From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Feb 2 14:31:15 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id i12JVF418636; Mon, 2 Feb 2004 14:31:15 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 14:31:15 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200402021931.i12JVF418636@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V23 #51 TELECOM Digest Mon, 2 Feb 2004 14:30:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 51 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Update (Canada) #418, February 2, 2004 (Angus TeleManagement) Re: "Superman TV" and Telephones (jbl) Re: "Superman TV" and Telephones (Joseph) EME was Re: "Superman TV" and Telephones (noname) Faked CallerID Info? (Chironex) Re: Help With Call-Attendant System? (Carl Navarro) 802.11g Wireless Router/Signal Booster/wireless Antenna to Home (O K) Free Legal Downloads For S6/Month. DRM Free (Monty Solomon) TiVo Here, There - TiVo Everywhere (Monty Solomon) TiVo Kicks Off the Year with Lower Pricing (Monty Solomon) T-Mobile and Comcast Strategic Marketing Alliance (Monty Solomon) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are included in the fair use quote. By using -any name or email address- included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the email. =========================== Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Chain letters, viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk is definitely unwelcome. We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands against crime. Geoffrey Welsh =========================== See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2004 10:07:22 -0500 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #418, February 2, 2004 ************************** TELECOM UPDATE ************************** published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 418: February 2, 2004 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** ALLSTREAM: www.allstream.com ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca ** CYGCOM INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES: www.cygcom.com ** GROUP TELECOM: www.360.net ** JUNIPER NETWORKS: www.juniper.net ** PRIMUS CANADA: www.primustel.ca ** SPRINT CANADA: www.sprint.ca ** TELUS: www.telus.com ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Telus and TWU Go to Binding Arbitration ** Nortel Posts First Profit in Seven Years ** CRTC Extends Winback Prohibition ** Allstream and Call-Net Want Backlog CSAs Denied ** Worm Hits SCO With Denial of Service Attack ** MTS to Vote on Income Trust Proposal ** Bell Reorganizes Western Operations ** Telcos to Provide Ethernet Links to Competitors ** Allstream Offers Ethernet Private Line ** Cogeco Boosts Internet Access Speed ** Investment Group Buys Persona ** Financial Results Aliant Avaya Sierra Wireless ** Issues for Wireless Data Planners ============================================================ TELUS AND TWU GO TO BINDING ARBITRATION: On January 28, the Canadian Industrial Relations Board ruled that Telus had violated the Canada Labour Code and "irreparably undermined the union's efforts in achieving a collective agreement." It ordered the company to offer the Telecommunications Workers Union the option of binding arbitration. On Friday, the TWU Executive voted unanimously to accept binding arbitration. Also last week: ** Telus submitted a final offer to the union, then withdrew it after the CIRB Order. ** Over 86% of Telus employees represented by the TWU voted to authorize strike action. If the union had not accepted binding arbitration, it could have called a strike on 72 hours notice this week. ** The B.C. Supreme Court granted an injunction blocking the TWU from showing commercials that parody Telus's animal- based advertising. Telus said the commercials violate its copyright. NORTEL POSTS FIRST PROFIT IN SEVEN YEARS: Nortel Networks earned US$732 million in 2003, its first profit since 1997. World revenues for the year were $9.81 billion, down from $10.57 billion in 2002, but fourth quarter revenues were up 12% over the previous year. CRTC EXTENDS WINBACK PROHIBITION: CRTC Decision 2004-4 responds to Call-Net's "jump start to local competition" application filed last June (see Telecom Update #385). The decision: ** rejects Call-Net's request for a 50% reduction in local loop rates; ** extends the "winback" period, during which incumbent telcos are prohibited from trying to win back customers who have taken service from a CLEC, to 12 months; ** orders incumbents to provide CLEC customers served on unbundled loops the same level of installation and repair service that the ILEC provides to its own customers; ** orders ILECs to provide "prominent" reference, on bills and their Web sites, to a new section on the CRTC website that will inform consumers about local competition. www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2004/dt2004-4.htm ALLSTREAM AND CALL-NET WANT BACKLOG CSAs DENIED: Allstream and Call-Net have asked the CRTC to reject all pending telco proposals for Customer Specific Arrangement