From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Wed Apr 24 13:17:34 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id NAA15724; Wed, 24 Apr 1996 13:17:34 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 13:17:34 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199604241717.NAA15724@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #201 TELECOM Digest Wed, 24 Apr 96 13:17:30 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 201 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson More on the NANP Caribbean NPA's (Mark J. Cuccia) Re: ATT Free Internet Access Status? (Bob Smith) Re: ATT Free Internet Access Status? (Bill Kinch) Re: ATT Free Internet Access Status? (Basavaraj Patil) Re: Third Number Billing No Longer Being Verified? (Zev Rubenstein) Re: Re: FTP Sites With ITU Standards - Answers Needed (Robert Shaw) Re: Last Laugh! Re: NYNEX "Time" Number is Wrong (Linc Madison) Re: Cellular Rates, NYC and Elsewhere (Fred Atkinson) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 11:01:11 -0700 From: Mark J. Cuccia Subject: More on the NANP Caribbean NPA's Well, I'm "closing in" on the new Caribbean NPA's after some telephone calls and email inquiries directly of the Caribbean local telephone companies: NANP Caribbean recompilation (as of Tuesday 9 April 1996) (with additional information on Wednesday 23 April 1996) Begin End New permissive permissive NPA Location dialing dialing 242 (BHA) Bahamas ................. 01 OCT 96 31 MAR 97 246 --- Barbados ................ 01 JUL 96 15 JAN 97 264 (ANG) Anguilla ................(dates to be announced) 268 (ANT) Antigua/Barbuda ......... 01 APR 96 31 MAR 97 284 (BVI) British Virgin Is. ......(dates to be announced) 340 --- U.S.Virgin Is. ..........(dates to be announced) 345 --- Cayman Is. ..............(dates to be announced) 441 --- Bermuda ................. 01 OCT 95 30 SEP 96 473 (GRE) Grenada/Carricou ........(dates to be announced) 649 **RESERVED** (location and dates to be announced) 664 (MNI) Montserrat Is. .......... 01 JUL 96 01 JUN 97 758 (SLU) St.Lucia ................ 01 JUL 96 01 JAN 97 767 (ROS) Dominica ................(dates to be announced) 784 **RESERVED** (location and dates to be announced) 787 (PUR/PTR) Puerto Rico ........... 01 MAR 96 31 JAN 97 868 (TNT) Trinidad & Tobago .......(dates to be announced) 869 --- St.Kitts/Nevis ..........(dates to be announced) 876 --- Jamaica .................(dates to be announced) (767=ROS for Dominica is probably because the capital of Dominica is a town named Roseau) POSSIBLE assignments of above RESERVED codes [these are *MY* assumptions]: 784 (SVG/SVI) St.Vincent & Grenadines (Bequia, Mustique, Palm, Union) 649 --- Turks & Caicos As to who should be keeping 809, it has been mentioned *many* times that: 809 should remain The Dominican Republic Of those which have "dates to be announced", only the following have "official" Bellcore announcements as to their location (although Bellcore states that the dates are TBA), as per their webpage or by Bellcore IL (Information letter): 284 British Virgin Is. 473 Grenada/Carricou 868 Trinidad & Tobago 869 St.Kitts & Nevis The following which have "dates to be announced" have *not* yet been "officially" announced by Bellcore, but I have determined these from email inquiries or telephone conversations with each local Caribbean telco: 264 Anguilla 340 U.S.Virgin Is. 345 Cayman Is. (I was told about this one by the C&W Cayman rep at the INC) 767 Dominica 876 Jamaica From telephone conversations with the local telcos, I found out that about three years ago, at the annual NANP Caribbean 809 Carrier's meeting, most of the non-US telcos voted that Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Is. "leave" 809 and be assigned a new NPA of their own, as Puerto Rico has always had the largest number of NXX Central Office Codes in 809, as well as had the largest growth. It was determined that 340 be assigned to PR/USVI, and the remainder of the Caribbean (non-US) remain 809. Of course, that has since changed. Two years ago, Bermuda elected to leave 809 for various reasons. (Bermuda isn't actually a geographic part of the Caribbean, but rather a "British" island in the Atlantic, well north of Puerto Rico and well east of North/South Carolina). And since, every island country/territory seems to have requested an area code of their own. Last year, before we were informed about 787 being assigned to Puerto Rico, Steve Grandi's (grandi@noao.edu) compilation list of new NPA's indicated that 340 was going to be for Puerto Rico, but that it was an "unconfirmed rumor". Well, the above explains that 340 *was indeed* anticipated at one time for *both* PR/USVI. At the INC meeting, one of the handouts from Bellcore NANPA had a number of "reserved" codes for the Caribbean. One of those "reserved" codes was 340. Please note that those codes which have not (yet) been "officially" announced by Bellcore might *NOT* have been given final approval by the Government or regulatory authority in that Caribbean NANP island country. As for *MY* assumption indicated above for 784 (St.Vincent & the Grenadines) and 649 (Turks & Caicos Is), I make that since 784 spells out SVI or SVG, therefore 649 would "default" as "reserved" for Turks & Caicos Is. But I would have thought that 876 would have been for the US Virgin Islands, as 876 spells out VRN. Of course that turned out to be an erroneous assumption on my part, as 876 is "reserved" for Jamaica, and 340 is "reserved" for the US Virgin Islands as described above. I was also informed that the 1996 annual 809 Carrier's meeting will be held in June. This might be the *last* meeting known as the 809 meeting. My telephone and email contacts with the local Caribbean telcos told me that they would let me know of any additional details! (Bellcore's Numbering and TRA webpage can be reached at http://www.bellcore.com/NANP) MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497 WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497) Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail ------------------------------ From: BobS Subject: Re: ATT Free Internet Access Status? Date: 24 Apr 1996 09:55:18 GMT Organization: DataNet Communications Company - Olympia,WA tom@ssd.hcsc.com (Tom Horsley) wrote: (TEXT DELETED) anything of my software kit, so I'm just wondering if >anyone out there has actually gotten signed up for this and is using it? Yep! I am and have been for sometime now. Its the normal 'stuff' nothing special about it, you can use NS/IE..etc. Fact it evens works with MS new Mail/News software. > (You'd think if it was just a PPP connection, they'd let you sign-up > online and download just enough info to negotiate the login so you > wouldn't have to wait for them to mail out software). They could -- but you get a encrypted login ID/PW and IP. Best to call them and ask where is your copy ... Bob here ... ------------------------------ From: bkinch@ix.netcom.com (Bill Kinch) Subject: Re: ATT Free Internet Access Status? Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 11:19:32 GMT Organization: Netcom Reply-To: bkinch@ix.netcom.com tom@ssd.hcsc.com (Tom Horsley) wrote: > When AT&T announced their free internet access program, the press > releases said people who signed up would start getting their kits in > the mail around mid-March. Its now past mid-April, and I still haven't > seen anything of my software kit, so I'm just wondering if anyone out > there has actually gotten signed up for this and is using it? > If there are users out there, can you tell us if it is just a standard > PPP connection to a server? Or are there proprietary AT&T protocols > involved so you absolutely have to use their software? Or has no one > gotten it yet? (Or perhaps they are planning to have "shipping > difficulties" for the whole free access year, thus avoiding Sprint's > mistake with Free Fridays :-). > (You'd think if it was just a PPP connection, they'd let you sign-up > online and download just enough info to negotiate the login so you > wouldn't have to wait for them to mail out software). Most of the people I know who signed up shortly after it was announced, are now receiving their "Free" software. I installed mine last Sunday. You must install their software to begin. It came on a CD-ROM and there were no problems installing it. You must then go through an on-line registration process to set up your account. The only problems I have heard of concern other instances of 16-bit Netscape on the system including those that may be in Quicken or TurboTax. Once you are registered, you may use their (16-bit) version of Netscape, Eudora etc. or, if you have Windows 95, you may set up a DUN connection (instructions are on their home page) and use whatever 32-bit apps you desire. I am using Agent 32-99 and Netscape 2.01. I am trying out the 5 free hours to start. It seems OK so far, but I've been using it only a few days. I still do most of my work on my old ISP account. Bill Kinch Software Consultant ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 15:14:16 +0000 From: basavaraj patil Subject: Re: ATT Free Internet Access Status? Organization: Bell-Northern Research, Richardson, TX Barry Margolius, NYC (bfm@pobox.com) wrote: > I just received my AT&T Worldnet CDROM: I installed it last night. > There is a proprietary installation routine that uses a highly > stripped down version of Netscape to call what I believe is an AT&T > private Intranet purely for registration (thus avoiding exposing your > credit card on the public Internet). After that it installs a rather > normal version of Netscape 1.1 and Eudora. I'm told they use standard > PPP to connect, thought I've not had time to test this out yet. Their > install program creates a REG.INI file that has all the necessary > TCP/IP and login info. > I had to call twice for my software. There seems to be considerable > variability as to delivery of the software: some folks get it in a > week or two, while others take several weeks/months. I got my software about a month back (3.5" disks). Installation was no problem. However registration is a nightmare. The software dials an 800 number and then starts up a netscape session. The only problem is that it takes forever to complete the registration. I have left my machine running for more than an hour and still failed to complete the registration. I have given up on the worldnet service as it is next to impossible to get registered. :) Raj Patil ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 09:40:42 -0500 From: zev@wireless.attmail.com (zev) Subject: Re: Third Number Billing No Longer Being Verified? PAT wrote: > When I say 'national database' I mean that AT&T/Sprint/MCI/Bell telcos/ > LDDS/a few others consult this database and honor it. Some further background on this "database". It is actually a "distributed" database, in that there is not a single one, but many all over the country. Prior to breaking up AT&T (divestiture), the database that kept all of the necessary information was called the Billing Validation Application (BVA). The BVA had two types of information: calling card and Billed Number Screening (BNS). The BNS data included information on the phone to which the call was being billed. So, in the case of collect calls to a payphone, the BVA would indicate that the phone number being billed was not allowed to be billed for collect calls. The BVA was, again, a series of databases around the country that split all of the information by area code. AT&T's operator system switches would process calling card, collect and bill to third (B23) calls by collecting the billing information (either the calling card number or the collect or B23 number) from the calling party, and send a data query to the database via a high-speed packet network using a protocol called Signaling System 6 (SS6), which was a precursor to the current SS7 signaling system. This system uses Signaling Transfer Points (STPs) to route the queries to the appropriate database using the calling card or phone number as a routing destination. Hence, the BVAs could be segmented by area code, since back then all of the calling cards were phone-number based. Usually, only the first three digits of a number were enough to determine which BVA to send the query to. With divestiture, Judge Green required that the database be split up as well. However, the baby bells had no packet network infrastructure. So, he gave them seven years from divestiture to do so, and in the meantime the BVA became a "Shared Network Facility". AT&T managed the hardware and the network connections, and the local exchange companies (LECs) managed the data. Smaller LECs usually paid the larger regional bell company to manage their data for them. AT&T took care of adding new BVA databases as the number of phones and calling cards grew. When the time was up, the LECs (the 7 baby bells plus SNET, GTE) had developed (with Bellcore) their new databases: Line Information Data Bases (LIDBs). In addition, they had built SS7 network infrastructures. Each regional bell offered to store the smaller LEC data in their LIDB, just as they had previously managed that data in the BVA. In addition, the US Intelco company build a LIDB and an SS7 network to supply services to the smaller LECs. AT&T, in the meantime, built their own calling card database, as did Sprint and MCI. With this new infrastructure also came new business arrangements for honoring and billing calling card calls. Today, all of the LECs tend to honor all of the larger LD calling cards and vice versa, and to do so the networks are connected to eachother for sending those queries to the LIDB and card databases. Note, however, that MCI and Sprint implemented their card databases to be accessed via 800 dialing or by access code dialing (10XXX) in order to force the call to their networks. That is, for a local call, if you entered 0+ the called number, you would get the LEC bong tone and could enter either a LEC card or an AT&T card number. Hoever, to make a local call with the MCI or Sprint card, you would need to dial an 800 number or 10XXX to force the call to the MCI or Sprint operator services switch. I would agree with PAT that your serving LEC should agree to mark your numbers for free, but I suspect (groundlessly, I admit) that those many numbers are business numbers, and LECs tend to have a different (read: "higher") pricing structure for business customers vs. residence customers. You might try complaining to your local PUC. Zev Rubenstein zev@attmail.com Independent Telecommunications Consultant ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 12:37:06 CET From: shaw Subject: Re: FTP Sites With ITU Standards - Answers Needed on Documents > This begs the question of why -- since the ITU is an agency of the > United Nations, which is funded by the governments of the member > states -- there is *any* restriction on the redistribution of ITU > documents! This stuff should be free to the public. A fair question that comes up often and was somewhat explained by Mark Jefferies' earlier contribution to TELECOM Digest. However, to clarify: that there should be a charge for the standards is a policy set by the ITU's 185 Member governments who also consult with their national commercial and scientific members of the ITU. The ITU is bound by treaty to operate under that collective and consensus policy. If you wish to express your opinion on the policy, it is probably best for you to contact your national representative to the ITU who, probably in this specific case, is the Bureau of International Communications and Information Policy (CIP) at the US Department of State in Washington, D.C. Regards, Robert Shaw ITU [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The ITU has been for over two years a principal supporter and sponsor of this Digest. Their financial assistance along with that of Microsoft has made this journal possible. We all owe them thanks for their contribution. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison) Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Re: NYNEX "Time" Number is Wrong Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 01:15:55 -0800 Organization: Best Internet Communications In article , wes.leatherock@hotelcal.com (Wes Leatherock) wrote: > Monty Solomon writes: >> The NYNEX "Time" number (+1 617 637 1234) is reporting the incorrect >> time. It is fast by about 20 seconds. How do the phone companies set >> this time? Is this the same time used by the billing computers? > In most places in Southwestern Bell territory now, the time > service, being sponsored, now is on the premises of the sponsoring > customer and no longer under the direct control of SWBT. > When it was in SWBT offices, the time was represented as being > correct within two minutes. Of course, the Audichron machine had no > connection with the time used for billing. I don't know if this has changed, but when I was growing up in Dallas with Southwestern Bell, the time number (214-844-xxxx, where any xxxx would work) simply led to a recording stating: "Republic Bank time, 2:47, temperature 59" or what have you. It made no attempt at reporting seconds, so there was no way to tell if it was off unless it was at least a good fraction of a minute. When my parents moved to a suburb in GTE country, the same time number led to a different recording, but still didn't give seconds. I was quite pleasantly surprised to discover POP-CORN when I moved to California. Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Apr 96 13:13:45 CST From: Atkinson, Fred Subject: Re: Cellular Rates, NYC and elsewhere In TELECOM Digest V16 #169 Paul Robinson writes: > Think about it: people who get cellular phones are paying for what > is, in effect, a luxury item. Cellular phone service is not something > one "has" to have; one can always use other options. Luxuries are > always much more expensive. Especially in New York. I'll also disagree with you about a cellular phone being a luxury item. If you doubt my justification of the same, then you missed my story entitled 'intimidating cellular phone and a phony police officer' that ran in TELECOM Digest last week. Basically, the guy panicked and ran away from me when I called the police to come identify the matter solely because he saw I was actually calling them. Additionally, I got his tag number to them for investigation. I could have been calling for help to report a personal injury traffic accident or a felony in progress. You tend to see that more often when you're out driving than you do sitting by your telephone at home. No, I DON'T consider my cellular phone a luxury. Neither did the lady whom I called the police to aid her because she was broken down in I-95 earlier today. She was stranded in the median with two kids and needed help. Additionally, I have a handicapped friend who has one in her car. Imagine a handicapped person being broken down far from home and unable to walk the distance to get help. With a cell phone, she can get the assistance she might need and get it fast. It is definitely not a luxury to her, either. Fred ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #201 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri Apr 26 12:36:17 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id MAA01404; Fri, 26 Apr 1996 12:36:17 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 12:36:17 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199604261636.MAA01404@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #202 TELECOM Digest Fri, 26 Apr 96 12:36:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 202 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Pacific Bell To Consolidate Statewide Bill Processing (Mike King) FCC Proposes 5 GHz Spectrum (Bennett Z. Kobb) Tricked Into Switching (Paul D. Tidwell) Russians Killed Dudayev Through Satellite Phone! (Rishab Aiyer Ghosh) Junk Mail From Matrix Telecom "10% Savings Off ATT's Rates" (Robert Casey) Long Distance PIC Freeze and Telemarketing Termination (J.D. Craig) Sprint Keeps on Going and Going and Going (Nick Vora) "Heads Up" at Naval Ordnance Center (John B. Rose) S.C. to Get Third Area Code by 1998 (Stan Schwartz) Caller Choice Service in Alltel Carolina Service Area (Stan Schwartz) Need 1950 Telephone Book from California (Loring Fiske-Phillips) Bumper Sticker of the Day (Jack Unger) Last Laugh! Grandma Gets Obscene Phone Call (Richard Keith) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mike King Subject: Pacific Bell To Consolidate Statewide Bill Processing Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 12:32:49 PDT Forewarded to the Digest FYI: Date: Tue, 23 Apr 1996 14:15:00 -0800 From: Marcia.Flint@pactel.com (TELESIS.EA_SF_PO:Marcia Flint) Subject: NEWS: Pacific Bell To Consolidate Statewide Bill Processing Pacific Bell To Consolidate Statewide Bill Processing Services For Release: April 18, 1996 Contact: Dave Miller (Sacramento), (916) 972-2811 John Britton (Orange), (619) 237-2430 SACREMENTO -- Pacific Bell announced plans Thursday to consolidate its two existing bill processing centers into one location to streamline operations, improve efficiencies and expedite output. The consolidation, projected to be completed by the second quarter of 1997, will combine the company's Anaheim and Sacramento bill processing centers into one location in West Sacramento. "This is another example of a continuing company-wide effort to improve efficiencies, reduce costs and improve service," said Dan Hammalian, director of Pacific Bell's Statewide Bill Processing group. Hammalian said the project has been in the planning stages for the last year and is unrelated to the recent announcement of a merger between Pacific Telesis Group and SBC Communications, Inc. Pacific Bell's bill processing group distributes 14 million bills statewide per month. "We have a very large operation," Hammalian said. "We knew we could gain efficiencies and reduce duplication by centralizing in one location." The company plans to purchase new state-of -the art equipment that will streamline and automate many of the current printing and mail distribution processes. For instance, new high-speed printers will speed print processing by approximately 50 percent. And the installation of a conveyor belt system will smooth operations by eliminating the need to bring in envelopes and inserts by palette. Also, new postal qualification software will automatically sort bills into trays by zip code to speed up bill delivery to the U. S. Postal service. Hammalian said final staffing has not been determined, but it is expected that the consolidated center will employ a smaller labor force than the two existing centers. However, he said the regular employees from the two centers will have the opportunity to follow their work to the new West Sacramento site. Currently, Pacific Bell employs 122 employees at its Sacramento bill processing center and 80 in Anaheim. The Anaheim center will remain open up to 18 months after the consolidation with a scaled down staff to provide backup processing. "We've given employees as much advance notice as possible," Hammalian said. "They were told about a year ago that the company was considering a consolidation. Since that time, we've filled job openings with temporary employees so that fewer permanent employees will be affected by the consolidation." Hammalian said new work processes will be used at the new center and are being designed with employee assistance. "Our bill processing employees are helping us design these process improvements," he said. "That's a recognition of the fact that those who actually do the work know best where improvements can be made." The consolidation is the latest in a series of efforts by Pacific Bell's Statewide Bill Processing group to improve efficiencies and service. In June 1994, the group switched to a two-sided bill to lower costs and reduce paper, water and electricity usage. And in November 1995, the unit began using green payment envelopes made from old telephone directories and other recycled materials. Pacific Bell is a subsidiary of Pacific Telesis Group, a San Francisco-based diversified telecommunications corporation. ---------------- Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am suprised they are only leaving one center open instead of two. The reason is, if anything goes wrong at that center, it really puts the company in a bind as far as cash flow is concerned. I notice they say they are leaving the other site open for 'backup purposes' for about a year. Good thinking! It is an additional, but needed operation. PAT] ------------------------------ From: bkobb@newsignals.com (Bennett Z. Kobb) Subject: FCC Proposes 5 GHz Spectrum Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 23:35:59 -0400 Organization: Ebullient Nucleus Today the FCC proposed to provide 350 MHz at 5 GHz for unlicensed NII/SUPERNet devices for broadband wireless communications at short distances. The proposal is based on petitions by Apple Computer and by the Wireless Information Networks Forum (WINForum). Importantly, the proposal would not permit longer-range operations as requested by Apple. The FCC appears focused principally on wireless LANs for indoor use. A report including transcripts from the FCC public meeting and press conference is on the New Signals WWW site at: http://home.navisoft.com/nspi Bennett Kobb SpectrumGuide/America's Airwaves ------------------------------ From: eustidw@exu.ericsson.se (Paul D. Tidwell) Subject: Tricked Into Switching Date: 25 Apr 1996 17:03:38 GMT Organization: Ericsson, Inc. Reply-To: eustidw@exu.ericsson.se I was surprised to find that I had been switched to AT&T on may latest GTE phone bill. Apparently since March 19th, I have been using AT&T and didn't even know it. When I called GTE, they agreed to switch me back to my original carrier, but refused to credit my account the $4.48 IXC switching fee. "I would have to talk to AT&T about that," I was told. I called AT&T and asked how I got switched. The agent told me that I had probably entered a drawing at a grocery store somewhere. The fine print on the entry form explained that my IXC would be changed. I personnally have never filled out any type of entry form, but my wife says she has ... however not any regarding AT&T or phone service that she could recall. The agent at AT&T agreed that this was a sneaky way to do business but I would have to complain to the FCC if I wanted anything done about it. Since I don't have the FCC's address handy, I thought I would start by complaining to the general public and the readers of this news group. So be warned: AT&T, and probably others, has found new ways to trick you into switching. As for the $4.48 charge, AT&T is sending me a coupon to apply to my local phone bill. What a pain. Paul D. Tidwell [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This is an old, old story, and I have to wonder what even makes it newsworthy any longer. Still, it is important to note that *all* the carriers -- including AT&T -- still seem to be up to their tricks. PAT] ------------------------------ From: rishab@nntp1.best.com (Rishab Aiyer Ghosh) Subject: Russians Killed Dudayev Through Satellite Phone! Date: 25 Apr 1996 19:06:45 GMT Organization: Best Internet Communications A report datelined 24 April from Agence France Presse quotes Russian sources as saying that a satellite phone was used for homing in on Chechen separatist leadet Dzhokar Dudayev, who was blown up by rockets on Tuesday. Russian Interior Ministry sources said that Dudayev was tracked as he used a satellite phone; AFP reported unidentified experts as agreeing that the satellite could have tracked Dudayev while he was using the phone even when mobile. Scary if true. But I wonder why the satellite (what service wasn't mentioned -- if it was INMARSAT or some such, under what conditions did the Russians get hold of tracking data?) tracks location at all. If it is to focus the transmission beam (i.e. it doesn't use multiplexing) than I wonder how many phones it could track at a time. Surely it would make more sense to simply broadcast the downlink, or at least not focus it enough to offer a military target, as reception AFAIK need not require any tracking from the satellite. Rishab The Indian Techonomist - newsletter on India's information industry http://dxm.org/techonomist/ rishab@dxm.org Editor and publisher: Rishab Aiyer Ghosh rishab@arbornet.org Vox +91 11 6853410; 3760335; H 34 C Saket, New Delhi 110017, INDIA ------------------------------ From: wa2ise@netcom.com (Robert Casey) Subject: Junk Mail From Matrix Telecom "10% Savings Off ATT's LD" Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760) Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 18:55:05 GMT I recieved some junk mail from Matrix Telecom Inc advertising their "Instant Savings code (10xxx)". "It already exists on your phone line". "Save xx% to xx% on calls and (larger number)% in interna- tional faxes (I deleted the actual numbers to avoid giving this company a free advertisment, also deleted the three last digits of the 10xxx code for same reason). "You'll still get the same monthly phone bill and each LD call placed with your Instant Savings code will be shown on your bill next to the service name "Matrix". Just use the Code." It struck me strange that nowhere in this piece of mail was there a return address (not even a box number). It was postal meter "Fort Worth, TX" They did provide an 800 number though. Their claimed savings were compared with "AT&T FCC Tariff No 1. Does not include special calling plans." The whole thing just seemed to be ever so slightly misleading, but strictly speaking on the legal up and up. That is, they made a big deal out of using what appears to be ordinary 10xxx code usage, and gave it funny names "Instant Savings code". Far as I can tell, this service appears to have reasonable rates, not outragious, but nothing special eighter. Guess that's what advertising is all about, to make your ordinary product look great. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Some of those guys are sending out their advertisements in envelopes addressed to 'local telephone customer' and with a thing right on the envelope saying 'new dialing instructions/proceedures for your area enclosed' as though it was a change being made by telco. A tricky bunch of people ... PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 16:47:41 -0400 Subject: Long Distance PIC Freeze and Telemarketing Termination From: century1@usa.pipeline.com (JD Craig) Hello, I have been told that you can e-mail me with information related to how to properly request that AT&T, MCI, etc. stop calling me to switch my long distance telephone service. I would appreciate any help you can give me. Also, do you know about LEC PIC freeze instructions? Thanks in advance for your help. Stephen [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: To stop the calls, just hang the receiver in the middle of the call; even in the middle of a sentence. They'll get the idea eventually. To prevent changes in carrier, most telcos offer a thing where if you contact them, they will put a freeze on the line and all carrier changes have to be authorized by you to them in writing. They won't take instructions on this from any carrier. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Neeraj 'Nick' Vora Subject: Sprint Keeps on Going and Going and Going Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 23:44:33 -0400 Organization: Cambridge Technology Partners I was one of the lucky ones to receive a mailgram informing me that I had to send in a federal tax id, etc. otherwise I would lose my Fridays Free and Business Sense program. So I called and after a few minutes of conversation was hung up on by a supervisor. Anyway, a couple of days later my long distance access was cut off and it asked me to press "1" which of course I did. I put it on speakerphone, had dinner, watched TV (Ok, so maybe a slight exaggeration) but after approximatly 30 minutes got throught to an agent to whom I explained the situation and said "If necessary please switch me over to Sprint Sense, I need long distance regardless of what I have for the time being." She said it'd be on in a couple of hours. Then, just curious, I call residential customer service for rates only to be told that I'm a business customer and was transferred over to business customer service. The agent assured me that everything was fine that I was on Business Sense and Free Fridays. Not wanting to get burnt I explained the receipt of the mailgram and the ensuing conversation and my inability (being a one person business from home) to provide articles of incorporation etc. she assured me, once again, not to worry and to remember that "all your calls on Friday are completely Free even on your FonCard." At this point I thanked her and hung up. Friday rolls around and I call business customer service to verify my status and am assured that everythings okay and that all calls on Friday are Free. So, I make calls. Today I received a letter from Mr. Robin Loyd dated April 17, 1996 via Priority Mail (I know they aren't the quickest, but seven days?!) "confirming that my Business Sense and Free Fridays program has been cancelled effective March 28, 1996" and all calls after that will be billed at Sprint Sense rates including calls on Fridays. HAH!!! Talk about a SCAM!!! OK, So I know I don't want to pay these charges what's the best thing for me to do?!!! HELP, would be most appreciated!? Somebody do something about them ... [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What's being done now by many or most of the customers who have been lied to or defrauded by Sprint is they are simply withholding *all payments* at this time. In other words, they are putting a complete freeze on paying anything to Sprint until the company confirms *in writing* exactly what is going on, and arranges to correct all errors in billing, etc. I cannot stress this enough: if you are a Sprint customer who has been burned by Sprint and its representatives, the company is *never* going to respond to you in a satisfactory way as long as you keep just sending in the money they claim is due. *Stop making all payments to Sprint now* and wait until they get in touch with you, which they will do. Then let them know you have put a hold on them until you are able to contact Robin Loyed who thus far has refused to accept or return phone calls regarding Sprint's unilaterally cancelling out customer contracts; their complete termin- ation of your long distance service (if that occurred), etc. Do not accept their *verbal* assurances on anything. You need it all in writing at this point. It might be a good idea at this point also to send them registered mail letting them know it is imperative that they get in contact with you, in order to clear up misunderstandings and so that you can authorize payment of their invoices *at the earlier agreed upon rate*. If they attempt to hassle you or pressure you into paying their bogus invoices by using a collection agency -- good! Then it goes straight to the Federal Trade Commission. You are not legally required to pay invoices in dispute. At this point I feel there needs to be tremendous pressure applied to Sprint to get them to conform with their own advertising and contracts, etc. We are still trying to establish contact with Robin Loyed are we not, at 214-405-5404? PAT] ------------------------------ From: cables@hamptons.com (John B. Rose) Subject: "Heads Up" at Naval Ordnance Center Date: 26 Apr 1996 03:58:59 GMT Organization: Rose Business Systems Inc. Reply-To: cables@hamptons.com (John B. Rose) Hi, Pat -- The following was forwarded via my cousin, a civilian employee at the Navy Dept in Washington. -Rgds- John Baker Rose (cables@hamptons.com) FOR ALL DIRECTORATE/PEO/DRPM/WC/HRC ADMIN OFFICERS... The following "heads up" was provided to us by the Naval Ordnance Center (NOC) for information. It is noted that our Merlin telephone system does provide protection from the transfer aspect, however, there remains some risk of a recall. Concentration of this telephone scam is going on in Southern Maryland and NCIS is involved in this matter. Please readdress as appropriate. R/Andria Author: SMITH_CATHERINE at P-NAVORDCEN Date: 4/23/96 10:45 AM URGENT.....URGENT.....URGENT.....URGENT.....URGENT.....URGENT If you get requests from anyone saying they are from AT&T, Bell Atlantic, etc., testing the telephone lines and they ask you to transfer to or recall to 900#, DO NOT DO IT. JUST HANG UP. This is a scam that started this past weekend at NSWC IHDiv and NAVORDCEN HQ and has continued into the work week. The 900# transfers the individual to an international operator and then we are charged accordingly with the telephone charges. ------------------------------ From: Stan Schwartz Subject: S.C. to Get Third Area Code by 1998 Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 00:05:05 -0400 This first appeared in December, 1995, yet the NANP site still doesn't show an assignment for the 843 NPA. By KIM CURTIS, Associated Press With South Carolina's second area code, 864, barely in place in Upstate, plans are already in the works to add a third. Fifteen primarily coastal counties would be affected by the change, which would take place in early 1998. With fast-paced growth in areas like Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head Island, another area code will be necessary, said Ed Clement, executive director of the South Carolina Telephone Association. The association made its proposal to the Public Service Commission on Tuesday. Clement said the commission was receptive to the idea, and he expects its approval. Whether the commission approves the plan, Bellcore has the final say. Bellcore is a private company that administers the North American Numbering Plan and assigns new area codes. New area codes use two through nine in the middle digit. This format creates 640 new area codes and five billion telephone numbers. If all goes smoothly, South Carolina's new area code will be 843 and it will go into effect in April 1998 with mandatory use beginning in September of that year. The third area code should provide enough phone numbers to last until 2010, Clement said. Even with the addition of the 864 area code, it's still not enough to cover the growing need for phone lines from equipment like computers and fax machines. The counties affected by the proposed change are Chesterfield, Marlboro, Darlington, Dillon, Marion, Florence, Horry, Georgetown, Williamsburg, Berkeley, Dorchester, Charleston, Colleton, Beaufort and Jasper. ------------------------------ From: Stan Schwartz Subject: Caller Choice Service in Alltel Carolina Service Area Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 00:01:51 -0400 This is from the {Union Observer} in North Carolina. Interesting to note the "Caller Choice" service that ELIMINATES 1+10D dialing for local calls across NPA lines and converts it to 10D only. WHY??? Stan EXPANDED PHONE SERVICE IN WAXHAW GIVES 5,000 CUSTOMERS MORE OPTIONS Friday, March 29, 1996 Section: UNION (North Carolina) OBSERVER Page: 2U By STEVE LYTTLE, Staff Write Officials at Alltel Carolina plan to turn a switch Saturday that will bring a number of new services to about 5,000 Waxhaw-area telephone customers. Alltel will turn on its new digital switch for the Waxhaw area, enabling customers to use Caller ID, Call Return, Repeat Dialing and Call Trace. The customers are those with the 843 exchange. In addition, customers can use Alltel's Message Center voice-mail service. Waxhaw is the last area in Union County to receive these services, which were introduced in the past two years to Alltel customers in the Hemby Bridge-Indian Trail and Marshville-Wingate areas. GTE, which serves the rest of Union County, also has offered the services for several years. "The new system we're installing will be the most advanced in the market today," said Warren Caldwell, Alltel's vice-president of operations. "It will help us identify problems before they become apparent to the customer, as well as improve the quality of their telephone service," Caldwell added. Also available in Waxhaw, starting Saturday, is Caller Choice. This service offers an automatic 50 percent discount on some long-distance calls. With Caller Choice, customers in the Waxhaw area no longer will need to dial a 1 when calling phone exchanges near Waxhaw in South Carolina. They only need to dial the area code (803) and the seven-digit phone number. Alltel Carolina serves more than 162,000 customers in North Carolina. Its service area in Union County includes Waxhaw, Indian Trail, Hemby Bridge, Wingate and Marshville. ------------------------------ From: loring@pobox.com (Loring Fiske-Phillips) Subject: Need 1950 Telephone Book From California Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 21:47:24 -0700 Organization: Me, Myself and I I am working on a scavenger hunt and one of the items I need is a telephone book from the year 1950. It can be for any city in California, and the front cover needs to be intact. I realize that anyone who still has such a thing probably has a sentimental attachment to it. I only need to borrow it for a few days, and I'll pay postage both ways (insured if you wish). I'll even pick it up if you live in Southern California. If you can help with this odd request, please let me know at loring@pobox.com. Thank you! Loring Fiske-Phillips ------------------------------ From: junger@netcom.com (Jack Unger) Subject: Bumper Sticker of the Day Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 18:29:41 GMT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD AUCTION OFF ALL WIRELESS FREQUENCIES TO THE BIG TELEPHONE COMPANIES Jack Unger K6XS (junger@netcom.com) Advertisement: Wireless InfoNet designs, installs, and supports wireless WANs, and high-speed wireless Internet access. (408) 335-2439 Social Comment: A gun, in a moment of anger, turns a "law-abiding" citizen into a criminal. ------------------------------ From: LNUSTC1.ZZ7HLW@gmeds.com Subject: Last Laugh! Grandma Gets Obscene Phone Call Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 22:05:05 -0400 Several years ago my 85 year old mother received a random obscene phone call. As she tells it the caller made several lewd sexual suggestions which caused my mother to laugh responding to the caller with, "Boy has it been a long time since I've tried anything like THAT!" she told the caller that she was quite flattered being 85 years old she didn't get propositioned like that anymore. Being a Sunday school teacher she has an interest in children so she asked this youngster how old he was. He told her he was 25 but after some more conversation he admitted to being only 12. He then went on to tell her that he was lonely because his mother was always working and he did these phone calls for something to do. She talked with this young man for several more minutes, and he apologized for making the call. My mother told him that when he got lonely to call her and she would be glad to visit with him whenever he wanted. He did call back on several occaisions after this. Richard Keith lnustc1.zz7hlw@gmeds.com ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #202 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri Apr 26 14:07:14 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id OAA09805; Fri, 26 Apr 1996 14:07:14 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 14:07:14 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199604261807.OAA09805@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #203 TELECOM Digest Fri, 26 Apr 96 14:07:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 203 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: No More 10-ATT-0 (Alan Toscano) Re: No More 10-ATT-0 (Michael D. Adams) Operations and Maintainence Philosophies for NBST (Anthony Spiering) Need Help With Internetmci.com (Barry Mishkind) MCI Offers $500.00 For Free LD Usage (bradbs@aol.com) Can I Cash This Check From LD Company? (Henoch Duboff) Re: CompuServe Called "Indecent" by Family Association (Declan McCullagh) Re: Why is PacBell Trying to Torpedo CallerID? (Rich Greenberg) Re: Why is PacBell Trying to Torpedo CallerID? (Lynne Gregg) Re: Why is PacBell Trying to Torpedo CallerID? (Henry Baker) Last Laugh! Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures (USA Today via readers) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 15:26:15 GMT From: Alan Toscano Subject: Re: No More 10-ATT-0 What appears to be happening is that one or more (or maybe all) of the Mutual Honoring Agreements between AT&T and LECs regarding Calling Card verification and billing, expire on 4/30/96. As a result, calls dialed 0+ may no longer be able to be charged to an AT&T card. To keep things simple, AT&T is instructing its customers to always dial through 800-CALL-ATT, but many other methods will continue to work. Notwithstanding illegal interception/splashing, blocking, and other COCOT/AOS tricks, you should be able to continue to place 10288-0+ calls as always. On the other hand, if you've been using an LEC calling card to place calls over the AT&T network, you might soon be out-of-luck! Alan Toscano 5090 Richmond Ave, Box 212 Houston, TX 77056-7402 Phone: 1 500 HI-ALAN-T ------------------------------ From: mda@triskele.com (Michael D. Adams) Subject: Re: No More 10-ATT-0 Date: 25 Apr 1996 19:35:25 GMT Organization: nil turner7@pacsibm.org (TUrner-7) writes: > Per Mark's post about operator interception of calling card calls ... > Calling card fraud is a big problem, especially to certain places. > Thieves watch phone booths in busy areas (airports, train stations, > esp in places like NYC) and copy down calling card numbers. These > numbers are then used to sell calls for poor immigrants. > When entering your calling card in a public phone, try to block the > view of your dialing to prevent theft of the number. An interesting twist on this ... When I received my Sprint bill a day or two ago, included was this notice: Sprint wants to protect you from fradulent international calls on your FONCARD. Beginning in April 1996, your card will be restricted from international calling. If you plan to make international FONCARD calls, call Customer Service. Michael D. Adams Baltimore, MD mda@triskele.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 20:05:20 +1000 From: Anthony Spiering Subject: Operation and Maintainence Philosophies for NBST Hello Pat, I am after some general information on the structure of operations and maintenance of narrowband switching technology. I am not after specifics or confidential information but I would like to know the general trends and philosophies driving narrow band switching maintenance for telco's who are full service providers in the USA. My questions are: Q1 Is the maintenance trend moving towards centralised structure or decentralised structure? Q2 What would be the average number of lines per maintenance centre (eg 1 million)? Q3 What would be the average number of staff for such a centre? Q4 How are software changes implemented (major/minor)? Are they done remotely or locally? What is the level of vendor participation in software changes? (Does the vendor supply and install the package or does the vendor supply and the telco test and install) Q5 Do maintenance staff have expertise across various switching technologies? Q6 What would be the average number of lines per node for digital switched, what would be the maximum number of lines for any one node? Q7 What is that ratio of analog switched (ie cross bar) verses digital switched (AXC)? Q8 How are routing data changes implemented in the network (ie are they generated by hand or machine) and how are the loaded? Any comment on the effectiveness on how they feel they operate currently. Regards, Anthony Spierings as029@powerup.gov.au (Play) as029@seqeb.gov.au (Work) ------------------------------ From: Barry Mishkind Subject: Need Help With Internetmci.com Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 23:29:28 -0700 Organization: The Eclectic Engineer It seems that MCI's efforts to be important in the internet game continue to fall very short of that to which I would want to subscribe. Not too long ago, I wrote to relate how postmaster@mcimail.com was essentially directed to /dev/nul -- not answered -- regardless of the claims of supervisors whom you could reach. In the end, I did get a nice note from a "real supervisor" who acknowledged the problems, and suggested they were in process of being fixed. (In fact, during the current trouble, I actually got a reply from postmaster@mcimail.com, although the content was: "internetmci.com is another division.") In any event, this MCI division is following the same path. I have been receiving (as many folk with mailing lists have been) a lot of bounce messages from internetmci. However, I don't see anything there to identify the account that is bouncing. The message is barely English, and contains this extremely informative sort of gibberish: > Delivery attempt history for your mail: > > Mon, 22 Apr 1996 07:35:59 EDT > 109L8GEJCVEL: %MAIL-E-OPENOUT, error opening !AS as output > -RMS-E-CRE, ACP file create failed > -SYSTEM-F-EXDISKQUOTA, disk quota exceeded > > Sat, 20 Apr 1996 17:23:13 EST > 109L8GEJCVEL: %MAIL-E-OPENOUT, error opening !AS as output > > Sat, 20 Apr 1996 01:10:10 EST > 109L8GEJCVEL: %MAIL-E-OPENOUT, error opening !AS as output > > Fri, 19 Apr 1996 20:05:23 EST > 109L8GEJCVEL: %MAIL-E-OPENOUT, error opening !AS as output You'll notice there is nothing to indicate who sent the mail. There is only the header from the mailing list prepended to this stuff. I've tried calling MCI. I've tried their press office, where a nice person actually tried to help, giving me a phone number in VA where the "supervisor for internetmci" had his office. Unfortunately, he is no longer in that position. The press lady did get me to the next chairholder, a John Scarborough, but the best I could get there is voice mail (maybe this guy is doing vacation relief for Robin Loyed?). After more than two days, there has not been a return call nor email message. Email to MCI's comments section of their web page returns this cheery note: "MCI's Electronic Customer Service has received your request. We will respond shortly with an E-Mail summary of the actions taken on your request." Unfortunately, there is apparently no one home there. Again, well over two days have passed without further contact. Email to postmaster@internetmci.com is apparently ignored. In fact, this afternoon, I got this wonderful item: Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 22:38:20 -0400 (EDT) From: PMDF Mail Server Subject: Undeliverable mail: Processing failure To: barry@broadcast.net These addresses were rejected: postmaster@internetmci.com not found in directory Return-path: barry@broadcast.net .... So, apparently, the solution to my two week-long requests for help (escalating in verbal intensity, I must admit) was for internetmci to simply unplug "postmaster"... I'd hate to have to delete all mailing list users who have internetmci.com as their domain, but does anyone else have an alternative solution to my receiving several dozen useless bounce messages from internetmci??? Thanks much, Barry Mishkind Tucson, AZ http://www.broadcast.net/~barry [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There really is not much you can do short of taking the action you described and removing all the names. Then, you let the ones who are alive and active and still interested in getting your publication write back to you and complain when they are not seeing anything. At that point you ask them if they can possibly receive your mail via some other location. I did the same thing, and got rid of them all at one point. Now I have only two names on my list from there. Bear in mind also, its not like they were as cooperative and friendly as (for example) Compuserve or even AOL where internet e-journal moderators/list maintainers have been able at times to cut deals of their own with the administration as I have done. Both of those services receive *huge* amounts of mail from me for their subscribers, all of whom are required to pay CIS/AOHELL good sums of money each month. That being the case, that I effectively generate some money for those services means I want a small piece of the action. If you charge, then I charge. End of discussion. I am not referring to the small ISPs getting $15 per month for unlimited use and all that. I mean the big guys. MCI on the other hand has never done anything for me; to the contrary over the years it has been difficult at times to work with them. Remember a few years ago when mcimail.com used to take any letter with multiple addresses and if any single address was bad, they would junk it all and not deliver to the other addressees either? When InternetMCI had that press conference at the time of their start up and announced how they would be including all the Usenet news groups and mailing lists, etc for their subsribers I tried to call in and ask Vint Cerf what did they plan to do for the moderators whose work they were in effect ripping off and reselling ... I got no answer then and still have none now; so unlike yourself with some concern about what to do other than remove all the names at that site, I am not quite so concerned. I just flow with the tide. If it ever gets as bad as it was with mcimail.com prior to them upgrading their system, then I'll just alias-out the site and forget it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: bradbs@aol.com (Bradbs) Subject: MCI Offers $500.00 For Free LD Usage Date: 25 Apr 1996 18:09:18 -0400 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Reply-To: bradbs@aol.com (Bradbs) MCI has called my office and offered us up to $500 to switch. The $500 is in the form of a certificate and can be used on any month I choose. Has anyone heard of this offer? What are the draw backs? Can I use the free long distance and then switch to another carrier afterward? Please email any information to Bradbs@aol.com Thanks, Brad [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Read the contract terms carefully as printed on the certificate or anything you are expected to sign. If there is no time limit on the certificate then I guess you can, but watch your bills closely for any sign of deceptiveness by MCI. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hd@chai.com (Henoch Duboff) Subject: Can I Cash This Check From LD Company? Date: 25 Apr 1996 23:20:34 GMT Organization: CHAI.COM Hello. I had switched from one long-distance company to another a little while back. Since then, I have received a "check" from the old company, which appears to be a real check, except that: 1. I must call a 1-800 number to obtain a code to be written on the face of the check to validate it, and 2. The back reads "VOID IF ALTERED." There is a statement on the back which indicates that by my endorsing this check, I authorize my local telco to switch my LD company. My question is, first of all, is this legal, given banking regulations? Can I cross out that stuff and still cash the check, even though the check indicates I must have a validation # written on it and it is void if altered? (Is this a legitimate restriction to place on a check?) Thanks, Henoch Duboff hd@chai.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It is legal, and whether you call that phone number or make any changes on the back side of the check as soon as you cash it you WILL be converted to 'that carrier'. However if the check is 'improperly endorsed' the carrier might decide to refuse to pay on it and it would be returned to your bank as 'stop payment' or 'refer to maker'. Furthermore, tampering with the indicia on any negotiable instrument is a rather grey area legally. If the check was large enough, the carrier might decide to make a stink. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 22:53:06 EDT From: Declan B. McCullagh Subject: Re: CompuServe Called "Indecent" by Family Association Excerpts from netnews.comp.dcom.telecom: 24-Apr-96 CompuServe Called "Indecent.. by John Shaver EMETF@huachu > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: ... Now that is going way to far, to claim > that Compuserve is indecent. Admittedly, some of the chat rooms are > pretty raunchy, but over all, CIS is *not* an indecent service. PAT] One of the many problems with the CDA is that its "indecency" standard doesn't take into account if the material, taken as a whole, has redeeming social, literary, artistic, or political value. In fact, material that courts have held to be "indecent" includes some of the best poetry of this century: Allen Ginsberg's "Howl." This is what the CDA will criminalize, if Pat posts such "indecent" material publicly here in the TELECOM Digest. In the case the {San Jose Mercury News} covered, the American Family Association (AFA) is posturing for publicity, and nothing more. Thanks entirely to the efforts of the ACLU, the DoJ is prevented from enforcing either the "indecent" or "patently offensive" provisions of the CDA until the Philadelphia court decides. No matter what the AFA would like, the DoJ ain't investigating nobody right now. It's interesting to consider the history of the AFA, which is the most virulent "family values" organization involved in the fight for the CDA. Less than a week after Clinton signed the bill into law, the AFA screamed that the CDA "will never work" unless ISPs are subject to additional liability for "indecent" content. Some background: The AFA, headed by the Reverend Donald Wildmon, is based in Tupelo, Mississippi. Wildmon started out as a morality crusader in 1977 by founding the National Federation for Decency and attacking local video stores. Nearly twenty years later, he's still at it, but the AFA has transformed into a $5 million/year powerhouse with a claimed 425,000 members in 560 local branches. Now his biggest campaign is against Disney, though he's taken on Holiday Inn and Blockbuster Video at times. Along the way, Wildmon sparked many a "cultural war," starting in 1989 by attacking the National Endowment for the Arts -- adopting Robert Mapplethorpe as the AFA poster boy, of sorts. Wildmon also attacked Martin Scorsese's Last Temptation of Christ and is affiliated with (as a former Steering Committee member) the Coalition on Revivial, a fundamentalist reconstructionist group. Reconstructionists advocate the death penalty for abortionists and practicing homosexuals -- by stoning, if possible. The CDA is just the latest gambit by the theocratic right groups who want desperately to impose their own social agenda on the rest of the country. Declan Harvey Silverglate on Allen Ginsberg and indecency: http://fight-censorship.dementia.org/dl?num=390 American Family Association cries for more ISP liability: http://fight-censorship.dementia.org/dl?num=1337 Excerpts from outbox: 24-Apr-96 Re: CompuServe Called "Inde.. by => O. News@andrew.cmu > Mississippi. Wildmon started out as a morality crusader in 1977 by > founding the National Federation for Decency and attacking local video > stores. Whoops! My mistake. Wildmon started out by attacking _network TV_, especially pornographic programs like "Charlie's Angels" and "Three's Company." Declan ------------------------------ From: richgr@netcom.com (Rich Greenberg) Subject: Re: Why is PacBell Trying to Torpedo CallerID? Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 03:42:42 GMT In article , Jon Krueger wrote: > Unless I very much miss my guess, the ads that PacBell is taking out, > while mandated by the CPUC, are designed and intended by PacBell to > get people to enable blocking. > Their ads are all the scare hot buttons, e.g. "Your phone, your > choice, your privacy." They run big scare headlines e.g. "your phone > number will be given out automatically each time you make a call -- > unless you block it." They make the case against callerID ("you may > not want sales people saving or selling your number") but present > nothing of the case for it. The words "harassing" or "annoying" call, > for instance, appear nowhere in the ad. Nor is a single instance of a > positive use of CallerID given. They portray the caller's point of > view, never that of the person getting the call. They never mention > that blocking won't block to 800 or 900 numbers, never has, and never > will. (This from yesterday's SF Chron full page ad; I think they had > enough space to talk about it :-) > The aim is not to inform, but to advocate. CPUC made them warn people > about the brave new world, but again, unless I miss my guess, the > slant in the ads was exclusively a decision of PacBell. [snip] Here in Los Angeles, I see the same ad in the {LA Times} two or three times a week. Also on the radio ad nausium. As Jon says, the ads do seem to be encouraging blocking. Apparently, either the print and radio ads were written by the CPUC or were a joint PacTel/GTE effort. The ones from GTE and Pa Bell are identical except for the company name in bottom corner of the print ads or the end of the radio ad, with a different 800 number to be called to ask for blocking. I don't know about TV ads, I hardly ever turn mine on. Rich Greenberg N6LRT TinselTown, USA Play: richgr@netcom.com 310-649-0238 Pacific time. I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67 Canines: Val(Chinook,CGC), Red(Husky,(RIP)), Shasta(Husky) ------------------------------ From: Lynne Gregg Subject: Re: Why is PacBell Trying to Torpedo CallerID? Date: Fri, 26 Apr 96 02:37:00 PDT jpk@ns.incog.com (Jon Krueger) wrote: > My inference is that PacBell is trying to get enough people to block > that most numbers will be blocked, thus rendering CallerID service > unattractive. > What difference does it make to PacBell? It will make a BIG difference in customer satisfaction to PacBell, since they intend to sell Caller ID service. My guess is that those ads had to pass CPUC scrutiny. I think what CPUC and PacBell are trying to do (ok, maybe OVER-do) is make the option to block number presentation very OBVIOUS to all California consumers. I agree with you, Jon, this emphasis will undoubtedly encourage many more consumers to go ahead and opt for Per Line Blocking, thus impairing the Caller ID service that is ultimately sold. Caller ID is a great service. The people who pay for it and receive many inbound calls appreciate it as a tool for call screening and prioritization. Customers are paying to see a number, not "ANONYMOUS" or "OUT of AREA" appear on their displays. Regards, Lynne ------------------------------ From: hbaker@netcom.com (Henry Baker) Subject: Re: Why is PacBell Trying to Torpedo CallerID? Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 18:33:07 GMT In article , jpk@ns.incog.com (Jon Krueger) wrote: > If this is the case, the mystery is why? What difference does it make > to PacBell? It's just another add-on for a fee. If anything, you'd > think they'd want to sell it, since they don't charge for blocking, > but do charge for CallerID. So why are they trying to torpedo it? > I'm sorry, but I don't think PacBell has become a privacy crusader all > of a sudden. What's really going on here? Perhaps PacBell is just as tired of government/regulatory mandates as everyone else. Perhaps PacBell agrees that 'complete blocking' should have been the default, and that anyone wanting to change could then change at their option, instead of being railroaded. The major problem with caller ID, IMHO, is that the benefits for the consumer are extremely slight, while the advantages for telemarketers and other time-wasters are very great. If only some small fraction of this effort could be redirected towards something useful -- e.g., ISDN or HDSL for each of our subscriber lines. www/ftp directory: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/hb/hbaker/home.html ------------------------------ From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 07:51:56 EDT Subject: Last Laugh! Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I got a dozen copies of this in the mail over the past few days. PAT] Allen's Telephone & Tool Belt >From USA TODAY, DATE: 04/19/96 By Kevin Maney Sometime in 1999: ``Hello. This is Bell Atlantic-Nynex-MCI-TCI-America Online customer service. May I help you?'' ``Yes, I'd like to report a problem with my telephone.'' ``Our records show you don't have local phone service through us.'' ``How'd you know who I am? I didn't give you my name.'' ``We have ways.'' ``Well, I'm pretty sure you have my phone service.'' ``Our records show you have long-distance, cellular, satellite TV, Internet access and your MasterCard through us. Your phone service must be through one of the other three big communications companies. Have you looked at your bill?'' ``My bill is 134 pages long.'' ``Oh, you're one of our light users. But we'd be happy to become your local phone provider. If you sign up, you get one-third off long-distance calls made on your cellular phone to friends and family members who have an Internet home page.'' ``It's tempting, but I just want my phone fixed.'' ``Fine, sir. Just a reminder: Next time you need to contact us, try our Internet site. And when you get there, you can sign up for a free showing, through your satellite TV system, of Hamlet starring Bell Atlantic-Nynex-MCI-TCI-America Online CEO Ray Smith.'' ``Thanks. Goodbye.'' Click. Dial. Ring. ``Good morning! This is SBC-Pacific Telesis-Sprint-GTE-Little Caesars.'' ``Little Caesars? You do pizza?'' ``You buy it over phone lines. It's content. Would you like one? You get a medium with two toppings when you order HBO on cable.'' ``Uh, no. I called because my phone line isn't working right.'' ``I see. Do you have your phone over your cable line or do you have your phone over a phone line.'' ``A phone line, I think.'' ``OK, then that's not SBC-Pacific Telesis-Sprint-GTE-Little Caesars. My file shows that you get cable TV and video games on demand from us, but in your area, we only offer phone service over cable lines. If you use a phone line, it must be one of the other companies.'' ``Thanks. I'll call them.'' ``And sir? We're testing some new products in your area. We're offering electric service and natural gas service for 10% less than the public utilities. One-stop shopping. We want to provide you with everything that comes into your house and connects to a device or appliance.'' ``No, thanks. Bye.'' Click. Dial. Ring. ``Hello. Endorphin Enterprises.'' ``I'm sorry. I must have dialed the wrong number.'' ``You're probably in the right place. We just changed our name. We used to be US West-UUNet-Universal Pictures-Ameritech, but that got pretty cumbersome. I guess they wanted to call it UUUUSA, but then decided to start fresh. So we're Endorphin Enterprises.'' ``Clever.'' ``Personally, I thought we should call ourselves Youse Guys. Get it?'' ``Yeah, that's good. Um, I was calling because my phone line doesn't seem to work right.'' ``Ohhhhh. What services do you have with us?'' ``I'm not sure.'' ``We offer everything: local, long-distance, cellular, cable TV, satellite TV, Internet access, music on demand and so on. But so does everybody else these days.'' ``Yes, well, it's gotten a little confusing. I've already called those two other companies with long names.'' ``Oh, right. OK, see, it looks like you don't have anything at all with us. Now, we could make your life easier by giving you all the services so you'd know who to call. Except in your area, we only offer movies on demand over the Internet, so that could be a problem.'' ``No, really, I just want to get my phone fixed.'' ``My guess is you must have your local phone service through AT&T. That's the only other company left in the business.'' ``OK, I'll try AT&T.'' Click. Dial. Ring. ``Hello. AT&T. Bob Allen speaking.'' ``Bob Allen? The chairman? I'm sorry. I wanted customer service.'' ``No problem. Hold on a moment.'' Pause. Rustling sounds.``Hello. Customer service. Bob Allen speaking.'' ``Mr. Allen, I really just wanted customer service.'' ``This is it. We spun off everything but my office. It goes totally against the megamerger trend. Our shareholders love it. I'm getting paid $55 billion this year.'' ``Well, sir, my phone line doesn't work right, and I think I need someone to come fix it.'' ``Be right there, as soon as I can find my tool belt.'' ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #203 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon Apr 29 10:57:32 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id KAA09087; Mon, 29 Apr 1996 10:57:32 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 10:57:32 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199604291457.KAA09087@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #204 TELECOM Digest Mon, 29 Apr 96 10:57:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 204 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Russian Dial; Other International Items (Mark J. Cuccia) Re: Russians Killed Dudayev Through Satellite Phone! (Linc Madison) Re: Russians Killed Dudayev Through Satellite Phone! (Leonard Erickson) Re: Russians Killed Dudayev Through Satellite Phone! (Alistair Knox) Re: Russians Killed Dudayev Through Satellite Phone! (Gary Breuckman) Re: Russians Killed Dudayev Through Satellite Phone! (Marvin Kurtti) Supercomm '96 Approaching - Plan to Attend (Gordon Ray) Opinion Poll: Online Censorship (Arun Sharma) Re: ATT Free Internet Access Status? (Phil Stanley) US 1-800 Number Access From Japan (Collin Park) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 28 Apr 1996 19:34:33 CDT From: Mark J Cuccia Subject: Russian Dial; Other International Items I found copies of several articles from {Bell Laboratories Record} magazine from the 1960's and 70's regarding International and Overseas Telephony. They are as follows: Overseas Dialing - a Step Toward Worldwide Telephony, July 1961, by O. Myers and C. A. Dahlbom Switching International Calls via Submarine Cable, July/Aug. 1964, by J. Becker and R. D. Deming Signaling Systems - an International Concern, Jan. 1970, by G. H. Johannessen Overseas Dialing - Yesterday, Today and Tommorrow, May 1970, by L. J. Scott International Dialing - No Longer a Novelty, Jan. 1979, by R. J. Keevers The 1961 and May 1970 articles give some examples of dial layouts used in various countries. An article on international signaling formats in the {Bell System Technical Journal} circa 1960 also gives similar dialface examples. In the dialface layouts in these articles, the old Danish dial shows a single letter 'C' on the 'one' digit, nothing on the 'zero', and two symbols on the 'nine' digit. The 'AE' as a "single combined" symbol was one of the two letters on the 'nine' digit and the "slashed 'O'" was the other. I'm not all that familiar with Germanic and Scandinavian dialects, etc., so I'm not sure if the "slashed 'O'" and the "single combined" 'OE' have the same use. A sketch of the old Russian dialface using letters of the "Cyrillic" alphabet was shown in the May 1970 article. Since I am typing in US ASCII, it might be a bit difficult to more precisely describe or represent the Cyrillic lettering here. (Please read the following in a "fixed-font" mode). 1 - A ("ah"); 'alpha' _ 2 - b ("beh"); looks like lower-case 'b' with horizontal bar on top; 'beta' 3 - B ("veh"); another 'beta' _ 4 - | ("geh"); 'gamma' _ 5 - / | ("deh"); similar to 'delta' --- ' ` 6 - E ("yeh"); 'epsilon' 7 - >|< ("jeh"); similar to 'psi' 8 - |/| ("ee"); similar to 'eta'; looks like an 'N' reversed or flipped 9 - K ("kah"); 'kappa' _ 0 - / | ("el"); similar to 'lambda' There was also a picture of a Chinese dial at the beginning of this 1970 article. It had standard Arabic numbering running from one thru nine, and then zero (at ten dialpulses), but also had some Chinese symbols -- single symbols associated with each of the ten numericals. I don't know whether these symbols were Chinese numericals or alphabetical/pictoral symbols from the Chinese alphabet. The Arabian and Persian dials were also shown. They didn't have any type of letters, but the numericals were more of the origianl Arabian or Persian numbers, and both the Arabian and Persian dials were quite similar. Also, both of them had the numbers (and dialpulses) in the more familar way- one thru nine, and then zero (at ten dialpulses). All of these {Bell Labs Record} articles also dealt with various technical and interconnection standards of international and overseas telephony. The 1979 article also had a picture of an Operator's position at the Bell System (AT&T Long Lines) "International Operating Center" in Pittsburgh PA. The particular operator position shown had *BOTH* a cordboard and keyshelf *AND* TOPS-like equipment. There were *two* TOPS-like Video Display Terminals associated with each position- both display screens were at each side of the operator's position flush with the bottom of the cordboard, angled-in somewhat to the operator. A TOPS-like keyboard was close by the operator, in front of the old toggle keyswitches area. TOPS keyboards have been *quite* similar to standard computer keyboards. The numerical keypad is to the right of the "alpha/symbol" keyboard on TOPS, just like most computer keyboards. On TOPS, the keyboard portion had *operator functions* associated with the keys rather than alphabetical letters and symbols, although I think that the keyboard can be changed when needed for the operator to type in alphabetical letters/symbols. *TSPS*, on the other hand, had a rather *large* board with large square buttons/lamps (some buttons were opaque, others had lamps underneath; some were just lamps with a flush square color shield) for operator functions, and also a wide rectangular display area with "nixie" lamps to represent numerical information. TSPS also had a numerical keypad located to the right of the operator funcation keyboard area. OSPS and TOPS are both based on digital switches. OSPS is based on an AT&T/ Western Electric (Lucent) #5ESS, while TOPS is based on a Northern Electric (Northern Telecom or Nortel) DMS switch. TSPS is based on a non-digital ESS, but there is also an earlier "TSP" developed and used in the mid 1960's, based on a Crossbar Tandem. Its terminals and operation procedures were *almost identical* to the later 1970's-on TSPS, except for the type of switch they each were based on. MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497 WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497) Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail ------------------------------ From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison) Subject: Re: Russians Killed Dudayev Through Satellite Phone! Date: Sun, 28 Apr 1996 14:46:22 -0700 Organization: Best Internet Communications In article , rishab@nntp1.best.com (Rishab Aiyer Ghosh) wrote: > Scary if true. But I wonder why the satellite (what service wasn't > mentioned -- if it was INMARSAT or some such, under what conditions > did the Russians get hold of tracking data?) tracks location at all. > If it is to focus the transmission beam (i.e. it doesn't use > multiplexing) than I wonder how many phones it could track at a time. > Surely it would make more sense to simply broadcast the downlink, or > at least not focus it enough to offer a military target, as reception > AFAIK need not require any tracking from the satellite. Much simpler (but still hypothetical) scenario: Russian military knows that Dudayev is using a satellite phone with fair frequency (several times a day, perhaps). It is trivial to establish the frequency bands in which the satellite phone operates; that's public information. Probably not a whole lot of people in Chechnya have satellite phones, particularly not many people who aren't involved in the rebellion. Thus, you have your Russian satellites watch for transmissions in the given frequency band in the Chechnya area, or you can use aircraft and ground-based equipment to triangulate. You just wait until he makes a call and then try to pinpoint his location. No cooperation from the satellite phone provider is required, except the disclosure of the frequency bands used by the telephone. It also doesn't matter if the signal is encrypted or scrambled, since you're only using it as a homing beacon, not to intercept the message content. Of course, if CNN is on hand, transmitting field reports over a satellite phone (or other equipment in the same band), you could have a very embarrassing international incident, but the Russians probably have a good idea of where the CNN reporters are, and can filter out that data. Any other country could use the same scheme, just as long as the density of satellite phones in the target zone is very low. Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Russians Killed Dudayev Through Satellite Phone! From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson) Date: Sun, 28 Apr 96 20:48:26 PST Organization: Shadownet rishab@nntp1.best.com (Rishab Aiyer Ghosh) writes: > A report datelined 24 April from Agence France Presse quotes Russian > sources as saying that a satellite phone was used for homing in on > Chechen separatist leadet Dzhokar Dudayev, who was blown up by rockets > on Tuesday. Russian Interior Ministry sources said that Dudayev was > tracked as he used a satellite phone; AFP reported unidentified > experts as agreeing that the satellite could have tracked Dudayev > while he was using the phone even when mobile. > Scary if true. But I wonder why the satellite (what service wasn't > mentioned -- if it was INMARSAT or some such, under what conditions > did the Russians get hold of tracking data?) tracks location at all. > If it is to focus the transmission beam (i.e. it doesn't use > multiplexing) than I wonder how many phones it could track at a time. > Surely it would make more sense to simply broadcast the downlink, or > at least not focus it enough to offer a military target, as reception > AFAIK need not require any tracking from the satellite. There's a fundamental misunderstanding here. The satellite *tracking* him was not the satellite providing the service! The US and Russia both have *many* Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) satellites. These monitor radio signals in other countries, partly for the info being transmitted, and partly for the info on *where* the signals are coming from. While the details on just *how* good these satellites are is classified, it is pretty much *assumed* that they can pick up an ordinary cellular phone, or a military walkie talkie. Thus, receieving and tracking something as powerful as a satellite phone is going to be *easy*. Remember, radio signals can be received by *anyone*, not just the intended recipient. This sort of thing is why it's standard practice to have *several* antennas for any sort of command post, with none of them especially close to it. And they place them fairly randomly too. Would be revolutionaries, take note. If a major government *really* wants to nail you, don't use radios. At least not except in *short* transmissions. Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow) shadow@krypton.rain.com <--preferred leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com <--last resort ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 13:26:10 +0100 From: Alistair Knox Subject: Re: Russians Killed Dudayev Through Satellite Phone! Organization: Macrovision UK Ltd. In article , Rishab Aiyer Ghosh writes: > But I wonder why the satellite (what service wasn't mentioned -- if > it was INMARSAT or some such, under what conditions did the Russians > get hold of tracking data?) tracks location at all. Did anyone actually confirm that the *communications satellite* was tracking the phone? I assumed that the Russians had a high-flying electronic reconnaissance aircraft searching for ground-originated transmissions in the satellite band and then used this information to target air-launched missiles/bombs. I suppose they could alternatively have used one of their own specialist satellites (much higher than an aircraft and almost impossible to detect) for the same purpose. Alistair Knox ------------------------------ From: puma@netcom.com (Gary Breuckman) Subject: Re: Russians Killed Dudayev Through Satellite Phone! Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 02:21:58 GMT I doubt the satellite provided the location, they likely just tracked down the transmitter. It's not like cellular traffic where there are MANY signals to try and separate, he probably had the only transmitter on that frequency in the area. puma@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: Marvin Kurtti Subject: Re: Russians Killed Dudayev Through Satellite Phone! Date: 29 Apr 1996 14:03:16 GMT You don't use the satellite transmission, you just have a missile lock on to the up-link frequency. The technology for knocking out radar, ground control transmitters, etc is well known. Marv ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 Apr 96 16:57:12 -0600 Organization: IEC From: Gordon Ray Subject: SUPERCOMM '96 Approaching - Plan to Attend Pat, many of your readers surely are interested in the "new" SUPERCOMM taking place June 23-27 at the Dallas Convention Center. SUPERCOMM '96 will be biggest and best version of the trade show and conference. Look to SUPERCOMM '96 to find the extensive breadth of companies and organizations that are shaping the future of communications. The expanded show floor has more than 600 exhibitors and special pavilions devoted to fiber, multimedia, wireless and software products and services, and a zone for end users. Plentiful education sessions at SUPERCOMM about business, operations, technology and applications surround hands-on show floor experiences and unequaled peer networking opportunities. The theme, "Explore the Whole World of Communications," is a harbinger for the industry's best annual event. Free Plenary Sessions enable all attendees to see leading authorities examine critical issues facing the industry. And a free program by Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) looks at "Participating in the Information Age." In all, SUPERCOMM '96 presents about 225 education sessions with leaders and experts in all facets of the industry. The sessions are presented by SUPERCOMM and by three internationally renown organizations: the International Communications Association (ICA), for end-user needs; the International Conference on Communications (ICC), sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society; and the International Engineering Consortium (IEC), which provides executive-level programming as well as sessions devoted to business, marketing, and governmental subjects. Mark your calendar now to attend SUPERCOMM '96, June 23-27 in Dallas. For more information, call toll-free 1-800-278-7372, or visit the SUPERCOMM website at http://www.super-comm.com You can register on the web, too. Registration is free until May 24, $50 thereafter, so hurry! Learn more about the education organizers through the following avenues: International Communications Association (ICA) telephone: 1-800-422-4636, ext. 122 e-mail: intlcoma@onramp.net web: http://www.icanet.com/ica International Conference on Communications (ICC) telephone: 1-800-422-6648 web: http://www-ee.uta.edu/organizations/commsoc/icc96home.html International Engineering Consortium (IEC) telephone: 1-312-559-3725 e-mail: SUPERCOMM@iec.org web: http://www.iec.org As a brief list of the more than 500 speakers and executives expected to converge at SUPERCOMM: U.S. Congress Jack Fields U.S. Representative, R-Texas Alcatel Network Systems David E. Orr President & CEO Ameritech Joel S. Engel Vice President, Technology Bell Atlantic John Seazholtz Chief Technical Officer Bellcore George C. Via Corporate VP, Customer Solutions BellSouth Telecommunications John R. Gunter Vice President, Network Broadband Technologies Salim Bhatia President & CEO Concert Management Services Michael H. Reeve Vice President, Technology Emory University Jagdish N. Sheth Kellstadt Professor Ericsson Network Systems Michael L. Margolis Executive VP, General Manager General Instrument Geoffery S. Roman Senior VP, Technology GTE Corp. Charles R. Lee Chairman & CEO Hewlett-Packard Robert E. Stringer General Manager, Telecom, Media Hughes Network Systems Rajendra Patel Senior VP, General Manager, Wireless Intel Steve McGeady Vice President/General Manager Liberty Cable Television Peter O. Price President LRA Gil Lee President & CEO Lucent Technologies Gerry Butters President MCI Fred M. Briggs Chief Engineering Officer Microsoft Craig Mundie Senior Vice President NEC America James P. Carpenter Senior Vice President Newbridge Networks Paul J. Trautman Director Nortel Jean Monty President & CEO O'Reilly & Associates Dick Peck Vice President Pacific Bell Jerald R. Sinn VP, Communications Mgmt Services SBC Communications Edward E. Whitacre Jr. Chairman & CEO Scientific-Atlanta Allen Ecker Senior Vice President Siemens Stromberg-Carlson E. Van Cullens Sr. VP, Mktg. & Business Sprint Terry J. Yake Vice President, Applied Research Spyglass Tim Krauskopf Vice President, R&D Stentor Resource Centre Carol M. Stephenson President & CEO Tandem Telecom C. Bruce Hill Vice President, Marketing TDS Telecom James Barr President & CEO Time Warner Steve Pearse Senior Vice President TV/COM International Robert A. Luff President & CEO Vocal Tec Elon Ganor CEO Yankee Group Howard Anderson President ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 Apr 96 20:08:15 -0700 From: Arun Sharma Organization: Arun Sharma Subject: Opinion Poll: Online Censorship The following survey on government purposed censorship of the online service is being conducted as a project for our Business Research Course. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. Rajeev Sharma Tendai Tevera Please E-Mail your Responses to asharma@erols.com 1. Which of the following statements most closely corresponds to your opinion concerning online censorship ? A. I believe that online services should be completely free of censorship. The individual should have the right to decide what he/ she views in his or her home. B. I believe that online services are adequately governed by existing laws, that these laws make further legislation unnecessary. C. I believe there should be some limited censorship to ban certain extremes. D. I believe there should be blanket censorship of the On-line services. 2. Listed below are four approaches to censorship of online materials. After each statement, please indicate how the approach described satisfies the following conditions: EFFECTIVENESS, ENFORCEABILITY, and your personal opinion of the DESIRABILITY of this approach: 1= completely satisfactory 2= very satisfactory 3= somewhat satisfactory 4= somewhat unsatisfactory 5= very unsatisfactory 6= no opinion A. Use a rating scale similar to that used for movies (e.g., "G", "PG", "R", etc.) The ability to access material with "R" and other "adult" ratings could require the use of a password or other restrictive means of access. Effective_____________ Enforceability__________ Desirability____________ B. Services providers (Prodigy, AOL, CompuServe, etc.) would be required to monitor the contents of all materials displayed or uploaded to their particular electronic environment. Effective_____________ Enforceability__________ Desirability____________ C. Both service providers (Prodigy, AOL, CompuServe, etc.) and Web site owners of specific sites would be held accountable for material broadcast. Effective_____________ Enforceability__________ Desirability____________ D. The existing laws and restrictions as they presently stand. Effective_____________ Enforceability__________ Desirability____________ 3. Would you be willing to pay for accessing a site you previously accessed, if due to censorship that site was only available on a "Pay per View" basis. Yes__________ No__________ 4. How effective do you feel "blocking software" is or will be in preventing under age access to certain sites ? ............Examples: surfwatch, net nanny Very Effective __________ Quite Effective__________ Little Effective_________ In-Effective______________ Q 05. What on-line services do you currently access Prodigy_______ America online_______ Internet_______ CompuServe _______ Others _______ 6. What is the purpose of your on-line use. Check all that apply. _______Business _______Entertainment _______Educational 7. Gender: _______Male _______Female 8. What is your marital status ____Single(never married)____Married ____Divorced/Separated/Widowed 9. What year were you born 19__________ 10. Do you have any children below the age of 15 living in your house _______Yes _______No 11. What is the highest level of education you have attained. _______High School _______College _______Post Graduate All comments, good or bad, and suggestions for improvement, that do not have spaces on this form, can be e-mailed to: asharma@erols.com ------------------------------ From: Phil Stanley Subject: Re: ATT Free Internet Access Status? Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 02:40:56 -0300 Organization: MagicNet, Inc. basavaraj patil wrote: > Barry Margolius, NYC (bfm@pobox.com) wrote: >> I just received my AT&T Worldnet CDROM: I installed it last night. >> There is a proprietary installation routine that uses a highly >> stripped down version of Netscape to call what I believe is an AT&T >> private Intranet purely for registration (thus avoiding exposing your >> credit card on the public Internet). After that it installs a rather >> normal version of Netscape 1.1 and Eudora. I'm told they use standard >> PPP to connect, thought I've not had time to test this out yet. Their >> install program creates a REG.INI file that has all the necessary >> TCP/IP and login info. >> I had to call twice for my software. There seems to be considerable >> variability as to delivery of the software: some folks get it in a >> week or two, while others take several weeks/months. > I got my software about a month back (3.5" disks). Installation was > no problem. However registration is a nightmare. The software dials an > 800 number and then starts up a netscape session. The only problem is > that it takes forever to complete the registration. I have left my > machine running for more than an hour and still failed to complete the > registration. I have given up on the worldnet service as it is next to > impossible to get registered. You know the old saying! You get what you pay for!! or is it! Know the code! Phil Stanley|travlr@magicnet.net Excel Telecommunications|http://www.magicnet.net/~travlr/ Independent Representative|407-870-2526 ------------------------------ From: Collin Park Subject: US 1-800 Number Access From Japan Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 16:11:19 JST When we moved here to Japan about three years ago, we knew of only one way to get at 1-800 numbers -- via an AT&T calling card, very expensive. Some time after that, we heard about callback services -- but they couldn't reach "800" numbers either. [At least they couldn't reach *some* 800 numbers, because it seems that it worked a few times -- to different numbers, maybe. Or maybe the callback carrier somehow "found" and then lost this capability??] But I wanted to tell you that at least one local carriers, IDC, is now able to reach U.S. "1-800" numbers with no problem. Instead of a Japanese recording of "You can't do that!" we now get an apparently US-originated message: "This is not a toll-free call; it will be billed at usual IDDD rates. If you don't like it, please hang up now." After a few seconds' timeout, the call completes. I believe the local carrier charges me from the moment I pick up the phone, so I'm paying about 40 cents for the "this is not free" notification and timeout. So if you come to Japan and need to dial a 1-800 number in the US, you aren't forced any more to use your AT&T (Sprint, MCI ...) calling card; you can just use the local carrier, at a somewhat lower cost. But don't leave your US calling card at home! If you can't find a gold- faceplate (international capable) public phone, you may be stuck using your US calling card anyway, as they seem to work [at least AT&T does] even from [some] "domestic-only" pay phones. And if you're staying in a hotel and have to make calls from your room ... you're probably better off with your US calling card for any US-bound call. Cheers, collin ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #204 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon Apr 29 17:32:11 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id RAA12172; Mon, 29 Apr 1996 17:32:11 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 17:32:11 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199604292132.RAA12172@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #205 TELECOM Digest Mon, 29 Apr 96 17:32:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 205 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson New Jersey Area Code Split (Philadelphia Inquirer via Tad Cook) Slamming Dunked (Long Island Newsday via Stan Schwartz) Bits Don't Go High to Some 800s (Antilles Engineering) New GAO Telecom Report and Testimony Online (Danny Burstein) Fire in PDX US West Office Kills Phone Service (Elana Beach) AT&T, Softkey Giving Free Software to Switch (Stanley Cline) Is NYNEX Deceptively Advertising *66? (Michael J. Kuras) An Old Stromberg Stepper (Paul Cook) Bury Your Loved Ones Via Your Touchtone Phone (Van Heffner) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tad Cook Subject: New Jersey Area Code Split Date: Sun, 28 Apr 1996 18:31:13 PDT Bell Atlantic Plans Third, 'Overlay' Area Code in Northern New Jersey By Cynthia Mayer, The Philadelphia Inquirer Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News NEWARK, N.J.--Apr. 27--Northern New Jersey is fast running out of telephone numbers and may become a test case for what telephone officials say is the entire region's future -- the 10-digit phone number. Numbers in the 201 and 908 area codes are being devoured by new fax machines, cellular phones, pagers and modems. If something isn't done in the next two years, telephone executives say, all the numbers will be used up by the summer of 1997. The solution proposed by Bell Atlantic Corp. in New Jersey is to give new lines assigned in the 201 and 908 area codes a second area code. Known as a "number overlay," the change would mean towns would have two different area codes, and in many cases, so would single households. New neighbors would probably have different area codes from older residents. Fax machines installed in peoples' houses would probably have new area codes. So would a new beeper or second phone line. (The cost of the calls would remain the same, and no one would have to dial 1.) Not everyone wants to move boldly into this future. "An overlay will create permanant confusion," says Jim Laskey, a lawyer who lives just north of Princeton and represented the Somerset Chamber of Commerce at a public forum on the issue. "At least right now," he said, "there is a certain geographic association with an area code." Bell Atlantic officials say the system isn't ideal, but it's superior to continually splitting and resplitting area codes. The 908 area code put into effect five years ago was supposed to last until the year 2005, but fell far short. Splitting the North Jersey area codes again would only be a stopgap solution that would need to be changed in another six to eight years, said Tim Ireland, a Bell Atlantic spokesman. "You end up with teeny tiny area codes," he said. "And each time you have to make everyone change their area codes." Ten-digit dialing is inevitable for the area from New York to Washington in the next 10 to 20 years, he said: "It's not just "whether" you get 10-digit dialing, but "when." Maryland already has taken the step, and will begin assigning customers who ask for new lines new area codes in May, said Bell Atlantic officials. Southern New Jersey is also facing a number crunch and will run out of telephone lines in 1999 unless it gets a new area code, said Ireland. Telecommunications companies will begin debating an overlay for the 609 area code later this year, said Jeffrey Lahm, senior manager for regulatory policy at Bell Atlantic in New Jersey. The Philadelphia area isn't facing a crisis, he said. But its growth in phone numbers is phenomenal too. "You can't put it off forever," he said. Not all cities are signing on. Houston and Dallas considered an overlay in February, but the Public Utility Commission of Texas nixed the idea. One solution -- number portability, in which customers take their numbers with them from state to state and to different carriers -- is still three to five years away from development, say consumer advocates. Meanwhile, competition in the telecommunications industry is also shaping the debate. Long-distance carries such as AT&T and MCI plan to compete in offering local telephone service in New Jersey and other locales soon. They argue that if Bell Atlantic adopts an overlay it will have an unfair competitive advantage. Why? Bell Atlantic customers who want to switch to another carrier, they argue, would be forced to adopt a number with the new, less desirable area code and Bell Atlantic would be able to hand out the last few 201 and 908 numbers to "its" new customers. Bell Atlantic says that's nonsense. Customers who want to switch to AT&T or another new local carrier could keep their old number, said Ireland. Bell Atlantic would just electronically link them to their old telephone number. Despite such assurances, disagreements among telecommunications companies have made it impossible to reach an industry consensus. As a result, the issue has landed in the lap of New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities. The Board held two public meetings this week and is inviting public written comment until May 1. If the board approves an overlay this spring, Bell Atlantic would start putting in the new numbers in the summer. But judging by the attendance at the two meetings, the issue of adding two new area codes hasn't quite sunk in in New Jersey yet. "Everyone who was testifying there was either a president of Bell Atlantic or a senior manager or a district manager or a member of a chamber of commerce," complained one speaker, David DeNotaris, who works training disabled people to find employment. "But this affects everyone. And after the fact, it's going to be too late to change." Like most of those who spoke, DeNotaris favors an overlay because he said it would allow most people to keep their old phone numbers, would not split towns or force businesses to redo their advertising logos. Dialing the extra three digits will be hard on the disabled, "But so what?" he said. "We're going to have to do that anyway." Other telephone customers reached at random said they had not heard of the plan. "That's something I was totally unaware of," said Marcia Rapp, who manages the Jewish Federation apartment building for seniors in Paterson, N.J. "I think that for many of the tenants it will be burdensome situation to remember the extra numbers," she said. One consumer group in New Jersey, the Ratepayer, testified in favor of the overlay but called for more extensive hearings. Meanwhile, there is the open question of whether telephone callers will be able to memorize an extra three digits. One professor of psychology, Gordon Bowers of Stanford University, predicts problems: "That'll produce a fair number of screw-ups. The number of people who forget the number and have to look it up again will increase, and so will misdialings." ----- ON THE INTERNET: Visit Philadelphia Online, the World Wide Web site of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Point your browser to http://www.phillynews.com ------------------------------ From: Stan Schwartz Subject: Slamming Dunked Date: Sun, 28 Apr 1996 14:47:13 -0400 From {Long Island Newsday} Online (www.newsday.com), forwarded FYI to the Digest: Slamming Dunked By Henry Gilgoff Staff Writer (4/28/96) WHEN LaVERNE BRIMER of Commack realized that a company she never heard of was handling her long distance calls, she wanted to know why. When she called, she was told that her son, 11 years old at the time, had authorized the switch when he entered a sweepstakes. Her son, Andrew, now 12, said he doesn't remember signing the contest form and "long distance application," but he does enter sweepstakes, and the signature seems to be his own, he said. "This was driving my mother crazy," Andrew said. Indeed, his mother said she compared Long Distance Services, the Michigan company she had been switched to, and AT&T, which she had before the change. AT&T, she said, was lower-priced for her calls, most of them to Florida. On a monthly bill dated Feb. 19, she was charged $66.39 for out-of- state calls, excluding surcharges and taxes. The cost of the calls at AT&T, she said, would have been $35.66, including discounts. Now the matter is under review by the office of state Attorney General Dennis Vacco. "We are giving serious attention to this," said Charlie Donaldson, an assistant attorney general. Andrew couldn't authorize a switch in his parent's service, he said. Donaldson is a veteran in the war against what is known as slamming, the practice of switching customers from one long distance company to another without their authorization. Complaints to the Federal Communications Commission last year alleged that authorization in many cases is obtained fraudulently or deceptively. The FCC received more than 10,000 complaints about slamming in 1995. Even the biggest companies have been accused of slamming. The FCC in January cited AT&T, among others. The FCC reported that its staff found no similarity between the signature on a consumer's authorization form for a switch to AT&T and a signature submitted to the FCC by the consumer. A finding of "apparent liability" was issued, and a $40,000 penalty was assessed. AT&T spokeswoman Virginia Gold said AT&T filed comments with the FCC, challenging the finding in the FCC's ongoing review of the case. "We disagree with that assessment," Gold said. Months after Brimer's son signed the form that resulted in her switch to Long Distance Services, new FCC rules took effect in September. They seek to ensure that consumers know if they're authorizing a change in long distance companies when a sweepstakes offer is made. Regulators say using a contest to mask an authorization for a change in long distance companies is a common ploy by slammers, either a long distance company or its marketers. NYNEX, as the regional phone company, receives computer data tapes with the telephone numbers to be switched from one long distance company to another, and carries out the changes without confirming consumer authorization. The volume of changes would make verification onerous, said NYNEX spokesman John Bonomo. Slamming is an unintended product of increased competition in long distance calling -- a market that promises to heat up as NYNEX and other regional phone companies gear up to compete. Companies can buy use of a major long distance carrier's network at volume discount rates and then resell the service. Many resellers are legitimate, said Donaldson, and prices vary, depending on such factors as costs and profit margin. So if you're considering jumping from one company to another, no matter which company, don't make assumptions about price. Compare. LaVerne Brimer never intended to jump. Brimer said a change in the format of NYNEX bills earlier this year gave her reason to read it more carefully and detect what seemed a discrepancy in charges for long distance calls. So, she called NYNEX. She was told that while NYNEX collects her payments for long distance calling as part of her overall bill, it is only a conduit, receiving a fee for its services. The billing data came to NYNEX through another company. She called that company, U.S. Billing Inc., and was told that it, too, was a conduit, providing billing data services for many long distance companies. In a letter last month to "It's Your Money," Brimer said U.S. Billing told her she had not had AT&T for months. "What I did have," she was told, "was a company called Long Distance Services." A representative of that company, Brimer wrote, "advised me that she doesn't know how this application of a minor got past her." Brimer was sent a copy of the form, and she and her son say the signature seemed to be his, but he is not sure he filled out the rest of the form, which lists his birthdate only as July 22. The form authorizes a company called Intercontinental Marketing Associates Inc. to be the agent in providing long distance service. A number listed on the form for that company has been disconnected, and Long Distance Services says it no longer uses it for marketing. Meanwhile, Brimer contacted AT&T to switch her back, and that was done in March this year. She hasn't paid her two last bills from Long Distance Services and wants a refund of the difference between AT&T rates and Long Distance Services' for calls since the first handled by Long Distance Services on March 23, 1995. Allan Barash, an executive at Long Distance Services, said the complaint was unusual for his company. "We process over 20,000 of these orders a week." Each NYNEX bill Brimer received said inquiries can be made to U.S. Billing, Barash added. "This is all nonsense," he said. "The woman got her first bill in 1995, and she's first complaining about the situation in 1996?" He said he would make some accommodation to Brimer but the details were not clear. Asked more questions about the contest form and long distance application, Barash bristled. "You're getting too in-depth," he said, and he soon ended the conversation. The first of the checks will be in the mail in several weeks, he said. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 11:22:59 -0400 From: Antilles Engineering Subject: Bits Don't Go High to Some 800s I'm new to the list but wanted to ask other listers whether the following is "legal." Our firm operates a T-1 - provisioned callback switch for our engineers overseas. (Yes -- we're Section 214 licensed.) We've noted that when our guys overseas call through the switch to some 800 numbers (for example, American Airlines Advantage 1 800 848 4653), the call doesn't "connect" and yet information is being conveyed by AA. You are prompted to enter a DTMF to access a particular branch, then put on hold. *Only* when a live body at that particular AA branch picks up do the signal bits go high and a "connect" actually happens. Technically, I can see how this can be done, but can *we* do it legally, or do you have to have the concurance of your LD carrier, *or* is someone out there being cute without the knowledge of the carrier? Doug Terman Antilles Engineering, Ltd. snail: PO Box 318, VT 05674 voice: (802) 496 3812 fax: (802) 496 3814 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 12:07:13 EDT From: danny burstein Subject: New GAO Telecom Reports and Testimony Online Check out especially the telecom piece in the first report. Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 10:42:04 -0500 From: Jennifer Boettcher Subject: GAO Daybook - 4/16/96 -Forwarded GAO Daybook ***NEW - FY 95 Annual Index of Reports and Testimony*** See Below for Details April 16, 1996 The General Accounting Office (GAO) today released the following reports and testimony: REPORTS: 1. USDA Telecommunications: More Effort Needed to Address Telephone Abuse and Fraud GAO/AIMD-96-59, Apr. 16. 2. Financial Audit: U.S. Government Printing Office's Financial Statements for Fiscal Year 1995 GAO/AIMD-96-52, Apr. 16. TESTIMONY: 1. Defense Depot Maintenance: Privatization and Debate Over the Public- Private Mix, by David R. Warren, Director of Defense Management Issues, before the Subcommittee on Military Readiness, House Committee on National Security. GAO/T-NSIAD-96-146, Apr. 16. ******************************************** ***NEW*** FY 95 Annual Index of Reports and Testimony Go to GAO's WWW Home Page "What's New" link for details or see FAQ ******************************************** The report(s) listed above will be available *soon* both electronically and in print. For complete details on GAO's INTERNET services, go to GAO's WWW Home Page: http://www.gao.gov or retrieve the GAO FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) automatically, by sending an e-mail message with "info" in the body to: info@www.gao.gov ****************************************************************** Back issues of the GAO Daybook may also be obtained via e-mail. See FAQ for details. To UNSUBSCRIBE to the GAO Daybook, send an e-mail message to: with the message: unsubscribe daybook *************************************************************** Thank you! ------------------------------ From: elana@netcom.com (Elana who?) Subject: Fire in PDX US West Office Kills Phone Service Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) Date: Sun, 28 Apr 1996 15:34:15 GMT I didn't post this when it happened because I figured someone else would ... Sometime last week, there was a fire in a Portland, Oregon (PDX in airport lingo) US West office ... it burned thru some phone cables and knocked out phone service in most of the northeastern part of the city. The outage lasted about eight hours. One of the ISPs I have an account with, agora.rdrop.com, temporarily lost their Internet connection as well, even though they are physically located rather far south of the outage area. (go figure). The reaction of the locals, according to the paper, seems to be that this is the last straw for a lot of these Portlanders. US West has already angered a lot of people here because of incident upon incident of bad service and too-long waits for new numbers. And now this. Hmmm ... US West has not yet annoyed me at all ... (cautiously fearful emphasis on "yet") I have no idea about this incident other than what I've scanned in the local paper. Perhaps a fellow Webfoot ( that the Oregonian slang for other Oregonians) who more technical than I, *and* knows more about this incident can post more news about it. "Be seeing you..." Elana [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Telcos are notorious for leaving millions of dollars in switching and other sophisticated equipment unattended for days at a time. In their penny-wise and pound-foolish budgets, they would rather have a fire or other disaster every now and then costing them several million dollars and a lot of bad customer relations than to simply hire someone for twenty or thirty thousand dollars per year and have them stay in the CO at night or on weekends who was intelligent enough to 'make rounds' of the building every hour or so; knew how to make emergency decisions regarding fires, floods, and other problems; and could communicate intelligently with company management and civil authorities in the event an emergency arose, etc. It is particularly offensive when they say 'it would cost too much money to staff all our locations at all hours' when you realize much of the expense could be budgeted through various other departments (i.e. the overnight and weekend person could be given data entry work to do in spare time). Now I do not know what the exact circumstances were in Portland and whether the fire was in some unattended location at some 'off-hours' of the night or weekend, etc. It may well have been something which occurred in the middle of the day with a hundred people around. I have to reserve judgment on it. But I do know that Illinois Bell's Hinsdale office on Mother's Day in May, 1988 was such a case. After the fire had been going for *better than an hour* finally some dingbat at the central monitoring place in Springfield, Illinois calls up to someone at home in the Chicago area and said 'when they got a chance' they might want to go over to Hinsdale (a 45 minute drive) and see 'why the alarms have been sounding for 'about an hour'. That person goes to the Hinsdale CO and sees smoke billowing out of all the windows and the roof and decides 'maybe' they should call the Fire Department only to discover by then it was far too late: all the phones were already dead. Recovery took a month, and millions of dollars. For what Hinsdale cost IBT, the company could have staffed every piece of real estate they own for years with a competent person ready to spring into action, marshall the troops and greatly mitigate the damages. Too bad telcos consider it 'too expensive'. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 10:19:08 -0400 From: Stanley Cline Organization: Catoosa Computing Services Subject: AT&T, Softkey Giving Free Software to Switch AT&T is doing something new to get new customers ... A couple of days ago I received an envelope from Softkey advertising "Free Software up to $150 value." I look in the envelope and find what amounts to an LOA: "Switch me to AT&T ... send me the free software." They only allow one "software selection", which is a bit misleading given the "up to $150" on the envelope, and on the reverse side a picture of *several* software packages. What's even stranger is that the name, address, *and* phone number the LOA/offer was sent to is *not* what's on my phone bill! It's what I provided Softkey when I registered some software I ordered from them several months ago. To their credit, they did provide space to make changes to the phone billing name/address/phone number. The fact that this was an LOA "in disguise" was obvious, unlike others I've seen. So it's possible that even *existing* AT&T customers got the sales pitch -- the phone number listed on the LOA has been PICed to LCI for over a year, but those that "churn" LD carriers may have gotten this (number PICed to another carrier when the mailing list was generated, but since changed to AT&T.) Will I take them up on their offer? Probably not; the software offerings aren't really all that good. (If they were giving MS Office or CorelDRAW away, though, then maybe I would.) What's next from AT&T, or MCI, or Sprint? I bet MCI will eventually cook up something relating to their 1-800-Music-Now. Any other ideas? Stanley Cline (dba Catoosa Computing Services), Chattanooga, Tenn. mailto:scline@usit.net -- http://caladan.chattanooga.net/~scline/ IRC Roamer1 :: CIS 74212,44 :: MSN WSCline1 :: Using Atlas PR2 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 10:55:33 -0400 From: mkuras@ccs.neu.edu (Michael J Kuras) Subject: Is NYNEX Deceptively Advertising *66? Organization: College of Computer Science, Northeastern University I saw a NYNEX TV commercial today that seemed to contradict the discussion which was held in this newsgroup in Dec '95-Jan '96. The commercial went something like this: "The circus tickets went on sale at 9AM. Bob called right at 9, but so did a lot of other people (shot of Bob listening to a busy signal) ... so Bob dialed *66 and got through!" Essentially, the commercial is saying that if you try to call a Ticketmaster-type number, *66 (automatic redial/ringback) will get you through. But from the previous dicussion (attribute omitted, sorry): > [*66 is] pointless for heavily-used busy numbers. By the time you get the > ringing, and pick up the phone, the desired line is busy again (and > you'll be told to hang up and wait some more). It's not as if it > reserves you the right to be the next caller (it doesn't). So is NYNEX onto something new? Or is this merely a *very* carefully worded commercial? michael j kuras www.ccs.neu.edu/~mkuras mkuras@ccs.neu.edu [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: *66 'tests for busy' on the called line and reports back when it finds the line is open and can be reached. There are some flaws. One, there is a 'window' of a few seconds to a minute after it discovers the line is free and calls back the requesting party. During that period of time, some third party can seize the line instead. *66 does not grab the line and hold it for its user, which would prevent that from happening. The second flaw is that so far as I know, *66 has no knowledge of other lines in a hunt group to which it could refer its user. If you (and hundreds of other people) call a company which has a listed number with let's say a couple dozen additional lines in sequence, the only thing *66 knows about is the main, listed, first-in-the-group number that you (and everyone else) dialed. And while yes, that line will become free like the others, it will also be the first one to get seized by other callers in the interim while *66 comes looking for you to make its report and offer to try the connection again. There might be lines in the hunt group available. I am not certain if retries are just dialed again (thus the call might hunt down to a vacancy somewhere) or if it just goes back and looks again first only to report that number XXX has 'become busy again'. For fun sometime, try dialing your own number. You'll get a busy signal of course, and you'll have loaded the *66 buffer by doing so. Now use *66. The recording will tell you that it will be tried from time to time. Hang up your phone. On the first try afterward, naturally your line will be free, and *66 will cheerfully call to advise you of that and offer to make the connection. Guess what? When it tries to do so, your line 'has become busy again' !! If *66 at your telco is set up to try repeatedly for some period of time, you'll get calls every couple minutes from *66 telling you the line is now free, only to try it and find the line has 'become busy again'. You can cancel this loop using *86 or *89 or whatever code is used in your community to 'cancel automatic callback requests'. If the software at your telco is set to only try one time and then give up, you'll get the one bogus callback but no others. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Apr 96 10:32:00 EST From: Proctor & Associates <0003991080@mcimail.com> Subject: An Old Stromberg Stepper Friday I got a call from a small independent telco in NE Ohio, in New Bavaria. As soon as I answered the phone, it was like a blast from the past. I could hear a step-by-step switch clattering away in the foreground. The caller said it was an old Stromberg-Carlson switch. The caller was a contractor who wanted help with E&M leads on a 9-1-1 trunk that we haven't manufactured in a number of years. He was installing basic 9-1-1 service in this little town. It was amazing to hear the clatter of the electromechanical switch as I drug out the old diagrams and tried to remember basic troubleshooting for this old trunk. The telco was Benton Ridge Telephone Company, a 400 line independent in Benton Ridge. This was the 419-653 exchange in New Bavaria. The installer told me that the nearby 419-398 exchange (four miles away) has the last step switch that Stromberg Carlson manufactured! Small telcos in that area are Buckland Telco in Buckland, Wabash Mutual in Celina, Columbus Grove Telco in Columbus Grove, Continental Telco (subsidiary of Telephone & Data Systems, unrelated to Contel,) in Continental, Fort Jennings Telco in Fort Jennings, Glandorf Telco in Glandorf, Kalida Telco in Kalida, Middle Point Home Telco in Middle Point, New Knoxville Telco in New Knoxville, Oakwood Telco in Oakwood, Ottoville Mutual in Ottoville, Vanlue Telco (part of TDS) in Vanlue, Vaughnsville Telco in Vaughnsville and Telephone Service Company in Wapakoneta. All of these little independent telcos are around Findlay and Lima. I remember when there were 1,700 or so independent telcos in the United States back in the 1970s, and a lot of them were farmer CO-OPs and mom and pop outfits. Not many of them around anymore with step switches. Paul Cook 206-881-7000 Proctor & Associates 3991080@mcimail.com 15050 NE 36 St. Redmond, WA 98052-5378 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There are still about 1200-1300 totally independent telephone companies in the United States; that is telcos with no affiliation to the old 'Bell System', GTE, or United and Centel, which at least in the 1970-80's were the third and fourth largest consortium of telcos after Bell and GTE. In the early years of this century when Alex Bell's patent on the basic telephone expired and AT&T was no longer able to prevent their manufacture, they plucked up all the telcos they could get (quite literally!) 'one way or the other'. Quite a few of the several thousand telcos back then were very fiercely independent; they hated 'the Bell' and made no bones about it. At the turn of the century, small telcos were like ISPs are today. One or two in every town; all kinds of informal arrangements on exchange of traffic, etc. But AT&T made survival so difficult for the telcos who would not succomb to the treats dangled in front of their nose as members of the newly formed 'Bell System' (i.e. interconnection with the other telcos in the Bell consortium; a piece of the revenue from the baby long distance industry) that they had to band together on their own. Quite a few wanted affiliation with a major telephone network so they jumped in with GTE figuring it was the lesser of two evils when compared with 'the Bell'. Others would have no part of either consortium, and instead formed the group known as USITA -- the United States Independent Telephone Associa- tion, to which many of the telcos in the GTE consortium also belonged. Membership in USITA was absolutely forbidden to the telcos in the Bell System. Historically, an 'independent telco' was always defined as a telco not part of Bell, nor receiving any largesse from AT&T. I am talking of the 1900-1930 era now, and the definition of 'independent' pretty much continued until AT&T's divestiture. The same scenario had played out fifty years earlier when lots of tiny, independent telegraph companies found it in their best interest to form union (or merged and consolidated) agencies and switching facilities. They got gobbled up in the Western Union consortium (or telegraph trust) in 1860-90. Those who did not get into the Western Union network of telegraph agents and network facilities generally joined with other small consortiums which were mostly all merged in WUTCO over the years. 1932 comes, and things *stink* all over the USA. Bread lines and welfare office lines extend out in the street. No one ran 'help wanted' ads in the newspapers because they didn't have to. There was not a single day every company did not have a dozen people at the door asking for employment; any work would do. President Roosevelt hated AT&T, and Ma Bell hated him. He wanted to see *truly* universal phone service, not the bogus 'universal service' Ted Vail had in mind which meant grab up all the juicy little telcos and skim the cream. It was funny watching them accuse MCI of the same thing in the 1970's -- Mister Pot, meet Mister Kettle; Pot says Kettle is dirty. Failing to get his way with AT&T, Roosevelt started a federal agency called the Rural Electrification Administration. REA had the task of bringing electricity to the nation's farmers, along with telephone service. You see, Roosevelt did not like Thomas Edison very much either. Edison and the executives of the companies in his consortium had their own cows to milk and rural America was not part of their agenda either. Roosevelt's REA got hundreds of rural electric systems up and running and hundreds of 'Telephone Cooperative Societies' started. The farmers were given federally-guaranteed loans to build telephone exchanges and power plants. Most of them had twenty year mortgages. But after twenty years, the farmers were getting too old to climb the telephone poles to maintain the wires. Their wives were getting too old to run the switchboard, and their daughters had no interest in staying home on Saturday night to watch the board while mom and dad got a night off. AT&T saw this happening. They saw the telephone cooperative societies having a hard time with their (by then) old, antiquated switchboards and lack of interest by the farmer's daughters and sons in keeping it going. Not only that; the best part of all was now the debt service was over! ... the farmers held those coops free and clear of any debt. AT&T moved in for the kill and grabbed as many as they could for pennies on the dollar. About 1955, it took the United States Supreme Court to rule that AT&T would not be allowed to acquire any more telephone operating companies, subject to one exception: if the telco was for sale and no one else wanted to buy it AND it was on the *verge of bankruptcy and suspending operations or going out of business* then AT&T *HAD* to take it! The Supremes really stuck it to AT&T that time; Judge Greene would have been proud. Don't you wish *you* could have been in on this business in those early days? I would have loved it. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 03:45:09 -0700 From: vantek@northcoast.com (VANTEK COMMUNICATIONS) Subject: Bury Your Loved Ones Via Your Touchtone Phone WHEN YOU NEED TO GRIEVE ... IN A HURRY! SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 24, 1996--Would you know what to do if a close relative died out of town and you had to handle the arrangements? A Seattle company has stepped in to solve this problem for America's mobile, spread-out families. Farewell Nationwide Funeral Service has established a toll-free number, 1-800/FAREWELL, to handle long distance funeral arrangements. Daniel Whitehurst, president of Farewell, said: "Many people today don't know a funeral director in their own town, let alone a distant city. But now they can call 1-800/FAREWELL (800/327-3935) and our Family Assistant will make all the connections for them -- and it will generally cost less than if they hired local providers." Farewell is a licensed funeral provider and can handle transportation, preparation and even cremation virtually anywhere in the United States and internationally. The company has a network of licensed local professionals around the country who can respond immediately, 24 hours a day, to a call for service. Farewell also sells caskets and urns and can book bereavement-fare travel arrangements for the family. According to Whitehurst, long distance arrangements are becoming more common as people move to retirement communities and their children follow jobs and families to cities away from the hometown. Baby Boomers have little experience with funerals, said Whitehurst, but are now having to deal with arrangements for their parents. "This generation is accustomed to shopping by phone, fax and online services. They want instant response and direct information. We think 1-800/FAREWELL will be more convenient and less stressful than tracking down a far-away funeral home. With Farewell, they can do everything over the phone from their own home or wherever they are." Whitehurst said the service will usually cost less than going through local providers because Farewell has negotiated rates with sub-contractors around the country. He said using Farewell is similar to calling a travel agent, where the customer pays no more for extra service and convenience as well as better price options. Sample prices (apply in most metropolitan areas): 1. Arranging removal and cremation and shipment of cremated remains, including interim container and shipping charges: $795. 2. Arranging removal, preparation (embalming) and shipment including shipping container but not airline charges: $980. Farewell Nationwide Funeral Service was designed by long-time funeral professionals to make the funeral process easier and less expensive for people. Changing demographics and attitudes about funerals have opened the door to non-mortuary providers like Farewell, according to Whitehurst. CONTACT: Farewell Nationwide Funeral Service Dan Whitehurst, 800/327-3935 FarewellUS@aol.com ++++++++++++++++ (Pat, A few questions spring to mind. Firstly, do you need to call 1-800-FLOWERS for the floral arrangements? Secondly, were they also able to get 1-888-FAREWELL, or is that a ransomed vanity number?!!? Thirdly ... ARE THEY NUTS?!!? It's hard to believe that the "disposal" of a loved one is being marketed to baby boomers (i.e. yuppies) as something that can now be done completely over the phone, no muss, no fuss. All we need now is 1-800-AHIT-MAN, and you can have total body disposal from the covenience of your touch-tone phone! They call making burial arrangements "Similar to calling a travel agent". Is this truly a reflection on today's disposable society, or what?) Van Hefner - Editor Discount Long Distance Digest On The Web: http://www.webcom.com/longdist/ [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I can see the advantage to a service such as offered. If you had a family member in a distant place and knew no one there, who would *you* contact for assistance? In 1979, an older lady who lived alone in the same building as myself passed away. No one ever came to see her; her son and his wife lived in New York somewhere. I knew little or nothing about her except to say hello in passing every day. When we had not seen her after two days we went to her apartment and found her dead. After calling the Fire Department and the Police Department (the Chicago Police *always* require a paramedic -- if no physician is present -- to pronounce the death from natural causes before they will remove the body) and waiting for their arrival, we examined her personal papers looking for (to us heretofore unknown) relatives. Literature in her apartment lead me to believe she was Jewish, and a call to the son and his wife in New York confirmed that to be the case. They knew nothing about the Chicago area, and I suggested a Jewish undertaker to them. They asked me to call and begin the arrangements; they made plans to be in Chicago the next day. Otherwise she would have gone to Cook County and been buried where the county does its thing. If it were a family member of mine, and my responsibility, I'd want professionals in that location to assume control until I was able to get there. I do not think the company Van is referring to is so cold-hearted. They probably are quite helpful. As it turned out in the case of the old lady I mentioned, the family's religious beliefs dictated burial the next day; the day following discovery of the death. How else could it have been handled that quickly? As it also turned out, the weather the next day was *terrible*. There was severe rain all day. I remember distinctly being at the cemetery in a heavy rainfall. They had waited to start until the rain slowed down to a drizzle. There were less than a dozen people present: the son and his wife, the rabbi employed by the funeral home and two others on the staff, a couple of older people who knew the lady from 'way back when', plus myself and a friend who drove me there in his car. The son and his mother had been on the outs for many years and never communicated, and the lady was a recluse otherwise. In her personal possessions we found letters written to her postmarked in the 1940's addressed to her at the Elgin State Hospital for the Insane from her then teenage son in which he said, 'mom, when you write to us, please don't put your return address on the envelope; we don't want anyone to know where you are at ...' The poor rabbi stood at the gravesite for the ritual and two men stood next to him each holding umbrellas over him to keep him and his prayer book dry. The son stood nearby also with an umbrella. The drizzle was steady and the rest of us just sat in our cars nearby and watched. Afterward I said goodbye to him and he handed me an envelope with power of attorney asking me to dispose of whatever she owned; he wanted none of it. Also enclosed was a bit of money for myself. In the process of cleaning out her apartment we found several boxes of Sterling Silver. Not just forks and spoons for the table, but a sterling turkey platter and pitcher and bowls. That was back at the time the guy in Texas had run the price of silver up to more than a hundred dollars per ounce; remember him? All sorts of pure sterling silver from a time in the 1940's when a rich and elegant family had been together and no doubt eaten dinner together regularly. It all came to an end the next day when we took all the boxes -- save some beutiful and very petite little demitasse cups which I wanted -- to the Evanston smelter. There it all met the Refiner's Fire ... in exchange for a check for a little over a thousand dollars. I offered it to the son but he did not want it, so advanced and long standing the hostility in the family, so I gave it the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago in her name for their mental health counseling service. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #205 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Apr 30 01:31:45 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id BAA18576; Tue, 30 Apr 1996 01:31:45 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 01:31:45 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199604300531.BAA18576@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #206 TELECOM Digest Tue, 30 Apr 96 01:31:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 206 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Bay Area Wired (Tad Cook) Status of ACTA's FCC Filing to Stop Internet Phone? (Bill Sohl) BellSouth and The Prudential Bank Introduce BellSouth Visa(R) (Mike King) Employment Opportunity: Telecommunication Positions (Mehdi Ashraf) Mitel SX2000 Lite Voice Mail Integration (Paul Crick) Required PIN Dialing over Cellular Phone (Jeff Rodrigues) CDPD in Los Angeles? (Blair Shellenberg) Information Wanted on Tymnet (Kendall Shaw) What is Turnpike Effect? (Eva Fung) Does Caller-ID Hunt or Call-Forward? (Rich Chong) Insight Research Online (Tara D. Mahon) Cellular Data Communications (Lynne Gregg) NBC News Search For Show Topic (Deborah Levinson) Canada: ATCI / Telecoms Inter-Cite Info Needed (Rosemary Warren) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tad Cook Subject: Bay Area Wired Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 14:08:31 PDT Bay Area's Wired -- it's a hotbed of modem mania By Mike Antonucci Mercury News Staff Writer IN the Bay Area, that screech from next door may not be a reason to call 911. Instead, it's increasingly likely to be the ear-piercing sound of your neighbor's modem. Nationally, only 20 percent of households have a modem, according to a January survey by Odyssey, a San Francisco research firm. But in Santa Clara County, the figure is a staggering 42 percent, according to Mercury News research. That statistic is a dramatic indicator of how Bay Area households have become an extension of Silicon Valley's high-tech business environment. While there's little conclusive data available on home computer and Internet use for regions smaller than a state, the Bay Area is widely believed to have the highest concentration of computer- and Internet-friendly inhabitants in the country. Researchers and others routinely see the Bay Area as being both physically and psychologically wired to innovations in technology and telecommunications. Indeed, some see the region -- particularly San Francisco, the Peninsula, the East Bay and the South Bay -- as the pre-eminent place for testing or introducing services of that nature. "That's where we go for focus groups when we want to look at early adoption. For us, the Bay Area is No. 1," says Tom Miller, a vice president at the FIND/SVP research company. "Early adoption" is industry jargon for the quick acceptance of new activities or products. Studying the reactions of people who are the first to spend time and money in a different way can offer important hints about larger consumer audiences. In other words, the way the Bay Area acts today is how other parts of the country might act tomorrow. Area residents who fret about keeping up with the Joneses electronically may be the best evidence of the Bay Area's preoccupation with computers and cyberspace. At Los Altos Library, for instance, more than 500 people have taken beginning Internet instruction. Head librarian Carol Tefft says she has seen people both eager to learn -- and concerned that they're being left behind. "I think they sometimes feel a sense of standing on the side of the road while everybody is whipping by them," says Tefft. Well, not everybody. But apparently a huge percentage. Nationally, an estimated 35 percent to 40 percent of households have at least one computer. But in the 415 area code, one estimate puts the figure at almost 58 percent; in the 408 area code, the figure is 52 percent. (The New York research firm providing the numbers, IDC/LINK, cautioned that it was working from a very small statistical sample.) The Mercury News research, though, compiled in late 1995, shows even higher figures for Santa Clara County, the heart of Silicon Valley. For instance, approximately 60 percent of the county's households have a computer. Reflecting the region's techno-savvy, Tele-Communications Inc., the cable-TV giant that is expanding into virtually all areas of the video, phone and data businesses, has long targeted the Bay Area as a key territory for rolling out advanced interactive services. "We think there's a natural receptiveness that goes beyond the industries that are prevalent there," says Bob Thomson, TCI's senior vice president for communications and policy. That's one of the major reasons TCI picked Sunnyvale to launch @Home, a venture that hopes to provide high-speed Internet access over cable-TV lines. It's also noteworthy that Pacific Bell's test area in Northern California for a newly wired video-and-phone network is San Jose. "We looked at a pretty long list of factors," says Steve Harris, Pacific Bell's vice president for external affairs. "But certainly, when we looked at the potential for interactive video and high-speed data, there's a strong sense that on average people in the Bay Area are more computer literate and more technology friendly." The Bay Area's reputation as an on-line hotbed can also be seen in the many Internet "commercial domains" in the 415, 408 and 510 area codes. These are Internet addresses ending in ".com" that generally, though not exclusively, represent businesses. According to the Virginia firm Internet Info, the top domain totals as of mid-April were in the 415 and 408 area codes, with 23,703 combined. The 212 area code, which covers the Manhattan borough of New York City, was third with 10,822. No other area code in the New York vicinity appeared in the top 20, but the East Bay's 510 was 10th, at 5,434. Domains don't correlate to individuals users. The more than five million subscribers to the Virginia-based America Online service, for instance, all have a single domain address -- "aol.com" -- for e-mail. But researchers have followed domain patterns as a clue to understanding markets. Miller suggests the Bay Area's fascination with technology may even be carrying over into what keeps people awake at night. He wonders, not entirely tongue-in-cheek, just how much they love their software. On the East Coast, he says, "they may be using the Internet to talk about politics at one in the morning. In the Bay Area, they may be talking about the latest iteration of Netscape." -------------------- [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It is interesting to watch the migration of users around the world as they log in and out of the net -- particularly the large commercial sites and their chatting services -- as one in the morning becomes two in the morning and then to five and six in the morning, eastern USA time. I'll resist the temptation to say much about the Americans still online on chat at four in the morning except perhaps some of them are getting pretty desparate ... but as time marches on, we see systems like Compuserve go from nearly three thousand people on CB at 1:00 a.m. (10:00 p.m. for California people) to about a hundred users or less by 5:00 a.m. eastern time, and most of them being west coast folks. By 5:00 a.m. eastern, even the hardy Brits who wanted to chat with the Americans and have to stay up all night to do it have pretty much had to get off line and get on with their lives otherwise. The chat services are predominated by the Americans, meaning our 7-8 p.m. through about 3:00 a.m. next morning time period is when the system will be loaded, and even more so on Friday and Saturday night. 5:00 am eastern however is not a great time anywhere in the world regard- less of the time it happens to be locally as far as online chat is concerned, so the systems are pretty quiet. It is mid-day in Europe and the people there are in school or work; in other places, people have not woke up yet, etc. Then an interesting phenomenon occurs. After an hour or so of relative quiet from about 4 to 6 a.m. eastern, with most of the users being from the far east (a lot of Japanese, Hong Kong, Singapore logins making up the bulk of it along with a few from our west coast), about 6:00 a.m. things start to speed up again. Compuserve CB fills with people from Europe, primarily Germany and UK. If you check the user log you'll see almost entirely user-id's of the form 100xxx,xxxx which are the accounts issued in Germany and the UK. You'll hardly see any Americans on there at all until about 9:00 a.m. One day about 8:00 in the morning I logged in and parked on one of the channels where there a dozen or so people chatting, all of the 100xxx variety. Seeing my login, one of them types in a message to the others, 'oh oh! Here come the dumb Yankees; they're getting an early start today.' On a couple channels, several German people were conversing in their own language. An early-rising American logged in and had the nerve to go on the same channel and complain that 'when you are on this CB you are supposed to type in English so everyone can understand what you are talking about ...' The Germans roundly condemned him both in their own language and ours, suggesting if he had no place of employment where he ought to be at that time of day, perhaps he was on the American welfare system, and using his welfare checks to buy his computer. They also asked him if he used drugs regularly or had mugged and killed any tourists from Europe recently. The conversation then dealt with 'the stupid Americans and how they think everything should be in English but they can't even speak or write in that language very well.' There seem to be two varieties of chat users from other countries: those who *do* want to talk to the predominantly American users in chat (and who keep weird schedules by their own clocks to do it), and those wish the 'dumb Yankees' would go away completely. On the Compuserve CB channel for teenagers for example, one would not expect to see any American kids on there at nine or ten in the morning on a weekday. It will have quite a few users, but all kids from Europe where it is mid- to late- afternoon who got home from school and like their American counterparts, logged in with their computers. But always amid the dozens of youthful 100xxx accounts on CB at that hour, a few USA users as well. The British kids will start fights with uncomplimentary remarks about the Americans, saying something like, "Look, one of those Yankee bast--ds logged in. What are you doing home from school, Yankee Doodle? Are you too dumb to go to school; did they toss you out?" Regretably, the American kids who are on CB during the day usually are dropouts or kids playing hookey for the day under guise of 'sickness' or whatever; they're not the future leaders of America. They'll respond in kind with crude remarks of their own. As the morning turns into afternoon here in the USA, the 100xxx kids begin to fade away and CB fills up with American teenagers, and European adults on the 'adult CB' channels. By much past seven or eight in the evening eastern time, most all of the 100xxx'ers are gone and CB is loaded with Americans once again. Not all Europeans are into 'cybersex' by any means however, and one lady in the UK remarked to me one evening that, "I never stay on past midnight my time; that is about when all the American men are coming home from work and logging in looking for sex." She claimed that 'when it gets past midnight here, Compuserve is loaded with American men and all I get are crude instant send messages from them every five minutes or less.' But some like the great American CB party which goes on night after night in USA time zones. Last Saturday night at 11:00 pm here in Chicago I chatted for a few minutes with a fellow in New Zealand where it was about 5:00 pm Sunday afternoon. He said when he first got on the net he quickly learned 'if you want to party with the Americans on line you just remember to start logging in Sunday afternoon when it is Saturday night in the United States ... and my 'fellow perverts' in the UK and Germany know that to get in on the action they have to log in at three in the morning, like it or not.' And those who do not like it just get on when the Americans are all asleep or at work. Time and again they are amused when the 'dumb Yankees' have no concept of time zones and are so amazed to find out it is not 11:00 pm on Saturday night everywhere. They have no concept of geography either. The New Zealand fellow mentioned when he tells an American CB'er where he is from, about half say they never heard of it and ask what state it is located in. I'm being serious. The net never sleeps; the users come and go and the net takes on different characteristics as the hours go by each day. PAT] ------------------------------ From: billsohl@planet.net (Bill Sohl) Subject: Status of ACTA's FCC filing to Stop Internet Phone? Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 22:43:07 GMT Organization: BL Enterprises Pat, et al Anyone know what the latest is on the ACTA filing with the FCC to stop the sale of Internet Phone software? I believe the ACTA was going to be meeting and discussing the issue because there was not a consensus of the ACTA members as to if, and or how, the issue should be pursued. Anyway, an update, if available would be appreciated. Bill Sohl (K2UNK) billsohl@planet.net Internet & Telecommunications Consultant/Instructor Budd Lake, New Jersey [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Maybe a couple of readers who are in that organization can bring us up to date. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Mike King Subject: BellSouth and The Prudential Bank Introduce BellSouth Visa(R) Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 09:01:17 PDT Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 08:54:55 -0400 From: BellSouth Subject: BellSouth and The Prudential Bank Introduce BellSouth Visa(R) Reply-To: info@corp.bellsouth.com BellSouth and The Prudential Bank Introduce the BellSouth VISA(R) Small Business Card ATLANTA -- Small business owners can now carry one card for all their business needs. Jointly introduced by BellSouth Small Business Services and The Prudential Bank, the BellSouth VISA Small Business Card is a combination calling card and credit card designed especially for small business customers. "Tailored to meet the specific and unique demands of the small business customer, the card offers many outstanding advantages," said Scott Studier, manager in BellSouth Small Business Services. "It carries higher available credit limits than most cards available today, offers cash back on phone charges and purchases, has no annual fee and provides a year-end report for financial management." In addition to the standard features of telephone calling cards and VISA credit cards, the BellSouth VISA Small Business Card will pay cash back when it is used as a calling card, as well as when used as a credit card. As a telephone calling card, the BellSouth VISA Small Business Card is accepted virtually anywhere in the world from any phone. By using the card for BellSouth calling card calls, customers will receive 20 percent cash back. If they elect to pay their monthly business phone bills with their card, they will receive an additional two percent cash back based on their total monthly BellSouth phone bill amount. Used as a credit card, the BellSouth VISA Small Business Card will also pay one percent cash back on every purchase made with the card. Customers can also transfer existing credit card balances to the card and earn one percent cash back on the transferred amount. The amount of cash back accrued is shown on the monthly BellSouth VISA Small Business Card statement. A check for the total amount earned will be sent to customers shortly after their card anniversary date. There is a $300 cap on rebates, excluding calling card charges. Small business customers can also enjoy the convenience of cash advances through the Cirrus(R) and VISA(R) ATM networks worldwide, or use the handy Convenience Checks to pay bills or make purchases. As an added benefit, customers will be able to manage their expenses with the annual detailed expense report provided at no additional charge. Small business customers may apply for the BellSouth VISA Small Business Card by calling toll free 1-888-4SB-VISA (1-888-472-8472). As a special introductory offer, the card will feature a low variable annual percentage rate (APR) and no annual fee. In addition to the card's cash-back features, low introductory APR, and an easy-to-remember calling card number (office phone number plus PIN), it also offers: * available credit line up to $25,000 (financial statement required to determine credit lines over $15,000); * emergency medical referral assistance; * lost luggage insurance; * auto rental insurance; * extended warranty protection of up to a full year on purchases. Studier added, "This is just further proof that when it comes to helping small businesses communicate, BellSouth is the only name to remember." The Prudential Bank, a subsidiary of one of the nation's largest financial institutions, is issuing the BellSouth VISA Small Business Card. The Bank also partnered with BellSouth last year in issuing a card for consumers and BellSouth employees. BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. (BST), provides telecommunications services in the Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. With headquarters in Atlanta, BellSouth serves approximately 21 million local telephone lines and provides local exchange and intraLATA long distance service over one of the most modern telecommunications networks in the world. For Information Contact: Karen M. Roughton (404) 330-0188 Pager: 1-800-946-4646 PIN 2776190 Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com ------------------------------ From: Mehdi Ashraf Subject: Employment Opportunity: Telecommunication Positions Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 10:45:19 -0400 Organization: Durability, Inc. Integral Technologies, Inc. (ITI) is an Information System (IS) and Telecommunication Consulting firm headquartered in Vienna, VA. We are currently looking for a number of qualified telecommunication engineers familiar with Cellular technologies. A full description of these positions is currently available at our World Wide Web Site at http://www.durability.com/integral. With Best Regards, Niloo Mehrabian V.P. of Business Development Integral Technologies, Inc. http://www.durability.com/integral Tel: (703) 893-4071 Fax: (703) 893-5049 e-mail: Integral@ix.netcom.com ------------------------------ From: paulc@cix.compulink.co.uk ("Paul Crick") Subject: Mitel SX2000 Lite Voice Mail Integration Organization: IVC Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 15:13:30 GMT I have a customer who has a Mitel SX2000 Lite system. I'm doing some IVR work for them and they've asked if they could have voicemail within one department. I can do it no worries, but want to know if I can get tight integration with the PABX so they could divert on no reply to the IVR system and the caller get a personalised greeting. Is it possible to designate some extensions as voice mail ports, then have the SX2000 send some DTMF digits on answer corresponding to the original extension number dialled? I'm told it's possible but my guy can't find anything about it in the manual. I suppose you could do it if you had a Dialogic D/42-SX card but we're working on small scale stuff at the minute. Replies here or by mail to paulc@itl.net. Thanks in advance, Paul Crick: paulc@cix.compulink.co.uk -- +44-1534-287213 (24 hours) paulc@bickler.demon.co.uk -- PO Box 783, Jersey JE4 0SH, UK ------------------------------ From: jeff777@netcom.com (Jeff Rodrigues) Subject: Required PIN Dialing Over Cellular Phone Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 21:59:29 GMT Here's a question regarding dialing a PIN number over a cellular service that not only requires a PIN number to be dialed, but also requires the PIN number to be entered after first dialing the phone number and hitting the SEND button. This applies more to cellular carriers in the northeastern U.S. When the PIN number is being sent to the carrier, is the PIN number being transmitted to the carrier via DTMF tones or through a control channel? Whichever way the PIN number is transmitted, is this process consistent with all carriers that require the PIN number to be dialed after sending th phone number first? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jeff Rodrigues (jeff777@netcom.com) jeff777@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: blair@instep.bc.ca Subject: CDPD in Los Angeles? Reply-To: blair@instep.bc.ca Organization: InStep Mobile Communications Inc. Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 18:53:55 GMT Is there or will there be CDPD coverage in Los Angeles any time soon? If you know the answer to this question, will you please e-mail me at blair@instep.bc.ca. I have found nothing about CDPD coverage in LA, the areas that are covered, to the best of my knowledge are San Fran.-Oakland, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose, Fresno and Bakersfield. Any information on CDPD in L.A. will be appreciated. Sincerely, InStep Mobile Communications Inc. Blair Shellenberg ------------------------------ From: kshaw@plight.lbin.com (kendall shaw) Subject: Information Wanted on Tymnet Date: 29 Apr 1996 11:23:11 -0700 Organization: shwa and squaw There was a company called Tymnet who offered a service which was popular with computer users, whereby you would call in and then be able to call out to internet service providers or other services. I think it was an X.25 network. What has become of that? I thought it became Sprintnet, but when I called sprintnet they said they have no such service and they were never Tymnet. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Beginning about 1970 or maybe in the late 1960's, GTE offered a data network which was quite large called 'Telenet' which should not be confused with the Unix feature 'telnet' (without the /e/ in the middle). The customers were large computer systems in the 'military/industrial complex' and universities. Each comptuer site had a six digit address of the form 312567 where the first three digits were the telephone area code and the last three digits were the site identifier. Computers could connect to this network and call each other. There were also gateways to the data networks in other countries including Canada. Calls over the network were charged to the computer originating the connection however there were provisions to call 'collect' just as in the voice telephone network. Telenet was in fact quite huge; it was to computers what AT&T was/is to voice traffic; i.e. a big central switching system and network. There were numerous 'dialups' or numbers on the voice telephone network which connected to the data network for the early users of modems with computers at home, etc. Those calls were always 'collect' or charged to the site receiving the connection since Telenet had no way of knowing who the originating party was. When you connected with the network either via a telephone 'dialup' or a fixed circuit located at your premises, Telenet answered with this symbol '@' which was essentially analogous to 'computer dial tone'. You then typed in your connection instructions and waited for a response from the system you were calling. Response messages might be that you were connected, or that the other end did not respond, or that the other end was 'busy', i.e. its circuits all in use. A competitive service started around 1970-75 called 'Tymnet' pronounced 'Time Net'. It operated much the same way and it came down basically to a 'do you prefer MCI, Sprint or AT&T' sort of thing. Either one you picked had about the same rates; each served a few slightly differ- points than the other when you got out in the boondocks, etc. Both the services were used heavily in the day, and seldom at night or weekends. They both offered email; in Telenet's case at the @ sign the command @C MAIL (meaning connect to mail) got you into a combination electronic bulletin board/email area. Telnet got the idea of selling their excess capacity all night long and on weekends to 'home computer enthusiasts' as we were sometimes called back about 1980-81. They knew they were getting hacked all night long anyway by people with modems who were just fooling around, so what they were selling all day long for $4-5 per hour to large computer sites they decided to sell for $25 per month for unlimited usage to 'home computer users' via the dialups at night and on weekends. They called their program 'PC Pursuit'. You were specifically NOT authorized to connect with of the large mainframes; their daytime customers got pretty antzy about that. You were only authorized to call through the network to other dialups, which when used from the network side were called 'dialouts'. So if you wanted to call a BBS in Chicago from New York, you called the New York City dialups with your modem and did @C 312 or some similar command. You then reached a modem over here which let you do ATD and the desired local number. For only $25 per month for unlimited use between 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM daily plus all day Saturday and Sunday, it was an excellent deal. Some people literally stayed connected from 6:00 PM Friday through 6:00 AM Monday and because of the extreme amount of use the personal PC users gave Telenet's 'PC Pursuit' program, eventually the rates were changed and the terms were changed. At some point, Tymnet jumped into it with an offering of their own which was quite competitive. I do not recall which company owned Tymnet, although I beleive there are some very old files in the Archives which discusses it and makes a comparison study between it and Telenet's PC Pursuit. Eventually, Sprint bought Telenet from GTE and renamed it SprintNet. They continued to operate the PC Pursuit program for a couple years after that, but the immense popularity of the program led to its downfall. It became so popular the network suffered from extremely slow connections and transmission. The night and weekend thing toward the end had thousands of customers where the original service for which the network was configured and had been in operation for many years never had more than a few hundred large corporate accounts. At some point Tynmet either went out of business or changed its name our was bought out. I know the very same phone numnbers from the Tymnet days are still in service as dialups, and to a large extent by AOL. The fastest baud rate you can get on any of those older dialups is 1200. You get to pick that or 300, your choice ... ... also the PC Pursuit program allowed those two choices of baud rates. I think Tymnet may still be around, but you do not connect with them per se ... you use software from the service you subscribe to which places a call via the dialups and handles all the login (to Tymnet) details transpar- ently. SprintNet is still around, and I notice in the Compuserve phone number listings quite a few of their dialups are shown as ways to connect with @C 614something, the Columbus, Ohio location of CIS. I cannot imagine who would use it at 300/1200/2400 baud when there are now so many other methods of connection at speeds much greater. So the person you talked to at SprintNet was partly right and partly wrong. They did have PC Pursuit when they called their network Telenet. They no longer offer it and have not for a few years. It has nothing to do with Tymnet, which was a competitor with a similar program for small PC users, who I have no idea where they went or when, just that they are not around now. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Eva Fung Subject: What is Turnpike Effect? Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 16:35:05 -0500 Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington I read a book talks about network design lately and it mentions that network designers should forecast the data volume of three to five years in the future. Then, it talks about turnpike effect. But it never mention what turnpike effect is ... Can anyone tell me what is turnpike effect please? Thanks, Eva [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I think it is a rule which says 'if you give something to people they will use it.' Prior to President Eisenhower putting on a *big* push to build the interstate highway system in the United States, people traveled where they wanted to go on local roads and highways such as the famous 'Route 66' between Chicago and Los Angeles. It took people in automobiles between four and five days to get across the country; Greyhound Bus made the cross country trip in a little over five days. Since airplanes were not yet in real common use by civilians, the train was the way to travel long distances. The New York Central Railroad brought you to Chicago in a day. You changed trains here and the Santa Fe Rail- road got you to the west coast two days later. Eisenhower said let's build big fast roads and they did. I remember as a teenager the grand opening of the Indiana Toll Road and its eventual connection to the Ohio Turnpike on one side and Interstate 55 on the other side. I remember before Interstate 90/94 people going to Milwaukee driving up US 41 with an all-day trip to get there. A street on the far northwest side of Chicago is called 'Northwest Highway'. It is now seldom used but fifty years ago it was the road to the far away suburbs by the Wisconsin border. Back then, certainly you passed cars on Route 66 or Route 54 on your travels, but nothing like now with the highways packed solid at times. Preident Truman had also talked about building a massive highway infrastructure in the USA but Eisenhower accomplished it. They had no concept of just how much traffic there would be on the interstates, or how the new highway system plus the airplanes would effectively put the passenger rail- roads out of business. President Truman scoffed at the idea of immense amounts of traffic on the roads. He once said, "my advisors tell me we need to plan for a time when there will be thousands of machines on the roads, all at one time, mind you! Why, that is ridiculous! Thousands of machines, all going down the road in all directions. That would be insanity. What if one of the machines goes out of control and crashes into another?" But finally he agreed the interstate expressways and turnpikes might be necessary. With the opening of the interstate highways through the late 1950's and into the 1960's, people started traveling by car to all sorts of places they had never visited before. Like the rail- roads, Greyhound got hurt in it but their survival plan included closing about five thousand of the contract agency bus stations which were up and down every rural highway in America and telling many of the remaining three thousand or so to either move to within about a half-mile of the nearest expressway or they would find another agent to provide 'bus station services' who would open up by the interstate, saving precious minutes in station stops so they did not have to drive all the way through town to get to the local bus station. They trimmed their five/six day cross country trips down to three days, but still have only about half the passengers they had forty or fifty years ago. Unlike the passenger railroads, they are still in business however. I think the quote in your book means if you give people lots of virtually unlimited resources, like the interstate highways, they will use them because it is convenient. If you fix it so people can have telephones turned on and off at a minute's notice and the service is dirt cheap, people will make more and more phone calls. Like Truman and his disbelief that there would ever be 'thousands of machines on the road one time driving in all directions and crashing into each other', who fifty years ago could predict what our telephone network would be like today? Who would like to predict fifty years from now? The Turnpike Theory therefore says build your infrastructure with the most extreme forecasts you can design in mind. Chances are likely you will be 'more correct' than with a conservative design. PAT] ------------------------------ Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago, ADN Computer Center Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 06:02:06 CDT From: Rich Chong Subject: Does Caller-ID Hunt or Call-Forward? Let's say I have two lines. A and B. Line A doesn't subscribe to caller-id. Line B does. If line-A busy is set up to hunt to line-B, what caller-id info if any is presented to B? Same question for a call-forwarded line. Oh, lets toss in the same question for cell phones (as line A) immediate, busy, and no-answer call-forwarding. Thanks, Rich [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: No information is provided to B since it is only being used as an overflow/alternate for A, and A does not subscribe to the service. The 'decision' in the software as to which custom calling features to extend to a subscriber with an incoming call are made before any 'decision' is made how to dispose of the call if the specifically called line is unavailable for whatever reason. As long as you *never* have incoming calls which were dialed direct into your back lines, you are perfectly safe in having things like caller-id and call screening on your first, main, listed number only. Now if calls come in at some point in your rotary other than the very top -- that is, some people dial the number for your third or fourth or eighty-nine line or whatever -- then you have to equip that line also, but if all those numbers are secret and never given out with customers knowing only your top or main number, then you are covered because telco will always come looking for that line when a call is recieved. It will bring along whatever privileges or services are associated with that line on incoming calls. If it has to hand them off to another line or return a busy signal to the caller or whatever, that does not matter. Obviously you need to have a Caller-ID display box on each line; there still has to be a way to display what telco is presenting; you just don't have to pay the monthly service fee. Service reps are trained to tell you things like Caller-ID and Call Screening 'will not work correctly' on multi-line arrangements unless you buy those services for each line. You can tell them that is not true as long as you have no 'independently delivered' calls into those lines. Now, let your customers/employees/others find out the numbers for those back lines and then all bets are off. Ditto on a call-forwarding situation. The central office 'finds out about' your request to forward the calls after it has already decided what privileges or services are to be provided you on your incoming call. Naturally the final end stopping point still has to have a Caller-ID box. When you want to turn on call screening or turn on call forwarding, you do have to do it from the lead number in your group however, the one which telco always tries first to deliver your calls to before deciding on other ways to handle them, because if it can drop a call on that line, it will do so. Cellular phones usually do not send or receive caller-id, regardless of what features you have on your landline phones. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Apr 96 12:30:57 -0400 From: Tara D. Mahon Subject: Insight Research Online Dear Pat and the Digest, The new Insight Research Corporation World Wide Web site has been officially launched! Many thanks to our friends LDDS Worldcom for hosting the site.