From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri May 21 00:24:41 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4L4Ofq06959; Fri, 21 May 2004 00:24:41 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 00:24:41 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405210424.i4L4Ofq06959@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 #251 TELECOM Digest Fri, 21 May 2004 00:23:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 251 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Comcast and Microsoft Announce Licensing Agreement for Microsoft (Solomon) The Fight Against Spam, Part 2 (Monty Solomon) Re: Geico Sues Google, Overture Over Trademarks (John David Galt) Re: Geico Sues Google, Overture Over Trademarks (Barry Margolin) Last Western Electric Conventional Equipment? (Lisa Hancock) Re: Jeff Pulver Statement on New York Public Services Commission (Frank) Re: New York Classifies Vonage as Phone Company (Tony P.) Re: 5.8 G 2-Line (Michael DeMarie) Bye, bye Ma Bell - Internet Phones Give Land Lines a Run (VOIP News) New York Public Service Commission Rules Vonage Is A Phone (VOIP News) States, Feds Headed For VoIP Clash (VOIP News) Re: Last Laugh! Is Google on Drugs? (unplug.nz) 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 are 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: Thu, 20 May 2004 13:32:24 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Comcast and Microsoft Announce Licensing Agreement for Microsoft PHILADELPHIA and REDMOND, Wash., May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Comcast Cable and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced an agreement that extends their existing relationship and gives Comcast the ability to make Microsoft(R) TV Foundation Edition 1.7 software available to up to 5 million customers, with the option to expand the rollout at a later date. Taking Microsoft TV Foundation to the next level reinforces Comcast and Microsoft's commitment to driving industry innovation and working together to bring advanced digital television services to consumers. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41571641 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 22:33:49 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Fight Against Spam, Part 2 by Francois Joseph de Kermadec In Part 1, I focused on laying the foundation for an anti-spam strategy and covering how to block most of your unwanted mail. In today's article of this three-part series, I'm going to fine-tune this strategy, plus take a closer look at Mail.app, so that you can more fully unleash its potential. http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/05/18/spam_pt2.html ------------------------------ From: John David Galt Subject: Re: Geico Sues Google, Overture Over Trademarks Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 13:45:11 -0700 Organization: Diogenes the Cynic Hot-Tubbing Society dold@GeicoXSues.usenet.us.com wrote: > I believe that the participants in Google's paid advertising select > their own keywords. You don't "buy" keywords from a search engine. You can, but lately the major search engines are letting you know when some of the links returned by a search are to companies that paid to be included (by labeling them as "sponsored links" or some such). > A Google search for "I hate Geico" shows up 25 listings, and one > "Sponsored Link" on the right side. It goes to geico-comnn.com. I > would think that would be the target of Geico's wrath, a misuse of > their (presumably) trademarked name as part of someone else's domain > name. Since that page is merely a listing of competitive insurance > companies, it would seem like a misuse of "geico" to me. The only > entry for "geico" at dictionary.com is as an acronym for "Government > Employees Insurance Company". GEICO is widely hated by drivers because they have the habit of buying radar guns for the police in any community one of their policyholders lives in. But if you're one of that tiny minority who actually obey most speed limits on boulevards, then go for it! ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: Geico Sues Google, Overture Over Trademarks Organization: Looking for work Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 22:20:24 -0400 In article , dold@GeicoXSues.usenet.us.com wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The weird thing to me is the company > name (or acronym) is phonetically pronounced G-eye-co yet the little > reptile mascot's name is pronounced 'g-ekk-o'? To the biologists > among us: is there such a reptile as a gekko/g-eye-co? The little guy > looks more like a baby frog to me. They have got some very clever > commercials on TV-land in any event, all based on the "I have good > news, I saved money" theme. PAT] The TV commercials pronounce the company name g-eye-co. Yes, there's an animal called a gekko -- it looks alot like a salamander. In Hawaii, gekkos can often be found walking on the walls of homes, and this is considered good luck. Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu Arlington, MA *** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me *** ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: Last Western Electric Conventional Equipment? Date: 20 May 2004 11:21:06 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Just out of curiosity, would anyone know when the last pieces of traditional telephone equipment was manufactured new at Western Electric? Things such as the 500/554 basic rotary telephone set, the 2500/2554 basic Touch Tone set, the basic Strowger switch unit, or a 3-slot pay telephone? I suspect reconditioned equipment of the above kept going on for several years after the last truly new originals were built. ------------------------------ From: Frank@nospam.biz Subject: Re: Jeff Pulver Statement on New York Public Services Commission Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 14:38:46 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications VOIP News wrote: > [Comment: I'm guessing that the ILEC's in New York State had something > to do with this, and I'm also assuming that Vonage will probably take > this to court as they did in Minnesota. I hope the precedent set in > Minnesota will be followed by the judges in New York, or that the FCC > or Congress will simply strike down state level regulation. As far as > I know, no VoIP company is headquartered in New York, so it would seem > to me that every VoIP call would be inherently interstate and subject > to FCC regulation (if subject to regulation at all), and not to New > York PSC regulation.] It will be interesting, particularly as the Third World Nation of California tries to sink its tax claws into VoIP. I reside in California and I am a subscriber to Vonage. My primary Vonage telephone number is in Cleveland, Ohio. I sometimes pack up my Vonage adapter and plug it into broadband in Hawaii, or Nevada, or Oklahoma. I sent a note to the California PUC's director of telephones, but he ignored my input. When he climbed aboard, so to speak, he made no bones about it; loss of subsidies for low-income wireline service is his total focus. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The public servants do not like it when some kind of dam appears which plugs up their constant flow of money for their various petty projects. Did anyone ever notice how the more 'peoples-republic-like' our major cities and more populous states become, the more oppressive they also become on things like taxes and government regulation in general? California is one good example, New York and Chicago are two others. All those places overrun with more people than can possibly live there comfortably; three or four times as many public servants as they need, each of whom of course is just one more hungry mouth to feed, and more laws and regulations and taxes than are real. Its almost like those larger cities/states are trying hard to drive people away with their oppressive rules, taxes, etc. They have more taxes, police, rules, regulations, etc in those places than more libertarian communities like Boulder, CO or Independence, KS would ever dream of or dare impose. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: New York Classifies Vonage as Phone Company Organization: ATCC Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 21:42:59 GMT In article , VOIP News says: > http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-5216639.html > By Evan Hansen > CNET News.com > Handing a setback to emerging Internet phone services, the New York > State Public Service Commission on Wednesday ruled that Vonage > Holdings is a telephone company and thus subject to state regulation. > In a statement announcing its decision, the agency sought to soften > the blow, saying that it nevertheless hoped to apply "only minimal > regulations to ensure that it does not interfere with the rapid, > widespread deployment of new technologies." > New York is the latest state to weigh in on regulation of so-called > voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, a hot-button policy > issue that has some local officials worried about potential tax losses > as the technology grows in popularity. > Full story at: > http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-5216639.html I have to wonder how many 'favors' Verizon provided to members of the PSC. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, if Verizon is the typical Bell company, their employees and managers belong to the very same country clubs, churches and other social organizations as the members of the commission. There is a joke around Topeka (our state capitol) which says the Kansas Commissioners 'eat out of the hands' of Southwestern Bell and Sprint (the old United Tel); belong to the same country clubs and the same churches, etc. The Commissioners hate that 'joke' and insist it is not true. They say that in fact they hate Bell with a passion, but you could not prove it by me, except they have been very generous and liberal in the application of the rules where Prairie Stream and Gage are concerned. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Michael DeMarie Subject: Re: 5.8 2-Line Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 17:58:34 -0700 Northwestern Bell has one out! Do a Google search on 5.8 2 line phones. Michael DeMarie VP/Sr. Project Manager HBI, Inc. 949-794-3145 Direct 866-591-5111 Direct Fax 310-567-2111 Mobile email: mdemarie@hbiconst.com ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 13:11:39 -0400 Subject: Bye, bye Ma Bell - Internet Phones Give Land Lines Run for Money Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.madison.com/captimes/business/stories/74581.php By Jeff Richgels Barb Maxwell of the city of Madison water utility uses a VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) system to communicate with customers and keep tabs on accounts. The name - voice over Internet protocol - sounds so geeky. But special VoIP phones operate just like regular phones. Traditional phones can be used with some simple adaptive equipment. And that's a good thing when you're talking about a service used by everyone, even the most tech averse. "When we first did (VoIP) deployments, because Cisco called it IP telephony, people thought it was a foreign language," said Frank Albi, president of Madison-based Inacom Information Systems and a leader of Cisco Systems' VoIP effort during his five years with that tech giant. "But the phone rings and has a dial tone. It works, and has all the reliability and functionality (of traditional phone service) with a lower cost point." Even government bureaucrats -- a stodgy lot, by the stereotype -- can be on the cutting edge of the technology, which some experts predict will account for 40 percent of all U.S. phone calls in five years. While only about 10 percent of U.S. businesses -- and only a few hundred thousand residential customers -- have adopted VoIP, it's already installed for the city of Madison water utility, with other city departments to follow. Full story at: http://www.madison.com/captimes/business/stories/74581.php How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 14:56:08 -0400 Subject: New York Public Service Commission Rules Vonage Is A Phone Company Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/May/1042293.htm The New York State Public Service Commission has determined that the Vonage Holdings Corporation (Vonage), which offers competitive telephone services to New Yorkers through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, is a telephone corporation as defined by New York State Law and, therefore, must obtain a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN). In its decision, the Commission emphasized its keen interest in applying only minimal regulations to ensure that it does not interfere with the rapid, widespread deployment of new technologies. At the same time, the Commission must ensure that its core public interest concerns, including public safety and network reliablity, are met. Thus, consistent with its longstanding policy, the Commission determined that Vonage, a competitive service provider, should be subject to, at most, the same limited regulatory regime which is applied to comparable competitive carriers in New York. Therefore, Vonage will not be subject to economic or rate regulation, but, pursuant to Public Service Law, Vonage must obtain Commission authorization to provide telephone service (CPCN) and file a schedule of its rates. [... Comment: Seems I was right about an ILEC being behind this .....] In September 2003, Frontier Telephone of Rochester, Inc. (Frontier) filed a complaint with the Commission alleging that Vonage should be required to obtain a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity under New York State Public Service law as an intrastate provider of telecommunications services. Frontier also asked that Vonage be required to route all "911" calls over dedicated "911" networks and participate fully in "enhanced 911" (E911) services where available. Full story at: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/May/1042293.htm [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I would not put it past Bell to completely screw up as much as possible about VOIP's essentially non-regulated status. You, the end users will be paying as much as can possibly be milked out of you a year or two from now if Bell has its way, with 'taxes' and other regulatory fees, etc. In fact, given enough time, Bell is going to make you wonder why you ever decided to leave them in the first place. Watch and see. PAT] ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 21:40:24 -0400 Subject: States, Feds Headed For VoIP Clash Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-5217512.html By Ben Charny CNET News.com Regulators in large U.S. states are moving forward with Net-phoning rules, forcing an inevitable confrontation with federal regulators who believe the industry falls under their jurisdiction. By pushing ahead with regulation now, states are facing long battles in court with Net-phoning -- or VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) -- service providers that believe existing laws don't apply to them; and later with the Federal Communications Commission, which is expected in the next few months to leave states with very little, if any, regulatory power over Net-based phone calls. Though small Net-phoning start-ups like Vonage are moving forward unfazed by the unsettled legal and regulatory picture, larger providers that want to play good corporate citizen might be forced to wait the months or years for the regulatory and legal picture to come into focus, industry sources say. "There will be a collision if the FCC takes a position that's at variance with a state's," said Carl Wood, one of the five commissioners on the California Public Utilities Commission. Full story at: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-5217512.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But of course! Mssrs. Pulver and Citron do not belong to the same country clubs and churches the Bell people and thier pets, the state commissioners belong to. PAT] ------------------------------ From: unplug.nz@gmail.com (unplug.nz) Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Is Google on Drugs? Date: 20 May 2004 18:24:57 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Yeah, I had the same thing happen to me ... but it seems that they have fixed it now ... oh well ... 1gb is enough for me and a small country. jmayson@nyx.net wrote in message news:: > This morning I noticed my Google Mail account said I was using about > 10 MB of my 1000000 MB quota. Apparently they've upped their mail > storage limit from 1 GB to 1 TB. > http://www.scripting.com/images/archiveScriptingCom/2004/05/18/terabyte.gif > At my current rate, if I deleted nothing, I was going to hit my 1 GB > limit in 2014. Now I should make it to 12004 before needing more > space. ------------------------------ 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #251 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri May 21 15:13:39 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4LJDdw14197; Fri, 21 May 2004 15:13:39 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 15:13:39 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405211913.i4LJDdw14197@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 #252 TELECOM Digest Fri, 21 May 2004 15:13:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 252 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Online Trading of TV Episodes Grows (Monty Solomon) FCC Asked To Examine A la Carte Cable TV (Monty Solomon) Coming Soon: A Cellphone Directory (Monty Solomon) One Poor Test Result: Cheating Teachers (Monty Solomon) Re: Geico Sues Google, Overture Over Trademarks (Mark Crispin) Re: Geico Sues Google, Overture Over Trademarks (Daryl R Gibson) Re: Jeff Pulver Statement on New York Public Services Commission (Frank) Re: Phantom Cell Phone Call; What's Going On ...? (jdj) Re: Last Western Electric Conventional Equipment? (Tony P.) Vonage Vows to Fight New York Ruling (VOIP News) Wireless World: Bye-bye to Ma Bell? (VOIP News) Re: Bye, bye Ma Bell - Internet Phones Give Land Lines Run (Lisa Hancock) Does AT&T Still Carry TV Programs (Lisa Hancock) Live Real Time Directory Assistance Coming to Digest (Patrick Townson) 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 are 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: Thu, 20 May 2004 23:19:23 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Online Trading of TV Episodes Grows By Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY LOS ANGELES - Missed the final episode of Frasier or Friends? Many college kids aren't waiting for the reruns. They're downloading the shows instead. With millions of unauthorized media files being traded on the Internet, it's impossible to put an exact number on how many TV episodes are out there. But Jorge Gonzalez, who runs Zeropaid.com, a file-sharing guide, says he's seen "a big increase in the last six months for new sites that specialize in trading TV shows." The Simpsons, Friends, The Sopranos and other shows are readily available at both Kazaa, the world's most-used file-sharing program, and new sites like eDonkey, TVTorrents.com and Bucktv.net. BayTSP, a Silicon Valley company that tracks unauthorized Internet file trading, found nearly 20,000 files of popular TV shows like The Simpsons and Alias being offered for free on Wednesday. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2004-05-20-tv_x.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 23:27:23 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: FCC Asked To Examine A la Carte Cable TV Lawmakers Seek Feasibility Study By Frank Ahrens Washington Post Staff Writer Key members of the House Commerce Committee have asked the Federal Communications Commission for a detailed study on the feasibility of cable and satellite companies offering their subscribers the ability to pay for the individual channels they want. Most satellite and cable companies require their customers to subscribe to packages of channels, arguing the system allows them to maintain robust lineups at affordable rates. But a la carte pricing, which would allow subscribers to pick and choose the channels they want, has been gaining momentum among some lawmakers and consumer groups as costs have risen and concerns have grown over televised indecency. Several parents groups have complained that consumers should not have to pay for channels that air content they find offensive. In the letter sent Tuesday, Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Tex.) was joined by ranking member John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) in asking FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell to have his agency determine -- within six months -- whether a la carte pricing would be technologically and economically feasible. Powell has not publicly taken a position on the alternative pricing scheme. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40996-2004May19.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 10:19:35 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Coming Soon: A Cellphone Directory THE NATION Privacy advocates fear consumers will face a flood of unwanted calls and junk e-mail. By Jube Shiver Jr., Times Staff Writer WASHINGTON - After years of anonymity, the numbers of most of the nation's mobile phones will be compiled later this year in the first wireless directory. The database being assembled by the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Assn. is expected to include about 75% of the 163 million mobile phones in the United States, making looking up a wireless number as easy as dialing 411. The association is pitching the directory as a boon for real estate agents and other on-the-go professionals who want people to be able to find their mobile numbers. But privacy advocates, some members of Congress and even a major cellular carrier -- Verizon Wireless -- fear that mobile phones, once immune to telemarketers and e-mail spammers, could become as vulnerable as home telephone lines and computer in-boxes. http://www.latimes.com/la-fi-cellphones20may20,1,3236420.story ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 10:26:18 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: One Poor Test Result: Cheating Teachers THE NATION By Erika Hayasaki, Times Staff Writer One cheater whispered answers in students' ears as they took the exam. Another photocopied test booklets so students would know vocabulary words in advance. Another erased score sheets marked with the wrong answers and substituted correct ones. None of these violations involving California's standardized tests were committed by devious students: These sneaky offenders were teachers. Since a statewide testing program began five years ago, more than 200 California teachers have been investigated for allegedly helping students on state exams, and at least 75 of those cases have been proved, according to documents obtained by The Times. Most cases have led to reprimands and warnings that future scores will be monitored, but a few teachers have been fired or have resigned, say school administrators and union officials. Some educators say teacher cheating comes as no surprise, given increased anxiety surrounding state tests and the federal use of them under the No Child Left Behind law. While students may want to do well on those tests to please parents or avoid remedial classes, their regular report cards are more important. But principals pressure teachers to work on raising scores not just for bragging rights. The staff of a school with consistently bad results can be reassigned and federal funding can be withheld. http://www.latimes.com/la-me-cheat21may21,1,1915055.story ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: Geico Sues Google, Overture Over Trademarks Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 09:55:28 -0700 Organization: University of Washington On Thu, 20 May 2004, John David Galt wrote: > GEICO is widely hated by drivers because they have the habit of buying > radar guns for the police in any community one of their policyholders > lives in. But if you're one of that tiny minority who actually obey > most speed limits on boulevards, then go for it! There's another reason to hate GEICO. To find out why, all you have to do is be the innocent victim in a collision where the other driver has GEICO (try being stopped at a stop sign, and the other driver being drunk). "Chickenshit" doesn't even begin to describe what GEICO will put you through. As far as I am concerned, a driver insured by GEICO is uninsured. There's no "let the insurance handle it" -- go straight to a lawyer and sue. GEICO won't make a serious attempt of proper compensation until lawyers are involved. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. Si vis pacem, para bellum. ------------------------------ From: Daryl R Gibson Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 08:09:48 -0600 Subject: Re: Geico Sues Google, Overture Over Trademarks On 21 May 2004 at 0:24, editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The weird thing to me is the company >> name (or acronym) is phonetically pronounced G-eye-co yet the little >> reptile mascot's name is pronounced 'g-ekk-o'? To the biologists >> among us: is there such a reptile as a gekko/g-eye-co? The little guy >> looks more like a baby frog to me. They have got some very clever >> commercials on TV-land in any event, all based on the "I have good >> news, I saved money" theme. PAT] The whole reason behind them using the gekko is for brand recognition. Some people hadn't heard about Geico, they didn't know how to pronounce it, so the early gekko commercials had the frustrated gekko taking phone calls from people, sometimes having been pulled out of the shower (complete with shower cap), saying "No...this is gekko, you want Geico." Geico is a fairly well-run insurance company, owned by Berkshire Hathaway (which is managed/largely owned by Warren Buffet.) Berkshire owns several insurance companies, as well as furniture stores, a vast gas transmission network, and Dairy Queen/Orange Julius. Having finally found a phone-related angle to this thread, I will bow out and go back to sleep. Daryl Gibson ------------------------------ From: Frank@nospam.biz Subject: Re: Jeff Pulver Statement on New York Public Services Commission Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 03:27:50 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The public servants do not like it when > some kind of dam appears which plugs up their constant flow of money > for their various petty projects. Did anyone ever notice how the more > 'peoples-republic-like' our major cities and more populous states > become, the more oppressive they also become on things like taxes and > government regulation in general? California is one good example, New > York and Chicago are two others. California is a geographically very large state. Most of the population is contained in well less than 50% of the physical area. Some of the relatively empty areas are desert, but there are extensive mountain and forest areas that are very rural. Of course, these folks views are drowned out by the socialists that run the place. ------------------------------ From: jdj Subject: Re: Phantom Cell Phone Call; What's Going On ...? Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 09:34:05 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com On Wed, 12 May 2004 14:44:16 -0700, zerge wrote: > This happened to me recently. Could anybody give a technical > explanation? Here's another weird: My Sprint phone rings once approx 30 minutes after the call to me was made. I was watching my phone while watching an impromptu airshow because I was expecting a call to come in within 5 minutes and it was a bit noisy. But the phone did nothing when they called, while I watched it, at 13:38. I checked it again at 13:50 and it still indicated nothing. At 14:20, the phone "rings" once then indicates a missed call at 13:38. That's some kind of latency ... ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: Last Western Electric Conventional Equipment? Organization: ATCC Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 05:41:24 GMT In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com says: > Just out of curiosity, would anyone know when the last pieces of > traditional telephone equipment was manufactured new at Western > Electric? > Things such as the 500/554 basic rotary telephone set, the 2500/2554 > basic Touch Tone set, the basic Strowger switch unit, or a 3-slot pay > telephone? > I suspect reconditioned equipment of the above kept going on > for several years after the last truly new originals were built. Probably some of the TAM based stuff. They looked and felt a little cheap but were built every bit as rugged as their other gear. I've got a 1200 AT 1 TAM dialer that works fine and it's got to be at least 20 years old. ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 04:28:23 -0400 Subject: Vonage Vows to Fight New York Ruling Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-5217000.html By Ben Charny CNET News.com Net phone service provider Vonage has vowed to battle a recent ruling that classified it as a telephone company and thus subject to some of New York's regulations. "We're disappointed, we're concerned and we're incensed," a Vonage representative said Thursday. The ruling, which was made by the New York State Public Service Commission on Wednesday, starts the clock ticking on a 45-day deadline for Vonage to file for a state telephone license. The Vonage representative said that "obviously, (New York) didn't get the memo from Minnesota," where a federal judge ruled that state telephone regulations don't apply to Net phone service providers. Full story at: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-5217000.html How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 12:33:55 -0400 Subject: Wireless World: Bye-bye to Ma Bell? Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040521-125335-1453r By Gene J. Koprowski United Press International A weekly series by UPI examining emerging wireless telecommunications technologies and markets. CHICAGO, May 21 (UPI) -- Local phone companies may soon be relics of a bygone era, as quaint as an RCA Victrola phonograph or a Kodak "Brownie" camera. In the next five years, as technology start-ups begin offering wireless Internet telephone service commercially, look for consumers to chase low monthly telephone service prices, to be offered by developers located all over the United States and around the globe, futurists and technologists told United Press International. "Voice is the killer application that everyone has been looking for -- for years -- on the Internet," said Jonathan Lieberman, president and chief executive officer of ISN Telcom Inc. in Miami. An array of vendors, such as Motorola Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and a number of obscure Taiwanese companies, are planning to bring hybrid wireless phones to the mass-market -- and soon. The phones will work on both the regular wireless telephone network and over the Wireless Fidelity networks, connected to the Internet. "The potential for disrupting the sleepy monopolies of the Bell System is there," said Edward Cespedes, president of Voiceglo Inc., an Internet telephone service provider in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "With voice over Internet, all geography (for a phone provider) goes away." Full story at: http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040521-125335-1453r ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: Re: Bye, bye Ma Bell - Internet Phones Give Land Lines Run for Money Date: 21 May 2004 11:19:35 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com VOIP News wrote: > But the phone rings and has a dial tone. It works, and has all the > reliability and functionality (of traditional phone service) with a > lower cost point. Of course it has a lower cost point -- it doesn't have to carry the regulatory burden that traditional land line telephone service must do. Not being that familiar with VOIP, I have no idea whether it will indeed be the wave of the future as some predict. But I do have enough gray hair to have seen many "wonderful technologies" come in with a bang than quietly disappear. Nuclear energy was once touted as being "too cheap to meter". I'd be more inclined to look into VOIP hype if there was a true apples to oranges comparison. How do costs stack up: 1) A recent post described VOIP quality as being "nearly" as good as land line. Well, call me back when you get the quality to be as good or _better_ than land line. 2) If the company's internal data lines can accomodate the full volume of telephone traffic, including peaks, at all times with 24/7 reliability? 3) If the VOIP had to support everyone in a city using it for local and long distance telecom--would the data lines, trunks, and routers be able to handle the peak volume load? Time and time again I've seen a new technology touted but could only handle laboratory loads and not real life loads. 4) If VOIP included all the taxes and fees landline charges. 5) If VOIP included the social requirements of regulated telephone service, such as the expense of filing tarrifs with the PUC (a big job in itself), and providing universal service to unprofitable and non-paying customers, and other public service obligations the regulated companies must meet. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But really, Lisa, why does traditional telephony have to carry the burden it does these days? Why shouldn't there be some telecom reform in 2004 which grossly eliminated about ninety percent of all the garbage sent through on telephone bills? PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: Does AT&T Still Carry TV Programs Date: 21 May 2004 11:07:13 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com When the radio age took off, AT&T was a big part of it by providing high quality lines for the broadcast networks to send shows to different city affiliates. Much radio was done live in those days. After WW II, television began to grow at the same time AT&T deployed high capacity coaxial cable and microwave transmission media. They had much more bandwidth than pre-war carrier systems and could accomodate television signals. For years AT&T carried television programs from the networks to affiliates. In the early years of TV, much of that was live. Now that there are so many satellites, does AT&T still carry TV programs for the networks? I sense it is easier and cheaper to download them via satellite. Also, since virtually programs are pre-recorded, I sense that downloads are done in advance allowing for redos if there's a problem (something not possible when done in real-time). ------------------------------ From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Real Time Directory Assistance Coming Soon to Digest Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 13:00:00 CDT I have recently completed an agreement with a major provider of Directory Assistance which will enable all readers here to get real time DA service from any of several telephone lines for the relatively low cost of 65 cents per call. It will work like this: From our web page http://telecom-digest.org you will go to the sign up area. You will list any phone number you want to sign up, or any of several numbers, actually, and you list the phone numbers you want to use. For example, your cellular phones, your landline phones, etc. Then you will list the credit card number you wish to use for payment. To then use the service, you will dial a certain toll free number which (a) notes the calling number for billing purposes *and* (b) patches you through to DA at the same time. You get billed call by call at 65 cents each, about once per month on your credit card. At the web site, there is also a place where you can monitor your useage and detirmine what your month bill will be. You also use that same place to change your credit card number as desired and other stuff. Then it is up to you to configure your cell phone or landline phone as desired to speed dial into the service. More details soon; and you can listen in to a sample DA call to see how it works at the sign up page. I hope this service proves very useful and inexpensive to users of Directory Assistance, especially those of you with large phone systems you administer and pay for. 65 cents for one or two inquiries is about the best rate I could get for you, but that still should save you some money. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #252 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat May 22 16:09:23 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4MK9NN23565; Sat, 22 May 2004 16:09:23 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 16:09:23 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405222009.i4MK9NN23565@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 #253 TELECOM Digest Sat, 22 May 2004 16:09:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 253 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Spam Adversaries to Meet, Debate (Monty Solomon) Can Cable Bring DBS Back Down to Earth? (Monty Solomon) Mac OS X Update Addresses Security Concern (Monty Solomon) New TV Network To Take On TiVo and Other DVRs (Monty Solomon) TiVo Fine-Tuning its Commercial Strategy (Monty Solomon) To Record in HD is a Step Closer to Techie Heaven (Monty Solomon) Now, Two-Thirds of All E-mail is Spam (Monty Solomon) Your Cellular Number, Available Through Information Please (John Bartley) Verizon Gets Low NYS PSC Grade, Has to Pay Rebates (Danny Burstein) Re: Geico Sues Google, Overture Over Trademarks (Fred Atkinson) Re: Does AT&T Still Carry TV Programs (Danny Burstein) Re: 5.8GHz 2 Line Phones (Pete Romfh) Re: Phantom Cell Phone Call; What's Going On ...? (DaveC) FCC in a Quandary Over VoIP (Chicago Tribune via VOIP News) 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 are 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: Sat, 22 May 2004 03:04:25 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Spam Adversaries to Meet, Debate By Amit Asaravala Two bitter adversaries in the spam wars said Thursday they have agreed to meet face-to-face in a public debate next month. The debate will be held at the upcoming Email Technology Conference in San Francisco. It will feature Internet marketer Scott Richter, who has been accused of being one of the world's most prolific spammers, and SpamCop founder Julian Haight. The two sides are currently embroiled in a legal battle involving SpamCop's spam blacklist service, which Richter says violates the rights of his online marketing firm, OptInRealBig.com. Lawyers for both sides said they have agreed to allow the debate because they believe it will not focus on the lawsuit. However, early comments make it highly unlikely that either Richter or Haight will be able to avoid the issue. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,63537,00.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 03:16:39 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Can Cable Bring DBS Back Down to Earth? If you think that DirecTV's low churn figure was scary, well, don't look now, 'cause Rupert's comin' ... By Mavis Scanlon The ITV All-Stars Reunion and awards for leadership in interactive television at this month's NCTA show was a downright raucous affair compared with some of the conference's more staid sessions. Loud cheering and clapping erupted after each winner's name was called out-until Rupert Murdoch was pronounced one of the seven winners. An awkward silence descended, and people looked around to see if Murdoch was actually in the room. He wasn't. Instead, Dr. Dov Rubin, GM and VP of NDS Americas, a News Corp. subsidiary, accepted the award on Murdoch's behalf. No doubt Rubin's comments bolstered the interactive TV luminaries gathered that evening, a group that's waited to see the promise of interactivity realized in the U.S. as long as Vladimir and Estragon waited for Godot. Rubin's not exactly politically correct closing remark underscored what many in the cable industry believe: that cable's network upgrades, which allow for two-way, high-speed Internet access and telephony, among other services, give it an advantage over satellite. http://www.cableworld.com/cgi/cw/show_mag.cgi?pub=cw&mon=051704&file=cancablebring.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 02:54:23 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Mac OS X Update Addresses Security Concern CUPERTINO, California-May 21, 2004-Apple today posted a Mac OS X update to address a theoretical vulnerability in the Help Viewer application that could have been exposed when browsing the web. The update is available automatically to all users through Apple's free Software Update service or by going to http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/ . http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/may/21security.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 12:18:31 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: New TV Network To Take On TiVo and Other DVRs Diane Sherwin Millions of Americans now have digital video recorders (otherwise known as DVRs or PVRs) thanks to TiVo, ReplayTV and cable and satellite providers who offer PRVs in their satellite receiver boxes. Users who have PVRs are now calling the physical act of recording shows with their hard drive recorder "TiVo-ing" even if the service and hardware unit they are using is not actually a TiVo. This is remnisciant of how photocopying has become "Xeroxing" to many consumers and many people who blow their noses think they are using a Kleenex, when they are in fact most likely using a facial tissue. As much as consumers with PVRs rave about being able to "TiVo" their favorite shows and skip the commerials, TV executives and ad agencies are less excited. Free television content is created so that networks can sell ads. Now that model is being challenged by the progress of technology but a new TV network thinks they have the answer. Ripe Entertainment is introducing a free "on-demand" cable network, called RipeTV, which will have advertising embedded into its shows. It has seven different types of advertising that will not be able to be fast-forwarded through when recorded on a PVR. RipeTV's CEO, Ryan Magnussen, calls it "TiVo-proof." New ads include a 3-D animated advertiser logo or graphic to open and close the show, an animated logo occupying the lower third of the screen, a "video skin" or graphic frame with the advertisers brand framed around the show, video billboards in the lower third, strategically placed spots and long-form commercials. The ads are more like magazine advertisements, in a video magazine setting. http://www.audiorevolution.com/news/0504/20.ripetv.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 12:22:55 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo Fine-Tuning its Commercial Strategy By Paul Bond TiVo says its users skip about half of all primetime television commercials. Nevertheless, TiVo thinks of itself as the advertiser's best friend and not the mortal enemy some have made it out to be. "It's a delicious irony," TiVo president Mary Yudkovitz said while recently hosting an event for advertising executives in Santa Monica. "TiVo didn't create commercial avoidance." He believes that honor goes to the remote control, refrigerator and bathroom. Part of the solution, in fact, are ads delivered to TiVo hard drives that consumers will choose to watch -- which they have been doing in large numbers when the ads are educational or entertaining or when they're accompanied by a chance to win major prizes. Some video-on-demand ads (or video-to-video, as the company cryptically refers to them) are watched by as many as 20% of TiVo's users. "The punch line is, viewers love it," Yudkovitz said of TiVo-delivered commercials. And he offered up a few third-party executives for unbiased proof of his assertion. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/columns/tech_reporter_display.jsp ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 12:55:36 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: To Record in HD is a Step Closer to Techie Heaven By Jonathan Bloom, Globe Correspondent There's probably at least one in your circle of friends, the guy who loves his gadgets, who needs to have the latest home-entertainment toys first, whose pulse quickens at the mention of acronyms like DSL and DBS. Two of these gadgeteers' most lust-inducing acronyms are HDTV, the television format that offers startlingly clear pictures and sound, and DVR, a class of VCR-like devices that record content digitally on hard drives, skips over commercials, and enables live television pausing. Until recently, the twain did not meet: You could watch high-definition shows when they were broadcast, or you could use DVRs to watch whenever you wanted, but only in the pale-by-comparison standard format. Yet these two technologies are now converging, and in the place where these guys hang out -- online, of course -- the fervor is overflowing. The activity on the TiVo Community Forum, a blog linked to, but not operated by, the company, illustrates the frenzy. There are over 60,000 registered bloggers, 167,000 threads, and 1.8 million posts. A recent thread that suggested Best Buy might have some units that work with satellite TV in stock elicited over 1,800 postings. There are even more potential HD DVR owners lurking on other blogs like DBSForums.com and DBSTalk.com (DBS stands for Digital Broadcast Satellite). And these numbers represent only those users who get their HDTV from satellite or over the air. Units that work with cable-TV signals are not yet available. http://www.boston.com/yourlife/home/articles/2004/05/20/to_record_in_hd_is_a_step_closer_to_techie_heaven/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 12:59:56 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Now, Two-Thirds of All E-mail is Spam And in the U.S., spam tops 80 percent mark By Bob Sullivan Technology correspondent MSNBC When the amount of unwanted e-mail advertisements flying around the Internet surpassed the number of real e-mails last year, it was regarded as a landmark moment. Since then, things have only gotten worse, anti-spam firms say, and in April, another milestone was passed. Spam last month accounted for two-thirds of all e-mail traffic, according to e-mail monitoring firm MessageLabs Inc. Things are even worse in the United States, where spam accounted for more than one in five e-mails, according to Message Labs. The firm tracks virus and spam volume by filtering every e-mail destined for its 8,500 customers, and checking it for spam or viruses. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5032714/ ------------------------------ From: John Bartley Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 16:20:49 -0800 Subject: Your Cellular Number, Available Through Information Please The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, a trade group who "serves the interests of service providers, manufacturers, wireless data and Internet companies", has announced its plans to add your cellular numbers to a cellular phone directory service, to be accessed through 411 and other, less spendy information providers such as Easy 411.com and Infone. Details at http://pdaphonehome.