Issue 117 was the first issue of 2002 due to my illness and absence from the Digest for a period of 18 months. The last Digest I produced was May 13, 2000 ... until now. See the archives files of miscellaneous messages for 2000-2001 for other messages. PAT From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Jan 9 13:29:32 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id NAA20672; Wed, 9 Jan 2002 13:29:32 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 13:29:32 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201091829.NAA20672@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #117 TELECOM Digest Wed, 9 Jan 2002 13:00:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 117 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Non Long Distance Calling Feature (John Shaver) Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations (A. E. Siegman) Pay Phone Numbers (walker@icircus.net) Re: Automatic Electric? (Fred Goldstein) Re: If No LD Carrier Can We Call 800/877 (Terry Knab) Lying About Al Gore (James Bellaire) Telegraph History (Hugh Barr) SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Stuart Fanning) Gates Opens Windows to Wireless (Monty Solomon) California Telecom Taxes Info Needed (bruce13) Ringback on Panasonic DBS (John Alexander) Re: Recherche infos sociales (AP) Microwave Towers on Nantucket (WKeight@aol.com) Three in One - Handspring Treo (Monty Solomon) How to Reach Blocked Sites (nur10@lovemail.com) Seeking Someone to Restore Vintage Telephones (Peppajax@aol.com) Email on a Boat (Eric Friedebach) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2000 12:00:00 CST From: Patrick Townson Subject: What Have I Been Doing the Past Two Years I've been in a nursing home following my brain aneurysm. That, which was not at all a fun experience was combined with some legal problems compliments of my good friends in the Skokie, IL Police Department. Over all, it was a very hellish way to start the new millenium, or end the old one. I expect now that I am back to stay around, but you never can tell. The first half-dozen or so messages in this issue of the Digest were left in the queue when I made my hasty departure back on May 14, 2000. I've redated them and inserted them in this issue with my apologies for their tardy appearance. Given a few issues to get my brain exercised a little, things should get back to normal for me. I'm going to be gathering up all the messages you posted during my absence and posting them in the archives as soon as I can. Thanks for your support over the past twenty years or so and in particular the past year and a half more or less. Patrick Townson ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 12:23:53 -0700 From: John Shaver Subject: Non Long Distance Calling Feature Pat, I have that service on my data line. It does not permit me to call 800 numbers. Now this may be US West/Qwest's own technic, but it worked in Mountain Bell also. John ------------------------------ From: A. E. Siegman Subject: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 12:30:30 -0700 Organization: Stanford University Is there a standard telco service such that incoming calls to a certain number will ring two or more lines at two or more different locations (within the same area code, but not the same building or centrex system) and allow the call to be answered at any one of these locations? (I realize, I just should call my local telco and ask them about this, but I'm away from my home location on travel at the minute, and if anyone on this group has familiarity with such a service, I'll appreciate any information you can supply.) siegman@stanford.edu ------------------------------ From: walker@icircus.net Subject: Pay Phone Numbers Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 18:12:39 GMT I'm working on a project to demonstrate to the people that I work for that a database of pay phone numbers cross referenced to their location is something that can be done. To do this I'm building a sample database and I need a list of phone numbers and location. The list doesn't need to be anywhere near complete just enough just to show that it can be done without the database growing out of control. Does anyone know where I can get such a list? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 11:52:21 -0400 From: Fred Goldstein Subject: Re: Automatic Electric? L. Winson asks, > Does Automatic Electric still exist? If not, does GTE still manufacture > phones or switching systems? If not, when did they discontinue? Several years ago, GTE sold 80% of AE to AT&T. The joint venture was named AG Communications Systems. Lucent now owns all of it, or will imminently, and AGCS is still in business as a division of Lucent. It is a sales channel to the "independent" telcos (non-Bell, which includes GTE only until the Verizontal anschluss is done) and it also makes a few neat products, like Roameo and SuperLine. GTE has no manufacturing left (AFAIK), having sold AE, Sylvania and Government Systems (the latter to General Dynamics, so now it's GD-CS, maker of serious crypto boxes). ------------------------------ From: tknab@nyx.net (Terry Knab) Subject: Re: If No LD Carrier Can We Call 800/877 Organization: The Home Office Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 04:09:20 GMT Ed Ellers wrote: > PAT, the TELECOM Digest Editor, noted in reply: >> Yes, you will be able to use toll-free services, since the other end is the >> one paying for the call. However, telco will still charge for having 'none' >> as your carrier choice. Not as much as a carrier listed as default, but >> something. > 57 cents/month, last time I looked. So far I haven't found a better > deal for my mother (for 1+ service) than just paying this and using a > 101-XXXX carrier (in her case 101-0432, which comes from Quest and > charges 7 cents/minute off-peak with no minimums or monthly fees). And I've totally scrapped ld on my home phone (basically got sick of paying ATT's BS monthly fees) and now make all my ld calls from my cell phone. (Verizon sells me a plan with free ld anywhere in the US) Terry E. Knab News/Acting System Administrator Nyx Public Access Unix ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 13:41:33 -0700 From: bellaire@tk.com (James Bellaire) Subject: Lying About Al Gore Organization: WinStar GoodNet, Inc. It was some time ago in the past, and Gordon S. Hlavenka wrote in comp.dcom.telecom: > I, for one, miss the eighteen-paragraph "Moderator's comments" > that should be appended to these posts. Be careful what you wish for ... James Bellaire ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 16:15:12 +0400 From: Hugh Barr Subject: Telegraph History Hi Patrick, I have just been reading Don's excellent article on the history of submarine cables. I came across it in my search for the history of a particular cable laid in 1864 between Europe and India via the Persian Gulf. Lots of people make fleeting references to it but I can get no substantial information. One source on the history of Oman says for example: "communications services can be said to begin with schemes to link India to Europe via a submarine cable connected to Muscat and onwards to Bushire in 1859. Following the failure of the first Red Sea Telegraph in 1860, a new line was proposed from Egypt to Aden, up the coast to Muscat and to Cape Mussandam and was agreed in 1868." Another short quote talks of the Indo European Company formed in Germany in 1868 to set up a new cable to replace: "communications provided by the Turkish state landlines which ran from Constantinople to Fao in the Persian Gulf via Baghdad." Don's article in the Digest indicates that Siemens in Germany was in a race to reach India overland while Charles Bright was trying to beat him with a submarine route. Who was Bright and in what year did this take place? Can you or any Digest readers help me sort this out? Hugh Barr ------------------------------ From: stuartfanning@hotmail.com (Stuart Fanning) Subject: SIM cards in US Cell Phones Date: 9 Jan 2002 00:58:03 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Unlike here in the UK and other parts of Europe, US Cell Phones do not have an inter-changeable SIM card. I take it that it is built into the actual handset, and cannot be changed by the consumer. Is this the case? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 12:22:26 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Gates Opens Windows to Wireless Gates Opens Windows to Wireless By Andy Patrizio LAS VEGAS -- Microsoft chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates kicked off the 2002 Consumer Electronics Show Monday evening with a trio of announcements for connecting wireless devices to Windows XP computers. The new technologies extend the company's vision of integrating mobile devices with desktop PCs. As is usual with any Gates announcement, Microsoft software is at every point in the connection. ... http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,49558,00.html ------------------------------ From: bruce.nalepka@prgx.com (bruce13) Subject: California Telecom Taxes Info Needed Date: 8 Jan 2002 11:50:06 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hello. I am newly employed as an telecom auditor. We sign up companies and work on a contigency basis ... if we find billing errors, we get to keep part of the claim. Does anybody know of a good web site link that would provide state by state information on telecom service tax. For example, I have a pile of wireless invoices with California sales taxes, such as 911 tax, High Cost fee tax, Excise tax, and something called a TRS charge. Where can I verify what percentage of usage can be billed by a service provider for each individual tax? ------------------------------ From: juan_alessandri@hotmail.com (John Alexander) Subject: Ringback on Panasonic DBS Date: 8 Jan 2002 13:26:33 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ The PBX is a Panasonic DBS 576. A PRI ISDN is configured for DID. Callers receive no ring back when calling DID numbers. Who is supposed to provide the ringback, the PBX or the CO? Thanks for any suggestions ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 16:37:53 -0500 EST From: AP Subject: Re: Recherche infos sociales Pour infos, Voici un lien qui devrait repondre a un grand nombre de vos preoccupations : AP > -----Message d'origine----- > De : ptownson@lcs.mit.edu > mardi 17 decembre 2001 15:17 > : ap.sarl@freesurf.fr > Objet : Recherche infos sociales > Je recherche des infos sur : Grille salariale, Primes, Preavis, > Conges, Accords sur les 35 heures... Merci ------------------------------ From: WKeight@aol.com Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2002 16:56:50 EST Subject: Microwave Towers on Nantucket Are there any microwave towers on the island of nantucket? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 22:38:41 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Three in One - Handspring Treo Three in one Meet the innovative force behind the new Handspring Treo, which combines PDA, wireless Internet access and a mobile phone. Vanessa Hua, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, January 6, 2002 A set of glass cases in Handspring's headquarters shows off not its successes, but its rejects. Along a corridor on the second floor, foam core and cardboard prototypes reveal the progression of its handheld devices -- screens oriented vertically and horizontally, antennas hidden and stubby, different constellations of buttons, convex versus concave shapes, and other what might have beens. Yet these dead ends speak to why Handspring is respected by its employees, consumers and industry analysts alike: What the Mountain View company values in design is refined -- again and again. Out of this evolution sprung Handspring's Visor line, which features an expansion slot; the VisorPhone, the first mobile phone attachment for personal digital assistants, or PDAs; and now the Treo, which combines wireless Internet access, an electronic organizer and a mobile phone. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/01/06/BU190190.DTL ------------------------------ Date: 5 Jan 2002 08:29:19 -0000 From: nur10@lovemail.com Subject: How to Reach Blocked Sites Please help me; how can I see blocked sites. _______________________________________________________________ Get FREE Email, Chat Rooms and Games at http://www.Lovemail.com ------------------------------ From: Peppajax@aol.com Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 12:50:31 EST Subject: Seeking Someone to Restore Vintage Telephones I'm looking for someone who restores vintage telephones. Actually, I have a (around 1940s) Western Electric 300 series telephone. I'm trying to find out how to repair it. I can receive a dial tone but, I can't dial out or hang it up. The handset is there as well as all the other pieces. I was wondering if there was some type of diagram for the wiring available or even a clear picture of the inside of a working 300 series telephone. I can't tell from the website if you restore old phones or not. I appreciate any help that you can give. If this is not something that you do, please excuse this email and I'm sorry for taking up any unnecessary time. Thank You. ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 20:21:41 -0600 Subject: Email on a Boat A friend of mine would like to be able to send and receive email while on his 40' trawler anchored offshore in the Southern California area. A cell phone using WAP would not really be useful since he wants to use a Windows machine (and I have never heard a kind thing about WAP anyway). Basically, I can envision two methods: Either a connection via cell phone to an ISP; -or- One of the new DirecWay 2-way satellite dishes. Both have their good and bad points. Perhaps someone here on the list has had some experience with a situation such as this, or an idea we have not though of. Eric Friedebach Get your own FREE Web and POP E-mail Service in 14 languages at http://www.zzn.com. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #117 ****************************** TELECOM Digest Thu, 10 Jan 2002 00:18:18 EST Volume 20 : Issue 118 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Joseph Singer) Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (Gail M. Hall) RE: TELECOM Digest V20 #116 (clowe@ofda.net) ATIS/INC Release Final Recommended Plan for Expanding NANP (Kevin Brewer) Re: California Telecom Taxes Info Needed (Scott) News Item- Wireless Security - Models, Threats and Solutions (CTO) ICB HeadsUp Headlines For January 10 (Judith Oppenheimer) Help Needed - NEAX 242 SDS (doctor_pippo) FS Tellab Shelf 291/292R 819291 (tony) Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Phone (user1) Yet Another One of Those Messages (mail02744@pop.net) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. --------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Joseph Singer Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 15:58:53 -0800 Organization: Drizzle Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On 9 Jan 2002 00:58:03 -0800, stuartfanning@hotmail.com (stuartfanning) wrote: > Unlike here in the UK and other parts of Europe, US Cell Phones do not > have an inter-changeable SIM card. I take it that it is built into the > actual handset, and cannot be changed by the consumer. Is this the > case? Not true. GSM providers in the US such as VoiceStream, a T-Mobile International company, Cingular and soon AT&T use the same GSM as they do in Europe and in Asia and use the same interchangeable SIM cards. North American GSM is at 1900 Mhz as opposed to 900 and 1800 Mhz as is used in Europe, the Middle East and Australasia. If one has a tri-band handset you can travel world-wide with the same service and the same number. North American GSM was later coming into the game than Europe with its mandated implementation of GSM, but it's rapidly vamping up with players such as AT&T and Rogers/AT&T in Canada implementing GSM systems. Personal replies are likely not read. Please reply in the newsgroup. ------------------------------ From: Gail M. Hall Subject: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 19:09:10 -0500 Reply-To: gmhall@apk.net I've been wondering if the ringer on a digital wireless phone gives off magnetic fields when it rings. I sometimes carry floppy disks in my bag for my digital camera. If I also carry my digital wireless phone in my bag, will the magnetic waves from the phone ringing damage the floppy disks? By the same token, will magnetism from other sources damage the information in the wireless phone's memory, such as my phonebook and phone preferences? If so, what is a safe distance? My phone is a Nokia 6185, and I didn't see anything in the booklet about this subject. Gail from Ohio USA ------------------------------ From: clowe@ofda.net Subject: Re: Email on a Boat Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 17:56:20 -0500 Your friend wants Inmarsat. See http://217.204.152.210/news_story.cfm?id=167 > From: Eric Friedebach > Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 20:21:41 -0600 > Subject: Email on a Boat > A friend of mine would like to be able to send and receive email while > on his 40' trawler anchored offshore in the Southern California > area. A cell phone using WAP would not really be useful since he wants > to use a Windows machine (and I have never heard a kind thing about > WAP anyway). Basically, I can envision two methods: > Either a connection via cell phone to an ISP; > -or- > One of the new DirecWay 2-way satellite dishes. > Both have their good and bad points. Perhaps someone here on the list > has had some experience with a situation such as this, or an idea we > have not though of. ------------------------------ From: Kevin Brewer Subject: ATIS/INC Release Final Recommended Plan for Expanding NANP Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 17:45:06 -0500 Dear Pat and the Rest of the Telephone Enthusiasts Community, I don't know how many of you have noticed it yet, but a couple days ago I happened to see that the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions and the Telecommunications Industry Numbering Committee had released their final Recommended Plan for Expanding the Capacity of the NANP on December 13, 2001. It is located at the URL http://www.atis.org/pub/clc/inc/nanpe/NANPExpansionRecommendation.doc . Sincerely, Kevin J. Brewer ------------------------------ From: Scott Subject: Re: California Telecom Taxes Info Needed Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 13:28:30 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com The CA Commission's website is a good place to start: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/ Every state commission has one. Here is a list: http://www.naruc.org/resources/state.html bruce13 wrote in message news:telecom20.117.10@telecom-digest.org... > Does anybody know of a good web site link that would provide state by > state information on telecom service tax. For example, I have a pile > of wireless invoices with California sales taxes, such as 911 tax, > High Cost fee tax, Excise tax, and something called a TRS charge. > Where can I verify what percentage of usage can be billed by a service > provider for each individual tax? ------------------------------ Reply-To: CTO From: CTO Subject: News Item- Wireless Security - Models, Threats and Solutions Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 20:08:00 -0500 Organization: INFOSEC Technologies, LLC Hi Patrick, I am proud to announce the publication of my newest book, "Wireless Security: Models, Threats and Solutions" by McGraw-Hill Telecom Professional Books, 2002 [ISBN: 0-07-138038-8]. The safeguarding of information traveling over wireless technology is perhaps one of the most important and contentious challenges that security managers face. We must protect the individuals' privacy and balance it with the interests of public safety and government interests. Moreover, business costs associated with providing the appropriate security measures are often substantial. They can be difficult to justify to our management. "Wireless Security" effectively covers a huge range of technologies and their associated vulnerabilities: satellites, telephones systems, WLANs, WAP, WTLS, Bluetooth, speech cryptology, cryptographic security, m-business, E2E, wireless information warfare, and embedded security designs with FPGAs and ASICs. "Wireless Security" addresses evolving security concerns by providing deep insights in a readable and effective manner. We have taken the approach of best practices to present our material - a balanced identification of state-of the-art technologies combined with a systems approach to the problem of wireless communications security. I am most grateful to my colleagues and students for their dedicated assistance and research. My best to all, Randall K. Nichols Professor, The George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) Washington DC USA & Chief Technical Officer INFOSEC Technologies, LLC Cryptographic / Anti-Virus / Anti-Hacking Computer Security Countermeasures Carlisle PA USA Visit our website: www.infosec-technologies.com Email: cto@infosec-technologies.com Voice: 717-258-8316 Fax: 717-258-5693 Mobile: 717-329-9836 ------------------------------ From: j.oppenheimer@att.net (Judith Oppenheimer) Subject: ICB HeadsUp Headlines for January 10 Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 01:40:29 +0000 http://ICBTollFreeNews.Com HEADS UP HEADLINES from ICB Toll Free News - Covering the Political, Legal and Marketing Arenas of 800, ENUM and Dot Com. WELCOME BACK PAT! The Digest has not been the same sans your inimitable and euridite editing - you've been sorely missed. Happy New Year - Welcome Home. CONTENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDING JANUARY 9, 2002 - NEUSTAR TRIMS BEEF, ADDS PORK - UDRP REDUX - THE PUBLIC INTEREST STANDARD: TOO INDETERMINATE TO BE CONSTITUTIONAL? - TELECOMS SKATING THIN REGULATORY ICE - QWEST CHAIR/CEO JOSEPH NACCHIO HEADS NRIC VI - SURINAME'S .SR THE LATEST CCTLD TO GO COMMERCIAL /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=-\ ENUM changes all the rules. Will you be ready? http://www.judithoppenheimer.com/enumsurvival.html \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=/ - VERISIGN SPENDS THE BIG BUCKS ON TELECOM - VERISIGN ACQUIRES THE .TV CORPORATION - ICANN, AUERBACH AND AL-QAIDA - FORBES IS THUMBS UP ON 1-800 CONTACTS - A TOLL FREE SHORTAGE WE'VE NOT - 1-800 US REWARDS - STUDY SUGGESTS NET GROWTH CHALLENGES TOLL FREE ____________________________________________________ ARTICLE ACCESS CODE LEGEND ICB Toll Free News offers two valuable service options: F = Free - News and Features articles P = Premium - Unlimited Site Access including all Articles and Documents. Registration information is not sold, leased or rented. *** For additional information about topics and stories, keyword search here: http://www.icbtollfree.com/Search.cfm. ICB PREMIUM SALE EXTENDED THRU JAN. 11! Read all articles, get full site access, for twelve months! CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5530 P - NEUSTAR TRIMS BEEF, ADDS PORK "... the company is taking a successful and profitable business and operation and plundering it to feed new business that the company thinks will have a bright future but which is very much untested." CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5557 F - UDRP REDUX Is ICANN unnecessarily re-inventing the legal system for the use of domain name disputes? CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5556 P - THE PUBLIC INTEREST STANDARD: TOO INDETERMINATE TO BE CONSTITUTIONAL? In today's environment of increasing "convergence," with competition emerging across communications sectors -- ENUM is a good example -- Congress should fulfill its responsibility to establish fundamental policy for an industry that is such an integral part of the overall economy. Congress should not wait to possibly be compelled by the courts to replace the public interest standard with more specific legislative guidance. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm? articleId=5555 P - TELECOMS SKATING THIN REGULATORY ICE Be candid with the public, its told, or risk more regulation. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5554 F - QWEST CHAIR/CEO JOSEPH NACCHIO HEADS NRIC VI NRIC VI will work on traditional reliability issues with a strong emphasis on national security. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5553 F - SURINAME'S .SR THE LATEST CCTLD TO GO COMMERCIAL A US-based company is marketing the ccTLD as the top level domain for businesses to use to reach Seniors. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5552 /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=-\ -- Lost and Stolen Number Retrieval -- ENUM Survival Strategies -- Crisis Resolution -- Vanity Number Issues, Guidance & Navigation -- Tollfree Number Traces -- Representation at SNAC, ENUM & ICANN Forums -- Strategic Leadership + Competitive Intelligence -- Custom Research Reports -- Custom Problem Solving: disputes, litigation support, RespOrg issues, etc. ICB Consultancy -- http://1800TheExpert.com \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=.=/ Looking for the best 800 and long distance rates available today? Choose from multiple programs - Rates as low as 2.9 cents per minute, with no monthly minimums or hidden service charges! Click here: http://WhoSells800.com \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/ P - VERISIGN SPENDS THE BIG BUCKS ON TELECOM VeriSign said it had agreed to pay about $340-million cash and stock to purchase H.O. Systems, which provides customer relationship services to wireless carriers. Last year VeriSign paid $1.2 billion for Illuminet, whose independent carrier-to-carrier switching network routes land-line and wireless calls and enables carriers to offer caller ID and other services. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5551 F - VERISIGN ACQUIRES THE .TV CORPORATION VeriSign paid $45 million in cash. The acquisition closed on December 31, 2001. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5550 P - ICANN, AUERBACH AND AL-QAIDA Would you feel comfortable stepping onto an airplane that had but one motor and but one pilot (and no co-pilot)? Many of us would consider that to be folly. So why are we running the Internet with only one DNS root? Particularly in light of a recent, ominous Canadian Government threat Analysis. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5549 F - FORBES IS THUMBS UP ON 1-800 CONTACTS This company is actually making a profit. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5545 P - A TOLL FREE SHORTAGE WE'VE NOT With enough toll free numbers to last until 2009, industry still seeks to spare out more 800-code numbers as "requests for assignment of these numbers are increasing." No doubt, given the lesser performance of non-800 code toll free numbers. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm? articleId=5547 P - 1-800 US REWARDS When it matters, its 800 and its Vanity: the U.S. State Department last month established a central toll-free telephone number -- 1-800 US REWARDS -- to help fight terrorism in "America's Most Wanted" style. Use of the 1-800 US REWARDS number is donated for the duration of the anti-terrorist campaign and investigation, to be returned on completion of the program. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5546 P - STUDY SUGGESTS NET GROWTH CHALLENGES TOLL FREE Growth in Internet usage and e-commerce sales, including Web site marketing, is slowing customer dependence on toll-free numbers, according to report. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5548 ICB PREMIUM SALE EXTENDED THRU JAN. 11! Order here, http://www.icbtollfree.com/order.cfm, today! EVERY 3.6 SECONDS SOMEONE DIES FROM HUNGER http://www.hungersite.com/ ABOUT ICB ICB HeadsUp Headlines is sent by request. Subscriptions to ICB HeadsUp Headlines are free to qualified applicants. Visit http://www.icbtollfree.com/reg.cfm?NextURL=Index.cfm to sign up. To unsubscribe mailto:editor@icbtollfree.com, subject: unsubscribe. (Unsubs are processed manually, approximately bi-weekly.) ADVERTISING For information on advertising in ICB HeadsUp Headlines, contact Vincent Lemma at Lake Interactive. Telephone: 914-925-2406 Email: http://www.roibot.com/w.cgi?R1764_LakIntEm Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. Copyright 2002 ICB, Inc. All rights reserved. ------------------------------ From: dpowell.st97@trinity.sa.edu.au (Doctor_Pippo) Subject: Help Needed - NEAX 242 SDS Date: 9 Jan 2002 18:13:53 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi all! I'm a complete novice, but I work for a business with a NEAX 242 SDS and no on-hold music. I'd like to fix that situation and have the standard calming music while clients are on hold, but I'm not sure where to start - I'm not a phone engineer. There's a standard audio jack hanging out of one of the Krone boxes the NEAX is hooked up to, and my guess is that that could be the one I need to connect to an audio source (CD Player). Am I wrong? Where should I be looking? I can't be bothered to ring the people who put the system in, because I'm sure there must be a very simple answer. Thank you for any help or advice you can offer. D. Powell ------------------------------ From: tonyS2@aol.com (Tony) Subject: FS Tellab Shelf 291/292R 819291 Date: 9 Jan 2002 19:23:43 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ 10 shelves 70+ modules Leave FAX no for list if interested. Tony ------------------------------ From: user1 Subject: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Telephone Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 20:43:06 -0800 Organization: Foothill.Net Is it possible to get a consumer type telephone system which has a local SMDR capabliity? I run a VERY small home business, and make lots of long distance calls. Don't need a switch, but just want to keep track of outbound calls, number called, date, time duration - basic statistics. Want to compare to telephone bill and track charges. Anything out there like that? Thanks. ------------------------------ From: mail02744@pop.net Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 23:21:17 -0600 Subject: Yet Another One of Those Messages... Welcome back, Pat. It's good to see you in print again. Wm ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #118 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Jan 10 22:25:21 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id WAA02049; Thu, 10 Jan 2002 22:25:21 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 22:25:21 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201110325.WAA02049@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #119 TELECOM Digest Thu, 10 Jan 2002 22:24:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 119 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Email on a Boat (John Bartley) Re: Email on a Boat (E. Cummings) Re: Email on a Boat (Kent Borg) Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer (Heywood Jaiblomi) Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer (John Tombs) Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer (Maurice) Network Installer-DS1/DS3/OC-3/Sonet (Patty Brletic) Re: Help Needed - NEAX 242 SDS (Ron Walter) Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Mark Crispin) Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Stuart Fanning) Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (Herb Stein) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: John_Bartley@orb.uscourts.gov Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 10:19:13 -0800 Subject: Re: Email on a Boat While waiting on Wed, 9 Jan 2002 17:56:20 -0500 in da vastness of space to hitch a ride w/ Galen, clowe@ofda.net wrote: > Your friend wants Inmarsat. See http://217.204.152.210/news_story.cfm?id=167 Whoa. Do celfons work where your friend anchors? If so, then he could get any CDMA celfon & cable it to a Wintel laptop.www.kyocera-wireless.com lists cables for their celfons, and samsung has cables for their SPH-i300 PalmPhone which, yes, does work as a CDMA modem for laptops as well as being a full PalmOS machine (in color, with the Blazer browser). In fact, the SPH-i300 far transcends WAP and allows 2way email. How simple can it be? See the Handheld's Cellular Data FAQ http://celdata.cjb.net and the Wireless FAQ for PalmOS http://palmwireless.cjb.net for more info - the latter reviews the SPH-i300. >> From: Eric Friedebach >> Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 20:21:41 -0600 >> Subject: Email on a Boat >> A friend of mine would like to be able to send and receive email while >> on his 40' trawler anchored offshore in the Southern California >> area. A cell phone using WAP would not really be useful since he wants >> to use a Windows machine (and I have never heard a kind thing about >> WAP anyway). Basically, I can envision two methods: >> Either a connection via cell phone to an ISP; >> -or- >> One of the new DirecWay 2-way satellite dishes. Not installable on a boat. FCC forbids non-stationary installs. >> Both have their good and bad points. Perhaps someone here on the list >> has had some experience with a situation such as this, or an idea we >> have not though of. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 13:51:44 -0500 From: E.Cummings Subject: Email on a Boat The least expensive solution for maritime email is Cruisemail, a HF SSB radio-based system http://www.cruiseemail.com/ if your friend already has an HF SSB marine radio on his trawler (likely) all he'll need is a special modem and a ruggedized PC. a good book on maintaining a pc on a vessel is PC's on Board by Rob Buttress. Unfortunately salt air, salt water, and computers don't mix well! If your friend doesn't already have marine a HF SSB radio, many amateur (ham) HF SSB radios can be easily modified to work on maritime frequencies, and cost about half the price of commercial rigs. Unless he wants to spend a fortune an a gyroscopically-controlled satellite dish, DirecWay is definately not the way to go (besides, he'd lose connectivity if he left the satellite footprint, which primarily covers *land* on north america.) Orbcomm http://www.magellangps.com/wireless/satcom.htm has a satellite-based system that doesn't require a dish antenna pointed at a geosynchronous satellite (it uses LEO satellites.) Another option is an Iridium satellite phone -- I heard they were trying to get back on their feet after declaring bankruptcy. A PC can be connected to some iridium phone models for email, and antenna-pointing isn't an issue either since it also uses LEO satellites. -Ed Cummings At 01:35 AM 1/10/02 -0500, you wrote: From: clowe@ofda.net > Subject: Re: Email on a Boat > Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 17:56:20 -0500 > Your friend wants Inmarsat. See http://217.204.152.210/news_story.cfm?id=167 >> From: Eric Friedebach >> Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 20:21:41 -0600 >> Subject: Email on a Boat >> A friend of mine would like to be able to send and receive email while >> on his 40' trawler anchored offshore in the Southern California >> area. A cell phone using WAP would not really be useful since he wants >> to use a Windows machine (and I have never heard a kind thing about >> WAP anyway). Basically, I can envision two methods: >> Either a connection via cell phone to an ISP; >> -or- >> One of the new DirecWay 2-way satellite dishes. >> Both have their good and bad points. Perhaps someone here on the list >> has had some experience with a situation such as this, or an idea we >> have not though of. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 10:56:33 -0500 From: Kent Borg Subject: Re: Email on a Boat On Thu, Jan 10, 2002 at 01:35:24AM -0500, clowe@ofda.net wrote: > Your friend wants Inmarsat. Maybe. Take a look at , it talks about various options for use at sea. But if your friend is close to shore ("40' trawler anchored offshore in the Southern California area"), look at land-based wireless options, like CDPD. Look at for a sense of what wireless data is available. A satellite dish intended for fixed land use is not going to work well on a boat, you want a satellite service intended for boats -- if you want satellite at all. -kb ------------------------------ From: heywood@gloucester.com (Heywood Jaiblomi) Subject: Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Telephone Date: 10 Jan 2002 21:44:59 GMT Organization: Uncle Heywood's Trousers of Fun user1@user1.net (user1) wrote > Is it possible to get a consumer type telephone system which has a > local SMDR capabliity? > I run a VERY small home business, and make lots of long distance > calls. > Don't need a switch, but just want to keep track of outbound calls, > number called, date, time duration - basic statistics. Radio Shack made one, at least in the 80's. looked like an adding machine, you plugged it on the line, it recorded every number dialed and you could enter a code after dialing to show which docket/client it involved. "I am NOT going to use a $20 million missle to blow up a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt." George Bush, Sept 16, 2001 ------------------------------ From: John Tombs Subject: Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Telephone Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 13:06:15 -0500 Organization: ECI Telecom Wire your phone through a modem, and use a TAPI application like PhoneMax to place your calls. John ------------------------------ From: Maurice Subject: Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Telephone Organization: IdentaFone Software Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 18:29:18 GMT user1 wrote: > Is it possible to get a consumer type telephone system which has a > local SMDR capabliity? > I run a VERY small home business, and make lots of long distance > calls. > Don't need a switch, but just want to keep track of outbound calls, > number called, date, time duration - basic statistics. > Want to compare to telephone bill and track charges. Multi-line Caller ID boxes from Whozz Calling, YES Telecom and Rochelle can detect and time outbound calls. They have an rs232 port to allow direct printing or a PC interface. http://www.callerid.com/ http://www.yes-tele.com/ http://www.rochelle.com/ A two line version would be an economical solution Maurice IdentaFone - Caller ID Software With Speech, Paging, Email, SMS forwarding http://www.identafone.com ------------------------------ From: pbrletic@comsys.com (Patty Brletic) Subject: Network Installer-DS1/DS3/OC-3/Sonet Date: 10 Jan 2002 14:06:23 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ COMSYS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, military status, or national origin or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or applicable local law. We are currently seeking two Network Installers for six month contracts with the worlds largest commercial satellite communications services provider located in Washington, DC. Responsibilities include inventory of equipment, definition of installation rack, cabling and other specifications, installation of cable, facilities layout, tagging of equipment, specification of power requirements, installation and labeling of patch panels, assembly and anchoring of equipment racks and cabinets, wiring of data port patch panels, installation or routers, multiplexes, and cross connect switches, installation of DS1, DS3, SONET, SDH circuits and fiber optic cabling, and testing of DS1 and DS3s. Requires 3 years of experience building out technical facilities, 3 years of experience documenting technical facilities and system layouts, knowledge of various cabling interfaces, the ability to multi task and work independently, experience with MS Office products, experience with Visio, and experience with web publishing tools, graphics programs. CAD experience is highly desirable. If interested, please contact Patty Brletic at pbrletic@comsys.com. ------------------------------ From: Ron Walter Subject: Re: Help Needed - NEAX 242 SDS Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 16:55:42 -0600 > I can't be bothered to ring the people who put the system in, because > I'm sure there must be a very simple answer. So can you be bothered to learn how to program a NEAX 242 SDS system to enable music on hold once you have made the right connections? I don't know about on that switch but in most cases it's more than just plugging in an audio device. Be bothered, call them. It's a lot less hassle to press a few digits on your keypad and let your vendors do the job. ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 22:57:20 -0800 Organization: Networks & Distributed Computing On Wed, 9 Jan 2002, Joseph Singer wrote: >> Unlike here in the UK and other parts of Europe, US Cell Phones do not >> have an inter-changeable SIM card. I take it that it is built into the >> actual handset, and cannot be changed by the consumer. Is this the >> case? > Not true. GSM providers in the US such as VoiceStream, a T-Mobile > International company, Cingular and soon AT&T use the same GSM as they > do in Europe and in Asia and use the same interchangeable SIM cards. However, it is the case that non-GSM phones (analog, TDMA, CDMA, iDEN) do not use SIM cards; instead, the handset is programmed. The handset's serial number (ESN, equivalent to the GSM IMEI number) is effectively the "password" for the phone number; a consumer using a non-GSM phone can not change his phone without negotiating an ESN change with the service provider. Some service providers, such as SPRINT PCS (CDMA), only permit handsets which they have sold, and lock out the handsets from reprogramming unless you know a secret code (similar to the SIM lock in the GSM world). Other providers will register any ESN from a compatible phone. None will register more than one ESN for the same phone number. Mark http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. ------------------------------ From: stuartfanning@hotmail.com (Stuart Fanning) Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones Date: 10 Jan 2002 04:25:38 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I have an LG Cell Phone on VERIZON. When the battry is taken off I cannot find a SIM card. Any suggestions? ------------------------------ From: Herb Stein Subject: Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism Organization: Access US Internet Services Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 08:08:01 -0600 "Gail M. Hall" wrote in message news:telecom20.118.2@telecom-digest.org... > I've been wondering if the ringer on a digital wireless phone gives > off magnetic fields when it rings. I sometimes carry floppy disks in > my bag for my digital camera. If I also carry my digital wireless > phone in my bag, will the magnetic waves from the phone ringing damage > the floppy disks? > By the same token, will magnetism from other sources damage the > information in the wireless phone's memory, such as my phonebook and > phone preferences? > If so, what is a safe distance? > My phone is a Nokia 6185, and I didn't see anything in the booklet > about this subject. > Gail from Ohio USA I've got a Nokia 5165. I charge the battery laying on my office desk next to the monitor. Just before the first ring, the monitor goes crazy. Lots of jitter. I'd guess that that trong of a magnetic field wouldn't be real good for a floppy disk either. I've never had anything affect the phones memory (except for an inept user). Herb Stein The Herb Stein Group www.herbstein.com herb@herbstein.com 314 952-4601 ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #119 ****************************** TELECOM Digest Fri, 11 Jan 2002 22:42:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 120 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson FCC Imposes $1,107,500 Fine (Jim Weiss) Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) (Fred Goldstein) Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Phone (Carl Navarro) X21 Over RJ45 (Jo) Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Jason Lindquist) Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Joseph Singer) Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (John Bartley) Re: Email on a Boat (Clarence Dold) Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (Kent Borg) Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (John R. Levine) Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (Stanley Cline) Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Paul Timmins) Re: City Identified on NPA-NXX List Does Not Exist (Carl Moore) Toll Free Number Can't be Reached From Your Area (Carl Moore) Re: Help Needed - NEAX 242 SDS (Justin Time) Need Help Finding Equipment/Source (John Meissen) Bitsurfer-Pro (was Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR)) (John R. Covert) LERG Portability Flags (Clarence Dold) No Third Party Billing the US? (Chris Kantarjiev) A Favorite Story Told Again: Information Please (Tom Z.) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: NBJimWeiss@aol.com (Jim Weiss) Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 15:12:20 EST Subject: FCC Imposes $1,107,500 Fine IN THE MATTER OF 21ST CENTURY FAX(ES) LTD. A.K.A. 20TH CENTURY FAX(ES) APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE. Imposed a $1,107,500 fine against 21st Century Fax(es) Limited for faxing unsolicited advertisements to consumers in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Commission's rules. Action by: Chief, Enforcement Bureau. Adopted: 01/09/2002 by Forfeiture Order. (FCC No. 02-2). Read these for details: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-02-2A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-02-2A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-02-2A1.txt From the Offices of: Network Brokers, Inc. Providing Long Distance Services for Less Jim Weiss, nbjimweiss@aol.com 305-252-1822; Fax: 775-796-9973; Miami Fax: 305-252-1823; ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 11:00:08 -0500 From: Fred Goldstein Subject: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) As the headline says, ATIS/INC has released their "Recommended Plan" for expanding the NANP. To no big surprise, it is the same plan that they have been talking about for years. It is not a very good plan. It is actually, IMHO, a rather poor plan. Its end state is to migrate all telephone numbers to a uniform 12-digit length. That aspect is bad enough. If you think 10-digit overlay dialing is bad now, you ain't seen nuttin' yet! You might be in North Dakota and have been dialing four digits to reach your neighbors until recently, but it'll be 12 for everyone under this plan. The transition is done by adding 0 0 (two zeros) in between the current NPA and current prefix. So I hereby dub this the (oh oh) Spaghetti-Os's Plan. [Americans may remember that ad campaign from a couple of decades ago. Other readers need merely know that a meme was planted in America's psyche by a repetitive TV ad campaign for a child-oriented foodstuff, pasta rings in sweet sticky red sauce, called Spaghetti-Os. It slogan was, "oh oh, Spaghetti Os!", and I'm sorry that I can't play the tune here in a text digest.] So after Spaghetti-O-izing, say, Moderator Pat's 630-841-7174, it'll be 6300-0841-7174. And that's before 1+ toll barrier dialing, which many states are likely to continue to require. The ATIS/INC report justifies this mess in the usual way. It creates two straw horses that it conveniently knocks down. The three options are a) Transition in one step, b) Add the 0 to the NPA first, and c) Add the 0 to the NXX first. Now for various reasons, methods b and c would need to be started much sooner (roughly 5 vs. 16 years from now), and would require two transitions to end up at the same place anyway. These are obviously bad ideas so QED plan a is the Right Answer. This of course disregards any plan that isn't based on Spaghetti-Os. What could have been done, or potentially could be done if the FCC doesn't sign off on this: We could develop a North American Numbering Plan that is not simply an extension of 1947's. We could have a plan that has a few features that are missing from Spaghetti-Os's: - transition back to 7 or 8-digit local dialing, - clearer distinction for special services like pay-per-call, nongeographic, calling-party-pays, switched data, network-specific numbers, and other things that come along. - wider toll-free space than 800(8000), 888...822, to make all toll free numbers more distinctive. - clear distinction between USA and non-USA (especially costly Caribbean) area codes. But those aren't handled here. ATIS/INC instead seems to represent a consensus view of the IXCs and ILECs, who are collectively looking out for themselves and look at consumers as a collective adversary (ratepayers). Their plan wouldn't fly in a free market, but because network numbering is arguably something that requires monopoly regulation, they can ignore alternatives that might impose slightly higher transitional costs upon themselves en route to consumer benefits. Two alternative plans are James Bellaire's (which gets to 8-digit local dialing by adding a 0 in front of the NXX) and my own (which is a more comprehensive rework of the NANP to be more functionally based), which is on the web at http://people.ne.mediaone.net/fgoldstein/NewNANP.htm . Comments welcome. ------------------------------ From: Carl Navarro Subject: Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Telephone Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 01:49:14 -0500 Reply-To: cnavarro@wcnet.org On Wed, 09 Jan 2002 20:43:06 -0800, user1 wrote: > Is it possible to get a consumer type telephone system which has a > local SMDR capabliity? > I run a VERY small home business, and make lots of long distance > calls. > Don't need a switch, but just want to keep track of outbound calls, > number called, date, time duration - basic statistics. > Want to compare to telephone bill and track charges. > Anything out there like that? This might do the trick :http://www.callmgmtprod.com/prod07.htm They made a box called CallCost that was a 2 line unit that connected to a PC for downloading. You could chain up to 4 units together for 8 lines on one serial port. IIRC the box bufferfed a couple of hundred calls and tracked both inward and outward calls with accounting codes. The list price of the box is $289. I assume they still make it, even though it's not listed on the website's home page. Call Management Products is in Colorado and the 800 number listed is 800-245-9933. Carl Navarro ------------------------------ From: Jo Subject: X21 Over RJ45 Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 13:00:43 +0100 Organization: -= Skynet Usenet Service =- I got a 128k leased line which needs to patched over RJ-45 panels. I like to know which pin I got to take with me. I know 2-4-9-11 are TX and Rx but regarding the others, I've no idea ... keep in mind that I've only 8 pins on a RJ-45. Txs, Johan ------------------------------ From: linky@bad-ass-motherfucker.com (Jason Lindquist) Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones Organization: SETEC Astronomy Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 03:31:04 GMT An infinite number of monkeys masquerading as Stuart Fanning wrote: > I have an LG Cell Phone on VERIZON. When the battry is taken off I > cannot find a SIM card. Any suggestions? Give up. There is no SIM card on an IS-95/2000 CDMA phone. :-) Jason Lindquist <*> "Mostly though, I think it gave us hope, linky{at}see/figure1/net That there can always be a new beginning. KB9LCL Even for people like us." -- Gen. Susan Ivanova, B5, "Sleeping In Light" ------------------------------ From: Joseph Singer Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 07:19:01 -0800 Organization: Drizzle Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On 10 Jan 2002 04:25:38 -0800, stuartfanning@hotmail.com (Stuart Fanning) wrote: > I have an LG Cell Phone on VERIZON. When the battry is taken off I > cannot find a SIM card. Any suggestions? SIM cards are only on GSM phones. Verizon is not a GSM operator, but rather a CDMA operator so you will not find a SIM card. Personal replies are likely not read. Please reply in the newsgroup ------------------------------ From: John_Bartley@orb.uscourts.gov Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 09:31:58 -0800 Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones While waiting on 10 Jan 2002 04:25:38 -0800 in da vastness of space to hitch a ride w/ Galen, stuartfanning@hotmail.com (Stuart Fanning) wrote: > I have an LG Cell Phone on VERIZON. When the battry is taken off I > cannot find a SIM card. Any suggestions? You won't find it. Verizon is a CDMA carrier and LG celfons are CDMA. Only GSM celfons have SIM cards. See http:://celdata.cjb.net for details. ------------------------------ From: dold@58.usenet.us.com Subject: Re: Email on a Boat Date: 11 Jan 2002 17:41:57 GMT Organization: Wintercreek Data E.Cummings wrote: > an HF SSB marine radio on his trawler (likely) all he'll need is a special > modem and a ruggedized PC. a good book on maintaining a pc on a vessel is My brother has a cheap AT-clone on his 74 foot fishing boat. He uses it to log his tracks via GPS, and other miscellaneous chores. It's been there long enough that it is an 8MB 80286 running Windows 3.1. Maybe he avoids rough seas ;-) When I saw it, it didn't look particularly protected from the elements. Clarence A Dold - dold@email.rahul.net - Pope Valley (Napa County) CA. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 09:55:55 -0500 From: Kent Borg Subject: Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism In TELECOM Digest V20 #119 Herb Stein wrote: > I've got a Nokia 5165. I charge the battery laying on my office desk > next to the monitor. Just before the first ring, the monitor goes crazy. > Lots of jitter. I'd guess that that trong of a magnetic field wouldn't be > real good for a floppy disk either. I've never had anything affect the > phones memory (except for an inept user). I am guessing that is RF from the the phone's transmitter, not a powerful magnetic field. I get a similar (though less exciting) effect when my Palm VII is near my monitor and transmits. (And I hear funny noises on FM on my Sony ICF-SW100 when the Palm VII transmits right next to it.) I am thinking the Palm's carrier frequency is being unintentially demodulated down to monitor scan rates/FM radio freqencies by electronics in the monitor (and radio). I can also say that a cheap RF detector I have starts flashing its LEDs in the same circumstance (I.E. just before the phone rings). Fun/disturbing fact: I need to get a lot closer to the microwave here at work to make the RF detector go off than I do to my cellphone. kb, the Kent who would like to get access to field test screens in his current CDM9100SP Audiovox/Sprint PCS phone. ------------------------------ Date: 10 Jan 2002 23:10:50 -0500 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > I've got a Nokia 5165. I charge the battery laying on my office desk > next to the monitor. Just before the first ring, the monitor goes crazy. > Lots of jitter. I don't think that's a magnetic field, I think that's the TDMA signal that the phone's transmitting. Cell phones don't have magnetic ringers like traditional Bell phones do, so it's hard to see why they'd generate much of a magnetic field at all. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ From: Stanley Cline Subject: Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism Date: 11 Jan 2002 07:09:59 GMT Organization: roamer1.org, Dunwoody (Atlanta), GA, USA Reply-To: sc1@roamer1.org In article , Gail M Hall wrote: > I've been wondering if the ringer on a digital wireless phone gives > off magnetic fields when it rings. I sometimes carry floppy disks in > my bag for my digital camera. If I also carry my digital wireless > phone in my bag, will the magnetic waves from the phone ringing damage > the floppy disks? No. Cell phones don't emit magnetic fields (even when ringing); they emit RF. In general, RF from cell phones or anything else doesn't cause problems with magnetic media; cell phones just affect hospital telemetry equipment, Alcatel 600E switches, etc. ;^) > By the same token, will magnetism from other sources damage the > information in the wireless phone's memory, such as my phonebook and > phone preferences? Again, no -- and X-rays won't, either (I've put my cell phones in carry-on baggage at airport security checkpoints more times than I can count and my phones are still as good as new.) Stanley Cline -- sc1 at roamer1 dot org -- http://www.roamer1.org/ ... "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. There might be a law against it by that time." -/usr/games/fortune ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 05:26:56 -0500 From: Paul Timmins Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones At 10:25 PM 1/10/2002, Mark wrote: > However, it is the case that non-GSM phones (analog, TDMA, CDMA, iDEN) do > not use SIM cards; instead, the handset is programmed. The handset's > serial number (ESN, equivalent to the GSM IMEI number) is effectively the > "password" for the phone number; a consumer using a non-GSM phone can not > change his phone without negotiating an ESN change with the service > provider. > Some service providers, such as SPRINT PCS (CDMA), only permit handsets > which they have sold, and lock out the handsets from reprogramming unless > you know a secret code (similar to the SIM lock in the GSM world). Other > providers will register any ESN from a compatible phone. > None will register more than one ESN for the same phone number. This is not necessarily true. AT&T wireless will if you are doing a phone swap. When you activate your phone upon receipt the other phone continues to operate for a period of time. I am assuming this is an artifact in the system, but it can be done. When called both phones ring (this is inconsistent of course, it doesn't work reliably in the least). Anyway, for the most part you're right, but I thought you might find that tidbit of information interesting. Paul ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 11:52:21 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: City identified on NPA-NXX list does not exist "Marshall A. Levin" wrote in message dated 19 Aug 2001: > I have often wondered where identifier "Terrace, OH" came from. This is > what shows up on my phone bill when I call my parents (216-464-xxxx). This > is what is listed for 216-464 on many NPA-NXX lists. Clearly this is what > the phone companies think this place is called. www.thedirectory.org just now said "PEPPER PIKE (TERRACE)". There are several cases around the U.S. of nonpostal names being used, and there is a case somewhere near Cleveland of a BAINBRIDGE prefix which is not to be confused with the postal name Bainbridge, OH. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 12:14:15 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Toll Free Number Can't be Reached From Your Area Years ago, you probably remember that tollfree numbers (area code 800) were set up to work only from certain areas; a common case would be having a number work only from out of state, with in- state calls using a different tollfree number or a toll number. On Dec. 27, I dialed a tollfree number from a payphone in New York (Manhattan), and got a recording telling me what number to call in area code 212 (with me detecting between the lines that that toll- free number didn't work within the 212 area). ------------------------------ From: a_user2000@yahoo.com (Justin Time) Subject: Re: Help Needed - NEAX 242 SDS Date: 11 Jan 2002 12:22:09 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Ron Walter wrote in message news:... >> I can't be bothered to ring the people who put the system in, because >> I'm sure there must be a very simple answer. > So can you be bothered to learn how to program a NEAX 242 SDS system to > enable music on hold once you have made the right connections? I don't know > about on that switch but in most cases it's more than just plugging in an > audio device. Be bothered, call them. It's a lot less hassle to press a > few digits on your keypad and let your vendors do the job. Ah ... it's more fun to let them try it first and then spend four hours correcting their problems rather than the minimum T&M call to do it in the first place. ------------------------------ From: john@meissen.org Subject: Need Help Finding Equipment/Source Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 12:29:10 -0800 I have an EE friend who is doing power circuits for a remote facility, Somehow they dumped the data monitoring responsibility on him as well. Being that he's into power distribution he asked me to help. Of course, I'm a software type, so I don't know what I'm looking for either :-( Since this will go over the phone company wires my first thought was to ask the experts here. :-) Basically, we have a dedicated 4-wire circuit from Verizon. At each end we have some switches (4 or less) and we need to make the state of those circuits (open/short) available at the other end. I could probably come up with something kludgey, but this is a pretty trivial application. Seems like there ought to be something off-the-shelf to handle it. If anyone has a clue what I'm talking about and could point me in the direction of some answers I would greatly appreciate it. And welcome back, Pat. The place just hasn't been the same without you. john- john@meissen.org ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 16:34:20 -0500 EST From: "John R. Covert" Subject: Bitsurfer-Pro (was Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR)) This may be a more elegant solution that what you need, but it's what I use. Order an ISDN line (without the data option, if you can convince them to take the order that way, but that's not important). Locate a BITSURFER PRO ISDN TA (hard, but not impossible, to find). Plan to use just the two RJ-11 jacks it provides. In our region, this gives you two independent POTS lines for just slightly less than the cost of two separate lines, and for significantly less if you order LATA-wide calling, since you pay for it once and get it twice. Hook a serial line up to the RS-232 interface. Enter the command AT@P1=M From then on, you'll get the following output any time a call is made (except the time stamps are added by my VMS system): 11-JAN-2002 09:07:16.59 PHONE:2,1;40,2; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:16.79 CALL:0,2;3,1;9,0;7,; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:17.57 PHONE:2,1;42,N; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:17.77 PHONE:2,1;42,P; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:17.97 PHONE:2,1;42,A; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:18.17 PHONE:2,1;42,N; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:18.37 PHONE:2,1;42,X; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:18.57 PHONE:2,1;42,X; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:18.77 PHONE:2,1;42,X; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:18.97 PHONE:2,1;42,X; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:19.17 PHONE:2,1;42,X; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:19.37 PHONE:2,1;42,X; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:19.56 CALL:0,3;3,1;8,2;9,63;7,08010NPANXXXXXX; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:19.62 CALL:0,99;3,1;6,0;7,08010NPAXXXXXXX;10,0; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:19.65 CALL:0,4;3,1;8,8;9,1;7,08010NPANXXXXXX; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:27.49 CALL:0,5;3,1;4,NPAXXXXXXX; ... 11-JAN-2002 11:37:32.54 PHONE:2,1;40,1; 11-JAN-2002 11:37:21.49 CALL:0,0;3,1;6,0;9,63;7,; The 2,1;40,2 message is "off-hook", the 2,1;42 messages are the dialed digits, the 0,3 message is the acceptance of the call by the C.O., the 0,99 is probably DMS-100-specific, the 0,4 is the beginning of ringing, the 0,5 is the answer supervision, the 2,1;40,1 is the on-hook, and the 0,0 is the call going idle. There are other messages (including caller-id) for incoming calls, busy signals, etc. Most are fairly obvious. By default, it monitors the first SPID. AT*>Cn switches from the current SPID to SPID n. I wish it could monitor both at the same time. Here's a summary of what I know about the command set: AT@P1=M enables monitoring output from the selected port AT*>Cn selects port 1 or 2 for monitoring and control commands AT*@P1=N disables hook-switch recognition, automatic ringing, etc. AT*@P1=F reenables hook-switch recognition, automatic ringing, etc. Some of the commands work with F left on, others require being in N mode. In the output messages, the call appearance is in element 3. AT*I returns the status of all active call appearances AT*A/n answers the call currently ringing on call appearance n. AT*D can be issued with or without a dial string, and allocates a call appearance when issued AT*Dxxx/n sends additional digits to the digit receiver on call appearance n AT*H/n hangs up the call on call appearance n, or rejects an incoming call. AT*W/n puts call appearance n on hold. AT*R/n recalls call appearance n. AT*C/n attaches a three-port bridge to call appearance n. You then use AT*R/n commands to bring a new party into the conference. AT*K/n drops the most recently added bridged call on call appearance n AT*X/n seems to be the same as AT*H/n (both effect a transfer if bridged) if you find something unique about this, tell me. AT*T7/0 supplies call waiting tone to the selected port AT*T64/0 begins ringing, normal cadence, on the selected port AT*T65/0 begins ringing, double cadence, on the selected port AT*T66/0 begins ringing, triple cadence, on the selected port AT*T79/0 cancels ringing The Bitsurfer-Pro is a wonderful toy, and I haven't seen anything else as cool on the U.S. market. john ------------------------------ From: dold@85.usenet.us.com Subject: LERG Portability Flags Date: 11 Jan 2002 21:50:06 GMT Organization: Wintercreek Data Looking at my LERG 7, I see "SOF-38_LNP" indicating capability for LNP, as either "X" or "-". In LERG 6, I see "PORTABLE", with either "Y" or "N". I'm confused by the mismatches. What do these fields indicate? I wanted to know if a switch was non-LNP portable (I suppose primarily Wireless carriers), to know if I could port a number to mys switch. PORT LNP Count N - 50124 N X 11428 Y - 192 Y X 87898 Clarence A Dold - dold@email.rahul.net - Pope Valley (Napa County) CA. ------------------------------ From: Chris Kantarjiev Subject: No Third Party Billing the US? Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 10:46:48 -0800 Organization: Internet Software Consortium I seem to recall that there is some (tariff?) restriction in the US that prevents wireless carriers from charging for third party services and incorporating that in the wireless bill. That is, it's not legally possible to deploy an application where a cell phone carrier pays for a coke via their wireless phone and wireless bill. Is this true? If so, could someone please point me at a reference/detailed discussion? Thanks, chris ------------------------------ From: Tom Z. Subject: An Old Story Told Again: Information Please Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 22:43:19 GMT Organization: Hubris Communications (hubris.net) [TELECOM Editor's Note: This story was originally printed here in TD in 1985. I don't recall how often it has been used here, but it hasn't been now for a few years at least, so I'll let Tom Z tell it again and let the other NG take credit for it. PAT] Copied from another NG. When I was very young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well, the polished old case fastened to the wall and the shiny receiver on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother would talk to it. Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person and her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. "Information Please" could supply anybody's number and the correct time. My first personal experience with this genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement. I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible but, there didn't seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give me sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger finally arriving at the stairway, the telephone! Quickly, I ran for thefootstool in the parlor and held it to my ear. "Information Please," I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear. "Information." "I hurt my finger" I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enoughnow that I had an audience. "Isn't your mother home? came the question. "Nobody's home but me," I blubbered. "Are you bleeding?" the voice asked. "No," I replied. "I hit my finger with a hammer and it hurts." "Can you open your icebox?" she asked. I said I could. "Then chip off a piece of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice. After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me that my pet chipmunk, which I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts. Then there was the time Petey, our pet canary died. I called "Information Please" and told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual thing grown ups say to soothe a child. But, I was inconsolable. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?" She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "You must remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow, I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone. "Information Please". "Information," said the now familiar voice. "How do you spell fix?'" I asked. All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and somehow I never thought of trying the tall, new shiny phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy. A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half-an-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then, without thinking about what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please." Miraculously, I heard the small clear voice I knew so well. "Information." I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?" There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must be healed by now." I laughed, "So it's really still you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?" "I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls." I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister. "Please do," she said. "Just ask for Sally." Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, "Information." I asked for Sally. "Are you a friend?" she said. "Yes, a very old friend," I answered. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said. "Sally had been working part time in the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago." Before I could hang up she said, "Wait a minute. Are you Paul?" "Yes." "Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called when she was too sick to work. Let me read it to you." The note said, "Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean." I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That story, although good and very inspirational, has been around *s-o-o-o* long. When I first used it here in 1985 or so, it was old then. Still, it is always a good reminder of how the 'telephone company' used to be in the old days. Ask any long time operator, if any are still around. They can tell you a dozen stories like this. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #120 ****************************** TELECOM Digest Sat, 12 Jan 2002 12:55:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 121 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: No Third Party Billing the US? (Linc Madison) Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) (Phil McKerracher) Advice Required for Setting up Call Centre (Rajkumar) Re: Toll Free Number Can't be Reached From Your Area (Steven Lichter) Re: Email on a Boat (Marcus Didius Falco) Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (David Clayton) Re: Need Help Finding Equipment/Source (David Clayton) I'm Looking For an Old Phone's Manual (Hesam) Re: X21 Over RJ45 (Ken) European Mobile Users Hit by Text Message Swindle (Danny Burstein) Last Laugh! Urgently Reply and Indicate Your Private Telephone No. (Juel Karim) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Linc Madison Subject: Re: No Third Party Billing the US? Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 01:03:19 -0800 Organization: MindSpring Enterprises In article , Chris Kantarjiev wrote: > I seem to recall that there is some (tariff?) restriction in the US > that prevents wireless carriers from charging for third party > services and incorporating that in the wireless bill. > That is, it's not legally possible to deploy an application where a > cell phone carrier pays for a coke via their wireless phone and > wireless bill. > Is this true? If so, could someone please point me at a > reference/detailed discussion? I certainly *HOPE* it's true! A telephone is a telephone. A credit card is a credit card. I don't want the ability to speak into my credit card, and I don't want the ability to pay for things with my telephone. I may use the credit card to pay for the telephone call, but there is no reason I should have the ability to pay for something other than telephone calls with the telephone. If I can pay for a snack from a vending machine with my telephone, where does it stop? "Honey, the rent is due and I can't find my cellphone!"? So, in answer to those TV commercials with the tag line "wouldn't it be great?" I give a resounding "NO!!" At the VERY least, my provider had better give me the option to block all such charges from my phone, or I will find another provider. LincMad dot Com * North American Telephone Area Codes & Splits Preferred Reply Address: Telecom # LincMad * Com Unsolicited bulk e-mail will be reported to your admin or upstream. ------------------------------ From: Phil McKerracher Subject: Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) Organization: blueyonder (post doesn't reflect views of blueyonder) Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 14:52:38 GMT Fred Goldstein wrote in message news:telecom20.120.2@ telecom-digest.org ... > ...We could develop a North American Numbering Plan that is not simply an > extension of 1947's. We could have a plan that has a few features that are > missing from Spaghetti-Os's: > - transition back to 7 or 8-digit local dialing, > - clearer distinction for special services like pay-per-call, > nongeographic, calling-party-pays, switched data, network-specific numbers, > and other things that come along. > - wider toll-free space than 800(8000), 888...822, to make all toll free > numbers more distinctive. > - clear distinction between USA and non-USA (especially costly Caribbean) > area codes... From my (European) perspective, the importance of having a clear distinction between toll-free and premium-rate numbers is obvious, and in the UK we have endured a series of number changes during the last decade to achieve this. The importance of 8-digit local dialing and geographically-specific area codes is less obvious. Mobile phones are more popular here, and all calls to and from them must include the full "area" code. Also, most businesses have toll free or "local rate" numbers (starting 0800 or 0845) that can be called from anywhere in the country, and can even be used to call international destinations, including Australia (e.g. see www.telediscount.co.uk). So location-based tariffs are disappearing and most numbers are 11 digits or more. America will probably go the same way eventually. It's no big deal - if anything, people are probably dialling fewer digits on average because they program common numbers into a memory. Incidentally, untimed tariffs are beginning to appear here (at last!) so before too long it's quite possible we will pay a fixed monthly subscription, with the whole of Europe a "local" call. Phil McKerracher www.mckerracher.org ------------------------------ From: gcs@bgl.vsnl.net.in (Rajkumar) Subject: Advice Required for Setting up Call Centre Date: 11 Jan 2002 21:01:03 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi All, I have ample, unutilised office space which I want to use it for setting up a call-centre training center. I am told it is a flourishing business nowadays. Can anybody provide me some valuable technical inputs, syllabus, investment required, infrastructure required, training material or free sites from where I can download from for Voice Call centers, for training and benchmarking. What are the quality processes involved ??? I shall be highly obliged if you could please provide me with all the information I had asked for at your earliest possible convenience directly to my email-id which is gcs@bgl.vsnl.net.in Hope you will do the needful. Regards, Rajkumar ------------------------------ From: stevenl11@aol.com (Steven Lichter) Date: 12 Jan 2002 05:12:43 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Subject: Re: Toll Free Number Can't be Reached From Your Area cmoore addressed the group thusly, > On Dec. 27, I dialed a tollfree number from a payphone in New York > (Manhattan), and got a recording telling me what number to call in > area code 212 (with me detecting between the lines that that toll- > free number didn't work within the 212 area). Any 800 service can be set up most any way. Some years ago I had an 800 number set to my BBS phone number so that owners of the BBS prrogram I owned could call for support without having to make a long distance call. I had it set up for areas of the country and only those could call. Later on I had it set so that no calls could be made to it from a payhone; I got a lot of wrong numbers and most were from those and since it was a computer there was no need; I also had New York City blocked since I had a problem with a hacker there and a lot of fraud. Now that the system is linked to the net direct there is no need for the 800 line. Apple Elite II 909-359-5338. Home of GBBS/LLUCE, support for the Apple II 24 hours 2400/14.4. An OggNet Server. The only good spammer is a dead one!!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 02:02:24 -0500 From: Marcus Didius Falco Subject: Re: Email on a Boat > Your friend wants Inmarsat. See http://217.204.152.210/news_story.cfm?id=167 >> From: Eric Friedebach >> Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 20:21:41 -0600 >> Subject: Email on a Boat >> A friend of mine would like to be able to send and receive email while >> on his 40' trawler anchored offshore in the Southern California >> area. A cell phone using WAP would not really be useful since he wants >> to use a Windows machine (and I have never heard a kind thing about >> WAP anyway). Basically, I can envision two methods: >> Either a connection via cell phone to an ISP; >> -or- >> One of the new DirecWay 2-way satellite dishes. >> Both have their good and bad points. Perhaps someone here on the list >> has had some experience with a situation such as this, or an idea we >> have not though of. Inmarsat has the best data service, particularly at higher speeds. The TV networks use them. Consider Iridium. Probably cheaper. $1000 for the phone and $20/month for service. plus $1.49/minute for originating calls; receiving is free. However, Iridium has a maximum speed of 2400 for data. Globalstar is faster for data, but there are holes in its coverage, and these may include areas where your friend wants to go. Prices about the same as Iridium. In Europe, Asia, and Africa, thuraya has GSM phones that also work with their satellite. But they have no coverage in the western hemisphere. I don't know their rates. ------------------------------ From: David Clayton Subject: Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 19:36:31 +1100 Organization: Customer of Connect.com.au Pty. Ltd. Reply-To: dcstar@acslink.net.au johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) contributed the following: >> I've got a Nokia 5165. I charge the battery laying on my office desk >> next to the monitor. Just before the first ring, the monitor goes crazy. >> Lots of jitter. > I don't think that's a magnetic field, I think that's the TDMA signal > that the phone's transmitting. Cell phones don't have magnetic > ringers like traditional Bell phones do, so it's hard to see why > they'd generate much of a magnetic field at all. The speaker has a significant magnetic field which can quite easily wipe the magnetic stripe on your credit card if you unfortunate enough to get them too close together, (don't ask me why I know this ... :-( ). Regards, David Clayton, e-mail: dcstar@acslink.net.au Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Dilbert's words of wisdom #18: Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. ------------------------------ From: David Clayton Subject: Re: Need Help Finding Equipment/Source Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 19:36:31 +1100 Organization: Customer of Connect.com.au Pty. Ltd. Reply-To: dcstar@acslink.net.au john@meissen.org contributed the following: > Basically, we have a dedicated 4-wire circuit from Verizon. At each > end we have some switches (4 or less) and we need to make the state of > those circuits (open/short) available at the other end. I could > probably come up with something kludgey, but this is a pretty trivial > application. Seems like there ought to be something off-the-shelf to > handle it. > If anyone has a clue what I'm talking about and could point me in the > direction of some answers I would greatly appreciate it. I remember seeing equipment a few years which converted "dry contact" inputs to data for remote PBX alarm monitoring, etc; these may be exactly what you need. These things could be programmed to dial out when particular conditions occurred (alarm data string received, contact closed etc). I can't remember the names of the manufacturers but Switchview used to use them in conjunction with SMDR recording, possibly a web search will bring something up? Regards, David Clayton, e-mail: dcstar@acslink.net.au Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Dilbert's words of wisdom #18: Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. ------------------------------ From: hesam369@yahoo.com (Hesam) Subject: I'm Looking For an Old Phone's Manual Date: 12 Jan 2002 00:53:48 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi, I'm looking for a phone's manual.It's an old(at least before 1994)phone. It's a Panasonic EASA-PHONE Model KX-T2460. Can you help me where I can find it? THANKSALOT. ------------------------------ From: Ken Millar Subject: Re: X21 Over RJ45 Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 09:47:27 -0000 Organization: ntlworld News Service "Jo" wrote in message news:telecom20.120.4@telecom-digest.org... > I got a 128k leased line which needs to patched over RJ-45 panels. I > like to know which pin I got to take with me. I know 2-4-9-11 are TX > and Rx but regarding the others, I've no idea ... keep in mind that > I've only 8 pins on a RJ-45. X21 pin-outs (on a D15 connector) are - 1 Shield 2 Transmit data A 3 Control A 4 Receive data A 5 Indication A 6 Signal timing A 7 8 Ground 9 Transmit data B 10 Control B 11 Receive data B 12 Indication B 13 Signal timing B 14 15 As you can see, 8 wires aren't enough for all the lines. However, the Control and Indication lines may not be in use, or else they could be looped back at each end. Alternatively, you may consider using two separate links, with Transmit and Receive data on separate cables to reduce crosstalk. ------------------------------ From: dannyb@panix.com (Danny Burstein) Subject: European Mobile Users Hit by Text Message Swindle [Forward] Date: 12 Jan 2002 11:58:27 -0500 Found in alt.cellular.gsm. In <21l04uouukp5kr45n7qqo8u0p5j30kcbt0@4ax.com> Marcus Williamson writes: > http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/archive/11-1-19102-0-18-15.html > obile users hit by text message swindle - The Herald, Glasgow, UK > LORNA MARTIN > MOBILE phone users are being targeted by a text-messaging swindle > offering them the chance to win millions of pounds. > The scheme, which takes advantage of premium rate phone numbers, > involves unwitting customers being charged for receiving messages. > There are numerous legitimate "reverse charging services", such as > those offered by football clubs, which charge fans for providing them > with up-to-the-minute information about scores. (The article continues and explains that a bunch of not nice folk are sending out sms strings to mobile cellphones, and the recipients pay, big, for them. sigh.) > But in the latest hi-tech swindle, consumers are not informed they are > being charged for receiving messages and are able to "unsubscribe" > from the service only by getting a complete ban on the receipt of all > incoming texts. Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I wonder if this is a subsidiary operation of the Prince from Nigeria, whose message appears elsewhere in this issue? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 19:21:05 -0800 From: Juel Karim Subject: Last Laugh! Urgently Reply and Indicate Your Private Telephone Number FROM THE DESK OF PRINCE JUEL KARIM. OMPADEC HEADQUARTERS LAGOS - NIGERIA Dear Sir, I am the Chief Scribe of the Newly Constituted OMPADEC (Oil Minerals Producing Area Development Commission). This Commission was reconstituted in 1999 by the Federal Government of Nigeria as a result of consistent Environmental Neglect Agitated by the Oil and Minerals Producing States. This Commission received a budgetary allocation of US$1.5 Billion for Environmental Maintenance/ Management of Oil Producing State for the 1999/2002 Fiscal Year. In view of the present political situation in our country, I have agreed with my colleagues to withdraw the sum, of US$50m (Fifty Million United States Dollars). All modalities to ensure a hitch-free transfer of this fund into your account through the officials of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) have been properly worked out. NOTE: There is no risks or dangers involved. I have agreed with my colleagues that you will retain 30% of the total fund, my colleagues and I will take 60% while the remaining 10% is mapped out to cover the International and Local Expenses that might be incurred by both parties in the course of this transaction. If this proposal interest you of which I hope it would, please forward to me immediately the following. 1. Your Bank informations (where the money will be lodged) such as the bank name and address, the account number, Telephone and fax numbers of the bank. 2. Your Private Telephone, Fax and home number for easy communication. 3. Your full company name and address. As soon as we receive the above informations from you, we shall immediately file up application for approvals and payment shall follow as soon as possible. NOTE: I shall not contact another person till I hear from you. I therefore request you to please maintain top most confidential of this transaction because we are top Civil Servants and would not want our reputable image dented after putting in Eightheen years of active service in the government. Thanks. Best Regards, PRINCE JUEL KARIM. http://newJoke.com/ <--- J O K E S ! ! ! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Dear Prince, why should I have to call up to new.Joke.com when I can get all the laughs I want from you direct each day? I've already started looking for my bank routing number and account number, along with the bank's phone and fax number so you can get started dipping into it. Regards my private phone number, wouldn't you prefer the 800 number that's attached to my cell phone, so that not only can you call me with ease when you wish, but at no expense to yourself as well? Shall I tell SW Bell Telco to have the number honor calls coming from Nigeria? I would list the number here; but considering my posture regards toll-free numbers used on the internet, I'm not so sure that would be a wise idea. Not as wise as your idea for getting money, as outlined above. And regards your assurance of absolute privacy and your promise to contact no one else absolutely until I have provided you all the above info, I must say I have 'only' recieved ten copies of the above in the two or three weeks since I got back from the Sanitorium, so I have to assume you are trustworthy and above all, honest. Since I have many friends here who are total fools as you assume of me, I'm hoping by publishing your email here, they'll be encouraged to write to you and your post- master @37.com to express themselves. Readers: be sure to include all the information he requested when you write, including all your financial information, and any phone numbers where you can be contacted. Is anyone still editing the Business Directory these days. If so, be sure to include the Prince under the category 'fraud'. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #121 ******************************

Return to Archives**Older Issues
From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Jan 14 11:30:46 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id LAA26449; Mon, 14 Jan 2002 11:30:46 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 11:30:46 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201141630.LAA26449@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #123 Status: R TELECOM Digest Mon, 14 Jan 2002 10:31:18 EST Volume 20 : Issue 123 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Update (Canada) #315, January 14, 2002 (Angus TeleManagement) Siemens Gigaset 2415 Question (Bob Fry) All That Dark Fiber (Tad Cook) Re: Email on a Boat (Dave Close) Re: An Old Story Told Again: Information Please (Jay R. Ashworth) Re: How Do Radios Work, in General? (Phil McKerracher) Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) (John David Galt) Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) (James Bellaire) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 10:08:34 -0500 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #315, January 14, 2002 TELECOM UPDATE published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 315: January 14, 2002 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** AT&T CANADA http://www.attcanada.com ** BELL CANADA http://www.bell.ca ** GROUP TELECOM http://www.gt.ca ** LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES CANADA http://www.lucent.ca ** PRIMUS CANADA: http://www.primustel.ca ** Q9 NETWORKS: http://www.Q9.com ** TELUS: http://www.telus.com ** UNISPHERE NETWORKS: http://www.unispherenetworks.com IN THIS ISSUE: ** Bell Raises $500 Million ** Pat Russo to Head Lucent ** CRTC Toughens Winback Rules ** Vancouver Telemarketer Collapses ** Bell Tests Multimedia Centrex Server ** Internet Providers Slam Rogers Ads ** Union Sues Telus ** Telesystem Buyback in Trouble ** Conference to Discuss Community Networks ** SaskTel to Offer TV Over DSL ** Mindready Buys Nortel Testing Operations ** Sprint Wins Vancouver Data Contract ** North-of-60 First Nation to Get High-Speed Internet ** Wi-LAN Wins $9 Million Order ** U.S. RIM Carrier Seeks Bankruptcy Protection ** Avaya Reports Falling Revenue ** Layoff Watch: 724 Solutions ** How to Get the Best Cellphone Deal BELL RAISES $500 MILLION: On January 8, Bell Canada sold $500 million worth of 10-year bonds, 25% more than originally projected. Most of the funds are to finance last year's purchases of wireless spectrum (see Telecom Update #269). Bell plans to raise another $300 million by the end of June. PAT RUSSO TO HEAD LUCENT: Lucent Technologies has named Pat Russo as CEO, replacing Henry Schacht, who will continue as Chairman for up to a year. Russo led Lucent's carrier networks division until April 2001, when she became President and COO of Eastman Kodak. CRTC TOUGHENS WINBACK RULES: CRTC Decision 2002-1 prohibits telcos from attempting to win back a residential customer for any service for three months after the customer has transferred local phone service to a different provider. For business customers, the winback prohibition applies, as before, only to primary phone service. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2002/dt2002-1.htm VANCOUVER TELEMARKETER COLLAPSES: GrowthExperts, which described itself as "the first proactive market maker for business-to-small- business sales," has closed its doors, throwing 490 people out of work. The company operated outbound call centres in Vancouver, Nanaimo, and Victoria; its biggest unsecured creditor is Bell Intrigna, owed $2.4 million. BELL TESTS MULTIMEDIA CENTREX SERVER: Bell Canada says that its "largest enterprise Centrex customers" will begin testing Nortel's Interactive Multimedia Server this month. The Voice over IP device provides a variety of new features including video calling and computer conferencing. INTERNET PROVIDERS SLAM ROGERS ADS: The independent members of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers say that Rogers Cable is illegally using its cable channels to promote its Internet service. They have asked the CRTC to stop the ads and order Rogers to give equal time to competitors. Rogers says the ads are allowable public service announcements about e-mail changes associated with the Excite@Home collapse. UNION SUES TELUS: The Telecommunications Workers Union, which represents 17,000 Telus employees, is suing the company to force disclosure about pension funds. The suits seek $460 million in damages, representing the union's estimate of the surplus in the funds. TELESYSTEM BUYBACK IN TROUBLE: Most holders of Telesystem International Wireless bonds have rejected a company proposal to buy back the debentures for 30% of their face value. The company has extended the offer to January 15. CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS COMMUNITY NETWORKS: The City of Fredericton, New Brunswick, is organizing Community Connect, a conference on how to develop and manage a community-owned broadband network, to be held in Fredericton April 29-30. http://www.connectconference.com SASKTEL TO OFFER TV OVER DSL: SaskTel has completed its test of TV delivered over phone lines and plans to launch commercial service this year (see Telecom Update #275). SaskTel is using technology from iMagicTV of Saint John, New Brunswick. ** iMagicTV reports September-October revenues of $337,000, compared to $803,000 the previous quarter and $2.2 million the previous year. Net loss: $4.1 million. MINDREADY BUYS NORTEL TESTING OPERATIONS: Nortel Networks has agreed to sell Montreal-based Mindready Solutions the instrument calibration and test process support activities related to Nortel's Saint-Laurent facility. SPRINT WINS VANCOUVER DATA CONTRACT: The City of Vancouver has awarded Sprint Canada a five-year contract to provide a data network linking the city's libraries, fire halls, and community centres. NORTH-OF-60 FIRST NATION TO GET HIGH-SPEED INTERNET: Quick Link Communications, Chevron Canada, and ADK Corporate Group have agreed to develop satellite- and wireless-based high- speed Internet access for the Acho Dene Koe band near Fort Liard, Northwest Territories. WI-LAN WINS $9 MILLION ORDER: Calgary-based Wi-LAN Communications has received a $9 million order for wireless broadband equipment from Wi-Comm United Communications of Beijing, China. U.S. RIM CARRIER SEEKS BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION: Motient, one of two network carriers that provide RIM Blackberry service in the United States, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Motient says that service will continue without interruption; it hopes to reorganize and emerge from protection by April. AVAYA REPORTS FALLING REVENUE: Avaya estimates revenue of US$1.3 billion for the last quarter of 2001, down 10% from the previous quarter and 28% from last year. LAYOFF WATCH -- 724 SOLUTIONS: 724 Solutions, which makes wireless-commerce software, says fourth-quarter revenue will be about 20% less than expected. It plans to lay off about 100 staff during the first quarter. (See Telecom Update #303) HOW TO GET THE BEST CELLPHONE DEAL: In the January issue of Telemanagement, John Riddell and Mike Dunne explain how to lay the groundwork for the best possible deal for corporate cellphone service. Also in Telemanagement #191: ** Ian Angus: "Who Put the Con in Convergence?" ** Henry Dortmans: "It's Telecom Tune-Up Time" ** John Riddell: "Nortel Seeks Better Ties to Enterprise Customers" Single copies of Telemanagement #191 are $75 each: call 905-686-5050 ext 500 and charge to Visa, American Express, or Mastercard. Save 49% with a 10-issue subscription -- go to http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm.html. HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca FAX: 905-686-2655 MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE Angus TeleManagement Group 8 Old Kingston Road Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7 HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web on the first business day of the week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: TelecomUpdate@add.postmastergeneral.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: TelecomUpdate@remove.postmastergeneral.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2002 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext 500. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ From: bobfry@e-mailanywhere.com (Bob Fry) Subject: Siemens Gigaset 2415 Question Date: 13 Jan 2002 14:06:24 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Have a Siemens Gigaset 2415 base and one additional handset with another ordered. Been using it for a year and thought I'd finally clear up some questions: The manual (not the greatest one written) says nothing about the item under Menu->Mobile->Local->Auto Call Accept. What is this? I'm still puzzled at their usage of Base when it comes to naming the handsets. In practice it seems each handset has two names, one set with Base which is display at "rest", the other with System which is displayed when using the Intercom functions. Can somebody explain this further? Thanks, Bob ------------------------------ From: Tad Cook Subject: All That Dark Fiber Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 18:51:56 -0800 Fiber-optic lines languish under scarred city streets By Alwyn Scott Seattle Times business reporter The 321 Hair Design salon stands at one of Seattle's busiest intersections. But rather than help business, the heavy traffic has chased away customers for more than a decade. The traffic is data, billions of Web pages, music files and phone calls pulsing through fiber-optic cable buried below Seneca Street between Third and Fourth avenues. With the fiber outside her door, Pam Thurston, 321's owner, could have created an online appointment book and beamed in movies for clients. But the salon isn't wired. Instead, it lost business as jackhammers ripped up the asphalt to install lines 28 times since 1990. "We get absolutely no benefit from it," Thurston says. Empty pipes Fiber-optic cable was the bold new promise of the 1990s, designed to link us at cyber speed. Goaded by ambitious forecasts, easy money and deregulation that opened the streets to all comers, telecom companies spent billions of dollars laying millions of miles of fiber cable to slake the thirst for high-speed Internet connections. But before they could hook the network to their customers, they ran out of money. Today an estimated 95 percent of that cable lies "dark", completely unused. Often just yards from the homes and businesses it was supposed to connect. After paying $1 million a mile or more to build their networks, many telecom companies are going bust and can't afford to wire the "last mile." http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134390552_darkfiber130.html ------------------------------ From: dave@compata.com (Dave Close) Subject: Re: Email on a Boat Organization: Compata, Costa Mesa, California Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 04:00:41 GMT dold@58.usenet.us.com writes: > My brother has a cheap AT-clone on his 74 foot fishing boat. I always heard those things were good as boat anchors ... Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA "Politics is the business of getting dave@compata.com, +1 714 434 7359 power and privilege without dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu possessing merit." - P. J. O'Rourke ------------------------------ From: Jay R. Ashworth Subject: Re: An Old Story Told Again: Information Please Reply-To: jra@baylink.com Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 06:40:08 GMT Organization: RoadRunner - TampaBay > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That story, although good and very > inspirational, has been around *s-o-o-o* long. When I first used it > here in 1985 or so, it was old then. Still, it is always a good > reminder of how the 'telephone company' used to be in the old days. > Ask any long time operator, if any are still around. They can tell > you a dozen stories like this. PAT] Yeah, but no one can pick 'em like you, Pat. Welcome back. Cheers, Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com Member of the Technical Staff Baylink The Suncoast Freenet The Things I Think Tampa Bay, Florida http://baylink.pitas.com +1 727 647 1274 I'm stranded all alone in the gas station of love, and I have to use the self service pumps. -- Weird Al Yankovic [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Regards 'picking em' it is just that I am better, I guess, at speed reading through 1940-50's back issues of Reader's Digest, that's all. