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From: editor@telecom-digest.org
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To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #101
TELECOM Digest Wed, 24 Jun 98 23:07:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 101
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Fall VON Additional Info (Al Niven)
AT&T News Conference at Noon EDT (Monty Solomon)
Final Boundaries Approved for 619 Three-Way Area Code Split (Tad Cook)
900 Numbers Are a Cautionary Tale (Monty Solomon)
AT&T 50% Price Increase - Fair? (Robert Eden)
Bogus Dialtone in Airport Payphone Scam (Tad Cook)
Anonymous Callers Soon to be Shut Out by Pac Bell (Monty Solomon)
Please Join tollfree-l@makelist.com (Judith Oppenheimer)
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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From: alniven@earthlink.net (Al Niven)
Subject: Fall VON Additional Info
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 00:55:58 GMT
Organization: EarthLink Network, Inc.
Fall '98 Voice on the Net: Sept 14-17 in Washington, D.C.
Our 3rd Annual Fall '98 Voice on the Net Conference takes place
September 14-17, 1998 in Washington, D.C. at the Ronald Reagan
International Trade Center (1300 Pennsylvania Avenue.)
At Fall '98 VON you will have an opportunity to not only listen to the
senior executives responsible for driving the industry forward, but
you will have a great opportunity to meet with these players and take
advantage of the unique business networking opportunities.
Conference keynotes includes: Ascend, AT&T Worldnet, Bellcore, Cisco,
FCC, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Level 3, MCI, Microsoft, NTIA, and QWest.
From the "Big Boys with Fiber" to the traditional carriers and
NextGen Telcos you will have an unique opportunity to meet with the
players who are driving the industry. In addition to hearing first
hand information from the carriers and service providers who have been
early implementers of VON technologies, this conference will be paying
special attention to "Carrier Grade" Applications and the relationship
between the converging IP and Intelligent Network/SS7 worlds.
Attention will also be given to the emerging IP Voice over Cable
industries as well as the standards (H.323) and the alternative
protocols (SIP / SGCP) which have been the focus of recent VON
industry debate.
Since the venue is in Washington, D.C., there will be several sessions
focusing on the Regulatory aspects of IP Telephony (both Domestic and
International) and we will have keynotes from both the FCC and the
National Telecommunication Information Administration (NTIA) which
should provide a leading indication on where the Administration and
the FCC see Internet Telephony Industry headed in the United States.
On September 14th we have four pre-conference workshops including:
- The NextGen Telco Summit
- Building the IP Based Central Office
- The H.323 Workshop (H.323 Ver 3.0 Preview, Gateways, Gatekeepers,
Applications)
- IP/PSTN Gateways, Gatekeepers and Billing Solutions
Our exhibit hall (with over 50 exhibitors) will be open Tuesday-
Thursday with a special pre-conference screening on Monday night from
5.30-7.30 pm.
We have made arrangements with 13 hotels to provide rooms for
conference delegates. The two closest hotels are: The Marriott at
Metro Center (+1.202. 737-2200) and the JW Marriot (+1.202. 393-2000).
If you are planning on attending the conference, we strongly suggest
that you make your hotel reservations today.
To register for the conference please vist:
http://pulver.com/von98/fall98 or call +1.516.753.2640.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 11:42:24 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: AT&T News Conference at Noon EDT
AT&T and TCI to Merge; AT&T To Create Separately Traded
Unit to Provide Consumer Communications and Entertainment Services
NEWS CONFERENCE - AT&T will hold a news conference at
NOON EDT today at its world headquarters at 32 Avenue of the Americas
in New York City. AT&T Chairman C. Michael Armstrong and TCI Chairman
John C. Malone will co-host the news conference.
SATELLITE COORDINATES - A satellite feed of the news conference is
available at the following coordinates: Ku band satellite TELSTAR 5,
transponder 11. Downlink polarity, vertical; downlink frequency, 11929
Mhz; location, 97 degrees west.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 24, 1998--AT&T announced today
that it has signed a definitive merger agreement with
Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI) for an all-stock transaction valued at
approximately $48 billion. Under the agreement, AT&T will issue 0.7757
shares of AT&T common stock for each share of TCI Group Series A stock
and 0.8533 shares of AT&T for each share of TCI Group Series B stock.
Immediately following the merger, AT&T will combine its current
consumer long distance, wireless and Internet services units with
TCI's cable, telecommunications, and high-speed Internet businesses to
create a new subsidiary - AT&T Consumer Services. The company will
trade as a "letter" or "tracking stock" on the New York Stock Exchange
and have a significant public ownership. AT&T will also issue separate
tracking stock to holders of TCI's programming arm, Liberty Media
Group, to continue the holders' interests in the assets now
represented by those shares.
AT&T Consumer Services will provide the broadest set of consumer
communications services -- including local, long distance, wireless
and international communications, cable television, dial-up and
high-speed Internet access services -- all under the AT&T brand name.
AT&T Consumer Services will own and operate the nation's most
extensive, broadband local network platform. Following the merger, the
new unit intends to significantly accelerate the upgrading of its
cable infrastructure, enabling it to begin providing digital telephony
and data services to consumers by the end of 1999, in addition to
digital video services.
"Today we are beginning to answer a big part of the question about
how we will provide local service to U.S. consumers," said C. Michael
Armstrong, chairman and CEO of AT&T.
"We are merging with TCI not only for what it is but for what we
can become together," Armstrong explained. "Through its own systems
and in partnership with affiliates, AT&T Consumer Services will bring
to people's homes the first fully integrated package of
communications, electronic commerce and video entertainment services.
And it will do it with the quality and reliability that people have
come to expect from AT&T."
"This merger is a tremendous growth opportunity for TCI's
shareowners and employees," said John C. Malone, chairman and CEO of
TCI. "As TCI continues the large-scale deployment of advanced digital
set-top devices, AT&T's extraordinary brand and resources are ideal
complements to TCI's broadband cable distribution and operations. AT&T
Consumer Services will offer consumers a wide variety of
entertainment, information and communications products, which
thoughtfully address personal tastes, needs, choice and convenience."
John D. Zeglis, currently president of AT&T, will be chairman and
CEO of AT&T Consumer Services and will remain on the AT&T Board of
Directors. Leo J. Hindery, Jr., currently president of TCI, will be
the new unit's president and chief operating officer. Malone has
agreed to become a member of the AT&T Board of Directors.
AT&T Consumer Services will provide its services to consumers
through a combination of its own broadband networks and services it
will procure from others, including AT&T. The new unit will include
all of the cable television systems AT&T is acquiring in the merger
with TCI, as well as AT&T's fixed wireless technology and related
spectrum rights covering more than 90 percent of the nation. When the
merger and pending TCI cable system transactions are complete, AT&T
Consumer Services' wholly owned and affiliated cable systems will pass
33 million homes.
------------------------------
Subject: Final Boundaries Approved for 619 Three-Way Area Code Split
Date: Tue, 23 Jun 1998 15:38:48 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
Final Boundaries Approved for 619 Three-Way Area Code Split
New 858 Area Code - California's 25th - Begins Service on June
12, 1999; New 935 Area Code - California's 30th - Begins Service
on June 10, 2000
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 23, 1998--The California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC) recently approved final boundaries for the three-way
geographic split of the 619 area code. The split will create two
new area codes.
The introduction of the new area codes, which are California's 25th and
30th area codes, is needed to meet the rapidly growing demand for
additional phone numbers in the 619 area code and across the state.
Local telephone service competition as well as the explosive demand for
high-technology are driving the demand for more phone numbers.
The approved boundaries split the existing 619 region into three portions,
northern, central and eastern. The 619 area code will be retained
in the central portion. The northern portion will receive California's 25th
area code on June 12, 1999, and the eastern portion will receive
California's 30th area code on June 10, 2000. The details are as
follows:
- Central Portion - The central area will retain the 619 area code.
Some of the cities and communities in this area include the downtown
portion of the city of San Diego and small portions of Lemon Grove and
National City.
- Northern Portion - The northern portion will receive the new 858
area code. It will begin service on June 12, 1999. Some of the
cities and communities in this area include Rancho Santa Fe, Solano
Beach, Del Mar, La Jolla, Poway and the northern portion of the city
of San Diego.
- Eastern Portion - The eastern portion will receive the new 935 area
code. It will begin service on June 10, 2000. Some of the cities and
communities in this area include Coronado, La Mesa, Chula Vista,
Lakeside, El Cajon, Alpine, Pine Valley, Campo, Jacumba, Imperial
Beach, Santee, the majority of both Lemon Grove and National City and
the southern portion of the city of San Diego.
Permissive Dialing Periods
During the permissive dialing period, people calling from outside the area
can dial either the old 619 or the new area code to reach customers
in the new area code. Also during this time, customers in the 619
and new area codes can call between the two area codes using seven-digit
dialing (prefix plus four digit number without area code).
A six-month permissive dialing period for the northern region will begin
June 12, 1999 with the introduction of the 858 area code.
A six-month permissive dialing period for the eastern region will begin
June 10, 2000 with the introduction of the 935 area code.
Mandatory Dialing Periods
The mandatory dialing period for the 858 area code begins on
December 11, 1999, mandatory dialing begins on December 9, 2000 for the 935
area code. When mandatory dialing begins, callers must use the
correct area code to complete their calls.
For three months after the beginning of mandatory dialing callers who
forget to use the new area code will receive a recorded message
reminding them that the area code has changed, and they will be
required to redial using the proper area code. The recorded
reminder ends for the 858 area code on March 11, 2000, and on March
10, 2001 for the 935 area code.
The 858 area code is expected to accommodate the need for new
telephone numbers for 11 years and the 935 area code is expected to
last 21 years, while the 619 area code is expected to last 13
years.
Price of Calls Will Not Be Affected
California Area Code Relief Coordinator, Doug Hescox, who oversees
area code relief efforts on behalf of the California
telecommunications industry, said the introduction of the 858 and 935 area
codes will not affect the price of telephone calls. `What is a local call
now will remain a local call regardless of the area code change.
Call distance and time determine the cost of a call, not whether or not you
dial an area code.`
Things to Remember
Hescox said the permissive dialing period is a great time for customers to
get used to the new area code and make important changes. Some of
those changes include:
- Change stationery, business cards and advertising to reflect the new
area code
- Notify friends, relatives, business clients and customers of the new
area code
- Update fax machine group calling lists that have numbers affected by
the change
- Reprogram speed dialers, auto dialers, alarms and PBX (private phone
systems) to reflect the change (contact your equipment vendor for
assistance)
- Reprogram outdial lists on personal computers that have numbers
affected by the change
- Check with their wireless phone and paging service providers as well
as Internet Service Providers to see if reprogramming is required
Area code relief plans are collectively developed by a telecommun-
ications industry group composed of more than 30 companies including
AT&T, AirTouch, the California Cable Television Association, Cox
California PCS, Cox Communications, GTE, ICG Telecom Group,
L.A. Cellular, MCI, Mobilemedia Communications, Pacific Bell, Pacific
Bell Mobile Services and PageNet.
California-Nevada Code Administration is an independent planning group that
coordinates area code relief planning on behalf of the California
telecommunications industry. The California Public Utilities Commission
makes final decisions on all area code issues.
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: 900 Numbers Are a Cautionary Tale
Date: Tue, 23 Jun 1998 22:12:39 -0400
Netly News ...
http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/
900 Numbers Are a Cautionary Tale
by Steve Baldwin
Could the Net become a discredited medium like the 900-number
phone business? So claims Jeff Richards, executive director of the
Internet Alliance , a 15-year-old trade group previously known as the
Interactive Services Assocation whose members include America Online,
AT&T, Intel and assorted other industry biggies.
"Remember, 900 numbers were designed to provide us all kinds of
fascinating, highly personalized services," says Richards. "But once a
swiftly moving perception that 900s were 'rip-offs' took hold, the
business went from a booming $2 billion a year to a half-billion a
year. It happened very quickly and the damage was irreparable."
Richards believes that the Net's best chance of escaping the fate of
the 900-number business is for its leaders to address difficult
concerns such as privacy, spam, fraud, taxation, content regulation
and marketing to minors head-on. He also realizes that getting the
online industry to march in step is difficult to do, and suggests that
a well-known actor or celebrity might be needed to provide a unified,
trustworthy voice expressing industry concerns.
If the Net could benefit from having its own Charlton Heston to plead
its case to the masses, where will this leader come from? "The problem
is to find someone with enough gray hair to impress the policy-makers,
but someone young enough not to alienate the Net entrepreneurs",
Richards says.
Tom Hanks with a Palm Pilot?
------------------------------
From: Robert Eden <reden@concentric.net>
Subject: AT&T 50% Price Increase - Fair?
Date: 23 Jun 1998 10:38:50 EDT
Organization: Concentric Internet Services
As mentioned previously in this forum, AT&T has increased Texas
In-State rates under their "One-Call Plus" plan from 0.10 to 0.15 (a
50% increase) effective 6/1/98 without notification to existing
customers.
The way I see it, I had a contract with AT&T to provide flat rate
service. What right do they (or any service provider) have to change
said agreement in effect retroactively. (With the exception of this
forum, I would have not known about it until the bill arrived.)
What protects me from a LD provider changing to $100/minute after I
switch to them? Sure, they will be dropped like a lead balloon, but
who knows how many calls will be made before I get the bill.
I have no problem with any company raising rates. My problem is the
lack of sufficient (or any) notice.
Robert
------------------------------
Subject: Bogus Dialtone in Airport Payphone Scam
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 11:57:11 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
(I wonder if these guys used some scheme so that the phone never went
on-hook? It seems they would need to do that so that the connection
would not be broken. Tad Cook tad@ssc.com)
Bogus dial tones used in airport calling card scam
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Five people were charged Friday with
running a scheme using bogus dial tones to steal telephone calling
card numbers from travelers at major U.S. airports, including Chicago
and Houston.
Federal authorities said some 47 phone carriers were
affected by the scheme and that losses could be in the millions of
dollars. AT&T, Bell Atlantic and MCI cooperated in the investigation,
prosecutors said.
According to charges filed in Manhattan federal court, the
defendants were able to dupe unsuspecting callers by generating false
dial tones on airport pay phones. They then recorded the tones as
victims punched their card numbers into the phones.
The defendants allegedly sold the calling card numbers after
they were stolen.
Prosecutors said telephone records revealed that between
fall 1997 and Thursday, hundreds of calls were placed from apartments
in Manhattan and the Bronx to airport pay phones.
The defendants, three men and two women, allegedly used a
conference call feature on their phones to generate what sounded
like a dial tone on the airport pay phones.
When travelers picked up one of the phones, many believed
they had an outside line and tried to use their calling cards to
charge calls. The defendants allegedly recorded the tones generated
when callers punched in their card numbers and used a decoding device
to translate the tones into corresponding telephone keypad numbers.
A device labeled a "Voice Controlled 5 Hour Dialed Number
Recorder" was found in each of the four apartments searched,
prosecutors said. They said it recorded both telephone conversations
and dialed numbers and converted dialed tones into their corresponding
numbers.
In addition, other telephone devices, lists of calling
card numbers, telephone numbers of airport pay phones and tapes were
seized at the apartments.
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Anonymous Callers Soon to be Shut Out by Pac Bell
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 13:50:38 -0400
Anonymous callers soon to be shut out
Pac Bell service won't accept cloaked calls
BY STEPHEN BUEL
Mercury News Staff Writer
Californians who told Pacific Bell to block their phone number from
appearing on Caller ID boxes soon won't be able to complete their
calls to some of those numbers.
Using a new feature that Pacific Bell plans to offer in about two
months, such callers will instead hear a recording that tells them
their call won't go through. It will give them three options for
completing their call: unblocking their line, calling from another
phone line or making a 95-cent operator-assisted call.
The California Public Utilities Commission gave Pacific Bell
permission Thursday to offer the service, called Anonymous Call
Rejection. It is viewed by the company as a privacy-enhancing new
feature.
Customers who use the service -- particularly those who've already
signed up for Caller ID -- will be able to selectively block
communications from any caller unwilling to reveal their number, even
those with unlisted phone numbers.
In approving Pacific Bell's request to sell the feature, the PUC
rejected the criticisms of consumer advocates who say the service will
violate the privacy of customers who want the right to make phone
calls without revealing their phone number. They worry that some
people will be forced to divulge numbers that should remain private,
such as psychologists who work from home, or abused spouses who
nonetheless need to stay in contact with their ex.
Privacy concerns turn up on both sides of the dispute -- Anonymous
Call Rejection enhances the privacy of people who receive phone calls
by stripping away a bit of the caller's privacy.
``What about the people receiving the call?'' asked Pacific Bell
spokesman John Britton. ``They have a right to privacy too
... Californians are going to love this product because this is going
to enhance their privacy.''
The PUC gave Pacific Bell the go-ahead to offer the service for two
years. But before the company can do so, it must engage in a public
education campaign and secure commission approval of the exact wording
of its marketing materials.
Consumer groups agree
After months of wrangling over the issue, even the consumer advocates
at the Utility Reform Network ended up cheering the commission's
ruling Thursday. Although they say they would have preferred for the
commission to deny Pacific Bell's application entirely, they didn't
expect that to happen and were pleased that the PUC agreed to exercise
controls over the way the company will be able to spread the word
about its service.
``When we reviewed Pacific's plans, we really felt that they were
using Anonymous Call Rejection as a way to market Caller ID,'' TURN
Telecommunications Research Director Regina Costa said. ``What the
commission did was very good. At least they said that the commission
staff will track the situation and at least they required Pacific to
provide neutral information.''
Pac Bell will work with the PUC on the language of its bill insert,
white pages information and the recorded message encountered by
customers who fail to connect with the person they're trying to call.
Costa's agency and the PUC's staff have been critical in recent months
of many of the marketing methods used by Pacific Bell to encourage
customers to sign up for Caller ID. PUC consumer advocates have sought
to have the company slapped with a cease-and-desist order, charging
Pacific Bell with using unethical, high-pressure sales tactics to push
its phone products, including Caller ID.
Although Caller ID and Anonymous Call Rejection will be marketed as
separate products, they clearly are intertwined. Deployment of Caller
ID in California has lagged far behind that of other states because of
a state-mandated public awareness campaign that encouraged many
consumers to ask Pac Bell to block their lines.
With 46 percent percent of all residential lines in California blocked
from working with Caller ID, would-be subscribers to the $6.50 monthly
service have found it much less useful than people in states where
more calls are actually ID'd.
That's one reason that only 7.5 percent of Pac Bell customers have
signed up for Caller ID, far lower than the roughly 50 percent of all
Texas consumers who've signed up for similar service from Pac Bell's
parent company, Texas-based SBC Communications. Texas does not grant
consumers the option of blocking Caller ID.
``It's going to be very interesting, when so many people block, to see
what happens,'' said M.J. Purcell, a regulatory analyst with the PUC.
Although the PUC will need to approve the exact prices, the company
hopes to make Anonymous Call Rejection free for the duration of 1998
and then charge customers 50 cents if they already subscribe to Caller
ID and $2 if they don't.
Customers whose calls are rejected by the service will have three
options, Britton said. They can temporarily unblock their line by
dialing ``*82.'' They can ask an operator to assist them with the
call, at a cost of 95 cents per call. Or they can call from a
different, unblocked phone line, such as a pay phone.
Anonymous Call Rejection is not new. It's been offered in other states
and even in California. Customers served by GTE Corp., which serves
Los Gatos and Morgan Hill in the South Bay, have had the service since
May 1997.
Impact on businesses
Still, widespread deployment of Anonymous Call Rejection will make
life difficult for large companies that block their outgoing lines but
use phone systems that won't permit individual users to unblock their
lines, such as telemarketers, newspapers or bill collectors.
Companies whose high-volume phone traffic requires them to have
call-switching systems inside their buildings aren't technically able
to let individual phone users block or unblock their lines, said Joan
Mataraci, Pacific Bell's product manager for Caller ID. If such
companies wish to continue blocking their outgoing phone lines,
they'll have to install new lines or resort to the operator in many
cases.
It's not clear how many companies this might affect. Patrice Cottle,
owner of the San Jose telemarketing firm American Marketing Services,
said it wouldn't hobble her company because all her phone lines
willingly reveal their numbers to Caller ID customers.
``We have nothing to hide,'' she said, conceding that some other
companies in her field may operate differently. ``We run a pretty
straight and narrow ship.''
Before the PUC staff will permit it to offer the service, Pac Bell
also will need to provide assurances that all the back-and-forth
traffic generated by unsuccessful calls that encounter the company's
new recording won't cause the company's phone network to crash. The
commission asked for Pac Bell to provide it more information on how
this worst-case scenario will be avoided.
``There was concern on the part of some of the commissioners that you
have these calls going back and forth and not going anywhere,''
Purcell said. ``Is it going to create a glut on the system? ... I
don't know; it's really something we have to find out.''
------------------------------
Date: 24 Jun 1998 21:53:01 -0000
From: Judith Oppenheimer <joppenheimer@icbtollfree.com>
Subject: Please Join tollfree-l@makelist.com
Reply-To: tollfree-l-sc.898725181.cmaplnoadephlbopmghj-editor=telecom-digest.org@makelist.com
This is an invitation to join the tollfree-l mailing list.
Here is a welcome statement provided by the list manager:
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You are invited to subscribe to Toll Free-l, a new moderated internet
mailing list for the discussion of management, marketing, policy,
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use of toll free service and toll free numbers. List manager/moderator
is Judith Oppenheimer, publisher of ICB TOLL FREE NEWS
(http://icbtollfree.com) and president of ICB Toll Free Consultancy
(joppenheimer@icbtollfree.com).
------
To accept this invitation, simply reply to this message;
your mail program should have a 'reply' feature that inserts the correct
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Alternatively, you can accept by going to the following Web location:
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If you do not wish to join, please just discard this invitation.
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A mailing list hosted by FindMail.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I want to wish Judith Oppenheimer the
very best of luck with her new mailing list. I know many of you will
want to participate with her also. PAT]
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #101
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Jun 25 00:38:05 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id AAA14945; Thu, 25 Jun 1998 00:38:05 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 00:38:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199806250438.AAA14945@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #102
TELECOM Digest Thu, 25 Jun 98 00:38:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 102
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Microsoft Appears to be the Winner (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Telecom Update (Canada) #138, June 22, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement)
Updates: Numbering/Dialing/Translations/Routing Issues (Mark J. Cuccia)
ADSI / Powertouch Tricks (Gregory Stewart)
Multiple Electronic Use of Same Phone Line Boosted (Monty Solomon)
Last Laugh! Monopoly Power! (Monty Solomon)
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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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 23:00:00 EDT
From: TELECOM Digest Editor <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Microsoft Appears to be the Winner
In the news Wednesday morning, in addition to the report of AT&T's
latest merger/aquisition was a report that Microsoft appears to
have won its battle with the Justice Department. I say 'appears to
have won' because although the judge came down on their side in
most respects where the current controversy about the bundling of
Internet Explorer with Windows is concerned, there are still a few
issues the government can raise if it chooses to do so. It is not
at all clear that the government will continue its pursuit of the
matter at this point.
In the same proceding, the court tossed Larry Lessig out on his
ear. Lessig was the government's choice for 'special master' in
the case; but his ability to be impartial in the matter -- as any
person in his position appointed by the court should be -- was
questioned on several occassions by Microsoft as a result of things
Lessig had written which spoke negatively about the company before
the case even got underway. Lessig dealt with his dismissal by the
court in an honorable way: he was quoted saying that 'Microsoft had
every reason to question his impartiality based on things he had
written ... he had no objections to being removed and wished the
best to Microsoft in the days ahead'.
I suspect in a way Lessig *was* glad to be done with the matter.
Some readers here have pointed out that he received a huge amount
of abuse in the form of email from netters questioning Lessig's
impartiality, etc. Readers will recall I spoke poorly of his appoint-
ment in this Digest myself for the same reason. He was very gracious
in accepting his dismissal by the court, and I hope netters who
castigated him in the past will now take a minute to write him and
express their thanks for him at least having been willing to try and
help; something that few others would have wanted to get entangled
with owiung to the complexity of the case and the people involved.
PAT
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 11:15:59 -0400
From: Angus TeleManagement <angus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #138, June 22, 1998
************************************************************
* *
* TELECOM UPDATE *
* Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin *
* http://www.angustel.ca * =20
* Number 138: June 22, 1998 *
* *
* Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by *
* generous financial support from: *
* *
* Bell Canada ................. http://www.bell.ca/ *
* City Dial Network Services .. http://www.citydial.com/ *
* Computer Talk Technology .... http://icescape.com/ *
* fONOROLA .................... http://www.fonorola.com/ *
* Lucent Technologies ......... http://www.lucent.ca/ *
* *
************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:=20
** Bell, Cogeco, Hydro-Quebec to Build Fiber Link
** Call-Net Ups Bid for fONOROLA
** NBTel Says Price Cap Rules Won't Work
** MetroNet Begins Build in Quebec City
** Bruncor Sells Stake in Genesys
** fONOROLA Fields Small-Business Plan
** Speech Recognition Speeds Quebec 4-1-1 Service
** Vision.Com Registers as CLEC
** Clearnet Sells Phones on Line
** Look's Wireless Cable Starts in August
** Ottawa Seeks Comment on Wireless LANs=20
** TIW Expands Brazil Cellular Holdings
** AT&T, General DataComm Begin Multimedia Demos
** BCE Purchasing Rest of ExpressVu
** Entrust Launches IPO
** 10,000 Customers for Cantel's Pay-as-You-Go
** Bell Mobility Adds Text, Prepaid Services
** Stentor's Stephenson to Chair ITAC
** Clarification on AT&T Canada
** 25 Telecom Strategy Reports
BELL, COGECO, HYDRO-QUEBEC TO BUILD FIBER LINK: Bell Canada, Cogeco
Cable, and Hydro-Quebec have agreed to share a new $12-Million optical
fiber link between Quebec City and Rimouski. Construction, managed by
Cogeco, is to finish in October.
CALL-NET UPS BID FOR fONOROLA: Call-Net Enterprises has raised its bid
for fONOROLA to $67 a share from $60; the new offer expires June
26. fONOROLA says it continues to seek an alternative bidder.
NBTEL SAYS PRICE CAP RULES WON'T WORK: On June 18, just six months
after the new price cap regime began, NBTel told the CRTC that "the
price cap rules ... are not workable." The= telco has asked the
Commission to make major changes in the plan and allow it to cut
contribution rates.
** NBTel wants its 1998-99 business rates to be reduced less
than the Commission ordered under its first price cap
rulings.
METRONET BEGINS BUILD IN QUEBEC CITY: MetroNet Communications says it
will complete a $17-Million 40-km fiber network in the Quebec City
region by the end of 1998.
BRUNCOR SELLS STAKE IN GENESYS: New Brunswick's Bruncor has sold its
3% holding in California-based Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories
for $21 Million. Bruncor says the companies will continue joint work
developing network-based call center products.
fONOROLA FIELDS SMALL-BUSINESS PLAN: fONOROLA now offers Line One, a
small-business plan featuring flat-rate calls in Canada for 12.5
cents/minute and U.S. calls for 15 cents.
SPEECH RECOGNITION SPEEDS QUEBEC 4-1-1 SERVICE: Bell Canada directory
assistance in Quebec now uses Nortel's Frequently Requested Listing
service, which provides certain business= numbers without operator
intervention.
VISION.COM REGISTERS AS CLEC: Vision.Com, the cablecos' R&D
organization, asked the CRTC on June 12 to register it as a
competitive local exchange carrier, so that it can participate as a
shareholder in the Canadian Numbering Administration Consortium.
** Vid=E9otron, the only Canadian cableco to register as a
CLEC so far, told the CRTC on June 4 that it has met all=
requirements to operate as a local service provider. It
will initially provide service in Montreal.
CLEARNET SELLS PHONES ON LINE: Clearnet Communications now sells its
phones and accessories at its Web site; secure real-time online
payment is provided by InternetSecure.
http://www.clearnet.com
LOOK'S WIRELESS CABLE STARTS IN AUGUST: Look Communications,
majority owned by Teleglobe, says it will start wireless
cable (MMDS) service with 80 channels in the Toronto area in
August. Pricing will start at about $20/month.
OTTAWA SEEKS COMMENT ON WIRELESS LANS: Industry Canada is seeking
public input on a proposal to allow unlicensed wireless LANs in
frequency bands in the 5 GHz range. Comments are due by September 21.
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/spectrum
TIW EXPANDS BRAZIL CELLULAR HOLDINGS: Telesystems International
Wireless is negotiating a partnership with Brazilian pension funds to
bid for two Brazilian cellular companies being privatized in July. TIW
has just raised $162 Million through an equity offering.
AT&T, GENERAL DATACOMM BEGIN MULTIMEDIA DEMOS: AT&T Canada LDS and
General DataComm are beginning demonstrations of ATM-based
voice-video-data services in Toronto and St. Laurent, Quebec.
BCE PURCHASING REST OF EXPRESSVU: BCE is buying the 10% stake in
ExpressVu held by Cancom and WIC for $15.3 Million.
ENTRUST LAUNCHES IPO: Entrust Technologies, a BCE-owned company which
makes encryption technology for the Internet, has announced a
US$100-Million initial share offering on NASDAQ.
10,000 CUSTOMERS FOR CANTEL'S PAY-AS-YOU-GO: Less than one month after
the product launch, Rogers Cantel says it has signed up more than
10,000 customers across Canada for it analog Pay-as-You-Go cellular
service.
BELL MOBILITY ADDS TEXT, PREPAID SERVICES: Bell Mobility has
introduced enhanced text messaging to its digital PCS service and
launched a prepaid option for analog cellular.
STENTOR'S STEPHENSON TO CHAIR ITAC: On June 18, Carol Stephenson,
President and CEO of Stentor Resource Centre, became Chair of the
Information Technology Association of Canada.
http://www.itac.ca
CLARIFICATION ON AT&T CANADA: AT&T Canada has non-exclusive agreements
to use prepaid phonecard platform services of both Telesonic
Communications Inc, ACC's phonecard partner, and Phonetime
International; both use the underlying AT&T network. Telecom Update
#136 mentioned only Phonetime as a platform provider.
25 TELECOM STRATEGY REPORTS: Until June 30, new subscribers to
Telemanagement will receive a free copy of Telecom Strategies Today:
25 Reports for Canadian Decision Makers, a collection of recent
Telemanagement articles. Included in the bonus:
** Competition Goes Local ... and Global (5 reports)
** New Technologies, New Choices (8 reports)
** Competitive Strategies (12 reports)
** "Angus's Laws for Understanding and Surviving (and
Possibly Profiting From) the New Telecom" (bonus report)
For more information about this Bonus offer, visit
http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm-sub.html or call 1-800-
263-4415, ext 500.
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca
FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE=20
Angus TeleManagement Group
8 Old Kingston Road
Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There=20
are two formats available:
1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World
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your browser to http://www.angustel.ca/update/up.html
2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of
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COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please
e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext 225.
The information and data included has been obtained from sources which
we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no
warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy,
completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on
interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If
expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a
competent professional should be obtained.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 10:59:20 -0500
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Updates: Numbering/Dialing/Translations/Routing Issues
There are _SEVERAL_ numbering/dialing/translations/switching/routing
issues mentioned in this post, regarding:
AT&T, BellSouth (local/landline telco), BS-COCOT payphone chips,
BellSouth Mobility, and Cellular South (Gulfport MS).
AT&T _FINALLY_ was able to route to NPA 450 (PQ)! :)
The first test call I made via AT&T thru _VARIOUS_ access methods
that were all successful was as of 6:15am Central Daylite Time,
Saturday (13 June 1998). Other LD-carriers were beginning to route
to the new 450 NPA at various times on Thursday and Friday.
BellSouth's "COCOT-ized" payphones _finally_ have toll-free SAC
NPA 877 loaded into its chips, as a free-call! They also have
1+ coin for NPA 450 (PQ) loaded in as well, at US$ 5.00+ from
Louisiana/Mississippi. They _DON'T_ have any NPA's after 13-June-98
loaded into their "chips" for 1+ coin-toll, unfortunately. NPA 786
for the _overlay_ for the Miami FL area takes effect on 1-July-1997
and _this_ NPA will _NOT_ have a 'permissive' dialing period using
the 'old' NPA, as this is an _OVERLAY_. If BS-COCOTS don't have
NPA 786 loaded into its "chips" for 1+ coin-toll by then, one will
_NOT_ be able to reach such 786 numbers paid by coin! :(
BS-COCOTs _STILL_ are missing four _other_ _DOMESTIC-rated_ NPAs
from their "chips" for 1+ coin-toll calling, and these are _all_
now mandatory-dialed using these NPA's as 1+NPA:
787 Puero Rico, 340 US Virgin Island, 670 CNMI, 671 Guam
The _NON_ US NANP-Caribbean as well as 011+ International/Overseas
dialing is not in the "chips" for "sent-paid" coin-toll dialing, as
the "coinage" for the first three minute period (as well as additional
minute periods) is probably _too_large_ for the "escrow" bucket to
hold. And since these BS payphones are now using a COCOT-like
interface with the network, BellSouth and AT&T Operators can _NOT_
assist on _ANY_ coin-paid calling anymore! :(
I _did_ try several recent US/Canada NPA's as 1+ from the BS-COCOT,
and these _were_ loaded into the "chips" for 1+ coin-toll, including
NPA 867 in Northern Canada (Yukon's split from NPA 403 Alberta, _ALL_
of NWT/Nunavut's split from NPA 403 Alberta and 819 part of Quebec).
BS-COCOTs charge (US) $5.40 for the first three-minutes for NPA 450
in Quebec and (US) $5.60 for the first three-minutes for NPA 867 in
Yukon/NWT/Nunavut!
BS-COCOTs consider 203-xxxx to be invalid, however. But 203-xxxx
numbers _DO_ work from my cellular. I dialed it during an overnite
and weekend time-frame (which for me is 'free' airtime), so I'll
see if it itemized on my bill, albeit as $0.00-charged airtime.
Since BellSouth's COCOT-ized payphones _do_ allow
(101-XXXX)-01+CC+nn+('#') dialing, I was able to get to UIFN
numbers from these phones, via AT&T, as:
(10(10)288)-01-800-xxxx-xxxx-('#'). Other 0+ carriers/AOSlime
do _NOT_ (yet) seem to allow 01+ routing to CC +800, so if the
inTER-LATA 0+/01+ chosen carrier of the payphone is _NOT_ AT&T,
you will need to dial AT&T's 10(10)288+ CAC first. Of course,
BellSouth's COCOTs don't allow (101-XXXX)-011+ calling, not even
to CC +800 UIFN.
Speaking of UIFN, on Saturday, I called up (US/AT&T) "Toll-Free
Directory", 800-KLondike-5-1212, and asked for a listing for
"Hong Kong Direct". She told me to 'hold for the listing' and
put me on auto-quote (and I'm going to paraphrase here):
"NOTICE: This is a toll-free international number. Dial
zero-one-one, eight-hundered, two-zero-zero-zero, two-thousand"
Incidently (011)-800-2000-2000-(#) isn't (yet?) available from
our good-neighbor to the north. (Surprising, with the number of
Hong-Kong refugees/immigrants in Britsh Columbia ... but _MAYBE_
Hong-Kong Direct's UIFN is dialable from GTE-BC-Tel territory?)
I called back to 800-555-1212 and asked her if there were a _US_
Domestic (NANP) 800- number for HK-Direct. She only had the UIFN
number.
While on the phone with one of my Canadian friends this weekend
(he's in Toronto ON), he 3-wayed to (Bell-Canada / Stentor provided)
800-555-1212 and asked for HK-Direct. There is _NO_ such number
listed (whether NANP-based 800/888/877, or UIFN +800).
I was on the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Sunday (late afternoon
and early evening). I usually have turned my cellular phone _OFF_
or set it for no-roaming when about to cross over the state line,
and out of the BS-Mobility (New Orl) service area, into the
Cellular South (Gulfport) service area, as roaming/airtime/toll
charges can be QUITE high. But yesterday, I decided to _KEEP_ the
phone on and in a roamed mode, for incoming calls, and to do some
tests ...
Prior to leaving home, early Sunday afternoon, I called up
BS-Mobility Customer Service, to verify the roaming-on/off codes,
and to see if when roaming were turned off (as well as the cellphone
itself), would my voicemail service from BS-Mobility in New Orleans
would pick-up those calls.
Well, GUESS WHICH SERVICE-REP ANSWERED THE LINE?!?!
You got it, "Suzie"!
Well, this time she was _very_ helpful and polite!
Roaming from BS-Mobility into Cellular-South (MS) had "Auto-Call
Delivery" for incoming calls. I do _NOT_ have to enter '*18-SEND'
anymore (I used to about two years ago to activate incoming calls
when roamed-to there).
If I'm in Cellular-South (MS) and need to turn-off the phone, for
my BellSouth Mobility voicemail (New Orleans) to take incoming
messages, I will need to de-activate romaing before turning the
phone off, with '*19-SEND'. I don't have to enter '*98-SEND' to
turn-on the mobile-memo incoming message service - anyhow, since
I'm not a Cellular-South (MS) customer- only roamed-to there, it
probably wouldn't know what to do.
When I turned the phone on an hour later, I still needed to enter
'*18-SEND' to reactivate roaming for incoming calls ...
Just prior to entering *18-SEND, I used a nearby payphone and
dialed (with my AT&T-Card) my cellular number (504-460-etc). It
seemed to stay routed only within BS-Mobility New Orl, and was
about ready to go into Mobile Memo.
Incidently, while the phone was turned off, I did have an incoming
message left in my Mobile Memo voicemail! But I wouldn't have been
able to retrieve it while in Mississippi, with *99-SEND... I could
dial either the voicemail retrieval number which would 'bill' as
long-distance from MS whether dialed from cellular or card/payphone-
but I dialed, with my AT&T Card from a payphone, my cellular number,
and it went to voicemail right away since there was at least one 'new'
not yet listened to message- I hit '*' when I hear my outgoing
message, and then BS-Mobility asks for my passcode to be punched in.
But when I entered *18-SEND on my cellular and then dialed to it from a
payphone with my AT&T-Card the call routed to my cellular and it rang!
I hit '#' right away on the payphone (billing to AT&T Card), for
a 'sequence' call, since I didn't 'answer' the ring to my cellular.
Now, for Cellular-South in Mississippi ...
I dialed an 800- ANI Readback (non-suping) number, and it quoted:
228-000-0000.
'00' went to AT&T's OSPS, with FULL initial automated menus, just as
it does from my residential line, or when I dial (10(10)288)-0('#'/0)
at (most) payphones. Yet, when using BS-Mobility in New Orleans, '00'
goes to "(musical jingle) AT&T. Please hold for Operator Assistance.
AT&T-how may I help you?", withOUT the usual initial automated menus! :(
One benefit of having AT&T auto-prompts/menus on '00' Operator access
is that one can DTMF-enter a NANP destination number (1/0)-ten-digits
or non-NANP destination number 01(1)-CC-nn-(#), and then get a verbal
prompt for card-billing or option to cut-thru to a live operator.
But if one enters a NANP-based toll-free number 800/888/877-seven-digits
or a UIFN (worldwide/global) toll free number as 01(1)-800-xxxx-xxxx(#),
such toll-free dialstrings get the response "Thank you for using AT&T",
withOUT needing to enter any card-numbers! Of course, if the NANP-based
800/888/877 number is _NOT_ one handled by AT&T you will get a recording
from the AT&T #4ESS toll-switch that the #5ESS=OSPS switch routes thru.
One might think that by simply asking an AT&T operator to connect one
to a UIFN 011+800-xxxx-xxxx number might be all that is needed when
one can't dial it direct. It isn't all that easy. It doesn't seem that
all AT&T Operators and Supervisors have yet been trained on +800 UIFN.
When I've asked Operators (and Supervisors) about +800 UIFN, some have
told me that "there isn't any 'country' code 800 - that I must be
referring to domestic-based (+1) 'area' code 800 toll-free numbers
which call-forward overseas".
One supervisor _did_ seem to know about +800 UIFN, and said that AT&T
is referring to it as "International Toll-Free 800". This supervisor
told me that _any_ AT&T Operator can simply key-in 011-800-etc. for
me, and the call will go through at no charge to me, billed
automatically to the called party wherever in the world the number
terminates. But when I called '00' from my cellular phone (while in
BellSouth Mobility New Orleans), and went directly to a live operator,
who did seem to know about 011-800-, she told me that her board
wouldn't allow the call to proceed!
Another explanation is that maybe the controls for her position aren't
yet programmed for UIFN +800 translations. There are AT&T Operator
Centers and positions all over the US, and these days, when one
reaches an AT&T Operator from anywhere in the US, the operator could
likewise be located 'anywhere'. Whichever operator is first available
'anywhere' is the one that the calling customer is connected to.
Continuing with Cellular-South (MS) ...
Cellular-South (MS) properly database-dipped, translated, and routed
Toll-Free 877! :)
BellSouth Mobility (New Orleans) has also now been properly
database-dipping, translating, and routing properly for about a month
now! :)
BS-Mobility allows 01+CC+nn+SEND okay - I go to the 'bong' tone at
AT&T OSPS in Jackson MS, however BS-Local doesn't seem to have UIFN
toll-free CC +800 in its tandem which BS-Mobility 'homes' on- I'm
usually blocked with a local/wireline recording from the tandem
when I enter 01+800-xxxx-xxxx+SEND from my cellular.
BS-Mobility sends 0-NPA-NXX-xxxx+SEND to AT&T's OSPS in Jackson MS
for a 'bong' tone if the NPA-NXX-xxxx is out-of-LATA, and to the
BellSouth TOPS in downtown New Orleans for their 'bong' tone if
the NPA-NXX-xxxx is within the LATA.
However, Cellular-South in MS (and maybe BellSouth local? in that
LATA) don't know how to properly translate and route 0+/01+ from
a cellular phone. Maybe it was because I was a 'romaer' and not
an accounted local cellular customer of Cellular-South, in Gulfport.
When I was roamed into their area, 01+CC+nn+SEND went to a recording
from their MTSO. 0+NPA-NXX-xxxx+SEND went to a BellSouth local/wireline
recording, which seemed to be a local end-office recording rather than
a 'tandem' recording. I wonder if Cellular-South in MS is a type-1
interconnection rather than a tandem-based type-2 interconnection with
local BellSouth? The recording from BellSouth local/landline when I
entered 0+ten-digits(NANP)+SEND was the "We're sorry, you must first
dial a '1' or '0' plus the area code code when calling this number".
Obviously, 011+ for direct-dialed sent-paid international/overseas is
blocked at the Cellular-South MTSO. BellSouth Mobility customers are
also 'default-blocked' from 011+ calling, unless they specifically
request access to it. I haven't, as I don't make that many calls to
non-NANP locations, and from a cellular the rates would be even more
than from my residential phone.
SAC NPA 700 works from BellSouth Mobility! When I enter
(1)-700-KL.5-4141 plus 'SEND', I get the (non-suping) AT&T
verification recording. But Cellular-South's MTSO rejected my attempts
to reach SAC NPA 700. I'd wanted to see which IXC my '1+' cellular
toll calls from Gulfport MS would have routed through and been billed
by.
Cellular-South in Mississippi _ALSO_ had "CAC" dialing blocked in
their MTSO. I was _UNABLE_ to reach _anything_, other than their MTSO
recording when dialed as: 10(1X)XXX+ {1+/0+/011+/01+} +etc.
BellSouth Mobility in the New Orleans MTSO _DOES_ allow "CAC" dialing
for inTER-LATA calling as 10-XXX+ {0+/01+} +etc. At this point in
time, it is _only_ the 'five-digit' 10-XXX CAC codes. I have reported
to their Tech-Support department that 101-XXXX+ expanded seven-digit
CAC dialing needs to be allowed prior to 1-July-1998, as the expanded
version becomes _MANDATORY_!
Some of the above dialstrings not properly translating or routing in
Cellular-South territory _might_ be attributed to the fact that I was
_roaming_ and not a 'home' customer. But that doesn't explain why I
was able to reach long-distance numbers from Mississippi (as 1+) on
_most_ area codes (those around for decades), yet I was getting
_blocked_ in their MTSO for calls to those area codes which only took
effect last year or earlier this year!
That's right! Placing 1+ type calls to such area codes as:
678 (GA, 1998, OVERLAY!), 435 (UT, 1997), 336 (NC, 1997), and many
others were _BLOCKED_ by the MTSO, as if they hadn't been loaded
into MTSO-translations! :(
And I'd thought that BellSouth Mobility was sloppy in various
'special' translations! :)
On Monday, I called up an 800- number for Cellular-South (MS),
to report the mis-translations or missing NPAs from their translations.
They told me that it would be better for me to call _my_ cellular
provider (BellSouth Mobility) and report such problems during Sunday's
roaming in Cellular-South territory. BS-Mobility tech-support would
then relay the problems to Cellular-South. So, I reported all of this
to my good tech-support contact with BS-Mobility in Baton Rouge.
One more thing. And this regards BellSouth inTRA-LATA 0-/0+ TOPS
services. I've noticed that _sometimes_ when dialing 0-/0+ from within a
BellSouth exchange (in the New Orleans LATA), I am routed directly to
an operator on 0- who simply answers "Operator", or routed to a 'bong'
tone on 0+. I am _supposed_ to get a 'branding' of a pre-recorded
"Bell-South" prior to "Operator" or 'bong'.
And recently when in the Baton Rouge LATA, and yesterday in the
Gulfport MS LATA, from BellSouth payphones incidently, dialing 0+
inTRA-LATA calls which do route to TOPS, while getting the 'branding'
identification "Bell-South" were not going to the automated 'bong'!
I was getting a brief ring and then a live "Operator". But I'd
dialed 0-PLUS, and _NOT_ 0-MINUS! ?
Anyhow, One Bell System _SURE_ did work! :)
NWORLASKCG0 (BellSouth #1AESS Cl.5 Local "Seabrook" 504-24x-)
NWORLAIYCM1 (BellSouth-Mobility Hughes-GMH-2000 Cellular-MTSO NOL)
NWORLAMT01T (BellSouth DMS-100 "Metairie" Tndm; Cellular routes thru)
NWORLAMA0GT (BellSouth DMS-100/200 inTRA-LATA/fg.B-C-D Tndm "Main" 504+)
NWORLAMA20T (BellSouth DMS-200 TOPS:inLATA Opr.Svc.Tndm "Main" 504+053+)
NWORLAMA04T (AT&T #4ESS Class-2 Toll 060-T / 504-2T "Main" 504+)
JCSNMSPS06T (AT&T #5ESS OSPS:Operator-Services-Tandem 601-0T 601+121)
JCSNMSPS14T (AT&T #4ESS Class-3 Toll 040-T / 601-2T; OSPS routes thru)
NWORLATUDS0?(PBX NEC-2400 504-862-3/8xxx, 504-865-4/5/6xxx)
NWORLACACG0 (BellSou.#1A Cl.5 Lcl "Carrollton" 504-86x-; PBX 'homes' on)
MARK_J._CUCCIA__PHONE/WRITE/WIRE/CABLE:__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: Gregory Stewart <trialrun@netrover.com>
Subject: ADSI / Powertouch Tricks
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 14:22:07 GMT
Organization: Bell Solutions
Hello all,
I just bought a used powertouch (vista) 350, and was wondering if
anyone has played with these from the experimenters viewpoint. Has
anyone out there created any strange "ADSI phone tricks" for their own
amusement?
I am pretty sure a USR Courier V.Everything modem can generate the
required 1200 V.23 FSK half duplex modem signals, (as well as send and
recieve all 16 touch tone characters...) It just seems like something
that would be fun to experiment with. The only thing you couldn't do
with the modem is generate the appropriate CPE alert signal, but then
you could use your computers speaker to do that ...
"Stupid phone tricks" could range from emulating call waiting when
calling someone else, to making up amusing ADSI scripts, (which would
definitely require access to the BELCORE specs I'm sure) ...
Pointers to any websites with ADSI specs (in detail) would be
appreciated ;)
Greg
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Multiple Electronic Use of Same Phone Line Boosted
Date: Tue, 23 Jun 1998 22:30:47 -0400
http://www.mercurycenter.com/premium/business/docs/homenet22.htm
Published Monday, June 22, 1998, in the San Jose Mercury News
Alliance pushes multiple-use phone line system
Plan would boost networking for home PC users
BY JON HEALEY
mailto:jhealey@sjmercury.com
Mercury News Staff Writer
A personal computer, like a teenager, often demands its own phone
line. But what does a family do if it has more than one computer, and
more than one person eager to log on to the Internet?
Install multiple phone lines, or take turns? And if a line is shared,
who gets first dibs, and for how long?
A group of computer-industry heavyweights has joined forces to promote
a simple solution to this problem, which would enable multiple
computers to dial into the Internet simultaneously on a single phone
line. Their proposal, based on technologies developed by two Bay Area
companies, also would permit computers and other electronic gadgets to
share information at high speed through a home's phone wiring,
eliminating the need for extra cables or multiple printers.
The Home Phoneline Networking Alliance, which expects to have its
first products out later this year, sees a bigger payoff down the
road. In a few years, alliance members say, people could connect a
host of electronic gadgets -- video cameras, televisions, DVD players,
computers, scanners, Internet-enabled phones and the like -- to each
other just by plugging them into ordinary phone jacks.
The alliance will push for new, international standards for
high-speed, in-home networks that use existing phone lines. Such
standards, members say, will encourage the makers of electronic
devices to build in the necessary networking technology.
Rich Doherty, an industry analyst at the Envisioneering Group, said he
expects home computer users to react enthusiastically to the prospect
of easy networking, despite the initial price tag of up to $200 per
home. ``The cost to pay for this comes out of dollars that used to go
to multiple printers,'' Doherty said.
On the other hand, Boyd Peterson, a telecommunications analyst at the
Yankee Group, said he didn't see much of a market yet for home
networks. Demand will grow, he said, only if innovative companies
develop products and services that make a home network seem
compelling.
For the computer industry, making it easier for consumers to link
their PCs encourages people to have more than one such device in their
home. That's important to the industry because growth in the number of
homes with computers appears to be slowing.
The alliance argues that the number of homes with more than one
computer is already great enough to fuel the need for easy
networking. Dataquest, a company that tracks the computer industry,
estimated that 15 million homes have multiple PCs, and that 60 percent
of all new computer sales go to families that already own one.
The alliance's 11 initial members include Compaq Computer Corp.,
Hewlett-Packard Co. and International Business Machines Corp.; Intel
Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Rockwell Semiconductor Systems;
and 3Com Corp., Lucent Technologies Inc. and AT&T Corp. The key
phone-line technology comes from Tut Systems Inc. of Pleasant Hill and
Epigram Inc., a Sunnyvale start-up.
Notably absent at this point are Microsoft Corp., the world's leading
manufacturer of operating systems for personal computers, and any
consumer electronics companies. Both Microsoft and Sony, a
consumer-electronics powerhouse, have been proponents of an extremely
high-speed connection protocol known as ``firewire'' that today's
phone lines cannot support.
Other companies are developing wireless links and connections that use
the home's electrical outlets. The alliance, which is accepting new
members, says its goal is to allow people to combine several different
networking technologies -- including those built on phone lines,
firewire, electrical wiring and wireless links -- into a single
system.
One core principle of the alliance, though, is that people not have to
string new wires in their homes in order to create home networks.
Connecting two PCs today typically requires extra networking gear and
additional wires -- a logistical challenge when the computers are in
separate rooms at opposite ends of the house. The alliance's approach
would eliminate the extra wires, although adapters would still be
required in most cases.
The alliance is backing Tut Systems' ``HomeRun'' technology as the way
to create phone-line networks this year. The HomeRun adapter boxes and
plug-in cards encode digital information into electronic signals,
which they transmit over phone lines at high frequencies. The
frequencies are far higher than those used by conventional phone
traffic, freeing the lines for calls while information is being passed
between devices.
The signals move 1 megabit of data per second, about 20 times as much
as the fastest conventional computer modem can deliver. That's enough
speed to handle the accelerated Internet connections that the phone
companies are starting to deploy, as well as providing the capacity
for up to 25 devices to pass information simultaneously.
Where it falls short, though, is when video is added to the mix. Each
high-quality video signal, such as those transmitted via cable television,
consumes more than 1 megabit of capacity per second.
To accommodate those beefier signals, the alliance plans to propose a
standard in the second half of 1999 that will move at least 10 times
as much information on in-home phone lines. One of the founding
members of the alliance already has developed such technology:
Epigram, a company formed in 1996 by former employees of several
Silicon Valley computer and networking firms.
Tony Zuccarino, marketing vice president at Epigram, said his
company's technology enables people to transmit signals from a digital
satellite dish, VCR or DVD player through the phone lines to TVs or PC
monitors in any room in the house. A high-speed connection from the
Internet to the home -- for example, a cable-modem service or a phone
company's digital subscriber line -- could deliver high-quality audio
and video from the World Wide Web to a central home computer, which in
turn could distribute the sounds and pictures to PCs or monitors
around the home.
Any new standards the alliance proposes in 1999 won't make obsolete
equipment bought under the standards to be proposed by September, said
Mark Carpenter, director of home networking for Compaq.
Under the alliance's approach, at least two pieces of additional
equipment will be required to run a home network: an adapter to
transmit the signals at high speeds, and another adapter to receive
them. These adapters can be reduced to microchips, however, meaning
that they could be built into computers, cameras, cable converter
boxes and any other device one might want to connect to the network.
The alliance estimated that separate adapter boxes would cost less
than $100. If the technology were built into an electronic device,
however, the cost would be much less -- ``in the low tens of
dollars,'' Craig Bender of Tut Systems estimated.
The home networks will communicate in a standard networking format
known as Ethernet. That means devices will have to be equipped with
Ethernet circuitry in order to link to the network, or users will have
to buy adapter boxes that can convert information into Ethernet format
before transmitting it at high speed.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED
More information on the alliance is available at its Web site
(www.PhoneLAN.org), which was scheduled to be activated today.
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon"<monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Last Laugh! Monopoly Power!
Date: Tue, 23 Jun 1998 23:02:34 -0400
-- forwarded message --
From: "jrosenberg@usa.net (Jim Rosenberg) "
Reply-To: jrosenberg@usa.net
Subject: Monopoly Power!
AT&T is reportedly interested in buying America Online. If this
occurs, federal regulators are concerned the merged corporation will
have a total monopoly on busy signals.
[Original material from http://www.wirecom.com/jim]
Selected by Jim Griffith. MAIL your joke to funny@netfunny.com.
Attribute the joke's source if at all possible. A Daemon will auto-reply.
Web users, you can read a random joke from the archives just by bookmarking
http://www.netfunny.com/cgi-bin/randomurl/rhf/jokes/masterlist
This joke's link: http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/98/Jun/signals.html
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #102
******************************
ISSUE 103 GOT MAILED OUT OF SEQUENCE AND IN THIS ARCHIVE IT APPEARS
*FOLLOWING 104 AND 105*. IN OTHER WORDS, 101, 102, 104, 105, 103, 106.
From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Jul 2 22:11:00 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id WAA25548; Thu, 2 Jul 1998 22:11:00 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 22:11:00 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199807030211.WAA25548@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #104
TELECOM Digest Thu, 2 Jul 98 22:10:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 104
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
56th UCLA Engineering and Management Program (Bill Goodin)
NANP Caribbean; NANP (US) Pacific (Mark J. Cuccia)
Puerto Rico no se vende (Dale Wharton)
[tollfree-l] What is TOLLFREE-L for? (Judith Oppenheimer)
Ameritech, and a Supposedly FCC-Mandated Charge (Steve Sobol)
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
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: bgoodin@unex.ucla.edu (Bill Goodin)
Subject: 56th UCLA Engineering and Management Program
Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 22:37:26 GMT
Organization: University of California, Los Angeles
September 20-25, 1998, on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles.
For more than 40 years, UCLA Extension's Engineering and Management
Program has provided "how to" answers to the challenges that technical
managers face daily.
The program is designed for experienced first-level technical
supervisors, mid-level technical managers, technical professionals
(engineers, scientists, and software professionals) with high
advancement potential, and non-technical managers in technology-based
organizations.
A special benefit is the opportunity for participants to personalize
their own curriculum by selecting four courses, each one meeting two
hours per day. Participants may choose from 28 course offerings to
address these and other important management questions:
o How can I develop products and services that will have a market?
o How can I use technology as one of the drivers of organizational
change?
o How can I influence persons who do not report directly to me or to
my boss?
o How can I create a culture that nourishes creativity, customer
service, risk taking, and accountability?
o How can I successfully communicate in-house with peers,
subordinates, and superiors, and with global customers and suppliers?
o How can I carry out my managerial role in the face of major change
in the organization?
o How can I prepare myself for emerging trends and an uncertain
future?
o How can I better use or change aspects of my style of leadership to
get desired results?
o How can I identify and eliminate costly, nonvalue-added activities?
Instructors are drawn from the UCLA faculty, other universities, and
the business community. All combine research and theory with practice
and application.
The program advisory committee, which includes technical managers
from Hewlett Packard, Trillium Digital Systems, TRW, Sandia National
Laboratories, Amgen, Boeing, Walt Disney Imagineering, 3D Systems,
Sony Pictures Imageworks, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Tanner
Research, and ARCO, actively participates in the selection and
evaluation of the courses and instructors.
The program fee of $2,095 includes all texts and materials for courses
in which the participant is enrolled, five continental breakfasts,
five luncheons, social events, parking at UCLA, and use of University
facilities and equipment.
For additional information and a complete program booklet, please
contact Beverly Croswhite at:
Phone: (310) 825-3858
Fax: (310) 206-2815
e-mail: bcroswhi@unex.ucla.edu
WWW: http://www.unex.ucla.edu/shortcourses
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 10:28:24 -0500
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: NANP Caribbean; NANP (US) Pacific
On Wednesday, 1-July-1998, I tried dialing Guam/CNMI via _MCI_
(101-0222+), and as 01(1)+ country-code '+671/670'.
While AT&T and Sprint had _BLOCKED_ 01(1)+ cc '+671/670' access to
Guam/CNMI _LAST YEAR_ when those two US Pacific areas officially became
part of the N.American Numbering/Dialing Plan and domestic billing from
the US, MCI continued to allow one to place calls as 01(1)-671/670-etc.
On 1-July-1998, I got an MCI rejection recording when I dialed both
01(1)+671/670-etc, indicating that I needed to simply dial 1+, not
011+.
Of course, Frontier (101-0444+) has my line 'blocked' against placing
calls on their network, since I am not an 'accounted customer'.
But some other carriers I tried dialing 101-XXXX+ calls to Guam/CNMI as
01(1)+671/670-etc. either went through to (!), or else got a 'generic'
rejection recording or re-order (fast-busy) from that carrier.
Today, 1-July-1998, is supposed to be the mandatory date for calling
Guam/CNMI as (+1) and _NPAs_ 671/670, but not all carriers have blocked
the non-NANP access yet.
Also, today, 1-July-1998, is _supposed_ to be the mandatory date of
dialing seven-digit 101-0XXX+ CACs (four-digit '0XXX' CICs) for
previously existing five-digit 10-XXX+ CACs (three-digit 'XXX' CICs).
When I tried to dial 10-XXX+ this morning, my local central office
_ALLOWED_ such dialing/access! It may take some time for the telcos
to block such outmoded dialing in their switch translations. They'd
better do it ASAP, since LM-IMS-NANPA is _eventually_ going to begin
assigning 101-2XXX CACs (2XXX CICs), and this will conflict with any
'old' 10-12X CACs (12X CICs), the 'old' ones must _NOW_ be dialed as
101-012X!
Canada doesn't begin mandatory seven-digit CAC dialing until about the
spring of 1999.
Also, what is described now is something that has been a PROBLEM for
MANY YEARS NOW ... And it can only get WORSE! :( :(
Many NANP-based (as well as non-NANP) Telcos and LD carriers are _STILL_
showing the NANP-Caribbean and NANP/US-Pacific islands' +1 NANP area
codes (NPAs), "as-if-they-were" ITU/CCITT-assigned _COUNTRY_ codes,
which they are _NOT_! These errors are in the instruction pages in the
front of local telco directories, as instructions, lists of NPAs and
CC's, and/or maps ... or else in instructional literature from the IXC's.
Even a Sprint _OPERATOR_ [Hello, Ron H.] recently told me to dial
01(1)+868+seven-digits to place a call to Trinidad and Tobago!!!! ????
_MOST_ local directories which have this error _do_ correctly indicate
Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands as NANP-based NPA codes, 787 and
340, respectively (unless they are erroneously still showing NPA 809).
But the non-US but still NANP-based Caribbean is frequently erroneously
indicated as separate country codes, or even all 'defaulted' to (WRONG)
"Country" code 809!!!! ????
BellSouth and BellAtlantic are _BOTH_ guilty of this error in the front
instruction/list/map pages of their directories.
Bermuda REALLY is +1 NANP NPA-code 441, NOT "country" code +441
Trinidad REALLY is +1 NANP NPA-code 868, NOT "country" code +868
etc. !!!!!
I recently got a copy of the Poughkeepsie NY white/yellow pages, dated
December 1997, which my dad picked up for me when my parents (retired)
were recently vacationing in the Hudson River Valley. The directory
indicates Bell Atlantic all over (no more NYNEX). The Area Code list
(numerical) in the front of the directory is one of the most 'unique'
I've ever seen in a 'public' telephone book, as it includes such SAC
NPA codes as 456 (International Inbound), 500 (Personal Communications),
600 (Canada TWX), 700 (Carrier Services), _710_(US Government)_, 888
(Toll Free 888) - as well as 800, 880 and 881 (Paid 800/888 calling),
and 900. Most (but not all) of the new NPA's through 1997 are shown in
this list, including 787 PR and 340 USVI. However, 671 Guam, 670 CNMI,
867 YT/NWT/Nunavut, and _all_ non-US (but still NANP) Caribbean NPAs
are omitted! Such are shown on the "international" pages, as if they
are "country" codes, including many with "country" code 809. Yet in the
'numerical' list of NANP area codes, 809 is shown as "Caribbean
Islands".
I don't know if any telcos/carriers in Canada are in error in their
public literature regarding the NANP-Caribbean. I do know that there
are _some_ overseas (non-NANP) telcos have erroneously indicated the
NANP-Caribbean area codes "as if they were country codes" as well.
As for Guam/CNMI being shown as (+1) NANP area codes 671/670, it may
take a little while for the reprinting of directories, literature, etc.
to indicate the _PROPER_ numbering/dialing.
I must say that Pac*Bell in California _DOES_ show the NANP-Caribbean
as it _REALLY_ is supposed to be! The US-NANP-Caribbean (PR/USVI) is
shown in the 'domestic' and Canada section of maps/lists. And while the
non-US but still NANP-Caribbean is shown separately near the
"international" section, it _IS_ shown as dialed as a NANP-based call,
1/0+NPA+seven-digits, although it is _BILLED_ as an international/ovs
call.
_WHY_ can't the _OTHER_ LECs/Carriers/etc. in the NANP (and the world)
follow Pac*Bell's CORRECT identification of such areas!
I think it is time that ATIS/Bellcore/LM-IMS-NANPA/TRA/etc. _REMIND_
all carriers via PL's, Emergency Notification letters, in meetings,
conference calls, etc., of the NANP-Caribbean status, and the erroneous
info being distributed by the offending service-providers!!!
If I am calling Anguilla, (+1)-264-etc., I _DON'T_ want to be told by
some operator or telco/carrier literature that I'm 'supposed' to dial
01(1)-264-etc. instead of 1/0-264-etc. I want my call to route/rate to
_ANGUILLA_, _NOT_ Namibia/SWAfr.!!!
In other numbering/dialing/translation/etc. issues, my local BellSouth
central office (504-24x) now has all NPA's known to become active (at
least in permissive dialing) through 3Q 1998, already loaded into
originating switch translations. This includes:
786 (Overlay on 305 FL), effective 1-July-1998
727 (Split from 813 FL), permissive 1-July-1998
831 (Split from 408 CA), permissive mid-July-1998
651 (Split from 612 MN), permissive mid-July-1998 (*)
251 (Split from 504 LA), permissive mid-Aug-1998
720 (Overlay on 303 CO), effective 1-Sept-1998
(*) this split is a 'crazy' one with the duplications of NXX c/o codes
in certain communities...
AT&T has all of these NPA codes already loaded into their OSPS switches
which I have the chance to access (Jackson MS, Dallas TX, Sherman Oaks
CA, New York City). And AT&T has all of these NPA codes already loaded
into (or in the case of NPA 651 is in the process of loading them into)
their national network of #4ESS toll switches.
NWORLASKCG0 (BellSouth #1AESS Cl.5 Local "Seabrook" 504-24x-)
NWORLAIYCM1 (BellSouth-Mobility Hughes-GMH-2000 Cellular-MTSO NOL)
NWORLAMT01T (BellSouth DMS-100 "Metairie" Tndm; Cellular routes thru)
NWORLAMA0GT (BellSouth DMS-100/200 inTRA-LATA/fg.B-C-D Tndm "Main" 504+)
NWORLAMA20T (BellSouth DMS-200 TOPS:inLATA Opr.Svc.Tndm "Main" 504+053+)
NWORLAMA04T (AT&T #4ESS Class-2 Toll 060-T / 504-2T "Main" 504+)
JCSNMSPS06T (AT&T #5ESS OSPS:Operator-Services-Tandem 601-0T 601+121)
JCSNMSPS14T (AT&T #4ESS Class-3 Toll 040-T / 601-2T; OSPS routes thru)
NWORLATUDS0?(PBX NEC-2400 504-862-3/8xxx, 504-865-4/5/6xxx)
NWORLACACG0 (BellSou.#1A Cl.5 Lcl "Carrollton" 504-86x-; PBX 'homes' on)
MARK_J._CUCCIA__PHONE/WRITE/WIRE/CABLE:__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, 30 Jun 1998 22:59:59 edt
From: Dale Wharton <1@dale.CAM.ORG>
Subject: Puerto Rico no se vende
THE NEW YORK TIMES June 30, 1998
STRIKE OVER SALE OF PHONE COMPANY THREATENS TO SPREAD
By Mireya Navarro
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico--A coalition representing tens of thousands
of workers has called for a work stoppage to protest the
government's sale of a majority interest of the publicly owned
telephone company here, turning an uproar that has roiled the
island for weeks into one that threatens to paralyze it.
The Greater Committee of Labor Organizations, which claims
58 unions with at least 150,000 government workers and thousands
more employees in the private sector, voted Sunday for a work
stoppage of unspecified duration to be announced just hours
before it starts.
The action, expected this week, would broaden a strike by
6,400 telephone workers that began June 18 into one involving
workers in electrical, public transit, water, and sewer and other
industries.
Already, the strike has been accompanied by intermittent
stoppages by other unionized workers, acts of sabotage that have
cut service to as many as 345,000 telephone users, and bombings
by a clandestine political group and others.
Many countries, particularly in Latin America, have sold or tried
to sell their telephone monopolies over the last decade. The deals
were ways of raising money while improving telecommunications services
by letting others make the investment necessary to modernize the
utilities, telecommunications experts say.
But the $1.87 billion sale of a controlling stake of Puerto Rico
Telephone Co. to a consortium of investors led by GTE Corp. of
Connecticut, has sparked a burst of nationalism seldom seen on behalf
of a phone company, the experts say.
"We're defending the Puerto Rico Telephone Co. not only because
it's our rice and beans but because it's a national patrimony," said
Annie Cruz, president of the Independent Brotherhood of Telephone
Workers, one of two telephone unions on strike.
Telephone workers fear large numbers of layoffs and higher
telephone rates after privatization, and argue that the telephone is a
basic service that should remain in the public domain. But they also
criticize the government for negotiating the sale in secrecy and
agreeing to what they view as unfavorable terms in order to get money
to help fulfill election campaign promises.
Suspicions are heightened because the sale is part of an
aggressive privatization program under Gov. Pedro Rossello, whose
administration has already sold off the island's shipping company
and is selling publicly owned hospitals and hotels.
And because the governor is pushing statehood for Puerto
Rico, a U.S. territory with 3.8 million residents, political
opponents also charge that privatizing is another way to make the
island more palatable to Congress, which is considering a bill to
allow a vote here on Puerto Rico's political status.
"There's no doubt that there's a strategy to eliminate
things that differentiate us from the states," said Anibal
Acevedo Vila, a representative in the Puerto Rico House and
president of the Popular Democratic Party, which advocates Puerto
Rico remain a commonwealth. But in 1990, it was Acevedo Vila's
party that proposed selling Puerto Rico Telephone to finance
improvements in education and public works. Acevedo Vila said the
company was not sold because no buyer would meet the price and
rate and job guarantees required then.
But if the two main parties here have played politics with
the "Telefonica," as the company is known, public opposition has
been consistent. The most recent newspaper polls show that up to
65 percent of Puerto Ricans oppose the sale.
Under the terms of the sale, the government of Puerto Rico
will receive $1.87 billion for a 50 percent-plus-one-share stake
in the telephone company. A consortium that includes GTE, Banco
Popular of Puerto Rico, and other local investors will pay $375
million for that majority stake. The other $1.5 billion will come
from a commercial loan taken by the privatized telephone company.
The money from the sale would establish a $1 billion fund to
invest in infrastructure.
The telephone company was once in private hands, but thrived
only after the government bought it in 1974. Profitable and
technologically modern, the company pays about $80 million a year
in lieu of taxes to municipalities, education, and the island's
public broadcasting station, and is considered so productive its
unofficial symbol is "Fortunata," a dewy-eyed cow.
But Rossello says legislation passed by Congress in 1996
mandates that the company end its monopoly on intraisland calls.
Rossello regards that as a cue to get out as he tries to
reduce the role of government in competitive areas in order to
invest in those where he said it can be the most productive, like
education and public safety.
Telecommunications experts say privatization usually results
in expanded services and bigger reach, although layoffs occur and
rates sometimes go up. Opponents are directing much of their ire
at Banco Popular of Puerto Rico, which is identified through
advertising and civic sponsorships with Puerto Rican culture.
The bank has been denounced by the unions as a "traitor,"
and its branches have been the target of boycotts, picketing, and
small bombings, including one by the Boricua Popular Army, a
clandestine group known as Los Macheteros. In a letter sent to
The Associated Press here, the group said: "The sale of the
Puerto Rico Telephone Co. is nothing more than a declaration of
war. Now they will know what war is."
Despite the protests, the Puerto Rican Legislature approved
the sale this month. The transaction is expected to be completed
by the end of the year, pending approval by the Federal
Communications Commission and other regulatory requirements.
To complicate matters, Spain's Telefonica Internacional last
week made a purchase offer which the company says surpasses GTE's
and which the government must consider while a sale is finalized.
The unions want to stop any sale or, at the very least,
negotiate with the new owners over better terms for the workers.
Some are also calling for a referendum on the sale.
Rossello said there are no plans to change course.
"I know this is the right thing to do," he said.
------------------------------
Reply-To: tollfree-l@makelist.com
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 19:59:30 -0400
From: Judith Oppenheimer <joppenheimer@icbtollfree.com>
Organization: ICB TOLL FREE NEWS. 15 Day FREE Trial: http://icbtollfree.com
Subject: [tollfree-l] What is TOLLFREE-L for?
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Last week a message here gave
instructions for subscribing to the new mailing list dealing with
toll free numbers. As I pointed out shortly thereafter, the
information was incorrect and would be reposted shortly. The
message which follows from Judith gives details for subscribing. PAT]
-------------------------------------------
I had occasion today to speak with a subscriber of tollfree-l, who'd
signed on due to his involvement in the industry -- but who has not a
clue as to what a mailing list is, or what to expect from this list in
particular.
So it occured to me that perhaps many of you are very busy and indeed,
may not be participants on other mailing lists. Which may account for
the stark lack of activity here, even though we've attracted almost 70
subscribers in less than one week online.
That said, here's the lowdown on mailing lists for the novices among you
(extrapolated from Liszt, a mail list server service).
What's a mailing list?
Internet mailing lists aren't for ads, as some people mistakenly
believe. Send any ads to this list, and demons will come and pull out
your toenails. Neither is this list for news broadcasts - for that, you
can sign up for ICB TOLL FREE NEWS (http://icbtollfree.com).
Rather, Internet mailing lists are usually just communities of people
sitting around discussing one of their favorite topics by e-mail. For
example, other telecommunications lists include RITIM
(Telecommunications and Information Marketing), TELECOM Digest, an
electronic journal devoted mostly telecommunications topics, and
telecomreg, which covers a broad range of regulatory issues.
Internet mailing lists have been around since about 1975. It was the
first and original type of online community, pre-dating Usenet, IRC, and
the rest of the gang.
The mailing list format lends itself to calm, thoughtful, literate,
mature discussion, where relationships between the list members actually
grow and deepen over an extended period of time. (Yes, even in our
volatile business, thoughtful discussion can ensue. <g>) Most Internet
experts feel that the mailing list format is the most civilized type of
online community.
So, that said, TOLLFREE-L is for the business discussion of toll free
issues and concerns, of which there are certainly a good number on any
given plate.
Do 877 numbers work from PBX'es? Should the FCC's anti-brokering rules
be rescinded? How should payphone companies be compensated for toll
free calls? Should they be compensated at all? Are there any global
800 (UIFN) numbers producing for anyone yet?
The email address to post messages to this list is
tollfree-l@makelist.com.
Introduce yourselves. Ask your questions, state your opinions, air your
gripes. Be calm, be thoughtful, be literate, be mature! <g> But at
least, be present.
your humble (and impatient) moderator,
Judith Oppenheimer
-------------------------------------------------------------
TOLL FREE SERVICE USERS LIST (TOLLFREE-L)
To POST MESSAGES, email tollfree-l@makelist.com
TOLLFREE-L is a moderated internet mailing list for the discussion of
management, marketing, policy, engineering, logistical and regulatory
matters related to the business use of toll free service and toll free
numbers.
TOLLFREE-L is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Judith
Oppenheimer, Publisher of ICB TOLL FREE NEWS service, and President of
ICB Toll Free Consultancy. ICB NEWS service offers a 15-day free
trial subscription, at http://icbtollfree.com.
=====> To SUBSCRIBE to TOLLFREE-L mailing list, send an empty email
=====> message to tollfree-l-subscribe@makelist.com
=====> To UNSUBSCRIBE to TOLLFREE-L mailing list, send an empty email
=====> message to tollfree-l-unsubscribe@makelist.com
To POST MESSAGES, email tollfree-l@makelist.com
To CONTACT THE LIST OWNER on administrative matters, etc.,
email tollfree-l-owner@makelist.com
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.
Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/tollfree-l/
To unsubscribe, email to tollfree-l-unsubscribe@makelist.com
To subscribe, email to tollfree-l-subscribe@makelist.com
--
Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com !
------------------------------
From: sjsobol@nstc.com (Steve Sobol - BOFH)
Subject: Ameritech, and a Supposedly FCC-Mandated Charge
Date: 30 Jun 1998 15:03:51 GMT
Organization: North Shore Technologies Corp. 888.480.INET
This has appeared on my June 19th, 1998 Ameritech residential phone bill.
LOCAL CALLS
Local Calling Plus
Calling Area A
Minutes - Initial - 8am-9pm - x minutes billed at $ .04 each
Additional at .01 each
Minutes - Initial - 9pm-8am - x minutes billed at $ .02 each
Additional at .005 each
This page contains itemizations for three calling areas, A, B, and C.
There are charges on this page.
Now, I'm still getting itemized charges for local toll calls, and
the flat rate I pay every month has not changed.
Ameritech flat-out refuses to tell me what phone numbers I called
that generated "local calling plus" charges; when I asked who I called
that I got charged for, I was told "We don't have that information."
Now, it's not a big deal to pay the grand total of 7 cents on the June
bill, but I have a feeling I am going to be charged more than that in the
coming months, and I don't imagine Ameritech will be any more forthcoming
with information on why they are charging me or how they are computing these
charges, except for the information already offered to me detailing which
local communities are in which calling area.
Flat rate is flat rate, period, end of discussion. And I'm already getting
charged toll rates for local toll calls that I make. What the hell is going
on? Should I write PUCO (the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio) and the
FCC, and complain that Ameritech is cramming? Am I way off base here?
Steve Sobol, President, North Shore Technologies Corporation [www.nstc.com]
Sales reps wanted! Call 1.888.480.INET or e-mail sjsobol@nstc.com
Fight unsolicited broadcast email! http://www.ybecker.net http://www.cauce.org
"My nose is on fire, and my trousers appear to be full of weasels."
-- Steve "Blighty" Atkins
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #104
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Jul 4 18:38:25 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id SAA16241; Sat, 4 Jul 1998 18:38:25 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Sat, 4 Jul 1998 18:38:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199807042238.SAA16241@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #105
TELECOM Digest Sat, 4 Jul 98 18:39:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 105
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Book Review: "ADSL and DSL Technologies", Walter Goralski (Rob Slade)
Telecom Update (Canada) #140, July 6, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement)
AT&T Backs Off 50% Texas Intrastate Increase (Robert Eden)
AT&T New Communications Services Through Excite, Lycos (Mike Pollock)
CRTC Opens Pay-phone Competition (Chris Farrar)
Code For New Chicago NPA Announced (Adam H. Kerman)
Even More LM-NANPA Planning Letters (Mark J Cuccia)
Folklore: Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them (Michael Covington)
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:
* telecom-request@telecom-digest.org *
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: 847-727-5427
Fax: 847-675-3149
** Article submission address: editor@telecom-digest.org **
Our archives are available for your review/research. The URL is:
http://telecom-digest.org
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
(or use our mirror site: ftp ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives)
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note
to archives@telecom-digest.org 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. *
*************************************************************************
In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order
telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has
been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very
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a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
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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Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing
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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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 11:25:23 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "ADSL and DSL Technologies", Walter Goralski
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKDSLTCH.RVW 980409
"ADSL and DSL Technologies", Walter Goralski, 1998, 0-07-024679-3,
U$45.95
%A Walter Goralski
%C 300 Water Street, Whitby, Ontario L1N 9B6
%D 1998
%G 0-07-024679-3
%I McGraw-Hill Ryerson/Osborne
%O U$45.95 800-565-5758 fax: 905-430-5020 louisea@McGrawHill.ca
%P 379 p.
%T "ADSL and DSL Technologies"
I first saw the effect on calls to my ISP (Internet Service Provider).
Instead of getting a busy signal, I would get a voice interrupt
telling me that all circuits were busy. (This, incidentally, played
havoc with my automated redialing attempts.) Since my ISP happens to
also be a long distance provider, one could assume that the problem
lay with a certain lack of cooperation between the two corporate
telecom entities. However, these voice interrupts are becoming more
frequent in local voice calls from all parts of the city. It seems
clear that BC Tel is seeing a milder form of the "brown down" Goralski
describes in his introduction, and for which ADSL (Asymmetric Digital
Subscriber Line) is a possible solution. Most people see ADSL simply
in terms of faster Internet (and usually Web page) access, whereas the
Goralski points out that there are advantages for the telco as well.
Chapter one gives a historical background to the Internet and the
World Wide Web, pointing to the nature of the connection to, and
traffic with, the end user. The argument being developed is extended
somewhat in chapter two with an overview of the public switched
telephone network (PSTN). Chapter three starts to get close to ADSL
technologies by dealing with the increasing digitization of the PSTN,
and also the physics and engineering involved in the local loop. The
final factor in the mix is the difference between circuit switching
(necessary for voice traffic) and packet switching (the most efficient
use of bandwidth in data networks), covered in chapter four.
Chapter five looks at the various technologies that compete in the
market to provide higher speed access to the home or small business,
including high speed modems, cable modems, ISDN (Integrated Services
Digital Network), satellite, and so forth. Each has significant
limitations not shared by ADSL. ADSL is only one of a family of DSL
(sometimes referred to as xDSL) services, and these are introduced in
chapter six.
Chapter seven explains High-bit-rate DSL (HDSL), a symmetric
technology often used to terminate T-1 lines. The ADSL signalling is
covered in chapter eight. The interface and frames are explained in
chapters nine and ten. Chapter eleven looks at applications and use.
(I was amused, recently, to have to explain to a company that the
asymmetry involved in ADSL was a necessary function of the fact that
the telco would be able to "push" data at you faster than they could
"suck" it from your system. They had envisaged being able to get
faster than T-1 speeds, bi-directionally, by getting two ADSL lines.)
The telco side of ADSL is the Digital Subscriber Line Access
Multiplexer (DSLAM) discussed in chapter twelve. One of the
advantages of ADSL is the ability to use much of the existing
infrastructure without extensive refitting. Chapter thirteen looks at
migration issues from analogue service to ADSL, and from ADSL to
possible followons. One such followon is Very High-speed Digital
Subscriber Line (VDSL), described in chapter fourteen.
While ADSL is starting to become available, a number of questions are
raised in chapter fifteen that remain to be addressed. An additional
collection of international issues are presented in chapter sixteen.
Appendix B lists a very useful set of contact information for members
of the ADSL Forum.
Goralski`s exposition here is every bit as good as good as that in his
explanation of SONET (Synchronous Optical NETwork) (cf. BKSONET.RVW),
albeit more people know, or think they know, what ADSL is. The mass
appeal of ADSL will probably mean that most users will be looking for
something a bit shorter, although the explanations contained in this
book are clear enough for anyone. Every ISP, though, should have a
copy on hand in order to determine what *they* (the ISPs) need to do
(see chapter twelve), and to field the inevitable questions as ADSL
starts to roll out beyond the trial areas.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKDSLTCH.RVW 980409
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 15:24:47 -0400
From: Angus TeleManagement <angus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #140, July 6, 1998
************************************************************
* *
* TELECOM UPDATE *
* Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin *
* http://www.angustel.ca *
* Number 140: July 6, 1998 *
* *
* Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by *
* generous financial support from: *
* *
* Bell Canada ................. http://www.bell.ca/ *
* City Dial Network Services .. http://www.citydial.com/ *
* Computer Talk Technology .... http://icescape.com/ *
* fONOROLA .................... http://www.fonorola.com/ *
* Lucent Technologies ......... http://www.lucent.ca/ *
* *
************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
** Telecom Update Takes a Holiday
** CRTC Opens Payphone Competition
** Call-Net Replaces fONOROLA Executives, Board
** Stratos Buys Teleglobe Satellite Assets
** Nortel Wireless Expands in Calgary, Winnipeg
** Carriers Told to Improve Services for Visually Impaired
** CRTC Sets Rate for Bell Wireless Access
** CRTC Denies Telus Bid for Separate Signaling Hookup
** Bell Mobility Expands PCS Coverage
** Bell Mobility to Unify Ontario Government Two-Way Radio
** NBTel, Balisoft to Develop Internet Call Centers
** Northwestel Told to Upgrade Rural Wireless
** Northwestel Reduces Toll-Free Rates
** BC Tel Installs Internet "Payphones"
** Rogers Sells Security Division
** Microcell Expands Resale
** PowerTel Changes Name
** "Managing in Surprising Times"
============================================================
TELECOM UPDATE TAKES A HOLIDAY: We're taking a short summer break: the
next issue of Telecom Update will be published on July 13.
CRTC OPENS PAYPHONE COMPETITION: On June 30, CRTC Telecom Decision
98-8 opened the local pay telephone market to competition. Prices of
alternative providers are not regulated, but they must register with
the Commission and abide by consumer safeguards.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/decision/1998/d988_0.txt
CALL-NET REPLACES fONOROLA EXECUTIVES, BOARD: Call-Net Enterprises,
which assumed ownership of fONOROLA June 26, has dismissed 31 of
fONOROLA's senior managers, including CEO Jan Peeters, and replaced
fONOROLA's Board of Directors with Call-Net nominees. (See Telecom
Update #139)
STRATOS BUYS TELEGLOBE SATELLITE ASSETS: Toronto-based Stratos Global
Corp. is paying Teleglobe $82 Million for its Inmarsat mobile
satellite business and its 29% stake in Stratos Global's wireless
subsidiary. Stratos Global is majority owned by NewTel Enterprises.
NORTEL WIRELESS EXPANDS IN CALGARY, WINNIPEG: Northern Telecom has
opened a new wireless lab in Calgary to check product conformance to
regulatory standards. Nortel is also expanding its Calgary wireless
manufacturing facility and is building a new broadband wireless R&D
lab in Winnipeg.
CARRIERS TOLD TO IMPROVE SERVICES FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED: CRTC Telecom
Order 98-626 tells carriers to provide bills and billing inserts, upon
request, in Braille, large print, or on computer diskette.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98626_0.txt
CRTC SETS RATE FOR BELL WIRELESS ACCESS: CRTC Order 98-623 sets the
paging and telephone-number access rates paid by wireless carriers to
Bell Canada at 14 cents/month per active number and 4 cents/month per
reserved number.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98623_0.txt
CRTC DENIES TELUS BID FOR SEPARATE SIGNALING HOOKUP: CRTC Order 98-625
denies a bid by Telus to require wireless providers to connect to the
CCS7 signaling network on Telus territory. The Commission says the
CCS7 network is "effectively a Stentor network," so interconnection
can be made anywhere in Stentor territory.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98625_0.txt
BELL MOBILITY EXPANDS PCS COVERAGE: Bell Mobility has extended its PCS
digital network to cover Brantford, Kitchener-Waterloo, and an
Ottawa-Quebec City corridor.
BELL MOBILITY TO UNIFY ONTARIO GOVERNMENT TWO-WAY RADIO: Bell Mobility
has signed a $300 Million 15-year deal with the Province of Ontario to
build a unified digital radio network, replacing the five separate
radio dispatch systems now run by Ontario public safety agencies.
NBTEL, BALISOFT TO DEVELOP INTERNET CALL CENTERS: NBTel is working
with Toronto-based Balisoft Technologies to develop products that
equip call centers to serve callers over the Internet. Balisoft was
founded in 1997 by former Delrina President Mark Skapinker.
NORTHWESTEL TOLD TO UPGRADE RURAL WIRELESS: CRTC Order 98- 622 sets a
usage rate of 4 cents/minute for all airtime on Northwestel's Ruraltel
remote-area service and tells the telco to file action plans to
upgrade the quality of Ruraltel service.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98622_0.txt
NORTHWESTEL REDUCES TOLL-FREE RATES: Northwestel has the CRTC's okay
to bring its per-minute toll-free rates closer to those offered south
of 60 and to reduce the disparity between rates in its eastern and
western operating areas.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98636_0.txt
BC TEL INSTALLS INTERNET "PAYPHONES": BC Tel has installed two
"NetLink" terminals in the Vancouver convention center that provide
high-speed Internet access plus use of word processing and spreadsheet
programs. Users pay 35 cents/minute plus 23 cents per printed page.
ROGERS SELLS SECURITY DIVISION: Rogers Communications has sold Rogers
Canguard, Canada's fifth-largest security alarm company, to
California-based Protection One.
MICROCELL EXPANDS RESALE: Microcell's wireless service now has a
second reseller, Vancouver-based start-up CityFone Telecommunications.
POWERTEL CHANGES NAME: Calgary-based PowerTel Communications has
changed its name to Equess Communications.
"MANAGING IN SURPRISING TIMES": Bell Canada President John MacDonald
discusses the telco's plans to acquire new capabilities for the next
millennium in "Managing in Surprising Times," an exclusive interview
in the July-August issue of Telemanagement. The July-August issue,
available this week, also features:
** A critical look at the Teleglobe/Excel merger by Ian
Angus;
** A report on early implementations of fax-over-Internet by
Gerry Blackwell.
To subscribe to Telemanagement, call 1-800-263-4415, ext 225
or visit http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm-sub.html
============================================================
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca
FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE
Angus TeleManagement Group
8 Old Kingston Road
Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7
===========================================================
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There
are two formats available:
1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World
Wide Web on the first business day of the week. Point
your browser to http://www.angustel.ca/update/up.html
2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of
charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to
majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message
should contain only the two words: subscribe update
To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail
message to majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message
should say only: unsubscribe update [Your e-mail address]
===========================================================
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce,
please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext
225.
The information and data included has been obtained from
sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus
TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations
whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy.
Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available
information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on
the subject matter is required, the services of a competent
professional should be obtained.
============================================================
------------------------------
From: Robert Eden <reden@concentric.net>
Subject: AT&T Backs Off 50% Texas Intrastate Increase
Date: 02 Jul 1998 18:10:26 EDT
Organization: Concentric Internet Services
http://www.Austin360.com/biz/07july/1/1att.htm
The _Austin American Statesman_ reports that AT&T will refund the 5
cent increase to "One Rate Plus" subscribers charged since 6/1/98.
The original 10 cent rate will revert until 9/1/98 when the new 15
cent rate will take effect.
The article doesn't mention if they will actually *NOTIFY* One Rate Plus
customers of the increase before it is re-imposed 9/1/98.
Yesterday, I got my bill with the "new" rate. The increase was not even
mentioned but shown in the call detail. Complaints to various regulatory
and consumer agencies were going to go out this weekend (they refused to
adjust my bill yesterday).
In response to a previous post, people had asked about fine print in the
AT&T offer. Both on my first bill under the plan and in a separate letter,
the rates were detailed without a "rates subject to change without notice"
message. The welcome letter even states:
"With AT&T One Rate Plus, you always know in advance what
each call is going to cost."
Yea sure ...
Robert
------------------------------
From: Mike Pollock <pheel@m1.sprynet.com>
Subject: AT&T New Communications Services To Be Offered Through Excite, Lycos
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 10:12:14 -0400
I saw a link to this during a recent Anywho search, but I haven't gotten up
the gumption to try it.
---------------------------------
Monday June 29, 8:33 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
AT&T Unveils New Communications Services, Combining Power of Internet With
At&t Voice Network
First AT&T Inter@ctive Communications To Be Offered Through Excite, Lycos
BASKING RIDGE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 29, 1998-- AT&T (NYSE:T - news)
today introduced the first of a family of AT&T Inter@ctive Communications
services that enable consumers to engage in a variety of new communications
experiences using the Internet.
Developed by AT&T Labs, these new services place a variety of communications
capabilities at Internet users' fingertips. Now, consumers can turn any
online chat into a phone conversation, initiate and manage a conference call
with up to seven people, and utilize other services that leverage the power
of AT&T's voice network and the World Wide Web.
``These new services add voice to today's most popular Internet activities
and applications, including online chat sessions and Web directories,'' said
Dan Schulman, President of AT&T WorldNet(R) Service and AT&T Interactive
Communications. ``As the Internet evolves into a rich multimedia experience,
AT&T will be there, driving the transformation from text-based
communications to voice-enabled applications.''
AT&T Inter@ctive Communications are an integral part of the company's
strategy to enable Internet users to go anywhere on the Web to experience
the IP communications of tomorrow - today. Beginning today, these services
are accessible through leading portals Excite (Nasdaq:XCIT - news;
www.excite.com) and Lycos (Nasdaq:LCOS - news; www.lycos.com), as well as
the AT&T Web site (www.att.com) and the AT&T WorldNet(R) Service site
(www.att.net).
Available now, the first AT&T Inter@ctive Communications services require
one telephone line separate from the Internet connection. They are:
AT&T Chat `N Talk (www.chatntalk.att.com): What is it?: Internet users can
add the warmth of voice to a textual online chat session. Make a phone call
to anyone in a chat room while retaining confidentiality.
How does it work?: Chat participants who want to have a one-on-one phone
conversation click on an AT&T Chat `N Talk icon, enter their phone numbers
and billing detail, and then establish contact through their second phone
lines. The AT&T network connects both parties without revealing phone
numbers.
AT&T Click2Dial (sm) Conferencing (www.click2dial.att.com): What is it?
Internet users set-up and control their own conference with up to 7 people
at any time, without operator assistance. How does it work? The conference
host uses a Web interface to enter the telephone numbers of the people they
want on the call. They can then oversee a variety of conference functions,
including the ability to mute, add or delete participants.
AT&T Click2Dial (sm) Directories (www.click2dial.att.com): What is it?
People can auto-dial a person found in AT&T's Anywho (sm) directory
(www.anywho.com) with the simple click of a button. How does it work? Enter
the name and state of the person to be contacted, and a second later, the
phone number and address of every person matching the criteria appears.
Simply click on the appropriate person and connect with him or her on a
call.
AT&T Inter@ctive Communications are economical and easy-to-use. Click2Dial
Conferencing and Click2Dial Directories are available for $0.15 cents per
minute, per each person called anywhere in the continental United States,
Hawaii and Alaska. There are no additional fees for using Click2Dial
Directories. AT&T Chat `N Talk has a set-up fee of $0.50, with a charge of
$0.25 cents per minute.
To expedite the evolution of AT&T Inter@ctive Communications, AT&T will open
up the service's APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for licensing
later this year, empowering developers to create additional applications.
These applications will eventually benefit online gamers, shoppers,
educators and others seeking to enhance their communications experiences on
the Web.
System requirements: 486 or higher PC, running Windows 95 with at least 16
megabytes of RAM; Internet Explorer 3.02 or above, Netscape Navigator 3.0 or
above; one phone line separate from an Internet connection.
About AT&T
AT&T is the world's premier voice and data communications company, serving
more than 80 million customers, including consumers, businesses and
government. With annual revenues of more than $51 billion and some 121,000
employees, AT&T provides services to more than 280 countries and territories
around the world.
AT&T runs the world's largest, most powerful long-distance network and the
largest digital wireless network in North America. The company is a leading
supplier of data and Internet services for businesses and the nation's
largest direct Internet service provider to consumers.
AT&T's businesses are backed by the research and development capabilities of
AT&T Labs, which is working to create the information services and
communications network of tomorrow.
About Excite
Founded in 1994, Excite, Inc. is a global media company offering consumers a
personalized Web start page on www.excite.com and a `back to basics' Web
search service on www.webcrawler.com, and advertisers the best one-to-one
marketing services available online. The Excite Network consists of two of
the largest brands on the Web, Excite and WebCrawler, and its subsidiaries;
Classifieds2000, MatchLogic, Inc., Excite Japan Co., Ltd. and Excite UK,
Ltd. Localized versions of Excite are available in France, Germany, the UK,
The Netherlands, Sweden, Japan and Australia. Based in Redwood City, Calif.,
Excite, Inc. has strategic relationships with America Online, Inc., Apple
Computer, Inc., CUC Investments Inc., Intuit Inc. [Nasdaq:INTU - news],
Netscape Communications Corp. [Nasdaq:NSCP - news], Prodigy Internet and
Tribune Company [NYSE:TRB - news].
About Lycos
Founded in 1995, Lycos, Inc. is a New Generation Online Service that
combines all aspects of community, leading Web navigation resources and
cutting-edge business and consumer e-commerce solutions. Located at
http://www.lycos.com, Lycos - ``Your Personal Internet Guide'' - is
dedicated to helping each individual user locate, retrieve and manage
information tailored to his or her personal interests. Through the
acquisition of Tripod, Inc., the leading community site on the Web, located
at http://www.tripod.com, Lycos has become the most full-featured
community-oriented home base on the Internet, providing free personal
homepages to all users. Headquartered near Boston in Waltham, MA, Lycos
maintains U.S. offices in New York City, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Los Angeles and
San Francisco. International offices are located in Japan, Germany, Italy,
France, the UK, Spain and The Netherlands.
Click2Dial is a service mark of AT&T
--------------------
Contact:
Jonathan Varman
AT&T
------------------------------
From: Chris Farrar <cfarrar@sympatico.ca>
Reply-To: cfarrar@sympatico.ca
Subject: CRTC Opens Pay-Phone Competition
Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 22:46:31 GMT
Organization: Bell Solutions
In the Canada Day (July 1, 1998) edition the Toronto Star reports that
the CRTC has ended the last remaining monopoly in the telephone industry
in Canada, pay-phones. Currently, all pay phones are owned by the phone
company.
Michael Janigan the executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy
Centre in Ottawa refered to the news as "Competition in the pay-phone
industry is a solution in need of a problem. Most people are quite
happy with the service that exists. And if you look to the U.S., where
the market is deregulated, it has led to higher prices and consumer
ripoffs."
Having has the U.S. model as a case study, the CRTC has tried to avoid
similar problems in Canada through more stringent regulation. Any
company deciding to enter the pay-phone market will have to comply wiht
the following consumer safeguards:
Pay phone providers will have to provide access to emergency services
through 911 or 0.
Pay phone providers will have to provide access to all long distance
carriers.
Pay phone providers will have to prominently display the rates for local
calls.
Pay phone providers will have to display the name of the long-distance
company it has choses as the default.
Pay phone providers will have to dispalay the amount (if any) of the
surcharge non included in the price of the call.
Access for the physically disabled must also be provided.
The CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission)
intends to review the impact of the decision over the next three years.
Canada Payphone Corp. of British Columbia is expected to be the first on
the scene with COCOTs. The company has been gearing up for deregulation
for the last two years. The service will launch in Toronto & Vancouver
by August, and then fan out across the country. CPC's phones will be
branded with the AT&T Canada logo (their default LD carrier). In
return, CPC ges access to AT&T's business sales team.
It should be noted that in Bell Canada territory (Ontario & Quebec), pay
phones are still 25 cents (Canadian) per call no matter how long you
talk.