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30032 John Bartley K7AAY PDX CERT NET BET ARES ARC http://celdata.cjb.net ~ Handheld's Cellular Data FAQ http://livejournal.com/users/clackablog ~ Life in the Suburbs of the Silicon Forest "Politics is the business of getting power and privilege without possessing merit." - P. J. O'Rourke ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Verizon Gets Low NYS PSC Grade, Has to Pay Rebates Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 21:42:24 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC (cut and pasted from a PDF. reformatted for clarity) "For the Retail Service Quality Plan year ending February 29, 2004, Verizon missed Commission targets for restoring service to customers within 24 hours the "service restoration target" and for the "localized service" comprehensive category target. "Verizon's failure to meet the annual service restoration target results in a $20 million rebate. "The company will issue a one-time credit of about $35.70 on bills, beginning in June, to about 627,000 customers throughout the state who experienced a service outage lasting longer than 24 hours between March 1, 2003, and February 29, 2004. "Verizon's failure to meet another Commission standard the "localized service quality" target also will result in a $20 million rebate, which will be paid to all of its customers throughout the state in the form of a bill credit of about $2 per access line (approximately 10.1 million lines).' rest at the PSC's website. go to http://www.dps.state.ny.us [a] -> press releases -> PSC: Verizon New York to Rebate $40 Million for Targets Missed Last Year - Service Quality Improves in First Quarter of 2004 (direct url is an ugly javascript popup) [a] "dps" = "department of public service", aka public service commission. _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ Reply-To: Fred Atkinson From: Fred Atkinson Subject: Re: Geico Sues Google, Overture Over Trademarks Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 16:07:35 -0400 GEICO is not on my list of favorites, either. In the early 1980s (while living in Maryland), I had a clean record (no accidents or tickets) in five years, which is the maximum time that they could rate you for. I applied to GEICO for insurance and was told that I wasn't eligible for coverage. When I asked why, they refused to tell me claiming that in Maryland they were not required to give me a reason for denial. I called the Bank Commissioner's office (who at that time regulated the insurance industry in Maryland). When I told my story, they advised me that GEICO was indeed required to give a reason for denial. They asked me to write a letter naming whom I spoke to and what had transpired. They also said that GEICO was probably discriminating against me since I was in a 'high risk bracket' (being that I male, single, and under 30 years old at the time). The fact that I rarely get tickets and had no accident claims didn't make any difference. As I had not gotten the person's name, I called GEICO again and demanded to know why I was turned down. I was told that they didn't have to tell me in Maryland. I told her about my conversation with the Bank Commissioner's office. Ghe took my information and told me it was because I had not been with my current employer long enough (two years was not enough time?). I asked when I would be eligible. She said they were not required to tell me that. I promised her that her name and what she said would be quoted in my letter to the Bank Commissioner's office. After the Bank Commissioner contacted them, I was contacted by a representative from GEICO who now said that she could not understand why I had been told I wasn't eligible. She immediately offered me a policy at a savings (which I decided not to take because of their conduct in this matter). I pointed out that I was pretty upset because they had refused to give me a reason for denial the first two times. She told me that in Maryland they didn't have to give me a reason for denial. I dispatched another letter to the Bank Commissioner's Office advising them that GEICO was maintaining their position on the real issue. Shortly after this matter was concluded, I had a close friend (that was within a month of my age and had the same status of driving record that I had) call GEICO and request a quote. He was immediately quoted a policy and a rate. Apparently GEICO knew that any subsequent complaints for the same thing might raise more curiousity from the state regulators. Most of my records are in storage. I probably still have copies of the letters that flew around on this subject, though, if I took the time to look for them. I remember sending Harry Hueghes (who was then the Governor of Maryland) a very nice letter commending them and the Public Service Commission (that had handled a problem I couldn't get resolved with C&P Telephone on my own) for their professionalism and prompt assistance. I got a very nice letter back from the governor thanking me for taking the time to write him about it. I showed the letter to my landlord. He told me that his mother had worked for Harry Hueghes and he had seen his signature a number of times. He insisted that it was indeed the Governor's signature and not some staff person signing it. Apparently my letter made a splash. I've only ever had one serious accident in my entire driving career (it was snow and ice related and it was ruled to be beyond my control. No one was hurt including me) I say a proven track record over the last five years should negate any 'high risk bracket' you fall into because of your personal particulars. I understand that someone who has just started to drive has no track record and should probably be considered a higher risk because their is little other to base a rate quote on. Fred Atkinson ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Re: Does AT&T Still Carry TV Programs Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 20:24:43 +0000 (UTC) Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) writes: > Now that there are so many satellites, does AT&T still carry TV > programs for the networks? I sense it is easier and cheaper to > download them via satellite. Unlikely to be AT&T per se, but plenty of terrestrial links still interconnect major parts of the television networks. That's the key ... major portions. For example, Washington<->NYC has plenty of redundant cheap hi capacity fiber circuitry. One way to tell is to watch as the local folk switch back and forth to the distant ones, and see if there's a satellite induced delay in the response. Since the birds are 24,000 or so miles away from each ground station, there's a minimum half second (and usually more) delay time involved. So, for example, when ABC"s World News Now, the late night news program from which more insoniacs get their news, flips between tgheir NYC hq. and their Washington DC correspondent, there's quick interchange. On the other hand, when they interview someone in the middle of nowhere, there's a marked delay between them. (And if it's a really remote site using a satellite truck, there's often compression delay and artifact thrown in the picture.) One of the fun things for those of us with warped senses of humor is to watch something like a Presidential news conference in Washington DC and flip through the various stations covering it. The general pattern is that the three main commercial networks will have it at the same time, but other groups (typically Fox) will be delayed. this is not hard and fast, as all these folk, for something like a White House scheduled event, can and do swap and pool. Even more fun for those of us with nothing to do is watching this when it's covered by the BBC (or BBC America) which is broadcast locally by one of the PBS stations. So the way that one works is a satellite bounce from a Washington area base station over to England, then another satellite bounce back to the US, and then, finally, a rebroadcast. _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ From: Pete Romfh Subject: Re: 5.8GHz 2 Line Phones Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 18:20:22 -0500 Organization: Not Organized SELLCOM Tech support wrote: > In a desperate attempt to start an "on topic" thread ... > A sincere question. > Why are there no 2 line 5.8GHz cordless phones? > Is there a technical or legal (FCC yada yada) reason for > it to be impractical for manufacturers? > We get many requests for multiline 5.8 cordless phones. > Steve at SELLCOM > http://www.sellcom.com > Discount multihandset cordless phones by Siemens, AT&T, > Panasonic, Motorola Vtech 5.8Ghz; TMC ET4000 4line Epic > phone, OnHoldPlus, Beamer, Watchguard! Brick wall "non > MOV" surge protection. Mini-Splitter log splitter! If you > sit at a desk www.ergochair.biz you owe it to yourself. I've looked around a lot and haven't seen any either. With the number of 802.11b sites in homes you'd think 5.8Ghz would be a logical option. Pete Romfh, Telecom Geek & Amateur Gourmet. promfh at Texas dot net ------------------------------ From: DaveC Subject: Re: Phantom Cell Phone Call; What's Going On ...? Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 10:18:14 -0700 Reply-To: me@privacy.net On Fri, 21 May 2004 09:34:05 -0700, jdj wrote (in article ): > My Sprint phone rings once approx 30 minutes after the call to me was > made. > I was watching my phone while watching an impromptu airshow because I was > expecting a call to come in within 5 minutes and it was a bit noisy. But > the phone did nothing when they called, while I watched it, at 13:38. I > checked it again at 13:50 and it still indicated nothing. At 14:20, the > phone "rings" once then indicates a missed call at 13:38. > That's some kind of latency ... Your cell was busy. Not your phone, but the cell (constituting the geographic area covered by the provider's antennae) was max'd out. Your call went to voice mail, instead, because there was no frequency available to deliver the call to your phone. The delivery of notification of calls missed takes a low priority, so it takes a very long time to even get the notice that you "missed" your call. Instead, I should be getting a "we screwed up and couldn't get your call to you so we're going to refund a portion of your bill" notice, but so far, nada. Happens to me all the time. DaveC me@privacy.net This is an invalid return address. Please reply in the news group ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 06:24:48 PDT Subject: FCC in a Quandary Over VoIP Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com Internet phone service is cheap, if it's not subject to access fees. By Jon Van Tribune staff reporter A former Ameritech executive believes he can deliver phone service through the Internet to low-income people for $5 a month. Dwayne Goldsmith, now chief of Detroit-based Inflexion Communications Corp., and his bargain-phone scheme embody the promise and peril of Internet telephony. Most experts agree that the technology, called voice over Internet protocol, is far cheaper and more feature rich than regular phone service. But the VoIP technology runs smack into a thicket of regulations, fees and taxes that dominate traditional phone service. If Inflexion's $5 service were subject to these regulations and fees, the cost structure wouldn't work. Many of those fees were established to promote universal phone service that helps the poor -- now they could prevent public housing residents from getting phones, Goldsmith said. "It doesn't make sense to collect all these dollars and then push them back to the very phone companies that failed to provide truly universal service," he said. Inflexion has asked the Federal Communications Commission to exempt its service from the system of subsidized payments that characterizes traditional phone service. So-called access fees typically paid by long-distance companies like AT&T Corp. to local phone companies like SBC Communications Inc. were instituted decades ago to keep local phone service rates low. But Inflexion's ultralow rates won't be possible if it is subject to access fees, Goldsmith argues. Goldsmith wants to supply high-speed Internet connections to densely occupied housing projects in Detroit, offering phone service as a Web-based application, much like e-mail. Residents who have computers could access the Internet from Inflexion's system, but others without computers would be supplied with phones to use Internet telephony. Inflexion would avoid the expense of billing and metering the service by selling communications in bulk to landlords who could add $5 a month to rent to cover costs, he said. FCC Chairman Michael Powell has called for "lightly regulated" Internet telephony, and Congress recently approved extending a tax moratorium on Internet services. But whether the FCC will grant Inflexion's plea to avoid traditional phone fees is unknown. Last month the FCC unanimously turned down a request from AT&T Corp. that would exempt it from paying traditional access charges on calls that use VoIP technology. "This is a landscape that's very treacherous and exciting," said David Roddy, managing director of the telecom practice at FTI Consulting Inc. "You're dealing with policy issues -- not light regulation versus heavy. Do the states give up billions in revenue they get from taxing phone service?" Rural firms wield clout If access fees go uncollected, rural phone companies will face serious financial trouble, he said, and they have considerable clout with Congress. David Siddall, a Washington lawyer who specializes in communications and a former FCC staffer, said that the agency is truly in a quandary over what to do with VoIP. Neither Siddall nor Roddy expect action from the FCC until next year. In the absence of specific rulings, VoIP companies tend to be unregulated. Vonage, a leading Internet phone provider with more than 100,000 customers, for instance, pays no access fees. "Right now VoIP is a small dribble and doesn't make much difference," said Siddall. "But the FCC recognizes that as this continues, the current system will be harmed." Roddy said that the telecom industry is headed for a "perfect storm," led by VoIP's disruptive technology. VoIP customers must have a broadband connection to make voice calls, and today most consumers get broadband either over a DSL phone line or a cable modem. But more choices are on the horizon. Wireless broadband using a standard called WiMax should become available next year, and most electric utilities are experimenting with technology to bring broadband to their customers, Roddy said. "We're about to see true competition to provide broadband, and VoIP is the key to the whole play," he said. Internet telephony's economics are so attractive that the technology will spread no matter what regulators do, said Jim Hart, senior vice president with the Burwood Group Inc. "Businesses are adopting this technology," Hart said. "It's ready for prime time. The bottom line is there." Regulators have pushed for reducing access fees and their cross-service subsidies for years, and they have become less important for large carriers like SBC and Verizon Communications. But access fees are still a major part of the revenue flow to many rural phone carriers. TDS plans market trials An important carrier is Chicago-based Telephone and Data Systems Inc., which serves more than 1 million wired phone customers, mostly in small towns and rural areas, through its TDS Telecom unit. "We're certainly looking at VoIP," said David Wittwer, chief financial officer of TDS Telecom. "We plan to do a couple of small market trials to understand how we may offer it to our customers." Industry groups are trying to build a consensus of how the existing system of intercarrier compensation should be revised, said Kevin Hess, TDS' vice president for regulatory affairs. "Clearly, changes will be made," he said. "It cannot stay the way it's done today." Inflexion's Goldsmith agrees. "We need to adjust regulation so that it matches the technological landscape," he said. Copyright (c) 2004, Chicago Tribune *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This Internet discussion group is making it available without profit to group members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of literary, educational, political, and economic issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. I believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, in this instance, Chicago Tribune Company. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #253 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun May 23 03:08:05 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4N785d27887; Sun, 23 May 2004 03:08:05 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 03:08:05 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405230708.i4N785d27887@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 #254 TELECOM Digest Sun, 23 May 2004 03:07:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 254 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Western Union Public Telegraph Offices (TELECOM Digest Editor) Re: To Record in HD is a Step Closer to Techie Heaven (Paul Vader) Test-Driving a Cellular GPS Service (Monty Solomon) Re: Now, Two-Thirds of All E-mail is Spam (jmeissen@aracnet.com) The Efax Fax Police Are After Me!!! (Carl Navarro) Mobile IM Survey (T Green) Licensed vs. Unlicensed in Cartoon Format (Tony P.) Cordless Phone Features (Harvey Krodin) Taking my Cell Phone to Switzerland? (John R Levine) 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 are 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: Sun, 23 May 2004 00:36:34 EDT From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Western Union Public Telegraph Offices Here is another historical look at Western Union, a company which was known throughout the USA during the first half of the 20th Century. During the period 1900 through about 1969, when Western Union was at its height, a very common feature in every town in America was the public telegraph office. In larger cities, there were offices before that time, but they became pretty much standardized in appearance around the start of the twentieth century. Typically they were very ornate places, with marble top writing desks for public use, a marble top counter where the clerk(s) could be found, high back plush chairs for people to sit in while waiting for telegrams, often times rather plush thick carpeting, spitoons near the chairs, a Western Union clock and overhead fans to cool the air. Air conditioning was essentially unheard of, although a few offices had it in the 1950-60's. At each of the public writing tables, a supply of blank writing paper for customer use in printing out the messages they wished to send and at each desk, one or two fountain pens for their use in their compositions, etc. The phone (some prefix-4321) was always ringing it seemed, since in most offices (except the very large ones like Chicago) one of the clerk's duties in addition to waiting on the customers was to answer the phone and take dictation from someone calling in a telegram they wished to send. In Chicago at least, they had a 'phone room' with clerks assigned to taking messages over the phone, but in smaller towns, and especially the 'agencies' (those small town places where the the WUTCO company did not actually own the business but none the less kept a sort of tight control over the commission agent who did own it) the hapless clerks (usually one per shift) had to do it all. A short distance back from the clerks behind the counter sat the telegaph machines, ordinarily two or three large teletype machines in smaller offices and perhaps five or six machines in busier places. The machines were all wired in a 'hunt group' so that if one machine was in use and another message came in or was being sent it would 'hunt' to the next machine automatically. The 'telegraphers' worked back there, and had little or nothing to do with the public out in front. The clerks were the intermediaries. When you, the customer, approached the counter with a message to be sent, the clerk would take over. Like a school teacher examining a student's composition, she would read it over. Any words which were not clear to her, she would ask you, "what is this word here?" You told her, then she took a red pencil, drew a circle around the word in question and clearly printed it in the margin. There was always a din of noise in the background from the mechanical teletype machines working. Only on very rare occassions would all the machines stop at once for a few seconds while nothing was being sent or received and there would be almost dead silence in the room. Then just as quickly as they stopped, within a few seconds or maybe a minute, you would hear a 'whirr' noise as a motor started running, the gears would engage and one of the machines would start up again, delivering another soap opera like story for someone, somewhere. In most offices there would be one or two telegraphers in back, sitting in rolling chairs with wheels; they would roll themselves from one machine to the next, to supervise the input which was on rolls of paper. Maybe one telegrapher mainly did outgoing traffic while the other guy did mostly incoming traffic. There was no certain way. Meanwhile, the harassed clerk would alternate between phone calls from the public sending messages and the 'walk up' customers at the counter. Western Union had a policy that a walk up customer with cash in hand *always* was to take priority over a phone call, so often times the phone would ring off the hook while the clerk finished waiting on the customer at the counter. After the phone had rang often enough, the clerk would reach over it, respond with the single word 'Hold' and set the phone down on the counter until she was able to give it her attention a few seconds or a minute later. In finishing with the customer at the counter, after editorially proof-reading the message and making suggestions to the custmer such as "if we cut this word here and that word there, then you will get the whole thing in fifteen words, and that will cost eighty-five cents." The customer would generally agree with that, and give her the eighty-five cents or whatever. The clerk would then put the money in the cash box, and quickly stamp indicia all over the back side of the blank. Clop! the date and time. Clop! Her clerk's number. Clop! a serial number for the whole thing. Clop!Clop!Clop! all in two or three seconds. Then she would put it on a spindle behind her from which the telegraphers would take it, examine it and send it over the wires. There was another spindle next to it which was for incoming wires and as the telegraphers put things there, the clerk would reverse the process: stamp it in with her indicia, copy the serial number in a log book and then fold the telegram and put it in an envelope, then call the name out to the waiting room people: "Is Mr. Johnson here waiting for a message?" If Mr. Johnson was there waiting he walked up to get his message. Folding the message paper and putting it in an envelope was intended as a matter of courtesy and privacy to the customer. If Mr. Johnson was not there, then the sealed in an envelope message was put for the messenger boy to take out. The clerks could turn smiles and tears ond off by the minute, depending on the customer they were with at the time. One minute, a message would arrive telling someone that Grandma had died. The clerk would announce the name, and the man and his wife who had been there waiting for message approached the counter; the clerk gave them the sealed envelope, the man opened it and read it then showed it to his wife. The clerk would appear to be on the verge of tears herself and note, "I am really sorry to hear the news" as the man clutched his wife's hand and they turned to walk away. Or maybe she would suggest, "if you want to send a ten word response back to them letting them know if you will be going to the funeral service, if you do that while you are here, it will just cost fifty cents for overnight delivery." Then the next happy man and wife who came to the counter had a message to be sent to their family announcing that Junior had graduated from high school. The same clerk would beam with pleasure as she would congratulate the parents saying, "It sounds like Junior is a really smart kid." And thats the way they went all day: smile, cry, smile, cry, depending on who they were dealing with. And always the constant din in the background from the teletypes as they banged their keys and told yet another story, the occassional minute or so of silence as all the machines went silent for a few seconds and there was just the ticking of the Western Union Clock and the whir of the overhead fans and then suddenly some gears somewhere would engage and a machine would start chattering again, with another story to tell. And both the telegraphers and the clerks (although sometimes on the overnight shift there was only one person who worked counter and the machines) were sworn to **absolute secrecy** about the messages they handled. FCC regulations about privacy in communiations required that and every employee was required to sign a form to that effect when they were first employed by the company. There were, in those days, any number of illiterate Americans. Unlike today, where a college education is the norm, and a person with high school is more and more a rarity, fifty to seventy-five years ago, a high school education meant a lot and there were (ufortunatly) many Americans -- especially in some rural areas and in much of the southern states who could not read or write; to put it politely, they were functionally illiterate. This was especially true of racial minorities in large cities, many of whom had migrated from rural areas of the south. When these people came into the Western Union office, the clerks had to help them if they could. A man might stand at the public writing desk and make scratch marks with the pen (to preseve his own dignity) then go up to the counter and ask the clerk "I do not know for sure what I want to say, can you help me?" Or maybe there was an incoming message and upon announcement of the name, a person would come up to the counter to get the message and their excuse always was "I seem to have forgotten to bring my reading glasses, can you tell me what this says." In which case the clerk would open the sealed envelope (which she had just finished sealing, and read it to the customer. But in those cases, where the customer needed assistance in writing his message or having his message read to him, the clerk was required to add an extra indicia on the back side giving the date and saying in words like this: "My name is (name), I am employed by Western Union Telegraph Company in the (name of city) public office. I was requested by (customer name) to assist in reading/composing this message." And the customer requesting this had to put his own mark or scratch marks for his name there. This was their protection in the event there were any questions later asked. Now and again, however, the low pay the clerks/telegraphers received and the lack of respect they received from the management put them in a strike mood. Next week in this space we will discuss one or two of the work stoppages by telegraphers to protest their working conditions. PAT ------------------------------ From: pv+usenet@pobox.com (Paul Vader) Subject: Re: To Record in HD is a Step Closer to Techie Heaven Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 21:03:41 -0000 Organization: Inline Software Creations Monty Solomon writes, quoting Jonathan Bloom: > The activity on the TiVo Community Forum, a blog linked to, but not > operated by, the company, illustrates the frenzy. There are over > 60,000 registered bloggers, 167,000 threads, and 1.8 million posts. Since when is a web-board a blog? One would think words like 'thread' and 'forum' would have tipped the writer off. * * PV something like badgers--something like lizards--and something like corkscrews. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 17:07:29 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Test-Driving a Cellular GPS Service By WALTER S. MOSSBERG Navigation systems based on the government's Global Positioning System satellites have become increasingly popular. But they require specialized gear -- either expensive modules permanently installed in a car, or dedicated devices you must remember to carry. But what if you could get GPS navigation in a gadget that's with you all day anyway -- your cellphone? Now, you can. Nextel is now offering cellphones that include a GPS navigation service from a Sunnyvale, Calif., outfit called Televigation Inc. Phones with this service, called TeleNav, display detailed information about your current location, including street names and the direction in which you're headed, as well as large arrows telling you where to turn next and how far you'll have to drive before making that turn. You can even have the directions announced out loud, just like the fancy built-in car GPS systems. My assistant Katie Boehret tested TeleNav this week around Washington, with decidedly mixed results. She found that the system presented directions in an easy-to-follow format, but it was frustratingly inaccurate at times and slow compared with in-car or hand-held systems. http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20040519.html ------------------------------ From: jmeissen@aracnet.com Subject: Re: Now, Two-Thirds of All E-mail is Spam Date: 22 May 2004 21:41:45 GMT Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com In article , Monty Solomon wrote: > Spam last month accounted for two-thirds of all e-mail traffic, > according to e-mail monitoring firm MessageLabs Inc. Things are even > worse in the United States, where spam accounted for more than one in > five e-mails, according to Message Labs. Huh? The last time I checked, 20% was less than 66%, not greater than. > http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5032714/ The posting misquoted the article, which actually states,"... in the United States, where spam accounted for more than four in five e-mails" John Meissen jmeissen@aracnet.com [TEELCOM Digest Editor's Note: I definitly know that is the case here many days, like today, for example, where the spam was coming in much faster than I could get it all erased. Many days the Digest mailbox is 90-95 percent spam. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Carl Navarro Subject: The Efax Fax Police are After Me!!! Reply-To: cnavarro@wcnet.org Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 22:13:34 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com Well it finally happened. I had two people send me 11+ pages of faxes and I just got a message of overuse on my Efax free account! They think I'm going to pony up $12.95 for montly service to keep my number. Wow, I wonder if they read the part about I was looking for a fax when I found them? So, any suggestions? I'm not paying real money per month for a service I use one or two times a month. And to think, all I wanted to do was save a step in having to scan a document into a file. Carl Navarro ------------------------------ From: verdantone@yahoo.com (T Green) Subject: Mobile IM Survey Date: 22 May 2004 20:34:11 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I'd like your input on the future of Mobile IM. There is a survey at http://www.generationtext.us that is geared toward kids under 18, but all input is welcome. Thanks. ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Licensed vs. Unlicensed in Cartoon Format Organization: ATCC Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 03:55:14 GMT This illustrates the spectrum grab by big business oh so well. The CTIA comments in particular are interesting when one looks at the what is happening between an unlicensed user and licensed user in the BPL vs. Amateur Radio debacle. ------------------------------ From: hkrodin@hotmail.com (Harvey Krodin) Subject: Cordless Phone Features Date: 22 May 2004 20:59:09 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I've been in the market for a new cordless phone for months now, and I can't find a phone that has what I want. It seems every phone has one quirk or another that eliminates it from my list. So I decided to write down all the features I could think of. Here's the list, please add to it or pass it along to one of the manufacturers: 1. Base Unit a. Full duplex speakerphone b. Excellent audio c. 2.5mm jack for headset in base d. Corded handset e. Separate speaker and microphone volume control f. Mute button with lighted mute indicator g. Caller ID with name h. 100 programmable contacts Nokia mobile phone menu style access i. Programmed name replaces transmitted name when found in contact list j. Talking Caller ID with names in users voice for all contacts k. USB connection to PC for: i. Setup ii. Synchronization with Outlook Contact list iii. Synchronization with PC clock (optional) iv. PC-initiated calling v. Voice mail management l. PC need not be switched ON for phone to operate m. Clock appears on display at all times (12/24-hour format selectable) n. Clock is automatically updated with incoming call information. o. 20-number redial list; scrolling list appears on base display. p. Press-and-hold any numeric key for speed dialing up to 10 numbers q. Voice dialing for all contacts r. Extra modular jack for connecting PC's modem to phone line s. Handset paging (one/all) t. Handset Intercom (one/all) u. Wall mount option v. Battery for use during power outage w. Calling card info stored and automatically dialed if SEND key is held down. x. Live dial pad option 2. Handset(s) a. Excellent audio capability b. At least 100 ft. range, no disturbance from microwaves, wireless networks, etc. c. At least 4 handsets link to a single base d. Up to 4 handsets may be used simultaneously on a single active call e. Separate speaker and microphone volume control f. Passive noise-canceling microphone positioned near mouth g. Thick/Large enough to cradle with shoulder h. Belt clip i. Vibrating ringer option independent of ringer setting j. Selectable ring tones k. Uses base unit's contact list Nokia mobile phone menu style access l. Ability to edit/program base unit's contact information m. Voice mail access, independent of whether another handset is in use n. 20-number redial list appears on handset display. Common (or optionally independent) list on all handsets. o. Voice dialing (access to stored voice dialing in base unit). Programmable from handset. p. 2.5mm standard plug for headset q. Full duplex speakerphone r. Mute button with button on side of handset for easy access. s. Base unit and inter-handset paging / intercom t. Clock synchronized with base unit (time/format) u. Line in use indication, also works if PC modem is using phone line v. Clock visible at all times on display. w. Press and hold any numeric key for speed dialing up to 10 numbers (synchronized to base unit or individual option). x. Calling card automatically dialed if SEND key is held down. y. 3 programmable alarms with text message, snooze, and reset features. z. Keypad lock/unlock sequence (e.g., MENU + *) aa. AA NiMH rechargeable batteries 3. Digital Answering Machine a. Phone company voice mail audio quality b. Visible flashing indicator on base c. Visible indicator on all handset displays d. Number of new messages visible on both base and handset displays e. Controllable from base or any handset f. Minimum 15 minute conversation duration g. Single/all message erase ------------------------------ Date: 23 May 2004 00:00:15 -0400 From: John R Levine Subject: Taking my Cell Phone to Switzerland? I'm going to a conference in Geneva in July, and it'd be nice to have a phone. What's the best way to do it? I have a Cingular tri-band phone, with one of the band being GSM. Cingular says they have roaming agreements with most of the GSM carriers in Europe, so if I put my GSM SIM card into a phone that works on Euro frequencies, it'll work there, albeit at rather high roaming rates. Cingular will sell me a Nokia 3100 "world" phone that works on GSM 1800, but 360 days out of the year I'm in North America where my current phone is just what I want and fits the car kit in my truck. Can I easily rent a phone when I get there, either an empty one into which I plug my SIM card, or one with its own card and a number I can use? Or should I rent one here before I go? Or something else? Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies", Information Superhighwayman wanna-be, http://iecc.com/johnl, Mayor "I dropped the toothpaste", said Tom, crestfallenly. ------------------------------ 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #254 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon May 24 14:51:56 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4OIpuR13225; Mon, 24 May 2004 14:51:56 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 14:51:56 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405241851.i4OIpuR13225@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 #255 TELECOM Digest Mon, 24 May 2004 14:51:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 255 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Should Regulators Treat Internet Phone Service Like a Phone? (VOIP News) Sharing DSL Wirelessly w/o Hardwiring Any Computers (Daveman750) WCPE and WFMT May Lose Satellite Carriage (Neal McLain) Saga Continues (was Re: Verizon Wireless Detail Missing) (Gordon Hlavenka) An Opportunity to Become A Wireless Professional (singhsagarsk) VOIP Tutorials - Choice Links For Learning VOIP (sitekeeper) Re: The Efax Fax Police are After Me!!! (Frank@nospam.biz) Re: The Efax Fax Police are After Me!!! (Fred Atkinson) Re: The Efax Fax Police are After Me!!! (Gordon S. Hlavenka) Re: The Efax Fax Police are After Me!!! (SELLCOM Tech support) Re: Vonage Questions (charlie3) Re: Taking my Cell Phone to Switzerland? (Gene S. Berkowitz) Re: Taking my Cell Phone to Switzerland? (Michael D. Sullivan) Re: Western Union Public Telegraph Offices (Frank@nospam.biz) Re: Test-Driving a Cellular GPS Service (Frank@nospam.biz) Re: Question About Verizon Home Voicemail (Dave Hauss) Re: 802.16(Wi-Max) (charlie3) Re: Jeff Pulver Statement on New York Public Service Commission (Al Gillis) Re: 5.8GHz 2 Line Phones (SELLCOM Tech support) The Fight Against Spam, Part 3 (Monty Solomon) Nortel Meridian Contractors Wanted (Bob Hoffman) 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 are 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: VOIP News Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 10:42:56 -0400 Subject: Should Regulators Treat Internet Phone Service Like a Phone? Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_story.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?f0024_BC_WSJ--InternetTelephon&&news&newsflash-financial Should regulators treat Internet phone service like a phone or the internet? By MARK WIGFIELD The Associated Press The Wall Street Journal Internet phone service could be the next big thing in telecommunications, promising more competition, new high-tech features and free or low-cost calling to anywhere in the world. But first, regulators have to decide: Is it more Internet, or more telephone? The distinction could be critical to the fledgling service. Because while the telecommunications industry has a long history of heavy government intervention, Internet services have been only lightly regulated so far. Moreover, supporters of Internet calling say that subjecting the newcomer to the same kinds of strict rules that entrenched telephone companies operate under could strangle the infant in its cradle. State regulators and their backers argue that taking a laissez-faire approach to Internet calling threatens to weaken long-established consumer protections for telecommunications that exist only because of the regulators' stick. They want to ensure that services like 911 emergency calls and subsidies for rural service survive. The Federal Communications Commission, however, has signaled a clear interest in minimizing regulation of Internet telephony, known as voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP. In February, in response to a request from a tiny Melville, N.Y.-based VOIP provider, pulver.com Inc., the agency issued a ruling that said pulver's Free World Dialup and other similar VOIP services are to be considered interstate information services subject to FCC jurisdiction, not telecommunications services subject to much stricter state and federal regulation. The FCC's reasoning: Services like Free World Dialup use only broadband networks; unlike some other VOIP services, their calls never touch a traditional phone network. FCC Chairman Michael Powell further emphasized the agency's antiregulatory stance regarding these kinds of VOIP services by saying the agency will assert "significant authority to act if conflicts arise between state and federal law as a result of the (pulver) ruling." Full story at: http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_story.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?f0024_BC_WSJ--InternetTelephon&&news&newsflash-financial How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ ------------------------------ From: dsimcha@yahoo.com (Daveman750) Subject: Sharing DSL Wirelessly w/o Hardwiring Any Computers Date: 23 May 2004 18:38:53 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi, I would like to share DSL between 2 desktop computers. Is it possible, since I don't have a phone jack near either, to share DSL wirelessly by using 2 wireless adapters, one for each computer, and placing a wireless router near the phone jack across my house (well within range)? In other words, I would like all my computers to access my DSL wirelessly and to have no "main" computer. If so, how exactly would that work? Thanks. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 21:38:04 -0500 From: Neal McLain Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com Subject: WCPE and WFMT may lose satellite carriage. As I noted in my June 25, 2003 essay ("WFMT, Cable FM, and Classical Music" ), the company formerly known as United Video (now the UVTV distribution arm of Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc.) relays WGN Superstation and two classical-music FM stations (WCPE Wake Forest and WFMT Chicago) via satellite, on Galaxy 5, Transponder 7: WGN Superstation video on the main channel. WGN Superstation audio on subcarriers. WCPE stereo audio on subcarriers at 5.58 and 6.12 MHz. WFMT stereo audio on subcarriers at 6.30 and 6.48 MHz. YUSA monaural audio a subcarrier at 6.80 MHz. On March 2, 2004, EchoStar (Dish Network) agreed to acquire several of Gemstar-TV Guide's assets, including the UVTV Distribution division ("EchoStar And Gemstar-TV Guide Sign License And Distribution, Asset Purchase, And Settlement Agreements" ). This acquisition closed on April 6, 2004 ("Gemstar-TV Guide Completes Previously Announced Sale of Assets to EchoStar" ). WGN-Superstation's owner (Tribune Company) has apparently decided to discontinue its uplink arrangement with UVTV. It's apparently building its own uplink facility, and plans to begin uplinking WGN Superstation as of the end of June. As far as I know, neither UVTV nor Tribune intends to continue uplinking any of those radio signals after that date. If that happens, neither WFMT nor WCPE will be available via satellite. WCPE is trying to find a berth on some other G5 transponder, or, failing that, on some other satellite. According to a message I received from Deborah Proctor, WCPE's station manager/chief engineer: > It appears that WGN is making a move to half-analog, half- > digital, and will need ALL of the transponder bandwidth. > Therefore, WCPE, WFMT, and Yesterday USA are out at the > end of June. > I've not talked with WFMT, but Y-USA and WCPE are very > worried. We serve a great deal of traffic via that here- > to-fore tried and true site. > I am under the impression that WFMT will take this as the > end and pursue it no more. WCPE will be left to fight the > battle until the last listener is served. I have not been able to get any information about what WFMT intends to do. Maybe Deborah Proctor is right: WFMT may just let the matter die. Neal McLain nmclain@annsgarden.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 00:16:23 -0500 From: Gordon S. Hlavenka Reply-To: nospam@crashelectronics.com Organization: Crash Electronics Subject: Saga Continues (was Re: Verizon Wireless "Detail Missing" New) The story so far: On my February Verizon Wireless bill, I was informed that my detail billing would be discontinued unless I called a certain 800 number by June 30. After June 30 I could order detail billing for $1.99/month. I did nothing. My March bill included detail billing, plus a charge of $5.00 for said detail. I called the 800 number and pushed all the right buttons, then called CS and got a credit for the $5.00. The April bill showed that credit, plus a $2.58 charge for "Detail billing -- partial month". I waited with breathless anticipation to learn what adventures might befall my May bill. Well, the May bill has arrived and here's the poop: The May bill includes another $5.00 credit for "Detail billing" under the "Adjustments" section. Last month, the credit showed as a negative charge under "Services". However, this bill does NOT include the call detail -- AND it includes $2.99/month for "Roadside Assistance". Oy. So I called them back. They don't know why there's no detail included; the computer says it should be there. They are sending me a duplicate bill and waiving the $6.00 fee. I will not be surprised if I discover the duplicate does not have call details either. WRT the Roadside Assistance charge: This service was given to me as a free promotion when I renewed in February. However the promotion was only for three months -- those months have now expired so I'm being charged. The Roadside Assistance never appeared on my bill until now because it was free. That's their story and they're sticking to it. Now the Roadside Assistance is (theoretically) canceled and the charge therefor has been (theoretically) credited to my account. I think I've been credited twice for the $5.00 Detailed Billing charge that I should only have been credited once for; this tends to make me believe the root problem is incompetence -- see http://www.jargon.net/jargonfile/h/HanlonsRazor.html I now await the duplicate May bill (with or without detail) and am giddy with impatience to learn what thrills will be packaged in my June bill. William Robison wonders, > Is this the point where you send a check for what you believe is > the correct balance, along with a note that you are cancelling > your service with them as they will not honor the contract? I think I will wait until I've seen my June bill, then summarize the whole process for our friends at http://www.citizensutilityboard.org/ with a copy sent to Verizon. For a number of reasons, I'd prefer to keep the Verizon service for now. Gordon S. Hlavenka http://www.crashelectronics.com "If we imagined he could _find_ the car, we could pretend it might be fixed." - Calvin ------------------------------ From: singhsagarsk Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 13:44:33 -0000 Subject: An Opportunity to Become a Wireless Professional Reply-To: telecom-news@yahoogroups.com India is emerging as one of the most important and exiting wireless markets in the world. The next two years will be decisive as the wireless market in India reaches its take off point. Another 70 million wireless subscribers are expected to be added by 2006, pushing up the total base to over 100 million. No other world market has seen this pace of development. United Technologies (A Division Of United Telecoms Limited, www.utlindia.com) offers you an opportunity to become a Telecom Professional. The course is backed up by a real time experience in our parent Company United Telecoms Limited. It's like Learning telecom from a telecom Company. Telecom Course Details (Wireless) Course Duration: 2 Months Batch Starts on: 31st May 2004. (Evening and weekend batches batches are also available for working professionals.) Target Audience: M.Tech, B.E, Diploma, MCA, Msc and Bsc (in Elecronics & Computer science) Course Contents Comprehensive Study on RF and Data communication Fundamentals Comprehensive design work on CELL PLANNING & overview of 1st and 2nd Generation technologies Descriptive study on the selected standard i.e. CDMA 2000 1x Code generation, Channel allocation, Forward (Uplink) and Reverse (Down)Link analysis, Call Processing, Handoffs, Power Control Hands-on experience in RF devices & CDMA Equipments (On site) Expertise in Network Planning using RF Tools CONTACT ADDRESS: UNITED TECHNOLOGIES No. 32, CMH ROAD (Above the Bata Show Room) INDIRANAGAR. Bangalore 38 Phone No's: 25212393 / 25254678 / 9886285226 Email: sanish@utltraining.com Visit us at: www.utltraining.com / www.utlindia.com ------------------------------ From: sitekeeper@intersyncsolutions.com (sitekeeper) Subject: VOIP Tutorials - Choice Links For Learning VOIP Date: 23 May 2004 12:21:31 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Free Access -- Resources for Learning VOIP Network Technologies. www.intersyncsolutions.com Great for: -students learning networking -professionals seeking information on networking technologies -businesses seeking to apply networking technologies Practical. Fresh Content - updated daily! Check it out! :-) ------------------------------ From: Frank@nospam.biz Subject: Re: The Efax Fax Police are After Me!!! Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 05:28:14 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications Carl Navarro wrote: > Well it finally happened. I had two people send me 11+ pages of faxes > and I just got a message of overuse on my Efax free account! > They think I'm going to pony up $12.95 for montly service to keep my > number. Wow, I wonder if they read the part about I was looking for a > fax when I found them? > So, any suggestions? I'm not paying real money per month for a > service I use one or two times a month. And to think, all I wanted to > do was save a step in having to scan a document into a file. > Carl Navarro There's no free lunch. ------------------------------ From: Fred Atkinson Subject: Re: The Efax Fax Police are After Me!!! Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 12:40:07 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net Well, Then don't sign up for a pay account. The worst they can do is shut down your free account. It's not like it is something that you are paying for. Police? Did you ask to see their badges or police ID? Did they have them? (yes, of course I am injecting a little bit of humor here, I don't mean to be negative. Put on a smiley face). I have an Efax account myself. I rarely get anything on it. But, it is there if I need it. If I were a traveling on business, it would be a great way to receive faxes regardless of where I was. When I was on a training trip in Denver, my office in Washington hit a major snag. Due to my paricular expertise, I was the only person who had a chance of getting it resolved (and it would've been a major disaster if it was not quickly addressed). As I was running across the countryside from radio site to radio site and not near a fax machine, it was a while before I got somewhere I could receive a fax with the data I needed. I couldn't begin making phone calls to appropriate people to begin a resolution process without it. Efax would've been great back then. Of course, that was at a time when not that many people had heard of the Internet and Efax probably wasn't yet around. By the way, does anyone know of an online fax service that allows you to paste text into a form, put a telephone number into a text box in that form, press submit, and have that fax go through? It is just that I send faxes so rarely (and since I have the free Efax account, I can't send faxes over that number), that I'd rather pay by the fax rather than by the month. Ciau for now. Fred On Sat, 22 May 2004 22:13:34 GMT, Carl Navarro wrote: > Well it finally happened. I had two people send me 11+ pages of faxes > and I just got a message of overuse on my Efax free account! > They think I'm going to pony up $12.95 for montly service to keep my > number. Wow, I wonder if they read the part about I was looking for a > fax when I found them? > So, any suggestions? I'm not paying real money per month for a > service I use one or two times a month. And to think, all I wanted to > do was save a step in having to scan a document into a file. > Carl Navarro ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 23:31:15 -0500 From: Gordon S. Hlavenka Reply-To: nospam@crashelectronics.com Organization: Crash Electronics Subject: Re: The Efax Fax Police are After Me!!! Carl Navarro wrote: > Well it finally happened. I had two people send me 11+ pages of faxes > and I just got a message of overuse on my Efax free account! I wouldn't worry about it. I've gotten this warning twice so far, each time the warning was followed by another message telling me the account had been closed -- yet my efax number continues to work just fine, months later. I mostly just get junk, which is the reason I signed up for it in the first place; why buy paper for junk faxes? Gordon S. Hlavenka http://www.crashelectronics.com "If we imagined he could _find_ the car, we could pretend it might be fixed." - Calvin ------------------------------ From: SELLCOM Tech support Subject: Re: The Efax Fax Police are After Me!!! Organization: www.sellcom.com Reply-To: support@sellcom.com Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 04:02:46 GMT Carl Navarro posted on that vast internet thingie: > Well it finally happened. I had two people send me 11+ pages of faxes > and I just got a message of overuse on my Efax free account! > They think I'm going to pony up $12.95 for montly service to keep my > number. Wow, I wonder if they read the part about I was looking for a > fax when I found them? > So, any suggestions? I'm not paying real money per month for a I hope I am not going too far in left field here but I found this awesome little program that creates PDF www.pdf995.com and it costs $9.95 (I bought the guy's whole thing for $19.95). For that you can print to this pdf printer and then it even opens an email for you to send it AND the pdf reader so you can be sure you are sending what you think you are. I do that instead of FAXing for just about everything these days. (I am in no way connected to them except as a happy customer. Steve at SELLCOM http://www.sellcom.com Discount multihandset cordless phones by Siemens, AT&T, Panasonic, Motorola Vtech 5.8Ghz; TMC ET4000 4line Epic phone, OnHoldPlus, Beamer, Watchguard! Brick wall "non MOV" surge protection. Mini-Splitter log splitter! If you sit at a desk www.ergochair.biz you owe it to yourself. ------------------------------ From: charlie@cdsdetroit.com (charlie3) Subject: Re: Vonage Questions Date: 23 May 2004 06:12:59 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I just tried the voip link test and got average results from my comcast cable connection. I have years of experience with internet voice chat. The principle one today is www.paltalk.com . It is designed to work adequately with decent dialup and mostly it does. May be a lot of the troubles with viop is the provider trying to use more bandwidth than really needed for a phone quality call. I'd rather have a reliable connection than stereo quality sound that skips and misses. May be the voip companies should allow the subscribers to choose what sound quality they want. ------------------------------ From: Gene S. Berkowitz Subject: Re: Taking my Cell Phone to Switzerland? Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 01:30:46 -0400 In article , johnl@iecc.com says: > I'm going to a conference in Geneva in July, and it'd be nice to have a > phone. What's the best way to do it? > I have a Cingular tri-band phone, with one of the band being GSM. > Cingular says they have roaming agreements with most of the GSM carriers > in Europe, so if I put my GSM SIM card into a phone that works on Euro > frequencies, it'll work there, albeit at rather high roaming rates. > Cingular will sell me a Nokia 3100 "world" phone that works on GSM 1800, > but 360 days out of the year I'm in North America where my current phone > is just what I want and fits the car kit in my truck. > Can I easily rent a phone when I get there, either an empty one into which > I plug my SIM card, or one with its own card and a number I can use? Or > should I rent one here before I go? Or something else? > Regards, > John Levine johnl@iecc.com Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies", > Information Superhighwayman wanna-be, http://iecc.com/johnl, Mayor > "I dropped the toothpaste", said Tom, crestfallenly. In 2000 I rented a tri-band from Omnipoint (now Voicestream) for a trip to Europe. Renting it here was convenient, as I could make sure it was fully charged, I was able to put all my contact numbers into it, and I could give out the number to the people I was meeting ahead of time. --Gene ------------------------------ From: Michael D. Sullivan Subject: Re: Taking my Cell Phone to Switzerland? Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 17:02:00 GMT In article , johnl@iecc.com says: > I'm going to a conference in Geneva in July, and it'd be nice to have a > phone. What's the best way to do it? > I have a Cingular tri-band phone, with one of the band being GSM. > Cingular says they have roaming agreements with most of the GSM carriers > in Europe, so if I put my GSM SIM card into a phone that works on Euro > frequencies, it'll work there, albeit at rather high roaming rates. > Cingular will sell me a Nokia 3100 "world" phone that works on GSM 1800, > but 360 days out of the year I'm in North America where my current phone > is just what I want and fits the car kit in my truck. > Can I easily rent a phone when I get there, either an empty one into which > I plug my SIM card, or one with its own card and a number I can use? Or > should I rent one here before I go? Or something else? In preparation for a vacation in Italy, just bought a world phone on eBay, and an Italian SIM card from www.cellularabroad.com. The latter will also sell or rent world GSM phones. They have SIM cards from many different countries. You would be best off with a SIM card from the country that you will be in, because local calls will be cheap and international calls may be less expensive than if using another country's SIM card, since you would not be roaming. This solution will be much less expensive than using your Cingular SIM card, which would probably cost you a few bucks a minute to use, even for local calls. And an in-country SIM card will also give you a local cellular number in the country, which you can give out to other conference attendees seeking to reach you in Geneva, give it to restaurants as the callback for reservations, etc. I was surprised at how inexpensive world phones are on eBay; lots of Sony Ericsson units being unloaded. Search for "unlocked GSM tri-band". Michael D. Sullivan Bethesda, MD, USA Delete nospam from my address and it won't work. ------------------------------ From: Frank@nospam.biz Subject: Re: Western Union Public Telegraph Offices Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 02:21:25 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: > Here is another historical look at Western Union, a company which was > known throughout the USA during the first half of the 20th Century. > During the period 1900 through about 1969, when Western Union was at its > height, a very common feature in every town in America was the public > telegraph office. I don't recall much use of telegrams after nationwide direct distance dialing (DDD) was pretty much in place, which was the late 1950s. I suspect by 1965 WU was gasping for breath. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: An item in Business Week Magazine for August 27, 1960 entitled "Electronics Puts Young Blood in Old Company" is quoted in part here: > "Electronics Puts Young Blood in Old Company" > "When Walter P. Marshall (cover) stepped into the president's job at > Western Union in December, 1948, it looked as if his tenure might be > short and unhappy. Western Union, once the backbone of fast and > dependable long-distance communications in the United States, was, > quite plainly, a deathly sick old company. It was saddled with high > labor costs, old equipment, crushing debt, and local operations that > often cost more to run than they returned in gross revenue. > "Some Western Union executives were waiting for a declaration of > bankruptcy; many doubted that the company would survive to celebrate > its 100th anniversary in 1951. > "-Rejuvenation- But in the ensuing 10 years, Western Union not only > has pulled through, but it has thoroughly rejuvenated itself. Instead > of a winded oldster that could only look back at the days when its > competition was the Pony Express, it now resembles an electronics > adolescent with a bright and profitable future. The company's new > strength already is evident: Last year its revenues and earnings set > an all-time high. > "Western Union can be expected to keep on growing. In the next five > years, management hopes to spend $350-million on expansion. Next > year, the company plans to spend $105-million for plant and equipment > on top of $45-million this year. Completion of a transcontinental > microwave network will increase the system's circuit capacity 10 > times, and will add enormously to the range of services it can offer. > It will be able to provide increased telegraphic service, leased voice > channels, facsimile, closed-circuit television, and perhaps most > important of all, high-speed data processing channels that can > handle digital information at computer speeds. This next weekend, the Memorial Day holiday, I am going to reprint this entire article from Business Week magazine to show just how wrong WUTCO executives were about the company in 1960. And you know, just as in 1960 the business community was saying Western Union would rise again, I strongly suspect one of these days we are going to read about AT&T filing bankruptcy. Sounds unreal, doesn't it? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Frank@nospam.biz Subject: Re: Test-Driving a Cellular GPS Service Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 02:23:45 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications Monty Solomon wrote: > By WALTER S. MOSSBERG > Navigation systems based on the government's Global Positioning System > satellites have become increasingly popular. But they require > specialized gear -- either expensive modules permanently installed in > a car, or dedicated devices you must remember to carry. But what if > you could get GPS navigation in a gadget that's with you all day > anyway -- your cellphone? Now, you can. General Motors has had that disaster they call OnStar for several years now. It is worthless as a navigation device and very poor as a locator service. The only merging of GPS and wireless that makes any sense is as a locator rather than a navigator. ------------------------------ From: dahauss@unlimitedsounds.com (Dave Hauss) Subject: Re: Question About Verizon Home Voicemail Date: 24 May 2004 05:25:55 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Yes I have it doing that now but its a pain to get a call every time there there is voicemail. I wish Verizon would add the feature like my BROADVOICE voicemail has where it will send an email with info such as caller ID and other info and I had it going to my cell phones text messaging. Temporary FL@L&ER wrote in message news:: > Unless I am mistaken, on 19 May 2004 11:41:56 -0700, > dahauss@unlimitedsounds.com (Dave Hauss) wrote: >> I have Verizon home voicemail and am trying to find out if there is >> any possible way I can have it sent a text message to my cell phone >> when a voicemail comes in. Right now, the only thing verizon told me >> it can do is ring a number when a voicemail comes in. I don't want it >> to do that. Any ideas? > If you have the enhanced home voice mail, you can have it dial your > cellphone -- don't think there is any way for it to do a speech-to-text > conversion. All it will do is call whatever number you program it to, > then it will *replay* the message over your cell. That's what you > have, not what you want, right? > Use the usual techniques if you wish to reply via email. > Molon Labe! ------------------------------ From: charlie@cdsdetroit.com (charlie3) Subject: Re: 802.16(Wi-Max) Date: 23 May 2004 13:50:58 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I have some of the same questions you have. I've been searching for answers online same as you have. Besides the ones you raise, what about line of site restrictions. That is the major one that has limited widespread use of land based wireless broadband in urban areas. As you mention there is also supposed to be some unlicensed frequencies available as there is with WIFI. This should mean sooner or later there will be some consumer class equipment. Will this equipment perform better than WIFI? What's most interesting is I can't find the answers to these questions either. The test results blackout is so complete it is as though there has been no testing. Maybe WIMAX is bombing technically, not working as expected. Maybe the big players are dragging their feet because they can't find a way to control the technology as they might like. May be it is both. The reality is there is no WIMAX and my bet is there won't be for the foreseeable future, years to come, not because it can't be done but because the major companies don't want it to be done, yet. It might have been better to have the standards set by a noncommercial group who want the best system rather than the most profits. These are strange words for a person like me who is a self avowed moneygrubbing bloodsucking capitalist pig with no objections to people making money. In this case however the government controls these frequencies and has a responsibility to see if they are used for the public benefit. If you find quality information about WIMAX performance in the real world please pass it along, I'm interested too. ------------------------------ From: Al Gillis Subject: Re: Jeff Pulver Statement on New York Public Services Commission Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 19:44:51 -0700 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com wrote in message news:telecom23.252.7@telecom-digest.org: >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The public servants do not like it when >> some kind of dam appears which plugs up their constant flow of money >> for their various petty projects. Did anyone ever notice how the more >> 'peoples-republic-like' our major cities and more populous states >> become, the more oppressive they also become on things like taxes and >> government regulation in general? California is one good example, New >> York and Chicago are two others. > California is a geographically very large state. Most of the > population is contained in well less than 50% of the physical area. > Some of the relatively empty areas are desert, but there are extensive > mountain and forest areas that are very rural. Of course, these folks > views are drowned out by the socialists that run the place. Years ago, just after a California election, my uncle, who lived in the town of Susanville in the north-east of that state, told me he was worried that California had no state senators from the northern part of the state. He said he was worried that with all the representation from the southern part they'd probably all vote to pave Northern California for use as a parking lot for the southern part! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: My favorite take-off on this theme is an old comedy show now appearing on TV Land a few times each day called 'Green Acres' which takes place in a mythical town called 'Hooterville'. One day the main character in the show, Oliver Wendall Douglas, an attorney formerly in residence in New York City discovers that Hooterville has no representation in Congress, just loads of public servants who tax and regulate things in the little town as much as they can. PAT] ------------------------------ From: SELLCOM Tech support Subject: Re: 5.8GHz 2 Line Phones Organization: www.sellcom.com Reply-To: support@sellcom.com Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 03:53:48 GMT Pete Romfh posted on that vast internet thingie: > I've looked around a lot and haven't seen any either. With the number of > 802.11b sites in homes you'd think 5.8Ghz would be a logical option. We have a lot of folks going with the TMC ET4000 4 line wired phone system and then adding single line 5.8GHz Motorolas with it. It has great support for adding cordless phones to the system. It has a module that adds an analog port to the system so that a single line cordless can access all 4 lines incoming and outgoing. (That is what we are currently using at SELLCOM and I like it.) Steve at SELLCOM http://www.sellcom.com Discount multihandset cordless phones by Siemens, AT&T, Panasonic, Motorola Vtech 5.8Ghz; TMC ET4000 4line Epic phone, OnHoldPlus, Beamer, Watchguard! Brick wall "non MOV" surge protection. Mini-Splitter log splitter! If you sit at a desk www.ergochair.biz you owe it to yourself. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 12:06:18 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Fight Against Spam, Part 3 The Fight Against Spam, Part 3 by Francois Joseph de Kermadec Editor's note: In part one, F.J. focused on laying the foundation for an anti-spam strategy and he covered how to block most of your unwanted mail. Then in part two, he fine-tuned this strategy, plus he took a closer look at the technologies inside of Mail.app. Now in part three, the conclusion of this series, F.J. covers rules and additional tools and techniques you can use to avoid becoming buried in spam. http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/05/21/spam_pt3.html ------------------------------ From: "Bob Hoffman" Subject: Nortel Meridian Contractors Date: Sun, 24 May 2004 11:34:42 Organization: www.family-bbs.net [FamilyNet International] I am looking for a company in the Dallas Area that will provide contractors on an as needed basis to do moves adds and changes on an as needed basis. Thanks in advance. FamilyNet <> Internet Gated Mail http://www.fmlynet.org ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #255 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue May 25 00:24:05 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4P4O4a17412; Tue, 25 May 2004 00:24:05 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 00:24:05 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405250424.i4P4O4a17412@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 #256 TELECOM Digest Tue, 25 May 2004 00:24:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 256 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson The Strike Goes On (TELECOM Digest Editor) Re: Bye, bye Ma Bell - Internet Phones Give Land Lines Run for Money (Karl) Re: Western Union Public Telegraph Offices (Lisa Hancock) Re: The Efax Fax Police are After Me!!! (SELLCOM Tech Support) Re: Sharing DSL Wirelessly w/o Hardwiring Any Computers (SELLCOM Tech) Re: Sharing DSL Wirelessly w/o Hardwiring Any Computers (John Levine) Re: Sharing DSL Wirelessly w/o Hardwiring Any Computers (Brad Houser) Re: Sharing DSL Wirelessly w/o Hardwiring Any Computers (Gene S. Berkowitz) Re: Question About Verizon Home Voicemail (Shadrach) Port 25 Among First to Integrate Yahoo's Domain Keys Email (Monty Solomon) Time May Have Come For Ordering Channels a-la-carte (Monty Solomon) Best News in the War on Spam: Phishing (Monty Solomon) Re: Jeff Pulver Statement on New York Public Services Commission (Schaffra) Share Day for May (TELECOM Digest Editor) 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 are 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, 24 May 2004 23:18:57 -0400 (EDT) From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: The Strike Goes On According to the Independence Reporter for Sunday, May 23, the labor dispute at SBC continues. There was a time in the United States when a strike at the telephone company meant bad news. Now, all it seems to amount to is a slight delay in getting an answer from Directory Assistance or the operator. Here at our central office in Independence, over at 6th and Maple, there was no sign of any action other than back on Friday (when the strike started) two guys with picket signs on the sidewalk in front for a short time, but then they went away and there was nothing. The other tenants, with co-location cages, came and went normally. Telco may just allow this strike to linger on and make no real effort to settle it anytime fast. What is the reaction/ response in other communities? My understanding is it is not just SBC on strike, but all the (remnants of) Baby Bells. PAT ------------------------------ From: Hank Karl Subject: Re: Bye, bye Ma Bell - Internet Phones Give Land Lines Run for Money Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 15:56:55 -0400 Organization: NETPLEX Internet Services - http://www.ntplx.net/ On 21 May 2004 11:19:35 -0700, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) wrote: Price is only one part of the equation. and the cost differential between VoIP and GSTN calls is getting smaller (e.g. for $20/month, SBC allows me to make an unlimited number of domestic voice calls.) VoIP services have to compete on features. For example, AT&T's CallVantage offers a 9-way conference bridge, and the ability to have a call ring up to five devices. Both of these features can be done on a landline, but I don't know of any providers who offer the multiple ring capability. IMO, VoIP will grow because the VoIP providers can add the features that customers want cheaply and quickly. >> I'd be more inclined to look into VOIP hype if there was a true apples >> to oranges comparison. How do costs stack up: Right now, I get a line from SBC with some custom features that make it similar to Vonage's offering. (voice mail, unlimited domestic calling plan, SBC redirect to operator/cellphone vs Vonage ringing two numbers at once). SBC comes in at about $88/month, Vonage is about $50/month before taxes, etc. Vonage gives me an additional fax line (but I have an Internet fax service for $3.95/month vs having to maintain a fax machine for the Vonage line). Vonage has cheaper international calls. Since I use this line for business, it has to work all the time, so I'm willing to pay for the higher quality of service offered by SBC. But that may change as VoIP providers get their QOS acts together. > 1) A recent post described VOIP quality as being "nearly" as good > as land line. Well, call me back when you get the quality > to be as good or _better_ than land line. How good is the quality of your land-line? I've had occasional voice quality problems on mine (static when it rains, etc). I've used Free World Dialup. Some calls are better than land-line, some are terrible. Its been better lately (they may have upgraded their servers, or I may have finally gotten the config right :-) Overall, its worth what I paid for it. VoIP is relatively new and great progress will be made on the quality issues; how good was the quality of long distance 10 years after the landline telephone was invented? > 2) If the company's internal data lines can accomodate the full > volume of telephone traffic, including peaks, at all times > with 24/7 reliability? Work is progressing on these issues. Many approaches to QOS have been proposed. As far as reliability, companies will pay for what they need, and not all the telephone traffic need to be high availability. 911 calls do, other calls may have lower priorities, and it may be ok to have, say, non-emergency calls from most employees at a lower priority (of course, accounts receivables and sales would have a higher priority ;-) > 3) If the VOIP had to support everyone in a city using it for > local and long distance telecom--would the data lines, trunks, > and routers be able to handle the peak volume load? > Time and time again I've seen a new technology touted but > could only handle laboratory loads and not real life loads. Fortunately, everyone in a city will move to VoIP at different rates, so the infrastructure will have a chance to grow. And yes, it will be able to support everyone in a city, IP scales as well as the GSTN does. Besides, right now many people in a city don't even have Internet access, so they wouldn't use VoIP. > 4) If VOIP included all the taxes and fees landline charges. The government can screw up just about anything (and generally does so). > 5) If VOIP included the social requirements of regulated telephone > service, such as the expense of filing tarrifs with the PUC > (a big job in itself), and providing universal service to > unprofitable and non-paying customers, and other public service > obligations the regulated companies must meet. - I don't care if a bunch of tariffs are filed if I can quickly switch to a lower-cost provider. - Why should those who use the phone the most (i.e. businesses) pay to give phone service to people who can't afford their services? - public service obligations? Many people in the world today do not have a phone. Plenty of people lived before phones were invented. If the non-paying customers require a phone, shouldn't this burden be born by all (and be paid for by the state), rather than by the people who use the phone the most? > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But really, Lisa, why does traditional > telephony have to carry the burden it does these days? Why shouldn't > there be some telecom reform in 2004 which grossly eliminated about > ninety percent of all the garbage sent through on telephone bills? PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: Re: Western Union Public Telegraph Offices Date: 24 May 2004 12:10:16 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: > Here is another historical look at Western Union, a company which was > known throughout the USA during the first half of the 20th Century. Thank you for putting this out. Please keep them coming. > Typically they were very ornate places, with marble top writing > desks for public use, a marble top counter where the clerk(s) could > be found, In 1979, the Western Union office in my town was not ornate. It had a very spartan seedy lobby, and the clerk was located behind a thick glass window. An office near Lake St in Chicago around that time had a similar appearance. I understand by 1975 the bulk of WU's business was money transfers. Soon after it closed and business was handled by an agent. > There were, in those days, any number of illiterate Americans. Another source was immigrants, who either couldn't read/write English or couldn't read/write at all. From what I've read, I sense that much of today's money transfer business, along with WU's other target markets, is for low-income people who may not have normal checking accounts or credit cards and deal solely in cash. > Now and again, however, the low pay the clerks/telegraphers received > and the lack of respect they received from the management put them in > a strike mood. Next week in this space we will discuss one or two of > the work stoppages by telegraphers to protest their working conditions. According to the Oslin book labor troubles were a factor in WU's demise. Union pressures forced the elimination of telegraph boys and staff cutbacks. I knew someone who worked in one of their computer centers around 1975 and she reported the job paid very well for the type of work, but was very closely monitored. The computer checked every keystroke and counted all errors as well as tracking time away such as in the restroom. Unfortunately, in some companies labor-mgmt deteriorates so low that it becomes a lose-lose. Each side digs in their heels and becomes unreasonable. Such places end up closing altogether. I don't think the Bell System generally ever had such severe labor problems, but the Bell System had an ever expanding business instead of a contracting one. I understand that generally Bell had Western Electric employees suffer layoffs in soft times as opposed to in the operating companies. Of course now the desendant Bell companies have unionized employees while the competitors don't. The RBOCs created new subsidiaries that are not union, and try to shift as much work over as possible. I once had an installer come out who was a contractor (not a Verizon employee -- his truck had the Verizon sign just taped on as opposed to painted on.) He was rude and slovenly. I contested and received credit for his charges afterwards. In the meantime, the CWA (Communications Workers of America) have sought to unionize workers in new industries. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: By 1979, there was nothing of any significance left to the old Western Union empire. And on Lake Street in Chicago, a very racially diverse neighorhood where the citizens would murder your mother and attack you for the change or food stamps in your purse, Western Union money transfer agents were not the only business places to have thick, bullet proof glass over their cashier windows in those days, and even today, 25 years later, it stays that way. Lisa, I am curious; what were YOU doing on West Lake Street, during the seventies or anytime since? The main Western Union Building downtown *was* nice at one point; the last time I walked past in the middle nineties (when I was strongly thinking about checking out of Chicago once and for all), the building was not in good condition, and where the public office on the first floor had been was a currency- change looking place with two or three windows (again, behind thick glass) for money transfers. The building was otherwise mostly boarded up and abandoned. And speaking of unionized employees, the telcos are on strike as I write this, and I do not think it will end anytime soon. PAT] ------------------------------ From: SELLCOM Tech support Subject: Re: The Efax Fax Police are After Me!!! Organization: www.sellcom.com Reply-To: support@sellcom.com Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 20:10:35 GMT Gordon S. Hlavenka posted on that vast internet thingie: > I mostly just get junk, which is the reason I signed up for it in the > first place; why buy paper for junk faxes? Well, I find that saving them up and about once a month sending them with a cover letter to the FCC Enforcement Divsion gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. FCC Enforcement Telecommunications 445 12st St SW Washington, DC 20554 Steve at SELLCOM http://www.sellcom.com Discount multihandset cordless phones by Siemens, AT&T, Panasonic, Motorola Vtech 5.8Ghz; TMC ET4000 4line Epic phone, OnHoldPlus, Beamer, Watchguard! Brick wall "non MOV" surge protection. Mini-Splitter log splitter! If you sit at a desk www.ergochair.biz you owe it to yourself. ------------------------------ From: SELLCOM Tech support Subject: Re: Sharing DSL Wirelessly w/o Hardwiring Any Computers Organization: www.sellcom.com Reply-To: support@sellcom.com Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 20:14:03 GMT dsimcha@yahoo.com (Daveman750) posted on that vast internet thingie: > I would like to share DSL between 2 desktop computers. Is it > possible, since I don't have a phone jack near either, to share DSL > wirelessly by using 2 wireless adapters, one for each computer, and > placing a wireless router near the phone jack across my house (well > within range)? In other words, I would like all my computers to > access my DSL wirelessly and to have no "main" computer. If so, how > exactly would that work? I do it. Just buy a wireless router (G is best these days) to plug into your DSL / Cable thingie with the Ethernet cable (may require crossover cable). And then get wireless thingies for the computers. We just do it here for laptops but it is the same idea. Take a few moments and learn how to secure your setup. The mac address thing is a good idea and the WEP. Don't set up any security until you get it working without it. Steve at SELLCOM http://www.sellcom.com Discount multihandset cordless phones by Siemens, AT&T, Panasonic, Motorola Vtech 5.8Ghz; TMC ET4000 4line Epic phone, OnHoldPlus, Beamer, Watchguard! Brick wall "non MOV" surge protection. Mini-Splitter log splitter! If you sit at a desk www.ergochair.biz you owe it to yourself. ------------------------------ Date: 24 May 2004 21:01:58 -0000 From: John Levine Subject: Re: Sharing DSL Wirelessly w/o Hardwiring Any Computers Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > I would like to share DSL between 2 desktop computers. Is it > possible, since I don't have a phone jack near either, to share DSL > wirelessly by using 2 wireless adapters, one for each computer, and > placing a wireless router near the phone jack across my house The router, which you can get for about $30 when they're on sale at places like Best Buy, connects to the DSL modem. The two computers have WiFi adapters. Works great. I'd suggest changing the SSID in the router to something other than the default and set a password, so passing tourists can't share your network. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies", Information Superhighwayman wanna-be, http://www.johnlevine.com, Mayor "More Wiener schnitzel, please", said Tom, revealingly. ------------------------------ From: Brad Houser Subject: Re: Sharing DSL Wirelessly w/o Hardwiring Any Computers Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 15:30:56 -0700 Organization: Intel Corporation Daveman750 wrote in message news:telecom23.255.2@telecom-digest.org: > Hi, > I would like to share DSL between 2 desktop computers. Is it > possible, since I don't have a phone jack near either, to share DSL > wirelessly by using 2 wireless adapters, one for each computer, and > placing a wireless router near the phone jack across my house (well > within range)? In other words, I would like all my computers to > access my DSL wirelessly and to have no "main" computer. If so, how > exactly would that work? A wireless router will do what you want. It connects to the DSL modem. Your 2 desktops will receive an IP address from the router. You will connect to the router, and give it the DSL logon information, and then both computers will see the internet. Make sure the wireless adapters you purchase for the desktops have PCI card adapters. Brad Houser ------------------------------ From: Gene S. Berkowitz Subject: Re: Sharing DSL Wirelessly w/o Hardwiring Any Computers Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 23:21:20 -0400 In article , dsimcha@yahoo.com says: > Hi, > I would like to share DSL between 2 desktop computers. Is it > possible, since I don't have a phone jack near either, to share DSL > wirelessly by using 2 wireless adapters, one for each computer, and > placing a wireless router near the phone jack across my house (well > within range)? In other words, I would like all my computers to > access my DSL wirelessly and to have no "main" computer. If so, how > exactly would that work? > Thanks. Yes, this is a common approach. The only device that needs to physically plug into the phone line is the DSL modem. It doesn't have to be right at the jack either, you can run a long phone cable to it. The modem will have an RJ45 Ethernet jack. Connect the wireless router to the modem. It may be necessary (depending on the router) to physically connect your PC to it for configuration purposes; once configured, you can connect via wireless. The router is a DHCP server, which means it will hand out IP addresses to PCs that connect to it automatically. --Gene ------------------------------ From: Shadrach Subject: Re: Question About Verizon Home Voicemail Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 22:46:07 -0500 Reply-To: w9vhe@arrl.net Unless I am mistaken, on 24 May 2004 05:25:55 -0700, dahauss@unlimitedsounds.com (Dave Hauss) wrote: > Yes I have it doing that now but its a pain to get a call every time > there there is voicemail. I wish Verizon would add the feature like > my BROADVOICE voicemail has where it will send an email with info such > as caller ID and other info and I had it going to my cell phones text > messaging. > Temporary FL@L&ER wrote in message > news:: >> Unless I am mistaken, on 19 May 2004 11:41:56 -0700, >> dahauss@unlimitedsounds.com (Dave Hauss) wrote: >>> I have Verizon home voicemail and am trying to find out if there is >>> any possible way I can have it sent a text message to my cell phone >>> when a voicemail comes in. Right now, the only thing verizon told me >>> it can do is ring a number when a voicemail comes in. I don't want it >>> to do that. Any ideas? >> If you have the enhanced home voice mail, you can have it dial your >> cellphone -- don't think there is any way for it to do a speech-to-text >> conversion. All it will do is call whatever number you program it to, >> then it will *replay* the message over your cell. That's what you >> have, not what you want, right? >> Use the usual techniques if you wish to reply via email. >> Molon Labe! It would seem that VZ is using a different type VM system than Broadvoice. Most of the ones I was familiar with were from Digital Sound. Don't think they had the speech to text boards out yet. Use the usual techniques if you wish to reply via email. Molon Labe! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 23:37:54 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Port25 Among First to Integrate Yahoo's DomainKeys Email Port25 Among First to Integrate Yahoo's DomainKeys Email Authentication Technology ELLICOTT CITY, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2004-- Port25 Demonstrates Commitment to Make it Easy for Senders to Adopt the Latest Anti-Spam Standards Port25 Solutions Inc., a leading provider of e-mail delivery software, announces that it has successfully integrated DomainKeys support into PowerMTA(TM), its intelligent e-mail delivery gateway product. Yahoo's (NASDAQ:YHOO) DomainKeys is a cryptographic authentication system that allows receivers of email to verify the identity an email sender and will help combat common spamming techniques. Port25 is the first company to announce its implementation of the current DomainKeys specification. Organizations interested in evaluating PowerMTA(TM) and/or learning more about our support for DomainKeys should visit http://www.port25.com/domainkeys . - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41611895 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 23:55:17 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Time May Have Come For Ordering Channels a la carte Page 1B Time may have come for ordering channels a la carte Congress, consumers push for paying only for what you want By Michael McCarthy USA TODAY Cara Cooper-Padilla is fed up with ever-higher bills for cable/satellite TV service to get the channels she wants -- along with dozens more she never watches. "Cable should be like ordering sushi, where you check off what you want on a menu," says the wife, mother and teacher from Torrance, Calif. "Give me a list of all the channels that you're offering -- then I'll check off what I want to pay for." Count Cooper-Padilla, 33, among a growing body of cable and satellite customers and consumer advocates demanding that pay TV companies be forced to offer so-called 'a la carte' pricing to give subscribers more control over bills. This model would price channels individually and let consumers buy the ones they want, as opposed to the industry practice of offering a few 'tiers' of progressively more expensive all-or-none packages. No U.S. pay-TV provider offers channels a la carte, and such demands have gone unheard in the past. But in the post-Janet-Jackson era of decency backlash, conservative and family advocacy groups have added their voices, seeing such 'channel choice' as a way to keep smut out of the family room. This coming together of groups that might disagree on everything but their pay TV bills -- along with the fact that cable or satellite TV is in about 88% of the nation's 108 million TV homes -- has caught bipartisan attention on Capitol Hill and brought at least saber-rattling about mandating more channel choice. http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040524/6226831s.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 00:09:05 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Best News in the war on Spam: Phishing UPGRADE Best news in the war on spam: phishing By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff The Internet continues to serve up a steady diet of rancid fare -- first spam, and now phish. You've heard of phishing by now; indeed, most active e-mailers have already received a few dozen helpings of the stuff. Phishing is the up-and-coming Internet ripoff technique that takes spamming one nasty step further. The phishers are scam artists who have designed e-mail messages that seem to come from legitimate businesses -- banks, credit card companies, online retailers. Anybody with some skill in Web page design can whip up an e-mail that looks like it really was sent from eBay or Citibank. And if they also know about e-mail 'spoofing,' they can add a phony but legitimate-looking return address. The message will generally contain a warning. Your account is overdrawn or may have been accessed by thieves. To be on the safe side, the company has deactivated the account. To get it started again, click on the Web link and fill out the very legitimate-looking form that appears on your screen. You're asked for information that proves who you are -- not just your account number, but also your Social Security number or driver's license number; and perhaps numbers from other bank accounts and credit cards. Of course, all of this data is relayed to crooks who will use it to empty out your savings or create false identity documents. It's a clever trick that often snookers people who are too smart to fall for other forms of spam. Indeed, the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a consortium of businesses and law enforcement agencies, estimates that this gimmick works on about 5 percent of those who get the e-mails. That's far better than the success rate for traditional spamming. Besides, regular spammers just sell a bottle of phony weight-loss pills for $50; phishermen can steal every cent you own. No wonder phishing is the next big thing in Internet crime. The APWG will release a report today that says the numbers of recorded phishing attacks rose 180 percent between March and April. Each attack represents a stream of thousands or millions of phony messages, each seeking sensitive financial data. In April, APWG counted over 37 million such outbreaks daily. All the crooks need is a few dozen suckers a day, and they could rake in millions. All in all, it's the best news yet in the war on Internet junk mail. Yes, you heard right: It's good news. Here's why. http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/05/24/best_news_in_the_war_on_spam_phishing/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 01:29:49 GMT From: Schaffrath Subject: Re: Jeff Pulver Statement on New York Public Services Commission Organization: Total Disorganized > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: My favorite take-off on this theme is > an old comedy show now appearing on TV Land a few times each day > called 'Green Acres' which takes place in a mythical town called > 'Hooterville'. One day the main character in the show, Oliver Wendall > Douglas, an attorney formerly in residence in New York City discovers > that Hooterville has no representation in Congress, just loads of > public servants who tax and regulate things in the little town as > much as they can. PAT] ... and just to interject a little telecom back into this thread; the motto of the Hooterville Telephone Company was "ervice is ur mott" (it was "Latin" according to County Agent Hank Kimball). ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 23:21:28 EDT From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Share Day For May Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 00:00:00 EST Instead of changing the Digest over to an advrtising supported forum, I have always elected to keep it as a user supported forum, and for the most part keep it spam and virus free. I am *only* able to do this because of financial support from readers here, and if you would rather not see these messages every month, then please pitch in and help now and then! Consider it sort of like public radio, which goes on for days at a time trying to raise money ... and maybe I should adopt the same system. Turn over the entire Digest once or twice a year to fund raising (entire issues, etc) and stop doing it when the budget for the year has been raised. But for now, I will stick with the present system of devoting a few messages at the end of each month to raising money for the Digest publication expenses. Out of 400-500 messages per month, in a spam, virus free environment, two or three (only) devoted to fund raising. You know who you are; please provide some help here financially. You can use Pay Pal to donate with a credit/debit card by going to our web site http://telecom-digest.org and at the bottom of the home page look for the PayPal 'donate' button. Or if you prefer, send a check or money order to Patrick Townson/TELECOM, Post Office Box 50, Independence, Kansas 67301-0050. The amount you send is entirely up to you. You know best how much you can afford and whether or not this Digest has any value for you. Thank you very much. Patrick Townson, Editor/Publisher TELECOM Digest ------------------------------ 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: 620-402-0134 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 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. ************************ Visit http://www.mstm.okstate.edu and take the next step in your career with a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management (MSTM) degree from Oklahoma State University (OSU). This 35 credit-hour interdisciplinary program is designed to give you the skills necessary to manage telecommunications networks, including data, video, and voice networks. The MSTM degree draws on the expertise of the OSU's College of Business Administration; the College of Arts and Sciences; and the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. The program has state-of-the-art lab facilities on the Stillwater and Tulsa campus offering hands-on learning to enhance the program curriculum. Classes are available in Stillwater, Tulsa, or through distance learning. Please contact Jay Boyington for additional information at 405-744-9000, mstm-osu@okstate.edu, or visit the MSTM web site at http://www.mstm.okstate.edu ************************ 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 #256 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue May 25 14:20:02 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4PIK2l25846; Tue, 25 May 2004 14:20:02 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 14:20:02 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405251820.i4PIK2l25846@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 #257 TELECOM Digest Tue, 25 May 2004 14:20:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 257 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Update (Canada) #434, May 25, 2004 (Angus TeleManagement) Pulver Gets Trademark for FWD (VOIP News) FTS to Begin Offering Customers Bundled Wi-Fi and VoIP (VOIP News) VoIP Goes Mobile (VOIP News) Free World Dialup Selects eDial for Enhanced IP Telephony (VOIP News) Brix Networks Expands and Enhances Its Free VoIP Quality (VOIP News) Vonage Has First Mover Advantage, But It's Not Your Fathers (VOIP News) Lucent Bids Over $300m for Marlborough's Telica (VOIP News) 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 are 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: Tue, 25 May 2004 11:09:27 -0400 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #434, May 25, 2004 ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 434: May 25, 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: ** Bell Moves to Block MTS-Allstream Deal ** Microcell Board Rejects Telus Bid ** CRTC Says Do-Not-Call List Requires New Law ** AT&T Rejects Rogers' Buy-Back Offer ** Sprint to Test Voice on Wireless Broadband ** CLEC Business Customers Can Get Telco DSL ** Telus Loses Labour Ruling ** Industry Group Creates Telecom R&D Fund ** Bell May Offer DSL over Dry Copper ** Telus Mobility Promises GSM Roaming ** UBS Chair to Head Look ** Navigata Wins Northern B.C. Broadband Contract ** Deferral Account Proposals Filed ** Nortel Hit by Class Action Suits ** Ipsos-Reid Plans Call Centre Awards ** Bell Buys Call Centre Integrator ** IBM, Cisco to Cooperate on IP Communications ** Managing Performance in Wireless LANs ============================================================ BELL MOVES TO BLOCK MTS-ALLSTREAM DEAL: Bell Canada has asked the Ontario Superior Court for an injunction to prevent MTS from proceeding with its acquisition of Allstream. (See Telecom Update #425) Bell says the deal violates the terms of its strategic-alliance agreements with MTS, including a commitment not to set up sales operations in each others' territories. ** MTS says it believes Bell has no basis for interfering with the transaction, and it will "vigorously defend against this injunction." ** The Court will hear Bell's application, and MTS's motion that the case should not be heard in Toronto, on May 31. The MTS-Allstream deal is scheduled to close on June 1. MICROCELL BOARD REJECTS TELUS BID: Microcell's Board of Directors has urged shareholders to reject Telus's unsolicited offer to buy the wireless carrier's shares. The Board says the offer is too low and subject to inappropriate conditions, and that other bidders may submit more attractive offers. ** If it acquires Microcell, Telus will own more radio spectrum than allowed under current regulations. One of its conditions of purchase is that Industry Canada must waive the spectrum cap rules. CRTC SAYS DO-NOT-CALL LIST REQUIRES NEW LAW: In Telecom Decision 2004-35, the CRTC says there is "considerable merit" in the establishment of a national do-not-call list for telemarketers, but that new legislation is required to fund the system and to allow imposition of fines for violations. ** The Decision strengthens current rules for company- specific do-not-call lists, requires users of predictive dialers to restrict dropped calls, and expands tracking of complaints. www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2004/dt2004-35.htm AT&T REJECTS ROGERS' BUY-BACK OFFER: AT&T Wireless has rejected Rogers Communications' offer of $31/share to buy back AT&T's 34% interest in Rogers Wireless. AT&T can now seek other buyers, but cannot sell the shares for less than the price Rogers offered, and cannot sell more than a 5% stake to any single buyer. (See Telecom Update #431) SPRINT TO TEST VOICE ON WIRELESS BROADBAND: Sprint Canada plans to test the wireless broadband service provided by the Inukshuk/Allstream/NR joint venture, to see if it is suitable for residential primary-line voice and Internet services. The trial will take place over the next several months in north Toronto. CLEC BUSINESS CUSTOMERS CAN GET TELCO DSL: CRTC Telecom Order 2004-34 rules that Bell, Aliant, SaskTel, and Telus cannot refuse to provide DSL service to business customers who obtain telephone service from a competitor, if the customer would otherwise qualify for DSL. www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2004/dt2004-34.htm TELUS LOSES LABOUR RULING: The Canadian Industrial Relations Board has ruled that Telus Mobility and Telus Communications are a single employer, so formerly non-unionized Telus Mobility employees in Ontario and Quebec are now represented by the Telecommunications Workers Union. Telus says it will appeal. INDUSTRY GROUP CREATES TELECOM R&D FUND: The Montreal-based International Institute of Telecommunications says its new "pre-competitive R&D Consortium" will spend about $50 million over the next five years supporting advanced telecommunications research. Members include Bell Canada, Nortel Networks, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard, Exfo, Rogers Wireless, and Microcell. BELL MAY OFFER DSL OVER DRY COPPER: Responding to an application by FCI Broadband and Maskatel (see Telecom Update #427), Bell Canada says it may be able to offer DSL on copper loops that are not used for voice service by late 2004 or early 2005, but not when competitors are using the existing drop wires or inside wire. www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2004/8622/f18_200402321.htm TELUS MOBILITY PROMISES GSM ROAMING: Telus Mobility says that next year it will offer global roaming on GSM networks for its PCS and Mike customers, using new dual-mode phones developed by Motorola. UBS CHAIR TO HEAD LOOK: Unique Broadband Systems has appointed its Chairman, Gerald McGoey, as CEO of Look Communications. UBS, which now owns 51% of Look, says it will receive a one-time payment of $1.2 million plus $2.4 million a year, for providing the CEO and for updating Look's strategic plan, monitoring and renegotiating service provider contracts, providing technical support, and supplementing back-office services. NAVIGATA WINS NORTHERN B.C. BROADBAND CONTRACT: Navigata Communications has won contracts to provide broadband Internet connections to the Nadina and Stuart Nechako regions of Northern B.C. The $2.1 million project is scheduled for completion in 2005. DEFERRAL ACCOUNT PROPOSALS FILED: Responding to the CRTC's request in PN 2004-1, incumbent telcos and others have submitted proposals for spending surpluses accumulated in the telco deferral accounts created by the CRTC's 2002 Price Cap decision. www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2004/8678/c12_200402313.htm NORTEL HIT BY CLASS ACTION SUITS: Several organizations, including OPSEU Pension Trust and Netherlands-based pension giant Stichting Pensionfonds, have filed lawsuits against Nortel Networks in regard to accounting irregularities. The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board has asked to become co-lead plaintiff in some actions previously filed in the U.S. ** The Ontario Securities Commission has banned 161 current and former Nortel executives from trading the company's shares until two days after the company files its revised financial statements from 2001, 2002, and 2003. IPSOS-REID PLANS CALL CENTRE AWARDS: Ipsos-Reid has announced an award program for incoming call centres in Canada. The researcher will survey 100 customers and 40-50 call centre employees for each centre that registers, announce its "Call Centre of the Year" awards in December, and provide benchmark reports to participants. ** Participation costs $3,000 for centres with up to 50 seats; $4,500 for larger ones. For information go to www.ccoty.com BELL BUYS CALL CENTRE INTEGRATOR: Bell Canada has acquired a majority interest in Elix, a Montreal-based systems integrator that specializes in contact centres. The 125- employee firm will now operate as BCE Elix. IBM, CISCO TO COOPERATE ON IP COMMUNICATIONS: IBM and Cisco have announced a "broad-based initiative" to offer their IP- based communications systems and expertise to customers, including offering Cisco CallManager on IBM servers. MANAGING PERFORMANCE IN WIRELESS LANs: Wireless LANs work -- but how well, and how efficiently? This month, Telemanagement subscribers received a feature report on practical ways to improve coverage and speed in enterprise Wi-Fi. Also in this issue: ** Wireless Substitution: How Accurate Are Telco Claims? ** Toronto Airport Implements Multi-User IP Network ** Key Issues in the CRTC's VoIP Review To become a Telemanagement subscriber--including unlimited access to Telemanagement's extensive online content--visit Angus TeleManagement's website. http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm-sub-online.