman)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison)
Subject: Re: DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing in 954)
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 12:47:59 -0700
Organization: Best Internet Communications
In article <telecom16.420.3@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, cc004056@interramp.com
(Greg Monti) wrote:
> Although I disagree with this, I can see how it came about.
> Dallas and Forth Worth began being required to dial 10 digits for local
> calls between them about four years ago. Prior to that, local calls which
> crossed the area code boundary between the two metro areas were dialed with
> just seven digits.
> [discussion about "Metro" numbers, toll-free local calls from the entire
> Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. Metro numbers in the other area code
> used to be dialed as just the 7-digit number, but are now dialed as
> exactly 10 digits. Many people were confused when they started having
> to dial 817-xxx-xxxx or 214-xxx-xxxx to reach "metro" numbers, so the
> businesses complained and made the telcos list the numbers as
> ********** TOLL-FREE 817 xxx-xxxx, etc.]
I think your historical perspective is off by a couple decades. The
current procedure of forbidding dialing the initial '1' on local calls
predates the 10-digit FNPA local dialing by a long stretch. In 1971,
when I first moved to Dallas, if I dialed 1-744-xxxx for a number in
downtown Dallas, I got a reorder and was told to dial without the '1'.
If I dialed 1-265-xxxx or 1-817-265-xxxx for a metro number in
Arlington, I got a reorder and was told to dial only the 7-digit
number. If I dialed 1-214-xxx-xxxx for a toll call within 214 (Tyler
or Texarkana, for example), I got a reorder and was told to dial just
'1' plus the 7-digit number.
Southwestern Bell has always been very particular that you must have one
and only one way to dial any given call. I thought it was silly in 1971,
and I think that much moreso now.
Protecting businesses from losing customers who are afraid of tolls can
easily be accomplished with the big bold "TOLL-FREE" listings in the
directory, and by simply telling people that if you don't dial the '1'
then the call won't go through if it's toll. There is neither a technical
nor a user-interface reason for forbidding dialing '1' on local calls.
As far as "metro" numbers go, people had better be used to dialing the
area code but knowing it's still local, because if you're in downtown
Dallas, *ALL* "metro" numbers will be dialed with 10 digits -- all 214
"metro" numbers will move to 972.
As the area codes get smaller and smaller, and people become more and more
mobile, it becomes more and more important to have a single uniform dialing
procedure that is guaranteed to work anywhere in the U.S. Southwestern
Bell and the Texas PUC should stop dragging their feet and make the change.
Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com
------------------------------
From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison)
Subject: Re: 1+ Dialing and How it's Billed
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 13:04:30 -0700
Organization: Best Internet Communications
In article <telecom16.420.9@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, psyber@usa.pipeline.com
(John Cropper) wrote:
> On Aug 16, 1996 00:08:37 in article <Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954>,
> 'cc004056@interramp.com (Greg Monti)' wrote:
>> John, you are implying here that the '1' dialed at the beginning of a
>> long distance call chooses the *company* that carries the call. No.
>> The company carrying the call is chosen by regulatory boundaries, by
>> default carriers, and by 10XXX or 101XXXX codes.
> Actually, in my case, Yes. If I dial intra-NPA to AC, as in your
> example, using 345-xxxx, the charge appears on the LEC portion of my
> bill. If I dial using 1-609-345-xxxx, it appears on the LD carrier
> portion of my bill (or at least it has been appearing there.)
If by "AC" you mean Atlantic City, that's inter-LATA from Pennington,
although they're in the same NPA. If New Jersey Bell is handling it
differently depending on whether you dial 7 or 11 digits, then the
switch is (once again) misprogrammed, in violation of applicable laws.
Unless you are pre-selected for NJBell for your inter-LATA toll calls,
they should all be handed off to and billed by your selected IXC, no
matter how you dial the calls.
As an example here in California, if someone in San Jose (in the
northern portion of area code 408, in the San Francisco LATA) calls
someone in Monterey (in the southern portion of 408, in the Monterey
LATA), the call will be handed off to and billed by his selected IXC
whether he dials 7D or 11D. When Pacific Bell is allowed to enter the
market for inter-LATA tolls, the situation will remain the same for
that call.
(Neither California nor New Jersey requires dialing '1+NPA' for toll
calls within the same area code.)
Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com
------------------------------
From: ttoews@agt.net (Tony Toews)
Subject: Re: Rural Internet Access
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 15:57:44 GMT
Organization: AGT Ltd.
bsharp@cris.com (Brian M. Sharp) wrote:
> Is there any way people living outside a metropolitan area can get
> internet access without having to pay per hour? With all the interest
> in the internet, isn't there some service that can see the huge number
> of people in this uncomfortable position?
Here in Alberta the new president of the telco, or so I hear the
story, told his staff to cut the BS and get Internet service
throughout Alberta. Which we now have. Every little hamlet or remote
location now has a local access phone number. This includes some
places up near the border of the Northwest Territories accessible only
by winter road, river or airplane.
I, for one, certainly enjoy thier service. It's pretty darned good
quality service compared to some other ISP's which I was previously
accessing via long distance.
Tony Toews, Independent Computer Consultant
Jack of a few computer related trades and master (or certified) of none.
Microsoft Access Hints & Tips: Accounting Systems, Winfax Pro, Reports
and Books at http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
------------------------------
From: Ed Ellers <edellers@delphi.com>
Subject: Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In?
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 96 13:49:58 -0500
Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice)
Art Kamlet <kamlet@infinet.com> writes:
> That day I was in NY and asked the opertator for a number in Detroit,
> "LIncoln (pause) 77938) and the NY operator said That's not a legal
> number, please state the number correctly. I hadn't caught on yet, so
> I again said, more slowly, Lincoln (pause) 77938, and she got mad and
> said she could not connect me. I caught on, being a New Yorker and
> all that, and corrected to LIncoln 7 (pause) 7938 and she said, that's
> a number she could try.
Sounds like her head was in the wrong place. :-)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 96 02:26:00 EDT
From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In?
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
> I also recall that following the dialing of the number, a human
> operator would come on the line and ask "Your number please!" to which
> you were to respond with your own number and not the number which you
> were calling. Rumor had it that this was for billing purposes and if
> you gave someone else's number, they would be billed for your call.
> (I was an honest kid and never tried it, however, so I don't know if
> this was true.)
They sure would. At my relatives' telco in rural Vermont, my aunt
used to spend a fair amount of time each month handling complaints
about misbilled numbers and figuring out who actually should get
charged for them. The towns were small enough that it usually wasn't
all that hard to figure out who knew who and who called who, but it
was still a pain in the butt.
They were greatly pleased to switch from ONI (Operator Number
Identification) to ANI (Automatic Number Identification) and leave
that particular task behind.
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof
------------------------------
From: Big Drum <bigdrum@apache.com>
Subject: Re: Phone Privacy: Collecting Damages From Solicitors
Organization: APACHE LTD
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 13:55:07 GMT
Why deal with them at all? There's a company selling a single-line
CallerID box with a brilliant twist -- it won't pass a call through to
your handset unless its configuration says the call's OK. You program
in a list of phone numbers you ALWAYS want to ring through and a list
of phone numbers you NEVER want to ring through. An incoming call will
either be 1)rung through if on the ALWAYS list , 2) hangs up if on the
NEVER list , or 3) routes the call to your answering machine.
I'd imagine there are other ways to program it with what to do with
the three types of calls you can receive. And then there's all the
"special cases" - collect calls, etc, that you'd have to anticipate. But
the concept is beautiful! Probably as good as you can get without a
jam-proof traceback capability (so you could call *them* at the dinner
table).
Tom Screaming Sky
reference: "Computer Telephony" magazine, 07/96 issue, p120
------------------------------
From: Curtis Wheeler <cwheeler@ccnet.com>
Subject: Re: Wireless Satellite Communication - A Challenge
Date: 18 Aug 1996 23:57:30 GMT
Organization: Just Me and My Opinions (Std. Disclaimer)
MarvinDemuth@worldnet.att.net (Marvin Demuth) wrote:
> Earlier I wrote:
>> WHAT WE NEED:
>> We need facilities, preferably involving satellite communication with
>> voice, fax and email capabilities, at low cost. I have seen figures
>> from $1.49 to $9.00 per minute on the Web for satellite service. We
>> need something better than this. We need to be spending our funds on
>> drilling wells and providing medical care for people who have no
>> resources. Preferably, we need to be able to operate at both ends with
>> non-licensed operators, just the same as it would be if we were making
>> a telephone call.
> Mark Rivers confirmed the cost of INMARSAT-M at $4.50 (US) and wrote:
>> A cheaper alternative would be using an MSAT which provides coverage
>> over North and Central America. Currently the system offers voice and
>> data capabilities but does not offer fax. The fax capability should
>> be out soon but do not hold your breath. Cost for this system is
>> approximately $4K US for the equipment (+ or - $1K depending on the
>> model) and airtime rates vary but range between $1.55 - $2.75 per
>> minute CANADIAN. I am not sure how the rates and billing proceedures
>> work in the states.
> Can anyone give their experience with MSAT from the US to the
> Caribbean area?
The Caribbean seems to be well within the coverage of the MSAT foot
print. With that, I would assume that it works as well between
stations there as it does bewteen stations within the ConUS. I have
demo'd some MSAT equipment and find the performance quite acceptable.
> Can anyone give me by posting or e-mail the best rates available in
> the US for this service?
"SkyCell" (American Mobile Satellite Corp) has offers that can get the
telephone airtime down to about $1.19 per minute with a $25 or less
per month access charge.
Another service they offer is dispatch. This allows you to set up
groups that can use the MSAT like a two way radio system (similar to a
SMR service). At this time I have seen offers from Skycell that flat
rate this service -- in other words, no airtime charges when using the
system as a two way. They don't offer this service by itself. It is
an additional option to the telephone service. They have deal now for
dispatch service at $69 per month -- again, flat rate but in addition
to the regular access charge. If you didn't make any "phone calls"
you wouldn't rack up additional airtime charges using the two way.
The disadvantage of the two way system is that each station has to
have a terminal ... at about $4K each.
At least one of the terminals they sell, the Mitsubishi ST151, is fax
capable -- but only at 2400bps. There is a "modem interface" that
operates to 4800. Note this is a narrowband, digital service so data
rates are limited.
"Tellular" is soon to release an "adapter" that will let you use a
POTS type device on the unit. This is simialr to the adapter they
offer for cellular phones.
The transportable ST151 that we tried was available for between US$3500
and US$4500. It depends on the deal you strike and the options you
want/need. Fax and dispatch capability are options to the unit.
> Does anyone know of any special MSAT arrangements that can be made for
> organizations engaged in humanitarian work?
The worst they can say is "no". Give them a call in Reston, VA at
800-872-6222.
Regards,
Curtis
KD6ELA / GROL / PP-ASEL
cwheeler@ccnet.com
cgwh@chevron.com
------------------------------
From: beck@slidell.com (Jeff Becklehimer)
Subject: Re: Need Simple Phone Line Tester
Date: 19 Aug 1996 03:55:03 GMT
Organization: slidell.com inc, Slidell Louisiana
Dave Close (dave@compata.com) wrote:
> What I'd like is a simple test tool they could use to verify that
> the phone line is appropriate and working before they connect their
> modem.
> I need a test that can be performed in a minute or
> less. And, of course, price is important; I suspect such a device
> should be possible for less than ten dollars.
Well, they're not less than ten dollars. Go to Yahoo and look for
"modem savers".
Jeff Becklehimer slidell.com, inc.
------------------------------
From: Dave Sellers <sellers@on.bell.ca>
Subject: Re: Getting a Semi-Public Pay Phone?
Reply-To: sellers@on.bell.ca
Organization: Bell Sygma Inc.
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 12:48:27 GMT
Lisa wrote:
> My condominium has a swimming pool and clubhouse. There is an
> extension phone (from the office line) for emergency calls from the
> pool. We are finding more requests by people to use that phone to
> check their home machine for messages, call friends, etc. Also,
> guests at clubhouse events want to call home to check the babysitter,
> etc.
> We called Bell about installing a pay phone, but they wanted a very
> high installation charge and a guaranteed minimum use which we do not
> expect to meet. We expect maybe average five to ten calls per week in
> summer, and two calls per week in winter, spring, and fall.
> Could anyone suggest perhaps a tariff on how we could get a Bell pay
> phone more inexpensively? I've seen Bell phones at other condo pools
> with a layout similar to ours that can't get that much usage.
Would Bell put the phone in because it is needed for emergency use?
(Take out the office line phone.) Bell puts many phones in on bus
routes for this purpose ...
Just a thought.
Dave Sellers
Managing Consultant - Broadband Support Systems
Room 1950, 160 Elgin St. Voice 613-785-2694
Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2C4 FAX 613-781-3620
------------------------------
From: sjslavin@aol.com (SJSlavin)
Subject: Re: Getting a Semi-Public Pay Phone?
Date: 19 Aug 1996 00:02:37 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Reply-To: sjslavin@aol.com (SJSlavin)
Your title says it all -- why not install a semi-pub. Are they not
still available? Semi-pub is a coin phone on your business line. Pay
the monthly line rate (which you are apparently paying already), telco
keeps the coins. What is missing here?
Steve Slavin, Sr. Regulatory Analyst San Ramon, CA
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I think what is missing is Lisa said
they did *not* want to have to pay the monthly fee for a phone out
there and that telco would not install it as a purely public (or
commissionable) pay phone because of the lack of regular usage.
One thing they might consider however is leaving the phone they have
there, but disabling the touch tone pad, or at least disabling all of
it except the '9' and '1' keys. That would enable a user to dial 911
and nothing more. They could also clearly mark the phone 'Emergency
Use Only - Phone Rings Police' and then have a one-number speed dialer
attached which, when the phone went off hook would dial '911' or some
other preset number. They could have that on their existing line which
is there now and it would not interfere with the regular use of the
phone from other locations. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Tim Gorman <tg6124@tyrell.net>
Subject: Re: Modem Access Fees
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1996 10:46:38 -0500
Eric Florack (Eric_Flrack@mc.xerox.com) in #412 tilted at the windmill
built by Tim Gorman (tg6124@tyrell.net) and Bob Wulkowicz (bobw@enteract.
com):
>>> Maybe I took it badly, but I read Mr. Robeson's post as a pompous
>>> dismissal of us as the technologically and managerially unwashed.
>> I don't know if he meant it that way but it is true that with no
>> real understanding of traffic patterns, density, and provisioning
>> requirements it is difficult to judge whether fees established
>> for service are reasonable or not. "Common sense" is not typically
>> a very good judge.
> Hmmmm. Common sense isn't what drives telcos? Look out Dilbert.
> Here comes Telco.
Respectfully, you ARE tilting at windmills. I did not say that common
sense was not what drives telco's. Common sense, however, is NOT a
good indicator of what reasonable fees should be for anything. Common
sense would indicate that farmers get rich when food prices go up. It
isn't usually the case.
>> Providing that caller id to you required the telco to invest in
>> new software in every central office switch to handle the
>> feature, not a cheap thingIt also required them to invest in
>> the analog modem equipment in every central office necessary
>> to send that caller id down your phone line, again not a cheap
>> proposition. You ARE paying for much more than some access to
>> a "phantom" data packet.
> A common sense examination of this is in order:
> Let's assume that every CO has 10,000 customers, just to keep the
> figure nice and round. Let's say half of them take the LEC up on
> it's offer of CID. Lessee ... $5/mo it what was quoted here, and
> its a nice figure. So ...
> 5000*$5=$25000 per month or, of income, or 12*$25,000= $300,000/yr
> on CID alone.
> Over a quarter million on CID profits per year alone, on a
> per-switch basis! Can you confirm that CID cost telco more than
> that to install? If not, the initial investment is in reality
> paid off in less than a year. That leaves aside the multiple
> data-use issues.
This is where the common sense starts to lead you astray. Capital
investment is not expense. It doesn't get paid off in less than a
year. You must earn on the investment, you must place sufficient
earnings in depreciation to replace the investment when it is
obsolete, and you need to earn a contribution to net revenue. The
modems that are installed are not $140 USR Sportster modems either.
They are industrial grade design intended for 24x7 operation for
decades with zero downtime -- and they are much more expensive.
What you calculated was gross revenues and called them profits. That
is not common sense either. And while a penetration rate of 50% for
CID may also sound like common sense for CID I sincerely doubt you
will find very many locales with that high of a rate.
> Speaking of the modem use issues, you say:
>> As competition comes you will have the option to move to a lower
>> cost provider. You will also find that you don't get something
>> for nothing. Much as has been found out in the long distance
>> market today, the low cost, niche competitors may provide lower
>> costs for specific things but they either don't provide 24x7 full
>> service, they don't provide the same levels of call blockage, etc.
> Fact is that as competition comes, Telcos are going to find that
> they no longer have the capacity problems they once did. People
> will be leaving in droves for cable modems to run everything ...
> including voice traffic ... and the telcos know it ... which is
> why Jack Brooks is not exactly considered the best friend of the
> telco, these days.
This is yet another case where common sense will lead one astray. You
are speaking as if the telecommunications market is a zero sum game.
It is not. While the telco's will certainly see some areas where they
lose market share they will also find other areas where they will pick
up market share. And this does not even factor in the growth
anticipated from a competitive market.
In any case, the telco's have never had a capacity "problem". They
may run into capacity shortages but this is not a problem, it is
an opportunity!
You should also try Internet phone sometime. While usable for some
things it's quality and even usability is hardly ubiquituous. It will
be quite some time before investment in sufficient data packet
infrastructure, be it frame relay, ATM, or something different exists
in sufficient capacity to make "droves" leaving the present
infrastructure anything more than a pipedream.
> The fact is that all this complaining about modems sucking up
> capacity is utter nonsense, on several levels. The telco would
> be involved no matter what the traffic on the wire is, no matter
> what format it is. Matter of fact, I suggest that capacity
> problems would be far WORSE, if not for the modem. Modems convey
> information far faster than voice, after all. And the information
> would need to be transmitted in /some/ form. Or are you suggesting
> we'd all be using the USPS?
Wire? You mean the local loop? Do you really think this discussion is
about the local loop?
The point of discussion is cost allocation. If a local network between
two central offices need 100 trunks (using typical assumptions for
voice traffic) and growth in long holding time data calls necessitates
an increase in the number of trunks to say, 200, then why should the
users making the long holding time data calls not pay for the
additional infrastructure they cause to be placed? Why should the
cost of this infrastructure be placed on those only making voice
calls?
> This is naught but the Telcos trying to obtain more money for
> providing what is essentially the same service; an audio channel of
> 300-3000cps on a point to point connection. The bitching and the
> clamoring for additional price increases, based on what is /in/ those
> limits; IE; the type of data being put on that audio channel, will end
> up driving the data traffic off the telcos. It's true. data traffic
> will leave for cheaper, less regulated pastures. Cable being only one
> such option.
Again, your common sense is misleading you. The discussion concerning
modems has nothing to do with channel bandwidth but, instead, how long
that bandwidth is tied up to a specific call and not available for
other use.
Usage dependent infrastructure that is needed IS dependent on usage --
by definition. As voice traffic moves to other "pastures", access to
those pastures as well as the pastures themselves will be sized to
handle the bandwidth demand. And cost causers will be charged more,
regardless of the pasture.
> But what the telcos have not planned on, in my opinion, what they'll
> be caught flat-footed by, is the amount of voice traffic that leaves
> with it. Internet voice calls are, I think a harbinger of something
> the telcos don't want to talk about much; the fact that the people,
> the customers, are getting nearly as technical as the telcos ... at
> least enough that they're able to get around technical and legal
> roadblocks set up by people whose only interest is maintaining a
> hammerlock on the nation's communications.
Suffice it to say that the "data" providers in this country do not
have the infrastructure available to handle today's voice traffic with
the same grade of service available in today's voice network. By the
time the infrastructure is even available from the vendors the telco's
will be right in there with everyone else installing the infrastructure.
I have used internet voice. It is NOT ready for prime time. It is far
from being ready for prime time on anything resembling a competitive
widespread offering.
> I'm sorry, but I find it hard indeed to work up any sympathy for
> telco's cries of 'foul'.
Your common sense has lead you into developing a strawman that doesn't
even resemble what is being discussed. This is not a cry of foul from
the telco's. It is a recognition of a need for equitable cost allocation.
Expecting my grandmother to pay the freight for your 24 hour long data
call is what is foul. More and more state commissions are becoming
aware of this and are making inquiries of the industry as to how it
can be handled. As I pointed out before, if it were free then local
calls would be free, toll calls would be free, there wouldn't be any
coin phones, and no need for 800 service. That just isn't the case.
Tim Gorman
SBC - I speak only for myself
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #422
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Aug 20 10:40:31 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id KAA06117; Tue, 20 Aug 1996 10:40:31 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 10:40:31 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608201440.KAA06117@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #423
TELECOM Digest Tue, 20 Aug 96 10:40:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 423
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Club Wired: Simson Garfinkel on ISDN, 21 Aug, 4 pm PDT (Ron Hogan)
Pacific Bell Offers Ten Tips for Prepaid Phone Cards (Mike King)
Encryption and Telnet (Derek Balling)
Who Runs the InterNIC? (Joshua Rehman)
Need Reverse Directory (Michael Muderick)
Guatemala Country Code Change? (Julie Lumine)
Telecom Corruption Scandal (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
CPSR Conference October 19-20 in DC (Monty Solomon)
Request to Participate in Internet Survey (Emad Kawas)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: ron@hotwired.com (Ron Hogan)
Subject: Club Wired: Simson Garfinkel on ISDN, 21 Aug, 4 pm PDT
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 19:32:20 -0800
Organization: Grifter Information Technologies
Simson Garfinkel writes the Technology column for Packet, HotWired's new
Web commentary and analysis channel. He's also written about computers for
a lot of other magazines, including Wired.
Join Simson and host Janelle Brown on Wednesday, 21 August at 4 p.m. PDT
(23:00 GMT) to reveal what the telcos aren't telling you about ISDN. I'd
tell you what some of that is, but they didn't tell *me*, either. So bug
Simson and Janelle with all your questions, or see PacketChat's home page
at http://www.hotwired.com/packetchat/
Talk.com (http://talk.com) is the all-new version of HotWired's popular
chat room feature, utilizing Java to create a colorful new way of doing
the text-based chat thang. For those of you whose browsers don't work with
Java, chat.talk.com will give you telnet access. Club Wired is restricted
to registered users of HotWired ... see the URL below to sign up.
Ron Hogan ron@hotwired.com
The HotWired Network http://www.hotwired.com/
------------------------------
From: Mike King <mk@wco.com>
Subject: Pacific Bell Offers Ten Tips for Prepaid Phone Cards
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 17:51:11 PDT
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 08:26:39 -0700
From: sqlgate@list.pactel.com
Subject: Pacific Bell Offers Ten Tips for Prepaid Phone Cards
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
(Bay Area)
Rebecca Perata
(415) 394-3701
Dick Fitzmaurice
(415) 394-3764
(Sacramento/San Joaquin County)
Dave Miller
(916) 972-2811
(San Diego/Orange County)
John Britton
(619) 237-2430
(Los Angeles)
Linda Bonniksen
(213) 975-5061
David Dickstein
(213) 975-4074
Pacific Bell Offers Ten Tips for Prepaid Phone Cards
SAN FRANCISCO--The prepaid phone card, the latest convenience to
capture consumer attention, has invaded grocery and drug stores, copy
centers, gas stations, truck stops and newsstands, making its way into
consumer hearts and wallets everywhere. Additionally, this summer, the
colorful telephone tools have become highly successful promotional
items and are quickly becoming one of the hottest new consumer items
around. But not all prepaid cards are created equal. To navigate
through all the choices, clutter and hype, Pacific Bell reminds
consumers to consider the following ten tips before purchasing a
prepaid phone card:
1 Determine if the card is represented by an established
telecommunications company that will ensure consistent voice
quality and customer service. Some companies offering prepaid phone
cards have gone out of business, leaving customers, distributors
and retailers who sell their cards, with a worthless pieces of
plastic.
2 Check the card's expiration date and make sure there is enough time
to use it up.
3 Make sure the card has a printed 800 number and 24-hour customer
service that is accessible. Some providers do not have enough
capacity to handle customers' calls -- leaving the customer
indefinitely on hold.
4 Find out how much it costs to use a prepaid phone card. For
example, Pacific Bell offers a flat rate of 40 cents per minute for
local, local toll and domestic long distance calls. International
rates vary by region. Rates from other companies can be as high as
60 cents per minute, which affects the calling time available on
the card.
5 Find out in what increments calls are billed. Some companies bill
in one-minute increments so that if the caller talks for one minute
and one second, two minutes are deleted from the card's time
allotment. Others, like Pacific Bell, bill in 6 second increments,
rounding down. Ensure you are billed only for actual conversation
time and not for call set-up time.
6 Some prepaid card companies charge customers a surcharge for first
use of the card. Be sure there aren't any hidden surcharges.
7 Ensure that the card's rate is valid for all desired calling areas.
For example, some cards offer a flat rate for calls within the
U.S., but charge significantly more for calls to Mexico.
8 Inspect the card's packaging. All a thief needs to use the time
you've purchased, is the 800 number and authorization code. Ensure
that the authorization code has not, or could not be compromised.
For example, Pacific Bell applies a "scratch-off" coating on all
prepaid cards to secure the authorization code.
9 Some prepaid phone card companies, like Pacific Bell, also offer
cards with Spanish-language capabilities. With the Pacific Bell
card, Spanish-speaking operators also are available to assist
Spanish-speaking customers with their prepaid phone card calls.
10 A prepaid phone card is like cash. You can't lose more than the
face value of the card, but you can't get it back, either.
How to Use the Pacific Bell Prepaid Phone Card
* Customers dial an 800 number to reach the network, then dial in
their card number. When customers dial in their card number, a
recorded message will tell them the value left on the card.
* After customers have dialed the desired telephone number, the
message will tell them how many minutes they can talk to that
location before the card runs out.
* A message -- which only the caller can hear -- will indicate when
there is one minute of talk time left on the card.
* Customers who wish assistance with their card can signal for a live
operator, either English- or Spanish-speaking.
* The back of the prepaid phone card will have instructions printed
in both English and Spanish.
* After a prepaid phone card has either expired, or the time or
amount exhausted, there still may be some life left in it. Some
cards can be recharged by retailers, or by using the 800 number and
a credit card.
Pacific Bell Prepaid Phone Cards can be purchased from Pacific Bell
payment locations, selected retail outlets, including Chevron stations,
Pic 'N Save and Save Mart stores, Northern California and Nevada
Raley's/Bel-Air supermarkets, Nob Hill Foods and Quick Stop markets. In
addition, customers interested in ordering any of the Pacific Bell
Prepaid Phone Cards by phone, or locating the retail outlet nearest
them, may call 1-800-600-0094.
Pacific Bell is a subsidiary of Pacific Telesis Group, a diversified
telecommunications corporation based in San Francisco.
-------------
Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 17:01:00 EST
From: Derek Balling <dredd@lawgiver.megacity.org>
Subject: Encryption and Telnet
Pat and readers:
We have a customer who has international locations using the Internet,
and I'm at a loss on who to turn to for help in my dilemma. The usual
places I might expect to find an answer have yielded none, so I'm
hoping that the readers of the digest may be able to help me out.
We have a customer with offices in Japan that wants to allow them to
use an encrypted telnet session with their American office. The basic
criteria for the software we're looking for is:
1.) Windows-based client
2.) HP9000 compatible server/daemon
3.) Exportable
4.) Secure
I hope someone out there may know where I can turn. STEL (Secure
TELnet, a product released by CERT-Italy) was great EXCEPT that it has
no windows based client. (Which for the purposes of our customer is a
requirement.)
Thanks in advance,
Derek J. Balling
Director of Technical Operations
Midwest Internet Exchange, Inc.
dredd@mixi.net | http://www.megacity.org | dredd@megacity.org
------------------------------
From: joshua@uci.edu (Joshua Rehman)
Subject: Who Runs the InterNIC?
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 06:05:16 GMT
Organization: Univeristy of California, Irvine
I am a curious internet user who wants to learn a little more about
the workings of the actual network. One of the topics that has me a
little confused is the registration of domain names. I have seen
various other threads on that topic in this group, so I hope to get
some help! Here are my questions:
What facilities does the InterNIC actually use? Who pays for them?
How does one register a domain name?
Any other facts regarding the nature of the InterNIC would be greatly
appreciated.
Thanks!
Joshua Rehman
University of California at Irvine
Internet Address: joshua@uci.edu
------------------------------
From: am004d@netaxs.com (Michael Muderick)
Subject: Need Reverse Directory
Date: 19 Aug 1996 23:06:27 GMT
Organization: Philadelphia's Complete Internet Provider
At one point one of the website phone directories allowed lookup via
phone number. I know. I used it. Now I can't find it. Can anyone
give me the website address?
TIA.
Mike@Muderick.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 12:39:44 -0700
From: Julie Lumine <juliel@mtcworld.com>
Organization: MTC
Subject: Guatemala Country Code Change?
Hi! We just heard informally that the above country is changing and
are not sure if someone is confusing it becouse of geographical
proximity with the 809 npa changes, or if they are actually changing
to a new cc. Any hard copy news?
------------------------------
From: jai@aloha.com (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
Subject: Telecom Corruption Scandal
Date: 20 Aug 1996 03:20:37 GMT
Organization: Coconut Wireless
A new corruption controversy has jolted India's drive to open its
telecommunications industry to private investors. Correspondent
Michael Drudge reports large sums of cash have been found in the homes
of India's former communications minister.
by Michael Drudge
New Delhi
August 18, 1996
Indian police have filed bribery charges against the former
Communications Minister Sukh Ram and one of his senior aides after
police found more than one million dollars (3.65 crore rupees) in cash
in two of Mr. Ram's houses.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, India's premier law enforcement
agency, has filed charges against Mr. Ram alleging he took kickbacks
from an Indian telephone equipment supplier.
Also charged is Runu Ghosh, a finance director at the Telecommunications
Department who had worked closely with Mr. Ram. Ms. Ghosh has been
taken into custody. Mr. Ram is reportedly in Britain undergoing
medical treatment.
The case against Mr. Ram brings renewed controversy to India's efforts
to open up the lucrative telecommunications sector to private investors.
There have been persistent allegations of favoritism in awarding bids
for cellular and basic telephone services. The privatization drive
has been upset by lawsuits and intense political bickering.
The case against Mr. Ram also adds to the problems of the Congress
party, which lost the general election after a string of corruption
controversies.
Mr. Ram had served as Communications Minister under the former Prime
Minister P-V Narasimha Rao, who himself is confronting charges that he
swindled a businessman and bought votes to survive a no-confidence
motion during his tenure.
------- additional report received ------
The CBI has arrested Ms. Runu Ghosh, a senior official in the Telecom
Ministry under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
A.I.R., August 18, 1996
The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Ms. Runu Ghosh, Director
Finance in the Telecommunication Ministry last night under the
Prevention of Corruption Act.
CBI officials had uncovered huge amounts of cash, jewellery and
incriminating documents during raids conducted at her residence and
office.
Earlier in the day, the CBI arrested a Sub-Divisional Officer of the
Mahanager Telephone Nigam and registered a case against four other
officers and a General Manager.
News from A.I.R., Delhi
Jai Maharaj <jai@mantra.com>
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 00:48:05 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: CPSR Conference October 19-20 in DC
Reply-To: monty@roscom.COM
Forwarded to the Digest FYI:
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 23:20:49 -0700
From: Susan Evoy <sevoy@Sunnyside.COM>
COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
presents a conference on
COMMUNICATIONS UNLEASHED
What's At Stake? Who Benefits? How To Get Involved!
OCTOBER 19-20, 1996
Georgetown University - Washington, DC
Co-sponsored by the Communication, Culture, and Technology
program of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
at Georgetown University
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19
KEYNOTE SPEAKER - RALPH NADER (invited); consumer advocate and
founder of the Center for the Study of Responsive Law; Green Party
presidential candidate
THE COMMUNICATIONS TSUNAMI - In today's world of corporate mergers
and the mega-packaging of services, what's at stake for consumers
and who will represent their views? What is the meaning of "public
interest" in the new digital environment? Panelists will examine
the ramifications and effects of the Telecommunications Act in such
critical areas as universal service, the opening of local exchanges
to competition, the provision of fair pricing rules, and the
stewardship of the dazzling array of emerging broadband services.
TOOLKITS FOR ACTIVISTS - Media giants and merger-mania dominate the
public dialogue on communications issues. How can activists at the
local, state, and national levels develop an effective voice in the
currently one-sided debate over changes in the marketplace and the
regulatory environment? How can community-based organizations use
the Internet as a tool for online organizing, enhancing public
interest campaigns and increasing the efficiency of their internal
communications?
THE INTERNET: COMMERCIALIZATION, GLOBALIZATION, AND GOVERNANCE - The
accelerating commercialization and globalization of the Internet
raises new and divisive problems of governance and control that
will profoundly affect the future of the net and all of its users.
What is the outlook in key areas like pricing schemes, access to
information and services, and Internet telephony?
INFORMATION RIGHTS - New information technologies and the policy
responses to them raise many critical issues related to information
rights on the Internet. Panelists will discuss these topics in
detail, including the Communications Decency Act and freedom of
speech online, copyright protection, and threats to privacy from
the collection of personal information online.
COMPUTERS AND ELECTIONS: RISKS, RELIABILITY, AND REFORM - There are
widespread, legitimate concerns about the accuracy, integrity, and
security of computer-generated vote totals. Panelists will explore
the technical, social, and political origins of these concerns
within the context of today's little-scrutinized election system.
They will also make recommendations for changes in the areas of
technology, election law, accountability, and oversight.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 will feature WORKSHOPS on: communications access
and the consumer; broadcasting and mass media; civic networking;
media tactics and outreach; Internet legal issues; and using the
Internet for political action. The 1996 CPSR Annual Meeting will
take place Sunday afternoon. All conference attendees are welcome.
******************************************************************
REGISTRATION --- Space is limited so register early.
Name ______________________________________________________________
Address ___________________________________________________________
City_________________________________State________Zip______________
Telephone____________________________E-mail________________________
Payment method: Check___Visa___MC___Card #___________Exp. Date_____
Early registration: through 9/19
Late registration: postmarked after 9/19
Early registration Late registration
CPSR $60______ $70______
Non member $85______ $95______
New CPSR membership ($50 value)
& registration $105______ $115______
Low income/student $25______ $35______
Saturday night buffet $25______ $30______
Additional donation to further CPSR's work ________
Total enclosed: ________
Scholarships are available. For more information contact the CPSR
national office at 415-322-3778 or cpsrannmtg@cpsr.org.
Make check payable to CPSR. Send the completed registration form
with payment to: CPSR, PO Box 717, Palo Alto, CA 94302-0717.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE CONFERENCE, CONTACT CPSR
at 415-322-3778, 703-739-9320 or cpsrannmtg@cpsr.org or
http://www.cpsr.org/home.html
****
http://www.georgetown.edu/grad/CCT
*****************************************************************
HOTEL AND TRAVEL INFORMATION
The GU Conference Center has reserved a block of guest rooms
operated by the Marriott and located in the Leavey Center on
campus. The $85 a night rate applies until September 30. For
reservations call the GU Conference Center at 202-687-3200. The
closest off-campus hotel is the Holiday Inn (202-338-4600) located
at 2101 Wisconsin Avenue NW where a block of rooms at $109 a night
has been reserved. This rate applies until September 17. Rooms are
limited so make your reservation as early as possible.
United Airlines is the official airline of the conference and is
offering a discount to attendees. For reservations call the United
Meetings Desk at 800-521-4041. The Meeting ID Code is 503ZV. There
are many restaurants and shops located in the historic neighborhood
adjoining the Georgetown campus.
The events on Saturday will take place in the Bunn InterCultural
Center (marked on the map as ICC). This building is not accessible
by car. Participants have several choices:
1- Take the blue or orange line Metro to Rosslyn and walk over the
Key Bridge to campus (probably about a 15-20 minute walk). There is
also a Georgetown blue and gray shuttle bus that runs from the
Rosslyn (and Dupont Circle) metro station to the campus.
2- Take a taxi to the main campus entrance at the corner of 37th
Street and O Streets, NW.
3- Take one of the many city buses that stops at the main campus
entrance to Georgetown, 37th and O Streets, NW. 4-
Drive and park in the Campus Parking Lot #3 (accessible either off
M Street, just west of the Key Bridge, or at the end of Prospect
Street) which is free on the weekends. This is the lot with the
large P in the lower left-hand corner of the map. Participants can
then walk up the driveway and around to the ICC building. Signs
will be posted for your convenience.
------------------------------
From: ekawas@echidna.stu.cowan.edu.au (Emad Kawas)
Subject: Request to Participate in Internet Survey
Date: 20 Aug 1996 05:16:26 GMT
Organization: Edith Cowan University
This is a request for IT/IS proffessionla to participate in answering
a master student research survey questionnaire. It is an html document.
The URL is: http://echidna.stu.cowan.edu.au/es/es_survey.shtml
A text version also exist for people who are intrested. I can send you
this one by email. You are kindly required to send me email and I will
reply with email that include the survey.
Please tell everybody about it. The more people participate the better
for the research and the results.
Thanks in advance,
Emad Kawas
email: e.kawas@cowan.edu.au
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'.
Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
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*************************************************************************
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*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #423
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Aug 20 11:25:11 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id LAA10584; Tue, 20 Aug 1996 11:25:11 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 11:25:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608201525.LAA10584@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #424
TELECOM Digest Tue, 20 Aug 96 11:25:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 424
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Microwave Rural Phone System? (Robert McMillin)
Re: Selecting Local Telco (Fred Goodwin)
Re: Books About T-1/E-1 Wanted (Richard Neveau)
Re: Voicemail and Unix (Ferdinand Verbelen)
Re: Voicemail and Unix (David Crawford)
Re: Timed Local Internet Calls (Fred Goodwin)
Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In? (Ed Ellers)
Re: Northern Canada Exchange Profile (Jean-Francois Mezei)
The World's Most Northerly Exchange (was Northern Canada) (Martin Kealey)
Re: Getting a Semi-Public Pay Phone? (A.E. Seigman)
Re: 1+ Dialing and How it's Billed (John R. Levine)
Re: Does New Area Codes Mean New Caller Cost? (John R. Levine)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 06:33:49 -0700
From: rlm@netcom.com (Robert McMillin)
Subject: Re: Microwave Rural Phone System?
On 17 Aug 1996 19:47:15 PDT, diamond@viper.nauticom.net (Dave
Perrussel) said:
> I work for a company that has a field station in the middle of the New
> Mexico desert.
> We currently have phone service there via two ways:
[An old service using bare copper wires with decent data bandwidth, and
a new service using VHF/UHF low-power that bites doing data.]
> Is there a commercially available product that will do a high bandwidth
> (say 14,400 baud or 28,800 baud) using point to point microwave that is
> reasonabally priced?
I remember reading in the papers here in LA circa 1988 about telephone
service in the extremely thinly populated eastern parts of Riverside
and/or San Bernardeno Counties. Residents had been petitioning the PUC
and Pacific Bell for years to provide service, but Pac*Bell wouldn't do
it because of the cost of running the copper, and they wouldn't
surrender their monopoly because of what it would mean if competition
entered anywhere. Finally, an outfit in Fresno came through for them
after the PUC granted a waiver. They planned to install point-to-point
microwave, and service was to cost $14.95 a month. I lost touch with
the story after that, but maybe someone here knows a bit more than I do
about it.
Also, if what you're after is a purely data connection, there are
dedicated microwave links that aren't too horribly expensive (under $5k,
I think).
Robert L. McMillin | rlm@helen.surfcty.com | Netcom: rlm@netcom.com
------------------------------
From: fgoodwin@tri.sbc.com (Fred Goodwin)
Subject: Re: Selecting Local Telco
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 09:07:56 -0500
Organization: SBC-Technology Resources, Inc.
In article <telecom16.411.9@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, xred@ix.netcom.com
(Theron Derx) wrote:
> Are you aware of any legislation pending, or in place now, that
> permits a person or a company to select their local telco? For
> example, if I live in Southwestern Bell country, but would prefer to
> have GTE, is there any legislation that would permit me to do that?
> If it is, (or will be in the future) will it work much the same way as
> the selection of an LD carrier? I would greatly appreciate any
> information you could send me. Thank you in advance for your time.
At least in Texas, legislation was passed in 1995 that allows for local
competition. Potential competitors for the local exchange business must
apply to the Public Utility Commission of Texas for authority to provide
local service, whether by resale of the incumbent carrier's service, or by
providing their own facilities and services.
It just so happens that GTE recently applied for and received permission
to provide local service in most of Southwestern Bell's operating
territory in Texas. As for how you request service from GTE, you probably
need to talk to them.
Re: Pat's suggestion about FX service: everything he said is true, but for
FX customers here in Texas, an FX line gives the local calling scope of
the dialtone exchange, but does not provide local calling within the
exchange where the FX customer is physically located.
E.g., if you are located in Denton, TX (a GTE exchange) and you want an FX
line into Dallas (about 30 miles and a toll call away), SWBT would provide
you the FX line for all the local calling you can eat in Dallas, but you
cannot use it to make local calls in Denton (because the dialtone is
coming from Dallas, get it?)
So FX is really a replacement for toll service, not for local service.
Hope this helps.
Fred Goodwin SBC-TRI
Austin, Texas fgoodwin@tri.sbc.com
------------------------------
From: richard neveau <rneveau@dp.tpd.dsccc.com>
Subject: Re: Books About T-1/E-1 Wanted
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 02:36:11 -0500
Organization: DSC Communications
Reply-To: rneveau@dp.tpd.dsccc.com
Marc Samson wrote:
> I was looking through the archives for a good reference on T1 and E1.
> I did not find anything, and was woundering if you could point us in
> the right direction. We have a strong background in SS7 and are doing
> some T1/E1 work. We are looking to get good reference material on the
> message structure, differences in implementation
You need a bunch of books.
Of course you MUST get the Flanagan book.
The Guide to T1 Networking (Fourth Edition) William A. Flanagan
Telecom Library, 1990. ISBN 0-936648-26-0.
I've never seen a good book in English that went into E1 much except
the ITU standards. Once you have a grip on T1 you can pick up the
basics of E1 with very little effort.
Hit the ANSI web site http://www.ansi.org, the ITU web site
http://www.itu.ch and Bellcore web site http://www.bellcore.com
and shell out big bucks for:
{ANSI T1.107} Digital Hierarchy - Formats Specification, 1995
{ANSI T1.231} Digital Hierarchy - Layer 1 In-Service Digital
Transmission Performance Monitoring, 1993
*{ANSI T1.403} Network to Customer Installation DS1 Metallic Interface,
1995
{ANSI T1.408} ISDN Primary Rate - Customer Installation Metallic
Interfaces Layer 1 Specification, 1990
*{GR-499-CORE} Bellcore Generic Requirements, Transport System Generic
Requirements (TSGR): Common Requirements (a module of TSGR, FR-440),
1995
{GR-820-CORE} Bellcore Generic Requirements, General Digital
Transmission Surveillance, Issue 1, Nov, 1994.
{ITU-T (CCITT) G.703} Physical/Electrical Characteristics of
Hierarchical Digital Interfaces, 1991
*{ITU-T (CCITT) G.704} Synchronous Frame Structures used at Primary and
Secondary Hierarchical Levels, 1995.
*{ITU-T (CCITT) G.706} Frame Alignment and CRC Procedures Relating to
Basic Frame Structures Defined in Recommendation G.704, 1991
{ITU-T (CCITT) G.732} Characteristics of Primary PCM Multiplex Equipment
Operating at 2048 Kbits/s, 1988.
{ITU-T (CCITT) G.736} Characteristics of Synchronous Digital Multiplex
Equipment Operating at 2048 Kbits/s, 1993.
{ITU-T (CCITT) G.823} The Control of Jitter and Wander within Digital
Networks Which are based on the 2048 Kbits/s Hierarchy, 1993.
{ITU-T (CCITT) G.826} Error Performance Parameters and Objectives for
International Constant Bit Rate Digital Paths At or Above the Primary
Rate, 1993.
and not sure WHO got the document revenue stream but get ...
{AT&T TR 54106} Requirements for Interfacing Digital Terminal Equipment
to Services Employing the Extended Superframe Format
*{AT&T TR 62411} ACCUNET T1.5 Service Description and Interface
Specifications
from whatever part of the old empire still sells documents.
These standards will point you off in search of others but the basics
are all covered pretty well (in great detail) if you start with the
documents on this list. The ones with *'s are the base documents or
"starter set" you 'gotta' have.
You will need a rich uncle before you are done if you are developing a
product.
An often overlooked source would be framer chip vendors. They might
have some good presentations, etc. that go into less detail but use
real English words.
------------------------------
From: Ferdinand Verbelen <BELENF@btmaa.bel.alcatel.be>
Subject: Re: Voicemail and Unix
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 12:32:40 -0700
Organization: Alcatel Bell
Jailbait wrote:
> My big switch question is:
> WHY haven't they built TCP/IP support into phone switches yet? With a
> little bit of work you could make a secure system that could be
> programmed from the office of the person who does the programming work
> and not just from a dedicated terminal in the same room with the
> switch.
The Alcatel 4400 PBX is based on a real-time OS with a Posix-compliant
Unix look-alike on top of it. The OS is called Chorus/MiX (tm, no
doubt). The system is a full-blown Unix machine, with support for
TCP/IP networking, including telnet, rlogin, ftp etc. The main
processor boards have Ethernet interfaces, allowing the PBX to be
connected to the corporate LAN or WAN. Alternatively, dial-in access
is possible via a serial port (SLIP).
I would be very surprised if the A4400 were the only product out there
that is based on Unix and provides this level of integration with
TCP/IP networks. After all, Unix was originally dreamed up by AT&T ...
> Hell, at a very very minimum, I want NTP (Network Time Protocol)
> support built in. Having to reset the time and date manaually on my
> (well, my (previous) company's (previous)) switch everytime power went
> out or such, and having to check it regularly for drift when we had a
> perfectly good ntp server sitting ten feet away from the switch was
> always really annoying.
Sadly, the A4400 does not support NTP at this time either (although I
have suggested that this feature be added on several occasions).
However, I'd like to make the point that there is something seriously
wrong with a PBX that loses its time-of-day when it is powered down.
First of all, a PBX should have batteries providing it with ample
autonomy in case of mains power failure. In addition to that, the time
of day and other critical information should be maintained by a
separate battery, just like in a PC.
****************** A L C A T E L T E L E C O M ******************
Jan Ceuleers Systems Engineer, Defence and Avionics
Alcatel Bell, Radio Space and Defence Division
Berkenrodelei 33, B-2660 Hoboken, Belgium
Tel: (32/3)8295385 Fax: (32/3)8295086
e-mail: ceuleerj@btmaa.bel.alcatel.be
X400: C=BE,A=RTT,P=ALCANET,OU1=BELA1,O=ALCATEL,S="Jan",G="Ceuleers"
*******************************************************************
------------------------------
From: David Crawford <crawford@enterprise.pnr.com>
Subject: Re: Voicemail and Unix
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 16:21:41 -0400
Organization: epix.net
Ed James wrote:
> Has anyone had any experience hooking a unix box up to a vociemail
> system that isn't designed for it?
> Specifically. I have a NorTel Startalk of some configuration (floppy,
> scsi port on the back, parallel port, one card with two lines
> connected, labeled 1-2 and 3-4), and I would like to have it send
> email to folks when they get voicemail.
> Most of our employees are at client sites, and checking one's voicemail
> daily can be cumbersome. I'd like to instead deliver a piece of email
> to the mailbox owner that indicates that new voicemail arrived at a
> certain time.
> If I could hook the unix box up to the parallel port of the Startalk,
> and if I could convince the startalk to generate reports on a daily
> basis (or more frequently), I could parse the report on the unix side,
> and generate the required voicemail.
Try Gert Doering's gert@greenie.muc.de
http://www.leo.org/~doering/mgetty/ mgetty package. Doing a hack
from it wouldn't be too hard. I'm not sure how interfacing it to that
box of yours but you might want to at least ask him.
Good Luck,
David Crawford
crawford@pnr.com
http://www.pnr.com/
------------------------------
From: fgoodwin@tri.sbc.com (Fred Goodwin)
Subject: Re: Timed Local Internet Calls
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 09:30:13 -0500
Organization: SBC-Technology Resources, Inc.
In article <telecom16.419.1@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, fist@ozemail.com.au
(fist) wrote:
> I write a weekly column on telecommunications in Australia's national
> newspaper "The Australian", and last week I wrote a piece attacking
> the claims being made by the CEO of Telstra (ex-Telecom Australia)
> that Internet users were costing the carrier money because they locked
> up the telephone exchanges through long-held calls. My information
> was based on my own knowledge plus confirmation from some
> telecommunications consultants.
[quoted article and replies deleted for brevity's sake]
> Since I am getting different information from Telstra insiders and
> Telstra outsider/critics and telecommunications consultants, I'd like
> to hear the opinions of those of you who know about these switches,
> and who don't have any local vested interest.
Well, since I work for a regional Bell company, you may decide to ignore
my post; and since I was never a switching engineer, I don't bring those
credentials to this discussion. But it layman's terms (which for this
topic, I *am* a layman), it is easy to see that central offices (whether
digital or not) are not sized for unlimited usage.
There are many examples of COs blocking due to heavy, unexpected usage.
The one that comes to mind is the case of a CO in Oklahoma, US, where the
switch was so swamped by callers to a radio call-in show for concert
tickets, that 911 calls were blocked (i.e., either could draw no dialtone
or hit an "all trunks busy" signal), and supposedly someone actually died
when EMS technicians could not be quickly dispatched.
Of course, I exaggerate to make my point (but the incident is true): COs
are not sized to handle unlimited usage. I've heard the oft-repeated
statistic that the typical voice call holding time is approx. three
minutes, which seems reasonable (they obviously have not talked to my
spouse!), but Internet calls (and before that, BBS calls) do seem to
exceed that greatly.
I don't know the answer -- it would seem CO capacity will need to be
resized if Internet usage drives typical call holding times upward. Who
should pay for this? In another thread, it is said the telcos have been
compensated and no one should pay extra for this.
I think my example above shows clearly there *is* a cost for extremely
high usage, namely that other users are blocked. Should all users pay a
portion of the cost of beefing up switch capacity, or should those of us
who cause the increased usage pay the cost?
I don't know -- but I do know that usage is not free, and extremely high,
and long duration usage has tangible effects on the telco and on other
users.
A final question: if (as some believe) there is no additional marginal or
incremental cost to the telco for long-duration calls, why then do so many
online and Internet providers charge for usage rather than a flat rate?
If there is a cost to online providers, why not a cost to the telco also?
Fred Goodwin SBC-TRI
Austin, Texas fgoodwin@tri.sbc.com
------------------------------
From: Ed Ellers <edellers@mis.net>
Subject: Re: When Was Direct Distance Dialing Cut In?
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 22:34:55 -0400
Organization: Mikrotec Internet Services, Inc. (MISNet)
The Old Bear wrote:
> At the beginning of "DDD", the "access code" of 1+ was not
> required, with the result that many people unknowingly placed wrong-
> number toll calls while attempting to dial a local number. (The
> newspaper would periodically carry some little story about a toddler
> who had managed to place a call to the other side of the country by
> playing with the telephone set. I never figured out how the toddlers
> managed to give their number to the operator, however.)
As Pat mentioned, *some* areas had full-blown ANI early on, while others
didn't. In a number of cases the telcos had to send a technician to
every location that was on a party line to double-check the ringer
wiring on their telephones before an ANI upgrade could be implemented in
a given office.
> It was only in the 1960s that collect and person-to-person calls
> could be placed by direct dialing with the 0+ access code. Until then,
> we dialled 211 (?) and asked the long distance operator to place
> such calls.
We didn't get this in Louisville until the 1970s. Then again, South
Central Bell used to be rather slow to add new services (though
BellSouth has recently done better in this regard). AFAIK we never had
211 -- we used to place long distance calls through the local "0"
operators. Perhaps they weren't overburdened around here.
------------------------------
From: Jean-Francois Mezei <jfmezei@videotron.ca>
Subject: Re: Northern Canada Exchange Profile
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 00:06:47 +0000
Organization: Vaxination Informatique
Reply-To: jfmezei@videotron.ca
Does anyone know if the Eagle Plains Hotel on the Dempster highway in
the Yukon will still have local INUVIK (NWT) dial tone after next year's
shuffle?
(Inuvik is a few hundred kilometres away from Inuvik, and Fort McPherson
is actually closer to Eagle Plains Hotel than is Inuvik.)
Is Fort McPherson also a local call to Inuvik? (about 125km away).
Another question:
A while back, I saw a coverage map for Northwesttel's cellular service
and it included much of the Dempster highway. The Dempster is about
750km long with only Eagle Plains Hotel at km 371 and Fort McPherson
at about km 620 as "civilisation" spots. (There are a couple of spots
such as Arctic Red River fairly near to Fort McPherson.)
Does anyone know how many towers they would have setup to cover that
whole area (betwen Dawson City and Inuvik), and whether a hand held
phone would actually function along much of that road?
Another question:
Back in the days of Bell providing services to the eastern Arctic,
dialing 0 gave you an operator in Montreal. Dialing 0 from Inuvik
(Western Arctic, Northwestel) gave you a Whitehorse operator.
Are all operator services now provided from Whitehorse or does Bell
still provide "0" service for the eastern Arctic?
(Has Northwestel completely absorbed the Bell-Arctic services, is the
transition still in progress, or has it been abandoned and Bell will
continue serving eastern Arctic for the foreseable future?)
------------------------------
Subject: The World's Most Northerly Exchange (was Northern Canada)
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 02:26:06 +1200
From: martin@kcbbs.gen.nz (Martin D Kealey)
Dave.Leibold@superctl.tor250.org (Dave Leibold) wrote:
> 980 Grise Fiord was billed by Bell Canada as the world's most
> northerly exchange some years ago. Whether this accomplishment
> has been beaten is not known.
I don't know about the most northerly, but I believe the most
southerly exchange is +64-24099xxx, at Scott Base in Antarctica.
Grise Fiord is around 77 degrees North, 82 degrees West, while Scott
Base is around 78 degrees South, 168 East - approximately 45' latitude
further from the equator.
The Scott Base operator is available on +64-24099700 (during "daytime"
hours -- assuming timezone UT+1200).
McMurdo Base (a few kilometers away) also has a payphone!
Calls to and from New Zealand cost NZ$1.58 per minute. Calls from
other countries cost the same as calls to New Zealand.
Martin
------------------------------
From: siegman@ee.stanford.edu (AES)
Subject: Re: Getting a Semi-Public Pay Phone?
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 19:09:33 -0800
Organization: Stanford University
Lisa's address was gone from this thread when I came to it, so I can't
email her, but:
Our vacation condo has a phone service from a company that puts a
little box on the line in an inaccessible place, after which you can
only dial toll-free local calls directly from the phone (in return for
paying the monthly basic service fee to the local telco). Any
long-distance or toll-bearing numbers that are dialed are blocked and
grabbed by this company and have to be done as credit-card calls. They
don't charge the owner of the phone directly for this -- I think they
make their money by putting most long-distance calls on some carrier
they have an arrangement with. Any caller can, however, still get to
AT&T or whatever via the appropriate 800 numbers; and the owner of the
line can use a PIN to bypass the block for anything. Has worked well
for us, on two different units, for several years.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 96 18:31 EDT
From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: 1+ Dialing and How it's Billed
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
> Actually, in my case, Yes. If I dial intra-NPA to AC, as in your
> example, using 345-xxxx, the charge appears on the LEC portion of my
> bill. If I dial using 1-609-345-xxxx, it appears on the LD carrier
> portion of my bill (or at least it has been appearing there.)
If this is the case, call repair service and report it. It's a
programming bug in your local switch. (My local telco just squashed
such a bug a couple of weeks ago here. They couldn't figure out why
the occasional call to Ithaca, which is a local call from here, was
getting routed to toll trunks, until someone mentioned their laptop
computer which was programmed with all 11-digit numbers so they'd work
regardless of where they were.)
> So is my experience a fluke, or is it policy to refer ALL 1+ calls to
> my LD provider?
The way you dial your calls is not supposed to affect how they're
billed or routed unless you force routing with 10XXX. In ancient
times (ten years ago) when there were SxS exchanges that sometimes
happened, but New Jersey's been all electronic for years. While
you're at it try making a local call to Pennington or Princeton and
make sure that gets handled as a free local call.
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 96 18:35 EDT
From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: Does New Area Codes Mean New Caller Cost?
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
> Right now in NJ - when I dial 411, I can get any telephone number in
> the 609 Area code - my cost after six free calls is 20 cents per 411
> call. If 609 is split into two area codes will I need to call long
> Distance (NPA-555-1212) to the new area code and then be charged 90
> cents per DA call by AT&T?
Of course not. DA in 609 is a bargain, since for your 20 cents you
can get a number within either of the 609 area LATAs. You'll continue
to dial 411 or 555-1212 for anywhere in south Jersey.
After 201 and 908 split, DA worked the same as always. I believe
there's still a single DA bureau for north Jersey, so 201-555-1212 and
908-555-1212 reach the same people at the same price.
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'.
Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
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*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
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*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #424
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Aug 20 12:15:14 1996
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Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 12:15:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608201615.MAA16504@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #425
TELECOM Digest Tue, 20 Aug 96 12:15:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 425
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Getting a Semi-Public Pay Phone? (Roger Wells)
Re: Getting a Semi-Public Pay Phone? (Michael Ayotte)
Re: Letter to New York PSC (Barry F. Margolius)
Re: Letter to New York PSC (Zev Rubenstein)
Re: Transfer Powerpoint to VHS (Clarence Dold)
Re: Transfer Powerpoint to VHS (Michael Ayotte)
Re: Does New Area Codes Mean New Caller Cost? (Linc Madison)
Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers? (Al Varney)
Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954 (Bob Goudreau)
Re: GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System (Bill Newkirk)
Re: What is Davar? (Gerry Belanger)
Re: InterLATA connectivity in 609? (Mark Smith)
Re: ISDN D-Channel Data and Internet Voice (Steve Schear)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: rwells@usin.com (Roger Wells)
Subject: Re: Getting a Semi-Public Pay Phone?
Date: 20 Aug 1996 15:08:06 GMT
Organization: U.S. Intelco Networks, Inc.
In article <telecom16.422.10@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, sjslavin@aol.com
(SJSlavin) writes:
> Your title says it all -- why not install a semi-pub. Are they not
> still available? Semi-pub is a coin phone on your business line. Pay
> the monthly line rate (which you are apparently paying already), telco
> keeps the coins. What is missing here?
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I think what is missing is Lisa said
> they did *not* want to have to pay the monthly fee for a phone out
> there and that telco would not install it as a purely public (or
> commissionable) pay phone because of the lack of regular usage.
> One thing they might consider however is leaving the phone they have
> there, but disabling the touch tone pad, or at least disabling all of
> it except the '9' and '1' keys. PAT]
I would suggest getting the Hello Direct catalog by calling
1-800-444-3556. They have all sorts of devices to restrict calls and
apparently good customer support (I have never had occasion to use it
but I understand it's very good.) Incidently, I first heard about
Hello Direct from this newsgroup.
Roger Wells (speaking only for myself)
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, Hello Direct is a good place to
start looking for a variety of odds'n'ends to make your telephone
work more efficiently for you. Some say their prices are a little
high, but the quality of their stuff seems to be worth it. Another
way of remembering their phone number is 800-HI-HELLO. I certainly
wish they would consider becoming one of the sponsors here. PAT]
------------------------------
From: michael@ayotte.com (Michael Ayotte)
Subject: Re: Getting a Semi-Public Pay Phone?
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 17:57:07 -0800
Organization: Ayotte
In article <telecom16.419.5@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, hancock4@cpcn.com
(Lisa) wrote:
> My condominium has a swimming pool and clubhouse. There is an
> extension phone (from the office line) for emergency calls from the
> pool. We are finding more requests by people to use that phone to
> check their home machine for messages, call friends, etc. Also,
> guests at clubhouse events want to call home to check the babysitter,
> etc.
> The emergency phone is abused -- we get overseas calls on it.
> Could anyone suggest perhaps a tariff on how we could get a Bell pay
> phone more inexpensively? I've seen Bell phones at other condo pools
> with a layout similar to ours that can't get that much usage.
You might try seeing if you can get another phone line installed with
local only dialing. If you can get one of the local residents who uses
it the most to pay for it, then you could prabably get in under
residential terrifs, which means no local call charges. Then they
would be able to call their machines, babysitter's etc, and recieve
calls from wherever with no toll charges.
Michael Ayotte <mailto:michael@ayotte.com>
<http://www.ayotte.com/personal/ayotte/>
<irc://EFnet/#macintosh/nick:woodstoc>
------------------------------
From: bfm@pobox.com (Barry F Margolius)
Subject: Re: Letter to New York PSC
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 02:25:04 GMT
Organization: Zippo
I too had a similar problem calling my voicemail from a Nynex payphone
in the Greenwich Villiage area. Hopefully the PSC will take some
action.
barry
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 13:22:22 +0000
From: zev@attmail.com (Zev Rubenstein)
Subject: Re: Letter to New York PSC
Danny Burstein wrote:
> I got a response from the phone that said (roughly) "no further
> digits may be dialed at this time".
I believe that a couple of years ago, NYNEX wildely publicized the
replacement of a number of DTMF payphones with rotary dial phones in
areas where there was known to be high drug trafficking. The theory
was that drug dealers use pagers heavily to keep in touch, and by
preventing the entry of DTMF to pager systems, crime would be
reduced. In their wisdom, the use of rotary dial phones would
accomplish this. Good PR, bad idea. It inconvenienced legitimate
customers and could easily be bypassed by the use of hand-held DTMF
tone generators.
I suspect that NYNEX has enhanced their anti-crime efforts by
implementing a software solution, so that they no longer have to
replace phones, which is very labor intensive. Hey, that's progress <g>!
Zev Rubenstein
Nationwide Telecommunications Resources
------------------------------
From: Clarence Dold <dold@rahul.net>
Subject: Re: Transfer Powerpoint to VHS
Date: 20 Aug 1996 14:57:48 GMT
Organization: a2i network
blair@instep.bc.ca wrote:
> Does anybody know how I can transfer a timed PowerPoint presentation
> (version 7.0 running on Windows 95 on a PC) to VHS video? Resolution
> should be 1024x768.
Resolution of the final product can't be 1024x768. A standard VHS
recorder is only about 250 wide, and 500 tall. S-VHS bumps this up to
375 wide, I think, still 500 tall.
On the other hand, if you only mention the 1024x768 because that's
what your screen is, and you can deal with the lower resolution from
the playback, then there are devices that will record SVGA output from
your PC. The "windows95" part doesn't matter, as the device I am
thinking of plugs inline between your monitor and the PC connector.
They are probably available from many sources. I have seen them at
JDR Microdevices in San Jose, CA.
JDR CatalogSales 800-538-5000 408-559-1200
BBS 408-559-0253 FAX 408-559-0250
San Jose Store 1238 S. Bascom 408-280-7144
Clarence A Dold - dold@rahul.net
- Pope Valley & Napa CA.
------------------------------
From: michael@ayotte.com (Michael Ayotte)
Subject: Re: Transfer Powerpoint to VHS
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 17:51:33 -0800
Organization: Ayotte
In article <telecom16.418.15@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, blair@instep.bc.ca wrote:
> Does anybody know how I can transfer a timed PowerPoint presentation
> (version 7.0 running on Windows 95 on a PC) to VHS video? Resolution
> should be 1024x768.
Umm, VHS can only handle around 400 lines of resolution. A
presentation designed for 1024x768 would look like garbage even on the
the best broadcast quality NTSC format. There are plenty of ways to
get a presentation onto a VHS tape, but you will prabably need to redo
the presentation to make it readable. A couple of suggestions: Use
only two to four lines of text. Use bold, simple fonts (no italics, no
serifs). Display the presentation on a 15" monitor at 640x480 then
walk 20-30' away and look at it. If it is still readable, then you are
prabably O.K.
Michael Ayotte <mailto:michael@ayotte.com>
<http://www.ayotte.com/personal/ayotte/>
<irc://EFnet/#macintosh/nick:woodstoc>
------------------------------
From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison)
Subject: Re: Does New Area Codes Mean New Caller Cost?
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 13:19:17 -0700
Organization: Best Internet Communications
In article <telecom16.420.6@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Lou Jahn <71233.2444@
CompuServe.COM> wrote:
> Can anyone help with a minor pricing point? As the new area codes are
> introduced, are callers forced to pay higher costs for things such as
> Directory Assistance?
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: At least around this part of the country
> in Chicago (Ameritech territory) we are able to still use 411 regardless
> of the actual area code (312/630/708/773/847) involved. There is no
> extra cost involved other than what is usually charged for directory
> assistance. Area 815 however is not included, and never was available
> through our local 411. PAT]
When the 415/510 split went final, directory assistance was cut over
so that you had to dial 1-NPA-555-1212 for numbers across the Bay.
For a while, that was to our advantage, since *all* directory
assistance calls to other NPAs within our LATA were free, but that has
since changed. However, I believe Pacific Bell still charges the same
for '411' as for '1-NPA-555-1212', as long as it's within the LATA.
Inter-LATA charges, of course, are determined by the IXCs and the
California PUC.
Pacific Bell has not made any announcements about the upcoming splits
and how they will affect directory assistance charges. In particular,
before 415/510, a single call to '411' could get two numbers, say one
in San Francisco and one in Oakland. Those two numbers now require
two separate calls to 415 and 510 D.A. Will the same happen with, say,
San Francisco and San Mateo after the 415/650 split?
The only situation now that would have a significant effect would be
in NPAs that currently straddle LATA boundaries but get split. For
example, someone in Barstow can dial '411' for a number in San Diego,
and will be charged the Pacific Bell intra-LATA rate, since both
numbers are currently in area code 619, even though they're in
different LATAs. Next year, when the 619/760 split becomes final,
though, that Barstow customer will have to dial 1-619-555-1212, and
the call will be carried and billed by the IXC, since all of 619 will
then be in a different LATA. However, the reverse will not hold true
-- the customer in San Diego will be able to dial 1-760-555-1212 and
be billed intra-LATA by Pacific Bell, because 760 will still straddle
the San Diego and Los Angeles LATAs. Are you confused yet?
Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com
------------------------------
From: news@ssbunews.ih.lucent.com
Subject: Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers?
Date: 19 Aug 1996 21:02:45 GMT
Organization: Lucent Technologies
In article <telecom16.405.7@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Jay R. Ashworth
<jra@scfn.thpl.lib.fl.us> wrote:
> John Nagle (nagle@netcom.com) wrote:
>> The last panel CO shut down years ago. There are very few
>> step-by-step COs left, and by now most of them have microprocessors in
>> between the line finder and first selector that capture the dial
>> digits for processing. Electronic marker upgrades are available for
>> crossbar COs, and everything later is programmable.
> Yes, John. You're right.
> AT&T/Lucent, NorTel and Siemens people:
> _HOW_ much code is going to need to be re-written _and tested_ in order
> to expand either half of a NANP style phone number? (My standard
> fallback:) Deej?
SWAG -- Switch and PBX code will be about 10% of the total, with
billing, accounting, maintenance, provisioning, third-party Visual
Basic modules, third-party DBase code, COBOL applications, turn-key
TELCo systems and the usual Gov'ment/DOD programs making up the lion's
share of the effort.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Having survived the conversion of
No. 1 ESS to 1A ESS, 1A ESS memory expansion, Carrier Code expansion
(from XX to XXX to XXXX), IDDD expansion to 15 digits, NPA expansion
from the N0/1X format, di/trivestiture, and the 60's, my '.plan' file
contains one line:
"... to RETIRE before the North American Numbering Plan grows beyond
10 digits."
Al Varney
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 17:21:47 -0400
From: goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com (Bob Goudreau)
Subject: Re: End of Permissive Dialing in 954
rlm@netcom.com (Robert McMillin) writes:
>> Your sarcastic generalization is misplaced. How does allowing
>> customers to dial 1 before any ten digit number prohibit this?
>> If you want to know if it is a toll call, don't dial 1.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Heh? Jeez, Louise, tell that to anyone living in El Lay, Chicago, or
> New York, with their tower-of-babble area codes.
I don't think such an abrupt reply was appropriate, particularly since
he was *not* talking about the cities you mention, but was continuing
to discuss the subject noted above, namely, calling in the Miami area.
His advice is thus 100 percent correct.
> Dialing 1+ doesn't imply a toll call in those places, nor should it
> anywhere else. For those of you living in states with erstwhile
> single area codes where this used to be true, I have a suggestion: get
> used to it. Sorry the telcos lied to you about 1+ == toll, but
> sometimes, them's the breaks. In any event, 1+ to other area codes
> regardless of toll is mandated by the F-C-C. If your local telco
> still allows ten-digit dialing without the prepended 1+, well, good
> luck trying to keep it.
The above is a rather impressive agglomeration of ignorance and
arrogance. What evidence do you have that the FCC has mandated
that calls to other area codes must be dialed with eleven (and not
ten or seven) digits? How then do you explain the existence of 10D
inter-NPA local dialing in places like the Washington, DC metro
area, the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area, or parts of North Carolina?
What do you and the FCC plan to do about 10D local dialing in
metro Toronto (remember, Canada is beyond the FCC's jurisdiction)?
If there's anyone who needs to "get used to it", it's the minority of
NANP residents (in just eight US states) who refuse to accept that the
"toll requires 1+" rule is the NANP norm (covering over two-thirds of
its residents), not the exception. And yes, I said "toll requires
1+", not "1+ == toll". The whole point of this thread is that even
local numbers should be dialable as 1+10D, as Bellcore recommends,
even if they can also be dialed using seven or ten digits.
Once the NANP phases out 7D dialing, even the holdouts in CA, IL,
NY, NJ, PA, WV, NH and ME should probably consider allowing local
calls to be dialed without mandating a leading 1+. The dialing plan
then becomes simple and uniform: all NANP calls can be dialed as
1+10D, be they local or toll. But local calls can also be dialed
using the 10D short-cut method. Only toll calls would *require*
the leading 1+.
Bob Goudreau Data General Corporation
goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com 62 Alexander Drive
+1 919 248 6231 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
------------------------------
From: Bill Newkirk <wenewkirk@rodes.cca.rockwell.com>
Subject: Re: GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 11:33:12 -0400
Organization: Rockwell Avionics/Collins
Bill Newkirk wrote:
> I don't remember the values we used to use back when I was involved with
> a carrier current radio station in college. Seemed like it was a 1000V
> cap (or maybe 1500 V) and on the order of 1 uF or so, maybe smaller.
I've since been informed that's there's a device available with the
right size caps in the form of a 220 V appliance adapter. You unplug
the dryer or stove, plug in the device, plug the appliance into the
device.
The device's internal caps cross connect the RF between the two sides
of the transformer and the appliance continues to operate normally.
However, I don't know how hard a sale it is to tell people ... "to get
your phone to work, put this thing on the end of the dryer cord and
plug it in."
------------------------------
From: wa1hoz@a3bgate.nai.net (Gerry Belanger)
Subject: Re: What is Davar?
Date: 19 Aug 1996 21:51:56 GMT
Organization: North American Internet
Tad Cook (tad@ssc.com) wrote:
> In GTE territory east of Seattle, you can dial 411 (which was retired
> about a quarter century ago as the directory assistance number) and
> get a computer voice which reads back the number you are calling from.
> If you dial # before the voice starts, then it reads back the number
> in the form of a rapid DTMF sequence.
What you have described is an Automatic Number Announcer (ANA).
> I've heard this system is called DAVAR. What is it used for? I can
> understand how the voice announcement could be useful for pair
> identification, but exactly how is the DTMF readback of the calling
> number used?
Davar is CO test equipment used for line and records verification. It
uses the ANA's DTMF spill to somewhat automate the process. A tech
puts a special head on a cross-connect block, and the Davar dials the
ANA for each line on the block. Results can be checked against office
records. The ANA is still available for use by frame techs and
outside installers.
I have not actually seen a Davar. But the chances are better than
even I designed the ANA. 8-).
Gerry Belanger, WA1HOZ wa1hoz@a3bgate.nai.net
Newtown, CT g.belanger@ieee.org
------------------------------
From: Mark Smith <msmith@pluto.njcc.com>
Subject: Re: InterLATA connectivity in 609?
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 96 10:30:39 EDT
Organization: New Jersey Computer Connection, Lawrenceville, NJ
In article <telecom16.407.5@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, <awhite@dca.net> writes:
> I am working on a project that requires that I run a T1 circuit
> between the two LATAs in South Jersey, the Atlantic LATA and the
> Delaware LATA. These two LATAs comprise the 609 area code.
> I've gotten some quotes from national vendors of Inter-LATA DS1 and
> frame-relay circuits, but the prices are outrageous -- mostly over
> $3,000 per month. I've gotten quotes from EMI, Cable & Wireless, and
> LDDS/WorldCom. I can't imagine MCI, Sprint, or AT&T would be any less
> expensive.
My company has sites in Lawrenceville, NJ (609 Delaware Valley), Pomona, NJ
(609 Atlantic) and Langhorne, PA (215).
It turned out to be cheaper to make sure each segment crossed a state
line. Therefore, we have no direct link between Lawrenceville and
Pomona - just links to Langhorne, PA. Since the computer room is in
Langhorne anyway it works out well.
Mark
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 13:59:09 GMT
From: azur@netcom.com (Steve Schear)
Subject: Re: ISDN D-Channel Data and Internet Voice
>> azur@netcom.com wrote:
>>> Although I believe few consumer devices now feature D-channel data
>>> support, I think it would be an excellent way to enable reasonable
>>> cost Internet phone service. It removes the requirement for having to
>>> remain on-line while still offering fast call set-up. It would also
>>> enable inexpensive home Web servers, again because the server need
>>> only be on-line when its in use.
>> But wouldn't the fact that the D channel is only 9.6Kbps make for problems
>> given the relatively small bandwidth?
>> Most of the Internet Telephony producvts I've seen (heard) demonstrated
>> are passable at 14.4Kbps but don't get "good" until 28.8Kbps.
> It would be wrong to transmit the "data" on the D-channel. IMHO, it
> should be used only for signalling (or the packet switched connection,
> if the phone company supports this). However it might be used to
> established a connection to the ISP on demand, like the usual
> call-back works.