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Phil McKerracher Subject: Re: How Do Radios Work, in General? Organization: blueyonder (post doesn't reflect views of blueyonder) Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 10:57:20 GMT "Mary Mathiasen" wrote in message news:telecom20.122.6@ telecom-digest.org: > I am looking for basic information about what makes radios work ( the > guts) and then onto applications in a network. I am new to a company > that uses radios to transmit information to lottery machines and I > just want a working knowledge of what is happening ... The best introduction I know of was published by the American Radio Relay League (see www.arrl.org). Phil McKerracher www.mckerracher.org ------------------------------ From: John David Galt Subject: Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 04:07:14 -0800 Organization: Diogenes the Cynic Hot-Tubbing Society Fred Goldstein wrote: > So after Spaghetti-O-izing, say, Moderator Pat's 630-841-7174, it'll be > 6300-0841-7174. And that's before 1+ toll barrier dialing, which many > states are likely to continue to require. It's worse than that. The first part of ATIS' document clearly points out that since new numbers would be allowed to begin with 0 or 1, all use of 0 or 1 before an area code would have to be eliminated (forcing all calls to be dialed as 10 digits, no more, no less) before permissive dialing of the new 12-digit numbers can even begin. > - wider toll-free space than 800(8000), 888...822, to make all toll free > numbers more distinctive. How about 800 + 9-digit numbers? Thus allowing the owners of 800 vanity numbers based on words of 9 or more letters to keep using them. (OTOH, 888 and 877 would be phased out, and 800-FLOWERS would have to put something in those two extra digits...) > - clear distinction between USA and non-USA (especially costly Caribbean) > area codes. There's no sensible way to do that without breaking up the NANP, since the non-US numbers are such a tiny fraction of the whole. Indeed, one of the things I found short-sighted about the ATIS plan was its attempt to allow for proposals to give Canada distinctive numbering within the NANP. > But those aren't handled here. ATIS/INC instead seems to represent a > consensus view of the IXCs and ILECs, who are collectively looking out for > themselves and look at consumers as a collective adversary (ratepayers). > Their plan wouldn't fly in a free market, but because network numbering is > arguably something that requires monopoly regulation, they can ignore > alternatives that might impose slightly higher transitional costs upon > themselves en route to consumer benefits. > > Two alternative plans are James Bellaire's (which gets to 8-digit local > dialing by adding a 0 in front of the NXX) and my own (which is a more > comprehensive rework of the NANP to be more functionally based), which is > on the web at http://people.ne.mediaone.net/fgoldstein/NewNANP.htm . > > Comments welcome. The "9 + 3" plan discussed here earlier makes MUCH more sense. The variable length plan I proposed earlier also would be an improvement. Neither requires any change to existing practices of 1+ or 0+ dialing, and neither requires elimination of the ability to dial local numbers without the area code (where not already eliminated by stupid US federal rules related to overlays). ------------------------------ From: bellaire@tk.com (James Bellaire) Subject: Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 12:07:50 GMT On Fri, 11 Jan 2002 11:00:08 -0500, in comp.dcom.telecom Fred Goldstein wrote: > As the headline says, ATIS/INC has released their "Recommended > Plan" for expanding the NANP. To no big surprise, it is the > same plan that they have been talking about for years. The good news that it is a recomendation and not stone chiseled. > Two alternative plans are James Bellaire's (which gets to > 8-digit local dialing by adding a 0 in front of the NXX) > and my own (which is a more comprehensive rework of the > NANP to be more functionally based), which is on the web > at http://people.ne.mediaone.net/fgoldstein/NewNANP.htm . The ATIS/INC plan ignores dialing. They assume that all will be dialing 10D numbers by their transition year (even though there are areas working hard against that) and don't show the dialing plan at all within their sketchy transition. Today 10D, Tommorrow 12D, with 00 or 10 or 01 or 11 inserted. Transition/Permissive period: 1 yr. Target: "nxxx-xnxx-xxxx" but will it be 1+12D dialing? Not answered by the plan, since they managed to write a numbering plan and not a dialing plan. I'd prefer to see these things covered even though dialing is not numbering. It is important. *If* this is accepted, then the current NANP needs to begin working toward the goal. James Bellaire http://telecomindiana.com/npax/ ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #123 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Jan 9 13:29:32 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id NAA20672; Wed, 9 Jan 2002 13:29:32 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 13:29:32 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201091829.NAA20672@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #117 TELECOM Digest Wed, 9 Jan 2002 13:00:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 117 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Non Long Distance Calling Feature (John Shaver) Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations (A. E. Siegman) Pay Phone Numbers (walker@icircus.net) Re: Automatic Electric? (Fred Goldstein) Re: If No LD Carrier Can We Call 800/877 (Terry Knab) Lying About Al Gore (James Bellaire) Telegraph History (Hugh Barr) SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Stuart Fanning) Gates Opens Windows to Wireless (Monty Solomon) California Telecom Taxes Info Needed (bruce13) Ringback on Panasonic DBS (John Alexander) Re: Recherche infos sociales (AP) Microwave Towers on Nantucket (WKeight@aol.com) Three in One - Handspring Treo (Monty Solomon) How to Reach Blocked Sites (nur10@lovemail.com) Seeking Someone to Restore Vintage Telephones (Peppajax@aol.com) Email on a Boat (Eric Friedebach) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2000 12:00:00 CST From: Patrick Townson Subject: What Have I Been Doing the Past Two Years I've been in a nursing home following my brain aneurysm. That, which was not at all a fun experience was combined with some legal problems compliments of my good friends in the Skokie, IL Police Department. Over all, it was a very hellish way to start the new millenium, or end the old one. I expect now that I am back to stay around, but you never can tell. The first half-dozen or so messages in this issue of the Digest were left in the queue when I made my hasty departure back on May 14, 2000. I've redated them and inserted them in this issue with my apologies for their tardy appearance. Given a few issues to get my brain exercised a little, things should get back to normal for me. I'm going to be gathering up all the messages you posted during my absence and posting them in the archives as soon as I can. Thanks for your support over the past twenty years or so and in particular the past year and a half more or less. Patrick Townson ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 12:23:53 -0700 From: John Shaver Subject: Non Long Distance Calling Feature Pat, I have that service on my data line. It does not permit me to call 800 numbers. Now this may be US West/Qwest's own technic, but it worked in Mountain Bell also. John ------------------------------ From: A. E. Siegman Subject: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 12:30:30 -0700 Organization: Stanford University Is there a standard telco service such that incoming calls to a certain number will ring two or more lines at two or more different locations (within the same area code, but not the same building or centrex system) and allow the call to be answered at any one of these locations? (I realize, I just should call my local telco and ask them about this, but I'm away from my home location on travel at the minute, and if anyone on this group has familiarity with such a service, I'll appreciate any information you can supply.) siegman@stanford.edu ------------------------------ From: walker@icircus.net Subject: Pay Phone Numbers Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 18:12:39 GMT I'm working on a project to demonstrate to the people that I work for that a database of pay phone numbers cross referenced to their location is something that can be done. To do this I'm building a sample database and I need a list of phone numbers and location. The list doesn't need to be anywhere near complete just enough just to show that it can be done without the database growing out of control. Does anyone know where I can get such a list? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 11:52:21 -0400 From: Fred Goldstein Subject: Re: Automatic Electric? L. Winson asks, > Does Automatic Electric still exist? If not, does GTE still manufacture > phones or switching systems? If not, when did they discontinue? Several years ago, GTE sold 80% of AE to AT&T. The joint venture was named AG Communications Systems. Lucent now owns all of it, or will imminently, and AGCS is still in business as a division of Lucent. It is a sales channel to the "independent" telcos (non-Bell, which includes GTE only until the Verizontal anschluss is done) and it also makes a few neat products, like Roameo and SuperLine. GTE has no manufacturing left (AFAIK), having sold AE, Sylvania and Government Systems (the latter to General Dynamics, so now it's GD-CS, maker of serious crypto boxes). ------------------------------ From: tknab@nyx.net (Terry Knab) Subject: Re: If No LD Carrier Can We Call 800/877 Organization: The Home Office Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 04:09:20 GMT Ed Ellers wrote: > PAT, the TELECOM Digest Editor, noted in reply: >> Yes, you will be able to use toll-free services, since the other end is the >> one paying for the call. However, telco will still charge for having 'none' >> as your carrier choice. Not as much as a carrier listed as default, but >> something. > 57 cents/month, last time I looked. So far I haven't found a better > deal for my mother (for 1+ service) than just paying this and using a > 101-XXXX carrier (in her case 101-0432, which comes from Quest and > charges 7 cents/minute off-peak with no minimums or monthly fees). And I've totally scrapped ld on my home phone (basically got sick of paying ATT's BS monthly fees) and now make all my ld calls from my cell phone. (Verizon sells me a plan with free ld anywhere in the US) Terry E. Knab News/Acting System Administrator Nyx Public Access Unix ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 13:41:33 -0700 From: bellaire@tk.com (James Bellaire) Subject: Lying About Al Gore Organization: WinStar GoodNet, Inc. It was some time ago in the past, and Gordon S. Hlavenka wrote in comp.dcom.telecom: > I, for one, miss the eighteen-paragraph "Moderator's comments" > that should be appended to these posts. Be careful what you wish for ... James Bellaire ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 16:15:12 +0400 From: Hugh Barr Subject: Telegraph History Hi Patrick, I have just been reading Don's excellent article on the history of submarine cables. I came across it in my search for the history of a particular cable laid in 1864 between Europe and India via the Persian Gulf. Lots of people make fleeting references to it but I can get no substantial information. One source on the history of Oman says for example: "communications services can be said to begin with schemes to link India to Europe via a submarine cable connected to Muscat and onwards to Bushire in 1859. Following the failure of the first Red Sea Telegraph in 1860, a new line was proposed from Egypt to Aden, up the coast to Muscat and to Cape Mussandam and was agreed in 1868." Another short quote talks of the Indo European Company formed in Germany in 1868 to set up a new cable to replace: "communications provided by the Turkish state landlines which ran from Constantinople to Fao in the Persian Gulf via Baghdad." Don's article in the Digest indicates that Siemens in Germany was in a race to reach India overland while Charles Bright was trying to beat him with a submarine route. Who was Bright and in what year did this take place? Can you or any Digest readers help me sort this out? Hugh Barr ------------------------------ From: stuartfanning@hotmail.com (Stuart Fanning) Subject: SIM cards in US Cell Phones Date: 9 Jan 2002 00:58:03 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Unlike here in the UK and other parts of Europe, US Cell Phones do not have an inter-changeable SIM card. I take it that it is built into the actual handset, and cannot be changed by the consumer. Is this the case? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 12:22:26 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Gates Opens Windows to Wireless Gates Opens Windows to Wireless By Andy Patrizio LAS VEGAS -- Microsoft chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates kicked off the 2002 Consumer Electronics Show Monday evening with a trio of announcements for connecting wireless devices to Windows XP computers. The new technologies extend the company's vision of integrating mobile devices with desktop PCs. As is usual with any Gates announcement, Microsoft software is at every point in the connection. ... http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,49558,00.html ------------------------------ From: bruce.nalepka@prgx.com (bruce13) Subject: California Telecom Taxes Info Needed Date: 8 Jan 2002 11:50:06 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hello. I am newly employed as an telecom auditor. We sign up companies and work on a contigency basis ... if we find billing errors, we get to keep part of the claim. Does anybody know of a good web site link that would provide state by state information on telecom service tax. For example, I have a pile of wireless invoices with California sales taxes, such as 911 tax, High Cost fee tax, Excise tax, and something called a TRS charge. Where can I verify what percentage of usage can be billed by a service provider for each individual tax? ------------------------------ From: juan_alessandri@hotmail.com (John Alexander) Subject: Ringback on Panasonic DBS Date: 8 Jan 2002 13:26:33 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ The PBX is a Panasonic DBS 576. A PRI ISDN is configured for DID. Callers receive no ring back when calling DID numbers. Who is supposed to provide the ringback, the PBX or the CO? Thanks for any suggestions ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 16:37:53 -0500 EST From: AP Subject: Re: Recherche infos sociales Pour infos, Voici un lien qui devrait repondre a un grand nombre de vos preoccupations : AP > -----Message d'origine----- > De : ptownson@lcs.mit.edu > mardi 17 decembre 2001 15:17 > : ap.sarl@freesurf.fr > Objet : Recherche infos sociales > Je recherche des infos sur : Grille salariale, Primes, Preavis, > Conges, Accords sur les 35 heures... Merci ------------------------------ From: WKeight@aol.com Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2002 16:56:50 EST Subject: Microwave Towers on Nantucket Are there any microwave towers on the island of nantucket? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 22:38:41 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Three in One - Handspring Treo Three in one Meet the innovative force behind the new Handspring Treo, which combines PDA, wireless Internet access and a mobile phone. Vanessa Hua, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, January 6, 2002 A set of glass cases in Handspring's headquarters shows off not its successes, but its rejects. Along a corridor on the second floor, foam core and cardboard prototypes reveal the progression of its handheld devices -- screens oriented vertically and horizontally, antennas hidden and stubby, different constellations of buttons, convex versus concave shapes, and other what might have beens. Yet these dead ends speak to why Handspring is respected by its employees, consumers and industry analysts alike: What the Mountain View company values in design is refined -- again and again. Out of this evolution sprung Handspring's Visor line, which features an expansion slot; the VisorPhone, the first mobile phone attachment for personal digital assistants, or PDAs; and now the Treo, which combines wireless Internet access, an electronic organizer and a mobile phone. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/01/06/BU190190.DTL ------------------------------ Date: 5 Jan 2002 08:29:19 -0000 From: nur10@lovemail.com Subject: How to Reach Blocked Sites Please help me; how can I see blocked sites. _______________________________________________________________ Get FREE Email, Chat Rooms and Games at http://www.Lovemail.com ------------------------------ From: Peppajax@aol.com Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 12:50:31 EST Subject: Seeking Someone to Restore Vintage Telephones I'm looking for someone who restores vintage telephones. Actually, I have a (around 1940s) Western Electric 300 series telephone. I'm trying to find out how to repair it. I can receive a dial tone but, I can't dial out or hang it up. The handset is there as well as all the other pieces. I was wondering if there was some type of diagram for the wiring available or even a clear picture of the inside of a working 300 series telephone. I can't tell from the website if you restore old phones or not. I appreciate any help that you can give. If this is not something that you do, please excuse this email and I'm sorry for taking up any unnecessary time. Thank You. ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 20:21:41 -0600 Subject: Email on a Boat A friend of mine would like to be able to send and receive email while on his 40' trawler anchored offshore in the Southern California area. A cell phone using WAP would not really be useful since he wants to use a Windows machine (and I have never heard a kind thing about WAP anyway). Basically, I can envision two methods: Either a connection via cell phone to an ISP; -or- One of the new DirecWay 2-way satellite dishes. Both have their good and bad points. Perhaps someone here on the list has had some experience with a situation such as this, or an idea we have not though of. Eric Friedebach Get your own FREE Web and POP E-mail Service in 14 languages at http://www.zzn.com. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #117 ****************************** TELECOM Digest Thu, 10 Jan 2002 00:18:18 EST Volume 20 : Issue 118 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Joseph Singer) Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (Gail M. Hall) RE: TELECOM Digest V20 #116 (clowe@ofda.net) ATIS/INC Release Final Recommended Plan for Expanding NANP (Kevin Brewer) Re: California Telecom Taxes Info Needed (Scott) News Item- Wireless Security - Models, Threats and Solutions (CTO) ICB HeadsUp Headlines For January 10 (Judith Oppenheimer) Help Needed - NEAX 242 SDS (doctor_pippo) FS Tellab Shelf 291/292R 819291 (tony) Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Phone (user1) Yet Another One of Those Messages (mail02744@pop.net) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. --------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Joseph Singer Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 15:58:53 -0800 Organization: Drizzle Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On 9 Jan 2002 00:58:03 -0800, stuartfanning@hotmail.com (stuartfanning) wrote: > Unlike here in the UK and other parts of Europe, US Cell Phones do not > have an inter-changeable SIM card. I take it that it is built into the > actual handset, and cannot be changed by the consumer. Is this the > case? Not true. GSM providers in the US such as VoiceStream, a T-Mobile International company, Cingular and soon AT&T use the same GSM as they do in Europe and in Asia and use the same interchangeable SIM cards. North American GSM is at 1900 Mhz as opposed to 900 and 1800 Mhz as is used in Europe, the Middle East and Australasia. If one has a tri-band handset you can travel world-wide with the same service and the same number. North American GSM was later coming into the game than Europe with its mandated implementation of GSM, but it's rapidly vamping up with players such as AT&T and Rogers/AT&T in Canada implementing GSM systems. Personal replies are likely not read. Please reply in the newsgroup. ------------------------------ From: Gail M. Hall Subject: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 19:09:10 -0500 Reply-To: gmhall@apk.net I've been wondering if the ringer on a digital wireless phone gives off magnetic fields when it rings. I sometimes carry floppy disks in my bag for my digital camera. If I also carry my digital wireless phone in my bag, will the magnetic waves from the phone ringing damage the floppy disks? By the same token, will magnetism from other sources damage the information in the wireless phone's memory, such as my phonebook and phone preferences? If so, what is a safe distance? My phone is a Nokia 6185, and I didn't see anything in the booklet about this subject. Gail from Ohio USA ------------------------------ From: clowe@ofda.net Subject: Re: Email on a Boat Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 17:56:20 -0500 Your friend wants Inmarsat. See http://217.204.152.210/news_story.cfm?id=167 > From: Eric Friedebach > Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 20:21:41 -0600 > Subject: Email on a Boat > A friend of mine would like to be able to send and receive email while > on his 40' trawler anchored offshore in the Southern California > area. A cell phone using WAP would not really be useful since he wants > to use a Windows machine (and I have never heard a kind thing about > WAP anyway). Basically, I can envision two methods: > Either a connection via cell phone to an ISP; > -or- > One of the new DirecWay 2-way satellite dishes. > Both have their good and bad points. Perhaps someone here on the list > has had some experience with a situation such as this, or an idea we > have not though of. ------------------------------ From: Kevin Brewer Subject: ATIS/INC Release Final Recommended Plan for Expanding NANP Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 17:45:06 -0500 Dear Pat and the Rest of the Telephone Enthusiasts Community, I don't know how many of you have noticed it yet, but a couple days ago I happened to see that the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions and the Telecommunications Industry Numbering Committee had released their final Recommended Plan for Expanding the Capacity of the NANP on December 13, 2001. It is located at the URL http://www.atis.org/pub/clc/inc/nanpe/NANPExpansionRecommendation.doc . Sincerely, Kevin J. Brewer ------------------------------ From: Scott Subject: Re: California Telecom Taxes Info Needed Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 13:28:30 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com The CA Commission's website is a good place to start: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/ Every state commission has one. Here is a list: http://www.naruc.org/resources/state.html bruce13 wrote in message news:telecom20.117.10@telecom-digest.org... > Does anybody know of a good web site link that would provide state by > state information on telecom service tax. For example, I have a pile > of wireless invoices with California sales taxes, such as 911 tax, > High Cost fee tax, Excise tax, and something called a TRS charge. > Where can I verify what percentage of usage can be billed by a service > provider for each individual tax? ------------------------------ Reply-To: CTO From: CTO Subject: News Item- Wireless Security - Models, Threats and Solutions Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 20:08:00 -0500 Organization: INFOSEC Technologies, LLC Hi Patrick, I am proud to announce the publication of my newest book, "Wireless Security: Models, Threats and Solutions" by McGraw-Hill Telecom Professional Books, 2002 [ISBN: 0-07-138038-8]. The safeguarding of information traveling over wireless technology is perhaps one of the most important and contentious challenges that security managers face. We must protect the individuals' privacy and balance it with the interests of public safety and government interests. Moreover, business costs associated with providing the appropriate security measures are often substantial. They can be difficult to justify to our management. "Wireless Security" effectively covers a huge range of technologies and their associated vulnerabilities: satellites, telephones systems, WLANs, WAP, WTLS, Bluetooth, speech cryptology, cryptographic security, m-business, E2E, wireless information warfare, and embedded security designs with FPGAs and ASICs. "Wireless Security" addresses evolving security concerns by providing deep insights in a readable and effective manner. We have taken the approach of best practices to present our material - a balanced identification of state-of the-art technologies combined with a systems approach to the problem of wireless communications security. I am most grateful to my colleagues and students for their dedicated assistance and research. My best to all, Randall K. Nichols Professor, The George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) Washington DC USA & Chief Technical Officer INFOSEC Technologies, LLC Cryptographic / Anti-Virus / Anti-Hacking Computer Security Countermeasures Carlisle PA USA Visit our website: www.infosec-technologies.com Email: cto@infosec-technologies.com Voice: 717-258-8316 Fax: 717-258-5693 Mobile: 717-329-9836 ------------------------------ From: j.oppenheimer@att.net (Judith Oppenheimer) Subject: ICB HeadsUp Headlines for January 10 Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 01:40:29 +0000 http://ICBTollFreeNews.Com HEADS UP HEADLINES from ICB Toll Free News - Covering the Political, Legal and Marketing Arenas of 800, ENUM and Dot Com. WELCOME BACK PAT! The Digest has not been the same sans your inimitable and euridite editing - you've been sorely missed. Happy New Year - Welcome Home. CONTENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDING JANUARY 9, 2002 - NEUSTAR TRIMS BEEF, ADDS PORK - UDRP REDUX - THE PUBLIC INTEREST STANDARD: TOO INDETERMINATE TO BE CONSTITUTIONAL? - TELECOMS SKATING THIN REGULATORY ICE - QWEST CHAIR/CEO JOSEPH NACCHIO HEADS NRIC VI - SURINAME'S .SR THE LATEST CCTLD TO GO COMMERCIAL /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=-\ ENUM changes all the rules. Will you be ready? http://www.judithoppenheimer.com/enumsurvival.html \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=/ - VERISIGN SPENDS THE BIG BUCKS ON TELECOM - VERISIGN ACQUIRES THE .TV CORPORATION - ICANN, AUERBACH AND AL-QAIDA - FORBES IS THUMBS UP ON 1-800 CONTACTS - A TOLL FREE SHORTAGE WE'VE NOT - 1-800 US REWARDS - STUDY SUGGESTS NET GROWTH CHALLENGES TOLL FREE ____________________________________________________ ARTICLE ACCESS CODE LEGEND ICB Toll Free News offers two valuable service options: F = Free - News and Features articles P = Premium - Unlimited Site Access including all Articles and Documents. Registration information is not sold, leased or rented. *** For additional information about topics and stories, keyword search here: http://www.icbtollfree.com/Search.cfm. ICB PREMIUM SALE EXTENDED THRU JAN. 11! Read all articles, get full site access, for twelve months! CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5530 P - NEUSTAR TRIMS BEEF, ADDS PORK "... the company is taking a successful and profitable business and operation and plundering it to feed new business that the company thinks will have a bright future but which is very much untested." CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5557 F - UDRP REDUX Is ICANN unnecessarily re-inventing the legal system for the use of domain name disputes? CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5556 P - THE PUBLIC INTEREST STANDARD: TOO INDETERMINATE TO BE CONSTITUTIONAL? In today's environment of increasing "convergence," with competition emerging across communications sectors -- ENUM is a good example -- Congress should fulfill its responsibility to establish fundamental policy for an industry that is such an integral part of the overall economy. Congress should not wait to possibly be compelled by the courts to replace the public interest standard with more specific legislative guidance. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm? articleId=5555 P - TELECOMS SKATING THIN REGULATORY ICE Be candid with the public, its told, or risk more regulation. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5554 F - QWEST CHAIR/CEO JOSEPH NACCHIO HEADS NRIC VI NRIC VI will work on traditional reliability issues with a strong emphasis on national security. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5553 F - SURINAME'S .SR THE LATEST CCTLD TO GO COMMERCIAL A US-based company is marketing the ccTLD as the top level domain for businesses to use to reach Seniors. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5552 /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=-\ -- Lost and Stolen Number Retrieval -- ENUM Survival Strategies -- Crisis Resolution -- Vanity Number Issues, Guidance & Navigation -- Tollfree Number Traces -- Representation at SNAC, ENUM & ICANN Forums -- Strategic Leadership + Competitive Intelligence -- Custom Research Reports -- Custom Problem Solving: disputes, litigation support, RespOrg issues, etc. ICB Consultancy -- http://1800TheExpert.com \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=.=/ Looking for the best 800 and long distance rates available today? Choose from multiple programs - Rates as low as 2.9 cents per minute, with no monthly minimums or hidden service charges! Click here: http://WhoSells800.com \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/ P - VERISIGN SPENDS THE BIG BUCKS ON TELECOM VeriSign said it had agreed to pay about $340-million cash and stock to purchase H.O. Systems, which provides customer relationship services to wireless carriers. Last year VeriSign paid $1.2 billion for Illuminet, whose independent carrier-to-carrier switching network routes land-line and wireless calls and enables carriers to offer caller ID and other services. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5551 F - VERISIGN ACQUIRES THE .TV CORPORATION VeriSign paid $45 million in cash. The acquisition closed on December 31, 2001. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5550 P - ICANN, AUERBACH AND AL-QAIDA Would you feel comfortable stepping onto an airplane that had but one motor and but one pilot (and no co-pilot)? Many of us would consider that to be folly. So why are we running the Internet with only one DNS root? Particularly in light of a recent, ominous Canadian Government threat Analysis. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5549 F - FORBES IS THUMBS UP ON 1-800 CONTACTS This company is actually making a profit. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5545 P - A TOLL FREE SHORTAGE WE'VE NOT With enough toll free numbers to last until 2009, industry still seeks to spare out more 800-code numbers as "requests for assignment of these numbers are increasing." No doubt, given the lesser performance of non-800 code toll free numbers. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm? articleId=5547 P - 1-800 US REWARDS When it matters, its 800 and its Vanity: the U.S. State Department last month established a central toll-free telephone number -- 1-800 US REWARDS -- to help fight terrorism in "America's Most Wanted" style. Use of the 1-800 US REWARDS number is donated for the duration of the anti-terrorist campaign and investigation, to be returned on completion of the program. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5546 P - STUDY SUGGESTS NET GROWTH CHALLENGES TOLL FREE Growth in Internet usage and e-commerce sales, including Web site marketing, is slowing customer dependence on toll-free numbers, according to report. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5548 ICB PREMIUM SALE EXTENDED THRU JAN. 11! Order here, http://www.icbtollfree.com/order.cfm, today! EVERY 3.6 SECONDS SOMEONE DIES FROM HUNGER http://www.hungersite.com/ ABOUT ICB ICB HeadsUp Headlines is sent by request. Subscriptions to ICB HeadsUp Headlines are free to qualified applicants. Visit http://www.icbtollfree.com/reg.cfm?NextURL=Index.cfm to sign up. To unsubscribe mailto:editor@icbtollfree.com, subject: unsubscribe. (Unsubs are processed manually, approximately bi-weekly.) ADVERTISING For information on advertising in ICB HeadsUp Headlines, contact Vincent Lemma at Lake Interactive. Telephone: 914-925-2406 Email: http://www.roibot.com/w.cgi?R1764_LakIntEm Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. Copyright 2002 ICB, Inc. All rights reserved. ------------------------------ From: dpowell.st97@trinity.sa.edu.au (Doctor_Pippo) Subject: Help Needed - NEAX 242 SDS Date: 9 Jan 2002 18:13:53 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi all! I'm a complete novice, but I work for a business with a NEAX 242 SDS and no on-hold music. I'd like to fix that situation and have the standard calming music while clients are on hold, but I'm not sure where to start - I'm not a phone engineer. There's a standard audio jack hanging out of one of the Krone boxes the NEAX is hooked up to, and my guess is that that could be the one I need to connect to an audio source (CD Player). Am I wrong? Where should I be looking? I can't be bothered to ring the people who put the system in, because I'm sure there must be a very simple answer. Thank you for any help or advice you can offer. D. Powell ------------------------------ From: tonyS2@aol.com (Tony) Subject: FS Tellab Shelf 291/292R 819291 Date: 9 Jan 2002 19:23:43 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ 10 shelves 70+ modules Leave FAX no for list if interested. Tony ------------------------------ From: user1 Subject: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Telephone Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 20:43:06 -0800 Organization: Foothill.Net Is it possible to get a consumer type telephone system which has a local SMDR capabliity? I run a VERY small home business, and make lots of long distance calls. Don't need a switch, but just want to keep track of outbound calls, number called, date, time duration - basic statistics. Want to compare to telephone bill and track charges. Anything out there like that? Thanks. ------------------------------ From: mail02744@pop.net Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 23:21:17 -0600 Subject: Yet Another One of Those Messages... Welcome back, Pat. It's good to see you in print again. Wm ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #118 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Jan 10 22:25:21 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id WAA02049; Thu, 10 Jan 2002 22:25:21 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 22:25:21 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201110325.WAA02049@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #119 TELECOM Digest Thu, 10 Jan 2002 22:24:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 119 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Email on a Boat (John Bartley) Re: Email on a Boat (E. Cummings) Re: Email on a Boat (Kent Borg) Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer (Heywood Jaiblomi) Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer (John Tombs) Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer (Maurice) Network Installer-DS1/DS3/OC-3/Sonet (Patty Brletic) Re: Help Needed - NEAX 242 SDS (Ron Walter) Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Mark Crispin) Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Stuart Fanning) Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (Herb Stein) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: John_Bartley@orb.uscourts.gov Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 10:19:13 -0800 Subject: Re: Email on a Boat While waiting on Wed, 9 Jan 2002 17:56:20 -0500 in da vastness of space to hitch a ride w/ Galen, clowe@ofda.net wrote: > Your friend wants Inmarsat. See http://217.204.152.210/news_story.cfm?id=167 Whoa. Do celfons work where your friend anchors? If so, then he could get any CDMA celfon & cable it to a Wintel laptop.www.kyocera-wireless.com lists cables for their celfons, and samsung has cables for their SPH-i300 PalmPhone which, yes, does work as a CDMA modem for laptops as well as being a full PalmOS machine (in color, with the Blazer browser). In fact, the SPH-i300 far transcends WAP and allows 2way email. How simple can it be? See the Handheld's Cellular Data FAQ http://celdata.cjb.net and the Wireless FAQ for PalmOS http://palmwireless.cjb.net for more info - the latter reviews the SPH-i300. >> From: Eric Friedebach >> Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 20:21:41 -0600 >> Subject: Email on a Boat >> A friend of mine would like to be able to send and receive email while >> on his 40' trawler anchored offshore in the Southern California >> area. A cell phone using WAP would not really be useful since he wants >> to use a Windows machine (and I have never heard a kind thing about >> WAP anyway). Basically, I can envision two methods: >> Either a connection via cell phone to an ISP; >> -or- >> One of the new DirecWay 2-way satellite dishes. Not installable on a boat. FCC forbids non-stationary installs. >> Both have their good and bad points. Perhaps someone here on the list >> has had some experience with a situation such as this, or an idea we >> have not though of. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 13:51:44 -0500 From: E.Cummings Subject: Email on a Boat The least expensive solution for maritime email is Cruisemail, a HF SSB radio-based system http://www.cruiseemail.com/ if your friend already has an HF SSB marine radio on his trawler (likely) all he'll need is a special modem and a ruggedized PC. a good book on maintaining a pc on a vessel is PC's on Board by Rob Buttress. Unfortunately salt air, salt water, and computers don't mix well! If your friend doesn't already have marine a HF SSB radio, many amateur (ham) HF SSB radios can be easily modified to work on maritime frequencies, and cost about half the price of commercial rigs. Unless he wants to spend a fortune an a gyroscopically-controlled satellite dish, DirecWay is definately not the way to go (besides, he'd lose connectivity if he left the satellite footprint, which primarily covers *land* on north america.) Orbcomm http://www.magellangps.com/wireless/satcom.htm has a satellite-based system that doesn't require a dish antenna pointed at a geosynchronous satellite (it uses LEO satellites.) Another option is an Iridium satellite phone -- I heard they were trying to get back on their feet after declaring bankruptcy. A PC can be connected to some iridium phone models for email, and antenna-pointing isn't an issue either since it also uses LEO satellites. -Ed Cummings At 01:35 AM 1/10/02 -0500, you wrote: From: clowe@ofda.net > Subject: Re: Email on a Boat > Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 17:56:20 -0500 > Your friend wants Inmarsat. See http://217.204.152.210/news_story.cfm?id=167 >> From: Eric Friedebach >> Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 20:21:41 -0600 >> Subject: Email on a Boat >> A friend of mine would like to be able to send and receive email while >> on his 40' trawler anchored offshore in the Southern California >> area. A cell phone using WAP would not really be useful since he wants >> to use a Windows machine (and I have never heard a kind thing about >> WAP anyway). Basically, I can envision two methods: >> Either a connection via cell phone to an ISP; >> -or- >> One of the new DirecWay 2-way satellite dishes. >> Both have their good and bad points. Perhaps someone here on the list >> has had some experience with a situation such as this, or an idea we >> have not though of. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 10:56:33 -0500 From: Kent Borg Subject: Re: Email on a Boat On Thu, Jan 10, 2002 at 01:35:24AM -0500, clowe@ofda.net wrote: > Your friend wants Inmarsat. Maybe. Take a look at , it talks about various options for use at sea. But if your friend is close to shore ("40' trawler anchored offshore in the Southern California area"), look at land-based wireless options, like CDPD. Look at for a sense of what wireless data is available. A satellite dish intended for fixed land use is not going to work well on a boat, you want a satellite service intended for boats -- if you want satellite at all. -kb ------------------------------ From: heywood@gloucester.com (Heywood Jaiblomi) Subject: Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Telephone Date: 10 Jan 2002 21:44:59 GMT Organization: Uncle Heywood's Trousers of Fun user1@user1.net (user1) wrote > Is it possible to get a consumer type telephone system which has a > local SMDR capabliity? > I run a VERY small home business, and make lots of long distance > calls. > Don't need a switch, but just want to keep track of outbound calls, > number called, date, time duration - basic statistics. Radio Shack made one, at least in the 80's. looked like an adding machine, you plugged it on the line, it recorded every number dialed and you could enter a code after dialing to show which docket/client it involved. "I am NOT going to use a $20 million missle to blow up a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt." George Bush, Sept 16, 2001 ------------------------------ From: John Tombs Subject: Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Telephone Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 13:06:15 -0500 Organization: ECI Telecom Wire your phone through a modem, and use a TAPI application like PhoneMax to place your calls. John ------------------------------ From: Maurice Subject: Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Telephone Organization: IdentaFone Software Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 18:29:18 GMT user1 wrote: > Is it possible to get a consumer type telephone system which has a > local SMDR capabliity? > I run a VERY small home business, and make lots of long distance > calls. > Don't need a switch, but just want to keep track of outbound calls, > number called, date, time duration - basic statistics. > Want to compare to telephone bill and track charges. Multi-line Caller ID boxes from Whozz Calling, YES Telecom and Rochelle can detect and time outbound calls. They have an rs232 port to allow direct printing or a PC interface. http://www.callerid.com/ http://www.yes-tele.com/ http://www.rochelle.com/ A two line version would be an economical solution Maurice IdentaFone - Caller ID Software With Speech, Paging, Email, SMS forwarding http://www.identafone.com ------------------------------ From: pbrletic@comsys.com (Patty Brletic) Subject: Network Installer-DS1/DS3/OC-3/Sonet Date: 10 Jan 2002 14:06:23 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ COMSYS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, military status, or national origin or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or applicable local law. We are currently seeking two Network Installers for six month contracts with the worlds largest commercial satellite communications services provider located in Washington, DC. Responsibilities include inventory of equipment, definition of installation rack, cabling and other specifications, installation of cable, facilities layout, tagging of equipment, specification of power requirements, installation and labeling of patch panels, assembly and anchoring of equipment racks and cabinets, wiring of data port patch panels, installation or routers, multiplexes, and cross connect switches, installation of DS1, DS3, SONET, SDH circuits and fiber optic cabling, and testing of DS1 and DS3s. Requires 3 years of experience building out technical facilities, 3 years of experience documenting technical facilities and system layouts, knowledge of various cabling interfaces, the ability to multi task and work independently, experience with MS Office products, experience with Visio, and experience with web publishing tools, graphics programs. CAD experience is highly desirable. If interested, please contact Patty Brletic at pbrletic@comsys.com. ------------------------------ From: Ron Walter Subject: Re: Help Needed - NEAX 242 SDS Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 16:55:42 -0600 > I can't be bothered to ring the people who put the system in, because > I'm sure there must be a very simple answer. So can you be bothered to learn how to program a NEAX 242 SDS system to enable music on hold once you have made the right connections? I don't know about on that switch but in most cases it's more than just plugging in an audio device. Be bothered, call them. It's a lot less hassle to press a few digits on your keypad and let your vendors do the job. ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 22:57:20 -0800 Organization: Networks & Distributed Computing On Wed, 9 Jan 2002, Joseph Singer wrote: >> Unlike here in the UK and other parts of Europe, US Cell Phones do not >> have an inter-changeable SIM card. I take it that it is built into the >> actual handset, and cannot be changed by the consumer. Is this the >> case? > Not true. GSM providers in the US such as VoiceStream, a T-Mobile > International company, Cingular and soon AT&T use the same GSM as they > do in Europe and in Asia and use the same interchangeable SIM cards. However, it is the case that non-GSM phones (analog, TDMA, CDMA, iDEN) do not use SIM cards; instead, the handset is programmed. The handset's serial number (ESN, equivalent to the GSM IMEI number) is effectively the "password" for the phone number; a consumer using a non-GSM phone can not change his phone without negotiating an ESN change with the service provider. Some service providers, such as SPRINT PCS (CDMA), only permit handsets which they have sold, and lock out the handsets from reprogramming unless you know a secret code (similar to the SIM lock in the GSM world). Other providers will register any ESN from a compatible phone. None will register more than one ESN for the same phone number. Mark http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. ------------------------------ From: stuartfanning@hotmail.com (Stuart Fanning) Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones Date: 10 Jan 2002 04:25:38 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I have an LG Cell Phone on VERIZON. When the battry is taken off I cannot find a SIM card. Any suggestions? ------------------------------ From: Herb Stein Subject: Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism Organization: Access US Internet Services Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 08:08:01 -0600 "Gail M. Hall" wrote in message news:telecom20.118.2@telecom-digest.org... > I've been wondering if the ringer on a digital wireless phone gives > off magnetic fields when it rings. I sometimes carry floppy disks in > my bag for my digital camera. If I also carry my digital wireless > phone in my bag, will the magnetic waves from the phone ringing damage > the floppy disks? > By the same token, will magnetism from other sources damage the > information in the wireless phone's memory, such as my phonebook and > phone preferences? > If so, what is a safe distance? > My phone is a Nokia 6185, and I didn't see anything in the booklet > about this subject. > Gail from Ohio USA I've got a Nokia 5165. I charge the battery laying on my office desk next to the monitor. Just before the first ring, the monitor goes crazy. Lots of jitter. I'd guess that that trong of a magnetic field wouldn't be real good for a floppy disk either. I've never had anything affect the phones memory (except for an inept user). Herb Stein The Herb Stein Group www.herbstein.com herb@herbstein.com 314 952-4601 ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #119 ****************************** TELECOM Digest Fri, 11 Jan 2002 22:42:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 120 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson FCC Imposes $1,107,500 Fine (Jim Weiss) Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) (Fred Goldstein) Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Phone (Carl Navarro) X21 Over RJ45 (Jo) Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Jason Lindquist) Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Joseph Singer) Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (John Bartley) Re: Email on a Boat (Clarence Dold) Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (Kent Borg) Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (John R. Levine) Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (Stanley Cline) Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones (Paul Timmins) Re: City Identified on NPA-NXX List Does Not Exist (Carl Moore) Toll Free Number Can't be Reached From Your Area (Carl Moore) Re: Help Needed - NEAX 242 SDS (Justin Time) Need Help Finding Equipment/Source (John Meissen) Bitsurfer-Pro (was Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR)) (John R. Covert) LERG Portability Flags (Clarence Dold) No Third Party Billing the US? (Chris Kantarjiev) A Favorite Story Told Again: Information Please (Tom Z.) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: NBJimWeiss@aol.com (Jim Weiss) Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 15:12:20 EST Subject: FCC Imposes $1,107,500 Fine IN THE MATTER OF 21ST CENTURY FAX(ES) LTD. A.K.A. 20TH CENTURY FAX(ES) APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE. Imposed a $1,107,500 fine against 21st Century Fax(es) Limited for faxing unsolicited advertisements to consumers in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Commission's rules. Action by: Chief, Enforcement Bureau. Adopted: 01/09/2002 by Forfeiture Order. (FCC No. 02-2). Read these for details: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-02-2A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-02-2A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-02-2A1.txt From the Offices of: Network Brokers, Inc. Providing Long Distance Services for Less Jim Weiss, nbjimweiss@aol.com 305-252-1822; Fax: 775-796-9973; Miami Fax: 305-252-1823; ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 11:00:08 -0500 From: Fred Goldstein Subject: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) As the headline says, ATIS/INC has released their "Recommended Plan" for expanding the NANP. To no big surprise, it is the same plan that they have been talking about for years. It is not a very good plan. It is actually, IMHO, a rather poor plan. Its end state is to migrate all telephone numbers to a uniform 12-digit length. That aspect is bad enough. If you think 10-digit overlay dialing is bad now, you ain't seen nuttin' yet! You might be in North Dakota and have been dialing four digits to reach your neighbors until recently, but it'll be 12 for everyone under this plan. The transition is done by adding 0 0 (two zeros) in between the current NPA and current prefix. So I hereby dub this the (oh oh) Spaghetti-Os's Plan. [Americans may remember that ad campaign from a couple of decades ago. Other readers need merely know that a meme was planted in America's psyche by a repetitive TV ad campaign for a child-oriented foodstuff, pasta rings in sweet sticky red sauce, called Spaghetti-Os. It slogan was, "oh oh, Spaghetti Os!", and I'm sorry that I can't play the tune here in a text digest.] So after Spaghetti-O-izing, say, Moderator Pat's 630-841-7174, it'll be 6300-0841-7174. And that's before 1+ toll barrier dialing, which many states are likely to continue to require. The ATIS/INC report justifies this mess in the usual way. It creates two straw horses that it conveniently knocks down. The three options are a) Transition in one step, b) Add the 0 to the NPA first, and c) Add the 0 to the NXX first. Now for various reasons, methods b and c would need to be started much sooner (roughly 5 vs. 16 years from now), and would require two transitions to end up at the same place anyway. These are obviously bad ideas so QED plan a is the Right Answer. This of course disregards any plan that isn't based on Spaghetti-Os. What could have been done, or potentially could be done if the FCC doesn't sign off on this: We could develop a North American Numbering Plan that is not simply an extension of 1947's. We could have a plan that has a few features that are missing from Spaghetti-Os's: - transition back to 7 or 8-digit local dialing, - clearer distinction for special services like pay-per-call, nongeographic, calling-party-pays, switched data, network-specific numbers, and other things that come along. - wider toll-free space than 800(8000), 888...822, to make all toll free numbers more distinctive. - clear distinction between USA and non-USA (especially costly Caribbean) area codes. But those aren't handled here. ATIS/INC instead seems to represent a consensus view of the IXCs and ILECs, who are collectively looking out for themselves and look at consumers as a collective adversary (ratepayers). Their plan wouldn't fly in a free market, but because network numbering is arguably something that requires monopoly regulation, they can ignore alternatives that might impose slightly higher transitional costs upon themselves en route to consumer benefits. Two alternative plans are James Bellaire's (which gets to 8-digit local dialing by adding a 0 in front of the NXX) and my own (which is a more comprehensive rework of the NANP to be more functionally based), which is on the web at http://people.ne.mediaone.net/fgoldstein/NewNANP.htm . Comments welcome. ------------------------------ From: Carl Navarro Subject: Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR) For Consumer Home Telephone Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 01:49:14 -0500 Reply-To: cnavarro@wcnet.org On Wed, 09 Jan 2002 20:43:06 -0800, user1 wrote: > Is it possible to get a consumer type telephone system which has a > local SMDR capabliity? > I run a VERY small home business, and make lots of long distance > calls. > Don't need a switch, but just want to keep track of outbound calls, > number called, date, time duration - basic statistics. > Want to compare to telephone bill and track charges. > Anything out there like that? This might do the trick :http://www.callmgmtprod.com/prod07.htm They made a box called CallCost that was a 2 line unit that connected to a PC for downloading. You could chain up to 4 units together for 8 lines on one serial port. IIRC the box bufferfed a couple of hundred calls and tracked both inward and outward calls with accounting codes. The list price of the box is $289. I assume they still make it, even though it's not listed on the website's home page. Call Management Products is in Colorado and the 800 number listed is 800-245-9933. Carl Navarro ------------------------------ From: Jo Subject: X21 Over RJ45 Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 13:00:43 +0100 Organization: -= Skynet Usenet Service =- I got a 128k leased line which needs to patched over RJ-45 panels. I like to know which pin I got to take with me. I know 2-4-9-11 are TX and Rx but regarding the others, I've no idea ... keep in mind that I've only 8 pins on a RJ-45. Txs, Johan ------------------------------ From: linky@bad-ass-motherfucker.com (Jason Lindquist) Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones Organization: SETEC Astronomy Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 03:31:04 GMT An infinite number of monkeys masquerading as Stuart Fanning wrote: > I have an LG Cell Phone on VERIZON. When the battry is taken off I > cannot find a SIM card. Any suggestions? Give up. There is no SIM card on an IS-95/2000 CDMA phone. :-) Jason Lindquist <*> "Mostly though, I think it gave us hope, linky{at}see/figure1/net That there can always be a new beginning. KB9LCL Even for people like us." -- Gen. Susan Ivanova, B5, "Sleeping In Light" ------------------------------ From: Joseph Singer Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 07:19:01 -0800 Organization: Drizzle Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On 10 Jan 2002 04:25:38 -0800, stuartfanning@hotmail.com (Stuart Fanning) wrote: > I have an LG Cell Phone on VERIZON. When the battry is taken off I > cannot find a SIM card. Any suggestions? SIM cards are only on GSM phones. Verizon is not a GSM operator, but rather a CDMA operator so you will not find a SIM card. Personal replies are likely not read. Please reply in the newsgroup ------------------------------ From: John_Bartley@orb.uscourts.gov Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 09:31:58 -0800 Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones While waiting on 10 Jan 2002 04:25:38 -0800 in da vastness of space to hitch a ride w/ Galen, stuartfanning@hotmail.com (Stuart Fanning) wrote: > I have an LG Cell Phone on VERIZON. When the battry is taken off I > cannot find a SIM card. Any suggestions? You won't find it. Verizon is a CDMA carrier and LG celfons are CDMA. Only GSM celfons have SIM cards. See http:://celdata.cjb.net for details. ------------------------------ From: dold@58.usenet.us.com Subject: Re: Email on a Boat Date: 11 Jan 2002 17:41:57 GMT Organization: Wintercreek Data E.Cummings wrote: > an HF SSB marine radio on his trawler (likely) all he'll need is a special > modem and a ruggedized PC. a good book on maintaining a pc on a vessel is My brother has a cheap AT-clone on his 74 foot fishing boat. He uses it to log his tracks via GPS, and other miscellaneous chores. It's been there long enough that it is an 8MB 80286 running Windows 3.1. Maybe he avoids rough seas ;-) When I saw it, it didn't look particularly protected from the elements. Clarence A Dold - dold@email.rahul.net - Pope Valley (Napa County) CA. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 09:55:55 -0500 From: Kent Borg Subject: Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism In TELECOM Digest V20 #119 Herb Stein wrote: > I've got a Nokia 5165. I charge the battery laying on my office desk > next to the monitor. Just before the first ring, the monitor goes crazy. > Lots of jitter. I'd guess that that trong of a magnetic field wouldn't be > real good for a floppy disk either. I've never had anything affect the > phones memory (except for an inept user). I am guessing that is RF from the the phone's transmitter, not a powerful magnetic field. I get a similar (though less exciting) effect when my Palm VII is near my monitor and transmits. (And I hear funny noises on FM on my Sony ICF-SW100 when the Palm VII transmits right next to it.) I am thinking the Palm's carrier frequency is being unintentially demodulated down to monitor scan rates/FM radio freqencies by electronics in the monitor (and radio). I can also say that a cheap RF detector I have starts flashing its LEDs in the same circumstance (I.E. just before the phone rings). Fun/disturbing fact: I need to get a lot closer to the microwave here at work to make the RF detector go off than I do to my cellphone. kb, the Kent who would like to get access to field test screens in his current CDM9100SP Audiovox/Sprint PCS phone. ------------------------------ Date: 10 Jan 2002 23:10:50 -0500 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > I've got a Nokia 5165. I charge the battery laying on my office desk > next to the monitor. Just before the first ring, the monitor goes crazy. > Lots of jitter. I don't think that's a magnetic field, I think that's the TDMA signal that the phone's transmitting. Cell phones don't have magnetic ringers like traditional Bell phones do, so it's hard to see why they'd generate much of a magnetic field at all. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ From: Stanley Cline Subject: Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism Date: 11 Jan 2002 07:09:59 GMT Organization: roamer1.org, Dunwoody (Atlanta), GA, USA Reply-To: sc1@roamer1.org In article , Gail M Hall wrote: > I've been wondering if the ringer on a digital wireless phone gives > off magnetic fields when it rings. I sometimes carry floppy disks in > my bag for my digital camera. If I also carry my digital wireless > phone in my bag, will the magnetic waves from the phone ringing damage > the floppy disks? No. Cell phones don't emit magnetic fields (even when ringing); they emit RF. In general, RF from cell phones or anything else doesn't cause problems with magnetic media; cell phones just affect hospital telemetry equipment, Alcatel 600E switches, etc. ;^) > By the same token, will magnetism from other sources damage the > information in the wireless phone's memory, such as my phonebook and > phone preferences? Again, no -- and X-rays won't, either (I've put my cell phones in carry-on baggage at airport security checkpoints more times than I can count and my phones are still as good as new.) Stanley Cline -- sc1 at roamer1 dot org -- http://www.roamer1.org/ ... "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. There might be a law against it by that time." -/usr/games/fortune ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 05:26:56 -0500 From: Paul Timmins Subject: Re: SIM Cards in US Cell Phones At 10:25 PM 1/10/2002, Mark wrote: > However, it is the case that non-GSM phones (analog, TDMA, CDMA, iDEN) do > not use SIM cards; instead, the handset is programmed. The handset's > serial number (ESN, equivalent to the GSM IMEI number) is effectively the > "password" for the phone number; a consumer using a non-GSM phone can not > change his phone without negotiating an ESN change with the service > provider. > Some service providers, such as SPRINT PCS (CDMA), only permit handsets > which they have sold, and lock out the handsets from reprogramming unless > you know a secret code (similar to the SIM lock in the GSM world). Other > providers will register any ESN from a compatible phone. > None will register more than one ESN for the same phone number. This is not necessarily true. AT&T wireless will if you are doing a phone swap. When you activate your phone upon receipt the other phone continues to operate for a period of time. I am assuming this is an artifact in the system, but it can be done. When called both phones ring (this is inconsistent of course, it doesn't work reliably in the least). Anyway, for the most part you're right, but I thought you might find that tidbit of information interesting. Paul ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 11:52:21 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: City identified on NPA-NXX list does not exist "Marshall A. Levin" wrote in message dated 19 Aug 2001: > I have often wondered where identifier "Terrace, OH" came from. This is > what shows up on my phone bill when I call my parents (216-464-xxxx). This > is what is listed for 216-464 on many NPA-NXX lists. Clearly this is what > the phone companies think this place is called. www.thedirectory.org just now said "PEPPER PIKE (TERRACE)". There are several cases around the U.S. of nonpostal names being used, and there is a case somewhere near Cleveland of a BAINBRIDGE prefix which is not to be confused with the postal name Bainbridge, OH. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 12:14:15 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Toll Free Number Can't be Reached From Your Area Years ago, you probably remember that tollfree numbers (area code 800) were set up to work only from certain areas; a common case would be having a number work only from out of state, with in- state calls using a different tollfree number or a toll number. On Dec. 27, I dialed a tollfree number from a payphone in New York (Manhattan), and got a recording telling me what number to call in area code 212 (with me detecting between the lines that that toll- free number didn't work within the 212 area). ------------------------------ From: a_user2000@yahoo.com (Justin Time) Subject: Re: Help Needed - NEAX 242 SDS Date: 11 Jan 2002 12:22:09 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Ron Walter wrote in message news:... >> I can't be bothered to ring the people who put the system in, because >> I'm sure there must be a very simple answer. > So can you be bothered to learn how to program a NEAX 242 SDS system to > enable music on hold once you have made the right connections? I don't know > about on that switch but in most cases it's more than just plugging in an > audio device. Be bothered, call them. It's a lot less hassle to press a > few digits on your keypad and let your vendors do the job. Ah ... it's more fun to let them try it first and then spend four hours correcting their problems rather than the minimum T&M call to do it in the first place. ------------------------------ From: john@meissen.org Subject: Need Help Finding Equipment/Source Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 12:29:10 -0800 I have an EE friend who is doing power circuits for a remote facility, Somehow they dumped the data monitoring responsibility on him as well. Being that he's into power distribution he asked me to help. Of course, I'm a software type, so I don't know what I'm looking for either :-( Since this will go over the phone company wires my first thought was to ask the experts here. :-) Basically, we have a dedicated 4-wire circuit from Verizon. At each end we have some switches (4 or less) and we need to make the state of those circuits (open/short) available at the other end. I could probably come up with something kludgey, but this is a pretty trivial application. Seems like there ought to be something off-the-shelf to handle it. If anyone has a clue what I'm talking about and could point me in the direction of some answers I would greatly appreciate it. And welcome back, Pat. The place just hasn't been the same without you. john- john@meissen.org ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 16:34:20 -0500 EST From: "John R. Covert" Subject: Bitsurfer-Pro (was Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SMDR)) This may be a more elegant solution that what you need, but it's what I use. Order an ISDN line (without the data option, if you can convince them to take the order that way, but that's not important). Locate a BITSURFER PRO ISDN TA (hard, but not impossible, to find). Plan to use just the two RJ-11 jacks it provides. In our region, this gives you two independent POTS lines for just slightly less than the cost of two separate lines, and for significantly less if you order LATA-wide calling, since you pay for it once and get it twice. Hook a serial line up to the RS-232 interface. Enter the command AT@P1=M From then on, you'll get the following output any time a call is made (except the time stamps are added by my VMS system): 11-JAN-2002 09:07:16.59 PHONE:2,1;40,2; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:16.79 CALL:0,2;3,1;9,0;7,; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:17.57 PHONE:2,1;42,N; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:17.77 PHONE:2,1;42,P; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:17.97 PHONE:2,1;42,A; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:18.17 PHONE:2,1;42,N; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:18.37 PHONE:2,1;42,X; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:18.57 PHONE:2,1;42,X; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:18.77 PHONE:2,1;42,X; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:18.97 PHONE:2,1;42,X; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:19.17 PHONE:2,1;42,X; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:19.37 PHONE:2,1;42,X; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:19.56 CALL:0,3;3,1;8,2;9,63;7,08010NPANXXXXXX; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:19.62 CALL:0,99;3,1;6,0;7,08010NPAXXXXXXX;10,0; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:19.65 CALL:0,4;3,1;8,8;9,1;7,08010NPANXXXXXX; 11-JAN-2002 09:07:27.49 CALL:0,5;3,1;4,NPAXXXXXXX; ... 11-JAN-2002 11:37:32.54 PHONE:2,1;40,1; 11-JAN-2002 11:37:21.49 CALL:0,0;3,1;6,0;9,63;7,; The 2,1;40,2 message is "off-hook", the 2,1;42 messages are the dialed digits, the 0,3 message is the acceptance of the call by the C.O., the 0,99 is probably DMS-100-specific, the 0,4 is the beginning of ringing, the 0,5 is the answer supervision, the 2,1;40,1 is the on-hook, and the 0,0 is the call going idle. There are other messages (including caller-id) for incoming calls, busy signals, etc. Most are fairly obvious. By default, it monitors the first SPID. AT*>Cn switches from the current SPID to SPID n. I wish it could monitor both at the same time. Here's a summary of what I know about the command set: AT@P1=M enables monitoring output from the selected port AT*>Cn selects port 1 or 2 for monitoring and control commands AT*@P1=N disables hook-switch recognition, automatic ringing, etc. AT*@P1=F reenables hook-switch recognition, automatic ringing, etc. Some of the commands work with F left on, others require being in N mode. In the output messages, the call appearance is in element 3. AT*I returns the status of all active call appearances AT*A/n answers the call currently ringing on call appearance n. AT*D can be issued with or without a dial string, and allocates a call appearance when issued AT*Dxxx/n sends additional digits to the digit receiver on call appearance n AT*H/n hangs up the call on call appearance n, or rejects an incoming call. AT*W/n puts call appearance n on hold. AT*R/n recalls call appearance n. AT*C/n attaches a three-port bridge to call appearance n. You then use AT*R/n commands to bring a new party into the conference. AT*K/n drops the most recently added bridged call on call appearance n AT*X/n seems to be the same as AT*H/n (both effect a transfer if bridged) if you find something unique about this, tell me. AT*T7/0 supplies call waiting tone to the selected port AT*T64/0 begins ringing, normal cadence, on the selected port AT*T65/0 begins ringing, double cadence, on the selected port AT*T66/0 begins ringing, triple cadence, on the selected port AT*T79/0 cancels ringing The Bitsurfer-Pro is a wonderful toy, and I haven't seen anything else as cool on the U.S. market. john ------------------------------ From: dold@85.usenet.us.com Subject: LERG Portability Flags Date: 11 Jan 2002 21:50:06 GMT Organization: Wintercreek Data Looking at my LERG 7, I see "SOF-38_LNP" indicating capability for LNP, as either "X" or "-". In LERG 6, I see "PORTABLE", with either "Y" or "N". I'm confused by the mismatches. What do these fields indicate? I wanted to know if a switch was non-LNP portable (I suppose primarily Wireless carriers), to know if I could port a number to mys switch. PORT LNP Count N - 50124 N X 11428 Y - 192 Y X 87898 Clarence A Dold - dold@email.rahul.net - Pope Valley (Napa County) CA. ------------------------------ From: Chris Kantarjiev Subject: No Third Party Billing the US? Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 10:46:48 -0800 Organization: Internet Software Consortium I seem to recall that there is some (tariff?) restriction in the US that prevents wireless carriers from charging for third party services and incorporating that in the wireless bill. That is, it's not legally possible to deploy an application where a cell phone carrier pays for a coke via their wireless phone and wireless bill. Is this true? If so, could someone please point me at a reference/detailed discussion? Thanks, chris ------------------------------ From: Tom Z. Subject: An Old Story Told Again: Information Please Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 22:43:19 GMT Organization: Hubris Communications (hubris.net) [TELECOM Editor's Note: This story was originally printed here in TD in 1985. I don't recall how often it has been used here, but it hasn't been now for a few years at least, so I'll let Tom Z tell it again and let the other NG take credit for it. PAT] Copied from another NG. When I was very young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well, the polished old case fastened to the wall and the shiny receiver on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother would talk to it. Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person and her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. "Information Please" could supply anybody's number and the correct time. My first personal experience with this genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement. I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible but, there didn't seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give me sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger finally arriving at the stairway, the telephone! Quickly, I ran for thefootstool in the parlor and held it to my ear. "Information Please," I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear. "Information." "I hurt my finger" I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enoughnow that I had an audience. "Isn't your mother home? came the question. "Nobody's home but me," I blubbered. "Are you bleeding?" the voice asked. "No," I replied. "I hit my finger with a hammer and it hurts." "Can you open your icebox?" she asked. I said I could. "Then chip off a piece of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice. After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me that my pet chipmunk, which I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts. Then there was the time Petey, our pet canary died. I called "Information Please" and told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual thing grown ups say to soothe a child. But, I was inconsolable. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?" She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "You must remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow, I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone. "Information Please". "Information," said the now familiar voice. "How do you spell fix?'" I asked. All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and somehow I never thought of trying the tall, new shiny phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy. A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half-an-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then, without thinking about what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please." Miraculously, I heard the small clear voice I knew so well. "Information." I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?" There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must be healed by now." I laughed, "So it's really still you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?" "I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls." I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister. "Please do," she said. "Just ask for Sally." Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, "Information." I asked for Sally. "Are you a friend?" she said. "Yes, a very old friend," I answered. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said. "Sally had been working part time in the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago." Before I could hang up she said, "Wait a minute. Are you Paul?" "Yes." "Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called when she was too sick to work. Let me read it to you." The note said, "Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean." I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That story, although good and very inspirational, has been around *s-o-o-o* long. When I first used it here in 1985 or so, it was old then. Still, it is always a good reminder of how the 'telephone company' used to be in the old days. Ask any long time operator, if any are still around. They can tell you a dozen stories like this. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #120 ****************************** TELECOM Digest Sat, 12 Jan 2002 12:55:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 121 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: No Third Party Billing the US? (Linc Madison) Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) (Phil McKerracher) Advice Required for Setting up Call Centre (Rajkumar) Re: Toll Free Number Can't be Reached From Your Area (Steven Lichter) Re: Email on a Boat (Marcus Didius Falco) Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (David Clayton) Re: Need Help Finding Equipment/Source (David Clayton) I'm Looking For an Old Phone's Manual (Hesam) Re: X21 Over RJ45 (Ken) European Mobile Users Hit by Text Message Swindle (Danny Burstein) Last Laugh! Urgently Reply and Indicate Your Private Telephone No. (Juel Karim) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Linc Madison Subject: Re: No Third Party Billing the US? Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 01:03:19 -0800 Organization: MindSpring Enterprises In article , Chris Kantarjiev wrote: > I seem to recall that there is some (tariff?) restriction in the US > that prevents wireless carriers from charging for third party > services and incorporating that in the wireless bill. > That is, it's not legally possible to deploy an application where a > cell phone carrier pays for a coke via their wireless phone and > wireless bill. > Is this true? If so, could someone please point me at a > reference/detailed discussion? I certainly *HOPE* it's true! A telephone is a telephone. A credit card is a credit card. I don't want the ability to speak into my credit card, and I don't want the ability to pay for things with my telephone. I may use the credit card to pay for the telephone call, but there is no reason I should have the ability to pay for something other than telephone calls with the telephone. If I can pay for a snack from a vending machine with my telephone, where does it stop? "Honey, the rent is due and I can't find my cellphone!"? So, in answer to those TV commercials with the tag line "wouldn't it be great?" I give a resounding "NO!!" At the VERY least, my provider had better give me the option to block all such charges from my phone, or I will find another provider. LincMad dot Com * North American Telephone Area Codes & Splits Preferred Reply Address: Telecom # LincMad * Com Unsolicited bulk e-mail will be reported to your admin or upstream. ------------------------------ From: Phil McKerracher Subject: Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) Organization: blueyonder (post doesn't reflect views of blueyonder) Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 14:52:38 GMT Fred Goldstein wrote in message news:telecom20.120.2@ telecom-digest.org ... > ...We could develop a North American Numbering Plan that is not simply an > extension of 1947's. We could have a plan that has a few features that are > missing from Spaghetti-Os's: > - transition back to 7 or 8-digit local dialing, > - clearer distinction for special services like pay-per-call, > nongeographic, calling-party-pays, switched data, network-specific numbers, > and other things that come along. > - wider toll-free space than 800(8000), 888...822, to make all toll free > numbers more distinctive. > - clear distinction between USA and non-USA (especially costly Caribbean) > area codes... From my (European) perspective, the importance of having a clear distinction between toll-free and premium-rate numbers is obvious, and in the UK we have endured a series of number changes during the last decade to achieve this. The importance of 8-digit local dialing and geographically-specific area codes is less obvious. Mobile phones are more popular here, and all calls to and from them must include the full "area" code. Also, most businesses have toll free or "local rate" numbers (starting 0800 or 0845) that can be called from anywhere in the country, and can even be used to call international destinations, including Australia (e.g. see www.telediscount.co.uk). So location-based tariffs are disappearing and most numbers are 11 digits or more. America will probably go the same way eventually. It's no big deal - if anything, people are probably dialling fewer digits on average because they program common numbers into a memory. Incidentally, untimed tariffs are beginning to appear here (at last!) so before too long it's quite possible we will pay a fixed monthly subscription, with the whole of Europe a "local" call. Phil McKerracher www.mckerracher.org ------------------------------ From: gcs@bgl.vsnl.net.in (Rajkumar) Subject: Advice Required for Setting up Call Centre Date: 11 Jan 2002 21:01:03 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi All, I have ample, unutilised office space which I want to use it for setting up a call-centre training center. I am told it is a flourishing business nowadays. Can anybody provide me some valuable technical inputs, syllabus, investment required, infrastructure required, training material or free sites from where I can download from for Voice Call centers, for training and benchmarking. What are the quality processes involved ??? I shall be highly obliged if you could please provide me with all the information I had asked for at your earliest possible convenience directly to my email-id which is gcs@bgl.vsnl.net.in Hope you will do the needful. Regards, Rajkumar ------------------------------ From: stevenl11@aol.com (Steven Lichter) Date: 12 Jan 2002 05:12:43 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Subject: Re: Toll Free Number Can't be Reached From Your Area cmoore addressed the group thusly, > On Dec. 27, I dialed a tollfree number from a payphone in New York > (Manhattan), and got a recording telling me what number to call in > area code 212 (with me detecting between the lines that that toll- > free number didn't work within the 212 area). Any 800 service can be set up most any way. Some years ago I had an 800 number set to my BBS phone number so that owners of the BBS prrogram I owned could call for support without having to make a long distance call. I had it set up for areas of the country and only those could call. Later on I had it set so that no calls could be made to it from a payhone; I got a lot of wrong numbers and most were from those and since it was a computer there was no need; I also had New York City blocked since I had a problem with a hacker there and a lot of fraud. Now that the system is linked to the net direct there is no need for the 800 line. Apple Elite II 909-359-5338. Home of GBBS/LLUCE, support for the Apple II 24 hours 2400/14.4. An OggNet Server. The only good spammer is a dead one!!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 02:02:24 -0500 From: Marcus Didius Falco Subject: Re: Email on a Boat > Your friend wants Inmarsat. See http://217.204.152.210/news_story.cfm?id=167 >> From: Eric Friedebach >> Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 20:21:41 -0600 >> Subject: Email on a Boat >> A friend of mine would like to be able to send and receive email while >> on his 40' trawler anchored offshore in the Southern California >> area. A cell phone using WAP would not really be useful since he wants >> to use a Windows machine (and I have never heard a kind thing about >> WAP anyway). Basically, I can envision two methods: >> Either a connection via cell phone to an ISP; >> -or- >> One of the new DirecWay 2-way satellite dishes. >> Both have their good and bad points. Perhaps someone here on the list >> has had some experience with a situation such as this, or an idea we >> have not though of. Inmarsat has the best data service, particularly at higher speeds. The TV networks use them. Consider Iridium. Probably cheaper. $1000 for the phone and $20/month for service. plus $1.49/minute for originating calls; receiving is free. However, Iridium has a maximum speed of 2400 for data. Globalstar is faster for data, but there are holes in its coverage, and these may include areas where your friend wants to go. Prices about the same as Iridium. In Europe, Asia, and Africa, thuraya has GSM phones that also work with their satellite. But they have no coverage in the western hemisphere. I don't know their rates. ------------------------------ From: David Clayton Subject: Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 19:36:31 +1100 Organization: Customer of Connect.com.au Pty. Ltd. Reply-To: dcstar@acslink.net.au johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) contributed the following: >> I've got a Nokia 5165. I charge the battery laying on my office desk >> next to the monitor. Just before the first ring, the monitor goes crazy. >> Lots of jitter. > I don't think that's a magnetic field, I think that's the TDMA signal > that the phone's transmitting. Cell phones don't have magnetic > ringers like traditional Bell phones do, so it's hard to see why > they'd generate much of a magnetic field at all. The speaker has a significant magnetic field which can quite easily wipe the magnetic stripe on your credit card if you unfortunate enough to get them too close together, (don't ask me why I know this ... :-( ). Regards, David Clayton, e-mail: dcstar@acslink.net.au Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Dilbert's words of wisdom #18: Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. ------------------------------ From: David Clayton Subject: Re: Need Help Finding Equipment/Source Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 19:36:31 +1100 Organization: Customer of Connect.com.au Pty. Ltd. Reply-To: dcstar@acslink.net.au john@meissen.org contributed the following: > Basically, we have a dedicated 4-wire circuit from Verizon. At each > end we have some switches (4 or less) and we need to make the state of > those circuits (open/short) available at the other end. I could > probably come up with something kludgey, but this is a pretty trivial > application. Seems like there ought to be something off-the-shelf to > handle it. > If anyone has a clue what I'm talking about and could point me in the > direction of some answers I would greatly appreciate it. I remember seeing equipment a few years which converted "dry contact" inputs to data for remote PBX alarm monitoring, etc; these may be exactly what you need. These things could be programmed to dial out when particular conditions occurred (alarm data string received, contact closed etc). I can't remember the names of the manufacturers but Switchview used to use them in conjunction with SMDR recording, possibly a web search will bring something up? Regards, David Clayton, e-mail: dcstar@acslink.net.au Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Dilbert's words of wisdom #18: Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. ------------------------------ From: hesam369@yahoo.com (Hesam) Subject: I'm Looking For an Old Phone's Manual Date: 12 Jan 2002 00:53:48 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi, I'm looking for a phone's manual.It's an old(at least before 1994)phone. It's a Panasonic EASA-PHONE Model KX-T2460. Can you help me where I can find it? THANKSALOT. ------------------------------ From: Ken Millar Subject: Re: X21 Over RJ45 Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 09:47:27 -0000 Organization: ntlworld News Service "Jo" wrote in message news:telecom20.120.4@telecom-digest.org... > I got a 128k leased line which needs to patched over RJ-45 panels. I > like to know which pin I got to take with me. I know 2-4-9-11 are TX > and Rx but regarding the others, I've no idea ... keep in mind that > I've only 8 pins on a RJ-45. X21 pin-outs (on a D15 connector) are - 1 Shield 2 Transmit data A 3 Control A 4 Receive data A 5 Indication A 6 Signal timing A 7 8 Ground 9 Transmit data B 10 Control B 11 Receive data B 12 Indication B 13 Signal timing B 14 15 As you can see, 8 wires aren't enough for all the lines. However, the Control and Indication lines may not be in use, or else they could be looped back at each end. Alternatively, you may consider using two separate links, with Transmit and Receive data on separate cables to reduce crosstalk. ------------------------------ From: dannyb@panix.com (Danny Burstein) Subject: European Mobile Users Hit by Text Message Swindle [Forward] Date: 12 Jan 2002 11:58:27 -0500 Found in alt.cellular.gsm. In <21l04uouukp5kr45n7qqo8u0p5j30kcbt0@4ax.com> Marcus Williamson writes: > http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/archive/11-1-19102-0-18-15.html > obile users hit by text message swindle - The Herald, Glasgow, UK > LORNA MARTIN > MOBILE phone users are being targeted by a text-messaging swindle > offering them the chance to win millions of pounds. > The scheme, which takes advantage of premium rate phone numbers, > involves unwitting customers being charged for receiving messages. > There are numerous legitimate "reverse charging services", such as > those offered by football clubs, which charge fans for providing them > with up-to-the-minute information about scores. (The article continues and explains that a bunch of not nice folk are sending out sms strings to mobile cellphones, and the recipients pay, big, for them. sigh.) > But in the latest hi-tech swindle, consumers are not informed they are > being charged for receiving messages and are able to "unsubscribe" > from the service only by getting a complete ban on the receipt of all > incoming texts. Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I wonder if this is a subsidiary operation of the Prince from Nigeria, whose message appears elsewhere in this issue? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 19:21:05 -0800 From: Juel Karim Subject: Last Laugh! Urgently Reply and Indicate Your Private Telephone Number FROM THE DESK OF PRINCE JUEL KARIM. OMPADEC HEADQUARTERS LAGOS - NIGERIA Dear Sir, I am the Chief Scribe of the Newly Constituted OMPADEC (Oil Minerals Producing Area Development Commission). This Commission was reconstituted in 1999 by the Federal Government of Nigeria as a result of consistent Environmental Neglect Agitated by the Oil and Minerals Producing States. This Commission received a budgetary allocation of US$1.5 Billion for Environmental Maintenance/ Management of Oil Producing State for the 1999/2002 Fiscal Year. In view of the present political situation in our country, I have agreed with my colleagues to withdraw the sum, of US$50m (Fifty Million United States Dollars). All modalities to ensure a hitch-free transfer of this fund into your account through the officials of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) have been properly worked out. NOTE: There is no risks or dangers involved. I have agreed with my colleagues that you will retain 30% of the total fund, my colleagues and I will take 60% while the remaining 10% is mapped out to cover the International and Local Expenses that might be incurred by both parties in the course of this transaction. If this proposal interest you of which I hope it would, please forward to me immediately the following. 1. Your Bank informations (where the money will be lodged) such as the bank name and address, the account number, Telephone and fax numbers of the bank. 2. Your Private Telephone, Fax and home number for easy communication. 3. Your full company name and address. As soon as we receive the above informations from you, we shall immediately file up application for approvals and payment shall follow as soon as possible. NOTE: I shall not contact another person till I hear from you. I therefore request you to please maintain top most confidential of this transaction because we are top Civil Servants and would not want our reputable image dented after putting in Eightheen years of active service in the government. Thanks. Best Regards, PRINCE JUEL KARIM. http://newJoke.com/ <--- J O K E S ! ! ! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Dear Prince, why should I have to call up to new.Joke.com when I can get all the laughs I want from you direct each day? I've already started looking for my bank routing number and account number, along with the bank's phone and fax number so you can get started dipping into it. Regards my private phone number, wouldn't you prefer the 800 number that's attached to my cell phone, so that not only can you call me with ease when you wish, but at no expense to yourself as well? Shall I tell SW Bell Telco to have the number honor calls coming from Nigeria? I would list the number here; but considering my posture regards toll-free numbers used on the internet, I'm not so sure that would be a wise idea. Not as wise as your idea for getting money, as outlined above. And regards your assurance of absolute privacy and your promise to contact no one else absolutely until I have provided you all the above info, I must say I have 'only' recieved ten copies of the above in the two or three weeks since I got back from the Sanitorium, so I have to assume you are trustworthy and above all, honest. Since I have many friends here who are total fools as you assume of me, I'm hoping by publishing your email here, they'll be encouraged to write to you and your post- master @37.com to express themselves. Readers: be sure to include all the information he requested when you write, including all your financial information, and any phone numbers where you can be contacted. Is anyone still editing the Business Directory these days. If so, be sure to include the Prince under the category 'fraud'. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #121 ****************************** Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 19:08:17 EST From: editor@telecom-digest.org To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #122 TELECOM Digest Sun, 13 Jan 2002 16:11:20 EST Volume 20 : Issue 122 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Nextel Taking Two-Way Radio Global (Monty Solomon) 3G by Any Other Name (Monty Solomon) ATT "Slams" Own Customers??? (Sally R) VOIP Anyone? Any Experiences, Info???? (vid2001) Suing Spammers (Tad Cook) How do Radios Work, in General (Mary Mathiasen) As a Matter of Fax, Company's Method of Polling Annoys (Monty Solomon) Re: LERG Portability Flags (Terry Kennedy) Re: Email on a Boat (Carlos) Re: ATIS/INC Release Final Recommended Plan for Expanding NANP (Al Gillis) Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (Gail M. Hall) Re: An Old Story Told Again: Information Please (Shalom Septimus) Re: Last Laugh! Urgently Reply and Indicate Your Private (Gail M. Hall) Re: Last Laugh! Urgently Reply and Indicate Your Private (Marcus Didius Falco) Still Another Laugh! Bulk Mail Friendly Hosting Needed (Host Seeker) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 14:51:17 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Nextel Taking Two-Way Radio Global By Reuters January 10, 2002, 1:50 p.m. PT CHICAGO--Nextel Communications customers may soon be able to use the two-way-radio feature on their cell phones to chat with colleagues around the world instead of just across the country. Nextel, the nation's fifth-largest wireless operator, and wireless technology companies Motorola and Qualcomm on Thursday said they agreed to develop a version of Nextel's proprietary feature based on Qualcomm's next-generation wireless network technology. The product would be available on a global basis. The agreement ensures that Nextel will be able to upgrade its networks with a global standard and still provide customers with its trademark two-way radio feature Direct Connect, which allows customers to communicate quickly with their co-workers. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-8434763.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 14:18:12 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: 3G by Any Other Name Mobile telecoms 3G by any other name Jan 10th 2002 | HONG KONG, LONDON AND SEOUL From The Economist print edition Does South Korea lead the world in third-generation mobile telecoms, or has it gone down a dead end? IN SOUTH KOREA, a new generation is shaking up social rituals. Twenty-something Lee Un Jong flips open her mobile phone, gets on to the Internet, and sends a photo of herself to a friend with a message suggesting that they go to the cinema. Within seconds, she receives an affirmative reply. Ms. Lee browses a few film reviews on her phone's tiny screen, then books two seats for "Moulin Rouge". There is no fumbling with credit cards; the tickets will be charged to her phone bill. http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=930233 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 20:03:54 -0800 (PST) From: Sally R Subject: ATT "Slams" Own Customers??? AT&T is up to all sorts of tricks lately. One of our clients, who uses Qwest for their local service (dialtone) also has DSL on one of their lines. They called one day to tell us their DSL service was down. Lo and behold, AT&T, through their local-service brand "Teleport," had surreptitiously changed this client's local service from Qwest to AT&T (Teleport). This broke their DSL service. It took almost a month to get things put back. In fact, the client had to go through the whole "winback" charade. The first bill from Qwest for their "new service" has almost a thousand dollars worth of service order charges which will have to be adjusted, and I'm sure there will be "problems" needing correction for months to come. According to Qwest, this is becoming very common. Qwest claims they must assume switching orders fed to them from third-party dialtone providers like AT&T are legitimate. But it all sounds a little too convenient to me. Washington State now requires LEC's to permit subscribers to institute a "Local Service Freeze" (like a PIC freeze, only for dialtone service.) Few other states have this provision. But what's to stop AT&T or its ilk from providing a fake document showing the subscriber agreeing to a fraudulent switch? ------------------------------ From: ramachandranvidya@hotmail.com (vid2001) Subject: VOIP Anyone? Any Experiences, Info???? Date: 12 Jan 2002 19:36:29 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Company A has 20 employees, currently has a fractional T1 for both voice and data, bills about $500 on voice and uses 768K in data. Would VOIP be feasible if not approachable technology for replacing the fractional T1? Question: Where is VOIP being deployed, what carriers offer the service, what is needed to use the service, any feedback from experiences?? I hear so much hype and have seen so much static information regarding the technology but have not seen or heard any companies that actually use it. Your feedback is appreciated. Vidya Ramachandran Telecom Agent ------------------------------ From: Tad Cook Subject: Suing Spammers Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 12:57:06 -0800 Didn't we have a discussion on this forum at one time about Bennett Haselton? Prominent story about him in Saturday's Seattle Times, with photo: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134390118_spam12m.html ------------------------------ From: Mary Mathiasen Subject: How Do Radios Work, in General? Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 19:13:44 -0600 Sir, I am looking for basic information about what makes radios work ( the guts) and then onto applications in a network. I am new to a company that uses radios to transmit information to lottery machines and I just want a working knowledge of what is happening. I appreciate any information you can give me. Thank you, Mary ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 13:49:02 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: As a Matter of Fax, Company's Method of Polling Annoys By Bruce Mohl, 1/13/2002 Kris Bieker-Brady until recently has been receiving a fax just about every week at her Milton home from a company asking her to vote on one hot-button issue or another. One week it was a poll on whether Harry Potter books should be banned in schools. The next it was whether three million Mexicans should be granted permanent residency in the United States. Gun control and Osama bin Laden have been favorite topics. "Your views are important. We make sure that decision makers are hearing them," said the faxes from 21st Century Faxes Ltd., which is based in London. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/013/business/As_a_matter_of_fax_company_s_method_of_polling_annoys+.shtml ------------------------------ From: Terry Kennedy Subject: Re: LERG Portability Flags Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 19:32:37 GMT Organization: Verio dold@85.usenet.us.com writes: > Looking at my LERG 7, I see "SOF-38_LNP" indicating capability for LNP, as > either "X" or "-". In LERG 6, I see "PORTABLE", with either "Y" or "N". > I'm confused by the mismatches. What do these fields indicate? I > wanted to know if a switch was non-LNP portable (I suppose primarily > Wireless carriers), to know if I could port a number to mys switch. Reading the spec: http://www.trainfo.com/products_services/tra/downloads/lerginfo.doc it seems as though "LNP" in LERG 7 indicates whether the switch feature load supports LNP messaging, while "PORTABLE" in LERG 6 indicates whether at least one number has been ported: "Portable: A "Y" in this field indicates that at least one line number in the NPA NXX may be ported. Porting of a line number in an NXX is the re- routing of an NXX from the switch the original NXX had been (and still is) assigned. Porting involves mapping the given line to a Location Routing Number (LRN) for routing the call (i.e. the basic a process involved with Local Number Portability (LNP)). (LERG6, Section 4)" "LNP: LNP (Local Number Portability) Capable signifies the switch is able to process SS7 LNP messages. (SOF Indicator)" Terry Kennedy http://www.tmk.com terry@tmk.com New York, NY USA ------------------------------ From: casolorz@hotmail.com (Carlos) Subject: Re: Email on a Boat Date: 13 Jan 2002 00:59:34 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ checkout http://www.loudpc.com it lets you access your email from your pc realtime. ------------------------------ Reply-To: Al Gillis From: Al Gillis Subject: Re: ATIS/INC Release Final Recommended Plan for Expanding NANP Organization: WebUseNet Corp. - "ReInventing The UseNet" Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 20:21:09 -0800 This is interesting, considering the extensive discussion on this topic a few months ago either here or on another newsgroup. As I recall, the "smart money" was betting on some other scheme! (A scheme besides adding one digit to the NPA and one to the present NXX or CO code). I'll be interested in learning what plans manufacturers and service providers are making. Although the change could be ~100 months away, it's never to early to start thinking, is it? I ran across a reference to this plan last week and asked my Sprint rep to inquire at Nortel as to their take on this. Al > Kevin Brewer wrote in message > news:telecom20.118.4@telecom-digest.org... > Dear Pat and the Rest of the Telephone Enthusiasts Community, > I don't know how many of you have noticed it yet, but a couple days > ago I happened to see that the Alliance for Telecommunications > Industry Solutions and the Telecommunications Industry Numbering > Committee had released their final Recommended Plan for Expanding the > Capacity of the NANP on December 13, 2001. > It is located at the URL > http://www.atis.org/pub/clc/inc/nanpe/NANPExpansionRecommendation.doc . > Sincerely, > Kevin J. Brewer ------------------------------ From: Gail M. Hall Subject: Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 19:29:37 -0500 Reply-To: gmhall@apk.net Thanks to all who have responded to my question. It sounds like there are some differences of opinion. I am not concerned with problems of going through airport checkpoints. I know my floppy disks survive that. I would probably turn off my wireless phone while I am in the process of going through there anyway because I wouldn't want to be bothered to answer it then anyway. Next time I turn on the phone I would see the icon for any messages left in the voicemailbox. I might leave it on, though, while going around other places, and I like the idea of being able to put the phone in my bag with my other stuff. I think it would be less likely to get banged and bumped than when it is clipped to my belt or a strap using the little clip thingie that I got with the accessory pack that came with my phone. On Sat, 12 Jan 2002 19:36:31 +1100, in comp.dcom.telecom, you (David Clayton ) wrote: > The speaker has a significant magnetic field which can quite easily wipe > the magnetic stripe on your credit card if you unfortunate enough to get > them too close together, (don't ask me why I know this ... :-( ). Writing from experience, I suspect. So the question is still open: how close is too close? Next: is there a phone holder that can keep the magnetism from going out and wiping the magnetic stripe/strip from credit cards or mucking up other magnetic media? Or is there a billfold/wallet for credit cards that has magnetic protection built in? It would be nice if they made credit cards with info strips that are a little less delicate, but that's for discussion on another list (comp.risks). Thanks again for all the responses. Gail from Ohio USA ------------------------------ From: Shalom Septimus Subject: Re: An Old Story Told Again: Information Please Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 01:03:00 -0500 Reply-To: druggist@pobox.com On Fri, 11 Jan 2002 22:43:19 GMT, in comp.dcom.telecom you wrote: (snip) > Another day I was > on the telephone. "Information Please". "Information," said the now > familiar voice. "How do you spell fix?'" I asked. Pat, that's an abridged version. In the one I read (can't remember where, my best guess is somewhere in my grandmother's vast pile of Reader's Digest back issues), his sister jumped out of somewhere and yelled Boo at him at this point, and he recoiled and yanked the earpiece out of the wooden box. A few minutes later, while he was standing there holding the earpiece and wondering if he'd killed Information, a phone repairman showed up, unsolicited, apparently having been sent by the operator, who was concerned about what was going on at the house. The repairman reconnected the earpiece and reassured the operator, but the narrator never did find out how to spell "fix". Which was why, when he called back all those years later, he asked her that. Nice to have you back. Shalom [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: *My* grandmother's vast pile of back issues of Reader's Digest was dated beginning in 1928 and went through 1945 or so. I think -- not certain -- I saw the story in one of those where the phone man came to the rescue and repaired the instrument only a few minutes after the child had 'killed' Information Please by yanking the cord. Maybe in the later recitations of the story someone thought it was unrealistic to expect the 'phone man' to show up at your house a few minutes after the operator sent him a request, so they decided to eliminate that part, to keep the story more truthful. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Gail M. Hall Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Urgently Reply and Indicate Your Private Telephone Number Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 19:29:40 -0500 Reply-To: gmhall@apk.net Welcome back, Pat! I love your answer to this guy! You wrote: > http://newJoke.com/ <--- J O K E S ! ! ! Apparently the "Prince" has a sense of humor. I'm not going to the newJoke site, though. It just might be infected. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Dear Prince, why should I have to call > up to new.Joke.com when I can get all the laughs I want from you > direct each day? I've already started looking for my bank routing > number and account number, along with the bank's phone and fax number > so you can get started dipping into it. Regards my private phone > number, wouldn't you prefer the 800 number that's attached to my > cell phone, so that not only can you call me with ease when you wish, > but at no expense to yourself as well? Shall I tell SW Bell Telco to > have the number honor calls coming from Nigeria? I would list the > number here; but considering my posture regards toll-free numbers used > on the internet, I'm not so sure that would be a wise idea. Not as > wise as your idea for getting money, as outlined above. And regards > your assurance of absolute privacy and your promise to contact no > one else absolutely until I have provided you all the above info, I > must say I have 'only' recieved ten copies of the above in the two or > three weeks since I got back from the Sanitorium, so I have to assume > you are trustworthy and above all, honest. Since I have many friends > here who are total fools as you assume of me, I'm hoping by publishing > your email here, they'll be encouraged to write to you and your post- > master @37.com to express themselves. Readers: be sure to include all > the information he requested when you write, including all your financial > information, and any phone numbers where you can be contacted. Is > anyone still editing the Business Directory these days. If so, be sure > to include the Prince under the category 'fraud'. PAT] This African "treasure" scam has been going around for several years now. According to our local newspaper, the messages have expanded to unsolicited fax messages and even to snail mail as well as e-mail. Even the characters vary. The most common is the widow of a former government official, but some purport to be from other former officials. Even the FBI knows about it, but apparently this scam is low on their priority list because the person I know who did call the FBI said they just tell callers it's a scam and don't ask for more details. Apparently the FBI agents don't think it's connected with al-Qaida, but I figure al-Qaida and other terrorist group members will use any and all kinds of scams to get more funding for their projects. Pat, you haven't lost your wit! Keep it up. :-) Gail from Ohio USA [TELECOM Editor's Note: If the 'African treasure' has been going around for several years, then it must almost be as old as that fraud I ran a couple days ago about the little kid banging his thumb and thinking the operator was going to give a tinker's damn about it. And as we found out in that story, she did just that. I did not think Nigerian fraud was so unique the FBI would take any interest in it. After all, the telephone company quit allowing credit card calls to Nigeria from pay phones many years ago, and whatever the phone company says is good enough for me. It took Sprint, MCI and the others many years (and several million dollars in fraud) to achieve Ma's wisdom on some of those topics, but they finally did. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 21:15:22 -0500 From: Marcus Didius Falco Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Urgently Reply and Indicate Your Private > FROM THE DESK OF PRINCE JUEL KARIM. OMPADEC HEADQUARTERS LAGOS - > NIGERIA > Dear Sir, > I am the Chief Scribe of the Newly Constituted OMPADEC (Oil Minerals > Producing Area Development Commission). > Is anyone still editing the Business Directory these days. If so, be sure > to include the Prince under the category 'fraud'. PAT] You really rate! The last Nigerian fraud I got was from a mere retired colonel, and I've never gotten one from a prince. The U.S. Secret Service has opened a file on the Nigerian frauds, and you can forward them there. 419.fcd@usss.treas.gov The FBI may be interested as well, but I don't have a specific address. I'm delighted that you're back. We've really missed you. I hope your return indicates you're having a complete recovery. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I'm glad to be back also. Its better I guess than pushing up daisies or being buried next to a tree where a dog comes along and hikes his leg every day. As a matter of fact, I am not -- or only in a negligible way -- any better than I was B.B.A. (before brain aneurysm). That was now a little more than two years ago, and I did get better for awhile, but the psychiatrist from the University of Kansas at Lawrence, KS employed by the Social Security people to examine my head said I would never get any better. I still am very slow and clumsy in my locomotion; I still have horrible instances of vertigo at distances more than six inches down. Social Security tosses a tiny pittance of remittance at me each month, assuming that will allow me to live in the style to which I was accustomed, B.B.A. I am only a shell of my former self on November 27, 1999; however I am a hundred percent improved over where I was at in February, 2000 when I came out of the coma. What scares me now a little is that I am fearful another ten or twenty years will go by, and I will have forgotten by that time what I used to be like, and just assume everything is 'normal'. When I was in the nursing home (well, that is what they called it) in Chicago all of last year, the staff would look at me very condescendingly and ask, "are you depressed?" and I would answer "yes ... wouldn't you be?" I'm writing my autobiographical account of life for me between February, 1999 and December, 2001, and you will get a chance to read it. Its already entitled "Genesis 39" and in the meantime, you can read that Scripture to get a general overview of my life for the past two years or so. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Host Seeker Subject: Still Another Laugh! Bulk Mail Friendly Hosting Needed Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 22:26:34 -0800 (PST) Hi, we are looking for an ISP that will host our websites that are promoted via spam mail. We will pay very good money for the trouble of dealing with the spam complaints and keeping us online as long as possible. If you can provide that kind of service or know someone, please email me at host_seeker@hotmail.com. Thanks. [HOST-101348] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Here is still another dreadful item of mail I received recently. Actually, it is *not* very funny at all, but with the way the net has become in recent years, I don't know what else to do but laugh about it. It does no good to rail about it; no one seems to care about anyone getting sued these days. I was amazed at how rotten things had gotten on the net in the short time I was gone. Everywhere you look, a pop-up window or worse. Oh well, that's all for this time around. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #122 ****************************** ----- End of forwarded messages From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Jan 14 11:30:46 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id LAA26449; Mon, 14 Jan 2002 11:30:46 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 11:30:46 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201141630.LAA26449@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #123 Status: R TELECOM Digest Mon, 14 Jan 2002 10:31:18 EST Volume 20 : Issue 123 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Update (Canada) #315, January 14, 2002 (Angus TeleManagement) Siemens Gigaset 2415 Question (Bob Fry) All That Dark Fiber (Tad Cook) Re: Email on a Boat (Dave Close) Re: An Old Story Told Again: Information Please (Jay R. Ashworth) Re: How Do Radios Work, in General? (Phil McKerracher) Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) (John David Galt) Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) (James Bellaire) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 10:08:34 -0500 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #315, January 14, 2002 TELECOM UPDATE published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 315: January 14, 2002 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** AT&T CANADA http://www.attcanada.com ** BELL CANADA http://www.bell.ca ** GROUP TELECOM http://www.gt.ca ** LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES CANADA http://www.lucent.ca ** PRIMUS CANADA: http://www.primustel.ca ** Q9 NETWORKS: http://www.Q9.com ** TELUS: http://www.telus.com ** UNISPHERE NETWORKS: http://www.unispherenetworks.com IN THIS ISSUE: ** Bell Raises $500 Million ** Pat Russo to Head Lucent ** CRTC Toughens Winback Rules ** Vancouver Telemarketer Collapses ** Bell Tests Multimedia Centrex Server ** Internet Providers Slam Rogers Ads ** Union Sues Telus ** Telesystem Buyback in Trouble ** Conference to Discuss Community Networks ** SaskTel to Offer TV Over DSL ** Mindready Buys Nortel Testing Operations ** Sprint Wins Vancouver Data Contract ** North-of-60 First Nation to Get High-Speed Internet ** Wi-LAN Wins $9 Million Order ** U.S. RIM Carrier Seeks Bankruptcy Protection ** Avaya Reports Falling Revenue ** Layoff Watch: 724 Solutions ** How to Get the Best Cellphone Deal BELL RAISES $500 MILLION: On January 8, Bell Canada sold $500 million worth of 10-year bonds, 25% more than originally projected. Most of the funds are to finance last year's purchases of wireless spectrum (see Telecom Update #269). Bell plans to raise another $300 million by the end of June. PAT RUSSO TO HEAD LUCENT: Lucent Technologies has named Pat Russo as CEO, replacing Henry Schacht, who will continue as Chairman for up to a year. Russo led Lucent's carrier networks division until April 2001, when she became President and COO of Eastman Kodak. CRTC TOUGHENS WINBACK RULES: CRTC Decision 2002-1 prohibits telcos from attempting to win back a residential customer for any service for three months after the customer has transferred local phone service to a different provider. For business customers, the winback prohibition applies, as before, only to primary phone service. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2002/dt2002-1.htm VANCOUVER TELEMARKETER COLLAPSES: GrowthExperts, which described itself as "the first proactive market maker for business-to-small- business sales," has closed its doors, throwing 490 people out of work. The company operated outbound call centres in Vancouver, Nanaimo, and Victoria; its biggest unsecured creditor is Bell Intrigna, owed $2.4 million. BELL TESTS MULTIMEDIA CENTREX SERVER: Bell Canada says that its "largest enterprise Centrex customers" will begin testing Nortel's Interactive Multimedia Server this month. The Voice over IP device provides a variety of new features including video calling and computer conferencing. INTERNET PROVIDERS SLAM ROGERS ADS: The independent members of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers say that Rogers Cable is illegally using its cable channels to promote its Internet service. They have asked the CRTC to stop the ads and order Rogers to give equal time to competitors. Rogers says the ads are allowable public service announcements about e-mail changes associated with the Excite@Home collapse. UNION SUES TELUS: The Telecommunications Workers Union, which represents 17,000 Telus employees, is suing the company to force disclosure about pension funds. The suits seek $460 million in damages, representing the union's estimate of the surplus in the funds. TELESYSTEM BUYBACK IN TROUBLE: Most holders of Telesystem International Wireless bonds have rejected a company proposal to buy back the debentures for 30% of their face value. The company has extended the offer to January 15. CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS COMMUNITY NETWORKS: The City of Fredericton, New Brunswick, is organizing Community Connect, a conference on how to develop and manage a community-owned broadband network, to be held in Fredericton April 29-30. http://www.connectconference.com SASKTEL TO OFFER TV OVER DSL: SaskTel has completed its test of TV delivered over phone lines and plans to launch commercial service this year (see Telecom Update #275). SaskTel is using technology from iMagicTV of Saint John, New Brunswick. ** iMagicTV reports September-October revenues of $337,000, compared to $803,000 the previous quarter and $2.2 million the previous year. Net loss: $4.1 million. MINDREADY BUYS NORTEL TESTING OPERATIONS: Nortel Networks has agreed to sell Montreal-based Mindready Solutions the instrument calibration and test process support activities related to Nortel's Saint-Laurent facility. SPRINT WINS VANCOUVER DATA CONTRACT: The City of Vancouver has awarded Sprint Canada a five-year contract to provide a data network linking the city's libraries, fire halls, and community centres. NORTH-OF-60 FIRST NATION TO GET HIGH-SPEED INTERNET: Quick Link Communications, Chevron Canada, and ADK Corporate Group have agreed to develop satellite- and wireless-based high- speed Internet access for the Acho Dene Koe band near Fort Liard, Northwest Territories. WI-LAN WINS $9 MILLION ORDER: Calgary-based Wi-LAN Communications has received a $9 million order for wireless broadband equipment from Wi-Comm United Communications of Beijing, China. U.S. RIM CARRIER SEEKS BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION: Motient, one of two network carriers that provide RIM Blackberry service in the United States, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Motient says that service will continue without interruption; it hopes to reorganize and emerge from protection by April. AVAYA REPORTS FALLING REVENUE: Avaya estimates revenue of US$1.3 billion for the last quarter of 2001, down 10% from the previous quarter and 28% from last year. LAYOFF WATCH -- 724 SOLUTIONS: 724 Solutions, which makes wireless-commerce software, says fourth-quarter revenue will be about 20% less than expected. It plans to lay off about 100 staff during the first quarter. (See Telecom Update #303) HOW TO GET THE BEST CELLPHONE DEAL: In the January issue of Telemanagement, John Riddell and Mike Dunne explain how to lay the groundwork for the best possible deal for corporate cellphone service. Also in Telemanagement #191: ** Ian Angus: "Who Put the Con in Convergence?" ** Henry Dortmans: "It's Telecom Tune-Up Time" ** John Riddell: "Nortel Seeks Better Ties to Enterprise Customers" Single copies of Telemanagement #191 are $75 each: call 905-686-5050 ext 500 and charge to Visa, American Express, or Mastercard. Save 49% with a 10-issue subscription -- go to http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm.html. HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca FAX: 905-686-2655 MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE Angus TeleManagement Group 8 Old Kingston Road Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7 HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web on the first business day of the week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: TelecomUpdate@add.postmastergeneral.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: TelecomUpdate@remove.postmastergeneral.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2002 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext 500. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ From: bobfry@e-mailanywhere.com (Bob Fry) Subject: Siemens Gigaset 2415 Question Date: 13 Jan 2002 14:06:24 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Have a Siemens Gigaset 2415 base and one additional handset with another ordered. Been using it for a year and thought I'd finally clear up some questions: The manual (not the greatest one written) says nothing about the item under Menu->Mobile->Local->Auto Call Accept. What is this? I'm still puzzled at their usage of Base when it comes to naming the handsets. In practice it seems each handset has two names, one set with Base which is display at "rest", the other with System which is displayed when using the Intercom functions. Can somebody explain this further? Thanks, Bob ------------------------------ From: Tad Cook Subject: All That Dark Fiber Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 18:51:56 -0800 Fiber-optic lines languish under scarred city streets By Alwyn Scott Seattle Times business reporter The 321 Hair Design salon stands at one of Seattle's busiest intersections. But rather than help business, the heavy traffic has chased away customers for more than a decade. The traffic is data, billions of Web pages, music files and phone calls pulsing through fiber-optic cable buried below Seneca Street between Third and Fourth avenues. With the fiber outside her door, Pam Thurston, 321's owner, could have created an online appointment book and beamed in movies for clients. But the salon isn't wired. Instead, it lost business as jackhammers ripped up the asphalt to install lines 28 times since 1990. "We get absolutely no benefit from it," Thurston says. Empty pipes Fiber-optic cable was the bold new promise of the 1990s, designed to link us at cyber speed. Goaded by ambitious forecasts, easy money and deregulation that opened the streets to all comers, telecom companies spent billions of dollars laying millions of miles of fiber cable to slake the thirst for high-speed Internet connections. But before they could hook the network to their customers, they ran out of money. Today an estimated 95 percent of that cable lies "dark", completely unused. Often just yards from the homes and businesses it was supposed to connect. After paying $1 million a mile or more to build their networks, many telecom companies are going bust and can't afford to wire the "last mile." http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134390552_darkfiber130.html ------------------------------ From: dave@compata.com (Dave Close) Subject: Re: Email on a Boat Organization: Compata, Costa Mesa, California Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 04:00:41 GMT dold@58.usenet.us.com writes: > My brother has a cheap AT-clone on his 74 foot fishing boat. I always heard those things were good as boat anchors ... Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA "Politics is the business of getting dave@compata.com, +1 714 434 7359 power and privilege without dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu possessing merit." - P. J. O'Rourke ------------------------------ From: Jay R. Ashworth Subject: Re: An Old Story Told Again: Information Please Reply-To: jra@baylink.com Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 06:40:08 GMT Organization: RoadRunner - TampaBay > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That story, although good and very > inspirational, has been around *s-o-o-o* long. When I first used it > here in 1985 or so, it was old then. Still, it is always a good > reminder of how the 'telephone company' used to be in the old days. > Ask any long time operator, if any are still around. They can tell > you a dozen stories like this. PAT] Yeah, but no one can pick 'em like you, Pat. Welcome back. Cheers, Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com Member of the Technical Staff Baylink The Suncoast Freenet The Things I Think Tampa Bay, Florida http://baylink.pitas.com +1 727 647 1274 I'm stranded all alone in the gas station of love, and I have to use the self service pumps. -- Weird Al Yankovic [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Regards 'picking em' it is just that I am better, I guess, at speed reading through 1940-50's back issues of Reader's Digest, that's all. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Phil McKerracher Subject: Re: How Do Radios Work, in General? Organization: blueyonder (post doesn't reflect views of blueyonder) Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 10:57:20 GMT "Mary Mathiasen" wrote in message news:telecom20.122.6@ telecom-digest.org: > I am looking for basic information about what makes radios work ( the > guts) and then onto applications in a network. I am new to a company > that uses radios to transmit information to lottery machines and I > just want a working knowledge of what is happening ... The best introduction I know of was published by the American Radio Relay League (see www.arrl.org). Phil McKerracher www.mckerracher.org ------------------------------ From: John David Galt Subject: Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 04:07:14 -0800 Organization: Diogenes the Cynic Hot-Tubbing Society Fred Goldstein wrote: > So after Spaghetti-O-izing, say, Moderator Pat's 630-841-7174, it'll be > 6300-0841-7174. And that's before 1+ toll barrier dialing, which many > states are likely to continue to require. It's worse than that. The first part of ATIS' document clearly points out that since new numbers would be allowed to begin with 0 or 1, all use of 0 or 1 before an area code would have to be eliminated (forcing all calls to be dialed as 10 digits, no more, no less) before permissive dialing of the new 12-digit numbers can even begin. > - wider toll-free space than 800(8000), 888...822, to make all toll free > numbers more distinctive. How about 800 + 9-digit numbers? Thus allowing the owners of 800 vanity numbers based on words of 9 or more letters to keep using them. (OTOH, 888 and 877 would be phased out, and 800-FLOWERS would have to put something in those two extra digits...) > - clear distinction between USA and non-USA (especially costly Caribbean) > area codes. There's no sensible way to do that without breaking up the NANP, since the non-US numbers are such a tiny fraction of the whole. Indeed, one of the things I found short-sighted about the ATIS plan was its attempt to allow for proposals to give Canada distinctive numbering within the NANP. > But those aren't handled here. ATIS/INC instead seems to represent a > consensus view of the IXCs and ILECs, who are collectively looking out for > themselves and look at consumers as a collective adversary (ratepayers). > Their plan wouldn't fly in a free market, but because network numbering is > arguably something that requires monopoly regulation, they can ignore > alternatives that might impose slightly higher transitional costs upon > themselves en route to consumer benefits. > > Two alternative plans are James Bellaire's (which gets to 8-digit local > dialing by adding a 0 in front of the NXX) and my own (which is a more > comprehensive rework of the NANP to be more functionally based), which is > on the web at http://people.ne.mediaone.net/fgoldstein/NewNANP.htm . > > Comments welcome. The "9 + 3" plan discussed here earlier makes MUCH more sense. The variable length plan I proposed earlier also would be an improvement. Neither requires any change to existing practices of 1+ or 0+ dialing, and neither requires elimination of the ability to dial local numbers without the area code (where not already eliminated by stupid US federal rules related to overlays). ------------------------------ From: bellaire@tk.com (James Bellaire) Subject: Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 12:07:50 GMT On Fri, 11 Jan 2002 11:00:08 -0500, in comp.dcom.telecom Fred Goldstein wrote: > As the headline says, ATIS/INC has released their "Recommended > Plan" for expanding the NANP. To no big surprise, it is the > same plan that they have been talking about for years. The good news that it is a recomendation and not stone chiseled. > Two alternative plans are James Bellaire's (which gets to > 8-digit local dialing by adding a 0 in front of the NXX) > and my own (which is a more comprehensive rework of the > NANP to be more functionally based), which is on the web > at http://people.ne.mediaone.net/fgoldstein/NewNANP.htm . The ATIS/INC plan ignores dialing. They assume that all will be dialing 10D numbers by their transition year (even though there are areas working hard against that) and don't show the dialing plan at all within their sketchy transition. Today 10D, Tommorrow 12D, with 00 or 10 or 01 or 11 inserted. Transition/Permissive period: 1 yr. Target: "nxxx-xnxx-xxxx" but will it be 1+12D dialing? Not answered by the plan, since they managed to write a numbering plan and not a dialing plan. I'd prefer to see these things covered even though dialing is not numbering. It is important. *If* this is accepted, then the current NANP needs to begin working toward the goal. James Bellaire http://telecomindiana.com/npax/ ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #123 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Jan 14 15:22:19 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id PAA02714; Mon, 14 Jan 2002 15:22:19 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 15:22:19 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201142022.PAA02714@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #124 TELECOM Digest Mon, 14 Jan 2002 15:22:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 124 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telegraph History (Don Kimberlin) Telegraph History Redux (Don Kimberlin) Re: No Third Party Billing the US? (Jay R. Ashworth) Re: Bitsurfer-Pro (was Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (Jay R. Ashworth) Re: 3G by Any Other Name (Alan Pritchard) Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations (Don Kimberlin) Re: Microwave Towers on Nantucket (Don Kimberlin) Re: LERG Portability Flags (Clarence Dold) Re: Last Laugh! Urgently Reply and Indicate Your Private Number (Don Kimberlin) Trouble Getting it all Together (TELECOM Digest Editor) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Don Kimberlin Subject: Telegraph History Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 12:25:18 -0500 In article ("Telegraph History" Hugh Barr (Hugh.Barr@zu.ac.ae) Wed, 09 Jan 2002 16:15:12 +0400) wrote: > I have just been reading Don's excellent article on the history of > submarine cables. I came across it in my search for the history of a > particular cable laid in 1864 between Europe and India via the Persian > Gulf. Lots of people make fleeting references to it but I can get no > substantial information. ...... > Another short quote talks of the Indo European Company formed in > Germany in 1868 to set up a new cable to replace: > "communications provided by the Turkish state landlines which ran from > Constantinople to Fao in the Persian Gulf via Baghdad." > Don's article in the Digest indicates that Siemens in Germany was in a > race to reach India overland while Charles Bright was trying to beat > him with a submarine route. Who was Bright and in what year did this > take place? Glad I happened back here after getting word that PAT was into the Digest fray again. It made me stumble upon Hugh's query. The history of how the telegraph spread across oceans is one that's often seen in fragmented and sometimes misleading, incomprehensible bits. Hugh has it right that two of the spearheads were in England and Germany. In fact, each was driven by a national manufacturer of the cables and hardware, who wound up owning the operating companies, too -- if only by shareholdings, so that the ownership was obscured. The German one was Siemens, which spawned a number of companies, the most familiar of which to us would be Deutsches Atlantische Telegrafaktiengesellschaft connecting Germany with America (which name I have probably just butchered, not being a student of German). Hugh has Indo-European's name correct in an anglicized form. Charles Bright was the technology and operating strength of the English company. The English company was a series of companies led first by John Pender, then his son. Pender got into the matter by founding the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, commonly called Telcon. The first business of Telcon's early companies was the manufacture of the very first submarine cables between America and Europe (actually Heart's Content in Newfounland and Valentia Island in Ireland, both of which have websites you can visit). They were generally called "The Eastern Telegraph" with a series of names and cables reaching first to the Mediterranean, then to India, then to Hong Kong, then Singapore and finally to Australia, with legs off to South Africa and other parts of Queen Victoria's British Empire. Bright's combine dated to an 1852 company called the Anglo-Irish Magnetic Telegraph, that had emerged from the first 1851 success at spanning the English Channel with telegraph cable linking France and England. There were numerous short cables linking offshore islands with England (and similar links in other countries), until the Crimean War brought a significant technology step into warfare. The British laid a telegraph cable across the Black Sea, for the first time putting commanders into immediate contact with their front-line forces. It is difficult for us to imagine today what a step increase this brought to the speed of warfare. It changed the reaction time between assaults from days and weeks when using messengers to hours using electrical communications. In America, Abraham Lincoln was the first President to have "telegraph trains" that ran lines right along with his armies as they marched through the Confederacy, giving him immediate contact with his commanders in the field. That made Western Union one of the most successful and powerful companies America ever knew. Governments soon realized the advantages and became early adopters - and in most cases, owners as they also wished to control it! Charles Bright (and Marconi in his way) constantly had governments trying and ultimately succeeding in usurpation of their pioneering work. Pender's Telcon was involved in 1857-58 as the supplier to the first failed attempts at laying a cable across the Atlantic. The profitability and growth of shorter cable system sales made it possible for Pender to be a major investor in the 1865 founding of the Anglo-American Telegraph Company that finally spanned the Atlantic in 1866. (I'm proud to own a 6 inch piece of that very cable - the first successful electrical link across the Atlantic Ocean!) Based on that success Pender formed the British Indian Submarine Telegraph Company in 1869, and completed an all-cable route to India in 1870 -- an unheard-of speed of construction for that point in history. (In 1872 British Indian became part of The Eastern Telegraph, which reached onward to British Asia and the Pacific.) Meantime, by 1877, the new Eastern Telegraph Company had a 60% share of traffic to India and 80% share to China, Java and Australia. Germany's Indo-European landline route was left with the minority remainder - plus the maintenance expense of landlines that suffered all manner of insult from a variety of thieves and vandals. In 1877, the British and German companies entered an agreement to share traffic routes -- an agreement that lasted until 1914 and the outbreak of WWI. The submarine cable was definitely a superior technology for spanning long distances and international boundaries. If one sees maps of the world dating from the period, submarine cables can be seen looping around the continents of Africa and South America, because laying an underwater cable was the fastest, most economical, reliable way to establish and maintain the world's earliest international telecom links. John Pender's Telcon enjoyed a large portion of that business, and Charles Bright was his technology hand in making it happen. Up to the time of WWI, the telegraph was still the world's main means of international telecom, and Pender/Bright's Eastern Telegraph then owned 6 of the 9 routes to the Far East from Europe. Of course, the Indo-European land route became that of the Axis powers, while the Eastern Telegraph became that of the Allied powers during the war. After WWI, the German-instituted Indo-European landline telegraph was extended to England and became an English adjunct to Pender/Bright's Eastern Telegraph. But, by 1929, the next upstart technology, Marconi's "wireless," was so much more economically efficient than the cables that the British government had to merge Indo-European and Eastern Telegraph with its radio monopoly into a new Imperial and International Communications, which ultimately became the Cable and Wireless most of us know of today. Cost of operating the former Indo-European land route was so high that in 1931 its major portion between London and Teheran was shut down and in 1932 what had been Werner von Siemens' telegraph to India was liquidated. Today, you can still visit and see the physical footprints left by these giants of the first electrical communications, and for many of them, see websites that tell of the impacts they had on society and history. Perhaps the leading one is the actual world center of the Eastern Telegraph located just a scant half-dozen miles from Land's End at the southwestern tip of England. You can start with a virtual visit to: http://www.porthcurno.org.uk There is a growing list of websites, with information resources ranging from excellent to superb on the topics of both submarine cables and early wireless. You can find links to some of them on my personal web page: http://members.fortunecity.com/donkimberlin I hope this answers your question in a full and interesting way. ------------------------------ From: Don Kimberlin Subject: Telegraph History Redux Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 13:25:55 -0500 James Bellaire (bellaire@tk.com) Wed, 9 Jan 2002 13:41:33 -0700 wrote, in response to: > It was some time ago in the past, and Gordon S. Hlavenka > wrote in comp.dcom.telecom: >> I, for one, miss the eighteen-paragraph "Moderator's comments" >> that should be appended to these posts. > Be careful what you wish for ... > James Bellaire Hah! Well, you're right. I composed one. Now, let's see if PAT tolerates it for posting! ------------------------------ From: Jay R. Ashworth Subject: Re: No Third Party Billing the US? Reply-To: jra@baylink.com Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 16:21:16 GMT Organization: RoadRunner - TampaBay Last night, on Capitol Beat, Linc Madison, said: > In article , Chris Kantarjiev > wrote: >> I seem to recall that there is some (tariff?) restriction in the US >> that prevents wireless carriers from charging for third party >> services and incorporating that in the wireless bill. >> That is, it's not legally possible to deploy an application where a >> cell phone carrier pays for a coke via their wireless phone and >> wireless bill. > A telephone is a telephone. A credit card is a credit card. I don't > want the ability to speak into my credit card, and I don't want the > ability to pay for things with my telephone. I may use the credit card > to pay for the telephone call, but there is no reason I should have the > ability to pay for something other than telephone calls with the > telephone. > If I can pay for a snack from a vending machine with my telephone, > where does it stop? "Honey, the rent is due and I can't find my > cellphone!"? > So, in answer to those TV commercials with the tag line "wouldn't it be > great?" I give a resounding "NO!!" > At the VERY least, my provider had better give me the option to block > all such charges from my phone, or I will find another provider. On that point, I don't argue. But wireline carriers act as billing agents for third parties all the time, and for some people, it's quite a useful service. Customarily, of course, the third parties in question have some business relationship with both the billing telco and the end-client, and the item being billed for is telecom-related ... But if the client wants it, and the carrier is willing to accept it, why the hell not? Certainly, it should require a produceable order from the end-user (ie: if it's challenged, and the third-party can't produce an order, they have to rescind the charge) -- but the FCC already prohibits the *base service* from being affected by unpaid third-party charges, so what's the big deal, Linc? Cheers, Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com Member of the Technical Staff Baylink The Suncoast Freenet The Things I Think Tampa Bay, Florida http://baylink.pitas.com +1 727 647 1274 I'm stranded all alone in the gas station of love, and I have to use the self service pumps. -- Weird Al Yankovic ------------------------------ From: Jay R. Ashworth Subject: Re: Bitsurfer-Pro (was Re: Station Message-Detail Recording (SM Reply-To: jra@baylink.com Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 16:23:05 GMT Organization: RoadRunner - TampaBay Last night, on Capitol Beat, John R. Covert said: > The Bitsurfer-Pro is a wonderful toy, and I haven't seen anything > else as cool on the U.S. market. Apparently. Very cool. Thanks, John. Cheers, Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com Member of the Technical Staff Baylink The Suncoast Freenet The Things I Think Tampa Bay, Florida http://baylink.pitas.com +1 727 647 1274 I'm stranded all alone in the gas station of love, and I have to use the self service pumps. -- Weird Al Yankovic ------------------------------ From: apritchard@cix.co.uk (Alan Pritchard) Subject: Re: 3G by Any Other Name Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 18:05 +0000 (GMT Standard Time) Organization: Nextra UK Reply-To: apritchard@cix.co.uk In article , monty@roscom.com (Monty Solomon) wrote: > Mobile telecoms > 3G by any other name > Jan 10th 2002 | HONG KONG, LONDON AND SEOUL > From The Economist print edition > Does South Korea lead the world in third-generation mobile telecoms, > or has it gone down a dead end? > IN SOUTH KOREA, a new generation is shaking up social rituals. > Twenty-something Lee Un Jong flips open her mobile phone, gets on to > the Internet, and sends a photo of herself to a friend with a message > suggesting that they go to the cinema. Within seconds, she receives > an affirmative reply. Ms. Lee browses a few film reviews on her > phone's tiny screen, then books two seats for "Moulin Rouge". There > is no fumbling with credit cards; the tickets will be charged to her > phone bill. > http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=930233 Why would Ms. Lee /want/ to send a photo of herself to a friend she apparently knows well enough to go to the cinema with? Is her friend's short term memory that bad? Best wishes, Alan Pritchard The GLOBAL GAZETTEER: the world on file http://www.allm-geodata.com Tel: +44 (0) 1202 417 477 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I think the term 'friend' was being used in a very loose, liberal way. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Don Kimberlin Subject: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 13:35:46 -0500 A. E. Siegman (siegman@stanford.edu) Wed, 09 Jan 2002 12:30:30 -0700 wrote: > Is there a standard telco service such that incoming calls to a > certain number will ring two or more lines at two or more different > locations (within the same area code, but not the same building or > centrex system) and allow the call to be answered at any one of these > locations? That's a very old, very common offering that's been around as long as off premises "telephone answering services." The language your telco knows it by may be called "secretarial service," while the jargon of the gadget the plant man uses to do it is called a "bridge lifter." There is a caveat: If you buy it from the telco with their standard understanding of it, the "bridge lifter" will silence the line in the non-answering location; only one site at a time can hear and speak on the line because the bridge lifter will block the other. If you don't want that, be very clear in your description and your telco's understanding. (All sorts of consulting disclaimers apply when you go to negotiate with the telco on your own behalf. Don't blame me if you can't get them to understand you!) ------------------------------ From: Don Kimberlin Subject: Re: Microwave Towers on Nantucket Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 13:41:21 -0500 WKeight@aol.com Fri, 4 Jan 2002 16:56:50 EST wrote" > Are there any microwave towers on the island of nantucket? I don't know, but the people who frequent the following web page are very likely to know. They go around the country locating and documenting old Bell System microwave and coaxial carrier stations: http://www1.shore.net/~mfoster/LCXR.htm ------------------------------ From: dold@85.usenet.us.com (Clarence Dold) Subject: Re: LERG Portability Flags Date: 14 Jan 2002 18:49:30 GMT Organization: Wintercreek Data Terry Kennedy wrote: > dold@85.usenet.us.com writes: >> Looking at my LERG 7, I see "SOF-38_LNP" indicating capability for LNP, as >> either "X" or "-". In LERG 6, I see "PORTABLE", with either "Y" or "N". >> I'm confused by the mismatches. What do these fields indicate? I >> wanted to know if a switch was non-LNP portable (I suppose primarily >> Wireless carriers), to know if I could port a number to mys switch. > Reading the spec: > http://www.trainfo.com/products_services/tra/downloads/lerginfo.doc > it seems as though "LNP" in LERG 7 indicates whether the switch feature > load supports LNP messaging, while "PORTABLE" in LERG 6 indicates whether > at least one number has been ported: I read "may" differently than you did. I thought that meant the ability was there to allow porting. Your suggestion that the ability has been exercised is a different read. I'm leaning toward the flag in Lerg7, because that's a switch-by-switch, where Lerg6 is NPA-NXX, and if your supposition is right, I don't care if one has already been ported, I want to know if it could be ported. > "Portable: A "Y" in this field indicates that at least one line number in > the NPA NXX may be ported. Porting of a line number in an NXX is the re- > routing of an NXX from the switch the original NXX had been (and still is) > assigned. Porting involves mapping the given line to a Location Routing > Number (LRN) for routing the call (i.e. the basic a process involved with > Local Number Portability (LNP)). (LERG6, Section 4)" > "LNP: LNP (Local Number Portability) Capable signifies the switch is > able to process SS7 LNP messages. (SOF Indicator)" So the question is: If Lerg7 says the switch is capable, does it mean that it will honor a request for a number portation? Or might it still be blocked from porting a number away for some other reason. The only reason I was given was Wireless, but I'm not convinced there is any mechanical reason why I can't move a wireless number to my CLEC, other than the customer's obvious need to trade their cell phone for a land line. Clarence A Dold - dold@email.rahul.net - Pope Valley (Napa County) CA. ------------------------------ From: Don Kimberlin Subject:Re: Last Laugh! Urgently Reply and Indicate Your Private Telephone Number Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 13:55:27 -0500 In article by: Gail M. Hall (gmhall@apk.net) Sat, 12 Jan 2002 19:29:40 -0500 , PAT writes: > TELECOM Editor's Note: If the 'African treasure' has been going > around for several years, then it must almost be as old as that fraud > I ran a couple days ago about the little kid banging his thumb and > thinking the operator was going to give a tinker's damn about it. And > as we found out in that story, she did just that. I did not think > Nigerian fraud was so unique the FBI would take any interest in > it. After all, the telephone company quit allowing credit card calls > to Nigeria from pay phones many years ago, and whatever the phone > company says is good enough for me. It took Sprint, MCI and the > others many years (and several million dollars in fraud) to achieve > Ma's wisdom on some of those topics, but they finally did. PAT] In fact, PAT, there are literally dozens of Nigerian fraud schemes of this sort. All you have to do is get your name known by the wrong people in Nigeria and the letters will find you. I first got some that were carbon copies hand-typed on onion-skin paper almost 30 years ago. My brother- in-law in England got a phony order from Nigeria. I advised him to demand a confirmed, irrevocable, divisible letter of credit on the bank he named in England, and they were never heard from again. For those interested, a Google or similar search on the terms "nigerian" and "fraud" will show sites in a dozen government departments, urban legend sites and the US Chamber of Commerce that address the long and wide variety of Nigerian frauds. Now that they have the convenience of e-mail, the Nigerian fraud artists have a wider audience than ever. Please tell everyone about this menace. It really is much more a menace than a joke! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 14:42:11 EST From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Trouble Getting it all Together Somehow I did not manage to save a copy of issue 122 (issued Sunday). Would someone please send me a copy? Also, I have a boat load of messages, articles and back issues from the year and a half or so I was out of circulation. Would someone who is experienced and familiar with the Digest and the formatting of the archives and back issues like to as a project sort all these out into categories of 2000 and 2001 and organize them for the archives? Also needed is someone to look at each and every page at telecom-digest.org and identify the dead links on the various pages; the images borrowed from other sources which no longer work, etc. If a link is dead and you can track down where it is now, that will be appreciated. Also, if you prefer to read single messages rather than the Digest itself you can do this at http://telecom-digest.org/TELECOM_Digest_Online as each issue is released. Thanks for your help in getting this mess back in order. PAT ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #124 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Jan 15 15:24:19 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id PAA29394; Tue, 15 Jan 2002 15:24:19 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 15:24:19 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201152024.PAA29394@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #125 TELECOM Digest Tue, 15 Jan 2002 14:35:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 125 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Low Volume on Phone Line (Ken Mandelberg) Caller ID Devices (Don Russel) Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History (Steve Fleckenstein) Re: Telegraph History (Lyle Meier) Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) (Fred Goldstein) Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations (Pete Weiss) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: km@mathcs.emory.edu (Ken Mandelberg) Subject: Low Volume on Phone Line Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 16:16:45 UTC Organization: Emory University, Dept of Math and CS Reply-To: km@mathcs.emory.edu I have a phone line that has low volume no matter what phone I plug in. It happens to be a DSL line which is all copper to the CO, about 16K feet away. There is nothing wrong with my interior wiring. When DSL was installed they ran a new cat 3 from the Demarc and I can see low volume with a phone plugged right into the direct cable separated from the rest of the apartment wiring. I had a service call and the technician agreed the volume was quite low. However, he took some measurements and said it was within spec, and said there was nothing he could do. Its not clear what he measured or if he really knew what he was doing. Its been a while now, but I recall that what ever equipment he used for his measurement wasn't very fancy. I've tried a phone with some amplification in it, and this helps some. However, with the amplification comes distortion, and it doesn't help on the other side of the connection. I'm often told they have trouble hearing me. I would like to independently take some measurement that objectively confirms the problem. Any suggestions? Ken Mandelberg | km@mathcs.emory.edu Emory University | Dept of Math and CS | Phone: Voice (404) 727-7963 Atlanta, GA 30322 | FAX 727-5611 ------------------------------ From: Don Russell Subject: Caller ID Devices Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 17:08:47 GMT Organization: Road Runner Anyone have any suggestions as to where I can get a device that will: (I already tried sandman.com, close but not quite)) I'm looking for a device that will: (for a single POTS line) - connect between the main phone line coming into my home and the rest of the phone wiring; - suppress the first ring; - collect caller ID info; - "inject" the caller ID info back onto the house-side wiring between the 2nd and 3rd ring (so it looks like it's betwen 1st/2nd to house-side devices); - collect call waiting caller ID info; - have a serial port (or preferably an ethernet connection/"server") so a PC can collect the caller ID information; Nice-to-have, but not necessary: - collect outgoing dtmf; - provide call duration timings. Thanks very much, Don Russell ------------------------------ From: Steve Fleckenstein Subject: Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 08:23:42 -0500 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: Steve Fleckenstein Thought you might find this Cape Cod info interesting: Cape cable station tapped out history By JOHN LEANING STAFF WRITER ORLEANS - The telegraph key pads, polished by the nimble hands of operators, have been silent for 40 years, but at one time, the French Cable Station near the head of Town Cove in Orleans was the vital communications link between America and Europe. There is still enough draw from that history to attract a variety of visitors to the station, now privately owned and operated as a museum. His interest piqued by a newspaper article, Stephane Chmelewsky, the French counsel general in Boston, visited the facility yesterday and got a special tour. Inside the modest, one-story building on Route 28 is the now-outdated equipment that formed a crucial communications line across - and beneath -- the Atlantic Ocean, allowing near-instantaneous, two-way communication for the first time. "It is all extremely obsolete," said Gerald Downs, chairman of the board of directors of the non-profit corporation which owns and operates the museum, during a pause in yesterday's tour. "But in its day, it was state-of-the-art," said Downs, whose grandfather was a former station superintendent. Chmelewsky said he was impressed in particular with the condition of the various pieces of equipment used by the telegraph operators from 1890 until the station closed its doors and shut down the telegraph for good on Nov. 24, 1959. On a wall inside the museum is still hung a faded 1959 calendar, with Nov. 26 circled repeatedly in pencil. "Have a happy Thanksgiving. Station closed," was the final message sent out on the telegraph lines. In its heyday, the French Cable Station played a major role in a number of international news events. In November, 1898, as the east coast of the US was crushed by a major winter storm that wiped out almost all communication links, it was the French Cable station that first transmitted to the world the news that the coastal steamer Portland had sunk with hundreds on board. There were no survivors. That report, based on wreckage from the steamer and many bodies coming ashore on Cape Cod, was first relayed from the Orleans station to France, then back to New York via undersea cable. From there, telegraph operators alerted Boston. It took about five minutes for the message to make the trip across the ocean and back again. During World War I, Marines guarded the cable station as American forces in Europe used it to send secure messages to Washington. On May 31, 1927, it was via the French Cable Station in Orleans that the rest of the nation learned that Charles Lindbergh had done the unthinkable - flown solo from New York to Paris in his plane, "Spirit of St. Louis." And in the spring of 1940, the French end of the cable in Brest sent a terse message and then went dead. "Les Boches sont ici - The Germans are here," the message read, signaling the arrival of Nazi forces at the transmitter station in Brest. The station did not resume transmissions until 1952. Many of the men from St. Pierre-Miquelon, a small French-owned island complex south of Newfoundland, who came to Orleans when the new station was moved from the St. Pierre, put down roots. They are the Norgeots, the Deschamps and the Ozons whose descendents' names fill the Lower Cape telephone book. Although the station ceased operation in 1959, it wasn't until 1971 that a group of 10 local businessmen, assisted with donations from local citizens, managed to buy the building and land from the original owner, the French Cable Company. It seems the late French president Charles De Gualle adamantly refused to sell any French assets. When De Gualle died in 1971, the sale finally went through. The French diplomat yesterday laughed and said he did not know that story. "But it does not surprise me," he said with a smile. Although inoperative for 40 years, the transatlantic cable did not stop participating in history. According to museum literature, when the empty freighter Eldia came ashore on Nauset Beach in a March, 1984 gale, anchors desperately thrown overboard in hopes of keeping the ship off the beach snagged the old cable, and parts were later found tossed up on the beach by the storm surf. ---------------------------- The French Transatlantic Cable In the 1870's, several communication corporations were formed as speculative ventures. One such organization, the Compagnie Francaise du Telegraphe de Paris a New York, began in 1879 with the objective of laying a transatlantic cable. In Great Britain, the company was known as the P.Q. Company after its president, Monsieur Pouyer-Quertier. Shortly after its inception, the corporation settled on a route from Brest, France, to the island of St. Pierre in the Miquelon Island group and then to Cape Cod. Using a cable built in England by the Siemens Brothers and an American ship, the U.S.S. Faraday, the cable was laid in four months. It stretched 2,242 nautical miles across the Atlantic to St. Pierre and 827 nautical miles from there to Cape Cod. At the North Eastham terminal on Cape Cod, the company constructed a large building that served as a cable station. Here the messages were received in international code and, in turn, transmitted via an overland telegraph line to New York. The station had offices, quarters for the staff, and space for social gatherings. Because the cable arrived approximately two weeks before the structure was completed, office space was provided during that period in the basement of the Nauset Light Beach lighthouse keeper's dwelling. When the station was completed, the cable was transferred from the dwelling to the station. The married workers built homes near the cable station at Nauset Light Beach. These men, however, subsequently complained that the isolated location created a hardship on them and their families. The school that their children attended, churches, and stores were far from their homes. Building the Cable Hut Because of the workers' plight, the cable company decided to center its Cape Cod operation in Orleans, Massachusetts, and opened a new station house in March 1891. A cable from the old station at Nauset was laid across Nauset Marsh to the foot of Town Cove at Orleans and then to the new cable station house. Maintaining the large, old station merely as a connection point proved too costly, and, as a result, the Nauset station house was sold in 1893 to A. W. Reed. At the same time, a small hut that measured about ten by fifteen feet was constructed near the old station as a connecting point for the cable. That hut currently forms part of the structure known as the French Cable Hut. It was common practice to erect cable huts if the station house were set a distance back from the shore. When the hut was constructed, it had shingle siding on the exterior and cedar shingles on the roof. The inside was not finished, with the studs visible. It was devoid of furniture. Only a connection box, fixed to the corner of the southwest wall above where the cable entered the structure, occupied the room. The French Cable Company operated the cable until France surrendered to Germany in June 1940 during World War II. While that war continued and for several years thereafter, the cable hut stood vacant. In the spring of 1949, Alice Snow's husband, who worked for the company, went to the cable hut and found it padlocked. After making an inquiry, he found that the hut had been sold to Dorothy LePage in 1946 for nonpayment of property taxes, even though the cable company had never been notified of such action. Undersea Communications in General More than six hundred cables have been laid around the world. Between 1857 and 1928, 28 telegraph cables were placed across the North Atlantic between Europe and North America. After 1928, those cables which connected Europe and North America were designed for telephone use. The early cables ran between Great Britain and Newfoundland or Nova Scotia connecting overland to New York with two exceptions. An 1869 cable laid by the French Atlantic Telegraph Company connected Brest, France to Canada via St. Pierre Island and the Compagnie Francaise du Telegraphe de Paris a New York's 1879 cable connected Brest, France, to Cape Cod via St. Pierre Island. This was the first submarine cable to connect the United States to Europe. In 1897-98, the French Cable Company (Compagnie Francaise due Telegraphe de Paris a New York) laid the first cable directly between the United States and Europe. It ran 3,173 nautical miles from Brest, France, to Cape Cod. This second cable to Cape Cod did not pass through the cable hut. It went directly to the Orleans station. In 1899, a submarine cable was laid between the Orleans station and New York. The 28 submarine cables laid between North America and Europe from 1857 to 1928 are listed below. 