Chris Farrar | cfarrar@sympatico.ca | Amateur Radio, a
VE3CFX | fax +1-905-457-8236 | national resource
PGPkey Fingerprint = 3B 64 28 7A 8C F8 4E 71 AE E8 85 31 35 B9 44 B2
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 12:47:02 CDT
From: Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.chinet.com>
Subject: Code For New Chicago NPA Announced
The code for the new Chicago NPA has been announced: It's 224.
However, the Illinois Commerce Commission has not issued the order. It
is assumed that a "creeping overlay" will be implemented, starting
with 847 (north and northwest suburbs) and spreading to the other
local area codes (630 far west suburbs, 708 near west and south
suburbs, and 773 and 312 in Chicago).
And, when it's overlayed, it'll mean mandatory use of the 1 dialing
prefix for intra-NPA calls! Aargh.
There are NO possible intra-NPA toll calls within 847. And, of course,
Chicago has NEVER used the "1" dialing prefix for toll alerting. Prior
to 1982, toll calls within the original NPA 312 were quite common,
depending on what "Call-Pak" a business or residential customer
subscribed to.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: See my remarks on this 224 code
following the next message by Mark Cuccia. According to Mark in the
message following, 224 is now 'permissive'. See my notes after his
article on what happened when I tried using it. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 14:56:08 CDT
From: Mark J Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Even More LM-NANPA Planning Letters
LM-IMS-NANPA has _SEVEN_ recent Planning Letters over the past few
weeks! :)
On Monday 15-June-1998, LM-IMS-NANPA added five new Planning Letters
(PL's) to their website. On Wednesday 01-July-1998, there were two
additional PL's added! These are downloadable/viewable/printable
FOR FREE ! :) in Adobe-Acrobat .pdf format from:
http://www.nanpa.com/planning_letters/planning_letters.html
PL-NANP-122 (dated 9-June-1998) regards an extraordinary jeopardy
situation in all four eastern Massachusetts NPA codes (508, 617,
781, 978).
PL-NANP-123 (dated 9-June-1998) regards the split of NPA 504 here
in Louisiana, with new NPA 225 splitting off covering the Baton
Rouge area.
PL-NANP-124 (dated 26-May-1998) regards an extraordinary jeopardy
situation in NPA 914 in New York state.
PL-NANP-125 (dated 26-May-1998) regards the overlay of NPA 310
in the Los Angeles CA area, with new NPA 424.
PL-NANP-126 (dated 12-June-1998) regards the extension of permissive
dialing in Utah, in the 801/435 NPA split.
The two PL's added on 01-July-1998 are:
PL-NANP-127 (dated 30-June-1998) regarding the overlay of the north
suburban Chicago IL area's current NPA 847, with new NPA 224.
PL-NANP-128 (dated 30-June-1998) regarding the 3-way split of NPA 619
in Southern CA, with new NPA's 858 and 935.
In PL#123 (504/225 Louisiana Split) it is mentioned that permissive
dialing begins 17-August-1998, and mandatory dialing begins
5-April-1999. There are _two_ test numbers:
225-291-6715, for the Baton Rouge LATA termination
BTRGLASBDS0 Baton Rouge SB = "Suburban" switch
225-874-7712, for the Jackson (MS) LATA termination
N.Cornor LA ratecenter, served out of the WDVLMSMADS1 (Woodville MS)
switch
BellSouth has _both_ test numbers up and running now, and _neither_
one returns "off-hook billing supervision"! :) i.e., they are
_supposed_ to be _FREE_ of any toll, coin, airtime/roaming, etc.
charges to call them. The recorded verification announcement is
identical for each number.
At this point, NPA 225 can't be reached via most LD carriers, but I
have been able to replace NPA 225 with 504 to reach the test numbers
recordings. AT&T is already routing calls to the test number NXX
c/o-code prefixes when dialed with NPA 225.
There are some errors/ommissions in this PL. It is not NANPA's errors/
ommissions, but seems to be that of BellSouth. Three 504-NXX codes
which are remaining in NPA 504 are ommitted from that part of the PL.
These three 504-NXX codes are outside of the New Orleans LATA:
504-444 Offshore LA, in LATA #999 (special services)
504-548 S.Osyka LA, in the Jackson MS LATA
(served out of the Osyka MS switch)
504-531 Pearlington LA, in the Gulfcoast MS LATA
(served out of the Pearlington MS switch)
And there are two NXX codes which are in the New Orleans LATA, but
not in NPA 504, which are 'shown to be continuing as part of 504'.
The ratecenter of Crossroads is in the state of _Mississippi_,
although associated with the New Orleans LATA, and is served out
of the Bogalusa LA switch. The two NXX codes shown are 772 and 958.
The 601-772 code has been around for decades, but I am unaware of
the (601)-958 code! Incidently the 958 prefix is frequently reserved
in most NPAs for test functions! I called up both the BellSouth and
AT&T Operators and asked for "nameplace" on both 601-958 and 504-958.
According to both operators, the 958 prefix doesn't exist in either
NPA 601 or NPA 504, although they 'could' be used for testing.
PL#125 for the overlay of NPA 310 in Southern California with new
NPA 424 mentions that 'formal' permissive 1+ten-digit local dialing
begins on 17-July-1998. Mandatory 1+ten-digit local dialing begins
17-April-1999. New 424-NXX codes are to become effective for service
on 17-July-1999. The test number is 424-654-0424.
PL#127 for the overlay of NPA 847 in the Chicago IL area with new
NPA 224 mentions that 'formal' permissive 1+ten-digit local dialing
for the entire Chicago metro area began on 11-May-1998. Mandatory
1+ten-digit local dialing for at least calls within NPA 847 begins
on 07-Nov-1998, when new line-numbers and NXX codes within the new
224 NPA code are to take-effect. The test number is 224-444-1234.
While not mentioned in the LM-IMS-NANPA Planning Letter, it is
assumed that this overlay will be a "creeping" overlay, which will
eventually cover all of Chicago metro's area codes, i.e. the region
once covered by NPA 312, prior to 1989, when NPA 708 first split off.
(I wonder if the boundaries between all of Chicago Metro's area codes
will eventually be 'erased', similar to Atlanta, and what is expected
for Houston and Dallas. Well, with number-portability between LECs
_within_ a ratecenter, it probably will be de-facto anyhow!)
PL#128 for the 3-way split of San Diego Metro's NPA 619 mentions
that the northern suburban area will split off into new NPA 858,
permissive on 12-June-1999, mandatory on 11-December 1999. The test
number is 858-745-0858. The southern/eastern suburbs will split off
into new NPA 935 about a year later, permissive on 10-June-2000,
mandatory on 09-June-2000. The test number is 935-745-0935.
NWORLASKCG0 (BellSouth #1AESS Cl.5 Local "Seabrook" 504-24x-)
NWORLAIYCM1 (BellSouth-Mobility Hughes-GMH-2000 Cellular-MTSO NOL)
NWORLAMT01T (BellSouth DMS-100 "Metairie" Tndm; Cellular routes thru)
NWORLAMA0GT (BellSouth DMS-100/200 inTRA-LATA/fg.BCD Tndm "Main" 504+)
NWORLAMA20T (BellSouth DMS-200 TOPS:inLATA OprSvcTndm "Main" 504+053+)
NWORLAMA04T (AT&T #4ESS Class-2 Toll 060-T / 504-2T "Main" 504+)
JCSNMSPS06T (AT&T #5ESS OSPS:Operator-Services-Tandem 601-0T 601+121)
JCSNMSPS14T (AT&T #4ESS Class-3 Toll 040-T / 601-2T; OSPS routes thru)
NWORLATUDS0?(PBX NEC-2400 504-862-3/8xxx, 504-865-4/5/6xxx)
NWORLACACG0 (BellSou.#1A Cl.5 Lcl "Carrollton" 504-86x-; PBX 'homes' on)
MARK_J._CUCCIA__PHONE/WRITE/WIRE/CABLE:__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: Mark says, 'formal permissive 1+10 began
in Chicago area May 11', and 'test number is 224-444-1234'. I do indeed
note that 1+847 works here on my calls within 847 (I had not thought
to try it before), however a/c 224 is definitly *not* in service from
my central office 847-675. If I dial 1-224-anything or just 224-anything
my call is immediatly intercepted after the 224 portion -- before anything
else is dialed -- with an intercept saying 'we were unable to trace
the last call you received. Ameritech customers can call the Ameritech
Call Annoyance Bureau at <phone number>. Thank you.'
Dialing just 444-1234 (from 847-675) reached an intercept saying the
number was not in service. Unable to trace the last call I received ??
I thought that is what *51 was used for ... PAT]
------------------------------
From: Michael A. Covington <covington@mindspring.com>
Subject: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them"
Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 11:05:44 -0400
Organization: MindSpring Enterprises
Recently I was warned by a well-meaning netizen that I should not
challenge spammers because if challenged, they'll do all kinds of
things like mail-bomb me, steal my credit card numbers (how?), turn me
in to the police on false charges, etc. etc.
Balderdash. That sounds like a rumor started by a spammer. In three
years as computer security chairman at the University of Georgia, I've
never encountered a spammer with any detectable amount of courage. If
anybody actually tried to do those things, we'd gleefully catch and
prosecute them.
One *sure* way to turn a neighborhood over to criminals -- either in
physical space or in cyberspace -- is to get everybody afraid of
*imaginary* crimes that haven't happened and haven't even been
threatened. Criminals love it when that happens. Let's not let it
happen to the Net.
Michael A. Covington / AI Center / The University of Georgia
http://www.ai.uga.edu/~mc http://www.mindspring.com/~covington <><
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Bravo! Amen! In the case of real
neighborhoods and real people (as opposed to the net) those stories
are often spread by the police; they do not like citizens trying to
horn in on their 'law and order' monopoly. Consider how the police
always like to give you the BS about 'if someone tries to rob you or
hold you up (at place of business for example), never resist, always
give them whatever they want; why, they might try to hurt you or they
might have a gun, etc.' ... to which I always tell the cop he is full
of it. If someone tries to hold me up or assualt me, my response is to
try and kill them; yours should be too. Certainly I value my own life,
but I am the sort of stubborn person that if some person wants to rob
me of five or ten dollars, I'd just as soon see them -- if they get
caught -- be tried on murder charges as well. You might try living
your life in the manner Johann Sebastian Bach lived his; he was not
afraid of death, in fact he welcomed it. His attitude was 'take me
anytime, Lord ...'. I am neither afraid of death, nor do I 'welcome'
it; but if I cannot live my life in peace and quiet and harmony with
others then damned if I am going to let my assilant do it either.
*Never* submit to a crime against yourself with at least making the
assailant wish he had left you alone. Blind him, maim him, cripple
him, whatever. That way the police can have something real to complain
about instead of their all-to-frequent nonsensical belly aching.
Now regards the same principle and the net: When you have some form
of practical and effecient recourse against a spammer, **use it**.
Stay within the law -- even in a physical assualt you should try to
do only what is necessary to stop the act -- but definitly make the
spammer come to grips with the realities of the net ... make certain
he goes away realizing his spamming was not a smart thing to do.
We often times have tell-free numbers for them; use those numbers in
a way to make sure the spammer understands the vast readership on
the net and how so many millions of people saw his message. <grin>.
If he has a *valid* email address, I suggest punishing his ISP if
the ISP otherwise won't assist. Make sure they feel the wrath. Make
certain they go away wishing they had never even gotten an internet
access account.
As Mr. Covington points out, most of them are cowards. And if they
want to steal your credit card numbers or use your address for their
email, I say **good** -- great in fact. Cause now you really have
a good beef with them, and a way to force the issue and see them in
jail. Why settle for erasing spam all day and complaining about it
when maybe you can induce one of the goofs to act out against you
so you can *really* kick his ass good? <grin> PAT]
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #105
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Jul 7 21:54:31 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id VAA09632; Tue, 7 Jul 1998 21:54:31 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 21:54:31 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199807080154.VAA09632@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #103
TELECOM Digest Tue, 7 Jul 98 21:54:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 103
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Airport Pay Phone Taps Used to Steal Calling Cards (Tad Cook)
Pacific Telecommunications Council: Essay Prize 1998 (Puja Borries)
New Codes Causing Glitch in Phone Systems (Monty Solomon)
800's and Lax Computer Security (Judith Oppenheimer)
Legal Recourse for Telemarkedorks? (Victor Escobar)
Is AT&T Learning Customer Service From TCI? (David A. Jensen)
[Note: Somehow issue 103 did not go out correctly last week, so I am
sending it out now, although number-wise it is out of sequence. Sorry
about that! 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
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Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Airport Pay Phone Taps Used to Steal Calling Cards
Date: Sat, 4 Jul 1998 15:14:32 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
(This story has greater detail than the one recently on using 3-way
calling to steal calling card numbers. tad@ssc.com)
Airport pay phone taps used to steal calling cards
New York Times
NEW YORK -- Federal investigators said the scam was ingenious in its
simplicity: Five people in New York City would tap into public pay phones
at major airports across the United States, and then steal calling-card
numbers punched in by unsuspecting travelers.
After a seven-month investigation by the Secret Service, the scheme ended
last month with the arrest of four men and one woman.
The case, which investigators and telephone-company officials said is the
first of its kind in the nation, is only the latest machination in a $4
billion-a-year telephone-fraud industry that keeps reinventing itself.
"This is something new that we have not seen before," said Boyd Jackson,
the director of network security at AT&T Corp. and one of the industry
experts who helped federal investigators on the case. "And there is nothing
I am aware of that customers can do to fully protect themselves."
Federal investigators, who said that calling-card theft costs telephone
companies and consumers millions of dollars annually, have yet to establish
an exact figure for how much this scam netted. And because of the
scheme's simplicity, and the fact that a thief can tap into phones from
hundreds of miles away, the authorities are fearful of copycat crimes.
Mary Jo White, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, whose office is prosecuting
the case, left open the possibility of more arrests, saying an investigation
was continuing.
Investigators said the suspects stole hundreds of calling-card numbers by
dialing into public telephones in O'Hare International Airport in Chicago,
Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta, Houston International Airport
and Denver International Airport.
Federal documents say the scheme worked this way: The defendants would call
phones at the airports. When someone waiting to use a phone picked up a
ringing phone, they would hear what sounded like a dial tone, which was
activated when the suspects initiated the phones' conference-call feature.
Even if the caller was startled by the dial tone and hung up, the tap
remained activated for 15 seconds, ensnaring callers if they picked up the
phone again or if someone else waiting in line tried to use the phone.
Calling-card numbers that the victims punched in were recorded by the
suspects, who then would translate the tones back into corresponding
numbers using a device called a dial-number recorder, prosecutors said.
Such recorders are commonly available at electronics stores.
"This is the first time we have ever seen this type of setup with these
dial-number recorders," said Denise Gibson, a spokeswoman for the New York
City field office of the Secret Service. "Unfortunately, these are
well-known and readily available electronic devices."
After obtaining the calling-card numbers, thieves typically make a profit
by selling them on the black market to other criminals and unwitting
consumers.
The Secret Service, a branch of the Treasury Department that investigates
financial crimes, was tipped off to the scam by AT&T, Bell Atlantic
Corp. and MCI Communications Corp. after they received an unusually high
number of complaints from customers who had recently used their calling
cards in airports.
On June 18, Secret Service agents arrested Benito Lopez, Juan Morel, Miriam
Mercado Florian, Julio Olivo and Gladys Brito, all of New York. In the
suspects' apartments, investigators said, they confiscated dial-number
recorders, audiotapes, lists of public-telephone numbers and lists of
calling-card numbers.
The five suspects, who each could face a maximum of five years in prison
and a $250,000 fine if convicted of fraud, could not be located for
comment. They were arraigned and released on bail last week in U.S.
District Court in Manhattan, where they are scheduled to reappear for a
preliminary hearing July 20.
Federal and telephone-company officials said they were concerned about not
being able to prevent copycat crimes because under such a scam, a thief
does not have to be on location and there is no way for consumers to
differentiate between fake and real dial tones.
Calling-card scams began with the actual theft of cards. That scheme
was foiled by telephone companies providing customers with personal
security codes not printed on the cards. Thieves responded by glancing over
the shoulders of callers and writing down their calling-card numbers and
security codes as they punched them into telephones.
Telephone companies say they put a dent in this so-called "shoulder
surfing" by furnishing pay phones with automatic card readers, and plastic
shields and other measures to obstruct the view of potential thieves.
In recent years, more enterprising thieves have obtained calling-card
numbers and security codes by contacting customers and telling them they
were telephone-company operators who needed to verify their card numbers.
One federal official expressed a grudging admiration for the latest scheme.
"From a personal perspective, I thought it was rather ingenious," Gibson
said. "It has alerted us to a potential problem that we are sure other
criminals will be able to duplicate."
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 11:21:32 -1000
From: Puja Borries <puja@ptc.org>
Subject: Pacific Telecommunications Council: Essay Prize 1998
Announcement for PTC's Essay Prize 1998
The Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) is a non-profit,
international membership organization that promotes the development
and beneficial use of telecommunications in the Pacific Hemisphere.
Eligibility The PTC is pleased to announce an essay competition
designed to promote fresh inquiry into telecommunications-related
topics, as enumerated below. The competition is open to all
individuals who are either actively working on a degree or have
obtained undergraduate or graduate level degrees (BA, BS, MA, MS,
Ph.D., etc.) within the last five years. PTC willtake no interest in
race, national origin, creed, ethnicity, sex or age of the
participant.
$$$
A maximum of three prizes, which include a monetary award in the amount of
US $2,000 for each prize, will be awarded to the authors of the best
paper(s) in the following research areas:
Research Areas
1. Electronic Commerce: including sub-issues such as Internet
regulation, encryption, and different tariff, tax and content issues.
2. Telecommunications and development, particularly with respect to the
present financial situation in developing countries.
3. Information technology and education/distance learning: for the
Asia/Pacific/Americas region with large, dispersed rural population.
Deadline for submission is July 31, 1998.
Winning entrants will be invited to present their papers at a session
of the 21st Pacific Telecommuncations Conference, Honolulu, in January
1999. Travel assistance will be made available, if needed, for this
purpose.
For information and application contact:
Ms. Puja Borries
Publications & Publicity Coordinator
Pacific Telecommunications Council
2454 S. Beretania St., Ste. #302
Honolulu, HI 96826
Tel: 808 941 3789 ext. 122
Fax: 808 944 4874
Email: puja@ptc.org
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: New Codes Causing Glitch in Phone Systems
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 10:19:42 -0400
Posted at 7:01 p.m. PDT Monday, July 6, 1998
New codes causing glitch in phone systems
Knight Ridder News Service
A low-profile change in the nation's long-distance routing system has
stymied telephone systems around the country, leaving calls
mysteriously connected to nowhere.
The glitch -- which primarily affects businesses with computer-driven
phone systems -- stems from the July 1 addition of ``10'' to the front
of each of the long-distance access codes. The codes allow users to
choose a specific carrier before making a long-distance call.
For example, 10-321 has become 10-10-321 and 10-288, AT&T's access
code, is now 10-10-288.
The Federal Communications mandated that the extra digits be added,
effective July 1, because of the high demand for area codes that the
old style needlessly consumed.
For calls dialed directly, the change simply means punching two extra
buttons. But private branch exchange or switchboard systems might
require reprogramming to include the new digits -- and therein lies
the problem.
People such as Elizabeth Ruese, an administrative assistant for
Armanasco Public Relations in Monterey, Calif., discovered that
without including the extra digits, calls go nowhere.
``Nobody told us,'' she said. ``We've been having problems with the
phones all day (July 2).''
Other businesses might have the glitch without anyone knowing yet.
``There are some people who are being affected and they may not even
realize what's wrong right now,'' said Sam Bishop, president of
Totlcom, which sells and maintains business telephone systems in
Central and Northern California.
Bishop said that the access-code change hasn't been widely
advertised. ``I didn't know about it until two or three weeks
before,'' he said.
The heaviest promotion of the code change has been by 10-10-321, a
carrier which depends primarily on direct dialing by residential
customers. But many businesses use other long-distance access codes in
an attempt to save money, and some route their local toll calls
through the access code of a national carrier.
``Businesses often have their telephone system preprogrammed to be
smart enough to do that,'' Bishop said. ``Companies have put this in
and forget about it. As of (Wednesday), when they dial particular area
codes, it's not going through.'
Totlcom workers anticipated the snarl, and already have fixed the
systems of most customers, said Bishop.
Anyone still having problems connecting calls should contact the
vendor who sold the phone system, or seek help from the appropriate
long-distance carrier.
Steve Dandy, a technician for MCI, said his company's service lines
have been swamped with customers seeking a repair for the glitch. The
company has set up a special hot line, (770) 284-3277, to offer a
remote fix for its customers.
``It's not been a complete disaster,'' he said.
Nilda Weglarz, spokeswoman for AT&T, said the company is not directly
affected, since it no longer sells equipment. Customers having trouble
should call their phone system vendors.
Sprint also was inundated Thursday with calls for help, according to
one of the company's operators. Sprint customers who have trouble
dialing out can try 10-10-333 to connect the call, according to the
service operator.
------------------------------
Reply-To: tollfree-l@makelist.com
Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 20:02:31 -0400
From: Judith Oppenheimer <joppenheimer@icbtollfree.com>
Organization: ICB TOLL FREE NEWS. 15 Day FREE Trial: http://icbtollfree.com
Subject: 800's and Lax Computer Security
CMP Media's TechWeb reports that a number of Australian companies that
operate toll-free phoneline connections to their computer networks are
leaving themselves open to security breaches, according to a new
study.
According to the article, Australian security company Shake Communications
used a modem to dial up every toll-free number it could locate in
Australia. Two percent of the 48,000 numbers called let Shake connect
to a computer system, some of which offered no resistance to
intrusion.
Shake's modem was able to connect to 1,389 computer systems, and to
get information from 166 of them without breaking the law. Under
Australian law, any attempt to penetrate a computer system is illegal,
so Shake was limited to dialing the phone number, seeing what was at
the other end, then hanging up. Shake's modem took more than 500
hours to dial all the numbers.
Of the 166 phone numbers connected to computers, 16 of them had no
authentication procedures, two allowed callers to bypass log-in
procedures, and another three gave callers access to the computer's
root directory, usually reserved for system administrators. Just over
one-third of the computers revealed their operating system and
version.
Only four of the systems connected to appeared to have a sophisticated
means of establishing user authentication, said Shake's technical
director, Simon Johnson. "I was astounded at the lack of security," he
said, adding that banking and finance companies, followed by IT and
media, appeared to be the most lax. "In some cases, we were
automatically logged on to their internal networks," he said.
The article concludes with the obvious lesson: Don't use 1-800 numbers
for internal corporate access, Johnson said. "If you do -- and I
advise not to -- at least have some strong authentication," he said.
Also noted: Ben Barton, business-development manager with the
Australian Computer Emergency Response Team, a Queensland
computer-security company, said Australia was probably little
different in regard to lax computer security than anywhere else,
especially the United States.
The level of computer security in Australia is unlikely to be
significantly lower than in the United States, said a computer-crime
specialist with the Australian Federal Police.
Judith Oppenheimer
TOLL FREE SERVICE USERS LIST (TOLLFREE-L)
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TOLLFREE-L is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted
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To subscribe, email to tollfree-l-subscribe@makelist.com
------------------------------
From: sydbarrett@rmond.mindspring.com (Victor Escobar)
Subject: Legal Recourse for Telemarkedorks?
Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 14:28:34 GMT
Organization: MindSpring Enterprises
Reply-To: spamsucks@shovespamupyourarse.com
I was interrupted from slumber early this morning (~6am) to this woman
who asked for a Gary Mendoza. I told her that I've had this number
for years and she said, `Our records show you as being Mr. Gary
Mendoza. What is your name so I can update your records?' I said,
`Who are you and why do you want my information???' Her answer was
that she sold LD and was I interested in signing up for 15c/min
continental US calls? There are a couple of suspicious themes here:
#1: When I asked for the name of her company, she said she couldn't
give it to me, but could only say that she sold LD time wholesale.
#2: 15c/min was the prevailing rate, what, 10 years ago? What idiot
would think I'd go from paying 9.5c/min (with Excel) to 15?
Is there any legal recourse in case this happens in the future?
Luckily I gave her bogus info (including a bogus name) and told her
I'd contact her (which will be when trees sprout wings and start
singing Zippity Doodah).
------------------------------
From: David A. Jensen <david.jensen@teldta.com>
Subject: Is AT&T Learning Customer Service From TCI?
Date: Mon, 6 Jul 1998 08:57:35 -0500
PAT-
I hadn't used my AT&T calling card (with the old style account numbers)
for quite a while, so I was unpleasantly surprised to see my telephone
bill last month. I called AT&T to see if there was an error. The
customer service rep told me that $0.40 per minute was the correct rate
because I had not used an AT&T card and did not have an AT&T account
(one line is PICed to Frontier, the other is AT&T). Informing her of the
number that was PICed just moved her back to the "you don't have an AT&T
Calling Card." I was not pleased with their incredibly high rate, but,
didn't check the card at the time to see if it was an Ameritech or AT&T
card.
After I got off the phone, I checked the card. It was an AT&T card and
only had AT&T information on it. I called AT&T back asking for their
$0.30 per minute, "we gouge you less" rate, for AT&T calling card
customers. (The CSRs claimed that $0.40 and $0.30 were the only
calling/charge card rates. Is that accurate?) The CSR claimed that this
was not an AT&T calling card. I informed her that it was. She speculated
that it came before the breakup. No, this card could be no older than
1990 and only had AT&T and the deathstar logo. AT&T only sends their
cards to those who ask for it. Yes, I have one. No, you don't. Could she
have the charges rerated? No, this is not an AT&T card. May I speak to
your manager? Yes. [hold....] After ten minutes, I was cut off as the
tape was telling me that I would not be....
AT&T customer service had gotten better in the early nineties, far
better than their 1980 nadir, but it appears that they are trying to fit
into TCI's culture. What is it about the big LD carriers with their own
networks? Each seems to have an extensive collection of totally unhappy
customers and ex-customers and a culture that seems incapable of
understanding that they may have made a mistake. Is Bob Metcalfe right?
Are telco executives as stupid as he believes?
Dave
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #103
******************************
ISSUE 103 WAS MAILED OUT OF SEQUENCE. ISSUES 104 AND 105 APPEAR BEFORE
IT. ISSUE 106 FOLLOWS NEXT.
From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Jul 11 23:45:07 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id XAA28479; Sat, 11 Jul 1998 23:45:07 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 23:45:07 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199807120345.XAA28479@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #106
TELECOM Digest Sat, 11 Jul 98 23:45:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 106
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them" (Toby Nixon)
Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them" (Walt Auch)
Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them" (Adam Kerman)
Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them" (Glen Roberts)
Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them" (Phil Leonard)
Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them" (Lou Raphael)
Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them" (John Levine)
16th International Teletraffic Congress (Dave Songhurst)
Nader, CPT Ask FCC Proceedings on ISDN Tariffs, Release Survey (M. Solomon)
Who Compares Cellphones and Services? (Chris Norloff)
Re: Can CellularOne do This to Me? (Brian Turnbow)
Cellular Networking Perspectives, July 1998 (David Crowe)
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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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Toby Nixon <tnixon@MICROSOFT.com>
Subject: Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them"
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 14:46:34 -0700
In TELECOM Digest V18 #105, Michael A. Covington <covington@mindspring.com>
wrote:
> Recently I was warned by a well-meaning netizen that I should not
> challenge spammers because if challenged, they'll do all kinds of
> things like mail-bomb me, steal my credit card numbers (how?), turn me
> in to the police on false charges, etc. etc.
> Balderdash. That sounds like a rumor started by a spammer.
It isn't balderdash, in my experience. Here's what happened to me.
I received a spam that included a fax number but no identifiable email
address. Being relatively new to receiving spam and not understanding
the fact that responding just makes your email address more valuable
as "confirmed active", I sent a fax to this spammer demanding to be
removed from their mailing list. Well, sure, I sent it a few times --
I wanted to make sure that it was received. After about a half-dozen
times, their line was busy and wouldn't accept any more calls (I
wonder why?). I didn't report them to any government agencies, just
faxed to them directly. I didn't even think about the fact that my fax
software sends out our fax number in the header of the first page
(even though I suppressed the cover page).
Well, within a day, I received several one-page faxes, through Microsoft's
main fax number, each of them indicating that it was from a different,
perverted magazine (bestiality, pedophilia, wife-swapping, you get the
idea). Each fax was formatted like a letter, expressing "regret" that I had
discontinued my "subscription" after so many years. Well, of course I had
never subscribed to any such thing. The letters were intended to get me
fired -- or at least start rumors about my engaging in disgusting practices.
At a smaller company, that might have succeeded -- the inbound fax machine
is often just there in the mailroom, and whoever happens to notice a
received fax grabs it (reading part of it, of course) and puts it in the
mail slot of the recipient. At Microsoft, inbound faxes go into a central
server and get distributed by email, and are never printed in paper form --
the only person who sees them, besides the addressee, is the fax server
operator who reads the cover sheet, looks up the email ID, and routes the
fax as an email attachment. I scrambled to contact the supervisor in the fax
room and make sure she knew these letters were false and in retribution, and
she said not to worry -- the fax operators handle lots of private and
confidential faxes and are sworn to secrecy regarding what they might see on
the cover page while scanning for a name to route to.
I let it drop -- and have since been much more careful about how I respond
to spam. Basically, if I see something that is clearly a pyramid scheme or
other scam, I forward the mail to the FTC and Washington attorney general's
office, but otherwise I just delete them -- it's not worth the time or risk
to contact the spammers directly. Sometimes when I get really pissed I send
email to the ISP, but in my experience 99% of headers are forged -- or, if
they give an email address in the body of the message, it is false and
intended as a mail-bomb of the target. The spam I get these days has
obviously false email addresses in the headers (or no addresses at all, most
of the time), and the source IP address fails when you try to do a reverse
DNS lookup. At least I'm not personally paying for connect time.
Interestingly, I'd SWEAR I'm getting MORE spam these days, since the new
Washington state anti-spam law went into effect. But if you forward a spam
to the attorney general's office, they just auto-respond to you with a huge
questionnaire to fill out about all the things you've done personally to try
to get off the spammer's mailing list -- which is no help at all.
-- Toby
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 05:55:57 -0500
From: Walt Auch <waltauch@hiwaay.net>
Subject: Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them"
Regards the Editor's Note which was attached:
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Finally, an editor who will not only
publish an article on self reliance, but will endorse and promote it. I
certainly didn't expect this breath of fresh air from the land of "Teddy
the Huge" or "mit.edu".
Walt
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for your kind words. I just felt
I had to comment on that one; it is extremely common these days for
people, when confronted, to just back down and hand over whatever is
demanded. Well, I am sorry, but I do not have that much of anything
available to me to just hand over what I do have without a fight. You
can come here and ask me for anything I have in a decent way and if
I can I will share it or just give it to you. I have all in life I
*really* need anyway. If you feel you need to point a gun at me to
gain my cooperation, my advice is you might as well go ahead and
pull the trigger. When you get caught, which is likely, you'll be
the loser, not me. I've already had a full, rich and mostly rewarding
life. You on the other hand will get to spend the rest of yours in
a prison, which I think is a great idea.
And seriously, most of those punks will back down, and run off like
scared little rabbits. They are as afraid of you as they are hoping
you will be of them. Do not accept police BS to the contrary. About
fifteen years ago, I witnessed a crime -- a small minor thing -- in
the building where I lived. The cops signed me on as a witness, and
a couple days later the two bozos involved showed up at my door and
tried to 'convince' me to forget what I had seen. My response was to
go to the State's Attorney's office the next morning and relay this
information. The State's Attorney who I chatted with and the police
officer who sat in on the meeting both smiled and liked what I had
to say. The SA said to the cop, "Go out and see them tomorrow and
let them know what they did is known as 'Felony Contact With State's
Witness'; ask how *they* want to handle it. :)" . Sure enough, the
cop was at their door the next day and told them very succinctly
where things were at: 'you want to stay out on bail until your court
date or you prefer to wait sitting in jail? Stay the f--- away from
the witnesses or I'll lock your asses up. You've been warned.' They
stayed away. The key here is take an agressive stance right from the
beginning. Don't wimper, don't run and hide, don't act scared.
On the net, admittedly it is easier many times to just erase the
spam and get on to other things. But when you have a 'hook' into
the identity of the perpetrator, i.e. an 800 number, a *valid* email
address, etc, don't hesitate to give them all the grief you can.
And when you have a valid email address, let the ISP know you are
sick of him also. Speaking of which, I sure would like to find out
who is sending out that 'Bulls Eye Gold' spam; I get that one about
ten times per day -- seriously -- but the rules I use to filter it
with are that it is always between 6000-6300 bytes in length and
there is *never* a subject line. If an email fits that criteria it
goes in the trash. Plus, the phrase 'Bulls Eye Gold' will always be
in one of the first three lines of text. PAT]
------------------------------
From: ahk@chinet.chinet.com (Adam H. Kerman)
Subject: Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them"
Date: 11 Jul 1998 01:24:10 -0500
Organization: Chinet - Public Access
In article <telecom18.105.8@telecom-digest.org>, [TELECOM Digest
Editor's Note:
> Consider how the police always like to give you the BS about 'if
> someone tries nbto rob you or hold you up (at place of business for
> example), never resist, always give them whatever they want; why, they
> might try to hurt you or they might have a gun, etc.' ... to which I
> always tell the cop he is full of it. If someone tries to hold me up
> or assualt me, my response is to try and kill them; yours should be
> too. Certainly I value my own life, but I am the sort of stubborn
> person that if some person wants to rob me of five or ten dollars, I'd
> just as soon see them -- if they get caught -- be tried on murder
> charges as well.
What's with the death wish tonight? Windows95 not behaving?
I really must point out that if you are dead, you won't "see" them
tried on any charges at all. I'd like to believe that if I'm ever in a
life threatening situation, that I can accurately assess whether the
enemy truly intends to kill me whether or not I cooperate, and then
act to preserve my life.
Not having had experienced such a situation, I really don't know.
> You might try living your life in the manner Johann Sebastian Bach
> lived his; he was not afraid of death, in fact he welcomed it. His
> attitude was 'take me anytime, Lord ...'.
Jealous musicians were the major threat he faced, hardly the same
thing. And, his wives did most of the work raising all those kids.
------------------------------
From: glr@ripco.com (Glen Roberts)
Subject: Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them"
Date: 11 Jul 1998 13:34:35 GMT
Organization: Ripco Internet BBS, Chicago
I had ONE spammer threaten me. He said if I didn't remove the email
harvesting block from my web pages (actually, it is my own version of
wposion), he would spam with my email address for the return address.
The end result? The hotmail account he used to threaten me,
canceled. The CABLE internet account he used to harvest email
addresses from the web (and probably spam from), canceled.
I suspect that cable account won't be quite as easy to get another one
... as compared to dialup accounts!
Glen L. Roberts -- "political provocateur" -Newsday (3/30/97)
The Stalker's Home page: http://www.fulldisclosure.org/stalk.html
"His ironically named Stalker's Home Page has become the definitive source
for information about how your privacy can be violated online" - Time Magazine
Full Disclosure Live -- Daily: Midnight Live: WGTG (5.085 mhz)
True Spech (anytime): http://www.fulldisclosure.org
------------------------------
From: pleonard@newsguy.com (Phil Leonard)
Subject: Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them"
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998 00:30:27 GMT
Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com/~pleonard
In article <telecom18.105.8@telecom-digest.org>, from the [comp.dcom.telecom]
newsgroup:
> Recently I was warned by a well-meaning netizen that I should not
> challenge spammers because if challenged, they'll do all kinds of
> things like mail-bomb me, steal my credit card numbers (how?), turn me
> in to the police on false charges, etc. etc.
What responding WILL do, though, is tell your spammer that he/she has
a live address. Never respond to spam. Never reply to get off of their
mailing list. That will just subscribe you. Go ahead and complain to
their postmaster all you want with a full header.
Unfortunately, even a traceroute will often become fruitless when you
realize that your complaints to the postmaster are in fact going to
the owner of the site who is the spammer him/herself.
I've come to the conclusion that the best remedy is to filter it
locally and forget about it. It's like swimming against the tide.
------------------------------
From: raphael@cs.mcgill.ca (Louis Raphael)
Date: Sat, 12 Jul 1998 22:25:41 EDT
Subject: Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them"
Organization: Societe pour la promotion du petoncle vert
Amen to this as well ... Personally, I'm not afraid of death ... but
serious injury is another matter. Long ago, however, I decided that I
could no longer live with myself if I let a goblin get my five or ten
dollars (or whatever) without at least a fight in such a case, so I
decided I'd take my chances if I had to, which I hope I never do. In
the case that I /should/ have to "deal" with someone, woe to him if I
should come out on top, though ...
Louis
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A dear old lady I know (seriously, she
is old, in her middle to late sixties) owns two apartment buildings
on the west side of Chicago in a *terrible* neighborhood. She goes
over to collect the rent every month, and to her credit she keeps
the buildings very nice looking and well-secured. She just drives
over, gets the money from tenants, gets back in her car and drives
away. I asked her if she was not concerned about getting robbed. Her
answer was, "someone can try to rob me if they want; they may succeed
or maybe they won't ...". She told me she has a gun in the car; the
serial number on it is defaced. She obtained it from someone, somewhere.
She said in a worst case scenario she would shoot the person if she
had to, "... then I would leave as fast as I could get out of there
and ditch the gun in the river after I had wiped it clean.' And if the
police stopped her for some reason and found the gun in her car?
" ... it is just a minor violation to have an unregistered gun, a
violation most cops in that neighborhood would laugh at; I have no
prior record; I would get probation at worst."
This came up in a 'social issues' discussion group we both go to now
and then at a synagogue in Chicago. A very liberal rabbi by the name of
Louis Berman was moderating the discussion. He looked absolutely
horrified and said 'if everyone acted in the way you propose, there
would be anarchy in the United States ...' My answer to him was,
"Lou, we already have anarchy in the USA; we have had it for years
now. What's the big deal?" ... to which several people in the audience
applauded me. He looked all the more horrified at that. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: 11 Jul 1998 04:17:27 -0000
From: johnl@abuse.net (John R. Levine)
Subject: Re: Folklore: "Spammers Will Hurt You if You Challenge Them"
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y.
> Recently I was warned by a well-meaning netizen that I should not
> challenge spammers because if challenged, they'll do all kinds of
> things like mail-bomb me, steal my credit card numbers (how?), turn me
> in to the police on false charges, etc. etc.
> Balderdash.
I agree. I run the fairly high profile abuse.net service (see
www.abuse.net for details) and am a board member of CAUCE. I've never
even had a spammer call my phone number, which is listed, much less
mail bomb me or otherwise try digital vandalism, even though I've sent
of close to 10,000 spam complaints so far this year.
Regards,
John Levine, postmaster@abuse.net, http://www.abuse.net, Trumansburg NY
abuse.net postmaster
PS: I can't wait for them to turn me into the cops. The local police
chief and I would certainly get a good laugh out of that.
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl,
Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 11:17:56 +0100
From: Dave Songhurst <dave@song.demon.co.uk>
Subject: 16th International Teletraffic Congress
Organization: Lyndewode Research
Hi folks,
The Call for Papers is out for the 16th International Teletraffic
Congress, ITC16 "Teletraffic Engineering in a Competitive World" to be
held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Scotland, UK
7-11 June 1999 . It is on-line at
http://www.iee.org.uk/Conf/ITC16/
ITC16 will reflect three major themes:
* New Performance issues arising from the development of new
technologies and the convergence of telecommunications and multimedia.
* The impact of an increasingly competitive market.
* The Gathering pace of technical development.
Electronic submission is the strongly preferred route, with papers due
by the 9th October 1998. The proceedings will be published by
Elsevier.
Papers submitted by students will enter a student papers competition.
Further details from the Web page or from ITC-16 Secretariat,
Institution of Electrical Engineers itc@iee.org.uk
Many thanks,
Peter Key
Technical Programme co-chair
Microsoft Research Ltd, Cambridge, UK
Dave Songhurst
ITC Council member (UK)
Lyndewode Research Limited
dave@song.demon.co.uk
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 04:01:57 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Nader, CPT Ask FCC Proceedings on ISDN Tariffs, Release Survey
--- forwarded message ---
Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 19:49:48 -0400
From: James Love <love@cptech.org>
Subject: Nader,CPT ask FCC proceedings on ISDN tariffs, release survey
Message-ID: <3594339C.C01D6D8D@cptech.org>
------------------------------------------------------------
Info-Policy-Notes | News from Consumer Project on Technology
------------------------------------------------------------
June 26, 1998
- Ralph Nader and CPT ask FCC Chair Kennard to hold
public hearings on ISDN pricing. The letter
asks Kennard to examine six policy questions.
- CPT releases survey of state ISDN tariffs
http://www.cptech.org/isdn/6-98-survey.html
fmi Jamie Love <love@cptech.org>
Michael Tofias <mwt4@cornell.edu>
202.387.8030
The letter to FCC Chair Kennard follows
Ralph Nader
P.O. Box 19312
Washington, DC 20036
Ralph@essential.org
James Love
Consumer Project on Technology
P.O. Box 19367
Washington, DC 20036
202.387.8030; fax 202.234.5176
http://www.cptech.org
love@cptech.org
June 26, 1998
William E. Kennard
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street N.W.
Washington DC 20554
Dear Chairman Kennard:
We are writing to provide your office with evidence
that pricing of residential digital ISDN lines is irrational
from both economic and policy perspectives, and to ask that
the FCC hold a public proceeding to consider the following
issues.
1. For what percent of the U.S. population is ISDN likely
to be the best alternative to POTS service over the next
seven years?
2. What does it cost Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers
(ILECs) to convert residential POTS lines to ISDN lines?
What does it cost an ILEC to route ISDN traffic to an ISP,
either through a circuit or via a packet transport? Is it
appropriate to estimate Internet usage costs using older
average cost pricing models based upon voice traffic that
has sharp peaks and low daily loads on switches?
3. How much did consumers pay (already) to switch analog
switches to digital technologies, and why aren't the ILECs
providing reasonably priced digital modulation to consumers
for Internet connections?
4. Are ILECs deliberately reducing support for analog line
quality to reduce the efficacy of so-called 56K modems, and
what connect speeds do consumers actually get over these
devices on typical POTS lines?
5. In what ways would broad deployment of low cost
residential ISDN threaten ILEC profits from "features"
services such as call waiting, or the sale of second lines?
6. What changes in regulatory models are needed to ensure
that consumers can benefit from mature and inexpensive
digital technologies? Consider particularly those consumers
who live in areas that are not likely to benefit from cable
modems or high end xDSL technologies in the foreseeable
future.
The attached is a survey of residential ISDN tariffs in
all 50 States plus Washington, DC, under 12 carriers.
(http://www.cptech.org/isdn/6-98-survey.html).
As you can plainly see, there are huge differences in the
tariffs, which are often extraordinarily high. Moreover, as
indicated in several filings before FCC, ILECs have
indicated that the non-traffic sensitive costs of BRI ISDN
service are only about 12 percent higher than the NTS costs
for POTS line. It is also not difficult to demonstrate that
ILECs have often made straightforward misrepresentations of
traffic sensitive costs for Internet usage. For example,
see, the attached excepts from "ISDN Pricing, What Went
Wrong," (http://www.cptech.org/isdn/wrong1.html)
(paper presented June 24, 1998, at the Harvard
Information Infrastructure Project Policy Roundtable on
Next-Generation Communications Technologies: Lessons from
ISDN, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD).
We look forward to receiving your thoughts on this
issue.
Sincerely,
/s/
Ralph Nader
/s/
James Love
INFORMATION POLICY NOTES: the Consumer Project on Technology
http://www.cptech.org, 202.387.8030, fax 202.234.5127.
Archives of Info-Policy-Notes are available from
http://www.essential.org/listproc/info-policy-notes/
Subscription requests to listproc@cptech.org with the message:
subscribe info-policy-notes Jane Doe
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 11:05:42 -0400
From: Chris Norloff <cnorloff@norloff.com>
Subject: Who Compares Cellphones and Services?
Hi, I recently signed up for AT&T Digital PCS in the Washington,DC area,
with a Ericsson LX77 (PD328) digital/analog phone.
Lousy is the best way to describe it. Fine when it connects at full-signal
strength in the digital mode, and unusable otherwise (like at home and at
work - where I need it). Its fall-back analog mode puts me into
CellularOne's analog network, which just so happens to never put my call
through.
So, who compares services? Those digital coverage maps are a joke - I'm 30
miles inside the border, 10 miles from the center, and I can't get digital?
Since each company says THEY'RE the best, are there any unbiased sources
of info?
And, who compare phones? The phones seem to be sold purely on the basis of
features, but I should think some are better phones, that is "radio
transmmitter/receivers", than others. Are there any unbiased sources of
comparative info about cell phones?
Many thanks,
Chris Norloff
cnorloff@norloff.com
------------------------------
From: Bturnbow@my-dejanews.com (Brian Turnbow)
Subject: Re: Can CellularOne do This to Me?
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 07:26:09 GMT
Organization: Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion
In article <telecom18.99.7@telecom-digest.org>, james1416@hotmail.com
wrote:
> I have cellular service from Cellular One -- base rate $11.95 per
> month. Recently I switched jobs. Cellular One sent me a letter
> telling me that since I don't work for the original employer, I am not
> eligible for the rate I was being offered; the new rate will be $24.95
> per month.
> I read carefully through the service agreement that I signed. Nowhere
> does it say that the lower rate I was offered was because I was
> employed at this particular company. Nor does it say that the rates
> are contingent upon my continued employment. The service is
> not being paid by the employer; it is not a business service, I am
> paying for it for my personal use.
> So I wrote to Cellular One saying that they should either a) cancel my
> cellular service AND waive any early cancellation fees or b) keep my
> rate at the originally agreed upon rate.
> More than a month has passed and no response to my letter. Now, I
> received the latest bill from them where they have retroactively
> applied the increased rate beginning two days before the date on which
> they informed me that they are going to increase the rates.
> Am I screwed and stuck paying the higher rate? Any advice or
> suggestions are deeply appreciated.
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Are you *certain* there was no promo-
> tional rate or deal at the time you began the service which involved
> your previous employer? If you did not tell them that you had changed
> employers, then how did they find out (other than your former employer
> telling them; why would that have happened unless former employer was
> subsidizing part of the bill and did not wish to subsidize a former
> employee)? If you are certain none of the above occurred -- regardless
> of whether it is in the printed contract or not -- then my sugggestion
> would be to to pay on a prompt basis at the old rate, each time in-
> forming them in a note with your payment that the monthly rate by
> contract is the lower amount, in a contract which does not expire
> until whatever date. PAT]
I worked for a Cellularone authorized dealer in S.F. Cal. They got so
bad with us we refused to renew our contract with them! Look on your
contract to see what rate plan they signed you up on, they have many
plans that are corporate plans but are billed and paid by
employees. Unfortunatly C1 generally refuses to help you unless you
spend an arm and a leg every month on your cellular bill. I personally
know how nasty they can become. I wish you the best of luck.
Brian Turnbow
------------------------------
Subject: Cellular Networking Perspectives, July 1998
From: 71574.3157@compuserve.com (David Crowe)
Date: Sat, 12 Jul 1998 16:30:45 -0600
Organization: Cellular Networking Perspectives Ltd.
The July (encrypted) quiz for Cellular Networking Perspectives is
available at:
http://www.cnp-wireless.com/quiz.html
In this month's issue are the articles:
1. CALEA Deadline Extended Until October 1, 2000
2. Y2K and Wireless (a CTIA certification program)
3. Near Chairman for Analog Standards Subcommittee TR-45.1
4. New Subcommittee for Wireless Network Management Standards: TIA
TR-45.7
5. Enhanced Wireless 9-1-1 (E911), Part III
6. Status of IS-41 Rev. C and TIA/EIA-41-D Implementations
7. TIA TR-45.1 Analog Air Interface Standards Report
For more information on the monthly Cellular Networking Perspectives
standards and technology bulletin surf to http://www.cnp-wireless.com or
phone 1-800-633-5514.
- David Crowe, Editor
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #106
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Jul 17 09:31:57 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id JAA15450; Fri, 17 Jul 1998 09:31:57 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 09:31:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199807171331.JAA15450@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #107
TELECOM Digest Fri, 17 Jul 98 09:32:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 107
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging (areacode-info)
Long-Distance Calls on Internet May Be Bargain for Some (Tad Cook)
New 800 Leadership at AT&T (Judith Oppenheimer)
New Telemarketing Regs Passed in NYS (Danny Burstein)
Telephone Speed Dial tip (ggreco@netcom.com)
Did You Know That You May be Sharing Your Telephone Line! (Mike Pollock)
Caller-ID: Any Way to Automatically Screen Calls? (Robert Maas)
AT&T Publicphone 2000 Update (73115.1041@compuserve.com)
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
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note
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*************************************************************************
In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply-To: webmaster@areacode-info.com
From: webmaster@areacode-info.com
Subject: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 03:49:48 -0400
For further information, contact:
Dave Pacholczyk, 312-750-5205,
david.a.pacholczyk@ameritech.com
Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With = Bootlegging Local Phone
Numbers. Company's Illegal Scheme Devours Precious 847 Numbers.
CHICAGO -- Consumers and businesses in Chicago's numerous area codes
are being shortchanged by one local phone company's misuse of scarce
phone numbers, Ameritech is charging in a complaint filed today with
the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC)
Ameritech charges that Chicago-based Focal Communications is skirting
the operating rules for the use of possibly hundreds of thousands of
phone numbers in the state and violating its interconnection agreement
with Ameritech by incorrectly billing calls made to Focal's customers.
Customers in 847 may soon have another area code to contend with, and
those in other areas are running low of phone numbers, in part because
of Focal's anticompetitive, anticonsumer business scheme," said Doug
Whitley, president of Ameritech Illinois.
What Focal is doing is creative, but it's also illegal and patently
unfair to customers. We think the ICC ought to remind them of the
rules of the market they've chosen to enter."
According to Ameritech's complaint, Focal's "Virtual Office" offering
ties up Chicago area numbers, and "improperly manipulates" the phone
numbering system, giving phone numbers in suburban area codes to Focal
customers elsewhere.
In Focal's scheme, Ameritech's complaint points out, the numbers are
not assigned to "local" customers in the area code at all, but rather
to businesses with locations in downtown Chicago.
Here's how it works: Ameritech, as the local phone number
administrator, doles out phone numbers at Focal's request. Under
prescribed industry guidelines, those phone numbers are to be used
in the areas in which they're assigned. For example, 847 numbers would
normally be given to consumers and businesses in the 847 area code,
630 numbers to customers in that area code, and so on.
But in Focal's scheme, the local numbers are typically assigned to
business locations in downtown Chicago. When an employee of those
companies, working from home, calls what would appear to be a "local"
phone number in the outlying suburbs -- such as Schaumburg or Aurora
-- the call is actually sent to an office location miles away in
Chicago, thereby tying up a phone number that could be assigned to
customers in those suburban areas.
Focal is amassing "a large store of local telephone number prefixes
for Virtual Office purposes ... in areas where it does not provide
local exchange service," the complaint says, which "unnecessarily
aggravates the mounting problem of telephone number exhaustion
within area codes."
We're concerned that this may be the tip of the iceberg in how phone
numbers are being misassigned," said Whitley. "We're strong
advocates of local phone competition and support companies wanting
to enter the local phone market. But competition is no excuse for
any company to bend the rules to disadvantage consumers."
------------------------------
Subject: Long-Distance Calls on Internet May Be Bargain for Some Consumers
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 01:09:34 PDT
From: tad@ssc.co (Tad Cook)
Long-Distance Calls on Internet May Be Bargain for Some Consumers
By Leyla Kokmen, The Denver Post
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Jul. 14--It's the coach class of long distance.
It'll get you where you want to go, but there won't be any free cocktails.
Internet telephony. Phone calls that travel over the Internet, or similar
The calls are cheap, cheap, cheap. But the quality varies -- and it isn't
always great. And you'll have to get your fingers in shape to punch the 20
or more digits you may have to dial in order to make a call. "Now, we make
a price and quality trade-off," said Christopher Mines, a director at
Forrester Research, a Cambridge, Mass., research firm. Prices are as low as
a nickel a minute, but sound sometimes comes across like you're under water
-- more like a cell phone than a land line.
The Denver area is a hot spot for this burgeoning industry, with companies
including Rocky Mountain Internet, Qwest Communications International and
ICG Netcom rolling out the services here and nationwide.
Those services probably won't appeal to everyone, Mines said, but if you
make a lot of long-distance calls -- especially to foreign countries --
it's something to consider. Also, people who are used to pre-paid phone
cards, or those who use calling cards and don't mind punching in a lot of
numbers, are likely customers for the services.
Internet telephony is no gee-whiz computer nerd kind of service. In fact,
you don't even need a computer to use it. It's simply a different way of
carrying calls from phone to phone, city to city, country to country.
Those phone calls, also called IP telephony because they use the Internet
protocol, differ from traditional circuit-switched long distance. In that
method, a steady amount of capacity is dedicated to a phone call; the same
amount of space is used for the connection, even if you put your phone down
and don't say anything at all.
But when you make an IP call, your voice is compressed and broken into
packets, or small parcels of data, that are electronically coded and sent
through the network to be reassembled at their destination. The same
pipeline can be filled with packets from many different phone calls. That
uses the network more efficiently, which cuts costs, as well as the price
to customers.
While it's a new technology that makes this possible, that's not the thing
that turns customers on to the service.
"You put in your number, and your party answers it," said Bernie Friedberg,
a Denver real estate investor who uses IP telephony service from IDT Corp.,
a Hackensack, New Jersey company. He uses it for business and personal
calls, and his son uses it to call home from Oberlin College. "If the call
is actually coming in through Finland, you're not aware of it."
Low prices, in the end are what's building the buzz around IP telephony.
"It's inexpensive, and it works," Friedberg said. "There's no need to make
a call for 15 cents a minute when you can make it for a nickel."
IDT offers its Internet long-distance service for 5 cents a minute in 50
cities, including Denver. Outside those 50 cities, IDT offers an IP phone
rate of 8 cents a minute.
Right now, the bulk of the savings on costs for IP telephony providers
comes because they don't have to pay access charges to local phone
companies to use their networks, like traditional long-distance carriers
do. That may change over the next year or two, but for now it helps these
companies offer bargain-basement call rates. Some of the equipment to route
the calls over the network is also cheaper than traditional phone switches.
The sound quality of the call, Friedberg said, is occasionally worse than a
traditional long-distance call. But "90 percent of the time, I don't think
you could tell the difference."
The IP industry has started to bloom over the past couple of years, Mines
said. He estimates that U.S. customers will spend about $50 million on
Internet telephony service this year, but that could rise to $350 million
by 2000 and $2.5 billion by 2004. While that's still only a small
percentage of the total long-distance market -- about $50 billion this year
-- it's a significant amount.
Pioneers in the market were companies such as IDT and the Israeli company
Delta Three, which primarily uses IP technology to offer cut rates on
international calls from the United States. IDT now has about 50,000
customers, and Delta Three has about 25,000.
More recently, spry companies such as Qwest, Rocky Mountain Internet and
ICG Netcom have broken into the market, using their fiber-optic,
data-driven networks and Internet backbones to offer IP telephony.
Rocky Mountain Internet began offering its Ephone services in Denver and
Colorado Springs earlier this year and plans to begin a heavy marketing
push soon. Qwest launched its Q.talk service in February in Denver,
California, Salt Lake City and Kansas City, and plans to have 125 cities
hooked up by year's end. ICG, which bought the California Internet service
provider Netcom earlier this year, will use that company's network to roll
out its IP telephony service, first in 15 cities next month, then into 151
more by the end of the year.
And finally, long-distance giants such as AT&T have started moving into the
IP arena. AT&T is the furthest along, offering a trial of IP long distance
in Boston, Atlanta and San Francisco. Other major long-distance companies
such as Sprint, MCI and Frontier all say they are planning to offer IP
telephony in the near future but have not released detailed plans or price
lists.
So how does this service work?
Right now, there are at least five companies that offer, or are about to
offer, IP telephony service to Colorado customers: Delta Three, ICG Netcom,
IDT, Qwest and Rocky Mountain Internet. Each has slightly different service
plans and prices, but there are similarities between them. Most route the
calls over their Internet backbones or private networks, not through the
public Internet, which can be heavily congested and cause poor sound
quality.
Rocky Mountain Internet, IDT and Delta Three are like pre-paid calling
cards; to set up your account, you use a credit card to buy an amount of
calling time. Then, whenever you make a call, the company debits your
account and lets you know how much calling time you have left. ICG Netcom
requires a credit card to start the account, but it's billed monthly only
for the amount you spend on calls. Delta Three also has a similar
post-payment option. Qwest offers monthly billing for the service, so
you'll get an invoice in the mail.
To place a call through most of the services, you must first dial a local
access number, then enter your account number, code number and finally, the
long-distance number you want to call. That can mean upwards of 20 digits
to place a call, although it's possible to program a speed dial to do that.
When you dial that local access number, you're calling into a server that
compresses your voice into the packets of data before routing it over the
network to the point you're trying to call. If traffic is high, people
might get busy signals when they dial the access number.
ICG Netcom, instead of having customers dial in through a local number,
lets you simply dial 1 plus the area code and number you're
dialing, like traditional long-distance services. But while other services
allow you to place the call from anywhere, as long as you're within that
local calling region, with ICG Netcom you must place the call from home,
said David Gandini, president of long-distance services. That's because the
system uses your home phone number to verify who you are and whether you
have a valid account.
To use the Delta Three service, the access number you dial is an 800
number, similar to a calling card. More digits, but you can call from
anywhere in the country. Worth noting, however, is that Delta Three's rates
within the United States, at 20 cents a minute, aren't very competitive.
But Kim Malone, Delta Three's executive vice president for business
development, stresses that the greatest cost savings come from
international calls placed from the United States to developing countries
and places where Delta Three is building its network.
Delta Three calls to Hong Kong, for example, cost 19 cents a minute, to
Israel, 30 cents a minute, to Sao Paulo, Brazil, 40 cents a minute, which
is well below the standard rates of other carriers.
Most of the services have little hitches consumers should be aware of when
shopping around.
For example, ICG Netcom offers rates of 5.9 cents and 8.9 cents a minute;
to get the lower rate, calls must begin and end on the Netcom network. So
if you're calling a city other than the 166 ICG will have online this year,
you'll pay 8.9 cents a minute.
And to sign up for Qwest's service, it could take seven to 10 business
days, while the other services activate their accounts immediately. Most of
the services let you sign up online if you want, and you can check your
current balance and phone activity on the Web site. Rocky Mountain
Internet's new Web site for the service was scheduled to go up today, at
www.ic-ephone.net, said Michael Schaefer, vice president of marketing.
Qwest also plans to offer online sign-ups in a couple of weeks, said
Catherine Perkins, program manager for Q.talk.
But as far as the technology goes, said Mines, it's improving all the time.
Now, it's a little hit or miss; sometimes, you'll have crystal clear
connections, sometimes it'll come through a bit tinny, or you'll "trip
over" the person you're talking to because the connection is slow. But
eventually, "they will match and ultimately they will exceed the quality of
the traditional phone network."
It will take time for IP telephony and data networks to supercede today's
more dominant long-distance networks, Mines said. But in the distant
future, packet-based networks are likely to merge with and overtake that
infrastructure.
"This is like rebuilding the railroad system," he said. "This is something
that's not going to happen quickly."
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 09:56:32 -0400
From: Judith Oppenheimer <joppenheimer@icbtollfree.com>
Reply-To: joppenheimer@icbtollfree.com
Organization: ICB TOLL FREE NEWS. 15 Day FREE Trial: http://icbtollfree.com
Subject: New 800 Leadership at AT&T
John Cushman, the now-former head of AT&T Toll Free Services who drafted
the original replication proposal at SNAC, has been promoted and now has
responsibility for AT&T's Business Electronic Services and E-Commerce
applications.
Over the years John has been both accessible and rational, a rare voice
of reason in toll free issues. His replacement as the new head of AT&T
Toll Free Services is Tom Angeline, who's worked with John since last
fall and was responsible for AT&T's rollout of 877.
Judith Oppenheimer
Publisher, ICB TOLL FREE NEWS
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 20:49:18 EDT
From: Danny Burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
Subject: New Telemarketing Regs Passed in NYS
Linkname: GOVERNOR: LEGISLATION PROTECTS CONSUMERS FROM TELEMARKETERS
URL: http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/july13_98.htm
[Note: I have to wonder, given that the Feds have preempted lots of
other "local" telecom regularions (including payphone charges!!)
whether this new law will hold up.]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 13, 1998
Governor: Legislation Protects Consumers From Telemarketers
[INLINE]
Governor George E. Pataki today signed into law a new consumer
protection that gives New Yorkers an important new way to avoid
unwanted telemarketing calls.
"Whether it's protecting New Yorkers from telephone slamming or helping
to safeguard seniors from mail fraud, our commitment to consumers has
never been greater," Governor Pataki said.
"This new law adds another weapon to our arsenal to help protect
consumers from annoying or unscrupulous telemarketers," the Governor
said. "All of us have been hassled by a telemarketer who interrupts
dinner, story time with our children or the few hours we have to relax
after work or on the weekends. Now we have a way to fight back."
The new law will prohibit telemarketers from blocking identification
of their names and telephone numbers on consumers home caller
identification-devices which will help to alert them that they may be
receiving a telemarketing phone call.
"This bill provides consumers with another means of determining
whether to take a telemarketing phone call, making it their choice,"
the Governor said. "It will help end the questionable practice of
hiding a phone number so that consumers are unable to choose whether
they want to answer a telemarketing phone call."
State Consumer Protection Board Chairman and Executive Director
Timothy Carey said, "Governor Pataki and I have made it a priority to
fight telemarketing scams and unscrupulous telemarketing practices.
From prize offers, to checks in the mail, to out-and-out deception,
telemarketers have tried everything in the book to get your business.
This new law will help to inform consumers that they may be receiving
a telemarketing phone call enabling them to choose whether to take the
call or not."
Governor Pataki also advised consumers who wish to be left undisturbed
by telemarketing that they may exercise several other options designed
to eliminate unwanted telemarketing calls. These include:
Federal law allows a consumer to place his or her telephone number
on the telemarketers "do not call" list;
Contacting the Federal Trade Commission. Telemarketers not adhering
to those consumer requests may be fined by the Federal Trade
Commission;
Consumers who do not wish to be disturbed by calls from any entity
that does not reveal its own telephone number can purchase a "block
the blocker" service from his or her telephone corporation--such
services do not connect calls for which callers block transmission
of identifying information; and,
Consumers may use answering machines to screen their calls.
For more information, consumers can call Governor Pataki's consumer
hotline at the State Consumer Protection Board toll-free at 1-800-697-
1220.
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]
------------------------------
From: ggreco@netcom.com
Subject: Telephone Speed Dial Tip
Organization: Netcom On-Line Services
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 01:51:37 GMT
If you use the long distance telephone service of Sprint, MCI, AT&T, etc.,
and you have to dial their code when making a "local toll call" outside
of your area, you now have to dial a seven digit number. All companies
have added another "10" to their code number.
For example, say your long distance carrier is the XYZ company and their
special code is 1010789. If you make a "local toll call" you have to
dial 1010798 and then the phone number 123-4567.
Otherwise, your "local toll call" will automatically be billed by your
local carrier (Pacific Bell, etc.) probably at a different rate.
This only applies to nearby "local toll calls", as your "long distance"
calls should be automatically handled by your long distance carrier.
A "local toll call" is that calling area between "local", or free, calling
and "long distance" calling.
If you put the new telephone numbers into your Speed Dial (memory) buttons
you may have a problem. You may need "18 digits", but many Speed Dial
(memory) buttons only have the capacity to hold a number 16 digits long.
Using the above example of the XYZ's 1010789 code, to dial a "local toll
call" outside your telephone area code (to area code 408, etc.)
you have to dial the telephone number 1010789-1-408-123-4567,
which is "18 digits long".
Many telephones allow you to enter part of the 18 digit telephone number
using one Speed Dial (memory) button and the rest of the number using
another button.
For instance, to call area 408, Speed Dial button #1 can be
10107891408. And, Speed Dial button #2, or #3 etc., can be 1234567.
First press Speed Dial button #1 and listen for the number to be dialed.
Then press Speed Dial button #2, or #3 etc. The call should be dialed
properly.
ggreco@netcom.com
------------------------------
From: Mike Pollock <pheel@m1.sprynet.com>
Subject: NOTICE! Did You Know That You May be Sharing Your Telephone Line!
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 17:01:47 -0400
The following piece of propaganda was handed to me in the form of a blue
piece of laser-printed paper as I waited for my Long Island Rail Road train
into Manhattan this morning. We've got four lines coming into our house. Is
this something I need to care about?
--------------------
NOTICE
DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU MAY BE SHARING YOUR TELEPHONE LINE!
You pay the full rate for your service each month, but many of you are
sharing your line with your neighbor and don't know it!
Instead of adding new cable or repairing old ones, BELL ATLANTIC is using a
line sharing device called AML, where two customers, or maybe as many as
eight customers share one pair of wires.
This can affect your service in many ways, particularly if you use a
computer modem, have a door answering device, or your neighbor has line
trouble.
CALL 890-6611 and demand to know if your service is being provided on an
AML. If so, demand your own line. After all, YOU PAY FOR IT!
This message has been brought to you by the CWA as a public service message.
------------------------------
From: Robert Maas <MaasInfo@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Caller-ID: Any Way to Automatically Screen Calls?
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 22:56:14 -0800
Organization: AT&T WorldNet Services
> TELECOM Digest Editor's Note:
> There is no way to 'reach back' from your end to the central office
> and get it to release the calling party's number. ... Your only real
> recourse is to refuse to accept phone calls from 'private' callers.
Is there any equipment that can do that automatically, so when I get
twenty calls in a row while I'm trying to sleep, each with UNAVAILABLE
instead of a number, I don't have to wake up twenty times in a row to
bitch at the caller and hang up, and don't even have to hear the phone
ring each time?
Pacific Bell says as far as they know there's no such unit, but I
should call private companies such as Radio Shack or Fry's to ask if
they sell any such unit. Both Circuit City and Fry's say they don't
have any such unit. I haven't tried Radio Shit yet because of their
shoddy quality of things I purchased from them previously (portable
6-band radio, reel-to-reel recording tapes, cassette tape recorder,
cassette tapes).
------------------------------
From: 73115.1041@compuserve.com
Subject: AT&T Publicphone 2000 Update
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 02:07:23 GMT
Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com
AT&T has recently updated the software in the Publicphone 2000s around
the country. These are the phones with the built-in keyboard and VT100
emulation that were disabled for all but phone use due to a lawsuit
over what could be offered without regulator approval some 10 years
ago.
The new software pretty much eliminates visual references to anything
except standard telephone services.
Ken
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #107
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Jul 17 12:50:15 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id MAA02151; Fri, 17 Jul 1998 12:50:15 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 12:50:15 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199807171650.MAA02151@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #108
TELECOM Digest Fri, 17 Jul 98 12:50:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 108
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
FBI Seeks Access to Cellphone Locations - NYT (Monty Solomon)
Preferential Treatment of Wireless in Overlays (Linc Madison)
Re: Who Compares Cellphones and Services? (Howard Eisenhauer)
Remote Control of Call Forwarding/3-Way Calling? (Andrew Grell)
Unit to Connect Two POTS Lines (AKA Extender, Diverter (dieselboy37)
Three-Way Split For Long Island (516)? (Linc Madison)
Blocking International Collect Calls (Louis Cifer)
Telcomine: A Telecom & Technology Newsletter With a Difference (S. Dhawan)
Baby Bells Out to Gut Telecom Act (Monty Solomon)
Internet Phone Leader Vocaltec Eyes Deals (Monty Solomon)
UCLA Short Course on "Optical Fiber Communications" (Bill Goodin)
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:
* telecom-request@telecom-digest.org *
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: 847-727-5427
Fax: 847-675-3149
** Article submission address: editor@telecom-digest.org **
Our archives are available for your review/research. The URL is:
http://telecom-digest.org
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
(or use our mirror site: ftp ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives)
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note
to archives@telecom-digest.org 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. *
*************************************************************************
In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order
telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has
been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very
inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request
a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing
your name to the mailing list.
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 09:40:19 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: FBI Seeks Access to Cellphone Locations - NYT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The FBI has asked a Senate committee to add
language to a Justice Department appropriations bill to require phone
companies to provide police with the precise locations of cellular phone
users, the New York Times reported Friday.
Quoting civil liberties groups, the newspaper said that FBI Director
Louis Freeh met last week with members of the Senate Appropriations
Committee about the proposal. The paper said Freeh asked that the
locations be provided without a court order in certain "emergencies."
Those would include the suspicion of a felony, the pursuit of a fugitive
or cases where human safety is deemed to be in jeopardy.
The paper quoted FBI officials as saying that the agency needed to keep
up with rapidly changing technology that was confounding law enforcement
agencies.
Attorney General Janet Reno is scheduled to meet Friday with Federal
Communications Commission Chairman William Kennard to make the case that
such legislation is needed if the agency is to keep up with evolving
technology that allows criminals to use mobile phones to avoid detection.
Civil liberties groups and the telecommunications industry have begun
marshaling opposition to the proposal, the newspaper reported.
Privacy advocates say it is a dangerous and unconstitutional invasion of
privacy, and the telecommunications industry predicts that implementing
such a law would cost billions of dollars.
------------------------------
From: Telecom@LincMad.NOSPAM (Linc Madison)
Subject: Preferential Treatment of Wireless in Overlays
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 23:31:52 -0700
Organization: LincMad Consulting; change NOSPAM to COM
I just sifted through the prefix lists for the upcoming three-way
split of area code 619 in the San Diego area. One item that caught
my eye was that *almost* all of the prefixes scheduled to remain in
619 are in the "San Diego: San Diego" rate center.
However, there are twelve prefixes that will remain 619 even though
they are assigned to rate centers that are changing to either 858
or 935. All twelve are cellular prefixes, located in Chula Vista,
La Jolla, La Mesa, El Cajon, Poway, Mira Mesa, and Linda Vista.
No existing cellular prefixes are being moved to either 858 or 935.
The language of the FCC regulations is quite clear:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
47 CFR 52.9 General requirements.
(a) To ensure that telecommunications numbers are made available on
an equitable basis, the administration of telephone numbers shall,
in addition to the specific requirements set forth in this subpart
[includes 47 CFR 52.19]:
[...]
(2) Not unduly favor or disfavor any particular telecommunications
industry segment or group of telecommunications consumers; and
(3) Not unduly favor one telecommunications technology over another
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
No other telecommunications technology is being allowed to disregard
the geographic boundaries in the 619/858/935 split. This decision
is clearly "unduly favoring" one particular telecommunications
industry segment/technology (cellular) over another (wireline).
It's not okay to favor wireline over cellular, but it's fine to do
the reverse. That's what we call a "level playing field."
** Do not send me unsolicited commercial e-mail spam of any kind **
Linc Madison * San Francisco, California * Telecom@LincMad-com
URL:< http://www.lincmad.com > * North American Area Codes & Splits
>> NOTE: if you autoreply, you must change "NOSPAM" to "com" <<
------------------------------
From: aa988@chebucto.ns.ca (Howard Eisenhauer)
Subject: Re: Who Compares Cellphones and Services?
Date: 16 Jul 1998 14:37:43 GMT
Organization: Chebucto Community Net
There's a website at web.globalserve.net/~punter/ that gives very good
comparisons between the variuos phones and also gives you a good idea of
the strengths/weaknesses of the different network technologoies. It's very
highly thought of by people in the cell/PCS industry, even when it points
out some of the warts on your own network ;>.
It's really aimed at the Toronto area, but most of what's there should
apply to any system in North America.
You may also want to check out some of the "alt.cellular" newsgroups as
well, although I havn't seen any dedicated to AT&T. From what I've
read in some of the groups a lot of people are not happy with the
Cntel/AT&T system up here north of the border which uses the 800Mhz IS136
TDMA system, which is what I believe AT&T proper is using in the States.
Chris Norloff (cnorloff@norloff.com) wrote:
> Hi, I recently signed up for AT&T Digital PCS in the Washington,DC area,
> with a Ericsson LX77 (PD328) digital/analog phone.
> Lousy is the best way to describe it. Fine when it connects at full-signal
> strength in the digital mode, and unusable otherwise (like at home and at
> work - where I need it). Its fall-back analog mode puts me into
> CellularOne's analog network, which just so happens to never put my call
> through.
> So, who compares services? Those digital coverage maps are a joke - I'm 30
> miles inside the border, 10 miles from the center, and I can't get digital?
> Since each company says THEY'RE the best, are there any unbiased sources
> of info?
> And, who compare phones? The phones seem to be sold purely on the basis of
> features, but I should think some are better phones, that is "radio
> transmmitter/receivers", than others. Are there any unbiased sources of
> comparative info about cell phones?
Howard Eisenhauer on
Chebucto Community Network
Halifax Nova Scotia
aa988@ccn.cs.dal.ca
------------------------------
From: Andrew Grell <andygee@dti.net>
Subject: Remote Control of Call Forwarding/3-Way Calling?
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 10:20:31 -0400
Organization: Digital Telemedia Inc.
My mobile phone package includes unlimited calling to any one number I
select, and I've chosen my home phone number to be that target.
Now, at home I have three phone lines and a variety of computers and modems
and stuff. I think that I should be able to call my house from my
mobile and remotely transfer my call to some other number, which I would
then pay for at a land rate rather than a mobile rate.
Any suggestions? My local provider, RCN, is not too clear about whether
or not they offer variable/remote call forwarding and I'd like to be
able to do this on my own.
Thanks
ag
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For further discussion on this see the
next message in this issue on call diverters and call extenders. PAT]
------------------------------
From: dieselboy37@hotmail.com
Subject: Unit to Connect Two POTS Lines (AKA Extender, Diverter, Gold Box
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 16:17:16 -0500
I just found the TELECOM Digest homepage and one of the first things has
caught my attention is the talk of WATS extenders and such. Phreaks build
their own extenders called "diverters" or "gold" boxes. These work the
same way but are much more crude and there is virtually NO security
designed into the basic gold box module. These boxes (and most others) can
be made from over-the-counter parts. Allthought many boxes have been
defeated by advances in technology there are still many more in use today.
Kevin (Circuit$ativa)
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Years ago, when there were substantial
differences in the price of local and long distance calls, many
companies used extenders/diverters of the type you mention to cut back
on the expense incurred by employees outside the office needing to
make long distance calls. Instead of paying several dollars at a pay
phone, the employees (as well as unauthorized persons, unfortunatly!)
would dial in to the company phone network as a local call, and then
dial out via one of the devices mentioned. You can still buy the parts
to build one, but these days I **DO NOT** recommend building one or
installing one found elsewhere without making sure it includes very
good security. Years ago, large companies never bothered with security
on their phone systems, and like Unix administrators they had to learn
some tough lessons the hard way, in some cases to the tune of millions
of dollars in fraud. This kind of device however might be just the
perfect solution for our other correspondent in this issue. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Telecom@LincMad.NOSPAM (Linc Madison)
Subject: Three-Way Split For Long Island (516)?
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 19:46:23 -0700
Organization: LincMad Consulting; change NOSPAM to COM
I happened across a Bell Atlantic web page today that seems to hint at
a three-way area code split for Long Island (area code 516). The map
shows the 516 divided into three zones. The westernmost zone looks
like it's Nassau County, plus the town of Oak Beach. The other two
zones divide up Suffolk County. All three are labeled as 516, and
the only other text is a notation that an update is being prepared.
The web page in question is:
<http://www.bellatlantic.com/areacode/Pages/ny516.htm>
Does anyone have details on plans for relief in 516?
Of course, from looking at the corresponding page for 914, there is
also the possibility that these colored zones have to do with something
completely unrelated. The map for 914 shows four zones, not coinciding
with county boundaries.
The 1998 COCUS (which has just been re-uploaded in a different format,
<http://www.nanpa.com/number_resource_info/cocus.html>) shows 516 as
running out of numbers by the end of 1998, so we certainly ought to
be hearing something about proposals, at least -- if there is any
consideration at all of a geographic split, it needs to get underway
immediately.
** Do not send me unsolicited commercial e-mail spam of any kind **
Linc Madison * San Francisco, California * Telecom@LincMad-com
URL:< http://www.lincmad.com > * North American Area Codes & Splits
>> NOTE: if you autoreply, you must change "NOSPAM" to "com" <<
------------------------------
From: eldemonio@hotmail.com (Louis Cifer)
Subject: Blocking International Collect Calls
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 01:09:55 GMT
Organization: Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion
Does anybody know if there is a way to block collect calls from abroad?
My local telco, Sprint local (in San Diego, CA) said that they can't
do it and the big long distance companies (AT&T, MCI, Sprint, etc.)
also said the same thing. I beleive that they can, but choose not to
because they would be losing a very lucrative source of income.
Since all my efforts have failed to persuade my significant other not
to accept these calls (she tells me to take it out of her share of our
disposable income every two weeks, which I've done with no financial
strain on my part), I've seriously toyed with the idea of not paying
AT&T and MCI but I am leary of having them report the charges to the
credit bureaus (although I have never given them my social security
number to identify me).
Any ideas on how I should proceed? and please, no snide, self
righteous remarks about yours truly dumping his mate (divorce,and
possible alimony and child support payments are hardly money saving
ways to go).
Thanks,
Louis Cifer
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Several months -- maybe a year -- ago,
a reader in Iowa asked a similar question regarding a person he was
responsible for; I am not sure if it was a guardianship arrangement,
or if he was doing it just to help the person. It seems the person
that our reader was assisting had a son who could not be convinced
through normal ways to stay away from 900/976 numbers; the bill each
month was outrageous as a result. All conventional wisdom had failed;
reasoning with the person had failed; our correspondent was reduced to
chanting. <g> ... I finally recommended violence. <g> I suggested he
have telco disconnect the service entirely, and that he personally
remove all the phone instruments and mutilate the phone jacks and
wiring inside the premises. Then as a final effort, take the worthless
son and toss him out of the house, change all the locks and then
watch the phone bill the next month and see if there had been any
improvements! <g> ... You say you do not wish to file for divorce,
and I assume if you can avoid beating her senseless you would prefer
to do so (police action can be a pain also).
That leaves one thing which will work and solve your problem at least
a little bit, some of the time: have your local telco add ** Billed
Number Screening ** to your lines. This is a 'negative listing' type
database of phone numbers around the USA which do not wish to accept
collect calls under any circumstances. If your local telco is one of
the traditional Bells (by whatever name in these current times) or
GTE or several of the (traditional) 'independents' which always worked
along with Bell on everything in the past, then you can probably get
Billed Number Screening added to your lines. The major long distance
carriers (AT&T, MCI, Sprint) all dip the database and honor any billing
restrictions noted. A few other long distance companies also honor
the negative database. What this means is that in the future, any
*domestic* long distance caller attempting to call you 'collect' or
attempting to bill their call to you as 'third number billing' will
be rejected. Typically, they will get a recorded intercept (or an
operator will tell them) that, 'The number you have given does not
accept collect or third-number billed calls. Please hang up, select
some other method of paying for your call, and dial again.' I will
not get into all the nitty-gritty here, but this will block 90-95
percent or more of the *typical, average* user's long distance bill
where that type of call had been a problem. No guarentees can be
given if you are a pervert or into phone sex like that worthless son
in Iowa who brought such disgrace to his mother ... <g> ... by the
way Bruce, how did that matter ever turn out? Did you ever get him
under control or finally just wash your hands of it?
Ah, but your inbound collect calls are *international* rather than
*domestic*; will being listed in the negative database for Billed
Number Screening still work? It will if the telecom in the other
country also dips the datebase, and some of them, like British Tele-
com do use it. Some do, some don't; the worst that can happen is
you'll find the telecom admin in the country where your calls are
coming from does not. But even then there is sometimes hope. The
way incoming calls are handled from foreign countries means that
some of them will land on AT&T circuits when they reach this country;
some will land on Sprint or MCI, etc. 'Little differences' in the
way the call is handed over means that in some cases the domestic
USA carrier will 'see' that the foreign carrier is attempting to
call collect and will do a database dip for them anyway. Someone
who tested this internationally found that in cases where the foreign
carrier did not automatically dip the database (as I am told British
Telecom always does) about a third of the time the USA carrier which
got the call handed to it went ahead and dipped anyway, then tossed
the call back to the source with the 'subscriber does not accept
collect calls' message. It depended on it the call was dialed
direct with digits on the front for 'operator handling' (like our
international '011' versus '01') and if through the operator, how
she keyed it in, etc. There were lots of variables.
By all means, get Billed Number Screening on your lines from the
local telco. You won't lose anything and you may find it does the
job you want on international calls as well as domestic ones. Don't
bother the rep with all the outrageously boring details above, just
ask that Billed Number Screening be put on your line. The Bells do
it all the time, I am sure Sprint Local serivce can as well. PAT]
------------------------------
From: seemad@my-dejanews.com (Seema Dhawan)
Subject: Telcomine: A Telecom & Technology Newsletter With a Difference
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 09:36:37 GMT
Organization: Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion
I am happy to present before the readers of this group, the index for the
seventh issue of Infozech's newsletter on Telecom and Technology.
In a brief period of 6 months, this monthly bulletin has earned a reputation
for itself of recording trends and developments in frontline IT Technologies.
With a current subscriber base of 3000+ people, this service is free. To
subscribe please send a mail to nl@infozech.com. Previous issues are
available at http://www.infozech.com/telcomine.htm
*****TELCOMINE************
Wealth of Information about Telecommunications
Volume 7, July 1998
1 Software on hire online from IBM, Microsoft: Piracy may be
reduced. With IT giants Microsoft and IBM-Lotus, plunging into the
software renting business, it seems that in the future software needs
may be largely met by the Internet.
2. Etching 1.6M Microfilms on a Disc Norsam Technologies of Los Almos,
Mexico, claims to have found a way of directly etching 1.6 Million
pages of microfilm on a single disc making information everlasting
3. Direct Satellite linked Mobile Phones coming The mobile phone need
not be "cell" bound anymore. Very soon a new mobile phone directly
linked to a global network of 66 satellites should be available at any
point on earth , providing "a truly universal global mobile service".
4. Handhelds to overtake PCs for Net Access Desktop PC may be
supplanted by cheap handheld devices for Internet access by the
mass-market within the next six years.
5. Instant Credit Card Processor: ICVerify Producing packages for
instant processing of credit cards has come as a big challenge to the
software industry. ICVerify is one such product.
6. Y2K litigation costs to surpass $1 trillion The litigation costs
over Y2K service and product failures could soar to an alarming $
1trillion or more.
7. After Korea, Ebill set to enter China and Europe After expanding
its successful American operations into Korea, Infozech now looks to
the Chinese and European Markets for its billing solution, eBill. For
more details on eBill please visit http://www.infozech.com/ebill.htm
Thank you.
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INFOZECH
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Newsletter: http://www.infozech.com/telcomine.htm
email: seema@infozech.com
Visit us at http://www.infozech.com
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Baby Bells Out to Gut Telecom Act
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 18:35:45 -0400
http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/13519.html
Baby Bells Out to Gut Telecom Act
Reuters
WASHINGTON -- Regional Bell telephone companies will ask a federal
appeals court this week to toss out parts of a 1996 telecommunications
law and allow them to offer long-distance service immediately.
If the court agrees, the Baby Bells could become big players in the
US$80 billion long-distance market while important incentives in the
law to promote competition in the $100 billion local market would be
erased, attorneys and analysts said.
San Antonio-based SBC Communications Corp. (SBC), which provides local
service in seven states from Texas to California, filed the lawsuit a
year ago in a bid to overturn parts of the Telecommunications Act of
1996.
Few in the industry thought SBC, later joined by US West Inc. (USW)
and Bell Atlantic Corp. (BEL), had much chance of success until a
surprise New Year's Eve ruling by a federal judge in Texas.
The decision by US District Judge Joe Kendall rocked the stocks of the
telecommunications companies, sending the Baby Bells higher and
knocking the shares of AT&T Corp. (T) and MCI Communications
Corp. (MCI) lower. The long-distance companies had joined the
government and urged the courts to uphold the law.
The ruling upset the delicate balance struck by Congress in the 1996
law requiring the Bells to open their local networks to competitors
before being allowed to offer long-distance service to customers
within their regions.
So far, the Federal Communications Commission has rejected all four
long-distance applications by Bells, including one by SBC, finding the
companies had not opened their local networks enough.
While the Bells have sued, they are also trying to further open their
networks to comply with the act.
"The case goes right to the fundamental premise of the 1996
Telecommunications Act," said Kathy Wallman, a former top telephone
regulator at the FCC and now a consultant in Washington.
"Upholding it would be a very troubling change to that basic premise,"
she said, referring to Kendall's ruling.
On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals
will hear arguments in the case, with a decision expected a few months
later. Constitutional scholar and Harvard University law professor
Laurence Tribe, representing the Bells, will square off against
Assistant Attorney General Joel Klein in the hour-long session.
Although a decision either way will almost certainly be appealed to
the Supreme Court, investors are likely to bid up the Bells if they
win again, said industry analyst Scott Cleland at the Legg Mason
Precursor Group.
"SBC and the Bells have a better chance at victory in this court that
most anticipate," Cleland said, noting the three judges hearing the
case were all appointed by Republicans. "The Bells got very lucky in
the draw. They need judges who are more skeptical of government for
their argument to gain traction."
SBC's legal argument is based on an obscure clause in the Constitution
designed to prevent Congress from acting as judge and jury. Under the
clause, Congress is prohibited from passing laws aimed at punishing
specific individuals.
The so-called bill of attainder clause has been used only five times
by the Supreme Court to strike down laws such as those barring
employment of former members of the Communist Party.
Unlike most regulations enacted by Congress, the 1996
telecommunications act does specify by name the 20 Bell companies that
were created in the 1984 break-up of the old AT&T and now constitute
units of the five regional Bell corporations.
"The essence of our case is that Congress has made a judicial-type
distinction of who's good and who's bad," said SBC general counsel
James Ellis. "If Congress is permitted to single out these 20
companies, then God help us when they go after less-favored people."
Government lawyers respond that the clause has never been read to
prohibit economic regulations on companies. And, they argue, the
Telecom Act's restrictions on the Bells are actually less severe than
those contained in the 1982 breakup agreement and therefore cannot be
considered punishment.
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Internet Phone Leader Vocaltec Eyes Deals
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 17:45:37 -0400
Reuters
By Neil Winton, Science and Technology Correspondent
LONDON (Reuters) - VocalTec Communications Ltd. of Israel, which
pioneered cheap phone service over the Internet, plans to maintain its
market lead with an aggressive acquisitions program.
In an interview with Reuters Television, VocalTec Chairman Elon Ganor
said the money-losing company hopes to become profitable in the medium
term.
VocalTec wants to expand its fax business and move into video conferencing.
VocalTec of Herzliya, Israel, wrote the book on Internet telephone
service software. This provides long-distance service at the fraction
of the prices charged by traditional service providers like British
Telecommunications Plc and AT&T Corp.
Analysts said the cheap service offered by companies like RSL
Communications Ltd.'s Delta Three Inc., which use VocalTec software,
was a direct challenge to the bottom line of the traditional telephone
service providers.
German giant Deutsche Telekom AG showed what it thought of the threat
from Internet telephony last December when it bought a 21.1 percent
stake in VocalTec for close to $50 million.
Analysts say that the likes of BT and France Telecom SA are quietly
planning their own Internet telephone services. AT&T has already
started a service in Japan.
The potential market is said to be huge.
Research company Datamonitor said in a recent report that more than 10
percent of international telephone traffic will be carried over
Internet networks by 2002. Revenues will reach $2.5 billion in the
same year.
VocalTec expects this burgeoning market will ease its way to profitability.
``Our goal right now is fundamentally to get as high market share as
possible and we hope to be profitable in the future. We certainly hope
to be profitable and not in the extremely long term,'' Ganor said in
the interview.
In the first quarter of 1998, VocalTec lost $2.4 million on revenues
of just under $5 million.
Vocaltec will seek acquisitions and partnerships in its quest for
growth, Ganor said. ``Since the early days, we've been looking around
for shortcuts to other markets or technologies. We are always looking
for opportunities and we will pursue those,'' he said.
In March, VocalTec bought Radlinx Ltd., an Israeli developer of
Internet fax products.
Last month, VocalTec and Compaq Computer Corp.'s Digital Equipment
Corp. announced a strategic alliance to build large-scale Internet
telephone networks.
Internet telephony works by turning analog sound into data packets,
pinging them across networks, then turning them back into voice again
at the receiving end.
According to Garon, there were two main reasons for the low cost of
Internet telephony:
The regulation of the voice business by monopolies that are often
government-owned kept prices artificially high. Switching voice into
data, which was often unregulated, allowed Internet phone prices to be
significantly cheaper.
The cost of equipment for traditional voice service was high.
``The switch equipment that the traditional products companies use is
pretty expensive; around five to 10 times more expensive. This is
significant for a newcomer that wants to provide telecom services.''
Datamonitor analyst Gavin Parnaby agrees that big, traditional
telephone service providers are poised to launch their own Internet
phones.
``Datamonitor believes that 1999 will be the year when the vast
majority of service providers begin to offer IP (Internet Protocol)
telephony,'' Parnaby told Reuters.
And that might spell the end of VocalTec's independence.
``VocalTec was a pioneer in this field, but it is a small player and
will probably be bought out by someone else in the end,'' said
Parnaby.
------------------------------
From: Bill Goodin <bgoodin@unex.ucla.edu>
Subject: UCLA Short Course on "Optical Fiber Communications"
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 19:00:40 -0700
On October 6-9, 1998, UCLA Extension will present the short course,
"Optical Fiber Communications: Techniques and Applications", on the
UCLA campus in Los Angeles.
The instructors are Tran V. Muoi, PhD, President, Optical
Communication Products; Del Hanson, PhD, Principal Engineer,
Hewlett-Packard; and Richard E. Wagner, PhD, Manager, Optical
Network Research, Corning.
This course offers a review of optical fiber communications
fundamentals, then focuses on state-of-the-art technology and its
applications in present and future communication networks.
The course begins with the major building blocks of optical fiber
communications systems (fiber and passive components, sources and
transmitters, detectors and receivers). Actual design examples of
fiber optic links for short-haul and long-haul applications are
studied, and recent technological advances in addressing problems due
to fiber loss and dispersion are presented.
The impact of fiber optic technology on communications is highlighted
in the latter half of the course. Recent developments in local and
metropolitan area networks to support multimedia traffic (i.e., data,
voice, and video) and their evolving architectures and standards are
fully covered. The treatment on telecommunications systems includes
various technological options for subscriber networks, exchange
networks, and the global undersea networks. Network architectures
evolving from the traditional telephone and CATV networks are
contrasted. Technology trends and directions for realizing the
so-called information superhighway are examined as well. Finally,
optical networks using wavelength routing and multi-wavelength
cross-connects are presented.
UCLA Extension has presented this highly successful short course
since 1994.
The course fee is $1395, which includes extensive course materials.
These materials are for participants only, and are not for sale.
For additional information and a complete course description, please
contact Marcus Hennessy at:
(310) 825-1047
(310) 206-2815 fax
mhenness@unex.ucla.edu
http://www.unex.ucla.edu/shortcourses/
This course may also be presented on-site at company locations.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #108
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Jul 18 19:00:13 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id TAA12331; Sat, 18 Jul 1998 19:00:13 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 19:00:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199807182300.TAA12331@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #109
TELECOM Digest Sat, 18 Jul 98 19:00:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 109
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Focal Communications Corporation's Response to Ameritech (dmeldazis
Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging (Blake Droke)
Funny PBX Problem Involving Voicemail (Robert G. Schaffrath)
Identification of Pacific Telephone Area (Pat Bradley)
Spam Law Bares Teeth (Monty Solomon)
Incoming 800 Numbers (Pete Holsberg)
Massachusetts Equivalent of "Filed Rate Doctrine?" (Jeremy Greene)
My Experience With AT&T's IP Telephony Product (Joseph Norton)
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: dmeldazis@focal.com
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 13:31:29 -0500
Subject: Focal Communications Corporation's Response to Ameritech
CHICAGO, July 13, 1998 - Focal Communications Corporation (Focal), a
competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC), attributes the following
statement to Robert Taylor, Focal's President and CEO, regarding an
Ameritech complaint filed with the ICC claiming that Focal is improperly
utilizing phone numbers.
"This accusation is truly absurd. The numbers speak for themselves.
We have fewer codes within the 847 area than other carriers. Of the
679 codes assigned in 847, Ameritech has assigned itself approximately
50% or 336 codes. Further review shows that several other entities
serving the 847 area are assigned many more codes than Focal; 57 codes
to one, 43 to another, 40 each to two others and 31 to another, and on
and on. Focal ranks 11th on this list. Furthermore, Focal understands
that some of these CLECs do not currently utilize any of the codes in
the provisioning of local phone service in the Chicago area. Focal's
10 codes hardly "devour" the 847 area code as Ameritech alleges.
"As of March 31st, Illinois Bell had nearly 7 million access lines in
service while Focal had 11,535 access lines in service. This
represents an access line ratio of 0.00167. We are amazed but hardly
surprised that Ameritech would choose to attack Focal, one of the
smallest of all their competitors in Illinois. Focal made clear its
concerns regarding the proposed SBC/Ameritech merger in a June 24th
testimony before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee claiming that the
merger would make life much more difficult for CLECs. Focal urged
Congress against approving the proposed merger without significant
safeguards to protect competition. Now, Ameritech is bringing the
weight of its huge monopolistic corporation against Focal.
"It is clear that Ameritech's strategy is to litigate and to challenge
every issue with its small competitors in order to drive them out of the
market place. Focal will continue to focus its resources on providing
high-quality local phone service, while Ameritech attempts to protect its
aging monopoly through the court system. Ameritech appears to believe that
local competition is illegal competition. Its actions underscore the
concern expressed by others with the proposed SBC/ Ameritech merger: If
they act in an anti-competitive manner now, what will they be like to deal
with if they're allowed to merge with SBC resulting in a monopoly
controlling one third of all telephone lines in the United States?
"Ameritech is clearly trying to use heavy-handed legal tactics to win
back customers it has lost in the market place. Ameritech has more
lawyers at its beck and call than Focal has employees. Ameritech in
its complaint, has called Focal's use of numbers to provide one of its
services an "illegal scheme", yet Ameritech provides similar services."
Focal has been assigned numbers in accordance with the North American
Numbering Plan, which is administered by Ameritech in the Chicago area.
Focal has as many numbers as it needs to comply with and compete with
Ameritech's arcane rate structures, 911 system architectures and number
portability requirements. Ameritech in its unfounded attack has
specifically singled out Focal's use of numbers as one of the reasons that
the 847 area code will soon be exhausted.
On Tuesday, July 14th, Robert Taylor will discuss the anticompetitive
impact of the proposed Ameritech/SBC merger before the Telecommunications
Policy Committee of the ICC. The day-long meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m.
CST and conclude at approximately 3:30 p.m. CST, on the fifth floor, room
C-500, of the State of Illinois Building, 160 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago.
Focal Communications Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is providing
sophisticated telecommunications users with facilities based, switched
local telephone service. Focal currently serves 6 MSAs (metropolitan
statistical areas) in Chicago and New York, is under construction in 22
MSAs and on track to reach a total of 43 MSAs in ten metropolitan markets
by the end of 1999. Focal is privately held by several major institutions
and its employees. Focal offers unique communication services to major
corporations, Internet Service Providers and value-added partners. Focal
is focused on providing customers with the diversity, reliability and
sophistication that they demand.
Additional information can be found on Focal's website at www.focal.com.
------------------------------
From: Blake Droke <bdroke@sprintmail.com>
Subject: Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging
Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 00:00:21 -0500
Organization: EarthLink Network, Inc.
Reply-To: bdroke@sprintmail.com
webmaster@areacode-info.com wrote:
> Here's how it works: Ameritech, as the local phone number
> administrator, doles out phone numbers at Focal's request. Under
> prescribed industry guidelines, those phone numbers are to be used
> in the areas in which they're assigned. For example, 847 numbers would
> normally be given to consumers and businesses in the 847 area code,
> 630 numbers to customers in that area code, and so on.
> But in Focal's scheme, the local numbers are typically assigned to
> business locations in downtown Chicago. When an employee of those
> companies, working from home, calls what would appear to be a "local"
> phone number in the outlying suburbs -- such as Schaumburg or Aurora
> -- the call is actually sent to an office location miles away in
> Chicago, thereby tying up a phone number that could be assigned to
> customers in those suburban areas.
> Focal is amassing "a large store of local telephone number prefixes
> for Virtual Office purposes ... in areas where it does not provide
> local exchange service," the complaint says, which "unnecessarily
> aggravates the mounting problem of telephone number exhaustion
> within area codes."
> We're concerned that this may be the tip of the iceberg in how phone
> numbers are being misassigned," said Whitley. "We're strong
> advocates of local phone competition and support companies wanting
> to enter the local phone market. But competition is no excuse for
> any company to bend the rules to disadvantage consumers."
I'm wondering, how does this differ from the Remote Call Forward
service that has been available for years, from both CLECs and ILECs?
Take for an example in my area (Memphis, TN), many, many businesses in
Olive Branch, MS (about 14 mi. southeast of downtown Memphis) have RCF
numbers from the Memphis Main central office. Olive Branch is a long
distance call for most Memphis telephone customers, but most businesses
there get RCF numbers in the Memphis Main exchange.