I didn't intend to imply that the D-channel be used for the actual
transport of voice or home/small business Web pages. The D-channel's
bandwidth is too small for adequate performance and the per packet
charges would likely be too high to make it economical. As Thomas
said, the D-channel is best for on-demand set-up and tear-down of
B-channel connections, which typically require only in the 10s of
milliseconds. This cooperative use could make Internet telephony and
small Web servers constantly available and at low cost.
PGP Fingerprint: FE 90 1A 95 9D EA 8D 61 81 2E CC A9 A4 4A FB A9
Steve Schear | Internet: azur@netcom.com
Lamarr Labs | Voice: 1-702-658-2654
7075 West Gowan Road | Fax: 1-702-658-2673
Suite 2148 |
Las Vegas, NV 89129 |
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'.
Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
or phone at:
Post Office Box 4621
Skokie, IL USA 60076
Phone: 847-329-0571
Fax: 847-329-0572
** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is:
http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
a note to tel-archives@mirror.lcs.mit.edu to receive a help
file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of
the help file for the Telecom Archives.
*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #425
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Aug 20 14:06:48 1996
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Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 13:11:37 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608201711.NAA22449@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Bcc:
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #426
TELECOM Digest Tue, 20 Aug 96 13:11:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 426
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
New Area Codes Unveiled For Large Portion Of 415, 916 Regions (Mike King)
Is Nynex Being Straight With Us? (waitingis@aol.com)
Anyone Know New GETS Home Page Address? (Andy Yee)
Free: Mitel Smart-1 PAV Chaining Box (Steve Bagdon)
T1 Direct Dial In Standards (Zohar Golan)
Wireless Freedom Rings at GOP Convention (Mike King)
GSM Course Wanted (Shawn Malone)
Re: New California Area Codes Unveiled (John Cropper)
Re: A Particularly Vicious Bulk E-mailer (John Cropper)
Re: Timed Local Internet Calls (Christian Van Boven)
Re: Who Runs the InterNIC? (John Agosta)
Re: Microwave Rural Phone System? (Robert Beeman)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mike King <mk@wco.com>
Subject: New Area Codes Unveiled For Large Portion Of 415, 916 Regions
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 14:25:27 PDT
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 14:59:48 -0700
From: sqlgate@list.pactel.com
Subject: New Area Codes Unveiled For Large Portion Of 415, 916 Regions
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
John Lucas
(415) 542-9509
Dave Miller
(916) 972-2811
Dick Fitzmaurice
(415) 394-3764
Bill Kenney
(916) 972-6604
New Area Codes Unveiled For Large Portion Of 415, 916 Regions
650 New Area Code For San Francisco Region; 530 To Be Added In Northern
California
SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Area Code Administrator announced Friday
that the 650 area code will be assigned to the geographical area south
of San Francisco being split off from the 415 area code. He also
announced that 530 will be the new area code for a very large portion of
the existing 916 area code, generally to the east, north, and west of
Sacramento County.
The numbers represent California's 17th and 18th area codes, assigned to
areas whose boundaries were approved by the California Public Utilities
Commission earlier this month.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the CPUC has ordered the 650 area code to
go into effect on August 1, 1997. It will cover most of San Mateo
county, and the northern portion of Santa Clara county, plus a very
small portion of Santa Cruz county (see map). This area was split off
from the remainder of the current 415 area code, including Marin County
and the city and county of San Francisco.
Under the 916 geographic split, most of Sacramento County, south Placer
County, including the cities of Roseville, Loomis and Rocklin, and the
city of West Sacramento in Yolo County will keep the existing 916 area
code.
The remainder of the 916 region, which includes all or portions of 23
Northern California counties with more than 1 million residents and
businesses, will receive the new 530 area code and must change that
portion of their phone number. This area includes all of Nevada, Yuba,
Sutter, Colusa, Sierra, Butte, Glenn, Plumas, Tehama, Lassen, Shasta,
Trinity, Modoc and Siskiyou counties and the rest of Placer County, the
majority of Yolo County (excluding West Sacramento), the 916 portions of
El Dorado and Alpine counties and small portions of Solano, Mendocino,
Lake and Humboldt counties as well as the Mono County community of
Coleville. The 530 area code is expected to take effect for these areas
on November 1, 1997.
"One of the most difficult challenges in developing these relief plans
was to keep as many communities of common interest as possible in the
same area code, but at the same time obtain the longest life span for
both the existing and the new area codes," said Bruce Bennett,
California area code relief coordinator. "It's a delicate balancing act.
We need to minimize inconvenience to the largest possible number of
people, while making sure these area codes last as long as possible,"
Bennett added.
Industry estimates indicate that the new 530 area code should last about
18 years while the remainder of the existing 916 area code will have
enough numbers to accommodate growth through the year 2002, Bennett
said. Similarly, the new 650 area code for the southern San Francisco
peninsula is expected to last about 11 years while the remaining portion
of the old 415 area code should last until mid-2002.
While customers in the new 650 and 530 area codes will have to change
the first three-digit portion of their telephone number, the new area
codes will not affect the price of telephone calls in any of these
areas, Bennett said. Call distance determines the price and is not
impacted by the creation of a new area code, he explained.
"It's also important for customers to know that PBXs, auto-dialers and
other telecommunications equipment will have to be re-programmed to
recognize the new area codes," said Bennett. "Historically, area codes
always had either a "1" or a "0" as the middle digit for identification
purposes, but all of those codes have been used up and are gone." These
new number combinations will allow area codes to be any three digits
from 220 to 999, creating an additional 5 billion telephone numbers,
Bennett said.
The estimated 3 million residents and businesses who will need to change
to the new 650 or 530 area codes will get to keep their existing
seven-digit telephone numbers. When the new area codes are introduced
next year, there will be a permissive dialing period of at least 6
months where callers can dial existing numbers in either the old area
code or the new one.
Plans for the two area code splits were collectively developed by a
telecommunications industry group representing more than 30 companies.
They included Pacific Bell, GTE, Contel, Roseville Telephone Co., Evans
Telephone Co., Citizens Utilities, Foresthill Telephone Co., AT&T, MCI,
SPRINT, AirTouch, Pagenet, AT&T Wireless, MFS Communications Co.,
Teleport Communications Group (TCG), the California Cable Television
Association and others.
---------------
Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com
------------------------------
From: waitingis@aol.com (Waiting Is)
Subject: Is Nynex Being Straight With Us?
Date: 19 Aug 1996 21:10:55 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Reply-To: waitingis@aol.com (Waiting Is)
I have a technical question concerning Nynex's ability to modify an
existing alternative optional calling plan and how long this
modification should reasonably take to implement. The existing plan
has only been offered to four of their exchanges in Maine by order of
the PUC (Public Utilities Commission) and is as follows:
It offers a choice of one-way local unlimited calling to a couple of
nearby exchanges for a $6.00 per month fee or a block of time for
$3.00 for the first hour and each subsequent minute at $.05 per
minute. Nynex is contending that to change the $6.00 per month fee to
$3.00 per month would take "at least 18 months to implement." (Nynex's
words) Is this true?
What exactly is involved in setting this up? Our PUC claims that they
cannot disprove what Nynex is telling us. As we are at a critical
point in our negotiations with them, it would be helpful to know
definitively if they are misleading us. I personally find it doubtful
that Nynex's system is that antiquated to cause such a delay, but need
someone who is familiar with this type of stuff to give me the
straight scoop. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Pat
------------------------------
From: nde@mail.visi.com (Andy Yee)
Subject: Anyone Know New GETS Home Page Address?
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 96 14:18:41 GMT
Organization: New Directions Engineering, Inc.
It seems that the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service
(GETS) has either moved or hidden their home page. Can anyone still
get into their homepage? This is the address I have:
http://164.117.147.223/~nc-pp/html/gets.htm
Andy Yee, President, ex-Winternet customer,
New Directions Engineering Inc.
Personal Home Page: http://www.visi.com/~nde
"Democrats...They think that all government is good; it can make you
healthier, taller, improve your golf game...
Republicans, on the other hand, think that all government is bad. Then
they get elected to office and PROVE IT."
- P. J. O'Rourke
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 06:53:34 -0400
From: bagdon@rust.net (S and K Bagdon)
Subject: Free: Mitel Smart-1 PAV Chaining Box
I've had this darn thing lying around for the last two years. If
anyone needs it (much less knows what it is!) for an expirement, or
even has a *use* for it, let me know. Just looking for the cost of
shipping ($3-$4?).
Unit currently has the CCC rom in it, and it is either 2 or 4 port
capable (unit has 4 RJ-11 plugs on it). Unit does *not* produce beeps
on pickup and verification - remember, it's a PAV box with a CCC rom
in it. Includes manual, power supply, 'trick plug' to reset the unit,
etc. Complete.
Hey, it's free, what more do you want? :-)
Steve B.
bagdon@rust.net (h) USFMDDKT@ibmmail.com (w)
http://www.rust.net/~bagdon
Katharine aNd Steve (KNS)
------------------------------
From: Zohar Golan <Zoharg@nice.com>
Subject: T1 Direct Dial In Standards
Organization: NICE Systems
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 20:57:30 GMT
Hello everybody,
I'm looking for the standards for Direct Dialing In (DDI or DID) in
digital T1 trunks.
If anyone can tell me where can I find those standards or what
standards I need, it would be very helpful to me.
Bye,
Zohar Golan Zoharg@nice.com
------------------------------
From: Mike King <mk@wco.com>
Subject: Wireless Freedom Rings at GOP Convention
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 14:24:13 GMT
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 13:03:54 -0700
From: sqlgate@list.pactel.com
Subject: Wireless Freedom Rings at GOP Convention
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Linda Bonniksen
John Britton
(619) 237-2430
Wireless Freedom Rings at GOP Convention
More Than 400,000 Wireless Calls Completed on
SAN DIEGO--More than 600 people holding new wireless phones from
Pacific Bell Mobile Services made approximately 400,000 calls and
short-text messages during the 1996 Republican National Convention in
San Diego.
Frank Casazza, vice president of operations for Pacific Bell Mobile
Services, said the network performed flawlessly among customers with
high expectations.
"The GOP convention has been a great test of our network, and a sign
that we're ready to launch this new technology," Casazza said.
The new wireless technology is Personal Communications Services (or
PCS. Unlike cellular, PCS is a 100 percent pure digital service. Being
digital, PCS does away with static, cross-talk, eavesdropping, and a
form of electronic theft known as "cloning."
For convention organizers, PCS made the difference between order and
chaos.
"We could not have put on the convention as smoothly without PCS,"
said Patrick Garahan, telecommunications director for the Republican
National Convention. "We were able to react to situations as they
occurred. If we needed to reach somebody, we just dialed them
up. We're all walking around with these little phones in our pockets."
As the convention's official provider of wireless telecommunications
technology, Pacific Bell Mobile Services built and operated California's
first PCS network offering coverage across a 500-square mile area that
included the San Diego Convention Center, downtown hotels, tourist
attractions, the airport, major transportation corridors and the
coastline.
"I kept the phone on all the time and never had a problem," said Jack
Ford, executive director of the San Diego Host Committee.
Ford, whose PCS phone rang as he walked to the convention's podium
opening night, marveled at the technology's simplicity.
"The combination of improved sound quality with voice mail and
short-text messaging all in one phone simplified my telecommunications
needs," he said. "I didn't have to carry 18 different products to stay
in touch."
Manufacturers Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson provided more than 600 phones
to the convention. The Nokia and Motorola phones came in bold
stars-and-stripes designs, while the Ericsson model displayed the
convention logo featuring the GOP's trumpeting elephant.
PCS phones integrate the features of a phone, pager and personal digital
assistant. The phones also can be plugged into laptop computers for
wireless e-mail, faxing, and access to the Internet and corporate file
servers. Recent improvements in battery life offer longer "talk" and
"standby" time.
"My phone has been on all the time. I think the battery's going to last
the whole convention." said Arthur Bruzzone, chairman of the San
Francisco Republican Party.
"The best thing about PCS was being able to set up an office within an
hour of landing in San Diego," Bruzzone said. "PCS has given me a
central point from which to send and receive calls, messages and voice
mail."
After the convention closes, Pacific Bell Mobile Services will prepare
for an end-of-year consumer product launch in San Diego. The company
plans to broadly distribute PCS phones through drug stores, consumer
electronics stores and warehouse retailers. Industry analysts expect PCS
to cost less than existing cellular service, particularly in California
where cellular subscribers pay among the highest rates in the nation.
Pacific Bell Mobile Services is the wireless communications subsidiary
of Pacific Bell. Pacific Telesis Group, the parent company of Pacific
Bell and Pacific Bell Mobile Services, is a diversified
telecommunications company headquartered in San Francisco.
---------------
Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com
------------------------------
From: smalone@vfb25aces.vf.lmco.com
Subject: GSM Course Wanted
Date: 20 Aug 1996 15:20:50 GMT
Organization: Lockheed Martin Corp, Valley Forge PA
Does anyone know of any short courses on GSM in the US or Europe?
Looking for a "professional" type course like those offered by George
Washington University and some private companies.
Thanks,
Shawn Malone
Lockheed Martin Corp.
smalone@vfb25aces.vf.lmco.com
610-354-3214
------------------------------
From: psyber@usa.pipeline.com (John Cropper)
Subject: Re: New California Area Codes Unveiled
Date: 20 Aug 1996 12:10:40 GMT
Organization: Pipeline
On Aug 15, 1996 15:39:02 in article <New California Area Codes Unveiled>,
'Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>' wrote:
> In the San Francisco Bay Area, the CPUC has ordered the 650 area code
> to go into effect on August 1, 1997. It will cover most of San Mateo
> county, and the northern portion of Santa Clara county, plus a very
> small portion of Santa Cruz county (see map). This area was split off
> from the remainder of the current 415 area code, including Marin
> County and the city and county of San Francisco.
Is 8/1/97 the proposed mandatory date, or the beginning of permissive
dialing?
> The 530 area code is expected to take effect for these areas on
> November 1, 1997.
Same question here ...
John Cropper NiS / NexComm
PO Box 277
Pennington, NJ USA 08534-0277
Inside NJ : 609.637.9434
Outside NJ: 888.NPA.NFO2 (672.6362)
Fax : 609.637.9430
email : psyber@usa.pipeline.com
------------------------------
From: psyber@usa.pipeline.com (John Cropper)
Subject: Re: A Particularly Vicious Bulk E-mailer
Date: 20 Aug 1996 12:01:02 GMT
Organization: Pipeline
On Aug 16, 1996 09:50:44 in article <A Particularly Vicious Bulk E-mailer>,
'Dave Keeny <keenyd@ttc.com>' wrote:
> I wonder if anyone has heard of or had dealings with:
> Tim Luedtke
> Owner, First Look
> P.O. Box 770441
> Orlando, FL 32877
> (407)438-8892 Phone
> (407)438-7083 Fax
> He's been advertising bulk e-mail services, search engine
> registration, and the like for some time now, under various e-mail
> accounts (at least four that I know of). In his latest incarnation
> (see the "New Bulk Email Program" thread in misc.consumers) an
> individual who complained to him was threatened with 300,000+
> e-mailings. Luedtke made good with his threat, from his
> 1stlook@digital.net account. The recipient called Luedtke's ISP and
> they pulled his account within 30 minutes.
> Within a couple hours, apparently, Luedtke was back again, this time
> flinging mailbombs from A1stlook@aol.com. I don't know how else to
> combat this type of miscreant other than to let others know who he is
> and how he operates so that, with any luck, his own reputation will
> drive him out of business. Too bad he has no 800 number <g> ...
Call each provider in sucession (as he bombs you), and file formal
complaints. You might also want to contact your provider, explain the
situation, and have steps taken at their level to filter out anything
he would throw your way. As well, file a complaint with the FCC on the
grounds of harassment (indirectly, but harassment nonetheless) by
phone (since he is probably using a dial-up connection with AOL).
If you *really* want to get nasty, and don't mind paying for a few
telephone calls, dial up some fax-back services and have them send him
some rather large technical manuals via his fax number. It never hurts
to share information (at least not you). :-)
John Cropper NiS / NexComm
PO Box 277
Pennington, NJ USA 08534-0277
Inside NJ : 609.637.9434
Outside NJ: 888.NPA.NFO2 (672.6362)
Fax : 609.637.9430
email : psyber@usa.pipeline.com
------------------------------
From: Christian Van Boven <Christian.VanBoven@ping.be>
Subject: Re: Timed Local Internet Calls
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 22:38:12 +0200
Organization: EUnet Belgium, Leuven, Belgium
Stewart Fist wrote:
> Since I am getting different information from Telstra insiders and
> Telstra outsider/critics and telecommunications consultants, I'd like
> to hear the opinions of those of you who know about these switches,
> and who don't have any local vested interest. The switches are
> Ericsson AXEs and Alcatel System 12s.
> Is Telstra's CEO Frank Blount right when he claims that long-held
> Internet calls block Telstra's exchanges, and are therefore unfair to
> other normal customers - needing, as he says (when he is lobbying the
> politicians) to become "timed-local calls"?
Probably he is. In the old circuit-switched based world, Erlang's law
shows you it is nonsense to provide more then 25% capacity assuming
the normally observed connection time distribution.
> If so. Is there some mechanism that allows the carrier to do this -
> to identify which calls on a line are to an ISP (other than just
> looking for modemised data) - bearing in mind that Telstra also has a
> mandatory requirement to maintain the option of 25 cent, fixed price
> local calls?
That should be easy, using the Intelligent Network concept. You can
simply identify the called number and depending on that charge the
caller. If the called number is an ISP number, you can instruct the
originating switch to trigger a higher "tick rate". This is already
implemented in most countries around the world (e.g. green and
special higher rate numbers). The former can only be implemented if
all ISP numbers are known; anybody can find them looking into the
relevant FAQ's on the user groups.
> Or are the Telstra critic's right in claiming that a modern Ericsson AXE
> and Alcatel System 12 digital exchange doesn't block at any conceivable
> load-increase imposed by long-held Internet calls? And therefore, there is
> no technical justification for timed-local call-charging specifically aimed
> at Internet users.
Once again, delving into statistics (notably Erlang's law), it shows
up that it is crazy to equip an Alcatel S12 digital exchange up to the
capacity where everybody could call someone else.
By the way, one more remark: All the same applies just as well to the
RSU's (remote subscriber units, in Alcatel terminology) that you can
hook up to connect subscribers. Typically there is only one "line"
between the exchange and the RSU for every four subscribers you hook
up to the RSU. It has already been observed by some operators that
the RSU's can become overloaded due to Internet surfers. This problem
can be solved however, if you use simple TDM multiplexers that do not
perform this 4-to-1 concentration. Of course, this will force the
network operator to use more line equipment to transmit the calls.
Anyway, I am not sure that Telstra are using any concentrating
equipment like the RSU's mentioned before.
Christian Van Boven
Belgium
------------------------------
From: jagosta@interaccess.com (John Agosta)
Subject: Re: Who Runs the InterNIC?
Date: 20 Aug 1996 14:57:26 GMT
Organization: Agosta and Associates
In article <telecom16.423.4@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, joshua@uci.edu
(Joshua Rehman) says:
> What facilities does the InterNIC actually use? Who pays for them?
> How does one register a domain name?
Call 703 555 1212.
Ask for Network Solutions / Herndon, Va. Ask them to explain their
services to you, as they perform InterNIC functions.
ja
------------------------------
Date: 20 Aug 1996 11:01:15 -0500
From: Robert Beeman <robert.beeman@qm.sprintcorp.com>
Subject: Re: Microwave Rural Phone System?
On 18 Aug 96 02:47:15 GMT diamond@viper.nauticom.net (Dave Perrussel)
wrote:
> Is there a commercially available product that will do a high bandwidth
> (say 14,400 baud or 28,800 baud) using point to point microwave that is
> reasonabally priced?
Glenayre Technologies, Inc. in Charlotte, NC makes a wireless line
extender that operates on UHF. You can get specs from their web page
(http://www.glenayre.com). They also have digital microwave radio
products, one of which is a spread spectrum radio that does not have
to be licensed. This may be an alternative for you.
Bob Beeman
Wireless Marketing
Sprint Business Systems Group
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #426
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Aug 20 15:09:23 1996
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Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 15:09:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608201909.PAA05413@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #427
TELECOM Digest Tue, 20 Aug 96 15:09:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 427
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
On-Line Vandalism Shows Net's Risks (Tad Cook)
Area Code Confusion (Tad Cook)
Re: Pacific Bell Offers Ten Tips for Prepaid Phone Cards (Linc Madison)
Re: Who Runs the InterNIC? (Keith W. Brown)
Re: Timed Local Internet Calls (Ian Angus)
Re: Timed Local Internet Calls (Jack Decker)
North American Numbering Plan Expansion (Jim Lord)
PacBell Blames Intel and UCAN for Rate Increase (Eric Smith)
Re: "Genuine Nynex Payphone" Limiting Number of Touch Tone (Bob Ponce)
Re: 900 MHz Digital vs. Analog Cordless (Hudson Leighton)
Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers? (Ed Ellers)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: On-Line Vandalism Shows Net's Risks
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 09:52:22 PDT
On-line vandalism shows Net's risks
By Rory J. O'Connor
Mercury News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- You can't believe everything you read -- especially on the
Internet.
An intrusion to the World Wide Web site of the U.S. Department of
Justice last weekend shows how easily information and images can be
altered. The intrusion also underscores how outsiders could tamper
with information in cyberspace in such a way that would make it
difficult to impossible for the Internet's estimated 20 million users
to detect.
Solving the problem requires a combination of better security and the
use of technology called digital signatures to verify the authenticity
of data, according to many experts.
"There are several levels of trust that need to be added onto the
existing infrastructure," said Asim Abdullah, executive director of
CommerceNet in Palo Alto. "Authentication is a very vital issue."
In the case of the attack early Saturday on the Justice Department
"home page" -- what World Wide Web users first see when they go to the
a particular site on the Internet -- the results were obviously
unauthorized. The hackers littered the home page with a swastika and a
nude photo of what appeared to be TV actress Jennifer Aniston and
rewrote the department's welcome message in a satirical vein.
But experts said the intruders could just as easily have subtly
changed information that many users seek from government sites. In
that case, the problem would have gone from a briefly offensive
incident that prompted Justice Department operators to shut down
within two hours, to the potential of widespread distribution of
erroneous information.
Given the breadth of information available on the Internet, a hacker
could alter the electronic text of everything from Supreme Court
decisions to presidential executive orders to the size of the national
debt. While the on-line versions aren't the definitive ones, the
problem has implications for trust in other areas as well, including
commerce.
"When you're talking about data, the integrity is the most important
thing," said Jim Christy, a computer security expert working for the
U.S. Senate Investigations Committee. "NASA told us the worst thing
that could happen to them is if someone changed the value of pi in all
their formulas."
Sensitive Justice Department files were never in danger, according to
officials. As is the case with most systems on the Internet, the
computers that provide public access to information aren't connected
to the department's internal network with data on investigations.
"This is like a bulletin board tacked up outside the department," said
spokesman Bert Brandenburg.
World Wide Web sites on the Internet are often vulnerable to hackers
because computer operators have failed to take basic security
precautions. But even with top-notch security, systems can still be
vulnerable simply because they are in the open, readily accessible to
all users.
"The Web was built on the principle of its being open," said Marc
Cannady, director of the Highway One project, an industry-funded
technology laboratory in Washington. "There are not a lot of
methodologies to ensure the data you see beyond the front page are the
real stuff."
The security of systems could be greatly enhanced, many experts
believe, by the routine use of "encryption" technology -- scrambling
data so that only authorized users could read it. That would be
coupled with the related digital signature technology, which would
alert a user if the file in question had been altered by anyone other
than the authorized users.
"We're going to be living in a world where determining the
authenticity of information is going to be all-important," said Mike
Godwin, general counsel of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Digital signatures are small files that act as a kind of tamper-proof
on-line ID card. They would be issued by private firms or public
entities -- some are already issued experimentally by Verisign, GTE
and the Postal Service. Sent between a user's computer and a "server"
computer run by an agency or company, they assure the user the data
they see is unchanged. They also verify the user's identity to a
merchant.
But many on-line activists are at odds with the Clinton administration
over how to implement technologies like digital signatures and
encryption. Critics claim commercial development of the technology has
been stymied by the administration, notably law enforcement agencies
like the FBI, who fear it will allow criminals to hide their computer
activities from authorities.
Until that debate is resolved, experienced Internet users said the
best defense is a healthy dose of skepticism when surfing the Net. The
Justice Department home page itself contains a disclaimer page calling
the Web site "an experiment" and cautioning that it "cannot guarantee"
the accuracy or timeliness of any information on-line.
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Area Code Confusion
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 09:29:21 PDT
PG&E service fails; so does wake-up call
By Mark Leibovich
Mercury News Staff Writer
How periodic and unannounced power outages can mess with your head,
Exhibit #4869:
Bob Branham of Almaden Valley, a habitual early bird, relies on his
electronic clock radio to awaken him at 3:45 each morning. It gives
him ample time to accomplish things before arriving at his San Jose
Federal Building office at 5:50 a.m.
But when the power blew in Almaden Valley for the sixth time one night
last week, Branham felt unnerved as well as annoyed. Nothing worse
than a faulty alarm clock to ensure a fitful night's sleep.
No problem, the PG&E service rep told Branham: They would provide a
wake-up call at 3:45.
"That put me at ease," Branham said.
Still, Branham had his unconscious back-up generator working. Good
thing, too. He woke up on his own at 3:40 a.m. The call from PG&E
never came.
Branham called a PG&E supervisor to complain at 4:25 a.m. "He said
they called the number I gave them but in 707," said Branham. He used
to live in that area code until he moved to San Jose from Fairfield
two years ago.
Seems the PG&E employee charged with Branham wake-up duty mistakenly
tacked his old area code onto his current number. PG&E official
Jeanette Valentine said the misunderstanding underscores a cautionary
lesson: "It shows the importance of PG&E customers keeping their
records updated with us."
Branham said the supervisor tried to impart the same lesson -- which
he was in no mood to receive at 4:25 in the morning.
"I assumed they could figure out I was in 408 when I told them I was
calling from San Jose," Branham said, adding that he felt sorry for
whoever got the 3:45 wake up call up in 707. (A call placed to the
wrong number could not be completed as dialed.)
Valentine said PG&E is willing to make wake-up calls on a limited
basis to customers victimized by outages. "We are working on
technology that could provide several wake-up calls at once," she
said.
For his part, Branham said he'll wait for the utility to master single
wake-up calls -- never mind basic energy service -- before he places
faith in any new PG&E technology.
"Not to make a bad pun," he said, "but I felt powerless."
--------------------
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am sorry but I cannot be sympathetic
with Mr. Branham. I thought *everyone* knew that when you buy a digital
clock which has to serve a critical function -- like waking you up in
the morning -- you always get the kind with the backup battery. My
digital clock from Radio Shack has a place for a nine-volt battery
which is there to do two things: keep the clock on time for when the
power is restored (avoid the blinking twelve o'clock) and sound the
alarm at the time indicated if it has been set. Of course, if he was
a subscriber to Call America's 800 service (MyLine) like I am, then
he could also use the automated 'wakeup service' feature of MyLine
at no extra charge like I do. You enter the time you want the system
to call you and the number to be used. Then you hang up the phone
and go to bed. You get a call from the robot voice at whatever time
you requested, and you have to enter your passcode to complete the
call. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison)
Subject: Re: Pacific Bell Offers Ten Tips for Prepaid Phone Cards
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 09:09:20 -0700
Organization: Best Internet Communications
In article <telecom16.423.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Mike King <mk@wco.com>
wrote:
> Pacific Bell Offers Ten Tips for Prepaid Phone Cards
> 4 Find out how much it costs to use a prepaid phone card. For
> example, Pacific Bell offers a flat rate of 40 cents per minute for
> local, local toll and domestic long distance calls. International
> rates vary by region. Rates from other companies can be as high as
> 60 cents per minute, which affects the calling time available on
> the card.
Rates from other companies can also be MUCH LOWER than Pacific Bell's.
Don't the wonderful, altruistic folks at Pacific Bell want us to know
*that* in with their "ten tips"?
> 7 Ensure that the card's rate is valid for all desired calling areas.
> For example, some cards offer a flat rate for calls within the
> U.S., but charge significantly more for calls to Mexico.
For example, the PACIFIC BELL prepaid calling card charges a flat rate
for calls within the U.S., but charges significantly more for calls to
Mexico. They certainly seem to think this is a boogeyman they're
conjuring up here, but it's one of the features of their own card.
I find self-serving advertisements disguised as public service announcements
very annoying.
Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com
------------------------------
From: Keith W. Brown <newsinfo@callcom.com>
Subject: Re: Who Runs the InterNIC?
Date: 20 Aug 1996 16:18:51 GMT
Organization: CallCom International
> What facilities does the InterNIC actually use? Who pays for them?
> How does one register a domain name?
> Any other facts regarding the nature of the InterNIC would be greatly
> appreciated.
Joshua:
I don't know about your first two questions, but as to the third ... you can
register or modify a domain name at the following InterNIC site address:
http://rs.internic.net/cgi-bin/itts/
Just follow the instructions (Hint ... Be sure to obtain the service
providers primary and secondary IP addresses that you intend to register
your new domain name with) and input the information. They will confirm
your order via e-mail. Some ISP's will offer you an address for a
homepage, but you will have to use a generic domain address that they
provide.
The only problem with that is if they go out of business ... so do you!
You can have your page set up through a service provider just about
anywhere in the country and use a local service provider for Internet
access. Prices do vary (dramatically) so shop around. I use a
provider in Washington called Troubador.com. They charge about $150 a
month (depending on MB size) to maintain your page and provide all the
frills including page development. You can use this as a starting
point on getting a quote on pricing etc. (it will vary dramatically
from provider to provider). You can contact: Steve Clayton at:
stecla@troubador.com for more info. Good Luck! ;-)
Keith W. Brown
URL: http://www.callcom.com
E-mail: newsinfo@callcom.com
------------------------------
From: Ian Angus <ianangus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Re: Timed Local Internet Calls
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 12:34:24 -0400
Organization: Angus TeleManagement Group
In article <telecom16.419.1@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, fist@ozemail.com.au
(fist) wrote:
> I write a weekly column on telecommunications in Australia's national
> newspaper "The Australian", and last week I wrote a piece attacking
> the claims being made by the CEO of Telstra (ex-Telecom Australia)
> that Internet users were costing the carrier money because they locked
> up the telephone exchanges through long-held calls. My information
> was based on my own knowledge plus confirmation from some
> telecommunications consultants.
> Since I am getting different information from Telstra insiders and
> Telstra outsider/critics and telecommunications consultants, I'd like
> to hear the opinions of those of you who know about these switches,
> and who don't have any local vested interest.
We have gone through a similar discussion in Canada, with telco people
claiming that Internet traffic overloads their switches, and various
non-telco people saying "how can you have a traffic problem if your
switches are non-blocking?"
After considerable discussion, we found that there is indeed a traffic
problem -- not in the switches as such, but in the equipment which
grooms traffic for the switches.
Its true that modern switches are non blocking. But residential phones
are used, on average, for only a few minutes every hour -- so it would
not make economic sense to assign separate port full time to every
residential line. To keep costs and phone rates down, telcos use devoces
which allow residential lines to contend for ports -- contention rates
of 4:1 to 8:1 are not uncommon.
These concentration devices aren't cheap, and they don't have unlimited
capacity. If any significant percentage of the customers connected to a
concentrator stay on the line for hours at a time, then the telcos have
to reduce the contention ratio and, ultimately, buy more concentrators.
Our review of this issue as it affected Bell Canada and Internet Service
Providers in Canada can be found at http://www/isp-bell/ib.html. An
article dealing specifically with the traffic question is at
http://www/isp-bell/ib-trfc.html
IAN ANGUS ianangus@angustel.ca
Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca
8 Old Kingston Road tel: 905-686-5050 ext 222
Ajax ON L1T 2Z7 Canada fax: 905-686-2655
------------------------------
From: jack@novagate.com (Jack Decker)
Subject: Re: Timed Local Internet Calls
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 12:02:52 GMT
Organization: Altopia Corp. - Affordable Usenet Access - http://www.alt.net
On Sat, 17 Aug 1996 13:23:21 +1000, fist@ozemail.com.au (fist) wrote:
> I write a weekly column on telecommunications in Australia's national
> newspaper "The Australian", and last week I wrote a piece attacking
> the claims being made by the CEO of Telstra (ex-Telecom Australia)
> that Internet users were costing the carrier money because they locked
> up the telephone exchanges through long-held calls. My information
> was based on my own knowledge plus confirmation from some
> telecommunications consultants.
>> In an interview last week with Kirsty Simpson of the Melbourne
>> Herald Sun, Blount railed against the iniquities of the Internet
>> and called, once again, for the right to impose timed local calls on
>> domestic and residential users. "We have to do something," he
>> said. "We can't have people on the Internet ring up for 25c and
>> sit there for 24 hours; they tie up the whole exchange."
Here is the problem with that. Take the number of incoming lines of
ALL ISP's in any given exchange. Assume that you have that many
connections in use 24 hours a day. What percentage is that, really,
of the entire exchange? Or of the daily telephone usage in a city?
Telephone companies like to talk as though there are an infinite
number of modem lines out there, when in fact many ISP's have less
than a hundred lines in their modem pool (and if a phone company
switch can't handle 100 simultaneous connections, they are in very sad
shape indeed!).
>> The average digital switch and inter-exchange network can
>> handle about 75% of all connected lines simultaneously - except
>> for some of the older inter-exchange city connections which,
>> perhaps on Monday morning during the peak-load period, run
>> close to their limits.
>> But that's just a matter of dragging cables through existing
>> ducting - with each fibre-pair then able to carry another 40,000
>> calls. A single length of the same cable used for Pay TV trunks
>> (by the thousands), would carry individual connections for every
>> Internet user in Australia, a couple of times over.
Actually, in many cases they don't even have to run new cable; they
just put higher capacity equipment on each end of the cable. With
fiber optics, the bottleneck isn't usually the cable itself, it's the
equipment at each end.
>> So if all Internet users sat on their service-provider connections
>> for 24 hours next Monday, they could perhaps increase Telstra's
>> capacity problems by 2-3 percent in a few inter-exchange
>> connections, for a few minutes around 10 am, in some
>> circumstances, at some old exchanges.
On a 10,000 line exchange, there would have to be at least 200 or 300
modems in the modem pool of various ISP's (served by that exchange)
for that to happen -- and they'd all have to be in use at once.
BTW, a per call charge simply makes the problem worse. Where I live,
there is no charge for a local call, so I am not afraid to drop my
connection even if I think I may want to go back online a few minutes
later. Whereas, if I were charged by the call, I would likely hold
the connection open "forever" once I dialled in. If they want to
reduce usage, they should ELIMINATE the per-call charge!
>> Now enter the wildly different call hold patterns typical of
>> Internet usage. Calls are routinely held by dial up users for
>> hours at a time which causes resource depletion and potential
>> denial of service to other customers on that exchange.
As I say, not at all surprising that calls are held open for long
periods, considering the per-call charge -- but "resource depletion"
and "denial of service"? There would have to be some HUGE ISP's (or a
lot of them) there for that to happen!
>> And the same problem is considerably worse at the exchange
>> which services the ISP, where there are hundreds or thousands
>> of lines that are tied up virtually 24 hours a day. This is causing
>> terrible problems to telcos world wide with *all* of them facing
>> meltdown in key central office resources. The result of course
>> will be lack of dialtone to *all* telco customers which is good for
>> no one.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF LINES? You might want to ask them which ISP
has this huge modem pool -- they have to be the granddaddy of all
ISP's! I mean really, you should not let pie-in-the-sky statements
like this go by without challenge. Ask them how big the modem pool
REALLY is at the local ISP's. THAT is the maximum number of Internet
connections possible. I doubt that even New York City has "hundreds
of thousands" of Internet connections going over the Public Switched
Telephone Network at this point in time.
But okay. If the problem is really that the SWITCHES can't handle the
traffic, then what they (or you) should be asking the goverment to do
is to let (or force) them to sell you a dedicated line pair to your
ISP at the same amount (or less) than what a switched line would cost.
Consider that you have a dedicated pair of wires to the central
office. Your ISP also has a dedicated line to their modem (the one
you are using at the modem pool). This passes through a phone company
switch. But for many uses, it would be just as adequate to have a
"dry" line going straight through to the ISP. Then you'd be using
ZERO capacity in the switch, you'd have a 24 hour per day connection
to your ISP, and you could probably even use higher capacity modems in
many cases.
So, let's say that you pay $15 a month for a residential phone line
for your modem. Your ISP also pays for a modem line, but at business
rates, let's say $25 per line (I am of course basing this on typical
U.S. rates, YMMV). Now if you and the ISP are both in the same
exchange, there should be no reason the telco can't simply hardwire
two pairs together at the central office and give you a dedicated
circuit to the ISP for far LESS than the $40 a month that the two of
you are paying for line charges AND the use of the CO switch.
This really seems like such a simple solution -- if people are tying
up switch capacity to the point that it is seriously impairing
performance of the exchange (and to be honest, I really doubt that is
happening to the extent that the phone company would like you to
believe), then get the traffic off the switch by offering a hardwired
"dry" circuit from the user to the ISP. Let the ISP in effect become
the CO for data traffic.
It never fails to amaze me that a phone company can dedicate a pair of
wires to a customer's telephone and still make money, but if you and I
want to lease that exact same pair for data, background music, alarm
system monitoring or whatever, the price jumps way up! Something is
seriously wrong there.
It will be interesting to see what happens when the phone companies
here in the U.S. are required to "unbundle" the components that they
now sell as "local phone service". I will bet that some smart ISPs
will begin to offer 24 hour per day dedicated connections to their
customers using bare wires leased from the telco, hopefully at a much
lower charge than what they are paying now for wires + dial tone. I'm
not sure what the modem configurations would have to be in such a
case, but I am aware that many existing modems have a "leased line"
setting (often software configurable!) that does not require the
presence of dial tone (not sure about line voltage, but if that were a
necessity I'm sure that either the ISP or the customer could hang a 24
or 48 VDC filtered power supply across the line).
Jack
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 10:34:35 -0500
From: Jim Lord <jim.lord@qm.sprintcorp.com>
Subject: North American Numbering Plan Expansion
The Industry Numbering Committee has been working for some time on an
expansion plan for the NANP. There are some eight to ten options not
requiring expansion and another eight or nine using various methods of
expansion, e.g., five digit line numbers, four digit NXXs, and four
digit NPAs. All options must be evaluated against various functional
criteria and additional assessment critieria.
Any final recommendation requires an extensive process to come up with
a plan that provides the least impact to users, vendors, and networks.
It is not anticipated that the expansion plan that is recommended will
need to be implemented for many years, however transition and
implementation may in fact require an extended period. An initial
recommendation is probably at least a year away.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 01:51:08 PDT
From: Eric Smith <eric@goonsquad.spies.com>
Subject: PacBell Blames Intel and UCAN for Rate Increase
Robert Deward of Pacific Telesis (Pacific Bell's parent company) writes:
> Unfortunately, opposition from Intel and UCAN scuttled the possibility
> that the California Public Utilities Commission would accept the
> proposal. Now the Commission will hold full scale hearings on ISDN
> rates, which could result in rates higher than those sought by Pacific
> Bell and the other parties to the proposal.
Or could result in rates lower than those sought by Pacific Bell.
Intel and UCAN seemed to me to be doing a pretty good job as consumer
advocates in this case; Pac Bell's publicity (like Mr. Deward's email)
seems to be intended to make them out as the bad guys. Nice try, but
IMNSHO the California ISDN Users Group really sold out when they
endorsed that plan.
PacBell claims that their costs are higher than anticipated because
more than the expected percentage of ISDN BRI customers have long
loops that need repeaters. I can see this justifying increased
installation charges, or maybe even sligthly increased basic monthly
charges, but not increased per-minute charges (even for only minutes
after the first 200 hours). And there's no way in hell it justifies
raising all three kinds of charges as PacBell is trying to do. ISDN
U-interface repeaters aren't that expensive, and they last a long
time. This is an investment in infrastructure and should be amortized
over the anticipated useful life of the repeater.
When I got my third POTS line at the last house I lived in, they did a
lot of work because they were out of pairs and had to install some new
pair gain equipment, but they didn't tell me they were going to have
to jack up my per-minute charges because of it. The PUC is smart
enough not to allow that, and it looks like maybe they are smart
enough not to allow it for ISDN U repeaters either.
And of course they cleverly filed their actual financial justification
for this proposed increase under seal so that us ratepayers don't get
to see it. Why do we let them get away with this? They claim that
the financial information would harm them if it got into the hands of
competitors, but they don't have any competitors for local loops, and
they won't any time soon. (Sure, they might lease loops to some new
LECs, but that isn't real competition despite all the ballyhoo it is
getting.)
And it was only a few years ago that Pacific Bell protested to the FCC
that the proposed imposition of a few dollars per month of CALC
charges per B channel would *kill* ISDN. How soon they forget (when
it is convenient).
I'm looking eagerly forward to competition, so that instead of being
stuck with the bozo phone company I have now (that takes three weeks
and four hours of my time waiting on hold just to make a few simple
changes to the provisioning of my ISDN line), I'll at least be able to
choose an *inexpensive* bozo phone company.
Cheers,
Eric
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 06:44:53 -0700
From: I-Contact Media <icmedia@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Re: Genuine Nynex Payphone" Limiting Number of Touch Tone
> Maybe someone could explain the rationale behind this one? I can't
> figure out any. To make this even more ironic I discovered the problem
> when calling a Nynex number ...
> About two thirds of the way through the menu sequences I got a synthesized
> voice announcement which said something like "no additional digits may
> be dialed at this time".
> And sure enough, anytime I hit a touch tone key I heard the tone, then
> got the same msg.
I'm glad somebody else has noticed this -- and this is not an effort
to fight drug dealers, it's an effort to render most prepaid cards
practically useless. Of course, it also renders a lot of other calls
useless as well, such as dialing in for voice mail messages, etc.
I've noticed this being slowly implemented all over Manhattan now, and
in places where there are no sign of drug dealers or illicit activity.
Just another example of the type of service that drove customers to
start a "NYNEX sucks" website (http://www.nynexsucks.com).
Bob Ponce I-Contact Media Inc.
(914) 761-4328
Interactive Phone Cards/ Web Sites/ Promotion,
Marketing and Public Relations for Online Ventures
------------------------------
From: hudsonl@skypoint.com (Hudson Leighton)
Subject: Re: 900 MHz Digital vs. Analog Cordless
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 09:36:29 -0500
Organization: SkyPoint Communications, Inc.
In article <telecom16.397.9@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, gap@plotit.com wrote:
> I've been looking into purchasing a two-line 900 MHz phone, and have
> seen a number of comments/complaints of sidetone and echo with certain
> models. Is this only a concern with digital phones? If so, what are
> the disadvantages of using a 900 MHz analog phone.
I have a Tropaz Vtech Platinum 900 Mhz two line cordless and I love
it. I can go anywhere on the block and the phone is clear as a bell.
It is scrambled all I hear on my scanner is a hiss.
One audiofile friend says it distorts a little.
------------------------------
From: Ed Ellers <edellers@mis.net>
Subject: Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers?
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 15:40:37 -0400
Organization: Mikrotec Internet Services, Inc. (MISNet)
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How about in downtown Chicago, where
> a mere half-dozen or so *very large* companies gobbled so many
> numbers that Ameritech is starting area 773? They would have had
> to start it anyway, but my point is that handful of very large
> corporations absolutely refused to consider having downtown Chicago
> get the new code so the rest of the 2.9 million residents and
> business places could stay 312. Instead, the majority of the city
> is being forced to change area codes to 773 in order that a few
> businesses downtown can keep 312 instead. PAT]
That brings up a point -- why should a business customer be allowed to
have so many seven-digit numbers? Why can't they instead have callers
dial extension numbers after the main seven-digit number, and then
have only a few other seven-digit numbers for departments that get a
lot of specific calls?
-------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
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The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
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*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #427
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Wed Aug 21 00:06:15 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id AAA11022; Wed, 21 Aug 1996 00:06:15 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 00:06:15 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608210406.AAA11022@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #428
TELECOM Digest Wed, 21 Aug 96 00:06:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 428
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Alex Mandl Hangs it Up (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Shortwave Radio in the USA (TELECOM Digest Editor)
No Local Phone Competition in 'Small' Markets (Greg Monti)
Why is the Internet So Slow? (Mark Friedman)
What is "Number Portability"? (Michael Graff)
Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur? (Al Varney)
Re: Area Code Confusion (John Cropper)
Re: Getting a Semi-Public Pay Phone? (Brian Brown)
Re: "Genuine Nynex Payphone" Limiting Number of Touch Tone (Henry Baker)
Re: Encryption and Telnet (Thor Lancelot Simon)
Correction: Re: Anniversary of First Singing Telegram (David Whiteman)
Re: Timed Local Internet Calls (Bill Ranck)
Re: Timed Local Internet Calls (Jean-Francois Mezei)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 20:35:02 EDT
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Subject: Alex Mandl Hangs it Up
Alex J. Mandl gave up a chance to lead the world's biggest communications
company, AT&T, saying he would rather start a telephone company of his
own instead.
Mandl has resigned as president and chief operating officer of AT&T,
ending a five-year tenure in which he helped engineer the biggest
aquisition ever of the company, McCaw Cellular Communications. He was
a top candidate to be the next chief executive of AT&T.
Instead he decided to chairman and chief executive officer of Associated
Communications, a brand new unit of the Associated Group, a company
located in Pittsburgh, PA with significant investments in Mexican
wireless firms, and Tele-Communications, INc, the biggest USA cable
television operator.
His resignation takes place immediatly, but he will assist AT&T as
needed in making an orderly transition of management responsibilities.
Good luck, Alex ... I think AT&T was the loser in this deal.
PAT
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 22:31:52 EDT
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Subject: Shortwave Radio in the USA
A question or two for shortwave radio enthusiasts among the readership ...
Is it just me, or does it seem that the various shortwave broadcasters
who specifically target the Americas lately are overrun by some very
strange people and programming ideas?
Yesterday I purchased a small little shortwave radio for my seven year
old nephew who lives here with his father (my brother) and myself. I
know as a child I enjoyed listening to shortwave radio and seeking out
stations I had not heard before. Our little guy may still be a bit too
young, but he is smart and he learns fast, so the little $39 shortwave
I got him at Radio Shack will be a good 'show and tell' item when he
goes into the first grade at school next month.
With the radio came a 'listeners guide' with the time of day broken
down by five or ten-minute intervals from 0000 GMT through 2359 GMT,
a time conversion chart, etc. In each time period was listed around
eight or ten major broadcasters and what they do on each day of the
week at that time.
The listener's guide made a point of saying that stations which were
exclusively of a religious nature at all times were not included,
and it listed the usual bunch:
WYFR, Family Stations, Inc, Oakland, CA
WINB, World International Broadcasters, Red Lion, PA
WJCR
WGTG
KTBN
Speaking of Family Stations, Inc, d/b/a Family Radio, those people have
become *huge*. They now seem to own a couple dozen AM or FM stations
all over the United States to complement their shortwave station *and*
lots of transponders (?) to complement all the local stations. I hear
their station WJCH, Joliet, IL at 90.5 FM all the way up here in Skokie
many miles away, and when they give their station ID they give the
call letters and then follow up with a list of the transponders for
just that station alone. I guess all the 'affiliate stations' as they
call them are mostly unmanned and operate by remote control with
Oakland turning them on and off, etc.
But I digress ...
Anyway, the listener's guide said it was only including stations which
were not *exclusively* religious, and then proceeds to include the
listings minute by minute of such powerhouses as HCJB in Quito,
Equador, and what I call the Unholy Trinity in Nashville, TN: WWCR-1
and WWCR-3. World Wide Christian Radio's transmitters one and three
had all their programs listed but the guide noted that since WWCR-2
is devoted 24 hours per day to the teachings of Dr. Gene Scott they
would not include that.
There was some nice stuff like the BBC World Service and the Voice of
America service to the Americas, as well as Monitor Radio
International from Boston (although really in Greenville, SC) but it
seems like almost all of 41, 49 and 60 meters was nothing but one
hate-monger after another, interspersed with conspiracy theories,
Liberty Lobby programs and *very strange* preachers. It went on all
night long ... no matter where I would tune on this little (admittedly
poor band spread, very cheap) shortwave radio, all I would get was
this sort of junk. There were these call-in programs where all they
would talk about was their theories about the murder of John F. Kennedy
and the Federal Reserve System, etc. WWCR seemed to be the worst of
the bunch.
Maybe I have just forgotten things in my own life over the past
forty years or so, but I do not remember shortwave radio being as
full of junk like this years ago. The World Harvest people on
WHRI-1 and WHRI-2 were also loud and obnoxious, but not nearly as
bad as that Tom Valentine guy with his Radio Free America program
on WWCR. By comparison, Family Radio was rather mild; and they
certainly did not ask for money via your credit card every couple
of minutes.
I know there is a limit to what one can expect from a $39 shortwave
battery operated radio which fits in the palm of your hand, but I
really thought that BBC, VOA and Monitor Radio International (although
I am not extremely fond them then like I used to be) -- to name just
three good examples -- would be as easy for a child to tune in as
would be Tom Valentine with all that march music of Sousa he plays and
that other guy who was everywhere on the dial promoting the various
militia/vigilante organizations.
Has shortwave radio really filled up with a lot of this junk? I knew
local 'talk radio' on the AM band was pretty bad, but still ...
PAT
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 21:31:17 -0400
From: cc004056@interramp.com (Greg Monti)
Subject: No Local Phone Competition in 'Small' Markets
In a story, entitled, "Why Phone Rivals Can't Get Into Some Towns," in
the _Wall Street Journal_, August 19, 1996, page B1, writer Leslie
Cauley explains that not all areas of the U.S. will be subject to
local phone company competition. The gist of the story is that the
new federal Telecommunications Law exempts rural phone companies and
small companies from the competition requirements put on the baby
Bells, Sprint and most of GTE.
The definitions of "small" and "rural" exempt some multibillion dollar
telcos from competition. Examples: Southern New England Telephone,
with 2.1 million access lines and $1.8 billion in 1995 revenue, is
exempt from competition. Little Rock, Arkansas, based Alltel, with
1.6 million access lines and 1995 revenue of $3.1 billion is, too. So
is $2 billion Frontier, with almost a million lines. Same with
Cincinnati Bell and Century Telecommunications, each with over
$600,000,000 in annual revenue. In fact, most of the 1,300
"independent" telcos are exempt. These companies cover 10% of the
U.S. population, or about 26,000,000 residents.
A rule also allows small, rural divisions of large telcos (those with
less than 50,000 accesss lines in a "market," whatever that is) to
also apply to be exempt from competition. In some parts of the
country, that rural company is none other than GTE, the largest local
telco in America.
A carrier with less than 2% of the nation's access lines (like
Frontier) or those with fewer than 3,000,000 lines company-wide can
apply to become exempt from competition.
The story quotes a Houston woman, who moved from SBC territory, where
basic local service was $11.05 per month, into Alltel territory in
Sugarland, Texas, where the same service is priced at $20.65. The
story notes that call waiting is $6.50 per month from Alltel, and
$2.80 from SBC. The story notes that Alltel feels it provides good
service at good rates in all of its markets.
A consumer advocate in Pennsylvania is quoted as saying that most of
the rural companies in his state will apply for and get the exemption,
which he laments will mean that 20% of the the population will not see
local competition in the foreseeable future.
Greg Monti Jersey City, New Jersey, USA gmonti@interramp.com
------------------------------
From: Mark Friedman <71534.332@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: 21 Aug 1996 01:00:17 GMT
Organization: Demand Technology
I am performing some research and am interested in hearing from anyone
with an interesting theory of why Internet access is so slow?
For instance,
Is it the data com backbone, the protocol, the routers, the
Servers, or the browsers?
Thanks,
Mark Friedman
email: markf@demandtech.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 96 17:09:37 PDT
From: Michael Graff <graff@VNET.IBM.COM>
Subject: What is "Number Portability"?
In TELECOM Digest V16 #417, Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com> submitted two press
articles about California area code splits. Both talk about "number
portability", and each article gives a different definition of that
term.
In "California Peninsula to Get New Area Code", it says:
> "number portability," which allows customers to keep their numbers
> should they opt to change phone companies
In "415, 916 Area Codes to Split in Two", it says:
> number portability -- where a person's phone number stays with them
> no matter where they go
Which of these definitions is correct?
Michael Graff
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It refers to keeping your phone number
**within the same local community** regardless of which telco you
choose to use. It does not mean you can take your phone number all
over the USA. There would be no way to keep track of long distance
versus local calls, etc. Of course you can get something like a 500
number from AT&T and take *that* all over the country. PAT]
------------------------------
From: news@ssbunews.ih.lucent.com
Subject: Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur?
Date: 20 Aug 1996 19:34:38 GMT
Organization: Lucent Technologies
In article <telecom16.420.7@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Lou Jahn
<71233.2444@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
> While the FCC has just started LEC's moving toward Number Portability
> several of us were arguing whether "Full" Portability will ever occur
> (or how far does the FCC plan to go)? Within an area code the FCC is
> stating that in two-three years I can keep my telephone number as I
> move amoung local LECs, but does the FCC and industry plan to go
> eventually to "Full" portability so I can take my NPA-NXX-#### with me
> to Cailifornia, PA or FL?
> If this can occur someday -- why keep on expanding NPAs -- aren't they
> about to become just part of the routing game? Once I can take my
> number across a LATA boundary, dont' we have universal routing similar
> to 800/888 services? Who pays for re-engineering the full network to
> provide such service?
Current short-term plans for Number Portability limit movement of
your telephone connection to the Rate Center associated with the
number. This allows NPA-NXX to continue to be used for charging/rating/
separations and call restrictions. The major thrust of "portability"
is making the number portable between service providers, not in making
the number portable across large geographic areas.
The level of changes needed for the next step in Geographic
Portability would support portability within an NPA (or a block of
overlay NPAs), or even within a LATA. This has major implications on
call restrictions and charging/rating, and some messy interactions
with IntraLATA Toll Presubscription (one has to determine the
"toll-ness" of an intraLATA call to determine if an IXC is to carry
the call). Some human complexity is also introduced with the idea
that "1+ means Toll" in an environment where each service provider can
define the "local call" boundaries, and can start timing calls after
usage reaches some pre-defined limit. Does that mean a call may the
dialable without "1+" at the beginning of the month, but you have to
add "1+" after your monthly credit is used up?
Long-term Geographic Portability beyond a State boundary (even
within a LATA) has some politics attached, since Number Portability is
being driven primarily at the State level (the FCC has some ground
rules, but the State PUCs have a lot of flexibility). It's unlikely
States will look favorably on the idea of their traditional "NPAs"
leaving -- New York is very possessive of "212", for example.
GTE has proposed that folks wanting very-movable numbers be assigned
numbers in well-defined non-geographic NPAs, similar to NPA 500. But
even this doesn't address the problem of people wanting to understand
the per-minute cost of a call prior to dialing. In some cases, it may
be the moving party that pays the "extra" toll charges (like FX, but
probably cheaper than 800 inbound).
> First -- can I assume "local Number portability" will occur no matter
> the cost?
No -- but portability constrained to a Rate Center is probably not
extremely expensive. Expanding the area of portability for a given
number raises those costs considerably. Going beyond the LATA raises
it even more.
> If that is a definite, can anyone shed a longer term
> prognosis for number portability beyond a given LATA? Suppose you
> move to the next town in a diffeent LATA, do you need to take on new
> numbers yet someone moving within a LATA will not? How will it be
> Handled in "overlay area codes"?
Don't see how overlays complicate anything for NP. Moving to
another LATA probably won't happen so long as the LATAs are
meaningful. If they disappear (from competitive pressure or edict),
then portability will probably be available within a State.
> I'd love to see a "Dick and Jane" story version of the longer term
> industry plans for portability ... sounds like we are headed for ten
> digit dialing either due to increasing NPAs or from portability.
The ten-digit dialing will come from 1) overlays and 2) movement to
more-than-ten-digit NANP numbers. Portability won't be driving it, but
(per California PUC) overlays are more attractive in areas of
portability, because you can select a service provider without
changing to a "new" NPA for your existing phone number. In that
sense, portability makes overlays more likely, and overlays make
10-digit dialing more likely.
By the way, number portability is not just a USA issue. Canada is
moving forward on plans similar to the USA, and several other countries
are looking at portability along with other pro-competitive changes in
their telecommunications infra-structure.
Al Varney
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Al, what I do not understand is how
anyone could be expected to know where they were calling or how much
it would cost if phone numbers could be taken all over the USA. If
I took my 847 number and moved to California then what would happen
when my next door neighbor in California wanted to call me? I assume
they would dial my 847 number but would telco in California first
assume the number was in Illinois and look over here to the telco
to get instructions on forwarding it back to California, etc? I
think portability in a geographic sense would be a disaster. PAT]
------------------------------
From: psyber@usa.pipeline.com (John Cropper)
Subject: Re: Area Code Confusion
Date: 20 Aug 1996 23:52:59 GMT
Organization: Pipeline
On Aug 20, 1996 09:29:21 in article <Area Code Confusion>, 'Tad Cook
<tad@ssc.com>' wrote:
> PG&E service fails; so does wake-up call
> By Mark Leibovich
[snip]
> For his part, Branham said he'll wait for the utility to master single
> wake-up calls -- never mind basic energy service -- before he places
> faith in any new PG&E technology.
[snip]
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am sorry but I cannot be sympathetic
> with Mr. Branham. I thought *everyone* knew that when you buy a digital
> clock which has to serve a critical function -- like waking you up in
> the morning -- you always get the kind with the backup battery. My
> digital clock from Radio Shack has a place for a nine-volt battery
> which is there to do two things: keep the clock on time for when the
> power is restored (avoid the blinking twelve o'clock) and sound the
> alarm at the time indicated if it has been set. PAT]
I did one better ... I took an old 250VA UPS I had lying around and
put a light and a clock radio on it. With the intermittent storms and
other outages, it comes in real handy... :-)
John Cropper * NiS / NexComm
PO Box 277
Pennington, NJ USA 08534-0277
Inside NJ : 609.637.9434
Outside NJ: 888.NPA.NFO2 (672.6362)
Fax : 609.637.9430
email : psyber@usa.pipeline.com
------------------------------
From: bfbrown@csn.net (Brian Brown)
Subject: Re: Getting a Semi-Public Pay Phone?
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 21:48:48 GMT
Organization: SuperNet Inc. +1.303.296.8202 Denver Colorado
hancock4@cpcn.com (Lisa) wrote:
> My condominium has a swimming pool and clubhouse. There is an
> extension phone (from the office line) for emergency calls from the
> pool. We are finding more requests by people to use that phone to
> check their home machine for messages, call friends, etc. Also,
> guests at clubhouse events want to call home to check the babysitter,
> etc. The emergency phone is abused -- we get overseas calls on it.
In college, my fraternity house had similar problems -- people making
long distance and overseas calls by grabbing a phone during parties.
However, at one point we had documented (via registered mail, etc.)
our request to the LEC that our three phone lines have NO long
distance carrier, and that all long distance, 900, etc. calls be
totally blocked from those lines. Anyone who wanted to call long
distance from one of these lines had to use a calling card.
Whenever long distance charges showed up on the bill, we made a phone
call, faxed a copy of the letter sent years back requesting the line
restriction, and had the charges removed immediately, no problem --
what could they say? (Nynex, believe it or not). Has your association
thought of or investigated this? Of course, you'd still have to pay
the $20 or $30 a month for the extra basic phone line (since, I
presume, you want to be able to make long distance phone calls from
the office) ...
As another possibility, I have heard of this (but can't verify it -
can anyone else): There are these phones you can buy that will dial
only a preset number of digits, after which the tones become useless.
Of course, the old way to get around this was to manually pulse the
tones by pressing the hook repeatedly; this phone I heard about,
however, enforces a three-second on-hook every time its hook is
depressed (eliminating manual pulse dialing). This solution, however,
means that touch tones are disabled for the remainder of the call, so
checking answering machines or making calling card calls is not
possible. In addition, someone with a hand-held DTMF tone producer
could defeat this phone too.
Brian Brown Visionary Consulting
------------------------------
From: hbaker@netcom.com (Henry Baker)
Subject: Re: Genuine Nynex Payphone" Limiting Number of Touch Tone
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 00:13:21 GMT
In article <telecom16.427.9@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, I-Contact Media
<icmedia@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>> Maybe someone could explain the rationale behind this one? I can't
>> figure out any. To make this even more ironic I discovered the problem
>> when calling a Nynex number ...
>> About two thirds of the way through the menu sequences I got a synthesized
>> voice announcement which said something like "no additional digits may
>> be dialed at this time".
>> And sure enough, anytime I hit a touch tone key I heard the tone, then
>> got the same msg.
> I'm glad somebody else has noticed this -- and this is not an effort
> to fight drug dealers, it's an effort to render most prepaid cards
> practically useless. Of course, it also renders a lot of other calls
> useless as well, such as dialing in for voice mail messages, etc.
A number of payphones in Europe don't support the '*' and '#' touchtones,
thus making it difficult to retrieve voice mail internationally. Don't
throw out those portable touch tone (DTMF) generators just yet ...
------------------------------
From: tls@panix.com (Thor Lancelot Simon)
Subject: Re: Encryption and Telnet
Date: 20 Aug 1996 19:24:40 -0400
Organization: Panix
Reply-To: tls@rek.tjls.com
In article <telecom16.423.3@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Derek Balling
<dredd@lawgiver.megacity.org> wrote:
> We have a customer who has international locations using the Internet,
> and I'm at a loss on who to turn to for help in my dilemma. The usual
> places I might expect to find an answer have yielded none, so I'm
> hoping that the readers of the digest may be able to help me out.
If you're looking for an encrypted version of telnet, you should be
aware that there is a standard for authentication in Telnet, and
accompanying encryption support, but that for various reasons the
protocol is considered not to be entirely secure; it is vulnerable to
attack as the session begins, though still useful against passive
sniffers.
I do not know where you could get a telnet client with support for the
ENCRYPT option outside the U.S., but I know that such clients exist.
Another good option is 'ssh'. It's not actually telnet, but it does
quite a bit more, is available worldwide, and has good Windows support.
Thor Lancelot Simon tls@panix.COM
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 18:54:53 -0700
From: dbw@autopsy.com (David Whiteman)
Subject: Correction: Re: Anniversary of First Singing Telegram
Originally I wrote:
>> I just heard on the radio that July 28 was the anniversary of the
>> first singing telegram which was sent on July 28, 1933 to the singer
>> Rudolph Valentino for his birthday.
Carl Moore wrote to me in response:
> But didn't Valentino die in 1926?
Yes I made a mistake, it was Rudy Vallee ... the guy who sang with a
megaphone. I heard a replay of the radio announcement after I made
the posting, and realized I made a mistake.
David Whiteman
------------------------------
From: ranck@joesbar.cc.vt.edu
Subject: Re: Timed Local Internet Calls
Date: 20 Aug 1996 19:53:21 GMT
Organization: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
Jack Decker (jack@novagate.com) wrote:
> But okay. If the problem is really that the SWITCHES can't handle the
> traffic, then what they (or you) should be asking the goverment to do
> is to let (or force) them to sell you a dedicated line pair to your
> ISP at the same amount (or less) than what a switched line would cost.
This moves the switching problem to the ISP. Either that or the ISP
has to dedicate a modem to each customer, which is inefficient use of
their resources.
> Consider that you have a dedicated pair of wires to the central
> office. Your ISP also has a dedicated line to their modem (the one
> you are using at the modem pool). This passes through a phone company
> switch. But for many uses, it would be just as adequate to have a
> "dry" line going straight through to the ISP. Then you'd be using
> ZERO capacity in the switch, you'd have a 24 hour per day connection
> to your ISP, and you could probably even use higher capacity modems in
> many cases.
Yes, you make an interesting point, but it still just moves the
switching and capacity problems to another location, and in fact makes
them worse. Queuing theory says that as the subscriber population
goes up you need a lower percentage of simultaneous connections to
meet demand. The ISP's subscriber base is much smaller than the
telco's so they would need much closer to 100% simultaneous connection
ability.
I've seen this first hand. When our campus had a couple hundred users
we had to have ports on the system available for about 50% of them to
be logged on at a time. When the user population went up to 10,000 or
so the number of ports needed only went up to about 10%.
> It never fails to amaze me that a phone company can dedicate a pair of
> wires to a customer's telephone and still make money, but if you and I
> want to lease that exact same pair for data, background music, alarm
> system monitoring or whatever, the price jumps way up! Something is
> seriously wrong there.
Uh, the problem would be another capacity crunch. If leased copper
was as cheap as phone lines then there would be a sudden demand for
lots of leased circuits, but not enough pairs to fill the demand.
Thus, the telco would suddenly have to spend *lots* of money to
install lots of wire over top of existing plant. Although you do make
a somewhat valid argument.
Bill Ranck +1-540-231-3951 ranck@vt.edu
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Computing Center
------------------------------
From: Jean-Francois Mezei <jfmezei@videotron.ca>
Subject: Re: Timed Local Internet Calls
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 21:14:45 +0000
Organization: Vaxination Informatique
Reply-To: jfmezei@videotron.ca
Fred Goodwin wrote:
> credentials to this discussion. But it layman's terms (which for this
> topic, I *am* a layman), it is easy to see that central offices (whether
> digital or not) are not sized for unlimited usage.
> There are many examples of COs blocking due to heavy, unexpected usage.
Being a layman too, I will venture to say the following:
I probably don't monopolise my phone line any more than my mother does when
she talks for hours on end.
Another point to consider: phone systems are designed to widthstand
the busy hours. So, if the worst usage is at 10:30 am, would atypical
phone calls to an ISP during non-busy hours really cause havok? In
other words, if those long "internet" phone calls occur at night when
telco infrastructure is not overwhelmed by business calls, I wonder if
they have such an impact.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #428
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Wed Aug 21 11:51:01 1996
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Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 11:51:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
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To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #429
::::::::::::::
output
::::::::::::::
TELECOM Digest Wed, 21 Aug 96 11:51:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 429
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing in 954) (Brian Purcell)
Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur? (Mark J. Cuccia)
Re: What is "Number Portability"? (John Cropper)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (John Agosta)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Robert McMillin)
Re: Alex Mandl Hangs it Up (John Cropper)
Re: Alex Mandl Hangs it Up (Rick Strobel)
Re: No Local Phone Competition in 'Small' Markets (John Cropper)
Re: Timed Local Internet Calls (David Richards)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: bpurcell@centuryinter.net (Brian Purcell)
Subject: Re: DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing in 954)
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 96 14:36:38 GMT
Organization: Wide-Lite
Linc Madison <Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com> wrote:
> As the area codes get smaller and smaller, and people become more and
> more mobile, it becomes more and more important to have a single
> uniform dialing procedure that is guaranteed to work anywhere in the U.S.
> Southwestern Bell and the Texas PUC should stop dragging their feet and
> make the change.
Make the change? Make *what* change? A quick review of the dialing
plans section of this year's NANP shows that there is no concensus on
how to dial local FNPA calls. Many states use 1+10D, many use 10D,
and lots use 7D. In addition, several use more than one as standard
or permissive. Virginia will let you use any of the three. Just
because California has elected to use 1+10D does not mean that this is
the way everyone else should do it.
If you ask me, most consumers have come to believe that 1+ means
"toll" while it seems to me that many telco people (particularly in
this newsgroup) will say the 1+ means "the following number includes
an area code." If that's the way it is, we should just do away with
1+ completely and let the system figure out if:
a) it's 7D or 10D
b) it's local or toll
c) it's intra- or inter-LATA
Otherwise, what's the point of adding the 1+? Maybe we should just
incorporate 1 into everyone's NPA (1415, 1510, 1213, etc.). That's
pretty much what dialing 1+10D on every FNPA call (local or toll)
means anyway. IMHO, it makes sense to use 1+ only to designate *toll*
calls, and forbidding it on local calls. That way, the consumer know
when dialing if it's a free call or not. A little bit of education
(read: marketing) will help to reduce the dialing public's confusion.
So, let me propose a "uniform dialing procedure":
HNPA local: 7D
HNPA toll: 1+NPA+7D
FNPA local: 10D
FNPA toll: 1+NPA+7D
Regards,
Brian Purcell bpurcell@centuryinter.net
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 09:39:10 -0700
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur?
In a response to Al Varney's post on this subject, Pat mentions:
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Al, what I do not understand is how
> anyone could be expected to know where they were calling or how much
> it would cost if phone numbers could be taken all over the USA. If
> I took my 847 number and moved to California then what would happen
> when my next door neighbor in California wanted to call me? I assume
> they would dial my 847 number but would telco in California first
> assume the number was in Illinois and look over here to the telco
> to get instructions on forwarding it back to California, etc? I
> think portability in a geographic sense would be a disaster. PAT]
Full NANP-wide number portability is not necessarily ruled out. It may
be some decades before it is possilbe and available, but it is just an
extrapolation of local portability among service providers and
geographically within a local calling area.
Likewise, it would be an extrapolation of existing toll-free (800/888
and later 877, 866, 855, 844, 833, 822) number portability.
"Full-blown" number portability will require a *great* deal of
regulatory and industry negotiations, as well as further technological
development and actual hardware/software installation. Presently, even
500 and 900 numbers, while geographically portable, are not portable
amongst *service-providers* (i.e. the 500-NXX and 900-NXX codes are
'fixed' assigned to carriers, service providers and 'functions'), but
even those Special Area Codes might even have some form of
service-provider portability, similar to 800/888 number portability.
Full NANP geographic number portability will obviously use SS-7 (or
whatever the next technological platform is) interconnected databases,
similar to 800/888 portability. A call from your next-door neighbor in
California dialing 'your' 847-NXX-XXXX number will do a *database
lookup*. Something like a "Location Routing Number" (similar to a
circuit number) will be returned from the database, which will route
the call to you. This LRN will *NOT* be a standard NXX-NXX-XXXX
dialable number, but from a numbering scheme not 'dialable', and it
will not even 'conflict' or be 'ambiguous' with any NXX-NXX-XXXX
number.
These databases need not be located in the 'old' area where your 847-
number had previously been located. The network of databases and the
location of individual databases (and back-up copies) aren't really
important to the customer dialing the call. When you place a
calling-card call from Dallas to Chicago, the card-number verification
process could access a database in New York City or California,
etc. Then again, the database to verify the card number could even be
located in Dallas or Chicago. Also, the IXC's switch you first
accessed to place the card-call might be in a different location from
the verification database, altogather!
As for billing and rating, this will be something also to be looked at
further, as tariffs for charges are affected. It could be possible
that all calls within the NANP (or portions of it) in the future will
either be 'free' or they will be 'fixed rate' similar to postage
rates. Of course, 800/888/877/etc. numbers will continue to be
'toll-free' to the caller, and certain other numbers (900, etc) will
be expensive "PAY-PAY-PAY-per-call". If charges are still based on
some form of distance or location for POTS numbers, the information on
location of the ten-digit number will be also associated in the
database network for rating purposes.
You might even be able to arrange it with your service-provider(s)
such that any call from the Chicago metro area to your 847-NXX-XXXX
number will continue to be 'free' to Chicago originating callers. *YOU*
would be paying the 'toll' charges for those calls. Calls from the
California local area would be free (or low-rate 'local'), as all of
this billing/rating information would be associated with your
847-NXX-XXXX number in the network of numbering databases.
But then, you might not want to pay the toll charges for originating
Chicago area callers. This info, as well, would be associated with
your 847-NXX-XXXX number in the databases.
The toll charge or 'local/free' differentition for customers who
wouldn't want to dial a call carrying a charge without prior
notification since they don't know the location anymore based on the
NXX-NXX- code *SHOULD* (IMO) be determined on the use of the '1+'
prefix:
*IF* the call is 'free' or 'local', it could be dialed as 'straight'
ten-digits and be completed as dialed.
If there is a charge above a certain price barrier, calls dialed without the
'1+' would be given a recording "You must first dial a '1' or '0' before
dialing this number".
*All* calls dialed with a '1+' prefix would go through, and be charged at
the proper rate, if such a charge applies.
'Free' or 'local' calls dialed with a '1+' would still go through, but
billed 'free' or 'local'.
Again, the charge information in the database associated with that
NXX-NXX-XXXX number would determine the call processing results based on
whether or not the calling party dialed a '1+'.
And of course, anyone with 900- (and pay-per-call prefix) blocking would
continue to be blocked against calls to certain area codes or NXX-NXX- codes
which carry such a premium rate charge.
And as I mentioned earlier, *all* of this, while possible, is still a long
way off! But look at the Worldwide Web, etc. Domain names (URL's) *are*
portable in these ways, as there are database lookups which return a
'location' or 'routing' URL.
MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497
WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497)
Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to
Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail
------------------------------
From: psyber@usa.pipeline.com (John Cropper)
Subject: Re: What is "Number Portability"?
Date: 21 Aug 1996 06:33:40 GMT
Organization: Pipeline
On Aug 20, 1996 17:09:37 in article <What is "Number Portability"?>,
'Michael Graff <graff@VNET.IBM.COM>' wrote:
> In TELECOM Digest V16 #417, Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com> submitted two press
> articles about California area code splits. Both talk about "number
> portability", and each article gives a different definition of that
> term.
> In "California Peninsula to Get New Area Code", it says:
>> "number portability," which allows customers to keep their numbers
>> should they opt to change phone companies
> In "415, 916 Area Codes to Split in Two", it says:
>> number portability -- where a person's phone number stays with them
>> no matter where they go
> Which of these definitions is correct?
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It refers to keeping your phone number
> **within the same local community** regardless of which telco you
> choose to use. It does not mean you can take your phone number all
> over the USA. There would be no way to keep track of long distance
> versus local calls, etc. Of course you can get something like a 500
> number from AT&T and take *that* all over the country. PAT]
Actually, Pat (and Michael), the FCC would like BOTH to eventually (5-15
years) be correct. The days of an NPA representing a particular geographic
boundary may be numbered if some individuals get their way ...
Distance-based rate structures will have to fall away completely
(almost there), and a few other technical modifications will have to
be made at the "mom & pop" LEC level, but we're 65-70% there for that
kind of portability for all NPAs now. Personally, I hate the idea, but
it's not yet "up to me". :-)
John Cropper NiS / NexComm
PO Box 277
Pennington, NJ USA 08534-0277
Inside NJ : 609.637.9434
Outside NJ: 888.NPA.NFO2 (672.6362)
Fax : 609.637.9430
email : psyber@usa.pipeline.com
------------------------------
From: jagosta@interaccess.com (John Agosta)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: 21 Aug 1996 14:33:35 GMT
Organization: Agosta and Associates
In article <telecom16.428.4@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Mark Friedman
<71534.332@CompuServe.COM> says:
> I am performing some research and am interested in hearing from anyone
> with an interesting theory of why Internet access is so slow?
