Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa05099; 23 Feb 94 19:27 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA14328; Wed, 23 Feb 94 15:26:27 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA14317; Wed, 23 Feb 94 15:26:24 CST Date: Wed, 23 Feb 94 15:26:24 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9402232126.AA14317@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #101 TELECOM Digest Wed, 23 Feb 94 15:26:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 101 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson GSM FAX Transmission (Lars Kalsen) Lowest Number in the NANP? (Dave Levenson) Has Anyone Heard of Filex? (Bob Malik) Modulation Techniques (Fil Parong) Calling 800 Numbers in USA From UK (Julian Thornhill) Intern's Pay in Telecom (Ramaiah V. Narla) Re: Why Caller-ID Instead of ANI? (Les Reeves) Re: Phone Number History (David Breneman) Re: Vermont Gets Ready For NNX Area Codes (Bob Goudreau) Re: Digital Cellular Phones (Bob Goudreau) Re: Paging Available on Cellular Phones (Robert Wilson) Re: Area Code Closeness (Robert Casey) Re: Caller-ID Question (Jack Coats) Orange Card Mailed Out (Carl Moore) Another Misprogrammed COCOT (Carl Moore) Re: AT&T's New 900 Mhz Cordless Phone (Cliff Sharp) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: dalk@login.dkuug.dk (Lars Kalsen) Subject: GSM FAX Transmission Date: 23 Feb 94 19:00:17 GMT Organization: DKnet Hi outhere, I am writing on an overview article on FAX-transmission via the GSM network. I would like to know if anybody: - have some references to articles on the subject; - or books; - references to products; - any other information. If you have any information -- please E-mail me. Or if you have a copy of an article send it to me by ordinary mail -- or fax on +45 98 24 65 02 (denmark). Greetings from Denmark. Lars Kalsen Kingosvej 5 D 9490 Pandrup Denmark dalk@login.dkuug.dk ------------------------------ From: dave@westmark.com (Dave Levenson) Subject: Lowest Number in the NANP? Reply-To: dave@westmark.com Organization: Westmark, Inc. Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 14:54:09 GMT According to NJ Bell's automatic intercept service, the number 201-200-0000 is 'being checked for trouble'. The number 201-200-0001 has been disconnected. I didn't try any others in that prefix. Dave Levenson Internet: dave@westmark.com Westmark, Inc. UUCP: {uunet | rutgers | att}!westmark!dave Stirling, NJ, USA Voice: 908 647 0900 Fax: 908 647 6857 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why not try 0002, 0003, etc and let us know your findings. I wonder if they know the significance of their number? What about at the other end of the line, any from the 919-999 range? PAT] ------------------------------ From: u3212alb@elm.circa.ufl.edu (Bob Malik) Subject: Has Anyone Heard of Filex? Date: 23 Feb 1994 12:48:50 GMT Organization: University of Florida, Gainesville Does anyone know about a PC communications package called Filex? I think the company that makes it is giving out 150,000 copies of it for $10 each. If you have any info, please send email to: u3212alb@elm.circa.ufl.edu Thanks, Bob Malik ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Feb 94 12:32:58 EST From: Fil_Parong@ccmail.GSFC.NASA.GOV Subject: Modulation Techniques Is anyone familiar with PM and BPSK modulation techniques? Please reply to Fil_Parong@ccmail.gsfc.nasa.gov ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Feb 94 08:48:14 GMT From: jth@ionospheric-physics.leicester.ac.uk (Julian Thornhill) Subject: Calling 800 Numbers in USA From UK Does anyone know how I might call a US 800 number from the UK? As you might guess this cannot be done in the normal way. Even being able to find out the real chargeable number would be a help. Some firms in their ads only give 800 numbers and it is really frustrating when you want to call them ... Julian Thornhill Email to jth@ion.le.ac.uk Physics Department Leicester University University Road Tel 0533 523566 FAX 0533 523555 Leicester LE1 7RH +44-533-523566 (international) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: We've touched on this several times in the past year or so. You can attempt to to get through using the "USA Direct" service of the various carriers, and asking that operator to connect you. Some will do it, some won't. If you go through AT&T for example, the called party will be charged for a call from Pennsylvania. Generally the subscribers to 800 service in the USA do not wish to receive calls from outside the USA (at least on their toll-free line) for various reasons, one being that perhaps they are unable/not allowed/ do not wish to sell their products outside this country. Others would love to sell their products anywhere in the world, but have very stupid advertising/PR-droids who do not have any idea how telephones work in other countries. This comes up so often here, I am wondering: if I were to install a couple lines here which people could call from all over the world for the specific purpose of being reconnected to an 800 number, would anyone be interested in using it if they had to pay $10 per month and use a passcode to make the call (once they were connected through me)? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Ramaiah V Narla Subject: Intern's Pay in Telecom Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 12:04:09 EST I applied with the North American Telecommunications Association (NATA) for practical training after my master's studies in telecommunications. I received an offer, over the phone, of a summer internship -- $10 for an 8-hr day (allowance/pocket money for meals and transport only, according to the official). The work involved market research and report generation in the international and national telecom areas. [Of course, I declined the offer respectfully -- it's just not practical]. Anyway, what I'd like to know is: is that how interns are taken up? So badly paid? In the telecom industry, particularly? And, could an institution such as NATA be as resource-starved? (The official said they only pick up two interns each summer and pay them each just $10/day, due to resource crunch). Any feedback will help me understand the telecom policy and research job market better and my thanks in advance for it. Ram Narla narlaram@msu.edu ------------------------------ From: lreeves@crl.com (Les Reeves) Subject: Re: Why Caller-ID Instead of ANI? Date: 23 Feb 1994 09:38:27 -0800 Organization: CRL Dialup Internet Access (415) 705-6060 [login: guest] Scott Baer (baers@agcs.com) wrote: > Now, directly to my question, what is the (10XXX) PIC code for Cable & > Wireless? I would like to test this claim that C&W passes the > identity of the caller to the called party's Caller-ID display box. The PIC code for C&W is 10223. However, they *do not* accept calls from casual (non pre-subscribed) customers. Les lreeves@crl.com Atlanta,GA ------------------------------ From: daveb@jaws (David Breneman) Subject: Re: Phone Number History Date: 23 Feb 94 17:40:32 GMT Organization: Digital Systems International, Redmond WA David Breneman (ME) (daveb@jaws) wrote: > My parents waited over ten years for a private line in the 206-858 > exchange. Finally, somebody moved into the neighborhood (never found > out who) who would leave his phone off the hook at night. If you > picked up the phone, you could hear him snoring! When my parents > complained repeatedly about the danger of this situation, the phone > company (Island Empire, now Pacific Telecom) finally relented and gave > them a private line, but charged $1.25 per month per mile for the > distance between their house and the central (crossbar) switch in Gig > Harbor (Washington -- near Tacoma). This was about 1979. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: They should have called their party line > neighbor during the day and told him to quit doing that. Yes, you could > call your party line neighbor on the phone even though the logical way > of thinking was that if you went off hook, the line would become busy so > how would you reach him ... during manual service days, if you simply > asked for the other side of your party line (let's say you were 1234-J > and party was 1234-W) then the response from the operator was 'line > is busy', the same as if you asked for your own number by accident, and > people would sometimes do that. The operator did not look at who was > *calling* unless there was a billing function involved, she looked at > who was *being called*; the (cord) tip to (jack) ring test would 'test > busy' and that was her report ... bing! she was gone to handle another > call. So you tipped her off by saying 'calling my party line, 1234-W', > and she would say to hang up, let her ring it and pick up the phone > again in maybe twenty seconds. She could then ring on the line (yours > and party's would both ring) and if party answered she told them to > hold on a couple seconds until you picked up again. On our phone system, you could call somebody on your party line by dailing their number, waiting for the busy signal, hanging up, then allowing their phone enough time to ring and picking your receiver back up. Unfortunately, it was something like a 12 party line, and we had no idea who the guy was -- and the phone company naturally wouldn't tell us. The dial-the-number-and-hang-up feature was especially useful in that you could ring your *own* phone that way, too. Just the ticket when an annoying salesman or Jehovah's Witness came to call. > Anyway, your parents should have called the snorer, and with the music > of J.S. Bach's "Sleeper's Awake" playing sweetly in the background given > him a piece of their mind. My dad tried a police whistle on a couple of occasions without much luck. Apparently this guy was a heavy sleeper. > I wonder if the guy even knew he was on a party line or if he was > just plain inconsiderate Probably just ignorant. This was about the time the California Invasion started in Washington. I'm sure most of these folks had no idea what a party line was or did. Later the phone company got even with all of us -- when they switched from the crossbar system to an electronic one, about 1980, everybody got *new* phone numbers (206-851), and all of the old numbers (206-858) were assigned to new customers. That's what you get for complaining. :-) David Breneman Email: daveb@jaws.engineering.dgtl.com System Administrator, Voice: 206 881-7544 Fax: 206 556-8033 Product Development Platforms Digital Systems International, Inc. Redmond, Washington, U. S. o' A. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 12:45:32 -0500 From: goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com (Bob Goudreau) Subject: Re: Vermont Gets Ready For NNX Area Codes John Levine writes: > A flyer in my latest phone bill reveals that Vermont's new toll > dialing plan is 1-802-NNX-XXXX... > Personally, I find the new plan to be a big pain in the neck, since, > due to a peculiarity of exchange boundaries, it'll require that I dial > most free local calls within our town with 11 digits. Please explain these two statements. If it's a "free local call" (within the same area code, no less), then it's not a toll call, so why is "Vermont's new toll dialing plan" relevant here at all? Do you currently dial these calls as eight digits (1 + 7D)? If so, why? What is Nynex up to? Are there any other places in the NANP where local intra-NPA calls require more than seven digits to dial? Bob Goudreau Data General Corporation goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com 62 Alexander Drive +1 919 248 6231 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Around where my office used to be on Howard Street in Chicago, everything I called locally had to be dialed as 1-708-seven digits because it was fifty feet north of me which at that point was the end of 312 and the start of 708. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 13:39:47 -0500 From: goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com (Bob Goudreau) Subject: Re: Digital Cellular Phones In article david boettger writes: >> Careful. I think that when Alex says "all digital", he means exactly >> that -- a cellular system that using nothing but digital signaling. >> Dual-mode systems, which combine support for the old (analog) AMPS >> system with support for one of the new digital systems (TDMA or CDMA) >> are *not* all-digital. > If you're going to use this definition, there are no "all digital" > cells in commercial operation; there are merely cells which have some > channels dedicated to digital traffic and some which are dedicated to > analog traffic .... Correct. That is *exactly* the point I was trying to make, and which I suspect Alex was also trying to make when he said "It is difficult for me to imagine an all digital cellular network" in North America in the near future. I.e., the installed base of AMPS equipment is not something that can be easily wished away. I suspect that dual-mode systems will exist for quite a while, even in Canada. Bob Goudreau Data General Corporation goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com 62 Alexander Drive +1 919 248 6231 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA ------------------------------ From: rwilson@inca.gate.net (Robert Wilson) Subject: Re: Paging Available on Cellular Phones Date: 23 Feb 1994 14:11:48 -0500 The Fujitsu PCX cellphone has a voice chip which when the unit is set to pager mode will answer the incoming call, tell the party you are unable to come to the phone, and logs up to five numbers. This feature works well for call-screening as you can "pick-up" if you wish as the caller is leaving his/her number. Rob ------------------------------ From: wa2ise@netcom.com (Robert Casey) Subject: Re: Area Code Closeness Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 19:24:03 GMT I had thought/heard that the semi-random distribution of area codes in the USA was done to avoid confusion of numberically close area codes with geographically close areas. Especially in the same state. "was that area code 402 or 403 for Yerksville, South Dakota, Can't remember which my friend said", vs. if the two area codes are much different, "he said 70 something, lets see, that has to be 702 according to the phone book map". Phone companies tend to do the same thing with phone exchanges inside the same area codes. The phone company's got your number! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Hey, there was a time in the early days of area codes (late 1950's and much of the 1960's) when the same prefix was not assigned in two adjoining area codes. That was done to allow for 'community dialing' across state lines, where area codes always change. That is, '659' showed up in Whiting, Indiana. It did not show up in 312, 815 (since a tiny bit of the south end of 815 touches 219) nor in 317 nor in 216. The main consideration was the 219/312 closeness where until about 1970 or so, anyone in the extreme upper northwest corner of 219 (Hammond, East Chicago, Whiting, Munster) could call any number in 312 as seven digits only. Ditto in reverse. But once you got into (or past, I cannot remember which) Gary, Indiana going east then you had to dial 312 to reach Chicago. Then one day they announced that the little northwest corner had a choice: either they could being dialing 312 to reach Chicago, or 1+7 digits to reach elsewhere in the northern Indiana 219 area. Telco made the choice to go with the latter leaving Hammond/Whiting, etc hooked to Chicago for calling purposes. With the change in telcos in the late 1970's (northwest Indiana was taken away from Illinois Bell and turned over to Indiana Bell) the requirement of dialing not just 312, but 1-312 (!) to reach Chicago was added, and the 1+7D for the rest of 219 was dropped. PAT] ------------------------------ From: jocoats@amoco.com (Jack Coats) Subject: Re: Caller-ID Question Reply-To: jocoats@amoco.com Organization: Amoco Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 08:41:10 CST There was an article in one of the popular electronics type magazines (check your local library) in the last couple of months on how to build your own caller-id display machine. It would be easy to modify it (it uses a PIC micro processor) to have a serial output instead or also, that could feed your PC or whatever. The data, if I remember right, is 1200 baud. You can get a couple of codes other than just the number too. One is if you are out of the area where the codes are available (seems silly to me, if the phone company can figure out how to charge collect calls), and another code if the caller has the Caller-ID blocked. E-mail: jocoats@amoco.com Fax: 713/366-7570 Voice: 713/366-7120 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Feb 94 15:11:57 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Orange Card Mailed Out I have received the Orange Card (although the account has been active for a long time) There is a slight problem: My address changed in the meantime, and the card (mailed from the Harrisburg, Pa. area with the address of Spring Park, MN 55384) reached me through the mail-forwarding. The billing for calls made on that card is already being sent to my new address, but Orange Communications still does not have my new address. This is the letter I got, dated 10 Feb.: Dear Orange Card Customer: Please find enclosed your permanent Orange Calling Card. Please note that your authorization number has not changed and that the PIN number you are currently using will stay the same also. The procedure for using the card is listed on the back of the permanent card and you will note that it is has [sic] not changed. Thank you for your patience during our delay in sending your permanent Orange Calling Card. We appreciate your business! Sincerely, Orange Communications, Inc. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Feb 94 8:29:36 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Another Misprogrammed COCOT A COCOT I saw on a trip I just took across Vermont had (usual) roblems with 10xxx access code (I used 1-800-321-0288 instead of 10288) and also had this problem with use of the Orange Card: I was able to call 1-800-(Orange Card Number), get the resulting tone, then punch in the ten-digit code and the ten-digit number I was calling, then get the next burst of tone, but then got "DISCONNECTED" on the display I saw. ------------------------------ From: indep1!clifto (Cliff Sharp) Date: Tue, Feb 15 08:40:30 1994 Subject: Re: AT&T's New 900 Mhz Cordless Phone In article blaskin@panix.com (Bruce Laskin) writes: > (Most wireless home phones put out no more than 0.5mw.) I suspect you mean 0.5W. 500 microwatts, used with the el-cheapo receivers in most wireless phones, would give an effective range of about three feet... provided there was absolutely no interference. However, I remember something about Part 15 transmitters (other than spread-spectrum) being limited to 100 milliwatts. My really really el-cheapo wireless (49 MHz / 1.7 MHZ) put out about 50 to 70 milliwatts on a good charge day. Cliff Sharp WA9PDM ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #101 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa08180; 24 Feb 94 5:49 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA26629; Thu, 24 Feb 94 02:27:06 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA26614; Thu, 24 Feb 94 02:27:05 CST Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 02:27:05 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9402240827.AA26614@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #102 TELECOM Digest Thu, 24 Feb 94 02:27:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 102 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Cell One/NY and NYNEX Billing Errors (Douglas Scott Reuben) Microsoft TAPI - Who Has Reviewed it? References? (James Smith) "Convenience Calls" on Phone Bill (David J. Greenberger) Local CID Showing Out of Area (Richard Dervan) Wiring Diagram Needed For Rotary Dial Phone (Grimes G. Slaughter) Auto Attendant Equipment Wanted (charlesh@ngc.com) 1-900 as a State Moneymaker (Curtis Bohl) Re: Talking Caller ID Boxes (Dave Levenson) Re: Looking For Low Cost Phone System (Mike Renault) Re: Digital Cellular Phone Review (Martin McCormick) Re: Vermont Gets Ready For NNX Area Codes (Bob Goudreau) Re: Seeking Info on GTE Interactive Multimedia Systems Devlopment (Lichter) Re: Shortages of Prefixes in 800 (Richard Cox) Re: These Cell Phones Don't Work - Why? (Jay Hennigan) Re: Excel Telecommunications (miyoungberg@delphi.com) Re: Priorities (Dave Levenson) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: 23 Feb 1994 18:16:46 GMT From: Douglas Scott Reuben Subject: Cell One/NY and NYNEX Billing Errors I recently got my January bill from Cell One/NY, and noticed a few things: 1. SOME incoming voicemail deposits and retrievals were billed airtime charges. CO/NY, as a matter of policy, ONLY bills airtime for voicemail calls when one calls from their cellphone; all other land calls to voicemail incur no CO/NY-based charges. The calls which had charges were random -- some days it billed, some days it didn't. These calls showed up as "INCOMING", rather than "VM DEPOSIT" or "VM RETRIEVE". At first I just let them go, and figured they were correct. However, after closer scrutiny of the bill, I noticed that many of the "INCOMING" calls were billed when I wasn't even in NY, and my phone was off. I then checked my voicemail messages' time stamps, and the times on the messages coincided with the supposedly "INCOMING" calls on my bill. I called CO/NY about this, and they are investigating, but if you have VM with them, I'd closely check my bill this month. (It *could* just be a problem with my prefix, etc., so other customers in different area codes may not even notice these charges.) 2. CO/NY seems to charge a $.06 "access" charge for all outgoing calls. I had thought that the six cent/minute charge was what they billed you for calls to your local calling area, ie, NY, NJ, and now expanded to Fairfield County, CT. However, it seems that when you make a long distance call, you pay airtime (of course), the LD charge (at AT&T direct-dial rates), PLUS the six cent/min "access charge". This is so despite the fact that they supposedly have direct links to AT&T trunks and thus I don't see why they are "forced" to charge an access charge for LD calls. Moreover, calls to 800 and 0+ numbers have no six cents/min "access charge", which they should if the six cents are really designed to (ahem..) 'recover' access costs. It seems a bit deceptive to say "Oh, we offer a rate of 50 cents per minute!", but then in the fine print say "But most outgoing calls you make will also be subject to a six cents/min access charge." Anyone know what the deal is? CO/NY tried to give me some "legalistic" answer for this, although I explained to them that NYNEX didn't bill this charge (or do they bundle it?), ie, if you make an LD call you pay LD rates, if you make a local call you pay local rates; there is NO "access charge". CO/NY told me "Oh, they are the land carrier, and since they own the telco they can do that", which suprised me not only becuase they seemed so willing to acquiesce to NYNEX on this issue, but because it sounded flat-out wrong. 3. On a brighter note, CO/NY expanded the areas surrounding NY where you pay "home" airtime rates with NO roamer surcharge. They have basically included the Dutchess County (NY) system (previously $3/day, $.99 min), Sussex, NJ (previously $.85/$.85 per minute), Ocean County Cellular, and Litchfield, CT which McCaw just bought from Cell One/Litchfield (previously $3 per day?, $.85 per minute). They have also reduced the rates charged in most of their regional automatic call-delivery system. Note that this is NOT a change in the auto call-delivery regime; no new areas have been added yet for automatic call delivery. What they are offering is a DRAMATIC (and LONG overdue) rate reduction for roaming in adjacent systems. Philly used to be $.99 per minute, now, in the evening, I pay only $.27 per minute. NYNEX has a much more expansive automatic call delivery system, stretching from Maine to Reading, PA, to Virginia, but they still seem to think they can get away with charging $.99 a minute for incoming and $3/day $.99 for outgoing calls in most of their call-delivery (Mobilreach) markets. I much prefer CO/NY's regionalized plan, which now gives CO/NY customers a larger home calling area than NYNEX customes enjoy. It is certainly about time! Finally, NYNEX/NY seems to STILL be billing a $3/day daily charge for INCOMING Mobilreach calls in some of its partner (Bell Atlantic) markets. I noticed all incoming calls to Baltimore (SID 00018) were levied a $3 charge, while calls to DC (also SID 00018) were not. I've reported this problem to NYNEX/NY a number of times, and nothing has been done. Indeed, you can still call customer service, and complain that you were charged a $3 daily fee for a Mobilreach incoming call, and they will *insist* that you will be charged in some markets. This is simply NOT TRUE! If you receive a Mobilreach call, you pay only a per minute charge (usually $1) plus the cost of the toll call to deliver it to wherever you are. Customer service will regularly tell you there is a $3 charge, but don't let them stop you there (and they are good at it; they sound VERY sure of themselves ...:( ), ask to speak to the roam coordinator about it. You should *not* pay a $3 daily roam charge for an incoming automatic Mobilreach call. (How about Star Cellular in Maine, do they count too? I think so ...) Doug dreuben@eagle.wesleyan.edu // dreuben@wesleyan.bitnet ------------------------------ From: jts1@gte.com (James Smith) Subject: Microsoft TAPI - Who Has Reviewed it? References? Organization: GTE Laboratories, Waltham, MA Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 23:43:07 GMT Has anyone out there made a serious review of the recent Microsoft TAPI, its "telephony" interface for windows? I would be interested in receiving (or ftp'n) any that could be shared. James T. Smith Sys. Admin. jts1@gte.com 214-242-4341 ------------------------------ From: d.greenberger@cornell.edu (David J. Greenberger) Subject: "Convenience Calls" on Phone Bill Reply-To: d.greenberger@cornell.edu Organization: Young Israel of Cornell Date: 24 Feb 94 01:12:39 GMT I just got my monthly NYNEX phone bill, and I noticed something about the AT&T page. In addition to seven calls under the heading "Directly dialed," five calls are listed under "Convenience calls (collect, third number and other operated assisted." Now, none of these calls were operater-assisted -- I remember calling each of them, and all I did was pick up the phone and dial. I noticed that the calls under "Directly dialed" were all made before February 5 and those under "Convenience calls" after. What is going on? More importantly, what can I do about it? I was charged $10.03 for a 59-minute call from Ithaca, NY to New York, NY, as well as other outrageous charges for shorter calls. Thanks, David J. Greenberger (607) 256-2171 d.greenberger@cornell.edu [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, you might begin by contacting the Business Office and asking them what was the nature of the operator assistance; or if collect, from whom did you accept the call, etc. When talking to the rep ask if it seems peculiar that all these transactions took place after a given date. That's where I would start, by asking for an explanation. Have you done that yet? And ten dollars for a one- hour *intrastate* call is not on its face out of line. Intrastate is always more expensive than interstate. That's about 18 cents per minute which is customary even for 'directly dialed' intrastate stuff. PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: Local CID Showing Out of Area From: richard.dervan@atlwin.com (Richard Dervan) Date: 24 Feb 94 00:20:00 GMT Organization: The Atlanta Windows BBS - Atlanta, GA 404-516-0048 Reply-To: richard.dervan@atlwin.com (Richard Dervan) I had an interesting experience last week. I got paged by my computer indicating it had received a voice message for me. Since I was expecting a message from my sweetie, I went to a pay phone, called my computer, and picked up the message. When I got home, I saw OUT-OF-AREA on my CID box. The time of the call corresponded to the time that I called to pick up the voice mail. The restaurant I was at is no more than two miles from my house. Yet it showed up as out of area. Does anyone have an explanation for this? Thanks! Richard The Atlanta Windows BBS (404) 516-0048 9 high-speed USR nodes [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It did not have to be two miles away, it could have been your next door neighbor for all your CO cares. If it does not get the ID from the calling office, ie the calling office is not equipped with SS7, then the box will say 'out of area', no matter where it is. If your office gets the information but has been forbidden to pass it along, then the box will say 'private'. You have more than one CO in Atlanta; probably the payphone you used was served from a different exchange or CO than the one serving your home. Most likely that CO isn't modernized yet, but yours is (obviously -- you have Caller-ID) so your CO gets a call from the other CO which is unable to say who is calling. Your CO puts it down as out of area. That phrase is probably a misnomer; people would be better served by the message 'ID not available' or similar. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: 23 Feb 94 21:37:46 EST From: Grimes G. Slaughter <73647.562@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Wiring Diagram Needed For Rotary Dial Phone Where can I obtain the wiring color codes and wiring diagram for the classical AT&T (Western-Electric) rotary dial wall telephone with keys (push buttons)? Thank you. Grimes G. Slaughter 73647.562@Compuserve.com ------------------------------ From: charlesh@NGC.COM Subject: Auto Attendant Equipment Wanted Organization: Network General Corporation Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 21:42:57 GMT I am looking for some product which can serve as a phone operator. When you call some company, a message is usually returned "please dial the extension", you dial and got connected. I wonder if some one can point me to such vendors. Preferably the product is just a board that can be plugged into an IBM-PC. Thanks in advance for the information. Charles ------------------------------ From: EXTMO4H@mizzou1.missouri.edu (Missouri 4-H Youth Development Programs) Subject: 1-900 as a State Moneymaker Date: Wed, 23 Feb 94 15:54:27 CST Organization: University of Missouri, Columbia Here's a new way for state government to separate more cash from your wallet. Heard on the news today that Missouri state government has started a 1-900 number for businesses to find the provider of the lowest-cost workers' compensation insurance. They are charging $1 /min, with $.45-.55 to go to the state general revenue fund. Just a new method to rob people for information they should be providing free as a public service. Curtis Bohl Computer Programmer/Analyst extmo4h@mizzou1.missouri.edu 4-H Youth Development Alternate: bohlc@ext.missouri.edu Programs (314) 882-2034 University of Missouri-Columbia [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Quite a few states which formerly gave Secretary of State Corporate Records Information -- public information; nothing secret or special about it -- over the phone freely have now gone to 900 service. Anyone who wants to find out who the officers or owners of a corporation are, or the name of the attorney representing the corporation or a variety of other legal things about a company need only inquire at the Secretary of State in the state where the firm is incorporated. It used to be you called and asked. Now you dial a 900 number and speak with them. They get the buck or two as a fee for the services rendered. And rumor has it a few libraries have gotten so sick and tired of having to devote a clerk full time to taking calls for criss-cross book inquiries from collection agencies that they'll start using 900 also to mitigate some of the expense involved. :( The Chicago Public Library gets 100-150 such calls each day, and now they have one person and a specific extension on their centrex just to handle those calls, one after another all day. PAT] ------------------------------ From: dave@westmark.com (Dave Levenson) Subject: Re: Talking Caller ID Boxes Reply-To: dave@westmark.com Organization: Westmark, Inc. Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 15:21:55 GMT elana@netcom.com (Elana Beach) writes: > I figure that by now, someone has invented and is marketing Caller ID > boxes for the blind that speak instead of (or as well as) putting the > number on a LCD display. Where do I find one? I am not visually > impaired, but it sure would be convenient to be able to just listen > for the ID when the phone is ringing rather than having to stop what I > am doing and always run to the box to look at it. Any ideas out > there? A few years ago, when Caller*ID was brand new in NJ, I bought one of those little boxes that receives Caller*ID and outputs it in ASCII over an RS-232 port. I've used this box for a number of applications. At the moment, it is connected to a /dev/tty* port on a UNIX box where an application builds a database of inbound calls. When the service was new, I plugged the Caller*ID receiver directly into a Votrax Type-N-Talk (an ASCII-to-speech box). The audio output from the Votrax was connected to the paging audio input of an ITT 701 key telephone system. The result: On every inbound call, the speakers in the telephone sets (between rings) would intone: "zero two slash two three zero nine colon three zero two zero one six four seven minus zero nine zero zero" With some experience, one could listen to all of that and recognize that it was 2/23 at 09:30 and that a call was coming in from (201)647-0900. (By that time, the phone had rung five times.) Later on, the UNIX box received the data from the CID box and wrote an abbreviated message to the Votrax box, containing either the telephone number, or, if the number was in the database, a phonetic spelling of the caller's name. The phones then would intone: "John Smith", or "two oh one six four seven zero nine hundred" by which time the phone would only have rung twice. Now, we only have the database. The voice was cute, but became annoying over time. Dave Levenson Internet: dave@westmark.com Westmark, Inc. UUCP: {uunet | rutgers | att}!westmark!dave Stirling, NJ, USA Voice: 908 647 0900 Fax: 908 647 6857 ------------------------------ From: mmr@merlin.dev.cdx.mot.com (Mike Renault) Subject: Re: Looking For Low Cost Phone System Organization: Motorola Codex, Canton, Massachusetts Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 21:34:48 GMT danekind@CS.ColoState.EDU (keith danekind) writes: > The small company for whom I work is growing and we need to expand our > phone system. Currently we have two incoming lines, the second of > which has call waiting, and a data line that is shared by a fax > machine and a modem. We are currently not able to handle the phone > traffic and the boss would like an automated solution rather than > hiring a receptionist to answer the calls. We are interested in call > routing to one of several phones and voice mail. A PC based PBX would > be great! Basically, we would like the phone system to greet the > caller and ask him or her for an extension number. The system would > then route the call based on the touch-tones entered. The budget for > this system is $5000 or less. Does anyone have any suggestions on how > to do this or where I might find more information? Thanks in advance. Get a copy of {Teleconnect} magazine; many companies advertise in there who would support this application. There are several companies which make boards that plug into a PC to make the PC a mini-pbx. Some names which come to mind are: Dialogic Natural Micro Systems PCBX Excel (in sagamore beach, MA) Amtelco (nice stuff here) Bicom PIKA (in canada) This is a starting point. Shop around for features such as Voice mail and maybe DID support. Michael Renault (617)-821-7613 ------------------------------ From: martin@datacomm.ucc.okstate.edu (Martin McCormick) Subject: Re: Digital Cellular Phone Review Organization: Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 21:47:11 GMT In article dlr@daver.bungi.com (Dave Rand) writes: > It causes noise in my CD player, in my car's amplifier, on all home > telephone handsets (wired AND cordless). I suspect that it is due to > the transmitter turning on and off at a regular rate; even though it > is an FM signal, it appears as a low frequency AM, square wave > modulated signal. Nasty. We are going to have these problems until electronic systems can be hardened against RF signals, especially in the microwave and near ranges. The metalic traces on the circuit boards of electronic equipment make perfect antennas at 800MHZ or so and any transmitter that cycles on and off or varies abruptly in output level will induce noise in lots of different kinds of electronic equipment. The analog-style phones and UHF transmitters also have an effect on the same equipment, but the effect is much less obvious. If someone had an audio amplifier near an analog cellular phone or UHF transmitter, the speaker would probably pop when the transmitter went on and off, but there would be no other sound while it was transmitting. Tests with a volt meter might show that some of the DC operating levels were different when the transmitter was on and those biases might change slowly as the signal got stronger or weaker. The digital transmitters just accentuate a bad situation. Martin McCormick WB5AGZ Stillwater, OK O.S.U. Computer Center Data Communications Group ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 18:02:46 -0500 From: goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com (Bob Goudreau) Subject: Re: Vermont Gets Ready For NNX Area Codes > Are there any other places in the NANP where local intra-NPA calls > require more than seven digits to dial? > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Around where my office used to be on > Howard Street in Chicago, everything I called locally had to be dialed > as 1-708-seven digits because it was fifty feet north of me which at > that point was the end of 312 and the start of 708. PAT] Yes, but that was local *inter-NPA* calling, not intra-NPA. My original question still stands. Bob Goudreau Data General Corporation goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com 62 Alexander Drive +1 919 248 6231 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA ------------------------------ From: co057@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Steven H. Lichter) Subject: Re: Seeking Info on GTE Interactive Multimedia Systems Devlopment Date: 23 Feb 1994 23:41:36 GMT Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA) There was a media release that was here the other day that tells about testing and release in California. You might contact GTE Northwest and ask about it. I know a lot of the areas are testing and placing systems into service with schools. The above are my comments and not those of the company I may or not work for. Sysop: Apple Elite II -=- an Ogg-Net Hub BBS (909) 359-5338 12/24/96/14.4 V32/V42bis Via PCP CACOL/12/24 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Feb 94 21:50 GMT From: Richard Cox Subject: Re: Shortages of prefixes in 800 Reply-To: mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk Quoth Clive D.W. Feather: >> For example, British Rail's express parcel service used to be 0800 000000. In fact the number they used was 0345 000000. 0345 numbers are like 800 numbers, except that the callers pay for the call at the same rate as if the call was within their own local calling area. Richard D G Cox Mandarin Technology, P.O. Box 111, Penarth, South Glamorgan, Wales: CF64 3YG Voice: 0956 700111 Fax: 0956 700110 VoiceMail: 0941 151515 Pager 0941 115555 E-mail address: richard@mandarin.com - PGP2.3 public key available on request ------------------------------ From: jay@coyote.rain.org (Jay Hennigan) Subject: Re: These Cell Phones Don't Work - Why? Date: 23 Feb 1994 18:43:45 -0800 Organization: Disgruntled postal workers against gun control In article sdkuo@argo.acs.oakland.edu writes: > In article , seanp@garnet.msen.com (Sean > Petty) writes: >> Anyhow, the other day Comcast published a letter saying: "The following >> phones are not compatible with our system -- all Motorola Model 8000-D's, >> All Harris Equipment, All Sony Portables that have a Black label under >> the battery, and All Panasonic HP 500's that haven't been upgraded." > Maybe these phones only supported 666 channels? By checking the > station class mark you can tell if your phone has extended channel > capability (832 channels). The Motorola 8000-D sounds pretty old and > may only support 666 channels. If the SCM is 00 to 07, then it only > has 666 channels, if it's 08 to 15, then its 832 channels. I wouldn't think such to be the case. There are dozens of other makes of 666-channel phones, a lot of Motorola models (They changed the color of the label from black to silver on their mobile/transportable units when they went to 832), Okis thru the 400 series, all of the original AMPS compliant phones. My guess would be that it has something to do with autonomous registration or timing. I wonder if Comcast will be allowed to get away with this without some flak from the FCC, PUC, and the manufacturers involved. It is common for cellular phones to be sold with a three-year warranty, and even five years isn't all that unusual. Comcast is selectively denying service to certain makes/models of telephones that are otherwise FCC registered as being compatible with the North American cellular system. What happens when a roamer with one of these phones tries to call 911? What happens when a user has a warranty complaint of "doesn't work" on a phone meeting factory specs? Seems to me that whoever is providing the cell site/MTSO equipment has a bug that they need to fix, rather than forcing the users to buy new equipment. Jay Hennigan jay@rain.org Santa Barbara CA ------------------------------ From: miyoungberg@delphi.com Subject: Re: Excel Telecommunications Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 00:17:42 -0500 Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice) Excel is a LD phone service using MLM. I'd stay away. ------------------------------ From: dave@westmark.com (Dave Levenson) Subject: Re: Priorities Reply-To: dave@westmark.com Organization: Westmark, Inc. Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 16:00:38 GMT ACG@HERMES.dlogics.com (Andrew C. Green) writes: > Pardon a short digression from modern telecommunications here, but my > circa-1940 Monroe calculating machine is in fine working order, > thankyouverymuch. I rescued it from the old 123 N. Wacker building (in > Chicago) just before demolition, and it now squats proudly on my desk > next to my newfangled PC. > The Monroe can add, subtract, multiply and divide numbers up to ten > digits ... Somewhere in my basement is a manually-operated device called a "Trinks-Brunswiga Machine". This is like the old Monroe or Burroughs machines, but it pre-dated them by a couple of decades. Input consists of sliding a metal tab (which they called a cursor) in each column down to the correct value for that digit (the mouse is older than the keyboard?). When all of the cursors have been slid to the appropriate values, you manually move the carriage to the left (like the carriage-return lever on a manually-operated typewriter) and then begin turning the crank. To multiply, enter the multiplicand into the constant register, turn the crank, and watch the multiplier register increment. When its least-significant digit has incremented far enough, you manually shift the carriage left and continue cranking! Eventually, the product will be displayed in the accumulator. To divide, enter the dividend into the accumulator, enter the divisor into the constant register, and turn the crank backwards, watching the quotient appear, one digit at a time. You crank backwards until the bell rings (indicating that the declining dividend has underflowed). You then reverse the crank and go forward one revolution, shift the carriage right one digit, and continue. Eventually, you'll find a quotient in the multiplier register, and perhaps a remainder in the accumulator. It can compute a 20-digit product by multiplying two 10-digit numbers, and can also divide a 20-digit dividend by a 10-digit divisor, producing a 10-digit quotient. The machine is about the size of an office typewriter, is made of brilliant, finely-machined brass, and is mounted in a box with a lid that opens like a portable typewriter and has a handle. I think it was supposed to be portable, but it weighs over 40 pounds. I have it sitting next to a Western Electric 302-type telephone set, a local-battery magneto desk set, a Monroe electric calculating machine, and a 10x20 crossbar relay, and a few other monuments to technology, in a corner called 'the museum' by others in my household. Dave Levenson Internet: dave@westmark.com Westmark, Inc. UUCP: {uunet | rutgers | att}!westmark!dave Stirling, NJ, USA Voice: 908 647 0900 Fax: 908 647 6857 ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #102 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa11762; 24 Feb 94 15:50 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA06028; Thu, 24 Feb 94 12:01:27 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA06020; Thu, 24 Feb 94 12:01:26 CST Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 12:01:26 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9402241801.AA06020@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #103 TELECOM Digest Thu, 24 Feb 94 12:01:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 103 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson US West FEX Rate Hike! (Robert Dinse) AT&T SecretAgent 3.0 (David R. Arneke) Info Wanted About Home Information Systems (Hans-Dieter Zimmermann) Re: Paging Available on Cellular Phones (John Barcomb) Re: AT&T Says That They Can't Resolve my Calls' Origin (Al Varney) Re: Clipper Debate (Paul Robichaux) Re: Clipper Debate (Tom Olin) Re: These Cell Phones Don't Work - Why? (Gerald Serviss) Re: 200 "Exchange" Within 1-900 Numbers (Al Varney) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: nanook@isumataq.eskimo.com (Robert Dinse) Subject: US West FEX Rate Hike! Organization: Eskimo North (206) For-Ever Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 09:45:18 GMT I just got the bill for one of my FEX's and there was something that looks rather underhanded to me. I was wondering if anybody else has experienced this and has an explanation. On my bill, there was a bunch of service order activity, and the new rates went up. I had not requested any changes to this line. They removed one FNX Foreign Exchange Business Line with a monthly rate of $29.20 and added one FNH Foreign Exchange Hunting or Key Line - Complex, with a monthly rate of $43.10, now reduced by the WUTC order to $38.10, still $8.90 more than the old rate. For what it's worth, this line has ALWAYS had call forwarding busy line expanded into a Seattle UCD group. I have not requested any changes to this line, but they also billed me $7.29 for order activity. In the same bill they had the nerve to include an insert telling me how they have generously lowered my rates as part of a revenue sharing plan! I don't know what this is supposed to mean, but I feel like I've just been shafted. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Have you called the Business Office to get a precise explanation? There might have been a billing error which had to be (is getting) corrected on your next statement. Keep us advised. PAT] ------------------------------ From: darneke@attmail.com (David R Arneke) Date: 24 Feb 94 10:59:05 GMT Subject: AT&T SecretAgent 3.0 FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES: David Arneke, AT&T Secure Communications Systems 910 279-7680 (office) 910 273-5687 (home) !darneke (ATTMAIL) or david.arneke@att.com (Internet) AT&T ADDS RSA SECURITY TECHNOLOGY TO SECRETAGENT (TM) SOFTWARE GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- AT&T has added RSA security technology to its SecretAgent software in an upgrade that makes the program more versatile, easier to use and faster. Other major new capabilities in AT&T SecretAgent Version 3.0 include: -- User-transparent support of RSA and DSA public keys. Users can generate RSA keys or DSA keys and communicate signed and encrypted messages with other SecretAgent 3.0 users regardless of their choice of public key algorithms. -- Cross-platform compatibility among MS-DOS, Windows, Macintosh and various UNIX operating systems. Information secured on one operating system can be processed transparently on any of the others. -- Mail-enabled operation through the widely supported Vendor-Independent Messaging (VIM) interface. -- Significantly faster implementation of DES encryption and DSA signing and validation. Version 3.0 adds the RSA cryptosystem for digital signatures and key management to SecretAgent's capabilities, which already included DES encryption, the NIST Digital Sig- nature Algorithm (DSA) and the federal Secure Hash Standard (SHS) for data integrity. For encryption and DSA signatures, a variant of the Diffie-Hellman protocol is used for key exchange. "AT&T SecretAgent 3.0 Software gives users a more powerful array of capabilities in an extremely fast and efficient way," said William A. Franklin, software security products manager, AT&T Secure Communications Systems. With its unique combination of standards, SecretAgent 3.0 software provides solutions to the security requirements of a wide variety of business and government users. "Some customers require only one set of capabilities -- government users, for example, are required to use federal standards only," Franklin said. "Some businesses prefer RSA technology, but others need RSA for electronic data interchange with other commercial businesses and government standards for dealing with the government." Users can select either RSA, SHS and DES or DSA, SHS, DES and Diffie-Hellman for signing and encrypting. On reception, the program detects which security algorithms have been used so the recipient of a message doesn't have to be concerned about which technology the sender used. Mail-enabled operation also makes security user-friendly. Messages can be created, signed, encrypted and mailed all without leaving SecretAgent 3.0 software. Documents also can be signed, encrypted and transmitted as mail attachments. DES encryption is 50 percent faster than in the original version of AT&T SecretAgent Software. Digital signature speed is also improved. DSA signing and validation are performed in approximately 150 milliseconds each on a 486/33M Hz personal computer. AT&T SecretAgent Software was developed for AT&T by Information Security Corporation of Deerfield, Illinois. The program operates independently of word processing programs, enabling it to safeguard such diverse data as text files, spreadsheets and databases. SecretAgent 3.0 software encrypts and decrypts files for transmissions or storage, even files stored on a shared network hard disk. Single-copy suggested retail price is $329.95 for the DOS and Windows versions, $359.95 for the Mac version and $399.95 for the UNIX version. Volume discounts and site/enterprise licensing are available. Recommended PC configuration includes 640 KB RAM (256 KB required) and hard disk. The Windows version of SecretAgent 3.0 software will be available March 15. The DOS version will follow on April 1, the SPARCstation UNIX version on April 15 and the Mac version on May 1. A software upgrade to allow the program to accept the federal government's TESSERA PCMCIA card and DATAKEY Sig- naSURE smart card will be available April 1. A triple-DES software capability also will be available April 1. To order or to get more information, customers can call the AT&T Secure Communications Customer Service Center, 1 800 203-5563. ###### Product names are trademarks of their respective companies. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 17:48:48 +0100 From: "CN=Hans-Dieter Zimmermann/OU=IWI/O=UNISG/C=CH"@ntgate.unisg.ch Subject: Info Wanted About Home Information Systems Hello networkers, I think you are the right audience for my questions: What do you think about home information systems (like Compuserve, Prodigy, etc.) ? Do you use them? Which one? Are you satisfied with it? Which home information systems are good, which are bad? What are your experiences? What kind of applications you use? Which one you miss? Do you like to work online? Or would you like to work more in a offline mode? What do you think about a 'store and forward' communication mode for home information systems? Please mail your opinions! I am working on a paper about the use of telematic services in private houeseholds and I am curious about your opinions. Thanks for your help, Hans-Dieter Zimmermann University of St. Gallen, Institute for Information Management Gatterstrasse 1A St. Gallen, 9010, Switzerland Internet: HDZIMMERMANN@SGCL1.UNISG.CH ------------------------------ From: uswnvg!uswnvg.com!jbarcom@uunet.UU.NET (John Barcomb) Subject: Re: Paging Available on Cellular Phones Date: 24 Feb 94 15:35:35 GMT Ken K P Lo (KKPLO@ELECTRICAL.watstar.uwaterloo.ca) wrote: > In article drharry!aboritz@uunet.UU.NET > (Alan Boritz) writes: >>> Bell Atlantic here in Phoenix announced yesterday that they were >>> making available to their cellular phone customers the ability to be >>> pagable on their cell phones. Is this being done anywhere else? It >>> sounds like a good idea. One is able to ditch the pager and just carry >>> a phone. Any comments? >> That's nothing new. Just set call-forward-on-no-answer to your pager >> number and you've got the same thing. > I don't think so. In this case, you still have to carry a pager. I > think Bell Atlantic is offering a phone with built-in pager, right? The Motorola cellular switch has "Digital Messaging" available on it. The phones have to be built with the software to accept the commands and have memory locations set aside for these pages to the phone. In Minneapolis, the company I work for (U S WEST Cellular) uses the Motorola switch with the Digital features. The system here is NAMPS and is doing quite well. The caller to the cellular phone hears the appropriate number of rings then the call is forwarded to the "Digital messaging service" the cellular user has an outgoing message recorded in his/her own voice (similar to a voicemail system) and instructs the caller to press the appropriate key to leave a "callback number", "short message" (alpha page), or "voicemail" message. The switch then delivers the information to the phone. If a callback number is delivered, the user sees that number and can press send to dial it right away. If a voice mail message has been left, the access number for our voicemail system is displayed on the phone and again the user can press send. So, the phone does all the work in this situation. We are not using any other peripheral device to alert the user of messages, everything is displayed on the cellular phone itself. Hope that answers your questions. You can send mail if you have further questions. John ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 09:25:18 CST From: varney@ihlpe.att.com Subject: Re: AT&T Says That They Can't Resolve my Calls' Origin Organization: AT&T In article Will Martin writes: > johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine) wrote: >> Does your office have a PBX with direct inward dialing? If so, it's >> true, the billing number that AT&T sees is the ANI billing number for >> the trunk on which the call happens to be sent, which as you've >> discovered bears no relationship to the number of the phone on your desk. I don't believe direct INWARD dialing determines much about the manner in which OUTGOING PBX calls will be billed. True, a PBX that supports DID can probably support two-way calls over such circuits, or MLHG lines with a single billing number for outgoing calls. > As a matter of fact, not even the local telco operator can resolve the > correct number in this circumstance. > Last week, here in 314-land, at the government office building where I > work, we had what turned out to be a "database error" in the PBX > servicing us, which made a lot of the local phone numbers in St. > Louis, including my home number, appear to be "busy" when we tried to > call them. (It was a fast busy instead of a regular busy, so I > suspected an internal problem, which is what it turned out to be.) I use "POTS prefix" + 10288 + 1 +..... as a first-cut method of verifying if the problem is at the originating end or the terminating end. If a local call succeeds when dialed via an IXC, you at least know it's not a problem at the terminating line interface (backhoe through DLC cable). Such information should be part of the data you put in the complaint to the PBX maintainer or TELCo. (Even if the PBX blocks 10XXX dialing on most lines, the PBX operator should be allowed to dial such calls for emergency reasons.) [even TELCo operator doesn't know the "real" calling number...] > I would think this would cause a problem for the telco. It sure sounds > like a security hole when it comes to tracing annoying or threatening > calls. Identifying a culprit within a really big organization if > someone is using one of its phones to make such calls could be nearly > impossible. The FBI has an interesting proposal that removes this security hole and also permits "monitoring" of such individuals hiding behind a PBX. Some believe the proposal itself is a security issue ... > ... Will digital telephony change this, perhaps by forcing > any PBX connected to the telco after some future date pass the real > calling number on to the telco switch via some side-channel digital > pathway? Or is this situation an un-correctable arrangement mandated > by deregulation? A "side-channel" already exists for passing the number. AIOD is a data-link feature that PBXs can use to get the "calling line" included in the AMA billing records of calls billed to the PBX. . If the PBX has AIOD, the number delivered by the PBX is screened by the CO and, if valid, is treated as the billing number for AMA, Operator and IXC FG-D ANI purposes. If the screening fails or the number isn't delivered "on time" or is mutilated in transmission, the "listed DN" of the PBX is used for AMA, Operator and IXC ANI purposes. The II digits will be set to 20 ("AIOD - LDN sent") in such cases of failure. Unfortunately, AIOD costs money, so many PBX owners don't install it. (Many have a mechanism for recording all PBX calls internally anyway.) If you want to "fix" this problem and mandate yet another rule on PBX owners, I'm sure the PBX vendors and the TELCos would welcome it. (ISDN PRI also supports a similar capability via the D-channel (a kind of "side-channel")). AIOD - Automatically Identified Outward Dialing Al Varney ------------------------------ From: paul@poboy.b17c.ingr.com (Paul Robichaux) Subject: Re: Clipper Debate Date: 24 Feb 94 14:33:14 GMT Organization: Intergraph Corporation, Huntsville, AL TELE_STEPH@ohio.gov writes: > Dave Banisar writes: >> In only two weeks, over 10,000 users of the nation's computer networks >> have signed the CPSR petition calling for President Clinton to >> withdraw the Clipper proposal. > The Clipper Chip may be a "hot" item on today's virtual debate forums, > but I fail to see the urgency. If the Clipper Proposal is passed, I > will continue to send e-mail as I do now. > If I don't care who reads it, I'll just send it. If I want privacy, I > will encrypt it. The fact that it goes through the Clipper afterwards > makes little difference to me. The Key Escrow Encryption Standard (KEES; "Clipper" is a registered trademark of Intergraph, my employer) is so manifestly broken that many people have decided that they won't use it. It is also unlikely that criminals, etc. will use it, since they know their communications can be intercepted. The only way to make KEES really viable is to ban other encryption systems. Don't be so sure that you'll be able to superencrypt your data before it goes to the MYK chip. Besides, do you not mind that the government is trying to set a precedent of REQUIRING access to ALL your communications? Paul Robichaux, KD4JZG perobich@ingr.com Intergraph Federal Systems ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 10:30:43 EST From: tro@partech.com (Tom Olin) Subject: Re: Clipper Debate In article TELE_STEPH@ohio.gov writes: > The Clipper Chip may be a "hot" item on today's virtual debate forums, > but I fail to see the urgency. If the Clipper Proposal is passed, I > will continue to send e-mail as I do now. > If I don't care who reads it, I'll just send it. If I want privacy, I > will encrypt it. The fact that it goes through the Clipper afterwards > makes little difference to me. That's fine as long as other forms of encryption are available for your use. However, that may not remain the case. Consider the final paragraph from the White House statement of February 4: The Administration believes that the steps being announced today will help provide Americans with the telecommunications security they need without compromising the capability of law enforcement agencies and national intelligence agencies. Today, any American can purchase and use any type of encryption product. The Administration does not intend to change that policy. Nor do we have any intention of restricting domestic encryption or mandating the use of a particular technology. The Administration's goal is to make encryption available "without compromising the capability of law enforcement" to intercept encrypted data. At the same time, the Administration's (current) intent is not to restrict the availability of other encryption technology. If some other form of encryption compromises the capability of law enforcement to intercept encrypted data, which do you think is more likely to change: the government's goal or its good intentions? The Administration is hoping that it can promote Clipper to the point that other forms of encryption will become unprofitable and go away. If that approach does not work, what other choice does the government have but to ban other forms of encryption, if it feels that current law enforcement capabilities must be preserved intact? Anybody who wishes to preserve the option of using secure encryption technology would be well advised to enter this debate sooner rather than later. Tom Olin PAR Technology Corporation Voice: +1 315 738 0600 Ext 638 tro@partech.com New Hartford, NY Fax: +1 315 738 8304 ------------------------------ From: serviss@tazdevil.cig.mot.com (Gerald Serviss) Subject: Re: These Cell Phones Don't Work - Why? Date: 24 Feb 1994 14:44:07 GMT Organization: Cellular Infrastructure Group, Motorola In article jay@coyote.rain.org (Jay Hennigan) writes: > In article sdkuo@argo.acs.oakland.edu > writes: >> In article , seanp@garnet.msen.com (Sean >> Petty) writes: >>> Anyhow, the other day Comcast published a letter saying: "The following >>> phones are not compatible with our system -- all Motorola Model 8000-D's, >>> All Harris Equipment, All Sony Portables that have a Black label under >>> the battery, and All Panasonic HP 500's that haven't been upgraded." > I wonder if Comcast will be allowed to get away with this without some > flak from the FCC, PUC, and the manufacturers involved. It is common > for cellular phones to be sold with a three-year warranty, and even > five years isn't all that unusual. Comcast is selectively denying > service to certain makes/models of telephones that are otherwise FCC > registered as being compatible with the North American cellular > system. What happens when a roamer with one of these phones tries to > call 911? What happens when a user has a warranty complaint of > "doesn't work" on a phone meeting factory specs? Seems to me that > whoever is providing the cell site/MTSO equipment has a bug that they > need to fix, rather than forcing the users to buy new equipment. Since I play a Cellular Software Engineer in real life I will make a guess at this one. I suspect what happened is that COMCAST turned on or is planning to turn on NAMPS capability. I am fairly confident of this as they use Motorola Cell equipment. The problem that we found is that many MOBILES do not implement the EIA-553 specification (AMPS air interface) correctly. There are bits in the air interface that are undefined for AMPS, EAMPS use that were taken over for NAMPS use. Since these mobiles assumed that the unused bits would stay unused and always be 0 they do not work when NAMPS is turned on. Since these phones technically do not comply with the air interface there is no guarantee of service from the system operator. In that cases that I am familiar with the mobiles in question are three to five years old and the operator will work with a local subscriber to trade out the phone. Also consider the fact that I can get a Motorola PT-550 Micro Tac for $49 and you have a huge non-issue for someone who is not asleep at the wheel. BTW the FCC does not test for signalling compliance as far as I know, they are more concerned with the RF performance of the units. I think the 911 issue is real but, as we have seen PACTEL in California will now block 911 calls from non registered mobiles. It would appear that the mere possession of a cellular phone is not sufficient to allow one to make calls. Jerry Serviss Motorola Inc. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 08:45:44 CST From: varney@ihlpe.att.com Subject: Re: 200 "Exchange" Within 1-900 Numbers Organization: AT&T In article Christopher.Vance@adfa.oz.au (CJS Vance) writes: > In article johnl@iecc.com (John R > Levine) writes: >>> is for instance 1-900-000-0000 available? >> Probably not. Many local switches are programmed to reject numbers of >> the form NNX-1XX-XXXX and NNX-0XX-XXXX locally, and not send them to >> long distance carriers. I suspect that a lot of switches would reject >> 100 and 000 prefixes in 700, 800, or 900 numbers as well. The statement is incorrect. > Well, here in Australia our 008 numbers (currently being moved to > 1800) are of the form 008 XXXXXX (1800 XXXXXX). It's always dialled > with the prefix, so why cut out 20% of the number space? Same with > 0055 XXXXX, moving to 1900 XXXXXX. I thought you lot had advanced > exchanges over in the US ... They are advanced, but typically "tuned" to the application. Development to support non-existent needs is seldom cost-effective. I am aware of numerous examples where we have developed capabilities beyond requirements, and received complaints because the product ALLOWED the TELCo to populate data that "should have been rejected". At the same time, the same folks complain because, in other cases, we have been "too restrictive" in the data cross-checks applied to TELCo input. You can't win this one ... (If Australia has figured out a way of determining, at development time, every variation in operation any purchaser will desire AND every "preventable error" that might occur in such usage, I wish they would publish the method.) I don't know of any local switch that is "programmed" by the vendor to "reject" numbers of the form NXX-0/1XX-XXXX. They are typically "programmed" to reject the assignment of 0/1XX-XXXX codes in customer-dialed translators, but that is so we don't get complaints of the "should have been rejected" variety -- no customer could dial such a seven-digit number. All switches, to the best of my knowledge, can accept ten-digit NANP numbers with 0/1XX following the NPA. In fact, USA switches have been routing such numbers since the days of INWATS (early version of 1-800). Typically, NPA-0/1XX-XXXX numbers are rejected by local switches, BASED ON TELCO DATA, because that is the proper place to block calls to unassigned CO codes. "Long distance carriers" prefer to carry calls that have some chance of succeeding. Al Varney ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #103 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa19497; 25 Feb 94 14:39 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA28803; Fri, 25 Feb 94 10:42:06 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA28790; Fri, 25 Feb 94 10:42:03 CST Date: Fri, 25 Feb 94 10:42:03 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9402251642.AA28790@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #104 TELECOM Digest Fri, 25 Feb 94 10:42:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 104 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Digital Cellphone Report - GSM (Juha Veijalainen) Methods For Calling USA From Europe? (Mario Valente) Technical Manual For an OKI 1150 (Barry Lustig) Looking For Long Distance Carrier Info For Business/Home (Craig Eid) Multimedia Conference (ICMCS 94) (Joseph Boykin) Update: Questions About Voice Mail (Stan Schwartz) Centrex/Key Phone System/PBX (lyre@mindvox.phantom.com) Telecommunications and Computers (Lars Kalsen) Who Sells Used Telecom Gear? (Pat Barron) Radio Program on History of the Telephone (Ralph Chapman) Neal-Wilkinson Trunk Capacity Table (Lars Borg) Why Are Rates to India Increasing? (Linc Madison) What Happened to my Answering Machine? (Yuxing Tian) Information Wanted on TR303, AIN 0.1 (Doug Hohulin) Information Needed on Satellite Phone (Min Hu) Information Wanted on FCC 91-115 (cristy@dupont.com) NYNEX "Slamming" 800 Business Directories? (Tom Betz) InterLATA CID (Terry J. Nelson) Re: Vermont Gets Ready For NNX Area Codes (John R. Levine) Re: Vermont Gets Ready For NNX Area Codes (Andy Behrens) CONNECT SysOp Subscription Discount Offer (Patricia Snyder-Rayl) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: JVE%FNAHA@eccsa.Tredydev.Unisys.com Date: 25 Feb 1994 10:49 Subject: Digital Cellphone Report - GSM Lately we've seen postings on US/Canadian digital cellphones. I'd like to share my experiences of using GSM for about ten months now. - there are no dual mode phones. You either have a digital phone (and 'all digital network') or you don't. Analogue NMT nets are still going strong and growing, but they are completely separate. - during last summer coverage was a bit spotty and calls were cut off relatively often. Since last autumn things got much better; coverage is much better and I have not experienced any special problems with call setup or calls being cut off. - roaming is available in most of the Europe. You just switch on your phone in a foreign country and it picks up the network (if any). You can program your preferred networks on your SIM card. - GSM does interfere with some radio equipment. I have no problems with my car radio, office/home phones, TV etc. On the other hand my old portable stereo picks up GSM transmission. It seems to be a matter of radio/TV/phone quality. I've had more interference problems in Britain and Switzerland - why, I don't know. - voice quality is good, though you cannot distinquish GSM from an analog phone, if both phones are close to cell and no cell handoffs happen. If you use phones in fringe areas (weak fields) the difference is noticeable. GSM voice is not completely clear, though, it might cut off for a fraction of a second, it might make you talk like Donald Duck and sometimes it seems to fill in gaps (like 'Yes, I like it' would be replaced with 'Yesssss like it'). New services are being introduced now. 'Short messaging service' sends max. 160 character messages to your phone even when you are speaking and group 3 fax should be available soon. Other GSM II features will come later on. Juha Veijalainen 4ge system analyst, tel. +358 40 5004402 Unisys Finland Internet: JVE%FNAHA@eccsa.tredydev.unisys.com ------------------------------ From: mvalente@draco.lnec.pt Subject: Methods For Calling USA From Europe? Organization: LNEC, Lab. Nac. de Eng. Civil, Lisboa, Portugal Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 18:14:02 GMT Hi: I'm trying to setup an Internet service provider here in Portugal, where there isnt one. After trying with several service providers in Europe to get a connection and the possibility to resell and finding many difficulties, not to mention the cost of phone lines in Europe, I have started looking at other possibilities, namely USA providers ( there are more, more friendly, and with more probability of getting the reselling option ). The problem is of course the cost of the lines. I'd like to find out about some possibilities. The ones I thought/found out: - satellite feed, using some service like PageSat or Planet. This has the disadvantage of not being able to send, just receive. - leased line to the US. I suppose the cost is impossible. - using AT&T to dialup. I'm really interested in this one, since I have a service provider that allows me to connect via AT&T. I just need to find how to use AT&T from Portugal. Anyone know where this information is? - ISDN connection. Unfortunately ISND connectionsm like phone lines in Europe have a time charge: for each period of time you're charged some cost, which is quite big when you call outside Portugal (if I call the USA using the local PTT I pay $4 per minute; yes that's four dollars a minute!) Any info welcome ( especially how to use AT&T from here ) Thanks in advance, C U! Mario Valente ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 16:35:17 EST From: Barry Lustig Subject: Technical Manual For an OKI 1150 I just called OKI Telecom to order a copy of the technical manual for an OKI 1150 cellular phone. The sales rep. on the other end of the line said that the manual costs $172.50. Does anybody else think that this is outrageous? Why are they trying to discourage phone owners from getting the manuals for their phones? Barry Lustig Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Maybe because without the manual, if something is not working right on the phone the owners will simply think it is something they are incorrectly programming and blame themselves; with a comprehensive manual in hand they will find out it is not their fault at all but that the phone is no good! It is sometimes best to keep the owners in ignorance, you know. :) PAT] ------------------------------ From: craige@sad.hp.com (Craig Eid) Subject: Looking For Long Distance Carrier Info For Business/Home Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 21:41:38 GMT Organization: HP Sonoma County (SRSD/MWTD/MID) I need to decide as soon as possible which long distance carrier we'll be using on our new business line. Most of our calls will be for ten minutes or less, within the same state, and within a 200 mile radius. Does anyone have any suggestions, or should I just call up the majors and get quotes? Craig Eid e-mail address craige@hpsad.sad.hp.com ------------------------------ From: boykin@harvey.gte.com (Joseph Boykin) Subject: Multimedia Conference (ICMCS 94) Reply-To: boykin@gte.com Organization: GTE Laboratories Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 22:08:48 GMT For those who have already received information on the IEEE Computer Society's Multimedia Computing and Systems Conference (ICMCS '94), there have been a few changes since the original information went out, so you may wish to pick up the latest. New versions of the program, registration form, etc. are available either from me or via anonymous FTP on ftp.gte.com (132.197.8.2) in pub/ICMCS. Joe Boykin ICMCS Registration Chair 617-466-2803 (Phone) 617-466-2137 (FAX) boykin@gte.com ------------------------------ From: stans@panix.com (Stan Schwartz) Subject: Update: Questions About Voice Mail Date: 24 Feb 1994 18:45:23 -0500 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC I spoke with the NYNEX reps today and they confirmed the following for me: NYNEX's Voice Mail product (Call Answering) combined with Call Waiting works the following way in my 5ESS CO (516-694-NNNN): - If I am on the phone and DON'T answer the second call, the mailbox will NOT answer the call. - If I *70 to de-activate Call Waiting before I make a call, any incoming call will get a busy while I am on the call. I then appealed to NYNEX's "President's Help Line" (1-800-722-2300), and after much explaining and whining, the representative agreed to contact the product manager for the service and ask her why it is programmed that way. I was promised a return phone call (but she didn't say when ;-) ). (BTW: here on Long Island, I am kind of "self-determining" that I am in a 5ESS switch by dialing my exchange's verification number, which is usually in the NNX-9901 format. When I dial 694-9901, the recording tells me the type of switch in the CO and which exchanges it serves. Is there any way to verify how accurate and up-to-date this recording is?) Stan ------------------------------ From: lyre@mindvox.phantom.com (Lyre) Subject: Centrex/Key Phone System/PBX Date: Fri, 25 Feb 94 01:17:15 EST Organization: [MindVox] / Phantom Access Technologies / (+1 800-MindVox) I want some kind of system that will give me automated attendant voicemail and multiline capabilities. The number of lines is four to six; the number of instruments is four to start. Any recommendations/things to stay away from? Cost IS an issue. I was wondering if I can do this with Intellipath digital centrex on either DMS-100 or 5ESS, or what would be the most cost-effective key system? Thanks. ------------------------------ From: dalk@login.dkuug.dk (Lars Kalsen) Subject: Telecommunications and Computers Date: 25 Feb 94 12:04:21 GMT Organization: DKnet Hi - I am trying to get an overview over the area: Systems integrating Telecommunication and Computers =================================================== It could be voice-response systems which are placing orders directly in the company's computer system. Or systems for customer service which integrate telephony with customer datases in an intelligent way. Or it could be anything else. If you: - have knowledge of such systems I would like to have a short desciption.(Maybe you compnay have some). - know articles on the subject - I would like to have a reference - know any or sites where I can look for inforamtion - i would like to hera from you. Any inforamtion is appreciated. Plaese E-mail me if you have some. Greetings from Denmark, Lars Kalsen dalk@login.dkuug.dk ------------------------------ From: Pat_Barron@transarc.com Subject: Who Sells Used Telecom Gear? Date: Fri, 25 Feb 1994 10:43:28 -0500 Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA I'm looking for a small, used PBX ("small" is defined as three or four lines). The cheaper, the better, which is why I want used equipment. Any pointers? Thanks! Pat ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 12:41:09 EST From: chapman@ihlpe.att.com Subject: Radio Program on History of the Telephone Organization: AT&T WBEZ (FM 91.5, Chicago) will be broadcasting a for-part "radio history of the telephone", titled "Hell's Bells", starting Feb. 28 at 7:00-8:00 PM. The other three parts will be aired March 1, 2, and 7 (same time). This is an American Public Radio program; the folks at the station said it will likely be aired on other APR or NPR stations around the country, but on different schedules. Check with your local station, or call Israel Smith at APR in Minneapolis, 612-338-5000. Ralph Chapman AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL ------------------------------ From: lgb@cci.com (Lars Borg) Subject: Neal-Wilkinson Trunk Capacity Table Organization: Northern Telecom, Network Application Systems Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 17:26:34 GMT Would someone please E-mail a copy of the Neal-Wilkinson trunk capacity tables, or tell me were I can find a copy? Lars G. Borg, E-mail: lgb@cci.com Northern Telcom / Network Application Systems (716) 654-2573 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 12:56:48 -0800 From: LincMad@netcom.com (Linc Madison) Subject: Why Are Rates to India Increasing? I was looking at yet another one of those newspaper ads for the various LD companies' international discount calling plans, and I've noticed that they list numbers like "India 73 cents (thru 3/30/94, 78 cents after)" Is the PTT in India increasing its "landing fees"? Linc Madison * Oakland, California * LincMad@Netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 13:39:23 -0600 From: Yuxing Tian Subject: What Happened to my Answering Machine? [I live in Chicago, and have a normal greeting message in my answering machine.] Here is the story: Yesterday, when I got home and listen to the messages left in my answering machine. A strange message is: ( ~10 seconds music) ( two rings at the other end) ( a lady picked up the phone and asked "Hello, Number?") ( ~2 seconds silent) ( she hung up.) Could anybody lighten me about what happened? Thanks a lot. ------------------------------ Date: 24 Feb 1994 17:53:24 U From: Hohulin_Doug.IL25-macmail3@il25-macmail3.schaumburg.mnc.mot.com Subject: Information Wanted on TR303, AIN 0.1 I have two questions: How wide spread is TR303 deployed? Is anyone using AIN 0.1 today on their class 5 switches? Which switches are they available on? ------------------------------ From: hu@helios.physics.utoronto.ca (Min Hu) Subject: Information Needed on Satellite Phone Organization: University of Toronto Physics/Astronomy/CITA Date: Fri, 25 Feb 1994 01:11:52 GMT Hi, During the gulf war, both the reporters and the American soldiers used a kind of satellite phone system so that they could communicate with outside world. Does anybody out there know companies who make or sell this kind of mobile phone system? The following features will be desirable. 1. Ability to communicate while the phone is in motion (say a jeep) 2. The diameter of the antanne should be less than 1 meter 3. The satellite carrier should be either American satellite or sea monitoring satellite. 4. The antanne should be all-direction antanne, do not have to worry about the direction of the satellite. It will be greatly appreciated if you can offer any clue as how to find this kind of company. Thanks in advance. HU MIN, University of Toronto, Dept. of Physics Toronto, Ontario, Canada. M5S 1A7 Email: hu@physics.utoronto.ca / hu@utordop.bitnet ------------------------------ From: cristy@eplrx7.es.duPont.com (Cristy) Subject: Information Wanted on FCC 91-115 Organization: DuPont Central Research & Development Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 22:06:52 GMT My latest phone bill allows for some additional privacy for customers of unlisted numbers. I disagree with the requirement to pay the $1.50+ charge per month to be eligible for increased privacy. The reference is FCC 91-115. Does anyone know the text of this ruling or where I can get access to this ruling? cristy@dupont.com ------------------------------ From: tbetz@panix.com (Tom Betz) Subject: NYNEX "Slamming" 800 Business Directories? Date: 24 Feb 1994 14:04:37 -0500 Organization: Betz & Associates While reviewing our business phone bill, I noticed a $24.99 charge for an "1994 ATT BUS GUD" and a $3.50 shipping and handling charge. I enquired about it to NYNEX billing, who told me that "1994 ATT BUS GUD" means "1994 AT&T Toll-Free National 800 Directory", and that I had called an 800 number and ordered it. In fact, in January I had received a call from a telemarketer asking me if I wanted it, and had told them no, specifically telling them that as an AT&T 800 customer, I get these for free on request. When one arrived recently, our receptionist signed for it, and when I saw it, I assumed that our AT&T rep had sent it to us; in fact, the NYNEX telemarketer had disregarded my refusal and sent it to us, and then told NYNEX that I had called >him< and placed an order for it! Apparently, NYNEX has hired a sleazy outfit, one that is lying to NYNEX about the orders it has received, to do some of its telemarketing. I wonder how many thousands of times this year NYNEX will be collecting $29.49 from businesses who, like me, said "no" when solicited to buy this book, but who don't notice the charge on their bills? How many millions of dollars in commissions will this sleaze operation earn from these tactics? Check your bills, folks. Tom Betz ---- 114 Woodworth Ave, Yonkers NY 10701-2509 (914) 332-7511 - tbetz@panix.com tom_betz@execnet.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 12:47:00 EST From: tjnelson@attmail.att.com Subject: InterLATA CID Organization: AT&T I have a question regarding the use of Caller ID on Inter-LATA calls. Currently the technology exists to deliver the calling number to the terminating LEC office: Originating-->--ISUP-->--InterLATA-->--ISUP-->--Terminating CID LEC Carrier CID LEC Since this information in most cases is deliverable right now, why doesn't InterLATA CID exist? The only reason I've heard so far is that the RBOCs must be "de-regulated" before they can accept/deliver Inter-LATA originating numbers. This doesn't seem to make much sense. Perhaps it's just a matter of working out which carrier charges who and for how much or is there another reason? adTHANKSvance, Terry Nelson @ AT&T ATTMail: tjnelson@attmail.com GEnie: tjnelson@genie.geis.com America On Line: tjnelson@aol.com UUCP: wnxser!tjnelson UUCP via Internet: tjnelson@wnxser.att.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 12:41 EST From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine) Subject: Re: Vermont Gets Ready For NNX Area Codes Organization: I.E.C.C., Cambridge, Mass. > Please explain these two statements. If it's a "free local call" > (within the same area code, no less), then it's not a toll call, so > why is "Vermont's new toll dialing plan" relevant here at all? We're in Morgan, Vt. which has its own 895 exchange. But since we're way out on the east edge of town, we're closer to Island Pond, so we have an Island Pond 723 phone number. Normally, a call from 723 to 895 is a toll call, but there's a rule that all calls within your own town are considered local, so as a special case, calls to Morgan 895 numbers are free (or at worse charged message units) even though they're dialed as toll calls. There are 895 numbers in Holland and West Charleston as well; don't know if I get charged for them or not. > Do you currently dial these calls as eight digits (1 + 7D)? If so, why? Yup. Same reason. > Are there any other places in the NANP where local intra-NPA calls > require more than seven digits to dial? This situation is quite common in rural areas, and the rule that calls within your town are free seems to be ancient and widespread. In New Hampshire, NET came up with a uniquely awful way to implement this: you were supposed to make such calls on your calling card, then when the bill came, call up the business office and ask them to adjust the bill. I think they now do it automatically as well. [re having to dial calls from 802-723 to 802-895 with 11 digits, even though they are free for us because it's within the same town] > I wonder why Nynex doesn't fix this. If they are smart enough to bill > those calls at local (not toll) rates, they should also have the skills > to let you *dial* them as local (not toll) calls. It'd require per-line dialing plan programming in the switch, something that I don't think CO switches are set up to do. Most 723 customers are in Island Pond, so for them 895 really is a toll call. Some 723 customers are in East Charleston, who have to be able to call 895 numbers in West Charleston (same town, different P.O.) for free, but not necessarily 895 numbers in Morgan or Holland. The same applies for 895 customers calling 723, of course. I expect that it's a lot easier to fix this at the time bills are printed, since the bill printing computer has all of the address information available and, more important, doesn't have to figure out the answer in real time. NYNEX's original proposal was to make all intra-NPA calls in its territory 7D regardless of toll, which would have solved this problem once and for all. Unfortunately, state regulators insisted that they go to 1 + NPA for calls that used to be 1 + 7D. Here's another example of 1+ nonsense: I live in Cambridge Mass., and my sister lives in Lexington, about 10 miles away. For me to call her is a message unit call, not dialed with 1+, which costs 6.5 cents for the first minute, 5.5 cents for subsequent minutes, with no time of day discount. On weekends, intra-NPA toll calls to places like Nantucket (50 miles away) cost less than calling Lexington because they have time-of-day discounts. Indeed, on weekends it saves money to dial her with a 10333 prefix and hand this local call to Sprint! Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, jlevine@delphi.com, 1037498@mcimail.com ------------------------------ From: Andy.Behrens@coat.com Subject: Re: Vermont Gets Ready For NNX Area Codes Date: 24 Feb 1994 21:21:54 GMT Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA John Levine writes: > A flyer in my latest phone bill reveals that Vermont's new toll > dialing plan is 1-802-NNX-XXXX... > Personally, I find the new plan to be a big pain in the neck, since, > due to a peculiarity of exchange boundaries, it'll require that I dial > most free local calls within our town with 11 digits. and Bob Goudreau asks: > If it's a "free local call" (within the same area code, no less), then > it's not a toll call, so why is "Vermont's new toll dialing plan" > relevant here at all? Do you currently dial these calls as eight > digits (1 + 7D)? If so, why? A number of years ago, the Vermont PUC mandated that calls to a telephone located in the same town[*] must be billed as local calls, regardless of exchange boundaries. The intent was that people should not have to pay toll charges to call their town offices. But because the state is rural, and hilly, a few outlying houses in a town may be separated from the rest of the town by a ridge of hills. It may be easier for the phone company to wire them into a neighboring exchange -- even when that exchange is far enough away from the town that the two exchanges would be considered "long distance" These outlying people will have to dial 1-802 + 7D to call their neighbors in the same town, but it's a local call for them. Other people in their exchange, for whom the call crosses town boundaries, would pay toll charges. These calls are currently dialed as 1 + 7D. Andy [*] Note: "Towns" in Vermont are what most states call "townships". Everyone in a given town is governed by the same officials, has the same fire department, etc. Andy Behrens P.O. Box 116, South Strafford, Vt. (802) 765-4138 ------------------------------ From: pegasus@cyberspace.org (Patricia Snyder-Rayl) Subject: CONNECT SysOp Subscription Discount Offer Date: 24 Feb 1994 16:29:44 -0500 Organization: Cyberspace Communications Public-Access UNIX CONNECT Magazine Offers Special Subscription Rate for BBS Sysops ================================================================ OK. You've heard about CONNECT, possibly even picked up copies of the magazine at your local newsstand, bookstore or computer dealer. Maybe you've seen our advertising in books such as the "Whole Earth Online Almanac," or you saw the mention of CONNECT in the December 6, 1993 issue of U.S. News & World Report. Or maybe you've just heard about the magazine from talk on the commercial online services, or seen the CONNECT Online BBS Edition door on a local BBS. But, you still haven't subscribed. As a BBS sysop, perhaps you've just been too busy keeping your system in peak shape. And maybe you've also been thinking about advertising your BBS via CONNECT's International BBS Listing or Service Ads. Well, we're making you an offer that'll save you money *AND* give your BBS some added international exposure. To receive details and the necessary form, email your request to pegasus@cyberspace.org. CONNECT Magazine (313) 973-8825 "The Modem User's Resource" (313) 973-0411 fax services, Internet and BBS 3487 Braeburn Circle (313) 973-9137 BBS networks from a user's Ann Arbor, MI 48108 14.4Kbps V.32bis| perspective. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #104 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa20970; 25 Feb 94 17:07 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA03849; Fri, 25 Feb 94 13:13:03 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA03839; Fri, 25 Feb 94 13:13:01 CST Date: Fri, 25 Feb 94 13:13:01 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9402251913.AA03839@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #105 TELECOM Digest Fri, 25 Feb 94 13:13:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 105 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: 1-900 as a State Moneymaker (Les Reeves) Re: 1-900 as a State Moneymaker (Dale Worley) Re: Area Code Closeness (Carl Moore) Re: Area Code Closeness (Michael King) Re: Area Code Closeness (Mike King) Area Code Listings (Bill Turini) Re: Paging Available on Cellular Phones (puma@netcom.com) Re: Paging Available on Cellular Phones (Monty Solomon) Re: It's Impossible, Isn't It? (puma@netcom.com) Re: Digital Cellular Phone Review (Ronald Oakes) Re: Program For Microwave Radio Links (Richard Masoner) Re: How to Expand the Range of Cordless? (Willie Smith) Re: Shortage of Prefixes in 800? (John R. Levine) Re: Program For Microwave Radio Links (Sun Outages) (Barry Lustig) Re: "Convenience Calls" on Phone Bill (John J. Butz) Re: Need Information about Telemate (Brian Leyton) Re: Caller-ID Question (Ben Williams) Re: Answering Machine Accepting Collect Calls (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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: lreeves@crl.com (Les Reeves) Subject: Re: 1-900 as a State Moneymaker Date: 24 Feb 1994 09:05:13 -0800 Organization: CRL Dialup Internet Access (415) 705-6060 [login: guest] > Here's a new way for state government to separate more cash from your > wallet. Heard on the news today that Missouri state government has > started a 1-900 number for businesses to find the provider of the > lowest-cost workers' compensation insurance. They are charging $1 > /min, with $.45-.55 to go to the state general revenue fund. > Just a new method to rob people for information they should be > providing free as a public service. Several years ago I installed a channel bank for the US Office of Personnel Management's job line 900 service. It was a menu-driven voice information system to provide up to date info on job availability within parts of the federal government. The cost was the lowest I have ever seen on any 900 service; 40 cents per minute. They told me they selected a per-minute rate that would just cover the cost of the access from MCI. Les lreeves@crl.com Atlanta,GA ------------------------------ From: worley@village.com (Dale Worley) Subject: Re: 1-900 as a State Moneymaker Date: 24 Feb 1994 12:52:00 -0500 Organization: Village of Cambridge, Public-Access Internet > Heard on the news today that Missouri state government has > started a 1-900 number for businesses to find the provider of the > lowest-cost workers' compensation insurance. They are charging $1 > /min, with $.45-.55 to go to the state general revenue fund. Sounds like a great deal, since finding a good workmens' compensation company can save you thousands a year. > Just a new method to rob people for information they should be > providing free as a public service. Eh? Providing the names, addresses, and rates of insurance companies has never been a job of the state government, to my knowledge. That's what you have insurance agents for! Dale ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 9:23:13 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: Area Code Closeness wa2ise@netcom.com (Robert Casey) writes: > with geographically close areas. Especially in the same state. "was > that area code 402 or 403 for Yerksville, South Dakota, Can't remember > which my friend said", vs. if the two area codes are much different, > "he said 70 something, lets see, that has to be 702 according to the > phone book map". 402 is in Nebraska, 403 in Alberta/Yukon/NW Territory in Canada, 701 in North Dakota, 702 in Nevada, 605 in South Dakota. TELECOM Digest Editor writes about extreme northwestern Indiana: > Then one day they announced that the little northwest corner had a > choice: either they could begin dialing 312 to reach Chicago, or 1+7 > digits to reach elsewhere in the northern Indiana 219 area. Telco made > the choice to go with the latter leaving Hammond/Whiting, etc hooked > to Chicago for calling purposes. With the change in telcos in the > late 1970's (northwest Indiana was taken away from Illinois Bell and > turned over to Indiana Bell) the requirement of dialing not just 312, > but 1-312 (!) to reach Chicago was added, and the 1+7D for the rest of > 219 was dropped. PAT] Just how far could one dial from that northwestern corner into the rest of 219 with just seven digits? And what did this corner have for long distance within 219 when it was announced that Indiana would be going to 1 + NPA + 7D for long distance within area code (in preparation for the NNX area codes)? TELECOM Digest Editor writes about the 659 prefix: >That is, '659' showed up in Whiting, Indiana. It did not show >up in 312, 815 (since a tiny bit of the south end of 815 touches 219) >nor in 317 nor in 216. South end of 815 touches 219? If you are referring to southernmost part of border between 815 and Indiana, then all of the 815/Indiana border touches 219. And where do you get 216 from? That's in northeastern Ohio, including Cleveland. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Going south along the Illinois/Indiana state line, once the old 312 (now 708) area ended and 815 began, it is just a short distance further going south on the Indiana side that 219 ends and 317 begins. That's what I meant to say; that mostly 219 borders (then 312; now) a tiny bit of 312 and some of 708) but at the southwestern end of 219 some of 815 comes up there to the state line also. I guess it is relative to how much is 'some' and 'a little'. Going east, 219 runs all the way across northern Indiana to the border with Ohio where it touches 216. At the same time across the northern edge of 219 by Michigan City, IN and South Bend it touches 616. Trivia comment/question: What places have *three* different area codes as part of their local calling area? For one, the Chicago-Mitchell CO has local service into 312/708/219. Whiting gets local service into 219/708/312. Hammond does not get any local service into 312. I think maybe Beecher, IL gets local service into 708/815/219. There are others like this. What community in the USA gets local service into four area codes? There is one such place. By 'local', I mean no toll charges even though 1 + AC + 7D dialing is required. What places get 'local' service even though two different countries are involved as well as two area codes? PAT] ------------------------------ From: an904@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Michael King) Subject: Re: Area Code Closeness Date: 24 Feb 1994 15:30:46 GMT Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA) Pat: You essentially have the Hammond/Whiting/Munster dialing situation set right. Here in Gary, we always dialed Chicago as a 1-312 number. On the other hand, we have never dialed the remainder of the 219 area as 7D. We have always dialed it as 1 + 7D (once you were outside the local calling area). Of course now, it is dialed as 1 + 219 + 7D. The one thing that I never understood was why we (NW Indiana) were under Illinois Bell prior to 1978. Michael H. King Latitude Group, Ltd. Gary, IN Computer/Small Business Consultant Freelance Writer/Announcer [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Mr. William Gary's company town (Mr. Gary was the president of US Steel around the start of this century; Gary was founded and owned by the Gary Municipal Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US Steel until the early 1920's) was more closely related to Chicago than to the rest of Indiana. Ditto George Hammond's meat- processing operation and John Rockefeller's gasoline and oil refinery. All these firms had offices in Chicago, as did the other industrial giants in the cluster there including Inland Steel, Sinclair (Arco) Oil Company, Union Carbide and others. *Heavily* industrialized, (for example, Whiting is permeated with the oil refinery; you can walk around town for blocks at a time on the east side and see nothing but storage tanks full of black looking gunk, railroad cars, smoldering caldrons with fire shooting out of them; the fumes can be incredibly awful some days, etc; and I don't have to tell *you* about the north end of the Gary/Indiana Harbor area exactly on the shore of Lake Michigan) northwest Indiana was the place where these guys wanted their work done. They had the convenience of Chicago few miles away, all the railroads and the inexpensive shipping which could be done via barges on the lake and the connection to the Mississipi River via the Calumet River, the canal and the Chicago River downtown. Mr. Gary had his one plant on the far south side of Chicago (what we years ago called South Works) right on the edge of Lake Michigan, and the ease of transporting stuff by barge across the lake to Gary Works made it very appealing. Mr. Ryerson (owner of Inland Steel) found Indiana Harbor -- a little slice of life situated between Gary on the east, Whiting on the west and East Chicago, Indiana on the south -- a good deal for the same reason. Hauling their stuff by boat through the lake made good sense. When telephones were relatively a new thing in the early 1900's, all the big boys wanted the new-fangled invention connected from their offices in Chicago to their steel mills, refineries and meat-processing plants along the southern edge of Lake Michigan, and the telco here at the time, known as 'Chicago Telephone Company' gladly accomodated them. When Illinois Bell Telephone Company was started about 1925 as a result of AT&T making an aggressive (and some maintain, illegal) effort to purchase Chicago Tel, northern Indiana went along as part of what they purchased. So, having Illinois Bell there rather than Indiana Bell was mostly due to the history of the area. Now why don't you ask me why Gary phones are 219-882/883/884/885/886/887? Well, you see, '88' is also 'TU' as in TUrner, and Mr. Turner was somebody who was somebody in Gary long ago. Not content with one exchange, when Gary went dial in about 1955 or so, IBT honored him by making every phone in town into either TUrner-2, TUrner-3, TUrner-4, TUrner-5, TUrner-6 or TUrner-7. I think he had early involvement with Gary Works. Sometime around 1920, the US Supreme Court said US Steel had to divest itself of the Gary Municipal Corporation; that was the end of the company town. In the 1970's as you know, 'big steel' went down the tubes in the USA and that was the end of Gary, period. Today sadly, Gary is mostly boarded up houses and store- fronts; there is no 'downtown' any longer; and hasn't been for twenty years just like Hammond to the east. The steel mills are closed and the refineries are mostly gone. You made a valiant effort at revival with the Gary Convention Center; if it were anywhere else it would be a great place. Too bad they did not build it about 1920-30 during Gary's heyday. Since your .sig identifies you as a 'writer/announcer' do you write for the {Gary Post-Tribune} or announce on WWCA, 1270 AM? (WWCA = Working With the Calumet Area), Gary's local radio station.) PAT] ------------------------------ From: mk@TFS.COM (Mike King) Subject: Re: Area Code Closeness Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 14:57:43 PST In TELECOM Digest V14 #101, wa2ise@netcom.com (Robert Casey) wrote: > I had thought/heard that the semi-random distribution of area codes in > the USA was done to avoid confusion of numberically close area codes [...] > Phone companies tend to do the same thing with phone exchanges inside > the same area codes. I haven't seen it in many other places, but Dayton and Columbus, OH, both tend to group their prefixes into the same exchanges. For example, in Dayton, 220/2-9 are in the same exchange, as are 233/5/6/7, 252-9, 274-9, 293-4/6-9, 433-6/8-9, etc. I always assumed they arose from the old 2L + 5D scheme, and they were consecutive prefixes from the same switch name; i.e., BAker 2, BAker 3, etc. Mike King mk@tfs.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: By coincidence, it appears we have two persons named 'Mike King' in this issue, but the first one is Michael rather than Mike. At least I assume it is two different people; the net addresses are different. Yes, it messed me up at first in my editing of this issue also. Both responding on the same thread, yet! PAT] ------------------------------ From: turini@gdls.com Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 09:08:10 EST Reply-To: Bill Turini Subject: Area Code Listings I have been using a listing of area codes that was included in the CD-ROM QRZ! Ham Radio and appreciate the work that has gone into it. Is there an updated list that contains the new area codes that went into effect in December? Thanks, Bill Turini KA4GAV Phone: 810.825.8810 Computer Sciences Corporation FAX: 810.825.8764 MZ 435-02-33 6000 E. 17 Mile Rd. Internet: turini@gdls.com Sterling Heights, MI 48313 Compuserve: 73741,455 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Check out the Telecom Archives. We have a very complete list of area codes there. Either use the Email Information Service or use anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu and when connected then 'cd telecom-archives/areacodes'. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 05:59:03 -0800 From: puma@netcom.com (puma) Subject: Re: Paging Available on Cellular Phones In article rwilson@inca.gate.net (Robert Wilson) writes: > The Fujitsu PCX cellphone has a voice chip which when the unit is set > to pager mode will answer the incoming call, tell the party you are > unable to come to the phone, and logs up to five numbers. This feature, since it's internal to the phone, is totally independent of the carrier. It also counts as an answered call, and you pay airtime for the time it takes the caller to listen to the synthesized message and touchtone his number. I had the impression from some earlier messages here and elsewhere that some carrier was offering a feature that would cause the caller's number to appear on the phone's display for unanswered calls, or perhaps similar to a Caller-ID display, so you could choose to answer a call or not, or allow it to forward-no-answer to voicemail. If anyone knows anything further on that, I would be interested in hearing about it. Do any cellular carriers offer call-return? (ie., *xx calls back the last party who called you, answered or not.) puma@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: Monty Solomon Subject: Re: Paging Available on Cellular Phones Reply-To: Monty Solomon Organization: Roscom Date: Fri, 25 Feb 1994 07:43:00 GMT In article anthony@bigbear.demon.co.uk (Anthony Hegedus) writes: > Do you mean that the person you're talking to on your mobile can, by > pressing buttons on *his* phone, cause *your* phone to dial someone > else? or have I misunderstood? Yes. You can ask the person you are speaking with to enter a phone number into the cell phone's scratchpad memory by pressing keys on his tone phone and to then optionally cause the current call to be disconnected and for the phone to place a call to the just transmitted number. Monty Solomon / PO Box 2486 / Framingham, MA 01701-0405 monty@roscom.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 06:19:09 -0800 From: puma@netcom.com (puma) Subject: Re: It's Impossible, Isn't It? In article bob@bci.nbn.com writes: > I have several lines and while talking on line line, which is hooked > up to a fax machine and a phone (distinctly seperate stations), the > phone integrated into the fax machine began to ring. then, right on > que, the fax machine answered and my conversation was obliterated by > fax tones The line has no special features such call waiting or three > way calling. It does however recieve from a remote call forwarding > source, but I can't see how RCF would have any involvement. Does your phone/fax have a feature whereby if you had answered a fax call on another phone on the same line, you can bring the fax online with a touchtone digit? If so, it's possible that your voice conversation triggered it accidently. Or, does the phone/fax, under the same circumstances, listen silently for the CNG (calling) tone of a fax? Again, it might have thought it heard one. If none of the above, it could always have been a voltage spike on the power or static electricity, or goblins - did it only happen once? If it continues, I would start with a good quality surge/noise/ protecting power strip. If it still occurs, maybe it's time for the repair shop. puma@netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 09:00:20 CST From: oakes@wolverine.cig.mot.com (Ronald Oakes) Subject: Re: Digital Cellular Phone Review Organization: Motorola Cellular Infrastructure Group In article martin@datacom.ucc.okstate.edu (Martin McCormic) writes: > If someone had an audio amplifier near an analog cellular phone or > UHF transmitter, the speaker would probably pop when the transmitter > went on and off, but there would be no other sound while it was > transmitting. I can confirm that this will, and does, happen. I have a bag phone, placed next to the transfer case controller on the floor of my S-10 Blazer, so that the antenna sits right next to my car radio. I can always tell when my phone registers and when I am about to receive a call by the distinctive POP that comes out when listinging to a tape. If I am listening to the radio, a registration is not as obvious, but the extra transmissions when acknowledging a page and getting ready to ring will cause noticeable interference with the radio. Ronald B. Oakes ------------------------------ From: cendata!richardm@uunet.UU.NET (Richard Masoner) Subject: Re: Program For Microwave Radio Links Organization: Central Data Corp., Champaign, IL Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 16:32:57 GMT Regarding solar interference, this kind of interesting tidbit is regularly posted to sci.space.news: > DAILY SUMMARY OF SOLAR GEOPHYSICAL ACTIVITY > 22 FEBRUARY, 1994 Along with lots of incomprehensible (to me) data on "Electron Fluence," "polar cap absorption," etc. An English summary then talks about possible satellite blackouts and such. Hope this helps. Richard F. Masoner Central Data Corporation ------------------------------ From: wpns@newshost.pictel.com (Willie Smith) Subject: Re: How to Expand the Range of Cordless? Organization: PictureTel Corporation Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 17:40:10 GMT In article jey@davidsys.com writes: > Can anyone tell me how far the power can be boosted for a cordless > phone system, if it is modified at its best? Given infinite resources, you could get any amount of power you want, just keep adding amplifiers ... practical limits are probably around a megawatt. > (Assuming there is no FCC or any government regulation as far as the > power of the signal, how far can the signal be sent without much loss > of power.) Probably not much more than a couple of AU with current technology. Say 15 to 20 light-minutes, though two-way conversations become difficult with more than a couple of hundred milliseconds delay. > And what could be the best way for such modification? Add a duplexer to split the transmit and receive paths (or get into the RF sections ahead of the combiner). Add power amplifiers, decent feedline, and a well-placed high-gain antenna to the transmit side. Add a high-gain antenna, good low-noise preamps, and good feedline to the receive path. If you match the transmit and recieve gains the handset and base ought to be able to hear each other equally well. Willie Smith wpns@pictel.com N1JBJ@amsat.org [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But that has been the catch all along, hasn't it? *How* do you get the handset power increased to the point that any modifications you made to the base are reciprocal? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 12:30 EST From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine) Subject: Re: Shortage of Prefixes in 800? Organization: I.E.C.C., Cambridge, Mass. > I don't believe any "local switches" are not capable of handling > 1xx and 0xx office codes in a ten-digit number. My cousins who run a small telco in Vermont tell me that when AT&T brought in direct trunks a few years ago, they specifically asked them to program their local switch to reject dialed numbers of the form N0X-1XX-XXXX and N0X-0XX-XXXX. They weren't eager, since it made the tables about ten times as big, but that's what your employer wanted. I realize that there are non-dialable 1XX and 0XX numbers, but that's a separate issue. > I was not aware any "local switches" blocked such inter-NPA calls. > Obviously, until the NPA 213 switches were populated with information > for routing seven-digit N0X/N1X numbers, they would fail to route > them. You sure it wasn't PBXs blocking calls? Lots of local switches blocked calls to 213-N0X until the programming was fixed. Evidently the rule is to block invalid numbers as early as possible. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, jlevine@delphi.com, 1037498@mcimail.com ------------------------------ Reply-To: Barry x24904/ER/167B-TED From: ornitz@kodak.rdcs.kodak.com (Barry x24904/ER/167B-TED) Subject: Re: Program For Microwave Radio Links (sun outages) Organization: Eastman Chemical Company Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 23:35:47 GMT I just ran across this program on oak.oakland.edu and remembered the request here. Unfortunately I could not find the original article to email the information to poster so I thought I would post it in case others might be interested too. 73, Barry L. Ornitz WA4VZQ ornitz@kodak.com oak.oakland.edu (141.210.10.117) ==================== Directory pub/msdos/satelite/ Filename Type Length Date Description sunou332.zip B 48551 930322 Calculate sun outages for satellite receivers ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Feb 94 18:52:54 EST From: jbutz@hogpa.ho.att.com (John J Butz) Subject: Re: "Convenience Calls" on Phone Bill > charged $10.03 for a 59-minute call from Ithaca, NY to New York, NY, My brother, a student at Cornell called me at work in NJ from an on-campus phone recently. My work phone is ISDN and receives calling number information. Normally, a long distance call received on my ISDN set is announced with an "INCOMING CALL" message, but my brother's call said "201-something or another." "That's odd," I thought, so I asked Jimbo what the hell he was doing in such a great place like New Jersey? "I'm not!" he quickly replied and when I called the number on the display back in disbelief, I got the Cornell operator. Ah!!! The call was on an FX line and the Cornell operator informed me that the University has multiple FX lines throughout the nation. Might this have anything to do with the call price? Actually, aren't FX lines billed to the FX subscriber by the local service provider, in this case NYNEX? J Butz jbutz@hogpa.att.com AT&T - CCS ------------------------------ Date: 24 Feb 94 19:01:09 EST From: Brian Leyton <73160.557@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Re: Need Information About Telemate In a reply to The Network Group (0004526627@mcimail.com), Sean Peacock (speacock@netcom.com) posted an information file on Telemate. I too was interested in Telemate, so I went looking around on CI$. It appears that there are (at least) two packages going by the name Telemate. The one referred to by Sean is a terminal emulation package, while I believe that the one of interest here is a different one. This Telemate is a call accounting package with various fraud fighting add-ons: Complementary Solutions Inc. (CSI), headquartered in Atlanta, develops, markets and supports TELEMATE. Currently, there are more than 3,000 TELEMATE users worldwide. For more information, contact CSI at (404) 454-8033. CSI also has a section in the PCVEND forum on CI$. Brian Leyton 73160.557@compuserve.com ------------------------------ From: bew@brahms.udel.edu (Ben Williams) Subject: Re: Caller-ID Question Date: 25 Feb 1994 09:02:50 -0500 Organization: University of Delaware In article , Jack Coats wrote: > There was an article in one of the popular electronics type magazines > (check your local library) in the last couple of months on how to > build your own caller-id display machine. It would be easy to modify > it (it uses a PIC micro processor) to have a serial output instead or > also, that could feed your PC or whatever. The data, if I remember > right, is 1200 baud. You can get a couple of codes other than just > the number too. One is if you are out of the area where the codes are > available (seems silly to me, if the phone company can figure out how > to charge collect calls), and another code if the caller has the > Caller-ID blocked. This was in the February issue of {Electronics Now} (was Radio Electronics up to a while ago). I have been waiting for something like this for a long time, as I am interested in using Called-ID. However, one of the reasons I was waiting for a do-it-yourself thing like they have in Electronics Now was to save money on the device. But the kit parts that you need to order come to over $50 (I think I could buy a ready-made device for that much). Would anyone be willing to do a bulk order of these special components that you need for constructing a Caller_ID box: PIC16C55 (trouble is, this thing needs to be programmed -- well, you can buy a kit to build a programmer for $69.95, sigh...), 16x1 LCD module, and any other of these components that are not readily available (such as this MC145447 Motorola calling line identification receiver). You would also need to etch a double-sided PC board with the patterns they include (something else needing separate equipment which I don't happen to have). I also must admit I am not entirely happy with this kit: First of all, it allows you to store only the last five calls received. But even worse, since it uses this sixteen character LCD display module, it throws away the date of the call and only shows the time. Maybe someone knows of a kit that can store the full data for each call and doesn't use these expensive specialized components? Ben Williams bew@brahms.udel.edu ------------------------------ From: Monty Solomon Subject: Re: Answering Machine Accepting Collect Calls Reply-To: Monty Solomon Organization: Roscom Date: Fri, 25 Feb 1994 07:35:29 GMT In article castillo@unm.edu (deborah castillo) writes: > The real answer to your question is you should record your greeting to > include the phrase, "operator, we will accept collect calls at this > number". Obviously, you don't want to have that phrase on your machine The phrase should include the word "yes" since some of the automated collect call handlers ask the answering party to say "yes" to accept the call. Therefore, something like "operator, yes we will accept collect calls at this number" would be better. The automated recordings at the AAA (American Auto Assn) state that they will accept collect calls. Monty Solomon / PO Box 2486 / Framingham, MA 01701-0405 monty@roscom.com ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #105 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa02933; 28 Feb 94 3:38 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA10073; Mon, 28 Feb 94 00:08:25 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA10062; Mon, 28 Feb 94 00:08:22 CST Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 00:08:22 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9402280608.AA10062@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #106 TELECOM Digest Mon, 28 Feb 94 00:08:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 106 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Bell Canada Recovers From Cable Disruptions (Bell News via Dave Leibold) Canadian Equal Access Begins in July (Bell News via Dave Leibold) Neal-Wilkinson Table (Marty Lawlor) DSP in Communications Book Wanted (Ken K.P. Lo) National Area Code Listing - Where? (Matthew R. Zeier) Software For Voicemail Testing? (Linda Slovick) Shots of 1965 Cord Board and Switch Room (Jonathan Welch) Palo Alto Considers the Communications Biz (Michael J. Graven) Telecom News From British Columbia, Canada (Vancouver Sun via R. Sambolec) 810 Area Code Trouble? (Carl Moore) Conference Announcement (Vijay Bhargava) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: Dave.Leibold@f730.n250.z1.fidonet.org (Dave Leibold) Date: 27 Feb 94 13:54:55 -0500 Subject: Bell Canada Recovers From Cable Disruptions Organization: FidoNet [from Bell News, Bell Ontario 21 Feb 94] Freak cable cuts fail to foil our first class service. On a record-breaking cold day in late January when cars wouldn't start, water pipes burst, and schools shut down for the day, Bell's fiber network -- transporting the signals of thousands of long distance calls -- suffered two major blows. A contractor, taking soil samples with a four-inch diameter drill at a site 22 kilometres west of Montreal's Mirabel Airport, cut the main intertoll fiber cable between Montreal and Toronto. Damaged were 83 T3 facilities. T3 is a volume of service capability. For example, one T3, which is a 45 megabits-per-second data stream, carries the equivalent of 672 simultaneous conversations or one network quality television signal. The cut, therefore, affected 55,776 voice circuits. But, thanks to the self-healing capabilities of Bell's networks, not a single conversation was disrupted. Within 50 milliseconds -- less than the blink of an eye -- all the circuits were switched to an alternate, route-diverse fiber. Repair crews were quickly dispatched to locate and repair the cable cut. Less than three hours later came the other blow. Municipal contractors repairing a frozen water main at 800 Wilson Avenue in Toronto cut the toll fiber cable connecting the radio relay/fiber repeater site in Uxbridge to the Ronald Avenue central office. Carried on this cable are 107 T3 facilities amounting to 71,904 voice circuits. "Forty six of these T3s were already on alternate cables due to the earlier problem," explained Gord Rushforth, general manager, Ontario Network Control. Again, within 50 milliseconds, 59 of the remaining 61 T3 facilities were switched to alternate route diverse fibers. "The remaining two T3s were put on broadband restoration fibers by activating automated restoration plans," said Gord. "At the same time, our High Performance Routing (HPR) traffic network rerouted calls that would normally travel on these two facilities to their destinations." Gord is convinced that without the capabilities of our technology and our survivable network planning, "these two incidents, following one on the heels of the other, could have led to the single worst failure in the history of Bell." "A prolonged service failure on 144 T3s or 96,786 voice circuits would have been catastrophic," he said. Agreeing with Gord is Ron MacIvor, vice-president, Network Operations. "It's clear that our investment in self-healing networks is now paying off," he said. Bell Ontario president Murray Makin called the split-second recovery "an extraordinary accomplishment." "While the technology provides for this type of service capability, I must really compliment the Network Services teams on the planning, designing, maintenance and administrative work that went into bringing this capability to life and ensuring it worked when the need arose." Referring to the recent Anik 2 failure, Murray said that "uninterrupted service is what gives Bell the edge over most of our competitors. "But while any company can buy similar technology, in the end it's the employees who make it work," he said. "And obviously, ours do just that." ------------------------------ From: Dave.Leibold@f730.n250.z1.fidonet.org (Dave Leibold) Date: 27 Feb 94 13:54:12 -0500 Subject: Canadian Equal Access Begins in July Organization: FidoNet [from Bell News, Bell Ontario 21 Feb 94] Equal Access -- it will test our strength, but it offers us an opportunity to show who's best. Along with parades, "equal access" will march our way on July 1, Canada's 127th birthday. Equal access will shorten the dialing procedure for customers who subscribe to a long distance competitor. They will no longer have to dial the 13 or 17 extra digits now required to reach that competitor's network. Like Bell customers, they will only have to dial 1 + area code + phone number to place a long distance call. The July 1 implementation of equal access was ordered by the CRTC in its June 1992 landmark decision, opening the doors to full long distance competition. Equal access will allow other carriers and resellers to access the full facilities of Bell's Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), enabling the delivery of advanced, future services and improved call set-up time. Bell has been working closely with competitors and the commission to develop and implement the technical, operational and systems aspects of network interconnection services. "Equal access will certainly benefit our competitors in the marketplace," says Bob Campbell, vice-president Network Planning. "But is also removes the major crutch they have used to claim that we have an unfair advantage over them." "Seize the opportunities" Bob believes that Bell should not fear the dawn of equal access. In fact, as long as we're prepared, equal access presents business oppor- tunities that the company can seize -- with the help of all employees. "For instance, it provides us with the ideal opportunity to remind customers why they have stayed with Bell in the first place -- because we provide total end-to-end telecommunications service, coupled with the best quality, value, innovation, and dependability. These are our strengths." As the implementation date for equal access approaches, customers will be bombarded from all sides with competing messages and aggressive sales pitches. Bell employees must be prepared to assist our customers in sorting out the confusing array of claims in the marketplace as competitors vie for the customer's attention. Public contact employees in particular will be in a unique position to guide customers through this confusing environment, while ensuring that they are made fully aware of Bell products and services. Even though Bell will stand to lose market share under equal access, Bob points to another important backstop: Bell's Carrier Services team. "By providing wholesale service excellence to our competitors, Carrier Services remains their supplier of choice and wins back important revenues for the company that would otherwise be lost." {Bell News} will be featuring articles leading up to July 1 to keep employees informed of the steps we're taking to provide equal access, and how we'll position it with our customers. Bell Canada Corporate Public Affairs and Bell Ontario Public Affairs are preparing materials to keep employees up to date with competitive information, and help prepare employees for effective response. And Bell SYGMA is developing a training program for employees whose jobs will be the most directly affected by equal access, including business office, Phonecentre, Operator Services, and Installation and Repair staff. The challenge for employees leading up to, and following, July 1 will be to stay focused on the customer responsiveness required to retain customers and maintain market share, as well as looking for opportunities to "win-back" customers who try out the competition. "Equal access will change the way many of us do business," says Bob, "but one constant will remain: the need for all of us to convince customers through words and actions that Bell remains their best-value, total service telecommunications provider." ------ (djcl extra note: Bell Canada also reported that some competing carriers are already busy pre-subscribing customers so that their default carrier will be switched when equal access time comes.) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Feb 94 08:34:10 EST From: mel@roch1.cci.com (Marty Lawlor) Subject: Neal-Wilkinson Table One of our engineers is trying to locate a Neal-Wilkinson Trunk Capacity Table. I believe he saw it cited in an AT&T publication. Any help in locating either hardcopy or electronic version is appreciated. Marty Lawlor Northern Telecom mel@cci.com ------------------------------ From: KKPLO@ELECTRICAL.watstar.uwaterloo.ca (Ken K P Lo) Subject: DSP in Communications Book Wanted Organization: University of Waterloo Date: Sun, 27 Feb 1994 15:02:33 GMT Hi everyone, The title says it all. Can anyone recommend a good book on DSP in communications? Thanks, Ken K P Lo S3 Rm 105 Box 460 A Student of University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario (519) 725 - 6332 kkplo@electrical.watstar.uwaterloo.ca ------------------------------ From: mzeier@interaccess.com (Matthew R. Zeier) Subject: National Area Code Listing - Where? Date: 26 Feb 1994 02:52:12 GMT Organization: InterAccess I'm searching for an up-to-date listing of all US Area Codes. Can someone point me in the right direction? Matthew R. Zeier mzeier@home.interaccess.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Try the Telecom Archives. Use anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, use name@site as password, then 'cd telecom-archives/areacodes'. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Feb 94 17:41:12 PST From: Linda Slovick Subject: Software For Voicemail Testing? I need to be able to send and receive test calls to/from our voicemail systems automatically. While I've pretty much narrowed the hardware down to either a Dialogic or Voice Power (AT&T) equipped 486 system, my boss warns me that I won't have time to cut the code myself, so I'm looking for software that will do what I need at well above the API-level. What he's got in mind is some sort of application software already intended for telephony test situations, an application generator (optimized for test?), or a high-end 4GL. Sending calls is pretty straightforward. I figure that pretty much any text-to-speech software for either board will allow me to make up messages such as, "This is test message number one sent via IEC 288 from Milpitas to Monterey at 9:37 on Tuesday." Receiving calls isn't too bad on the speech recognition side of things, as most of what the card has to be able to listen to is either recorded operators, voicemail prompts, its own messages being delivered back to it, and call processing. I figure that call processing might be the part that eventually gets to be the hairiest problem once we try negotiating various switches, LECs and IECs, so something known to be robust in this area would probably be more useful to us than killer speech recognition. At this point, no decisions have been made as to OS. DOS or some flavor of UNIX seem most likely here, but compelling applications software would drive both our OS and hardware decisions. Thanks in advance for any advice! Linda Slovick Slovick Engineering slovick@apple.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Feb 1994 20:53:49 -0500 From: Jonathan_Welch Subject: Shots of 1965 Cord Board and Switch Room I just finished watching "The Slender Thread" on American Movie Classics. About 15 minutes into the film there's a terrific sequence of shots of a row of operators running a cord board one of which is called upon to initiate an emergency trace. Then the scene switches to a technician going through rack after rack of what I'd guess was a stepper switch. I bet AMC will show this a few more times in the next few weeks -- you might want to catch it to see what this kind of equipment looked like at that point in time. Jonathan Welch VAX Systems Manager UMass/Amherst JHWELCH@ecs.umass.edu [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for the tipoff. Yes, some of that equipment would be fascinating to observe by our younger readers; many of whom have never even seen a 'cordboard'. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Michael J. Graven Subject: Palo Alto Considers the Communications Biz Date: Sun, 27 Feb 1994 11:16:49 PST Reply-To: mjg@cs.Stanford.EDU (Michael J Graven) The {San Jose Mercury News} reported on February 25 that the city of Palo Alto is considering building its own communications utility to rival the incipient networks being advertised by Pacific Bell and others. The proposed system would be a mix of fiber and coaxial cable. Earlier this month, the city (with assistance from Digital Equipment Corp.) launched a municipal information system linked to the World Wide Web. Officials claim they are the nation's first city on the Internet. "This will be one of the most important decisions we'll make," said Mayor Liz Kniss. The city council is expected to decide next month whether further consideration is warranted. Currently, Palo Alto is one of a very few municipalities in California with a city-run utility. Water, gas, and electric service are provided by the city; electric rates are said to be comparable if not a bit lower than surrounding municipalities, and the city revenue derived from them is considerable. More interesting is that the utility conduit right-of-way is also owned by the city, so a municipal service would be able to avoid the expense of leasing conduit space. If Palo Alto decides to undertake construction of this information Main Street (sorry), it will join Seattle, New York, and Austin, Texas: other municipalities developing their own fiber systems. Several options exist: the city could install a fiber net, or it could use some preinstalled coaxial plant belonging to Cable Co-Op, the cable TV cooperative; it could run the information utility by itself, or in partnership with an outside business; it could outsource information provision and take the role of a common carrier; it could farm the whole thing out to a contractor; or it could just sit back and decide to pass by the opportunity. Dianah Neff, Palo Alto's director of information resources, said "the decision whether to get into the (communications utility) business has to come within a year -- max." Already, city right-of-way is being leased to private business. Digital has fiber among its local offices through Palo Alto conduit. If private industry were to beat the city to the punch, there would be little incentive for municipal intervention. Michael mjg@cs.stanford.edu [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This is not to say Palo Alto is like Chicago -- far from it; but I hope they intend to *compete* with the existing service from PacBell rather than use municipal condemnation authority to *seize and take over* existing private facilities. We here had a very bad scare two years ago when the City of Chicago got the not-so-bright idea to 'municipalize' (the official, and less offensive way of saying 'steal') Commonwealth Edison facilities here. The city fathers seemed to think they could do so much better a job at electrical power generation and distribution -- and at a cheaper rate -- than Edison, whose franchise had to be renewed last year. Imagine: the same fools and idiots who run our public housing, our public transportation and our schools -- in shambles, all three -- were to be in charge of the nuclear power plants as well. The city council talked seriously about it for several months, and it literally scared the bejeezus out of the few remaining large corporate and industrial firms still located in our town (so many have split the scene over the years I have lost count). The city council tried to drum up support from the citizenry (not that it matters, they tend to pretty much ride roughshod and do as they please, but it helps to make it look like there is a consensus of approval), and they did get some support from the folks who think having the government in charge of literally everything is a great idea, but most people -- and none of the large businesses -- here wanted anything to do with it. We know how badly things get messed up when the government gets into an area traditionally served by private concerns such as real estate and property management, transportation, etc. The idea of the power going out on a cold night in January because the dimwit cousin of someone in City Hall was in charge of the power plant as a favor to his father-in-law the alderman is most unappealing. A couple of the biggies here flatly told Mayor Daley they would close their plants and move elsewhere; they simply would not risk remaining, and the mayor backed down eventually. Now I repeat, Palo Alto is not Chicago, but I hope the citizens there (if they are given any say-so in the matter -- here we are not; the politicians and lawyer/judges just do as they please) will think long and hard about allowing the government and a bunch of cronies to run something as vital as a telecommunications network. Telecom, like nuclear power generation/distribution, is not something the government should be managing. Errors in judgment are just too common, and mistakes can have disasterous consequences. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Richard Sambolec Subject: Telecom News From British Columbia, Canada Date: Sun, 27 Feb 1994 14:26:45 PST According to the {Vancouver Sun} (02/25/93, D9) the B.C. Securities Commission has approved a $15 million financing, allowing for the conversion of warrants into shares. "The prospectus approval by the securities commission will allow holders of 1,071,400 special warrants to convert their instruments into 1.141 common shares per warrant. And the securities commission's receipt of the prospectus allows Cam-Net access to the $14,099,624 held in escrow since the warrant sale last October." What makes this news, you ask? Well, in the fine tradition of the V.S.E., there is more to this story than may first appear. Cam-Net's C.E.O., Robert Moore, is alleged to have: 1) sold 416,400 Hovik shares on the VSE without a prospectus on May 26, 1988; 2) made a subsequent application for an exemption from the requirement to file a prospectus which contained material misrepresentations and failed to disclose material facts of the Hovik sale; 3) failed to comply with an order by the Superintendent of Brokers to report the particulars of the sale; 4) failed to file insider trading reports for the sale of $2.7 million worth of Cam-Net shares between August 1989 and September 1992; 5) delayed filing insider trading reports for the sale of $3.4 million worth of Hovik shares between May 1988 and September 1990 until March 1993; Cam-Net is a Vancouver-based long-distance reseller which has done nothing but lose money hand over fist since entering the competitive market. According to the paper, on February 18, 1994, Cam-Net reported a net loss of $7.1 million for the nine months ending November 30, 1993, and lost $1.76 million for the same period in 1992. What is the Hovik connection you ask? Well, in addition to being C.E.O. and Chairman of the Board of Cam-Net, Robert Moore held a controlling interest in Hovik Medical Corp, which is now known as Globetel Communications Ltd. Cam-Net Communications Inc. is owned by Cam-Net Communications Network Inc., which is publicly traded on NASDAQ and VSE, has numerous affiliated companies. Its Canadian subsidiaries are: Alldial Communications Inc. (based in Sudbury, Ontario), Cam-Net Communications Inc., Cam-Net Telecommunications Inc., Cam-Net Data Systems Ltd., Cam-Star Management Services Ltd., Canadian-American Communications Inc., Canadian Northstar Satellite Systems Ltd., Canadian Northstar Transmission Systems Ltd., Network Teleconnect Ltd. (based in Burlington, Ontario), Northstar Equipment (Canada) Ltd., Northstar Engineering (Canada) Ltd., Telesolutions Corporation (including its wholly-owned subsidiary, Consumers Telephone Corp., based in Toronto, Ontario) and VisionTel Communications Inc. VisionTel was founded in 1991 by managers who left Rogers Network Services when RNS decided not to enter the switched voice long distance market. It was jointly owned by its four Canadian founders, and Montana Power, the US utility which also operates a regional long distance carrier. Apparently Montana Power is no longer involved, and the Canadian principals accepted shares in Cam-Net as part of the merger. Cam-Net also has a few US subsidiaries, including: Business Tele-Communications Corporation (BTC), Cam-Net Inc., Cam-Net Holdings Inc., Cam-Net Systems Inc., Cam-Star Management Services Inc., Northcom Inc., Northstar Engineering Inc., Northstar Equipment Sales Inc., Northstar Satellite Systems Inc. (Oregon), and Northstar Transmission Systems Inc. Other related companies, besides Hovik/Globetel include: 308723 B.C. Ltd - the U.S. subsidiary, Northcom Inc. was purchased from 308723 B.C. Ltd. The numbered company's sole shareholder is Cam-Net Chairman and C.E.O., Robert E. Moore. Goeken Communications, Inc. -- the U.S. subsidiary, Business Tele-Communications Corporation (BTC) was purchased from GCI Liquidation Trust, successor to Goeken Communications, Inc. Goeken Communications, Inc. is related through John D. Goeken, a director common to both companies. Other news in the B.C. telecom industry: Westel Telecommunications Ltd.'s directors and senior managment people unveiled their new long distance service for B.C. at an invitation-only launch yesterday (February 24 at 5:30 p.m.) at the B.C. Enterprise Hall at the Plaza of Nations (part of the former Expo '86 site) in Vancouver. Westel was formed in April 1993, replacing its predecessor, B.C. Rail Telecommunications. B.C. Rail Telecommunications headed the BCRL/Lightel/Call-Net (*not Cam-Net) consortium which also petitioned for access to the domestic long distance market in the June 1992 IX-2 hearings before the C.R.T.C., Canada's federal regulator. Interestingly, my sources tell me that B.C Rail Telecommunications/Westel is suing Lightel for breach of contract with respect to their "phantom" partnership agreement. News from central Canada: The Rogers Communications Inc. take-over attempt of Maclean Hunter continues along its bumpy ride. Yesterday (February 24) the Maclean Hunter board of directors told its shareholders Rogers' $17-a-share offer was not enough. In the mean time, shareholders have driven both stocks down in heavy trading. Interestingly, Maclean Hunter suffered a setback in its efforts to thwart Rogers' take-over attempt. The Federal budget released on Tuesday (February 22) closed a tax loophole known by the exotic moniker, "The Butterfly Manoeuvre." New regulations no longer allow companies to sell their U.S. assets without incurring capital gains taxes. Otherwise it has been a "slow" week north of the 49th parallel ... Regards, Richard I. Sambolec Internet: sambolec@sfu.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Feb 94 17:52:53 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: 810 Area Code Trouble? Item sent to me: Phones have been in the news this week. Some businesses in Michigan are having trouble with the area code change over. Some equipment does not recognize 810 as a viable area code. I have personally run into this. I am sure it will all be corrected by the August official implementation date. ------------------------------ From: bhargava@sol.UVic.CA (Vijay Bhargava) Subject: Conference Announcement Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 01:05:16 GMT Sponsored by IEEE, India Council, IEEE Bangalore Section and the IETE (India) FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS The International Conference is conceived as a forum for discussion in this part of the world of the most recent advances in Wireless technology, networks, and services. Therefore the organizing technical committee will be pleased to receive most up-to-date information on the following subjects (although not limited to these). The Conference will have several technical sessions spread over two days (Aug. 18-19), preceded by one day (Aug.17) of tutorials covering two of the most topical current subjects. The organizing committee expects a lively and stimulating discussion on all wireless related subjects in the Garden city of India, Bangalore, specially of interest to developing countries. An extended abstract must be received by the Technical Program chair no later than April 15, 1994. Authors will be notified about acceptance by May 15, 1994 and a camera ready copy will be due by June 22, 1994. Deadlines: Abstract: April 15, 1994 Camera-ready copy : June 22, 1994 Plenary Speakers from Leading Organizations: - AT&T Bell Labs - Pactel Corp - NTT - Northern Telecom - INMARSAT - ALCATEL - QUALCOMM - Motorola - CITR Theme-Speaker: N. Vittal, Govt. of India Tutorials: - FLMPTS - How soon is soon enough - CDMA - A broadband Wireless Access Sessions: - Wireless Technology: Speech Coding for wireless Digital Modulation and channel coding TDMA or CDMA - Wireless Systems and Networks: Trunked Radio Systems (or Private Mobile Radio) Wireless solutions for Developing countries Mobile Data Satellite Communication Networks and VSAT's Wireless PABX's Wireless LAN's - Telecommunications Services Radio Paging and Voice-Mail Digital Cellular and PCS CT-2 Integration of wireless subscribers into existing PSTN Frequency Spectrum how much and how many For general inquiry regarding the conference including, exhibiting at the conference, advertising in final program or sponsoring a meal event please contact: Mr. Y.S.Rao, Conference Co-Chair Dr. A.K.Seth, Conference Co-Chair BPL Systems and Projects Limited C-DOT, Centre for Development of Telematics 1/1 Palace Road 9th Floor, Akbar Bhavan Bangalore 560 001, India New Delhi 100 021, India Phone: +91 80 220 5311 Phone: +91 11 677 525 FAX : +91 80 220 5311 FAX : +91 11 688 5528 Email: bplysr@ncb.ernet.in Manuscript may be submitted to: Dr. Vijay K. Bhargava, Technical Program Chair Dept of Elec. and Comp. Eng. University of Victoria, PO Box 3055 Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3P6 Phone: +1 604 721-8617 FAX : +1 604 721-6048 Email: bhargava@sirius.uvic.ca ADVANCE REGISTRATION Last Name: ........................... First Name: ......................... Company Name and Address: ................................................... ................................................... ................................................... ................................................... Telephone:................. FAX: ................. Name of Spouse/Guest: ....................................................... IEEE of IETE Member Registration (Membership# ..........) Rs 4,000/U.S.$200.00 Non Member Registration Rs 5,000/U.S.$250.00 (Includes all sessions, conference records, refreshments and lunches) Tutorials Rs 2,000/U.S.$100.00 (In addition to the registration fee above. Includes lunch and notes) Please check: |_| Tutorial #1 - Future Public Land Mobile Telecom Service (FPLMTS) |_| Tutorial #2 - CDMA - A Broadband Wireless Access Total remittance payable to: ICPWC '94 Hotel Information: Bangalore had a number of starred hotels (tariffs ranging from Rs 2,400 to Rs 4,000 in addition to Windsor Manor where the conference is organized viz. The Taj, Oberoi and others. A few rooms will be booked in advance at these hotels on first come basis to get a preferential rate for the conference participants. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #106 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa10809; 28 Feb 94 22:55 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA03045; Mon, 28 Feb 94 19:15:04 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA03035; Mon, 28 Feb 94 19:15:02 CST Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 19:15:02 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403010115.AA03035@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #107 TELECOM Digest Mon, 28 Feb 94 19:15:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 107 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Area Code Closeness (Roger Fajman) Re: Area Code Closeness (Mike King) Re: Area Code Closeness (David A. Kaye) Re: Area Code Closeness (Carl Moore) Re: Get Paid For Receiving Commercial Email (thssamj@iitmax.iit.edu) Re: Get Paid For Receiving Commercial Email (Steven King) Re: It's Impossible, Isn't It? (Tad Cook) Re: It's Impossible, Isn't It? (Brett Frankenberger) Re: Digital Cellular Phones (Henrik Rasmussen) Re: Digital Cellular Phones (Mike Borsetti) Re: Lowest Number in the NANP? (Michael Israeli) Re: Lowest Number in the NANP? (Tad Cook) Re: Lowest Number in the NANP? (Mike Wilcox) Re: Lowest Number in the NANP? (jdl@wam.umd.edu) Re: Lowest Number in the NANP? (Dave Levenson) Re: Need Information on ISDN Phones (Eric Bobinsky) Re: Air Cell (John D. Gretzinger) Re: These Cell Phones Don't Work - Why? (Henrik Rasmussen) Re: These Cell Phones Don't Work - Why? (Dave Levenson) Re: Another Misprogrammed COCOT (Jay Hennigan) Information Request For PBX-Computer Interworking (Masahiko Ohashi) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: Roger Fajman Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 18:34:31 EST Subject: Re: Area Code Closeness > Trivia comment/question: What places have *three* different area codes > as part of their local calling area? Lots of places in the Washington, DC area. Everyone in the large DC Metro Calling Area can dial the 202, 301, and 703 area codes as local calls. There are a number of places that can dial the 202, 301, and 410 area codes as local calls. Ashton, MD, where I live is one such place. > What community in the USA gets local service into four area > codes? There is one such place. By 'local', I mean no toll charges even > though 1 + AC + 7D dialing is required. Layhill exchanges in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC can make local calls to the, 202, 301, 410, and 703 area codes. So can Bowie, Berwyn, Hyattsville, and Silver Spring, MD exchanges. Local calls to another area code here can be dialed as AC + 7D or 1 + AC + 7D. ------------------------------ From: mk@TFS.COM (Mike King) Subject: Re: Area Code Closeness Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 16:17:44 (PST) In TELECOM Digest V14 #105, Pat noted: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: By coincidence, it appears we have two > persons named 'Mike King' in this issue, but the first one is Michael > rather than Mike. At least I assume it is two different people; the > net addresses are different. Yes, it messed me up at first in my > editing of this issue also. Both responding on the same thread, yet! PAT] Yeah, it sort of threw me for a minute, too. I've spent a good portion of my life trying to train people not to automatically assume my first name is "Michael," and I never thought Pat would do so. So when I started reading #105, and the last line on the screen was the line in the contents showing the subject to which I had replied, with that, um, other name, I began to wonder. Not to worry, I'd *never* alias myself with the name for which Mike is often a diminutive. ;-) Mike King mk@tfs.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, as the circulation list for this Digest continues to grow, I have a lot of identical names on it, but never before do I recall two persons with the same name in the same issue. Did you know that once every three or four years there is a convention in the USA of persons named "John Smith". Everyone by that name is invited to attend the convention held at some hotel. Can you imagine how crazed the hotel switchboard operator must be by the time the convention is over? "Please connect me with John Smith ..." Generally several hundred people by that name attend the convention. Now you know why I am so crazy. PAT] ------------------------------ From: dk@crl.com (David A. Kaye) Subject: Re: Area Code Closeness Date: 28 Feb 1994 01:20:09 -0800 Organization: CRL Dialup Internet Access (415) 705-6060 [login: guest] TELECOM Digest Editor questioned: > Trivia comment/question: What places have *three* different area codes > as part of their local calling area? Mountain View, Calif, the home of Ames Research, where NASA puts satellites together and all that. It's in area 415 (San Francisco), touches 408 to the immediate south (San Jose region), and 510 (the East Bay Oakland area) to the east. A call from Mountain View to Sunnyvale in 408 is local, as is a call to Fremont in 510. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 15:10:31 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: Area Code Closeness NO, when 219 hits Ohio, it hits the 419 area, NOT 216. Thanks to the 301/410 split, some of the Maryland suburbs (such as Silver Spring) in the DC area now have local service to four area codes. That is, all of 202 and parts of 301,410,703. Local calls to a different area code are dialed as NPA + 7D with the leading 1 optional. ------------------------------ From: thssamj@iitmax.iit.edu (jani) Subject: Re: Get Paid For Receiving Commercial Email Organization: Illinois Institute of Technology / Academic Computing Center Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 22:02:27 GMT It's probably an Internet account not a Internet connection which is ~$20 / month or so. ------------------------------ From: king@wildebeest.cig.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) Subject: Re: Get Paid For Receiving Commercial Email Date: 28 Feb 1994 23:07:32 GMT Organization: Motorola Cellular Infrastructure Group Reply-To: king@wildebeest.cig.mot.com terminus@uahcs2.cs.uah.edu (Scott(Mac Info HQ)) publicly declared: > Well, at $0.065/message and $200-$500/yr that menas 8-21 messages of > unknown length you have to read each day. If each message takes only > one minute to read (unlikely) that will be $3.90/hr. Personally, my free > time is worth more than that. And who says you have to read them? My terminal program has a wonderful scripting capability, and can capture them to disk in case I need them later ... Heck, I can even automate it to call and "read" my mail when I'm nowhere near the computer. Still, $200 to $500 annually isn't much of a profit. $41.67/month? I suppose it would pay a fraction of my phone bill. The offer reeks of scam. To anyone who looks into it, please tell us what you find out. Steven King -- Motorola Cellular Infrastructure Group ------------------------------ Subject: Re: It's Impossible, Isn't It? Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 11:35:31 PST From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook) bob@bci.nbn.com (Bob Schwartz) writes: > This happened to me and I've never heard of such a thing. > I have several lines and while talking on line line, which is hooked > up to a fax machine and a phone (distinctly seperate stations), the > phone integrated into the fax machine began to ring. then, right on > que, the fax machine answered and my conversation was obliterated by > fax tones The line has no special features such call waiting or three > way calling. It does however recieve from a remote call forwarding > source, but I can't see how RCF would have any involvement. > Has anyone seen or heard of such an occurance and how could it be? I have no idea what a "line line" is, but I assume that you are talking on the same line that the fax machine is hooked to, and that either you are behind one of those line sharing devices, or the fax machine has that feature. What is happening is that either your line sharing device or the fax machine is using a cheap filter for detecting CNG tone from the calling fax machine. The feature is so poorly implemented that it "falses" on a voice during the phone conversation, signals the fax machine, which then starts trying to handshake. Get a dedicated fax line. tad@ssc.com (if it bounces, use 3288544@mcimail.com)| [put "attn Box #215" Tad Cook | Packet Amateur Radio: | Home Phone: | on fax or cover pg!] Seattle, WA | KT7H @ N7DUO.WA.USA.NA | 206-527-4089 | FAX: 206-525-1791 ------------------------------ From: brettf@netcom.com (Brett Frankenberger) Subject: Re: It's Impossible, Isn't It? Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 23:23:16 GMT bob@bci.nbn.com (Bob Schwartz) writes: > This happened to me and I've never heard of such a thing. > I have several lines and while talking on line line, which is hooked > up to a fax machine and a phone (distinctly seperate stations), the > phone integrated into the fax machine began to ring. then, right on > que, the fax machine answered and my conversation was obliterated by > fax tones The line has no special features such call waiting or three > way calling. It does however recieve from a remote call forwarding > source, but I can't see how RCF would have any involvement. Once possibility is that the ring detefctor on the fax machine might be of very low quality. Detecting a ring should be trivially easy (look for a high voltage AC signal), but some boxes will trip on any relatively high voltage transient, and/or on any 20 Hz signal. If that is the case, a voltage spike or some sound on your conversation could cause the fax machine to think it has received a ring, and answer the call ... Brett (brettf@netcom.com) ------------------------------ From: Henrik.Rasmussen@lambada.oit.unc.edu (Henrik Rasmussen) Subject: Re: Digital Cellular Phones Date: 28 Feb 1994 02:54:59 GMT Organization: The University of NC, Chapel Hill, the Experimental BBS > Bill Bauserman william.d.bauserman@gte.sprint.com Note the above domain: are GTE and Sprint still related in some way? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 16:43:43 PDT From: Mike Borsetti, Cellular One/San Francisco Subject: Re: Digital Cellular Phones william.d.bauserman@gte.sprint.com writes: > Most cellular companies I have dealt with have set up (or are setting > up) their network to allow the digital user to drop to analog, but not > vice versa. That is, if you have a dualmode phone and the call starts > as analog or switches to analog because no digital channels are > available, then that call will remain analog until it ends, it will > not switch back to digital. By personal experience, I can say that this is not the case on Cellular One's San Francisco's digital (TDMA) cellular system. If for any reason you are in analog and the cellsite you're about to be handed off to has a digital channel available, you'll be assigned to it. I'm curious as to why a cellular company would deny analog to digital handoffs, as it would seem that it is in everyone's best interest to maximize digital usage. Mike Borsetti ------------------------------ From: izzy@access.netaxs.com (Michael Israeli) Subject: Re: Lowest Number in the NANP? Date: 28 Feb 1994 23:23:50 GMT Organization: Net Access - Philadelphia's Internet Connection > According to NJ Bell's automatic intercept service, the number > 201-200-0000 is 'being checked for trouble'. The number 201-200-0001 > has been disconnected. I didn't try any others in that prefix. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why not try 0002, 0003, etc and let > us know your findings. I wonder if they know the significance of their > number? What about at the other end of the line, any from the 919-999 > range? PAT] Here in the 610 area code, and also in the 215 area code, the numbers 00XX often seem to be some kind of "test" numbers. One will be 'being checked for trouble', another 'busy', another a strange busy signal. Is it possible that when you call a number that has been disconnected that your call is actually FORWARDED to that number? Michael Israeli - (izzy@access.netaxs.com) ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Lowest Number in the NANP Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 11:40:19 PST From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook) dave@westmark.com (Dave Levenson) writes: > According to NJ Bell's automatic intercept service, the number > 201-200-0000 is 'being checked for trouble'. The number 201-200-0001 > has been disconnected. I didn't try any others in that prefix. the Moderator responds: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why not try 0002, 0003, etc and let > us know your findings. I wonder if they know the significance of their > number? What about at the other end of the line, any from the 919-999 > range? PAT] The highest dialable number in the range is 919-995-9999 in Buxton, NC. It appears to be a working number with ring-no-answer when I called. The lowest is 201-200-0002, which is a trading desk at a brokerage house in Jersey City, New Jersey. These two exchanges are 386 miles apart. tad@ssc.com (if it bounces, use 3288544@mcimail.com)| [put "attn Box #215" Tad Cook | Packet Amateur Radio: | Home Phone: | on fax or cover pg!] Seattle, WA | KT7H @ N7DUO.WA.USA.NA | 206-527-4089 | FAX: 206-525-1791 ------------------------------ From: mwilcox@frx401.intel.com (Mike Wilcox ) Subject: Re: Lowest Number in the NANP? Date: 28 Feb 1994 21:27:25 GMT Organization: Intel Corporation , Folsom In article dave@westmark.com writes: > According to NJ Bell's automatic intercept service, the number > 201-200-0000 is 'being checked for trouble'. The number 201-200-0001 > has been disconnected. I didn't try any others in that prefix. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why not try 0002, 0003, etc and let > us know your findings. I wonder if they know the significance of their > number? What about at the other end of the line, any from the 919-999 > range? PAT] From 916-351 (Folsom, CA) 201-200-0000 "Being Checked For Trouble" 201-200-0001 "Has Been Disconnected" 201-200-0002 Answered at a business 919-999-9999 "Cannot be completed as dialed. 9161T" One interesting note about the recordings on the 201-200 numbers: The first recording read the number as two oh oh oh oh oh oh. The second recording read the number as two oh oh zero zero zero one. Mike Wilcox mwilcox@pcocd2.intel.com Intel Folsom Folsom Information Technology Telecomm and Network Services [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Did you notice that the intercept machine is smart enough to normally pronounce three trailing zeros as 'thousand' and two trailing digits as 'hundred' but in the event of a four zeros it does not say 'zero thousand'. Here, the lady says 'oh! oh! oh! ooooh!' sort of like something else was going on when the recording was being made. :) PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 22:18:40 -0500 From: Jonathan Subject: Re: Lowest Number in the NANP? I tried 201 200-0700 and got the same checked for trouble recording. The phone company explained that: (1) it was a local recording in NJ; (2) the recording is a generic recording that doesn't mean very much; and (3) the number doesn't belong to anybody, or, if it does, then they wouldn't do anything about it. In general I am really confused about incorrect recordings. It is annoying when the recording is wrong. And the phone company doesn't do anything about it because as far as they are concerned I have the wrong number. One time the recording (for somebody in one of my classes who had moved while we were working on a project together) referred me to a number outside my area; I called it and the person had no idea who the person that I was trying to reach was; I called the phone company and explained how important that it was to contact this individual, and they put in a repair report; the next day, the maintenance center called me back and said that the recording was the way that the customer ordered it. Maybe the customer or the service rep made a mistake filling out the original service order? ------------------------------ From: dave@westmark.com (Dave Levenson) Subject: Re: Lowest Number in the NANP? Reply-To: dave@westmark.com Organization: Westmark, Inc. Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 00:04:57 GMT dave@westmark.com (Dave Levenson) writes: > According to NJ Bell's automatic intercept service, the number > 201-200-0000 is 'being checked for trouble'. The number 201-200-0001 > has been disconnected. I didn't try any others in that prefix. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why not try 0002, 0003, etc and let > us know your findings. I wonder if they know the significance of their > number? I don't particularly want to disturb folks in Jersey City just because they have interesting telephone numbers. I don't know if they'd find it interesting. I did, however, try 201-200-0002 and it was a ring-no-answer on Saturday afternoon. That probably indicates that the number is working ... and therefore that it is the lowest working number in the NANP. Dave Levenson Internet: dave@westmark.com Westmark, Inc. UUCP: {uunet | rutgers | att}!westmark!dave Stirling, NJ, USA Voice: 908 647 0900 Fax: 908 647 6857 ------------------------------ From: cabobin@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov (ERIC BOBINSKY) Subject: Re: Need Information on ISDN Phones Date: 28 Feb 1994 16:03 EST Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center In article , varney@ihlpe.att.com writes: > In article btaylor@csuchico.edu (Beverly > Taylor) writes: >> In article , The Network Group <0004526627@ >> mcimail.com> wrote: >>> I need to know a source for ISDN phonesxxx -- excuse me: voice >>> terminals. >>> I have heard that AT&T has a few of these but haven't heard of any >>> other manufacturers such as Northern Telecom or others. Apparently the >>> Northern product for Meridian Digital Centrex is not an ISDN phone. >> We have used TelRad, Fujitsu, and AT&T ISDN sets. They're all used to >> run on an AT&T 5ESS. We're very satisfied with all of them and have >> only found these three will work with our CO switch. > I believe Bellcore lists vendors that support the National-1 ISDN > interface. These should all work with the 5ESS switch (on 5E8 and > later). We've got a couple of ISDN videophones from BT up in one of our labs -- email me if you want more details. (cabobin@timelord.lerc.nasa.gov) Eric A. Bobinsky Communications Systems NASA/Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH 44135 USA +1 216 433 3497 +1 216 433 8705 (Fax) ------------------------------ From: JOHN.D.GRETZINGER@sprint.sprint.com Date: 28 Feb 94 16:13:02-0500 Subject: Re: Air Cell In Volume 14 Issue 99 Stu Jeffery mentions a company using mobile phones from an aircraft. I presume he is talking about the air plane being in flight at the time. This would fly in the face of an FCC regulation that specifically prohibits the use of a land based cell phone while in flight. I too would be interested in that company to see how they got around that regulation, or do they have phones that work on both systems. John D. Gretzinger ------------------------------ From: Henrik.Rasmussen@lambada.oit.unc.edu (Henrik Rasmussen) Subject: Re: These Cell Phones Don't Work - Why? Date: 28 Feb 1994 03:09:35 GMT Organization: The University of NC at Chapel Hill, the Experimental BBS About two years ago an incompatability developed between Astro-Net switches and technophone Cellular telephones. This problems caused the Technophones to not recognize they were being paged, so an incoming call never rang the phone. I was told Astro-Net had to make a software mod and Technophone had to make a hardware mod to correct what was apparently a fault on both ends. ------------------------------ From: dave@westmark.com (Dave Levenson) Subject: Re: These Cell Phones Dont Work - Why? Reply-To: dave@westmark.com Organization: Westmark, Inc. Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 01:54:50 GMT I still use a 666-channel cellular telephone. It works okay on Cellular One, New York City CGSA. Dave Levenson Internet: dave@westmark.com Westmark, Inc. UUCP: {uunet | rutgers | att}!westmark!dave Stirling, NJ, USA Voice: 908 647 0900 Fax: 908 647 6857 ------------------------------ From: jay@coyote.rain.org (Jay Hennigan) Subject: Re: Another Misprogrammed COCOT Date: 28 Feb 1994 18:57:12 -0800 Organization: Disgruntled postal workers against gun control In article Carl Moore writes: > A COCOT I saw on a trip I just took across Vermont had (usual) > roblems with 10xxx access code (I used 1-800-321-0288 instead of > 10288) and also had this problem with use of the Orange Card: > I was able to call 1-800-(Orange Card Number), get the resulting tone, > then punch in the ten-digit code and the ten-digit number I was > calling, then get the next burst of tone, but then got "DISCONNECTED" > on the display I saw. Yep. Many COCOTs cut the tone pad after too few digits to use calling cards. Sounds like this one dumps the call as well. A Radio Shack pocket dialer is one workaround, and if you preprogram your calling card number into it, you avoid having to worry about "shoulder surfers" observing you keying in your card number. Speaking of COCOTs, I've observed that many of them scramble the dialed digits on the tone pad. That is, when dialing an 800 number, I can hear DTMF tones in the handset, but the tones are _not_ the digits I am dialing. However, I reach the correct number. Once the number is dialed, I get a synthesized "thank you", and thereafter the tone pad sends the correct tones. Does anyone know why this is done? Jay Hennigan jay@rain.org Santa Barbara CA ------------------------------ From: ohashi@ncs.nakahara.fujitsu.co.jp (Masahiko Ohashi) Subject: Information Requested For PBX-Computer Interworking Organization: Fujitsu Nagoya Communication Systems Ltd. Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 05:35:37 GMT Hello all! I'm researching standards of pricvate branch exchange (PBX) - computer interworking. I hear that International Organization for Standardization (ISO) starts her work for these standardizations and the first meeting was held at Korea in October last year. Will anyone tell me the result of the ISO meeting and/or schedule of PBX-computer interworking standardiztions? Thanks in advance. Ohashi - Fujistu Nagoya Communication Systems (e-mail : ohashi@ncs.ts.fujitsu.co.jp) ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #107 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa11294; 1 Mar 94 0:06 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA04656; Mon, 28 Feb 94 21:06:02 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA04646; Mon, 28 Feb 94 21:06:00 CST Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 21:06:00 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403010306.AA04646@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #108 TELECOM Digest Mon, 28 Feb 94 21:06:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 108 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Caller ID in Russia (For Curious) (Dima Volodin) Re: 1-900 as a State Moneymaker (Conrad Kimball) Re: PCS Documents? (M. Hedlund) Re: Answering Machine Accepting Collect Calls (Danny Burstein) Re: Information Needed on Satellite Phone (Lars Poulsen) Re: Looking For Low Cost Phone System (David A. Kaye) Re: Calling 800 Numbers in USA From UK (Bram Smits) Re: Cordless Telephone Output Power (Joseph R. Schumacher) Re: Intern's Pay in Telecom (Russ McGuire) Interference With Tape (was Re: Digital Cellular Phone Review) (B. Walker) Re: Lowest Number in the NANP? (Hugh Pritchard) Need Help Locating Writer (Dr. Harold Joseph Highland) Full Service Network (Joydeep Bose) Help Needed With Motorola Advisor Pager (Alec Isaacson) Any Information on Interop Conference? (Arnold Shore) Phones in the Movies Again (J. Harrison) Re: Inter-LATA CID (Stephen Polinsky) Question About Sprintnet Connections (Patrizio Menchetti Dott) Elementary Area Code Question (William Kucharski) Mailing List For Discussing Video Telephony (Oliver Jones) Re: 1-900 as a State Moneymaker (Phil Howard) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: Dmitry V. Volodin Subject: Re: Caller ID in Russia (For Curious) Organization: Demos Plus Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 02:24:41 GMT In johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine) writes: > It is my understanding that when dialing a toll call in Russia, you > have to dial your own phone number after the desired number so that > the exchange can tell who to bill it to. Is this what you're referring > to as Caller-ID? No. You don't have to dial your own phone number unless your exchange is _really_ old. > The term has a somewhat different meaning in the U.S. The term has exactly the same meaning here and in the U.S. A couple of words about ISKRA: In fact there's _two_ Iskras. Vassili described the older one (Iskra-1), but made a mistake -- it is _not_ digital. The newer one (Iskra-2) has five-digit numbers and it's own system of three-digit area codes and is based on digital exchanges. Iskra-2 is used extensively for dial-up access to various computer networks. Iskra-2 is not reachable from the PSTN (and vice versa), but it can be reachable from outside of the country. Iskra-2 used it's own long-distance trunks, but the current trend is that Iskra-2 and PSTN share the same long-distance trunks, so it's advantage is diminishing rapidly. Dima ------------------------------ From: cek@sdc.cs.boeing.com (Conrad Kimball) Subject: Re: 1-900 as a State Moneymaker Date: 28 Feb 94 23:03:13 GMT Organization: Boeing Computer Services, Seattle, WA In article , worley@village.com (Dale Worley) writes: >> Heard on the news today that Missouri state government has >> started a 1-900 number for businesses to find the provider of the >> lowest-cost workers' compensation insurance. They are charging $1 >> /min, with $.45-.55 to go to the state general revenue fund. > Sounds like a great deal, since finding a good workmens' compensation > company can save you thousands a year. >> Just a new method to rob people for information they should be >> providing free as a public service. > Eh? Providing the names, addresses, and rates of insurance companies has > never been a job of the state government, to my knowledge. That's what > you have insurance agents for! Given that the state government has already collected this information (at a minimum, as a result of registering with the state insurance commissioner's office), that this information is of a public nature, and that the people have already paid the government once to collect this information, many people object to the government viewing such information as a revenue-generating asset. I.e., why should I have to pay for something that I, as a taxpayer, _already_ own? Conrad Kimball | Client Server Tech Services, Boeing Computer Services cek@sdc.cs.boeing.com | P.O. Box 24346, MS 7M-HC (206) 865-6410 | Seattle, WA 98124-0346 ------------------------------ From: hedlund@netcom.com (M. Hedlund) Subject: Re: PCS Documents? Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 18:30:56 GMT In article GOODMANS@delphi.com writes: > Are there any 'white papers' out there which gives an overview on PCS > (Personal Communications Services)? I have seen alot of articles on > the service over the last few months, but I would like to have one > definitive document which gives an overview and possibly a listing of > some of the companies which are driving this. I highly recommend Bellcore Special Report SR-INS-002301, "Feature Descrip- tion and Functional Analysis of PCS Capabilities," Issue 1, April 1992. Available from Bellcore at 1(800) 521-CORE (2673), $55.00. If you have a higher budget than that, they have some more recent documents, but remember, they will primarily be concerned with the connect between the PCS service provider and the RBOC network (Bellcore is jointly owned by the seven RBOCs). ]\/[. ]-[edlund ------------------------------ From: dannyb@panix.com (danny burstein) Subject: Re: Answering Machine Accepting Collect Calls Date: 28 Feb 1994 17:38:38 -0500 In Monty Solomon writes: > In article castillo@unm.edu (deborah > castillo) writes: >> The real answer to your question is you should record your greeting to >> include the phrase, "operator, we will accept collect calls at this >> number". Obviously, you don't want to have that phrase on your machine > The phrase should include the word "yes" since some of the automated > collect call handlers ask the answering party to say "yes" to accept > the call. Hhmm, I can just see the following: Telesleaze Incorporated here. We have a $43 collect call from Mr. Dewey Scrooem. Will you accept? Perhaps in the old days of reasoanbly consistent AT&T rates it was safe to have your answering machine automatically accept calls, but I wouldn't do it now. dannyb@panix.com (or dburstein@mcimail.com) (10288) 0-700-864-3242 ------------------------------ From: lars@Eskimo.CPH.CMC.COM (Lars Poulsen) Subject: Re: Information Needed on Satellite Phone Organization: CMC Network Products, Copenhagen DENMARK Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 16:47:36 GMT In article hu@helios.physics.utoronto. ca (Min Hu) writes: > During the Gulf War, both the reporters and the American soldiers used > a kind of satellite phone system so that they could communicate with > outside world. Does anybody out there know companies who make or sell > this kind of mobile phone system? What you saw during the Gulf War was partly video uplinks on the rather enpensive systems used for broadcast feeds, and partly the Inmarsat telephone service, which provides phone service for many ships on the high seas. Presently, you should begin to hear about services from Motorola's Iridium system. In the Inmarsat system, the world is covered by three geostationary satellites, positioned roughly over the center of the Atlantic ocean, the center of the Pacific Ocean, and over India. Calls are about USD 10/minute. Earth stations typically use a three-foot dish antenna pointed towards the satellite. In the Iridium system, the earth is covered by about 70 satellites in low earth orbit. They will use channel management techniques derived from cellular mobile systems, except that in this case, it is the base stations that move. I believe they will use omnidirectional antennas. > The following features will be desirable. > 1. Ability to communicate while the phone is in motion (say a jeep) > 2. The diameter of the antanne should be less than 1 meter > 3. The satellite carrier should be either American satellite or sea > monitoring satellite. > 4. The antanne should be all-direction antanne, do not have to worry about > the direction of the satellite. It will be interesting to see how Iridium service will be priced. I think they must be several years away from being operationsal, though. Lars Poulsen Internet E-mail: lars@CMC.COM CMC Network Products Phone: (011-) +45-31 49 81 08 Hvidovre Strandvej 72 B Telefax: +45-31 49 83 08 DK-2650 Hvidovre, DENMARK Internets: designed and built while you wait ------------------------------ From: dk@crl.com (David A. Kaye) Subject: Re: Looking For Low Cost Phone System Date: 27 Feb 1994 01:12:13 -0800 Organization: CRL Dialup Internet Access (415) 705-6060 [login: guest] keith danekind (danekind@CS.ColoState.EDU) wrote: > machine and a modem. We are currently not able to handle the phone > traffic and the boss would like an automated solution rather than > hiring a receptionist to answer the calls. We are interested in call I know this goes counter to the very nature of telecom technology, but I'd recommend hiring a receptionist. As companies get bigger and bigger they tend to lose their friendliness. For instance, today when I call the post office I call the number for the nearest small town, not the big city post office. Why? The small town post office has a live person answering the phone. The big city has poorly maintained voicemail. I had occasion to call UPS today. First I got an internal dialtone, then nothing. Second call got a modem squeal. Third call got voicemail. There was no fourth call. I called FedEx instead. Got a human immediately. ------------------------------ From: bram@fangorn.hacktic.nl (Bram Smits) Subject: Re: Calling 800 Numbers in USA From UK Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 22:36:00 GMT Organization: Fangorn Systems Being one of the people who's touched the subject in the past year: > This comes up so often here, I am wondering: if I were to install a > couple lines here which people could call from all over the world for > the specific purpose of being reconnected to an 800 number, would anyone > be interested in using it if they had to pay $10 per month and use a > passcode to make the call (once they were connected through me)? PAT] I don't need to call 800 numbers very often, so $10 per month wouldn't be appealing to me. Maybe a system that would allow me to key in my credit card number and be billed like 50 cents per use would be better -- and it would still make you a nice bundle -- you have no costs except the monthly charges for the lines (and it saves on accounting, too ...). Bram 'mouser' Smits. Fangorn Systems Heerlen, The Netherlands ------------------------------ From: JOSEPH.R.SCHUMACHER@gte.sprint.com Date: 28 Feb 94 15:59:49 Subject: Re: Cordless Telephone Output Power The (FCC) RF output limits for cordless phones are as follows: 46/49 MHz phones: 10,000 microvolts / meter, as measured three meters from the phone. 900 MHz (narrow band) phones: 50,000 microvolts / meter, same as above. 900 MHz (spread-spectrum) phones : 1 W EIRP. I believe that 10,000 microvolts/meter is roughly equivalant to an ERP of about -15 dBm (about 30 microwatts). The 900 MHz limit is obviously 4 dB hotter (0.75 mW ERP). In the 902-928 MHz spread-spectrum rules, the FCC sets requirements for what constitutes spread-spectrum and what doesn't (i.e. a minimum chip rate). Some 900 Mhz phones will satisfy this rule, others won't. The others will obviously be held to the lower limit. On the other hand, I'd be surprised to find a consumer-grade cordless telephone with an ERP of exactly 1W; I'd guess that s-s cordless phones would use the same RF finals as handheld cellular phones. And while I'm on the topic: With respect to the discussion on increasing cordless phone range, 1) It's illegal to modify the circuitry without re-testing for FCC approval 2) even if it was legal, why does everyone want to increase the output power? There is probably more room for increasing the receiver sensitivity which would have the same effect. For instance, a cheap FET between the antenna and the receiver chip could add at least 10 dB of sensitivity, if you know what your'e doing. Joe ------------------------------ From: rmcguire@wiltel20.wiltel.com (Russ McGuire) Subject: Re: Intern's Pay in Telecom Date: 28 Feb 1994 15:24:03 GMT Organization: WilTel Reply-To: rmcguire@wiltel20.wiltel.com (Russ McGuire) In article Ramaiah V Narla writes: > Anyway, what I'd like to know is: is that how interns are taken up? So > badly paid? In the telecom industry, particularly? And, could an > institution such as NATA be as resource-starved? (The official said > they only pick up two interns each summer and pay them each just $10/day, > due to resource crunch). Could they have possibly meant $10/hour? I thought it was illegal to pay less than minimum wage, even to interns ;^) ... We have used interns at times here at WilTel, but I'm not sure how well we've paid them. I'm pretty sure it was more than $10/day ... Russ McGuire WilTel, Inc. ------------------------------ From: wwalker@qualcomm.com (Bill Walker) Subject: Interference With Tape (was Re: Digital Cellular Phone Review) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 14:20:58 -0800 Organization: Qualcomm, Inc. In article , oakes@wolverine.cig.mot.com (Ronald Oakes) wrote: > I can confirm that this will, and does, happen. I have a bag phone, > placed next to the transfer case controller on the floor of my S-10 > Blazer, so that the antenna sits right next to my car radio. I can > always tell when my phone registers and when I am about to receive a > call by the distinctive POP that comes out when listinging to a tape. > If I am listening to the radio, a registration is not as obvious, but > the extra transmissions when acknowledging a page and getting ready to > ring will cause noticeable interference with the radio. Tape players make surprisingly good recievers. I once drove between two friends who were communicating via CB radio, and I could hear their conversation on my 8-track (remember 8-track?) tape player! Bill Walker - WWalker@qualcomm.com - QUALCOMM, Inc., San Diego, CA USA ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 11:20 EST From: Hugh Pritchard <0006348214@mcimail.com> Subject: Re: Lowest Number in the NANP? > [Trivia comment/question: What places have *three* different area > codes as part of their local calling area? ... PAT] The Washington, DC, metro area. Affected regions: DC (202) suburban Maryland (301) suburban Virginia (703) Within your own region (don't say "state;" DC is not a state), dial seven digits. Calling another region, but within local calling area, dial NPA + 7D (not 1+). Calling outside local calling area, dial 1 + NPA + 7D. Note that from my home in College Park, MD [301], (between DC and Baltimore/ Washington Airport) a call to Reston, VA [703], (well across the Potomac, almost to Dulles airport) is within the local area; but a call to Fort Meade, MD, which is in the 410 NPA, but not that far away, is a toll call. Hugh Pritchard hugh@snm.com (Internet) 800/906-1621 (beeper) Smoke 'N Mirrors, Inc. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 09:48 EST From: Dr. Harold Joseph Highland Subject: Need Help Locating Writer Pat you had a note about SecretAgent from AT&T. It was from David Arneke. His Internet address, which I have to use, is incorrect; mail bounces. It is noted as david.arneke@att.com -- that first period must be an error. Thanks for your help. Harold [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A period is perfectly valid as a separ- ator in an address, and I do believe the way you saw it is the way I got it, but mistakes do occur. Unfortunatly I no longer have the original from him; those are usually tossed out immediatly following publication, otherwise I would be extremely overloaded with stuff. If it was wrong, hopefully the author will see this and contact you. PAT] ------------------------------ From: joydeep@iti.gov.sg (Joydeep Bose) Subject: Full Service Network Organization: National Computer Board, Singapore Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 08:30:08 GMT I am looking for some information on Full Service Networks. Specifically what is the architecture , how do they provide Cable Tv together with Interactive VOD and other Multimedia Services. Are they totally switched or partially star and partially BUS/RING. Any specific information on Time Warner and PAC BEL Trials would be appreciated. Regards, Joydeep ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 12:27:43 EST From: Alec Isaacson Subject: Help Needed With Motorola Advisor Pager I was just issued a Motorola "Advisor" display pager and I'm interested in two things. First, is there any software available on the net to send messages to the thing? If so, where is it? (I've heard the term IXO/TAP protocol used before, I think that's what this pager speaks) Second, what sort of interesting things are there to know about this model (i.e. self test modes, and other things unaccesable to the regular customer). Thanks, Alec D. Isaacson AI4CPHYW @ miamiu.acs.muohio.edu Miami University, Oxford, OH ------------------------------ From: ashore@access2.digex.net (Arnold Shore) Subject: Information Wanted on Interop Conference Date: 28 Feb 1994 22:24:24 GMT Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA Will appreciate any information on a series of conferences or expositions named Interop xx, where xx is the year. Theme, of course, was interoperability/telecom products, services, issues. Thanks, folks. ashore@access.digex.net [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Calling Ole Jacobson! Ole is our Interop person here; he publishes the {Interoperability Report} and comments here from time to time. I hope he will see this message and respond. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 18:06:02 +0000 From: J.Harrison@bra0112.wins.icl.co.uk Subject: Phones in the Movies Again I know we've discussed this before but ... where do they get phone numbers for actors to use where necessary in a movie? I thought there is supposed to be a list of "safe" numbers somewhere for just this purpose. So anyway when I was watching the old movie "10" on VCR last night Dudley Moore tells the hotel operator to get him some number. I wrote it down and called it to see what would happen ... and now some poor guy in LA wonders who it was that didn't leave a message on his answering machine. I guess it was a real number alright. Can they do this? I know I would be pretty unhappy if *my* number was used in this way. And yes I wrote it down right (I ran the tape a couple more times to make sure). Joe ICL Ltd. Bracknell Berkshire RG12 8SN UK (+44-344-473424) J.Harrison@bra0112.wins.icl.co.uk S=Harrison/I=J/OU1=bra0112/O=icl/P=icl/A=gold 400/C=GB [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There is no 'list of safe numbers'. Generally they'll use a number like 555-2341 since it is unlikely such a number will be assigned anytime soon. Maybe they assumed no one would be silly enough to actually dial the number to 'see who is there'. Tell me, if the number had answered, were you going to say "This is Dudley Moore calling," or were you just going to ring off and not say anything at all, or were you going to apologize for your intrusion? Whether or not someone has any claim as a result of their phone number appearing in a movie would depend I guess on which came first: their aquisition of the number or the production of the film. If the film was made years and years ago, a person who got assigned the number in recent weeks/months could hardly blame the film maker. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 10:18:22 EDT From: TELE_STEPH@ohio.gov Subject: Re: InterLATA CID tjnelson@attmail.att.com wrote: > I have a question regarding the use of Caller ID on Inter-LATA calls. > Currently the technology exists to deliver the calling number to the > terminating LEC office: > Originating-->--ISUP-->--InterLATA-->--ISUP-->--Terminating > CID LEC Carrier CID LEC I may be wrong about this, but I think it is because the FCC hasn't approved interstate Caller-ID, leaving the states to approve it on a one-by-one basis for local service. So, legally, PUCs for each state could probably approve inter-LATA, intrastate CID. But there is no financial motivation for the LECs to file the tariff, fight the court battles and work throught the hardware differences with the IXCs. They already charge for CID, and probably would not be permitted to charge any more for inter-LATA, intrastate CID. The technical problems, though present, pale in comparison. Stephen Polinsky tele_steph@ohio.gov ------------------------------ Subject: Help Needed Using Sprintnet Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 16:25:29 CET From: Patrizio Menchetti Dott I am trying to reach an online service available via SPRINTNET and at the same time avoid being ripped off with international or intercontin- ental calls. My subscription to the service includes subsription to SPRINTNET. Unfortunately, I have been provided with a phone number list which does not include Italy. I tried the SPRINT toll-free number, but apparently nobody was able to answer the following questions: - Are SPRINTNET accesses available in Italy? - Is SPRINTNET access available through INTERNET? Some help in this respect will be gladly welcomed. Thank you in advance. Patrizio Menchetti ------------------------------ From: kucharsk@solbourne.com (William Kucharski) Subject: Elementary Area Code Question Date: 28 Feb 1994 17:59:49 -0700 Organization: Solbourne Computer, Inc., Longmont, CO OK, this is probably an obvious question, but here goes: We recently went through a change requiring people within the 303 area code to dial 1 + 303 to call long distance numbers within the 303 area code (rather than just 1 + number). While I understand why they did this (need to reuse area code numbers as exchanges), why don't phone switches just use the following obvious (at least to me) algorithm: 1-XXX-YYYY 1+7 digits, must be long distance within the area code, so XXX is the exchange; 1-XXX-YYY-ZZZZ 1+10 digits, so XXX must be the area code. It seems a one or two second pause would be quite sufficient to denote "end of number ..." William Kucharski kucharsk@solbourne.com William Kucharski, Solbourne Computer, Inc. Internet: kucharsk@solbourne.com Ham: N0OKQ Snail Mail: 1900 Pike Road, Longmont, CO 80501 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Elaborating on that idea then, why bother to use '1' at all? Why not just say if seven digits, then the first three must be an exchange within the area and if ten digits, then the first three must be an area code? There would have to be longer than a two second timeout; some people are slow about dialing. But a five to seven second timeout would be sufficient and the timeout could always be overridden by the use of the # symbol as a terminator or carriage return. As things go now, we need to have timeouts to differentiate between 0 for the local operator and 00 for the long distance operator; people in the know about these things always dial 0# for fastest responses. I've always thought '1' was redundant with timeouts and/or a # terminator a superior way to deal with it. Plus, consider the flexibility: anything could be an area code; anything could be an exchange. In effect, telco says to the subscriber, you tell *us* where you are calling. PAT] ------------------------------ From: oj@world.std.com (Oliver Jones) Subject: Mailing List For Discussing Video Telephony Organization: Vivo Software, Inc. Date: Tue, 1 Mar 1994 02:29:47 GMT At the suggestion of several people on the comp.dcom.isdn newsgroup, I have started up a public mailing list for the discussion of video telephony, CCITT H.xxx standards, and related topics. To contribute to the discussion, please send email to: videophone@vivo.com To subscribe, unsubscribe, or conduct other administrative business, please send email to videophone-request@vivo.com The content of this mailing list won't be moderated in any way. Regards, Oliver Jones ------------------------------ From: phil@zeus.fasttax.com (Phil Howard) Subject: Re: 1-900 as a State Moneymaker Date: 28 Feb 1994 20:38:27 -0600 Organization: fasttax.com lreeves@crl.com (Les Reeves) writes: > Several years ago I installed a channel bank for the US Office of > Personnel Management's job line 900 service. It was a menu-driven > voice information system to provide up to date info on job availability > within parts of the federal government. The cost was the lowest I have > ever seen on any 900 service; 40 cents per minute. They told me they > selected a per-minute rate that would just cover the cost of the access > from MCI. So where does one call to get this kind of government information when they have 900/976 blocking? This really needs to be separated from the ripoff numbers. Phil Howard KA9WGN Unix/Internet System Admin CLR/Fast-Tax phil@fasttax.com ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #108 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa22280; 2 Mar 94 11:10 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA11871; Wed, 2 Mar 94 07:25:12 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA11861; Wed, 2 Mar 94 07:25:09 CST Date: Wed, 2 Mar 94 07:25:09 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403021325.AA11861@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #109 TELECOM Digest Wed, 2 Mar 94 07:25:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 109 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson New Brunswick Electronic Highway Discussion Paper Released (Claude Boucher) FBI Digital Telephony and PCS Mobile Phones (M. Hedlund) Help Needed With Old German Telephone (1941) (David Davidson) 555-XXXX Goes Big Time (John R. Levine) MCI/NEXTEL Announcement (Stephen Goodman) Unsolicited Fax Legality (Bob Keller, comp.dcom.fax via 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: Claude Boucher Date: Wed, 2 Mar 94 18:31:42 -0400 Reply-To: boucherc@nbnet.nb.ca Subject: New Brunswick Electronic Highway Discussion Paper Released Thought this might be of some interest for your readers. If you need more info, feel free to e-mail me at boucherc@nbnet.nb.ca. You can also contact Maurice Lavigne with the Electronic Highway Secretariat at mauricel@gov.nb.ca. Claude Boucher Communications Officer Communications New Brunswick Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada Tel.: (506) 453-2240 INFORMATION HIGHWAY SECRETARIAT NB 8 March 1, 1994 FREDERICTON (CNB) -- The report of the New Brunswick Task Force on the Electronic Information Highway, Driving the Information Highway, was released by Premier Frank McKenna and George Corriveau, minister of state for the electronic information highway today. The official ceremony was held in the Centennial Building lobby, where an Information Highway Showcase has been open to the public for two days. Addressing those in attendance, the premier called the document a major part of a larger blueprint that would help develop the information highway in New Brunswick to its fullest potential for business, industry, academia and for all New Brunswickers. "If we want a piece of the action generated by this technology, we can't be trying to catch the train after it's left the station," he said. Corriveau thanked the task force, chaired by Bob Gamble, president of the N.B. Geographic Information Corporation. The minister outlined the role the task force identified for government. "The task force sees government as having a key role to play as a model/customer user of the highway." Corriveau identified other areas he says fall within the mandate of his recently-created office: providing education and training opportunities; acting as a liaison between public and private sector; promoting continued development of the highway, and helping New Brunswick companies develop products and services for the highway and for export. As part of the official launch, the premier sent the document via Internet to federal Industry Minister John Manley. Prior to the ceremony, the report was tabled in the legislative assembly. Applications showcased in the lobby of the Centennial Building included: TV Talk, use of a television screen to capture telephone services; Service New Brunswick, a free-standing unit that allows people to obtain services from government offices, NBTel and NB Power; NB Alert, a system of distinctive phone rings combined with mapping capabilities to alert people in possible danger; Interactive Television Transmission, a sample of 21st century communications possible via cable television; Tele-Radiology, the transmission of electrical diagnostic images taken at one location to another location for interpretation and analysis, and Vista 350, an interactive telephone with a display screen enabling people to view printed messages. 93/03/01 EDITOR'S NOTE -- Maurice Lavigne, Information Highway Secretariat, (mauricel@gov.nb.ca) Electronic copies of the report are available on our anonymous ftp server ftp.gov.nb.ca (142.139.24.1), in the following directories: Login: anonymous Password: your e-mail address Files for DOS and WINDOWS ---------------------------------------------------------- NB.Gov.Info/info.highway/DRIVING.ZIP (English version) NB.Gov.Info/info.highway/MENER.ZIP (French version) You must use a fairly recent version of PKUNZIP.EXE in order to decompress the files. Files for Macintosh (all versions in both languages) -------------------------------------------------------- NB.Gov.Info/cnb/macfiles/mactext.sit.hqx (Text only) NB.Gov.Info/cnb/macfiles/macwrite.sit.hqx (MacWrite) NB.Gov.Info/cnb/macfiles/msword5.sit.hqx (MS Word 5.0) NB.Gov.Info/cnb/macfiles/wperfect2.sit.hqx (WPerfect/Mac 2.x) You must use a fairly recent version of StuffIt to decode and decompress the files (BinHex 4.0 format). This shareware is available on most Macintosh archives on the Net, such as mac.archive.umich.edu (Merit Archives at the University of Michigan). ------------------------------ From: hedlund@netcom.com (M. Hedlund) Subject: FBI Digital Telephony and PCS Mobile Phones Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Tue, 1 Mar 1994 23:34:26 GMT This article elaborates on part of the EFF statement issued last week concerning the FBI's proposed Digital Telephony wiretap bill. The EFF condemned the bill, which enlarges law enforcement powers of surveillance, granted by wiretap laws, by adding tracking ability. Addressed herein is point two of the EFF statement, concerning the surveillance of mobile communica- tors, such as cellular phones, Personal Communications Services (PCS) and laptop computers. PCS mobile phones create severe privacy risks for future phone users, especially under the FBI's proposal; and these risks strongly support the EFF's position. The FBI asserts that their proposal adapts existing wiretap laws to account for emerging communications technologies. Wiretap laws have not adequately covered mobile communications, and the FBI is correct to assume that some revisions will be necessary to adequately balance law enforcement needs with the privacy rights of mobile phone users. Their proposed revisions, however, do not simply provide for wiretap; instead, the FBI seeks to expand wiretap laws, allowing law enforcement officers to track the signalling information of mobile communcations users. The EFF believes that the FBI proposal would create an enormous hole in the privacy rights of individuals suspected of crimes. Their statement notes: It is conceivable that law enforcement could use the signalling information to identify the location of a target ... This provision takes a major step beyond current law in that it allows for a tap and/or trace on a *person*, as opposed to mere surveillance of a phone line. This fear is completely realistic. It is not simply "conceivable" that the FBI's proposal would allow law enforcement to surveil the location of a target -- positioning technology is a planned part of PCS networks, one of the technological advances anticipated by the proposal. Similar positioning technology is planned for cellular phones, as well. PCS advances cellular phone technology by integrating mobile communications with other phone networks, and by expanding the services and quality mobile phones can offer. Most PCS proposals involve three forms of mobility: terminal mobility, the ability to make and receive calls at any location, and the ability of the phone network to track the location of the mobile phone; personal mobility, the ability of the user to be reachable by a single phone number at all times; and service mobility, the ability of the user to access CLASS(sm)-like features, such as Call Waiting and Caller ID, from any phone they use. The FBI proposal requires phone companies, when presented with a wiretap order, to transmit the content and the signalling, or "call setup information," from the tapped phone to law enforcement officers. With a wireline phone, such as a residence phone line, call setup information would comprise only the originating and dialled phone numbers, as well as billing information (such as the residence address) for the call. Because of the wireless aspect of PCS, however, call setup information for a PCS phone includes very detailed information on the location and movement of the caller. PCS mobile phones will connect with the phone network via "microcells," or very small receivers similar to those used for cellular phones. While a cellular network uses cells with up to an 8 to 10 mile radius, PCS networks will use microcells located on every street corner and in every building. The call setup information for a PCS call would include the microcell identifier -- a very specific means of locating the user. An order for a PCS wiretap would allow law enforcement officers to receive a detailed, verifiable, continuous record of the location and movement of a mobile phone user. These phones are also likely to "feature" automatic registration: whenever the PCS mobile phone is on (in use or able to receive calls), it will automatically register itself with the nearest microcell. Law enforce- ment agencies, able to track this registration, would have the equivalent of an automatic, free, instantaneous, and unde- tectable global positioning locator for anyone suspected of a crime. PCS tries to improve on cellular phone privacy and security by incorporating cryptographic techniques. Encryption could not only create a secure phone conversation, but could also (coupled with use of a PIN number) insure that only a valid subscriber could make calls on a particular phone, preventing fraudulent calls on stolen phones. An additional phone-to-network authentication could prevent fraudulent calling through a "masquerade" phone designed to simulate a user's regis- tration. But the FBI proposal would require that such encryption be defeatable in wiretap circumstances. As the proposal stands, this form of weak encryp- tion is distinguishable from the Clipper Chip because the phone companies, not a key escrow arrangement, enable law enforcement access; but it is entirely possible that the Clipper Chip could be used as the encrypting device. In either circumstance, PCS encryption could be compromised by careless or malicious law enforcement officials. Perhaps it is time for Phil Zimmerman and ViaCrypt to begin work on PGPCS -- and let us all hope we are so lucky. The cellular phone market is tremendous, and analysts believe that the PCS market, incorporating both voice and data communications, will be even larger. Coupled with the FBI's Digital Telephony proposal, PCS raises many privacy and security risks, making the EFF's condemnation of the FBI proposal all the more appropriate. ----------------- CLASS is a service mark of Bell Communications Research (Bellcore). For more information: * Bellcore Special Report SR-INS-002301, "Feature Description and Functional Analysis of Personal Communications Services (PCS) Capabilities," Issue 1, April 1992. Order from Bellcore, (800) 521-CORE (2673), $55.00. * GAO report GAO/OSI-94-2, "Communications Privacy: Federal Policy and Actions," November 1993. Anonymous FTP to cu.nih.gov, in the directory "gao-reports". * EFF documents, available via anonymous FTP or gopher: ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/EFF/Policy/Digital_Telephony ]\/[. ]-[edlund ------------------------------ From: davidson@ccrs.emr.ca (David Davidson) Subject: Help Needed With Old German Telephone (1941) Organization: Canada Centre for Remote Sensing Date: Tue, 1 Mar 1994 19:09:23 -0500 I just bought this old phone at the Savation Army Store. I would really like to hook it up. Can anyone help me. The description: The base of the phone is made out of what looks like a dark cardbord that has been dipped in plastic. The reciever is the handle type, there is a hook on one end, where your fingers wrap around there is a long button to squeeze. The reciever is black and the part you speak into is covered except for a few slots. The cloth cord from the reciever ends in a square plug that plugs into the top of the phone, behind where you put the reciever (the cradle?). THis plug has a small wiring diagram on it and the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 which I think correspond to the plugs connectors. Looking down were you rest the reciever it says "Vermittlungsklinke". The dial face is white with black numbers. The rotary part is black metal and has the letters A to K corresponding to the numbers. The underside: The base is metal. Stamped on it is 23532, then a circle around a capital "M". In the "M" is a small "T", then it says "1941". There is then a wiring diagram written on an aluminum plate attached in the middle. In purple stamped on to this is a large "Z". In the front part of the large "Z" there is a smaller "Z" and in the right half of the "Z" there is a smaller "A". Above this it has a sticker that says "POST". The back: For the contacts it has four large screw down connectors. It could accept very large gauge wire. Top Left (TL) is says "Lb/SA/ZB", then (TR) it says "Lb/OB", (BR) "E", and finally (BL) "La". So, I know it is a German phone from 1941, but can anyone tell me anything else? I would like to hook this up if possible. I am also curious what this might be worth. It has been used, but I would say it is in 85% good condition. I am really happy I found this and plan on putting it right beside my 1957 Swedish phone (Erricson sp?). Thanks in advance for anyone who can help me. David ------------------------------ From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine) Subject: 555-XXXX Goes Big Time Date: Tue, 1 Mar 94 20:11:18 EST A story in {Network World} reports that the telephone Industry Numbering Committee, administered by Bellcore, is proposing to allot 3000 numbers in the 555-XXXX range for use as seven-digit information service numbers. One of the eager customers for 555 service is USA Today, who presumably wants to move the well-known 800-555-5555, er, 900-555-5555 to plain 555-5555. The article said 555 numbers would be an alternative to 800 numbers, but the examples they gave were of existing 900 numbers. I'm confused. They're also discussing a proposal from Sprint to allow assignment of 950 numbers for other than FG B access, particularly for things like credit card authorizations who want fast setup for short calls. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, jlevine@delphi.com, 1037498@mcimail.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Mar 94 13:22 EST From: Stephen Goodman <0003945654@mcimail.com> Subject: MCI/NEXTEL Announcement MCI WILL INVEST $1.3 BILLION IN NEXTEL TO OFFER NATIONALLY BRANDED WIRELESS SERVICES networkMCI Strategic Alliance With Nextel and Comcast Will Provide First Digital Personal Communications Services WASHINGTON, D.C. February 28, 1994 -- A strategic alliance formed today by MCI, Nextel Communications and Comcast Corporation will begin offering MCI wireless personal communications services this year, with the technology platform provided by Motorola Inc. A $1.3 billion MCI investment in Nextel will accelerate this first nationwide offering of advanced wireless voice and data communications, featuring digital clarity and reliability, a single telephone number that will work anywhere, and availability throughout the country. The companies said that their alliance will bring these enhanced flexible services to consumers, business and government customers far sooner than generally had been expected. The services will be marketed jointly by MCI, Nextel and Comcast under the MCI brand name. Nextel's license coverage and planned interoperability agreements give the alliance the potential to reach 95 percent of the U.S. population. Its first digital network is already serving customers in the Los Angeles area and will stretch across California within the next few months. With the investment by MCI, plans are underway to accelerate construction in most major cities. "Wireless communication is becoming an integral part of our daily lives, and demand is growing rapidly," said Bert C. Roberts, Jr., MCI chairman and CEO, at a press conference in Washington, D.C. "Customers have been asking us to provide a totally portable communications service that meets their needs any time, anywhere. This alliance means that Nextel is the platform on which we will build an integrated wireless strategy, and that we will be able to reach virtually every American who wants wireless service." The strategic agreement will capitalize on the strengths of four dynamic companies, each a leader in its field. MCI brings world-class marketing assets -- name recognition, customer base and distribution channels -- as well as the company's intelligent network. Nextel adds licenses with extensive geographical coverage, planned interoperability agreements and proven wireless products and services. Comcast contributes its experience and know-how in operating cable and cellular systems and will support the build-out and operation of Nextel systems. Motorola will provide its Integrated Radio Service (MIRS) technology platform, as well as subscriber equipment. These combined strengths will enable the companies to provide a wide array of advanced wireless services to consumers, business and government customers over a larger area than any other wireless service competitor. "This alliance means that everyone else will be playing catch up," said Morgan E. O'Brien, Nextel chairman. "MCI's enormously successful marketing and branding, and large customer base give us the ability to extend beyond our core of business customers to serve virtually anyone who could benefit from wireless communications. We are delivering the first of these advanced wireless services on our all-digital network in L.A., including wireless telephone, two-way paging and dispatch radio." Under terms of the agreement, MCI will purchase approximately 17 percent of Nextel's stock, which will match Comcast's ownership. The initial purchase, expected to occur in a few months, will consist of 22 million shares of Nextel stock at $36 per share. MCI has also committed to purchase an additional 15 million shares at an average cost of $38 per share over the next three years, for a total investment of more than $1.3 billion. The announcement adds one more key component to networkMCI, the company's strategic vision announced in January. When networkMCI was unveiled, MCI highlighted its intent to form alliances with communications and information industry leaders to provide innovative new communications services. It identified wireless personal communications services as an integral part of the networkMCI vision. Roberts pointed out that the demand for wireless voice communications is expected to grow from 15 million users today to 80-90 million users in the next 10 years. Data, paging and messaging applications will further expand the total wireless market. The companies said they will provide consumers, business and government customers with MCI-branded services such as mobile services, alphanumeric messaging, dispatching and data transmission, all integrated in a single digital phone. The same telephone number will work from anywhere in the United States. Comcast has been increasing its presence in the telephony business in recent years through its ownership and operation of cellular properties in the Northeastern U.S. and cable/telephone operations in the United Kingdom. As part of the alliance, MCI and Comcast have entered into a shareholders' agreement with equal representation, and together they will own approximately 35 percent of Nextel. "Comcast is proud to have been a catalyst for bringing this alliance together," Brian L. Roberts, president of Comcast, said. "We are delighted that MCI will be joining us as both an operating partner and an investor in Nextel. From the time of our original investment in Nextel just 18 months ago, management's efforts have resulted in a near tripling of the reach of its operations. In addition to marketing under the MCI name, Comcast may market Nextel's products under our own brand as well." Handsets and infrastructure for the new system, both produced by Motorola, provide improved functionality over earlier mobile services, including digital voice, message and data services. Messages can be displayed on phone screens. The phones also can be used as mobile data receivers. Because it will be fully digital, the wireless services will provide crisper voice and data quality than current analog systems. The new system will use Motorola's powerful new digital communications technology, Motorola Integrated Radio System (MIRS). Morton L. Topfer, president and general manager of Motorola's Land Mobile Products Sector, said, "The versatility and spectrum efficiency of MIRS will open the door to a whole new world of digital, personal communications services. As it will on other MIRS systems around the world, this technology adds the power of messaging, dispatch and data, to the same handset." The agreement is subject to appropriate regulatory review. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Mar 1994 06:35:14 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Unsolicited Fax Legality FYI. From comp.dcom.fax. From: rjk@clark.net (Robert J. Keller) Subject: Re: Unsolicited Fax Legality (CORRECTION!) Date: 26 Feb 1994 12:14:14 -0500 Organization: Robert J. Keller, P.C. (Federal Telecommunications Law) Thanks to an e-mail from George Pajari , I must correct my last post to say that I discoverd a 1992 amendment to FCC Rule Section 68.318, adding the fax header/identification requirement which George refers. For some reason this did not show up in my initial computer search on Section 68.318. I then searched on the exact language of the subsection (which George kindly e-mailed to me) and that finally netted me the amendment and some related material that is included below. The amendment added a new subsection, Section 68.318(c)(3), which reads as follows: Telephone facsimile machines; identification of the sender of the message. It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States to use a computer or other electronic device to send any message via a telephone facsimile machine unless such message clearly contains, in a margin at the top or bottom of each transmitted page or on the first page of the transmission, the date and time it is sent and an identification of the business, other entity, or individual sending the message and the telephone number of the sending machine or of such business, other entity, or individual. Telephone facsimile machines manufactured on and after December 20, 1992 must clearly mark such identifying information on each transmitted message. Attached below are two FCC Pulic Notices relating to the amendment. I have deleted from the first Public Notice much of the material not specifically relating to fax. (This was part of a broader set of rule amendments addressing the general area of unsolicited telephone calls, automatic dialers, etc. If you need the entire text of all the amendments and the full text of the 11 Jan 1994 Public Notice, send me an e-mail.) Bob Keller (KY3R) rjk@telcomlaw.win.net Tel +1 301.229.5208 rjk@clark.net CompuServe 76100,3333 Fax +1 301.229.6875 ===== Excerpted from FCC January 11, 1993 Public Notice ===== FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION PUBLIC NOTICE (31291 / DA 92-1716) January 11, 1993 INDUSTRY BULLETIN -- TELEPHONE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT TELEPHONE SOLICITATIONS, AUTODIALED AND ARTIFICIAL OR PRERECORDED VOICE MESSAGE TELEPHONE CALLS, AND THE USE OF FACSIMILE MACHINES The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a federal statute that was enacted on December 20, 1991, to address concerns about the growing volume of unsolicited telephone marketing calls and the increasing use of automated and prerecorded telephone calls. The TCPA imposes restrictions on the use of automatic telephone dialing systems ("autodialers"), artificial or prerecorded voice messages, and telephone facsimile machines to send unsolicited advertisements. The TCPA also directs the FCC to adopt regulations to protect residential telephone subscribers' privacy rights to avoid receiving telephone solicitations to which they object. The FCC adopted rules and regulations, effective December 20, 1992, implementing the TCPA. *fn*1 The FCC will be monitoring complaints about automated calls and unwanted telephone solicitations to determine whether additional action to limit or to prohibit such calls would be appropriate. ---------- On December 18, 1992, the United States District Court for the District of Oregon issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the Commission from enforcing sec. 227 (b) (1) (B) of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 pending judicial action on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of that section (sec. 227 (b) (1) (B) prohibits calls using artificial or prerecorded messages to residential telephone subscribers). The injunction applies nationwide, and affects only FCC enforcement of sec. 227 (b) (1) (B). Different rules and regulations apply to calls placed to residences and calls placed to businesses. Therefore, you should carefully read this entire bulletin which is intended to assist your organization in complying with the TCPA and the FCC's rules and regulations. *** [Lots of Q&A's Deleted] *** DO FCC RULES BAN UNSOLICITED ADVERTISEMENTS TO TELEPHONE FACSIMILE MACHINES? Yes. Effective December 20, 1992, FCC rules ban the transmission of unsolicited advertisements to telephone facsimile machines. An "unsolicited advertisement" is defined as a transmission advertising the commercial availability or quality of property, goods or services without the prior express invitation or permission of the person or entity receiving the transmission. Unsolicited advertisements may not be transmitted by any device to a telephone facsimile machine unless the person receiving the facsimile has given prior express invitation or permission to receive it. If the sender and the recipient have an established business relationship, an invitation or permission to receive unsolicited facsimile advertisements is presumed to exist. However, the recipient may end an established business relationship by requesting that no further unsolicited advertisements be sent, thus revoking any invitation or permission to receive further transmissions. WHAT OTHER REQUIREMENTS APPLY TO THE USE OR MANUFACTURE OF TELEPHONE FACSIMILE MACHINES? FCC rules require that each transmission to a telephone facsimile machine must clearly contain, in a margin at the top or bottom of each transmitted page or on the first page of the transmission, (1) the date and time the transmission is sent (2) the identity of the ender and (3) the telephone number of the sender or of the sending machine. All telephone facsimile machines manufactured on or after December 20, 1992 must have the capacity to clearly mark such identifying information on the first page or on each page of the transmission. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR COMPLIANCE WITH FCC RULES ON TELEPHONE FACSIMILE TRANSMISSIONS? The person on whose behalf a facsimile transmission is sent will ultimately be held liable for violations of the TCPA or FCC rules. *** [More Q&A's Deleted] *** ===== Entire Text of FCC January 13, 1993 Public Notice ===== FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION PUBLIC NOTICE (31328) January 13, 1993 PART 68 IMPLEMENTATION OF TELEPHONE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT FCC Docket No. 92-90, released October 16, 1992, became effective on December 20, 1992. For Part 68 requirements, see 47 C.F.R. sec. 68.318(c)(2) and (c)(3). 1. On December 18, 1992, the U.S. District Court for the district of Oregon imposed a preliminary injunction upon the Commission, which prevents the Commission from enforcing sec. 227(b)(1)(B) (prohibiting artificial or prerecorded voice calls to residences) of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The injunction applies nationwide, but affects only Commission enforcement of sec. 227(b)(1)(B). The Commission, therefore, is implementing that portion of the Act relating to facsimile document marking requirements. 2. When filing Form 730 applications for registration of facsimile machines, applicants must attest that their equipment is capable of marking the document sent by identifying the sender, date and time of the transmission, and the telephone number of the sender or the sending machine on the first or each page transmitted and must provide consumers with appropriate customer instructions. When listing the model numbers on the Form 730 application, applicants will attest compliance with this requirement by inserting the code letters "FB" (for "fax branding") ahead of the model number. Example: FB 1234, where 1234 is the model number fax machine. If the fax machine comes equipped with a hearing-aid compatible telephone, compliance is shown as: FB HAC 1234. 3. The Commission will consider the existing registration of any machine manufactured before December 20, 1992 to continue to be valid. Form 730 Customer Instructions: The following information must be provided in Exhibit J of the Form 730 application and in instructions furnished the customer as provided in the following example: The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 makes it unlawful for any person to use a computer or other electronic device to send any message via a telephone fax machine unless such message clearly contains in a margin at the top or bottom of each transmitted page or on the first page of the transmission, the date and time it is sent and an identification of the business or other entity, or other individual sending the message and the telephone number of the sending machine or such business, other entity, or individual. In order to program this information into your fax machine, you should complete the following steps. Insert here instructions for programming the equipment and the required information or the page where it can be found. The fax branding procedure outlined above will be used only for fax machines and not for fax cards used in computers pending reconsideration proceedings. FCC Contact: William von Alven (202) 634 1833 ===== end of attachments ===== Bob Keller (KY3R) rjk@telcomlaw.win.net Tel +1 301.229.5208 rjk@clark.net CompuServe 76100,3333 Fax +1 301.229.6875 ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #109 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa26498; 2 Mar 94 19:01 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA23055; Wed, 2 Mar 94 15:12:02 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA23045; Wed, 2 Mar 94 15:12:00 CST Date: Wed, 2 Mar 94 15:12:00 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403022112.AA23045@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #110 TELECOM Digest Wed, 2 Mar 94 15:12:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 110 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Need to Monitor Pager Transmissions (B.J. Guillot) Sprint Canada to Begin Residential Service (Richard Sambolec) New Lower Rates in Italy (Alfredo E. Cotroneo) Charge per Byte For Long-Distance Voice? (Geoffrey T. Falk) Mini-Review: AT&T 9120 900 MHz Cordless (William Kucharski) DigiPhone - Anyone Know About This? (Mike Reavey) Call Transfer to Outside Number (Lars Nohling) Acronyms Listing Wanted (Dorian Smith) UCLA Short Courses on Communications (Bill Goodin) VPC Invites Your Participation (Steve Feinstein) Conference Announcement: INTERNETcom '94 (Matthew Lucas) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: st1r8@elroy.uh.edu (B.J. Guillot) Subject: Need to Monitor Pager Transmissions Date: 2 Mar 1994 13:01 CST Organization: University of Houston Here is yet another stupid question ... Given that I have: 1. A relatively fast computer; 2. 16-bit capable sound card; 3. A scanner radio capable of picking up frequencies that a particular pager uses; 4. The serial number (or whatever) that a particular pager is on; Is it conceivable that one could write a computer program (or that there might already been programs out there that do this) so that I might leave the computer and scanner running non-stop, decoding all data coming over the pager frequency and logging any and all data meant specifically for the pager serial number in question? Reason: My sister has ran away from home (yet again) and we am trying to think of ways to track her down. She has a pager (that my parents pay for, and that she uses often). She usually calls my other sister from payphones, so Call Return and Call Trace are of no use. (We don't have Caller ID in Houston yet, but I don't think that would be of use in this case, either.) If a little bitty pager can decode this information, surely a big computer can, right? Other possibilites: 1. Call the pager company and see if they will release their logs; 2. Buy a cheap pager somewhere (that uses the same frequency) and find someone willing to reprogram it to use the same serial number as the unit my sister uses. (Can this be done easily??) Anyone info on the protocol used by standard numerical-digit pagers would be helpful. Regards, B.J. Guillot ... Houston, Texas USA ------------------------------ From: Richard Sambolec Subject: Sprint Canada to Begin Residential Service Date: Tue, 1 Mar 1994 14:29:45 PST The following advertisement appeared in the classified section of the {Vancouver Sun} on February 26, 1994: SPRINT TO THE BANK With Canada's newest long distance company. Inside and outside sales people needed to give our service away. (telephone number deleted) ------------ Ever on the hunt for info pertinent to the telecom industry, I called the good folks who placed the ad. In fact it was not Sprint Canada at all, but "Canadian Telephone Corp." a direct marketing firm, which acts as an "agent" for Sprint Canada (formerly Call-Net Telecommunica- tions Ltd. before Sprint bought a 25% interest in the company). Apparently Sprint Canada represents 60% of their client base. What is the news you ask? Well, in addition to continuing to market to businesses, Sprint Canada will make the move to solicit *residential* subscribers starting in May, 1994. You heard it here first. Regards, Richard I. Sambolec Internet: sambolec@sfu.ca ------------------------------ Date: 02 Mar 94 06:24:23 EST From: Alfredo E. Cotroneo <100020.1013@CompuServe.COM> Subject: New Lower Rates in Italy Hello there from Milano, Italy: Italcable (the Italian State intercontinental telephone provider) has just recentlly lowered their rates, thus making direct calls from Italy to the USA more affordable than most (all?) dial-back systems, and of course much cheaper than AT&T and MCI's Call-USA-like systems. This is Italcable's rate system for direct dial calls from Italy to the USA (and a couple of other reference countries): [Rate of exchange US$ 1 = Lire 1680 (1 March, 1994)] fm: Italy to: TIMES: 8-14 14-19 19-23 23-08 Sunday all day USA $1.37 $1.37 $1.28 $1.02 Singapore $1.68 $1.68 $1.68 $1.31 $1.31 Corea $1.68 $1.68 $1.68 $1.31 $1.31 Residential users add 9% VAT (usually not refundable); Commercial users add 19% VAT (most times refundable, so it is not a real cost) All information obtained from the Italcable rate operator on 1790 on March 1, 1994. It will be nice to hear if and when AT&T, MCI, IDT, and the other dial-back providers will lower their respective rates. I checked today with AT&T and MCI, and their rates are still much higher: TO USA fm Italy 1st min each add'l via calling card operator ("CALL-USA") AT&T 172 1011 (toll free) US $4.38 US $1.04 MCI 172 1022 (toll free) US $3.78 US $0.99 I hope it will be of some help, at least to Italian telephone users, so spread the word, and check yourself if you are not sure by dialing Italcable from Italy on 1790. I have started today not to use my MCI card, since all calls are much cheaper now when I dial direct thru SIP/Italcable. If you know of competitive serivices, or when/if these rates will be lowered I will appreciate yr comments and more information by e-mail to the address below. I am not able to read this group on a regular basis. I have no connection with Italcable, just a user, now a happy user. Maybe shall we have now to open a "Call-Italy" dialback service for our friends in the USA ? (grin) Alfredo E. Cotroneo, President, NEXUS Int'l Broadcasting Association PO Box 10980, I-20110 Milano, Italy Phone: +39-337-297788 / +39-2-2666971 email: 100020.1013@compuserve.com FAX: +39-2-70638151 ------------------------------ From: gtf@math.rochester.edu (Geoffrey T. Falk) Subject: Charge per Byte For Long-Distance Voice? Organization: University of Rochester Computing Center Date: Tue, 1 Mar 94 23:07:46 GMT It seems to me that the telephone companies are charging us for our long-distance calls incorrectly. They charge per minute, not per byte. The voice signal gets digitized, compressed and sent over a fiber-optic or satellite network. The phone company is able to multiplex these signals, so effectively the less compressed bandwidth each call uses, the more conversations they can carry at any given time. Therefore, it makes little sense to charge customers for their calls by the minute. If I am talking to my parents in Calgary and there is a ten-second moment of silence in the conversation, the phone company is essentially charging me for ten seconds worth of data, even though nothing was sent or received. Perhaps we should organize a movement to make the public aware of this. If the charges were calculated properly, it would make phone conversations a lot more relaxed (and probably a little bit cheaper). g. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Actually, most long distance carriers now charge in six-second increments after an initial thirty second period, depending on the type of package you have with them. At those rates -- just pennies or less per time period -- I don't think you'd see much difference in the cost. Additionally, even during periods of silence, there is switching equipment in use at the originating and terminating sites. That cost would have to be factored in also. PAT] ------------------------------ From: kucharsk@solbourne.com (William Kucharski) Subject: Mini-Review: AT&T 9120 900 MHz Cordless Date: 2 Mar 1994 13:17:50 -0700 Organization: Solbourne Computer, Inc., Longmont, CO After going through several iterations of the VTech 900 DX while awaiting the release of the AT&T 9120 (which is itself an OEMed 900 DX), the phone finally showed up at my local phone center store on Monday. Basically, it's a 900 MHz cordless phone with a digital link between the handset and base, along with a speakerphone/intercom built into the base. (Note that this is a ten-channel 900 MHz phone, not one of the new "spread spectrum" 900 MHz units.) My feelings on the phone are mixed. While the background is silky smooth with no noise whatsoever, the quality of received audio isn't all that great. The best comparison I can come up with is audio digitized at a rather low sampling rate with some type of anti-alias filter run over the resultant audio. There's a "companding effect" to the sound (you can hear background hiss grow louder with a caller's voice level changes) and sharp audio spikes are more like "fuzz." (Needless to say, this is the same as the Tropez 900 DX.) The transmitted voice quality does roll off the highs a bit but otherwise has been determined to be pretty much indistinguishable from a corded phone (meaning that Tropez is using the high quality mike they now use in the 900 DL and DX and the AT&T 9100.) In short, I'm not really all that thrilled with it (except for the buzz from interference, my 49 MHz cordless phone actually sounds better). It's an overall wonderful phone, it's just that it falls a bit short of what I expect for $319.00. Anyone have a 900 MHz cordless phone with a digital (or scrambled analog) handset <-> base link and a handset <-> base intercom they'd like to recommend? Unless it "grows" on me, I believe the 9120 may be headed back to the store. William Kucharski, Solbourne Computer, Inc. Internet: kucharsk@solbourne.com Ham: N0OKQ Mail: 1900 Pike Road, Longmont, CO 80501 ------------------------------ Subject: DigiPhone - Anyone Know About This? From: sky@valinor.mythical.com (Mike Reavey) Date: Wed, 02 Mar 94 00:37:33 CST Hello, I recently downloaded a file called Answer.Zip. It is a program that turns your computer into a High-tech answering machine. It let you assign different out going messages to specific days and times of the week. It lets you program up to 16 of them. It also has a Voice Mail Box capability and an information server (Hit 1 For...2 for...3 for...# to repeat this list...etc.) In order to let you computer do this you must have a Data/Fax/Voice modem or a thing called DigiPhone sold by Cyngus Data Systems ... it costs $130. What I wanna know is if anyone has used this, and is it any good ... I just wanna use it for funny messages and stuff. If you know anything about this, please let me know. I don't feel comfortable at all about sending my money off to a place I've never heard of to buy a product I've never heard of. This thing sounds cool ... you can supposedly use VOCs and it supports a Soundblaster. This could really help me make some cool answering machine messages. Please email me if you know anything about it. Thanks a lot, Mike Reavey Reavey@delphi.com or sky@valinor.mythical.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Mar 94 10:46 EST From: Lars Nohling Subject: Call Transfer to Outside Number I am trying to come up with a way for our receptionist to transfer calls to outside numbers. For example a call comes in for me and she could transfer the call to my cellular number. Our Toshiba Strata PBX does not seem to have any features for this. Is CENTREX the only way to get what I want? Are there any black-boxes that would do the trick? Lars Nohling lnohling@mcimail.com ------------------------------ From: dsmith@isc.nva.ge.com (Dorian Smith) Subject: Acronyms Listing Wanted Reply-To: dsmith@isc.nva.ge.com Organization: Martin Marietta, Inc., Reston, VA Date: Wed, 2 Mar 1994 16:35:20 GMT Is there an Acronym FAQ anywhere? Even one for just the ISDN stuff would help. NOTE: If there is not one, send me your lists and definitions, and I will try to put at least a minimal dictionary together. Thanks, dsmith@isc.nva.ge.com Dorian W Smith [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There are several glossaries of acronyms available in the Telecom Archives. They can be obtained using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. When connected, then 'cd telecom-archives/glossaries'. Or you can either search for individual items using the SEARCH command of the Telecom Archives Email Information Service, or obtain the entire set by using the 'SEND glossaries' command. For help using the email server, write and ask for the help file. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Goodin, Bill Subject: UCLA Short Courses on Communications Date: Wed, 02 Mar 94 10:44:00 PST During the spring, UCLA Extension will present five short courses related to communications. All will be held on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. "Advanced Communication Systems Using Digital Signal Processing", April 11-15, taught by Bernard Sklar and Frederick Harris. "Trusted Systems Design and Engineering", April 18-22, taught by Cristi Garvey, Eric Anderson, Marvin Schaefer, and Amy Wu. "Nonlinear Dynamics Information Processing in Chaos, Fuzzy Logic, and Neural Networks", May 9-11, taught by Harold Szu. "Integrated-Services Telecommunications Networking: High-Speed Local, Metropolitan, and Wide-Area Networks", May 23-27, taught by Izhak Rubin, Michael A Erlinger, and Michael A Rouleau. "Fiber Optic Sensors: Theory and Applications", June 6-9, taught by Eric Udd, Sami T Hendow, and Robert A Lieberman. For further information on any of these courses, please contact Marcus Hennessy at: e-mail: mhenness@unex.ucla.edu phone: (310) 825-1047 fax: (310) 206-2815 ------------------------------ From: stevenf@world.std.com Subject: VPC Invites Your Participation Organization: Voice Processing Corp., Cambridge, MA Date: Wed, 2 Mar 1994 03:35:28 GMT Voice Processing Corp., Cambridge, MA, is building the next generation of over-the-telephone speech recognition systems to be used by telephone companies, banks, credit card companies, etc. In order to maximize the robustness of this speaker-independent system, WE REQUIRE THOUSANDS OF SAMPLED VOICES SUCH AS YOURS. By making a simple phone call (you may CALL COLLECT if necessary) and repeating a list of utterances for about 2 1/2 minutes total, you will be adding your voice to systems you may well encounter in the near future -- systems which will recognize your spoken commands over the telephone. The guidelines are simple: 1. You must be a native American or have an "American accent" (any U.S. regional accent is fine). 2. You may only call during the hours of 9am-5pm Eastern Standard Time. 3. Call only once unless you make a mistake. 4. Encourage family and friends to participate as we need as many speakers as possible. To participate, DIAL (617)494-0100 and ASK FOR EXTENSION 301. You will be prompted through several utterances. Following this, you will be asked for the state where you grew up. The call will then disconnect. The entire session takes about 2 1/2 minutes and you are welcome to CALL COLLECT. Steven Feinstein Voice Processing Corp. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 02 Mar 1994 09:43:43 -0500 From: Matthew Lucas Subject: Conference Announcement: INTERNETcom '94 INTERNETcom '94 An Internet Commercialization Conference and Exposition Washington, DC March 21-23, 1994 AGENDA UPDATE: A special workshop session has been added on March 23rd, in which Mecklermedia's Chris Locke will describe and demonstrate MecklerWeb, a commercial Internet space in which corporate sponsors and professional associations can cooperatively offer value-added multimedia information to networked communities. The current list of exhibitors include: SPRY, Readmore Inc, Rockwell International, Legi-Slate, Mesa Technologies, NEC America, PSI, Innovation Group/Hybrid Networks, CD Consultants, WAIS. Tuesday, March 22, 1994 8:30-9:00 Registration 9:00-10:30 OVERVIEW Commercial traffic on the Internet is rapidly increasing. What is driving this growth? Where will new markets emerge? How large will they be? Who are the current and potential players? What business opportunities are being created? What commercial uses of the Internet are emerging? How will today's Internet culture change? What challenges must be met as commercialization efforts move forward? What is the role of the National Science Foundation? Gordon Cook, President, Cook Network Consultants Anthony Rutkowski, Vice President, Internet Society Bill Washburn, Executive Director Commercial Internet Exchange (CIX) 10:30-11:00 Coffee Break 11:00-12:00 SECURITY ISSUES Security is still a critical issue for anyone who wants to do business on the Internet. The speaker will address the threats, concerns and countermeasures that are important and discuss what security policies and procedures need to be established. Stephen Crocker, Vice President Trusted Information Systems, Inc. 12:00-1:30 Hosted Lunch and Exhibits 1:30-3:30 DESIGN AND DELIVERY OF INFORMATION SERVICES What does it take to design and deliver a successful information service? Who will the customers be, what do they want and how much will they pay? What impact will commercialization efforts have on the information service industry? What challenges lie ahead, including copyright and licensing issues? What business strategies should the information industry adopt? Jeff Crigler, Director, Business Information Services Mead Data Central Isabella Hinds, Manager, Professional Relations Copyright Clearance Center Robert Raisch, President, The Internet Company Richard Vancil, Vice President, Marketing, Individual Inc. 3:30-4:00 Coffee Break and Exhibits 4:00-4:30 HOW TO ADVERTISE EFFECTIVELY How can effective, nonintrusive advertising be accomplished on the Internet? What features of the Internet culture and etiquette are important to understand in order to be successful? Judith Axler Turner, a head of the working group on advertising for the Coalition for Networked Information 4:30-5:30 USING THE INTERNET FOR A COMPETITIVE EDGE How can business owners enhance their operations by using the Internet not only to offer a variety of information and document delivery services, but also to market and sell? The speakers will discuss the lessons learned in implementing and using Internet connectivity and explain how to identify business costs. Chris Vandenburg, Internetworking Product Manager Rockwell International Speaker to be Announced 5:30-6:30 Reception and Exhibits Wednesday, March 23, 1994 8:30-9:15 INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS What opportunities exist for providing Internet access? What will be driving growth over the next few years? What range of services can be provided? What are end users looking for? What does it take to be successful? Michael Ballard, Chief Operating Officer, UUNET Speaker to be Announced 9:15-10:00 NAVIGATION TOOLS What are the primary challenges to navigating on the Internet and what tools are currently available? Bruce Antelman, President, Information Express Kevin Oliveau, Engineer, WAIS, Inc. 10:00-10:30 Coffee Break and Exhibits 10:30-11:30 BILLING AND SETTLEMENT ISSUES The speakers will address the following topics: billing/accounting issues and Internet service provisioning; cost and rate structures; billing options available to information service providers; and an update on billing-related activities of the Internet Engineering Task Force. Taso Devetzis, Member Technical Staff, Bellcore Bob Doyle, Director, Marketing, Sprint 11:30-11:45 Coffee Break 11:45-12:30 INTERNET ACCESS VIA CABLE TV Cable companies are looking at advanced communications uses for today's cable TV systems. One such use is remote high-speed access. The speakers will describe a cable-based access method and provide an update on cable/Internet trials, including a distance education project. Gordon Cook, President, Cook Network Consultants - MODERATOR James Ginsburg, Senior Information Officer, Jones Intercable, Inc. Ed Moura, Vice President, Marketing and Sales Hybrid Networks, Inc. Pre-Conference Tutorial UNDERSTANDING INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES FOR NON-ENGINEERS AND STRATEGIC PLANNERS by Dr. Jerry Lucas and Invited Faculty Monday, March 21, 1994 * 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. This one-day tutorial is for the non-engineer, strategic planner, entrepreneur or anyone who has to understand the Internet in order to make business decisions about emerging commercial opportunities. This tutorial covers not only Internet technologies, economics and leading-edge opportunities, but also looks at operational issues such as addressing, network management and security from a business development perspective. 1. INTERNET OVERVIEW: What is the Internet? Who controls it? What can you do with it? Who pays for it? Who are the players domestically and internationally? What is the role of the NII and NREN? Why are the RBOCs, cable TV companies, IXCs and PDA vendors interested in Internet? Why all the attention to commercialization? 2. INTERNET ACCESS, NAVIGATION AND APPLICATIONS: How to find, share and sell information on the Internet. The basic application tools and navigation/search systems (FTP, TELNET, ARCHIE, GOPHER, WWW, WAIS, etc.). Access service providers (CIX, PSI, Sprint and others). Access options (dial-up, dedicated, frame relay, cable TV and wireless). New entrepreneurial developments. 3. INTERNET ADDRESSING: IP addressing. How to obtain addresses (Class A,B,and C). CIDR, Internet DNS and how to register. Setting up an E-mail server, bulletin board and directory service. New business opportunities. 4. INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES: Role of TCP/IP. MAC vs. PC products. LAN access (SLIP, PPP, frame relay, etc.) and WAN and ATM developments. IPX, DECNET and APPLETALK. Leading edge vendors and where their products are headed. 5. INTERNET MANAGEMENT AND SECURITY: Managing a commercial Internet service. SNMP management tools and products. Security concerns, encryption, authentication and Clipper Chip issues. Other operational concerns related to doing business on the Internet. WORKSHOP TRACK Monday, March 21, 1994 9:00-12:30 INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET What is the Internet? How does it work? How can it help me? How much does it cost to use? What are the rules and policies that govern the Internet? GETTING CONNECTED What does it take to get connected to the Internet? What choices are available? How much does it cost to get connected? What should I look for in a service provider? What problems can I expect and how can they be solved? 2:00-5:00 INFORMATION ACCESS AND DELIVERY How can I find out what electronic information is available on the Internet? Specifically, what information, catalogs, textual documents and databases are available and how can they be accessed? Tuesday, March 22, 1994 9:00-12:00 NAVIGATING THE INTERNET What tools are available for navigating through the Internet and searching for information? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these techniques? What is the outlook for the future? 2:00-5:00 ACCESS AND MANAGEMENT ISSUES Once your organization has been connected to the Internet, who should have access? What guidelines and policies should be set to maximize the benefits for everyone? What management and training issues will arise in this new environment? RAISING VENTURE CAPITAL FOR INTERNET ENTREPRENEURS What are venture capitalists looking for when they want to invest? How should you structure your business plan to make it attractive to investors? Wednesday, March 23, 1994 9:00-12:00 GOVERNMENT INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET What electronic information resources developed by and about the government are available on the Internet? For More Information Call TeleStrategies Inc. at (703) 734-7050. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #110 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa12136; 4 Mar 94 17:23 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA11450; Fri, 4 Mar 94 12:53:09 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA11442; Fri, 4 Mar 94 12:53:06 CST Date: Fri, 4 Mar 94 12:53:06 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403041853.AA11442@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #111 TELECOM Digest Fri, 4 Mar 94 10:00:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 111 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Digital Chicken: Fax Gateway to Ontario, Canada (c.d.f. via Rich Sambolec) Re: Charge per Byte For Long-Distance Voice? (Bill Mayhew) Re: Charge per Byte For Long-Distance Voice? (Dale Worley) Re: Charge per Byte For Long-Distance Voice? (Alan Larson) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: Richard Sambolec Subject: fax gateway to Ontario, Canada (fwd) Date: Thu, 3 Mar 1994 15:23:22 PST Forwarded FYI from comp.dcom.fax: Forwarded message: Subject: Fax Gateway to Ontario, Canada D I G I T A L C H I C K E N AN EXPERIMENT IN GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS, AND INTERNATIONAL REMOTE PRINTING AND FAXING. Who? Digital Chicken is a new cooperative project between Dr. Robert Riley and Planet Communications & Computing, of Toronto. Digital Chicken c/o Dr. Robert Riley 157 Bastedo Avenue, Suite #2 Toronto, Ontario Canada M4C 3N2 Telephone: (416) 690-3833 Fax: (416) 778-5345 Internet: riley@chicken.planet.org What? The service provided by Digital Chicken is to allow people with Internet e-mail access to communicate quickly and efficiently with a variety of Canadian federal and provincial government and non-governmental agencies (e.g., the Prime Minister, Toronto Star, Toronto Blue Jays, Ontario Human Rights Commission). E-mail may be sent to any of these agencies, and upon receipt by Digital Chicken the mail is immediately forwarded via fax to the organizations office. In time, interested organizations will be shown how to access their e-mail directly, and in turn respond to your letters by e-mail. At the moment, however, replies to you will be via fax or regular mail. How? Refer to the following list of Digital Chicken member agencies. You may e-mail to the agency(ies) of your choice by using their 'nick' and sending mail to the following address: @chicken.planet.org Remember that at the present time you must include your correct name, postal mailing address, and/or fax number if you wish a reply from the agency. If you have any questions/concerns, or if you would like to see an agency/organization included in our service, please contact Digital Chicken at: riley@chicken.planet.org Further, if you wish to send a fax in the 416 or 905 area codes, you may send it to fax@chicken.planet.org and it will be forwarded on for you. Please make the subject line: FAX TO NOTE: PLEASE BE AWARE THAT E-MAIL IS NOT THE ROUTE FOR TRANSMITTAL OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. ANY SYSTEM OPERATOR, OF ANY SITE ON THE ROUTE YOUR MESSAGE TRAVELS, COULD READ YOUR MESSAGE. IT IS YOUR CHOICE AND RESPONSIBILITY TO USE E-MAIL WHEN AND WHERE APPROPRIATE. DIGITAL CHICKEN, DR. ROBERT RILEY, NOR PLANET COMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTING FACILITY WILL BE HELD LIABLE IN ANY WAY FOR USE OF THIS SERVICE, OR FOR FAILURE OF YOUR MESSAGE TO REACH IT'S INTENDED DESTINATION. THIS IS A FREE SERVICE--USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. *indicates organizations receiving e-mail directly NAME USER NICK FAX Metro Toronto Police Chief McCormack mccormac 416-324-6026 General metcop 416-324-0695 Public Complaints Bureau metcopcb 416-324-0551 Board of Commissioners metcopbr 416-324-0693 Ontario Police Public Complaints Commissioner opcctor 416-325-4704 Ontario Police Public Complaints Commissioner (South-West Region)-Windsor opccsw 519-973-1470 York Regional Police yorkcop 905-853-5810 Peel Regional Police peelcop 905-453-7370 Ontario Provincial Police opp 705-329-6195 Halton Regional Police haltcop 416-825-9416 Barrie Police Service barrcop 705-728-2971 Durham Police Service durhcop 905-433-5053 Guelph Police Service guelcop 519-763-0516 Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Police Service hamilcop 905-546-4752 London Police Service londcop 519-645-1908 Niagara Regional Police Service niagcop 905-685-5081 Orangeville Police Service orangcop 519-941-1279 Sarnia Police Service sarncop 519-344-6001 Waterloo Regional Police watercop 519-650-1793 Windsor Police Service windscop 519-255-6569 Municipal Governments Town of Ajax ajax 905-686-8352 Town of Oakville oakville 905-815-2025 *City of Mississauga jackl@city.mississauga.on.ca City of Toronto toronto 416-392-1446 June Rowlands, Mayor Toronto rowlands 416-392-0026 Councillors council 416-392-1050 Toronto Transit Commission ttc 416-485-9394 Chairman, Metro Toronto Council chairman 416-392-3799 Metro Toronto Zoo mtzoo 416-392-5934 City of Etobicoke etobicok 416-394-8895 Borough of East York eastyork 416-778-9134 City of North York noryork 416-395-7337 City of York york 416-394-2803 City of Brampton brampton 905-874-1119 City of Barrie barrie 705-726-0510 City of London london 519-661-4892 City of Windsor windsor 519-255-6868 City of Sarnia sarnia 519-332-3995 City of Hamilton hamilton 905-546-2095 City of Guelph guelph 519-763-1269 City of Kitchener kitchen 519-741-2705 City of Waterloo waterloo 519-747-8760 City of Niagara Falls niagara 905-356-0759 City of St.Catharines stcathar 905-682-3631 City of Welland welland 905-732-1919 City of Oshawa oshawa 905-436-5697 City of Whitby whitby 905-686-7005 Region of Durham durham 905-668-9963 City of Burlington burlingt 905-335-7881 City of Brantford brantfor 519-752-6977 Government of Ontario Premier of Ontario ontprem 416-325-3745 Minister of Agriculture & Food ontagri 416-326-3083 Ontario Film Review Board ontfilm 416-314-3632 Minister of Transportation onttrans 416-327-9185 Minister of Economic Trade & Development ontecdev 416-325-6918 Minister of Labour ontlabor 416-326-1449 Minister of Health onthlth 416-326-1571 Minister of Finance ontfin 416-326-9096 Ombudsman of Ontario ombud 416-586-3485 Chief Electoral Officer of Ontario elect 416-321-6853 Provincial Auditor (Ontario) ontaudit 416-324-7012 Lt.Gov. of Ontario ongltg 416-325-7787 Solicitor General and Minister of Correctional Service ontsolg 416-326-5085 Attorney General ontatg 416-326-4016 Minister of Natural Resources ontnatur 416-314-2159 Minister of Citizenship ontcitiz 416-314-0022 Minister of Consumer and Corporate Relations ontcons 416-326-5820 Minister of Community and Social Services ontsoc 416-325-5221 Minister of Education ontedu 416-325-2608 Royanl Commission on Learning rclearn 416-325-2956 Minister of Environment ontenvir 416-323-4682 Minister of Housing onthouse 416-585-6935 Ministry of Northern Development & Mines ontnorth 416-327-0665 Ministry of Culture, Recreation and Tourism onttour 416-325-6195 Minister Resp.for Women ontwomen 416-314-0253 MPP Don Mills donmills 416-696-0181 MPP Oakville-South oaksouth 905-842-0332 MPP Fort York fortyork 416-363-0835 MPP Lake Nipigon nipigon 416-327-0968 MPP Dovercourt dovercou 416-653-1054 MPP Etobicoke-West etobwest 416-695-1222 MPP Mississauga-South misssth 905-278-1525 MPP Oriole oriole 416-494-2440 MPP Downsview dwnsview 416-740-2474 MPP Eglinton eglinton 416-482-2776 MPP Etobicoke-Lakeshore etoblake 416-259-3704 MPP Beaches-Woodbine beachwd 416-421-3741 MPP Oakwood oakwood 416-781-4116 MPP Etobicoke-Humber etohumb 416-233-4321 MPP High Park-Swansea highpark 416-762-4499 MPP Lawrence lawrence 416-785-4524 MPP Mississauga-North missnor 905-826-4553 MPP Mississauga-West misswest 905-566-5264 MPP Etobicoke-Rexdale etobrex 416-745-5670 MPP Mississauga-East misseast 905-276-6933 MPP Brampton-North bramnor 905-840-7845 MPP Durham-West durwest 905-683-8643 Ms Lyn McLeod, Leader, Ontario Liberal Party ontlib 416-325-9895 Mr. Michael Harris, Leader, Ontario Progressive Conservative Party ontpc 416-325-7810 Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Offices Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario ipcont 416-325-9195 Provincial Govt. Ministry FOIPP Coordinators Min. Agriculture & food oagffoi 416-326-3083 Min. Attorney General oatgfoi 416-326-4307 Min. Consumer&Corp.Relations occrfoi 416-326-8461 Min. Citizenship ocitfoi 416-325-6117 Min. Comm.&Social Services ocssfoi 416-730-6654 Min. Education oedufoi 416-325-2608 Min. Environment oenvfoi 416-323-4630 Min. Housing ohoufoi 416-585-6935 Min. Labour olabfoi 416-314-8749 Management Brd.of Cabinet ombcfoi 416-327-2190 Min.Culture,Tourism,Recreat. octrfoi 416-325-6195 Min.Correctional Services omcsfoi 705-494-3081 Min. Finance ofinfoi 905-436-4462 Min. Intergov. Affairs omiafoi 416-325-4787 Min. Natural Resources omnrfoi 705-740-1666 Min. Health omohfoi 416-327-7044 Min. Transportation omtofoi 416-235-5277 Min. North.Develop.&Mines ondmfoi 416-327-0665 Min. Solicitor General osolfoi 416-314-3195 Other FOI Coordinators/Office: City of Toronto torfoi 416-392-6990 Municipality of Metro Toronto metrofoi 416-397-5624 Ontario Human Rights Commission onthumrt 416-314-4533 Canadian Human Rights Commission canhumrt 416-973-6184 Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto romantor 416-977-6063 Anglican Church of Canada anglican 416-968-7983 United Church of Canada united 416-925-3394 Bahai' Faith Toronto bahaitor 416-889-8184 Newspapers (including "Letters to the Editor") Toronto Star torstar 416-869-4322 Globe and Mail globe 416-585-5085 Toronto Sun torsun 416-947-3228 Now Magazine now 416-461-2886 Xtra! xtra 416-925-6674 Eye Weekly eye 416-971-7786 Beaches-Metro News beachmet 416-698-1253 Ryersonian (Ryerson) ryerson 416-979-5216 Barrie Examiner barrexam 705-726-7245 London Free Press frpress 519-667-4528 Windsor Star winstar 519-777-2551 Hamilton Spectator spectat 905-521-8986 Kitchener-Waterloo Record record 519-894-3829 St. Catharines Standard standard 905-684-6032 Hospitals (Metro Toronto Area) The Hospital for Sick Children sickkids 416-813-7161 The Toronto Hospital torhosp 416-340-5888 Addiction Research Foundation addict 416-595-5017 Donwood Institute donwood 416-425-7896 Casey House (AIDS hospice) casey 416-962-5147 Humber Memorial Hospital humber 416-249-1312 Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital trafalg 905-338-4636 Orthopaedic/Arthritic Hospital ortharth 416-967-8593 Sunnybrook Health Science Centre sunny 416-480-4588 Doctor's Hospital doctors 416-923-1370 Central Hospital central 416-969-4183 Wellesley Hospital wellesly 416-926-4874 North York Gen.Hospital nyghosp 416-756-6384 Etobicoke Gen.Hospital eghosp 416-747-8608 York-Finch Gen.Hospital yfghosp 416-747-3883 Bloorview Children's Hospital blrview 416-494-9985 Hugh McMillan Rehabilitation Centre hughmac 416-425-6591 St. Michael's Hospital stmike 416-864-5669 St. Joseph's Health Centre (Toronto) stjoetor 416-530-6346 Queensway Gen.Hospital queens 416-253-0111 North York Branson Hospital branson 416-635-2537 Toronto East General & Orthopaedic Hospital, Inc. tegh 416-469-6106 Scarborough Centenary Health Centre scarcent 416-281-7323 Scarborough Grace General Hospital scargrac 416-495-2631 Scarborough General Hospital scargen 416-438-9318 Grace Hospital, Toronto gracetor 416-925-3211 Northwestern General Hospital nwestgen 416-658-2192 Mount Sinai Hospital mtsinai 416-586-8787 Princess Margaret Hospital prmarg 416-926-6547 Women's College Hospital womens 416-323-7314 Lyndhurst Hospital lyndhrst 416-422-5216 Peel Memorial Hospital peelmem 905-451-8439 Ajax-Pickering General Hospital ajaxpick 905-683-1262 Mississauga General Hospital missgen 905-848-7139 Credit Valley Hospital credit 905-820-0020 Queen Street Mental Health Centre queenst 416-583-4307 Clarke Institute of Psychiatry clarke 416-979-5679 Markham-Stouffville Hospital mrkstouf 905-472-7086 Shouldice Hernia Surgery shouldic 416-889-4216 Other Hospitals: Bowmanville Memorial Hospital memhosp 905-623-4088 Brantford General Hospital brantgen 519-752-0098 Grace Hospital (Windsor) gracewin 519-255-2254 Guelph General Hospital ggenhosp 519-822-2170 Hamilton General Hospital hamilgen 905-527-1941 Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital hamilpsy 905-575-6038 Henderson General Hospital hendhosp 905-575-2641 Chedoke-McMaster (Hamilton) (includes Children's Hosp.) chedoke 905-528-3828 Hotel Dieu Hosp.(St.Catharines) hdstcath 905-682-0663 Hotel Dieu Hosp.(Windsor) hotelwin 519-977-0018 Joseph Brant Hosp. (Burlington) jbrant 905-336-6480 Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital kwhosp 519-749-4208 Metropolitan General (Windsor) metrowin 519-254-0883 Oshawa General Hospital ogenhosp 905-433-2794 Royal Victoria (Barrie) royalvic 705-726-0822 Sarnia General Hospital sarngen 519-336-1293 St. Joseph's (London) stjoelon 519-646-6028 St. Joseph's (Sarnia) stjoesar 519-336-2379 St. Mary's (Kitchener) stmarys 519-749-6597 St. Catharines Gen.Hospital stcgen 905-684-1468 University Hospital (London) univhosp 519-663-3876 Victoria Hospital (London) victoria 519-685-8147 Welland General Hospital wellhosp 905-732-3268 Whitby General Hospital whitgen 905-668-7480 Whitby Psychiatric Hospital whitpsy 905-430-4032 Windsor Western Hospital westwin 519-257-5121 Ontario Nurses' Association ona 416-964-8864 College of Physicians & Surgeons college 416-961-3330 of Ontario Public Libraries Toronto Public Library torlib 416-393-7782 Etobicoke Public Library etoblib 416-394-5050 Scarborough Public Library scarlib 416-396-8808 Brampton Public Library bramlib 905-799-0806 Mississauga Public Library misslib 905-615-3615 City of York Public Library yorklib 416-394-2781 East York Public Library eylib 416-396-3812 North York Public Library nylib 416-395-5542 Metro Toronto Reference Library referenc 416-393-7229 Hamilton Public Library hamlib 905-546-3202 Windsor Public Library windlib 519-255-7207 London Public Library londlib 519-663-5396 St.Catharines Public Library stcatlib 905-688-6292 Kitchener Public Library kitchlib 519-743-1261 Waterloo Public Library waterlib 519-886-7936 Guelph Public Library guellib 519-824-8342 Brantford Public Library brantlib 519-756-4979 Burlington Public Library burlilib 905-681-7277 Sarnia Public Library sarnlib 519-337-3041 Oshawa Public Library oshawlib 905-433-8107 Whitby Public Library whitblib 905-668-7445 Bowmanville Public Library bowmlib 905-623-9905 Barrie Public Library barrlib 705-728-4322 St. Marys Public Library smarylib 519-284-2630 St. Thomas Public Library sthomlib 519-631-1987 Niagara Falls Public Library niaglib 905-356-7004 Font Hill Public Library fontlib 519-892-3392 Boards of Education East York Board of Education eyedu 416-465-2237 Etobicoke Board of Education etobedu 416-394-3803 Metro Toronto Roman Catholic Separate School Board rcssbedu 416-229-5345 North York Board of Education nyedu 416-395-8210 Peel Board of Education peeledu 905-890-6698 Scarborough Board of Education scarbedu 416-396-4856 Toronto Board of Education toredu 416-393-9969 York Board of Education yorkedu 416-727-3984 London Board of Education lonedu 519-455-7648 London R.C. Sep.School Board lonssedu 519-663-9250 Windsor Board of Education winedu 519-255-1651 Windsor R.C. Sep.School Board winssedu 519-253-8397 Lincoln Cty. Board of Education lincedu 519-685-8511 Lincoln Cty.R.C.Sep.School Brd. linssedu 519-682-0012 Waterloo Cty. Brd.of Education wateredu 519-742-1364 Waterloo Cty.R.C.Sep.School Brd. watssedu 519-578-5520 Hamilton-Wentworth Brd.of Ed. hamedu 905-521-2536 Hamilton-Wentworth R.C.Sep. School Board hamssedu 905-525-1724 Durham Region Brd.of Education durhedu 905-576-1457 Durham Reg.R.C.Sep.School Brd. durssedu 905-576-0953 Simcoe Cty. Board of Education simedu 705-728-2265 Simcoe Cty.R.C.Sep.School Brd. simssedu 705-722-6534 Sarnia Board of Education sarnedu 519-336-0992 Sarnia R.C.Sep. School Board sarssedu 519-336-5160 Television/Radio CityTV citytv 416-593-6397 CFMT TV cfmttv 416-265-0509 CFTO TV cftotv 416-299-2273 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) cbc 416-963-9036 Global Television Network global 416-446-5371 CTV Television Network ctv 416-928-0907 Ontario Legal Aid Plan olap 416-979-8669 Ontario Legal Aid Plan Scarborough Area olapscar 416-750-7184 Fire Departments City of Toronto torfire 416-392-0161 City of Scarborough scarfire 416-396-7765 City of North York nyfire 416-395-7286 City of Etobicoke etobfire 416-394-8589 City of York yorkfire 416-394-2764 Borough of East York eyfire 416-396-3757 Town of Ajax ajaxfire 905-683-8119 City of Brampton bramfire 905-874-2727 City of Mississauga missfire 905-615-3756 Ambulance Services Metro Toronto ambulanc 416-392-2008 Art Gallery of Ontario artont 416-979-6646 Government of Canada Prime Minister of Canada primemin 613-941-6900 Minister of Health & Welfare health 613-952-7746 Minister of the Environment environ 819-953-3457 Minister of Transportation transpor 613-995-0327 Minister of Fisheries/Oceans fisherie 613-990-7292 Minister of Labour labour 819-953-3419 Minister of Supply & Service supply 819-953-1908 Minister of National Revenue revenue 613-952-6608 Minister of Agriculture agricult 613-996-9219 Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs consumer 819-953-4930 Canadian Federal Immigration and Refugee Board immrefbr 416-954-1165 Political Parties New Democratic Party of Canada ndpcan 613-996-9584 Green Party of Canada green 613-232-3081 Toronto Blue Jays bluejays 416-341-1250 Toronto Maple Leafs leafs 416-977-5364 Eric Snyder - Ottawa Canada : "Introduction to Internet" - 3 hrs Targeted Communication Mgt : "Internet - POWER User Workshops" - 2 days ae924@freenet.carleton.ca : "Internet for Workgroups" - 1 to 2 days HANDS-ON COMPUTER LAB TRAINING WITH FULL FTP CONNECTIVITY ------------------------------ From: wtm@uhura.neoucom.EDU (Bill Mayhew) Subject: Re: Charge per Byte For Long-Distance Voice? Organization: Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine Date: Thu, 03 Mar 1994 17:39:28 GMT I agree with Pat that while you have a long distance circuit engaged, you are in effect paying an availability fee during periods of silence in as much as you could begin speaking again at any moment. The switch gear has to be available to handle your on-demand transmission. Since the long distance business is a quite competitive business, doubtless the carriers have factored in average rates of circuit re-use in periods of silence so they can offer you the most favorable rate relative to their competators. Billing in time increments I'm sure makes for easier comprehension by the customer than some [apparently to the customer] number of bytes transferred. Something that has come up for discussion between is that fax and modem calls should be charged a higher rate because they tie up more transmission resources. It wouldn't be beyond the capabilites for billing equpipment to detect modem carrier and adjust rates accordingly. Bill Mayhew NEOUCOM Computer Services Department Rootstown, OH 44272-0095 USA phone: 216-325-2511 wtm@uhura.neoucom.edu amateur radio 146.58: N8WED ------------------------------ From: worley@village.com (Dale Worley) Subject: Re: Charge per Byte For Long-Distance Voice? Date: 4 Mar 1994 10:46:06 -0500 Organization: Village of Cambridge, Public-Access Internet Geoffrey T. Falk (gtf@math.rochester.edu) wrote: > It seems to me that the telephone companies are charging us for our > long-distance calls incorrectly. They charge per minute, not per byte. > The voice signal gets digitized, compressed and sent over a fiber-optic > or satellite network. The phone company is able to multiplex these signals, > so effectively the less compressed bandwidth each call uses, the more > conversations they can carry at any given time. > Therefore, it makes little sense to charge customers for their calls > by the minute. This *should* be true, but it isn't, because the telco's equipment is set up in a way which doesn't allow it to take advantage of the time you're not sending data. Consider that your modem is sending a carrier even when you're not sending data. (With error-correction protocols, your modem may be sending data even when you're not.) And even if the telco installed complex equipment to allow them to detect times of no-data-transmitted and tear down your signal path during them (and simulate the carrier at the other end!), the next modem standard to come along would obsolete the system. In addition, the telco system is designed to do circuit switching; it assumes that calls are long, and that setup and teardown are infrequent, and so the system is optimized to make holding a channel open cheap at the expense of making setup/teardown expensive. In theory, much of this could be fixed in ISDN, but isn't. This leads to my favorite hobbyhorse: Rent a TCP/IP line from the telco! Then the telco knows exactly when you're sending data and when you aren't, and you occupy no more bandwidth on the network than you actually need. Dale ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Mar 94 00:12:04 PST From: larson@net.com (Alan Larson) Subject: Re: Charge per Byte For Long-Distance Voice? In article is written: > The voice signal gets digitized, compressed and sent over a fiber-optic > or satellite network. The phone company is able to multiplex these signals, > so effectively the less compressed bandwidth each call uses, the more > conversations they can carry at any given time. > Therefore, it makes little sense to charge customers for their calls > by the minute. If I am talking to my parents in Calgary and there is a > ten-second moment of silence in the conversation, the phone company is > essentially charging me for ten seconds worth of data, even though > nothing was sent or received. Aside from the fact that the switching equipment is in use at each end, the digitized data stream is still being sent. Those bits are still flying down the connection during that 'quiet' time. The compression of u-law encoding does not reduce the data rate during quiet time. It reduces the number of bits needed for an apparent dynamic range, but it does it constantly during the connection. Telephone call compression is not like the unix utility compress on an ascii file compressing lots of blanks out quite efficiently. Alan ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #111 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa12295; 4 Mar 94 17:27 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA10714; Fri, 4 Mar 94 12:34:04 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA10702; Fri, 4 Mar 94 12:34:00 CST Date: Fri, 4 Mar 94 12:34:00 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403041834.AA10702@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #112 TELECOM Digest Fri, 4 Mar 94 12:34:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 112 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Premium Rate, Sex Lines, Astronomic Bills (Eduardo Garcia Lopez) Unitel Seeks Balloting in Canada's Long-Distance War (Richard Sambolec) Westel Enters the B.C. Long-Distance Race (Richard Sambolec) New Area Code Change Question (Joe Beeler) Voicemail Answering Collect Call? (Steve Heitke) P X 64 Video Chipsets (Paul Wareham) Line/Cable Simulators (phil_s1@verifone.com) Setting up a 900 Number (Tauren N. Mills) Telular Canada Gets Canadian Rights to VideoModem (Richard Sambolec) Bell Mobility Skytel Takes Off With Air Canada (Richard Sambolec) Voice Cards (Randy Gellens) Telecommuting Examples Wanted (Jeff Cauhape) Help! Nitsuko Phone Gremlins Invade Startup Company! (Mark Forbes) MOH and Royalties and Supreme Court (Barton F. Bruce) Re: Phones in the Movies Again (Jack W. Judy) Re: Phones in the Movies Again (Brian Buckman) Re: Information Needed on Satellite Phone (Terry Gilson) Re: Information Needed on Satellite Phone (A.N. Ananth) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: edgar@tidos.tid.es (Eduardo Garcia Lopez) Subject: Premium Rate, Sex Lines, Astronomic Bills Organization: Telefonica I+D Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 09:57:08 GMT I recently read an article (A Rock and a Hard Place, Communications International, Feb 94) where the author describes the Premium-rate service fiasco in South Africa that finally lead to closing down the service in December 1992. Uncontrolled use of telephone services by employees in thousands of businesses left many companies with bills that they could not pay. Millions of debts to the phone company, harms to its image caused by sex lines advertised in the national press remind me of a similar situation we have been living in Spain during the last year. Complaints from companies, government offices, families whose kids could freely access these services and stories of bills over several thousands of dollars. Here the problem received a salomonic solution that involved the Communications General Secretary, the Senate and the Ombudsman. After their recommendations the phone company should offer separate numbers for different premium-rate services. Instead of the old 903 prefix two prefixes will be available, 903 and 906. 906 access will be universally available and allows access to services considered of general interest such as entertainment, news, meteorological, legal, fiscal, sanitary information, etc. 903 is only available for customers who explictly request access to the service. It is used for entertainment services that may produce undesirable effects to certain sectors of society, specifically teenagers and kids. All customers were sent a letter informing them about this separation and the tariffs for 903 services, tariffs for 906 would be fixed latter. A reply coupon was enclosed for customers who might wish to have 903 access. An elegant solution that has washed up the image of the phone company. Surprisingly one does not find 903 numbers advertised currently, instead one finds now in the national press and a TV channel numbers like the following: 0785217477522 07639884010494 A quick look at the first pages of the phone book reveal the secret behind these suspiciously long numbers: 07 prefix in Spain to get international tone 852 Hong-Kong prefix 63 Philippines prefix Calls are presumably rerouted back to Spain so that service providers can offer their services in the local language. I am sure many users will not bother looking at the phone book. Kids may still call without control, business and families may still be getting astronomic bills for a international calls and premium rate services. I wonder if phone companies have carried out studies about the sociological impact of the services they are creating. I wonder how many other countries are living situations like this. I wonder how can one now explain to dissatisfied customers that it is not a problem of the local phone company. Limit also international acess upon demand ? And if voice telephony is creating these sort of problems I would not like to imagine what will happen with multimedia, virtual reality communications. Eduardo ------------------------------ From: Richard Sambolec Subject: Unitel Seeks Balloting in Canada's Long-Distance War Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 02:13:07 PST Yesterday, company Vice-President Richard Stursberg announced Unitel was petitioning the CRTC for the right to hold a national referendum on long-distance competition. Stursberg suggested that this was the only way to level the playing field, arguing that customers were not aware of their long-distance carrier options. Reaction from the telcos was swift. Jocelyne Cote-O'Hara, President and C.E.O of Stentor Telecom Policy, which represents the provincial telcos, noted that Canadians were already informed and given a choice through the earlier Unitel licensing process, stating that "Maybe Unitel just has not done its job. We (the Stentor membership) have paid 100% of the cost of interconnecting to allow competition. It's up to them to come up to the mark." {The Financial Post} (03/03/94 p.5) The proposed balloting procedure is similar to that used previously in Australia and the United States; telephone subscribers across the nation would be sent a vote-by-mail kit, tailored to their region. Subscribers would check the preferred service provider in their area and return the ballot via Canada Post within a specified time. A return of less than 65% of the initial ballots would require a second solicitation for votes. Unitel would like to see the ballots distributed by early next year. Bell Canada officials have estimated that the cost of balloting in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec alone to exceed $35 million, not counting the expense of pre-ballot advertising. This morning BC Tel issued a press release which estimated that the cost of postage alone would top the $15 million mark. According to press reports, Unitel has proposed the cost be split between the phone companies based on their level of support in the ballot -- if 50% of the ballot respondents vote for Unitel, Unitel would pay 50% of the cost. {The Financial Post} (03/03/94 p.5). As the underdog, Unitel would clearly benefit most from this scenario. If the respondents indicate that they wish to continue with the status quo, then it would be the Stentor members who would pay the bulk of the costs. Clearly Unitel has nothing to lose. The alternative is that Unitel may ask the CRTC, as administrator of the telecommunications regulation, to finance the vote. The long-distance market in Canada exceeds $7 billion dollars, with most of it continuing to be dominated by the Stentor members. Since commencing business over one year ago, Unitel has only managed to sign up 300,000 customers, despite an extensive advertising campaign, whereas Bell has over seven million subscribers in Ontario and Quebec. ------------------------------ From: Richard Sambolec Subject: Westel Enters the B.C. Long-Distance Race Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 02:33:37 PST At their February 24, 1994 launch, Westel Telecommunications Ltd. executives revealed that they will begin serving business and residential customers starting March 31, 1994 in order to take advantage of the excess capacity they have accumulated during the last 40 years of service to their railway parent company, B.C. Railway Ltd. The newest entrant in the phone wars will focus on small and medium sized business and promises to do some "100% B.C. owned" chest-beating. To date, 2/3s of the company's revenues have been from providing telecommunications service to their parent. Last year their revenues were $14 million. Seeing room to steal market share from BC Tel through marginal discounts (cited as 5% {The Globe & Mail} 03/03/94 B14) Westel hopes to increase recenues to $89 million by 1997. Westel currently has about 135 customers, whereas BC Tel has approximately 40,000 business clients. Until "equal access", due to arrive this summer, customers will likely access Westel's facilities from the BC Tel network, requiring a seven-digit number and a four-digit access code. According to General Manager, Ron Ades, Westel owns and operates over 2,000 kms of lines and will be adding facilities linking Vancouver with Victoria and Kamloops, as well as upgrading nine lines in the province's north. ------------------------------ From: joeb@inca.gate.net (Joe Beeler) Subject: New Area Code Change Question Date: 3 Mar 1994 13:46:17 -0500 Organization: Cybergate, Inc. During some recent research, I have come across something called the North American Numbering Plan that is supposed to take effect in January 1995. I am looking for more information on this, specifically a report or database on where the changes are going to take place, and what the exact change will be. I will be happy to post a summary of sources should anyone be interested. Regards, Joe Beeler joeb@gate.net [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The NANP has been around for more than forty years. It is nothing more or less than the layout or organization of area code numbers throughout the USA and Canada. What *is* new, and changing early next year is the method or rationale by which such numbers are assigned. From the early days in the late 1940/early 1950 period until a couple years ago, area codes always had 2 through 9 as the first digit (of three), 0 or 1 as the second digit, and 1 through 9 as the third digit. 0 was never the third digit, and nothing greater than 1 was ever the second digit. There were a few special 'area codes' of the form X10 (where X was 4 through 9) and these were assigned to use by TWX (TypeWriter eXchange) machines. Instances of X00 were not 'area codes' but 'access codes' for use with special services such as 800 (automatic reverse charge calling which replaced the old 'Enterprise/Zenith' numbering scheme). Obviously, the available numbers were limited, and now we have run out of possibilities. Starting a couple years ago, area codes of the form 'X10' (where X is any number 2 through 9) were put into use, and beginning next year, there will be no 0/1 restriction on the second digit of the three. Since the general public has never probably understood the way area codes were constructed in the past, the general public will probably not notice the difference starting next year. PAT] ------------------------------ From: heitke@tellabs.com (Steve Heitke) Subject: Voicemail Answering Collect Call? Organization: Tellabs, Lisle, IL Date: Thu, 3 Mar 1994 23:58:31 GMT Intro: A few days ago I came to work to find my message light blinking on my phone. I checked my voicemail to find a collect call had been accepted by the PBX and a five to ten minute message was left in my "mailbox". The call was a wrong number and I alerted the proper people at Tellabs to the situation. Question: How did the automated collect call get confused into allowing the call to go through? The phone interface in question is a ROLM 9751 CBX (I know it's a ROLM but the model could be wrong). Steve Heitke - heitke@tellabs.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Two things may have happened. If the call was handled manually by an operator, the operator may have made a mistake and let the call go through; that could be either the telco operator or the PBX operator. You do not mention if your voicemail (or extension) can be dialed direct without going through a PBX operator or not. If calls can go through without a local PBX operator, then it is possible some word or phrase (i.e. 'yes') might have triggered whatever mechanism caused the call to be accepted. Even if a PBX operator answered first, it is possible that someone using a COCOT/AOS got past that point because the local PBX operator was never tipped off to the status of the call. PAT] ------------------------------ From: wareham@vision.ee.queensu.ca (Paul Wareham) Subject: P X 64 Video Chipsets Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 11:23:07 -0500 Organization: Dept of Electrical Engineering, Queen's Univ, Kingston, Ontario I am looking for any manufacturers who sell chip sets capable of supporting the P X 64 / H.261 motion video coding standard. Any info would be appreciated. Regards, Paul Wareham Queen's University Ontario, Canada ------------------------------ From: HNL DQ ENGINEERING Subject: Line/Cable Simulators Date: 3 Mar 94 22:49:12 -1000 Organization: VeriFone Inc., Honolulu HI Does anyone know who manufactures, sells or rents line/cable simulators? I need to simulate 3K feet lengths of various gauges. Thanks in advance. phil ------------------------------ From: tauren@cs.pdx.edu (Tauren N Mills) Subject: Setting up a 900 Number Date: 3 Mar 1994 18:13:48 -0800 I am investigating setting up a 900 number for my business, but cannot justify the $2500 installation fee that AT&T wants, plus the $1000 per month. Does anyone know of any outfits that will rent 900 numbers? I don't want to rent one that is already set up and all you have to do is advertise. I need my own information to be available. Tauren Mills * phone: 503-281-3091 * Interactive Multimedia New Media Magic * fax: 503-281-3104 * Computer Animation tauren@cs.pdx.edu * compuserve 71530,3700 * Film & Video ------------------------------ From: Richard Sambolec Subject: Telular Canada Gets Canadian Rights to VideoModem Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 02:40:55 PST According to {The Globe & Mail} (03/02/94 B8), Telular Canada Inc and Colby Systems Corp. have reached an agreement that gives Telular the exclusive right to distribute VideoModem products in Canada. The company claims the Colby VideoModem digitizes and compresses both audio and full colour motion video for transmission trhough any type of telephone connection, including analog, digital, ISDN, and cellular. Telular officials report VideoModem transmits and receives video and audio simultaneously, at low cost and without special connection facilities, allowing customers to send live, moving video in colour by telephone. ------------------------------ From: Richard Sambolec Subject: Bell Mobility Skytel Takes Off With Air Canada Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 02:51:07 PST The {Globe & Mail} (03/02/94 B2) reports: "Air Canada planes will soon be outfitted with a new generation of telephones that will allow travellers to get phone calls during their flight. Bell Mobility Skytel announced yesterday (March 1st) it has signed an agreement with Air Canada to equip its entire fleet with GTE Airfone's latest ground-to-air equipment, called GenStar. Over the next 15 months, 7000 GenStar telephones will be installed in Air Canada aircraft." This reminds me, how is Jack Goeken's In-Flight Phone Corp (IFPC) doing these days anyhow? ------------------------------ From: RANDY@MPA15AB.mv-oc.Unisys.COM Date: 03 Mar 1994 18:49:00 Subject: Voice Cards Question How reliable are voice cards, such as those sold by Dialogic? How about the VM software available for them, such as that by the company which DialLogic recommends (I think it is Telecom Technologies)? Would it be relatively easy to set up a small VM system using these cards and software, and would it be reasonable to expect such a system to run unattended at a remote location? How hard is it to administer such a system remotely? How about funny requirements, such as some mailboxes being receive-only? Randall Gellens randy@mv-oc.unisys.com Net**2 656-6350 (Please forward bounces to Mail Stop MV 237 rgellens@mcimail.com) ------------------------------ From: Jeff Cauhape Subject: Telecommuting Examples Wanted Organization: The Wollongong Group, Inc., Palo Alto, CA Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 12:37:23 GMT Hi, I'm trying to get telecommuting going in a big way at our company, and my manager has tasked me with gathering a list of other companies that use telecommuting already. If you telecommute, would you please email me with a short description of how your company handles it. Thanks in advance. Jeff Cauhape cauhape@twg.com ------------------------------ From: forbesm@CSOS.ORST.EDU (Mark Forbes) Subject: Help! Nitsuko Phone Gremlins Invade Startup Company! Date: 4 Mar 1994 15:51:28 GMT Organization: CS Outreach Services, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA I'm trying to keep track of the phone system here at work. It's a Nitsuko DS01 24x72 KSU, with a NVM2000 voicemail system running behind it. Problems include periodic false ringing, blasts of static from the phones, programming in the system getting re-programmed, extensions that won't transfer, etc. I've swapped nearly everything in the system, I've spent hours on the phone to Nitsuko technical support, I've screamed, cursed, begged, groveled and torn my hair out in despair. Now bald and abased, I turn to the *real* experts ... you guys. Anybody out there got one of these things? It's a digital phone system, so it isn't as simple as 'just check your connections'. The phones and the KSU both have CODECs in them, and the signal travels between the two as 56Kbaud packetized data on two differential pairs. At least, that's what they told me. I'm starting to suspect a software bug of some kind. It's running version 1.05 firmware, and it's a two-cabinet system currently, but could be expanded to three cabinets. The problems got worse this last week when I added two more station sets. Prior to that it had been fairly stable for a couple weeks. Nitsuko tech support has *tried* to be helpful, but their usual answer is, "Well, try swapping some components and see if that helps." I'm down to the point where I have to buy some more phone system parts, just to see if I can solve the problem. I've got spares of most things, but I guess I'll now have spares of *everything*. :-( Any net.advice would be greatly appreciated. Failing that, anybody got a suggestion for a replacement system? We need to service a high-technology company with a planned size of about 80 people and probably 20-25 incoming voice lines. PBX/KSU/phone widget ideas would be welcomed. Mark G. Forbes Test Engineer (and itinerant 'phone guy') Acres Gaming Inc. (503) 753-7648 (assuming the &^#*&$ phone system is working....) forbesm@csos.orst.edu ------------------------------ From: Barton.Bruce@camb.com Subject: MOH and Royalties and Supreme Court Organization: Digital Equipment Computer Users Society Date: 4 Mar 1994 12:36:17 -0500 Organization: Cambridge Computer Associates, Inc. I thought the Supreme Court had fairly recently made it 'ok' to play radio/cd/ on music on hold without paying BMI (Brass-knuckles Music Investigations?) or ASCAP or ... A background music vendor just claimed we could NOT put what we want on MOH without paying. What is the truth? ------------------------------ From: jjudy@bsac.EECS.Berkeley.EDU (Jack W. Judy) Subject: Re: Phones in the Movies Again Date: 4 Mar 1994 06:54:57 GMT Organization: University of California, Berkeley On the subject of phones in the movies I wonder if anyone else noticed that in the movie Die Hard 2 (the one in the Airport) Bruce Willis called someone (his wife?) from a pay phone in the Wash. DC (?) airport ... except that the phone has Pac-Bell written on it? I guess this goes to show you how much effort and thinking went into this movie. I wonder how many phone gaffes have appeared in the movies. Cheers, Jack W. Judy Office: (510) 642-1010 Electrical Engineering FAX: (510) 643-6637 497 Cory Hall (BSAC) Lab: (510) 642-2716 University of California Home: (510) 849-2604 Berkeley, CA 94720 email: j.judy@ieee.org [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This particular gaffe has been mentioned here before a couple times. PAT] ------------------------------ From: bbuckman@flexible.demon.co.uk (Brian Buckman) Subject: Re: Phones in the Movies Again Organization: The Flexible Work Company Reply-To: bbuckman@flexible.com Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 13:09:04 +0000 In the UK British Telecom had (in fact they may still have) a team that would allocate dummy numbers. They would also check for historical accuracy -- so if the play was set in (say) 1920 they would give you an appropriate number. In fact, many of the numbers thay provided worked however, as they were often meter pulse test numbers (so any one calling would increase their next phone bill as the equipment would pulse their rather fast). Brian Buckman bbuckman@flexible.com The Flexible Work Company bbuckman@cix.compulink.co.uk Tel: +44 933 460951 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A team or group of employees just to do that? What a job! Imagine your friends asking you what are your duties at the Telephone Company: " ... oh, I am part of a team which allocates dummy numbers to movie producers." PAT] ------------------------------ From: tgilson@delphi.com (Terry Gilson) Subject: Re: Information Needed on Satellite Phone Date: 4 Mar 1994 07:21:53 GMT Organization: Delphi Internet Services Corporation On Feb. 25 Min Hu hu@helios.physics.utoronto.ca wrote: > During the gulf war, both the reporters and the American soldiers used > a kind of satellite phone system so that they could communicate with > outside world. Does anybody out there know companies who make or sell > this kind of mobile phone system? > The following features will be desirable. > 1. Ability to communicate while the phone is in motion (say a jeep) > 2. The diameter of the antanne should be less than 1 meter > 3. The satellite carrier should be either American satellite or sea > monitoring satellite. > 4. The antanne should be all-direction antanne, do not have to worry about > the direction of the satellite. > It will be greatly appreciated if you can offer any clue as how to > find this kind of company. To my knowledge the only commercial voice-capable satellite system around will be the one from American Mobile Satellite Corp. which will offer their SKYCELL Mobile Telephone Services sometime in 1995. It should offer full-service mobile satellite connections throughout North America, including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and 200 miles of coastal waters. AMSC is one of the first recipients of an FCC license granting authority to provide a full range of satellite-delivered, mobile telephone, fax and data services to land mobile, maritime, aeronautical and fixed site markets. AMSC is a consortium of some big names such as: Hughes Communications, Inc.; McCaw Cellular Communications Inc.; and Mtel Corporation, to name just a few. I think it will be made up of five or six GEO birds, the first of which was originally to be launched in late '94. TRW plans the Odyssey MEO series some day and then of course Motorola will put up the Iridium system in Low Earth Orbit. --------------------------- While I am thinking about it, I sometimes wonder who will be the customers for all this expensive communications capability. It seems to me that the majority of the populated land mass is covered quite well with the current cellular systems, and those systems tie in nicely with the land-line systems of the world. I like the idea of offering coverage on every square inch of the planet, but who would I sell it to? There are only so many world travelers who need to take the same phone with them wherever they go. Maybe I am missing something, but right now I don't know what it could be. I hope this answers your question. Terry Gilson tgilson@eis.calstate.edu DCN Cellular 805-379-3333 71220.2040@compuserve.com Westlake Village, CA USA tgilson@delphi.com ------------------------------ From: ananth@access.digex.net (A N Ananth) Subject: Re: Information Needed on Satellite Phone Date: 4 Mar 1994 11:50:10 -0500 Organization: Prism Communications Inc, Annapolis MD In article , Min Hu wrote: > During the gulf war, both the reporters and the American soldiers used > a kind of satellite phone system so that they could communicate with > outside world. Does anybody out there know companies who make or sell > this kind of mobile phone system? As has been mentioned by someone else, you are probably referring to INMARSAT. In the North American continental region you ought to consider the MSAT system that is being offered by AMSC in the US and TMI in Canada. It has all the qualities you desire and is priced comparably to ground based cellular systems. ananth Phone: (410) 765-9281 Prism Communications Inc. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #112 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa12688; 4 Mar 94 18:13 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA13441; Fri, 4 Mar 94 13:55:52 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA13429; Fri, 4 Mar 94 13:55:49 CST Date: Fri, 4 Mar 94 13:55:49 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403041955.AA13429@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #113 TELECOM Digest Fri, 4 Mar 94 13:55:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 113 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Area Code Closeness (David Whiteman) Re: Area Code Closeness (Mark C. Williams) Re: Call Transfer to Outside Number (Steve Cogorno) Re: Call Transfer to Outside Number (puma@netcom.com) Re: 1-900 as a State Moneymaker (Gary W. Sanders) Re: 1-900 as a State Moneymaker (Steve Forrette) Re: Radio Program on History of the Telephone (Jodi Weber) Re: Intern's Pay in Telecom (Gary W. Sanders) Re: Interop Conference (Bruce Sullivan) Re: InterLATA CID (John Gilbert) Re: Need Information on ISDN Phones (Ethan C. Tuttle) Re: Why Are Rates to India Increasing? (A.N. Ananth) Re: ATM Comes to Long Island (Dorian Smith) Re: Help Needed Using Sprintnet (David O. Laney) Re: Need to Monitor Pager Transmissions (Mark Earle) Re: Need to Monitor Pager Transmissions (John Gilbert) Re: New Lower Rates in Italy (Aled Morris) Re: Another Misprogrammed COCOT (William Pfeiffer) Re: Elementary Area Code Question (Peter Campbell Smith) Can I Expect More Than 2400 Baud? (Doug Grant) CallBack-Service Wanted (Uli Mittermaier) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: dbw@netcom.com (David Whiteman) Subject: Re: Area Code Closeness Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 03:25:32 GMT La Habra in Orange County, California which is in the 714 area code has portions of the 714, 909, 310, 213, and 818 area codes in its local calling area. That is five area codes in its local calling area; can anyone beat that? ------------------------------ From: Mark C. Williams Subject: Re: Area Code Closeness Date: 4 Mar 1994 09:36:56 -0600 Organization: The Black Box, PO Box 591822 Houston, TX 77259-1822 Paul Robinson (PAUL@TDR.COM) wrote: > The two areas were Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles/Southern > California (back then). Los Angeles is 213, Dallas is 214; Fort Worth > is 713, Orange County and the rest of Southern California (was then) > 714. Had they switched these, the Southern California area could have > allowed people to advertise an 8 digit number starting with 3 or 4, > since they would all have started with 21 or 71. And the Metroplex > could have done the exact same thing only using the other two-digit > group. But Fort Worth is in NPA 817. Metro Houston is NPA 713, some five hours south east of the metroplex. Mark C. Williams Williams@blkbox.com ------------------------------ From: cogorno@netcom.com (Steve Cogorno) Subject: Re: Call Transfer to Outside Number Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 06:53:20 PST Said by: Lars Nohling > I am trying to come up with a way for our receptionist to transfer > calls to outside numbers. For example a call comes in for me and she > could transfer the call to my cellular number. > Our Toshiba Strata PBX does not seem to have any features for this. Is > CENTREX the only way to get what I want? > Are there any black-boxes that would do the trick? At work when the need has come up, we pull a second line, dial the number, announce the call, and bridge the two lines using conference. This is not a very good method if the information is confidential, but it works in an emergency. Steve cogorno@netcom.com #608 Merrill * 200 McLaughlin Drive * Santa Cruz, CA 95064-1015 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 05:46:49 -0800 From: puma@netcom.com (puma) Subject: Re: Call Transfer to Outside Number In article Lars Nohling writes: > I am trying to come up with a way for our receptionist to transfer > calls to outside numbers. For example a call comes in for me and she > could transfer the call to my cellular number. > Our Toshiba Strata PBX does not seem to have any features for this. Is > CENTREX the only way to get what I want? Centrex (at least here) will not allow *transfer* to an outside number. You can add-on an outside number, but the local caller has to stay on the line. If the local person disconnects, the whole call is taken down. > Are there any black-boxes that would do the trick? I'm surprised there isn't some way for your PBX to do a three-way-add-on of an outside line. Your receptionist could add you on, and then put the call on hold locally. This works fine on Centrex, and when the party eventually hangs up, the local hold is dropped. puma@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: gary.w.sanders@att.com Date: Fri, 4 Mar 94 14:29:37 GMT Subject: Re: 1-900 as a State Moneymaker Organization: AT&T In article cek@sdc.cs.boeing.com (Conrad Kimball) writes: > In article , worley@village.com (Dale > Worley) writes: >>> Heard on the news today that Missouri state government has >>> started a 1-900 number for businesses to find the provider of the >>> lowest-cost workers' compensation insurance. They are charging $1 >>> /min, with $.45-.55 to go to the state general revenue fund. Ohio just installed a $15/call 900 number for gun dealers who need to do background checks on gun sales. Gary W. Sanders (N8EMR) gary.w.sanders@att.com AT&T Bell Labs 614.860.5965 ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: 1-900 as a State Moneymaker Date: 3 Mar 1994 22:08:44 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc. Reply-To: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) In , lreeves@crl.com (Les Reeves) writes: > Several years ago I installed a channel bank for the US Office of > Personnel Management's job line 900 service. The cost was the lowest I have > ever seen on any 900 service; 40 cents per minute. They told me they > selected a per-minute rate that would just cover the cost of the access > from MCI. This doesn't make any sense at all. If they are not making any money from the 900 number, why is it even on a 900 number? Why require the caller to pay 40 cents a minute, when they could pay at most 25 cents for a regular 1+ call? Also, 900 puts all sorts of restrictions on the calling phone: it can't be a cellular phone, pay phone, international call, blocked PBX, and so on. Is there something I'm missing, or is this another example of our government's experts at work? Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Mar 94 05:58:07 EST From: jodiweber@attmail.att.com Subject: Re: Radio Program on History of the Telephone Organization: AT&T In article is written: > WBEZ (FM 91.5, Chicago) will be broadcasting a four-part "radio history > of the telephone", titled "Hell's Bells", starting Feb. 28 at 7:00-8:00 > PM. The other three parts will be aired March 1, 2, and 7 (same time). > This is an American Public Radio program; the folks at the station > said it will likely be aired on other APR or NPR stations around the > country, but on different schedules. Check with your local station, > or call Israel Smith at APR in Minneapolis, 612-338-5000. I called the above number to find out when it was playing in the New York or Philadelphia areas, and unfortunately it's already been aired there. But I was given the producer's name to contact regarding this program (APR is just the distributor). His name is Greg McVicar at Pacific Multimedia. His number is 510-938-2877. Jodi Weber jodiweber@attmail.com or jweber@cbnewsg.cb.att.com ------------------------------ From: gary.w.sanders@att.com Date: Fri, 4 Mar 94 14:27:05 GMT Subject: Re: Intern's Pay in Telecom Organization: AT&T In article rmcguire@wiltel20.wiltel.com (Russ McGuire) writes: > In article Ramaiah V Narla student.msu.edu> writes: > Could they have possibly meant $10/hour? I thought it was illegal to > pay less than minimum wage, even to interns ;^) ... > We have used interns at times here at WilTel, but I'm not sure how > well we've paid them. I'm pretty sure it was more than $10/day ... Minimum wage has a lot of loop holes. If your paying room and food then you can pay under minimum. Gary W. Sanders (N8EMR) gary.w.sanders@att.com AT&T Bell Labs 614.860.5965 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Mar 94 12:01 EST From: Bruce Sullivan Subject: Re: Interop Conference In TELECOM DIGEST V14 #108, ashore@access2.digex.net (Arnold Shore) asks: > Will appreciate any information on a series of conferences or > expositions named Interop xx, where xx is the year. Theme, of course, > was interoperability/telecom products, services, issues. Interop '94 will be held May 4-6, 1994 in Las Vegas, NV at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Questions: 1-800-488-2883. FAX: 1-415-525-0199. I have a brochure. If you have further questions I might be able to answer them. However, the 800# above will probably be more helpful. Bruce ------------------------------ From: johng@ecs.comm.mot.com (John Gilbert) Subject: Re: InterLATA CID Organization: Motorola, LMPS Date: Fri, 04 Mar 1994 10:47:29 -0600 Aren't tariffs only required for the IXC or LEC to add an additional charge for the feature? They way I look at it, I am already paying the $6.50 /month for the feature and my LEC should be doing their best to make this feature work as well as possible with as many IXCs as possible. When I have a choice, I will choose the LEC and IXC who make this feature work most frequently while still maintaining the other aspects of local and LD service that I value. I look at this like audio quality or operator services -- another place where an IXC or LEC can improve to differentiate their service offering from their competition. If the IXCs feel that they need to be compensated for passing this information, they can talk to my LEC. At $6.50 /month and with CID support on only some of the COs in my LATA and none outside my LATA, Caller ID is already marginally useful to me. The IXC won't be getting any more money from me for this feature. I called ATT's public relations office to ask about their support of Inter-LATA Caller ID. The supervisor who I spoke with didn't know what I was talking about, but promised to check into it and call me back (he never did). As soon as an ATT competitor can offer me an equivalent service level WITH caller ID compatibility, I'll be changing to them. John Gilbert johng@ecs.comm.mot.com ------------------------------ From: ethan@medisg.Stanford.EDU (Ethan C. Tuttle) Subject: Re: Need Information on ISDN Phones Date: 4 Mar 1994 14:30:43 GMT Organization: Stanford Med School ISG PacBell has some info on various ISDN equipment (including phones) on their gopher site: gopher.pacbell.com You'll have to poke around to find it, I don't quite remember where it is. ethan ------------------------------ From: ananth@access.digex.net (A N Ananth) Subject: Re: Why Are Rates to India Increasing? Date: 4 Mar 1994 11:38:46 -0500 Organization: Prism Communications Inc, Annapolis MD In article , Linc Madison wrote: > I was looking at yet another one of those newspaper ads for the > various LD companies' international discount calling plans, and I've > noticed that they list numbers like "India 73 cents (thru 3/30/94, 78 > cents after)" > Is the PTT in India increasing its "landing fees"? Actually the rates are not increasing at all. As one who spend$, let me assure you that the rate of $0.73 is almost 50% off the normal rate...at the present time, $0.78 per minute is the best you can do [if you call over the weekend etc] ananth Phone: (410) 765-9281 Prism Communications Inc. ------------------------------ From: dsmith@isc.nva.ge.com (Dorian Smith) Subject: Re: ATM Comes to Long Island Reply-To: dsmith@isc.nva.ge.com Organization: Martin Marietta, Inc., Reston, VA Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 16:39:55 GMT Curious, your part of "Clinton's Information Superhighway" was originally funded by the Bush administration. Also, you are not the first. dsmith@isc.nva.ge.com Dorian W Smith ------------------------------ From: ua291@fim.uni-erlangen.de (David O. Laney) Subject: Re: Help Needed Using Sprintnet Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 00:51:36 GMT Organization: Free-Net Erlangen Nuernberg, Germany To reach SPRINTNET from Italy trying calling the USA Direct Operator for Sprint at 172-1877 which should be available from most phones in Italy. David O. Laney ae711@dayton.wright.edu +1 (513) 443 2765 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Mar 94 12:31:03 CST From: mearle@cbi.tamucc.edu (Mark Earle) Subject: Re: Tracking a Particular Pager > Is it conceivable that one could write a computer program (or that > there might already been programs out there that do this) so that I > might leave the computer and scanner running non-stop, decoding all > data coming over the pager frequency and logging any and all data > meant specifically for the pager serial number in question? > 1. Call the pager company and see if they will release their logs; > 2. Buy a cheap pager somewhere (that uses the same frequency) and find > someone willing to reprogram it to use the same serial number as the > unit my sister uses. (Can this be done easily??) The computer program your theorize above is possible, but illegal. The same ECPA which gives cellular telephone users "privacy" extends this type of privacy to digital format pager users (note that voice pagers are not afforded such privacy). Paging companies generally keep no such detail -- some bill by a volume of pages, but again, usually the detail is not kept. Item two above might help you, if you have all the technical specs of the target pager, but might also run afoul of the ECPA. Also, some brands of pagers (Motorola) have the "cap code" pre-programmed at the factory. While it _can_ be changed in the field, it is an unusual requrest and so finding someone who knows about it and would be willing to order parts not stocked might not be easy. We won't even consider that the law enforcement might have the computer program/ or functional equal. After all, it's illegal by Federal law. Note though that the Detective type magazines do offer such devices for educational use only, of course. The same way they offer devices which can log calls to/from target cellular phones, and (supposedly, they say) intercept calls to/from specific cellular phones. Strictly for educational purposes :-). I've not kept up with any of this educational type material so can offer only this vauge information. mwearle@mcimail.com ------------------------------ From: johng@ecs.comm.mot.com (John Gilbert) Subject: Re: Need to Monitor Pager Transmissions Organization: Motorola, LMPS Date: Thu, 03 Mar 1994 18:07:03 -0600 Your easiest and least expensive bet is to get a pager with the same signalling format, signalling rate and frequency. This could then be programmed on the same cap code that your sister is using. I really don't see how you will be able to do this without your paging company's help or without reading the information off the back of your sister's pager. You need all the information above if you want to monitor her pages. The cap code is probably on her bill, if you have access to that, but the rest of the information is probably not. There are commercial devices available to monitor paging data. Greyson Electronics in Blacksburg Va, makes a package that runs several thousand dollars and is only sold to law enforcement or paging operators. Hark electronics makes a small modem for decoding paging data that still runs over $1000. The least expensive PC based monitoring solution is the M400(?). Check "Popular Communications" or "Monitoring Times." They take out a full page add every month. The box they sell is designed for shortwave listeners for decoding radio-teletype primarily. It also decodes POCSAG and GSC paging data. If you are going to go looking for the cap-code and frequency that she is on with a scanner and paging demodulator, remember that data can be delayed by a few minutes from the time you enter the page to the time that it hits the air. FYI -- paging data is protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) just like a cellular phone conversation. John Gilbert johng@ecs.comm.mot.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 10:15:24 GMT From: aledm@relay-europe.ps.net (Aled Morris) Subject: Re: New Lower Rates in Italy In article Alfredo E. Cotroneo <100020.1013@Compu Serve.COM> writes: > This is Italcable's rate system for direct dial calls from Italy to > the USA (and a couple of other reference countries): > [Rate of exchange US$ 1 = Lire 1680 (1 March, 1994)] > fm: Italy > to: TIMES: 8-14 14-19 19-23 23-08 Sunday all day > USA $1.37 $1.37 $1.28 $1.02 > Singapore $1.68 $1.68 $1.68 $1.31 $1.31 > Corea $1.68 $1.68 $1.68 $1.31 $1.31 For comparison, here's what I'm paying my local telephone co: GB#1 = US$1.5 (this is a bit generous, I think its nearer $1.4 now, so these numbers are too high) fm: GB to: Standard Economy USA $0.5418 $0.4856 Singapore $0.9720 $0.8010 Korea $1.4895 $1.4688 Italy $0.3737 $0.3341 Standard = 8am-8pm Mon-Fri, Economy = all other times. For calls to Singapore and Korea, Standard rate applies 8am-8pm weekends too. VAT (sales tax) is 17.5% (reclaimable by commercial users). I'm glad I don't call Korea very often :-) Also, it looks like it's cheaper to relay calls between Italy and the US via a dial-back from England. Aled aledm@relay-europe.ps.net | tel +44 81 476 2212 Perot Systems Europe Ltd. | fax +44 81 476 2419 ------------------------------ From: rrb@deja-vu.aiss.uiuc.edu (AIRWAVES E-PUBLISHING) Subject: Re: Another Misprogrammed COCOT Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 02:24:17 CST jay@coyote.rain.org (Jay Hennigan) wrote: > Speaking of COCOTs, I've observed that many of them scramble the > dialed digits on the tone pad. That is, when dialing an 800 number, I > can hear DTMF tones in the handset, but the tones are _not_ the digits > I am dialing. However, I reach the correct number. Once the number > is dialed, I get a synthesized "thank you", and thereafter the tone > pad sends the correct tones. > Does anyone know why this is done? A guess ... When you are dialing initially, you are not dialing against the CO dialtone, but against an internally generated dialtone. Perhaps, the internal call recongition interface recognizes non-standard tones (perhaps as a security measure against pocket dialers). Once you satisfy the internal brain, you get standard tones. I have heard these 'wobbly' tones too on COCOTS. William Pfeiffer - Moderator/Editor rec.radio.broadcasting - Airwaves Radio Journal - Internet email - Article Submission: articles@airwaves.chi.il.us Subscription Desk: subscribe@airwaves.chi.il.us ------------------------------ From: campbellsm@lish.logica.com (Peter Campbell Smith) Subject: Re: Elementary Area Code Question Organization: Logica, London Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 08:49:07 GMT In article , kucharsk@solbourne.com (William Kucharski) wrote: > Why don't phone switches just use the following obvious (at least to > me) algorithm: > 1-XXX-YYYY 1+7 digits, must be long distance within the area code, > so XXX is the exchange; > 1-XXX-YYY-ZZZZ 1+10 digits, so XXX must be the area code. > It seems a one or two second pause would be quite sufficient to denote > "end of number ..." In other countries (such as this one) telephone numbers vary in length and until the advent of digital switching we always relied on timeouts. It worked fine, though now that we have become accustomed to instant ringing we might be less keen on it. However, we never had the case where someone dialing a long number slowly might have it misinterpreted as a different number. In your example, suppose your number was (AAA) XXX-YYYZ. Granny Jones, within AAA but ouside your local calling area, tries to dial 1-XXX-YYY-ZZZZ but pauses to adjust her spectacles after the first Z, and she's through to you. What you could do is to drop the 1 for calls within an area code. So you dial seven digits for calls within the area code (whether toll or not) and 1 + ten digits for other area codes. The disadvantage is that you don't know whether the seven-digit call is in your local calling area, but most times you probably know already, don't care, or could look it up in the phone book. It's easy enough to come up with bright ideas like this which could be implemented if one was introducing the phone system from scratch. Unfortunately a lot of existing equipment is expensive or even impossible to change. Also, it is generally accepted that any change to what you dial needs a period when both the old and the new are accepted, so as well as making the new scheme unambiguous there can't be a string of digits which is legal under both old and new schemes but connects you to different destinations. Peter Campbell Smith, Logica plc, London. Voice: +44 71 637 9111 Fax: +44 71 344 3638 Internet: campbellsm@lish.logica.com ------------------------------ From: dmgrant@tasc.com (Doug Grant) Subject: Can I Expect More Than 2400 Baud? Date: 4 Mar 1994 18:48:54 GMT Organization: TASC Our company is producing a product with a significant telecommunications component. We use a distributed/replicated database; our host sends database updates to sites A & B. Then A sends the update to C & D, while B sends it to E & F, etc. Using this strategy makes it possible to complete our updates to the 200 or so sites with in a reasonable time. In our planning and alpha-testing we have always assumed we could get at least 9600 baud. Our alpha testing runs quite well at 14400. However, users on Cape Cod, our second planned beta-test site, have told us that NYNEX has informally told them that 2400 baud is the best they can count on. Is 2400 baud a reasonable service level to expect in this day and age? What is the best or most appropriate way to approach a telephone company on this issue? As readers can no doubt deduce I am not a telecommuncations person. ------------------------------ From: Uli Mittermaier Date: Thu, 3 Mar 1994 19:20:29 +0100 Subject: CallBack-Service Wanted Hi! I am looking for a callback-provider that matches the following criteria: - no monthly minimum fee - no minimum charge per call If you know a company that offers this kind of service, please e-mail me directly (uli@koala.muc.de), as I am not on this list/newsgroup. Thank you very much! Best regards, Uli Mittermaier Internet: uli@koala.muc.de D-84405 Dorfen CompuServe: [100270,1200] Germany [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The one I represent called Telepassport is unfortunatly not for you then, as it charges a monthly $25 minimum use fee (applied against charges on your bill). PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #113 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa14830; 5 Mar 94 3:16 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA24797; Fri, 4 Mar 94 23:54:03 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA24787; Fri, 4 Mar 94 23:54:01 CST Date: Fri, 4 Mar 94 23:54:01 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403050554.AA24787@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #114 TELECOM Digest Fri, 4 Mar 94 23:54:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 114 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Personal Wireless Communications Conference (Monty Solomon) Wireless Internet Connections (Paul Wareham) RBOC FTP Sites and Gopher Servers List (Hjalmar Syversen) Now Anyone Can Have ANI on Their 800 Number (Tom Lowe) Followup on C&W CID in NY and CT (Doug Reuben) Online Access to AT&T Annual Report (Andrew B. Myers) Transborder Local Calls (John Botari) Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems and Applications (Monty Solomon) Mobile Penetrations (Lars Kalsen) Fax on the Net - Impact on Telcos? (Richard Sambolec) Re: Phones in the Movies Again (Martin McCormick) Re: Phones in the Movies Again (Bill Mayhew) Re: Can I Expect More Than 2400 Baud? (Peter M. Weiss) Re: Can I Expect More Than 2400 Baud? (Fred R. Goldstein) Administrivia: Some Lost Messages (TELECOM Digest Editor) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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, 4 Mar 1994 17:47:10 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Personal Wireless Communications Conference Excerpt from Cellular Digest From: bhargava@sirius.uvic.ca (Vijay Bhargava) Date: Fri, 25 Feb 94 16:50:56 PST Subject: Conference Announcement International Conference on Personal Wireless Communications August 18-19, 1994 Windsor Manor Sheraton, Bangalore (India) Sponsored by IEEE, India Council, IEEE Bangalore Section and the IETE (India) FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS The International Conference is conceived as a forum for discussion in this part of the world of the most recent advances in Wireless technology, networks, and services. Therefore the organizing technical committee will be pleased to receive most up-to-date information on the following subjects (although not limited to these). The Conference will have several technical sessions spread over two days (Aug. 18-19), preceded by one day (Aug.17) of tutorials covering two of the most topical current subjects. The organizing committee expects a lively and stimulating discussion on all wireless related subjects in the Garden city of India, Bangalore, specially of interest to developing countries. An edited abstract must be received by the Technical Program chair no later than April 15, 1994. Authors will be notified about acceptance by May 15, 1994 and a camera ready copy will be due by June 22, 1994. Deadlines: Abstract: April 15, 1994 Camera-ready copy: June 22, 1994 Plenary Speakers from Leading Organizations: - AT&T Bell Labs - Pactel Corp - NTT - Northern Telecom - INMARSAT - ALCATEL - QUALCOMM - Motorola - CITR Theme-Speaker: N. Vittal, Govt. of India Tutorials: - FLMPTS - How soon is soon enough - CDMA - A broadband Wireless Access Sessions: - Wireless Technology: Speech Coding for wireless Digital Modulation and channel coding TDMA or CDMA - Wireless Systems and Networks: Trunked Radio Systems (or Private Mobile Radio) Wireless solutions for Developing countries Mobile Data Satellite Communication Networks and VSAT's Wireless PABX's Wireless LAN's - Telecommunications Services Radio Paging and Voice-Mail Digital Cellular and PCS CT-2 Integration of wireless subscribers into existing PSTN Frequency Spectrum how much and how many For general inquiry regarding the conference including, exhibiting at the conference, advertising in final program or sponsoring a meal event please contact: Mr. Y.S.Rao, Conference Co-Chair Dr. A.K.Seth, Conference Co-Chair BPL Systems and Projects Limited C-DOT, Centre for Development of Telematics 1/1 Palace Road 9th Floor, Akbar Bhavan Bangalore 560 001, India New Delhi 100 021, India Phone: +91 80 220 5311 Phone: +91 11 677 525 FAX : +91 80 220 5311 FAX : +91 11 688 5528 Email: bplysr@ncb.ernet.in Manuscript may be submitted to: Dr. Vijay K. Bhargava, Technical Program Chair Dept of Elec. and Comp. Eng. University of Victoria, PO Box 3055 Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3P6 Phone: +1 604 721-8617 FAX : +1 604 721-6048 Email: bhargava@sirius.uvic.ca ADVANCE REGISTRATION Last Name: ........................... First Name: .......................... Company Name and Address: .................................................... .................................................... .................................................... .................................................... Telephone:................. FAX: .................. Name of Spouse/Guest: ........................................................ IEEE of IETE Member Registration(Membership# ............) Rs 4,000/U.S.$200.00 Non Member Registration Rs 5,000/U.S.$250.00 (Includes all sessions, conference records, refreshments and lunches) Tutorials Rs 2,000/U.S.$100.00 (In addition to the registration fee above. Includes lunch and notes) Please check: |_| Tutorial #1 - Future Public Land Mobile Telecom Service (FPLMTS) |_| Tutorial #2 - CDMA - A Broadband Wireless Access Total remittance payable to: ICPWC '94 Hotel Information: Bangalore had a number of starred hotels (tariffs ranging from Rs 2,400 to Rs 4,000 in addition to Windsor Manor where the conference is organized viz. The Taj, Oberoi and others. A few rooms will be booked in advance at these hotels on first come basis to get a preferential rate for the conference participants. ------------------------------ From: wareham@vision.ee.queensu.ca (Paul Wareham) Subject: Wireless Internet Connections Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 19:05:15 -0500 Organization: Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Queen's Univ, Kingston, Ontario I heard somewhere that there was a company offering wireless satellite internet connections. I think perhaps it was just Usenet News or something. If any has any info or can point me in the right direction please let me know .... Regards, Paul Wareham, Queen's University Ontario, Canada ------------------------------ From: hsyversen@BIX.com (hsyversen on BIX) Subject: RBOC FTP Sites and Gopher Servers List Date: 5 Mar 94 03:17:19 GMT Organization: Delphi Internet Services Corporation Can anyone help me with listings of RBOC FTP sites and/or Gopher servers? If so, I would appreciate any e-mail on these listings. Please e-mail to hsyversen@bix.com. Thanks! Hjalmar Syversen Bombeck/Syversen 711 H Street #630 Anchorage, AK 99501 907/258-4557 (voice) hsyversen@bix.com ------------------------------ From: tomlowe@netcom.com (Tom Lowe) Subject: Now Anyone Can Have ANI on Their 800 Number Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 16:57:48 EST If you are interested in receiving REAL-TIME ANI on 800 calls to your Voice Response system, regardless of whether your calls are coming in on T1, Loop Start, Ground Start, or otherwise, read on ... Working with a client of mine, we have developed a method whereby anyone with a VRU that is direct dialable from the United States can receive the ANI of the caller, as well as the 800 number that was dialed, prior to conversing with the customer. This does NOT rely on Caller-ID, ISDN, or any other out-of-band type of signalling. It is really quite simple ... as soon as your VRU answers the ringing line, the DNIS and ANI will be outpulsed to the VRU using DTMF tones. If your VRU does not receive any digits within the first three seconds, it can provide a default prompting scenario. This would happen if someone called the VRU directly, instead of through the 800 number. For more information, please contact me at the email address listed below, or call me at 609-698-7044 X201. Tom Lowe tomlowe@netcom.com Compro Technologies, Inc. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 04 Mar 1994 12:51:53 EST From: dreuben@ROC.CON.WESLEYAN.EDU (Doug Reuben) Subject: Followup on C&W CID in NY and CT About a day after I posted an article on how C&W doesn't appear to be delivering ANI -> CID in New York and Connecticut, it suddenly started working again, but only in NY. Our software pages me with remotely with the CID of who called, so you can bet I was suprised when I got a call via a C&W 800 number in NY where the ANI -> CID was sent to my pager and it showed a number in Atlanta! I thought it was something wrong with the computer, or maybe that someone had paged me by mistake, but when I got down to NY and checked the CID box, it did indeed have the number from Atlanta. Further tests confirmed that ANI -> CID was indeed working again. I said "Wow! That was fast -- someone must have read the post and 'fixed' problem!". But, when I tried to get the CID from C&W in CT (where it had worked in the past), all I get is still "Out of Area :( . Also, after some testing, I noticed that the CID to NY works from most areas of the country, except for New England. You don't get ID's from Rhode Island, Mass, VT, NH, or Maine. I didn't try Canada yet, but I suspect that at the very least Quebec won't work either (it did previously). So it's working again -- sort of. Thanks to anyone at C&W who may have read my earlier posting and fixed the problem. Doug dreuben@eagle.wesleyan.edu dreuben@wesleyan.bitnet ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Mar 94 17:49:23 EST From: myers@hogpa.ho.att.com (Andrew B Myers) Subject: Online Access to AT&T Annual Report ONLINE ACCESS TO AT&T'S 1993 ANNUAL REPORT; PLUS NEWS RELEASES BASKING RIDGE, N.J., March 4, 1994 -- AT&T's new 1993 Annual Report has just been installed on AT&T News Online. AT&T News Online is a data base containing nearly 5,000 company press releases going back five years. Also included are AT&T's 1991 and 1992 Annual Reports and the most current AT&T Fact Book. The fact book contains many of the company's "vital statistics," including such items as notable AT&T Bell Labs inventions, AT&T business units and groups, corporate environmental and philanthropic activities, a corporate history, employee head counts, corporate revenues and many other facts. The fact book was last updated in September 1993. The next update is expected in early April. New releases are available via AT&T News Online whenever they are issued to the media. There is no charge to access AT&T News Online. Anyone may access the system via computer and modem by dialing 908-221-8088. The system will match modem speeds up to 9600 bits per second. Set communications for 7 data bits, 1 stop bit, even parity. There is no password. When you see the prompt, just type "go news" (not the quote marks) and hit ENTER. If you have questions, call Andrew Myers, AT&T Corporate Media Relations, 908-221-2737, or send e-mail to andrew.myers@att.com. Note that AT&T News Online is NOT an Internet service; it is a stand-alone data base available only by modem. The only expense to users is the cost of the phone call. CONTACT: Andrew Myers, 908-221-2737 (office), 908-522-9485 (home) ------------------------------ From: John Botari Subject: Transborder Local Calls Date: Fri, 4 Mar 94 16:58:44 CST Pat: This is in reply to a trivia question that you posted a while back concerning a local calling area that crosses an international boundary ... Baudette, MN - (218) 634-xxxx, and Rainy River, ON - (807) 852-xxxx can call each other locally. Dialing is seven digits (or at least it was the last time I looked). Baudette actually appears in the Bell Canada directory for Northwestern Ontario. John Botari Environment Canada Saskatoon, SK ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 17:57:29 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems and Applications Excerpt from Cellular Digest From: M_Satya@MOZART.CODA.CS.CMU.EDU Date: Thu, 03 Mar 94 15:08:47 EST Subject: Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems and Applications CALL FOR PARTICIPATION WORKSHOP ON MOBILE COMPUTING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS DECEMBER 8-9 1994 DREAM INN, SANTA CRUZ, CA Sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society TCOS (pending) (in cooperation with ACM SIGOPS and USENIX Association) General Chair Darrell Long, University of California, Santa Cruz Program Chair M. Satyanarayanan, Carnegie Mellon University Exhibits Peter Honeyman, University of Michigan Finance & Registration Richard Golding, Hewlett-Packard Publication Luis-Felipe Cabrera, IBM Almaden Program Committee Dan Duchamp, Columbia University Peter Honeyman, University of Michigan Randy Katz, UC Berkeley & ARPA Jay Kistler, DEC SRC Krishan Sabnani, AT&T Holmdel M. Satyanarayanan, Carnegie Mellon University Amal Shaheen, IBM Austin Marvin Theimer, Xerox PARC Rich Wolff, Bellcore A major challenge of this decade is the effective exploitation of two symbiotic technologies: portable computers and wireless networks. Harnessing these technologies will dramatically change the computing landscape. But realizing the full potential of the resulting mobile computing systems will require advances in many areas such as: hardware communications scalability power management security data access user interfaces location sensitivity The goal of this workshop is to foster exchange of ideas in mobile computing among workers in the field. Attendance will be limited to about 60 participants, based on the position papers submitted. Submissions should be fewer than five pages in length and may expose a new problem, advocate a specific solution, or report on actual experience. In addition, we will be hosting a small number of novel hardware and software exhibits relevant to mobile computing. The exhibits may be research prototypes or commercial products. Interested parties should submit technical descriptions of their exhibits. Online copies of the position papers will be made available via anonymous FTP prior to the workshop. A printed proceedings will be published after the workshop, and mailed to participants. A small number of graduate students will be granted a waiver of the registration fee. In return, these students will be required to take notes at the workshop and help put together the proceedings. Students who wish to be considered for the waiver must send in a brief description of their current research, and an explanation of how participation in the workshop is likely to help them. Send ten copies of position papers to: M. Satyanarayanan Email: satya@cs.cmu.edu School of Computer Science Phone: (412)-268-3743 Carnegie Mellon University Fax: (412)-681-5739 Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Send exhibit descriptions to: Peter Honeyman Email: honey@citi.umich.edu CITI Phone: (313)-763-4413 University of Michigan Fax: (313)-763-4434 Ann Arbor, MI 48103-4943 IMPORTANT DATES Submissions due August 20 1994 Acceptance Notification October 1 1994 Camera-ready copy due November 15 1994 ------------------------------ From: dalk@login.dkuug.dk (Lars Kalsen) Subject: Mobile Penetrations Date: 4 Mar 94 19:01:00 GMT Organization: DKnet Hi, These penetrations rates for mobile telephones are from 1992. Country Penetration of mobiles Spain 0.3 % Italy 1.2 % Luxembourg 0.4 % Germany 0.8 % Netherlands 0.9 % Ireland 1.1 % Belgium 0.6 % France 0.7 % Austria 1.6 % Switzerland 2.8 % UK 2.2 % Denmark 3.7 % Iceland 5.2 % Finland 6.2 % Sweden 7.4 % If you have some newer figures please correct the figures and return this article to me by E-mail. I will send a summary to this list if I get any corrections. Greetings from Denmark. Lars Kalsen dalk@login.dkuug.dk ------------------------------ From: Richard Sambolec Subject: Fax on the Net - Impact on Telcos? Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 13:32:23 PST I've just started looking into the developments in fax gateways via the Internet. I know there are a number of commercial services available, and of course there are fax/modems and software available, but I'm talking about the *non-commercial* avenues available, such as the TPC project lead by Carl Malamud (of Internet Multicasting Service) and Marshall Rose (of Dover Beach Consulting, Inc.), and of course, Dr. Robert Riley's Digital Chicken experiment which covers the Toronto area. My question is this: How is this going to affect the telcos? It seems to me that as the Internet grows in popularity and use, people will be seeking options such as these, rather than mere discount fax plans. What's the scoop? Regards, Richard I. Sambolec Internet: sambolec@sfu.ca ------------------------------ From: martin@datacomm.ucc.okstate.edu (Martin McCormick) Subject: Re: Phones in the Movies Again Organization: Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 19:49:48 GMT There was a movie produced in the fifties, probably patterned after "The Desperate Hours" in which a couple of thugs terrorize a Las Angeles family for a day or so. In the movie, one of the hoods modifies the radio in a car to receive the LAPD. The criminals also place several telephone calls which the police frantically try to trace. In one scene, a technician is following the call through rack after rack of steppers, hoping that the call won't be disconnected before he can follow it through. As a telecomm enthusiast, I was impressed with the technical authenticity of the film, but I don't remember its name. Before the mid sixties, the Las Angeles PD was on 1735KHZ and was often audible in Oklahoma around midnight, especially in Winter. In the scene where the telephone technician was tracing the calls, one could hear the rata-tat-tat of steppers and the zzzzip of the resetting relays when the call tore down. One of the exchange names in the trace was Dunkirk. Does this movie sound familiar to anybody? Martin McCormick WB5AGZ Stillwater, OK O.S.U. Computer Center Data Communications Group ------------------------------ From: wtm@uhura.neoucom.EDU (Bill Mayhew) Subject: Re: Phones in the Movies Again Organization: Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine Date: Sat, 05 Mar 1994 04:01:31 GMT These aren't totally telecom-related: 1. In the movie Electric Dreams, the protonist Miles [Lenny Von Dohlen] who lives in San Francisco, California purchases an Acorn computer to help keep his schedule in order. When he's unpacking the computer, it has European two pin style 220 volt plugs. In one scene, they do have US style baseboard 110 volt outlets with adaptors for the computer's plugs. Miles accidentally spills champagne in the computer, causing it to take on an anthropomorphic personality. The computer falls in love with Miles' neighbor [Virginia Madsen] who is a cellist. At one point, Edgar the computer calls Miles' pager while he is at a concert and serenades the cellist with Tchaikowski via the pager. It is a silly movie but rather fun for computer nerds. 2. In one of the Pink Panther movies (I forget which), Clouseau [Peter Cellars] is tracking Lady Litton in Switzerland. He's playing a bell boy delivering room service to Lady Litton's room. He's trying to remain stealthy when a lightbulb pops out of a table lamp. He has to catch the flying bulb so it doesn't break, rousing Litton's attention. He tries to put the bulb back in the socket repeatedly, but it keeps flying out. The movie is probably primariliy aimed at US movie audiances, but I doubt they understand the joke since here in the US we have Mazda base bulbs, which thread into their sockets. European bulbs have bayonet type sockets (similar to over-grown automotive turn signal lamp sockets) so the gag makes sense if you understand this. The US neophyte would think the joke dumb as there's no way a screw-in bulb would pop out that way. Well, there is an error in that scene where the mechanical device that makes the bulb pop out of the socket is clearly visible in one of the takes. I remember seeing it the first time I saw the movie and wasn't in the pick-it-apart mode. There are a number of cheesey monster movies and the like where the sytle of the telephone instrument doesn't match the country there the action is supposedly taking place. Bill Mayhew NEOUCOM Computer Services Department Rootstown, OH 44272-0095 USA phone: 216-325-2511 wtm@uhura.neoucom.edu amateur radio 146.58: N8WED ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 04 Mar 1994 16:27:19 EST From: Peter M. Weiss Subject: Re: Can I Expect More Than 2400 Baud? Organization: Penn State University I wonder if 2400 baud is being taking literally or figuratively? BAUD is signaling states. BPS is something different and is some integral number of baud. Just a guess. Pete-Weiss@psu.edu Peter M. Weiss 31 Shields Bldg. -- Penn State Univ -- University Park, PA 16802-1202 USA ------------------------------ From: goldstein@carafe.tay2.dec.com (Fred R. Goldstein) Subject: Re: Can I Expect More Than 2400 Baud? Date: 5 Mar 1994 05:27:38 GMT Organization: Digital Equipment Corp., Littleton MA USA In article dmgrant@tasc.com (Doug Grant) writes: > In our planning and alpha-testing we have always assumed we could > get at least 9600 baud. Our alpha testing runs quite well at 14400. > However, users on Cape Cod, our second planned beta-test site, have > told us that NYNEX has informally told them that 2400 baud is the best > they can count on. This may be a trick question, or it may be somebody at NYNEX using an old line. No commercial modem today runs above 2400 baud on the phone line. BY definition, baud is the inverse of the signaling interval; even 14.4 kbps modems only send 2400 symbols per second, but each symbol encodes six bits, so they are only 2400 baud! The data terminal interface, of course, may be serial at the higher rate. If they're not being so literal, then it's true that they traditionally treated phone lines as "voice" and thus considered 2400 the top modem rate. But today's 9600 bps modems are about as tolerant of line quality as yesteryears' 2400 bps modems; even faster speeds will usually work. They just don't _guarantee_ it. Cape Code has no electromechanical central office switches left, either; it's all modern stuff (a few 5ESS switches with a bunch of remotes, mostly). Unless they're very far from one of the wire centers, the phone on the Cape are as good as anywhere. Fred R. Goldstein k1io goldstein@carafe.tay2.dec.com Opinions are mine alone; sharing requires permission. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Mar 94 14:12:15 CST From: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Subject: Administrivia: Some Lost Messages Some messages sent early this past week to the Digest have been accidentally trashed in processing ... and are no longer available to me. Some of you (those who I was able to identify from the autoreply logs) have been notified of this -- others are being notified here and now. If you sent a message to the Digest (probably on Monday or Tuesday) and it has not yet appeared then most likely it was lost in the shuffle here due to an unfortunate bug I found and (I think!) removed. Please resubmit it if you think it worthwhile or it has not already been covered/responded to by someone else. PAT ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #114 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa21496; 6 Mar 94 11:00 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA12251; Sun, 6 Mar 94 07:59:24 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA12241; Sun, 6 Mar 94 07:59:21 CST Date: Sun, 6 Mar 94 07:59:21 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403061359.AA12241@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #115 TELECOM Digest Sun, 6 Mar 94 07:59:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 115 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Starring Tom Cruise as Kevin Poulsen? (Daily Variety via Ronald Austin) Country Code For San Marino? (Martin Kealey) Is it Tymenet? (Scott M. Pfeffer) USR's New Modem (Allen0@delphi.com) US 1-900 Access From Canada (Robert Schwartz) Re: New Area Code Change Question (Carl Moore) Re: Elementary Area Code Question (Carl Moore) Re: Harrassing One-Ring Calls (Steve Forrette) Re: Charge per Byte For Long-Distance Voice? (Vance Shipley) Re: Air Cell (Alan Brown) Re: Help Needed Using Sprintnet (Patrizio Menchetti Dott) Re: Can I Expect More Than 2400 Baud? (John R. Levine) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: Sun, 6 Mar 94 02:21:40 PST From: raustin@pro-palmtree.socal.com (Ronald Austin) Subject: Starring Tom Cruise as Kevin Poulsen? I thought this might interest you. Daily Variety March 3, 1994 Thursday SECTION: NEWS; Pg.1 BYLINE: MICHAEL FLEMING PAR'S HACK ATTACK: Though the minds of Paramount execs have surely been on potential whackings, computer hacking was the chief focus of execs Bob Jaffe and John Goldwyn last week. The execs got Par to pay a low six-figure fee against mid-six figures to Jonathan Littman for the rights to make a movie from his Sept. 12 {L.A. Times Magazine} article "The Last Hacker," and major names are lining up to be involved. It's the story of Kevin Lee Poulson, a skilled computer hacker who was so inventive he once disabled the phone system of KIIS-FM so he could be the 102nd caller and win the $50,000 Porsche giveaway. More seriously, he's been charged with using his expertise to breach national security by accessing top secret files and selling the information. He's even suspected of disabling the phone systems of "Unsolved Mysteries" after he was profiled, so that callers couldn't furnish clues to his whereabouts. Poulson was caught and has been in jail for the last three years, facing more than 100 years in prison. ICM agent Kris Dahl got Littman to turn the article into a book for Little, Brown, and ICM's Irene Webb racked up yet another sale for the screen rights to the hacker story. It was a vigorous tug of war between Touchstone, which was trying to purchase it for "City Slickers" director Ron Underwood, and Paramount, chasing it for producer Oren Koules. Littman chose Koules, and now, Dish hears, Underwood wants to join Koules to direct. Littman, meanwhile, has remained tight with the underground community of hackers as he researches his book. That takes its toll. Among other things, the mischief meisters have already changed his voice mail greeting to render an obscene proposal. --------------------- UUCP: hatch!pro-palmtree!raustin The Palmtree BBS Inet: raustin@pro-palmtree.socal.com 310-453-8726 v.32 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for passing this along. For readers who do not remember/know of Poulsen, we have a file about him in the Telecom Archives. As the article above points out, he will probably be in jail for a long time to come. Articles about other hackerphreaks who have been arrested and their exploits are in the same sub-directory in the Archives. You can reach the Archives using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. PAT] ------------------------------ From: martin@kurahaupo.gen.nz (Martin Kealey) Subject: Country Code For San Marino? Date: Sun, 6 Mar 1994 02:44:12 +1300 From the calling instructions in my local phonebook: country# area# hrs behind UTC+12 San Marino (00) 378 - 11 Trinadad & (00) 1809 - 16 Tobago From which I gather that T&T hasn't split away to 296 yet, while 378 appears to be subdividing the old East German country code; however grepped from documents retreived by FTP: in how.numbers.are.assigned: 295 - San Marino [3] % [3] San Marino will be split from Italy's country code (was 39). 352 - Luxembourg 39 - Italy, San Marino, 48 - Poland [9] San Marino: + 39 541, but moving to country code 295 at some unknown date in script.and.intl.codes: San Marino +674 +SM +SMR +39 541 So what's the official story? Has NZ Telecom pulled a fast one in using the 378 country code, or has CCITT revised its ideas on the number allocation? By the way, is there a mailing list or something for updates to area codes globally? I currently have information on country codes for nearly everywhere, and area codes for New Zealand, Australia and North America (and a skattering elsewhere). There are also a couple of changeovers which I have heard about but don't have definitive information. Firstly the Australian eight-digit local call plan, which is already partially implemented -- there was an article posted on comp.dcom.telecom earlier, but although I saved it we had a system crash shortly afterwards and I haven't seen it since. Secondly the move in Britain to put a 1 on the front of area codes -- I gather some area codes will get rewritten differently, so is there a file anywhere indicating the proposed changes? Lastly, does there exist an exhaustive list of area codes under zone 7 (ex USSR)? I don't even know if they use fixed ten-digit zone numbers or not, so any pointers to this would be appreciated. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, our Telecom Archives seems to be a more-or-less unofficial repository of this information, and the two guys who keep it up to date are David Leibold and Carl Moore. What we have on zone 7 (Russia and former USSR) seems to be about as complete as can be obtained. PAT] ------------------------------ From: sp9183@swuts.sbc.com (Scott M. Pfeffer) Subject: Is it Tymenet? Date: 6 Mar 1994 02:50:35 GMT Organization: Southwestern Bell Telephone Company I am working with a dialup service into a packet-switched network that is implemented with hardware and software from Tymenet. Anyone used Tymenet packet-switching engines/nodes out there configured with serial interfaces (to modems)? Any advice on configuration of the modem and serial interface on the Tymenet engines/node? Also, how about the modem that dials in. Any thoughts on its configuration w.r.t. using the Tymenet serial interface? Anyone ever tried to run a binary protocol like Zmodem or PPP over such a serial link, through a packet-switched network, and out onto another serial interface? With PPP, ever tried to run TCP on top of this? Why? What results did you get? Hardware diagram-ish: ______ _______ _______ _________ | DTE |____|Modem|~~~~|Modem|___| Tymenet |___Packet Switched Net--- |______| |_____| |_____| |__PAD____| | ______ _________ | | DTE |________| Tymenet |________________________| |______| |__PAD____| Scott Pfeffer Information Services, Southwestern Bell Telephone ------------------------------ From: allen0@delphi.com Subject: USR's New Modem Date: 5 Mar 1994 03:19:59 -0500 Organization: Delphi Internet Services Corporation U.S. Robotics is releasing a new modem in five weeks. The modem will be upgradable to the V.34 standard when it is approved via a software download. The new modem will have read/writeable EPROMS which will allow this. The modem will have all the current protocols, making it the best modem on the market. And since there's no fee to get the V.34, I'd say it'll be the best buy when it comes out. For more info call USR at 1-800-DIALUSR. Allen ------------------------------ From: r.schwartz18@genie.geis.com Date: Sat, 5 Mar 94 02:52:00 BST Subject: US 1-900 Access From Canada Organization: ActionTel How does one go about setting up a 1-900 number that is accessible to the US market, but terminating on equipment in Canada. We called Bell Canada, and they say that, unlike 800 lines, 900 numbers can NOT cross the border. If we wanted access to the US market, we would have to locate the equipment in the US, or set up some sort of forwarding equipment. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of arrangement? Of course we considered a state-side service bureau, but our setup would require frequent changes to the messages. Any ideas would be appreciated. Robert Schwartz ActionTel r.schwartz18@genie.geis.