1857 - Atlantic Telegraph Company 1858 - Atlantic Telegraph Company 1865 - Atlantic Telegraph Company 1866 - Anglo-American Telegraph Company (England to Hearts Content, Newfoundland) 1869 - French Atlantic Telegraph Company (Brest, France to Canada via St. Pierre Island) 1873 - Anglo-American Telegraph Company 1874 - Anglo-American Telegraph Company 1874 - Direct United States Telegraph Company 1879 - Compagnie Francaise du Telegraphe de Paris a New York 1880 - Anglo-American Telegraph Company (renewal of the 1866 cable) 1881 - American Telegraph and Cable Company (Cornwall, England to Canso, Nova Scotia. Connected from Nova Scotia to New York in 1889) 1882 - American Telegraph and Cable Company (same route as its 1881 line) 1883 - Commercial Cable Company (LaHavre, France to New York via England, Ireland, and Dover Bay, Nova Scotia) 1884 - Commercial Cable Company (same route as its 1883 line) 1894 - Commercial Cable Company (same route as its two previous lines) 1894 - Anglo-American Telegraph Company 1897-1898 - Compagnie Francaise du Telegraphe de Paris a New York (First direct cable from Brest, France to the United States) 1900 - German Atlantic Telegraph Company (Europe to New York via the Azores) 1900 - Commercial Cable Company 1901 - Commercial Cable Company 1903-1904 - German Atlantic Telegraph Company 1905 - Commercial Cable Company 1910 - Anglo-American Telegraph Company 1923 - Commercial Cable Company (Europe to New York via the Azores) 1924 - Western Union (Europe to New York via the Azores) 1926 - Western Union (same route as 1924 cable) 1926 - German Atlantic Telegraph Company 1928 - Western Union (New York to Europe via Newfoundland and the Azores) Cape Cod National Seashore 2000 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: *Thank you very much* for sending in this fascinating account of cables. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Lyle Meier Subject: Re: Telegraph History Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 00:49:40 -0600 Organization: Internet America (using Airnews.net!) In the book Ruling the Waves by Debora L. Spar there is an interesting history of telegraphy in the section on the codemakers. Among the tidbits is that Western Union wanted to run a telegraph line to Europe by way of Alaska and Siberia because it did not think an Atlantic Cable was possible. It also describes how Easter Telegraph acted as an extension of the British government in many ways. There is a table on p. 100 that shows submarine cable mileage in1892 where Eastern had 45.8 % of the world wide total and British Companies a total of 63%. It should be noted that eventually the British Government Nationalized Eastern to become the Cable in Cable and Wireless. Don Kimberlin wrote in message news:telecom20.124.1@ telecom-digest.org: > In article ("Telegraph History" Hugh Barr (Hugh.Barr@zu.ac.ae) > Wed, 09 Jan 2002 16:15:12 +0400) wrote: > I have just been reading Don's excellent article on the history of > submarine cables. I came across it in my search for the history of a > particular cable laid in 1864 between Europe and India via the Persian > Gulf. Lots of people make fleeting references to it but I can get no > substantial information. > ...... >> Another short quote talks of the Indo European Company formed in >> Germany in 1868 to set up a new cable to replace: >> "communications provided by the Turkish state landlines which ran from >> Constantinople to Fao in the Persian Gulf via Baghdad." >> Don's article in the Digest indicates that Siemens in Germany was in a >> race to reach India overland while Charles Bright was trying to beat >> him with a submarine route. Who was Bright and in what year did this >> take place? > The history of how the telegraph spread across oceans is one that's > often seen in fragmented and sometimes misleading, incomprehensible > bits. Hugh has it right that two of the spearheads were in England > and Germany. In fact, each was driven by a national manufacturer of > the cables and hardware, who wound up owning the operating companies, > too -- if only by shareholdings, so that the ownership was obscured. > The German one was Siemens, which spawned a number of companies, the > most familiar of which to us would be Deutsches Atlantische > Telegrafaktiengesellschaft connecting Germany with America (which name > I have probably just butchered, not being a student of German). Hugh > has Indo-European's name correct in an anglicized form. > Charles Bright was the technology and operating strength of the English > company. > The English company was a series of companies led first by John > Pender, then his son. Pender got into the matter by founding the > Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, commonly called > Telcon. The first business of Telcon's early companies was the > manufacture of the very first submarine cables between America and > Europe (actually Heart's Content in Newfounland and Valentia Island in > Ireland, both of which have websites you can visit). They were > generally called "The Eastern Telegraph" with a series of names and > cables reaching first to the Mediterranean, then to India, then to > Hong Kong, then Singapore and finally to Australia, with legs off to > South Africa and other parts of Queen Victoria's British Empire. > personal web page: http://members.fortunecity.com/donkimberlin ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 15:28:39 -0500 From: Fred Goldstein Subject: Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) John David Galt asks, > How about 800 + 9-digit numbers? Thus allowing the owners of 800 vanity > numbers based on words of 9 or more letters to keep using them. (OTOH, 888 > and 877 would be phased out, and 800-FLOWERS would have to put something in > those two extra digits...) and >> - clear distinction between USA and non-USA (especially costly Caribbean) >> area codes. > There's no sensible way to do that without breaking up the NANP, since the > non-US numbers are such a tiny fraction of the whole. Indeed, one of the > things I found short-sighted about the ATIS plan was its attempt to allow > for proposals to give Canada distinctive numbering within the NANP. Both of those are answered in my proposed plan. The trick is simple: It's a "zero-based" plan, not an extension of the current one, so existing NPA assignments aren't kept. Today's NPA map is too fragmented, and getting worse. In 1980, it was pretty easy for someone who made a lot of calls to know where most calls were going, just from the familiar area codes. 212 was NYC, 213 was LA, 312 was Chicagoland, etc. And it was easy to spot them on a map, even without a numeric breakout list (562 - California - Long Beach). So my plan assumes that in general, local numbers within an NPA are 8 digits long, so you only need around 150 USA geographic area codes. So new NPAs are assigned, all in the "12Rx" and "13Rx" format ("R" means not "9"). Canada gets, say, the 1401-1449 space, while the Caribbean region gets the higher (1450-1489) space. They're free to keep 7-digit local dialing too, so long as determinism is upheld. Note that following British custom, the initial "1" becomes part of the NPA, rather than a dialing plan prefix. As both James Bellaire and John David Galt noted, you can't properly fix numbering without addressing dialing. My Delphi discussion site shows three suggestions for how to assign new NPAs mnemonically. In sum, based on 1990ish codes (old 617->1267), based on state/city names (13LA), or based on geographic grid (say, 1201 in San Diego to 1389 in Maine). The 800 space becomes 18+10 digits. So there's really room for everybody to have their own personal 800 number, if they so choose. However the 189 space is necessarily reserved for a while, and it makes sense to reserve all of the 1N9 space for, uh, future use. Prefix codes NXX become eight digits by adding a new second digit NRXX; area code consolidation is done, during the transition, by having different R digits for codes taken from each pre-existing area code. Post transition, it's a flat 4-digit prefix space. Downside: The ATIS plan has only one transition step after universal 10-digit dialing. Permissive Spaghetti-Os go in, then eventually become nonpermissive. They don't count going nonpermissive as a step. My plan needs more transition stages, although it is spread over some years and has (this is mandatory in any plan!) has no "flag days". Old area codes get streteched by adding a 9 in the now-reserved second position, so for instance 801 becomes 18901; these are followed by 7-digit numbers. New area codes never have the 9 there, so 8-digit local numbers can follow and the plan remains deterministic (the originating switch knows how long the number is as it's dialed), which is a necessity given the way the North American network operates. (Europe's compelled signaling supports nondeterministic numbering.) ------------------------------ From: pete-weiss@psu.edu (Pete Weiss) Subject: Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 16:34:06 -0500 Organization: Penn State University -- Office of Administrative Systems On Mon, 14 Jan 2002 13:35:46 -0500, Don Kimberlin wrote: A. E. Siegman (siegman@stanford.edu) Wed, 09 Jan 2002 12:30:30 -0700 wrote: > Is there a standard telco service such that incoming calls to a > certain number will ring two or more lines at two or more different > locations (within the same area code, but not the same building or > centrex system) and allow the call to be answered at any one of these > locations? Isn't that called Off-Premise Extension or perhaps Sim-ring? Pete Weiss @ Penn State [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: An OPX (off premise extension) is exactly what it is called. In 1985 when I moved from one apartment to another in Chicago, Illinois Bell gave me one of those as a courtesy for the week or two my move was in process, since both apartments were in the same central office (Chicago-Rogers Park). PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #125 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Jan 16 15:37:16 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id PAA28971; Wed, 16 Jan 2002 15:37:16 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 15:37:16 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201162037.PAA28971@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #126 TELECOM Digest Wed, 16 Jan 2002 15:37:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 126 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: No Third Party Billing the US? (Craig Macbride) Re: No Third Party Billing the US? (Chris Kantarjiev) ANI Number Wanted (Wil Schultz) Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations (Don Kimberlin) Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations (Mike Sandman) Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations (Jay R. Ashworth) Re: Last Laugh! Urgently Reply and Indicate Your Private (David Clayton) Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (David Clayton) Re: Telegraph History (Wes Leatherock) Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History (Don Kimberlin) Re: How Do Radios Work, in General? (Phil McKerracher) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: No Third Party Billing the US? From: craigm@ragingbull.com (Craig Macbride) Organization: Nyx, the Spirit of the Night (www.nyx.net) Date: 14 Jan 2002 21:36:32 -0700 Chris Kantarjiev writes: > I seem to recall that there is some (tariff?) restriction in the US that > prevents wireless carriers from charging for third party services and > incorporating that in the wireless bill. If they are sensible enough to do that, why don't they prevent local carriers from incorporating other phone charges (eg. long distance) into your bill too? The enormous hassle in the USA caused by long distance carriers making incorrect charges via ones local phone company and then the user having to argue with two companies back and forth would be nicely eliminated if long distance companies had to bill users directly. Craig Macbride http://www.nyx.net/~cmacbrid "People want to be educated, they shouldn't be watching television, they should be reading books." - Jerry Springer [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The *ideal* way would be the way it was from the beginning of eternity until 1982: one company (AT&T), one policy, one way of doing business, Ma Bell's way. Yes, there were some things wrong with that, and it is very doubtful if the numerous improvements to telephony in the past twenty years would have ever occurred if Ma Bell had remained the sole supplier of dial tone, but still, the price that has been paid in terms of public relations has been horrendous. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Chris Kantarjiev Subject: Re: No Third Party Billing the US? Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 13:10:55 -0800 OK, Linc, I got it -- you're not interested in this service. I wasn't intending to debate the merits. Many people outside the US seem to be interested, and carriers are offering -- and I'm trying to figure out if it *could* be offered in the US or if there is a tariff against it. Anyone? ------------------------------ From: Wil Schultz Subject: ANI Number Wanted Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 06:21:54 -0800 Reply-To: Wil Anyone know an ANI number??? I was using 800.555.1160, it seems to have run out. Thanks in advance! Wil "We want a few mad people now. See where the sane ones have landed us!" George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) ------------------------------ From: Don Kimberlin Subject: Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 01:15:25 -0500 In article (Pete Weiss (pete-weiss@psu.edu) Mon, 14 Jan 2002 16:34:06 -0500 ). Pete wrote: > Isn't that called Off-Premise Extension or perhaps Sim-ring? > Pete Weiss @ Penn State ... and our esteemed Moderator replied: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: An OPX (off premise extension) is > exactly what it is called. In 1985 when I moved from one apartment to > another in Chicago, Illinois Bell gave me one of those as a courtesy > for the week or two my move was in process, since both apartments were > in the same central office (Chicago-Rogers Park). PAT] Oh, I hate to beat up on you, PAT, but it isn't "exactly what it is called." An OPX is meant to be the term used when you have a station of a PBX extended "off the premises" of the PBX. An OPX is simply a two-point circuit from a station port of a PBX to a subset. Two drops at two locations as would be the case with an answering service attendant and an office phone in two different buildings connected to one port of a central office is properly called "secretarial service" or a similar name. In that case, neither phone is an "extension" off the premises of another. Since both are connected to a single CO port, and since one might noise up the other, a device called a "bridge lifter" is used to isolate the lines when one goes off hook and draws current from the CO. The device is called a "saturable reactor." When used on a premises, it's often called a "privacy device." I hope I made the difference clear. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Just as clear as mud, thanks. :) PAT] ------------------------------ From: Mike Sandman Subject: Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 20:40:12 -0600 Organization: Mike Sandman Enterprises, Inc. Reply-To: mike@sandman.com That's a Mileage Extension. Mike On Mon, 14 Jan 2002 16:34:06 -0500, pete-weiss@psu.edu (Pete Weiss) wrote: > On Mon, 14 Jan 2002 13:35:46 -0500, Don Kimberlin > wrote: > A. E. Siegman (siegman@stanford.edu) Wed, 09 Jan 2002 12:30:30 -0700 > wrote: >> Is there a standard telco service such that incoming calls to a >> certain number will ring two or more lines at two or more different >> locations (within the same area code, but not the same building or >> centrex system) and allow the call to be answered at any one of these >> locations? > Isn't that called Off-Premise Extension or perhaps Sim-ring? > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: An OPX (off premise extension) is > exactly what it is called. In 1985 when I moved from one apartment to > another in Chicago, Illinois Bell gave me one of those as a courtesy > for the week or two my move was in process, since both apartments were > in the same central office (Chicago-Rogers Park). PAT] ------------------------------ From: Jay R. Ashworth Subject: Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations Reply-To: jra@baylink.com Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 05:36:50 GMT Organization: RoadRunner - TampaBay Last night, on Capitol Beat, Don Kimberlin said: > A. E. Siegman (siegman@stanford.edu) > Wed, 09 Jan 2002 12:30:30 -0700 wrote: >> Is there a standard telco service such that incoming calls to a >> certain number will ring two or more lines at two or more different >> locations (within the same area code, but not the same building or >> centrex system) and allow the call to be answered at any one of these >> locations? > That's a very old, very common offering that's been around as long as off > premises "telephone answering services." The language your telco knows it > by may be called "secretarial service," while the jargon of the gadget the > plant man uses to do it is called a "bridge lifter." Hmmm ... I dunno, Don; the service it sounds to *me* like the gent is looking for is called an OPX, or off-premise extension. Roughly, they just multiple the two feeders on the frame (though I've been told it's *slightly* more involved than that ... Cheers, Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com Member of the Technical Staff Baylink The Suncoast Freenet The Things I Think Tampa Bay, Florida http://baylink.pitas.com +1 727 647 1274 I'm stranded all alone in the gas station of love, and I have to use the self service pumps. -- Weird Al Yankovic ------------------------------ From: David Clayton Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Urgently Reply and Indicate Your Private Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 17:46:52 +1100 Organization: Customer of Connect.com.au Pty. Ltd. Reply-To: dcstar@acslink.net.au > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I'm glad to be back also. When I > was in the nursing home (well, that is what they called it) in > Chicago all of last year, the > staff would look at me very condescendingly and ask, "are you > depressed?" and I would answer "yes ... wouldn't you be?" I'm > writing my autobiographical account of life for me between February, > 1999 and December, 2001, and you will get a chance to read it. Its > already entitled "Genesis 39" and in the meantime, you can read that > Scripture to get a general overview of my life for the past two years > or so. PAT] As we say down here, "You wouldn't want to be dead for quids, would you?", welcome back from Oz, Pat. Regards, David Clayton, e-mail: dcstar@acslink.net.au Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Dilbert's words of wisdom #18: Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. ------------------------------ From: David Clayton Subject: Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 17:46:51 +1100 Organization: Customer of Connect.com.au Pty. Ltd. Reply-To: dcstar@acslink.net.au Gail M. Hall contributed the following: >> The speaker has a significant magnetic field which can quite easily wipe >> the magnetic stripe on your credit card if you unfortunate enough to get >> them too close together, (don't ask me why I know this ... :-( ). > Writing from experience, I suspect. Yep ...... :-( > So the question is still open: how close is too close? I was paying for a taxi trip using the card, just as process finished my GSM mobile phone rang so I was trying to answer the phone before it went to VM, finish paying the cab and grab my bags all at the same time. As it happened the card and phone ended up in my shirt pocket for a few seconds and a few hours after that I found that the card's magnetic stripe was wiped enough to require a new card. I would say it is good policy to keep credit cards at least a few CM's away from your phone, (or anything with a speaker or transmitter). Regards, David Clayton, e-mail: dcstar@acslink.net.au Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Dilbert's words of wisdom #18: Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. ------------------------------ From: wesrock@aol.com (Wes Leatherock) Date: 16 Jan 2002 01:24:50 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Subject: Re: Telegraph History Western Union, or interests allied with them, actually built the line well up into British Columbia, not too far from the Yukon border. In the 1940s, when I worked at a Western Union agent's office, the tariffs listed a lot of those exotic points by name. Construction ended after the Atlantic cable was successful, but the part that was already completed remained in service. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ From: Don Kimberlin Subject: Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 00:31:24 -0500 In article (Tue, 15 Jan 2002 08:23:42 -0500 ), Steve Fleckenstein (spfleck@citlinkdot.net) posted some excellent material on the French Telegraph Cable Company, known in later years as FTC Communications, originally had the routing code "PQ" for its apparently notable founder, monsieur Pouyer-Quartier. Even though its proper name was French Cable, when it operated from 25 Broad Street in lower Manhattan, those of us at RCA, ITT and WUI still called it "PQ" in trade talk. There is one possible bit of inaccuracy in the history given about the routing of the French cables, and I beleive it is the second one. Over in England, just a few yards from the Porthcurno cable station of the Eastern Companies of England, there is a pyramidal marker and remnants of a cable hut where a cable from Brest to the US had touched the English shore in making its way across the ocean. Today's curators of the Porthcurno museum note it and show photos of it in their catalogs. I haven't the detail reason in mind at the moment, but the landing at Porthcurno was necessary for some technical reason - apparently related to the distance across the ocean to Massachusetts (rather than the shorter distance between Ireland and Newfoundland that other transatlantic cables ran). There's also mention in passing in that excellent post of the Azorean island of Horta. That was another interesting place in telecommunications development, where cables from a half dozen or more nations landed, interchanged traffic and were repeatered. The King of Portugal collected tidy royalties by the word from everyone at Horta for a number of years. In wartime, such acts of derring-do as the Allies cutting German cables from Emden to Horta and dragging them ashore in England were regular acts of war. One finds the US Army owned a small cableship that probably had some missions to accomplish in that action. And, mention of the Western Union scheme is really a story. It seems Western Union so covered up its machinations that Americans to this day still don't know it was Western Union that got the US government to make the Alaska Purchase specifically to get a right-of-way for a cable to Russia via Alaska. WU had hoped to reach Europe with only a 25 mile cable across the Bering Strait, and then meet the Great Northern Telegraph that was building from Denmark to the Orient. When the Atlantic Cable finally succeeded in 1866, WU abandoned its project. I'm told that real insulator collectors still shop Siberia for real antique pole line pieces marked WU. And talk about your "old money!" Search on "Great Northern" and see how that company exists in Denmark today, with a continuous history of profitable business from that day to the present. GN connected up much of continental Asia to Europe from the earliest days. As to the quite good listing of Atlantic cables, the list does not mention that the frist three tries (1857, which was abandoned in mid-ocean; 1858 which worked for six weeks and was electrically destroyed by tinkering; and 1865, which also broke in mid-ocean during laying) were all failed attempts at spanning the Atlantic. Arthur C. Clarke said that spanning the Atlantic by cable was in its day the equivalent of landing men on the moon a century later. I think he was elegantly correct in that description. Finally, there was, in recent years, another cable station operated much like the Orleans. MA museum, somewhere on the Rhode Island shore.. At the moment, I can't find it with a Web search although it once had a website. Hope that piece of history has not been lost. In article (Tue, 15 Jan 2002 00:49:40 -0600 ) Lyle Meier (lmeier@neosoft.com) wrote: > In the book Ruling the Waves by Debora L. Spar there is an interesting > history of telegraphy in the section on the codemakers. Among the tidbits > is that Western Union wanted to run a telegraph line to Europe by way of > Alaska and Siberia because it did not think an Atlantic Cable was possible. ... In fact, Western Union was an incredibly political animal from its earliest days, to the point that WU kept the original Atlantic Cable conceptualizer, Newfoundland's Gisborne and later American Cyrus Field, from getting any support from the Washington government for an Atlantic cable. WU instead lobbied and got Washington to fund a gigantic expedition up the Pacific coast -- and eventually got Secretary of State Seward to spend the then-enormous sum of US$ 7.2 million (which equates to about $150 million today) to purchase Alaska from the Czar. In reality, the Czar did what Europeans later did more and more of to Americans in later years. He got the Americans to pay him for the privilege of buffering his Siberian backside from the British in Canada! WU's plan was to meet Denmark's Great Northern Telegraph that was being built some 8,000 miles across the Russian landmass Mongolia, China, Japan and the rest of Asia, and thus be able to send to Europe via a westerly route. Americans died in Siberia, both at the hands of lawless natives (much like Afghanistan today) and in the Siberian winters. As soon as the Atlantic Cable worked, WU abandoned its Siberian project. WU did wind up finally managing to purchase the Atlantic cables of Anglo-American just before 1910. > It also describes how Eastern Telegraph acted as an extension of the > British government in many ways. There is a table on p. 100 that > shows submarine cable mileage in 1892 where Eastern had 45.8 % of > the world wide total and British Companies a total of 63%. In fact, Pender's Eastern Telegraph was merely a good citizen of the Empire. The governments of virtually everywhere it passed wanted to nationalize it. Eastern managed to fight that off, and performing favors for the government were part and parcel of the ploy. Such behavior has long since been classic by today's descendants of those telecom pioneers. Peter Jennings marveled just recently how Enron spent US$2 billion in lobbying. That's how much the telcos have spent for Washington lobbying every year for decades! The desperation of the British government trying to break the back of Eastern Telegraph extended to its finally building a government-owned submarine cable route across the Atlantic and Canada, then down the Pacific Ocean to Australia, called the "Red Route" in 1902. It was a financial fiasco that never returned its investment, partially because it had to span some 5,000 miles of Pacific Ocean waters with but one mid-ocean relay point. Sending even 10 Baud for 5,000 miles was not an easy task in 1902! > It should be noted that eventually the British Government Nationalized > Eastern to become the Cable in Cable and Wireless. In fact, Guglielmo Marconi finally settled on a plan for his wireless to compete with the submarine cables, which were huge fat cats of early telecom at prices like US$5 per word and traffic delays of two days even when paying double tariff for press messages. Marconi suceeded and by the late 1920's, Britain's combination of the Red Route, the Indo-European land route which had been taken from the Germans as reparations for WWI and the Eastern Telegraph were all on the financial ropes at the hands of his Marconigrams. Eastern asked the government to take over. The first try was an amalgamation named Imperial and International Communications, which lasted a couple of years. Finally, it was reformed into Cable and Wireless, the rest of which story is modern history that many people know. CandW has an extensive website devoted to that history at www.cwhistory.com. ------------------------------ From: Phil McKerracher Subject: Re: How Do Radios Work, in General? Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 16:17:36 -0000 "Mary Mathiasen" wrote in message news:telecom20.122.6@telecom-digest.org... > I am looking for basic information about what makes radios work ( the > guts) and then onto applications in a network. I am new to a company > that uses radios to transmit information to lottery machines and I > just want a working knowledge of what is happening. > I appreciate any information you can give me. (I posted a reply somewhere but it seems to have got lost, apologies if you see this twice.) Try www.arrl.org. Phil McKerracher www.mckerracher.org ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #126 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Jan 17 00:49:28 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id AAA10078; Thu, 17 Jan 2002 00:49:28 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 00:49:28 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201170549.AAA10078@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #127 TELECOM Digest Thu, 17 Jan 2002 00:49:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 127 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Permanent Phone Number / Remote Call Forwarding (Brian Korver) Re: Caller ID Devices (JDS) Another E-mail Spammer With a Toll Free Number (Steven Lichter) Phoenix Arizona Area Codes - 602, 623, 480 (Chris N. Acuma) Re: Low Volume on Phone Line (Dave Phelps) Re: NAB Slams EchoStar's Second-Dish Move (H. Alex LaHurreau) Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) (Bob Goudreau) Re: Caller ID Devices (Carl Navarro) Http-Speech-Telephony (Peter Georgiou) Where Can I Find a Fiber Optic (FO) Fusion Splicer at a Good Price? (Cal) Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History (Wes Leatherock) Re: Telegraph History - Thanks! (Al Gillis) Re: How Do Radios Work, in General? (Thaddeus Cox) High Court Gives Win to Cable (Monty Solomon) Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations (Wattum, Ben) Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations (Ed Ellers) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Brian Korver Subject: Permanent Phone Number / Remote Call Forwarding Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 15:29:20 PST I'm tired of my cell phone number changing each time I change my service provider. Does anyone know of a cheap service that will call forward a permanent phone number to my cell phone? I live in San Francisco (415). I could get "remote call forwarding" from PacBell (this service is $17.10 a month). I assume a vanity 800 number would end up even more expensive. Forwarding a home phone isn't an option either as I seem to move every year or two as well. brian ------------------------------ From: t11@syntelsoft.com (JDS) Subject: Re: Caller ID Devices Organization: Prodigy Internet http://www.prodigy.com Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 00:19:38 GMT You can find Caller ID devices that will: - Sound a distinctive ringer for "preferred" callers - Be silent for "unwanted" callers I had a FANS Telesecretary that did exactly that. So if you turn off all the ringers on your home phones, you can perhaps achieve the result you want. The Whozz Calling 2 from Zeus Phonstuff (available from Mike Sandman) does all of the following: - collect call waiting caller ID info; - have a serial port so a PC can collect the caller ID information; - collect outgoing dtmf; - provide call duration timings. You can write a computer program to sound a ringer if an interesting call is arriving. I can give you a sample in Rexx, if you want. I have one of these devices, and it's great. It keeps a log on my PC's hard disk of every single phone call I make or receive. > - "inject" the caller ID info back onto the house-side wiring... With these devices, the Caller ID info is not suppressed. ------------------------------ From: stevenl11@aol.com (Steven Lichter) Date: 16 Jan 2002 01:24:55 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Subject: Another E-mail Spammer With a Toll Free Number ... to teach this individual about the cost of owning an 800 number... -----Original Message----- 1 (877) 591-1012 or email sales@jboyco.com. Remember it is against the law to harrass anyone by telephone. Also you should use a payphone so that the operator can make a little money. Apple Elite II 909-359-5338. Home of GBBS/LLUCE, support for the Apple II 24 hours 2400/14.4. An OggNet Server. The only good spammer is a dead one!!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 18:43:43 MST From: acuma@aztec.asu.edu (Chris N. Acuma) Subject: Phoenix Arizona Area Codes - 602, 623, 480 In the greater Phoenix area which includes Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Peoria, Glendale, Sun City, Cave Creek, Carefree, Queen Creek, Apache Junction we have three area codes: 602, 623, and 480. While only three million people live in the metro Phoenix area its a huge spralling area that about as big as the Los Angeles/Orange County metro area which has about 16 million people. The nice thing about the Phoenix area is we dont have any toll calls. You can call from one phone to any other phone in all three area codes with out being charged a toll free. Calls within your area code are made by dialing the seven digit number. Calls from one area code to another in the 602, 623, and 480 area codes are made by dialing the three digit area code plus the seven digit number. Any calls made to outside the Phoenix area require the 1+area code+number and tolls are always charged on these. While we dont have toll calls in the Phoenix area I think our base rate for service is a little higher then most other cities. I pay $21 a month for a pots line with no features. USWEST used to provide our phone service and they renamed themselves to QWEST. "Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters." -- Noah Webster ------------------------------ From: Dave Phelps Subject: Re: Low Volume on Phone Line Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 20:19:06 -0600 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Probably because they had to remove any loading coils from the line. That would cause the low volume. You probably need your DSL and dial tone on separate pairs. In article , km@mathcs.emory.edu says... > I have a phone line that has low volume no matter what phone I plug > in. It happens to be a DSL line which is all copper to the CO, about > 16K feet away. There is nothing wrong with my interior wiring. When > DSL was installed they ran a new cat 3 from the Demarc and I can see > low volume with a phone plugged right into the direct cable separated > from the rest of the apartment wiring. > I had a service call and the technician agreed the volume was quite > low. However, he took some measurements and said it was within spec, > and said there was nothing he could do. Its not clear what he > measured or if he really knew what he was doing. Its been a while now, > but I recall that what ever equipment he used for his measurement wasn't > very fancy. Dave Phelps Phone Masters Ltd. deadspam=tippenring ------------------------------ From: halahurreau@tristate.EDU (H. Alex LaHurreau) Subject: Re: NAB Slams EchoStar's Second-Dish Move Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 04:00:50 UTC Organization: The Braxiatel Collection Monty Solomon wrote: > NAB Slams EchoStar's Second-Dish Move [snip] > The trade group called the second-dish plan a gambit designed to > relegate some local TV stations to an 'inaccessible technological > ghetto.' [snip] Weren't these the same people who were making a fuss about satelite operators rebroadcasting their local TV stations in the first place? Now they are complaining because EchoStar has made it _harder_ to recieve these local TV stations? Strange. | AlexDW -- KB9SYM -- DOCTOR WHO FOREVER | | Too clever is dumb. | | -- Ogden Nash | | * My web site is currently unavailable due to ISP problems * | | * See my temporary site at: http://cyberspace.org/~alexdw/ * | ------------------------------ From: Bob Goudreau Subject: Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 23:48:58 -0500 John David Galt wrote: > Fred Goldstein wrote: >> So after Spaghetti-O-izing, say, Moderator Pat's 630-841-7174, it'll be >> 6300-0841-7174. And that's before 1+ toll barrier dialing, which many >> states are likely to continue to require. > It's worse than that. The first part of ATIS' document clearly points out > that since new numbers would be allowed to begin with 0 or 1, all use of 0 > or 1 before an area code would have to be eliminated (forcing all calls to > be dialed as 10 digits, no more, no less) before permissive dialing of the > new 12-digit numbers can even begin. I think this is another of the non-sequiturs in ATIS's plan. Since ATIS is proposing that new-style 8D local numbers will *never* be dialable without being preceded by an area code, and since the new 4D area codes are still constrained in the "A" digit (first digit must be 2 ... 9 only, not 0 or 1), there is no way for either of the "Spaghetti-Os" zero digits to ever appear at the start of a dial string. In fact, there should be no reason why transitioning to 12D ATIS numbers would necessarily have to preclude the use of 1+ or 0+ dialing, either before, during, or after the permissive dialing (parallel running) phase. Specifically, all that's needed to preserve 1+/0+ is a requirement that during the permissive dialing phase, all new-style (12D) numbers must be dialed as 1+12D (or as 0+12D for operator assistance), not as plain 12D. The "double-0" feature of the new longer numbers eliminates any possible parsing ambiguity in distinguishing between a 1+10D dial string and a 1+12D dial string, in the same way that it would eliminate ambiguity between 10D and 12D numbers under the proposed ATIS plan. After the permissive dialing phase is over, all 7D, 10D, 1+10D and 0+10D dialing will be gone; only 1+12D and 0+12D will remain. At that point, those areas that wish to have toll-alerting can drop the need for the "1+" prefix for local calls while still requiring it for long distance calls. Non-toll-alerting areas can accept both 1+12D and plain 12D for all calls. Bob Goudreau Cary, NC ------------------------------ From: Carl Navarro Subject: Re: Caller ID Devices Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 02:29:16 -0500 Organization: Airnews.net! at Internet America On Tue, 15 Jan 2002 17:08:47 GMT, Don Russell wrote: > Anyone have any suggestions as to where I can get a device that will: (I > already tried sandman.com, close but not quite)) > I'm looking for a device that will: (for a single POTS line) I wonder what you found that was close. www.callerid.com (Zeus Phonestuff) makes a 2-line version of the Whozz Calling box that does everything you ask but supress and inject the first ring to the phone. The single line Whozz Calling unit, working in conjunction with a DOS machine will do actions based on CID decisions set in advance, but I'm not sure if it will then pass CID to the phones. No mention of Call Waiting CID is made in either case, so you may be on your own on that one. The 2-line unit is about $250, the single line about $80 if they'll sell you one. Teledynamics used to handle these items also. One thing you might want to keep in mind is $250 buys half a Panasonic KXT-D308 with CID that will give you much of what you want. I don't know, 600 round dollars might not be in your budget, but it is less than the price of most computers nowadays. Hope this helps. Carl Navarro ------------------------------ From: Peter Georgiou Subject: Http-Speech-Telephony Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 11:47:07 UTC Organization: BT Openworld Hi, Does anyone know of any existing technology which converts an http form submission to speech? I'd also like to know if there are technologies which transfer speech to a telephony device. I'm currently looking into writing a Java application which allows users to fill out an http form which is then received as a phone call. Thanks, Peter ------------------------------ From: tkhigher@hotmail.com (Cal) Subject: Where Can I Find a Fiber Optic (FO) Fusion Splicer at a Good Price? Date: 16 Jan 2002 04:26:39 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Any one know of a place to buy used or well priced fiber optic equipment, such as the fiber splicer? ------------------------------ From: wesrock@aol.com (Wes Leatherock) Date: 17 Jan 2002 01:08:19 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Subject: Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History In article (Tue, 15 Jan 2002 08:23:42 -0500 ), Steve Fleckenstein (spfleck@citlinkdot.net) posted: > And, mention of the Western Union scheme is really a story. It seems > Western Union so covered up its machinations that Americans to this day > still don't know it was Western Union that got the US government to make the > Alaska Purchase specifically to get a right-of-way for a cable to Russia via > Alaska. WU had hoped to reach Europe with only a 25 mile cable across the > Bering Strait, and then meet the Great Northern Telegraph that was building > from Denmark to the Orient. When the Atlantic Cable finally succeeded in > 1866, WU abandoned its project. I'm told that real insulator collectors > still shop Siberia for real antique pole line pieces marked WU. As Steve suggests in his comments about insulator collectors searching in Siberia, this was all to be pole line (as was the portion actually built) except for the cable across the Bering Strait. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ Reply-To: Al Gillis From: Al Gillis Subject: Re: Telegraph History - Thanks! Organization: WebUseNet Corp. - "ReInventing The UseNet" Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 19:32:28 -0800 The recent snapshots of telegraphic history are really just excellent! I appreciate the time Don K and Steve F took to enlighten us. I think I'll go down to Powell's Bookstore Friday to see if a copy of Ruling the Waves is available! Thanks for this work! Al ------------------------------ From: Thaddeus Cox Subject: Re: How Do Radios Work, in General? Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 16:03:24 -0800 http://www.howstuffworks.com/radio.htm Tad > I am looking for basic information about what makes radios > work ( the > guts) and then onto applications in a network. I am new to > a company > that uses radios to transmit information to lottery machines and I > just want a working knowledge of what is happening. >> I appreciate any information you can give me. > (I posted a reply somewhere but it seems to have got lost; my apologies > if you see this twice.) > Try www.arrl.org. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 22:02:20 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: High Court Gives Win to Cable 11:41 a.m. Jan. 16, 2002 PST WASHINGTON -- In a victory for the cable industry, the Supreme Court said Wednesday that a federal agency can control rates that cable companies pay for high-speed Internet lines. The ruling could affect the availability and cost of online services. Cable television companies pay utilities to attach wires for high-speed Internet service to the utilities' poles. A federal appeals panel had ruled that the Federal Communications Commission did not have the authority to regulate pole rental rates for Internet service. The Supreme Court reversed that decision. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,49793,00.html ------------------------------ From: Wattum, Ben Subject: Re: Simultaneous Ring Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 14:57:23 -0900 Simultaneous ring has been around for a few years. The DMS100/500 calls it simring, and it will provide ringing up to 5 stations. They can be cell phones/ Long Distance EAS, Etc. The first phone that answers shuts off the ringing to the other phones. Voice mail systems will do the same thing. It gets better if you are using SS7 for your signaling. ------------------------------ From: Ed Ellers Subject: Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 18:55:59 -0500 PAT wrote: > In 1985 when I moved from one apartment to another in Chicago, > Illinois Bell gave me one of those as a courtesy for the week or two > my move was in process, since both apartments were in the same central > office (Chicago-Rogers Park)." My mother got that as well (from BellSouth) when she moved in 1992, though I don't know if it was a courtesy or not. Also, an uncle in Northeast Indiana had the same line running into both his house and his farm supply store for quite a few years; this was on United (now Sprint), and since the store was just across the road from the house I suspect the bridging was done in the area rather than at the CO. But, as Don Kimberlin explained, an OPX it isn't. An OPX typically would be a dry pair connected to a PBX port at one end and a telephone set at the other. (I remember a TIE PBX in the mid-1980s that we had at work; since its OPX ports were designed for 2500-type sets, we used several of them for modems, to save the expense of dedicated CO lines.) ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #127 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Jan 17 15:50:34 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id PAA26944; Thu, 17 Jan 2002 15:50:34 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 15:50:34 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201172050.PAA26944@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #128 TELECOM Digest Thu, 17 Jan 2002 15:51:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 128 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Http-Speech-Telephony (Peter Georgiou) Re: Http-Speech-Telephony (Chris Kantarjiev) Re: Http-Speech-Telephony (John Tombs) Re: Permanent Phone Number / Remote Call Forwarding (John R Levine) Re: Permanent Phone Number / Remote Call Forwarding (Gordon S. Hlavenka) Re: Permanent Phone Number / Remote Call Forwarding (Danny Burstein) Re: Telegraph History - Thanks! (Jim Haynes) Re: Telegraph History - Thanks! (John Bartley) Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History (Robert Casey) Connecticut Seeking Ways to Delay New Area Codes (Michael A. Chance) Re: Phoenix Arizona Area Codes - 602, 623, 480 (Joseph Singer) Re: NAB Slams EchoStar's Second-Dish Move (H. Alex LaHurreau) Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) (Bob Goudreau) Re: Caller ID Devices (Carl Navarro) Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism (Robert Casey) 'Great Moments in Communications' (Fred Atkinson) Welcome Back! (Gordon S. Hlavenka) Re: Pat's Home (Anonymous) Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations (Mike Sandman) Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations (aes) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Peter Georgiou Subject: Http-Speech-Telephony Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 11:47:07 UTC Organization: BT Openworld Hi, Does anyone know of any existing technology which converts an http form submission to speech? I'd also like to know if there are technologies which transfer speech to a telephony device. I'm currently looking into writing a Java application which allows users to fill out an http form which is then received as a phone call. Thanks, Peter ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 23:27:07 PST From: Chris Kantarjiev Subject: Re: Http-Speech-Telephony Take a look at the various voice portals; I'm most familiar with http://www.voxeo.com ------------------------------ From: John Tombs Subject: Re: Http-Speech-Telephony Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 13:03:29 -0500 Organization: ECI Telecom You could look into Microsoft's Web Telephony Engine ... except they just announced today they're discontinuing it. See microsoft.public.platformsdk.telephony.wte . John ------------------------------ From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine) Subject: Re: Permanent Phone Number / Remote Call Forwarding Date: 17 Jan 2002 01:15:34 -0500 Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > I could get "remote call forwarding" from PacBell (this service is > $17.10 a month). I assume a vanity 800 number would end up even > more expensive. Maybe not. It's not hard to find 800 service for 5 cpm and no monthly charge. So long as you have less than 340 incoming minutes a month, which is a lot, the 800 number would probably be cheaper. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ From: Gordon S. Hlavenka Organization: Crash Electronics, Inc. Subject: Re: Permanent Phone Number / Remote Call Forwarding Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 02:27:42 -0600 Brian Korver wrote: > I'm tired of my cell phone number changing each time I change my > service provider. Gosh, I thought all US phone numbers were going to be portable by now :-) > Does anyone know of a cheap service that will > call forward a permanent phone number to my cell phone? I use a combination of "Busy Transfer" and "Alternate Answering" to do essentially this. These services cost something under a dollar each per month in Illinois Bell/Ameritech/Verizon land, plus regular charges for the calls forwarded. Busy transfer forwards the call if the line is busy (duh) and Alternate Answering transfers if the call is unanswered after a certain number of rings (as few as 1). The difference between these and "Call Forwarding" services is that in order to change any of the parameters you have to call Repairs and put in a work order. Telco does not care, or even need to know, where the number you're forwarding to terminates. I am using these services to forward calls from my home-office number (630-832) to my business number in a different CO (630-691). Since the business location is local from home, the per-call charges are minimal. This line carries a lot of incoming calls and the total bill is around $35/month. The phone rings once at home then forwards. When I was working from home, I had the ring count set to four and the forwarding number set to my cellphone. I used the cellphone voicemail. This gave me one-number accessibility without having to remember to turn forwarding on/off. You might need a fixed address to terminate the "permanent" number at, but you don't have to connect any equipment there. You could use a trusted friend with a stable address. It seems to me that it should be possible to get a number which exists only in the CO, but I don't know how it would be tariffed. Gordon S. Hlavenka O- nospam@crashelex.com Occasionally, amidst all the bad haiku, a good one is found. ------------------------------ From: dannyb@panix.com (Danny Burstein) Subject: Re: Permanent Phone Number / Remote Call Forwarding Date: 17 Jan 2002 07:38:51 -0500 In Brian Korver writes: > I'm tired of my cell phone number changing each time I change my > service provider. Does anyone know of a cheap service that will > call forward a permanent phone number to my cell phone? I live > in San Francisco (415). If you can wait a few more months until 24-November-2002: FCC flag day for cellular number portability http://www.npac.com/docs/WNP_chart.pdf Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Telegraph History - Thanks! Reply-To: jhaynes@alumni.uark.edu Organization: University of Arkansas Alumni From: haynes@alumni.uark.edu (Jim Haynes) Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 17:08:22 GMT The indispensable recent books on telegraph history are George Oslin's "The Story of Telecommunications" and Lewis Coe's "The Telegraph - A History". Oslin may be still in print by Mercer University Press; and Coe may be still in print by McFarland. Oslin ISBN 0-86554-659-2 (paperback) Coe ISBN 0-89950-736-0 An excellent older book is "Old Wires and New Waves" by Alvin F. Harlow, dating from 1936. This is long out of print but you might find it in a library. Ayer Co. has announced plans to republish this book but so far it has not appeared. I see they now say available 01/01/2001 - will have to phone them to see if this is really happening. http://www.atlantic-cable.com/Ayer/ayer3.htm ------------------------------ From: John_Bartley@orb.uscourts.gov Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 08:55:09 -0800 Subject: Re: Telegraph History - Thanks! In stock! New at City of Books, Beaverton, Hawthorne & Airport, $27. $21.60 plus frt by mail order http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=64-0151005095-0 While waiting on Wed, 16 Jan 2002 19:32:28 -0800 in da vastness of space to hitch a ride w/ Galen, Al Gillis wrote: > The recent snapshots of telegraphic history are really just excellent! > I appreciate the time Don K and Steve F took to enlighten us. I think > I'll go down to Powell's Bookstore Friday to see if a copy of Ruling > the Waves is available! ------------------------------ From: Robert Casey Subject: Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 00:04:22 -0500 Organization: wa2ise Don Kimberlin wrote: > As to the quite good listing of Atlantic cables, the list does not mention > that the frist three tries (1857, which was abandoned in mid-ocean; 1858 > which worked for six weeks and was electrically destroyed by tinkering; and > 1865, which also broke in mid-ocean during laying) were all failed attempts > at spanning the Atlantic. How do they get the cables past undersea areas like the mid-Atlantic ridge (where the sea floor is spreading apart and has volcanic activity) and really deep trenches? I suppose they could hang the cable from special balloons, but that may cause other problems if the sea currents might tug too hard on the cable balloon in the water. I suppose you could go to Iceland on the way to Europe from USA if there were no quiet places on the mid-Atlantic ridge. Nowdays we know about it, but back in the 19th century they didn't. Did that failure with the broken cable get caused by volcanic activity? How did they ruin that other cable by electrically tinkering with it? I suppose maybe they used too much voltage on it and the insulation failed. Also, solar magnetic storms can push the Earth's magnetic field around. That can generate undesired amounts of extra voltage and that might have done the real damage. They probably didn't know about such back then and blamed an employee for screwing it up. The fact that it worked for 6 weeks would at least be a proof of concept. That undersea cables can be made to work. And that there were enough customers for the service provided to pay for it (business model). > Arthur C. Clarke said that spanning the Atlantic by cable was in its day the > equivalent of landing men on the moon a century later. I think he was > elegantly correct in that description. ------------------------------ From: Michael A. Chance Subject: Connecticut Seeking Ways to Delay New Area Codes Organization: Prodigy Internet http://www.prodigy.com Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 11:08:47 GMT NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) There may come a day when Connecticut residents will have to dial 10 digits to ring a neighbor across the street. It is also possible that cell phones, faxes and computer modems will have different area codes than home or business numbers. Or, the future may simply see the state divided geographically into four area codes instead of two. Those possibilities are being considered as communications gizmos continue to gobble up phone numbers, necessitating new area codes to keep everyone connected. Connecticut regulators want to delay adding area codes, and are also looking at ways make phasing them in as convenient as possible. The state estimates it has two or three years before all the numbers run out, said Jack Goldberg, a commissioner with the Department of Public Utility Control, who is heading the state's efforts to deal with phone number shortages. "Many of our conservation measures have been helpful, and we're looking for more ways to conserve," Goldberg said Monday. To read the entire story, go to: http://www.boston.com/dailynews/014/region/Connecticut_seeking_ways_to_de :.shtml [Poster's note: Has there been any efforts at rate center consolidation in Connecticut? That would seem to be the first place to start.] Michael Chance mchance@swbell.net ------------------------------ From: Joseph Singer Subject: Re: Phoenix Arizona Area Codes - 602, 623, 480 Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 09:06:12 -0800 Organization: Drizzle Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On Tue, 15 Jan 2002 18:43:43 MST, acuma@aztec.asu.edu (Chris N. Acuma) wrote: > The nice thing about the Phoenix area is we dont have any toll > calls. You can call from one phone to any other phone in all three > area codes with out being charged a toll free. > Calls within your area code are made by dialing the seven digit number. Question: Does 602, 623 and 480 cover the same area i.e. are those area codes all overlaid? I thought in overlay areas 7 digit dialing was not permitted (though I believe New York City has an exception to this though it is unusual.) Interesting that all of Arizona was 602 up til 1995. Odd that in 7 years they have managed to need two additional area codes. Personal replies are likely not read. Please reply in the newsgroup. ------------------------------ From: halahurreau@tristate.EDU (H. Alex LaHurreau) Subject: Re: NAB Slams EchoStar's Second-Dish Move Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 04:00:50 +0000 (UTC) Organization: The Braxiatel Collection Monty Solomon wrote: >NAB Slams EchoStar's Second-Dish Move [snip] > The trade group called the second-dish plan a gambit designed to > relegate some local TV stations to an 'inaccessible technological > ghetto.' [snip] Weren't these the same people who were making a fuss about satelite operators rebroadcasting their local TV stations in the first place? Now they are complaining because EchoStar has made it _harder_ to recieve these local TV stations? Strange. | AlexDW -- KB9SYM -- DOCTOR WHO FOREVER | | Too clever is dumb. | | -- Ogden Nash | | * My web site is currently unavailable due to ISP problems * | | * See my temporary site at: http://cyberspace.org/~alexdw/ * | ------------------------------ From: Bob Goudreau Subject: Re: Spaghetti-Os (Re: ATIS/INC Plan for Expanding NANP) Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 23:48:58 -0500 John David Galt wrote: > Fred Goldstein wrote: >> So after Spaghetti-O-izing, say, Moderator Pat's 630-841-7174, it'll be >> 6300-0841-7174. And that's before 1+ toll barrier dialing, which many >> states are likely to continue to require. > It's worse than that. The first part of ATIS' document clearly points out > that since new numbers would be allowed to begin with 0 or 1, all use of 0 > or 1 before an area code would have to be eliminated (forcing all calls to > be dialed as 10 digits, no more, no less) before permissive dialing of the > new 12-digit numbers can even begin. I think this is another of the non-sequiturs in ATIS's plan. Since ATIS is proposing that new-style 8D local numbers will *never* be dialable without being preceded by an area code, and since the new 4D area codes are still constrained in the "A" digit (first digit must be 2..9 only, not 0 or 1), there is no way for either of the "Spaghetti-Os" zero digits to ever appear at the start of a dial string. In fact, there should be no reason why transitioning to 12D ATIS numbers would necessarily have to preclude the use of 1+ or 0+ dialing, either before, during, or after the permissive dialing (parallel running) phase. Specifically, all that's needed to preserve 1+/0+ is a requirement that during the permissive dialing phase, all new-style (12D) numbers must be dialed as 1+12D (or as 0+12D for operator assistance), not as plain 12D. The "double-0" feature of the new longer numbers eliminates any possible parsing ambiguity in distinguishing between a 1+10D dial string and a 1+12D dial string, in the same way that it would eliminate ambiguity between 10D and 12D numbers under the proposed ATIS plan. After the permissive dialing phase is over, all 7D, 10D, 1+10D and 0+10D dialing will be gone; only 1+12D and 0+12D will remain. At that point, those areas that wish to have toll-alerting can drop the need for the "1+" prefix for local calls while still requiring it for long distance calls. Non-toll-alerting areas can accept both 1+12D and plain 12D for all calls. Bob Goudreau Cary, NC ------------------------------ From: Carl Navarro Subject: Re: Caller ID Devices Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 02:29:16 -0500 Organization: Airnews.net! at Internet America On Tue, 15 Jan 2002 17:08:47 GMT, Don Russell wrote: > Anyone have any suggestions as to where I can get a device that will: (I > already tried sandman.com, close but not quite)) > I'm looking for a device that will: (for a single POTS line) I wonder what you found that was close. www.callerid.com (Zeus Phonestuff) makes a 2-line version of the Whozz Calling box that does everything you ask but supress and inject the first ring to the phone. The single line Whozz Calling unit, working in conjunction with a DOS machine will do actions based on CID decisions set in advance, but I'm not sure if it will then pass CID to the phones. No mention of Call Waiting CID is made in either case, so you may be on your own on that one. The 2-line unit is about $250, the single line about $80 if they'll sell you one. Teledynamics used to handle these items also. One thing you might want to keep in mind is $250 buys half a Panasonic KXT-D308 with CID that will give you much of what you want. I don't know, 600 round dollars might not be in your budget, but it is less than the price of most computers nowadays. Hope this helps. Carl Navarro ------------------------------ From: Robert Casey Subject: Re: Dummy Question About Digital Wireless Phones and Magnetism Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 00:09:20 -0500 Organization: wa2ise David Clayton wrote: > As it happened the card and phone ended up in my shirt pocket for a few > seconds and a few hours after that I found that the card's magnetic > stripe was wiped enough to require a new card. > I would say it is good policy to keep credit cards at least a few CM's > away from your phone, (or anything with a speaker or transmitter). It's probably not the speaker, but there is a thing called a circulator in the antenna circuit of the phone. It uses a strong magnet to direct the RF energy from the transmitter to the antenna and keep it out of the receiver circuits. Thus allowing the use of a single antenna for symotanious transmit and receive. That magnet may be what did in the magnetic stripe on the card. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 07:51 EST From: Fred Atkinson Organization: Personal Copy Subject: 'Great Moments in Communications' Some years back. a 'picture book' (if you will) of famous events that had an impact on the future of communications over a distance. It was entitled, 'Great Moments in Communication'. I just wondered if anyone knows if there were subsequent editions of it published. Thanks, Fred Atkinson ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 02:48:50 -0600 From: Gordon S. Hlavenka Organization: Crash Electronics, Inc. Subject: Welcome Back! It sure is nice to have c.d.t back to normal again. Please let's not do this ever again, OK? :-) Genesis 39, huh? You need to hang out with a better class of people ... Looking forward to your autobiography! Gordon S. Hlavenka O- nospam@crashelex.com Occasionally, amidst all the bad haiku, a good one is found. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I grant that I need to hang out with a better class of people than Potiphar's wife, as told in Genesis 39. What I also need to remember is that I cannot continue to be so naive in some respects while at the same time mouthing off to those whose job it is to 'serve and protect' the citizens. Get 'em pissed off and they will retaliate. That's their nature. They'll figure out how to do it one way or another, and they have unlimited time and money to do their thing. A couple of people whose opinions I greatly respect have suggested chalking it all up to experience, and not waste good space on the net writing about it. I'm leaning that direction right now. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Anonymous Reply-To: null@null.com Subject: Re: Pat's Home Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 12:25:13 GMT Organization: AT&T Worldnet Yeah, and his wonderful habit of keeping out pertinent posts that he happens not to like. Ki Suk Hahn wrote: > I also thank John Levine for continuing this digest in Pat's > absence. I can't wait for Pat's active moderation to start > again. It's his commentaries after the posts which I find most > interesting (eg, Justice Dept, small-time fraud, Pacifica Radio, > etc). > Ki Suk Hahn [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thank you for that courteous and thoughtful comment, and thanks also for having the courage to sign your name. I do not think I have *ever* erased/not used 'pertinent posts that I happened not to like'. If anything, I will refrain from using so many of my own comments, due to the very real problem that my mouth has caused me from time to time. Forget what I said in the message before this one. It is not just being naive (although in many ways I am), nor mouthing off to police (which I have been known to do), but also assuming that your enemies are unlikely to read what you write. Anyway, feel free to write me anytime. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Mike Sandman Subject: Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 20:40:12 -0600 Organization: Mike Sandman Enterprises, Inc. Reply-To: mike@sandman.com That's a Mileage Extension. Mike On Mon, 14 Jan 2002 16:34:06 -0500, pete-weiss@psu.edu (Pete Weiss) wrote: > On Mon, 14 Jan 2002 13:35:46 -0500, Don Kimberlin > wrote: > A. E. Siegman (siegman@stanford.edu) Wed, 09 Jan 2002 12:30:30 -0700 > wrote: >> Is there a standard telco service such that incoming calls to a >> certain number will ring two or more lines at two or more different >> locations (within the same area code, but not the same building or >> centrex system) and allow the call to be answered at any one of these >> locations? > Isn't that called Off-Premise Extension or perhaps Sim-ring? > Pete Weiss @ Penn State ------------------------------ From: A.E. Siegman Subject: Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 21:22:23 -0800 Organization: Stanford University >> A. E. Siegman (siegman@stanford.edu) Wed, 09 Jan 2002 12:30:30 -0700 >> wrote: >>> Is there a standard telco service such that incoming calls to a >>> certain number will ring two or more lines at two or more different >>> locations (within the same area code, but not the same building or >>> centrex system) and allow the call to be answered at any one of these >>> locations? Several people have recently responded to the message above (note date). I believe I actually did post this message, but it was aeons ago, long enough that I've forgotten just when. Is there some mysterious Usenet wormhole, where messages go in and then reemerge months or years later? [Editor's Note: Yes there are problems sometimes with messages getting repeated, when the message ID number gets trashed. There are also Moderator Wormholes; that's in my case where following my brain aneurysm and the considerable brain damage which followed it, worms began feasting on my brain, a little each day. I honestly cannot remember messages posted here more than a day or two after I use them. I am at the mercy of my own software to tell me about that, and it frankly needs some radical surgery itself. The software I mean, not my brain again. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #128 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Jan 18 12:56:16 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id MAA20040; Fri, 18 Jan 2002 12:56:16 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 12:56:16 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201181756.MAA20040@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #129 TELECOM Digest Fri, 18 Jan 2002 12:56:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 129 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History (Don Kimberlin) Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History (Bart Z. Lederman) Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History (Steve Fleckenstein) Cingular Chooses Ericsson for GSM, TDMA Roaming (Monty Solomon) Just When You Thought AT&T Customer Service Couldn't Get Worse (Brian Vita) Pon vs. Circuit ID (Mike) German E1 Costs (D. Mcguiga) Information Request (Seth Ward) Sprint-ing Toward Elusive 3G (Monty Solomon) Videophone Gets a Booster Shot (Monty Solomon) Relationship Between Outgoing and Incoming TDM Time Slots (J. S. Tuttle) Re: Simultaneous Ring (John David Galt) Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations (Al Gillis) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Don Kimberlin Subject: Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 23:15:08 -0500 In article, (Thu, 17 Jan 2002 00:04:22 -0500 ). Robert Casey (wa2ise@ix.netcom.com) raised a couple of often-asked questions about the beginnings of intercontinental submarine cables in the 1850's: > How do they get the cables past undersea areas like the mid-Atlantic > ridge (where the sea floor is spreading apart and has volcanic > activity) and really deep trenches? I suppose they could hang the > cable from special balloons, but that may cause other problems if the > sea currents might tug too hard on the cable balloon in the water. I > suppose you could go to Iceland on the way to Europe from USA if there > were no quiet places on the mid-Atlantic ridge. Nowdays we know about > it, but back in the 19th century they didn't. Did that failure with > the broken cable get caused by volcanic activity? It's worse than you might imagine. First, in 1858, nobody really knew what conditions might be like on the ocean floor. I think plate tectonic theory was still about a century away in those early years. Early Victorians might have thought of balloons, but the truth is that a mile or more down on the Atlantic Ocean floor, water pressure is so high no balloon we could make would withstand crushing. Just think of the sort of structures you have seen for the bathyscapes and submersible vehicles you see diving down to investi- gate hulks of the Titanic and sunken warships. Today. cable planners have the ocean bottom mapped to an exquisite level of detail, and they actually lay new cables on meandering routes that run in underwater mountain passes and such, avoiding having cable that can sway off of underwater prominences, because there are water currents far stronger than many surface winds. These would eventually fray a cable and cause it to break. Likewise, there are slack "S" curves in the cable's route on the ocean floor, precisely to avoid problems with underwater landslides and such. Breakages handling the first intercontinental cable were simply due to a total lack of knowledge of what techniques would be needed. It was soon found that when paying out cable to ocean depths, it is common to have five miles or more of cable hanging in a loop between the ship and the ocean bottom, and even the heaviest of cables actually has a floating characteristic while it settles down that loop. If surface currents make a change in the direction of the ship, huge stresses in different directions threaten to pull the cable apart unless the tension on that huge loop can be changed in a way that maintains the tension on the cable. What with the severe problems at the outset of trying to handle this material, Daniel Gooch, the top mechanical engineer of Anglo-American Telegraph, devised a complex of pulleys, drums, and brakes that he named a "cable engine." Cable engines have a form of dynamometer that can set and release brakes on its drums to constantly adjust tension on the cable as it goes over-board. To this day, the basic design of cable engines emulates the Gooch machine. > How did they ruin that other cable by electrically tinkering with it? > I suppose maybe they used too much voltage on it and the insulation > failed. Also, solar magnetic storms can push the Earth's magnetic > field around. That can generate undesired amounts of extra voltage > and that might have done the real damage. They probably didn't know > about such back then and blamed an employee for screwing it up. You may recall I earlier said that Arthur C. Clarke aptly described the Atlantic Cable project as one of difficulty comparable to landing men on the moon. No small part of it was that nobody knew what the electrical parameters were really going to be. In fact, in 1858, nobody knew what an Ohm was! Agreement on that was not to come along until 25 years or so later. Earth currents? What an interesting new phenomenon! The end result was that when, in 1858, Anglo-American Telegraph had a mechanical success and a wire across the ocean, they immediately found out it wasn't good enough to sell. Using the limited technology of the day, the receiver had to be a mirror reflecting a sensitive needle of a galvanometer on a wall, so slowly and with so many wobbles in its motion, that a team of three humans had to stare at the wall and vote on whether the condition was a mark or a space. So, the intial pre-arranged messages between the Queen and the President took SIXTEEN hours to transmit. Getting enough traffic down the pipe in that state could never occur. Public enthusiasm rang to the skies on both sides of the Atlantic, while there were frantic and furtive tests going on to try to get the cable to sustain real traffic. After a month or so of no news, the press began to print articles suggesting the whole thing was a hoax - after all, the world was at the time entering the era of P.T. Barnum. Now, Anglo-American had a leading scientist of the day, Oliver Heaviside (named Lord Kelvin by Queen Victoria in recognition of his contributions to scientific understanding). But, it also had a chief electrician who was a dentist by trade and an electrical tinkerer by preference. He suggested "sending harder" (sic), a mistake telecom people make up to this very day, when they then succeed in distorting the signal into unrecognizability. Heaviside, lacking a means to demonstrate what the effect would be, suggested a more moderate means be worked on to make the signals more rapidly trans- mittable. In the end the impatient electrician "sent harder." He increased the voltage, the cable's insulation failed, and it went dead forever. No more signals would cross the Atlantic for another 8 years, until a better cable was laid and made functional. After a few days and a few messages, the world was relegated to a propagation time of one month between Europe and America. > The fact that it worked for 6 weeks would at least be a proof of > concept. That undersea cables can be made to work. And that there > were enough customers for the service provided to pay for it (business > model). There was no real problem in that regard. Government, press and finance had been using other shorter cables in busy, important crossings like the English Channel since 1851. In fact, the governments of England, Canada and, reluctantly, the US, all subscribed large fixed sums to have their messages sent on the Atlantic cable from the outset. When the world has some new means to communicate like the Atlantic cable, there is immediate pent-up demand; so much so that it drives price right up off any curve. In the case of the Atlantic cable, the price of US$5 in gold or US$10 if paid in the weak currency of the era * per* *word* stuck for quite a few years. When they finally achieved success, those who made intercontinental telecom a reality reaped fine rewards. ------------------------------ From: lederman@star.enet.dec.DISABLE-JUNK-EMAIL.com (Bart Z. Lederman) Reply-To: lederman@encompasserve.DISABLE-JUNK-EMAIL.org Subject: Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 12:38:23 GMT Organization: Compaq Computer Corporation In article , Robert Casey writes: > How do they get the cables past undersea areas like the mid-Atlantic > ridge (where the sea floor is spreading apart and has volcanic > activity) and really deep trenches? I suppose they could hang the As I understand it, there is a bit of 'slack' when they lay the cable. It's not streached tight. Besides, the mid-Atlantic ridge only spreads by a very small amount each year. > it, but back in the 19th century they didn't. Did that failure with > the broken cable get caused by volcanic activity? I don't think so. > How did they ruin that other cable by electrically tinkering with it? > I suppose maybe they used too much voltage on it and the insulation > failed. Also, solar magnetic storms can push the Earth's magnetic Exactly. The first working cable had no relays. The response time was measured in seconds or tens of seconds, because of how long it took to charge up the capacitance in the cable. A pseudo-expert suggested raising the voltage at the sending end to make it faster. A real expert (I regret to say, I've forgotten their names) said this wouldn't make any difference. They tried it anyway, and damaged the cable. I believe some of the original cables were eventually pulled up so the materials (especially the copper) could be recycled. > field around. That can generate undesired amounts of extra voltage > and that might have done the real damage. They probably didn't know > about such back then and blamed an employee for screwing it up. Sea water is a moderately good conductor. A layer of water several hundred to several thousand feet thick does a pretty good job of shielding whatever is at the bottom of the ocean from solar storms. > The fact that it worked for 6 weeks would at least be a proof of > concept. That undersea cables can be made to work. And that there > were enough customers for the service provided to pay for it (business > model). This is what happened. >> Arthur C. Clarke said that spanning the Atlantic by cable was in its day the >> equivalent of landing men on the moon a century later. I think he was >> elegantly correct in that description. If you can find a copy, his book is a very good one to read. B. Z. Lederman Personal Opinions Only Posting to a News group does NOT give anyone permission to send me advertising by E-mail or put me on a mailing list of any kind. Please remove the "DISABLE-JUNK-EMAIL" if you have a legitimate reason to E-mail a response to this post. ------------------------------ From: Steve Fleckenstein Subject: Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 08:32:51 -0500 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: Steve Fleckenstein If anyone is interested I have scanned some photos of head end Orleans cable hardware into a 152k pdf file . Send requests to spfleck@citlink.net Steve N2UBP More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call. Robert Casey wrote in message news:telecom20.128.9@telecom-digest.org... Don Kimberlin wrote: >> As to the quite good listing of Atlantic cables, the list does not mention >> that the frist three tries (1857, which was abandoned in mid-ocean; 1858 >> which worked for six weeks and was electrically destroyed by tinkering; >> and 1865, which also broke in mid-ocean during laying) were all failed >> attempts at spanning the Atlantic. > How do they get the cables past undersea areas like the mid-Atlantic > ridge (where the sea floor is spreading apart and has volcanic > activity) and really deep trenches? I suppose they could hang the > cable from special balloons, but that may cause other problems if the > sea currents might tug too hard on the cable balloon in the water. I > suppose you could go to Iceland on the way to Europe from USA if there > were no quiet places on the mid-Atlantic ridge. Nowdays we know about > it, but back in the 19th century they didn't. Did that failure with > the broken cable get caused by volcanic activity? > How did they ruin that other cable by electrically tinkering with it? > I suppose maybe they used too much voltage on it and the insulation > failed. Also, solar magnetic storms can push the Earth's magnetic > field around. That can generate undesired amounts of extra voltage > and that might have done the real damage. They probably didn't know > about such back then and blamed an employee for screwing it up. > The fact that it worked for 6 weeks would at least be a proof of > concept. That undersea cables can be made to work. And that there > were enough customers for the service provided to pay for it (business > model). >> Arthur C. Clarke said that spanning the Atlantic by cable was in its day >> the equivalent of landing men on the moon a century later. I think he was >> elegantly correct in that description. ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cingular Chooses Ericsson for GSM, TDMA Roaming Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 14:33:56 -0500 Cingular chooses Ericsson for GSM, TDMA roaming 17 January 2002 -- Ericsson has announced that it will supply its Jambala Mobility Gateway to Cingular Wireless, the US network operator. Jambala will enable Cingular customers to roam between TDMA and GSM coverage as Cingular upgrades its nationwide network to GSM technology. The platform is compliant with the specifications developed by the GSM/ANSI-136 Interoperability Team (GAIT), an industry working group focused on GSM and TDMA compatibility issues. In addition to receiving calls in both TDMA and GSM coverage areas, users will also be able to utilise SMS and other mobile internet services. Nokia recently announced its 6340 GAIT-compliant handset and Sony Ericsson is also known to be working on dual mode GSM / TDMA handsets. http://www.pmn.co.uk/public/ce/news/january2002/17.html ------------------------------ From: Brian Vita Subject: Just When You Thought AT&T Customer Service Couldn't Get Worse Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 16:30:30 -0500 Organization: Cinema Service & Supply, Inc. AT&T pays Accenture $2.6 billion to outsource CRM. AT&T and Accenture have signed a $2.6 billion outsourcing agreement designed to reduce the telecom's long-distance customer care costs. The five-year contract will also result in lay-offs for AT&T as the company reduces customer relations staff and hands over many of its CRM functions to Accenture. The two companies are expected to deploy new automated, voice-driven customer service applications, many of them driven by Voice XML. http://www.internetnews.com/asp-news/article/0,,3411_955721,00.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51396-2002Jan15.html http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/016/business/ AT_T_Accenture_sign_5_year_2_6b_customer_support_deal+.shtml Brian T. Vita, President Cinema Service & Supply, Inc. 75 Walnut St. Peabody, MA 01960-5626 USA Business Ofc +1-978-538-7575 ------------------------------ From: mike_meg40@hotmail.com (Mike) Subject: Pon vs. Circuit ID Date: 17 Jan 2002 11:02:12 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ What is the difference between a Pon # and a Circuit ID? ------------------------------ From: dmcguiga Organization: Genuity Subject: German E1 Costs Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 13:54:39 GMT Can someone help me get a ball park idea of what a local E1 (30B+D PRA (PRI?)) would cost in Frankfurt, Germany? I'm not so much interested in the leased line rates as I am in the monthly recurring switch port costs, the costs for local PSTN numbers and if their is any costs for terminating calls. For example, in the US, a local RBOC PRI might cost $500/month for a <1km circuit, $500-$1,000/month for the switch port and approx. $0.20/month for each local DID (DDI) number. There is no charge per minute for the inbound calls. Does anyone know what comparable rates are like in Germany? Thanks, Dave ------------------------------ From: Seth Ward Subject: Information Request Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 11:43:09 -0500 Mr. Townson, I've been in and out of Telecom for the past 5 years mainly doing backbone installation and up keep. Recently I got involved with Bechtel Telecom out of Maryland and was working on the 3G upgrade for AT&T Wireless. I was wondering if you would know who I could contact about getting certifications in Errikson installation procedures or something along those lines that would make my telecom experience more marketable. Any info that you could pass my way would be greatly appreciated. Respectfully, Seth Martin Ward ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 09:19:58 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Sprint-ing Toward Elusive 3G By Elisa Batista 2:00 a.m. Jan. 18, 2002 PST The only cellular phone operator prepared to deliver next-generation wireless services in the United States is Sprint PCS, analysts say. The company, which plans to offer such services as full-motion video on cell phones in the next couple of years, has the money and the airwaves to do the job. The other major wireless carriers -- AT&T, Cingular, VoiceStream and Verizon -- have the funds but not the airwaves to offer customers cell-phone services that run at data rates of up to 2 megabits per second, analysts say. http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,49806,00.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 09:20:39 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Videophone Gets a Booster Shot By David Spark 2:00 a.m. Jan. 18, 2002 PST Use of videophone technology for cable TV news networks just got a promotion from the talking head. It's all thanks to MSNBC's Jim Bruton, who just last week gave it a 100 percent bandwidth boost. Traditionally, communications restrictions limit the bandwidth of a videophone call to 128 kbps. Since early last week, MSNBC's Region in Conflict, with Forrest Sawyer, has been broadcasting from deep within the Philippine jungle through a videophone at 256 kbps. http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,49790,00.html ------------------------------ From: jonathanstuttle@msn.com (J. S. Tuttle) Subject: Relationship Between Outgoing and Incoming TDM Time Slots Date: 18 Jan 2002 05:06:17 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hello, I've been trying to come to an understanding of how TDM is transported in an OC-X. More specifically, I'm trying to determine 'where' the two sides of a DS-0 live. QUESTION 1: My understanding is that an OC-12 is made up of four OC-3s. An OC-3 is made up of 3 DS-3s. A DS-3 is made up of 28 DS-1s. Are the two sides of a DS-0 always in the same 'embedded' DS-1 within an OC-X? QUESTION 2: Does my question 1 make sense? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Jon ------------------------------ From: John David Galt Subject: Re: Simultaneous Ring Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 17:55:17 -0800 Organization: Diogenes the Cynic Hot-Tubbing Society Wattum, Ben wrote: > Simultaneous ring has been around for a few years. The DMS100/500 > calls it simring, and it will provide ringing up to 5 stations. They > can be cell phones/ Long Distance EAS, Etc. The first phone that > answers shuts off the ringing to the other phones. Voice mail systems > will do the same thing. It gets better if you are using SS7 for your > signaling. Who needs fancy tech for this? My housemate's business OPX did the same in 1983. ------------------------------ Reply-To: Al Gillis From: Al Gillis Subject: Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations Organization: WebUseNet Corp. - "ReInventing The UseNet" Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 21:39:58 -0800 Ed Ellers wrote in message news:telecom20.127.16@ telecom-digest.org ... Much deleted ... > But, as Don Kimberlin explained, an OPX it isn't. An OPX typically > would be a dry pair connected to a PBX port at one end and a telephone > set at the other. (I remember a TIE PBX in the mid-1980s that we had > at work; since its OPX ports were designed for 2500-type sets, we used > several of them for modems, to save the expense of dedicated CO > lines.) In Qwest-land in Portland, OR an OPX has equipment on it at the CO. So, copper pair from our prem to the CO, then some equipment, then copper pair from the CO to the distant premise location. Most of ours (My PBX has about 75 OPXs) stay with in the same CO boundaries but have some sort of hybrid/amplifiers on them. There seem to be a number of adjustments on these 400-type cards; levels can be raised or lowered and sensitivity to loop currents can be drifted a little (to establish ring trip points, I guess). In the past, a trouble would occur on these OPXs. Qwest would work on it for a day or two and then - that circuit's fine! BUT ... another circuit, likely to another location, picks up the same symptoms! HA! The TelCo tech just frogged one amp to another position! We learned to combat this "repair technique" by obliging the tech to keep the original ticket open for a few days "just in case something else comes up". Since we caught on to this AND (more importantly) since we got an excellent tech who cares about our account turf'ed to us that doesn't happen anymore. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #129 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Jan 18 18:21:56 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id SAA27627; Fri, 18 Jan 2002 18:21:56 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 18:21:56 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201182321.SAA27627@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #130 TELECOM Digest Fri, 18 Jan 2002 18:21:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 130 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson ICBTollFreeNews.Com HEADS UP HEADLINES 1-18-02 (Judith Oppenheimer) Microsoft Chairman Announces Strategy Shift to Emphasize Security (Monty Solomon) Ruling a Boon for Cable Firms (Monty Solomon) Re: Where Can I Find a Fiber Optic (FO) Fusion Splicer at a Good Price? (S. Dupa) Re: Where Can I Find a Fiber Optic (FO) Fusion Splicer at a Good Price? (Sandman) Re: Permanent Phone Number / Remote Call Forwarding (Chris Kantarjiev) Re: Permanent Phone Number / Remote Call Forwarding (73115.1041@compuserve.com) Re: Http-Speech-Telephony (Chris N. Acuma) Re: Http-Speech-Telephony (Steven Scharf) Handspring's Phone-PDA Combo is a Dud (Monty Solomon) State Drops Distributed-Computing Dispute (Tech News/CNET.com (Monty Solomon) Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History (Jim Haynes) Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History (Mark Brader) Re: 'Great Moments in Communications' (Don Kimberlin) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Judith Oppenheimer Subject: ICB TollFreeNews.Com HEADS UP HEADLINES Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 14:37:12 -0500 http://ICBTollFreeNews.Com HEADS UP HEADLINES from ICB Toll Free News - Covering the Political, Legal and Marketing Arenas of 800, ENUM and Dot Com. CONTENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDING JANUARY 18, 2002 - VERISIGN WAIT LISTING SERVICE - ENUM CREATES MULTIPLE POLICY PROBLEMS. - U WHO - PARASITIC JOHNNY-COME-LATELY?! OUCH! - CCB SEEKS COMMENT ON NUMBERING AUDIT PROGRAM - WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU? ENUM changes all the rules. Will you be ready? *** http://www.judithoppenheimer.com/enumsurvival.html *** - INTERESTING MARKETING PLOY - ENUM ACCORDING TO WORLDCOM, ULTRADNS & TELCORDIA - CONTRACTS IMPOSE LIABILITY, MOU'S DON'T - TLD'S ARE ALREADY RESTRICTED - .US DETAILS ANNOUNCED - GHANA BOUND ARTICLE ACCESS CODE LEGEND ICB Toll Free News offers two valuable service options: F = Free - News and Features articles P = Premium - Unlimited Site Access including all Articles and Documents. Registration information is not sold, leased or rented. *** For additional information about topics and stories, keyword search here: http://www.icbtollfree.com/Search.cfm. P - VERISIGN WAIT LISTING SERVICE How is the answer to VeriSign Registry not releasing expired domain names, a VeriSign wait listing service where it gets paid to essentially do the same thing? CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5567 F - ENUM CREATES MULTIPLE POLICY PROBLEMS. (Where have we heard this before?) "ENUM creates multiple policy problems. What impact does ENUM have upon the public telephone network and the telephone numbering resource? For example, does this create a solution or a problem for number portability? If ENUM truly is a DNS innovation, how does it square with the classic difficulties experienced with DNS and ICANN? Is ENUM, while presenting a convergence solution, also encumbered with the policy problems of both the DNS and telephony worlds?" So writes Robert Cannon of the Washington Internet Project in ENUM: The Collision Of Telephony And DNS Policy. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5566 P - U WHO This Internet Draft defines the common requirements for a universal whois service that would access all gTLD and ccTLD databases. A dominant theme, that the primary considerations are for business, intellectual property, and law enforcement interests. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5565 F - PARASITIC JOHNNY-COME-LATELY?! OUCH! ICANN may be deathly afraid of inking real deals with rootserver operators, because it would then be required -- under pain of serious legal consequences -- to walk the technical walk rather than merely talking the trademark talk. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5564 P - CCB SEEKS COMMENT ON NUMBERING AUDIT PROGRAM Does your company have processes and procedures for inventorying and tracking ported-out numbers? Are your reps reserving numbers without a pending order? Can you document that all your reserved numbers have a specific end user contract? Comments are due February 15, 2002. Reply Comments are due March 1, 2002. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5563 F - WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU? The FCC has reorganized. Apparently the first order of the day: change names. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5569 /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=-\ -- Lost and Stolen Number Retrieval -- ENUM Survival Strategies -- Crisis Resolution -- Vanity Number Issues, Guidance & Navigation -- Tollfree Number Traces -- Representation at SNAC, ENUM & ICANN Forums -- Strategic Leadership + Competitive Intelligence -- Custom Research Reports -- Custom Problem Solving: disputes, litigation support, RespOrg issues, etc. ICB Consultancy -- http://1800TheExpert.com \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=.=/ Looking for the best 800 and long distance rates available today? Choose from multiple programs - Rates as low as 2.9 per minute, with no monthly minimums or hidden service charges! Click here: http://WhoSells800.com \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/ F - INTERESTING MARKETING PLOY "Providing an online resource of patriotic files seemed like a great way to show our support," stated Paul Goldstone, President/CEO, Domain-It!, Inc. Good way to drive site traffic, too. As they say, whatever works. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5559 P - ENUM ACCORDING TO WORLDCOM, ULTRADNS & TELCORDIA These strange bed-fellows have fleshed out an Internet Draft describing the form they project ENUM will take in the NANP. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5561 F - CONTRACTS IMPOSE LIABILITY, MOU'S DON'T ICANN is apprehensive about signing agreements because it could mean the organization is liable when things go wrong. Well, duh! CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5560 P - TLD'S ARE ALREADY RESTRICTED Isn't that what Sunrise provisions are all about? CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5562 F - .US DETAILS ANNOUNCED NeuStar has posted some of the details regarding .US, as well as the registrar application process and contracts. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5558 F - GHANA BOUND ICANN's next round of meetings will be held March 10th through 14th in Accra, Ghana. Among the agenda items, ICANN is expected to make a final decision regarding curbing the voting rights of ordinary Internet users. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=5568 EVERY 3.6 SECONDS SOMEONE DIES FROM HUNGER http://www.hungersite.com/ ABOUT ICB ICB HeadsUp Headlines is sent by request. Subscriptions to ICB HeadsUp Headlines are free to qualified applicants. Visit http://www.icbtollfree.com/reg.cfm?NextURL=Index.cfm to sign up. To unsubscribe mailto:editor@icbtollfree.com, subject: unsubscribe. (Unsubs are processed manually, approximately bi-weekly.) ADVERTISING For information on advertising in ICB HeadsUp Headlines, contact Vincent Lemma at Lake Interactive. Telephone: 914-925-2406 Email: http://www.roibot.com/w.cgi?R1764_LakIntEm Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. Copyright 2002 ICB, Inc. All rights reserved. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 18:38:10 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Microsoft Chairman Announces Strategy Shift to Emphasize Security Copyright 2002 AP Online By D. IAN HOPPER and TED BRIDIS WASHINGTON (January 17, 2002 1:19 a.m. EST) - Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced a major strategy shift across all of the company's products, including its flagship Windows software, to emphasize security and privacy over new features. In an e-mail to employees obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, Gates referred to the new philosophy as "Trustworthy Computing" and said his highest priority is to ensure that computer users continue to venture across an increasingly Internet-connected world. http://www.nando.net/technology/story/221093p-2134140c.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 18:37:01 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Ruling a Boon for Cable Firms Court Says Fees for Using Utility Poles Can Be Regulated By Christopher Stern Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, January 17, 2002; Page E05 The cable industry was handed a huge victory by the Supreme Court yesterday as the court ruled that the federal government can regulate the fees utility companies charge for attaching high-speed Internet lines to street poles. The ruling removes the risk of a massive cost increase for high-speed Internet service delivered by cable companies in suburban and rural areas, where they are especially dependent on utility poles to carry their lines. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57977-2002Jan16.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 18:24:30 -0500 From: Seymour Dupa Subject: Re: Where Can I Find a Fiber Optic (FO) Fusion Splicer at a Good Price? Organization: CoreComm LTD - Chicago, IL www.ebay.com http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1691561215 Cal wrote: > Any one know of a place to buy used or well priced fiber optic > equipment, such as the fiber splicer? ------------------------------ From: Mike Sandman Subject: Re: Where Can I Find a Fiber Optic (FO) Fusion Splicer at a Good Price? Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 22:24:13 -0600 Organization: Mike Sandman Enterprises, Inc. Reply-To: mike@sandman.com McGrath Rentelco will rent you a unit, or sell you one out of their rental stock. They also finance purchases. 800-233-5807. Mike Sandman On 16 Jan 2002 04:26:39 -0800, tkhigher@hotmail.com (Cal) wrote: > Any one know of a place to buy used or well priced fiber optic > equipment, such as the fiber splicer? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 14:47:34 PST From: Chris Kantarjiev Subject: Re: Permanent Phone Number / Remote Call Forwarding > If you can wait a few more months until 24-November-2002: > FCC flag day for cellular number portability > http://www.npac.com/docs/WNP_chart.pdf But maybe not: Carriers Aim to Kill Number Portability Read the full article at: http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=story&doc_id=65074&verticalID=33&vertical=Regulatory&industry=Health+and+Safety& ------------------------------ From: 73115.1041@compuserve.com Subject: Re: Permanent Phone Number / Remote Call Forwarding Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 18:37:13 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com dannyb@panix.com (Danny Burstein) wrote: > If you can wait a few more months until 24-November-2002: > FCC flag day for cellular number portability > http://www.npac.com/docs/WNP_chart.pdf Good news, if it holds. Seems to me I heard that at least one wireless carrier was trying to challenge it. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 20:36:56 MST From: acuma@aztec.asu.edu (Chris N. Acuma) Subject: Re: Http-Speech-Telephony Syntellect INC 16610 N Black Canyon Highway Phoenix, Az 85053 (602)789-2800 Syntellect INC 20401 N 29th Avenue Phoenix, Az 85027 (623)587-9424 Syntellect INC which i have two addresses for makes some cool computer to voice software. Ten years ago they gave us a cool demo where their software allows CICS programs on an IBM mainframe computers to speak engish on the telephone and take input from callers who pressed DTMF keys to answer the computers questions. Things have changed a lot in ten years but they are still around doing cool stuff interfacing computers with voice and phones. > From: Peter Georgiou > Subject: Http-Speech-Telephony > Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 11:47:07 UTC > Organization: BT Openworld > Does anyone know of any existing technology which converts an http > form submission to speech? I'd also like to know if there are > technologies which transfer speech to a telephony device. > I'm currently looking into writing a Java application which allows > users to fill out an http form which is then received as a phone call. "Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters." -- Noah Webster ------------------------------ From: scsmediafmp@aol.com (Steven Scharf) Date: 18 Jan 2002 04:29:57 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Subject: Re: Http-Speech-Telephony There is software that can read text which they use for blind people to see the computer screen. Eletronic test can be turned into speech. But look at blind services software to start. Steven Scharf SCS Media Services PO Box 4135 Portland, Maine 04101 Tel: 207-774-9393 Fax: 207-774-1819 SCSMedia@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 08:56:50 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Handspring's Phone-PDA Combo is a Dud BY MIKE LANGBERG Mercury News Handspring's much-touted new Treo 180 "communicator" at $399 -- the latest attempt to merge a personal digital assistant with a mobile phone -- turns out to be yet another kludge that's too much of a PDA to be a good phone and too much of a phone to be a good PDA. I may be the loneliest guy in town for saying this, given the Treo has already won rave reviews from such heavyweight publications as Business Week, Fortune and the Wall Street Journal. But this isn't a product I'd want to own. If I'm right and the Treo is a dud, it will be a weird case of history repeating itself. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/opinion/techtest/ml011702.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 09:03:56 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: State Drops Distributed-Computing Dispute (Tech News/CNET.com) By Lisa M. Bowman Staff Writer, CNET News.com January 17, 2002, 4:00 PM PT Computer administrator David McOwen will pay just $2,100 and serve 80 hours of community service after reaching an agreement with Georgia state prosecutors. The state had accused McOwen of illegally using computers at a state college for a distributed-computing project -- a project his supporters said was benign. McOwen had faced as many as 30 years in jail. http://news.com.com/2110-1023-817875.html ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History Reply-To: jhaynes@alumni.uark.edu Organization: University of Arkansas Alumni From: haynes@alumni.uark.edu (Jim Haynes) Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 18:23:35 GMT In article , Don Kimberlin wrote: >In article, (Thu, 17 Jan 2002 00:04:22 -0500 ) Robert Casey >(wa2ise@ix.netcom.com) raised a couple of often-asked questions: >> How did they ruin that other cable by electrically tinkering with it? >> I suppose maybe they used too much voltage on it and the insulation >> failed. Also, solar magnetic storms can push the Earth's magnetic >> field around. That can generate undesired amounts of extra voltage >> and that might have done the real damage. They probably didn't know >> about such back then and blamed an employee for screwing it up. > In the end the impatient electrician "sent harder." He increased the > voltage, the cable's insulation failed, and it went dead forever. No I have also seen speculation that the cable suffered defects from handling. Gutta-percha was all they had for insulation and it is pretty bad stuff -- stiff at low temperatures and soft at high. There is some speculation that coiled-up cable was set out in the hot sun at the manufacturer's, and that the center conductor might have moved through the insulation and got nearer to the armoring wires, which would have reduced its voltage capability. ------------------------------ From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader) Subject: Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 21:16:23 UTC Just two small points. Robert Casey asked: >> How do they get the cables past undersea areas like the mid-Atlantic >> ridge (where the sea floor is spreading apart and has volcanic >> activity) and really deep trenches? I suppose they could hang the >> cable from special balloons, but that may cause other problems ... And Don Kimberlin answered: > ... a mile or more down on the Atlantic Ocean floor, water pressure > is so high no balloon we could make would withstand crushing. Just > think of the sort of structures you have seen for the bathyscapes > and submersible vehicles you see diving down to investigate hulks > of the Titanic and sunken warships. Actually, underwater balloons are easy, and were used on some of the Titanic salvage efforts. The reason they're easy is that you don't need to fill them with a lighter-than-air gas: a lighter-than-water liquid will suffice, such as oil. The liquid is incompressible, so the only concern is the strength and corrosion-resistance of the envelope. This doesn't mean that hanging a cable from an underwater balloon would be a good idea, of course. And Bart Lederman wrote: > If you can find a copy, [Arthur C. Clarke's] book is a very good one > to read. Bart could be referring to either of two books. Clarke's first on this subject was "Voice Across the Sea" (1958). Then in 1992, he reused large amounts of this book in "How the World Was One: Beyond the Global Village" (Bantam, ISBN 0-553-07440-7). So if you're looking, look for both titles. Mark Brader "I can see the time when every city will have one." Toronto -- An American mayor's reaction to the msb@vex.net news of the invention of the telephone My text in this article is in the public domain. ------------------------------ From: Don Kimberlin Subject: Re: 'Great Moments in Communications' Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 23:20:10 -0500 In article (Thu, 17 Jan 2002 07:51 EST ), Fred Atkinson (fatkinson@mishmash.com) asked: > Some years back. a 'picture book' (if you will) of famous events > that had an impact on the future of communications over a distance. > It was entitled, 'Great Moments in Communication'. > I just wondered if anyone knows if there were subsequent editions > of it published. I believe the book you're thinking of was the one published by the International Telecommunications Union in Geneva as a sort of centennial memento. If you check with www.itu.ch, I think you'll find it has not been revised, but that stocks of new copies are still for sale. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #130 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Jan 19 11:45:27 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id LAA12459; Sat, 19 Jan 2002 11:45:27 -0500 (EST) Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2002 11:45:27 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201191645.LAA12459@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #131 TELECOM Digest Sat, 19 Jan 2002 11:45:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 131 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Marconi History (Donald Kimberlin) Re: Phoenix Arizona Area Codes - 602, 623, 480 (Charlie Spitzer) Re: Phoenix Arizona Area Codes - 602, 623, 480 (Chris N. Acuma) Re: Phoenix Arizona Area Codes - 602, 623, 480 (Joel B. Levin) Re: Phoenix Arizona Area Codes - 602, 623, 480 (Rory Francisco) Re: Low Volume on Phone Line (Paul Cook) Re: Pon vs. Circuit ID (hogpilot) Information Request (Vidya Ramachandran) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2002 10:50:18 EST Subject: Marconi History From: Donald E. Kimberlin [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I found this in my main directory this past week, and do not think, based on its dating, that it was ever used in the Digest. My brain is still scrambled a little, so I thought I would run it today. I found it interesting, and hope you will also. PAT] Marconi Article Text (Republished here with permission from the Editor of NARTE News. For further republication permissions, contact narte@narte.org) Jurassic Communications - Part II The Global Influences Leading Up To Marconi's "Lucky 7's" Patent By: Donald E. Kimberlin (As published in NARTE News, Volume 17 Number 3, October, 1999) This is the second of an ongoing series under the generic title of "Jurassic Telecommunications." In its various articles, one can see that the modes of electronic communications so taken for granted today are really largely late Victorian technologies first realized in an era before electronics; one in which there was no amplification, no frequency conversion and only battery power. Considering that, it's really amazing that the pioneers accomplished what they did. Most technologies begin as a method in search of a problem, and communication by radio is no exception. For most of the half-century following successful use and expansion of the electric telegraph, a number of experimenters added contributions to radio. Some even seem to have had useful radio in their grasp, only to let it lie fallow. It finally all came together in April 1900 with 26-year-old Guglielmo Marconi's British patent 7777. Up to that time, American dentist Mahlon Loomis had demonstrated in 1865 that an electrical disturbance could be caused in a kite-flown "aerial wire" by opening and closing the circuit of another kite-flown "aerial wire" at a distance of 18 miles between mountain tops in Virginia. He even obtained a U.S. patent (issued in 1872) indicating it might be used for "telegraphy," but never obtained funding to back further development, in all likelihood because the then-powerful Western Union Telegraph Company had a number of other, nearer-term technological fish to fry, not the least of were both transcontinental and transatlantic telegraph businesses in addition to a burgeoning domestic telegraph network. Loomis died a broken and bitter man. Karl Braun in Germany discovered "one-way conduction" in metal sulfide crystals in 1874, but the applicability of this phenomenon to detecting radio signals was not to be thought of for several decades in the future. Based on taking up a prize challenge in 1879, German physicist Heinrich Hertz demonstrated in 1887 and 1888 transmission of electromagnetic waves indoors across university lecture halls, showing students that invisible waves that propagated much like light did indeed exist. Since Hertz' laboratory demonstration devices consisted simply of spark gaps in metallic rings resonant at around 150 MHz, with no amplification, he could show and announced the contention that whatever was being transmitted, it had no commercial potential. Although a young man, Hertz unfortunately died at age 36, just before he might have seen others adding to his work and leading toward everyday uses. Edouard Branly in France started work to study nerve conduction in 1885. His need for a sensitive electrical detector resulted in the Branly Coherer, a tube of loosely packed metal filings that would clump together when a weak current flowed through it. The coherer, adopted and modified by others became radio's first practical signal detector. William Crookes suggested in 1892 that electromagnetic waves might be used for wireless telegraphy, even though this was 5 years before J.J. Thompson would announce the existence of electrons. At the time, no one was interested. Oliver Lodge, an English professor at University College, Liverpool, independently achieved results similar to Hertz, publishing just a month after Hertz (which means we might have called radio waves "Lodgian waves") By 1894, Lodge was demonstrating transmission of electromagnetic waves through walls in London and later at Oxford University. Lodge added an important function to the Branly coherer: A mechanical "tikker" that randomized the filings in the coherer after each detection event. Ambrose Fleming, later to become a close associate of Marconi, was in the audience and later wrote he had seen Lodge transmit alphabetic characters using the Morse telegraphic code; letters that formed intelligible messages. (The actual message content, regrettably, seems to have been lost.) Also, Lodge, in connection with related interests he had concerning the nature of lightning, had already defined basic properties of electromagnetic waves, showing that the period of a wave in a resonant circuit was equal to 2 pi LC. Lodge at the time stayed close to his profession of Professor of Experimental Physics, and thus had no interest in further developing his nascent "wireless telegraph." Although he has developed the concept of tuning a circuit, using the musical term "syntony," Lodge does not begin to exploit his discoveries until 1901, after Marconi has begun to use the concepts in practical wireless telegraphy. In the face of all this, Marconi's first knowledge of electromagnetic waves did not occur until 1894, when, as an unmatriculated protege of Professor Righi at Bologna, he reads about Hertz' demonstrations. Professor Righi was himself replicating and expanding on Hertz' work, but with even smaller loops than Hertz; loops that suggest Righi's waves had a frequency in the region of 3 gigaHertz, which would, of course, result in an even shorter transmission range than Hertz had shown. Marconi, well-to-do son of a Bologna merchant family, built his own experiments on the family estate and by 1895, succeeded in signaling over a distance of about 2 kilometers. Most exciting to him was that the signals traveled over a hilltop, between a transmitter and receiver that were out of sight of each other. At the time, and for some years later, many still contended that electromagnetic waves behaved exactly like light, implying a range no farther than line of sight. Marconi had to repeatedly demonstrate transmission beyond the optical horizon to a skeptical world. In Russia, Alexander Popov worked at improving the Branly coherer by selecting the material and size of filings, adding his own "tikker." Popov demonstrated detection of electromagnetic waves generated by lightning as much as 30 kilometers distant when connected to a lightning rod that was, of course, an antenna for the coherer. An academic like Lodge, even though he wrote that his apparatus might be used for signaling, Popov never developed the notion of sending messages to a complete fruition. By 1896, receiving no interest from the Italian government in his work, Marconi took his apparatus to England, where he could count on influence and land owned by relatives based on his family's connection to the Irish Jameson Whisky family. On his arrival in England, frightened customs inspectors smashed his machinery, fearing it to be part of an Italian anarchist plot. Fortunately, it is simple enough that it can be rebuilt without difficulty. Also in 1896, Nikola Tesla of Serbia, whose primary interest was electrical power transmission rather than communications, had developed a rotary arc transmitter and the notion of a vertical "aerial wire" as parts of a proposition to transmit electric power without wires. Although incomplete of Tesla's contribution at the moment, Marconi applied for British patents covering "wireless telegraphy," showing a clear purpose to transmit information by electromagnetic waves as the end purpose of his invention. By 1897, starting a barrage of experimentation and development that was to characterize the personality of both Marconi and his companies, Marconi demonstrated a range of first 7-1/2, then 14 kilometers. Based on that success, he founded his first English company, The Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, Limited. Returning to Italy in the latter half of 1897, he demonstrated wireless telegraphy with ships 18 kilometers offshore and over the horizon. At the end of 1897, he was back in England showing that a station on the Isle of Wight could communicate with ships as much as 30 kilometers distant, By 1898, he opened a commercial wireless telegraph service to Rathlin O'Birne Lighthouse Island near the entrance to Donegal Bay in northwestern Ireland. On March 27, 1899, Marconi joined England to Europe with wireless telegraphy between his shore station at South Foreland Light and a station he built at Wimereux, 50 kilometers across the Channel. He was nearly in a position to compete with submarine telegraph cables across the Dover Strait that had been operating since 1851. The notion of competing with telegraph companies was obvious. By the summer of 1899, Marconi had finally waited out and overridden political obstacles in the Royal Navy and was invited to place his wireless on three naval ships during maneuvers. The range to his shore station ran as far as 160 kilometers, while ships could signal each other as far as 110 kilometers and occasionally as far as 136 kilometers. By this point, interference was becoming intolerable with no real tuning or band-limiting of emissions. Marconi had to get to work on employing some "syntony," which Lodge had patented in 1897. Marconi took "syntony" a step farther than Lodge, providing tuning at both the spark transmitter and the coherer receiver as part of his famous Patent 7777. This did not keep Lodge from later suing Marconi in 1910 and settling for cash in 1911 over patent infringements. However, in 1900, encouraged by his recent successes, Marconi told the board of his newly formed Marconi International Marine Communication Company" that he wanted to construct high-powered wireless transmitters to span the Atlantic Ocean. The result, as we all know, was the epochal transmission of the Morse letter "S" between Poldhu Point near Mullion on England's Lizard Peninsula and Heart's Content in Newfoundland on December 12, 1901. The details of that accomplishment, and those of several later starting parallel developers to Marconi, are stories for another time. What did happen by April 1900 was that Marconi uniquely had combined Professor Righi's transmitter, Branly's coherer, Tesla's elevated antenna and Lodge's tuned circuits to realize what ultimately became first wireless telegraphy, then speech, music, control tones and data transmission by radio. And, it's doubtful anyone with less financial resource, political influence and staying power than Marconi could have accomplished the progress he had made by the turn of the century. It's an appropriate time now to consider how far we have progressed in the 100 years since Marconi got it all together in 1900. Want to know more? Here are some websites with more detail on radio's earliest years: http://www.webcom.com/radioweb/educate/timeline.html http://wwwkoi.ptti.ru/eng/forum/article1.html http://home.luna.nl/~arjan-muil/radio/intune.html http://www.hal-pc.org/~bvarc/jan1996.htm http://www.engr.mun.ca/~gpeters/greats.html ------------------------------ From: Charlie Spitzer Subject: Re: Phoenix Arizona Area Codes - 602, 623, 480 Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 13:54:44 -0700 Organization: Stratus Computer (DE) Inc, Maynard MA, USA "Joseph Singer" wrote in message news:telecom20.128.11@telecom-digest.org... > On Tue, 15 Jan 2002 18:43:43 MST, acuma@aztec.asu.edu (Chris N. Acuma) > wrote: >> The nice thing about the Phoenix area is we dont have any toll >> calls. You can call from one phone to any other phone in all three >> area codes with out being charged a toll free. >> Calls within your area code are made by dialing the seven digit number. > Question: Does 602, 623 and 480 cover the same area i.e. are those > area codes all overlaid? I thought in overlay areas 7 digit dialing > was not permitted (though I believe New York City has an exception to > this though it is unusual.) No. splits. > Interesting that all of Arizona was 602 up til 1995. Odd that in 7 > years they have managed to need two additional area codes. 3. Got another one put into affect last weekend or so. > Personal replies are likely not read. Please reply in the newsgroup. Regards, charlie phx, az ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 21:10:30 MST From: acuma@aztec.asu.edu (Chris N. Acuma) Subject: Re: Phoenix Arizona Area Codes - 602, 623, 480 No, they are not overlays. 602 is central Phoenix 623 is west valley - Glendale, Peoria, and some west & north Phoenix areas 480 is east valley - Tempe, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and some South Phoenix areas > Question: Does 602, 623 and 480 cover the same area i.e. are those > area codes all overlaid? I thought in overlay areas 7 digit dialing > was not permitted (though I believe New York City has an exception to > this though it is unusual.) As of now its up to 5 area codes for Arizona 602, 623, 480 - Phoenix Area; 520 - Tucson & Southern Arizona; ??? - This month Northern Arizona split away from the Tucson area and got a new area code and I don't remember it. When I was a kid Phoenix was a dinky cow town with 50,000 people in it. and Tucson down south was even smaller. now metro Phoenix area has over 3,000,000 people and Tucson metro has over 1,000,000 people. Native Arizonans like me are very rare. People come here mostly from the east where they are tired of the snow (these people are easy to spot; they are the ones swimming in unheated pools in the middle of the winter); and from California where they are amazed that you can buy a 3 bedroom home for only $100,000. > Interesting that all of Arizona was 602 up til 1995. Odd that in 7 > years they have managed to need two additional area codes. "Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters." -- Noah Webster ------------------------------ From: Joel B Levin Subject: Re: Phoenix Arizona Area Codes - 602, 623, 480 Organization: On the desert Reply-To: levinjb@gte.net Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 05:41:54 GMT On Thu, 17 Jan 2002 09:06:12 -0800 in in comp.dcom.telecom, you wrote: > On Tue, 15 Jan 2002 18:43:43 MST, acuma@aztec.asu.edu (Chris N. Acuma) > wrote: >> The nice thing about the Phoenix area is we dont have any toll >> calls. You can call from one phone to any other phone in all three >> area codes with out being charged a toll free. >> Calls within your area code are made by dialing the seven digit number. > Question: Does 602, 623 and 480 cover the same area i.e. are those > area codes all overlaid? I thought in overlay areas 7 digit dialing > was not permitted (though I believe New York City has an exception to > this though it is unusual.) No. The original plan was a second area code for overlay, but the usual people objected to an overlay for the usual reasons. So instead they went with a three-way split: central Phoenix stayed with 602, and the west and east valleys (roughly) went into 623 and 480 without overlap, in early '99 or late '98. > Interesting that all of Arizona was 602 up til 1995. Odd that in 7 > years they have managed to need two additional area codes. Arizona is a fast growing state. We just got an increase from six to eight House districts in Congress. And make that three area codes; we're in the process of dividing 520 into two area codes, with everything except a large portion of Southern AZ (Casa Grande, Tucson, Sierra Vista et al) going to 928. /JBL ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2002 00:43:59 -0500 Subject: Re: Phoenix Arizona Area Codes - 602, 623, 480 From: Rory Francisco In article telecom20.128.11@telecom-digest.org, Joseph Singer at joeofseattle@yahoo.com wrote on 1/17/02 12:06 PM: > Question: Does 602, 623 and 480 cover the same area i.e. are those > area codes all overlaid? I thought in overlay areas 7 digit dialing > was not permitted (though I believe New York City has an exception to > this though it is unusual.) No. The 602/623/480 area is a "micro-split": 602 covers central Phoenix, while 623 is the West Valley (Sun City, Glendale area) and 480 is the East Valley (Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale). Since no overlays are involved, 7-digit dialing within one's own NPA is permissible. > Interesting that all of Arizona was 602 up til 1995. Odd that in 7 > years they have managed to need two additional area codes. Not just two ... there are now five area codes in Arizona. The 520 NPA is now confined only to the Tucson area: the rest of the state has now been split into the new 928 area code. Number pooling, anyone? ------------------------------ Reply-To: Paul Cook From: Paul Cook Subject: Re: Low Volume on Phone Line Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 09:14:27 -0800 Organization: Proctor & Associates, Inc. Dave Phelps Probably because they had to remove any loading coils from the > line. That would cause the low volume. You probably need your DSL and > dial tone on separate pairs. > In article , km@mathcs.emory.edu > says... >> I have a phone line that has low volume no matter what phone I plug >> in. It happens to be a DSL line which is all copper to the CO, about >> 16K feet away. There is nothing wrong with my interior wiring. When >> DSL was installed they ran a new cat 3 from the Demarc and I can see >> low volume with a phone plugged right into the direct cable separated >> from the rest of the apartment wiring. Is that really true, that removing loading coils causes low volume? I thought that loading coils were used on extremely long cable runs for equalization. On a long cable run, the capacitance between the two wires in the pair gets to be enough that it is a low-reactance path for higher frequencies. So you can get a subscriber pair that sounds muffled at the far end, because the higher the frequency of the audio, the more it is attenuated. As I understand it, loading coils are hooked from each side of the line to ground. A coil will have high reactance at high frequencies and low reactance at lower frequencies, so that low frequencies are now attenuated, in an attempt to equalize the line. But the overall effect of the loading coils is attenuation, not amplification. Of course, Dave did not imply that they amplify. Maybe it is the psychoacoustic effect of trying to talk on a pair that now sounds more muffled than it would without loading coils. But another thing I am wondering about. If a cable run were long enough to require equalization with loading coils, would it be suitable for DSL? Wouldn't the capacitance in such a long run roll off the high frequencies needed for a DSL connection? Isn't this why DSL only works on short to moderate length cable runs? Also, what is the difference between Bridged and CAP DSL service, that makes CAP work over a longer run? Is the DSL signal running hotter, or at a lower frequency? Paul Cook - Applications Engineer 425-881-7000, ext 566 pcook@proctorinc.com Proctor & Associates, Redmond WA www.proctorinc.com ------------------------------ From: hogpilot Subject: Re: Pon vs. Circuit ID Organization: WebUseNet Corp. http://corp.webusenet.com - ReInventing the UseNet Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 14:49:46 -0800 A PON is the circuit order from one company to another or one department to another, like a contract number. A circuit ID is used by the maintenance techs to fix down circuits. Sometimes databases allow you to cross-refence between the two in case you only have a PON and need a Circuit ID. "Mike" wrote in message news:telecom20.129.6@telecom-digest.org... > What is the difference between a Pon # and a Circuit ID? ------------------------------ From: mrvidya2001@yahoo.com (Vidya Ramachandran) Subject: Information Request Date: 18 Jan 2002 23:06:40 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ In a typical company with 500 employees you might have a few voice T1's/T3 and a few data T1's/T3. The voice is usually seperate from the data and hence you see no voice over etc. Nowadays i'm seeing more voip, voframe, voatm etc. How does this work? If I am the typical company with voice and data being seperate, how do I go about setting up an infrastructure with integrating voice and data? What is the latest optimal solution in the marketplace today that fits the corporate model? Why does a company have to pay $80K in long distance when that can be integrated into the data/ip network? Your feedback is appreciated. Vidya Ramachandran ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #131 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Jan 20 01:37:28 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id BAA27120; Sun, 20 Jan 2002 01:37:28 -0500 (EST) Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2002 01:37:28 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201200637.BAA27120@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #132 TELECOM Digest Sun, 20 Jan 2002 01:37:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 132 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Low Volume on Phone Line - Load Coils (Don Kimberlin) Re: Low Volume on Phone Line (Dave Phelps) Re: Low Volume on Phone Line (Alan Fowler) Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations (Don Kimberlin) Re: No Third Party Billing the US? (Michael D. Sullivan) Alcatel 4400 - How do I Administer it? (Nanda Holyoak) Calling Card Problems!!! (psu104@yahoo.com) Telecom's Man of the Moment (Monty Solomon) Seeking Spoils From Broadband Push (Monty Solomon) Europe GPS Plan Shelved (Monty Solomon) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Don Kimberlin Subject: Re: Low Volume on Phone Line - Load Coils Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2002 21:30:52 -0500 In article (Fri, 18 Jan 2002 09:14:27 -0800) Paul Cook (pcook@proctorinc.com) wrote: > I thought that loading coils were used on extremely long >cable runs for > equalization. On a long cable run, the capacitance >between the two wires in > the pair gets to be enough that it is a low-reactance path for higher > frequencies. So you can get a >subscriber pair that sounds muffled at the > far end, because the higher the frequency of the audio, the more it is > attenuated. That is the psychoacoustic effect caused by the severely rolled-off attenuation characteristic of a non-loaded pair when it has relatively high capacitance. However, large gauge wire, let's say for example, 16 AWG (which was *very* rare in cables, but infrequently used for some early cable carrier systems) has a surprisingly broad audio passband. Most common experience people have is with 24 or 26 AWG and relatively high capacitance, which was originally meant to be used only for short distribution bits around a residential block. Economics pressed those sizes into more and more use to the point that they became the "norm." > As I understand it, loading coils are hooked from each side of the line to > ground. Counterintuitive as it may sound, in telephone cable, "load coils" series inductances placed at distances intended to counteract the parallel capacitance of a set length of wire. I did a quick Web search on "load coil" to try to provide a simple link to an explanation, but found an amazing number of incompetent speculations out there. It seems that if one is not on the "inside" of telephone plant engineering, there is no limit on the amount of bovine fecal matter idiots are willing to pile upon the topic. "Loading" of communications wires actually predates the telephone. Telegraphers found that the speed they could key their circuits with was limited by a tendency for the pulses to get rounded off and literally "smeared" from nice square waves into rounded humps of varying voltage that obscured marks from spaces. They learned early on that connecting "retardation coils" in series with the wire helped to square the waves back up again. In the old intercontinental submarine telegraph cables, a flat spiral tape was wound around the center core to provide some "wave shaping" which was in effect "loading." In 1898, Professor Michael Pupin did the quantitative studies at Columbia University upon which telephone wire loading has been based. In Europe, the practice has always had the name "Pupinization" in honor of that work. Over the years, a variety of "loading plans" were devised for various sizes of wire and placements, dating back to the earliest carrier telephone systems on aerial open-wire lines between cities. By the 1950s, cable of rather fine gauge wire with relatively high capacitance became the economic norm for local telephone companies, the scheme known as "H88" loading became widespread. "H" means 6000 foot (1 nautical mile) spacing and "88" means 88 millihenry inductances. "Loading" as used in local telephone cable is a great boon to voice telephony, but it is a bane to broadband audio or high speed digital transmission. However, lacking understanding, it becomes a point of paranoia for telephone wannabes. First off, the "6000 foot spacing" means that load coils work improperly if they are less than 6000 feet from a termination in BOTH directions from them. That means that unless special extra expense is taken at the ends of the wire (by adding capacitances called "build outs" at the ends, there must be 6000 feet on BOTH sides of a load coil. This means that if you are 2+ miles or less from the point where your copper line ends, there will not be any load coils (intentionally) placed in your pair. That's right - 2 miles or less from your CO or 2 miles or less from the end of your DLC/SLC and you won't have a "loaded pair." That's a pretty fair distance in most local exchange areas. (Notice the word "intentional" preceding. That's because you *might* be in an area that was formerly rural and on a cable that was the tail end of a once-long run now shortened and connected to a DLC/SLC -- so a coil *could* be found on a shorter pair. Because the "H" plan became so popular, you can see the "load coil pots" - literally round stainless steel cans - placed every 6000 feet along rural cable routes in the countryside. When you see one, watch your odometer, and when you've traveled a mile, you should easily spot the next one and so on, if traveling down a straight country road. That plan, because it was so popular, became a very convenient one to also locate repeaters for T-1 carrier, so the "load coil pots" today are more often T carrier repeater housings that coil containers. Now that you know that factoid, you know where the telco repairman is going when he says he will "replace a T-1 repeater." At any rate, here is one document about load coils that has a bit of explanation about their theory and practice: http://www.cxr.com/telcom/tel_pdfs/anas/ana_llc_bt_5200.pdf ------------------------------ From: Dave Phelps Subject: Re: Low Volume on Phone Line Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2002 11:44:32 -0600 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Your electrical description of the operation of a coil is correct, but I don't know about the detailed engineering of loading coils. I do know that the loading coils will kill the hi-freq signal of DSL. That fact would lead me to believe that the loading coils are in series with the pair rather than one pole to ground. That is why they have to be removed from the pair. However, it is my understanding that loading coils actually boost the voice freq range audio signal, but I don't know the electrical characteristics. In article , pcook@proctorinc.com says... > Dave Phelps > Probably because they had to remove any loading coils from the >> line. That would cause the low volume. You probably need your DSL and >> dial tone on separate pairs. >> In article , km@mathcs.emory.edu >> says... > Is that really true, that removing loading coils causes low volume? I > thought that loading coils were used on extremely long cable runs for > equalization. On a long cable run, the capacitance between the two > wires in the pair gets to be enough that it is a low-reactance path > for higher frequencies. So you can get a subscriber pair that sounds > muffled at the far end, because the higher the frequency of the audio, > the more it is attenuated. As I understand it, loading coils are > hooked from each side of the line to ground. A coil will have high > reactance at high frequencies and low reactance at lower frequencies, > so that low frequencies are now attenuated, in an attempt to equalize > the line. But the overall effect of the loading coils is attenuation, > not amplification. > Of course, Dave did not imply that they amplify. Maybe it is the > psychoacoustic effect of trying to talk on a pair that now sounds more > muffled than it would without loading coils. > But another thing I am wondering about. If a cable run were long > enough to require equalization with loading coils, would it be > suitable for DSL? Wouldn't the capacitance in such a long run roll > off the high frequencies needed for a DSL connection? Isn't this why > DSL only works on short to moderate length cable runs? Also, what is > the difference between Bridged and CAP DSL service, that makes CAP > work over a longer run? Is the DSL signal running hotter, or at a > lower frequency? Dave Phelps Phone Masters Ltd. deadspam=tippenring ------------------------------ From: amfowler@melbpc.org.au (Alan Fowler) Subject: Re: Low Volume on Phone Line Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2002 00:54:28 GMT Organization: Whitethorn Software Paul Cook wrote: > Dave Phelps > Probably because they had to remove any loading coils from the >> line. That would cause the low volume. You probably need your DSL and >> dial tone on separate pairs. >> In article , km@mathcs.emory.edu >> says... >>> I have a phone line that has low volume no matter what phone I plug >>> in. It happens to be a DSL line which is all copper to the CO, about >>> 16K feet away. There is nothing wrong with my interior wiring. When >>> DSL was installed they ran a new cat 3 from the Demarc and I can see >>> low volume with a phone plugged right into the direct cable separated >>> from the rest of the apartment wiring. > Is that really true, that removing loading coils causes low volume? I > thought that loading coils were used on extremely long cable runs for > equalization. On a long cable run, the capacitance between the two > wires in the pair gets to be enough that it is a low-reactance path > for higher frequencies. So you can get a subscriber pair that sounds > muffled at the far end, because the higher the frequency of the audio, > the more it is attenuated. As I understand it, loading coils are > hooked from each side of the line to ground. A coil will have high > reactance at high frequencies and low reactance at lower frequencies, > so that low frequencies are now attenuated, in an attempt to equalize > the line. But the overall effect of the loading coils is attenuation, > not amplification. Paul, Loading coils are inserted in series with the line. In combination with the shunt capacity they form a low pass filter'. In Australia we use 88 mH coils inserted every 6000 ft to give a cutoff frequency a bit above 3 kHz. I have the exact figures somewhere but it will take me a few days to find them. The 88 mH is made up of a pair of 44 mH coils, one in each side of the pair to maintain balance, and reduce crosstalk. I understand that America uses smaller coils and closer spacing to achieve the same effect. > Of course, Dave did not imply that they amplify. Maybe it is the > psychoacoustic effect of trying to talk on a pair that now sounds more > muffled than it would without loading coils. Long. Unloaded pairs make the call sound unnatural because of the loss of high frequencies. Regards, Alan ------------------------------ From: Don Kimberlin Subject: Re: Simultaneous Ring, Multiple Locations Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2002 17:55:40 -0500 In article (Thu, 17 Jan 2002 21:39:58 -0800 (Al Gillis (alg@aracnet.com) wrote: > In Qwest-land in Portland, OR an OPX has equipment on it at the CO. So, > copper pair from our prem to the CO, then some equipment, then copper pair > from the CO to the distant premise location. Most of ours (My PBX has about > 75 OPXs) stay with in the same CO boundaries but have some sort of > hybrid/amplifiers on them. There seem to be a number of adjustments on > these 400-type cards; levels can be raised or lowered and sensitivity to > loop currents can be drifted a little (to establish ring trip points, I > guess). Yes, there *MIGHT* be some "equipment" on a point-to-point private line circuit of the type generically called an "OPX" by PBX people. If, in its wisdom, the telco you order it from decides the copper loss is more than you should be getting (usually about 8 dB), they will put some gain in the circuit in the form of a repeater amplier. Now, the gadgets classically used by local telcos for that function, called "negative impedance repeaters" are easily bodged up. Local telcos have for decades tried to design these things by prescription -- that is, to keep the C.O. people dumb and just tell them to wire one into the circuit and put certain settings into it. That only works when the electrical parameter records of the cable are accurate. Guess what? The parameter records are *RARELY* accurate in the US. People have been messing in that plant (often *NOT* accomplishing the orders) for decades. I know of misdeeds going back to before WWII in that regard. The result: The darned negative impedance repeater howls and sings, and to try to quiet the customer complaints, the CO people start tinkering with adjustments in a rather random fashion. By and large, most CO people haven't a clue how a negative impedance repeater works, or what it needs to work properly, or how to set one up when the cable parms are not what the cable records say they are. End result: The telco in its wisdom decides for you that they will get your loss down to 8 db; they incompetently insert a repeater in the circuit, and you live a life forever of up and down with the circuit. Worst part of it: Even if you tell the plant people to take it out and they do, the record is not changed by engineering, and sometime later, months or years, someone audits and finds the repeater is not connected. Do you need more than one guess to know why your circuit goes back into trouble? So, yes, there *MIGHT* be some *equipment" in your OPX, but it is *not* switching equipment, it is merely some transmission equipment -- and it is often misaligned, with all sorts of good intentions that went wrong. ------------------------------ From: Michael D. Sullivan Subject: Re: No Third Party Billing the US? Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2002 23:47:15 GMT Chris Kantarjiev wrote: > OK, Linc, I got it -- you're not interested in this service. I wasn't > intending to debate the merits. > Many people outside the US seem to be interested, and carriers are > offering -- and I'm trying to figure out if it *could* be offered in the > US or if there is a tariff against it. > Anyone? Neither the FCC nor the states tariffs the rates charged by mobile carriers. Some states do require tariffs regarding terms and conditions, but as a practical matter there is little tariff regulation. (And tariffs are filed by carriers, so a tariff forbidding something can be readily changed by the carrier to permit it.) The FCC has no regulation barring a cellphone company from billing for third-party goods or services, although few if any cellphone companies do this. I suspect cellphone companies have shied away from it for several reasons: the fraud potential (since they might be left holding the bag), possible application of credit-card regulations to cellphone billing, and the difficulty of making this profitable in the short term (billing is expensive, and third-party billing even more so). On the other hand, as cellphone companies develop the economical ability to track and bill for low-cost services that they provide (e.g., a few cents for each incoming or outgoing text message), they may be able to profitably leverage this billing capability for third-party applications. Michael D. Sullivan avogadro@bellatlantic.net Bethesda, MD, USA ------------------------------ From: holyoak@bigfoot.com (Nanda Holyoak) Subject: Alcatel 4400 - How do I Administer it? Date: 19 Jan 2002 16:38:07 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi, The company I work for has a Alcatel 4400 PBX (with about 200+ analogue phones connected to it). Unfortunately it has many problems that I want to fix (mainly in the way it's setup). For voicemail it uses an Activevoice Repartee system, running on a separate Dell PC running OS/2 Warp 4. My main question is this: How can I interface to the Alcatel 4400 PBX to administer it (i.e. change it's settings and stuff)? We're in a bit of a strange situation, because the company went into receivership a bit over a year ago, and who ever knew anything about the PBX then has now left the company. To add to that, there is also no one in our local town that is trained to administer this type of PBX. We currently have very limited control over it by the use of a HyperTerminal terminal (serial connection to the PBX). I know technicians can dial into the PBX change to settings on it. Is there a software package that will give me full control over this PBX? And how do connect to it? Serial port, Ethernet, dial-in etc ...? I thought I read once that the Alcatel 4400 runs a UNIX like realtime OS at it's core. If so, if I could maybe get a terminal session of this, it may help things a lot. If I could also get some documentation (technical i.e.) on the PBX, that would be great too, but so far I haven't been able to find any. If anyone can help me with the above, and help me shed some light on my problems, it would be greatly appreciated. Nanda Holyoak (from Australia) ------------------------------ From: psu104@yahoo.com Subject: Calling Card Problems!!! Date: 19 Jan 2002 08:33:54 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I recently had to make a few calls to England. When I checked my calling card account, I realized they charged me over $2.43/minute for these calls. When I checked on their website for rates. www.acus.com It said 1.03/minute which is still high but much better than $2.43. I just tried calling ATT to talk to their ACUS department. They don't have weekend hours for service. Do I have anyway or chance of changing these charges or am I just screwed? Thanks, scott psu104@yahoo.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Many carriers post very good rates but they are careful to point out the rates they quote *exclude calling card and third-party billing*, which are normally much higher. You might want to make sure you read the web page correctly on this point. Also, some countries have time differentials; that is when calling from the USA at one time, the rates are different than at other times. In any event, ACUS will be open on Monday morning if there are any adjustments due you. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2002 16:39:58 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Telecom's Man of the Moment Heir to a famed military and political legacy, Michael K. Powell tries to make his mark on the federal agency that regulates cell phones, television and the Internet. Washington, D.C. -- It is casual Friday at the Federal Communications Commission. Michael K. Powell, the nation's communications czar, is dressed in a cardigan sweater and a preppy dark turtleneck. This studied informality contrasts with the seriousness with which Powell regards the chairmanship's job that President George W. Bush entrusted him with last January. "The FCC's portfolio is breathtaking," Powell notes. "We oversee the entire telephone, wireless telephone, wireless, satellite, cable, television, great chunks of what we call the Internet -- all of which are amid the most profound revolutions in history." http://www.sciam.com/2002/0202issue/0202profile.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2002 16:42:39 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Seeking Spoils From Broadband Push Tech lobbyists pursue windfall from White House strategy By Yochi Dreazen and Jim VandeHei THE WALL STREET JOURNAL WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 -- For months, the high-tech industry has been working behind the scenes here to push its remedy for the nation's economic ills: a national policy to promote high-speed Internet access. http://www.msnbc.com/news/690095.asp ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2002 16:47:01 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Europe GPS Plan Shelved By Steve Kettmann 2:00 a.m. Jan. 17, 2002 PST BERLIN -- Exasperated European officials say U.S. pressure appears to have torpedoed a $3 billion project to build a European version of the U.S. global positioning system, which uses signals from orbiting satellites to track geographical position within 36 meters. The proposed system, dubbed Galileo, was intended to give Europeans more autonomy, both industrially and militarily. That's no small concern, since the United States can selectively block access to GPS, as it has during the military campaign in Afghanistan. Also, European plans to develop a rapid-reaction military force will become much more credible with their own GPS in military operations. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,49778,00.html ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V20 #132 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Jan 20 16:24:38 2002 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id QAA10939; Sun, 20 Jan 2002 16:24:38 -0500 (EST) Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2002 16:24:38 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200201202124.QAA10939@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V20 #133 TELECOM Digest Sun, 20 Jan 2002 16:24:00 EST Volume 20 : Issue 133 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Telegraph History - Some Reference Places (Don Kimberlin) Re: Telegraph History - What About Rye Beach Cable Station? (Don Kimberlin) Re: Telegraph History - More on USA Cable History (Bill Burns) Re: Telegraph History - Thanks! (Bill Burns) Music on Hold, or Music on Hold, or Music on Hold (Mark Brader) Globalinx is Fubar; Any Suggestions? (Claire Pieterek) Re: Calling Card Problem (Randy Hayes) Re: Calling Card Problem (Ken Abrams) Re: Low Volume on Phone Line - Load Coils (Brian Vita) Re: Low Volume on Phone Line (Herb Stein) 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 630-841-7174 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe/unsubscribe: subscriptions@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. Access to Premium (P) links requires upgrade to a paid subscription. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Only subscribers or registered users of ICB Toll Free News web site will be able to access all or some of the full text of URLs provided. LEGAL STUFF: TELECOM Digest (sm) is owned by Patrick Townson. Copyright 2000 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Don Kimberlin Subject: Re: Telegraph History - Some Reference Places Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2002 23:15:09 -0500 Since we first started on this topic in TELECOM Digest a number of years ago, an increasing number of Web resources have emerged. For those who would, at this point, rather read what's out there than ask questions which might be repetive, here are some URL's. First, some of the beginnings here in the Digest: http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/history/underseas.cables Next, an incredibly complete private website about the Atlantic Cable: http://www.atlantic-cable.com/ Third, a complete set of the scanned pages of a really beauti