* Please bookmark our address: http://www.wcom.com/Insight/insight.html The site has been reorganized for easier navigation, and we have added excerpts from several research reports, including full tables of contents. A search engine will be operational in early May. Choose the "Insight Reports" link to read report excerpts -- we have included our market research reports from 1994 and 1995, all the way up to our most recent 1996 study, "Business Online Services, Change, and the Internet." You can also find out what reports we have planned for the coming months. As soon as a new report is published, you'll be sure to find the table of contents and further information online at the web site. Our philosophy has remained simple: we prefer sharing information with the Internet community rather than blanketing our pages with advertising. Our site is not full of marketing hype, but examples of the work we do here at Insight -- information we hope will assist you in your quest to understand the rapidly changing telecommunications marketplace. The excerpts we have online are just a small portion of much larger research reports which identify market trends, market shares, business strategies, and five-year projections of equipment and service revenue. We hope if a report is of interest to you, you'll contact us directly at 201-605-1400 to further discuss that study. Our 1996 reports are priced at $3,495 each, but we have discount packages and a comprehensive subscription program to deliver our services at a reduced cost. We welcome your comments, suggestions, and reactions to the new WWW site. Best Regards, The Insight Research Corporation 354 Eisenhower Parkway Livingston, NJ 07039-1023 201-605-1400 tel 201-605-1440 fax reports@insight-corp.com *The Insight Research Corporation is not affiliated with LDDS Worldcom. ------------------------------ From: Lynne Gregg Subject: Cellular Data Communications Date: Mon, 29 Apr 96 10:28:00 PDT I know there are many TELECOM Digest readers who use cellular networks for data communications. I'm interested in your use of circuit switched cellular (not CDPD). Specifically: are you using the Cancel Call Waiting (CCW) feature when doing a dial up? I'm trying to determine if there any problems in inconsistency in Feature Code assignments. Specifically, wireline telcos have pretty much standardized on the use of *70 for CCW. However, most cellular carriers do not use that code. Is that a problem? Feel free to post your comments to me directly. Regards, Lynne lynne.gregg@attws.com ------------------------------ From: DeborahLevinson Subject: NBC News Search Date: 27 Apr 1996 18:12:59 GMT Organization: Internet Online Services Have you or someone you know been able to cash in on the phone wars? What are the best deals? $75 checks? $100 checks? Beepers? Frequent flyer miles? Please contact Jack Styczynski at jstyczyn@nbc.com or 1-800-NBC-NEWS ext. 5308 if you would like to participate in a story we are doing. If you are comfortable e-mailing your phone number (to the above address, NOT the one this message was posted from), that will speed up the participation process. Thank you. ------------------------------ From: ra_warr@alcor.concordia.ca (Rosemary from Montreal) Subject: Canada: ATCI / Telecoms Inter-Cite Info Needed Date: 30 Apr 1996 01:59:36 GMT Organization: Concordia University, Montreal, Canada Greetings to all readers, I write the Canadian column for Moneycard Collector Magazine, an American publication which deals with the North American prepaid phonecard industry. The magazine is preparing a catalog of all American and Canadian phonecards ever issued, and I am researching the Canadian portion. I am looking for some information regarding a Canadian telecom company. I have some information but I need assistance to fill in some holes. ATCI was based in Etobicoke, Ontario and not only produced debit cards but offered various long distance services under the Econocall and Teleconomie brands. An affiliate was Telecommunications Inter-Cite of Brossard, Quebec, producers of the Telesphere debit card. Both of these companies have gone out of business, and I am looking for someone who might know something about their cards. I own one Telesphere card, 10 mil plastic, pale blue with red writing. It had a horrid prompting system, using whines instead of voices, which led me to believe it may have been a test card. I have been told a total of 15 different designs were issued -- the key for me is to find out about them, the release dates and mintages to include in the catalog. Please contact me at the email address above, or by phone at the numbers below, with any pertinent information. I will be going to the magazine's offices in Sidney, Ohio in May to work on the catalog. I only wish to hear from USA/Canadian readers on this. 514-725-4826 before May 17 (evenings eastern time) - or - 800-645-7456 option 3 (touch tone needed) between May 18 and May 31 Thank you, Rosemary Warren Canadian Columnist, Moneycard Collector Magazine ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #206 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Tue Apr 30 15:51:41 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id PAA10908; Tue, 30 Apr 1996 15:51:41 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 15:51:41 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199604301951.PAA10908@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #207 TELECOM Digest Tue, 30 Apr 96 15:51:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 207 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson AT&T Worldnet Service Works Great For Me (John Stahl) Canada Direct Homepage on WWW (Cole Cooper) Cellular Service in Milwaukee (Joseph C. Kirschling) Area Code 619 (Southern CA) Split Details Released (Pierre Thomson) Local Service Costs in Major US Cities (Bill McMullin) Information Requested on T1 Carrier Pricing (Tom Montgomery) Information Wanted on Telemate Software (Pete Holler) Non-LEC Payphones (John Mayson) Telephone Headset to SoundBlaster Interface Wanted (Foster Schucker) Information Wanted on Finland Telecomms? (Johannes Kiehl) Re: Information Wanted on Tymnet (Fred R. Goldstein) Re: Information Wanted on Tymnet (Stefano Cazzani) Re: Bits Don't Go High to Some 800s (John Nagle) Re: Bits Don't Go High to Some 800s (jensoft@blarg.net) Re: Fire in PDX US West Office Kills Phone Service (Mark Brader) Last Laugh! Robin Loyed Has a Long Commute Each Day (Minister of Truth) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 14:01:07 GMT From: John Stahl Subject: AT&T Worldnet Service You will note by my email address, I am a subscriber to AT&T's new Internet service and can report to you that so far, I'm very happy with the service they offer. Both the Internet connection and the AT&T 800-number dial in help service line has been superb! No, I'm not an AT&T employee nor do I have any connection what so ever with AT&T; I'm just a user. Here's a bit of what I have observed so far: When you receive the software package - 3 disks (or CD if you want it) including a modified version of Netscape (there are AT&T logo's throughout), a special AT&T dialer program (very nice; I would say better than Winsock), Eudora Light ver 1.5.2 and a couple of other programs including a special program to help you set-up and trouble shoot the installation called "Customer Care Tools" - the installation under Windows 3.0, 3.1 or 3.11 is very easy. Incidentally, I have found that I can run any Internet type (TCP/IP) program once connected by the dialer. You don't even have to use the Netscape version supplied by AT&T; I use ver. 2.0. I have also run the Microsoft Internet Explorer and run News-Express for the Newsgroups access. After installation, the program asks if you want to register? If yes, it dials an 800-number, goes on line and it takes you through a series of questions (have your credit card available - it doesn't bill your phone account). One of the questions asked is what type of service you want. One of the options is for a small monthly fee you get the 5 free hours of access they tout, after which you pay by the hour similar to AOL and the others. The other option, for big users of the Internet, is an unlimited usage account for $19.95/month. I chose that one. They do charge something like $0.08/min to use their 800 number for Worldnet access if you are not in a local access number area. Also, if you don't subscribe to AT&T long distance service, the monthly access rates are higher - for example the $19.95 is $24.95/month. The 800 number for getting info to order the software, for help and to check to see if there is a local node in your local calling area is: 800-400-1447. There you will get a whole set of options to access most everything you will need. If you go to the access number area, you can ask for as many access numbers you desire by giving the AC and the exchange. If you travel, pick motels/hotels at your stops, get their phone numbers and see if there is a local access number before you go, I did! I have 'surfed' for many happy hours since signing up in February. The only down time thus far is their scheduled maintenance period, Thursday mornings from something like 2:00 AM to 7:00 AM when the service is off. This is in comparison to the local ISP I used to use who experienced - especially on weekends when there was no one in the office - much down time. AT&T so far seems to always be there, 24 hours a day, both for call-in help and the ISP service! Enjoy - I do! John Stahl ------------------------------ From: Cole Cooper/srci/Stentor Date: 30 Apr 96 10:04:33 Subject: Canada Direct Homepage on WWW Announcing a new web site of Interest to Candians travelling overseas. www.stentor.ca/canada_direct Canada Direct is a FREE service from the Canadian companies that connects you to a Canadian network so you can place your long distance overseas calls at low Canadian rates. In the Website: Tell Me More! - Find out everything you need to know about this FREE service before you travel. What's New - The latest details on avoiding telephone fraud, and up to the minute listings of Canada Direct access numbers. Don't miss it! E-mail Updater - Sign up to be alerted by e-mail of any changes to the Canada Direct access numbers. Your Personal Reference Card - Build your customized Canada Direct Reference Card featuring the access numbers you choose. For a complete card, e-mail or call us at 1-800-561-8868. Not all the telcos who can have made the link yet, but they will soon. The French should be up May 8, and English phase 2 (travel tips, useful links etc.) should be up May 10. C.M. (Cole) Cooper - ISS Services Manager Stentor Resource Centre Inc. Alberta and British Columbia Floor 3 W 3030 2nd Avenue S.E. Calgary, Alberta T2A 5N7 Telephone: 403-531-4205 Cellular: 403-540-5387 Facsimile: 1-800-269-7571 Internet: cooperc@stentor.ca ------------------------------ From: lycaeum@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu (Joseph C Kirschling) Subject: Cellular Service in Milwaukee Date: 30 Apr 1996 15:07:05 GMT Organization: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee I may be getting a cellular phone in the next week or so. I was wondering what cellular providers people favor in the Milwaukee area. I've been told to stay away from Cellular One and a friend just got shafted by Ameritech. Any suggestions, horror stories? Thanks, Joe Kirschling lycaeum@csd.uwm.edu [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If you don't mind buying a cellular phone at the regular price from any dealer of your choice in exchange for a no-contract, month-by-month arrangement at $10 per month for the service fee and rates of 35/18, then you might want to sign up with Frontier. That long distance carrier, previously known as Allnet has a cellular division. They resell Ameritech at corporate rates, so it is a pretty good deal. I use them here in the Chicago area and have not only a Chicago number but a Milwaukee number as well on my dual-NAM phone. You get billed each month on a credit card, and you are required to have at least one of your landlines defaulted to them for long distance, but that is not a bad deal. I gave them one of my lines and left the others with AT&T. I got a nice cellular phone several months ago for $150 from a mail order place which Frontier uses. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Pierre Thomson Subject: Area Code 619 (Southern CA) Split Details Released Date: 30 Apr 1996 12:46:30 GMT Organization: MHVNet, the Mid Hudson Valley's Internet connection I just got the lowdown on the upcoming split of 619 in the San Diego area, in Bellcore Information Letter IL-96/04-009. Briefly, the city of San Diego and its immediate surroundings will keep the 619 area code, and the remaining part of 619 will get the new 760 area code. Permissive dialing starts on Mar. 22, 1997 and ends Sept. 27, 1997. The list of affected exchanges can be found at: http://www1.mhv.net/~mmommsen/npanxx.htm Pierre Thomson Telecom Manager Rifton Enterprises ------------------------------ From: Bill McMullin Subject: Local Service Costs in Major US Cities Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 21:40:17 -0300 Organization: Info-InterActive Inc. I am attempting to determine the all in cost of "local phone service" in the major US cities. Is there a single source of such data? If not, maybe some of you who have a phone :-) could help. By local phone service I mean the total fixed monthly charge for the average touch-tone phone line in an urban centre, with average local calling area. I'd be curious about the taxes and installation charges as well. Responses appreciated, Bill McMullin ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 09:54:55 CDT From: Tom Montgomery Subject: Information Requested on T1 Carrier Pricing Can anyone tell me who the lowest price T1 carriers are. Is there a list? Thank you in advance, T. Montgomery ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 09:23:37 CDT From: Pete Holler Subject: Information Wanted on Telemate Software Hello all, I was wondering if anybody was familiar with a company called Telemate Software. They are a provider of telemanagement software for large and small companies. We are very interested in purchasing this software for our call accounting platform, and would like to hear any pros/cons about it. Please let me know what you can, and thank you in advance. Pete Holler Telecom Tech. Quad/Graphics, Inc. pholler@qgraph.com ------------------------------ From: jmayson@p100dl.ess.harris.com (John Mayson) Subject: Non-LEC Payphones Date: Tue, 30 Apr 96 9:26:31 EDT I needed to call my wife on our cellular phone the other day, so I pulled off at the nearest pay phone. This was a non-BellSouth pay phone. I think the company's name was LTI, but I won't swear to that. We live in the Melbourne, Florida exchange. Our cell phone has a Cocoa, Florida exchange. According to BellSouth, a call from Melbourne to Cocoa is a local call. I put my 25 cents in, dialed 427- and got a message saying "please dial 1 plus the area code for this long distance call." I dialed "0" (knowing I would get a BellSouth operator), verified Cocoa was in the local dialing area, then dialed 211, pay phone repair and refunds. The woman who answered didn't sound too knowledgeable about much of anything. I tried to explain to her that her company's pay phone was trying to turn a local call into a long distance one. All she did was ask me a couple of times for my name and address so she could mail me my refund. I hung up and went and found a BellSouth pay phone. Here's my question. Just because BellSouth has decided Melbourne to Cocoa is a local call, are non-BellSouth pay phones obliged to place this call for as a local call? Isn't this company simply leasing BellSouth phone lines for their pay phones? Would complaining to the company or the Common Carrier Bureau of the FCC help? John Mayson | Palm Bay, Florida | john.mayson@harris.com ------------------------------ From: foster@voicenet.com (Foster Schucker) Subject: Telephone Headset to SoundBlaster Interface Wanted Date: 29 Apr 1996 18:00:28 GMT Organization: Voicenet - Internet Access - (215) 674-9290 I'm looking for an interface that will allow me to connect a telephone headset to a Soundblaster (tm) card. I'd like to be able to play sounds on the ear phone and use the microphone. I've tried some telephone supply places and have drawn a blank. Thanks!!! Foster Schucker ------------------------------ From: jokifedi@cetus.zrz.TU-Berlin.DE (Johannes Kiehl) Subject: Information Wanted on Finland Telecomms Date: 29 Apr 1996 18:11:25 GMT Organization: Technical University Berlin, Germany Can someone from Finland please give me the name (and maybe a phone number?) of the national telecomms company? (I understand there's a telecommunication monopoly in Finland?) Thanks all, Johannes Kiehl In der Nacht zum 29. Februar 1896 ist ein junger Computerlinguistik/Phonetik bartloser Mann in dunkler Kleidung in der Wiener Web Home: http://www.cs. Strasse unterwegs. Er schiebt einen auffallend tu-berlin.de/~johannes grossen, blauen Handwagen (Polizeibericht) ------------------------------ From: fgoldstein@bbn.com (Fred R. Goldstein) Subject: Re: Information Wanted on Tymnet Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 10:17:52 EST Organization: BBN Corp. In article kshaw@plight.lbin.com (kendall shaw) writes: > There was a company called Tymnet who offered a service which was > popular with computer users, whereby you would call in and then > be able to call out to internet service providers or other services. > I think it was an X.25 network. I don't remember Tymnet's offering that; PC Pursuit was Telenet's. > What has become of that? I thought it became Sprintnet, but when I > called Sprintnet they said they have no such service and they were > never Tymnet. Tymnet is still around. It has gone through a number of owners. It began in the mid-'70s as an arm of Tymshare, Inc., a computer time-sharing bureau. Back in those pre-PC days, time-sharing was the only way for little guys to use a computer. Tymnet connected remote terminals to Tymshare's mainframes. The time-sharing business changed and most of the old players went away, the notable exception being CompuServe, which repositioned itself with new services geared to PC users. Tymnet became part of McDonnell-Douglas by the early '80s, was later purchased by British Telecom (and operated as "BT Tymnet"), and a couple of years ago went to MCI as part of the BT-MCI semi-merger (sort of a keiretsu deal). It's still widely used for corporate remote access, credit-card validation terminals, on-line service access, etc. They have numbers in all sorts of little burgs, probably the biggest Foreign Exchange collection in the USA. Then, TELECOM Digest Editor added his two cents: > Eventually, Sprint bought Telenet from GTE and renamed it SprintNet. > They continued to operate the PC Pursuit program for a couple years > after that, but the immense popularity of the program led to its > downfall. There were three big packet-switched network operators in the USA in the late '70s. Telenet was founded by BBN (we invented all sorts of packet-switching technology), but ran independently with minority partner ownership before being acquired by GTE in 1980 or so. They called it "GTE Telenet". GTE bought Sprint from the Southern Pacific and put the two together. Then GTE sold part of Sprint and Telenet to United Telecom ("US Sprint"), and finally the rest of them. Now the former United Telecom uses the name Sprint Corp., calls Telenet "Sprintnet", and operates both the "United" and "Centel" (a more recent acquisition) telephone companies. The third of the big three was Graphnet, run by Graphic Scanning Inc. It seemed to fade away by the early '80s. AT&T's X.25 efforts ("Accunet", I think, though they use that name on lots of things) were never huge. Some Bells also bought in during the mid 80s, never to dominate. Fred R. Goldstein k1io fgoldstein@bbn.com BBN Corp., Cambridge MA USA +1 617 873 3850 ------------------------------ Date: 30 Apr 96 10:18:40 EDT From: Stefano Cazzani <100010.3371@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Re: Information Wanted on Tymnet > What has become of that? I thought it became Sprintnet, but when I > called Sprintnet they said they have no such service and they were > never Tymnet. I believe Tymnet was bought by BT (British Telecom) a few years ago. They marketd their X.25 network in Europe as BT-Tymnet for a while. I think it is now part of their Concert (BT-MCI alliance) offering. Regards, Stefano Cazzani Milano, Italy ------------------------------ From: nagle@netcom.com (John Nagle) Subject: Re: Bits Don't Go High to Some 800s Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 01:28:58 GMT Antilles Engineering writes: > We've noted that when our guys overseas call through the switch to > some 800 numbers (for example, American Airlines Advantage 1 800 848 > 4653), the call doesn't "connect" and yet information is being > conveyed by AA. You are prompted to enter a DTMF to access a > particular branch, then put on hold. *Only* when a live body at that > particular AA branch picks up do the signal bits go high and a > "connect" actually happens. > Technically, I can see how this can be done, but can *we* do it > legally, or do you have to have the concurance of your LD carrier, > *or* is someone out there being cute without the knowledge of the > carrier? I just saw some ITU documents on this, on the ITU web server. There are some documents on who pays for annoucements and such. The traditional rule for international is that charging begins when the voice connection goes bidirectional, but that's not enough to cover all the situations any more. John Nagle ------------------------------ From: jensoft@blarg.net (Genuine Softness) Subject: Re: Bits Don't Go High to Some 800s Date: 30 Apr 1996 03:32:42 GMT Organization: Blarg! Online Services 206/441-9109 Antilles Engineering (antilles@madriver.com) wrote: > the call doesn't "connect" and yet information is being > conveyed by AA. You are prompted to enter a DTMF to access a > particular branch, then put on hold. *Only* when a live body at that > particular AA branch picks up do the signal bits go high and a > "connect" actually happens. One of our local paging companies in Bellevue, Washington, doesn't return supervision on calls to pagers until *after* the data entry phase and a "thank you for calling" annoucement. So, if you can get in, dial in your message, and hang up before the terminal announcement is made, you've made a free call. I've often wondered about this. What do they care if they gyp US West or GTE out of a quarter? Wicker ------------------------------ From: msb@sq.com (Mark Brader) Subject: Re: Fire in PDX US West Office Kills Phone Service Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 23:50:27 GMT The Moderator writes: > Telcos are notorious for leaving millions > of dollars in switching and other sophisticated equipment unattended > for days at a time. In their penny-wise and pound-foolish budgets, they > would rather have a fire or other disaster every now and then costing > them several million dollars and a lot of bad customer relations than > to simply hire someone for twenty or thirty thousand dollars per year > and have them stay in the CO at night or on weekends... I don't dispute the general tenor of these remarks, but let's get the math right, please. Twenty or thirty thousand dollars per year times how many locations? Several million dollars every how often? Just what *is* the financial tradeoff here? Mark Brader, msb@sq.com, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto C unions never strike! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The math is particularly evasive because one does not sit down and factor in a major fire every X years at X million dollars each. Likewise, it is very difficult to put a firm dollar amount on customer goodwill. However, a very good estimate of the costs at Hinsdale is about ten million dollars. The entire switch had to be scrapped although originally they hoped to restore it. The last time I went shopping for a switch, the best price I could find was about five million dollars. To that you add in repair of the building in general, replacement of lots of cable, a month's worth of wages and overtime wages for people taken off of regular assignments to work on restoration of the disaster. Then you add in the costs of the emergency cellular service and equipment you provided to the most important customers during the outage, i.e. police, fire, hospitals. Then you pay for a few lawyers to fend off the inevitable lawsuits of customers which begin afterward. Did you know for example they were *still* settling lawsuits based on Hinsdale as of late last year, a full seven years later? I think ten million might be a good estimate of the 'cost'. What about the customers who did not sue you but just sat there for the duration very unhappy and who will jump ship when the opportunity arises. I guess they are worth something. So if you will for the moment at least stipulate that ten million dollars is reasonable, then let's go with that figure. Now if you pay a clerk five hundred dollars per week including fringe benefits you can reasonably expect to get a fairly sharp person in return. That is quite a cut above minimum wage. I do not think you would have to pay that much. Five hundred per week is about twenty-five thousand per year. If twenty such people covered the ten or so most important and critical company locations (remember, you have to cover days off and sick days and such; you are looking at three shifts some days of the week and one or two shifts other days of the week), then your expense would be about five hundred thousand per year. At that rate, you have twenty years of coverage for what Hinsdale 'cost'. You cannot say they would totally eliminate the cost of a disaster since fires would still get started and water pipes would still break, etc. But their *presence and immediate reactions* would greatly mitigate the loss. Maybe the cost of Hinsdale would have been as little as a few hundred thousand dollars and perhaps several hours to a day off line. Maybe there would have been no downtime except to a few customers. So you say well maybe Hinsdale did not cost that much and maybe you can't get people at that price. Okay, squeeze the two ends a little and cut my figures by fifty percent. Is ten years of protection still a good start? The other thing to remember also is that if those people employed for that purpose did *nothing but that* and their entire cost had to be budgeted to one department (let us call it plant security) then it is expensive. But suppose you transferred one or two people off of their daytime position and placed them on nights and weekends letting them spend about half the time on 'plant security' and the other half of their time at some routine task such as data entry or telephone message taking or janitorial duties ... something they had been doing all day long anyway but now would be doing all night long. You would continue to chargeback a great portion of their salary to the original department. In other words, maybe you don't really hire twenty people at a cost of five hundred thousand dollars, you merely juggle around the ones you have. This now cuts the expense down to a matter of the 'night shift differential' you would pay and the fact that you would be getting only about half as much work out of the person at their original task. For many years, telcos had during the evening and overnight shift a single clerk and technician in most central offices. The clerk answered customer calls to 611 and the technician did simple testing and repairs based on those calls in the frames. The clerk also did typing and filing and assorted tasks. Usually the clerk did stuff 'left over by the day crew' that they did not get to; i.e. an excessive amount of filing or data entry that day. Maybe the person pulled all the microfiche requests made that day and got them out to the requesting employees. Maybe they sorted and stapled and distributed computer printouts which were to be on the desks of certain executives each day. Routine, very rote work to fill out the time, but they would still manage to loaf, watch television and read the newspaper for about half their shift, thinking management was not aware of how little they had to do. It was actually a very cushy job; the person had no supervisors nagging at them, no absolute set periods for lunch or breaks, etc. It was great for people who liked working alone, and did not need any supervision at all. Don't you suppose if there were someone like that in the central office all night now that between their infrequent answering of calls to 611, their trips to the vending machines and the bathroom, their watching television and smoking cigarettes and occassional pecking at a keyboard they'd have enough wits about them to smell smoke coming from a room down the hall or see water dripping out of the ceiling and go to investigate, especially if a specific part of their job assignment was to specifically be alert for unusual conditions, etc? I suggest that you really would not wind up spending *anything* for the needed protection; you'd just juggle the existing clerical staff around a little. In any event, even if you had to start from scratch and pay large amounts of money, hire new people, etc ... how many years would it take before it became more expensive than Hinsdale in 1988 or lower Manhattan back in the 1970's ... and who is next? PAT] ------------------------------ From: dc@panix3.panix.com (Minister of Truth) Subject: Last Laugh! Robin Loyed Has a Long Commute Each Day Date: 30 Apr 1996 21:54:08 -0400 Organization: Woo Studios Ltd. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The Minister of Truth has revealed this latest wisdom to us. PAT] www.switchboard.com reports precisely one Robin Loyed in all of America: Loyed, Robin...5187 W 114th Pl...Shawnee Msn, KS 66211-1795 Phone: (913)469-xxxx Sure hope this isn't the Sprint man with the Dallas office number. David W. Crawford (c) 1996 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Shawnee Mission .... hmmm ... now what large, well known long distance carrier has their headquarters around that area? Hmmm ... United Telephone? Hmmm ... some company they bought out? Let me think, maybe it will come to me. According Southwestern Bell, the above number is now listed to the 'Deemer' (spelling?) residence. An entire check of 816/913 produced only one listing for 'Loyed', a person named Randy who lives in Missouri. I changed it to 'xxxx' because there is no reason to speak with the Deemer family. Maybe Randy is a relative, and perhaps Robin lived there in Shawnee Mission before getting transferred to Texas. I really cannot imagine him driving such a long distance to work each day, although it may explain why he is never at his desk or available on the phone. I guess we have to keep trying him at 214-405-5404, since it would certainly verge on harassment to involve the Deemers or Randy Loyed, whoever that might be. In the meantime, you do have a *total freeze* on all accounts payable to Sprint I assuume ... they'll eventually get around to asking why and what needs to be done to resolve the dispute. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #207 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Wed May 1 14:33:22 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id OAA15555; Wed, 1 May 1996 14:33:22 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 14:33:22 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199605011833.OAA15555@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #208 TELECOM Digest Wed, 1 May 96 14:33:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 208 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Employee Communications Plan (E. William Horne) New Area Codes in 209, 408, 510 (Tad Cook) Update on French CT2 Network (Eric Tholome) FITCE Annual Congress: Vienna, Aug 27 - Sep 1, 1996 (Dominic Pinto) CDPD Coverage in Parkersburg, WV (Blair Shellenberg) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 01 May 1996 09:10:09 GMT From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Nynex Announcement on AT&T Calling Card Changes This notice was received today. PAT NYNEX EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN IMPORTANT NOTICE: CHANGES AFFECTING CALLING CARD CUSTOMERS Please Note: This is a message to all NYNEX employees about calling card changes taking place this week which will affect all NYNEX employees and customers. Please print this information out, make copies and distribute it to all of your employees and/or anyone else (both Management and Craft) who may not have Lotus Notes access. In addition, please post this memo in a highly visible place in your work location. Executive Summary: AT&T has given NYNEX notice that it is terminating the Mutual Card Honoring Agreement as of May 1, 1996, and has directed NYNEX to block intraLATA 0+ calls customers attempt to bill to their AT&T calling card. Until today, callers in the NYNEX territory have been able to make intraLATA calls over either the NYNEX or the AT&T network and to charge the calls to either the NYNEX or the AT&T calling card. IntraLATA calls originated by dialing 0 plus area code and number are generally carried by NYNEX and billed at NYNEX rates; calls originated by dialing an AT&T 800 number are carried by AT&T and billed at AT&T's rates. With the termination of the Mutual Card Honoring Agreement, customers will no longer be able to charge an intraLATA 0+ call to the AT&T card. This agreement had no set expiration date -- it could be terminated by either party on notice to the other. NYNEX would have preferred to leave the agreement in place and continue to give customers a choice in the way they place and pay for calling card calls. However, AT&T apparently wishes to migrate customers to a proprietary AT&T card and, at the same time, increase intraLATA calls on its network. AT&T will continue to allow customers to use NYNEX cards to charge calls placed on the AT&T network, and, pursuant to FCC regulations, NYNEX is required to let AT&T accept our card as long as they wish. AT&T is taking similar action to terminate Mutual Card Honoring Agreements with other local carriers around the country, but the NYNEX termination will be the first to take effect. WHAT IS THE MUTUAL CARD HONORING AGREEMENT? This is an agreement between AT&T and each Local Exchange Carrier. For NYNEX it means that NYNEX and AT&T each honor the others calling card on their network; AT&T accepts the NYNEX card for interLATA calls on their network, and NYNEX accepts the AT&T card for intraLATA calls on our network. Independent of which card is used for billing, the company whose network carries the call keeps the associated revenue. WHAT IS CHANGING? AT&T is unilaterally canceling the Mutual Card Honoring Agreement, and has directed NYNEX to block intraLATA 0+ calls which callers try to charge to the AT&T calling card. AT&T has informed us that as of May 1, 1996, NYNEX must refuse the AT&T calling card for local and regional calls on the NYNEX network; AT&T will no longer accept charges for these calls. If NYNEX completes these calls, it receives no payment. WHAT DO THESE CHANGES MEAN FOR THE CUSTOMER? Termination of the Mutual Card Honoring Agreement means customers will not be able to charge intraLATA 0+ calls to an AT&T card. However, the way in which AT&T is advertising these changes might lead some customers to conclude that they no longer have a choice as to how they place any calling card calls. Because 0+ dialing for intraLATA calls over the NYNEX network is cheaper for most calls than dialing the AT&T 800 number for such calls, customers may pay more, without realizing that they have a choice. This will affect all customers who live in the NYNEX region and those who pass through the NYNEX region. WHAT IS AT&T TELLING CUSTOMERS CONCERNING THESE CHANGES? AT&T has recently distributed letters, TV and print advertisements, and bill inserts directed to AT&T cardholders who make NYNEX calls. These communications are potentially misleading in a number of ways: AT&T implies that NYNEX, not AT&T, is terminating the Mutual Card Honoring Agreement and choosing to block 0+ intraLATA calls which the caller wants to charge to his AT&T card. Customers can mistakenly conclude from these communications that NYNEX is to blame for this inconvenience. Through these communications, AT&T confuses customers and hurts NYNEX's reputation in the marketplace. AT&T implies that 0+ intraLATA calls dialed by AT&T cardholders have been carried by AT&T all along (rather than by NYNEX), and that using the AT&T 800 number is just a better way of dialing these calls. Customers may not understand that by changing dialing patterns, they are changing service providers and may be charged higher rates. AT&T is trying to divert intraLATA calls to its own network by confusing and misleading customers, rather than by competing fairly and openly on the basis of price, quality, or service. AT&T also implies that customers must dial the-AT&T 800 number to avoid having their calls blocked ("Call 1-800-CALL-ATT to get around the block", "Don't get blocked", "Always dial 1-800-CALL-ATT"). This is not true. Customers remain free to place intraLATA calls by dialing 0+, provided they charge the calls to their NYNEX card, or use another method of payment. POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: These changes are being made by AT&T. AT&T refuses to let NYNEX accept the AT&T Calling Card for intraLATA calls on the NYNEX network. If customers use a NYNEX calling card, which is available for free, they can still dial intraLATA calls the way they always have, and the call will go through. In many cases, using the NYNEX network is less expensive than using the AT&T network for intraLATA calling card calls. AT&T has the right to restrict its calling card so that it can only be used on the AT&T network. AT&T does not have the right to imply that NYNEX is to blame for the resulting customer inconvenience, or to mislead customers regarding their options. NYNEX EXTRA MESSAGE included in the NYNEX Bill: The NYNEX Extra for the MAY 1996 billing periods will include a message to both business and residential customers concerning the MCHA termination. The following information will be provided to all customers: URGENT MESSAGE TO ALL CALLING CARD CUSTOMERS: Beginning May 1, 1996, AT&T has directed NYNEX to reject the AT&T Calling Card for local and regional calls made by dialing 0 + AREA + NUMBER. It is AT&T, not NYNEX, that is eliminating this choice for AT&T Calling Card holders. However, you can continue to use your NYNEX Calling Card to make all calls -- local, regional and long distance -- by dialing 0 + AREA + NUMBER. The message to residential customers will also include the following: Remember -- your NYNEX Calling Card number starts with your area code and is followed by your home telephone number plus PIN. AT&T's card does not start in the same way. Finally, all customers will be provided with the number to call if they need to order a NYNEX Calling Card. Those numbers are: New York Residence: 1-800-771-5656, Operator 108. New England Residence: 1-800-499-5200, Operator 154. New York Business: 1-800-771-5656, Operator 425. New England Business: 1-800-499-5200, Operator 168. ------------------------------ From: Tad Cook Subject: New Area Codes in 209, 408, 510 Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 23:39:48 PDT New Area Codes Needed in 209, 408 and 510; Running Out of Numbers, New Codes Planned For Mid-1998 SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 1996--Due to increased demand for telephone numbers, new area codes will be introduced in some or all of the areas that now use the 209, 408 and 510 area codes in California. The three new area codes are expected to be in use by mid-1998. A group comprised of representatives from the telecommunications industry is currently developing and evaluating different options for introducing the new area codes. Under California law, public participation and comment must be obtained and final approval received from the California Public Utilities Commission before a new area code can be introduced. Administrators at Bell Communications Research (Bellcore), the organization that administers the North American Numbering Plan, also review the plan for compliance with industry guidelines and then assign the new area code. Bruce Bennett, numbering plan administrator for Pacific Bell and coordinator of the industry area code relief efforts for the 209, 408 and 510 area codes, said a series of meetings will be held before the end of October 1996 to seek public comment and input on potential area code relief. Locations, dates and times of the public meetings will be announced at a later time, Bennett said. Boundaries for the new area codes, as well as the actual three-digit numbers, will be announced later this year. The areas now served by the 209, 408 and 510 codes are the latest in a series of regions in California that need area code relief. Today, California has 13 area codes, more than any other state. Plans call for doubling that number from 13 to 26 over the next five years to keep up with the state's record telephone number consumption. This growth is being spurred by the high-technology explosion of fax machines, pagers and cellular phones as well as competition for local telephone service. Ten of the 13 new area codes will be introduced by mid-1998. In addition to 209, 408 and 510, the other California regions which have already announced the need for area code relief are as follows: the 415, 916, and 714 areas will need new area codes as early as December 1997. In 213, a new area code will need to be introduced in early 1998. In three other state regions, three new area codes have already been announced and will go into effect in 1997. They are: 562 in Eastern Los Angeles, 760 covering portions of San Diego, Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino, Mono, Kern and Inyo counties and 626 in Los Angeles County. The 209 area code currently spans 21 counties in the San Joaquin Valley and Sierra foothills, including Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Merced, Stanislaus, San Joaquin and smaller portions of El Dorado, Alpine, Sacramento, Inyo, Mono, San Benito, Alameda, Monterey, Kern and Santa Clara counties. The 408 area code serves the South Bay Area Peninsula and Central Coast areas, which represent virtually all of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties and small portions of San Luis Obispo, Merced, Stanislaus, Fresno and Alameda counties. The 510 area code covers the East Bay area, which includes all of Contra Costa County and most of Alameda County and a small portion of San Joaquin County. For more information, call one of the following: Eric Johnson -- 209 area code including Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties and small portions of Kern, Inyo and Mono counties; 408 area code including small portions of San Luis Obispo and Fresno counties. Veryl Oakland -- 209 area code including Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties and smaller portions of Alpine, El Dorado, San Benito, Sacramento and Monterey counties; 408 area code including virtually all of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties and small portions of Merced and Stanislaus counties. Beverly Butler -- all of the 510 area code including Contra Costa County, virtually all of Alameda County and a small portion of San Joaquin County; 408 area code including virtually all of Santa Clara County and a small portion of Alameda County; 209 area code including small portions of Alameda and Santa Clara counties. CONTACT: Pacific Telesis Eric Johnson, 209/454-3602 (209 area) Veryl Oakland, 916/972-2813 (209 & 408 areas) Beverly Butler, 415/542-9468 (510 & 408 areas) ------------------------------ From: tholome@francenet.fr (Eric Tholome) Subject: Update on French CT2 Network Date: Wed, 01 May 1996 12:35:48 +0200 Hi everyone, Since Chevalier has just announced that they were to close their CT2 network in Hong Kong on June 30th, I thought it was the right time to give you an update on the French CT2 network, which now is the largest CT2 network (in terms of number of subscribers) in the world (around 100k subscribers these days I believe). Recap: the French CT2 network (called "Bi-Bop" and operated by France Telecom) offers cellular-like service in and around Paris (several thousand base stations) as well as in a couple of other French cities and in most French airports and big train stations. While making outgoing calls is straightforward, receiving incoming calls is possible but requires that the subscriber locates him/herself and does not move to another base station. It has been quite interesting to follow the evolution of the network. Technically speaking, nothing much has changed since they introduced the inbound functionality (late 1993 if I remember well). The same stands for coverage: I don't think there has been any major deployment of base stations since mid 1994. The major evolution has been in terms of number of subscribers as well as tariffs. Bi-Bop is clearly an alternative to real cellular solutions (like GSM). While it may have had a couple of advantages over GSM (like offering voice mail before the GSM operators could, like providing in-building coverage in shopping centers, like having longer battery life), it is clearly not a real cellular system (no handover from one cell to another, no location tracking mechanism allowing automatic incoming call routing, patchy coverage, etc.). Its major advantage over GSM was therefore in terms of costs. Prices of handsets have fallen from US$300 (in 1993) to US$120 now. You can also rent your hanset for US$6/month. Bi-Bop handset prices have always been comparable to the price of the low-end GSM terminals. The initial offer was at US$11/month + US$7/month for optional inbound service. Calls were charged at PSTN rate + US$0.16/min for airtime (incoming and outgoing). In 1993, this was approximately 3 times less expensive than the GSM offers (except that French GSM operators charge the calling party for incoming calls, not the subscriber). This managed to attract quite a few people and Bi-Bop has been successful to bring mobility to a market segment that would have had to wait several more years otherwise. This offer had attracted around 80k subscribers end of 1994. But in the mean time, GSM operators had lowered their price quite significantly (mainly the airtime charges), while improving their coverage, making Bi-Bop less and less attractive. In 1995, France Telecom introduced another Bi-Bop offer targeted at occasional users: no more monthly fee, but calls were charged at PSTN rate + US$0.36/min. Inbound service was still optional at US$7/month. While airtime was in some cases more expensive than with GSM, it was a very good plan for occassional users. Apparently, they managed to attract more customers and reached around 100k around end 1995. Note: this growth is still pathetic compared to the GSM subscriber base growth in France. 1996 is starting to see drastic changes in the cellular world in France: on May 29th, Bouygues Telecom will open their DCS1800 network (DCS1800 is similar to GSM but at 1800MHz). They will probably go after the same market segment as Bi-Bop and steal some customers to the GSM networks too. We have already seen one GSM operator offering a new plan with a very low monthly rate, probably preparing for Bouygues' arrival. With the prices of GSM (and DCS1800) falling like tree leaves in October, there is less and less room for Bi-Bop ... France Telecom has just introduced two new plans for Bi-Bop: - one for heavy users: monthly rate US$16 (includes inbound service), calls are US$0.10/min for local calls, US$0.30/min for national calls. - one for occasional users: no monthly rate (includes inbound service), all calls are US$0.40/min, prepaid system. While I'm not sure that the first can compete with DCS1800, the second one may be attractive to occasional users (but France Telecom is not going to make big bucks with this one). With France Telecom seeing Bi-Bop revenues going down dramatically, the question clearly is: how long will Bi-Bop survive? Eric Tholome private account 23, avenue du Centre tholome@francenet.fr 78180 Montigny le Bretonneux phone: +33 1 30 48 06 47 France fax: same number, call first! ------------------------------ From: Pinto, Dominic Subject: FITCE Annual Congress: Vienna, Aug. 27 - Sep. 1, 1996 Date: Wed, 01 May 96 11:41:00 GMT FITCE was founded in 1961 to aid the establishment of good relationship between telecommunications engineers across European borders and to facilitate exchange of experience. Now FITCE numbers some 5000 members across the European Union, and includes telecoms and communications professionals from all the varying converging industries -- telecoms, IT, media, broadcast etc. This year's 35th Annual Congress is to be hosted by the Association of Austrian Telecommunication Engineers and supported by the Austrian PTT and by the Austrian Telecommunications industry. The theme of the Congress is Multi-Media Services on the Telecoms Networks of Europe. Keynote first day speaker will be Professor Peter Cochrane Head of Advanced Services at BT Labs, Martlesham Heath UK. This Congress coincides with Austria's millennium in 1996. In the year 1996 the name "Ostarrichi" (historical name for Austria) has been mentioned for the first time. Austria will be celebrating this historical moment with a lot of special exhibitions, concerts and other cultural events. The congress itself takes place in the Vienna Hilton hotel. There will be a full technical paper program (being finalised by the International Selection Committee), and a full social program. Registration fees are (in UK?) per person: Members ?76 (accompanying persons ?61), non-members ?152 (accompanying persons ?122). Travel and hotel is additional. Registration, hotel, and travel details are available from: Dominic Pinto FITCE UK, Room A604 81 Newgate Street London EC1A 7AJ UK. Ph +44 (0)802 246761, fax +44 (0)171 356-6482; e-mail dominic.pinto@itu.ch. ------------------------------ From: blair@instep.bc.ca Subject: CDPD Coverage in Parkersburg, WV Reply-To: blair@instep.bc.ca Organization: InStep Mobile Communications Inc. Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 16:00:54 GMT Hi There, From my understanding Cellular One is the cellular provider in Parkersburg, WV. Do they have any plans for CDPD coverage in this city? If any of the cellular carriers, particularly CDPD carriers, can send me some information it will be very useful. We are providing CAD (Computer Automated Dispatching) for taxi companies using mobile data terminals coupled with a CDPD modem. Using the CDPD network as our means of data transmission eliminates the costs, downtimes, lack of frequencies, and coverage issues typically associated with 2-way radios. If you can provide me with any useful information I can be reached at the following: InStep Mobile Communications Inc. Attn : Blair Shellenberg 1001 - 805 West Broadway Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 1K1 Canada (604) 872-7116 (604) 872-7125 Fax blair@instep.bc.ca If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch with me at your convenience. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Blair Shellenberg ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #208 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Wed May 1 20:35:26 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id UAA17305; Wed, 1 May 1996 20:35:26 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 20:35:26 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199605020035.UAA17305@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #209 TELECOM Digest Wed, 1 May 96 20:35:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 209 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson MFS Purchases UUNET (TELECOM Digest Editor) MIT Internet Telephony Interoperability (Gill Cable-Murphy) AT&T Doesn't Know When to Stop (Atri Indiresan) Adult Entertainment Lines (Scott Enriquez) ISDN Conference (Bob Larribeau) Big Problems With AT&T WorldNet Service (Greg Eiche) Competition and Anti-Trust (turner7@pacsibm.org) Further Notes to Those Who Ordered Clocks (Eric Roellig) Wanted to Buy: Manuals for Dialogic/Gammalink (Les Kula) ITU Standards on OAM (Steve Liu) Employment Opportunity: Communication Jobs (Leslie Farrell) Possible Work-Around to Avoid 911 ANI? (Philip Evans) Suing AT&T/Nynex For Credit Card Charges (Danny Burstein) Microsoft Funding Ends June 30; Corporate Sponsor Needed (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 America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 17:49:29 EDT From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Subject: MFS Purchases UUNET In an interesting business development late Tuesday, MFS Communications Company, Inc announced it is buying UUNET Technologies, a major supplier of Internet service. This will be done in a stock deal worth just over two billion dollars. MFS is the name for Metropolitan Fiber System, which began as a small private telecommunication service in Manhattan, New York just a few years ago. It is now based in Omaha, Nebraska. MFS competes with regional Bell companies in the business market for data and telephone services. UUNET, which is based in Fairfax, Virginia and is thirteen percent owned by Microsoft Corporation is well known on the Internet as a major site for the transfer of news. It has a large number of customers of its own and in addition it priovides Internet access for the Microsoft Network. It focuses much of its Internet access service on the business market. In a press release Tuesday, the companies said the merger will create a single source for Internet, voice, other data and video services over its international fiber optic network. "This merger is especially compelling because of the unique fit between MFS and and UUNET," said MFS Chairman James Crowe. "Because there is substantial overlap between our networks, we can improve our margins," he said. The deal promises to accelerate the rapid integration of voice and Internet-based communications. It could also resolve some of the bottle- necks that constrain wider use of the Inernet for data, voice and video communications. As part of MFS, UUNET will be the only Internet service provider to own or control fiber optic networks for local, intercity and undersea connections in the United States as well as France, Britain and Germany. Internet providers usually must lease these facilities from telephone companies. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said his organization fully supported the deal. Under the terms of the merger which will be will be implemented in phases over the next few months, UUNET shareholders will control about thirty percent of the combined stock. The announcement on Tuesday caused UUNET's stock to jump $10.50 to $58.75 per share while MFS stock fell a little over six cents to $34.56, both according to Nasdaq. I am wondering what Digest readers think of this, and what differences they see in the months ahead in the performance of the two companies. In particular, what about UUNET and its long standing role with the net for many years. Comments welcome. PAT ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 14:15:58 -0400 From: gcm@rpcp.mit.edu (Gill Cable-Murphy) Subject: MIT Internet Telephony Interoperability "MIT to Form Internet Telephony Consortium" Contact: Lee McKnight (617) 253-0995 mcknight@rpcp.mit.edu http://rpcp.mit.edu/~itel/ Massachusetts Institute of Technology is announcing the formation of the Internet Telephony Interoperability Project. An informational meeting will be held on May 7 at MIT for all firms that might be interested in joining. Internet telephony applications span traditional telecommunications infrastructures and the Internet enabling the development of new personal communications services. Among them is the use of the Internet for long distance calls. The project will be based in MIT's Research Program on Communications Policy (RPCP), a multidisciplinary research group focusing on infrastructures' interoperability and Internet economics. The project will be multidisciplinary in nature and will consider technical, economic, regulatory and business issues that are presented by Internet telephony. RPCP has succeeded at highlighting the need for interoperability for high bandwidth applications such as digital television and networked multimedia and is extending its ground breaking work to the intersection point between the Internet and the Public Switched Telephone Network. Internet telephony has already presented regulatory concerns. For example, America's Carriers Telecommunications Association, a lobbying organization for non-dominant long distance carriers, has filed a petition before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). A graduate student team at MIT has been organized to study the petition and will provide comments to the FCC. An information clearinghouse about the petition can be reached at: http://rpcp.mit.edu/~itel/acta/ MIT has shown its leadership in the development of the Internet most recently through the formation of the World Wide Web Consortium at MIT's Laboratory of Computer Science which develops standards for the World Wide Web. MIT's Laboratory of Computer Science has played a key role in the development of protocols for the Internet, and will be advising the project. More information about the project can be found on the Web at: http://rpcp. mit.edu/~itel/ ------------------------------ Subject: AT&T Doesn't Know When to Stop Date: Wed, 01 May 1996 14:33:10 -0400 From: Atri Indiresan Here's another twist on checks for LD switching. I live in University housing, and we have to use their phone service for local and long distance. However, this has not stopped AT&T from calling me at least three times asking me to switch to them. Each time I explained to them that given the nature of my phone service, it was not possible to me to make the switch to them, or anyone else. Yesterday, I received a check for $100 which, if I encash, authorizes them to switch me to their LD service (with 40% True Reach savings for the first 6 months). I really have no objection to being switched to AT&T - their rates seem better than what I get now. Do you think I should encash the check, and let them try to switch my LD service? Once they realize that I cannot be switched, maybe they will stop pestering me by phone? The way I see it, in spite my of telling them more than once that I cannot be switched, if they send me a check for $100, they deserve to lose the money. Comments? I have till May 23 to cash the check. Atri Indiresan ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 22:55:54 -0700 From: Scott Enriquez Subject: Adult Entertainment Lines I am new to this list and I have a question that has been bugging me for awhile. In my line of work, I see a lot of AEL calls on customers' bills that, of course, they do not claim. But what I'm wondering is how do these types of places make any money? I'm sure that, probably, some use customers' credit cards to be billed in addition to the normal international call. But there are some places like: Guyana & Sao Tome that you can just dial straight through and talk with someone on the other end and I don't believe that they ask for any credit information. I've never really stayed on the line long enough, once I determine that it is indeed an AEL, to find out. I'd appreciate any answers that anyone has on this puzzling question. In addition, it seems *subscription fraud has become a big problem in particular regions of the country (mostly the BellSouth region). Is there any reason that BellSouth has more of this type fraud than USWest, Ameritech, SouthWestern Bell and NYNEX combined? Are the other companies just more capable of keeping the problem under control or does BellSouth just have that many more customers that it can't be helped? *(assigning telephone numbers to customers who run up their phone bill thousands of dollars and then split only to be reassigned, in some cases, another number under another name to do it again) Scott Enriquez [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: In those situations where you can dial through to a sex line and not be required to provide any billing infor- mation, the provider of the service makes his money via kickbacks or commissions from the long distance carrier serving the point. Many of those places have a very out of balance account with the American telcos regards the amounts each owe the other for traffic handled. Many very small foreign countries are chronically in debt to the USA carriers since most of their traffic is to the USA rather than the other way around. A good way to reverse that trend they have found is by inducing people here to call there. Now, how do you do that? Well, you create a reason for traffic in your favor to exist which would not occur otherwise. A good market for this are all the guys who are into phone sex and who are otherwise sick and tired of having outlandish charges on their bill for calls to 900 numbers, or charges on their credit cards for the same thing. So you take the charges for calls to international points which are higher than domestic USA calls; you inflate them just a little bit more but so they are still priced much less than calls to some 900 numbers, and then you run advertising in the media which will likely attract the customers you are trying to reach inviting people to call your phone sex service 'for free'. You tell them no charge to use the service; all you pay is the international toll charge. That, to many of your customers, seems like a better deal -- and by and large it is cheaper -- so they flock to your phone sex service and quit using the one with the 900 number which is 'ripping them off'. Now all of a sudden, instead of a few measly calls every day to some third-world country from the USA, telco is suddenly getting thousands of incoming calls, all from hungry men in the United States lookng for nourishment. The local telecom administration in the third- world country is pleased to see this, because it helps get rid of that nasty imbalance in their books with AT&T, Sprint and MCI. The telco there agrees to give the proprietor of the service -- unless they themselves happen to be running it, which is not unheard of -- a commission, or piece of the action on all incoming calls. A dime for this one, twenty five cents for that one, etc ... the guy who runs it does not have to charge you the caller anything -- and in fact that is his stock in trade -- because the local telecom takes care of him nicely as long as he manages to keep the American men all stirred up and excited and on the phone daily making obscene calls to whoever he has on his end of the line listening to them and encouraging them to continue what they are doing. This scheme could only work in America, or more specifically, from America outbound to those points. Stop and think about it; I think you will agree. All those guys in other countries do in fact take calls from all over the world, but nothing makes their balance with the American telcos look as sweet as the gay guys in the United States calling to discuss their fantasies with new friends around the world, via some conference bridge in the Netherland Antilles or Guyana. The rest of the world put together gives them about ten percent of the traffic, with the Americans generating the other ninety percent or more. It is not all from the USA outbound however. AT&T has a deal going with that guy in Nevada who operates the gay conference bridge which seems to be packed night after night. You dial a 702 number, and if your telco gives it to AT&T, when AT&T sees it they convert it to some other number and send it via their own T-1 to the bridge. What they save in local access charges they don't have to pay to the Nevada telco, they split with the bridgetender. If you try to call that same 702 number on anything other than AT&T (for example Sprint) then the call goes straight through to the bridgetender on his POTS line where it is answered without billing supervision and the caller is told 'to reach this number you must dial 10288 first, then one plus the number.' For obvious reasons, he does not want anyone on the bridge who he won't get payment for. In some cases you may just get a busy signal if he leaves his POTS lines off hook all the time. In other words you are forced to use AT&T to call the number (or whatever carrier runs it; there are many and I do not mean to single out AT&T on this.) In New Jersey you will find some 201 numbers which terminate in a place where you can speak with astrologers, along with Tarot practioners, numerologists and related 'sciences'. But the numbers are never advertised in the USA! Where *are* they advertised? In all the newspapers in Spain and Portugal, and newspapers in some African countries, with the same 'generous' offer from the proprietors: 'Use the service free! All you pay is toll.' Whatever is the equivilent of the {National Enquirer} or the {Weekly World News} in those countries are full of these ads, always involving a call to the USA. I guess the USA carriers say turn about is fair play; if the telecom in Guyana is going to hustle the gay guys here in the States, then they'll work on superstitious old women in Europe. Advertisment seen once in the {Advocate} newspaper: Picture shows very muscular, attractive men mostly naked but of course wearing boots and leather jackets. Some have handcuffs; others have whips. One is dressed like a police officer. The caption underneath read, "Reach Out and Touch a New Friend using the AT&T Long Distance Network. Hundreds of men waiting to talk to you now, and have you tell them what you would like to do to them. Absolutely no charge! All you pay is toll." You were then advised to "call this 'special' number" followed by 10288-011, a country code and number. The only thing 'special' about it was it was international and in the advertising it was parsed in such a way to make it confusing looking to the average person. It was not the sort of advertisement Ma Bell would run in the {New York Times} to announce new custom calling features or changes in calling plan rates. :) So to answer your question, that is how they make money. And when you have someone claim they know nothing about it, whatever you do, don't fall for their 'injured consumer fighting giant corporation' routine. They know perfectly well what they called, and just like in the old days when it was all done via 900, now that they've had their fun they don't see why they should have to pay for it. Tell them to pay or get sued. For all intents and purposes, telcos do not make mistakes on long distance billings. Well, they do ... but you know what I mean. You'll notice the deadbeats who are always asking telco to write these off rarely give the credit card offices the same kind of sass when they make the same calls via credit card billing. They know telco is easily intimidated and will give them whatever they ask where the credit card office is far more likely to make them pay or put them in collection and place them with an agency, letting them do the 'injured consumer who has been cheated by the giant corporation' routine with the bill collectors. PAT] ------------------------------ From: bob@larribeau.com (Bob Larribeau) Subject: ISDN Conference Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 22:49:22 -0700 Organization: Larribeau Associates The California ISDN Users' Group will be holding its Spring ISDNworld conference June 5 & 6 at the LAX Hilton. Check out our web site for details: http://www.ciug.org/isdnworld/ There will be over 20 sessions and tutorials. 