It's because of all the JERKS out there sending electronic junk mail
to thousands of users trying to sell US get rich quick schemes,
investments, cures for baldness, and other magic potions.
ja
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Oh, I don't really think so. Certainly
there is a lot of junk on the net but the computer does not know the
difference between a jerk sending thousands of pieces of mail trying
to sell something and a jerk sending out thousands of pieces of mail
referred to as a 'Digest' of some sort. It is a combination of all
these things; the net is just getting a lot more traffic than it used
to get.
We see the same thing on the streets in every large city. Thirty to
forty years ago traffic on the road and highways was not nearly as
heavy as it is now. Other than 'rush hour' roads were relatively quiet
all day with cars going past occassionally. Now the slow times of day
look like 'rush hour' used to look thirty years ago on busy roads, etc.
Prior to the construction of the interstate highway system in the 1950-
60's era people still traveled; they just did not travel as much or go
as far, and it took longer to get where they did go. The net is the
same thing all over again.
And although I am not trying to be particularly protective of the 'jerks
who send out thousands of pieces of mail trying to sell something' there
*are* a lot of people using the net who are as equally sincere in their
efforts as you and I. I honestly do not think many of the people who do
junkmail and spam realize they are considered offensive. PAT]
------------------------------
From: rlm@netcom.com (Robert McMillin)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Organization: Charlie Don't CERF
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 14:43:33 GMT
On 20 Aug 1996 18:00:17 PDT, Mark Friedman <71534.332@CompuServe.COM> said:
> I am performing some research and am interested in hearing from anyone
> with an interesting theory of why Internet access is so slow?
> For instance,
> Is it the data com backbone, the protocol, the routers, the
> Servers, or the browsers?
Pac*Bell has reported serious problems with their ATM switch at their
California NAP. For full details of what's going on and how they hope
to fix it, read
http://www.pacbell.com/products/business/fastrak/networking/nap/nap2-6.html
My understanding is that Pac*Bell is the only NAP operator using ATM
at this time.
Robert L. McMillin | rlm@helen.surfcty.com | Netcom: rlm@netcom.com
------------------------------
From: psyber@usa.pipeline.com (John Cropper)
Subject: Re: Alex Mandl Hangs it Up
Date: 21 Aug 1996 06:39:19 GMT
Organization: Pipeline
On Aug 20, 1996 20:35:02 in article <Alex Mandl Hangs it Up>, 'ptownson@
massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)' wrote:
> Instead he (Alex J Mandl) decided to chairman and chief executive officer
> of Associated Communications, a brand new unit of the Associated Group, a
> company located in Pittsburgh, PA with significant investments in Mexican
> wireless firms, and Tele-Communications, INc, the biggest USA cable
> television operator.
> His resignation takes place immediatly, but he will assist AT&T as
> needed in making an orderly transition of management responsibilities.
> Good luck, Alex ... I think AT&T was the loser in this deal.
Who could blame him? ACC offered a $20 *million* signing bonus, plus
18% of all future growth of ACC's market value (currently at $200
million; if he grows ACC's market value to only $1 billion, that's
$144 *million* in his pocket).
Sounds like a major sports-figure contract, when you think about it ... :-)
John Cropper * NiS / NexComm
PO Box 277
Pennington, NJ USA 08534-0277
Inside NJ : 609.637.9434
Outside NJ: 888.NPA.NFO2 (672.6362)
Fax : 609.637.9430
email : psyber@usa.pipeline.com
------------------------------
From: rstrobel@infotime.com (Rick Strobel)
Subject: Re: Alex Mandl Hangs it Up
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 96 11:43:07 GMT
Organization: InfoTime
In article <telecom16.428.1@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, ptownson@massis.lcs.
mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) wrote:
> Alex J. Mandl gave up a chance to lead the world's biggest communications
> company, AT&T, saying he would rather start a telephone company of his
> own instead.
> Instead he decided to be chairman and chief executive officer of Associated
> Communications, a brand new unit of the Associated Group, a company
> located in Pittsburgh, PA with significant investments in Mexican
> wireless firms, and Tele-Communications, Inc, the biggest USA cable
> television operator.
Pat,
Could you, or someone in the group, comment on the technology that
Mandl finds so compelling at this new company?
Apparently Mandl feels that it's the next big thing. At least that's
what I gather from the news reports I read. They have all been light
on the tech side.
Thanks.
P.S. - I'm still looking for a follow up to the Flat Rate Cellular post from
last week. Did I miss it, or are we still waiting for more info?
Rick Strobel
InfoTime Fax Communications
502-426-4279
502-426-3721 fax
rstrobel@infotime.com
http://www.infotime.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As John Cropper points out in the
message just before yours, perhaps it was the money rather than
the technology which he found 'so compelling'. :)
I have not seen much on the flat rate cellular item from last week so
a reminder is perhaps in order: Anyone who would care to comment to
Mr. Strobel or the group on 'flat rate cellular' per the item which
appeared in the Digest several days ago? PAT]
------------------------------
From: psyber@usa.pipeline.com (John Cropper)
Subject: Re: No Local Phone Competition in 'Small' Markets
Date: 21 Aug 1996 06:50:46 GMT
Organization: Pipeline
On Aug 20, 1996 21:31:17 in article <No Local Phone Competition in 'Small'
Markets>, 'cc004056@interramp.com (Greg Monti)' wrote:
> In a story, entitled, "Why Phone Rivals Can't Get Into Some Towns," in
> the _Wall Street Journal_, August 19, 1996, page B1, writer Leslie
> Cauley explains that not all areas of the U.S. will be subject to
> local phone company competition. The gist of the story is that the
> new federal Telecommunications Law exempts rural phone companies and
> small companies from the competition requirements put on the baby
> Bells, Sprint and most of GTE.
> The definitions of "small" and "rural" exempt some multibillion dollar
> telcos from competition. Examples: Southern New England Telephone,
> with 2.1 million access lines and $1.8 billion in 1995 revenue, is
> exempt from competition.
Perhaps, but they're still going head-to-head with AT&T at the moment.
AT&T's currently offering 5c per minute rates intra-LATA within
Connecticut, and has a huge media blitz under way in New England
(Boston, Hartford) and mid-Atlantic (New York) radio and TV
markets. SNET has countered with a plan of their own, and has
pioneered 1 *second* billing on long distance calling (minimum 18
seconds, I believe).
> Little Rock, Arkansas, based Alltel, with
> 1.6 million access lines and 1995 revenue of $3.1 billion is, too. So
> is $2 billion Frontier, with almost a million lines. Same with
> Cincinnati Bell and Century Telecommunications, each with over
> $600,000,000 in annual revenue. In fact, most of the 1,300
> "independent" telcos are exempt. These companies cover 10% of the
> U.S. population, or about 26,000,000 residents.
If they want to compete, they can, though, I'm assuming ...
> A rule also allows small, rural divisions of large telcos (those with
> less than 50,000 accesss lines in a "market," whatever that is) to
> also apply to be exempt from competition. In some parts of the
> country, that rural company is none other than GTE, the largest local
> telco in America.
Surprise, surprise ...
> A carrier with less than 2% of the nation's access lines (like
> Frontier) or those with fewer than 3,000,000 lines company-wide can
> apply to become exempt from competition.
> The story quotes a Houston woman, who moved from SBC territory, where
> basic local service was $11.05 per month, into Alltel territory in
> Sugarland, Texas, where the same service is priced at $20.65. The
> story notes that call waiting is $6.50 per month from Alltel, and
> $2.80 from SBC. The story notes that Alltel feels it provides good
> service at good rates in all of its markets.
> A consumer advocate in Pennsylvania is quoted as saying that most of
> the rural companies in his state will apply for and get the exemption,
> which he laments will mean that 20% of the the population will not see
> local competition in the foreseeable future.
No wonder the LECs were crowing over the Telecom Act ... :-)
John Cropper NiS / NexComm
PO Box 277
Pennington, NJ USA 08534-0277
Inside NJ : 609.637.9434
Outside NJ: 888.NPA.NFO2 (672.6362)
Fax : 609.637.9430
email : psyber@usa.pipeline.com
------------------------------
From: dr@ripco.com (David Richards)
Subject: Re: Timed Local Internet Calls
Organization: Ripco Internet BBS Chicago
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 05:56:55 GMT
In article <telecom16.424.6@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Fred Goodwin
<fgoodwin@tri.sbc.com> wrote:
> A final question: if (as some believe) there is no additional marginal or
> incremental cost to the telco for long-duration calls, why then do so many
> online and Internet providers charge for usage rather than a flat rate?
> If there is a cost to online providers, why not a cost to the telco also?
As an online provider, I can authoritatively state that a small minority
of Internet providers (fewer every day) charge by usage.
Most charge a flat 'all you can eat' rate, while some include a fixed
number of hours (usually around 200 hours/month) with an hourly fee
for extreme usage.
Internet Providers, like the telco, oversell their connections, but on
a smaller scale. For example, we charge $15/month for an 'untimed'
personal account, with the expectation that you will only be online while
you are awake and at the computer -- if you have a wife, job, etc. this is
at most three to six hours a day.
Because of this and other factors, we can oversell by 10-1 and the
only time all the lines are full for a full five minutes straight is
at the peak point of the day -- just about when Seinfeld goes off the air :-)
We also charge a much higher (X3) rate for a 'dedicated' type account
where we EXPECT the user to be connected full time. If we sell ten of
these accounts, we order ten phone lines, because we know for a fact
that this user will probably call once and never hang up.
The phone company has the same thing, but they call it a 'leased line'
and (for 64K service) their higher rate isn't X3 a regular residential
phone line- Ameritech charges about $1000 for installation and several
hundred dollars per month- _TEN_ times as much!
If I could get a leased line installed from my home for about what ISDN
costs now (for both my circuit and my ISP's) then I wouldn't be
(ab)using ISDN as a dedicated service.
An earlier article made a good point -- while a conservative estimate
gives 30,000 local Internet _customers_ in Chicago, there are at most
1,500-2,000 phone lines total going _to_ their ISPs, scattered
throughout the metropolitan area.
Coupled with Ameritech's distance based phone rates, and the load on any
one switch or trunk is minor, and with the amount we've paid them alone
they should be able to buy a new 5ESS for the local central office.
David Richards Ripco, since Nineteen-Eighty-Three
My opinions are my own, Public Access in Chicago
But they are available for rental Shell/SLIP/PPP/UUCP/ISDN/Leased
dr@ripco.com (312) 665-0065 !Free Usenet/E-Mail!
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #429
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Thu Aug 22 19:34:08 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id TAA17165; Thu, 22 Aug 1996 19:34:08 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 19:34:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608222334.TAA17165@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #430
TELECOM Digest Thu, 22 Aug 96 19:34:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 430
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript (Howard Pierpont)
Gee Whiz Stuff From Bellcore (Tad Cook)
End to Phone Card Pacts (Tad Cook)
AT&T Offers Check to Distintive Ring Number (Robert E. Haussmann)
800 Number Routing Question (John Perkins)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 96 12:54:49 EDT
From: Howard Pierpont <pierpont@snax.enet.dec.com>
Subject: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript
I noted a discussion about LOTS of COCOTs being placed in ATlanta
before the Olympics. I haven't heard if the phone used was a COCOT,
but I think [based] on the way the 911 call was handled] it was.
Not sure if you have seen the transcript. interesting read.
howard Pierpont
Business Resumption MAnager, Digital Semiconductor
hudson MA.
------ From RISKS DIGEST 18.35 ------
Date: 20 Aug 96 01:11:11 GMT
From: risko@csl.sri.com (RISKS List Owner)
Newsgroups: comp.risks
Other items deleted----
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 96 10:45:34 PDT
From: "Peter G. Neumann" <neumann@csl.sri.com>
Subject: The Atlanta 911 transcript
[The following transcript of the Olympic 911 bomb call and the ensuing
conversation suggests that many of our nontechnological risks are not
being adequately addressed. PGN]
http://www.cnn.com/US/9608/09/olympics.bomb.911/911.transcript.wir/transcript.html
Excerpts from a transcript released Thursday by the Atlanta Police
Department regarding the bomb threat telephoned to 911 on July
27. Times have been converted from military time to standard notation,
and punctuation and spelling have been edited. Parenthetical notes
are part of the police transcript except where labeled as an editor's
note.
The transcript refers to these police terms: Code 73, bomb threat; and
Zone 5, a police precinct near Centennial Olympic Park.
The transcript did not explain the Zone 5 dispatcher's references to Code
17 and Code 8, which apparently were unrelated to the bomb call.
12:58:28 a.m.: [Call to 911]
12:58:32 a.m.: Atlanta Police Department 911 Operator: "Atlanta 911."
Caller: "There is a bomb in Centennial Park, you have 30 minutes."
12:58:45 a.m.: Caller hangs up.
1:01:20 a.m.: 911 operator calls APD Agency Command Center (all lines busy).
....
1:01:30 a.m.: 911 operator calls Zone 5 and notifies Zone 5 of Signal 73 and
requests address of Centennial Park -- unable to get street
address.
Dispatcher: "Zone 5."
911 Operator: "You know the address to Centennial Olympic Park?"
Dispatcher: "Girl, don't ask me to lie to you."
911 Operator: "I tried to call ACC but ain't nobody answering the phone ...
but I just got this man called talking about there's a
bomb set to go off in 30 minutes in Centennial Park."
Dispatcher: "Oh Lord, child. One minute, one minute. I copy Code 17. OK,
all DUI units are Code 8 and will not be able to
assist on the freeway.
Oh Lord, child. Uh, OK, wait a minute, Centennial
Park, you put it in and it won't go in?"
911 Operator: "No, unless I'm spelling Centennial wrong. How are we spelling
Centennial?"
Dispatcher: "C-E-N-T-E-N-N-I -- how do you spell Centennial?"
911 Operator: "I'm spelling it right, it ain't taking."
Dispatcher: "Yeah."
911 Operator: "Centennial Park is not going. Maybe if I take 'park' out,
maybe that will take. Let me try that."
Dispatcher: "Wait a minute, that's the regular Olympic Stadium right?"
911 Operator: "Olympic Stadium is like Zone 3, though. Centennial Park."
Dispatcher: "That's the Centennial Park?"
911 Operator: "It's near the Coca Cola Plaza, I think."
Dispatcher: "In 5?"
911 Operator: "Uh huh."
Dispatcher: "Uh, hold on. Sonya, you don't know the address to the
Centennial Park?"
2nd Dispatcher (in background): "Downtown."
911 Operator: "Male, about 30."
Dispatcher: "1546, Code 17, 23."
911 Operator: "White."
Dispatcher: "Uh, you know what? Ask one of the supervisors."
911 Operator: "No, Lord help me, you know they don't know."
Dispatcher: "I know, but it gets it off you."
911 Operator: "Alrighty then, bye."
Dispatcher: "Bye."
1:02:40 a.m.: 911 operator calls APD ACC for address (telephone line problem;
operators cannot hear each other.) ...
1:02:50 a.m.: 911 operator calls APD ACC again and requests address for
Centennial Park and is given the telephone number.
ACC: "Atlanta Police, Agency Command Center."
911 Operator: "Hey, can you hear me now?"
ACC: "Uh huh."
911 Operator: "OK, can you give me the address of the Centennial Park?"
ACC: "I ain't got no address to Centennial Park, what y'all
think I am?"
911 Operator: "Can you help me find the address to Centennial Park?"
ACC: "I can give you the telephone number of Centennial Park."
911 Operator: "I need to get this bomb threat over there to y'all."
ACC: "Well."
911 Operator: "But I need the address of Centennial Park. It's not taking,
the system is not taking Centennial Park, that's not
where it came from, but you know the system is not
taking Centennial Park, that's where he said the bomb was."
ACC: "No particular street or what?"
911 Operator: "He just said there's a bomb set to go off in 30 minutes in
Centennial Park."
ACC: "Ooh, it's going to be gone off by the time we find the
address."
911 Operator: "Are you kiddin'? Give me that, give me that."
ACC: "I mean I don't have an address, I just have phone
numbers."
911 Operator: "Give me the phone number."
...
1:05:10 a.m.: 911 operator calls Centennial Park for street address and
is placed on hold. Receives address at 1:07:10 a.m.
Centennial Park: "Centennial Park, this is Operator Morgan."
911 Operator: "Hi, can you give me the address to Centennial Park?"
Cen Park: "The address?"
911 Operator: "Uh huh."
Cen Park: "Uh, hold on a second."
1:06:30 a.m.: 911 operator notifies Communications Supervisor, Sgt.
Montgomery.
911 Operator: "Does anybody -- Sgt. Montgomery, do you know the address of
Centennial Park? Do you know the address to Centennial Park.
Well, I need to get the address of Centennial Park 'cause, I
mean I don't mean to upset nobody, but we got a bomb threat
over there."
(Editor's note: The transcript does not further indicate whether this
comment about a bomb threat was directed only to Sgt. Montgomery in
the 911 center or to Centennial Park's Operator Morgan, who is shown
to come back on the line just after the comment.)
Cen Park: "Ma'am."
911 Operator: "Yes."
Cen Park: "OK, it's 145 International Boulevard."
911 Operator: "145 International Boulevard."
Cen Park: "Uh huh."
911 Operator: "OK."
Cen Park: "All right, uh huh."
911 Operator: "Thank you. Bye bye."
1:08:35 a.m.: 911 operator sent call to dispatch.
1:11:10 a.m.:
Dispatcher: "1591. Radio raising 1594."
Unit 1594: "1594. You call?"
1:11:20 a.m.:
Dispatcher: "1594, that's affirmative, got a Signal 73 at 145
International Boulevard. It came from the pay phone at
the Days Inn. The caller is advising that he has one set
to go off in 30 minutes at Centennial Park. Sounded like
a white male."
(Editor's note: The same information is then given to Unit 1593 and
the dispatcher calls Unit 1546.)
1:12:30 a.m.:
Dispatcher: "Did you copy?"
1:12:40 a.m.:
Unit 1546: "1546. I copy. Advise the state police, they police that park.
I'll go the Days Inn and see if I can locate the caller."
Dispatcher: "OK, that's affirmative."
(Editor's note: There are sporadic entries over the next seven minutes.
Another officer, designated Unit 1593, also instructs the dispatcher at
1:18:50 a.m. to "contact the state police supervisor." The transcript
contains no indication, however, that state police were notified.)
1:20:00 a.m.:
Unit 2924: "2924 to Radio, be advised that something just blew up at
Olympic Park."
---------------------------
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That situation in Atlanta was certainly
a tragedy which was no doubt compounded by the confusion expressed by
police dispatchers shown above.
One victim of the explosion is Mr. Jewell, the security officer who
was involved. As everyone knows by now -- I trust -- he was completely
innocent of any complicity in the affair, yet the FBI saw fit to put
him through an incredible smear job -- a common FBI tactic -- in order
to find him guilty in the eyes of the public.
The Democratic convention starts here in Chicago this weekend with
much inconvenience for the regular citizens who are finding a lot of
streets blocked off; busses rerouted several blocks out of the way;
and many public facilities such as Navy Pier closed to the public
entirely. Those politicians really think they are something special.
Some city officials believe privately there will be riots or at least
more violence than usual during the week ahead; there have already
been bomb threats called in, etc. I personally will be glad to see
them all get out of town after a week so things can get back to some
semblance of normality. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Gee Whiz Stuff From Bellcore
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 10:10:20 PDT
Some High-Tech Gadgets of the Future are Showing Up Now
By Mimi Whitefield, The Miami Herald
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 22--In the not too distant future, a TV viewer settling in to
watch a favorite program may be able to do a little shopping as a car
commercial flashes on the screen.
With technology under development at New Jersey-based BellCore Corp.,
a viewer watching a sleek sedan may be able to click on the image and
electronically equip it to taste.
A click of a mouse and the viewer can paint the car and select
interior options. After selecting red with a leather interior, for
example, the viewer may be able to get a price for that particular
car, check its availability at local dealerships and perhaps even buy
it with a credit card.
"You complete your transaction and then you go back to your television
show," said Dave Sincoskie, executive director of computer networking
research at BellCore, a research and engineering firm for
telecommunications companies.
The technology: Real time video delivered over IP (Internet protocol)
into a web browser. "It's a little fanciful but not out of the
ballpark," said Sincoskie.
Telecommunications is no longer a routine, black telephone type of
industry. Technological advances are coming fast and furious --
changing the way people shop, get in touch and do business with each
other.
In some communities in California -- home of Silicon Valley and the
microchip revolution -- people order their groceries by computer. The
state is also experimenting with teleconferencing to hold town
meetings.
Though some people still derisively refer to the World Wide Web as the
"World Wide Wait" because of overcrowding and bottlenecks, more and
more people are delving into electronic communication.
When Bob Lucky, BellCore's vice president for applied research, spoke
at a gathering of telecom executives last year, more than 70 percent
had not yet used the Internet.
But at BellCore's annual technology forum this spring, the majority of
those in the room raised their hands when Lucky asked how many had
surfed the Net. An estimated 37 million Americans and Canadians now
have access to the Internet.
"What a difference a year makes. It's a sea change and this is going
to happen every year from now on," said Lucky.
Five years from now, predicts George H. Heilmeier, president and CEO
of BellCore, the Internet will have more switching capacity than the
telephone system has today.
"In the next five years video and voice communication on the Internet
will be a reality and of a quality equivalent to what you get on your
television set today," he said. "It won't be this herky-jerky stuff
you get in video-conferencing over ISDN (a technology that allows
high-speed data transmission over copper-wire phone lines)."
And instead of having to search the World Wide Web for things that are
of interest, Heilmeier predicts there will be a concierge-type service
that stores information on consumers' personal interests and then
forwards specific data on their selections.
A consumer, for example, might specify that he wants to see the
largest selection of blue suits possible in a size 42 at stores within
15 minutes of his home and the information would be forwarded to his
home computer.
"Essentially the Internet will become vital to commerce in this
country. It will be a very, very different world," said Heilmeier. "It
will be a PC-centered world, rather than a TV-centric world, although
both will co-exist."
Telecom technology is already revolutionalizing the way Americans do
business.
Try this scenario on for size: It's a glorious day -- too glorious for
the office but you really need to work. Not to worry. Head to the
beach with a wireless laptop computer equipped with a tiny antenna.
You can set up a virtual office under a beach umbrella. With Air Boss
software developed by BellCore, you can send and receive faxes, e-mail
and paging messages. You can even send a computerized document via fax
to two different places at the same time: to an insurance company and
a hospital archive, for example.
This technology isn't someday. It's available right now.
Although many large companies already use video-teleconferencing to
link employees at distant sites, some people aren't comfortable
talking to the small, boxed images of their colleagues that appear on
their computer screens.
Prototype software now under development at BellCore will go a long
way toward personalizing video-conferencing.
Picture this: Eight branch managers of a tire company are assembled in
their individual offices for a video-conference with the chief
financial officer at headquarters.
With BellCore's Personal Presence system, all those images can be
overlapped and blended together, and a "virtual environment" can be
created for them.
Instead of addressing eight employees in small computerized blocks,
the CFO sees the eight managers as a group -- sitting behind a
"virtual" conference table.
And the system, which is expected to be available next year, has the
capability to zero in on a photograph or document the CFO is holding,
for example, and display it full size on the computer screens of the
branch managers. Two employees also can "leave" the conference and
conduct a private conversation, while still monitoring the main
meeting on their computer screens.
Closer to home, local and long-distance companies are getting into the
techno act, too, with new products and services.
BellSouth's latest telephone offering is the Nortel 350, a phone set
that has a small display screen and a deluxe call-waiting feature.
If a call comes in while the phone is in use, the identity of the
caller comes up on the display. With a touch of the keypad, the call
may be picked up, turned into a three-way call, or sent to voice mail.
It also can be used as a speaker phone; is bilingual (English and
Spanish); and stores a list of 85 numbers that can be dialed
automatically. The pricetag: $224.
Before the end of the year, BellSouth will be introducing a cordless-
cellular phone, the Motorola PPS, in the Florida market.
When the phone is used in the customer's home or office it works like
a regular cordless telephone. But the handset becomes a cellular phone
when the customer is on the go.
For those interested in even more avant-garde communication, Japan's
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. has developed a tiny cell phone
that fits into a wristwatch -- reminescent of Dick Tracy's two-way
wrist radio of comic strip fame. There's no number pad on the
prototype because the user "dials" by speaking.
Slightly larger but still in the fly-weight category is Motorola's
StarTac cellular phone. The flip-up model weighs just 3.1 ounces and
provides up to 60 minutes of continuous talking without a
recharge. But lightness doesn't equate with economy. The StarTac
carries a hefty $1,000 to $2,000 price tag.
Consumers' home phone systems also will become more versatile and take
on new tasks in the future.
This spring Ameritech, the Baby Bell that serves the Midwest, and
Commonwealth Edison and Wisconsin Energy Corp. began a "smart home"
test in the Chicago area and Wisconsin. In a "smart home," the air
conditioning system, heater, or even the washing machine can be turned
on and off over the phone.
Some companies also have begun to test "smart" phones equipped with
small display screens. They can do all the old phone chores plus read
credit cards, carry out banking transactions, deliver e-mail and tap
into local online services.
Philips Electronics is putting the new technology to a test in Garden
City, N.Y., where it distributed its P100 screen phones to 7,000
households.
Someday it also may be routine to link television sets with
appliances. A message on the television screen in the family room, for
example, will alert a viewer that a pot of coffee has finished brewing
in the kitchen.
Also, wireless technology may become cheap enough that parents can
afford to give any school kid their own cell phone to use in case
they're in trouble, said Jim Lipsit, an AT&T operations employee who
works in new technologies.
Many Americans -- especially young people -- are embracing the
innovations. But for others, high-tech can be terrifying.
Some people just want peace and quiet. They don't want to be flooded
with e-mail; they don't want to be accessible 24 hours a day; and they
don't want to study a 25-page booklet to operate their cellular phone.
"It's too much. It's all so confusing, and so technical sometimes. We
don't need half of these gimmicks and gadgets," said Vivian Tuchman,
who works with her husband at their downtown Miami men's shop.
"You get Internet access and then the kids are up are until 3 in the
morning e-mailing their friends. There are all these things you have
to monitor now," she lamented. "Now you have all these zillions of TV
channels, too, and we're paying through the nose for all this stuff."
But Mike Zorovich, a 48-year-old Miami Shores resident who runs a
wholesale sales business out of his home, says he's always been
comfortable with the new technology.
It's a good thing. At last count he had five phone lines (fax,
business, home and two kid's lines), a fax machine, three notebook
computers and two desktop computers at his home, as well as a beeper
and cellular phone.
And he's thinking about adding a sixth phone line that will be used
exclusively for access to online services.
"Could I imagine life without all this stuff? Probably," he says. "But
the question is would I be as productive. I've seen a substantial
increase in sales since I wired up. Service is the name of the game
today, and you can't provide it unless you can communicate."
But, he said, perspective is important: Just because evolving telecom
technology is enabling people to stay in touch any time, virtually
anywhere, doesn't mean they have to let it control their lives.
"The reality is that people still want to have a certain quality of
life. They aren't going to want to be wired up 24 hours a day, sitting
in their beds online," said Zorovich. "Just because we have these
capabilities doesn't mean we have to work 24 hours a day."
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: End to Phone Card Pacts
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 09:53:56 PDT
End to Telephone Card Pacts Means More Dialing in Houston Area
By Nelson Antosh, Houston Chronicle
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 22--Making a credit card call to area codes around Houston may
mean dialing even more digits than before.
A caller with AT&T service who lives inside the Loop and wants to bill
the call to an AT&T credit card now must first dial 1-800-CALL-ATT.
Behind this change is the gradual termination of agreements between
AT&T Corp. and local telephone companies to honor each other's cards.
In the case of Southwestern Bell, such an agreement between it and
AT&T was canceled on Aug. 9, according to Southwestern Bell spokesman
Chris Talley of Houston.
Now, when someone tries to place a call on the Southwestern Bell
network with an AT&T card, Southwestern Bell blocks the call. The
recorded message says, "The card number you dialed is not valid;
please enter your card number again."
To avoid this dead end, a customer can either go to the Southwestern
Bell operator or dial the lengthy 1-800-CALL-ATT sequence.
This change guarantees that customers will get lower AT&T rates on all
their calls, said Kelly Stratmore, a card specialist for AT&T in
Basking Ridge, N.J.
AT&T is canceling similar agreements with local telephone companies
across the nation. This first occurred in April and the final
termination is scheduled for the middle of next year, Stratmore said.
Termination of the agreement for the Houston area was initiated by
Southwestern Bell, which announced its intention to cancel in August
1994.
The reasons cited in the company's announcement included "rising
telecommunications fraud, rapidly diminishing the net value of the
agreement." The companies were reimbursing each other for fraud, but
Southwestern Bell was bearing a bigger burden, Talley said.
Also, an aggressive advertising campaign by AT&T resulted in fewer
calls being placed on the Southwestern Bell network, Talley said.
------------------------------
From: Robert E. Haussmann <haussma@primenet.com>
Subject: AT&T Offers Check to Distinctive Ring Number
Date: 21 Aug 1996 22:17:05 -0700
Organization: Primenet (602)416-7000
I've just recently acquired three new telephone numbers with US West's
"distinctive ring" feature. Of course, all three numbers are tied to
a single physical line. Over the past few weeks, I've been getting
calls from various long-distance companies asking me to switch the
long distance carrier for one of the distinctive ring numbers. In
fact, even though AT&T carries all long distance calls on that line,
they've called two of the three distinctive ring numbers trying to get
me to "switch". (I suppose the only information they have is that a
particular number is *not* using AT&T for long distance, and have no
way of checking whether that number corresponds to a physical line).
The calls, of course, are getting annoying. But today I received an
AT&T offer in the mail, with a $100 check (if I cash the check,
they'll "switch" one of my distinctive ring numbers). The fine print
reads "Endorsement and cashing of this check will switch your long
distance service to AT&T." and "Your signature on and cashing of this
check authorize AT&T to process your order and notify your local
telephone company of your decision to switch to AT&T Dial-1 Long
Distance Service."
The obvious question is, can I cash this check?
Bob Haussmann
haussma@primenet.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Certainly you can cash it. And when
AT&T gets it back they will notify your local telco to put that one
distinctive ring number on their service. Your local telco will
look at the order and decide there has been some mistake and just
not process it. None the less you will have AT&T service on your
line. It is not your fault they give their money away in a stupid
fashion is it? Now I must caution people reading this however
against tampering with the endorsement or scratching out any of the
provisions in an effort to get the money without getting AT&T service
at all. If you take the money, give them one of your lines. If you
give them a line which has no outgoing service on it thus they will
never see a nickle from it, that's their problem. PAT]
------------------------------
From: johnper@bigbird.rosemount.com (John Perkins)
Subject: 800 Number Routing Question
Organization: Rosemount, Inc.
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 22:50:06 GMT
I have a single 800 number that is being routed to two different
carriers at the same time.
Recently I transferred the number from AT&T to PNG, but have found
that of several (legitimate) calls made on the same day, some are
being carried and billed by AT&T and some by PNG.
To be a bit more specific, I had calls carried (correctly) by AT&T in
early July. Then I switched to PNG and had calls carried (correctly)
by PNG in late July. However, in early August I find I have a *some*
calls carried by PNG and some by AT&T, even on the same days, while I
did not expect to have any more calls carried by AT&T.
Can someone please explain to me how this could possibly happen? I
was under the impression that 800 numbers were routed according to a
single national database. It appears that there is more than one
database out there and they are not necessarily in sync.
John Perkins (johnper@bigbird.frco.com)
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
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The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
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*************************************************************************
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*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #430
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Thu Aug 22 20:59:27 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id UAA25115; Thu, 22 Aug 1996 20:59:27 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 20:59:27 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608230059.UAA25115@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #431
TELECOM Digest Thu, 22 Aug 96 20:59:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 431
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
San Jose State University and PacBell Internet Services (Mike King)
BellSouth and Newbridge Networks Forge Co-Marketing Venture (Mike King)
Bells Allege Internet Growth Clogging Network (jodins@uswest.com)
Rural Telephone Service (John W. Shaver)
Actors Use ISDN to Remotely Tape Ads (Tad Cook)
Telecom Scandal in India (Rishab Aiyer Ghosh)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mike King <mk@wco.com>
Subject: San Jose State University and PacBell Internet Services
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 16:14:13 PDT
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 09:56:30 -0700
From: sqlgate@list.pactel.com
Subject: San Jose State University, Pacific Bell Internet Services
Team Up To Offer Students And Faculty New Dial Up Internet
Access Service
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tanya Orman, San Jose State University
(408) 924-1166
torman@sjsuvm1.sjsu.edu
Dave Miller, Pacific Bell Internet Services
(916) 972-2811
dnmille@legal.pactel.com
San Jose State University, Pacific Bell Internet Services Team Up To
Offer Students And Faculty New Dial Up Internet Access Service
SAN JOSE - The university that has launched the careers of many of
Silicon Valley's brightest engineers, scientists, computer and
high-technology experts is turning to Pacific Bell Internet Services
to make it easier for the campus community to access the online world
of the Internet.
San Jose State University, the West Coast's oldest public institution
of higher education, selected the San Francisco-based Internet
services company to provide the new dial up access service for the
school's 29,000 students, faculty and staff.
Under a joint marketing and distribution agreement, Pacific Bell
Internet Services will offer university users who live and work in the
greater Bay Area special discount pricing, which includes unlimited
local dial up Internet access at speeds up to 28.8 Kbps (kilobits per
second). A standard, one-time setup fee for each user is also being
waived as part of the deal.
"The demand for Internet access is expanding so dramatically that we
need to find ways to give our students easier, cost effective and
routine access to the 'Net' to enhance their education," said
University President Robert L. Caret. Students and faculty will be
able to use the service to access online course materials, the library
and other university services from their homes.
Caret said the school needed more Internet access to aid academic
research, enhance communications and make electronic mail as easy as
making a local phone call.
With Pacific Bell Internet, the university user will get:
* High speed 28.8 Kbps access to every dial up point
* Unlimited Internet access at a discounted price
* Support for both IBM compatible and Macintosh personal computers
* Free, customized version of the latest Web browser client software
from industry-leading Netscape Communications
* 24 hour, 7 day a week customer service and support
* Specialized services and support for disabled users
* Unrestricted access to the World Wide Web, e-mail and newsgroups
The dial up access service, which is available free for one month,
offers students, teachers and staff fast, reliable connections to the
Internet, global e-mail and access to a vast array of directories and
news and information, according to Regina Wiedemann, sales and channel
management vice president for Pacific Bell Internet Services.
"Today, the Internet is an integral part of campus and community life,"
she said. "Students, faculty and staff rely on it for a wide variety of
academic, administrative and social activities. That's why it's
important for this service to be as widely available, reliable and as
easy to use as the telephone."
In addition to fast, reliable and affordable Internet access, the
Pacific Bell Internet service includes a free, customized version of
Netscape Navigator tm , Netscape's popular browser software with
simple, easy online registration (toll free 800 number), customer
support and convenient payment options via credit card or the monthly
Pacific Bell phone bill. The service will also support other Web
browser software and offers university users another important feature
-- a unique navigational tool for access to local content and
information.
Unlike other Internet service providers who require users to purchase
telephone service from their company to receive the full array of
pricing options, Pacific Bell Internet is available to all prospective
users without a separate, higher pricing structure for non-Pacific Bell
customers.
University officials plan to promote the availability of Pacific Bell
Internet through publicity and a series of direct mail campaigns
beginning next week.
For more information or to order the service, San Jose State
University students, faculty and staff can call toll free
1-800-708-INET (4638), Dept. 705. Free registration software will also
be available at the school's computer center.
Located in the heart of the Silicon Valley, San Jose State University
is a metropolitan campus of 26,000 students and more than 3,000
faculty and support staff. The university has aided the development of
the computer industry and the resulting nationwide technological
advances by supplying Silicon Valley companies with the largest source
-- 6,000 annually -- of engineering, science and business graduates.
Founded in 1857, it was the first public institution of higher learning
on the West Coast. From its humble beginnings as a normal school to
train teachers for the developing frontier, it has matured into a
master's university offering 191 bachelor's and master's degrees. San
Jose State University prides itself in its cultural and ethnic diversity
and is pre-eminent in broadly educating leaders and professionals for an
increasingly complex and global society.
Introduced in May, Pacific Bell Internet is the brand name for
Internet access services provided by Pacific Bell Internet Services
(www.pacbell.net), a full service Internet access provider serving
business and residential customers in California. The company offers a
broad range of Internet access services, including e-mail, news
groups, the World Wide Web and a host of other features.
The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific Bell, the largest
unit of parent company Pacific Telesis Group, a San Francisco-based
diversified telecommunications corporation.
Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com
------------------------------
From: Mike King <mk@wco.com>
Subject: BellSouth and Newbridge Networks Forge Co-Marketing Venture
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 16:15:42 PDT
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 14:37:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: BellSouth <press@www.bellsouth.com>
Subject: BELLSOUTH AND NEWBRIDGE NETWORKS FORGE CO-MARKETING VENTURE
BellSouth and Newbridge Networks Forge Co-Marketing Venture
to Provide Total Digital Networking Solutions
HERNDON, VA -- - BellSouth and Newbridge Networks today launched a
strategic co-marketing venture, part of the BellSouth Network
Complementary Applications Program (NCAP), to provide the full range
of Newbridge(r) networking systems and services to BellSouth
customers. Effective immediately, BellSouth and Newbridge Networks
will jointly market the entire Newbridge MainStreet(r) and VIVID(tm)
family of products along with the BellSouth narrowband and wideband
services.
BellSouth and Newbridge Networks, the first ATM networking solutions
provider to be selected for the NCAP technology partners program,
entered into this agreement to meet growing customer demand for
comprehensive network solutions that can handle a multitude of
communications traffic, interconnect diverse systems on a unified
platform and provide a seamless migration path to high bandwidth
applications.
"BellSouth is delighted to join with Newbridge Networks to create
optimal digital networking solutions for our customers," said John
Thacker, BellSouth Director of Indirect Marketing. "The co-marketing
agreement with Newbridge is BellSouth's first with a provider of ATM
products, and we believe that the high level of performance and
service we deliver will set the industry standard."
Using the comprehensive suite of Newbridge networking equipment,
BellSouth customers will for the first time be able to combine all of
their high-speed communications traffic -- including voice, data,
video and image -- and interconnect Local Area Networks (LANs) and
Wide Area Networks (WANs) on one seamless advanced network. Customers
will also benefit from the convenience of having a single point of
contact for the full range of digital networking needs, versus
negotiating with multiple vendors, and from access to round-the-clock
customer support provided by Newbridge Networks.
Failsafe command and control will be provided by the powerful
Newbridge 46020 MainStreet Network Manager, which interworks with the
entire family of Newbridge MainStreet products, and offers features
including point-and-click configuration, partitioning, and the ability
to manage thousands of nodes and multiple technologies from a single
site.
"As customers' networks become more diverse and complex, there is a
strong demand for full service, unified networking and systems
solutions that smooth the path from low bandwidth to high bandwidth
applications," said Mike Pascoe, President of Newbridge Networks Inc.
"Now customers can benefit from the combined power of BellSouth's
peerless network services and support capabilities and the world's
leading network equipment and network management provider."
BellSouth provides telecommunications services in nine Southeastern
states, including Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. With its
headquarters in Atlanta, BellSouth serves more than 21 million local
telephone lines and provides local exchange and intraLATA long distance
service over one of the most modern telecommunications networks in the
world.
Newbridge Networks (www.newbridge.com) is the global leader in ATM and
TDM systems, according to independent research. The company is a world
leader in designing, manufacturing and servicing a comprehensive
family of networking products and systems that delivers the power of
multimedia communications to organizations in more than 100 countries
throughout the world. Newbridge products are the choice of an
expanding range of customers which includes most of the world's 200
largest telecommunications service providers, and over 10,000
corporations, government organizations, and other institutions. The
company has facilities throughout Canada, the United States, Latin
America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Australasia.
Newbridge Networks Corporation is a public company whose common shares
are listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NN) and on The
Toronto Stock Exchange (NNC) in Canada.
# # #
For Information Contact:
David A. Storey, BellSouth, (205)977-5001
Vivian Kelly, Newbridge Networks, (703)736-5761
---------
Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com
------------------------------
From: jodins@uswest.com
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 96 14:50:59 MDT
Subject: Bells Allege Internet Growth Clogging Network
BELL STUDIES SAY FLOOD OF INTERNET USE IS HARMING ACCESS TO PHONE NETWORK
Copyright 1996 Warren Publishing, Inc. 8-21-96
Studies sponsored by several RHCs suggest that rapid growth of
Internet calls for usage-sensitive pricing for Internet service
providers (ISPs). And U S West (USW) urged FCC to consider burden
imposed by Internet on phone network when reforming access charges to
forestall what telcos claim would be disaster.
Four Bell companies -- Bell Atlantic (BA), Nynex, Pacific
Telesis (PT) and USW -- said in studies that rapid Internet growth is
forcing LECs to pay for costly network improvements while not
providing means to recover those costs from ISPs, which pay flat fee
for lines and don't pay access charges. America's Carriers
Telecommunication Assn. (ACTA) submitted BA's study last week in
petition asking FCC to regulate Internet telephony (CD Aug 19 p2).
PT study said that company had $13.6 million in central office
reengineering costs in first half of year but received no access
charge revenue from ISPs. ISPs pay 12% of what long distance carriers
pay for similar service, telco said. Nynex had said in July 10 letter
to FCC that its Internet lines were growing 10% per month, meaning
that "the rapid expansion of such traffic suggested by the explosive
growth in lines portends dire consequences for network access."
BA's study of traffic in first quarter of year estimated that
serving ISPs would cost $30 million in 1996 but revenues from ISPs
would be $8.2 million. Assuming 40% growth in Internet traffic per
year, "this cross-subsidy would grow to approximately $120 million in
5 years," study said. USW said "explosive use of the Internet... will
continue to require additional investment to prevent serious
blockage." To solve problem, telco said FCC needs to put
usage-sensitive pricing in place to "send rational pricing signals"
and agency should consider issue as part of access charge reform
proceeding, which it has said it plans to complete by early 1997.
FCC official said privately that agency is actively looking at
issue but hasn't decided on course of action. For now, it's "focused
on reforming the broader regulatory structure" of access charges and
universal service, he said. New technologies such as asymmetrical
digital subscriber line (ADSL) and integrated services digital network
(ISDN) that turn traditional phone lines into high-speed lines and
cable modems could make difference, official said: "With all those
uncertainties, we're trying to determine how significant a problem it
is."
But agency is concerned about "incentives created by our
pricing structure." FCC Chmn. Hundt has said in recent speeches that
he doesn't favor regulating Internet telephony as traditional
telephony but that different pricing structures should be examined,
official said. Four studies are first information FCC has received on
topic, he said. Agency hasn't opened formal docket on issue, and
received studies after asking telcos to substantiate their anecdotal
arguments, official said.
Executives of several Internet or technology trade
organizations said they hadn't conducted studies or examined telco
studies in detail. But Jack Nadler, counsel for Information
Technologies Assn. of America (ITAA), said unbundling subloop would
alleviate problem because data traffic could avoid going through
switch. Data packets have address labels on them and don't need
switches to be directed to their destinations, he said. "There is
obviously a need for fundamental access charge reform," he said:
"Simply taking the subsidy-ridden regime and dumping it on ISPs and
saying they should pay like IXCs, that is not reform."
Commercial Internet Exchange hasn't taken formal position, but
Asst. Dir. Ivan Kotcher said ISPs have developed to point where "it's
unrealistic to expect not to pay anything." But he said they
shouldn't have to pay what IXCs do and regulators should be wary of
Bell companies' claims that Internet should be regulated to "protect
the public."
CDviaNewsEDGE/LAN: 8/21/96
Copyright 1996 Warren Publishing, Inc.
------------------------------
From: Shaver, John W. <shaverj@huachuca-emh16.army.mil>
Subject: Rural Telephone Service
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 96 10:20:00 PDT
I have family in eastern Colorado. US West has sold all of the
service in the outlying counties beyond the metropolitan Denver and
suburbs to a local Telephone Cooperative. They get rid of all their
old switches, problems and let the coop struggle with it. Don't have
many details, but I can't keep wondering if they didnot let go of the
cellular service also since they might not have access to the
transmitters and would not have service personnel or contracts in the
near vicinity.
I grew up on a locally owned telephone company. We were just inside
the Colorado border from Kansas and were service by a Bell exchange in
St. Francis about 20 miles away. We were West St. Francis Colorado.
In the early 30s, a one-wire ground return system was inagurated.
That sufficed with the wooden crank phones and local dry cell service
in the home until the 50s. The Rural Electical Administration put in
power lines and 60 cycle ground currents overwhelmed the ground
returns. The service delivered to the common state line became
two-wire with transformers. not improvedment.
The Colorado company then put in two wire service above ground which
endured until the late 70s. The exhange became a switch in Kansas. A
telephone cooperative came alive and plowed underground copper cables.
No ice or wind problems and gave rural customers private dial service.
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Actors Use ISDN to Remotely Tape Ads
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 13:38:47 PDT
Ad Agencies, Talent Use ISDN Phone Lines to Remotely Tape Radio Ads
By Otesa Middleton, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 21 -- Actors no longer have to be in the same studio to tape
radio commercials. They don't even have to be in the same state.
When Richmond's Barber Martin & Associates recently recorded a
Heilig-Meyers Co. spot, the producer was in Richmond; the engineer
and an actor were in Asheville, N.C.; and an actress was in
Greenville, S.C.
Using a microphone, a digital stereo system and high-speed ISDN
telephone lines, the Richmond-based advertising agency coordinated
everything from its headquarters in the Boulders office park.
Integrated Services Digital Network technology transforms sound into
digital signals and then translates it back at the receiving end. The
regular telephone lines are divided into two channels to carry the
digital information. The result is exceptional sound quality, said
Bill Martin, vice president of Barber Martin.
"It sounds great compared to telephone reports you hear on
television," Martin said.
"(The technology) enables us to do better work, quicker," he
added. "It broadens our talent search. We could use someone next door
or on the other side of the country."
Before Barber Martin started using this technology in March, the
agency usually sent a producer to coordinate tapings. "It was very
costly," Martin said.
If the agency didn't send someone to the taping location, the person
would listen in by telephone, then wait for the studio to send a tape
of the commercial overnight.
Now, just as if he were on-site, Martin can call the shots from his
office. Because the sound quality is so good, he can tell the
engineer when to make the music louder or talk to the actors about the
inflection in their voices.
"If the music or sound effects are too loud, you can't tell on the
phone," Martin said.
Barber Martin uses the equipment on about five commercials a month,
and "I see our use increasing a great deal," Martin said.
Some actors who do a lot of work have the ISDN lines and special
equipment in their homes. The technology also can be used for
television commercials with announcers or actors who aren't speaking
on camera, Martin said.
Barber Martin leases the equipment from ProComm Studio Services
Inc. in Asheville, N.C. ProComm also provides the voice talent for
many of the agency's commercials.
"We've been using ISDN lines for two years," said Bill James, senior
engineer at ProComm.
Before it started using the digital telephone lines, ProComm had
actors come into its studios to do commercials, while agencies
listened to the sessions by telephone.
Now, thanks to the new technology, ProComm has doubled the number of
actors it works with to 50.
"Now we can offer agencies additional voices that haven't been heard
in their market," James said.
The other agencies that ProComm works with do not have the equipment
installed in their offices. Officials at those agencies usually listen
in from recording studios in their towns.
"We do so many sessions with Barber Martin, it made sense for them to
have everything in their office," he said.
Terry Stroud, director of marketing at In Your Ear, said his Richmond-based
studio has been using ISDN lines for three years.
"We also use it to send radio spots out for distribution. Everything is
immediate usage vs., at your best, overnight," Stroud said.
He said many local advertising agencies use In Your Ear's facilities
to listen in on recording sessions. "Before we started using this,
agency personnel would go to the recording facility or try to listen
over a normal phone line," he said.
Martin said his agency leases the equipment, which sells for about
$10,000, because of the rapid pace of technology. "It's smarter to
lease because by the time the lease is up, there will be something
else bigger and better," he said.
"It's like your first Xerox machine," Martin said. "You wonder how in
the world you ever did without it."
------------------------------
Subject: Telecom Scandal in India
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 11:37:22 PDT
From: rishab@dxm.org (Rishab Aiyer Ghosh)
Reply-To: rishab@dxm.org
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Several days ago in the Digest I
printed a report on this event from another correspondent but it
was not quite as detailed as the report which follows sent to us
by our regular correspndent from the {Indian Techonomist}. PAT]
-----------------
The Indian Techonomist: bulletin, August 19, 1996
Copyright (C) 1996 Rishab Aiyer Ghosh. All rights reserved
Indian ex-Minister for Telecom raided; Harris Corp jv in trouble
August 19, 1996: On Friday night about US$ 1 million in
small-denomination rupee notes was found in the homes
of Sukh Ram, who was Communications Minister during the
past year's telecom privatisation process. On Saturday
Runu Ghosh, a senior official in the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT), was arrested on corruption
charges, including having allegedly favoured an Indian
telecom equipment manufacturer Advanced Radio Masts Ltd
(ARM) in purchase contracts. ARM, which denies being
favoured, is involved in two projects with US-based
Harris Corp, in equipment manufacturing and as a joint
bidder (with Harris and Shyam Telecom, another Indian
firm) for telecom licences.
Mr Sukh Ram has revelled in charges of corruption
before, notably during protests in Parliament after the
announcement of changes in the bidding process to the
benefit of one of the bidding consortiums (comprising
the Indian HFCL, Israeli Bezeq and Thai Shinawatra).
More significantly has been his instutionalised
subversion of the checks and balances supposed to be
present in the DoT's bureaucratic purchase process. Mr
Sukh Ram liked to clear personally every purchase, and
every tender for equipment. He either transferred or
ignored bureaucrats objecting to this breach of
procedure - which reportedly extended to his control of
the purchases of government-owned but independent MTNL,
which runs the phone network in Delhi and Mumbai
(Bombay).
The raid resulted from police investigations into a DoT
contract for MARR (multiple access rural radio) systems
awarded to ARM, a small (at the time of the order, in
1992) Indian telecom equipment manufacturer. The DoT
allegedly paid ARM approximately $500,000 more than the
order was worth. ARM claims that the DoT tried to
reduce its price by that amount, and eventually paid
the full price instead; it denies links to the
Minister. ARM is in the process of setting up a $3.5
million joint venture with Harris Corp for assembling
small exchanges in India; it is part of the Telelink
consortium whose other members are Shyam Telecom
(India), Harris Corp and Guangdong PTT. Telelink was
the winning bidder for a licence for basic telephony in
the northern state of Rajasthan.
Telecom companies have for long grumbled privately
about the Ministry's under-the-table "processing
charges" - orders and contracts were generally delayed
until a personal meeting with the right people - but
lacking proof of demands for bribes and fearing that
the competition may not go along nobody openly
protested. Some companies in particular have been
highlighted by the press for their complaisance: HFCL,
ARM and Shyam Telecom among others. All three are small
firms that grew over 100-fold in turnover in the past
five years - coinciding with Mr Sukh Ram's term in
office.
This does not mean that growth was the result of
bribing the Minister, of course. It coincided with the
general growth of the Indian telecom equipment industry
which has also occasionally been astonishing (the
Telecom Equipment Manufacturer's Association estimates
250% annual growth in exports this year), as well in
the opening up of the DoT purchase system to the
private sector (previously it bought equipment only
from govenment-owned firms). Small start-ups succeeding
rapidly would be expected in such a scenario, and the
huge growth figures of these three companies is
balanced with their small revenues even after growth -
under $100 million all.
The more pertinent point is that as long as the DoT was
the only (domestic) purchaser of equipment, it held the
fate of small (and even large) companies in its hands.
If it was a private company, it would have used its
monopsony to beat down purchase costs; as a branch of
government its procedures allowed that fatal control to
fall into the hands of greedy bureaucrats and
politicians. Almost any company, for any purpose, had
to pay something to be considered. A previous Minister
allegedly demanded $100,000 from all bidders for a
particular tender - though the winner would naturally
be decided on merit.
It was hoped that the opening up of the telecom service
sector to private providers would change this, offering
equipment suppliers more customers (each in competition
with the DoT's own network, though, which would remain
by far the largest buyer). This privatisation process,
though underway fairly successfully in pager and to a
lesser degree in cellular services, has all but come to
a halt in the case of basic wireline telephony. One
reason is that basic telephony is the only service the
DoT itself provides, and where it would face real
competition both as a seller of services and a buyer of
equipment.
Mr Sukh Ram's million and Ms Ghosh's jewellery and
Swiss watches form only the tip of a golden iceberg.
With the DoT's $1.5 billion worth of equipment
purchases every year, $1 million is an unbelievably
small profit margin - particularly as the police and
tax officials were only searching for half that amount.
Ms Ghosh is believed to be keen on assisting in the
investigations, and is thought to know much - the
Minister could hardly clear all the purchases on his
own, and had allegedly put her in a position of
considerable power. So more details should come to
light soon - and at any rate will keep the more corrupt
of DoT officials worried stiff. Meanwhile, Mr Sukh Ram
himself is believed to be in Britain or America for
medical treatment, but according to early reports has
simply vanished into thin air.
The former Minister did much for Indian telecom, not
all negative. He realised the economic importance of
communications in relatively poor, rural areas of India
and benefitted politically through his insistence on
state-wide telephone connectivity in his home state of
Himachal Pradesh. As last week's events have
definitively proved, he also recognised the importance
of telephones to his own wallet (or shall we say
bedsheets, plastic bags and suitcases - which is where
the money was found). Did anyone say telecom in India
was not commercially viable?
------------------------
For the latest on cellular and basic bids see
http://dxm.org/techonomist/news/31jul96.html
On pager services: http://dxm.org/techonomist/news/15may96.html
On cellular services: http://dxm.org/techonomist/news/cellular.html
The Indian Techonomist: weekly summary. http://dxm.org/techonomist/news/
Copyright (C) 1996 Rishab Aiyer Ghosh (rishab@techonomist.dxm.org)
A4/204 Ekta Vihar 9 Indraprastha Extension New Delhi 110092 INDIA
May be distributed electronically provided that this notice is attached
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
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Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #431
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri Aug 23 08:23:34 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id IAA10799; Fri, 23 Aug 1996 08:23:34 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 08:23:34 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608231223.IAA10799@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #432
TELECOM Digest Fri, 23 Aug 96 08:23:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 432
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: IP: Bells Allege Internet Growth Clogging Network (Gordon Jacobson)
Re: San Jose State University and PacBell Internet Services (C. Wheeler)
Re: 800 Number Routing Question (Linc Madison)
Re: 800 Number Routing Question (John R. Levine)
Re: Timed Local Internet Calls (Lars Poulsen)
Re: Alex Mandl Hangs it Up (Michael D. Sullivan)
Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript (James E. Bellaire)
Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers? (Charles Buckley)
Re: Transfer Powerpoint to VHS (Ed Ellers)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 05:24:32 -0400
From: Gordon Jacobson <gaj@portman.com>
Subject: Re: IP: Bells Allege Internet Growth Clogging Network
> Studies sponsored by several RHCs suggest that rapid growth of
> Internet calls for usage-sensitive pricing for Internet service
> providers (ISPs). And U S West (USW) urged FCC to consider burden
> imposed by Internet on phone network when reforming access charges to
> forestall what telcos claim would be disaster.
> Four Bell companies -- Bell Atlantic (BA), Nynex, Pacific
> Telesis (PT) and USW -- said in studies that rapid Internet growth is
> forcing LECs to pay for costly network improvements while not
> providing means to recover those costs from ISPs, which pay flat fee
> for lines and don't pay access charges. America's Carriers
> Telecommunication Assn. (ACTA) submitted BA's study last week in
> petition asking FCC to regulate Internet telephony (CD Aug 19 p2).
I have been saying for years now that given the bandwidth
onslaught, the Telecos and Carriers are faced with obsolescence over
the next two decades. Their "cash cow" -- intelligently switched
services -- has a finite life and the end is in sight (Telcos and
Carriers must think in longer time frames than you or I, as the very
existence of their "Widow, Orphan and Pensioner" bondholders and
stockholders determines to a great extent how their long term
decisions are made). Now that they are finally beginning to recognize
the reality of their position, there is this mad scramble to find a
replacement/put off the inevitable.
Bellcore recently completed a comprehensive study on the topic
of the effect of ISP traffic on average call length and the financial
ramifications to the Telcos of the increase. Last month, in a
preliminary review of the as yet unreleased study, one commentator in
the alt.dcom.telecom newsgroup reported that Bellcore estimates the
cost per region of increasing the number of ports on CO switches to
compensate for the average call length increase is in the $30 million
range.
I find this minuscule number hard to believe and have ordered
a copy of the report for further "first hand" analysis. If true,
however, the brouhaha that the above 4 RBOCs are fostering is no more
than a tempest in a teapot. The report is due to be released in
September.
Given that all business service is usage based, ISP's
unmetered traffic essentially originates in the calling patterns of
residential users who either have "no charge" local calling or "flat
rate" local calls (ie no per minute charges). In the case of NYNEX in
NY for example, a residential local call costs about 10 cents (day
rate).
While the Telcos make a point in that the average call length
has increased, not much sympathy should be wasted on them. The
increase in the "average call time" brought with it a vast increase in
the number of residential subscribers putting in 2nd lines and a
corresponding increase in the revenue stream from "flat rate" usage
charges. (Just for informational purposes, my average monthly
residential bill jumped from $36 per month to $86 per month, not
including any increase attributable to the added number of lines.)
Moreover, is it just my imagination, or aren't AT&T, MCI,
Sprint (just this week), PacBell, BA/NYNEX, Ameritech and many other
Telcos and Carriers all in the business of providing dial-up Internet
access themselves?
Where's the beef? More news at 11!
Regards,
GAJ
Home Page: http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~gaj1/home.html
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: After you have reviewed it more closely
please get back to us with an analysis/rebuttal, etc. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Curtis Wheeler <cwheeler@ccnet.com>
Subject: Re: San Jose State University and PacBell Internet Services
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 16:17:34 -0700
Organization: Just Me and My Own Opinions (A Standard Disclaimer)
Reply-To: cwheeler@ccnet.com
Mike King wrote:
> San Jose State University, Pacific Bell Internet Services Team Up To
> Offer Students And Faculty New Dial Up Internet Access Service
> SAN JOSE - The university that has launched the careers of many of
> Silicon Valley's brightest engineers, scientists, computer and
> high-technology experts is turning to Pacific Bell Internet Services
> to make it easier for the campus community to access the online world
> of the Internet.
> San Jose State University, the West Coast's oldest public institution
> of higher education, selected the San Francisco-based Internet
> services company to provide the new dial up access service for the
> school's 29,000 students, faculty and staff.
> Under a joint marketing and distribution agreement, Pacific Bell
> Internet Services will offer university users who live and work in the
> greater Bay Area special discount pricing, which includes unlimited
> local dial up Internet access at speeds up to 28.8 Kbps (kilobits per
> second). A standard, one-time setup fee for each user is also being
> waived as part of the deal.
> "The demand for Internet access is expanding so dramatically that we
> need to find ways to give our students easier, cost effective and
> routine access to the 'Net' to enhance their education," said
> University President Robert L. Caret. Students and faculty will be
> able to use the service to access online course materials, the library
> and other university services from their homes.
[snipped]
I find it amusing that I can read two articles in this newsgroup, that
are right next to each other, that make it APPEAR that Pac Bell is
talking out of both sides of it's mouth.
I just read "Bells Allege Internet Growth Clogging Network" where Pac
Bell's parent, Pac Tel, joins with three other bells to complain that
they are losing money due to the exploding internet use.
Then they start giving their own internet service away for free. They
complain about people "nail up" calls to ISP's on a second line --
because they push advertising for second lines that allow their
customers to do just that.
I have a second line (though not for long since my new wireless
connection seems to be working so well) and not 90 days after I had it
installed, they sent me direct mail trying to convince me to get a
third!
And they are losing money? I am not usually one to bash big business,
but this makes Pac Bell look pretty silly ... or is it just me?
Curtis
KD6ELA / GROL / PP-ASEL
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: So you liked the way those two items
were placed in juxtaposition in the same issue of the Digest? <grin>
I thought by doing that a few people might catch on. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison)
Subject: Re: 800 Number Routing Question
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 01:24:23 -0700
Organization: Best Internet Communications
In article <telecom16.430.5@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, johnper@bigbird.
rosemount.com (John Perkins) wrote:
> Recently I transferred an 800 number from AT&T to PNG ...
> I had calls carried (correctly) by AT&T in
> early July. Then I switched to PNG and had calls carried (correctly)
> by PNG in late July. However, in early August I find I have a *some*
> calls carried by PNG and some by AT&T, even on the same days, while I
> did not expect to have any more calls carried by AT&T.
> Can someone please explain to me how this could possibly happen? I
> was under the impression that 800 numbers were routed according to a
> single national database. It appears that there is more than one
> database out there and they are not necessarily in sync.
Consider yourself fortunate. I have an 800 number that is served by
PNG. They connected the number a little over a year ago. However, no
one bothered to inform me of the 800 number they had given me. I just
got a bill, which had only an account number (HSGCxxxxxx) and no
mention of the 800 number for which they were billing. After six
calls to their "customer service" department (which usually landed in
an overflowed voice mailbox, even calling during business hours), I
finally reached a person who was able to tell me my 800 number.
Everything was fine for a few weeks, but then someone else signed up
for an 800 number from PNG Telecommunications, so they just took my
number and gave it to the new subscriber. I was, to say the least, a
little surprised to dial my own 800 number and speak to a housewife in
South Dakota. It took another five calls to their customer service to
get that one sorted out, not least because when they gave me back my
number they first connected it to my work number, since I had given
them that number as a way to reach me during business hours.
In the months that followed, they assigned my 800 number to two more
new subscribers, although they didn't bother to redirect the actual
service. Thus, I started getting those customers' calls. Since one
of them was in Pennsylvania, some of these calls were at unpleasantly
early hours of the morning here in California.
My PNG 800 number has been working flawlessly since mid-January, but they
have certainly demonstrated a level of technical incompetence and lack of
customer service that I find astounding.
Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 96 23:10 EDT
From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: 800 Number Routing Question
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
[On a single 800 number, some calls go via old carrier, some via new
carrier.]
> Can someone please explain to me how this could possibly happen? I
> was under the impression that 800 numbers were routed according to a
> single national database. It appears that there is more than one
> database out there and they are not necessarily in sync.
There is a single database in principle, but in practice there are
many mirrored copies all over the country. (Just imagine the
bottleneck of every 800 call had to visit the same database.) It does
indeed sound like some of the mirrors aren't up to date. I know that
a new 800/888 number can be turned up in an hour or so, but I don't
know how long it takes to propagate changes to an existing number.
I'd talk to your new carrier, since it's clearly in their interest to get
things working so they get all of your traffic. They'll probably have to
work with DSMI, who maintains the 800 database, to straighten things out.
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof
------------------------------
From: lars@anchor.RNS.COM (Lars Poulsen)
Subject: Re: Timed Local Internet Calls
Date: 22 Aug 1996 18:37:21 -0700
Organization: RNS / Meret Communications
In article <telecom16.427.6@massis.lcs.mit.edu> jack@novagate.com
(Jack Decker) writes:
> So, let's say that you pay $15 a month for a residential phone line
> for your modem. Your ISP also pays for a modem line, but at business
> rates, let's say $25 per line (I am of course basing this on typical
> U.S. rates, YMMV). Now if you and the ISP are both in the same
> exchange, there should be no reason the telco can't simply hardwire
> two pairs together at the central office and give you a dedicated
> circuit to the ISP for far LESS than the $40 a month that the two of
> you are paying for line charges AND the use of the CO switch.
Indeed, GTE has been quite willing to do that; in my case, they let us
connect two businesses with a dry pair for $30/month. But since this
requires a dedicated modem (and a dedicated port on the access server)
for you to use at the ISP, the ISP will probably charge you a premium
rate.
On the other hand, I suppose the ISP could connect these incoming
wires to a PBX in order to aggregate them ... wait, I think we just
re-invented one of the models for local telephone competition.
Lars Poulsen Internet E-mail: lars@RNS.COM
RNS / Meret Communications Phone: +1-805-562-3158
7402 Hollister Avenue Telefax: +1-805-968-8256
Santa Barbara, CA 93117 Internets: designed and built while you wait
------------------------------
From: Michael D. Sullivan <mds@access.digex.net>
Subject: Re: Alex Mandl Hangs it Up
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 23:41:17 -0700
Organization: Wilkinson, Barker, Knauer & Quinn
John Cropper wrote:
> Who could blame him? ACC offered a $20 *million* signing bonus, plus
> 18% of all future growth of ACC's market value (currently at $200
> million; if he grows ACC's market value to only $1 billion, that's
> $144 *million* in his pocket).
The benefit isn't all on Mandl's side. The deal guarantees that when
ACC goes public next year all Wall Street will want a piece of it, and
the price will go up accordingly. How many IPOs have a former AT&T
president involved, for what it's worth? In fact, the market value of
ACC's parent has gone up more than $20M just since the hiring. This
was a classic case of both parties scratching each others' backs.
Michael D. Sullivan, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
mds@access.digex.net / avogadro@well.com / 74160.1134@compuserve.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 96 22:47 EST
From: James E Bellaire <bellaire@tk.com>
Subject: Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript
What was missing from the transcript published in TD430 was the
laughter of the 911 operators. I heard it on the local news versions
of the tapes.
I understand that during public events such as the Olympic Games and
political conventions people love to stir up the police by calling in
bomb threats, and that the majority of these threats are false, but
that is no reason for the 911 operators to take any threat lightly.
The other half of the problem was a system that would not serve the
users. Their system continually refused to take Centennial Park as an
address, therefore *no one* could be dispatched because the computer
would not pass data.
Evidently the phone at the Days Inn was in the database, so police
could have known where the call was coming from immediately, but the
dispatch was held up by a lack of a street address for the target.
I wonder if someone claimed to have seen 'an accident on Route 13
about a mile east of town' if that could have been entered, without a
dispatcher being required to find an address for something one mile
east of town.
It looks like both the carefree operators and the demanding system are
to blame for delaying response. I am glad that someone found the bomb
and tried to move people away.
James E. Bellaire bellaire@tk.com
Webpage Available 23.5 Hrs a Day!!! http://www.holli.com/~bellaire/
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But the guy who found the bomb (Jewell)
was then smeared and falsely accused by the FBI of being the person who
planted it and making the phone call. And never once has the FBI said
that Jewell was the wrong guy and apologized to him in any way or made
any corrective announcements to the media. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 22:30:40 -0700
From: Charles Buckley <ceb@mauto.com>
Subject: Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers?
Tony Harminc <EL406045@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU> wrote:
> mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk (Richard Cox) wrote:
>> Er, no. Psychologists confirm that eight digits is the maximum number
>> of digits that can be reliably remembered and dialled by the average
>> user. Introduction of ten-digit numbers (which is effectively what the
>> result of splitting an Wz1 NPA means) will lead to greater incidence
>> of misdialling.
> Citation, please! I've dealt with eight-digit numbers in Paris, and I
> have great trouble remembering them long enough to copy from one place
> to another. But I have little or no trouble with NANP ten-digit
> numbers. I'm sure this is because I mentally partition the area code
> from the easy-to-remember seven-digit number. In Paris, I mentally pull
> the leading digit (usually 4) off the front, and then remember (say)
> 42 34 56 78 as 4 234-5678. Much much easier for my brain to deal
> with.
Hmm. I've been busy, and haven't had time to read this group for a
while. I look in just now, and Gee! I remember a discussion like this
from seven years ago.
The memory and digit grouping thing is an example of what the
psychologists call "chunking." The mind chunk a bunch of marks on the
paper into one semantic token, which then proceeds to float around in
your brain indivisibly.
Dimes'll get you dollars that many of the psychological studies in
question make the same mistake that I've seen many contributors to
this list make (hi, Bob!), namely to assume straight away that a chunk
corresponds to a single digit. As Mr Harminc's comment above shows,
it's simply not true. He (and most of us) chunk off an area code, or
a central office prefix, into one easy to remember concept.
The neat thing about the French phone numbering scheme is that it has
a fundamental understanding of this principle built in from the
beginning. The chunks there are groups of two digits, and this is
uniform throughout. Not only are subscriber numbers four groups of
two, but emergency codes, extra-area-code prefixes, even the shortened
numbers that one uses to access the to international trunk lines, the
Minitel services, everything is coded in digits grouped by two's.
If it weren't for the need to call to countries which do not follow
this scheme (and the curious exception of Paris' area code), French
telephones could have 100 keys instead of ten, and you'd only have to
push four of them to connect to a subscriber (well, five if calling the
provinces).
Is having a basic "vocabulary" of 100 elements too much for the human
brain? There are lots of Chinese in the world who evidently don't
think so, but maybe they were just brought up prejudiced.
The French chunking scheme is certainly more transportable than the
regional variations that we come up with here, where the chunck are
regionally dependent. They work fine for people who call frequently
in a region with three or four area codes, and make most of their
calls between, say, eight to ten CO's, each of which constitutes a
chink Take these people away from their milieu, and they have to climb
the learning curve again, inventing new chunks as they go. It's like
a telephone number tower of Babel.
If people could be convinced to retrain themselves (and this is always
the hardest thing), uniform two-digit chunks seem a better way to cope
with numbering expansion.
Now let me run and put on my lead suit for all the NIH and NIMBY
flames.
------------------------------
From: Ed Ellers <edellers@mis.net>
Subject: Re: Transfer Powerpoint to VHS
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 19:12:27 -0400
Organization: Mikrotec Internet Services, Inc. (MISNet)
blair@instep.bc.ca wrote:
> Does anybody know how I can transfer a timed PowerPoint presentation
> (version 7.0 running on Windows 95 on a PC) to VHS video? Resolution
> should be 1024x768.
First of all, you aren't going to get 1024x768 resolution this way.
You can't even get full 640x480 resolution (meaning fully readable
small-size text) on VHS -- the system doesn't have the bandwidth.
There are some scan converter units available, such as Digital Vision's
TelevEyes Pro, that can convert a VGA output to NTSC for recording on a
normal VCR. (This is the same technique that allows 625-line PAL or
SECAM video from other countries to be converted to NTSC, or vice
versa.) These are generally acceptable for presentation use, but if
your presentation has to be displayed at 1024x768 you may not be able to
make the conversion.
Unfortunately these converters tend to be rather expensive because of
the frame buffers needed to read in the incoming VGA RGB signals and
output at the scan rate used for normal NTSC. There are lower-priced
"converters" around like the original TelevEyes or Advanced Digital
Systems' VideoKey, but these require the VGA board itself to change to
the video scan rate of 15.734 kHz; many video cards can't do this in
all modes, and even if they can you may not be able to get a Windows
driver to handle the job. TelevEyes Pro and other true scan converters
need no special hardware or software (other than the box) to work.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
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The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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*************************************************************************
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*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #432
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri Aug 23 09:44:03 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id JAA18008; Fri, 23 Aug 1996 09:44:03 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 09:44:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608231344.JAA18008@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #433
TELECOM Digest Fri, 23 Aug 96 09:44:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 433
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
NYNEX Service Miserable. It's Now Official, Again (Danny Burstein)
Optus Targets Corporate/Government Customers With Solutions (P. Aithal)
PCM-24 to PCM-30 Transition (Vincent Kuo)
Pac*Bell: Speed Call 8 to Die (Robert McMillin)
64kbit Digital Phones? (Othman bin Hj. Ahmad)
Cellular Phones: Analog v. Digital? (James Crawford Ralston)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (John R. Levine)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Steve Rice)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Joshua Rehman)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Tom Watson)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Bradley Dunn)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 22:45:23 EDT
From: danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
Subject: NYNEX Service Miserable. It's Now Official, Again Per NYS-PSC
As per the Associated Press, NYS's Public Service Commission has
released yet another scathing report on Nynex. (The PSC has a website
at www.dps.state.ny.us, but the press release/report wasn't there
today).
To quote a few key phrases:
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Nynex's quality of service deteriorated on every
level over the past year, according to a critical report Thursday from
the state Public Service Commission.
One PSC member complained that Nynex's record was the worst in the
nation.
The article continues quoting from the report. Normally I'd summarize
it, but the piece is so definitive that any clipping of it wouldn't do
it justice. So with the hope that the AP won't get too mad at me for
posting the rest of it, here it is:
The report, which measured the company's service quality from April
through June, found the number of complaints against the company had
increased, it missed more repair appointments, had higher numbers of
24-hour outages, and provided weaker service on every other level
measured by the state agency compared with the same period last year.
Nynex was also assessed $4.1 million in penalties for missing monthly
and quarterly targets in its service quality, PSC officials said. The
fines will be paid in the form of customer rebates.
The critical report comes just as the PSC is reviewing whether to
approve the planned alliance between Nynex and Bell Atlantic, in which
Bell Atlantic would assume control of the telecommunications giant.
It also comes on the heels of tough criticism from PSC Commissioner
Eugene Zeltmann.
Zeltman said he found it "exceedingly embarrassing ... that New York
Telephone continues to provide the worst infrastructure-related basic
service quality of any other telephone company across the nation."
In the wake of the report, one consumer group called on the PSC to
reject the Nynex-Bell Atlantic deal.
"We think the commission should wield that power in order to get this
rouge company in line," Robert Ceisler, executive director of the
Citizens Utility Board in Albany, said Thursday.
But Nynex spokesman Mark Marchand said the company has been working
closely with the PSC to improve its service, and said the alliance
with Bell Atlantic would not be a detriment to its performance.
One Nynex executive chalked up the bad report to an increasingly
complicated telecommunications industry.
"It's important to note that the service quality difficulties
discussed today don't involve basic elements of telephone service,
such as completing calls," said Stanley Fink, a Nynex senior vice
president of government and regulatory affairs.
"At issue here is maintaining and improving services ranging from
repair to installation in the face of tremendous growth," Fink, a
former speaker of the New York state Assembly, said.
The PSC has been monitoring Nynex's service for years, but has taken
even a closer look at the company since last year, when it reached a
deal that would freeze consumer rates over the next seven years while
giving Nynex permission to pursue other telecommunication ventures.
The plan included penalties if Nynex failed to live up to quality
standards.
"Ten months into the Performance Regulation Plan, we remain deeply
disappointed with the company's actual service quality performance,"
the PSC report said.
