From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Aug 15 15:50:42 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 3B88021D4; Tue, 15 Aug 2006 15:50:42 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #301 Message-Id: <20060815195042.3B88021D4@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 15:50:42 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 15 Aug 2006 15:52:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 301 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson How Do You Handle Your Inbox Mail? (Jeffrey Zazlow, Wall Street Journal) Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality (Larry Dignan) Philips Bundles Skype, Windows Live VoIP & Cordless Phones (Knowing About) Nokia Congratulates Sprint Nextel On Selection Of Wimax (Knowing About) Comcast Looking to Expand its Online Presence (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist (DevilsPGD) Re: Clueless Hollywood (Mr Joseph Singer) Re: Clueless Hollywood (ranck@vt.edu) Re: Clueless Hollywood (Doug Krause) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 14:02:05 -0500 From: Jeffrey Zazlow Subject: How Do You Handle Your Inbox Mail? Hoarders vs. Deleters: How You Handle Your Email Inbox Says a Lot About You You are your inbox. Take a clear-eyed look at how you answer or file each email. Notice what you choose to keep or delete. Consider your anxiety when your inbox is jammed with unanswered messages. The makeup and tidiness of your inbox is a reflection of your habits, your mental health and, yes, even the way Mom and Dad raised you. "If you keep your inbox full rather than empty, it may mean you keep your life cluttered in other ways," says psychologist Dave Greenfield, who founded the Center for Internet Behavior in West Hartford, Conn. "Do you cling to the past? Do you have a lot of unfinished business in your life?" On the other hand, if you obsessively clean your inbox every 10 minutes, you may be so quick to move on that you miss opportunities and ignore nuances. Or your compulsion for order may be sapping your energy from other endeavors, such as your family. Email addiction, of course, is now a cultural given. But a less-noticed byproduct of that is the impulse of the inbox. Some of us are obsessed with moving every email to an appropriate folder while killing junk "spam" on arrival and making sure Mom knows that we got her email and still love her. Meanwhile, others among us are e-procrastinators -- modern-day Scarlett O'Haras who figure we'll deal with old email tomorrow. We're discovering that the disorder in our inboxes mirrors the disorder in our homes, marriages and checkbooks. A few months ago, Scott Stratten was suffering from what he terms "inbox paralysis." A marketing consultant in Oakville, Ontario, he had 500 old messages in his inbox, all needing responses. "I felt so guilty, I couldn't even bring myself to open my email," he says. In desperation, he decided to delete all his messages. He then sent an email blast to 400 people on his contact list, telling them a lie. He made up a story that his Internet service provider had informed him that some emails weren't getting through -- and that was why friends and clients never heard back from him. "People were very empathetic," he says, "and it allowed me to start fresh." Mr. Stratten describes what he did as "pure evil," but he also calls it a turning point. He realized he had to find a better way to ease his guilt over not coming through for people. He is now hiring an assistant who will handle his email. Those who are too nice in other areas of their lives may be more likely to struggle with unwieldy inboxes, says Merlin Mann, creator of 43folders.com, a Web site about personal productivity. Polite people (or those who want to be liked) feel obliged to participate in ping-pong correspondences with chatty friends. They haven't the heart to give anyone the no-response brush-off. But Mr. Mann says such ruthlessness is necessary. He says he uses a few dozen "templates" to answer email -- prewritten form letters in which he inserts a person's name or a personalized comment. He also empties his inbox hourly. "You have to treat your inbox like you treat your mailbox at home," he says. "You wouldn't store your bills inside your mailbox. And leaving spam in your inbox is like leaving garbage in your kitchen." On the work front, you're most at risk for inbox clutter if you're the type who can't say "no," warns Nancy Flynn, executive director of the ePolicy Institute, a consulting firm. When you're quick to respond with offers of help, "people use email to turn their crisis into your emergency," she says. In Greensboro, N.C., Internet consultant Wally Bock keeps his inbox down to a manageable few dozen messages. He credits his sense of order to "having disciplined parents who made that a value." Still, he recognizes the downside. Many "Inbox Zero" zealots interrupt their work every time they hear a ping announcing incoming email. "Multitasking is a misnomer," says Mr. Bock. "What you're really doing is switching rapidly between tasks. And every time you switch, you have to start up again. Over the course of a day, you lose a chunk of efficiency." A saner way to pare down an inbox is to move email into folders -- by subject or need for follow-up -- and once a week set aside time for inbox housekeeping. That's advice from Marilyn Paul, author of "It's Hard to Make a Difference When You Can't Find Your Keys," a book for the chronically disorganized. She also suggests using the inbox alphabetizing feature, which organizes all email by sender. "That allows you to delete 1,000 emails an hour," she says. University of Toronto instructor Christina Cavanagh studied hundreds of office workers for her book "Managing Your Email: Thinking Outside the Inbox." One of her subjects, a finance executive, had 10,000 emails in his inbox. She advised him to simply delete the oldest 9,000. Busy people, drowning in email, may have no choice but to kill old messages and suffer the consequences. (Mr. Mann calls this "euthanasia.") Because "inboxes are metaphors for our lives," Dr. Greenfield says, there's no cure-all solution to inbox management. We're all too different. But he believes an awareness of our inbox behavior can help us better understand other areas of our lives. "If you have 1,000 emails in your inbox, it may mean you don't want to miss an opportunity, but there are things you can't pull the trigger on," Dr. Greenfield says. "If you have only 10 emails in your inbox, you may be pulling the trigger too fast and missing the richness of life." Send me the email count in your inbox, and your strategies for coping with it, to Jeffrey.Zaslow@wsj.com. I'll do a follow-up column with results -- as soon as I can shovel my way out of my own inbox. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 14:04:43 -0500 From: Larry Dignan Subject: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality by Larry Dignan - Baseline The network neutrality debate, which is expected to surface again this fall, is a faux issue that if mandated by Congress is bound to become a mess. Count me in the camp that Congress do nada about net neutrality. "Net neutrality" is a term few can agree on. For Google, Yahoo and eBay, mandating net neutrality means that telecommunications giants will have to treat all Internet traffic equally. For net neutrality's staunchest supporters, the concept has become a quasi censorship issue (as if Verizon would tell its customers they couldn't use Google). For those telecom giants like AT&T and Verizon, net neutrality means they couldn't charge for enhanced services. For Internet users, profiled in eWEEK this week, the end of net neutrality would be downright scary because costs could go up or not. Perhaps startups would be shut out or not. No one knows what will happen, since the debate is really a fracas between Net and telecom behemoths battling over their interests and trying to prod Congress to fix a problem that doesn't exist yet. In other words, the histrionic levels in this debate are high. So why shouldn't Congress get involved? Here are a few reasons: 1. Congress will screw it up. If techies can't agree on a definition of net neutrality, it's highly unlikely that a bunch of pols understand the issue. Let's say Congress does mandate net neutrality. Great news, right? Not so fast. Once net neutrality is mandated, the laws of unintended consequences kick in. Suddenly, we're locked into a Net architecture (the current one that's decades old). Suddenly, there are no fast lanes allowed. Suddenly, entrenched players become more entrenched into the current setup. Is it possible Congress could mandate net neutrality in a way that would allay all these concerns? Sure, but it's unlikely. In fact, the only consensus on the net neutrality issue is that no one thinks Congress has a clue. 2. Fast lanes exist today. Proponents of mandating net neutrality cringe at the concept of tiered services. However, tiered services exist today. Fast lanes exist today. Case in point: Akamai. If you are a big Web content provider such as Google, Yahoo or CNN, you can afford to use Akamai's services, which house content in places near the end users. If you are a startup, you may not be able to use Akamai. Take it one step further: If Congress says there's no fast lane, does that mean Akamai can't exist? Hmm. 3. All traffic isn't created equal. An e-mail doesn't have the same service requirements as a VOIP call. An X-ray of a heart patient should have priority over a Britney Spears video. Corporate networks manage traffic that way, and at some point there has to be some intelligence added to public Internet infrastructure between the end points. Net neutrality requirements mean all traffic is created equal. You can debate over who makes the call over what traffic gets priority, but to pretend all traffic is equal doesn't hold up. 4. Telecom giants are already doomed. So net neutrality disappears and AT&T and Verizon can theoretically do whatever they want. AT&T gets huffy and blocks Google and YouTube because it taxes Ma Bell's infrastructure. Guess what? Customers leave. Sure, AT&T and Verizon wield a lot of power, but it's more tenuous than you'd think. For starters, telecom giants are in no position to censor traffic. Meanwhile, technology is going to pull an end run on the last-mile issue. Sprint is rolling out WiMax and Clearwire has hefty financial backers. Both will succeed. Don't buy that argument? How about this one: If net neutrality ends, the likes of Google and Yahoo could start charging AT&T and Verizon to carry them on their networks. Why couldn't Google charge network operators just like ESPN charges cable companies? 5. Laws exist to thwart net neutrality concerns today. Say AT&T does block Vonage. The Federal Communications Commission can act. Vonage can sue under antitrust law. Maybe these efforts won't do enough. If that turns out to be the case, then Congress can cook up a fix when the problem surfaces. For now, mandating net neutrality is a recipe for disaster. Check out eWEEK.com's Infrastructure Center for the latest news, views and analysis on servers, switches and networking protocols for the enterprise and small businesses. Copyright 2006 Ziff Davis Inc. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more tech news and headlines each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/technews.html ------------------------------ From: Knowing About Subject: Philips Bundles Skype & Windows Live VoIP With Cordless Phones Date: 15 Aug 2006 11:28:53 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Philips has launched in Australia two cordless phones selling for less that $160 that operate both as PSTN phones with one model supporting Skype and the other Windows Live Messenger. Both are designed to work with a Windows PC running the respective standard softphone client and Philips claims that, if the PC is set up and working with the softphone, the cordless phones are totally plug and play with no set up required. Full Skype or Windows Live functionality, including conference calling and instant messaging is supported. Both products will be widely available through retail outlets under a distribution deal with Ingram Micro. Mark Franklin, director of Ingram Micro Australia's communications division, said that cordless phone sales in Australia were running at around two million units per year and growing. With the Philips units being within the price range for standard cordless phones, Franklin said they would be an attractive alternative, but acknowledged that there was a challenge in education the retailers to promote the products effectively. He said the products were targeted at mainstream consumers, not the technically savvy section of the market. As such they represent an interesting new option: there are already WiFi cordless phones available that incorporate the Skype softphone and work with Skype without the need for PC. For the potential buyer contemplating the two units they will also have to choose between Skype and Windows Live versions: a choice likely to be determined by whether their contacts are predominantly on Skype or Windows Live. (The phones are visually quite different: The Windows Live version is black, and the Skype version white). The phones' base stations connect to the PC via the USB port and use the international standard DECT technology for the wireless link, not WiFi. Philips claims that because the DECT frequencies are reserved for cordless phone application, the phones are less prone to interference than WiFi and also have better indoor coverage. The Skype model, the Philips VoIP321 sells for $129.95 in a single handset version and $199.95 in a two handset version, both are packaged with 60 minutes of call credits for SkypeOut calls. The DECT standard supports up to five handsets per base station, but Philips says there are no plans for other combinations or for single handset sales -- it cites market research as indicating consumers rarely upgrade after the initial purchase. However as the phones are DECT standard, any DECT handset will be supported for PSTN calling. The unit has a monochrome backlit screen that shows the user's contact list and which contacts are online. It automatically synchronises with the PC contact list. It has an inbuilt speakerphone and remembers the last 20 missed calls and 10 received calls. Up to 50 phone numbers can be stored. You can get more information about this phones on http://www.knowingabout.com/voip Windows XP or 2000 is required. There are no confirmed plans to offer a version that will work with Skype on the Mac. Kelly Poon, market development manager for Skype Asia said the Skype softphone for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X were quite different and any decision to have the phone work with these would be up to Philips. Matt Moran, general manager, Consumer Electronics Philips Australia, said he expected a Mac version would be available, but could give no concrete information. Also, although it was claimed that the product's functioning would not be affected by upgrades to the Skype softphone, the phone comes with a version of the Softphone on CD with instructions that this version should be used for the phone to work correctly The Microsoft Live Messenger version is rather more expensive and $159.95 and $249.95 for the dual version, largely because it has a full colour screen, which maintains the look and feel of Microsoft Live on the PC. It is also able to emulate the multiple account feature of Windows Live, enabling each user to select their own account and view their own contact lists. It is also a speakerphone. For Further Information : http://www.knowingabout.com/voip ------------------------------ From: Knowing About Subject: Nokia Congratulates Sprint Nextel On Selection Of Wimax Date: 15 Aug 2006 11:25:46 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Nokia congratulates Sprint Nextel on its decision to deploy WiMAX networks in the 2.5 GHz spectrum band. The introduction of standardized Mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e-2005) networks in the United States will deliver robust broadband wireless applications and services to consumers for personal and professional use. "Nokia believes Sprint Nextel's selection of WiMAX will be a catalyst for the continued growth and implementation of broadband technologies." said Tero Ojanpera, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Nokia. "Broadband wireless creates new opportunities for the consumer and enterprise markets and we are pleased to see the momentum is starting to build." Nokia is experienced to provide an end-to-end WiMAX solution, from infrastructure, to services and applications, to end-user devices. WiMAX is part of Nokia's radio access technology portfolio and a major technology for the company's broadband wireless access group. In the past year, Nokia has announced it is collaborating with Intel in several areas in support of mobile WiMAX, including mobile clients, network infrastructure, and market development. Additionally, Nokia completed an error free data call at its research and development facility in Germany in October 2005. Nokia's WiMAX infrastructure solution will be available in accordance with the WiMAX Forum certification timing. For Further Information : http://www.knowingabout.com/wimax ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 12:46:39 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Comcast Looking to Expand its Online Presence USTelecom dailyLead August 15, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/ekakfDtusXaupXbVjH TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Comcast looking to expand its online presence BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Verizon seeks to add TV offering in NYC * How ads track users online * Alcatel ups ADSL density on remote cabinets USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * IMS Strategy for Emerging Services Implementation TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Zimmermann: VoIP needs security layer * Call centers picking up VoIP * New software program rates VoIP quality * Commentary: Japan jumping to fiber REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * FCC looking into 77 broadcasters regarding video news releases DIVERSIONS * Look, Ma! No Hands, and No iPod * Paddling Through a North Woods Refuge * New at Google: Local Coupons * 9/11 on Big Screen, Ambivalence in Audience * Finding the Best Fares for Round-the-World Flights Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/ekakfDtusXaupXbVjH ------------------------------ From: DevilsPGD Subject: Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist Charges Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:20:57 -0500 Organization: Disorganized In message mc wrote: > Associated Press News Wire wrote in message > news:telecom25.298.3@telecom-digest.org: >> [Editor's Note: A slightly different version of the earlier report.] >> 3 Texas men arraigned on terror charges. >> Three Texas men were arraigned Saturday on terrorism-related charges >> after police found about 1,000 cell phones in their minivan. >> Investigators believe the men were targeting the 5-mile-long Mackinac >> Bridge, which connects Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas. But one >> of the men said they were only trying to buy and sell phones to make >> money. > Ummm ... Is this from The Onion? No? > I don't see what a *large* number of cell phones has to do with > terrorism. Yes, a cell phone can be used as a detonator, but you only > need one, or maybe a few as backups, and having a thousand doesn't > make it any more terrifying. And even on the odd chance you're planning a thousand bombs, you'd need enough other supplies that you could buy them three at a time, you wouldn't walk into a store and buy 80+ . Death is life's way of telling you you're fired. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 07:36:40 PDT From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: Re: Clueless Hollywood Sun, 13 Aug 2006 17:30:38 -0500 Ron Kritzman wrote: > I was channel surfing the other night and caught a minute or two of a > movie allegedly set in Chicago. In front of Wrigley Field, on the > Addison Street side, with the famous red marquee in the background, one > of the main characters was making a call from a Verizon pay phone! Who > knew? Not subtle either. Big logo with the checkmark and the red Z. > C'mon guys, if you're going to do product placement at least place it > where it lives. Unless the film was supposed to be 20 years ago the possibility that it could be something other than Illinois Bell or Ameritech is very real. I was in MSP (Minneapolis/St. Paul airport) and all throughout the airport the pay phones were Ameritech when the local provider in the twin cities is Qwest. So it is possible that Verizon could be a "COCOT" contracted by Wrigley Field or the property owner. That said many film companies aren't really very good about telephone "authenticity" when you'll see someone depositing money into a single slot "fortress" pay phone and you'll hear "ding-ding" when they insert coins (ding-ding went out when three slot payphones went out.) Or when you see an older film showing a 'candlestick' or old WECO 302 have the ringing sound of a WECO 500 or showing a British series and they use American telephones. The assumption is that people do not notice these inaccuracies (except us telecom nerds of course!) ------------------------------ From: ranck@vt.edu Subject: Re: Clueless Hollywood Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 21:15:20 UTC Organization: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA Ron Kritzman wrote: > I was channel surfing the other night and caught a minute or two of a > movie allegedly set in Chicago. In front of Wrigley Field, on the > Addison Street side, with the famous red marquee in the background, one > of the main characters was making a call from a Verizon pay phone! Who > knew? Not subtle either. Big logo with the checkmark and the red Z. > C'mon guys, if you're going to do product placement at least place it > where it lives. In light of some recent fun I've had with Verizon, I'm not sure they even know where they live. I plan to type it up for the newsgroup/digest as soon as the dust settles in a few days. Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: When you do type it up, please send it in here so our readers can be enlightened, thanks! PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Clueless Hollywood From: dkrause@ratcage.com (Doug Krause) Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 15:17:09 GMT In article , Ron Kritzman wrote: > I was channel surfing the other night and caught a minute or two of a > movie allegedly set in Chicago. In front of Wrigley Field, on the > Addison Street side, with the famous red marquee in the background, one > of the main characters was making a call from a Verizon pay phone! Who > knew? Not subtle either. Big logo with the checkmark and the red Z. > C'mon guys, if you're going to do product placement at least place it > where it lives. In "Die Hard 2" they showed Pac Bell phones at Dulles Airport in Virginia. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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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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. 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 V25 #301 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Aug 16 17:06:34 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id AACB021D4; Wed, 16 Aug 2006 17:06:34 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Message-Id: <20060816210634.AACB021D4@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 17:06:34 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #302 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Wed, 16 Aug 2006 17:08:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 302 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson AOL Decides to Seize Assets From Convicted Spammer (Reuters News Wire) Appeals Court Backs FCC on Fiber Line Sharing (Reuters News Wire) Logitech Dives Into VoIP (Knowing About) FDIC Multimedia Presentation: Protect Against Cybercrime (tedrichardson992) Google Everywhere! (Eric Auchard) Google Not Aiming to Become National Wi-Fi Player (USTelecom dailyLead) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 16, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Are These Phones Live? Second Day Story ... _no_ Terror Charges (Burstein) Re: Clueless Hollywood (Steve Sobol) Re: Clueless Hollywood (Charles Cryderman) Re: Verizon and Other Payphones (re: Clueless Hollywood) (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality (Lisa Hancock) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 15:07:10 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: AOL Decides to Seize Assets From Convicted Spammer AOL to hunt down spammer's gold AOL says a convicted spammer may have hidden half a million dollars in gold and platinum on his parents' property, and the company is going after it. The online division of Time Warner Inc. said on Wednesday it aims to recover assets awarded to it in a judgment against Davis Hawke, who sent at least 130,000 unsolicited junk e-mails to AOL subscribers over three months in 2004. AOL said it is owed $12.8 million from a May 2005 judgment awarded by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. It said it had evidence and reason to believe that $500,000 in gold and platinum bars are located at Hawke's parents' home in Medfield, Massachusetts. "We won't be happy at just winning a judgment, but also to secure those assets and plow them back to safety and security efforts for our members," AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said. AOL has waged a legal and public war against junk e-mail senders, or spammers, who have plagued e-mail services globally. In recent years, AOL has recovered Hummers, Porsche sports cars, gold coins and other property worth millions of dollars from convicted spammers, and reinvested it in a spam-fighting campaign, the company said. Hawke's parents could not be reached for comment. AOL said it had not been able to reach Hawke. The Associated Press quoted Hawke's mother Peggy Greenbaum as saying Hawke's assets were not located on the parents' property, where Hawke's grandparents also live. The parents plan to challenge AOL's plans to search the property, the AP said. AOL's Graham said the search of Hawke's parents home will be assisted by sonar and radar equipment to minimize damage. "We've used every means to get in touch with defendants," Graham said. "Those attempts have been rebuffed." Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headlines and news each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 15:34:27 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Appeals Court Backs FCC on Fiber Line Sharing Appeals court backs FCC on fiber line sharing A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday upheld a 2004 decision by telecommunications regulators allowing regional phone companies to deploy new fiber-optic lines without having to share them with competitors. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a legal challenge by Internet service provider EarthLink Inc. aimed at overturning a decision by the Federal Communications Commission. The court said it was "permissible" for the FCC to absolve the dominant local telephone carriers, known as the Baby Bells, of sharing requirements when it comes to new fiber optic networks. To promote competition, previous rules have required the Bells to lease access to their copper networks since they own the lines into most American homes. But the FCC so far has been reluctant to apply those regulations to new fiber lines. New fiber-optic networks are seen as pivotal for telephone companies because the capacity of those lines enable them to offer high-speed Internet service -- or broadband -- to more customers, as well as launch video and other services. They are facing fierce competition from cable television companies that have already upgraded their networks and offer customers those services. EarthLink's executive vice president for public policy, Chris Putala, said the company would "continue to pursue commercial negotiations for access to fiber just as we have for DSL (digital subscriber line)." "If we see that consumers are being harmed by a lack of competition, we will be revisiting this issue with the FCC and Congress," Putala said. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines of interest, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Knowing About Subject: Logitech Dives Into VoIP Date: 16 Aug 2006 01:43:00 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com VoIP is here -- has been for a while -- and millions of people daily use popular software like Skype which based on it. Still it remains a mystery for the average Joe and Logitech is determined to do something about that. The peripherals specialist has thrown its weight behind the technology with a raft of new devices all designed to makes VoIP operation easier and foremost among them is 'Logitech Cordless Internet Handset'. The Skype orientated device looks rather like an elongated Nokia and its colour LCD displays all Skype contacts, offers access to Skype voicemail and enables users to check incoming and outgoing call logs. Making a phone call is as simple as scrolling to a contact, selecting it and clicking the call button. There's also a hands free speaker phone, illuminated keypad and variety of ring tones while the handset itself is charged via a cradle and connects to the PC and Internet through the included USB Base station. You can start nattering with it in October if you meet the =A369.99 RRP.Have a look at it on www.knowingabout.com/voip Also looking rather interesting is the 'QuickCall USB Speakerphone for Internet Calling' though I do wish Logitech would take the time to actually name its products rather than simply describe them. The QCUSBSPFIC, as I shouldn't have abbreviated it to, is a premium speakerphone that uses a two way microphone display (one on each 'wing' of the device) to capture voices and sounds over a wide area. It is designed to be a conference meeting's best friend though I'll take a hammer to it if it picks up the things I tend to whisper under my breath in most meetings. It features touch controls to pick up, end and mute calls and alert lights to indicate when a VoIP call is connected. A central illuminated volume knob looks really nice but a webcam would've been even cooler. Still it keeps the price down and means I can continue to attend virtual meetings in my underwear, which is always a pleasure. The QCUSBSPFIC is out in October in the US but is clearly on the slow boat to Europe since it doesn't debut here until December. Price is reasonable. Moving on we come to the 'EasyCall Desktop' a bundle of mouse, keyboard, headset and speakerphone for the uninitiated. The latter part acts as the control centre for the whole thing with volume up and down, mute, call pickup and disconnect buttons while the keyboard has been customised for use in Internet calling apps since also provides a range of similar controls as well as one touch dialling and the ability to change your online status. 89.99 for this one and you can pocket it (if you have very large pockets) from mid September. Last on the VoIP list we have the 'Cordless Headset for PC and Mobile Phones' (yes, the branding -- or lack of it -- gets irritating after a while). Not much to say here other than 1. It's Cordless and 2, It's a headset. Because it's Bluetooth it'll also work with your mobile and has some (more) wonderfully literal technology called WindStop which ... yep, reduces wind noise. 69.99 is the going rate and it'll appear in the month which means eight but is actually tenth because of some egomaniacal Roman Emperors. For Further Information : http://www.knowingabout.com/wifi ------------------------------ From: tedrichardson9925@sbcglobal.net Subject: FDIC Multimedia Presentation: How to Protect Yourself from Cybercrime Date: 16 Aug 2006 10:05:19 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com The FDIC has released a great presentation for the average user on how to not become a victim of cybercrime (identity theft). http://fraudwar.blogspot.com/2006/08/fdic-releases-multimedia-presentation.