50 different companies will be exhibiting their ISDN products. This is the biggest ISDN-only conference in the U.S. The North American ISDN Users' Forum will be meeting in conjunction with us at the LAX Hilton. Their meeting will be June 3 through June 5. Hope to see you there. Bob Larribeau California ISDN Users' Group ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 19:08:53 PDT From: Greg Eiche Subject: Big Problems With AT&T WorldNet Service Does anybody have any insight in the problems that AT&T WorldNet has been having in registering new accounts? I tried to register for a new account today with the software they just sent me, and was unsuccessful. When I called AT&T's tech support, I was told that their server was overloaded with people trying to sign up and that they were having major problems. I couldn't help but laugh when I recalled all the reports that AT&T was going to give the ISPs a real run for their money. It's quite amazing that the world's largest telecom can't get it right!! I, for one, plan to stick with my local ISP ... ------------------------------ From: turner7@pacsibm.org (TUrner-7) Subject: Competition and Anti-Trust Date: 1 May 1996 02:38:46 GMT Organization: PACS IBM SIG BBS With the announcement of the Bell Atlantic/Nynex merger, many public officials voiced fears of a "monopoly" and anti-trust violations as a result, and called for investigations. I don't understand why this particular merger is raising so much concern, when other mega-mergers in the communications industry and in the business world in general don't raise any eyebrows. For example, Time Warner owns my local cable company, and they're quite ready to throw their weight around in dictating franchise terms to local municipalities. They have a monopoly in service. In addition, Time Warner is a distributor as it owns HBO and Cinemax, plus of course Warner Bros is a major film studio. No one seems to have a problem with this, so why should a local phone company be any different? In the Philadelphia area, there's been a spate of bank mergers, resulting in only FOUR large banks, only ONE is based in the city. No one objected to those acquisitions. In retailing, the last city owned department has been sold -- it's stores will be merged with stores of an outside owned chain or closed, giving consumers significantly less choice of where to buy. Again, no objection, indeed, we hear the praises of "increased efficiency and savings". Comments appreciated. ------------------------------ Subject: Further Notes to Those Who Ordered Clocks Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 15:29:42 CDT From: roellig@cig.mot.com (Eric Roellig) Reply-To: roellig@cig.mot.com TELECOM Digest Editor writes: > This is a note to those of you who contacted Jim Hill regards getting > Western Union clocks. Pat, I finally got mine last week. One side of the case has a rather large rust spot. The glass front of this one is in perfect order. The hands are a little bent but I think I got them worked out. The internal works have some light rust covering but it does run! I wound it by hand and hung it on the wall for a while and it tick-tocked away for over an hour. I haven't given it enough electricity to wind on its own but I did touch a few c-cell ni-cads to the wire and I think it will wind. I just love the way it winds!! A couple of the numbers on the face are scratched and the face has a couple of bends in it. I'm not sure if I can get the face completely flattened out or not. I haven't tried the resetting circuit yet but it does have the light you mentioned when the resetting circuit is activated. Some of the red paint is scratched off the light. Anyone know of a good substitute to use to repaint? I can see how this could be the beginning of an addictive hobby :) Thanks for spreading the word on these wonderful clocks. Eric roellig@cig.mot.com (Eric Roellig) Motorola CIG +1-847-632-5774 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am not really a clock collector, but I love collecting the old Western Union clocks, with all the different models and styles they had. You can *carefully* repair the scratches on the dial with the proper color of paint. The little light bulb which was intended to illuminate for just a half second on the setting can be replaced, but it is hard to find 3.2 or 6.3 volt 'bayonet' bulbs that size which also have red glass on the front. I use red fingernail polish. Lightly and carefully touch the tiny brush with the fingernail polish on the bulb as needed. Just like when doing your nails! Since there is no longer a setting circuit, the bulb would not be used much. You might want to rewire the clock so the bulb illuminates on the winding rather than on the setting. That way you get to see the bulb flash on each time the clock rewinds itself. All you have to do is move one of the wires from the bulb to the chassis ground on the clock and the other to the proper side of the little contacts which connect for winding. Then you jump the contacts which before had caused the bulb to illuminate when the arm fell down which grabs the minute hand to yank it into place. The power supply is critical. If you use two 1.5 volt batteries *and* have the light on there, the batteries will run down fast, like after a few months. On one clock I use four 1.5 volt batteries but the resulting six volts is a bit more than the winder would like, so having that bulb in there to pull some of the current away helps out. Obviously a 3.2 volt bulb will burn out right away. A 6.3 volt bulb lights nicely and steals enough current that the winder gets a nice (but not big) portion of the juice. On the others I own, they share an AC/DC transformer which gives them 4.5 volts when they call for it. If you are going to go with strictly three volts from a transformer then I would say use a 3.2 volt bulb, otherwise it never gets very bright and the poor clock takes the better part of a minute to wind as the winder pulls very slowly when it is starved for juice. Two of mine wind hourly; one taking eight seconds and the other taking about twelve or thirteen seconds. The 'newest' one I have with the sweep second hand winds every five minutes for a total of one second each time. The minute hand can go on at various ninety degree angles so you want to make sure when putting it on you install it in the one position where when moved backwards it won't go backwards past the twelve. If you want to get clever and put a pseudo-setting circuit on it, note the little hole in the top where the WUTCO wires used to come out. From Radio Shack, get a mini push-button switch of the normally off type. It will fasten right in that little hole. Use some double sided tape to stick a nine volt battery on the back wall of the case and wire it in series through the switch to the setting circuit. Now when you tap that little mini-push button on the top of the case and provided the clock is within two minutes of either side of the hour, the battery will energize the magnet which grabs the arm and drops it on the gears of the minute hand, yanking it straight up to the twelve. Using NAVOBS or NIST, when the time is exactly at the hour, tap that little button just for a half second and the clock will instantly set to the correct time. If you *carefully* regulate the pendulum and have the clock hanging *perfectly level* you can get it to the point manual adustments seldom need to be done more than once a month for a few seconds of discrepancy. Whatever you do, do *not* scrap the movement inside and replace it with a quartz movement or an electric movement. If that's the way you feel about it, :( -- send me the works; I can always use spares in rebuilding my others, etc. I love the way they wind up also! The soft 'whirring' noise is pretty neat. I wish I could find a master clock somewhere; I have enough slave clocks. PAT] ------------------------------ From: lkula@eng.sun.com (Les Kula) Subject: Wanted to Buy: Manuals for Dialogic/Gammalink Date: 30 Apr 1996 00:24:21 GMT Organization: Sun Microsystems Inc. Reply-To: lkula@eng.sun.com WTB: I) Manuals for Dialogic T-1 card : 1) Voice Software Reference 2) Network Interface Software Reference Guide II) Gammalink Gammafax CP4LSI Fax Reference manual III) Any other related manuals Please respond directly to my e-mail address. Les ------------------------------ From: Steve Liu Subject: ITU Standards on OAM Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 10:47:02 -0400 I'm doing some research on Operations and Management standards, more specifically front end standards for managing and controlling telephony services and wanted to see what kind of standards are supported by ITU or any other international standards committee. I tried to look up the ITU web site (www.itu.ch), however, the gopher engine was unhelpful in that it didn't lead me to any abstracts that could tell me if the document was what I needed and I didn't want to buy all of them! Any help on this subject would be appreciated. Steve Liu liu@amarex.com ------------------------------ From: twbiweekly@aol.com (TWBIWEEKLY) Subject: Employment Opportunities: Communication Jobs Date: 01 May 1996 19:31:39 -0400 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Reply-To: twbiweekly@aol.com (TWBIWEEKLY) Telephony Works Bi-Weekly is featuring a new employer in the April 29th issue. Hickory Tech Corporation (HTC), a communications holding company based in Mankato, Minnesota, offers a variety of career opportunities in the following subsidiaries: Mankato Citizens Telephone Company-Minnesota & Iowa National Independent Billing-Minnesota Digital Techniques, Inc.-Texas Collins Communication Systems, Co.-Minnesota Free issues are available to anyone who is interested in alternative employment options and/or listing your own individual ad at no cost. Send your snail-mail address and we will post the April 29th issue to you. Web site is coming!!!!!!!! This forum is by and for industry workers who would like to explore the job market in the local, long distance, wireless, ATM, PCS fields. Resumes for the June issue will be accepted through 5/31/96 ( fax to 817/444-8137). Good luck and best wishes in your job search from TWB! Leslie Farrell Publisher/Editor 817/444-8125 Fax: 817/444-8137 ------------------------------ From: pevans@mindlink.bc.ca (philip evans) Subject: Possible Work-Around to Avoid 911 ANI? Date: Wed, 01 May 1996 17:18:56 GMT Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada If I do *67 and call the local non-emergency number, and then get transferred to the dispatcher; and assuming that the non-emergency number does not have ANI but the dispatch number does, can the dispatcher do ANI after the call has started? PS. Um, I know how CID works and when -- that's why I'm asking. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 May 1996 17:24:35 EDT From: danny burstein Subject: Suing AT&T/Nynex For Credit Card Charges Article: misc.legal.moderated.15593 Message-ID: From: TopBell@news-e2d.gnn.com (Glenn Stok) Subject: Looking for Attorney to sue AT&T I am looking for an attorney who would be interested in suing AT&T in a class action for several companies. The issue is as follows and happens to answering services, such as mine, who have hundreds of phone numbers and provide these numbers to the public for the purpose of automated voice mail ... A criminal will "rent" a phone number from an answering service and then order a calling card from AT&T. They provide the number we give them, and AT&T sends the card without checking if they are sending it to an address that matches the phone number. They use the card and we get billed. Long distance takes as much as two months for billing via our local phone company, Nynex. So the thief gets two months of free calls before we find out about it. We have provided AT&T with a list of all our numbers with a request that they refrain from honoring any requests for calling cards billed to these numbers. We continue to find billings for new cards every few months. One time it amounted to $4000 of fraudulent phone calls. It takes many hours of numerous phone calls with the local phone company (Nynex in our case) and AT&T, to get the fraudulent charges removed. This time translates into lost revenue for all answering services who need deal with this. None of us seem to be able to stop this problem with over a year of several reoccurrences. Maybe only a lawsuit will stop it and allow compensation for lost time fighting each occurrence. If you are an attorney experienced with telephone fraud and you are interested in this case, please email me. Glenn Stok, Pres. Stok Software, Inc. email: TopBell@gnn.com I welcome your visit to http://www.stok.com for your Voice Mail software needs. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 14:52:06 EDT From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Subject: Microsoft Funding to End June 30; Corporate Sponsorship Needed I mentioned several days ago that Microsoft has decided to discontine their financial support of the Digest effective June 30. It is not just a matter of this Digest; they do not feel in general this sort of thing fits into their plans at the present time. Above all, first and foremost, they are owed a great deal of thanks for the assistance they gave me over the past year. I am very grateful for it, and without them the Digest would not have been in publication. The fact remains however that corporate support is needed urgently for the year ahead, and I would like to speak with people who can make this happen. The need is very great. Thank you, Patrick Townson ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #209 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Thu May 2 14:02:17 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id OAA20041; Thu, 2 May 1996 14:02:17 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 14:02:17 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199605021802.OAA20041@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #210 TELECOM Digest Thu, 2 May 96 14:02:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 210 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson California Area Codes to Double (Tad Cook) Bell Canada and Bank of Montreal Offer Bell MasterCard (Nigel Allen) Teleplaza Telecommunication Resources Directory (rreader@laker.net) Area Code Database By City or Zip (tbond@primenet.com) Phone Service Along the Kissimmee River (Ed Kleinhample Re: Required PIN Dialing Over Cellular Phone (Steve Bagdon) Re: Slamming Dunked (Steve Arlow) Re: Third Number Billing No Longer Being Verified (Babu Mengelepouti) Old Contel PC F.E.P. For Switch? (Michael Newton) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tad Cook Subject: California Area Codes to Double Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 15:28:29 PDT East Bay Is California's Top Market for Telephone Use By George Avalos, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News May 1--Fueled by the launch of local telephone competition and a boom in wireless communications, the East Bay has become California's most incandescent market for new telephone numbers. Startling telecommunications growth in the 510 area code of Contra Costa and Alameda counties is the primary factor prompting Pacific Bell officials to announce Tuesday that the 510 territory will require a new area code by mid-1998. Pac Bell began warning last fall that the East Bay and several other California regions are rapidly running out of phone numbers. "The 510 was the top number user in 1995," said California area code administrator Bruce Bennett of Pacific Bell. The second-fastest growing region was the 916 area code covering Sacramento. In 1995, 76 prefixes were added to the 510 area code, more than double the year before. During the first four months of this year, about 55 prefixes have been assigned, according to Bennett. That puts the East Bay on a pace to top 100 new prefixes for the year. "A lot of the growth last year was due to cellular and paging services," Bennett said. Wireless devices accounted for 56 percent of the phone numbers assigned in 1995. This year, add phone competition to the reasons the East Bay pool of phone numbers has almost been drained. "About two-thirds of the new numbers that have been added in 1996 are for numbers that will be used by local telephone competitors," Bennett said. California now has 13 area codes, more than any other state. Over the next five years, that number is expected to double to 26. The 415, 916 and 714 regions will require new area codes by the end of 1997. Besides 510, new codes will likely be needed in the 209 San Joaquin Valley region and the 408 South Bay region by mid-1998. A series of public meetings are scheduled starting this month to discuss the changes. Industry and state officials haven't decided whether to split existing regions into two new area codes or to mix the new area code into the same geographic area as the old one, called an area code overlay. The overlay process means adjacent homes could have different area codes. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 14:51:57 -0400 Subject: Bell Canada and Bank of Montreal Offer Bell MasterCard Organization: Internex Online (shell.io.org), Toronto, Ontario, Canada From: ndallen@io.org (Nigel Allen) Here is a press release from Bell Canada and Bank of Montreal. I found the press release on the Canada NewsWire web site at http://www.newswire.ca/ I assume that the new card will only be available to residents of Canada. BANK OF MONTREAL AND BELL CANADA TEAM UP TO OFFER THE NEW BELL MASTERCARD TORONTO, May 1 /CNW/ - A combined credit card and telephone calling card, a Canadian first, will be launched this May by Bank of Montreal and Bell Canada. Consumers will earn points toward free long distance just by using the new no-fee Bell MasterCard card for their credit card purchases and calling card calls. Bell Canada, which serves Ontario and Quebec, will be the first telecommunications company to offer the card. Eight other Stentor alliance companies will join with Bank of Montreal to offer their co-branded Bank of Montreal MasterCards across Canada over the next year. Applications for the Bell MasterCard will be available from both Bank of Montreal branches and Bell Phonecentre stores starting May 27. The card will display the credit card and the calling card numbers. "We believe that our partnership with Bell Canada and Stentor in developing Bank of Montreal's Bell MasterCard fits in with our strategy of providing `best value' products and services to our customers," said Rob Pearce, Senior Vice-President, Electronic Banking, Bank of Montreal. "The card will offer added convenience and will be rewarding to use." "We're delighted to work with Bank of Montreal to offer consumers a card with all the features of a credit card and a calling card and to give consumers the opportunity to earn free long distance on all their purchases," said Bob Cheriton, Vice President - Card Services at Bell Canada. "Rewarding customer loyalty is something the Stentor companies have been doing for years through loyalty programs," said Stentor's Sal Iacono. "We expect customers who use the new telephone companies' MasterCard could earn up to one month or more of free long distance per year." The program rewards customers with points towards free long distance in two ways: - for all purchases made with the card, including telephone calls that are purchased by swiping the card at pay phones equipped to accept charge cards, - when customers key in their calling card number, which results in the call being charged to their telephone bill. The new Bell MasterCard will carry no annual fee. The interest rate will be competitive with other reward-based cards and will be set at 18.9%. The cards will be accepted at more than 13 million locations worldwide and can be used at banking machines around the globe. Free supplementary cards are also available. Bank of Montreal is a highly diversified financial services institution that earns about half of its income outside Canada. It ranks as one of the 10 largest banks in North America with average assets of C$150 billion. Together with Nesbitt Burns, Canada's largest full-service investment firm, Harris Bank, a major U.S. mid-west corporate and private bank with one of the largest community bank networks in greater Chicago, and its alliance with Grupo Financiero Bancomer, the second-largest Mexican financial institution, Bank of Montreal serves customers throughout North America and around the world. Bell Canada, the largest Canadian telecommunications operating company, markets a full range of state-of-the-art products and services to more than seven million business and residence customers in Ontario and Quebec. The Stentor Alliance was formed in 1992 by Canada's leading providers of telecommunications services. The alliance works together with customers across Canada to economically deliver leading-edge local, national and international telecommunications services. Members of the alliance are: AGT, BC TEL, Bell Canada, Island Tel, Manitoba Telephone System, Maritime Tel & Tel, NBTel, NewTel Communications, NorthwesTel, Quebec-Telephone and SaskTel. For further information: Bank of Montreal, Joe Barbera, (416) 927-2740; Ronald Monet, (514) 877-1101; Internet: http://www.bmo.com; Bell Canada, Barbara Schurman, (416) 581-4251; Suzanne Ricard, (514) 870-6093; Internet: http://www.bell.ca; Stentor Communications, Joanne Stanley, (613) 781-3301, Internet: StanleyJP(at)Stentor.ca; Eileen Inrig, (613) 785-3723, Internet: InrigE(at)Stentor.ca Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario ndallen@io.org http://www.io.org/~ndallen/ ------------------------------ From: rreader@laker.net Subject: Teleplaza Telecommunication Resources Directory Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 20:27:46 -0400 Organization: BridgenetLC - 305.374.3031 - 100 S. Biscayne Blvd, Miami Teleplaza Telecommunication Resources Directory http://www.teleplaza.com Interactive library of telecommunication, telemarketing, computer telephony and internet information, Also products and services, legislation, job postings, trade questions, world events, web site design, download software, search engines, advertising, submit lists, internet tips, lunch room, survey and more. Web Site features include excellent navigation, fast download time, extensive database, minimal graphic size, order forms, Java animation, frames, icons and more. The LUNCH Room features 250 fun and cool links to do on your lunch break including food, on-line games, puzzles, comics, riddles, funnies, sports, T.V., movies, music, jokes, crosswords, 3-D stereograms and more! ------------------------------ From: tbond Subject: Area Code Database by City or Zip Date: 1 May 1996 16:48:01 -0700 Organization: Primenet Services for the Internet With all the changes in area codes which are occuring. I was wondering if there was a data base of area codes available which is searchable either by city or zip code. Cheers, DanL [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Carl Moore used to keep all those files. I'd begin by asking him where its at now. PAT] ------------------------------ From: edhample@sprynet.com Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 06:21:37 -0700 Subject: Phone Service Along the Kissimmee River About two years ago, I went on a boating/fishing trip along Florida's Kissimmee River, which flows south from an area south of Orlando, and eventually empties into Lake Okeechobee. The chain of lakes that make up the upper portion of the river are known as some of the best freshwater fishing in Florida. One of our stops was at a fish camp on Tiger Lake. One morning, I had to make a call to Tampa to inform a friend of a change in plans. There wasn't a payphone to be found in the camp, so I walked into the bait shop/camp office to inquire about a telephone. I was quite surprised to see an old wooden plug-type switchboard in the back corner of the office. I asked about placing a call to Tampa. The clerk told me that she couldn't get a call through to Tampa until after 10:00 (it was about 8:30am) when the owner of the camp across the lake opened up her office/switchboard. She continued to explain that the owner of Bud's Fish Camp could patch her through to an operator at Indian Lake Estates Co-Op who could patch me through to a GTE operator in Lake Wales, who could give me a connection to Tampa. I gave up and returned to my boat, where I contacted a Marine Operator in Daytona Beach via VHF radio who was able to put the call through within seconds. We stopped at several other fish camps during the remainder of our week-long trip down the Kissimmee. I made a point of scoping out the telephone facilities at each stop. I was surprised to find that many of these camps where connected to the outside world only through a single phone line to the next camp up the river, and eventually you would find a camp that had a direct connection to the real world. We made the same trip again a year later - this time armed with a cell-phone. I was very surprised to find that cellular coverage in this part of the Florida outback is quite good. There was only a short stretch of the river south of Indian Lake Estates where my phone indicated 'No Service'. Ed Kleinhample Consultant from 9 to 5 boater - all other hours. Land O' Lakes, FL. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 08:25:31 -0500 From: bagdon@rust.net (S and K Bagdon) Subject: Re: Required PIN Dialing Over Cellular Phone jeff777@netcom.com said: > Here's a question regarding dialing a PIN number over a cellular > service that not only requires a PIN number to be dialed, but also > requires the PIN number to be entered after first dialing the phone > number and hitting the SEND button. This applies more to cellular > carriers in the northeastern U.S. When the PIN number is being sent > to the carrier, is the PIN number being transmitted to the carrier via > DTMF tones or through a control channel? Whichever way the PIN number > is transmitted, is this process consistent with all carriers that > require the PIN number to be dialed after sending th phone number > first? Any information would be greatly appreciated. So far, there appears to be two methods of PIN notification, from the cellular phone to the cellular switch. Anybody out there that can refine this list, or add to it, let me know. 1) PIN notification at turn on. After the user turns on the phone for the first time, they dial their PIN, then SEND. In effect, this is dialing the PIN as a phone number, sending the data over the RECC (REverse Control Channel) data stream, similar to any other call. The switch accepts the PIN, verifies it, then notifies the user if the PIN is good (double stutter tone, or double ringing?) over the FOVC (FOrward Voice Channel) audio. For as long as the phone is on (or continues to answer the FOCC (FOrward Control Channel) audit requests via the RECC), the person can complete a phone call. If the phone does *not* answer a FOCC audit request, the phone line is 'deactivated', and the person must go through the 'registration process' again. Major weakness -- the ESN, MIN and PIN go across the RECC data stream in one burst, negating almost everything that this PIN requirement is attempting to accomplish. If someone is monitoring the RECC data stream, and they see a good ESN, good MIN, and a (ie:) four digit phone number (PIN) going across, they can take over your account. 2) PIN notification on every call. The person dials the number and presses SEND, hears a double ring (or stutter tone), then dials their PIN and SEND again -- if the PIN is good, the call is completed. This is the method my local providor is using. The person dials the phone number and presses SEND -- the ESN, MIN and dialed number is broadcast over the RECC data stream. The cellular phone is assigned a FOVC via the FOCC, and over the FOVC audio, the person hears a double ring tone. The person dials their PIN, and presses SEND -- the PIN is sent over the REVC (REverse Voice Channel) data stream as a 'dialed phone number' -- as if they were trying to initiate a three-way call from the cellular phone. When the PIN is verified, the call is completed. To the best of my knowledge, the DTMFs are/aren't broadcast over the REVC audio depending on your cellular phone -- most will, for instance to retrieve voice mail or checking your bank balance. But, the DTMFs are *not* broadcast over the FOVC audio -- the audio appears to be muted until the PIN is verified. Why does this matter? IMO, there was a definite reason to do this 'mute until PIN verified'. 'ESN grabbers' are (relatively) cheap and (easily) attainable, and (almost) all cellular phones on the market can monitor forward channel audio and data streams. A very easy way to break this method would be to wait until the dead of night, so that the FOVC assignment would be easily guessable. A person would set their ESN-grabber to the closest FOCC (347, as an example). When the next call request came in, they would monitor the FOVC audio for that call (to hear the DTMFs), and since it is the dead of night and no one is using any of the freqs on the cell, it will (almost) always be assigned to the same FOVC channel (600, as an example, the first channel to be assigned for that cell). So, they use the ESN-grabber to get the ESN and MIN, then grab the DTMFs audio from the FOVC (if it *were* unmuted), then decode the DTMFs using any of many means. Since the audio *is* muted, this (quite) simple method will *not* work. There are some obvious ways around this, but they involve more equipment, and aren't 'simple' any more. So to answer your question, it appears that both methods use the data stream (one over the RECC, one over the REVC), and not the DTMFs (over the REVC audio), to verify the PIN. One obvious reason is that if a person makes a mistake with DTMF audio, they have to press CLR and correct their mistake. Over audio, this will confuse the switch. Over data streams, the data isn't send u ntil all the corrections are fixed and SEND is pressed, and the switch gets one (good) data stream of PIN data. As for consistency, it would require verifying every carrier to see how they are using a PIN -- but I would presume they are the same, since the switch software is probably supplied by the same (group of) companies. But I would also presume that the providors will be very tight-lipped about their individual PIN implementations. Since I don't work for a providor (and do you think they'd actually hire me now?:) ), most of this is backward engineered information. If anyone can clarify or append to this data, feel free to e-mail me directly. Steve B. bagdon@rust.net http://www.rust.net/~bagdon Katharine aNd Steve Bagdon (KNS) ------------------------------ From: yorick@conch.aa.msen.com (Steve Arlow) Subject: Re: Slamming Dunked Date: 01 May 1996 23:09:48 -0400 Organization: Msen, Inc. -- Ann Arbor, MI. In article , Stan Schwartz wrote: > From {Long Island Newsday} Online (www.newsday.com), forwarded FYI to > the Digest: > U.S. Billing told her she had not had AT&T for months. "What I did > have," she was told, "was a company called Long Distance Services." > [...] What boggles the mind is that the owners of this company are not in jail -- they are clearly engaged in large-scale, organized fraud. I, too, was "slammed" -- despite my request to Ameritech that my default LD carrier not be switched without my express written permission -- by "Long Distance Services". Now, I noticed this on the very first affected bill, but consider: 1) The company logo graphic was simply the words "L. D. SERVICES" in an exact duplication of the font that Ameritech uses on the rest of their phone bill. This is a clear attempt to fool the consumer into thinking that this is not the logo of a separate company, but just a lable for the LD section of Ameritech's bill. 2) When I called 1-700-555-4141, where LD carriers are required by (I believe) FCC regulations to identify themselves, there was only a recording with an angry voice saying "You are NOT authorized to make this call!" These two items clearly show fraudulent intent on the part of this company. They not only took over my LD Phone service without my consent, and without notifying me in any way, but they *took the above steps to deliberately conceal what they had done*. (And no, I never enter contests or the like, and I routinely hang up on telemarketers.) When I complained to Ameritech, I was proptly switched back to my former carrier, without fee, and was assured (again) that my carrier would not be changed without my written permission. But when I refused to pay for the phone calls charged to this company, I was told that since I had made the calls and recieved service, I was still liable for the charges -- though they might be able to adjust them to match the charges my regular LD carrier would have charged. I replied (condensing several conversations here) that I had supposedly done business with this company without my knowledge or consent, and that they were no different from the travelling con-artists who come by and quickly "seal your driveway" and then knock on your door to present you with a bill for their services -- which you were the unknowing and unwilling recipient of. I steadfastly refused to pay one cent for these calls, and after repeated complaints, and withholding that amount from my bills for several months, the charges -- for all phone calls charged to "Long Distance Services" -- were finally removed from my bill. I wholeheartedly recommend that everyone in a similar situation follow the same course of action that I did, ideally calling your state's attorney general as well. Be polite to your RBOC, but persistant and inflexible, and keep asking to speak to higher- level management until you get satisfaction. Unlike other LD carriers, whose practices may be called questionable, "Long Distance Services" is unmistakably a criminal enterprise engaged in deliberate fraud, and we must not allow them to profit from it. Hopefully, they will eventually be prosecuted. Steve Arlow, Yorick Software 39336 Polo Club Dr. #103, Farmington Hills, MI 48335 http://www.msen.com/~yorick ------------------------------ From: walkerrb@www.hendrix.edu (Babu Mengelepouti) Date: Thu, 2 May 96 04:00:18 CDT Subject: Re: Third Number Billing No Longer Being Verified? > Someone commented to me a few days ago that when placing third-number > billed calls via AT&T, that there appeared to be no verification at > the number to which the call is being billed. In other words, AT&T is > completing calls without getting verification from someone at the > billing number. > So in curiosity, I tried to place third-number calls (to numbers that > are *known* to always be busy or no-answer, or that have been > disconnected and therfore don't supervise, to avoid charges.) > Both BellSouth and AT&T, which both use "automated" operator-call > processing systems, completed my test third-number calls ("billed" to my > other line, which is not collect- or third-number-restricted) WITHOUT > calling the other line for verification. The calls went through! > When did LD carriers stop verifying third-number billings? This is > clearly an opportunity for fraud, since no PIN or other code is > required. (I assume if the third-number activity became excessive, that > the carrier would step in to do something, but still, not checking the > identity of the caller is a bit ridiculous.) This situation has existed for quite some time with AT&T, depending on the phone number you're calling from. If you're calling from a business or residence phone, you can *usually* third-party bill a number without verification. This is in part why you can't third-party bill calls to numbers in Canada anymore. Seems as though the naughty phreaks figured out that you could bill *disconnected* numbers in Canada, and there was no "back-bill" agreement between Stentor and AT&T (this later changed, but because, assumedly, of the lack of a "no-3rd-party" database the billing agreement was terminated). You should know that if you third-party bill a number without authorization, and the number is in the US: - It's a federal crime (minor technicality) - The party you bill will probably call AT&T and contest the charge, and - You'll get back-billed. As the holder of a business or residence line *you* are responsible for the calls placed from your line, regardless of who placed them. This includes unverified third-party and credit card calls. AT&T also adds an extra charge to calls they back-bill. See the Winter 1996 issue of 2600 Magazine for more information on AT&T procedures; there's a quite good article on AT&T's "RAMP" customer service system and many of their standard customer service procedures. Quite enlightening. Incidentally ... what if you were to do this from a cellphone? An interesting loophole exists where in areas that SS7 isn't linked to the cell switch. One can call a Sprint operator, have the Sprint operator bill a call to anywhere in the *world* to the "number you're calling from," and the *cell carrier* gets the bill -- because Sprint gets the number of the trunk you're calling from rather than your mobile number. Even more murky if you were to third-party bill a number using Sprint or another carrier from your cellphone -- Sprint, like AT&T, often doesn't verify acceptance of third-party billed calls. Of course, all of this is patently illegal and there's no way of knowing whether you'll get away with it or not without first trying it (minor technicality), which could result in an unpleasant surprise. You also still will be billed for airtime on those calls -- even though you might manage to get around long distance. I haven't tried this -- a naughty phreak suggested I try it, and I politely declined. I'm calling from Saudi Arabia. walkerrb@www.hendrix.edu ------------------------------ From: miked@megalink.net (Michael Newton) Subject: Old Contel PC F.E.P. For Switch? Date: Thu, 03 May 1996 12:01:59 GMT Organization: Megalink Internet I have a front end processor that we aquired with GTE exchanges that is based on a Wyse 80286 chassis to be used with a DMS-10 ... any information on operation or ideas on sources of docs would be a help! Thanks, Mike Newton miked@oxford.megalink.net ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #210 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Thu May 2 20:46:06 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id UAA23958; Thu, 2 May 1996 20:46:06 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 20:46:06 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199605030046.UAA23958@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #211 TELECOM Digest Thu, 2 May 96 20:46:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 211 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson UCLA Short Course on Multimedia Compression (Bill Goodin) CelluComm 96 Wireless Data Conference (Tyler Proctor) Re: Adult Entertainment Lines (Peter Bell) Re: Adult Entertainment Lines (Linc Madison) Re: Adult Entertainment Lines (John R. Levine) Re: Suing AT&T/Nynex For Credit Card Charges (Roy A. McCrory) Re: MFS Purchases UUNET (Craig Nordin) Re: MFS Purchases UUNET (John R. Levine) Re: MFS Purchases UUNET (Ron Mackey) Cellular Phone For Use in Israel (Joel M. Hoffman) Re: Nynex Announcement on AT&T Calling Card Changes (turner7@pacsibm.org) Re: AT&T Worldnet Service (geneb@ma.ultranet.com) Re: AT&T WorldNet Service (Fred Whitebook) Re: AT&T Worldnet Service (Roger Conlin) Re: AT&T Doesn't Know When to Stop (Kyle Cordes) Re: AT&T Doesn't Know When to Stop (Robert Bulmash) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: BGoodin@UNEX.UCLA.EDU (Goodin, Bill) Organization: UCLA Extension Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 09:31:52 -0700 Subject: UCLA Short Course on Multimedia Compression On August 6-9, 1996, UCLA Extension will present the short course, "Multimedia Compression: Principles, Applications, and Standards", on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. The instructors are Jerry D. Gibson, PhD, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Texas A&M University; Richard L. Baker, PhD, Chief Scientist, PictureTel Corp; Toby Berger, PhD, Professor, School of Electrical Engineering, Cornell University; and Tom Lookabaugh, PhD, Vice President, Research and Business Development, DiviCom. The efficient digital representation or compression of data, speech, music, facsimile, still images, and video for storage and transmission plays a dominant role in current and developing communications systems, computer networks, PCs/workstations, video-on-demand, and entertainment. Standards have been and continue to be developed for this host of multimedia applications that will serve as the traffic on the information superhighway. This course explains the fundamental principles and algorithms underlying these standards and describes in detail current and evolving multimedia compression standards. Audio tapes, slides, videotapes, and equipment demonstrations complement the lectures. The course should help professionals to understand existing standards and products, evaluate future standards, and incorporate these compression methods into their own applications. Topics include: entropy and lossless coding, quantization, predictive coding, speech coding standards, frequency domain coding, audio coding, vision, perception and image representation, standards and applications in video compression, grey-scale image compression, videoconferencing, desktop videoconferencing and collaboration. The course fee is $1395, which includes extensive course materials. These notes are for participants only, and are not for sale. For additional information and a complete course description, please contact Marcus Hennessy at: (310) 825-1047 (310) 206-2815 fax mhenness@unex.ucla.edu ------------------------------ From: Tyler Proctor <75260.710@CompuServe.COM> Subject: CelluComm 96 Wireless Data Conference Date: 2 May 1996 13:18:43 GMT Organization: Zsigo Wireless CELLUCOMM 96 WIRELESS DATA CONFERENCE East Lansing, MI -- April 24, 1996 -- CelluComm 96 Wireless Data Conference and Exposition will be held May 20, 21 and 22 at the Regal Riverfront Hotel in St. Louis, MO. CelluComm '96 is devoted to the wireless data industry and is tightly focused on four "early adopter" vertical markets. Public Safety, Transportation (fleet management), Utilities and Petroleum will be spotlighted by featured speakers, exhibitors and a newly revised educational agenda. Divided into two conferences, CorporateTrack and IndustryTrack, the conference is designed to meet the needs of a wide spectrum of attendees. IndustryTrack has been developed for cellular and PCS carriers and manufacturers involved in data. It focuses on the latest issues facing the industry and exposes new technologies and developing market information. The sessions have a unique format, allowing for well over an hour's worth of Q&A between panelists and audience members. These discussions reveal important facets relating to deployment, sales, and management of the cellular data business. CorporateTrack has been developed primarily for corporate IS managers and executive management seeking to implement wireless data solutions. It is a tutorial track, designed to allow attendees to interact in a fairly small classroom environment, freely asking questions and discussing technology options for thier business. It has the advantage of being incorporated into a much larger conference, so CorporateTrack attendees can first learn about the issues surrounding data over cellular, then see solutions demonstrated by experts on the exhibit floor. CelluComm '96 will tackle leading edge issues such as Data Over Digital Cellular Networks (TDMA, GSM, CDMA, and IS-661 (Omnipoint), Cellular WANs and LANs, Wireless Internet Access and PCS-1900. There will also be nearly two dozen featured speakers sharing thier personal experiences in the industry. CelluComm '96 is much more than just a training class! This years exhibition floor is bigger than ever with over 40 leading technology companies displaying the latest in wireless technology. Floor hours have been expanded to allow ample time for attendees to discuss thier specific needs with the exhibitors. Rounding out the conference are vendor sponsored breakfasts and luncheons as well as private vendor presentations. For information on registering for CelluComm '96, call 800-594-5102 or e-mail zsigo@netcom.com. Based in East Lansing, MI, Zsigo Wireless Data Consultants is the leader in technical and marketing training for the wireless data industry. CelluComm is the only national conference devoted exclusively to cellular data. CONTACT: Zsigo Wireless Data Consultants, Inc. Konstantin Zsigo 800-594-5102 or 517-337-3995 zsigo@netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 22:10:06 -0400 From: Peter Bell Subject: Re: Adult Entertainment Lines Organization: Yale University I found the discussion of why the international long distance sex lines are profitable *very* enlightening. I do wonder, though, why you singled out gay sex lines as the offshore specialty. Are most of them oriented to gay men, or are there also plenty of them catering to the majority of men? I suppose I'd know the answer if I read the phonesex ads in the back of our local weekly more carefully Peter bell@minerva.cis.yale.edu ------------------------------ From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison) Subject: Re: Adult Entertainment Lines Date: Wed, 01 May 1996 22:41:24 -0700 Organization: Best Internet Communications In article , PAT wrote: > I guess the USA carriers say turn about is fair play; > if the telecom in Guyana is going to hustle the gay guys here in > the States, then they'll work on superstitious old women in Europe. PAT, in fairness, you should not characterize these sex lines as a gay phenomenon. Sure, there are a lot of them that are aimed at gay men, but also quite a few aimed at straight men, bisexual men, transvestite men, omnisexual men, pansexual men ... For example: "Sexy Explicit Adult Erotic Images! WARNING! WARNING! Highly explicit sexual entertainment! Over 100,000 adult GIF, Shareware, Windows/DOS files -- updated daily! FREE unlimited downloads! No subscription required! And now ... LIVE VIDEO GIRLS! Use your modem to dial 011-373-837-xxxx MCI callers, dial 10288-011-373-837-xxxx International Long Distance Rates Apply" That is from that hot-and-steamy sex publication {Microtimes}. I crossed out the last four digits just to spoil everyone's fun. ;-P Didn't the FCC or FTC try to rule against doing this sort of carrier kickback with the U.S. carrier of an outbound call, though? By the way, 373 is the country code for Moldova, formerly known as Moldavia. It's a former-Soviet republic on the Black Sea on the southwest side of Ukraine. Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You and Peter Bell both raise the same point about gay people and their role in this. While it is quite true that all sexual lifestyles are to be found in the phone sex industry, and all contribute to the profits of the people who run it, I believe you will find that gay people are the most profitable part of it; so profitable that they provide a disproportionate amount of the profit relative to their numbers in the population as a whole. Phone sex appeals to people who for whatever reason are not free to act out their fantasies or desires as often as they wish. If they are heterosexual men, perhaps they are married and their wife keeps them on a very short leash. Perhaps they are very well known and trusted leaders in their community and the risk of exposure they would face if they used the services of a prostitute is, in their estimation, to great to deal with. Maybe they are school teachers, ministers, rabbis, or other professionals who are expected to 'behave themselves'. If their public found out they were 'messing around' it would be their ruination. "People do tend to get very upset you know, when they discover their gods are actually human beings much like themselves." (The last sentence in the above paragraph is attributed to Henry Ward Beecher from his sermon at Plymouth Church on the Sunday in 1862 following the report in the {New York Herald-Tribune} of his 'affair' of many years with Elizabeth Tilton, wife of the Senator and Vice Presidential candidate.) Now with heterosexual people, they are entirely free to be as boorish and crude as they like; they can live dangerously and have extremely active sexual lives; all that will happen at worst is as described above: their wife will divorce them and others might ridicule them. Those who want to be discrete are; those who are too dumb to be discrete or don't care are not. But with gay people on the other hand, the stakes are a little bit higher in some places. In 24 states of the United States, gay sexual activity is still illegal on its face. It is not a question of whether it is in private with a consenting person or out in public where they scare the horses as Oscar Wilde put it. You just don't do it, period, and you could go to jail or be murdered if you get found out. Older gay guys can tell you how it used to be through the 1950-60 era and into the middle 1970's. Even if you live in a big city with a 'tolerant' atmosphere, you still cannot 'be that way' or make others much aware of it if you are in certain professions or situations. Again, refer to the example above of teachers, religious leaders, community leaders, policemen, firemen, etc. Most places just won't deal with it, or they give the gay people a very hard time with it. The phone sex lines don't advertise with the idea in mind of getting the openly gay guys in San Fransisco or Chicago as customers. It would be a waste of their time and their advertising dollar. They go after the ones who of (their actual or perceived) neccessity must stay 'in the closet'; they go after lonely and very isolated gay guys all across rural and small town America -- zillions of them. A small per- centage of gay people live in the big 'tolerant' cities and go bar hopping and bed hopping every Saturday night. Most are in small towns where they're not school teachers; they're not ministers or priests; they're not in any position of trust in their community. Maybe all they are is a grocery stock person at the Safeway, a clerk in an office or a janitor at the bus station. They still wouldn't dare openly talk about their feelings in the town they live in, and they dream about the day when they will have the money to go visit San Fransisco, Chicago or New York. The most exciting place they've ever been is the gay bar in a somewhat larger town a hundred miles away. Those are your phone sex customers. Where the heterosexual community is concerned, the phone sex lines cater to the 'respectable' ones. They are not interested in the ones who go out to those bars and pick up women all the time either. What need would those people have for phone sex? The phone sex people don't make money off the young, very open and tolerant people of either sexual orientation who do it in the streets and scare the horses. Their customer base comes from people who find it prudent to keep their thoughts to themselves. Whether that is a 'respectable' older heterosexual man living a lie he has been in for so long he cannot now escape as a dignified and trusted member of the community or any number of gays all across America begs the question. That is the customer base, other than a few curiosity seekers from time to time who wander into one of those services for thrills. Although there are lots of heterosexual guys in that boat together, there is a considerably larger number of gays in that boat, for reasons described above. The phone sex industry is very dependent on having a lot of people around who feel sex is something shameful, dirty and nasty; something to be kept secret. That's the only way it can survive. The telephone offers a nice anonymous way to validate your fantasies by talking about them with others who 'understand your feelings.' If you want to check out the ratio of gay users of those systems to heterosexual users, why not ask Compuserve or America On Line about where *their money* comes from. CB Simulator has paid the bills at CIS for many years now; you think people actually call there to read the Groliers Encyclopedia on online or check the weather forecast or make airline reservations? They pile into CB by the thousands on weekend nights and as the night goes on and the crowds thin out, some channels will have two, three, five or ten users still on. Then tune channel 33 on the 'B' or 'C' machines; the two 'gay lifestyles' channels. Four in the morning, still 150-200 gay guys on that one channel alone, even as other channels are deserted. CB Simulator is the most profitable part of Compuserve by far, and the 'gay lifestyles' part of it is extremely profitable. And when on, look at the 'node listing', or the point of telephone connection to Compuserve. Small town America written all over it. AOL is the same way, if you care to check out the crowds in that part of the chat system long after most other users have logged out for the night. Beautiful and liberated people don't need phone sex or computer hot chat. Unfortunatly most people are not beautiul, and very few are liberated. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 May 96 11:26 EDT From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine) Subject: Re: Adult Entertainment Lines Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y. > Many of those places have a very out of balance account with the > American telcos regards the amounts each owe the other for traffic > handled. Many very small foreign countries are chronically in debt > to the USA carriers ... Perhaps I'm misinformed, but my understanding is that in the international settlements process, there's a payment between the carriers regardless of which way the traffic travels, which seems to be related somehow to the relative prices charged in the two countries. Since the U.S. rates are invariably lower than in third world countries, the payments are always from the U.S. to the other country. The only place I know of with a balance problem is Cuba, due to the embargo. That's why you can't call Cuba collect, there's no way to settle the account. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Even phrasing it in the way you do, it still makes lots of sense for traffic to flow from the USA into those countries; it means more money for them from the USA carriers doesn't it? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Roy A. McCrory Subject: Re: Suing AT&T/Nynex For Credit Card Charges Date: 2 May 1996 13:32:52 GMT Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory Dumb question. Why can't you get your numbers put on the "no third party/calling card billing" list at AT&T and Nynex? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There is a 'no third number billing allowed' list but I do not think there is any such thing as a 'do not issue credi cards to this number or accept them in use later' type of list. PAT] ------------------------------ From: cnordin@vni.net (Craig Nordin) Subject: Re: MFS Purchases UUNET Date: 2 May 1996 08:32:38 -0400 Organization: Virtual Networks Please correct this if it is wrong: MFS is the managing entity of MAE-East; MFS supplies many datalines to many ISPs big and small; MFS has been "cherry picking" the lines in metro areas to make its living -- it does not have full coverage anywhere; UUNet itself doesn't seem very interested in retail dial-up; UUNet supplies many high-speed access ports to other ISPs and especially IP consuming organziations. http://www.vni.net/ cnordin@vni.net ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 May 96 11:53 EDT From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine) Subject: Re: MFS Purchases UUNET Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y. > As part of MFS, UUNET will be the only Internet service provider to > own or control fiber optic networks for local, intercity and > undersea connections in the United States as well as France, Britain > and Germany. I suspect that Sprintlink, InternetMCI, and AT&T Worldlink might contest that claim. > In particular, what about UUNET and its long standing role with the > net for many years. Comments welcome. Unless MFS is a lot dumber than I think they are, they'll leave it alone for the time being. On the other hand, uunet started as a non-profit mail and news switch to connect dial-up uucp users to the Internet. That's still the most visible part of the business to most net users, but I'm sure it's a tiny nit compared to their corporate Internet business. So maybe they'll spin that off. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 11:40 CDT From: rem@dsiinc.com (Ron Mackey) Subject: Re: MFS Purchases UUNET Organization: Distributed Systems International, Inc. In article TELECOM Digest Editor noted: > In an interesting business development late Tuesday, MFS Communications > Company, Inc announced it is buying UUNET Technologies, a major supplier > of Internet service. [snip] > I am wondering what Digest readers think of this, and what differences > they see in the months ahead in the performance of the two companies. > In particular, what about UUNET and its long standing role with the > net for many years. Comments welcome. I think it's a good deal for UUNET, as MFS will be able to provide them with additional infrastructure they could not afford to build on their own. I don't see UUNET changing their role as a dominant internet service provider (ISP). Frankly, I'm more concerned with the smaller ISP's that currently use MFS as their primary Internet connection. If I'm not mistaken, all of the major ISPs in the Chicago area currently use MFS's services, in one form or another. My question is "Now that MFS owns their own major ISP, what is going to happen to all the other independent ISP's currently serviced by MFS?" Best regards, Ron Mackey Distributed Systems International, Inc. rem@dsiinc.com 531 W. Roosevelt Road, Suite 2 708-665-4639 Wheaton, IL 60187-5057 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 May 96 10:59 EDT From: joel@exc.com (Joel M. Hoffman) Subject: Cellular Phone For Use in Israel I have cellular service here in New York, but next year I'll be in Israel. By the time I'm done, I'll own my phone, a gift to me for using BANM cellular service for a year. My local dealer will pretty much give me any low-end phone I want. (I have a Motorola flip phone now.) So: which phones will I be able to use once I get to Israel? All of them? None of them? (I realize they may have to be reprogrammed.) I'm not talking about high-end word-wide service, but local service in Israel. Thanks, Joel (joel@exc.com) ------------------------------ From: turner7@pacsibm.org (TUrner-7) Subject: Re: Nynex Announcement on AT&T Calling Card Changes Date: 1 May 1996 19:54:12 GMT Organization: PACS IBM SIG BBS Very seriously -- am I the only person who misses and prefers the former system where ONE calling card issued by the phone company "fits all" -- local, short long distance, long distance? Where you didn't have to memorize multiple sets of access codes and stand at a pay phone keying them in in the rain? As an individual consumer, not a telco employee/provider/beneficary -- I fail to see how we consumers have benefited from long distance competition. In the mid 1970s, I made lots of long distnace calls,a nd AT&T rates were quite modest back then -- and it wasn't competition that forced them down. Divesture and LD competition added tremendous cost and overhead to the telephone network, eliminating a lot of economies of scale. Much equipment that did multiple purposes in call handling had to be split off to either 100% local or long distance (see Mountain Bell's history for more details.) Now local companies have to print special subset bills for LD carriers, and accomodate a subscriber's choice. Who paid for this transition? The stockholders of AT&T? The new stockholders of the divested local companies? Or the new long distance companies like MCI and Sprint? I suspect it was us customers! I know very large organizations can now negotiate volume discounts, but as a private individual that's meaningless to me. Indeed, my bills go up to cover those discounts. I also know, thanks to "competition", toll rates at pay phones have shot through the roof. Maybe that's want Judge Greene wanted, but as a consumer, it's coming out of my pocket. Rationalize it any way you want, thanks to divesture, I'm paying more and getting less. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A lot of the divestiture of AT&T has been pure politics, nothing more. There were a lot of people in the Justice Deaprtment at that time who disliked AT&T for various reasons, and even Judge Greene did little to hide his own animosity toward the company. Some good things have come out of it, but by and large I think that phone service in America has suffered from it. Some of the things they are doing now are totally outrageous, things AT&T would never have done. PAT] ------------------------------ From: geneb@ma.ultranet.com Subject: Re: AT&T Worldnet Service Date: 2 May 1996 03:02:03 GMT Organization: UltraNet Communications, Inc. Reply-To: geneb@ultranet.com In , John Stahl writes: > You will note by my email address, I am a subscriber to AT&T's new > Internet service and can report to you that so far, I'm very happy > with the service they offer. > Here's a bit of what I have observed so far: > One of the questions asked is what type of service you > want. One of the options is for a small monthly fee you get the 5 free > hours of access they tout, after which you pay by the hour similar to > AOL and the others. The other option, for big users of the Internet, > is an unlimited usage account for $19.95/month. Do note, however, that there is NO online means of switching from between the plans. You must call the 800-WORLDNEt number and speak to a rep, who will happily switch your service. Note also that the Worldnet Dialer only tracks elapsed time for the current session; it does not track total time online, so if you want to stay under five hours, you'll have to keep track manually. Also, you must use a minimum of one hour per month on the five hour plan, or they'll deactivate your account. Gene ------------------------------ From: fredw2@ix.netcom.com (Fred Whitebook) Subject: Re: AT&T WorldNet Services Date: 2 May 1996 05:01:49 GMT Organization: Netcom In Joshua Fenton writes: > Another reader wrote: >> Its now past mid-April, and I still haven't seen anything of my >> software kit, so I'm just wondering if anyone out there has actually >> gotten signed up for this and is using it? > {Consumer Reports}' current issue rates a variety of services, and I > _believe_ (don't quote me) it states that the WorldNet services is > Netscape and EMail only primarily, but is essentially a PPP > connection. > Regarding the software delay, I called to sign up in the first few > days after it was announced. I used their MESA forms IVR system, > recording my name and details after each 'beep'. When I called this > past Monday and spoke with an EXTREMELY helpful rep, I was quickly > escalated to a 'duty manager' who explained that in the first weeks of > the promotion, they had a problem with their IVR system, and lost > several thousand requests. He then took my request on an expedited > bases, and stated I should have the software and materials in about a > week. I noticed your post. I am an Augustana grad (class of 1958) who just changed careers by getting hired as a Tech Support Rep on the AT&T Worldnet Project. I started training on Monday 4-22 and hit the floor on Saturday 5-4 with a group of 90. They have hired about 300-400 in California and have no more room in the telecenter. They are starting a second unit in Colorado. AT&T is mailing out thousands of kits each week. I have heard that 300,000-400,000 kits have been ordered. The registration servers are sometimes overwelmed. I ordered my software on 3-8-96 and have not heard anything yet. I did get a copy of a set we installed in training. A 32 bit upgrade (Netscape 2.01) will be out in a few weeks. Hang in there ... AT&T is spending a lot of money to try to catch up with the unanticipated demand and is sincerely commited to first class free 24 hour, seven day Tech Support. Fred Whitebook ... fredw2@ix.netcom.com installed Worldnet at home as yet, I'm waiting for the 2.01 version as I have on Netcom. ------------------------------ From: conlin@shout.net (Roger Conlin) Subject: Re: AT&T Worldnet Service Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 14:37:25 GMT Organization: Shouting Ground Technologies John Stahl wrote: > You will note by my email address, I am a subscriber to AT&T's new > Internet service and can report to you that so far, I'm very happy > with the service they offer. Both the Internet connection and the AT&T > 800-number dial in help service line has been superb! No, I'm not an > AT&T employee nor do I have any connection what so ever with AT&T; I'm > just a user. [chop] > I have 'surfed' for many happy hours since signing up in February. The > only down time thus far is their scheduled maintenance period, > Thursday mornings from something like 2:00 AM to 7:00 AM when the > service is off. This is in comparison to the local ISP I used to use > who experienced -- especially on weekends when there was no one in the > office -- much down time. AT&T so far seems to always be there, 24 > hours a day, both for call-in help and the ISP service! Glad to hear from somebody using this. I've been waiting forever for the software. Got some little postcard finally saying it was on the way, but it's still not here. I can echo your experience with a local ISP, and was hoping for some better service with Worldnet. Glad to see somebody else try it and find out it actually works, than sign up and find out that AT&T can't handle the business. conlin@shout.net http://www.shout.net/~conlin ------------------------------ From: kcordes@mo.net (Kyle Cordes) Subject: Re: AT&T Doesn't Know When to Stop Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 13:40:22 GMT Organization: Automation Service > I live in University housing, and we have to use their phone service > for local and long distance. However, this has not stopped AT&T from > calling me at least three times asking me to switch to them. Each time > I explained to them that given the nature of my phone service, it was > not possible to me to make the switch to them, or anyone else. > Yesterday, I received a check for $100 which, if I encash, authorizes > them to switch me to their LD service (with 40% True Reach savings for > the first 6 months). I really have no objection to being switched to > AT&T - their rates seem better than what I get now. Do you think I > should encash the check, and let them try to switch my LD service? > Once they realize that I cannot be switched, maybe they will stop > pestering me by phone? The way I see it, in spite my of telling them > more than once that I cannot be switched, if they send me a check for > $100, they deserve to lose the money. I can be a little to eager to prove points, but if I were you, I would cash it. If/When they realize that no switch can occur (or ever could have occurred), and if/when they contact you about it, offer to send the $100 back as soon as an appropriately high level manager calls to apologize for pestering you. Kyle Kyle Cordes @ Automation Service kcordes@mo.net ------------------------------ From: prvtctzn@aol.com (Prvt Ctzn) Subject: Re: AT&T Doesn't Know When to Stop Date: 1 May 1996 22:07:59 -0400 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Reply-To: prvtctzn@aol.com (Prvt Ctzn) > Yesterday, I received a check for $100 which, if I encash, authorizes > them to switch me to their LD service (with 40% True Reach savings for > the first 6 months). I really have no objection to being switched to > AT&T - their rates seem better than what I get now. Do you think I > should encash the check, and let them try to switch my LD service? > Once they realize that I cannot be switched, maybe they will stop > pestering me by phone? The way I see it, in spite my of telling them > more than once that I cannot be switched, if they send me a check for > $100, they deserve to lose the money. > Comments? I have till May 23 to cash the check. Take the money! If the endorsement states that, by cashing the check, you are giving your consent to have your service switched it seems like a legitamite contract. The fact that your consent is not sufficient to switch is something that is not within the four corners of the agreement. Robert Bulmash Private Citizen, Inc. http://webmill.com/prvtctzn/home ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #211 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Thu May 2 22:10:22 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id WAA00405; Thu, 2 May 1996 22:10:22 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 22:10:22 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199605030210.WAA00405@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #212 TELECOM Digest Thu, 2 May 96 22:10:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 212 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson India's General Elections Slow Telecom Reform (Rishab Aiyer Ghosh) Manitoba Telephone is Going Public (Henry Wysmulek) Re: Telephone Headset to SoundBlaster Interface Wanted (Ross Oliver) Re: Telephone Headset to SoundBlaster Interface Wanted (Andy Smith) Change to Number Plan in New Zealand for Cellphones (Martin D. Kealey) Northern Electric Antique Phone Advice Wanted (George Richards) Re: Non-LEC Payphones (Stanley Cline) Telemanagement Vendor Information (Tony Dal Santo) Re: Does Caller-ID Hunt or Call-Forward? (Don L. Jackson) Re: Tricked Into Switching (Billy Harper) Last Laugh! But Not Funny! Sponsorship Ideas (Cameron Young) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: India's General Elections Slow Telecom Reform Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 16:35:40 PDT From: rishab@dxm.org (Rishab Aiyer Ghosh) Reply-To: rishab@dxm.org The Indian Techonomist: bulletin, May 2, 1996 Copyright (C) 1996 Rishab Aiyer Ghosh. All rights reserved India's general elections slow telecom reform May 2, 1996: Since last Saturday when the world's biggest democracy went to the polls, telecom companies hoping to venture into the potentially vast Indian market have been waiting. As much of the country's 590 million electorate started voting in general elections - in a multi-stage process of which results will start arriving only after the 7th - seven companies who have won ten of the twenty licences for basic telephony in regions across the country watched as the government dithered over signing licence agreements. Having received letters of intent (LoIs) from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) as long as five months ago, the licensees-in-waiting - whose foreign partners include Israel's Bezeq, Hughes, NYNEX, Bell Canada, Japan's NTT and Swiss PTT - have been unable to act upon their licences as uncertainty remains over the actual signing. The government blames procedural delays. Both the licence agreement and the interconnect agreement, which governs access between the competing networks of private companies and the DoT, are being vetted by the Law Ministry. The Law Ministry is reputed to work slowly, but it also provides a convenient excuse for government departments that wish to stall for any reason. Even if legal clearance is received soon, the agreements are not likely to be signed before the middle of this month - by which time a new government will be in the process of forming. Luckily, this is not the problem being faced by the 14 licensees for cellular services (two each competing in 18 regions) - they face more bureaucratic delays. Although their licence terms stipulate stiff penalties if they do not start providing service within a year of receiving their licence, they have been unable to get frequency clearance from the DoT's wireless advisor. This is partly because of the complexity of assigning so many frequencies; partly because the DoT lacks the efficient machinery to plan for and allocate large numbers of frequencies, having had till now very few users of the airwaves; and partly because the biggest user, the military, is reluctant to give up some of its frequencies to civilian use. The DoT has already said that the penalty clause will be waived if there are "genuine" problems in starting service; presumably delays in frequency allocation by the DoT itself will be seen as such. Yet while the problems faced by cellular providers are truly procedural, even technical, those worrying would- be basic telephony operators right now are in many senses political. Unlike cellular licences, where the total fees to be paid over the ten-year licence period are a little over $6 billion, basic telephony involves big money. As much as $35 billion was at stake in the first round of bidding last August. There were strange bidding patterns: one company, HFCL- Bezeq-Shinawatra walked away with a theoretical nine licences for $27 billion (to be paid over the 15 year period); as HFCL annual revenues were closer to $27 million there appeared to be something fishy. Another consortium Reliance-NYNEX (the Indian partner had revenues above $2 billion) bid for every circle, winning the poorer regions for what the DoT thought was a pittance. The Communications Minister, Sukh Ram, went abroad for his health. He returned and announced caps on the number of licences awarded to a single firm, as well as reserve prices on bids across all regions. An entire sitting of Parliament was wasted as Opposition parties charged the Minister with favouring HFCL, which happens to come from his home state of Himachal Pradesh. By the next sitting, this year, the Supreme Court had dismissed an assorted collection of legal challenges against the telecom privatisation process and the sudden changes in bidding norms, and no further mention was made of telecom. But there is a fair chance that the next government will not be formed by the currently ruling Congress Party; it may be a left-of-center coalition with or without the Congress, or quite possibly one based around the right-wing nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Both left and right wing parties promise to bring up the controversial basic telephony bidding process if they come into power. This will affect not only the seven licensees-to-be but also the fate of the remaining eight circles for which bids have been rejected as being too low, as well as two others involved in a dispute. The left-wing approach will be to question the entire bidding process, particularly the notional loss of $18 billion thanks to the cap, which allowed HFCL to back out of many circles - although nobody expected it to afford that much anyway. The left - consisting of a loose coalition of parties from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) which rules the state of West Bengal to the Janata Dal (which formed a short-lived government in 1989) - is also likely to grumble about selling licences cheap. Purportedly to benefit the poor parts of the country, this approach which was adopted by the present government in its sudden decision to apply reserve prices is actually greed, pure and simple. Telecom reforms were to bring in much needed private and foreign investment to lift the telephone density from a miserable eight per 1,000 to at least 30. In chasing high licence fees instead, all that has happened is that while the wealthy regions will all receive investment, six of the poorest, all of which received bids in the first round (deemed too low) may well go without. The BJP has always been against too much government interference and, drawing much of its support from the trader and small business community, has come out against bureaucracy. On these grounds, it will not oppose telecom reforms for ideological reasons; its opposition may relate to the actual implementation. It will probably want to do something about the caps and multiple rounds - its spokesperson recently said that the new government should "hold a proper inquiry" into the bidding process, which was "marked by [a] lack of transparency." It is unclear what purpose this could serve, as the only practical steps are either to accept the current process and quickly hold another round - open to all comers and without reserve prices - for the remaining circles; or to scrap the second and third rounds altogether and issue letters of intent based upon the first one. The main loser this way would be HFCL, who would then have to lose their earnest money on the bids on which they decide to renege. This could even benefit large bidders such as Birla-AT&T and BPL- US West, who could originally have won a number of licences once HFCL was out of the picture, but with the caps and multiple rounds have ended up with nothing (though they have won cellular licences). However this will not please second-round winners such as Reliance- NYNEX, RPG-NTT-Itochu and Tata-Bell Canada. Telecom is not yet, unfortunately a concern in the elections. This is odd. Unlike the wider economic reforms, which are yet to reach the stage of trickling down to the villages, phones are extremely important to keep in touch with agricultural markets in the cities, and avoid high margin payments to intermediaries. For all his alleged corruption, the Communications Minister Sukh Ram is widely popular in his home state - he has made it a point to have payphones installed in every village. Perhaps five years later - if the next government lasts its full term - political parties will realise that contrary to conventional wisdom, it is the rural, often poor villagers who stand to gain the most from communications and information technology. Basic telephony and cellular licences, and rounds one, two and three of the basic bids can be found at http://dxm.org/techonomist/news/bids.html Opinion polls and coverage of the Indian general elections are available on at least six web sites. The Times of India - http://www.cyberindia.com/timesofindia The Indian Express - http://express.indiaworld.com The Indian Techonomist: weekly summary. http://dxm.org/techonomist/news/ Copyright (C) 1996 Rishab Aiyer Ghosh (rishab@techonomist.dxm.org) Tel +91 11 6853410; Fax 6856992; H-34-C Saket New Delhi 110017 INDIA May be distributed electronically provided that this notice is attached ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 17:45:08 CDT From: Henry Wysmulek Subject: Manitoba Telephone Goes Public *********************HOT OFF THE PRESS*************************** Manitoba Telephone System, a government owned crown corporation is to be converted to a publicly traded telco. **********************HOT OFF THE PRESS************************** H. WYSMULEK xhp195@freenet.mb.ca BLUE SKY FREENET [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The above is all I have on this at the present time. I guess it was announced in the news on Thursday afternoon. Perhaps there will be further reports on Friday or over the weekend. Send along any news please. PAT] ------------------------------ From: reo@netcom.com (Ross Oliver) Subject: Re: Telephone Headset to SoundBlaster Interface Wanted Organization: The Air Affair: http://www.airaffair.com/ Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 21:03:17 GMT Foster Schucker (foster@voicenet.com) wrote: > I'm looking for an interface that will allow me to connect a telephone > headset to a Soundblaster (tm) card. I'd like to be able to play sounds > on the ear phone and use the microphone. I've tried some telephone > supply places and have drawn a blank. You probably will have a hard time adapting an actual telephone headset (Plantronics, etc) to a sound card. But you can get lightweight headphones with a boom mike designed for video production that should work. Check retail electronics outlets like Circuit City. Ross Oliver reo@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: aherncorp@aol.com (AhernCorp) Subject: Re: Telephone Headset to SoundBlaster Interface Wanted Date: 1 May 1996 17:05:35 -0400 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Reply-To: aherncorp@aol.com (AhernCorp) Ahern Communications now offers the Plantronics CAT-132, a computer headset designed to work with sound cards (like the SoundBlaster). You can see information, pictures and prices of the new Plantronics CAT product at: http://members.aol.com/AhernCorp/plantronics/cat.html Andy Smith, Director of Marketing Ahern Communications Corporation http://members.aol.com/AhernCorp/ 800-451-5067/Fax 617-328-9070 Business Communications Experts ------------------------------ Subject: Change to number plan in New Zealand for Cellphones Date: Fri, 3 May 1996 08:26:48 +1200 From: martin@kcbbs.gen.nz (Martin D Kealey) Telecom New Zealand has recently announced that new cellphone connections will shortly have seven rather than the current six digits. With a few exceptions, all numbers here have been eight digits after the country code (64), so this is significant because it breaks this. Numbers for New Zealand are of the form: +64-A-XXXXXXX (all landline numbers) +64-2N-XXXXXX +64-2N-2XXXXXX (mobile numbers: cellphones, pagers, etc) In more detail: +64-21-XXXXXX Bellsouth cellphone +64-24099-XXX Scott Base (Antarctica) +64-25-XXXXXX Telecom cellphone +64-25-2XXXXXX new Telecom cellphone +64-26-1XXXXX Telecom pager +64-26-2XXXXXX Telecom pager +64-3-XXXXXXX all of South Island + Chatham & Stewart Islands +64-4-XXXXXXX Wellington (capital city) region +64-6-XXXXXXX south of North Island Island +64-7-XXXXXXX middle of North Island +64-83-XXXXXX mailbox & conferencing facilities +64-9-XXXXXXX north of North Island + Great Barrier Island Some numbers (like 0800-xxxxxx) are only dialable from within the NZ, so I haven't included them above. If anyone is interested, I also have a breakdown to finer detail; would you like them for the archives? Martin [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, a file in more detail would be nice for the Archives. PAT] ------------------------------ From: George Richards Subject: Northern Electric Antique Phone Information Wanted Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 17:57:24 -0300 A coworker recently showed up with a N50AL Northern Electric Co. phone. Can anyone tell me the vintage of this phone. It's a candlestick type with a separate earphone, patent dates on the receiver module are from 1925-1935. It's currently bare brass; was it produced this way or has someone stripped off the black paint? Any help or pointers would be appreciated. George Richards ------------------------------ From: scline@usit.net (Stanley Cline) Subject: Re: Non-LEC Payphones Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 23:51:56 GMT Organization: Catoosa Computing Services In comp.dcom.telecom, jmayson@p100dl.ess.harris.com (John Mayson) wrote: > Cocoa, Florida exchange. According to BellSouth, a call from > Melbourne to Cocoa is a local call. > I put my 25 cents in, dialed 427- and got a message saying "please > dial 1 plus the area code for this long distance call." I dialed "0" > (knowing I would get a BellSouth operator), verified Cocoa was in the Believe it or not, I had this happen today. My cellphone is in the shop (they are running tests on it -- again) and I stopped by a payphone to check my voicemail. I dialed the number (304-xxxx) and I was told to dial the area code. I dialed that and I got a reorder tone. (The call was between NPAs -- 423 and 706 -- but the call is local, and we DO NOT DIAL AREA CODES to call within the area. At least in non-ALLTEL CO's, we don't.) This phone belonged to Peoples Telephone of Miami. I called the 211 number and reported it. In other cities (especially Atlanta) I have found phones that block all PIC codes except AT&T's and MCI's; I have found phones that fail to recognize *67 or 950 numbers; I have found phones that time-out after some preset interval if no one answers; I have found phones that disable the DTMF keypad on 0+ calls. The major problem with COCOTs seems to be poor upkeep of the routing tables in the phones. I have repeatedly run into payphones that don't allow calls to new NPAs (such as 770, 423, etc.), that don't allow calls to new prefixes (read: prefixes established in *1992*, etc.), that don't allow any calls to cellular phone prefixes, and don't allow calls to areas served by independent telcos that are otherwise local. The major payphone vendors (Intellicall of Texas, and Elcotel of Sarasota, FL) have fixes for the NPA problems; it's up to the COCOT vendor to fix the others. > Here's my question. Just because BellSouth has decided Melbourne to > Cocoa is a local call, are non-BellSouth pay phones obliged to place > this call for as a local call? Isn't this company simply leasing > BellSouth phone lines for their pay phones? Would complaining to the Yes. The local calling area on the payphone should match that of the LEC. Note that in Georgia, countywide calling (where 1+ is required) may not be available from any payphone (LEC or non) because of the complexity of countywide implementation (which depends on tax zones, etc.) > company or the Common Carrier Bureau of the FCC help? You should complain to the Florida PSC/PUC and the payphone company. Complaining to the LEC will do no good, as they disclaim responsibility for what COCOTs do, and the FCC can't help since the call was not an interstate one. (In my case, where the local calling area spans state lines, they may be able to.) Stanley Cline, d/b/a Catoosa Computing Serv., Chatta., TN mailto:scline@usit.net -- http://chattanooga.net/~scline/ CIS 74212,44 -- MSN WSCline1 ------------------------------ From: tony@mtu.edu (Tony Dal Santo) Subject: Telemanagement Vendor Information Wanted Date: 2 May 1996 19:10:42 -0400 Organization: Michigan Technological University We are looking at (among others) Axis, Compco, and Telco Research as our telemanagement software vendor. I would be very grateful to get any feedback on these vendors and their products. Things like: Which product and version do you use? What is your server platform? What is your client platform? What modules do you use? How well does it integrate with your financial system? How satisfied are you? How has the vendor treated you? The functions we are looking to implement are call accounting, work orders, student resale, cable plant management, help desk, and storing various host and network info. Thanks, Tony Dal Santo ------------------------------ From: djackson@xroads.com (Don L. Jackson) Subject: Re: Does Caller-ID Hunt or Call-Forward? Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 16:42:12 GMT Reply-To: djackson@xroads.com On Mon, 29 Apr 1996 06:02:06 CDT, you wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: No information is provided to B since > it is only being used as an overflow/alternate for A, and A does not > subscribe to the service. The 'decision' in the software as to which > custom calling features to extend to a subscriber with an incoming > call are made before any 'decision' is made how to dispose of the > call if the specifically called line is unavailable for whatever ...stuff omitted... > Ditto on a call-forwarding situation. The central office 'finds out > about' your request to forward the calls after it has already decided > what privileges or services are to be provided you on your incoming > call. Naturally the final end stopping point still has to have a > Caller-ID box. When you want to turn on call screening or turn on > call forwarding, you do have to do it from the lead number in your > group however, the one which telco always tries first to deliver > your calls to before deciding on other ways to handle them, because > if it can drop a call on that line, it will do so. > Cellular phones usually do not send or receive caller-id, regardless > of what features you have on your landline phones. PAT] I have caller ID on line A and not on line B. When line B is call-forwarded to line A, it shows the CID information. I also have "custom/distinctive ringing" with two other numbers going to line A and they also show the CID info. Another line C at a different location which does not have CID, when forwarded to my line A also shows CID info. We have USWest Communications here in the metro Phoenix area. Regards, Don L. Jackson / Gilbert, AZ djackson@xroads.com ------------------------------ From: Billy Harper Subject: Re: Tricked Into Switching Date: 02 May 1996 13:58:56 GMT Organization: DSC Communications Corporation, Plano, Texas USA To those who may not have it handy: FCC Enforcement Division F. Room 6202 Washington, D.C. 20554 Be advised, I filed an informal (formal costs $$) complaint about being slammed 4/21/95, and got my first response 3/7/96. I have since received responses from all involved parties, and a check from my LEC (GTE) as reimbursement for switchover fees (which I did NOT request -- I do not feel GTE was responsible for any of the problems I experienced.) As the 'slammee', I still am not satisfied with the way the FCC dealt with the 'slammer' (NTC -- National telephone and Communications, INC [a registered trademark goes here]). I would suggest all slammed parties always file a written complaint with the FCC and the state/local PUC. Don't change/hide any names -- there are no 'innocents'. BTW, Pat, I'd be glad to snail-mail you the historical (hysterical?) file of the entire proceeding. I'd retype/post it, but my employer expects me to get a little work done. Billy bharper@spd.dsccc.com Requirements Engineer Competitive Long Distance Carriers DSC Communications Corporation ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 May 96 13:06:29 -0700 From: Cameron Young Organization: MPR Teltech Ltd. Subject: Last Laugh! But Not Funny! Sponsorship Ideas Hi Pat, How about getting sponsors through advertising. I realized that we're all missing an obvious use for this newsgroup - building brand image. You see, you are encumbered by this mindset that you have a journalistic obligation to be unbiased. Rather, consider yourself a new type of "E-programming manager" or "editorial consultant". Exchange your unbiased perspective for US currency. (You know, just like PC Magazine, BCR, CNN, etc.) Here's a hypothetical rate schedule for your IXC market strategy: 1) Post one wildly enthusiastic endorsement of a specific IXC - $250. 2) Post a series of 10 followup endorsements confirming the initial posting - $1000. 3) Post one scathing critique of an obvious error of incompetence of an IXC competitor - $500 4) Post one scathing critique of deceptive / unethical practices of an IXC competitor - $1000 5) Rates to withhold publishing corresponding posts which favour a competitor are double the above. Now, postings can be like TV commercials. Endorsements can be done by "talent", not real people. Since the "posting talent" base is not well developed you'll need to recruit it through promotions. For example, you could sponsor a contest "BULLETIN: *** $10000 *** to the best, most believable, most compelling, most heart-warming post in favour of brand X Long Distance Carrier !!!" Of course, never post this in YOUR newsgroup. You need to have a separate group just for the "talent". OK ... my imagination has taken me far enough. You must admit it is scary though, since this is the way other mediums have gone. [TELECOM Digest Advertising Manager's Note: In 1953, {Reader's Digest} ran an opinion poll for their subscribers on the question of adver- tising. Up until that point, {Reader's Digest} had been totally free of any commercials at all. They told their readers times were getting tough and the choice as they saw it was to either start including advertising or to raise the price of the magazine which was then fifteen cents per issue to twenty-five cents per issue, published monthly then as now. At the time, DeWitt Wallace and his wife Lila Acheson-Wallace were still alive and at the helm of the magazine they began on the kitchen table in their Greenwich Village apartment in 1922. They asked the readers what to do, and the readers overwhelming voted in the poll to continue without any advertising. They said they would rather have to pay twenty-five cents for each issue in order to continue having the unbiased and truthful reports which appeared in each issue. Mr. Wallace finally decided that 'rather than become beholden to commercial interests' the {Digest} would raise its price to subscribers instead. He noted that {Time Magazine} was getting twenty-five cents per copy and that seemed to him to be a fair price; The {New York Times} was four cents per issue weekdays and twenty-five cents on Sunday, but they 'are always filled with all those ads; all the stores having sales ...' and he did not want his magazine to look like that. Perhaps eight or ten years later later, circa 1963 {Readers Digest} raised their price again and started including advertising anyway, although Mrs. Wallace assured everyone that 'we do not intend to run any beer or cigarette advertising; only nice products we personally can vouch for and approve of.' Well, look at it now, 33 years after that. When I first suggested two years ago a voluntary donation in the suggested amount of twenty dollars per reader/year would sustain me pretty well, there was a huge amount of hate mail from the Usenet side of things (comp.dcom.telecom) and this one fellow who went to many different newsgroups saying that if they did not stop me, 'before long he is going to close off the archives and charge people money to use those also ...' Well I have not closed them off, however if you like you can pay me for them ... remember the CD ROM I mentioned back at the start of this year? It's out in the stores now. Go to your favorite computer store and look in the CD ROM section for it. It's title is very simply TELECOM, with a sort of an interesting cover design. The retail price is about $39 and I had nothing to do with that. All I get are some royalties on it. It is the complete archives as they were on December 31, 1995, through the end of Volume 15, with all the other files and stuff as well. Please look for it in your stores and please buy one if you have a way to use CD's in your computer. I guess I am sort of proud of it. The producers plan to have an update in perhaps a year if the original sales warrant it. After you have looked it over, let me know what you think. The Telecom Archives remains available and free for use by anyone who wants to do so at anonymous ftp: lcs.mit.edu, cd telecom-archives. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #212 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri May 3 11:59:11 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id LAA18228; Fri, 3 May 1996 11:59:11 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 3 May 1996 11:59:11 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199605031559.LAA18228@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #213 TELECOM Digest Fri, 3 May 96 11:59:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 213 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Phone Records for OK City Bombing Suspect (Tad Cook) US West Cutbacks Shake Oregon Employees (Tad Cook) Call for Professorship in Telecommunication (Pekka Neittaanmaki) Bell Atlantic Announces Mandatory 10 Digit Local Dialing (Roger Fajman) Last Laugh! "Important News for Frontier Customers" (Tim Tyler) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tad Cook Subject: Phone Records for OK City Bombing Suspect Date: Fri, 3 May 1996 02:07:28 PDT Phone record shows calls to suppliers of bomb parts DALLAS (AP) -- A telephone card found in the home of Oklahoma City bombing suspect Terry Nichols was reportedly used to make more than two dozen calls to suppliers of bomb components in the months leading up to the attack. One of the calls was to the Ryder store in Junction City, Kan., that rented the truck used in the blast, The Dallas Morning News and CBS reported Thursday. The suspects used the prepaid card in the mistaken belief that it would prevent their calls from being traced, authorities said. But a log of every single call was obtained by the government, and this record suggests Nichols' involvement in the bombing may have been more extensive than first thought. Nichols' lawyer has said his client split with fellow suspect Timothy McVeigh in February 1995, but government sources told the News that the phone records will be used in court to show that the suspects stayed in close touch in the days before the explosion. "It's not a crime for Terry Nichols to call Tim McVeigh," McVeigh's lawyer Stephen Jones told CBS. "It's only a crime if it was part of a conspiracy. You don't see that by just looking at the credit cards." Terry Nichols' lawyer and prosecutors declined to comment. Twenty-two of the calls were made during three days in September 1994, to companies including racing fuel suppliers, chemical distributors and one of the nation's largest explosives manufacturers. That wave of calls came just days before Nichols and McVeigh allegedly began buying tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, the component used in the April 19, 1995, bombing that killed 168 people. Records show the calls to companies whose products can be used in bombs continued in October 1994 from Kingman, Ariz., about the same time that the suspects allegedly drove there to hide stolen explosives, the newspaper said. Three of the Arizona calls were made from the home of Michael Fortier, whom McVeigh often visited. Fortier, a former Army buddy of McVeigh's, has pleaded guilty to knowing about the bomb plot and doing nothing to stop it. He plans to testify for the government. The phone records show that as McVeigh traveled around the country, several calls were made to Nichols' home, right up until the day before the bombing, according to the news reports. Although Nichols said McVeigh called him from Oklahoma City on Easter Sunday in 1995, the logs show he called from just down the street, CBS reported. Investigators now believe McVeigh and Nichols were together and drove to Oklahoma in two vehicles to drop a getaway car, the network said. Two of the calls were made on April 14, 1995, from the Junction City, Kansas bus station: one to Nichols' home and one less than a minute later to a Ryder agency in Junction City that rented the truck used in the blast. The card, which cost $480, was mailed in November 1993 to the Michigan farm owned by Nichols' brother, James. McVeigh and Terry Nichols were both staying there at the time, the News reported. The bombing indictment alleges both defendants used the card "as a means of concealing their true identities and as a means of preventing calls from being traced." Joel Soto, a marketing representative for a company formerly known as WCT Communications, which issued the card, said FBI agents came to the company's Santa Barbara, Calif., headquarters within days of the bombing. He said they obtained toll records for the 684 calls made on the card. WCT's records show that the card was issued through The Spotlight, a far-right political publication in which McVeigh had once advertised to sell replicas of rocket-launchers, in the phony name Daryl Bridges. ------------------------------ From: Tad Cook Subject: US West Cutbacks Shake Oregon Employees Date: Fri, 3 May 1996 02:11:38 PDT US West Cutbacks Shake Oregon Employees By Sherri Buri, The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News May 3--Every workday morning, Curt Nyquist leaves Eugene at 3:15 to reach the US West office in Portland by 6. He works until 4:30 or 5:30 in the evening and gets back to Eugene by 7. He says the commute doesn't bother him. He likes to drive, doesn't require much sleep and would rather pay $400 a month in gas, insurance and parking than see a third of his paycheck go to a Portland landlord. When faced with the choice of working in Portland or leaving the company last year, Nyquist decided to commute. He's a year away from retirement and he didn't want to uproot his wife in Eugene for an uncertain future with US West in Portland. But Nyquist is bothered by the fact that US West's Eugene office on Country Club Road remains open eight months after company officials said it would close. And some workers there are doing the same job as Nyquist, he says. "They should have done this differently," he says. "If you're going to move a department, move it." US West officials began a corporate-wide restructuring several years ago to cut costs and boost profits. Using new processes and technologies, the company consolidated 103 local business offices into 19 megacenters in big cities across the West and South. The upheaval is a case study in how employees and customers are affected when an industry refashions itself, in part using technological solutions. "It's been pretty well documented that (the reorganization) didn't go as well as we wanted it to," says Gary Miller, a US West spokesman. Thousands of employees throughout the company's 14-state territory moved, left, retired or were laid off in the shuffle. "Everyone has their own story," Nyquist says. Some workers in Eugene accepted jobs at the megacenters and moved their families to such cities as Portland, Seattle, Albuquerque or Salt Lake City. Some fashioned temporary solutions, renting an apartment in Portland and seeing their families in Eugene on weekends. Others traded full-time positions for part-time ones to stay in Eugene. Telephone industry regulators, customers and some employees say US West's consolidation strategy has failed miserably. "There's a clear correlation between downsizing and (US West's) technical and service problems," says Roger Hamilton, chairman of the Public Utility Commission. "Clearly, they downsized to the point where they couldn't meet the demands," he says. "They needed to be growing -- not shrinking -- in rapidly growing areas such as Portland, Bend and Eugene." Responding to mounting consumer complaints, the commission recently penalized US West by stripping it of a regulatory framework that gave the company considerable leeway to increase prices it charged for nonessential services, such as call waiting and caller ID. Now, the company is scrambling to restore service levels and stay afloat in a fiercely competitive market. US West began downsizing in 1991 and announced it was shedding 1,000 workers throughout its 14-state territory. In September 1993, the company said it would cut another 8,000 workers companywide by 1997. "In order for us to be competitive in this new environment we had to increase service and reduce costs," Miller said. According to the latest count, about 4,500 workers companywide have left US West. Of that group, about 600 were laid off and most of the others retired, Miller said. Much-needed expertise left the company when those workers retired, employees say. Eugene lost about 200 positions when US West consolidated its so-called back-office operations, such as the business office and directory assistance. As US West slashed thousands of jobs, it added 2,700 others, mostly technicians and jobs related to new products and services, such as videoconferencing and distance learning. "We're hiring for positions we didn't even know would exist three years ago," Miller says. Some questioned the timing of US West's reorganization. "They made all these cuts and they might have done it too quickly," said Connie Luecke, telecommunications analyst at Duff & Phelps Equity Research in Chicago. US West officials admit they made mistakes, but they say there's more to the story. The company underestimated the demand for new phone lines and overestimated how long existing cable would be sufficient, Miller says. With the proliferation of fax machines, interactive computer systems and other technologies, the demand for phone lines surged. Oregon even needed a new area code to accommodate the huge demand. Each month, US West receives 36,000 requests for new lines in Oregon. In the Eugene-Springfield area, the number of phone lines rose 3.5 percent from 1994 to 1995. The company also encountered unanticipated problems with new computer and telecommunications network technology, Miller says. It tied the hands of service representatives. They weren't able to access information to respond to installation and repair requests, he noted. The result: Long waits for service, escalating unmet orders, in which orders were delayed because existing cable couldn't handle new lines, and a growing perception that US West was falling down on the job. When JoAnn Andersen started work at US West's Eugene office as a customer service representative in 1977, she was responsible for answering calls from customers in Lowell and Dexter. The woman seated across from her handled calls from Cottage Grove. "We got to know everyone on a first-name basis because we handled such a small area," she recalls. "We had maps to show repairmen how to get there and we wrote specific directions: go to red mailbox, take right, you'll see a dog barking." Andersen says today's technology allows that same representative to take calls from all over the state, perhaps even from two states. And handwritten directions are seldom needed because dial tones often can be provided and repairs made from the central office, she says. Customer complaints fell from January to February, which shows the company is turning a corner, Miller says. "We're having problems, we're addressing the problems," he says. "But at the same time, 97.5 percent of our Oregon customers have no problems in making or receiving calls or receiving the kind of service that they expect from us." That company-generated figure is based on US West benchmarks for installation and repair, Miller says. As further evidence that US West is improving customer service, Miller says the company currently exceeds its goals for responding to customers. The company's objective is to answer 85 percent of customer phone calls for line access and repair within 20 seconds. Last year, representatives answered only about half the calls within that time, but by the end of February, they met the objective more than 85 percent of the time, Miller says. But getting the phone answered doesn't necessarily mean that customers receive the help they need, says Hamilton, the commission chairman. "If you call you may get an operator in Midwest," Hamilton says. "It's great that you can get through, but if you're getting through to someone who can't help you because they don't know where your little town is or they have to forward the message and have someone else call you back, then they have a real customer service problem on their hands." Where the service representative is located isn't the problem, Miller responds. The problem was that new technology wasn't functioning properly so that representatives had customer information at their fingertips, he says. "Whether a repair bureau is in Portland, Seattle, or Spokane, representatives have the same information and customer records, and are able to provide the same level of service as people in Eugene," he says. Now that US West has fixed the bugs in the system, the company will start showing customers the rewards of reorganization, Miller says. "We took one step backwards, but we are taking two steps forward," he says. One recent success: During the flood in February more than half the 90 long-distance operators at the Corvallis office were unable to show up for work. New networking systems allowed US West to forward those calls to operators in Seattle, providing better service for customers, Miller says. But customers and the Public Utility Commission will be the final judges of US West's success. ------------------------------ From: Pekka Neittaanmaki Subject: Call for Professorship in Telecommunication Date: Fri, 03 May 1996 14:48:24 +0300 Organization: Juvaskyla University Call for Professorship in Telecommunication The University of Jyvaskyla in cooperation with Telecom Finland seeks Pro fessor position for its new Telecommunications Program (TP) for teaching, resear ch and development. The successful candidate must demonstrate a strong commitmen t to graduate education and research projects in Master School in Information Technology. Additionally, he/she is expected to develop a skillful resear ch program in partnership with Telecom Finland. This is due to the fact that Telecom Finland has created a telecommunications environment which repres ents the state of the art by any comparison and acts as a pioneer and "field laboratory" in European telecommunications. Telecom Finland's optic trunk network covers the whole country while broadband SDH technology enables the construction of the Information Super-highway with fast ATM services. The company's representatives also participate in important quality standardisation organisations like ISO 9000, EOQ and EFQM. Telecom Finland experts have developed new ATM specifications, which are applied internationally. Telecom Finland's digital mobile network is growing fast and already offers short message and data transfer services. The mobile network will also become broadband. Among the achievements of Telecom Finland, it could be counted: Intelligent, customer oriented services; Centralised network management (Network Management Centre is in Jyvskyl) R&D production platforms, process interfaces; First commercial ATM network in the world. Fields of Teaching/Research/Development The professorship position is eligible in one of the following areas in telecommunications networks design: Mathematical Modelling of Communication Systems Digital and Adaptive Signal Processing Electronics and Hardware Design of Communication Systems Network Management and Computer Controlled Interfaces Database Processing of Automated Exchanges Intelligent Networks and Mobile Phone Networks Requirements The Telecommunications Program is focused on graduate and postgraduate ed ucation and involvement in the industrial research projects. Course development is to place emphasis on student participation in solving practical problems from telecommunication networks. Due to the industrial partnership with Teleco m Finland, it is expected that the program's members will successfully employ innovative teaching methods and involve students in substantive research activities. Although applications are welcome from anyone who holds a Ph.D. in Telecommunication, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or Computer Systems Engineering, the Telecommunications Progr am has a particular interest in candidates who are qualified in electronics and telecommunication systems. The actual staff of the Telecommunications Program is expected to offer M.S. and PhD degrees in telecommunication systems. More information about the city, the university and the department can be found in the WWW pages: http://www.infoma.jyu.fi (MSc Programs in Information Technology) http://www.math.jyu.fi (University of Jyvskyl) http://www.jsp.fi/jsp (Jyvskyl Science Park Ltd.) http://www.jkl.fi (City of Jyvskyl) The starting salary is, depending on the qualifications of the person, ab out 20.000 Finnish marks per month. Duration The professorship position is available starting with 1st September 1996 for a five year term. An extension can be negociated, depending on the quality of the teaching/reasearch activity and on the achievements in applying the research to Telecom Finland development projects. A shorter than five year term is also possible. Contact Person: Applicants should submit a detailed resume and the names of at least thre e references to: Professor Pekka Neittaanmki, Department of Mathematics, University of Jyvskyl, FIN-40351 Jyvskyl, FINLAND, Tel. (358)-41-602732 (Secretary,Ms Heidi Laaksonen), Fax. (358)-41-602731, Email: pn@tarzan.math.jyu.fi, WWW site: http://www.math.jyu.fi/~pn/cfp.html. Applications must be received by 14th June, 1996. ------------------------------ From: Roger Fajman Date: Fri, 03 May 1996 01:14:15 EDT Subject: Bell Atlantic Announces Mandatory 10 Digit Local Dialing BELL ATLANTIC LAUNCHES STATEWIDE PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN IN MARYLAND Ads Acquaint Customers With 10-Digit Local Dialing Baltimore, MD -- Bell Atlantic today launched a statewide customer information campaign in Maryland, encouraging customers to begin using the "Ten-number Number" for local calling. The new dialing method comes as the company prepares to introduce two new area codes in the state next year. Effective today, customers across the state will be able to use the area code plus seven-digit phone number on all local calls. During the next 12 months, local calls can be completed using either 10 digits or seven. However, on May 1, 1997, 10-digit local dialing will be required throughout the state. "We intend to tell all Marylanders about this important change. Our primary objective is to make sure customers know about the change and their frustration is kept to a minimum," said Daniel J. Whelan, president and CEO of Bell Atlantic - Maryland. Bell Atlantic newspaper ads will begin appearing throughout the state this week. The company will also be reaching its customers initially through bill inserts and direct mail. Radio and billboard advertising will be added in 1997. The campaign is all part of the company's implementation of an "overlay" solution to accommodate the need for additional phone numbers in the state. Maryland's supply of numbers is rapidly exhausting in the wake of an explosive demand for new telephone numbers for fax machines, cellular phones, pagers, computer modems, and other telecommunications equipment. The overlay plan keeps the 301 and 410 area codes in the same geographic regions as they are today, but adds a new code to each region. 