The commission noted that this was the third quarter in a row that
the company was assessed the maximum penalty for missing its complaint
rate targets for the state, New York City and the greater New York
City area.
"Clearly the company has made the decision that paying penalties and
refunds is preferable to improving service quality," Ceisler said.
However, Marchand said from the first quarter of this year to the
second quarter, its service has actually improved. Officials credit
the hiring of 1,500 more employees and the decision to spend an
additional $110 million this year on top of $1.4 billion to boost its
customer service.
PSC spokesman David Flanagan would not directly comment on whether
the report would effect the commission's decision on the Bell Atlantic
deal, but said Nynex may face additional sanctions if it does not
improve its service.
"I think based on the comments made by the commission yesterday that
the commission is keeping a very close eye on this service quality
problem and if it continues it will possibly reassess their
performance plan," he said.
----------------------
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
------------------------------
Date: 23 Aug 1996 11:34:08 +1000
From: Prabha Aithal <prabha_aithal@yes.optus.com.au>
Subject: Optus Targets Corporate/ Government Customers With New Solutions
Press release possibly of interest to Digest readers:
Optus targets corporate and government
customers with new mobile solutions
Optus is aiming to increase its share of the $4.3 billion corpoarate and
government sector with the launch of two new mobile communications
solutions for this market.
The launch includes the new Optus Mobile BusinessNet Elite product which
allows a company's fleet of mobile phones to be incorporated into its
private phone network. This means employees can dial an abbreviated
mobile extension number only (rather than full ten digit numbers) to reach
a company mobile phone. Mobile phones can access an internal desk phone
by dialling its extension number only. There are cost savings for
intra-network calls.
Optus Mobile Fleet Management means that Optus will help its customers
manage their mobile phone fleets more effectively and cost efficiently.
This includes: monthly reports tracking a number of aspects of mobile use,
co-ordination of mobile phone purchases or leasing, car kit installation,
phone repairs and provision of loan phones.
The 'Mobility' package which is designed to provide communication
solutions for organisations on the move, is made up of these two new
products plus existing mobile products: Optus Mobile Fax and Data via GSM,
the Optus MobileSat=AE service, Optus Calling Card and Optus Mobile =
Digital.
Mr John Filmer, Director of Optus' Corporate and Government Division,
said: " Global trends show that businesses today are increasingly mobile.
An estimated 69 per cent of Australian workers spend some time out of
the office travelling each year.
"We would estimate that the total mobile market for the Corporate and
Government sector is worth around $520 million per annum in Australia.
This equates to around 670,000 mobile phones - 30% of which are digital.
The growth rate for GSM in Australia for this market is currently around
100 per cent.
"The challenge is for businesses today to continue to improve productivity
and cost saving while their employees spend more and more time out of
the office. Optus is offering its 'Mobility' package to help meet the
needs of these businesses. Whether their business takes them to Uluru
or to Hong Kong -- Optus has a solution which keeps them in touch with
the office."
Optus defines the Corporate market as being those organisations which
spend more than $250,000 per annum on telecommunications.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 13:36:33 -0800
From: vincent_kuo@stsl.siemens.com.tw (Vincent Kuo)
Subject: PCM-24 to PCM-30 Transition
The telephone transmission system in Taiwan is now PCM-24, but a
transition from PCM-24 to PCM-30 is on the way. I discovered a
problem that may cause in such a transition, which may occur someday
in the U.S. or other countries that use PCM-24 system now.
As you probably have known, a PCM-24 system uses mu-law to encode
speech signal, and a PCM-30 system uses A-law. That means an analog
signal encoded in one law and decoded in the other law will be
slightly different, causing distortion, and probably noise. So an
A-law/mu-law conversion must be performed. And international
gateways, which link different transmission systems, are already doing
such conversions.
The problem arouses when a country is in transition. An old
subscriber using a mu-law phone set, will have to buy a new one if the
switch is upgraded, but a video phone can cost as much as several
thousand dollars. If the subscriber is allowed to keep the mu-law
phone set, then the switch must be able to do the conversion in a
port-by-port, or at least, group-by-group base, since new subscribers
are supposed to use an A-law phone set. But things get more com-
plicated since some switch manufacturers do not provide such a
capability. Their switch is designed for A-law or mu-law only, but
not both. The service changeability of ISDN also requires the
conversion to be desabled during a call when speech is changed to data
communication, in which no conversion is allowed.
But one of my colleague suggests another solution: use mu-law all the
way, even in a E1 trunk (which uses A-law by convention). Then no
conversion is needed, and only mu-law phone sets will be allowed.
Well, that's simpler. But the long established convention that PCM-30
uses A-law and PCM-24 uses mu-law will be broken. I don't know
whether this is allowed by ITU-T or whether this will cause some other
imcompatibilities.
The bottom line is: if you live in a mu-law country and want to by a
digital phone set or video phone, be sure it is configurable between
A-law and mu-law, and if you are a switch maker and want to make
profit in such countries, be sure to your switch has the capability to
handle A-law and mu-law simutane- ousely, or you have the power to
ensure a less conventional, all-mu-law environment.
Vincent Kuo Software Engineer
Siemens Telecommunication Systems Ltd., Taiwan
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 08:38:09 -0700
From: Robert McMillin <rlm@helen.surfcty.com>
Subject: Pac*Bell: Speed Call 8 to Die
Reply-To: rlm@syseca-us.com
I got a letter yesterday informing me that Pac*Bell wants to terminate
its Speed Call 8 service offering in California. Existing
installations will continue to work, but if the rule change get
through the CPUC, new installations will not be available. The reason
given is that demand for this feature is low, since there are many
programmable phones out there.
No doubt but this is true. Still, I like having a set of programmable
phone numbers that work on all extensions in my house without having
to reprogram all my phones individually when a number changes.
As a related aside: does anyone else remember Speed Call 32? If it
existed, when did Pac*Bell terminate it?
Robert L. McMillin | rlm@helen.surfcty.com | Netcom: rlm@netcom.com
------------------------------
From: othman@oasys.pc.my (Othman bin Hj. Ahmad)
Subject: 64kbit Digital Phones Question
Date: 23 Aug 1996 09:22:59 GMT
Is there anyone who knows about the 64kb digital phones that
are used by NTT?
Homepage: http://members.tripod.com/~othmanA/index.html
------------------------------
From: qralston+@pitt.edu (James Crawford Ralston)
Subject: Cellular Phones: Analog v. Digital?
Date: 22 Aug 1996 21:14:43 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh [CIS]
Since I'm currently looking to upgrade my Motorola Micro-Tac DPC550
cell phone to something smaller and more intelligent, I figured that
now would be a good time to investigate whether buying a dual
analog/digital phone would be prudent. Unfortunately, I've had a
difficult time tracking down information on the current (and
anticipated future) state of analog and digital cellular systems.
Briefly, this is what I've been able to determine. I'm not sure how
much of it is accurate.
Current analog systems in the U.S. are AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone
System), N-AMPS (Narrow-Band AMPS), and possible others. They use
a mechanism called FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access) to
actually carry the cellular signals. FDMA involves taking a
frequency range and partitioning it into channels; calls are then
transmitted by negotiating a channel to be used exclusively for
the duration of the call.
Several digital systems use a mechanism called TDMA (Time-Division
Multiple Access) to carry calls. TDMA was designed to be similar
to FDMA, in order to be backwards compatible (to some extent) with
existing analog equipment. It further divides the FDMA channels
into 3 "time-based" partitions. Current digital systems which use
TDMA are NADC (North American Digital Cellular; IS-54), the
European GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), and
possibly others. AT&T Wireless Services currently uses NADC/TDMA.
An apparent rival to TDMA is CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access).
Instead of using mutually-exclusive fixed frequency partitions, in
CDMA, calls are transmitted across a wide (and shared) frequency
range. Calls can be distinguished from each other by using some
sort of encoding mechanism which creates unique code prefixes for
each call being carried; calls can be decoded by using the code
prefix to pick out the corresponding call. Bell Atlantic (and
possibly others) plan to use some sort of CDMA-based digital
system in the future (one of their reps told me he expected to see
it take off in 12-18 months).
I've also made the following observations:
1. The NADC/TDMA digital system never really seemed to catch on
in the United States. It exists (obviously), but it's not
widely available, and the AMPS/TDMA phones themselves are
still fairly expensive (usually running more than most
analog-only phones).
2. Out of the small number of analog/digital phones currently
sold in the U.S., almost all of them are [N]AMPS/TDMA. Few
(if any) CDMA phones seem to exist yet.
3. GSM doesn't look like it's going to happen in the U.S. anytime
soon.
4. In the U.S., TDMA seems to be on the way out, and CDMA seems
to be on the way in.
Assuming that the information I've gathered and my observations are
reasonably accurate, that would seem to leave three choices:
1. Buy an analog-only phone now, and wait and see what happens
with the digital system(s).
2. Buy a [N]AMPS/TDMA phone now; gamble that enough TDMA systems
will be around (either right now, or in the future) to make
the purchase worthwhile.
3. Wait until [N]AMPS/CDMA phones become available and buy one of
them; gamble that enough CDMA systems will be around (either
right now, or in the future) to make the purchase worthwhile.
Ok, now the fun part: does anyone have any comments on the above?
Also, does anyone have analog or analog/digital phones they like well
enough to recommend? I've been eyeing the Motorola Micro-Tac Elite
and the Nokia 232 (both are about the size I'm looking for), but I'm
not sure whether or not they're "user-friendly" or not. (One of the
common definitions of "user-friendly" seems to be "assume the users
are idiots and their brains will explode if you present them with
anything other than pre-chewed information, bright colors, and shiny
objects". Needless to say, I find this attitude offensive; I'd much
rather have a device which gives me all the possible information it
can (e.g., information about the particular cell my phone happens to
be using), and assumes that I will ignore what I do not find useful
and educate myself on what I do not understand.)
Thanks,
James Crawford Ralston \ qralston+@pitt.edu \ Systems and Networks [CIS]
University of Pittsburgh \ 600 Epsilon Drive \ Pittsburgh PA 15238-2887
"Computer, you and I need to have a little talk." - O'Brien, ST:DS9
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 96 00:24 EDT
From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
> I am performing some research and am interested in hearing from anyone
> with an interesting theory of why Internet access is so slow?
It's largely because our expectations are going up. If you compare
the performance of the net now in throughput bytes per second, packets
dropped, etc., I believe you'll find that the Net's working at least
as well as it ever did.
On the other hand, a year or two ago nobody was optimistic enough to
expect that you could click on an icon and a 400K JPEG would instantly
appear from a server 10,000 km away.
If you're looking for a lower level question of why a particular
connection is slower than you'd like, you'll probably find that the
main problem is congestion at gateway between networks and on
expensive links across oceans, along with some problems routing
everything correctly.
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof
------------------------------
From: Steve Rice <steve.rice@anixter-west.com>
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 10:10:20 -0500
In TELECOM Digest V16 #429 Pat said:
> the net is just getting a lot more traffic than it used to get.
That is very true. MFS Communications runs some of the larger NAPS in
the US. On their Web site, http://www.mfst.com/MAE/ they provide
traffic data for the devices at their NAPS. MAE East is the busiest,
and in the past six months, traffic has doubled to around 450 Mbs at
peak times during the day. This traffic is only for a single device
(a DEC Gigaswitch).
Bob Metcalf [sp] wrote a few articles in {Info World} last December
that predicted the collapse of the Internet. His major premise was
that as a collection of independent networks, there is not much
incentive to take responsibility for "quality of service" issues. It
is easy for an ISP to blame their problems on other ISPs, telcos, etc.
In addition to increased traffic, the number of connected networks has
increased substantially. Routers on the Internet are taxed to extreme
levels as they are attempting to deal with 40,000 + routes. With the
number of networks increasing, the number of devices is also increasing.
Therefore the potential for a device failure on the backbone increases.
When a major router or link drops, traffic is re-routed, pushing links
that are almost at capacity over the edge.
In the same Digest jagosta@interaccess.com (John Agosta) said:
> It's because of all the JERKS out there sending electronic junk mail
> to thousands of users trying to sell US get rich quick schemes,
> investments, cures for baldness, and other magic potions.
A manager for a major ISP recently told me that some networks have
packet loss as high as 40%! These packets are usually sent again by
the application, adding to the traffic burden on network. Don't blame
SPAM, junk mail and other text for the congestion. A single Web page
can contain as much data (in bytes) as 20 - 30 email messages. Through
applications like Real Audio, Internet Telephony, and other real time
services into this mix, and you have a high latency, low throughput
mess.
If you really want to blame an individual or organization, blame
Netscape and Microsoft for their browser wars. Every time one of them
adds a new feature or application to their browser, the size of the
average Web page grows.
Steve
------------------------------
From: joshua@uci.edu (Joshua Rehman)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 19:34:28 GMT
Organization: Univeristy of California, Irvine
I think it is wrong to give a simplistic answer to this question. THe
right question to ask is "Why is my connection to this particular IP
address so slow?" Then an answer can be given.
If you choose to take a survey of all IP addresses that you might
choose to access, I imagine that connect speeds follow a normal
distribution (probably flattened out a bit) where some connect speeds
are limited to your immediate available bandwidth (and very "fast")
while others are slow, and limited to "their" bandwidth. If someone
is running a Web page off their Linux system with a 2400 baud modem,
your not going to get 10Mb/s access to that page. Of course, the
problem is even worse if the guy's site is popular.
There is a direct analogy to a freeway system. Sometimes they are big
enough for traffic, sometimes they are not. There is a daily cycle
(rush hours) and a larger epicycle fueled by economic growth. Then
there are individual events, such as an Angels game or a big
anniversery sale at Guitar Center (which they have seemingly every
week) which will cause congestion in the immediate vicinty. This
makes getting to those individual localities difficult, but there is
also "collateral congestion", which interferes with the commute of
someone not interested in baseball or guitars.
As the tempo of usage increases, freeways are widened, and more
freeways are added. Businesses sponsor new surface streets. And it
happens on a case by case basis. Like it will for the Internet.
Joshua Rehman, University of California at Irvine
Internet Address: joshua@uci.edu
------------------------------
From: tsw@3do.com (Tom Watson)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 18:26:57 -0700
Organization: The 3DO Corporation
In article <telecom16.428.4@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Mark Friedman
<71534.332@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
> I am performing some research and am interested in hearing from anyone
> with an interesting theory of why Internet access is so slow?
> For instance,
> Is it the data com backbone, the protocol, the routers, the
> Servers, or the browsers?
It is all of the above, and the needs of the users for capacity. Yes,
its called the "information superhighway" (a term I dislike), and one
might think of it as a highway:
It has a finite number of "lanes" and lots of "cars" that want to go
lots of "places". Given that there are few "lanes" (backbone
capacity), many "cars" (browsers) and many "places" (servers), one can
see why it is "slow". This does not mention the fact that some of the
"lanes" (backbone capacity) converge in really tied up "interchanges"
(routers).
Be thankful. You could be accessing your data with 300 bps modems
which were "hi speed" 25 years ago. Then you might think that the
current speed things happen is "warp" speed.
Tom Watson
tsw@3do.com (Home: tsw@johana.com)
------------------------------
From: Bradley Dunn <dunn@harborcom.net>
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: 23 Aug 1996 12:35:25 GMT
Organization: Harbor Communications
Robert McMillin was incorrect. The Chicago NAP is also ATM-based.
As for why the Internet is "slow", asking fifty people will get you
fifty different answers.
In a lot of cases it is the hosts, for example a busy web server is
simply consuming all of its RAM and CPU, therefore serving pages at a
reduced rate.
The reason a lot of end users think the Internet is slow is because of
their own equipment, though. They may have a computer that only has 4
or 8 MB of RAM, which is really insufficient for running the latest
and greatest browsers. Most end users are also using a 14.4 or 28.8
Kbps modem for their access. This "pipe" from the end user to the ISP
is usually the smallest pipe bandwidth-wise.
As for the exchange points, they have their problems from time to time, but
I really do not see them as a major bottleneck. Some providers have
circuits running into exchange points that are running near capacity, but
that type of problem really cannot be blamed on the exchange points
themselves.
The bottom line is that the Internet is a network of networks. Each
individual network that a user traverses during his/her Internet experience
will have a different level of available bandwidth and a different
commitment to quality of service. Therefore it is often difficult to
diagnose exactly where a problem exists. It is an evolving medium.
Bradley Dunn
Harbor Communications
------------------------------
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #433
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri Aug 23 11:41:35 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
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Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 11:41:35 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608231541.LAA00776@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #434
TELECOM Digest Fri, 23 Aug 96 11:41:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 434
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Some Thoughts on Custom Calling Features (Mark J. Cuccia)
Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript (Bill Newkirk)
Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript (Andrew C. Green)
Re: GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System (Mike O'Dorney)
Re: Voicemail and Unix (David G. Lewis)
Re: Selecting Local Telco (Wes Leatherock)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Kevin E. Bertsch)
Re: T1 Direct Dial In Standards (John Agosta)
Re: Encryption and Telnet (Jason Gabler)
One Suggestion For Dealing With Spammers/Junk Mailers (Babu Mengelepouti)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 09:41:54 -0700
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Some Thoughts on Custom Calling Features
In "Pac*Bell: Speed Call 8 to Die", Robert McMillin <rlm@helen.surfcty.com>
wrote:
> I got a letter yesterday informing me that Pac*Bell wants to terminate
> its Speed Call 8 service offering in California. Existing
> installations will continue to work, but if the rule change get
> through the CPUC, new installations will not be available. The reason
> given is that demand for this feature is low, since there are many
> programmable phones out there.
One reason might be that Speed-Call-8 uses 'single' digit codes to activate
a call to that programmed number 'slot'. Most North American telcos (and
switches) use the Bellcore recommendation of *-74 (11-74) _or_ 74-(#) to
program a Speed-8 list, and *-75 (11-75) _or_ 75-(#) to program a Speed-30
list. The actual _use_ of Speed-8 involves dialing a single 'N' digit from
'2' throught '9', and then either wait for 'time-out' or entering the DTMF
'#' button, while actual _use_ of Speed-30 uses the digits '20' through
'49', followed by the same 'time-out' wait which can be cut-through right
away by entering the DTMF '#' button.
At one time, use of the '11' digit or '*' button before the single digit
Speed-8 entry or two-digit Speed-30 entry was intended (I think that Chicago
did it this way in the ESS offices, twenty years ago in the mid-1970's), and
I've been told that some DMS or #5ESS offices allow the _use_ of Speed-8/30
this way.
Bellcore NANPA and INC/ICCF recommendations on "Vertical Service Codes"
(also known as "star-x-x" codes) indicate that *-2X (11-2X) and *-3X (11-3X)
as 'activation' or 'control' codes (as opposed to Speed-30 _use_) be
reserved for future expansion to three-digit VSC's (i.e. *-2XX and *-3XX).
This might be a reason why Pac*Bell is phasing out Speed-Calling-8, as well
as maybe some customer confusion about other FCC mandated codes (*-67 and
*-82).
Some LEC's also offer feature packages for multi-line groups in a single
home or business. Some of the features involved are "Call-Pickup" (answering
a call on the 'other' ringing line) and "Call-Park" (putting a call on hold
and answering it on the other line), and many other 'standard' vertical
features are also included in these packages. BellSouth calls this package
"Prestige". Activation and use of these package features involve the use of
the '*', '#', and switch-hook flash. Answering Call-Waiting 'beep' on a
"Prestige" number group is usually handled by 'flashing', _getting recall or
3-way dialtone_ and then entering a *-X or *-XX code to answer the 'beep',
rather than just simply 'flashing' to answer. Many of these features are
similar to some PBX features which have been available since the 1970's.
When the FCC mandated *-82 (11-82) nationwide for allowing a number to
display, regardless of the 'default' private or public status of a line's
number, BellSouth had to change the '*-8' code for whatever "Prestige"
feature used it to '*-8-#' to prevent any confusion with *-82.
Another sidenote about BellSouth is regarding 'per-use' 3-Way Calling. I
subscribe to 3-Way on a monthly flat basis. In #1(A)ESS offices, 'per-use'
3-Way Calling had to be activated _in advance_ of the call, by dialing 11-71
(*-71). You couldn't 'add-on' a third party during a conversation, unless
you subscribed to monthly 3-Way, as you didn't have the use of 'flash' to
bring in a recall dialtone. You also couldn't 'cancel' Call-Waiting during a
call ('flash', wait for 3-Way dialtone, enter 11-70 or *-70), again as you
didn't have 'flash' privilages for 3-Way dialtone _during_ a call in
progress.
DMS and #5ESS (digital) offices here never had the use of *-71/11-71 for
'per-use' 3-Way calling. You could _only_ subscribe on a monthly basis to
3-Way calling. Recently, BellSouth added Call-Return (*-69/11-69) and Repeat
Dial (*-66/11-66) to _ALL_ customers. I subscribe to both on a monthly
basis, however, so I wasn't affected. But customers who did _NOT_ subscribe
on a monthly basis were charged 75-cents 'per-use' for *69 and *66! They
_CAN_ get free blocking if they don't want the kids using these features.
_AND_ BellSouth also added 'per-use' 3-Way Calling in Digital offices, but
_NOT_ with the use of *-71/11-71, but giving those customers _FLASHING_
privilages to gain a 3-Way 'recall' dialtone! Visitors to a friend's house
might think that their friend subscribes to 3-Way, since they get a recall
dialtone when flashing, while they are actually putting a 75-cent charge on
their friend's monthly bill if the 3-Way connection completes!
This has recently caused a _LOT_ of confusion and angry customers, some who
have had $20.00 to $30.00 per month of 'per-use' 3-Way Calls! And yes, you
_CAN_ get 'per-use' 3-Way blocked.
By the way, I do subscribe to _BOTH_ Speed-8 _AND_ Speed-30. I had Speed-8
for about two years, and then wanted to add Speed-30. This was about a year
ago. It is possible to have both on the #1AESS that serves my home. But the
service-rep at the Business Office thought I wanted to drop Speed-8. I had
to tell her that I wanted _BOTH_ and I _DO_ have both!
MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497
WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497)
Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to
Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What exactly is the purpose of having
both, other than to be a little snobbish and peculiar? <grin> PAT]
------------------------------
From: Bill Newkirk <wenewkirk@rodes.cca.rockwell.com>
Subject: Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 09:24:54 -0400
Organization: Rockwell Avionics/Collins
Reply-To: wenewkirk@rodes.cca.rockwell.com
Howard Pierpont wrote:
> Not sure if you have seen the transcript. interesting read.
> howard Pierpont
> Business Resumption MAnager, Digital Semiconductor
> hudson MA.
> ------ From RISKS DIGEST 18.35 ------
> Dispatcher: "Zone 5."
> 911 Operator: "You know the address to Centennial Olympic Park?"
Ok, there's the problem. 911 ops should be telling everyone they talk
to that they've got a bomb report to file; not "how do you spell the
park's name?" -- that could be someone didn't clean up their dog's
poop. Much like the Eastern Airlines flight that crashed in south
Florida because the entire crew got tied up trying to fix the "gear
down" lamp and no one was flying the plane.
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That situation in Atlanta was certainly
> a tragedy which was no doubt compounded by the confusion expressed by
> police dispatchers shown above.
> One victim of the explosion is Mr. Jewell, the security officer who
> was involved. As everyone knows by now -- I trust -- he was completely
> innocent of any complicity in the affair, yet the FBI saw fit to put
> him through an incredible smear job -- a common FBI tactic -- in order
> to find him guilty in the eyes of the public.
Must have been some of the Waco gang on this case ... just exactly when
did the FBI start becoming the "shakiest gun in the west"?
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 08:25:37 -0500
From: Andrew C. Green <acg@dlogics.com>
Subject: Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript
Howard Pierpont <pierpont@snax.enet.dec.com> writes:
> I noted a discussion about LOTS of COCOTs being placed in ATlanta
> before the Olympics. I haven't heard if the phone used was a COCOT,
> but I think [based] on the way the 911 call was handled] it was.
I don't see the significance here; I think your concern is misdirected.
The problem the dispatchers were dealing with was that their system
would not allow them to enter the bomb threat location without a valid
street address for Centennial Park.
The pay phone used (which did not look like a COCOT in news footage,
FWIW) was at least two blocks away from the blast, so its address,
whether displayed on the dispatcher's system or not, would not have
been correct for Centennial Park in any event.
Andrew C. Green (312) 266-4431
Datalogics, Inc.
441 W. Huron Internet: acg@dlogics.com
Chicago, IL 60610-3498 FAX: (312) 266-4473
------------------------------
From: modorney@aol.com (MODorney)
Subject: Re: GE 916 Wireless Phone Jack System
Date: 22 Aug 1996 17:05:23 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
In article <telecom16.425.10@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Bill Newkirk
<wenewkirk@rodes.cca.rockwell.com> writes:
>> I don't remember the values we used to use back when I was involved
>> with a carrier current radio station in college. Seemed like it was a
>> 1000V cap (or maybe 1500 V) and on the order of 1 uF or so, maybe
>> smaller.
> I've since been informed that's there's a device available with the
> right size caps in the form of a 220 V appliance adapter.
I have solved this problem when I encountered it using X-10 controllers.
I solved it by putting a 1 microfarad/1000 volt across the terminals
on the dryer. I just unplugged my dryer and took off the cover to
access the screws that connected the cord. I loosened the two hot
screws (the middle screw is neutral) and installed the capacitor.
This way, I did not have to work on a hot circuit, and I had an rf
path from one side of the 220 to the other, since I (and most people)
never unplug my dryer.
Mike O'Dorney - Mikeod@scscom.com
------------------------------
From: dlewis@hogpc.ho.att.com (David G. Lewis)
Subject: Re: Voicemail and Unix
Date: 22 Aug 1996 12:36:45 GMT
Organization: AT&T
In article <telecom16.424.4@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Ferdinand Verbelen
<BELENF@btmaa.bel.alcatel.be> wrote:
> Jailbait wrote:
>> My big switch question is:
>> WHY haven't they built TCP/IP support into phone switches yet? With a
>> little bit of work you could make a secure system that could be
>> programmed from the office of the person who does the programming work
>> and not just from a dedicated terminal in the same room with the
>> switch.
If by "programmed" you mean "provisioned" (e.g. entering, viewing, and
changing switch data), then the answer is "they have" (although some
data networking protocol stack other than TCP/IP may be used);
provisioning data into a telco central office from an onsite terminal
is the exception, not the rule.
If by "programmed", however, you mean "programmed" (i.e. changing the
software that performs call control or other functions of the switch),
then the answer is "you really don't want to." Think about it - if
you leave a semicolon out of a c program on your workstation, you just
fix and recompile. Worst case, you reboot the workstation. If you
leave a semicolon out of a switch program you're rewriting, you could,
say, take down half a long distance network ... (Strictly hypothetically,
of course ...)
Switch (and other telecom network element) software is designed, coded,
built, and rigorously tested offline in what are referred to as "non-penalty
environments" before being loaded into active network elements. AT&T
operates an Integrated Test Network which is, in effect, a scale model of
the AT&T LD network, strictly to test new features before deployment to the
field.
Once a feature is tested, it can, of course, be loaded remotely. We don't
send techs out to all the switch sites with tapes to load software updates.
But the development per se, and a ton of associated testing, is all done
offline.
David G Lewis AT&T Network & Computing Services
david.g.lewis@att.com or Network Services Planning
deej@taz.att.com Call Processing Systems Engineering
The Future: It's a long distance from long distance.
------------------------------
From: wes.leatherock@hotelcal.com (Wes Leatherock)
Subject: Re: Selecting Local Telco
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 14:02:16 GMT
fgoodwin@tri.sbc.com (Fred Goodwin) wrote:
> In article <telecom16.411.9@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, xred@ix.netcom.com
> (Theron Derx) wrote:
>> Are you aware of any legislation pending, or in place now, that
>> permits a person or a company to select their local telco? For
>> example, if I live in Southwestern Bell country, but would prefer
>> to have GTE, is there any legislation that would permit me to do
>> that? If it is, (or will be in the future) will it work much the
>> same way as the selection of an LD carrier? I would greatly
>> appreciate any information you could send me. Thank you in
>> dvance for your time.
> At least in Texas, legislation was passed in 1995 that allows for
> local competition. Potential competitors for the local exchange
> business must apply to the Public Utility Commission of Texas for
> authority to provide local service, whether by resale of the incumbent
> carrier's service, or by providing their own facilities and services.
> It just so happens that GTE recently applied for and received
> permission to provide local service in most of Southwestern Bell's
> operating territory in Texas. As for how you request service from GTE,
> you probably need to talk to them.
And in June Southwestern Bell applied to the Public Utility
Commission to provide telephone service in "all or parts of several
cities now served by GTE, including the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and
the suburban communities of Denton, Plano and Richardson."
> Re: Pat's suggestion about FX service: everything he said is true, but
> for FX customers here in Texas, an FX line gives the local calling
> scope of the dialtone exchange, but does not provide local calling
> within the exchange where the FX customer is physically located.
> E.g., if you are located in Denton, TX (a GTE exchange) and you want
> an FX line into Dallas (about 30 miles and a toll call away), SWBT
> would provide you the FX line for all the local calling you can eat in
> Dallas, but you cannot use it to make local calls in Denton (because
> the dialtone is coming from Dallas, get it?)
> So FX is really a replacement for toll service, not for local service.
This is the way FX service works everywhere: that's why it's
called "Foreign Exchange" service. You actually get service from the
"foreign" exchange, by having a leased line from your telephone to the
distant central office.
There was an amusing story in the paper in Oklahoma City a
number of years ago about people calling the number they had for a
laundry (which had since gone out of business) and the number was
answered "Washington," and the called party was somewhat annoyed by
calls about laundry and cleaning and decline to answer any questions
about what had been reached. It turned out the number was assigned
now to the FBI's FX to their Washington, D.C., switchboard.
Some businesses have found it cost effective for several
different locations each to have FXs to a more or less centrally
located (with respect to the various business sites) exchange where
the business does not even have operations. Each location can then
call another location by using their FX to call the other location's
FX in the centrally-located city.
Wes Leatherock
wes.leatherock@hotelcal.com
wes.leatherock@origins.bbs.uoknor.edu
------------------------------
From: Kevin E. Bertsch <kbertsch@istar.ca>
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: 22 Aug 1996 14:22:45 GMT
Organization: Phonettix Intelecom
Mark,
The latest issue of {BYTE} as an excellent article that addresses this
issue, as well as including a technical description of the new
Internet addressing scheme.
Hope it helps.
Kevin
------------------------------
From: jagosta@interaccess.com (John Agosta)
Subject: Re: T1 Direct Dial In Standards
Date: 22 Aug 1996 15:13:14 GMT
Organization: Agosta and Associates
In article <telecom16.426.5@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Zohar Golan <Zoharg@
nice.com> says:
> I'm looking for the standards for Direct Dialing In (DDI or DID) in
> digital T1 trunks.
> If anyone can tell me where can I find those standards or what
> standards I need, it would be very helpful to me.
You may find what you are looking for in ATT 43801 which elaborates on
all sorts of standard signaling schemes. Its been a while since I've
looked in it myself. I remember, however, that there were about 13
pages of related signaling information for just about every trunk type
you can imagine.
ja
------------------------------
From: jygabler@ucdavis.edu (Jason Gabler)
Subject: Re: Encryption and Telnet
Date: 22 Aug 1996 15:35:33 GMT
Organization: University of California, Davis
Derek Balling (dredd@lawgiver.megacity.org) wrote:
> We have a customer who has international locations using the Internet,
> and I'm at a loss on who to turn to for help in my dilemma. The usual
> places I might expect to find an answer have yielded none, so I'm
> hoping that the readers of the digest may be able to help me out.
> We have a customer with offices in Japan that wants to allow them to
> use an encrypted telnet session with their American office. The basic
> criteria for the software we're looking for is:
> 1.) Windows-based client
> 2.) HP9000 compatible server/daemon
> 3.) Exportable
> 4.) Secure
> I hope someone out there may know where I can turn. STEL (Secure
> TELnet, a product released by CERT-Italy) was great EXCEPT that it has
> no windows based client. (Which for the purposes of our customer is a
> requirement.)
One solution to this might be an MD5 based kerberos suite. I believe
MD5 is legally exportable (DO NOT use kerberos with DES, or RSA I also
believe, out side the US and Canada because it will land you in jail).
You can also, if Kerberos is as forgiving as it used to be, fairly
easily insert your own encryption mechanism. Kerberos generally comes
with encrypted session capability for telnet, rsh and rlogin.
If anyone knows better the circumstances regaring exporting MD5 PLEASE
correct me.
As a side note, I telecommute over 128k isdn which is dialed directly
into the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) campus. I
work, however, for UCDavis (70 mi NE). So my connections generally go
thru the ISDN, UCSF's (a subnet and then their) backbone, out to the
UC SMDS and then thru UCDavis (and occassionally across CERFnet orr
BARRnet). That's alot of cable. Every login I do is fully encrypted.
Lehitra'ot!
Jason Gabler Home Office: 415-752-1969 (M-W,F)
Programmer/Analyst Campus Office: 916-752-9215 (Th)
Information Technology - DCAS E-Page: jygabler@dcaspager.ucdavis.edu
University of California, Davis http://quadrophenia.ucdavis.edu
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 00:05:57 PDT
From: Babu Mengelepouti <prophet@baker.cnw.com>
Subject: Suggestions For Dealing With Spammers and Junk Mailers
>> Tim Luedtke
>> Owner, First Look
>> P.O. Box 770441
>> Orlando, FL 32877
>> (407)438-8892 Phone
>> (407)438-7083 Fax
<some discussion deleted>
> Call each provider in sucession (as he bombs you), and file formal
> complaints. You might also want to contact your provider, explain the
> situation, and have steps taken at their level to filter out anything
> he would throw your way. As well, file a complaint with the FCC on the
> grounds of harassment (indirectly, but harassment nonetheless) by
> phone (since he is probably using a dial-up connection with AOL).
While calling the providers is a good idea, it's ineffective to file a
complaint with the FCC -- they won't do anything. On the other hand,
it could be very productive to call his local police department and
try to file charges for "phone harassment." Police detectives start
to slobber when they hear about "internet crimes," especially if you
tell them that this individual is a "hacker." They'll make up all
kinds of nonsense to get search warrants and spend enormous amounts of
time researching very petty things. You could even try to get a
restraining order. The detective will probably even make up lies for
you about what he's done to you, to make it even more convincing.
> If you *really* want to get nasty, and don't mind paying for a few
> telephone calls, dial up some fax-back services and have them send him
> some rather large technical manuals via his fax number. It never hurts
> to share information (at least not you). :-)
While getting the police involved is probably going to be his worst
nightmare (at the very least, if they're convinced that he's a
"hacker" or even better yet an "internet terrorist," they'll raid his
house, point a gun at him, wife, and kids, and use a very broadly
written search warrant to seize everything even remotely electronic in
the house, as well as any "hacker paperwork."), you could do something
a bit less harassing perhaps -- call him collect repeatedly using all
sorts of different carrier access codes (some carriers just don't
understand the meaning of no!), and use fax-back devices to call his
VOICE line. Some of them are very persistent and will call dozens of
times trying to reach a fax machine.
Of course, if you choose to harass him with fax-back devices and
collect calls, use of a pay station is recommended. It's probably not
illegal, though ... if his line isn't blocked for collect calls then
he's inviting them, right? And you dialed the wrong number on the
fax-back machine ...
Our horribly misguided justice system can be a valuable ally in cases
such as this one. It helps that many police detectives are basically
dishonest, too ... they'll make up whatever they need to, in order to
make themselves look good.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Umm! It sounds funny, but I think it
should be reserved for the cases where the 'hacker' really is a very
bad person on the net. Most of the spammers/junk mailers are just not
very savvy on netiquette; most of them can be trained with a little
patience. Some are vicious and can't be trained however, and for those
I would say your suggestion would be a real treat to watch, as one
bunch of stumbling, bumbling fools is pitted against another stumbling,
bumbling fool. PAT]
------------------------------
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #434
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri Aug 23 12:38:09 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
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id MAA07112; Fri, 23 Aug 1996 12:38:09 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 12:38:09 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608231638.MAA07112@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #435
TELECOM Digest Fri, 23 Aug 96 12:38:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 435
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA (Theron Derx)
Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA (Robert Hoare)
Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA (John Mayson)
Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA (Ray Chow)
Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA (John W. Shaver)
Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA (pheel@sprynet.com)
Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA (reganm@nationwide.com)
Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA (Tad Cook)
Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA (Eric Engelmann)
Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA (Greg Lucas)
Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA (Henry Baker)
Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA (Tim Shoppa)
Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA (Steven Lichter)
Radio Canada International (was Re: Shortwave Radio in USA) (Nigel Allen)
Monitor Radio (was Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA) (Phyllis W. Eliasberg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 06:48:16 -0700
From: xred@ix.netcom.com (Theron Derx )
Subject: Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA
You are correct! The freqs around 40 meters are probably the worst,
but the signals travel best at night when most folks are listening.
It is not at all like it was when we were kids. We used to send off
for QSL cards. Stations now have no idea what that is. You and I
would have killed for a radio as good as the $39 number you bought.
We had vaccuum tubes that drifted like crazy. Your nephew might enjoy
the world of AM radio after sundown. He should be able to suck in
stations from all over, including Europe after about 2100 hrs local
time. I spent many hours doing that. Could it be that there is a HAM
license in the future?
Thanks for your post ... it brought back many memories.
Tad (N5ODR)
------------------------------
From: rh@buttle.com (Robert Hoare)
Subject: Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA
Organization: Buttle and Tuttle Ltd
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 96 01:04:04 GMT
> Maybe I have just forgotten things in my own life over the past
> forty years or so, but I do not remember shortwave radio being as
> full of junk like this years ago.
I don't know about in the US, but when I used to listen to short wave
in the seventies and eighties in Europe and Australia the loudest
stations were Radio Moscow, Radio Prague, Radio Tirana, Radio Peking
and other communist propaganda stations.
It was tough to pick out the BBC World Service, CBC, Radio Australia,
Radio Netherlands, Radio Sweden amongst all the junk (sorry, but VOA
was also in the category of a propaganda station really).
So nothing much has changed, just communist state propaganda replaced
with the propaganda of anybody else who has money (the US anti-patriotic
lot, and religious outfits of all sorts).
Rob
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well I imagine they would say *they*
are the patriots, not the anti-patriots. PAT]
------------------------------
From: jmayson@tng.net (John Mayson)
Subject: Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 16:21:33 GMT
Organization: The Network Group
Reply-To: jmayson@tng.net
ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) wrote:
> A question or two for shortwave radio enthusiasts among the
readership ...
> Is it just me, or does it seem that the various shortwave broadcasters
> who specifically target the Americas lately are overrun by some very
> strange people and programming ideas?
It's not your imagination at all. I've been a shortwave listener
since junior high school and it seems the 90's have introduced some
very, well, unique broadcasters.
> Yesterday I purchased a small little shortwave radio for my seven year
> old nephew who lives here with his father (my brother) and myself. I
> know as a child I enjoyed listening to shortwave radio and seeking out
> stations I had not heard before. Our little guy may still be a bit too
> young, but he is smart and he learns fast, so the little $39 shortwave
> I got him at Radio Shack will be a good 'show and tell' item when he
> goes into the first grade at school next month.
He should enjoy it. :-)
> The listener's guide made a point of saying that stations which were
> exclusively of a religious nature at all times were not included,
> and it listed the usual bunch:
> WYFR, Family Stations, Inc, Oakland, CA
> WINB, World International Broadcasters, Red Lion, PA
> WJCR
> WGTG
> KTBN
It's all part of the UN conspiracy, Pat. ;-)
> ... and what I call the Unholy Trinity in Nashville, TN: WWCR-1
> and WWCR-3. World Wide Christian Radio's transmitters one and three
> had all their programs listed but the guide noted that since WWCR-2
> is devoted 24 hours per day to the teachings of Dr. Gene Scott they
> would not include that.
> WWCR seemed to be the worst of the bunch.
WWCR is pretty bad, but on the other end of the political spectrum is
Radio For Peace International out of Costa Rica. They have some
pretty bizarre views too.
> I know there is a limit to what one can expect from a $39 shortwave
> battery operated radio which fits in the palm of your hand, but I
> really thought that BBC, VOA and Monitor Radio International (although
> I am not extremely fond them then like I used to be) -- to name just
> three good examples -- would be as easy for a child to tune in as
> would be Tom Valentine with all that march music of Sousa he plays and
> that other guy who was everywhere on the dial promoting the various
> militia/vigilante organizations.
> Has shortwave radio really filled up with a lot of this junk? I knew
> local 'talk radio' on the AM band was pretty bad, but still ...
What has happened is shortwave stations have scattered themselves all
over North America and flame throwing power ratings. Unfortunately on
a poor shortwave radio, they're going to drown out BBC, Radio
Nederland, etc. All I can suggest if challenge your nephew to tune
around them. :-)
If he would like any listening tips, feel free to contact me. I
always enjoy furthering the hobby, especially amongst the nation's
youth. :-)
John
------------------------------
From: Ray Chow <czg@inforamp.net>
Subject: Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 11:41:35 EDT
> Is it just me, or does it seem that the various shortwave broadcasters
> who specifically target the Americas lately are overrun by some very
> strange people and programming ideas?
Most of the ones in the USA are like that these days. They're the only
ones willing to put up the money. I tend to listen mostly to the
European broadcasters these days.
The only shows I ever listened to on WWCR were Spectrum and World of
Radio. Unfortunately, World of Radio keeps getting bumped off the
schedule (because it's not a paid program), and reception has been
horrible.
> Maybe I have just forgotten things in my own life over the past
> forty years or so, but I do not remember shortwave radio being as
> full of junk like this years ago. The World Harvest people on
> WHRI-1 and WHRI-2 were also loud and obnoxious, but not nearly as
> bad as that Tom Valentine guy with his Radio Free America program
> on WWCR. By comparison, Family Radio was rather mild; and they
> certainly did not ask for money via your credit card every couple
> of minutes.
The other thing about Family Radio is that they provide a relay of the
Voice of Free China from Taiwan, which is not otherwise easy to pick
up here. You're right about the other "religious" broadcasters,
though. Even the Catholics get in on the act with WEWN.
> I know there is a limit to what one can expect from a $39 shortwave
> battery operated radio which fits in the palm of your hand, but I
> really thought that BBC, VOA and Monitor Radio International (although
> I am not extremely fond them then like I used to be) -- to name just
> three good examples -- would be as easy for a child to tune in as
> would be Tom Valentine with all that march music of Sousa he plays and
> that other guy who was everywhere on the dial promoting the various
> militia/vigilante organizations.
BBC is still easy enough. 5975 and 6175 work well in the evening; 7325
may also be a good bet. I'm not usually home during the day, so I
can't give any advice there. VOA is a bit more difficult as they have
closed down many of their US transmitters (Bethany, Ohio, for
example). MRI sold their Maine transmitter site to one of the SDA
splinter groups, but the transmissions from South Carolina are easy to
pick up.
Evening is still prime time for shortwave. Most evenings I can hear
Voice of Free China, Radio Canada International, BBC, Deutsche Welle,
Radio Prague, Radio France Internationale, etc. (no, I don't have a
fancy antenna setup ... just the whip antenna on a portable).
ray chow / canada / czg@inforamp.net aa813@freenet.hamilton.on.ca
------------------------------
From: Shaver, John W. <shaverj@huachuca-emh16.army.mil>
Subject: Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 96 10:09:00 PDT
Pat,
I have an early Sony which allows you to use numeric entry of
frequencies and does not require the manual dexterity of tuning knobs
and bandspead stuff. It has image problems. I suspect that the RS $39
does not have much image rejection. To get rid of that effectively
requires one of costing $300 to $500 with triple conversion.
Popular Communications has had a section about international listening
on a seasonal basis. Their guy used to do a similar feature for Radio
Electronics. I haven't been following either magazine for several
years. Pop Comm also has features on Pirate Radio and on scanners in
general for up to almost 1 GHz.
Radio Shack has a house organ related to scanners and coverage. I am
not sure whether it covers the Short Wave section. The local store
sells the outdated ones for $0.50 or $1.00.
I am several thousand miles away and get a different mix of
programming than you might. I suspect that my image problem is
several orders of magnitude below yours. I do get the German,
Netherlands, BBC (Saturday Cricket matches, news program, info on
DXing, and the Christmas Program from some infamous cathedral), a
native Spaniard has found a Spanish schedule and I regularly get
Chinese (don't know which side) with some fair classical music, I get
a lot of Mexican stuff which seems to be intended for their internal
consumption in the Northern states along the border where their
networks don't reach.
We have in our community the retired technical chief for VOA. He
installed the satellite terminals which allowed VOA (and now most of
the other services) to not have to rely on Short Wave (or so-called HF
{high frequency} relays. We get a lot of relays from Carribean and
South American colonies for retransmission in the hemisphere. Others
which are not so accessible are from Maritania and the Seychelles.
Oh yes, almost forgot Canadian Broadcast Corp (or whatever) does a lot
of stuff for their far northern provinces. With the advent of
satellite terminals some of those locations are going in for
television.
Several years ago, the Russians were using an over-the-horizon (otn)
low frequency radar in the HF band and we got funny chirps, relatively
broadband compared to communications signals. Don't hear them any
more. Part of their long range air defense. If we had them, you had
to be close to them because they were always pointed away from the US.
I suspect some of the wild-eyed-radicals are relative local and low
powered. They may also think that Arizona doesn't need any help. We
have recently recalled a governor. We have a sitting governor under
indictment for bankruptcy fraud, and one of our conservative
congressional represented has been "outed" as a gay because he did not
vote for same sex marriages.
Again, I think that you may find more versions of the junk transmissions
than you ought because of the image rejection problem. I have assumed
that you knew what I was talking about. If not ask the question.
Really what happens is that the local oscillator heterodynes with a
received signal. The product of the detector is that frequency plus
(and minus) the local station frequency. The Intermediate frequency
section of the radio selects out a 5 Kilo herts section of that and
amplifies and audio detects it. Triple detection allows several
heterodyning processes and one can get rid of (90 db suppression) of
the images. Interestingly I have a double conversion scanner. It
cannot pick up directly the cellular phone frequencies. It can
receive them on the image frequency, if one gets his kicks out of
eavesdropping on ones neighbors.
Pat, It has not been totally coherent. If you have questions, feel
free to write privately back. I am a registered profession engineer
in Arizona (used to be in Texas, but they were trying to reduce their
debt with registrations fees), I am a life Senior member of the IEEE
(I no longer pay dues and I have a Gold colored card which tells me my
status), and I have been around for a heck of a long time. I also
help organize the local cowboy poetry and music gathering 7-9 February
97. WE have shirt sleeve weather and some fantastic artists and
humorists. It is cowboy, Sons of the Pioneers, Riders of the Purble
Sage, not country and western. We don't swing at all.
A cowboy complained the other day. He came from such a large poor family
that it was only after he got married that he was able to sleep alone.
The Best of Everything.
John
------------------------------
From: pheel@sprynet.com
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 13:25:49 -0700
Subject: Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA
>> They now seem to own a couple dozen AM or FM stations all over the United
>> States to complement their shortwave station *and* lots of transponders (?)
>> to complement all the local stations.
"Translators" is the term you were looking for.
And yes, I agree that US shortwave stations have turned into a barrage
of demented infomercials by wackos who apparently haven't figured out
how to work the Internet yet <g>. I suggest you go to your local
Barnes & Noble and pick up a copy of The World Radio-TV Handbook to
find out about all the normal stations on the air worldwide. This
invaluable volume also has mailing addresses for these stations, and
an afternoon of letter writing will bring regular mailings of program
schedules with postmarks from around the world. I sure he will find
those stations more interesting than all militias, all the time.
Good listening,
Mike
------------------------------
From: reganm@nationwide.com
Reply-To: reganm@nationwide.com
Subject: Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA
Date: Fri Aug 23 13:11:19 1996 GMT
A good resource for shortwave info can be found at http://www.trsc.com
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 11:35:50 GMT
PAT writes:
> Is it just me, or does it seem that the various shortwave broadcasters
> who specifically target the Americas lately are overrun by some very
> strange people and programming ideas?
That's putting it mildly!
Actually, its always been illegal to target domestic audiences with
shortwave. This seemed to change under the Reagan FCC.
Now we have several shortwave stations (like WWCR and WRNO) who sell
time to anyone, much like the old radio preacher stations, in blocks
as little as 15 minutes. In the past few years these stations have
emerged as the voice of various crackpot extremist groups. A lot of
the programs are sponsored by precious metal dealers, who have a
financial interest in promoting program content which emphasizes fear
and end-time paranoia.
Well, at least shortwave isn't all bland government propaganda anymore.
Now we have such folks as the National Alliance (with their American
Dissident Voices program), whose founder William Pierce wrote THE
TURNER DIARIES, Timothy McVeigh's favorite book. Or there are the
various Christian Identity programs (Pete Peters or the LaPorte Church
of Christ, or Pastor Bob, of the Herald of Truth Program) which
promote the view that Jews are descendents of Satan, non-whites are
"beasts of the field", and that the Bible calls for death to
homosexuals by stoning. Various militia oriented programs come and
go, and then of course you mention Tom Valentine's Radio Free America,
underwritten by Willis Carto's Liberty Lobby, the same folks who
founded the holocaust denying Institute for Historical Review.
For an interesting reference on Carto, the IHR, *and* Pierce,
see: http://www.smartpages.com/faqs/holocaust/ihr/part02/faq.html
Another popular nutty program is William Cooper's Hour of the Time on
WWCR. Cooper is unique in that he is probably the first to merge
conspiracy theories involving alien abduction with the JFK
assassination (you see, Kennedy *had* to be killed because he was
about to reveal the sinister conspiracy between US Govt and The
Greys!).
If anyone wants a really funny article on Cooper (too long to post
here) just email me.
While these stations have attracted a lot of extremists, they do seem
to sell time to *anyone* at a low cost. For instance, Glen Roberts
who in the past has posted here, hosts his Full Disclosure Live on
WWCR. Due to the low budget nature of many of the programs, some of
the arrangements for transmitting the program audio to the stations
are unique. Many of them supply taped programs, but I know of several
cases where someone has hosted a live show by doing a dialup into the
studio over their fax line, and taking calls from listeners on a
second line in their home!
Hey, maybe this is a new media opportunity for PAT!
tad@ssc.com | Tad Cook | Seattle, WA | KT7H |
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Anyone want to talk to me privately
about doing a telecom show on shortwave? PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 10:59:09 GMT
From: Eric Engelmann <eengelmann@worldbank.org>
Subject: Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA
> A question or two for shortwave radio enthusiasts among the readership ...
> Is it just me, or does it seem that the various shortwave broadcasters
> who specifically target the Americas lately are overrun by some very
> strange people and programming ideas?
Maybe it's just me (though markets seldom lie), but I listen to
shortwave BECAUSE of its "strange people and programming ideas." If I
want to listen to the same old party line of the majority, I can get
it from TV, FM, AM, newspapers, public schools, neighbors, etc. What's
the matter with a little diversity of opinion and programming? Every
major political and reglious change that has ever occurred has been
led by "strange people and programming ideas." The puzzling thing to
me is that you even thought this worthy of mention.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well I have no objection to differences
of opinion and new ways of presenting things, but some of those people
I heard the other night are just plain weird. I do agree that a lot
of people are just saying the same old things over and over and that
fresh voices are needed; but gee whiz ... PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Fri 23 Aug 1996 08:38:49 -0500
From: Greg Lucas <lucas@cig.mot.com>
Subject: Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA
Reply-To: lucas@cig.mot.com
Organization: Cellular Infrastructure Group, Motorola
Pat,
Shortwave listening is a hobby of mine. But, I haven't had much time
for it the last couple of years. The main problem is your cheap -
that is inexpensive radio. Those religous stations are all located
here in the USA and run very high power. Your radio is very poor for
sensitivity and selectivity -- which means that the US stations
overwhelm the radio and you can't hear the better overseas stations.
You need to spend over $150 for a decent radio. Believe it or not,
Radio Shack carries a very good line of shortwave radios in that price
catagory. I recommend you purchase the "World Radio Handbook", it is
an excellent reference of stations and their broadcast schedules. The
handbook is sold by the larger book store chains in the Chicago area.
The best services are the BBC and VOA. VOA can be hard to hear because
the beam their signals away from the US, they claim the programming is
not for our citizens.
Greg Lucas lucas@cig.mot.com
Motorola Cellular Infrastructure Group
Arlington Heights, IL 60004-1469
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But I do not intend to purchase a $150
radio for a seven year old child who may wind up not liking it or
wind up breaking it in a short time. PAT]
------------------------------
From: hbaker@netcom.com (Henry Baker)
Subject: Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 15:19:32 GMT
In article <telecom16.428.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu>,
ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) wrote:
> Yesterday I purchased a small little shortwave radio for my seven year
> old nephew who lives here with his father (my brother) and myself. I
> know as a child I enjoyed listening to shortwave radio and seeking out
> stations I had not heard before. Our little guy may still be a bit too
> young, but he is smart and he learns fast, so the little $39 shortwave
> I got him at Radio Shack will be a good 'show and tell' item when he
> goes into the first grade at school next month.
[snip]
> I know there is a limit to what one can expect from a $39 shortwave
> battery operated radio which fits in the palm of your hand, but I
> really thought that BBC, VOA and Monitor Radio International (although
> I am not extremely fond them then like I used to be) -- to name just
> three good examples -- would be as easy for a child to tune in as
> would be Tom Valentine with all that march music of Sousa he plays and
> that other guy who was everywhere on the dial promoting the various
> militia/vigilante organizations.
A few hundred feet of well-placed wire should improve the situation
quite a lot. Your seven year old nephew can help string the wire from
a ~ $30 or so Radio Shack antenna kit.
Unfortunately, your $39 radio probably doesn't have SSB, so s/he won't
be able to listen to very much of this new-found wealth. Perhaps it is
time to learn Morse code.
------------------------------
From: shoppa@alph02.triumf.ca (Tim Shoppa)
Subject: Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA
Date: 23 Aug 1996 04:50:48 GMT
Organization: Tri-University Meson Facility
In article <telecom16.428.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, TELECOM Digest Editor
<ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:
> I know there is a limit to what one can expect from a $39 shortwave
> battery operated radio which fits in the palm of your hand, but I
> really thought that BBC, VOA and Monitor Radio International (although
> I am not extremely fond them then like I used to be) -- to name just
> three good examples -- would be as easy for a child to tune in as
> would be Tom Valentine with all that march music of Sousa he plays and
> that other guy who was everywhere on the dial promoting the various
> militia/vigilante organizations.
Are Tom Valentine and the other kooks on the SW dial today really all
that different than, say, Radio Albania in the past? Radio Moscow and
the other Eastern block broadcasts were really quite mild compared to
Radio Albania. As a matter of fact, I distinctly remember Radio
Albania condemning the other communist countries because they were far
too moderate :-).
On a cheap SW radio, it ought to be easy to also listen to the
massively powerful Spanish-language stations from south of the border
where they have the re-re-re-re-verb-verb-verb-verb turned up to the
max continuously.
It's good to have kooks to listen to occasionally, but after a few
decades of SW listening my mind is capable of immediately classifying
them as noise to be ignored. If a child with a SW radio is encouraged
to regard them as just noise and interference encountered while in
search of truly interesting and original points of view, I think he
(or she) will learn a most valuable lesson.
Tim (shoppa@triumf.ca)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 21:21:23 PDT
From: Steven Lichter <slichte@cello.gina.calstate.edu>
Subject: Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA
I have never seen a guide that came with a radio to be of much good
other then to get you started. I have been doing it since the mid 50's
and things have really changed, I mean for the better.
Al the major countries have stations and they are used to get their views
out, but they are interesting.
RSA in South Africa was good as it the Swiss Broadcasting system, RA
in Italy and on and on. The best time is late at night. A good long
wire will do very well. Most are in English. If he can get the Freq
and the time, date and a little information he can get a QSL card. I
have some real nice ones from years ago, but today they are not as
fancy since costs have gone up. A tape of the broadcast will bring
some interestings sometimes. Years ago I picked up RSA before they had
programming to the US and sent a tape, what I got was a 30 minutes of
native music and a hand typed program guide and QSL card; still the
pride of my collection. Radio Moscow could be interesting, but it also
has changed. Radio Peking and Radio Japan are also good. Just a little
time and he will get the hang of it, a slow turn of the dial should do
it. I have an old Hallicrafters that still plus on even better then my
$300.00 Sony. I hope he has fun with it, I sure learned a lpot over
the years and even got to learn Japanse from Radio Japan with their
program Lets Speak Japanese.
SysOp Apple Elite II and OggNet Hub (909)359-5338 2400/14.4 24 hours,
Home of GBBS/LLUCE Support for the Apple II and Macintosh computers.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 16:18:24 -0500
From: ndallen@io.org (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Radio Canada International (was Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA)
Radio Canada International, the international shortwave radio service
of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, is usually worth listening
to, although severe budget cuts have adversely affected it. The
studios are in Montreal.
The Radio Canada International web site can be found at
http://www.radio.cbc.ca/radio/rci/rci.html
My late grandfather, Ralph Marven, worked for Radio Canada
International in the mid-1940's as its public relations manager.
Nigel Allen ndallen@io.org http://www.io.org/~ndallen/
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And I just found out that someone I
knew from years ago is working for MRI ... PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 13:38:05 -0400
From: pwe@tiac.net (Phyllis W. Eliasberg)
Subject: Monitor Radio (was Re: Shortwave Radio in the USA)
Could you tell me why you like Monitor Radio less now than you did in
the past? The reason for my interest is that I broadcast for CSM radio
on the weekends, where our main venue is the Web, and I can't compare
today's casts with those of years ago.
I would be interested in your assesment of today's Monitor Radio.
Thank you,
Phyllis
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I answered Phyllis privately with some
long reminisences going back into the 1950's ... nothing worth putting
here in this already lengthy thread which I will end at thiks time
unless there is something someone wants to add. I imagine Phyliis
would like to hear from other Monitor Radio International listeners
with their ideas and suggestions. And coincidentally, my favorite
newspaper in years gone by is now online, and I encourage you to
check it out if you like the paper otherwise. The {Christian Science
Monitor} online edition can be viewed at http://www.csmonitor.com
with all the usual features of the print edition. Thanks to all who
wrote me in reply to my shortwave radio comments. PAT]
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
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The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
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*************************************************************************
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*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #435
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Sun Aug 25 01:00:00 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
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Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 01:00:00 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608250500.BAA03632@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #436
TELECOM Digest Sun, 25 Aug 96 01:00:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 436
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
SW Bell Ponders Flat Fee Long Distance (Tad Cook)
Some Disappointed With Caller ID (Tad Cook)
Can ISP Dial-ins Really Cause Blocking in the CO? (Lars Poulsen)
How are Telegrams Sent Today? (Jeremy Buhler)
MCI a $500 Million Waste of Talent (mexitech@netcom.com)
GTE Says Continuous Internet Connection Desirable (Jack Decker)
Nuke Attack? No, Bug in DNS! (Rishab Aiyer Ghosh)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: SW Bell Ponders Flat Fee Long Distance
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 17:12:40 PDT
Southwestern Bell Eyes Flat-Fee Service
By Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 24--When Southwestern Bell gets into the long-distance business,
it might offer an "all-you-can-eat," flat-fee service as an option to
its customers.
The simple monthly fee for domestic long-distance calling is just one
of several pricing packages Bell is considering for the time when it
can begin offering long-distance services, a company spokesman said
Friday.
"Our research shows us that customers would be very receptive to
this," said Bob Ferguson, Bell's director of communications. "But this
is just one of many items under consideration. We don't know for sure
what we'll end up doing."
Ferguson said the phone company has been experimenting with different
kinds of flat-fee long distance in Houston, the Rio Grande Valley,
Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Under federal communications regulations, local phone companies cannot
offer long distance except within local areas, known as LATAs.
Southwestern Bell sells a service in Houston called Local Plus for
customers living on the fringes of the 713 area code. For $3 a month,
they can place unlimited calls to other 713 numbers that would
otherwise be billed by the minute.
In Oklahoma and Arkansas, Bell offers a service similar in concept to
MCI's Friends and Family. Ferguson said Bell customers can designate
about a dozen numbers within a local area that might normally be toll
calls and place unlimited calls for $22.50 per month.
But the most popular flat-fee service is in the Rio Grande Valley. The
local area there runs almost the entire length of the Valley, and for
$25 a month Bell customers can call anywhere in the region.
Both state and federal regulators are in the process of examining
Bell's request to offer domestic long-distance service to all its
customers -- and even Bell isn't sure of just how the regulation may be
handled.
The federal Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 grants local phone
companies the ability to compete in the long-distance market for the
first time since the breakup of AT&T in 1984.
"There are 700-plus pages of rules, and we're still deep into analyzing
them," Ferguson said.
He would not say how much Southwestern Bell would charge per-month if
it decides to offer flat-fee long-distance services.
Both Southwestern Bell and Pacific Telesis -- the California phone
company with which Southwestern Bell is merging -- have contracted to
resell long-distance services from Sprint. Under federal law, phone
companies can't sell long-distance services for less than it costs
them.
But Ferguson said Bell could still offer long distance routed through
its own facilities and not use Sprint's lines.
Jerry Cooperman, a vice president and research director for the
Gartner Group, which studies high-tech industries, said phone
companies have been looking for a way to get out of the long-distance
price wars.
"They don't want to do that anymore, but even more price pressure is
going to come at them through the local phone carriers," Cooperman
said.
Southwestern Bell, which analysts consider to the most financially
healthy local phone company, "has the strength to drive this kind of
pricing in their territory," he said.
Cooperman said other phone companies also have experimented with
flat-fee long-distance services, including AT&T, which just launched a
flat-fee trial in a region of New England.
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Some Disappointed With Caller ID
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 17:18:30 PDT
Caller Identification Not the Panacea Customers Thought it Would Be
By Matt Cory, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 25--Buyer beware.
Caller identification systems, or Caller IDs, have been one of the
hottest products on the telecommunications market the past few
years. But they are not the cure-all many think they are.
Many people have become dissatisfied with the systems because they do
not trace every call to individual user's systems.
It has some definite advantages; "it does do what it says it will do
-- to a point," said Bruce Nyhlen, who has owned a Caller ID for three
months.
Caller IDs can be plugged into a phone or wall jack. Sizes and
features vary, but most feature services to track incoming callers and
their telephone numbers. Some also will show the time and date of the
call, as well as how many calls have been received.
Caller ID systems can range in price from $25 to more than
$100. Phones that come with Caller ID installed can cost up to
$200. But the problem lies when the calls are long distance. Cost for
the sevice is about $6 a month from local long-distance companies.
Prices vary on what features the user chooses.
Nyhlen said that many of his incoming calls that are long distance are
not showing up on his system. With relatives scattered across the
country, he has to answer, he said.
What he's found, more often than not, is a telemarketer.
"It is to the point now, we have to check it because of family members
and we automatically assume it is a telemarketer," he said. "What I'm
suspecting is that the telemarketing industry has found a way to get
around it, so the signal will come out as out of area."
But when Caller IDs first became available from U$S West last
September, only local calls could be identified. That is still the
dilemma, a US West official said.
"It's really a technology situation," US West spokeswoman Vivian
Dockter said. " The first phase of Caller IDs was the local systems
putting it in and only local calls will pop up. The second phase is
when the long-distance companies are putting in Caller IDs and not all
of them have done that.
Dockter said it depends on the company the long-distance caller is
using. If they offer the Caller ID services, even the numbers of those
who don't order the service in the area should appear on your ID
system.
But if the company does't offer the services, or the person or
business takes steps to block its number from you, it will not show up
on your system, she said.
Dockter also said cellular phones almost always will show up as out of
area on a system, simply because the software isn't there yet for
those numbers to be included.
Telemarketers are facing the same issue as other individuals and
business across the country, Dockter said. They simply may not have
the local long-distance service that offers Caller ID. Or the system
they have bought may not be able to trace long-distance calls, even if
the caller has Caller ID. With the many phone lines in the country to
go through, some with Caller ID, some without, technology can't keep
track of all the telemarketing firms.
Bashing telemarketers
ProMark One Marketing Services Inc. opened its doors in Grand Forks in
August 1994. In that time, the telemarketing firm has grown to be one
of the city's largest employers. ProMark also has offices in Phoenix
and Tempe, Ariz, as well as Minot and Mandan, N.D.
ProMark is one of the sixth-largest telemarketing companies in the
nation, Grand Forks assistant center manager Bruce Senti said.
He said there simply isn't the technology available nationwide to
track all telemarketing companies.
"It is a technology issue; it is simply not possible," Senti said.
Senti said the Grand Forks offices does not call residents in the
Grand Forks area, but calls 43 other states. With so many calls
originating at the one office traveling though fiber-optic trunk lines
and other switches, there isn't the technology to keep track of all
the calls, he said.
Senti said there was no movement in the industry to skirt the Caller
ID system. He said it will even benefit telemarketing.
"People like to bash telemarketers," he said.
"But we have been successful, and it is not driven on sales. It is
quality driven. We have measured standards for everything we use. When
we call, for whoever we are representing, we must identify ourselves
on the phone and identify the individual we represent. The (bad)
reputation was earned by the telemarketers that are the small and
unprofessional and the scam artists."
Senti said that when technology becomes available, people will be
better able to know who is calling them. And if they are the victim of
scam artists, the number will available to authorities.
Despite some of the complaints about the long-distance calls, Dockter
said overall response to Caller IDs has been positive.
"The sales have been way above our expectations. Customers are
enjoying it a lot," she said.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 15:27:53 -0700
From: lars@anchor.RNS.COM (Lars Poulsen)
Subject: Can ISP Dial-ins Really Cause Blocking in the CO?
Both in TELECOM Digest and on the COM-PRIV mailing list, the issue has
been raised about telephone companies complaining to the regulatory
authority that home access to the Internet through modem dial-in to
a local ISP places an undue burden on the local exchange facilities,
and the telco wants a regulatory change to put an end to this "misuse"
which is caused by the availability of flat rate local calling.
As a suggested remedy, at least in the US, the telco wants ISPs to
be subject to the same two cent per minute access charges as the long-
distance telephone carriers.
Many outside of the telco management are sceptical of these claims of
blocking, and observe that this request for tariff relief (which ISPs
claim will drive them out of business) comes just as the telcos
themselves are getting ready to roll out internet access services.
The following quote from a knowledgeable journalist is illustrative:
The [telcos] aren't provisioning their switches in suburban
areas to provide access rates at anything near the blocking
rates.
In the city areas I am told that the modern switches are
usually provisioned to something near the 70-75% blocking rate
limit, while in suburban areas it is down around the 30%. So,
suburban calls are more likely to come up against the busy
barrier - however, no one I know has ever seen this happen at
times when people are surfing the Internet - which, is 9 to 11
at night.
The problem is that the carrier is claiming that the Internet
users are pushing the 'technical limits' of their exchange, and
leaving everyone with the suggestion that it would be a very
expensive thing to fix. In fact, we see no limit, and it is a
financial decision rather than a technical one.
The carrier argument is cogently expressed by Bell Atlantic:
Bell Atlantic did a study of the impact of the Internet explosion
during February and March, 1996. We submitted the study to the Federal
Communications Commission. ...
We have posted both the article and the original study on the Bell
Atlantic Internet site (http://ba.com/ea/fcc).
The study shows that there are in fact some exchanges where Internet
access traffic has exceeded the traditional busy hour, creating a new
busy hour during the evening hours, around 9 PM. In particular, this
seems to happen where a suburban area with no concentration of
business subscribers acquires an ISP. Such a bedroom community may for
years have been served by a Remote Switching Unit (RSU) using a
minimum amount of connection paths within the RSU and an even smaller
amount of trunkage to connect the RSU to the main switch, located in
another community.
The typical subscriber line in this area may have had 20 minutes of
local calls per day and 10 minutes of calls outside of the RSU. As the
ISP moves in, some percentage of the residences now have 120 minutes
of internet access per day (i.e. five to six times to previous
traffic), and if the ISP is on the main switch, this new traffic
requires interoffice trunkage (so that the need for interoffice
trunkage for these subscribers is 12-15 times the previous
traffic). If the ISP is located on the same RSU, they take up a number
of line groups which will be fully loaded during the busy
hour. According to the Bell Atlantic report, each line group module
can accept 512 station ports, but provides only 64 channels into the
switching fabric. Thus, it is much more expensive to equip the RSU to
accommodate the ISP lines.
After pondering these facts for a while, I realize that this doesn't
have to be a problem. If the telco spreads the ISP lines evenly across
the switch (putting no more than 16 on any one 512-port module) the
switch as described can easily take the load.
Friends, if we are to survive this assault, we need to educate the
commissioners, so that they will be able to understand that the
"dangerous overload caused by ISP traffic" is just another
manifestation of a total failure of the telcos to understand the
nature of Internet access, leading to a failure to construct a working
network out of the perfectly good building blocks that they have on
hand.
In the long run, I think we are nearing the end of flat-rate local
calls for residential subscribers. Back in February, I wrote an
article about the issues, it is still available on:
http://www.silcom.com/~lars/editorial/telecom.html
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 11:48:45 GMT
From: Jeremy Buhler <jbuhler@cs.washington.edu>
Subject: How Are Telegrams Sent Today?
This morning, I sent a Western Union telegram to my grandparents, who
are on vacation for their 50th anniversary. Never having sent a
telegram before, I was astounded how much it cost -- nearly $40 for
only 20 words, plus the cost of tracking and receipt confirmation!
This experience has left me with a couple of questions:
1. Has the cost of a WU telegram (in real dollars) always been this high?
If not, when did the cost attain the present level?
2. How are telegrams transmitted today? Western Union's Commercial
Services web site (http://www.wucs.com/) gave me the impression
that the company now uses the telcos for data transport and
adds value through data-processing and assured rapid-delivery
services.
3. I found various materials in the Telecom Archives describing WU's
history through the early 60's. What's happened to the company
since then?
Jeremy
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What has happened to the company since
then is that they have gone through bankruptcy; they have gone through
being picked apart by numerous other firms which took the most profitable
parts of the company away; and they have been assaulted by a lot of
new technology they have been unable to keep up with. That, in a nutshell
is what happened to Western Union. In the 1960's the cost of a telegram
of perhaps a dozen words or so was about two dollars, *and that included
delivery of a printed copy to you by a messenger.* You were free to
give the messenger a small additional tip if you wanted to do do, and
most people did. When WUTCO operated their public offices -- where you
could walk in off the street to send a telegram or wait for one to
arrive in your name -- the same dozen or so words was about a dollar
provided they did not have to deliver it (you were there waiting for
it or you went to their office in response to their phone call that
a telegram was waiting.) Telegrams sent 'collect' instead of paid had
a surcharge just like phone calls, or if you used your Western Union
credit card to pay for messages you called in on the phone there was
a surcharge. There was no surcharge for billing a telegram to your
phone bill and there was no surcharge if you were at a pay phone and
dropped coins in the box when they asked you to pay for it.
They were happy to read the telegram to you over the phone and send
you a copy in the mail for the same rate as if you called for it in
person at their office. (Remember, in those days the US Mail was
delivered in many places *twice per day* and typically a letter sent
several hundred miles got delivered the next day, so it was not like
getting a telegram mailed to you would take a week or so as the
regular mail does now.) The local agent would drop a copy in the mail
on your request and you would receive it from your postman usually
the next morning anyway.
There were certain types of telegrams which were considered
non-deliverable by telephone and these included messages stating that
someone had died, or that some tragedy of a personal nature had
occurred of direct relevance to the recipient. During the Second
World War and the Korean 'police action' for instance, messages
pertaining to the deaths of military personnel were required to be
delivered by messenger in writing.
Larger customers of WUTCO were given charge accounts (as opposed to
the little card anyone could carry around which was the same as a
phone company calling card, but for telegram purposes) and they
usually had 'commercial rates' which were better than those given
the general public. Anyone could have (but usually only the larger
commercial accounts had) a 'cable address'. A 'cable address' was
what would these days be referred to on your computer network as
an 'alias' for delivery purposes. Instead of the sender needing to
know your complete name and address for the purposes of delivery,
all he needed to know was your 'cable address'.
For example, the cable address 'Housereps' was for the House of
Representatives. Here in Chicago I recall that 'Symphony' was tbe
cable address for the Orchestral Association, the management side of
the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Cable addresses were almost invariably
cutesey little words and short phrases. A couple others I remember
seeing a lot were 'Largest Store' for Sears, Roebuck and 'Beacon Hill'
but I do not remember who that was. Certain cable addresses were
automatic reverse charge addresses, much like 800 phone service where
the recipient always agreed to accept collect telegrams. If you went
to their office or called on the phone and said you wanted to send a
message to a cable address, the clerk would just refer to a flip-chart
and see what that 'aliased out' to be.
Larger customers quite often had a teletype machine on their premises
which was used to send/receive messages through the local Western
Union office eliminating the need for a messenger, but these were
customers getting fifty or sixty or even a hundred telegrams daily and
quite often sending that many out as well or perhaps they had a 'telex
machine' hooked directly into the network bypassing the local
telegraph office completely.
I do not know what a dozen words for two dollars including delivery
in 1960's money would be in 1996 money. And a rate that high was
only for casual users; anyone who was a regular user of WUTCO had
lower rates, I am sure. At the time WUTCO clock service was dropped
in the middle 1960's they charged sometime like a dollar per month
per clock for the hourly pulse.
Have some fun! Call and tell them now you want to send a message
to a 'cable address' ... probably most of them never heard of such
a thing. A lot of them probably do not know telegrapms printed on
little yellow sheets of paper could be sent 'restricted delivery to
addressee only' (basically like a person-to-person phone call, if
anyone still makes calls that way) and in that event, the messenger
would not just leave it with whoever answered the door at your
house. He would insist on seeing the specified person and putting
the telegram in his hands only. PAT]
------------------------------
From: mexitech@netcom.com (Patrick)
Subject: MCI a $500 Million Waste of Talent
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 14:57:50 GMT
I did some on line checking the other day for all the carriers web
pages and after viewing sprint, At&T and others, I tried MCI,
unbievably fast in both shell and netcruiser. I was impressed!
I go to the search engine, find what I am looking for, backtrack to
business and fill out the form, requesting quotation, in the memo or
notes field I amplify my request, we have a 1500 mile T-1, proprietary
switch, teleport acccess in L.A, and another San Diego, I want to buy
some bandwith!
What do I get instead, after filling out the form in good faith, I get
what I percieve as harrassing calls from their residential group in
Atlanta "referring to my internet form". I explain very nicely that
I am in business, want bandwith and he keeps going back to residential,
after four times explaining, and five times hearing his obviously
canned sales pitch, I tell him, "Look, I am in the business, I have
been for nearly 20 years as an telecom analyst, If you can't understand
what I want to buy, I will have to teach you". Now send me a check
for as many hours as your feeble mind can take at one time at $65
dollars an hour, in addition, cancel all of my MCI lines and connect
me to AT&T.