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 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 2004 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. ============================================================ JOHN RIDDELL jriddell@angustel.ca Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca 8 Old Kingston Road Tel: 905-686-5050 x226 Ajax Ontario L1T 2Z7 Canada Fax: 905-686-2655 ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 13:13:07 -0400 Subject: Pulver Gets Trademark for FWD® Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com This is from Jeff Pulver's Blog for May 25, 2004, at http://192.246.69.231/jeff/personal/index.html FWD(R) Trademark Granted Yesterday I received the official letter from the US Trademark and Patent office that FWD(R) is now a registered and recognized trademark for Free World Dialup. [Comment: Note to Jeff: If I recall correctly, a letter "R" in parenthesis is NOT a legal equivalent for the R-in-a-circle trademark symbol, ®. So, you should probably be writing it as FWD®. In HTML you'd use "& # 1 7 4 ;" (without the quotation marks or spaces) to make the ® symbol. But I am not a lawyer, so I might be wrong about that.] How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 09:55:11 -0400 Subject: FTS to Begin Offering Customers Bundled Wi-Fi and VoIP Services Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/news_releases.mhtml?d=58130 Source: FTS Wireless, Inc. LEVITTOWN, Pa., May 25, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- FTS Wireless, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of FTS Group, Inc. (OTCBB:FLIP), an operator of retail wireless locations that market and sell next generation wireless and VoIP products and services and operate Wi-Fi HotSpot's, today announced that FTS will offer its customers bundled Wi-Fi Internet service with VoIP Telephony service combined plans starting at $39.99 per month. FTS CEO Scott Gallagher commented, "After successfully testing VoIP service provided by our strategic partner, Voiceglo.com (OTCBB:TGLO) over a wireless 802.11b (Wi-Fi) network for 3 months, we are confident the service, pricing and call quality will be well received by our wireless customers and plan to begin selling the bundled service through both our retail and Internet channels immediately." Mr. Gallagher continued, "The ability to efficiently check e-mail and make Internet Calls while on the road should radically change the communications expense structure of some 70 million business travelers often referred to as 'Road Warriors'." According to a recent article in Barron's magazine titled "Talk Gets Cheap" published 5/24/2004, Market-research firm In-Stat estimates that 4% of all U.S. businesses used some VoIP services in 2003. This year, the figure should reach 6% and the total will keep growing. Full press release at: http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/news_releases.mhtml?d=58130 ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 09:52:20 -0400 Subject: VoIP Goes Mobile Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.thefeature.com/article?articleid=100667&ref=-1 By Mark Frauenfelder, Tue May 25 09:15:00 GMT 2004 VoIP is slowly moving into the mobile space, as one US company offers cellular users cheap international calls. [.....] As you probably know, VoIP (short for Voice over Internet Protocol) is a way to use the Internet -- rather than traditional phone networks -- to make telephone calls. Phone networks typically route phone calls over a dedicated circuit, but VoIP networks send voice calls as plain old digital packets, using the standard Internet protocol. Phone Bills Too Cheap to Meter There are a number of benefits (and some drawbacks) to making phone calls over the Internet, but the number one reason people use VoIP is because it dramatically reduces phone bills. For example, through Vonage, a VoIP company, you pay a flat fee for unlimited local calling, and just pennies per minute to call other countries. The traditional phone companies, which for decades have been able to get away with charging several dollars a minute for an overseas call, are trying to compete with VoIP startups, but they just can't keep their rates that low. Naturally, they're doing everything they can to kill VoIP companies by lawyering them to death, but cool technologies have always been able to mutate their way out of any impediment. (Look at what happened when the record industry shut down Napster, and as a result, help spawn umpteen all-but-unstoppable peer-to-peer networks.) Guess what -- somebody has figured out a way to sneak cheap long distance into the cellular carriers' networks. Full story at: http://www.thefeature.com/article?articleid=100667&ref=-1 ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 09:57:20 -0400 Subject: Free World Dialup Selects eDial for Enhanced IP Telephony Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040525005120&newsLang=en WALTHAM, Mass. & MELVILLE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 2004-- Leading Internet Telephony Community Deploys eDial's Audio Presenter to Offer Audio Conferencing and advanced dialing services to Subscribers eDial, Inc., a leading provider of open platform solutions and applications that enable service providers and enterprise system integrators and OEMs to quickly develop and implement rich media services that meet the specific needs of their customers, today announced that Free World Dialup (FWD) has selected and deployed the company's Audio Presenter and Instant Collaboration System (ICS) to offer audio conferencing and dialing technology to its subscribers. Free World Dialup is an IP communications service that offers broadband consumers everywhere the ability to join a community of FWD users who are able to call one another directly, at no cost, from anywhere, using their computers or IP phones and the Internet. With hundreds of thousands of members in more than 180 countries, FWD continues to provide the best-connected, standards-based services in IP communications. "eDial understands the requirements of service providers such as Free World Dialup to offer subscribers a breadth of enhanced IP communications services that provide a distinct competitive edge," said Jeff Pulver, chief executive officer of Free World Dialup. eDial's provides a complete environment for developing and deploying advanced, revenue-generating rich media services, including audio and web conferencing, IM and presence, over new and existing network infrastructures "Free World Dialup has a unique offering that has attracted hundreds of thousands of members from around the globe and we are pleased to be playing an integral role by enabling a host of highly collaborative and scaleable services," said Jill Smith, president and CEO of eDial, Inc. "Our solution empowers service providers like FWD to quickly integrate and deploy the audio and collaborative services that give them a competitive edge." About Free World Dialup FWD is the largest open network service provider for person-to-person, advanced, real-time IP communications. Lead by visionary Jeff Pulver, the breadth of useful services, interconnectivity, cool technology, and zero cost makes FWD a clear leader in the industry. For more information, please visit www.freeworlddialup.com. About eDial eDial, Inc. offers service providers, enterprise system integrators and OEMs a flexible platform for the development and deployment of customized scaleable, real-time media services over existing network architectures. eDial addresses the rapidly escalating demand by carriers and partners to have access to new premium service revenues streams that will ultimately increase profit margins and give them a true competitive edge. For more information, visit the Web site at www.edial.com or call 866-99-eDial (866-993-3425). All product and company names herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Contacts: Racepoint Group Dan Carter, 617-583-1331 dcarter@racepointgroup.com or Qorvis Communications Brian Lustig, 703-744-7826 blustig@qorvis.com ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 10:02:34 -0400 Subject: Brix Networks Expands and Enhances Its Free VoIP Quality Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040525005110&newsLang=en CHELMSFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 2004 -- TestYourVoIP.com Now Offers Testing Locations In Canada And Europe, Adds New Call Setup And Signaling Quality Metrics, And Allows Users To Compare Results With Others Brix Networks (www.brixnet.com), the trusted provider of real-time service assurance solutions to operators of service-centric networks, today announced Version 2.0 of TestYourVoIP.com, the company's highly popular, free, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) quality testing portal that enables users to independently measure the quality of their residential VoIP connections via a quick, user-initiated test call. In response to increased interest in the site beyond the United States, Brix now offers new testing points in Montreal, London, and Helsinki, the latter being hosted by Creanord Oy, the company's Scandinavian partner, from that organization's SLAvision.net data center. These three new locations join the company's initial two sites in Boston and San Jose. With Version 2.0, TestYourVoIP.com provides even more insight and various performance metrics to prospective VoIP users about the ability of their broadband connections to successfully support VoIP. Specifically, TestYourVoIP.com now reports call setup and signaling quality statistics, including Post-Dial Delay, Post-Pickup Delay, Call Setup Time, and Media Delay. Other enhancements to TestYourVoIP.com that were unveiled by Brix Networks today let users: -- Identify firewall or other environmental configurations that may restrict their ability to run VoIP. -- E-mail a copy of their VoIP performance test results to themselves for future reference or, if they do not achieve the level of performance they require, even to the customer support department of their broadband provider. -- Compare how their test scores stack up against other users based on time (hour, day, week), region, country, or broadband provider. The access technology-independent TestYourVoIP.com site can be used by potential VoIP consumers who have cable, DSL, broadband over power line, satellite, or other broadband options. "With more than one million hits received since the initial launch of our TestYourVoIP.com portal less than two months ago, it has quickly become a 'must visit' site for anyone contemplating or already using a residential VoIP service," said Tom Pincince, president and CEO of Brix Networks. "With these new enhancements, TestYourVoIP.com is an even more useful and compelling tool for VoIP prospects and users alike as it accurately measures the ability of their broadband connection to support IP telephony." TestYourVoIP.com is powered by the Brix System, Brix Networks' award-winning VoIP performance management solution. The Brix System consists of distributed hardware test points, called Verifiers, which communicate with, and are managed by, the BrixWorx(TM) central-site software application. With its unique Brix Tri-Q(TM) Analysis, the Brix System provides total VoIP service testing across each of the areas that impact users' experience of quality, namely: signaling quality (call setup performance), delivery quality (media path network performance), and call quality (overall voice clarity and call experience). The Brix System improves the overall effectiveness of networks, and allows organizations to maximize their investment in -- and increase the value of -- all their business-critical IP services. About Brix Networks Brix Networks develops and markets real-time service assurance and performance management solutions that verify the quality of advanced, Internet Protocol-based services, including VoIP, VPN access, video, and Web-hosted business applications. The Chelmsford, Mass.-based company's hardware and software offerings allow carriers, service providers, cable operators, large enterprises, and government agencies to build, operate, and assure their IP networks and services by providing proactive, end-to-end, service level management (SLM) and service level agreement (SLA) verification. Additional information about Brix Networks can be found on the company's Web site at www.brixnet.com, and by calling 978-367-5600, or 1-888-BRIXNET. Brix Networks, Brix, Brixnet, the Brix Networks logo, BrixWorx, and Brix Tri-Q are trademarks of Brix Networks, Inc. All other company or product names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective holders. Contacts Brix Networks John H. Ricciardone, 978-367-5757 jricciardone@brixnet.com ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 10:00:35 -0400 Subject: Vonage Has First Mover Advantage, But It's Not Your Fathers Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040525005088&newsLang=en Vonage Has First Mover Advantage, But It's Not Your Fathers Telephone Company, Says Yankee Group BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 2004-- Better quality of VoIP offerings emerging from incumbent providers will make competition difficult In the bleak telecommunications sector, broadband telephony start-up Vonage has emerged as one of the most well known, yet, controversial companies. Vonage, a provider of SIP-based broadband VoIP services, launched its all-you-can-eat consumer voice service in 2002. Providing a best-effort service with local, long distance, and enhanced calling features for a single price, Vonage's service has appealed to the price sensitive user. In a year, Vonage signed up 100,000 users, creating a level of angst among broadband providers, and renewing interest in broadband VoIP among the investment community. "Vonage has successfully marketed itself, and its concept. The company has created a grand illusion in the marketplace," says Lindsay Schroth, Broadband Access Technologies senior analyst. "Most service providers are not only familiar with this small, privately held company, but feel threatened by the start-up and its approach to offering telephony services." "However, we anticipate Vonage will become a victim of its own success. Their eventual downfall will come because the company threatens the RBOCs, IXCs, and MSOs. As the incumbent service providers and MSOs offer wide-scale residential VoIP services with QoS at the same price point as Vonage, we believe the start-up will find it difficult to compete. Today, some RBOCs require their customers to subscribe to their telephony services to receive broadband. Tactics such as this, as well as the increased focus on the triple play and bundling discounts, will aggravate Vonage's problems," adds Schroth. Because Vonage operates over the Internet and does not own network assets, the company easily expanded its service to 125 U.S. markets. The start-up also launched its service in Canada in 2004. ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 04:46:45 -0400 Subject: Lucent Bids Over $300m For Marlborough's Telica Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/05/25/lucent_bids_over_300m_for_marlboroughs_telica/ Vote of confidence seen for local firms By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff Lucent Technologies Inc., a frequent buyer of Massachusetts telecommunications start-ups during the 1990's boom years, broke a four-year drought of local deal making yesterday, offering over $300 million for Marlborough equipment maker Telica Inc. The deal represents a long-hoped-for vote of confidence in the local telecom sector, especially for the voice-over-Internet protocol market in which Telica has become an increasingly strong alternative to bigger players like Nortel Networks Inc. and Sonus Networks Inc. of Westford. Telica, whose customers include Verizon Communications Inc. and some four dozen smaller phone companies, estimates its switches are now processing 4 billion minutes a month of voice and data traffic and can serve up to 3 million callers at a time. Up until last week, 251-employee Telica had been on the brink of filing for an initial public offering of stock. Lucent's integrated network solutions president, Janet Davidson, said with the market for phone company voice-over-Internet equipment expected to grow from $1 billion now to as much as $15 billion in 2008, Lucent saw adding Telica as a key way to bolster its product line. Verizon, for example, has said it expects to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in coming years converting its network to carry phone calls in the same Internet data packet format as e-mail and Web pages, which can slash the cost of handling traffic and also make it easier and cheaper to offer advanced services such as combined voice mail and e-mail. AT&T this spring has begun offering a $40-a-month unlimited calling plan over the Net called CallVantage, which requires a separate broadband connection. "Telica clearly has a product that we don't have, as well as a set of human resources and a lot of talent for us," Davidson said. Lucent has been relying on Cisco Systems Inc. and BroadSoft Inc. for key elements of its voice-over-Internet equipment packages. Full story at: http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/05/25/lucent_bids_over_300m_for_marlboroughs_telica/ ------------------------------ 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #257 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue May 25 17:08:17 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4PL8HZ27927; Tue, 25 May 2004 17:08:17 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 17:08:17 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405252108.i4PL8HZ27927@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 #258 TELECOM Digest Tue, 25 May 2004 17:08:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 258 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson T-Mobile USA to End Network Venture With Cingular (Monty Solomon) Humble Cell Morphs Into Device for All Seasons (Monty Solomon) Re: The Strike Goes On (Paul Vader) Re: The Strike Goes On (David B. Horvath, CCP) Understanding the WAN (David C.) Re: ICANN Wins Round in Internet Suit (Robert Bonomi) Re: Verizon Payphones in non-Verizon Area (BV124@aol.com) Ringing Multiple Devices (was Re: Bye, Bye, Ma Bell) (Joel Hoffman) Re: The E-Fax Police Are After Me! (nstrom@ananzi.co.za) Re: Western Union Public Telegraph Offices (Lisa Hancock) Northern Telecom Vantage 12 Help (jr9@sympatico.ca) VoIP,Inc. Announces Joint Venture With Korean Corporation (PressRelease) Share Day for May, 2004 (TELECOM Digest Editor) 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 are 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: Tue, 25 May 2004 08:33:48 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: T-Mobile USA to End Network Venture with Cingular T-Mobile USA to End Network Venture with Cingular and Acquire California/Nevada Network and Spectrum; Acquisition Positions T-Mobile USA for Strong Growth - May 25, 2004 01:15 AM (BusinessWire) BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 2004--T-Mobile USA, Inc. ("T-Mobile USA"), the U.S. operating subsidiary of T-Mobile International AG & Co. KG ("T-Mobile International"), the mobile communications subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE:DT) ("Deutsche Telekom"), today announced it has entered into agreements with Cingular Wireless LLC ("Cingular") to terminate their wireless network sharing joint venture and for T-Mobile USA to acquire 100% ownership of the shared networks in California and Nevada for $2.5 billion. The purchase price of $2.5 billion for the GSM network in California/Nevada will be offset by $200 million related to the unwinding of the joint venture, resulting in a net cash payment of approximately $2.3 billion to Cingular. In addition, T-Mobile USA will: -- provide network services to Cingular under a wholesale arrangement until Cingular's customers in these markets transition to the networks it will acquire through its pending merger with AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. ("AT&T Wireless"); -- replace its existing roaming agreement with Cingular with a new nationwide agreement with improved terms; -- transfer 10 MHz of New York spectrum in exchange for certain California spectrum owned by Cingular as specified in the termination provisions of the joint venture agreement; -- acquire an additional 10 MHz of spectrum from Cingular in certain key California markets for $180 million; and -- receive an option to acquire an additional 10 MHz of spectrum in other key California markets from Cingular within two years. While the joint venture has owned and successfully operated the networks that service both companies' customers in these markets since its formation in 2001, this new agreement with Cingular is expected to position T-Mobile USA for continued operational success and strong growth in the future. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41618239 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 10:05:15 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Humble Cell Morphs Into Device For All Seasons By Yoshiko Hara EE Times TOKYO, Japan - The mobile phone of the future was demonstrated, in bits and pieces, at the Business Show Tokyo 2004 earlier this month. While no single model included all the potential features of upcoming phones, various units had enough of them to prove that the next-generation handset is being transformed into personal entertainment/information devices. Some received radio and TV broadcasts; some played music, videos and games. Others functioned as electronic money or personal identification systems, with the help of wireless ICs; still others accessed the Internet to remotely control home robots. Of all those functions, digital TV reception linked with data transmission is expected to be one of the killer applications that will increase the average revenue per user for carriers. Europe's heated DVB-H activity shows that TV reception is an attractive feature for consumers (see story, page 18), but beaming it through a built-in tuner does not contribute to a mobile carrier's profits. That's why carriers are interested not only in delivering terrestrial digital TV broadcasts, but also in downloading program-related data. Japan's terrestrial DTV service can broadcast for mobile service and for stationary reception of high-definition programs. Mobile broadcasts employ 1/13 of a 6-MHz piece of bandwidth that is assigned to each broadcaster. The rest of the 6-MHz band is used for one channel of high-definition or three channels of standard-definition programming. Broadcasters plan to begin mobile digital TV broadcasts in Japan sometime next year. In the beginning, they will simulcast regular TV broadcasts. To make use of the limited bandwidth available for mobile broadcasting, H.264 encoding will be used to compress video data. http://www.commsdesign.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=20900447 ------------------------------ From: pv+usenet@pobox.com (Paul Vader) Subject: Re: The Strike Goes On Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 11:43:16 -0000 Organization: Inline Software Creations TELECOM Digest Editor writes: > According to the Independence Reporter for Sunday, May 23, the labor > dispute at SBC continues. It's over. A tentative agreement was reached early this morning. > at our central office in Independence, over at 6th and Maple, there > was no sign of any action other than back on Friday (when the strike > started) two guys with picket signs on the sidewalk in front for a > short time, but then they went away and there was nothing. Despite what you might have heard during the strike, the CWA has a pretty decent relationship with SBC. It's not uncommon to see managers buying lunch for the strikers, letting them use the bathrooms where security allows, etc. Sometimes you just gotta strike though, or the executives forget they have to actually make concessions now and again. > cages, came and went normally. Telco may just allow this strike to > linger on and make no real effort to settle it anytime fast. What > is the reaction I really doubt that was ever the plan. There is no upside to a strike for either side. > response in other communities? My understanding is it is not just > SBC on strike, but all the (remnants of) Baby Bells. No, that's wrong. It's just the CWA members working for SBC. * * PV something like badgers--something like lizards--and something like corkscrews. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 09:09:41 -0400 Subject: Re: The Strike Goes On From: someone@somewhere.org Reply-To: someone@somewhere On Mon, 24 May 2004 23:18:57 -0400 (EDT), our esteemed moderator wrote: > According to the Independence Reporter for Sunday, May 23, the labor > dispute at SBC continues. There was a time in the United States when > a strike at the telephone company meant bad news. Now, all it seems > to amount to is a slight delay in getting an answer from Directory > Assistance or the operator. Please hide my email address and full name, too much SPAM (and I don't want my comments connected back to the source). The wife of a good friend works for SBC in the Cleveland Ohio area. Knowing that she is "management" I spoke with him. It seems that the Union planned to go out for four (4) days to show the company how important they were. Senior management decided that the union members would not be allowed back to work after those four days and all prior offers would be taken off the table. Except for repairs and new service provisioning, there should be no real impact. While I realize that I am hearing a biased viewpoint, it seems that the union was being unreasonable in these economic times. They wanted a raise (in excess of inflation), no co-pay for medical, no reduction in medical benefits, and a no-layoff clause. The company was willing to offer more money but in return for co-pay for medical. The company was willing to promise another job in the same state for anyone layed off. From my conversation, it sounds like the union is in a power play and I'm not sure who is going to lose. I know the employees/union members will lose in the end, but that's the way it always is. ------------------------------ From: DaveC Subject: Understanding the WAN Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 12:14:50 -0700 Reply-To: me@privacy.net I've got a pretty good understanding about the workings of the LAN, but now my curiosity is wandering to the WAN. I'd like to understand the area of data network switching and routing before a packet gets to the customer's site. Are there any good primers, intros, etc. on-line to help someone learn about how it all works? Thanks, DaveC me@privacy.net This is an invalid return address Please reply in the news group ------------------------------ Subject: Re: ICANN Wins Round in Internet Suit Organization: Robert Bonomi Consulting From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 15:08:00 +0000 In article , George Mitchell wrote: > Monty Solomon wrote: >> U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz dismissed allegations that the >> Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers had violated >> federal antitrust laws in its attempts to bar VeriSign from adding >> services like Site Finder, which effectively took control of all >> unassigned .com and .net domain names and redirected them to the >> company's Web site. > To refresh people's memory, Site Finder was a VeriSign "service" > which made nonexistent second-level domain names under .com and .net > appear to exist, rendering one popular spam test useless. VeriSign > nominally discontinued this "service" months ago, but I still see > as many as a dozen instances per day where the root name servers are > supplying addresses instead of name server referrals in response to > queries in the .com and .net zones. I haven't investigated any > further, but this seems to contradict VeriSign's statement that they > have stopped doing this. Nope. not at all. there are situations where a _host_ itself is listed in the root registry. i.e. where it is a declared nameserver for a 2nd-level domain. Querying for that host *will* resolve directly from the root servers. ------------------------------ From: BV124@aol.com Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 00:53:40 EDT Subject: Re: Verizon Payphones in non-Verizon Area Spotted one tonight in Glendale, CA (SBC-Pac Bell area) adjacent to the Sav-On Drug store on East Broadway. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 20:00:29 GMT From: joel@exc.com (Dr. Joel M. Hoffman) Subject: Ringing Multiple Devices (was Re: Bye, Bye Ma Bell) Organization: Excelsior Computer Services > VoIP services have to compete on features. For example, AT&T's > CallVantage offers a 9-way conference bridge, and the ability to have > a call ring up to five devices. Both of these features can be done on > a landline, but I don't know of any providers who offer the multiple > ring capability. Do you mean up to five different numbers ring at once, as in, say, your CallVantage line, a landline, and a cellphone? THAT would be a wonderful feature. -Joel ------------------------------ From: nstrom@ananzi.co.za Subject: Re: The Efax Fax Police are After Me!!! Date: 25 May 2004 13:55:22 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Fred Atkinson wrote in message news:: > By the way, does anyone know of an online fax service that > allows you to paste text into a form, put a telephone number into a > text box in that form, press submit, and have that fax go through? It > is just that I send faxes so rarely (and since I have the free Efax > account, I can't send faxes over that number), that I'd rather pay by > the fax rather than by the month. Try tpc.int; specifically, http://www.tpc.int/sendfax.html If the destination number is within their coverage area (http://www.tpc.int/fax_cover_auto.html) it should work fine for you. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: Re: Western Union Public Telegraph Offices Date: 25 May 2004 10:11:20 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock): > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: By 1979, there was nothing of any > significance left to the old Western Union empire. > ...Lisa, I am curious; what were YOU doing on West Lake Street, > during the seventies or anytime since? I was MISPELLING! I wasn't on Lake Street, I was downtown at LA SALLE St, opposite the commuter railroad station (formerly Rock Island). > The main Western Union Building downtown *was* nice at one point; > the last time I walked past in the middle nineties (when I was > strongly thinking about checking out of Chicago once and for all), > the building was not in good condition, Speaking of buildings, I was downtown visiting a friend and her window looked out onto a vacated Western Union building. I was all excited, thinking maybe there were some forgotten goodies left behind (maybe telegraph blanks, misc hardware). My friend immediately insisted the building (owned now by her employer) "had been completed emptied, absolutely nothing whatsoever left in it!" I suspect my friend, knowing how cluttered my apt is, might have known otherwise but didn't want me adding more junk. I still am curious as to when telegram rates went up and voice long distance rates when down so that the telephone became cheaper to use than telegrams. My guess is in the late 1950s/early 1960s, which I believe really caused WU's downfall since that eliminated the basic need for a telegram (speed). Did WU's rates vary by mileage as long distance rates did or were they flat for the whole continental U.S.? Of course, for business users, the convenience of a two-way conversation to make plans would be worth paying a premium for voice long distance over a telegram. I wonder if WU had bulk rates for high volume telegram senders, like a business. I was once in an industrial company's personnel office and they had recalled laid off workers by sending them Mailgrams; I presume they would've previously used telegrams. Even into the 1960s it's possible many urban factory workers didn't have their own telephone or spoke English that well, so a telegram provided the notice and the interpretation was done by the recipient rather than a company secretary trying to explain it. That is, here's a single message and a list of recipients. Another cost/curve breakdown would be person-to-person calls, which are essentially obsolete. I believe the premium for such a call is extremely high relative to direct station dialed. This began in the mid 1970s when AT&T introduced lower dialed-direct rates -- operator handled rates started to go up while dialed direct would go down. The only thing I don't know if it's worth going person when calling from a payphone since the payphone LD rates are so damn high. Unfortunately, it's virtually impossible to find out how much you'll be gouged for a payphone LD call today. Back in the 1970s, before the rate drop, it was typical for business to make all their calls person-to-person (remember that charges didn't start until the desired party got on the line, and that could mean a savings of several minutes while the recipient was located.) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Western Union had 'day rates' (for delivery same day), 'overnight rates' (for delivery next day) and 'priority rates' (for same day delivery, even late at night). Mail- grams were in connection with the post office, when messenger service was discontinued. You sent the mailgram by phone (or in one of the dwindling number of public offices) and it was transmitted to a teletype machine at the post office of record for the requested zip code. At the receiving location, postal clerks attended to the teletype machine, folding and inserting the message into a window envelope, and the local postal carrier delivered it to you. Even with the postal service's spotty record for delivery on a timely basis, they are usually able to offer next day delivery within the same zip code. At least they were then, in the 1960's. I dunno any longer. I could not imagine *you* (Lisa) ever being on the corner of Lake Street and Kedzie Avenue. There was a WUTCO public office there for many years, a few blocks down the street from the telephone company (in those days we called it euphemistically 'Kedzie Bell' since it was and still is the Chicago-Kedzie central office of Illinois Bell/ Ameritech/SBC. And telco had a public business office there also, long since gone. It was quite a grand old business area, between the WUTCO office, the telephone company, a hospital, any number of theaters and other stores in the 1930-60's era. But by 1960, things had changed there. The Jewish people had long since moved out, going to Rogers Park and Skokie; the area was becoming increasingly minority; most of the merchants had long since either begun using iron gates across their storefronts at night time or had vanished entirely, and those who remained took the hint and fled for their lives that Tuesday night in April, 1968 when Dr. King was assassinated and the whole neighborhood went up in flames and rioting. WUTCO was already limping along in bankruptcy at that point and decided to close their inceasingly shabby public telegraph office and rented it out to some agent who partioned off the huge, formerly glamorous office into a small section with heavy glass behind which he could stand to sell money transfers (the one area the company was still making money at). Telco closed their public office also, and over a few months consolidated their operators from the second floor of the Kedzie c.o. building to wherever else in the USA they put them. Lisa, you mentioned that you had meant to say 427 South Lasalle Street, the main, downtown office of WUTCO. Quite a historic location, where the original telegraph office had stood which was destroyed in the great fire of October, 1871; where the grand WUTCO office building was constructed early in the twentieth century, whose first floor public telegraph office ran a very close second only to Illinois Bell's upscale taste in public office furbishings. And when you passed by the area in the late seventies, it was all gone. Only the little dingy storefront with bullet proof glass remained and the cut-rate liquor store next to it, occupying the rest of the (now) greatly partitioned (former) public office. Ditto the former WUTCO public telegraph office at Lawrence and Broadway on the north side or the south side version at 63rd and Englewood. When AT&T is bankrupt and gone (how long that will be, I won't venture a guess), I wonder what will happen to their grandiose office building on Wacker Drive downtown. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 00:46:44 EDT From: jr9@sympatico.ca Subject: Northern Telecom Vantage 12 Help Hi all. Are any of you familiar with the old Vantage 12 phone system from the 1980s? A local church has one and we would like to enable toll denial on some of the sets, but the programming manual we have seems to be for a later version of the control card, and the codes don't work. According to the manual, all programming uses the 'Feature' key, but where the manual says the phones should have the 'Feature' key, the phones instead have the 'Privacy Release' key ... and using it does not seem to work for the programming. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 19:57:53 +0400 From: Editor PressReleaseNetwork.com Subject: VoIP, Inc. Announces Joint Venture With Korean Corporation PRESS RELEASE NETWORK http://www.pressreleasenetwork.com Fort Lauderdale, FL - May 25, 2004 (PRN): VoIP, Inc. (OTCBB: VOII) today announced that it has signed a Joint-Venture Agreement ("Agreement" with iCable Systems Co., Ltd., a Korean corporation ("iCable'). Under the Agreement, VoIP, Inc. and iCable have formed iMax Solutions, Inc., a Nevada corporation ("iMax") to act as a joint venture vehicle for both of the companies to develop Voice Over-IP related products with exclusive marketing of iCable products in North and South America. iCable is an R & D oriented company with 37 highly qualified Voice Over IP engineers focusing on the VoIP and WiMax Technologies. iCable products are based on the Broadcom® Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), BCM1112 CHIP; Broadcom Corporation, the leading provider of silicon solutions enabling broadband communications. As a manufacturer of these products, iCable projects $30 million in sales for 2004 and $50 million for 2005 for the Korean based company. iCable's lead product is their S-MTA (Stand-alone Multimedia Terminal Adaptor) which provides two VoIP telephone lines for customers having broadband-cable or DSL Internet access. Key features include a built in DHCP server; other products include the S-MTA with built in Cable Modem, ADSL Modem, & 911 Life Line patent pending technology. Each of these products are available with integrated WiFi access point. A new product, the IP Set-top box, will be used in the new world of technology where, Voice, Video and Data converge and will be known as the "Triple Play". Under the Agreement, 51% of iMax will be owned by VoIP, Inc. and 49% by iCable. The Agreement is subject to VoIP, Inc. paying iCable $5 million dollars in two equal installments. The first installment is due on June 30, 2004, with a 30 day grace period; the second payment is due on July 30, with a 60 day grace period. VoIP, Inc. will attempt to obtain the necessary funds through private placements of equity or debt securities, and if unable to do so, will either forfeit its rights under the venture or will attempt to renegotiate the deal. Under the Agreement, iCable will contribute all of its rights and interest in contracts and rights with current customers in North and South America. iMax shall have the exclusive right to use iCable's intellectual property and rights to its products in North and South America. iCable has guaranteed iMax Solutions minimum yearly sales for 2004, 2005 and 2006 of $10 million, $25 million and $40 million respectively. The entire Agreement between the respective parties can be found in VoIP, Inc.'s Form 8K filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm which will be filed by VoIP, Inc. within two business days from the date of this press release. Further information on iCable can be found at: http://www.icablesystem.com VoIP, Inc.'s (http://www.voipincorporated.com) goal is to become a world leader in providing voice over IP customer premise equipment and in addition, premium voice over IP subscriber-based enhanced telephony services, as well as innovative WiFi and WiMAX technology solutions for residential and enterprise customers globally. Steven Ivester VoIP, Inc. Tel: (954) 434-2000 12330 S.W. 53rd Street Suite 712 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33330 Email: sivester@voipincorporated.com Website: http://www.voipincorporated.com Editor & CEO Press Release Network editor@pressreleasenetwork.com http://www.pressreleasenetwork.com ------------------------------ From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Share Day For May, 2004 Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 3:50:00 EST Instead of changing the Digest over to an advrtising supported forum, I have always elected to keep it as a user supported forum, and for the most part keep it spam and virus free. I am *only* able to do this because of financial support from readers here, and if you would rather not see these messages every month, then please pitch in and help now and then! Consider it sort of like public radio, which goes on for days at a time trying to raise money ... and maybe I should adopt the same system. Turn over the entire Digest once or twice a year to fund raising (entire issues, etc) and stop doing it when the budget for the year has been raised. But for now, I will stick with the present system of devoting a few messages at the end of each month to raising money for the Digest publication expenses. Out of 400-500 messages per month, in a spam, virus free environment, two or three (only) devoted to fund raising. You know who you are; please provide some help here financially. You can use Pay Pal to donate with a credit/debit card by going to our web site http://telecom-digest.org and at the bottom of the home page look for the PayPal 'donate' button. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 258 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue May 25 23:52:10 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4Q3q9l01343; Tue, 25 May 2004 23:52:10 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 23:52:10 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405260352.i4Q3q9l01343@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 #259 TELECOM Digest Tue, 25 May 2004 23:52:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 259 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Over-the-Counter VoIP: Internet Calling Goes Retail (VOIP News) Federal Lawmakers Urge FCC To Take VoIP Under Its Wing (VOIP News) ETSI to Stage VOIP Test (VOIP News) Qwest DSL Service and Modem (Niy) Re: FCC Asked To Examine A la Carte Cable TV (jmayson@nyx.net) Re: New York Classifies Vonage as Phone Company (Jim Burks) Re: Phantom Cell Phone Call; What's Going On ...? (jdj) Re: Verizon Payphones in non-Verizon Area (Steven J Sobol) Re: The Strike Goes On (Steven J Sobol) My Vonage Posting (Steve Lopes) Gossiptel - UK Provider Offers VoIP With FREE PSTN Numbering (Call UK) Share Day for May, 2004 (TELECOM Digest Editor) 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 are 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: VOIP News Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 17:22:10 -0400 Subject: Over-the-Counter VoIP: Internet Calling Goes Retail Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.reed-electronics.com/ednmag/article/CA420950?industryid=22043 Matthew Miller, Special Projects Editor -- Arrival in retail stores represents both a milestone and a litmus test for technology products and services. Cellular phones, satellite radios, and satellite-TV services have done well. By contrast, PVRs (personal video recorders) have experienced slow growth because their benefits proved tough to get across in a brief explanation. Now, thanks to Vonage and RadioShack, we'll get a chance to see how the public warms to VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) services. Vonage has announced that its service will be available in about 4,000 RadioShack stores in the United States. About 1,600 of those stores will be offering in-store demonstrations starting in July. To kick start sales, Vonage says that it is offering RadioShack customers a deal: Sign up for service and purchase the required $89.99 hardware ATA (analog telephone adapter), and the company will provide a free month of unlimited calling (normally $29.99), waive its standard activation fee (also $29.99), and provide a $30 mail-in rebate coupon. Strangely, however, this actually isn't a deal at all. If you sign up on the Vonage Web site, you pay $29.99 for your first month of service, plus the $29.99 activation fee. But you get the hardware at no additional cost. In other words, both approaches end up costing about $60. If Vonage and RadioShack are serious about making VoIP appealing to the masses, a smoke-and-mirrors "deal" is a strange way to go about it. Full story at: http://www.reed-electronics.com/ednmag/article/CA420950?industryid=22043 How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I think the author of this article may have gotten some things incorrect, unless Vonage has changed things around since when I first started with them. *I* had to sign up, pay for the first month's service and the cost of the adapter. There was no 'set up fee' as such. And that is the way I explain it to guys who ask for a free e-coupon for a month of service. You click on the link in the e-coupon I send you; it leads you through the sign up process, gets your phone number, etc. Then you use your credit card to pay for the adapter box and the first month of whatever service plan you wish. Whatever service plan you choose, you get the identical service free in your second month with the e-coupon. If you have meant to sign up but have not done so yet, ask me for an e-coupon. Write not for pub to ptownson@massis.csail.mit.edu PAT] ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 17:20:25 -0400 Subject: Federal Lawmakers Urge FCC To Take VoIP Under Its Wing Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.internetwk.com/allStories/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=21100196 By W. David Gardner, TechWeb News Three Republican federal lawmakers are urging the Federal Communications Commission to rule that VoIP services are "interstate in nature," arguing that such a determination would bring VoIP technology under FCC jurisdiction and away from state regulators. The lawmakers' letter was sent after the New York Public Service Commission ruled last week that VoIP provider Vonage Holdings was a telephone company and thus subject to state regulation. Signing the letter against state regulation are U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-N.J., U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss., and U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton, R-N.J. Reps. Ferguson and Pickering are members of the House Telecommunications Committee. "What's being encouraged is that the FCC rule on the interstate part (of telecom regulations,)" Vonage spokeswoman Brooke Schulz said. "If the FCC doesn't decide, the courts will." Full story at: http://www.internetwk.com/allStories/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=21100196 ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 17:23:39 -0400 Subject: ETSI to Stage VOIP Test Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.boardwatch.com/document.asp?doc_id=53407 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS, France -- At two events, one in Europe and one later this summer in the United States, manufacturers of VoIP gateways and terminals will have the opportunity to test their equipment in controlled and uniform IP network conditions. Manufacturers will learn about their equipment performance, compare the results to other implementations and derive hints for potential system optimization together with the speech quality testing experts. Anonymity is guaranteed. Full story at: http://www.boardwatch.com/document.asp?doc_id=53407 ------------------------------ From: niy38@hotmail.com (Niy) Subject: Qwest DSL Service and Modem Date: 25 May 2004 14:55:11 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Recently Qwest has a promoting package, 256k/256k, MSN, $31.99 every month, sounds not too bad. But later I found I either have to rent their modem,3$/month, or buy so called Actiontec modem from them, and charge is unreasonable, compared to other brand on the market. And technical support say I can not use other modem+router. Does anyone here use Qwest DSL service with other modem? ------------------------------ From: jmayson@nyx.net Reply-To: jmayson@nyx.net Subject: Re: FCC Asked To Examine A la Carte Cable TV Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 01:17:58 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com > Key members of the House Commerce Committee have asked the Federal > Communications Commission for a detailed study on the feasibility of > cable and satellite companies offering their subscribers the ability > to pay for the individual channels they want. I just don't see this working. If someone pays $60/month for 150 channels, they'll expect 50 channels for $20. But it doesn't worth that way. There are many fixed costs in the price cable that would be there whether they offered 1 or 1,000 channels. You might get 50 channels for $55 a month instead. Why would the consumer go for that? John Mayson Austin, Texas, USA ------------------------------ From: Jim Burks Subject: Re: New York Classifies Vonage as Phone Company Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 01:41:08 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com Tony P. wrote in message news:telecom23.251.7@telecom-digest.org: > I have to wonder how many 'favors' Verizon provided to members of the > PSC. Just because the regulators want to jump on Vonage doesn't necessarily mean they like the LECs or are doing them a favor. If they let Vonage set a precedent that any VoIP is per se unregulated, they will be out of business soon, and they are protecting their turf. Regulators subsidize rural phone companies with the Universal Service funds (UCC). They also put on pseudo-taxes for 911 and lots of other stuff. If VoIP really catches on, then all these piggy-banks either go away, or get so small it's not worth doing. AT&T tried to make the case that, since they were using VoIP in the middle, between circuit-switched at each end, those services were exempt. FCC said naaaaa to that idea. Look for them to come back with proposals for large businesses to either originate or terminate traffic on VoIP, be exempt from these regulations, and split the savings with their customers. If the Vonage precedent is upheld, there's no reason why they shouldn't. Jim Burks ------------------------------ From: jdj Subject: Re: Phantom Cell Phone Call; What's Going On ...? Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 15:57:15 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com On Sat, 22 May 2004 10:18:14 -0700, DaveC wrote: > On Fri, 21 May 2004 09:34:05 -0700, jdj wrote (in article > ): >> My Sprint phone rings once approx 30 minutes after the call >> to me was made. > Your cell was busy. Not your phone, but the cell (constituting the > geographic area covered by the provider's antennae) was max'd out. Your > call went to voice mail, instead, because there was no frequency > available to deliver the call to your phone. That is very much a Bad Thing when the phone and system must, without exception or excuse, work properly and deliver all calls. I don't get a call, I lose money. Or worse. I've observed problems with call delivery with wired carriers, too. Without Ma Bell around, seems the babies are getting more careless. ------------------------------ From: Steven J Sobol Subject: Re: Verizon Payphones in non-Verizon Area Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 18:14:58 -0500 BV124@aol.com wrote: > Spotted one tonight in Glendale, CA (SBC-Pac Bell area) adjacent to the > Sav-On Drug store on East Broadway. I don't think that counts. ;) Greater Los Angeles is split up pretty well between SBC and Verizon. It's not strictly SBC and it's not strictly Verizon either, as far as ILECs go; which company is the ILEC depends on which city you happen to be in. Last December I was visiting family friends in Redondo Beach and noticed that they had *both* SBC *and* Verizon local phone books. JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: 0xE3AE35ED Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net Domain Names, $9.95/yr, 24x7 service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/ "someone once called me a sofa, but i didn't feel compelled to rush out and buy slip covers." -adam brower * Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl '86, Windows 98/2000/2003 ------------------------------ From: Steven J Sobol Subject: Re: The Strike Goes On Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 18:23:31 -0500 someone@somewhere.org wrote: > While I realize that I am hearing a biased viewpoint, it seems that > the union was being unreasonable in these economic times. They wanted > a raise (in excess of inflation), no co-pay for medical, no reduction > in medical benefits, and a no-layoff clause. The company was willing > to offer more money but in return for co-pay for medical. The company > was willing to promise another job in the same state for anyone layed > off. > From my conversation, it sounds like the union is in a power play and > I'm not sure who is going to lose. I know the employees/union members > will lose in the end, but that's the way it always is. This sounds like what was happening here with the grocery store strike. I'm sorry, but I sided 100% with the grocery chains this time. California grocery store hourly employees make at least 1 1/2 times what they do back in the area where I grew up, and the major concession they were fighting over was health care -- $5/week premium for an individual or $15/week for a family instead of $0/week which was the status quo. And as I understand it, the money paying the premiums up until then was from a previous settlement, was a fixed amount and the till had run dry. It was just stupid. I am probably biased by the fact that I was forced to be a UFCW member in Dayton, Ohio, working for Kroger Company at a Kroger's store there -- and the union was completely useless, but I still think fighting over $20 the $60 per month is not worth striking over -- especially given the situation in question. (Kroger, incidentally, owns Ralph's and Food4Less, two of the four major SoCal grocery chains. Food4Less employees were not striking, nor were Stater Brothers employees; Stater Brothers is the only major chain in SoCal that is still locally owned. The employees of Ralph's, Safeway-owned Von's and Albertsons, owned by Federated Department Stores, were striking.) JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: 0xE3AE35ED Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net Domain Names, $9.95/yr, 24x7 service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/ "someone once called me a sofa, but i didn't feel compelled to rush out and buy slip covers." -adam brower * Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl '86, Windows 98/2000/2003 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I take it Ohio does not have a 'Right to Work' law on the books, which is why you were 'forced' to join the union. But there is still a way around that, partially. You can join the union, but only be forced to pay the portion of the dues which apply to the administration of the union, and withhold the (majority of) the dues which the union officials use for whatever political causes they are promoting. Federal law allows for people to be 'administrative members' only, as a free speech matter. Your money cannot be taken forcibly from you (through payroll deduction for example) to support causes you do not believe in. Ask any lawyer specializing in labor matters. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Steve Lopes Subject: My Posting on Norvergence Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 19:29:53 -0400 Could you remove this posting from your website? I have resolved my differences with Norvergence. Part of my resolution with Norvergence is that I no longer post negative points of view toward Norvegence. Every time this post keeps popping up, I get a call from Norvergence. http://www.mailarchive.ca/lists/comp.dcom.telecom/2003-11/0513.html Steve Lopes [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For hopefully the last time, Steve, the answer is a three letter word, "N-O-E". Norvergence asked me to remove the message, Norvergence then tried to twist the arms of the MIT trustees, then their lawyer asked me. You asked me once before, your lawyer asked me, and now you are asking me again. Even if I were so-inclined -- I am not -- once the message leaves here and goes out on net in various archives, not all of which are my own, then even God Almighty could not get the message removed. Well, I guess God could, if she caused earthquakes and fires all over the world at the same time, but that is about it. No! No! No! PAT] ------------------------------ From: jeb@calluk.com (Call UK - VoIP PSTN) Subject: Gossiptel - UK Provider Offers VoIP with FREE PSTN Numbering Date: 25 May 2004 17:22:12 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com GossipTel have now officially launched and are taking registrations. Offering is: - Free SIP account - Free Voicemail (with email copy of message) - Free UK PSTN number (0870 National Rate number) - Full mapping of Caller Line ID (in both to/from PSTN directions) - Free calls to outbound UK 0800 numbers - Free download of softphone (X-Lite) - Pre-pay with credit/debit card for SIP to PSTN calls - Web based user console - SIPURA SPA-2000 Terminal Adapters with auto-configuration - Comprehensive NAT Traversal - Peering with other 'open' SIP networks e.g. Free World Dialup - Dedicated help/customer support line - DO ALL THAT SKYPE DOES, AND MUCH MUCH MORE! Check out the website (and sign up for FREE) at [url]http://www.gossiptel.com[/url] Full set of press releases can be downloaded at [url]http://www.gossiptel.com/about/?pr=yes[/url] ------------------------------ From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Share Day For May, 2004 Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 11:00:00 EST Instead of changing the Digest over to an advrtising supported forum, I have always elected to keep it as a user supported forum, and for the most part keep it spam and virus free. I am *only* able to do this because of financial support from readers here, and if you would rather not see these messages every month, then please pitch in and help now and then! Consider it sort of like public radio, which goes on for days at a time trying to raise money ... and maybe I should adopt the same system. Turn over the entire Digest once or twice a year to fund raising (entire issues, etc) and stop doing it when the budget for the year has been raised. But for now, I will stick with the present system of devoting a few messages at the end of each month to raising money for the Digest publication expenses. Out of 400-500 messages per month, in a spam, virus free environment, two or three (only) devoted to fund raising. You know who you are; please provide some help here financially. You can use Pay Pal to donate with a credit/debit card by going to our web site http://telecom-digest.org and at the bottom of the home page look for the PayPal 'donate' button. Or if you prefer, send a check or money order to Patrick Townson/TELECOM, Post Office Box 50, Independence, Kansas 67301-0050. The amount you send is entirely up to you. You know best how much you can afford and whether or not this Digest has any value for you. Thank you very much. Patrick Townson, Editor/Publisher TELECOM Digest ------------------------------ 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #259 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed May 26 15:16:00 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4QJG0s09627; Wed, 26 May 2004 15:16:00 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 15:16:00 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405261916.i4QJG0s09627@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 #260 TELECOM Digest Wed, 26 May 2004 15:16:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 260 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson TiVo Q1 Results (Monty Solomon) Microsoft, Developer Combine Anti-Spam Standards (Monty Solomon) Microsoft and Meng Wong to Merge Caller ID for E-Mail and SPF (M Solomon) Ringtones Left Out of Digital Music Price Wars (Monty Solomon) Getting a Handle on URNs (Monty Solomon) Multiline Residential Phone System Recommendations? (ed) Re: Ringing Multiple Devices (was Re: Bye, Bye Ma Bell) (Hank Karl) Re: FCC Asked To Examine A la Carte Cable TV (Garrett Wollman) Re: T-Mobile USA to End Network Venture with Cingular (Dr. Joel M. Hoffman) Cell Phone in Switzerland, Part II (John R Levine) Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider (gene) Re: Qwest DSL Service and Modem (Dave Garland) Labor/Union Stuff (Short) was Re: The Strike Goes On (Danny Burstein) Re: The Strike Goes On (Mark Crispin) Re: The Strike Goes On (Michael Chance) Re: My Posting on Norvergence (Tony P.) Re: My Posting on Norvergence (Justin Time) Re: My Posting on Norvergence (Steve Lopes) Naked DSL - Verizon to Ditch Forced Bundling? (VOIP News) Comcast Plans to Offer Phone Service (VOIP News) Popular Telephony Announces Peerio444 Serverless (VOIP News) Comcast Announces VoIP Service (VOIP News) 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 are 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: Tue, 25 May 2004 23:43:49 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo Q1 Results Strong Consumer Demand More than Triples Q1 Subscription Growth for TiVo; Lower Prices and Broad Availability Drive Record Results DIRECTV with TiVo subscription additions grew nearly 5x compared to Q1 of last year; TiVo owned subscription additions nearly double in the same period Service revenues grew 74% in the quarter, compared to Q1 of last year Management reiterates plans to double subscription base in current year SAN JOSE, Calif., May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), reported today that it added a record 264,000 subscriptions in the first quarter, more than three times the number added in Q1 of last year. Total cumulative subscriptions grew to nearly 1.6 million, more than double the subscription base TiVo reported a year ago. Net revenues for the quarter were $34.5 million. Of this amount, Service revenues were $22.2 million, which represents growth of 74% compared to the same quarter of last year. Net loss for the quarter was ($9.1) million, or ($0.11) per share, compared to a net loss of ($7.9) million, or ($0.12) per share, for the three months ended April 30, 2003. Of the 264,000 new subscriptions added in the quarter, approximately 196,000 resulted from TiVo's relationship with DIRECTV, nearly five times the number of DIRECTV subscriptions added in Q1 of last year. New TiVo Service subscriptions additions in the quarter were 68,000, an 84% increase compared to Q1 of last year. DIRECTV with TiVo and Series2 DVRs Momentum Drive Record Q1 Results The explosive growth of DIRECTV with TiVo in Q1 demonstrates the growing strength of what is one of the best experiences in television home entertainment: the DIRECTV DVR with TiVo. The record number of DIRECTV activations in the quarter was driven by increased product availability, the $99 price point, and a variety of promotional programs directed at the DIRECTV subscriber base. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41637010 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 23:52:12 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Microsoft, Developer Combine anti-Spam Standards By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON, May 25 (Reuters) - The backers of two anti-spam proposals said on Tuesday they would work together to provide a single standard that would make it easier for Internet providers to block unwanted junk e-mail. Giant software company Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT). and Pobox.com co-founder Meng Wong said they would combine their approaches, which both aim to weed out fake e-mail addresses used by spammers to cover their tracks. Both Microsoft's Caller ID for e-mail and Wong's Sender Policy Framework would allow Internet providers to check that a message from joe@example.com actually comes from the numerical addresses used by example.com's e-mail servers. Mail that did not match up could be safely rejected as spam. The standard would pose few difficulties for most companies that handle e-mail, and individual users would not have to make any changes at all. E-mail forwarders like Pobox.com would have to make the biggest efforts to comply with the new standard, Wong said. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41633697 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 23:53:57 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Microsoft and Meng Wong to Merge Caller ID for E-Mail and SPF Unified Anti-Spam Proposal to Enable Swift Industry Adoption of E-Mail Authentication Technology to Help Prevent Domain Spoofing and Phishing REDMOND, Wash., and PHILADELPHIA, May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp (Nasdaq: MSFT), author of the Caller ID for E-mail proposal, and Meng Wong, co-founder and CTO of Pobox.com and author of the Sender Policy Framework (SPF), have announced today that they have agreed to converge the two proposals into one specification designed to help eliminate domain spoofing and provide greater protection against phishing schemes. By providing a unified specification, Microsoft and Wong hope to simplify industry adoption of effective e-mail authentication technology, thereby helping to more swiftly provide greater spam protection to e-mail users worldwide. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41629190 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 00:02:59 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Ringtones Left Out of Digital Music Price Wars By Bernhard Warner LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) - A recent price war has made Internet song downloads cheaper while the price tag on a mobile phone ringtone has barely budged, and in some cases, is creeping up, a new report on Tuesday said. The price discrepancy between downloads and ringtones -- those ubiquitous tuneful greetings programmed into millions of handsets -- can be laid squarely at the feet of record companies, according to London-based consultancy Informa Plc. The main culprit is the advent of so-called "sample" ringtones, the latest stereophonic tones pulled from actual studio recordings. They carry a price tag of as much as four times higher than the typical Internet download price in Western Europe -- a price gap that could prematurely stifle a promising ringtone business, Informa said. Record labels are demanding mobile operators and other ringtone resellers pay a royalty rate equivalent to between 25 percent and 55 percent of the total retail price for a "sample" ringtone, Informa said. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41628362 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 00:12:26 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Getting a Handle on URNs It is extraordinary how in just over a decade Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) have entered everyday life to such an extent that they are now found practically everywhere -- from the side of buses to the back of cornflake packets. But this universality tends to mask the fact that they suffer from a serious defect. Everyone has encountered the problem, which manifests itself as the dreaded "404 page not found" message. The trouble is that changes in site design, file directories and domain names can easily make a URL obsolete, with no means of automatically redirecting to the new Internet location (where it exists). What is needed is a standard way of permanently naming a digital resource similar to that provided by the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for analogue books. The solution is to move from URLs to URNs: Uniform Resource Names. The important thing about URNs is that they do not point directly to an Internet resource, but are rather a placeholder for the location and other metadata. This means that the URN does not need to change if the URL does: it is enough to update the redirection. URNs sound great in theory. Unfortunately, progress towards realising them has been slow. One attempt to address what is sometimes called linkrot is the use of PURLs: Persistent URLs. This employs redirection to solve the problem of changes in directory structure, but is basically an adaptation of the URL. More thoroughgoing in its attempt to create full URNs is the Handle system. http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2004/05/24/getting_a_handle_on_urns.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 11:38:29 -0400 From: ed Subject: Multiline Residential Phone System Recommendations? I'm seeking recommendations for a multi-line (3 lines) residential phone system that also supports cordless extensions and can be interfaced to standard intercom systems. ease of use and reliability are key requirements. Any suggestions? Thanks much! -ed ------------------------------ From: Hank Karl Subject: Re: Ringing Multiple Devices (was Re: Bye, Bye Ma Bell) Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 12:21:19 -0400 Organization: NETPLEX Internet Services - http://www.ntplx.net/ On Tue, 25 May 2004 20:00:29 GMT, joel@exc.com (Dr. Joel M. Hoffman) wrote: >> VoIP services have to compete on features. For example, AT&T's >> CallVantage offers a 9-way conference bridge, and the ability to have >> a call ring up to five devices. Both of these features can be done on >> a landline, but I don't know of any providers who offer the multiple >> ring capability. > Do you mean up to five different numbers ring at once, as in, say, > your CallVantage line, a landline, and a cellphone? THAT would be a > wonderful feature. According to http://www.usa.att.com/callvantage/what/features.jsp, (click on the "locate me" option) the numbers can ring at once or in sequence (your choice). ------------------------------ From: wollman@lcs.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Subject: Re: FCC Asked To Examine A la Carte Cable TV Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 17:04:10 +0000 (UTC) Organization: MIT Laboratory for Computer Science In article , wrote: > there whether they offered 1 or 1,000 channels. You might get 50 > channels for $55 a month instead. Why would the consumer go for that? I'd be happy with broadcast basic plus about 20 channels (mostly news and public affairs). The real sticking point, I think, is that most consumers want their VCR/DVR/PVRs to work, and going a-la-carte would require a substantial increase in encryption, which is generally incompatible with those devices. Perhaps when the cable companies finally implement the requirements of the '94 Cable Act to standardize on a workable (non-"box") consumer interface to conditional access and digital cable services. Garrett A. Wollman | As the Constitution endures, persons in every wollman@lcs.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own Opinions not those of| search for greater freedom. MIT, LCS, CRS, or NSA| - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. ___ (2003) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 14:46:52 GMT From: joel@exc.com (Dr. Joel M. Hoffman) Subject: Re: T-Mobile USA to End Network Venture with Cingular Organization: Excelsior Computer Services > approximately $2.3 billion to Cingular. In addition, T-Mobile USA > will: > -- transfer 10 MHz of New York spectrum in exchange for certain > California spectrum owned by Cingular as specified in the > termination provisions of the joint venture agreement; Won't that significantly decrease service in NY, an area where the network is already often overloaded? -Joel ------------------------------ Date: 26 May 2004 00:10:46 -0400 From: John R Levine Subject: Cell Phone in Switzerland, Part II I got lots of helpful advice on my quest for a cell phone to use in Switzerland. One of the most helpful bits of advice was that there are zillions of phones for sale on ebay, so why pay $50 to rent a Euro phone when for the same $50 you can buy one to keep. So I'm working on that. Several people pointed out that you can buy prepaid Swiss SIM cards. The prices in the US are ridiculous, but a little poking around found the very informative http://www.post.ch/SiteOnLine/EN/Accueil/1,1727,6419,00.html which lists the prepaid SIM cards you can buy at Swiss post offices. They're the same ones sold here, at half the price. So here's my comparison sheet, prices in Swiss francs. The value is the amount of credit you get in the initial SIM. If you use it up, you can buy reload cards. Local/min and US/min is the price to make local calls and calls to the US. Network SIM price Value local/min US/min SMS Orange 49 20 .90 ?? .25? Sunrise 65 50? .69 .89 .20 Pronto Swisscom Natel Easy 120 80 .80-.99 1.10 .20 Cingular via Swisscom -- -- $1.29 $1.29 The post office says the Pronto card is worth SFr 50, although some of the other web sites say 25. Orange's price goes down if you use more than SFr 30/mo. You get extra credit which makes the effective price lower. If I roam with my US Cingular account, I don't have to buy a SIM, but I pay more per minute and incoming calls are quite expensive, $1.29 plus whatever they charge to call Switzerland, $1.50 the last time I looked. Assuming the numbers I have are right, it looks like my best bet is to get a Sunrise SIM when I get there, then find an internet cafe and forward my Vonage number to it, which is 32 cents/min. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies", Information Superhighwayman wanna-be, http://iecc.com/johnl, Mayor "I dropped the toothpaste", said Tom, crestfallenly. ------------------------------ From: gnj2@ridgenet.net (gene) Subject: Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider Date: 26 May 2004 04:44:01 GMT I'm planning on switching to Verizon DSL for my ISP. Talked to their technical information person to ask who Verizon gets their Newsgroup feed from. Her answer:"What's a newsgroup?" Is there someone using Verizon DSL here who can answer this for me. I know there are NG providers that you can sign up with for a monthly fee. Up to now though all the ISPs I've used provide one in their regular package for no cost. Thanks for any information. Gene ------------------------------ From: Dave Garland Subject: Re: Qwest DSL Service and Modem Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 00:19:41 -0500 Organization: Wizard Information It was a dark and stormy night when niy38@hotmail.com (Niy) wrote: > Does anyone here use Qwest DSL service with other modem? There's a list at http://www.dslreports.com/faq/9142 . The Cisco 678 is probably the best (that's what I use), but they're discontinued so you'd have to find one on eBay. Other users at my ISP seem to like the Zoom X3/X4/X5 (basicly the same unit), but it may require different settings on the ISP end. Don't expect any cooperation or support from Qwest or MSN. ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Labor/Union Stuff (short) was Re: The Strike Goes On Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 04:24:50 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to Steven J Sobol : > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I take it Ohio does not have a 'Right > to Work' law on the books, which is why you were 'forced' to join > the union. But there is still a way around that, partially. You can > join the union, but only be forced to pay the portion of the dues > which apply to the administration of the union, and withhold the > (majority of) the dues which the union officials use for whatever > political causes they are promoting. Federal law allows for people > to be 'administrative members' only, as a free speech matter. Your > money cannot be taken forcibly from you (through payroll deduction > for example) to support causes you do not believe in. Ask any lawyer > specializing in labor matters. PAT] Just to respond to this one point, as the bigger issues of whether labor unions are good, bad, evil, or great ... and whether they're "wrong" to force people to join, etc., etc. could go on forever (and aren't quite that relevant to telecom): Our esteemed moderator makes the valid point that union members, or "agency shop" (an alternative available in many states to people who don't want to join the union but are kind-of forced to [a]) can get a refund of their dues that were used for non laborish items. [a] big over-simplification there ... The Federal laws that require unions to refund (or not collect) the monies that are used for such things as political campaigns is commonly referred to as the "Beck decision", based on the case of "Communications Workers of America v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735 (1988)". As one might expect, since unions generally delude themselves into thinking Democrats are friendy to workers organized labor, when the Republicans are in control they and their sock puppets make sure that as many people as possible hear about this and demand refunds. (Politicians playing political games? I'm shocked) While the exact definitions of what is and is not a direct and valid management/labor/contract type expense by a labor union has made plenty of lawyers rich, the percentage of union dues that goes to secondary functions is usually quite small. In my own experience a decade ago as a municipal union officer in NYC, the number (which was well documented and audited) was roughly 15 percent. And yes, this was refunded to people on request. Obviously other unions will have different figures, and while most will be honest and upfront, some are every bit as sleazy as the corporate titans they're in battle with. Anyway, my point is simply that, on a strictly direct financial measure, getting a refund of the "Beck" money will generally not make a huge difference in the member's wallet. It may still be something the member wants to do, but in just about all cases it's not going to lead to the major discount in dues payments that the usual pundits claim. _____________________________________________________ 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: Danny is correct. There is some difference of opinion as to the amount of the dues is 'Beck' money and how much is legitimate union administration fees. But whatever the amount of money is, **by all means withhold it from the dues** unless you happen to like whatever cause the union is promoting and you wish to participate. Another thing you can do is exercise your own freedom of speech: on any check you send the union, always be sure to write the phrase 'extortion payment' in the memo area of the check. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: The Strike Goes On Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 21:45:28 -0700 Organization: University of Washington On Tue, 25 May 2004, TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to Steven J Sobol: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I take it Ohio does not have a 'Right > to Work' law on the books, which is why you were 'forced' to join > the union. But there is still a way around that, partially. You can > join the union, but only be forced to pay the portion of the dues > which apply to the administration of the union, and withhold the > (majority of) the dues which the union officials use for whatever > political causes they are promoting. In states without Right-To-Work laws, the so-called "representation fee" which "union protestors" (people who decline to join the mandatory union) must pay is very close to the union dues. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. Si vis pacem, para bellum. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I don't care if the difference is one dollar or less: **Always demand your money back**. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Michael Chance Subject: Re: The Strike Goes On Organization: SBC http://yahoo.sbc.com Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 10:29:48 GMT In article , TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to pv+usenet@pobox.com: > TELECOM Digest Editor writes: >> According to the Independence Reporter for Sunday, May 23, the labor >> dispute at SBC continues. > It's over. A tentative agreement was reached early this morning. The union agreed to essentially SBC's "final" offer. There was some tweaking around the edges of the proposal. You can read the details of the agreement at http://www.sbc.com/Investor/IB_242_5_25_04-830a.pdf There was an interesting analysis of the strength of the union (or the lack thereof) in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday. You can read the article at http://makeashorterlink.com/?X59B14668 Some info that I heard during the walkout: - while the vote to approve giving the union leadership the ability to call a strike was 90% in favor, only about 10% of the membership actually voted. - SBC did a poll either just before or just after the strike, and according to their results, 90% of the CWA union households polled indicated that they would accept the offer SBC put on the table last week. - Except for some isolated locations, and the big rally in San Antonio on Monday, there were very few picketers at most SBC locations, even on Friday when the walkout started. Given that the union has over 100,000 members working at SBC, I'd have expected significant numbers at most of the work locations when the replacement workers started arriving on Friday. - There have been a few incidents of apparent sabotage either just before or during the walkout, and some reported incidents of union harassment of either replacement workers or their families by strikers, mostly in Michigan and California. A big question now is what will happen when the IBEW contract with SBC (mostly for employees in Illinois) expires at the end of June. Michael Chance [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yeah, but is SBC being truthful with their employees and the 'final offer'? If they lie and are deceptive with their employees to the same extent they are with their customers, then I'd be most reluctant to accept the offer. Yesterday in the US Mail I got still another 'offer' from SBC telling me how much they wanted me back as a customer. Their latest deal is $15.95 for the take it all package for six months, then $25.95 per month after that. For another $2.00 per month, an hour each month of long distance, which reverts to $7.00 per month after six months. I decided to verify that, so I called the business office, waded through several layers of voice mail hell and another 5-10 minutes on hold. When I got through to a rep, she hastened to inform me there was *no such offer available*, despite the fact that I got a postcard from SBC telling about it. Finally she looked further and said "Well, but you would not be eligible for it." and then proceeded to give me a hard sell line on going back wth SBC. For that I wasted 15-20 minutes on the phone. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: My Posting on Norvergence Organization: ATCC Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 04:03:43 GMT In article , stlopes@comcast.net says: > Could you remove this posting from your website? I have resolved my > differences with Norvergence. > Part of my resolution with Norvergence is that I no longer post > negative points of view toward Norvegence. Every time this post keeps > popping up, I get a call from Norvergence. > http://www.mailarchive.ca/lists/comp.dcom.telecom/2003-11/0513.html > Steve Lopes > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For hopefully the last time, Steve, > the answer is a three letter word, "N-O-E". Norvergence asked me > to remove the message, Norvergence then tried to twist the arms > of the MIT trustees, then their lawyer asked me. You asked me once > before, your lawyer asked me, and now you are asking me again. Even > if I were so-inclined -- I am not -- once the message leaves here > and goes out on net in various archives, not all of which are my > own, then even God Almighty could not get the message removed. Well, > I guess God could, if she caused earthquakes and fires all over the > world at the same time, but that is about it. No! No! No! PAT] This is one of those people for whom the go-back feature in some e-mail schemes was written. Lotus Notes had that -- you could cancel that nasty e-mail you sent to the boss, or take back that hasty resignation. But Usenet isn't like that. Groups get copied all over the place, and I do mean that geographically, as in places not subject to U.S. law. I would've told both Steve Lopes, his attorney and the attorneys from Norvergence to go and pound sand if they didn't know how the net worked and what replication was. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Ah, the hotshot lawyers at Norvergence don't know chicken salad from chicken shit. Their ignorance is the reason for their bliss. I am tired of trying to be courteous to those fools. I encourage them to start a lawsuit. PAT] ------------------------------ From: a_user2000@yahoo.com (Justin Time) Subject: Re: My Posting on Norvergence Date: 26 May 2004 06:26:29 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Steve Lopes wrote in message news:: > Could you remove this posting from your website? I have resolved my > differences with Norvergence. > Part of my resolution with Norvergence is that I no longer post > negative points of view toward Norvegence. Every time this post keeps > popping up, I get a call from Norvergence. > http://www.mailarchive.ca/lists/comp.dcom.telecom/2003-11/0513.html > Steve Lopes > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For hopefully the last time, Steve, > the answer is a three letter word, "N-O-E". Norvergence asked me > to remove the message, Norvergence then tried to twist the arms > of the MIT trustees, then their lawyer asked me. You asked me once > before, your lawyer asked me, and now you are asking me again. Even > if I were so-inclined -- I am not -- once the message leaves here > and goes out on net in various archives, not all of which are my > own, then even God Almighty could not get the message removed. Well, > I guess God could, if she caused earthquakes and fires all over the > world at the same time, but that is about it. No! No! No! PAT] Not having been trained in the rules of courtroom intimidation, it would seem that the order to Mr. Lopes to not post articles critical of Norvergence is being obeyed -- if he does not post a NEW message, then he is compliant. If someone reposts a previous message, one filed before the agreement, then he is still compliant as he was not the originator of the repost. If the agreement was that he were to remove all postings, then as you stated Pat, it would take a superhuman action as the order cannot be enforced in areas that do not recognize the authority of the entity giving the order to cease and desist. In other words, all their lawyers and all our judges can't make the citizen - or server or database in a different country -- comply with their demands. Rodgers Platt [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I wonder why the FOOLS cannot see or understand that www.mailarchive.ca does not equal telecom-digest.org and that there is no way I can tamper with anything on www.mailarchive.ca . But so many of these FOOLS make their money off of nonsensical lawsuits mainly designed to harass people. Read this closely: I strongly encourage any damn FOOL of an attorney who represents Norvergence or Steve L. or whoever to bring it on here and now. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Steve Lopes Subject: Re: My Posting About Norvergence Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 12:26:29 -0400 Pat, This is why I asked you to remove it. Norvergence is harassing me again. If you can remove it would save me a lot of aggravation. If you cannot, they have already threaten to sue both you and I. I understand your position though. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Gattuso" To: Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 9:29 AM Subject: RE: My posting > Mr. Lopes, > Please be advised you are in breach of Settlement, per section 2 listed > below. Failure to remove the aforementioned internet posting within > (15) fifteen days from the date of this email will result in legal > action by Norvergence, Inc. against Stanley Steamer and yourself. Your > anticipated cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated. > Section 2, Settlement Agreement: > 2. Stanley Steamer Carpet Cleaner agrees to take the necessary > action(s) required to rescind any and all current and future legal > actions and Internet postings upon receipt of the above mentioned one > time payment of $1000.00. > Thank you, > Jim Gattuso > Director of Corporate Affairs > Norvergence, Inc. > 550 Broad St., 3rd Floor > Newark NJ 07102 > 973-242-7500 x4599 > jim.gattuso@norvergence.com -----Original Message----- > From: TELECOM Digest Editor [mailto:ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu] > Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 8:46 PM > To: ptownson@telecom-digest.org; stlopes@comcast.net > Cc: Jim Gattuso > Subject: Re: My posting > You are going to have to live with it. Whats in the archives is there > for good. I am so sick and tired of hearing about Norvergence either > way. I do NOT alter the archives, and that is that. > Patrick Townson > TELECOM Digest Editor/Publisher [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Where does Stanley Steamer come into this? I suggest you write Mr. Gattuso and let him know that the Digest Editor for one is eagerly awaiting his suit on behalf of his client, Norvergence. In fact, let him know that *I* am likely to sue him (the attorney, as an individual) for Barritry (or the filing of useless lawsuits intended only for harrassment.) Suggest to him that someone may force an appearance by himself before the appropriate bar association on account of his inability or unwillingness to understand rules pertaining to my free speech, my role and immunity as a newsgroup moderator. Steve, if you and the attorney are trying to cause me to have another heart attack, you are doing a damn good job of it. Obviously the only way this matter is going to be concluded is for the attorney to go right ahead with his lawsuit plans. Well, I am waiting ... ah. and they were going to buy you off for a thousand dollars, eh? PAT] ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 10:25:52 -0400 Subject: Naked DSL - Verizon to Ditch Forced Bundling? Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/44664 In a move to be applauded if true, Verizon hopes to offer "naked" DSL (not requiring the bundling of local service) before the end of the year, according to the latest edition of DSL Prime . The tactic of forced bundling has seen no limit of complaints from users who have had their DSL line shut off when switching to a local competitor, or who simply wanted DSL without a local voice component. Responding to complaints, bell representatives often informed users that simply providing DSL was either illegal or not technically possible. Canadian telcos Telus and Bell Canada recently justified the tactic by claiming that without local service pushing 48-volt DC current through the lines, the lines would oxidize and fail . Qwest also recently decided to begin offering naked DSL . The issue has recently received more attention as an increasing number of VoIP and wireless users look to ditch their landlines. Article plus reader comments at: http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/44664 http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/44664 ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 10:30:51 -0400 Subject: Comcast Plans to Offer Phone Service Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5066666/ Report: Cable firm eyes 40 million households NEW YORK - Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable television operator, plans to offer a phone service to about 40 million households by the end of 2006, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday. Comcast executives told the Journal they are moving ahead with plans for a national rollout and will introduce phone service that uses the Internet to transmit calls -- a method called voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP, the Journal said. Full story at: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5066666/ ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 10:59:32 -0400 Subject: Popular Telephony Announces Peerio444 -- The First Serverless Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/index.jsp?epi-content=GENERIC&newsId=20040526005209&newsLang=en&beanID=202776713&viewID=news_view Popular Telephony Announces Peerio444 -- The First Serverless Technology Application for Peer-to-Peer Telephony NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 26, 2004--SYNOPSIS: Company will be the first to integrate true peer-to-peer technology in a free Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) product for consumers; expects to introduce competitively priced peer-to-peer telephony product for the enterprise based on this technology later this year. Popular Telephony Inc., a telecommunications middleware company, today announced Peerio444(TM) -- the first Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) application powered by true serverless peer-to-peer technology. Peerio444 marks the company's introduction of a consumer application for serverless peer-to-peer telephony, with plans to introduce a separate enterprise application based on this technology at SuperComm 2004, Chicago, IL, June 22-24, 2004. Expected to completely transform traditional telecommunication infrastructures by eliminating the need for servers and associated hardware, the patent-pending technology behind both applications will also address previous scalability, security, redundancy and system issues inherent in a peer-to-peer network. Currently in beta testing on a limited basis and expected to be generally available via free download at www.peerio.com in the coming weeks, Peerio444 turns a PC into a fully functioning telephone that allows users to make unlimited, free calls via the Internet to other PCs, as well as low-cost PC-to-phone calls. Inspired by the principles of peer-to-peer computing, the forthcoming enterprise application will enable companies to create and deploy a wide-scale serverless IP telephony network. Popular Telephony's groundbreaking technology will enable application developers to create VoIP-enabled applications to bring peer-to-peer telephony to a wide audience. "We anticipate that within ten years there will only be peer-to-peer calls placed over the telephony network, making it the de-facto standard for next generation telecommunications," said Dmitry Goroshevsky, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Popular Telephony Inc. "Built on open standards and inspired by the principles of true peer-to-peer computing, we expect the enabling technology behind Peerio444 to become a basic platform for peer-to-peer telecommunications. Peerio444 will be forever free to consumers and is phase one of Popular Telephony's plan to become the leader in peer-to-peer telephony." Calls placed using Peerio444 technology will be connected to any PC or telephone number -- including mobile phones, 800 and international numbers -- via a built-in telephony interface. The technology is currently compatible with Windows and Linux operating systems, with plans to add Macintosh compatibility later this year, and provides users with more free features than a traditional landline phone, including voicemail, call waiting, call hold, call transfer, contact management and filters. Unlike existing peer-to-peer VoIP technology, Peerio444 is not monitored by switchboards or Spyware, does not contain Adware or other backdoor profit tools and does not restrict users to call only other standard VoIP applications. Compatible with industry standards for VoIP, including H.323 and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Peerio444 is relevant to both consumers and application developers: -- For consumers, the technology can be applied as ready-to-use, downloadable, standards-based, feature-rich client software for peer-to-peer communication. -- For developers, the open source application and the proprietary Peerio444 core library will enable them to create an enhanced peer-to-peer application for voice communications. The highly portable core library will be supported by a dedicated team at Popular Telephony, ensuring a high level of technical support, product updates, roadmaps and documentation. "With VoIP services gaining significant momentum in today's markets, evidenced by the number of legacy telecommunications firms that have recently launched VoIP divisions, Popular Telephony is helping to bring a cutting-edge technology to a wider audience," said Stanley Blau, Managing Director of PS Capital, a member of the Board of Directors of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and Vice Chair of the Enterprise Communications Association (www.encomm.org). Blau, who is also a member of Popular Telephony's advisory board, added, "This move, coupled with additional growth plans in 2004, strongly positions Popular Telephony as a leader in the peer-to-peer telephony market." ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 12:20:23 -0400 Subject: Comcast Announces VoIP Service Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20040526S0001 TechWeb News Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable-television operator, will begin to roll out its VoIP offerings next year, in anticipation of providing the service to 40 million households in 2006. In announcing the move Wednesday, Comcast noted that it will continue testing the Internet-telephone service in three markets this year. Initial tests with VoIP in Boston and Minneapolis were successful, the firm said, and influenced its decision to forge ahead with Web phoning. To work efficiently, VoIP must travel over broadband, and Comcast has several million broadband subscribers, placing it in a strong position to take advantage of the nascent Web-phoning technology. "We're hopeful voice telephony will allow our industry, yet again, to have another growth product," Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts told The Wall Street Journal. The VoIP announcement came just days after the cable company abandoned its campaign to take over the Walt Disney Co. Full story at: http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20040526S0001 ------------------------------ 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'. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #260 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed May 26 23:59:30 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4R3xU714175; Wed, 26 May 2004 23:59:30 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 23:59:30 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405270359.i4R3xU714175@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 #261 TELECOM Digest Wed, 26 May 2004 23:58:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 261 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson VOIP Regulation ... A Free VoIP "Walkie-talkie" (underscore) Re: Qwest DSL Service and Modem (George Mitchell) Re: Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider (SELLCOM Tech support) Re: The Strike Goes On (Lisa Hancock) Re: Western Union Public Telegraph Offices (Lisa Hancock) Re: My Posting About Norvergence (Scott Dorsey) Re: My Posting About Norvergence (ll7f16t02@sneakemail.com) Have You Signed up for Directory Assistance Yet? (TELECOM Digest Editor) 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 are 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Justin Subject: VOIP Regulation ... A Free VoIP "Walkie-talkie" Organization: Comcast Online Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 20:41:02 GMT So I was just reading through some google posts in this group ... particularly this one (link below), regarding VoIP regulation ... and the poster mentioned the fact that someone could write an "Internet walkie-talkie" that would not require a central server or entity which could be regulated ... it would just stream voice over IP packets between two IP's, and that's that. Incidentally, I did just that (for that reason, among others) ... and I did call it "WalkieTalkie" ... after looking around to make sure I didn't see any other software using the name. It's free software ... you can get it here: http://home.comcast.net/~justin_brady/walkietalkie/index.html I'm working on a linux version, right now it's just Windows and Mac OS < X This is the original post which caught my eye: http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=telecom23.178.2%4 0telecom-digest.org&rnum=10&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Dvoip%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3 DUTF-8%26selm%3Dtelecom23.178.2%2540telecom-digest.org%26rnum%3D10 Justin [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well Justin, thank you very much for this contribution to the ongoing discussions here about VOIP. I hope if people choose to try out your free software they will be pleased with it. My assumption is if two or more users install your software they can use it to talk to each other, sort of like, well, a Walkie Talkie CB radio. PAT] ------------------------------ From: George Mitchell Subject: Re: Qwest DSL Service and Modem Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 11:56:39 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Niy wrote: > Recently Qwest has a promoting package, 256k/256k, MSN, $31.99 every > month, sounds not too bad. But later I found I either have to rent > their modem,3$/month, or buy so called Actiontec modem from them, and > charge is unreasonable, compared to other brand on the market. And > technical support say I can not use other modem+router. > Does anyone here use Qwest DSL service with other modem? I subscribed to DSL from Qwest in the Portland area at the beginning of 1999. They gave me a free Cisco 675 DSL modem AND a free 3Com 3C509 PCI ethernet card. I got my actual internet bits from a Portland ISP, Easystreet Online. I had a very reliable 766Kbps down and 256Kbps up. All of a sudden this spring, Qwest offered an upgrade to 1.5Mbps down and 768Kbps up for the same monthly rate, if I would purchase the Actiontec DSL modem. I would not have been aware of this upgrade if Easystreet hadn't told me about it and offered the same upgrade on their end. I said yes. I wouldn't be surprised if Qwest won't offer you the Cisco 675 at this point, since it's to their advantage to minimize the number of different pieces of equipment they have to support. But the 675 certainly did the job reliably. The new Actiontec also appears to be reliable. I've been pleased since day one with the service I've received both from Qwest and Easystreet. However, the day of changeover was somewhat painful. For Qwest, some software-triggered process changed over the configuration of my loop at midnight on the scheduled day. Easystreet did not realize this until I called them later in the morning, at which point it took 90 minutes to "reprovision the line." I feel this could have been coordinated better. George Mitchell (obfuscated email address) I have no other connection with Qwest or Easystreet besides being a happy customer. ------------------------------ From: SELLCOM Tech support Subject: Re: Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider Organization: www.sellcom.com Reply-To: support@sellcom.com Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 01:10:19 GMT gnj2@ridgenet.net (gene) posted on that vast internet thingie: > I'm planning on switching to Verizon DSL for my ISP. Talked to their > technical information person to ask who Verizon gets their Newsgroup > feed from. Her answer:"What's a newsgroup?" Is there someone using > Verizon DSL here who can answer this for me. Try news.verizon.net Steve at SELLCOM http://www.sellcom.com Discount multihandset cordless phones by Siemens, AT&T, Panasonic, Motorola Vtech 5.8Ghz; TMC ET4000 4line Epic phone, OnHoldPlus, Beamer, Watchguard! Brick wall "non MOV" surge protection. Mini-Splitter log splitter! If you sit at a desk www.ergochair.biz you owe it to yourself. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: Re: The Strike Goes On Date: 26 May 2004 13:06:28 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to Steven J Sobol : > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: . You can join the union, but only > be forced to pay the portion of the dues which apply to the > administration of the union, and withhold the (majority of) the dues > which the union officials use for whatever political causes they are > promoting. I've seen that, and the dues the "fee payers" pay are almost as much as full union dues. I used to dislike unions, feeling in the 1970s they got excessively powerful and demanding inefficient featherbedding, like a fireman on a diesel train where there is no fire to tend. But times changed and in the 1990s corporations began to merge and merge and become rather powerful. I think the pendulum has swung the other way to an extent and there is a legitimate need for unions for workers. For example, companies treat their salaried (non-hourly) workers as professionals when it suits them (no overtime pay for working considerably extra), but as hourly when it suits them (docking for sick days). A company can't have it both ways. White collar employees are under increasing pressure for very high productivity and under close computerized scrutiny. For example, the working condition in call service centers might be good _physically_ (ie comfortable chair, air conditioned office), but very demanding psychologically (very high quotas, constant pressure). [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, the workers can't have it both ways, either. Did it occur to you that much of the union excesses of the 1970-80's was partially responsible for the condition things are in today, with all the outsourcing of labor to India and such places? PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: Re: Western Union Public Telegraph Offices Date: 26 May 2004 13:22:59 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor noted in respose to hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock): > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: ...You sent the mailgram by phone (or > in one of the dwindling number of public offices) and it was > transmitted to a teletype machine at the post office of record for > the requested zip code. At the receiving location, postal clerks > attended to the teletype machine, folding and inserting the message > into a window envelope, and the local postal carrier delivered it to > you. Even with the postal service's spotty record for delivery on a > timely basis, they are usually able to offer next day delivery > within the same zip code. At least they were then, in the 1960's. I > dunno any longer. Mailgram service was very popular with businesses to get out important information en masse cheaply yet quickly. As mentioned, a factory doing a worker recall-from-layoff could use it. I never got a telegram in my life and only saw but one (to my sister -- congrats for her marriage), but I have received a number of Mailgrams. Around 1982, I saw a business that had its own online terminal to directly send Mailgrams. When Compuserve came out, it accepted Mailgrams to be forwarded. I would say cheap* fax machines and desktop word processing eliminated the need for Mailgrams. *Fax machines have been around since at least WW II, but they were big and expensive. In the 1980s they got down to the desktop size and affordable for widespread placement. Xerox marketed one called the Telecopier, with an acoustical coupler for the phone. > The Jewish people had long since moved out, going to Rogers Park and > Skokie; I've been to Skokie. I didn't think Skokie had good bagels. I was at the train/bus station (former North Shore Dempster) in 1982. Were you working there at that time? The CTA has changed the line names to color codes which confuse me. > Lisa, you mentioned that you had meant to say 427 South Lasalle Street, > the main, downtown office of WUTCO. I missed seeing the former LaSalle St train station, it's replacement is small and sterile. Likewise with the Northwestern Station headhouse, though the track sheds are still there. But it's been awhile since I've been to Chicago. > When AT&T is bankrupt and gone (how long that will be, I won't > venture a guess) We just sold the little AT&T stock we had through a buyback program the company offered. We don't want anything more to do with them after being overcharged too many times. Whatever heritage to pre-1983 has been utterly stamped out. I had hoped that Verizon would hold the torch, but they're not turning out much better. It used to be that when certain companies advertised something at a given price, you knew you could depend on them and not discover a 'bait 'n switch'. But now it seems the telcos, big and small, can ONLY advertise sleazy and misleading come-ons. (Banks today aren't any better). Regretfully, consumers are lazy and won't fight ridiculous charges on their telecom bills. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Do you realize in the twenty years since divestiture became reality, at least 75 percent of the current workforce at AT&T has only come on board since that time? Most of the have no idea what the old days were like. Of course that is true of this Digest also. Most of our readers here have come on board since that time and don't remember the olden days of 'one system, one way of doing things, the Bell System way', either. Skokie is still a mostly Jewish town; it has been since the late 1940's when its old name, 'Niles Center' was changed to Skokie. The influx of Jews from the west side of Chicago started around that time. Unlike Evanston, which shares a long border of several miles with the City of Chicago, Skokie only touches Chicago in one litle obscure place for about four blocks on the far northwest side of the city. Mostly the town of Lincolnwood sits in the middle which suits the Skokieites just fine. The old Skokie train station (which served the North Shore line and later the Chicago Transit Authority rapid transit) was taken over by Greyhound for busses and since has become a national historic landmark and further since, (in keeping with the 'no destruction of historic landmarks' provision of the government) has been moved away to elsewhere on the property, with the bus station moving into a small section of the newer, more modern rapid transit facility. Coincidentally, all Skokie telephone are 847-672, 673, 674, 675 as in ORChard, since many long years ago the area was replete with apple orchards, and there is still the Old Orchard Shopping Mall there. The old LaSalle Street (train) Station, just like the Northwestern Station and Grand Central Station are either gone entirely or greatly reduced from their former grandiose selves. Chicago used to have railroad stations (and political conventions) in its former, glory days, but no longer. We also had the North Shore line station, the Illinois Central Station, Union Station and the Randolph Street station. Randolph Street Station and Union Station are still around. Union was greatly renovated and Randolph is still as tacky as always, at least the last time I saw it, five years ago. That whole town still leaves me with a very bad taste in my mouth. I cannot imagine having lived there for forty years or what I saw in it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: My Posting About Norvergence Date: 26 May 2004 15:29:40 -0400 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Steve Lopes wrote: > This is why I asked you to remove it. Norvergence is harassing me again. If > you can remove it would save me a lot of aggravation. If you cannot, they > have already threaten to sue both you and I. I understand your position > though. Pat cannot. It is archived in thousands of places. Nobody can do anything about that. Norvergence can sue and sue and it is not going to change the basic structure of the web. This may be unfortunate for everyone involved but it's not going to change any more than the state legislature can alter pi. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The Illinois state legislature at one point did try to make a formal declaration of pi; they said it would be 3.1416, no more, no less. I think it failed to pass. PAT] ------------------------------ From: ll7f16t02@sneakemail.com Subject: Re: My Posting About Norvergence Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 15:37:27 -0500 Organization: Vorturdgance Steve Lopes wrote: >> Failure to remove the aforementioned internet posting within >> (15) fifteen days from the date of this email will result in legal >> action by Norvergence, Inc. This is a problem, because Mr. Gattuso is obviously a moron who doesn't know the difference between a website under your control, websites over which you have no control whatsoever, and USENET. Perhaps if you point out that posting on usenet is like shouting into a room full of people who have tape recorders. Once it's done, it's history, and you can't change history. It's not in your power, Pat's power, the court's power, or the power of some Norvergence scammer. You can (and apparently have) agreed not to badmouth whatever fraudulent scheme Norvergence is running. Presumably you have abided by that. You have presumably removed the posting from all websites over which you exercise control (I'd guess that number would be zero). If you have agreed to remove the posting from websites and archives over which you have no control, you might have a problem, but it seems unlikely that such a provision would be enforceable, since no reasonable person would expect you to have the ability to do so. I don't know anything about Norvergence myself, except what I have read here in comp.dcomp.telecom. Which predominantly talked about their sleazy business practices. Between that and the fact that they're a technical company whose Director of Corporate Affairs apparently has no clue whatsoever as to how Internet services work, I would certainly have reservations about buying their services. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 22:51:15 EDT From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Have You Signed up for Directory Assistance Yet? I mentioned here the other day that we now have an alternative REAL TIME Directory Assistance service for Digest readers. No Pin codes are needed. You just go to our sign up page and enter the phone numbers you wish to have enrolled. Then whenever you dial directory assistance on a toll-free 800 number, it uses ANI to capture the number you are using, and you are billed 65 cents for each call to DA; you get one or two inquiries per call. 65 cents is about half or two thirds of what you would pay for DA otherwise. You guys in particular who administer phone systems might find this a good deal, but it can be done for your cellular phone or your landline phone as well. People who have tried it said they set up the single digit '4' to be a speed dial on their cell phone. There is no obligation or contract of any sort other than to pay 65 cents per call, billed either monthly or quarterly to whatever credit card you choose, and if you don't like the service, just quit using it. Sign up on our page for same at http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest. Oh, you can also check on line from day to day to see how much of the service you have used and what your monthly/quarterly bill is going to be. Let me know how well it works for you. PAT ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #261 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu May 27 15:17:53 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4RJHqx21954; Thu, 27 May 2004 15:17:53 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 15:17:53 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405271917.i4RJHqx21954@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 #262 TELECOM Digest Thu, 27 May 2004 15:18:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 262 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson AT&T Adds New Features and Enhances AT&T CallVantage Service (VOIP News) VOIP, Inc. Files Patent Application for 911 Emergency Life (VOIP News) Cable Firm to Challenge AT&T With Speedy Net Phone Lines (VOIP News) Comcast Goes Digital With Phone Service (VOIP News) CNN/Money: Are You Ready for a Net Phone? (VOIP News) Equant Polishes up its VOIP Phone (VOIP News) DSL vs. Cable Modem? (Lisa Hancock) Re: Western Union Public Telegraph Offices (Al Gillis) Re: The Strike Goes On (Tony P.) Re: Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider (Gary Novosielski) Future of Cellular Phone (test) Why Would I Want a Local T1? (BR) 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 are 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 11:16:33 -0400 Subject: AT&T Adds New Features and Enhances AT&T CallVantage Service Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-27-2004/0002182853&EDATE= New Capabilities Provide Even More Control, Convenience and Simplicity BEDMINSTER, N.J., May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T today announced the immediate availability of new enhancements to its feature-rich AT&T CallVantage(SM) Service that will provide users with even more control and convenience over their broadband calling experience. The new capabilities are the first in a long series of innovations the company plans to add to this popular new Voice over Internet Protocol service. "AT&T CallVantage Service is an exciting, new technology that promises to transform the way people communicate and today it's getting even better," said Cathy Martine, AT&T senior vice president for Internet Telephony, Consumer Marketing and Sales. "One of AT&T's key IP telephony strengths is the technological leadership, vision and capabilities of AT&T Labs. We expect to continually introduce new features and capabilities that will set the standards for VoIP and provide our customers with the most reliable and innovative broadband phone service in the country." The first new feature is the introduction of an online, searchable "Phone Book," that provides users the ability to store up to 250 names and phone numbers on their Personal Call Manager homepage with click-to-dial accessibility. Names and numbers can be quickly shared between AT&T CallVantage Service features like Call Logs, Voice Mail Logs and Speed Dial. At the heart of AT&T CallVantage Service is its Phone Feature Manager that is accessible by phone or online and puts users in command of all their services. A discrete telephone number provides connectivity from any phone in the world. In response to user feedback, the company is now introducing "Simplified Dialing" from an AT&T CallVantage Service phone by simply dialing '***'. This immediately connects users to the Phone Feature Manager, where customers can check their voicemail, record a personal greeting, and turn features like Do Not Disturb and Locate Me on and off. Additional systems enhancements introduced today also include: * "10-digit Dialing," enabling callers to dial either the 10-digit telephone number or 1+ the ten-digit number; * "Call Log Sorting," to make it easy and convenient for users to find a number and track the calls they've placed and received. * "Multiple E-Mail Recipients," allowing users the ability to send alerts and forward voicemail messages to multiple e-mail addresses; * "Searchable Help," enables users to find useful information in the "Help" and "FAQ" areas more quickly and easily. * "Personal Conferencing Enhancements," enables easier scheduling by making it possible to e-mail conference call information to call participants and the scheduling of recurring conference reservations. And, conference call participants will now receive a five-minute notice that a conference call is scheduled to end and have the ability to extend it in real time. In addition, AT&T soon will phase in "Caller ID with Name," a new enhancement that will display the incoming caller's telephone number and name on a caller ID unit or caller ID-equipped phone as well as being displayed in Call Logs and Voicemail Logs. The outbound caller's name and phone number also will be displayed to the called party. "All of these new capabilities are being provided to all AT&T CallVantage subscribers at no additional charge," added Martine. "It's just our way to enhance the customer experience." Introduced in late March to select markets, AT&T CallVantage is receiving rave reviews for its quality, reliability and innovative features. Now, in just a matter of eight weeks, AT&T is introducing the first set of new enhancements that simplify the management of calls and messages and makes the service even easier to use. AT&T CallVantage Service is available at a special introductory rate of $19.99 a month for the first six months to those who subscribe by June 30, 2004. It will cost $39.99 a month thereafter. [..... COMMENT: Note that this monthly rate (after the introductory period ends) is higher than every other major VoIP provider in the United States -- in fact it is about double the rate charged by the lowest priced providers, such as BroadVoice and Packet8, and in my opinion both VoicePulse and Vonage offer far more useful features for the average residential user, both at a significantly lower monthly rate. But, if you need one of the features offered by CallVantage and no one else, then perhaps it is worth the higher rate to you. Continuing on with the press release ...] The service is different than traditional phone services because through the use of IP-based networks it can offer customers typical features such as call waiting, three-way calling, and call forwarding, and far more advanced ones as well. Indeed, consumers will get unprecedented convenience and control with innovative features including: * "Call Logs," to track incoming and outgoing calling; * "Do Not Disturb," to receive calls only when wanted; * "Locate Me," which rings up to five phones, all at once, or sequentially. All that is required for service is an easy-to-connect, plug-in telephone adapter (TA) provided by AT&T, a DSL or cable high-speed Internet connection and regular telephone and PC supplied by the customer. It is simple to use and easy for consumers to install - typically in 10 minutes. And, the adapter can be used from almost any location where there is a telephone and a broadband connection. That gives customers the ability to stay connected by taking this service with them when they travel. The company's commitment is to expand AT&T CallVantage Service to 100 major markets by year's end as part of AT&T's growing strategic focus on IP- based communications services. To date, the service has been launched in 34 markets or one-third of the way to that ambitious goal. The company expects to sign up 1 million business and consumer users by year-end 2005. Later this year, AT&T plans to expand its industry-leading portfolio of business VoIP services with the introduction of a telework solution based on the features and capabilities of AT&T CallVantage Service. To learn more about AT&T CallVantage Service, consumers can visit http://www.CallVantage.com or call 1-866-816-3815 extension 70339. How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 11:38:39 -0400 Subject: VoIP, Inc. Files Patent Application for 911 Emergency Life Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com COMMENT: I, for one, would like to know what is covered by this patent application. If it's simply the fact that when someone dials 911 their call would be routed to the PSTN rather than the customer's VoIP service, then I suspect there are numerous examples of "prior art" around - for example this method of rerouting 911 calls has been discussed in the BroadbandReports.com VoIP forum. In any case, I'm starting to get the idea that this just might be a company that wants to make their money off of so-called "intellectual property" rather than by actually offering anything truly innovative, but time will tell what sort of mark they leave on the world and on the VoIP industry. http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040527005296&newsLang=en May 27, 2004 09:03 AM US Eastern Timezone VoIP, Inc. Files Patent Application for 911 Emergency Life Line Technology; Technology Will Significantly Enhance Voice Over IP Services FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 2004--VoIP, Inc. (OTCBB:VOII) today announced that it has filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent application is titled "Method and System for Back-up of Voice Over IP Emergency Calls." The application describes a technological process for a specific coding scheme to redirect certain call types based on emergency dialing patterns, such as "911." Based on the number pattern dialed, the call will be redirected to the legacy emergency telephony system, allowing the user to reach critical fire, police, and other services from VoIP-capable devices. This is a critical differentiator in assured delivery of calls using VoIP telephony devices, because today the delivery of emergency calls over VoIP networks has been plagued with problems during the transition period to next-generation phone services. In addition to specific call routing of emergency calls out to traditional "copper-based" 911 facilities, the device also provides a fail-safe mechanism for routing calls during power failure events. The device will automatically pass calls out to the traditional PSTN during power failures, thus guaranteeing connectivity even during A/C power failures, which would cause complete dialing failure with other VoIP equipment in the same class. These FCC-approved devices allow transparent connection to the PSTN network and the SIP-based VoIP next-generation networks and maintain the emergency services that customers have come to expect in telephony-style platforms. The ability to use geographically-based emergency services location ability is a huge step forward in the advancement of VoIP services and their integration into existing telephony infrastructure. The regulatory and government environment is still formulating a plan for emergency dialing methods for VoIP, and this device allows for use in environments where regulatory requirements may prohibit network-only emergency dialing in the near future. VoIP, Inc.'s Chief Technology Officer, John Todd, said, "We will be filing additional patent applications before year-end as we continue to develop and enhance our core technologies and the product portfolio they support. If all the claims made in this application are approved, they could represent a major positive step for VoIP, Inc. and its customers with 911 services inside their products. Moreover, we believe it would continue to solidify our position as a premier Voice Over IP innovator and strengthen the technology platform upon which we can expand market share." VoIP, Inc.'s (www.voipincorporated.com) goal is to become a world leader in providing Voice Over IP customer premise equipment, and in addition, premium Voice Over IP subscriber-based enhanced telephony services, as well as innovative WiFi and WiMAX technology solutions for residential and enterprise customers globally. Full press release at: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040527005296&newsLang=en ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 11:03:28 -0400 Subject: Cable Firm to Challenge AT&T With Speedy Net Phone Lines Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/05/27/BUG4B6S8CU1.DTL Verne Kopytoff, Chronicle Staff Writer Are you ready for a Net phone? Comcast, the Bay Area's dominant cable company, plans to offer telephone service over high-speed Internet lines by 2006, marking the latest entry by a major telecommunication firm into this nascent business. The service will allow customers to make calls using regular phones, with the audio routed online using a technology called voice over Internet protocol. The rollout will place Comcast in direct competition with AT&T, which unveiled its own Internet telephone service in April for most of California. At the same time, Comcast will be up against industry upstarts Vonage and 8x8. "Once people have an opportunity to look at the (Internet telephone) service, we think that a significant number of them will give us a try," said Robert Smith, a Comcast spokesman. Full story at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/05/27/BUG4B6S8CU1.DTL ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 04:36:15 -0400 Subject: Comcast Goes Digital With Phone Service Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.detnews.com/2004/technology/0405/27/b01-165354.htm Setup will allow telephone calls over the Internet Detroit News staff and wire reports PHILADELPHIA Comcast Corp., Michigan's dominant cable company and the largest provider in the country, plans to offer digital phone service to almost all its customers nationwide by the end of 2006. Comcast will begin digital phone service this year in three cities Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Springfield, Mass. CEO Brian Roberts made the announcement at the company's annual meeting in Philadelphia on Wednesday. The company's phone service will be provided over its cable systems using so-called Voice Over Internet Protocol technology, a less expensive way to send calls than over traditional phone lines. Comcast already offers phone service in 55 Michigan communities, mostly in Metro Detroit. Although the signals enter homes through Comcast's cable lines, the service currently runs through a switched network similar to traditional phone lines and costs about the same as service from SBC Communications Inc. The all-digital service will send signals as data over the Internet. About 1.2 million Comcast customers nationwide currently get phone service from the company; officials will not say how many are in Michigan. Full story at: http://www.detnews.com/2004/technology/0405/27/b01-165354.htm ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 13:33:31 -0400 Subject: CNN/Money: Are You Ready for a Net Phone? Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://money.cnn.com/2004/05/26/pf/comcastvoip/ Telephones are evolving into Internet gizmos. Will making the switch save you money? By Les Christie CNN/Money contributing writer NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Cable TV giant Comcast announced Wednesday that it plans to offer Internet-based phone service to its 40 million households by the end of 2005. The news caused a flurry of interest in the burgeoning business of Internet telephony. It may also soon lead consumers to ask just what Internet telephony is and whether they should get in on it. Full story at: http://money.cnn.com/2004/05/26/pf/comcastvoip/ ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 13:35:59 -0400 Subject: Equant Polishes up its VoIP Offer Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.nwfusion.com/edge/news/2004/0527eq.html By Denise Pappalardo Network World Fusion, 05/27/04 Equant is expanding the availability of its voice-over-IP service and lowering its per-minute service rates for customers. The carrier this week announced that its Voice for IP VPN service is now available in 17 additional countries, costs less and will support multiple vendor products by year-end. Equant's Voice for IP VPN service, which runs over the carrier's Multiprotocol Label Switching IP network, is now available in 93 countries. Algeria, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are three of the 17 new countries the carrier has added this year. The carrier has also benefited from recent regulatory approvals in China and India, says Michael Burrell, head of enterprise telephony at Equant. Equant has been offering on-net voice over its VPN service to customers in China and India for a couple of years. But it was not permitted to terminate calls outside of a user's corporate network. Both countries have made changes to their telecommunications regulations that lift those restrictions. Now Equant customers can make voice-over-IP calls destined for locations outside of their company to Europe or the U.S. from China, Burrell says. Additional countries, such as Costa Rica and Mexico, are expected to be added to the list of countries where Voice for IP VPN will be available this year. Full story at: http://www.nwfusion.com/edge/news/2004/0527eq.html ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: DSL vs. Cable Modem? Date: 27 May 2004 07:56:14 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com My local telephone company (Verizon) and cable TV company (Comcast) have been running an aggressive TV ad campaign pushing their respecting high speed data services. Verizon is pushing DSL while Comcast is pushing cable modem. Each says they're far superior (faster data and more reliable) and cheaper than the other. Any opinions on cable modems vs. DSL in today's world? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As long as DSL is effectively the 'property' of the established, traditional telephone companies, (that is, give up your traditional telephone service and you cannot have DSL), then a lot of subscribers are left high and dry. Telco seems to be betting that this 'all from us or nothing from us' approach will work to their benefit. In fact, it may hasten the demise of Bell even more. Take my case, which I think is sort of typical: I was spending a hundred dollars plus per month on phone and DSL from Southwestern Bell, and extra for what little long distance I use. Cable was another $50-60 per month, for a limited package of basic stuff only (60 channels). By eliminating Bell totally (I use Prairie Stream in a combined local phone and LD package) which costs $25 per month and cable internet which includes all the 'premium' cable television channels for $100 per month, I save a little money on the total bill. If Bell ever released their tight grip on DSL as a general rule, it might be different, but for those of us who are disabled and with fixed incomes from Social Security, we just cannot afford to get huge packages from Bell in order to use our computers effeciently *and* a package from cable as well. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Al Gillis Subject: Re: Western Union Public Telegraph Offices Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 20:01:10 -0700 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com A couple of comments below: Lisa Hancock wrote in message news:telecom23.256.3@telecom-digest.org: (Some Snippage) > Union pressures forced the elimination of telegraph boys and > staff cutbacks. I knew someone who worked in one of their computer > centers around 1975 and she reported the job paid very well for the > type of work, but was very closely monitored. The computer checked > every keystroke and counted all errors as well as tracking time away > such as in the restroom. Back in the days of "keypunch" machines the newer products replaced paper cards with the same records written onto magnetic tape. These computerized keypunch machines were computers themselves, of course, and fed the data processing professionals appetite for reports, charts and graphs. The systems kept track of every document keyed, every keystroke entered, every misteak and correction and provided "management reports". All those stats were then posted on a bulliten board for one and all to see. The pressure, subtle or not, was to go faster and faster. > I once had an installer come out who was a contractor (not a > Verizon employee -- his truck had the Verizon sign just taped on as > opposed to painted on.) He was rude and slovenly. I contested and > received credit for his charges afterwards. In the meantime, the > CWA (Communications Workers of America) have sought to unionize > workers in new industries. The current "New Yorker" magazine has a cartoon (page 54) showing a sloppy, unshaved telephone technician working on the network interface box. The woman of the house there with her arms folded and looking very pi**ed. The telephone man (a mere contractor, no doubt) is saying her "Look, Lady, we're not bad people - we're just really lousy at what we do." So I guess some things don't change, do they!!! Al ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: The Strike Goes On Organization: ATCC Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 03:59:02 GMT In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com says: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, the workers can't have it both > ways, either. Did it occur to you that much of the union excesses of > the 1970-80's was partially responsible for the condition things are > in today, with all the outsourcing of labor to India and such places? > PAT] But how does that account for those of us who have never been part of a union, yet feel the effects of the outsourcing movement? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You account for it this way: You are sitting, clothed, reading a book next to a swimming pool when a big, fat lady jumps off the diving board doing a belly flop. The splash of the water is going to wreck your clothes and your book. The employers are saying "It is nothing personal; we have been getting eaten alive by the unions for many, many years, maybe even before you were old enough to be in the work place." If you are 'feeling the effects of the outsourcing movement', don't blame the employers, blame the unions for their infamous greed over the years. Another example: politicians are fond of reminding us that our nation's trillions of dollars' debt and eventual social security shortfall is going to be a horrible burden on our grandchildren and great-grandchilden yet to be born. *They* will be the ones to eventually have to stand in disgrace as the 'national debt' is repudiated (and it will be some day; can't see any way around it) and the old people and disabled are left to fend for themselves when the social security pot goes dry and we run out of creative ways and excuses to re-arrange our federal budget. You are seeing a mini-version of that now as employers flee while there is still some safety for them. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Gary Novosielski Subject: Re: Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 04:56:05 GMT gene wrote: > I'm planning on switching to Verizon DSL for my ISP. Talked to their > technical information person to ask who Verizon gets their Newsgroup > feed from. Her answer:"What's a newsgroup?" Is there someone using > Verizon DSL here who can answer this for me. I know there are NG > providers that you can sign up with for a monthly fee. Up to now > though all the ISPs I've used provide one in their regular package for > no cost. Thanks for any information. Yes, I use Verizon DSL, and news is included "free" in the monthly cost. The news server is nominally news.verizon.net. Using the news server requires login with your assigned username and password, which is typically handled automatically by your newsreader software once you configure the account. The servers are reasonably quick, and the list of newsgroups seems complete. ------------------------------ From: e250tani@st.yatsushiro-nct.ac.jp (test) Subject: Future of Cellular Phone Date: 27 May 2004 00:12:29 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Now, as for the cellular phone, advanced functions are progressing. Goods can already be purchased using a cellular phone with a vending machine. In the future, what other possibilities can be considered? Please tell me your idea. It is OK also in a dreamlike idea. ------------------------------ From: xasdfg123456@yahoo.com (xasdfg123456@yahoo.com) Subject: Why Would I Want a Local T1? Date: 27 May 2004 11:45:40 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I am confused about something: why would I want my own local T1 into my office? It seems like it would be less expensive to use the local carrier's lines that are already in place in the building then having our own dedicated circuit installed. Why do people do this? Thanks. BR [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Because everyone in your building would share the same T1. Some people, for various reasons, do not like to share, either because they need the bandwidth or they have security concerns, or maybe they are just greedy. Shared facilities are always cheaper, if that's your only concern. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #262 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu May 27 23:58:23 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4S3wNm26387; Thu, 27 May 2004 23:58:23 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 23:58:23 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405280358.i4S3wNm26387@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 #263 TELECOM Digest Thu, 27 May 2004 23:58:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 263 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson New Free World Dialup Services Need Some Testing (VOIP News) 8x8 Announces Fourth Quarter and Year End 2004 Results (VOIP News) Comcast's Virile VOIP Story (VOIP News) Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? (Kenneth P. Stox) Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? (Tony P.) Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? (John McHarry) Re: Why Would I Want a Local T1? (John McHarry) Re: Why Would I Want a Local T1? (William Warren) Re: The Strike Goes On (Curtis CCR) I Need: 48 & 96 Count RIBBONIZED, Armored Cable; 4,000 Feet + (Sourcing) California Adopts New Wireless Cell Phone Regulations (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 are 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 13:44:55 -0400 Subject: New Free World Dialup Services Need Some Testing Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com This message was found at: http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/remark,10351842~mode=flat edguy3 Loc:Melville, NY VoIPers, We at FWD have a few new features which we could some help testing: 1) FWD Pounce - call a user when they come on line. 2) vmail2email - voice mail delivery via email 3) SIP URI forwarding - set a forwarding address for your FWD number. 4) FWD Instant Communication System (ICS) -- web control of your FWD phone with integrated conferencing. Access these features by logging into your fwd account on www.fwdnet.net and selecting from the 'My Account' Menu. (N.B: these features are not yet in full production, but your testing will help them get there.) Thanks! /ed guy How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 18:18:57 -0400 Subject: 8x8 Announces Fourth Quarter and Year End 2004 Results Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-27-2004/0002183309&EDATE= SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 8x8, Inc. (Nasdaq: EGHT) today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2004. Total revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004 were $2 million, compared with $2.9 million for the same period of the prior year. The net loss for the quarter was $1.5 million, or $0.04 per share, compared with a net loss of $3.8 million, or $0.13 per share for the same period last year. Total revenues for the year ended March 31, 2004, were $9.3 million, compared with $11 million for fiscal 2003. The net loss for fiscal 2004 was $3 million, or $0.09 per share, compared with a net loss of $11.4 million, or $0.40 per share for fiscal 2003. The decline in total revenues for the quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2004, as compared to the comparable periods in 2003, was attributable to the Company's transition from its legacy semiconductor business to the Packet8 voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and videophone service. Total revenues for the Company's Packet8 VoIP service and related equipment sales increased to $672,000 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004, compared with $363,000 for the third quarter of fiscal 2004. For the year ended March 31, 2004, Packet8 service revenues and related equipment approximated $1.3 million. As of March 31, 2004, the Company had approximately 11,000 activated Packet8 subscriber lines in service. The Company's cash position increased to $14 million as of March 31, 2004, compared with $13.2 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2004 due to proceeds received from the exercise of warrants issued in the November 2003 private placement. For detailed financial results and other disclosures, see 8x8's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2004, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 27, 2004. About 8x8, Inc. 8x8, Inc. offers the Packet8 voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and videophone communications service and Packet8 Virtual Office (http://www.packet8.net). For additional company information, visit 8x8's web site at http://www.8x8.com. About Packet8 and Packet8 Virtual Office Packet8 enables anyone with high-speed access to the Internet to sign up for voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and videophone communications service at http://www.packet8.net . Customers can choose a direct-dial phone number from any of the more than 270 area codes offered by the service, and then use an 8x8-supplied terminal adapter to connect any telephone to a broadband internet connection and make or receive calls from a regular telephone number. For $19.95/month, Packet8 subscribers can make unlimited calls to any telephone number in the United States and Canada, and unlimited calls to any other Packet8 subscriber anywhere in the world. Calls to non-Packet8 numbers outside the United States and Canada are charged at the additional per-minute rates available at http://www.packet8.net/about/international.asp . All Packet8 accounts come with voice mail, caller ID, call waiting, call waiting caller ID, call forwarding, hold, line-alternate, 3-way conferencing, web access to account controls, and real-time online billing. Packet8 Virtual Office allows business users anywhere in the world to be part of a virtual PBX that includes auto attendants, conference bridges, extension-to-extension dialing, ring groups and a host of other business class PBX features, while still enjoying unlimited phone calls anywhere in the United States and Canada and the same low, per-minute international rates available in Packet8's residential plans. With Packet8 Virtual Office, each extension has its own direct dial telephone number which can be any telephone number on the Packet8 network, regardless of geographical location, and can make unlimited extension-to-extension calls anywhere in the world. NOTE: 8x8, the 8x8 logo, Packet8, the Packet8 logo and Packet8 Virtual Office are trademarks of 8x8, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Full press release (includes financial data) at: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-27-2004/0002183309&EDATE= ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 19:37:33 -0400 Subject: Comcast's Virile VOIP Story Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?site=lightreading&doc_id=53568 Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) announced its voice-over-IP (VOIP) plans yesterday, and if you didn't read the fine print the effort sounded like a world beater. But the hard numbers tell another story. Comcast announced that, by year's end, the company plans to be able to offer VOIP service to half of the 40 million homes its cables pass. By the end of next year, it plans to be able to offer the service to 95 percent of those 40 million homes (or 38 million homes). Several papers, including The Wall Street Journal, ran broad descriptions of the announcement, each noting that Comcast plans to offer VOIP service to all the 40 million households served by its cable systems by the end of 2006. Comcast shares climbed 12 cents to $29.69 on the news (see Comcast Directors Re-Elected ). However, the difference between "offer" and "provide" is mighty big. Full story at: http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?site=lightreading&doc_id=53568 ------------------------------ From: Kenneth P. Stox Organization: Imaginary Landscape, LLC. Subject: Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 19:31:34 GMT > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As long as DSL is effectively the 'property' > of the established, traditional telephone companies, (that is, give up > your traditional telephone service and you cannot have DSL), then a lot > of subscribers are left high and dry. Telco seems to be betting that > this 'all from us or nothing from us' approach will work to their benefit. > In fact, it may hasten the demise of Bell even more. FYI: Verizon is now offering stand-alone DSL: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=582&e=5&u=/nm/20040526/wr_nm/telecoms_verizon_dc ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? Organization: ATCC Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 20:45:04 GMT In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com says: > My local telephone company (Verizon) and cable TV company (Comcast) > have been running an aggressive TV ad campaign pushing their > respecting high speed data services. Verizon is pushing DSL while > Comcast is pushing cable modem. Each says they're far superior > (faster data and more reliable) and cheaper than the other. > Any opinions on cable modems vs. DSL in today's world? > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As long as DSL is effectively the 'property' > of the established, traditional telephone companies, (that is, give up > your traditional telephone service and you cannot have DSL), then a lot > of subscribers are left high and dry. Telco seems to be betting that > this 'all from us or nothing from us' approach will work to their benefit. > In fact, it may hasten the demise of Bell even more. Take my case, > which I think is sort of typical: I was spending a hundred dollars > plus per month on phone and DSL from Southwestern Bell, and extra for > what little long distance I use. Cable was another $50-60 per month, > for a limited package of basic stuff only (60 channels). By > eliminating Bell totally (I use Prairie Stream in a combined local > phone and LD package) which costs $25 per month and cable internet > which includes all the 'premium' cable television channels for $100 > per month, I save a little money on the total bill. If Bell ever released > their tight grip on DSL as a general rule, it might be different, but > for those of us who are disabled and with fixed incomes from Social > Security, we just cannot afford to get huge packages from Bell in > order to use our computers effeciently *and* a package from cable as > well. PAT] Verizon now offers naked DSL. I think SBC is doing it now too. Far as I know, you can't get consumer cable IP feed without subscribing to cable television. Ran into that when I was working for state government. We needed a cheap point to point solution. When I talked to the Cox rep they mentioned they couldn't sell us just the data, that we'd have to be a basic cable subscriber too. Luckily we were. ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 22:35:49 -0400 Lisa Hancock wrote: > My local telephone company (Verizon) and cable TV company (Comcast) > have been running an aggressive TV ad campaign pushing their > respecting high speed data services. Verizon is pushing DSL while > Comcast is pushing cable modem. Each says they're far superior > (faster data and more reliable) and cheaper than the other. > Any opinions on cable modems vs. DSL in today's world? > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As long as DSL is effectively the > 'property' of the established, traditional telephone companies, > (that is, give up your traditional telephone service and you cannot > have DSL), then a lot of subscribers are left high and dry. Telco > seems to be betting that this 'all from us or nothing from us' > approach will work to their benefit. In fact, it may hasten the > demise of Bell even more. Take my case, which I think is sort of > typical: I was spending a hundred dollars plus per month on phone > and DSL from Southwestern Bell, and extra for what little long > distance I use. Cable was another $50-60 per month, for a limited > package of basic stuff only (60 channels). By eliminating Bell > totally (I use Prairie Stream in a combined local phone and LD > package) which costs $25 per month and cable internet which includes > all the 'premium' cable television channels for $100 per month, I > save a little money on the total bill. If Bell ever released their > tight grip on DSL as a general rule, it might be different, but for > those of us who are disabled and with fixed incomes from Social > Security, we just cannot afford to get huge packages from Bell in > order to use our computers effeciently *and* a package from cable as > well. PAT] Well put, but my experience is that it depends on where you are and what is on offer locally. I had a cable modem for a couple years in Northern VA, and was quite satisfied; although they kept trying to force me to also buy their TV service, which I didn't want since I had Echostar, which was cheaper and better quality. When I moved to Southeastern NC I tried cable modem, but it was too unreliable, and the cable company didn't seem to much care. I have had DSL for a couple years now, and it is rock solid, but they are playing with the rates, so I plan to give cable modem another try. ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: Why Would I Want a Local T1? Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 19:27:01 -0400 xasdfg123456@yahoo.com wrote: > I am confused about something: why would I want my own local T1 into > my office? It seems like it would be less expensive to use the local > carrier's lines that are already in place in the building then having > our own dedicated circuit installed. Why do people do this? Thanks. > BR > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Because everyone in your building would > share the same T1. Some people, for various reasons, do not like to > share, either because they need the bandwidth or they have security > concerns, or maybe they are just greedy. Shared facilities are always > cheaper, if that's your only concern. PAT] I don't know what he wants it for, but if it is for access to an interexchange carrier, it could well be cheaper than paying the the LEC origination and termination charges. If it is just back to the LEC, there could be issues of features. Most likely it is bandwidth, or grade of service, which is much the same thing. Oh, another would be to get a connection to a second or remote CO. ------------------------------ From: William Warren Subject: Re: Why Would I Want a Local T1? Organization: Comcast Online Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 01:48:34 GMT wrote in message news:telecom23.262.12@telecom-digest.org: > I am confused about something: why would I want my own local T1 into > my office? It seems like it would be less expensive to use the local > carrier's lines that are already in place in the building then having > our own dedicated circuit installed. Why do people do this? Thanks. > BR > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Because everyone in your building would > share the same T1. Some people, for various reasons, do not like to > share, either because they need the bandwidth or they have security > concerns, or maybe they are just greedy. Shared facilities are always > cheaper, if that's your only concern. PAT] BR, There are several factors to consider here: 1. Your usage pattern. If most of your traffic is incoming to your business, and represents essential information (most printing firms, for example, now receive their copy electronically, directly from ad agencies or corporate Graphic Arts departments), then you might choose to enjoy the extra speed a DS-1 represents. Shared capacity, while less expensive, will "bottleneck" during busy hours, and you'll have to decide if you want to risk alienating your customers. 2. The type of traffic. If you're doing a lot of VoIP, you might want a DS-1 because it gives you enough bandwidth to predict VoIP quality metrics. There is no "minimum transit time" in the IP protocol, and although packets can be marked as time-sensitive, there's no specification for how long an IP datagram will take to go from point A to B. Remember, TCP/IP was designed to maximize the throughput of unreliable links, and has very good mechanisms for assuring reliable transport, but at the heart of the protocol suite is the notion of time-insensitivity, i.e., the fundamental assumption that packet transit times can be sacrificed in exchange for reliable transport. Works great for email, not so well for VoIP, Multicast streaming video/audio, or other "real time" info. 3. Access to experts. DS-1 lines are very profitable for the ILECs and CLECs, and they get top-notch technicians, with much better training, equipment, and budgets than the consumer-grade services such as DSL. Since DS-1 circuits are provisioned with "Special Service Protection", they're less likely to be interrupted by cable swaps, linemen looking for dial tone, etc. 4. Simplified maintenance and accountability. A DS-1 circuit going from your business to a backbone provider is much easier to maintain than a shared line with an unknown owner, unclear bandwidth, or unpredictable error rates. It's a straight pipe from you to the Major League data transfer points (assuming you order it wisely), and so will obviate any possible choke points caused by other customers. 5. All the eggs are in one basket. A DS-1 is a single point of failure if that's all your business has. More sophisticated customers pay for dual DS-1 feeds, with diverse routing, backup power, etc., but that's almost always for police, fire, or other 27/7 shops. You can get backup capacity that'll carry you through an outage, for example by using several multi-link PPP dialup circuits, but you'll have to bargain for this and set it up well in advance. HTH. YMMV. Bill ------------------------------ From: curtisccr@sbcglobal.net (Curtis CCR) Subject: Re: The Strike Goes On Date: 27 May 2004 16:04:32 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor wrote in message news:: > According to the Independence Reporter for Sunday, May 23, the labor dispute > at SBC continues. There was a time in the United States when a strike at the > telephone company meant bad news. Now, all it seems to amount to is a slight > delay in getting an answer from Directory Assistance or the operator. Here > at our central office in Independence, over at 6th and Maple, there was no > sign of any action other than back on Friday (when the strike started) two > guys with picket signs on the sidewalk in front for a short time, but then > they went away and there was nothing. The other tenants, with co-location > cages, came and went normally. Telco may just allow this strike to linger > on and make no real effort to settle it anytime fast. What is the reaction/ > response in other communities? My understanding is it is not just SBC on > strike, but all the (remnants of) Baby Bells. This was a sweetheart strike. They pre-planned to walkout for only four days. So where was the pressure on SBC if they knew everyone was coming back in four days? There was no pressure -- the reason the "srike" was only four days long because the union and the company agreed in advance that if the strike lasted no longer than 4 days, the workers wouldn't be locked out and their benefits would continue. In the end, what happened. SBCs "final offer" was accepted. The workers will get some modest raises but SBC retained the right to layoff some workers. The company is still paying medical insurance premiums, but the employee co-pays are going from something like $10 to $25. I read an analysis on the medical coverage issue saying that it sort of screws both sides later. SBC will save a couple of billion dollars in the immediate future by raising co-payments, but the rising cost of insurance will quickly overtake the savings again. All they did was buy time -- both sides are going to be facing this issue again in 5 years. And the workers will likely be at an even bigger disadvantage because most of the general public will not feel sorry for employees that don't have to contribute to tehir health insurance premiums. ------------------------------ From: True Sourcing, Inc. Subject: I need: 48 & 96 Count RIBBONIZED, Armored Cable; 4,000 - 15,000 Feet Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 20:21:29 -0400 I need: 48 & 96 count RIBBONIZED, armored cable. 4,000 - 15,000 Feet Must be corning, pirelli, or Alcatel. Will take a bunch of shorts. Stuff from boneyards. Applcation Calls for cutting into 200 foot sections. Must buy today. Please advise. ----- Matthew Denton ph: 404.759.9041 ----- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 23:38:12 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: California Adopts New Wireless Regulations By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer SAN RAMON, Calif. - California on Thursday became the first state in the nation to adopt consumer protections for cell phone customers, after a four-year tussle with the industry. The state Public Utilities Commission adopted the so-called Telecommunications Consumer Bill of Rights on a 3-2 vote. The commission said it received more than 5,000 complaints from consumers last year about wireless companies; nationally, the Council of Better Business Bureaus said wireless carriers are the No. 2 topic of complaints filed with its bureaus, second only to auto dealers. The regulation passed after an acrimonious debate about whether the reforms represented enlightened regulation or ham-handed meddling into the free market. http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_business10may27,1,6443663.story ------------------------------ 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #263 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri May 28 14:18:51 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4SIIpD03993; Fri, 28 May 2004 14:18:51 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 14:18:51 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405281818.i4SIIpD03993@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 #264 TELECOM Digest Fri, 28 May 2004 14:18:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 264 Inside This Issue: Happy Memorial Day Weekend to All! RCN Files Chapter 11 Restructuring Plan (Monty Solomon) Cingular Lags Rivals in High-Speed Wireless Data (Monty Solomon) Comment Requested on A La Carte and Themed Tier Programming (Monty Solomon) Media Bureau Seeks Comment on Over-Air Broadcast Television (Monty Solomon) TiVo, Say It Ain't So (Monty Solomon) Comcast and T-Mobile to Create Philadelphia's First-Ever (Monty Solomon) Comcast to Offer Phone Service to 40 Million in 2006 (Monty Solomon) Maryland Governor Signs Tough Anti-Spam Law (Monty Solomon) Verizon to Offer 'Naked' DSL (Monty Solomon) BBC Prepares to Put TV Archive on Web (Monty Solomon) 'Pirate Act' Raises Civil Rights Concerns (Monty Solomon) For Some, the Blogging Never Stops (Monty Solomon) Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? (Barry Margolin) Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? (Fred Atkinson) Health Insurance, was Re: The Strike Goes On (Danny Burstein) Re: Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider (Gordon S. Hlavenka) +88234, a Country Code to Antarctica (Mr.R.) Phone Plug (Steve) A Query on World's Advanced Data Networks (Rohith) How Linux is Inadvertently Poised to Remake the Telephone (VOIP News) Juniper Research: Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) to Account for Over 12% (VOIP News) Welcome to Summer (VOIP News) 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 are 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: Fri, 28 May 2004 09:09:24 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: RCN Files Chapter 11 Restructuring Plan By JEFFREY GOLD AP Business Writer PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) -- RCN Corp., a telecommunications upstart that packages phone, Internet and cable service but has been shedding assets and employees, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday and said it has support from creditors for a restructuring plan. The company's troubles stem from poor timing and its expensive decision to challenge telecom and cable giants such as Verizon Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp. by building its own network _ laying expensive fiber optics instead of leasing lines from bigger players. RCN spent $1.88 billion on its network between the beginning of 2000 and the end of 2002. But revenue didn't keep pace, reaching only $542 million by 2002. Others in the telecom industry were also building or expanding their networks, planning for a surge in traffic that never developed. Since the tech bubble burst in 2000, a spate of bankruptcies, price wars and stock declines have roiled the industry. The company said the filing, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District Court of New York, is not expected to result in any service disruption to customers. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41691440 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 09:14:53 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cingular Lags Rivals in High-Speed Wireless Data By Sinead Carew NEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) - Cingular Wireless (NYSE:SBC) is falling behind nimbler rivals in offering high-speed mobile services that let customers easily view the Internet and e-mail on phones and other wireless gadgets. Cingular, which will surpass Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ)(LSE:VOD) as the biggest U.S. carrier when it buys AT&T Wireless Services Inc. (NYSE:AWE) this year, said it is unlikely to offer the highly anticipated service until as late as 2006 and 2007. That could be as much as two years behind Verizon, which already offers a high-speed service in two markets. If Sprint (NYSE:FON) uses the same technology -- known as EV-DO -- as Verizon it could have a service next year. Cingular, which faces the task of welding its network to that of AT&T Wireless, is also waiting for equipment suitable for the airwaves it plans to use for its high-speed data. Cingular is using a technology popular in Europe known as UMTS rather than EV-DO, first used in Korea. Because of the delay it will need to offer a more compelling service to win subscribers, especially lucrative business customers, who need fast data, according to analysts. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41701703 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 09:28:30 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Comment Requested on A La Carte and Themed Tier Programming Released: 05/25/2004. COMMENT REQUESTED ON A LA CARTE AND THEMED TIER PROGRAMMING AND PRICING OPTIONS FOR PROGRAMMING DISTRIBUTION ON CABLE TELEVISION AND DIRECT BROADCAST SATELLITE SYSTEMS. (DA No. 04-1454). (Dkt No 04-207). Comments Due: 07/08/2004. Reply Comments Due: 07/23/2004. MB. Contact: Ben Golant at (202) 418-7111 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 09:34:24 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Media Bureau Seeks Comment on Over-The-Air Broadcast Television Released: 05/27/2004. MEDIA BUREAU SEEKS COMMENT ON OVER-THE-AIR BROADCAST TELEVISION VIEWERS. (DA No. 04-1497). (Dkt No 04-210). Comments Due: 07/12/2004. Reply Comments Due: 08/05/2004. MB. Contact: Rick Chessen at (202) 418-7200 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 08:43:44 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo, Say It Ain't So By adding new services, the DVR company may be making a fatal mistake. By Phillip Swann Washington, D.C. (May 26) -- TiVo, the Digital Video Recorder service, yesterday reported that it added 264,000 subscribers in the last quarter, bringing its total to 1.6 million. Normally, that would be good news. However, in a conference call with investors, TiVo CEO Mike Ramsay said something that could spell doom for TiVo. Ramsay indicated that his company would spend more time and money on developing new features for TiVo, such as satellite radio, digital photo editing and the ability to surf the Internet. The executive believes that the new services will generate more revenue from current subscribers, enabling the company to survive despite competition from unbranded DVRs used by cable and satellite TV operators. Many analysts believe that the unbranded DVRs will eventually dominate the market, leaving TiVo with a niche audience of less than 10 million people. Considering that the DVR market is getting crowded, it's understandable that TiVo would seek new revenues. However, the company's plan to add non-DVR features puts its most valuable asset at risk -- its brand. http://www.tvpredictions.com/tivo052604.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 08:48:38 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Comcast and T-Mobile to Create Philadelphia's First-Ever Outdoor Comcast and T-Mobile to Create Philadelphia's First-Ever Outdoor Wi-Fi HotSpot at South Street's Headhouse Square - May 26, 2004 08:02 AM (PR Newswire) Residents, Visitors, Business People can Connect to Internet Without Wires at Historic Headhouse Square Plaza PHILADELPHIA and BELLEVUE, Wash., May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast and T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced the planned June launch of Philadelphia's first-ever outdoor Wi-Fi wireless Internet service located at Philadelphia's historic Headhouse Square Plaza. The T-Mobile HotSpot network, supported at Headhouse Square by the Comcast high-speed data network, will give residents and visitors the ability to get online at wireless broadband speeds with a Wi- Fi enabled laptop computer or personal data assistant (PDA). The launch will create one of the nation's largest Wi-Fi "hotspots," available in most indoor and outdoor areas of the plaza, covering Second Street between South and Pine Streets. The introduction of Wi-Fi, or "wireless fidelity," further enhances the vibrant shopping, dining and living experience available in the broader South Street business district. The network will enable Wi-Fi users in Headhouse Square Plaza to catch up on email, access company intranets, make restaurant reservations, take advantage of special offers from merchants, and generally enjoy on-the-go information and entertainment that only a wireless broadband connection can deliver. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41649162 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 08:51:45 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Comcast to Offer Phone Service to 40 Million in 2006 NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters) - Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA), the nation's largest cable television operator, said on Wednesday it will offer telephone service to more than 40 million households in 2006, in a significant challenge to local telephone companies. Comcast also said that non-Executive Chairman C. Michael Armstrong has stepped down and will be replaced by Chief Executive Brian Roberts. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41652546 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 08:59:37 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Maryland Governor Signs Tough Anti-Spam Law By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) - Internet "spam" purveyors who hide behind false e-mail addresses could face up to 10 years in jail and fines of $25,000 per day under a new state law signed Wednesday by Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich. The Maryland Spam Deterrence Act allows state officials to arrest and fine those who engage in a variety of deceptive tactics to send junk e-mail. The law was hailed as the nation's toughest by Internet provider America Online (NYSE:TWX)., which has helped officials in other states track down spammers who send out fraudulent messages. But one anti-spam activist said it would do little to stop the unsolicited bulk messages that now account for up to 83 percent of all e-mail, because most of those already violate anti-fraud laws. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41660480 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 01:47:38 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Verizon to Offer 'Naked' DSL By Marguerite Reardon Staff Writer, CNET News.com Verizon Communications will soon become the second Baby Bell in the United States to offer broadband to consumers regardless of whether those customers also buy its local phone service. The company confirmed on Wednesday that it plans to offer what's been called "naked" digital subscriber line (DSL) service to customers within its local phone region by the end of 2004. Qwest Communications in February announced plans to offer a similar service to its customers. Up until that point, the Baby Bells typically offered DSL as part of a package with local phone service. Customers who switched local phone providers risked losing their DSL service. Consumer groups argued that this practice locked customers into services with the Baby Bells, while shutting out other DSL competitors. But now local phone companies seem to be having a change of heart. Some experts say it is a result of more customers abandoning their local phone lines for wireless services and voice over Internet services. The Baby Bells also have lost some local lines to competing phone companies such as AT&T and MCI. http://news.com.com/2100-1034-5221095.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 02:15:04 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: BBC Prepares to Put TV Archive on Web Graeme Wearden ZDNet UK The BBC's decision to let British surfers download TV footage and share it between friends could help to drive broadband and the take-up of new, faster PCs. The BBC has given a major boost to the Creative Commons movement this week by revealing how it plans to open up its archive of broadcasting material to UK Internet users. The corporation has decided to allow surfers to download, distribute and modify digital clips of BBC television programmes through an initiative called the Creative Archive. While users won't be allowed to resell the material, they will enjoy increased access to content that many potential users effectively paid the BBC to create through their licence fees. A Creative Commons licence allows content creators to dictate whether or not anyone can copy their own work, creative derivative works from it, or use it for commercial purposes. It is an attempt to create a middle-ground rather than making content owners choose between putting something fully into the public domain or controlling it tightly through copyright. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39156023,00.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 01:42:52 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: 'Pirate Act' Raises Civil Rights Concerns By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com File swappers concerned about getting in trouble with record labels over illegal downloads may soon have a major new worry: the U.S. Department of Justice. A proposal that the Senate may vote on as early as next week would let federal prosecutors file civil lawsuits against suspected copyright infringers, with fines reaching tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. The so-called Pirate Act is raising alarms among copyright lawyers and lobbyists for peer-to-peer firms, who have been eyeing the recording industry's lawsuits against thousands of peer-to-peer users with trepidation. The Justice Department, they say, could be far more ambitious. One influential proponent of the Pirate Act is urging precisely that. "Tens of thousands of continuing civil enforcement actions might be needed to generate the necessary deterrence," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said when announcing his support for the bill. "I doubt that any nongovernmental organization has the resources or moral authority to pursue such a campaign." The Pirate Act represents the latest legislative priority for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and its allies, who collectively argue that dramatic action is necessary to prevent file-swapping networks from continuing to blossom in popularity. http://news.com.com/2100-1027-5220480.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Do I read this correctly? It will no longer be required to have an announced or alleged 'victim' of a crime in order to have government intervention? The government will now be the 'victim' (and the judge and the jury) for the 'crime' of making copies of things? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 00:09:19 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: For Some, the Blogging Never Stops By KATIE HAFNER TO celebrate four years of marriage, Richard Wiggins and his wife, Judy Matthews, recently spent a week in Key West, Fla. Early on the morning of their anniversary, Ms. Matthews heard her husband get up and go into the bathroom. He stayed there for a long time. "I didn't hear any water running, so I wondered what was going on," Ms. Matthews said. When she knocked on the door, she found him seated with his laptop balanced on his knees, typing into his Web log, a collection of observations about the technical world, over a wireless link. Blogging is a pastime for many, even a livelihood for a few. For some, it becomes an obsession. Such bloggers often feel compelled to write several times daily and feel anxious if they don't keep up. As they spend more time hunkered over their computers, they neglect family, friends and jobs. They blog at home, at work and on the road. They blog openly or sometimes, like Mr. Wiggins, quietly so as not to call attention to their habit. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/27/technology/circuits/27blog.html ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? Organization: Looking for work Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 01:41:01 -0400 In article , Tony P. wrote: > Far as I know, you can't get consumer cable IP feed without > subscribing to cable television. That's not true with Comcast. They offer discounts if you purchase multiple services, but they don't require you to. Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu Arlington, MA *** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me *** ------------------------------ From: Fred Atkinson Subject: Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 11:43:32 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net Well, I'm not so sure that DSL is a cost effective alternative to DSL. I've just exhausted the 'six months of cablemodem for $29.95 per month'. So now, the cost is now a little over fifty dollars. I am looking for a way to cut costs. I looked into adding DSL to the local line here. For the DSL light (one hundred and twenty-eight kbps upstream and two hundred and fifty-six kbps downstream), they want about thirty-five per month. Considering the difference in speed, I hardly think it is competitive. I also am running Vonage. According to the Vonage folks, you need ninety kbps per call (in other words, if you use a service that requires two calls (such as using three-way calling or call waiting), you need one hundred and eighty kbps in each direction. So, one hundred and twenty-eight kbps. So, if I get the next highest package, I'm paying the same as I'm paying for the [much faster] cablemodem. And besides, if you have to pay for local service as well as the Vonage line, that kind of kills the deal anyway. So for the time being, I'll stick with cablemodem until someone offers me a better deal. Road Runner is offering a reduced deal, but I've already had a special from them within the last year, so I am not eligible for that promotion. Regards, Fred On 27 May 2004 07:56:14 -0700, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) wrote: > My local telephone company (Verizon) and cable TV company (Comcast) > have been running an aggressive TV ad campaign pushing their > respecting high speed data services. Verizon is pushing DSL while > Comcast is pushing cable modem. Each says they're far superior > (faster data and more reliable) and cheaper than the other. > Any opinions on cable modems vs. DSL in today's world? > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As long as DSL is effectively the 'property' > of the established, traditional telephone companies, (that is, give up > your traditional telephone service and you cannot have DSL), then a lot > of subscribers are left high and dry. Telco seems to be betting that > this 'all from us or nothing from us' approach will work to their benefit. > In fact, it may hasten the demise of Bell even more. Take my case, > which I think is sort of typical: I was spending a hundred dollars > plus per month on phone and DSL from Southwestern Bell, and extra for > what little long distance I use. Cable was another $50-60 per month, > for a limited package of basic stuff only (60 channels). By > eliminating Bell totally (I use Prairie Stream in a combined local > phone and LD package) which costs $25 per month and cable internet > which includes all the 'premium' cable television channels for $100 > per month, I save a little money on the total bill. If Bell ever released > their tight grip on DSL as a general rule, it might be different, but > for those of us who are disabled and with fixed incomes from Social > Security, we just cannot afford to get huge packages from Bell in > order to use our computers effeciently *and* a package from cable as > well. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Health Insurance, was Re: The Strike Goes On Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 04:03:19 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In curtisccr@sbcglobal.net (Curtis CCR) writes: [ big snip ] > premiums, but the employee co-pays are going from something like $10 > to $25. > I read an analysis on the medical coverage issue saying that it sort > of screws both sides later. SBC will save a couple of billion dollars > in the immediate future by raising co-payments, but the rising cost of > insurance will quickly overtake the savings again. All they did was > buy time -- both sides are going to be facing this issue again in 5 > years. We're getting off telco stuff into more general social issues here, but this is actually a realistic health related settlement for two key reasons (and five years is a pretty long time...) : First: under the new Medicare drug regs, the costs to the company for covering their retired workers will be going DOWN in a couple of years. The exact amount is far from obvious and lots and lots of things can and will change between now and then (partly in response to the different cost structure ...) but realistic guesses are in the 30-40% range. That's a BIG savings which will be available as an offset to paying for the working folk. And second: in a few months there's an election coming up. In two years there's another Congressional one. And in four years, there's another Presidential race. National healthcare coverage is an important issue, and (if we don't find ourselves in even "hotter" warfare) will move more and more to the national front. Every dollar that gets picked up by the Feds (i.e. the general taxpayer) is a dollar the company doesn't have to pay. _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 00:28:35 -0500 From: Gordon S. Hlavenka Reply-To: nospam@crashelectronics.com Organization: Crash Electronics Subject: Re: Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider gnj2@ridgenet.net asked: >> I'm planning on switching to Verizon DSL for my ISP. Talked to their >> technical information person to ask who Verizon gets their Newsgroup >> feed from. Her answer: "What's a newsgroup?" Is there someone using >> Verizon DSL here who can answer this for me. Steve replied: > Try news.verizon.net Steve, I don't think this answers the question. One of my past ISPs simply leased access to somebody else's newsgroup server; you set your reader to "news.[name-of-my-isp].net" and that was all there was to it on the users' end. But the ISP simply redirected that to somebody else's hardware -- so when the newsfeed went down (which it did quite a bit) it was a nightmare to get it fixed. The ISP could do nothing themselves except to call their nooz provider. Another possible interpretation is, "Who is the upstream feed to whatever news server Verizon uses?" Does Verizon hang their server directly on a backbone and take their own news? Or do they let somebody else do that (since it requires considerable horsepower) and then buy a newsfeed from them? If the latter, it matters very much who they buy their news from; not only from a reliability standpoint but also completeness as different providers capture different subsets of newsgroups. Gordon S. Hlavenka http://www.crashelectronics.com "If we imagined he could _find_ the car, we could pretend it might be fixed." - Calvin ------------------------------ From: gsmrules2000@yahoo.ca (Mr.R.) Subject: +88234, a Country Code to Antarctica Date: 28 May 2004 00:17:53 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Interesting article about the phone calls to Antarctica, I wish the service was on few years ago when I had a chance to visit there, I could have used my cell phone!!! ... well, next time. Two thumbs up! GSM network coverage soon in Antarctica by Global Networks, Inc. GSM is the proven Global roaming standard, already 593 Operators in 203 Countries have adopted the system. Global Networks, Inc. will deploy the GSM network to the last continent in the world, where is no GSM network yet, but thousands people living there. "ITU ( International Telecommunication Union) is pleased to assign to Global Networks, Inc. shared E.164 country code and identification code 88234 and shared E.212 MCC and MNC code 90113, for the purpose of providing mobile telephony services to the few areas of Antarctica," says Houlin Zhao Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. "Antarctica is the last untouched continent in the world without GSM network and we are very excited to offer GSM services there. The service should be up and running in 2004 There are 35 scientific stations in Antarctica where people live all year round, and even the South Pole tourism is not a mass market, it has increased rapidly in the last ten years, to about 13,000 in 2002-2003. Even though the population is minimal and this is one of the most rural areas in the world, there is a need for GSM network to be used by scientists and even their equipment, collecting valuable research data of our precious planet. It is a remarkable test and development ground for our various mobile technology solutions, including voice and data services. So, we are not trying to sell ice to Eskimos nor Polar Bears since there are none, but next time when you visit Antarctica, take your GSM phone with you." says Pekka Maunuksela, Chief Information Officer of Global Networks, Inc. (http://gni-usa.com) ------------------------------ From: marsh@khl.com (Steve) Subject: Phone Plug Date: 28 May 2004 02:51:04 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hey all! Poor question really coz I should know this but I would like to put a phone plug thing (dont have a clue what they are called!) in a room that doesnt have one. This is because I want to put Sky in there and plug it in so no-one complains! I heard that depending on the wiring, there is phone cabling under the floorboards in a random fashion of most rooms, and this was because when the original upstairs phone ports where installed, electricians slack off some extra cable in case of possible expansion? This could be complete bullsh** but as I don't have a clue this is sadly what I have to believe. Anyways, if it is or its not, how would I set one of these bad boys up?! Many thanks if you can help! Steve ------------------------------ From: rohithkn@rediffmail.com (Rohith) Subject: A Query on World's Advanced Data Networks. Date: 28 May 2004 05:08:46 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi all, I was searching for information regarding networks that are in existence today, I need data on: 1) The top networks in terms of number of users/size of the network, 2) The service providers who are using the latest technology, 3) The kind of services that they are offering, and data on any other parameter that you can come up with. Thanks, Rohith K N ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 11:15:07 -0400 Subject: How Linux is Inadvertently Poised to Remake the Telephone Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com Comment: Cringely goes on another flight into the improbable, but there may be a bit of useful information in this article: http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20040527.html The Little Engine That Could By Robert X. Cringely One of the cheapest Linux computers you can buy brand new (not at a garage sale) is the Linksys WRT54G, an 802.11g wireless access point and router that includes a four-port 10/100 Ethernet switch and can be bought for as little as $69.99 according to Froogle. That's a heck of a deal for a little box that performs all those functions, but a look inside is even more amazing. There you'll find a 200 MHz Intel processor and either 16 or 32 megs of DRAM and four or eight megs of flash RAM -- more computing power than I needed 10 years ago to run a local Internet Service Provider with several hundred customers. But since the operating system is Linux and since Linksys has respected the Linux GPL by publishing all the source code for anyone to download for free, the WRT54G is a lot more than just a wireless router. It is a disruptive technology. ... look at it this way: the WRT54G with Sveasoft firmware is all you need to become your cul de sac's wireless ISP. Going further, if a bunch of your friends in town had similarly configured WRT54Gs, they could seamlessly work together and put out of business your local telephone company. Full story at: http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20040527.html Slashdot comments on this article: http://slashdot.org/articles/04/05/28/1249235.shtml?tid=106&tid=137&tid=185&tid=193&tid=215 How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 11:21:26 -0400 Subject: Juniper Research: Voice-over-IP (VoIP) to Account for Over 12% Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/May/1044725.htm Juniper Research: Voice-over-IP (VoIP) to Account for Over 12% of All Telephony Revenues by 2009 Ian Cox, Broadband Specialist, said VoIP brings new revenue generating opportunities to the telephony market, by combining voice services with other IP applications. This will redefine the telephone bringing brand new services, with telephony at its core. The challenge to service providers will be to carefully manage this convergence, balancing new VoIP revenues against declines in traditional fixed line revenues. Flat-rate IP-based voice tariffs will gradually replace time and distance related tariffs. Full story at: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/May/1044725.htm ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 12:15:26 -0400 Subject: Welcome to Summer Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com The Memorial Day weekend is traditionally the kickoff of Summer here in North America. It is also the time when people start taking vacations, and those who are not on vacation have to do the work that might normally be done by their vacationing co-workers. In past years I have noticed a sharp decline in real, hard news between Memorial Day and Labor Day (and even slightly thereafter - people don't seem to get into the mindset to do real work until about October in some companies!). So if you see the output of news go down, rest assured that's a normal summer phenomenon, and not an indication that I'm not at least trying to keep up with the news. At the same time, once in a while during the summer I will probably get occupied with some project or other and may not get to the news until later in the day. So, if you post something to the list and are waiting for it to be moderated, don't panic unless it is late in the evening and it still hasn't gone out (actually this is more likely to be the case from about September to November since I tend to try to stay indoors during REALLY hot weather, which in Michigan is anything above about 75 degrees!). Anyway, I hope everyone has a great extended weekend, and if you can afford to drive anywhere with today's gas prices being what they are, please drive safely. And, if you are staying home and have absolutely nothing else to do, tell a friend or two about the VoIP News and/or MI-Telecom mailing lists -- as far as list subscribers go, the more the merrier! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thank you, Jack, for your continued hard work with VOIP News. Like your news area, ours here at TELECOM Digest and comp.dcom.telecom, the flow of LEGITIMATE news (as compared to spam and virii things) also goes down over the summer months; it is sort of like one long extended weekend now through Labor Day in the United States which is the first Monday in September. And as 'they' used to say about drunken drivers (of which there are still plenty on the roads) 'death takes no holidays and frequently works overtime on holiday weekends'; just like spam and virii (which I suspect as soon as the amount of legitimate email/news versus the other stuff will soon reach into the ninetieth percentile -- it is now 83 percent pure rot) will spell just one more step in the long awaited 'death of the net'. **So please be careful if you drive anywhere in the next few days; I hate having to print obituary notices as I did for Bill Pfieffer and other guys. Regards the cost of gas, that does not bother me a lot; almost all my trips 'away from home' -- if one or two miles could be considered 'away' -- are done via Independence Taxicab Company for a flat rate of $1.50 per ride anywhere in town; the usual rate for taxicab is $4.50 anywhere in town; the three dollar difference is subsidized by City of Independence for old people and handicapped people of which my age qualifies me on the first count and my brain desease covers the second part. I'll be around a little over the weekend, with at least one or two issues of the Digest, and our Western Union material for this weekend will be the Business Week magazine article from the 1960's when 'things looked bright and rosy for Western Union' as the article implied. So, stay tuned for at least a little bit of this Digest over the summer months unless we get days like last summer where the temp- erature reached 115 degrees several days and my irregular blood pressure gets out of control and I have to check into Sisters of Mercy Hospital here for emergency treatment. I hope that will happen, if it does, of my own volition (calling the cab, paying $1.50 and a coupon to go over to Mercy Hospital), rather than having my housekeeper or Lisa or other friends finding me comatose and calling 911 for the EMTs and/or paramedics. Anyway, to our US readers, do have a happy Memorial Day. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of 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: 620-402-0134 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #264 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri May 28 15:18:22 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4SJIMi04910; Fri, 28 May 2004 15:18:22 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 15:18:22 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405281918.i4SJIMi04910@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 #265 TELECOM Digest Fri, 28 May 2004 15:18:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 265 Inside This Issue: Happy Memorial Day Holiday to all! Things Looked Rosy for Western Union in 1960 (Jim Haynes) 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 are 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: Fri, 28 May 2004 14:31:29 EDT From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Things Looked Rosy for Western Union in 1960 Over this holiday weekend, a lengthy magazine article submitted by Jim Haynes from Business Week magazine, copyright 1960 by Business Week. It originally appeared in this Digest in three parts back in 1992. The three parts (a technical neccessity then) are combined in one single part in this edition. PAT From: haynes@cats.UCSC.EDU (Jim Haynes) Date: Thu, 20 Feb 92 22:51:55 -0800 Subject: Things Looked Rosy for Western Union in 1960 The August 27, 1960 issue of {Business Week} showed W. U. President Walter P. Marshall on the front cover, with a pushbutton message switching position in the background, and the following story inside. (page 86 ff) "Electronics Puts Young Blood in Old Company" When Walter P. Marshall (cover) stepped into the president's job at Western Union in December, 1948, it looked as if his tenure might be short and unhappy. Western Union, once the backbone of fast and dependable long-distance communications in the United States, was, quite plainly, a deathly sick old company. It was saddled with high labor costs, old equipment, crushing debt, and local operations that often cost more to run than they returned in gross revenue. Some Western Union executives were waiting for a declaration of bankruptcy; many doubted that the company would survive to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 1951. -Rejuvenation- But in the ensuing 10 years, Western Union not only has pulled through, but it has thoroughly rejuvenated itself. Instead of a winded oldster that could only look back at the days when its competition was the Pony Express, it now resembles an electronics adolescent with a bright and profitable future. The company's new strength already is evident: Last year its revenues and earnings set an all-time high. Western Union can be expected to keep on growing. In the next five years, management hopes to spend $350-million on expansion. Next year, the company plans to spend $105-million for plant and equipment on top of $45-million this year. Completion of a transcontinental microwave network will increase the system's circuit capacity 10 times, and will add enormously to the range of services it can offer. It will be able to provide increased telegraphic service, leased voice channels, facsimile, closed-circuit television, and perhaps most important of all, high-speed data processing channels that can handle digital information at computer speeds. -I. Financial Turnaround The job of turning Western Union around from a faltering centenarian to an eager and aggressive competitor in the communications field was a difficult one. Before the company could even think about modernization, it had a raft of complex financial problems to solve. Few outside the company realized just how close to extinction it was 10 years ago. A look at the books shows how deeply in trouble the company was: - Operating losses were about $1-million a month. - Bond issues totaling $30-million were maturing in 1950 and 1951, and bond issues and notes totaling $35-million were due in 1960, but no provisions for paying them were being made. - Labor costs were eating up 69.2% of the company's gross revenues, leaving little money for maintenance or modernization. - Message service, Western Union's basic revenue source, was declining steadily. It dropped from $178-million in 1947 to $146- million in 1949. - Competition was formidable. More and more, business communication was going over long-distance telephone lines, and American Telephone & Telegraph's TWX service, a teletypewriter exchange network, was diverting a tremendous amount of business from Western Union's wires. So the yellow glow of the familiar Western Union offices burned red in Western Union's ledgers. The many local offices it maintained hung like a weight around the company's neck, pulling it deeper toward losses. Yet to abandon some of the offices or even limit their hours required not only months of delay but also expensive hearings. -Quick Action - These are problems that Marshall set about solving when he took over in 1948. He was 47 and had a background in financing and accounting. Unlike most of his predecessors, he had long experience in the telegraph business. With the exception of Joseph Egan, Marshall's immediate predecessor, Western Union's presidents since the 1930s all had been railroad men. Marshall had come to Western Union in 1943 as assistant to the president when the company absorbed Postal Telegraph, where he had been executive vice-president. For years, Postal Telegraph had been on the verge of insolvency, and its troubles provided familiar experience. Marshall's first actions as president of Western Union were to organize the company's debts and to start cutting labor costs. He took care of debts by selling off property and leasing it back, by selling pole lines, cashing in securities, and selling such subsidiaries as Teleregister and American District Telegraph. For example, the big Western Union building in downtown New York was sold to Woodmen of the World Life Insurance ... [illegible] company for over $12-million. Then Marshall shocked the board of directors by announcing immediate plans to spend millions of dollars on a broad modernization and expansion program for services such as Desk-Fax, a method of transmitting telegrams by facsimile directly to business offices. He also accelerated the program for installing automatic switching centers in 15 cities. He got management behind a big push to get more private wire business and to increase facsimile services. All of this cost a lot of money. And with the company's history of steadily diminishing revenues, it looked risky indeed. -Quick Results- Losses in 1949 amounted to nearly $4.5-million on sales of $181-million. But by the end of 1950, Marshall's moves began to show results. Unprofitable local offices were being cut out and automatic switching centers were beginning to increase efficiency. That year alone, labor costs were cut by nearly $6-million, revenues went up to almost $188-million, and the company turned a $7-million profit. There has been no red ink since then, and in 1959 earnings were a record $16-million on sales of $276-million. The company's debt position also has been reversed. All the outstanding bond issues have been paid in full or advantageously refinanced. -II. Leap to Modernization- So, with its financial house in order, Western Union is in a position to take off in new directions to insure its future. And in many respects, never has there been so fortuitous a time for the company to modernize. During the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, startling progress has been made in electronics and communications technology. Two developments particularly were important to Western Union: (1) the perfection of high frequency radio relay system - microwave - which provided a logical and much less expensive way to increased long-distance facilities; and (2) development of computers and automatic electronic switching systems, which promised big increases in efficiency at high reliability levels. -Big Jump- With much of its plant obsolete, Western Union was able to go from old manual systems to the most modern automatic equipment in one big jump. For example, in the 1940s almost all of Western Union's services were carried on telegraph channels of a very narrow frequency range of 170 cycles per second, providing a top communications speed of only 60 to 100 words a minute. Today, the company's nearly complete transcontinental microwave system will consist of two 6-million cycle channels capable of carrying broadband television, handling over 12,000 simultaneous telegraph messages, transmitting computer tapes at high speed, or carrying voice communication or facsimile. These so-called broad band signals can't be carried on ordinary wires, but require coaxial cable or ultra-high-frequency radio beam carriers. Had its modernization started earlier and been more gradual, the company would have sought to increase its capacity slowly through intermediate steps. These would have been expensive and yet they would not have been able to provide the facilities the company now feels it needs. -Decreasing Dependency- The new broad-band system also will reduce Western Union's dependence on other communications carriers. Western Union particularly has been dependent on the Bell System for leased facilities. In the early 1950s, about 70% of Western Union's circuit mileage was leased, mostly from AT&T. Although the number of leased wires has not been reduced in absolute terms, today their proportion has decreased to about 60%. S. M. Barr, Western Union vice-president in charge of planning, expects this percentage to drop to 40% in the next few years, hopes to get the proportion of leased facilities down to 20% eventually. 