240 will be added to the 301 region; and 443 will be added to the 410 region. The neighbor next door could potentially have a different area code, which is why the area code will need to be included when dialing all local phone calls. With the overlay, existing telephone numbers will not change. As the phone numbers in Maryland's 301 and 410 area codes are depleted, new phone lines will be assigned numbers with a new area code, essentially doubling the total amount of numbers that can be assigned. New area codes will not be assigned until sometime after May, 1997. One of the alternatives to the overlay method would have split geographically the 301 and 410 area codes, thus adding two new codes to the newly split areas. However, this approach would have divided communities and forced over a million Marylanders to change their phone numbers. Even though the geographic split would have maintained 7-digit dialing in some areas, 10-digit dialing would have been required for the vast majority of customers to reach some portion of their local calling area. Rates and local calling areas will not be affected by this new dialing change. A local call is still a local call. Long distance calls will require, as they do today, a '1' in addition to the area code and phone number. Customers will still dial 911 for Emergency Service, 411 for Directory Assistance, and 611 for Repair. Businesses with in-house switchboards, or PBXs, are encouraged to contact their vendor to see if an upgrade is needed. Bell Atlantic Corporation (NYSE: BEL) is at the forefront of the new communications, entertainment and information industry. In the mid-Atlantic region, the company is the premier provider of local telecommunications and advanced services. Globally, it is one of the largest investors in the high-growth wireless communication marketplace. Bell Atlantic also owns a substantial interest in Telecom Corporation of New Zealand and is actively developing high-growth national and international business opportunities in all phases of the industry. #### INTERNET USERS: Bell Atlantic news releases, executive speeches, news media contacts and other useful information are available on Bell Atlantic's media relations World Wide Web site (http://www.ba.com), by gopher (gopher://ba.com) or by ftp (ftp://ba.com/pub). ------------------------------ From: tim@umcc.umcc.umich.edu (Tim Tyler) Subject: Last Laugh! "Important News for Frontier Customers" Date: 3 May 1996 04:09:01 -0400 Organization: University of Michigan Computing Club (UMCC) On a separate page included with the Frontier Communications (my LD carrier) bill, is a statement that reads: EFFECTIVE MAY 1, 1996, PENDING REGULATORY APPROVAL, YOUR INTERNATIONAL RATES WILL BE INCREASED BY AN AVERAGE OF 5%. THE GOOD NEWS IS...FRONTIER CONTINUES TO PROVIDE QUALITY SERVICE AND INDUSTRY LEADING INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS... What sort of stupidity is this?! They're saying that the rates will increase, but there service continues to be good?! Maybe I should send them a statement, advising that effective 1 June, 1996 my payments will be mailed ten days beyond the due date, but the good news is that I'll continue to use quality stamps on the payment envelope. I don't have a problem with them raising rates, just the nonsensical statement! Tim Tyler Internet: tim@umcc.umich.edu C$erve: Hooligan AOL: Hooligan P.O. Box 443 Amateur Radio: KA8VIR @WB8ZPN.#SEMI.MI.USA.NOAM Ypsilanti, MI 48197-0443 In cyberspace, no one can hear you scream. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #213 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri May 3 13:00:28 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id NAA23547; Fri, 3 May 1996 13:00:28 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 3 May 1996 13:00:28 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199605031700.NAA23547@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #214 TELECOM Digest Fri, 3 May 96 13:00:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 214 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Voice/Fax Mail to Internet Mail (Richard Shockey) More Voice/Fax Mail to Internet Mail (Richard Shockey) Pac Bell *Still* Doesn't Recognize NPA 268 (Antigua) (Linc Madison) ANI Information From D-Channel (tjo94001@uconnvm.uconn.edu) ADSI Standards and Devices (Klaus Zuenkler) How Will Local Telephone Competition Work? (turner7@pacsibm.org) Need Basic Information On Direct Link Microwave (Theresa Riter) Does Caller-ID Hunt or Call-Forward? (David Brod) Re: Different Countries - Different Results (Hendrik Rood) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: rshockey@ix.netcom.com (Richard Shockey) Subject: Voice/Fax Mail to Internet Mail Date: Fri, 03 May 1996 04:33:12 GMT Organization: Netcom Centigram Supports Universal Messaging Standard Protocol With Other Voice Messaging Industry Leaders; Company to Demonstrate Multimedia Internet Connectivity Between Disparate Voice Messaging Systems ------------------------------ EMA '96 -- VPIM Booth No.369, Centigram Booth No.332 This group may find the following announcement of considerable interest. It seems self evident that the voice mail industry is ready to jump into the internet in a rather big way. The companies listed below represent 60 percent of the voice processing industry in North America. Add to that fax traffic ... 45 percent of transatlantic telephone traffic is fax according to ATT. Microsoft is probably not to happy about all of this since the delivery of most mail object types [voice / fax /email ] over SMTP transport layers does nothing for their Exchange Server Strategy. Remenber ... though Microsoft was wise is supporting the moderator of this forum ... they have been known to drop the ball from time to time. In addition I sincerely recommend persons interested in this subject to point their browsers to http://www.imc.org The Internet Mail Consortium is the best single site for any information you would ever want to know about Internet mail. Of particular interest to this group would be RFC 1911 an expermental Voice Profile for Internet Mail done by some folks at Octel ... who seem to be leading the charge on delivering Voice Mail over Internet Mail. The following press release strikes me as only the beginning. ################################ ANAHEIM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 1996--Centigram Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: CGRM), a leading global provider of communications solutions, today announced its participation in the joint development of the voice profile for Internet messaging (VPIM) protocol for transferring messages between disparate voice messaging servers. Centigram, a member of the VPIM Demo Work Group developing this standard, will demonstrate interchanging voice and fax messages with the other members of the group -- Lucent Technologies (formally AT&T), Northern Telecom (Nortel), Octel Communications and Siemens Rolm -- at the EMA `96 conference. VPIM enables the creation of voice, fax or compound voice and fax messages on a Centigram Series 6 communications server, and sends them over the Internet or private intranet to other vendors' voice messaging systems. This interoperability would allow Centigram users to exchange messages conveniently with their suppliers, distributors, customers and even family and friends using different vendors' voice messaging servers. In the future, communicating among disparate voice messaging systems can be as easy as communicating between disparate e-mail systems over the Internet is today. VPIM builds upon two Internet e-mail standards, simple message transfer protocol (SMTP) and multipurpose Internet messaging extension (MIME), to include such benefits as sender spoken name and compound voice and fax messages. "We are excited to be at the forefront of this universal connectivity by supporting interoperability among disparate voice messaging systems using VPIM," said George Sollman, Centigram president and CEO. "It is imperative that the work group, as leaders in the voice industry, complete and deploy VPIM. In the near future everyone with a VPIM-enabled messaging server will benefit from more effective communications and higher productivity through fast, low-cost messaging." Centigram plans to use Internet protocols and Internet connectivity to enable voice and fax messages among different vendors' systems. The VPIM Work Group has utilized these well-established e-mail standards to implement working interoperability prototypes in only a few months. With VPIM, users will be able to make an Internet voice message from any telephone and deliver it directly into the recipients' voice mailboxes. The Internet also provides cost-effective network access points throughout the world. VPIM Work Group The Electronic Messaging Association (EMA) sanctioned the VPIM Work Group to develop a universal messaging standard protocol to promote effective communications among voice messaging users of various vendors' voice messaging systems. The VPIM Demo Work Group, made up of Centigram Communications, Lucent Technologies, Northern Telecom, Octel Communications and Siemens Rolm, began working on its cross-system voice messaging protocol in 1995. Centigram Communications Corporation Centigram is a leading global provider of communications solutions. Centigram delivers communications solutions by integrating voice, data and facsimile on its Series 6 communications server, and by providing access to this multimedia information through a telephone or PC. The Series 6 platform is based on industry-standard hardware and software. Centigram also licenses TruVoice(R), its patented text-to-speech software. Centigram is headquartered at 91 East Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. Phone 408/944-0250, fax 408/428-3732, World Wide Web http://www.centigram.com. Centigram has sales and support offices in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. Centigram and TruVoice are registered trademarks of Centigram Communications Corporation. Richard Shockey Developers of Fax on Demand Solutions President For Business, Media, Industry and Nuntius Corporation Government. 8045 Big Bend Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63119 For a Demonstration Call our Voice 314.968.1009 CommandFax Demonstration Line FAX 314.968.3163 at 314.968.3461 Internet: rshockey@ix.netcom.com ------------------------------ From: rshockey@ix.netcom.com (Richard Shockey) Subject: More Voice/Fax Mail to Internet Mail Date: Fri, 03 May 1996 04:42:39 GMT Organization: Netcom More self serving but technically significant information about the future of voice on the Internet. ####################################### Designers of OcteLink Architecture Foresee Global Voice Messaging Interoperability MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 1996--Octel Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: OCTL), the company that developed the innovative OcteLink global voice messaging service, is the driving force behind the VPIM protocol. As a core member of the VPIM work group, Octel provided the expertise necessary to author the voice profile for Internet mail, or VPIM, which provides for interoperability among voice messaging systems using any type of LAN/WAN network that supports TCP/IP protocols. "This protocol, along with OcteLink's unique ability to direct messages to the intended recipient, provides a framework for ubiquitous voice messaging services," said Charles Levine, senior vice president of Octel Services. "With the VPIM protocol and OcteLink's directory capabilities, people will be able to send voice messages to a global community, much as they do now with e-mails." In addition to the VPIM protocol, OcteLink supports the OctelNet and AMIS analog protocols. While VPIM enables peer-to-peer exchange of voice mail messages, OcteLink provides unique directory, protocol translation and network operations services. OcteLink determines from whom the message originated, discerns its specific destination and translates the message from one system protocol to another. As leader in development of the VPIM protocol, Octel is uniquely positioned to help facilitate ubiquitous voice messaging technology. Introduced in July 1995, OcteLink supports Internet mail, X.400-based AMIS-Digital and other proprietary and industry-standard messaging and directory protocols. "OcteLink provides the much-needed directory services, security and network operations to provide the truly global voice messaging that the VPIM protocol will make possible," said Mr. Levine. About OcteLink OcteLink is designed to link commercial, residential and institutional customers worldwide. OcteLink consists of messaging hubs (or "voice post offices") that connect disparate voice processing systems and ensure that every message is efficiently routed to its destination. The hubs act as multimedia gateways -- accepting voice and fax with delivery based on the telephone (hard-wired or cellular). Future delivery vehicles will include computers (PCs), personal digital assistants (PDAs), or fax machines; message transport will include e-mail and multimedia. OcteLink hubs are currently located in Dallas and Chicago. Additional OcteLink hubs will be placed in Canada and elsewhere in the U.S., as well as in countries throughout Europe, the Pacific Rim, South America and the Middle East, as demand requires. About Octel Communications Corporation Octel is the voice messaging company. Its worldwide leadership extends to over 40 countries and includes more than 30 million users of Octel voice mail. Octel's products are bought and used by businesses of all sizes, governments, educational institutions, telephone companies and cellular service providers. Octel is also the world's largest outsourcer of voice mail providing a wide range of outsourcing services to phone companies and businesses. Founded in 1982, the company is headquartered in Milpitas, California. It has development centers in California, Texas, England, France and Israel and major operations centers in California and Texas. Additional information is available at http://www.octel.com. Richard Shockey Developers of Fax on Demand Solutions President For Business, Media, Industry and Nuntius Corporation Government. 8045 Big Bend Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63119 For a Demonstration Call our Voice 314.968.1009 CommandFax Demonstration Line FAX 314.968.3163 at 314.968.3461 Internet: rshockey@ix.netcom.com ------------------------------ From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison) Subject: Pac Bell *Still* Doesn't Recognize NPA 268 (Antigua) Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 16:44:19 -0700 Organization: Best Internet Communications Well, it was a full month as of yesterday that area code 268 was allegedly in service for Antigua and Barbuda, a small island nation in the Caribbean. Permissive dialing still has another 11 months, though, which is fortunate, since Pacific Bell still hasn't gotten around to enabling it in their switches. I dial 1-268- and immediately get an intercept "We are sorry, your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and dial again." This is a Pacific Bell intercept, not an intercept from my LD company. I called in a trouble ticket to repair over a week ago. After I finally got the representative to understand what on earth (and where on earth) I was talking about, he put in the report. A couple of hours later, a different person called me back to explain that, no, the new area code that split from 809 is 441, not 268. I explained to her that 441 is only for Bermuda, that Puerto Rico is now 787 and Antigua is 268, with more on the way. She said, "Oh. 441 is only Bermuda? I'll have to look into that." Sunday afternoon, their computer called me up to tell me that they had been unable to locate the trouble in my line, but that the trouble seemed to have cleared, and to call repair if I had any further problems. I called just now, and they are referring it to their switch programming people. We'll see if anything happens. The rep this time did at least notice that it was quite unusual that the test number (1-268-268-4482, or 1-268-ANTIGUA) has the same area code and prefix. (FWIW, 809-268 is now 787-268 in Puerto Rico, in permissive dialing with either NPA.) Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com ------------------------------ From: Dishu Subject: ANI Information From D-Channel Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 13:12:28 -0400 Organization: Yale University, Department of Computer Science, New Haven, CT I'm a lab supervisor for a Macintosh Lab at the University of Connecticut. In the very near future, this lab is going to be connected to the rest of the campus via a 56.6 ISDN network. It is my understanding that the D-Channel provides an ANI service that can be linked to telephones for the purposes of Caller ID. Is it possible to pass this information to a program residing on my server, perhaps? I wish to basically monitor incoming calls, to discern whether or not my staff is taking a greater number of personal calls or work related calls. Thanks for any help, e-mail responses to the address below would be appreciated, as I do not check the group often ... Tim tjo94001@uconnvm.uconn.edu ------------------------------ From: Klaus Zuenkler Subject: ADSI Standards and Devices Date: Fri, 03 May 1996 09:06:26 +0200 Organization: pc-plus COMPUTING GmbH Can anybody give me a pointer to the definition of the ADSI standard and sources for compatible devices? Does anybody know about the penetration of such phones? Any hint is appreciated. Dr. Klaus Zuenkler Operator Services Architecture Management pc-plus COMPUTING Tel: +49/89/62030-188 Schlierseestr. 73 Fax: +49/89/62030-113 D-81539 Muenchen email: zu@pc-plus.de ------------------------------ From: turner7@pacsibm.org (TUrner-7) Subject: How Will Local Telephone Competition Work? Date: 2 May 1996 19:57:15 GMT Organization: PACS IBM SIG BBS Right now, a pair of wires goes from my home to my local telco's Central Office, where I may be connected to almost anyone in the world. In terms of wiring and logistics, how will local competition work? Will the new company also string wires through the neighborhood? I assume all exchanges will be interconnected. Will the new competitors be forced to carry the unprofitable neighborhoods (ie inner city residential lines) as well as the cream (centrex in a huge office building)? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If the competition so highly touted over the past few years were done in a truly fair way, that is what would happen. MCI, Sprint and the others would have been told they were free to compete *entirely*. That is, they would be free to build exchanges, build their outside plants (i.e. string wires and install telephones, etc), build their national infrastructure, set up their accounting and billing procedures, etc. They could also build their own research facilities, manufacturing centers and whatever else they deemed necessary. They could spend better than a century putting it all together. They could go out and solicit customers. The court would rule that *when that had occurred* -- *when they got to that point* -- Bell was requiried to interconnect with them. The court would rule that local communities were required to treat the competitors fairly regards easement rights, the laying of cable, etc. When they had their network up and running and ready to go, Bell would open their front door and hand out several cables saying 'here are pairs you can use to interconnect with us'. Bell would also be required to administer fairly any sort of numbering plan. **The subscribers would be deemed of paramount importance**, and all interconnections, etc would be totally transparent to the customers, along with billing. That would have been the fair way. All the competitors however feel they should not be required to spend billions of dollars over a period of a hundred years developing the infrastructure Bell has in place. They feel they should be able to use AT&T's collective wisdom and resources in putting together their own networks. They feel the existing telcos should be required to allow them to move right in to the same central office facilities on a co-location type arrangement. So what they will be doing, if you don't mind, is forcing the local telcos to jerry-rig their switches and rewrite their methodology in order to accomodate the competition. They'll be using the existing cable and requiring the telco to do some magic in the central office with call-forwarding to get the calls handled. Actually, it won't affect you anyway. The competition is not interested in your worthless account. They'll only be dealing with very high volume business customers -- not even *all* business customers. Residence and low volume accounts are like poison to them. The existing telco will be required to continue handling those, even if they have to raise the price of your service to make up for what the 'competition' stole of the big business accounts. I wonder why, back in the early 1980's when Judge Greene got this bee in his bonnet, he did not at least first consult his dictionary and look up the definition of the word 'competition' so he understood what it meant, as if he cared. So that is how local telephone competition will work. Endless squabbles among the telcos, massive customer confusion over who does what and when, wholesale ripoffs of the existing insfrastructure by the new- comers, and still futher degradation of what at one time years ago was the finest telephone network in the world. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Theresa Riter Subject: Need Basic Information On Direct Link Microwave Date: Fri, 03 May 1996 11:22:18 -0500 I would like to find out some basic information about direct link microwave. We got a price quote on a T-1 from South Dakota to Arizona ... ouch! A friend suggested that we look into direct link microwave for voice and data transmission. Any information would be appreciated. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 22:54:29 -0500 From: doc_dave@bga.com (David Brod) Subject: Does Caller-ID Hunt or Call-Forward? Rich asked: > Let's say I have two lines. A and B. Line A doesn't subscribe to > caller-id. Line B does. If line-A busy is set up to hunt to line-B, > what caller-id info if any is presented to B? Same question for a > call-forwarded line. Oh, lets toss in the same question for cell > phones (as line A) immediate, busy, and no-answer call-forwarding. Pat responded: > TELECOM DIGEST Editor's Note: No information is provided to B since > it is only being used as an overflow/alternate for A, and A does not > subscribe to the service. It has been my experience that line B DOES get the caller info. Any call that rings into line B, whether line B is direct dialed, or subjected to line A overflow, will result in a caller ID read. Just like if line B has call waiting. The feature is active when line B is called, regardless of the method. > The 'decision' in the software as to which > custom calling features to extend to a subscriber with an incoming > call are made before any 'decision' is made how to dispose of the > call if the specifically called line is unavailable for whatever > reason. As long as you *never* have incoming calls which were dialed > direct into your back lines, you are perfectly safe in having things > like caller-id and call screening on your first, main, listed number > only. In this instance, lets say line A has caller ID and is busy. The call then goes to line B. If you want to know who is calling, line B must be equiped with caller ID. Each back line must have a caller ID box, in the event that a given back line is receiving a call. > Obviously you need to have a Caller-ID display box on each line; > there still has to be a way to display what telco is presenting; > you just don't have to pay the monthly service fee. Service reps are > trained to tell you things like Caller-ID and Call Screening 'will > not work correctly' on multi-line arrangements unless you buy those > services for each line. You can tell them that is not true as long > as you have no 'independently delivered' calls into those lines. Now, > let your customers/employees/others find out the numbers for those > back lines and then all bets are off. Here, Southwestern Bell charges for caller ID on each line, regardless of what kind of hunt group you have. > Ditto on a call-forwarding situation. The central office 'finds out > about' your request to forward the calls after it has already decided > what privileges or services are to be provided you on your incoming > call. Naturally the final end stopping point still has to have a > Caller-ID box. It also has to subscribe to the service. A number with Caller ID service can not 'pass along' the service to a line that does not independently subscribe to the service. David Brod Crowley Communications ------------------------------ From: hrood@xs4all.nl (Hendrik Rood) Subject: Re: Different Countries - Different Results Date: Fri, 03 May 96 04:12:17 GMT Organization: XS4ALL, networking for the masses In article , Telecom@Eureka.vip. best.com (Linc Madison) wrote: >>> [dialed number in Innsbruck, Austria, from the Netherlands] >>> Instead of getting the modem, I got the answering machine of some >>> company (I couldn't understand which company). [truncating explained] > I tried the number from the U.S., and it reaches an answering machine. > A possible clue is provided by the fact that the number begins ringing > before I finish dialing the last one or two digits. The number is > +43 512 361.112.980, This is 14 digits, together with the Dutch acces-code 00 for international calls it means your dialing 16 digits. That must be possible nowadays. But you may have a chance it goes wrong. PSTN maximum allowed national significant number has been 12 (E.163) for international dialling plans and is currently upgraded too a maximum of 15 (E.164). This must extension of maximum allowable digits must be realized all over the world at the so called time T, which as far as I am informed is January 1th 1997 (can anybody confirm that? I allways read about time T in the specs, but never see the actual date). You must now the complete routing of the call (through a SS#7 trunk you might get through, through a R2 MFC, you are exposed the risk of getting truncated after 12 digits, which in your case explains why you miss the last digits and explains too why USA can not reach this number (USA international access is 011, which extends the total digit string to 17, I know some types of well known and much used public switches that cut digit strings after 16 digits). According to ITU-T international numbering plan ruling it is allowed for an international switch in the originating country to make a routing decision after 6 significant digits have been collected. In your case that means after you have dialled: +43 512 3. So when you are punching in 611129 (say it lasts 6 seconds, 1 second per digit punched on the DTMF-telephone) the international SS#7 has allready set up a complete route to the PABX in Austria. To this PABX an Direct dialling in call is set up from the local exchange with the digits 3611129 which is sufficient to reach the reception desk. When you dial the last digits 80 it might happen that the PABX makes the decision the call is for the reception desk and you last digit is not coming through because the routing decision is allready made. Succes of your call with such a long number is all very dependend on protocols used in the International trunk network, the Austrian downlink from their International exchange to the local exchange and the protocol used for DDI to the PABX, combined with routing decision speed in the PABX. The reason you succeeded during the numbering plan transition period in the Netherlands was because an extra waiting time has been implemented as a guard against misrouting caused by slow dialers. During the transition period the Netherlands had a double numbering plan with overlap in the decision tree for several area's. Therefore Dutch switches waited 5 seconds, which was just enough for you to punch +43 512 361.112. During the call setup time over the network to Austria you entered the last three digits 980, which meant that the local exchange received all the needed digits before the DDI call setup to the PABX was made. This explains: 1. Why you experience problems after transition period; 2. The fault is not the PTT, nor in the Netherlands nor in Austria. The problem is in the PABX routing in your Innsbruck-office and might happen from time to time, when dialled from countries with modern switches. Just remind that foreign countries you have mentioned calls succeed are known to still operate a large base of electro-mechinacal (slow!) switches, so they have implemented a much longer waiting period in their International gateway for collecting digits before they setup the international part of the call. A way to test this is to go to a PABX or line with ISDN and enter the number before setting up the call. When that call is succeeding you have tracked your problem. The reason why you do not succeed when setting up the call from mobile is that part of the trunks between the mobile exchanges and the international gateway are still R2 MFC. The interworking between R2 MFC and SS#7 on the international part can cause the same waiting time problems with long numbers as described above. ir. Hendrik Rood Stratix Consulting Group BV, Schiphol NL tel: +31 20 44 66 555 fax: +31 20 44 66 560 e-mail: Hendrik.Rood@stratix.nl ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #214 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Fri May 3 13:53:16 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id NAA29605; Fri, 3 May 1996 13:53:16 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 3 May 1996 13:53:16 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199605031753.NAA29605@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #215 TELECOM Digest Fri, 3 May 96 13:53:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 215 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Information Wanted on Tymnet (Tom Reynolds) Re: Information Wanted on Tymnet (Steve Coleman) Re: Information Wanted on Tymnet (Joel M. Snyder) An Intelligent Phone? (Dale Robinson) New-Fangled Phones on a Two-Party Line (Pat O'Neil) Billing ISDN/Modem Calls to Calling Card (Eric Pylko) NewBridge MainStreet Boards Wanted (Christopher Bernat) Alphabet on the Phone Keypad (Zev Rubenstein) Re: Intimidating Cellular Phone and a Phony Police Officer (Tye McQueen) Re: Big Problems With AT&T WorldNet Service (Douglas Kaspar) Re: Big Problems With AT&T WorldNet Service (geneb@ma.ultranet.com) Re: Big Problems With AT&T WorldNet Service (Alan M. Gallatin) Re: Information Wanted on Finland Telecomms (Yves Blondeel) Re: Information Wanted on Finland Telecomms (larsendg@mcgraw-hill.com) Re: Is NYNEX Deceptively Advertising *66? (Brian Brown) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tom Reynolds Subject: Re: Information Wanted on Tymnet Date: 3 May 1996 02:42:03 GMT Organization: MCI DSE - Development > A competitive service started around 1970-75 called 'Tymnet' pronounced > 'Time Net'. It operated much the same way and it came down basically > to a 'do you prefer MCI, Sprint or AT&T' sort of thing. Either one > you picked had about the same rates; each served a few slightly differ- > points than the other when you got out in the boondocks, etc. The spelling was because the founder was named LeRoy Tymes. Funny the flavor comparison, Tymnet is now a part of MCI. > At some point, Tymnet jumped into it with an offering of their own > which was quite competitive. I do not recall which company owned > Tymnet, although I beleive there are some very old files in the > Archives which discusses it and makes a comparison study between it > and Telenet's PC Pursuit. Actually, we olny sold directly to corporate accounts. The mass market edition was a company reselling the service. (Sorry, the name of the company escapes me.) > At some point Tynmet either went out of business or changed its name > or was bought out. Three times ... MacDonnald Douglas had already bought the company when I came on board eight years ago. They sold us to British Telecom, who changed the name of the company three times in one year. BT sold the portion of the network in the Americas to MCI. It's still a global network; BT operates much of the world, MCI operates the Americas. Customers may be from BT, MCI, or the global joint venture, Concert. >I know the very same phone numnbers from the Tymnet > days are still in service as dialups, and to a large extent by AOL. > The fastest baud rate you can get on any of those older dialups is > 1200. You get to pick that or 300, your choice ... ... also the We have higher speeds, typically it's the online service that chooses to limit their customers to our lower speed numbers. You see, something happened to the old model of how access was sold. The online services grew much larger and much faster than most of the "experts" predicted. Instead of selling surplus access at night and on weekends, online services started driving modem deploymnet. When you aren't selling surplus, you have to charge more. (This also explains why AOL is building their own network, and CIS is expanding theirs.) > I cannot imagine who would use it at 300/1200/2400 baud when there are > now so many other methods of connection at speeds much greater. LOTS of old PCs out there, with old applications. They just keep on going, till one day someone buys a new one, and they experience a shock as they try to configure the fast new PC with Win95 and a fast modem to do what the old slow DOS PC did. Also, lots of credit card terminals that still only do 300. (Fast ones rolling off the line today do 2400. > It has nothing to > do with Tymnet, which was a competitor with a similar program for small > PC users, who I have no idea where they went or when, just that they > are not around now. PAT] We're still around, and bigger than ever. We're the XStream product line of MCI Data Services, the Concert Packet Network, and the Concert Frame Relay Network. Tom Reynolds MCI Data Services Dial Access Network Operations Center ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 22:08:48 GMT From: scaf@pro-net.co.uk (Steve Coleman) Subject: Re: Information Wanted on Tymnet On 29 Apr 1996, Kendall Shaw wrote: > There was a company called Tymnet who offered a service which was > popular with computer users, whereby you would call in and then > be able to call out to internet service providers or other services. > I think it was an X.25 network. > What has become of that? I thought it became Sprintnet, but when I > called sprintnet they said they have no such service and they were > never Tymnet. Tymnet was purchased by BT and become part of their Packet Switching portfolio in the early 1990's. Outside of the UK, BT's asychronous dial service retained the name Tymdial and surprise, surprise operated over the purchased Tymnet nodes. In the UK a similar offering was marketed as Dialplus and ran over Telenet equipment. The charges for this asynch' service were usage based and the maximum speed offered was 2400bps. A dedicated option was also available. Around 93/94 the access speed was increased to 9600bps and the product renamed BT GNS Dial. GNS (Global Network Services) held responsibility for the companies packet switching products together with fast packet services like Frame Relay. This group are now part of the BT/MCI global alliance called Concert. A call to your local MCI rep' should move you a step closer to finding the products current status in the US. I have a sneaky feeling that the network was originally owned by MacDonald Douglas. However my old product notes do not appear to support this hunch. Hope this helps you though. Steve Coleman University of North London http://idun.unl.ac.uk/~hfa9colemas ------------------------------ From: Joel M Snyder Subject: Re: Information Wanted on Tymnet Organization: Opus One - +1 520 324 0494 Date: 1 May 96 10:02:22 -0700 Organization: Opus One, Tucson, Arizona In article , fgoldstein@bbn.com (Fred R. Goldstein) writes: > There were three big packet-switched network operators in the USA in > the late '70s. Telenet ... Tymnet... > The third of the big three was Graphnet, run by Graphic Scanning Inc. The big three were actually two: Telenet (now Sprint) and Tymnet (now MCI), which dominated the industry. Then came a host of smaller networks: Uninet (which got bought by one of the big two), CompuServe (which is still around and big), ADP Autonet (which is still around), and AT&T (which marketed it's network under about five different names. I would not put Graphnet in the running, personally. Joel M Snyder, 1404 East Lind Road, Tucson, AZ, 85719 Phone: +1 520 324 0494 (voice) +1 520 324 0495 (FAX) jms@Opus1.COM http://www.opus1.com/jms Opus One ------------------------------ From: Dale.Robinson@DWNPLAZA.NCOM.nt.gov.au Date: Fri, 03 May 1996 21:46:38 +0930 Subject: An Intelligent Phone? Pat, With the different long distance billing plans available, I wonder if anyone has make an intelligent phone to exploit this? I would like a phone that would: Select the least-cost billing plan for any given time of day. (ie. if Telco Y is cheaper than Telco X between 9 -> 10pm, then the phone would place the call with Y). Maintain log of calls made and cost of them, for bill comparison. Detect caller-id and perform some given action based on it. (ie. refuse call, divert call to mobile call, record message). It's only a wish list, and I could write something to do all the above on a computer, but isn't technology about being unintrusive? Cheers, Dale ------------------------------ From: Pat O'Neil Subject: New-Fangled Phones on a Two-Party Line Date: 3 May 1996 12:48:55 GMT Organization: Hughes Network Systems I'd like to install a wireless telephone for a friend who is on a two-party pulse-dial line. How do I insure that: 1. The phone will ring only when my friend's number is called. 2. My friend's toll calls will be billed to him, and not to the other party on the line. Anyone have any suggestions? Pat O'Neil Hughes Network Systems Germantown, Md [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You can't insure those things, which is why under FCC regulations it is *completely forbidden* to put any sort of attachment or phone on a multi-party line other than the nice black POTS phone telco gives you when you sign up for that asinine service. If your friend can afford a cordless phone, then they can afford single party service. I am making the assumption here that there are no physical limitations imposed by telco, i.e. lack of pairs in the area, etc. If so, then please excuse my response, but this is the first time I ever got a message here from someone with party-line service (in this day and age) who wanted to make improvements in their service without first getting to the core problem of the whole thing. PAT] ------------------------------ From: pylko@kodak.com (Eric Pylko) Subject: Billing ISDN/Modem Calls to Calling Card Date: 3 May 1996 10:30:05 -0400 Organization: Eastman Kodak Company I want to setup a LAN with a dial-out terminal server. I also want the Macintoshes to be able to use the ISDN and modem lines to dial out from the terminal server. The catch is I don't want to pay for the calls. I haven't purchased any hardware or software yet, so does anyone know of a solution that will allow people to dial out, yet bill all calls to a calling card or credit card? I've talked to a few vendors, but they don't seem to have anything like that. Thanks for any info/leads. Eric Pylko Phone: (716) 253-1611 Network Engineer Pager: (716) 975-1792 pylko@kodak.com Fax: (716) 726-7283 ------------------------------ From: Christopher Bernat Subject: NewBridge MainStreet Boards Wanted Date: 3 May 1996 15:15:56 GMT Organization: National SUPPORT Center Hello everyone, We are looking for six LGE boards for the Newbridge MainStreet 3624 Channel Bank. PLease call me at 800-672-3683 or email me at rjohnson@scsn.net. Thanks, Ron Johnson ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 May 1996 08:32:58 -0500 From: zev@wireless.attmail.com (zev) Subject: Alphabet on the Phone Keypad I did some digging on the ITU standards for the alphabet on the phone. The standard is an ITU-T (T for Telecom) standard, number E.161. I also found out that there is a current effort to change the standard for ATM kepads to bring them in alignment with the telephony standard. That standard is X3.118, and it may be changed to move the Q and Z to 7 & 9 (respectively) as early as next week. Zev Rubenstein zev@attmail.com Independent Telecommunications Consultant ------------------------------ From: tye@metronet.com (Tye McQueen) Subject: Re: Intimidating Cellular Phone and a Phony Police Officer Date: 3 May 1996 01:58:38 -0500 Organization: Texas Metronet, Inc (login info (214/488-2590 - 817/571-0400)) wwalker@qualcomm.com (Bill Walker) writes: > I don't know about your state, but in California, 911 (landline or > cellular) is for reporting emergencies that threaten life or property. > Since the impersonator wasn't threatening you with bodily harm, I > submit that a call to the local police station would be more > appropriate. Indeed. Many 911 systems have significant problems with things as bad as callers asking for the time of day or whether the ball game has been cancelled. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: On the other hand, in the city of > Chicago, if you dial the number of a local police precinct to > ask them about something or report some incident, they always > tell you dial 911 if you want to speak to a police officer. It > seems a shame really. Here in Skokie, 911 brings a *huge* response > in the form of manpower and vehicles but a call to the seven- > digit number is handled more appropriately as a non-emergency. PAT] Chicago is unusual in that having charged each of its very numerous phone subscribers something like $1.00 per month for 911 development for years, they have one of the premiere 911 centers in the country. You can watch little police car and fire truck icons move around maps of the city on huge overhead monitors in realtime. In one area I worked with, they had to add a recording, something like: "You have reached 911 Emergency. If this is not an emergency, please hang up and dial 456-7890 now. Otherwise please stay on the line. [Repeats in Spanish]". If their was an unbusy operator, they would answer immediately and you would get no recording. If all were busy, the one with the least "hot" call would quickly find a "breaking point" and answer the call to make sure it wasn't "hotter" than the call they were on. They also (as with most 911 centers) have several buttons that do useful things like forwarding the caller to a recording: "911 is to be used _only_ for emergency calls. For non-emergency calls, ...". Oh, and 456-7890 was answered by the same operators but only after emergency calls were handled and it offered a different recording. This site used a Tie phone system. Best office phone system I've ever seen. I've heard they aren't made anymore. *Sigh* I wish I could multiplex calls at work like that system let you. Have one on the speaker phone, get a muted tone anouncing a new one, tap a button and you could hear both calls and switch the mic between them. Never miss a word and no one even notices. No need for a hurried "please hold" trying to catch the new call before it rolls to voice mail. Tye McQueen tye@metronet.com || tye@thingy.usu.edu http://www.metronet.com/~tye/ (scripts, links, nothing fancy) ------------------------------ From: Douglas Kaspar Subject: Re: Big Problems With AT&T WorldNet Service Date: 3 May 1996 03:18:17 GMT Organization: AT&T WorldNet Services I have been using my software for approximatly thirty days. Just recently I discovered that I was having problems with my modem not disconnecting. I called the customer care number at 10pm and had to wait approximatly 20 minutes on hold. I then worked with a live body. This individual couldn't fix my problem. I received a callback at 10am today. I wasn't able to get back to them until 9:30pm. I got right through to a tech and got my problem resolved. I wonder if your local ISP could handle 500,000 new users within six weeks? ------------------------------ From: geneb@ma.ultranet.com Subject: Re: Big Problems With AT&T WorldNet Service Date: 3 May 1996 05:12:22 GMT Organization: UltraNet Communications, Inc. Reply-To: geneb@ultranet.com In , Greg Eiche writes: > Does anybody have any insight in the problems that AT&T WorldNet has > been having in registering new accounts? I tried to register for a > new account today with the software they just sent me, and was > unsuccessful. When I called AT&T's tech support, I was told that > their server was overloaded with people trying to sign up and that > they were having major problems. I couldn't help but laugh when I > recalled all the reports that AT&T was going to give the ISPs a real > run for their money. It's quite amazing that the world's largest > telecom can't get it right!! I, for one, plan to stick with my local > ISP ... Except for the fact that no "local ISP" could handle thousands or tens of thousands of registrations PER DAY either. It's when you get a *busy* signal calling AT&T Worldnet that you should feel free to laugh ... Gene ------------------------------ From: amg@netbox.com (Alan M. Gallatin) Subject: Re: Big Problems With AT&T Worldnet Service Date: Fri, 03 May 96 03:15:24 GMT Organization: AT&T WorldNet Services In article , conlin@shout.net (Roger Conlin) wrote: > Glad to hear from somebody using this. I've been waiting forever for > the software. Got some little postcard finally saying it was on the > way, but it's still not here. I can echo your experience with a local > ISP, and was hoping for some better service with Worldnet. Glad to > see somebody else try it and find out it actually works, than sign up > and find out that AT&T can't handle the business. Well, I never thought I'd hear (see?) myself saying this, but I'm quite happy with Worldnet (don't be deceived by my non-Worldnet e-mail address ... it's all a front :-)) Getting registered was certainly the most painful of my internet related experiences ... dozens of attempts over several days until a succesful trip through the registration process took place. However, since then, it's been a pleasure. My modem connections have been strong, stable and consistent, with network throughput being above average as compared to my past experiences. As for the good, bad and ugly of the Worldnet software, I really can't offer an opinion. I'm a content user of the Win95 DUN :-)) One question for "those in the know" re: Worldnet: Did AT&T set up POP's all over the country or are the local phone numbers forwarding into one central modem bank? I ask this because I've noticed a peculiar quality to the "ringing" tone whenever I call ANY of the Worldnet POP's. Alan M. Gallatin http://www.netbox.com/amg EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, PLEASE USE: amg@netbox.com IN PLACE OF amg@pobox.com ------------------------------ From: Yves Blondeel Subject: Re: Information Wanted on Finland Telecomms Date: Fri, 03 May 1996 14:33:44 +0200 Organization: Brussels Free Universities VUB/ULB Reply-To: yblondee@vnet3.vub.ac.be Johannes Kiehl wrote: > Can someone from Finland please give me the name (and maybe a phone > number?) of the national telecomms company? (I understand there's a > telecommunication monopoly in Finland?) Telecom Finland's Web site = http://www.tele.fi/ There has NEVER BEEN a telecommunications monopoly in Finland. (simplifying reply) Yves Blondeel yblondee@vnet3.vub.ac.be ------------------------------ From: larsendg@mcgraw-hill.com Date: Fri, 03 May 96 11:26:31 EST Subject: Re: Information Wanted on Finland Telecomms Telecom Finland (known as Tele, in Finland) offers telecommunications services to business and residential customers at the local, national, and international level, as well as mobile communications, and data and text transmission. Since the 1880s the Local Telephone Companies (LTCs) have been serving Finland's widely dispersed cities and smaller population centers. There are some 40+ separate companies. The majority of the LTCs are subscriber-owned and are run on a nonprofit basis. Most are limited companies, though one company operates as a municipal utilities and others operate as cooperatives and associations. In 1921, the Association of Telephone Companies in Finland (ATC Finland) was formed to coordinate the operations of the LTCs. All the LTCs are members of ATC Finland. The LTCs presently account for over two million subscriber lines -- approximately 73% of the total main lines in Finland. Phone Numbers: Telecom Finland Tel: +358 0 2040 6474 Fax: +358 0 2040 2032 ATC Finland Tel: +358 0 228 111 Fax: +358 0 605 531 Regards, David Larsen, Analyst, Datapro Information Services Group, U.K. ------------------------------ From: brianb@cfer.com (Brian Brown) Subject: Re: Is NYNEX Deceptively Advertising *66? Date: Fri, 03 May 1996 15:12:15 GMT Organization: ConferTech, International > The second flaw is that so far as I know, *66 has no knowledge of other > lines in a hunt group to which it could refer its user. If you (and > hundreds of other people) call a company which has a listed number with > let's say a couple dozen additional lines in sequence, the only thing > *66 knows about is the main, listed, first-in-the-group number that you > (and everyone else) dialed. And while yes, that line will become free > like the others, it will also be the first one to get seized by other > callers in the interim while *66 comes looking for you to make its > report and offer to try the connection again. There might be lines in > the hunt group available. I am not certain if retries are just dialed > again (thus the call might hunt down to a vacancy somewhere) or if it > just goes back and looks again first only to report that number XXX > has 'become busy again'. Actually, your second flaw is deeper than this. When you refer to "first-in-the-group" numbers, you are thinking about trunk termination in an analog sense. That is, in a small company, for example, you may have five analog phone lines and a hunt group programmed to go to the first available in the hunt order. Most large-scale setups have digital lines coming in, generally in the form of T1s. These T1's are almost never provisioned with a one-to-one correspondence of phone number and trunk. The DNIS is outpulsed for each call, telling the T1 termination equipment where to route (or in the case of IVR, what program to run) for that call only. Therefore, a busy service bureau, for example, TicketMaster, may have one main number which everyone calls, and which terminates across several circuits in one huge trunk group. It is not the case that each of these trunks in each of these circuits has a number associated with it. The trunk group can be set up such that only one number goes there. As far how the *66 feature deals with complicated trunk group scenarios, that question is still unanswered. (Help here) I would assume that some SS7 signalling paradigm would allow the requesting switch to subscribe to messages from the DNIS termination switch which indicate that lines are free. But, once again, in a fight for these free lines, odds are you will lose. On another note, we designed, and even started implementing, an IVR application at my company which, after hours, would use unutilized trunks and allow bulk-dialing to the same number to win contests, buy tickets, etc. We decided it was not fair, and may have been an inappropriate use of our company's facilities. This methodology, however, where you dial one number, enter your destination number, and then wait as 96 ports all go off hook and try to reach the destination, seems the most feasible, since it increases your odds. Call progress detection is used to connect the first off-hook line to your inbound line. Brian Brown ConferTech, International ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #215 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon May 6 11:07:29 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id LAA04146; Mon, 6 May 1996 11:07:29 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 11:07:29 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199605061507.LAA04146@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #216 TELECOM Digest Mon, 6 May 96 11:07:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 216 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Growth of Cybercrime (Knight-Ridder via Tad Cook) Those Damned Magazine Subscriptions (Christopher Zguris) Smart Antennas Workshop at Stanford Univ, July 1996 (Sumeet Sandhu) ICA Announces 1996 Summer Program (Irina A. Strunina) Low Cost LAN/WAN Training at UC Boulder (Irinia A. Struina) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tad Cook Subject: Growth of Cybercrime Date: Sun, 5 May 1996 20:37:39 PDT FBI Survey Reveals Growth of Cybercrime By Rory J. O'Connor, San Jose Mercury News, Calif. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News May 6--Intruders are breaking into the nation's computer systems at an increasing rate and often with more nefarious motives than in the past, according to a survey co-sponsored by the FBI and a private group of computer security professionals. With more attacks made by people outside an organization, security experts and civil libertarians are renewing their call for fewer government restrictions on encryption technology that protects information. If computer crime keeps growing, security experts said, it could suffocate the burgeoning growth of commerce on the Internet. "What this shows is that the ante has been upped in cyberspace," said Richard Power, senior analyst of the Computer Security Institute in San Francisco, which conducted the survey. "As all manner of commerce moves into cyberspace, all manner of crime is moving there as well. It's no longer just vandalism." More than 40 percent of the 428 corporate, university and government sites that responded to the FBI survey reported at least one unauthorized use of their computers within the last 12 months, with some institutions reporting as many as 1,000 attacks in the period. The attacks range from "data diddling," where some information on the compromised computer is changed, to wholesale attempts to steal passwords or prevent legitimate users from gaining access to the systems. The increase in cybercrime doesn't pose much danger to individuals using computers at home. It is the corporate databases that attract cyber-thieves. While more than half the organizations surveyed reported that some attacks came from inside the organization itself, more than a third said they had been attacked via the Internet, a disconcerting statistic for businesses that want to conduct commerce in cyberspace. About 75 percent of the executives who responded to the survey said they feared attacks from independent hackers and "information brokers." Nearly 60 percent said they consider their domestic competitors just as likely to try to break into their computers. Organizations could protect themselves by using technology that encrypts the storage and transmission of computer data. The strongest such technology would make it nearly impossible for an unauthorized person to read or misuse data -- yet it is not widely deployed because the U.S. government won't allow its export. Companies, therefore, don't include it with many of their products. "The No. 1 reason why computer crime happens is because we have a totally backward encryption policy in this country," said Daniel Weitzner of the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington. Computer security experts said that any significant growth in computer crime could make consumers and businesses doubt that an honest transaction would take place on the Internet, instead fearing they would be vulnerable to theft of information, services or money. "It's important not to sensationalize things, because if you do you trivialize them," said Power. "But there is definitely a trend across the board of increased unauthorized use of computers from both the inside as well as the outside." His organization conducted the survey at the request of the FBI, using questions based on information supplied by the agency. The FBI has stepped up its investigations of computer crime in the past year, assembling special groups in San Francisco, New York and Washington to combat it. And agency director Louis B. Freeh testified before Congress earlier this year about what he considers the growing danger to U.S. businesses from information spies, including some in the employ of foreign governments or competitors. The report doesn't mean, however, that computer users everywhere should panic. Computer security experts note that individual personal computers, especially at home, are far less likely to be attacked than larger systems used by corporations and government agencies. The information those computers contain isn't nearly as valuable as a corporate database -- and the computers themselves make less-tempting targets for hackers because they are much simpler than large systems, offering fewer technical security holes to exploit. They also say the likelihood that a given individual will suffer from a computer-related crime -- for example, having a credit card number purloined by a hacker during an on-line purchase -- is fairly small, and that existing laws cap an individual's responsibility to pay. "As an individual, your liability is low," said Steven M. Bellovin, a computer security expert with AT&T Bell Laboratories. Computer crime statistics have also been notoriously unreliable in the past few years. Predictions that the so-called Michelangelo virus would wreak wholesale destruction on the world's PCs turned out to be laughably hyperbolic; only a handful of machines were ever infected. And much of the nation's hysteria over computer crime revolves around media accounts of just a few well-known "hackers" -- such as Kevin Mitnick and Robert Tappan Morris Jr. -- whose exploits turned out to be far less damaging than the publicity surrounding them. "Mitnick is often portrayed as a technical wizard," said Bellovin of the hacker who was arrested last year after a decade-long chase and then became the subject of at least three books. "Well, he's OK, but he's really a good con artist." Bellovin said Morris, the son of a National Security Agency programming expert who created a "worm" program that shut down parts of the Internet in 1988, had just been trying to draw attention to its security flaws. "He had a horrible lapse in judgment," he said. Many hacker "crimes" have just been the equivalent of "juveniles cruising cyberspace with virtual spray paint marking things," Power said. The most malevolent incidents of computer crime in the past have been committed by disgruntled employees against their employers; those incidents have usually resulted in the greatest financial losses. Perhaps because of that, however, law enforcement officials are growing concerned about their ability to sniff out -- and snuff out -- computer crimes. What worries law enforcement officials is that institutional victims of computer break-ins or other cybercrimes rarely report the incidents to police. The study bears that out: the respondents said they reported just 16.9 percent of suspected computer crimes. The overwhelming reason: They don't want the negative publicity that can come from a press account that their computer system was vulnerable. Only 8 percent of the more than 4,000 institutions who were mailed the survey responded at all, according to the FBI. But that may be a moot issue: according to Bellovin, the very complex nature of software and the imprecision with which it is written means that "computer security is very hard to solve." He called the Internet notably vulnerable because it was never designed to be secure in the first place. The worst security risk on the Internet is also its most popular aspect: the World Wide Web, because its complexity makes it "easy to (program) it wrong," Bellovin said. Some of the most troubling results of the survey, according to Power: the most frequent kind of computer crime at medical and financial institutions involves data diddling, meaning that "someone is changing people's medical records and financial histories," he said. It also appears that there's more computer crime for hire occurring, Power said, exploiting mainly older hackers who have graduated to making money off the skill they once used simply to establish bragging rights with their peers. He suggested that some of the hiring is being done by intelligence services of various governments, although he offered no proof. "You can't document it," he said, "but it's a no-brainer, as far as I'm concerned." FOR ONLINE SERVICES: Visit Mercury Center on America Online (keyword: MERCURY) or Mercury Center Web, the World Wide Web site of the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News. Point your browser to http://www.sjmercury.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Two I like watching a lot and getting a laugh out of are Kevin Lipsitz, female impersonator and magazine salesman to the net, and that other creep in New Mexico who calls himself Spam King. Yes, they are both still active, trying to rip off mailing list names. More about Kevin in the next message in this issue; he apparently struck again recently on other mailing lists. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 May 1996 18:42:53 -0700 From: Christopher Zguris Subject: Those Damned Magazine Subscriptions Way back I contacted you about a home for a mailing list I run, Current-l. Well, I found a home at Netcom, then moved it to World.std.com. For some reason, Netcom never got around to removing the list (even though I asked them to and cancelled the shell account). Anyway ... I had three lists at Netcom (all basically dead, but Netcom forgot to remove them). Kevin -- the guy selling the magazine subscriptions -- found them, as well as every other Netcom list, and has been bombing them with his ads (we're talking five or six different spoofed AOL senders, in the course of a few days). He's also sent it to World, but that list is closed and it bounces. He's also hit a friends' motorcycle mailing list, it got through -- ironically -- while my friend was installing a new filter. Anyway, to make a long story short, I read your article through the web page for spammers, and had a telecom question. If Kevin is using a residential line for business purposes, isn't that a tariff violation? I was curious about who to contact, and who to direct my subscribers (of my mailing list) to contact. It would be great to get his lines disconnected or changed and billed at business rates. Christopher Zguris - czguris@ix.netcom.com - Uhhh, Ear? 1991 Honda VFR (Red, with red accessories) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, you don't know that he is using residential service for business-related stuff, and even if he were that gets to be a stretch since it is quite acceptable to 'work at home' these days, and all the telcos seem to almost encourage it. I don't think that complaint would get you anywhere. Telco is not going to discuss his service arrangments with you, nor will the FCC. As for your sub scribers, unless they have specifically told him they do not wish any further email from him, there is probably not a lot they can do either since there is no such thing as 'unauthorized' email. Anyone is free to write to any email address and attempt to engage in correspondence with that person. The person has to request that it be stopped and then if it continues they can file complaints. The examples you give though are one good reason why I do not entrust the TELECOM Dgiest list to any third party for storage or its maintainence. It stays under my direct control in a directory accessible only to me, with several barricades standing in the way to retrieving it or using it. I made that decision after Spam King was rummaging around in it now almost a year ago. Having Lipsitz also trying to find it -- and he does attempt that -- also gives me the creeps. You need to create your own scripts and mail processing stuff and keep it all under your personal control. By now almost everyone is aware that in many mail software scripts, the name of the mailing list will be found in the header, or the stuff on the very top of the email. They know that two long-time commands in sendmail are VRFY and EXPD, to 'verify' an address and 'expand' on alias names. A vist to the /etc/aliases directory on many computers will produce the names of the mailing lists at that site and how to trigger the lists. It will also -- if you are not real careful -- provide the requestor with a complete printout of all the names on the email list. Not so in my case, and I can only do what I do because I have the list in my immediate possession, in my directory. If you go to /etc/aliases (usually by the verify and expand commands in sendmail if you approach the SMTP socket on another machine) or if you hack root and get on the machine and go directly to that directory you *will* see such things as the 'official' name of my mailing list where sendmail is concerned. But if you attempt to follow the 'alias path' thorugh a circuitous flow back to my directory, you are not going to find the names on the list under that alias. It helps if the postmaster at your site runs sendmail with user 'nobody' who has no privileges than running it under root. But to keep the list chmodded to user only, sendmail as 'nobody' has a hard time dealing with that and requires the list be left read/writeable to 'others'. So in my case, /etc/aliases points to a *script* in my directory which is readable by all, but it is a little one line thing that simply says to run another script. This first little one line script allows me to take control of the process. I feed the stream at that point to a script that *only I* can execute. I do not care if you are root or if you hack me personally. That script won't run unless you *are* me, because of criteria it expects which only I know about. Those miscreants write me every few days from various accounts asking to be added to the Digest mailing list, then a day or two later they ask to be removed. They get an issue or two of the Digest and go through the header carefully hoping to find some reference to the list name there. Of course since I am a trusted user, I use the sendmail flag to diddle up the header however I want ... and they never will find what they are looking for. I get one of Kevin's magazine advertisements at least three or four times per week. I hope it is driving him crazy wondering why he never can latch it and get his mail out to the list. PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: Smart Antennas Workshop at Stanford Univ, July 1996 Date: Sun, 05 May 1996 18:41:27 -0700 From: Sumeet Sandhu Third Annual Workshop on Smart Antennas in Wireless Mobile Communications Stanford University, July 25-26, 1996 The Smart Antennas Research Group at Stanford Univerity will hold the "Third Workshop on Smart Antennas in Wireless Mobile Communications" on July 25 and 26, 1996 at Stanford University. This workshop, the third in the series of successful workshops on the topic, will once again attract a large number of industry participants from all over the world. The workshop will provide a forum for exchanging perspectives on the fast emerging smart antennas technology. A number of technical presentations on the technology, economics and field trials are planned. The goals of the workshop are to assess the state-of-the-art in smart antennas technology, identify pragmatic technology goals for the near and the medium term, estimate the market need for this technology, understand its economics, and thus help the participants gain the best insights into the markets, technology and economics of smart antennas. In addition, the Smart Antennas Research Group at Stanford University will present a half day briefing on pragmatic approaches to embedding this technology in current and future wireless networks. We once again promise a very informative, insightful and exciting workshop! Dates: This one and a half day workshop is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, July 25-26, 1996. Venue: Terman Auditorium, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA. Format: The workshop will consist of a number of invited technical presentations by industry experts on Thursday, July 25, followed by a half-day briefing by Stanford University staff on Friday, July 26. Who Should Attend: Technical and business management, senior research staff and consultants can benefit from the workshop. The presentations will be at an overview level and will span technology, markets and economics. Registration: In order to maintain a workshop format, only limited registration is planned. To register, complete the registration form and send it along with a check made out to Stanford University, to the address listed on the registration form. A postscript version of the registration form is available at http://www-ISL.Stanford.EDU/groups/SARG/wkshp3.html Fees: Technical sessions (Thursday only): $175 per person Tutorial (Friday only): $300 per person Technical sessions and Tutorial (both days): $400 per person Banquet (Thursday evening): $40 per person Fees will be waived for two individuals from each company sponsoring Smart Antennas research at Stanford. For further information: For registration information, please contact Ms. Kavitha Prabhu, tel: (415) 723-0711 fax: (415) 723-8473 e-mail: kkprabhu@rascals.stanford.edu. For information regarding the technical program, please contact Dr. Constantinos Papadias, e-mail: papadias@rascals.stanford.edu. You may also wish to check our web page, at http://www-ISL.Stanford.EDU/groups/SARG/wkshp3.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 May 1996 22:40:32 -0500 From: 109HPNSNM3AI@MAIL-CLUSTER.PCY.MCI.NET (Irina A. Strunina) Subject: ICA Announces 1996 Summer Program DATE: 05 May 1996 00:20:00 EDT FROM: strunina@mindspring.com ORGANIZATION: ICA Summer Program Registration The International Communications Association has announced the complete line-up for its annual ICA Summer Program, a week long academic program bringing together the top educators, consultants and industry professionals as instructors in a university setting. The mix of courses featured in the 1996 program is a reflection of where the telecommunications market is going and is a once a year opportunity for network managers, designers, sales support engineers, planners, users, consultants and executives to be briefed by the top educators and consultants in the industry at the University of Colorado at Boulder. This year's program, the 12th ICA Summer Program, features 28 different classes, 6 unique end of day interactive discussion groups and ten hands-on laboratory sessions combining to provide a rich and diverse learning environment. The classes are split into six logical divisions with approximately an equal number of classes in each: Internet Technologies, Fast Packet Technologies, Network Applications, Local Area Networks & Internetworking, Transport & Infrastructure and Management & Regulatory Issues. The cost for the full week of training has been kept to a minimum due to the generosity of many corporate sponsors and is $1,100 for the first ICA member student prior to May 1st / $1,300 after May 1st and $1,350 for the first non-ICA member student prior to May 1st / $1,550 after May 1st which includes all classes, lab fees, dormitory housing, meals and planned activities. There are special discounts for more than one attendee per company. For additional information contact ICA Summer Program Registration at 1-800-328-0840 / 1-770-955-7967 or by fax at 1-770-984-2299 or by email: strunina@mindspring.com. ------------------------------ Subject: Low Cost LAN/WAN Training at UC Boulder Date: 6 May 1996 00:00:00 GMT From: strunina@mindspring.com Organization: ICA Summer Program Registration International Communications Association Summer Program University of Colorado at Boulder Sunday June 2 through Friday June 7, 1996 A week long academic program of the non-profit International Communications Association bringing together the top educators, consultants and industry professionals as instructors in a university setting. This document contains a summary of courses and activities. For additional information, or to register, please Contact: Irina Strunina or Jim Cavanagh 800-328-0840 (US Toll-Free) 770-955-7967 (Direct) 770-984-2299 (FAX) General Information: The International Communications Association Summer Program is a week long academic educational program which has been held at the University of Colorado at Boulder for over a decade. The ICA Summer Program is an annual opportunity for telecommunications managers, directors, planners, consultants and other professionals in ICA member and non-member companies to be briefed on a broad spectrum of key emerging Local Area Network, Campus Area Network, Metropolitan Area Network and Wide Area Network technologies, standards and regulatory issues which will affect them in the year ahead. The ICA Summer Program format also allows opportunities for students to learn through hands-on laboratory exercises as well as from instructors and each other through interactive discussions in unique end-of-day "Patio Sessions". The ICA Summer Program is a complete learning experience and is planned and managed by a committee comprised of ICA member company representatives, vendors, educators, consultants and ICA staff. The Summer Program Committee represents a cross section of the telecommunications industry and is dedicated to providing a program which meets the training requirements of today's telecommunications professional. 1996 Summer Program Sessions At A Glance Internet Technologies Building a Successful Internet Corporate Web Site Internet 101 Incorporating Internet Technologies and Services Within Your Company Internet Access Provider Panel Fast Packet Technologies ATM: A Reality Check Fast Packet Technologies: ATM, Frame Relay and SMDS Frame Relay - How Good Is It ? Strategic and Tactical ATM The Future of Frame Relay Network Applications Coordinated Network/Application Tuning Computer-Telephony Integration (CTI) - Its Affect on Your Network Network Applications Network Centric Computing Local Area Networks and Internetworking Bridges, Routers and Hubs LAN Architecture Evolution LAN Switching vs Routing Network Operating Systems What's New with 802.x ? Transport & Infrastructure Structured Cable Systems The New American Public Network Operators - BOCs or NOT? Wireless Advances Management & Regulatory Issues Enterprise Management - A Practical Perspective on Managing Networks and Systems Global Network Interconnectivity Local Loop Competition Managing Applications on Your Network Networking Career Management Strategies Network Security US Public Policy Update Patio Discussion Sessions Cabling Standards Frame Relay Internet Services Networking Careers Innovative Uses of the Internet Wireless LANs Hands-On Lab Sessions A number of hands-on exercises will be available covering a wide variety of subject areas from Frame Relay to Network Management. More details on exact lab sessions will be available closer to the beginningof the ICA Summer Program. Frame Relay ATM Internet High Speed Wiring and Testing Network Management Computer Based Training Speakers & Panelists Dr. Charles Baker, Southern Methodist University Stan Bush, University of Colorado James P. Cavanagh, Consultant Marvin Chartoff, Ernst & Young, LLP Kent Cox, Optical Data Systems Phil Evans, Perot Systems Dr. John Fike, Texas A&M University Aaron Fosdick, CSD Roosevelt Giles, IMS Christine Heckart, Telechoice, Inc. Jeff Held, Ernst & Young, LLP Paul Heller, Heller Consulting Dr. Phil Hippensteel, Center for Communications Technology Excellence Craig Kanarick, Razorfish Gary Kessler, Hill Associates Laura Knapp, IBM Corporation Jim McCabe, Bay Networks & Full Spectrum Communications Dr. Robert Mercer, Dale Hartfield Associates, Inc. Dr. Thomas M. Oser, Ernst & Young, LLP David Passmore, Decisys, Inc. Carl Pitasi Fred Pratt, I-Net Frank Schoff, Management Recruiters John Smiley, Phoenix Data Net Rick Swirm, Enterprise Management Institute Alan Taffel, uunet Steve Taylor, Distributed Networking Associates Don Van Doren, Vanguard Communications Corporation Kenneth Van Wyk, SAIC Center for Information Protection Jack Ziros, Global One Sponsors The ICA Summer Program is a unique partnership of academia, users, vendors and consultants whose collaboration makes possible this state- of-the-art program. ICA wishes to thank the following companies and organizations for their generous participation and contributions to the Summer Program and overall support of the ICA. Advantis Apple Computer Ascom Timeplex Bay Networks British Telecom CACI Products Co. Center for Communications Technology Excellence Cisco Systems, Inc. CSD Dale Hatfield Associates, Inc. Decisys, Inc. Digital Equipment Corporation Distributed Networking Associates Enterprise Management Institute, Inc. Ernst & Young LLP, Fore Systems France Telecom (ICA Industry Partner) Fujitsu General DataComm, Inc. Global One Heller Consulting Hewlett-Packard Hill Associates IBM Corporation IBM Global Network IMS, Inc. I-Net Institute of Telecommunications Sciences Make Systems, Inc. Management Recruiters MCI Telecommunications Corportation Microsoft National Telecommunications & Information Administration NorTel NYNEX (ICA Industry Partner) Optical Data Systems Perot Systems Corp. Phoenix DataNet Razorfish, Inc. Southern Methodist University StrataCom, Inc. Telecommunications Engineering, Inc. TeleChoice, Inc. Texas A & M University Time Warner Inc. Travelers Insurance University of Colorado UUNET Wandel & Goltermann ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #216 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon May 6 11:55:16 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id LAA08851; Mon, 6 May 1996 11:55:16 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 11:55:16 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199605061555.LAA08851@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #217 TELECOM Digest Mon, 6 May 96 11:55:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 217 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson International Traffic Accounting Process (Jeremy Parsons) ATIS, Canadian Telecom Standards: Webpages (Mark J. Cuccia) Nortel Datapath ISDN NT4X25 SPID? (excess@onramp.net) Frame Relay or Point to Point (Lou Person) Re: New-Fangled Phones on a Two-Party Line (Ed Ellers) Re: New-Fangled Phones on a Two-Party Line (Mark J. Cuccia) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jeremy Parsons Subject: International Traffic Accounting Process Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 03:17:32 -0400 From the preceding stuff on international 'sex lines' and so on, I thought it might be helpful to give a more precise description of the accounting rate regime for international settlements, and why things are getting into such a mess. I have glossed a little over some of the details, but I hope this may give some people a better understanding of how it all works and what some of the pressures are on smaller and developing countries. Establishing a 'traffic relation' between country A and country B is essentially a matter for bilateral negotiations. This involves agreeing to establish dedicated circuits to carry the traffic, and the remuneration in the form of an accounting rate. An accounting rate consists of three elements, all of some significance: the currency (commonly SDRs [a basket currency], US$ or Gold Francs), the rate and the division (how the rate is divided between the administrations). This is meant to be cost-based, but often costs have fallen much faster than rates. Let's take a couple of examples. Eg 1 Admin A and admin B agree an accounting rate of SDR1.20 divided equally. The SDR1.20 is meant to represent total cost, so it is expected that the price in either direction will be higher. The division means that notionally when A sends to B it accounts for SDR0.60 to meet its own costs, and for SDR0.60 to be paid to B; B to A is symmetrical. As for actual payments, these are made net, so typically one only of A and B is outpaying to the other, at a rate of SDR0.60 times 'imbalance minutes'. For the purpose of these calculations, typically the arrangement will be that the call will be treated as originating in the billing country, so for instance home direct calls made by a customer of A from B's territory will be settled as if they had been made from A to B; different rates, surcharges etc may be applied for different services (eg collect calls). >From an accounting point of view, this is either looked at as a gross allocation (notional outpayments allocated along with any other costs to call prices, notional inpayments less costs looked at as a freestanding contribution), or a net allocation (the relation is taken as a whole, with all the revenue and cost streams lumped together). Eg 2 Admin A and admin B agree an accounting rate of SDR1.20 divided 3:2. For a call from A to B, A allocates SDR0.72 to its own costs and SDR0.48 as an outpayment to B. For a call from B to A, B allocates SDR0.48 to its own costs and SDR0.72 as an outpayment to A. This is meant to cater to the cost differential (eg B is a larger developed country, A is a smaller less developed country experiencing lesser economies of scale). This is a good mechanism in principle, but rather unsurprisingly it has tended not to be effected very often, and the developed world has not exactly co-operated in using it. We'll come back to this. As you would expect, it is not exactly going to make sense for every single administration in the world to have direct circuits to every other - some of these relations are going to be a few hundred minutes per month and less. So the accounting rate mechanism supports the introduction of one or more transit admins into the relation. Suppose A and B agree to relations via an admin C which provides a transit facility, with a published rate of SDR0.3. This figure is not added to, but taken out of the total figure agreed between A and B (eg above SDR1.20): note that the agreement is still between A and B, and traffic transiting C is still declared as originating at A or B. 1. Appearance of 'sex lines' and the like Typically the 'inpayment' is profitable (this should be the case, otherwise there is no benefit to a carrier investing in high quality facilities) - and if it is profitable enough, then an admin may choose to pass some of this profit on to a third party. One example would be if two international admins compete in the same country. VPN services are often used to take international traffic out of the general pool (and typically they will have different accounting rates), so a carrier may well reward its customer for incoming traffic either by a direct discount or, more commonly, by low outbound 'on-net' rates to promote use of the facility. Another example is 'audiotext', where the call is to a service, and the service provider receives income from the incoming calls it generates, in very much the same way as, say, a 900 number in the USA. The customer receives the benefit of the service (which presumably exceeds the price of the call), the admin sending the call charges as normal and makes the normal return, the admin receiving receives a return less the 'payback'. None of this is especially sinister or unusual, although clearly bilateral agreements and codes of practice are often desirable to ensure the services are not offered where they violate international comity or in a manner which rewards fraud (again, just like domestic Premium Rate services). 2. Proportional Return and its many effects Where there are competitive international operators, sometimes bilateral agreements specify that traffic will be returned to correspondents in the same proportion as it is received. The FCC normally 'requires' this in all US relations, although it is debatable whether it has the authority in theory to do so. The major effects of Proportional Return are (a) to ensure that a dominant operator cannot close off the market to licensed competitors, and (b) to encourage violent price competition by smaller carriers. Suppose there are two carriers A1 and A2 in country A, working with a single carrier B. The accounting rate is $1.00 divided equally. A1 sends 90,000 minutes to B, and A2 10,000; while B sends 60,000 divided proportionally. Suppose all the carriers are pricing calls at $0.75. That gives us the following picture (I'm simplifying by ignoring other costs, own or domestic outpayments, but remember that true telecom costs are predominantly fixed, so attempts to apportion them per-minute rely on volume stability):- B Bills its customers 60,000 minutes = $45,000, Sends to A1 54,000 minutes = ($27,000) Sends to A2 6,000 minutes = ($3,000) Receives from A1 90,000 minutes = $45,000 Receives from A2 10,000 minutes = $5,000 Net income is $65,000 A1 Bills its customers 90,000 minutes = $67,500 Sends to B 90,000 minutes = ($45,000) Receives from B 54,000 minutes = $27,000 Net income is $49,500 A2 Bills its customers 10,000 minutes = $7,500 Sends to B 10,000 minutes = ($5,000) Receives from B 6,000 minutes = $3,000 Net income is $5,500 Suppose A2 captures another 10,000 of the outgoing minutes, pricing them at $0.30, giving the following outcome:- B Bills its customers 60,000 minutes = $45,000, Sends to A1 48,000 minutes = ($24,000) Sends to A2 12,000 minutes = ($6,000) Receives from A1 80,000 minutes = $40,000 Receives from A2 20,000 minutes = $10,000 Net income is $65,000 Change is $0 A1 Bills its customers 80,000 minutes = $60,000 Sends to B 80,000 minutes = ($40,000) Receives from B 48,000 minutes = $24,000 Net income is $44,000 Change is ($5,500) A2 Bills its customers 10,000 minutes at $0.75 = $7,500 plus 10,000 minutes at $0.30 = $3,000 Sends to B 20,000 minutes = ($10,000) Receives from B 12,000 minutes = $6,000 Net income is $6,500 Change is $1,000 and customers in A save $4,500. Note (a) that the business remains very profitable for all concerned, (b) A2's profit on the marginal business is still good, but (c) the $0.30 price if offered to all customers in A would eliminate all profit. Now, suppose instead that A2 captures 10,000 of the _incoming_ minutes, acting as or through a callback operator, pricing them at $0.50, giving the following outcome:- B Bills its customers 50,000 minutes = $37,500, Sends to A1 40,909 minutes = ($20,455) Sends to A2 9,091 minutes = ($4,545) Receives from A1 90,000 minutes = $45,000 Receives from A2 20,000 minutes = $10,000 Net income is $67,500 Change is $2,500 A1 Bills its customers 90,000 minutes = $67,500 Sends to B 90,000 minutes = ($45,000) Receives from B 40,909 minutes = $20,455 Net income is $42,955 Change is ($6,545) A2 Bills its customers 10,000 minutes at $0.75 = $7,500 plus 10,000 minutes at $0.50 = $5,000 Sends to B 20,000 minutes = ($10,000) Receives from B 9,091 minutes = $4,545 Net income is $7,045 Change is $1,545 and customers in B save $2,500. Note (a) that the business remains very profitable for all concerned, (b) A2's profit on the marginal business is still good, (c) B has gained by the deal (because profit from incoming calls is greater than profit on outgoing calls - the reverse would be true otherwise), and (d) the regulator in A, _looking only at settlements_, sees an increased imbalance of minutes (was 40,000 minutes or 10:6, is 60,000 minutes 11:5) and therefore increased net settlement (was $20,000, now $30,000). All of this may help you to understand... 3. The double-bind by the developed world on smaller and developing nations Typically the developed world can experience lowest average costs, but uses negotiating power to insist on uniform divisions of rapidly declining accounting rates. The combination is clearly unfair, but often justified by 'until accounting rates are cost-reflective we'll use a 50:50 division' which sounds reasonable but doesn't work out that way. Smaller and developing countries will almost inevitably experience higher costs, as the costs of operating international facilities are spread among a smaller group of customers, and the admin cannot achieve such good prices for facilities, switches etc - the domestic network may well be more expensive for similar reasons. In the case of the developing world particularly, this is exacerbated by the necessity to heavily subsidise the domestic network out of international income in order to achieve good penetration levels (imagine the affordable price if GDP per capita is, say, $4,000). Now see the vicious circle. If the country relies on international call prices to generate the necessary subsidy, market structure arbitrage such as callback service will tend to restrict this to the level where profit is about equal on incoming and outgoing service - in other words, inpayments are the backstop for this subsidy. On the other hand, price elasticities are typically very low. Over time, the apparent traffic imbalances will tend to grow, and with them pressure for accounting rate reductions. Sooner or later, the carrier is forced either to 'rebalance' prices to more closely reflect costs, which brings telephone service out of reach of many, or investment must be reduced so that service quality must be allowed to degrade and while service remains affordable the waiting lists will grow and grow. Prospective competitors line up at the door to serve the high international calling customers - easy to do profitably because they are the providers of the subsidy. 4. Some more interesting examples In what has gone above, the assumption is that traffic from A to B is declared as such, even if it is routed through C. Here are some more examples of how the developed world has its cake and eats it too. a) Transit discounts Transit service is competitive. The developed world has the best economies of scale. Discounts are offered on the published rates to the originating country. This has the effect of adjusting the division so the sender keeps more of the rate. Eg A/B rate of $1.00, equal division, transit through C published at $0.40. A is a larger/more developed country than B, and (a) sends more traffic to B than returns, and (b) through total business with C gets an 'invisible' discount of $0.25 on outgoing and $0.10 on incoming calls, while B does little business and gets no 'discount'. Without transit, A would be sending B $0.50 per minute; with transit it sends only $0.30 to B, plus $0.15 to C - it has gained $0.05 per minute at a cost to B of $0.20 per minute. B, on the other hand, instead of outpaying $0.50 to A now outpays $0.70, of which C receives $0.40. The principle of cost-basis has been flipped on its head - A has achieved a higher 'division' than B, although its costs are lower. A can under-price B very easily, and B is in a greater fix. If traffic volumes get high enough, it will eventually become economic for B to establish direct circuits - but how far will A co-operate? And if A is a competitive environment then B will have to establish direct links with several carriers, not just one transit administration. b) Re-origination Simple one, this. A sends to B via C (a large developed country) other than by the usual bilateral arrangements. The accounting rate from A to C is higher than C to B. A saves the difference, less C's charges for hosting the service. B loses the difference. C gains from its fees, plus uses the increased imbalance to pressure B for accounting rate reductions, increasing the difference in rates and giving A an increased incentive to send even more traffic that way (the B/C route may end up balanced, or even with C outpaying to B). This can involve carriers, or it can be invisible to them albeit using their facilities. 5. The consumer... In much of what goes above, consumers can potentially benefit, especially if they are wealthy, or in a developed country. Economically, this may even be 'efficient' in some sense - but what about economic development and the critical role of telephony? However, just consider the example that while US accounting rates have declined significantly in the last few years, US international call prices continue to rise year-on-year. 6. Fixes... There are a lot of things which could be done to move this along, most of which require multilateral co-operation and therefore many years (one obvious point - when all this was put into place why weren't transit fees set as additional to the base rate, which would promote efficient routing and avoid one of the most tasteless issues above). The often-forecast 'meltdown' really means poorer countries are pressured into operating a small number of direct links to large countries, at lower and lower rates. But within the existing mechanism, the division already accommodated could play a major part. If all the specious objections were swept away, divisions could very easily be set in a way which used some straightforward measures as 'cost' indicators (GDP per capita would be appropriate, possible combined with total country lineage as a measure for possible economies). For instance, suppose a scale something like this were used to set the difference between the outpayments in each direction:- GDP per capita bands: $0-$4,000; $4,001-$8,000; $8,001-$15,000; $15,001+ SDR0.00 GDP/cap in the same band SDR0.06 One band apart SDR0.12 Two bands apart SDR0.20 Three bands apart so if A was at $5,000 and B at $20,000, and the accounting rate SDR1.00, A would outpay SDR0.44 and receive SDR0.56 per minute. This would create a buffer against many of the pernicious effects described. Suppose costs at A equate to SDR0.15 and an additional contribution of SDR0.15 was required for domestic subsidy. B, on the other hand, has costs of SDR0.05 and makes a contribution of SDR0.02 to universal service. The profitability of incoming calls has been roughly equalised between the two, so while price arbitrage is still possible, it is only now a threat to high profits, not to basic service provision. Of course, part of the point of this would be specifically to allow accounting rates to fall much more quickly towards cost, with a large drop possible at the initial adoption of the divisions policy. And that really would allow consumers to benefit, but no longer at the cost of universal service. So where does the developed world stand on this? Well, the US FCC, for one, effectively excludes this approach in its 'policing' of accounting rate agreements. In the name of preventing the US carriers (note AT&T, MCI and Sprint are all in the top 20 world carriers) from being 'whipsawed' by the poorer nations of the world. Naivete, nationalism or malice? Either way, sometimes I wonder how they sleep at nights. Jeremy Parsons ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 10:06:17 CDT From: Mark J Cuccia Subject: ATIS, Canadian Telecom Standards: Webpages ATIS (Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions), the "umbrella" organization in Washington DC for the various North American telecom industry forums (many of them associated with Bellcore as far as secretarial and administrative functions) now has a webpage: http://www.atis.org This URL/domain name has been reserved for them, but had simply an "under construction" type notice for a few months. But as of Saturday 26 April, it is now up and running! There still are a few parts which are "under construction", but you can see lists of the various forums under ATIS/Bellcore, their mission statements, and for some forums, pointers to their own websites. Some of the "under construction" regards documents or "minutes" of the forums or their meetings. Eventually, I would hope that one can view and/or download the actual final documents or meeting notes of the INC (Industry Numbering Committee), ICCF (Industry Carriers' Compatability Forum), NOF (Network Operations Forum), etc. OBF (Ordering and Billing Forum) has many of its issues and documents available already at the ATIS website. Also, many of the Canadian telecom standards forums, such as the "Telecommunications Standards Advisory Council of Canada" and the "Canadian Interconnection Liason Committee" (these forums are very much similar to Bellcore and ATIS) have their issues and documents now available through the Canadian Government's "Industry-Canada" website: http://www.tsacc.ic.gc.ca/index.html MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497 WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497) Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail ------------------------------ From: excess@onramp.net (R.A.Y.) Subject: Nortel Datapath ISDN NT4X25 SPID? Date: Sun, 05 May 1996 16:30:20 GMT Organization: On-Ramp; Individual Internet Connections; Dallas/Ft Worth Reply-To: regyoung@main.globallink.net I purchased the TA (I think it's a TA?). The line is installed, but I can't find where to enter my SPIDS. Please help! Thanks, Reg ------------------------------ From: Lou Person Subject: Frame Relay or Point to Point Date: Sun, 5 May 1996 13:20:03 -0400 Organization: Intellitech Corporation We have the fortunate opportunity to extend our network. Does anyone have and suggestions regarding Frame Relay vs. Point to Point? We are thinking about renting a frame relay circuit, but we don't know if we should go Frame Relay or Point to Point. Thanks, Lou http://www.mcny.com ------------------------------ From: Ed Ellers Subject: Re: New-Fangled Phones on a Two-Party Line Date: Mon, 6 May 96 10:03:06 -0500 Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice) Pat O'Neil writes: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You can't insure those things, which is > why under FCC regulations it is *completely forbidden* to put any sort > of attachment or phone on a multi-party line other than the nice black > POTS phone telco gives you when you sign up for that asinine service. That's not always the case -- in some areas phone companies are installing special devices at the drop that make conventional devices appear as though they were specially wired for that party on the line, meaning that calls placed would appear to come from that party and ringing would only be passed through for that party. (I still remember finding out in 1984, right after divestiture, just how difficult it was to get a phone fixed on a party line in a Bell area. When my grandmother had trouble with her 500 set -- leased from AT&T -- only AT&T could fix it of course, and they sent her a replacement phone by mail with a meter stamp for postage to send the old one back. However, that phone was wired for a normal line, so before she could use it the Bell company had to send its technician out to rewire the ringer on the AT&T phone, and install the modular jack for the new phone. She didn't have to pay extra for any of this, but it did take a few days during which she didn't have a phone to use.) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 May 1996 10:31:51 -0700 From: Mark J. Cuccia Subject: Re: New-Fangled Phones on a Two-Party Line Pat: While some telcos have completely eliminated multi-party service (existing customers/lines were probably by regulatory tarriff continued to be charged the cheaper multi-party as long as they didn't move service, etc), some telcos have stopped offering it to new or moving customers. The last time I checked with the service reps of South Central Bell (BellSouth), I was told that *existing* multi-party customers continued to have the service "grandfathered", of course charged at the cheaper rate. Usually if you want to upgrade to single-party service, you are charged a "one-time installation" fee, similar to changing between flat-rate, EAS or measured-rate offerings, adding CLASS or custom calling features, etc. which "could" be a discouragement to upgrading. ("Why should I have to *pay* telco a fee, even a one-time fee, if I will be paying them a higher monthly rate anyhow?" could be a rationale.) Many rural or isolated areas probably still have a lack of enough copper loop between the central office and the customers, therefore you have to be on a "waiting list" to get single-party service. As for CPE, about ten years ago (post-divestiture), I asked a SCBell service rep about party line service and CPE. I was told that for new partyline customers or new CPE declared on a partyline, a repairman would have to make a visit to the location and "check" the phone for the proper side of the party line (tip or ring). Most Western Electric phones were traditionally factory wired for the "ring" half of a party line from what I've seen. Bell would charge an extra "fee" for the repairman visit to check the phone and possibly re-wire it. The "fee" would also apply if the phone were a new style phone which couldn't be easily opened up and re-wired (if it needed to be re-wired). If the phone *had* to be re-wired and couldn't be easily opened up and/or re-wired, you were *forbidden* to attatch the phone to the line! Recently when I checked with a BellSouth service rep, I was told that in many locations these days, the differentiation between tip or ring, with respect to ground, can be handled at the box on the exterior wall of the house, at the green pole in the backyard, or on the box on the pole! Therefore just about *any* kind of phone could be attatched to a party line, without the need for a repairman to even "visit" the CPE itself! A reminder here -- don't attatch answering machines or modems to party-lines. If the other party on the line needs to make an emergency call while the modem (or fax) machine is in use, or answering machine is actually handling a call, a machine cannot understand that the party line is needed for an emergency so as to release the connection. Failure to relinquish use of a party line in a (truthfully) declared emergency violates state and possibly federal laws! Falsifying an emergency in order to gain access to a party line is ALSO a violation! MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497 WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497) Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #217 ****************************** From ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Mon May 6 12:29:40 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id MAA12842; Mon, 6 May 1996 12:29:40 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 12:29:40 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199605061629.MAA12842@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #218 TELECOM Digest Mon, 6 May 96 12:29:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 218 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Big Problems With AT&T WorldNet Service (John Mayson) Re: Big Problems With AT&T WorldNet Service (Al Varney) Re: MFS Purchases UUNET (lr@access1.digex.net) Re: MFS Purchases UUNET (Russell Blau) Re: MFS Purchases UUNET (Barry Margolin) Re: Possible Work-Around to Avoid 911 ANI? (Jeffrey Rhodes) Re: Need Basic Information On Direct Link Microwave (TELECOM Digest Editor) PTT Voice Mail Outside the US (David Yewell) Paying More and Getting Less? No Way! (David M. Seldon) Re: AT&T Doesn't Know When to Stop (Mike Fox) Re: AT&T Doesn't Know When to Stop (Manuel Maese) Re: AT&T Doesn't Know When to Stop (Mike Morris) GSM Datacard Under Linux? (Roman Maeder) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.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 partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jmayson@p100dl.ess.harris.com (John Mayson) Subject: Re: Big Problems With AT&T Worldnet Service Date: Mon, 6 May 96 10:04:29 EDT The debate over AT&T Worldnet Service continues, so I thought I'd get my two cents in before Pat kills this thread. ;-) I had to request my Worldnet software FOUR times before I received it. I had basically given up, then it arrived one day in the mail. I opened it up and discovered there is no local number for Melbourne/Cocoa, Florida. When I got to work the next day, I e-mailed them explaining how a Cocoa number is dialable by over 350,000 residents of one of the most technologically advanced counties in the nation, Brevard County, Florida, home of Kennedy Space Center. I don't know if anything will come of this. I called BellSouth and asked if there is any way I could call Orlando or Daytona at a reduced rate, or a plan to call those cities as if it were a local call. They said such plans do exist, but not for Melbourne. I decided to sign-up anyway, use their toll-free 1-800 number sparingly, and wait for a local number someday. Signing up was a nightmare. I started before dinner and didn't actually have a sign-on until around midnight. The sign-up program resembles a stripped down version of Netscape and the whole process was very, very, very, very slow. It was at this time I realized my mail didn't work. I kept getting "connection timed out {10060}". It would take five days of phone call after phone call to get this problem remedied. I finally decided to reload the software from scratch and the problem went away. I must've flubbed something up while installing it the first time. I was pleasantly surprised to discover other mail programs work with AT&T Worlnet, as do various telnet and ftp programs. This is a true PPP service, not some cheesy "on-line, info superhighway, get people wired" service like AOL or Prodigy. I'm sticking with Worldnet for a number of reasons. One is the nationwide portability. This is a nationwide service. They even have a number for San Juan, PR (with a 787 NPA listed to boot!). Second is the 24/7 help line. Now, we do have many, many, ISPs in this area (perhaps why AT&T has no number here), but they tend to come and go and at best people at work say they're all "okay". They "usually" don't get a busy signal and "sometimes" it's not too slow. So far I've never had a busy signal and everything seems really fast. If you can survive the sign-up process, Worldnet is worth the trouble. John Mayson | Palm Bay, Florida | john.mayson@harris.com ------------------------------ From: varney@ihgp4.ih.att.com (Al Varney) Subject: Re: Big Problems With AT&T WorldNet Service Date: 5 May 1996 23:18:23 GMT Organization: Lucent Technologies (partially-owned by AT&T) In article , wrote: > In , Greg Eiche com> writes: >> Does anybody have any insight in the problems that AT&T WorldNet has >> been having in registering new accounts? I tried to register for a >> new account today with the software they just sent me, and was >> unsuccessful. When I called AT&T's tech support, I was told that >> their server was overloaded with people trying to sign up and that >> they were having major problems. I couldn't help but laugh when I >> recalled all the reports that AT&T was going to give the ISPs a real >> run for their money. It's quite amazing that the world's largest >> telecom can't get it right!! I, for one, plan to stick with my local >> ISP ... > Except for the fact that no "local ISP" could handle thousands or tens > of thousands of registrations PER DAY either. It's when you get a > *busy* signal calling AT&T Worldnet that you should feel free to > laugh ... Not an excuse, just a data point: AT&T's quarterly report indicates calls to WorldNet for new accounts ran 212,000 in the first two weeks, or a new call every 4 seconds, 24 hours a day. Probably more than estimated ... Al Varney - not an official spokesperson for anyone/anything ------------------------------ From: lr@access1.digex.net (Sir Topham Hatt) Subject: Re: MFS Purchases UUNET Date: 6 May 1996 13:48:51 GMT Organization: Intentionally Left Blank TELECOM Digest Editor (ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu) wrote: > In a press release Tuesday, the companies said the merger will create > a single source for Internet, voice, other data and video services > over its international fiber optic network. Thanks, but no thanks. I've been a UUNET customer since practically it's inception, first with UUCP service and then with Alternet. When they started service was exemplary. In the past two years customer service has gone in the toilet. We've had numerous unexplained outages. Network Operations *never* returns calls or e-mail. One time I called and they just put the phone down on the desk without even speaking a word. They put a nice web page in for outages, but when their entire DNS system went to pot one day, they never bothered to mention it there. > I am wondering what Digest readers think of this, and what differences > they see in the months ahead in the performance of the two companies. > In particular, what about UUNET and its long standing role with the > net for many years. Comments welcome. I think we ought not let UUNET rest on it's glory from being one of the first commercial providers but demand a level of service competitive to the industry. ------------------------------ From: RussBlau@cris.com (Russell Blau) Subject: Re: MFS Purchases UUNET Date: Sun, 05 May 1996 16:38:20 GMT On Thu, 2 May 96 11:40 CDT, rem@dsiinc.com (Ron Mackey) wrote: > Frankly, I'm more concerned with the smaller ISP's that currently use > MFS as their primary Internet connection. If I'm not mistaken, all of > the major ISPs in the Chicago area currently use MFS's services, in > one form or another. My question is "Now that MFS owns their own > major ISP, what is going to happen to all the other independent ISP's > currently serviced by MFS?" I suspect that they will find service as good as ever, if not improved. The reason is quite simple. As pointed out earlier in this thread, there are a few other telecommunications carriers (AT&T, MCI, Sprint to name a few) that have a little bit of Internet expertise as well as some modest network facilities. :-) I'm sure these guys would be more than happy to provide service to any ISPs that become dissatisfied with MFS. So, expect MFS to provide top-flight service at highly competitive prices. The UUNET merger should be a positive development for other ISPs. Disclaimer: My firm represents MFS in regulatory matters, but the above opinions are my own. Russell M. Blau RussBlau@cris.com Swidler & Berlin, Chtd. Phone: 202-424-7835 Washington, D.C. Fax: 202-424-7645 ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: MFS Purchases UUNET Date: 5 May 1996 18:28:11 -0400 Organization: BBN Planet Corp., Cambridge, MA In article , Ron Mackey wrote: > My question is "Now that MFS owns their own > major ISP, what is going to happen to all the other independent ISP's > currently serviced by MFS?" Most likely, very little. Supplying circuits to other ISP's is a major source of MFS's income, and it's unlikely that they would abandon that market. MFS isn't the only circuit provider that has gon