Is anyone else experiencing this flagrant slamming tactic? They just
buiilt a $500 million dollar link with Avantel in Mexico, another 1.5
billion dollars to go, a new switching center fully staffed in Mexico
and they abuse the stockholders money with this kind of idiocy.
Ma Bell, I am sorry, please come home, Patrick needs you!
Patrick mexitech@netcom.com
------------------------------
From: jack@novagate.com (Jack Decker)
Subject: GTE Says Continuous Internet Connection Desirable
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 05:14:35 GMT
Organization: GTE Intelligent Network Services, GTE INS
I was looking for soimething else on GTE's Web site, and came across
the press release at this URL:
http://www.gte.com/Glance/News/Releases/Corp/1996/Aug/19960814.html
This page is a standard press release about an Asymmetrical Digital
Subscriber Line (ADSL) trial in Texas. However, two paragraphs of
this release immediately jumped out at me. The first states:
"ADSL service works by connecting a pair of modems to each end of a
telephone line, with one modem being located in the telephone
company's central office and the other at the home or office of the
user. ADSL also maximizes the use of existing technology because it
operates over twisted-pair copper telephone lines, streamlining
installation and controlling expenses."
Note, please, that in this scenario, you do not connect to a
C.O. telephone switch and get dial tone. You have an ADSL modem on
one end of the line, and GTE puts their ADSL modem on the other end.
Of course, one fully expects (given the requirements of the
Telecommunications Act) that other Internet Service Providers will
also be able to lease "twisted-pair copper telephone lines" from the
phone company, to run between between their Points-of-Presence and
customer locations, and put their own ADSL (or other) modems at each
end. In any case, with this setup Internet users cannot possibly
cause any "congestion" of the local telephone switching equipment
because they're bypassing it completely!
And the second paragraph is even better:
"DSL services are also significant in that they provide continuous
Internet access rather than traditional dial-up modem connections.
This enables many new types of services that benefit from the 'always
connected' nature of these DSL offerings. These applications
(e.g. multicasting) historically could only be offered in the Local
Area Network (LAN) environments of corporate networks, but can now be
extended to residences and remote offices."
So, in this press release, we have GTE on record as saying that a
continuous connection to the Internet is a desirable thing - not that
we needed GTE to tell us this, but it's refreshing to hear a phone
company admit that a 24 hour per day connection is desirable, rather
than blaming Internet users who spend time online as the reason that
the phone system is "going to Hell in a handbasket" (as some of the
"Baby Bells" are apparently trying to do)!
Jack
------------------------------
Subject: Nuke Attack? No, Bug in DNS!
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 13:03:57 PDT
From: rishab@dxm.org (Rishab Aiyer Ghosh)
Reply-To: rishab@dxm.org
Was I the only one nuked by the DNS/BIND crash yesterday? As not
everyone here reads c.p.tcp-ip.d I've attached Karl Denninger's
analysis. For those who were luckily immune, my ISP (best.com) like
many others, had it's DNS crash for _local_ domain names (belonging to
the ISP and customers like me) through most of yesterday. No, not a
virus, but bad DNS records "floating around" as Karl puts it, that
happened to expose a bug in the latest version of BIND.
So much for immunity to nuclear war!
Rishab
From: karl@MCS.COM (Karl Denninger)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains
Subject: SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH DNS SERVERS AND BAD RECORDS - Rev 4.9.4
Date: 23 Aug 1996 10:10:39 -0500
Organization: MCSNet Ops, Chicago, IL
> CAUTION!
> There are a series of bad nameserver records floating around on the net
> which are blowing up BIND versions 4.9.4 (REL and T5B) and possibly other
> releases as well.
> This has been VERIFIED to be impacting multiple ISPs and their DNS servers.
> We are shutting off updates from ANY DNS server which presents bogus data,
> which stops it from killing our code, but is of no help to the large number
> of domains which are presumably rendered unreachable.
> At present, this list is:
> bogusns 204.94.129.65 158.43.192.7
> ;
> bogusns 199.3.12.2 38.241.98.5 199.71.224.105 206.215.3.10
> bogusns 134.75.30.253 198.41.0.4 128.63.2.53 198.41.0.4
> bogusns 206.66.184.11 206.66.104.37
> ;
> bogusns 163.173.128.6 163.173.128.254 200.6.39.1 192.33.4.12 128.174.36.254
> bogusns 129.79.1.9 128.174.5.58
> All of these have presented at least one malformed record to us in the
> last two hours!
> Folks, if you run one of these servers, start tracking down the problem on
> your end. If this is bad cached data, THOSE AFFECTED MUST FLUSH IT
> AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO TRY TO PREVENT PROPAGATION.
> This problem started as an isolated set of incidents yesterday, and is now
> spreading like wildfire.
> The actual bad data appears to be a domain name being returned in an
> authority record which is of the form "domain.com<tab>com". We have not
> yet caught a bad returned record in a debug file; that is being attempted
> now.
> When this goes through "dn_expand" in the BIND code, it causes memory
> arena corruption and subsequent failure to resolve VALID zones which you
> are authoritative for. First signs are reports of "corrupted authority data"
> if you are using "dig" to check zones which you hold authority records for.
> We are working on a way to "harden" the code against this kind of junk data,
> but until we can get one deployed our defense is to shut down communication
> from those who are presenting us the garbage.
> PLEASE CHECK YOUR NAMESERVERS OUT AND TAKE NECESSARY STEPS YOURSELF! This
> is a serious problem which has the possibility of melting significant parts
> of the Internet infrastructure.
> Karl Denninger (karl@MCS.Net)| MCSNet - The Finest Internet Connectivity
> http://www.mcs.net/~karl | T1 from $600 monthly; speeds to DS-3 available
> | 23 Chicagoland Prefixes, 13 ISDN, much more
> Voice: [+1 312 803-MCS1 x219]| Email to "info@mcs.net" WWW: http://www.mcs.net/
> Fax: [+1 312 248-9865] | Home of Chicago's only FULL Clarinet feed!
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
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Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #436
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon Aug 26 01:25:02 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
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Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 01:25:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608260525.BAA08400@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #437
TELECOM Digest Mon, 26 Aug 96 01:25:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 437
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Telcos as Info Providers (Tad Cook)
Ohio Probing Ameritech's Overbilling (Tad Cook)
Telephone Technicians in Nova Scotia End Strike (Nigel Allen)
What Does a Call Cost? (David Clayton)
Computer Companies Join ISDN Pricing Fray (Monty Solomon)
Integretel, Inc. Strikes Again (Dan Kaufman)
Get Two Rings Then Ring at Extension (Lillian Connors)
AT&T V-H Coordinates (Drew Larsen)
WTB: A Wireless Phone Network (10,000 + Numbers) (nwres203@wolfenet.com)
Channel Bank With ACD? (Pete Kruckenberg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Telcos as Info Providers
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 11:10:19 PDT
Some Telephone Companies are Returning to the Days of Providing Information
By Jon Van, Chicago Tribune
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 26--The days when the telephone company provided "information,"
instead of "directory assistance," may be returning, at least for
customers willing to pay.
Operators will not only give callers street addresses and ZIP codes as
well as phone numbers, but will recommend restaurants, florists and
night spots if asked.
This chatty new world of telecommunications, spawned by advanced
technology and burgeoning competition, is a throwback to the days when
telephone operators knew their towns and had more time to help
customers in need. It was the era before the term "directory
assistance" was introduced to let customers know that they shouldn't
bother the phone company for numbers they could look up themselves.
Since the breakup of the Bell System more than a decade ago, local
phone companies mostly have looked upon directory assistance as a
burdensome and money-losing public service. But as deregulation
prompts companies to compete for customers, some are rethinking that
attitude and starting to look upon inquisitive customers as profit
opportunities, instead of lazy nuisances.
The current system can test the patience of even mild-mannered
consumers. Callers, especially out-of-towners, may not know the area
code, the spelling of the community where their desired party is or
perhaps even the name of the town. As people move around and new area
codes proliferate, trying to obtain information from standard
directory assistance can be an exercise in frustration.
And many numbers, like those serving fax machines and cellular phones,
aren't available from directory assistance at all.
As competitors enter the local phone business, even prices for
directory assistance calls may cause confusion. Ameritech Corp. now
charges 30 cents to businesses and residences using the service and 35
cents to pay-phone users. Some new providers may choose to offer the
service at no charge to attract customers, and others may charge but
offer premium services.
Once competitors join the local fray, Ameritech will be free to apply
to have directory assistance deregulated and then could charge any
amount it wishes, as it now does for pay-phone service.
To be sure, the slam-bam approach to directory assistance won't go
away for customers who want to find phone numbers at the lowest
possible cost. Indeed, automation soon may make these transactions as
quick and convenient as voice mail. But people who want something more
and don't mind paying for it will find a lot of choices, industry
experts say.
Cellular-phone customers are among the first to receive improved
services, said Philip Bonello, general manager of Lombard-based
Metromail On-line Services, a recent spinoff of R.R. Donnelley and
Sons Co. of Chicago.
"Cellular service doesn't have the regulations that govern traditional
phone service, and its customers aren't as price-sensitive as others,"
he said. "When someone needs information to do business, he wants it
quickly and doesn't mind paying. The companies don't mind giving him
the information, either, because the longer he's on the air, the more
they make. In cellular, everything takes at least a minute."
Because many cell-phone users are driving, they tend to prefer having
an operator put their call through rather than worrying about
remembering the number and dialing it themselves, said Bonello, whose
company has assembled a national database of phone numbers for resale
to phone companies, businesses and consumers.
"People who get used to being pampered when they use their cell phone
don't like it when a traditional directory assistance operator tries
to get through their call in less than 20 seconds," he said.
Even customers who don't use cellular phones can become frustrated
with Spartan directory assistance services, because the proliferation
of area codes can make it difficult to dial the proper number to
access the right operator.
Consider the plight of a caller from Portland trying to locate a
friend in Chicago by dialing his friend's area code, plus
555-1212. Metropolitan Chicago, which had only two area codes a year
ago -- 312 for the city and 708 for the suburbs -- will have five by
this fall.
A caller seeking the number of someone known only to live in the
Chicago area may be stymied by traditional directory assistance
operators who want to know the target's town or, at least, area code.
"Confusion over area codes is building a lot of pressure for national
directory assistance services," said Steven Johnson, an executive at
MCI Communications Corp.
Last year MCI launched a service whereby a customer could call
1-800-CALL-INFO and, for a fee, obtain numbers for anyone in the
country without knowing the area code. It was popular with customers,
Johnson said, but MCI withdrew the service because of complaints that
an 800 number shouldn't have any charges associated with it.
"We had cleared the product with regulators before launching it," he
said, "but when the complaints arose, the Federal Communications
Commission suggested we withdraw it, and we did."
MCI now offers a similar service using a 900 prefix, which is always
associated with extra fees, and AT&T Corp. has a 900 national
directory assistance number as well. But many companies and hotels, as
well as several private residences, have blocks on their phones so
that 900 calls cannot be made from them, Johnson said.
"Somehow the regulatory issues have to be worked out so that people
can call an easily accessible number to get extended directory
assistance," Johnson said. "There's a lot of market demand for it, so
it's bound to happen."
At least one company plans to launch such a service this year, said
Kelly Daniels, president of Telco Planning Inc., a consultancy based
in Portland, Ore. That company will offer phone numbers throughout
North America to people who call 1-800-555-1234, he said.
The callers must listen to an advertisement to obtain their number and
will be offered the option of having their call put through for a fee,
Daniels said.
The service provider, which hasn't yet identified itself, hopes the
advertiser-supported part of the service will satisfy regulators and
that most customers will opt for call completion to generate revenue,
at 25 cents to complete a call and 10 cents a minute to carry it.
"What we've found is that when call completion is offered as an
option, most people take it," said Daniels, who acknowledged that some
businesses have balked when charges for existing call completion
services caused their phone bills to balloon.
"You can argue that it saves a company money when its employees don't
have to get a number, hang up and then dial it," he said, "but a
company may not agree when its monthly directory assistance charges go
from $300 to $3,000."
Call completion really is just the first step in what industry people
call concierge phone service, which may even go beyond the old small
town phone company version of information service from the operator.
"Some cellular companies are already offering a service where I call
and say I need a florist," said Robert Rosenberg, president of Insight
Research Corp., a telecommunications consultancy in Livingston,
N.J. "The operator gets your location, does a map overlay on her
computer and gives you three choices of florists nearby. If you like,
they'll place the order for you."
These operators most likely are sitting in a call center in Phoenix or
Salt Lake City and have no more knowledge of local flower shops than
the caller, Rosenberg said, but they work from computers that search
national databases to provide the information.
As these services develop, details of how they will be paid for are
still being considered, but promoters say much of the costs could be
borne by businesses receiving referrals, as well as additional fees
paid by customers.
Metromail has been working on a project to construct a database for
such a service for five years, Bonello said, and it has been
exceedingly difficult to blend information from different phone
companies with other sources, such as driver's license databases and
postal change-of-address information.
"We take information that we get from local phone companies, clean it
up and actually sell it back to local phone companies in some cases,"
he said.
Metromail sells the information widely in various forms and has
products that enable consumers to look up phone numbers on the
Internet. It hopes to expand the information base to include things
like e-mail addresses, fax numbers and other information not now
generally assembled.
Recent orders by the FCC intended to promote competition should make
it easier for firms to assemble national phone number databases and
keep them up-to-date, said MCI's Johnson.
"Within two years, national directory assistance databases will be
common," he said.
At the same time the industry is gearing up for expanded information
services, it also is seeking to trim further the costs of plain
vanilla directory assistance.
Some companies are now using voice recognition technology that asks a
caller to give the city and party whose number is sought, said
Cathleen Shamieh, director of operator services for Bellcore, a
telecommunications-technology consulting center based in Morristown,
N.J., that is owned by the regional Bell operating companies.
Today, the automated system presents the name and hometown to a human
operator who then takes over to look up the number, Shamieh said.
Eventually, the automated system will ask the caller what's wanted,
look it up, give the answer and ask the caller if everything's OK or
if a human is needed, she said.
"Voice recognition to do that isn't quite there yet, but it's close,"
she said.
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Ohio Probing Ameritech's Overbilling
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 11:57:50 PDT
Ohio to Probe Ameritech's Overbilling and Failure to Tell Customers
By David Adams, Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 23--More than 3,000 Ameritech customers were overcharged $9,525
after making 3,166 telephone calls between June 29 and the first week
of August, the telephone company said yesterday.
But the number of Ameritech customers affected by the computer-caused
overbilling could be considerably higher: The company is unable to
identify local calls that were inadvertently switched over to a
long-distance provider, spokeswoman Anne Bloomberg said.
Ameritech said yesterday, unlike the day before, that it will actively
try to find overbilled customers and ensure they get a refund. The
company previously had said that it wanted customers to determine
whether they had been overbilled and to inform the company.
The problem -- caused by software glitches connected to the June 29
addition of the new 330 area code -- affected calls made into 216 area
code prefixes 342, 650, 653, 655, which are in Hudson; 657 in
Peninsula; 659 in Richfield; and 330 area code prefixes 225 in
Brunswick and 483 in Valley City.
The software glitch caused calls normally considered free local calls
either to be charged as toll calls, or to be switched over to
long-distance carriers and billed as long-distance calls.
Ameritech experienced a similar computer-related problem earlier this
year in Chicago that led the company to refund almost $900,000 to
450,000 customers. Bloomberg emphasized that the problem in Northeast
Ohio is much smaller.
"Believe me, we think that this (problem) is not acceptable, and I'm
not trying to say that (the number of customers affected) is a small
amount, because it isn't," she said. "We really regret this and are
sorry for it."
Overbilled customers whom Ameritech can identify will be notified and
probably will be given credit on their bills, Bloomberg said. Before a
Beacon Journal story yesterday, Ameritech had said it did not intend
to notify any of its 1.85 million customers in Northeast Ohio about
the possibility that they had been overbilled.
In response to the Beacon Journal story, both the Public Utilities
Commission of Ohio and the Ohio Consumers' Counsel will launch,
probably today, inquiries into how the overbilling occurred, and the
agencies may review Ameritech's decision not to tell its customers.
Very few state regulations deal with overbilling or notification on
billing matters, spokesmen for both taxpayer-funded state agencies
said yesterday. As a result, little or no formal regulatory action is
expected.
But the episode does little to enhance Ameritech's image for customer
service.
Ameritech was fined $270,000 last year by state regulators because of
failure to maintain minimum service standards, and the company paid a
$45,000 fine the year before for similar problems.
Last month, the PUCO fined Ameritech $1,000, following a $5,000 fine
the previous month, for failing to meet service standards, according
to Dick Kimmins, PUCO spokesman.
Service problems, including the current overbilling incident, are
expected to be the central issue for Ohio's local telephone companies
as the state opens up markets for competition.
By this time next year, other competing local telephone companies are
expected to enter Ameritech's territory. Until now, the state's 42
local telephone companies have enjoyed roped-off service areas in
which customers were unable to get service from any other company.
Regulatory action will be replaced to some extent by competitive
forces, said Kimmins and Consumers' Counsel Robert Tongren.
"The marketplace can indeed be a very harsh and swift judge of service
standards and billing problems," Kimmins said. He added that the PUCO
will continue to monitor minimum standards for customers service.
The PUCO staff is rewriting those minimum standards for a newly
competitive telephone environment, and a rough draft is expected in
November.
"You can have all the rules you want; the question is: What's the
company's attitude for your customers?" asked Tongren. "Are they
number one? If not, that company is going to lose them to a
competitor."
Tongren said competition will let customers' fingers do the walking.
"We want to let customers, with just one phone call, get another local
telephone company," he said.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 20:21:16 EDT
Subject: Telephone Technicians in Nova Scotia End Strike
Organization: Internex Online (shell.io.org), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
From: ndallen@io.org (Nigel Allen)
Here is a press release from Maritime Telegraph and Telephone Company
Limited. I found the press release on the Canada NewsWire web site at
http://www.newswire.ca/ I don't work for Canada NewsWire or Maritime
Tel & Tel.
MT&T TECHNICAL WORKERS' STRIKE ENDS AUGUST 23
HALIFAX, Aug. 24 - Maritime Telegraph and Telephone Company
Limited announced today that its 950 technical workers, represented by
the Atlantic Communications and Technical Workers' Union, have voted
to accept the Company's latest contract offer, ending a strike that
began July 3rd, 1996. Seventy percent of the union membership voted
in favour of the agreement.
The technical workers will return to work beginning Sunday, August 25.
MT&T is now in the process of adjusting its operations to more
normal working conditions. Over the next number of weeks the Company
will be working to reduce the existing backlog of orders for service
as well as respond to new service orders.
MT&T thanks customers for their patience and understanding during the
past two months and also in the weeks ahead.
For further information: Pearleen Mofford, (902) 487-5284
forwarded to TELECOM Digest by
Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario ndallen@io.org http://www.io.org/~ndallen/
------------------------------
From: dcstar@acslink.aone.net.au (David Clayton)
Subject: What Does a Call Cost?
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 22:53:20 GMT
Hello Pat and everyone,
I have observed a increasing quantity of correspondence in the Digest
regarding the issue of no longer being able to determine what sort of
call type is being made by analysing the dialed digits.
This will also be a significant problem here in Australia, as we are
changing from state based Area Codes to much broader regional Area
Codes, (as an example, one Area Code will cover an area which is
approx. 2/3 the area of the mainland USA).
Since this problem looks likely to be become common around the globe
dialing plan changes and number portability etc., perhaps the
relevant standards organisation should be creating a technical
solution to the problem, such as the following:
* You dial the number as normal,
* Before the first ring, modem tones are transmitted down you phone
line with information regarding the call cost etc. which is displayed
on a device which may be similar to the CID boxes that are used in
North America.
* You may then have to confirm that you want the call to proceed, or
if it going to cost you more than you are prepared to pay, you may
want to end it.
Since the infrastructure required may be similar to the existing CID
incoming equipment, it may be reasonably easy to implement at the
phone end, the only difficult part may be getting the local exchange
to pass this information in the required format, (especially for older
equipment).
The whole point of this would be to have the information of what a
call is going to cost available to the consumer before the call is
made, not after the event when the bill arrives. Another benefit would
be the opportunity to record this data for your own bill reconcilation.
This sort of information is partially available on ISDN circuits in
Australia as data provided the end of a call in the "Advice of Charge"
field, but there is no real reason why it cannot be made before a call
is connected, (apart from the cost of making it happen).
So, now I pass this idea to all of the TELECOM Digest readers out
there, what do you reckon people?.
P.S. If this turns out to be one of those original, practical, and
very profitable ideas, would whoever eventually develops it, (and
makes an enormous profit from it), remember where it came from and
send me some royalties? :-) - with a portion going to the TELECOM
Digest of course!
Regards,
David Clayton, e-mail: dcstar@acslink.aone.net.au
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 00:33:42 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Computer Companies Join ISDN Pricing Fray
Reply-To: monty@roscom.COM
Excerpt from Edupage, 13 August 1996
COMPUTER COMPANIES JOIN ISDN PRICING FRAY
Computer companies are joining consumer activists in urging the
telephone companies to speed up deployment of ISDN (integrated
services digital network) services by lowering prices. In California,
Pacific Bell is under attack by a group that includes Intel Corp., the
California ISDN Users Group, the California Cable Television
Association, Jetstream Communications, Inc., FlowPoint, and Siemens
Rolm Communications, Inc. The controversy reflects what is happening
in other states, with the phone company saying its ISDN rates must
reflect the cost of introducing the service, which it claims are high,
and expressing concern that low flat-rate charges will encourage
customers to tie up lines 24 hours a day.
Intel has complained to the Public Utilities Commission that "an
entire industry is poised to deliver mass-market ISDN products.
Unreasonable ISDN pricing, as proposed by Pacific Bell ... may preclude
the development of a mass-market ISDN industry, and will certainly
retard its growth." Uneven pricing by telcos is also an issue -- Bell
Atlantic's proposed flat rate charge for the District of Columbia is
$249 a month, while in Tennessee, BellSouth charges $25 to $29 a
month. A Bell Atlantic spokesman says , "It's very simplistic for
computer companies to point fingers at us if their sales are not
increasing. These are wonderful companies, but we don't tell them how
to run their businesses. It's not appropriate for them to tell us how
to run ours." (BNA Daily Report for Executives 8 Aug 96 C1)
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 22:38:03 +0000
From: Dan Kaufman <dan@dkgraphics.com>
Reply-To: dan@dkgraphics.com
Organization: Dan Kaufman Graphics
Subject: Integretel, Inc. Strikes Again ...
I just got a bill from Bell Atlantic, my local telephone
service. There was a $45 charge from Intgretel, Inc. for a "COMCARD"
debit card. Then I remember some guy calling late at night telling me
I qualified for a debit card and I would get $45 worth of calling on
it. I fell for it. It's Sunday night, and I've just retrieved my
snail-mail from the mailbox after a nice weekend away. My first phone
call on Monday morning will be to 1-800 736-7500, Integretel's
toll-free number. This boy ain't payin' nobody for no debit card.
------------------------------
From: lconnors@freenet.columbus.oh.us (Lillian Connors)
Subject: Get Two Rings Then Ring at Extension
Date: 25 Aug 1996 15:49:02 -0400
Organization: The Ohio State University
My caller-id won't store data if an extension phone is answered before
the second ring. Can I get a commercial gadget for POTS line that
listens for ringing, then outputs (or passes thru) ringing to the
extension after second ring? Comments about such gadgets?
Can some fax machines be reprogrammed to do this (as well as to detect
incoming fax, and switch non-fax calls to extension)? Comments or
reviews about such fax machines?
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Can't you reach a mutual understanding
with whomever is likely to answer your extension phones to allow at
least one complete ring and a couple seconds of silence to pass before
taking the phone off hook and responding? PAT]
------------------------------
From: Drew Larsen <object39@starnetinc.com>
Subject: AT&T V-H Coordinates
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 01:36:21 +0000
Organization: ObjectWave Corporation
Reply-To: dlarsen@objectwave.com
Ok folks, scratch your heads and see if you can remeber how to
translate a point on the earth measured in latitude/longitude to the
commonly used V&H system used in the telecom industry.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Drew Larsen
ObjectWave Corporation
dlarsen@objectwave.com
------------------------------
From: nwres203@wolfenet.com
Subject: WTB: A Wireless Phone Network (10,000 + Numbers)
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 08:32:01 GMT
Organization: Wolfe Internet Access, L.L.C.
Hi all,
I am representing a Russian company that wants to buy a wireless phone
system to serve a small town. They want it to have about 10,000 number
capacity, with an option of adding more later. The network will
require no connection to outside. So I was looking for manufacturers
of such systems, and haven't found any. Does anyone know of such
companies? If you do, please tell me, I will really appreciate
it.
Thanks a lot.
------------------------------
From: pete@inquo.net (System Administrator)
Subject: Channel Bank With ACD?
Date: 25 Aug 1996 19:57:48 GMT
Organization: inQuo Internet (801) 530-7160
I'm looking for a cheap/simple/easy way to bring in a voice T1 to a modem
bank, and do some basic hunting or LRU (least-recently-used) ACD features.
Right now, US West charges $4/line/mo for busy hunting, or $6/line/mo for
busy/no-answer hunting, and they don't offer an LRU type of hunt. I
already have to buy a channel bank to break out the T1 into analog lines
to go to the modem bank, and I though there might be some more intelligent
channel banks that could do busy/busy-no-answer/LRU hunting.
I know that these types of features are available on modem racks like the
USR Total Control, but as an ISP, I can't afford equipment like that and
still remain competitive and solvent. An intelligent channel bank like
this, if the price is right, could let me still use low-cost modems but
avoid some problems common to a non-intelligent modem pool.
Your insight and avoid is appreciated.
Pete Kruckenberg pete@inquo.net
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'.
Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
or phone at:
Post Office Box 4621
Skokie, IL USA 60076
Phone: 847-329-0571
Fax: 847-329-0572
** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is:
http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
a note to tel-archives@mirror.lcs.mit.edu to receive a help
file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of
the help file for the Telecom Archives.
*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #437
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon Aug 26 11:46:02 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id LAA13965; Mon, 26 Aug 1996 11:46:02 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 11:46:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608261546.LAA13965@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #438
TELECOM Digest Mon, 26 Aug 96 11:46:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 438
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Peter Morgan)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Brian Mulvaney)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Henry Baker)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Matt Ackeret)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Dave Read)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Steve Schear)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Charlie Seelig)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Andrew C. Green)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Garrett Wollman)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Tim Shoppa)
Is the Internet Slow? (David Richards)
Internet Overload (TELECOM Digest Editor)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Peter Morgan <peter.morgan@zetnet.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 10:25:57 +0100
In message <telecom16.433.11@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Bradley Dunn
<dunn@harborcom.net> writes:
> The reason a lot of end users think the Internet is slow is because of
> their own equipment, though. They may have a computer that only has 4
> or 8 MB of RAM, which is really insufficient for running the latest
> and greatest browsers. Most end users are also using a 14.4 or 28.8
> Kbps modem for their access. This "pipe" from the end user to the ISP
> is usually the smallest pipe bandwidth-wise.
I'm over in the UK. While I mostly agree that individuals will have a
number of different things causing them to suffer "slowness", it can
often be the case that some software is just more efficient. When I
was typing this "offline" (the Zetnet service I use can be used like a BBS
and passes "packed" [compressed] mail/news in both directions) I was in
the middle of an FTP from "ftp.best.com" which I believe is in California.
I'm attempting (fourth time) a transfer of approx 3.5 Mb and found that
there was a significant difference between using Netscape's "save file"
and WS_FTP. The system I'm running is 2x 540 Mb HD, 16 Mb RAM, 486DX2/66
with a (yes, don't laugh) 14,400 modem (well this has old UARTs anyway).
WS_FTP is four to five times faster, and I started this transfer as
soon as my dial-up connection failed (after approx 160 minutes :-( )
which, while a local call, is charged for :-< oh yes, I reached 3.4 of
3.5 Mb :-<
There's a chance of some problem in the UK, which hampered earlier
connections, but I have uploaded 3 Mb in 40 minutes to a UK host and
the current estimate for the remaining 70% of this download is some 80
minutes connect time ... ah well ... a loaded FTP site in the middle
of a Sunday afternoon is likely to suffer a little, and 5000 miles is
worth remembering too (instead of 200 miles to London) :->
Peter
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 17:20:45 -0700
From: Brian Mulvaney <brianm@rain.com>
Reply-To: brianm@rain.com
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
> I am performing some research and am interested in hearing from anyone
> with an interesting theory of why Internet access is so slow?
I would be just as interested in hearing an explanation of how the
Internet can be so fast. Haven't you ever marvelled at how you can run
a database lookup over the Internet, to a server located who knows
where, and get an almost immediate return? Such good response that it's
actually faster than querying a database on your local ethernet?
Here's an interesting comparison (albeit not apples to apples):
I just queried Alta-Vista <http://www.altavista.digital.com/> for
"Telecom Digest". I got a full return in under three seconds. The
search shows about 300 matches. Now I'll run a query against a customer
information database my company uses that should return about 300
records using an indexed field as the search criteria ...
The query took about five seconds to run including processing by the
server and the client. The query was generated by a Windows application
running on a Pentium PC and processed by a high end AIX server running
Sybase. The database server is located about 100 feet from me. There
should be only one router between my PC and the server. Now look at the
network path for the query to Alta-Vista: From my PC to a local router;
to another router; onto a T1 across the corporate WAN for a trip from
the west coast where I am back to Maryland where corporate HQ is; maybe
another router hop at HQ; through the corporate firewall to PSInet over
a 56kbs link; a few hops to get to the Alta-Vista site (in Palo Alto?);
some processing at the Alta-Vista server, some data returned over the
Internet; some processing by Netscape Navigatior to format the page and
voila! -- three seconds.
If you ask me, the Internet feels pretty darn fast.
Brian brianm@rain.com
------------------------------
From: hbaker@netcom.com (Henry Baker)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 02:02:26 GMT
In article <telecom16.433.8@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Steve Rice
<steve.rice@anixter-west.com> wrote:
> In TELECOM Digest V16 #429 Pat said:
>> the net is just getting a lot more traffic than it used to get.
> Bob Metcalf [sp] wrote a few articles in {Info World} last December
> that predicted the collapse of the Internet. His major premise was
> that as a collection of independent networks, there is not much
> incentive to take responsibility for "quality of service" issues. It
> is easy for an ISP to blame their problems on other ISPs, telcos, etc.
Bob Metcalfe was on CSPAN2 this morning talking about the 'collapse of
the internet'. A key point in his argument is that the internet is
designed from the ground up to _share_ traffic. Yet the whole point
of _intrAnets_ is to _filter out_ traffic with their firewalls, so
that such traffic now has to go _around_ a network, rather than
_through_ it. Consider, for example, what would happen if AOL were to
suddenly declare that all of the freeways in the Washington, DC, area
were _off-limits_ to any but AOL subscribers. All of a sudden, anyone
wanting to drive south from Baltimore would have to drive _all the way
around_ Washington, DC, and _not_ on the beltway, either!
Ditto for the Fortune 1000 companies. So now we have large number of
private intrAnets that parallel one another and don't share facilities,
and much of the economies of the intErnet then go away.
Note that the main impetus for setting up these parallel facilities stems
from _fear_ -- the fear of being hacked, and the fear of being swamped.
Perhaps if communications service providers provide _bandwidth_ with
QOS _guarantees_ and high quality _encryption_, then at least the service
provider can take advantage of the statistics of the traffic to reduce
prices and still make money instead of selling raw T1's.
www/ftp directory:
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/hb/hbaker/home.html
------------------------------
From: mattack@eskimo.com (Matt Ackeret)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Organization: Eskimo North (206) For-Ever
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 23:35:35 GMT
In article <telecom16.429.4@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, John Agosta
<jagosta@interaccess.com> wrote:
> And although I am not trying to be particularly protective of the 'jerks
> who send out thousands of pieces of mail trying to sell something' there
> *are* a lot of people using the net who are as equally sincere in their
> efforts as you and I. I honestly do not think many of the people who do
> junkmail and spam realize they are considered offensive. PAT]
Hopefully responding to all of these back to the author and the
accounts "abuse", "postmaster", and "root" at the site from which the
spam came from (when that can be determined) is helping to teach them
that. While this obviously is after the fact, responses to e-mail and
Usenet spam complaints is often that the user has had their account
cancelled. (No, I don't think *all* of them are from people who get
an account, spam with the expectation it will be cancelled, and go on
to another account to start the process over again.) Also, most
people don't seem to be aware you can cancel Usenet articles you have
posted accidentally (or containing an error you want to fix).
unknown@old.apple.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 96 13:24:00 PDT
From: dave@kentrox.com (Dave Read)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Organization: ADC Kentrox Industries, Inc.
On 20 Aug 1996 18:00:17 PDT, Mark Friedman <71534.332@CompuServe.COM>
said:
>> I am performing some research and am interested in hearing from anyone
>> with an interesting theory of why Internet access is so slow?
>> For instance,
>> Is it the data com backbone, the protocol, the routers, the
>> Servers, or the browsers?
> Pac*Bell has reported serious problems with their ATM switch at their
> California NAP. For full details of what's going on and how they hope
> to fix it, read
> http://www.pacbell.com/products/business/fastrak/networking/nap/nap2-6.html
> My understanding is that Pac*Bell is the only NAP operator using ATM
> at this time.
Pat:
The data on the Kentrox ADSU bugs is almost a year out of date. The problems
listed were fixed quite awhile ago.
TM David Read (dave@kentrox.com)
ADC|Kentrox Portland, Oregon, USA
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 11:08:03 GMT
From: azur@netcom.com (Steve Schear)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Mark Friedman <71534.332@CompuServe.COM>, wrote:
> I am performing some research and am interested in hearing from anyone
> with an interesting theory of why Internet access is so slow?
> For instance,
> Is it the data com backbone, the protocol, the routers, the
> Servers, or the browsers?
Most people who complain of slow Internet access do so when using Web
browsers, since its now the most widespread real-time Web use. A great
article on this topic was in the May Boardwatch Magazine, "Bandwidth
Arithmetic," pg. 8 (http://www.boardwatch.com). The conclusion of the
article is that though some backbone bottlenecks are an overrated source of
delays and that much or most are due to inadequate Web server resources
(bandwidth and/or server performance).
If Internet voice does indeed take off as predicted it will have a
major impact on the ISPs and backbone traffic and, if not delt with
expedituously, could create other bottlenecks.
Steve Schear | Internet: azur@netcom.com
Lamarr Labs | Voice: 1-702-658-2654
7075 West Gowan Road | Fax: 1-702-658-2673
Suite 2148 |
Las Vegas, NV 89129 |
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 15:03:11 -0400
From: cseelig@tiac.net (Charlie Seelig)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Mark Friedman <markf@demandtech.com> wrote on 21 Aug 1996:
> I am performing some research and am interested in hearing from anyone
> with an interesting theory of why Internet access is so slow?
> For instance,
> Is it the data com backbone, the protocol, the routers, the
> Servers, or the browsers?
There is a good article on the subject entitled "Web Brownout" by Simson
Garfinkel in the September 1996 of Wired.
Charlie Seelig
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 14:08:18 -0500
From: Andrew C. Green <acg@dlogics.com>
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: [...]
> We see the same thing on the streets in every large city. Thirty to
> forty years ago traffic on the road and highways was not nearly as
> heavy as it is now. Other than 'rush hour' roads were relatively quiet
> all day with cars going past occassionally. Now the slow times of day
> look like 'rush hour' used to look thirty years ago on busy roads, etc.
> Prior to the construction of the interstate highway system in the 1950-
> 60's era people still traveled; they just did not travel as much or go
> as far, and it took longer to get where they did go. The net is the
> same thing all over again.
Actually, Pat, I think the (extremely overworked) Information
Superhighway analogy fits rather well in answering this question: it's
not the backbone that's slow and it's not the interstate highways that
are slow; it's all the congestion involved in getting in/on and off
again that wastes time.
My ISP may have a grand T1 connection to the Internet but I may be
using my ISP account with a 33mhz 486 and a 14.4 modem. One step up
the line from me, my ISP may actually have a bank of modems faster
than my own, but be laboring under the load of a huge number of
customers all trying to make use of the great deal they got on their
new accounts when the ISP decided on the latest cut-rate new-subscriber
offer to advertise. Somewhere up the line from there, the backbone of
the Internet is happily pushing stuff around at the speed of light,
while data arriving at its destinations backs up on the exit ramps.
> And although I am not trying to be particularly protective of the 'jerks
> who send out thousands of pieces of mail trying to sell something' there
> *are* a lot of people using the net who are as equally sincere in their
> efforts as you and I. I honestly do not think many of the people who do
> junkmail and spam realize they are considered offensive. PAT]
Well, I think they do, but they rationalize it by thinking that if only
3% of the recipients are complaining, then they can't be doing anything
wrong. And those who get their accounts yanked shortly thereafter are
probably embarrassed enough; they're not likely to go publicizing their
fate in some effort to ward off the next round of suckers ready to buy
Floodgate, Lightning Bolt, Spewmaster, Barfomatic or whatever the next
overpriced perl package will be labeled. (Side note: How interesting
that the product being advertised via junk email is almost invariably
the junk emailing package itself.)
And on a local level, yes, the jerks can have a slowing effect on both
their system and the target systems. The recipients must store, download
and wade through the junk, and the jerk's host must cope with the angry
responses sent in reply. Through all this, the Internet backbone goes on
its merry way, cheerfully pushing TELECOM Digest, Floodgate and Make
Money Fast all over the world.
Andrew C. Green (312) 266-4431
Datalogics, Inc.
441 W. Huron Internet: acg@dlogics.com
Chicago, IL 60610-3498 FAX: (312) 266-4473
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Query: Ummm ... do I hear my name being taken
in vain? PAT]
------------------------------
From: wollman@halloran-eldar.lcs.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: 26 Aug 1996 11:41:33 GMT
Organization: MIT Laboratory for Computer Science
In article <telecom16.428.4@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Mark Friedman
<71534.332@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
> I am performing some research and am interested in hearing from anyone
> with an interesting theory of why Internet access is so slow?
[I deduce from the rest of the question that you really mean "World
Wide Web browsing is so slow". "Internet access" in general is
pretty speedy.]
> Is it the data com backbone, the protocol, the routers, the
> Servers, or the browsers?
All of the above, plus one you didn't mention which is more important
than all the rest: the poorly-designed content. Let's take each of
these in turn:
1) The backbone. The principal problem is that there isn't one;
rather, there are a fairly large number of competing providers of
long-haul IP service, which have engineered their networks with
varying degrees of success. Which network or networks you use depends
on a large number of factors, including who your local provider is,
who the other end's local provider is, where you (and they) are
located, and what bilateral agreements exist between various providers
and long-haul carriers. One of the principal problems in this area is
that many of the attachment points -- where multiple providers exchange
traffic -- are underengineered.
2) The protocol. The primary protocol of the World Wide Web, HTTP,
runs over the primary protocol of the Internet generally, TCP. In
order for standard TCP to work, every connection involves no fewer
than three round trips from the origin to the destination. A single
round trip can take as much as a second or two depending on how and
where each end of the connection is attached to the network. A
modified version of TCP, called Transaction TCP or T/TCP, reduces this
to two round trips, but it is not widely deployed. None of this would
have come into play if HTTP had been designed better to begin with;
work is progressing to fix HTTP so that it no longer requires a new
connection for each request, but it will be some time before this is
widely deployed.
3) The routers. Most routers in the Intenet today use a queueing
model which unfairly penalizes bursty connections. It will take a
long time for all the routers to be replaced with ones which do not
have this property.
4) The servers. A lot of Web servers are underpowered, or have
insufficiently large connections to the network. Most Web servers
these days are operated by Web service bureaus, which publish a
company's content for a fee without the company itself actually being
connected to the network; sometimes fifty or a hundred companies may
be sharing the same machine and the same net connection for their Web
service. The earliest Web server programs were not particularly
speedy.
5) The browsers. Netscape Navigator attempts to grab more than its
fair share of bandwidth by opening multiple simultaneous connections
to the same server, to the detriment of other users. Thankfully, some
server operators have recognized this problem and are refusing to
allow their servers to be taken advantage of in this way.
6) The content. A lot of Web pages are designed by idiots who flunked
out of graphic design school and think that they are qualified to sell
their lack of skill for $50 a pop. These people are the ones who tend
to play lots of obnoxious games with color, use huge image maps when a
simple menu would suffice, use background images and noises, and
otherwise interpose themselves between the user and the content. If
your browser supports it, disabling support for all of these "features"
can make the Web experience much faster and more pleasant.
Garrett A. Wollman wollman@lcs.mit.edu
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thank you very much for mentioning your
item (6) above. I never have been really enthusiastic about the World
Wide Web, feeling that it is stealing important shared resources from
the important work on the net. I started using the web for this Digest
and the Archives only because FTP has become so damnably *slow* in so
many locations, including lcs.mit.edu. I do not know what it is about
Info-Mac but people login to do downloads from there and they sit all
day, tying up every single connection to this site. When the admin
increases the number of allowable anonymous FTP connections, then the
overall performance of this net at MIT suffers. He can allow for 25
connections or he can allow for 100 connections; no matter, five
minutes later all allowed connections are in use. The more he allows,
the slower things get for me as I sit here and type; the fewer he
allows, the more people would complain to me that they were unable
to get into the Telecom Archives. As it is right now, I just checked
'uptime' and see a load of 6.58 here on massis and I am the only
user logged in as is usually the case.
So I took Bill Pfieffer's advice and 'moved to the Web' with the
Archives although I don't really know what to think about it at this
point in time. According to him, if one is not on the Web these days,
one might as well not be on the net at all. Some people write me to
say how poorly the web page is put together, but it was all pretty
much put together on the spur of the moment one evening in July, and
I am not so much interested in a pretty web page as I am in being able
to pass a large volume of text in as short a period of time as possible.
I do not think the web page looks all that bad, and I certainly do not
want to fall into the trap of lots of pictures and sounds. That just
isn't my thing, and the pages like that I have seen do seem to take a
very long time to load. I just don't know what I am going to do with
the Telecom web page at this point in time. PAT]
------------------------------
From: shoppa@alph02.triumf.ca (Tim Shoppa)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: 25 Aug 1996 17:48:34 GMT
Organization: Tri-University Meson Facility
In article <telecom16.428.4@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Mark Friedman
<71534.332@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
> I am performing some research and am interested in hearing from anyone
> with an interesting theory of why Internet access is so slow?
Whad'ya mean, "slow"? I remember when I downloaded my first "Dilbert
Newsletter" over a 6 baud modem connection, filling my 1kbyte hard
disk. Fortunately, I was able to rewrite the operating system to make
room, creating a new operating system I named "Dogbert's Operating
System" (DOS for short). DOS was later adapted from its shareware
version into something commercial by a weird guy with glasses who kept
hanging around my house to meet my sister -- so you may have heard of
it already.
Tim. (shoppa@triumf.ca)
P.S. My elite status in Dogbert's New Ruling Class ("Pioneer Preference")
gives me the right to exagerrate how life was in the early days.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, I can tell you when I operated my
computer bulletin board system 'Lakeshore Modem Magazine' from 1983 to
1985 and gave the users a choice of 300 baud or 110 baud everyone thought
that allowing a choice of the 'higher speed' 300 baud was a wonderful
idea. Then when I documented a hardware modification to the Hayes Micro-
modem card (which went in a slot in Apple ][ computers) which allowed
for just a single cut on a trace and a small jumper which would allow
the modem to be 'speeded up' to 450 baud (!) my users just loved it. My
Apple ][+ was actually a 'Black Apple'; one in the production run that
Apple Computer manufactured for Bell and Howell. I had so many traces
cut on the mother board and jumpers added going to a bank of switches
on the side that no one but me could figure it out.
With Jerry Ablan I had earlier operated a BBS we called 'Think!' based
on the old IBM corporate slogan, which we operated from 1979 to 1981
or so. We did that BBS on a Radio Shack Model 1, with all of I think
about 8K of memory. My first home computer was an Ohio Scientific,
Inc. model C-1-P, with 4K of RAM which I got in 1977. It used
Microsoft BASIC as did the Apple ][+, only the Apple version of
Microsoft's BASIC and DOS was called 'Applesoft'. The OSI C-1-P came
with 4K RAM but one day the company sent out a 'software patch' and a
new chip which increased the memory to 8K and to us, that was just
like being in heaven! I still like DOS and use it now and then
although I prefer Unix stuff. The first BBS anywhere in the world
was here in Chicago you know; Randy Seuss and Ward Christianson had
"Ward and Randy's BBS" beginning sometime in 1977. PAT]
------------------------------
From: dr@ripco.com (David Richards)
Subject: Is the Internet Slow?
Organization: Ripco Internet BBS Chicago
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 22:51:34 GMT
In article <telecom16.428.4@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Mark Friedman
<71534.332@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
> I am performing some research and am interested in hearing from anyone
> with an interesting theory of why Internet access is so slow?
Perhaps you should first ask "IS Internet access slow, or is it just
localized?"
> For instance, is it the data com backbone, the protocol, the
> routers, the Servers, or the browsers?
The constantly predicted 'meltdown' of the Internet has not yet
happened. But, some providers (Netcom comes to mind) may have
localized traffic problems, and occasionally difficulties with
Nationwide connectivity providers and specific NAPs lead to local
congestion.
Your question is like asking the US Dept. of Transportation in D.C.
"Why is travel so slow?"
Some cities (providers) have major traffic jams, and there may be
construction and delays affecting some interstates, but overall the system
is very healthy.
Just because travelling from Atlanta to Chicago is slow, or because
there's high packet loss when you use a web Browser on Compuserve to
access Netscape, just means the route you're using has problems.
David Richards Ripco, since Nineteen-Eighty-Three
My opinions are my own, Public Access in Chicago
But they are available for rental Shell/SLIP/PPP/UUCP/ISDN/Leased
dr@ripco.com (312) 665-0065 !Free Usenet/E-Mail!
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As long as I mentioned my own experiences
with BBS's from fifteen years ago, I should point out that Dave Richards
and his associate Bruce Esquivel are no spring chickens either. Their
system Ripco has been running now since 1983, although like all of us
back then it was a single server, one caller at a time BBS; nothing
like the fine ISP operation they have today on the north side of Chicago.
Everything is relative I guess; indeed, is the Internet 'slow'? PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 09:57:23 EDT
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Subject: Internet Overload
An article in the {Chicago Sun-Times} for Sunday, August 25 discusses in
some detail (a full page article) the topic of the huge volume of traffic
on the net and the belief of many that sometime during 1997 the net will
begin to experience 'a series of brownouts' in which portions of the
network fail for a short period of time.
Beth Gaston of the National Science Foundation which helped develop the
Internet backbone (NSFNET) is quoted discussing plans for a so-called
'Very High Speed Backbone Network Service'. Various other network adminis-
trators are quoted in the article as well. You may wish to review the
article in detail at http://www.suntimes.com.
PAT
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
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The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
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** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is:
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
a note to tel-archives@mirror.lcs.mit.edu to receive a help
file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of
the help file for the Telecom Archives.
*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #438
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon Aug 26 15:28:10 1996
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Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 15:28:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
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To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #439
TELECOM Digest Mon, 26 Aug 96 15:28:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 439
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript (Howard Pierpont)
Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript (Jerry Mahone)
Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript (Hudson Leighton)
Re: Atlanta 911 ... Transcript [Jewell's Involvement] (Dave Keeny)
Atlanta Bombing: 9-1-1 Bashing (Greg Abbott)
CCS7-E911 Information From FCC/NRC (egy@look.ca)
Re: Microwave Rural Phone System? (Scott Nelson)
Re: Rural Internet Access (Dave Hughes)
Re: Rural Internet Access (Peter Morgan)
Re: Is the Internet Slow? (Steven Lichter)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Howard Pierpont <howard.pierpont@hlo.mts.dec.com>
Subject: Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 13:52:19 -0400
Organization: ISS, Digital Semiconductor
Working with the Fire Department as a Police Officer [supplement to
the SP in a town that doesn't have a standing police force], I have
observed the following.
Dispatch: report of an automobile acvcident near the bridge on Rock Ave.
We head out and can't find anything on the west end. FD: Where did the
call originate? Dispatch: 7 Rock Ave.
BTW -- This is the far east end of Rock Ave.
We head to the location and look for the caller to try and determine
where the problem really is. Often we do find the caller who is able
to give better/more complete info.
If we can't find anyone at the 911 ID location we will then fan out to
try and find the incident.
My point was that if the Dispatch had moved some forces to the
location of the phone, I bet someone would have known where Centennial
Park was without needing an physical address.
Howard Pierpont
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: One thing that plagued the Chicago Fire
Department under the old system used here for a half-century of calls
to their dispatch number (FIre-7-1313) was the large number of 'sound-
alike' addresses in the city. Person would call the Fire Department
hysterically and say 'there is a fire at 1234 Damen Avenue' (most
likely their own house) then disconnect in order to run off to safety.
Before the dispatcher could inquire "do you mean 1234 *North* Damen
Avenue or 1234 *South* Damen Avenue?", the party would be off the line.
Of course this meant that two companies had to respond; one to each
address several miles apart. One got a good call; the other had a
false alarm. Or if it was a malicious prank call to start with, then
both companies had a false alarm. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Jerry Mahone <jerry.mahone@sciatl.com>
Subject: Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 10:06:08 -0400
Organization: Scientific Atlanta
[ 911 transcript snipped ]
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That situation in Atlanta was certainly
> a tragedy which was no doubt compounded by the confusion expressed by
> police dispatchers shown above.
> One victim of the explosion is Mr. Jewell, the security officer who
> was involved. As everyone knows by now -- I trust -- he was completely
> innocent of any complicity in the affair, yet the FBI saw fit to put
> him through an incredible smear job -- a common FBI tactic -- in order
> to find him guilty in the eyes of the public. PAT]
What the TELECOM Digest Editor doesn't note is that the device was
discovered *independently* from the 911 call; that is, the bomb was
discovered without knowledge of the information in the 911 call. The
lag was about ten minutes from the 911 call to the time the bomb was
discovered, apparently.
Furthermore, as I understand it, it is standard procedure to
investigate the "first discoverer" of such a device. Often, that
person is the one responsible for the planting of the device. In this
case, their (the FBI's) investigation of Jewell was leaked and/or
discovered by the local paper (the Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
Again, because such an investigation is SOP, it wasn't too hard to
speculate he would be investigated. The *press* is responsible for
spreading his background around so widely (previous jobs, previous
discipline problems, etc.).
Finally, I don't know whether or not Jewell is culpable for this
crime, but it has not yet been proven one way or the other. The
evidence that is currently made public suggests he did not do it. My
guess is that if the FBI determines he is innocent, they will make a
statement to that effect. They did this with the Jordanian who was
initially suspected in the Oklahoma City bombing; remember how whipped
up everyone was in believing it was a Middle-Easterner who was
responsible? Once again, the media put this suspect's image on the
covers of the newsweeklies and daily papers and evening broadcasts
... only to find they were wrong. The FBI issued a statement clearing
that man's name. In this case, they will likely do the same thing,
but only when they are satisfied he is totally innocent.
Note: I'm not defending the FBI or bashing the media in general,
but in this case I believe the FBI has to be thorough, and the media
should show more restraint.
Just my .02.
Jerry Mahone
Email: jerry.mahone@sciatl.com
WWW: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/1534
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thus far the FBI has done nothing to
undo the damage they caused to Jewell's reputation, nor would I
expect to hear anything from them anytime soon. Standard Operating
Procedure by many law enforcement agencies seems to be to get the
'court of public opinion' involved early on, as they did for example
with the one they allege to be Unabomber -- who they still have not
put on trial. That way even if the facts in the case get in the way
or the courts refuse to allow the police to massacre the constitution
in the process, at least the person singled out still gets punished;
and to many involved in law enforcement, that is what is important.
You also point out that 'the first discoverer' is often times put
through a lot of hassles and grief, and that should serve as a good
lesson: when you see others break the law or you see something that
seems remiss, **do yourself a favor and walk the other way**. Get
involved at your own risk, especially if what you would reveal is
likely to be an embarassment to the 'system'. We see this time and
time again when, for example someone trying to be helpful points out
holes in computer security -- especially in corporate environments --
and the response is that since the messenger embarassed the authorities
the best way to deal with it is by killing the messenger or completely
discrediting him at the very least. So Mr. Jewell, the little hired-cop
embarassed the big guys; that will never, never do! He'll know better
next time, I bet. PAT]
------------------------------
From: hudsonl@skypoint.com (Hudson Leighton)
Subject: Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 10:25:35 -0500
Organization: SkyPoint Communications, Inc.
In article <telecom16.432.7@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, James E Bellaire
<bellaire@tk.com> wrote:
> The other half of the problem was a system that would not serve the
> users. Their system continually refused to take Centennial Park as an
> address, therefore *no one* could be dispatched because the computer
> would not pass data.
> Evidently the phone at the Days Inn was in the database, so police
> could have known where the call was coming from immediately, but the
> dispatch was held up by a lack of a street address for the target.
> I wonder if someone claimed to have seen 'an accident on Route 13
> about a mile east of town' if that could have been entered, without a
> dispatcher being required to find an address for something one mile
> east of town.
This is getting to be a problem, people call 911 on their cellphone, but
have no idea as to where they are.
"I am up the big tree in the woods that the BIG bear is trying to climb"
I have called 911 on my cellphone from my car, and it can be a problem
giving the operator a location that they will accept. In town is not bad
Eastbound I94 at Stinson usually works, but westbound MN 5 at mile 57
doesn't. They will not accept a readout from my GPS :-(.
I have heard some talk about passing the cell location on to the 911
system, but I don't think that can be a complete solution, because the
area of a rural cell can be very large.
------------------------------
From: Dave Keeny <keenyd@ttc.com>
Subject: Re: Atlanta 911 ... Transcript [Jewell's Involvement]
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 16:31:42 +0500
Organization: Telecommunications Techniques Corporation
Reply-To: keenyd@ttc.com
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That situation in Atlanta was certainly
> a tragedy which was no doubt compounded by the confusion expressed by
> police dispatchers shown above.
> One victim of the explosion is Mr. Jewell, the security officer who
> was involved. As everyone knows by now -- I trust -- he was completely
> innocent of any complicity in the affair, yet the FBI saw fit to put
> him through an incredible smear job -- a common FBI tactic -- in order
> to find him guilty in the eyes of the public.
Pat,
I realize this is off-topic, but I'm glad to hear that someone is as
disgusted as I am with the "incredible smear job", as you put it, on
Jewell. When I first heard the stories about Jewell's desire to be a
cop, and his eagerness to be interviewed, etc., I thought it was a
good idea to look into his potential involvement. But, within 24 hours
he became the Olympic Bomber. Network news reporters were interviewing
Atlantans, asking how it felt to find out that the bomber was (er, I
mean, may be) one of their own. Not once did I hear law enforcement
tell the media to stop flogging the man when there was no material
evidence of guilt -- just circumstantial evidence which was only strong
enough to raise suspicions, no more. The few times I heard the press
remind us about the presumption of innocence was after they had spent
minutes, or paragraphs, building a scaffold and practically walking
Jewell up the 13 steps.
It was clear from the outset that if Jewell turned out not to be
guilty, his life could nonetheless be ruined, especially if the
guilty party is never found. I wouldn't want anything other than
a free press, but if Jewell has actually been let off the hook by law
enforcement, I believe the media should have the decency to cover
his innocence as a top story just as they covered speculations on
his guilt as a top story.
Sorry to unload here, but this has been under my skin for some time
and your comment opened the door for my tirade. I feel better now.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Jewell was not 'let off the hook by
law enforcement'. It was law enforcement who fed all the junk stories
about him to the media, knowing the media would gobble it all up.
That way, even if a court won't convict him -- and they gave up early
on going in that direction -- at least the public will convict him.
Ruin someone's life one way or the other; that's the basic idea. It
would be better to get the guy convicted in court and have him in a
prison somewhere, but you know how liberal all the judges are these
days; at least fix things so some punishment gets administered, even
if it is by the public. If you think I am starting to have a 'them
versus the rest of us' mentality where law enforcement in the USA is
concerned, you may be right. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 15:49:53 GMT
From: Greg Abbott <gabbott@uiuc.edu>
Subject: Atlanta Bombing: 9-1-1 Bashing
Pat, I have been reading the numerous replies to your post of the 9-1-1
transcripts from the tragedy in Atlanta.
I must put on my professional cap here and stick up for the operators
working during this event. The operators were working with a dispatch
system which seems very rigid with addressing requirements. The one
we operate with is not unlike that, however, we do have the ability to
force a location if the dispatch system does not recognize it. This
happens most often when new businesses have opened which we may not
have been notified about or have not gotten put into the system yet.
We can certainly dispatch emergency assistance without an address,
assuming that WE know where the call is. Often in these situations,
we will have to press the caller for more specific information on what
street they are on, what the nearest cross street is, other businesses/
landmarks in the vicinity, etc.
When I was still a 9-1-1 Operator (or Telecommunicator), I *n*e*v*e*r
hung up with a caller until I was certain that I could direct the
emergency responders to the location in question. Now that we have
Enhanced 9-1-1, something I implemented so I have never really gotten
to work with it, a substantial amount of the confusion has been
eliminated. However, everyone should remember that the data in the
E9-1-1 database is only as good as the telephone company records.
Which brings me to my second point.
The failure of the system to provide a location for the coin phones is
not the fault of the 9-1-1 center. The 9-1-1 center did not install
those coin phones out there on the street. The telephone company did.
The telephone company should have carried through and made sure the
database was updated to reflect these coin phones, temporary or not.
The lack of data CAN NOT be blamed on the 9-1-1 center.
As for the operators attitude during the numerous calls, it sounds to
me (and I've heard all the tapes) like they were trying to get help on
the way. Things sound like they could have gone better, but how many
bomb threat calls (and other emergency calls for that matter) didn't
we hear about which went into the system just right and emergency
responders were sent and on the scene within minutes and everything
was wonderful? We didn't hear about those, did we? It's unfortunate
that this one incident ended up like it did, but the 9-1-1 operators
did everything they could, given the circumstances. If they were
indeed getting dozens of bomb threats per day, maybe there should have
been some better procedures set up.
What I mean specifically is that the police department/FBI/(whatever
law enforcement agency you want to insert here) should have provided a
single point of contact at their main command post for the immediate
relay of all calls of bomb threats. I think we often lose sight of the
fact that 9-1-1 is really just a fancy answering service. We take the
calls and dispatch them following directions given to us by the public
safety agencies. We simply follow directions. I'm not saying that
things don't go wrong sometimes, but after all, the 9-1-1 operators
are human too. No matter how hard we try, we can not be superhuman
like everyone thinks we should be. There is not a single profession
which has not made mistakes, Doctors, Lawyers, Scientists, Fast Food
Clerks, Police Officers, Fire fighters, Paramedics and 9-1-1 Operators
... we're all human, we all have a chosen profession which I hope we
give our all to, but every now and then things don't go right and
sometimes, this can cause tragedy.
There are very few people who read this Digest regularly who are
qualified in the least to criticize the operators for laughing or
seemingly making light of the situation. I have seen some very
competent 9-1-1 operators who laugh when they get so frustrated
because a computer won't let them enter a call or the radio won't work
so they can dispatch it or the police officers won't shut up long
enough for you to get a word in edge-wise for something much more
important than what they are yapping about. It's a laugh instead of a
scream. This is a very difficult and stress filled job. NO ONE is
qualified to criticize these dedicated professionals unless you have
sat in that seat on a busy shift and felt what they feel.
The only job with a greater stress level is air traffic controllers,
and even they joke around during life threatening emergencies
(example, the Souix City United Airlines crash a few years ago...).
Look in the emergency room at your local hospital, the nurses keep
their sanity by joking around, it's the same with any emergency
profession, be it police, fire, EMS or 9-1-1. People who have never
performed any services like this don't have a clue what it's like to
work with tragedy 8,12,16 or 24 hours a day and try to maintain your
sanity. We're not making light of the situations by any means, we
realize that people are going through crises, but we have to maintain
our own sanity ... like I said, we're only human.
The 9-1-1 operators throughout the nation are the unsung heros of
public safety. We process millions of calls each day in thousands of
9-1-1 centers. Very few of these calls are improperly handled -
probably far less than any other profession could claim. The next time
you meet a 9-1-1 operator of if you do have a need to call 9-1-1 with
an emergency, take the time follow up later and tell the operator
thank you. It is rare indeed for anyone to call and thank us for our
part in the emergency response. In my 12 years behind the telephone,
only once did I have anyone call and thank me.
How many hours did I spend on the phone with frightened children
because Daddy was beating Mommy? How many times did I reassure an
elderly resident that help was on the way to check on the suspicious
person knocking at their door at 3AM? How many people did I convince
that killing themselves was not the answer and that I could get them
help? How many times have I woken up at night in a cold sweat because
eight years ago (before we had 9-1-1) I couldn't get a caller to tell
me where or who he was and he killed himself by putting a gun to his
head and pulling the trigger while talking to me on the phone? I'm
only human too.
So you may want to consider giving 'em a break and let them vent in
any way necessary (as long as it's not in front of those in crisis)
... laughter, crying, screaming, whatever, as long as the job is
getting done... which it is at this very moment in 9-1-1 centers
throughout this great nation of ours.
Well, that's my .02 cents worth.
GREG ABBOTT 99999 11 11 http://www.uiuc.edu/ph/www/gabbott
9-1-1 COORDINATOR 9 9 1 1
KB9NBH 99999 == 1 == 1 INTERNET: GABBOTT@uiuc.edu
9 1 1 COMPUSERVE: 76046,3107
METCAD 9 1 1 VOICE: 217/333-4348
1905 E. MAIN ST. 9 111 111 FAX: 217/384-7003
URBANA, IL 61801 PAGER: 800/222-6651 PIN #9541
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 12:27:48 -0400
From: Egy@look.ca
Subject: CCS7-E911 Information From FCC/NRC
The FCC/NRC has dealt with the value of CCS7 and E911. The use of CCS7
routing and network infrastructure to provide Networked 911 (N911) is
here.
Network elements:
E911-SCP (using AIN/IN)
SSP (using AIN/IN)
E911-CCS7 (Mediation device for TCAP)
The information gathered reveal a lack of ideas "not technology" on
how to provide a Reliable Networked 911 (N911) Service.
The biggest issues found by the FCC/NRC where:
1. Network Reliability:
a. Switches ............(resolved)
b. ALI data base...........(resolved)
c. Special E911 facilities...........(resolved)
2. Support for Mobile and PCS...........(resolved)
I will share this information if interested persons post questions.
------------------------------
Date: 26 Aug 96 10:49:46 EDT
From: Scott Nelson <73773.2220@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Re: Microwave Rural Phone System?
On 8/16/96, Dave Perrussel <diamond@viper.nauticom.net> wrote:
> I work for a company that has a field station in the middle of
> the New Mexico desert.
<SNIP>
> Is there a commercially available product that will do a high
> bandwidth (say 14,400 baud or 28,800 baud) using point to
> point microwave that is reasonabally priced?
Try Carlson Communications, and inquire about their Optiphone. It is
a VHF/UHF device that I beleive you can license privately that will
give you "toll quality" voice and data communications over the
distance you are talking about. At one time, I knew that their
product was strictly analog (as is a POTS line); however, they may
have a digital version which will go above 28.8 kb/s. Not sure about
that, but ask and let us know.
Sorry, but I can't find their phone or address in my files. I know
that their listed in {Telephony Magazine's} buyers guide. I thought I
even had Jim Carlson's e-mail address somewhere around here ... nutz!
Scott Nelson
------------------------------
From: dave@oldcolo.com
Subject: Re: Rural Internet Access
Date: 26 Aug 1996 15:58:10 GMT
Organization: occ
Reply-To: dave@oldcolo.com
In <telecom16.407.11@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, bsharp@cris.com (Brian
M. Sharp) writes:
> Is there any way people living outside a metropolitan area can get
> internet access without having to pay per hour? With all the interest
> in the internet, isn't there some service that can see the huge number
> of people in this uncomfortable position?
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Some small towns have an ISP or two
> in the community. Bill Pfieffer has told me for example that where
> he lives, there are two or three ISPs including a Free Net in the
> nearby (also relatively small) town of Springfield, Missouri. I think
> it is just a matter of time until small towns everywhere are included
> in the net. Maybe we need someone like Andrew Carnagie, the steel mill
> baron of the 19th century who went around to small towns all over the
> United States building public libraries, to do the same now with
> Free Nets. A century later, there are still a large number of 'Carnagie
> Library' facilities all over the country; for the most part still
> using the endowments established for them by Andrew Carnagie.
> I guess you could say this is my million dollar dream: to see libraries
> throughout the USA connected to the internet; and to see Free Nets
> in small towns everywhere. Today the great promise is that thing
> sitting in front of your face as you read this message. Where are the
> Carnagies and the Rockefellers to do today for America what those men
> did a century ago? Where are they to join Bill Gates?
You don't need Carnegies or Bill Gates to get rural communities -
including all 15,000 US public libraries (1) connected to the net (2)
operating a 'free net.' They can do it themselves, right now, for
(relatively) peanuts of cost. What you *do* have to do is be sure the
less-than-generous CEO's of RBOCs, LDCs, and cablecos don't act -- at
the Washington, DC level to *prevent* small towns, neighborhoods,
rural communities from connecting up with no-licence (or licenced but
no comm cost) digital wireless.
As the Principal Investigator of the National Science Foundation Wireless
Field Test for Education Project, I have been evaluating, as well as our
project installing and testing, a wide range (from 5Mbs wireless lans to
2Mbs 25 mile point to point spread spectrum, no licence (FCC Part 15)
digital radios. Connecting up, for example, a middle school in Monte
Vista, Colorado to the closest commercial POP in another city - Alamosa,
17 miles away, at 115KBS, using radios that cost $1,250 retail, with
maybe $250 antenna costs. And extending, by relay techniques, that
link to yet another town 22 miles from Alamosa. And working on reaching
the smallest town we are working with - San Luis (850 pop) - that is
about 35 miles away.
We are about to link the wireless link to the small school, (300 or so
students) with more bandwidth than they can yet us, via a small state
technology grant ($26,000) no-cost wirelessly to five public access sites
in the community at the Parish, at the Cultural Center (museum/library),
town government, businesses via the artists of the town, and the
county seat. Together with training for 100% of all local citizens,
and effectively zero-per-hour costs for access to the net for the
citizens, while the school district pays the commercial $300 a month
POP cost (which means, via school taxes, the citizens are paying). And
operating, at the school, the Web Site, BBS, designed in part by the
students and teachers, for outside in, and inside out access -- in
Spanish or English as your linguistic talents permit.
i.e. the combination of no-licence, high performance, reasonable range
(the last 20 miles), digital wireless, with school networking needs,
(and school districts are where people in this country live, rural or
urban) contains within it the seeds of 'community' networking,
inclusive of the need to train/educate community adults on how to use
these technologies. And libraries - both in-school ones (which in some
*very* small towns are bigger than public libraries) and community
ones, being part and parcel part of 'education' - integrated within
such networks. (Just stick a $1,000 radio in the tiny library connected
to its one PC and voila, you have public connectivity - and access to
any 'free net' across town.) Point to multi-point radios are widely
available now.
So this is a 'do it yourself' rather than 'let Carnegie do it' approach
which economically, as well as technologically is doable right now.
And since the FCC is confronted with the requirement of the '96
Telecom Act to make proposal/plans for insuring that advanced telecom
services are available to all citizens at affordable costs, with
special emphasis on schools (84,000 of em) and libraries (15,000) this
approach that we are revealing from our analysis (we are also visiting
communities which have already done it wirelessly, and evaluating
their cost benefit factors, technical reliability, and other factors
for our report.)
You can follow what we are doing, examining, by accessing
http://wireless.oldcolo.com
Dave Hughes dave@oldcolo.com
------------------------------
From: Peter Morgan <peter.morgan@zetnet.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Rural Internet Access
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 07:59:50 +0100
In message <telecom16.407.11@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Pat wrote:
> Bill Gates is to be praised for the donation he made to the Chicago
> Public Library system getting them 'online'. Now if Gates and a few
> others would just do the same thing for libraries all over the United
> States, so that even if there was no Free Net in town, people could
> at least go to their local library and participate in the net.
Well I saw the web site, but was surprised when I visited Chicago in
November last year to find there were only two public access PCs for
accessing the Internet. I was pleased there were no fees (in the UK
some libraries and "internet cafes" charge up to US$6/half hour) but
there was also no mention of Bill Gates doing anything for them ...
... Unless changes have taken places since November, in which case I'd
be interested to know what has happened at the Harold Washington
Library ... maybe the smaller libraries have better facilities per
head of population likely to visit them?
I'd like to see Free Nets across the UK, too, even our local staff
in the libraries would like to offer internet access, but funds are a
problem, everywhere :-(
Peter
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am not sure if their bureaucracy in
the Chicago Public Library has yet managed to accomplish anything with
the money Bill Gates gave them. (A million dollars, several months ago.)
Had it been me, I'd have been out shopping that afternoon and within
a few days to a week had things up and running. But you know how things
go in Chicago; for all I know they may have squandered most of the
money by now paying for some consultant or two to tell them how to
spend whatever little was left over after the consultants looted the
purse. PAT]
------------------------------
From: slichte@cello.gina.calstate.edu (Steven Lichter)
Subject: Re: Is the Internet Slow?
Date: 26 Aug 1996 09:01:44 -0700
Organization: GINA and CORE+ Services of The California State University
dr@ripco.com (David Richards) writes:
> The constantly predicted 'meltdown' of the Internet has not yet
> happened. But, some providers (Netcom comes to mind) may have
> localized traffic problems, and occasionally difficulties with
> Nationwide connectivity providers and specific NAPs lead to local
> congestion.
Sprint, which supplies off campus access for many colleges is heading for
one. There are times that you are online and the system just seems to go
to sleep. I have typed in data and it could take upwards of five minutes
to appear on screen, sometimes it takes so long that my software thinks I
have stopped using the system without hanging up and drops. I have
complained about that and modem ports that don't answer or answer
and don't reply. I can't believe they act this way. Complaining to them
or Calstate really does not good and since the Core/Gina system is going
away next year and being replaced by a system operated by Sprint no one
seems to care; sound a lot like what was happening just before PC Puruit
went away. I'm now looking for a new provider, but I don't think I'll be
able to get one for the cost of this since I pay a year what most pay
each month.
SysOp Apple Elite II and OggNet Hub (909)359-5338 2400/14.4 24 hours,
Home of GBBS/LLUCE Support for the Apple II and Macintosh computers.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
or phone at:
Post Office Box 4621
Skokie, IL USA 60076
Phone: 847-329-0571
Fax: 847-329-0572
** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is:
http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
a note to tel-archives@mirror.lcs.mit.edu to receive a help
file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of
the help file for the Telecom Archives.
*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #439
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon Aug 26 17:06:08 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id RAA18836; Mon, 26 Aug 1996 17:06:08 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 17:06:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608262106.RAA18836@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #440
TELECOM Digest Mon, 26 Aug 96 17:06:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 440
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Privatizing The Big Lie (Will Roberts)
Book Review: Dictionary of PC Hardware and Data Communications (Rob Slade)
Communications Unleashed, Oct 19-20, DC (Susan Evoy)
Nine Digit Phone Numbers (Bob Tabac)
Optus Announces Australian-First ATM Enhancement (Prabha Aithal)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 14:46:28 -0300
From: The Old Bear <oldbear@arctos.com>
Subject: Privatizing The Big Lie
Lars Poulsen <lars@anchor.RNS.COM> wrote:
> ...telephone companies complaining to the regulatory
> authority that home access to the Internet through modem dial-ins to
> a local ISP places an undue burden on the local exchange facilities,
> and the telco wants a regulatory change to put an end to this "misuse"
> which is caused by the availability of flat rate local calling ...
The continuing saga of the RBOCs war on flat rate pricing continues in
spite of the public's clear preference for unmetered telecom services.
The latest salvo appears to be a study conducted by some of the RBOCs
which purports to demonstrate that the internet access is a threat to
the public switched telephone network.
The battle lines between the telephone people and the internet people
are being drawn as sharply as the divisions between Stalin's Soviet
bloc and the NATO alliance. In fact, the RBOCs' lastest strategy seems
to be an adaptation of "the big lie" which worked so well during the
early years of the cold war in the 1950s: Find a shred of truth and
build a fantasy around it which people will believe because there is
truth at the core.
The RBOCs shred of truth is the blocking issue, which they are
confronting because conventional telephone switches were never
engineered for a large percentage of available switched circuits to be
kept open for hours and hours on end. Indeed, this use of a switched
network to provide fixed ponmt-to-point links is both costly and
inefficient. Simply put, it is just a bad use of switching
technology.
The fantasy, however, is woven from the proposed solution of
'surcharging' ISPs (or customers) on a measured rate basis. While
this may generate revenue for the RBOCs, it will do nothing for the
load on the public switched network, except insofar as it may reduce
some demand -- a fact that has been neither economically modeled nor
discussed quantitatively by the RBOCs.
The implication is that a two-cent per minute charge will reduce demand
and will provide revenue for "additional capacity" -- but there is no
demonstration that this pricing is correct, no justification for throwing
more switched voice network capacity at the problem, and no consideration
of public policy issues of whether supressing demand is in the best
interest of developing an information infrastucture in this country.
In addition, the RBOCs seem to ignore that their adopting this pricing
policy will serve only to accelerate the entry of new Local Exchange
Companies by raising prices and, hence, the profit margins which make the
market more attractive.
Lars Poulsen's proposal about spreading the load across the telco
central office switch is clever but falls within the realm of continuing
to use the public switched telephone network for a task which it does
marginally well at best. After all, modems, even 33.6kbps v.34/v.42bis
modems, are a work-around to force digital data down a network which
was engineered for analog voice.
Of course, the flip side is also true. The popular press is all
excited about internet telephony, where you take a service which is
highly efficient over the public switched network, and jam it onto the
packetized digital network -- a network which was never engineered for
basic telephony functions like signaling or for optimizing routings
which do not introduce audible delays. There is absolutely no
technological sense in this; it is purely a rate arbitrage play based
on an economic model which is in transition.