For example, I have a pizza restaurant coupon, listing all their numbers
in Metro Memphis, when it comes to their Olive Branch location they list
the number as:
Mississippi: 601-895-xxxx
Tennessee: 901-527-xxxx
Both numbers are routed to the same place. This is an agreement between
two ILECs, BellSouth in Memphis and CenturyTel in Olive Branch. (Despite
the state line, both areas are in the Memphis LATA.) Is this article
saying that CLECs should be barred from such arrangements? It does seem
strange that ILECs have been doing this sort of thing for years, and it
didn't seem to be a waste of numbers, until a CLEC tried to get into the
act.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Actually, there is no difference,
except that Ameritech does it and gets away with it (legally, I might
add; there is nothing unlawful about the type of service offered)
while the competition is not supposed to market the same product or
service. Let's look at one of the oldest service offerings available:
foreign exchange service, also known as an FX line. An associate of
mine who has operated the bus station in Skokie, IL for a number of
years has the usual type of phone service one would expect from the
local exchange (a couple of public information lines and a fax/modem
line) which is 847-675. He also has had for many years an FX line out
of 773-539. The reason for having this number is obscured by the
passing of time; it was set up many years ago when Bell's local
calling rates made it a useful thing for calls to/from downtown
Chicago. It began in service as 312-539 and became 773 when that
conversion occurred. I urged him to disconnect it and put an
additional Skokie-based line in its place (there are times an
additional line is really needed), and when Ameritech found out, they
encouraged him to keep the (now-days) mostly unused FX line for
umpteen extra dollars per month.
So how about it? Is Ameritech squandering numbers and depriving
someone physically in 773-land of a number by encouraging an 847
person to keep their unneeded FX line? No, Ameritech does not
waste numbers. Only their competitors waste numbers to hear them
tell it. I hope Focal Communications stomps them good on this one.
I have problems of my own with the CLECs, but as usual Ameritech
is trying to play the role of innocent middleman in the affair. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Robert G. Schaffrath <rschaffrath@acm.org>
Subject: Funny PBX Problem With Voicemail
Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 12:08:26 -0400
Organization: Totally Disorganized
A rather humerous problem occurred recently with a Lucent Partner ACS
(with Partner Mail VS) phone system. I had installed this system in a
friends office three months ago and it had been working fine. One of the
features he wanted enabled for his voice mailbox was outcalling so he
could be notified offsite when there was voicemail waiting for him.
About three weeks ago, his secretary, who uses the system mailbox #10,
had several strange messages which appeared to be corrupted. When you
played the message the system would tell you it was transferring you to
extension 11 (which is my friends extension). There were several of
these "corrupted" messages and due to the problems I decided to do a
reset of the mailbox. The problem seemed to go away for a awhile but
started up again. Lucent technical support had been contacted by folks
in the office and were told that it sounded like the voicemail hard
drive had a bad spot and that I should call them up for instructions on
how to relocate the system mailbox to another location on the hard
drive.
Well I got into the office this Friday and my friend said he had 40
messages waiting on his voicemail. When we proceeded to play them, the
system would come back with additional instructions that did not work
when you pressed the button you were told. I cleaned out the mailbox
and then proceded to do some unrelated work while the office was empty.
While I was sitting in an adjacent room, I kept hearing my friends
extension ring. With no one else in the office, I decided to do a
remote call pickup and was surprised to hear the voicemail system
talking. I hung up and decided to get Lucent on the phone as soon as
everyone returned. I got a different technician who said the problem
with the voicemail system was that the system was recording its own
instructions probably due to cellphone calls which were being dropped.
I was told there is no workaround but that anytime we pressed 0 to hear
a message and got the voicemail system that it was only a recording and
not the actual system. While we were talking about this, the
secretaries phone rang and the LCD display said "Voice Messaging
System". I was rather surprised and asked the attendant what was going
on. She said it sounded like outcalling was in operation. When I said
I did not think anyone had activated outcalling, my friend who was on
another call and overheard me nodded his head yes. At that same moment,
the display suddenly changed to indicate it was forwarding the call to
extension 11. The technician immediately had me turn off call
forwarding and then advised me to check the outcalling setup.
This is were it gets funny. Three weeks ago my friend had decided to
test the outcalling feature by having it call his 800 service. He had
entered 1-800-###-#### but had forgotten to dial a 9 first. The result
was that the system was dialing extension 18 rather than outside the
system. Extension 18 currently has no phone attached so after 4 rings
it would forward to the secretary. When she was not in to answer
messages, the voicemail system would leave a message on her mailbox
confusing the heck out of us and lead us to believe it was corrupted
(during the day, no messages appeared in my friends mailbox because she
handled all of his calls). This past Thurdsay, because of the suspected
corruption with her mailbox, she decided to forward all calls from her
extension (#10) to my friends extension (#11) so that his voicemail
would pickup the message and nothing would be lost. Well what wound up
happening was: a message would get stored in mailbox 11. The voicemail
system would initiate a call to extension 18. After 4 rings extension
18 would forward to the secretary on extension 10. Extension 10 would
forward to extension 11 which would answer the phone and dutifully
accept the message from the voicemail system. It would then proceed to
initiate outcalling to extension 18 and start the whole process all over
again! Needless to say, it was an interesting afternoon.
| Robert G. Schaffrath, N2JTX | mailto:rschaffrath@acm.org |
| (914) 425-9819 or (516) 676-2971 | mailto:rschaffrath@computer.org |
| http://tonto.netsurftech.com/rgs | mailto:rschaffrath@ieee.org |
| ALL SPAM IS REPORTED IMMEDIATELY! | mailto:n2jtx@weca.org |
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 11:25:31 -0700
From: Pat Bradley <pat@bayarea.net>
Subject: Identification of Pacific Telephone Area
Would you have any idea how I could find out the boundaries of the
service area of Pacific Bell for the phonebook area known as
"Campbell, Saratoga and San Martin" of Santa Clara County, California
in l979? Or, even at the present date of 1998?
I have called over thirty people at Pacific Bell and they will not
tell me what geographical area this phone company services.
I need to know if it was done by boundaries of the cities, by zip code
area, etc.
Info is crucial to us.
Thanks for any help you can give me.
Pat Smith email pat@bayarea.net
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 23:12:11 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Spam Law Bares Teeth
http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/13783.html
Spam Law Bares Teeth
by Ed Murrieta 2:10pm 16.Jul.98.PDT
Anti-spam advocates welcomed a Seattle man's US$200 payoff today from a
company that sent him unsolicited commercial email. The settlement is
apparently the first of its kind under Washington state's new anti-spam
law.
"It's a good example of why we support the private right of action,"
said John Mozena, co-founder of the Coalition Against Unsolicited
Commercial E-Mail.
"Obviously when you give people a financial incentive to track down the
sender of a spam, they're going to work harder and maybe more people
will work at it," said Mozena.
Washington's anti-spam law, which went into effect 11 June, allows
recipients of unsolicited commercial email to collect $500 in damages
for each piece of spam. Internet service providers may collect up to
$1,000. The law applies only to email sent or received from Washington
state.
Bruce Miller, a contributor to computer publications, had received a
spam from an Oregon outfit pitching Tahitian Noni Juice. He called an
800-number listed in the spam and received an order form for the
product. After a bit more research, he printed out the original spam and
wrote to juice distributor Stan Smith, essentially threatening legal
action, but adding: "p.s. I'm willing to settle for $200."
This past weekend, he received a money order from another distributor of
Noni Juice who had come up with a juice promotion spam scheme.
"I'm sure people will be very happy to see somebody claim a victory for
the Net," said Miller, who spent about an hour seeking recourse.
John James, a California distributor who described himself as someone
with a part-time job who is just trying to make a buck, said he paid
Miller only because he wanted to keep Smith out of trouble -- since it
wasn't his idea to spam.
"Bruce Miller was using extortion and blackmail techniques against
Stan," James told the Seattle Times. "If Bruce thinks he's striking a
big blow at a spammer, he's wrong."
Anti-spam advocates would have to concede that point to James.
"It sounds like this guy [Miller] was lucky in his ability to narrow
where this spammer was and locate him quickly," said George Nemeyer, a
spokesman for the Internet Service Providers' Coalition. "Others
probably won't find the spammers as [quickly]. Going after the spammer
is a gamble."
It's a gamble that Miller is apparently willing to take again. He said
he's spent an additional 12 hours sending "demand" letters to 30 other
spammers.
"Obviously it is a landmark," Nemeyer said of the payment Miller
received. "[But] I'm cautions to say that it will open the floodgates.
What I do hope is that word will go around to spammers that at least
Washington will prevent them from doing it. But then again, spammers
have proven themselves to be notoriously clueless."
Nevada has a law in place which penalizes spammers who don't comply with
recipients' requests to be removed from lists, and anti-spam legislation
is being considered in Congress. But anti-spam advocates say
Washington's state law may be the only type that truly protects
consumers.
"If the FTC or some other regulatory bureaucracy were charged with
investigating spams such as this, it would be years before anything
happened," Mozena said.
"This shows that when consumers are given the right to defend themselves
against unscrupulous marketers they will exercise the right themselves
and don't need the government to intervene," Nemeyer said.
"But the problems with junk email is that under present federal law
there's no clear legal right defined to allow consumers to recover their
costs or damages."
------------------------------
From: pjh@mccc.edu (Pete Holsberg)
Subject: Incoming 800 Numbers
Date: 16 Jul 1998 18:14:06 GMT
Organization: The College on the Other Side of U. S. 1
We have a terminal server with 30 incoming analog phone lines. We also
have faculty and administrators who travel and dial in to get their
email. The college reimburses them for the long distance charges.
Recently, a VP indicated that the process he had to go through when on
a trip was quite awkward, and asked if there was any kind of simple
incoming 800 number that we could get.
We can give up one of the 30 lines for a dedicated 800 line, but I
wonder if there's any other option.
I'll eventually turn this over to our chief telephone operator but she
knows as little about computer communications as I do about phone
systems, so any help you can offer will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Pete
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: All you need is a single 800 number
which is programmed to ring on the first line in your existing hunt
group. That is, whatever number you tell your users to dial in on,
have the 800 number programmed to call in on that number as well.
Now, you will be able to receive as many 800 calls at the same time
as you have lines otherwise available. Do not bother with a 'dedicated'
line for the 800 number; those are expensive and not really needed.
The only reason you might want to use a dedicated 800 line would be
if you want only one 800 call at a time, and if you want to have that
line go through a special password-checking process so you can easily
detirmine *who* made the incoming call for the purpose of billing it
or charging it against their budget, etc. In that case, that one line
would terminate on your computer on a port that required extra valid-
ation of some sort.
But you can still accomplish the same thing with a 'regular, non-
dedicated' 800 number by taking the *last* number in your hunt group
and having the 800 number routed to it instead. Then, if someone is
calling in via 800, that line will be busy and subsequent calls will
have no where to go. Have that one line go through whatever special
treatment you want on your network to specifically identify the caller.
In other words, use the first line in the hunt group if you want the
flexibility of receiving many 800 calls at one time (but having no
real way to separate them from 'regular' callers for the purpose of
requiring additional billing information from them or putting any
additional restrictions on them) or use one of the back lines (or
*the* very last line where no further hunting is possible) and the
user cannot 'get lost' among all the other callers. Be sure and tell
the 800 carrier you want real-time ANI if possible for billing
purposes, or at the very least a full printout with each month
bill showing where calls came from, and at what time, etc. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Jeremy Greene <jeremy@wscapes.com>
Subject: Massachusetts Equivalent of "Filed Rate Doctrine?"
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 14:04:14 -0400
Organization: UltraNet Communications , an RCN Company http://www.ultranet.com/
I am familiar with the recent Supreme Court ruling affirming that, as a
result of the "Filed Rate Doctrine," the tariff a telco has filed with
the FCC is the only contract that binds the provider and the customer
with regard to rates and services.
My questing is: does anyone know if the State of Massachusetts has
adopted a similar attitude towards tariffs? Also, in Massachusetts, are
customers "conclusively presumed" to know what theses rates are?
I have tried to obtain answers from the Mass. Dept. of Telecommuni-
cations and Energy, but the employees there are not very informed, and
their lawyer will not be able to respond to my question until next
week. One of their employees said that she thought the tariff did not
weigh very heavily in my case because my case involves a business
buying from a CLEC. [As opposed to a residential customer buying from
an ILEC.] She seemed to be saying that we and the CLEC could have a
contractual agreement and it wouldn't have to be filed as a tariff. I
thought that _all_ providers were required to file tariffs and charge
customers accordingly.
Thanks for any advice you can give ...
-Jeremy
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You talk about the public serpents
who staff PUC offices and how ill-informed they are, you should try
Illinois sometime and the Illinois Commerce Commission office in
Chicago. If you call them to complain about something Ameritech did
or said, they'll either tell you to call Ameritech to straighten it
out (duh, been there, tried that) or they'll tell you someone will
get back to you and they will have someone from Ameritech call (of
course, already tipped off due to the source that you are, in
Ameritech's parlance, a Complainer) to resolve it. On occassion, a
staff member may talk to you, or rather, talk down to you, and tell
you why Ameritech is correct in whatever it was they did or said.
For years, and maybe still, most telcos have three categories of
customer service priorities for how problems get resolved: the
first priority are the Commission complaints; i.e. those customers
who have gone to or called the PUC. The PUC will almost invariably
call someone at telco and tell them to 'work it out with the customer'
however needed. Rarely will the PUC ever specifically order telco
to do anything on a customer-by-customer basis. They 'just assume'
telco is handling things correctly.
The second priority at telco is handling Management complaints; that
is, those customers who have appealed to the Chairman or the
President's Office. No one ever actually *speaks directly with* the
chairman or president of course; response to the customer comes from a
highly-placed flunky who is authorized to make responses in the name
of the chairman or president ('Mr. Chairman received your letter/phone
message and was quite concerned about your problem; because he is very
busy at the moment but wanted you to have an immediate response he
asked me to reply/take your phone call ...'). Chances are likely the
highly-placed flunky used to be (in actuality still is) a customer
service representative like all the rest but with a difference. S/he
is entitled to use the name of the company's officers in a limited way
to resolve whatever the Complainer wants done, and usually has the
authority to make write-offs with a higher dollar amount than the
'average' representative.
Last, as time permits each day after responding to the Commission
complaints and the Management complaints are the subscribers who
dialed in on the phone and have been waiting on hold 'for the next
available representative' to assist them.
So even though a lot of PUC staffs may be as good as useless, still
they hold enough authority over telco that it makes sense to use
them for complaints now and then, even if they do nothing more than
call a supervisor at telco and ask them to 'look at his account and
then call him back and try to satisfy him.' PAT]
------------------------------
From: Joseph Norton <jnorton@vol.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 18:12:34 -0400
Subject: My Experience With AT&T's IP Telephony Product
Hi all:
Recently, I signed up with AT&T's Connect 'N Save service. This is
AT&T's initial entry into the IP Telephony business. I would like to
share my initial impressions and findings with the list.
Availability
The AT&T Connect 'N Save service is only being offered as a limited
market trial in Atlanta, Boston and San Francisco. You do not need to
live in these cities to use the service, however, you probably will not
benefit much from the service unless you can dial the local access
number without incurring additional charges.
The service is accessed via various local access numbers (see AT&T's Web
Site at <http://www.att.com/connectnsave/> for a list of the three
access numbers currently available). Otherwise, the service works much
like any prepaid phone card. AT&T says they plan to add portability to
the service in the near future.
Initial Signup
There are two ways to sign up an AT&T Connect 'N Save account. The
preferred method is to use your Web-browser. To do this, point your
browser to <http://www.att.com/connectnsave/> and follow the links. For
those of you who do not have a browser capable of accessing "secure"
sites (url's beginning with "https:") or those who do not have a
computer AT&T provides a toll-free number for customer service. Call
1-800-345-0995 Monday-Friday between 9:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M. Eastern
Time for more information or to sign up.
In either case, the charges for the service must be billed to a major
credit card. You will be asked to choose a prepaid amount of $25.00,
$50.00 or $100.00 and this amount will be charged to your card before
you can use the service. You can replenish your account at any time by
using the Web form or calling Customer Service. You will also be asked
some questions (e.g. First Name, Last Name, E-Mail address etc.). There
are a few answers that are optional--you are asked for (but not required
to give) your Social Security number for account validation when
speaking to a Customer Service rep in the future. After you have
provided the required information, you will be given your account
number, pin and local access number and should be able to start using
the service within minutes.
Rates
This is probably the major drawback for this service. The domestic rate
for making calls varies depending on the city you access the service
from. Currently, the rate for calling from San Francisco is 7.5 cents
per minute, 8.0 cents per minute from Boston and 8.5 cents per minute
from Atlanta. AT&T does not recomend using the service for
international calls, instead, they recomend you use a rate plan such
as AT&T's International One-Rate plan. AT&T says they may offer
additional discounts on international calls later. After the marketing
trial ends on September 30, 1998, AT&T will also charge a $2.00/month
minimum for those who have not used their account for the past month.
This will cause your account to eventually "run down" if you do not use
the service for a long period of time.
Usage
Basically, the service is pretty strait forward. You dial the local
access number and are prompted for your account number and pin. The
system tells you your current account balance and prompts you for the
number you wish to call. Dial the area code and telephone number for
domestic calls. Dial 011 plus country code, city code and number for
international calls. The system will tell you how much time you have
remaining for the current call and then puts the call through. There is
no provision for making sequence calls.
Technical issues
The audio quality of the service could be said to be a little better
than that experienced usingmost digital cellphones. This is due to the
audio being highly compressed for transmission over AT&T's IP network.
If either party sends DTMF tones, they will be decoded, sent over the
network as part of the data stream and re-encoded at the far end. This
is because the DTMF tones can be slightly distorted in transit due to
the audio being highly compressed. An unpleasant side-effect with this
is that, due to the way this "feature" is implemented, the DTMF tone is
re-sent as a short burst of a few hundred milliseconds at the far end no
matter how long the person at the other end sustains the tone. Also,
the voice path of the sender of the DTMF is muted as long as the tone is
sustained. This may make it impossible for a user of the service to use
any system (e.g. some answering machines) which requires long DTMF tones.
Calls from all three cities currently seem to be routed through the same
AT&T 4-ESS machine (011-T). The irony is that, the closer you are to
this particular 4-e machine, the more expensive the call will be. Of
course, AT&T may route calls to other 4-E's during conjested periods,
but, it's impossible to be conclusive on this. It would seem to be more
efficient to route calls through the IP network to the 4-E closest to
the destination number rather than sending all calls to 011-T and then
routing the call in the normal manner. Of course, this may change as
the trial progresses.
Disclaimer
The above observations are merely those of the author. For official
information, refer to <http://www.att.com/connectnsave/>.
--Joseph (Joe) Norton N4ZWX <jnorton@vol.com>
Dalton, Georgia, U.S.A.--The Carpet Capital of the World!
Spellchecker not found. Press --[DEL: to continue ...
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #109
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Thu Jul 23 04:41:14 1998
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
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Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 04:41:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199807230841.EAA12484@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #110
Subject: TELECOM Digest Latest Issue
TELECOM Digest Wed, 22 Jul 98 21:24:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 110
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Nurse Fired in Hotline Mixup (Jim Weiss)
The Ultimate Long-Distance Combo Deal (jarettk@removethis.aval.com)
Florida to Weigh $5.5 Mllion Fine For AT&T Slamming (Monty Solomon)
Area Code 314 to Split Again (areacode-info.com webmaster)
Telecom Update (Canada) #141, July 20, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement)
Line Quality For Modem Connections (Steve Liu)
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
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: NBJimWeiss@aol.com (Jim Weiss)
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1998 16:47:19 EDT
Subject: Nurse Fired in Hotline Mixup
In a message dated 98-07-19 11:52:51 EDT, AOL News writes:
Nurse Fired in Hotline Mixup
.c The Associated Press
By DEBORAH HASTINGS
FONTANA, Calif. (AP) - Nurse Linda Reno was working the night shift
at San Bernardino Community Hospital when a distraught man called. He
said he was the convicted stalker of a teen-age girl.
He needed a toll-free crisis hotline, someone to talk to when he felt
manic. Ms. Reno searched a resource directory kept at the nurse's
station but found nothing. So she looked in the white pages.
In the newest GTE phone book, under ``Crisis - A 24-Hour Emergency
Help Line,'' Ms. Reno found an 800 number. She gave it to him.
That simple act launched a series of events that got her fired.
It also highlights a problem the telephone industry says it can't do
much about: the reassignment of defunct crisis line numbers to the
adult sex industry.
The man dialed the number. ``Get it hot ... with the naughtiest girls
around,'' said the tape-recorded female voice, who then explained how
a conversation with an underage girl or a porn queen could be charged
to a credit card.
The man called the hospital back and complained.
When Ms. Reno learned about his angry call, she feared she'd taken
the number down wrong. Double-checking, she confirmed that, yes, she'd
given the listed crisis line number. But it had been disconnected, the
number reassigned.
She set out to solve the problem. On her day off, she called phone
companies, the state Public Utilities Commission and the attorney
general's office. The calls, she said, were exercises in futility.
``No one was listening to me,'' she recalled. ``I said, `Listen, this
has to be taken care of right away. Anyone in a crisis, if they called
that number and got a sex tape, that could be their last call.'
``I just kept getting transferred, or referred to other numbers. At
one point, I think I ended up in the warehouse where the phone books
are printed.''
So, she called her local newspaper.
On May 28, The Sun of San Bernardino ran a front-page story about the
hotline, and quoted Ms. Reno.
The next day, she was fired.
``They said I put the hospital in a bad light,'' the 15-year employee said.
``But I just don't understand how that can be.''
A hospital spokeswoman declined comment but faxed this statement:
``Community Hospital of San Bernardino believes it acted appropriately
regarding the situation with this employee.''
Ms. Reno has consulted an attorney and may sue over her dismissal.
She is not the only person who tried to get the sex line unplugged.
Pat Pina, executive director of Hotline Help Center Inc., a nonprofit
crisis intervention service in Orange County, tried in early May to
get the number disconnected, based on complaints to her agency.
``AT&T said they couldn't do anything. We complained to the FCC
(Federal Communications Commission) and they said they couldn't do
anything,'' Ms. Pina said.
She knows of two similar incidents this year, Ms. Pina said. Mental
health advocates keep no national statistics on this issue. But they
often hear of it.
``If someone is calling a crisis line and they get this stupid,
horrendous sex message, it might just push them over the edge,'' said
Helen Riddick, who publishes a social services directory for Los
Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
Ms. Riddick has distributed a written warning to her customers -
including churches, social service agencies, police departments and
hospitals - advising them to call numbers before giving them to
clients.
The sex line in Ms. Reno's case was operated by Network Telephone
Services and Pacific Marketing, a phone solicitation firm in Woodland
Hills, Calif. Company attorney Dan Coleman said the toll-free number
was disconnected May 27, after officials learned of the hotline mix-up
from a Sun reporter.
``We obviously wouldn't want to use a number that had been a suicide
hotline,'' he said.
The crisis line apparently went out of business last July without
notifying authorities. Its number reverted to an industry-run pool,
from which toll-free numbers are reassigned to new customers.
``To stop this, it's almost impossible,'' Ms. Pina said. ``There's no
one policing it. There's no kind of monitoring going on.''
Industry officials acknowledge she is correct. But little can be
done, they say.
The FCC has little involvement in the highly competitive market for
toll-free numbers, said spokeswoman Anna Gomez. Mostly, its regulations
affect only how numbers are allocated - on a first-come, first-served
basis.
There are no rules that prevent a suicide hotline number from being
reassigned to a phone sex line.
Incorrect phone book listings cannot be changed between publications. The
1998-99 phone books won't be published until fall.
``Outside of removing a bad number from directory assistance, there
is nothing GTE can do,'' said spokesman Larry Cox. AT&T spokeswoman
Janet Wyles said the phone company has no authority to disconnect
numbers under such circumstances or to force customers to change
numbers.
Ms. Reno, who is divorced and now unemployed at age 53, wonders what
can be done for her.
``People say, `You didn't do anything wrong.' But then why did I get
fired?'' she asked, her eyes filling with tears. ``I'm the one who's
terminated. No one is going to want to hire me.''
A licensed vocational nurse, Ms. Reno says she had never been
disciplined in her decade and a half at Community Hospital. She said
hospital officials classified her as an ``at will'' employee who
worked without a contract and could be fired without reason.
The day the Sun story ran, Ms. Reno said she was called to her
supervisor's office and told she was immediately suspended. The next
day, she was fired.
She doesn't regret trying to help.
``I tell you, I felt awful having given that guy a sex line
number. Of all people, to give someone like him that number. It must
have seemed like a sick joke to him.''
------------------------------
From: jarettk@removethis.aval.com
Subject: The Ultimate Long-Distance Combo Deal
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 21:54:53 GMT
Organization: NetVista Info Corp
Here's my version of the ultimate discount long distance deal, which
uses a combination of two carriers. First, sign up for Sprint's
Fridays are Free business service. To do so, you'll have to
demonstrate your status as at least a part-time business to Sprint.
This is easier to do if you've already filed IRS form SS-4 and gotten
your federal tax ID number. If not, you'll have to use a social
security number, which is what some sole proprietors use to identify
their businesses.
Sprint will give you up to $1000 per month of free use on Fridays, for
calls within the USA. You have to spend at least $50, or they'll
charge you the deficit. As a safety measure, you'd better put a PIC
freeze on your line if you plan to rack up the Friday calls!
The next step is to apply for several calling cards and give them out
to any and all associates who can be trusted to make calls only on
Friday, and to reimburse your business for any of those annoying
30-cent payphone surcharges. All calls made within the US on these
cards are free on Fridays, except for the payphone surcharges. This
multiplies your one business line into many free lines on Fridays.
Unless you go absolutely nuts giving out cards, you'll be in no danger
of exceeding the $1000 monthly free usage limit.
Because international calls are never free, and because Sprint's
international rates, while reasonable, are far from the lowest
available, you can easily make your $50 minimum on international
calls. A side benefit of this approach is that international calls
count toward the $50 minimum before the 20% discount is applied. This
can lower your minimum usage to as low as $40.
What if you make a lot of international calls, and you'd really like
to get better rates? Easy: just guesstimate your $40 worth of calls
using Sprint, then switch to another service. The one I've found is
Quest Communications, at (800) 466-0116. They use IP telephony on
their own fiber optic backbone. There's a slight delay, similar to
that of a satellite hop.
Quest will sign you up without changing your default carrier (you
didn't forget the PIC freeze, right?) and you just dial 1010056 in
front of your international calls. Their rates to Europe are 40%
below Sprint's, and their Caribbean rates are simply amazing. No, I
don't have any affiliation with Quest.
So there you have it. Spend $40 per month at normal rates to get up
to $1000 of free calls on Fridays, and get the very best rates on the
rest of your calls. This deal is better than anything to come along
since two and a half years ago when when Sprint went temporarily
insane and included international calls in Fridays are Free.
Keith Jarett
jarettk "at" aval.com
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Florida to Weigh $5.5 Million Fine For AT&T Slamming
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 13:30:44 -0400
By Michael Peltier
TALLAHASSEE (Reuters) - Florida utility regulators will decide Tuesday
if AT&T Corp. should pay $5.5 million for switching customers' phone
service without their consent.
The Florida Public Service Commission was scheduled to decide how
severely to punish the U.S. telecommunications giant as part of its
continuing attack on the practice, called slamming.
AT&T was the latest target in the commission's efforts to combat an
increasingly common practice, PSC spokesman Dick Durbin said.
Last year, MCI Communications Corp. agreed to pay $240,000 in fines
associated with slamming, and a defunct company called Phone Calls
Inc. was fined $860,000. The commission also has drawn up stricter
slamming sanctions, which are being challenged by AT&T and the rest of
the industry.
``The public service commission has really focused on the problem of
slamming here in the last year or so,'' Durbin said. ''We've opened up
14 or 15 dockets against companies.''
Between Jan. 1, 1997 and May 18, 1998, the PSC recorded 183 confirmed
cases of slamming against AT&T, Durbin said. In many of the cases,
customers were switched back to their original companies and received
refunds of a few dollars in response to their formal complaints.
Among the complaints was one from a Pensacola, Fla., woman who said
her phone service was switched based on a faked signature alleged to
have been made by her dead husband.
PSC staff members who investigated the complaints determined that AT&T
has not gone far enough to shore up its marketing efforts to eliminate
slamming and recommended fines of $30,000 per incident.
``It appears to staff that AT&T believes it is more cost-efficient for
the company to issue rate adjustments and apologies in response to
complaints than to investigate the cause of (and cure) many of its
slams,'' staff members wrote in a 52-page recommendation.
If the commission approves fines Tuesday, AT&T will be given time to
show why such fines are excessive or inappropriate.
An AT&T spokeswoman Thursday commended the PSC staff for their
attempts to protect consumers but said the proposed fines are
``totally inappropriate.''
``No other long-distance company has done more to curb this
industry-wide problem,'' spokeswoman Julie Spechler said. ''We've said
this before, that AT&T is committed to a zero tolerance policy against
slamming.''
In March, AT&T proposed a series of anti-slamming procedures,
including suspending the use of marketing firms that were not meeting
quality standards, she said.
In addition, the company has set up a 24-hour slamming resolution
center to handle complaints and will charge companies that resell AT&T
services if valid complaints are found.
``We have done a lot to clean up our own house,'' Spechler said.
------------------------------
Reply-To: areacode-info.com webmaster <webmaster@areacode-info.com>
From: areacode-info.com webmaster <webmaster@areacode-info.com>
Subject: Area Code 314 to Split Again
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1998 19:26:49 -0400
314 to Split, Pooling to be Implemented
PSC DECIDES 314 AREA CODE ISSUE Jefferson City (July 22, 1998)---The
Missouri Public Service Commission has determined that a geographic
split and a new area code should be used to alleviate the exhaustion
of available telephone numbers in the current 314 area code. Exhaustion
is due to occur in the fourth quarter of 1999. At the same time, the
Commission has opened a new case to evaluate and implement number
conservation measures designed to lengthen the time before number
exhaustion occurs again in the St. Louis area.
"The Commission has placed this case on an expedited schedule in order
that we may quickly evaluate and then implement various number
conservation measures to extend the life of these two area codes,"
stated Commission Chair Sheila Lumpe. Regarding a geographic split for
the current 314 area code, the Commission reached its decision based
upon the recommendations of the Office of the Public Counsel (OPC) and
those citizens who attended local public hearings and/or wrote letters
on the issue.
The Commission found that evidence concerning customer impacts clearly
and unequivocally tipped the scale in favor of a geographic split over
an overlay. An overlay had been recommended by several parties in this
case. At local public hearings, customers stated it would be simpler
and more convenient to continue to dial seven digits for local calling
within their own area code than to dial ten digits on every call
within both area codes. The Commission noted in its decision: "The
customers have made their assessment of these issues clear on the
record before the Commission, and the Commission therefore finds that,
from the standpoint of customer impacts, a geographic split is
preferable to an all services overlay at this time."
In its decision, the Commission has determined that the St. Louis
principal zone as well as the exchanges of Spanish Lake, Florissant,
Hazelwood, Bridgeton, Ferguson, Riverview, Overland, Creve Coeur,
Ladue, Webster Groves, Kirkwood, Sappington, Mehlville and Oakville
will retain the 314 area code as proposed by the Office of the Public
Counsel. A new, yet to be determined, area code will be issued for all
of the other exchanges currently in the 314 area code (such as
St. Charles, Wentzville, Jonesburg, Washington, Union, DeSoto and
Festus).
The new area code number assignment will be made by Lockheed Martin,
administrator of the North American Numbering Plan.
A proposed three-way geographic split was rejected by the Commission
because it would result in such small area codes that the benefits of
a geographic split would be significantly reduced. It is important to
note that even with a geographic split, there will be some customers
dialing ten digits to complete a local call (area code + the seven
digit telephone number of the called party). For example, subscribing
customers of the Metropolitan Calling Plan (MCA) will have to dial ten
digits to call to another exchange in the MCA plan if that exchange is
in a different area code. That call is still a local call. If the
customer can complete the call using the ten digit number without
using a 1 in front of the number, that call is still a local call even
though it may be in a different area code.
The primary advantage with a geographic split is that it retains seven
digit local calling, it retains a geographic identity associated with
the unique area code, and it minimizes or eliminates claims of
competitive disadvantage associated with overlays.
A technical committee formed in 1995 to evaluate area codes issues in
Missouri has been ordered by the Commission to develop an
implementation schedule for the conversion to the new area code for
affected customers. That schedule is to include a public education
process for the new area code, as well as dates when the permissive
dialing period will begin and when mandatory dialing will
occur. During the permissive dialing period, a customer can begin
using the new area code. In addition, calls placed to the new area
code using the old 314 area code would still be completed during the
permissive dialing period. A report is to be filed with the Commission
no later than August 6, 1998.
Number conservation issues: Parties in this case offered a number of
methods for conserving number resources including 1,000s block number
pooling, sequential number assignment and rate center consolidation.
The Commission has determined that none of these methods are ready for
immediate implementation. However, the Commission finds that "1000s
block number pooling, sequential number assignment and rate center
consolidation have significant potential for promoting the efficient
utilization of numbering resources in the future and could dramatically
prolong the lives of the NPAs (numbering plan areas --- area codes) if
implemented as soon as possible."
As a result, the Commission has established a separate case for the
purpose of addressing the above three methods of number conservation.
Parties in this case are to file a sequential number assignment report
within three months; a report on rate center consolidation within five
months; and number pooling (1000s block number pooling) within seven
months. Some of the technical changes that would be required to
implement 1000s block number pooling are currently being discussed at
the national level and national standards for implementation are being
developed. ---0--- Case No. TO-98-212
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 16:50:09 -0400
From: Angus TeleManagement <angus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #141, July 20, 1998
************************************************************
* *
* TELECOM UPDATE *
* Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin *
* http://www.angustel.ca *
* Number 141: July 20, 1998 *
* *
* Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by *
* generous financial support from: *
* *
* Bell Canada ................. http://www.bell.ca/ *
* City Dial Network Services .. http://www.citydial.com/ *
* Computer Talk Technology .... http://icescape.com/ *
* fONOROLA .................... http://www.fonorola.com/ *
* Lucent Technologies ......... http://www.lucent.ca/ *
* *
************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
** RSL and Mike Kedar Buy Westel
** Bell Cuts Overseas Rates
** No Regulation for Cableco Internet Rates
** CRTC Prescribes Interim LNP Solution
** Sprint, BC Tel Offer Flat-Rate Calling
** Microcell, Clearnet Sign Up 50,000 Each
** Rogers, TelcoPlus Register as CLECs
** City Dial Buys Montreal Reseller
** BC Tel Bundled Services Approved, Appealed
** New NBTel Business Rates Approved Under Price Caps
** Bell Centrex Changes Rejected
** MT&T Centrex Changes Approved
** MT&T to Test "One-Stop Shopping" for Business Telecom
** U.S. Regulators Okay Teleglobe-Excel Merger
** Stentor Cuts Fees for 900-Number Access
** Videotron to Provide High-Speed Link to Quebec Schools
** QuebecTel Must Consider Requests for New EAS Links
** Cogeco Adopts @Home Internet Service
** Cantel Extending Wireless Data Coast to Coast
** How to Tame the E-Mail Flood
============================================================
RSL AND MIKE KEDAR BUY WESTEL: Long distance carrier Westel
Telecommunications, owned by a BC government corporation,
has been sold for $55 Million. The buyers are Bermuda-based
RSL Communications, headed by Ronald S. Lauder of Estee
Lauder cosmetics, and MK Telecom Network Inc., a new company
owned by Mike Kedar, the founder of Call-Net.
BELL CUTS OVERSEAS RATES: Bell Canada has reduced Advantage
Optimum overseas rates by an average of 28%. UK calls
anytime now cost 28 cents; calls to Japan are 82 cents.
FirstRate residential rates now start at 24 cents for off-
peak UK calls.
NO REGULATION FOR CABLECO INTERNET RATES: CRTC Telecom
Decision 98-9 says that the Commission will not regulate the
prices charged by cable TV companies for retail Internet
access, or for security, telemetry, videoconferencing, LAN,
or WAN services. The CRTC will regulate the rates and terms
under which cablecos provide services to other Internet
Service Providers.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/decision/1998/d989_0.txt
** Telecom Public Notice CRTC 98-14 seeks comment on the
provision and tariffing of high-speed access services
provided by cablecos or telcos over cable TV facilities.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/notice/1998/p9814_0.txt
CRTC PRESCRIBES INTERIM LNP SOLUTION: In Telecom Order 98-
678, the CRTC affirms that Local Number Portability is to be
available by July 28 in Calgary and Vancouver, and August 31
in Toronto and Montreal. If commercial service on the
Lockheed Martin LNP database is not ready by then,
competitors may manually input numbers to the Stentor
LNP database.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98678_0.txt
SPRINT, BC TEL OFFER FLAT-RATE CALLING:
** Sprint Canada now offers residential customers unlimited
off-peak calling in Canada for $20/month. Weekday and
U.S. calls are 22 cents/minute.
** BC Tel's North American residential plan offers 250
minutes of Canada-U.S. off-peak calling for $22; extra
minutes are 22 cents (peak) or 10 cents (off-peak).
MICROCELL, CLEARNET SIGN UP 50,000 EACH:
** Microcell's Fido PCS service gained 52,679 new customers
in the second quarter, bringing its total to 149,846.
(See Telecom Update #128)
** Clearnet signed 52,410 new wireless customers, 35,754
of them for PCS. Its PCS customer base reached 120,462.
Clearnet users now receive automatic U.S. roaming. (See
Telecom Update #127)
ROGERS, TELCOPLUS REGISTER AS CLECS: Rogers Communications
and Toronto-based start-up TelcoPlus Communications have
registered with the CRTC as Competitive Local Exchange
Providers.
CITY DIAL BUYS MONTREAL RESELLER: City Dial Network Services
has purchased Gescom F.R.L., which provides Extended Area
Flat-Rate Calling in Greater Montreal.
BC TEL BUNDLED SERVICES APPROVED, APPEALED: On July 7, the
CRTC approved BC Tel Solutions for Small Business and BC Tel
Residential Package, which bundle a single access line, one
hour of LD service, and up to three SmartTouch or Integrated
Voice Messaging services.
** The Canadian Cable Television Association appealed this
approval on July 8. The Commission will consider this appeal
together with the earlier appeal of telco bundled services
filed by a group of competitors (see Telecom Update #134).
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98669_0.txt
NEW NBTEL BUSINESS RATES APPROVED UNDER PRICE CAPS: On July
10, the CRTC set NBTel business line rates at $31.10
(single lines) and $54.50 (more than four lines) retroactive
to May 19. These rates comply with the existing Price Cap
formula. NBTel's application to revise the formula is still
under consideration.
BELL CENTREX CHANGES REJECTED: The CRTC has turned down two
applications by Bell Canada to revise its Centrex tariffs:
** Telecom Order 98-680 rejects a new "Centrex Essentials"
package for customers with under 10 lines, on the grounds
that it would not be available for resale, and the rates
in Band D (rural and remote areas) would not cover Bell's
costs.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98680_0.txt
** Telecom Order 98-702 rejects Bell's proposed
restructuring of Centrex service charges as "unjustly
discriminatory against Centrex resellers."
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98702_0.txt
MT&T CENTREX CHANGES APPROVED: CRTC Telecom Order 98-668
approves an MT&T proposal to simplify and reduce rates for
its small Centrex (under 29 lines) service.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98668_0.txt
MT&T TO TEST "ONE-STOP SHOPPING" FOR BUSINESS TELECOM: In
September, MT&T will begin customer trials of integrated
billing for business local telephone service, long distance,
wireless, paging, and Internet services. Trial participants
will also have a single point of contact for sales and
customer service.
U.S. REGULATORS OKAY TELEGLOBE-EXCEL MERGER: Teleglobe and
Excel Communications have been granted early termination of
the waiting period for their merger required by U.S.
antitrust legislation.
STENTOR CUTS FEES FOR 900-NUMBER ACCESS: Charitable
organizations signing up for Stentor's Advantage 900 now
pay a $350 application fee, reduced from $1,500. The same
reduction applies to qualified business or government
organizations.
VIDEOTRON TO PROVIDE HIGH-SPEED LINK TO QUEBEC SCHOOLS:
Videotron Telecom will provide 10 megabit fiber access to
the schools of the Marie-Victorin School Board in Greater
Montreal and the Decouvreurs board in Sainte-Foy.
QUEBECTEL MUST CONSIDER REQUESTS FOR NEW EAS LINKS:
QuebecTel asked the CRTC in February to approve a moratorium
on all new requests for extended area service links for 1998,
so that it could develop a new EAS rate structure. In
Telecom Order 98-689, the CRTC denies the moratorium
request.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98689_0.txt
COGECO ADOPTS @HOME INTERNET SERVICE: Cogeco Cable has
bought an 18% stake in @Home Canada, which caches popular
Internet sites to provide faster service, and will relaunch
its Internet service under the @Home name in September. (See
Telecom Update #78)
CANTEL EXTENDING WIRELESS DATA COAST TO COAST: Rogers Cantel
has announced plans to complete most of its Mobitex wireless
data network from Halifax to Victoria by the end of the
year. (See Telecom Update #122)
HOW TO TAME THE E-MAIL FLOOD: The July-August issue of
Telemanagement explains how to optimize your handling of
increasing volumes of customer e-mail:
** "New Management Tools Help Tame the E-Mail Flood," by
John Riddell
** "Preparing Your Call Center to Handle Customer E-Mail,"
by Todd Tanner
To subscribe to Telemanagement, call 1-800-263-4415 ext 225,
or visit http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm-sub.html
============================================================
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca
FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE
Angus TeleManagement Group
8 Old Kingston Road
Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7
===========================================================
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There
are two formats available:
1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World
Wide Web on the first business day of the week. Point
your browser to http://www.angustel.ca/update/up.html
2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of
charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to
majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message
should contain only the two words: subscribe update
To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail
message to majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message
should say only: unsubscribe update [Your e-mail address]
===========================================================
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce,
please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext
225.
The information and data included has been obtained from
sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus
TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations
whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy.
Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available
information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on
the subject matter is required, the services of a competent
professional should be obtained.
============================================================
------------------------------
From: Steve Liu <liu@ny.amarex.com>
Subject: Line Quality For Modem Connections
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 14:52:10 -0400
Hello,
I just got a 56k modem and have still not been able to ever get any
connection above 26.4kbs. I understand that 56kbs is actually not
possible currently but I expected at least 40kbs. So, I called Bell
Atlantic about this and asked if there was anything that can be done
and the CSR just told me that the lines are only guaranteed for
9.6kbs, is this true? She said that nothing can be done unless I get
an ISDN line? Does this mean that I have no chance of getting
connection above 26.4kbs unless I pay more for ISDN? I find this
incredible because so many people have 56k modem or at least 28.8
modem and I have trouble believing that everybody would just put up
with getting less than what is possible and not be able to do anything
to get better connection.
What should I do?
Thanks,
Steve Liu
liu@amarex.com
Product Manager - Amarex Technology Inc.
Phone: (212) 759-0838 Fax: (212) 888-2386
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #110
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Jul 23 22:52:13 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id WAA27299; Thu, 23 Jul 1998 22:52:13 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 22:52:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199807240252.WAA27299@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #111
TELECOM Digest Thu, 23 Jul 98 22:52:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 111
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Re: Payphone Fee on 800 Numbers (Louis M. Taff)
Seattle Man Makes Spammer Pay (Monty Solomon)
Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging (Jack Decker)
Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging (Fred Goldstein)
Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging (Operator)
Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging (John Gilbert)
Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging (P. Stemwedel)
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:
* telecom-request@telecom-digest.org *
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: 847-727-5427
Fax: 847-675-3149
** Article submission address: editor@telecom-digest.org **
Our archives are available for your review/research. The URL is:
http://telecom-digest.org
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
(or use our mirror site: ftp ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives)
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note
to archives@telecom-digest.org 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. *
*************************************************************************
In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order
telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has
been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very
inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request
a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
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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Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing
your name to the mailing list.
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Louis M. Taff <ltaff@att.com>
Subject: Re: Payphone Fee on 800 Numbers
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 12:31:22 -0400
Pat -
I sent this response to a comp.dcom.telecom posting a few weeks ago.
However, I haven't seen it appear, and since I've had some trouble in
past sending mail from my browser, I thought I'd give it another try.
I've emailed the original poster directly, but thought others might be
interested as well.
Lou Taff
Barton Fisher wrote:
> This fee has added almost 30% to our telephone bill. Actually, we
> would perfer not to accept any calls from a payphone. Currently we
> are on four T-1's with WorldCom. They do not (can not or will not)
> offer us blocking. I'm ready to switch to a company that can provide
> this feature.
> Any help out there?
> Bart
I forwarded this posting to people who should know, and I was told that
AT&T offers the ability to block calls from payphones. Email me if you
have a problem ordering this service from AT&T.
Lou Taff: ltaff@att.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 10:04:28 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Seattle Man mMkes Spammer Pay
http://www.seattletimes.com/news/local/html98/spam_071598.html
by Peter Lewis
Seattle Times staff reporter
Chalk one up for the anti-spam forces.
A Seattle man is celebrating a $200 money order he received after
demanding payment from a Salem, Ore., distributor of Tahitian Noni Juice
that pitched the product over the Internet using unsolicited commercial
e-mail, popularly known as spam.
Bruce Miller, a longtime contributor to computer publications, thinks he
may be the first person in the state to collect under Washington's new
anti-spam law, which went into effect June 11. It outlaws unsolicited
commercial e-mail that contains false information about how it moves
across the Internet, which most spam does, experts say.
When Miller received the Noni Juice solicitation last month, he
telephoned the 800 number mentioned in the e-mail.
He asked for more information about the product, which was pitched as a
cure-all, and from Stan Smith, the Salem-based independent distributor,
Miller received a packet in the mail that included an address for
ordering.
Miller then did a bit more research on the distributor, printed out the
original spam, and sent a letter demanding compensation. He cited
Washington's new law, which provides that individuals may recover up to
$500, and Internet Service providers $1,000, or actual damages, for each
piece of unwanted spam.
All told, Miller figures he spent about an hour on his personal
enforcement action.
Miller decided he would settle for $200, figuring it was fair
compensation, and also that the spammer might view it as a reasonable
sum to avoid paying more.
This past weekend, Miller received the $200 money order. It was paid for
by John James of Orange County, Calif., another distributor of Noni
Juice. It was James who came up with the idea of using e-mail to promote
the product.
In a telephone interview last night, James said he paid Miller only
because he wanted to keep Smith "out of trouble" since it wasn't his
idea to use mass e-mailing.
"Bruce Miller was using extortion and blackmail techniques against
Stan," James contended. "If Bruce thinks he's striking a big blow at a
spammer, he's wrong."
James said he paid $99 to send 100,000 e-mails around the country, and
got 20 responses, which more than covered his investment.
"We're just people with part-time jobs trying to make a buck, and that
(the e-mail promotion) was an experiment," he said. Still, James said
that in the future, he'll stick to "safe lists," meaning he'll send only
to recipients who have specifically consented to receive bulk e-mails.
In the meantime, Miller has posted a notice of his victory to an
Internet newsgroup, and in less than 24 hours, he has received more than
two dozen congratulatory messages.
Miller also received congratulations from Washington state Assistant
Attorney General Paula Selis, who pushed for the new law and may be
filing enforcement actions on behalf of consumers.
"To my knowledge, this is the first time it (payment from a spammer) has
happened," Selis said. "It's a fabulous result, and I think it's
empowering to individual recipients (of spam). I hope they take Bruce's
experience as an example and run with it."
Miller said he has about 30 other "demand" letters outstanding to other
spammers, on which he has spent an additional 12 hours or so in
complaint and collection efforts. "I'm sure people will be very happy to
see somebody claim a victory for the Net," he said.
Peter Lewis' phone message number is 206-464-2217. His e-mail address
is: plewis@seattletimes.com
Copyright ) 1998 The Seattle Times Company
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 13:23:55 -0400
From: Jack Decker <jack@novagate.REMOVE-THIS.com>
Subject: Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging
On Fri, 17 Jul 1998 03:49:48 -0400, webmaster@areacode-info.com wrote:
> CHICAGO -- Consumers and businesses in Chicago's numerous area codes
> are being shortchanged by one local phone company's misuse of scarce
> phone numbers, Ameritech is charging in a complaint filed today with
> the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC)
Every so often it's nice to have an example of how a company like
Ameritech can put a spin on something to make it sound like their
position is the right one, even though they're dead wrong. Apparently
they realize that the ICC is going to see through their
interpretation, but they are hoping that the telephone-illiterate
public won't, so they are cranking up the PR machine on this one.
If I'm reading the article correctly, all that the competitors are
doing is offering FX ("Foreign Exchange") service. This is something
that almost all telephone companies, including the baby Bells that
became Ameritech, used to offer through at least the first part of the
70's, and possibly well into the 80's. It was a service where one
could obtain a local line from a distant phone exchange and use it as
though you were actually located in the same city as the exchange
(with no toll charge on calls placed or received via that line).
Generally, you only paid mileage charges on the line, plus some
additional charges for equipment to extend the local loop. What you
did not pay was any kind of per-minute charge.
That all changed sometime in the last couple decades, when Ameritech
discontinued the flat rate FX service in favor of a revised service
with per-minute charges. Those that had the old FX service could in
many cases keep it (and I believe that you can still find
pre-divestiture FX service installed in a few places), but if a
business moved or went out of business, they were migrated to the new
version of FX with per-minute charges attached. Many businesses found
it cheaper to simply place outgoing calls via a discount long distance
service, and receive calls via a Remote Call Forwarding (RCF) line.
Now it appears that one of Ameritech's competitors has discovered that
there is still a desire to purchase the old-style FX service, and if
I'm reading between the lines correctly, that is what they are
offering. Of course Ameritech would hate this because it cuts into
the little local call gouging scheme they have set up in Chicago
(isn't it true that in the metropolitan Chicago area, any call of over
8 miles distance is charged a per-minute rate?). It has absolutely
nothing to do with any shortage of area codes, but that's the only way
they can frame the issue to make their side plausible to the general
public. It has everything to do with Ameritech's Chicagoland cash
cow, which is now being gored.
In any other state, I can't imagine that the PUC would fall for this
for a moment. But Illinois is a very strange state politically, and
if Ameritech has an "in" with the right people, they may be able to
hamstring their competition's efforts temporarily, at least until that
company can appeal to a higher authority. I can't imagine that
Ameritech can make this stick - after all, if a competitor wants to
offer different local calling areas than Ameritech does, or FX lines,
or any other service, it ought to be none of Ameritech's business.
That would be like AT&T telling Sprint that they can't offer free
Fridays because of some trumped-up reason. Once the area code
"shortage" in the Chicago area is relieved (something that probably
won't happen as soon if Ameritech perceives a shortage to be to their
benefit), I'll bet Ameritech tries to come up with some other reason
that their competitors shouldn't offer this service.
This is also exactly why viable local competition is need. As long as
Ameritech is as big and powerful as it is, it can pull these sorts of
shenanigans. They need to learn how to compete fairly, by giving
customers the services they want at a fair and reasonable price. But,
that sort of thinking is apparently simply not in the mindset of
Ameritech executives.
Jack
Michigan telephone users: The next rewrite of the Michigan
Telecommunications Act takes place in 1999! Subscribe to the
MI-Telecom mailing list via the web page at:
http://www.maillist.net/mi-telecom.html
To reply via e-mail, please make the obvious modification to my return
e-mail address.
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging
From: fgoldstein@bbn.NO$LUNCHMEAT.com (Fred R. Goldstein)
Organization: GTE Internetworking - BBN Technologies
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 16:27:00 GMT
In article <telecom18.107.1@telecom-digest.org>, webmaster@areacode-
info.com says ...
> Ameritech charges that Chicago-based Focal Communications is skirting
> the operating rules for the use of possibly hundreds of thousands of
> phone numbers in the state and violating its interconnection agreement
> with Ameritech by incorrectly billing calls made to Focal's customers.
Ameritech has been on a bender, trying to screw CLECs out of their
reciprocal compensation payments due on ISP-bound calls. This is just
another Big Lie in their campaign. It's almost libelous against Focal
and the dozens of other CLECs -- and possibly a few ILECs -- who do
the same thing.
....
> According to Ameritech's complaint, Focal's "Virtual Office" offering
> ties up Chicago area numbers, and "improperly manipulates" the phone
> numbering system, giving phone numbers in suburban area codes to Focal
> customers elsewhere.
....
> But in Focal's scheme, the local numbers are typically assigned to
> business locations in downtown Chicago. When an employee of those
> companies, working from home, calls what would appear to be a "local"
> phone number in the outlying suburbs -- such as Schaumburg or Aurora
> -- the call is actually sent to an office location miles away in
> Chicago, thereby tying up a phone number that could be assigned to
> customers in those suburban areas.
What Focal is doing is offering a form of Foreign Exchange service.
This is something Ameritech has been doing forever. What makes it
different is that Focal, like almost every other CLEC, doesn't have
separate switches in every little town. They have one switch in
Chicago which serves the whole region. In general, CLECs operate that
way, with one switch (or a small number) per region. Since they're
not delivering analog loops *directly* from those switches, this works
well.
If a CLEC wants to deliver analog lines to a bulk business customer
(eg, Centrex) or to a mix of customers in an area, they typically put
a multiplexor in that area, perhaps in a telco colo cage (to use ILEC
loops) or on site. They get LOCAL numbers for that location, either
their own prefix or, more recently, ported pre-existing numbers (Local
Number Portability). They can stick these muxes (also called DLC,
SLC) anywhere, for hundreds of miles, where they have bandwidth.
Remember, they CANNOT put switches in telco colo rooms (not allowed),
and usually CANNOT run voice-frequency analog lines from their
switches into telco colo cages, even if they wanted to! They mux lots
of sites onto one switch. THEREFORE the CLEC metropolitan switch has
a LOT of prefix codes on it, based on the areas it serves.
Now, let's say a company, say, Sears, decides it wants to have dial-in
"telecommuter" service. If they went to Ameritech, Ameritech would
run FX lines (usually over T1s) back to the COs they were serving. So
besides their downtown location, they might pay intra-LATA FX mileage
(usually around $20/mile/T1) to get numbers local to other places.
(Ameritech-IL only has an 8-mile local radius.) A Kankakee number
pays mileage to the Kankakee switch.
But by using Focal, they connect to the same switch, and simply assign
a Kankakee number in addition to the Chicago number. No FX mileage,
since it's the same switch, though Focal has to connect its switch to
the same Bell (Ameritech) tandem that Ameritech's Kankakee CO connects
to. In other words, CLEC metropolitan switches do FX more cheaply
(not a tariff artifact, but really cheaper) than ILEC switches.
Focal has a "full house" of prefix codes in Ameritech's Chicago LATA.
That means that they have as many prefix codes as it takes to be local
(within 8 miles) of every Ameritech exchange. They all come back to
one switch. And they AGGREGATE these prefix codes onto the same hunt
group, so 312-abc-9876 for Chicago Loop and 773-def-9876 for
Chicago-Kedzie and 847-ghi-9876 for Waukegan, etc., all point to the
same lines. This is wonderful for dial-in pools. Lots of ISPs have
moved to Focal, as have other businesses.
And number aggregation is what CLECs do everywhere. MFS/UUNET all
over. PacWest all over CA. GlobalNAPs and XCOM in Massachusetts and
soon elsewhere. Brooks all over. Phone Michigan out of Flint. Lots
of others. Many prefix codes on one switch, so it's local to
everybody.
And it's what some ILECs do! PacBell for years has had "San Francisco"
rate center numbers in their suburban switches, so they could provide
FX without hauling the calls all the way. GTE has "Fairfax" prefix
codes in its Dulles, VA switch, so airport-area subscribers can have
local-to-Metro-DC numbers without having to get them from Bell COs.
SNET even has its own "full house" service now in Connecticut, where
12 well-selected prefix codes are aggregated for statewide coverage.
This not only pleases the ISP subscribers, but it takes all that
"pesky" ISP traffic off of the local COs, some of which weren't, after
all, sized for heavy incoming loads, but just happen to be local to
the right places.
So far as I know, number aggregation (combining FX prefixes onto one
line) was actually pioneered in the UK, by Energis, a few years ago.
They map dozens of local numbers onto your selected ports. No LATAs
there to deal with, either.
Number conservation is important. Number portability and
prefix-sharing should be implemented, to allow CLECs to have local
numbers wherever they want them without wasting entire prefixes.
Focal is only doing what they have to do under today's inefficient
rules. But that's not what Ameritech is upset about. They just don't
like competition. Period.
Fred R. Goldstein k1io fgoldstein"at"bbn.com
GTE Internetworking - BBN Technologies,
Cambridge MA USA +1 617 873 3850
Opinions are mine alone; sharing requires permission.
------------------------------
From: Operator <operator@kray.com>
Subject: Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging
Date: 23 Jul 1998 15:23:50 GMT
Organization: KRAY Consulting
Does everyone here realize who Focal's primary customers are? And
ILLEGAL is a strong statement to make ... they found and use a
loophole in the 'rules' to OUR BENEFIT. Their primary customers are
ISPs. Without them your costs would go from the typical
$10-$15/mo back to $30-$45/mo that it used to be years ago. So
companies in downtown Chicago have remote POP's in the 708, 630, 847,
and 815 area codes supplying customers IN THOSE SAME AREA CODES. So
what?
Another area code in 847? I don't doubt it. Don't have a problem with
it. I have a problem with Ameritech not being able to implement a
overlay area code properly so that anything in my 847 dialed from area
code can be dialed as seven digits and anything else as the standard 11
digits. Confusing? No more so that it has already become in dealing
with 815 (a lot of LOCAL calls to there for me from here, some to
Focal lines :), even some 708 numbers are local. Some 815 is long
distance. Most of 708, 312, 773, and 630 are local toll. What's one
more area code in the area when you think about it? OVERLAY IT ALREADY!
I would have NO PROBLEM getting a another line in XYZ area code or
calling my neighbor 11 digits (and knowing it's local). It a switch
programming nightmare that they are worried about and avoiding.
Sounds to me like Ameritech just doesn't like some healthy STRONG
competition!
This email address is used for posting purposes ONLY. Incoming email
is NOT allowed here and doing so will cause your IP block to be denied
at the router level for future connections (PAT @ the telecom digest
excluded of course :). If you have something to share post it.
------------------------------
From: johng@comm.mot.com (John Gilbert)
Subject: Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 17:56:07 -0500
Organization: Motorola LMPS
> But in Focal's scheme, the local numbers are typically assigned to
> business locations in downtown Chicago. When an employee of those
> companies, working from home, calls what would appear to be a "local"
> phone number in the outlying suburbs -- such as Schaumburg or Aurora
> -- the call is actually sent to an office location miles away in
> Chicago, thereby tying up a phone number that could be assigned to
> customers in those suburban areas.
Gee, isn't this what used to be done by the telcos using "Foreign Exchange
Service?" Doesn't Ameritech now provide an identical service to the "Focal
Scheme" using call forwarding setup at the time of the order without any
physical telephone line to the suburban customer's telephone?
Sounds to me like a very poor attempt at squashing competition from the
little guy ...
John Gilbert | Motorola Land Mobile Products Sector IL02/2523
KA4JMC | Private Trunked Systems
johng@comm.mot.com | 1301 East Algonquin Road, Schaumburg, IL 60196
------------------------------
From: Peter Stemwedel <pete@interaccess.com>
Subject: Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 18:44:59 +0000
Organization: InterAccess Co.
Blake Droke wrote:
> I'm wondering, how does this differ from the Remote Call Forward
> service that has been available for years, from both CLECs and ILECs?
> Take for an example in my area (Memphis, TN), many, many businesses in
> Olive Branch, MS (about 14 mi. southeast of downtown Memphis) have RCF
> numbers from the Memphis Main central office. Olive Branch is a long
> distance call for most Memphis telephone customers, but most businesses
> there get RCF numbers in the Memphis Main exchange.
I believe Ameritech claim may be that they have a switch physically
located in each call center; Focal only has one switch. Of course
every time you order a T1 with riders from Ameritech they assign a
separate number for each DS0. Focal only has one number assigned to
each hunt group. (I'm not sure if that's a function of them using a
DMS500 rather than a 5E or not, but even with a T1 terminating into a
Nortel from Ameritech they assign 24 numbers to it.)
Peter
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #111
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Jul 23 23:37:08 1998
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Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
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Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 23:37:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199807240337.XAA29315@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #112
TELECOM Digest Thu, 23 Jul 98 23:37:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 112
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Pacific Bell to Hang up on Firms That Cram Bills (Tad Cook)
PacBell, MCI May Get Unprecedented Contract (Monty Solomon)
Manhattan Telephone Problems Looking for Solutions (John Sanders)
Book Review: "Killer Whale", Elizabeth Quinn (Rob Slade)
Radio Commercial Promotes Toll-Free 877 (Mark J. Cuccia)
UCLA Short Course: Digital Signal Processing for Cellular (Bill Goodin)
Ameritech's New Call Screening Service (David Sorkin)
AOL Reveals User Name in Court Case (Monty Solomon)
Long Distance Joke (Monty Solomon)
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Pacific Bell to hang up on firms that cram bills
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 08:17:42 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By Stephen Buel
Mercury News Staff Writer
Pacific Bell no longer will provide billing services for 20 companies
accused of bilking thousands of consumers by charging them for
telecommunications services they didn't order.
The suspensions were among a series of steps Pac Bell announced
Wednesday in response to a new phone-industry campaign against the
practice known as "cramming." A growing problem for local phone
companies, cramming occurs when unscrupulous businesses load up
consumer's phone bills with fraudulent charges.
Heeding a plea from the nation's top telephone regulator, the regional
Bells and other local phone companies unveiled voluntary guidelines
Wednesday to combat the phantom charges. The guidelines, which Pac
Bell generally plans to follow, should help keep unauthorized or
indecipherable charges off consumers' bills.
At least a half-million California consumers, and probably many more,
are thought to have received bills for services they never ordered --
although there are no good estimates of cramming's pervasiveness. Many
customers don't study their phone bills long enough to detect these
renegade charges, which industry officials say frequently result from
deceptive phone pitches or bogus sweepstakes entry forms.
"It's obviously extremely lucrative for it to have become such a big
deal in such a short amount of time," Pac Bell spokesman Stevan Allen
said.
The genesis of the problem is the federal requirement that
telecommunications companies be permitted to bill their customers on
the local phone company's monthly bill -- a change aimed at promoting
competition. For Pac Bell, this requirement has produced billing
relationships with hundreds of communications and information
companies, from long-distance titans like AT&T and Sprint to tiny
local firms offering paging, voice-mail, Internet access, and even
phone-sex services.
The 20 businesses booted by Pac Bell were of the smaller sort -- so
small, in fact, that the phone company required them to submit their
bills through a separate billing clearing house, Allen said. As a
result, Pac Bell didn't have a contractual relationship with any of
the firms, and in some cases it didn't even know their locations.
Allen said Pac Bell is renegotiating its contracts with such clearing
houses to give it a better picture of what kinds of services it's
billing consumers for.
Identities withheld
Pac Bell declined to identify the 20 companies, citing company policy
and the possible legal ramifications involved with publicly accusing
the alleged crammers of fraud.
"With the competitive landscape being the way it is, we are extremely
sensitive to any accusations that this is anti-competitive," Allen said.
"We have tried to work with companies throughout."
Allen said the firms generally were providers of services for which
there were monthly fees, such as psychic hotlines, debit cards and
calling cards. All of the firms also generated a high volume of
customer complaints or requests for refunds, he said.
In many cases, Allen noted, the products or services were completely
unrelated to telecommunications. Pacific Bell will no longer bill for any
service with regular -- and often questionable -- monthly fees, he said.
Wilson Lewis, chief of enforcement for the consumer services division of
the California Public Utility Commission, said fraudulent charges often
turn up under official-sounding names.
For instance, the acronym FTC, which consumers might reasonably take to be
the Federal Trade Commission, was actually the acronym of accused crammer
Future Telephone Communications. While not necessarily on the list of
companies Pac Bell will no longer do business with, the firm was convicted
of defrauding consumers in Southern California, Lewis said.
"It's a problem that we're very concerned about," Lewis said. "It's
probably the most out-of-control problem that we have right now in the
enforcement branch."
In perhaps the most far-reaching charge of cramming yet reported in
California, PUC officials recently raided the offices of Coral
Communications, a Florida firm that Lewis said has been accused of
cheating about 500,000 consumers out of a total of $5 million.
The push to come up with an industrywide response began with an April 22
letter by William Kennard, chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission. In that letter, and again in a May 20 workshop, Kennard urged
the telecommunications industry to develop a set of voluntary guidelines to
help solve the problem.
The guidelines announced Wednesday call on phone companies to screen the
products and services that companies bill consumers for, verify that
consumers actually have authorized the services they're charged for and
provide enough billing detail for consumers to recognize and dispute
questionable charges. Consumers also should be provided the option of
controlling whether third parties have billing access to the phone bill.
Industry task force
The recommendations came from an industry task force that included
representatives of GTE Corp. and Pac Bell's parent company, SBC
Communications Inc. A GTE spokeswoman said Wednesday that many of the
guidelines originated with her company, which largely plans to abide by
them. In the Bay Area, GTE provides local phone service in Los Gatos and
Morgan Hill.
The PUC's Wilson praised the steps taken Wednesday by Pac Bell.
"What they're doing is welcome here," he said. "It's not going to cure
cramming, but it's a step in the right direction."
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: PacBell, MCI May Get Unprecedented Contract
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 14:52:43 -0400
BY KAREN KAPLAN AND ELIZABETH DOUGLASS
Los Angeles Times
California is poised to hand over its statewide phone system to a team
made up of Pacific Bell and MCI, giving the companies a $1-billion
contract that for the first time would privatize the government's
telecommunications network, according to sources familiar with the
decision.
The contract, put out for bid last fall, would provide government
employees with a range of services, including 300,000 phone lines,
long-distance service, data transmission, Internet access, calling
cards and video conferencing.
Officials from the California Department of General Services and the
state Department of Information Technology will announce the winner of
the 10-year contract Tuesday morning in Sacramento.
The phone network will replace CalNET, an in-house system the
Department of General Services has run for the state since 1991. If
CalNET were an independent business, it would be the third-largest
phone company in California.
By buying telecommunications services from private companies, the
state hopes to save millions of dollars a year and avoid paying for
costly equipment upgrades. Privatizing the phone network was one of
the major recommendations proposed by Gov. Pete Wilson's Task Force on
Government Technology.
``This is going to save a great deal of money -- the California
taxpayer will be very happy with our announcement,'' said Pete Dufore,
a spokesman for the General Services Department. ``Running a telephone
system as large as this one with all the new technology is not
necessarily the core competency of the state government.''
The MCI-PacBell team bested rival bids from long-distance giant AT&T
and local phone company GTE. GTE led the team that built CalNET in the
early 1990s and currently operates the network as a subcontractor to
the state.
State government officials would not identify the winning bidders late
Monday. PacBell declined to discuss the announcement, and MCI and GTE
spokesmen said they did not know who had won the contract. AT&T could
not be reached.
The deal is likely to be challenged in court, as is often the case
with big-money contracts. Equipment-maker NEC America, ousted early in
the bidding process, is said to among those planning to fight the pact
in court.
As part of the deal, MCI and Pacific Bell would essentially buy
CalNET's physical assets. The companies would then invest in the
network to upgrade switches and other key elements, said Dana
Hoelzel,, assistant director of the State and Consumer Services
Agency.
When the contract ends, the two companies would own the network. After
seven years, the state can again put the contract out to bid.
Some observers have questioned the legality of the deal, citing a
prohibition on the sale of state assets without first gaining approval
from the legislature.
Dufore said the transfer is legal. ``This has been gone over by our
legal folks, and they feel that we're doing everything well within the
spirit and the letter of the law,'' he said.
In addition to benefiting from lower rates, the state will be relieved
of $25 million in equipment debt and will no longer need to spend $10
million to relocate switches from buildings that have been damaged by
earthquakes.
The fate of the GTE employees now working on CalNET is unclear, but
officials said state employees will not lose their jobs.
``However, their duties may change a little bit.'' Dufore said.
One state telecommunications systems analyst, who asked not to be
identified, said many CalNET employees are worried that they may be
transferred to non-telecommunications positions.
The employee also questioned the wisdom of selling off the state's
network now that it has become self-sufficient after years of losses.
The 35,000 state employees who use the phone network will not notice
any difference, because the changes will affect only behind-the-scenes
telecommunications equipment. Tens of thousands of workers at cities,
counties, schools and other institutions around the state use the
phone system as well.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 19:26:19 -0400
From: John Sanders <dejola@computer.net>
Reply-To: dejola@computer.net
Subject: Manhattan Telephone Problems Looking for Solutions
Organization: Computer.Net
I oversee our telephone system in an office of roughly 60 people in
Manhattan. I am not a trained telecommunications professional. We have
a Rolm 9200 phone system and an Octel Overture 250 voice mail
system. Our local carrier is Bell Atlantic and our long distance
carrier is Frontier.
Lately we have been plagued by sporadic problems completing calls,
some of them local and others long distance. In addition we have had
incoming problems. We have 16 DID trunks. Outside callers have
reported they dial a direct dial number and the phone just rings and
rings, or they receive busy signals, even though we later learn the
intended recipient has been by his or her phone and off the
phone. Sometimes when someone answers a phone they hear harsh
intermittent buzzing.
We usually call our phone vendor and a tech comes by usually within 24
hours and either finds a problem or tells us its a Bell Atlantic
problem, at which time we turn the job over to Bell Atlantic. Sometimes
we find out from Bell Atlantic that one or more (as many as eight
recently) of our DID trunks are down (not blinking). Then our vendor
talks to Bell Atlantic and reseats one or both of our DID trunks,
which clears the problem and the formerly down trunks are blinking
again in the central office. Case closed ... until next time. And lately
there is always a next time.
Other instances have occurred where we have found that on an intermittent
basis we cannot make outgoing calls. With our system when you pick up
the phone you randomly grab a c.o. line, one of 16. If the line you
grab happens to be bad you go no where -- dead air. Eventually,
if you're lucky, you grab a good line and complete your call. In these
kinds of problems techs, both our vendor and Bell Atlantic, have found
loose or disconnected pairs at demarcs either in our phone room forty
floors above street level, or in the building's basement phone room
which is said by techs to be a mess, a crow's nest with a gaggle of
wires and cables, many in need, they say, of rehabilitation.
I'm wondering what happens that can make our DID trunks go down and
necessitate their being reseated. One Bell Atlantic tech told me that
our building's DID trunks are very fragile and the slightest line noise
or other anomoly can cause them to go down. He also said Bell Atlantic
had been doing some badly needed rehabing in that basement phone space
but they were pulled off the job because Bell Atlantic started getting
so many trouble calls from the building's tenants, including us.
How these pairs keep getting loose or disconnected is another mystery.
Does anyone have any comments or know how one can get to the bottom of
the recurring problems so that we can enjoy reliable telephone service
on a sustained basis?
Some in our office say we need a new phone system. Others say we need a
different local carrier. Still others feel we need to hold Bell
Atlantic's feet to the fire and demand that they do what they have to do
to fix the problems permanentely
I will be most grateful to hear from you.
Thanks,
John
------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 10:07:18 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "Killer Whale", Elizabeth Quinn
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKKLRWHL.RVW 980519
"Killer Whale", Elizabeth Quinn, 1997, 0-671-52770-3, U$5.99/C$7.99
%A Elizabeth Quinn ebarnard@magick.net www.magick.net/~ebarnard
%C 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
%D 1997
%G 0-671-52770-3
%I Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books
%O U$5.99/C$7.99 +1-212-698-7541
%P 241 p.
%T "Killer Whale"
This book was *not* supposed to make it into the series. After all,
how many mysteries set in America's last frontier and with a strong
environmental emphasis do you expect to have some technical content?
But it does, and the content is very good, at that. Email is used
effectively and realistically, even to the point of being able to
retrieve your email from a variety of computers. Some of the plot
turns on the recovery of files that have been deleted. The one
instance of data corruption is just a *tad* too convenient, and
UNDELETE is not the only means of recovering data, but in comparison
to most other mysteries and thrillers that have touched on computers
this gets a very strong nine out of ten. The fact that the author has
both an email address *and* a Web site comes as no surprise.
Looking at other aspects of the work, the characters are very
sympathetic and attractive. Background is solid, and backed up with a
bibliography at the end of the text. (I was just a bit surprised that
net references were not present.) The plotting is interesting and
well paced. (I did figure out whodunnit about two thirds of the way
through, but what do you expect from a professional paranoid?)
I very much enjoyed it, I liked the fact that the computer content
didn't make serious errors, and being able to put it into the series
is a bonus.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKKLRWHL.RVW 980519
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 19:11:52 CDT
From: Mark J Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Radio Commercial Promotes Toll-Free 877
I've started hearing a new nationally produced radio commercial,
mostly on network/national programs on the ABC Radio Network's
Dallas-based Satellite Music Network, promoting the new NANP
Toll-Free SAC-NPA 877.
The commercial is 'generic' in nature -- i.e., it doesn't
promote any specific Long Distance nor Local telco. All it does
is 'generically' inform the listening public that there is now
a _third_ toll-free area code in use (in the NANP), 877, in
addition to 800 and the recently (just shortly over two years
ago) introduced 888 toll-free area codes.
The 'tag-line' mentions that the commercial was sponsored by
"SMS/800". SMS (if I remember right) is the "Service Management
System", which is the 'top-level' administration/maintenance
body for NANP-based toll-free (800/888/877/future) numbers.
I think that either Lockheed-Martin Toll-Free's NASC body (Number
Assignment Service Center) or Bellcore's DSMI subsidiary (Data
Base Service Management Inc) presently is the "SMS/800" body.
(But I'm not 100% certain _who_ actually 'owns' the SMS, though.)
Now if the telco/carrier industry could have a generic radio/TV/
print commerical or advertisement mentioning that there are new
area codes when the permissive date gets close, or during the
permissive dialing period. Such an "industry" sponsored commercial
or advertisement could also be 'generic', carrier-neutral.
MARK_J._CUCCIA__PHONE/WRITE/WIRE/CABLE:__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: Bill Goodin <bgoodin@unex.ucla.edu>
Subject: UCLA Short Course: "Digital Signal Processing for Cellular
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 17:45:46 -0700
On October 19-21, 1998, UCLA Extension will present the short course,
"Digital Signal Processing for Cellular Mobile Wireless
Communications" on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles.
The instructors are Zoran I. Kostic, PhD, Member of the Technical
Staff, AT&T Bell Laboratories; and Babak Daneshrad, PhD, Assistant
Professor, Electrical Engineering, UCLA.
This course describes the application of digital signal processing to
several practical cellular systems now deployed or to be deployed in
the future. Basics of digital signal processing theory and cellular
wireless communications systems are presented, followed by examples of
TDMA and CDMA-based systems that describe step-by-step implementation
of transceiver functions and subsystems. Architectures, algorithms,
and software and hardware designs are presented, and algorithms used
for physical layer transceivers are described, such as pulse shaping,
synchronization, demodulation, equalization, interference rejection,
and error correction coding.
Floating point and fixed point issues are addressed as well, along
with C-code and DSP assembly code designs. Lectures discuss the use
of digital signal processors, ASICs and micro-controllers, including
partitioning functions into the hardware. Hardware interfaces,
interrupt structures, process flows, and sw/hw timing are addressed,
and aspects of the course are devoted to the application of simulation
tools for communications system design and performance evaluation,
along with the use of digital signal processing in system-level
simulations. One section of the course is devoted to the presentation
of digital signal processing algorithms and techniques that are
candidates for application in third-generation mobile wireless
communications systems.
The course fee is $1195, which includes extensive course materials.
The course materials are for participants only, and are not for sale.
For additional information and a complete course description, please
contact Marcus Hennessy at:
(310) 825-1047
(310) 206-2815 fax
mhenness@unex.ucla.edu
http://www.unex.ucla.edu/shortcourses/
This course may also be presented on-site at company locations.
------------------------------
From: David Sorkin <david@sork.com>
Subject: Ameritech's New Call Screening Service
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 08:18:09 -0500
Organization: MCSNet Services
This notice appeared in my Ameritech bill (local residential phone
service) dated July 7, 1998:
CALLER ID USERS CAN SCREEN OUT UNWANTED CALLS WITH PRIVACY MANAGER
Ameritech will begin offering our new Privacy Manager with SalesScreener
to Cller ID users, on a phased-in basis, starting July 14, 1998. This
service protects your privacy by requiring callers to announce their
name on calls marked "private", "out-of-area" or "unavailable" on your
Caller ID display. You can then choose to answer or ignore the call.
The SalesScreener feature lets you send a pre-recorded message to
telemarketers informing them that you do not buy from telemarketers
and legally requesting that your name be removed from their calling
list.
With Privacy Manager, you can protect your privacy at home by keeping
telemarketers and unwanted calls from disturbing you. Privacy Manager
with SalesScreener is just $3.95 per month, plus the monthly rate for
Caller ID with Name. Order before August 13, 1998 and receive free
installation. To subscribe or for more information, call us at
1-800-244-4444. Some restrictions apply. Not available in all areas.
-----
[Ameritech charges $8/month for Caller ID with Name.]
I called Ameritech's 800 number on July 15 and was told that the new
Privacy Manager service was not yet available, and had been delayed
because it wasn't ready. The representative couldn't pull up any
other information about the service on his computer screen. He
mentioned "anonymous call rejection" but implied that Privacy Manager
is something slightly different -- perhaps because it gives the
caller a chance to get the call put through.
I believe I've heard that a similar service may be available in
California or elsewhere. Can anyone who's used such a service (one
offered by a phone company, not a Radio Shack plug-in device that
does something similar) address these questions?
- Can the service distinguish between an intentionally blocked
number (e.g., a telemarketer hiding behind a Centrex system,
or a harasser who blocks Caller ID on a per-call basis) and
a caller whose phone isn't capable of sending Caller ID data
(e.g., a cellular phone user)?
- How does the caller "announce" his or her name -- by speaking
it to a computer (as in a collect call), or by typing in his
or her own phone number? Based upon what the Ameritech rep's
supervisor guessed, the former is true, and then the computer
rings the called party and asks whether he or she wants to
accept the call. How much of a delay is introduced by this
process (for both caller and called party)?
- If one frequently receives both "good" and "bad" calls without
Caller ID data, does the burden this service would place on the
"good" callers outweigh the relief from the "bad" callers?
David Sorkin
http://www.sork.com/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 00:12:00 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: AOL Reveals User Name in Court Case
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_smgraph_display/0,3441,2120868,00.html
By Michael Fitzgerald,
ZDNN
July 18, 1998 11:39 AM PT
In a case that may stifle free speech online, America Online Inc. has
provided the real identity of one of its users to the Orange County
Register, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
The Times reported that AOL has revealed to the Register the identity of
a user who ran a Web site devoted to the Santa Ana, Calif. paper. The
site featured anonymously submitted rumors, gossip and complaints about
the paper, the Times said, and was run by an AOL subscriber who used
"Slave4OCR" as a tag. The Times said the site had been taken down this
past Wednesday.
The Times said AOL (NYSE:AOL) released the name on Tuesday, after it was
subpoenaed by Freedom Communications Inc., an Irvine, Calif. company
that owns the Register. Freedom has filed a trademark infringement suit
against two "John Doe" defendants for running a site called the "Orange
County unRegistered Press," the Times said.
AOL notified "Slave4OCR" that it would reveal its owner's identity to
Freedom, the Times said.
The Times quoted legal experts as saying they were concerned that the
suit might result in the limit of First Amendment rights on the
Internet, and noted that it was ironic that a news organization of the
libertarian bent of the Register could be responsible for this.
Unlike a recent case where a customer service representative gave the
U.S. Navy the name of a user, which then resulted in the beginning of a
nasty court case. The Times said Freedom obtained the name by using a
loophole in AOL's terms of service policy. AOL says that it will release
a member's personal information to comply with a valid legal process,
such as a search warrant, subpoena or court order. Once notified, AOL
contacts the targeted member and alerts him of the legal action, the
paper said.
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Long Distance Joke
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1998 12:44:22 -0400
http://www.arrgh.pair.com/jokes/files/joke9522.htm
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #112
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Jul 28 23:47:03 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id XAA04748; Tue, 28 Jul 1998 23:47:03 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 23:47:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199807290347.XAA04748@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #114
TELECOM Digest Tue, 28 Jul 98 23:47:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 114
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Fleet Bank Requires 900 Number to Verify Funds (Phil Leonard)
How to Fix Erroneous Pay-Phone Surcharges? (keith@tcsi.com)
Re: The Ultimate Long-Distance Combo Deal (H. Peter Anvin)
Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging (Ed Ellers)
TCG Applauds Federal Court Decision for ISP Traffic (areacode-info.com)
900 MHz Phone to Laptop Modem ... How? (Samir Agarwal)
Pocketalk, Pocket-Sized Portable Answering Machine (Mike Pollock)
424 Mandatory 11 Digit Dialing Starts Early - For GTE (Robert L. McMillin)
Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections (Dave Perrussel)
Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections (Melvin Klassen)
Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections (Mats Wichmann)
Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections (Thomas P. Brisco)
Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections (Reed)
Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections (Tony Pelliccio)
Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections (Steve Sobol)
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: pleonard@newsguy.com (Phil Leonard)
Subject: Fleet Bank Requires 900 Number to Verify Funds
Date: Tue, 28Jul 1998 23:21:34 GMT
Organization: S.P.O.T.D. http://extra.newsguy.com/~pleonard
An "interesting" problem occurred at work yesterday. I had to verify
funds on a returned check that was drawn on Fleet Bank in
Boston. After wading through a slew of menu options, there was no
option for a non-Fleet customer trying to verify funds, so after
listening to about 15 different options, I was instructed to dial "0"
for customer assistance. After being put on hold and listening to some
silly commercials for another 5 minutes, an operator tells me I have
to dial a 900 number to verify the check. Once I heard 900, I of
course asked, "How much?" and I was told that a $2 US charge would
appear on my phone bill. Since this was a $6500 check, it was worth
it.
Problem is, that our company (as most companies do) had blocked all
900 outgoing calls. After dialing "900" failed, and no one in our
company could do anything about it, I used an employee's cell
phone. For some reason that was blocked as well once I hit "900". I
vaguely remembered that we did have a Fleet account somewhere during
my "futile frustration" and went through the whole set of menu options
again finding the number to enter for Fleet Bank customers verifying a
customer's check, and was simply asked (by computer) for our Fleet
account number (no other verification whatsoever) in order to waive
the $2 charge. Of course the check was still no good after all of
this.
Thoughts include what an absolute waste of time (certainly more than
$2 of my time) and what an inconvenience for a non-Fleet bank customer
and why wasn't this 900 option available in the original menu and
banks are really starting to rip off the public and don't these sort
of decisions ever get made after talking to the ultimate users?
etc. etc. Simply amazing.
------------------------------
From: remove_this_part_to_email_keith@tcsi.com
Subject: How to Fix Erroneous Pay-Phone Surcharges?
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 18:51:16 GMT
Organization: NetVista Info Corp
I have an ongoing problem with payphone surcharges for calling card
calls from a particular phone which is *not* a payphone. I'm pretty
sure that this is due to an erroneous database at the local telco
(Bell South), but getting it fixed has proved intractable. Nobody at
Bell South seems to know how their system flags pay phone-originated
calls when they are delivered to the long-distance network, or even
that such a system exists. Given that fact, it's not surprising that
they can't identify the trouble.
Are there any magic words that I need to use to describe this problem,
or a special department that I need to ask for?
Keith Jarett
jarettk "at" aval.com
Please edit my email address when replying
------------------------------
From: hpa@transmeta.com (H. Peter Anvin)
Subject: Re: The Ultimate Long-Distance Combo Deal
Date: 28 Jul 1998 03:27:16 GMT
Organization: Transmeta Corporation, Santa Clara CA
Reply-To: hpa@transmeta.com (H. Peter Anvin)
Followup to: <telecom18.110.2@telecom-digest.org>
By author: jarettk@removethis.aval.com
In newsgroup: comp.dcom.telecom
> What if you make a lot of international calls, and you'd really like
> to get better rates? Easy: just guesstimate your $40 worth of calls
> using Sprint, then switch to another service. The one I've found is
> Quest Communications, at (800) 466-0116. They use IP telephony on
> their own fiber optic backbone. There's a slight delay, similar to
> that of a satellite hop.
> Quest will sign you up without changing your default carrier (you
> didn't forget the PIC freeze, right?) and you just dial 1010056 in
> front of your international calls. Their rates to Europe are 40%
> below Sprint's, and their Caribbean rates are simply amazing. No, I
> don't have any affiliation with Quest.
Here is a carrier I have tried with reasonable success:
Telegroup, Inc. http://www.tgld.com/
Their rates to some specific countries (e.g. UK, Sweden, Australia)
are *very* good compared to the Big Three ($0.12, $0.14, $0.16
respectively); these probably reflect the countries they have their
own wires into, I would guess.
I use their auxilliary service (dial an 800 number, like a calling
card.) Their chief disadvantage (besides the problems I had getting
subscribed to their service in the first place) seems to be a high
rate of disconnects; and it seems a call is *always* terminated
shortly after 90 minutes. To me, this is mostly a nuisance, but I
probably would not recommend them for business use (making a customer
think you hung up on them can be expensive!)
I have no affiliation with Telegroup except as a mostly satisfied
customer.
-hpa
PGP: 2047/2A960705 BA 03 D3 2C 14 A8 A8 BD 1E DF FE 69 EE 35 BD 74
See http://www.zytor.com/~hpa/ for web page and full PGP public key
I am Bahai -- ask me about it or see http://www.bahai.org/
"To love another person is to see the face of God." -- Les Miserables
------------------------------
From: Ed Ellers <kd4awq@iname.com>
Subject: Re: Ameritech Charges Illinois Competitor With Bootlegging
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 23:50:49 -0400
Organization: EarthLink Network, Inc.
Blake Droke wrote:
"I'm wondering, how does this differ from the Remote Call Forward
service that has been available for years, from both CLECs and ILECs?"
The difference is that RCF and FX are both based on the use of a CO
*in the desired area.*
Here's another good example -- a company in Louisville, Kentucky, that
does a lot of business with Fort Knox might want to have either RCF or
FX to provide a local phone number in Radcliff. If they do it through
the ILEC the call goes to a CO in Frankfort and then is either
forwarded, or transported, from there to the customer's real CO and
then to the customer. If the customer makes a call to Fort Knox on
the FX line that call is transported to the Radcliff CO and then
handled in the usual way in that area.
Now here's the tricky part. If a hundred Louisville companies each
have RCF or FX in Radcliff through the ILEC, that will consume a
hundred numbers in whatever NXX(s) they are in, since the ILEC already
has a CO there. If, however, a facilities-based CLEC starts providing
FX-to-Radcliff to Louisville customers using a Louisville switch --
without going through an existing switch in Radcliff -- they will need
an entire NXX of their own (10,000 numbers) in Radcliff to do it
whether or not they're actually providing local service in Radcliff.
If Focal is really using a block of 10,000 numbers to serve a few
hundred lines in a given suburb, I'd say that's a waste. But if they
are in fact providing local service in a real way in the suburban
areas involved, then that would be very different.
------------------------------
Reply-To: areacode-info.com webmaster <webmaster@areacode-info.com>
From: areacode-info.com webmaster <webmaster@areacode-info.com>
Subject: TCG Applauds Federal Court Decision for ISP Traffic
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 05:08:19 -0400
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 22, 1998--
Ameritech Must Comply With Its Illinois Contracts
Teleport Communications Group Inc. (TCG/NASDAQ: TCGI) today
applauded the decision of a federal court judge finding that Ameritech
must resume paying TCG compensation for terminating local calls to
Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The federal court affirmed the
earlier decision of the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) requiring
Ameritech to comply with its contracts and pay TCG for use of its
facilities. Ameritech paid TCG compensation for such calls for months,
but unilaterally ceased making these payments in July of 1997. This
case was initiated by a TCG complaint to the ICC.
"We are pleased that Judge David H. Coar affirmed the ICC decision
and reached the same conclusion as two other federal courts, one state
court and 19 state public utility commissions: local telephone calls
from a consumer to an ISP are just that, local telephone calls," said
Madelon Kuchera, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for TCG's
Central Region. "We hope that this decision will encourage Ameritech
to honor its contracts and pay us for the call termination we provide
to Ameritech."
Teleport Communications Group is the nation's first and largest
Competitive Local Telecommunications Carrier (CLEC), using both
fiber-optic and broadband wireless service to provide
information-intensive businesses with an array of advanced local and
long distance voice, data, video and Internet services. TCG currently
operates in 83 major markets. On January 8, 1998, AT&T and TCG agreed
to merge in a transaction that at the close of business that day was
valued at $11.3 billion. The agreement is subject to state and federal
regulatory approval. For more information on TCG, visit its website at
www.tcg.com.
------------------------------
From: samir@tcsi.com (Samir Agarwal)
Subject: 900 MHz Phone to Laptop Modem ... How?
Date: 28 Jul 1998 22:53:50 GMT
Organization: TCSI, Berkeley, California
Hi,
I have done my rounds of CompUSA and Radio Shack without any luck and
decided to seek shelter in this newsgroup.
I have a 900MHz cordless phone. The handset has an opening where you
can plug in a headset jack (like the ones you see on walkman
headphones).
I am looking for a cable whose one end is a jack such as the headset's
and the other a regular phone jack (RJ11?). I can plug the phone jack
into the laptop modem and then I could move with my laptop and phone
anywhere in the house with no (phone) strings attached.
Radio Shack tells me that such things are not made and not
feasible. Perhaps someone out there has thought of this (or done
this). Please let me know.
Thanks,
Samir Agarwal
TCSI | email : samir@tcsi.com
1080 Marina Village Pkwy. | Work : (510) 749-8730
Alameda, CA 94501 |
------------------------------
From: Mike Pollock <pheel@m1.sprynet.com>
Subject: Pocketalk Pocket-sized Portable Answering Machine
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 12:55:12 -0400
I'll take one!
---------------------
Friday July 24, 9:39 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Pocketalk, the Pocket-sized Portable Answering Machine, is Launched in the
Tri-state Metro Area by CONXUS
Product Supported By Motorola Voice Messaging Technology Debut in New York
City on July 27
GREENVILLE, SC--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 24, 1998-- Building on positive
results from in-market trials of advanced voice messaging service in
New York, CONXUS(TM) Communications today announced the launch of
Pocketalk(TM), ``the answering machine for your pocket,'' in the
Tri-State New York City metro area.
With an installed user base already running ahead of projections,
Pocketalk is one of the most successful ``new technology'' product
launches in recent memory. It is estimated that nearly 90 million
people in major cities will be covered by the various network systems.
The product, which combines the user-friendly functionality of an
answering machine and the convenience of wireless technology, will be
available to New York City area residents beginning July 27, 1998. The
coverage area for the product includes all of New York City as well as
Bridgeport and Greenwich, CT extending into southern Westchester, all
of Rockland County and Long Island northeast past Glen Cove and
southeast beyond Patchogue. In New Jersey, the coverage area includes
Edison extending southeast to Middletown and northwest past
Morristown.
``We are excited to have the opportunity to bring advanced voice
messaging service to Tri-State area consumers,'' stated Bill deKay,
President, CONXUS. ``What's so compelling about this development is
that it is a sophisticated new technology for messaging that offers
the human touch of a voice message.''
The product, manufactured by Motorola, is being rolled out to major
markets across the country by CONXUS. Initially, it was launched in
South Florida markets, including Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm
Beach, and the Washington/Baltimore metro area. In early 1998,
Pocketalk service was made available in Dallas and Houston, Texas,
Orlando and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida, as well as Los Angeles,
Chicago and Atlanta. New York joins Philadelphia as the most recent
market launched.
Ideal for people on the go, Pocketalk receives private messages in the
caller's own voice -- eliminating the need to find a phone to check
messages.
``When you consider that 80 percent of U.S. households use answering
machines, it's easy to see why Pocketalk appeals to a broad range of
consumers for their everyday communication needs,'' added deKay.
``This pocket-sized device is equipped with familiar features,
making it ideal for both current answering machine users and for those
new to wireless technology. It's truly a user-friendly way to stay in
touch.''
``There is significant consumer interest and enthusiasm for voice
messaging, which offers the benefits of a fully functioning answering
machine in a convenient, go-anywhere communications tool,'' according
to Ellen Foreman, Director of Marketing, Global Two-Way Subscriber
Product Division, Motorola. ``Motorola will help drive awareness of
the pocket answering machine through an aggressive marketing program
in top metro areas over the coming year.''
Pocketalk operates on a special wireless network based on Motorola's
InFLEXion(TM) technology, which allows high-speed transmission of voice
messages and translates to reliable -- and assured -- voice message
delivery.
``We have learned from experience the importance of a reliable,
high-quality network,'' noted Cecil Duffie, CEO of CONXUS. ``Our
engineering team has designed and built a system that offers
consistent in-building penetration throughout a sizable coverage
footprint. Each market was then thoroughly grid- tested with literally
thousands of pages to ensure that rigorous system performance
standards were met.''
Service for Pocketalk will be offered by CONXUS, through its telecom
industry distribution partners and hundreds of local resellers. ``We
are excited by the enthusiastic response to Pocketalk by our broad
network of distribution partners,'' added Steve Cook, COO of
CONXUS. ``This product is widely viewed as one which can expand the
industry.''
The systems for Pocketalk utilize technology and equipment supplied by
Motorola (NYSE: MOT - news) and Glenayre Technologies (NASDAQ: GEMS -
news).
CONXUS(TM) Communications, Inc., headquartered in Greenville, S.C., is
developing a nationwide narrowband PCS network based on Motorola's
InFLEXion technology. The company launched its first service,
Pocketalk(TM) pocket answering machine, in 1997, which will be
followed by Pocketext(TM) portable email. For more information about
Pocketalk, visit the CONXUS website at www.pocketalk.com.
Glenayre Technologies Inc. is a worldwide provider of
telecommunications infrastructure products and systems serving the
paging, cellular, PCS, telco, voice processing and point-to-point
wireless service provider markets. Glenayre's net sales exceeded $390
million in 1996 and the company employs approximately 2,400 people
worldwide.
Motorola is one of the world's leading providers of wireless
communications, semiconductors and advanced electronic systems,
components and services. Major equipment businesses include paging
and data communications, cellular telephones, two-way radio, personal
communications, automotive, defense and space electronics and
computers. Motorola semiconductors power communication devices,
computers and millions of other products. Motorola's 1997 sales were
$29.8 billion.
----
Contact:
Geltzer & Company, Inc., 212/575-1976
Steve Slutzky, sslutzky@geltzerpr.com
Paula Goldstein, pgoldstein@geltzerpr.com
------------------------------
From: Robert L. McMillin <rlm@syseca-us.com>
Subject: 424 Mandatory 11 Digit Dialing Starts Early - For GTE
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 13:28:25 -0700
Organization: Syseca, Inc.
Looks like it's been fixed now, but for some GTE exchanges, it appears
as though 11 digit dialing was made mandatory. We couldn't get to
certain 310 GTE exchanges from our MCI-provided local service in
310-land, though 11-digit dialing to those same sites via our IXP
worked fine. MCI says other customers had the same problem, but it
looks like MCI fixed it in their own switch (or likewise with GTE,
though I have my doubts that they could do that on such short
notice.).
Robert L. McMillin | Not the voice of Syseca, Inc. | rlm@syseca-us.com
Personal: rlm@helen.surfcty.com | rlm@netcom.com
------------------------------
From: bbscorner@juno.com (Dave Perrussel)
Subject: Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 16:57:47 GMT
Organization: The BBS Corner
On Mon, 20 Jul 1998 14:52:10 -0400, Steve Liu <liu@ny.amarex.com> wrote:
> I just got a 56k modem and have still not been able to ever get any
> connection above 26.4kbs. I understand that 56kbs is actually not
> possible currently but I expected at least 40kbs. So, I called Bell
> Atlantic about this and asked if there was anything that can be done
> and the CSR just told me that the lines are only guaranteed for
> 9.6kbs, is this true? She said that nothing can be done unless I get
> an ISDN line? Does this mean that I have no chance of getting
> connection above 26.4kbs unless I pay more for ISDN? I find this
That's that most local telcos guarantee is a 9.6k connection. In most
instances you should get more.
It also depends on what local telco switch you get and if your lines
are multiplexed.
Local switches - if you have a modern switch (DMS-100, 5ESS or similar
all-digital switch) then 56k is POSSIBLE (actually 53k due to FCC
regs) but is not guaranteed.
If you are on an older switch (1AESS or similar - or even older
step-by-step or crossbar) it is not possible to get much better than
28.8k since the way that 56k works is that there is only one D/A
conversion (digital to analog). If you have more than one D/A between
you and an ISP, then its not possible to get the high data rate.