'You can see the kind of growth we expect, then, if we see no reduction and a possible increase in the number of leased facilities,' he says. The big increase in traffic that Western Union anticipates for its new system is not likely to come from public message services, which have been the backbone of its business. This type of service basically is tied to population growth, and to some extent to merchandising gimmicks such as singing birthday greetings, flowers and candy by wire, and other special services. [1] -Private Expansion- But it does expect its private wire services to expand greatly. Here, particularly, Western Union's new facilities will be of help in solving communications problems for private customers. Western Union already has a good deal of savvy when it comes to tailoring a special system to a customer's needs. About 2,000 companies in the U.S. -- among them U.S. Steel, General Electric, Sylvania, and United Air Lines -- have private communications networks leased from Western Union. And its bank wire service interconnects 213 banks in 55 cities with pushbutton switching. Western Union got into the private systems business without much selling effort. In most cases, it just waited for customers to come to it. But those days, like the days of the hand-operated message centers, are long since gone. Now the company is pushing leased systems aggressively, and the results show it. In 1950, private wire revenues brought in $8-million, or about 5% of Western Union's message business. In 1959, private wires sang a $52.3-million tune on the cash register. It won't be long, Marshall believes, before the revenues from private wires top those from public message services. -Meeting the Competition- Until recently, however, Western Union could not compete directly with AT&T's TWX network, which offers direct customer-to-customer teleprinter connection through a central exchange system similar to a telephone network. Several years ago, FCC gave Western Union permission to purchase TWX from AT&T, but the price was too high. Now, Western Union is expanding a roughly similar system called Telex that will offer direct customer-to-customer dialing. [2] Besides direct dialing, the biggest difference between Telex and TWX is the method of billing customers. Telex customers are charged only for the time that the facilities are in use plus a 50-cent connection charge. A short order to a New York broker from, say, Chicago via Telex might be subject only to a 10-second time charge, compared with a three-minute basic charge on TWX. -Growing Network- At present, Telex service is available only between New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. But before yearend, 19 more cities will be added. In 1961, it will cover 23 more cities, and management hopes to get approval from the board of directors to cover 128 cities by 1962." [Note 1 by Jim Haynes] One would think that a writer for such an astute publication as {Business Week} would have noted the price elasticity of personal communication. This would have suggested that the dropping price of long-distance telephony would devastate public Telegram service, as it did. [Note 2 by Jim Haynes] Dial Telex service began in Germany in 1933, just three years after AT&T introduced manual TWX service in the U.S. Telex used modified SxS telephone switching equipment. Western Union imported the European technology and equipment, even to the 50-baud teleprinters. One wonders if AT&Ts conversion to dial TWX was at all in response to competition from Telex, or if it was simply a matter of taking advantage of the switched telephone network for transmission. I assume that manual TWX calls were timed using Calculagraphs, just as voice calls were. Telex used a simpler charging mechanism, no doubt because it originated long before automated telephone billing. At the time a Telex call was set up the customer's charging register was connected to a pulse generator, the pulse rate depending on the distance to the called station. The charges could be reduced at night simply by slowing down the pulse generators. At least in Germany there were Telex PBXs in hotels; in this case the pulses were relayed to the PBX so that the hotel guest could be billed. Telex was always customer-dialed long-distance service. [Moderator's 1992 Note: Although telex was always customer-dialed, provision was made for an operator's help in completing a difficult connection. Dialing (was it? ) '17' from the telex unit connected the user to WU's 'manual assistance positions' in Bridgeport, MO. An operator there communicated with the user by typing back and forth on the keyboard, like a modern day 'chat', and the operator could then do what any telco operator could do: complete the connection, verify a busy terminal, busy circuits, out of order, or number not in service condition on the receiving end. In addition, the WU manual assistance operator was used to place 'collect' (reverse charge) connections and special or third-party billing. I think dialing '19' connected the user to WU directory assistance where help was given by 'chatting'.] III. Building For the Future- Western Union has great hopes that Telex will increase its revenue load many fold. Even so, it's hard to imagine that such business will fill all the extra traffic capacity that Western Union's new microwave system provides. And so, once again, President Marshall is counting on electronics technology to help him out. Three out of every four systems that Western Union is now installing for customers include provision for handling data processing information. Communication between computers, or tape-to-tape digital messages between dispersed plants, offices, and data processing centers may eventually equal the volume of voice and message communication. AT&T President Frederick R. Kappel, too, thinks that's possible. -Expandable System- So Marshall believes his modern plant is coming on stream just in time to catch the new flood of data processing business. The transcontinental microwave network's two 6-million cycle channels each are capable of handling transcontinental telecasts, or thousands of telegraphic, voice, and data processing channels. The system is designed to carry up to seven broad-band channels, and these will be added as needed. The Transcontinental network, with extension legs, will cost $56-million, but once the microwave relay towers are in place, the system's capacity can be doubled for about 15% to 20% of this cost. Eventually, Western Union will have a great loop of microwave routes that will interconnect North and South as well as East and West. The full system may cost $250- million between now and 1970. -Government Contracts- Part of the load the new microwave system will carry is already under contract. The U.S. Air Force hired Western Union to build an automatic system of data and message handling that will interconnect all domestic Air Force bases. The combat and logistics network (COMLOGNET) [1] also costs, coincidentally, $56- million and will be operated by Air Force personnel. Western Union also built for the Air Force an international automatic switching telegraph network, [2] which was completed last May, and has put in a high-speed weather map facsimile system for the Strategic Air Command. In addition, it built a nationwide weather map facsimile system for the Weather Bureau that serves several hundred points. To work out new communications applications to keep its microwave system busy, Western Union has enlarged its engineering and research departments. The company is now spending about $6-million a year on research and development -- more than ever before in its history. Of course, Bell Laboratories spends a lot more. But Marshall has some pretty definite ideas on how to get the most mileage out of research expenditures. 'One problem,' he admits, 'is getting the right kind of people that can really come through with innovations, and I'm not at all sure it is possible to hire this kind of person off the street, even if you have the most wonderful facilities in the world. Some people just don't like to work for big organizations.' -Research Interests- To tap that kind of talent, Western Union has purchased large interests in a number of small companies that offer intriguing technological or manufacturing competence: Microwave Associates, Inc., a leading developer of microwave elements such as waveguides, tubes, and semiconductor elements. Technical Operations, Inc., a Boston company engaged in contract research for the government and industry in computing, physics, mechanical engineering and electronics. Dynametrics Corp., another Boston company, which produces electronic measuring equipment that possibly could be related to future production control systems. Such systems might fit into an integrated data processing system built around a Western Union network. Hermes Electronics Co., a producer of crystal filters for microwave uses and designer of part of the telemetering system for the Titan missile. Hermes also has done a lot of work on computer translators that change binary code to decimal readouts. Gray Mfg. Co., Hartford, manufacturer of switchboards, dictating machines, and electronic gear. Teleprinter Corp., which has developed the smallest page teleprinter on the market. [3] These six companies dovetail so well as a combined research, engineering, and manufacturing operation that there are incessant rumors that Western Union intends to meld them into one big outfit. Marshall denies such an intent, disputes the logic of such a move on the ground that the talent attracted by these companies comes from their small size and independence. Actually, Western Union benefits substantially from the present management. As part owner, it can use the services of the individual companies and also coordinate their activities to some degree. In addition to these six companies, Western Union also has invested in Teleprompter Corp. But this company falls into a different category. Teleprompter is not a manufacturer of communications equipment. It custom-designs office communication centers, assembling equipment made by others and mounting it on its own furniture. But Teleprompter's work in closed-circuit and pay TV and in other fields jibes with Western Union's interests. -Dynamic Outlook- These new interests and Western Union's own research efforts all point to a greatly expanded future for the company. Although it still has some problems to solve, the company is in vastly better shape than it was ten years ago. Instead of sitting back and being outdated by new technology, Western Union very definitely is counting on the latest electronic wizardry to win a bigger piece of the communications market for itself." [Note 1 from Jim Haynes] COMLOGNET started out as a bunch of IBM card transceiver machines, which used internal modems to transmit punched cards over private telephone lines connecting the Air Materiel Command bases. When the Air Force set out to replace these with a Real communication system, both the name and the scope of the project changed several times as is typical of government projects. Names that followed COMLOGNET were first AFDATACOM and ultimately AUTODIN (automatic digital network), which became the main record communication system for the whole DOD. The original terminals consisted of a Model 28 ASR teletypewriter, an IBM card reader/punch, and a refrigerator-sized electronics package made by IBM. Transmission was synchronous using a modified Fieldata code. All transmissions were encrypted. This was somewhat to the dismay of the materiel people, who had started out with the card transceivers in their Base Supply offices; the AUTODIN terminals had to be locked up in secure Base Communications buildings because of the encryption equipment. So the supply people had to carry their cards between buildings on the base. There were also a few magnetic tape AUTODIN terminals. This was in the days before IBMs tape format became a de facto standard of the industry; so the terminals had to be designed to read and write the kind of tapes appropriate to the kind of computer they were to be used with. AUTODIN provided both message switching (i.e. store-and-forward) and circuit switching a la Telex. The switching centers for AUTODIN used computers made by RCA, originally discrete-transistor machines contemporary with the RCA 301-501-601 line, later replaced by machines of RCAs Spectra 70 line. Having to replace all those original computers after only five years or so must have been terribly galling to old Western Union hands, as some of the company's own offices were still using teleprinters made by Morkrum-Kleinschmidt prior to 1930. [Note 2 by Jim Haynes] This system was Western Union's Plan 55, based on paper tape store and forward technology. The switching centers used a combination of electromechanical and vacuum-tube electronic technology. Cross-office transmission was at 200 wpm, requiring electronic transmitting and receiving distributors and parallel-input reperforators. Plan 55 was superseded by AUTODIN when the latter acquired Teletype as well as punched card capabilities. [3] Perhaps Western Union hoped to use Teleprinter Corp. to free itself from dependence on AT&Ts Teletype subsidiary. W.U. had made some previous efforts to build its own teletypewriters. As things turned out the Teleprinter product, MITE (Miniature Integrated Teleprinter Equipment), was popular with the military for its small size and weight but never achieved much of a commercial market. ------------------------------ And now, here as some bonus reading is an excerpt from Fortune Magazine a year earlier, in 1959: This is excerpted from {Fortune Magazine}, March 1959 - an excellent article with nice pictures, "Western Union, by Grace of FCC and AT&T". Many legends have blurred the history of Western Union. Contrary to widely held belief, for instance, the company was not founded by Samuel F. B. Morse, the portrait painter who invented the first telegraph. Initially, as a matter of fact, it didn't even use the Morse patents and, relatively speaking, it was a latecomer to the field. Morse did his pioneering work on the telegraph in the 1830's. By 1850 there were fifty telegraph companies operating between various cities in the U.S., most of them with licenses on the Morse patents. In 1846, Royal E. House of Vermont had come up with a device that permitted the electrical impulse to imprint letters and numbers on tape, eliminating the dot-dash symbols. The House printer became the basis for a new company financed and operated by a group of Rochester[3] investors headed by Hiram Sibley. This was the New York & Mississippi Valley Telegraph Co., formed to link upper New York State to St. Louis. But even as Sibley's plans began to unfold, the competition in the telegraph industry became chaotic. Some cities were being served by three competing patent systems. Meanwhile the war in rates was ruinous. Sibley had a simple solution: consolidate all the telegraph companies into one. New York & Mississippi Valley Telegraph was reincorporated as the Western Union Co., with licenses on both Morse and House patents, in New York State in 1856. Its avowed purpose was to bring together into one company all the telegraph firms then operating beyond the Hudson -- hence 'Western' Union. Western Union grew at a fantastic rate. The New York company gobbled up hundreds of competing telegraph companies, made exclusive, and advantageous, deals with the railroads, and reached all the way to the Pacific Coast. By 1866 it had a virtual monopoly. In the first ten years of its life its capital had grown from $500,000 to $41 million. -The war with the telephone- The company's first brush with the telephone came in 1877, when it imperiously declined an opportunity to buy the invention of Alexander Graham Bell for $100,000. Soon after, Western Union decided to enter the telephone field via the American Speaking Telephone Co., which would exploit voice-communication patents by Elisha Gray [1] and Thomas Edison. The Western Union system was quite as good as Bell's, and Western Union began to grow in the telephone field. But in 1878, Bell sued for patent infringement. As part of the settlement, reached the next year, Western Union agreed to stay out of the voice business and Bell agreed to stay out of the telegraph business. But Bell slipped out of the agreement when it formed, in 1885, a new company called the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. In 1909, AT&T won stock control of Western Union by purchasing the shares held by the estate of Jay Gould. Theodore Vail, a distant cousin of the Alfred Vail who had helped Morse start his telegraph line, was president of Bell at the time, and he planned to integrate the two companies. To begin with he had himself elected president of Western Union and began using it to promote the telephone by encouraging people to phone in their telegrams. Western Union had already developed a private-wire business with a volume of $3 million annually, and AT&T took this over, too, adding it to the small private-wire service it had developed on its own. In 1914, to avert government antitrust action, AT&T disposed of its Western Union holdings, but stayed in the private-wire business. After AT&T and Western Union parted, expansion of the telgraph system merely kept pace with the increase in population. By the Thirties the business was contracting. More and more Americans forsook telegrams for long-distance phone calls and air mail. Western Union was now bothered also by competition from the Postal Telegraph Service, a system formed in the 1880's. Postal had been taken over by Sosthenes Behn of IT&T in 1928, and thereafter fought Western Union hard. As if this were not enough, AT&T introduced in 1931 its TWX service, whereby subscribers could have direct telegraphic connection with each other through a central exchange. (AT&T invited Western Union to join it in the TWX network, and later even considered selling the system to Western Union, but Western Union couldn't pay the price.) In the early Thirties a debate began on whether there was enough telegraph business to support two telegraph companies -- meaning Western Union and Postal, but not AT&T, which most people thought of as a telephone service only. The debate was not resolved until 1943, when Congress authorized a merger of the two companies. An amendment to the same law authorized Western Union to buy the telegraphic services of AT&T -- but it did not make it mandatory for AT&T to sell. ---------------------------- The following material comes from a {Business Week} article of approximately ten years earlier than the {Fortune} article: Nov 19, 1949. Western Union's only all-telegraph competitor of recent years in the domestic field, Postal Telegraph, Inc. started in the 1880s. It competed with Western Union with indifferent success, but Western Union was prevented by law from buying its competitor. Finally, during the war, it became obvious that Postal couldn't go on. Operations for several years had been dependent on RFC [2] loans. So Congress finally permitted Western Union to absorb its competitor (BW - Aug. 7 '43, p102). Western Union was probably not too eager to acquire Postal in 1943. For one thing, Postal's facilities partly duplicated its own. Further it had (1) to take over Postal's $12.5-million debt to RFC, and (2) to guarantee jobs for most of Postal's staff for four years, despite its own heavy labor costs. However, Western Union didn't have much choice. Otherwise the government might have taken over Postal. Another competitor is the government-operated communications systems. The armed services and the State Department have their own networks of 'record' communications (any means of communication that produces a permanent record on paper) ..." [This seems like a silly remark to me, since the government-operated systems were based on private wires leased from the common carriers.] [Note 1 from Jim Haynes ] This is the Elisha Gray who lost the race to the Patent Office to Bell. I remember in the 50s or so there was a "Gray Telephone Pay Station Co.", making pay stations almost identical in appearance to the Bell phones, for the independent companies. I wonder if this is connected with the Gray Mfg. Co. that was listed as a Western Union affiliate in another article? [Note 2 from Jim Haynes ] RFC = Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a Depression-era government agency in the business of lending money to business firms to help them get back on their feet. [Note 3 from Jim Haynes ] I wonder if the late Larry Lippman, in clearing out the Western Union office there, was aware that Western Union was started in Rochester. ------------------------- *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This Internet discussion group is making it available without profit to group members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of literary, educational, political, and economic issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. I believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, in one instance, Business Week Magazine, 1958 and 1960; in the other, Fortune Magazine (Time/Life publications) 1959. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml --------------------------- [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Indeed, Larry Lippman knew about this connection. I exchanged considerable email with him in 1990-91 when he had accepted the contract to clean out the old Western Union office in Rochester. I am very sorry I was unable to go and work with him on it; he invited me twice to do so but my health (at that time, an unrelated affair compared to my present brain aneurysm) prevented me from joining him. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #265 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri May 28 22:25:52 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4T2PqI07779; Fri, 28 May 2004 22:25:52 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 22:25:52 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405290225.i4T2PqI07779@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 #266 TELECOM Digest Fri, 28 May 2004 22:25:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 266 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Global Crossing Outlines VoIP Regulatory Vision to FCC (VOIP News) Consumer Advocates Tell FCC That VoIP Telephone Customers (VOIP News) Re: California Adopts New Wireless Regulations (Lisa Hancock) Re: Taking my Cell Phone to Switzerland? (Joseph) Modern Telecom Frustration (Lisa Hancock) Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? (xasdfg123456@yahoo.com) Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? (Tony P.) Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? (SELLCOM Tech support) Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? (Steven J Sobol) Locating the Second Phone Line For DSL Installation (Laitkor) Porting Numbers Question (jimmy) Re: Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider (SELLCOM Tech support) Re: RCN Files Chapter 11 Restructuring Plan (Clarence Dold) Re: Why Would I Want a Local T1? (xasdfg123456@yahoo.com) Phishing: The Latest, Very Dangerous, Spam Scam (TELECOM Digest Editor) 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 are 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: VOIP News Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 14:08:13 -0400 Subject: Global Crossing Outlines VoIP Regulatory Vision to FCC Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-28-2004/0002183665&EDATE= Introduces REFORM agenda for a rationalized telecommunications environment FLORHAM PARK, N.J., May 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Global Crossing (Nasdaq: GLBCE), a leading innovator in Voice over IP (VoIP) and other IP-enabled services, filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) (Wireline Docket Number 04-36) in response to the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) concerning the proper regulation of IP telephony. Global Crossing believes that the FCC's recent decision in the Free World Dialup docket compels it to treat all IP-enabled services as information services subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction. "The FCC has already concluded that IP-enabled services offered over pre-existing broadband services are not telecommunications or telecommunications services. Rather than engage in a case-by-case determination as to whether a broadband connection previously existed, the FCC must simply apply the same rules to all IP-enabled services" said John Legere, Global Crossing's chief executive officer. "As we state in our comments, the FCC must establish simple, uniform rules and put an end to the constant gamesmanship that currently plagues the industry." Global Crossing's comments offer a strategic vision for the categorization of IP-enabled services, the applicability of various rules and regulations, the public interest obligations of IP-enabled service providers, regulatory jurisdiction, and inter-carrier compensation. Global Crossing believes the FCC has the opportunity to set a new course for regulation and should do so in a comprehensive manner consistent with Global Crossing's REFORM agenda: Rationalize inter-carrier compensation. The FCC must establish a uniform inter-carrier compensation arrangement that not only recognizes that a "minute is a minute," but also that a "packet is a packet." All traffic exchanged between carriers, regardless of jurisdiction or type (voice, data or video) must be exchanged at a uniform rate to be negotiated between individual carriers without the distortion of past regulatory policies. The existing patchwork system of inter-carrier compensation invites arbitrage, distorts investment, and is a source of litigation within the industry. A unified inter-carrier compensation arrangement will eliminate this source of friction for the telecommunications industry. Establish a swift and efficient dispute resolution forum. The perpetual litigation surrounding FCC rulemaking efforts is one of the principal issues plaguing the telecommunications industry. The rulemaking process itself is becoming a barrier to entry as only the largest carriers can afford to participate. The FCC must establish a swift and efficient dispute resolution forum that allows carriers to quickly resolve disputes and keep their focus on delivering service to consumers. An arbitration procedure similar to that used in major league baseball whereby each party to a dispute puts forth its "best and final" offer would be ideal. Formulate clear and simple rules and regulations. Overly complex or vague rules simply invite litigation and fail to create the certainty and predictability necessary for a stable investment climate. The FCC's experience with unbundled network elements is the most recent example of this. FCC rules must be clear and unambiguous. Overhaul universal service. Any comprehensive reform effort must include an overhaul of the current universal service system, which is also a dysfunctional element for the industry. Appropriate modifications can be addressed in existing universal service proceedings currently before the Commission consistent with four guiding principles: * the universal service fund must be sized appropriately so that it only supports universal service objectives; * eligibility criteria must be refined so that the fund is not used as an earnings support mechanism for carriers; * source funding must be broad-based and competitively neutral; and * disbursements from the fund should be keyed to the removal of implicit subsidies embedded in the rates of recipients. Consideration must also be given to alternative universal service funding mechanisms. Redefine public interest obligations. Global Crossing supports the VON Coalition's efforts to work with the National Emergency Number Association ("NENA") to develop appropriate solutions for supporting 911/E911 services in an IP environment. However, the FCC needs to recognize that the greatest challenge for 911/E911 service is securing proper funding for the Public Safety Answering Points ("PSAPs"). The industry must explore new ways of working with local municipalities to bring the benefits of IP technology to the public safety sector. Maintain authority over essential bottleneck facilities While IP-enabled services hold great promise for bringing competitive choice to consumers, the FCC must continue to exercise authority over bottleneck facilities and continue to enforce appropriate interconnection and unbundling rules. "The overarching theme of our REFORM vision is that a few simple rules and safeguards will allow the industry to operate in a largely deregulated environment, " added John Legere, Global Crossing's chief executive officer. "Although we recognize the regulation of monopoly services, we strongly believe that the telecommunications industry and consumers would best be served by a free and open arena for IP-enabled services." To learn more about Global Crossing's REFORM vision, the full comments filed with the FCC can be found at http://www.fcc.gov. "As a leader in IP-services, we have a strong desire to create an industry that is allowed to grow and prosper without the cumbersome restrictions of regulation," Mr. Legere concluded. "By following the tenets of our REFORM vision, the FCC will simplify the regulatory landscape and steer the entire telecommunications industry into a new era of recovery and health." ABOUT GLOBAL CROSSING Global Crossing (Nasdaq: GLBCE) provides telecommunications solutions over the world's first integrated global IP-based network. Its core network connects more than 300 cities and 30 countries worldwide, and delivers services to more than 500 major cities, 50 countries and 6 continents around the globe. The company's global sales and support model matches the network footprint and, like the network, delivers a consistent customer experience worldwide. Global Crossing IP services are global in scale, linking the world's enterprises, governments and carriers with customers, employees and partners worldwide in a secure environment that is ideally suited for IP-based business applications, allowing e-commerce to thrive. The company offers a full range of managed data and voice products including Global Crossing IP VPN Service, Global Crossing Managed Services and Global Crossing VoIP services, to more than 40 percent of the Fortune 500, as well as 700 carriers, mobile operators and ISPs. Please visit http://www.globalcrossing.com (http://www.globalcrossing.com) for more information about Global Crossing. CONTACT GLOBAL CROSSING: Press Contacts Becky Yeamans +1 973-937-0155 PR@globalcrossing.com Catherine Berthier +1 212-412-4666 PR@globalcrossing.com Analysts/Investors Contact Mitch Burd + 1 800-836-0342 glbc@globalcrossing.com SOURCE Global Crossing Web Site: http://www.globalcrossing.com How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 14:54:08 -0400 Subject: Consumer Advocates Tell FCC That VoIP Telephone Customers Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com Comment: These so-called "consumer advocates" sound like they want to kill VoIP, not protect consumers. Hopefully the FCC will realize that "enhanced" 911 is currently IMPOSSIBLE due to the portability of VoIP devices (that is, you can plug one in anywhere there is a broadband connection, and the VoIP provider simply has no way of knowing where you are). Therefore any absolute requirement for enhanced 911 would have the effect of killing VoIP. I don't know what "consumers" these advocates purport to represent, but they sure do not represent me nor my views on the subject. I'd love to know where these people get their funding. http://www.nasuca.org/newsroom/PR%20nasuca%20-%20voip%20comments%20(2).doc Contact: Terry Etter of the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (614) 466-8574 Charlie Acquard, NASUCA Executive Director (301) 589-6313 CONSUMER ADVOCATES TELL FCC THAT VOIP TELEPHONE CUSTOMERS DESERVE PROTECTIONS SILVER SPRING, MD - May 28, 2004 - The National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) today told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that all telephone customers deserve protections against poor service, regardless of the type of connection they use to make local and long-distance calls. NASUCA has filed comments in the FCC's investigation into whether and how to regulate 'Voice over Internet Protocol' (VoIP) service. The following statement can be attributed to Timothy Hay, President of NASUCA and Nevada's state consumer advocate: 'Telephone service is essential in our society. With an increasing number of households relying on broadband-based services as substitutes for more traditional telephone connections, it is vital that the FCC and state regulators ensure that all consumers are protected against poor service. In addition, VoIP services should be required to include enhanced 911 and be readily accessible to persons with disabilities. VoIP providers should also be required to contribute to and, if qualified, be eligible to receive the low-income and rural support that has helped thousands of consumers afford traditional telephone service.' NASUCA's comments are available on its website at www.nasuca.org. NASUCA is a non-profit, national organization of 43 state offices designated to represent consumers in state and federal utility proceedings. NASUCA regularly participates in proceedings before the FCC and other federal regulatory agencies. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Jeff nor Lisa) Subject: Re: California Adopts New Wireless Regulations Date: 28 May 2004 09:40:56 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Monty Solomon wrote: > The regulation passed after an acrimonious debate about whether the > reforms represented enlightened regulation or ham-handed meddling into > the free market. Finding the balance between good and bad regulation is always tricky. There two sides to the argument which I'll explore: ANTI-REGULATION Industries have been destroyed by excessive regulation. What is supposed to be "for the public good" turns out to screw the public. Passenger railroad regulation is an example. The government ordered that many unneeded and money-losing trains be kept in service, and kept fares too low. As a result, the railroads sought to get rid of all passenger trains, even those that were still profitable. Inadequate revenue caused service quality to suffer. While the overall decline of passenger rail service was from numerous factors, government regulation hurt it badly. Oslin's Western Union history says the FCC was rough on WU: They were forced to take on inefficient Postal Telegraph and tremendous cost, allowed AT&T to have TWX against WU's Telex, etc. While the decline of WU was due to numerous factors (like the railroads), it appears government regulation didn't help here either. PRO-REGULATION Unfortunately, in the absence of regulation, companies can get greedy and take advantage of consumers. When payphone calls became unregulated, we've seen horrible price gouging for long distance calls. Cable TV is deregulated and rates have quickly climbed upward much faster than inflation. Banks have added on high service charges and high loan rates. Insurance companies have failed to keep adequate reserves for big losses and have failed. Wall Street brokers have cheated and committed outright fraud. ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: Taking my Cell Phone to Switzerland? Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 09:52:47 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.NONOcom On 23 May 2004 00:00:15 -0400, John R Levine wrote: > Cingular will sell me a Nokia 3100 "world" phone that works on GSM 1800, > but 360 days out of the year I'm in North America where my current phone > is just what I want and fits the car kit in my truck. > Can I easily rent a phone when I get there, either an empty one into which > I plug my SIM card, or one with its own card and a number I can use? Or > should I rent one here before I go? Or something else? I would seriously recommned *not* to rent a phone. Prices for phone rental are high and you can actually buy you a second-hand compatible phone to use with the service cheaper than renting a phone. The Nokia 3100 would be a wise choice. It's a good phone that will work on both GSM 850 and GSM 1900 in the US and will work on GSM 1800 in Europe and Asia. remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: Modern Telecom Frustration Date: 28 May 2004 11:03:38 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Why I question modern technology: My old high school web page had some stuff on it I was interested in buying, although they had no information about how to order. So, I sent an email to them. It bounced back, undeliverable. So much for keeping a web page up to date and accurate. (We didn't have web pages back then, but we were taught in computers that GIGO -- garbage in/garbage out, and we had to be sure no garbage went in -- that is, our data going in had to be right and edited.) So, I tried to call them. A very frustrating experience. Let me start off by saying high school was where I first learned to operate a switchboard -- we had a PBX 555 cord switchboard and a private intercom (Bogen?). In today's calling experience, obviously the stuff they taught me right there is no longer getting through. Call #1: After about 5 rings I got a series of beeps, clicks, and finally a disconnect. What frustrates me is we were taught to watch the signal to make sure the called party answered. If they were slow in answering, we were to go in an announced "still ringing". After a time we were to tell the caller "they don't seem to be answering, is there someone else or would you like to leave a message?" Call #2: No answer at the school at all. Call #3: No answer at the school at all. Call #4: Automatically transferred to a different school. (don't know why.) Put on hold for a long time, I hung up. Call #5: Automatically transferred to a different school. (don't know why.) Put on hold for a long time. Other school said I misdialed even though I dialed very carefully and their number is different. It appears the School District is on a Centrex now. I suspect either all phone lines were busy at the high school, or, no one answered and the system automatically forwarded the call. Anyway, I gave up for the day. Note -- all of these calls were long distance for me and I have to pay for them. ------------------------------ From: xasdfg123456@yahoo.com (xasdfg123456@yahoo.com) Subject: Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? Date: 28 May 2004 12:08:50 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) wrote in message news:: > My local telephone company (Verizon) and cable TV company (Comcast) > have been running an aggressive TV ad campaign pushing their > respecting high speed data services. Verizon is pushing DSL while > Comcast is pushing cable modem. Each says they're far superior > (faster data and more reliable) and cheaper than the other. > Any opinions on cable modems vs. DSL in today's world? A good resource for checking on DSL service in your area is dslreports.com. It is impossible to say which might be a better service for you, since DSL service and reliability is dependent on so many things. I have had pretty good luck with cable in my area, and it is overall cheaper than DSL service here. And they will often bundle cable modem service with TV service as well. But the down side for me is that cable providers often filter certain server ports and do not allow servers in their AUP, while most DSL providers allow you to run servers, provide static IPs, and will even usually provide additional IPs if you are willing to pay more. Setup is entirely different too, since if you choose a DSL provider that is not your local telco, they will have to make arrangements with the local carrier to install their equipment and check the line. And let's just say they don't always cooperate with each other. I went through a month of waiting for Covad DSL at an old house I rented, only to find that it had a DAML on the one line into the house and couldn't receive DSL. I ordered cable and it was connected in two days. Overall, I think DSL networks are admin'd better than cable networks (unless it's the phone company ;) ). I look at my firewall logs and on cable see all sorts of noisy local broadcasting and chatty multicasting that should be filtered out. AT&T was pretty good though (now on Charter and the transfer light never stops blinking). HTH. BR ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? Organization: ATCC Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 19:15:23 GMT In article , barmar@alum.mit.edu says: > In article , Tony > P. wrote: >> Far as I know, you can't get consumer cable IP feed without >> subscribing to cable television. > That's not true with Comcast. They offer discounts if you purchase > multiple services, but they don't require you to. Try it some time. Around here you get basic cable along with the Internet service because there isn't any feasible way for them to filter it. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That's interesting you say that about the problems with filtering one tier of service while allowing others. I asked at our local Cable One office if they used 'traps' on the line to prevent one kind of signal while allowing others. The woman said to me 'we used to do that (when we were owned by Time-Warner) but now it is all done on computer.' As an example she told me to watch her working on my account on her computer in the office. She typed a few things and turned on my internet service; typed something else and turned off (then back on again) my entire service. I do not know how they do it, but it seems much more effecient than those ugly traps that used to hang on all the poles in the area. PAT] ------------------------------ From: SELLCOM Tech support Subject: Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? Organization: www.sellcom.com Reply-To: support@sellcom.com Date: Sat, 29 May 2004 00:19:30 GMT hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) posted on that vast internet thingie: > My local telephone company (Verizon) and cable TV company (Comcast) > have been running an aggressive TV ad campaign pushing their > respecting high speed data services. Verizon is pushing DSL while > Comcast is pushing cable modem. Each says they're far superior > (faster data and more reliable) and cheaper than the other. That so depends on how close you are to your phone company and how crowded your cable network is with heavy usage neighbors. Generally if higher upstream speed is important to you, then DSL (a business package). If not then cable tends to offer more speed per buck. This is true here, but is it true there? I dunno ... Steve at SELLCOM http://www.sellcom.com Discount multihandset cordless phones by Siemens, AT&T, Panasonic, Motorola Vtech 5.8Ghz; TMC ET4000 4line Epic phone, OnHoldPlus, Beamer, Watchguard! Brick wall "non MOV" surge protection. Mini-Splitter log splitter! If you sit at a desk www.ergochair.biz you owe it to yourself. ------------------------------ From: Steven J Sobol Subject: Re: DSL vs. Cable Modem? Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 19:34:53 -0500 Barry Margolin wrote: > That's not true with Comcast. They offer discounts if you purchase > multiple services, but they don't require you to. I think the same is true of Charter. JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: 0xE3AE35ED Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net Domain Names, $9.95/yr, 24x7 service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/ "someone once called me a sofa, but i didn't feel compelled to rush out and buy slip covers." -adam brower * Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl '86, Windows 98/2000/2003 ------------------------------ From: laitkor@gmail.com (Laitkor) Subject: Locating the Second Phone Line For DSL Installation Date: 28 May 2004 13:40:54 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi, I have ordered DSL on a second phone line. The phone company has activated the second line. Installing the DSL is no big deal. But trying to find out which pair of lines is the second line in the spagetti of wires in phone box is the issue. I live in a apartment complex so getting access to the NIC is not possible. I have thought about buying a tone generator to locate the wires which have any voltage in them. I don't know if thats possible. Any suggestions on how I should go about. Thanks, Jay [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: When trying to trace, or 'ring down' a pair of wires in a spagetti nest of wires, *always* begin with known wires, which is the wires in your home. Attach your sounder or other noise-making source (such as a portable radio with leads from its speaker) to the known wires, then go to the next connection point in the house pairs and listen for it there. If the pair at that point (or somewhere under your control) is identified in some way by telco such as a numbered strip or a paper tag, etc then make note of that number or other ID. Make sure you can hear your sound at that point. At some point you are going to lose control of the wires, their identification or whatever clues you had from the phone man who was there before you. Try at that point (the most frustrating point usually) to hear your sound source. The battery in your sounder or other source puts out a small amount of current with the audio, which is all you will need, even if the pair is otherwise 'dry' or 'dark'. PAT] ------------------------------ From: jimmy Subject: Porting Numbers Question Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 17:35:05 -0400 How long should my account be *established* before I attempt to port my numbers to another carrier. I just ordered some gold numbers from Verizon and I plan to port them to a different vendor as soon as I am allowed. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I would suggest that out of courtesy to Verizon (if you feel like being courteous) you wait at least one full billing cycle. And I do not know what makes 'gold numbers' any different than any other telephone number, but you might want to assure yourself that the numbers *are* transportable and that you are not under some kind of contractual obligation to Verizon. PAT] ------------------------------ From: SELLCOM Tech support Subject: Re: Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider Organization: www.sellcom.com Reply-To: support@sellcom.com Date: Sat, 29 May 2004 00:16:21 GMT Gordon S. Hlavenka posted on that vast internet thingie: >>> I'm planning on switching to Verizon DSL for my ISP. Talked to their >>> technical information person to ask who Verizon gets their Newsgroup >>> feed from. Her answer: "What's a newsgroup?" Is there someone using >>> Verizon DSL here who can answer this for me. > Steve replied: >> Try news.verizon.net > Steve, I don't think this answers the question. What about gnilink.net then? I believe the original question was whether they have news included rather than how they do it. Steve at SELLCOM http://www.sellcom.com Discount multihandset cordless phones by Siemens, AT&T, Panasonic, Motorola Vtech 5.8Ghz; TMC ET4000 4line Epic phone, OnHoldPlus, Beamer, Watchguard! Brick wall "non MOV" surge protection. Mini-Splitter log splitter! If you sit at a desk www.ergochair.biz you owe it to yourself. ------------------------------ From: dold@RCNXFilesX.usenet.us.com Subject: Re: RCN Files Chapter 11 Restructuring Plan Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 19:39:12 UTC Organization: a2i network Monty Solomon wrote: > PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) -- RCN Corp., a telecommunications upstart that > packages phone, Internet and cable service but has been shedding > assets and employees, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on > Thursday and said it has support from creditors for a restructuring > plan. That might explain why the RCN mirrors of freeware aren't online. A Cygwin update goes part way through and fails. Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5 ------------------------------ From: xasdfg123456@yahoo.com (xasdfg123456@yahoo.com) Subject: Re: Why Would I Want a Local T1? Date: 28 May 2004 11:32:21 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to a question: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Because everyone in your building would > share the same T1. Some people, for various reasons, do not like to > share, either because they need the bandwidth or they have security > concerns, or maybe they are just greedy. Shared facilities are always > cheaper, if that's your only concern. PAT] Thank you for your reply. I am trying to figure out why my office was setup with a local T1 for phone connectivity. At ~$650/month + call charges it is a costly expense for our small office of 20 people. From what little documentation the previous admin here left, I see 12 trunks in operation: six lines for our Panasonic DBS and six other lines for other purposes (faxs, modems). Is this something that our local carrier would not be able to provide for us? Not all of these are necessary anymore. It just seems like it would be much less expensive (like hundreds) to use the lines already in the building. Help my little brain to understand. Thanks a lot! BR [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You may want to do a full audit of your telecom there, and also detirmine what you are pay