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Mar 1994 05:07:03 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: New Area Code Change Question What's the line about a little knowledge being dangerous? There has been at least one warning that new area codes will look strange to some people. Remember what was said about the "strange" N0X/N1X prefixes found in southern California? (in 1973-1980, only area 213 had N0X/N1X prefixes). [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, but that was still a relatively small part of the population which had questions or found the situation 'strange'. Most folks really did not know the difference. I think the people with the most questions were operators in Bell's Traffic Department. They'd be expected to consider it strange if they were not advised of the new-style numbers. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Mar 1994 16:08:44 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: Elementary Area Code Question There have been a couple of cases in country code 1 (that's where I am) where the system actually relied on time-out: In the 1970s, 213 area in California continued to publish 0 + seven digits for 0+ calls within that area code, and it needed a time-out to distinguish between, say, 0-413-2345 and 0-413-234-5678. Please don't call these numbers, because there is no way for me to know if these are working numbers. Recently, when 215 area dropped the leading 1 for long distance within it, I found that 215-267 Denver and 215-484 Adamstown (both of which later moved to 717) had not made the change. (215-267 became 717-336.) The history file in the archives mentions both of the above situations, and it notes that long distance within an area code has to become either just the seven digit number or 1 + areacode + number; otherwise, ambiguities arise which would need a timeout to resolve. ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: Harrassing One-Ring Calls Date: 6 Mar 1994 11:49:24 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc. Reply-To: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) In , Anthony E. Siegman writes: >> I think you're misrepresenting the position of the people who were >> opposed to Caller ID in California. I was opposed to it, or at least >> to the way I understood it was to be implemented. The problem was that >> it was going to be difficult for callers to turn off identification. >> We wanted a way to turn off Caller ID "permanently" ... (much deleted) > This is a good message, and matches my impression of why Caller-ID > went down in CA. Pac Bell insisted it be done "their way" or not at > all, and the latter prevailed. I don't want to start the age-old debate up again, but the above implies that Pacific Bell was opposed to per-line blocking. On the contrary, their proposal was to have free per-call blocking on all lines, plus free per-line blocking for anyone that requested it. Note that this is the state of affairs in most areas of the US that have Caller ID, and there have been no horror stories of the alleged wife-beatings or other near-Armageddon events that would happen. The California PUC insisted on two provisions that were different from any other area of the country: that unlisted numbers have per-line blocking by default, and that there be two types of per-line blocking: one with per-call unblocking available, and the other without per-call unblocking. The first one was viewed as an overly-restrictive require- ment that would limit the market for Caller ID (overly-restrictive since it had not been required anywhere else in the US and nobody could point to any facts that indicated that what was being done elsewhere was harmful). The second requirement presented a technical problem, as the switches were designed by the manufacturer such that per-call unblocking was available for all per-line blocking customers, or none of them. There was no provision to have this optioned individually for each line. Complying with this requirement would have meant getting NT, AT&T, and possibly other switch vendors to put this into the switch software. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ From: Vance Shipley Subject: Re: Charge per Byte For Long-Distance Voice? Organization: XeniTec Consulting, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada Date: Sun, 6 Mar 1994 03:19:11 GMT In article , Alan Larson wrote: > The compression of u-law encoding does not reduce the data rate > during quiet time. It reduces the number of bits needed for an > apparent dynamic range, but it does it constantly during the connection. Compression equipment which uses "speech interpolation" does. The aggregate bandwidth is not sliced up into equal peices but used dynamically to send the bandwidth needed. Silence periods will require no bandwidth while fax transmission will require more than voice. Neat stuff when you're paying tens of thousands a month for international private lines. Vance Shipley, vances@xenitec.on.ca ------------------------------ From: root@papaioea.manawatu.gen.nz (Alan Brown) Subject: Re: Air Cell Date: 6 Mar 1994 03:39:10 GMT Organization: Manawatu Internet services, Palmerston North, New Zealand In article , JOHN.D.GRETZINGER@sprint. sprint.com writes: > I presume he is talking about the air plane being in flight at the > time. This would fly in the face of an FCC regulation that > specifically prohibits the use of a land based cell phone while in > flight. In this part of the world, the initial (very tight) restrictions were eased somewhat. A cellular phone may be used in flight in New Zealand provided: A: An external aerial is fitted; B: The aircraft is below 5000 feet above ground level; C: The phone is disabled when taking off, landing and in an airfield circuit (To this end, some operators have things set up so that the power to the phone is cut when the flaps are activated); D: The aircraft installation has been inspected and approved by the NZ regulatory body. Strangely enough the initial restrictions on cellular phone usage in aircraft weren't put in place by the NZ regulatory body, but by the (then) monopoly telco -- mainly because of fears (later proven true) of intercell blocking by aircraft flying at altitude. It's only recently (last three years) that using a phone handset while driving has been made illegal -- too many crashes. It doesn't stop people doing it though, which is a shame considering how cheap car kits are now. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Help Needed Using Sprintnet Date: Sun, 6 Mar 94 11:53:20 CET From: Patrizio Menchetti Dott Thank you for your suggestions. Unfortunately -- and it's my fault, as I should have mentioned it in my message -- that is precisely the toll-free number I called, receiving only vague answers. However, I received some more information, but my problem hasn't been solved yet. Apparently, I have also a software problem, as the service I am trying to reach provides a proprietary software for access via SPRINTNET and it doesn't seem to work with Italian ordinary or X-25 lines. Thank you again. Patrizio ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 5 Mar 94 23:58:00 EST From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine) Subject: Re: Can I Expect More Than 2400 Baud? Organization: I.E.C.C., Cambridge, Mass. >> In our planning and alpha-testing we have always assumed we could >> get at least 9600 baud. ... NYNEX has informally told them that 2400 >> baud is the best they can count on [on Cape Cod]. As noted, 9600 bps should work fine. Remember, if you have problems, the code phrase you say to telco repair is "my fax machine doesn't work." Speaking of NYNEX, I have the third trouble call in a month for incredible static on my home phone. I gather that the phone lines in this neighborhood were probably hung by Bell and Watson themselves -- they sure sound like it. The NYNEX repair people seem to understand what I tell them, and guys occasionally come out and fool around on the pole, but they haven't been very effective at fixing it. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, jlevine@delphi.com, 1037498@mcimail.com ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #115 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa25896; 7 Mar 94 2:10 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA21484; Sun, 6 Mar 94 22:57:34 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA21472; Sun, 6 Mar 94 22:57:31 CST Date: Sun, 6 Mar 94 22:57:31 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403070457.AA21472@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #116 TELECOM Digest Sun, 6 Mar 94 22:57:30 CST Volume 14 : Issue 116 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Time Magazine on Clipper (Dave Banisar) Time Reports 80% Oppose Clipper Chip (Philip Elmer-DeWitt) Competition and Technology (Jerry Leichter) ISDN Deployment Data (Bob Larribeau) Re: Harrassing One-Ring Calls (Lance Ginner) Re: 810 Area Code Trouble? (John Palmer) Re: New Area Code Change Question (Carl Moore) Re: Starring Tom Cruise as Kevin Poulsen? (Carl Moore) Traffic Overloads in Manual Service Era (TELECOM Digest Editor) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: Sun, 6 Mar 1994 14:13:18 -0500 From: Dave Banisar Subject: Time Magazine on Clipper {Time Magazine}, March 14, 1994 TECHNOLOGY WHO SHOULD KEEP THE KEYS? The U.S. government wants the power to tap into every phone, fax and computer transmission BY PHILIP ELMER-DEWITT ... (general background) ... (general info on techo advances) Thus the stage was set for one of the most bizarre technology-policy battles ever waged: the Clipper Chip war. Lined up on one side are the three-letter cloak-and-dagger agencies -- the NSA, the CIA and the FBI -- and key policymakers in the Clinton Administration (who are taking a surprisingly hard line on the encryption issue). Opposing them is an equally unlikely coalition of computer firms, civil libertar- ians, conservative columnists and a strange breed of cryptoanarchists who call themselves the cypherpunks. At the center is the Clipper Chip, a semiconductor device that the NSA developed and wants installed in every telephone, computer modem and fax machine. The chip combines a powerful encryption algorithm with a "back door" -- the cryptographic equivalent of the master key that opens schoolchildren's padlocks when they forget their combinations. A "secure" phone equipped with the chip could, with proper authorization, be cracked by the government. Law-enforcement agencies say they need this capability to keep tabs on drug runners, terrorists and spies. Critics denounce the Clipper -- and a bill before Congress that would require phone companies to make it easy to tap the new digital phones -- as Big Brotherly tools that will strip citizens of whatever privacy they still have in the computer age. In a Time/CNN poll of 1,000 Americans conducted last week by Yankelovich Partners, two-thirds said it was more important to protect the privacy of phone calls than to preserve the ability of police to conduct wiretaps. When informed about the Clipper Chip, 80% said they opposed it. The battle lines were first drawn last April, when the Administration unveiled the Clipper plan and invited public comment. For nine months opponents railed against the scheme's many flaws: criminals wouldn't use phones equipped with the government's chip; foreign customers wouldn't buy communications gear for which the U.S. held the keys; the system for giving investigators access to the back-door master codes was open to abuse; there was no guarantee that some clever hacker wouldn't steal the keys. But in the end the Administration ignored the advice. In early February, after computer- industry leaders had made it clear that they wanted to adopt their own encryption standard, the Administration announced that it was putting the NSA plan into effect. Government agencies will phase in use of Clipper technology for all unclassified communications. Commercial use of the chip will be voluntary -- for now. It was tantamount to a declaration of war, not just to a small group of crypto-activists but to all citizens who value their privacy, as well as to telecommunications firms that sell their products abroad. Foreign customers won't want equipment that U.S. spies can tap into, particularly since powerful, uncompromised encryption is available overseas. "Industry is unanimous on this," says Jim Burger, a lobbyist for Apple Computer, one of two dozen companies and trade groups opposing the Clipper. A petition circulated on the Internet electronic network by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility gathered 45,000 signatures, and some activists are planning to boycott companies that use the chips and thus, in effect, hand over their encryption keys to the government. "You can have my encryption algorithm," said John Perry Barlow, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, "when you pry my cold dead fingers from my private key." ... (history of Public Key encryption). ... (history of PGP) Rather than outlaw PGP and other such programs, a policy that would probably be unconstitutional, the Administration is taking a marketing approach. By using its purchasing power to lower the cost of Clipper technology, and by vigilantly enforcing restrictions against overseas sales of competing encryption systems, the government is trying to make it difficult for any alternative schemes to become widespread. If Clipper manages to establish itself as a market standard -- if, for example, it is built into almost every telephone, modem and fax machine sold -- people who buy a nonstandard system might find themselves with an untappable phone but no one to call. That's still a big if. Zimmermann is already working on a version of PGP for voice communications that could compete directly with Clipper, and if it finds a market, similar products are sure to follow. "The crypto genie is out of the bottle," says Steven Levy, who is writing a book about encryption. If that's true, even the NSA may not have the power to put it back. Reported by David S. Jackson/San Francisco and Suneel Ratan/Washington ------------------------------ From: ped@panix.com (Philip Elmer-DeWitt) Subject: TIME Reports 80% Oppose Clipper Chip Date: Sun, 06 Mar 1994 20:59:34 -0500 Organization: TIME Magazine To accompany an article on the Clipper Chip in this week's TIME, the magazine commissioned a poll on public attitudes toward wiretap issues. The relevant graph: "In a Time/CNN poll of 1,000 Americans conducted last week by Yankelovich Partners, two-thirds said it was more important to protect the privacy of phone calls than to preserve the ability of police to conduct wiretaps. When informed about the Clipper Chip, 80% said they opposed it." Philip Elmer-DeWitt ped@well.com TIME Magazine ped@panix.com philiped@aol.com Read TIME on America Online, where we get paid to take abuse. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Mr. Elmer-DeWitt, I thank you very much for okaying the use of your piece in {Time Magazine} in this issue of the Digest, and for your own contribution here. Please write to us on on a regular basis. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Mar 94 13:21:02 EDT From: Jerry Leichter Subject: Competition and Technology A recent TELECOM Digest ran a transcript of Reed Hundt's statement to the Senate on telecommunications. It repeated a point that's always bothered me. Hundt says that when he was growing up, "the telephone was a black, rotary dial instrument". Starting with the Hush-a-phone case in the '50's, and culminating with the MFJ splitting up the Bell System in 1984, the FCC and the courts deregulated the telephone industry and "unleashed the forces of competition". Hundt lists the benefits of competition today as the ability to buy phones in all shapes, sizes and colors; phones with built-in answering machines, with memory, with speed dialing; cordless telephones; PBX's; fax machines. Now, what bothers me about this whole list is that *everything of significance on it is available due to technological advances, not deregulation*. Even in 1984, it would have been impossible to build most of the telephone variations listed. Oh, you could get different colors -- but think about what went into a touchtone keypad in those days. No IC tone generators, sorry. Memory? Using what memory chips? Oh, you could *buy* either, but at a very high cost. Cordless phones? How much would a cordless phone using 1984 electronics and battery technology have weighed, much less cost? Fax machines? Hah. PBX's? How many companies would have had the room to hold a switch of that era? How many would have been willing to hire the staff to keep it going? One of the things that gets overlooked is that, without competition, the telephone system developed from operator controlled to direct dialing, added long distance, got direct long-distance dialing; saw touchtone appear; and saw many other background developments. I have great respect for competition, but I have yet to see a sound argument that the advance in services available *since* deregulation is signficantly different from the advance *before* deregulation - AFTER CONTROLLING FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVANCE IN APPLICABLE TECHNOLOGY. Competition has almost certainly brought the *price* down, at least for those services for which companies find it worth while to compete (coin calls have *theoretically* been open to competition for years...). But as for actual products available -- I'm not so sure. Jerry [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Some people maintain that without dereg- ulation and competition, the old Bell System -- as advanced in technology as it was -- had no real incentive to go much further or with any speed. I don't know if that is true or not. Some people believe that if we were still dealing with the old Bell System, half or more of what has become available in the past decade would not be available at any reasonable price or in any quantity. Like yourself, I think it would have been. but quite a few people believe Bell was growing stagnant and lazy; that they came out with what they have in the past few years only when there were threats by serious competitors. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Mar 94 08:58:46 -0800 From: Bob Larribeau Organization: Consultant Subject: ISDN Deployment Data I have presented the Telecom Archives with the Bellcore ISDN Deployment data as a ZIP file. It expands into a READ.ME explaining the headings and abbreviations. It has the data from each telco as a TXT file. These files are ASCII with TAB delimiters. You can read them with a word processor or a spread sheet. Thanks for putting this information in the archives. By the way, I have changed email addresses. Bob Larribeau I will be discountinuing my "p00136@psilink.com" Consultant mail box at the end of March. San Francisco Please use "blarrib@netcom.com" to contact me. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks very much for this contribution to the archives. This morning I mailed out a revised copy of the directory to the archives, and your file is in the /technical sub- directory there. Readers are cautioned to remember that when this file is transferred using ftp, you'll need to set your session to 'I' for binary, and when you have this *LARGE* file at your site then you'll need to unzip it and prepare it for use. PAT] ------------------------------ From: lance@arasmith.com (Lance Ginner) Subject: Re: Harrassing One-Ring Calls Reply-To: lance@arasmith.com Organization: North Bay Network Date: Sun, 6 Mar 1994 16:01:15 GMT I'm in California. It seems that we got all the disadvantages of Caller ID (everyone can read us but we can't read them) and none of the advantages. Am I missing something? I for one am not thrilled about the way it seemed to turn out. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Neither are a lot of other people. What I do think you are missing however is that we *cannot* 'read' you either. Your Caller-ID is not coming here to Illinois for example. I don't know about all places, but we are not getting it. Is anyone getting Caller-ID data from Caifornia telephones? PAT] ------------------------------ From: jp@tygra.Michigan.COM (John Palmer) Subject: Re: 810 Area Code Trouble? Organization: John Palmer's Private Box Date: Sun, 6 Mar 1994 17:08:23 GMT In article Carl Moore writes: > Item sent to me: > Phones have been in the news this week. Some businesses in Michigan > are having trouble with the area code change over. Some equipment > does not recognize 810 as a viable area code. I have personally run > into this. I am sure it will all be corrected by the August official > implementation date. A couple points: people from areas out in GTE-Land (central California) are still getting an intercept after they dial +1-810 saying that "their call could not be completed as dialed" ... Also, Ameritech still hasn't gotten their act together. Some switches are still sending 313 as the area code in the Caller-ID data; others have it correct. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Mar 94 17:27:42 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: New Area Code Change Question As I recall reading, problems arose when a "strange" prefix (what was then 213-N0X/N1X) was in a phone number which had to be given to an operator for any reason. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Mar 94 17:24:13 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: Starring Tom Cruise as Kevin Poulsen? But what does ICM stand for? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I dunno, Carl. Maybe the original author can write and let us know. I wish Hollywood would quit glorifying people like that. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Mar 94 22:26:41 CST From: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Subject: Traffic Overloads in Manual Service Era Most people are aware of the way in which telephone service today gets bogged down during times of emergency situations such as natural disasters or important political news, assasinations, etc. The typical response today will be delayed dial tone -- a delay ranging anywhere from several seconds to upwards of two or three minutes under very severe conditions. We've also all experienced 'blocking'; a condition where the local telco in an area affected by an emergency simply turns away some percentage of the calls handed to it by a long distance carrier; the carrier in turn responds to its customer that 'all circuits are busy now; try your call again later please'. Or, there may be a very rapid 'busy signal' to indicate that all circuits are busy rather than the specific line of the called party. Overloaded conditions like that are nothing new; there have been many instances over the past 115 years since the telephone was first put into regular use with the ability to have calls switched between subscribers when the demand for service was so great that the telco literally 'ran out of equipment' to handle the call. Persons knowledgeable of how telephone switching systems operate know that telephone companies are generally only able to handle calls from about ten to fifteen percent of their subscribers at any given time ... and anytime when more than eight to ten percent of the subscribers want service all at the same time, traffic is considered quite heavy. If more than two or three percent of the total subscriber base attempt to make a call all at the very same instant -- or within a second or two of each other -- there will be a delayed dial tone for many. In some smaller central offices, perhaps only nine or ten subscribers can go off hook with dial tone at the same time. Subscribers following will hear dial tone as soon as someone in the first bunch has finished dialing. 'Busy Hour' is defined as that time of the day when historically the largest number of subscribers want service all at the same time; then is the time that you'll see ten to fifteen percent of the total subscriber base on the line all at once. Usually if this happens, it will be mid-morning or mid-afternoon on a weekday; a time when businesses make heavy use of their phones. During other 'non-busy' times, perhaps five percent of the subscribers will be using the phone. There are many times when only one or two percent of the subscribers are using the phone, and sometimes less than one percent of the total sub- scriber base will be using the phone. We all know that to provide a scenario where total or 'virtual' non- blocking is available would be prohibitively expensive; and anyway, an analysis of the telecom traffic patterns in the past simply does not warrant that kind of service. I've been asked what did 'they' do in the days of manual service -- all calls handled by the 'number please?' operator -- when an emergency occured? Surely California had earthquakes and presidents got assasinated and other grievous things occurred causing the citizens to all go 'off- hook' at once seeking information, comfort, guidance or whatever ... Generally, Bell went to 'emergency service only', meaning instead of responding 'operator' or 'number please?' the operators would answer with the phrase 'emergency service only right now; if this is not an emergency please hang up and place your call later ...'; the operators would go up and down the line of lighted jacks on their switchboards repeating that message over and over; saying it, pulling their cord out and moving to the next one. They'd only pause if the subscriber spoke up immediatly such as to ask for the Fire Department or something like that. If the subscriber then continued to stay off hook (as evidenced by the illuminated lamp associated with his jack) or tapped rapidly on his hook (meaning the lamp would flash in the same way), then the operator or some other operator would go on the line to deal with it. If the emergency/disaster was national or worldwide in scope (the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 comes to mind as does the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1945) then the entire Bell System would be on emergency service only for a matter of an hour or two, maybe eight or ten hours until the stirred up citizens quieted down and went back to whatever they had been doing before the incident which caused the uproar. An operator with Illinois Bell during those years told me that she was on duty the Sunday of the Pearl Harbor incident, and that '... about noon that day, our boards lit up like a Christmas Tree; we wondered about it and within about ten minutes our supervisors were telling everyone what happened and we were on emergency service only from then until about ten o'clock that Sunday night ...' If the incident was local in nature or confined to the jurisdiction of one central office exchange, then those operators dealt with it in the same way, but word was quickly passed to the rest of the area that non-emergency calls were to be withheld from the affected exchange until the operators had gotten their boards under control again, however long that might take. A woman who was the chief operator and phone room manager at Pearl Harbor on the day that FDR said would 'live in infamy forever' whose story has appeared here in TELECOM Digest recalled later that '... the operators in Oakland were very protective of us that day and for several days following; they'd wait for us to call them when we could handle more traffic given all the downed wires and wrecked buildings and all ...' At the time, Oakland, California was the AT&T international center handling calls to the far east, the Pacific Islands, etc. On a summer day in 1935 when an explosion caused a major fire in the Chicago Union Stockyards causing a huge amount of thick, very black, very acrid smoke over a large area of the southside of Chicago, the operators at the YARds exchange (now 312-927) worked for several hours explaining to a frantic neighborhood around the stockyards what was going on, and relaying information to the residents from authorities at the scene, etc. One such instance that I remember specifically was an explosion at the Whiting Refinery in 1953. I was only a little kid, but I remember hearing kind of a loud 'thump' with the house shaking a little for just a second or two. I guess we were about a mile west of the labor- atory which had the explosion, but a big fire could be seen even that far away. It was fierce enough that it quickly spread into some storage tanks and a large device they called a 'cat cracker' -- whatever that means -- and hot enough that it twisted some railroad tracks out of shape there and completely melted the main street in Whiting where it runs through the center of the refinery (on both sides of the street) at that point. People living within a block or two of the location had their houses completely caved in. Between the Amoco Refinery Fire Depart- ment and the Whiting Fire Department it took them four days to put out the fire. I was just a kid; it was all very exciting to see and I wanted to make sure all my friends knew about it but when I tried to call someone I knew, maybe ten minutes or so after the blast, I remember the Whiting phone operator taking what seemed like forever to respond and then all she said was they were only handling emergency calls due to the explosion and the large number of people trying to find out the details. I turned on the radio (local area station) where they were already talking about it and remember the announcer saying something to the effect that 'if you know how to operate a telephone switchboard then your help is urgently needed at the Whiting telephone exchange to cope with a flood of calls due to the explosion', and asking people to refrain from using the phone if at all possible until further notice. Just some thoughts this Sunday evening I thought you might enjoy reading. PAT ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #116 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa02739; 7 Mar 94 18:03 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA09042; Mon, 7 Mar 94 14:09:24 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA09031; Mon, 7 Mar 94 14:09:21 CST Date: Mon, 7 Mar 94 14:09:21 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403072009.AA09031@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #117 TELECOM Digest Mon, 7 Mar 94 14:09:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 117 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson International vs. 900 Numbers (Will Martin) CBTA Call For Papers (Mary Nakoneczny) LD Headaches From Within an IBX System (Jonathan Lieberman) Clipped Again (A. Padgett Peterson) Pair-Gain, ADSL, HDSL Information Needed (Alex Cena) Brian McCann of WLUP Encourages Phone Harrassment (Jim Thomas) Maps of LATA's in the US (Robert S. Mah) Need TAP/IXO For Alpha Pagers (George Cifrancis) Need Help With Minitel Files (Franck Nazikian) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: Mon, 7 Mar 94 8:58:49 CST From: Will Martin Subject: International vs. 900 Numbers We've previously discussed the use of international numbers as opposed to 900 numbers or 800 numbers with billing for the sex-call industry; the way it works is that the caller pays the ordinary international-call rate and the provider gets a kickback from the foreign-country telco. I have a friend who recently started a 900-type call service (actually, he just provides the information and someone else actually arranged the 900 line and handles the business aspects) at 95 cents per minute for daily-updated data related to shortwave radio listening. Of course, as soon as this began, there was the usual fuss amongst some parts of the hobby about how this was too expensive and that it was inappropriate, etc. (Same sort of stuff Pat has to put up with regarding the "commercialization" issue.) One objection that IS valid, though, is that this service is not available to out-of-the-US people with the 900-number arrangement. There is a possibility it might be available to Canadian callers in the future, but that isn't definite. (In the past, this information was broadcast worldwide on a sponsored shortwave radio program, but the difficulties of keeping sponsors and the time it took to produce the program each day killed that off. During that period, though, it was freely available to anyone in the world who cared to listen and who could receive the signal. So there is an international audience but it is probably relatively small.) I'm wondering how feasible it might be to transfer this 900-service to one of the international-call arrangements. Looking through a recent men's magazine, I see a couple international-call sex services amidst the sea of 800, 900, and regular number ads. These advertise numbers in the 011-592-247-4XX and 011-373-969-00XX ranges. According to the Telecom Archives "country.codes" files, "592" is Guyana, and I recall that we mentioned that country's participation in this field before. But, unless I'm misreading the file, "373" is Moldova, and this seems very odd to me. Is Moldova really involved in this international sex-call kickback scheme? I would have thought the service to that country wouldn't have the capacity to support such a usage. I had thought these were only based in the South American/Central American/ Caribbean region. Am I being misled by the way the advertisers hyphenate these numbers? The way I show them is the way they appear in the ads. Anyway, how does one go about setting up such an arrangement? Is it at all feasible to even think about this sort of thing with a moderate volume of calls, or do the foreign telcos insist on such a high level of usage before they will begin to consent to such a scheme that the sort of special-audience appeal to a limited number of people that I'm talking about would never make it? That only the huge calling volume generated by sex-talk lines will make this setup practical or viable? (I do note that those international-number ads were larger than the run-of-the-mill 800- and 900-number ads; I guess thus more likely to generate higher call volumes.) With whom does one negotiate this arrangement? With the foreign PTT directly? With a US-based IXC? Or are there brokers who do this and you have to use their services and pay them a cut, because they have an "in" with the powers-that-be? What countries do support this sort of arrangement? Can anyone provide any sort of guesstimate as to the figures involved, such as how many cents per minute the info provider ends up with as the bottom line? Can these numbers be called as local from within their respective host countries? (I'm hoping that they are, because I wouldn't want a potential caller to be prevented from calling just because he lived in the same country where the service is based. Even though such a call wouldn't generate any revenue, it is still more important to make the information available to all.) As a separate side issue, I had first attempted to find out some international-calling information by looking in my local St. Louis 1994 Southwestern Bell white pages. I was shocked to find out that they have dropped ALL international-calling information or instructions. They replaced what I recall as several pages of country codes and instruct- ions/information with a paragraph telling people to contact their long- distance carrier for information. It sure seems that the local operating companies are taking advantage of the breakup environment to abandon their time-honored responsibility to inform and instruct their subscribers in at least the basic guidance needed to use the telephone system. Is this universal, or is this unfortunate change something local to the Midwest, and the directories for areas that perhaps have greater proportions of international-calling populations have retained the general guidance and instructions for international calling? Regards and thanks, Will [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As you point out, there is always *someone* who is unable to participate. When you were doing it via the radio, there were those folks who were unable to receive the signal due to poor propo- gation that day. Via 900, there will those folks who phone lines are blocked and with international numbers, there will be still other problems. I am beginning to think the only practical way of handling this sort of thing is by using a local seven digit number and a method of screening incoming calls to obtain payment and letting it go at that. Then, anyone who wishes to call that number can do so, and you set some small fee based on the number of minutes they use the service, etc. They can pay by credit card or by sending a check, etc and when their bulk purchase of time runs out then they either have left instructions to automatically debit their account for more time or they send a new check or whatever. I've got a machine here which will do that; you enter your password and get to listen to the message you are entitled to hear, etc. Each time you call, the clock checks your account against available minutes remaining. Call or write me and maybe we can work something out. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Mar 1994 12:26:41 EST From: Mary Nakoneczny Subject: CBTA Call For Papers Now is the time to begin planning for the Canadian Business Telecommunica- tions Alliance (CBTA) annual Conference and Trade Exposition - TeleCon '94. TeleCon'94 will be held at the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, Ontario on October 11 to 14, 1994. The TeleCon '94 theme is ... IMAGINATION: Our Only Limitation -------------------------------- Today's technologies and more specifically, their applications are advancing by leaps and bounds. Nowhere is this acceleration more apparent than in the telecommunications industry. Products and services that are commonplace today existed only in our imaginations as recently as a few years ago. Likewise those innovations and applications that are currently just a fantasy will be a reality in the near future. The telecommunications world of tomorrow is limited only by our imaginations today. Qualifications? At TeleCon, we address the issues of the utmost importance to Canada's telecommunications professionals. Their needs are specific, their expectations, high. Therefore, the TeleCon'94 Conference Committee requires speakers who are well-versed in and have an excellent understand- ing of the industry, its technologies, services and standards. Telecommunications professionals -- like yourself -- will continue to make the CBTA's annual Conference and Trade Exposition the forecmost source of expert development for Canada's telecommunication industry. Benefits Making the commitment to speak at TeleCon'94 will earn you and your organization recognition and admiration from your peers along with the benefits of an excelllent high profile promotional opportunity. Further, you will have the opportunity to increase you "Networking" contacts and, as a designated speaker, you will be able to attend other sessions and planned delegate activities on the day of your presentation as a guest of the CBTA. Interested? Please submit a 250 to 300 word outline of your proposed session by Monday, March 21, 1994. If you are selected we will notify you in late April and the Conference Committee will request a 2500 to 3000 word synopsis of your session for publication in the TeleCon'94 Conference Proceedings no later than July 4, 1994. Following is a list of topics to serve as a guideline for your proposal. If you have a topic about which you would like to speak that does not fall into any of the categories below, but still related to the theme, feel free to submit a proposal on that topic. What is of paramount importance is the creative and innovative uses that have been (or will be) successfully applied to technical, managerial, economic or social telecommunications enterprises. * Multimedia / Digital Convergence * Innovative Uses of Telecommunications * The Virtual Corporation - Your Back Door Neighbour * What is the Next Step in the Information Revolution * The New Information Professional * What Are Customers Looking For? Organizational Design Requirements of Information Networks * ISDN * Has Education Kept Up with the Information Age? * The Evolving Global Telecommunications Industry * Toll Fraud / Security - What's it Costing You? * Will ATM Technology Work on Satellites? * Exploring the Internet * Why Mommy and Daddy Can't Access Bulletin Boards * The Electronic Highway * Imagine If ... In addition, the TeleCon'94 Conference Committee would like to present three (3) specific sessions focusing on the interest and needs of the financial community (i.e. banking, brokerages and insurance) as well as three (3) separate sessions on government priorities. Fax, Mail or Hot-Air Balloon your ingenious proposals to: John Westover TeleCon '94 Conference Co-ordinator Suite 1160 36 Toronto Street TORONTO, Ontario M5C 2C5 Fax Number (416) 359-9909 Tel Number (416) 359-2911 Ext. 2241 Since there is not a great deal of lead time you may also send your outline via the Internet to: Mary J. Nakoneczny CBTA Conference Committee Member Internet ID: nakonem@mcc.gov.on.ca I will ensure that they are delivered to John Westover. ------------------------------ From: lie6@midway.uchicago.edu (Jonathan Lieberman) Subject: LD Headaches From Within an IBX System Reply-To: lie6@midway.uchicago.edu Organization: The University of Chicago Date: Mon, 7 Mar 1994 06:18:21 GMT Hello, I am a student at the University of Chicago, living in a dorm. The whole campus has a large IBX, using most (or all) of the 702 and 753 prefixes. This year my number changed from a 702 to a 753 number. Ever since then during aproximatly 35% - 50% of my long distance calls (both those that I originate, and when other people call me long distance) I hear other people (and they hear me) making long distance calls from within my building. I called the campus telecom folks who said, if you only have the problem when you are calling long distance, then it is an AT&T problem. I tried to call the AT&T operator tone, 8+xxxxxx, tone, 0, and I got a busy signal. Then I tried tone, 8+xxxxxx, tone, 10-ATT and I again I got a busy signal. Finally I called 1-800-operator, and waited for a person to appear and I had them transfer me. Sheesh! In any case eventually AT&T took my report. In my ignorace, it seems unlikely that this is an AT&T problem, since my line always seems to be crossed with people in the same building and this never used to happen until the numbers changed. Anybody have any thoughts? About the specifics of our system, I don't know if any of the following information is useful in describing the specific type of system that we have, all I know is that it is an IBX, so forgive me if the following is not useful: What I know: You can dial any 702-xxxx or 753-yyyy as 2-xxxx or 3-yyyy from within the system. Some phones (students') require an 8+ a 6 digit code to get an outside line, others (offices') require only a 9. There are 5-zzzz numbers that are only accessible from within the system, or through a 702-xxxx gateway. They offer a single package of services to students called "the big 3" that consists of call waiting (flash,*4), speed dialing (#4x), and three-way calling (call one person flash, *1, call the other flash,*1). On some phones internal and external calls ring differently. Jonathan Lieberman lie6@midway.uchicago.edu [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Things have changed out there quite a bit since I worked in the old phone room thirty years ago and all calls went via the main switchboard on MIDway-3-0800. Then, in addition to the main switchboard where I worked, there were auxilliary switchboards in each dorm and quite a few campus departments. The dorms for example had switchboards with 20-30 extensions on them in a 'hunt group' and the local front desk clerk/operator in the dorm answered calls on those lines and in turn used the local switchboard to pass the calls to student rooms. Then the phone room was at 5801 Ellis on the sixth floor. Like yourself, I doubt that the problem you are experiencing now has anything at all to do with AT&T. There is more than likely a problem in the local switching system which is restricted to perhaps one or two circuits and when the 'luck of the draw' has your call using the troubled circuit then you get the problem you describe. It might help to isolate the problem a bit further with more specifics before going back to the admins with the complaint again. For example, do you always get the same people when this happens? You mention that they can hear you, but have you ever found out if *they* experience the same problem with still others on some percentage of their calls? Is there a certain time of day or night when this is more likely to happen than other times? Does it occur right from the instant when you dial your call and continue until/unless you disconnect and dial over or is it an intermittant thing which occurs at some point in your call and then drops out seconds or minutes later? Is there a method by which when this happens you could put the call on hold and use another phone to call the phone repair people so they could catch it right while it was happening? Quite a few years ago, when I lived near you and was serviced by the same telephone office as yourself (they call it Kenwood Bell, on the corner of 61st and Kenwood Avenue), I went for a couple weeks trying to make calls about midnight every night and *always* getting a trashy, nasty connection on my first attempt. I'd busy the line out and try again from my second line and get through okay. I never had this problem during the day -- always late at night or early in the morning. Finally a technician working nights took an interest in it and told me the next time it happened to hold the troubled circuit up on one line and call him on my other line. I did that, and while the connection was up he went in the frames (of course, frames are a thing now of the distant past) and found me; he came on the bad line (I was on there waiting for him per his instructions) and he said thanks very much, he found the booger ... and it was repaired that day. It appears the first selected trunk in a group of circuits from that phone office to another one was bad, and yes indeed, it was bad all day long but during the day when there were always calls going on, no one person would ever seize that first trunk all the time. Someone would place a call and get it, hang up in disgust and dial over. In the second or two interim, some other person would place a call and seize the bad trunk; they'd hang up and a third person would call. It was rare anyone got it two or three times in a row. When I was calling at midnight, the traffic was slow enough I *always* got the first selected trunk. By keeping it up on one line and dialing again on my second line, I'd always go around it. So you see, I suspect in your case it is much the same thing: some circuit between the campus phone exchange and Kenwood Bell (they are across the alley from each other coincidentally; the campus phone equipment is in the basement of the Center for Continuing Education on 60th Street) is bad; it is early in the selection of trunks used to place student long distance calls; no one person gets it enough of the time or with a consistency to pinpoint it. Everyone now and then gets it, considers it a fluke and hangs up to dial over; they then get a clean line because some other person got the bad one. You've noticed it is always another student which is helpful; and you've noticed it is always on a long distance call, which is also very helpful. Therefore, IMO (look, no 'H'; that's because I do not give humble opinions), one of the 'eight-level trunks' between the campus and Kenwood Bell is sour; who gets camped on it at any given time is anyone's guess. Get the name of a sympathetic person in the phone repair department; ask him if the next time it happens can you call him to go and look for it while you keep the connection up. If you want, print this note out and take it to show them; maybe that will be helpful. Let us know how this works out for you, and good luck. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Mar 94 08:54:26 -0500 From: padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) Subject: Clipped Again {Time Magazine}, March 14, 1994 > In a Time/CNN poll of 1,000 Americans conducted last week by Yankelovich > Partners, two-thirds said it was more important to protect the privacy of > phone calls than to preserve the ability of police to conduct wiretaps. > When informed about the Clipper Chip, 80% said they opposed it. This makes no sense to me. Today there is *no* privacy in phone calls so the question must have been worded so as to imply that there is for people to believe that Clipper provides *less*. > Government agencies will phase in use of Clipper technology for all > unclassified communications. Commercial use of the chip will be > voluntary -- for now. More loaded prose -- the point was missed that to use Clipper for its own "sensitive but unclassified" information meant that the gov thinks it is *good enough for government work*. > Rather than outlaw PGP and other such programs, a policy that would > probably be unconstitutional, the Administration is taking a marketing > approach. By using its purchasing power to lower the cost of Clipper > technology, and by vigilantly enforcing restrictions against overseas > sales of competing encryption systems, the government is trying to > make it difficult for any alternative schemes to become widespread. PGP is free for individual use -- you mean the government is going to *pay me* to use Clipper? > people who buy a nonstandard system might find themselves with an > untappable phone but no one to call. Except those who buy the same phone. > "The crypto genie is out of the bottle," says Steven Levy, who is writing > a book about encryption. If that's true, even the NSA may not have the > power to put it back. Never was in the bottle, just no one cared -- the corporate landscape is filled with the corpses and struggling small companies who thought that people did. Anyone know how many commercial STU-IIIs were sold last year? When I get some Clippers/Capstones, *then* I'll make my decision as to whether or not they are any good but I am getting bothered by all the people who want to deny me that chance. Warmer by the day, Padgett ps: > In a Time/CNN poll of 1,000 Americans conducted last week by Yankelovich > Partners, two-thirds said it was more important to protect the privacy of 100,000,000 lemmings can't be wrong. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for pointing out that just maybe {Time Magazine} has its own axes to grind in this matter. Not that this Digest would ever be used to make some of my points perfectly clear, you understand :) ... PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 07 Mar 94 10:00:38 EST From: Alex Cena Subject: Pair-Gain, ADSL, HDSL Information Needed wood@odie.ee.wits.ac.za wrote: > I am looking for infomation on pair-gain which is a technique of > multiplexing (usually two) subscriber calls onto a single copper pair. > The reason I need this information is that I wish to investigate if it > could be used to improve the party line systems that we have in > operation here in rural areas. Try PairGain Technologies in Cerritos, CA 310-404-8811 dap@aber.ac.uk asked about Chips/Boards for ADSL or HDSL etc. > I am attempting to locate information on availability and > pricing for any chips/ evaluation boards/ products that support HDSL > or ADSL ... Try PairGain Technologies 310-404-8811 Brooktree 619-452-7580 Level One Based in Folsom, California (I do not have phone# handy) Tellabs 708-969-8800 Teltrend 708-377-1700 Alex M. Cena, Lehman Brothers, acena@lehman.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Mar 94 23:02 CST From: Jim Thomas (tk0jut1@mvs.cso.niu.edu) Subject: Brian McCann of WLUP Encourages Telephone Harrassment A comment on the one-ring telephone harassment: A local Chicago talk show personality (Brian McCann on WLUP's Sunday afternoon "comedy" program) has encouraged listeners to "drive your friends crazy" with one-ring phone calls. He thinks it's a "victory" if the harasser can drive the victim to taking the phone of the hook so "they can't receive those important calls." He spent this afternoon (6 March) playing this game and exhorting others to do the same. The final touch, he believed, was to eventually call back and play a Jim Nabors' song ("You can't roller-skate in a Buffalo herd") to the victim. He claimed that it was especially fun to do to people with celluar phones. If I recall, the name of the program is "The Sunday Funnies," which runs for a few hours each week. Jim Thomas [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It sounds to me like it is time for someone to circulate Brian McCann's home telephone number publicly. Incidentally, the main switchboard for the business offices at WLUP is 312-440-5270. That is public information, it appears in the phone book so there is nothing secret about it; all I am doing is saving my readers the cost of a call to directory assistance. I cannot advocate that people engage in the same harassing tactics that McCann proposes, however you might want to voice your opinion to management at WLUP about McCann and his games. Do not engage in tactics such as putting 312-440-5270 on a Demon Dialer or having a modem dial the number over and over. Do not go to public toilets at the library, truck stop or bus station and put up messages saying for a good time call Brian at 312-440-5270. Do not play the same games -- even though we know who would win and who would lose, he being merely an amateur where these games are concerned. Instead, in a responsible way, call and voice your opinion to the program director and others at the station. If it is after business hours at the station, you may reach their voicemail, but don't get abusive. If I happen to locate Brian McCann's home phone number -- I'm sure all those dudes at WLUP keep their numbers non-pub -- I'll pass it along, since no doubt you'll want to counsel with him in person. Remember now, no one-ring/hangup harassing calls! You privacy freaks be sure to prepend *67 to your dialing string. Or since you are calling 'the Loop - WLUP' use your favorite loop-arounds, etc. By the way, if anyone thinks of something else callers to WLUP should not do -- something I may have overlooked -- write and let us know. PAT] ------------------------------ From: rmah@panix.com (Robert S. Mah) Subject: Maps of LATA's in the US Date: Mon, 07 Mar 1994 08:02:57 -0500 Organization: One Step Beyond Is there an official (or non-official) source that lists the LATA's for the United States? Canada would be nice as well. It would be of _great_ help if things were sorted by exchange number, postal (i.e. ZIP) codes or even on township/county lines. I tried the FCC, but one hour of bounced calls only yielded frustruation. Cheers, Robert S. Mah One Step Beyond rmah@panix.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Carl Moore has quite a bit of this data. Maybe he will see your inquiry and respond after he finishes on his call to WLUP. PAT] ------------------------------ From: gc3@infinet.com (George Cifrancis) Subject: Need TAP/IXO For Alpha Pagers Date: 7 Mar 1994 14:02:07 GMT Organization: InfiNet - Internet Access (614/268-3639) Hi folks, I am looking for any info on the TAP (Telelocator Alphanumeric Input Protocol) or something called IXO. These are used for sending out alphanumeric messages on certain kinds of pagers. And I need the info to write my own programs. George Cifrancis III LV | Programmer/Analyst/System Administrator| Columbus, Ohio USA //3DO | Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation | gc3@infinet.com \X/AMIGA| MIS - Wide Area Net Support (AT&T/SUN) | [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Try the Telecom Archives. Use anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu then after logging in, 'cd telecom-archives/technical'. All the IXO stuff is in there. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 10:51:41 GMT From: nazikian@DaVinci.mty.itesm.mx (Franck Nazikian) Subject: Need Help With Minitel Files [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The following was recieved in my mail today. Can anyone help this fellow out? Printed below as I received it. PAT] CII ITESM Franck NAZIKIAN Sucursal de Correos "J" MONTERREY N.L. 64849 MEXICO Tel: (52-8)-358-20-00 exts.50-76 Fax: (52-8)-328-40-81 Internet: nazikian@davinci.mty.itesm.mx I tried several times to use the software of the Minitel you put on the internet network (followimg the given instructions to unpack it), and I could "uudecode" it, but I could not uncompress it; the following sentence then appeared on my computer screen: $ uncompress minitel.tar.Z uncompress: 0653-059 The input file contains bad data; SIGSEGV signal received. What should I do to solve my problem? Best regards, Franck NAZIKIAN ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #117 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa06861; 8 Mar 94 5:10 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA21255; Tue, 8 Mar 94 00:40:12 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA21244; Tue, 8 Mar 94 00:40:08 CST Date: Tue, 8 Mar 94 00:40:08 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403080640.AA21244@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #118 TELECOM Digest Tue, 8 Mar 94 00:40:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 118 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Competition and Technology (Fred Goldstein) Re: Elementary Area Code Question (Mark E. Daniel) Re: Charge per Byte For Long-Distance Voice? (Stefan Bethke) Amateur Radio Communications With Cuba (Jack Hamilton) USWest Per-Call CLID Unblocking (William Petrisko) Cellular Phone Questions (Andy Malis) Having Trouble With "Command Ring Decipher" (Dale Worley) Re: Traffic Overloads in Manual Service Era (Tom Watson) Proceedings From Conferences Wanted (Lars Kalsen) Telephone MIS (Tom Friedman) Re: Dialing in Italy (Alfredo E. Cotroneo) IEEE INFOCOM'94, June 12-16, Toronto (Mark J. Karol) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: Mon, 7 Mar 1994 17:04:18 -0500 From: goldstein@carafe.tay2.dec.com Subject: Re: Competition and Technology Jerry Leichter says, > Now, what bothers me about this whole list is that *everything of > significance on it is available due to technological advances, not > deregulation*. While it's certain that some technological progress would have been made in the absense of competition, I had some experience in an area where competition made a lot of difference. Witness the digital PBX. In 1975, the Bell System offered only electromechanical PBX switches. The fanciest was the 812, a reed-relay machine with random-logic electronic control (transistors instead of relays). At least that's how I remember it; it's been a while! A few vendors had electronic analog machines on the market (semiconductor crosspoints, wired logic) but the workhorses of the Bell System were the 701 stepper, the 770 crossbar (400 or so lines), the 801 and the 812. All were heavily dependent upon 1A2 keysets for a variety of features. This was labor- intensive and required big wire and closet space. That was the year in which Rolm introduced its first CBX and a year before Northern's SL-1 entered the US market (but was announced in Canada if not here). A few other digital switches were also coming on the market, like the Farinon DTS (later Harris). Danray introduced a huge processor-controlled analog crosspoint switch. AT&T/Bell, nursing its old products, was caught off guard. They rushed to market with the Dimension 400, and soon afterwards the Dimension 2000 and Dimension 100. These were CPU-controlled analog machines, with (shall we say) modest traffic capacity. Features lagged behind many competitors. These were only offered for rent. Tariffs were set by state regulators. In order to hold down rates and be competitive (because AT&T development and manufacturing costs were high, and most states refused to allow them to sell competitive gear at a loss), AT&T declared that these would be the flagship switches for many years to come, with just software updates. But they were already behind the market. In 1979, they designed "Antelope", basically a digital Dimension with more traffic capacity. But it wasn't introduced, lest it upset regulators. AT&T introduced its first Digital PBX in January, 1983, the week that PBXs were deregulated. While it was called the System 85, it was really the old Antelope, with slightly updated software (I think FP8 instead of FP12; Feature Package numbers aren't necessarily sequential.) Not that long afterwards, System 75 ("Gazelle"), an all-new design, came out. Dimension was discontinued. AT&T needed several years to become competitive in the PBX space, but now their Definity line (G1 and G3 are a renamed and updated Gazelle, respectively) is a worthy competitor. Would they have worked so hard absent competition? Hah! In monopoly countries, PBX features lagged -- even in Canada, the SL-1 offered by Bell Canada was way behind the US version. I won't mention the growth in the modem and answering machine marketplaces that occured as a result of competition. Progress _inside_ the network is often a result of economic and technological forces. Fiber optics save _them_ money. But terminal competition, I beg to argue, is the key reason for rapid progress. fred ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Mar 1994 13:08:48 EST From: mark@legend.akron.oh.us (Mark E Daniel) Subject: Re: Elementary Area Code Question In article is written: : [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Elaborating on that idea then, why bother : to use '1' at all? Why not just say if seven digits, then the first Because it's one of those spoiled simple things. It goes back to the fact that there used to only be a 0 or a 1 in an area code. People are used to dialing 1 for any sort of toll call. I've heard several complaints from those here in Ohio because we just recently came upon what they call local plus calls where you don't dial 1 but you pay like .05 a minute to connect. Actually I recall not being too happy about that. It could be dealt with a recording that said you are about to make a toll call, hang up now if you don't like that ... and they could denote a * code for those that know that already thus not giving up much speed of connection. Mark E Daniel (Loving SysOp of The Legend BBS) Inet: mark@legend.akron.oh.us medaniel@delphi.com (Direct INet) ------------------------------ From: stefan@sixpack.six.de (Stefan Bethke) Subject: Re: Charge per Byte For Long-Distance Voice? Date: Mon, 7 Mar 1994 09:37:11 GMT Reply-To: stefan@sixpack.six.de (Stefan Bethke) Organization: Promo GmbH, Hamburg, Germany In article , larson@net.com (Alan Larson) writes: > The compression of u-law encoding does not reduce the data rate > during quiet time. It reduces the number of bits needed for an > apparent dynamic range, but it does it constantly during the connection. There is a ITU recommendation G.726 (ADPCM) that specifies methods for compressing speech (low quality), voice (medium) and modem/fax signals (high) down to 48, 32, 24 and 16 kbit/s. This methods are intended for better bandwith utilitisation on inter-office lines (not subscriber lines). If the switch knows the type of a particular connection (i.e. the customer has a voice-grade line), the 5-/A-Law encoded signal can be compressed. Compression can be changed even while the connection is in use (signalling for this is not in the scope of G.726). So the telco could cut down bandwidth on this call when the signal allows for it. This of course doesn't work for modem connections because the quality degradation of the transmission line would harm data transmission of all but the slowest modems (V.21). I wonder if such mechanisms are already in use? Stefan Bethke ------------------------------ From: jfh@netcom.com (Jack Hamilton) Subject: Amateur Radio Communications With Cuba Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 04:25:34 GMT The following article was in the Amateur Radio Newsline this week: CUBA AND THE ARRL Cuban American hams are angrily denouncing ARRL acceptance of an invitation for United States hams to join their Cuban counterparts in future operating events. They are making their displeasure known on voice, on CW and on packet. The crisis began after the league issued an official bulletin saying that the Cuban national society had invited American amateurs to participate in a joint operation in the 1994 ARRL June VHF QSO Party. It said that ARRL Oklahoma Section Manager Joe Lynch, N6CL, received the invitation to lead the group during his visit to Cuba the week of February 7th. Lynch, who is also the VHF editor of {CQ Magazine} was in Cuba as a member of a Methodist Church work team. While there, he extended greetings from ARRL officials and presented Federacion Radioaficionados de Cuba President Pedro Rodriguez, CO2RP, with a certificate of participation for the June 1993 ARRL VHF QSO Party. Joe also presented an author's certificate to Arnie Coro, CO2KK, for his article in December 1993 issue of the League's {QST Magazine.} But many Cuban expatriate hams living in south Florida say that Rodriguez is nothing more than a puppet of Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro. They claim that Rodriguez is a member of the Cuban military who was given a ham call sign and a new political job: the job of keeping Cuban hams following the Castro party line. This they say at the risk of losing their ham radio privileges and possibly going to jail. The Cubans hams living in the United States say that hams outside Cuba should not be holding hands with the FRC. Instead they should be pressuring their national societies to force the FRC to loosen the reign that dictator Castro has placed on the Cuban ham community. If it does take place, the joint VHF operation will place from Bellomonte, Cuba. Officials of the FRC say they have also taken under consideration a proposal from an American group for a joint operation from Cuba on the High Frequency bands in 1995. ----------------------- The electronic publication of the Amateur Radio Newsline is distributed with the permission of Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, President and Editor of Newsline. The text is transcribed from the audio service by Dale Cary, ND0AKO, and is first published on GEnie. Editorial comment or news items should be E-mailed to 3241437@mcimail.com or B.PASTERNAK@genie.geis.com. Voice or FAX to +1 805-296-7180. Articles may be reproduced if printed in their entirety and credit is given to AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE as being the source. For further information about the AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE, please write to us with an SASE at P.O. Box 463, Pasadena, CA 91102. Thank you, Jack Hamilton Postal: POB 281107 SF CA 94128 USA jfh@netcom.com Packet: kd6ttl@w6pw.#nocal.ca.us.na ------------------------------ From: bill@NETSYS.COM (William Petrisko) Subject: USWest Per-Call CLID Unblocking Organization: Netsys Inc. Date: Mon, 7 Mar 1994 17:58:07 GMT Someone mentioned that USWest (well, Phoenix AZ) has a per-call un-blocking code (for those who have their lines permanently blocked.) That code is *82 ... and it does work. Question is, was this advertised anywhere (wasn't in my phone bill inserts)? William Petrisko (WP5) Preferred: bill@wjp.net Also works: bill@netsys.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 07 Mar 1994 13:02:48 -0500 From: malis@maelstrom.timeplex.com (Andy Malis) Subject: Cellular Phone Questions As a prospective new cellular user, I have a bunch of questions that perhaps some kind soul(s) could answer: 1. Is there a Cellular FAQ? I looked unsuccessfully in the Telecom Archives and via archie. 2. A number of places locally are selling the Motorola 550 "flip phone" for about $50. Any advice regarding this phone, either good or bad? Does it following the Motorola programming manual found in the archives (file "motorola.programming")? 3. Anyone out there with experience and/or advice regarding either Cellular 1 or Nynex Mobile in the northern Massachusetts/southern New Hampshire area? I'm interested in coverage (especially with a .6 watt hand-held), and rate plans. Thanks much for any help. Replies by direct email would be appreciated. TIA, Andrew G. Malis malis@maelstrom.timeplex.com +1 508 266-4522 Ascom Timeplex 289 Great Rd., Acton MA 01720 USA FAX: +1 508 264-4999 ------------------------------ From: worley@village.com (Dale Worley) Subject: Having Trouble With "Command Ring Decipher" Date: 7 Mar 1994 13:15:33 -0500 Organization: Village of Cambridge, Public-Access Internet I have "distinctive ringing service" on a line, that is, I have two directory numbers that both call in on the same line, and each number has a different ring pattern (in this case, "long" and "short short"). I have a decoder box, brand name "Command Ring Decipher", that sorts out incoming calls based on the ringing pattern, and routes them to two different jacks, one of which goes to my phone and one to my Fax machine. The problem is that my phone's answering machine sometimes takes an inordinate number of rings to pick up. After testing this, I discovered that the ring decoder usually works on the first ring (like it's supposed to), but occasionally takes up to four rings before it starts feeding the incoming call to the destination jack. Does anybody know what might be causing this (other than the ring decoder being defective), and what I should do about it? Thanks, Dale ------------------------------ From: tsw@cypher.apple.com (Tom Watson) Subject: Re: Traffic Overloads in Manual Service Era Date: Mon, 07 Mar 1994 18:13:20 -0800 Organization: Apple Computer (more or less) Your discussion about overloads is quite enlighting ... I relate an experience described to me in the early 1980's. The scene is an answering service, equipped with the standard of the day (pre divestiture) 557 coard boards answering 'secreterial lines' (taps of a customers line). The answering service in question had the first few (the number four comes to mind) lines of the local cable TV service. There were times when the cable TV service for the town went out, and if it happened during an interesting event (like the Super Bowl, or the Winter Olympics) the lines would light up and the answering serivce operatators would need to give some comforting thoughts to the annoyed customers waiting for their TV to get signal again. The problem is that the same speil would need to be given to everyone who called, and as they say "time is money..." so one of the operators got innovative. They (yes, it was mostly women) would take four of the cords and position them almost in the jacks associated with the lines in question. Then with the talk keys down on the four lines, and the lines all lit up, she would plug in all the lines at once, just like a conference call (but unknown to the Cable TV customers), then with the best "recording" voice she had announce something like "The Cable TV service for the town is presently unavailable, we anticipate the service to be fully restored at xx:xx, we appreciate your patience, thank you.", then unplug the cords. The process was repeated quite often, until the traffic decreased, when things returned to "normal". When related this story, I nearly rolled on the floor with laughter. You see "manual operations" continue to this day, even with overloads!! Tom Watson Not much simpler!! tsw@cypher.apple.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That technique, of responding to several calls at one time using several cords and open keys was common when the cordboard operator had to make an emergency announcement. About 1969-70 I went back to work for University of Chicago a second time, with a part time job operating a dormitory PBX and front desk two nights per week on the midnight shift. This was an old, old, old hotel called Plaisance Apartments at 61st and Stony Island Avenue. Its been torn down now for over twenty years and the lot remains vacant on that corner. One night about 2 AM there was a fire in one of the dorm rooms; someone fell asleep with a cigarette I guess; it was put down on the report as 'careless use of smoking materials'. Well, the Fire Department pulling up outside of course woke up quite a few of the 250 or so residents of the building and as expected within a minute or so of their arrival the switchboard -- normally totally dead all night long in that building -- was lit up like the proverbial Christmas Tree we hear so much about ... since the building was rated (by Fire Department standards) as 'Class A Fireproof' -- which means simply that a fire will stay confined in the area where it started *provided the door to the apartment involved is kept closed* it was not to the advantage of the Fire Department to order an evacuation, particularly at 2 AM on a cold winter night with the exception of the residents on the same floor who came downstairs to wait in the lobby and get away from the heavy smoke. Probably a third of the residents -- mostly those on the upper floors of the building -- slept through it all, finding out only the next morning when they came downstairs. (The lobby and the whole building stunk badly of smoke for almost a week; other than water damage in the apartment *directly under* the one that caught fire and a lot of soot in the hallway on the affected floor the damage was minor as those things go.) But the ones who did wake up were quick to jump on the phone to call down to the front desk and ask what was up. The Fire Department person in charge at the scene told me to tell the residents on other floors *who asked about it* (which must have been about half the building!) that ' ... there is a fire in a different part of the building; it is under control; you are requested to keep awake and alert; open your window for fresh air as needed and stay in your apartment unless notified otherwise; if you prefer to leave then use the stairs, do not use the elevators, and wait in the lobby with other residents ...' I took four or five cords -- whatever I could grip in my hands at one time and with the associated keys open just went along shoving the cords into lighted jacks, giving that message and moving on to some others. I rang everyone on the affected floor of course and woke them up, telling them to leave with the firemen who were up there going door by door to lead them over to the stairs. Of course I had to call the building manager in his apartment (he lived in the building) and tell him what was going on and I had to call the building engineer in his apartment and tell him so he could meet the firemen with the master keys to get in where the fire was burning; take all the elevators *above* the floor where the fire was located and lock them out of service up there; and pull the power in the affected area so the water damage would not short out the electrical lines and cause a further hazard. Water seeks its own level; in this case most of it ran down the hallway and into the elevator shaft (*that* is why you always park the elevators locked out of service *above* the place where the fire is located) and for the six hours or so it took to pump out the shaft and dry out the cables the elevators were out of service meaning the residents had to walk up and down eleven flights of stairs. The next day U of C evicted the dumbo who started the fire and later the university sued him for damages caused; I think it amounted to about $8000. PAT] ------------------------------ From: dalk@login.dkuug.dk (Lars Kalsen) Subject: Proceedings From Conferences Wanted Date: 7 Mar 94 19:26:19 GMT Organization: DKnet Hi, I am interested in some publications - Proceedings - from the follwing two conferences from 93: 4th IEE Conference on Telecommunications USENIX Symposium on Mobile and Location independent Computing Can anyone help me with the exact titles on the publication - and maybe where to get them. Please E-mail me if you have some information. Lars Kalsen dalk@login.dkuug.dk ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 07 Mar 1994 11:57:47 -0700 From: Tom.Friedman@metrokc.gov Subject: Telephone MIS Seattle Metro is looking into upgrading our system that tracks customer telephone call handling management information (currently a US West system), and incorporating a new staffing scheduling component, based on the data from the information system. Does anyone out there know of some current, successful apoplications in these areas, either transit specific or other applications? Contact Tom Friedman at tom.friedman@metrokc.gov or (206) 684-1513. Thanks. ------------------------------ Date: 07 Mar 94 15:58:28 EST From: Alfredo E. Cotroneo <100020.1013@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Re: Dialing in Italy Carl, Within Italy, in the same district, you dial just the telephone number (as in the US): e.g. 266 6971 if you want to reach us from Milano. If you dial from outside a district you have to dial the area code first, and then the number: 02 266 6971 often wrote as (02) 266 6971, is our number in Milano if you dial within Italy, but from outside the district of Milano (02). An exception is made for the mobile/cellular phones, for which you have to dial always the "area code". (0337 for commercial cellular, and 0330 for residential cellular, 0336 for old 400 MHz car phones, 0333 [GSM ?]) The rules above -- except the cellular phones codes -- are for most, (if not all), European countries. If dialing from abroad, you have just to remember Italy's country code which is 39. The CCITT way of writing our number in Milano is +39 2 266 6971 (or +39-2-266 6971). The '+' stands for your int'l long distance access code (in the US it will be 011). In Italy there are different service numbers, which are dialed with no area code, but can be dialed only within Italy: e.g. 12 is telephone directory (just one for all Italy), 176 is for telephone enquires for the Mediterranean and Europe (including North Africa), 1790 is for overseas telephone info. Toll free numbers start with 167 (equivalent to 1-800), 1-900 like numbers start with 144 (just recently introduced). 113 Police/Ambulance, 112 Carabinieri, etc. The numbers quoted for accessing the AT&T, MCI, and Sprint operators from Italy are special toll free numbers set up by agreement between Italcable (the Italian overseas carrier) and the US carriers. These numbers are called "Countrydirect": 172 1011 ATT 172 1022 MCI 172 1877 Sprint but also: 172 1054 Argentina 172 1061 Australia 172 1055 Brasil, etc. for other 21 countries. Hope this explains a little bit our numbering system. Alfredo E. Cotroneo, President NEXUS-Int'l Broadcasting Association PO Box 10980, I-20110 Milano, Italy Phone: +39-337-297788 / +39-2-2666971 email: 100020.1013@compuserve.com ------------------------------ From: news@cbnewsi.att.com Date: Tue, 8 Mar 94 03:49:01 GMT Subject: IEEE INFOCOM'94, June 12-16, Toronto Organization: AT&T Announcing . . . . IEEE INFOCOM'94 The Conference on Computer Communications June 12 - 16, 1994 The Westin Harbour Castle Toronto, Ontario, Canada Now in its 13th year, IEEE INFOCOM is the premier international technical conference devoted to computer communications and networking. Papers presented at INFOCOM represent the leading edge of understanding and development in this fast-moving field, and are accepted only after a rigorous review process. The half-day and full-day tutorials are given by leading experts and afford the participant an opportunity to stay current with the latest advances in computer communications and networking. In addition, in 1994 INFOCOM is offering for the first time a full-day Gigabit Networking Workshop, consisting of informal short presentations on "hot topics" and full paper presentations on applications enabling the large-scale deployment of gigabit networks. IEEE INFOCOM'94 is sponsored by the IEEE Computer and Communication Societies. The Gigabit Networking Workshop is sponsored by the IEEE COMSOC Technical Committee on Gigabit per Second Networks. o Gigabit Networking Workshop Sunday, June 12, 1994 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM (followed by a committee "business" meeting, 4:00 - 5:00 PM) Abstracts for presentation at this workshop are due on April 1, 1994. Selected papers will be considered for a forthcoming issue of the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications (JSAC). Contact the program chair James Sterbenz (914-784-6489 or jpgs@acm.org) for complete information on submission guidelines. o Tutorials Sunday, June 12, 1994 2:30 - 6:30 PM 1. "Supporting Real-Time Applications Over Internet," Lixia Zhang, Xerox 2. "Recent Advances in the Algorithmic Analysis of Queueing Systems," David Lucantoni, AT&T Bell Labs Monday, June 13, 1994 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM 3. "Advanced Topics in Broadband ATM Networks," Ender Ayanoglu and Malathi Veeraraghavan, AT&T Bell Labs 4. "Wireless Communications Networks," Donald Cox, Stanford University 5. "High-Speed Networks: Multimedia Applications, Infrastructure, and Protocols," Fouad Tobagi, Stanford University 6. "The State of the Art in Network Management," Yechiam Yemini, Columbia University o Plenary Session Tuesday, June 14, 1994 8:30 - 10:00 AM "Multimedia Information Networking in the Nineties," Maurizio Decina, Politecnico di Milano/CEFRIEL o Technical Sessions Tuesday, June 14, 1994 10:30 AM - 5:00 PM Wireless Networks Performance Congestion Control Design of Optical Networks Issues in High-Speed Protocols Virtual Path Routing in ATM Networks Discrete-Time Queues and ATM High-Performance LANs Multicast Switch Architecture Performance Analysis of Video Services Admission Control Multi-Stage Optical Networks Wednesday, June 15, 1994 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM Circuit Switching Traffic Shaping Performance Analysis of Buffering Schemes Lightwave Networks Wireless Networks Performance Congestion Control Image, Audio and Video Transport Resource Management DQDB Protocol Design, Analysis and Interoperability Switched LANs Network Multicast Routing Interconnection of LANs/MANs/WANs Real-Time Systems Optical Network Routing Thursday, June 16, 1994 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM Network Routing Traffic Modeling Admission Control High-Performance LANs Transport over ATM Queueing Models Congestion Control Multi-Stage Optical Networks Security and Database Systems DQDB Scheduling FDDI Switching Performance Analysis of Switches Network Routing Protocols for WDM Networks o Panel Tuesday, June 14, 1994 5:15 - 6:45 PM "Switch-Based LANs: A Fast Evolving Networking Paradigm" Organizer/Moderator: Yoram Ofek (IBM) Panelists: Maurizio Decina (Politecnico di Milano/CEFRIEL) Alexander Fraser (AT&T Bell Labs) HT Kung (Harvard University) Nick Maxemchuk (AT&T Bell Labs) Jonathan Turner (Washington University) o Committee General Chair: Mark J. Karol, AT&T Bell Labs, tel: 908-949-8590, email: mk@boole.att.com Vice-Chair: Al Leon-Garci, University of Toronto Technical Program Chair: Magda El Zarki, University of Pennsylvania, tel: 215-898-9780, email: infocom@ee.upenn.edu Technical Program Vice-Chair: Khosrow Sohraby, Univ. of Missouri at KC Tutorials Chair: Kai Y. Eng, AT&T Bell Labs Treasurer: Ender Ayanoglu, AT&T Bell Labs Local Arrangements: Terry Todd, McMaster University Celia Desmond, Stentor Standing Committee Chair: Harvey Freeman, LANWORKS, Inc. To receive an electronic copy of the INFOCOM'94 Advance Program send Email to: infocom@ee.upenn.edu To receive a printed copy of the INFOCOM'94 Advance Program send a FAX to Mark J. Karol, INFOCOM'94 General Chair, (908) 949-9118 ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #118 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa12352; 8 Mar 94 19:22 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA07264; Tue, 8 Mar 94 15:22:17 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA07244; Tue, 8 Mar 94 15:22:12 CST Date: Tue, 8 Mar 94 15:22:12 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403082122.AA07244@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #119 TELECOM Digest Tue, 8 Mar 94 15:22:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 119 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Measuring Network Availability (Stacy L. Millions) Information Market Guide (IM-GUIDE) (Jesus Bustamante) ATM Newsgroup Wanted (Mohanram) Telecom FAQ Location (Michael Petsalis) Re: Brian McCann of WLUP Encourages Telephone Harrassment (Barry Mishkind) Re: Brian McCann of WLUP Encourages Telephone Harrassment (Doug Oke) Re: Why Are Rates to India Increasing? (Linc Madison) Re: Information Needed on Satellite Phone (Paul Robinson) Re: InterLATA CID (Paul Robinson) Re: Traffic Overloads in Manual Service Era (Linc Madison) Wanted: Alphanumeric Pager Software (Jim Ray) Re: Need TAP/IXO For Alpha Pagers (Monty Solomon) Re: Phones in the Movies Again (Alain Fontaine) Crosstalk (was Re: LD Headaches From Within an IBX System) (C. Garrigues) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: stacy@sobeco.com (Stacy L. Millions) Subject: Measuring Network Availability Organization: Sobeco Ernst & Young Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 19:12:41 GMT Hi, I have a question that has been puzzling me for some time. I was involved in a project, where we helped to migrate a companies user base from an IBM mainframe / SNA / 3270 terminal environment to a UNIX / TCP/IP / vt220 / terminal server environment. I can remember one of IBM network type people made a comment about how they guarantee their users 99.8% network availability and he was skeptical that we would be able to match that in the new environment. Now my question is simply this: How do you a) define and b) measure 'network availability'? Particularly in the context of LANs and WANs. I, unfortunately, did not have opportunity to take this up the the IBM network type who made the original comment, I would have been most interested in his definition. It would seem that the definition is the key. Defined one way it could be interpreted as 'No one cut the cable, therefore it is available' and thus you can easily attain 99.8%. At the other end of the scale, you could define it such that the network is considered unavailable if some one turns off their PC. More realistic would be something somewhere in the middle. I would be very interested in comments from people who have defined this and do measure it. stacy stacy@sobeco.com stacy@sobeco.ca sobeco!stacy ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 08 Mar 1994 18:01:46 CET From: JBUSTAMANTE@vms.eurokom.ie Subject: Information Market Guide (IM-GUIDE) Organization: EuroKom Conferencing Service WHAT IS I'M GUIDE ? Developed under Action Line 3 of the Information Market Policy ACTions programme (IMPACT), I'M GUIDE is a directory of information products and services available in Europe. It includes not only databases and databanks, but also CD-ROMs, CD-I products, diskette-bases, image banks, etc., publicly available. For each product the database has detailed information about the contents, subject coverage, updating frequency, size, medium on which the service or product is available etc., as well as information on the organisations producing or offering the products (information producers, hosts, information brokers, etc.) I'M GUIDE contains information about: * more than 2500 on-line databases and databanks * more than 2000 CD-ROMs and CD-Is * more than 800 other information products * more than 1700 producers of information * more than 800 services offering access * more than 1000 information brokers The database is produced by DG XIII/E of the Commission of the European Communities. The content of the database is available in all nine official languages of the European Union. You can search it using the Common Command Language (CCL), or via a specially designed user-friendly menu-driven interface (currently available in English, Spanish, Italian, French or German). I'M-GUIDE is continuously updated, with the information collection carried out by a network of correspondents in all countries covered, monitoring the information scene in their region. On-line access to the database is provided FREE of CHARGE through ECHO (European Commission Host Organisation). HOW TO CONNECT TO ECHO VIA INTERNET Now you can access ECHO with a simple TELNET command and the address: ECHO.LU (or 158.64.1.51) Once received our welcome screen "%THIS IS ECHO PLEASE ENTER YOUR CODE", you can login with the following public password: NGUEST (or with your own personal password) If you would like to register (registered ECHO users are provided with their own personal password and a detailed CCL Manual), or you would like to receive further information about ECHO and its databases, please send your NAME and COMPLETE POSTAL ADDRESS to: ECHO European Commission Host Organisation B.P. 2373 L-1023 Luxembourg Or to any of the Email addresses below JESUS BUSTAMANTE ECHO (European Commission Host Organisation) Tel. : +352 34981 220 Email : POSTMASTER@ECHO.LU Fax : +352 34981 234 ECHO@ECHO.LU Pers. Email: JESUS.BUSTAMANTE@EUROKOM.IE ------------------------------ Date: 07 Mar 1994 22:09:06 CST From: Mohanram Subject: ATM Newsgroup Wanted Organization: University of Missouri - Kansas City, CSTP Could you please tell me if there is a news group for discussion about ATM? I would like to know more about this technology and there is no better way than the news groups. I am not a regular reader of comp.dcom. telecom news group. Please send me email. Thanks in advance, Mohanram ------------------------------ From: mike@ece.concordia.ca (Michael Petsalis) Subject: Telecom FAQ Location Reply-To: mike@ece.concordia.ca Organization: ECE - Concordia University Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 00:29:43 GMT Hello all! Could someone please point me in the direction of the FAQ for this newsgroup? Please reply by email and thanks in advance. Regards, mike@ece.concordia.ca (Michael Petsalis) Voice : (514) 848 3114 Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Fax : (514) 848 2802 Concordia University, Montreal, Canada [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I've already responded to this writer with the answer so others do not need to write, but this is a question which comes up quite often. The FAQ is sent out automatically to each new subscriber to the mailing list, and it is also available in the Telecom Archives at lcs.mit.edu. From time to time, I also post it in the Usenet group comp.dcom.telecom. At the present time, I am waiting for the new edition from David Leibold; when it arrives it will replace the version there now which is about a year old. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Mar 94 19:49 MST From: barry@coyote.datalog.com (barry mishkind) Subject: Re: Brian McCann of WLUP Encourages Telephone Harrassment Organization: Datalog Consulting, Tucson, AZ In article is written: > A comment on the one-ring telephone harassment: A local Chicago talk > show personality (Brian McCann on WLUP's Sunday afternoon "comedy" > program) has encouraged listeners to "drive your friends crazy" with > one-ring phone calls. He thinks it's a "victory" if the harasser can > drive the victim to taking the phone of the hook so "they can't > receive those important calls." He spent this afternoon (6 March) > playing this game and exhorting others to do the same. The final > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It sounds to me like it is time for > someone to circulate Brian McCann's home telephone number publicly. > Incidentally, the main switchboard for the business offices at WLUP is > 312-440-5270. That is public information, it appears in the phone book > By the way, if anyone thinks of something else callers to WLUP > should not do -- something I may have overlooked -- write and let us > know. PAT] We certainly shouldn't suggest that messages be sent to the FCC, regarding Brian's behavior ... especially to the new FTP location and email address they have put on line. Barry Mishkind barry@coyote.datalog.com Tucson, Arizona [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You're right; it would not do much good. The FCC has been trying to collect on a fine against that station for a few years now based on the antics of those two other obnoxious creeps they have on the air ... what'stheirnames ... the station refuses to pay and keeps dragging it through court. Years ago, the FCC's response would have been to go out and padlock the transmitter after shutting it off; I guess these days the big money involved with major radio stations doesn't allow that to happen. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Doug_Oke@mindlink.bc.ca (Doug Oke) Subject: Re: Brian McCann of WLUP Encourages Telephone Harrassment Date: 8 Mar 94 04:37:14 GMT Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada If you find it difficult to get through to the switchboard, or simply don't want to waste the operators' time, don't forget that you can FAX your message to WLUP. As long as their machines haven't run out of paper, you can use the phone lines to deliver a message about irresponsible uses of telecom to them in printed form. Doug Oke - Vancouver, Canada Doug_Oke@mindlink.bc.ca [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Good thinking! The fax number at the WLUP general offices is 312-440-9377. But keep your messages brief (say, less than 10-12 pages in length) and non-abusive. You might want to fax them copies of pertinent FCC regulations, copies of scripts from old Jack Benny radio shows to show them what 'comedy programs' were like years ago and perhaps some pages from the Chicago phone directory to show them a list of people who might be or were possibly affected by McCann's 'game'. Say Doug, do you get AM-1000 out there in Vancouver at night? I know there is a station somewhere around Calgary, Alberta playing heavy rock music which comes in here in Chicago at night some- times. When we get the signal it comes in like gangbusters even louder than some of the locals. AM radio signals are amazing things. PAT] ------------------------------ From: lincmad@netcom.com (Linc Madison) Subject: Re: Why Are Rates to India Increasing? Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 08:53:38 GMT A N Ananth (ananth@access.digex.net) wrote: > In article , Linc Madison > wrote: >> I was looking at yet another one of those newspaper ads for the >> various LD companies' international discount calling plans, and I've >> noticed that they list numbers like "India 73 cents (thru 3/30/94, 78 >> cents after)" >> Is the PTT in India increasing its "landing fees"? > Actually the rates are not increasing at all. As one who spend$, let > me assure you that the rate of $0.73 is almost 50% off the normal > rate ... at the present time, $0.78 per minute is the best you can do > [if you call over the weekend etc] That still doesn't answer my question. The rate (with the special discount plan) is $0.73 now, but will be (again with the special discount plan) $0.78 next month. That *is* an increase; why? None of the other countries mentioned in the ad has any differential. Also, one of the ads like this that I saw listed the "regular price" rates for India, and they *are* scheduled to increase on 4/1/94. Linc Madison * Oakland, California * LincMad@Netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 04:29:09 EST From: Paul Robinson Reply-To: Paul Robinson Subject: Re: Information Needed on Satellite Phone Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA Min Hu writes: > During the gulf war, both the reporters and the American soldiers > used a kind of satellite phone system so that they could communicate > with outside world. The soldiers were using radiotelephones that were connected to the military's satelite system. And here is how far the world has changed; some of the critical classified information sent by the military was transmitted over satelites leased from Russia! The reporters were using Inmarsat telephones. They're fine if you want to pay about $9 a minute more than typical overseas calls, e.g. a long distance call from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia is about $1.20 a minute, while Inmarsat charges about $10 a minute. Oh, and don't forget the $10,000 to $50,000 for the transmitting station. Paul Robinson - Paul@TDR.COM ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 04:33:57 EST From: Paul Robinson Reply-To: Paul Robinson Subject: Re: InterLATA CID Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA tjnelson@attmail.att.com, writes: > I have a question regarding the use of Caller ID on Inter-LATA > calls. Currently the technology exists to deliver the calling number > to the terminating LEC office As long as all the paths from start to end are SS7 switches. > Since this information in most cases is deliverable right now, why > doesn't InterLATA CID exist? In "To Sail Beyond the Sunset," A son asks his mother, "In Dallas the TV telephones are all stereo; why is Kansas City still using flatties?" to which his mother responds, "Donald, whenever any question begins 'Why don't they' the answer is almost always 'Money'." > The only reason I've heard so far is that the RBOCs must be "de- > regulated" before they can accept/deliver Inter-LATA originating > numbers. Some people in some cities have noted getting Caller-ID information from people in other states, who are long distance calls. It's a political, not a technical question. What it probably comes down to is that the local telcos believe that providing calling party information is a valuable service for which they think they shouldn't have to provide it without compensation on calls delivered to a distant point, where the the distant party benefits without the local company getting some cut. > This doesn't seem to make much sense. Perhaps it's just a matter > of working out which carrier charges who and for how much or is > there another reason? Don't forget, if calling number delivery becomes much more available, some companies can dispense with T1s for 800 numbers and get the same thing without having to pay for T1 trunks to get real-time delivery of calling party numbers. Since an 800 call almost always comes in as just an ordinary call terminated on ordinary phone lines, the CNID information should be available in real time to me, with my $10 a month 800 number from Sprint as it is to some company paying $2000 a month for T1 trunks. Paul Robinson - Paul@TDR.COM ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 01:56:58 -0800 From: lincmad@netcom.com (Linc Madison) Subject: Re: Traffic Overloads in Manual Service Era Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) In article you wrote: > One such instance that I remember specifically was an explosion at > the Whiting Refinery in 1953. ... it quickly spread into some > storage tanks and a large device they called a 'cat cracker' -- whatever > that means -- ... The 'cat cracker' is a device that uses a catalyst (cat for short) to 'crack' complex hydrocarbon molecules, which is to say to break very complex molecules into simpler molecules. It's highly explosive, of course, because you're dealing with petroleum and heating it up to work on massaging its molecular structure. Linc [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks also to several other correspondents who wrote to explain the term to me. PAT] ------------------------------ From: ray@rock.concert.net (Jim Ray -- Personal Account) Subject: Wanted: Alphanumeric Pager Software Date: 8 Mar 1994 19:51:24 GMT Organization: CONCERT-Connect Public Dial UNIX Anybody know of a source for software that will use the modem to dial an alphanumeric pager and to send a message to that pager? Motorola uses these keyboard-like devices now. It would be nice to replace them with software. Thanks! Jim Ray Tel: 919-981-7433 Fax: 919-981-0066 Internet: ray@mercury.interpath.net ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 07:43:21 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Re: Need TAP/IXO For Alpha Pagers > I am looking for any info on the TAP (Telelocator Alphanumeric Input > Protocol) or something called IXO. > These are used for sending out alphanumeric messages on certain kinds > of pagers. And I need the info to write my own programs. Look in dir pub/ixo on anonftp.geo.mtu.edu. There is also a mailing list: subscribe via email to majordomo@warren.mentorg.com (send help message for instructions) contribute via email to ixo@warren.mentorg.com Monty Solomon / PO Box 2486 / Framingham, MA 01701-0405 monty@roscom.com ------------------------------ From: fontaine@sri.ucl.ac.be (Alain Fontaine) Subject: Re: Phones in the Movies Again Organization: Universite Catholique de Louvain Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 13:08:41 GMT In article , wtm@uhura.neoucom.EDU (Bill Mayhew) wrote: > bulbs, which thread into their sockets. European bulbs have bayonet > type sockets (similar to over-grown automotive turn signal lamp > sockets) so the gag makes sense if you understand this. And in 'America', everyone rides a horse, wearing a big hat and a pair of colts. Now, I was born here in Belgium (Europa) in 1951, and I have never encountered a bayonet socket except for the small lamp in my wife's sewing machine ... /AF [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What was that song from "West Side Story" which went, 'da da dee da in America ... da da dee da in America; da da dee da in America ... in America!' ------------------------------ From: cwg@mcc.com (Chris Garrigues) Subject: Crosstalk (was Re: LD Headaches From Within an IBX System) Organization: Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 15:49:11 GMT In article , Jonathan Lieberman wrote: > Ever since then during aproximatly 35% - 50% of my long distance calls > (both those that I originate, and when other people call me long > distance) I hear other people (and they hear me) making long distance > calls from within my building. A few years ago while unemployed, I found that I was getting crosstalk on my phone line from some business. I called SouthWestern Bell and they fixed the problem. A number of months later when I was home during the day, I noticed that the problem was back, so I called SWB again and they "fixed" the problem again. Things were fine again for a few months and then one day I was on my modem line dialing into work and the line went completely dead. I stepped out onto my front porch and noted a SWB repair truck parked in front of Jeff's house across the street. I walked over to the truck and told the guy what happened. He asked me "Is your number xxx-xxxx?" I answered that it was, and he muttered "Damn! Is it completely dead?" Yes. "Okay, I'll take care of it once and for all." He put a tone generator on my line and walked down the street with a coil on the end of a poll until he stopped getting the signal. He then climbed up the poll and discovered an ant colony in the wiring. By 10PM he had my line working and by noon the next day, he'd patched up everything and evicted the ants. I don't know of any line problems in my neighborhood since, but I could be lucky. It seems that this crosstalk problem had been going on for years and every time someone would complain about it, rather than fixing it they simply patched a different line into the bad pair. They made a point of mixing business and residencial lines on the theory that we'd be less likely to be using the lines at the same time. Until the line completely failed, they didn't have an easy way to localize the problem, so they punted. Chris Garrigues (MIME capable) cwg@mcc.com Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation +1 512 338 3328 3500 West Balcones Center Drive Fax +1 512 338 3838 Austin, TX 78759-6509 USA [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I once had an aunt who could be quite a nuisance on the telephone. She would call at very inconvenient times and want to talk for hours. She did not live in a colony however; she lived in a retirement village in Florida. That's enough for today. :) PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #119 ****************************** Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa19513; 9 Mar 94 15:01 EST Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA05102; Wed, 9 Mar 94 10:58:13 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA05091; Wed, 9 Mar 94 10:58:10 CST Date: Wed, 9 Mar 94 10:58:10 CST From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <9403091658.AA05091@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #120 TELECOM Digest Wed, 9 Mar 94 10:58:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 120 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Prisoner Starts Own 900 Number (TELECOM Digest Editor) Telephone Companies and the Time (Kent Borg) SONAR Data Communications Underwater (Susan Jacobson) Question About Random Dialing (gaupkg@fnma.com) Looking For Two and Three Character Country Codes (Eileen C. Bauer) Problems with GSM Technology? (John Sims) More Dialogic Help (Rich Padula) Re: Clipped Again (Barry Margolin) Re: Cellular Phone Questions (Robin Amano) Re: Line/Cable Simulators (Rich Padula) Re: Wanted: Alphanumeric Pager Software (Jeff Regan) Re: Transborder Local Calls (Wally Bloss) Re: Phones in the Movies Again (Charles Hoequist, Jr.) CONNECT Table of Contents - Mar/Apr '94 (Patricia Snyder-Rayl) 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 GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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: Tue, 8 Mar 94 23:31:08 CST From: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Subject: Prisoner Starts Own 900 Number How's this for a new twist on the 900 number racket? Illinois' most infamous prisoner -- and one of the most infamous in the USA -- John Wayne Gacy has installed a 900 number people can call to hear him proclaim his innocence. Gacy was convicted in 1978 of the sexual assualts and murders during sado-masochistic activities of 33 boys and young men, most of whom were found casually buried under mounds of dirt in a crawl space beneath his home on Summerdale Avenue in unincorporated Norwood Park Township, a small area on the northwest side here which has Chicago on two sides of it and Des Plaines, Illinois on another side, but is not part of any town. A few boys were found buried in the back yard, a couple under the cement in the driveway, etc. John Wayne Gacy was arrested by detectives of the Des Plaines Police Department, and by the time they finished their investigation they had found so many bodies they eventually lost count and settled on 33, most of whom to this day fifteen years later have not been identified, nor has their body been claimed. After an insanity plea which the court did not buy, Gacy tried a variety of tactics and eacb step of the way, higher courts confirmed the findings and actions of the lower courts which had come before. He was sentenced to death, and imposition of punishment was repeatedly postponed as Gacy made appeal after appeal on technical matters. Finally he has run out of things to appeal and imposition of death has been scheduled once and for all early in May of this year. * Now John Wayne Gacy is taking a different approach, and claims that he is totally innocent of the charges most foul lodged against him. * He claims that 'several people' had keys to his house and were free to come and go at any time. The same people were free to use his cement mixer as well perhaps? He has no idea how the bodies of teenage boys came to be buried in his back yard or under the floor in the garage, etc. He explains all this and more on a 900 phone number set up for him by a company in Florida working with his attorney. As the message begins, we hear Gacy himself comment, ' ... This is John Wayne Gacy speaking. In this message, I will explain and prove my innocence to your complete satisfaction. The cost for this call is $2.95 per minute, and on average, each call lasts eleven minutes with a total average charge of $33 per call. If you don't wish to pay, please hang up now, and at this time the charges will begin ...' The parents of the victims who have been identified at one time or another -- sadly, only a few have been traced -- all have judgments against Gacy amounting to millions of dollars each. They are now suing to get a piece of the action on the 900 number, since that is the only money they will ever see out of this. Gacy also attempts to sell his objects 'd art, but he has not had much luck selling his mostly morbid drawings and oil paintings. Gacy's attorney wants to keep the money for himself to offset the enormous legal bills his client has run up, and the State of Illinois has other ideas. Prison officials are absolutely livid; it seems Gacy did not consult them on this at all but set it up behind their back with the company in Florida. Prison officials are now also suing Gacy to get the 900 number disconnected; meanwhile the calls keep rolling in at an average of $33 each. The prison officials want to confiscate the money and use it to pay Gacy's room and board and their other expenses in guarding him. I don't know how good a job they could be doing guarding him if his 900 number got turned on and started receiving hundreds of calls per day before they found out about it. As the date draws near for Gacy's execution -- this time, no more stalling or delays -- a group calling itself the American Civil Liberties Union has stated it will intervene to prevent Gacy from being persecuted further by the state and the criminals in our society of which Gacy is but a victim. In other correctional institution news this week, Larry Eyler -- another Gacy type, in 1984 he was convicted here of the dismemberment and sex-murder of a fifteen year old boy -- died at the age of 41 on Death Row from complications due to AIDS. His execution had been scheduled for later this year. I'll bet you're all rushing to your phones right now to call John Wayne Gacy's 900 number so you can cry your eyes out over the dilemma he finds himself in ... ... My kind of town, Chicago is! (Frank Sinatra said it, not me.) PAT ------------------------------ From: kentborg@world.std.com (Kent Borg) Subject: Telephone Companies and the Time Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 17:36:44 GMT I am under the impression that phone companies need accurate frequency sources for synchronous communications, but do they have any real need for accurate time of day information? The question is prompted by the fact that the local non-wire cellular carrier in Boston, Cellular One, doesn't know what time it is. I placed my first billable cell call one day after 7:00 PM local time but was billed a minute at prime time rates. I know it was after 7:00, for the BBC World Service had already started their 00:00 UTC news broadcast, my watch said so too, etc. Yesterday I checked the talking clock number of Nynex (as they are calling New England Telephone these days) and it was off by what sounded like at least a tenth of a second when played against a WWV transmission. (Usually they are closer -- unless there has been a leap second a few hours earlier.) Question: What need do phone companies have for accurate time (other than not cheating customers)? How many different definitions of the "correct time" likely exist inside your average RBOC, long distance company, cellular provider, etc.? Question 2: How do I find the person inside Cellular One Boston who is in charge of setting the clock on the billing computer? Kent Borg H: +1 (617) 776-6899 kentborg@world.std.com W: +1 (508) 250-5407 kentborg@aol.com Fax: +1 (508) 250-5400 ------------------------------ From: Susan Jacobson Subject: SONAR Data Communications Underwater Date: Tue, 8 Mar 94 18:58:13 -0500 Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice) Hi there! I am looking for some information about underwater data communications. Several sources have told me I would have to use SONAR technology ... I am working on a design project in graduate school. My group wants to create a wireless communications device (like a PDA) that could be used by recreational SCUBA divers. Any information would be apppreciated. Thanks! ------------------------------ From: gaupkg@fnma.COM Subject: Question About Random Dialing Reply-To: gaupkg@fnma.COM Organization: Fannie Mae Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 21:47:18 GMT Hi! Ya'all Telecom folks, A friend of mine who doesn't read this news group has the following question: Is there a shareware program or commercial program available that can dial randomly within a given area code and when it comes across a fax machine log that fax number into a database. If anyone has any pointers I would appreciate it. Prab G. gaupkg@fnma.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Just what is needed ... a program to invade the privacy of telephone subscribers; annoy them by causing their phone to ring and hanging up on them when it discovers they are not a fax machine, and creating a list of the subscribers who are. Sorry, no help available here. Who does your friend 'who does not read this newsgroup' think he is anyway, that he has the right to scan through telephone exchanges bothering everyone like that? Tell your friend that if someone has a fax machine and wishes to use it to be in contact with him, they will let him know. In other words, don't call us, we'll call you. PAT] ------------------------------ From: ecb@world.std.com (Eileen C Bauer) Subject: Looking For Two and Three Character Country Codes Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 01:52:53 GMT Can anyone send me a list of current two and three character country codes. I have most of them, but what with the breakup of various countries and what-not, I figure I'm missing a few (codes, that is) Thanks for any info! Eileen ------------------------------ Subject: Problems With GSM Technology Date: Wed, 09 Mar 1994 11:12:53 +0800 From: John Sims Greetings! The commercial media here has started to make widely known the Australian government's plans to scrap the analog cellular system by 2000, to be replaced by a GSM based system. There is a bit of a ruckus developing, but that is not I want to discuss. I seem to remember a few months back there was some information here about some real technical problems with GSM as a system. I would be very grateful if someone out there who is aware of GSM's shortcomings could share these with us, or at least point me to where an archive of such information might be kept. Thanks very much in advance. John Sims john@fs.com.au Functional Software Voice: +61 9 328 8288 7/643 Newcastle St Fax: +61 9 328 8616 Leederville, Western Australia, 6007 ------------------------------ From: rpadula@aol.com Date: Tue, 08 Mar 94 22:11:14 EST Subject: More Dialogic Help Needed Does anyone know where I can find the latest version of the Dialogic voice drivers for DOS for their D40/B and D41/B boards? I called Dialogic, especially since their fax-back server indicates "NC" for their DOS voice drivers. Unfortunately, they would not give me the drivers for "NC" and proceeded to try to push their new products on me. Ugh. I really hate having these two boards going to waste ... Rich ------------------------------ From: barmar@Think.COM (Barry Margolin) Subject: Re: Clipped Again Date: 8 Mar 1994 22:29:20 GMT Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA In article padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) writes: > {Time Magazine}, March 14, 1994 >> In a Time/CNN poll of 1,000 Americans conducted last week by Yankelovich >> Partners, two-thirds said it was more important to protect the privacy of >> phone calls than to preserve the ability of police to conduct wiretaps. >> When informed about the Clipper Chip, 80% said they opposed it. > This makes no sense to me. Today there is *no* privacy in phone calls > so the question must have been worded so as to imply that there is for > people to believe that Clipper provides *less*. Where does the above description say that there is currently privacy? In fact, it says "preserve the ability ... to conduct wiretaps", implying that there currently is no privacy. The "protect the privacy" alternative is a new feature. So it claims that 2/3 would like additional privacy rather than the current ability of the government to tap. >> Rather than outlaw PGP and other such programs, a policy that would >> probably be unconstitutional, the Administration is taking a marketing >> approach. By using its purchasing power to lower the cost of Clipper >> technology, and by vigilantly enforcing restrictions against overseas >> sales of competing encryption systems, the government is try