Multiplexed lines - you did not mention whether or not you have more
than one phone line in your house. If you have more than one line, the
telephone company may have "multiplexed" the lines where 2 or more
lines (sometimes up to 4 or 8) can be placed on one pair of
wires. Where you used to have only one line on one pair of wires can
be changed so you can share the same wires using multiplex
technology. There's a "baseband" (regular) and a "multiplexed" line
where its modulated at a high frequency (analog) or digitized
(digital) and demultiplexed in the central office switch.
That's fine and dandy for most cases for voice. However, when it comes
to data this does not work well. My step son's data line was put on a
multplexed line and he only got 24k at best. On the voice line
(baseband) he got 40k or better.
You and your neighbors can also be sharing a multiplexed line so even
if you had one line you could suffer the same problem.
Of course you can tell the phone company to switch what line is what -
if you have a copper pair all to yourself.
Hope this sheds some light on the matter.
Dave Perrussel
Webmaster - Telephone World
http://phworld.home.ml.org
or
http://members.xoom.com/phworld
------------------------------
From: Klassen@uvic.ca (Melvin Klassen)
Subject: Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections
Date: 28 Jul 1998 20:59:36 GMT
Organization: University of Victoria
On Mon, 20 Jul 1998 18:52:10, Steve Liu <liu@ny.amarex.com> wrote:
> I just got a 56k modem and have still not been able to ever get any
> connection above 26.4kbs. What should I do?
Surf the web, to: http://WWW.56K.COM and read about "slow connects".
------------------------------
From: xyzmats@laplaza.org (Mats Wichmann)
Subject: Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 04:33:19 GMT
Organization: Southwest Cyberport
Reply-To: xyzmats@laplaza.org (Mats Wichmann)
On Mon, 20 Jul 1998 14:52:10 -0400, Steve Liu <liu@ny.amarex.com>
wrote:
> I just got a 56k modem and have still not been able to ever get any
> connection above 26.4kbs. I understand that 56kbs is actually not
> possible currently but I expected at least 40kbs. So, I called Bell
> Atlantic about this and asked if there was anything that can be done
> and the CSR just told me that the lines are only guaranteed for
> 9.6kbs, is this true?
It's more like 14.4kbps.
Mats Wichmann
(Anti-spam stuff: to reply remove the "xyz" from the
address xyzmats@laplaza.org. Not that it helps much...)
------------------------------
From: Thomas P. Brisco <tbrisco@featfirst.com>
Subject: Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 11:55:44 +0000
Organization: American Interactive Media
Whats amusing is that when I used to call in about 9600bps modems,
Bell Titanic would claim that the lines weren't guarenteed for
anything about 2400 baud ... (which is probably more correct given the
characteristics for the line designed for a human voice)
Thomas P. Brisco (v) 212 539 0706
Network Architect (f) 212 538 8380
American Interactive Media tbrisco@featfirst.com
------------------------------
From: Reed <reedh@rmi.net>
Subject: Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 21:12:20 -0600
Have you read all the FAQs at www.56k.com and www.v90.com ?? It is
very possible for you to never get "56K" speeds, for a variety of
reasons. If you read all the fine print, nobody ever *guaranteed* that
anybody would get "56K" speeds. (for that matter, even 28.8/33.6 is
not "guaranteed". Various State PUCs control what is minimum quality
of local phone service (not the FCC), and most have no rule re modem
speeds specifically anyway (or they are ridiculously low like
2400bps). The modem speed you can wring out of a *specific* local loop
is very much a hit or miss situation. That's partly why Cable Modem
and xDSL services are being rolled out and accepted. ISDN is now only
used if they are not available (yet).
Also lurk awhile at comp.dcom.modems and see what others experince is.
Personally I went from consistent V.34/28.8K connections to K56flex/50K
connections when I replaced V34+ modem with K56/V90 model. (ISP is K56)
Waiting for Cable Modem(1-2 years away)
Good Luck,
Reed
------------------------------
From: nospam.tonypo@nospam.ultranet.com (Tony Pelliccio)
Subject: Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 23:22:35 -0400
Organization: The Cesspool
There are a couple of things that could be causing your problem. The
first is that you might have a bad pair. This is common in Bell
Atlantic's New England territory.
56K connections require that there's only one analog to digital
conversion, or else they won't give stellar performance.
Your only mistake was mentioning that is was a modem line. Never,
never, ever tell a phone company drone what the line is for, just say
there's noise on the line. And harass them constantly. That's the only
way to deal with "The Phone Company", and as far as Bell Atlantic is
concerned, they don't have to care because they're the phone
company. That's why I don't use Bell Atlantic anymore.
Tony
------------------------------
From: sjsobol@nstc.com (Steve Sobol - BOFH)
Subject: Re: Line Quality For Modem Connections
Date: 28 Jul 1998 04:09:40 GMT
Organization: North Shore Technologies Corp. 888.480.INET
Rumor has it that liu@ny.amarex.com said:
> So, I called Bell
> Atlantic about this and asked if there was anything that can be done
> and the CSR just told me that the lines are only guaranteed for
> 9.6kbs, is this true?
This is what most telcos will tell you.
It IS true that the 56K modem protocols *really* *really* stretch
the limits of an analog phone line ... however, there are several things
to consider when making a 56K connection.
1. Obviously you must be running the same 56K protocol as your ISP.
2. The distance from the telco Central Office servicing your line
influences how likely you are to be able to make a good connection.
3. Sometimes the telco will put splitters on the lines at the CO that
will allow them to service more phone numbers without making a
significant investment in equipment. This may be affecting your
ability to connect at high-speed. In your case, since (according to
your signature) you are in an area with many more phone lines than
many other metropolitan areas, I think this definitely may be a
factor.
4. If you have noisy lines, this affects the ability to make a good
connection with any modem. High-speed modems are especially sensitive,
and just because you don't *hear* noise doesn't mean there isn't
any. Bell Atlantic should at least be willing to check your line for
noise.
> She said that nothing can be done unless I get an ISDN line?
ISDN isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's digital both ways (as opposed
to 56K analog, which isn't) and does not suffer from analog problems
like line noise.
Of course, I don't know if ISDN is a practical idea for you. I happen
to have the good fortune to live in an area with some of the lowest
ISDN rates in the country (and I'm using ISDN now and would not want
to switch back). You may not have ISDN available to you, or it might
be quite expensive.
> What should I do?
As mentioned, first ask BA to check for line noise. Also, talk to your
ISP, since they will undoubtedly know more about the phone lines in
the New York area than I do, and may have suggestions that I have
failed to give you.
I live in Cleveland, myself, and have no clue how telephone service is
out in NYC, and I've never had to deal with Bell Atlantic. :>
Steve Sobol, President, North Shore Technologies Corporation [www.nstc.com]
Founding Member/ISP Liaison/Network Administrator, F.R.E.E. [www.ybecker.net]
Occasional Tech Support Droid, New Age Consulting Service Inc [www.nacs.net]
Providing Dialup Internet Access and Web Hosting & Design to Northern Ohio and
the World...
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #114
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Jul 30 00:14:06 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
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Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 00:14:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199807300414.AAA04865@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #113
TELECOM Digest Tue, 28 Jul 98 13:30:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 113
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Telecom Update (Canada) #142, July 27, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement)
Bell Atlantic and GTE - Reportedly Talking Merger (Jon Stahl)
Seeking Introductory Texts on Cellular Standards (Misha Davidson)
US Telecom Merger Frenzy Continues (Tad Cook)
Outgoing But no Incoming Service Because of Cable Shortage? (Roy Smith)
Book Review: "The Web Navigator", Paul Gilster (Rob Slade)
Wanted: GR-303 Test Site (5ESS, DMS100, etc.) (Mike Dorin)
US Worst Slamming? (Anthony Argyriou)
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 11:12:13 -0400
From: Angus TeleManagement <angus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #142, July 27, 1998
************************************************************
* *
* TELECOM UPDATE *
* Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin *
* http://www.angustel.ca *
* Number 142: July 27, 1998 *
* *
* Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by *
* generous financial support from: *
* *
* Bell Canada ................. http://www.bell.ca/ *
* City Dial Network Services .. http://www.citydial.com/ *
* Computer Talk Technology .... http://icescape.com/ *
* fONOROLA .................... http://www.fonorola.com/ *
* Lucent Technologies ......... http://www.lucent.ca/ *
* *
************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
** Telus Offers Flat-Rate LD
** Local Number Portability Starts This Week
** CRTC Favors Deregulation of Telco Internet Services
** Cablecos Rename, Reprice Internet Access
** Bell Writes Off TV Trial
** Lucent Wins Sprint Local Phone Equipment Deal
** BC Tel Offers Anonymous Call Block
** AT&T, BT Form Global Venture
** Distributel Announces Flat-Rate Plan
** Rate Rebalancing for Northwestel
** Videon Intros 10 Mbps Internet Access
** Bell in Telecom Venture Fund
** BC Tel Takes InfoInterActive ICM
** AT&T-Teleport Deal Okayed
** Rates Set for Directory File Service
** Stentor Adds U.S. Calling Option
** Microcell & Nortel Join for Wireless Data
** Canada Payphone Plans Internet Kiosks
** Cantel Extends "Pay As You Go" Plan
** Teleglobe-Excel -- "Worse Than Corel-WordPerfect"
============================================================
TELUS OFFERS FLAT-RATE LD: Telus's new "Your Way Unlimited"
plan offers Alberta residential customers unlimited evening
and weekend long distance calls in Canada for $19.95 a
month. Daytime weekday calls in Canada, and all U.S. calls,
are 22 cents/minute. Telus says it will refund the
difference if a customer would have paid less using the main
calling plans offered by AT&T or Sprint.
LOCAL NUMBER PORTABILITY STARTS THIS WEEK: Local Number
Portability, which allows customers to change local phone
companies without changing phone numbers, will be
commercially available in Calgary and Vancouver on July 31.
Toronto and Montreal will get LNP at the end of August.
CRTC FAVORS DEREGULATION OF TELCO INTERNET SERVICES: In
Telecom Public Notice 98-17, the CRTC invites comment on its
"preliminary view" that it would be "appropriate to forbear
from regulating" the Internet services provided by telephone
companies and other carriers. To participate, notify the
CRTC by August 21; comments are due by August 31.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/notice/1998/p9817_0.txt
CABLECOS RENAME, REPRICE INTERNET ACCESS: Cablecos Shaw and
Rogers have changed the name of their "Wave" high-speed
Internet access service to Shaw@Home and Rogers@Home, and
cut the monthly fee to $39.95.
BELL WRITES OFF TV TRIAL: BCE Inc's second-quarter financial
statement includes a complete write-off of its "TotalVision"
multimedia trial in London, Ontario, and Repentigny, Quebec.
The $100-Million charge reflects Bell's decision to compete
in the TV market using the ExpressVu satellite service
rather than a fiber-coax network.
** Bell President John MacDonald discusses Bell's changed
view of broadband and multimedia services in an exclusive
interview in the current issue of Telemanagement. (To
subscribe, call 1-800-263-4415 ext 225.)
LUCENT WINS SPRINT LOCAL PHONE EQUIPMENT DEAL: Sprint Canada
has awarded Lucent Technologies a contract worth up to $400
million, to provide the switches, access systems, and
software for Sprint's planned local telephone service.
Sprint says it will enter the local telephone market early
in 1999, and roll out to 25 cities within three years.
BC TEL OFFERS ANONYMOUS CALL BLOCK: BC Tel's new Anonymous
Call Block, activated by a star code, blocks calls from
callers who block the display of their names or numbers. It
is free to Call Display Plus users.
AT&T, BT FORM GLOBAL VENTURE: AT&T Corp. and BT
(British Telecom) are forming a joint venture with US$11
Billion expected annual revenues to provide and market global
communications services.
DISTRIBUTEL ANNOUNCES FLAT-RATE PLAN: Distributel now offers
unlimited evening and weekend residential calls in its
Ontario-Quebec calling area for $15.95/month; daytime
minutes are 15 cents.
RATE REBALANCING FOR NORTHWESTEL: CRTC Telecom Order 98-717
approves Northwestel's rate rebalancing proposal, which
includes a $4 local service increase, effective August 1.
VIDEON INTROS 10 MBPS INTERNET ACCESS: Winnipeg businesses
can now get 10-megabit-a-second Internet connections from
Videon FiberLink for $549/month, including Internet access
charges.
BELL IN TELECOM VENTURE FUND: Bell Canada is the corporate
partner in CenCom V, a new "electronic communications
venture incubator" formed by New York-based North River
Ventures. Other partners Centennial Funds of Denver and
Vanguard Venture Partners of Palo Alto.
BC TEL TAKES INFOINTERACTIVE ICM: BC Tel will deploy
Halifax-based InfoInterActive's Internet Call Manager,
which notifies users when a voice call is waiting on a line
connected to the Internet. (See Telecom Update #139)
** InfoInterActive says that Bellcore (Bell Communications
Research) has agreed to help distribute ICM in the U.S.
AT&T-TELEPORT DEAL OKAYED: On July 23, the Federal
Communications Commission okayed AT&T's $11.3-Billion
purchase of Teleport Communications Group. Teleport is
the parent company of Canadian long distance reseller ACC
TelEnterprises.
RATES SET FOR DIRECTORY FILE SERVICE: In Telecom Order 98-
728, the CRTC sets the rates that directory publishers must
pay to obtain telephone listings from Stentor. The
Commission cut the rates sought by the telcos by about 25%.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98728_0.txt
STENTOR ADDS U.S. CALLING OPTION: The Stentor alliance has
established a toll-free number, 1-800-555-1111, which allows
customers, while in the U.S., to connect directly to
Stentor's network and use their Stentor calling cards.
MICROCELL & NORTEL JOIN FOR WIRELESS DATA: Microcell,
Northern Telecom, GSM Capital, and Omnipoint Communications
have formed a joint venture to develop information, e-
commerce, locating, and other data services for PCS wireless
phones. Market trials are to start by year end. (See Telecom
Update #133)
CANADA PAYPHONE PLANS INTERNET KIOSKS: Canada Payphone has
placed a $1.1 Million order for "hundreds" of multimedia
Internet kiosks from Toronto-based King Products; deployment
begins in October. (See Telecom Update #128)
** Calgary's Palco Telecom, has signed a deal to distribute
payphones made by Missouri-based Acoustics Development
Corp.
CANTEL EXTENDS "PAY AS YOU GO" PLAN: Eight weeks after its
launch in seven Canadian cities, Rogers Cantel's Pay as You
Go prepaid analog cellular service has 20,000 customers and
has begun a rollout in 25 additional cities. (See Telecom
Update #134)
TELEGLOBE-EXCEL -- "WORSE THAN COREL-WORDPERFECT": In the
July August issue of Telemanagement, Ian Angus explains why
he thinks the Teleglobe-Excel merger "is worse than Corel's
decision to buy WordPerfect."
** Also in this issue: Henry Dortmans reveals "How to Waste
Money on a Consultant."
** For subscription information, call 1-800-263-4415 ext
225, or go to http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm-sub.html
============================================================
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca
FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE
Angus TeleManagement Group
8 Old Kingston Road
Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7
===========================================================
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There
are two formats available:
1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World
Wide Web on the first business day of the week, at
http://www.angustel.ca/update/up.html
2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of
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To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail
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should say only: unsubscribe update [Your e-mail address]
===========================================================
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce,
please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext
225.
The information and data included has been obtained from
sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus
TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations
whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy.
Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available
information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on
the subject matter is required, the services of a competent
professional should be obtained.
============================================================
------------------------------
From: aljon@worldnet.att.net (Jon Stahl)
Subject: Bell Atlantic and GTE - Reportedly Talking Merger
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 16:02:15 +0000
The following 'hit' the news wires 7/27. This is clipped from Bloomberg
News at their web-site (URL: http://www.bloomberg.com):
Mon, 27 Jul 1998, 11:42am EDT
Bell Atlantic, GTE Reported to Be Discussing Merger Worth Up to US$55
Bell Atlantic and GTE Discuss Merger, Person Says (Update4) (Updates
with attribution to person familiar with discussions.)
New York, July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Bell Atlantic Corp., the largest U.S.
local phone company, and GTE Corp. held talks about a merger valued at
about $55 billion that would give the companies control of a third of
the U.S. local service market, said a person familiar with the
discussions.
An agreement could come as soon as this week, though the talks may still
break down, the person said. Bell Atlantic President and Chief Executive
Ivan Seidenberg declined to comment, as did officials at GTE, the No. 3
local company.
The combined company, with about $53.5 billion in annual sales and 63
million phone lines, would be a stronger competitor to SBC
Communications Inc., the No. 2 local phone company, which recently
agreed to buy Ameritech Corp. for $70.3 billion. The global phone
industry is consolidating at an unprecedented pace as markets open to
competition and companies seek to offer a full range of services through
one bill. ``We're seeing a battle of Titans,'' said Jeffrey Kagan,
president of market researcher Kagan Telecom Associates. ``The companies
all feel like they've got to get bigger.''
<snip>
The combination, first reported by the Wall Street Journal and USA
Today, is sure to draw close scrutiny from U.S. regulators. Bell
Atlantic and GTE have extensive and overlapping local and wireless
operations. Bell Atlantic is prohibited from providing long-distance
services, while GTE has more than 2 million long-distance customers.
``These are two companies that would have probably gone head- to-head
against each other,'' Kagan said.
<snip>
Stamford, Connecticut-based GTE has been moving quickly to push into the
fast-growing data market. Last year, it paid $616 million for Internet
service provider BBN Corp., a pioneer in the industry, connecting
companies to the global computer network.
==========================
It is surely beginning to look like what many of the telecom industry
analyst's have been predicting for some time: the telecommunications
and data markets will soon be 'controlled' by just a few (maybe one?)
very large corporation(s).
Too bad the old 'Bell System' wasn't left alone because there must be
something in that old phrase that says something like: "what comes
around, goes around." Because an almost exact replica of its old self
is seemingly starting to reamerge from it's ashes - albeit under a
different name but it is coming back, as surely as day follows night
(or is that night following day?).
------------------------------
From: Misha Davidson <davidson@skate.ru>
Subject: Seeking Introductory Texts on Cellular Standards
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 19:52:59 +0400
Dear all,
Could you please point me to web sites where I could find some
introductory texts on current cellular standards AMPS, GSM, CDMA, DCS,
NMT. I am interested in both technology and economics (cost structure,
economies of scale etc.) of those standards, and also comparisons of
their relative advantages and disadvantages.
I would appreciate your responding to either news group or directly to
my e-mail davidson@skate.ru.
Thank you,
Misha Davidson
------------------------------
Subject: US Telecom Merger Frenzy Continues
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 21:49:41 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By Jessica Hall
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. telecommunications companies continue to
race for partners as the voice and data business becomes increasingly
global and the Internet blurs country borders.
"Everyone's in play. Everyone's always in play for the right
price. ... The people who are the busiest right now are the investment
bankers coming up with proposals on how to roll up these different
companies," said Daniel Briere, president of industry consulting firm
TeleChoice Inc.
Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp. are holding merger talks to create a
combined company with revenues of about $53 billion and control of
about one-third of the local telephone market, a source familiar with
negotiations said Monday.
These talks follow the announcement Sunday by AT&T Corp. and British
Telecommunications Plc that they would merge their international
operations in a $10 billion global partnership.
These deals, on the heels of other megamergers in the industry, puts
new pressure on the other regional carriers and long-distance
companies to find a mate before all the prime partners are gone.
"Competition of the future is nothing like that of yesterday, and the
phone companies of the future look nothing like they did in the past,"
said Jeffrey Kagan of Kagan Telecom Associates.
Each new deal stretches the concept of a telecommunications giant,
creating a large scale on which companies must compete. Companies must
be able to provide a wider range of services to customers who want the
convenience of having their telephone, Internet, wireless and paging
service from one provider on one bill.
Traditional voice telephone carriers are increasingly becoming data
companies due to the explosive popularity of the Internet and data
services. Corporate clients also require a more sophisticated level of
service as their own businesses become more global and more fast-paced
and competitive.
"Solo companies can survive. But they will not thrive if they can't compete
on the same level as the titans," Kagan said.
Telecommunications companies have been snatching up rivals to acquire new
businesses or expertise such as data services or wireless technology, and
to extend their geographic coverage to serve a wider range of customers.
The AT&T-BT alliance "puts a lot of pressure on Sprint. They need to their
act together with GlobalOne. Sprint is really at the crossroads where they
could really fall behind," Briere said.
GlobalOne is Sprint Corp.'s international partnership with Deutsche Telekom
AG and France Telecom.
Sprint has said in the past that it believes it can thrive on its own. but
analysts expect the company would agree to a takeover for a high enough
premium.
The possible GTE-Bell Atlantic merger shows the need for both geographic
reach and new technology, analysts said.
A combined GTE-Bell Atlantic would result in a company with local phone
operations in 41 states.
The deal would also allow the two companies to link GTE's national fiber
optic network with Bell Atlantic's Fiber Optic Link around the Globe, or
FLAG, analysts said. GTE's data business would accelerate Bell Atlantic's
efforts to build its own data network.
"Competition is one piece. Another piece is their own growth rate. Together
they can do more and grow faster. The transition of customers from (a)
voice-only world to (a) packet data world is changing the business," said
William Vogel, a telecommunications analyst with NationsBanc Montgomery
Securities.
Over the past nine months, the U.S. telecommunications industry has seen
two Baby Bells, Ameritech Corp. and SBC Communications Inc., agree to merge
in a $61 billion deal. Industry upstart WorldCom Inc. made a surprise $37
billion bid for MCI Communications Corp., wrestling the long-distance
carrier away from BT.
AT&T also announced two deals to buy Teleport Communications Group Inc.,
which provides local telephone service to businesses, and
Tele-Communications Inc., a huge cable television operator.
"There are these big, grand old telephone companies that are reinventing
themselves. The new emerging companies that have the network of today are
looking for the customers and traffic," Kagan said.
The merger frenzy has led to a strong run in telecommunications stocks,
pushing the American Stock Exchange's North American Telecom Stock index up
30 percent this year, compared with an 18 percent for the Standard & Poor's
500 index.
The rise in stock prices gives each company a stronger currency with which
use in a transaction, but it also makes each potential takeover candidate
more expensive.
Still, analysts don't expect the merger rush to quiet down any time soon.
Companies such as BellSouth Corp., and emerging companies such as Qwest
Communications International Inc. and Level 3 Communications Inc. are seen
as potential takeover targets.
As AT&T shifts its international strategy away from its largely
unsuccessful WorldPartners and Unisource alliances to work with BT, some of
those foreign carriers may look for new allies in the United States.
Strong foreign carriers such as Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. of Japan
may also be attractive partners for U.S. companies.
"I would bet Bernie is brushing up his Japanese, and Bill Esrey, too,"
said Briere, referring to WorldCom Chief Executive Bernie Ebbers and
Sprint Chairman Bill Esrey.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 11:36:56 -0400
From: roy@endeavor.med.nyu.edu (Roy Smith)
Subject: Outgoing But no Incoming Service Because of Cable Shortage?
Organization: NYU School of Medicine, Educational Computing
I ordered new phone service last week at a house I just bought. The
previous phone service had been turned off. There was still dial-tone,
but you couldn't place any calls.
Over the weekend, outgoing service began to work, but not incoming.
Talking to the phone company, I was told that they are having trouble with
the cables in the area and are pulling new cable, and that's why they
can't give me incoming service. They estimate another week.
Does this many any sense at all? If I've got dial tone and outgoing
service, obviously, I have a good loop back to the CO, right? Actually,
it's a relatively remote part of the city, with the nearest CO several
miles away, so I'm reasonably sure the local loop goes to some kind of
concentrator/slik type thing then some sort of trunk back to the CO. Not
sure if that makes any difference.
Roy Smith <roy@popmail.med.nyu.edu>
New York University School of Medicine
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It doesn't make a lot of sense does it?
Do you have an update now that a few additional days have passed? PAT]
------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 11:04:25 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "The Web Navigator", Paul Gilster
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKWEBNAV.RVW 980523
"The Web Navigator", Paul Gilster, 1997, 0-471-16495-X,
U$24.95/C$34.95
%A Paul Gilster gilster@interpath.com
%C 5353 Dundas Street West, 4th Floor, Etobicoke, ON M9B 6H8
%D 1997
%G 0-471-16495-X
%I Wiley
%O U$24.95/C$34.95 fax: 416-236-4448 lwhiting@jwiley.com
%P 490 p.
%T "The Web Navigator"
Since the rise in popularity of the World Wide Web to *the* interface
of choice to the Internet we've had all the various introductions to
the Internet that concentrate solely on the net via browser. Now
comes the useful one.
Chapter one states outright that the view of the net in this book is
limited to the browser window, in contrast to most works in the genre
that imply the Web is all there is. There is the obligatory
collection of different types of sites on the Web, but Gilster manages
to use the space to point out features and ideas rather than simply
presenting a montage of KEWL! screen shots. The history of the Web is
accurately and interestingly portrayed in chapter two. Getting
connected to the net can never be completely covered but chapter three
manages to present an astounding range of information. It is also
backed up by a very useful appendix dealing with dial up networking in
Windows 95. Gilster admits his choice of Netscape Navigator in
chapter four before going on to give a review of the major browser
functions. Unfortunately some material is specific not only to the
browser but to the release as well, but this is unavoidable with the
graphical interface. Chapter five, dealing with plug-ins and other
components, is valuable, but also shows how quickly these items go in
and out of style.
The advice on email covers not only configuration, but also advanced
topics such as netiquette in chapter six. Most of chapter seven
concentrates on accessing Usenet news via the browser, but it also
deals with telnet and gopher functions. Advanced or coming
technologies like Java, Internet telephony, and the Virtual Reality
Modelling Language (VRML) are quickly reviewed in chapter eight.
Searching, in chapter nine, covers all aspects including search
engines, directories, people finders, and agents. Publishing on the
Web is discussed more in concept than in detail in chapter ten.
Issues of security and privacy are covered clearly in chapter eleven.
While the book starts very strongly indeed, matching the quality of
"The Internet Navigator" (cf. BKINTNAV.RVW) and "Finding it on the
Internet" (cf. BKFNDINT.RVW), later chapter are sound but not quite as
vital. Still this book would have to have serious consideration as
possibly the best introduction for those approaching the net through
the Web interface.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKWEBNAV.RVW 980523
------------------------------
From: mdorin@my-dejanews.com (Mike Dorin)
Subject: Wanted: GR-303 Test Site (5ESS, DMS100, etc.)
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 13:34:07 GMT
Organization: Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion
EDI Enterprises is currently looking for a site to test our Embedded
Operations Channel software. Using our test device, we would simulate
a GR-303 RDT. We would need the following:
1) A small place to setup equipment
2) 2 DS1's (connected to an IDT with TMC/EOCs provisioned)
3) We would like to provision perhaps a half dozen analog lines
4) A 5ESS switch running 5E9(2) software or later.
If anybody is interested in working with us or knows somebody who is
please email me at mike@chaski.com.
I would sincerely appreciate any help in this matter.
Mike Dorin
EDI Enterprises, Inc.
www.cmise.com
------------------------------
From: anthony@alphageo.com (Anthony Argyriou)
Subject: US Worst Slamming?
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 02:29:03 GMT
Organization: Alpha Geotechnical
Reply-To: anthony@alphageo.com
Yesterday at work, I got a call asking for the "Accounts Payable". I
asked who it was, and what they wanted. The woman gave a name, said
she was from Pacific Bell, and said it was about the phone bill.
So I gave the call to the boss (there're three of us), who told me
afterwards that the woman started fishing around for the name of our
Long Distance carrier. He didn't give it to her, and asked for her
name and number on the pretense of calling her back later. She gave
the same name, and a number which turned out to be US West.
Something fishy is going on here -- does US West offer LD in PacBell
Land? Or is some sleaze LD company giving out US West's number to get
them in trouble?
Anthony Argyriou
http://www.alphageo.com
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #113
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Aug 9 15:13:04 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
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Date: Sun, 9 Aug 1998 15:13:04 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199808091913.PAA16280@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #115
TELECOM Digest Sun, 9 Aug 98 15:13:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 115
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Net Domains Doled Out by Japan `Cartel' (Tad Cook)
The Caller-ID Wars Continue (Monty Solomon)
Meeting Held in Geneva to Privatize DNS (Ronda Hauben)
Canadian Flat-Rate Unlimited LD (Ralph Doncaster)
E-mail Flaw May Make Net a Perilous Place For Months (Monty Solomon)
East Coast Telco Strike and Other News (TELECOM Digest Editor)
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Net Domains Doled Out by Japan `Cartel'
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1998 11:13:40 PDTo telnet
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By Michael Zielenziger
Mercury News Tokyo Bureau
TOKYO -- The Internet, that agile new technology that offers instant
access to global commerce and communication, supposedly flouts
political boundaries. Just point and click, proponents say, and the
technology of the "virtual world" can easily defy the trade barriers
that inhibit conventional commerce.
Not so in Japan, as entrepreneurs like David Shepherd are learning.
Tangent Computing Ltd., Shepherd's software distribution company, was
bounced off the World Wide Web in late July by Japanese authorities
after he switched to a U.S.-based Internet service to host his
company's e-mail accounts. It seems that a group of Japanese-based
Internet providers, operating with the approval of the government,
controls who gets to play -- and how much they pay -- to get access to
the World Wide Web in Japan.
"Basically, we were shut down for not using a Japanese Internet
provider," said Shepherd, a Canadian, who does 90 percent of his
software distribution business through the Net.
Dozens of entrepreneurs such as Israeli businessman Todd Walzer have
found they could not use their Internet addresses in Japan -- known in
Internet parlance as a "domain names" -- unless they also used a
Japanese Internet service provider. Japanese firms, however, are
usually slower and far more expensive than overseas providers, foreign
businessmen say.
The lack of competition is a key reason that Japan, despite its
reputation for high-end technology, lags far behind the United States
and other developed economies in its use of the Internet.
Japan has only 40,000 domain names. The United States, a bit more than
twice Japan's size, boasts more than 1.2 million. Moreover, while the
United States is fourth in domain names per person, Japan ranks 21st,
according to data compiled by Michael Borrus, co-director of the
Berkeley Roundtable on International Economics in California.
The Japan Network Information Center, or JPNIC, the quasi-governmental
group that assigns domain names to users, is essentially run by
Japan's Internet service providers. These firms pay about $3,500 to
join the association and another $2,150 in annual dues. As members of
JPNIC, these providers have the power to "approve" new domain
addresses -- but they approve only those new addresses that use
Japanese Internet providers, according to Naomasa Maruyama, JPNIC vice
president.
Not unusual ...
Mysterious, cartel-like organizations that set prices are not unusual
in Japan. Steel manufacturers, concrete producers, construction
companies, stevedores and dozens of others have been accused of
conspiring to regulate prices, keep foreign competitors at bay and
regulate domestic competition.
But even some Japanese are surprised to hear that a cartel of Internet
providers decides who can be assigned a Web domain address within
Japan -- those domains that carry the "jp" address. "It's really an
obstacle, isn't it?" said Yuichiro Anzai, dean of the faculty of
science and technology at prestigious Keio University.
JPNIC officials, however, insist they are the real free marketeers.
"There is a difference between freedom and a free ride," said
Maruyama. "We are very proud the Japanese Internet developed without
the support of the government."
Maruyama also rejected the argument of JPNIC critics that some of the
center's policies have stifled Internet use in Japan. According to
JPNIC policy, for instance, only a company registered for business in
Japan can obtain a ".jp" domain name. No individual can obtain a
domain name. And any corporation can obtain only a single domain
listing. No such rules apply in the United States or in many other
countries.
Aimed at scams ...
Maruyama said JPNIC's strict rules were created to prevent individual
"cyber scammers" from buying up the domain names of famous companies
so they could later sell them back to the companies. (A case such as
this occurred in America this week, when a Silicon Valley man was paid
some $3.3 million by Compaq Computer to relinquish the "altavista.com"
domain name. AltaVista is an Internet search service acquired by
Compaq when it bought Digital Equipment Corp.)
But Bradley Bartz, an early Internet pioneer in Japan, said JPNIC is a
cartel that conspires "to make any .jp address the most expensive
domain name in the world." Registering a domain name, which costs
about $75 in the United States, can cost four times as much in Japan,
he said.
"It's an Old Boys club designed to protect the growth of Internet,"
Bartz said. "It's all about control. By preventing the growth of
domain names, they are preventing entrepreneurs from expressing
themselves and preventing the expansion of commerce."
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1998 15:30:01 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: The Caller-ID Wars Continue
Excerpt from PRIVACY Forum Digest V07 #13
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 98 08:57 PDT
From: lauren@vortex.com (Lauren Weinstein; PRIVACY Forum Moderator)
Subject: The Caller-ID Wars Continue
Greetings. It's starting to look pretty clear--there's a new war over
caller-ID, especially for California telephone subscribers. When
per-call ID blocking was mandated nationally, and complete (all-call,
with selective unblocking) blocking was made available in states like
California, it looked like the protracted battle over caller-ID was
over. Far from it.
As has been discussed in the PRIVACY Forum in the past, there have
been increasing reports of what some would call "high pressure" sales
tactics by Pacific Bell representatives attempting to sell caller-ID
services, and also attempting to convince persons to switch from
complete to "selective" (per-call) blocking--the latter sends the ID
on all calls by default.
PacBell's latest hope to increase their caller-ID related services is
the implementation of "anonymous" call blocking, which blocks incoming
calls unless the caller is willing to provide the number of the phone
line they are calling from (and often now the name associated with
that line) to the caller. In a fascinating move, PacBell is even
marketing this service to people who don't subscribe to caller-ID and
couldn't see the number/name of the line calling in any case!
PacBell has gotten extremely aggressive in their add-on services sales
to any subscriber that calls for almost any reason--I can verify this
myself. Unfortunately, reports are that they're even pushing some of
these expensive services on persons who call to order low income
"lifeline" plans. The problems have reached a level where the
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has begun looking into
PacBell's sales tactics.
The problems, risks, and failures associated with caller-ID services
have been well documented in the past here in the PRIVACY Forum in
previous issues, so there's no point to reiterating them here. But
this escalation in PacBell's aggressive sales efforts seems to be
correlated with their acquisition by Southwest Bell (SWB), who
apparently has set very specific goals to try to drastically raise the
number of subscribed "features" per telephone subscriber in
California. SWB is used to much higher rates of caller-ID service
penetration in their home state of Texas, where per-line complete
blocking is not available. It obviously is distressing to them to
have to deal with a state like California, where about half the phones
lines are subscribed to complete blocking, and more than half the
lines are reportedly non-published.
When I recently spoke at length with PacBell spokesman John Britton,
he made it clear that PacBell had every intention of marketing these
services to their utmost, and suggested that the excessively
high-pressure sales tactics reported by some were aberrations by
individual sales representatives, not company policy. He seemed to
blame the high percentage of complete blocking in California on the
educational campaign that the CPUC had mandated.
I asked him about a statement from the San Jose Mercury News where he
was quoted as saying, "If consumers don't like it, they can stand up.
They don't need a lot of pushy people at ORA [Office of Ratepayer
Advocates] standing up for them." He acknowledged the essential
accuracy of the quote, but admitted that, in retrospect, he perhaps
should have left out that comment about the ORA.
Pacific Bell certainly has a right to market their services. But
given that they still operate in what amounts to effectively a
monopoly position when it comes to residential local service
(theoretical competition in local service notwithstanding), I think
it's reasonable to hold them to the highest standard in their dealings
with their subscribers in this and other areas.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum
http://www.vortex.com
------------------------------
From: rh120@columbia.edu (Ronda Hauben)
Subject: Meeting Held in Geneva to Privatize DNS
Date: 7 Aug 1998 17:04:21 GMT
Organization: Columbia University
Reply-To: rh120@columbia.edu
Following is an account of what happened in Geneva at the meeting to
create a private organization to privatize the DNS. It is important
that this all gets discussed online and that people who care about the
Internet and its future find a way to deal with what is happening.
Ronda
ronda@panix.com
-----------
Report from the Front
Meeting in Geneva Rushes to Privitize the Internet
DNS and root Server System
by Ronda Hauben
ronda@panix.com
There's a battle being waged today, one that is of great
importance to the future of society, but most people have no idea it
is taking place.
I just returned from Geneva, Switzerland where a meeting was held
Friday July 25 and Saturday July 26 to create the organization that
Ira Magaziner, advisor to the U.S. President, has called for. It's an
organization to privatize key aspects of the Internet, the Domain Name
System (DNS) and the control of the root server of the Internet. The
meeting was the second in a series that are part of the the
International Forum on the White Paper (IFWP) (1).
The U.S. government, without discussion by the U.S. Congress, the
press or the public, and contrary to the direction of the U.S. court
(in the case ACLU vrs. Reno) is throwing a bone to the private sector
and offering them the possibility of making their millions off of the
Internet. And while in Geneva, I saw folks from several different
countries grabbing at the bone, in hopes of getting themselves some of
the same kind of exorbitant profits from selling gTDL's (generic Top
Level Domains) that the National Science Foundation (NSF) bestowed on
Network Services Inc (NSI) several years ago by giving them the
contracts for selling gTLDs.
There's money to be made, or so these folks seem to think, and so
any concern for the well being of the Internet or its continued
development as "a new medium of international communication" (ACLU vrs
Reno) has been thrown to the wind by Mr. Magaziner, IANA (Internet
Assigned Numbers Authority) under the direction of Mr. Postel, which
has the U.S. government contract to administer the Internet Addresses
and Names and to administer the root server, and the others who,
without any ethical considerations or social obligations are rushing
through this process and sqelching discussion and dissent.
It's called "consensus" we are told. I went to the session
setting up the Names Registry Council provisions for the bylaws of
what we are told is to be the new private organization controlling
these key aspects of the Internet. At the beginning of the meeting, I
made the mistake of objecting when all were asked to register their
consensus with the provision for a Names Council. I wanted to hear
some discussion so I would know what I was voting on. I was scolded by
one participant for asking for a discussion as, he claimed that they
were *not* here for people who had not read the bylaws proposal that
appeared online only a few days before. I had read the bylaws proposal
but was naive enough to think that one would hear discussion and
clarification before being asked to declare one's adherence. In that
way I thought one would know what one was agreeing to. Instead,
however, I soon learned that that was *not* how business (or really
religion) was being developed in the session I attended.
After harrassing me for asking for clarification and discussion,
the meeting continued. The Chairman asked people to brainstorm and
list the functions for the council. When I asked that the activities
of the council be reported online and that there be online discussion
with anyone interested being allowed to comment on all issues
concerning the council, the scribe miswrote what I had proposed. When
I asked it be corrected, I was told by the Chair that there was no
"wordsmithing" allowed, i.e. that it wouldn't be corrected. After a
number of people had listed functions for the council, it was
announced that the meeting would vote on the functions to determine if
there was "consensus". Then a vote was rammed through on the items.
However, instead of counting the numbers for or against each function,
there was a declaration of "consensus" if, we were told, it seemed as
if there were 60% of those voting who had voted for the listed
function. For the first few functions those opposed were allowed to
voice their objection. The meeting was being tape recorded, we were
told, and there would be a record kept of it. But that soon ended as
someone in the room objected to hearing any objections. The Chair said
that this was how this was done at the telecom meetings he knew of, as
there the players were large corporations with large bank accounts
that could afford big law suits. Here, however, it seemed those in
control of the meeting judged this was not the case. A short break was
called. After the break it was announced that those with objections
could no longer voice them on the record during the meeting but were
told to come up after the meeting was over.
So the vote continued on, consensus continued to be declared for
most of the items voted on, despite the fact there were those
indicating their opposition to all of these items. But the record
would no longer contain any note of the objections. The Chair and
others marvelled at the roll they were on. Even though it was time for
the meeting to end, one of the Chairs of the plenary meeting allowed
this meeting to continue as it on such a roll.
Then to the Plenary meeting. Here there was joy and praise for
this democratic process from the Chair and spokespeople from the
different sessions. When I tried to go to the microphone and say that
the consensus in the session I had been in to determine functions for
the Names Council represented "no discussion allowed and no noting of
those who objected," the Chair of the Plenary Meeting told me I was
not allowed to speak there.
This all followed the invitation that had been extended in the
press lunch on Tuesday, July 21 at INET, where all members of the
press were invited to come to the Friday and Saturday sessions of the
IFWP and were were invited to participate. However, by Friday and
Saturday the invitation clearly had changed, especially if one had a
question or objection to raise about what was happening.
And this is how the supposed new private organization that
is to administer and make policy for the Domain Names System that
is the nerve system of the Internet and the Root Server System,
is being created. No one with any but a private commercial
interest (in normal language, a conflict of interest) is to be
allowed to participate in the process, no discussion to clarify
what people are being asked to vote on is allowed to take place,
and no objections could be voiced in the session creating the
Names Council, which is one of the crucial aspects of the
organizational form, as it is groups with a commercial interest
in the sale of gTLD's who have decreed to themselves
the right to set policy and recommend actions regarding the
gTLD's.
What's the significance of this process as a way to create
an organization to take over control and administration of the
nerve center of the Global Internet?
The Internet was developed and has grown and flourished
through the opposite procedures, through democratic processes
where all are welcomed to speak, where those who disagree are
invited to participate, and to voice their concerns along with
those who agree, where those who can make a single contribution
are as welcome as those with the time to continually contribute.
(See Poster "Lessons from the early MsgGroup Mailing List as a
Foundation for Identifying the Principles for Future Internet
Governance" by Ronda Hauben, INET '98.)(2) Also historically, the
processes for discussion
------------------------------
From: Ralph Doncaster <nospam@sympatico.ca>
Organization: DCI
Subject: Canadian flat-rate unlimited LD
Date: Sat, 08 Aug 1998 23:14:03 GMT
Sprint started last month with $20/mth for unlimited within-canada
calling on evenings and weekends. Other telco's quickly followed with
similar programs.
What I don't understand is how this works. Canadian like US LD
requires contribution charges. I'm in Ottawa, Ontario, so when I use
sprint, they have to pay 2c/min to Bell Canada. They may also have to
pay ~2c/min to the terminating telco (i.e. MT&T if I was to call
Halifax, Nova Scotia) but I'm not sure of that part.
Even assuming just 2c/min contribution charges, if I use 17 hours of
LD on the evg and weekend sprint would loose money. Am I
misunderstanding the regulations regarding contribution charges or is
Sprint just playing the averages and assuming the typical customer
will not use many hours?
Ralph Doncaster, Doncaster Consulting Inc email: ralph(at)doncaster.on.ca
2816 Richmond Rd. Ottawa, ON K2B 6S5
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: E-mail flaw may make Net a perilous place for months
Date: Sat, 8 Aug 1998 21:49:36 -0400
E-mail flaw may make Net a perilous place for months
BY DAVID L. WILSON
Mercury News Staff Writer
The danger posed by the devastating hole in some of the most popular
electronic mail software in the world likely will persist for many
months, or even years, putting many thousands of people at risk.
The extremely widespread nature of the flaw, which was revealed
publicly last week, combined with the difficulty of ensuring that
patches for the flaw get installed, is likely to make the Internet a
much less stable environment as malevolent Internet users begin using
the flaw to disrupt activities on the Internet.
The situation illustrates the difficulties of developing secure
systems, particularly as the software that runs on computers gets more
complex and unwieldy. And it's a taste of the difficulties that lie
ahead as more and more of the nation's everyday activities become tied
to the Internet.
The flaw allows an outsider to send a booby-trapped piece of
electronic mail. Under some conditions, the booby-trap can be
activated without any action on the part of the victim. The poisoned
e-mail can execute code on the targeted computer, up to and including
erasing the hard drive.
One self-described member of the ``black hat'' hacker community --
black hats are malevolent hackers, sometimes known as ``crackers'' --
said his group is working on a number of variants of booby-trapped
e-mail. The plan, he said, is to send out thousands of such
booby-trapped e-mails to users around the world.
Bomb has two stages
The payload on these bombs would be delivered in two stages. In stage
one, the booby-trapped e-mail directs the host e-mail application to
send out thousands more booby-trapped e-mails. Once that task is
completed, the original e-mail will attempt to reformat the host hard
drive to complete stage two, which is designed to make tracking the
assault back to its originators that much harder. All those new
e-mails will attempt to do the same thing on any host computer where
they become active, creating a tidal wave of assaults throughout the
Internet that could bring things to a grinding halt.
Experts say it may not be an empty boast. ``Clearly the person has
some idea what's involved,'' said Eugene H. Spafford, director of the
new Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and
Security at Purdue University. ``But this would not be a trivial thing
to do.''
The description of the attack is strikingly similar to a technique
used 10 years ago by Robert T. Morris, a graduate student at Cornell
University, to bring down the entire Internet using an electronic
``worm,'' a bit of software whose only goal was to spread through the
system and make copies of itself. Patches for the holes exploited by
Morris soon were deployed.
The current e-mail problem is different in that the fix isn't aimed at
the high-powered machines that keep the Internet humming but on the
standard desktop machines, which often must be serviced one by one.
``We would rank it as a fairly significant problem, one that's unusual
because it affects consumer-level software more than the kind of
software that internet service providers might run on their server
machines,'' said Shawn Hernan, leader of the vulnerability handling
team at the CERT (formerly the Computer Emergency Response Team)
Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University's Software
Engineering Institute.
Many people suspect that the problem will be around for many months
because people will fail to install the patches as they become
available or neglect to upgrade their e-mail software.
Update -- or else
``Now that the crackers know how to exploit this, people who don't
update will be hurt,'' said Paul E. Hoffman, director of the Internet
Mail Consortium. ``Unfortunately, that might be the majority of
people.''
Corporate computer system administrators today often find themselves
overwhelmed inside a company. Security concerns often take a back seat
to the more pressing matters of installing a bigger hard drive or
monitor.
``We have no plans to patch company-wide immediately,'' said David
Hart, who works in the Internet industry. ``We'll probably patch
laptop users right away because they go for longer periods of time
without hard drive backups. We'll probably roll out Communicator 4.5
(with the patch included) in October or November. Our network is set
up in a way that damage caused by a hack would be reduced and more
easily reparable compared to most other PC network configurations,''
he said. ``Please don't print my employer's name. I'd hate someone to
interpret my boast as an invitation to hack.''
Long time to create patch
The flaw has been confirmed in three programs: Microsoft Corp.'s
Outlook Express and Outlook 98 and Netscape Communications Corp.'s
Messenger Mail, which accompanies versions 4.x of the Communicator Web
browser software. Researchers are continuing to study other software
packages to see which are vulnerable and under what circumstances.
Oftentimes a patch for a security hole can be created within a day or
two. Because of the variety of ways this flaw can be exploited, it's
taking companies an exceptionally long time to build something that
guards against all the possible permutations, yet doesn't interfere
with function or create new problems.
Experts remain concerned that users will be less likely to install the
patches if the process takes too long.
``Vendors need to be very proactive in getting the word out,'' Hernan
said. ``This story has received a lot of public attention, so there
is some hope that it will get a larger level of the public
mindshare.''
------------------------------
From: TELECOM Digest Editor <ptownson@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Telecom Strike on East Coast and Other News
Date: Sun, 09 Aug 1998 14:00:00 EDT
Pardon me for not being around much this past week. A bit of illness
combined with an overwhelming amount of work helping my friend Jim
at his bus station (this is August, and a very busy month in the bus
business) have made other things difficult to manage. Then too, a
small problem with the computer that took a good part of a day to get
repaired added to the backlog.
In the news Sunday morning comes word that Bell Atlantic/Nynex
employees went on strike as of midnight Saturday night. I do not yet
know the details, except that a contract had expired and the new terms
were not yet agreed upon. These days with so much of telecom totally
automated, it is hard to say what effect the strike will have on
users, if any. I suppose new installations will be affected, and the
usual amount of sabatoge can be expected. Readers who wish to report
any experiences as a result of the strike are welcome to write.
In other news, I *may* have a new corporate sponsor for the Digest of
the magnitude (financially) or better as Microsoft. I won't confirm it
until I have absolute evidence of it, but suffice to say I am going
to my post office box daily looking for a window envelope with a 'pay
to the order of' visible when the envelope is held up to a strong
light. The new sponsor, if it happens, has three letters as the abbrev-
iation to its name, and it is not AT&T or MCI. They'll want something
for their money of course. More details when I can print them without
making a fool of myself (this week, I still reserve the right to take
that posture on other occassions -- smile!)
PAT
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #115
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Aug 16 22:17:16 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
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Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 22:17:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199808170217.WAA02293@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #116
TELECOM Digest Sun, 16 Aug 98 22:17:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 116
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Many Small Towns in West Still Without Phones (Babu Mengelepouti)
Commentary on Some Towns Without Phones (Babu Mengelepouti)
AT&T Charges GTE with Unjust Access Fees (Monty Solomon)
Court Upholds Phone Regulation (Monty Solomon)
New Area Codes: Dallas 469, Houston 832 (Greg Monti)
Media Coverage of Privatizing of Internet Root Server System (Ronda Hauben)
What's With Ameritech Pay Phones in GTE Territory? (Jack Decker)
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 08:41:14 -0700
From: Babu Mengelepouti <dialtone@vcn.bc.ca>
Reply-To: dialtone@vcn.bc.ca
Organization: US Secret Service
Subject: Many Small Towns in West Still Without Phones
I ran across this article in the {Seattle Times}, but it's originally
from the {Oregonian}, based in Portland. I think that it's very well
written, and should be published in the Digest.
The URL is http://www.oregonlive.com/todaysnews/9808/st080214.html and
I've included the text in case the link is dead by the time you read
this.
Granite, Ore.: Outside the loop
The tiny mountain community of 25 residents, once
a booming mining town, has never had phone
service
Sunday, August 2 1998
By Su-jin Yim of The Oregonian staff
The cream-colored business cards that lodge owners
Pat and Mitch Fielding hand out must be a rarity in the
lodging industry. The cards ask customers to "please
write for reservations."
The Fieldings don't live in
the 19th century, but their
communications link to the
outside world does.
Granite, a tiny mountain
town located about two
hours south of Pendleton,
does not have phone
service.
That means fellow
businesswoman Lucy
Myers, who owns the
general store, can't order
supplies out of her
distributor's online Web
site. Instead, she uses a
2-year-old catalog when
she calls her sales rep on her cell phone.
Late-night gabbing is a near impossibility, unless you
want the neighbors to hear. The town's de facto local
phone network is CB radio.
Granite's situation highlights the consequences of
living in remote rural America, where the lack of basic
services that urbanites couldn't live without are
widening the gap in an information-driven society.
In essence, the United States, one of the most
connected nations in the world, is creating two
worlds: those with access and those without.
Some experts predict those consequences are bound
to get even more dire as telecommunications needs
expand beyond basic phone service into access to
advanced services, such as the Internet, telemedicine
and distance learning.
More than 6 million U.S. households, roughly 15
million people, lack basic telephone service for one
reason or another, according to the federal
government.
The 1996 Telecommunications Act was supposed to
change that. Among other things, the now
much-criticized act, designed to bring competition to
the monopolistic industry, promised equal access to
every American. But two years later, the national
battle over rural telecommunications is raging as
federal regulators and politicians push and pull to
force the act to live up to its promises.
That's left places like Granite; Pearl, Idaho, and
small rural communities in the South unconnected.
"What you'll find in a community lacking basic
infrastructure, basic telephone service, basic
education, basic health care is . . . we're paying for
more of their child care, their food stamps," said
Scott Duff, Oregon director of rural development for the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. "If we disinvest in
rural America, it will have a cost."
Isolated by economics
Granite, whose population has tripled from eight to 25
full-time residents in two years, has never had phone
service. A once-booming mining town founded at the
turn of the century, the growth dried up when the
dredges did. The town can get satellite TV and has
electricity, but there are no Internet addicts here. No
one surfs the Web, sends electronic mail or even
faxes.
Other services lag too: the town gets mail only three
days a week and has no local emergency services.
US West, which is looking into ways to provide
phone service, says it alone can't afford to pay the
nearly $1 million price tag of running fiber-optic
cable to the roughly 30 people in and around Granite. The
town, reached by winding, two-lane mountain roads,
is surrounded by the Umatilla National Forest on all
sides and sits on rocky terrain.
The closest land-line phone and central telephone
office is in Sumpter, 17 miles away.
"We are hard up against the tyranny of distance and
density," said Larry Huss, US West Oregon vice
president. US West's proposed solution would have
each Granite customer pay their share of the total
equipment and construction costs. That's roughly
$30,000 per person.
"That's going to be a real problem if they come to a
price everybody has to pay. We'll never get a phone,"
said Myers, who is on the town council.
It isn't surprising that Granite, with a median income
of $15,000 and median age of 58, isn't a priority for US
West.
Like other regulated phone companies who are
laboring to compete in the post-Telecom Act world,
the Denver-based Baby Bell is feeling pressure on
nearly every front.
Its new rivals, called competitive local exchange
carriers, are cherry-picking the most lucrative
customers -- businesses -- while leaving the
traditional phone company with the headache of providing
expensive, but less profitable, rural service.
During the past several years, US West has been
selling off old rural phone exchanges throughout its
14-state territory. "That gives you a sense about
where they see their business going," said securities
analyst Bob Wilkes, who follows US West for Brown
Brothers Harriman in New York.
Before the Act passed, US West's reluctance would
have easily left the door open for Pine Telephone, a
tiny company in Halfway almost at the state border,
says Pine president Rodney Huff.
But now, his company, which wrote an engineering
study and planned to provide service, also can't afford
to loop in Granite without promises of subsidized
loans from the Rural Utilities Service.
Serving rural areas has become more complicated
since 1996.
The federal government and industry giants are
squabbling over how large the universal access fund
that would subsidize costs should be, and how the
money would be handed out. Without the promise of
federal aid, rural service is a riskier proposition for
the small telephone companies that serve hundreds of
customers ignored by the Bell operating companies.
Leaving the city behind
Not everyone in Granite is aching for phone service.
The townspeople are mavericks, says Mayor Mike
Hammer, a former air traffic controller.
Many of the residents moved to this mountain
community precisely because they wanted less
contact, not more, with the bustle of urban life.
But that puts them out of touch, and for the few
businesses in town, that's especially difficult.
The Fieldings say they poured $400,000 into building
their gleaming wood lodge with a spacious
wrap-around deck, on the perennial promise that
phones were coming.
Pat Fielding recently removed the Lodge's Web site
from the Internet. The immediacy of the Internet just
didn't make sense when potential customers couldn't
even call for more information or to make
reservations.
Former US West employee Dee Schnitzer, who
joined her husband in Granite last year, can't take
advantage of the free phone service she earned as a
longtime employee.
The consequences can be dire.
After a 40-year career that pushed his family all
around the West, Oregon native Glenn Myers wanted
to come home. So the retired midlevel executive and
his wife, Lucy, moved back to Eastern Oregon and
bought the town store.
The town's lack of amenities didn't deter the high
school sweethearts who had met while attending
school in Baker City, about 50 miles from Granite.
But when Glenn Myers, 58, had a heart attack in
May, their cell phone spit static at them.
Daughter-in-law Diane Myers called for an
ambulance, but couldn't make out the dispatcher's
instructions. Panicky moments led to a tortuous hour
of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation before an ambulance
reached town.
"I wanted them to quit," said Lucy Myers, a
quiet-spoken woman wearing a blue Granite Store
T-shirt.
This year, Paul Schnitzer, a city councilman and
reserve deputy who performed CPR on Myers, has
written numerous letters to politicians and others. Few
of the recipients, who included state legislators,
utility commissioners, President Bill Clinton and Rush
Limbaugh, had an answer.
Some states force companies to serve rural areas.
Alaska's Public Utility Commission told Alascom, a
subsidiary of AT&T, that it had to provide phone
service to any town of 25 residents or more. Alascom
uses low-orbiting satellites to bounce electric signals
from earth stations hooked up to wired central offices.
But Oregon's PUC says it won't force US West to
offer service to Granite at a loss.
Alaska's satellite system, the early beginnings of
which came about to link the state's military outposts
with the rest of the nation, wouldn't work in Granite
because it doesn't have any land lines to begin with.
And US West isn't pursuing that technology. Huss,
the US West Oregon vice president, said an early
1990s satellite trial in Wyoming provided poor service
and cost too much. The company hasn't found any
other low-cost technology that would help, he said.
Huss says Granite's situation speaks to the larger
issue of universal access and blames slow-moving
regulators on the company's inability to provide
service economically. Huss, who grew up in Montana,
said the FCC needs to take action before it leaves
rural America behind permanently.
"At some point in time, US West, GTE and others will
not serve these areas, because they can't afford to
serve them," Huss said. "There's no question we will
create a society of technological haves and have-nots
for basic service."
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 08:46:15 -0700
From: Babu Mengelepouti <dialtone@vcn.bc.ca>
Reply-To: dialtone@vcn.bc.ca
Organization: US Secret Service
Subject: Commentary on Some Towns Without Phones
I have a comment on this article, too:
US West claims it would cost a million dollars to run fibre to
Granite. Why in the world would they do this? Clearly, if cellular
service is available, it should be possible to establish a microwave
link, and probably at substantially less cost. They do this already
in Fields, OR -- they run a SLC to there from (if I remember correctly)
Burns. I think that this is just political posturing, and it's
leaving the residents of Granite without phones in the meantime. US
West continues its reign as one of the slimiest telcoes in existance.
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: AT&T Charges GTE With Unjust Access Fees
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 17:37:20 -0400
AT&T Charges GTE with Unjust Access Fees Company says
Michigan Telephone Customers Unjustly Penalized
August 13, 1998 1:34 PM EDT
LANSING, Mich., Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Stating that GTE (NYSE: GTE)
refused to negotiate an access charge reduction that would benefit the
state's long-distance telephone users, AT&T (NYSE: T) today filed a
complaint with the Michigan Public Service Commission asking the
commission to order GTE to reduce access charges to comparable rates
in its other Midwest states. If the fees were reduced, the reduction
would amount to $21.5 million.
"GTE's charges for toll access services are excessive, unreasonable
and discriminatory when compared to the access charges it imposes in
AT&T's other central region states," said Ray O'Connell, AT&T public
relations vice president, central states. "As a result, the monies GTE
generates in carrier access fees in Michigan place a disproportionate
burden on Michigan's long-distance customers."
In its complaint, AT&T indicated the company had been unsuccessful in
getting GTE to agree to negotiate a reduction in its intrastate
Primary Interexchange Carrier Charges (PICCs) which far exceed the
comparable GTE PICC rates in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin.
"Such an arbitrary rate design unjustly penalizes Michigan long-distance
customers and is inconsistent with the procompetitive intent of the
Michigan Telecommunications Act," added O'Connell.
According to AT&T the PICC rates established in January by GTE in
Michigan are the highest among those of the five-state AT&T central
region and ensure that Michigan long-distance telephone customers pay
more for telephone services in Michigan than do consumers in Illinois,
Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin. "For example," continued O'Connell, "a
Michigan customer who uses approximately 10 minutes of telephone
service per day will pay approximately twice as much for access than
an Illinois customer."
In addition, in its filing AT&T is seeking a reduction in other rate
levels so that the revenues GTE generates in Michigan are more in line
with Michigan's "fair share." If AT&T's proposals are adopted, GTE
Michigan's common line revenues would decrease from 36 percent of its
total access of the five-state region to 20 percent. "This figure is
equitable given that 20.7 percent of GTE's total five-state access
lines are in Michigan," added O'Connell.
"With these high access charges we're at a competitive disadvantage,"
said O'Connell. "We're simply asking the Michigan commission to order
GTE to reduce the access charges. If it does, we will pass any savings
on to our long-distance customers in Michigan." SOURCE AT&T
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Court Upholds Phone Regulation
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 17:38:07 -0400
Court Upholds Phone Regulation
August 10, 1998 6:53 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) _ A government regulation aimed at helping companies
provide competing local phone services was upheld Monday by a federal
appeals court in St. Louis.
The court's ruling preserves the status quo and won't have any
immediate impact on local telephone customers.
But the Federal Communications Commission was pleased to finally score
a victory after losing several court cases involving its efforts to
break open the $110 billion local phone business to competition.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit upheld an FCC decision
requiring major local phone companies to lease out to rivals certain
network facilities _ mainly trunks and switches _ that carry calls
between local phone switches and long-distance companies. These
facilities, dubbed shared transport, carry the traffic of multiple
phone customers or phone companies.
GTE, Bell Atlantic and other local phone companies asked the court to
overturn the ruling. The FCC, long-distance companies _ AT&T, MCI and
WorldCom _ and others that want to provide local phone services argued
that the rules be retained.
The FCC's regulation was part of its efforts to implement a 1996
telecommunications law, which freed local, long-distance and cable
companies to get into each others' businesses.
``We conclude that the plain meaning of the statute supports the FCC's
determination,'' a panel of three judges wrote in an unanimous
decision.
The court's ruling may help the FCC in another, crucial case pending
before the Supreme Court, said a FCC attorney, speaking on condition
of anonymity.
Last year, the 8th Circuit said the FCC lacked the authority to set
prices for would-be rivals to lease pieces of existing local phone
networks or to buy local service and resell it to customers. Only the
states can do that, the court said. The decision has deterred
companies from getting into the local phone business.
Given this ruling, FCC attorneys said they don't expect Monday's
decision to have an immediate impact on local phone customers. Still,
the most recent ruling is important to would-be local phone providers,
the FCC attorneys said, because they'll have access to these
``shared'' facilities and won't be forced to lease more expensive
dedicated lines to route calls.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 23:22:15 -0500
From: Greg Monti <gmonti@mindspring.com>
Subject: New Area Codes: Dallas 469, Houston 832
In the Tuesday, August 11, 1998, {Dallas Morning News} is an article
on page A1 entitled, "Dallas, suburbs to ring in 469 as third area
code". A summary:
Beginning on December 5, 1998, the boundary between the 214 and 972
area codes will be erased and either code can be assigned on either
side of the line. On the same day, all local calls in the Dallas area
will need to be dialed with 10 digits. 7 digits will no longer be
allowed. No change to toll calling: will be 1+10 digits, same as now.
Beginning in July, 1999, new numbers will begin to be assigned in the
469 area code.
Ten digit dialing for local calls is already in service in Maryland,
Atlanta and Miami. The article notes that "officials believe that
this will be the last new code that Dallas it its suburbs will need
until at least 2005."
More than half of the 800 possible area codes in North America have
already been assigned or reserved. The story says the three-digit
area code system will exhaust in about 2025 and the number of digits
required for a local call may rise "to 12 or 15," according to Texas
code administrator Bill Adair.
Houston will also get a third area code, 832, in January, 1999, also
using the overlay method covering the 713 and 281 areas.
Greg Monti Dallas, Texas, USA
gmonti@mindspring.com
http://www.mindspring.com/~gmonti
------------------------------
From: rh120@columbia.edu (Ronda Hauben)
Subject: Media Coverage of Privatizing of Internet Root Server System
Date: 16 Aug 1998 16:17:09 GMT
Organization: Columbia University
Reply-To: rh120@columbia.edu
"The domain name issue is of critical importance... for the
continued well functioning of the Net..."
I have been doing some research on these issues. I found a meeting on
July 30-31 1997 on the subject and the report of that meeting noted:
"As many have noted, the domain name system is a running service, used
by millions every day. It is also a sensitive system, where a small
mistake can cause a lot of damage...."
Yet a significant change in who controls this system is being made
with no public attention and oversight over what is happening.
Questions: Are some industry entities taking this over and why is this
being done in such a shroud of darkness?
Who will have the control? How can a crucial aspect of a vital
communications infrastructure be be handed over to something that is
not accountable to any public process or entity?
I wondered if anyone has seen any media coverage of the changes that
are being planned in how the Internet Domain Name System is
administered and in the control over the root server system that is
the nerve center of the Internet.
It is interesting that this is such an important aspect of the proper
functioning of the Internet and yet I have seen very little press
coverage of the issues and controversy involved in this.
If there is no accountability in how these are adminstered and
controlled all who are on the Internet are at the mercy of those who
have control of these vital functions.
There is a meeting going on in Singapore now to plan this privatization
and there was a meeting last month in Geneva and there seems to be no
responsibility taken by those doing this privatizing to explain the
importance of these systems and the great amount of control over the
Internet that those who gain control of this private organization will
have.
It is a sorry symptom of our times that more of the press (I am mainly
speaking of the U.S. but wonder what the situation is abroad as well)
is not shedding any light on what is going on so Internet users and
the public can know what is happening and that the important questions
are being asked.
(Unfortunately, my experience is that the folks doing this change
don't allow for any questions. Instead they are rushing to declare
"consensus" with their plans and activities.)
Also it is important that there be discussion and debate on this on
Usenet and the Internet.
There are some mailing lists where I have heard this is being discussed
but it is not even clear where they all are -- I know of one or two.
How can this issue be opened up to public scrutiny?
What seems to be the problem is that the Domain Name System is being
used in a way not originally intended. It was originally intended as a
way to identify organizations online and there was a hierachical
architecture which meant the organization was responsible for getting
messages to the machines in its organization. So an address
xxxx.xxxx.xcollege.edu would go to xcollege and xcollege would have to
take over the responsibility to send the messages onto their proper
recipient at their site.
Now there seems to be an effort to use the DNS to advertise products
and to insist on increasing the top level domains rather than
respecting the need for the hierarchical architecture.
There is also a lawsuit against the NSF going on to increase the
number of top level domains and it doesn't seem that the NSF was
defending against the lawsuit.
Thus those who are pushing through the privatization seem to be those
who want to be able to add more top level domains (gTLD's) which can
mean big bucks for those who get to sell them.
But instead it would appear that a directory service is what is needed
for the names of products and that the Domain Name System shouldn't be
used as a means of advertising a product.
This is a serious question and along with the DNS will go the root
server system which is the nerve system for addressing all messages on
the Internet.
The Internet is a computer system not a public relations system and
its integrity is at stake in the current push to privatize these key
aspects.
I welcome comments, suggestions etc. toward having these issues
discussed much more broadly before the Sept. 30 fiat that is being
planned to grab control off these vital systems.
Ronda
ronda@panix.com
See also http://www.columbia.edu/~rh120/other/
and http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/dns-supplement.txt
Netizens: On the History and Impact
of Usenet and the Internet
http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/netbook
also in print edition ISDN 0-8186-7706-6
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 22:40:57 -0400
From: Jack Decker <jack@novagate.REMOVE-THIS.com>
Subject: What's With Ameritech Pay Phones in GTE Territory?
I've started to notice something unusual recently: Ameritech pay
phones in a GTE service area, namely Muskegon, Michigan. I first
noticed these in Meijer stores (Meijer [rhymes with "tire"] is a large
regional department store/supermarket chain that is probably more
popular than K-Mart or Wal-Mart in its home region, which includes
parts of Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky and perhaps one or two other
adjacent states), and thought that perhaps Meijer had some sort of
contract with Ameritech that let them put pay phones in all Meijer
stores. But then I noticed Ameritech pay phones popping up at other
locations, such as the Clark gas station down the road from Meijer.
These phones have the standard Ameritech logo plastered all over them,
and the card on the phone says that AT&T is the carrier for calls
outside the LATA, and that Ameritech handles calls inside the LATA (I
don't think they actually used the term "LATA", but that was the gist
of it, and I didn't have a pen and paper to write down the exact
phrasing). Well, as best I could determine, that's not quite true.
In my very limited testing, it appears that from those phones, ALL
toll calls go to AT&T, unless you dial "zero" only to place a call, in
which case you get the GTE operator. If there is any way to get an
Ameritech operator from those phones, or have a call routed over
Ameritech's network (without going through some other company first),
I couldn't discover it. Also, the phones have local phone numbers
(associated with the local GTE exchange), so they're not being
backhauled to any Ameritech switch.
I'm just kind of curious as to why one LEC would place pay phones in
another LEC's territory, when they otherwise seem so unwilling to
compete. What I mean by that is that if you live on a street that is
the boundary line between a GTE exchange and an Ameritech exchange,
and you want service from the company that serves the homes across the
street from you, and there is a pole right across the street and all
they'd have to do is drop a normal drop wire to your home, they still
won't do it because you're in another company's service area, and
those exchange boundaries are respected as though they were an
international border or something to that effect.
If we are supposed to be in a new competitive era, why are the big
phone companies apparently so unwilling to go into each other's
territories? The smaller companies seem less inhibited in this
regard. For example, the Allendale Telephone Company (which I have
praised from time to time for their great service and extremely great
rates) is expanding their service into Coopersville (both localities
are far suburbs of Grand Rapids, Michigan). Coopersville is currently
served by GTE, and the Allendale Telephone Company appears to be
laying their own cables and putting in their own pedestals, so that in
some locations you see what appears to be a shiny new Allendale
Telephone Company pedestal alongside a somewhat older GTE pedestal.
This, to me, is how local competition should work - the competitors
should build their own cable plant and use their own switches, and not
just resell the incumbent phone company's service.
But even though a few of the small companies seem willing to compete,
the big LEC's seem to have a "hands off" policy toward each other -
with the aforementioned exception of Ameritech pay phones in GTE
territory. I've never seen the reverse (A GTE pay phone in Ameritech's
service area, although that doesn't mean that none exist, it just
means that I haven't run across any).
Anyone have any ideas as to why Ameritech has decided to cross the
almost-sacred exchange boundary to provide pay phone service?
Jack
(To reply via e-mail, please make the obvious modification to my e-mail
address.)
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #116
******************************
From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Aug 25 18:47:06 1998
Return-Path: <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id SAA15809; Tue, 25 Aug 1998 18:47:06 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 18:47:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Message-Id: <199808252247.SAA15809@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #117
TELECOM Digest Sun, 23 Aug 98 22:36:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 117
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Telephone Line Complication and Bellsouth (Res Judicata)
Telecom Update (Canada) #144, August 10, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement)
Book Review: "RISKS-FORUM Digest", Peter G. Neumann (Rob Slade)
Bell Atlantic and CWA Reach Agreement on New Contracts (Mike Pollock)
Network Connection Centers (iiicom@my-dejanews.com)
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:
* telecom-request@telecom-digest.org *
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: 847-727-5427
Fax: 847-675-3149
** Article submission address: editor@telecom-digest.org **
Our archives are available for your review/research. The URL is:
http://telecom-digest.org
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
(or use our mirror site: ftp ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives)
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note
to archives@telecom-digest.org 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. *
*************************************************************************
In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order
telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has
been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very
inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request
a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing
your name to the mailing list.
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Res Judicata <meh@bellsouth.net>
Subject: Telephone Line Complication and Bellsouth
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 10:15:27 GMT
I move into a new house week before last. It was pre-wired with a
three-pair cable. I have three telephone lines (A, B, and C). Bellsouth
ran two cables to the network interface box. Line A, the main line,
has one of those cables. Lines B and C, share the other one.
I was planning to use line B for my 56K modem. However, I could never
make a connection with my ISP over 24000 bps on that line. Out of
curiosity, I connected to line A. Voila! I was hitting 40K and
above, depending on the time of day. Why, the difference?
Okay, so I call Bellsouth with what I thought was a real simple
request, since we didn't need a real clean line for voice calls. I
asked them to flip-flop the line number assignments between lines A
and B. Holy smokes did that simply request ever start a n avalanche
of frustration! They can't get it right. I figured it would be as
simple as doing a central office procedure. First they started
calling, and went through a series of questions about all sorts of
unrelated troubles with the line.
Then they sent a repairman out, who said his order listed things like
multiple voices on the line. I explained to him what I wanted. He
switched the facilities around, but that didn't affect what I wanted.
It did, however, cause some heretofore unnoticed occurrences, like the
sound of a number being dialed while I'm on a voice call, a hissing
sound on the line, periodic clicking during a conversation, as well.
I called them back to tell them as much. About an hour later, a woman
from the "data transmission resolution center" called to tell me that
the FCC only required 19.2 line quality, that line A and line B were
on different kinds of cable, blah, blah, blah. Geezus! All I want is
for B to have that A's cable assignment, lady.
Can anybody `splain to me what gives with these folks? Is what I
requested all that complicated a deal?
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 10:25:46 -0400
From: Angus TeleManagement <angus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #144, August 10, 1998
************************************************************
* *
* TELECOM UPDATE *
* Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin *
* http://www.angustel.ca *
* Number 144: August 10, 1998 *
* *
* Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by *
* generous financial support from: *
* *
* Bell Canada ................. http://www.bell.ca/ *
* City Dial Network Services .. http://www.citydial.com/ *
* Computer Talk Technology .... http://icescape.com/ *
* fONOROLA .................... http://www.fonorola.com/ *
* Lucent Technologies ......... http://www.lucent.ca/ *
* *
************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
** BC Tel Bundles Long Distance, Local Services
** More News From Flat-Rate Front Lines
AT&T Canada
BC Tel
MTS
Telus
** Resellers Can't Be CLECS
** Ottawa to License Rural Fixed Wireless
** Cantel Adds 25,000 Subscribers
** Cantel, Royal Bank Offer Wireless POS Transactions
** Clearnet's Mike Connects Wireless Business Communities
** BC Tel Parent Merges With Bell Atlantic
** ISPs Seek Public Notice on Bell ADSL Tariff
** Newbridge Reorganizes
** Payphone Competitors Register
** Telesystem Buys Brazilian Cellcos
** SaskTel Extends High-Speed Internet Services
** Financial Reports
Amtelecom
CGI Group
Rogers Cantel
Teleglobe
** Web Site Resources Aid Telemanagement Readers
============================================================
BC TEL BUNDLES LONG DISTANCE, LOCAL SERVICES: BC Tel's new
Value Bundle offers residential customers a package of long
distance, local, and SmartTouch services for about 15% less
than they would cost separately. (See Telecom Update #141).
MORE NEWS FROM FLAT-RATE FRONT LINES:
** AT&T Canada's Dime Time residential plan now caps charges
for off-peak Canada calls at $20/month; other Canadian
and all U.S. calls are 20 cents/minute. AT&T also offers
a 5% pre-authorized payment discount and an Aeroplan
Miles bonus.
** BC Tel's No Limits Canada caps charges for 10 cents/
minute off-peak Canada calls at $20; other Canadian
and all U.S. calls are 22 cents/minute.
** MTS' First Rate Unlimited charges Manitoba customers 9
cents (Saturdays) and 10 cents (Sundays and evenings) to
a maximum of $19.95; off-peak calling card calls are 10
cents (Canada) and 20 cents (U.S.).
** Telus says its Your Way Unlimited flat-rate LD plan
signed up 25,000 Alberta customers in its first week.
Sixty percent transferred from other long distance
companies.
RESELLERS CAN'T BE CLECs: CRTC Decision 98-12 turns down ACC
TelEnterprises' request that "non-Canadian carriers" (in particular,
foreign-owned resellers) be allowed to become Competitive Local
Exchange Carriers in Canada. The Commission reiterates its May 1997
ruling that only facilities-based carriers may be CLECs, because it
would be unable to enforce CLEC obligations on resellers, which are
not regulated carriers.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/decision/1998/d9812_0.txt
OTTAWA TO LICENSE RURAL FIXED WIRELESS: Industry Canada says it will
immediately begin licensing fixed wireless communications in the
3.4-3.7 GHz frequency band for voice and data service in rural
areas. Bell Canada has been using this frequency in parts of Ontario,
under experimental/ developmental licenses, to upgrade multiparty
customers to single-line service.
CANTEL ADDS 25,000 SUBSCRIBERS: Rogers Cantel posted a net
second-quarter gain of 24,900 subscribers, twice the number of the
previous quarter. About 400,000 Cantel subscribers (25% of the total)
have digital service. Monthly disconnects rose to 1.87% (last year:
1.5%). (See Telecom Update #131, #143)
CANTEL, ROYAL BANK OFFER WIRELESS POS TRANSACTIONS: The Royal Bank has
certified wireless point-of-sale transaction processing via Rogers
Cantel's AirPOS service, which runs over the Mobitex data network.
CLEARNET'S MIKE CONNECTS WIRELESS BUSINESS COMMUNITIES: Clearnet's
Mike wireless service links 650 construction businesses and 4,000
users in a "wireless community," which offers instant phone contact
via two-way radio. Other "Industrynet" services have been launched in
six additional sectors.
BC TEL PARENT MERGES WITH BELL ATLANTIC: GTE, which owns a majority of
BC Tel and QuebecTel, plans to merge with Bell Atlantic in a
US$53.4-Billion deal. "It's good news," BC Tel CEO Don Calder told the
Financial Post, since the West Coast telco will "fill a gap" for Bell
Atlantic.
ISPs SEEK PUBLIC NOTICE ON BELL ADSL TARIFF: Bell Canada Tariff Notice
6249 proposes an ADSL access service for Internet Providers who wish
to provide ADSL to business customers. The Canadian Association of
Internet Providers has asked the CRTC not to approve the tariff
without a "full public process."
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/proc_rep/telecom/1998/8740/b2-6249.html
NEWBRIDGE REORGANIZES: Newbridge Networks is dividing its networking
business into three groups -- telecom switches, Internet and
networking products, and access products. The change was announced by
new President Alan Lutz, who joined the company from Compaq in June.
PAYPHONE COMPETITORS REGISTER: Canada Payphone Corporation and Paytel
Canada have registered with the CRTC as Competitive Pay Telephone
Service Providers.
TELESYSTEM BUYS BRAZILIAN CELLCOS: Telesystem International Wireless,
which is controlled by Charles Sirois, heads the consortium which has
won the bidding for two newly privatized Brazilian cellular
companies. Bell Canada International failed to win either of the
Brazilian cellcos it bid for.
SASKTEL EXTENDS HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SERVICES: SaskTel's Sympatico
High-Speed Internet service, which uses ADSL technology, is now
available in Weyburn.
FINANCIAL REPORTS:
** Amtelecom, an independent Ontario telco, took a $2.5-
Million charge in the second quarter, mainly to pay for
downsizing its unprofitable U.S. courier/fulfillment
business. Revenue was $34 Million, 16% above last year;
the net loss was $1.2 Million.
** CGI Group, buoyed by its acquisition of Bell Sygma,
recorded $158 Million in revenue for the three months
ending June 30, a 123% increase over last year. Net
income rose 218% to $7.7 Million. (See Telecom Update
#115)
** Rogers Cantel's second-quarter revenue dropped 0.7% from
last year to $306 Million, as revenue per subscriber fell
8.7%. Net loss was $10.3 Million, down from a $19.7-
Million loss in the previous quarter. Rogers
Communications lost $44 Million, while revenue increased
6% over last year to $716 Million.
** Teleglobe's second-quarter earnings were $45 Million, up
33% from last year. Increasing U.S. and European traffic
boosted revenue 21% to $575 Million.
WEB SITE RESOURCES AID TELEMANAGEMENT READERS: Many of the
resources on the Angus TeleManagement Web site are designed
to assist readers of Telemanagement: The Angus Report on
Business Telecommunications in Canada.
** The Web site's Telecom Resources section gives Internet
links to all communications organizations mentioned in
Telemanagement.
** The Web site Telecom Calendar provides links to events
mentioned in Telemanagement's Calendar.
** Comprehensive Web site subject indexes and content lists
enable readers to locate past articles on any topic.
Visit the Angus Web site at http://www.angustel.ca For
Telemanagement subscription information, call 1-800-263-4415
ext 225, or go to http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm-sub.html
============================================================
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca
FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE
Angus TeleManagement Group
8 Old Kingston Road
Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7
===========================================================
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There
are two formats available:
1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World
Wide Web on the first business day of the week at
http://www.angustel.ca/update/up.html
2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of
charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to
majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message
should contain only the two words: subscribe update
To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail
message to majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message
should say only: unsubscribe update [Your e-mail address]
===========================================================
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce,
please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext
225.
The information and data included has been obtained from
sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus
TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations
whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy.
Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available
information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on
the subject matter is required, the services of a competent
professional should be obtained.
============================================================
------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 10:31:00 -0800
Subject: REVIEW: "RISKS-FORUM Digest", Peter G. Neumann
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
MLRISKSF.RVW 980607
"RISKS-FORUM Digest", Peter G. Neumann, 1985 - , , free
%E Peter G. Neumann risks@csl.sri.com
%D 1985 -
%O news:comp.risks http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks
%P ~ 20 articles 3 times per week
%T "RISKS-FORUM Digest"
RISKS-FORUM Digest, generally referred to simply as RISKS, is not the
oldest mailing list on the net, nor even the oldest moderated list.
It is definitely long lived, extremely consistent in this most
ephemeral of worlds, and, quite simply, one of the best.
RISKS explores the hazards and failures of technology, and
specifically computer technology. However, this is no mere neo-
Luddite decrying of the dehumanization of civilization, but is often
written by the technologists themselves. While the list is open to
everyone, the names of those regularly posting to RISKS also tend to
show up in conference catalogues around the world. Computers and
software are the main topic of discussion, but the involvement of
computing in almost every area of modern life ensures that subjects
discussed range from overripe tomatoes (calling emergency services) to
rocket launches (lost because of missing punctuation).
Many discussions in RISKS deal with stories ignored in the mass media.
This is not because of any secrecy or confidentiality, but simply
because the general press does not understand the importance of the
issues involved. On the other hand, a number of items that eventually
appear in the media may do so because of discussion, and even
movements, started by postings in RISKS and other similar venues. In
other cases, RISKS deals with news that is made public, but provides
background, details, and analysis not available in newspapers (and
certainly not on TV).
While some of the credit for the status of RISKS has to go to a
relatively stable international coterie of high quality contributors,
the lion's share of the honour goes to the moderator, Peter G.
Neumann. Neumann's moderation is in large measure responsible for the
continued support of these contributors, and in a net world of spam,
junk email, and flame wars, RISKS remains an exemplar of mailing list
maintenance. Although an occasional hoax or diatribe gets past him,
Neumann is generally attentive to each posting (not least because he
is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to make pun-laden
editorial comments). Controversy and opinion are not avoided,
although if it starts to generate more heat than light the discussion
may be relegated to a "special edition."
RISKS, as any other net entity, is subject to Usenet, mail, and IP
spoofing, as well as diatribes, rants, mailbombing, and other breaches
of netiquette. Over the years it has managed to stay refreshingly
free from these abuses, overall.
The archives of the list (available at http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks)
are an extensive and valuable resource. Many of the dangers in the
use of technology come not so much from specific technical details, as
from social issues of use, testing, management, and so forth.
Therefore, RISKS postings as not as subject to dating as those of
other technical mailing lists. The worth of this collection can be
seen in the compilation recently used by Neumann to produce "Computer
Related Risks" (cf. BKCMRLRS.RVW).
For those with access to Usenet news, the simplest way to get hold of
the Digest is to subscribe to the comp.risks newsgroup, which is a
mirror of the mailing list. RISKS is only available in digest format,
even on the newsgroup. Newsgroup access is also the technically
preferred means of access.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 MLRISKSF.RVW 980607
------------------------------
From: Mike Pollock <pheel@m1.sprynet.com>
Subject: Bell Atlantic and CWA Reach Agreement on New Contracts
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 12:25:08 -0400
Bell Atlantic and CWA Reach Agreement on New Contracts
Employees Return to Work
August 11, 1998
Media contact: Steve Marcus
Susan Kraus
212-395-0500
NEW YORK -- Bell Atlantic and the Communications Workers of America
announced today a tentative agreement on new two-year contracts,
ending a two-day strike.
Donald J. Sacco, executive vice president of Human Resources for Bell
Atlantic, said, "The best news is that all our employees will be back
on the job and can focus on our primary mission, customer care. We
apologize for any inconvenience this work stoppage may have caused our
customers." He added, "This settlement meets our goals: It's fair to
employees, fair to customers, fair to the company, and in line with
other recent settlements in our industry. I'm grateful to both of our
negotiating teams and to Morty Bahr, CWA president, for the leadership
they demonstrated in reaching consensus on a variety of issues to put
an end to this strike."
Wages will increase by up to 3.8 percent effective Aug. 9, 1998, and
up to 4 percent, effective Aug. 8, 1999. Pension increases will range
from 11 percent to 20 percent.
The union will submit the agreements to its members to be ratified
within the next 30 days. Contracts will cover more than 73,000 workers
in 13 states and the District of Columbia. The previous contracts
expired Aug. 8.
"The new agreements recognize new competitive realities," Sacco said,
citing cash awards for union-represented employees based on customer
care levels and company profits.
The company will also provide its union-represented employees with
additional opportunities to participate in the company's growth --
similar to provisions in contracts the union has negotiated with other
telecommunications companies.
Sacco said, "Since the start of the new Bell Atlantic, we have
recognized the need to forge stronger partnerships with our unions to
work together to expand our business in high-technology areas."
As part of the agreements, the company will immediately transfer
certain work to union-represented employees now performed by
contractors. The company retains the flexibility to use contractors to
meet marketing and competitive needs, particularly where the company
does not have the requisite skills.
Beginning in October 1998, customer account work in the Bell Atlantic
Plus megacenter will be transferred back to Bell Atlantic's unionized
customer service representatives at the telephone companies. Bell
Atlantic Plus will continue its telemarketing services at the
megacenter.
The agreements extend an enhanced retirement program in New York that
was incorporated in the 1994 contract with NYNEX and the CWA. "This
allows us to complete this offer in a more orderly and efficient
way. Extending the program also puts the company in a much better
position to match attrition with productivity improvements," Sacco
said.
The agreements also contain these other major provisions:
New York and New England
Union-represented employees will receive a $500 cash payment next
month and an additional $400 in 1999. In addition, union-represented
employees in certain bargaining units will receive lump sum payments
of $700 each in 2000 and 2001 if customer care standards, to be
determined by the union and the company, are met.
Pensions will increase by 20 percent -- 5 percent effective Oct. 1,
1998, and a minimum of 15 percent effective July 1, 2000.
In New York, the enhanced retirement program, known as "6 & 6," was
due to end on Aug. 8. It will be extended through Dec. 31, 1999, for
currently eligible employees, who will leave in managed phases over
the next six quarters. Eligible employees can also choose to remain
with the company until Jan. 1, 2001, and receive improved pension
benefits.
Mid-Atlantic States
Union-represented employees will be eligible for corporate profit
sharing awards based on a standard award of $400 in 1999 and $500 in
2000. Actual awards are based on the company's profits and can vary by
up to 200 percent of the standard award.
Pensions will increase by 11 percent -- 4 percent on Oct. 1, 1998, 4
percent on Oct. 1, 1999, and 3 percent on July 1, 2000. In addition, a
trial program under which employees can choose to take their pensions
as a lump sum will be extended through December 2000.
There will be improvements in the administration of disability absence,
changes in the company's policy concerning medical restrictions, and an
extension of employment security commitments.
Vacation policies will be liberalized; and there will be policy
changes in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of
Columbia to encourage greater use of volunteers for overtime. In
Pennsylvania, differential pay for late-hour tours will be increased,
and a Saturday differential will be established.
Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With more than 41 million telephone access lines
and more than seven million wireless customers worldwide, Bell
Atlantic companies are premier providers of advanced wireline voice
and data services, market leaders in wireless services and the world?s
largest publishers of directory information. Bell Atlantic companies
are also among the world?s largest investors in high-growth global
communications markets, with operations and investments in 23
countries.
------------------------------
From: iiicom@my-dejanews.com
Subject: Network Connection Centers
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 19:37:20 GMT
Organization: Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion
Switch and Data Facilities Corp. has a new twist on an old concept --
colocation.
The company is opening America's first chain of network connection
centers, independent (carrier-neutral) colocation centers.
Switch and Data Facilities Co. (www.switchfacilities.com) opened its
first Network Connection Center at 401 North Broad Street in
Philadelphia, a building that is home to many long distance companies
and resellers. Similar centers are slated to open shortly in Los
Angeles and Miami with sites being planned in Chicago, Dallas, Denver,
Newark, New York City, Phoenix and San Francisco.
The centers help small to mid-size long distance companies, resellers,
internet companies and competitive local exchange carriers enter new
markets quickly and cost-effectively. Customers can select the
carriers they want to use and can negotiate with carriers to get the
best rates. They can easily interconnect their equipment because most
of the major carriers operate in the building.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #117
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Aug 30 22:35:32 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id WAA12128; Sun, 30 Aug 1998 22:35:32 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 22:35:32 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199808310235.WAA12128@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #118
TELECOM Digest Sun, 30 Aug 98 21:35:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 118
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Boulder, Colo., Businesses Prepare for 10-Digit Dialing (Tad Cook)
Brewing Dispute Over MS Coverage Roils the Press (Monty Solomon)
Frustrating "Customer Service" (Tad Cook)
More Area Code Splits! (Rob McMillin)
Book Review: "Web-Based Training Cookbook" Brandon Hall (Rob Slade)
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:
* telecom-request@telecom-digest.org *
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: 847-727-5427
Fax: 847-675-3149
** Article submission address: editor@telecom-digest.org **
Our archives are available for your review/research. The URL is:
http://telecom-digest.org
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
(or use our mirror site: ftp ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives)
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note
to archives@telecom-digest.org 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. *
*************************************************************************
In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order
telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has
been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very
inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request
a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing
your name to the mailing list.
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Boulder, Colo., Businesses Prepare for 10-Digit Dialing
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 00:41:34 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
Boulder, Colo., Businesses Prepare for 10-Digit Dialing
By Kris Hudson, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 29--Three extra digits have kept Larry Halpern and his staff at
Safe Systems of Boulder on their toes for seven months.
Within a couple of days, those three extra digits will play a role in
the daily lives of nearly everyone in the Denver metro area.
In a move to accommodate growing demand for new numbers, U S West
plans to debut 10-digit dialing on Tuesday for phone numbers in areas
now covered by the established 303 area code.
As a byproduct of introducing the new 720 area code to handle the
growth, U S West will require 10 digits for all local calls.
For Halpern's 32-employee company, the change has meant a prolonged
scramble to reprogram the alarm systems of thousands of Front Range
customers to dial 10 digits instead of seven whenever those systems
contact the company's central monitoring station in Boulder.
Most Safe Systems' employees have worked weeks of overtime to prepare
for the conversion, including weekend and late-night shifts. The
stress caused one worker to quit.
"This has been a major, major program for us," Halpern, Safe Systems'
president, said last week. "Due to the size of our company, we've been
working on this since Feb. 1. It has put a strain on all of our
staff. Some of our accounts we are able to do over the telephone by
just programming them, but with many customers, we have to go out and
visit them."
Halpern estimated on Thursday that his staff completed "99 percent" of
the reprogramming work needed to prepare Safe Systems customers for
the advent of 10-digit dialing. He suspects other firms might be
behind.
"I was talking to one of our competitors in the area who just started
this three weeks ago," Halpern said. "And I can't see how anyone could
have started just three weeks ago."
Not to worry -yet. Though the 10-digit conversion will start happening
for most Denver-area phone numbers on Tuesday, U S West and the state
Public Utilities Commission are delaying the conversion until Dec. 1
for several phone number prefixes that serve alarm companies. All
told, the Dec. 1 deadline extension will apply for 28 of the 600
prefixes in the Denver metro area.
U S West and PUC officials announced the deadline extension in a press
conference last week, explaining that they had heard some alarm
companies are still preparing for the conversion -and others might not
have started yet. "I would say the majority haven't completed their
work," said Jack Ott, U S West's numbering plan administrator.
Aside from the extension for alarm companies, U S West said last week
that it will start the 10-digit conversion on Tuesday, regardless of
an ongoing strike by 34,000 Communications Workers of America union
members. U S West has helped all of its large business customers with
the "oneto two-minute software change" needed to prepare them for
10-digit dialing.
While the strike won't delay the start of the conversion, it will
likely lengthen the process. U S West officials originally expected
the conversion to last about two weeks, but it might now last four to
six due to labor shortages created by the strike. Therefore, callers
who insist on dialing seven digits might find themselves able to do so
for most of September.
"All of the local phone providers, beginning Sept. 1, are going to
start switching people over to 10 digits," U S West spokesman David
Beigie said. "Will it all happen in one day? No. ... We want everyone
to be ready on Sept. 1, because it will begin happening then, day by
day."
Though U S West completed the majority of its preparation for the
10-digit conversion before the CWA strike began, some striking U S
West employees in Boulder were doubtful last week that U S West will
pull off the conversion without a hitch. They pointed to the company's
introduction of the 970 area code in northern and western Colorado a
few years ago, which ran into difficulties even though U S West had
all of its workers available.
"It will be on a scattered basis if they do it, because it requires a
lot of work and time to do it and they don't have the people to do
it," said Eldon Hesselius, a central office technician picketing U S
West's Boulder central office last week.
Even so, U S West officials are urging customers to reprogram their
fax machines and computer modems and to contact their alarm companies
about the conversion if they have not already. Customers with
questions about 10-digit dialing can contact U S West's help line at
1-800-244-1111 or access the company's Web site, www.uswest.com/areacodes/.
Customers uncertain of how to reprogram their modem should contact
their Internet service provider.
The Denver area's 10-digit "overlay" region includes all of Boulder,
Adams, Arapahoe, Elbert, Douglas, Jefferson and Denver counties as
well as portions of Weld, Clear Creek and Park counties. Fifteen other
states include area code overlay areas, and another seven will soon
have them, U S West officials say.
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Brewing Dispute Over MS Coverage Roils the Press
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 12:12:39 -0400
Media Grok - August 28, 1998
Brewing Dispute Over MS Coverage Roils the Press
When The Wall Street Journal ran a fascinating story yesterday about a
private lawsuit accusing Microsoft of planting an intentional,
anticompetitive bug designed to crash competing software in Windows in
1992, few people noticed that two days before, Red Herring ran the
same story on its Web site. (In fact, by midday Thursday, both Reuters
and CBS Marketwatch had repeated the story, crediting the Journal
piece as a scoop.)
The Herring piece, by journalist Wendy Goldman Rohm, was culled from
the reporting Rohm did while researching her upcoming book, "The
Microsoft File: The Secret Case Against Bill Gates," to be published
next month by Random House. Herring has filed an update today with
more potentially damaging excerpts from internal Microsoft e-mail. The
gist of the story is that a private antitrust suit in Utah alleges,
based on internal MS e-mail, that Microsoft created a bug in early
evaluation copies of Windows designed to crash Novell's DR-DOS in
order to make it appear to developers that Windows was compatible only
with Microsoft's own version of DOS, driving developers away from the
use of the competing version of the operating system.
Now Rohm is sore at the Journal for not crediting her reporting. Rohm
claims that her publisher, Random House, sent advances of her book to
the Journal reporters and that yesterday's Journal story should have
included Rohm, her book and the earlier Herring pieces. Either way,
the Tuesday Herring piece by Rohm certainly preceded the Thursday
Journal story by writer John Wilke.
Today, meanwhile, ZDNet's Brett Glass filed a story about Rohm and her
book. In the Microsoft-denial sidebar by Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft
spokesman Greg Shaw says, "We expect book stores will want to position
this in their fiction section." And Rohm apparently admitted to Glass
that she "'fictionalized some events' and included 'fictional quotes'
in order to make the book more readable."
Shaw told ZDNet that the book concerns events already investigated by
the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, and issues
that were found to have merit were settled in a 1995 consent
decree. Microsoft's compliance with that decree is at the heart of the
current DOJ case against it.
Update: Consumers Were Pawns in Microsoft's Battle
http://www.herring.com/insider/1998/0827/microsoft.html
Microsoft Planned to Sabotage Competitors
http://www.herring.com/insider/1998/0825/msft.html
Explosive New Microsoft Tell-all Makes Strong Allegations
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_smgraph_display/0,3441,2132482,00.html
Microsoft Says Tell-all Book is Pure Fiction
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_smgraph_display/1,3441,2132489,00.html
------------------------
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This is turning out to be a fascinating
topic. I read the newspaper report and and waiting anxiously for the
book to be published. I will wait and reserve my own judgment until
after I read it all along with any Microsoft rebuttals. What I find of
equal interest however is this most recent example of how the all-mighty
all-powerful print media thinks nothing of ripping off what they find
on the net with little or no credit given to the original author let
alone bother to obtain permission to reprint while castigating netters
who print *their* material in newsgroups, etc. I am particularly fascin-
ated by the posture taken by the {Boston Globe} not that long ago with
this Digest. Admittedly I printed one of their articles, but considering
their prolems in the past couple months, I have to wonder now if I
printed a work of fiction ... <grin> ... so the liars on their staff
of alleged news reporters get angry when someone reprints their fairy
tales -- the ones they sell on their own web page -- without permission.
And I must call your attention to the latest attack on the net by no
less a source than the {Chicago Tribune} and its Tribune Media Services.
I am referring to the "Brenda Starr" comic strip which they distribute
to newspapers everywhere. Brenda has been a star reporter for the
Flash newspaper for as long as anyone can remember. I've read the strip
for the past thirty years or so, and she had been around for years at
that point, when the strip was called "Brenda Starr, Reporter". It
seems this old witch now has it in for a guy who works on the Flash's
'internet edition', as well as the guy who writes the gossip news (in
actual practice) on the net today. The strip depicts both of them (the
gossip guy and the fictional character who does the 'Flash internet
edition') as total perverts; nasty, despicable people. The strip has
the Flash/internet guy sending anonymous pornographic letters to
Brenda, and an indignant Brenda preparing a feature story on the gossip
columnist and how much of a liar he is. If I published the {Boston
Globe} I would be embarassed to run a comic strip discussing liars in
the media ... <grin> ... anyway, do read "Brenda Starr" if it runs in
the paper in your community. You'll get a good laugh out of this
latest little barb at the net by an industry that is running scared
because of this new technology. PAT]
------------------------------
Subject: Frustrating "Customer Service"
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 23:18:16 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
>From Salon, August 27, 1998:
http://www.salonmagazine.com/mwt/tisd/
ANONYMOUS FORCES ARE ROBBING ME BLIND, AND CUSTOMER SERVICE
IS TELLING ME TO DROP DEAD.