A more rational approach would be to restructure the basic local loop
between subscriber premises and the frame at the telco central office
to digital facilities (over existing phyical media) and to grab
digitized data (internet, video, home security, etc) there, at the CO
end of the local loop, BEFORE it enters the switched portion of the
network. Such digital data then would be handled on appropriate
non-switched and routed facilities, while voice telephony, digitized
between the customer premises and the central office, would be delivered
to the telco switch and continue to be handled via the more appropriate
switched network.
Consider the following:
"Jack Nadler, counsel for Information Technologies Assn. of
America (ITAA), said unbundling subloop would alleviate problem
because data traffic could avoid going through switch. Data
packets have address labels on them and don't need switches to
be directed to their destinations, he said. 'There is obviously
a need for fundamental access charge reform,' he said. 'Simply
taking the subsidy-ridden regime and dumping it on ISPs and
saying they should pay like IXCs, that is not reform'."
A major obstacle is that the RBOCs are heavily invested in a business
model which is constructed around metered pricing. To rethink that
model is inherently risky to their bread-and-butter business --
much more so than blowing smoke about access charges to delay the
inevitable, while developing new lines of business in wireless and
video dialtone, etc.
The FCC regs, which were published two weeks ago, mandate that the
established existing local exchange companies make their local loop
facilities available to new entrant LECs at cost plus a reasonable
mark-up. Note that this is the existing company's cost and not a
cost based upon what it would take to construct equivalent facilties
from scratch. This is to allow new entrant LECs to get a foot-hold in
the market. (A company called RCN has already announced its intent to
provided a service offering including voice, data, video, etc. to
customers in Boston and New York, targetting condo complexes, hospitals,
apartment buildings, and universities where digital-to-analog conversion
can be handled efficiently at a single point of entry to the customer
premesis.)
Spreading the Big Lie about ISP connections blocking telco switches
does nothing to solve the problem of meeting internet service demand.
And it takes the focus away from the subscriber loop, the so-called
last mile to the customer -- where, more likely, the most important
battles will be won and lost.
Cheers,
Will Roberts
The Old Bear
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 10:18:57 EST
From: Rob Slade <roberts@decus.ca>
Subject: Dictionary of PC Hardware and Data Communications Terms" by Shnier
BKPCHDCT.RVW 960606
"Dictionary of PC Hardware and Data Communications Terms", Mitchell Shnier,
1996, 1-56592-158-5, U$19.95/C$28.95
%A Mitchell Shnier
%C 103 Morris Street, Suite A, Sebastopol, CA 95472
%D 1996
%G 1-56592-158-5
%I O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
%O U$19.95/C$28.95 800-998-9938 707-829-0515 fax: 707-829-0104 nuts@ora.com
%P 532
%T "Dictionary of PC Hardware and Data Communications Terms"
Given the title, it is difficult to say what could *not* be included
in this book. And, given the size of other, similar dictionaries, and
the comparative length of the entries, something must be. It is,
though, very difficult to say what might be. Most of the information
and terms are here, although they might be hard to find. Hamming
code, for example, doesn't have a listing, although it is mentioned
under the entry for ECC (error correcting code). On the other hand, I
didn't find any mention of viruses at all.
The material is quite detailed, with some entries covering eight pages
or more. There is a good level of technical detail. The definitions
and explanations are reliable (although I did wonder why a fellow
Canadian had never heard of a British Naval Connector, and Kermit was
named for a Muppet calendar, not because it was "easy to work with and
fun"). The text is easy to read, and well leavened with humour, such
as the entries for RTFM and G.723.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1996 BKPCHDCT.RVW 960606. Distribution
permitted in TELECOM Digest and associated publications.
Vancouver ROBERTS@decus.ca | "My son, beware ... of the
Institute for rslade@vcn.bc.ca | making of books there is
Research into Rob.Slade@f733.n153.z1/ | no end, and much study is
User .fidonet.org | a weariness of the flesh."
Security Canada V7K 2G6 | Ecclesiastes 12:12
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 11:31:05 -0700
From: Susan Evoy <sevoy@Sunnyside.COM>
Subject: Communications Unleashed, Oct 19-20, DC
COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
presents a conference on
COMMUNICATIONS UNLEASHED
What's At Stake? Who Benefits? How To Get Involved!
OCTOBER 19-20, 1996
Georgetown University - Washington, DC
Co-sponsored by the Communication, Culture, and Technology
program of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
at Georgetown University
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19
KEYNOTE SPEAKER - RALPH NADER (invited); consumer advocate and
founder of the Center for the Study of Responsive Law; Green Party
presidential candidate
THE COMMUNICATIONS TSUNAMI - In today's world of corporate mergers
and the mega-packaging of services, what's at stake for consumers
and who will represent their views? What is the meaning of "public
interest" in the new digital environment? Panelists will examine
the ramifications and effects of the Telecommunications Act in such
critical areas as universal service, the opening of local exchanges
to competition, the provision of fair pricing rules, and the
stewardship of the dazzling array of emerging broadband services.
TOOLKITS FOR ACTIVISTS - Media giants and merger-mania dominate the
public dialogue on communications issues. How can activists at the
local, state, and national levels develop an effective voice in the
currently one-sided debate over changes in the marketplace and the
regulatory environment? How can community-based organizations use
the Internet as a tool for online organizing, enhancing public
interest campaigns and increasing the efficiency of their internal
communications?
THE INTERNET: COMMERCIALIZATION, GLOBALIZATION, AND GOVERNANCE - The
accelerating commercialization and globalization of the Internet
raises new and divisive problems of governance and control that
will profoundly affect the future of the net and all of its users.
What is the outlook in key areas like pricing schemes, access to
information and services, and Internet telephony?
INFORMATION RIGHTS - New information technologies and the policy
responses to them raise many critical issues related to information
rights on the Internet. Panelists will discuss these topics in
detail, including the Communications Decency Act and freedom of
speech online, copyright protection, and threats to privacy from
the collection of personal information online.
COMPUTERS AND ELECTIONS: RISKS, RELIABILITY, AND REFORM - There are
widespread, legitimate concerns about the accuracy, integrity, and
security of computer-generated vote totals. Panelists will explore
the technical, social, and political origins of these concerns
within the context of today's little-scrutinized election system.
They will also make recommendations for changes in the areas of
technology, election law, accountability, and oversight.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 will feature WORKSHOPS on: communications access
and the consumer; broadcasting and mass media; civic networking;
media tactics and outreach; Internet legal issues; and using the
Internet for political action. The 1996 CPSR Annual Meeting will
take place Sunday afternoon. All conference attendees are welcome.
******************************************************************
REGISTRATION --- Space is limited so register early.
Name ______________________________________________________________
Address ___________________________________________________________
City_________________________________State________Zip______________
Telephone____________________________E-mail________________________
Payment method: Check___Visa___MC___Card #___________Exp. Date_____
Early registration: through 9/19
Late registration: postmarked after 9/19
Early registration Late registration
CPSR $60______ $70______
Non member $85______ $95______
New CPSR membership ($50 value)
& registration $105______ $115______
Low income/student $25______ $35______
Saturday night buffet $25______ $30______
Additional donation to further CPSR's work ________
Total enclosed: ________
Scholarships are available. For more information contact the CPSR
national office at 415-322-3778 or cpsrannmtg@cpsr.org.
Make check payable to CPSR. Send the completed registration form
with payment to: CPSR, PO Box 717, Palo Alto, CA 94302-0717.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE CONFERENCE, CONTACT CPSR
at 415-322-3778, 703-739-9320 or cpsrannmtg@cpsr.org or
http://www.cpsr.org/home.html
****
http://www.georgetown.edu/grad/CCT
HOTEL AND TRAVEL INFORMATION
The GU Conference Center has reserved a block of guest rooms
operated by the Marriott and located in the Leavey Center on
campus. The $85 a night rate applies until September 30. For
reservations call the GU Conference Center at 202-687-3200. The
closest off-campus hotel is the Holiday Inn (202-338-4600) located
at 2101 Wisconsin Avenue NW where a block of rooms at $109 a night
has been reserved. This rate applies until September 17. Rooms are
limited so make your reservation as early as possible.
United Airlines is the official airline of the conference and is
offering a discount to attendees. For reservations call the United
Meetings Desk at 800-521-4041. The Meeting ID Code is 503ZV.
There are many restaurants and shops located in the historic
neighborhood adjoining the Georgetown campus.
The events on Saturday will take place in the Bunn InterCultural
Center (marked on the map as ICC). This building is not accessible
by car. Participants have several choices:
1- Take the blue or orange line Metro to Rosslyn and walk over the
Key Bridge to campus (probably about a 15-20 minute walk). There is
also a Georgetown blue and gray shuttle bus that runs from the
Rosslyn (and Dupont Circle) metro station to the campus.
2- Take a taxi to the main campus entrance at the corner of 37th
Street and O Streets, NW.
3- Take one of the many city buses that stops at the main campus
entrance to Georgetown, 37th and O Streets, NW.
4- Drive and park in the Campus Parking Lot #3 (accessible either off
M Street, just west of the Key Bridge, or at the end of Prospect
Street) which is free on the weekends. This is the lot with the large
P in the lower left-hand corner of the map. Participants can then walk
up the driveway and around to the ICC building. Signs will be posted
for your convenience.
************************************
Susan Evoy * Deputy Director
http://www.cpsr.org/home.html
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
P.O. Box 717 * Palo Alto * CA * 94302
Phone: (415) 322-3778 * Fax: (415) 322-4748 * Email: evoy@cpsr.org
------------------------------
From: btabac@dmr.ca (Bob Tabac)
Subject: Nine Digit Phone Numbers
Organization: Dynamic Metro Resources
Date: 26 Aug 96 17:49:37 UTC
Nine Digit Local Numbers
With the introduction of nine digit phone numbers and keeping the
existing three digit area codes we will be able to collapse many area
codes.
For example several cities already have several area-codes; by
collapsing the area codes we can have all numbers within a city within
one area code. British Telecom is already considering this for
London's 171 and 181 areacodes.
This procedure can also be used so that there is one area code per
state/(province/territories)/other countries. An area code such as
495 etc or whatever could be used for each state!
For example in Ontario:
if nine digit numbers is established
ie 416 number 555-2333
could become 41555-2333
ie 905 number 555-6777
could become 90555-6777
This new areacode (three digits) with nine digit local numbers could
collapse many numbers including the following in Ontario:
416, 905,705,613 and whatever!
This can be used on other states, and provinces also. A nine digit
system will give back area codes a truly regional look!
Such a system would last us much longer than four digit area codes.
Expanding the system can be done with no pain!!! Just use unused
numbers.
And there is no pain of changing area-codes for a very long time once
this system is established!
1+ dialing
-----------
Also 1+ calling to most people means toll; let's keep it that way! ie
do not force us to dial 1+ for local calls; many might dial a long
distance call without knowing! Using 1+ for everything would keep
companies such as AT&T, Sprint, MCI happy since they could get more
business from calls people think were local!
------------------------------
Date: 26 Aug 1996 17:41:10 +1000
From: Prabha Aithal <prabha_aithal@yes.optus.com.au>
Subject: Optus Announces Australian-First ATM Enhancement
Optus Announces $50 million Enhancement to Network
Optus Communications plans to invest $50 million in an
Australian-first ATM enhancement to its existing network. This will
provide Australians with advanced telecommunications services not
currently available through existing networks - including competitive
access to the Internet. Optus has already committed $30 million to the
project.
The new OptusNet ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) technology will
allow Optus to maximise its existing investment in a national
integrated telecommunications network. ATM is widely considered to be
the most advanced telecommunications technology available in the world
today.
Complementing the Optus' existing SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy)
network, which is already one of the most efficient in the world, the
ATM addition will allow Optus to use its existing SDH network more
efficiently by integrating voice, data and video traffic over the one
network at high speeds, and development of new applications affecting
all Australians, such as: high speed competitive Internet access and
Frame Relay, plus high speed data transfer for applications such as
very fast transmission of medical records and x-rays between doctors
and hospitals -- a situation where speed can be critical.
Five year deal signed:
Optus has signed a five year supply agreement with Newbridge Networks
Corporation for the supply of ATM and Frame Relay equipment. The
Newbridge equipment will meet Optus' current network needs, plus
provide flexible platform to support future services and products such
as high speed Internet home banking and shopping. These services would
be delivered to customer premises via fibre optic cable or via the
Optus Vision access network.
Mr Phil Jacobs, Optus Chief Operating Officer, said: "Optus will be
first to market with a commercial offering for ATM in Australia - a
development which has been long awaited by the corporate and government
market.
"Optus' new ATM backbone network is an investment which will pay
dividends in allowing Optus to maximise use of its existing network
plus offer our customers a 'pay for what you use' approach to selling
bandwidth.
"With the core SDH network Optus has, customers pay a fixed price for
a fixed level of capacity which may not be not utilised 100 per cent
of the time. This is due to the 'bursty' nature of video and data
traffic," he said.
"The ATM enhancement allows customers to buy flexible bandwidth and
only pay for what they use. ATM offers efficiencies to the carrier
too, such as, needing only one switching and transmission fabric and
one network management system.
"Other benefits of ATM are the exciting future services which the
technology can provide. The fact that we can now send huge amounts of
data around the world at very fast speeds has enormous implications
for businesses such as currency traders when information received
five minutes earlier or later can mean thousands of dollars.
"The immediate applications of ATM are for corporate and government
customers such as banks - who send large amounts of data between
offices overnight - and universities - who can use real-time
videoconferencing as a training tool; linking separate widely-spread
audiences for a comparatively low cost," Mr. Jacobs said.
Timing for ATM installation:
Verification tests of the Newbridge equipment have been completed and
Optus will deploy the ATM technology in its Sydney and Melbourne
networks from October this year. Optus' internal test network will be
deployed by this time and used for trialling with customers.
It will then be extended to Adelaide around December of this year and then
to Canberra, Brisbane and Perth in the first half of 1997.
Newbridge Networks is a world leader in designing, manufacturing and
servicing a complete family of networking products and systems in more
than 75 countries around the world.
The roll out of the Optus ATM network in Australia over five years means
that Newbridge will invest an estimated $10.7 million in the Australian
market. This has the potential for generating an additional 28 jobs in the
region.
Initial services offered by the OptusNet ATM network will be: LAN
connection (eg 10baseT, FDDI), Internet and Intranet transport, WAN
services (eg frame relay) Video (conferencing quality), fixed data
services (2 Mbit/s - 45 Mbit/s) and PBX trunks (via circuit emulation)
for voice.
For more info:
Contact Public Affairs, Optus Communications, OCS29
URL: http://redback.optus.com.au/optusnews/releases/atm260896.html
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'.
Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
or phone at:
Post Office Box 4621
Skokie, IL USA 60076
Phone: 847-329-0571
Fax: 847-329-0572
** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is:
http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
a note to tel-archives@mirror.lcs.mit.edu to receive a help
file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of
the help file for the Telecom Archives.
*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #440
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon Aug 26 22:17:08 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id WAA20449; Mon, 26 Aug 1996 22:17:08 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 22:17:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608270217.WAA20449@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #441
TELECOM Digest Mon, 26 Aug 96 22:17:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 441
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
New Mike Sandman Catalog (TELECOM Digest Editor)
New Internet Telphony Product - BETA Testers Wanted (Darryl Sladden)
Internet Mail Guide Wanted (Beth Yatchman)
Capacity and Flat Rate (Eric Florack)
Authors Wanted on Telecom Related Subjects (Gene Retske)
Voice Network Design Software (James Kenny)
I Need a CTI Consultant (John M. Elliott)
Pac*Bell: Speed Call 8 to Die (Eric Smith)
Random Network Generator (Matthew B. Doar)
BellSouth Ending Flat-Rate ISDN (John W. Warne)
Carrier Reconciliation Program Needed (Fredrick T. Cordle, Jr.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 21:26:27 EDT
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Subject: New Mike Sandman Catalog
I got a new catalog a few days ago from Mike Sandman, the fellow
who rightfully calls himself Chicago's Telecom Expert, and if you
have not seen the latest issue I'd like you to get a copy today.
This 72-page catalog includes nine very detailed technical bulletins
and a very wide variety of both usual and unusual tools, supplies
and obsure parts for telephones. Every time I get one of his catalogs
I am amazed by the incredible assortment of stuff he has for sale.
Reading his technical bulletins alone is an education in itself, but
the thousand or so (my best estimate) items he has for sale via
mail order make very interesting reading material in and of themselves.
Mike Sandman has an established record here on the net, and the
Digest readers who sent for his catalog the last time I mentioned it
here were all pleasantly surprised with it. It is not fancy at all;
just 72 pages loaded with all kinds of technical products and goodies
for people who repair and install phone systems. He has been in the
telephone business for about 25 years, as an installer, repairman
and supervisor of telecom at various firms in the Chicago area. About
six years ago he started his own business. I put up a link from my
web page to his because I am really very impressed with his operation.
If you are in the west suburbs of Chicago feel free to stop in at
his shop during regular business hours to brouse, or discuss your
requirements. He gives a thirty day money back guarentee on whatever
you get from him.
Mike Sandman
Chicago's Telecom Expert
804 Nerge Road
Roselle, IL 60172
Phone: 630-980-7710
If you are not in the area but would like to get a free copy of
the most recent catalog with no further obligation contact him
in email: mike@sandman.com <---> on the web: http://www.sandman.com
Those of you who got a copy of his catalog last time I mentioned
it need to get the latest update, and for those of you who have
not yet 'met' Mike through his catalog, you are in for a very nice
surprise. Let him know you read about him here.
Patrick Townson
------------------------------
From: Administration <info@callworks.com>
Subject: New Internet Telphony Product - BETA Testers Wanted
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 17:41:02 -0400
Organization: Call Works Inc.
Reply-To: info@callworks.com
Internet Telephone Users:
Call Works Inc. is pleased to announced the public unveiling of its new
Web site, WWW.CALLWORKS.COM.
At this Web Site you can find out about our new Telephony Access
Network, which will allow you to place calls from your current Web
Browser to any standard POTS line. This software is the worlds first
to be phone software independent and to not require any client
software.
We also have our new WebIVR system which will allow you to have access
to those sometimes annoying, sometimes helpful Inveractive Voice
Response systems (press 1 for News..., 2 for Weather ... etc.) right
from your Web browser.
This system allows one to extend the power of any IVR system to the
entire Internet and allow people from all over the world access to your
system toll free.
We are currently Beta testing these applications in order to ensure the
highest quality of software. Beta testing allow users the opportunity
to test this cutting edge applications and have direct input on the
development of this new product.
If you would like to participate as a Beta Test, please fill out the
survey below and send it to beta@callworks.com. We are currently
looking for Beta testers who are experienced users of either Internet
Phone or WebTalk and have one of these installed on their system now.
Sincerely,
Darryl Sladden
Call Works Inc.
dsladden@callworks.com
---------------------------------------------
Beta Test Registration Form
---------------------------------------------
First Name:
Last Name:
Company Name (if applicable):
Address: (work or home)
City:
Country:
Email Address:
Area Code:
Your Time Zone:
Internet Phone Product(s):
Type of Computer:
Operating System:
Processor Type/Speed:
System Memory:
Type of Internet Connection:
Modem Speed:
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 18:32:46 -0400
From: Beth Yatchman <Us002729@interramp.com>
Reply-To: us002729@interramp.com
Subject: Internet Mail Guide Wanted
I'm interested in getting a copy of this guide. I guess it is no
longer available on the web or ftp? Do you know where I can obtain a
copy?
TIA!
Beth_Yatchman@Sonesta.Com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Actually, I think what you want is located
in the Telecom Archives in the directory dealing with email questions.
Check it out and see: http://massis.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/email
or: anonymous ftp massis.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/email
It is dated, but it is the latest version I think. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 06:20:01 PDT
From: Eric_Florack@mc.xerox.com (Florack,Eric)
Subject: Capacity and Flat Rate
>> Providing that caller id to you required the telco to invest in
>> new software in every central office switch to handle the
>> feature, not a cheap thingIt also required them to invest in
>> the analog modem equipment in every central office necessary
>> to send that caller id down your phone line, again not a cheap
>> proposition. You ARE paying for much more than some access to
>> a "phantom" data packet.
>> A common sense examination of this is in order:
>> Let's assume that every CO has 10,000 customers, just to keep the
>> figure nice and round. Let's say half of them take the LEC up on
>> it's offer of CID. Lessee ... $5/mo it what was quoted here, and
>> its a nice figure. So ...
>> 5000*$5=$25000 per month or, of income, or 12*$25,000= $300,000/yr
>> on CID alone.
>> Over a quarter million on CID profits per year alone, on a
>> per-switch basis! Can you confirm that CID cost telco more than
>> that to install? If not, the initial investment is in reality
>> paid off in less than a year. That leaves aside the multiple
>> data-use issues.
> This is where the common sense starts to lead you astray. Capital
> investment is not expense. It doesn't get paid off in less than a
> year. You must earn on the investment, you must place sufficient
> earnings in depreciation to replace the investment when it is
> obsolete, and you need to earn a contribution to net revenue. The
> modems that are installed are not $140 USR Sportster modems either.
> They are industrial grade design intended for 24x7 operation for
> decades with zero downtime -- and they are much more expensive.
Fine. You're still talking about a massive amount of cash that will
easily meet those requirements.
> Speaking of the modem use issues, you say:
>> As competition comes you will have the option to move to a lower
>> cost provider. You will also find that you don't get something
>> for nothing. Much as has been found out in the long distance
>> market today, the low cost, niche competitors may provide lower
>> costs for specific things but they either don't provide 24x7 full
>>> service, they don't provide the same levels of call blockage, etc.
>> Fact is that as competition comes, Telcos are going to find that
>> they no longer have the capacity problems they once did. People
>> will be leaving in droves for cable modems to run everything ...
>> including voice traffic ... and the telcos know it ... which is
>> why Jack Brooks is not exactly considered the best friend of the
>> telco, these days.
> This is yet another case where common sense will lead one astray. You
> are speaking as if the telecommunications market is a zero sum game.
It is when the government is regulating it ... particularly the more
liberal among us who tend to view *everything* financial as a zero sum
game.
> It is not. While the telco's will certainly see some areas where they
> lose market share they will also find other areas where they will pick
> up market share. And this does not even factor in the growth
> anticipated from a competitive market.
The traditional telcos will see little if any growth, if any, until
they are able to undercut a world-acecss system, time unlimited, for
$20/mo. There are a few who are offering ISP services for that kind
of money; Frontier is one such.
> In any case, the telco's have never had a capacity "problem". They
> may run into capacity shortages but this is not a problem, it is
> an opportunity!
Funny, when they cry to the regulators, they don't seem to see it that
way.
> You should also try Internet phone sometime. While usable for some
> things it's quality and even usability is hardly ubiquituous. It will
> be quite some time before investment in sufficient data packet
> infrastructure, be it frame relay, ATM, or something different exists
> in sufficient capacity to make "droves" leaving the present
> infrastructure anything more than a pipedream.
Oh, but I have!
Ya know, we heard complaints about quality of connection back when MCI
started. Remember? Noisy connections, crosstalk, etc. Yet look where
that is today. They grew at the rate they did, despite these problems,
because of a /*slightly*/ cheaper price than the vaunted AT&T.
Now, consider, please, the reaction when you're able to call all over
the world, for $20/mo. You don't think folks are going to allow for
some problems at that price?
>> The fact is that all this complaining about modems sucking up
>> capacity is utter nonsense, on several levels. The telco would
>> be involved no matter what the traffic on the wire is, no matter
>> what format it is. Matter of fact, I suggest that capacity
>> problems would be far WORSE, if not for the modem. Modems convey
>> information far faster than voice, after all. And the information
>> would need to be transmitted in /some/ form. Or are you suggesting
>> we'd all be using the USPS?
>> Wire? You mean the local loop? Do you really think this discussion is
>> about the local loop?
Isn't that what the argument about capacity always ends up getting to?
Capacity at the LEC?
> The point of discussion is cost allocation. If a local network between
> two central offices need 100 trunks (using typical assumptions for
> voice traffic) and growth in long holding time data calls necessitates
> an increase in the number of trunks to say, 200, then why should the
> users making the long holding time data calls not pay for the
> additional infrastructure they cause to be placed? Why should the
> cost of this infrastructure be placed on those only making voice
> calls?
This is an odd argument; Wasn't so long ago we heard from the AT&T folks
that we should be subsidizing the long distance services by way of the
local bills. When it meant that the consumer was going to pay more, this
was supposedly a valid argument. Now suddenly, because the telco isn't
being allowed to raise prices, it's suddenly not a valid argument.
Hmmmm.
>> This is naught but the Telcos trying to obtain more money for
>> providing what is essentially the same service; an audio channel of
>> 300-3000cps on a point to point connection. The bitching and the
>> clamoring for additional price increases, based on what is /in/ those
>> limits; IE; the type of data being put on that audio channel, will end
>> up driving the data traffic off the telcos. It's true. data traffic
>> will leave for cheaper, less regulated pastures. Cable being only one
>> such option.
> Again, your common sense is misleading you. The discussion concerning
> modems has nothing to do with channel bandwidth but, instead, how long
> that bandwidth is tied up to a specific call and not available for
> other use.
Bandwidth is a funtion of time, no? Mind, I'm talking about bandwidth at
the switch level, which is what you're seemingly basing your billing
structure on ...
>> But what the telcos have not planned on, in my opinion, what they'll
>> be caught flat-footed by, is the amount of voice traffic that leaves
>> with it. Internet voice calls are, I think a harbinger of something
>> the telcos don't want to talk about much; the fact that the people,
>> the customers, are getting nearly as technical as the telcos ... at
>> least enough that they're able to get around technical and legal
>> roadblocks set up by people whose only interest is maintaining a
>> hammerlock on the nation's communications.
> Suffice it to say that the "data" providers in this country do not
> have the infrastructure available to handle today's voice traffic with
> the same grade of service available in today's voice network.
Again, niether did MCI and such a few years back. Yet, look at the
growth of them. Again, *price* is the issue.
> I'm sorry, but I find it hard indeed to work up any sympathy for
> telco's cries of 'foul'.
> Your common sense has lead you into developing a strawman that doesn't
> even resemble what is being discussed. This is not a cry of foul from
> the telco's. It is a recognition of a need for equitable cost allocation.
> Expecting my grandmother to pay the freight for your 24 hour long data
> call is what is foul. More and more state commissions are becoming
> aware of this and are making inquiries of the industry as to how it
> can be handled. As I pointed out before, if it were free then local
> calls would be free, toll calls would be free, there wouldn't be any
> coin phones, and no need for 800 service. That just isn't the case.
So, rate equity is what you're arguing for?
(mumble)
Tell me, Tim ... when my prices get jacked up (by nearly triple, based
on my normal use) to cover the supposed cost of my longer calls, are
your grandfather's rates going to be /lowered/, or will the extra
money simply end up in someone's pocket?
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 08:54:37 -0400
From: Gene Retske <solvox@gate.net>
Subject: Authors Wanted on Telecom Related Subjects
The International Insider is looking for authors on telecom related
subjects. We are a leading publisher of newsletters, reports and books
that focus on telecommunications topics, especially topics of interest
to resellers, startup companies, callback and other forms of
international resale and competition. In addition to a highly
effective distribution channel, we also sponsor trade shows and
conferences promoting the topics covered in the publications. First
time, as well as experienced, authors are encouraged to submit
manuscripts, abstracts, outlines or just ideas for consideration.
No investment or guarantees by authors are necessary if we agree to
publish the book, and very fair royalties are offered.
The International Insider
1861 South Patrick Drive #206
Melbourne, FL 32937
email: solvox@gate.net
tel: +1 407 779 8999
fax: +1 407 779 8339
Gene Retske | Author of "The International CallBack Book,
SOLVOX Consulting | An Insider's View"
Tel +1 407 779 8999 | Order Line 1-800-4-SOLVOX
Fax +1 407 779 8339 | http://www.darlcomm.com/callback
------------------------------
From: James Kenny <westbay@ukonline.co.uk>
Subject: Voice Network Design Software
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 19:51:22 +0100
Organization: Westbay Engineers Ltd.
Readers of this newsgroup may be interested in our company's new web
pages. We sell WESTPLAN, voice network design software and a free
demo can be downloaded. Westplan supports PSTN overflow breakeven
analysis, analogue and digital private networking, tandem switching
and VPN / SDN. There is also a white paper discussing the principles
behind and advantages of proper voice network design.
The software has proved very popular. We are proud to have a utility
company which operates one of the largest voice networks in the U.K. as
one of our customers.
Westbay Engineers Ltd. - creators of WESTPLAN, voice network
design software for Windows - Free demo available at
http://www.pncl.co.uk/westbay/ email: westbay@ukonline.co.uk
------------------------------
From: stellcom@ix.netcom.com (JOHN M ELLIOTT)
Subject: I Need a CTI Consultant
Date: 26 Aug 1996 18:45:23 GMT
Organization: Netcom
I am in need of a CTI consultant in the Los Angeles area. You must
have references, experience and knowledge, and have no financial ties
to manufacturers. Please e-mail direct. Thank you.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 15:01:51 PDT
From: Eric Smith <eric@goonsquad.spies.com>
Subject: Pac*Bell: Speed Call 8 to Die
In article <telecom16.433.4@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Robert McMillin <rlm@helen.
surfcty.com> writes:
> No doubt but this is true. Still, I like having a set of programmable
> phone numbers that work on all extensions in my house without having
> to reprogram all my phones individually when a number changes.
Ten years ago I used to have a Demon Dialer box that did that without
my having to pay the phone company a monthly fee. They were sold by
Radio Shack for a while. If you plugged it into a specially wired
jack (RJ-41X?) between the demarc and the rest of your jacks, it would
provide speed dials for all your phones, as well as automatic repeat
dialing on busy. Unfortunately I lost it in a move, and never have
found a replacement. (Note that the term "Demon Dialer" seems to have
acquired a new generic meaning sometime since then.)
Recently I had my POTS line taken out, and installed an IBM 7845 NT1
Extended on my ISDN line. This box has an integral analog terminal
adapter, so I plug all my POTS phones, answering machine, modem, and
fax into it. It does the speed dials, repeat dialing, and other nifty
features. It supports multiple directory numbers and provides
distinctive ringing, so now I need to find a distinctive ringing
switch to automatically select between the phone, modem, and fax. It
also has a built-in rechargable lead-acid battery to keep the analog
port working in power failures, since the phone company doesn't supply
power on ISDN lines.
> As a related aside: does anyone else remember Speed Call 32? If it
> existed, when did Pac*Bell terminate it?
I dunno about PacBell, but Mountain Bell (now USWest) used to offer
Speed Dial 30.
Cheers,
Eric
------------------------------
From: mdoar@nexen.com (Matthew B. Doar)
Subject: Random Network Generator
Date: 26 Aug 1996 13:01:19 GMT
Organization: Ascom Nexion, Acton Massachusetts
Reply-To: mdoar@nexen.com
Announcing a new model, algorithm and C++ code for generating random
networks. Useful for researchers who need to construct models of
networks to test routing algorithms, the code produces networks with
thousands of nodes, interconnected with redundant links as desired, in
a hierarchy of networks. The parameters of the model are
straightforward and have real-world meanings.
The C++ code (tested with g++, SunOS 4.1.4) and a paper describing the model
are available from:
ftp://ftp.nexen.com/pub/papers/tiers1.0.tar.gz (325K, includes the paper)
ftp://ftp.nexen.com/pub/papers/tiers.ps.gz (284K, just the paper, gzip)
ftp://ftp.nexen.com/pub/papers/tiers.ps (1M, just the postscript)
Gnuplot (Version 3.6), the freely-available plotting package for many
platforms can be used to view the resulting topologies. Gnuplot v3.6
can be found at ftp://cmpc1.phys.soton.ac.uk/pub and
http://www.dragonsoft.com
Matthew B. Doar Ascom Nexion, Inc.
mdoar@nexen.com [www.nexen.com] 289 Great Road,
+1 508 266 3468 Acton, MA 01720, USA
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 12:20:19 EDT
From: John W Warne <warnejw@sbac.edu>
Reply-To: John W Warne <warnejw@sbac.edu>
Subject: BellSouth Ending Flat-Rate ISDN
There is a move afoot in BellSouth to file in all States to eliminate
flat-rate ISDN service.
Filings have not yet gotten to the various Public Service/Utility
Commissions, but are, apparantly, moving in that direction.
My information is incomplete, since BellSouth employees cannot talk
about these activities, but it appears the move is associated with a
decrease in the monthly charge for service, an allocation of a number
of "free" hours each month (a different allocation for residences and
for businesses), and a per minute charge beyond the allocation.
In my opinion, this move is designed to eliminate the use of ISDN for
"nailed up" data interconnection. Some of us users have moved to this
type service to substantially reduce the costs associated with dedicated
private lines.
The purpose of my message is *not* to start debating the issue of
long call time durations on the network, but is really intended as a
"heads-up" for others in the same circumstance. This change can have a
$40,000.00 impact on our budget.
A nice wakeup call, that!
John Warne
Telecommunications Manager, School Board of Alachua County, FL.
------------------------------
From: fredrick@earthlink.net@earthlink.net (Fredrick T. Cordle, Jr.)
Subject: Carrier Reconciliation Program Needed
Date: 26 Aug 1996 17:51:55 GMT
Organization: Earthlink Network, Inc.
Reply-To: fredrick@rockwellcomm.com
I am in dire need of a DOS or Windows 3.11 program to use to compare
our Call Detail Records from our switch to the Call Detail Records
which are sent to us from our carriers.
I am not concerned about the file formats the program requires as I am
sure I can modify our formats to what is called for. What I am in
need of is a program which will point out discrepencies in our carrier
billing and also call timings and that type of thing. The routine
will have to be able to accomodate a switch CDR in E.S.T. zone times
and carrier times which are in P.S.T. or C.M.T. times. Perhaps an
offset is used for this.
If you or your organization has a program that will accomplish this
please E-Mail me or Call Fred Cordle at 954-491-9175.
P.S. Reasonable programming offers will also be considered if you feel
you could write a routine to handle this for us.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'.
Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
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** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is:
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
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*************************************************************************
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* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
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*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #441
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon Aug 26 23:11:04 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id XAA26293; Mon, 26 Aug 1996 23:11:04 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 23:11:04 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608270311.XAA26293@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #442
TELECOM Digest Mon, 26 Aug 96 23:11:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 442
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Pacific Bell, AT&T Unable to Reach Agreement On Interconnection (Mike King)
BellSouth Executive Officer J. Robert Fitzgerald to Retire (Mike King)
BellSouth Mobility DCS Continues Launch of Wireless Service (Mike King)
Mandl's Move to Tiny Start-Up Spotlights Wireless Rush (Tad Cook)
Information on Low End Voicemail System Requested (Bryan R. Montogmery)
Re: DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing in 954) (John R. Levine)
Re: DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing in 954) (Linc Madison)
Re: DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing in 954) (Carl Moore)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mike King <mk@wco.com>
Subject: Pacific Bell, AT&T Unable to Reach Agreement On Interconnection
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 21:31:45 GMT
From: sqlgate@list.pactel.com
Subject: Pacific Bell, AT&T Unable to Reach Agreement
On Interconnecting Networks
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jerry Kimata
(415) 394-3739
jerry.kimata@pactel.com
Pacific Bell, AT&T Unable to Reach Agreement On Interconnecting Networks
SAN FRANCISCO -- Pacific Bell said today it has been unable to negotiate
an agreement with AT&T to interconnect the companies' networks. AT&T is
expected to file a request early this week with the California Public
Utilities Commission for arbitration proceedings in order to reach an
agreement.
"We've been trying very hard over the past months to reach agreement on
the terms and conditions for interconnecting our networks," said Liz
Fetter, president-Industry Markets Group. "While we've made progress on
many of the issues, several significant ones remain unresolved.
"Pacific Bell has been successful reaching agreement with many of our
competitors, giving them the access they need to compete directly with
us," Fetter said. "Eleven competitive local exchange companies now can
interconnect their networks with ours. Some already are exchanging phone
traffic with us.
"We're obviously disappointed that we couldn't reach an agreement with
AT&T after all the hard work that both negotiating teams have put into
the effort," she said. "However, if the arbitration process will lead to
an equitable settlement that will give phone customers more choice,
we're anxious to make it work."
Pacific Bell has interconnect agreements with Teleport Communications
Group, Cox Communications, Metropolitan Fiber Systems, Brooks Fiber,
Continental Cablevision, Intel Communications Group, Winstar Wireless,
MCI Metro, GTE California and PacWest. Pacific Bell is negotiating under
guidelines issued by the CPUC for opening up its statewide network to
competitors certified to provide local phone service in California.
The Federal Communications Commission recently issued guidelines to
implement the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996. These included
rules under which the Regional Bell telephone companies would provide
access to their networks and facilities for competitors wishing to enter
the local phone market.
Pacific Bell is a subsidiary of Pacific Telesis Group, a diversified
telecommunications corporation based in San Francisco.
-----------
Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com
------------------------------
From: Mike King <mk@wco.com>
Subject: BellSouth Executive Officer J. Robert Fitzgerald to Retire
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 21:33:23 GMT
From: BellSouth <press@www.bellsouth.com>
Subject: BellSouth Executive Officer J. Robert Fitzgerald to Retire
J. Robert Fitzgerald, BellSouth Executive Officer, to Retire
ATLANTA _ J. Robert Fitzgerald, Vice President-Corporate Responsibility
and Compliance of BellSouth Corporation (NYSE:BLS) has announced he will
retire Sept. 30, concluding a 26-year career with the Bell system.
"There's no question that Bob Fitzgerald has made a significant and
lasting contribution to BellSouth," said Buddy Henry, BellSouth Executive
Vice President - Corporate Relations.
"By leading the Internal Audit and Security departments, and serving as
chief ombudsman for the company," continued Henry, "he's helped us prepare
for the 21st century and many of the corporate challenges that the future
is expected to present. We wish him well and understand his enthusiasm
for wanting to devote more time and energy with his family and the
nonprofit organizations he has supported for years."
Fitzgerald is chairman of both St. Joseph's Hospital board of directors
and St. Joseph's Health System in Atlanta, and is chairman of the Marist
High School board of trustees. As a member of Cathedral of Christ the
King and the Catholic Foundation of North Georgia, he plans to be an
active volunteer at Ignatius House, a Jesuit retreat center in Atlanta.
A native of Baton Rouge, La., Fitzgerald began his career with South
Central Bell as an attorney. He moved to AT&T in New York in 1976 and a
year later returned to New Orleans as South Central Bell's general
attorney for the state.
In 1980, Fitzgerald was elected Vice President - Louisiana; in 1983 he was
elected Vice President and General Counsel with Southern Bell Telephone
and Telegraph Company, now BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. In February
1993, he was elected Vice President and Associate General Counsel of
BellSouth Corporation. In July 1994, he was elected to his current
position, Vice President - Corporate Responsibility and Compliance.
BellSouth is a $17.9 billion communications services company. It provides
telecommunications, wireless communications, directory advertising and
publishing, video and information services to more than 25 million
customers in 17 countries worldwide.
NOTE: For more information about BellSouth Corporation, visit the
BellSouth Web page at http://www.bellsouth.com/
-----------------------
Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com
------------------------------
From: Mike King <mk@wco.com>
Subject: BellSouth Mobility DCS Coontinues Launch of Wireless Service
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 21:34:20 GMT
From: BellSouth <press@www.bellsouth.com>
Subject: BELLSOUTH MOBILITY DCS CONTINUES LAUNCH
OF REVOLUTIONARY WIRELESS SERVICE
Coverage of Personal Communications Services Network Increased Throughout
Southeast
RALEIGH, NC -- BellSouth Mobility DCS today launched the second phase
of its three-year, $500 million network deployment plan to bring
personal communications services (PCS) to the Carolinas and Eastern
Tennessee. PCS, which incorporates the latest digital technology and
combines voice and data communications with advanced calling features
in one portable phone, is now available to people in Raleigh/Durham,
Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, Wilmington and Fayetteville in
North Carolina; and Columbia, Florence and Myrtle Beach in South
Carolina.
These cities join Charlotte, North Carolina; Greenville-Spartanburg,
South Carolina; and the Knoxville and Tri-Cities areas in Tennessee
where BellSouth launched the digital service last month. Within the
next few weeks, users in the region will have PCS coverage in all
major metropolitan areas and along highways. Coverage throughout rural
areas will increase as deployment plans continue.
BellSouth Mobility DCS also announced that it has extended by $100
million its supply agreement with Northern Telecom (Nortel) for PCS
network equipment and services for the region. This increases the total
value of the original supply agreement, signed in June 1995, to $200
million.
"Being the first PCS provider in our markets was an important
goal for us and Nortel helped us achieve that," said Eric Ensor,
president of BellSouth Mobility DCS. "The increase in our agreement to
$200 million will allow us to continue meeting the demands of our
customers as we proceed with our aggressive rollout plan over the next two
years."
As one of only three companies in the United States offering the
latest in wireless technology, BellSouth Mobility DCS will offer PCS
to an area of more than 12 million people throughout the
Southeast. "We are excited as BellSouth Mobility DCS continues
expanding its coverage and offering the highest quality, digital
mobile communications available," said Ensor. "PCS represents a
revolution in wireless communications and we are pleased to be the
first to bring it to consumers in the Carolinas and Eastern
Tennessee."
The BellSouth Mobility DCS network offers completely digital
technology, providing customers mobile communications with better
clarity and less static than existing analog cellular systems, as well
as sophisticated encryption for more secure conversations, automatic
Caller Line ID, and built-in paging and text messaging capability.
BellSouth Mobility DCS' three service plans -- Personal, Performance
and Power -- are designed to meet the needs of all customers, from
first-time users to more seasoned, frequent users. All three plans
include Caller Line ID, built-in numeric paging, voice mail, Call
Waiting, Call Hold and Call Forwarding at no additional charge. Each
of the packages will be priced and marketed regionally to offer the
best value for the customer.
One of the hallmarks of BellSouth Mobility DCS lies in what the
company's service does not include -- such as any charge for the first
minute of all inbound calls, any roaming charges within BellSouth Mobility
DCS' three-state region, long-term contracts and peak/off-peak airtime
price differences.
"BellSouth has been providing quality communications service to
this region for more than 100 years, and now it brings the latest
innovation in wireless technology to consumers," said Ensor.
"Ultimately,consumers will select BellSout's digital service as the
premium wireless communications service because of its unparalleled
benefits -- the simplicity, value and performance. They will also
experience a service that is backed by the expertise and excellence that
many have come to expect from BellSouth."
BellSouth Mobility DCS is offering a number of different portable
phones that work with the new service ranging in price from $145 to $200
depending on the model and styling. Consumers can purchase the new service
and handsets at a variety of retail locations, including large national
retailers; by calling BellSouth's consumer and small business local sales
offices; by visiting BellSouth Mobility DCS' own stores; and from a
number of independent telephone company partners.
BellSouth Mobility DCS is a subsidiary of BellSouth Corporation, the
world's wireless leader. The company is developing its digital
communications network in the Carolinas with partners DukeNet, a
subsidiary of Duke Power; CaroNet, a subsidiary of Carolina Power &
Light; and 30 independent telephone companies.
BellSouth Corporation is a $17.9 billion communications company
providing telecommunications, wireless communications, directory
advertising and publishing, and information services to more than 25
million customers in 17 countries worldwide.
Note: For more information, visit the BellSouth Mobility DCS Web Site at:
http://www.bellsouthdcs.com
For More Information Contact:
Kristie Madara --
404/841-2074
Pager - 1-800-835-6312
Andy Hagedon -- 404/870-3829
----------------------
Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Mandl's Move to Tiny Start-Up Spotlights Wireless Rush
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 11:41:19 PDT
Mandl's Move to Tiny Start-Up Spotlights Wireless Rush Via AP
By GAUTAM NAIK
The Wall Street Journal
Alex Mandl's move from AT&T Corp. to a tiny wireless start-up may make
him a rich man. But the technology he hopes to ride is largely
unproved, and the company could face competition from scores of other
rivals who hope to offer similar services.
Mr. Mandl's new company, Associated Communications LLC of Washington,
D.C., wants to use a rarefied slice of radio spectrum -- one typically
used by the military to control the accuracy of "smart bombs" -- for a
far more mundane purpose: to sell local phone service and Internet
access to business customers. The plan is to bounce radio signals via
an intricate array of rooftop transmitters and antennas.
The space that Associated wants to use is located in the upper regions
of the spectrum, at the 18 gigahertz range. There, radio signals
travel short distances and are easily blocked by rain, snow or
buildings. For years, some of the nation's savviest phone carriers saw
little commercial value in it. Even the Federal Communications
Commission handed the high-frequency licenses at no cost to the
handful of interested applicants -- an irony, considering the $20
billion the FCC recently netted from its auction of other wireless
licenses.
Now, suddenly, the backwater radio spectrum has gone from being
ignored and undervalued to a hotly pursued commodity. In addition to
Mr. Mandl's stunning defection, a raft of entrepreneurs and carriers
-- including AT&T and several Bell companies -- have filed a total of
700 applications to receive similar free licenses in the upper band
from the FCC. The agency, perhaps smelling another money-raising
opportunity, has frozen the application process. It may now auction
the licenses early next year.
"We're seeing an incredible renewed demand that reaffirms the value of
spectrum," one FCC official said.
What happened?
For one thing, new telecommunications rules make it much easier for
companies to compete in the local-phone market against century-old
Bell monopolies. Various wireless technologies -- transmitters,
electronics and antenna design -- also have improved in recent years,
making it technically easier to operate in the "nosebleed" section of
the radio spectrum. At the same time, lower regions now dominated by
cellular-phone and other wireless operators are becoming crowded and
the price of radio spectrum has become markedly steep. Taken together,
these changes have triggered the wireless equivalent of a land rush.
Winstar Communications Inc. was one of the first companies to seize
the opportunity. For the past few years, it has been applying for --
and receiving -- free licenses to operate in the 38 gigahertz region,
which is considerably higher even than the region of 18-gigahertz
where Associated holds its licenses.
Winstar is gearing up for a bold attack in dozens of the nation's
largest markets. It plans to begin offering in October local-phone
service to business customers in the New York area, trying to woo them
away from Nynex Corp., the regional Bell. Winstar plans to expand its
reach to 28 markets by year-end, and to 42 markets by Dec. 31, 1997.
"When we started (accumulating licenses) in 1994, no one was really
interested. We now have imitators," says William Rouhana, Jr.,
Winstar's chairman and chief executive officer.
But it won't be easy. A host of companies have plans to enter the
wireless market in a big way, and like Associated and Winstar, many
are taking aim at the rich $90 billion market for local-phone service
as well. In addition to cellular service, the new offerings include
digital "personal communications services," fiber-optic technologies
and even satellite systems planned by Motorola Inc. and several other
players.
Another obstacle is making the technology work. Services in the upper
reaches of the spectrum must be "fixed," which means that, unlike
cellular systems, end users can't move. For a signal to carry, it must
be zapped via radio transmitters to a dish antenna that sits atop a
customer's rooftop. It then travels along regular phone lines to the
end destination -- a desktop computer, say.
Higher-frequency transmission also requires "direct line of sight"
between transmitters and antennas -- a tough problem to crack in
high-rise downtown areas. And because signals in the higher realms are
focused more narrowly than, say, broadcast TV signals, they can't
penetrate rain or snow, let alone buildings.
"It will work, but the question is to what degree. For a percentage of
time you'll be without service in heavy rain," said Paul Baran, a
wireless-technology expert. Adds Stewart Lipoff, analyst at Arthur
D. Little: "Reliability is an issue. For businesses it doesn't seem to
be a terrific fit."
Nonetheless, Winstar and Associated point out that the technology is
already popular in Europe, where it is used by cellular carriers to
transmit cell-phone signals between transmission towers instead of
using traditional "land-line" methods. In the U.S., the growing demand
for data offerings, such as Internet access and interactive services,
may boost the prospects of the new wireless players.
"More and more, we need high-speed, high-capacity" links, Mr. Mandl
said in an analyst conference call Monday, adding that Associated had
licenses covering the nation's top 31 metropolitan areas. The higher
frequencies "open up enormous markets ... We're testing the service
now and plan to be in full commercial service in the second quarter of
1997."
Some entrants who moved in early already have benefited. Entrepreneur
Tom Domencich, the largest shareholder of a closely-held Milliwave
L.P., quietly received free licenses in the 38-gigahertz band over
several years. Milliwave has yet to sign on a single customer. But it
recently struck a deal to be acquired by Winstar Communications for
$125 million, delivering a windfall to Mr. Domencich and Dennis
Patrick, a former FCC chairman and Milliwave's co-owner.
Now Mr. Mandl hopes to strike it rich, and appears to have few qualms
in forsaking his high-profile position at AT&T and taking a gamble
with Associated Communications. "It's a one-time opportunity for me
that I couldn't say no to," he said on Monday. "It's one of those rare
times when this kind of business can be built in a short time."
------------------------------
From: monty@wizvax.net (Bryan R. Montogmery)
Subject: Information on Low End Voicemail System Requested
Date: 26 Aug 1996 19:44:50 -0400
Organization: Monty's Madhouse
Reply-To: monty@wizvax.net
Hi,
I am looking for information on a 'cheap' voicemail system. This would be
used by a fire dept. for members to pick up either individual messages or
broadcast messages.
Subsequently, I am looking for about 500+ mailboxes, setting up of
'distribution lists/groups' and remote retrieval.
There seem to be plenty of voice modems with software out there -- has
anybody tried this?
Thanks,
Bryan
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 96 13:43 EDT
From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing in 954)
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
> So, let me propose a "uniform dialing procedure":
> HNPA local: 7D
> HNPA toll: 1+NPA+7D
> FNPA local: 10D
> FNPA toll: 1+NPA+7D
Yuck. It's really convenient that here in the more enlightened part
of the country, we can dial eleven digits on any call, local, toll, or
whatever. It makes it much easier to set up dialing directories in
computers, use pay phones (I live near an NPA boundary), and otherwise
use telephones to make actual telephone calls.
As I've noted before, there's two mutually incompatible points of view
here: one group appears to live in dread of making an accidental toll
call, the other group just wants their phone calls to complete so they
can talk to the people they're trying to call. (I'll skip the issue
of whether "toll" calls cost more than "local" calls other than to
note that in a lot of places, they often don't.)
When DDD was young, I can see that making a toll call by mistake would
have been a problem, since there was a three-minute minimum and a
domestic call across the country could cost something like $1.50 back
when you could buy a reasonable lunch for that amount. But now, a
one-minute domestic toll call costs me at most 12 cents, for which I
can buy almost 1/4 of a package of M&M's. What's the big deal?
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof
------------------------------
From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison)
Subject: Re: DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing in 954)
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 19:39:41 -0700
Organization: Best Internet Communications
In article <telecom16.429.1@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, bpurcell@centuryinter.net
(Brian Purcell) wrote:
> Linc Madison <Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com> wrote:
>> As the area codes get smaller and smaller, and people become more and
>> more mobile, it becomes more and more important to have a single
>> uniform dialing procedure that is guaranteed to work anywhere in the U.S.
>> Southwestern Bell and the Texas PUC should stop dragging their feet and
>> make the change.
> Make the change? Make *what* change? A quick review of the dialing
> plans section of this year's NANP shows that there is no concensus on
> how to dial local FNPA calls. Many states use 1+10D, many use 10D,
> and lots use 7D. In addition, several use more than one as standard
> or permissive. Virginia will let you use any of the three. Just
> because California has elected to use 1+10D does not mean that this is
> the way everyone else should do it.
There is a strong consensus -- even in many places that require '1+'
for all toll calls -- that *ALL* calls should be PERMITTED to be dialed
as 1-NPA-NXX-XXXX, irrespective of area code and toll status. You still
haven't presented a counterargument. (I'll spare you the trouble -- you
can't, because none exists.)
> If you ask me, most consumers have come to believe that 1+ means
> "toll" while it seems to me that many telco people (particularly in
> this newsgroup) will say the 1+ means "the following number includes
> an area code." If that's the way it is, we should just do away with
> 1+ completely and let the system figure out if:
> a) it's 7D or 10D
> b) it's local or toll
> c) it's intra- or inter-LATA
And how exactly is the system supposed to figure out if it's 7D or 10D?
Take a look at the Los Angeles area as an example. The prefixes 213-714,
213-619, 818-805, 818-909, 213-626, 310-626, 619-626, and 909-626 are
all in use. In Chicago, you have prefixes like 312-630 and 312-847.
In New York City, you have 212-516, 718-917, and 718-201. At least some
of those will be ambiguous.
> Otherwise, what's the point of adding the 1+? Maybe we should just
> incorporate 1 into everyone's NPA (1415, 1510, 1213, etc.). That's
> pretty much what dialing 1+10D on every FNPA call (local or toll)
> means anyway.
Gee, I guess you've never heard of "0+", have you?
> IMHO, it makes sense to use 1+ only to designate *toll*
> calls, and forbidding it on local calls. That way, the consumer know
> when dialing if it's a free call or not.
And how exactly does forbidding dialing the 1 on local calls serve this
purpose? IT DOESN'T!! Any consumer who is concerned about the toll
status of a call (in areas with mandatory 1+ for toll) will simply dial
it without the '1' and see if it goes through. No problem.
That's the whole point -- forbidding dialing the '1' on local calls
serves NO LEGITIMATE PURPOSE.
Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 96 10:17:44 EDT
From: Carl Moore <cmoore@ARL.MIL>
Subject: Re: DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing in 954)
Responding to bpurcell@centuryinter.net (Brian Purcell)
> If you ask me, most consumers have come to believe that 1+ means
> "toll" while it seems to me that many telco people (particularly in
> this newsgroup) will say the 1+ means "the following number includes
> an area code." If that's the way it is, we should just do away with
> 1+ completely and let the system figure out if:
> a) it's 7D or 10D
> b) it's local or toll
> c) it's intra- or inter-LATA
I'm not a telco person, but we're no longer limited to N0X/N1X area
codes and NNX prefixes. The system here in country code 1 rarely uses
timeouts (aside from 0 by itself reaching the local operator), so it
became necessary to use "leading 1 means area code follows", whether
or not leading 1 also means toll.
> IMHO, it makes sense to use 1+ only to designate *toll*
> calls, and forbidding it on local calls.
I take it you know the arguments in favor of allowing 1 + NPA + 7D for
ANY call within +1.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #442
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Aug 27 14:17:18 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id OAA01971; Tue, 27 Aug 1996 14:17:18 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 14:17:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608271817.OAA01971@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #443
TELECOM Digest Tue, 27 Aug 96 14:17:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 443
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Democratic Convention Chats Online! Be There! (Monty Solomon)
Country Code Update (Mark J. Cuccia)
Alaska Has Moved! And a New Way to Call Cruise Ships (David Whiteman)
Effects of DS1 Tip/Ring Reversal? (Scott Nelson)
Information Wanted on Sonet ADM Muxes (Jay Sethuram)
MCI Stealing My LD Without Consent (Chris Mauritz)
Telegraph and Cable In Europe? (Jeff Shinn)
Spammer of the Day For Your Consideration (Ray Normandeau)
Re: InterLATA Connectivity in 609? (Stanley Cline)
Re: Trouble Using 888 Toll Free Services (Stanley Cline)
Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur? (Jeffrey Rhodes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 23:45:23 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Democratic Convention Chats Online! Be There!
Reply-To: monty@roscom.COM
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 21:00:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Voters Telecommunications Watch <shabbir@vtw.org>
Subject: INFO: Democratic convention chats online! Be there!
DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION ONLINE CHAT SCHEDULE!
LIVE CHATS FROM THE CONVENTION!
Table of contents
What's New
Chat Schedule
Getting Chat Software
WHAT'S NEW
The Democratic convention's online chat program has begun! It's
crucial that Netizens make net concerns a high profile issue in the
online chats this year. You can do this by showing up and simply
asking the right questions. Does the candidate think the
Communications Decency Act is an effective method of shielding kids
from material online, or parental control? Does the candidate support
the use of privacy-enhancing encryption technology? Does the
candidate support program such as THOMAS, that put government info in
the hands of the people?
If you don't ask these questions, they'll never know we care.
CHAT SCHEDULE
[Notably missing from this schedule are Senators Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT)
and Russell Feingold (D-WI) and House member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). All
three have impeccable cyberspace credentials and we look forward to seeing
them online.]
All chats take place at http://ichat.dncc96.org:4080/
Monday
08/26/96 - 4:20pm CDT Governor Lawton Chiles
08/26/96 - 7:15pm CDT House Candidate Michela Alioto
08/26/96 - 10:30pm CDT Congressman Bill Richardson
Tuesday
08/27/96 - 9:00am CDT Senate Candidate Houston Gordon
08/27/96 - 5:00pm CDT Congresswoman Nita Lowey
Wednesday
08/28/96 - 9:00am CDT - Senate Candidate Houston Gordon
08/28/96 - 10:00am CDT - Governor Gaston Caperton
08/28/96 - 3:00pm CDT - Senator John D Rockefeller IV
08/28/96 - 4:00pm CDT - Senator John Kerry
08/28/96 - 4:30pm CDT - Senator Harry Reid
08/28/96 - 9:30pm CDT - Representative Corrine Brown
Thursday
08/29/96 - 10:30am CDT - Senate Candidate Houston Gordon
08/29/96 - 2:30pm CDT - Senator Kent Conrad
08/29/96 - 3:30pm CDT - Representative Eliot Engel
08/29/96 - 6:00pm CDT - Representative Barney Frank
08/29/96 - 7:00pm CDT - Senators Boxer & Murray
Don't miss this opportunity to question the newsmakers on net issues
such as free speech and privacy! We have to ensure that they feel
appreciated for standing up for Net issues.
GETTING CHAT SOFTWARE
The Democratic Convention has chosen iChat's chat software for their
interface. To obtain a copy, simply follow the links from the main
convention homepage at http://www.dncc96.org/ to the software section.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 10:02:22 -0700
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Country Code Update
The latest ITU Country Code Assignment List (associated with ITU
recommendation E.164) is available, dated 31 July 1996. It is also
associated with (not generally accessable via the WWW) ITU Operational
Bulletin #626 (15 August 1996).
The page with the selections for English, French or Spanish is:
http://www.itu.ch/itudoc/itu-t/lists/tf_cc_24258.html
It should also be available from the following URL, but I couldn't get it
from this one:
http://www4.itu.ch/itudoc/itu-t/lists/tf_cc_24258.html
^
One nice change about the new assignment list is that it is a *single*
document which includes both an alphabetical order by country list *and* a
numerical order by code, rather than two separate documents.
Some highlights include:
The '0' Country Code range is 'reserved', with the footnote that +0XX
Country Codes should be feasible after 31 December 2000, but assignments
could be possible as early as 1 January 1997, but the question is still
under study.
Country Code '+1' (the North American Numbering Plan) lists all of the
countries and territories in the NANP, but not yet Guam or CNMI. These two
US Pacific Territories are listed as +671 and +670 respectively. Bellcore
NANPA has already announced that these two locations will become a part of
the NANP with permissive dialing effective 1 July 1997, with mandatory
dialing on 1 July 1998.
'+259' is still listed as Zanzibar, but as 'reserved for future use'.
Zanzibar is usually reached by Country Code 255, Tanzania.
'+269' is still shared by both Comoros and Mayotte.
The +28X block, as well as the +80X, +83X and +89X blocks, have the footnote
that codes from these blocks will be allocated after all other three-digit
blocks not fully allocated have been exhaused.
'+379' for the Vatican is 'reserved for future use'.
'+388' is indicated as 'temporarily unassignable'. This code has recently
been mentioned as a code for 'Europe-wide Services'
'+41' (Switzerland) is still used by Liechtenstein.
'+42' is still used by the now split Czech Republic and Slovak Republic.
'+61' (Australia) also includes the Cocos-Keeling Islands.
'+672' (Australian External Territories) includes the Australian Antarctic
Bases, Christmas Island and Norfolk Island.
'+7' (former Soviet Union) has been spinning off codes for the former Soviet
Republics. According to the current list, '+7' includes Russia, as well as
Kazakstan and Tajikstan. Also presently included in Country Code '+7' are
the following countries, along with their recently assigned 'reserved for
future use' codes of the 99X series:
Kyrgyz Republic (+996)
Turkmenistan (+993)
Uzbekistan (+998)
Azerbaijani (+994) and Georgia (+995) are not included in the list of '+7'
countries. Kyrgyz (+996) was announced in an earlier list. The following
codes from the +99X range are still indicated as 'apare': +990, +991, +992,
+997 and +999.
While the +80X range is held off from assignment until the +85X range is
full, '+800' is reserved/assigned to 'International Freephone Service', as
has been discussed earlier.
'+86' is assigned to the People's Republic of China (mainland), and Taiwan
is indicated as 'zone 6' within this Country Code. Many countries use the
'+886' country code to reach Taiwan, which is not an ITU assigned Country
Code. In this listing, '+886' is indicated as 'reserved'.
The '+87X' range (mostly INMARSAT) is still all indicated as:
'+870' for Inmarsat SNAC
'+871' for Inmarsat Atlantic-East
'+872' for Inmarsat Pacific Ocean
'+873' for Inmarsat Indian Ocean
'+874' for Inmarsat Atlantic-West
'+875', '+876', '+877' as reserved for Maritime Mobile Service
'+878' as reserved for Universal Personal Telecom Service
'+879' as reserved for national puposes
'+881' is indicated as Global Mobile Satellite System, shared code.
'+888' is 'temporarily unassignable'. This code has been indicated in this
manner *prior* to the announcement of NANP (+1) Special Area Code 888 for
additional toll-free service.
'+967' is the Republic of Yemen. The '+969' code is indicated as 'reserved,
currently under investigation'.
'+971' has been *all* of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) for some ten or more
years, *including* Dubai and Abu Dhabi. '+978' and '+979' are still
indicated as 'spare'.
Some additional notes of mine:
The only ten-blocks which are *completely* spare, with no special
reservations or notes are: 28X, 83X and 89X.
The only 'spare' codes from the 29X block are: +292, +293, +294, +295 and
+296. At one time, San Marino (now +378 unless it is still routed/dialed via
Italy, +39) was to have been +295, and Trinidad & Tobago (part of +1, the
NANP) was to have been +296.
+21 is indicated as Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. In the footnote, it
indicates the subdivisions as +213 Algeria, +218 Libya, +212 Morocco and
+216 Tunisia. At one time, I had seen additional +21X codes for these
countries:
+210, +211, +212 Morocco, with +212 active
+213, +214, +215 Algeria, with +213 active
+216, +217 Tunisia, with +216 active
+218, +219 Libya, with +218 active
There is *no* mention of any assigned country codes for various island
groups in the South Atlantic, South Pacific or Indian Ocean, such as the
Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific. While telephone service (from the USA, it
is manual/operator, via AT&T only) is available to many of these locations,
I don't know if there is even a 'reserved' country code for some of these
remote island locations.
The Country Code list is a downloadable file, in MS-Word, and the paper-size
is arranged in 'A-4' format. In MS-Word, I had to change the size to
'letter' (8.5x11 inches) before printing it out.
MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497
WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497)
Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to
Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 21:28:20 -0700
From: dbw@autopsy.com (David Whiteman)
Subject: Alaska Has Moved! And a New Way to Call Cruise Ships
My parents are once again going on another cruise. Some of you may
have recall my previous problems in calling them through Imarsat.
This time I received an advertisement from Princess Cruises about a
new way to call a cruise ship by calling a 900# (1-900-CALL-SHIP). I
do not know whether this new method works for all cruise ships or just
Princess Cruises, whether the call signal is better or worse, or
anything else. I have not used this new service. The ad does mention
the price is $8.95 per minute, and you do not need the vessel ID
number or any ocean region code.
Also readers may remember in previous postings the problems I had in
trying to reach my parents by fax. (The advertisement only mentions
calling by voice, not fax) As before my parents are on a cruise ship
in the Alaska area. I tried using both the Imarsat ocean code for the
Pacific Ocean which did not go through, nor did the ocean code for the
Indian Ocean work, which was the code that worked last time. This
time the code for Atlantic Ocean-East worked, so Alaska magically
moved from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. Of course in
fairness I must mention that on this trip my parents are on a
different cruise ship, belonging to a different company, and probably
a different position in Alaska.
For those not recalling the previous articles there are a class of
telephones which are called Marisat or Inmarsat. Each phone has a
seven digit number, and can use one of four satellites numbered 871,
872, 873, or 874. In theory you reach a phone by dialing 011 (or the
international dialing code for your country), then dialing the
satellite ocean code for the particular ocean your caller is in, then
the id number. However sometimes because of overlapping satellite
coverage, a different satellite provides better reception. That is
how such funny occurrances occur like Alaska moving from the Indian
Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.
------------------------------
Date: 27 Aug 96 11:47:10 EDT
From: Scott Nelson <73773.2220@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Effects of DS1 Tip/Ring Reversal?
I just finished reviewing an installation of a SONET system, and
noticed that the Tip and Ring leads to the DSX panel were
backwards. However, the circuit still worked, and we recorded no
errors over a one hour period. I know that reversing tip and ring on
voice circuits can cause problems -- especially with ringing, but what
happens when you reverse the tip and ring leads on a DS1 signal?
Anything?
P.S. I do not care for a discussion of T/R reversals on POTS or analog
VF lines, just DS1 (T1).
Scott Nelson
Director of Sales
ANTEC - Digital Systems Division
73773.2220@compuserve.com
------------------------------
From: Jay Sethuram <jay@abhiweb.net>
Subject: Information Wanted on Sonet ADM Muxes
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 23:05:33 -0400
Organization: Abhiweb Corporation, Internet Services - (408) 541-1400
Reply-To: jay@abhiweb.net
Does anyone know how much a Sonet ADM muxes cost? The configuration I
am interested is something like Fijitsu's FLM600. I would really
appreciate if someone from Fijitsu's either sends me an e-mail or post
a reply.
Jay
------------------------------
From: ritz@onyx.interactive.net (Chris Mauritz)
Subject: MCI Stealing My LD Without Consent
Organization: IBS Interactive, Inc.
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 19:23:19 GMT
Is there anything we can do to prevent MCI et al from covertly
switching over our long distance carrier without our permission? MCI
has switched me from AT&T to their service twice in the last six
months without my permission. It's becoming a major nuisance.
Christopher Mauritz | For info on internet access:
ritz@interactive.net | finger/mail info@interactive.net OR
IBS Interactive, Inc. | http://www.interactive.net/
------------------------------
Date: 26 Aug 96 17:38:53 EDT
From: Jeff Shinn <73144.1754@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Telegraph and Cable In Europe?
<in response to the Western Union posting>
I understand that in many European countries, telex/cable/telegraph is
often-used for business and personal communications. In these
countries the postal authority offers this service, whereby persons
can send and receive messages at those offices. Similarly, businesses
use this form of communications to a great degree.
So, just how extensive is this type of communication "over there"?
Should our favorite bureacracy, the US Postal Service, consider
offering similar services (or maybe email for those who don't have any
other means to send or receive such)?
Thanks,
Jeff Shinn
73144.1754@compuserve.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Telex is still a very common method of
communication in many parts of the world. The post office operates it
in those countries by default, since typically the PTT manages the
phones and all related things in those places. For quite a few years
there was an arrangement between Western Union and the United States
Postal Service called 'Mailgram'. Does anyone remember those? You
dictated your message to the WUTCO operator and it was transmitted
electronically to the post office nearest the recipient where the
post office clerks stuffed it in an envelope and mailed it to the
recipient. The idea was if the message was mailed from a post office
in the same town it would get there much soon than if it was mailed
at a place some distance away. PAT]
------------------------------
Subject: Spammer of the Day For Your Consideration
From: ray.normandeau@factory.com (Ray Normandeau)
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 96 19:10:00 -0500
Organization: Invention Factory's BBS - New York NY - 212-274-8110
Reply-To: ray.normandeau@factory.com (Ray Normandeau)
The following is an UPDATE and is self-explanatory.
> From: Careerpro1@aol.com
> Message-ID: <960824185151_186930904@emout12.mail.aol.com>
> To: ray.normandeau@factory.com
> Subject: Re: Resume Xpress Now posting to 127+ databases
> My company, OnLine Solutions, Inc., has a service ResumeXPRESS! that
> distributes resumes for job candidates. We accept resumes from third parties
> (on a wholesale basis) who sell the service to their clients.
> A third party independent contractor (Marc Morris at CareerNet) hired a
> marketing firm and/or purchased an email list that was supposed to contain
> only names of recipients who had indicated an interest in receiving ads.
> Obviously that was erroneous. We still have not figured out why you and
> many, many others have received multiple emails. I have been assured that
> this has been stopped. I truly am sorry and will be diligent in monitoring
> such options in the future.
> Wayne Gonyea
> OnLine Solutions, Inc.
----------------------------
> To: Careerpro1@aol.com, CAREERPRO1@AOL.COM
> From: RAY NORMANDEAU
> Subj: Re: Resume Xpress Now posting to 127+ databases
...
> Please supply me with this individual's (Marc Morris) 800# and or Email
> address.
> Thank you.
> ray normandeau
> ray.normandeau@factory.com
------------------------------
> From: Careerpro1@aol.com
> To: ray.normandeau@factory.com
> Subject: Re: Resume Xpress Now posting to 127+ databases
> nysflk@aol.com
> Marc Morris
> 143 Moore Ave
> Barrington, NJ 08007
> 215-822-2929 x2616
> No 800#
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I would ask that everyone extend the
usual courtesies to this newest member of the club. Help him to grasp
the basic concepts under which the net operates, etc. Thanks. PAT]
------------------------------
From: roamer1@pobox.com (Stanley Cline)
Subject: Re: InterLATA Connectivity in 609?
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 23:30:11 GMT
Organization: Catoosa Computing Services
Reply-To: scline@usit.net
On Thu, 15 Aug 96 13:52:00 EDT, you wrote:
> Trivium: Ocean County N.J. spans three LATAs, with most calls across
> the LATA line in fact being handled as toll calls. (Only Toms River
> in 908 to Barnegat in 609 is treated as inter-LATA local.) Are there
> any other three-LATA counties in the U.S.?
Yes, and I'm familiar with one ... Jackson County, Alabama:
Bridgeport, Stevenson (LEC BellSouth) - Chattanooga LATA (attached to
South Pittsburg, TN CO);
Scottsboro (LEC GTE) - Huntsville LATA (attached to BellSouth toll
switch in Huntsville);
Bryant/Higdon (LEC Farmers Telephone) - Birmingham LATA (attached to
Rainsville CO);
There are also multiple B-side cellular companies: BellSouth Mobility
in most of the county, and Farmers Telephone (*switched* by BMI) in
their LEC area.
The Bryant/Higdon area can place local calls to Trenton, GA (Trenton
Telephone Co., Chattanooga LATA) but there is virtually NO local calling
between LECs WITHIN Jackson County. This is utterly ridiculous; county
emergency, etc. agencies have had to get *800/888* numbers because
establishing 911, FX numbers, etc. in three LATAs/LECs is all but
impossible.
Other nearby counties are split by LATA boundaries:
Catoosa GA: 70 customers in Atlanta LATA (ALLTEL, Tunnel Hill CO) and
all others in Chattanooga (four COs, three LECs) ... calls between all
of Whitfield Co. and Ringgold area sent through IXCs but not charged LD
rates.
Walker GA: ~100 customers in Atlanta LATA (ALLTEL, Trion CO) and all
others in Chattanooga (seven COs, four LECs).
Fannin GA: BellSouth customers in Chattanooga (Copper Basin/Ocoee CO);
TDS customers in Atlanta (Blue Ridge CO) -- also, all cellular service
is split (US Cellular [no service] and GTE Mobilnet in Chattanooga
side, Palmer Wireless [was US Cellular] and BellSouth Mobility in
Atlanta side) ... there are no roaming agreements between ANY of these
companies! :(
Marion TN: BellSouth customers in Chattanooga (four COs); Ben Lomand
RTC customers in Nashville (Monteagle CO).
(InterLATA local calling is possible in all of these cases.)
Stanley Cline (Roamer1 on IRC) ** GO BRAVES! GO VOLS!
mailto:roamer1@pobox.com ** http://pobox.com/~roamer1/
CompuServe 74212,44 ** MSN WSCline1
------------------------------
From: roamer1@pobox.com (Stanley Cline)
Subject: Re: Trouble Using 888 Toll Free Services
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 23:30:26 GMT
Organization: Catoosa Computing Services
Reply-To: scline@usit.net
On Mon, 19 Aug 1996 06:22:08 GMT, you wrote:
> What are the legal time requirements for Customer Owned Pay
> Telephone providers to program access to 888 Toll-free services? 888
In Tennessee and Georgia at least, the phones were to have been fixed by
*March 1*, the date on which 888 took effect. Most COPT/COCOT operators
*have* fixed problems, but there are a couple of stubborn ones on whom I
had to file TRA (Tennessee Regulatory Authority) and FCC complaints.
I have found several variations on 888 problems:
* Completely disallowing the call, as an invalid NPA;
* Treating the call as Directory Assistance(!) and charging 60c/85c per
call, or otherwise treating the call as local (25c);
* Treating 888 as just another "long distance" call, charging up to $3 +
per-minute charges for access. (More common is the "25c/minute within
the 48 states" coin rate, but some COCOT owners still gouge on coin
calls.)
One payphone owner, International Payphones of Knoxville, was rather
blunt when I reported the problem to them -- they said that they "don't
have to provide access to 888 numbers" (I have heard variations on that
with 950 numbers before, back when MCI used 950-1022) and that they'd
"see what they could do." Needless to say, I called the TRA and wrote
the FCC the next day. (They STILL do not have the outpulsing right --
dialing 1+888 works, but the phone dials only 1+888+XXX-X as if the
call were an old-style intraNPA LD call ... callers must dial the last
three digits again, after the phone stops dialing. I am calling the TRA
again ...)
Another company, Pierre's Communications of Chattanooga, routes all
"service" calls to a CellularOne voice-mailbox -- I have never been able
to get through to a person with them, I just leave message after
message. I have also reported them.
There have been companies that fixed 888 problems immediately upon my
reporting it. Coin Phones of America, in the Chattanooga area, was
blocking 888 numbers; I called the company -- the owner answered and
said he'd reprogram the phones ASAP. The next day, it was fixed.
Some of the 888 blocking seems to be inadvertent, but I believe that
certain COPT/COCOT owners are *deliberately* blocking access to 888
numbers, despite regulations stating they CANNOT. Since some calling
cards are now using 888 numbers for access (CompuServe/Premiere
Worldlink's for example -- however, they have a "backup" 800 for when
888 doesn't work) blocking 888 becomes an issue of blocking IXC access,
which the FCC does NOT take lightly.