tariffs, and to order Bell Canada to cease providing service under these contracts. They want the Commission to impose a moratorium on new CSAs until the Federal Court rules on Bell's appeal of a CRTC ruling requiring disclosure of the details of the tariffs. (See Telecom Update #405) WORM HITS SCO WITH DENIAL OF SERVICE ATTACK: On the weekend, computers infected by the MyDoom.A worm launched a Denial of Service attack on SCO, the Utah-based software company that claims to own part of the code used in Linux, putting its website out of service. MyDoom.B is expected to launch a similar attack on Microsoft on Tuesday. ** Microsoft and SCO Group have each offered US$250,000 rewards for information leading to conviction of the authors of the worms that have infected hundreds of thousands of computers and accounted for over 30% of Internet traffic at peak. MTS TO VOTE ON INCOME TRUST PROPOSAL: The Board of Directors of Manitoba Telecom Services says it will put a proposal to convert the company into an income trust to a vote at its next annual meeting. The Board took no position on the proposal. BELL REORGANIZES WESTERN OPERATIONS: Bell Canada has placed both its Bell Mobility and Bell West operations in Alberta and B.C. under a single executive. Paul Healey, head of Bell Mobility in the two provinces, will become President of Bell's Western Canadian Region. ** Randy Reynolds, formerly head of Bell West, is retiring. TELCOS TO PROVIDE ETHERNET LINKS TO COMPETITORS: CRTC Telecom Decision 2004-5 gives interim approval to Ethernet access tariffs filed by Bell Canada and Telus (see Telecom Update #370, 397), including Ethernet connecting arrangements for competitor use, and orders the other major incumbents to file similar tariffs. www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2004/dt2004-5.htm ALLSTREAM OFFERS ETHERNET PRIVATE LINE: Allstream has launched Ethernet Private Line service at 1 Gbps within and between Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver. More sites are to be added later this year. COGECO BOOSTS INTERNET ACCESS SPEED: Cogeco Cable has increased the download speed of its Standard High-Speed Internet service from 3 Mbps to 5 Mbps, and of its High Speed Pro service from 5 Mbps to up to 10 Mbps. Upload speeds have been raised to 640 Kbps and 1 Mbps, respectively. INVESTMENT GROUP BUYS PERSONA: A group of investors including TD Capital Canadian Private Equity Partners and CIBC Capital Partners has agreed to buy Persona Inc, Canada's sixth- largest cable operator, for $406 million. The deal requires approval by two-thirds of the company's shareholders. FINANCIAL RESULTS: ** Aliant's 2003 profit was $185.3 million, up from $142.2 million in 2002. Total revenue grew 1.1% to $2.07 billion. ** Avaya reports September-December world revenues of US$971 million, 3% more than the same period the previous year. Net income of $10 million compares to a loss of $121 million in 2002. ** Sierra Wireless had a profit of $1.5 million in 2003, compared to a loss of $38.4 million the previous year. Revenues for the year were $34.6 million, an increase of 54%. ISSUES FOR WIRELESS DATA PLANNERS: The February issue of Telemanagement features four reports on wireless LANs, including: lessons learned from McGill's campus-wide WLAN; a user evaluation of public Wi-Fi hotspots; rethinking enterprise WLAN configurations; and key issues in evaluating wireless ROI. ** Telemanagement Online subscribers can access this issue, and an extensive library of past issues, columns, editorials and feature reports, at http://online.angustel.ca/. ** To subscribe, or to add online access to your existing subscription, go to www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm-sub-online.html. Charter Subscriber discounts are available now. ============================================================ 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 www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.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. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. =========================================================== COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2003 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: jbl Subject: Re: "Superman TV" and Telephones Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2004 11:28:58 -0700 Organization: On the desert Reply-To: jbl@spamblocked.com In , Gail M. Hall wrote: > What struck me was that when they used their cell phones, the tones > were sounded as the buttons were pressed instead of the way my current > cell phone works. Mine makes a beep with each phone press, but I > don't hear the normal phone tones until I press "Talk" on my phone. My cell phone (an Audiovox on VZW) plays the touchtone if you dial a digit (or * or #), or a beep if you press any other button. I don't hear any tones after I press "send". On the other hand, my cordless phone at home does act the way you describe, if you dial before pressing "talk". > Another thing in the story was that they would immediately enter the > numbers over and over again and *then* get some kind of beep that > indicated they didn't have a signal. My phone has a little graphic on > it that indicates signal strength from the time I turn on the phone. > It also has a graphic that indicates battery power. I would know > without entering any numbers if I had a signal or not. I would not > have to dial any number first. A lot of people might not look first; Columbo, with all his technical "expertise", for instance, was very new to his mobile phone and possibly had no idea what all the little doodads in the display meant. > [TELECOM Digest Editor' Note: Television and Hollywood tend to take > some liberties with the realities of cell phones in their productions. > I do not think any cellphones ever worked differently than the way > they do now. PAT] Yes, but in the case of the phones, the liberties were not all that huge (this time). /JBL ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: "Superman TV" and Telephones Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2004 06:52:42 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.NOcom On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 22:05:10 -0500, Gail M. Hall wrote: > What struck me was that when they used their cell phones, the tones > were sounded as the buttons were pressed instead of the way my current > cell phone works. Mine makes a beep with each phone press, but I > don't hear the normal phone tones until I press "Talk" on my phone. I'm guessing that it may may be a case of different manufacturers implementing "dialing" differently. On all Nokias I've ever used as well as an Ericsson model that I have when you press the keys to "dial" you get regular DTMF "touch tones." > Another thing in the story was that they would immediately enter the > numbers over and over again and *then* get some kind of beep that > indicated they didn't have a signal. Again, this probably has more to do with the way a manufacturer designs their phones. Some phones will beep when they go out of range. Some phones will have blinking light that shows constantly while the phone is in use while others do not. Others will change colours as they go out of range or have something else happen such as running low on battery. You can't really make an absolute statement. Along with that is film/TV producers don't always picture phones in a realistic manner. I don't think I can count the number of times I've seen someone go to use a "fortress" type pay phone and when they insert their coins you hear a "ding-ding" like you used to get with the old three slot pay phones or having a Trimline phone ring and the ring you hear is the dual gong "500" type ringer rather than the muted gong you should hear from a Trimline. > My parents had a satellite dish for their TV back around 1980. It was > a big thing. At first it could get lots of channels, but eventually > the companies started jumbling their signals so people would have to > buy a service to descramble the signals to see the channels. By the > '90's, that satellite dish was essentially useless. The service is still very much alive though the popular satellite service is now the mini-dish rather than the BUD (big ugly dish.) True there's not as much free programming as there was, but if you have the money there's just as much programming available now as there was then. remove NO from .NOcom to reply ------------------------------ From: noname Subject: EME was Re: "Superman TV" and Telephones Organization: ATCC Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2004 05:20:59 GMT In article , gmhall@apk.net says: > On 12 Jan 2004 07:01:25 -0800, in comp.dcom.telecom message > , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa > Hancock) wrote: >> I saw an old episode of the TV "Superman" (mid 50s) and >> noticed how today's phones would've made a difference. > On another issue, I noticed that the bad guy had a big TV, which he > said was hooked to a satellite with 200 channels. I didn't see a box. > Also, there was no remote, so he had to use the TV's on/off button to > turn it on and off. > My parents had a satellite dish for their TV back around 1980. It was > a big thing. At first it could get lots of channels, but eventually > the companies started jumbling their signals so people would have to > buy a service to descramble the signals to see the channels. By the > '90's, that satellite dish was essentially useless. My brother-in-law > took down the dish last summer and has plans to make something else > out of it -- maybe something to let plants climb on or something. They make great EME antennae for us hams out there. EME being Earth- Moon-Earth as in bouncing signals off of it. ------------------------------ From: Chironex Subject: Faked CallerID Info? Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 11:36:09 -0500 I recently hosted a very priveliged conference call using an online calling service. Once the call was complete, I received a list of the people connected to the call, and noticed that there was an additional caller who was not authorized. It was not the conference call service, nor was it any of my employees as I can account for all of their caller ID info. Strangely the number in question is 794-902-XXXX, which appears to be an unused area code! Is this possible and how the heck did someone do this???? ------------------------------ From: Carl Navarro Subject: Re: Help With Call-Attendant System? Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2004 09:49:19 -0500 Organization: Airnews.net! at Internet America On 30 Jan 2004 12:32:13 -0800, jcoronat@paulbunyan.net (James) wrote: > Can anyone help in constructing an automated telephone answering > system for me? > The idea is to allow a caller to sample one or more long books over > the phone. Each of the one or more books will be playing continuously, > and a caller will simply tap in to a particular recording at whatever > point it happens to be when the caller calls in. So does this mean I can listen to an entire book on your dime two minutes at a time? > It should work as follows: the caller dials our toll-free number and > connects to our system ("System" - the one you supply me). The System > should then: > 1. automatically answer the call and play an outgoing message of 1-2 > mins ("Hello and thank you for calling! To hear Book One, press"); > 2.then automatically connect to a live feed-through for 2-4 minutes > minutes (this is one of the continuously playing CD players or tape > players); > 3. then automatically disconnect or fade out the live feed-through and > play a short termination message ("Thank you for listening. For > additional information write"); > 4. then automatically disconnect the call. Without spending more than 30 seconds on the answer, it is possible to do this in two ways. One is the standard voice mail system. The other is the equipment used for time and temperature. A vox file is fairly easy to construct in software with the right equipment. If it were my system, I'd select a random or specific passage from each book and make vox files of those passages. Now you can transfer them to the VM or T&T system and give them locations. > To start the System, I'd insert my book CD or audiocassette into a CD > or tape player, set the player on "continuous play" mode, and jack it > into the live feed-through port on the machine you supply. If the > system had more than one port, I'd jack additional CD players, each > playing different books, into the other ports. Then I want to walk > away and have it service callers unattended. > To summarize: when callers dial in, they'll hear an introductory > message, then 2 to 4 minutes of the book's text at whatever point the > recording happens to be at that moment; then, a short message telling > what to do if more information is desired. At the end, the system > disconnects the caller automatically. > Does anyone know how I could assemble a system of telephone equipment > that will do this? My guess is that you can have 4-16 ports and a whole boatload of sample books on a VM system for less than $4K. It requires a computer and software(or maybe the same computer) to sample the Audiobook, and just a very small learning curve to slot the books in the right "mailbox". Carl Navarro > Sincerely, > James. ------------------------------ Reply-To: O K From: O K Subject: 802.11g Wireless Router/Signal Booster/Wireless Antenna to Network Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2004 18:57:03 -0800 Organization: Cox Communications I have a question about adding a wireless antenna or signal booster to my home network. My current setup is I have a Linksys WRT54G wireless router which supports B and G infrastructure. I have a 802.11b Wireless PCI card in my PC. In my condo, I can verify that the wireless portion of the network between the wireless router and my PC are functioning. I then take my PC to another floor in my building, and I get little to no signal. I would like to add either a signal booster and/or an antenna to make my network functional. From the reading that I have done, I can't determine where the antenna needs to be installed if I go this route. Is it installed on the PCI portion of the network, or the router portion of the network. As the router TX's and RX's, is the problem with the low transmission power from the router and therefore I need a wireless antenna on the PC, or is the problem the low transmission power from the PCI card to the router upstairs? I can't figure out which hardware I need to make this functional. Please contact me directly at okorkie3@cox.net (remove the *) Thanks, Owen ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 00:09:55 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Free Legal Downloads For $6/Month. DRM Free Free legal downloads for $6 a month. DRM free. The artists get paid. We explain how ... By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco Imagine a world where music and movies could be freely exchanged online, where artists are recompensed and the labels don't lose a cent, and where 12-year old girls need not fear harboring an MP3 of their