BY SALLIE TISDALE
I read my bills carefully these days. My telephone company, U.S. West,
provides me with a bill often several pages long, broken down in the
abbreviated style of computer coders everywhere by "chg" and "srv." A
few months ago, I noticed a charge of $14.41 on the last page labeled
"Consumer Access," a name I didn't recognize. At the top of the page
was a logo for "US Billing" and 1-888 number.
It wasn't easy to get through ("Your call is important to us and will
be answered in the order in which it was received"), but when I did, I
found out "US Billing" is merely a kind of collection service for more
than 200 essentially unregulated long-distance carriers of various
types. They passed me along. Eventually ("We are experiencing an
unusually high volume of calls"), I found a company that had issued a
long-distance credit card to someone who had given them my telephone
number as his own.
Well, OK. No, it wasn't that easy. The woman on the other end of the
line -- I finally got her name but still have no idea where she was,
what state she was in -- didn't think it was her problem. I suggested
that her company might want to check whether or not the numbers given
are legitimate. She said, and I do quote, "We have thousands of
customers, ma'am. We don't have time to check them out."
She wanted me to just pay the bill and stop complaining.
So I didn't, and eventually the charges were credited to my account. I
thought we were done -- until the next month and the month after, when
I found charges for a few dollars here and $10 there labeled "Telco
Partners Serv Chge," under the logo for "US Billing." I reached my old
friend eventually ("All circuits are busy now"), and she informed me
-- rather tartly, I think -- that her company is not Telco. Back to US
Billing. On to Telco?
I think not. I tried ("Please call back; we are unable to access that
number at this time") but finally went back to U.S. West. That is how
I found out, after a time ("Please hold; your call is important to
us), that I'm in trouble. So are you, if you have a telephone. A
reasonably nice fellow I found eventually told me that his company is
required by the government to provide "billing opportunities" for
fly-by- night companies in unknown locations and that I am required to
pay my bill. That some of my charges are fraudulent is not his problem
and not the problem of U.S. West. Unless I want to go delinquent with
my phone company, I had better pay up.
So next week, I'm on to the state Department of Justice and the Public
Utility Commission, the same agencies I dealt with last year when I
was "slammed" out of MCI by Sprint. I was surprised on a business trip
in another state last summer by a polite recording telling me that my
MCI card was invalid, and surprised again when I came home and found
that all the long-distance charges I'd made in the last month were
being billed to Sprint. I went back to MCI, didn't pay Sprint and the
charges finally disappeared, but it took weeks and a lot of calls.
The same with the $50-some charge on a credit card for a Los Angeles
billing service I'd never heard of before, for an e- mail service I'd
never used. The same with the restaurant that billed me twice on
another credit card. The same with the department store that failed to
credit me for returned merchandise and then billed me a collection fee
because I hadn't paid for it. All the same: "Your call is important to
us, we are experiencing a high volume of calls, we cannot access that
number at this time."
I've quit using credit cards almost entirely, partly because of this
problem. That doesn't help me with the telephone company, of course,
but I'm not yet willing to give up my phone.
So this week I'm on a cash economy, writing a personal check at a
local department store. And the mysterious machine by the cash
register rejects it. The clerk gives me a little slip with a 1-800
number and the words "YOUR CHECK WAS NOT APPROVED BY TELECHECK," all
in capital letters, like a command. I used a credit card, drove home
and called Telecheck ("Your call will be answered in the order in
which it was received") and in time spoke with a woman who declined to
give me her name but who insisted she could not help me until I gave
her my driver's license number, birth date, checking account routing
number and home address, at which point she informed that there was
nothing wrong with my check, it was just that Telecheck machines
didn't like the checks themselves.
"The machines have trouble reading your checks," she said. "This has
happened before." And then she named the last four merchants to whom
I'd written checks, who'd been kind enough to take them anyway.
In a way, I was relieved. No one had stolen my identity and left a
trail of fraud across the West, as I'd feared during my long wait on
hold. No one had emptied my account.
"So, how can we stop this from happening again?" I asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "You can't. If it happens again, you can
ask the merchant to call us. Sometimes they'll do that. Not always,
though."
What strikes me in these increasingly frequent periods, standing in
the kitchen on the telephone listening to the insincere chorus of
recordings, is that an essential part of the dehumanization of the
economy and the decline of service is the rising attitude that one
shouldn't complain. One is supposed to be gracious and, above all,
acquiescent. After all, the invisible people who answer my calls tell
me again and again it's not their fault, it's a policy, a regulation,
a necessary result of volume, it's just the way it is -- they're
working stiffs like me and no, they aren't going to give me their
names, and no, the supervisor is not available. "We don't have time to
check them out," the woman told me, with just enough frustration and
impatience in her voice to let me know that, as far as she's
concerned, I'm somehow at the root of this problem myself. If I'd stop
complaining, she seemed to imply, there wouldn't be anything to
complain about.
After all, it's just a few dollars.
Somewhere in between the meek willingness to be used and the tide of
rant and annoyance I keep to myself is the art of the gracious
complaint. That is the firm and steady voice, words of persistence and
determination delivered in a calm and courteous tone. We are fools if
we accept the gargantuan pattern of profiteering abuse built into the
information economy, the destruction of privacy, the conspiracy
between government and conglomerate to steal a few dollars more. I am
slowly pulling myself out of the economy in all the ways I can find --
though I still want a telephone and a checking account -- but almost
every day gives me the opportunity to practice the art of gracious
complaining. It is an art we all might do well to develop.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some calls to make.
------------------------------
From: Rob McMillin <rlm@syseca-us.com>
Subject: More Area Code Splits!
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 14:08:40 -0700
Starting April 16, 1999, area code 424 will overlay 310, California's
first overlay. All calls originating in 310 will have to be dialed as
1-310-nxx-xxxx, even if the originating phone number has a 310 prefix
(grumble, gripe). BUT ... NANPA, the North American Numbering Plan
Administration, estimates that this arrangement will last for all of
*one year* before yet another area code will be needed. Luckily, they
didn't decide on yet another split... and, well, 714 will exhaust in Q1
2000, meaning 1999 will probably see another overlay or a split. See
http://www.nanpa.com/number_resource_info/cocus.html for details on this
amazing statistic.
Robert L. McMillin | Not the voice of Syseca, Inc. | rlm@syseca-us.com
Personal: rlm@helen.surfcty.com | rlm@netcom.com
------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 10:37:17 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "Web-Based Training Cookbook", Brandon Hall
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKWBTCKB.RVW 980703
"Web-Based Training Cookbook", Brandon Hall, 1997, 0-471-18021-1,
U$39.99/C$56.50
%A Brandon Hall info@brandon-hall.com
%C 5353 Dundas Street West, 4th Floor, Etobicoke, ON M9B 6H8
%D 1997
%G 0-471-18021-1
%I John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
%O U$39.99/C$56.50 416-236-4433 fax: 416-236-4448
%P 482 p. + CD-ROM
%T "Web-Based Training Cookbook"
When I first started dealing with online distance education, less than
a dozen articles had been published on any aspect of the topic, and
the Web had yet to be invented. Now there are whole books on specific
sub-topics. However, I'm not sure that there should, or can, be a
cookbook on training or education. In any case, this isn't one.
Part one presents background information on the World Wide Web and its
use in training. Chapter one lists examples three different types of
WBT (Web-Based Training), ranging from simple page turners to
interactive multimedia. Unfortunately, the printed page is not a good
medium for explaining interactive material, and the screen shots tend
to confuse the explanatory text. The set of FAQs (Frequently Asked
Questions) in chapter two are basically limited to promotional level
material. Yes, Web-based training is platform-independent, but only
if you stick to "common denominator" functions and avoid the more
esoteric plug-ins and features. Firewalls will not stop negative
feature programming that is submitted via ActiveX and similar
controls. A quick overview of Web and related technology is given in
chapter three. The list of hardware and software required for running
WBT, in chapter four, is somewhat daunting and heavily slanted towards
commercial developers.
Part two deals with the development of WBT. Chapter five outlines a
possible development process but one crucial step is notable by its
absence: nowhere is there any mention of learning objectives. This
"cart before the horse" order is emphasized by the fact that chapter
six, which attempts to sell the course to management, follows
development. Although the miscellany of factors that are discussed
should be considered, chapter seven does not really tell you how to
convert a curriculum to the Web. Chapter eight does mention
objectives, and places instructional design first in the list of
important factors, but the actual content makes two points very clear:
first, multimedia is really the primary concern, and second, the book
does not make any strong distinction between Web-based training and
any other form of computer-based training. Online testing is
definitely Web-based since chapter nine is only a list of Web query
tools. WBT management systems are enumerated in chapter ten.
Part three looks at the actual implementation of the training system,
although the planning section has dealt more with specifics than
principles. Chapter eleven reviews text and graphics. Other than the
addition of interactivity, chapter twelve isn't much different. And,
since multimedia doesn't really come across in books, neither is
chapter thirteen.
The introduction boasts that the book holds everything needed to
successfully start producing Web-based training. That is simply not
correct. None of the underlying Web technologies, including such
basic ones as HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and CGI (Common Gateway
Interface), are covered in any detail. The author no doubt considers
these fundamentals redundant, since there are commercial tools to deal
with the necessary functions, but that does mean the reader must then
go out and buy those tools, not having the requisite skills to do
without them. The real shortcoming of the text, though, is the total
triumph of style over substance. This is merely a compendium of
programs to add flash to Web presentations, and has almost nothing to
do with training at all.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKWBTCKB.RVW 980703
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #118
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Sep 15 21:16:14 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id VAA11261; Tue, 15 Sep 1998 21:16:14 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 21:16:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199809160116.VAA11261@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #119
<
TELECOM Digest Tue, 15 Sep 98 21:15:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 119
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
What I Have Been Up To Lately (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Bogus Charges From Slammers Outrage Columbus,Ga. Phone Customers (T Cook)
FCC 1, RBOCs 0 (Danny Burstein)
800 Number Study (Judith Oppenheimer)
AT&T Dials up Tougher Online Privacy Policy (Monty Solomon)
Book Review: "IPv6 Networks", Marcus Goncalves/Kitty Niles (Rob Slade)
Numbering Plan Change in Argentina (egoni@zfm.com)
For the Sake of Nostalgia, Creating Exchange Names (Kevin J. Brewer)
What Was the Standard 555-xxxx Phone Number Used in Phone Books? (K Brewer)
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:
* telecom-request@telecom-digest.org *
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: 847-727-5427
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** Article submission address: editor@telecom-digest.org **
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: What I Have Been Up To Lately
From: TELECOM Digest Editor <ptownson@lcs.mit.edu>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 14:00:00 EDT
It has been awhile ... I've been ordering and configuring a new voicemail
arrangement for my associate at his bus station in Skokie. There were
some real problems all summer with *satisfactory* phone information
service for customers which frustrated me no end. The problem in a rela-
tively low volume station like his (as compared to much bigger stations
in major cities) is that there is no way financially to justify more
than one employee on duty at any given time, nor more than one employee
*at any time* except in the three months of summer when a second part
time employee can be used a few hours on the busiest days. The problem
arises when the customers 'do not cooperate' in spacing themselves out
in their appearance at the ticket counter and/or on the telephone.
The clerk can sit for an hour and do nothing; then a dozen customers
will arrive at once, typically a few minutes before one of the nine
bus departure times daily. Good business procedure calls for taking
care of customers at the counter with cash in hand *first*, and then
taking phone calls from people seeking information about the bus
schedules, etc. Through the summer, there were three or four 'spills'
daily. A 'spill' occurred whenever a bus was due to arrive momentarily,
two or three customers were waiting for tickets to be written, and
both telephone information lines (two numbers in a rotary hunt) were
'on hold' waiting for someone to help them. Invariably upon hearing
that their time on hold might be ten to fifteen minutes before the
clerk would be able to speak with them, the phone callers would jump
ship, i.e. abandon their call and free up the information lines only
to be replaced *immediatly* by two other callers who would have to be
placed on hold. Of course the clerk had to stop what he was doing to
answer the call, announce the estimated wait time to the phone caller
and then go back to what he was doing. This had the effect of making
what he was doing take that much longer, to no one's satisfaction.
Many of the phone callers were that breed of individual known to phone
room personnel as 'hoppers'; that is on being placed on hold and told
customers were taken in the order of reciept and that a best guess as
to their time on hold would be five to ten minutes, they immediatly
hang up their phone and dial in again, convinced they will get the
attention of someone who will respond to them promptly. Of course as
often as not, in the few seconds they were off the line between calls,
someone else would dial in and cause the 'hopper' to receive a busy
signal, infuriating him all the more, while the newest phone caller
was being told he'd be on hold several minutes ... In the last week of
June as people were beginning their travel for the Independence Day
holiday weekend, at one point there were sixteen people waiting in the
ticket line and the phones simply had to be left off hook, 'busied
out' for about two hours.
My solution -- and I know this is going to sound like an advertisement
but seriously, it is not -- was to get 'enhanced voicemail' from
Ameritech. Between the bureacracy at Greyhound (they pay the phone
bill for the agency and had to approve the changes) then getting the
order placed with Ameritech and finally installed, it took longer than
planned but I finally got the whole thing finished *and working
correctly* (big grin!) as of a few days ago.
In the process of ordering voicemail and it actually working as it
is supposed to, our hunt group got broken twice; once all calls went
to voicemail totally out of our control to intercept them first, and
then once calls would not go to voicemail at all on busy but only
after several rings *on one line* and not at all on the other line.
I originally had the two customer information lines in a 'circular
hunt'; that is, if line one was busy it would hunt line two, and if
line two was busy it would hunt line one. That allowed for both line
one and line two to be 'listed numbers' for different purposes, with
callers from either direction having two chances to get through to
the clerk. Ameritech said voicemail was totally unable to deal with
circular hunt, and they proved it twice by the way things got bolixed
up while circular hunt was in place with voicemail at the same time.
Someone at Ameritech suggested that although circular hunt would not
work with voicemail, 'two separate hunt groups' would work, and they
set it up where one hunted two then stopped and went to voicemail and
two hunted one then stopped ... but they never could get it to go to
voicemail. And on and on it went for a few days, me never quite
knowing for sure what the status of our lines, hunt group, and
voicemail was at the minute, and still the calls would roll in all
day.
Ameritech's solution finally was to put an 'alias' in voicemail which
told it calls to our second line should be pointed to the main box of
our first line. The final result now, and as satisfactory as it is
going to get is as follows:
Line one transfer on no answer after four rings to voicemail.
Line one busy hunt line two.
Line two transfer on no answer after four rings to voicemail.
Line two busy immediatly goes to voicemail.
Callers direct to line two (as opposed to hunting placing them
there) go to voicemail if line is busy. I'd like to have
them hunt line one first, but Ameritech says absolutely not
possible.
Our voicemail has a main box and three 'extension mail boxes'. The
Ameritech business office said 'extended absence' was possible in
order to prohibit messages from being left in the extension boxes
(which I am using only for informational recorded announcements)
but the people actually maintaining the voicemail system insist
that 'the model being used in your central office does not have
extended absence as a condition. 'No way to prevent callers from
leaving messages back there ...' :( We'll see about that! I want
any messages left overnight (or during phone overflow) to be left
in the first, main box only.
I asked for 'operator escape' and got various conflicting answers.
The first rep said operator escape (caller presses zero to transfer
out of voicemail to somewhere) was only available to centrex sub-
scribers. Knowing that the more often you ask the more likely you
are of finding someone who will do as you request, I tried a different
rep a few hours later who said it was available to any voicemail
subscriber.She told me she would have it programmed that same day,
and in fact a couple hours later pressing zero in voicemail did in
fact get me the nice lady who told me 'one moment please, your call
is being transferred'. My call was transferred alright, right back to
me! Our phone rang and voicemail picked it up again. A lot of good
that does; if someone had been able to respond to the caller it
would have occurred before the call went to voicemail. I placed
another call and asked for operator escape to be programmed to dial
the Greyhound national information line, an 800 number. She insisted
that could not be done; her answer was 'operator escape can only be
programmed to another number on the very same exchange or prefix as
yourself; i.e. you are on 847-675, operator escape has to go to
847-675-something.' This morning another rep said it could go wherever
I wanted and she would fix it to dial the 800 number I requested. We
will see on Wednesday, when it is supposed to be done.
The final result (assuming OE gets sent to the national Greyhound
information line) is this:
Main box announces hours station is open and advises callers
that if they are calling during business hours and reached this
recording it is because all phone lines are busy and/or no
agent is available to speak with them. They can leave a message
if they wish to do so, but first, there are several informative
recorded messages they can listen to which may answer their
questions. At any time --
Press 1 for location of station, directions for reaching station,
location of other stations in northern Illinois and their phone
numbers, acceptable methods of payment.
Press 2 to hear the schedule of busses daily for Skokie; north
to Milwaukee and south to Chicago, plus most common connections
in those cities.
Press 3 to hear about promotional offers, special prices and
discounts available when purchasing tickets.
If you need more information, leave a message so we can call you
back during regular hours or as soon as an agent is available.
If you need immediate assistance in finding a schedule, press zero
and your call will be transferred to the National Information Center.
It concludes by saying 'to hear this message from the beginning, press
the star key followed by 847-675-xxxx' (our number). Admittedly that is
a bit bogus, but Ameritech voicemail does not have any way to recycle
the caller otherwise. The customer has to suggest to voicemail that he
has a box on the system. The caller then either leaves a message for
the station or else he hangs up or perhaps he hits zero or else he
does the star plus our number over again to go back to the start.
The individual boxes each have a message about five minutes in length
with the topics mentioned. In order to discourage messages from being
left in the extension boxes ( a nuisance to have to go them one by one
to seek out where a message might have been left when the stutter dial
tone and blinking light on the phone so indicate) each of the boxes
concludes its outgoing message like this:
If you have heard the information you need, please hang up now.
To listen to other recorded messages or to leave a message for
us, press the star key followed by 847-675-xxxx to return to our
main menu. If you need to speak with someone immediatly, press
zero; otherwise thank you for calling and goodbye. Please make
a choice or hang up now.
-------------------------------
A curious, undocumented 'feature' in Ameritech's voicemail which I
discovered by accident involves '9'. A caller pressing 1,2, or 3
gets the associated 'extension mailbox'. Zero goes to operator
escape, star responds by asking for 'mailbox number please' and
pound (#) when in the context of a caller to your mailbox responds
by taking the caller to the end of the outgoing message so that he
can leave one of his own. Pressing 4,5,6,7, or 8 does nothing on
the system I am installed on. Pressing 9 brings the nice lady around
to ask 'your password please?'... and if it is one of your own pass-
words (for the main or an extension box) you are immediatly dropped
into maintainence mode for your account. Of course, I asssume you
could enter the system's master password at that point or some other
user's valid password. I don't know what would happen in that case.
I do know you are given exactly two chances to produce something
valid at that point, and failing to do so tosses you to the operator
escape. All this for just $13.95 per month, plus of course the cost
of each call transferred to voice mail.
PAT
------------------------------
Subject: Bogus Charges from 'Slammers' Outrage Columbus, GA Phone Customers
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 23:09:50 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com
By Greg Groeller, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Sep. 4--Gloria Hodge got more than she bargained for when she switched
long-distance phone companies in April.
Hodge, an office manager for Bass Small Engines in Columbus, thought she
was switching her company to a new long-distance plan offered by BellSouth.
But when she got her August phone bill, BellSouth was nowhere to be found
on the long-distance portion of the bill. Instead, she found charges
totaling $34 from three companies she had never heard of.
Worse, she checked over the company's phone bills for the previous three
months and found she had unknowingly paid $14 in bogus charges to various
long-distance companies.
Hodge had been "slammed," a scam in which phone customers are switched
to new long-distance companies without their knowledge.
"I resent this," Hodge said Thursday. "This is my privacy. There should be
a law to make sure this doesn't keep happening."
Unfortunately for Hodge, and millions like her across the United States,
there isn't. In fact, it was a 1996 federal law that kicked off the
slamming scam in the first place.
The law forced Baby Bells to provide billing for all companies licensed to
offer telecommunications services such as long-distance or paging. While
most of the companies are honest, some claim to have signed up customers
when they really haven't.
In west Georgia and east Alabama, more than 10,000 customers were
victimized by slamming in the last two years, says Lou Marcotte, president
of the Better Business Bureau in Columbus.
"We get calls about it all the time," Marcotte said.
Tom Alexander, a BellSouth spokesman, said BellSouth is helpless to stop
slamming. The law allows long-distance companies to sign up customers
without written approval, so BellSouth essentially must take the
long-distance companies' word for it that the customer has consented to the
switch, Alexander said.
"Under law, we have to bill for them," Alexander said. "As long as they are
certified, we have no way to stop them."
Many times, telemarketers will call and say they are affiliates of
BellSouth, Alexander said. That may be technically accurate because they
have billing contracts with BellSouth, but it often confuses customers into
thinking the caller is a BellSouth employee, he said.
"If you're not listening carefully, it might sound like they are employees
of BellSouth," he said.
That may be what happened to Hodge. She says she's pretty sure the person
who called her identified himself as a BellSouth employee. But she can't be
positive.
Whatever the case, Hodge says she was angry when she noticed the bogus
charges on her August bill. So she called each of the three companies
listed on her bill to complain.
One of them, Texas-based Hold Billing Services, told her they simply handle
the billing for another long-distance company, Least Cost Routing. Hodge
says that when she called Least Cost, a representative insisted that she
had signed up with the company.
Deborah Weaver, manager of customer service for Hold Billing, said the
company does billing for more than 100 long-distance providers.
"We screen all the companies we bill for," Weaver said. "But every once in
a while, there's going to be one that slips through the cracks."
Weaver said Hold Billing isn't responsible for charges made by other
companies, even if they are false.
"What we're doing is completely legal," she said.
A man identifying himself only as Mark at Least Cost Routing said the
company never misrepresents itself to customers.
"We don't claim to be BellSouth," he said. "We could be arrested for that."
He referred further questions to Herb Zerden, Least Cost's president.
Zerden didn't return phone calls.
Calls to the other companies listed on Hodge's bill -- OAN Services and
USBI -- weren't returned.
Hodge says BellSouth told her to subtract the bogus charges from her
current bill. But that's little comfort to Hodge, who worries that she
could get slammed again.
"I was just floored that anybody can do this," Hodge said. "What's next
month's bill going to bring?"
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 02:38:52 EDT
From: Danny Burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
Subject: FCC 1, RBOCs 0
Law governing entry into long-distance business upheld
By JEANNINE AVERSA
The Associated Press
09/05/98 1:09 AM Eastern
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government won an important victory when a
federal appeals court ruled that provisions governing the entry of
regional Bell telephone companies into the $90 billion long-distance
business are constitutional.
The 2-1 decision Friday by a panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals
dealt a legal setback to efforts by regional Bell telephone companies
to freely provide long-distance service to local phone customers
without first having to obtain government approval.
The appeals court, based in New Orleans, reversed a lower-court ruling
last December that opened a clear path into the long-distance business
for three of the nation's five Bell companies -- SBC Communications,
US West and Bell Atlantic.
"This is fantastic," said Federal Communications Commission Chairman
Bill Kennard. "I hope that this will send a message to ... the Bell
companies that they need to get on with the business of opening their
local markets to competition."
The Dec. 31 decision by U.S. District Court Judge Joe Kendall of
Wichita, Fall, Texas, had declared key provisions of a 1996
telecommunications law unconstitutional.
The provisions require the Bells to open their local phone markets to
long-distance companies and other potential rivals as a prerequisite
for selling long-distance service to local customers.
The law's provisions go to the heart of the government's effort to
open the $110 billion local phone business to competition.
Kendall's ruling had not taken effect because he postponed
implementing his order until the appeals case was resolved. Given
that, telephone customers will not experience any changes as a result
of Friday's ruling.
The Bell companies are likely to challenge the appeals court's ruling
before the Supreme Court.
"We are reviewing the decision," said Bell Atlantic spokeswoman Susan
Butta. "We continue to pursue entry into long-distance vigorously,
most notably in New York state."
Long-distance companies, which sided with the government in the case,
hailed the appeal court's ruling. "This decision is a clear victory
for competition," said MCI Communications Corp. spokeswoman Jamie
DePeau.
"I hope this decision puts this line of attack to rest," said Mark
Rosenblum, vice president of law for AT&T Corp.
The three Bell companies' initial victory in December spurred a
copycat lawsuit by BellSouth Corp. A federal court in Washington,
D.C., has not ruled in that case.
SBC, US West and Bell Atlantic had argued that the law's provisions
discriminate against them because they do not apply to GTE Corp.,
Southern New England Telephone Co., Frontier Corp. and other local
phone companies.
Specifically, the three Bell companies said the provisions in the 1996
law constitute a "bill of attainder" -- punishing the Bells for the
past anticompetitive sins of their former parent, AT&T, and for any
offenses that they may commit in the future. The Constitution bars
Congress from passing any "bill of attainder" that inflicts punishment
without a court trial.
The appeals court disagreed, saying the law's provisions don't
discriminate against the Bells and are constitutional.
"First and foremost, we think that the (provisions) are not punitive
because they do not impose a perpetual bar" on Bell companies' entry
into the long-distance business in their states, Circuit Judge E.
Grady Jolly wrote in the majority opinion, which was joined by Judge
Rhesa Barksdale. "We simply cannot find a constitutional violation in
this case."
Circuit Judge Jerry Smith dissented, disagreeing with the majority's
logic.
No Bell company has won FCC approval to provide long-distance service
to local phone customers. The FCC has said companies have not
sufficiently opened their local markets to competition as the law
requires.
The Bells are free to provide long-distance service outside their
local phone markets.
But the Bells see their local markets as their opportunity to offer
one-stop communications most cheaply and efficiently. These markets
also are where the entry requirements are toughest and the potential
greatest for local phone companies to have local customers subsidize
the companies' investment in long distance, which is not allowed.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 16:18:03 -0400
From: Judith Oppenheimer <joppenheimer@icbtollfree.com>
Reply-To: joppenheimer@icbtollfree.com
Organization: ICB TOLL FREE NEWS. 15 Day FREE Trial: http://icbtollfree.com
Subject: 800 Number Study
Burlington, VT September 9, 1998 (ICB TOLL FREE NEWS) Twenty-four
percent of television commercials contain a toll-free number, 91%
using the 800 prefix and 57% of which are vanity (numbers that
translate into words for easy recall), according to a new Response
Marketing Group study of TV advertising. A sign of Internet
popularity, 19% of television commercials contain a World Wide Web
address.
Overall, 37% of commercials feature either a toll-free number or an
Internet address, or both. ``Television advertisers know the value of
direct response,'' said David Greenhaus, President of Response. ``After
seeing a commercial, consumers may be ready to learn more or to buy
immediately. Without a direct response mechanism, they have no way of
acting on their impulse.''
Seventy-nine percent of commercials with toll-free numbers display the
number prominently, the study found. Forty percent emphasize the
number with a voice-over by an announcer. Only 19% of the commercials
featuring toll-free numbers are time sensitive (``act now'' or
``limited time'').
The Response study, Toll-free Numbers in Television Advertising,
monitored seven networks for over a month, analyzing nearly 5,000
commercials airing during 170 hours of evening, news, sports, and
morning programming.
Response Marketing Group has been providing marketing and
telecommunications services since 1990. The principals of Response
have over 30 years experience in the industry and are continually
developing innovative ways for businesses to market their products and
services.
Additional Findings:
The flood of 888 numbers has had little impact on TV commercials.
``Consumers have had 30 years to get familiar with 800,'' Greenhaus
explained. ``They've only been exposed to 888 for the last two years
-- advertisers see this as a big risk. They can't afford to gamble on
consumers misdialing their phone numbers.''
The study also found that national advertisers are using vanity
numbers more than numeric ones, and local advertisers use them about
half the time. ``The public is most familiar with and accepting of
vanity numbers,'' continued Greenhaus. ``They are also easiest to
remember over the long term.''
Industries using toll-free numbers most often are real estate,
telecommunications, and lodging, the study found. Game shows are the
favored program. The top time slot is late afternoon/early
evening. ``Toll-free numbers are no longer seen as a late night,
hard-sell tactic,'' Greenhaus explained. ``They've come of age as an
integral part of marketing and advertising.''
The study further found that 79% of 15 second commercials with
toll-free numbers use vanity numbers, as do 75% of 30 second
commercials. ``Advertisers know their numbers must be easy to remember
to be effective,'' Greenhaus said.
Judith Oppenheimer
Publisher, ICB TOLL FREE NEWS
News & Information Source for
Service Providers, & Commercial Users, of Toll Free Service
15-day, no-obligation FREE trial: http://icbtollfree.com
Moderator, TOLLFREE-L
Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/tollfree-l/
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: AT&T Dials up Tougher Online Privacy Policy
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 19:10:30 -0400
Excerpt from Internet Daily
http://www.cbsmarketwatch.com/news/current/netdaily.htx
AT&T dials up tougher online privacy policy
It may not have any qualms about calling you at dinnertime to ask you
to switch long-distance companies, but AT&T said it's taking steps to
protect your privacy on the Internet. The telephone giant has
developed a single policy standard for all of its online businesses,
which includes the assurance that such information as customers'
names, addresses and phone numbers will not be sold to third parties
without the customers' consent.
And with the Federal Trade Commission's new, tougher stand on privacy
policies for children, AT&T said it will not solicit information from
children and teens under 18. Plus, the company will not link to or
accept advertising from other online operations that collect data from
children.
Perhaps most appealingly, AT&T said it won't bombard people with ads
for its online services if they request to be spared. This opt-out
program begins Oct. 15, the company said in a statement.
------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 20:30:48 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "IPv6 Networks", Marcus Goncalves/Kitty Niles
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKIPV6NW.RVW 980626
"IPv6 Networks", Marcus Goncalves/Kitty Niles, 1998, 0-07-024807-9,
U$49.95
%A Marcus Goncalves
%A Kitty Niles
%C 300 Water Street, Whitby, Ontario L1N 9B6
%D 1998
%G 0-07-024807-9
%I McGraw-Hill Ryerson/Osborne
%O U$49.95 905-430-5000 fax: 905-430-5020 louisea@McGrawHill.ca
%P 461 p.
%T "IPv6 Networks"
Limitations and foreseeable problems with the current Internet are
driving the development of the next generation suite of protocols.
Sometimes known as IPng, it is more correctly referred to as Internet
Protocol version 6, or IPv6. Multiple problems are sometimes being
answered by a single modification, but this book seems to take that
approach too much to heart. Certain new aspects of the protocol suite
are discussed in a number of chapters strung throughout the text,
making it difficult to grasp the totality of some functions.
Chapter one introduces the current (IPv4) version of the Internet
Protocol, and notes some of the problems that have arisen. The drive
for, and process leading to, the development of IPv6 is detailed in
chapter two. The basic differences between the two versions is
reviewed in chapter three, and some issues for transitioning and co-
existence are raised. Chapter four again looks at the specific issues
of addressing, performance, security, and virtual LANs in the
production of IPv6. Various protocols related to routing are
discussed in chapter five. More detail for addressing is provided in
chapter six. IPv4 headers are described in chapter seven, which then
goes on to explain the new version and the additional fields and
functions. Chapter eight looks at internetwork communications, and
again reviews routing related subjects. Performance issues are
discussed in chapter nine, including aspects of quality of service.
Implementation and the actual transmission of IPv6, plus the 6bone
test-bad, are talked about in chapter ten. Chapter eleven looks
briefly at some management and error messages for the new ICMP
(Internet Control Message Protocol). A number of the new security
related protocols are reviewed in chapter twelve, in varying levels of
detail. This continues with issues of key management in chapter
thirteen. There is a rather terse description of the new DNS (Domain
Name Service) system and the new AAAA format records in chapter
fourteen. Chapter fifteen discusses a number of issues related to
address cutover preparation for the transition from IPv4 to IPv6.
More details of transition and co-existence are given in chapter
sixteen.
This, the most recent book on the topic, has the advantage of the
latest information. It is also loaded with Internet contacts and
references for the projects and references on the subject. As an
introduction, however, the seeming disorganization and redundancy of
material make it less helpful than the older "IPng and the TCP/IP
Protocols" (cf. BKIPNGTP.RVW).
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKIPV6NW.RVW 980626
------------------------------
From: egoni@zfm.com
Subject: Numbering Plan Change in Argentina
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 11:12:09 -0300
Beginning January 24, 1999, two digits will be added to the actual
phone numbers of the customers located all over Argentina: one digit
before the local numbers, and one digit before the area code.
Number 4 shall be added before the local numbering of all the
customers of the country.
Another digit shall be placed before the actual area codes, according
to the following distribution:
Federal Capital and the Great Buenos Aires: 1
Southern Argentina (Telefonica's operating area, see map): 2
Northern area (Telecom's operating area): 3
http://www.telefonica.com.ar/INGLES/CHANGE/mapa.gif shows
the Telefonica's operating area map.
http://www.telefonica.com.ar/INGLES/CHANGE/Cambio_Num.htm
gives more complete information about the changes.
------------------------------
Subject: For the Sake of Nostalgia, Creating Exchange Names for Prefixes
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 15:52:15 EST
From: c2xkjb@eng.delcoelect.com (Kevin J. Brewer)
Organization: Delphi Delco Electronics Systems, Kokomo, IN USA
Now that we are beginning to have prefixes with 0 as the middle digit
(sorry, I can't do much about the ones with 1 as the middle digit) and
therefore such prefixes are obviously not on AT&T/Bell's 1955 list of
recommended exchange (prefix) names, I've started coming up with a
list of exchange names for these prefixes.
Somewhat similarly, the AT&T/Bell list of recommended exchange names
contains no recommended names for the prefixes of 55x, 57x, 95x, and
97x which were reserved for radio telephone numbers at that time.
While everyone is of course familiar with KLondike being the comedic
exchange name for the 55x prefix, note that San Francisco, Columbus
Ohio, and Philadelphia actually used KLondike as its exchange name and
Toronto, Ontario used the name LLoydbrook instead. It is assumed, in
each of these cities, that the third prefix digit was never a 5.
To view AT&T/Bell's 1955 list of recommended exchange names as well as
a list of unique exchange names already in use in some cities before
that time, see "The Telephone Exchange Name Project",
http://ourwebhome.com/TENP/TENproject.html.
So, here's the list of exchange names I've come up with so far (if
anybody comes up with others, please let me know):
20x - AZalea, AZimuth, AZtec, AZure, CZarina
30x - EZekiel, EZra
40x -
50x -
60x - OZ, OZarks, OZone
70x -
80x - UZi
90x -
55x - KLondike, LLoydbrook (existing unique exchange names)
57x - KRemlin
95x -
97x - WRitings, WRitten, XRay
Sorry, that you have to have an ancient phone like the one described
below in order to know that the "Z" is on the "0" key (well, actually,
in the "0" hole of a rotary dial).
Believe it or not, I've noted recently that some people in the present
day have been forced to actually know this trivia.
One of the actors who plays a doctor on "ER" does commercials for Key
Bank. [Key Bank branches are located at least in Indiana and Ohio.]
For "ages" they've had a phone number 1-800-KEY-2-YOU, but recently
he's been in ads for helping small businesses and that phone number is
1-800-KEY-4-BIZ. No, the "Z" is not an 8th digit which doesn't really
need to be entered or such. It is the 7th (last digit) of the "800"
number.
Does anybody have any ideas about the "Z" in this phone number?
For those who don't believe that there used to be "Z"s on phones, 6
months ago, I pulled one of my Western Electric (Bell System) handset
model F1 phones with a remanufacture date of "8-8-59" out of the
closet to use it instead of the one which was currently in the
bedroom. The "0" is inscribed as shown below:
Z
OPERATOR
0
with "OPERATOR" in much smaller type.
Kevin J. Brewer
------------------------------
Subject: What Was the Standard 555-xxxx Phone Number Used in Phone Books?
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 16:52:11 EST
From: c2xkjb@eng.delcoelect.com (Kevin J. Brewer)
Organization: Delphi Delco Electronics Systems, Kokomo, IN USA
I remember a very standard 555-xxxx number that the phone companies
used when the phone number disk or strip was visible in pictures of
phones in the phone book and advertisements.
I think that the number was 555-2368. Does anybody remember if I'm
right? I seem to think that I remembered it via a mnemonic mechanism
of it being the digits of the wavelength of a helium-neon laser (6328
Angstroms) mixed around.
Kevin J. Brewer
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You are mostly correct. It was given as
KL-5-2368 in all the advertising that (the old) Illinois Bell did, as
well as national advertising for AT&T. PAT]
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #119
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Sep 15 22:13:13 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id WAA14063; Tue, 15 Sep 1998 22:13:13 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 22:13:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199809160213.WAA14063@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #120
TELECOM Digest Tue, 15 Sep 98 22:13:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 120
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Jan. 1, 2000, Isn't Only 'Doomsdate' (Monty Solomon)
Telecom Update (Canada) #149, September 14, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement)
U S West Strike May Foreshadow Contentious Future for Telecom (Tad Cook)
Bell Labs Scientists Shatter Limit On Wireless Transmission (Monty Solomon)
UCLA Short Course on "Design Patterns, Frameworks and CORBA" (Bill Goodin)
UCLA Short Course on "ATM Communications Networking" (Bill Goodin)
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 10:47:39 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Jan. 1, 2000 Isn't Only 'Doomsdate'
http://webserv1.startribune.com/cgi-bin/stOnLine/article?thisSlug=Y2K13
Published Sunday, September 13, 1998
Jan. 1, 2000, isn't only 'doomsdate'
Steve Woodward / Newhouse News Service
Jan. 1, 2000, is The Big One, kids.
By now, you've heard that many of the world's computers will roll the
date clock forward from "99" to "00" with potentially disastrous
consequences. Year 2000 authorities prophesy problems as minor as
erroneous overdue notices from the library and as major as a failure of
the nation's power grid.
But that isn't the only computer "doomsdate" looming. A slew of
lesser-known dates also could wreak technological havoc.
So brace yourself. The first date to dread -- Jan. 1, 1999 -- is fast
approaching.
Jan. 1, 1999: The one-year-look-ahead problem
Not every computer counts forward like you and me. Some look down the
road one entire year and count backward to determine the date. (Please
don't ask why.) On Jan. 1, 1999, some will look forward one year and see
"00." Like humans, the computers may balk at having to count backward
from 00.
Jan. 1, 1999, to Dec. 31, 2002: The euro currency problem
We all know that the year 2000 problem is the biggest software project
in history. But many Americans are unaware that programmers throughout
the world are also at work on the second biggest software project in
history: converting the currencies of 11 European nations into a single
currency called the euro.
Banks and financial institutions will begin transacting business in
euros on Jan. 1, 1999, although the actual bank notes won't be issued
until Jan. 1, 2001. The introduction of the euro is to continue through
the year 2002.
There's no direct link between the euro project and the Y2K project, but
the massive size of the simultaneous projects will soon take most of the
world's available programmers.
Aug. 21, 1999: The GPS rollover problem
The world's 24 global positioning satellites record time by counting the
weeks that have passed since their launch in 1980. The weeks fill up a
counter much like the odometer on your car. But like your odometer, the
counter rolls over to 0000 when it's full. At midnight on Aug. 21, 1999,
the counter will be full. Equipment that uses the GPS signals may
malfunction.
Sept. 9, 1999: The 9999 end-of-file problem
Many computers have been programmed to recognize 9999 as an
"end-of-file" command. Perhaps some computers will conclude, quite
logically, that a date of 9/9/99 means it's the end of all time.
Oct. 1, 1999: The federal fiscal year 2000 problem
Big Daddy rolls its clock forward Oct. 1, 1999. As of that date, the
federal government officially enters its 2000 budget year. Every federal
function will be affected, from defense to Medicare to payments on the
federal debt.
Jan. 4, 2000: The first-working-day-of-the-year problem
Year 2000 begins on a Saturday. Corporate America will switch on most of
its desktop computers Tuesday, Jan. 4, after a long holiday weekend.
Boot up and hang on to your morning mochas.
Feb. 29, 2000: The Year 2000 leap year problem, Part I
Most programmers know the rules for calculating leap years: Any year
evenly divisible by four is a leap year, except years that also are
divisible by 100. So 1996 is a leap year, but 2000 isn't -- er, right?
Well, there's a third, lesser-known rule that cancels the first two: Any
year divisible by 400 is a leap year, including -- you guessed it --
2000. The question is: How many programmers know that rule?
Dec. 31, 2000: The Year 2000 leap year problem, Part II
Some computers work by counting the number of days in the year. If they
aren't programmed to know that 2000 is a leap year, the machines will be
bewildered when they reach Dec. 31, 2000, the seemingly impossible 366th
day of the year.
Sept. 8, 2001: The Unix end-of-file problem
Unix is the "other" major operating system, a set of instructions that,
like Windows, DOS and MacOS, run the basic functions of a computer. Unix
powers many commercial and Internet computers. Unix tells time
differently, which means that it does not have a year 2000 problem.
Unfortunately, it does have a Sept. 8, 2001, problem. In Unix language,
that date is represented by the number 999,999,999 -- the same number
that some Unix applications use to denote the end of a file.
Circa 2025: The U.S. telephone number problem
By the year 2025 or so, the United States will simply run out of
available seven-digit telephone numbers and area codes. Telephone
companies will have to add digits or revamp the numbering system. That,
in turn, will force software programmers to overhaul every piece of
software that uses phone numbers, plus all databases and archives that
store phone numbers.
Jan. 19, 2038: The other Unix problem
The Unix operating system tells time by counting the number of seconds
elapsed since Jan. 1, 1970. But like your odometer, there are only so
many places on its counter. At seven seconds past 3:14 a.m. on Jan. 19,
2038, the counters on every Unix computer in the world will be full and
will roll over to "0." Many computers will assume it's either Jan. 1,
1970, all over again (who wants to relive the '70s?) or that it's the
end of the world (which may be a better alternative than the preceding).
Circa 2050 to 2075: The Social Security number problem
By 2075, the United States will have exhausted the 1 billion unique
Social Security numbers possible under its nine-digit numbering system.
Year 2000 expert Capers Jones suggests that the nation must be prepared
by 2050 to expand or replace the many software applications that depend
on those numbers.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 10:54:32 -0400
From: Angus TeleManagement <angus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #149, September 14, 1998
************************************************************
* *
* TELECOM UPDATE *
* Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin *
* http://www.angustel.ca *
* Number 149: September 14, 1998 *
* *
* Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by *
* generous financial support from: *
* *
* AT&T Canada ............... http://www.attcanada.com/ *
* Bell Canada ............... http://www.bell.ca/ *
* Lucent Technologies ....... http://www.lucent.ca/ *
* MetroNet Communications ... http://www.metronet.ca/ *
* Sprint Canada ............. http://www.sprintcanada.ca/ *
* Telus Communications....... http://www.telus.com/ *
* TigerTel Communications ... http://www.citydial.com/ *
* *
************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
** Bell Intros "Per Call" Charges for LD
** A Bad Week For Satellites
Telesat
Iridium
Globalstar
** Canada Payphone Signs MetroNet for Local Loop
** CRTC Wins Bertelsmann Prize
** Bell Proposes Enhanced 4-1-1 Service
** AT&T Canada and Cantel Offer Joint Discount
** Cantel to Offer RIM Two-Way Pager
** Bell Mobility Intros Wildfire Personal Assistant
** Telus Proposes "Name That Number"
** BC Tel Simplifies LD Internet Access
** Public Hearing on MTS Rate Increase
** Newbridge Sells Remote Access Supplier
** Stratos Becomes Canada's Inmarsat Signatory
** Com Dev Joins SkyBridge Consortium
** Microcell Offers Nokia 519
** Remark Allies With MTI
** Teleglobe/Excel Merger Gets Okay From FCC
** Canadian Banks Spend More for E-Commerce
** Survey Counts 36 Million Internet Hosts
** Stay Ahead of Canada's Telecom Revolution
BELL INTROS "PER CALL" CHARGES FOR LD: Bell Canada's new
"Advantage Per Call" program for business customers charges
for LD calls in 10 minute increments: 35 cents in Canada, 50
cents to the U.S. The rates also apply to inbound toll-free
calls. Customers must register for the plan, which has no
minimum or access charges. Service begins September 28.
http://www.bell.ca/en/minisite/products/percall/
A BAD WEEK FOR SATELLITES:
** This fall's planned launch of Telesat's Nimiq satellite
has been delayed until early in 1999. ExpressVu and Star
Choice plan to use Nimiq for satellite TV.
** The start-up of Iridium's commercial satellite telephone
service has been delayed from September 23 to November 1,
to allow more time for network testing.
** A Ukrainian Zenit 2 rocket, carrying 12 Globalstar
satellites worth US$15 Million each, crashed in
Kazakhstan on September 9. This will probably delay
Globalstar's commercial satellite telephone service by
three or four months, to September 1999.
CANADA PAYPHONE SIGNS METRONET FOR LOCAL LOOP: MetroNet
Communications has signed a contract to supply local service
to the 13,000 competitive payphones that Canada Payphone
plans to install during the next three years.
** Roly Morris, formerly a regional VP for Starbucks Coffee,
has been appointed President and CEO of Canada Payphone.
CRTC WINS BERTELSMANN PRIZE: The CRTC is one of two winners
of the 1998 Carl Bertelsmann prize for "Innovation and
Responsibility in the Information Society." Edging out 100
other nominees, including the U.S. FCC, the Commission won
recognition for its expertise in dissolving boundaries
between telecom and broadcasting.
BELL PROPOSES ENHANCED 4-1-1 SERVICE: In Tariff Notice 6276,
Bell Canada asks the CRTC to okay expansion of its 4-1-1
Directory Assistance service to encompass all numbers in
Canada and to include free connection to the requested
number; the Directory Assistance charge would remain 75
cents.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/proc_rep/telecom/1998/8740/b2-6276.html
AT&T CANADA AND CANTEL OFFER JOINT DISCOUNT: Under a joint
promotion announced by Rogers Cantel and AT&T Canada Long
Distance Services, customers who choose any of Cantel's
paging, cellular, or PCS services and subscribe to AT&T
residential long distance service before November 15 will
receive a 5% reduction on each service through 1999.
CANTEL TO OFFER RIM TWO-WAY PAGER: Rogers Cantel will pay
$3 Million during the next year for two-way pagers from
Waterloo, Ontario-based Research In Motion. RIM's new
Inter@ctive Pager 950 will send and receive alphanumeric
pages and e-mail over Cantel's Mobitex wireless data
network.
BELL MOBILITY INTROS WILDFIRE PERSONAL ASSISTANT: On
September 16 Bell Mobility will launch its Wildfire personal
assistant service in the Toronto area. Wildfire uses speech
recognition to dial numbers, manage voice mail, and provide
other calling functions. Pricing starts at $20/month.
TELUS PROPOSES "NAME THAT NUMBER": CRTC Public Notice 98-23
seeks comment on a Telus Communications proposal to give
customers a subscriber's name and address information when
provided with a telephone number.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/notice/1998/p9823_0.txt
BC TEL SIMPLIFIES LD INTERNET ACCESS: BC Tel's free
Cardconnect software configures a laptop computer for long
distance and overseas access to Internet service, using the
customer's BC Tel calling card number and Canada Direct.
http://www.bctel.com/cardconnect
PUBLIC HEARING ON MTS RATE INCREASE: In Public Notice 98-24,
the CRTC announces a one-day public consultation on November
7 in Winnipeg to hear comments on MTS=92 proposal to phase in
local telephone rate increases beginning January 1, in order
to recover future income tax costs ahead of time (see
Telecom Update #136). To participate, notify the Commission
by October 30.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/notice/1998/p9824_0.txt
NEWBRIDGE SELLS REMOTE ACCESS SUPPLIER: Newbridge Networks
is selling its majority stake in California-based Advanced
Computer Communications, which makes remote access
equipment, to Ericsson for about US$170 Million.
STRATOS BECOMES CANADA'S INMARSAT SIGNATORY: Ottawa has
appointed Stratos Wireless to replace Teleglobe as Canada's
signatory to Inmarsat, a treaty organization on mobile
satellite services. Stratos bought Teleglobe's Inmarsat
business in June. (See Telecom Update #140)
COM DEV JOINS SKYBRIDGE CONSORTIUM: Com Dev International
has joined the consortium developing SkyBridge, an 80-
satellite broadband Low Earth Orbit (LEO) system initiated
by Alcatel.
MICROCELL OFFERS NOKIA 5190: Microcell Solutions has
launched the Fido Nokia 5190, a 170-gram handset offering up
to four hours talk time. Price: $75 for digital- or analog-
only units; $150 for dual-mode.
REMARK ALLIES WITH MTI: Remark Telecom of Oakville, Ontario,
has concluded a strategic marketing alliance with Ottawa-
based Modular Telephone Interface and will be marketing its
products under the MTI name.
TELEGLOBE/EXCEL MERGER GETS OKAY FROM FCC: The U.S. Federal
Communications Commission has approved the merger of
Teleglobe and Excel Communications. Approval from many state
regulators is still pending.
CANADIAN BANKS SPEND MORE FOR E-COMMERCE: A study by Ernst
and Young reports that financial institutions in Canada are
spending 9% of their IT budgets on electronic commerce,
compared to a world average of 3%. Telephone banking is
expected to almost quadruple in the next three years.
SURVEY COUNTS 36 MILLION INTERNET HOSTS: A survey by Network
Wizards estimates the number of computers connected to the
Internet in July 1998 at 36,739,000 and the annual growth
rate at 40%-50%.
http://www.nw.com/zone/WWW/top.html
STAY AHEAD OF CANADA'S TELECOM REVOLUTION: New rates, new
rules, new services, new service providers -- everything
in Canadian telecommunications is changing at top speed.
Telemanagement, edited by Ian and Lis Angus, enables
Canadian managers deal effectively with this changing
telecom world.
** "Time and again Ian and Lis have proven their knowledge,
keen insight, and impartiality. Telemanagement is a 'must
read.'" Wes Scott, Executive VP and CFO, Nortel
** Subscribe to Telemanagement by October 30 and receive
the 25 reports in Telecom Strategies Today, a 50-page
anthology from Telemanagement. Call 1-800-263-4415 ext
225 or visit http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm-sub.html
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca
FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE=20
Angus TeleManagement Group
8 Old Kingston Road
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HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two
formats available:
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Wide Web on the first business day of the week at
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2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of
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COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce,
please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext
225.
The information and data included has been obtained from
sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus
TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations
whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy.
Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available
information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on
the subject matter is required, the services of a competent
professional should be obtained.
------------------------------
Subject: U S West Strike May Foreshadow Contentious Future for Telecom
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 16:20:58 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
U S West Strike May Foreshadow Contentious Future for Telecom Industry
By Roger Fillion, The Denver Post
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Sep. 9--The Information Age -- while unleashing all sorts of newfangled
gadgets and Internet services -- is shaking the foundation underlying
labor-management dealings in the $240 billion communications industry.
And on the eve of Labor Day 1998, labor and management in the tumultuous
communications business together stand at a crossroad: Fight each other? Or
rally round the flag?
In Colorado and the West lately, it's been a fight.
The bitter 15-day strike at U S West Inc. may well foreshadow relations in
the industry in the years to come, as former telephone monopolies try to
cut costs more and boost productivity to battle upstart competitors that
aren't unionized, labor and industry experts agree.
That could spell more tension, more worker grievances, more strikes.
"What we'll probably see is a lot more contention, a lot more of what we
saw at U S West," says analyst Erik Olberter of the Economic Strategy
Institute, a Washington think tank that gets financial support from
corporations and organized labor.
"A lot of people in the industry were looking at U S West as a bellwether
for the company to adjust to the future."
But the experts also say the changes rocking the communications business
ultimately could breed the kind of labor-management cooperation seen in
other industries such as automobiles, airlines and shipbuilding.
The reasoning holds that workers and managers at U S West and other Baby
Bell companies -- as well as long-distance giant AT&T Corp. -- may realize
that the real enemy isn't the party sitting at the other side of the
bargaining table. Rather, it's the competition. Signs of such cooperation
have begun to emerge in recent labor negotiations.
"As competition grows, you generally find that workers and management find
it more easy to cooperate," says Timothy Bartl, assistant general counsel
at LPA Inc., a Washington trade group representing human resources
executives at big corporations.
Whatever the outcome, experts say, change looks inevitable.
That's because the industry faces an explosion in new technologies
involving the Internet and other digital services that require new workers.
A wave of mega-mergers is rewriting the corporate landscape. And the
massive birth of new companies is shaking up an industry long dominated by
government-regulated monopolies.
"Labor relations are changing because the environment is changing," says
Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell
University.
"The companies face an important decision," she adds. "Are they going to
make their profits more dependent on cutting costs and weakening unions? Or
are they going to look long term and move forward together with their
workers?"
The changing environment already is shaking up the regional Bells, which
dominate the $110 billion local phone business.
Analysts say these companies -- U S West, as well as Bell Atlantic Corp.,
SBC Communications Inc., Ameritech Corp. and BellSouth Corp. -- must become
more competitive-minded to thrive.
"The telephone company of tomorrow looks nothing like the telephone company
of today," says analyst Jeffrey Kagan of Kagan Telecom Associates in
Atlanta. "Between the new competitors and the new technologies, customers
are expecting and demanding more than ever before."
U S West and the other regional Bells, he adds, "have to profoundly
reinvent themselves to meet the competitive realities of the new
marketplace."
The Bells face growing competition from non-unionized upstarts such as ICG
Communications Inc. and WorldCom Inc., as well as more established
companies such as No. 2 long-distance company MCI Communications Corp. --
which is merging with WorldCom -- and No. 3 long-distance carrier Sprint
Corp.
The competitors, including AT&T, already are going after the Bells' big
business customers for local phone service. Urban residential dwellers are
expected to be the next major target.
"As the communications industry becomes increasingly competitive, this puts
more pressure on costs -- and therefore labor costs in particular," says
Leo Troy, professor of labor economics at Rutgers University in Newark.
The drive to slash costs and consolidate operations already is evident at
the Bells. Their own ranks have declined to five from the original seven,
thanks to corporate mergers. The number soon could shrink to four: SBC has
proposed to acquire Ameritech.
The companies have slashed their ranks of employees since the 1984 breakup
of the old AT&T that triggered the creation of the original seven.
"The company is going to press for more efficient production," says Troy.
"The union is going to resist."
Employment levels at the Bells tumbled nearly 40 percent between 1984 and
1997, to 338,177 last year from 556,561. The drive to cut costs and boost
productivity is expected to continue, given the prospect of greater
competition.
In 1984, U S West had more than 70,000 workers. At the end of 1993, that
figure stood at 63,707. Today, it's 49,500.
Reflecting the plunge in Bell employment, union membership in the
communications and public utilities sectors has decreased as well, to 25
percent last year from 34 percent in 1988.
The shrinking workforce was a key factor in the Communication Workers of
America strike against U S West. CWA members demanded a reduction in
mandatory overtime, saying they were being forced to work 60 to 70 hours a
week because of a shortage of skilled workers.
The two sides reached a tentative contract agreement on Aug. 30. Under the
three-year pact, the company agreed to limit mandatory overtime to eight
hours a week by 2001.
U S West also pushed aggressively to introduce a performance-based pay plan
for about 7,100 field technicians. The company argued that the
controversial plan was needed to boost the level of customer service in the
face of growing competition.
The CWA, in the end, agreed to permit the performance-based pay plan to
proceed on a voluntary basis, with input from union members.
Experts say it's too early to know if the plan will attract a lot of
employees. The pay package is the first of its kind among big phone
companies. The CWA plans to tell members to avoid participating, saying the
program is unworkable. Some experts warn it will be tough to draft the
details to make it effective.
U S West spokesman David Beigie counters: "We need to set the goals high
enough so customers perceive a real quality difference, but also
realistically enough so employees become interested in participating."
The CWA also has waged strikes this summer against Bell Atlantic and
Southern New England Telephone.
The explosion in new technologies and businesses -- especially those
involving the Internet -- was a key focus in the Bell Atlantic walkout.
In the two-day strike there by 73,000 CWA members, a major issue was union
representation of employees in rapidly growing operations such as Internet
services and data networking.
The union complained such work was being shifted to nonunion workers,
posing a threat to the job security of unionized employees.
Bell Atlantic and the CWA agreed to let the union represent such workers,
while the company retained the option of hiring outside contractors under
certain circumstances.
So what happens next?
Cindy Fukami, a management professor at the Daniels College of Business at
the University of Denver, says that labor-management relations in the
United States have involved a long history of fighting over who gets a
larger piece of the financial pie.
But she says the two parties within the communications industry, in
particular, now have a big reason to work together.
The Baby Bells -- with their unionized workforces and vestiges of a
monopoly era -- risk losing customers and profits. That loss would hurt
workers and management alike.
"Now they have to be concerned about profits. They have to be concerned
about competing," she says of labor and management.
A big-fisted confrontational stance, in the end, can backfire, she warns.
"In times where survival is at stake, you can't really do that. It's like
fiddling while Rome is burning," Fukami says.
Fukami cites the shipbuilding, newspaper, and auto industries as examples
where labor and management have forged cooperative relationships.
Ford Motor Co., for example, has sought the input and cooperation of
workers on design matters and the assembling of cars. In the U S West
contract settlement, Fukami sees a sign of cooperation in an agreement that
ensures labor has a voice in picking a free health-care provider.
"There are a lot of good things that happen when there's cooperation," she
adds.
CWA spokesman Jeff Miller, meanwhile, argues that the union already is
cooperating with other big companies and that the contentious strike at U S
West was the exception. He points to the labor agreements with the Bells
and AT&T that didn't involve nasty walkouts.
"They want stable labor relations. They want good relations with their
union and the workers," he adds. "Labor relations in the telecommunications
industry are better this year than since the breakup" of AT&T in 1984, says
Miller. "U S West was an aberration."
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Bell Labs Scientists Shatter Limit On Fixed Wireless Transmission
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 19:21:02 -0400
MURRAY HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 1998--Lucent Technologies
today announced scientists at Bell Labs, the company's research and
development arm, have developed a breakthrough technology that may
potentially boost the capacity of certain wireless links by 10 to 20
times.
This innovation, known as BLAST, may allow so-called "fixed" wireless
technology to rival the capabilities of today's wired networks, while
also providing faster and more cost-effective deployment. One
potential application would be for businesses, where wires no longer
would be necessary to transmit data between desktop computers,
notebook computers and hand-held devices. Another possible use would
be providing phone service to remote and rural areas, where wireless
networks would connect homes and businesses to copper-wired public
telephone service providers.
"Technologies that provide a 10-fold improvement in wireless capacity
come along once a decade," said Bell Labs President Dan
Stanzione. "This is a very significant scientific development with
long-term potential impact on our wireless business."
The BLAST technology is not well suited for mobile wireless
applications, such as hand-held and car-based cellular phones, because
multiple antennas - both transmitting and receiving -- are needed. In
addition, tracking signal changes in mobile applications would
increase the computational complexity.
The inspiration for BLAST (Bell Labs Layered Space-Time) can be traced
to a challenge from Rich Gitlin, chief technical officer and Data
Networking Technology Vice President in Lucent's Data Networking
Systems business unit. Gitlin asked the researchers to take a fresh
look at a 50-year-old mathematical theory developed at Bell Labs,
which is the theoretical foundation of today's high-speed
communications systems. The end result was cramming roughly 10 to 20
times more information on the same frequency band by developing new
signal processing techniques.
"The breakthrough results prove the feasibility of a technology which
leapfrogs what we assumed about the limitations of radio communications,"
said Jim Brewington, president of Lucent's Wireless Networks
Group. "While there is still a great deal of applied research required
before we apply this discovery, we are very excited about its
potential implications for our future wireless systems."
The BLAST technology essentially exploits a concept that other
researchers believed was impossible. The prevailing view was that each
wireless transmission needed to occupy a separate frequency, similar
to the way in which FM radio stations within a geographical area are
allocated separate frequencies. Otherwise, the interference is too
overwhelming for quality communications.
The BLAST researchers, however, theorized it is possible to have
several transmissions occupying the same frequency band. Each
transmission uses its own transmitting antenna. Then, on the receiving
end, multiple antennas again are used, along with innovative signal
processing, to separate the mutually interfering transmissions from
each other. Thus, the capacity of a given frequency band increases
proportionally to the number of antennas.
The BLAST prototype, built to test this theory, uses an array of eight
transmit and 12 receive antennas. During its first weeks of operation,
it achieved unprecedented wireless capacities of at least 10 times the
capacity of today's fixed wireless loop systems, which are used to
provide phone service in rural and remote areas.
"This new technology represents an opportunity for future wireless
systems of extraordinary communications efficiency," said Bell Labs
researcher Reinaldo Valenzuela, who headed the BLAST research
team. "This experiment, which was designed to illustrate the basic
principle, represents only a first step of using the new technology to
achieve higher capacities."
The advanced signal-processing techniques used in BLAST were first
developed by researcher Gerard Foschini from a novel interpretation of
the fundamental capacity formulas of Claude Shannon's Information
Theory, first published in 1948. While Shannon's theory dealt with
point-to-point communications, the theory used in BLAST relies on
"volume-to -volume" communications, which effectively gives
Information Theory a third, or spatial, dimension, besides frequency
and time. This added dimension, said Foschini, is important because
"when and where noise and interference turn out to be severe, each bit
(of data) is well prepared to weather such impairments."
Remarkably, the initial BLAST experiment designed by researchers Glenn
Golden and Peter Wolniansky did not use the technology of error
correction coding to correct signal errors, nor did the transmitter
have prior knowledge of which signal components would propagate easily
and which would be severely impaired.
Also, BLAST research by Michael Gans includes determining the optimal
placement and number of transmitting and receiving antennas. If, for
instance, the distance between antennas on each end were further
reduced, the number of potential applications, such as mobile
communications, might increase. In addition, researchers are trying to
boost capacity even further and exploring how to enhance BLAST for all
wireless formats.
More technical information about BLAST is available at
http://www.bell-labs.com/news/1998/september. Additional information
about the BLAST research project is available at
http://www.bell-labs.com/projects/blast . For technical information
on the BLAST architecture, see Gerard J. Foschini, "Layered Space-Time
Architecture for Wireless Communication in a Fading Environment when
Using Multiple Antennas," Bell Labs Technical Journal, Volume 1,
Number 2 Autumn 1996, pp 41-59 (or:
http://www.lucent.com/ideas2/perspectives/bltj/autumn_96/paper04/
main.html .
For more information on Claude Shannon's Information Theory, see
http://www.lucent.com/informationtheory .
Lucent Technologies (LU) designs, builds, and delivers a wide range of
public and private networks, communications systems and software,
consumer and business telephone systems and microelectronics
components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm of the
company. For more information about Lucent Technologies, headquartered
at Murray Hill, N.J., visit our website at www.lucent.com.
------------------------------
From: Bill Goodin <bgoodin@unex.ucla.edu>
Subject: UCLA Short Course on "Design Patterns, Frameworks and CORBA"
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 15:53:26 -0700
On December 7-9, 1998, UCLA Extension will present the short course,
Using Design Patterns, Frameworks, and CORBA to Develop
Object-Oriented Communication Systems", on the UCLA campus in
Los Angeles.
The instructor is Douglas C. Schmidt, PhD, Assistant Professor,
Computer Science Department, Washington University.
This course describes OOD/OOP techniques and software that have
been successfully used to reduce the complexity of developing
large-scale concurrent communication software. These systems include
online transaction processing, telecommunication switch management
applications, network management for large-scale global personal
communication systems, electronic medical imaging systems, and
high-performance parallel communication protocol stacks, among
others.
The course illustrates how to significantly simplify and enhance the
development of software that effectively utilizes concurrency and
network services via the use of object-oriented design techniques such
as design patterns, layered modularity, and information hiding; C++
language features such as abstract classes; inheritance, dynamic
binding, and parameterized types; tools such as object-oriented
communication frameworks and object request brokers (ORBs);
advanced operating system mechanisms such as event de-multiplexing,
multi-threading, multi-processing, and explicit dynamic linking; and
emerging standards for distributed object computing such as OMG
CORBA and Network OLE/COM.
The course is intended for software developers who design and
implement telecommunication switch management systems,
video-on-demand services, network management applications, personal
communication systems, client/server management information
systems, WWW servers, upper-layer communication protocols, and
other similar services.
The fee for the course is $1295, which includes extensive course
notes.
These course notes are for participants only, and are not for sale.
For additional information and a complete course description, please
contact Marcus Hennessy at:
(310) 825-1047
(310) 206-2815 fax
mhenness@unex.ucla.edu
http://www.unex.ucla.edu/shortcourses
This course may also be presented on-site at company locations.
------------------------------
From: Bill Goodin <bgoodin@unex.ucla.edu>
Subject: UCLA Short Course on "ATM Communications Networking"
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 15:56:32 -0700
On December 8-11, 1998, UCLA Extension will present the short course,
"Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Communications Networking", on
the UCLA campus in Los Angeles.
The instructor is Izhak Rubin, PhD, Professor, Electrical Engineering
Department, UCLA.
Integrating communication, switching, networking, traffic, service,
computer engineering, and management principles, this course presents
the fundamentals of ATM communications networks and their
technologies. It examines technologies, architectures, planning,
management, evaluation, and design, as well as the elements essential
to the implementation and control of cost-effective, reliable, and
responsive ATM communication networks that support multimedia
applications.
Basic networking principles are explained clearly without assuming
prior networking experience or mathematical background. The underlying
key technologies required for the implementation and efficient
operation of ATM networks are then systematically described and
evaluated.
The course is designed for communications, computer,
telecommunications, and system engineers; managers; system
analysts; project leaders and scientists seeking to understand:
* Principles of ATM computer communications networking, control, and
management;
* Up-to-date performance evaluations and design considerations for ATM
telecommunications networks;
* Interface standards, traffic management, switch operation, routing
mechanisms, congestion, flow control, and scheduling mechanisms for
the provision of multimedia guaranteed and best-effort services for
the integrated support of real-time and non-real-time applications;
* Support of other networking protocol across ATM networks,
including TCP/IP network systems, LAN interconnections, and the
Next Generation Internet;
* Wireless ATM networks;
* Next generation ultra high-speed optical networks;
* Key networking concepts, applications, traffic models, traffic
management procedures, and design and performance evaluations for
test cases are demonstrated using the PC-based IRI PLANYST program.
The fee for the course is $1395, which includes extensive course notes.
These course notes are for participants only, and are not for sale.
For additional information and a complete course description, please
contact Marcus Hennessy at:
(310) 825-1047
(310) 206-2815 fax
mhenness@unex.ucla.edu
http://www.unex.ucla.edu/shortcourses
This course may also be presented on-site at company locations.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #120
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Sep 28 10:36:05 1998
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Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
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Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 10:36:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199809281436.KAA29173@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #121
TELECOM Digest Mon, 28 Sep 98 10:36:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 121
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Cutting the Phone Cord to Stick With Cellular (Monty Solomon)
Book Review: "Web Page Design Cookbook", W. Horton/L. Taylor (Rob Slade)
A Tragedy! Southwestern Bell Terminating Voice Dial Service (Demuths)
Book Review: "Web Security Sourcebook",Aviel Rubin/Dan Geer (Rob Slade)
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:
* telecom-request@telecom-digest.org *
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: 847-727-5427
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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(or use our mirror site: ftp ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives)
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note
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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. *
*************************************************************************
In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order
telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has
been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Cutting the Phone Cord to Stick With Cellular
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1998 13:31:33 -0400
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/09/circuits/articles/17cell.html
September 17, 1998
Cutting the Phone Cord to Stick With Cellular
By ROY FURCHGOTT
When Susan Kubira, an interior designer in the Chicago area, decided
to disconnect her home telephone to go completely cellular, she faced
raised eyebrows from her friends, employees and, most of all, phone
company.
Kubira, of the Chicago area, said a flat rate for 1,900 minutes of
calling time on a cellular phone had persuaded her that she could save
money by having her land-line phone disconnected.
"They just didn't believe I wanted to do it," she said. "I said I
wanted to permanently disconnect, and the person I called said, 'O.K.,
we will temporarily disconnect.' I said, 'No, I want a permanent
disconnection,' and she said, 'Are you sure?' And I said, 'I'm sure.'
It's been eight months, and I still don't have my deposit back."
Phone companies might have to get used to it. More and more telephone
customers are cutting the cord -- getting rid of their stationary
wired phones entirely -- despite the occasional bad reception, dead
batteries and broken handsets of the wireless phones.
The changes are partly due to developments in the hugely competitive
cellular phone landscape. Increased competition has lowered prices,
and coverage areas have improved, reducing the number of cutoffs in
mid-conversation that once characterized wireless phone calls.
And the new portable phones are packed with features that make them
more attractive.
About one million customers sign up for cellular phone service each
month, and industry forecasters say the number of cellular phones in
the United States will more than double, to 113.7 million, in five
years, compared with the current 53.3 million.
Not every new cellular phone replaces a land line, and cord cutters
are still relatively rare. But the trend is growing, analysts
say. Richard Siber, who follows wireless communications for Andersen
Consulting in Boston, predicts that cellular phones will achieve "25
to 35 percent displacement" of wired telephones in five to seven
years.
Ms. Kubira decided to cut the cord when reviewing her phone bill last
January. "I realized I was paying a lot of money for a phone to do
two things -- to sit on my bed table and to collect voice mail," she
said.
Her land-line bill ran about $80 a month for services that included an
unlisted number, voice mail and caller ID. She kept her home phone on
until January because the cellular phone service she had at that time
was expensive.
"The old service was $295 a month, but the bill was $700 due to extra
charges," she said.
She dropped the land line after subscribing to AT&T's One Rate plan,
which charges her $149 for 1,900 minutes of connection time (that's
nearly 32 hours) a month, without additional roaming or long-distance
fees.
Her cellular phone also has the caller ID and voice-mail features of a
land line, as well as a 200-name speed-dialing directory and her
favorite feature, a ringer that plays 37 tunes (her nephew likes to
set hers to "The 1812 Overture").
Mario Micheletti, an owner and sous-chef at the Tyler Point Grille in
Barrington, R.I., said he had decided to offer guests a cellular phone
rather than installing a pay phone because it was cheaper.
Micheletti said he figured that it would take $70 in calls each month
to offset the cost of installing a pay phone from the phone company in
his restaurant. Buying his own pay phone -- even used -- would cost
about $800, he said. "Now I start to think, they had a weekend option
on this Sprint PCS, and my busiest time was the weekend," he said.
So Micheletti bought a handset for $99 after rebates, set up cellular
service with Sprint for $29.95 a month and paid an additional $4.99
for an optional service granting unlimited calls between 7 P.M. Friday
and 7 A.M. Monday. (Sprint PCS currently offers nights and weekends
free as a promotion in some areas, including Micheletti's.) Now when a
customer asks to check on a baby sitter, Micheletti hands over a
cellular phone.
Micheletti said he had not considered cutting his land line at home,
but he admitted that he often talked on his cellular phone even when
one of his four or five conventional phones was in reach, especially
if he was making a toll call. Some calls that are long distance on
conventional phones are within his cellular phone's local calling
area, which extends as far as Boston, and are treated as local
calls. One reason he keeps his land line is he always knows where his
wired phones are -- which is not true with his wireless phones. "With
the one phone, I might misplace it," he said.
Robert Giovannucci, a printing broker in Los Alamitos, Calif., cut the
cord, converting his voice phone to a data line, in early 1997. He
solved the "where's the phone?" problem by having two handsets with
the same number. "One stays by my bed," he said. The other is with him
at all times so he can respond immediately to both calls from
customers and problems on printing jobs.
Giovannucci credits his new wireless accessibility for an increase in
his business's revenue, to about $2 million a year, more than double
his revenue before he went to cellular phones. He said the move had
also helped him expand his service area; he now has clients as far
away as Colorado.
"I do twice or three times the business than when I had a land line,"
he said in a call from his car.
Although he tried a pager, it didn't let him respond quickly
enough. When there was a problem with a job on the press, the printer
would stop printing and start charging a "wait fee" of $500 an hour
while Giovannucci looked for a phone.
Giovannucci has armed his two salesmen with cellular phones and racks
up close to $10,000 a year in cellular-phone fees. Even though he pays
Airtouch Cellular $125 a month for 1,000 minutes, Giovannucci said, he
and his salesmen use double that and pay a premium for going over
their allotted time.
It was happenstance that Barry Atwood became a cord cutter. Atwood, a
life insurance salesman for Allstate Insurance, said he had started
using a cellular phone because he circulates around six offices in the
St. Augustine, Fla., area.
"If people are trying to locate me, I can't give them the number to
five offices," Atwood said. "I don't know when I will be there." When
he moved into a temporary apartment, he didn't bother to get a land
line and discovered that he didn't need one.
He had intended to get a new land line when he moved into a permanent
residence because he found the 10-cents-a-minute calling plans
attractive -- until he realized that he was already getting that rate
with his 700-minutes-for-$70 cellular phone service.
"When it comes right down to it," he said, "I probably don't need a
land line -- it's a habit. A habit you have to learn to drop."
At first, Atwood said, he feared that being constantly accessible
through a cellular phone would prove overwhelming. "I thought, 'Hey, I
don't want to be reached all of the time,' but it's a phantom
problem," he said. "If I don't want to answer, I just don't answer. It
has caller ID, so I can look at it and say no, I don't want to talk to
them." Unanswered calls are forwarded to voice mail.
Many frequent cellular phone users who intend to cut the cord find
that they can't. Jordan Summers, a territory sales manager for WRQ
Inc., a software company in Seattle, has carried a cellular phone
since 1987, when they were nearly the size of suitcases. He recently
realized that he didn't need a wired phone any more.
"Even when I am sitting somewhere with a clear land line," he said, "I
just find it easier to use a cellular phone." But when it came to
cutting the cord at home, he balked because his 13-year-old son had
taken over the land line.
Cellular phones aren't always less expensive, but some cord cutters,
like Lindquist Machine Corporation, say the advantages are worth extra
expense and sometimes inconvenience.
Lindquist, an industrial machine manufacturer in Green Bay, Wis., has
replaced its central phone system with a network of cellular phones.
"Last November, we decided wireless was the way to go," said Marsha
Demuth, Lindquist's information systems and human resources
manager. The company priced P.B.X., or private branch exchange,
switchboard systems, three years ago, but decided that the up-front
costs, about $160,000, warranted waiting. "We had our choice then of
all of the P.B.X. systems, and even though they were state of the art
at the time, we heard enough to know big changes were coming."
So Lindquist kept the old system until last October, when it decided
to go cellular. Within weeks, all but the 15 data lines were
replaced. Sixty of the 140 employees were given cellular phones at
less than half the cost quoted for land-line systems.
"That's the nice thing about not having to put in major equipment and
run lines," Ms. Demuth said. The company expected phone bills to
double, but they are two and a half times as high. In July, the cost
was about $4,000.
The other 80 employees, most of whom work on the factory floor, share
the wireless phones carried by "key personnel," Ms. Demuth said, which
put phones on the factory floor for the first time.
But there were some unanticipated problems. The Ericsson handsets,
which were not designed for an industrial environment, were often
broken. Reception was poor in the metal assembly buildings and in
parts of headquarters as well.
"We have some offices that are halfway into the ground," Ms. Demuth
said, "so the people in them have to stand up when they talk to make
sure they don't lose the signal."
The company said the extra expense and problems were worth putting up
with because the cellular phones had increased the productivity of the
sales staff and engineers, and even the visiting consulting engineers,
whom Lindquist keeps extra handsets for. "They don't have to be
hunting a phone at $100 an hour," Ms. Demuth said. Clients calling in
still get a receptionist who transfers calls, so no change is apparent
to callers.
For a lot of people who switch exclusively to cellular phones, the
best part of cutting the cord is the satisfaction of saying goodbye to
a phone company. "It felt great -- I just had them shut it off," said
Caroline Morton, a fund-raiser for Senator Christopher S. Bond,
Republican of Missouri.
Ms. Morton is still steamed about the time her home phone
malfunctioned and she had to leave work to wait hours for a repair
crew. But she restrained herself from taunting the phone company when
she cut off the service.
"I told them I was moving," she said. "I'm not a vindictive person."
------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1998 09:34:47 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "Web Page Design Cookbook", William Horton/Lee Taylor
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKWPDCBK.RVW 980712
"Web Page Design Cookbook", William Horton/Lee Taylor/Arthur
Ignacio/Nancy L. Hoft, 1996, 0-471-13039-7,U$34.95/C$48.95
%A William Horton william@horton.com
%A Lee Taylor leetay@tellword.com
%A Arthur Ignacio
%A Nancy L. Hoft itech@mv.mv.com
%C 5353 Dundas Street West, 4th Floor, Etobicoke, ON M9B 6H8
%D 1996
%G 0-471-13039-7
%I John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
%O U$34.95/C$48.95 416-236-4433 fax: 416-236-4448
%P 649 p. + CD-ROM
%T "Web Page Design Cookbook"
A disk of templates, two sprinkles of HTML, and hold the CGI.
Chapter one provides a very Web-like introduction: it's quick, it's
snappy, it jumps from topic to topic without too much order getting in
the way, and after it's over you kind of wonder if you've actually
learned anything. The attempt to list the requirements to get up and
running, in chapter two, does give you the basics, but in such a terse
fashion that it will likely only confuse the rank novice. The
cookbook aspect starts in chapter three. The book now admits that the
reader is not going to learn about HTML (HyperText Markup Language),
tells you to use the templates on the CD-ROM, and then runs through a
"flying fingers" demonstration of modification of a template that will
probably leave you a tad bemused.
Chapter four lists an enormous variety of interesting Web page
templates. However, because there has been no background explanation
I can see a number of users failing to understand why their newly
created forms page does not populate the database they expected it to.
Chapter five, therefore, starts to explain HTML, although in a very
abbreviated fashion. Fonts, graphics, and audiovisual tags are in
chapter six. There is a quick run through forms and tables in chapter
seven, but buried in the middle is the admission that you are going to
have to learn CGI (Common Gateway Interface) and the related
programming yourself, therefore rendering this chapter more or less
useless.
Chapter eight presents a number of graphical options, although calling
them design is pushing the term a bit. Chapter nine, on writing for
an international audience, is not only excellent, but covers a subject
that most Web design books neglect. A series of common questions
would have been better if all the answers did not seem to start out
"that depends" in chapter ten. Chapter eleven looks at general
structures for Web site designs. A grab bag of topics, many of which
have been touched on already, get retouched in chapter twelve.
While the idea of putting together templates so that novices do not
have to learn the tools has some merit, in practice, the lack of
fundamental material will probably lead to disappointing results.
Ironically, it may be more experienced workers who can use the
cookbook material effectively.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKWPDCBK.RVW 980712
------------------------------
Date: 27 Sep 1998 12:20:21 GMT
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
From: demuths@aol.com (Demuths)
Subject: A Tragedy! Southwestern Bell Terminating Voice Dial Service
In late August a printed letter was sent to Jerry McMahen (age 57) in
North Little Rock, AR advising him that his Voice Dial Service would
be terminated October 1 pending regulatory approval. The letter read:
"Because of limited customer demand and the increased technical
expense associated with keeping the product in service we apologize
for any inconvenience the withdrawal of the service may cause you."
As is rather common in such matters, there was no return address on
the letterhead. They gave him an 800 number he could call for an
alternate Speed Dial Service. The sad part of this story is that
Voice Dial has been a fantastic service for Jerry as he is in bed
100% of the time and he can only move his head. Jerry's telephone,
his computer, the Internet and his TV (lately on his computer
monitor) are his life.
Jerry is not alone in his appreciation of this service. A lady in
Fayetteville AR learned of my concerns for Jerry and contacted me
yesterday. Having a disability, she has experienced tremendous
benefits from the Voice Dial system.
She explained that she had talked to many supervisors with the company
in an effort to keep the service, with no success. Her final words
were "Frankly, I don't know who to contact now, or what to do about
this. This has been very frustrating, and in the back of my mind I
am counting down the days until I lose this service."
My question is what can we do to help Jerry, the lady in Fayetteville
and other disabled people who have this service or can have it in the
future?
Southwestern Bell serves Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and
Kansas. Does anyone know where the filings would be made for
regulatory authority to terminate the service? Does anyone know if
filings have to be made both = with Federal and State authorities?
I have posted only one other message in this newsgroup. It was posted
two years ago. The message produced tremendous results. The end
result was the establishment satellite communication for
medical-mission stations serving hundreds of thousands of destitute
people in Haiti. There have been substantial side effects in Boston,
Peru and Mexico. The last words have not been written on the results
from the answers to the message of two years ago.There are many new
developments that are currently underway.
I trust that somewhere in the telecom community there is someone with
that special bit of regulatory knowledge that can tell me how to
prevent the termination of this wonderful service. Our time is short.
Any help that anyone can give will be appreciated.
M. Demuth
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There are external devices which can be
used the same way. That is, you speak to them and they then take the
phone off hook and dial the desired number. Since the person in
question is already (I assume) using his computer in the same way (by
speaking to it and seeing what he says appear on the screen) it should
be a simple enough matter to adapt a dialer program via his computer
to respond to speech. Good luck in this, and I hope some Digest readers
will be responding to you shortly. Anything he is doing at present to
communicate via his computer can be adapted to cause numbers to be
dialed on the phone.
Also, I am wondering if in communications about this with telco anyone
has mentioned to telco that the subscriber is disabled; the reason is,
there are tariffs which have been created at one time or another for
people who are unable to use the telephone in the 'normal' way. As an
example, Ameritech (when it was Illinois Bell, at least) was always
very generous and creative at finding solutions to problems like yours.
The Telephone Pioneers organization has also always taken an interest in
making the phone accessible to *everyone*. They cannot influence or
change the general tariff which telco proposes to discontinue, but
they can help develop an external solution such as the speech dialer
described above. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1998 10:18:53 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "Web Security Sourcebook", Aviel D. Rubin/Daniel Geer
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKWBSCSB.RVW 980711
"Web Security Sourcebook", Aviel D. Rubin/Daniel Geer/Marcus J. Ranum,
1997, 0-471-18148-X, U$29.99/C$42.50
%A Aviel D. Rubin rubin@bellcore.com
%A Daniel Geer
%A Marcus J. Ranum
%C 5353 Dundas Street West, 4th Floor, Etobicoke, ON M9B 6H8
%D 1997
%G 0-471-18148-X
%I John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
%O U$29.99/C$42.50 416-236-4433 fax: 416-236-4448
%P 350 p.
%T "Web Security Sourcebook"
As Steve Bellovin notes in the foreword, complexity and security are
antithetical. To have a complete picture of the security of a single
transaction in World Wide Web activity one must consider the hardware
of the user, the operating system of the user, the client software of
the user, the hardware of the host, the operating system of the host,
the server software of the host, the base transport protocol, the
higher level (generally HTTP: the HyperText Transport Protocol)
protocol, the general structure of the network itself, and the various
forms of content. To expect a short book to cover all of this
material is unrealistic. The current work, however, is of
inconsistent quality and falls short even of a much reduced target.
Chapter one looks at basic Web history and technology plus a few
illustrative security loopholes. While basic browser security
information is presented in chapter two, the presentation is
disorganized and seems to stress some relatively improbable risks. On
the other hand, it does point out some important and little known
problems with Internet Explorer. Advanced browser security lists a
good deal of misinformation about cookies (along with some real dope)
and discusses anonymous remailers in chapter three.
The discussion of scripting, in chapter four, is simplistic in the
extreme. While I would personally agree with the assessment that
JavaScript and ActiveX are not worth the security hazards they
represent, these technologies deserve more than the terse dismissal
they receive in the text. Java gets somewhat more detailed discussion
but the authors do not appear to distinguish between design factors
and specific implementation bugs limited to a given platform. Server
security is limited to UNIX permissions in chapter five. Chapter six
looks primarily at commercial cryptographic products, but without
having built a solid foundation for their effective use. Scripting is
again reviewed in chapter seven, this time concentrating on (again)
UNIX CGI (Common Gateway Interface) programming for sanitizing input
from users.
The overview of firewall technologies in chapter eight is reasonable
and balanced, citing the different types of firewalls, their strengths
and weaknesses, and the fact that firewalls can only be one tool in a
larger security strategy, never a complete answer. Chapter nine
presents the different protocols in transaction security quite well,
but fails to give an analysis of the social and market forces that are
equally important to the overall picture. Some systems for electronic
payment are compared in chapter ten. Predicting the future is, of
course, problematic, but chapter eleven seems to contains more faults
than can legitimately be said to be inherent to the process. As only
one example, the authors look forward with trepidation to "network
aware" viruses. I'm sorry to tell you this, guys, but the proof of
that concept happened in the wild more than a decade before you wrote
the book, and has transpired depressingly often since.
The presentation of this text as a sourcebook is probably valid on the
one hand: the primary value of the tome lies in the mention of various
commercial systems related to Web security. It cannot, however, be
recommended as a sole source. Both a conceptual background and an
overall review of the totality of Web security factors are missing.
There are interesting points in the book, and even useful tips, but
while it may belong on the bookshelf of the dedicated Web
administrator it is not necessarily a must read for those with limited
resources.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKWBSCSB.RVW 980711
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #121
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Oct 5 20:40:42 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id UAA08821; Mon, 5 Oct 1998 20:40:42 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 20:40:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199810060040.UAA08821@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #122
TELECOM Digest Mon, 5 Oct 98 20:38:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 122
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Denver Area Gets New Area Code (Tad Cook)
Upstart Company Takes on BellSouth Over Legal Loophole (Tad Cook)
FCC Reorg Eyes Convergence (Monty Solomon)
Book Review: "Bank of Fear", David Ignatius (Rob Slade)
Request from online mag. (David Neumann)
Re: Southwestern Bell Terminating Voice Dial Service (Mark J. Cuccia)
Employment Opportunity: CA Vine County Telcom Jobs (Laslo Chaki)
Battle Over the Internet Heats Up - Comments Needed at NTIA (Ronda Hauben)
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Denver Area Gets New Area Code
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1998 21:05:45 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
Denver Area Gets New Area Code
By Bob Diddlebock, The Denver Post
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Oct. 2--US West said Thursday that it has begun to set aside the new
720 area code for its own use, as well as for paging, wireless-telephone
and long-distance companies.
It may be a few months, however, before the new tag starts to turn up in
the fast-growing Denver metro market because US West and some of its
competitors still have some 303 numbers left.
US West is using the 720 area code, as well as the new 10-digit-dialing
system, to address the growing volume of requests for new residential
and business telephone service in the Denver area.
On Thursday, US West assigned the 720 tag to 24 batches of telephone
numbers, each starting with a different, three-digit prefix. Each prefix
batch includes 10,000 phone numbers.
Among the recipients of the 720 designations, besides US West and its US
West Wireless division: Denver-based ICG Netcom, NextLink, Teleport
Communications Group, Sprint Wireless, Western Wireless, AT&T's local
service division, Winstar Communications Inc. and Nextel.
The 720 area code assignment was welcomed by Winstar, which has
been delivering wireless telephone services to businesses primarily in
downtown Denver, Cherry Creek and the South Colorado Boulevard corridor
since June.
"This is terrific news," said Randy Garlington, the vice president and
general manager of Winstar's local operation. "There are a lot of service
areas we haven't been able to get into because there aren't enough
telephone numbers."
With the 720 area code, he said Winstar, based in the Denver Tech
Center, will be able to move into the lucrative DTC, Meridian and Inverness
business park areas, as well as into other sectors throughout the metro
area.
Garlington said new Winstar customers will probably begin to get the
company's first 720 area-code numbers in about 60 days. ICG, also in the
Tech Center and another US West competitor along the Front Range, said it
will begin to assign the 720 area code when it uses up its
10,000-unit batch of 303 tags. That could be late this year or in early
1999.
ICG, which has been delivering local, long-distance and Internet-based
telephone service over a wired network from Fort Collins to Pueblo, is
now pushing state regulators to institute so-called "number portability."
That would let US West customers keep their telephone numbers if they
switch to another service provider, which ICG says would help competitors
challenge US West.
Emily Harrison, a US West spokeswoman, said the company's major service
centers in Aurora, Littleton and Boulder also have been given the go-ahead
to use the 720 area code. However, the telephone company hasn't
assigned a telephone number with the new 720 tag yet, and may not for
the time being, she added.
The reason: Some phone numbers with area code 303 remain available
in US West's network. Harrison also said US West will continue to hold on
to 303 telephone numbers that customers may disconnect, and then
reassign them.
She added that more batches of new 720 area-code phone numbers will be
released throughout October. Despite some customer dread about the advent
of 10-digit dialing, Harrison said it has been "quiet" on the complaint
front from US West's point of view.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission reported no major problems
Thursday stemming from 10-digit dialing, which went into effect last month.
------------------------------
Subject: Upstart Company Takes on BellSouth Over Legal Loophole
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1998 21:02:10 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By David Poppe
Knight Ridder Newspapers
MIAMI -- BellSouth, mired in a monthslong fight with an upstart Miami
telephone company before the Florida Public Service Commission, in late
August hired away a senior PSC staffer who was overseeing the dispute.
The move, while completely legal, has been assailed by upstart Supra
Telecom & Information Systems as a blatant effort to change the tenor
of a case that Supra says has gone badly for BellSouth.
It also highlights a loophole in Florida law that allows PSC staffers
to take private-sector jobs and immediately begin lobbying their old
government co-workers. Since 1996, most state employees have been
forbidden from lobbying their former agencies for two years after
moving to the private sector.
The case between BellSouth and Supra has been unusually contentious,
but the August hiring of senior PSC staffer MaryRose Sirianni brought
the companies' disputes to a boil.
"The appearance of impropriety resulting from BellSouth's action is
overwhelming," Supra says, in filings with the PSC.
"It's a sham pleading," counters BellSouth spokesman Spero Canton. "The
whole thing is a sham."
On this particular issue, at least, the PSC staff agrees with BellSouth.
It has recommended the five PSC commissioners punish Supra for filing
frivolous pleadings regarding Sirianni's hiring by BellSouth. The
commission is scheduled to vote on that recommendation Tuesday.
Sirianni was the senior person handling complaints made by Supra against
BellSouth. Supra is a startup company that got into the telephone
business after the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 required
monopolies like BellSouth to let new phone companies connect their
equipment with existing phone company systems and resell service.
Supra signed an interconnection agreement with BellSouth. But Supra
contends that the agreement was never properly implemented, causing its
customers to receive inferior service.
Supra filed its first complaint with the PSC in January. By June, the
PSC staff concluded that BellSouth had failed to properly implement
the agreement with Supra. Among the findings, the staff said BellSouth
made it too difficult for Supra to sign up new customers. While
BellSouth customers generally can order a new phone line and get both
the number and an installation date with one phone call, Supra claims
it often was forced to manually submit a five-page order form to
BellSouth. If the form contained any errors, Supra would have to
resubmit all of it.
BellSouth provides electronic ordering capability to competitors, but
Supra says the system doesn't work well. "Supra has tried every which
way from Sunday to use the system provided and has had trouble every
time," says Suzanne Summerlin, Supra's general counsel.
To Supra's delight, the PSC staff recommended BellSouth provide
competitors with the ability to edit their orders online, so that
errors could be quickly corrected. BellSouth spokesman Canton says
BellSouth is trying to upgrade its electronic ordering capability, but
is faced with the problem of developing one computer system that will
interact with AT&T, MCI, Sprint and myriad smaller companies.
"We are trying to come up with a standard that all other companies can
use ... and one company is asking us to provide service above and
beyond what everyone else gets," Canton says.
In the midst of this process, BellSouth in early August offered
Sirianni a job as manager of regulatory relations for Florida.
That prompted an outcry from Supra.
"This action by BellSouth is an example of the incredible arrogance of
this regulated utility," Supra says in filings with the PSC. "It is
not an accident that this staff person was offered a position by
BellSouth at this point in time. ... BellSouth has made its job offer
in time to avoid this staff person's involvement in the evaluation and
recommendation of BellSouth's and Supra's motions."
The Legislature viewed the corporate practice of hiring away government
bureaucrats to lobby their former agencies as serious enough to
warrant a new law in 1996. The law forbids former legislators from
lobbying the Legislature for two years after leaving office. It also
forbids employees of state agencies from lobbying their former agency
for two years. However, the Legislature provided a grandfather clause
to PSC employees who held their jobs prior to 1995.
"Supra's accusations focus on an employment that is both legal and
permitted" under state law, BellSouth says in PSC filings.
Nancy Sims, director of regulatory relations for BellSouth in Florida
and now Sirianni's boss, provided an affidavit that Sirianni was not
offered a job in an attempt to influence the PSC on Supra matters.
"Supra's allegations that BellSouth had some sinister motive in hiring
the staff member does a grave injustice to both the staff member and
BellSouth," Sims said.
The PSC itself reacted strongly to Supra's filings, agreeing with
BellSouth that they ought to be considered "a sham."
PSC regulatory consultant Kevin Bloom said Supra itself has discussed
jobs with some PSC employees, including a top aide to Commissioner Joe
Garcia. Summerlin, he noted, is a former PSC staff attorney.
Summerlin countered that the circumstances in those cases were quite
different. Garcia's aide responded to a newspaper ad placed by Supra and
later wrote a memo confirming that he initiated the contact. Summerlin
notes she was in private practice when Supra hired her last year.
Bloom also says all PSC policies were followed in the Sirianni case.
The day Sirianni received a job offer from BellSouth, she filed a memo
with her superiors and recused herself from all BellSouth dockets
before the agency.
Supra says that it isn't trying to limit PSC staffers' employment
opportunities or criticize Sirianni. "MaryRose, in my opinion, is a
great person and an absolutely great staff person," Summerlin
says. "My theory is that the major reason BellSouth wants her out of
there is that she is so valuable and so knowledgeable."
Supra suggests the PSC restrict companies involved in adversary
proceedings from offering jobs to staffers working on the cases.
But PSC regulatory consultant Bloom says that senior PSC staff members
handle so many dockets that they're always dealing with the state's
major local phone companies, BellSouth, GTE and Sprint.
"There's never a time a person in a supervisory capacity is not going
to be actively engaged in dockets with all three of the large local
incumbent companies," he says.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1998 03:03:29 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: FCC Reorg Eyes Convergence
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,27106,00.html
By Reuters
Special to CNET News.com
October 2, 1998, 4:50 p.m. PT
The Federal Communications Commission will restructure its various
departments next year to better oversee converging markets like digital
television and high-speed Internet access, the head of the agency said
today.
FCC chairman William Kennard, speaking at the Georgetown University Law
Center, said his agency's current breakdown into common carrier, mass
media, wireless, and other bureaus had become outmoded.
"When wireless carriers compete with wireline carriers, when cable
companies provide telephone service, when broadcasters transmit data,
when you can use fixed microwave licenses to transmit video or data, and
when you can make a local telephone call via satellite, the world has
changed," Kennard said.
The emergence of many new technologies and modes of communication has
challenged the current bureau and office structure that dates back to
the 1934 law creating the agency, Kennard added.
Mergers of companies like long distance giant AT&T with cable behemoth
Tele-Communications also cross the FCC's current boundaries.
"We need to begin to reorganize ourselves along the functional lines
that make more sense in a world in which consumers and service providers
no longer see distinct markets organized along traditional industry
boundaries," Kennard said.
As a start, he announced the creation of two new bureaus that would
consolidate functions currently spread among several bureaus. A combined
enforcement division will ensure companies abide by FCC rules and a
public information unit will handle dissemination of information about
all manner of agency proceedings.
The bulk of the reorganization will be delayed until next year, after
the agency completes a massive move into new headquarters here, Kennard
said.
The agency must gain approval from its union and from Congress to
conduct a major restructuring, FCC officials added.
------------------------------
From: "Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 10:12:24 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "Bank of Fear", David Ignatius
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKBNKFER.RVW 980804
"Bank of Fear", David Ignatius, 1994, 0-380-72280-1
%A David Ignatius
%C 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
%D 1994
%G 0-380-72280-1
%I Avon Books/The Hearst Corporation
%O +1-800-238-0658
%P 388 p.
%T "Bank of Fear"
While an exciting enough thriller, and one giving an unusually
sympathetic and insightful view of the Arab communities, this book is
rather disappointing both in the raggedness of its ending and in the
unlikeliness of its conclusions.
One must allow fiction writers some leeway to explain certain items,
and this is usually done through dialogue. One character will expound
to another on a given topic. It gets a bit annoying, not to mention
straining the willing suspension of disbelief, when a banker has to be
lectured on the precepts of banking, and a systems manager has to have
a tutorial on the standard backup command.
In general, however, the technology part of the book is pretty good.
An important part of the plot involves finding confidential files on a
known system to which access has been withdrawn. The solution is
elegant, functional, and involves that reliable of all data
penetration tools, ignorance on the part of management. Actually, the
method doesn't even rely all the heavily on ignorance: most computer
professionals would see backups as a security tool rather than a
vulnerability. The use of UNIX as a platform is more of a literary
convenience than anything else, since any common business system has
the equivalent of an administrative user who can gain access to
anything. The one weak point in this scenario is the quick
realization of the importance of the backup tape on the part of people
who were previously so lax that they didn't even use encryption for
vital files.