> various COPT vendors, I get no answers or satisfaction. And even when
> I go through the local or Long Distance Provider operators, I've only
> been successful once out of about a dozen tries. And this has never
Most operators can't place calls to 800/888 numbers in any case. If
they can, it generally must be the same company that serves the 800/888
number.
> been a problem with either 800 numbers, or when using Telco owned
> paystations
I have run into one BellSouth payphone, retrofitted with an Elcotel
board, that failed to allow 888. A quick call to BellSouth coin phone
repair service (an 888 number itself!) got that taken care of. In that
case, the phone hadn't been "polled" for months since it was so rarely
used.
In other areas (and especially non-Bell areas), LEC phones use switching
in the CO rather than the phone, so any changes made at the CO take
effect immediately at all payphones in a CO. Once CO-based signaling
becomes ubiquitous (as the telecom bill requires) many of the COCOT
problems will disappear.
Even in independent LEC areas that allow equal access, I have seen
strange problems -- in Ringgold, GA for example, LEC payphones cannot
dial 10XXX+0 at all (calls go to dead air), while COCOTs(!) and non-coin
phones can. Ringgold Telephone Co. is investigating why that is
happening -- they say it should not happen -- that their payphone
switching is messed up.
> allowing connection, or is the only recourse to start a California PUC
> complaint file on every carrier? I have been reading through
Best bet is to contact both the CPUC *and* FCC on each payphone owner
that is violating the regulations ... the CPUC takes "primary"
responsibility for COCOTs, while the FCC will look at 888 blocking as
IXC blocking (which it can be construed as.)
> P.S.: Anyone else noticed how quiet switchrooms are today?
Yup. I took a tour of the Chattanooga BellSouth downtown CO in
1992(?) with the UT-Chattanooga IEEE; the area where the digital
switches (DMS-100, SS7 routers, etc.) were was *quiet*, while a 1AESS
still there was rather noisy. (I've been in an independent's #5XB CO
several years ago, too ... that is really noisy!)
Stanley Cline (Roamer1 on IRC) ** GO BRAVES! GO VOLS!
mailto:roamer1@pobox.com ** http://pobox.com/~roamer1/
CompuServe 74212,44 ** MSN WSCline1
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The old crossbar and stepping-switch
type systems were always very noisy. A long time ago I lived not too
far from Illinois Bell's central office at 61st and Kenwood Street,
right across the alley from the University of Chicago phone switch
on East 60th Street. This was in a time when air conditioning of
large buildings was not yet all that common (early 1960's) or at least
they seldom retrofitted real old buildings for air conditioning so
on a hot summer night they would have all the windows open on the
ground floor where the switching equipment was located and the
second floor where the operators and switchboards were located.
Starting about a block away as you walked down the sidewalk in that
direction you could hear 'Kenwood Bell' as it was called chattering
and clacking. That was not the case in the winter when the windows
were all closed. But in the summer, especially at night when it was
otherwise very quiet outside you could almost gauge how busy the
telephone exchange was by listening to the relays chattering as you
walked past right outside the building. PAT]
------------------------------
From: jeffrey.rhodes@attws.com
Subject: Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur?
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 96 15:04:37 PDT
Organization: AT&T Wireless Services, Inc.
In article <telecom16.429.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu> in a response to Al
Varney's post on this subject, Pat mentions:
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Al, what I do not understand is how
> anyone could be expected to know where they were calling or how much
> it would cost if phone numbers could be taken all over the USA. If
> I took my 847 number and moved to California then what would happen
> when my next door neighbor in California wanted to call me? I assume
> they would dial my 847 number but would telco in California first
> assume the number was in Illinois and look over here to the telco
> to get instructions on forwarding it back to California, etc? I
> think portability in a geographic sense would be a disaster. PAT]
Local Number Portability implies that a ported number NOT create long
distance calls where none existed before. Am I wrong? I believe the
intent of the FCC's LNP rules is to promote competition for existing
local loops all within a geography defined as a "Rate Center", and is
not intended to help subscribers keep the same number forever.
National Number Portability does not promote competition for the local
loop so why is it needed? Sure one would never have to change numbers
but some new mechanism would be needed to inform callers about long
distance charges when calling a number that has been ported between
area codes.
Jeffrey Rhodes at jeffrey.rhodes@attws.com
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #443
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Aug 27 15:32:17 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id PAA10384; Tue, 27 Aug 1996 15:32:17 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 15:32:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608271932.PAA10384@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #444
TELECOM Digest Tue, 27 Aug 96 15:32:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 444
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Poll Dubh)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (John Dreystadt)
Re: Internet Overload (Mark Ganzer)
Re: Internet Overload (Jack Perdue)
Re: Internet Overload (John Pearce)
Re: Is the Internet Slow? (John R. Levine)
Re: Rural Internet Access (Stan Schwartz)
Re: Microwave Rural Phone System? (Michael J. Wengler)
Re: Microwave Rural Phone System? (John R. Grout)
Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur? (Al Varney)
Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript (Matt Simpson)
Re: Nine Digit Phone Numbers (Linc Madison)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: singular@oort.ap.sissa.it (Poll Dubh)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: 27 Aug 1996 13:39:09 GMT
Organization: Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch'entrate
In article <telecom16.438.6@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Steve Schear
<azur@netcom.com> wrote:
> Most people who complain of slow Internet access do so when using Web
> browsers, since its now the most widespread real-time Web use. A great
I am not one of these. I have observed abysmal performance (not to
mention lots of dropped connections) with plain telnet and ftp
(various combinations of client and server), even with rexec
connections -- you can hardly get more frugal than that, using /bin/ed
as your editor. The one thing I haven't tried, out of politeness to
fellow users, was turning to UDP instead of TCP. (You supposedly win
by not backing off when successive retransmissions fail.) The problem
was plain congestion on our transatlantic link, aggravated it seems by
some difficulties of Nysernet's during those months. Things improved
(they are still not great) when the transatlantic link was upgraded.
> article on this topic was in the May Boardwatch Magazine, "Bandwidth
> Arithmetic," pg. 8 (http://www.boardwatch.com). The conclusion of the
> article is that though some backbone bottlenecks are an overrated source of
> delays and that much or most are due to inadequate Web server resources
> (bandwidth and/or server performance).
The conclusion may be true for the typical user in the USA, and I
certainly won't disagree with the statement that most clients and
servers are missing features that would make them robust under
high-latency conditions. (How many ftp servers don't support RESTart?
How many of these "Swiss Army Browsers" that try to do all protocols
can't make use of restart even if it's there?) But when ping shows me
40-60% packet loss, I blame the network fabric, not the end-points.
------------------------------
From: johnd@mail.ic.net (John Dreystadt)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: 27 Aug 1996 03:27:19 GMT
In article <telecom16.438.9@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, wollman@halloran-eldar.
lcs.mit.edu says:
> 2) The protocol. The primary protocol of the World Wide Web, HTTP,
> runs over the primary protocol of the Internet generally, TCP. In
> order for standard TCP to work, every connection involves no fewer
> than three round trips from the origin to the destination. A single
> round trip can take as much as a second or two depending on how and
> where each end of the connection is attached to the network. A
> modified version of TCP, called Transaction TCP or T/TCP, reduces this
> to two round trips, but it is not widely deployed. None of this would
> have come into play if HTTP had been designed better to begin with;
> work is progressing to fix HTTP so that it no longer requires a new
> connection for each request, but it will be some time before this is
> widely deployed.
While there is much value in the overall message, there are some
technical errors in this paragraph. The HTTP protocol does not use
TCP/IP but instead uses the connectionless cousin, UDP/IP. I am not
entirely certain what the references are to "connection" in this
paragraph but I suspect "transaction" is the correct word. I am not
sure of the number of round trips a single transaction takes in the
HTTP protocol but three seems reasonable.
A missing issue with the standard HTTP protocol and the interface
between the server and the browser is the handling of multiple
files. A standard web page often has many individual graphic
files. The standard model for HTTP involves what is best described as
"browser side includes". The main file for the web page is brought
over to the browser and the browser parses the file. Each graphic file
within the web page causes an individual file transfer using the HTTP
protocol to occur. It would be much less burden on the net to do
"server side includes" where the server read the file and included all
of the graphic images. There are issues about caching that my simple
description has entirely ignored but I hope you can see my point.
Just remember that HTTP and the Internet in general is a giant work in
progress.
John Dreystadt
------------------------------
From: ganzer@dilbert.nosc.mil (Mark Ganzer)
Subject: Re: Internet Overload
Organization: NCCOSC RDT&E Division, San Diego, CA
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 04:01:10 GMT
TELECOM Digest Editor (ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu) wrote:
> Beth Gaston of the National Science Foundation which helped develop the
> Internet backbone (NSFNET) is quoted discussing plans for a so-called
> 'Very High Speed Backbone Network Service'. Various other network adminis-
> trators are quoted in the article as well. You may wish to review the
> article in detail at http://www.suntimes.com.
'Very High Speed Backbone Network Service' aka vBNS is an already existing
network that links the NSF-funded Supercomputing sites at OC-3 and OC-12
speeds. MCI is the carrier. For further information, take a look at:
http://www.vbns.net
BTW: your standard Internet traffic won't traverse vBNS, due the the
famous NSF "Appropriate Use Policy". It is strictly for ue by researhers
in the NSF community.
Mark Ganzer Naval Command, Control & Ocean Surveillance Center,
ganzer@nosc.mil RDT&E Div (NRaD), Code 4123, San Diego, CA
Ph: (619) 553-1186 FAX: (619) 553-4808
------------------------------
From: jkp2866@tam2000.tamu.edu (Jack Perdue)
Subject: Re: Internet Overload
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 22:46:52 GMT
Organization: Silicon Slick's Software Supplies and Support Services
ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) wrote:
> An article in the {Chicago Sun-Times} for Sunday, August 25
> You may wish to review the article in detail at http://www.suntimes.com.
Can someone point me towards the Sun-Times' back-issues
(ie. yesterday's). I can't seem to find them on their page.
TIA,
jack jkp2866@cs.tamu.edu
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I wish I could give information on this
but I do not know the details. The Sun Times is 312-321-3000. PAT]
------------------------------
From: jpearce@rmii.com (John Pearce)
Subject: Re: Internet Overload
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 20:49:45 GMT
Organization: Rocky Mountain Internet Inc.
Today's {Wall Street Journal} (Monday, Aug. 26) presented a full page
spread (B1) on the Internet issue. In all, I think the writer
presented a fair picture of the situation. When I think about a
"meltdown" of the Internet, I think in terms of something like the AOL
problem or the Netcom problem with their routers. I also read an
article someone posted about badly formed DNS updates coming into
their system and causing problems.
The possibility of a "meltdown" seems real to me given the growing
traffic load, technical problems as with the routers and DNS updates,
reflective routing by certain backbone operators, and various
technical problems.
Of course, I just sit at my PC watching while Windows NT Server SP4 from
ftp.microsoft.com arrives at about 0.4K per second.
John Pearce <jpearce@rmii.com>
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am not certain but I believe this may
be the same article which appeared in the {Sun-Times} on Sunday. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 96 22:45 EDT
From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: Is the Internet Slow?
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
> Sprint, which supplies off campus access for many colleges is heading for
> one. There are times that you are online and the system just seems to go
> to sleep. I have typed in data and it could take upwards of five minutes
> to appear on screen, sometimes it takes so long that my software thinks I
> have stopped using the system without hanging up and drops. I have
> complained about that and modem ports that don't answer or answer
> and don't reply.
Here's another misinterpreted point. People observe that their
provider gives lousy service and concludes that the whole net is
melting down. Yes, Sprint has had its routing and congestion
problems, but slow echo and dead modems are certainly the
responsibility of the local provider, in this case your school.
One of the nice things about the Internet is that it's so well
integrated. You connect to a site around the world the same as you
connect to one around the corner. But the flip side of that
integration is that when something breaks, it can be far from obvious
where the problem lies.
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 11:44:37 EDT
From: Stan.Schwartz <usfunx2b@ibmmail.com>
Subject: Re: Rural Internet Access
In message <telecom16.407.11@massis.lcs.mit.edu> PAT wrote:
> Bill Gates is to be praised for the donation he made to the Chicago
> Public Library system getting them 'online'. Now if Gates and a few
> others would just do the same thing for libraries all over the United
> States, so that even if there was no Free Net in town, people could at
> least go to their local library and participate in the net.
And in TD439, PAT wrote:
> TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am not sure if their bureaucracy in
> the Chicago Public Library has yet managed to accomplish anything with
> the money Bill Gates gave them. (A million dollars, several months
> ago.) Had it been me, I'd have been out shopping that afternoon and
> within a few days to a week had things up and running. But you know
> how things go in Chicago; for all I know they may have squandered most
> of the money by now paying for some consultant or two to tell them how
> to spend whatever little was left over after the consultants looted
> the purse. PAT
Fortunately, the same is not true here in Charlotte, NC. Big Bill was
here a while back, gave up some money, and Charlotte (Actually "Public
Library of Charlotte and Meckenburg County) won a 'Library of the Year'
award last year. Bill was back again in April to give up some more
money. PLCMC's 'Virtual Library' is like nothing I've seen anywhere
else. Workstations with MAC's and/or PC's with current software,
internet connections, and all the toys, all for the public to use.
Last week, I had a friend visiting from New York, and when I suggested
that we visit the library in order to get a photo scanned, he thought
I was a bit crazed. An hour later, we're sitting in front of a
Gateway P5-90 with a 21" monitor and a color flatbed scanner creating
.JPG's and .GIF's from some vacation pictures. He was quite
impressed.
The Virtual Library can be visited at http://www.charweb.org, or
e-mailed at virtual@plcmc.lib.nc.us. If I remember correctly, there's
also a way for library patrons to browse the library catalog from home
and reserve books on-line as well (I've only done this once, about a
year ago).
Stan (stan@vnet.net)
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The public library here in our village
of Skokie, Illinois is really a wonderful place. They've got several
computers set up with Netscape running on them available to anyone who
wishes to sit down and use them. Nice printers are attached to each
so you can get copies of anything online that you need. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 07:57:50 -0700
From: Michael J. Wengler <wengler@ee.rochester.edu>
Reply-To: mwengler@qualcomm.com
Subject: Re: Microwave Rural Phone System?
On 8/16/96, Dave Perrussel <diamond@viper.nauticom.net> wrote:
> I work for a company that has a field station in the middle of
> the New Mexico desert.
> Is there a commercially available product that will do a high
> bandwidth (say 14,400 baud or 28,800 baud) using point to
> point microwave that is reasonabally priced?
Take a look at <http://www.cswnet.com/~ament/lrcp.html> which lists
cordless telephones with ranges from 3 to 70 miles. They might do the
trick. They are apparently not exactly licensed for use in the US, but
I don't know if that means they won't sell you one or not.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I think at the time you purhcase the
phone(s) you have to certify that they are not intended for use in the
USA and are being shipped to some other country. That gets the seller
off the hook; how was he to know your intentions were not honorable?
I know that years ago such certifications had to be signed by the
purchasers of Citizens Band radio equipment which because of its power
output or other considerations was not 'quite' legal in the USA. PAT]
------------------------------
From: grout@polestar.csrd.uiuc.edu (John R. Grout)
Subject: Re: Microwave Rural Phone System?
Date: 26 Aug 1996 15:14:29 -0700
Organization: Center for Supercomputing R and D, UIUC
In article <telecom16.439.7@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Scott Nelson <73773.2220@
CompuServe.COM> writes:
> On 8/16/96, Dave Perrussel <diamond@viper.nauticom.net> wrote:
>> I work for a company that has a field station in the middle of
>> the New Mexico desert.
>> Is there a commercially available product that will do a high
>> bandwidth (say 14,400 baud or 28,800 baud) using point to
>> point microwave that is reasonabally priced?
> Try Carlson Communications, and inquire about their Optiphone. It is
> a VHF/UHF device that I beleive you can license privately that will
> give you "toll quality" voice and data communications over the
> distance you are talking about. At one time, I knew that their
> product was strictly analog (as is a POTS line); however, they may
> have a digital version which will go above 28.8 kb/s. Not sure about
> that, but ask and let us know.
> Sorry, but I can't find their phone or address in my files. I know
> that their listed in {Telephony Magazine's} buyers guide. I thought I
> even had Jim Carlson's e-mail address somewhere around here ... nutz!
They are now "OptaPhone Systems", described by their WWW site as a
subsidary of Carlson Communications, Inc. Their WWW site is at URL
http://www.asis.com/optaphone
and their sales email address is:
sales@optaphone.com
(Alta Vista is a wonderful thing :)
John R. Grout Center for Supercomputing R & D j-grout@uiuc.edu
Coordinated Science Laboratory University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
------------------------------
From: news@ssbunews.ih.lucent.com
Subject: Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur?
Date: 27 Aug 1996 15:32:06 GMT
Organization: Lucent Technologies
In article <telecom16.428.6@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, <news@ssbunews.ih.lucent.
com> wrote:
> In article <telecom16.420.7@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Lou Jahn
> <71233.2444@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
>> While the FCC has just started LEC's moving toward Number Portability
>> several of us were arguing whether "Full" Portability will ever occur
>> (or how far does the FCC plan to go)?
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Al, what I do not understand is how
> anyone could be expected to know where they were calling or how much
> it would cost if phone numbers could be taken all over the USA. If
> I took my 847 number and moved to California then what would happen
> when my next door neighbor in California wanted to call me? I assume
> they would dial my 847 number but would telco in California first
> assume the number was in Illinois and look over here to the telco
> to get instructions on forwarding it back to California, etc? I
> think portability in a geographic sense would be a disaster. PAT]
Some other questions: If you took your 847 number and moved to
California then would you want California calls to be 'local' or would
you want calls to other 847 numbers to be 'local'? Or both? Would
you want your California neighbors to treat you as "one of those
Illinois yokels" because you kept the 847 number? Or would you also
want a "California-NPA" number?
Answers/predictions (just my opinion, of course):
- As telecom usage rises and prices fall, folks will be more willing to
place calls without knowing the exact costs -- look at cellular usage.
(Note that some folks pay more to take their own money out of ATMs than
for many phone calls - it all depends on "what you're used to".)
- Allowable location portability areas will grow to LATA- or NPA- wide
as the costs for intra-LATA Toll drop, overlay NPAs become common and
10-digit dialing becomes the norm. So long as costs for nearby vs.
far-away intra-LATA Toll calls differ by 100% or more, there will be
consumer obstacles to increased location portability. Once the rates
flatten, there will be less pressure for a 'Toll Warning Tone' and all
the problems inherent in such a scheme.
- Local competition will slowly expand the flat-rate 'local calling area'
even for the current LECs. New competitors in the residential market
will be after inter-LATA or cable or Internet-usage revenues, and will
be willing to 'give away' flat-rate to the whole LATA, at least for
a while. New competitors have indicated that the current LECs should
be restricted from offering expanded calling areas, at least until
competition is firmly established.
- Those providers with long-holding-time flat-rate customers will find
disincentives for retaining them. It will be politically impossible
for the dominant LEC to convert flat-rate service (free/single-message-unit)
for 'local' calls to usage-sensitive, even with competition, for many
years. But monthly rates for such callers will likely rise -- unless they
generate off-setting revenues with Toll/inter-LATA/International calls using
the same carrier. In other words, artificial pricing differentials will
disappear, but package deals will flourish.
- Second-lines used for Internet/data connections will expand. Economics
indicates there are likely to be Internet-only providers who offer only
full-time connections (cheap leased line rates), but you won't be able to
dial-around to other ISPs via those lines. No carrier will want switched
nailed-up connections -- unless there are revenues covering the costs.
- Local competition will allow cheap 'Toll' (say $1/hour) for wider areas.
- Local competition will make Centrex, WATS and access charges lower.
Owners of local loops will increase return on investment.
- Local competition will change some local customers to 'pay-per-call'
because the monthly rate for a big 'local calling area' will be more
than the (say, five-cents + quarter/hour) per-call charge.
- The FCC will finally "unprotect" the Compuserve/etc. service providers
and move to uniform tariffs for ALL connections to the telephone network
(you can start the "modem tax" thread again, Pat :) ) But access charges
will be very low for IXCs, Cellular companies and any other service provider.
Lower access charges and interconnection agreements will make 'bypass'
obsolete.
- The competition in the local market will initially focus on customers
that make a lot of non-local calls. Depending on access charge rules
and cost-sharing rules for local competition, customers that primarily
receive calls may be shunned (unless they are toll-free customers).
Rules will determine whether private network customers will find tax
or cost reasons for becoming a TELCo themselves.
- Some customers will be losers because of local competition. Those generating
large revenues to carriers will not lose.
- The only incentive away from cost-sensitive pricing will be bundled deals
(which in effect are cost-sensitive pricing averaged over more items).
- TELCos will get into the information content area, because that's where
the money is -- today.
If you want more accurate predictions, ask Dataquest for theirs.
We disagree in some areas. They believe flat-rate pricing will disappear,
for example. My predictions are worth somewhat less than you paid for them.
Dataquest's are probably worth a lot more.
Al Varney
------------------------------
From: msimpson@service1.uky.edu (Matt Simpson)
Subject: Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 12:17:42 -0400
Organization: University of Kentucky Computing Center
In article <telecom16.439.1@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Howard Pierpont
<howard.pierpont@hlo.mts.dec.com> wrote:
> My point was that if the Dispatch had moved some forces to the
> location of the phone, I bet someone would have known where Centennial
> Park was without needing an physical address.
Didn't they already have forces in Centennial Park? With the amount of
security coverage in Atlanta, I think all major public areas had tons
of security. Also, while the dispatchers were struggling to find an
address, there were already police in the area of the bomb, starting
to move the crowd in case it was a bomb. I'm not sure "whose" police
those were (Atlanta? State? Nat'l Guard? private security? anybody
remember the details?). If they had been aware that a bomb threat had
been made, they probably would have moved much quicker. It seems that
the problem was not that nobody knew where the park was, but that the
dispatchers were not able to communicate with the forces that were
already there without giving their computer an address.
Matt Simpson --- Lead Systems Programmer, MVS
University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
msimpson@pop.uky.edu http://rivendell.cc.uky.edu
A programmer is a machine for turning beer into code
------------------------------
From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison)
Subject: Re: Nine Digit Phone Numbers
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 00:57:32 -0700
Organization: Best Internet Communications
In article <telecom16.440.4@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, btabac@dmr.ca (Bob Tabac)
wrote:
> Nine Digit Local Numbers
> With the introduction of nine digit phone numbers and keeping the
> existing three digit area codes we will be able to collapse many area
> codes.
> state/(province/territories)/other countries. An area code such as
> 495 etc or whatever could be used for each state!
> For example in Ontario:
> if nine digit numbers is established
> ie 416 number 555-2333
> could become 41555-2333
> ie 905 number 555-6777
> could become 90555-6777
How do you propose to distinguish between (416) 415-5523 and (495)
41555-2333, dialed as local calls from within the current 416 area
code? Your scheme does not permit any "permissive dialing" period,
which is absolutely essential for a change of this magnitude.
"Waiting to see if you dial any more digits" is an unacceptable answer
to the question.
> And there is no pain of changing area-codes for a very long time once
> this system is established!
By the year 2000, California will have 26 area codes. At the current
rate of growth, we would exhaust a nine-digit number space for the state
some time around 2020, maybe sooner.
As to the comparison between nine-digit local numbers and four-digit
area codes, one of the possible plans is to expand to four-digit area
codes and eight-digit local numbers simultaneously. That would give
us enough capacity to allow every man, woman, child, and domestic
appliance to have several numbers. (Never mind that it may be a bit
confusing if your toaster's pager is in a different area code from the
blender's cellphone.)
Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com
------------------------------
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #444
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Aug 27 16:44:02 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
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id QAA19446; Tue, 27 Aug 1996 16:44:02 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 16:44:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608272044.QAA19446@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #445
TELECOM Digest Tue, 27 Aug 96 16:44:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 445
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Capacity and Flat Rate (Tad Cook)
Re: SW Bell Ponders Flat Fee Long Distance (Brad Cooley)
Re: SW Bell Ponders Flat Fee Long Distance (Dave Close)
Re: BellSouth Mobility DCS Continues Launch of Wireless Service (Mike Fox)
Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers? (Sam Spens Clason)
Re: A Short History of 911 Service (Brian Purcell)
Re: Cable Companies (Scott Nelson)
Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript (John B. Hines)
Re: Effects of DS1 Tip/Ring Reversal? (Jack Adams)
Correction: Microsoft and the Apple II (Derek Peschel)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Re: Capacity and Flat Rate
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 12:08:08 PDT
Eric_Florack@mc.xerox.com (Florack,Eric) wrote:
>> This is where the common sense starts to lead you astray. Capital
>> investment is not expense. It doesn't get paid off in less than a
>> year. You must earn on the investment, you must place sufficient
>> earnings in depreciation to replace the investment when it is
>> obsolete, and you need to earn a contribution to net revenue. The
>> modems that are installed are not $140 USR Sportster modems either.
>> They are industrial grade design intended for 24x7 operation for
>> decades with zero downtime -- and they are much more expensive.
> Fine. You're still talking about a massive amount of cash that will
> easily meet those requirements.
Ah, but you're arguing that *everyone* who uses the network pay for
this "massive amount of cash," rather than the folks that are
driving the network away from the old provisioning model.
>> This is yet another case where common sense will lead one astray. You
>> are speaking as if the telecommunications market is a zero sum game.
> It is when the government is regulating it ... particularly the more
> liberal among us who tend to view *everything* financial as a zero sum
> game.
Oh, you mean its those *darn liberals* who want to assign the increased
costs to the high volume users, rather than spread them around to
everyone! Geeze, I thought you'd be blaming liberals if you were
arguing in favor of pay-as-you-go for increased usage!
>> It is not. While the telco's will certainly see some areas where they
>> lose market share they will also find other areas where they will pick
>> up market share. And this does not even factor in the growth
>> anticipated from a competitive market.
> The traditional telcos will see little if any growth, if any, until
> they are able to undercut a world-acecss system, time unlimited, for
> $20/mo. There are a few who are offering ISP services for that kind
> of money; Frontier is one such.
But we're talking about the pricing of the local loop here ... the last
mile that the ISPs depend on to get to their customers!
> Isn't that what the argument about capacity always ends up getting to?
> Capacity at the LEC?
Yes! See above.
>> The point of discussion is cost allocation. If a local network between
>> two central offices need 100 trunks (using typical assumptions for
>> voice traffic) and growth in long holding time data calls necessitates
>> an increase in the number of trunks to say, 200, then why should the
>> users making the long holding time data calls not pay for the
>> additional infrastructure they cause to be placed? Why should the
>> cost of this infrastructure be placed on those only making voice
>> calls?
> This is an odd argument; Wasn't so long ago we heard from the AT&T folks
> that we should be subsidizing the long distance services by way of the
> local bills. When it meant that the consumer was going to pay more, this
> was supposedly a valid argument. Now suddenly, because the telco isn't
> being allowed to raise prices, it's suddenly not a valid argument.
> Hmmmm.
I think there is some serious confusion here. It was the other way
around. AT&T long distance subsidized local service, not the reverse.
Tad Cook tad@ssc.com Seattle, WA
------------------------------
From: bcool@dtc.net (Brad Cooley)
Subject: Re: SW Bell Ponders Flat Fee Long Distance
Date: 26 Aug 1996 21:30:49 GMT
Organization: Denver Internet Access Corp.
Reply-To: bcool@dtc.net
In message <telecom16.436.1@massis.lcs.mit.edu> - Sat, 24 Aug 1996
17:12:40 PDT Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com> quotes SW Bell:
> Aug. 24--When Southwestern Bell gets into the long-distance business,
> it might offer an "all-you-can-eat," flat-fee service as an option to
> its customers.
> Southwestern Bell, which analysts consider to the most financially
> healthy local phone company, "has the strength to drive this kind of
> pricing in their territory," he said.
And they will be even stronger financially if the get the $11 per
residential line rate increase that the want in Kansas. Not to
mention the high cost of ISDN.
Brad Cooley (bcool@dtc.net)
------------------------------
From: dhclose@alumnae.caltech.edu (Dave Close)
Subject: Re: SW Bell Ponders Flat Fee Long Distance
Date: 27 Aug 1996 06:11:08 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com> quotes SW Bell:
> Aug. 24--When Southwestern Bell gets into the long-distance business,
> it might offer an "all-you-can-eat," flat-fee service as an option to
> its customers.
So, all you 1+-means-toll advocates: How does a customer dial one of
these calls? If he has two phone lines, one with with flat-rate
service and one without, does he use a different dialing rule for each
line?
It's not a theoretical question. As the news article makes clear, SW
Bell offers flat-rate plans today in some areas like Houston. If a
Houston "fringe" customer has two lines, one with the $3 option and
one without, does he have to pretend that long calls are toll on both
lines? Based on my knowlege of what SWB does in DFW, they probably
make him dial differently. And that is supposed to be "friendly"?
Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA
dave@compata.com, +1 714 434 7359
dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, he would 'pretend' that there was
a toll charge for the calls on both lines because in fact there is
such a charge. The fact that on one line he pays call by call and on
the other line he pays some extra premium amount monthly for the
privilege of not having to pay call by call on the other line does not
negate the fact that the calls he is placing do cost extra. If he did
not make any calls dialing 1+ then he would not need to pay extra on
his bill each month, regardless of how the 'extra' is billed. If the
subscriber does not call New York or Chicago or some point outside his
local calling area then however telco choses to rate and bill for the
calls -- be it call by call by call; a certain fee for 'flat rate all
you can eat' or whatever -- then he does not have to pay that extra
fee. Your argument reminds me of when outgoing WATS was very prevalent
years ago. Should the subscriber have not had to dial '1' since there
was no specific item on the phine bill showing how many pennies that
particular call cost him? The fact remained that if he did not make
calls starting with '1' then he would not need WATS. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Mike Fox <mjfox@raleigh.ibm.com>
Date: 27 Aug 1996 08:12:52 GMT
Subject: Re: BellSouth Mobility DCS Coontinues Launch of Wireless Service
> From: BellSouth <press@www.bellsouth.com>
> Subject: BELLSOUTH MOBILITY DCS CONTINUES LAUNCH
> OF REVOLUTIONARY WIRELESS SERVICE
[press release deleted]
I went out and bought this service in Raleigh on the first day it
became available two weeks ago. I bought a high-end Nokia phone and
the personal plan (60 free minutes, .30 a minute above that). Before
this I had Tele-Go, which is a Cellular One service that attempts to
emulate PCS. I also signed up for Tele-Go on the first day it was
available. Most of the BellSouth DCS employees in the store I bought
my phone at were former Cellular One employees, which tells me where
they think the future is.
Today I will be exchanging my Nokia phone for a new one -- the speaker
shorted out after only two weeks of use. This is not encouraging, but
I will get a new Nokia phone and if it doesn't make it I'll switch to
another phone.
For those who are familiar with Tele-Go, I have worked up this
comparison of the two services.
Tele-Go BellSouth DCS
=================== ===================
Initial Cost: $30 (activation)(+) $215 (buy phone + activation)
Monthly Cost
Use no minutes: $19.95 $26.95
Use 30 minutes: $27.45 $26.95
Use 60 minutes: $34.95 $26.95
Use 90 minutes: $42.45 $35.95
Per-minute fee: $.25 (starting $.30 (after 60 mins)
with first min)
Simple voicemail $4.95 included
Detail billing: free(+) $1.95
Paging: not available included
Receive text
messages: not available included
Send text
messages: not available $2.95
Contract: 1 year none(+)
Call Forwarding: included included
Charged airtime
for fwded
calls? no(+) yes (1st minute free)
Caller ID: not available free(+)
Sends
Caller ID: no yes(+) (can be blocked)
Call Waiting: not available free
First minute of
incoming calls $.25 free (+)
Free minutes for
cust. referral
or complaint: 60 (*)(+) none
Pick your own
long dist? yes not yet
Phone: low-end OKI high-end Nokia
Other phones
available: no yes (cheaper ones)
Terms: rental included in purchase
access charge
Durability very durable(*) delicate(*)
Cordless-at-home
feature: yes(+) no
Memory
locations: 50 135 (SIM + phone)
Alphanumeric
memory locs: upper case only, mixed case, 20 char names
10 char names
Accessories
included: extra battery, trickle charger
desktop charger
Call timer: live(+) last call time and total time
stored, no live timing
Signal
penetration
of buildings: fair(*) good(*)
Sound quality: OK(*) good(*)
Roaming: nationwide,but the none
reliability is
spotty -- you get
rolled over to the
Cellular Express
pirates a lot (*)
Local service
area: two-county area all of NC, SC, and
eastern TN(+)
(*) based on my observation
(+) indicates that I consider this to be a big advantage
------------------------------
From: sam@nada.kth.se (Sam Spens Clason)
Subject: Re: Why Not Eight-Digit USA Numbers?
Date: 26 Aug 96 21:23:29 GMT
In <telecom16.432.8@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Charles Buckley <ceb@mauto.
com> writes:
> Tony Harminc <EL406045@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU> wrote:
>> mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk (Richard Cox) wrote:
>>> Er, no. Psychologists confirm that eight digits is the
>>> maximum number of digits that can be reliably remembered
>>> and dialled by the average user. Introduction of
>>> ten-digit numbers (which is effectively what the result of
>>> splitting an Wz1 NPA means) will lead to greater incidence
>>> of misdialling.
>> Citation, please! I've dealt with eight-digit numbers in
>> Paris, and I have great trouble remembering them long
>> enough to copy from one place to another. But I have
>> little or no trouble with NANP ten-digit numbers. I'm sure
>> this is because I mentally partition the area code from the
>> easy-to-remember seven-digit number. In Paris, I mentally
>> pull the leading digit (usually 4) off the front, and then
>> remember (say) 42 34 56 78 as 4 234-5678. Much much easier
>> for my brain to deal with.
> Hmm. I've been busy, and haven't had time to read this group
> for a while. I look in just now, and Gee! I remember a
> discussion like this from seven years ago.
Me too.
> The neat thing about the French phone numbering scheme is
> that it has a fundamental understanding of this principle
> built in from the beginning. The chunks there are groups of
> two digits, and this is uniform throughout. Not only are
> subscriber numbers four groups of two, but emergency codes,
> extra-area-code prefixes, even the shortened numbers that one
> uses to access the to international trunk lines, the Minitel
> services, everything is coded in digits grouped by two's.
Like 112?!
Numbers are read out differently in different languages. In Swedish
the number 12 34 56 78 is read twelve thirtyfour etc. That is why it
is nicer to write it that way rather than 1234 4567. The number
911-1234 would in Mexico be spelled and pronounciated 9-11-12-34.
What you are used to does of course matter a great deal. I remember
when most Stockholm numbers where prefixed by a 6 ten years ago. At
the time those numbers looked very funny, but we all got used to it.
Many strange things have happened with the Stockholm numbers. It's
all in http://www.nada.kth.se/~sam/Telecom
sam@nada.kth.se, +46 701234567
------------------------------
From: bpurcell@centuryinter.net (Brian Purcell)
Subject: Re: A Short History of 911 Service
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 96 22:03:44 GMT
Organization: Wide-Lite
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But if there is no rhyme nor reason
> to *how* the addresses get assigned, then what possible difference
> could it make? At least in cities and towns, addresses are calcu-
> lated based on the number of blocks in a mile and the number of
> blocks from some central starting point, etc. What do you
> do in some rural area where the houses are a half-mile apart? On
> what arbitrary basis are numbers assigned on the newly made-up
> 'street' name?
Sorry it took so long to get back to this, but I wanted to get the
answer straight from the local authority on this (you know how long it
takes someone in government to call you back, unless, of course,
you're being audited! :-) )
In rural Hays County, Texas, here is the standards:
Road names are based upon whatever the majority of people in the area
(usually all of the people in the area) call it already. If there is
both a County Road number and a name (i.e. CR123 is also called
Squirrel Road), then the one most people use is used as the "official"
name, although the computers are programmed to back-reference the other
name to the "official" name, just in case someone gives it as a
location in an emergency. For the most part, it seems names are used
more than numbers.
As for "block" numbering, if there are several cross-streets along a
road segment, than block numbering is split at those roads.
Otherwise, blocks are divided at 1/4 mile intervals. Numbering is
estimated from north-south and east-west axises. Houses are numbered
based on approximate lot frontages of 100 feet per lot. These numbers,
once assigned, are required to be posted by the home/business and are
also entered into the county map books, ArcInfo mapping systems, and
E911 computers.
Brian Purcell bpurcell@centuryinter.net
------------------------------
Date: 26 Aug 96 18:12:25 EDT
From: Scott Nelson <73773.2220@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Re: Cable Companies
Let me add to posts from Ed Ellers and Christopher Wolf on this topic:
Most likely, the reason your cable service is not as extensive as in
the single family home areas is because you are being serviced by what
the "industry" calls a SMATV operator. SMATV stands for small
multiple antenna television. SMATV's can be the apartment property
owners themselves or a third part contracted to come in and provide TV
-- often in conjunction with local telephone, long distance, and home
security. The general term for this is shared tenant services (STS),
and major third party players are a company called Shared Tenant
Services and OpTel.
Since Chris is in Texas, this is most likely your situation since this
state has been very proactive on the part of this niche business.
SMATV's have a number of restrictions: they can't cross or use city
easements to connect multiple systems (or they would have to be
certified as a CATV franchise), they typically aren't large enough to
garner good discounts on programming, and they can't originate their
own programming. However, they can work deals with private property
owners to provide their service and share the profits with those
owners. They can also restrict the renters from getting other service
via outside antennas or other means because, after all, it is the
owners' property -- not the renters'.
Unfortunately for the cable operators, they have lost a lot of
business to SMATV operations. Unfortunately for the renters, their
service is often more expensive and less extensive than the
surrounding franchised CATV operators.
The bright side (and I'm sure that many of you might argue whether
this is bright <g>) is that many cable operators have found renewed
hope in attacking the SMATV blight. In the past, they just couldn't
compete with the SMATV's because their level of service and number of
channels caused them to be too pricey for the apartment owners -- and
they couldn't negotiate a kick back deal with them like the SMATVs
were. (Typically, they were locked into a rate set by the terms of
their franchise with the city.) Now, however, they have a couple
other cards to play -- namely telephone service, and maybe throw high
speed internet access and home security into the mix. Viola! They
have a highly competitive "package" with a larger programming mix at a
lower rate for the renters, and more leverage on pricing to enable
substantial profit sharing with the owners.
Scott Nelson
Director of Sales
ANTEC - Digital Systems Division
73773.2220@compuserve.com
------------------------------
From: John B. Hines <jhines@enteract.com>
Subject: Re: Atlanta 911 and COCOTs: The Bomb Call Transcript
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 14:33:50 -0700
Howard Pierpont wrote:
> We head out and can't find anything on the west end. FD: Where did the
> call originate? Dispatch: 7 Rock Ave.
> BTW -- This is the far east end of Rock Ave.
> We head to the location and look for the caller to try and determine
> where the problem really is. Often we do find the caller who is able
> to give better/more complete info.
> If we can't find anyone at the 911 ID location we will then fan out to
> try and find the incident.
> My point was that if the Dispatch had moved some forces to the
> location of the phone, I bet someone would have known where Centennial
> Park was without needing an physical address.
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: One thing that plagued the Chicago Fire
> Department under the old system used here for a half-century of calls
> to their dispatch number (FIre-7-1313) was the large number of 'sound-
> alike' addresses in the city. Person would call the Fire Department
> hysterically and say 'there is a fire at 1234 Damen Avenue' (most
> likely their own house) then disconnect in order to run off to safety.
> Before the dispatcher could inquire "do you mean 1234 *North* Damen
> Avenue or 1234 *South* Damen Avenue?", the party would be off the line.
> Of course this meant that two companies had to respond; one to each
> address several miles apart. One got a good call; the other had a
> false alarm. Or if it was a malicious prank call to start with, then
> both companies had a false alarm. PAT]
Another problem is the use of "vanity" addresses, like 2 Prudential
Plaza, in Chicago, instead of 180 North Stetson, which is 2 Pru's
actual street address. I remember this being blamed for the delay in
the response to a high rise fire, in which a woman died. She called in
the "vanity" address, which was not in the fire departments directory.
------------------------------
From: Jack Adams <jacka@ffast.ffast.att.com>
Subject: Re: Effects of DS1 Tip/Ring Reversal?
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 15:16:27 -0400
Organization: AT&T Laboratories
Reply-To: jacka@ffast.ffast.att.com
Scott Nelson wrote:
> I just finished reviewing an installation of a SONET system, and
> noticed that the Tip and Ring leads to the DSX panel were
> backwards. However, the circuit still worked, and we recorded no
> errors over a one hour period. I know that reversing tip and ring on
> voice circuits can cause problems -- especially with ringing, but what
> happens when you reverse the tip and ring leads on a DS1 signal?
> Anything?
> P.S. I do not care for a discussion of T/R reversals on POTS or analog
> VF lines, just DS1 (T1).
Since DS1 is actually encoded electrically by alternating bipolar (+/-
voltage)pulses, there is no such thing as a polarity reversal on
this circuit.
Jack Adams|AT&T Labs|jacka@ffast.ffast.att.com|908.870.7051[voice]
"Any government that promises to rob Peter to pay Paul can always
count on the support of Paul" ...George Bernard Shaw.
------------------------------
From: dpeschel@u.washington.edu (Derek Peschel)
Subject: Correction: Microsoft and the Apple II
Date: 27 Aug 1996 00:29:30 GMT
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
In article <telecom16.438.10@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, TELECOM Digest
Editor <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:
> Inc. model C-1-P, with 4K of RAM which I got in 1977. It used
> Microsoft BASIC as did the Apple ][+, only the Apple version of
> Microsoft's BASIC and DOS was called 'Applesoft'. The OSI C-1-P came
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Actually, BASIC and DOS on the Apple are unrelated. Microsoft DID
write the Applesoft version of BASIC. But only Apple wrote the DOS.
You could use Applesoft without a disk drive (either by loading it
from cassette or from ROM) and you could have a disk drive but not
Applesoft (instead using Apple's own BASIC which came before
Applesoft).
It's barely possible that Microsoft borrowed the term "DOS" from Apple
and used it to name MS-DOS, but I doubt it. IBM had its own DOS ten
years before Apple and Microsoft came along.
Derek
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, you are correct and I stand
corrected. DOS and BASIC had (still have) nothing to do with each
other. In fact on the OSI you loaded the BASIC into RAM each time
you turned on the computer by playing a tape from a little cassette
player which you plugged into the side of the computer. There were
no disk drives, etc on the OSI. If you wanted to save a program you
saved it back out to the tape on the cassette player. No disk and
therefore no <D>isk <O>perating <S>ystem. PAT]
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #445
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Wed Aug 28 12:25:06 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
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id MAA18155; Wed, 28 Aug 1996 12:25:06 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 12:25:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608281625.MAA18155@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #446
TELECOM Digest Wed, 28 Aug 96 12:25:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 446
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
MFS/Worldcom Merger (Tad Cook)
WorldCom Buying MFS (Greg Monti)
Flip Flap at Motorola (Tad Cook)
Confusing Cellular Promotions (Linc Madison)
US Callers Ripped Off in Calls to 809 NPA (Tad Cook)
"Modems - Simultaneous Voice & Data" A TalkCity Segment (Christopher Frey)
Manufacturers of Bulk Call Generators (Nirmal Velayudhan)
Re: AT&T V-H Coordinates (sanchema@telefonica.com.ar)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: MFS/Worldcom Merger
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 14:57:02 PDT
Builder of MFS Decides to Sell Within an Hour
By GAUTAM NAIK
The Wall Street Journal
It took James Q. Crowe 10 years to transform an obscure outfit called
MFS Communications Inc. into a highly regarded upstart in
telecommunications. It took him just an hour to agree to sell it to
WorldCom Inc. -- for $12.4 billion in stock.
The speed of the transaction isn't typical of Mr. Crowe's style: He is
described as a deliberative and mild-mannered executive who prefers to
ink deals quietly.
His easygoing public demeanor during the merger announcement isn't
typical, either. Several years ago, the bookish Mr. Crowe was so wary
of facing the media and analysts before MFS went public, he hired a
public-speaking expert to help him. But Mr. Crowe, 47 years old, has
suddenly discovered the spotlight and immense riches. He seems to be
enjoying both.
Building MFS "was a labor of love, and I can't sell it without having
a bittersweet taste," he says. "But it's only a 30-second feeling."
Easing the pain: Mr. Crowe's small stake in MFS will now soar in
value, increasing his net worth to the $150 million range. He holds
about 468,000 MFS shares outright, valued at about $21 million after
the company's stock Monday rose $9.94 to $44.81. Better yet, he holds
options to buy 1.7 million MFS shares at $6 apiece, which can be
exercised in November 1997; that would give him a profit of more than
$65 million at Monday's closing price.
Mr. Crowe plans to stay on as chief executive of MFS after it becomes
a unit of WorldCom, and will also be WorldCom's new chairman. Given
his newfound wealth, the question may be how long the man who built
MFS into a scrappy powerhouse, providing businesses with local and
long-distance phone services and helping force open local monopoly
markets, will stick around as No. 2.
Mr. Crowe, a man with a strong entrepreneurial bent, may find it
difficult to play second fiddle to Bernard J. Ebbers, the media-loving
president and chief executive of WorldCom. When the two sat down to
discuss a potential merger agreement in Mr. Crowe's Omaha, Neb., house
two weeks ago, Mr. Ebbers finalized the main terms of the deal in an
hour.
"I didn't expect him to be as bold and forceful as he was," says Mr. Crowe.
Mr. Crowe says he'll stick around at WorldCom. "I've already got my 10
hours of the spotlight," he says. "I've never had a big need to seek
publicity and I don't see any" potential personality clash with
Mr. Ebbers.
To be sure, the WorldCom deal will enrich a handful of other
executives far beyond the scale of Mr. Crowe. Walter Scott, chairman
and chief executive officer of the firm that ultimately spun off MFS,
owns 9.5 million shares of MFS stock now valued at more than $425
million. Rick Adams, founder and chairman of UUNET Technologies Inc.,
the Internet-access provider that MFS only recently acquired, owns 7.8
million shares of MFS stock valued at about $350 million.
For all its high-tech, fiber-optic-based business, MFS traces its
origins to a decidedly low-tech enterprise. It started doing business
in 1987, formed by construction firm Peter Kiewit Sons' Inc., a
closely held company based in Omaha with interests in several
businesses, including construction. The parent firm took MFS public in
1993 and retained a majority stake, later spinning off the rest to
shareholders.
Mr. Crowe, brought in to design nuclear-power plants, another pursuit
of Peter Kiewit, became chief executive of MFS in 1987. It seemed to
fulfill a lifelong calling for tinkering with technology. Mr. Crowe
was fond of electrical experiments as a teenager and would
occasionally blow the wall covers off electrical outlets in his
parents' home. As a child of a Marine Corps father, home was "all over
the place."
He received an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and an
M.B.A. He joined Peter Kiewit following a 12-year stint at the
old-line engineering firm Morrison Knudsen Corp. Once at MFS, he took
a tip from a Chicago company and proposed building a fiber-optic
network in major U.S. cities that could offer local phone service in
competition with the Bells. His employer eventually agreed to put up
$500 million for the project. Since MFS went public, it has raised
about $3.6 billion in stock and debt offerings.
In the past four years, MFS has done for local-service competition
what MCI Communications Corp. originally did to break AT&T Corp.'s
monopoly in long distance. Under Mr. Crowe, MFS pressured federal
regulators to set up new rules so that upstarts could tap in directly
to the Bells' phone networks, rather than having to build all the
links themselves.
Various proposals, such as allowing local customers to switch carriers
and keep their original phone numbers, were pioneered by MFS. Mr. Crowe's
influence was also evident in the landmark telecom legislation that
forces the Bells to meet a list of requirements for opening up their
local monopolies before being allowed into the long-distance
business. Mr. Crowe's other big decision, cheered on Wall Street, was
to place a bet on the future potential of the Internet by buying UUNet
for roughly $2 billion in MFS stock.
Technology still pervades Mr. Crowe's personal life. He has installed
$250,000 in high-tech gadgetry in his large Omaha house -- formerly
the estate of the Swanson family of frozen-food fame -- all rigged to
a central computer. About 20 TV monitors placed around the house act
as "command centers," and infrared systems control the house's
temperature, security alarms and telephones. The system often fails,
but Mr. Crowe offers no apologies.
"I'm a firm believer that the CEO of any organization can't understand
a technology if he doesn't use it," says Mr. Crowe.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 00:11:35 -0400
From: cc004056@interramp.com (Greg Monti)
Subject: WorldCom buying MFS
An article entitled "Merger Poses a Bold Challenge to Bells", was
published in _The Wall Street Journal_, August 27, 1996. A summary
with some comments:
WorldCom, the U.S. long distance carrier that resulted from the merger
of several smaller carriers (IDB, Metromedia, WilTel), has announced a
new acquisition: Metropolitan Fiber Systems, also known as MFS
Intelenet. The acquisition will cost WorldCom $12 billion to buy a
company with only $5 billion in annual revenue (presumably before
expenses).
The synergies between these two companies, however, are a fabulous
match. WorldCom is a long distance company. MFS operates local
dial-up telephone services in competition with the Bells, local data
circuits and fiber rings and it recently bought UUnet, an internet
service provider. Both Worldcom and MFS are 'national' companies
offering service in most major population centers.
This will give us a single company offering local, long distance, data
and internet services under one roof -- WITHOUT the line-of-business
restrictions and '14-point checkoff lists' under which the Baby Bells
must labor to get into the long distance business.
To give you an idea of company sizes, the article shows that a combined
WorldCom-MFS had 1995 revenues of $1.3 billion and net income of $500
million. By comparison, Sprint had revenues of $3.5 billion and net income
of $300 million. MCI had 1995 revenues of $4.6 billion and net income of
$300 million. So, in terms of profit alone, WorldCom-MFS was bigger than
MCI or Sprint.
If either company cancels the merger, it owes the other company $350 million
in cash plus up to $300 million in telecom services. This makes it unlikely
that either company will back out of the deal. WorldCom is based in
Jackson, Mississippi. MFS is based in Omaha, Nebraska.
Meantime, the other 'almost-national' local competitive carrier, Teleport
Communications Group (TCG), a consortium of cable operators, has signed an
agreement with AT&T to carry AT&T traffic to residence customer premises.
One rumor: AT&T might buy TCG in order to parallel WorldCom's move. AT&T
is already an internet provider.
Of the remaining big long distance carriers, MCI already owns and operates
it own local telephone network (MCImetro). Sprint owns local phone
companies in some areas but most of them are smaller cities (with some big
exeptions like Las Vegas and parts of Chicago). Both (I think) already
provide internet services.
Greg Monti Jersey City, New Jersey, USA gmonti@interramp.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And UUNET is in an interesting position
right now, aren't they ... PAT]
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Flip Flap at Motorola
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 15:01:37 PDT
Inventors, Heed Tale of Flip-Phone Flap Via AP
By QUENTIN HARDY
The Wall Street Journal
Garry Haltof thinks electronics giant Motorola Inc. has flipped out.
Mr. Haltof of Rochester, N.Y., was dreaming of riches two years
ago. He had created a cellular-telephone holder he called the "Flip
Clip," and Motorola, the world's biggest cellular-phone maker, was
talking to him about possible deals.
Now Motorola not only says it developed the product but also is trying
to squash Mr. Haltof's trademark on the name, claiming that when it
comes to cell phones, Motorola owns the word "flip."
The flip flap could take years to straighten out. Mr. Haltof, who gave
up his work as a design consultant and took out a home-equity loan to
pursue his Flip Clip vision, calls the situation tragic. "I'm going to
be driven out of business and it's not right," he says.
His story is a cautionary tale for entrepreneurs contemplating deals
with big companies. According to Mr. Haltof, Motorola's accessories
division was initially keen on the Flip Clip. The plastic cradle is
designed to hold the cellular handsets with flip-down mouthpieces
advertised as "flip phones" -- particularly the kind made by Motorola
-- inside a car. But last year, Motorola asserted that engineers
elsewhere in the company had already drawn up a similar phone cradle,
Mr. Haltof says.
"Their general patent counsel called me after I'd showed (the product)
around," says Mr. Haltof, who claims that talks had just culminated in
Motorola requesting a price for 100,000 Flip Clips. "'Don't talk to us
anymore,' (the lawyer) said, `we think we may have invented your product."'
Motorola, based in Schaumburg, Ill., declines to comment on the
specifics of what it sees as a potential patent dispute but notes that
it gets hundreds of product ideas from outside contractors every
year. Each company must agree in writing that Motorola doesn't
necessarily think the idea is original and won't necessarily buy
it. Mr. Haltof, too, signed the agreement.
Indeed, Motorola has tens of thousands of engineers with notebooks
full of drawings for products they've dreamed up. Product managers,
such as the ones Mr. Haltof contacted, don't know a fraction of what
is in those books or whether an engineer's doodle might eventually be
a product.
Soon after Motorola spurned him, Mr. Haltof applied for the trademark
"Flip Clip" for the product, which once appeared in this newspaper's
"Form and Function" column. Motorola contested Mr. Haltof's
application, asserting that the word "flip" is closely tied to
Motorola's flip phones.
Mr. Haltof's company, Haltof Product Design Inc., has exactly one
employee -- him. Motorola has 142,000. But the corporate Goliath has
one big disadvantage compared with Mr. Haltof. Motorola earlier this
year lost its own trademark application for "flip phone."
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office determined in April that the word
was in common usage among several cell-phone makers, such as Sweden's
AB LM Ericsson, which makes a similar phone. Motorola is appealing the
decision.
Meanwhile, the trademark office did clear "Flip Clip" for Mr. Haltof,
apparently deciding that this was a unique term. Motorola filed in
opposition to that trademark decision, and Mr. Haltof's lawyer is now
battling it out with Motorola's lawyers.
Motorola maintains that Mr. Haltof's trademark is invalid because the
Flip Clip gets its identity from Motorola's marketing of flip
phones. "The term `flip' is identified with products from Motorola,"
says Jonathan Meyer, corporate counsel for Motorola.
Mr. Meyer worries about the power of a trademarked Flip Clip -- even
though Mr. Haltof says he has made "less than $100,000" in two years
of selling the Flip Clip, a fraction of the $10.7 billion Motorola's
cell-phone division made last year alone. "Theoretically, he could
allege that our use of `flip phone' is too similar to flip clip, and
we should stop" using the term, Mr. Meyer says. He calls the trademark
objection "primarily a defensive move on our part."
Elsewhere, Motorola is on the offensive. It has trademarked Flip Clip
in Canada and Mexico, ahead of Mr. Haltof. "I don't recall all of the
logic behind that" measure, Mr. Meyer says. Nevertheless, Mr. Meyer
promises, "we would not seek to prevent (Mr. Haltof) from using `flip
clip' on his product" in foreign markets.
Motorola's flip campaign goes beyond Mr. Haltof. It has recently sent
letters to Ericsson and other cellular-phone makers, claiming its
rights to "flip" for phones. "They're wrong," says Donald Mondul,
Ericsson's general patent counsel. "It is a generic term for a feature
employed in many phones. We told them to come back when they have a
trademark."
Mr. Mondul thinks the letters, the "Flip Clip" objection and the
foreign trademarks are all part of an effort by Motorola to gain
rights to "flip" under common law, which has some of the force of a
trademark. He and others think Motorola is trying to avert what
happened to companies like Germany's Bayer AG, which long ago lost the
rights to the word "aspirin" by letting the term, which it owned,
drift into public use.
Mr. Haltof says Motorola has offered him $5,000 for the rights to the
term "Flip Clip." (The company won't comment.) Not enough, he
says. "I've already spent $30,000 developing this," he says. "If they
added two zeros (to the offer), we'd be talking."
The worst part of it all, Mr. Haltof says, is that he feels his
dealings with the company were "by the numbers." The small print on
the Flip Clip's instructions even reads, in both English and Spanish,
"Flip Phone and Motorola are trademarks of Motorola Inc." Motorola was
applying for the trademark at the time, Mr. Haltof explains.
"I was being polite," Mr. Haltof says. "Of course, I printed that long
before Motorola came after me."
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have one question for Mr. Haltof. Has
Motorola demanded that you quit smoking cigarettes in your home, your
office and the car you drive around in? <grin> PAT]
------------------------------
From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison)
Subject: Confusing Cellular Promotions
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 23:05:34 -0700
Organization: Best Internet Communications
The two local cellular carriers are having a bit of a promotions war
at the moment, and the situation is more than a little confusing, not
helped at all by sales droids who don't know up from down. From what
I gathered talking to one of the sales folks, one of the cellular
phones seems to offer me over-the-horizon radar for detecting incoming
Soviet missiles, or something like that. I didn't ask him what the
roaming charges were for that service.
CELLULAR ONE is offering a special "10th Anniversary Summer Price
Plunge," with their "Digital Flex" plan priced at $19.99/month.
Airtime rates start at $0.42/(0.20) per minute peak/(off-peak),
dropping to 0.27/(0.16) if you exceed 420 minutes of per-minute-paid
airtime. You also have two optional package plans for off-peak
airtime: 300 minutes/month for $7.99 or unlimited for $15.
Lastly, if you exceed 900 minutes/month outside of the package plans,
the $19.99/month fee is waived. The local coverage area extends from
Cloverdale (Sonoma County) to King City (Monterey County) and inland
as far as Fairfield and Livermore. Roaming is $0.38/minute within
California (plus Reno/Lake Tahoe), $0.75/minute elsewhere in the U.S.
You can also get a GSM card for international roaming. If you don't
want to shell out for a dual-mode digital/analogue phone, you can also
sign up for their analogue-only plans, starting at $19.99/month, but
with higher airtime rates and no unlimited off-peak package available.
GTE MOBILNET is offering a competing plan, advertised for $19.95, with
their 300 minutes off-peak package priced at only $5.99. However, there
is a significant catch: this rate is for their analogue "zone saver"
plan, which has a much smaller local area. If I base the phone in San
Francisco, then I would be roaming when I'm in Oakland or Marin County
or San Jose, or anywhere else outside S.F. and San Mateo County. This
feature was a significant disappointment, considering that GTE MobilNet's
local calling area on their regular plan extends all the way from the
Oregon border, into the Sierras, and south past Santa Barbara (not
including Sacramento or Los Angeles, but nearly half of California by
land area). Since the service is analogue-only, you can get a much
cheaper phone than the digital dual-mode phones required for the
CellularOne Digital Flex plan. Roaming charges were $0.39/minute for
other zones within the local area, and $0.78/minute elsewhere.
One of the questions I couldn't get a coherent answer to, though, was
how roaming is billed with long distance charges. For example, suppose
I am in Albuquerque and use my cellphone as a roamer, making two outbound
calls -- one to San Francisco and the other to Albuquerque. Will I pay
long distance charges on one, the other, or both calls? The salesman I
spoke to from CellularOne seemed quite certain that I would pay long
distance on the call to Albuquerque, but not on the call back home to
San Francisco, even though the San Francisco call is the one that uses
real long distance facilities; except for authentication and billing,
no part of my call within Albuquerque will touch any long distance lines.
The other question I couldn't get a coherent answer to is whether the
digital service is in a completely different frequency band from the
traditional analogue service, and what the transmission characteristics
of the two are. I know that the sound quality of a digital call that is
breaking up is very different from the sound of an analogue call breaking
up, but does one signal fare better with hilly terrain or downtown
buildings or basements or other impediments?
Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: US Callers Ripped Off in Calls to 809 NPA
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 23:28:22 PDT
U.S. Consumers Ripped Off in Calls to (809) Area Code
By Stephanie Stoughton, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 28--Local job seekers who answered help-wanted advertisements for
"mystery shoppers" or "mystery movie watchers" may get a shock when
they open their telephone bills next month.
There are no jobs, says Bob Gill, director of Norfolk's consumer
affairs office. The ads are part of a scheme to get people to make
long-distance calls at "outrageous" international rates.
Locally, the scam has worked like this:
When job seekers call the long-distance number listed on help-wanted
ads, a recorded voice instructs them to call another number, which in
turn can lead to a third call.
The last two calls, which have 809 area codes, might look like regular
long-distance numbers within the United States. But they're really
phone calls to the Dominican Republic.
The Virginian-Pilot ran several "mystery shoppers" and "mystery movie
watcher" advertisements this month. The newspaper said it has pulled
the ads.
So far, Norfolk's consumer affairs office has received several
complaints, including one this week from a Newport News resident who
complained of a $28 phone charge.
But office director Gill thinks complaints over the "mystery" ads will
pick up once locals discover they were wronged.
"It's going to be at least 30 days before people get their phone
bills," Gill said. "And when they do, they're going to be shocked out
of their gizzard."
Hampton Roads wasn't the only area hit, Gill said. He said residents
in several states, including California and Arkansas, also have been
stung by the scam.
Companies often use 809 numbers as pay-per-calls to get around U.S.
regulations requiring them to warn consumers of charges, according to
the National Consumers League in Washington. Under the rules, callers
also must be allowed to hang up before the charges kick in.
These businesses make money by generating a lot of calls, the consumer
group said. In return, they get rebates from their foreign telephone
companies, the league said.
The Federal Trade Commission has brought charges against similar
operations, agency spokeswoman Bonnie Jansen said. She would not say
whether the FTC is investigating the people behind the "mystery"
ads. Even if federal authorities are investigating, they often have
difficulty tracking down fly-by-night operations in the
telecommunications industry.
"That's the big problem with phone scams," said Linda Candler, spokeswoman
for the local Better Business Bureau. "They're here today and gone
tomorrow. By the time investigators get to where they are, they're
long gone."
------------------------------
From: chris@cybernautics.com (Christopher Frey)
Subject: "Modems - Simultaneous Voice & Data" A TalkCity Segment
Date: 27 Aug 1996 16:34:24 GMT
Organization: Cybernautics, Inc.
This Wednesday (8/28) at 6 PM PT, join Jeff Orr for TalkCity's
(http://www.talkcity.com) segment on modems, "What's New?
Simultaneous Voice & Data." The segment is sponsored by Diamond
Multimedia (http://www.diamondmm.com), makers of the Supra line of
modems.
Bring your questions and comments. Everyone is welcome! For more
details visit TalkCity or Diamond Multimedia's web site.
Christopher Frey
Cybernautics, Inc.
Chris@cybernautics.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 10:17:01 -0700
From: nirmal <nirmalv@qualcomm.com>
Subject: Manufacturers of Bulk Call Generators
Hi Pat:
I'm looking for a list of manufacturers of Bulk Call Generators. Does
anyone out there have such a list compiled, or know of any offhand?
Any help appreciated.
Thanks and regards,
Nirmal Velayudhan +1 619 651 1484 (V)
Qualcomm Incorporated +1 619 658 2113 (F)
6455 Lusk Blvd. Q-356-I
San Diego, CA 92121 nirmalv@qualcomm.com (E)
------------------------------
From: sanchema@telefonica.com.ar
Subject: Re: AT&T V-H Coordinates
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 96 09:38:00 PDT
Drew Larsen <object39@starnetinc.com> wrote:
> Ok folks, scratch your heads and see if you can remeber how to
> translate a point on the earth measured in latitude/longitude to the
> commonly used V&H system used in the telecom industry.
Well, I do not really know this "commonly used system", but we use a
formula to calculate the distance between two places identified by
their location in latitude and longitude (for radio links):
D[km.]=ATAN(Sqr.Root(ABS(1-X^2))/X)
Where:
X=SIN(LatB)*SIN(LatA)+COS(LatB)*COS(LatA)*COS(ABS(LonB-LonA)
All angles in radians taking into account the hemisphere (for the
relative value of the angles) and considering that A is in a western
position related to B.
I do not know if this simple formula could be relevant to the topic,
but perhaps it can get closer to it.
Regards.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
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The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
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*************************************************************************
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*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #446
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Wed Aug 28 14:10:05 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id OAA29136; Wed, 28 Aug 1996 14:10:05 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 14:10:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608281810.OAA29136@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #447
TELECOM Digest Wed, 28 Aug 96 14:10:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 447
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Peter Morgan)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Clark R. Wilkins)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Peter Morgan)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (David Richards)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Rishab Aiyer Ghosh)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (John B. Hines)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (John R. Levine)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Garrett Wollman)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (James E. Bellaire)
Re: Is the Internet Slow? (James E. Bellaire)
Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur? (Roger Wells)
Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur? (Clark R. Wilkins)
Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur? (John R. Levine)
Re: Correction: Microsoft and the Apple II (David E.A. Wilson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: P Morgan <nagrom@pobox.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 07:29:04 +0100
In message <telecom16.438.9@massis.lcs.mit.edu> PAT wrote:
> So I took Bill Pfieffer's advice and 'moved to the Web' with the
> Archives although I don't really know what to think about it at this
> point in time. According to him, if one is not on the Web these days,
> one might as well not be on the net at all.
It does seem that more and more Gopher servers are being shut down, or
just not updated, as many sites feel and find that web usage has
become the highest single cause of traffic. How useful the content of
that traffic is, however, I hesitate to comment.
> Some people write me to say how poorly the web page is put together,
From your later comments it appears they _want_ graphics and so on ...
To be honest, the small portions I've seen so far are great, and "well
done" should be the comment, not criticism :-<
> very long time to load. I just don't know what I am going to do with
> the Telecom web page at this point in time. PAT]
I've just added a few links to your pages. Admittedly mine is far from
the "top 5%" of sites, but readers are invited to take a look ...
http://www.ultranet.com/~pgm/
Keep up the good work, Pat. I'm in favour of minimalist web pages!
(Although I must admit I started to do a "my-trips" set of pages and
the first had a piece of the globe with marks for the few places
world-wide where I've travelled -- it was a pain trying to show the
west coast, Europe and get some suggestion of the Far East on one view
Oh.. just thought how I should have done it ... with a great circle
from LA to Singapore, but the "long way" round :-)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 10:46:50 -0500
From: clarkw@accesscomm.net (Clark R. Wilkins)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Mark Friedman <71534.332@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
> I am performing some research and am interested in hearing from anyone
> with an interesting theory of why Internet access is so slow?
I found an article in the current issue of Wired quite informative about
this problem. I do not have the issue here at the house. The cover has the
"Tired/Wired 100" on it. The article is in the Electrosphere section and
is, in the usual Wired mode, quite informative without being boring.
Clark R. Wilkins * President, J.D.I. Solutions, Inc.
713-974-2434 (f) 713-974-5248
------------------------------
From: P Morgan <nagrom@pobox.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 07:37:22 +0100
In message <telecom16.444.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu> johnd@mail.ic.net
(John Dreystadt) writes:
> protocol to occur. It would be much less burden on the net to do
> "server side includes" where the server read the file and included all
> of the graphic images. There are issues about caching that my simple
> description has entirely ignored but I hope you can see my point.
Please spare us from this being forced on us. Sure it reduces the
number of connections, but I'd download very few pages if it was "the
norm". I think it is Hong Kong's Port Authority which has many dozen
graphic images (representing Chinese characters) and at the end was
the "get your booklet about the Port Authority here" text, in English.
We switched off image loading and zzziiiippp we had the required link
and could do what we needed. We'd still be waiting if they'd put SSI
into force.
Peter
------------------------------
From: dr@ripco.com (David Richards)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Organization: Ripco Internet BBS Chicago
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 22:57:26 GMT
Not to be rude, but Mr. Dreystatd does not know what he is talking about.
HTTP is based on TCP/IP, not UDP.
'Server-Side-Include' has nothing to do with how graphics are loaded by
the browser.
> While there is much value in the overall message, there are some
> technical errors in this paragraph. The HTTP protocol does not use
> TCP/IP but instead uses the connectionless cousin, UDP/IP. I am not
> entirely certain what the references are to "connection" in this
> paragraph but I suspect "transaction" is the correct word. I am not
> sure of the number of round trips a single transaction takes in the
> HTTP protocol but three seems reasonable.
HTTP uses TCP. The client initiates a connection, sends a series of
HTTP headers beginning with a request for a file, then a single blank
line. The server responds with a series of headers starting with a
result code, then a blank line, then the document content, if any.
> A missing issue with the standard HTTP protocol and the interface
> between the server and the browser is the handling of multiple
> files. A standard web page often has many individual graphic
> files. The standard model for HTTP involves what is best described as
> "browser side includes". The main file for the web page is brought
> over to the browser and the browser parses the file. Each graphic file
> within the web page causes an individual file transfer using the HTTP
> protocol to occur. It would be much less burden on the net to do
> "server side includes" where the server read the file and included all
> of the graphic images. There are issues about caching that my simple
> description has entirely ignored but I hope you can see my point.
You have the right idea, but the wrong terminology.
Originally, the browser would request the HTML file, close the connection,
then request each of the inline graphics as a separate (sometimes parallel)
transaction.
There is an extension know as 'keepalive' where after the initial
transaction for the HTML file is completed, the connection can be kept
open and used for additional requests, such as getting the associated
graphics.
KeepAlive is implemented in the Mosaic and Netscape browsers, and in many
servers, including NCSA's and it's spinoff, Apache.
------------------------------
From: rishab@nntp1.best.com (Rishab Aiyer Ghosh)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: 28 Aug 1996 00:24:01 GMT
Organization: Best Internet Communications
Henry Baker (hbaker@netcom.com) wrote:
> Bob Metcalfe was on CSPAN2 this morning talking about the 'collapse of
> the internet'. A key point in his argument is that the internet is
You might want to read George Gilder's piece in the latest (August 26)
Forbes ASAP on Metcalfe's theory, and Internet slowdown in general.
I'm not sure I agree entirely with Gilder's argument, but I find
Metcalfe's simplistic. First, I don't see sufficient evidence to show
that the rise of private Intranets will _slow_ down the Internet -
this would mean the conversion of public networks to private ones, and
I don't think this is happening. Most Intranets involve _new_
bandwidth; existing ones, like AT&T's, never were a thoroughfare for
Internet traffic.
We've seen it all before in the world's highways. Sure there are
more traffic jams today than 50 years ago, but GM and Walmart still
use public roads -- they haven't built nationwide private networks,
because it's more expensive. Of course within their campuses
and factories where security is important they use private roads,
where the general public has no access. Traffic jams are being
addressed in other ways, through tolls. Only recently have the
Dutch started to use e-cash chips implanted in cars to automatically
charge a fee for the use of congested roads. I would expect eventually
similar technology to ease congestion on the Net, where it's only fair
that those who use it more pay more, instead of being subsidised by
low-volume users as at present.
One point Gilder makes and Metcalfe could hardly dispute is that despite
ever-more frequent traffic jams, the Internet, like the world's
road network, is growing. And how!
Rishab
First Monday - The Peer-Reviewed Journal on the Internet
http://www.firstmonday.dk/ Munksgaard International Publishers, Copenhagen
International Editor - Rishab Aiyer Ghosh (rishab@dxm.org)
Pager +91 11 9622 162187; Fax +91 11 2209608 or 2426453 or 2224058
A4/204 Ekta Vihar, 9 Indraprastha Extn, New Delhi 110092 INDIA
------------------------------
From: John B. Hines <jhines@enteract.com>
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 17:04:40 -0700
John Dreystadt wrote:
> A standard web page often has many individual graphic
> files. The standard model for HTTP involves what is best described as
> "browser side includes". The main file for the web page is brought
> over to the browser and the browser parses the file. Each graphic file
> within the web page causes an individual file transfer using the HTTP
> protocol to occur. It would be much less burden on the net to do
> "server side includes" where the server read the file and included all
> of the graphic images. There are issues about caching that my simple
> description has entirely ignored but I hope you can see my point.
But doesn't that defeat the user's option of not loading graphics?
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 96 18:39 EDT
From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
> While there is much value in the overall message, there are some
> technical errors in this paragraph. The HTTP protocol does not use
> TCP/IP but instead uses the connectionless cousin, UDP/IP.
Can you identify a Web server or client that uses UDP? I have looked
at Netscape, Mosaic, Explorer, and Websurfer on the client side and
NCSA, Apache, and the free Win95 server on the server side, and every
single one of them uses TCP.
Or were you perhaps thinking of something else?
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof
------------------------------
From: wollman@halloran-eldar.lcs.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: 27 Aug 1996 15:50:44 -0400
Organization: MIT Laboratory for Computer Science
In article <telecom16.444.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, John Dreystadt
<johnd@mail.ic.net> wrote:
> While there is much value in the overall message, there are some
> technical errors in this paragraph. The HTTP protocol does not use
> TCP/IP but instead uses the connectionless cousin, UDP/IP.
I cannot let this "correction" stand. The sentence quoted above is
absolutely, utterly false.
Garrett A. Wollman wollman@lcs.mit.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 96 13:28 EST
From: James E. Bellaire <bellaire@tk.com>
Organization: Twin Kings
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
In TELECOM Digest 438 Pat noted:
> So I took Bill Pfieffer's advice and 'moved to the Web' with the
> Archives although I don't really know what to think about it at this
> point in time. According to him, if one is not on the Web these days,
> one might as well not be on the net at all. Some people write me to
> say how poorly the web page is put together, but it was all pretty
> much put together on the spur of the moment one evening in July, and
> I am not so much interested in a pretty web page as I am in being able
> to pass a large volume of text in as short a period of time as possible.
> I do not think the web page looks all that bad, and I certainly do not
> want to fall into the trap of lots of pictures and sounds. That just
> isn't my thing, and the pages like that I have seen do seem to take a
> very long time to load. I just don't know what I am going to do with
> the Telecom web page at this point in time. PAT]
The nicest part about TELECOM Digest web pages is that they are so
compact. I use lynx from a shell account occasionally to grab something
off massis without tying up a constant FTP link.
The nicest thing about http vs ftp is that the connection drops and
the host is free to serve others while the user processes the data. A
compact, quick loading web page like TD's beats the 'lets see if I can
crash this' design school.
I once programmed on 4K basic machines. I went through the upgrade
cycle (8K, 16K, 256K) before changing machines (the new one had 1 meg).
Never could fill all of it, until I started on web pages.
The high graphic web writers should be forced to view their creations
over 14.4 modem lines at peak times. Then be sent to their rooms to
write more compact code, doing as much as they can in as little code
as possible.
For those who still wouldn't learn we would give them 300 baud modems.