favorite TV show theme tune on their PC. All that could be yours for less than the price of a subscription to Napster: for less than $6 a month. Harvard University Professor Terry Fisher has completed the first comprehensive examination of various alternative models and the one we outline here offers such tantalizing social benefits, that even the most jaded sceptic ought to pay attention. Professor Fisher belongs to the school of forensic sceptics rather than the school of wide-eyed techno-utopians, and he's spent three years trying to make the sums add up. We think it's worth a look, and we think you ought to take a look too. (To make his task even more difficult, Fisher's license model also takes on the additional onerous task of compensating Hollywood, too). How does it work? Let's look at the sums: what level of compensation do the labels, studios and artists need to make it worthwhile? http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/35260.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 02:01:10 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo Here, There - TiVo Everywhere Stephen Williams In "Ghostbusters," one of the running gags that was assimilated into the lexicon of pop culture occurs when Bill Murray is attacked by the ghost. "I've been slimed!" he shrieks. Well, I've been TiVoed. I came face to face with this recent electronic dependency at the Consumer Electronics Show just past in Las Vegas. In fact, the spectre of TiVo was ubiquitous at CES. With more than a dozen products set to launch this year, TiVo continues to solidify its expanding niche in home video and beyond. While the DVD recorder still seems to me the logical successor to the VCR, the DVD recorder-with-TiVo now seems more logical. The digital recording technology - or near-perfect copies of it - showed up as well in home networking products, in satellite broadcast systems, in cable TV boxes; and plans are in place to invade the space of satellite radio networks Sirius and XM. http://www.newsday.com/news/columnists/ny-plgear3643969jan27,0,1537321.column ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 08:09:16 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo Kicks Off the Year with Lower Pricing Company Announces All-Time Low $199 MSRP for TiVo(R) Series2(TM) Digital Video Recorders SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) today announced a price change that will for the first time, push the entry price point on the TiVo(R) Series2(TM) DVR to under $200 at leading retailers across the country. TiVo Series2 DVRs will be available starting at a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $199 for the 40-hour, and $299 for the 80-hour model. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40373092 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 09:11:02 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: T-Mobile and Comcast Announce Strategic Marketing Alliance T-Mobile and Comcast Announce Strategic Marketing Alliance Companies Team Up for Customers to Experience Wireless Broadband Internet Service On the Go BELLEVUE, Wash. and PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Cable and T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced a strategic marketing alliance to offer the T-Mobile HotSpot Wi-Fi Internet service to Comcast's nearly five million high- speed Internet customers. With today's announcement, Comcast customers can experience the convenience, reliability and value of a T-Mobile wireless broadband connection when they're away from home, via Wi-Fi, at the more than 4,000 T-Mobile HotSpot locations nationwide. As part of this strategic marketing alliance, Comcast high-speed Internet customers will receive a special offer when they sign up for T-Mobile HotSpot through their Comcast portal homepage. Comcast customers who subscribe to the T-Mobile HotSpot service can surf the Web, check email or view streaming media at wireless broadband speeds with a Wi-Fi enabled laptop or PDA at T-Mobile HotSpot locations. T-Mobile operates the largest commercial Wi-Fi network of its kind in the U.S. and Comcast is the nation's largest provider of high-speed Internet service. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40374961 ------------------------------ 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, Yahoo Groups, 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: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@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: mirror.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. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2004 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert have 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 fifty 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. If you donate at least fifty dollars per year we will send you our two-CD set of the entire Telecom Archives; this is every word published in this Digest since our beginning in 1981. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V23 #51 *****************************