Other technical plot devices are used as effectively. There is a
lovely piece of social engineering, again relying on management folly
and a demand for convenience. Call back verification is used as well,
and a neat conceptual way of using it to for system breaking is
presented. And everything a desktop machine can do, a laptop can
emulate.
Communications technology does not get quite the same care. The
universal nature of modem standards is mentioned, but not the
functional difference (and audible similarity) between modems used on
computers and those included in fax machines. No allowance is made
for possible differences in systems and the need for different
terminal types. The call back spoofing trick is cute, but relies on
the ability of forcing a line to stay open after the remote end has
dropped both the connection and the switch hook, and also on a remote
user leaving a home computer on, with a communications program
running, and an automated login script set up and ready to go.
The worst error, however, is the one on which the final activity of
the plot relies. Although there are gateways that can send electronic
mail to Telex systems, Telex is a separate system and cannot be
reached by the public dial phone system. Although you can get Telex
devices that can be operated by computers, Telex does not use modems;
at least not the same kind that are normally used for computer work.
Telex lines, in fact, have different operating characteristics from
phone lines, and even different voltages. Plugging a modem into a
Telex line would fry the modem as surely as plugging an ISDN modem
into an analogue line would fry the ISDN device.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKBNKFER.RVW 980804
------------------------------
From: neumann@sfsu.edu (David Neumann)
Subject: Researching Answering Machines For Newspaper Story
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 98 04:46:48 GMT
Organization: California State University Sacramento
Hi,
I am a reporter from the San Francisco-based online magazine
"newsport". At the moment we are working on a story about answering
machines for our next issue.
I wondered if someone could maybe give us useful background
information on this topic.
What we are exactly looking for is:
1. Facts about the history of answering machines.
2. Prospects for the future. How will answering machines develop?
3. The effects of the broad use of answering machines everywhere.
Are there sociological or psychological studies on the change of
behavior due to the common use of answering machines? Why are there
for example people who do not answer the phone in person at all
anymore?
In addition to these points we are also interested in nice anecdotes
about answering machines.
We would be glad if somebody could help us with information on any
of these aspects.
Thank you very much for your help.
Sincerely,
David Neumann
newsport - real multimedia, real journalism
http://NewsPort.sfsu.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 18:11:30 -0500
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Re: Southwestern Bell Terminating Voice Dial Service
Regarding the pending termination of Southwestern Bell's (central
office based) Voice-Dial Service, if the disabled have been using it
(and it does seem like a great benefit to them from what I've read in
the original posting), the Telephone Company might find out that they
can _NOT_ simply remove the service, as the disabled could file
complaints against telco via the federal ADA (Americans with
Disabilities Act).
Also, many telcos do have special departments to handle products and
services for the disabled. This department is usually called the
"Center for Special Needs Customers", and they might be able to
intervene to have their Voice-Dial service grandfathered for customers
meeting the disabled customer needs criteria. The "Special Needs"
departments are usually listed in the front of the phone book,
sometimes under one of several common logos indicating handicapped
available service. If you can't find anything in the front of the
phone book for the SWBell "Special Needs" Center, inquire about it
from the (regular) Business Office, or from your state regulatory
agency.
Even if SWBell does completely discontinue (central office based)
Voice-Dial service, their "Special Needs" Center might be able to
provide, or make a reference to, various customer premesis based
voice-dialing equipment for sale or lease, as PAT mentioned in his
reply at the end of the original posting.
MARK_J._CUCCIA__PHONE/WRITE/WIRE/CABLE:__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: lchaki@acdcon.com (Laslo Chaki)
Subject: Employment Opportunity: CA Vine County Telcom Jobs
Date: 05 Oct 1998 16:39:32 PDT
Organization: ACD
Careers in Engineering and related jobs:
A few miles from North San Francisco, in the beautiful Vine County, a
large TELECOM (xDSL and related technologies) company (just cut a
large deal) is looking for Engineers, Telcom experts and related
positions, like marketing and financing. (We provide US work visa if
needed.)
All Engineering positions require a BSEE, BSCS along with 2 to 5 years
of experience in a telecommunications/data communications environment. A
MSCS/MSEE degree is preferred. Several opportunities are available:
Product Marketing Managers
Program Managers
Telecommunications Systems Engineers
Test Development Engineers
Electrical Test Technicians
Electronic Assembly Manufacturing Engineers
Production Planners
Purchasing/Materials Management
Vendor Quality Engineers
Regional Sales Managers
Finance
Customer Support Services
Every telecom expert is welcome, here are some specs:
Hardware Engineers:
IC designers, ASIC/FPGA,
Firmware, embedded and PCB designers
Software Engineers
Experience working through a complete software lifecycle. Develop
Motorola and Intel microprocessor embedded software and
telecommunications software.
Systems Engineers
Technical Support Engineer
Technician
Please contact us for further information.
Hardware Engineer
Assist Manufacturing team with design related issues and prepare
engineering documentation related to performed duties. Strong knowledge
of voice-transmission parameters, telephone VF interfaces, and
operational amplifiers usage. Must have knowledge of Analog/Digital and
Digital/Analog conversion processes, microprocessors, PCM, and memory
components. Trunk carrier or DLC experience strongly desired.
Senior PCB Designer
Design complex printed circuit boards; prepare final drawings,
verify dimensions, tolerances and materials. Must have extensive
knowledge of CAD/CAE/CAM, working knowledge of AUTOCAD,
DOS, UNIX and ability to analyze complex technical information
Senior or Staff Software Engineer
Experience in data communications design and protocols such as,
TCP/IP/PPP, Frame Relay, and ISDN. Knowledge of network
management and real-time kernel (PSOS or equivalent) and device
drivers.
Systems Engineers
Knowledge of Operations Administration and Maintenance aspects of
transmission equipment. Hands on experience in telecommunications
hardware and/or software design for DLC Channel Units. System
Specification/Architecture for Trunks, loops, or DLCs. Knowledge of
network equipment such as: optical mux, metallic line system, digital
cross connect. Understanding of analog, digital, microprocessor, and
software design principles and application, Bellcore specifications.
Laslo
------------------------------
From: rh120@columbia.edu (Ronda Hauben)
Subject: Battle Over the Internet Heats up - Comments Needed at NTIA
Date: 5 Oct 1998 19:27:16 GMT
Organization: Columbia University
Reply-To: rh120@columbia.edu
An important prototype battle currently is going on over the question
of who is to control the Internet?
Is the Internet to be allowed to continue to be a place where the
people (users/ netizens) can represent themselves, or is someone's
selected set of corporate representatives to take over to fundamentally
change the nature and environment of the Internet.
Up to now the Internet has been recognized as a way to make possible
"power for the people", at least online.
People can have their say and the U.S. Federal District court even
noted that the U.S. Govt must protect this autonomy of the people
that the Internet makes possible. (in the ACLU vrs. Reno case)
The U.S. Government, however, has been saying that the essential
functions of the Internet must be turned over to the private sector
so they can own and control the Internet and make their millions off
of it.
The U.S. Govt is offering to set up a private corporation for them to
be able to carry on their control over the Internet with no accountability
or oversight over what they do.
With this melodrama in the background, an important real battle
appeared on the front lines:
This issue is that as the Internet becomes more and more international,
it is important that control over the essential functions be shared with
the international community rather than the U.S. Govt. feeling it
can determine who to give control to.
So there is a battle on in Washington and around the world with the
press being basically silent about what it is all about.
The U.S. Govt has just posted three proposals for comment. Two are to
privatize into a non accountable corporation ownership and control
over the essential functions of the Internet (and big bucks will be
possible for those who get control and the favor of this new
entity. So there is quite a fight going on to get some of the
handouts.)
This might be comical except for the fact that it is our Internet
the U.S. Govt is proposing to give away :-(
It is the ownership and control of IP numbers, of domain names, of
protocols, etc. These are the re1sult of huge amounts of tax money,
lots of cooperative contributions by many people around the world etc.
Therefore, third proposal is one I was asked to write by Ira
Magaziner, who is a senior policy advisor on Internet policy to the
U.S. President, after I complained to him and the world online and at
ISOC in Geneva, about what was happening in privatizing these
essential functions.
My proposal is based on study of the history and impact of the
Internet and Usenet.
It proposes a prototype collaborative international research
project to do work to figure out how to protect these essential
functions of the Internet and how to put them into hands that
will represent the cooperative International community.
I expect the much of the commercial media will ignore my proposal
as it doesn't help anyone to make their millions off the Internet,
but I hope any media and those users online who care for the Internet
as a precious means of worldwide communication will help get the word
out that my proposal is up for comment and that there needs to be
discussion on it.
(One online hearst newsletter already totally obliterated the
fact that there is a third proposal for comment at the NTIA
online site.)
Following is the information needed to get to the NTIA web site
where the proposals are posted and the comments are being taken:
The US Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and
Information Administration has published several proposals received for
the New Domain Name Corporation. These can be found on:
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/domainhome.htm
See in particular
Proposal of Ronda Hauben (English Version)
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/proposals/hauben/hauben.html
and Proposal of Ronda Hauben (French Version)
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/proposals/hauben/hauben-fr.htm
Ronda
ronda@panix.com
Netizens: On the History and Impact
of Usenet and the Internet
http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/netbook
also in print edition ISBN 0-8186-7706-6
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #122
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Oct 5 22:01:32 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id WAA12631; Mon, 5 Oct 1998 22:01:32 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 22:01:32 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199810060201.WAA12631@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #123
TELECOM Digest Mon, 5 Oct 98 22:01:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 123
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Newspaper Suit Raises Fair Use Issues (Monty Solomon)
Block a number; block the block; help, Ma Bell! (Tad Cook)
Texas Delays Southwestern Bell's Shutdown of Voice Dial (Tad Cook)
Re: A Tragedy! Southwestern Bell Terminating Voice Dial Service (Sullivan)
Book Review: "Using the Internet, Fourth Edition", B. Kasser (Rob Slade)
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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The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick
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Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Newspaper Suit Raises Fair Use Issues
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 13:32:00 -0400
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/10/cyber/articles/02papers.html
October 2, 1998
By PAM MENDELS
Depending on your point of view, a news-discussion Web site being sued
for its unauthorized posting of news articles is either brazenly
infringing the copyright of two major news publishers or boldy
upholding the free speech rights of its Internet participants.
The Free Republic Web site reproduces articles from other sites, such
as this New York Post article.
What is clear, however, is that the differences between the two sides
in the case are stark, and that two principles -- free expression and
intellectual property ownership -- are again clashing on the World
Wide Web.
In the suit, filed Tuesday in federal district court in Los Angeles,
lawyers for The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post asked a
judge to order the operator of the Free Republic site to stop
republishing articles from the newspapers without consent.
Free Republic, a discussion forum with a distinctly conservative
political bent, encourages visitors to copy and reprint, in their
entirety, news articles and commentary that have appeared around the
Web, so that users may engage in a lively discussion of current
events. The complaint cited 10 unauthorized pieces -- four from The
Los Angeles Times, six from The Washington Post -- that had appeared
on the site, which has been on the Web since 1996 and attracts about
50,000 visitors a day.
But Rex S. Heinke, a lawyer for the publishers, estimates that there
are "dozens and dozens," perhaps hundreds of articles on the site that
have been republished and archived, without the publishers'
permission. The site also contains articles from The New York Times
and other publications.
"We believe this is a straight copyright infringement suit, and
someone who did the same thing as Free Republic and posted articles on
a bulletin board at home or in the office would have the same
problem," he said.
-------------
The lawsuit asserts that electronic reprinting without the
publishers' consent is financially detrimental to the newspaper
companies. Among other things, Heinke said, if would-be Post and Times
visitors are diverted to the Free Republic site, that means fewer
visitors to newspaper sites that base advertising rates on their
electronic circulation.
Furthermore, he said, if Free Republic can, with impunity, repost
copyrighted material in its entirety, what's to prevent "a hundred
thousand" other sites from following suit, thereby "destroying" the
news sites' franchises.
For his part, Brian L. Buckley, the lawyer for Free Republic, argues
that the posting is permitted under the "fair use" principle of
copyright law, which allows for the publication of copyrighted
material under certain conditions, including noncommercial use in the
context of commentary. He says that the site fits neatly under the
fair use umbrella, because it is not a commercial venture, although it
does carry free advertising, and its purpose is to foster discussion
and criticism.
"We are not misappropriating anything," Buckley said. "The defendants
are exercising their First Amendment rights. Their use fits squarely
into the fair use exemption, and we will not back down."
The operator of Free Republic, James C. Robinson, is a retired
software company executive who is confined to a wheelchair as a result
of multiple sclerosis. He runs a small Web design business from his
home in Fresno, Calif. The business, Electronic Orchard, is one of the
advertisers on the site, along with several political candidates, a
new Web broadcast venture and others. Robinson said, however, that he
does not charge for advertising.
----------------
Robinson also said he launched Free Republic in part to allow users
to dissect what he perceives as a liberal bias in the media. The need
for close inspection of articles in such critiques, he said, is one
reason that users should be allowed to copy and re-post articles in
their entirety at the site, rather than excerpting or summarizing the
stories, as has been the case in other applications of the fair use
doctrine.
Buckley, Robinson's lawyer, accused the Post and the Times of
launching the suit in retaliation for the site's conservative
political bent, saying the plaintiffs want "to make Free Republic
become as nameless an entity as Deep Throat," the anonymous source in
the Post's coverage of Watergate.
Heinke responded: "We couldn't care less what his political views are."
Heinke also refuted the notion that an article needed to be copied in
whole in order to be critiqued, saying this argument was akin to
asserting that people who perceive left-wing bias in movies should be
allowed to copy the full length of the films in order to analyze them.
He added that users who want to read and dissect published news
articles have an easy way to do so: by visiting the news sites
themselves, perhaps by following links to articles from the Free
Republic site. "We have not sought court relief so that you can't
comment on our articles or criticize them," he said. "What we object
to is whole articles being copied and archived in such numbers."
This is not the first time that a group of media companies has sought
to protect their copyright online. In February, 1997, six major media
organizations filed a lawsuit against TotalNews, a Web site that
posted content from other publishers within a border, which carried
advertising, on the TotalNews site. That case was settled in June,
1997, when TotalNews agreed to stop putting borders, known as frames,
around articles published by the news organizations.
-------------------
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Interesting, isn't it that the
newspapers are trying to play the role of such innocent victims here.
The fact is that many newspapers *routinely* rip off things they
find on the net and use them with impunity in their print media.
They may or may not bother to attribute the source, and I can assure
you it is a cold day in hell when they bother to obtain permission.
Over the past fifteen years or so, think back over the number of
newsworthy items which have had their origin in a Usenet newsgroup
(admittedly now-days a lot of garbage but for years in the 1980's an
excellent source of information) and later wound up in the news-
papers. How many were ever attributed to their rightful author and/
or the newsgroup in which they appeared? Ah, but say the proprietors
of the New York Times Company, The Chicago Tribune Media Services
and others of that ilk, "We have the two-hundred fifty dollar per
hour attornies on retainer, so we will do as we damn please. Go
ahead and sue us if you want, but you will suck lively if you expect
to survive at all ..."
Then you have cases like the Boston Globe; ah yes, the dear old Globe
which prints total fiction under the guise of news and when they get
caught at it now and then they sacrifice a reporter here and there
and claim they knew nothing about it. And Tribune Media Services
continues its mud-slinging at the Internet each day through its
'Brenda Starr' comic strip. According to TMS and the Brenda Starr
strips the past two weeks or so, netters burglarize the homes of
honest, forthright people (like Ms. Starr) and rip off files from
their computer to be used on web pages dealing in gossip and scandals.
The *real* problem -- the reason the newspapers are all in an uproar
and squalling so much is because their bottom lines have become so
precarious. Circulation is way down; who needs them when you can
connect with your favorite ISP and read the news anytime you want?
They don't like it one iota that someone like you or I can connect
to the net and have a news item or editorial commentary on line for
the whole world to read in a matter of a few seconds time. They do
not like it because we can criticize their advertisers and actually
see our writing receive wide circulation. I mean, try writing some-
thing critical about Marshall Field and Company or the First National
Bank of Chicago and getting the Chicago Tribune or the Chicago Sun-
Times to print it. And every newspaper has the same thing; one or
two major advertisers who call the shots. In summary, the newspaper
publishers are unable to control you, the writer/reader any longer,
the advertisers are beginning to question where they ought to be
placing their ads, and the newspapers are beginning to see some hand-
writing on the wall which says over the next couple decades they are
going to be like ancient relics. So they give the word to their
lawyers to 'get that damned net under control once and for all' ...
meaning, of course, under their control.
I am pleased to see the stance taken by Free Republic and encourage
other net publishers/editors to take the same hardball approach.Some
newspapers such as the Boston Globe claim you do not even have the
right to link to them. They want to have their own web pages on line
but at the same time change all the rules we have followed on the net
over the years. The papers, like the rest of Big Business, will not be
satisfied until the net -- or at least we the people of the net --
have been squashed and gotten totally under control. Please note the
article Ms. Hauben sent me on a related matter which was printed in
the issue of the Digest just prior to this. Meanwhile, to Free
Republic and countless other newsgroup moderators and web page
publishers, I say bravo ... and carry on. Don't let the hypocrites at
the New York Times win this case. PAT]
------------------------------
Subject: Block a Number; Block the Block; Help, Ma Bell!
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 20:08:04 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By Sue Hutchison
Mercury News Staff Columnist
EARLIER THIS week, while I was idling in traffic on Highway 101, I
glanced over at the woman driving a mustard-yellow Mercedes in the
lane next to mine.
She picked up her cell phone, which must have been ringing, and
swiftly removed one of her large, gold-knot earrings so she could put
the phone closer to her ear. It was the elegant gesture of a bygone
era. It was exactly the way Mrs. Robinson answered the hotel courtesy
phone in "The Graduate" when Benjamin Braddock invited her to begin
their May-December affair.
This was when the telephone was not simply a public utility. A phone
call received out of the office had a connotation of intimacy. The
person calling was usually a friend or a neighbor or a relative or a
lover.
BUT NOW that we're deep into the "reach-out-and-grope-someone" era of
telecommunications, many of us have come to regard our own phones as
instruments of fear and loathing.
If "The Graduate" had been set in the '90s, it's likely Mrs. Robinson
would have been summoned by a ringing phone only to be greeted with:
"Ma'am, have you ever considered the benefits of a comprehensive life
insurance plan?"
I was getting a half-dozen of these telemarketing or solicitation
calls a day for months before I finally broke down and got myself a
Caller ID box.
Now, there are skeptics who say anyone with Caller ID is just a chump
who's bought into a phone company gimmick to charge for the illusion
of privacy. And I will admit there were a few kinks I had to work out
of the system.
For example, when a caller registers on the box as "Out of Area" with
no phone number, it is usually a telemarketer who hangs up when the
machine answers. But not always. So if one receives a phone call at a
very early hour that's flashing "Out of Area," one should not
necessarily pick up the receiver and commence shouting obscenities
into it before hanging up. If this happens, one stands a chance of
getting called back immediately and responding to the caller, "Sorry
Mom, I thought you were someone else."
For a while I considered blocking my own phone number. My friends had
blocked their numbers so their calls registered as "Private Caller" on
my Caller ID box. But when I blocked mine, they called me a hypocrite
because I wouldn't let them screen my number when I was trying to
screen theirs -- and they didn't have Caller ID boxes.
ONE FRIEND even got a block-the-blocker phone service so telemarketers
with blocked numbers couldn't get through. But I was blocking my
number at the time so I couldn't get through to him and neither could
any of his other "Private Caller" friends.
We all e-mailed one another about this problem, trying to negotiate
who would unblock their numbers and whether some of us had phone
service plans that would allow us to selectively block or unblock our
numbers depending upon whom we were calling.
At some point during this message traffic, I wondered how I was going
to understand a phone call negotiation system this complex when I
don't even understand how the can opener works.
In the end, my Caller ID box has not helped me erect barbed wire
against telecommunicating intruders as much as it has helped me regain
a sliver of civility.
True, the telemarketers still call and hang up when my machine
answers. And I'm forced to wait until my "Private Caller" friends
speak into my machine before I know it's safe to pick up the phone.
But some of my friends have made a bargain with me to unblock their
numbers when we call one another. We've thrown caution to the
wind. And when I see their names on the box, I actually pick up the
phone before the machine does. It's almost like the old days. It's
enough to make me wish I had heavy clip-on earrings to take off so I
could settle down on the couch with the phone to my ear for a good
chat with someone I know.
------------------------------
Subject: Texas Delays Southwestern Bell's Shutdown of Voice Dial
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 22:37:53 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Oct. 2--Southwestern Bell has delayed turning off its Voice Dial
service while state regulators study whether it should be left on
permanently as a benefit to the disabled.
Bell originally wanted to shut down Voice Dial -- which lets callers
dial numbers by speaking a word or name into the phone -- on
Thursday. A Bell spokeswoman said the service doesn't have enough
subscribers to make it worth continuing.
But the Texas Public Utility Commission put the shutdown on hold in
late September, saying it had received complaints from people who are
disabled and unable to dial phone numbers manually.
"It is being considered as a service for the disabled," said
commission spokeswoman Leslie Kjellstrand. "Because of the nature of
the service, it's very valuable to the people who are using it."
Kjellstrand said the commission's staff originally recommended giving
Bell the go-ahead to disconnect Voice Dial. But after receiving a
handful of complaints, commissioners asked the staff to restudy the
issue.
Voice Dial is not on the commission's agenda for its next meeting on
Oct. 8, which means the soonest it could be considered would be at
its Oct. 22 gathering. As a result, the service should remain on until
at least that date.
Voice Dial, first offered two years ago for $4 a month, originally was
touted as a convenience service. While it has not caught on with the
general public, it has become popular with people who don't have use
of their hands or otherwise can't dial a phone.
"Voice Dial has required a significant investment by Southwestern
Bell, and this year we were going to have to make additional
investments to the service," said company spokeswoman Lisa Ward. "But
Bell has not recouped its original investment."
She said the company is offering alternatives to its customers who
subscribe to Voice Dial, including two free months of Speed Dial
service or an $84 Uniden phone with built-in voice-dialing
capabilities.
Voice Dial works by letting people record words that are associated
with numbers. When they say the word, the phone dials the number.
Karen Askins, a local woman who said she has complained to the
commission about Bell's plan, said her 74-year-old mother is a stroke
victim and relies on Voice Dial to make calls.
Bell gave Askins' mother one of the voice-dial phones for free. She
has not been pleased.
"We had the police out at the house on Sunday," Askins said. "My mother
said `Calvin' into the phone and it dialed 911."
Ward said that is a hazard with all phones and services that rely on
voice recognition to dial numbers -- including Bell's own Voice Dial
offering.
"If you have a cold, or are stressed out, or your voice otherwise
sounds different than when you recorded it, it won't dial the number
properly," she said. "That's been a complaint with our service as
well."
On Thursday, Bell turned the service off in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma
and Arkansas after receiving regulatory approval in those states.
------------------------------
From: Michael D. Sullivan <mds@access.digex.net>
Reply-To: Michael D. Sullivan <mds@access.digex.net>
Subject: Re: A Tragedy! Southwestern Bell Terminating Voice Dial Service
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 98 01:07:27 -0400
Organization: DIGEX, Inc. - Beltsville, MD - http://www.digex.net
On 27 Sep 1998 12:20:21 GMT, Demuths wrote:
> In late August a printed letter was sent to Jerry McMahen (age 57) in
> North Little Rock, AR advising him that his Voice Dial Service would
> be terminated October 1 pending regulatory approval. The letter read:
> "Because of limited customer demand and the increased technical
> expense associated with keeping the product in service we apologize
> for any inconvenience the withdrawal of the service may cause you."
> ...The sad part of this story is that
> Voice Dial has been a fantastic service for Jerry as he is in bed
> 100% of the time and he can only move his head. Jerry's telephone,
> his computer, the Internet and his TV (lately on his computer
> monitor) are his life.
> My question is what can we do to help Jerry, the lady in Fayetteville
> and other disabled people who have this service or can have it in the
> future?
If the telco has been apprised of his condition, through several
levels of responsibility, and has nevertheless insisted on eliminating
this service, some effective approaches would be to submit petition(s)
to the PUC, FCC, and/or agencies dealing with the handicapped, or to
consider a lawsuit under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).
Any such petitions (and/or lawsuits) should be coupled with a press
conference ... or at least get a sympathetic reporter from a paper
read in the state capital to run a story. You might try to interest a
local, statewide, or national disabilites-rights organization in
making an issue of this.
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There are external devices which can be
> used the same way. That is, you speak to them and they then take the
> phone off hook and dial the desired number. Since the person in
> question is already (I assume) using his computer in the same way (by
> speaking to it and seeing what he says appear on the screen) it should
> be a simple enough matter to adapt a dialer program via his computer
> to respond to speech. Good luck in this, and I hope some Digest readers
> will be responding to you shortly. Anything he is doing at present to
> communicate via his computer can be adapted to cause numbers to be
> dialed on the phone.
There may well be alternative solutions, as Pat notes, but I suspect
that the telco may respond to a news story coupled with a regulatory
filing or lawsuit. Before trying these tactics, scope out the
disabilities-rights organizations, though.
> Also, I am wondering if in communications about this with telco anyone
> has mentioned to telco that the subscriber is disabled; the reason is,
> there are tariffs which have been created at one time or another for
> people who are unable to use the telephone in the 'normal' way. As an
> example, Ameritech (when it was Illinois Bell, at least) was always
> very generous and creative at finding solutions to problems like yours.
> The Telephone Pioneers organization has also always taken an interest in
> making the phone accessible to *everyone*. They cannot influence or
> change the general tariff which telco proposes to discontinue, but
> they can help develop an external solution such as the speech dialer
> described above. PAT]
It is absolutely essential that the telco know about the subscriber's
disabling condition -- at high levels -- before you move to a higher
plane of activism. If the person with whom you are communicating
doesn't seem to understand the need, ask to be "escalated" (magic
word, use it) to a higher-level official. This should be continued
until the company makes clear that it is unwilling to provide
reasonable accommodations to the disabled. I suspect that most major
telcos would respond to the situation out of civic duty and avoid bad
publicity.
Michael D. Sullivan, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
mds@access.digex.net, avogadro@well.com
------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 10:02:08 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "Using the Internet, Fourth Edition", Barbara Kasser
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKUSGINT.RVW 980522
"Using the Internet, Fourth Edition", Barbara Kasser, 1998,
0-7897-1584-8, U$29.99/C$42.95/UK#27.49
%A Barbara Kasser bkasser@icanect.net
%A www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/4487
%C 201 W. 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46290
%D 1998
%G 0-7897-1584-8
%I Macmillan Computer Publishing (MCP)
%O U$29.99/C$42.95/UK#27.49 800-858-7674 info@mcp.com
%P 523 p.
%T "Using the Internet, Fourth Edition"
The first edition of this title that I reviewed was not impressive. I
was, therefore, more than willing to pan this one. However, the
author of this edition has added not only a fresh and readable voice,
but an understanding of the net that can portray important concepts in
clear language without simplifying to the point that accuracy is lost.
Part one covers the fundamentals of the Internet. Chapter one is a
basic introduction that manages to get across the crucial character of
the net without once dragging in the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency. Getting connected to the Internet covers a lot of
ground, but chapter two does a good job of covering the major topics.
It is, however, restricted to the specifics of Windows 95 release 2
with IE 4. While I still maintain that, for anyone who has used the
Internet for any length of time, email is the killer application, for
those coming to the net as newcomers these days the Web is what they
have heard about. Both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer are
briefly described in chapter three.
Part two moves into actual use of the net. Again the Web takes pride
of place and gets a solid introduction in chapter four. Search tools,
both engines and directories, are described in chapter five. The
discussion of files and downloading, in chapter six, is marred in
several ways. The browser is the only downloading tool described, the
section on viruses is extremely poor, ZIP is the only archive format
mentioned, and the security concerns with component programs are not
reviewed. Also, I am not sure why telnet is considered (and
discarded) here.
Part three looks at email and Usenet newsgroups. Chapter seven covers
configuration of Outlook and Netscape. The management issues chapter
eight covers are attachments, distribution lists, and mail folders.
Chapter nine mentions other mail programs, but only describes Eudora
Lite. Configuration and activities in Usenet news, and even the very
useful DejaNews archive, are overviewed in chapter ten.
Part four seems to be a bit of a grab bag. Chapter eleven is a very
quick look at children's material and issues. Education gets a bit
more space in chapter twelve. The material in chapter thirteen on job
searching is much better than is found in most general works of this
type. Online commerce is handled well in chapter fourteen, including
the security issues surrounding cookies. The one caveat I should
submit is that Internet shopping is not quite as easy, convenient, and
available as the presentation may make it appear. I am nowhere near
as enthusiastic about push technology as the author, but the
information in chapter fifteen is useful if you want to explore it. I
do not, however, know why people finders are listed at the end of it.
Part five looks at real time communications, but in a limited way.
Chapter sixteen does not really cover IRC (Internet Relay Chat) at
all, even though MSChat will use it. Conferencing only uses the
NetMeeting and Netscape Conference programs in chapter seventeen.
There is essentially no coverage of Internet telephony, although CU-
SeeMe gets a terse mention.
Part six discusses producing content for the Web. Chapter eighteen
walks through the generation of a personal Web page with page creation
software. The important parts of getting a business up on the Web are
covered, although there are lots of details that can't be included, in
chapter nineteen.
While the author does attempt to cover both the MS Internet Explorer
and Netscape Navigator browsers, there is a definite Microsoft bias to
the material. There are also numerous and very definite gaps in the
coverage, even for the neophyte. However, as an introduction to the
net, this is quite acceptable.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKUSGINT.RVW 980522
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #123
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Oct 5 22:49:17 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id WAA15053; Mon, 5 Oct 1998 22:49:17 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 22:49:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199810060249.WAA15053@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #124
TELECOM Digest Mon, 5 Oct 98 22:49:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 124
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
WebTV Granted First License to Export Highest-Level Encryption (M Solomon)
Telecom Update (Canada) #152, October 5, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement)
ICG Set to Battle BellSouth Over Internet Telephone Fees (Tad Cook)
Obstacles on the Road to Local Competition (tkoppel@mediaone.net)
Exorbitant Pay Phone Charges (Robert Bononno)
Area Code Plan Would Deep-6 Seven-Digit Dialing (Tad Cook)
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:
* telecom-request@telecom-digest.org *
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: 847-727-5427
Fax: 847-675-3149
** Article submission address: editor@telecom-digest.org **
Our archives are available for your review/research. The URL is:
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
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A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note
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*************************************************************************
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* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: WebTV Granted First License to Export Highest-Level Encryption
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 15:24:04 -0400
Lowest-Cost Internet Access Device Now the Most Secure
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp.'s
(Nasdaq: MSFT) WebTV Networks today announced it is the first
U.S. company to obtain government approval to export nonkey
recovery-based 128-bit-strength encryption for general commercial
use. WebTV Networks pioneered low-cost access to the Internet, e-mail,
financial services and electronic shopping through a television set
and a standard phone line.
The WebTV(TM) Network service, combined with the WebTV-based Internet
terminals and receivers, is the first communications system permitted
by the U.S. government to provide strong encryption for general use
by non-U.S. citizens in Japan and the United Kingdom. Such strong
encryption allows Japanese and United Kingdom subscribers of WebTV to
communicate through the WebTV Network (both within national borders
and internationally) without fear of interception by unauthorized
parties.
"We are elated that we can now offer our overseas subscribers the same
secure communications that we have always offered our U.S. and
Canadian subscribers and partners," said Steve Perlman, president of
WebTV Networks. "And it is truly in the spirit of the Internet that
average consumers, rather than technologists or commercial interests,
are the first to benefit from this powerful technology. This is a
welcome step in liberalizing export controls on encryption. We are
looking forward to even more progress."
Previously, U.S. laws allowed exported products to use
known-to-be-breakable 56-bit encryption keys while restricting strong
(not known to be breakable) 128-bit keys to limited sets of users and
applications. Recently, the U.S. government announced that it would
broaden the base of users and applications permitted to use strong
encryption. But general applications, even the transmission of simple
e-mail messages, are still restricted from using strong encryption.
WebTV Networks has been granted the first export license to use strong
128-bit encryption for any user and any application in Japan and the
United Kingdom. So, for example, an e-mail message with personal
information sent from a WebTV subscriber in Japan to a second WebTV
subscriber in Japan will be sent securely because there is no known
technology by which an unauthorized party could intercept and decipher
it.
Therefore, as part of the WebTV Network, the WebTV-based Internet
terminal (starting at under $100) is now the most secure
communications device available from a U.S. company.
"WebTV Networks' export approval is a significant step for industry
and reflects the U.S. government's commitment to promoting e-commerce
abroad," said William Reinsch, U.S. undersecretary for export
administration. "The WebTV Network provides secure communications for
its customers and partners without posing undue risks to national
security and law enforcement."
The WebTV Plus system, which includes the WebTV-based Internet
receiver and the WebTV Network service, seamlessly integrates
television programming with Internet content and services, giving
customers more choice and control over the shows they watch as well as
new ways to enjoy more entertainment, information and services through
Internet and special interactive programming. The WebTV Network Plus
service has new features that allow users to customize television
watching in useful and fun ways, from advanced VCR programming to
sound- and image-enriched e-mail messages. The WebTV Network is one of
the largest online systems in the United States, with over 450,000
subscribers.
WebTV Networks, Inc. operates the WebTV Network service and designs
WebTV-based Internet terminals and receivers available from companies
like Sony, Philips and Mitsubishi at consumer electronics stores
nationwide. Costs start at $99 for the Internet terminals and $199 for
the Internet receivers, and $19.95 or $24.95 per month respectively
for the WebTV Network service. WebTV Networks Inc., based in Mountain
View, Calif., is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corp.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software for
personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and
services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission
of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of
the full power of personal computing every day.
NOTE: Microsoft and WebTV are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other
countries. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of
their respective owners.
This publication and the information herein is furnished as is, is
subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a
commitment by WebTV Networks, Inc. Furthermore, WebTV Networks,
Inc. assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or
inaccuracies, makes no warranty of any kind (express, implied or
statutory) with respect to this publication, and expressly disclaims
all warranties of merchantability, fitness for particular purposes and
noninfringement of third-party right.
The subscription fee for the WebTV Network and the WebTV Plus Network
service is a flat fee. WebTV Network service and the WebTV Plus
Network service are not available as a local call everywhere. Toll
charges may apply. To check if you have local access, please call
800-GO-WebTV. WebTV systems, like other Internet devices, do not
support all data formats. SOURCE Microsoft Corp.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 11:11:25 -0400
From: Angus TeleManagement <angus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #152, October 5, 1998
************************************************************
* *
* TELECOM UPDATE *
* Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin *
* http://www.angustel.ca *
* Number 152: October 5, 1998 *
* *
* Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by *
* generous financial support from: *
* *
* AT&T Canada ............... http://www.attcanada.com/ *
* Bell Canada ............... http://www.bell.ca/ *
* Lucent Technologies ....... http://www.lucent.ca/ *
* MetroNet Communications ... http://www.metronet.ca/ *
* Sprint Canada ............. http://www.sprintcanada.ca/ *
* Telus Communications....... http://www.telus.com/ *
* TigerTel Services ......... http://www.citydial.com/ *
* *
************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
** New Rules Set for International Telecom
** Telcos Keep Flat-Rate Plans
** Big Week for Federal Announcements
** Alberta Payphones Go to 35 Cents
** Nortel Changes Name, Takes Stock Hit
** Bell Opposes QuebecTel Plan
** NBTel Offers 15 Cent LD
** MetroNet Uses Inlogic For LNP
** Microcell Unveils Prepaid PCS
** NBTel Wireless Services Deregulated
** CRTC Revises "New Media" Schedule
** Internet Providers Merge
** Distributel Offers Quebec Flat-Rate Plan
** SaskTel and Credit Unions Join for E-Commerce
** Bell Offers Listings on Vista 350
** Mobility and CANARIE to Fund R&D
** Clearnet Mike Comes to Vancouver
** MT&T Sues Rogers Cantel
** Correction -- BC Tel Mobility Rates
** Those "50% of Savings" Deals
============================================================
NEW RULES SET FOR INTERNATIONAL TELECOM: Teleglobe's
monopoly on Canada-overseas telecom ended on October 1.
In Telecom Decision 98-17, the CRTC establishes a new
regulatory regime for international telecom services.
Among other things:
** Effective January 1, overseas carriers, including
resellers, must obtain a license from the CRTC.
** Until it sees evidence of overseas competition, the CRTC
will continue to regulate Teleglobe's international
rates. Teleglobe must make its services and facilities
available for resale on a non-discriminatory basis.
** Routing restrictions are eliminated: Both Canada-Overseas
and Canada-Canada calls may be routed through the United
States.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/decision/1998/d9817_0.txt
TELCOS KEEP FLAT-RATE PLANS: Bell Canada and BC Tel say that
they will not cap usage on their popular flat-rate long
distance plans. Last week, Sprint Canada introduced an 800
minutes/month ceiling on its $20/month plan, citing network
congestion caused by unexpected traffic growth. (See Telecom
Update #151)
BIG WEEK FOR FEDERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS: In the past week ...
** Industry Minister John Manley announced that the
government will not place any restrictions on the
development, importing, or use of cryptography products,
and will not implement mandatory key recovery or
licensing.
** In Parliament, Manley tabled the Personal Information
Protection and Electronics Documents Act, which is based
on the Canadian Standards Association's Model Code for
the Protection of Personal Information.
** Industry Canada loaned $4.8 Million to Spar Aerospace to
develop new satellite communication products.
** The Prime Minister announced the government's strategy
"to make Canada a world leader in electronic commerce by
the year 2000." See http://e-com.ic.gc.ca/english/60.htm
** Minister of National Revenue Herb Dhaliwal asked four
electronic commerce technical advisory groups to provide
expert advice on how to prevent tax evasion on E-Commerce
transactions.
ALBERTA PAYPHONES GO TO 35 CENTS: CRTC Telecom Order 98-968
okays Telus's plan to charge 35 cents for local payphone
calls everywhere in Alberta except Edmonton.
** CRTC Public Notice 98-28 seeks comment on the parallel
application by Telus (Edmonton). Comments are due
November 2.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98968_0.txt
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/notice/1998/p9828_0.txt
NORTEL CHANGES NAME, TAKES STOCK HIT: Effective immediately,
Northern Telecom is changing its brand name from Nortel to
Nortel Networks. After executives briefed financial analysts
on the company's prospects last week, Nortel's stock price
dropped 20%.
BELL OPPOSES QUEBECTEL PLAN: Bell Canada has urged Industry
Canada to reject QuebecTel's application to install its own
fiber facilities in Bell territory. The independent Quebec
telco wants to route calls directly from its territory to
Drummondville, Sherbrooke, St-Hyacinthe, Trois-Rivieres,
Quebec City, and Montreal. It says it will not offer local
or long distance services in Bell's territory.
NBTEL OFFERS 15 CENT LD: NBTel's new Advantage CanAm plan
offers small businesses Canada-U.S. calls anytime for 15
cents/minute.
METRONET USES INLOGIC FOR LNP: MetroNet Communications has
deployed a system developed by Toronto-based Inlogic
Software to implement Local Number Portability.
MICROCELL UNVEILS PREPAID PCS: Microcell has introduced
Fidomatic, described as "the first prepaid PCS wireless
communications service in Canada," in Montreal, Quebec City,
Sherbrooke, and Ottawa-Hull. $100 gets an Ericsson 638 PCS
phone, a smart card, and a $25 airtime voucher. Usage is 35
cents/minute.
NBTEL WIRELESS SERVICES DEREGULATED: CRTC Telecom Decision
98-18 deregulates the services of NBTel's wireless division,
NBTel Mobility.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/decision/1998/d9818_0.txt
CRTC REVISES "NEW MEDIA" SCHEDULE: The CRTC will allow
additional two weeks for second-phase written comments in
its "New Media" proceeding, and has added an "oral final
argument" phase. Second phase comments are now due November
2; oral final arguments will be heard February 8-12.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/notice/1998/p9820-1_.txt
INTERNET PROVIDERS MERGE: Toronto-based Internet Direct and
Vancouver-based ID Internet Direct have merged to create
Canada's fifth-largest Internet Service Provider.
DISTRIBUTEL OFFERS QUEBEC FLAT-RATE PLAN: Reseller
Distributel Communications now offers unlimited residential
calling within Quebec, anytime, for $20 a month.
SASKTEL AND CREDIT UNIONS JOIN FOR E-COMMERCE: SaskTel and
Credit Union Electronic Transaction Services (CUETS) have
announced a joint venture to provide secure credit card
transactions on the Internet.
BELL OFFERS LISTINGS ON VISTA 350: Bell Canada's Electronic
Phone Book service, available now in Toronto and Montreal,
provides free directory listings on the display of a Vista
350 telephone. Access is by touch-tone or speech
recognition.
MOBILITY AND CANARIE TO FUND R&D: This week Mobility Canada
and CANARIE will begin accepting applications for R&D grants
for wireless voice and data applications and advanced
Internet technology. Deadline for initial proposals for the
$2-Million program is December 1.
CLEARNET MIKE COMES TO VANCOUVER: Clearnet has extended its
wireless Mike Network, which is based on Motorola's IDEN
technology, to the Greater Vancouver Area.
MT&T SUES ROGERS CANTEL: Nova Scotia telco MT&T is suing
Rogers Cantel for $786,569.63. The telco says the amount
represents charges for long distance calls made last winter
by an illegal "call sell" operation in Halifax, using cloned
Cantel cellphones.
CORRECTION -- BC TEL MOBILITY RATES: Contrary to last week's
report in Telecom Update, BC Tel Mobility's new $49.95 plan
does not include free weekend calling. We apologize for the
error.
THOSE "50% OF SAVINGS" DEALS: A company promises to cut your
corporate phone bills in return for 50% of the savings. How
should you respond? What are the facts about "50% of
savings" deals?
** Now on the Angus Web site: Articles from Telemanagement
by Ian Angus and a contribution by Reg Arnold, Director
of ProbeTel, on whether 50% deals make sense for clients.
http://www.angustel.ca/reports/cont-home.html
** The October issue of Telemanagement is available this
week (http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm98c-09.html).
Subscribe to Telemanagement now and receive 25 telecom
strategy reports free! Call 1-800-263-4415 or see
http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm.html for details.
============================================================
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca
FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE
Angus TeleManagement Group
8 Old Kingston Road
Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7
===========================================================
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There
are two formats available:
1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World
Wide Web on the first business day of the week at
http://www.angustel.ca/update/up.html
2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of
charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to
majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message
should contain only the two words: subscribe update
To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail
message to majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message
should say only: unsubscribe update [Your e-mail address]
===========================================================
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce,
please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext
225.
The information and data included has been obtained from
sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus
TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations
whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy.
Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available
information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on
the subject matter is required, the services of a competent
professional should be obtained.
============================================================
------------------------------
Subject: ICG Set to Battle BellSouth Over Internet Telephone Fees
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 10:42:18 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By Craig Karmin
Dow Jones News Service
NEW YORK (Dow Jones News) -- Setting the stage for a potential court
battle or landmark ruling by government regulators, a local telephone
company says it won't abide by BellSouth Corp.'s recent decision to
charge access fees for telephone service delivered over the Internet.
ICG Communications Inc. officials said Wednesday that BellSouth has no
legal right to charge them access fees for offering telephone service
over the Internet, and that the company doesn't intend to pay these
charges.
"We're not going to pay the fees, and I'm considering other legal
options should (BellSouth) put charges on my bill," said Cindy
Schonhaut, ICG's senior vice president of government affairs.
ICG, of Englewood, Colo., recently began offering long-distance
service over the Internet in 31 cities -- including Atlanta, where
BellSouth has its headquarters.
ICG is one of six companies BellSouth notified last week about the new
charges, which a BellSouth spokesman said will go into effect in early
November. He declined to say which companies have been notified.
BellSouth -- the first of the Bells to impose these charges -- said
the fees will apply to Internet telephone providers that offer
phone-to-phone or computer-to-phone long-distance service.
In what will likely serve as a test case for the industry, BellSouth
contends it has the right to charge these fees, pointing to an April
report from the Federal Communications Commission to Congress.
In that report, the FCC indicated it could require Internet telephone
firms on a case-by-case basis to pay per-minute access fees to local
phone companies.
Local telephone companies already charge long-distance carriers such
as AT&T Corp., MCI Communications Corp. and Sprint Corp. fees to
originate and terminate long-distance calls.
But the commission stopped short of saying that Internet service
should be regulated the same way as traditional telecommunications
service, which has left open the door for interpretation of how the
FCC would respond if a Bell unilaterally imposed such charges.
Mark Cooper of the advocacy group Consumer Federation of America said
the FCC needs to decide whether telephone service over the Internet
represents a new innovation or simply the same service delivered
through different technology.
"It's not clear that Internet companies use Internet telephony the
same way (as long distance companies)," Cooper said. "If what they're
doing represents innovation, then charging for it could enable the
incumbents to kill an innovation."
------------------------------
From: tkoppel@mediaone.net (Ted Koppel)
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 20:54:14 -0400
Subject: Obstacles on the Road to Local Competition
Some months ago I wrote the Digest that my local cable company
(MediaOne-Atlanta) was now making available local telephone service for
a price that was around 24% less than the local BellSouth service. At
that time, I switched one of my lines to MediaOne, in order to test
their dependability and service for a while. My intention was
eventually move the second line to MediaOne (thereby saving money), or
if the service turned out to be poor, moving the second line back to
BellSouth.
After six months of testing, I decided that MediaOne had given me good
quality, dependable service and repair, and that I would move the second
line to MediaOne, thereby severing my long-standing relationship with
Bell South. I made the request and set up the appointment with MediaOne
for them to do the connection and wiring from their grey box to the
demarc. I was told that, in order to keep the same phone number, I
would need to wait five business days for Bell South to "release the
phone number" to Media One for installation. That was fine, and fully
explained to me by the MediaOne representative.
On the day before installation was scheduled, I received a phone call
from MediaOne, advising me that "BellSouth had not released the phone
number to them and that I would therefore have to wait another several
days until they did." My strong impressions is that the MediaOne guy
was telling me the truth, and that the hold-up was in fact due to Bell
SOuth's slow handling of my request to become a MediaOne customer.
What's the deal here? I can see three possible reasons for BellSouth's
delay - in ascending order of paranoia:
1. Bell South really and truly had a delay, and there was nothing
malicious about it. A simple mistake.
2. Bell South likes me so much as a customer that they don't want to let
me go - they'll hold on to their relationship with me even against my
will.
3. Bell South is playing games with competition, and is deliberately
slowing things down and trying to make MediaOne look bad, so that
MediaOne's customers will become disgusted and angry, and stay with
BellSouth.
My vote is for number 3. I'm re-scheduled for installation later this
week. Wonder if it will really happen ....
Ted
tkoppel@mediaone.net
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 18:38:12 -0400
From: Robert Bononno <rb28@is4.nyu.edu>
Subject: Exorbitant Pay Phone Charges
Organization: New York University
I recently had to accept a collect call from a pay phone during an
emergency electrical outage in our building. The call was made from
just across the river in New Jersey (I'm in Manhattan) and didn't last
more than ten minutes (they billed me for nine, but I wasn't on the
phone anywhere near that long). I assumed the call would be about two
dollars. Well, I was wrong. I received my Bell Atlantic bill last week
and found a charge for this call from a company called Opticom, for
$17.00. I nearly fell off the chair.
Is this legal? What happened to Bell Atlantic since the call was made
from and to their territory? Who is the company billing me for this
charge?
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It is likely that the owner of the
phone where the call was originated (most likely a COCOT outfit with
a bad reputation) sent the call 'paid' so Bell Atlantic never saw it
as a collect call where their own network was concerned. The COCOT
billing organization then generated its own collect charges in lieu
of money in the box by the person placing the call and billed you
on their own terms and conditions, submitting the bill through their
normal channels at Bell Atlantic. In other words, the caller said
he wanted to call collect, the COCOT people contacted you for your
approval (I assume; although some do that in a questionable way),
the COCOT then dialed it direct, etc.
Provided you actually okayed accepting a collect charge, then yes,
it is legal. They never claimed ahead of time that it would only
cost two or three dollars, I'm sure. Even the genuine telco tends
to be a bit pricey where collect calls are concerned with an operator
surcharge and all that, but seventeen dollars is a bit much. Do you
recall the conversation when you agreed to accept the charges? We
have covered this territory here lots of times; there is nothing
surprising about it at all, but to a novice or person unfamiliar
with COCOT ripoffs it can come as a shock. PAT]
------------------------------
Subject: Area Code Plan Would Deep-6 Seven-Digit Dialing
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 13:38:43 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
New number for new lines in smaller 408 region urged
By Jon Healey
Mercury News Staff Writer
The days of dialing seven digits to make a local call in the South Bay
appear to be numbered.
To cope with a shortage of available phone numbers in the South Bay, a
communications industry panel has proposed a two-step overhaul of the
408 area code, which includes nearly all of Santa Clara County.
There are disputes over parts of the plan, but there is general
agreement on this: In about 2 1/2 years, everyone in what is now the
408 area code will have to dial 11 numbers on every local phone call,
even if it is just to their next-door neighbor.
And if the panel has its way, much of the West Valley and South San Jose
areas will have their own area code about a year from now.
Under the panel's plan, the new area code would be assigned to new
lines in the scaled-back 408 region, beginning in mid-2001. To allow
the two area codes to be used in the same region, the phone company's
equipment would be programmed to require 11 digits -- 1 plus area code
plus seven-digit number -- to be dialed on every call made there.
The plan, backed by an administrative law judge, has run into
opposition from Pacific Bell, business groups and local governments, a
Pac Bell spokesman said.
Rather than splitting 408 geographically, this faction wants to let
anyone with a 408 number keep that area code, while assigning a new
code to most new customers.
Either way, residents and workers in the 408 area would eventually
have to dial 11 digits for every number, even those in the same area
code.
The California Public Utilities Commission has the final say on what
happens. The commission may take up the issue as early as Oct. 8.
The main advantage to the 11-digit approach is that no one's current
number would change. The main disadvantage is having to know and dial
the area codes for local numbers. Because the area code would depend
more on when the line was installed than where it was placed, it's
possible that a children's or fax line added to a house would have a
different area code from the original line.
"This is really a reflection of how well our economy is going," said
Joe Cocke, a phone-number planner with Lockheed Martin IMS, the
company that administers area codes. "Lots of businesses are sprouting
up, there's new communities growing, businesses are expanding."
Another key factor is the growing number of competitors in the local
phone and mobile phone businesses. Under the current system, these
competitors receive numbers in blocks of 10,000 in every community
where they wish to offer service -- even though they have no customers
to start with.
Pac Bell's competitors have opposed the 11-digit-dialing approach,
arguing that Pac Bell controls a much larger supply of numbers. Thus,
Pac Bell could offer customers numbers with the familiar 408 area code
while the competitors were stuck with numbers in the new code.
Sensitive to that issue, the utilities commission has approved only
one other 11-digit area: the 310 portion of Los Angeles. And when it
agreed to go that route in Los Angeles, the commission stated that it
would not authorize any more 11-digit plans before 2001.
At least one group of Bay Area officials -- the San Mateo County
Telecommunications Authority -- opposes this technique, known as an
area-code overlay. Brian Moura, chairman of the authority's board,
said that overlays may not provide much room for growth, and once the
commission takes that route, it can't go back. The intense demand for
numbers in the 408 region had already prompted one split, with Santa
Cruz and Monterey counties going into a new, 831 area code in
July. The move didn't buy much time for the remaining part of 408,
however.
The industry panel liked the idea of 11-digit dialing, but it feared
that numbers would run out in 408 if it waited until the 2001 deadline
imposed by the commission. That's why it proposed to split off
Campbell, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Morgan Hill, Gilroy and the southern
tip of San Jose into a new area code.
That move wouldn't bring much relief to the remaining part of 408,
either -- no more than three years, by the panel's estimation. Hence
the need for the second step, mixing the new area code in with 408.
Under the panel's proposal, people in the area covered by the new code
as well as those in the 408 region would have to begin 11-digit
dialing in 2001.
According to Pac Bell spokesman John Britton, all of the chambers of
commerce and local governments in the 408 area are on record in favor
of moving immediately to 11-digit dialing and mixing in a new code,
rather than having anyone shift out of 408.
"We definitely will be working with those factions to give the PUC an
alternative" to the plan backed by the panel and the administrative
law judge, he said.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #124
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Oct 20 23:00:22 1998
Return-Path: <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S)
id XAA21104; Tue, 20 Oct 1998 23:00:22 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 23:00:22 -0400 (EDT)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
Message-Id: <199810210300.XAA21104@massis.lcs.mit.edu>
To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #125
TELECOM Digest Tue, 20 Oct 98 23:00:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 125
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Fort Worth, TX-Area Phone Competition Disappoints Customers (Tad Cook)
Service Review: The Most Online (Sprint Canada) (Rob Slade)
Ameritech, Centrex, Call Transfer - Analog Lines (tazor@hotmail.com)
Obituary: Internet Pioneer Postel Dies (Monty Solomon)
FCC Gives Green Light For New Cable Internet Access (Monty Solomon)
When AT&T Was Barred From Providing Data Processing Service (Chris Holst)
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:
* telecom-request@telecom-digest.org *
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: 847-727-5427
Fax: 847-675-3149
** Article submission address: editor@telecom-digest.org **
Our archives are available for your review/research. The URL is:
http://telecom-digest.org
They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
ftp hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives
(or use our mirror site: ftp ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives)
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note
to archives@telecom-digest.org 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. *
*************************************************************************
In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order
telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has
been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very
inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request
a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing
your name to the mailing list.
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Fort Worth, TX Area Phone Competition Disappoints Local Customers
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 22:31:54 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By Mark P. Couch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Knight Ridder/Tribune
Business News
Oct. 5--The contest for local phone customers in North Texas kicked off
with a gust of hot air last summer.
Southwestern Bell, the state's largest local carrier, invaded No. 2 GTE's
turf in Plano and Irving, launching its multimillion-dollar challenge to
the entrenched monopoly at a balloon rally.
"That's when it began," says Carl Bracy, director of competitive response
for GTE.
Remember the Plano Balloon Festival?
It may not be a battle cry for the ages, but that September 1997 face-off
between the two companies was supposed to fulfill the promise of the new
phone era -- local competition -- and set an example for the rest of the
nation.
So far, the results have been disappointing to those who wanted a model
that could be transplanted to other parts of the country.
"They are saying it's an open market, but just because they say it's open
doesn't mean there is competition," says Leslie Kjellstrand, spokeswoman
for the Texas Public Utility Commission.
"On what services are they competing?" asks Janee Briesemeister,
telecommunications analyst for Consumers Union in Austin. "It is possible
that they are cherry-picking only the most lucrative residential
customers."
Briesemeister says phone companies plucking off rich residential customers
doesn't accomplish the goal of lowering the cost of basic telephone
service for everyone. Those customers are buying more expensive packages
that include caller-ID, call-waiting and other services.
"They're cream-skimming the residential market for those households that
use those services, but for basic services, there's no competition," she
says.
Those basic services -- connection fees and monthly charges for one phone
line -- must come down before Briesemeister will concede that a new era of
competition has arrived.
So far, those charges are the same in Irving and Plano as they are
elsewhere in the Metroplex. GTE's service representatives say connection
fees are $50 if a technician visits a customer's house, and basic monthly
service is $15. Southwestern Bell says it charges $47 to connect and $15 a
month for service.
But what the Southwestern Bell incursion into GTE's market did bring is a
taste of what phone companies will do when they have to sell local service
as if it were laundry detergent or breakfast cereal.
The companies have begun programs to build brand loyalty and extend name
recognition.
At Southwestern Bell, that meant ponying up $50,000 a year to get its name
on the popular Plano Balloon Festival, which draws as many as 300,000
spectators.
Southwestern Bell has the rights to the festival for the next three years,
says Jo Via, executive director of the festival.
The 1997 festival coincided with Bell's invasion into the heart of GTE's
territory and also offered an opportunity to rattle GTE's cage.
"GTE had been a lower-level sponsor for a number of years," Via says. "We
went to them because they had the right of first refusal, and they turned
it down."
Southwestern Bell has signed some other sponsorship deals, but it doesn't
need to break the bank because it already has a brand name known to most
residents, regional manager Mark Ruffin says.
"We were able to build on our name so we didn't have to spend a lot on mass
marketing," Ruffin says.
As for GTE, it has revamped its product offerings and combined services
such as caller-ID and call-waiting into packages that included bulk-buying
discounts. Those packages include combinations of three, five and 12
services and cost $5.25, $7.25 and $10.25 per month, respectively.
To market the packages, GTE sent information to the customers who would be
most likely to defect to Southwestern Bell.
"You can't defeat the competition with more advertising," Bracy says. "We
decided not to destroy the other guy, but to improve ourselves. That caused
us to look at many things, like our pricing programs and our customer
service.
"We've started to look at this business much like any other
consumer-products company."
GTE also enrolled customers who bought the service into a raffle for a new
$165,000 house. The house, which could be anywhere in GTE territory, was
awarded to Rogelia Aguilar, who chose Rowlett.
Southwestern Bell, on the other hand, is relying on direct sales to attract
customers. Ruffin says Bell is contacting customers who can provide a high
volume of calls, such as office complexes and apartment buildings.
In that way, Southwestern Bell is similar to smaller start-up phone
companies that target the lucrative niches of urban and suburban markets.
But Bell is aiming to blanket Plano and Irving, not just pick up a few big
customers.
So far, Southwestern Bell has increased its revenues in Plano and Irving by
50 percent, but Ruffin concedes that it was starting from a small base. GTE
estimates that it has retained 98 percent of its residential customers in
the two cities.
While several companies are battling for lucrative pieces of the pie, the
competition for local customers hasn't swept into the rest of North Texas.
In Fort Worth and Arlington, residential customers get Southwestern Bell,
with few having any other choices.
Bell still has a firm grip on most of its wires, too. The
Telecommunications Act of 1996 gives local phone companies permission to
sell long distance only after they open their systems to competitors.
According to records filed with the Federal Communications Commission this
year, only a small percentage of residential customers in Texas are getting
phone service on lines leased from Bell or GTE.
Southwestern Bell reported to the FCC that it has 5.9 million lines to
residential customers and 3.3 million lines to businesses, schools and
other nonresidential customers. It said it provides 195,000 residential
lines to competitors and 88,000 to nonresidential customers.
GTE owns 1.3 million residential and 548,000 nonresidential wires that it
uses. It has 12,075 residential and 8,724 nonresidential wires that it
leases to other companies.
And despite the hoopla, many observers say they don't believe that the
phone fights in Plano and Irving are the way of future competition because
there are too many barriers blocking that path.
Lawrence Vanston, president of Technology Futures in Austin and a respected
telecommunications seer, says local-service carriers won't compete until
they can find cheaper ways to reach into those households.
"Excluding business areas and some very lucrative neighborhoods, I would be
very surprised to see head-to-head competition between companies using
traditional telecommunications technology," Vanston says.
It's too expensive and too risky for a company to plunk down the wires and
equipment it would need to serve a base of customers that it can't
guarantee. Those estimates range from at least $2,000 per home to as much
as $5,000 per home.
"I think it will be very rare, except in major business areas," Vanston
says.
Jeffrey Kagan, a telecommunications analyst in Marietta, Ga., says some
Bell companies are starting to strike out into their sister company's
regions, but it's not a common practice.
"It's not widespread yet, but it's an emerging trend," he says.
Vanston says he believes that local phone companies are more likely to
expand their wireless and cable operations because they offer more
cost-effective ways to blanket local markets.
In the meantime, the local phone companies worry that small firms will
invade their markets to take pieces of the pie without the requirements of
serving the entire market.
"What keeps me awake at night is that there are so many people out there
competing for some of the same customers," Ruffin says.
WIRELESS, `CABLE VOICE' OFFER CHALLENGES: There are two major impending
challenges to the local phone companies: wireless and "cable voice"
telephone systems.
Wireless phone companies are cutting prices and boosting coverage areas,
and cable companies are speeding up improvements to their systems to so
they can send and receive information.
"I see voice service by wireless companies as attractive and data by cable
modem," says Lawrence Vanston, president of Technology Futures in Austin.
Within 10 years, the local telephone companies will lose almost 40
percent of their revenues to companies selling local phone service through
alternative methods, Vanston predicts.
But the local phone companies are holding their own right now.
Few people have dropped their phones for wireless service, says Liz Dunn,
spokeswoman for AT&T Wireless, the nation's largest wireless phone service.
"We don't see it today as a big trend yet, but it's kind of like `Watch
this space for more details,' " Dunn says.
The cable TV industry is also planning to break into the local phone
business. AT&T is hedging its bets by buying huge cable provider
Tele-Communications Inc. of Englewood, Colo.
"AT&T made a $47 billion bet that it will happen in cable," says Larry
Schutz, vice president of network engineering for Charter Communications, a
St. Louis-based cable provider.
This year, Charter will become the second cable company in Microsoft
co-founder Paul Allen's stable of investments. Allen bought Dallas-based
Marcus Cable last spring, and it will be consolidated with Charter when
that deal is completed.
Schutz says cable companies are pouring money into improvements that will
allow their systems to send voice signals over the Internet.
"The cable industry has been fervently and frantically upgrading for the
last five or six years," Schutz says. "A number of companies are within a
year of having their systems capable of handling the capacity."
------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 10:50:10 -0800
Subject: Service Review: The Most Online (Sprint Canada)
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
ISSPRINT.RVW 980915
Comparison Review
Company and product:
Company: Sprint Canada (cf. CallNet)
Address: P. O. Box 5100, Station Don Mills, Don Mills, ON M3C 3W4
Phone: +1-416-496-1644
Fax:
Sales: +1-888-812-3279
Support: +1-888-395-3279 help@sprint.ca
Contact:
Email: support@sprint.ca
Other: http://www.sprintcanada.ca
Product: The Most Online
Summary: "unlimited" dial-up Internet access
Cost: C$22.95/month
Rating (1-4, 1 = poor, 4 = very good)
"Friendliness"
Installation 2
Ease of use 2
Help systems 1
Compatibility 3
Company
Stability 2
Support 1
Documentation 1
System required 2
Performance 2
Availability 2
Local Support 1
General Description:
The Most Online is a usage insensitive dial-up Internet access service
intended for home use. MSIE Internet access software is provided for
installation. Installation is only available on Windows 95 machines.
Comparison of features and specifications
User Friendliness
Installation
An installation CD-ROM is provided for Windows 95 (and presumably 98)
but for no other system. The CD-ROM contains the Microsoft Internet
Explorer browser, Outlook mail user agent, and related newsreader of
the appropriate release level. The installation program installs the
software on the target system and then invokes a call, through a
scripted Web page, to an isolated, secure server for account setup.
The account server (accessed via an 800 number) will only accept calls
from a certain level of modem. Because of the use of standard
Microsoft supplied modem data, I was not able to connect with this
server on initial installation. Three calls to the first level of
Sprint support did not resolve the issue, but upon finally reaching
second level support I was able to get enough information to
troubleshoot the problem myself, although only because I am well
familiar with the configuration settings for modems and keep my
manuals handy.
Ease of use
The service is a standard dial-up TCP/IP connection, so any standard
Windows sockets program can be installed and used. The initial
installation is configured with no automatic redial capability and a
20 minute idle time cutout.
Help systems
The installation configures the IE Web browser such that the Sprint
Canada "The Most Online" page becomes the home page. This does
provide a set of initial tips for using the net, but loaded extremely
slowly.
Compatibility
No problems have been noted with Windows sockets programs attempted.
Company Stability
Sprint is both a long distance and Internet service provider in
Canada. The parent company, CallNet, recently acquired another large
long distance and Internet provider.
Company Support
Everyone who works with computers has a favorite technical support
nightmare story, but in more than a decade of reviewing computer
products I have never personally experienced technical support that is
as bad as that I have received from Sprint. Only one of the first
level technical support people that I have dealt with has made a
single helpful comment, and not once has a problem been correctly
diagnosed at first level support. First level staff, in general,
appear to be woefully ignorant of even basic computer operations, let
alone computer communications. One evening, after numerous dialling
attempts had failed, I suspected that the whole modem pool was down
and called to enquire if that was the case. I specifically asked
about that eventuality, but it was only after ten minutes of pointless
queries about my system on the part of the support person that she
finally agreed to call the local modem pool number, checked the list
on her computer for the number, and reported, "Oh! It says all the
modems in your area are down." On another occasion technical support
demanded to know which number I was calling (for some reason there are
two calling numbers in the Vancouver area, and they seem to operate
independently) before telling me which number was not working
properly. While most staffers seem to be polite, if ignorant, there
are a significant number who present a very smug, if not outright
rude, attitude. One staffer took a positively sadistic delight in
insisting on taking me screen by button by dialogue box through an
irrelevant series of checks that had nothing to do with the problem at
hand.
When you call technical support there is an option to access a report
for the status of all servers. However, this report always states
that "all servers are operating normally," even when servers are known
to be down, or only operating sporadically. On one occasion the
system did admit that the authentication server was down, but it would
be rather difficult to hide a problem like that.
One of the most serious problems with support, however, is that Sprint
refuses to even attempt to diagnose any problem unless you are running
the originally supplied software. If you use any other programs, you
are out of luck. In fact, if you attempt to upgrade to current levels
of any of the supplied Microsoft programs you must "downgrade" to the
versions supplied on the CD-ROM before Sprint will try to help.
(Since many of the problems I have experienced with Sprint are
intermittent and possibly related to specific modems in the pool, this
action will often coincidentally solve the problem by forcing a reboot
and reconnect.)
If you are able to get through to second level technical support, you
will find that the staff are more knowledgeable and courteous.
However, only once that I have been able to get through to second
level support has a problem been properly diagnosed, and never has it
been properly remediated.
As security consultants, my colleagues and I continually remind people
that no Internet Service Provider or online service will ever ask you
for your password. This is not the case with Sprint. I have been
asked several times for my user name and password, even by second
level support people. This is the more problematic since the only way
to change your password, after the initial account setup, is to ask
technical support to change it. (Sprint have been promising a
password change function ever since I got on the system, but have yet
to implement it.)
Documentation
No documentation is supplied.
System Requirements
Installation requires Windows 95 and probably a minimum v.42 level
modem. Once the account has been set up, it can be used, with a
manual transfer of the account information, by any TCP/IP compatible
machine.
Performance
"The Most Online" service is intended for home use, and,
paradoxically, this makes it very suitable for business use in many
cases. The evening hours can be very active, but I rarely get a busy
signal during business hours. However, the service is very basic.
Although the sales agent promised multiple email accounts when I
signed up, you only get one. (Sprint apparently feels that the
promise of multiple accounts is adequately fulfilled by the fact that
outside enterprises such as Hotmail provide "free" email accounts
accessible via Web interfaces.) There is no provision of Web page
space. Internet dial-up access, POP (Post Office Protocol) email
service for one account, and a Usenet news server is the extent of the
service.
The mail server seems to be relatively stable, although I did have
fairly serious problems with lost mail when I first signed up with the
service. Mail access is fairly speedy if you have a good mail user
agent (such as Pegasus) on your end. The SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol) server that handles outgoing traffic is considerably slower.
The news server is very problematic. On the one hand, Sprint does
supply a very large number of newsgroups, over 37,000 at last count.
On the other hand, all manner of access to news group lists, headers,
and the bodies of large messages is very slow. Speed varies according
to the news reader used, but is never really fast even with the best
program. Initially, on a slower computer, the frequent stalls caused
numerous crashes of the newsreader program, but on a faster machine
running NT the system seemed more able to recover from the timeouts.
However, in recent months, approximately one third of connections
seems to result in no access permission to the news server. This is
unrelated to the newsreader in use at the time, and seems to be more
probably associated with specific modems in the pool (although this
cannot, of course, be fully diagnosed from the user side). This
connection specific loss of privilege is the more annoying given
Sprints frequent line dropping.
Sprint provide flat fee, unlimited Internet access. Presumably in an
attempt to keep people from tying up the lines all day, the initial
installation configures the dial-up networking to drop the line after
twenty minutes of no activity on the line. However, since this is
configured in the Microsoft Dial-Up Networking, there is no way to
prevent knowledgeable users from dropping this restriction. Sprint,
therefore, seems to have instituted an enforced dropping of the
connection from their end after a certain period of no activity.
Whether related to this function or not, subsequently Sprint has
demonstrated very frequent loss of carrier even during active
transfers. In my own experience this seems to average about one loss
of connection per hour of active online time. However, as with all
random occurrences, this can happen many times in a short period.
Frequently a connection will be dropped within a minute of it being
established.
General access to the Internet seems to be good. Speed of file
transfers and access to Web sites seems to correspond to the
particular sites, so it would seem that Sprint's backbone bandwidth is
good. Note, however, that this only applies during business hours,
which is not a busy time for the Sprint service. Access to mail and
news, as well as file transfers and Web browsing can be extremely
tedious during evening hours. Server access is particularly slow in
the evenings, and it is not unusual for a download of the newsgroup
update list to take over two hours. DNS (Domain Name Service) tables
seem to be solid, although international sites can sometimes be a
problem.
An annoying aspect of the service, particularly in light of the
intermittent connection faults, is the sporadic and unannounced
bringing down of servers for maintenance. As of the latter part of
1998 service interruptions or slowdowns have been very frequent. At
one time server status was reported in the recorded welcome message on
the technical support line, but this practice has been rendered
useless by a failure to update it. Even more annoying is the fact
that support staff now ask for your identity before confirming that
the service is, in fact, down. (It's rather a giveaway though, since
if nothing is wrong they don't ask for your ID. If they ask,
something is wrong.)
(Interestingly, the one exception to reasonably rapid loading of Web
sites is Sprint's own, which, of course, is configured as the default
startup or home page on installation. During the final drafting of
this review some programming loop had occurred on the page that caused
an infinite loop while the site endlessly recontacted itself for the
next section of the page. The only thing that actually got displayed
was a highly ironic "Please wait while loading ......." legend.
Sprint also now holds the world's record for most persistent and
annoying insistence on setting a cookie, and is the first site ever to
have forced me to disable *all* cookies.)
Availability
Sprint service access points have been available in 17 major centres
across Canada since it started. However, while there have been
ongoing promises for expansion of this list, in almost a year no new
points of presence have been added.
Local Support
A Web site with minimal technical information is provided. Company
support is available via a tool-free number.
Support Requirements
For nominal use, the system should be accessible even to novice users
immediately upon installation. Reconfiguration of modem
initialization strings is probably needed with less heavily marketed
modems. Reconfiguration for automatic redial is desireable for home
users.
General Notes
Sprint appears to be generally solid as an access provider, with some
annoying, but not fatal, glitches. The insistence on the use of the
MSIE suite of access tools is not as bad as it might be, since the
3.02 level required is less prone to security loopholes than the more
recent 4.x versions. Once installed support should not be required,
which is good, since it doesn't appear to be provided in any
meaningful way.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 ISSPRINT.RVW 980915
------------------------------
From: tazor@hotmail.com
Subject: Ameritech, Centrex, Call Transfer - Analog lines.
Date: Tue, 20Oct 1998 00:55:43 GMT
Organization: Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion
Hello!
I would like to know if anyone has ever ordered (successfully) in the Illinois
area call transfer for a plain old single line analog telephone with Centrex
service.
My situation is: I want to be able to call up party A. Flash the line and
talk to party B. Flash the line and conference to all three parties. Flash
the line once more and I disconnect from the conversation but party A and
party B can continue to chat. I believe this would be called call transfer.
Right now Ameritech has it that I can call party A, flash the line to dial
party B, flash once more and we have 3 way calling. If I disconnect everyone
is cut off (well... not exactly, my line will start ringing again and it's
party B). I believe this is 3 way calling.
Could someone:
a. let me know if Ameritech offers this service in Illinois.
b. Straighten me out if my terminology is out of wack.
Thank you!
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There is a business service offering at
Ameritech which does what you want. They actually offer centrex service
for *one line* installations, or I should say, the most common and
popular centrex features. If you have a business line, call and
discuss with them the 'custom calling feature pack' which allows what
you want. By the way, you will continue to pay the bill as long as
A and B continue to be connected. Isn't that a bit dangerous? PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 22:26:33 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Obituary: Internet Pioneer Postel Dies
Saturday October 17 8:19 PM EDT
Internet Pioneer Postel Dies
By TED BRIDIS Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Jon Postel, the Internet pioneer who wielded enormous
influence managing technical details of the global computer network, has
died of complications from heart surgery in Los Angeles, friends in
Washington said Saturday. He was 55.
Postel, considered by the Clinton administration to be a crucial player
in the future of the Internet, died Friday night while recovering from
surgery to replace a leaking heart valve, said Vint Cerf, a senior vice
president for MCI Worldcom Inc. who worked closely with Postel.
The death also was announced Saturday at an Internet conference in
Barcelona, said Bill Semich, the president of .nu domain, another
Internet company.
Postel's death comes at a critical juncture for the Internet, with the
federal government in the midst of largely turning over management of
the worldwide network to a non-profit group that Postel helped organize.
Though Postel worked behind the scenes and was hardly known outside
high-tech circles, his role as director of the Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority allowed the Internet to match unique numerical addresses for
computers on the global network with its millions of Web addresses, such
as www.ap.org.
So powerful was Postel that ``The Economist'' once dubbed him ``god'' of
the Internet.
``Jon was a very private person and didn't seek the limelight at all,''
said Cerf, who attended high school with Postel in California. ``He
preferred to exercise his stewardship role in a very quiet but competent
way.''
``Being famous never drove Jon,'' agreed another longtime friend, David
Farber, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. ``He had
tremendous influence, people respected his intellect.''
Earlier this year, Postel drew sharp criticism but demonstrated his
influence when he redirected half the Internet's 12
directory-information computers to his own system. He told federal
officials afterward he was running a test to see how smoothly such a t
ransition could be made.
A researcher at the University of Maryland at College Park, which
controls one of those computers, told The Washington Post: ``If Jon asks
us to point somewhere else, we'll do it. He is the authority here.''
Cerf said Postel underwent a heart-valve replacement in 1991, but the
replacement value started to leak about 10 days ago. He was quickly
hospitalized for surgery and was recovering when he died suddenly.
``One minute he was alert and laughing about a joke, and the next minute
he was gone,'' Cerf said. ``It was very fast.''
Postel, who was unmarried with no children, was intensely private. When
a recent trade publication profiled him and told him readers were
interested in his personal life, he answered: ``If we tell them, they
won't be interested anymore.''
Cerf said Postel is survived by a brother, Mort Postel, who lives in Los
Angeles with his wife.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: We will miss him. So much of the Internet
benefitted from his knowledge and help in his lifetime. PAT]
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: FCC Gives Green Light For New Cable Internet Access
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 13:37:39 -0400
http://www.currents.net/newstoday/98/10/09/news5.html
>From Newsbytes News Network
FCC Gives Green Light For New Cable Internet Access
- By Steve Gold, Newsbytes
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced it has given
the thumbs up to CAIS Internet's OverVoice fast Internet access
technology to be used on the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
According to CAIS Internet, a first-tier Internet service provider
(ISP) that is part of the CGX Communications group, the FCC permit has
been made under the FCC Part 68 licensing arrangement.
CAIS says that its OverVoice technology is the first to adapt the
Ethernet standard used on PC local area networks (LANs) for use across
standard copper pair cables, as used on the PSTN local loop. The
OverVoice technology, officials say, supports Internet access at
speeds of up to 10 megabits per second (Mbps), while still supporting
simultaneous voice calls as normal over the phone line.
"While Part 68 licensing is somewhat standard and routine for devices
such as telephones and answering machines, it is a more complex issue
with technology like OverVoice, which combines analog voice signals
and high-speed data over standard telephone wiring," said Kevin
Powell, CAIS' director of OverVoice product services.
According to CAIS, the OverVoice equipment, which consists of a
proprietary wall jack and control unit, uses a number of capacitors,
inductors, transformers and terminators to form the OverVoice filters
that allow simultaneous use of the wires by data and voice while
ensuring interference-free communications.
These filters, the firm says, enable the voice signal to flow freely
between a telephone and the public switched network, and data traffic
to flow freely between an end user's PC and the Internet at speeds
faster than many of the DSL (digital subscriber line) technologies
starting to become available.
In addition this, the company says, OverVoice technology, which
requires no outside power source, also removes Internet traffic from
the public network and routes it over a private high-speed circuit
that connects directly to the Internet.
OverVoice is primarily aimed at shared usage Internet access
applications, Newsbytes notes. The OverVoice technology allows an
entire apartment building of a hotel to be connected into the Internet
on an "always-on" basis, sharing the bandwidth between various users
on a local network.
At the building end of the OverVoice link, the high-speed Internet
access line is connected to a server and an Ethernet Hub, which
connects to a proprietary device called the OverVoice Control
Unit. Next, a special OverVoice wall jack, which has separate openings
to plug in a telephone and a computer, replaces the existing telephone
jack. Existing telephone wires then connect the OverVoice Control Unit
and wall jacks around the building.
CGX Communications, the parent company of CAIS Internet, says it
expects the OverVoice technology to play a major role in the
nationwide and international expansion and growth of the company.
According to the company, the technology is currently installed (or
being installed) in hotels and apartment buildings across the US as
part of commercial trials with Microsoft, Atcom/INFO, and OnePoint
Communications.
As reported in June by Newsbytes, CAIS has struck a 10-year, $100
million deal with Qwest Communications, calling on Quest to provide
leased and routed Internet Protocol (IP) bandwidth on its 18,449-mile
domestic fiber network. That deal, Newsbytes notes, has expanded
CAIS's nationwide network from five cities to around 130.
For the technically-minded, the OverVoice technology allows Ethernet
networking over the twisted-pair phone wiring installed in hotels and
apartment buildings.
Installing OverVoice in a building requires replacing the wall jacks
with special jacks that have separate connectors for voice and data,
and installing devices in the telephone wiring closets that allow
conventional Ethernet hubs to be connected to the existing wiring.
A high-speed connection, such as a T1 line, is then installed to carry
data traffic from the building to an ISP. The result is Internet
access at 10 Mbps -- the same speed as a standard Ethernet network and
close to 20 times as fast as a 56Kbps analog modem.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 18:07:16 -0400
From: Chris Holst <cdh@philo.org>
Organization: Philolexian Society
Subject: When AT&T Was Barred From Providing Data Processing Services
Hello Telecom Digest,
I am currently involved in some research for a possible article
on the effects of the FCC's first Computer Inquiry decision (1971),
which barred AT&T from providing computer services over their
network. Consequently, am looking for perspectives from
Digest readership on the issue. Anybody who was active in the
industry remember any strong reactions to the decision? Was there
evidence that this directly spurred the microcomputer revolution,
or did the unfettered market lead to microcomputers without
consciously acknowledging the lack of market distortion that
AT&T's participation would have caused?
Thanks to any who reply.
Yours,
Chris Holst
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #125
******************************
TELECOM Digest Thu, 22 Oct 98 22:51:00 EDT Volume 18 : Issue 126
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
UCLA Short Course on "Digital Signal Processing" (Bill Goodin)
Is a Voice Modem the Solution For my Call Center? (Leigh Webster)
New ISDN Book (William Stallings)
Know thy RespOrg (Judith Oppenheimer)
Unveiling: The _NEW_ (and Improved) TRA Website! (Mark J. Cuccia)
Pentagon Equipment Said Disrupting Phone Service Overseas (Tad Cook)
Telecom Update (Canada) #154, October 19, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement)
Book Review: "How to Find Health Information on the Internet" (Rob Slade)
9-1-1 Service Unavailable in Many Places (Tad Cook)
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Bill Goodin <bgoodin@unex.ucla.edu>
Subject: UCLA Short Course on "Digital Signal Processing"
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 10:19:35 -0700
On January 4-8, 1999, UCLA Extension will present the short course,
"Digital Signal Processing: Theory, Algorithms and Implementations",
on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles.
The instructor is Robert W. Stewart, PhD, Faculty Member, Department
of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde,
Glasgow, Scotland.
Each participant receives a Digital Signal Processing Reference
Glossary (500 pages); multimedia reference CD-ROM featuring
algorithms, DSP sample problems, graphs, and comprehensive notes;
software and hardware workbook and manuals; and lecture notes.
Participants use multimedia PCs in a UCLA Extension computer lab
with the DSP design and simulation software, SystemView by Elanix.
A complete workbook and more than 200 design examples are provided.
This course presents the core theory and algorithms of DSP and
demonstrates through laboratory sessions the real-time and real-world
implementation of digital signal processing strategies. It is intended
for engineers, computer scientists and programmers, and project
management staff. After presenting the mathematical tools and theory
of DSP, the course features practical laboratory sessions that allow
participants to simulate and implement advanced DSP systems such as
acoustic echo cancellers, psychoacoustic compression strategies, or
software radio systems.
Participants should obtain the tools and materials necessary to apply
DSP methods immediately at their workplace, as well as:
o Analyze discrete time systems using time domain mathematics
o Analyze discrete time systems using frequency domain/Z-domain
mathematics
o Understand the fundamental theory relating to sampling rate,
quantization noise and the architecture of a generic DSP system
o Design and implement FIR, IIR, and adaptive digital filters for
real-world applications in digital audio and acoustics and
telecommunications
o Understand the theory of adaptive signal processing systems
and how to apply to real-world problems
o Understand the DSP theory of signal coding and compression
o Understand the key theory and achievable advantages of
oversampling, multirate, noise shaping, and undersampling strategies
o Undertake DSP system design using advanced analysis and
design software
o Implement real-time digital filters, and adaptive digital
filters using DSP simulation software, and real-time DSP
processor hardware
o Apply DSP theory and algorithms in the application domains
of modern computing, multimedia systems, and communication
systems
o Integrate theoretical and practical skills to undertake a DSP
design project.
UCLA Extension has presented this highly successful short course
since 1997.
The course fee is $1595, which includes extensive course materials.
These materials are for participants only, and are not for sale.
For a more information and a complete course description, please
contact Marcus Hennessy at:
(310) 825-1047
(310) 206-2815 fax
mhenness@unex.ucla.edu
http://www.unex.ucla.edu/shortcourses
This course may also be presented on-site at company locations.
------------------------------
From: lwebster@my-dejanews.com (Leigh Webster)
Subject: Is a Voice Modem the Solution For my Call Center?
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 13:15:48 GMT
Organization: Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion
Hi,
I have a call center that handles around 10,000 calls an hour. We
currently use Dialogic CT Connect but are thinking of switching to
voice modems to connect to our Nortel Meridian 1. I am concerned
about the effects and reliability of using the voice modems with such
a large call volume.
Does anyone know of any advantages/disadvantages of voice modems over
CT Connect or vice versa?
Thank you,
Leigh Webster
Please respond by email to lwebster@netdoor.com if you can help me out.
------------------------------
From: ws@shore.net (William Stallings)
Subject: New ISDN Book
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 10:10:16 -0400
Organization: Shore.Net/Eco Software, Inc; (info@shore.net)
This is to announce the publication of ISDN and Broadband ISDN, with
Frame Relay and ATM, Fourth Edition. The book is intended to be both a
professional reference and a textbook. A brief table of contents is
attached. A more detailed table of contents and discount ordering
information is available at the web site listed below.
ISDN and Broadband ISDN, with Frame Relay and ATM, Fourth Edition
William Stallings
(Prentice-Hall, 1999, ISBN 0-13-973744-8)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
PART ONE DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS FUNDAMENTALS
CHAPTER 2 DIGITAL TRANSMISSION
CHAPTER 3 LINE CODING AND THE SUBSCRIBER LINE
CHAPTER 4 COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
PART TWO INTEGRATED SERVICES DIGITAL NETWORKS
CHAPTER 5 ISDN OVERVIEW
CHAPTER 6 ISDN INTERFACES AND FUNCTIONS
CHAPTER 7 ISDN PHYSICAL LAYER
CHAPTER 8 ISDN DATA LINK LAYER
CHAPTER 9 ISDN NETWORK LAYER
CHAPTER 10 ISDN SERVICES
CHAPTER 11 SIGNALING SYSTEM NUMBER 7
PART THREE FRAME RELAY
CHAPTER 12 FRAME RELAY PROTOCOLS AND SERVICES
CHAPTER 13 FRAME RELAY CONGESTION CONTROL
PART FOUR BROADBAND ISDN
CHAPTER 14 BROADBAND ISDN ARCHITECTURE
CHAPTER 15 BROADBAND ISDN PROTOCOLS
PART FIVE ASYNCHRONOUS TRANSFER MODE
CHAPTER 16 ATM PROTOCOLS
CHAPTER 17 ATM TRAFFIC AND CONGESTION CONTROL
APPENDIX A FLOW CONTROL, ERROR DETECTION, AND ERROR CONTROL
APPENDIX B THE OSI REFERENCE MODEL
| | Descriptions, errata sheets and discount order info |
| Bill Stallings | for my current books and |
| ws@shore.net | information on my forthcoming books at |
| | http://www.shore.net/~ws |
------------------------------
Reply-To: tollfree-l@egroups.com
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 07:16:43 -0400
From: Judith Oppenheimer <joppenheimer@icbtollfree.com>
Organization: ICB TOLL FREE NEWS. 15 Day FREE Trial: http://icbtollfree.com
Subject: Know thy RespOrg
(reprint of an editorial to appear in ICB TOLL FREE NEWS)
Know thy RespOrg -- and to thine own subscriber rights, be true.
Business has recently picked up for ICB Toll Free Consultancy -- great
for ICB, but an indication of ominous goings-on in toll free-land.
800 numbers disappear during ports, get hijacked by RespOrgs from
their own (smaller) customers for larger customers -- and securely
moored unavailable 888s, rigidly rooted in set-aside at DSMI for
safe-keeping, are recalled per FCC instruction, only to reveal --
nothing. They're just gone.
Larger RespOrgs as a group, are aware that, for practical purposes,
often times the lights are on but no ones home. An August 98 SNAC
letter to the FCC asking for latitude in carrying out the Commissions
888 replication orders, explains innocently that RespOrgs have
reported that it has been difficult to identify the subscriber contact
to obtain a valid reply.
Identifying the subscriber is the nuts and bolts of RespOrg-ship. If
they cant identify you - the subscriber! - what the hell are they
doing with your numbers?
Whos minding the store?
Now, before you readers on the carrier/RespOrg side get your feathers
all ruffled, let me state for the record: every carrier/RespOrg has a
few good RespOrg command center execs and staffers, who take their
jobs, and customer interests, seriously.
My friends, you know who you are. You are neither unrecognized, nor
unappreciated. But the best intentions of a chosen few are useless in
the face of a mass of poorly trained sales reps and customer service
folks, who just punch clocks and collect paychecks, and could truly
care less. Even those employees who'd like to do the right thing,
haven't a clue what the right thing is. Rarely do regulatory rules
and guidelines pertaining to toll free numbers and service, extend
beyond the command center pit.
The sales reps don't know. The customer service people don't know.
And lord knows, carrier attorneys don't know. One recently expressed
surprise at discovering that disconnected numbers were to return to
spare for first-come-first-serve. He thought his company could just
pick the next user -- from among their existing customers, of course.
Another swore that the toll free service end user referred to the
caller of a toll free number.
No, we dont want to go there.
Perhaps it is time for subscribers to give serious consideration to
assigning RespOrg and traffic responsibilities, to separate entities.
If necessary, become your own RespOrg, or port RespOrg control to a
smaller, non-carrier RespOrg.
Judith Oppenheimer
Publisher, ICB TOLL FREE NEWS
News & Information Source for
Service Providers, & Commercial Users, of Toll Free Service
15-day, no-obligation FREE trial: http://icbtollfree.com
Moderator, TOLLFREE-L
Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/tollfree-l/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 15:40:57 -0500
From: Mark J. Cuccia <mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Unveiling: The _NEW_ (and Improved) TRA Website!
TRA (Traffic Routing Administration), the administrator of the
RDBS/LERG/NIPC/etc. routing/switch/network data for the NANP, and
billing/rating/V&H/etc. data for the NANP (and to a certain extent for
Mexico) has developed its own website, filled with GOOD documents,
files, and other info, of html pages and some available for the
download too!
This site is _NOT_ passworded! :)
http://www.trainfo.com
It is STRAIGHT-FORWARD, without frames/java/etc. and only has a couple
of SIMPLE/BASIC animated .gif images which are related to the purpose of
the website!
The monthly NIPC file can also be found at the TRA site!
I am curious (and I assume that _TRA_ personnel as well, and
_their_direct_ email address is indicated on the site) as to your
opinions on this new excellent (IMO) telephony resource website now
being "unveiled" to interested parties! :)
MARK_J._CUCCIA__PHONE/WRITE/WIRE/CABLE:__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-
------------------------------
Subject: Pentagon Equipment Said Disrupting Phone Service Overseas
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 20:23:33 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. military technology deployed overseas is
disrupting emergency telephone service in some countries and causing
other telecommunications glitches, annoying allies and incapacitating
some weapons, a defense-industry publication reports.
Quoting an internal Defense Department review, Defense Week said
multibillion-dollar systems -- such as Patriot missile defenses and
Predator unmanned aerial vehicles -- won't work to their full
capabilities in some countries and, in others, can't be used at all.
That's because their radio waves clash with same-frequency users in
host nations, the newsletter said in its edition to be published
Monday.
"At least 89 telecommunications systems ... were deployed within the
European, Pacific and Southwest Asian theaters without the proper
frequency certification and host-nation approval," it quoted the
Defense Department's inspector general's report as saying.
This has caused telecommunications disruptions in Germany, Japan,
South Korea and Bahrain.
Billions of dollars worth of equipment "cannot be utilized to its full
capability ... In some cases, fully functional equipment sits idle
while its useful life expires," the report said.
Pentagon officials said in written responses to the audit that they
generally agreed with the criticism. They added that steps were being
taken to deal with the problem, which they conceded was serious.
The officials said a key problem was that the United States has little
control over which radio frequencies host countries allocate to other
purposes, and that often these change after the systems are deployed.
The Patriot missile system's radios, radars and data-link terminals
have interfered with Korean cellular phones. Pagers used by
U.S. forces in Japan clash with Japanese aeronautical systems. In
Germany, infant crib monitors used on U.S. bases have clashed with
German telephone service, the report said.
In Bahrain, SPS-40 and SPS-49 radars "are unusable because the
equipment operates on a frequency that interferes with the Bahrain
telecommunications services," the report said.
Unless the conflicts are resolved, it said, some U.S. air defense
systems may be unable to do their jobs.
Host nations are angry about the disruptions, the report said. Germany
has passed a law allowing it to confiscate U.S. equipment using
frequencies not approved and to arrest the user. And Saudi Arabia
barred the United States from using a $1.4 million satellite-communi-
cations device because it had not gotten frequency rights.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 10:43:07 -0400
From: Angus TeleManagement <angus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #154, October 19, 1998
************************************************************
* *
* TELECOM UPDATE *
* Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin *
* http://www.angustel.ca *
* Number 154: October 19, 1998 *
* *
* Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by *
* generous financial support from: *
* *
* AT&T Canada ............... http://www.attcanada.com/ *
* Bell Canada ............... http://www.bell.ca/ *
* Lucent Technologies ....... http://www.lucent.ca/ *
* MetroNet Communications ... http://www.metronet.ca/ *
* Sprint Canada ............. http://www.sprintcanada.ca/ *
* Telus Communications....... http://www.telus.com/ *
* TigerTel Services ......... http://www.citydial.com/ *
* *
************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
** Telus and BC Tel Confirm Merger Talks
** Telus Continues Air Miles Program
** WinTel Offers 5 Cent LD
** New Toronto Area Code Set
** TSE to Expand Electronic Trading
** MT&T Intros Mpowered Office Services
** Fidomatic Goes National
** Telus Cuts 9-1-1 Rates
** Bell TV Test to End in December
** Telefficiency Becomes Bell Agent
** Bell Issues Small-Business Guide
** TigerTel Buying Consolidated Technologies
** Nortel Sued Over Bay Networks Merger
** CrossKeys Allies With Ascend
** Global One Offers World ATM
** Web-Based Telecom Courses Offered
** 579 Telecom Links
** Speech Recognition Hits Prime Time
============================================================
TELUS AND BC TEL CONFIRM MERGER TALKS: Responding to a request from
the Toronto Stock Exchange to explain heavy trading in their stocks,
Telus and BC Tel have confirmed that they are "in discussions to
explore the possibility of a business combination of equals involving
a Canadian pooling of interest." (See Telecom Update #153)
TELUS CONTINUES AIR MILES PROGRAM: Telus Communications says it will
continue to offer Air Miles to its customers when other Stentor
members discontinue this bonus at the end of the year. (See Telecom
Update #153)
WINTEL OFFERS 5 CENT LD: WinTel Communications now offers evening and
weekend calling in Canada for 5 cents a minute. Daytime calls are 10
cents/minute; U.S. calls are 13 cents/minute, anytime.
** WinTel's parent, London Telecom, has expanded its flat-
rate calling plans to include 5, 10, or 20 hours of off-
peak calling at no additional charge.
NEW TORONTO AREA CODE SET: The North American Numbering Plan
Administration has assigned "647" as the new Area Code to be added
when the supply of numbers in Toronto's 416 area code runs out early
in 2001.
http://www.nanpa.com
TSE TO EXPAND ELECTRONIC TRADING: The Toronto Stock Exchange plans to
expand its electronic trading capacities to give investors direct
electronic access to its trading systems without going through a
dealer.
MT&T INTROS MPOWERED OFFICE SERVICES: MT&T's Mpowered product line now
includes a proprietary suite of network- based office services based
on Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Outlook.
FIDOMATIC GOES NATIONAL: Microcell Solutions' Fidomatic prepaid PCS
service is now available throughout its national digital coverage
area. (See Telecom Update #152)
** Microcell added 30,992 customers in the third quarter, to
bring its subscriber base to 180,838. (See Telecom Update
#141, #153)
** Microcell has expanded its coverage area to include
London, Ont.
TELUS CUTS 9-1-1 RATES: Telus says the expansion of provincial 9-1-1
service to include Calgary has enabled it to decrease the per-line
charge for this service by 15 cents, to 19 cents/month.
BELL TV TEST TO END IN DECEMBER: Bell Canada will halt its cable
TV-Internet trial in London and Repentigny on December 31. Bell plans
a special ExpressVu offer to TotalVision's 2,000 subscribers. (See
Telecom Update #142)
TELEFFICIENCY BECOMES BELL AGENT: Telefficiency, an Ontario-based
interconnect company, is now a distributor for Bell Canada services.
BELL ISSUES SMALL-BUSINESS GUIDE: Bell Canada has published a guide to
telecom products for new businesses, available through Bell's
Teleboutique Business Centres.
TIGERTEL BUYING CONSOLIDATED TECHNOLOGIES: TigerTel Services is
offering about $1.4 Million to purchase Vancouver-based Consolidated
Technologies Holdings.
NORTEL SUED OVER BAY NETWORKS MERGER: A class action lawsuit filed in
New York says that Northern Telecom withheld information about falling
sales to ensure completion of its Bay Networks merger. Nortel says the
suit is "completely without merit."
CROSSKEYS ALLIES WITH ASCEND: CrossKeys Systems, an Ottawa-based
telecom software manufacturer, has signed network supplier Ascend
Communications as a reseller.
GLOBAL ONE OFFERS WORLD ATM: Global One, a joint venture of Sprint,
Deutsche Telekom, and France Telecom, has announced a worldwide ATM
service. Global ATM is available in 13 countries, with more to be
added in 1999.
WEB-BASED TELECOM COURSES OFFERED: The Academy of Telecommunications
Learning, a company based in Vancouver, has announced a set of
Web-based telecommunications training programs.
http://www.academytelecom.com
579 TELECOM LINKS: The Telecom Links section of the Angus
TeleManagement Web site, newly expanded and updated, now includes
links to 579 Web sites of interest to Canadian telecom professionals,
including those of organizations mentioned in Telecom Update and
Telemanagement.
http://www.angustel.ca
** Send your suggestions for additional links to
jriddell@angustel.ca
SPEECH RECOGNITION HITS PRIME TIME: The October issue of
Telemanagement describes how speech recognition is enabling
callers to dispense with touch dialing on their cellphones
or when dialing in to corporate phone systems.
** Also in Telemanagement #159, Ian and Lis Angus explain
why the "real" telecom revolution is the approaching
convergence of long distance and local service.
** Subscribe to Telemanagement now and receive 25 telecom
strategy reports free! Call 1-800-263-4415 ext 225 or
see http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm.html for details.
============================================================
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca
FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE
Angus TeleManagement Group
8 Old Kingston Road
Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7
===========================================================
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There
are two formats available:
1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World
Wide Web on the first business day of the week at
http://www.angustel.ca/update/up.html
2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of
charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to
majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message
should contain only the two words: subscribe update
To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail
message to majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message
should say only: unsubscribe update [Your e-mail address]
===========================================================
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please
e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext 225.
The information and data included has been obtained from sources which
we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no
warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy,
completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on
interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If
expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a
competent professional should be obtained.