A little remedial education would not hurt. :)
James E. Bellaire (JEB6) bellaire@tk.com
WebPage available 23.5 hrs a day http://user.holli.com/~bellaire
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well you know, Lynx is what I use now
to monitor the web page. I put the pages together using an emacs
editor and manually inserted the HTML code where it belongs with advice
given by Pfieffer. Since I do not have Netscape, Mosaic or any of
those things here (sort of impossible to run over a 28.8 modem line
to a Wyse-50 terminal) I just have to *assume* the web page looks okay,
since I cannot view it on any regular basis other than via Lynx. But
I do not want to sound too heroic here; I do walk over to the Skokie
Public Library every few days and take my thirty-minute turn at the
computers with Netscape installed on them to look at the web pages,
make notes on what needs to be fixed, etc. Then I come back home and
put it up in emacs and make whatever changes I want. So it is not
like I am doing it entirely by guesswork as I edit it, although it
is almost that way. Lynx then tries hard to show me what I did, but
it becomes problematic. If someone would like to donate an old 486
with a good browser on it to the Digest, I'd be quite grateful and
give them sponsor status. Trying to do this whole thing on a Wyse
terminal was okay a few years ago, but it is starting to be a bit of
a joke, and a stale one at that. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 96 13:30 EST
From: James E. Bellaire <bellaire@tk.com>
Organization: Twin Kings
Subject: Re: Is the Internet Slow?
In TELECOM Digest 438 dr@ripco.com (David Richards) wrote:
> Your question is like asking the US Dept. of Transportation in D.C.
> "Why is travel so slow?"
> Some cities (providers) have major traffic jams, and there may be
> construction and delays affecting some interstates, but overall the system
> is very healthy.
Actually the US DOT is running radio PSAs that feature a 'close call'
on the highway (caused by poorly lit roads, pot holes, etc.) with a
voice over that states 'on the 40th anniversary of the nation's
interstate highway system the roads are falling apart, so watch out.'
Strange ad ...
James E. Bellaire (JEB6) bellaire@tk.com
WebPage available 23.5 hrs a day http://user.holli.com/~bellaire
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Something else quite useful which I
could see being adapted for the Internet are the little radio stations
they operate at 530 kc and 1610 kc along each road to tell motorists
about the conditions ahead of them. If there is not now, perhaps there
could be a daily mailing circulated to network administrators which
discussed bottlenecks located, general trends in network traffic, and
ways around the problems. When an admin for example made some changes
in his own configurations as a result of some chronic congestion at
his own 'exit ramp' and 'on ramp' perhaps the daily announcement sent
around would discuss this, and comment on adjustments others ought to
be making as a result, etc. There may already be something like this,
I don't know. But like the message the other day saying a bunch of
files had been screwed up causing mail to bounce all over, it would be
good if there were a standard method of alerting everyone 'on the
highway' about the obstacles, wreckage, and congestion expected over
the next day or two. Like air traffic controllers perhaps, but call
them net traffic controllers. PAT]
------------------------------
From: rwells@usin.com (Roger Wells)
Subject: Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur?
Date: 28 Aug 1996 15:51:27 GMT
Organization: U.S. Intelco Networks, Inc.
In article <telecom16.443.11@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, jeffrey.rhodes@attws.
com writes:
> National Number Portability does not promote competition for the local
> loop so why is it needed? Sure one would never have to change numbers
> but some new mechanism would be needed to inform callers about long
> distance charges when calling a number that has been ported between
> area codes.
In addition to the convenience (or inconvenience, depending upon one's
lifestyle and point of view) it makes more numbers available. There are
NPA's with plenty of spare exchanges; with National Portability, these
could be used elsewhere. Depending upon the scheme used, more area codes
could be opened up: most probably, ten digit dialing would become mandatory
(not absolutely required, but when most of the people who live close by
have different leading digits on their phone numbers, it really doesn't
make much sense to allow seven digit dialing for the occasional number
halfway across the continent which just happens to have the same three
leading digits.)
This may be an inconvenience, but we seem to be coming to it anyway,
and it would permit the second set of three digits in the phone
number, which no longer indicates a specific exchange, to begin with 0
or 1. (In other words, all numbers--except special numbers like 911 --
are of the form NXX-XXX-XXXX.)
As to a mechanism to inform callers about long distance charges, I think
the scheme that has already been discussed would suffice. Any number can
be dialed with a leading 1 if you are willing to pay long distance charges
(or 0 for collect, calling card, etc.); with the leading 1 or 0 the call
does not complete if it is long distance.
Roger Wells
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 10:46:54 -0500
From: clarkw@accesscomm.net (Clark R. Wilkins)
Subject: Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur?
As a side note to this discussion, what do other readers think about
the prognostications that evolution of larger and larger scale packet
switched networks would obviate the need for phone numbers as they are
known? Is it possible that x-digit phone numbers will be irrelevant if
we move more towards voice communication over IP-based networks? Would
this not put the toll-based phone system out of business (or into
another business) if bandwidth becomes a commodity item?
Also, I thought the (little discussed) idea of converting phone
numbers from seven to eight digits by adding another digit on the end
and reserving the block of ten (aaa-aaaa0 through aaa-aaaa9) for valid
and existing seven digit numbers was absolutely brilliant. All other
schemes I have seen seem to involve adding more complexity and less
automation, whereas this one changes nothing for existing numbers.
Clark R. Wilkins * President, J.D.I. Solutions, Inc.
713-974-2434 (f) 713-974-5248
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 96 20:37 EDT
From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: Will Full Number Portability Occur?
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
Al predicts:
> As telecom usage rises and prices fall, folks will be more willing to
> place calls without knowing the exact costs -- look at cellular usage.
> (Note that some folks pay more to take their own money out of ATMs than
> for many phone calls - it all depends on "what you're used to".)
I wish I believed that. Toll rates have fallen by, what, two orders
of magnitude in real terms in recent decades, but the majority of the
country still clings to the 1+ for toll anachronism.
> TELCos will get into the information content area, because that's where
> the money is -- today.
Right, and when they do it we'll know that market is where the money
was yesterday.
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof
------------------------------
From: david@cs.uow.edu.au (David E A Wilson)
Subject: Re: Correction: Microsoft and the Apple II
Date: 28 Aug 1996 13:49:58 +1000
Organization: University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
In article <telecom16.438.10@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, TELECOM Digest
Editor <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:
> Inc. model C-1-P, with 4K of RAM which I got in 1977. It used
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, you are correct and I stand
> corrected. DOS and BASIC had (still have) nothing to do with each
> other. In fact on the OSI you loaded the BASIC into RAM each time
> you turned on the computer by playing a tape from a little cassette
> player which you plugged into the side of the computer. There were
> no disk drives, etc on the OSI. If you wanted to save a program you
> saved it back out to the tape on the cassette player. No disk and
> therefore no <D>isk <O>perating <S>ystem. PAT]
I too started my home computer career with an OSI C1P. I think mine
was circa 1978 so it may have been a little more modern than yours.
It did have a disk drive system available as an option but I never
purchased it. Loading programs from tape was cute -- the LOAD command
simply changed the input vector to use the 6850 connected to the tape
recorder and a BASIC listing on the tape simply typed itself in.
Further, it had Microsoft's 8KB 6502 BASIC in ROM in addition to a 2KB
monitor ROM which turned out to be two 1KB monitors, one for the larger
OSI machines and one for the Superboard/C1P (the C1P = Superboard + Case/PSU).
The prompt you got when you powered it up was D/C/W/M? for
Disk/Coldstart_BASIC/Warmstart_BASIC/Monitor. The disk controller wrote
bytes to the disk using a 6850 to serialize the data and a 6821 to step
the drives etc.
The major limitation was the video - 32 rows x 32 cols of 8x8 characters
with no vertical or horizontal overscan resulting in a usable area of about
24x24. In later years I tripled the master clock to get 96 horizontal cells
and used 32 of them for horizontal blanking. Increasing the vertical line
count from 32 to 38 gave me some vertical blanking and a 50Hz refresh more
suitable to Australia.
David Wilson Dept CompSci Uni Wollongong Australia david@cs.uow.edu.au
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Mine had the same opening prompt and
the same screen display. You had to be very careful with the volume
control on the tape recorder when you saved out and loaded in the
programs. If it was too loud or too soft, the transfer would go badly
and you had to start all over again. PAT]
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'.
Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
or phone at:
Post Office Box 4621
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Phone: 847-329-0571
Fax: 847-329-0572
** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is:
http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
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file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of
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*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #447
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Thu Aug 29 15:47:18 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id PAA03541; Thu, 29 Aug 1996 15:47:18 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 15:47:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608291947.PAA03541@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #448
TELECOM Digest Thu, 29 Aug 96 15:47:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 448
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Tentative Meeting of Readers: May, 1997 (TELECOM Digest Editor)
"Industry Standard" vs "Telco Grade" (Lars Poulsen)
A New Box Arrives (Internet via Cable) (John De Hoog)
Baltimore Will Test Three-Digit Non-Emergency Phone Number (Mike Pollock)
BellSouth Offers Access to the Internet (Bill Newkirk)
Internet Thruway (Tara D. Mahon)
Can El Lay Pols REALLY Alter 911 Records? (Robert McMillin)
1-800 Charge From Payphone? (marks10254@aol.com)
Assorted Telecom News (Tad Cook)
BellSouth Launches Internet Access Service (Mike King)
Consultant Needed in ISDN (Ontario Link)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 13:39:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Subject: Tentative Meeting of Readers: May, 1997
So! What would you think of a meeting of the minds *in person* in a
sort of 'convention' for TELECOM Digest readers over the Memorial
Day holiday weekend next year? Arrangements would be made for very
inexpensive group rates at the Howard Johnson's here in Skokie.
A best estimate of the cost would be $75-100 per room/night, assuming
two nights (Saturday/Sunday of that three day weekend). Persons who
wished to share a room could arrange it between themselves.
The preliminary schedule I have designed looks like this:
Arrive Saturday morning and check in beginning about 1:00 pm. We would
have the use of the HJ conference room as well as all the other amenities
they offer. From 2:00 pm until 6:00 pm Saturday, a few speakers and
demonstrations, etc.
Some free time until 8:00 pm when we meet for dinner at the Skokie
Club, a short distance (several blocks) away. You'd order from the
menu and the bar as you wished, and a best guess cost of your dinner
would be about $35-40 per person.
After dinner from about 10:00 pm until whenever, open discussion
and/or one-on-one meetings between readers at the HJ conference room
with an open bar. Retire to your room for the night when you wish.
On Sunday at noon, brunch at the IHOP located across the street and
a block north of HJ. Order from the menu, with an estimate of your
meal cost being $10 including tips, taxes, etc.
Sunday afternoon from about 2:00 pm until sundown, a re-enactment of
Gene Spafford's vision of Usenet: a Sunday afternoon in the park.
Lots of conversation as you move from one cluster to another; no
topics decided in advance. The park is directly across the street from
HJ, so you can go to your room as desired and return, etc.
Sunday evening about 8:00 pm, oysters and other good stuff to eat
in the 'fishmarket' restaurant attached to HJ, then afterward take
some time in your room to catch up on email if you brought a laptop
with you, and get a good night's sleep for your trip home the next
day.
Monday morning at 9:00 am, a continental breakfast in the conference
room with final farewells, exchanging addresses, phone numbers and
business cards, etc. Check out of your room by about 11:00 am but
feel free to linger on awhile; the idea being stay as long as you
can and leave when you must for your trip home.
For persons from out of town, my best estimate of the overall cost
of the weekend would be about $250-300 not including your transportation.
Chicago area people would of course simply return to their own homes
both evenings if they chose to do so, eliminating the cost of a room
at Howard Johnson's.
If this idea sounds at all appealing or you think it has some merit
please let me know. **Nothing is planned at this time**. If enough
people are interested, I'll work out something definite with HJ and
begin organizing those of you who wish to be speakers or give a
demonstration, etc.
PAT
------------------------------
From: lars@anchor.RNS.COM (Lars Poulsen)
Subject: "Industry Standard" vs "Telco Grade"
Date: 29 Aug 1996 00:26:53 -0700
Organization: RNS / Meret Communications
Someone said:
> modems that are installed are not $140 USR Sportster modems either.
> They are industrial grade design intended for 24x7 operation for
> decades with zero downtime -- and they are much more expensive.
You can say that again. I recently visited a company that manufactures
"telco grade" modems, most of which are used for remote diagnostics
ports on central office switches. They are still shipping an impressive
amount of 1200 bps and 2400 bps modems. They are just now upgrading
their top-of-the-line product from 9600 bps to 14400 bps. V.34 (28.8)
is still considered "unproven new technology" for these applications.
And the reliability is awesome. How many of the computer people hanging
out here would bet your job that the systems you work on can stay up
for a full year without a crash, reset, reload or upgrade needed?
Lars Poulsen Internet E-mail: lars@RNS.COM
RNS / Meret Communications Phone: +1-805-562-3158
7402 Hollister Avenue Telefax: +1-805-968-8256
Santa Barbara, CA 93117 Internets: designed and built while you wait
------------------------------
From: dehoog@super.zippo.com (John De Hoog)
Subject: A New Box Arrives (Internet via Cable)
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 08:38:51 GMT
Organization: Zippo
Reply-To: dehoog@super.zippo.com
A new black box, made by Fujitsu, was delivered to my home this week.
It looks and acts like a set-top box, but it's actually for connecting
to the Internet via my cable TV provider.
No, it's not a cable modem. That won't arrive until next year. When it
does, it's supposed to deliver 10 MB connections to the Internet. But
for now, I have to be content with this little black box.
How does it work? Well, just like a phone jack, only the other end of
the line is my cable TV provider, ParkCity Cable here in
Musashino-shi, Tokyo. My Microcom V.34 modem is plugged into the black
box (actually called a "communication access unit") instead of the
phone company's modular jack. The unit connects to a coaxial cable
running from the fiber line outside. I've got a Windows95 connectoid
set for this connection, and the number I dial is simply 0030.
Well, it's not the future yet, but if that 10 MB cable modem arrives,
things may change. Another development, however, will be happening
around the same time. The phone company is not taking this lightly;
NTT is getting ready to test its OCN -- a connectionless network
designed specifically for Internet access, and offering high-speed
connections over regular phone lines (connected to a TBase-10
connector in the home) at low cost.
Posted by John De Hoog, Tokyo
dehoog@super.zippo.com
In real life: dehoog@mars.dtinet.or.jp
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 18:56:33 -0700
From: Mike Pollock <pheel@sprynet.com>
Organization: SJS Entertainment
Subject: Baltimore Will Test Three-Digit Non-Emergency Phone Number
Acoording to a copyrighted report on the Business Wire for August 28,
the Maryland Public Service Commission has granted the use of 311 to
the Baltimore Police Department and AT&T. The new non-emergency
number, 311, will be tested in Baltimore City for a two-year period to
reduce the overburdened 911 emergency system and to enhance community
policing efforts. Implementation is scheduled for early October.
CONTACT: Baltimore Police Dept.
Sam Ringgold
(410) 396-2012
or
AT&T
Regina Allegra
(202) 776-6092 (office)
(703) 528-8075 (home)
------------------------------
From: Bill Newkirk <wenewkirk@rodes.cca.rockwell.com>
Subject: BellSouth Offers Access to the Internet
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 18:28:11 -0400
Organization: Rockwell Avionics/Collins
Reply-To: wenewkirk@rodes.cca.rockwell.com
From the Wednesday, August 28, 1996, {Orlando Sentinel}, page B1,
article by Joe Kilsheimer.
New service is called "CommerceNet" available to businesses immediately,
with residential service expected in October.
Offers features from e-mail only at $8/month to customized packages
including high speed data lines, registered domain names, and intranets.
Residential customers in Atlanta and New Orleans can sign up
immediately.
Unlimited access for standard telephone line will be $19.95/month.
for 10 hours or less of access, it's $9.95/month with $1/hour over 10.
Customers not in a BellSouth service area (such as Osceola and parts of
Seminole counties) can subscribe but will have to pay $0.25 per call.
(service there is Sprint/United telephone ...)
Sprint is supposed to also be offering a similar service nationally this
fall, with tests starting with 200,000 users on August 20.
"You're not going to get busy signals with a company like BellSouth" -
Adam Schoenfeld, VP of Jupiter Communications, a NY company that
publishes trade newsletters about the internet.
---------------------
So if they do this, and put in a per minute charge to the other ISP's,
is that anticompetitive?
bill n.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 96 13:17:10 GMT
From: Tara D. Mahon <tara@insight-corp.com>
Subject: Internet Thruway
Pat and DIGEST,
Due to the recent flurry of replies on the Internet traffic issue,
I thought I'd repost an excerpt of a NewsFirst Telecom newsletter
that Insight Research released on July 25:
--------------
The problems created by packet traffic on the circuit-switched PSTN
is well documented in the Bellcore study entitled "Impacts of
Internet Traffic on LEC Networks and Switching Systems," (A. Atai &
J. Gordon, Bellcore, 1996). To request a copy of the study contact
Mr. Bill Blatt at Nortel. You can reach him via phone at
(201) 292-5715 or via the Internet at william.blatt@nt.com.
--------------
Earlier this week, Insight sat in on a Nortel conference call to
announce their "Internet Thruway" solution, a new combination of
existing Nortel products -- software, access nodes, and switches --
that will groom Internet dial-up traffic off the voice network to a
data network. The Nortel AccessNode w/Data Direct software will
recognize data calls based on the called number, the call is then
directed to the Rapport Dialup Switch, terminating the modem call and
coverting it to packet data format, encapsulating in IP packets using
Layer-2 Forwarding (L2F) protocol for security. Then it is sent to
the appropriate ISP or corporate LAN over a frame relay or ATM network
via the Magellan Passport.
We'll be issuing another newsletter with more detailed info on
Internet Thruway sometime next week. I'll be happy to forward it to
Pat and the DIGEST when available.
Regards,
Tara D. Mahon tara@insight-corp.com
The Insight Research Corporation www.insight-corp.com
354 Eisenhower Parkway (201) 605-1400 phone
Livingston, NJ 07039-1023 USA (201) 605-1440 fax
Market Research & Competitive Analysis for Telecom Industry
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 09:04:54 -0700
From: rlm@netcom.com (Robert McMillin)
Subject: Can El Lay Pols REALLY Alter 911 Records?
Reading la.general today, I discovered the following amazing post from
Tom Klemesrud. (For those of you who don't know, Tom's been involved
in a lengthy set of proceedings defending himself against the legal
predations of the "Church" of Scientology. He and that organization
recently came to a settlement.) I pass it along with minimal editing.
Parenthetically, the original topic of this thread is about an attempt
by the Co$ to buy a street rename after their fraudulous founder,
i.e. L. Ron Hubbard Way or some such. They give plenty of samoleans
when the wheels of government need greasing ...
------- Start of forwarded message -------
From: Tom Klemesrud <tomklem@ix.netcom.com>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology,la.general
Subject: Re: How To Prevent "L. Ron Hubbard Way" in L.A., Part II
Date: 25 Aug 1996 13:06:11 PDT
Organization: (Support.com BBS)
STEVE FISHMAN wrote:
I never mentioned this before, but when the January 14th, 1995 911 call
to LAPD mysteriously disappeared from the LAPD computers (found later on
the Fire Department Computers), an LAPD Communications officer said
that a City Councilman has the power to remove the 911 transcript from
the computer records.
I did inform Ferraro's office of what happened that night, so Ferraro
did have previous knowledge to have done this. Although I am not sure
how the 911 records disappeared from the LAPD computers.
Tom Klemesrud SP6
KoX
------- End of forwarded message -------
Robert L. McMillin | rlm@helen.surfcty.com | Netcom: rlm@netcom.com
------------------------------
From: marks10254@aol.com (MarkS10254)
Subject: 1-800 Charge From Payphone?
Date: 28 Aug 1996 22:52:02 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Reply-To: marks10254@aol.com (MarkS10254)
I live in upstate New York (Dutchess County). We have a small independent
payphone operator (New York Coin Telephone); complete with Nynex rip-off
color scheme and all.
I have recently noticed that when attempting to gain access to my long
distance provider via a 1-800#; their payphone will give me a prompt,
"Please deposit $.25", some of their phone have a small sign on them
which says,"local tarriff appoved $.25 for 1-800 numbers.". Of course
I was pissed; I don't know if a free land based 1-800# is a God given
right, but I sure thought it was close. In order to get around this
obstacle I tried to access a AT&T operator and have her place the
1-800# for me; It DID NOT WORK; I got a recording stating that the
number was no longer in service-TOTALLY INCORRECT; I dial this same
1-800# at least five times a day, albeit from NON-New york Coin
Telephone phones.
My questions to you are:
Is this legal?
If it is legal, is all of it legal?
If it is not legal, is there anyone who can solve it faster than the
P.S.C.?
WHAT REVENGE DO I TAKE?
This company seems to be the only one that I know of that is doing this.
Thanks,
marks10254@aol.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes it is legal, since the not too distant
past through regulations by the FCC. If the owner/operator of the phone
has no other way to recover some portion of the amount of the call for
himself (i.e. he is not part of any separations/settlements process the
telcos have between themselves) then he can get 'up to' 25 cents from
the user of the phone. Genuine Bell payphones do not make this charge
because of course they are part of the billing/collections loop. Usually
onlu COCOT phones make this charge because they are privately owned
with the owner getting only whatever collections go in the coin box.
Some COCOT owners just as a matter of public goodwill are not charging
for 800/888 calls since the public perception of those calls as 'free'
would cause a lot of hassles and bad public relations. More and more
are getting around to charging for every call however; either because
you pay them for the call itself or you pay them 'something extra'
for the use of their phone even though the charge for the call itself
is being billed somewhere else. The only real recourse you have is to
stick with Genuine Bell whenever possible, and frankly the day may
come before long when they also add such charges to the caller. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com>
Subject: Assorted Telecom News
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 10:01:37 PDT
This is from a service called NewsSpot:
*** AT&T promises 'instant Answers'
AT&T announced a new service Tuesday that allows users to phone
customer service agents over the Internet. Project iA, for "instant
Answers," connects users to an agent by clicking an icon. This action
results in a telephone conversation and the agent can also send images
or accept credit card transactions. Users will need two phone lines,
one for the Internet connection and the other for voice connection
over the AT&T network. AT&T plans to offer the service over one phone
line in the near future.
*** AT&T signs discount deal with AOL
AT&T WorldNet signed a co-marketing deal with America Online Monday,
aimed at making AOL available at a discount rate to AT&T's 300,000
Internet access subscribers. AT&T WorldNet, launched March 14, said it
will give subscribers a 20 percent discount to AOL. As part of the
package, AOL's software will be made available on AT&T WorldNet's home
page. Customers will be able to seamlessly switch between browsing the
Internet via WorldNet and AOL's proprietary service.
*** MCI to offer local phone service in 13 new cities
MCI Communications named the 13 additional cities in which it will be
offering local telephone service by March 1997, as part of its 25-city
MCI Metro network. It already has networks up and running in twelve
cities, and by the end of this year says it will have invested $1
billion in total in its local services initiative. It said it expects
to invest a like amount in 1997 if the competitive environment is
favorable. The new cities are Denver, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami,
Minneapolis, Newark, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, San Diego,
San Francisco and Tampa. MCI was up 1/4 to 27. For the full story see
http://hawaii.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=240.cb.51805
------------------------------
From: Mike King <mk@wco.com>
Subject: BellSouth Launches Internet Access Service
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 18:29:00 PDT
From: BellSouth <press@www.bellsouth.com>
Subject: BELLSOUTH LAUNCES INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE
Reply-To: press@www.bellsouthcorp.com
BELLSOUTH LAUNCHES INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE
BellSouth.netSM service offers locally focused, globally connected
Internet service
ATLANTA, August 27, 1996 -- BellSouth today launched its
BellSouth.netSM service to provide Internet access to consumers and
businesses in the Atlanta and New Orleans metropolitan areas.
BellSouth.net service will focus on providing easy access to local
information while offering reliable connection to the global Internet.
The company will expand the service to an additional eight markets in
its region in October.
In addition to Internet access, BellSouth.net service offers a
customized version of Netscape Navigator, electronic mail, an optional
site blocking feature, and an easy-to-use gateway to local and
national information and electronic yellow pages.
BellSouth provides the service with two attractively-priced plans:
1) an unlimited usage plan priced at $19.95 per month; and 2)
an hourly plan that provides ten hours of access per month for
$9.95, plus $1 for each additional hour. BellSouth will offer
customers who sign up for the service in 1996 one free month of
service, and the one-time service set-up charge of $10.00 will
be waived. Customers can have the service billed to their BellSouth
telephone bill or charged to a credit card.
"At BellSouth, we have a heritage of meeting customer demands with
high quality, reliable services," says Jere Drummond, president & CEO
of BellSouth Telecommunications. We're happy to bring that
unparalleled heritage to a communication tool where a high level of
customer care is critical -- the Internet."
BellSouth.net service will be available in October in the Miami area
(including West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale), the Raleigh area,
Charlotte, Orlando, Jacksonville, Louisville, Nashville and Memphis.
Additional markets will be added in 1997.
The Internet market is growing at a rapid pace, according to a
BellSouth study conducted in April, 1996. Of the company's total
customers, 14 percent say they access the Internet, a significant
increase from nine percent in November, 1995.
"Our Internet service is locally focused and globally connected,"
says John Robinson, president of BellSouth.net Inc. "We will
help our customers find useful and interesting information on
the Internet while focusing on providing them easy access to information
about their local metros. BellSouth will provide a much needed
connection between consumers and businesses locally and globally."
BellSouth's comprehensive Internet service offering has been enhanced
by alliances with:
Yahoo! -- One of the most popular search and directory utilities
for the Internet, Yahoo! and BellSouth have developed a customized
version of Yahoo! for BellSouth.net users to find local and regional
information with hyperlinks to Yahoo's Internet directory site
for research into global information.
HotWired -- This company has designed a tour that teaches newcomers
how to maneuver on the World Wide Web. In addition, HotWired's
HotBot search engine will enhance BellSouth.net users' search
capabilities. HotBot is a joint effort of the HotWired Network
and Inktomi Corporation.
SurfWatch -- A site-blocking feature, SurfWatch enables parents
to monitor children's Internet activities.
Key local information providers, such as Gambit New Orleans
Weekly and Atlanta publications Creative Loafing and
The Atlanta Business Chronicle.
BellSouth will continue seeking alliances with other local information
providers so customers can easily access even more information
about their local metros in the future.
BellSouth.net Inc. has implemented local Internet Protocol (IP)
networks and developed services which will allow BellSouth's business
units and affiliates to provide Internet services and electronic
commerce capabilities for residential and business customers'
growing computer networking needs. The company, for example,
has developed a portfolio of business offerings that include Intranet
and industry-specific electronic commerce solutions for businesses
with complex communications needs.
For small businesses, BellSouth.net service will facilitate local and
regional electronic commerce through its local (IP) networks by
providing easy access to and speedy interaction with cohesive
communities of interest. A community of interest includes a
subject-specific group of related client, vendor and service-oriented
organizations electronically connected for the purpose of sharing
information and automating business processes.
"These communities of interest enable local communication that is
faster and more secure because it's sent through BellSouth's local IP
network, the same network that also provides access to the global
Internet," says Robinson. "Through BellSouth, these communities of
interest bring together consumers, professionals and businesses who
rely on each other for success."
Customers should call 1-888-4DOTNET(368638) TOLL FREE for more
information or to order BellSouth.net service. Customers may access
the service's home page at www.bellsouth.net.
BellSouth is a $17.9 billion communications services company. It
provides telecommunications, wireless communications, directory
advertising and publishing, and information services to more than 25
million customers in 17 countries worldwide. BellSouth's
telecommunications operations provide service over one of the most
advanced networks in the world for nearly 22 million access lines in
its nine-state region that includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and
Tennessee. Visit BellSouth Corporation's web site at www.bellsouth.com.
For Information Contact:
Ted Creech, BellSouth, (404)330-0550
Andy Hagedon, GCI/Atlanta, (404)873-5330
-------------------
Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com
------------------------------
From: olink@noc.tor.hookup.net (Ontario Link)
Subject: Consultant Needed in ISDN
Date: 28 Aug 1996 16:42:58 GMT
Organization: HookUp Communication Corporation, Oakville, Ontario, CANADA
We are looking for someone who is familiar with ISDN communications,
especially with knowledge of providers of international services and
how the providers bill. Knowledged of this with regard to leased as well
as dial up lines would be helpful. Knowledge of regulatory issues would be
a big plus. What is NOT required is someone with only basic knowledge of
how to order and hook up an ISDN line & equipment. We already know that.
We need someone who knows about the costing aspects of INTERNATIONAL data
communications.
If you think you fit all or part of this, please email us at
olink@hookup.net
Thanks,
Ontario Link <olink@hookup.net>
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'.
Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
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Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
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------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #448
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Thu Aug 29 17:38:12 1996
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Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 17:38:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
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To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #449
TELECOM Digest Thu, 29 Aug 96 17:38:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 449
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Help! Small Business Overcharged $6600 by BellSouth and Cherry (R. Strobel)
The Path a Roaming Call Takes (Yigal Arens)
Questionnaire: Please Help (Alex Balfour)
Interesting Patent Question (John M. Elliott)
Is Childrens' Programming Now Required? (The Colligan Group)
Needed: 1A2 CX 110 Intercom (Michael Muderick)
Wanted: Panasonic Digital Telephone Switch (Will Estes)
48 V PC Power Supply (Jeff Regan)
Speed-Dial 8 *and* 30 (Mark J. Cuccia)
Employment Opportunity: AT&T Wireless Services (kkinared@wafirm.com)
Re: Confusing Cellular Promotions (Larry Schwarcz)
Re: WTB: A Wireless Phone Network (10,000 + Numbers) (Allan Rubin)
Re: Flip Flap at Motorola (mexitech@netcom.com)
Re: Flip Flap at Motorola (Curtis Wheeler)
Re: Wireless Satellite Communication - A Challenge (David Wigglesworth)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Christian Weisgerber)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Neil Harris)
Re: Why is the Internet So Slow? (Poll Dubh)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: rstrobel@infotime.com (Rick Strobel)
Subject: Help! Small Business Overcharged $6600 by BellSouth and Cherry
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 96 09:25:12 GMT
Organization: InfoTime
My business has several telephone accounts with the local phone
company, BellSouth. Last fall I changed long distance companies to
Cherry Communications and had all my lines, on all the accounts
switched to the new carrier.
In March I added two phone lines to one of the accounts. When I
placed the order I told the BellSouth rep that I wanted to use Cherry
Communications as my carrier for the new lines, since Cherry was the
company providing long distance for the existing lines on that
BellSouth bill. (I should also point out that I have a combination of
residential and business accounts with BellSouth, and these new lines
were on a residential account.)
I assumed that the calls would arrive on my separate long distance
bill with all of my calls. What a shock I received when I got a
BellSouth bill for $8,000! The normal BellSouth bill should have been
about $100 for the local line charges. If the calls had been billed
as I had expected, using Cherry through my business account, they
would have cost about $1,400.
The new lines had the same PIC code (0270) as the originals, so they
went through the Cherry (and Wiltel) networks. The calls for the new
lines were billed on my local phone bill through USBI, while the calls
for the original lines were billed on my separate Cherry bill as
usual. I believe that USBI, Cherry and Wiltel are all almost one in
the same - i.e. Wiltel provides some or all of the network services to
Cherry and/or USBI.
What I learned was that in addition to telling BellSouth that I wanted
to use the same carrier for my new lines, I also had to send a signed
letter to Cherry notifying them that I wanted to put the new lines on
their service.
The Cherry rep initially indicated that they may be able to re-rate
the calls to correct the problem. This means that I would pay $.1099
for a one-minute call anytime of day, in six second increments with no
minimum call length; instead of $.48 for a one minute call at 1:00 AM!
Cherry now says that they won't re-rate the calls. BellSouth says I
have to pay the full amount or they'll disconnect my service. I am
willing to pay what I was expecting to pay, not five times that
amount.
Ultimately I need to convince Cherry to negotiate to the proper billing
amount, but so far they've not been too receptive.
My main question is this: Other than threatening to switch all my
services to another carrier, which I don't think would bother them too
much, what leverage can I bring to bear in the negotiations? Public
Utilities Commision? FCC? State Attorney General? My attorney?
BellSouth people? Cherry people? I feel like David against Goliath.
I welcome any comments or suggestions on how to resolve this problem.
Thanks in advance,
Rick Strobel
InfoTime Fax Communications
502-426-4279 502-426-3721 fax
rstrobel@infotime.com
http://www.infotime.com
------------------------------
From: arens@ISI.EDU (Yigal Arens)
Subject: The Path a Roaming Call Takes
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 12:42:20 -0700
Organization: USC/Information Sciences Institute
I live in Los Angeles and have a contract with a local cellular service
provider. When I'm in San Francisco and a friend of mine in San
Francisco calls me on my cell phone, charges accumulate as follows:
- My friend pays long distance charges to my cellular number in LA;
- I pay my long distance provider for transmitting the call from LA to
San Francisco;
- I pay the roaming charges for receiving the call in San Francisco on
my cell phone.
Can someone explain the logic behind this (other than that more people
make money off it)? I would think that once the "system" figures out
that I'm in San Francisco, there would be no reason to continue
routing the call in such a roundabout way. Why can't my friend's call
just be routed directly to me in San Francisco, without the SF-LA-SF
segment? OK, so there'll be a, say, one minute long distance charge
to him for the call to LA until some switch is informed about my
location. Surely this is technically feasible.
I realize that this would mean treating a call from LA to my cell
number differently from a call from SF. So? Caller ID makes the
location of the caller known to the receiver. It's for things like
this that we have clever computer programs and programmers!
Yigal Arens USC/ISI
arens@isi.edu http://www.isi.edu/sims/arens
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Tell your friend to start dialing into
the number for the roaming port in San Francisco. Then he will pay for
just a local call and you will pay only whatever roaming charge applies
for roamers making/receiving local calls in SF. PAT]
------------------------------
From: mysore@dircon.co.uk
Subject: Questionnaire: Please Help
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 11:02:04 GMT
Organization: Direct Connection
Reply-To: mysore@dircon.co.uk
I'm a journalist conducting a survey of Internet telephony usage.
Whether you use Internet telephony products, you don't use internet
telephony, or *you've never heard of Internet telephony*, I'd really
appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to fill in a
questionnaire.
It will be one of the first fully automated email surveys conducted on
the internet. The survey will be processed automatically by EFORM, a
new automated email processing application, produced by Beach Tech
(http://www.beachtech.com, email: sales@beachtech.com). And no, I'm
not a Beach Tech employee.
If you *don't* use Internet telephony, or have never heard of Internet
telephony, please send a blank email to: IT_NONUSER@BEACHTECH.COM, and
a survey, with instructions, will be mailed to you.
If you *do* use Internet telephony, send an email to:
IT_USER@BEACHTECH.COM, and a survey, with instructions, will be
emailed to you.
Please tell your friends and colleagues about this survey. Details
about survey results are attached to the questionnaires.
Thanks,
Alex Balfour alex.balfour@pobox.com
------------------------------
From: stellcom@ix.netcom.com (JOHN M ELLIOTT)
Subject: Interesting Patent Question
Date: 29 Aug 1996 04:38:43 GMT
Organization: Netcom
I manufacture a product which uses voice mail to retrieve lost items.
My competitor has an almost identical product which uses voice mail
He claims he is getting a patent on his product because voice mail
use is unique for this service (retrieving lost items). I say you
can't patent interactivity. Any comments?
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 14:31:00 EDT
From: rippowam@interport.net (The Colligan Group)
Subject: Is Childrens' Programming Now Required?
Dear Mr. Townson:
I am interested in any information concerning a piece of legislation
concerning childrens' programming on television. I briefly heard that
all television stations are now required to air three hours/week of
children's programming. I would like to confirm this and get any
further pertinent information. Please return my e-mail to --
rippowam@interport.net -- if you can be of any assistance.
Thank you,
Erin Edson The Colligan Group
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That is correct. A thirty minute program
five days per week would be minimally satisfactory, or it could be
a Saturday morning program from 9:00 am until noon, etc. I think more
information in greater detail on exactly what does and does not constitute
'programming for children' could be obtained from one of the groups
which discuss broadcasting. You might want to inquire at wdp@airwaves.com
and get on that mailing list. PAT]
------------------------------
From: am004d@netaxs.com (Michael Muderick)
Subject: Needed: 1A2 CX 110 Intercom
Date: 29 Aug 1996 20:40:08 GMT
Organization: Philadelphia's Complete Internet Provider
A non profit I do pro bono work for needs an ITT 1A2 intercom unit, CX
110 with the associated dial select card and the touch tone adapter.
Anybody have any surplus laying around for donate or lo cost sale?
Thanks. You can reach me during the day at 610-874-1465 or evenings
at 610-449-6970.
------------------------------
From: westes@usc.com (Will Estes)
Subject: Wanted: Panasonic Digital Telephone Switch
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 07:47:12 GMT
Organization: U.S. Computer
Reply-To: westes@usc.com
I am looking for a Panasonic digital phone switch, with either 8x16 or
12x32 lines. I want the digital model that can be controlled by PC
software remotely. If you have one for sale please contact me by
mail.
Will Estes U.S. Computer
Internet: westes@usc.com POB 3150
Saratoga, CA 95070
FAX: 408-446-1013
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 21:03:12 EDT
From: Jeff Regan <jeregan@sympatico.ca>
Subject: 48 V PC Power Supply
Hi everyone,
I am looking for a PC Power Supply that operates off of 48V DC Central
Office Battery instead of standard 120/208 VAC. IE: Instead of
plugging your PC into a standard electrical outlet, or UPS, run it off
a string of batteries.
It would need to generate all the required PC voltages (+/- 12V and
+5V I believe) with their respective current requirements (ie: what-
ever those are for a standard 230W power supply.)
It would also need to be a drop in replacement for the regular PC power
supply into a standard minitower or tower case.
If you know of who makes such a beast, please let me know.
Thanks,
Jeff Regan
Internet: JEREGAN@SYMPATICO.CA
Ham Packet: VE3XJR@VE3MGQ.#SWO.ON.CAN.NA
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 10:58:16 -0700
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Speed-Dial 8 *and* 30
By the way, I do subscribe to _BOTH_ Speed-8 _AND_ Speed-30. I had
Speed-8 for about two years, and then wanted to add Speed-30. This was
about a year ago. It is possible to have both on the #1AESS that
serves my home. But the service-rep at the Business Office thought I
wanted to drop Speed-8. I had to tell her that I wanted _BOTH_ and I
_DO_ have both!
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What exactly is the purpose of having
> both, other than to be a little snobbish and peculiar? <grin> PAT]
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have *THIRTY EIGHT* possible speed-dial slots, rather than just
thirty or eight!
------------------------------
From: The Washington Firm, Ltd. <wafirm@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Employment Opportunity: AT&T Wireless Services
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 10:43:57 -0700
Organization: Washington Firm
***AT & T WIRELESS SERVICES***
*POSITION: Manager - National Telephony - Voice
*LOCATION: Kirkland, WA
*REFERENCE NUMBER: APNPBX
*TYPE (i.e., full time or contract or part time): Full Time
*RESPONSIBILITIES:
Work with regional telephony managers to ensure integrated implementation
of national telephony initiatives;
Develop and maintain a telephony strategy that includes integration with
AT&T , and other wireless entities;
Develop and maintain standard traffic engineering standards for call
volumes;
Develop and maintain telephony standards for premise equipment and related
software to ensure a natal solution;
Provide budget analysis of telephony installations and options;
Develop and maintain standard change management procedures for CPE
upgrades and version control including all scripts;
Work with the Customer Care organization to ensure the business
initiatives are reflected in the telephony solution;
Manage a team of telephony analysis.
*QUALIFICATIONS:
Required:
6-10 years telephony routing experience;
6-10 years experience in PBX, VRU and ACD systems and support;
6-10 years experience in traffic vectoring and load balancing;
2-3 years in CTI, ASAI and LAI technologies and methods;
Optional:
2-3 years traffic concepts in a non-queuing environment.
Preferred:
B.S. degree.
Please send your resume to:
AT&T Wireless Employment Services;
Attn: APN
2 Nickerson, Courtyard Suite;
Seattle, WA 98109
Reference #: APNBPX
FAX (206) 284-8844
Or, you may respond by email to "kkinared@wafirm.com".
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Confusing Cellular Promotions
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 96 12:27:25 -0700
From: Larry Schwarcz <lrs@hpisrhw.cup.hp.com>
Linc Madison <Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com> writes:
> The other question I couldn't get a coherent answer to is whether the
> digital service is in a completely different frequency band from the
> traditional analogue service, and what the transmission characteristics
> of the two are. I know that the sound quality of a digital call that is
> breaking up is very different from the sound of an analogue call breaking
> up, but does one signal fare better with hilly terrain or downtown
> buildings or basements or other impediments?
I don't know the answers to those questions, but, I can say, as a user
of CellularOne's Digital Flex Plan with a Motorola Micro Digtial Lite
phone, that I hate the audio quality of their digital service. I find
that I frequently switch over to analog (Fcn 2) and I'm also
considering switching to GTE Mobilnet for the larger local home
market.
CellularOne's digital service is TDMA. GTE Mobilnet is working on a
CDMA network here in the Bay Area. Last I heard, it was supposed to
be up and running by the end of the year (that was about last March
that I was told that).
From what I've heard, CDMA is a far better technology than TDMA, but,
I would have to buy a new phone. The TDMA phone is not compatible with
CDMA service :-(.
Lawrence R. Schwarcz, Software Design Engr/NCD Internet: lrs@cup.hp.com
Hewlett Packard Company Direct: (408) 447-2543
19420 Homestead Road MS 43LN Main: (408) 447-2000
Cupertino, CA 95014 Fax: (408) 447-2264
Internal-only WWW: http://hpisrhw.cup.hp.com/~lrs/homepage.html
Copywight (c) 1996 Elmer Fudd. All wights wesewved.
------------------------------
From: arubin@mindspring.com (Allan Rubin)
Subject: Re: WTB: A Wireless Phone Network (10,000 + Numbers)
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 09:49:13 -0400
Organization: MindSpring Enterprises, Inc.
In article <telecom16.437.9@massis.lcs.mit.edu> nwres203@wolfenet.com
writes:
> The network will require no connection to outside.
This is obviously a joke. Are we to believe that they plan to set-up
10k people with no outside access? Why in the world would anyone want
this? I can sell you a cellular system if you want, it would accomplish
this for about $3 to $5 million depending on local terrain and availa-
blility of permits for bandwidth (frequency).
------------------------------
From: mexitech@netcom.com (Patrick)
Subject: Re: Flip Flap at Motorola
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 02:22:46 GMT
Tad Cook (tad@ssc.com) wrote:
> Inventors, Heed Tale of Flip-Phone Flap Via AP
> Garry Haltof thinks electronics giant Motorola Inc. has flipped out.
Article deleted...
An Edgar search of Motorola shows them to be trying to clear up a host
of these petty squabbles. Maybe Mr, Haltof is on their list. Do a
search, something is going down in the world of wireless.
Patrick mexitech@netcom.com
------------------------------
From: Curtis Wheeler <cwheeler@ccnet.com>
Subject: Re: Flip Flap at Motorola
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 20:14:28 -0700
Organization: Just Me and My Own Opinions (A Standard Disclaimer)
Reply-To: cwheeler@ccnet.com
Tad Cook wrote:
> Inventors, Heed Tale of Flip-Phone Flap Via AP
> Now Motorola not only says it developed the product but also is trying
> to squash Mr. Haltof's trademark on the name, claiming that when it
> comes to cell phones, Motorola owns the word "flip."
Someone correct me if I am wrong. But wasn't the first "Flip Phone" a
product made by Conair about 15+ years ago?
Curtis KD6ELA / GROL / PP-ASEL
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 03:28:12 GMT
Subject: Re: Wireless Satellite Communication - A Challenge
From: David_W@usa.pipeline.com (David Wigglesworth)
On Aug 19, 1996 18:00:46, cwheeler@ccnet.com wrote:
> MarvinDemuth@worldnet.att.net (Marvin Demuth) wrote:
>>> Earlier I wrote:
>>>> WHAT WE NEED:
Snip.
> At least one of the terminals they sell, the Mitsubishi ST151, is fax
> capable -- but only at 2400bps. There is a "modem interface" that
> operates to 4800. Note this is a narrowband, digital service so data
> rates are limited.
Currently the max data rate is 2400bps. While the units are capable of fax,
there is currently no fax service available.
> "Tellular" is soon to release an "adapter" that will let you use a
> POTS type device on the unit. This is simialr to the adapter they
> offer for cellular phones.
However this device does not allow you to use an analog modem or fax
machine. It is designed mainly for people to be able to attach voice
equipment such as cordless phones.
> The transportable ST151 that we tried was available for between US$3500
> and US$4500. It depends on the deal you strike and the options you
> want/need. Fax and dispatch capability are options to the unit.
As before, the units are fax capable, however fax service is a future
service addition.
Regards,
David Wigglesworth
David_W@usa.pipeline.com
------------------------------
From: naddy@mips.pfalz.de (Christian Weisgerber)
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: 29 Aug 1996 02:58:19 +0200
johnd@mail.ic.net (John Dreystadt) writes:
> While there is much value in the overall message, there are some
> technical errors in this paragraph. The HTTP protocol does not use
> TCP/IP but instead uses the connectionless cousin, UDP/IP.
This "correction" is wrong. HTTP does use *TCP*, not UDP. I'm not sure
where the specs for HTTP are -- I couldn't find a mention in the RFC
index -- but on a Unix box you can check this by executing the netstat
command while your browser gets a document. So indeed a TCP connection
is established for every document, image, etc., and yes, this is an
area for improvement.
Christian 'naddy' Weisgerber naddy@mips.pfalz.de
See another pointless homepage at <URL:http://home.pages.de/~naddy/>.
------------------------------
From: Neil Harris <neil@nharris.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 09:00:12 +0100
In article <telecom16.444.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, johnd@mail.ic.net (John
Dreystadt) wrote:
> In article <telecom16.438.9@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, wollman@halloran-eldar.
> lcs.mit.edu says:
>> 2) The protocol. The primary protocol of the World Wide Web, HTTP,
>> runs over the primary protocol of the Internet generally, TCP. In
>> order for standard TCP to work, every connection involves no fewer
>> than three round trips from the origin to the destination. A single
>> round trip can take as much as a second or two depending on how and
>> where each end of the connection is attached to the network. A
>> modified version of TCP, called Transaction TCP or T/TCP, reduces this
>> to two round trips, but it is not widely deployed. None of this would
>> have come into play if HTTP had been designed better to begin with;
>> work is progressing to fix HTTP so that it no longer requires a new
>> connection for each request, but it will be some time before this is
>> widely deployed.
> While there is much value in the overall message, there are some
> technical errors in this paragraph. The HTTP protocol does not use
> TCP/IP but instead uses the connectionless cousin, UDP/IP.
No. HTTP is layered over TCP.
You can demonstrate this by telenetting to port 80 of your friendly
local web server, and typing:
GET / HTTP/1.0
From: me
Accept: text/html
Accept: text/plain
at it. You will then (usually) get a web page downloaded to you.
> I am not entirely certain what the references are to "connection" in
> this paragraph but I suspect "transaction" is the correct word. I am
> not sure of the number of round trips a single transaction takes in
> the HTTP protocol but three seems reasonable.
Why? With a totally connectionless unreliable protocol, it shouldn't
take more than one round trip. But if you want reliability, or more
than one packet of data, you will need extra state: enter TCP and
T/TCP.
> A missing issue with the standard HTTP protocol and the interface
> between the server and the browser is the handling of multiple
> files. A standard web page often has many individual graphic
> files. The standard model for HTTP involves what is best described as
> "browser side includes". The main file for the web page is brought
> over to the browser and the browser parses the file. Each graphic file
> within the web page causes an individual file transfer using the HTTP
> protocol to occur. It would be much less burden on the net to do
> "server side includes" where the server read the file and included all
> of the graphic images. There are issues about caching that my simple
> description has entirely ignored but I hope you can see my point.
Unfortunately, this would completely defeat the purpose of client-side
caching. However, work is under way to fix this problem properly.
Neil Harris
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 13:50:48 +0200
From: Poll Dubh <singular@oort.ap.sissa.it>
Subject: Re: Why is the Internet So Slow?
Organization: Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch'entrate
In article <telecom16.444.2@massis.lcs.mit.edu> John Dreystadt claims:
> While there is much value in the overall message, there are some
> technical errors in this paragraph. The HTTP protocol does not use
> TCP/IP but instead uses the connectionless cousin, UDP/IP. I am not
> entirely certain what the references are to "connection" in this
> paragraph but I suspect "transaction" is the correct word. I am not
> sure of the number of round trips a single transaction takes in the
> HTTP protocol but three seems reasonable.
No, HTTP is a tcp protocol. I am looking at the source code for NCSA
Mosaic (version 2.7 beta 5, file HTTCP.c, routine HTDoConnect()) and
the relevant line reads: *s = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM,
IPPROTO_TCP); grep showed not a single instance of a UDP socket in the
code base.
If you think about it, you'll realize that UDP/IP does not provide
protection against loss of datagrams, so if it were used you'd be
seeing a lot of failed connections on which a retry is needed, or the
clients *and servers* would have to include their own system to handle
acknowledgments and retransmission requests. Basically, that would be
reinventing TCP, and perhaps reimplementing it more poorly. (The
backoff algorithm for retransmissions may slow you down when the
packet loss rate is high, but it also gives the overall network load a
chance to decrease to a more sustainable level.)
> A missing issue with the standard HTTP protocol and the interface
> between the server and the browser is the handling of multiple
> files. A standard web page often has many individual graphic
> files. The standard model for HTTP involves what is best described as
> "browser side includes". The main file for the web page is brought
> over to the browser and the browser parses the file. Each graphic file
> within the web page causes an individual file transfer using the HTTP
> protocol to occur. It would be much less burden on the net to do
> "server side includes" where the server read the file and included all
> of the graphic images. There are issues about caching that my simple
> description has entirely ignored but I hope you can see my point.
Oh no. Server side includes would be dreadful. They are only
advantageous if the client actually downloads all those included
files. Smart users resort to smart browsers that let them turn off the
automatic loading of images and request only the images they really
want to see. (That's without even mentioning browsers like lynx, for
terminals without the ability to display graphics.) Moreover, sites
like to include the same icons in many pages; it doesn't make sense to
retransmit those icons over and over, and server side includes would
require the client to send in a list of what can be omitted from the
next document served.
> Just remember that HTTP and the Internet in general is a giant work in
> progress.
So? The same can be said about life in general.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
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* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
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*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #449
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Thu Aug 29 23:21:59 1996
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id XAA18040; Thu, 29 Aug 1996 23:21:59 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 23:21:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199608300321.XAA18040@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #450
TELECOM Digest Thu, 29 Aug 96 23:21:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 450
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Flip Flap at Motorola (Bob Niland)
Re: US Callers Ripped Off in Calls to 809 NPA (Steven Lichter)
Re: Mandl's Move to Tiny Start-Up Spotlights Wireless Rush (Patrick)
Re: AT&T V-H Coordinates (Charles Cremer)
Re: AT&T V-H Coordinates (Vincent Kuo)
Re: AT&T V-H Coordinates (Tim Shoppa)
Re: Cellular Phones: Analog v. Digital? (Lynne Gregg)
Re: DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing) (Babu Mengelepouti)
AT&T LD Billing Local Cellular Calls (Stanley Cline)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: rjn@csn.net (Bob Niland)
Subject: Re: Flip Flap at Motorola
Date: 29 Aug 1996 23:44:20 GMT
Organization: Colorado SuperNet
Reply-To: rjn@csn.net
Tad Cook (tad@ssc.com) wrote:
> Now Motorola not only says it developed the product but also is trying
> to squash Mr. Haltof's trademark on the name, claiming that when it
> comes to cell phones, Motorola owns the word "flip."
I trust that both of these parties are aware that GTE was selling
"Flip Phones" in the late 1970s, and presumably trademarked the
phrase. I still use two, and have the documentation for one of them,
which probably is dated, should anyone want me to email them a .PDF of
the relevant page.
I suppose it's also possible that Moto bought the rights to the name
from GTE.
Regards, 1001-A East Harmony Road
Bob Niland Suite 503
Internet: rjn@csn.net Fort Collins, Colorado 80525 USA
------------------------------
From: slichte@cello.gina.calstate.edu (Steven Lichter)
Subject: Re: US Callers Ripped Off in Calls to 809 NPA
Date: 28 Aug 1996 17:29:30 -0700
Organization: GINA and CORE+ Services of The California State University
Tad Cook <tad@ssc.com> writes:
> U.S. Consumers Ripped Off in Calls to (809) Area Code
Here is another side to the scam, sorry about all Caps, but that is the
way it was sent to me.
809 AEA CODE LONG DISTANCE SCAM
THE NATIONAL FRAUD INFORMATION CENTER (NFIC) IS WARNING
BUSINESSES NOT TO RETURN CLLS TO THE 809 AREA CODE UNLESS THEY
KNOW THE CALLER.
SCAM ARTISTS ARE TRYING TO GET AROUND THE U. S. REGULATIONS
GOVERNING PAY-PER-CALL SERVICE IN THE 900 BLOCK BY OPERATING
OVERSEAS. PEOPLE ARE REPORTING THAT THEY ARE GETTING MESSAGES
ON THEIR ANSWERING MACHINES TELLING THEM THAT IT IS IMPORTANT
THAT THEY CALL A NUMBER BEGINNING WITH 809. WHEN THEY DIAL
THE NUMBER, THEY HEAR A LONG RECORDED MESSAGE. WHEN THEIR
TELEPHONE BILL COMES, THERE IS A HUGE CHARGE RELATING TO THE
CALL.
############
SysOp Apple Elite II and OggNet Hub (909)359-5338 2400/14.4 24 hours,
Home of GBBS/LLUCE Support for the Apple II and Macintosh computers.
------------------------------
From: mexitech@netcom.com (Patrick)
Subject: Re: Mandl's Move to Tiny Start-Up Spotlights Wireless Rush
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 02:17:24 GMT
Tad Cook (tad@ssc.com) wrote:
> Mandl's Move to Tiny Start-Up Spotlights Wireless Rush Via AP
Excuse me, is there something I am missing here, Marshall McCluan (sp)
and George Gilder (Telecosm and the Next Wave) gave a pretty good
account of all this years ago. Does anyone really believe the big
boys paid all that money for wireless if they thought pots was the
answer?
In addition, ATT agreed to the break up so they could go play in this
market. ISDN was defined and authorized in 1968, and they suggested the
break up so they could go after the really big bucks.
I think it was Townsend who told the story, now we see a real life
example in the {Wall Street Journal}.
If anyone reading this has taken a company public, believes in
Telecosm and wants to live in the prettiest place on earth, I am
accepting resumes. You will not have time to enjoy the scenery, but
you can retire at least ten years earlier than you might have thought!
If you don't know Unix, insist on everyone wearing ties to work. Don't
bother, I can't control these kids either. The company will be
located in the Pacific Northwest in the next thirty days.
Patrick mexitech@netcom.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: When you mentioned 'Townsend' above,
were you referring to me? PAT]
------------------------------
From: ccremer@fc.net (Charles Cremer)
Subject: Re: AT&T V-H Coordinates
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 02:45:54 GMT
sanchema@telefonica.com.ar wrote:
> Drew Larsen <object39@starnetinc.com> wrote:
>> Ok folks, scratch your heads and see if you can remeber how to
>> translate a point on the earth measured in latitude/longitude to the
>> commonly used V&H system used in the telecom industry.
> Well, I do not really know this "commonly used system", but we use a
> formula to calculate the distance between two places identified by
> their location in latitude and longitude (for radio links):
> D[km.]=ATAN(Sqr.Root(ABS(1-X^2))/X)
> Where:
> X=SIN(LatB)*SIN(LatA)+COS(LatB)*COS(LatA)*COS(ABS(LonB-LonA)
> All angles in radians taking into account the hemisphere (for the
> relative value of the angles) and considering that A is in a western
> position related to B.
> I do not know if this simple formula could be relevant to the topic,
> but perhaps it can get closer to it.
The original message has scrolled off my host, but upon reading this
follow-up, I believe Mr. Larson is searching for "Redfearn's
formulae". The Australian government has a web site with considerable
geodesy information. A search using Digital's Alta-Vista on topic
"redfearn's formulae" will take you there.
Charles Cremer <ccremer@fc.net>
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Aug 1996 08:10:51 -0800
From: vincent_kuo@stsl.siemens.com.tw (Vincent Kuo)
Subject: Re: AT&T V-H Coordinates
sanchema@telefonica.com.ar wrote:
> a formula to calculate the distance between two places identified by
> their location in latitude and longitude (for radio links):
> D[km.]=ATAN(Sqr.Root(ABS(1-X^2))/X)
> Where:
> X=SIN(LatB)*SIN(LatA)+COS(LatB)*COS(LatA)*COS(ABS(LonB-LonA)
I don't think this is a correct formula since D obtained as above is an
an angle. My formula for straight-line distance goes like this:
D=r*Sqrt[2*(1-Cos[LatA]Cos[LatB]Cos[LonA-LonB]-Sin[LatA]Sin[LatB])]
where r is the radius of the earth, and never mind the sign of the angles
as long as opposite hemispheres gets the opposite signs. You can use
whatever units you like, only to remember, in most computer programs,
the angle must be in radians to get the sin's and cos's right.
If you want the distance along the great circle, use the formula:
d=2r*ArcSin[D/2r]
But this time, the angle must be calculated in radians since ArcSin is
used. If you don't have ArcSin, use the formula:
ArcSin[x]=ArcTan[x/Sqrt[1-x^2]]
But what is AT&T V-H coordinates, after all?
Vincent Kuo
Software Engineer, Siemens Telecommunication Systems Ltd., Taiwan
------------------------------
From: shoppa@alph02.triumf.ca (Tim Shoppa)
Subject: Re: AT&T V-H Coordinates
Date: 28 Aug 1996 20:29:04 GMT
Organization: Tri-University Meson Facility
In article <telecom16.437.8@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, Drew Larsen
<dlarsen@objectwave.com> wrote:
> Ok folks, scratch your heads and see if you can remember how to
> translate a point on the earth measured in latitude/longitude to the
> commonly used V&H system used in the telecom industry.
Below is a past post by Stu Jeffery containing a program which does
the conversion the other way. If anybody is willing to buy me a nice
lunch (my standard fee for two dimensional function inversion), I'll
modify it to go both ways :-)
Tim Shoppa, TRIUMF theory group | Internet: shoppa@triumf.ca
TRIUMF, Canada's National Meson Facility | Voice: 604-222-1047 loc 6446
4004 WESBROOK MALL, UBC CAMPUS | FAX: 604-222-1074
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., CANADA V6T 2A3
Article: 54928 of comp.dcom.telecom
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 00:16:38 -0800
From: stu@shell.portal.com (Stu Jeffery)
Subject: Re: V&H Questions
Message-ID: <telecom15.362.11@eecs.nwu.edu>
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 15, Issue 362, Message 11 of 11
Attached is a C program that will do what you want. I don't know
anything more than what is here. I think it was posted in a news
group, so use at your own legal risk. I have compiled it and it works
fine.
Going the other way is a bit more complicated. Probably the simplest
way is by successive approximation.
Good Luck.
-----------------------------------------
/*
* ll_to_vh.c -- computes Bellcore/AT&T V & H (vertical and horizontal)
* coordinates from latitude and longitude. Used primarily by
* local exchange carriers (LEC's) to compute the V & H coordinates
* for wire centers.
*
* To compile: cc -o ll_to_vh ll_to_vh.c -lm
*
* This is an implementation of the Donald Elliptical Projection,
* a Two-Point Equidistant projection developed by Jay K. Donald
* of AT&T in 1956 to establish long-distance telephone rates.
* (ref: "V-H Coordinate Rediscovered", Eric K. Grimmelmann, Bell
* Labs Tech. Memo, 9/80. (References Jay Donald notes of Jan 17, 1957.))
* Ashok Ingle of Bellcore also wrote an internal memo on the subject.
*
* The projection is specially modified for the ellipsoid and
* is confined to the United States and southern Canada.
*
* Derived from a program obtained from an anonymous author
* within Bellcore by way of the National Exchange Carrier
* Association. Cleaned up and improved a bit by
* Tom Libert (tom@comsol.com, libert@citi.umich.edu).
*
* CASH REWARD for copies of the reference papers, or for an
* efficient (non-iterative) inverse for this program! (i.e.
* a program to compute lat & long from V & H).
*/
#include <stdio.h>
#include <math.h>
#define D_TO_R(d) (.0174532925199433*(d)) /* Degrees to radians */
/* Polynomial constants */
#define K1 .99435487
#define K2 .00336523
#define K3 -.00065596
#define K4 .00005606
#define K5 -.00000188
/* PI in various forms */
#define M_PI 3.1415926535898
#define M_PI_2 1.57079632679489661923
/* EX^2 + EY^2 + EZ^2 = 1 */
#define EX .40426992
#define EY .68210848
#define EZ .60933887
/* WX^2 + WY^2 + WZ^2 = 1 */
#define WX .65517646
#define WY .37733790
#define WZ .65449210
/* PX^2 + PY^2 + PZ^2 = 1 */
#define PX -.5559778217300487
#define PY -.3457284881610899
#define PZ .7558839026055240
/* COS77 is actually cos(76.597497064) */
#define COS77 .231790398
#define SIN77 .972765753
#define K6 6363.235
#define K7 2250.700
#define K8 12481.103
#define K9 (K8*COS77)
#define K10 (K8*SIN77)
#define EVER ;;
ll_to_vh(lat, lon, iv, ih)
double lat, lon;
int *iv, *ih;
{
double lon1, lat1, latsq, x, y, z;
double e, w, vt, ht, v, h, cos_lat1;
/* Translate east by 52 degrees */
lon1 = lon + D_TO_R(52.);
latsq = lat*lat;
/* Use Horner's Rule for efficiency (standard trick for computing
polynomials) */
lat1 = lat*(K1 + (K2 + (K3 + (K4 + K5*latsq)*latsq)*latsq)*latsq);
cos_lat1 = cos(lat1);
x = cos_lat1*sin(-lon1);
y = cos_lat1*cos(-lon1);
z = sin(lat1);
e = EX*x + EY*y + EZ*z;
w = WX*x + WY*y + WZ*z;
e = e > 1.0 ? 1.0 : e;
w = w > 1.0 ? 1.0 : w;
e = M_PI_2 - atan(e/sqrt(1 - e*e));
w = M_PI_2 - atan(w/sqrt(1 - w*w));
ht = (e*e - w*w + .16)/.8;
vt = sqrt(fabs(e*e - ht*ht));
vt = (PX*x + PY*y + PZ*z) < 0 ? -vt : vt;
v = K6 + K9*ht - K10*vt;
h = K7 + K10*ht + K9*vt;
#ifdef DEBUG
printf("v = %17.16f, h = %17.16f\n", v, h);
#endif /* DEBUG */
*iv = v + .5;
*ih = h + .5;
}
/*
* Converts lat/long in ddmmssXdddmmsssY format
* to separate latitude and longitude in radians.
*/
int
dms_to_lat_lon(char *dms, double *lat, double *lon)
{
int deg1, min1, sec1, deg2, min2, sec2;
char dir1, dir2;
int num;
fflush(stdout);
num = sscanf(dms, "%02d%02d%02d%c%03d%02d%02d%c",
°1, &min1, &sec1, &dir1,
°2, &min2, &sec2, &dir2);
if (num != 8)
{
fprintf(stderr, "\"%s\": illegal format\n", dms);
return(1);
}
*lat = M_PI*(60.*(60.*deg1 + min1) + sec1)/(180.*3600.);
if (dir1 == 'S')
*lat = -(*lat);
*lon = M_PI*(60.*(60.*deg2 + min2) + sec2)/(180.*3600.);
if (dir2 == 'W')
*lon = -(*lon);
return(0);
}
main()
{
long lat_d, lat_m, lat_s;
long lon_d, lon_m, lon_s;
double lat, lon;
int v, h;
char loc[256];
printf("Computes V&H (vertical and horizontal) coordinates\n");
printf("given latitude and longitude.\n\n");
printf("Example (Ann Arbor, MI):\n\nEnter location: 421700N0834445W\n");
printf("v = 5602, h = 2919\n\n");
for (EVER)
{
printf("Enter location: ");
gets(loc);
if (feof(stdin))
break;
dms_to_lat_lon(loc, &lat, &lon);
#ifdef DEBUG
printf("lat = %17.16f, lon = %17.16f\n", lat, lon);
#endif /* DEBUG */
ll_to_vh(lat, lon, &v, &h);
printf("v = %d, h = %d\n", v, h);
}
}
--------------------------------------------------------
Stu Jeffery Internet: stu@shell.portal.com
1072 Seena Ave. voice: 415-966-8199
Los Altos, CA. 94024 fax: 415-966-8456
------------------------------
From: Lynne Gregg <lynne.gregg@attws.com>
Subject: Re: Cellular Phones: Analog v. Digital?
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 96 12:10:00 PDT
James Crawford Ralston \ qralston+@pitt.edu inquired about new TDMA
phones, and expressed particular interest in phones that "gives me all
the possible information it can (e.g., information about the
particular cell my phone happens to be using)".
Currently, TDMA phones support such services as Caller ID and Message
Waiting Indicator. AT&T Wireless is set to offer the next generation
of digital wireless phones (called Digital PCS or IS-136) nationally
(where AT&T Wireless coverage now exists). These phones are indeed
capable of displaying "neighborhood" location in addition to delivery
of Caller ID and MWI info. Digital PCS or IS-136 phones also support
short messaging (i.e., sending numeric or text messages to the phone
as you would a pager today).
For more information on TDMA and AT&T Wireless PCS (IS_136) you can
write me at lynne.gregg@attws.com or check out our new Web Page at
http://www.attws.com/mm/.
Regards,
Lynne
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 20:14:24 PDT
From: Babu Mengelepouti <prophet@baker.cnw.com>
Subject: Re: DFW Dialing (was End of Permissive Dialing in 954)
John R. Levine stated:
>> So, let me propose a "uniform dialing procedure":
>> HNPA local: 7D
>> HNPA toll: 1+NPA+7D
>> FNPA local: 10D
>> FNPA toll: 1+NPA+7D
> Yuck. It's really convenient that here in the more enlightened part
> of the country, we can dial eleven digits on any call, local, toll, or
> whatever. It makes it much easier to set up dialing directories in
> computers, use pay phones (I live near an NPA boundary), and otherwise
> use telephones to make actual telephone calls.
> As I've noted before, there's two mutually incompatible points of view
> here: one group appears to live in dread of making an accidental toll
> call, the other group just wants their phone calls to complete so they
> can talk to the people they're trying to call. (I'll skip the issue
> of whether "toll" calls cost more than "local" calls other than to
> note that in a lot of places, they often don't.)
> When DDD was young, I can see that making a toll call by mistake would
> have been a problem, since there was a three-minute minimum and a
> domestic call across the country could cost something like $1.50 back
> when you could buy a reasonable lunch for that amount. But now, a
> one-minute domestic toll call costs me at most 12 cents, for which I
> can buy almost 1/4 of a package of M&M's. What's the big deal?
You guys from New York, Chicago, and California easily forget that in
*most* of the country, there is *still* flat-rate local calling.
In the Portland area, our local (EAS) calling region exceeds 3,500
square miles. There are three types of service available: measured
(all calls are billed per minute), "community," meaning that calls
within your exchange are not billed per minute but calls outside of
your exchange but *within* the "Portland EAS region" are billed by the
minute, and "EAS," meaning that subscribers to this service can call
any other community in the "EAS" region on an untimed/unlimited basis
for a flat monthly rate.
The two "measured" options are mostly used by BBS sysops and ISPs, as
well as people on fixed incomes and those who don't receive incoming
calls. They constitute, at best, 5% of subscriber lines in the
Portland metro area, and they do offer a lower monthly rate per line
than EAS calling. By far the most popular option is the flat-rate EAS
calling. It doesn't matter where you are in the EAS region; if you
have EAS service you can call ANYWHERE in it. EAS subscribers in the
far-flung Coast Range foothill town of Yamhill, over 50 miles from
downtown Portland, can call on an unlimited/untimed basis the same
places a business in downtown Portland can call. In fact, from
Yamhill at the foot of the Coast Range (on the western edge of the EAS
area) to Hoodland on the western slopes of the Cascades (the eastern
edge of the EAS area) is a LOCAL CALL, and the two communities are
over two hours' drive from each other.
Admittedly, the monthly rate is expensive. Depending on your
community, an EAS line runs from $25 per month to almost $40 per
month. But you can make AS MANY CALLS AS YOU WANT. You could be on
the phone ALL DAY LONG if you wanted to be and that is ALL YOU WOULD
PAY for calls in the ENTIRE REGION. And what's even more interesting,
there are EIGHT local exchange carriers that ALL participate in the
EAS region (GTE Northwest, GTE Contel, USWest Communications, Canby
Telephone Association, PTI Communications, Clear Creek Mutual
Telephone Cooperative, Beavercreek Telephone Company, and the
Corbett/Estacada Telephone Company).
While Portland's calling area is perhaps a bit larger than most, local
calls in almost *all* areas of the country are *NOT* billed on a
per-minute or per-call basis.
Until not long ago, the 503 area code covered all of Oregon. Oregon
is a BIG state. Despite the size of the Portland calling area, and
the fact that half of the phone lines in the state are within the
Portland EAS region, it's still quite possible to make a toll call
within the state of Oregon. Even after the 503/541 split, it's still
very possible to make a toll call within the 503 area code -- most of
the north coast remains in 503, for example.
If I'm making a toll-call, I want to know. Let's assume for a moment
that Vancouver, WA (currently a toll call) were to become local.
Vancouver is in 360, and 360 covers all of western Washington except
the greater Seattle/Tacoma/Everett areas. Washington is also a BIG
state, and western Washington is a BIG chunk of a BIG state. If a 1
were required to make a LOCAL call to Vancouver, how would I know the
difference between Vancouver, WA and a 360 number in Blaine, WA -- quite
near another Vancouver (in Canada, 275 miles away!)?
That is why I think that 1+npa+7d should be *allowed* for local calls,
but *NEVER NEVER NEVER* required. Local calls that cross NPA should
be of the format NPA+7d. 1+ should be *required* for toll, *allowed*
for both local and toll. That allows the best of both worlds, and the
only thing you lose is the "exchange" that you could create from the
neighbouring NPA. YOU would be allowed to happily dial 1+ all you
like. If you aren't worried about getting billed toll, call Astoria
(or Blaine or wherever) with impunity. On the other hand, I *don't*
want to make long distance calls, and I will *never* dial 1+ because
1+ would be *required* for toll.
Telcoes seem to be pushing to require 1+ for *all* calls, and the
public does *not* stand to gain from that. I don't want to get place
name for every exchange I'm thinking of calling and then check my
directory and make sure that place is local ... which is what some of
my friends in other, less enlightened parts of the country are forced
to do.
------------------------------
From: roamer1@pobox.com (Stanley Cline)
Subject: AT&T LD Billing Local Cellular Calls
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 21:25:18 GMT
Organization: Catoosa Computing Services
Reply-To: scline@USIT.NET
Today I went to pick up my mail and I got an envelope from AT&T. I
just thought it was an ad for their (residential) LD service, but the
envelope said "invoice enclosed." Wondering why I would get a bill
from AT&T (I do not have and have not had them for long distance on
any of my lines -- home, business, or cellular, and I do not force PIC
to AT&T, use 900 numbers, or accept collect calls) I opened the bill
up, and ...
The bill was for long distance charges for local CELLULAR calls that, it
turns out, were never made.
The bill went something like this:
-------------------
Wireless # 423-304-xxxx
Date Called From Called To Min Amt
6/3 ~11amChattnooga TN Rossville GA 706-866-xxxx 3.0 0.72
6/11~2pm Chattnooga TN Rossville GA 706-866-xxxx 3.0 0.72
------------------
(The 706-866 number is one of my home phone lines.)
I called BellSouth Mobility (my local cellular company) and asked what
had happened. They confirmed that I was subscribed to BellSouth Long
Distance (really, resale of Sprint) since FEBRUARY and LCI before
that, and also that I had made NO calls whatsoever on the phone in
question on June 3, and was roaming in Nashville on June 11, but had
only placed calls in the late evening (4-6pm) time frame. I don't
believe the phone was even ON on June 3; that phone is used by my
partially-disabled mother primarily for car emergencies. (My father
had the phone in Nashville on June 11, with my permission.)
Also, the BellSouth rep noted that long distance charges for roaming
call delivery (when the phone was in Nashville) were billed via BSLD and
not AT&T.
The CSR at BellSouth called AT&T (with me also on the line), and after
waiting ~10 minutes on hold, a _very_ condescending AT&T rep essentially
said "the calls were made" and to credit a paltry $1.48, AT&T required a
statement from the carrier stating a) that I had never been on AT&T on
that cellular phone, and b) calls were not made at the times billed. I
also stated to the AT&T rep that I have never subscribed to AT&T _at
all_, _ever_ (I use LCI, MCI, and BSLD, and Voicenet/Econophone and
Premiere Worldlink [Compuserve] calling cards).
The BellSouth CSR flagged my BellSouth account as "special handling" (it
has been flagged that way anyway, since I have had so many problems with
US Cellular, cloning, call delivery failing, etc. and I know virtually
everyone at BellSouth's Chattanooga office) and faxed the statement to
AT&T.
What I wonder is:
a) How did local calls get to IXC trunks (of an IXC I do not subscribe
to) when a phone was not turned on or was roaming in another city,
and the calls certainly weren't made at the times AT&T says they
were, and
b) why AT&T had the audacity to bill me, and the arrogance to deny
responsibility for the misbilling. (How did they even get my billing
address, which is a PO Box?)
I know other people who were billed (by mistake) for 900 calls, and AT&T
was extremely reluctant to make credit. Other people have been cut off
on 0+ calls, called the AT&T operator for credit -- then the AT&T
operator reconnects the call at a HIGHER (operator-dialed) rate! Yet
others have had calling cards terminated without any notice. I have
NEVER heard of such things happening with MCI, Sprint, LCI, or any other
carrier. Simply put, IMHO ... AT&T is greedy and arrogant. Now I have
one more reason to never deal with them.
Stanley Cline (Roamer1 on IRC) ** GO BRAVES! GO VOLS!
mailto:roamer1@pobox.com ** http://pobox.com/~roamer1/
CompuServe 74212,44 ** MSN WSCline1
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America
On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated
newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'.
Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
readers. Write and tell us how you qualify:
* ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu *
The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax
or phone at:
Post Office Box 4621
Skokie, IL USA 60076
Phone: 847-329-0571
Fax: 847-329-0572
** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu
Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is:
http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send
a note to tel-archives@mirror.lcs.mit.edu to receive a help
file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of
the help file for the Telecom Archives.
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* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland *
* under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) *
* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any
organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages
should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
End of TELECOM Digest V16 #450
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