============================================================
------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 09:44:21 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "How to Find Health Information on the Internet"
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKHFHIOI.RVW 980731
"How to Find Health Information on the Internet", Bruce Maxwell, 1998,
1-56802-271-9, U$35.95
%A Bruce Maxwell bmaxwell@mindspring.com
%C 1414 22nd Street N.W., Washington, DC 20037
%D 1998
%G 1-56802-271-9
%I Congressional Quarterly Inc.
%O U$35.95 +1-800-638-1710 fax +1-202-887-6706 kbeach@cq.com
%P 350 p.
%T "How to Find Health Information on the Internet"
There are two major and important points made before the book starts.
The preface notes, and the introduction reiterates, that all
information contained in the book, and found on the Internet, should
be checked with your doctor. Maxwell is not a physician, and a large
amount of the data published on the net is created by people whose
level of medical expertise you have no way of checking.
Which leads to the second point. The introduction notes that content
provided to you may be produced by people who are ignorant,
opinionated, biased, or who have a proprietary interest in whatever
they are recommending. There are excellent general principles, and
even a list of points to check, to try and assess the quality and
validity of information or sites that you find.
Actually, the title of the book may be slightly misleading. Only part
one, the second shortest section of the text, deals with searching for
information, and that primarily for general references or resources.
There are listings for directories, physicians, hospitals, news
sources, libraries, and references. Although AltaVista is mentioned
in the preface, there is no content regarding strategies to use when
searching for health information using generic search engines or other
net resources.
Part two looks at specific conditions and diseases, from AIDS to
substance abuse. Prevention and treatment discusses alternative
medicine to drugs to women's health in part three. A variety of
health care related issues have resources listed in part four, such as
death, ethics, and health care policies.
Grouped under the different specific topics are online resources.
Most of these are Web sites, but there are also Usenet newsgroups and
mailing lists. All Web sites have been visited and are described as
to contents and possible reliability. Newsgroups and mailing lists
are described very briefly, and there is little indication that they
have been reviewed or observed for any period of time. The index is
well organized: even when a specific area of interest is not one of
the topic headings related listings should be able to be found.
Contrary to popular belief, not all information is available on the
Internet. If you have a specific need for medical information it is
quite possible that the knowledge you want simply does not exist
online. With the decline in interest in shotgun "yellow page"
volumes, though, this level of reviewed and higher quality directory
information may be very welcome to the growing audience of Web users.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKHFHIOI.RVW 980731
------------------------------
Subject: 9-1-1 Service Unavailable in Many Places
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 17:30:19 PDT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
In many areas, it's not available
By Jeannine Aversa
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- If you're visiting Montezuma, Ga., and need help,
don't bother calling 911. It doesn't work there and it won't work in
dozens of other places across the country, either.
"Many people think 911 is everywhere," said Woody Glover, executive
director of the 911 network for East Texas. "But there are a lot of
pockets of the country that aren't covered."
By one estimate, roughly 700 mostly small and rural counties have no
form of the service. By another estimate, 9 percent of the
U.S. population lacks it.
The major reasons: The estimated $1 million to $4 million in start-up
costs -- primarily communications and computer equipment -- and the
cost to run the system, including pay for round-the-clock
dispatchers. These costs are paid by the people who live in
communities with 911, and voters usually decide whether their state or
county should get the service.
Longtime residents of communities without 911 service generally know
the number to call in an emergency.
"The problem arises when people move into a community or visit it,"
said John Ellison, executive director of 911 service for Shelby
County, Ala. In those cases, precious time can be lost, jeopardizing
lives, public safety officials say.
When people call 911 and it's not available, they typically get a fast
busy signal or a message that the service is not available. To get
emergency help, they must call the local, seven-digit number for fire,
police or rescue, likely requiring a separate call to find out the
phone number.
About 260,000 calls a day are made to 911.
Of the two forms of 911 service in the United States, "enhanced"
service is the most common as well as the most helpful to emergency
personnel: A dispatcher automatically gets the caller's telephone
number and address, crucial information that speeds up emergency
response time.
The only exception is when people use cellular phones. But federal
regulators are requiring cellular companies to install new technology
by 2001 that will give 911 dispatchers location information.
The other form of 911 service is called "basic," providing callers
with an easy-to-remember number for emergencies but not giving
dispatchers any information on the caller.
About 85 percent to 90 percent of the population has some type of 911,
covering 65 percent to 70 percent of the country geographically, said
Bill Stanton, executive director of the National Emergency Number
Association, one of the few groups that tracks systems.
NEMA estimates 700 counties lack 911 service, but won't provide a list
of them.
Jim Beutelspacher, who oversees Minnesota's 911 systems and compiles
nationwide population statistics on 911 availability, estimates that 9
percent of the U.S. population lacks 911 service.
Lake County, Tenn., population 9,000, is one place without 911.
"We're such a small county we feel like it would be quite a bit of an
added expense to have 911," said county executive Macie Roberson. "So
it was something we could not afford."
Residents haven't pushed for it and know the numbers to call in
emergencies, Roberson said. Not having 911 "has never been a problem --
never a problem."
Montezuma, Ga., with 7,000 residents, also doesn't have 911 service
but is considering an enhanced 911 system.
"People seem fairly satisfied with the system now, even though they
have to dial seven digits rather than just three," said Police Chief
Lewis Cazenave.
The 911 service, following a model developed in Europe after World War
II, came to America after a U.S. presidential commission recommended
in 1967 that a single number be created for reporting emergencies. One
year later, AT&T announced it would set aside 911 for this
purpose. The first systems began in February 1968 in Haleyville, Ala.,
and Nome, Alaska.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: One thing that is done in a few small
places is the phone switch accepts the digits '911' then translates it
into an 800 number which terminates on a couple of phone lines at
the appropriate law enforcement/public safety agency. Since it comes
in on a toll-free line, they are also provided 'real-time ANI' on a
caller-ID (or similar) display. A 'criss-cross' directory is located
by that phone instrument so the person answering the call can immediatly
flip to the listing and see the person's name and address in many or
most instances. Remember, there are entire *counties* in the USA with
fewer than a thousand people scattered over several hundred square
miles. I know that seems strange if you come from a big city with
several hundred thousand -- or even a couple million -- people in the
city itself. A couple such counties in Wyoming, North/South Dakota
and western Kansas literally have the Sheriff operating out of his
home, with the occassional one or two prisoners for the jail in a
small area built for that purpose. The Sheriff's wife cooks the food
for the occassional prisoner, etc. A challenge in those sparsly pop-
ulated counties covering huge geographical distances is how to support
and justify as well as staff emergency phone service.
One I saw demonstrated once involved 911 being translated to a number
which terminated in three places: the Sheriff's home and office (same
building) and the homes of two deputies, one or the other of whom was
always to be available. If they all were gone for whatever reason then
I guess the Sheriff's wife was around. All three had radios used to
contact the officers in their cars, etc. The phone instruments did not
signal in the usual way. The ringing signal sent by telco tripped a
relay that cause the bell in the phone (or maybe it was a side ringer)
to ring *continuously* -- almost like the case of someone sticking a
piece of tape over your doorbell -- until the phone was taken off hook.
Some of those sparsly populated areas are large enough geographically
that it might take the Sheriff or a deputy 20-30 minutes of *fast*
driving in his car to get to the location of the incident. Of course
the tradeoff is they don't have three violent murders every day like
Chicago, or ten thousand prisoners in jail each day like Cook County.
Nor, a computerized system in the courthouse to randomly assign the
(hopefully) least corrupt judge to handle a caseload of several hundred
matters on his docket. And when it is time for the prisoner to go
see the judge, chances are likely the judge has his courtroom in a
small addition to the side of his house, and the Sheriff calls him
on the phone when they have something to deal with, then mee him at
'court' a few minutes later. PAT]
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #126
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Nov 9 21:54:20 1998
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Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #127
Status: RO
TELECOM Digest Mon, 9 Nov 98 21:54:00 EST Volume 18 : Issue 127
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Y2K: Where Will You Be When the Lights Go Out? (Monty Solomon)
Feds Sound Y2K Alarm for Small Businesses (Monty Solomon)
AT&T Wireless Slamming Own Customers! (Alan Boritz)
Ralph Nader Wants to Stop Evening Telemarketing Calls (Nigel Allen)
Telecom Update (Canada) #156, November 2, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement)
Book Review: "E-Commerce Security", Anup K. Ghosh (Rob Slade)
Woz: 888-8888 Equals Babies (Donald M. Heiberg)
Getting the Number of Prank Calls (Tad Cook)
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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In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1998 01:36:06 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Y2K: Where Will You Be When the Lights Go Out?
http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,8582,00.html
Batten down the hatches... Senate Committee warns of widespread power
outages and other dire events.
by Eric Brown, special to PC World
October 28, 1998, 5:32 p.m. PT
Most of us see the Year 2000 problem as primarily a business issue. The
likelihood is increasing, however, that the electrical utilities will fail
to fix all their systems on time--and that could bring the problem home in
a hurry. Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah), chair of the Senate's Special
Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, recently announced that U.S.
citizens should prepare for possible widespread power outages in the early
weeks of 2000.
"The grid is made up of thousands of deregulated electric companies, and no
one's taking the oversight to make sure that it holds together," said
Robert Roskind, president of the Y2K Solutions Group, a company that
disseminates information about Y2K issues. "If we lose power, the Y2K
problem is manifested a hundredfold."
Hoping to raise awareness of Y2K issues in the home, the Y2K Solutions
Group has launched a Web site (see link at the right) that provides
information and resources for surviving weeks or even months without power,
water, or access to financial resources. It includes charts for determining
food and water needs, tips on alternative heating and lighting, links to
other Y2K sites, and books and videos from Y2K experts such as computer
book author Ed Yourdon.
Y2K Solutions' site offers some chilling quotes from government officials
warning about Y2K dangers. Roskind points to a recent poll of
computer-industry executives by The Washington Post as further evidence for
concern. The poll revealed that 52 percent don't plan to travel during the
millennium weekend and 38 percent plan to take extra funds out of the bank
to tide them over during the first few weeks of expected turmoil.
"Almost everyone who knows the problem is deeply troubled," said Roskind.
It's too early to predict the extent of Y2K's impact, but considering how
slowly the corporate world has been to attack the problem, a glitch-free
millennial New Year seems unlikely. You may not want to convert all your
money into gold and stock up on shotgun shells, but a few precautions are
likely in order:
* Make copies of important financial records and, if possible, avoid major
financial transactions during the period.
* Withdraw enough cash to last for at least a week or two of expected
banking confusion.
* Don't plan any unnecessary travel around the holidays, especially by air.
* Check with your furnace manufacturer to make sure the control chips won't
fail.
* It's a good idea to fill all your prescriptions ahead of time and, and to
keep at least a week or two of water and nonperishable food on hand.
One final note: While January 1, 2000 is the "big one," there are likely to
be tremors beforehand and aftershocks afterward. On April 9, 1999 (the 99th
day of 99th year) some computers might start to hiccough, and in August,
GPS devices might get the wrong coordinates. In February of 2000, leap year
could cause additional headaches. But by then, we're likely to have sworn
off computers forever.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1998 01:39:15 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Feds Sound Y2K Alarm for Small Businesses
http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,8446,00.html
Public awareness campaign will include workshops, IRS mailings, and even
postage stamps.
by Jennifer Peltz, Medill News Service
October 19, 1998, 10:41 a.m. PT
Many businesses -- especially small ones -- aren't planning to do
anything about Year 2000 problems, recent surveys show. That worries
the federal government, not least because nearly a quarter of the
government's contractors are small businesses, according to Small
Business Administration Chief Aida Alvarez.
Hoping to goad small firms to address Y2K issues, the government has
declared this National Y2K Action Week, and will be running Y2K
workshops around the country. (For more information, call 800/827-5722
or consult the government Y2K sites on the right.)
The Internal Revenue Service will send information about the potential
problems to more than 6 million small businesses, said John Koskinen, who
heads the President's Council on the Year 2000 Conversion.
And in case the IRS doesn't get their attention, big-city post offices will
cancel stamps with a special seal asking: "Are You Y2K OK?"
No Small Problem for Small Business
A study for San Francisco's Wells Fargo Bank found more than 80
percent of small businesses were at risk for trouble around January 1,
2000, but half of them weren't planning to try to forestall it.
The Gartner Group, a Connecticut firm conducting a sweeping Y2K study,
estimated businesses that experience critical equipment failures will have
to spend $20,000 to $3.5 million to fix them. And addressing problems ahead
of time isn't necessarily cheap. While some simple programs can be fixed
with free updates, a small manufacturing company might have to spend
$50,000 on reprogramming, Koskinen said.
Government agencies are trying to ease the burden by spreading information.
To encourage companies to do the same, Congress recently agreed to protect
companies from lawsuits that arise from disclosing Y2K problems. But
officials warn that they can do only so much. "This is not a problem that
the government created," Commerce Secretary William Daley said on
Thursday--or Day 442 until zero hour, by the Clinton Administration's
clock. "This is not a problem that the government can solve. The private
sector has to step forward."
What the Feds Suggest
Y2K problems need to be treated like any others that affect an entire
organization, the Small Business Administration suggests. More
specifically, it's urging businesses to take the following steps.
1. Assess the problem. List all your business computer systems -- and
don't forget that can include alarms, heating and air conditioning,
copiers, cash registers, and other devices that aren't computers.
Prioritize fixing them, according to how critical each is to the business,
how they interact, and how soon they are likely to start having problems.
2. Research the solutions. Ask vendors and technical support providers
about what it will take to fix each system, or whether it makes more sense
to replace it.
3. Do the work.
4. Test the results on a copy of your business data, not the real
thing. Set the systems' clocks so you can watch them go from December 31,
1999, to January 1, 2000, and from December 31, 2000, to January 1, 2001.
It's also wise to check February 29, 2000, as well as September 9, 1999
(programmers once used "9999" to signal abnormal situations).
5. Expand the research by asking your suppliers and partners whether
they are ready.
6. Make a backup plan. Line up alternative suppliers, stock up on
important items, and make hard copies of important records.
------------------------------
From: Alan Boritz <aboritz@cybernex.net>
Subject: AT&T Wireless Slamming Own Customers!
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1998 19:24:13 -0500
I just called information for a Long Island (NY) business phone number
and realized that rather than getting a phone number, "AT&T Connect"
had already extended the call and I was listening to ring tone. Then I
realized that none of the "AT&T Connect" operators had ever given me
the phone numbers for which I called them, while in my home
area. While this may be an advantage for some people, I didn't want to
place the call just yet.
AT&T Wireless customer service told me that I had no choice but to
accept their information service, that they would not discontinue
their "enhanced" service for my account, and that they would not let
me bypass it with a 1010XXX code. Experimentation showed that my
PIXC's (AT&T) information operator is still reachable with a dial
code, so it seems that AT&T Wireless is diverting all information
calls to THEM, away from my chosen PIXC. I never gave AT&T Wireless
permission to change my PIXC, so it would appear that the diversion
may be illegal, but most certainly not authorized.
Has anyone else had similar experience with a cellular company
diverting your long distance calls (in your home system) without your
permission?
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 08 Nov 1998 17:52:58 -0500
From: Nigel Allen <ndallen@interlog.com>
Subject: Ralph Nader Wants to Stop Evening Telemarketing Calls
The following press release was issued by Ralph Nader and Commercial
Alert. I don't work for Nader or Commercial Alert, but I thought the
press release might be of interest to readers of this Digest.
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 15, 1998
For More Information Contact: Gary Ruskin (202) 296-2787
Nader and Commercial Alert Propose "Family Hours"
Free From Telemarketing Intrusions
Ralph Nader and Commercial Alert proposed today that Congress and
state legislatures enact legislation establishing "Family Hours"
between 6 and 9 PM every night, during which telemarketing firms could
not place unsolicited commercial calls.
"'Family Hours' would be the equivalent of hanging a 'no solicitors'
sign on your telephone every evening from 6 to 9 PM," Nader said.
"We ought to protect families against the invasions of corporate
predators," Nader said. "Families should spend time together without
interruption from commercial telemarketers. That's what 'Family
Hours' are all about."
"Families are more important than the mercantile bombardments of
telemarketers," said Gary Ruskin, director of Commercial Alert.
"Congress ought to preserve the sanctuary of home against those
who would repeatedly intrude unsolicited commerce into the
family's time."
The telemarketing industry is booming. Between 1992-97, telemarketing
sales to consumers grew at an annual rate of 6.6%, to $185.9 billion
in 1997, according to the Direct Marketing Association, Inc. A June 29
article in Precision Marketing, stated that the telemarketing
"industry is positively flourishing and has enjoyed another bumper
year."
Telemarketers boast of their political influence. "The telemarketing
industry became a highly visible presence in a number of state
legislatures this year," wrote American Telemarketing Association
attorney C. Tyler Prochnow in the July 6, 1998 issue of DM News. "An
effective one-two punch of hired lobbyists and company representatives
participated in the legislative process to deliver a knockout blow for
the industry."
"It's time for parents and families to stand up to greedy
telemarketers and their lobbyists," Nader said.
"There's a long tradition of the dinner table as the family meeting
place," Ruskin said. "On some days, dinnertime is the only time that
parents have to talk with their kids. We ought to protect this
precious family time against commercial intrusions."
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules currently prohibit commercial
telephone solicitation calls to homes before 8 AM or after 9 PM.
In 1991, Congress passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA),
which requires telemarketers to keep "do-not call" lists. It also
regulates the use of automatic telephone dialing systems and
prerecorded calls. In June, President Clinton signed the Telemarketing
Fraud Protection Act, which strengthens penalties for telemarketing
fraud.
Commercial Alert is a new project devoted to helping parents, families
and communities defend themselves against harmful, immoral or intrusive
advertising and marketing, and the excesses of commercialism. Commercial
Alert's web address is http://www.essential.org/alert/.
(end of forwarded message)
forwarded by Nigel Allen ndallen@interlog.com http://www.ndallen.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 12:28:36 -0500
From: Angus TeleManagement <angus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #156, November 2, 1998
************************************************************
* *
* TELECOM UPDATE *
* Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin *
* http://www.angustel.ca *
* Number 156: November 2, 1998 *
* *
* Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by *
* generous financial support from: *
* *
* AT&T Canada ............... http://www.attcanada.com/ *
* Bell Canada ............... http://www.bell.ca/ *
* Lucent Technologies ....... http://www.lucent.ca/ *
* MetroNet Communications ... http://www.metronet.ca/ *
* Sprint Canada ............. http://www.sprintcanada.ca/ *
* Telus Communications....... http://www.telus.com/ *
* TigerTel Services ......... http://www.citydial.com/ *
* *
************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
** MetroNet Buys Fiber From Ledcor, Call-Net
** SaskTel Bundles Local, LD, Internet
** Videotron to Build Integrated Network
** Bell Natco Leases U.S. Fiber, Names Execs
** BC Tel and Telus Restructure Deal
** Stentor Leased-Line Restructuring Approved
** NewTel, MT&T Set Up IT Partnership
** Subscriber Gains at Mobility, Cantel
Mobility Canada
Rogers Cantel
** Bell Mobility Plans Cancel U.S. Roaming Charges
** Orillia Utility Builds Local Telecom Net
** Bell Discontinues Newsletters
** Telus Offers Operator Services to CLECs
** Bell Gains LD Market Share
** Telesat Signs Anik F1 Customers
** Teleglobe/Excel Merger to Close November 10
** NewTel Buys Oil/Gas Services Company
** New CEO at Rogers Cable
** Financial Results
BCE
Mitel
Nortel
Rogers Cantel
** Call Centre Seminar "Should Be Mandatory"
============================================================
METRONET BUYS FIBER FROM LEDCOR, CALL-NET: MetroNet
Communications is spending $200 Million to acquire intercity
optical fiber from Ledcor Industries and Call-Net. The
company says it will use the fiber to link its voice, frame
relay, IP, and ATM services nationally, "to create the
largest competitive end-to-end voice and data
telecommunications network in Canada."
SASKTEL BUNDLES LOCAL, LD, INTERNET: SaskTel has announced
the most comprehensive flat-rate bundles of telecom services
so far offered by a Canadian carrier. Residential
subscribers can receive various combinations of local
service, long distance, SmartTouch features, and Internet
access, for prices ranging from $44.95 to $108.95 a month.
** BC Tel has received CRTC approval for a promotional offer
under which customers who use BC Tel local and long
distance services will receive reduced rates on
SmartTouch features for six months.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o981076_.txt
VIDEOTRON TO BUILD INTEGRATED NETWORK: Groupe Videotron has
contracted with Cisco Systems to deliver an Internet
Protocol-based system supplying telephone service, cable TV,
and high-speed Internet access over Videotron's existing
cable facilities. Commercial service is planned throughout
the company's service area by the end of 1999.
BELL NATCO LEASES U.S. FIBER, NAMES EXECS: Bell Canada has
agreed to lease dark fiber from New York City to Montreal
and Toronto from Telergy Inc, a New York-based competitive
local exchange carrier. The fiber will be used by Bell's new
national broadband company.
** The new company's executive team will be: Terry Jarman,
President and CEO; Charles Childers, Senior VP of Sales
and Marketing; Marc Bouchard, Senior VP Business
Development and Finance; and Tom Hope, Senior VP
Operations and Technology.
BC TEL AND TELUS RESTRUCTURE DEAL: To ensure that their
merged operations meet legal limits on foreign ownership, BC
Tel and Telus have decided to make one-quarter of the shares
of the merged company non-voting. (See Telecom Update #154)
STENTOR LEASED-LINE RESTRUCTURING APPROVED: Overruling
objections from AT&T, Call-Net, and London Telecom, CRTC
Telecom Order 98-1062 approves a restructuring of Megaplan
tariffs that will increase large-customer costs by about
7.5%.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o981062_.txt
NEWTEL, MT&T SET UP IT PARTNERSHIP: NewTel and MT&T plan to
merge their information technology operations in a new,
1,000-employee company, IT Group, 80% owned by NewTel.
SUBSCRIBER GAINS AT MOBILITY, CANTEL:
** Mobility Canada companies added a net 110,000 subscribers
in the third quarter, 15% more than for this time last
year, bringing their total to 2.77 million.
** Rogers Cantel's net additions for the quarter totaled
44,000. Its subscriber base rose to 1.63 million,
including 61,900 users of prepaid service and 444,000
of digital PCS.
BELL MOBILITY PLANS CANCEL U.S. ROAMING CHARGES: Two new
plans from Bell Mobility offer a continent-wide airtime rate
with no U.S. roaming charges. The $100 plan offers 350
minutes, extra minutes at 20 cents, and LD at 20 cents
(peak) or 10 cents (off-peak). A 2,000-minute plan costs
$350/month.
ORILLIA UTILITY BUILDS LOCAL TELECOM NET: The Orillia Water,
Light and Power Commission, in collaboration with AT&T
Canada, is building an ATM network that will offer
telecommunications services to local businesses.
BELL DISCONTINUES NEWSLETTERS: Bell Canada has discontinued
publication of its Global Digest and Regulatory Trends
newsletters "due to budgetary cutbacks."
TELUS OFFERS OPERATOR SERVICES TO CLECs: Telus is planning
to offer Directory Information Service and Local Operator
Assistance Service on a contract basis to Competitive Local
Exchange Carriers and Wireless Service Providers. The CRTC
has given interim approval to the plan.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o981077_.txt
BELL GAINS LD MARKET SHARE: During the third quarter, Bell
Canada increased its long distance market share to 63% from
61.5%. The gain, the first since LD competition began, came
at the cost of an 8% drop in revenues.
TELESAT SIGNS ANIK F1 CUSTOMERS: Telesat Canada signed the
first customers last week for its Anik F1 satellite, which
goes into service in the spring of 2000. Star Choice will
use Anik F1 for its direct-to-home broadcasting;
Northwestel, for communications in northern Canada.
TELEGLOBE/EXCEL MERGER TO CLOSE NOVEMBER 10: Teleglobe
and Excel Communications say they have passed the last
regulatory hurdle (IRS approval) on the road to their merger
and will close the deal November 10.
NEWTEL BUYS OIL/GAS SERVICES COMPANY: NewTel Enterprises has
bought a majority stake in St. John's-based AMI Offshore,
which services the oil and gas industry, for $4 Million.
NEW CEO AT ROGERS CABLE: Rogers Communications has appointed
James H. (Trey) Smith, formerly with California-based
MediaOne/Continental Cablevision, to head its cable
division. (See Telecom Update #134)
FINANCIAL RESULTS:
** BCE's third-quarter profit before special items rose 18%
to $383 Million. Bell Canada contributed $330 Million in
earnings (a 45% increase); BCE Mobile's profit fell to $3
Million; Bell Canada International's losses more than
doubled to $53 Million. The Nortel-Bay Networks merger
brought BCE a "dilution gain" of $3.6 Billion.
** Mitel's revenues of $364 Million in the quarter ended
September 25 were 78% higher than last year, but the
growth of semiconductor sales, now 45% of the business,
has slowed to 5%/year. Net income was $12.8 Million.
** Northern Telecom recorded $241 in third-quarter profits
before special items, 58% more than last year. One-time
charges related to the Bay Networks merger resulted in an
overall loss of $306 Million. Revenues were up 18% to
$4.14 Billion.
** Rogers Cantel third-quarter revenues were $316 Million,
down 1.6% from last year, but losses were trimmed to
$15.3 Million, down 38%. Rogers Communications' overall
loss was $42 Million, compared with $78 Million last
year.
CALL CENTRE SEMINAR "SHOULD BE MANDATORY": Participants are
giving rave reviews to Angus Dortmans' in-house seminar,
"Essential Skills and Knowledge for Effective Incoming Call
Centre Management," led by Henry Dortmans. Among recent
comments:
** "Should be a mandatory course for all call center
managers and team leaders."
** "No matter how long you've been in the call centre
business, there is something you can still learn by
attending."
** "Material excellent. Software will be beneficial.
Speaker knew the business. Formulas will be helpful."
** "The most knowledgeable facilitator I have had the
pleasure of being with. You really know your stuff!"
For information, call 1-800-263-4415 ext 300 or go to
http://www.angustel.ca/angdort/adccs.html
============================================================
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca
FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE
Angus TeleManagement Group
8 Old Kingston Road
Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7
===========================================================
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There
are two formats available:
1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World
Wide Web on the first business day of the week at
http://www.angustel.ca/update/up.html
2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of
charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to
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should contain only the two words: subscribe update
To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail
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should say only: unsubscribe update [Your e-mail address]
===========================================================
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce,
please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext
225.
The information and data included has been obtained from
sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus
TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations
whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy.
Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available
information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on
the subject matter is required, the services of a competent
professional should be obtained.
============================================================
------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 11:28:36 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "E-Commerce Security", Anup K. Ghosh
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKECMSEC.RVW 981003
"E-Commerce Security", Anup K. Ghosh, 1998, 0-471-19223-6,
U$24.99/C$35.50
%A Anup K. Ghosh
%C 5353 Dundas Street West, 4th Floor, Etobicoke, ON M9B 6H8
%D 1998
%G 0-471-19223-6
%I John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
%O U$24.99/C$35.50 416-236-4433 fax: 416-236-4448
%P 288 p.
%T "E-Commerce Security: Weak Links, Best Defenses"
The title is ever so slightly misleading in that the topic is not
electronic commerce as a whole, but the (admittedly most popular) Web
segment of it. However, within this limit, the book does provide
solid coverage and good advice for a whole range of issues.
Chapter one is a general introduction to the factors involved, looking
at some recent "attacks" of various types, and then reviewing the
client, transport, server, and operating system components to be
examined in the remainder of the book. Client (generally browser)
flaws are covered thoroughly in chapter two. The breadth of coverage
even includes mention of topics such as the concern for privacy
considerations with cookies. Active content is the major concern,
with an excellent discussion of ActiveX (entitled "ActiveX
[In]security"), a reasonably detailed review of the Java security
model, and a look at JavaScript. Unfortunately, very little of this
touches directly on e-commerce as such, except insofar as insecure
client technology is going to make e-commerce a harder sell to the
general public. While covering the transport of transaction
information, in chapter three, Ghosh makes an interesting distinction
between stored account systems (where you want to secure the
transmission of identification data) and stored value systems (where
the data, once transmitted, is useless to an eavesdropper). Many
books concentrate on either channel security or electronic cash
systems, so this comparison is instructive.
A server involves multiple programs, and may involve multiple
machines. Server security can quickly become complex, and this is
quite evident in chapter four. While a great deal of useful and
thought-provoking information is presented, the complicated nature of
the undertaking works against this chapter. Not all topics are dealt
with thoroughly, or as well as the previous material was. Oddly, one
issue not covered in depth is the firewall, which is handled very well
in chapter five, with operating system problems. Ghosh sets up a
classification scheme for OS attacks, illustrated by specific
weaknesses in Windows NT and UNIX.
The book ends in chapter six with a call for certification of
software, greater attention to security in all forms of software, and,
interestingly, for greater use of component software. (From the
jacket material, it appears that Ghosh is currently involved in the
promotion of component software systems.)
Each chapter ends with a set of references. Unlike all too many books
with bibliographies stuff with obscure citations from esoteric
journals, the bulk of the material listed is available on the
Internet. (RISKS-FORUM Digest readers may already have seen much of
it.) A separate section lists Web sites used in the text.
The various issues dealt with in the book are explained clearly, and
generally present counsel on the best practices for secure online
commerce. A compact but comprehensive guide to the current state of
electronic transaction security.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKECMSEC.RVW 981003
------------------------------
From: Donald M. Heiberg <dheiberg@ecentral.com>
Subject: Woz: 888-8888 Equals Babies
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1998 12:07:27 -0700
The first and last portions of Wired Magazine article on Woz
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.09/woz_pr.html
The World According to Woz
Start up. Drop out. Have fun. Pass it on.
By Gary Wolf
Two decades ago, Stephen Gary Wozniak owned the first dial-a-joke
service in the San Francisco Bay area. This was before Wozniak - known
among the cognoscenti as Woz - almost woke up the Pope by calling the
Vatican on his famed illegal "blue box," before he invented the Apple
II and helped launch the personal computer industry, and before he
gave up his brilliant engineering career and became a public school
teacher.
In 1973, Woz was working for Hewlett-Packard. His dial-a-joke service
got more than 2,000 calls a day. He rented answering equipment from
the phone company and often used a telephone lineman's handset to take
calls live from his tiny kitchen in Cupertino or while lying on the
mattress in his bedroom. Extremely shy, Woz didn't have much of a
chance to talk to women, but he met his first wife, Alice Robertson,
when she called dial-a-joke. Robertson heard a man say, "I bet I can
hang up faster than you" - and then he did. Naturally, she called
back. A more elegant object-poem on the nature of modern romance is
hard to imagine.
There is a recursive logic to the hang-up trick that would be at home
in a story by Lewis Carroll. Woz has been systematically experimenting
with pranks since he was a child. At Homestead High School in Silicon
Valley he printed official-looking cards with false classroom changes
on them, allowing him to easily disrupt an entire morning of
classes. He built a fake bomb, complete with ominous ticking noises,
that caused the evacuation of the school and prompted the guidance
counselor to recommend psychiatric treatment.
(SNIP)
A long time ago, Woz had a number that matched the Pan Am reservation
number. People in Silicon Valley's 408 area code who failed to dial
800 would get him instead - one of those minor miracles arranged by
Charles Dickens, or by God. You think you've got Pan Am - but instead
you've got Woz, who explored many variants of the special, rare case
of the prank phone call initiated by the recipient. In one prank,
which has the cruel simplicity of a Zen koan, he would quickly tell
the caller that as the millionth passenger on Pan Am, they had won a
lifetime of free travel. In the middle of collecting the caller's
personal information, he would hang up, leaving them to confusedly
call back and attempt to get confirmation of their fabulous and
elusive prize.
The proof that people are not completely slaves to our machines is
that when the system fails, its failures are not necessarily random.
The phone system, with its complexity, vulnerability, and illusion of
privacy, is the natural home of the technological trickster. In
Shakespeare, the prankster's domain is an enchanted forest.Today, it
is the mysterious convolutions of the communications network.
Among his other activities, Woz collects phone numbers, and his
longtime goal has been to acquire a number with seven matching
digits. But for most of Woz's life there were no Silicon Valley
exchanges with three matching digits, so Woz had to be satisfied with
numbers like 221-1111.
Then, one day, while eavesdropping on cell phone calls, Woz begin
hearing a new exchange: 888. And then, after more months of scheming
and waiting, he had it: 888-8888. This was his new cell-phone number,
and his greatest philonumerical triumph.
The number proved unusable. It received more than a hundred wrong
numbers a day. Given that the number is virtually impossible to
misdial, this traffic was baffling. More strange still, there was
never anybody talking on the other end of the line. Just silence. Or,
not silence really, but dead air, sometimes with the sound of a
television in the background, or somebody talking softly in English or
Spanish, or bizarre gurgling noises. Woz listened intently.
Then, one day, with the phone pressed to his ear, Woz heard a woman
say, at a distance, "Hey, what are you doing with that?" The receiver
was snatched up and slammed down.
Suddenly, it all made sense: the hundreds of calls, the dead air, the
gurgling sounds. Babies. They were picking up the receiver and
pressing a button at the bottom of the handset. Again and again. It
made a noise: "Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep."
The children of America were making their first prank call. And the
person who answered the phone was Woz.
------------------------------
Subject: Getting the Number of Prank Calls
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1998 23:32:07 GMT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
Published Tuesday, October 27, 1998, in the San Jose Mercury News
By Jacquelyn Mitchard
`YOU'RE sooooo beautiful, honey," the voice on the other end of the
phone remarks, in a gruff yet suspiciously muffled tone.
"Thanks," I answer, absorbed in cutting off a wayward fingernail.
"Want to go out with me tonight?"
"Nope," I reply.
"I'm a rich movie star."
"Yes, I know, Stephen. But what I really want is to talk to your mother and
tell her what you're up to, you little prawn."
Stephen is a buddy of my son's and right now he's having that (let me
clean it up a little bit) oh-shucks moment. You know it. It's the one
you have when you realize you've just thrown your arms around the back
of a stranger you had thought was your college roommate. The one that
overtakes you when you realize you've just introduced your new
girlfriend using your old girlfriend's name.
It's worse for Stephen, who's got to be all of 8 years old.
Modern technology has sabotaged him. I didn't really recognize his
voice, and he certainly didn't recognize mine. He planned on making
his goofy phone call to the dishy 15-year-old babysitter who sometimes
takes care of our younger kids.
Caller ID and automatic dial-back gizmos are still sort of magical
mysteries to children -- as fax machines were, for a long time, a kind
of supernatural phenomenon to me.
But those telephone devices have their poignant side, too. Instead of
collapsing in giggles in a dark corner of his mother's bedroom,
Stephen (and my son is probably in on this, too) is now totaling the
damages in lost allowance.
Sometimes, it seems that when it comes to mischief today, a kid can't
get a break.
Don't get me wrong. Even the few slightly menacing phone calls I've
received from genuine cranks have been among the most unsettling
experiences of my life. I once stood in horror while some man -- I
don't know who -- called, muttered and hung up 19 times to the sound
of my answering device.
Something about a disembodied voice sneaking into your house, next to
your ear, through the removed intimacy of the phone line has led to
some truly terrifying movies (remember "When a Stranger Calls"?). I'm
all in favor of anything that will let all callers, from solicitors to
genuine nutso folk, know they no longer enjoy the cloak of anonymity.
On the other hand, I kind of feel sorry for my kids.
Did I make prank phone calls? Since my children might read this one
day, I'll just say I knew nice, sane, well-reared friends who did. I'm
sure no one in my area code any longer has Prince Albert in a can
(tobacco). But even my kids know the old phone gag: "Why don't you go
let him out, then?"
You'd call a residence and ask, "Is your refrigerator running?"
Or a bar, to ask for a Mister Al Kohalick?
Or a fraternity house, to ask for Amanda Love?
Not quite the stuff horror movies are made of, and yet, my children
won't ever be able to do that. They won't be able to call their crush
and hang up in hysterical relief at the sound of his voice. After all,
he'd just have to hit Star 69.
Last year, when, for the second time, a pair of middle-school girls
who had a crush on my older son began sending pizzas with increasingly
more bizarre ingredients to our house, it was almost with a sense of
pity that I finally used the telephone number of origin -- plainly
printed on the pizza sales slip -- to call one of the young women's
parents.
I'm considering sharing the favorite secret of my dating days with my
children, when they reach that age: Many people have their answering
machine code taped on their telephone. Should you happen to see that
code and happen to use that code to find out who else is leaving
messages, no one's the wiser . . . eeeeee!
Next thing you know, I'll be toilet-papering houses.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #127
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Nov 9 23:08:07 1998
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Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #128
Status: RO
TELECOM Digest Mon, 9 Nov 98 23:08:00 EST Volume 18 : Issue 128
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Telecom Update (Canada) #157, November 9, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement)
Book Review:REVIEW: "Newton's Telecom Dictionary",Harry Newton (Rob Slade)
Adult Site May Sue Netscape (Monty Solomon)
Law Enlists ISPs in Piracy Fight (Monty Solomon)
Obituary: Tommy Flowers, Engineer Who Cracked German Code (Tad Cook)
BMW MAYDAY Cellular Phone (Monty Solomon)
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
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 11:55:39 -0500
From: Angus TeleManagement <angus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #157, November 9, 1998
************************************************************
* *
* TELECOM UPDATE *
* Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin *
* http://www.angustel.ca *
* Number 157: November 9, 1998 *
* *
* Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by *
* generous financial support from: *
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* AT&T Canada ............... http://www.attcanada.com/ *
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************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
** CRTC Rejects Wireless Equal Access
** BC Reseller Offers PCS
** Bell Seeks Payment for Toll-Free Calls
** Rogers Offers Big Bundle
** WIC Connexus Cuts Staff, Fires CEO
** CRTC Rejects Bundling Appeal
** BC Tel Offers SmartTouch Bundle
** Comment Sought On Bell 4-1-1 Plan
** Compaq To Expand Ottawa Call Center
** Netcom On-Line For Sale Again
** Telecom Learning Institute Opens HQ
** Citizens Groups Issue Telecom Charter
** Iridium Launches Commercial Service
** Gedas Sakus Retires
** MT&T Mobility Speeds 9-1-1 Calls
** WilTel Buys CNG
** Will Y2K Affect Your PBX?
** Quarterly Results
Bruncor
Island Telecom
Manitoba Telephone Services
MT&T
NewTel
Teleglobe
Telus
** 12 Tips For Better RFPs
============================================================
CRTC REJECTS WIRELESS EQUAL ACCESS: In Telecom Order 98-
1092, the CRTC rejects proposals to require cellular and PCS
carriers to allow their customers to choose long distance
carriers. The Commission says it is not appropriate to apply
the rules set for monopoly wireline carriers to the
competitive wireless market.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o981092_.txt
BC RESELLER OFFERS PCS: Cityphone Telecommunications
has launched PCS service in Vancouver with packages offering
50 minutes of calling for $13.95/month or 150 minutes for
$26.95/month. Cityphone, which uses the Microcell network,
plans to expand to Victoria, Edmonton, and Calgary by
year end.
BELL SEEKS PAYMENT FOR TOLL-FREE CALLS: Bell Canada wants to
charge competitive carriers and prepaid card providers 25
cents per call when customers dial their toll-free numbers
from payphones. In Telecom Public Notice 98-31, the CRTC
asks for public comment. To participate, notify the
Commission by November 16.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/notice/1998/p9831_0.txt
ROGERS OFFERS BIG BUNDLE: Customers who subscribe to Rogers
Cablesystems' top tier cable-TV package are eligible for a
new VIP Program which includes 10% discounts on AT&T long
distance, Cantel wireless services, and Rogers @Home
Internet service. Also included: 8% off cable fees, free
movie rentals, 10% discounts at RadioShack, and reduced-rate
magazine subscriptions.
** CEO Ted Rogers says the company will begin installing
digital set-top boxes by the end of March.
WIC CONNEXUS CUTS STAFF, FIRES CEO: WIC Connexus, one of
Canada's three LMCS (wireless broadband) licensees, has cut
its staff from 50 to 25 people, and replaced CEO Bill Dunbar
with Bob Watson, President of Shaw FibreLink.
CRTC REJECTS BUNDLING APPEAL: In Telecom Decision 98-20,
the CRTC reaffirms its decision allowing Stentor telcos
to jointly market and bundle tariffed services with services
provided by other companies. The decision had been appealed
by a group of LD companies, ISPs, and wireless carriers.
** In a parallel case, CRTC Telecom Order 98-1106 rejects an
appeal from the Canadian Cable Television Association to
overturn a decision which allowed BC Tel to bundle
SmartTouch features with single-line service.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/decision/1998/d9820_0.txt
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o981106_.txt
BC TEL OFFERS SMARTTOUCH BUNDLE: BC Tel's residential
customers who use the telco's long distance service can
now choose up to 10 SmartTouch services for $17.95/month.
Customers who use alternative LD suppliers will pay $19.95.
COMMENT SOUGHT ON BELL 4-1-1 PLAN: CRTC Public Notice 98-32
seeks comment on a Bell Canada proposal to offer national
directory assistance and automated call completion through
4-1-1, and to eliminate some current exemptions from
Directory Assistance charges. To participate, notify
the CRTC by December 4.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/notice/1998/p9832_0.txt
COMPAQ TO EXPAND OTTAWA CALL CENTER: Compaq Canada says it
will triple the size of its Ottawa consumer products call
center, hiring 370 more people in the next four months.
NETCOM ON-LINE FOR SALE AGAIN: ICG Communications is
seeking a buyer for its Netcom On-line subsidiary, which it
purchased just 10 months ago. Netcom On-line owns 80% of
Netcom Canada, an Internet Service Provider which recently
began offering long distance service.
TELECOM LEARNING INSTITUTE OPENS HQ: Humber College's
Telecommunications Learning Institute, which aims to provide
education and training for the telecom industry, has
officially launched its new headquarters in Toronto. For
information: http://www.tlilearn.com
** Ontario Education and Training Minister David Johnson
announced a $3.1-Million grant to Humber College to help
fund the Institute.
CITIZENS GROUPS ISSUE TELECOM CHARTER: A coalition of 25
consumer and advocacy groups has issued a "Consumer Charter
for a Connected Canada" urging government to guarantee
affordable telephone service and Internet access in rural
and remote areas. The group says that telephone penetration
in low-income households fell from 96.6% in 1996 to 94.1% in
1998.
IRIDIUM LAUNCHES COMMERCIAL SERVICE: Iridium, the first
global telephone service using low earth orbit satellites,
launched commercial service on November 1. Service will be
offered in Canada through Infosat, PageNet, Mobility Canada,
and Microcell.
GEDAS SAKUS RETIRES: Gedas Sakus has retired after a 36-year
career with Northern Telecom. Sakus was the first engineer
hired at Nortel's Bramalea switching plant, and during his
career he has been President of Bell-Northern Research,
President of Northern Telecom Canada, and President of
Nortel Public Carrier Networks.
MT&T MOBILITY SPEEDS 9-1-1 CALLS: Effective November 2,
9-1-1 calls on the MT&T Mobility network in Yarmouth, Digby,
and Shelburne counties bypass the MT&T operator and go directly
to the 9-1-1 call center. The company says it is the first
wireless carrier in Canada to implement this.
WILTEL BUYS CNG: WilTel Communications (Canada) has
purchased CNG Computer Networking Group, an Ottawa-based
company that provides multimedia network consulting and
remote network management services.
WILL Y2K AFFECT YOUR PBX? On November 10 at 2pm Eastern
Time, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission will hold
a two-hour forum on how the Year 2000 problem may affect
private networks and customer premises telephone equipment.
The forum will be carried live on the Internet in Real
Audio.
For information, visit: http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/
QUARTERLY RESULTS: Comparing net income for the quarter
ended September 30, 1998 with the same quarter last year:
** Bruncor: $10.4 million, compared to $10.5 million.
** Island Telecom: $3.0 million, up from $2.6 million.
** Manitoba Telephone Services: 23.4 million, up from $21.1
million.
** MT&T: $17.8 million, up from $15.3 million.
** NewTel: $9.9 million, down from $10.4 million.
** Teleglobe: $50.2 million (excluding unusual items), up
from $38.5 million.
** Telus: $52.7 million, up from $47.9 million
12 TIPS FOR BETTER RFPs: In the November-December
Telemanagement, available now, consultant Henry Dortmans
offers 12 ways to boost your chances of getting better
responses to telecom Request for Proposals. Also: Ian Angus
on the Telus-BC Tel merger; John Riddell on AirIQ's vehicle
tracking system; Gerry Blackwell on the next wave of
satellite phone systems.
** To subscribe to Telemanagement call 1-800-263-4415, ext
225 or visit http://www/teleman/tm.html
============================================================
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca
FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE
Angus TeleManagement Group
8 Old Kingston Road
Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7
===========================================================
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There
are two formats available:
1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World
Wide Web on the first business day of the week at
http://www.angustel.ca/update/up.html
2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of
charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to
majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message
should contain only the two words: subscribe update
To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail
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should say only: unsubscribe update [Your e-mail address]
===========================================================
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce,
please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext
225.
The information and data included has been obtained from
sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus
TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations
whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy.
Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available
information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on
the subject matter is required, the services of a competent
professional should be obtained.
============================================================
------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 10:48:57 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "Newton's Telecom Dictionary", Harry Newton
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKNTTLDC.RVW 980621
"Newton's Telecom Dictionary", Harry Newton, 1998, U$29.95,
1-57820-008-3
%A Harry Newton harrynewton@mcimail.com harry_newton@email.msn.com
%C 12 West 21 Street, New York, NY 10010
%D 1998
%G 1-57820-008-3
%I Flatiron Publishing, Inc.
%O U$29.95 212-691-8215 800-LIBRARY fax 212-691-1191
%P 840 p.
%T "Newton's Telecom Dictionary", 14th Edition
The very beginning of the introduction to this book is a call for
help, and a promise to mention you if you do help out. Since I last
reviewed the dictionary, a couple of editions back, I have heard from
Newton, about people who didn't help him; from people who wanted to
help Newton; from Newton, wanting me to help him; and from people who
wanted my advice on whether they should help Newton. Now, some of
these people may never have passed along the help to Newton, but I
find it odd that *none* of them got mentioned in the acknowledgements
this time around. Which is really only to say that if you pass along
some help and advice it will be for the warm feeling of contributing
to the project, and not for fame or glory.
And Newton can use the help, because this is a massive work. There
are lots and lots of telecommunications terms, with a fair
preponderance of telephony and internet listings. Computer jargon
gets a fair amount of space, with MS-DOS related material getting the
lion's share. BOB refers to the late, unlamented, and Microsoft-
wishes-it-could-be-forgotten product. "Virus" is in there, and it
isn't bad. (On the other hand, it hasn't gotten any better over the
last two editions.) Management is remembered with the "Osborne
Effect" and "Seagull Manager", and the description of "Digital Cash"
is written by someone with a firm grasp of reality. The numeric
entries for 1791 through 1996 constitute a quick history of
telecommunications. The entry for "Call Waiting" refers to the
trouble it may give to modems and mentions both the *70 command and
the setting of the S10 register. Then there is telecommunications
trivia, such as the part played by radio in the saving of the Eiffel
Tower, the contribution of the telephone to the English language, and
reflections on the Titanic disaster and telecom-related biographies.
(You can even learn some erstwhile English terms.) There are useful
tables, even within the text such as the listing of North American
Area Codes. (Apparently, however, I live in an unimportant area.
Other listings in provinces and states with multiple codes list the
major cities involved: 604 is "British Columbia, Canada" and 250 is
just "British Columbia.")
Newton's serious attempt to include more material related to the
Internet is evident, but so is a lack of familiarity with the topic.
The double backslash (\\) is mentioned as a remote network object, and
will be recognized as such by the Windows NT crowd, but the use of the
double forward slash (//) for the same concept will be more familiar
to the Internet crowd, as will the use of the tilde (~) as the UNIX
shortcut for "home directory for this account," and neither of them
get mentioned as such. Information on the "cookies" associated with
World Wide Web browsing is reasonably good, although the Microsoft
party line on the topic gets a lot of space. Ironically, the book
then goes on to give you storage information for cookies that is
applicable only to the Netscape browser.
The listings are quite current, including items such as "SATAN",
"RimmJob", "cookie" (with the associated controversy) and even "push"
(without the controversy). However, a number of recent concerns, such
as the "ping of death," "teardrop attack," and the security weakness
in Outlook 98 are not mentioned. The reader will also find some
esoteric technical entries, like "Hydrogen Loss" and "Zener Diode".
While reviewing the book, I left it at a reception desk for fifteen
minutes. That was long enough for the staffer at the desk to inform
me, on my return, that the author was a pretty funny guy. Quite true.
A number of the definitions are fairly lighthearted, and Newton isn't
afraid to throw in subjective comments. A number of listings are
*completely* off the wall. What does "Apocalypse, Four Horsemen of"
have to do with communications? Or "Apologize", or "FORD" for that
matter? Apparently if you are a friend or relative of Newton, there
is grave danger that you will end up listed in here. Some of the
humorous content does have a closer technical connection, like
"Bogon", "Get a Life", and "Psychic ANI".
The book is not without flaws. "Skunkworks" owes its origins to Li'l
Abner, not a lack of soap. The entry for "Millenium (sic) Bug" talks
only about COBOL, and apparently hasn't been updated since the
beginning of 1996. ("2000" is a bit more realistic. Neither refers
to the other.) And I can cut eight characters out of your "Fox
Message." I was surprised not to see any entries for Mailstorm, REXX,
or cascaded virtual circuit. "Freeware" is listed (and correct), but
shareware and public domain share the same confused definition.
(Indeed, the definition of "Sysop" confuses freeware and public domain
software.) "Granularity" still doesn't understand that there is a
valid technical use of the term, and "BLAST" does not note that it is
a proprietary technology. (I *am* willing to forgive a lot to a
dictionary that gets "Hacker" right, but Newton loses points by
misusing the term under the entry for "SATAN.") Some of the errors
noted in the twelfth edition have been corrected, but most have not.
While extensive, the work is neither complete nor exhaustive. The
book could use some discipline, not in excluding the humour, but in
including more extensive, or more accurate, definitions in places.
Still, regardless of shortcomings, this is easily one of the two best
telecommunications dictionaries available today, and, for breadth of
scope, probably *the* best.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1997, 1998 BKNTTLDC.RVW 980621
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Adult Site May Sue Netscape
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 16:54:18 -0500
Malcolm Maclachlan, TechWeb
For months, Netscape has been using WhiteHouse.com as an example of
the type of smut the Smart Browsing features on its latest browser can
filter out.
Now the adult website is fighting back.
Netscape's Communicator 4.5 has a feature designed to take users to
the site it is assumed they want. When a user types "whitehouse" into
the address bar, they will be taken to Whitehouse.org, President
Clinton's official site, rather than WhiteHouse.com, an
opportunistically named adult site that had been capitalizing on
mistaken traffic.
On Tuesday, lawyers for Dan Parisi, owner of Secaucus, N.J.-based
WhiteHouse.com, sent a letter to Netscape attorneys charging a Smart
Browsing feature on Communicator 4.5 constitutes a possible
infringement of the porn site's legal rights.
WhiteHouse.com was the target of a letter from the White House in
February, which said the government might take action over trademark
infringement. However, WhiteHouse.com remains up at the same address,
and even includes political spoofs and links to attorney Kenneth
Starr's famous Starr Report.
Parisi now owns one non-U.S. trademark to the name and is seeking a U.S.
trademark.
Parisi also posted the letter on the website NetscapeSucks.com, which
he owns. "We believe Netscape's Keyword System is the first step
toward the elimination of domain names and the 'Fortune 500
Colonization of the Internet' where free speech and expression will be
things of the past," Parisi said in a short preface to the letter.
He invites other domain name holders to join him in a possible lawsuit
against Netscape, based in Mountain View, Calif.
The letter from Parisi's attorney, Michael Calvey of the New York law
firm of Armon & Sabatini, makes a number of claims. Foremost among
these is Netscape is not complying with established trademarks.
Netscape claims the Internet Keywords system recognizes domains that
are registered trademarks. However, Calvey said this has been applied
sporadically.
In particular, other domains that conflict with government entities
have been allowed to get traffic. For example, "sec" leads not to the
Securities & Exchange Commission, but to a software company, while
"Congress" leads to a lobbying firm.
Furthermore, Calvey said Netscape has targeted adult sites in its
language when talking about Smart Browsing, saying it "finds websites
with keywords in lieu of an exact address" and "filters out sites you
don't want to see."
Netscape has not made an official response to the letter. However,
Netscape officials have previously said anyone who writes out a
complete URL, such as http://www.whitehouse.com, will go to the site
they specified. Therefore, they say, the browser still functions with
the established domain name system.
Whitehouse.com is the most prominent of a number of sites that have
capitalized on confusion in the Internet's addressing system. According
to Web research company RelevantKnowledge, Whitehouse.com had 463,000
unique visitors, making it the 437th most popular website in the
world. This put it far ahead of competitors such as the website for
Penthouse, a long-established men's magazine.
Other sites -- many of them also pornographic -- have capitalized on
slight misspellings of prominent domain names. One company, TypoNet,
has capitalized on this by buying up domains such as Yaho.com, a
common misspelling of Yahoo.com, and flashing users' advertising
before sending them to their intended destination.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 02:03:49 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Law Enlists ISPs in Piracy Fight
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,28357,00.html
By John Borland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
November 4, 1998, 5:30 p.m. PT
A new set of federal regulations requires Internet service providers to
register immediately with the U.S. government, lest they be held legally
liable for pirated material that flows through their servers.
The new rules, which went into effect yesterday, flow from the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act, which was signed by President Clinton last
week. The law shields ISPs from being sued for copyright infringement
based on their subscribers' postings, so long as they register with the
U.S. Copyright Office. The provision is the product of negotiations over
the original copyright law, and was accepted reluctantly by service
provider industry representatives.
"This isn't what we would have wanted. It's a Washington approach to a
simple kind of problem," said Dave McClure, executive director of the
Association of Online Professionals, a trade group that represents ISPs.
Copyright holders had complained that some ISPs were not responding to
warnings about pirated material located on their servers, or were
claiming ignorance even after being notified.
"Copyright holders pushed for a requirement that a person actually be
physically designated to receive information about infringement,"
McClure said.
The new law fills a legal gap left by the passage of the Communications
Decency Act in 1996. Under that law, ISPs cannot be held liable for
slanderous or libelous material that is posted on their services. That
provision, which has been tested several times in court already,
specifically excludes copyright issues.
The new regulations require each ISP to designate a point-person to
receive complaints about copyright infringement, and to send that
information to the federal copyright office along with a $20 filing fee.
The person's name and contact information also must be displayed
prominently on the ISP's Web site.
The rules went into effect November 3. Any unregistered ISP can legally
be held liable for pirated material on its site from now on.
The Copyright Office rules are only an interim step in the new law's
implementation. Regulators will draft permanent rules and host a public
comment period later this year or early next year.
------------------------------
Subject: Obituary: Tommy Flowers, Engineer Who Cracked German Code
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1998 21:19:38 PST
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
Tommy Flowers, engineer who cracked German communications, dead at 92
LONDON (AP) -- Tommy Flowers, who developed a pioneering computer that
cracked German military codes in World War II, is dead at 92.
Flowers died from heart failure at home in London on Oct. 28, his son
Kenneth said Sunday.
An engineering graduate of the University of London, Flowers joined the
British Post Office, then responsible for all national communications, in
the 1930s and experimented in electronic telephone transmissions.
In World War II, he was sent to Bletchley Park, 50 miles from London where
mathematicians, cryptographers and other experts worked on breaking German
military codes.
Flowers secretly developed Colossus, a one-ton machine that was able to
unscramble coded messages electronically rather than mechanically as had
been done.
"Colossus had all the characteristics of the computer although it wasn't
thought of as a computer at the time," Kenneth Flowers said in a
telephone interview. "It could think and made decisions. Up to then
these machines had been used just to make numerical calculations."
By the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, Flowers had produced another
Colossus that worked five times as fast as the original. By the end of the
war in 1945, 10 machines were in operation.
Thomas Harold Flowers, who was born in London on Dec. 22, 1905, received an
honor, Member of the British Empire, for his work in the 1940s, but
remained largely unknown to the wider public because the work was kept
secret until the '70s.
After the war, he returned to the post office and tried to persuade his
superiors to use technology to produce an all-electronic phone system.
"He spent 20 years trying to persuade them, but he wasn't so successful
because he couldn't tell them he had already produced the machine," Kenneth
Flowers said.
He did not tell his own family of his achievement and the many lives it
saved until long after the war.
"He told us he worked on something secret and important," his son said.
"They were allowed to tell that much in case their wives wondered where
they were. But until the '70s he never said anything else. It was a point
of honor really."
Bletchley Park is now a tourist attraction with a replica of the Colossus.
In addition to Kenneth, Flowers is survived by his wife, Eileen, son John,
and three grandchildren.
The funeral was to be held Monday at Hendon Crematorium in north London.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 21:41:10 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: BMW MAYDAY Cellular Phone
Motorola's Telematics Technologies Power New BMW MAYDAY Cellular Phone
November 2, 1998 9:32 AM EST
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE--Nov. 2, 1998-- Retailer-installed
system offers BMW drivers roadside assistance, emergency response,
car-theft notification and remote door unlocking.
Motorola (NYSE:MOT) announces it has teamed up with BMW North America,
Inc. to introduce the BMW Mayday(TM) Cellular Phone. The new
telematics system will be available on all BMW models in late
1998. The phone merges wireless communication and global-positioning
satellite technologies to offer drivers 24-hour roadside assistance,
emergency response, stolen vehicle notification and remote door
unlocking via the BMW Response Center. The complete BMW
retailer-installed accessory package will cost $1200, not including
regular airtime.
The system incorporates Motorola's high-speed GT Plus Oncore(TM) GPS
receivers, proprietary cellular handsets, and telematics
communications intelligence. The phone offers normal voice functioning
and features a dedicated one-touch button for manual system activation
to contact the BMW Response Center.
In the event of an accident that results in airbag deployment, the phone
automatically activates, calling the BMW Response Center with the car's
location. The center dispatches emergency services, even in the unfortunate
event that the driver and passengers cannot physically activate the system
or are unconscious. Roadside mechanical or medical assistance can also be
manually summoned via the phone's handset.
Pinpoint location information is transmitted to the response center for
swift dispatch. In addition to dispatching emergency services, the BMW
Response Center can provide other information verbally to the driver. Other
BMW Response Center-provided services, which will be available free of
charge for the first six months after purchase, include concierge, route
guidance and updates on traffic conditions.
The system is equipped with a remote door unlock feature that assists the
driver in the event that the keys are misplaced or locked in the car. In
this instance, a driver can call the BMW Response Center, and upon
provision of the proper password, the center will discreetly and remotely
unlock the car doors.
The phone also offers unprecedented theft protection services by
automatically calling the BMW Response Center upon intrusion-alarm
activation. The GPS receiver provides the center with the car's location
and police are guided to the car. In the event that theft is suspected, but
the alarm is not activated, the car owner can initiate a theft-screen
inquiry. The service center places a call to the car and requests a
password from the driver. If the password is incorrect, the center locates
the car and again guides police to its location.
"BMWs are vehicles designed for people who love to own and drive their
cars," said Robert Denaro, vice president and director, Motorola's
Telematics Information Systems. "We are very pleased that BMW of North
America has selected Motorola's cellular and GPS technology and telematics
expertise to ensure that BMW ownership is as safe and enjoyable as
possible."
BMW of North America, Inc. was established in 1975, at which point the
company assumed marketing and distribution responsibilities for BMW
automobiles in the U.S. from the previous private distributor. Motorcycle
marketing and distribution were added in 1980. Since then, the company's
North American operations have grown to include marketing, sales and
financial-services organizations in the United States and Canada. BMW is
represented in North America through a network of BMW Centers in the U.S.
and Canada, including more than 375 for automobiles and 190 for
motorcycles. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the brand's North American
headquarters, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
Information about BMW products is available to consumers via the World Wide
Web on the BMW homepage. The address is http://www.bmwusa.com.
Motorola is a global leader in advanced electronic systems and services. It
creates software-driven products that provide integrated customer solutions
and Internet access via wireless and satellite communications, as well as
computing, networking, and automotive electronics. Motorola also liberates
the power of technology by providing essential digital building blocks in
the form of embedded semiconductors, controls and systems. Sales in 1997
were $29.8 billion.
For further press information, including photos, please contact: Allyson
Stinchfield, Citigate DGPR, Tel +1 312 372 6144 or Fax +1 312 372 1409 and
e-mail: afield@mcs.net.
Additional sources of information
Company Profile - From E*TRADE: MOT
Stock Charts - From Quote.Com: MOT
SEC Filings - From EDGAR Online: MOT
Company Capsule - From Hoover's Online: MOT
Quick Facts - From Market Guide: MOT
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #128
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Nov 19 16:54:55 1998
Received: (from ptownson@localhost)
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From: editor@telecom-digest.org
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To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #129
TELECOM Digest Thu, 19 Nov 98 16:54:00 EST Volume 18 : Issue 129
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Book Review: "Web Navigation", Jennifer Fleming (Rob Slade)
Rob Slade's Review of my Work (Harry Newton)
GTE's Plan May Set Off Scramble for Phone Lines in Nebraska,Iowa (Tad Cook)
Bell Atlantic Makes Long Distance Play (Monty Solomon)
Last Workers Leave Ameritech Office in Milwaukee (Tad Cook)
"When You Turn it Off, it Never Comes Back on." Y2K Item (T.Zafiropoulos)
MCI Ordered To End 'Casual' Rates (Mike Pollock)
All You Ever Wanted to Know About Tones (Garrett Wollman)
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:
* telecom-request@telecom-digest.org *
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: 847-727-5427
Fax: 847-675-3149
** Article submission address: editor@telecom-digest.org **
Our archives are available for your review/research. The URL is:
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They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp:
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(or use our mirror site: ftp ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives)
A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note
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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. *
*************************************************************************
In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 10:05:57 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "Web Navigation", Jennifer Fleming
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKWBNVGN.RVW 981017
"Web Navigation", Jennifer Fleming, 1998, 1-56592-351-0,
U$34.95/C$49.95
%A Jennifer Fleming jennifer@squarecircle.com
%C 103 Morris Street, Suite A, Sebastopol, CA 95472
%D 1998
%G 1-56592-351-0
%I O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
%O U$34.95/C$49.95 707-829-0515 fax: 707-829-0104 nuts@ora.com
%P 288 p. + CD-ROM
%T "Web Navigation: Designing the User Experience"
Chapter one is supposed to address the definition of "navigation" for
the purpose of the book. Instead we have a very vague scolding of
site designers for not paying attention to user needs. While I am in
full agreement with the statement that Web design needs work, the
material here doesn't seem to help, or even start to point the way.
Most of the list of navigation principles, in chapter two, makes
sense. However, some get too involved in the latest cute technology,
and even fly in the face of one principle that is *not* included:
sites should not demand specific technologies.
This point is tacitly admitted in chapter three, where surveys of
users note that demands to install plug-ins and instruction to enable
JavaScript are not welcome. However, the titular subject of designing
for users seems to get a bit lost. (There is also an odd reference to
the "80/20 rule." Usually this refers to the Pareto principle, but
here it is used to suggest that if 80 percent of your users are happy,
that's good enough.) The standard suggestions for site organization
are given in chapter four. Interaction design throws a few
interesting conceptual ideas into chapter five, but little useful
advice. Chapter six uses a standard planning cycle in a standard way.
The latter half of the book looks at example sites in six different
categories. Chapter seven reviews some retail sites, but in a very
limited manner. For example, a major concern is said to be security.
Reassuring a customer about security seems to be confined to stating
"our site is secure." Similarly, several questions are raised about
"community" Web sites but chapter eight's exemplar sites don't appear
to address those queries fully. It is difficult to say anything about
entertainment sites from chapter nine. I'm not even sure what chapter
ten refers to as "identity" sites, but they look a lot like simple
vanity pages. Perhaps the less said about education, in chapter
eleven, the better. Chapter twelve's look at "information" sites is
limited to the news media and more retail.
The first six chapters provide some directions for further reading.
There is also a "netography" in Appendix C.
This book is no worse than dozens of others on Web design, but it's no
better, either.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKWBNVGN.RVW 981017
rslade@vcn.bc.ca rslade@sprint.ca robertslade@usa.net p1@canada.com
Subscribe to techbooks mailing list at techbooks-subscribe@egroups.com
or via the WEb at http://www.eGroups.com/list/techbooks/
Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses, 0-387-94663-2 (800-SPRINGER)
------------------------------
From: Harry Newton" <harry_newton@email.msn.com>
Subject: Rob Slade's Review of my Work
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 11:56:14 -0500
Newton's Telecom Dictionary - Updated Review
From Harry_Newton@email.msn.com
A sincerest thank you to Rob Slade for the very complimentary review
of my dictionary, which you published in your Mon, 9 Nov 98 issue. Let
me make some comments on his comments:
1. I really do make an effort to include all the names of the kind
people who help me with definitions. If they help with many
definitions, I include them up front in the Introduction. (It includes
over 44 names.) If it's just one definition, I include them directly
in the definition. If I've omitted someone, it's my fault and you
should chide me in an email. I'll include you in the next edition.
2. I've taken out all the antique computer stuff, including MS-DOS. I
buried Microsoft's BOB and Fax At Work. I think I've fixed the area
codes, though I'm tempted to drop them since the Web does a better
job.
3. I've fixed all the forward and backslashes.
4. I've including a vast panoply of new words covering all the new
telecom technologies, including IP telephony, computer telephony,
xDSL, cable modems, Bluetooth, etc etc.
5. I've expanded the dictionary to include every Internet definition
relating directly or indirectly to communications.
I've fixed all the problems Mr. Slade found. Actually he found very
few. My dictionary now has definitions of over 16,000 words and is
over 900 pages of teeny-tiny type.
But I'm not perfect, nor is my dictionary. I make this offer to
readers of TELECOM Digest. Contribute a word I don't have; fix a word
that I have and I'll send you a complimentary copy of the latest
edition of my dictionary. By the way, the cheapest and best place to
buy a copy of my dictionary is www.Amazon.com
------------------------------
Subject: GTE's Plan May Set Off Scramble for Phone Lines in Nebraska, Iowa
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 14:03:43 PST
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By Melinda Norris, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Nov. 16--GTE's plan to sell its telephone exchanges in Nebraska and
Iowa presents phone companies in the two states with a rare opportunity to
expand their service areas. It also creates an opening for an outsider to
become a dominant player in the Nebraska and Iowa markets.
GTE has said it intends to raise $2 billion to $3 billion in after-tax
proceeds from the sale of operations in 13 states. It would use the money
to finance a plunge into the higher-tech end of the telecommunications
field and into more urban markets.
The company, which serves residential and business customers with 21.5
million access lines in 28 states, wants to sell all its operations in
eight states and some of its exchanges in five others.
"There's a lot of interest in our properties," said Jim Larsen, a GTE
spokesman in Grinnell, Iowa.
More than 200 companies already have indicated they would be potential
buyers, the company said.
Plans to sell exchanges in Nebraska, where GTE is the third-largest
telephone company, puts phone service in 37 communities with 67,400
access lines on the auction block.
In Iowa, GTE is much larger. Second only to U S West, GTE touches every
corner of the state with 307,000 access lines.
Access lines are the phone cables that connect the phone network to homes
and businesses. Many homes may have one; a business may have dozens.
GTE would continue to offer long-distance and Internet access and some
other services in Nebraska and Iowa.
One stipulation of the sale is that the buyers keep the GTE employees,
77 in Nebraska and 413 in Iowa.
GTE is selling because it is changing its business strategy.
The company has thrived as one of the largest independent providers of
what the industry calls "plain old telephone service" to small-town
and big-city residents and businesses.
Now it wants to be a major player in providing high-speed and
Internet-based technologies to customers in large metropolitan
areas. Revenue from the sale of the exchanges will help GTE make
investments in this new direction.
Already, GTE is involved in one of the fastest roll-outs of ADSL
technology, hoping to install the high-speed data service in 30
markets in 16 states by the end of the year.
GTE also is buying a 25 percent stake in a nationwide high-speed,
fiber-optic network that Qwest Communications Inc. of Denver is
building. Qwest, which is competing with Omaha's Level 3
Communications Inc., intends to connect every major metropolitan area
in the country.
The biggest transformation for GTE is yet to come. In July, Bell
Atlantic announced it intends to buy GTE in a $79.9 billion
transaction, creating a telecommunications giant with operations in 38
states. The transaction is awaiting regulatory approval.
"Strategically, it doesn't fit our future," Larsen said of offering
basic telephone services in Nebraska and Iowa. "But for some other
company, it may fit with their plans very well."
Possible bidders in Nebraska would include Aliant Communications of
Lincoln and Great Plains Communications of Blair.
Aliant, Nebraska's second largest telephone company, already has
expanded its telecommunication services beyond its original 23-county
territory in the southeastern corner of the state. Acquiring GTE's
territories in central Nebraska would be a logical move.
"We're studying the opportunity," said Elaine Carpenter, Aliant
spokeswoman.
Great Plains is examining how a potential GTE acquisition would affect
operations, said Dan Wengert, director of marketing.
"We're always interested in this kind of opportunity and are reviewing
our options at this time," Wengert said.
Great Plains, which serves large rural areas throughout the state, is
smaller than GTE with 33,000 access lines. By acquiring neighboring
GTE territories, Great Plains would more than double in size and gain
lucrative telecommunications markets, such as Columbus and Kearney.
U S West, the largest phone company in Nebraska and Iowa, is not expected
to make an offer for GTE's exchanges. A bid by the regional Bell operating
company would be a reversal of its efforts to trim the size of its rural
service areas. U S West sold 28 Nebraska exchanges in 1996 and 23 Iowa
exchanges in 1997.
Complicating a purchase is a GTE stipulation that it will sell each state
network as a whole, rather than sell different exchanges within each state
to different buyers.
U S West had the same stipulation when it put its rural exchanges on the
sale block. The Nebraska exchanges were purchased by a consortium of four
Nebraska telephone companies, which divided up the exchanges among
themselves following the sale.
The same thing may happen with the GTE sale.
Nebraska Central Telephone Co. of Gibbon, one of the four U S West
consortium members, is interested in bidding for the GTE property with
partners.
"We'd be looking at one or two of the exchanges," President Duncan McGregor
said.
GTE owns the Ord exchange, which is surrounded by Nebraska Central
Telephone. McGregor also is interested in Greeley.
Nebraska telephone companies would have to move quickly to put together
a consortium bid, he said.
"They want to fast-track" the sale, McGregor said.
GTE will seek final sales agreements by mid-1999, closing on the deals
during the remainder of the year and in 2000.
Bidders could come from out-of-state, said Gene Hand, director of the
Nebraska Public Service Commission. The exchanges could be acquired through
a purchase or a property swap.
GTE has indicated it would swap the Nebraska and Iowa exchanges for
facilities in other parts of the United States that would further its new
business strategy. A swap would be attractive, for example, if GTE could
expand operations surrounding its regional offices in Tampa, Fla., Thousand
Oaks, Calif., and Dallas.
Hand said an outsider would be interested in the Nebraska exchanges because
they include service to the campus of the University of Nebraska at Kearney
and a community with large manufacturing operations, Columbus.
"Both Kearney and Columbus would be attractive properties," Hand said.
Despite the opportunities for expansion, bidding on the GTE exchanges is
risky considering the new competitive telecommunications environment, Hand
said.
"Whoever buys it is going to have a considerable amount of debt," he said.
The buyer can't pass the acquisition costs on to the consumer by increasing
rates because competitors could undercut the price, he said.
When U S West sold its Omaha properties, buyers paid about $4,000 per
access line, Hand said. Aliant and other Nebraska phone companies may
decide such a price for GTE properties would be too expensive, he said.
It might be less expensive to compete in the GTE markets by building their
own facilities and leasing space on GTE's cables.
"Why buy our way in?" Hand said of competitors' thinking. "Why not
build our way in?"
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 21:59:36 PST
From: monty@roscom.com (Monty Solomon)
Subject: Bell Atlantic Makes Long Distance Play
Bell Atlantic makes long distance play
By John Borland
November 16, 1998, 5:55 p.m. PT
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C28878%2C00.html?sas.mail
Bell Atlantic filed with New Jersey state regulators today for
permission to enter that state's long distance telephone
markets.
The filing is the company's third attempt to gain state approval to
enter long distance markets in its home territory. Earlier filings in
New York and Pennsylvania are still under consideration by regulators.
"We're working closely with [the state Board of Public Utilities]
and our competitors to ensure that Bell Atlantic's long distance
filing will receive the Board's support and the approval of the
Federal Communications Commission," saidBell Atlantic CEO William
Freeman in a statement.
"The sooner we're allowed into the long distance business, the
sooner we can provide customers with a full range of communications
products and services," Freeman added.
Bell Atlantic, like the other dominant local telephone companies
around the U.S., are required under the 1996 Telecommunications Act to
open up their home markets to competition before being allowed to
offer long distance service to their existing customers.
Each company is required to satisfy every point on a 14-step
checklist, ensuring that they are opening their facilities, sharing
their network resources, and genuinely allowing competitors into the
market.
The Baby Bells have filed for permission to enter long distance
markets in more than a dozen states. To date, none of these petitions
have been granted. Most recently, the FCC blocked BellSouth's entry
into Louisiana's long-distance market. BellSouth asked federal
regulators to reconsider that decision last week.
Bell Atlantic proposed a series of commitments to New Jersey
regulators, in return for the state Board of Public Utility's
endorsement for the company's federal petition to offer long distance
service.
The company offered to package pieces of its residential services,
such as Caller ID, with ISDN high-speed data service for competitors
for a low monthly fee. Officials also said they would commit to
developing a way for competitors' billing and operations systems to
communicate electronically with Bell Atlantic's system. Much of this
work has already been done, officials added.
"New Jersey consumers will realize the promise of the
Telecommunications Act when all players are allowed to offer all
services," Freeman said. "Bell Atlantic is committed to becoming a
full service provider, able to offer all our customers the benefits of
choice, increased competition and the convenience of one-stop
shopping.''
New Jersey citizens spend about $8 billion on telecommunications
services annually, with about $3.8 billion of that going toward long
distance calls. Bell Atlantic has sold about 35,000 lines to
potential competitors for resale, which company officials say
underscores their commitment to competition. The figure marks only a
small fraction of the state's 2.5 million total lines, however.
Meanwhile, regulators are also scrutinizing Bell Atlantic's business
practices as a result of its proposed merger with GTE, the
second-largest local phone company in the nation.
Public comments on the merger are due to the FCC by December 23.
------------------------------
Subject: Last Workers Leave Ameritech Office in Milwaukee
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 09:47:43 PST
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By Lee Bergquist, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Nov. 12--After buying pizza for the remaining 45 employees, Ameritech
Corp. closed its customer service calling center in Milwaukee
Wednesday afternoon.
The office had employed 399 employees in March when the telephone
company first announced plans to shut down the facility and move some
of the jobs elsewhere.
Ameritech said it was able to keep 60 percent of the workers, who took
jobs at other call centers in its five-state region, or who went to
work for other units of the Chicago-based local phone company.
"We are delighted by the fact that 60 percent will be continuing their
careers at Ameritech," said spokesman Ralph Deptolla. "These are
highly skilled people, and we are thrilled that we could keep them."
He said that about 240 people are staying with Ameritech about 140
took jobs at other calling centers and another 100 are working for
other parts of the company.
Eighty employees moved to Appleton to work in an Ameritech calling
center there, and others have moved to centers in Illinois, Indiana
and Ohio, Deptolla said.
But a Communications Workers of America official called the closing
"tragic" because the decision eliminated an important business from
Milwaukee's central city.
"You just hate to lose jobs in the city of Milwaukee, especially good
jobs like this, on a bus line in the central city," said George Walls,
president of Local 4603.
Employees were paid $246 to $712 a week, depending on seniority.
Employees reached the top of the scale after five years on the
job. The facility is located at 845 N. 35th S t.
The last employees left about noon Wednesday after being treated to
pizza, Walls said.
"It was pretty somber; reality had set in," he said. "There were hugs
and tears."
A calling center in Lansing, Mich., also closed on Wednesday both
closings the result of consolidation in residential calling centers by
the company. Ameritech announced plans earlier this year to eliminate
$3 billion in expenses through 2002 in the hope of sustaining ten
percent annual growth in earnings.
Walls said pressure by politicians helped stretch out the closing, but
he said he never thought Ameritech intended to keep the facility open.
Ameritech has no current plans for the building.
------------------------------
From: Tony Zafiropoulos <tonyz@ctitek.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 15:56:45 GMT
Subject: When you Turn it Off, it Never Comes Back On. Year 2000 Nightmare
Chesterfield, MO - November 12, 1998 - Archaic PBX User
The Year 2000 mantra is on. The big question is... do we wait until
1/1/2000 or do we spend precious resources today to avert any
'potential' issues? The FCC brought together various factions to
address the Y2000 issue, and these three items stood out:
1. User testing uncovers Y2000 problem with systems.
2. 15 to 20% of Bell Atlantics Nortel installed customer base has been
Y2000 converted.
3. Y2000 software fixes will have distribution problems.
In the forum two themes were prevalant, the manufacturer theme -
Everything is ok, our products are compliant, we are doing everything
possible, so there is no Y2000 problems. The second theme is the users
theme - has anyone tested this PBX?
Cathy Hotka, a representative of The Retail Federation tested a PBX of
one of its members, she remarked: "One problem we've encountered with
large retailers, as well as small ones, is we had one that looked at a
PBX they had and tested it, so they moved the date ahead to February
29th, two thousand. It worked great. Until they did what any of us
did in the computer business which is turn it off. People who are not
in that business may not know that. When you turn it off, it never
comes back on."
Out of the millions of people with Nortel equipment the issue is, in
getting to that end user. "I would give you an estimate that we're
between fifteen to twenty percent converted on that install base. "
says Tom Bohan from Bell Atlantic.
John White with Nortel: "In Nortel's case the issue is not the
switch. Our switches have been compliant since introduced so it is a
software fix which will be relatively easy from a manufacturing
standpoint. Our worry would be the distributor capacity to install
that software upgrade if the fifteen to twenty percent doesn't move up
in a hurry."
FCC Y2000 commission forum November 10th, 1998 2-4 pm, website
transcript is at FCC's Website http://www.fcc.gov
------------------------------
From: Mike Pollock <pheel@m1.sprynet.com>
Subject: MCI Ordered To End 'Casual' Rates
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 09:53:35 -0500
By JEANNINE AVERSA
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) MCI WorldCom must stop charging certain customers its
highest rate, a practice federal regulators have concluded is illegal.
The Federal Communications Commission's order Tuesday responds to two
complaints against MCI, made before it merged with WorldCom Inc., over
``casual calling'' or ``nonsubscriber'' rates.
These are customers who, for various reasons, are dropped from the phone
company's billing system. Once that happens, customers who make
long-distance calls are charged the company's highest rate.
MCI's casual customers pay a $2.49 surcharge and 38 cents a minute for
each call.
MCI spokesman Brad Burns wouldn't say how many customers would be affected
by the FCC's order, but he defended the legality of the company's
``nonsubscriber'' rates.
The FCC didn't order MCI to make refunds to all affected customers,
only to the two companies that filed the complaints. To be eligible
for refunds, affected customers would need to file individual
complaints.
The FCC's action applies only to customers who selected MCI as their
primary long-distance carrier and then were billed at the company's
highest rate. It does not apply to people who have not chosen MCI as
their primary long-distance carrier but use it occasionally by dialing
an access code.
Customers who choose MCI as their main long-distance carrier ``may
reasonably consider themselves ``subscribers,'' the FCC said. ``The
practice of charging these customers nonsubscriber rates is inherently
confusing and therefore unreasonable,'' the commission concluded.
The FCC said MCI's tariff for its ``nonsubscriber'' rates violates
communications laws and regulations by not clearly and explicitly stating
when customers would incur these charges.
MCI WorldCom responded that it is ``confident our charges and practices
fully conform with our tariffs and our tariffs fully conform with all
applicable laws and regulations.''
The FCC ordered MCI to make refunds to the two companies that filed
the complaints: the law firm Halprin, Temple, Goodman & Sugrue and
Freedom Technologies Inc., a telecommunications consulting company
owned by Albert Halprin, a partner in the law firm, and his wife.
Together the refunds would total ``hundreds of dollars,'' said Kevin
McGilly, who spoke on behalf of both companies.
Industrywide, casual customers account for three to four percent of
all U.S. long-distance customers, MCI officials have said.
Halprin, a former regulator with the FCC, estimates consumers are being
overcharged billions of dollars through these casual calling, or
nonsubscriber, rates.
MCI's rates are not subject to FCC approval, but the commission has
the power to ensure phone rates are ``just and reasonable.'' The FCC
concluded that MCI's practice of charging nonsubscriber rates is
unreasonable, but didn't rule on whether the rates themselves are
unreasonable.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 21:33:39 EST
From: Garrett Wollman <wollman@khavrinen.lcs.mit.edu>
Subject: All You Ever Wanted to Know About Tones
I thought TCD readers might be interested in the Web site mentioned in
the mailing-list posting below:
------ start of forwarded message (RFC 934 encapsulation) -------
Message-ID: <36537C49.39E633FD@cs.columbia.edu>
From: Henning Schulzrinne <hgs@cs.columbia.edu>
To: rem-conf@es.net
Subject: Tones
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 21:02:49 -0500
In case people are interested in more telephone "folklore": a listing
of all tones, from Albania to Zimbabwe, can be found at
http://support.dialogic.com/resources/tones/. ------- end -------
Garrett A. Wollman | O Siem / We are all family / O Siem / We're all the same
wollman@lcs.mit.edu | O Siem / The fires of freedom
Opinions not those of| Dance in the burning flame
MIT, LCS, CRS, or NSA| - Susan Aglukark and Chad Irschick
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #129
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Nov 21 00:12:03 1998
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Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #130
TELECOM Digest Sat, 21 Nov 98 00:12:00 EST Volume 18 : Issue 130
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Telecom Update (Canada) #158, November 16, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement)
Southwestern Bell Competitors' T-1 Service Costs 26% Less (Zafiropoulos)
Southwestern Bell Struggles to Keep Up with Demand in North Texas (T.Cook)
New Arizona NPA (Dave Stott)
Overlays in 215 & 610 in Pa. (Carl Moore)
Kentucky to Split Area Code Region to Combat Number Shortage (Tad Cook)
Teen Accused of Downloading Porn (Monty Solomon)
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
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 11:58:17 -0500
From: Angus TeleManagement <angus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #158, November 16, 1998
************************************************************
* *
* TELECOM UPDATE *
* Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin *
* http://www.angustel.ca *
* Number 158: November 16, 1998 *
* *
* Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by *
* generous financial support from: *
* *
* AT&T Canada ............... http://www.attcanada.com/ *
* Bell Canada ............... http://www.bell.ca/ *
* Lucent Technologies ....... http://www.lucent.ca/ *
* MetroNet Communications ... http://www.metronet.ca/ *
* Sprint Canada ............. http://www.sprintcanada.ca/ *
* Telus Communications....... http://www.telus.com/ *
* TigerTel Services ......... http://www.citydial.com/ *
* *
************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
** Cancom, Star Choice Join Forces
** Bell Signs NCR for National Sales, Support
** Highpoint Buys 50% of North American Gateway
** MTS Intros Prepaid Cellular
** Revenue Rises at Clearnet
** AT&T Adopts Inlogic LNP Software
** Bell Offers New Messaging Options
** Directors Replaced at Phonettix
** Bell Blinks on SmartRoute
** Canada Payphone CEO Resigns
** Harris Expands Wireless Facilities
** Bell to Provide Airport Internet Kiosks
** Bell Mobility Adds E-Mail
** Comment Sought on Northwestel DA Charges
** Mpact Buys E-Banking Provider
** BCE Increases Teleglobe Stake
** Challenge to BC Tel Bundling Overruled
** Law Enforcement Net to Track Telemarketing Fraud
** MT&T Restructures Centrex
** Nortel Unified Messaging Adds Speech Recognition
** TIW World Revenue Grows
** Y2K Forum Transcript Available
** Canada's World-Leading Optical Network
============================================================
CANCOM, STAR CHOICE JOIN FORCES: Canadian Satellite
Communications (Cancom) and satellite TV broadcaster Star
Choice have announced plans to merge. Both are controlled by
Shaw Communications; the deal is subject to shareholder and
CRTC approval.
** Cancom has secured nine transponders on Telesat Canada's
Anik F1 satellite, which is to go into service in 2000.
BELL SIGNS NCR FOR NATIONAL SALES, SUPPORT: Bell Canada
Gateways (Bell’s business terminal, cabling, and
internetworking division) has signed an agreement with NCR,
under which NCR will provide national installation and
maintenance services and joint sales to business customers
of Bell and Bell’s still-unnamed national broadband company.
HIGHPOINT BUYS 50% OF NORTH AMERICAN GATEWAY: Vancouver-
based Highpoint Telecommunications, which describes itself
as "an emerging international carrier," has signed a letter
of intent to purchase 50% of Toronto-based North American
Gateway (NAG) for US$6.5 Million and 3 million Highpoint
shares.
MTS INTROS PREPAID CELLULAR: MTS Mobility has introduced
Mobility to Go, a prepaid service which can be used on any
cellular or PCS phone.
REVENUE RISES AT CLEARNET: Clearnet's third-quarter airtime
revenue was $40 Million, 24% higher than the previous
quarter; losses before interest, taxes and depreciation
decreased by $7.9 Million. Net loss for the quarter: $138
Million.
** Clearnet has borrowed $350 Million from CIBC and has
begun PCS service in London, Ontario.
AT&T ADOPTS INLOGIC LNP SOFTWARE: AT&T Canada Long Distance
Services has become the second Canadian carrier to acquire a
Local Number Portability system from Toronto-based Inlogic
Software. (See Telecom Update #152)
BELL OFFERS NEW MESSAGING OPTIONS: Ottawa subscribers to
Bell Canada's Call Answer Plus and Sympatico can now use
their PC to manage and reply to voice mail and receive a
phone message when e-mail comes in.
http://www.bell.ca/msglink
DIRECTORS REPLACED AT PHONETTIX: Major shareholders,
including company founder Dorothy Millman, have joined
forces to replace the Board of Directors of call-center
outsourcer Phonettix Intelecom. The new Board will be
chaired by Tony Keenan.
BELL BLINKS ON SMARTROUTE: Responding to "many comments
received from its customers," Bell Canada has cancelled
plans to withdraw the SmartRoute family of Advanced
Intelligent Network (AIN) services. (See Telecom Update
#147, #153)
CANADA PAYPHONE CEO RESIGNS: Roly Morris, the ex-Starbucks
executive who became President and CEO of Canada Payphone
only two months ago, resigned November 6 "for personal
reasons."
** Canada Payphone now has several payphones operating in
downtown Toronto, and expects to begin its Vancouver
rollout shortly.
HARRIS EXPANDS WIRELESS FACILITIES: Harris Canada plans to
invest $133 Million (including $18 Million from the Federal
Government) to expand its wireless and semiconductor
manufacturing facilities in Montreal and Calgary.
BELL TO PROVIDE AIRPORT INTERNET KIOSKS: Bell Canada says it
will install 11 Internet and e-mail kiosks in Montreal-area
airport facilities in the first quarter of 1999.
BELL MOBILITY ADDS E-MAIL: Bell Mobility is joining with
Wireless Knowledge (a Qualcomm/Microsoft joint venture) to
offer wireless access to e-mail and information services.
A market trial is planned early next year.
COMMENT SOUGHT ON NORTHWESTEL DA CHARGES: CRTC Telecom
Public Notice 98-33 seeks comment on Northwestel's
application to increase its Directory Assistance charge to
$1.10 from $1.00. Comments are due December 14.
MPACT BUYS E-BANKING PROVIDER: Mpact Immedia, a Bell Canada
subsidiary, has bought Thornhill, Ontario-based Newstar
Technologies for $50 Million. Newstar makes electronic
banking systems.
BCE INCREASES TELEGLOBE STAKE: In connection with the
closing of the Teleglobe-Excel merger, BCE is exercising its
option to increase its stake in the combined company to 20%.
(See Telecom Update #156)
CHALLENGE TO BC TEL BUNDLING OVERRULED: CRTC Telecom Order
98-1135 overrules objections by Call-Net to the Commission's
approval of BC Tel promotion that offers of SmartTouch and
long distance bonuses to "loyal residential customers." (See
Telecom Update #145)
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o981135_.txt
LAW ENFORCEMENT NET TO TRACK TELEMARKETING FRAUD: On
November 13 federal and provincial consumer affairs
ministers launched Canshare, an Internet-based network for
law enforcement agencies. One of Canshare's goals is "faster
tracking of deceptive telemarketing."
MT&T RESTRUCTURES CENTREX: The CRTC has approved MT&T
tariff changes which simplify and reduce Centrex rates for
customers in Bands A & B, effective February 8. The new
monthly rates range from $30.15 to $40.50, depending on
number of locals and length of contract. The Commission has
not yet ruled on an identical application for Band C, where
these rates are below cost.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca:80/eng/proc_rep/telecom/1998/8740/m1-722.html
NORTEL UNIFIED MESSAGING ADDS SPEECH RECOGNITION: Nortel
Networks has announced CallPilot, a unified messaging system
featuring speech recognition, which will integrate with a
variety of e-mail systems and PBXs. Availability: end of
1998.
TIW WORLD REVENUE GROWS: Telesystem International Wireless,
an international wireless carrier, reports third-quarter
revenue of $124 Million, compared to $19.6 Million last
year. TIW's loss for the quarter was $32 Million.
Y2K FORUM TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE: A transcript of the U.S.
Federal Communications Commission's November 10 forum on the
Year 2000 problem (see Telecom Update #157) is available at
http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/archive/tr111098.txt
CANADA'S WORLD-LEADING OPTICAL NETWORK: Bill St. Arnaud,
CANARIE's Director of Network Projects, explains how
Canada's CA*net 3, the world's first national optical
Internet network, is leading the way to a new generation
of low-cost, high-speed nets, in the November-December issue
of Telemanagement.
** Also in Telemanagement #160: Lis Angus asks "Can You Be
Tricked Into Switching Long Distance Carriers?" and Rob
Slade reviews an outstanding book on xDSL services.
** To subscribe to Telemanagement call 1-800-263-4415, ext
225 or visit http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm.html
============================================================
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca
FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE
Angus TeleManagement Group
8 Old Kingston Road
Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7
===========================================================
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There
are two formats available:
1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World
Wide Web on the first business day of the week at
http://www.angustel.ca/update/up.html
2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of
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COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce,
please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext
225.
The information and data included has been obtained from
sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus
TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations
whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy.
Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available
information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on
the subject matter is required, the services of a competent
professional should be obtained.
============================================================
------------------------------
From: Tony Zafiropoulos <tonyz@ctitek.com>
Date: Fri,20 Nov 1998 19:31:00 GMT
Subject: Southwestern Bell Competitors' T-1 Monthly Service Costs 26% Less
Computer Phone system takes advantage of new environment.
CTiTEK Inc.
Tony Zafiropoulos
(314) 504-3974
tonyz@ctitek.com
www.ctitek.com
Chesterfield, MO - November 11, 1998-
Southwestern Bell's (SWB) competition 'The CLEC Companies', are
poised to overtake the prime business customers. If a business has
more than 8 phone lines they will save money with T-1 services.
CLEC stands for Competitive Local Exchange Carrier. In late 1997
the CLEC's were given permission to compete with SWB by the Missouri
Public Service Commission.
A standard business phone line costs about $60 per month. For 8 phone
lines that would be about $480. Using one of the new competitors' digital
phone service (T-1) 8 lines cost $355 (additional lines cost $20).
SWB sells their T-1 line at a much higher rate, sometimes as much as $1000.
(T-1 costs depend on distances from businesses to the SWB central offices
as well as additional add-ons such as DID - Direct Inward Dialing)
A T-1 line may require businesses to install new phone systems which can
accept the new lower cost digital line.
Zafiropoulos, the president of CTiTEK states:" The Artisoft
TeleVantage phone system release 2.1 is designed to accept T-1 and
standard 'analog' phone lines. It is the perfect complement of the
new telecom environment."
Old phone systems will not handle T-1 lines, thus requiring small
businesses to upgrade.
------------------------------
Subject: Southwestern Bell Struggles to Keep Up with Demand in North Texas
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 08:03:55 PST
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By Bruce Hight, Austin American-Statesman, Texas
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Nov. 13--It's a new form of call waiting, but neither Southwestern Bell
Telephone Co. nor its customers like it.
Shawn Beers, of Round Rock, had to wait more than a month before
getting a local telephone line installed. State regulations require
Southwestern Bell to complete at least 95 percent of such orders
within five working days.
"I think what happened is that they didn't plan correctly for the
growth in that neighborhood," said Beers, who moved into a new home in
the Stone Canyon subdivision. and is an engineer at a major
electronics firm. "I think they were just putting me off."
Down in Southwest Austin, near Brodie Lane and William Cannon
Boulevard Drive, Leslie Perrydore and her roommate recently had to
wait several weeks before her line was installed, although she had
moved into an older home.
Southwestern Bell, she said, told her "a different thing every time"
when she asked about the delay.
In both cases, the reason was essentially the same, said company
officials: Southwestern Bell had to install new equipment to handle a
surge in demand for phone lines, both in new suqbdivisions and
established neighborhoods.
"I'm not going to kid you -- it's a struggle to keep up with the
growth," said Dennis Harris, Southwestern Bell's regional vice
president for network operations in North Texas, which includes the
metropolitan Austin area. "But it's a good struggle to have."
In the Austin metropolitan area, Harris said, Southwestern Bell is
getting 13,000 orders for new service a month, about 30 percent more
than three years ago.
To meet that increasing demand, the company is spending a record $112
million this year on expanding and upgrading its network in the Austin
area -- about double the amount spent just a few years ago, Harris
said.
And in the past three years, he said, he has's added 250 employees to
network operations, including 200 installers and another 50 who back
them up in Southwestern Bell facilities. Southwestern Bell says it has
718 employees in the Austin area assigned to network installation,
connections and repairs.
Part of the growth comes from ever more people moving into the area,
but there's also an increase in demand from those who already have a
line. Until a few years ago, Southwestern Bell built its network
calculating it needed an average of 1.3 lines per household, Harris
said.
Now, because of the increasing demand for lines for fax machines,
Internet connections, and second, third and even fourth telephones for
various members of the family or those who work at home, Southwestern
Bell figures about 2.5 lines per household is about right.
"Only four years ago, there would have been a lot fewer (lines built
in a neighborhood)," Harris said. "We've seen this thing just explode
in the last three to four years."
In the eight-state area served by SBC Communications Inc., which owns
Southwestern Bell, none is growing faster than the Dallas-Fort Worth and
Austin areas, Harris said.
Southwestern Bell beats the state's five-day goal for connecting new
lines 97.5 percent of the time in the Austin area, Harris said. That
slips a bit during particularly heavy order periods, such as the late
August when students return to the University of Texas, he said.
"From our perspective we're doing a good job of keeping up with it in
spite of the way we're growing," Harris said.
Still, there's that other 2.5 percent.
Perrydore, who works at an electronics firm, said that although she
waited about a month for her phone line, she finally got it, and
"everything's fine now."
Beers feels differently.
Southwestern Bell records show that Beers first requested service on
July 20 but didn't get it until Sept. 1.
Beers, who moved here recently from Seattle, said Southwestern Bell
employees gave varying explanations for the delay. And the delay was
more than an annoyance; as an engineer on call all hours of the night,
he sometimes got pages in the middle of the night. Beers said he would
go to a convenience store to call the plant back. (The family has a
wireless phone, but only for emergencies, he said.)
The reason for the delay, said Kate Lowery, a spokeswoman for
Southwestern Bell, is that the company had to install a "pair gain" to
keep up with explosive growth in the area. A pair gain is an
electronic device that can boost the amount of phone traffic carried
by a trunk line.
Beers said the phone company gave him a $100 credit on his bill for
the delays and that his new phone line works fine, but when the
opportunity comes he'll sign up with somebody else: "I don't want to
give Southwestern Bell any more of my business."
Southwestern Bell doesn't yet face much competition for its local
service, but it expects to. So when told of Beers' comments, Harris
moaned and said, "Of course, that's the worseworst thing I could
possibly hear. We realize that if we have too many of these people
that's going to hurt us and our market share. We don't want that."
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 14:15:44 -0700
From: Dave Stott <dstott@2help.com>
Subject: New Arizona NPA
Well the Arizona Corporation Commission finally decided that the new
NPA will overlay the 602 NPA. This means the news media is having a
field day with 'ten-digit dialing' and 'two area codes in the same
home' horror stories. Like we can't take 2 seconds to add 602 before
the numbers we dial.
Have a good Thanksgiving, and remember who you're thanking and why!
Dave Stott
2HELP Consulting
Phone: (602) 831-7355
Fax: (602) 831-1176
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 98 13:28:12 EST
From: Carl Moore <cmoore@ARL.MIL>
Subject: Overlays in 215 & 610 in Pa.
You've probably already heard of 215/267 and 610/484 overlays in
southeastern Pa. Today, KYW news-radio in Philadelphia said, not
these exact words, that permissive dialing begins in December with
mandatory coming next June. I am hearing "10 digits" and it is
not clear if the leading 1 will have to be included. 215 & 610
currently have:
7D for local & long distance within area code
1+NPA+7D (leading 1 is included, right?) for local & long distance to
different area code and from earlier blurbs you probably know that
that's different from what Maryland had before its overlays. (267 and
484, in old 215, were at Denver and Adamstown, and those places are
now in 717, with Denver using 717-336 in place of 215-267.)
------------------------------
Subject: Kentucky to Split Area Code Region to Combat Number Shortage
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 22:27:44 GMT
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By Jamie Butters, Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Nov. 17--Reversing a previous decision, the Kentucky Public Service
Commission announced yesterday that it would cut Kentucky's 502 area
code in two.
Louisville, Frankfort, Georgetown and points north will retain the 502
area code; areas to the south and west will get the new 270 area code.
The commission did not set a date for the split.
The decision implies that Central and Eastern Kentucky, served by the 606
area code, will also be split within a couple of years.
On Aug. 18, the commission announced a plan for the 502 area to share
or "overlay" the two codes. Under that plan, only new phone numbers
would get the 270 area code and all established numbers would stay the
same.
But business and residential customers complained because the overlay
system would have required 10-digit dialing for local calls.
At public meetings in Bowling Green, Paducah, Owensboro and Louisville,
speakers overwhelmingly endorsed splitting the 502 area to maintain
seven-digit local dialing.
Changing computers to accommodate 10-digit dialing was too big a
burden to shoulder while also preparing for the year 2000, Doug Cobb,
president and CEO of Greater Louisville Inc., the city's chamber of
commerce, said last week.
Another reason for splitting the area rather than using an overlay is
that there is great variation in population growth rates within
Kentucky, and the commission wants to use the same method statewide
for setting area codes.
"The Commission believes that the entire state of Kentucky should utilize
the same dialing pattern to reduce confusion," the commission wrote.
The 502 area is expected to run out of numbers in April -- and it will
only make it that long by rationing numbers. The 606 area is expected
to run out of numbers in about two years.
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: Teen Accused of Downloading Porn
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 19:16:59 -0500
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A very sad story indeed follows to
close this issue of the Digest. My own comments will follow the
article. PAT]
MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. (AP) _ Calling it a first, prosecutors are
investigating the case of a 14-year-old boy suspected of downloading
child pornography from the Internet.
``We've had hundreds of adults that traffic in child porn, but never
had any kids,'' said Mark Cavins, head of the sex crimes division at
the Cook County state's attorney's office.
Police were alerted by a computer repair company after employees
working on the boy's computer discovered thousands of images that
depicted adults and children in sexual poses and sexual acts.
The boy told investigators he collected the images and shared them
with others during computer chat sessions, police said.
Lake County state attorney Michael Waller he planned to wait until an
investigation is completed before deciding whether to charge the
boy. Police and prosecutors are working with America Online to
determine where the images originated.
Mary Yarc, Lake County's chief of juvenile prosecutions, says it's
unlikely that prosecutors would handle the case outside of juvenile
court with a counseling program, but one child expert said pursuing
the case in court would be wrong.
``The last thing this is is a criminal offense,'' said Anita Hurtig,
an associate professor of pediatric psychology at the University of
Illinois-Chicago. ``It could be a symptom of a more serious
pathology. By making an adult issue out of it, you're reinforcing that
pathology.''
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It is unclear to me how/why prosecutors
in Lake County, Illinois were commenting on this matter since the
village of Mount Prospect, Illinois is entirely within Cook County. In
any event, the tragedy is that police/prosecutors became involved in
the first place. I *could* be a bit sarcastic and say that the State's
Attorney's Office must really be in its glory with this case; recall
please that only a few months ago the same prosecutorial agency here
placed murder and sex crime charges against two boys ages seven and
eight years old despite a huge outcry in the southside Chicago black
community that the lads were in no way involved. Chicago Police were
apparently aware of this also, since some critical evidence retrieved
at the scene of the crime (the sexual assault and murder of a fourteen
year old girl) -- semen removed from the victim -- was deliberatly
ignored.
When a lab technician 'accidentally' let it slip out that
semen had been recovered from the girl's body (about *three weeks*
after the boys had been charged and taken into custody) police were
quite angry about it. You see, their chance to put two boys ages
seven and eight in prison for life was now shot. Even the Cook County
State's Attorney only grudgingly admitted it was unlikely that the
semen came from two boys of that age. All of them were quite angry
at the lab technician whose search for truth in the matter led him to
reveal what he found and what the police had been deliberatly ignoring
in the hopes of setting a new record. When the lab tech told the news-
papers about it then of course the police and State's Attorney had
to deal with it.
I'd rather suspect the Cook County State's Attorney will push hard on
this case. Why settle for counseling and helping the boy to deal with
what is perhaps the start of a long life ahead for him as a pedophile
and/or gay young adult when he can be charged as an adult and sent to
prison for many years and his life essentially ruined? That is the way
things are done here, with pride I might add, by the rotten crowd which
runs things in this neck of the woods.
And a word of warning to anyone who considers using any of the chat areas
of America OnLine which are other that the most straight and narrow:
those areas are just full of police officers, wannabe police, and snitches
of all sorts who take great efforts to keep stirring the pot just to
see what they can get to come to the top. The Naperville, Illinois PD
has one officer assigned to do nothing all day but sit on AOL under
various screen names with fictitious identities -- and send out child
porn to unsuspecting users, trying to get them to take the bait. Then
of course if/when it comes to court he lies about it and says you sent
it to him, etc. The Chicago Police Department now also has an 'Internet
Task Force' whose main duty seems to be infiltrating chat rooms and
newsgroups trying to spy on the participants.
That's what our net has come to. I've gotten to the point I refuse to
answer Instant Messages and requests to go to chat rooms from people I
don't know. I hate doing it it, and it is rude, but I simply cannot
afford to have police show up and ransack my laptop convinced they are
going to find ten thousand kiddie porn pictures if they just look long
and hard enough. Some people in law enforcement are working overtime
to get this net shut down or at the very least under tight controls.
Don't allow them to do it ... please. PAT]
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #130
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Nov 28 16:51:20 1998
Received: (from ptownson@localhost)
by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id QAA11732;
Sat, 28 Nov 1998 16:51:20 -0500 (EST)
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 16:51:20 -0500 (EST)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
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To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #131
TELECOM Digest Sat, 28 Nov 98 16:51:00 EST Volume 18 : Issue 131
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Book Review: "Cryptography and Network Security", W. Stallings (Rob Slade)
Telecom Update (Canada) #159, November 23, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement)
AT&T Canada Calling (Monty Solomon)
Will 1+ be Required in Penn. Overlay? (Greg Monti)
Phone Sex Leads to Costly Affair (Tad Cook)
"This is AT&T" Announcement on 1+ Calls (Lauren Weinstein)
UCLA Short Course on "Genetic Algorithms Workshop" (Bill Goodin)
Happy Thanksgiving (William Brownlow)
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:
* telecom-request@telecom-digest.org *
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: 847-727-5427
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** Article submission address: editor@telecom-digest.org **
Our archives are available for your review/research. 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
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*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the *
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* project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-*
* ing views of the ITU. *
*************************************************************************
In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order
telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 11:10:07 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "Cryptography and Network Security", William Stallings
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKCRNTSC.RVW 981010
"Cryptography and Network Security", William Stallings, 1999,
0-13-869017-0
%A William Stallings ws@shore.net
%C One Lake St., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
%D 1999
%G 0-13-869017-0
%I Prentice Hall
%O +1-201-236-7139 fax: +1-201-236-7131 betsy_carey@prenhall.com
%P 569 p.
%T "Cryptography and Network Security: Principles and Practice
2nd edition"
This book is intended to serve both as a textbook for an academic
course of study, and as a self-study and reference guide for
practicing professionals. The material has been extended to emphasize
encryption and its central position in network protection. The
structure and flow have been reorganized with both classroom use and
solo instruction in mind, and additional teaching material, such as
additional problems, have been added.
Chapter one is an introduction to the topics to be covered. In a
practical way it outlines the concerns involved in the phrase computer
security, and the priorities occasioned by the networked nature of
modern computing. There is also an outline of the chapters and
sequence in the rest of the book. While the text does note that
cryptographic techniques underlie most of current security
technologies this is only done briefly. Examples in the major
categories listed would help explain this primary position.
Part one deals with conventional, symmetric, encryption and the
various methods of attacking it. Chapter two covers the historical
substitution and transposition ciphers. Symmetric block ciphers are
discussed in chapter three, illustrated by an explanation of DES (Data
Encryption Standard). The additional conventional algorithms of
triple DES, IDEA (International Data Encryption Algorithm), and RC5
are reviewed in chapter four. The use of conventional encryption for
confidentiality is outlined in chapter five.
Part three looks at public-key encryption and hash functions. Chapter
six introduces public-key encryption and its uses in confidentiality,
authentication, and key management and exchange. Number theory is the
basis of these modern algorithms, so some basic mathematical concepts
are outlined in chapter seven. Digital signatures and message
authentication is introduced in some detail in chapter eight. The
algorithms themselves are explained in chapter nine, including MD5
(Message Digest algorithm), SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm), and others.
Protocols using digital signatures are described in chapter ten.
Part three takes this background material and relates its use in
security practice. Chapter eleven looks at authentication,
concentrating on Kerberos and X.509. The examples of email security
systems given in chapter twelve are PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) and
S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension). Security
provisions for the Internet Protocol (IP) itself are reviewed in
chapter thirteen. Web security, in chapter fourteen, again
concentrates on protocol level matters, but also discusses the SET
(Secure Electronic Transaction) standard at the application level.
Part four outlines general system security. To the general public the
primary concern of security is to deal with intruders and malicious
software, so it may seem odd to the uninitiated to find that both of
these subjects are lumped together in chapter fifteen. Chapter
sixteen finishes off the book with a description of firewalls and the
concept of trusted systems that they rely on.
Each chapter ends with a set of recommended readings and problems.
Many chapters also have appendices giving additional details of
specific topics related to the subject just discussed.
For the instructor, student, and professional, this work provides
thorough coverage, clear explanations, and solid information.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKCRNTSC.RVW 981010
rslade@vcn.bc.ca rslade@sprint.ca robertslade@usa.net p1@canada.com
Find virus and book info at http://www.victoria.tc.ca/techrev/rms.html
Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses, 0-387-94663-2 (800-SPRINGER)
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 11:01:03 -0500
From: Angus TeleManagement <angus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #159, November 23, 1998
************************************************************
* *
* TELECOM UPDATE *
* Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin *
* http://www.angustel.ca *
* Number 159: November 23, 1998 *
* *
* Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by *
* generous financial support from: *
* *
* AT&T Canada ............... http://www.attcanada.com/ *
* Bell Canada ............... http://www.bell.ca/ *
* Lucent Technologies ....... http://www.lucent.ca/ *
* MetroNet Communications ... http://www.metronet.ca/ *
* Sprint Canada ............. http://www.sprintcanada.ca/ *
* Telus Communications....... http://www.telus.com/ *
* TigerTel Services ......... http://www.citydial.com/ *
* *
************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
** Court Restores Complaint in Bell Pay Equity Case
** LNP in Ottawa by December 7
** Cogeco to Offer IP-Based Phone Service
** Manitoba Tel Bundles Nearly Everything
** Y2K Problem Helped Doom "PrimeLine"
** Cablecos Challenge Look TV License
** Iridium Launches Global Messaging
** Sprint Offers Release Link Trunks
** CRTC Expands Ex Parte Rules
** CRTC to Review Regulatory Fees
** MetroNet Starts Quebec City Service
** Rogers Launches Internet Auction House
** Bell to Offer ISDN in Cornwall
** Unique Broadband Partners With Lucent
** APC Telecom to Offer IP Voice
** Phonettix Replaces CEO
** Financial Results
Microcell
Shaw
** Conferences Examine High-Speed Internet
** Consultants "A Joy to Deal With"
============================================================
COURT RESTORES COMPLAINT IN BELL PAY EQUITY CASE: On November 17, the
Federal Court of Appeal struck down a lower court ruling that had
thrown out a pay equity complaint made on behalf of 22,000 Bell Canada
workers. Unless Bell appeals, the complaint now goes to the Human
Rights Tribunal. (See Telecom Update #125)
LNP IN OTTAWA BY DECEMBER 7: Local Number Portability, which was
scheduled for the Ottawa-Hull area next March, will now be available
for bilateral vendor testing on November 23, with commercial LNP
service beginning December 7.
COGECO TO OFFER IP-BASED PHONE SERVICE: Cogeco Cable has registered
with the CRTC as a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) and says
it plans to offer IP-based phone service to Ontario and Quebec
customers in the Windsor-to- Rimouski corridor, beginning in late
1999.
MANITOBA TEL BUNDLES NEARLY EVERYTHING: MTS Mobility now offers
reduced cellular LD rates for customers who also use MTS local and LD
service. MTS Sympatico customers who also use MTS local and LD service
now get 40 extra free hours of Internet use a month.
Y2K PROBLEM HELPED DOOM "PRIMELINE": Bell Canada says that its
PrimeLine service "is not year 2000 compliant," a factor which "add[s]
greater urgency to the need to destandardize the service at this
time." Bell's application to withdraw PrimeLine is now before the
CRTC. (See Telecom Update #147)
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/proc_rep/telecom/1998/8740/b2-6264.html
CABLECOS CHALLENGE LOOK TV LICENSE: The Canadian Cable Television
Association has asked the CRTC to probe the ownership structure of
Look TV, which it says violates the foreign ownership rules. Look TV
is majority owned by Teleglobe, which recently merged with U.S.-based
Excel Communications.
** Look TV says it has applied to the Commission to transfer
shares owned by Teleglobe to Canadian-owned Telesystem,
Charles Sirois' holding company.
IRIDIUM LAUNCHES GLOBAL MESSAGING: Iridium Canada now offers World
Page, a global alphanumeric paging/messaging service. Pagers cost
about $1,000; the monthly fee ranges from $200- $400.
SPRINT OFFERS RELEASE LINK TRUNKS: Sprint Canada and Nortel have
developed technology which allows trunks on Interactive Voice Response
systems to be freed for use by other calls when a caller is
transferred to a live agent. Sprint says the application, developed
for TD Bank, reduces trunk requirements by 20%.
CRTC EXPANDS EX PARTE RULES: CRTC Telecom Decision 98-21 extends the
tariffed services for which telcos can request price reductions on an
ex parte basis to include High Capacity and Digital Data Systems.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/decision/1998/d9821_0.txt
CRTC TO REVIEW REGULATORY FEES: Telecom Public Notice 98-34 seeks
comments on proposed changes to the fees it charges carriers for
regulatory activities. Comments are due by January 28.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/notice/1998/p9834_0.txt
METRONET STARTS QUEBEC CITY SERVICE: MetroNet Communications is now
offering local and long distance voice, data, and Internet services in
the Quebec City region.
ROGERS LAUNCHES INTERNET AUCTION HOUSE: Rogers New Media is partnering
with Bid.Com International to offer a Canadian-based Internet auction
site.
http://www.bid.com
BELL TO OFFER ISDN IN CORNWALL: Bell Canada will begin offering its
ISDN Basic Rate service, Microlink, in Cornwall, Ontario, on January
15.
UNIQUE BROADBAND PARTNERS WITH LUCENT: Unique Broadband Systems, a
Markham, Ontario-based producer of wireless products, is partnering
with Lucent Digital Video to develop land- and satellite-based video
distribution systems.
APC TELECOM TO OFFER IP VOICE: Through a reverse takeover of an
inactive company, Toronto-area LD reseller APC Telecom has created a
U.S. parent company for itself. The company plans to offer
Canada-U.S. phone service on the Internet.
PHONETTIX REPLACES CEO: Dorothy Millman, who heads the shareholder
group that recently took control of Phonettix Intelecom, has replaced
Michael Jarman as the company's CEO. (See Telecom Update #158)
FINANCIAL RESULTS:
** Microcell says third-quarter revenue was $38 Million, 22%
above the previous quarter. Customer turnover (churn) was
2.8%/month; the cost of customer acquisition was $685, a
third lower than last year. Net loss: $92 Million.
** Shaw Communications' profits for the year ended August 31
were $13.5 Million, 18% less than last year; the results
include one-time charges of $63 Million. Revenue rose 14%
to $784 Million.
CONFERENCES EXAMINE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET: Two upcoming
meetings examine issues in deploying high-speed Internet
services:
** The ISP Business Forum discusses how Internet Service
Providers can gain access to local loops to provide their
own DSL services. For ISPs only -- December 6-8,
Monterey, California.
http://www.ispbf.org
** The Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research,
Industry and Education (CANARIE) hosts the third annual
Advanced Networks Workshop, December 15-16 in Ottawa.
Advance registration by December 1 is required.
http://www.canarie.ca
CONSULTANTS "A JOY TO DEAL WITH": Angus Dortmans Associates, who
provide independent telecom and call center management expertise, are
"a breath of fresh air ... the most efficient group of consultants I
have had the pleasure to work with," says Angela Smedema of the
Ontario Legal Aid Plan.
** "A very efficient and no-nonsense report," says Catherine
Drummond of Human Resources Development Canada. "I found
them professional and a joy to deal with."
** To discuss your management issues, call Henry
Dortmans at 1-800-263-4415 ext 300 or e-mail him
at dortmans@angustel.ca
http://www.angustel.ca/angdort/ad.html
============================================================
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca
FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE
Angus TeleManagement Group
8 Old Kingston Road
Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7
===========================================================
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There
are two formats available:
1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World
Wide Web on the first business day of the week at
http://www.angustel.ca/update/up.html
2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of
charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to
majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message
should contain only the two words: subscribe update
To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail
message to majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message
should say only: unsubscribe update [Your e-mail address]
===========================================================
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please
e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext 225.
The information and data included has been obtained from sources which
we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no
warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy,
completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on
interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If
expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a
competent professional should be obtained.
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: AT&T Canada Calling
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 14:04:44 -0500
AT&T Digital One Rate Benefits Extended Into Canada With AT&T Canada
Calling; No Roaming, No Long Distance To, From or Within Canada for
$19.99 Per Month November 23, 1998 10:00 AM EST
KIRKLAND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 23, 1998--New and existing AT&T
Digital One Rate customers can now enjoy added freedom and benefits
through their wireless service with the launch of AT&T Canada Calling.
This add-on feature allows AT&T Digital One Rate customers to
eliminate roaming and long-distance charges throughout Canada for just
$19.99 per month. The new AT&T Digital One Rate feature applies for
all incoming and outgoing wireless calls within Canada, from the
United States to Canada, and from Canada to the United States. All
other features and benefits of AT&T Digital One Rate apply.
"The introduction of AT&T Canada Calling is part of our continuing
commitment to deliver convenience, practical solutions and added value
to our customers," said Bill Malloy, executive vice president of
Wireless Operations for AT&T. "The number of AT&T Digital One Rate
customers continues to grow at a tremendous rate. With AT&T Canada
Calling, our customers now have a new level of freedom in wireless
calling -- throughout the United States and Canada -- all at home
airtime rates."
AT&T Digital One Rate is offered on three monthly calling plans,
priced as follows: 600 minutes of monthly air time for $89.99; 1,000
minutes of monthly air time for $119.99; and 1,400 minutes of monthly
air time for $149.99. With the core service, for one simple rate,
customers can make and receive calls with no roaming or long distance
charges throughout the United States. Additional airtime in excess of
plan is billed at a flat rate of $.25 per minute.
AT&T Digital One Rate plans require the use of a Digital multi-network
phone. These are the latest generation Digital PCS phones. They
provide customers Digital PCS features across the largest digital
wireless network in North America, operated by AT&T Wireless Services,
and throughout the extensive digital network in Canada operated by
Cantel AT&T. Digital PCS features include Caller ID, voice mail with
message-waiting indicator, extended battery life, text messaging and
other value-driven services.
Digital multi-network phones also operate with other wireless
carriers' digital and analog networks and, therefore, are capable of
providing service to subscribers almost anywhere in North America. The
combination of AT&T's vast digital wireless network and the
multi-network capabilities of the phones make AT&T Wireless the only
company which can offer customers such simple and flexible wireless
service pricing nationwide.
These phones provide wireless coverage throughout more than 7,000
cities nationwide by operating in the digital mode on 1900 MHz
networks and digital and analog modes on 850 MHz networks. Prices for
Digital multi-network phones begin at $99.00.
AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. operates the largest digital wireless
network in North America providing wireless voice, data and aviation
communication services. At the end of third quarter, 1998, AT&T
Wireless Services, Inc. had 9.1 million total wireless customers which
included 4.2 million Digital PCS customers. AT&T Wireless Services,
Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Corp. (NYSE: T), the world's
leader in telecommunications services and technology.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 11:50:11 GMT
From: Greg Monti <gmonti@mindspring.com>
Subject: Will 1+ be Required in Penn. Overlay?
On 19 Nov 98, Carl Moore <cmoore@ARL.MIL>wrote:
> You've probably already heard of 215/267 and 610/484 overlays in
> southeastern Pa. Today, KYW news-radio in Philadelphia said, not
> these exact words, that permissive dialing begins in December with
> mandatory coming next June. I am hearing "10 digits" and it is
> not clear if the leading 1 will have to be included.
There's been quite a discussion on the TelNum list (not nearly as much
on TELECOM Digest) since Carl's post. Unfortunately, not one of those
responding actually answered Carl's question.
According to a Bell Atlantic press release reproduced at the
http://www.areacode-info.com site, calls within the overlayed 215,
267, 484 and 610 area, whether local or toll, will be dialed with just
10 digits, with 1+ not required. Calls outside of those 4 area codes,
whether local or toll, will require 1+10 digits. (Pennsylvania is not
currently a toll-alerting state. 1+ has not meant "toll" in
Pennsylvania since 1994 or 1995.) The quote from Sandra Scott at Bell
Atlantic: "In addition, customers calling between the 215 and 610 area
codes no longer will have to dial `1' first. However, their calls will
still go through if they first dial `1.'"
This is a new dialing plan for the NANP; it's never been used before
(10 digits for the overlayed area, 1+10 everywhere else, without
regard to toll). It appears this could be a transitional plan. Once
people get used to dialing 10 digits on many calls, the 1+ could be
removed from all calls, and Southeastern Pennsylvanians would be able
to dial the entire NANP with just one dialing pattern: 10 digits.
For those arguing the merits of toll alerting, a quick reminder that
the non-toll-alerted portion of the US, while in the minority, is
*not* a small oddity in any way. The non-toll-alerting states include
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois and California, all of
which have much-larger-than-average populations. About 25% of the
area codes, representing about 30% of the US population does *not*
have toll alerting.
Greg Monti Dallas, Texas, USA
gmonti@mindspring.com
http://www.mindspring.com/~gmonti
------------------------------
Subject: Phone Sex Leads to Costly Affair
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 01:25:04 PST
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
Phone sex leads to costly affair
PERTH, Australia, Nov 21 (Reuters) - An Australian man has been
ordered by a magistrate to pay more than A$2,600 (US$1,664) for phone
sex calls made from a neighbour's house.
The man had been charged with two counts of burglary after he
allegedly broke into the neighbour's house to use the telephone to
make the calls, Australian Broadcasting Corp radio reported on
Saturday.
Records show some of the sex line calls lasted 50 minutes.
The man was unable to use his own phone, which could only accept
incoming calls because of a huge outstanding bill.
He was also ordered to complete 240 hours of community service.
REUTERS
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is this man a sex addict or what? Not
only does he incur a huge phone bill for the nothingness those
services produce, but he is willing to risk getting time in jail (for
the burglary/home invasion) as well. I've heard of people whose lives
are controlled by their sexual desires -- in less polite terms we say
they think with their private parts rather than their brain -- but
this example given is ridiculous. You'd think he might have instead
learned how to tap into the pair multiples around his neighborhood
or learned a few simple toll fraud techniques if he was that umm,
well, in need of sexual gratification, and if the phone was the only
way he could get it. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Nov 98 08:48:00 PST
From: lauren@vortex.com (Lauren Weinstein)
Subject: "This is AT&T" Announcement on 1+ Calls
Greetings. Persons using systems which might be confused by hearing a
voice *before* the called party has answered should take note -- AT&T
has apparently begun deployment of the musical "This is AT&T"
announcement for at least some 1+ calls in some areas. This may be
restricted to residential as opposed to business lines, but that is
not clear at this time. Persons wishing to have the announcement
removed will need to call AT&T and make the request -- reports are that
AT&T is quoting a 48 hour turnaround for the related paperwork.
There was apparently no warning of any kind to telephone subscribers that
this change was coming, which is, as far as I know, the first insertion of a
voice announcement in the midst of routine and successful direct dialed 1+
call setup sequences.
--Lauren--
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
http://www.vortex.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The same thing occurs on business phone
lines, at least around here in the Chicago area. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Bill Goodin <bgoodin@unex.ucla.edu>
Subject: UCLA Short Course on "Genetic Algorithms Workshop"
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 11:03:10 -0700
On January 4-8, 1999, UCLA Extension will present the short course,
"Genetic Algorithms Workshop", on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles.
The instructors are Mark J. Jakiela, PhD, Washington University, St.
Louis; and Matthew B. Wall, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge.
The robustness and versatility of Genetic Algorithms (GAs) have spurred
their application to a diverse range of problems, such as scheduling,
structural optimization, computer animation, and software generation.
As computation becomes increasingly powerful and inexpensive, more
applications should follow. This course is aimed at the practitioner who
intends to create these new applications. Genetic algorithms are
inherently simple in concept and application, such that the course
takes participants quickly to the actual use of GAs on real problems.
Current theory is presented as needed to understand the operation
and performance of GAs and to describe their historical context.
Participants are encouraged to bring a real problem that they wish to
solve, so that their working software prototype can be developed in a
supervised laboratory environment. The course is conducted in a
lecture and workshop format, where mornings are devoted to lectures
and afternoons to related laboratory exercises. Dedicated computer
teaching classrooms are utilized for the lab sessions. The course uses
the genetic algorithms library GALib developed at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology CADLAB, an object-oriented library written in
C++ that runs on MacOS, Windows, and UNIX. The course fee
includes a single-user, for-profit license for GALib. (If participants
would like to integrate GALib with existing software during the course,
they should contact the course instructors as soon as possible to
make arrangements.)
The course is intended for anyone who is interested in any type of
optimization, including engineers, managers, computer scientists, as
well as those interested in planning, operations, and operations
research. The course should also benefit anyone oriented toward basic
sciences, such as biology and sociology, where evolutionary models
may be useful. There are no limitations with regard to particular
technical disciplines or industries.
Prerequisite
Participants should be reasonably proficient in C or C++ and be
comfortable with the write-compile-debug process of software
development. The course workshops use Microsoft Visual C++ as the
development environment.
The course fee is $1595, which includes extensive course materials.
These materials are for participants only, and are not for sale.
For a more information and a complete course description, please
contact Marcus Hennessy at:
(310) 825-1047
(310) 206-2815 fax
mhenness@unex.ucla.edu
http://www.unex.ucla.edu/shortcourses
This course may also be presented on-site at company locations.
------------------------------
From: wbrownlo@my-dejanews.com (William Brownlow)
Subject: Happy Thanksgiving
Date: Fri, 27 Nov 1998 17:11:27 GMT
Organization: Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion
Pat,
have a Happy Thanksgiving, and post when you have the time.
Thanks for everything you have done for this group over the years.
Sincerely,
William "Bill" Brownlow
"My employer has their opinions, I have mine. Occasionally they converge"
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, thanks very much for your kind
note and of course I wish the same to you and other readers of the
Digest and newsgroup. This past year I have been doing a few projects
intended to look after me financially, and as a result, there have
been fewer issues of the Digest than in the past. Do any of the old
time readers remember the early 90's when there were always six to
eight hundred issues per year and twice over a thousand issues in a
single year? I am thinking seriously about starting a new Digest at
the first of the year, which will be totally unrelated to telecom
topics. I expect this digest will continue as well. A reasonable ques-
tion from readers might be if I cannot produce telecom as often as in
the past how I will manage to do telecom and something new as well.
That's a good question, and the main reason I am not yet going to
make a commmitment to doing it. But the telecom forum is a rather
narrow one and there is *so much I want to say* that is not telecom-
related. Yes, I occassionally take liberties with this forum's
charter, but no, I don't want to do it on a regular day-by-day basis.
So that is my dilemma, and I need to do some serious thinking about
where to go with it. I suspect I will absolutely need to do it on
a sponsored basis; even for me there is a limit to my enjoyment of
macaroni and cheese as a dinner more than once a month or so.
In the meantime, with what is left of Thanksgiving, 1998, please
pause for a moment and count your blessings. PAT]
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #131
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Nov 28 20:46:19 1998
Received: (from ptownson@localhost)
by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id UAA22642;
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Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 20:46:19 -0500 (EST)
From: editor@telecom-digest.org
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To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #132
TELECOM Digest Sat, 28 Nov 98 20:46:00 EST Volume 18 : Issue 132
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Competitors Complain About U S West Rate Settlement With Colorado (T Cook)
San Francisco Bay Area Callers on Hold in Cellular 911 Calls (Tad Cook)
Future of Internet? (Ronda Hauben)
Re: Overlays in 215 & 610 in Pa. (Hillary Gorman)
Book Review: "Internet Messaging",Marshall T. Rose/David Strom (Rob Slade)
MCI Buying More Than Commercials on Roddenberry TV Series (Alan Boritz)
Switch Manufacturers Abandon CMA Show This Year (Alan Boritz)
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:
* telecom-request@telecom-digest.org *
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: 847-727-5427
Fax: 847-675-3149
** Article submission address: editor@telecom-digest.org **
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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
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*************************************************************************
In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order
telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has
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should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Competitors Complain About U S West Rate Settlement With Colorado
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 11:14:17 PST
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By Bob Diddlebock, The Denver Post
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Nov. 24--Several local telephone market competitors have told state
regulators that a landmark rate settlement the Colorado Public Utilities
Commission has worked out with U S West will only put more money in the
Baby Bell's pockets at the expense of consumers.
As expected, ICG Netcom, MCI WorldCom and McLeod USA have told the PUC
that an agreement it has drafted with U S West that could save the
telephone company's customers as much as $420 million over five years
"is harmful to the public interest, anti-competitive and may
contravene the procompetitive policies mandated by both state and
federal law."
At issue, according to the protesting companies, is how much U S West
has earned in excess profits over the last few years. To settle a
dispute over $84 million a year in U S West overearnings, the PUC and
Colorado Office of Consumer Counsel have given the regional Bell
operating company more flexibility in pricing and packaging its
growing number of telecommunications services in exchange for making
several guarantees to its customers.
Paramount among them: a moratorium on rate increases.
But ICG, MCI WorldCom and McLeod USA are charging that the deal
shortchanges consumers, arguing that the $84 million figure is closer
to $130 million, "and some believe the actual number may be more than
double the settlement amount per year. That leaves a lot of money in U
S West's pockets." A U S West spokesman said Monday that the agreement's
opponents "don't want consumers to get the benefits of U S West competi-
tion toe to toe with them."
The telephone company's agreement with the PUC and OCC would give it
more freedom in dealing with new competitors by allowing it to offer
packages that include such services as high-speed Internet access,
caller ID, voice messaging and the like.
The agreement, crafted over the last five months, also eliminates a
variety of proposed and scheduled rate increases, including a Dec. 31
rate hike originally scheduled to cover the costs of local calling in
the 303 and new 720 area codes. The deal also would require U S West
to make various investments in its network to insure call quality.
What's more, if the company's service falls off, it will have to give
back $15 million to consumers, according to the OCC. In a statement,
an executive at McLeod USA, which says it delivers telecom services to
eight Colorado cities, accused the PUC and OCC of "severely limiting
their ability to fulfill their role as a consumer watchdog" in cutting
the U S West deal.
The agreement's opponents said the deal "does not freeze local phone
rates or prevent U S West from seeking rate increases." However, Ken
Reif, the OCC's director, said Monday that the U S West agreement
favors such "small customers" as residences and smaller businesses,
which would have born the brunt of most upcoming rate increases.
Calling the deal "pro-consumer," Reif said it "isn't surprising that
(ICG, MCI WorldCom and McLeod) filed. They've been unable, themselves,
to agree on how to give U S West any pricing flexibility."
A PUC spokeswoman said the commission's staff has endorsed the
settlement, and suggested that the three commissioners approve
it. However, she added that the full commission "will make its own
decision." The PUC has scheduled a meeting today at 8 a.m., when it is
expected to set the ground rules and timetable for considering the
deal.
------------------------------
Subject: San Francisco Bay Area Callers on Hold in Cellular 911 Calls
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 08:06:38 PST
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- San Francisco Bay area residents who dialed 911
from a cell phone are languishing on hold more than half the time and as
long as seven minutes before their calls are answered.
As recently as September, about 5,000 callers were delayed more than
two minutes, and twice that many hung up or were cut off before
reaching an operator, according to a report in Sunday's San Francisco
Examiner.
The callers were on hold an average of 39 seconds.
Bay area dispatcher Josie Hodson said she was worried the delays would
continue until "somebody dies -- and then everybody will be asking why
it took a tragedy to make the state do the right thing."
Highway Patrol Commissioner Dwight Helmick said two years ago that
people would see improvement within a year. The California Highway
Patrol hoped to field all 911 calls within 10 seconds.
At the Golden Gate Communication Center in Vallejo, where all cell 911
calls from the nine-county area first go, the CHP has aggressively
hired more operators and recruited retired CHP officers to work phones
during peak hours.
"I cannot argue that we have a serious problem with our 911, but we've
been working very hard on it," Helmick said. "We're up against a very
complex situation, but we've been taking a number of steps to help us
answer these calls just as quickly as possible."
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: We finally started receiving cellular
911 service in the Chicago area; the central dispatch is operated by
Ameritech! No police agencies are involved in it directly; they just
get calls from the Ameritech dispatchers who it appears have been
very well trained in local geography, village boundaries and the like.
It is obviously a losing proposition for Ameritech financially since
they provide the service free of charge to their subscribers who dial
911 from their cellular phone. I congratulate them for starting it. PAT]
------------------------------
From: rh120@columbia.edu (Ronda Hauben)
Subject: Future of Internet?
Date: 28 Nov 1998 16:20:39 GMT
Organization: Columbia University
Reply-To: rh120@columbia.edu
A story in {Wired} says that the U.S. government is rushing ahead with
its plan to give away essential cooperative public Internet assets to
the private corporation it has created that is being called ICANN.
URL: http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/16469.html
What started out as a situation to deal with making decisions over
domain names has become an excuse to give away key control over the
Internet to unknown people and powers.
There was a great deal of dissent at the meeting in Boston on Nov. 14
where the ICANN Board of Directors appeared, and explained that they
didn't know anything about the Internet and that was why they were
asked to serve on the Board of Directors. But this Board of Directors
is for a private corporation to make policy decisions and to get
ownership and control over the essential functions of the Internet,
including the domain name system, the IP numbers, the root server
system, and the protocols, etc.
This is no small matter for some people who know nothing about the
Internet, and so it all raises the very serious question what is
behind this, why is the U.S. government doing this, and what is their
plan for the Internet if they are rushing ahead with a time table that
makes no logical sense to many of those who are concerned about the
present and the future of the Internet?
Also the fact this has all been carried out via a very secret process,
where no one knows who has made the decisions of who should be on the
Interim Board of Directors, how the bylaws and article were created
for the new corporation, etc. raises the question of who has to hide
behind the scenes to carry this out and why.
There has been a problem with domain names that needed to be solved. A
recent post on Usenet suggested that domain names should be
distributed like license plates, by an appropriate government agency
for an administrative fee.
This is only one of the kinds of proposals that could be discussed if
that were the purpose of some group to solve the domain name
controversy.
But it is clear from the events surrounding the creation and formation
of ICANN that its charter is to encompass control over the Internet's
essential function, and it is to be given these precious assets, and
thus it is *not* being created in any fashion to genuinely solve any
problem, but instead to create a new and very serious problem for the
Internet and its present and future.
Several weeks ago I was invited to give a talk in Vienna about
Internet governance and the lessons from the history of the Net toward
understanding what principles would guide genuine Internet governance.
(http://www.columbia.edu/~rh120/other/talk_governance.txt)
What is happening is the very opposite of creating any form of
Internet governance because it is removing any of the important
decisions regarding the present and future of the Internet from the
Internet community and from those who have an understanding of the
growth and development of the Internet and it is putting those
decisions into unknown hands to solve in a way to serve very narrow
and particular interests.
At the Boston meeting, some folks talked about the need for an
international public utility to administer these essential Internet
functions, rather than a private corporation.
However, the U.S. government wasn't listening, and doesn't seem to be
able to hear anything people have to say at this point. Instead they
seem to have a time table that is being moved along on, despite the
concerns or contributions of people.
So the problem to me seems to be that it is impossible for people to
be able to communicate with the U.S. government officials conducting
this give-away.
And they are creating a Board of Directors and a private corporation
that is equally shielded from any two way communication with the
Internet community. Thus its policies and procedures can only be
harmful to the Internet. And by giving this private corporate entity
unbridled power and the ownership and control over very large sums of
financial wealth (which belongs to the Internet community), the
U.S. government is dooming the ability of this private corporation to
play any but a very destructive role regarding the Internet.
But this raises the questions of what is needed to own, control and
administer these very essential functions and assets of the Internet?
It seems the U.S. government has become incapable of playing any of
the good role it has played in the past in both the building and the
administration of the Internet. What then is to be done by the
Internet community?
At the meeting in Boston, the issue was raised that there are
procedures that have developed as part of the Internet's development
for making decisions.
Why aren't these procedures being built upon?
What is needed at this point to move forward?
The Internet has been built by encouraging user participation and by
encouraging cooperative processes and procedures. And the Internet
itself has made these possible.
The creation of ICANN by the U.S. government flies in the face of
these processes and procedures and is being used to fundamentally
change the course of direction of the Internet. It is an important
matter to be discussed and for the Internet community to determine
what means are needed to deal with this urgent situation.
Ronda
ronda@panix.com
Netizens: On the History and Impact
of Usenet and the Internet
http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/netbook
also in print edition ISBN 0-8186-7706-6
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Ronda, I think the problem is that this
net is making a lot of very powerful people extremely nervous. There
is no practical way for the government to control the 'pornography',
the traditional information providers i.e. print and broadcast media
have no control over the dissemination of the information (and as
they lose control their advertisers spend less on them), the people
who want copyright protections to last until hell freezes over are
less and less able to control the distribution of what they believe is
their intellectual property and the revenue it brings them, government
bureaucrats are having a lot harder time operating in secret ... and
more. Look at it from their point of view: the quicker the lid can be
clamped on this monster and the tighter it can be twisted in place,
the better off the world as they concieve of it will be.
Unlike some entity in a single place where they can, under some bogus
theory, simply raid the joint and shut it down, there is no way this
net will be stopped short of reworking the entire telephone network.
For every ISP which closes it doors, two more open. For every user who
drops off the net, three or four more start communicating. Unlike a
century ago where an 'anarchist' on the street corner preaching ideas
the government did not like would simply be arrested and taken away
to be hanged (witness the Haymarket martyrs here in Chicago who were
murdered by the police), there is no way everyone can be rounded up
and all the computers seized. Not the computers belonging to the banks
and the newspapers of course, just the ones we common citizens own.
There is no end in sight to this net and the incredible growth it is
experiencing. Can you see how that scares the fecal matter out of a
lot of people who would much prefer keeping the status quo? As Janet
Reno said not long ago, do you like the idea of a man sitting in his
kitchen in New York stealing a million dollars from a bank in Chile?
And it is that simple. This net has put everything up for grabs;
everything from the way we commit theft and fraud to the way we shop
for groceries (see http://www.peapod.com) to the way we bank to the
way we socialize and meet new people to the way we worship and
practice our religious beliefs to the way we are entertained with
Real Player and the Windows Media Player to the way we communicate
with businesses to the way we earn our living by telecommuting to the
way we convey our wishes to our elected representatives and oversee
the work (or non-work perhaps) of our public serpents to the way we
learn of events in the world and even, by God, to the way we molest
children. I can shop for groceries at the Jewel store in Skokie while
attending Sunday services at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA
while checking my bank balance to see if ITU in Geneva has sent my
grant money for the Digest yet for this quarter. And in the midst of
it all, an Instant Message pops up from someone with the very tradi-
tional greeting net-idiots pass to each other: "Are you M or F? How old?"
I often times answer that question by asking one in return: "Why do
you ask? So that you know if it is appropriate (by your lifestyle and
standards) to proposition me or not?"
You see Ronda, things are reaching critical mass here. The government
and the people who like big government have never before had to deal
with anything quite like this net before. You can see why they are
running scared can't you? And when you are scared or offended, the
answer is always to start a new government agency with lots of new
laws and regulations and hope the Supreme Court goes along with it. PAT]
------------------------------
From: hillary@hillary.net (hillary gorman)
Subject: Re: Overlays in 215 & 610 in Pa.
Date: 28 Nov 1998 01:39:58 GMT
Organization: Debugging our net or deworming your pet...
On Thu, 19 Nov 98 13:28:12 EST,<cmoore@ARL.MIL> wrote:
> You've probably already heard of 215/267 and 610/484 overlays in
> southeastern Pa. Today, KYW news-radio in Philadelphia said, not
> these exact words, that permissive dialing begins in December with
> mandatory coming next June. I am hearing "10 digits" and it is
> not clear if the leading 1 will have to be included. 215 & 610
I think it's pretty clear the leading 1 is NOT included. You just have to
dial ten digits. I guess you missed the BA press release:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 08:12:29 -0500 (EST)
From: Bell Atlantic News Made to Order <proactive@ba.com>
Reply-To: bounces@ba.com
To: medialist@ba.com
Subject: BA: Bell Atlantic Launches Campaign to Get Callers Ready for New
Area Codes, 10-Digit Dialing
Bell Atlantic Launches Campaign to Get Callers Ready
for New Area Codes, 10-Digit Dialing
Two New Codes Coming Mid-1999 in Southeastern Pennsylvania;
Callers Should Begin Dialing 'Ten-number Number' Dec. 5
November 19, 1998
Media
contact:
Sharon Shaffer,
215-963-6200
Harry Mitchell,
304-344-7562
PHILADELPHIA - Bell Atlantic is kicking off a campaign to
inform southeastern Pennsylvanians about the introduction of two new
area codes next year and a new way to make phone calls.
Beginning in July, local telephone companies may assign numbers
in the new 267 and 484 area codes to customers who request new service,
an additional line or - in some cases - who want to move their service.
The new 267 area code will have the same geographic boundaries as the
current 215 area code. The new 484 area code will parallel the boundaries
of the current 610 area code.
Existing phone numbers in the 215 and 610 area codes will not
change, but all callers will need to dial the area code and seven-digit
phone number - or "Ten-number NumberSM" - when they make any calls
within or between these four area codes.
"Customers in the 215 and 610 area codes should begin dialing Ten-number
Numbers Dec. 5," said Sandra Scott, Bell Atlantic - Pennsylvania area code
customer education manager. "If they forget to dial all ten numbers, the
calls will still go through for the next six months while people become
familiar with the new way of dialing.
"But after June 5, 1999, callers who dial a seven-digit number will
hear a recorded message instructing them to dial both the area code and
telephone number," she added. "Bell Atlantic encourages customers to
begin dialing the Ten-number Number on Dec. 5 to get used to this change
as soon as possible."
In addition, customers calling between the 215 and 610 area codes no
longer will have to dial "1" first. "However, their calls will still go
through if they first dial '1,' " said Scott.
The demand for new telephone numbers is exploding as people are
communicating more than ever using additional phone lines, cellular
phones, pagers, computer modems and fax machines. In addition,
Pennsylvanians increasingly have a choice of which company provides
their local phone service, and these competing companies require phone
numbers for their customers.
This heavy demand for phone numbers is driving the need for new
area codes in Pennsylvania and across the country. In fact, the new 570
area code will be carved out of the current 717 area to serve northeastern
Pennsylvania, and the 724 code was created in western Pennsylvania by
splitting the 412 area code into two parts earlier this year.
What's Not Changing
The additional area codes and move to Ten-number Number dialing in
southeastern Pennsylvania will not affect current telephone numbers,
dialing to reach 911 service, the price of telephone service or local
calling areas. A local call today will still be a local call when 10-
digit dialing and the new area codes are in effect. Customers can get
more information on their local calling areas by checking the customer
guide section in the front of their Bell Atlantic White Pages directories.
What Is Changing
Consumers and businesses must reprogram any telephone system
or optional service such as Call Forwarding that dials other phone
numbers in southeastern Pennsylvania by June 5. (NOTE TO EDITORS: A
list of some equipment and services that may require reprogramming
follows this release.)
For customers who want an easy way to dial frequently called Ten-
number Numbers, Bell Atlantic currently has a special offer for its Speed
Dialing 8 service. With Speed Dialing 8, customers can program eight
commonly called numbers and then dial them by pushing one button.
Customers who order Speed Dialing 8 before June 1999 will receive the
service free for three months. Speed Dialing 8 is $1.50 a month per line
for residential customers and $5 monthly per line for businesses.
Interested customers should call 877-246-3095 (toll-free) to order.
For More Information...
Bell Atlantic is kicking off its customer education campaign with a
newsletter that describes the new area codes and dialing change. Called
Extra!, the newsletter is included in customers' November telephone bills.
The company also plans to distribute information on the new codes and
dialing procedure at upcoming special events such as the Philadelphia
Flower Show.
"We want customers to adapt to these changes as comfortably as
possible, and we will do all we can to help minimize any confusion and
concerns," said Scott.
Pennsylvanians can get more information on the area codes and
dialing changes by calling Bell Atlantic's toll-free Area Code Information
Line (800-500-2167) or visiting the company's special area code pages on
the World Wide Web (http://www.bellatlantic.com/areacode).
Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With 42 million telephone access lines and eight
million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are premier
providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market leaders in
wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory
information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest
investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations
and investments in 23 countries.
ATTENTION 215 AND 610 AREA CODE CUSTOMERS:
Reprogram Now for New Area Codes, Ten-number
Number Dialing
Business and residential customers with phone numbers in the 215 and
610 area codes who have telephone equipment or a Bell Atlantic service
that currently dials seven-digit phone numbers in southeastern
Pennsylvania should reprogram that equipment or service as soon as
possible to dial the new codes and the Ten-number NumberSM for every
seven-digit number they dial today. This reprogramming must be
completed by June 5, 1999.
Some examples of equipment or Bell Atlantic services that may need to be
reprogrammed include:
* Computers used for Internet access
* Modems
* Speed dialing lists
* Automatic dialers
* Cellular and mobile phones
* Security systems (ask your security company)
* PBX business phone systems (ask your PBX supplier)
* Pagers
* Fax machines
* Call Block
* Priority Call
* Home Voice Mail or Answer Call with special delivery
* Call Forwarding
* Call GateSM Service
* Do Not Disturb Service
In addition, be sure to update phone lists, databases, billing records and
address books to include area codes. Notify business contacts,
associates,
friends and relatives of your area code. And be sure to include the area
code when exchanging telephone numbers.
For more information on Pennsylvania area codes or Ten-number Number
dialing, call Bell Atlantic's Area Code Information Line on 800-500-2167
(toll-free) or visit the company's area code pages on the World Wide Web
(http://www.bellatlantic.com/areacode).
Copyright (c) 1998 Bell Atlantic Corporation
---------------
hillary gorman...........Official Token Female..........hillary@netaxs.com
"So that's 2 T-1s and a newsfeed....would you like clues with that?"
hillary@hillary.net: for debugging your net or deworming your pet
Net Access...The NSP for ISPs....The NOC that rocks around the clock.
------------------------------
From: Rob Slade <rslade@sprint.ca>
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User
Date: Fri, 27 Nov 1998 10:17:38 -0800
Subject: Book Review: "Internet Messaging", Marshall T. Rose/David Strom
Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca
BKINMSSG.RVW 981011
"Internet Messaging", Marshall T. Rose/David Strom, 1998,
0-13-978610-4, U$44.95/C$63.00
%A Marshall T. Rose
%A David Strom david@strom.com
%C One Lake St., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
%D 1998
%G 0-13-978610-4
%I Prentice Hall
%O U$44.95/C$63.00 +1-201-236-7139 fax: +1-201-236-7131
%P 307 p.
%T "Internet Messaging: From the Desktop to the Enterprise"
Email is pretty amazing. When I reviewed the first book I received on
email I was disappointed because it dealt strictly with internal email
for companies. When I received the first book on Internet email I was
disappointed because it was a simplistic and limited look at this
powerful tool. Rose and Strom have gone slightly beyond the naive
user, but I am still waiting for a really solid book on the subject.
Chapter one notes that although email is extraordinarily useful it is
increasingly subject to annoyances and management problems that make
it less effective than it might otherwise be. The material in the
book is said to be based on twelve common problems, divided, two to a
chapter, into a matrix of three activities (receiving, sending, and
general) and two levels (desktop and enterprise). There is a big list
of things that the book is not, although it is said to be directed at
the corporate and business email user.
Chapter two looks at the problems of handling large volumes of mail,
and also at the diagnosing of error messages. Large numbers of
messages may arise for both legitimate (mailing list) and illegitimate
(spam) sources. The options for handling it are presented for MS
Outlook Express 4.01, Netscape Messenger 4.04, Eudora 4.0, cc:Mail
8.1, WinCIM 3.02, and AOL's 3.0 mailer. The information on error
messages contains a good deal of useful information, and explains
headers very thoroughly. While the stated content of chapter three is
the creation of mailing lists and integration with other applications,
only the first of these seems to be addressed. Again, mailing list
functions are described for a set of mailers (and the failure to
include Pegasus is very noticeable at this point). The "integration"
seems to relate only to the creation of attachments, and the MIME
(Multipurpose Internet Message Extensions) standard. Identity and
confidentiality do have some commonality in chapter four. As well as
options for multiple mail identities and certificate signing, there is
a brief discussion of PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) as offered by Network
Associates and S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Messaging
Extensions).
Most of chapter five is dedicated to means to get at your mail when
you are not at your normal desk. The material covers a lot of ground,
including some aspects of the new IMAP (Interactive Message Access
Protocol) standard. The use of email for customer service is a minor
add-on. Chapter six looks at LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access
Protocol) and some commercial email to fax and pager services. I was
rather surprised at the number of available search and gateway
functions that were not mentioned. Problems with attachments and
Internet compatibility of various gateways is reviewed in chapter
seven. While some quite important pieces of advice are relayed other
significant bits are left out, and I was not real thrilled with the
recommendations on virus protection.
Chapter eight closes off without really saying anything except that
email is going to change as time goes on.
This book does provide the email user with some handy information and
suggestions that aren't necessarily widely known and can help make
email a more useful tool. There is an abundance of material that can
help the user with a year or two of experience under his or her belt.
The specificity to the six programs dealt with does limit the
advantage somewhat, although users of other systems can take hints
from the content in the text to direct their own explorations.
But I'm still waiting for the Internet email book.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKINMSSG.RVW 981011
rslade@vcn.bc.ca rslade@sprint.ca robertslade@usa.net p1@canada.com
Subscribe to techbooks mailing list at techbooks-subscribe@egroups.com
or via the Web at http://www.eGroups.com/list/techbooks/
Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses, 0-387-94663-2 (800-SPRINGER)
------------------------------
From: aboritz@cybernex.net (Alan Boritz)
Subject: MCI Buying More Than Commercials on Roddenberry TV Series
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 04:28:24 -0500
It may have seemed "cute" that a character in Gene Roddenberry's
"Earth Final Conflict" blurted out a pitch for MCI's 5 cent/minute
Sunday calling plan on one episode, but now "MCI" appears to be
mentioned within every recent show. In this past week's episode, the
same character mentioned (in the story) he owed his computer business
career to MCI, for allowing him to hack a UCLA (?) academic records
mainframe. And wouldn't you know it, "10-10-9000" was a sponsor for
both shows. 10-10-9000 is MCI's new directory assistance service just
launched by MCI in October, however there's no mention of the service
anywhere in their corporate web site (or anywhere else, for that
matter, besides by CNN).
------------------------------
From: aboritz@cybernex.net (Alan Boritz)
Subject: Switch Manufacturers Abandon CMA Show This Year
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 04:59:19 -0500
Disapointing vendor turnout at this year's CMA (Communications
Managers Association) show in New York. Not a single voice switch
manufacturer was showing product, with the exception of Lucent, with a
small office switch. Nortel (Northern Telecom), NEC, and Toshiba
didn't even bother showing up. Mitel was there, but wasn't showing
voice switches, and they shared half their booth with Winstar.
MCI and Sprint used to make a big showing, and didn't even show up.
AT&T was there, but you could hardly notice. Gone also were
Metropolitan Fiber (now owned by Worldcom, who owns MCI), and Teleport
Communications Group.
A lot fewer vendors this year than in years past. 10 years ago, they
filled three floors and all available suites. The great emphasis was
on Cat-5E and Cat-6 cable and ancillary devices, very little on the
voice side. This year, two floors were not completely filled. I
wonder if this is an indication that the CMA is declining in
popularity, or if telecommunications vendors have lost interest in
doing business in the nation's largest city?
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #132
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Dec 14 23:57:05 1998
Received: (from ptownson@localhost)
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To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #133
TELECOM Digest Mon, 14 Dec 98 23:57:00 EST Volume 18 : Issue 133
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Competition Will Cost Phone Users up Front (Tad Cook)
AT&T to Battle Southwestern Bell over Access Charges in Texas (Tad Cook)
AOL Merger and Netscape Public License (Monty Solomon)
Cellular 9-1-1 in Chicago (Greg Abbott)
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Competition Will Cost Phone Users up Front
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 11:29:21 PST
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
(from the San Jose Mercury News)
By Deborah Kong
Mercury News Staff Writer
Competition was supposed to cut your local phone bill. But it turns
out consumers are going to have to pick up part of the tab to help
bring competition to California.
Starting Jan. 1, Pacific Bell will levy a $1.92 annual surcharge for
each telephone line its customers have. GTE Corp., which is the
dominant local phone company in Morgan Hill and Los Gatos, will add a
25-cent surcharge.
The money is supposed to help cover the costs of making government-ordered
changes to the telephone networks to open them to competitors. Pac Bell
says its biggest cost has been creating the technology that will allow
customers to switch carriers without changing their phone number.
Pac Bell's surcharge of 16 cents a month may not sound like a lot, but
multiply it by the company's nearly 18 million active lines and it
adds up to $34.9 million annually.
"All that's happening here is we are being compensated for money we
spent to comply with new laws," Pac Bell spokesman John Britton
said. "We are just facilitating customers to be able to move to other
carriers."
The state Public Utilities Commission approved the surcharge over the
objections of its Office of Ratepayer Advocates, which represents all
public utility customers. Natalie Billingsley, an analyst in the ratepayer
advocate's office, said Pac Bell shouldn't be allowed to recover the money
until competition actually exists in the residential market.
"To our minds, if residential customers and small businesses or
anybody else are going to fund the costs of creating competition, they
shouldn't be asked to pay for it until it's actually here," she said.
In the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress ordered dominant local
phone companies such as Pac Bell and GTE to open their networks to
competitors. But while businesses today can choose from among roughly 50
companies offering local phone service, most residential customers can get
service only from their existing phone company.
Local residential competition exists in one San Jose apartment building,
where residents can choose phone service offered by the Tele-Communications
Inc. cable company, which is also planning to begin offering local phone
service later this month in Fremont. In some parts of Southern California,
other cable systems have also ventured into the local market.
GTE has also been offering local telephone service packaged with
long-distance and other services to a small number of Bay Area residential
customers, GTE spokeswoman Lois Kinman said.
Long-distance giant MCI WorldCom, which earlier this year tried to enter
the local home phone market, said it isn't fair for Pac Bell to be
compensated for routine business costs.
"I haven't seen any order that authorizes MCI to collect our costs of
getting into the local market, and we think it's inappropriate for Pacific
Bell to be recovering (costs) from all California consumers," said Richard
Severy, an MCI regional director for public policy.
Officials at another long-distance company, AT&T Corp., said they support
the extra charge. "The point is consumers are going to have to pay for this
introduction of competition sooner or later," said Glenn Stover, a senior
attorney at AT&T. "(The charges) make it possible for all competitors to
enter into genuine competition with Bell."
Billingsley of the ratepayer's advocacy office questioned Pac Bell's claim
that it spent $46.5 million in 1996 getting ready for competition.
The commission plans to examine Pac Bell's figures in hearings over the
next year. The 16-cent charge is an interim one, but the commission's order
did not specify when it would end.
In another move aimed at stimulating competition in the local phone market,
the commission is set to decide Thursday whether to approve a process for
more quickly settling disputes over housing competitors' equipment in Pac
Bell's central offices.
Competitors say the quicker they can install their equipment in the
offices, the sooner people are likely to get a choice of local phone
carriers. Pac Bell has countered that it's doing its best but has been
overwhelmed with demand in what it calls an "Oklahoma-style land rush."
------------------------------
Subject: AT&T to Battle Southwestern Bell over Access Charges in Texas
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 00:40:03 PST
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By Bruce Hight, Austin American-Statesman, Texas
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Nov. 30--AT&T will soon need every friend it can find in the Texas
Legislature for a backroom brawl with Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.
But in recent months the long-distance giant has shot itself in the foot --
with a machine gun.
The fight will be over the access charge AT&T and other long-distance
companies must pay Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. each year to
complete their in-state toll calls -- about $800 million. Southwestern
Bell wants the Legislature to extend a freeze on the access charge for
another two years, while the long-distance companies want it to expire
as scheduled Sept. 1.
In recent months, however, AT&T has gotten more attention for its blunders
than complaints about access charges.
"I don't know if it is that they're trying too hard or if they're not
coordinated," said state Rep. Steve Wolens, D-Dallas. "But it seems to
be a rash of mishaps."
Those mishaps include:
-- With little public notice raising by 50 percent the cost of in-state
long-distance calls under its widely advertised One Rate Plus plan. When
consumers complained, AT&T service representatives blamed the Public
Utility Commission of Texas, which had nothing to do with it. AT&T
suspended the increase for several months while it did a better job of
notifying customers -- and educating employees.
-- Charging the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston
$100,000 or more for calls made by residential customers. A state-hired
consultant said the misbillings are much higher, perhaps as much as
$400,000.
-- Getting fined $300,000 by the state for slamming, the practice of
switching a customer's long-distance provider without consent.
-- An AT&T lobbyist, Vaughn Aldredge, being fingered in September by
Wolens as the true author of language used by a legislative committee
in a report that favored the phone industry over cities in a dispute
about franchise fees. (Aldredge later said the language was a group
effort by the industry, not his alone.)
The controversy embarrassed the interim joint committee momentarily, but
its chairman, Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, decided not to change the
report. Still, it's Wolens who chairs the House State Affairs Committee,
which customarily handles all telephone legislation.
"They just keep stepping in it," complained Charles Land, executive
director of the Texas Association of Long Distance Telephone Companies,
whose 35 members are smaller long-distance companies generally allied with
AT&T. (AT&T is not a member.)
Edwin Rutan, AT&T's vice president for law and government affairs for a
five-state region that includes Texas, said that in each case where AT&T
goofed, the company acknowledged error and fixed it. For example, he said,
to avoid slamming AT&T no longer uses third-party contractors to solicit
new long-distance customers.
And, Rutan said, he's confident that AT&T can hold its own in the upcoming
legislative session: "As a company right now we are on a roll."
Others agree that AT&T's self-inflicted wounds were not fatal.
For one thing, AT&T is a giant in its own right. The company had about
$51 billion in worldwide revenues last year. Rutan won't say how much
of the Texas long-distance market AT&T serves, but he doesn't dispute
one estimate of 63 percent of the residential market. And he said AT&T
has about half of the business market.
"When you're an 800-pound guerrilla gorilla with a whole bunch of
zeroes on your balance sheet," said Land, "you're always going to be a
force to reckoned with, and you're always going to have influence."
Wood said he values AT&T as a counter-balance to Southwestern Bell,
whose parent company, SBC Communications Inc. in San Antonio, had
$24.8 billion in revenues last year.
And Wolens added: "This is not a slam-dunk for SBC simply because AT&T
is tripping all over their feet ... This issue is much bigger than
AT&T.
A legislative fight over 12 cents doesn't sound like much.
But those 12 cents add up to about $800 million a year that flows from
the pockets of local telephone customers to long-distance companies
and, finally, into the bank accounts of Southwestern Bell Telephone
Co.
The 12-cents-a-minute is the "access charge" that the long-distance
companies must pay Southwestern Bell to complete their in-state
long-distance calls.
"Anybody that's offering you the 10-cent-a-minute rate is losing money
on the intrastate call," said Pat Wood III, chairman of the Texas
Public Utility Commission. "They're not even recovering their access
(cost), much less their marketing and billing (costs)."
The long-distance companies say the state should slash the 12-cent rate,
saving consumers hundreds of millions of dollars, because it costs
Southwestern Bell less than 1 cent a minute to complete the calls.
Most of that $800 million is "a naked shareholder subsidy for Bell,"
charges Edwin Rutan, AT&T's vice president for law and government affairs
in the five-state region that includes Texas.
And the long-distance companies fear that, if Southwestern Bell gets
into the long-distance business, it will have a huge competitive
advantage: It will be paying the 12 cents a minute to itself, enabling
it to slice rates in a way its competitors cannot match.
But David Cole, president of Southwestern Bell-Texas, says the $800
million from high access charges keeps monthly bills for local service
affordable because the price for local residential service "is way too
low" compared to costs.
A 1995 state law effectively froze the access charge at 12 cents until
Sept. 1, 1999. Under the same law Southwestern Bell agreed to cap its
rates for local phone service until Sept. 1, which allowed it to
escape state regulation of profits.
The legislative theory was that by fall Sept. 1, 1999, Southwestern
Bell's monopoly on local service -- 77 percent of the state's
telephone lines -- would be cracking and the arrival of competitors
would keep rates under down. But while some competition for business
customers is beginning to appear, there's none for residential
customers.
So Wood has said the PUC, as of Sept. 1, could act on the access charge,
which could lead to a broader review of Southwestern Bell's rates.
Or as Cole put it, "The commission has threatened us with rate cases
publicly, and they publicly stated that they would go in and unilaterally
adjust our rates."
Southwestern Bell, already seething with frustration because the PUC
so far has kept it out of the long-distance business, says Wood is
reading the 1995 law all wrong. The right reading, Bell says, is that,
come Sept. 1, it can't raise its basic local rates without PUC
approval, but that the PUC would have no right to start a rate
case. And, it says, the PUC can't reduce its access charge unless
Southwestern Bell itself comes in for a rate case.
Just to be sure its reading of the law prevails, Southwestern Bell
wants the Legislature, which convenes Jan. 12 for a five-month
session, to extend both the access charge freeze and the rate cap
until Sept. 1, 2001.
AT&T and the other long-distance companies oppose those
extensions. They have gotten support indirectly from the Senate
Economic Development Committee, which recently said no new telephone
legislation is needed. And it's always easier to block legislation
than to pass it.
Under the umbrella of the Partnership for a Competitive Texas, AT&T,
MCI WorldCom and others have conducted a public relations campaign,
including television advertising, for two years that has attacked the
access charge. The ads ran often enough that most people now know it
costs more to call from Midland to Marfa than from Midland to
Honolulu.
AT&T, with 7,500 employees in Texas, won't say how much has been spent
on the ad campaign, but Cole said his research estimated about $10
million.
Southwestern Bell, however, is a political powerhouse itself. The 1995
law, which began opening the state's local telephone monopolies to
competition, was widely regarded as a victory for Southwestern Bell.
Effective at mobilizing its work force for political support, the
company today has 26,000 employees in Texas, plus 15,000 retirees.
Behind the argument over the access charge is a tough question: How much
are local rates subsidized by long-distance access charges?
And if local rates move closer to actual costs, as they are expected
to do as competition develops, will that leave some people unable to
afford an ordinary monthly phone bill for local service?
Southwestern Bell says the access charge subsidizes local rates. If
local service was priced at its true cost, Cole said, the monthly rate
would be about $20 instead of the $9.35 charged in the Austin
area. (The $9.35 does not include various other fees and taxes added
to the bill.)
But Southwestern Bell's critics have hotly disputed for years whether
local service is subsidized and, if so, how much.
Rutan, of AT&T, said Southwestern Bell needs only about 3 cents a
minute from access charges to keep monthly rates low. Throw in 1 cent
for actual costs, he said, and the access charge would be about 4
cents. That would bring Southwestern Bell about $266 million a year,
not $800 million.
On Tuesday the PUC will consider slicing the access charge by about 3
cents per minute in connection with creation of a new fee for the
Universal Service Fund, which would subsidize rates for particuarly
low-income customers, services for the hearing-impaired and customers
in high-cost rural areas.
However, that 3-cent cut would not reduce Southwestern Bell's total
revenues because it would be offset by revenue from the new fund.
The new fee would be imposed on all telephone companies: local,
long-distance and wireless. The fee, which the companies could pass on
to their customers, is expected to be about 5 percent of a monthly
bill. Customers might not notice much difference in their total
telephone bills -- if the long-distance companies pass on the savings
from a 3-cent cut, which they are not legally obligated to do.
Southwestern Bell's critics also say the company could well afford a
much larger cut than 3 cents in its access charge with no impact on
local rates.
The PUC staff completed a recent study that showed that, by traditional
regulatory measures, Southwestern Bell had last year earned $288 million
more than it would have been allowed if its profits were still regulated. a
rate of return, a measure of profit, of 11.82 percent. That compares to the
estimated maximum 9.47 percent Southwestern Bell would be allowed to earn
if it were subject to a rate case today, the commission figures showed.
In other words, Southwestern Bell is making so much money --"overearning,"
in regulatory parlance -- that it likely would face rate cuts by the
commission but for the 1995 law.
But Cole, who said his company is "not overearning to any extent," sounded
agitated at the very idea of discussing Southwestern Bell's profits. The
1995 law ended profit regulation, he said, and the commission's estimates
are "fraught with assumptions from 15 years ago that aren't even relevant
today."
If access charges were cut and local rates go up to make even only part of
it, there's another conundrum: The increase in the local bill could be
offset by the savings in the long-distance bill -- if the customer makes a
lot of long-distance calls. But those who don't make long-distance calls
could get hit hardest by a higher local rate, including those who least
likely could afford the increase, because there would be no offsetting
savings.
"Our main interest is that access is priced too high," Wood said. "It
should come down, but we want to make sure that it comes down in a way that
all customers get to see the benefit. It may not be perfect, but everybody
ought to see something."
Southwestern Bell also points out that, even if the access charge were cut,
the long-distance companies would be under no legal obligation to pass on
any savings to customers.
The commission, which has no power over long-distance rates, recently asked
for ironclad guarantees from the big three -- AT&T, which still has more
than half of the Texas long-distance market, MCI WorldCom and Sprint --
that they would pass on savings to customers in a way that all would
benefit, not just heavy long-distance users. AT&T and Sprint were willing,
but MCI WorldCom wasn't.
"Our position has been that we will flow-through all of the access
reductions -- we said that several times," said Neal Larsen, MCI
WorldCom's regional director of public policy. "But don't dictate how
that's to be done; let the competitive market take care of that."
Wood and Commissioner Judy Walsh, however, indicated at a recent PUC
meeting that they were reluctant to approve the new fee for the
Universal Service Fund if there was no assurance that all customers
would benefit from cutting the access charge. That would mean no
3-cent cut in the access charge.
Perhaps, Wood said, the commission should delay action to see if the
Legislature would give it authority to require that savings from cuts in
the access charge cut be passed on to consumers.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 03:27:09 GMT
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.COM>
Subject: AOL Merger and Netscape Public License
Passed along to Digest readers, FYI:
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 22:41:07 -0500
From: James Love <love@cptech.org>
To: info-policy-notes <info-policy-notes@essential.org>
Subject: AOL Merger and Netscape Public License
Message-ID: <365B7C53.5CFC2225@cptech.org>
Info-Policy-Notes | News from Consumer Project on Technology
November 24, 1998
The Netscape Public License and the AOL Merger
Jamie Love, Nov 24
This is a brief note about one aspect of the AOL/Netscape merger --
Netscape's "Open Source" experiment with the source code for its
browser. Tonight I was asked to look at the Netscape Public License
(NPL), to see what AOL could do to the Netscape code if the merger goes
through. It was pointed out that AOL could take all the contributions
made by the volunteer community and release a version of the browser,
with the Netscape trademark, under a different license agreement.
There are several sections related to this, but especially the
Amendments V.2 and V.3.
I am not a lawyer, and will stand corrected by a more informed person if
I am wrong about this. But it does seem as though AOL could "take back"
the browser from the Open Source experiment, in the following way. AOL
could not retrieve the code that has already been released, including
any modifications that anyone has made, but it could make any future
releases be protected under a new license agreement, including a
non-free and non-open license. This would include all of the previous
modifications to its code by volunteers. Indeed, AOL could continue to
"take" future modifications to its release code by third parties, since
they would still be covered under the terms of the NPL, particularly
Section 3,
"Distribution Obligations."
As a practical matter, users could not use any new features added by
AOL, without agreeing to the new license terms. I found it interesting
that Mozilla.Org says that Netscape has been funding more than 100 full
time positions to work on the development of the Communicator code, and
it is not difficult to imagine a case where such new features would
become important.
It is also interesting to compare the Netscape Public License (NPL) to
the Berkeley freeBSD license and the GNU Public License (GPL). Under
the Berkeley license, the code and all modifications would be in the
public domain, subject to embrace and extend, but by anyone (See
http://www.freebsd.org/copyright/freebsd-license.html). Under the GPL
or the LGPL (See http://www.gnu.org for details), all the code and
modifications would not be subject to re-license as a non-free non-open
product. This underscores Vinod Valloppillil's analysis for Microsoft
in the Halloween documents that the GPL provides greater assurances that
the code will continue to be available in the future. And in the wake
of the AOL merger, it illustrates the shortcomings of the NPL.
I welcome corrections or comments on this issue.
Jamie Love <love@cptech.org>
CPT's web page on this merger is
http://www.essential.org/antitrust/mergers/aol-ns/index.html
The Netscape licenses are on the web at: http://www.mozilla.org/NPL
Here is Section V of the Netscape Public License
V. Use of Modifications and Covered Code by Initial Developer.
V.1. In General.
The obligations of Section 3 apply to Netscape, except to the extent
specified in this Amendment, Section V.2 and V.3.
V.2. Other Products.
Netscape may include Covered Code in products other than the Netscape's
Branded Code which are released by Netscape during the two (2) years
following the release date of the Original Code, without such additional
products becoming subject to the terms of this License, and may license
such additional products on different terms from those contained in this
License.
V.3. Alternative Licensing.
Netscape may license the Source Code of Netscape's Branded Code,
including Modifications incorporated therein, without such additional
products becoming subject to the terms of this License, and may license
such additional products on different terms from those contained in this
License.
INFORMATION POLICY NOTES: the Consumer Project on Technology
http://www.cptech.org, 202.387.8030, fax 202.234.5127.
Archives of Info-Policy-Notes are available from
http://lists.essential.org/info-policy-notes/
Subscription requests to listproc@cptech.org with the message:
subscribe info-policy-notes Jane Doe
To be removed from the list, the message should read,
unsub info-policy-notes
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1998 13:17:01 -0600
From: Greg Abbott <gabbott@uiuc.edu>
Subject: Cellular 9-1-1 in Chicago
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: We finally started receiving cellular
> 911 service in the Chicago area; the central dispatch is operated by
> Ameritech! No police agencies are involved in it directly; they just
> get calls from the Ameritech dispatchers who it appears have been
> very well trained in local geography, village boundaries and the like.
> It is obviously a losing proposition for Ameritech financially since
> they provide the service free of charge to their subscribers who dial
> 911 from their cellular phone. I congratulate them for starting it. PAT]
Pat, I did some checking with some public safety folks in Chicago and
found out that Ameritech is not operating the call centers which are
taking cellular 9-1-1. Ameritech is simply forwarding the call to a
9-1-1 system or other answering point - so their investment is rather
minimal. Except for some lost revenue from the air time, they really
don't have much cost at all. We have been operating this type of
service for about ten years in Champaign County. In most cases, the
calls are routed to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) based on
the location of the cell tower which the caller is using. This is not
a perfect system, but it will work moderately well to get the 9-1-1
call answered until such time that the wireless 9-1-1 programs can be
funded and implemented. In a few areas of suburban Chicago, the
county or city may contract with a private firm to intercept the call
and route it to the appropriate PSAP based on the information obtained
from the caller. This works, as long as the caller knows where they
are (which is sometimes a challenge) and as long as the caller can
communicate with the 9-1-1 call taker. Anyway, Ameritech is one of
the primary carriers, but they simply carry the call to the PSAP, the
call takers you talk to are, in most cases, real 9-1-1 operators paid
by governmental agencies.
Just wanted to clear that up. Wireless is a hot topic among the 9-1-1
community ever since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 mandated that
wireless users have the same level of access to emergency services
that wireline users have.
Take care,
Greg
GREG ABBOTT 9-1-1 COORDINATOR
METCAD 9-1-1 Office: 217/333-4348
1905 E. Main St. FAX: 217384-7003
Urbana, IL 61802 email: gabbott@uiuc.edu
www.prairienet.org/metcad
"Saving the world - One call at a time"
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This is quite interesting. When I tested
this prior to my previous message, I wanted to see if anything had
changed from in the past, when dialing 911 from a cell phone reached a
recorded intercept saying 'if your call is an emergency, please dial
the operator ...' On that first occassion, when a live person answered
after I dialed 911, I asked the person what police or other public
safety agency I had reached. The person responded by saying 'this is not
a police department; you have reached Ameritech's emergency response
center. We relay your call to various agencies as needed.' For obvious
reasons, I did not want to tie up the person or the circuit with a
frivilous call, so I immediatly said thank you, sorry to bother you,
and disconnected. After receiving your message, I tried it again, and
the person answering my call this second time said essentially the same
as the first person: 'You have reached Ameritech's emergency response
center.'
I wonder if the calls are going to some police department on
special lines which allow that department to identify the caller as
a cell phone user, and rather than confuse the caller by identifying
themselves as the (name of village) police department -- possibly
causing the caller to wonder how he reached that place, and spend
precious time trying to explain himself and his circumstances -- that
department is identifying itself as the 'Ameritech Emergency Response
Center' on those calls only in order to get the callers to start
talking about what it is they need or wish to report. The theory
would be get the callers to immediatly report whatever is going on and
let the experts who answer decide who needs to be dispatched, etc. I
can see where ten or fifteen seconds or more of valuable time could be
wasted if a caller was frantic and asked 'how did I reach (village)
Police? I want the Skokie Police. Can you tell me how to call them?'
Then the dispatcher has to respond that s/he will pass the message
and the caller is not satisfied with that response and disconnects
then dials back, etc. The dispatcher has to try and explain to the
caller what is going on. Far better I suspect to simply have the
call answered with a phrase the caller is familiar with, such as
'Ameritech' and have the dispatcher be sort of vague about who/where
the center is located, encouraging the caller to start talking about
the actual emergency instead of wondering *who to call and how to
reach them*. Does that make sense? PAT]
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #133
******************************
From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Dec 15 02:01:01 1998
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Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 02:01:01 -0500 (EST)
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To: ptownson
Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #134
TELECOM Digest Tue, 15 Dec 98 00:17:17 EST Volume 18 : Issue 134
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Telecom Update (Canada) #162, December 14, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement)
What a Residential DSL Offer Looks Like (Greg Monti)
Who Should Pay For Cellular Phone Calls, Caller or Receiver? (Tad Cook)
New US West Features Refine Family's Control of Phone (Tad Cook)
Deja vu: AT&T revivifies Feature Group A! (Linc Madison)
FCC to Pull Plug on Baby Bell Mergers? (Monty Solomon)
UCLA Short Course on "Genetic Algorithms Workshop" (Bill Goodin)
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
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 11:15:04 -0500
From: Angus TeleManagement <angus@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #162, December 14, 1998
************************************************************
* *
* TELECOM UPDATE *
* Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin *
* http://www.angustel.ca *
* Number 162: December 14, 1998 *
* *
* Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by *
* generous financial support from: *
* *
* AT&T Canada ............... http://www.attcanada.com/ *
* Bell Canada ............... http://www.bell.ca/ *
* Lucent Technologies ....... http://www.lucent.ca/ *
* MetroNet Communications ... http://www.metronet.ca/ *
* Sprint Canada ............. http://www.sprintcanada.ca/ *
* Telus Communications....... http://www.telus.com/ *
* TigerTel Services ......... http://www.citydial.com/ *
* *
************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
** Microcell Calls for Wireless Number Portability
** Bell Gives Way, Will Continue PrimeLine
** Bell Launches DSL Lite
** Lucent Announces Canadian Expansion
** Nortel Acquires Newbridge Affiliate
** BC Tel Wants Right to Limit Payphone Calls
** Stentor Asks Looser Terms for Customer-Specific Tariffs
** AT&T Buys IBM World Network
** Microsoft Sells Canadian ISP Business to AT&T
** Look Launches Montreal Wireless TV Service
** Stephenson Leaves Stentor
** CRTC Cuts Proposed BC ADSL Rates
** MT&T Centrex Price Reduction Denied
** QuebecTel Rate Restructuring
** Siemens, 3Com Announce Joint Venture
** BC Tel Centrex Offers Combined Voice Mail
** AlphaNet Seeks Cash
** "Great A to Z on Call Centre Management"
============================================================
MICROCELL CALLS FOR WIRELESS NUMBER PORTABILITY: PCS carrier Microcell
Telecommunications has asked the CRTC to order number portability for
Canadian wireless providers. Microcell cited survey results
indicating that 40% of wireless customers would probably switch
carriers if they didn't have to change their phone numbers.
BELL GIVES WAY, WILL CONTINUE PRIMELINE: Bell Canada says that strong
customer response has convinced it to retain its one-number service,
PrimeLine Executive. Bell and the CRTC have received more than 300
letters opposing Bell's application to discontinue the service. (See
Telecom Update #161)
BELL LAUNCHES DSL LITE: Bell Global Solutions has launched Sympatico
High Speed Edition, offering Internet access at up to 1 Mbps in
Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City. The service, based on
Nortel's 1-Meg Modem, uses copper wire and requires no inside wiring
changes. Transmission speeds are less than ADSL service, which Bell
now aims to market to business users.
** Internet Direct President John Nemanic says he will ask
the CRTC to order Bell to allow other Internet providers
to resell its new DSL service. (See Telecom Update #145)
LUCENT ANNOUNCES CANADIAN EXPANSION: Lucent Technologies Canada says
it is adding an additional floor to its new headquarters in Markham,
Ontario, to accommodate a Canadian workforce it expects to reach 1,000
next year. Since January 1997, Lucent has tripled its employee base in
Canada to 650.
NORTEL ACQUIRES NEWBRIDGE AFFILIATE: Nortel Networks has bought
Cambrian Systems, a Kanata, Ont.-based developer of optical network
systems, for US$300 Million. Cambrian was 40% owned by Newbridge
Networks, which retains access to Cambrian technology.
BC TEL WANTS RIGHT TO LIMIT PAYPHONE CALLS: CRTC Public Notice 98-37
asks comment on a BC Tel request for authority to limit the length of
payphone calls, at the request of a location provider, provided the
limit is not less than three minutes. To participate, notify the
Commission by January 7.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/notice/1998/p9837_0.txt
STENTOR ASKS LOOSER TERMS FOR CUSTOMER-SPECIFIC TARIFFS: The Stentor
companies say some large customers demand firm price quotes not
dependent on conditions such as traffic volume and service
locations. Stentor asks the CRTC to draw up new guidelines for
customer-specific tariffs permitting telcos to make such bids. Public
Notice 98-38 seeks comments, which are due January 15.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/notice/1998/p9838_0.txt
AT&T BUYS IBM WORLD NETWORK: AT&T Corp. says it will buy IBM's global
data networking business for US$5 Billion. IBM Global Network in
Canada, which is operated by Bell Canada, is not immediately affected
by the deal.
MICROSOFT SELLS CANADIAN ISP BUSINESS TO AT&T: Microsoft is selling
its 75,000 Canadian Internet access subscribers to AT&T Canada Long
Distance, effective February 1.
LOOK LAUNCHES MONTREAL WIRELESS TV SERVICE: Look Communications has
launched its wireless digital broadcast service in the Montreal area,
offering up to 110 channels. Look says it has 2,000 customers in the
Toronto area.
STEPHENSON LEAVES STENTOR: Carol Stephenson has resigned as President
of Stentor Canadian Network Management (SCNM) and President/CEO of
Stentor Resource Centre Inc (SRCI). She has been appointed President
and Chief Operating Officer of the new Business Services Division of
Bell Satellite, effective January 4.
** SRCI will cease operations at year end. Ian Highet will
be the new president of SCNM.
CRTC CUTS PROPOSED BC ADSL RATES: The CRTC has rejected a BC Tel plan
to charge more for business ADSL Access lines than for the equivalent
residential service. The CRTC also ruled that ADSL Access is an
essential service, so the telco cannot charge more than a 25%
mark-up. (Telecom Order 98-1247)
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o981247_.txt
MT&T CENTREX PRICE REDUCTION DENIED: CRTC Telecom Order 98- 1246
denies an MT&T plan to restructure Band C Centrex rates. The
Commission, which previously approved the restructuring for Bands A
and B, says the proposed prices would not cover costs in Band C. (See
Telecom Update #158)
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o981246_.txt
QUEBECTEL RATE RESTRUCTURING: Quebec-Telephone wants the CRTC's okay
for a rate restructuring plan that will price all individual business
lines at $49.50 and all residential lines at $23.50. To take part in
Public Notice 98-36, notify the Commission by January 7.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/notice/1998/p9836_0.txt
SIEMENS, 3COM ANNOUNCE JOINT VENTURE: Siemens and 3Com are forming a
$100-Million joint venture to build equipment for converged voice-data
networks.
BC TEL CENTREX OFFERS COMBINED VOICE MAIL: CRTC Telecom Order 98-1235
approves a BC Tel Centrex option that permits customers to combine
their Centrex and BC Tel Mobility voice mailboxes.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o981235_.txt
ALPHANET SEEKS CASH: Toronto-based AlphaNet Telecom says it is seeking
an investor or buyer to fund the operation and development of its
international IP telephony network. (See Telecom Update #121)
"GREAT A TO Z ON CALL CENTRE MANAGEMENT": Participants are giving rave
reviews to Angus Dortmans' in-house seminar, "Essential Skills and
Knowledge for Effective Incoming Call Centre Management," led by Henry
Dortmans. Among recent comments:
** "Helpful to all call center people [including] senior
management and agents."
** "The most knowledgeable facilitator I have had the
pleasure of being with. You really know your stuff!"
** "A great A to Z on call center management."
For information, call 1-800-263-4415 ext 300 or go to
http://www.angustel.ca/angdort/adccs.html
============================================================
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca
FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE
Angus TeleManagement Group
8 Old Kingston Road
Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7
===========================================================
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There
are two formats available:
1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World
Wide Web on the first business day of the week at
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2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of
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===========================================================
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce,
please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext
225.
The information and data included has been obtained from
sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus
TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations
whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy.
Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available
information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on
the subject matter is required, the services of a competent
professional should be obtained.
============================================================
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1998 21:22:08 -0600
From: Greg Monti <gmonti@mindspring.com>
Subject: What a Residential DSL Offer Looks Like
Now that cable modems offering internet access are ramping up in the
cable TV industry, what are the local telephone companies doing to
compete? Here's some data culled from a mail offering for Residential
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service from Bell Atlantic Virginia.
[Pat, I don't want this to look like an advertisement, but I thought
Telecom Digesters would be interested. I have no connection to Bell
Atlantic other than as a satisfied (analog cellular) customer.]
Bell Atlantic's service is called Infospeed DSL. It works with any
DSL-equipped Internet Service Provider, or you can buy bundled
internet access from Bell Atlantic.net. It comes in six flavors:
kb/sec to home kb/sec from home BA.net included monthly
------------- ---------------- --------------- -------
640 90 yes $ 59.95
1,600 90 yes $109.95
7,100 680 yes $189.95
640 90 no $ 39.95 *
1,600 90 no $ 59.95 *
7,100 680 no $109.95 *
* = plus your ISP's monthly charge
There's no usage charge; it's flat rate. If one orders bundled Bell
Atlantic.net internet service with a 12-month commitment, one can also
purchase a Westell DSL modem for $49 (including the effect of a $50
cash back offer). The cheap modem offer only applies to the first
20,000 customers to order service by June 30, 1999. The fine print
says the DSL modem is normally $349 and an Ethernet card for your PC
is $50 to $60. It also implies that a DSL "splitter" must be
installed in the home to split the POTS service from the DSL service,
but doesn't state a cost.
Startup fee is $99 with your own ISP, or $148 with Bell Atlantic.net
as your ISP.
The connection is always on, and the customer is not sharing bandwidth
on the "last mile" to the home with any other user (since each house
is on its own pair). Uses the same wire pair as the analog home
phone.
Curiously, Bell Atlantic's data service marketing left hand does not
know what its Plain Old Telephone Service right hand is doing. I
disconnected my POTS service from BA in March, 1998, and I haven't
been a BA landline customer since then. The mailer was forwarded to
me in Texas by the Virginia post office.
The offer mentions "residence" and "household" in a few places but
does not explicitly exclude businesses from ordering the service. If
businesses can indeed get the service at these prices, it will
undercut T-1 internet access by a factor of more than 10. The last
time I got a quote for T-1 internet access for a business in New York
City, the rate was $2,700 per month from MCI.
Greg Monti Dallas, Texas, USA
gmonti@mindspring.com
http://www.mindspring.com/~gmonti
------------------------------
Subject: Who Should Pay For Cellular Phone Calls, Caller or Receiver?
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1998 19:06:41 PST
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- When you take a cellular telephone call, who should
pick up the tab?
In the United States, users generally pay for calls they receive. In other
places on the globe, the caller usually is billed.
Fans say enforcing that "calling party pays" or CPP system in the U.S.
would boost cell phone use.
But they claim the issue is getting a busy signal from federal regulators.
"I used to be more optimistic," said George Schmitt, executive vice
president of wireless upstart Omnipoint Corp. "It's not a front-burner
issue at the Federal Communications Commission."
The FCC began looking into CPP in September 1997. It stopped taking
industry comments on the topic in June but has yet to act.
One reason, observers said, is that enforcing a nationwide plan might
anger state regulators who want a say in communications policy.
Also, the industry itself cannot agree on the issue. Observers note
that even without a nationwide CPP standard, the number of cell phone
users has doubled since 1995.
AT&T Corp., the nation's largest cellular carrier with more than 8.7
million customers, had promised to jump-start the caller-pays system
this year but instead has concentrated on a new national flat-rate
plan called Digital One.
"It's a question of priorities rather than long-term strategy," Scott
Morris, a senior executive vice president for AT&T Wireless Inc., told
Investor's Business Daily for an article published last week. "Digital
One has greater urgency for us. Calling party pays isn't happening
overnight."
AT&T has begun testing CPP services in Minnesota but isn't ready to
expand the test, partly due to Digital One's success.
Digital One brought the company about 500,000 new customers this
year. They don't have to pay the usual "roaming" fees for using their
cell phones outside AT&T's coverage area. They also pay low rates per
minute of use -- but must buy a lot of minutes. Rates vary from $89.99
for 600 minutes to $149.99 for 1,400 minutes a month.
Because they have so many prepaid minutes, Digital One customers really
don't need CPP, Morris said.
"People who purchase large bundles of minutes are in a better position
to take incoming calls," he said.
Having the caller pay would benefit lower-usage cell phone customers,
who typically pay about $40 a month.
"There's a lot of opportunity in the low end of the market," Morris
said.
San Francisco-based AirTouch Communications Inc. offers CPP in nine
states. The company said it has been unable to expand the system
because some local Bell telephone companies are refusing to cooperate
on billing contracts.
Bell Atlantic Corp. said it supports CPP.
"The FCC hasn't moved nearly quickly enough on this issue," said Dennis
Strigl, chief executive of Philadelphia-based Bell Atlantic Mobile, the
company's cell phone unit.
Critics include the National Association of Regulatory Utility
Commissioners, which a year ago told the FCC it opposes national rules
for CPP and contends they wouldn't pass legal muster anyway.
"The FCC couldn't order calling party pays if it wanted to," said Brad
Ramsay, the group's assistant general counsel.
But the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, a Washington-
based trade group, says CPP is needed and could prompt people to use
cell phones for all voice calls.
"The absence of CPP is an impediment to wireless being a substitute for
local service," said Michael Altschul, the group's general counsel.
------------------------------
Subject: New US West Features Refine Family's Control of Phone
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 22:22:54 PST
From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook)
By George Beran, Saint Paul Pioneer Press, Minn.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Dec. 12--US West is offering three new services that allow telephone
customers to block incoming and outgoing calls at a separate monthly
cost of $3.95.
The services called US West Do Not Disturb, Dial Lock and Call Curfew
give residential and business customers control of phone use by family
members and employees.
"Customers can block incoming calls at dinner time, restrict their
teen-ager's phone usage or eliminate unwanted long-distance charges on
their monthly bill," said Gloria Davy, a US West executive.
Advanced network technology is giving US West and other telephone firms
the ability to create services like these and generate more revenue, said
Fred Voit, a telecommunications analyst with the Yankee Group.
But the services may have limited appeal, Voit believes, since they
are offered separately instead of as a package. "If you want them,
they're great services, but I doubt they are mass market services. If
they were bundled in a package, it would be a terrific differentiator
in the market."
Older services such as call forwarding, call waiting and caller ID are
growing slowly by being included in service packages, but have
relatively low market penetration rates, according to Voit's national
statistics.
Call waiting is the most popular option, with a 41.6 percent penetration
rate; caller ID is next at 29.6 percent; call forwarding stands at 13.5
percent and remote call forwarding at 2 percent.
With Do Not Disturb service, customers can block incoming calls during
time periods when no interruptions are desired. Customers can
designate numbers they want to receive, so they don't miss important
calls.
Dial Lock enables customers to block all outgoing calls with exception
of emergency 911 calls. The blocking includes long distance, 900, 960
and 976 numbers, operator-assisted and directory assistance calls plus
toll-free 800, 877 or 888 numbers. A special PIN code allows customers
to override the blocking.
Call Curfew blocks incoming and outgoing calls, except to 911, during
time periods the customers select. Designated calls pass through but
others get a recorded message that calls are not being received. No
added equipment is required to receive the services.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 13:28:31 -0800
From: Telecom@LincMad.NOSPAM.com (Linc Madison)
Organization: LincMad Consulting
Remember good old "Feature Group A" long distance? Many long years
ago, the alternatives to the AT&T Mothership allowed you to dial an
ordinary 7-digit local number and then punch in your account code and
the number you wished to call. Back in the early-to-mid 1980's, I
had a little wallet-sized booklet of all the SPRINT (all caps, since
it still stood for Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Network
Telecommunications) local access numbers. AT&T, of course, never got
into the FG-A business, since at the time all 1+ or 0+ calls went to
them.
Lo and behold, what should I get in my mailbox yesterday, but a flyer
advertising AT&T's new "Connect 'N Save[R]" service.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- MARKETING BLURB -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
So why is AT&T Connect 'N Save[R] Service a smart choice?
* At 7-1/2c a minute, it's cheap.
* It's easy. No switching. No bills. No long, itemized statements.
* It's prepaid, so budgeting is simple.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- END MKTG. BLURB -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"No long, itemized statements" -- in other words, no way to check to
see if you're really getting what you've paid for! What a feature!
You pre-pay $25, $50, or $100 on your credit card, and there is a
$2/month minimum usage. You can also sign up for the auto-refresh
option.
So far, they have only ten local access numbers: Atlanta, Baltimore,
Boston, Miami, Phoenix, and five in the San Francisco area -- Palo
Alto (actually Redwood City), Pleasanton, San Francisco, San Jose,
and what they mislabel as Walnut Creek (actually Santa Rosa, which
is not only in a different area code, but also over FIFTY MILES away
with no overlap in local calling areas!). If you're outside those
areas, they have an 877 number you can use for 20 cents a minute,
with a footnote that payphone surcharge may apply. (The web page
indicates that they are waiving the 30-cent connection charge for
payphone calls to the 877 number during a limited-time introductory
promotion, to be withdrawn with 30 days notice on the web site.)
I checked the international rates on the web page, and they're
nothing short of exorbitant, with the quite curious exception of
Mexico, which is only 35 cents/minute for all bands. Canada is a
bit pricey at 49 cents/minute, and *every* other international call
is over $1 per minute, ranging up to $5.99/minute for Myanmar/Burma
and $9.75/minute for some Inmarsat calls. Calls to the U.K. $1.09,
Australia $1.51, France $1.33, Japan $1.45, (South) Korea $1.82,
(North) Korea $5.38, and so on.
Most embarrassing, though, is the unbelievable gaffe of listing
(707) 741-xxxx as an access number for Walnut Creek. WALnut Creek
is in the new 925 area code, as we all know, and in fact the only
707 numbers that are local to Walnut Creek are in Benicia, which
has only about 7 prefixes.
In short, if you tend to make a lot of domestic calling card calls
in the cities indicated above, this could save you a lot of money.
For most people, though, it's a bust.
If you want more info: <http://www.connectnsave.att.com>
** Do not send me unsolicited commercial e-mail spam of any kind **
Linc Madison * San Francisco, California * Telecom@LincMad-com
URL:< http://www.lincmad.com > * North American Area Codes & Splits
>> NOTE: if you autoreply, you must delete the "NOSPAM" <<
------------------------------
Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: FCC to Pull Plug on Baby Bell Mergers?
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 13:58:29 -0500
Excerpt from Finance - Morning Call @ 12/09/98
** The FCC reportedly may pull the plug on two upcoming Baby Bell
mergers. According to the Wall Street Journal, federal regulators are
concerned SBC COMMUNICATIONS INC's (SBC: 48-1/16, - 13/16) $56 billion
acquisition of AMERITECH CORP. (AIT: 55-9/16, - 11/6) and BELL
ATLANTIC CORP's (BEL: 56-3/8, - 1-5/8) $52 billion merger with GTE
CORP. (GTE: 64-3/8, - 1-5/8) may not serve the "public interest." The
FCC apparently is worried the deals could lead to a slippery slope, as
the mergers would leave just four of the original seven Baby Bells in
existence. The local phone service companies were created in 1984,
when AT&T was split for antitrust reasons. Regulatory decisions
regarding the mergers still are months away though, and the Justice
Department appears unlikely to block either transaction on antitrust
grounds because in neither case do joining parties compete.
------------------------------
From: Bill Goodin <bgoodin@unex.ucla.edu>
Subject: UCLA Short Course on "Genetic Algorithms Workshop"
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1998 11:03:10 -0700
On January 4-8, 1999, UCLA Extension will present the short course,
"Genetic Algorithms Workshop", on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles.
The instructors are Mark J. Jakiela, PhD, Washington University, St.
Louis; and Matthew B. Wall, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge.
The robustness and versatility of Genetic Algorithms (GAs) have
spurred their application to a diverse range of problems, such as
scheduling, structural optimization, computer animation, and software
generation. As computation becomes increasingly powerful and
inexpensive, more applications should follow. This course is aimed at
the practitioner who intends to create these new applications. Genetic
algorithms are inherently simple in concept and application, such that
the course takes participants quickly to the actual use of GAs on real
problems. Current theory is presented as needed to understand the
operation and performance of GAs and to describe their historical
context.
Participants are encouraged to bring a real problem that they wish to
solve, so that their working software prototype can be developed in a
supervised laboratory environment. The course is conducted in a
lecture and workshop format, where mornings are devoted to lectures
and afternoons to related laboratory exercises. Dedicated computer
teaching classrooms are utilized for the lab sessions. The course uses
the genetic algorithms library GALib developed at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology CADLAB, an object-oriented library written in
C++ that runs on MacOS, Windows, and UNIX. The course fee
includes a single-user, for-profit license for GALib. (If participants
would like to integrate GALib with existing software during the course,
they should contact the course instructors as soon as possible to
make arrangements.)
The course is intended for anyone who is interested in any type of
optimization, including engineers, managers, computer scientists, as
well as those interested in planning, operations, and operations
research. The course should also benefit anyone oriented toward basic
sciences, such as biology and sociology, where evolutionary models
may be useful. There are no limitations with regard to particular
technical disciplines or industries.
Prerequisite:
Participants should be reasonably proficient in C or C++ and be
comfortable with the write-compile-debug process of software
development. The course workshops use Microsoft Visual C++ as the
development environment.
The course fee is $1595, which includes extensive course materials.
These materials are for participants only, and are not for sale.
For a more information and a complete course description, please
contact Marcus Hennessy at:
(310) 825-1047
(310) 206-2815 fax
mhenness@unex.ucla.edu
http://www.unex.ucla.edu/shortcourses
This course may also be presented on-site at company locations.
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V18 #134
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