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 15:11:56 -0500 From: Eric Auchard Subject: Google Everywhere! Google is everywhere in headquarters town By Eric Auchard Google Inc. has turned the Silicon Valley town where it is headquartered into a showcase for the advantages of free, citywide wireless Internet access, in what might be called Google everywhere. The Web search leader said on Tuesday that it is now making a Google-supported wireless Internet network generally available to the 72,000 residents of Mountain View, California, along with the town's office workers, daily visitors and the more than 1,000 Microsoft Corp. employees at the Google rival's 24-acre Mountain View campus. Not just local laptop computer owners, but users of any other Wi-Fi device or telephone simply need to seek out nearby wireless networks and pick the "Google Wi-Fi" option. Once the device's browser window opens a Google log-on page appears. Wireless customers with Google e-mail, instant messaging or home page accounts can sign in using with their normal passwords. Those wishing to remain anonymous can create a temporary user name and sign in to a default Google home page featuring local information on Mountain View and the surrounding region. Google says it sees a spike in usage of its search and advertising services wherever broadband usage spreads. By offering wireless access inside homes, offices, schools and around town, Google expects further economic benefits. Chris Sacca, Google's head of special initiatives, said the main purpose of his company backing local Wi-Fi access has been to clear the way for broadband entrepreneurs and overcome legal roadblocks by established telephone and cable TV providers. "We want to inspire these networks to be built," Sacca said of Google's efforts to back the more than 300 Internet service providers and network equipment makers seeking to build high-speed municipal Wi-Fi networks in the United States. With Google's support, the debate over municipal Wi-Fi has been transformed over the past year, as dozens of U.S. cities from Philadelphia to Portland, Oregon have forged ahead with projects. Major telecom carriers such as AT&T Inc. have dropped lawsuits and bid to participate in some projects. "We wanted to throw our hat in the ring and show the promise of these broadband networks," Sacca said of the aim of offering wireless access. "We wanted to make it very unpopular for anyone to oppose the promise of these networks," he said. Google is also part of a bid to offer Wi-Fi access in San Francisco. But Sacca emphasized that lead partner Earthlink Inc. is in charge of negotiating the deal with San Francisco's city government. Google's Wi-Fi ambitions involve only the two cities, the Google official underscored. "Building ISPs is not a very scalable business for us," Sacca said in an interview, adding that Google prefers to focus on search, advertising and creating new Web software and services. "I think Google is going to depend on really healthy relationships with ISPs to succeed." Google is prepared to offer community training courses through San Francisco's 11 political districts. Similar training programs have attracted hundreds of participants in Mountain View, with as many as 750 at one session, he said. Any effort to commercialize the Mountain View Wi-Fi service -- perhaps by placing advertising on Web pages viewed over Google Wi-Fi -- will come later, if at all, Sacca said. "We like to build products that solve users' problems," Sacca said. "There is always an opportunity to go ahead and monetize it later," he said, using the jargon for making Web pages pay for themselves through selling ads or other efforts. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 13:17:57 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Google Not Aiming to Become National Wi-Fi Player USTelecom dailyLead August 16, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/ekkEfDtusXazsiRaSs TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Google not aiming to become national Wi-Fi player BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Satcasters lag in airwaves auction * Triple play spurs growth at Comcast * Nortel to help push VoIP USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * IMS Strategy for Emerging Services Implementation TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * More networks opt for all-digital platform * Mobile providers serving ads on the smallest screens REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Senator pushes for Wi-Fi in smaller communities * FCC phone line decision upheld by court * Judge orders Sprint to sell some of its Midwestern wireless assets DIVERSIONS * Going to the Source for Your Meal * Sports' Greatest Hits at One Web Site (but There's a Catch) * A New Film Documents One Town's Automotive Version of Graffiti * Tighter Security Is Jeopardizing Orchestra Tours * With Wagons' Comeback, New Interest in Originals * Dell Will Recall Batteries in PC's Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/ekkEfDtusXazsiRaSs ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 16, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 11:40:01 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For August 16, 2006 ******************************** Vodafone Mulls Converged Fixed-Mobile Services http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/19379?11228 Vodafone's Portuguese unit is considering offering fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services in the country, according to a Diario de Noticias report citing a company spokesman. "Vodafone Portugal is analysing its positioning not just in the mobile sector but also in the total telecommunications market, in the light of ... Court Backs FCC Ruling on FTTx Access http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19376?11228 The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has rejected a legal attempt by Earthlink to overturn Federal Communication Commission (FCC) rules that allow regional incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) to deploy FTTx without being required to share them with competitors. The court said that it was 'permissible' ... A Taste of LG Chocolate http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/19374?11228 The LG Chocolate has nearly everything a popular mobile phone should offer: a stylish design, an array of multimedia features and a catchy name. After generating buzz in Europe and Asia over the past several months, the phone is finally available in the U.S. via Verizon. The slider-style LG Chocolate (its official name is the LG ... Leap Forges 3G Pact http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/19368?11228 Leap Wireless International is calling on Huawei Technologies to help power its Cricket-branded 3G services in three states. The deal marks the first time Leap and Huawei have partnered on a commercial project. Under the terms of the deal, Huawei will deliver its CDMA2000 network with 1X EV-DO Rev. A-capable base station ... Cable Beats Carriers to Shared Video http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/19364?11228 The explosive appeal of shared Internet video has not been lost on service providers. And consumer demand and competitive pressure from cable companies may push the telcos to host and deliver it to the living room. The U.S. RBOCs are moving toward such services, but cautiously, and with some legitimate reservations. One big ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: danny burstein Subject: Are These Phones Live? Second Day story ... _no_ Terror Charges Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 00:05:00 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-08-15-voa62.cfm US Drops Terrorist Charges Linked to Cell Phone Purchase By VOA News 15 August 2006 U.S. prosecutors have dropped terrorist charges against two men arrested after they purchased 600 cellular phones. Officials in the midwestern state of Ohio said they had no evidence of terrorist activity by the men, Osama Abulhassan and Ali Houssaiky. They say the men still face a charge of lying to police. The two men were stopped by police for a traffic violation earlier this month, and later told officers about the cell phone purchases. In a separate case, an FBI official said authorities have found no terrorist links to three other men jailed for buying a large number of cell phones. Police say the Palestinian-American men were found with 1,0000 cell phones in their vehicle and pictures of a major bridge in the northern state of Michigan. Authorities say the men remain in custody in Michigan. Federal law enforcement officials have asked police to watch for people buying large numbers of cell phones, saying the devices can be used in terrorist attacks. _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key =09=09 dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ From: Steve Sobol Subject: Re: Telecom Re: Clueless Hollywood Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 22:14:32 -0700 Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com Steven Lichter wrote: > It could very well have been a Verizon pay phone. They have phones in a > lot of areas that are not served by them. In California, you can look > outside Albersons Supermarkets, Savon, 7/11 and a lot more. I still remember being rather surprised to see the Walgreens on Cedar Road in South Euclid, Ohio, sporting Cincinnati Bell payphones. South Euclid is a suburb of Cleveland, a good 250-mile drive from Cincinnati. And unlike the nationwide telcos, Cinti Bell doesn't have a presence outside southwest Ohio. Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows Apple Valley, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Clueless Hollywood Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 10:34:00 -0400 From: Charles Cryderman Doug Krause wrote: "In "Die Hard 2" they showed Pac Bell phones at Dulles Airport in Virginia." Yet it was filmed in Northern Michigan at a retired Air force Base. Chip Cryderman ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 19:48:10 EDT Subject: Re: Verizon and Other Payphones (re: Clueless Hollywood) In a message dated Sun, 13 Aug 2006 21:20:42 -0600, Anthony Bellanga writes: > I don't know if at&t (SBC, Pacific Bell, Ameritech, and SNET in > Connecticut) has private payphones outside of their territory > (i.e., in non-at&t ILEC ratecenters in at&t ILEC states; or in > Qwest or BellSouth or Verizon or Cincinnati Bell locations). Many years ago ... it muxt have been just after divestiture ... I stopped to use a pay phone somewhere along the road east of Waco, Texas, in General Telephone territory, and I was surprised to see it was a Southwestern Bell pay phone. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality Date: 16 Aug 2006 10:27:44 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Larry Dignan wrote: > 1. Congress will screw it up. If techies can't agree on a definition > of net neutrality, it's highly unlikely that a bunch of pols > understand the issue. Let's say Congress does mandate net > neutrality. Great news, right? Not so fast. Once net neutrality is > mandated, the laws of unintended consequences kick in. Suddenly, we're > locked into a Net architecture (the current one that's decades > old). Suddenly, there are no fast lanes allowed. All good points. > 3. All traffic isn't created equal. An e-mail doesn't have the same > service requirements as a VOIP call. An X-ray of a heart patient > should have priority over a Britney Spears video. Corporate networks > manage traffic that way, and at some point there has to be some > intelligence added to public Internet infrastructure between the end > points. Net neutrality requirements mean all traffic is created > equal. You can debate over who makes the call over what traffic gets > priority, but to pretend all traffic is equal doesn't hold up. Excellent point. There's been some anti-telecom company ads on TV which I find misleading. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, they are good points, Lisa; but when it comes around to misleading people, Southwestern Bell, using their latest alias, AT&T is one of the biggest misleaders. I have pretty much stsyed neutral on the 'net neutrality' debate, but I have heard telco claiming 'nothing will change' if they are put in charge of it all; I just cannot imagine _nothing_ will change, and I suspect the changes will not be good for most netters. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * 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. 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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. 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 V25 #302 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Aug 17 14:27:36 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 1C3A521EE; Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:27:35 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Message-Id: <20060817182735.1C3A521EE@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:27:35 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #303 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:29:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 303 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson What to Expect Next in Telcoland (Andrew Schmitt) Outside of Wireless, Everything Else is a Commodity (Andrew Schmitt) SK Telecom Offers New Cell Phone Internet Service (Information Gatekeeper) Cable May Need to Spend Billions to Compete in Broiadband (USTA Daily Lead) Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality (AES) Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality (John Levine) Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality (Scott Dorsey) Re: Verizon and Other Payphones (re: Clueless Hollywood)(DLR) Re: Verizon and Other Payphones (re: Clueless Hollywood)(Wesrock@aol.com) Re: Clueless Hollywood (DLR) Re: Clueless Hollywood (Henry) Good VOIP Info Site (Ruzzer) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:06:19 -0500 From: Andrew Schmitt Subject: What to Expect Next in Telcoland After The AT&T/BellSouth Merger -- What To Expect Next in Telcoland (BLS, T, VZ, CMCSA, S, CVC, TWTC, Q) Predictions made in March, 2007: Andrew Schmitt submits: It's funny to watch the various media groups go through the customary 'Shock and Awe' of a big merger, which in my mind, was as logical as a merger between Oreo Cookies and Milk. The question was not if it would happen, only when and for how much. I am particularly entertained by the consumer groups acting in mock surprise and voicing opposition to the merger. Like it or not, big Telco was already back in style. Nothings changed, it's just that more people are starting to notice. I'll make a few statements that express my opinion of what sort of landscape we will be looking at in 12 months. None of it is new thinking, just additional events that we feel are logical conclusions: * AT&T buys Bellsouth. The merger is approved by the FCC with the same terms applied to the SBC/AT&T merger. Regardless of concerns, the fact is AT&T and Bellsouth don't share a customer base today so it isn't anti-competive in the sense it offers consumers less choice. The merger is driven by one thing only: a need to unify ownership of wireless and wireline assets. Acquisition of additional voice subscribers within Bellsouth and the additional scale is secondary. This gives AT&T complete freedom to market universal wired/wireless voice services to residential customers, something Vonage, Sunrocket, Comcast, Time Warner cannot do. * Verizon buys the 40% share of Verizon Wireless it does not own from Vodaphone. The negotiation is rather odd in the sense that only one real buyer exists for the property, and Vodaphone cannot currently extract any real strategic value from its share. Verizon gets a good deal. * Comcast (CMCSA) buys Sprint/Nextel (S). This gives them the same ability as Verizon and AT&T to offer unified wired/wireless voice to subscribers. AT&T and Verizon both have their own enterprise business units and backbones so the Enterprise connectivity business unit of Sprint is most valuable with a carrier that currently lacks this capability - Comcast. While Sprint/Nextel is the most favored Telco on Wall St, I've heard that the Sprint/Nextel merger is a disaster, with both original companies maintaining separate HQ's. Comcast's CEO Roberts will put their executive teams out of their misery. * Comcast has secured the last remaining wireless property and have an Enterprise business unit, therefore Cablevision (CVC) and Time Warner Telecom (TWTC) are exposed and capitulate to Comcast. Now that Telcos have the will and technology to offer video, no major regulatory barrier exists, and a merger of a single national coax based carrier is born as Comcast, Time Warner, and Cablevision unite in order to acheive the scale to meet the new Telco threat. * Wildcards: Qwest, T-Mobile. Qwest (Q) could go to Comcast to provide an Enterprise service unit, though they might also be acquired by AT&T or Verizon in a defensive move. Deutche Telekom will sell their wireless business before all of the above mergers take place. T-mobile is worth more now than it ever will be as the number of prospective buyers dwindles. If Comcast cannot buy Sprint, they will buy T-Mobile and Qwest. It's also possible Time Warner/Cablevision buy T-Mobile to compete with Comcast/Sprint. That leaves us with three major carriers for Enterprise services, one or no standalone wireless companies (although MVNO's will still exist, and may be more valuable), and residences with a choice of two wireline options. Wireless and wireline as products lose distinction and companes bundle them together. Standalone VoIP companies that charge for service vaporize as wireless voice becomes the prime mover for customer retention. The other area that will finally see dramatic change is the equipment supplier space, as these new behemoths whittle down their equipment supply chain. Om Malik sees this as very good for Optical Ethernet, though I am not sure why. I think it's going to be good for suppliers to the old SBC as well as Sprint. Two equipment companies that fall into this category are Ciena (CIEN) and Adtran (ADTN). Expect to see Huawei to show up in North America at the same time. Bottom line, anyone who was shocked by the Bellsouth announcement just hasn't been paying attention. The next steps are just as logical in my mind. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:09:29 -0500 From: Andrew Schmitt Subject: Outside of Wireless, Everything Else is a Commodity Outside of Wireless, Everything is a Commmodity Posted on Aug 15th, 2006 Andrew Schmitt update: Andrew Schmitt submits: Businessweek writes about T-mobile (DT) and a new service they are rolling out using UMA phones (dual GSM/WiFi). These new mobile phones make use of the WiFi network and broadband connection in a users home to make phone calls off the GSM or cellular network. Contrary to popular opinion, the real threat to the Baby Bells' residential phone business is not the cablecos' VoIP but wireless substitution. Competition from cell phones was eating away at residential lines long before the cablecos began deploying voice services. Most baby Bells already have a wireless infrastructure. None of the cablecos do. This is why the Baby Bells ultimately have the upper hand over the cableco in the battle for residential subscribers. They can migrate their customers (and their phone numbers) to a wireless infrastructure, and Comcast (CMCSA) / Cablevision (CVC) /Time Warner (TWX) cannot. Comcast can migrate customers to Sprint/Nextel (S), but without owning the infrastructure they won't extract maximum value. Wireless is the commanding heights and the most important infrastruc- ture to own and operate in a voice network. Everything else is a commodity. It isn't surprising that T-Mobile is at the vanguard here. They have no baby bell wireline component to worry about cannibalizing, nor cableco partners to upset like Sprint/Nextel. T-mobile also caters to a younger, more cost-sensitive market perfect for a service like this. I expect to see AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) slugging it out 2 years from now, each offering a VoIP WiFi product that offers a wireless phone that roams between a home WiFi hotspot and their cellular network. This service will be nationwide, unlike the video and broadband services that will remain wired. Customers will choose a voice provider using the same criteria they evaluate wireless providers today, and a broadband/video provider based on what service is offered in their local area. The idea of standalone residential voice is dead, regardless of whether sent over copper pair, cable modem, or $19.99 a month Vonage (VG) service. The battle for residential VoIP customers being waged by the cablecos is futile. The cablecos need to and will buy a company with wireless infrastruc- ture. The spate of telecom mergers will spill into the cable and wireless sectors as reality sets in. (see my other article today, 'What To Expect Next in Telcoland'). ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:02:00 -0500 From: Information Gatekeepers Subject: SK Telecom Offers New Cell Phone Internet Service SK Telecom offers new cell phone Internet service The Mobile Internet, April, 2005 SK Telecom Co, South Korea's biggest mobile phone operator, said Wednesday it has launched a new version of cell phone Internet service as part of its efforts to find a new growth area in the nation's saturated market. The new wireless Internet service, which is based on an interactive user interface in the mobile phone's window, include a personalized digital character, short text messaging and personalized programs that let users to know about 10 kinds of information such as news, weather, television programs and movies, SK Telecom said. The new service allows users to talk to or manage their personalized digital characters on the handset screens. "As the mobile phone use environment becomes more sophisticated and diversified, customers increasingly want to quickly and accurately find needed information via mobile phones," said Yoon Song-yee, senior vice president of SK Telecom. The new service requires customers to buy new handsets and pay additional fees, with a monthly subscription charge of 1,200 won. So far, three such handsets made by LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. are available on the market, SK Telecom said. SK Telecom is trying to persuade customers to spend more on wireless Internet to diversify its revenue sources. SK Telecom controls more than half of South Korea's mobile market with 19 million subscribers. Around 39 million people, or 78 percent of the country's population, subscribe to mobile phone services in South Korea as of the end of March. COPYRIGHT 2005 Information Gatekeepers, Inc. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html Also see http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/technews.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:32:27 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Study: Cable May Need to Spend Billions to Compete in Broadband USTelecom dailyLead August 17, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/ekwsfDtusXaCvibyGt TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Study: Cable may need to spend billions to compete in broadband BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * AT&T unveils digital living room package * Sprint Nextel experiencing growing pains * Motorola's Multi-Net Mobility receives system upgrades * EarthLink, Circuit City ink deal on VoIP * Giving credit to TV's little-known creator USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Steven Shepard's IMS Crash Course TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Conference: HDTV becoming more mainstream REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Cablevision says prosecutors investigating stock-option grants DIVERSIONS * I Saw What You Did and I Know Who You Are. My Phone Told Me. * In San Francisco and Almost Home * A Food Web Site, Spiced With Attitude * Back to School, With Cellphone and Laptop * Old Records Go In, CD's Come Out * What Can Be Carried On? Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/ekwsfDtusXaCvibyGt ------------------------------ From: AES Subject: Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 17:56:46 -0700 Organization: Stanford University Ironically, the same set of messages on my newsgroup that contained the first couple of posts in this thread also had a subsequent post which said A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday upheld a 2004 decision by telecommunications regulators allowing regional phone companies to deploy new fiber-optic lines without having to share them with competitors. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a legal challenge by Internet service provider EarthLink Inc. aimed at overturning a decision by the Federal Communications Commission. The court said it was "permissible" for the FCC to absolve the dominant local telephone carriers, known as the Baby Bells, of sharing requirements when it comes to new fiber optic networks. Come on, guys! The capacity of even a single optical fiber is so immense that it makes absolutely no sense, economically, socially, or any other way, to have competing information providers repeatedly tear up public streets, sidewalks, and rights of way to provide multiple fibers, cables or wires into my house. If AT&T or Comcast want to negotiate franchise deals with my community to run fibers or cables along public rights of way to reach my house (at, admittedly, very considerable expense to them), I'll be more than happy to pay them a fair price for the continued use of that infrastructure -- provided that once I pay that fair price, I can use this infrastructure to reach any and all the different places on the Information Highway that I want to reach over it, and to access any and all of the different competitive information services that will want to serve me over that infrastructure, with no control or interference by them. Maybe I misunderstand the initial posts, but if AT&T or whoever can use public rights of way to build this infrastructure, and then only let it be used to access electronic services *they* provide, merchants *they* own, entertainment sources *they* are selling -- are you really trying to tell me this is going to promote competition and innovation in any of these areas? Completely open use of that infrastructure by anyone who wants to pay them just the fair transmission costs of sending bits over it (appropriate depreciation costs of course included) is the sine qua non of their being allowed to build it over public rights of way. And secondarily, but far from trivial, once I've paid for the fair use of this infrastructure, I don't want AT&T or whoever monitoring or recording the specific bits I send over it, for any purpose whatsoever (things like court-ordered -- and it better be court ordered -- "wiretapping" excepted). If I go to the the Borders Books site over their fiber and search for books on home finance, I don't want AT&T noting this and selling my name to Joe's Sleazy Home Loan Service (and is there any other kind). If AT&T is the corporate parent of North Face, I don't want them deliberately giving me speedy connections to the North Face web site, but only a slow and deliberately bit-dropping link to Lands End -- or worse, "accidentally" misdirecting me from the latter web site to the former. And if anyone doesn't think these kinds of things, and worse, can and will happen, you must have never in your life used a broadband link. Once we've paid the fair and limited transmission costs to the builder of the local information infrastructure, our use of any physical broadband connections to the worldwide Information Highway should be as absolutely open, free, uncontrolled and anonymous as our use of city streets and State and County roads to reach the U.S. Interstate freeway system, once we've paid our taxes and auto license fees. That's what "network neutrality" means to me -- and it's absolutely nonnegotiable. ------------------------------ Date: 17 Aug 2006 02:07:34 -0000 From: John Levine Subject: Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality > "Net neutrality" is a term few can agree on. There is a perfectly good definition of net neutrality: everyone who gets the same service pays the same price for it. Particularly if one of the bodies is a subsidiary of the telco or cableco. A lot of us have well-founded concerns that the telcos will make sweetheart deals with themselves like they did with DSL, with the wholesale price to everyone else somehow being more than the retail price their own affiliate charges. I don't think anyone except perhaps Verizon, AT&T, and Qwest would object to this kind of requirement. Too bad there's such a huge and needless fog around what should be a straightforward pro-competition policy. 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: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality Date: 17 Aug 2006 08:35:17 -0400 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Larry Dignan wrote: > 3. All traffic isn't created equal. An e-mail doesn't have the same > service requirements as a VOIP call. An X-ray of a heart patient > should have priority over a Britney Spears video. Corporate networks > manage traffic that way, and at some point there has to be some > intelligence added to public Internet infrastructure between the end > points. Net neutrality requirements mean all traffic is created > equal. You can debate over who makes the call over what traffic gets > priority, but to pretend all traffic is equal doesn't hold up. When you do this, what you have isn't the internet any more. The beauty and the failing of the net is that everyone is equal and every device is treated like every other device. Unfortunately this is not a good thing to carry realtime data. There have been attempts to do what you describe with QoS management, where some kinds of traffic gets treated differently than other kinds of traffic. In general, these things don't work very well, because the underlying protocol isn't designed for it. If you want a largescale nationwide network to handle realtime data like VOIP, video traffic, and high resolution X-rays at the same time, it ought to be built very differently than the Internet. Because the Internet just isn't built for that. Sorry. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 19:37:51 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Verizon and Other Payphones (re: Clueless Hollywood) Wesrock@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated Sun, 13 Aug 2006 21:20:42 -0600, Anthony Bellanga > writes: >> I don't know if at&t (SBC, Pacific Bell, Ameritech, and SNET in >> Connecticut) has private payphones outside of their territory >> (i.e., in non-at&t ILEC ratecenters in at&t ILEC states; or in >> Qwest or BellSouth or Verizon or Cincinnati Bell locations). > Many years ago ... it muxt have been just after divestiture ... I > stopped to use a pay phone somewhere along the road east of Waco, > Texas, in General Telephone territory, and I was surprised to see it > was a Southwestern Bell pay phone. SWBell seemed to try anything related to phones for a while. I remember seeing phones, caller id boxes, etc ... with their logo all over the country. Mostly cheap junk. Amazingly they dropped much or all of this stuff after a while. :) ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 19:11:32 EDT Subject: Re: Verizon and Other Payphones (re: Clueless Hollywood) In a message dated Sun, 13 Aug 2006 21:20:42 -0600, Anthony Bellanga writes: > I don't know if at&t (SBC, Pacific Bell, Ameritech, and SNET in > Connecticut) has private payphones outside of their territory > (i.e., in non-at&t ILEC ratecenters in at&t ILEC states; or in > Qwest or BellSouth or Verizon or Cincinnati Bell locations). Many years ago ... it must have been just after divestiture ... I stopped to use a pay phone somewhere along the road east of Waco, Texas, in General Telephone territory, and I was surprised to see it was a Southwestern Bell pay phone. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 19:39:52 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Clueless Hollywood Charles Cryderman wrote: > Doug Krause wrote: > "In "Die Hard 2" they showed Pac Bell phones at Dulles Airport in > Virginia." > Yet it was filmed in Northern Michigan at a retired Air force Base. Yep. Dulles has a very distinctive terminal, inside and out, and apparently they kept all the scenes in the airport very tight so you couldn't see the missing elements. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Clueless Hollywood From: henry999@eircom.net (Henry) Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 09:07:54 +0300 Organization: Saunalahti Customer Mr Joseph Singer wrote: > The assumption is that people do not notice these inaccuracies > (except us ... nerds of course!) And even among those who do notice, how many people are really bothered? There's a great anecdote from London in the 1930s. Remember, those were the days when the cinema was an ornate 'Movie Palace' and people actually got all dressed up to go see a film. (I'm sorry I can't remember the exact details of this, but you'll get the idea.) One night an eminent ornithologist was at the pictures with some friends. Suddenly, a bird singing in the background on the soundtrack caught his attention. The expert looked perplexed, but nothing more. Then, a short while later the bird-call came again -- and that was that. 'What are they trying to do?!?' said the professor, getting to his feet. 'This is preposterous! That's obviously a _____ singing in the background and this story is set in _____. There is of course absolutely no way that there could be a _____ in _____!' -- and out he went, in a huff. Cheers, Henry ------------------------------ From: Ruzzer Subject: Good VOIP Info Site Date: 16 Aug 2006 17:25:57 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Please check out http://www.BestVoip.ws Regards. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #303 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Aug 17 16:25:17 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id D6C8A21E2; Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:25:16 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Message-Id: <20060817202516.D6C8A21E2@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:25:16 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #304 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:27:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 304 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telcos Prepare For Worst as Wiretapo Cases Consolidate (Kevin Fayle) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 17, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Computer "Logic" in 1922 Panel Switching (Lisa Hancock) City Party Line Service (Lisa Hancock) Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force (Lisa Hancock) Re: Sam Spade (William Warren) Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality (hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com) Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality (Patrick Townson) Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality (Garrett Wollman) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 13:53:52 -0500 From: Kevin Fayle Subject: Telcos Prepare For the Worst as Wiretapo Cases Consolidate and Head By Kevin Fayle in San Francisco AT&T and other telcos had better unlock the file cabinets and brace for the backlash because the mother lode of wiretapping cases has just landed in unfriendly territory. Both the Feds and the telcos earlier this month took a hit when the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated the pretrial proceedings of 17 different warrantless wiretapping suits that accuse the telcos of forming uncomfortable ties with the NSA. The Panel placed the cases under the supervision of Judge Vaughn Walker of the District Court for the Northern District of California. Yes, that's right, the same judge who last month denied the government's motion to block discovery in one of the cases on state secret grounds. This move has huge significance, since the pretrial proceedings for the other suits involve many of the same issues that Judge Walker has already ruled upon. For example, Judge Walker has shown a willingness to let discovery of corporate records proceed in a case involving AT&T's alleged complicity in the interception of telephone calls, so he will most likely allow additional plaintiffs to demand documents and other evidence from telcos in similar suits. But don't get too excited, discovery junkies. The government brought the motion for consolidation in order to tighten access to confidential information and prevent leaks. With 17 separate cases, the chances that confidential information will find its way from a judge's chambers into the media are increased by a factor of, well, 17. With only one judge involved, the chances for a nice, juicy leak drop significantly. Still, the government has to be smarting over this move. The Feds had originally looked to place the cases under the auspice of a judge in the District of Columbia. This represented a fine strategic move, since federal decisions coming out of D.C. tend to favor the government. The Panel, sensibly enough, felt that a transfer to a court that had already seen the classified information would better serve the consolidation motion's goal of limiting exposure to sensitive data. They then proceeded to send the cases to a much, much less favorable venue from the government's perspective. The Feds should've been careful what they wished for. And why did the Panel send the cases to the Northern District,? Well, the Panel suggests that the California case has progressed to the most advanced stage. There's also the fact that the California judge has seen more confidential material since his case dealt with both warrantless wiretaps and the release of customer data, while a similar Illinois case dealt only with the latter. Reading the tealeaves, you could argue that the consolidation out West also shows that the general mood among jurists in the country is leaning towards a full airing of the secrets behind the wiretap programs. We like to believe this explanation, if only because it ever-so-slightly renews our faith in the system, along with our belief in truth, justice, beauty and the rest of it. And in these days of domestic spying and militarism, we need all the help we can get. ® Kevin Fayle is an attorney, web editor and writer in San Francisco. He keeps a close eye on IP and International Law issues. Copyright 2006, Kevin Fayle, The Register http://theregister.co.uk . NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 17, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:45:13 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For August 17, 2006 ******************************** Bidding for U.S. Advanced Services Wireless Licences Tops US$10 http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/19397?11228 The leading satellite providers have pulled out of the bidding, while cable TV operators and the leading wireless operators remain locked in ... Regulator Warns Deutsche Telekom on Access to VDSL Network http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19395?11228 Germany telecoms regulator Bundesnetzagentur has raised the stakes in the ongoing saga over Deutsche Telekom's new VDSL network, urging the telco to seek an amicable deal with rivals in order to avoid intervention from regulators. In an interview with Financial Times Deutschland, Bundesnetzagentur president Matthias Kurth said ... Yahoo!, go2 Forge Mobile Search Pact http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/19390?11228 Yahoo! and go2 Directory Systems are coming together in the world of mobile search to combine go2's user base and mobile local search know-how with Yahoo! sponsored search results. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The agreement allows Yahoo! advertisers to connect with consumers who use their mobile phones to ... Mountain View Gets Free Access http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/19385?11228 As of this morning, residents in Mountain View, Calif., no longer need to pay for Internet access. After months of previews and testing, has launched a free wireless network in its hometown, covering almost all of the town's 12 square miles. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley and one of the most prosperous (and ... Is AT&T Eyeing Eyespot? http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/105/19384?11228 The big phone companies may not be as quick to deliver Internet shared video services as the cable MSOs are, but that doesn't mean they're ignoring the trend. Sources say AT&qT Inc. has recently been in discussions with up-and-coming video sharer Eyespot Corp. The carrier and Eyespot began talking, according to one ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Computer "Logic" in 1922 Panel Switching Date: 17 Aug 2006 10:50:15 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com In 1922 the Bell System implemented "panel" dial switching in New York City. The system had to handle a high volume of calls and a wide diversity of central offices throughout New York City. This would've been impossible with Step-by-Step which was limited to a 10x10 point rotary switch. Panel translated the decimal exchange to codes for hundreds of trunks as needed. Panel used common control to do this. That is, it stored the telephone number and translated it as needed for switching needs. The control functions of panel were similar to modern computer CPU instructions and I/O bus commands. An ingenius sequence switch, loaded with numerous cams, controlled the functions. Different parts of the switchgear would be selected, the unit would wait for a ready signal, send out a command, then wait for a response and act accordingly. Everything was run by a pulse train generator exactly the same as a CPU clock today. Signals between devices were self checking to detect errors. All gear had internal error detection as well as test functions. Remember this was all 1922, long before diodes and solid state devices, indeed, tube electronics were brand new and still being developed. It was all done with electro-mechanical relays. All equipment had to be extremely durable and precise to handle a high load volume and last in service a long time. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: City Party Line Service Date: 17 Aug 2006 10:58:36 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com When party lines are discussed, people usually talk about coded ringing and that everyone's phone rang with all calls. However, in city service this did not occur. The panel dial switching system, developed in 1922, included provisions for two and four party line service, which were common in those days. Each party had their own listed phone number and could be anything, not necessarily consecutive. There was no need for party letters. When calling a party line, the switchgear deteced the type of selective ringing and (bias and ground combinations) and sent out the appropriate ringing current. Only the desired telephone rang. This helped privacy since other parties wouldn't know the phone was in use. After WW II party line service declined, but postwar Bell System had a bad shortage of capacity to meet new demand, so party lines were forced to continue more than many users wanted. (Movie "Pillow Talk"). ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force Date: 17 Aug 2006 11:03:56 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com The Bell System is sometimes criticized for converting to dial during the Depression, which caused operators to be laid off at a time when jobs were scarce. However, that is only part of the story. The use of automation saved money which kept phone rates low which enabled more people to keep their phone service. (Many people simply could no longer keep a phone and terminated their service.) Also, automation required hiring of craftsmen to install dials at subscribers, install the dial exchange, and factory workers to make the exchange and new dial telephone sets. I suspect these efforts kept a lot of people at work in the Depression and those jobs were welcomed. The purchase of insulation, steel, copper, and brass for the switchgear also helped the overall economy. Further, there tended to be high turnover in operator jobs; it was something many young women took only until they were married. Of course circumstances were different in those days and single and widowed women had to find work, but in some way that was made up by the increase in Western Electric employment. (Yes, that didn't usually help a laid-off telephone operator.) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Actually, the 'Great Depression' is normally dated as the last three months of 1929, along with 1930-33. I do not think Bell did any central office conversions during that time period, or very few of them. Chicago did not start converting until 1939, after the depression, when our country was well on the way toward recovery (which generally means a war is going on). Many of the conversions occurred in the late 1940's and throughout the 1950's, and as we know, those were much better times financially for almost everyone. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 13:21:01 -0400 From: William Warren Subject: Re: Sam Spade William Warren wrote: > William Warren wrote: >> Don't do it, Pat! If you do, the terrorists have won! >> William Warren >> (Filter noise from my address for direct replies) >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why would you say something like that? >> The 'terrorists' won long ago, when you started asking people to >> 'filter noise from your address' and when readers started using >> Spam Assassin and when mailing list maintainers started requiring >> their readers to jump through hoops to get on or off mailing lists. >> Why is a simple minded filter -- (either the word '[telecom]' is >> present or it is not present) -- such a sign that the 'terrorists' >> have won? PAT] > > Pat, > That was a joke. I had thought you would laugh. > Sorry. > William > (Filter noise from my address for direct replies. No laughing matter!) > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I _would_ laugh if it were not such a > hypocritcal thing. People talk about how anything but the purest of > email address forms used in email are such a hassle (I quite agree) > but the same people then act like it is so 'politically incorrect' to > attack the problem at its source; i.e. the spammer/scammers who make > it necessary. You'll have to pardon me, but I get very tired of > having to give even a cursory review to several hundred items each > day which are only penis-enlargement advertisements, requests to > re-enter time and again all my personal banking information, etc. The > really evil thing about it all is even when I try my hardest, some > days _good_ messages get dumped by accident. People get one single > phish-item in their mail and think it is such an affront ... well, > I get hundreds of them daily, and even if I culd just type 'delete 1-250' > and be done with it, it would still be a nuisance, but when good > messages get caught in the middle of that mess each day as they _always_ > do, it makes the job much harder. PAT] Pat, OK, I take your point. I had intended to sound humorous, not hypocritical, but I understand that you're the guy in the hot seat. Here's a suggestion: it may sound far-fetched at first, but please believe me when I say that I've used this technique with great effect for my customers and myself, so I'll propose that you try it. Consider: spamming is only profitable when the only people who respond are those who want to buy something. If even a small percentage of calls are from those who don't want the spam, the paradigm changes very quickly. Once per day, please publish the contact info (URL, phone, whatever) for a single spammer, and the email address the spam was sent to, and suggest that c.d.t. readers contact the company and discourage them from using your email address. Spammers are, believe it or not, businessmen, and they tend to act fairly quickly when someone stuffs a rag into their pipeline. (1) I suggest you start with mortgage spammers: they have to sell their leads to local brokers who know the local real estate market, so they're the easiest ones to catch. Be sure to tell the readership that spammers do listwashing: someone who fills out a form on a website will always get a call from the spammer's minions, asking "Was there anything unusual about the email you received?", and it's important to get by that gatekeeper and wait for the local brokers to call. When they do, a complaint about a specific email address works wonders: the mortgage brokers pay as much as $100 per lead, so they'll scream very quickly when they get burned, and your email address will, just as quickly, be placed on the "Do Not Call" lists the spammers share with each other. Now, I'll just touch on the morality issue: some of your readers may be squemish about this kind of proactive approach. For those so inclined, there are other (less effective) ways to take action, such as reports to the FBI's online reporting service. However, if any of your readers think this kind of direct action is improper/not_cricket/ sleezy/whatever, I will simply say that, like spam, it works. William 1. Of course, the contact has to be a web site or phone number that won't demand confidential information, since generating phony MasterCard numbers and tickling drop-boxes are tricks best left to the major-league spamfighters. William Warren (Filter noise from my address for direct replies) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: To know whether or not the web site will or will not require confidential information, then I or someone would have to first examine it, wouldn't we? Your idea sounds good enough, in fact it reminds me of when I used to publish the 'Business Directory' occassionally, giving the 800 numbers of spammers/scammers who were brazen enough to include that number in their junk email. But I am afraid that by publishing one or more of the great offers sent out to the net each day, I would probably be accused of (1) attempting to harass the spammer/scammer or (2) helping to further the spam myself and in any event acting very politically incorrect, given the large number of spam/scam enablers on the net; that is, the number of users who claim all we have to do is 'ignore it' by feebly attempting to filter around it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality Date: 17 Aug 2006 12:19:18 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com John Levine wrote: > There is a perfectly good definition of net neutrality: everyone who > gets the same service pays the same price for it. Particularly if one > of the bodies is a subsidiary of the telco or cableco. A lot of us > have well-founded concerns that the telcos will make sweetheart deals > with themselves like they did with DSL, with the wholesale price to > everyone else somehow being more than the retail price their own > affiliate charges. Sorry, but in today's world, that kind of pricing is all part of the "free market". And a "free market" is what was desired when they took away regulation. If you don't like these kinds of pricing plans, you need to go back to a regulated world. You can't have it both ways. A free market means someone can charge what the market will bear to maximize his profits. In other words, if you want some coast-to-coast airline flights to cost $39, you'll have to accept certain other flights, perhaps even within a single state, will cost $750. Elsewhere (in a discussion of Metroliner telephone service), someone claimed Verizon's stock price has steeply fallen. I presume that's true, and that is what free markets do. The NYT said recently Verizon was installing FIOS like crazy to stem a flow of lost customers. The great and powerful AT&T doesn't even exist anymore except in name. Free markets at work. If the telcos price themselves too high, consumers will find alternatives, either a cheaper vendor or alternative technology. Perhaps not in the short term, but they will in the long term, especially with today's technology which is constantly evolving. Scott Dorsey wrote: > If you want a largescale nationwide network to handle realtime data > like VOIP, video traffic, and high resolution X-rays at the same time, > it ought to be built very differently than the Internet. Because the > Internet just isn't built for that. Sorry. All very true. Sooner or later people must realize the Internet wasn't built for a lot of things, like security and safety. Automobiles and highways weren't built for safety. It took 50 years before they even realized this, and 25 more years to design, build, and implement various safety features to cut down the carnage. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:25:12 -0500 From: Patrick Townson Subject: Re: Why I do not Favor 'Net Neutrality' Larry Dignan wrote: >> 3. All traffic isn't created equal. An e-mail doesn't have the same/ >> service requirements as a VOIP call. An X-ray of a heart patient/ >> should have priority over a Britney Spears video. Corporate networks/ >> manage traffic that way, and at some point there has to be some/ >> intelligence added to public Internet infrastructure between the end/ >> points. Net neutrality requirements mean all traffic is created/ >> equal. You can debate over who makes the call over what traffic gets/ >> priority, but to pretend all traffic is equal doesn't hold up./ > When you do this, what you have isn't the internet any more. > The beauty and the failing of the net is that everyone is equal and > every device is treated like every other device. Unfortunately this > is not a good thing to carry realtime data. Well, you miss the point, IMO ... the Internet, as it was historically developed and as we knew it for the first twenty or so years of its existence reached its death in 1994 more or less, when the invaders moved into our village. _We_ had a good thing going; _we_ had a wonderful system which mostly worked quite well. Along with the first bunch of no-goods to move in and take residence here were the movie and music people, who refused to accept the basic concepts here that what you leave out in the public way is intended for use by the general public. They could not or would not accept that simple concept which governed us quite well for a couple decades. They said the way we will get even with you for rooting through our movies and music scattered everywhere is _not_ by setting permissions on the directories to keep you out, if will be by suing each of you who dare to get into our stuff without permission, since you old-timers here no longer run things; rather we with the money and the (ostensibly) good looks and charm are now in charge. Shortly thereafter, other maruders came along and attempted to redefine what the internet would be about. Now that they have done just that, you want to sit there and act surprised? Why in the hell weren't these people stopped dead in their tracks before they moved in and took over? Now it is going to be impossible to get rid of them. PAT ------------------------------ From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Subject: Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:38:42 UTC Organization: MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory In article , Scott Dorsey wrote: > There have been attempts to do what you describe with QoS management, > where some kinds of traffic gets treated differently than other kinds > of traffic. In general, these things don't work very well, because > the underlying protocol isn't designed for it. No, the "underlying protocol" has nothing to do with it. That's the beauty of IP: it's service-model independent. We have a "best-effort" service now, but a guaranteed service could be implemented without any changes to the IP layer. The reason we don't have one now is the lack of a business model that could support it. (The people I used to work for helped to invent all the necessary technology in the early- to mid-nineties, before the boom created a bandwidth glut. It was a serious research effort back when a T1 was more than most people had.) -- Garrett A. Wollman | As the Constitution endures, persons in every wollman@csail.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own Opinions not those | search for greater freedom. of MIT or CSAIL. | - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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! 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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. 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 V25 #304 ****************************** From prvs=telecom-owner+M2753=ptownson=massis.lcs.mit.edu=037889dcc9@telecom-digest.org Fri Aug 18 00:13:59 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: from xuxa.iecc.com (xuxa.iecc.com [208.31.42.42]) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix) with SMTP id 51C1421D0 for ; Fri, 18 Aug 2006 00:13:56 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 11313 invoked by uid 85); 18 Aug 2006 04:12:39 -0000 Received: (qmail 11227 invoked from network); 18 Aug 2006 04:12:36 -0000 Received: from massis.lcs.mit.edu (128.31.0.14) by mail2.iecc.com with SMTP; 18 Aug 2006 04:12:36 -0000 Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix) id DD7EA21E6; Fri, 18 Aug 2006 00:12:34 -0400 (EDT) Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id E6E7E21D1; Fri, 18 Aug 2006 00:12:33 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #305 Message-Id: <20060818041233.E6E7E21D1@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 00:12:33 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Reply-To: telecom@telecom-digest.org List-Help: (List Instructions) List-Unsubscribe: (Use this command to get off the list) List-Subscribe: (Use this command to join the list) List-Post: List-Owner: (Contact Person for Help) List-ID: X-Loop: majordomo Precedence: bulk Sender: telecom-owner@telecom-digest.org Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 18 Aug 2006 00:14:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 305 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Judge Rules Warentless Spying is Unconstitutional (Sarah Karush, AP) In-Flight Web Surfing Takes a Step Back (Chris Reiter, Reuters News) Cyber Bullying Problem (Lisa Hancock) Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality (John L) Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force (DLR) Re: Clueless Hollywood (Sam Spade) Re: City Party Line Service (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: Computer "Logic" in 1922 Panel Switching (Jim Haynes) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 15:37:37 -0500 From: Sarah Karush, AP Subject: Judge Rules Warentless Spying is Unconstitutional Judge nixes warrantless surveillance By SARAH KARUSH, Associated Press Writer A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless surveillance program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it. U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency's program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution. "Plaintiffs have prevailed, and the public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution," Taylor wrote in her 43-page opinion. The Justice Department appealed the ruling and issued a statement calling the program "an essential tool for the intelligence community in the war on terror." White House press secretary Tony Snow said the Bush administration "couldn't disagree more with this ruling." "United States intelligence officials have confirmed that the program has helped stop terrorist attacks and saved American lives," he said. "The program is carefully administered and only targets international phone calls coming into or out of the United States where one of the parties on the call is a suspected al-Qaida or affiliated terrorist." The ruling won't take immediate effect so Taylor can hear a Justice request for a stay pending its appeal. A hearing on the motion was set for Sept. 7, Snow said. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of journalists, scholars and lawyers who say the program has made it difficult for them to do their jobs. They believe many of their overseas contacts are likely targets of the program, monitoring phone calls and e-mails between people in the U.S. and people in other countries when a link to terrorism is suspected. The government argued that the program is well within the president's authority, but said proving that would require revealing state secrets. The ACLU said the state-secrets argument was irrelevant because the Bush administration already had publicly revealed enough information about the program for Taylor to rule. "At its core, today's ruling addresses the abuse of presidential power and reaffirms the system of checks and balances that's necessary to our democracy," ACLU executive director Anthony Romero told reporters after the ruling. He called the opinion "another nail in the coffin in the Bush administration's legal strategy in the war on terror." While siding with the ACLU on the surveillance issue, Taylor dismissed a separate claim by the group over NSA data-mining of phone records. She said not enough had been publicly revealed about that program to support the claim and further litigation would jeopardize state secrets. The lawsuit alleged that the NSA "uses artificial intelligence aids to search for keywords and analyze patterns in millions of communications at any given time." Multiple lawsuits have been filed related to data-mining against phone companies, accusing them of improperly turning over records to the NSA. However, the data-mining was only a small part of the Detroit suit, said Ann Beeson, the ACLU's associate legal director and the lead attorney on the case. Beeson predicted the government would appeal the wiretapping ruling and request that the order to halt the program be postponed while the case makes its way through the system. She said the ACLU had not yet decided whether it would oppose such a postponement. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 22:48:03 -0500 From: Chris Reiter, Reuters News Subject: In-Flight Web Surfing Takes a Step Back By Chris Reiter The prospects of surfing the Internet and receiving e-mail at 35,000 feet took a knock on Thursday as Boeing Co. said it will wind down its service for offering Internet access on board planes. Although the market may get a boost with newcomers LiveTV LLC and AirCell Inc. developing offerings, cost pressures on airlines make it unlikely that on-board Internet access will be widely available soon. "We've been looking for ways to connect the cabin, but it has to make sense financially," said Billy Sanez, a spokesman for American Airlines. "It's going to be a bit until we see something feasible." Upgrading an airplane for Internet service is a complex task, and with fuel prices high, airlines are more focused on keeping costs down rather than offering new, expensive perks. "It's kind of like rewiring your office," said airline consultant Robert Mann. "It creates a lot of downtime and it's very expensive." The least disruptive option is to have the technology for providing Internet access built into new planes, but "very few of the large U.S. carriers are in a position to be buying new airplanes," he said. After six years, Boeing said on Thursday it would shut down its loss-making Connexion unit, which allowed airlines to provide high-speed Internet service to passengers. The satellite-based service, for which Boeing failed to find a buyer, was too costly, and few airlines signed on. The company said it would take charges of up to $320 million to wind down the service, which analysts estimate attracted just over 1,000 users a day and cost as much as $150 million a year to run. Boeing becomes the second large company to withdraw from the in-flight communications market in recent months. In June, Verizon Communications Inc. said it was canceling its on-board phone service by the end of the year. CELL SYSTEM Hoping to revive the market, AirCell and LiveTV, a unit of low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways Corp., are planning new in-flight Internet offerings after winning licenses to operate air-to-ground communications services in June. AirCell, which paid $31.3 million for one of the network licenses, plans to launch its service by the end of 2007, Chief Executive Jack Blumenstein said on Thursday. AirCell's service, which would turn planes into flying "hotspots," is based on cellular technology, giving it an edge over satellite-based Connexion because the equipment is cheaper and lighter, Blumenstein said. For example, AirCell's cellular antenna is about the size of a deck of cards and weighs less than half a pound (0.2 kg), while Connexion equipment was bulkier and weighed hundreds of pounds, he said. This makes it possible to offer the service for under $10 per flight. LiveTV, which paid $7 million for a smaller-capacity network, is working on a business plan on how to use the acquired frequency, JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin said. The airline is not committed to taking its unit's service, if and when it does get up and running. "Just because LiveTV would come out with a product doesn't automatically mean that JetBlue would get it," Baldwin said. Stronger demand for such services appears to be from overseas airlines. British carrier Virgin Atlantic Airways said this month it planned to offer an in-flight text service, which will respond to passenger questions. Lufthansa, one of Connexion's staunchest backers, said it was on the lookout for a new partner. "Lufthansa remains hopeful that new providers will emerge in the coming months to provide this valuable service to our customers," the German airline said in a statement. Since May 2004, Lufthansa has been offering FlyNet, an in-flight Internet service provided by Connexion, free of charge for its long-haul business class customers. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Cyber Bullying problem Date: 17 Aug 2006 12:54:36 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com http://www.kyw1060.com/pages/70467.php?contentType=4&contentId=190171 Online bullying has become a major problem that Pennsylvania law enforcement is trying to deal with. A new national survey shows one-third of teenagers and 18 percent of those aged 6 to 11 have been the victim of a cyberbully -- someone who goes online and either demeans or threatens a kid, often anonymously. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:47:07 EDT From: John L Subject: Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality >> There is a perfectly good definition of net neutrality: everyone who >> gets the same service pays the same price for it. ... [ particularly >> the telco's own affiliates ]] > Sorry, but in today's world, that kind of pricing is all part of the > "free market". And a "free market" is what was desired when they took > away regulation. If you don't like these kinds of pricing plans, you > need to go back to a regulated world. You can't have it both ways. This must be a new neocon definition of "free market". Selling something below cost to drive out competitors in a competitive market and making up the losses from your profits in a non-competitive market is the very definition of a predatory monopoly. It's what led to the original anti-trust laws being passed over a century ago. > If the telcos price themselves too high, consumers will find > alternatives, either a cheaper vendor or alternative technology. I think you need to read up on natural monopolies. There's a reason that nobody does cable system overbuilds, even though they're legal throughout the country. R's, John ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:44:12 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Actually, the 'Great Depression' is > normally dated as the last three months of 1929, along with 1930-33. While the people working in the late 30s had it much better than in the early parts of the depression, 1/4 to 1/3 of the adult male work force did not have a steady job as of 12/7/41. What ended the depression was the war and the massive government spending on said war. Now what kept it away after the war is the subject of endless political and economical debates to this day. Although there was a fairly severe recession/depression in 46/47 as all those GIs came home with nothing to do until a lot of them decided that college was an option. Go to a college where they have the photos on the wall of the graduating classes. In the KY Engineering college it was amazing to see the huge spike in the early 50s but the rates stay much higher than before the war after that due to folks just getting better educations than the previous generation. ------------------------------ From: Sam Spade Subject: Re: Clueless Hollywood Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:53:50 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications Ron Kritzman wrote: > I was channel surfing the other night and caught a minute or two of a > movie allegedly set in Chicago. In front of Wrigley Field, on the > Addison Street side, with the famous red marquee in the background, one > of the main characters was making a call from a Verizon pay phone! Who > knew? Not subtle either. Big logo with the checkmark and the red Z. > C'mon guys, if you're going to do product placement at least place it > where it lives. > - RK > Emoveray ethay Igpay Atinlay otay eplyray Today, I was walking by a 7-11 Store in San Clemente, California. There were two fairly recent Verizon pay phones, complete with Verizon's version of Ma Bell's bell logo. San Clemente has been Pacific Telephone/Pacific Bell/SBC/ and now AT&T since the early days. Verizon is obviously in the pay phone business outside its operating territory. ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 21:01:58 EDT Subject: Re: City Party Line Service In a message dated 17 Aug 2006 10:58:36 -0700, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com writes: > When party lines are discussed, people usually talk about coded > ringing and that everyone's phone rang with all calls. > However, in city service this did not occur. > The panel dial switching system, developed in 1922, included > provisions for two and four party line service, which were common in > those days. Each party had their own listed phone number and could be > anything, not necessarily consecutive. There was no need for party > letters. When calling a party line, the switchgear deteced the type > of selective ringing and (bias and ground combinations) and sent out > the appropriate ringing current. Only the desired telephone rang. > This helped privacy since other parties wouldn't know the phone was in > use. I'm not sure what the invention of the Panel Type office has to do with coded ringing on party lines. There were millions of SxS connectors that were wired for terminal-per-station ringing, and full-selective four-party ringing was the norm. Two-party lines were almost universally full selective, using tip or ring to ground to cause the property party to ring. Four-party full selective ringing could also be provided in terminal- per-line SxS offices, but there were many drawbacks to terminal-per- line operation. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Computer "Logic" in 1922 Panel Switching Reply-To: jhaynes@alumni.uark.edu Organization: University of Arkansas Alumni From: haynes@alumni.uark.edu (Jim Haynes) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 02:03:17 GMT Also I believe it was exposure to telephone switching apparatus that led Claude Shannon to realize that Boolean algebra could be useful for describing and analyzing switching circuits. A book "The Design of Switching Circuits" by some Bell Labs guys Keister, Ritchie and Washburn is something of a cookbook of relay circuits for various purposes. Then at the end of the book they introduce some of Shannon's insights for circuit analysis and design. Shannon's work applied to combinatorial circuits; later it was Huffman who worked out the application to sequential circuits. -- jhhaynes at earthlink dot net ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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! 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #305 ****************************** From prvs=telecom-owner+M2754=ptownson=massis.lcs.mit.edu=037868bf10@telecom-digest.org Fri Aug 18 19:08:03 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: from xuxa.iecc.com (xuxa.iecc.com [208.31.42.42]) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix) with SMTP id BA07621B7 for ; Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:07:48 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 5288 invoked by uid 85); 18 Aug 2006 23:05:44 -0000 Received: (qmail 5251 invoked from network); 18 Aug 2006 23:05:41 -0000 Received: from massis.lcs.mit.edu (128.31.0.14) by mail2.iecc.com with SMTP; 18 Aug 2006 23:05:40 -0000 Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix) id 8DC8221C3; Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:05:38 -0400 (EDT) Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 8308421B9; Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:05:37 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #306 Message-Id: <20060818230537.8308421B9@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:05:37 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Reply-To: telecom@telecom-digest.org List-Help: (List Instructions) List-Unsubscribe: (Use this command to get off the list) List-Subscribe: (Use this command to join the list) List-Post: List-Owner: (Contact Person for Help) List-ID: X-Loop: majordomo Precedence: bulk Sender: telecom-owner@telecom-digest.org Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:07:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 306 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson French Organization Plans Suit Against E-Bay (Nick Antonovics, Reuters) Apple: No Forced Labor at iPod Plant (Elaine Kutenbach, AP) CBS News to Simulcast Online (USTelecom dailyLead) Telecom Update #542, August 18, 2006 (John Riddell) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 18, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality (Michael D. Sullivan) Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality (Sam Spade) Re: City Party Line Service (bv124@aol.com) Re: Computer "Logic" in 1922 Panel Switching (Dennis Ritchie) Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist (Herb Oxley) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 16:59:29 -0500 From: Nick Antonovics, Reuters Subject: French Organization Plans Suit Against E-Bay French firms target eBay in anti-counterfeit drive By Nick Antonovics A French industry group plans to file a complaint with prosecutors seeking damages from eBay Inc. and other Internet auction sites for the sale of counterfeit products on their Web pages, the group's chairman said. Marc Antoine Jamet, chairman of France's Union of Manufacturers (Unifab), told Reuters that the complaint, due to be filed next month, also aims at forcing the sites to clamp down on product pirates. "There is a continent which makes the fakes, which is China, and there is a continent where they are sold, and that is the Internet," he said. Other auction sites in the firing line include those run by privately held iOffer.com, Yahoo Inc. and Japan's Rakuten, Inc. But the main focus is eBay, with which Unifab has held more than a dozen meetings in the last two years, Jamet said. "We think eBay is perfectly capable of policing its site, but they offer to take action only after the fact. They refuse to act pre-emptively," he said. "We think they have the IT to manage their sites, to track bank accounts and ownership." EBay spokesman Hani Duzry said the company operates an anti-counterfeit goods program and constantly monitors auctions for blatantly infringing products and removes them. FOCUS ON EBAY "We don't allow counterfeit items on the site. It is against eBay policy. It is illegal. We are committed to working with copyright owners on this," Duzry said. Ebay "makes it easy," he said, for any copyright owner to contact eBay to report infringing products in order to have eBay remove them. Jamet said, however, that the firm had refused Unifab's request to pro-actively shut down merchants of counterfeit goods in the same way it agreed in 2001 to ban listings of Nazi memorabilia and from groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. Unifab's complaint will contain concrete examples of counterfeit goods found for sale on the Internet, he said. Leather goods maker Louis Vuitton, a unit of LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods group, last year found 235,000 examples of counterfeit articles on 340 eBay pages. In one case, it tracked more than 100 copies of the same article being sold within one hour, said Jamet, who is also a senior executive at LVMH. Other luxury goods companies are also targets of counterfeiters, while Unifab members in sectors from pharmaceuticals to spare car parts support the action, he said. Unifab had decided to move now, he added, because the problem of counterfeit sales had exploded. Three years ago, none of the French firms affected -- including big-name luxury goods makers such as LVMH, Hermes International and Chanel -- monitored Internet traffic. Now, many have teams who have spent months gathering evidence and assembling a case. "It's a huge phenomenon, which has multiplied by 25 times in the last five years," he said. SEEKING FINES, DAMAGES Jamet said Unifab would be asking prosecutors to seek damages and interest from the auction sites in relation to the alleged losses suffered by the firms. In the case of some luxury goods companies, these ran into millions of euros, he said. Unifab also wants to prosecute the sites for providing the means to resell counterfeit goods, a charge the French luxury goods industry has successfully brought against shop owners in Beijing's silk market and on New York's Canal Street. In addition, it is asking the French government to revise its laws on electronic commerce to make online auctioneers "co-responsible" for the goods that are sold on their sites, Jamet said. Unifab believes its case has been strengthened by a Paris court's decision in June to fine online search engine Google 300,000 euros ($385,000) over advertisements for counterfeit goods generated by its sites. Google had based its defense partly on the existing French e-commerce law. France is home to much of the world's luxury goods industry and the French government has taken steps in the past three years to toughen its laws against counterfeiting. The government tried last month to broker a friendly solution to the row between Unifab and the auctioneers, but it was rejected by the industry group which believed it did not go far enough. Unifab estimates counterfeiting represents 5 to 9 percent of global trade, or 200 billion to 300 billion euros a year in lost earnings for manufacturers. Losses in France alone exceed 6 billion euros, it says. ($1=.7791 Euro) (Additional reporting by Eric Auchard in San Francisco) Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As the writer points out, E-Bay is one of the worst offenders. And they do _NOT_ make it easy to report any problems at their site. If I get one, I get a couple dozen daily 'complaints' from so-called users of E-Bay which allegedly are lodged against me daily. I have done business with E-Bay exactly one time in my life; when I sought out and purchased the Nokia GAIT phone several months ago. Yet, there are dozens of complaints daily saying that I either 'failed to ship' or 'failed to pay for what I purchased' from users there. Now, one of the more common, I guess, tactics by phishers and scammers is to send letters of this sort out, so I could excuse E-Bay for its role in it, except that (taking E-Bay's web site advice) to send the offensive email to 'spoof@ebay.com' does no good at all; in fact, I doubt that is even a working address. I sat here two afternoons ago, using emacs and Note Pad to gather up a huge number of those farces which get sent out to whoever on the net is still enough of an idiot to pay attention to them, and shipped off the whole bunch to 'spoof@ebay.com' . About 10 minutes later it all bounced back at me saying 'spoof' is only used for certain things at E-Bay and my mail would not get delivered or read. Now, their sister company, PayPal uses 'spoof@paypal.com' as an address to forward all that crapola to; but appartently E-Bay does not. I wish a good, reliable honest auction site could be started on the net. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 17:02:15 -0500 From: Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Subject: Apple: No Forced Labor at iPod Plant by ELAINE KURTENBACH, AP Business Writer Apple Computer Inc.'s investigation into claims of poor conditions at a Chinese iPod factory found no forced labor but revealed that workers were exceeding the company's limits on hours and days to be worked per week, the company said Friday. The company said it was taking immediate steps to resolve that and other issues. The probe by the Cupertino, Calif.-based company was in response to a recent report by a British newspaper, the Mail on Sunday, alleging that workers at the factory were paid as little as $50 a month and forced to work 15-hour shifts making the devices. "The team reviewed personnel files and hiring practices and found no evidence whatsoever of the use of child labor or any form of forced labor," Apple said in a report on its Web site that summarized the findings of its audit of the facility. However, the probe did find that in many cases workers were exceeding the company's limits for overtime, which specify a maximum of 60 hours or six days a week. "We found no instances of forced overtime," the report said. But it said weekly limits were exceeded 35 percent of the time in a seven-month period and that employees worked more than six days in a row 25 percent of the time. The company running the factory, which was not named in the report, was ordered to enforce Apple's overtime limits, it said. Apple's iconic iPod players are made abroad, mainly in China. The company has sold more than 50 million iPods since its debut in 2001. The company responded vehemently to the allegations made by the British newspaper, saying it would not tolerate any violations of its code of conduct. Apple said its inspection found that in at least two instances workers were made to stand at attention for disciplinary reasons. "Apple has a zero tolerance policy for any instance, isolated or not, of any treatment of workers that could be interpreted as harsh," the report said. It said the factory has launched an "aggressive" manager and employee training program to prevent such behavior. The probe found the workers assembling iPods were paid at least the minimum wage, with more than half earning more than minimum wage, excluding bonuses. Minimum wage for Shenzhen in southern China, where the factory is thought to be located, is about 800 yuan ($100) a month. The factory, which supplies electronics components and accessories to other companies as well as Apple, is a small city in its own right, with clinics, recreational facilities, buses and 13 restaurants serving its 200,000 workers. While conditions in the factories, cafeterias and most dormitories were good, the audit found overcrowded or unsuitable conditions at three offsite leased dormitories that were former factories. To address the problem, the contractor acquired more land and was building more dormitories on the factory premises, it said. Apple has hired Verite, an international consultant on workplace standards, to continue monitoring conditions at the factory, it said. "We are committed to ensuring compliance with our Code of Conduct and will complete audits of all final assembly suppliers of Mac and iPod products in 2006," the report said. It added that "in cases where a supplier's efforts in this area do not meet our expectations, their contracts will be terminated." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 12:12:43 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: CBS News to Simulcast Online USTelecom dailyLead August 18, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/elgwfDtusXaFsQMgCh TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * CBS News to simulcast online BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * AOL restates $584M more in ad sales * EarthLink looks beyond dial-up * Qualcomm to snap up Qualphone * DSL growth surpasses cable's USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Phone Facts Plus -- A Must Have TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Commentary: Speed of Internet connection more relevant than access * Analysis: Is TV the next big thing in mobile phones? VOIP DOWNLOAD * VoIP sees worldwide growth DIVERSIONS * Lake Tahoe * Usher in 'Chicago'? Well, He's No Stranger to Razzle-Dazzle and Hocus-Pocus * A Harbor Full of History and Sea Lore on Cape Cod * The Camera for Your Next Family Reunion * Good Ride in the Badlands * Detroit's Answer to $3-$4 Gas: New Muscle Cars * Irish Independence in the 60's, With Affection and Sarcasm, in 'Rocky Roa= d to Dublin' Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/elgwfDtusXaFsQMgCh ------------------------------ Subject: Telecom Update #542, August 18, 2006 Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:50:23 -0400 From: John Riddell ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 542: August 18, 2006 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/ ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/ ** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca ** MICROSOFT CANADA: www.microsoft.com/canada/telecom/ ** MITEL NETWORKS: www.mitel.com/ ** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: www.necunifiedsolutions.com ** ROGERS TELECOM: www.rogers.com/solutions ** VONAGE CANADA: www.vonage.ca ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Internet Use Up but Digital Divides Remain ** Nortel Class Action Settlements Proposed ** MTS Objects to Cabinet's Proposed CRTC Order ** Telus Gives Wireless Service Level Guarantee ** MTS Sells Its Directory Business ** Shaw to Buy Whistler Cable ** Rogers May Appeal 'Comma' Ruling ** Rogers Expands Cablephone Coverage ** Mitec Names New CEO ** Videotron Expands the Broadband Wars ** Boeing Gives Up on Airborne Broadband ** Judge Orders Halt to Bush Wiretaps ** IIC Canada Meeting Set for December INTERNET USE UP BUT DIGITAL DIVIDES REMAIN: Statistics Canada's latest Internet Use Survey concludes that 18.8 million adult Canadians accessed the Internet for personal non-business purposes in 2005, and that two-thirds of home users logged on every day. The study also found significant disparities in Internet usage between specific population groups. ** Urban: 68%. Rural: 58%. ** Household income over $86,000: 88%. Under $86,000: 61%. ** Some secondary education: 88%. High school or less: 49%. ** Adult use in households with children: 81%. Without children: 61%. ** Age 18 to 44: 85%. Age 45 or older: 50%. http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/060815/d060815b.htm NORTEL CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENTS PROPOSED: Plaintiffs in U.S. and Canadian class actions, alleging that Nortel misled investors about earnings, have agreed to a settlement totaling US$808 million in cash, and other benefits. The settlement still requires court and regulatory approvals. Details (including claim forms and deadlines) are available at www.nortelsecuritieslitigation.com. ** The proposal affects investors who bought Nortel shares or options during two periods: October 24, 2000, through February 15, 2001, and April 24, 2003, through April 27, 2004. MTS OBJECTS TO CABINET'S PROPOSED CRTC ORDER: MTS Allstream, commenting on Cabinet's proposed policy direction to the CRTC (see Telecom Update #534) says it "agrees wholeheartedly" with the goals expressed, but objects that the section on wholesale services will be anticompetitive if implemented as drafted. http://www.mts.ca/commentsaug16/ TELUS GIVES WIRELESS SERVICE LEVEL GUARANTEE: Telus Mobility says it will provide credits on customer accounts if it fails to provide a dropped-call ratio lower than 1% or "fast" response to customer service calls. MTS SELLS ITS DIRECTORY BUSINESS: Manitoba Telecom has agreed to sell its directories business to Yellow Pages Group for $281 million. SHAW TO BUY WHISTLER CABLE: Shaw Communications has agreed to buy Whistler Cable, which provides TV and Internet access services to the B.C. resort town, for an undisclosed sum. (See Telecom Update #541) ROGERS MAY APPEAL 'COMMA' RULING: The Globe and Mail reports that Rogers Communications is "strongly considering" appealing a CRTC ruling that, based on the placement of a single comma in an Aliant-Rogers contract, allowed Aliant to end the agreement early. The ruling results in Rogers paying significantly higher rates for access to N.B. Power poles. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2006/dt2006-45.htm ROGERS EXPANDS CABLEPHONE COVERAGE: Rogers Cable says it is extending residential cablephone service to several small cities in Ontario, including Belleville, Chatham, Milton, Trenton, and Welland. MITEC NAMES NEW CEO: Mitec Telecom has named former Ericsson VP Daniel Piergentili as President and CEO, replacing Keith Findlay. Findlay had held the post since October 2005, when Mitec undertook a review of "strategic alternatives." (See Telecom Update #502) VIDEOTRON EXPANDS THE BROADBAND WARS: On September 7, Videotron will start upgrading its High-Speed Internet Service from 5.1 Mbps to 7 Mbps. (See Telecom Update #541) BOEING GIVES UP ON AIRBORNE BROADBAND: The Boeing Company is abandoning its six-year effort to convince airlines to install a system that provides satellite-based Internet access to passengers during flights. The company will close down Connexion by Boeing this year and take a US$320 million charge. JUDGE ORDERS HALT TO BUSH WIRETAPS: A U.S. court has ruled that the warrantless wiretaps run by the U.S. National Security Agency are unconstitutional, and ordered them halted immediately. Implementation of the injunction has been stayed pending an appeal by the Justice department. ** This ruling may affect a related lawsuit against telephone companies for cooperating with the NSA. (see Telecom Update #540, 541) IIC CANADA MEETING SET FOR DECEMBER: The Canadian Chapter of the International Institute of Communications will hold its annual conference in Ottawa, December 4-5, under the theme "Communications in 2010." For information go to http://www.iic-canada.ca. HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca 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 late Friday afternoon each week at http://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 http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html . COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2006 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca. 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. ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 18, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:42:37 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For August 18, 2006 ******************************** U.K. Regulator Proposes New Broadband Switching Rules http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19419?11228 Ofcom has unveiled new proposals aimed at making it easier for customers to switch broadband providers. It proposes to formalise the switching process, by making it mandatory for broadband providers to supply customers with a Migration Authorisation Code (MAC) required for switching. In addition, the regulator plans to create a ... Training Cable's Front Line http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19412?11228 The secret to keeping customers is keeping customers satisfied. That's especially true of the ones who are unhappy, the ones who call with a problem. That means your first line of defense is manned by customer service reps, installers and repair technicians. And that historically has been one suspect front line. Among U.S. ... Auction 66 Tops $10 Billion in Bidding http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/19410?11228 WASHINGTON -- Bidders with established wireless or wireline networks are emerging as the dominant players in the FCC's Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) auction. After 20 rounds, total bidding for the spectrum topped $10 billion. T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless were at the top, followed by Sprint's partnership with cable ... Bidders Line Up For Verizon's Leavings http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/105/19407?11228 Reports surfacing this week say several telephone holding companies are interested in purchasing Verizon Communications' landline network assets in some New England and Midwest states, assets the incumbent carrier said in May would be on the block. FairPoint Communications, CenturyTel and Citizens Communications are among ... WiMax's Small Steps to Security http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/19404?11228 Sprint Nextel Corp.'s decision last week to spend $3 billion on a new high-speed wireless network gear catapulted WiMax right into the public eye. But what Sprint didn't talk about -- and is less well understood -- is what security measures will protect users who move over to the broadband wireless network. Analysts, ... Wireless Pause Pesters Ericsson, Lucent http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19402?11228 Wireless equipment sales are reaching a pause for Ericsson AB, but it's no cause for long-term concern, analysts say. Ericsson is troubled by GSM and UMTS spending, which in North America 'may be below plan due to some near-term digestion of capacity,' analyst Mark Sue of RBC Capital Markets writes in a report issued ... Draft n Products Debut in 2Q06: WLAN End-Product and Chipset Vendors Off and Running in the Midst of IEEE 802.11n Standard Drama http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/19400?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Although the much-heralded IEEE 802.11n WLAN standard is probably a good year away from formal ratification, end-products based on Draft 1.0 of the standard were released from a handful of vendors in 2Q06. Approximately 300 thousand total Draft n routers, clients and access points shipped out from home and SMB ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: Michael D. Sullivan Subject: Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 05:53:58 GMT I love the "Net Neutrality" debate. Both sides define the term differently and then talk past each other. Congress has no clue. Senator Stevens' famous speech against "Net Neutrality" actually made a good case for it, as the proponents of NN define it. As the NN proponents define it, I favor it. Of course I don't want Verizon or SBC throttling Google or Amazon traffic in favor of their own competing services. But that's not what the NN opponents are supposedly seeking -- and frankly they'd be slitting their own throats if they tried it. They want the ability to offer new services that require better, more reliable, less latent connections than the standard Internet can offer, citing telemedicine and various emergency services. More likely IPTV and IPTelephony, in my view. For example, if you have a fiber to your home and pay for some ungodly amount of bandwidth, 7, 10, or even 30 Gbps, there is still lots of unused capacity on that fiber. It stands to reason that the fiber owner should be able to take advantage of that extra capacity (beyond what is needed for standard Internet connectivity) to offer access to telephony, HDTV, and gaming services (as well as the telemedicine and emergency services) at higher quality levels than if they had to contend for bandwidth with random Internet downloads, etc. If NN threatens that, as the NN opponents claim, I hate it. And some of the legislation regarding NN goes well beyond Internet access, potentially covering all sorts of broadband services. This exchange illustrates the point, to some degree: On 8/17/2006 8:35 AM, Scott Dorsey wrote: > Larry Dignan wrote: >> 3. All traffic isn't created equal. An e-mail doesn't have the same >> service requirements as a VOIP call. An X-ray of a heart patient >> should have priority over a Britney Spears video. Corporate networks >> manage traffic that way, and at some point there has to be some >> intelligence added to public Internet infrastructure between the end >> points. Net neutrality requirements mean all traffic is created >> equal. You can debate over who makes the call over what traffic gets >> priority, but to pretend all traffic is equal doesn't hold up. > When you do this, what you have isn't the internet any more. And why should all traffic be the Internet? Isn't there a legitimate role for broadband service that isn't Internet access? > The beauty and the failing of the net is that everyone is equal and every > device is treated like every other device. Unfortunately this is not a good > thing to carry realtime data. Absolutely correct. > There have been attempts to do what you describe with QoS management, > where some kinds of traffic gets treated differently than other kinds > of traffic. In general, these things don't work very well, because > the underlying protocol isn't designed for it. If the IP protocol isn't good for some particular service, why should we have to force the provider to use it because everyone on the Internet does? > If you want a largescale nationwide network to handle realtime data > like VOIP, video traffic, and high resolution X-rays at the same time, > it ought to be built very differently than the Internet. Because the > Internet just isn't built for that. Sorry. But the NN bills could very well foreclose building a network "very differently from the Internet." NN would bar, say, SBC from offering instant, no-latency access to video, telephony, and (of course) HD X-rays over the same fiber that offfers Internet access to Google and Amazon without the no-latency frills. Michael D. Sullivan Bethesda, MD (USA) (To reply, change example.invalid to com in the address.) ------------------------------ From: Sam Spade Subject: Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 02:31:58 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications Patrick Townson wrote: > Why in the hell weren't these people stopped dead in their tracks > before they moved in and took over? PAT Because they are the ruling class who control politicans and judges. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You are probably correct on that. PAT] ------------------------------ From: bv124@aol.com Subject: Re: City Party Line Service Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 22:12:10 -0700 Back in the late '60's and early '70's, in Carbondale, IL (GTE), we had what was called "suburban" service as we were fifty (50) feet outside the city limits. This was a ten (10) party line where each line rang uniquely (no coded ringing.) When you dialed a toll call (1+), an operator came on the line and asked for the number you were calling from for billing purposes! I think it was a SxS office. ------------------------------ From: Dennis Ritchie Subject: Re: Computer "Logic" in 1922 Panel Switching Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 05:21:42 -0000 Organization: Bell Labs Jim Haynes wrote in message news:telecom25.305.8@telecom-digest.org: > Also I believe it was exposure to telephone switching apparatus that > led Claude Shannon to realize that Boolean algebra could be useful for > describing and analyzing switching circuits. Shannnon's start with this was his MS thesis in the 1930s, but of course he could have been exposted to phone switching before he was at Bell Labs. > A book "The Design of Switching Circuits" by some Bell Labs guys > Keister, Ritchie and Washburn is something of a cookbook of relay > circuits for various purposes. Then at the end of the book they > introduce some of Shannon's insights for circuit analysis and design. > Shannon's work applied to combinatorial circuits; later it was Huffman > who worked out the application to sequential circuits. Actually, there's tons of stuff about sequential circuits in KR&W, of which I have multiple copies, including Keister's personal copy signed by the authors. I helped empty his house when he moved to Cape Cod and he gave it to me -- and the Ritchie was my father. The book was published in 1951, and the thing it doesn't have much about is transistor (let alone integrated) circuits. About as much space (a few pages) is on cold-cathode tubes. Dennis ------------------------------ From: nospam4me@mytrashmail.com (Herb Oxley) Subject: Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist Charges Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 10:18:36 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC DevilsPGD wrote: > And even on the odd chance you're planning a thousand bombs, you'd > need enough other supplies that you could buy them three at a time, > you wouldn't walk into a store and buy 80+ . My guess is the Feds think these guys were part of a conspiracy to acquire Tracfones to use in Iraq. Does anyone know whether Tracfone offers service in Iraq -- or is it fairly easy to load an "image" from an Iraqi cell provider onto them? Now in the case of the 3 guys who got busted Uncle Sam is going to have to prove they knew what the phones were going to be used for. Now something that strikes me odd about this case: It was reported that Wal-mart has a company policy which limits sales of prepaid cellphones to three per customer per day. Wal-mart leaves as little as possible to cashier discretion; for example a cashier is prompted to "verify age" when they scan in an age-restricted product such as alcohol, tobacco or M-rated[1] videogames. Thus I'd expect the Wal-mart POS system to complain if someone was buying more than 3 prepaid phones on the same transaction. Sure this could be worked around, however why would a cashier risk their job to "structure" a big buy of prepaid phones by doing 27 separate transactions? I bet we'll soon see the FCC ban anonymous sales of prepaid phones; that is a government issued ID will be needed to buy phones and top-up cards and records will have to be kept to be provided on request to the FBI. [1] In the USA, videogames are rated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board , a voluntary association of game manufacturers. Games rated "M" aren't recommended for players under 17 due to subject matter, vulgar language, graphic violence, drug/alcohol/tobacco references, sex and nudity. Wal-mart company policy requires purchasers of M-rated games to be 17+. -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Herb Oxley From: address IS Valid. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * 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 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ 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. 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 V25 #306 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Aug 19 21:29:42 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 1E26B21F4; Sat, 19 Aug 2006 21:29:42 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #307 Message-Id: <20060820012942.1E26B21F4@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 21:29:42 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sat, 19 Aug 2006 21:31:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 307 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson What do People Search For on the Web? (Lee Gomes, Wall Street Journal) VoicePulse Setup (cliff@thesolutioncafe.com) Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested (Neal McLain) Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested (Mr Joseph Singer) Re: City Party Line Service (Mr Joseph Singer) Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force (Lisa Hancock) Re: Computer "Logic" in 1922 Panel Switching (Jim Haynes) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 19:26:26 -0500 From: Lee Gomes Subject: What do People Search For on the Web? PORTALS By LEE GOMES What Are Web Surfers Seeking? Well, It's Just What You'd Think One thing about us Internet users: We like our music, we like our pictures, we like our sex -- and we like them all free. Last week, AOL released a trove of what it thought were anonymous Web-search data from 650,000 of its customers. While intending to help researchers, AOL instead set off a privacy controversy because some of the users could, in fact, be tracked down. But taking up AOL on its original intentions, I got hold of the data set -- 2.27 gigabytes' worth, loaded it into my shiny new SQL Server database software, and started my own research project into how people really use the Web. One learns, for instance, that excepting prepositions and conjunctions, the most commonly used word in the 17.15 million separate searches was "free." If something isn't free, it better at least be "new," as that was the next-most common word. Excluding proper nouns, the next most popular words were "lyrics," "county," "school," "city," "home," "state," "pictures," "music," "sale," "beach," "high," "map," "center" and "sex." Ah, sex. The Web turns out to be every bit the domain of the unbounded id we always thought it was. According to a research paper about the data prepared by an AOL-led team, porn was the third most common activity of Web searchers, behind entertainment and shopping. My study showed that 14% of all users made some form of explicit sexual search. And sex was No. 44 on the list of Greatest Hits words; usually, it's around 2,500 for standard usage, such as in English-language novels. Among the sex searchers, there were 50,549 inquires for nude pictures. Perhaps for the first time in Internet history, the person most requested wasn't Pamela Anderson. In fact, it wasn't even a woman, but Peter Wentz, boyish singer of pop group Fall Out Boy. Ms. Anderson was second, followed by Paris Hilton. How good is the Web with queries not involving naked celebrities? Users seem to think it needs improving, because in 47% of all searches, they didn't click on any of the results presented to them. (Although that could also mean they got the answer they needed just from the information in the list of links they were given.) The AOL researchers noted that 28% of all searches were refinements of earlier searches, as users reshaped their queries to make the results more in sync with what they were looking for. For those searchers who did click on something, in 42% of the time, they clicked on the first link presented to them. That factoid explains why Web sites spend so much money boosting their search-engine rankings. In looking through all of the queries, I found 413,638 that were questions, that is, beginning with one of the five W's. Some 35% of these questioners never clicked on an answer, though I am not sure what even the best search engine could have done with a question like, "How to find your eye color." How good is the Web at actually answering questions? I took a random sample of 50 "question" searches, and then visited the Web page that questioners had clicked on. By my reckoning, 60% of these sites provided reasonable answers to what the user wanted to know, which included, "How to propose to a man," and "How to install more memory in a computer." Unanswered queries included, "How to potty train a new puppy" and "How strong are gymnasts." The first went to a company that sold dog food, the second to a Russian gymnast training school looking to raise money. Returning to the list of most frequently used words -- I need to thank Greg Sadestky of Poly9, fine purveyor of "mash up" map software, for his help -- "Google" was the 17th most common. While some might scoff at the notion of "searching for Google," it's actually efficient Web surfing. You're relying on the friendly, type-fixing search box, rather than the unforgiving URL bar at the top of your browser. In the same vein, don't do what 15% of people in the sample did, and include the full URL, including "http" and "www" and ".com" in the search box. It's a waste of time and keystrokes. The data were collected from March through May. Here are some random searches, and the numbers for each: Britney Spears -- 3,938; God -- 3,279; Madonna -- 1,881; Mother Teresa -- 165; Stephen Hawking -- 41; Kofi Annan -- 12. While clearly celebrities did well, writers seemed to fare badly. Indeed, there were no searches at all for such modern masters as Malcolm Lowry, Martin Amis and Lee Gomes. Data aside, reading these queries is like listening in on random phone calls; even if you don't know who is talking, the experience can be wrenching. Consider the person who, over the course of a few minutes, searched for "What to do when your Christian husband turns away from God," "How to deal with mental abuse in a Christian marriage" and "Do I stay or go when a Christian husband is on drugs and alcohol." One of the recommended sites gave thoughtful answers to important life questions from an evangelical Christian perspective. The other hawked Bible books. Write to Lee Gomes at lee.gomes@wsj.com Copyright 2006 Wall Street Journal NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headlines and news please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: cliff@thesolutioncafe.com Subject: VoicePulse Setup Date: 19 Aug 2006 11:49:14 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I have a LinkSys PAP2T-NA which I purchased from voipsupply.com and I'm trying to get it setup to work with VoicePulse. I created a VoicePulse account using the serial number and MAC for the device and verified that there is an IP assigned to the Linksys. I then tried to provision the service on the Linksys with VoicePulse by going to the URL: http://a.b.c.d/admin/resync?http://sipura-profiles.voicepulse.com/migrate.xml as per the VoicePulse instructions. The device rebooted and by going to the device web page admin panel it looks like it picked up the VoicePulse information... BUT I can't get a dial-tone. I've opened up ports 5600 and 5601 on my router. The Linksys phone adapter is running 3.1.9(SLc) firmware. I can get to the Admin screen using the password 12345. Any ideas? I'm using Adelphia cable but I've also tried routing through BellSouth.net (I have both broadband services in-house). VoicePulse tech support says to just buy a device from them but that costs more and I already have an unlocked device which I can't return. Thanks for any help. Thanks again! Cliff ------------------------------ From: Neal McLain Subject: Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested ... Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 10:16:10 -0400 nospam4me@mytrashmail.com (Herb Oxley) wrote: > Wal-mart leaves as little as possible to cashier discretion; for > example a cashier is prompted to "verify age" when they scan in an > age-restricted product such as alcohol, tobacco or M-rated [1] > videogames. Or even Liquid Nails! Neal McLain ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 11:28:48 PDT From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist Charges (Herb Oxley) Fri, 18 Aug 2006 10:18:36 UTC wrote: > My guess is the Feds think these guys were part of a conspiracy to > acquire Tracfones to use in Iraq. > Does anyone know whether Tracfone offers service in Iraq -- or is it > fairly easy to load an "image" from an Iraqi cell provider onto them? Well, if they did think that either the "terrorists" were stupid or the Feds were stupid since TracFone won't work anywhere other than in North America and only works where there's a compatible network none of which are in Iraq or anywhere else in the Middle East, Asia or Europe for that matter. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What you say is true, however the phones could be used to make anonymous calls between 'terrorists' here in the USA easily enough. So if 'sleeper cell A' needs to coordinate its activities with 'sleeper cell B' or if either one of them need to report to or get more instructions from terrorists in Iraq, that would make the TracFones rather ideal, wouldn't it? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 11:22:12 -0700 (PDT) From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: Re: City Party Line Service bv124@aol.com Thu, 17 Aug 2006 22:12:10 -0700 wrote: > Back in the late '60's and early '70's, in Carbondale, IL (GTE), we > had what was called "suburban" service as we were fifty (50) feet > outside the city limits. This was a ten (10) party line where each > line rang uniquely (no coded ringing.) When you dialed a toll call > (1+), an operator came on the line and asked for the number you were > calling from for billing purposes! > I think it was a SxS office. ONI (Operator Number Identification) was the norm for anything above a two-party line at least for the Bell System or at least it was ... ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force Date: 19 Aug 2006 12:10:53 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Actually, the 'Great Depression' is > normally dated as the last three months of 1929, along with 1930-33. > I do not think Bell did any central office conversions during that > time period, or very few of them. Chicago did not start converting > until 1939, after the depression, when our country was well on the > way toward recovery (which generally means a war is going on). Many > of the conversions occurred in the late 1940's and throughout the > 1950's, and as we know, those were much better times financially for > almost everyone. PAT] Generally, the Depression is started by be the fall of 1929 until about 1939-40. Although the big stock market crash is generally accepted to the be the start, for some people hard times started much earlier and later for others. Hard times continued until to about 1940 when defense spending perked up. There was some natural economic growth in 1939. There was a slight recovery in 1936-7, but then FDR cut the budget back and the economy fell down again. I believe Newark NJ was a major dial conversion around 1930 as was remaining manual exchanges within New York City and its immediate developed suburbs (ie Yonkers). No 1 crossbar came out and was implemented in the 1930s. Long distance systems continued to be modernized with improved repeaters and carrier systems. "AB" dialing for operators and other processes streamlined the process. While work at Bell obviously slowed down since so little revenue was coming in (the stock dividends were paid out of past surplus), it didn't stop. Someone else mentioned 25% unemployment even in 1941. That is too high. 20-%25% was about the worst the country had (except in some especially hard hit areas like the Dust Bowl), but other places weren't quite as hard hit. By 1939 it was down to about 15%. That's still very high but not quite as bad. It varied quite a bit by region and industry. There were some nasty strikes in the late 1930s that pushed up wages which allowed workers to have more money than mere sustenance. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Computer "Logic" in 1922 Panel Switching Reply-To: jhaynes@alumni.uark.edu Organization: University of Arkansas Alumni From: haynes@alumni.uark.edu (Jim Haynes) Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 23:42:35 GMT In article , Dennis Ritchie wrote: > Actually, there's tons of stuff about sequential circuits in KR&W, of > which I have multiple copies, including Keister's personal copy signed > by the authors. I helped empty his house when he moved to Cape Cod > and he gave it to me -- and the Ritchie was my father. > The book was published in 1951, and the thing it doesn't have much > about is transistor (let alone integrated) circuits. About as much > space (a few pages) is on cold-cathode tubes. I agree there is lots about sequential circuits -- my argument is that the approach used in KR&W is more of a cookbook approach -- circuits that have been worked out to solve specific problems -- and that it was Huffman who worked out the way to analyze sequential circuits using Boolean algebra. jhhaynes at earthlink dot net ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * 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 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ 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. 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 V25 #307 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Aug 20 23:54:45 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id E5F80221E; Sun, 20 Aug 2006 23:54:44 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #308 Message-Id: <20060821035444.E5F80221E@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 23:54:44 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sun, 20 Aug 2006 23:55:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 308 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Court Blocks Order to Turn Off Dish DVRs (Patrick Townson) Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested ... (DLR) Re: Three Texas Men ... on Terrorist Charges (DLR) Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist (Mark Crispin) Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist (Joseph Singer) Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality (Lisa Hancock) P.S. on Dial Conversion in the Depression (Lisa Hancock) Re: City Party Line Service (Lisa Hancock) Re: City Party Line Service (Anthony Bellanga) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 16:16:10 -0500 From: David Koenig, AP Subject: Court Blocks Order to Turn Off Dish DVRs By DAVID KOENIG, AP Business Writer EchoStar Communications Corp. rushed to a federal appeals court Friday in a successful bid to avoid shutting down more than 3 million digital video recorders used by customers of its Dish satellite-TV service. But the victory could be only temporary. EchoStnar is fighting an uphill battle against TiVo Inc., which convinced a jury in April that EchoStar infringed on its patented TV-viewing technology in making set-top boxes for Dish customers. Late Thursday, the federal district court judge who presided over the trial also sided with TiVo. He issued an injunction ordering EchoStar to stop selling the recorders and to turn off machines already in customers' homes within 30 days. Judge David Folsom also ordered EchoStar to pay TiVo $89.6 million in damages — more than the $74 million the jury awarded. The ruling helped push TiVo shares up more than 8 percent Friday. Investors kept bidding the shares higher even after a federal appeals court in Washington temporarily blocked the order to disable EchoStar's video recorders. The appeals court said that it wasn't ruling on the merits of the case, only that it wanted more time to study whether the injunction should be delayed until appeals can be heard. Meanwhile, EchoStar finds itself under attack in a Florida court on a separate issue that could also force it to curtail services to Dish customers. EchoStar asked the Florida judge to delay until Sept. 11 an order that Dish stop selling signals of distant network stations — for example, a customer in Dallas who wants to receive broadcasts from ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox affiliates in New York or Los Angeles. The judge denied the request. A EchoStar spokeswoman, Kathie Gonzalez, said the company had appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and was negotiating with broadcasters who had sued EchoStar to prevent customers from losing their distant programming. Both cases hold the potential to cost Dish customers, but the TiVo affair is easily the more serious, said analyst Matthew Harrigan of Janco Partners Inc. "There is absolutely no way they can turn off those (recording) boxes without getting blind-sided. They would lose a lot of customers," Harrigan said. "People who use those boxes really like them. They would be furious." That was the argument EchoStar lawyers made in asking the appeals court in Washington to block Judge Folsom's injunction. Forcing Dish to disable those boxes would force customers to give up a treasured service or find new video-recording service from another provider, the lawyers said. EchoStar said it continued to believe it didn't infringe TiVo's patent for "time-warp" technology the ability to record a live television program while playing another. But EchoStar also said it was working on modifications to its recorders to avoid future claims of patent infringement. Gonzalez, the spokeswoman for Englewood, Colo.-based EchoStar, said more than 3 million of Dish's 12.5 million subscribers use an EchoStar recorder that would have been affected by Folsom's ruling. Dish is the nation's second-largest satellite-TV provider, behind DirecTV. If the Texas judge's $89.6 million award stands up on appeal, it would represent about half a year's revenue for TiVo, which hasn't earned a profit since its founding in 1997. The potential boon could be seen Friday in Alviso, Calif., company's stock price. TiVo shares rose 53 cents, or 8.2 percent, to close the day at $7.02 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. EchoStar shares dropped 30 cents, or just under 1 percent, to $32.45. TiVo hopes that a victory against EchoStar will convince other cable and satellite-TV providers that sell digital video recorders, or DVRs, other than TiVo's to agree to pay royalties and licensing fees to the company whose name is synonymous with recording TV on a hard drive. TiVo has a licensing agreement with the nation's largest satellite-TV provider, DirecTV, which has 3 million TiVo users. A deal with Comcast Corp., which has more than 23 million cable-TV subscribers, is set to begin in the fourth quarter. TiVo is still chasing deals with the other leading cable providers. "The company on its own is running OK," said Daniel Ernst, an analyst for Soleil Securities. "Prevailing against EchoStar isn't necessary for their success and growth, but certainly it would be a nice catalyst." The appeals court gave TiVo until next Wednesday to respond to Friday's move blocking the injunction against EchoStar. The case is far from over. Even TiVo could appeal. The Texas judge could have tripled the jury's $74 million award because jurors found that EchoStar willfully infringed TiVo's patent. TiVo is considering seeking a larger award on appeal, said spokesman Elliot Sloane. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 02:00:30 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested ... Neal McLain wrote: > nospam4me@mytrashmail.com (Herb Oxley) wrote: >> Wal-mart leaves as little as possible to cashier discretion; for >> example a cashier is prompted to "verify age" when they scan in an >> age-restricted product such as alcohol, tobacco or M-rated [1] >> videogames. > Or even Liquid Nails! More and more companies will do this. Not doing so and having a cashier make an "illegal" sale opens you up to a lawsuit in this country. If you watch TV after midnight, you'll see multiple ads per hour prompting you to file a lawsuit for money. [Pat, why not leave the [telecom] IN the subject so replies will get it automatically?] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 02:19:23 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Three Texas Men ... on Terrorist Charges > Where will it end? > The US seems well on the way to the old Czarist model, where > _everything_ was _forbidden_ unless explicitly allowed by the authorities. Prior to 1960 or so, you could buy an amazing collection of things from the drug store. Somewhere I have a book from the 50s on the hobby of rocket design. It contains some interesting mixes for fueling rockets. And this was not Estes, this was the real McCoy. And if you paid attention in high school chemistry and did a little experimenting, you could make some really big bangs. Pipe bombs were easy. Then (and I don't know all the reasons for sure) with the radical bombings and such plus a general "is this really a smart things to be selling" they gradually withdrew such things. Plus some laws were passed. Now buying saltpeter, magnesium, mercury, etc ... it a wee bit harder. Where should we set the limits? Jerry Pournelle wrote a series of SciFi books a while back about this very thing. US and USSR made a co-existence pack and basically shut down research into anything that anyone thought might be dangerous. As to my personal experiences, the drug store supply was gone by the time I got to high school chemistry in 1970, but my cousin (10 years older) got to have some fun. The only check was the druggist asked the local teacher if it was ok and the teacher told him to trust my cousin. Personally I think we were in more danger around the holidays than we knew. :) Here's the Estes mentioned above: http://www.estesrockets.com/ ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist Charges Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 19:50:09 -0700 Organization: University of Washington On Sat, 19 Aug 2006, Mr Joseph Singer wrote: > Well, if they did think that either the "terrorists" were stupid or the > Feds were stupid since TracFone won't work anywhere other than in North > America and only works where there's a compatible network none of which > are in Iraq or anywhere else in the Middle East, Asia or Europe for > that matter. Not necessarily. TracFones are GSM, TDMA, or CDMA depending upon the region. Even if the GSM phones are GSM 850/1900, that's still useful elsewhere in the Americas once the phone is unlocked (note that TracFone itself is a subsidiary of America Movil, a Latin America mobile phone company). There are several countries overseas in which CDMA phones will work (including Israel). However, the number one reason for bulk buying TracFones is that the packages can be broken up. The SIM cards (in GSM phones) have airtime that is generally worth the cost of the phone, and the battery and charger sold separately is worth that again. Either the phone is tossed out, or if unlocked is again reusable on the secondary market. Unlike some European countries, it is perfectly legal to unlock a phone; when you buy a phone in the US, title to the physical phone transfers to the purchaser even if the purchase price was heavily subsidized. Without a contract (and since it's prepay there's no contract), there's really no legal recourse for the prepay company if the purchaser unlocks the phone and resells it. TracFone attempted to claim a DMCA violation against one unlocker (Sol Wireless Group), but I don't think that got anywhere. Strange to say, though, unlocking is not a big thing in the US the way it is in Europe. Most unlocked phones sold in the US are from Europe... -- Mark -- http://panda.com/mrc Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed sheep contesting the vote. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 21:42:44 PDT From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist Charges TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to a writer: >> Well, if they did think that either the "terrorists" were stupid or >> the Feds were stupid since TracFone won't work anywhere other than >> in North America and only works where there's a compatible network >> none of which are in Iraq or anywhere else in the Middle East, Asia >> or Europe for that matter. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What you say is true, however the > phones could be used to make anonymous calls between 'terrorists' here > in the USA easily enough. So if 'sleeper cell A' needs to coordinate > its activities with 'sleeper cell B' or if either one of them need to > report to or get more instructions from terrorists in Iraq, that would > make the TracFones rather ideal, wouldn't it? PAT} Well, that can be said for any prepaid service since you are not required to register any of them. If people wish to do nefarious deeds you may make it more difficult for them, but you're not going to stop them. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality Date: 20 Aug 2006 18:46:15 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com John L wrote: > This must be a new neocon definition of "free market". Selling > something below cost to drive out competitors in a competitive market > and making up the losses from your profits in a non-competitive market > is the very definition of a predatory monopoly. It's what led to the > original anti-trust laws being passed over a century ago. The philosophy behind the passage of anti-trust laws a century ago is very different today. We have mega mergers in all sorts of industries that wouldn't have been tolerated years ago. We do not regulate business as we did 100 years ago. Back then "rebates" on railroad shipments were considered wrong, today it's everyday business on airlines. "Sweetheart deals" are perfectly acceptable. Again, the philosophy today products may be priced at whatever the traffic will bear. I don't like some of the business practices that has resulted from that principle, but that's the way it is. As to "predatory", there are numerous examples of big companies using their better economies of scale and logistics to squeeze out competitors. If a big drugstore chain squeezes out a mom 'n pop pharmacy, so it goes. If a huge retailer forces its suppliers to take a very tiny profit supplying it (as opposed to no profit at all and idle factories), so it goes. This happens everyday now. We've had discount airlines kill old companies because they offered seats at a loss. Companies use "loss leaders" all the time to attract customers. All legal. If a company feels it has been slighted, it may take legal action. I object to pre-conditions, which I feel some "net neutrality" efforts are. In other words, if the old line phone companies use their existing economies of scale and existing customer base to build up subscribers to new businesses, that's perfectly fine. That's what everyone else does. > I think you need to read up on natural monopolies. There's a reason > that nobody does cable system overbuilds, even though they're legal > throughout the country. No, not anymore. Public policy today is that a newcomer can come in, if not, too bad. We've been told for years the big evil Bell Companies have a "natural monopoly" and nobody could cut into their guarnateed business. That's a lie. Cable companies laid their own fibre and now often full service; many people no longer have any connection to the classic Bell Companies (the NYT reported on this). So now the old Bell System companies has a ton of obsolete plant and losing business. Why do we need protection from that? Why did Verizon's stock decline to half? Having a "natural monopoly" didn't stop MCI from coming in and skimming off the cream of the Bell System. Where it was too expensive it demanded -- and received -- cheap interconnection. The old "Ma Bell" died in 1983. The myth -- perpetuated to this day in TV ads -- of the big powerful telcos is nonsense. Whoever is running those false TV ads (they keep their name in too fine print to read) is the ones we consumers need to be protected against. [public replies please] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: P.S. on Dial Conversion in the Depression Date: 20 Aug 2006 18:51:13 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I checked the book "Telephone" by John Brooks. It confirmed that dial conversions indeed went on during the Great Depression. Indeed, it was the only thing keeping Western Electric going, otherwise W/E should have had to shut down -- there was simply no demand. The Bell System lost half its traffic after 1931. (Initially traffic was higher as people adjusted to the effects of the changing economy). One controversy was that the Bell System kept up its full dividend even though it had to come from past corporate earnings (surplus) since no new money was being earned. If the dividend had been reduced slightly the money could've been used to keep some of the operators on who were laid off. Of course, there was no traffic for them to handle and was that the Bell System's role -- to create "leaf raking" jobs? Further, how would've the dividend cut affected public confidence and critical future financing needs? ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: City Party Line Service Date: 20 Aug 2006 19:26:17 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Mr Joseph Singer wrote: > ONI (Operator Number Identification) was the norm for anything above a > two-party line at least for the Bell System or at least it was ... Correct. They could get it (ANI) from two-party lines, but nothing higher. The earliest "ANI" was in early long distance where a "checking multiple" was used to confirm the subscriber's number. (I think this was with panel). The operated tested a button and heard a confirmation tone. According to the NYT on this, only two instances of many thousands of calls were incorrect. I suspect it was more. In NYC, panel had meters on subscribers lines for message rate service. These were also done under manual service, but apparently the operator had to press a key to register the call and often forget. Operator timing beyond the 5 minute period was also inconsistent. I'm not sure when and how NYC implemented timing and distance on panel meters (message units), I don't think it was present at the beginning. Distant calls were intercepted by the operator who placed it as a toll call with a ticket. Even then they used some push button consoles. A later ANI was in Los Angeles with their early (1940s) automatic ticketing system for short long-distance toll calls. It was some hairy tech stuff involving electronics added to the SxS exchanges (see Bell Eng & Sci history.) When DDD came out. ONI was needed in a great many places since ANI wasn't that easy to do. I wonder if there was any checking. The modern No. 4 ESS included a link to a TSPS for ONI purposes if ANI wasn't received, such as from 4 party lines. Interesting how modern technology still had to provide backward links to old stuff for compatibility purposes. P.S. NYC converted from 3L to 2L PEN to PE-6 around 1931. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 19:57:12 -0600 From: Anthony Bellanga Reply-To: no-spam@no-spam.no-spam Subject: Re: City Party Line Service ******************************************************************** PAT - DO NOT display my email address anywhere in this post! Thanks. ******************************************************************** bv124@aol.com wrote: > Back in the late '60's and early '70's, in Carbondale, IL (GTE), > we had what was called "suburban" service as we were fifty (50) > feet outside the city limits. This was a ten (10) party line > where each line rang uniquely (no coded ringing.) When you dialed > a toll call (1+), an operator came on the line and asked for the > number you were calling from for billing purposes! > I think it was a SxS office. This type of party line ringing was called "frequency selective" or "harmonic" ringing. Most telcos, especially Bell, have used a standard of 20 Hz for ringing a phone line. However, by using up to five different frequencies for ringing each party on the same side of a multi-party line, you could individually ring the desired party without disturbing any of the others. Also, most party line systems split the line set-up in two "halves". One side of the party line customers have their phones wired "tip to ground", while the other side of the parties have their phones wired "ring to ground". Regardless of the switching equipment (manual, SXS, Panel, XB, ESS, even digital), you can have fully selective ringing on a 2-party line since one party is the "ring to ground" while the other party is the "tip to ground". Bell telcos rarely if ever used harmonic or tuned or frequency ringers. Independent telcos have regularly used them, especially on party line systems of more than 2 or 4 parties, since they frequently set up 10 or even 20 parties on a line in rural areas. It was also possible to have fully selective ringing on a 4-party system by adding "biased" ringing -- i.e., positive bias as well as negative bias, in addition to the tip vs. ring to ground. Thus, you could also have an 8-party system where only two parties at a time would ever hear their bells ring, since you'd only double the number of parties on a fully selective 4-party system. There would be coded ringing in addition to the "bias" as well as the "tip vs. ring to ground". The most common ringing code sets were single ling rings and double short rings. But there have been others. Some manual systems had machine controlled ringing. The operator simply plugged into the desired party and the ringing was controlled automatically. But in other manual systems, especially magneto, the operator either pressed a ringing button, or turned a crank (magnet), and thus could produce almost any combination of possible ringing patterns. Most telcos these days have discontinued party line systems, although some might have grandfathered long time customers under the lower party line rate. However, in today's environment, since telco does not own the customer equipment anymore, it is difficult for telco to make certain that the phones are wired the right way for that particular party. Sometimes the phone company can do the special wiring trick at the demarc box outside the house, thus the customer can have several "standard" wired phones in their house. And with today's plasic electronic phones, it might be impossible for telco to open up that piece of sh** to "re-wire" the phone itself for that particular party line customer. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #308 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Aug 21 21:12:59 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id EFEA8220D; Mon, 21 Aug 2006 21:12:58 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #309 Message-Id: <20060822011258.EFEA8220D@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 21:12:58 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 21 Aug 2006 21:14:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 309 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Campaign Targets Web Crimes Against Kids (Jamie Stengle, AP) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 21, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Verizon Considers News Channel For Long Island (USTelecom dailyLead) What's This Telephone Related Item? (Jim Stewart) P.S. on Dial Conversion in the Depression (earle robinson) Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality (John Levine) Re: Three Texas Men ... on Terrorist Charges (David) Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist (Matt Simpson) Re: Three Texas Men ... on Terrorist Charges (Lisa Hancock) Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist (Joseph Singer) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 13:27:25 -0500 From: Jamie Stengle, AP Subject: Campaign Targets Web Crimes Against Kids By JAMIE STENGLE, Associated Press Writer Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced a new public service campaign Monday that will warn teenage girls against posting information on the Internet that could put them at risk of attack by child predators. "Every day, these predators are looking for someone to hurt," Gonzales said at the 18th annual Crimes Against Children Conference in Dallas. "Every day, we must educate parents and children about the threat." About 2,700 law enforcement officials from around the world are attending the conference, which runs through Thursday. "We want the front line professionals to be able to go back to their communities to protect the children in their communities," Gonzales said. "This conference brings folks together from all parts of the world and gets them talking with each other." A third of this year's 180 workshops are focusing on Internet crime, said Lynn Davis, president and CEO of the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center, which is hosting the conference with the Dallas Police Department. The ad campaign by the Department of Justice, in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Ad Council, will begin running early next year. "It's all part of the ongoing effort to educate the public about this very serious threat," Gonzales said. According to a Justice Department study, one in seven children using the Internet has been sexually solicited and one in three has been exposed to unwanted sexual material. One in 11 has been harassed. The ad campaign is the latest in a series from the Justice Department. One that warned about the dangers online was developed in 2004, giving advice to parents on how to protect their children from Internet predators. A second series of ads released in 2005 warned teen girls about forming online relationships with people they don't know. On the Net: Dallas Children's Advocacy Center: http://www.dcac.org/ Nat'l Center for Missing & Exploited Children : http://www.missingkids.com/ Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 21, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 10:37:50 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For August 21, 2006 ******************************** NTL-Virgin Offers Free Broadband for Mobile Users http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19438?11228 NTL-Virgin has become the latest company to offer ld free broadband in the United ... Euro Carriers Maintain M&A Madness http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19425?11228 It may be the dog days of summer, but there's plenty of M&A activity going on across Europe. Speculation abounds over the future of U.K. Cable operator NTL Group LTD, which is being courted by a bunch of private equity firms. (See Reports: Equity Firms Approach NTL.) The fate of the company will have a lot to do with ... Mexico Opens VoIP Floodgates http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/19424?11228 Mexico's second-largest cable-TV operator, Cablemas S.A. de C.V., disclosed that, back on July 31, it received fixed-telephony licenses covering 13 of Mexico's largest cities -- a licensing landmark that could open the floodgates of competition between cable providers and phone companies in that country, thus threatening the .. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 12:25:25 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Verizon Considers News Channel For Long Island USTelecom dailyLead August 21, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/elrofDtusXaLkCBJEM TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Verizon considers news channel for Long Island BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Three bidders emerge for Verizon's landlines in New England * Level 3 inks deal with MySpace * Analysis: Bell Labs caught in middle in Alcatel-Lucent merger * Comcast's presence in southern Colorado grows via Adelphia acquisition USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Gbps+ Wireless Local Loop: Transforming Last Mile Economics HOT TOPICS * T-Mobile unveils at-home service * Verizon ramps up rewiring effort in NYC * Study: Cable may need to spend billions to compete in broadband * AT&T unveils digital living room package * Nortel to help push VoIP TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Has digital convergence finally arrived? * New telecom technology uses blimps for high-speed data, voice communications REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * DT must open broadband lines, EU says DIVERSIONS * Going to Napa, but Skipping the Vineyards * PC's That Are a Lot Smaller Than a Breadbox * On the Beach but Still on Guard * 'Snakes on a Plane': That's No Seat Belt Around Your Waist * The St.-Tropez of Turkey * Mascot Madness: VW Pulls a Rabbit Out of Its Past * Rocking the Waters on Music Cruises Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/elrofDtusXaLkCBJEM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 13:00:08 -0700 From: Jim Stewart Subject: What's This Telephone Related Item? http://www.grumpyoldgeek.com/PhoneSlug/PhoneSlug.htm I was cleaning out a desk drawer last night and ran across this item. It's about .007" wider and thicker than a US quarter. I can't remember where I got it, but the Princess phone on the back leads me to believe it's payphone related. Anyone want it for their collection (Patrick has first right of refusal)? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A long time ago, pay telephones did not accept money as such; they were operated with 'telephone slugs'; at least the ones in Chicago were. I know if you wanted to use the pay phone at Walgreens for example, Walgreens sold the slugs for five cents each; Illinois Bell redeemed the slugs for four cents each, which is how the merchant made his commission on pay phones in the 1920's. You bought one or more slugs, depending on your needs, and used them in the pay phones. When the collector came around each week or two, he would open the box, dump out the slugs and resell them to the Walgreens clerk at the discounted rate. Since that time (in the 1920's) there have been other occassions where merchants sold slugs for the payphones and telco redeemed them to the merchants. Since you say your example has a 'Princess phone' stamped on it and since it is approximatly the size of a 25-cent coin, my hunch is it may have been used for the phones at one of the world's fair's such as New York back in the 1970's. If you are offering to give it away, yes, I will take it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: earle robinson Subject: P.S. on Dial Conversion in the Depression Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 22:01:23 +0200 (Pat, please mask my email address. Thank you.) Regarding AT&T dividends in the 30s, and until the breakup in 1983, the stock was the ultimate 'widows and orphans' holding. The dividend was sacrosanct. For that reason alone it was virtually impossible ever to reduce the dividend paid. Any violation of this 'rule' would have been as if the government stopped paying interest on treasury bonds. -er ------------------------------ Date: 21 Aug 2006 03:54:56 -0000 From: John Levine Subject: Re: Why I am Opposed to Net Neutrality > The old "Ma Bell" died in 1983. The myth -- perpetuated to this day > in TV ads -- of the big powerful telcos is nonsense. Oh, wow. Can I have some of whatever you've been smoking? R's, John ------------------------------ Reply-To: David From: David Subject: Re: Three Texas Men ... on Terrorist Charges Organization: SBC http://yahoo.sbc.com Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 14:36:05 GMT DLR wrote in message news:telecom25.308.3@telecom-digest.org: >> Where will it end? >> The US seems well on the way to the old Czarist model, where >> _everything_ was _forbidden_ unless explicitly allowed by the >> authorities. > Prior to 1960 or so, you could buy an amazing collection of things > from the drug store. Somewhere I have a book from the 50s on the hobby > of rocket design. It contains some interesting mixes for fueling > rockets. And this was not Estes, this was the real McCoy. And if you > paid attention in high school chemistry and did a little > experimenting, you could make some really big bangs. Pipe bombs were > easy. Then (and I don't know all the reasons for sure) with the > radical bombings and such plus a general "is this really a smart > things to be selling" they gradually withdrew such things. Plus some > laws were passed. > Now buying saltpeter, magnesium, mercury, etc ... it a wee bit harder. > Where should we set the limits? (snip) I remember those days. You could even buy nitric and sulfuric acid at the drugstore and nearly anything else you wanted from mail order chemical companies. Those days are gone along with chemistry sets. What really disturbs me is the removal of some very useful things from the market because of the litigious society we live in. Today I can not even buy a torsion spring for my garage door as the lawyers have made the liability risk for the seller just too great. David ------------------------------ From: Matt Simpson Subject: Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist Charges Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 10:05:01 -0400 In article , nospam4me@mytrashmail.com (Herb Oxley) wrote: > Now in the case of the 3 guys who got busted Uncle Sam is going to > have to prove they knew what the phones were going to be used for. Not necessarily. The Bush Supreme Court seems to be ruling that Uncle Sam doesn't have to prove anything any more. They can declare them "enemy combatants" and lock them up indefinitely, no evidence, no charges, no lawyers, no trials. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And to many of the Brave and Courageous Police Officers of America, those would seem to be ideal conditions. I mean, having to find evidence and truth, when innuendo and lies are much easier to come by and work with is a real nuisance. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Three Texas Men ... on Terrorist Charges Date: 21 Aug 2006 12:31:21 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com DLR wrote: > Prior to 1960 or so, you could buy an amazing collection of things > from the drug store. ... they gradually withdrew such things. Plus some > laws were passed. Often new products came out that were (and are) perfectly legal but after experience in the marketplace we realize they are dangerous and they are pulled. This has been an ongoing process for the last 100 years. Conversely, some products once thought dangerous are now sold everywhere (such as contraceptives). The military had trouble with moralists in WW II in giving out contraceptives but they were critical to control the spread of VD which could ruin an army if unchecked. The sale of alcoholic beverages varies greatly from state to state, some states or localities are very restrictive, others are wide open. I recall an anti-nausea medication, Paregoric, that was OTC years ago but now is a controlled prescription as an example. I think nowadays some raw materials to make "speed" (meth) are restricted. > Where should we set the limits? This is been a long ongoing debate in society about balancing protection against availability about many different products and services. We see that now on the 'net; some ISPs restrict the number of postings to control against spam. Is that fair? A good idea? I find it annoying if I'm in a prolific mood, but I can see the point of it. We will undoubtedly have to deal with more controls. As an aside, keeping to telecom issues: What does the telephone company require today to establish land line phone service? Suppose I refuse to provide a social security number and want to use a name for which no credit record exists -- but am willing to put down a large cash deposit in advance. I can understand their need for credit safety, but I pay them in advance that is not an issue. (Which is how things were done in the old days -- cash deposits for unknowns). Will they still give me service or require verifiable background if I "don't exist"? How does a kid getting his first phone get service -- how does a kid prove who he is? (Kids today must have an SSN after birth and that can prove age. I think today schools give out photo IDs which are required by govt agencies to get a driver's license.) BOTH government and the private sector do not like dealing with anonymity. They want audit trails and verified names of customers even when paying cash. I opened a storage locker and they demanded a lot of official ID even though I paid in advance. Kind of irked me. If you apply for a job today, they'll run a credit check on you. BTW, can you still make toll coin calls from a payphone? They don't seem to accept coins anymore. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Answering the last part first ... many pay telephones no longer accept money; you are required to provide either third-party or some other kind of special billing (i.e. calling card) number. Now one might think telco would at least reduce the cost of those calls to what the coin-deposit-paid-in-advance rate would be under those circumstances (no coins accepted after dark for example) but telco says no, cannot give those types of discounted rates. In the past, if telco's customers were imposed upon for reasosn not their own fault, customers were given the least expensive (i.e. direct dialed) rate. Telco claims they made that adjustment to the pay phone at the request of the phone's owner or by 'community demand' (which generally means the police or some other big-shot politician in the community requested it.) If you inquire further, of the 'community' as to why they had this done, answers will range from 'drug dealers hanging around that phone' (such as parking lot at 7/Eleven, Walmart store, etc) to the more contemporary catch-all 'terrorists'; in any event, where a 25 cent coin is never going to provide an audit trail; third-party or other special billing will _always_ tell you who did what, and when. In Chicago, for example, many payphones in inner-city neighborhoods have been set for 'no coins after dark' for several years, mainly on account of drug dealers, but 'terrorists' has become much more common in the past four or five years. Those same no-coins-after-dark payphones also are blacklisted by telco security against overseas calling with calling cards, depending on your voice accent, color of skin, and destination of your call. Of course, telco won't tell you the real reasons your calling card is not accepted; do you think they are fools standing there waiting to get sued for discriminatory practices? If you _really push hard_ for an answer as to why your telco-issued calling card cannot be used to call from a blacklisted payphone (most all of them) to Nigeria, Iraq, Iran, most any _non-English_ speaking country in the world, then the operator has been trained to lie to you claiming 'our (name of telco) credit card is not accepted by the (name of telco) in that country.' When that happened to me once and I got that lie recited to me by the operator, I told her I was attempting to make a PAID call ... what the other country did or did not wish to do with a USA-issued calling card would have nothing to do with it. Her supervisor told me that not only were coins-after-dark not an acceptable (i.e. traceable) method of payment, but even usually traceable methods of payment (calling card, etc) were unacceptable to 'that country' because of the high incidence of fraud. Nor, it seems were cellular phones acceptable for those international calls. The _only_ way calls to those 'high fraud' and or 'high risk of terrorism' countries could be made was from a _fixed_ landline phone (where the telco pair in use could be firmly identified later as needed.) I resisted the impulse of asking her what about in cases like inner city Chicago where your 'pair' itself is an open-ended multiple in every apartment building up and down the alley behind your house ... she probably would have had another story to tell me in that case. Now regards the other part of your letter, children or other 'first-time users' of telco; how do they get service, etc? Well Lisa, I remember quite well, as you must, in the 1950-60's when you called the business office to get a phone installed, the 'telephone man' came out the same day or the next morning at latest, put it in and turned it on. There were no questions asked; there were no credit limits set; that was your business. And although they appreciated getting payment within a few days of when they mailed your bill, nothing was said until at least two months went by; then an inquiry was made. There were _never_ any inquiries made at the credit bureau, nor were any reports made to the bureaus. Telco worked exclusively from its own internal records. If they had no record, or the record said something negative, then they _might_ ask you for the first month in advance to get service turned on. Or maybe not ... and there certainly was no inquiry ever made about your social security number. But if a child's parents had been telco customers for some period of time, that was considered good enough for telco. Would you believe I have _never_ been asked to pay a deposit (either for first month of service or to keep in escrow) by telco until a few years ago. That is because when my first phone was installed in 1960-61 or thereabouts, the fact that my parents had had phone service for thirty years prior to that was considered 'good enough'. Now the other day, I decided to call AT&T to inquire about some sort of promotional deal I got in the mail; they refused to discuss it at all until they had my street address and social security number which I refused to give them. I guess things are changing a lot. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 17:12:37 PDT From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist Charges Mark Crispin Sat, 19 Aug 2006 19:50:09 -0700 wrote: > TracFones are GSM, TDMA, or CDMA depending upon the region. Even if > the GSM phones are GSM 850/1900, that's still useful elsewhere in the > Americas once the phone is unlocked (note that TracFone itself is a > subsidiary of America Movil, a Latin America mobile phone company). TracFones whether GSM, CDMA or IS-136 "TDMA" all have special unique firmware in the handset that debits the account rather than as in traditional prepaid where all the account debiting is done in the operator's billing system. This is why some older TracFones do not debit for incoming text messages while the newer models do. The only way you can use handsets that were for Net10 or TracFone outside of their systems is if you have them reflashed with generic non-Net10 or TracFone specific firmware. Even though TracFone has GSM in many places you cannot take a regular SIM and insert it into a TracFone even if the SIM "subsidy" lock is defeated. In other groups it has been discussed and some think that you cannot even use a Net10 or TracFone handset interchangeably even though they both use the same handset-based debiting/charging system. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #309 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Aug 22 15:52:37 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 3661E21FB; Tue, 22 Aug 2006 15:52:37 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #310 Message-Id: <20060822195237.3661E21FB@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 15:52:37 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 22 Aug 2006 15:55:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 310 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Verizon Pockets New DSL Fee Instead of Government (Reuters News Wire) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 22, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Cisco Buys Arroyo (USTelecom dailyLead) Cellular Roaming Tariffs (rbc310@gmail.com) Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist (Mark Crispin) Re: Three Texas Men ... on Terrorist Charges (Lis Hancock) Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force (DLR) Re: What's This Telephone Related Item? (Lisa Hancock) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 13:28:34 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Verizon Pockets New DSL Fee Instead of Government Verizon Communications has decided to pocket most of the savings from the cancellation of a government surcharge on digital subscriber lines, despite calls from consumer groups to pass on the savings on to users. Verizon, one of the biggest U.S. telecoms companies, used to charge DSL customers a monthly fee of $1.25 or $2.83, depending on connection speeds, for a government fund to help bring service to lower-income and rural areas. The government stopped charging that fee on August 14, but Verizon will instead impose a new monthly surcharge of $1.20 or $2.70, beginning August 26, which it said was to help subsidize connection costs. "There's a lot of cost associated with the service and this is a way we've elected to recover a portion of that cost," said Verizon spokeswoman Bobbi Henson on Tuesday. By introducing the new surcharge as the previous fee ended, Verizon hoped to minimize the impact on customers, she said. But consumer groups like the Consumer Federation of America said DSL customers should not have to pay a new fee. "They charge so much for that already. The simple fact is they have market power," said Mark Cooper, an official at the Consumer Federation of America. Verizon's latest earnings report in August showed it had a total 6.1 million broadband customers, although 375,000 were connected to its more advanced fiber-optic network called FiOS. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 22, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 12:04:00 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For August 22, 2006 ******************************** Comcast Denies Need for Major Upgrade http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/19458?11228 Comcast chief financial officer John Alchin has disputed recent industry speculation that it needs to undertake a major network upgrade to keep up with the likes of AT&T and Verizon, both of which are investing billions of U.S. dollars in FTTx roll-out. Alchin said that technologies such as digital simulcast or switched video would ... Billing for Bundles: The Once and Future King http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19456?11228 ONCE UPON A TIME, resellers were singleline businesses, rebilling long-distance, say, or local services. Customer service and price were the differentiators. Now, this market segment has branched out to take on new services, both to mitigate the risk of being a one-trick pony, but also to compete for customers who increasingly want ... Nortel Continues 3G Push http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/19453?11228 Nortel is moving full-speed ahead with its involvement in the push for 3G services in the wireless sector. Its most recent contract win is out of Paris with Bouygues Telecom. Bouygues has relied on Nortel through the years, starting with its GSM rollout and through its move to EDGE. The operator is now turning to Nortel to power ... Communications Cops Investigate VoIP E911 Concerns http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19450?11228 Using the somewhat sexy moniker 'Project 41', the Association of Public-Safety Communications officials (APCO) International has launched a project to solve the public-safety problems created by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. The charter of Project 41, APCO says, is to 'address the impact upon ... RIM's 'Stealth' to Uncloak? http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/19447?11228 Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) could be gearing up to unveil its hotly anticipated 'prosumer' smartphone early in September, according to analysts. The Canadian company sent out a note this morning inviting journalists to an 'exclusive BlackBerry press event' in London on September 6 with a number of... Achtung! Regulators Force DT to Share http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/19444?11228 Deutsche Telekom AG will be forced to play nice and share its broadband network with competitors, after the European Commission upheld a ruling by German regulator BNetzA that the incumbent holds too dominant a position in the market. The Commission approved BNetzA's decision to require Deutsche Telekom to offer local ... IPTV Will Drive Future of DSL IC Chipset Market http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/19441?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- While data and VoIP continue to drive the DSL IC chipset market, and will account for the bulk of port shipments through 2010, the delivery of IPTV capability is the wave of the future, reports In-Stat. Carriers worldwide are using ADSL2+ and VDSL2 as they upgrade their networks to deliver television and video ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 12:59:49 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Cisco Buys Arroyo USTelecom dailyLead August 22, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/emakfDtusXaRavNXUn TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Cisco buys Arroyo BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Lauer to leave Sprint Nextel * Verizon, BellSouth to add new surcharge to DSL bills * PCCW's wireless broadband service struggles in U.K. * Pipex to launch first U.K. WiMAX service in Milton Keynes USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Learn more about Next Generation Wireless Applications TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Analysts: WiMAX making gains, but mass market deployment a ways off REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * FTC Chief: No need for Net neutrality laws * T-Mobile leads bidding in spectrum auction DIVERSIONS * Web Surfing in Public Places Is a Way to Court Trouble * In and Around Times Square * Renting Movies With a Box and a Beam * Take My Nest Egg. Please. * Now the Music Industry Wants Guitarists to Stop Sharing * Broadway's Touring Shows Find Seats Harder to Sell Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/emakfDtusXaRavNXUn ------------------------------ From: rbc310@gmail.com Subject: Cellular Roaming Tariffs Date: 22 Aug 2006 09:48:08 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Can anyone direct me to a PUC tariff on inter-carrier cellular roaming charges? I'm looking for a tariff detailing the charges that Carrier A would charge to Carrier B if Carrier A originates a call from a roaming customer of Carrier B. Essentially, the CABS of wireless. Thank you. ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist Charges Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 18:29:25 -0700 Organization: Networks & Distributed Computing On Mon, 21 Aug 2006, Mr Joseph Singer wrote: > The only way you can use handsets that were for Net10 or TracFone > outside of their systems is if you have them reflashed with generic > non-Net10 or TracFone specific firmware. Why would that be a problem? Is there some reason that makes these phones particularly difficult to reflash? Reflashing is trivial on most other phones. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. Si vis pacem, para bellum. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Three Texas Men ... on Terrorist Charges Date: 22 Aug 2006 10:16:00 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: > Now regards the other part of your letter, children or other > 'first-time users' of telco; how do they get service, etc? Well Lisa, > I remember quite well, as you must, in the 1950-60's when you called > the business office to get a phone installed, the 'telephone man' came > out the same day or the next morning at latest, put it in and turned > it on. There were no questions asked; there were no credit limits set; > that was your business. In Philadelphia (and I think NYC) new customers had to put in a deposit for several months. When I got my own phone line in my parents' house, they gave me a choice of being on my parents' bill immediately or giving them a deposit for an account in my name. I wanted to my account and some privacy so I paid a deposit. I got it back after four months. It may have had interest. (As an aside, their check was still in the old Bell System logo and was pretty fancy. I wish I made a photocopy of it.) As an aside, they used the yellow-black wires for my line. These were once used for Trimline lights by the former owner but we didn't have any Trimlines. I got basic black hard wired. Modular came out a few years later. I don't blame them for this policy since utilities get badly burned by deadbeats. The "progressives" feel sorry for the poor and force difficult procedures before service is cut off for any utility. The reality is that many people take full advtg of this and cheat the companies. The Philadelphia Gas Works, being city owned and subject to extensive pressure, had an extremely liberal disconnect policy and as a result a huge deadbeat load. Finally pressure from other quarters--the people who actually paid the bills--forced a change. From time to time there's a fatal house fire from candles or stoves where the electric is cut off for non payment, and the "cruel" electric company is blamed, not the people who failed to pay the bill. For whatever reasons, these pressures seem to be more of a city problem. In the suburbs, the attitude is different. > Now the other day, I decided to call AT&T to inquire about some sort > of promotional deal I got in the mail; they refused to discuss it at > all until they had my street address and social security number which > I refused to give them. I guess things are changing a lot. PAT] Part of this is to protect the company, part of it is to protect us from identity theft. What irks me is that corporate American's never ending battle to sell us more stuff is responsible for identity theft, such as giving instant credit in stores and issuing credit cards like crazy. Further, most businesses are national chains with processing centralized, so there is no local controls or knowing the person. I checked the requirements for a 16 y/o to get their first driver's license. They are required to bring in a variety of documents, but one of which must be a photo ID. A school transcript is not enough, this is in addition to that. I guess all schools issue photo IDs now, my public high school sure as heck didn't have the money for that. Our computer generated class schedule card served as our ID card. 'Course we didn't have metal detectors or cameras in public schools then either. Do all schools give kids photo ID these days? Cops sometimes stop pedestrians for suspicious activities, such as taking pictures. I wonder what would happen if someone didn't have a driver's license or state ID, but had other ID, like an employer's card, library card, etc. I wish I had the resources to test the system, but I don't and lawyers are expensive. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 06:07:58 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com: >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Actually, the 'Great Depression' is >> normally dated as the last three months of 1929, along with 1930-33. >> I do not think Bell did any central office conversions during that >> time period, or very few of them. Chicago did not start converting >> until 1939, after the depression, when our country was well on the >> way toward recovery (which generally means a war is going on). Many >> of the conversions occurred in the late 1940's and throughout the >> 1950's, and as we know, those were much better times financially for >> almost everyone. PAT] > Generally, the Depression is started by be the fall of 1929 until about > 1939-40. Although the big stock market crash is generally accepted to > the be the start, for some people hard times started much earlier and > later for others. Hard times continued until to about 1940 when > defense spending perked up. There was some natural economic growth in > 1939. There was a slight recovery in 1936-7, but then FDR cut the > budget back and the economy fell down again. [snip] > Someone else mentioned 25% unemployment even in 1941. That is too > high. 20-%25% was about the worst the country had (except in some > especially hard hit areas like the Dust Bowl), but other places > weren't quite as hard hit. By 1939 it was down to about 15%. That's > still very high but not quite as bad. It varied quite a bit by region > and industry. There were some nasty strikes in the late 1930s that > pushed up wages which allowed workers to have more money than mere > sustenance. It was me. I know I have heard those numbers so I started digging. I guess a lot of these records have never been posted on the internet. :) Did they define unemployment then as they do now? For a long time now you only count if you are looking for work. Surveys are now done by phone. In the 30s I wonder what methods were used. And to be honest I'll bet the rates in NYC and Chicago were different in many ways than where I grew up outside of the small city (remote from almost anywhere) of Paducah. Lots of folks were working in the 30s but not making much money. My dad's high school class was very small due to most of the kids dropping out way before they turned 16 to go to work to help the family out. But here's what I've found so far. A table I found that was supposed to be based on government labor stats had 10,390,000 unemployed in 1938, 9,480,000 in 1939, 8,120,000 in 1940, and 5,560,000 in 1941. This translates into unemployment rates of 19.9%, 17.1%, 14.5%, and 9.%. But these numbers are skewed for due to WWI, the US started ramping up aircraft production about this time. As best I can tell B17 production alone in 38 and 39 accounted for 2000 assembly jobs plus all the indirect supplier jobs, grocery store, clothing stores, etc ... And there were a lot of other plans being produced in larger numbers. On 12/7/41 we had 4 fully equipped carriers in the Pacific plus more under construction. And a deployed carrier, even in 1941, represented a huge number of jobs. Both in crew, support, and just building it and the planes. Plus we were shipping planes to England and France in 1938, 1939, and 1940. (We lost over 100 carrier planes when France fell and they were interred for the duration of the war.) Then add in that nearly 1,000,000 men were drafted (army only?) in 1941. So the question I have is how of the recovery was without war and pre-war spending? Any? I know life was tough for my dad's farm family. He was born in 1925 and says the ONLY reason the had food was that they had a slaughter house operation saw mill and were big enough to be able to supply schools and such and not be dependent on the local farmers markets. And he talks about a life that was closer to little house on the prairie than 1960. Here's the stats I have. Plus now I'm interested enough to try and find out what the increased pre-war spending did for the economy. So I get to dig deeper. Year Pop Labor Force LF % Unemployed Rate 1929 88,010,000 49,440,000 56.18% 1,550,000 3.14 1930 89,550,000 50,080,000 55.92% 4,340,000 8.67 1931 90,710,000 50,680,000 55.87% 8,020,000 15.82 1932 91,810,000 51,250,000 55.82% 12,060,000 23.53 1933 92,950,000 51,840,000 55.77% 12,830,000 24.75 1934 94,190,000 52,490,000 55.73% 11,340,000 21.60 1935 95,460,000 53,140,000 55.67% 10,610,000 19.97 1936 96,700,000 53,740,000 55.57% 9,030,000 16.80 1937 97,870,000 54,320,000 55.50% 7,700,000 14.18 1938 99,120,000 54,950,000 55.44% 10,390,000 18.91 1939 100,360,000 55,600,000 55.40% 9,480,000 17.05 1940 101,560,000 56,180,000 55.32% 8,120,000 14.45 1941 102,700,000 57,530,000 56.02% 5,560,000 9.66 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Regards food to eat during the depression years, my father was born in 1922 and my mother was born in 1924, and they both migrated to Coffeyville, KS in their childhood years. My mother pointed out that in the 1930-40 time period, she could come home from the grocery store with two or three _large_ bags of groceries for five dollars. Of course, many guys did not have the five dollars. One reason there were few -- if any -- 'help wanted' ads in newspapers was because almost instantly upon a job becoming available, 'word' got around and someone would walk in off the street and ask for it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: What's This Telephone Related Item? Date: 22 Aug 2006 10:22:45 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to Jim Stewart: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A long time ago, pay telephones did not > accept money as such; they were operated with 'telephone slugs'; at > least the ones in Chicago were. I'm not sure that's a pay phone token. I thought tokens were discontinued way way back when Gray's 3-slot phones came out that could take any demonination deposit via 5c, 10c, and 25c coins. Anyway, on this item the phone appears to be a Trimline, not a Princess, and it appears the date is 198?. There is no Bell System marking at all. Usually tokens had some marking to indicate their value, ie "good for one city fare" or "good for one phone call". Some systems issued multiple tokens, such as one for local buses and one for expresses or special services. The LIRR used to issue this huge medallion sized token for Belmont Racetrack trains. Phila has adult tokens and school fare tokens. Tokens are being phased out for mag cards. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Walgreens used pay phone slugs until sometime in the 1920's, and the Woolworth and Kresge Five and Ten Cent Stores (today, we know Kresge 5-10 as 'K-Mart') through about the same time, however the one of the two Woolworth stores in downtown Chicago had Gray Pay Station Company phones and phone booths until sometime in the 1960's (although long since taken over by Illinois Bell, via the Chicago Telephone Company), and they were the two-piece instruments with a piece you held up to your ear (brown cloth, not metal and not armored cord) in one hand while you leaned forward to speak into the microphone mouthpiece. I think maybe those were removed by 1960; I cannot honestly remember them after that time, but I remember quite well as an adolescent child going 'downtown' and being fascinated by using those things (1952-54?), but at that time we paid by inserting one dime or two nickles (one nickle alone no longer worked, as the sign on the wall of the phone booth reminded us). Do you remember when nearby the phone booths there would always be a table with phone directories mounted on it, and a seat with a small reading lamp where you could sit to locate the number you were trying to call? And of course the phone booths themselves were made out of rather elegant wood with a nice brown-stained finish; they all had the little domed ceiling lights, the 'accordion doors with glass in the front which would slide open or closed (turning on the overhead light and the little ceiling fan inside, and the sign on the front of each one announcing 'Public Telephone'. When my uncle had his Walgreen Agency Drug Store in Whiting in the middle 1950's the store payphone near the front door was similar to those, but the booth had a Genuine Bell style phone in it rather than a Gray Pay Station instrument. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #310 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Aug 23 16:21:59 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 4360621CF; Wed, 23 Aug 2006 16:21:59 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #311 Message-Id: <20060823202159.4360621CF@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 16:21:59 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Wed, 23 Aug 2006 16:23:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 311 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson AT&T Sues Data Brokers For Stolen Customer Records (Reuters News Wire) NSDI '07 Call For Papers (Lionel Garth Jones) The SIM Card Turns Fifteen (Mr Joseph Singer) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 23, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) BT Places Bet on Broadband Video (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: What's This Telephone Related Item? (Lisa Hancock) Re: What's This Telephone Related Item? (Mr Joseph Singer) Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist (Joseph Singer) Re: Cellular Roaming Tariffs (Lisa Hancock) Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force (Lisa Hancock) Re: Verizon Re: Clueless Hollywood (jared) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 14:30:18 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: AT&T Sues Data Brokers For Stolen Customer Records AT&T Inc. on Wednesday sued 25 unnamed data brokers, accusing them of fraudulently gaining access to about 2,500 customers' calling records. The lawsuit, filed in a U.S. District Court division in San Antonio, said the "John Doe" defendants often collected information for use in legal or domestic disputes. AT&T said they used a method known as "pretexting," or setting up online accounts by using identification data such as Social Security numbers. Through the online accounts, the brokers obtained access to customer information, including calling records. No driver's license numbers or sensitive financial data were accessible, the company said. AT&T said the lawsuit was a step toward identifying the perpetrators by using e-mail addresses and Internet Protocol addresses and to seek damages. The company said it had already contacted customers who may have been affected and had taken steps to prevent such violations. "This affects only a tiny fraction of our customers," AT&T Chief Privacy Officer Priscilla Hill-Ardoin said in a statement. "But we will pursue this on behalf of our customers to the end." Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headlines and news each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This is really a good example of Brass Bedsprings, isn't it? AT&T self-righteously plans to sue for the invasion of 'privacy'; yet the company is being sued by members of the public for the very same thing regards turning over its records to Homeland Security, which _they_ feel is just fine. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 08:49:32 -0700 From: Lionel Garth Jones Subject: NSDI '07 Call For Papers Call For Papers: 4th Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation (NSDI '07) April 11-13, 2007 Cambridge, MA, USA http://www.usenix.org/nsdi07/cfpa Sponsored by USENIX, in cooperation with ACM SIGCOMM and ACM SIGOPS Submissions Deadline: October 2, 2006 The final Call for Papers for the 4th Symposium on Networked Systems Design & Implementation (NSDI '07) is now available. The program committee seeks a broad variety of work that furthers the knowledge and understanding of the networked systems community as a whole, continues a significant research dialog, or pushes the architectural boundaries of large-scale network services. We solicit papers describing original and previously unpublished research. Paper titles and abstracts due October 2, 2006, 11:59 p.m. GMT. NSDI '07 will take place April 11-13, 2007, in Cambridge, MA. For topics of interest and submission guidelines, see http://www.usenix.org/nsdi07/cfpa/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 16:10:38 PDT From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: The SIM Card Turns Fifteen No other smart card has taken the world by storm the way the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) has. Since it was introduced on the market 15 years ago, the SIM card has seen its power and performance soar. At first, it "merely" served security and personalization functions in GSM networks. Today, it turns mobile phones into versatile, secure terminals for wireless customers. Munich technology group Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) is celebrating a special anniversary. It was 15 years ago that the first commercial SIM cards were delivered to Finnish mobile communications corporation Elisa, at that time still known as Radiolinja. In its initial stages of development, the SIM card was intended to make mobile telephony in GSM networks as secure as talking on the phone of a fixed-line network. To accomplish that, it was designed to clearly establish the identity of wireless customers in order to prevent mobile networks from being abused. Additionally, it was meant to safeguard the confidentiality of user data. Its second key feature was its flexibility. Whenever customers changed phones, the SIM card could simply be transferred to the new handset. http://www.cellular-news.com/story/18932.php ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 23, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:14:20 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For August 23, 2006 ******************************** Iliad Launches Flat-Rate Broadband, Telephone Service in France http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19486?11228 French consumer broadband provider Iliad has launched a flat-rate product, offering customers a bundle of telephone and broadband internet services for a flat fee of 29.99 euro (US$38.45) per month. Under the service, which will add to growing competition in the French broadband market, customers-whether using Iliad's unbundled local ... Man Overboard!: Five Early Warning Signs that a Telecom Customer May Be About to Jump Ship http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19482?11228 HOW DOES A TELECOM KNOW if a customer is about to leave for the competition? Measure-X, a Phoenix-based company that specializes in helping telephone companies improve their customer service and sales, has identified five early warning signs that indicate a customer is about to jump ship. Squeaky Wheel. The most obvious sign of an ... Vizrea Focuses on Camera Phone Users http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/19478?11228 Camera phone photos tend to be fleeting -- snapped today, forgotten tomorrow. But as image quality improves and usage increases, camera phone users are becoming more concerned about saving, sharing and organizing their pictures. Seattle-based startup Vizrea sees an emerging opportunity in the legions of camera phone fans fretting about ... Lenovo Embeds Cingular into ThinkPad http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/19473?11228 Cingular Wireless is making further inroads in its effort to promote the use of high-speed wireless services on notebook computers. The latest: the carrier announced Lenovo has embedded its UMTS/HSDPA-based technology into its ThinkPad T60 notebook. The notebook marks the first time Lenovo has built Cingular's high-speed ... NENA Urges FCC To Heed Cyren Call's Spectrum Plan http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/19471?11228 The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) this week urged U.S. federal policymakers to start immediate proceedings and to seriously consider a proposal made earlier this year for a national shared commercial/public-safety communications network using 30 megahertz of spectrum currently scheduled to be auctioned by the Federal... Could CDMA Hurt Alcatel Lucent? http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19468?11228 Another analyst has come out swinging against the merger of Alcatel and Lucent Technologies Inc., this time criticizing the companies' combined product lineup and the potential decline of Lucent's CDMA franchise. Analyst Joe Chiasson of Susquehanna Financial Group voiced his concerns in a note issued this morning. ... AT&T: Hold the MoCA http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/19466?11228 AT&T today made it official that HomePNA version 3 will be its choice technology for in-home networking to support its fiber-fed U-verse data and television services, and its copper-fed AT&T Yahoo DSL high-speed Internet service. This is noteworthy because AT&T was using MoCA, the technology developed to allow ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:39:11 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: BT Places Bet on Broadband Video USTelecom dailyLead August 23, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/emksfDtusXaXusbjSu TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * BT places bet on broadband video BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Analysis: Sprint Nextel faces uphill climb * Sony buys video-sharing site Grouper for $65 million * Lenovo, Cingular announce laptop for Cingular's BroadbandConnect service * Verizon Business implements IP-based system for call center services USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Gbps+ Wireless Local Loop: Transforming Last Mile Economics TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * European carriers to rely on xDSL for triple play REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Supreme Court justice lets EchoStar ruling stand * Pennsylvania House Committee holds video franchising hearing * AT&T lands Hawaii contract worth $250M DIVERSIONS * Fired or Quit, Tom Cruise Parts Ways With Studio * Denver * Logging On for Love, Tuning Out the Realities * College-Town Real Estate: The Next Big Niche? * Joining the Tycoons at a Black Sea Playground in Crimea * Pigskin to Thin Skin to Skin Alive Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/emksfDtusXaXusbjSu ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: What's This Telephone Related Item? Date: 22 Aug 2006 13:35:27 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to writer: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The one of the two Woolworth stores > in downtown Chicago had Gray Pay Station Company phones and phone > booths until sometime in the 1960's (although long since taken over > by Illinois Bell, via the Chicago Telephone Company), and they were > the two-piece instruments with a piece you held up to your ear > (brown cloth, not metal and not armored cord) in one hand while you > leaned forward to speak into the microphone mouthpiece. I think > maybe those were removed by 1960; Many two-piece phones remained in service in the 1950s, especially in coin service. Old B&W TV shows made in the 1950s showed them in regular use. I'm told, however, that the transmitter and receiver elements were actually modern "F" units, not the original types. The sound quality was noticeably better on F units. Someone says the voltage changed as well from early systems. Note too that the 202 type "French Telephone" were replaced with F handsets instead of the E model for the same reason. Pay phones with the mounted transmitter were simpler since sound induction to that transmitter carried the coin drop bell sounds. The later models required a separate tiny microphone near the bells to transmit the signal. "F" units were from the 302 series telephone sets. "G" units were from the 500 sets. I don't know about H, I, or J, but K units were used in modern sets where the handset ends are somewhat squared off instead of circular, including late Western Electric units. K and G are not compatible. > Do you remember when nearby the phone booths there would always be a > table with phone directories mounted on it, and a seat with a small > reading lamp where you could sit to locate the number you were trying > to call? And of course the phone booths themselves were made out of > rather elegant wood with a nice brown-stained finish; they all had > the little domed ceiling lights, the 'accordion doors with glass in > the front which would slide open or closed (turning on the overhead > light and the little ceiling fan inside, and the sign on the front of > each one announcing 'Public Telephone'. And you could turn the vent fan on or off to suit your needs. They almost always had a phone book nearby; large banks had a block of directories. Sadly, most of those old booths are gone, replaced by nothing or wall mounted phones. A very busy place, like a main train station, had a telephone service center with an attendant and switchboard to assist you in person. Some newer 1960ish buildings had modern sit down booths made of circular glass or other designs, newer 1970ish buildings just had wall mounted phones in an enclosure. It varied; even in the old days some phones were simply mounted without any enclosure. Some years ago I visited a former employer and the lobby of the building once held a bank of such phone booths--the chair, table, fan, door, etc. I needed to use a pay phone but the bank was completely gone. The lobby had no pay phone at all! I was directed to another building across the street where I found a wall mounted phone (no enclosure at all) in a narrow back hall. There was another phone and some loud talker was on it. His voice echoed badly throughout the narrow hall and I couldn't hear a thing on my call. What angered me was that phone booths were supplied for a reason! It was to give the caller some privacy and ability to hear (esp in the days when telephones weren't so good. Sadly, even in the 1960s vandalism and sleaze took its toll and new installations tended to be free standing or acoustical surrounding only, not a full booth. Some places had a row of pay phones without any separation whatsoever which was absurb for acoustics. Some train stations have phones subsidized by the carrier so as to provide a 911 emergency service. This is probably cheaper than providing merely an emergency call box, at least the pay phone might generate some revenue to cover its cost even nowadays. > When my uncle had his Walgreen Agency Drug Store in Whiting in the > middle 1950's the store payphone near the front door was similar to > those, but the booth had a Genuine Bell style phone in it rather than > a Gray Pay Station instrument. The Bell 3-slot phone was based on the Gray design and Gray built a great many for Bell under Bell specs. At the rate things are going pay phones will be gone eventually. One factor is everyone having a cell phone. Another factor is that local calls are cheap people will let you use their business lines; years ago that'd be too costly. Years ago employees were forbidden from using employer lines for personal calls, an edict strictly enforced. In those days large workplaces often had payphones on every floor as well as banks in the lobby. Today the lobbies of fancy businesses have house phones offering free local calls. Of course the telcos by charging exhorbitant rates for pay phone toll calls pushed away a lot of this business. A payphone won't take a real long distance coin call but charge a huge amount $25.00 on a credit card. An regional toll call, which they still carry, runs a dollar or more for a 10 mile call for 1 minute. (Some Bell payphones in Pennsylvania Station NYC offer within-state per minute calls). ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 15:11:34 PDT From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: Re: What's This Telephone Related Item? Mon, 21 Aug 2006 13:00:08 -0700 Jim Stewart wrote: > http://www.grumpyoldgeek.com/PhoneSlug/PhoneSlug.htm > I was cleaning out a desk drawer last night and ran across this > item. It's about .007" wider and thicker than a US quarter. I > can't remember where I got it, but the Princess phone on the back > leads me to believe it's payphone related. It's not payphone related at least not for the US. I've seen and used such a token when I was at a gym with a pay metered tanning booth. The token looked exactly as the one you have illustrated. That said many countries did use tokens in their public pay telephones. In Israel for years they used tokens. Part of the reason for keeping on using tokens is if your currency is unstable all you have to do is to raise the price of tokens (typically obtained at the "post office" or at kiosks.) During times of inflation it's almost impossible to find tokens since people hord them knowing that because inflation is so rapid it's a "hedge" against inflation since tokens will increase in price as inflation happens. With that system in place it's not even necessary for the telephone company to increase debiting for calls since the cost of tokens has increased. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 15:19:38 PDT From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist Charges Mark Crispin Mon, 21 Aug 2006 18:29:25 -0700 wrote: > The only way you can use handsets that were for Net10 or TracFone > outside of their systems is if you have them reflashed with generic > non-Net10 or TracFone specific firmware. > Why would that be a problem? Is there some reason that makes these > phones particularly difficult to reflash? Reflashing is trivial on > most other phones. You said it yourself. Reflashing is trivial on most *other* phones. From what I understand reflashing Motorola is fairly easy. It's not so for Nokia unless you have invested in the specialized equipment, dongles, clips etc. to do it. Considering the value of the typical phones used for TracFone or Net10 it's a lot of work for little profit. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Cellular Roaming Tariffs Date: 22 Aug 2006 13:40:59 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com rbc310@gmail.com wrote: > Can anyone direct me to a PUC tariff on inter-carrier cellular roaming > charges? Is there even such a thing as PUC "tariffs" anymore on wireless services? I thought they were completely deregulated and charges were based on your personal contract with the carrier. I know my own contract with my carrier (which is old) offers different roaming areas and charges than newer contracts do of the same carrier. The PUC has nothing to do with it. Is there something specific you are looking for? Also, I thought the concept of A/B switching on cell phones is obsolete. Do modern cell phones even have that capability? A/B dates back to the early days when there were only two carriers. There are many today. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force Date: 22 Aug 2006 14:06:02 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com DLR wrote: > Did they define unemployment then as they do now? For a long time now > you only count if you are looking for work. Surveys are now done by > phone. In the 30s I wonder what methods were used. In 1932 a phone survey predicted Hoover would win against FDR. But in 1932 the people who had phones were affluent and supported Hoover. I don't know how they sampled unemployment or the definitions used back then. > I'll bet the rates in NYC and Chicago were different in many ways than > where I grew up outside of the small city (remote from almost > anywhere) of Paducah. Absolutely. Many people left the small towns and rural areas for the big cities in those years to find jobs and escape the boredum of rural life. > Lots of folks were working in the 30s but not making much money. That is not reflected in unemployment stats. But it was a big part of the economic troubles and the deflation of those years. Money was extremely tight. People wouldn't spend it unless they absolutely had to which constrained the economy. People who did have jobs made very little money; most companies had pay cuts. The deflation meant that if you owed money (like for a mortgage on the farm or house), it was harder to pay it since you had to work so much harder to get a dollar than in the past -- the dollar was worth more. We're used to inflation where the dollar declines and that benefits borrowers. > My dad's high school class was very small due to > most of the kids dropping out way before they turned 16 to go to work > to help the family out. Very common in those days. > So the question I have is how of the recovery was without war and > pre-war spending? Any? I know life was tough for my dad's farm family. Farm life was very tough before the Depression and the Depression made it worse. The government started its "alphabet soup" of programs -- NRA, WPA, PWA, TVA, AAA, CCC, to (1) help individuals keep their homes and not starve, (2) pump money into the economy, and (3) give some hope to people. Note that the RFC, which loaned money to railroads, banks and businesses so they'd stay open and keep people working, was instituted by Herbert Hoover, not FDR, and Hoover set a record of increased govt spending. Hoover was a terrible "spin doctor" compared to FDR, though. The government programs helped a little, but conditions remained hard throughout the 1930s. Obviously it varied from person to person and location to location. A few people had comfortable middle class lifestyles (they were still building and selling cars and a few nice new houses), most did not. Most people managed to get along "ok" -- they were working -- though it was hard. Occassionally they'd have a little extra money for a luxury like a movie, eating out, or outing or vacation. A big problem was lack of confidence. If someone did have an extra nickel, they'd really hesitate to spend it, afraid of tomorrow. Things slowly improved beginning in 1938, mostly from defense and foreign military spending. I think the two World's Fairs in 1939 (NYC and SF) perked things up a bit. Times were still quite tough, but slowly easing. As more people got jobs, they spent money which turned the downward cycle around. In Philadelphia a lot of nice new houses were built around 1938 onward and new apartment towers in NYC. Some places or industires never recovered. Like everyone else, the Bell System was picking up business at that time. It was about to finish some new products, like the 555 PBX, but then the war hit and froze all work. The 555 didn't make it out until 1949. However, I think toll long distance benefited from wartime radar experience which used microwaves. A lot of young men learned advanced electronics from their war time jobs and they were eagerly sought by industry after the war where they made major contributions in computers and communications. The Bell System, IBM, RCA and other such companies exploded after the war. (Postwar defense spending helped quite a bit.) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 21:27:45 -0600 From: jared@netspacenospamnet.au (jared) Subject: Re: Verizon Re: Clueless Hollywood > It could very well have been a Verizon pay phone. They have phones in a > lot of areas that are not served by them. In California, you can look > outside Albersons Supermarkets, Savon, 7/11 and a lot more. In the Denver area, which is Qwest territory with the major phone directory being their spinoff Dex, Verizon is the brand name on one of the secondary phone directories. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #311 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Aug 24 14:43:30 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 7B84D21EA; Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:43:30 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #312 Message-Id: <20060824184330.7B84D21EA@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:43:30 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:45:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 312 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson NOLA Phone Book: About Half the Size it Used to Be (Associated Press) Train Station Pay Phones Mostly Removed (Lisa Hancock) VoIP on Cell Phones: Read the Fine Print (John Blau, IDG) ID Security Company Finds Snags in Fraud Alert System (Tom Zeller NY Times) Fasten Your Seatbelts and No Cell Phones Please (Michael Smith, Reuters) AT&T Inks U-Verse Deal (USTelecom Daily Lead) Taxes: Two Out of Three Rule? (Bryan Griffin) Some Things Never Change: 350 Lines Tapped in New York City (Lisa Hancock) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 24, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Re: Cellular Roaming Tariffs (Michael D. Sullivan) Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist (Mark Crispin) Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force (mc) Re: What's This Telephone Related Item? (Wesrock@aol.com) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 15:48:25 -0500 From: Associated Press News Wire Subject: NOLA Phone Book: About Half the Size it Used to Be Smaller New Orleans phonebook reflects new city NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- On a recent hot day, the new phonebook landed with a thud on the stoop of a house that one year ago lay under water, a notable sign of normalcy. The phonebook's arrival is a mark of progress here, but it's also a window into how much has changed. With nearly half the city's population gone, two swollen books have shrunk to one, following a decision by the phonebook's editors to fold the white pages into the rest of the book. Meanwhile, the yellow pages now include far larger ads for contractors, electricians, roofers and others crucial to the city's rebuilding. Lay the old and new editions side by side, and the resulting contrast is a microcosm of a transformed metropolis. It's one in which people need help repairing their homes, but don't have time to fuss with their hair -- the 'Contractors - General' section jumped from six to 14 pages and 'Roof Contractors' from 15 to 32, while listings under 'Beauty Salons' declined 42 percent from 541 individual businesses to 316. "Every single thing that people need to rebuild their lives is literally in that book," said BellSouth Corp. district sales manager Gayla Meilleur, who worked on the New Orleans phonebook. Which is exactly the point: In a city in tatters, where a majority of homes still don't have electricity, the focus is on making whole what was destroyed. It's businesses that help people do that which are seeing a spike in sales and are now represented with larger, splashier ads. People need to buy mattresses and couches to replace their soggy ones, but they can't afford to do so with antiques: The 'Furniture' heading leaped from three to over four full pages, while 'Antique Dealers' is thinner, having shed 26 out of 145 businesses. Businesses that offer luxury goods, or else services that are not essential, are struggling and so scaling back their presence in the new book. So are those catering to tourists; the 'Gift Shop' category dropped to 139 listings from a pre-Katrina high of 167. "Everything is housing right now. Nothing else matters," said window installer Sam Criscione, owner of Classic Vue Exteriors Inc., who's installing three times as many windows as he did before the storm. His lean, rectangular ad didn't change size, but instead he added a splash of aquamarine blue to the lettering -- a way to call attention to his 44 years in business and to differentiate himself from out-of-town "storm chasers," he said. Windows are one of the first items to get replaced -- as are roofs. Within a month of the storm, one of New Orleans' oldest roofing businesses was fielding 10,000 calls a month, up from around 1,000 at the same time the year before. "It was overwhelming," said Robin Trupiano, manager of Robertson Roofing & Siding Inc. The call volumes tracked by BellSouth offer a portrait of frantic rebuilding: Businesses under the 'Roofing Contractor' heading saw, on average, an 833 percent increase in calls. Those under the "Contractors-General" were up 333 percent. "Gutters & Downspouts" leaped 483 percent. Analysts had predicted the construction industry would thrive in the wake of the destructive storm. But they had also forecast that nearly all other sections of the economy would shrivel. The spike in calls to other headings in the phonebook reveals they were largely wrong: Calls to businesses under the 'Attorneys' tab jumped 183 percent. 'Chiropractic Physicians' spiked 108 percent, a result of people throwing out their backs as they struggled to repair their homes. And in spite of the burden of rebuilding, families still needed to see the dentist -- calls leaped over 107 percent. Thousands of businesses provided goods and services that are not rebuilding-oriented, yet are still essential to the day-to-day life of the city. Because many of them flooded, those that managed to reopen are now reaping the bounty their competitors left behind. "We have a tremendous amount of new patients because a lot of dentists east of us were flooded," explained Veronica Brown, manager of Elmwood Dental Center. It went from a half-page ad in last year's phonebook to a full-page one this year. The practice is seeing a third more new patients than before Katrina and has hired more employees. Changing business models Those that don't provide essential services changed their business model to cater to the new economy, like high-end landscapers, who pulled out the chain saws and joined the ranks of tree cutters. Calls to businesses under 'Tree Service' ballooned 488 percent. "Who's interested in putting in flowers after the storm? That's more of a luxury," said Ted Anthony, owner of Anthony's Landscaping. The part of the economy that's limping are shops like the one in the French Quarter that sells "chapeaux" dressed in vintage brocades and South African feathers. "Some of our ladies will come in, try on the hat and make plans to buy it after the house is finished. We're struggling to stay open," said Katherine Madere, the head saleswoman at Fleur de Paris, a New Orleans institution. Sales have plunged 50 percent. To stay afloat, the boutique has slashed costs by letting go all but one of its 14 employees. Unlike cashing a check or getting a pair of new glasses, a hat is a frill. So are attempts to pamper oneself -- 'Massage Therapists' has 21 percent fewer businesses listed than last year. And between tearing out wallboard and battling insurance adjusters, many have fallen off the diet bandwagon --'Weight Loss' has 39 percent fewer listings in this edition than in last year's. Yet one can deduce from the new phonebook that large swaths of the economy are doing better than expected. It has 44,579 individual businesses listed -- just 1,046, or 2 percent, less than last year. It's not cheap to advertise in the phonebook -- a quarter-page, full color ad costs over $960 a month, according to BellSouth -- so it stands to reason that businesses making that kind of investment are in operation. New Orleans: Half its former size At the same time, the fact that the white and yellow pages have been consolidated into a single phonebook is a testament to how much this once vibrant city has shrunk: To date, only 235,000 people, or around 45 percent of the city's original population of 485,000, has returned, according to state estimates. It's an estimate which jibes with the rate of utility hookups -- so far only around 47 percent of customers in New Orleans have resumed their electric service. One of the paradoxes of post-Katrina New Orleans is that if just under half its population has returned, how can it support nearly the same number of businesses? The answer can be found in the calls BellSouth tracked for T.J. Lee, the owner of a fancy reception hall in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans. Lee expected his business to wither, but he was barraged with calls -- from brides-to-be wanting to reschedule their weddings, for anniversaries, from groups planning reunions. When he received his call volume report from BellSouth, Lee noticed the calls were no longer preceded by 504 -- the New Orleans-area prefix -- but instead by 713, 404, 214 and others. "What that was telling me is people were taking their books to Houston, to Atlanta, to Dallas," said Lee, who came into BellSouth's New Orleans office to discuss ramping up his presence on http://YellowPages.Com to reach those that left their phonebooks behind. The call volume from out-of-towners was so high, Robin Trupiano called her telephone company to upgrade the Robertson Roofing's calling plan to unlimited long distance. "We just never needed it before," she said. It's, after all, a sign of hope -- yellow pages are now in the hands of a diaspora spread like seeds across the country. The fact they're still calling means, maybe, they're coming home. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/23/katrina.phonebook.ap/index.html NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Train Station Pay Phones Mostly Removed Date: 23 Aug 2006 13:15:54 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com NJ Transit will move 22 pay phones from its Trenton RR station. Three phones will remain in a different location. The old phones were located as a battery along the wall of the concourse. They were flush mounted panel style, with no separations between them. The remaining phones are in a different spot. Removal is part of station reconstruction. I'd like to get a picture of the phone bank since that kind of thing will not be scene again, but the cops in the station are very fussy about picture taking. See: http://www.njtransit.com/sa/sa_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=ConstructionAdvisoryTo&AdvisoryId=1780 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:26:43 -0500 From: John Blau, IDG Subject: VoIP on Cell Phones: Read the Fine Print -2 T-Mobile prohibits the use of VoIP services on its mobile phone networks. John Blau, IDG News Service As low-priced Internet phone services for mobile devices emerge, users should first check the fine print in their cell phone contracts to see if they can take advantage of such offerings. There's a chance they can't. T-Mobile International, which has mobile phone operations in Europe and the United States, is among the first companies to ban the use of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol, or Internet-based telephone service) over its networks. Its Web 'n' Walk professional service expressly prohibits such usage, and the company reserves the right to terminate contracts. Like many other mobile phone companies, T-Mobile wants to protect its cash-cow telephone service from new providers of VoIP-over-mobile services, such as Mino Wireless USA. Last week, the Sunnyvale, California, company launched one of the world's first commercial VoIP-over-mobile services, offering fees as low as US$0.02 per minute for international calls. That's cheap -- really cheap -- compared to the $1 per minute or more mobile phone users in many countries currently pay to make international calls. VoIP-Over-Mobile Providers To use Mino, customers need to install the company's mobile VoIP application on a Java-enabled mobile phone. Mino joins other VoIP heavyweights, such as Skype Technologies, a unit of eBay. Earlier this year, Skype announced a VoIP partnership with Hutchison 3 Group, which operates IP-based mobile broadband networks in several European markets. The Skype mobile VoIP application runs on Microsoft's Windows Mobile software. Mobile VoIP startup Iskoot, which is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is also working with Skype to allow users to make or receive Internet calls with their mobile phones. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more tech news and headlines each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/tech-news.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:01:53 -0500 From: Tom Zeller, Jr. Subject: ID Security Company Finds Snags in Fraud Alert System By TOM ZELLER Jr. Consumer advocates have long complained that the fraud alert system mandated by Congress in 2003 as a consumer's first line of defense against identity theft does not always work properly. So a company seeking to enter the market for identity theft prevention services recently recruited 54 data security and privacy experts to test the system. They claim to have found some kinks, although the credit reporting agencies beg to differ. Julie Fergerson, vice president for emerging technologies at Debix, the company that produced the study, said that in 40 percent of the cases she examined, it appeared that fraud alerts had failed to put all the reporting agencies on notice to prevent new credit accounts, loans and other debts from being opened in a consumer's name without a verifying phone call from the creditor. The implication, Ms. Fergerson said, is that you've got millions of people who think that they have fraud protection in place when actually they don't. But Norm Magnuson, a spokesman for the Consumer Data Industry Association, which represents the major consumer reporting agencies, including Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, suggested that those findings were absurd. The fraud alert response system is working as it should, contrary to what the Debix report indicates, he said. Starting with the 54 consumers they surveyed, I'd question whether that's an adequate number to base their conclusions on. In updating the Fair Credit and Reporting Act in 2003, Congress included rules intended to make it simpler for consumers to place fraud warnings on their credit files, including a basic, 90-day alert designed for identity theft victims, but available to anyone who wants one. Under the law, this alert can be established with a phone call to one of the major consumer reporting companies, which must then refer the information regarding the fraud alert to the others. The Federal Trade Commission is charged with ensuring compliance. The Debix study included privacy and consumer rights advocates, as well as data security executives from Citigroup, Charles Schwab, Expedia, Discover Financial and other companies. Participants were registered for fraud alerts at one credit reporting agency most at TransUnion, Ms. Fergerson said. Of the 54 volunteers, 32 received confirmation letters within a week or so the sign that things worked as they should. But in 22 cases, something went awry. In 18 cases, the fraud alert was set at only two agencies. In four cases, it took hold at only one. Ms. Fergerson surmised that in instances where formatting of data name, date of birth or other essential information differed between agencies, it was more likely that the fraud alert would not propagate properly. Without access to the internal systems of the agencies, it is impossible to know, however. There's not a 40 percent failure rate, Mr. Magnuson asserted, although he said there were no readily available statistics on any breakdowns in the fraud alert system. Mr. Magnuson also pointed out, in an e-mail message prepared in tandem with representatives of the three credit reporting agencies, that Debix has a business model that makes money by alleging that the fraud alert process doesn't work. Indeed, Debix is one of a growing list of companies promising, for a fee, to alleviate the headache of keeping your credit file protected. Ms. Fergerson said her company had shared the results of the study with the trade commission. Betsy Broder, the assistant director of the commission's division of privacy and identity protection, would not comment on the agency's response, but noted that the fraud alert system was still new. Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines from NY Times, Christian Science Monitor and National Public Radio, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/nytimes.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:05:39 -0500 From: Michael Smith Subject: Fasten Your Seatbelts and No Cell Phones Please By Michael Smith Overhead "no smoking" signs will be replaced by "no cell phones" signs on some planes next year when technology is introduced to make it safe for passengers to use cell phones mid-flight. Airlines are seeking ways to police potentially annoying on-board phone chat via symbols of a cell phone crossed out, forcing passengers to switch off during take-off and designated "night" periods. The company developing the satellite technology for Airbus (EADS.PA) planes also said cabin crew would be able to remotely switch off phones or disable their voice function, allowing travelers to just use text messaging and email during quiet times. "It is envisaged that airlines will turn the voice capability off, for example on long-haul flight during the plane's night'," a spokesman for communications joint venture OnAir said. "Each airline is likely to develop different protocols for the use of mobile devices, in much the same way that different protocols have developed in different countries for the public use of mobile phones." Airbus said it was pushing ahead with plans for trials of cell phones, blackberries and other devices on planes next year, despite heightened security following a suspected bomb plot in Britain and setbacks for on-board communications in the United States. OnAir is a joint venture with Airbus and information technology systems provider Sita. Air France KLM (AIRF.PA) is expected to lead the way when it takes deliveries of planes trialling the service in 2007, while low-cost carrier Ryanair (RYA.I) is also close to ringing up extra revenue from cell phones. LEVEL OF ANNOYANCE However, other carriers said they might limit the service to text messages or ban it altogether, amid fears it will put passengers off traveling unless it can be policed properly. British Airways (BAY.L) said it was interested in the technology but was surveying its passengers to see what level of cell phone use would be acceptable or "downright annoying." Germany's Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) was also cautious, saying it had not decided whether to allow cell phone use on planes yet. "The issue is how you would get around the problem of disturbing other passengers," a Lufthansa spokesman said. An Air France spokesman said the first phase of its trials would only involve data services such as text messages with a second phase covering voice. TAP Portugal and Britain's bmi (BMID.UL) also plan trial the technology. In a consultation paper on the subject in April, UK regulator Ofcom warned: "The potential for increased levels of agitation from passengers is a factor to be noted." But asked about the social cost of mid-air cell phones, the outspoken chief of low-cost carrier Ryanair (RYA.I) Michael O'Leary said: "Why should I care if it is generating some money? "People are in a confined space. People tend to not want to get into long and involved cell phone discussions with people sitting around them. I think it will be more people sending texts," he told reporters. Advancements in airline communications have been slow to take off, particularly in the U.S. Boeing Co said last week it would shut its loss-making Connexion unit, which allowed airlines to provide high-speed Internet service to passengers. The satellite-based service, for which Boeing failed to find a buyer, was too costly and few airlines signed on. In June, Verizon Communications Inc. said it was cancelling its on-board phone service by the end of the year. (Additional reporting by James Regan in Frankfurt and Benoit Van Overstraeten in Paris) Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:33:49 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: AT&T Inks U-Verse Deal in San Antonio USTelecom dailyLead August 24, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/emwQfDtusXbbeBJrHn TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * AT&T inks U-Verse deal in San Antonio BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Consumers benefit from video competition in New York * Intel, Qualcomm square off in battle for wireless broadband dominance * Microsoft dives into communications business * AT&T picks HomePNA 3 over MoCA for home networking USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Is Your Network Secure? TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * CBS promos fall shows via Bluetooth * Yahoo! teams with TV networks in streaming video pact * Report: IPTV penetration to surge REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * AT&T files lawsuit to catch data thieves * Verizon wins another video franchise in N.Y. DIVERSIONS * Fresh, Lively and Easygoing * The (Tinsel) Town That Ate Superman * Home Sales Fall to Unexpectedly Low Rate * Sending Instant Messages to a Cellphone * In Search of the Perfect Parking Spot for Cash Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/emwQfDtusXbbeBJrHn ------------------------------ From: Bryan Griffin Subject: Taxes: Two Out Of Three Rule Reply-To: no_email@trashcan.com Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:49:16 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com Hello all, On the subject of taxes, can someone refresh my memory on the "two out of three" rule when determining tax jurisdiction. Thanks ! ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Some Things Never Change: 350 Lines Tapped in NYC Over Two Years Date: 24 Aug 2006 11:15:54 -0700 In the recent controversy over wiretaps of suspected terrorists, I found an article in the New York Times describing the outcry over wiretaps. Seems that 350 phones were tapped by police over two years -- back in May 1916 -- 90 years ago. The article said wiretaps started in 1895 -- 110 years ago. The article dealt with the issues of wiretaps, who paid for them, what they were used for, etc. Other articles of that time frame dealt with charges that phone rates were too high or too low. Politicians claimed too high, the phone company claimed too low to meet service demands. There were constant valuation studies going on with rate reductions ordered. In 1916, it appeared the rate was roughly 5c for each local call, plus line rental. That's worth at least $1.00 today, probably more. Some sections could get unlimited residential service. There was an apartment house rate: "for telephone switchboards of the Monitor type [Monitor was capitalized] which are used extensively in small apartment houses a rate of $132 for a switchboard of two stations and one trunk line for 2,400 local calls per year, yielding about 5.5c a call. There was considerable pressure to drop this particular rate to 5c a call to match other rates. I presume this arrangement was where a tennant used a phone on a pay-as-you-go basis. The New York Times was filled with articles on telephone rates and complaints about them in 1916. ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 24, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 11:44:31 -0400 (EDT) ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For August 24, 2006 ******************************** Broadband Surges to 72.6% of all British Internet Connections, Regulator Calls for New Rules on VoIP http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19513?11228 Barely a year after displacing dial-up access as the most popular way to connect to the internet in the United Kingdom, broadband now accounts for 72.6% of all connections, thanks to an impressive local loop unbundling (LLU) program and intense competition among providers. According to a report from the United Kingdom's Office of ... Regulator Grants 29 WiMAX Licences in 2006, TeliaSonera Launches 100 Mbps Broadband http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19510?11228 Finland's telecoms regulator, FICORA, has granted wireless broadband licences to 29 companies in Finland over 2006. FICORA said the licences, which would enable the companies to roll out WiMAX networks, were strongly competed for, although the regulator paid particular attention to promoting the efficiency of the communications ... Motorola Files Defamation Case Against RussGPS and Biznes http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19507?11228 U.S. equipment manufacturer Motorola has filed a lawsuit against a Russian satellite navigation technology company and Moscow business newspaper Biznes, reports Prime-Tass. Motorola is seeking 291 million roubles (US$10.88 million) for defamation, following RussGPS's allegations that the American group used its technology in the ... Ericsson Signs Billion-dollar Deal to Expand Mobile Network in India http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/19502?11228 STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson said Thursday it has signed a US$1 billion (euro 780 million) deal with Indian mobile operator Bharti Airtel to expand its wireless networks. The three-year contract, which also includes upgrades and technical support, will help Bharti Airtel improve its mobile coverage ... Greece May Sell More of OTE Telecom http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19499?11228 ATHENS, Greece -- Greece's conservative government may sell another stake of telecoms provider OTE next year as part of an ongoing privatization drive, Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis said. The sale would cut the state's stake in the former monopoly from the 38.7 percent it currently controls. Alogoskoufis ... Movida Turns to the Web, Expands Retail Reach http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19497?11228 Pay-as-you-go wireless MVNO Movida Communications aims for ubiquity by now offering its customers the ability to top-up option cards on the Web. The company also is aggressively pursuing new retailer agreements that go beyond its partnership with Wal-Mart Stores. Movida targets Hispanic customers by offering voice and data services ... Russia Eyes Cellular Price Controls http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19495?11228 Russian cellular operators are facing the possibility of more regulation by the government in a backlash against an attempt by three of the largest wireless carriers in the country to raise their rates. Rate regulation would result from a bill just dropped in the hopper in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, ... Hopeful Satellite Signs http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/19493?11228 It hasn't been a good week for the satellite industry. Both DirecTV and EchoStar have dropped out of the bidding in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) spectrum auction for Advanced Wireless Services. But a little-noticed news item out of Colombia, of all places, might provide a glimmer of hope for the beleaguered industry. ... Analyst: Cisco Sees VOIP Sales Bump in Q2 http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19491?11228 Increased sales of media gateways to carriers helped Cisco Systems Inc. report a big quarter in VOIP equipment, according to Synergy Research Group Inc.  Synergy says Cisco's second-quarter VOIP gear revenues grew 72.3 percent over the first quarter. Cisco sold $67.5 million in VOIP gear, compared with $39.2 million the ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: Michael D. Sullivan Subject: Re: Cellular Roaming Tariffs Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 03:43:58 GMT On 8/22/2006 4:40 PM, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > rbc310@gmail.com wrote: >> Can anyone direct me to a PUC tariff on inter-carrier cellular roaming >> charges? > Is there even such a thing as PUC "tariffs" anymore on wireless > services? I thought they were completely deregulated and charges were > based on your personal contract with the carrier. > I know my own contract with my carrier (which is old) offers different > roaming areas and charges than newer contracts do of the same carrier. > The PUC has nothing to do with it. That is correct. State PUCs are explicitly deprived of jurisdiction to regulate cellular rates by Section 221(b)(3) of the Communications Act, 47 USC 221(b)(3). This is true of both the carrier-consumer rates, such as the ones governed by various contracts that may charge different rates from contract to contract, and of the carrier-to-carrier rates, which are governed by roaming agreements between carriers. > Also, I thought the concept of A/B switching on cell phones is > obsolete. Do modern cell phones even have that capability? A/B dates > back to the early days when there were only two carriers. There are > many today. While A/B switching is largely obsolete, due to the fact that carriers use a wide variety of digital standards and specialized software in the phone, the FCC still requires that analog cellular phones (only 850 MHz phones, not PCS, not iDEN) be manually switchable to the A or B block by the customer. There has never been a similar requirement for PCS band phones. The option to select serving system is typically buried very deep in the menu system. Using it will probably result in your being given greatly impaired service in many cases, as the phone would not be able to be switched to the PCS band or the other 850 MHz band automatically in accordance with the programmed list of host systems (also known as the preferred roaming list). Michael D. Sullivan Bethesda, MD (USA) (To reply, change example.invalid to com in the address.) ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: Three Texas Men With Cellphones Arrested on Terrorist Charges Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 14:32:55 -0700 Organization: Networks & Distributed Computing On Tue, 22 Aug 2006, Mr Joseph Singer wrote: > You said it yourself. Reflashing is trivial on most *other* phones. > From what I understand reflashing Motorola is fairly easy. It's not > so for Nokia unless you have invested in the specialized equipment, > dongles, clips etc. to do it. Considering the value of the typical > phones used for TracFone or Net10 it's a lot of work for little > profit. Certainly that is the case for a single phone. But in bulk, I can easily see how the investment could pay off. I took a look at TracFone's website and a fair number of their el cheapo $20 phones are Motorolas. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. Si vis pacem, para bellum. ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force Organization: BellSouth Internet Service Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 19:53:10 -0400 wrote in message news:telecom25.311.10@telecom-digest.org... > The deflation meant that if you owed money (like for a mortgage on the > farm or house), it was harder to pay it since you had to work so much > harder to get a dollar than in the past -- the dollar was worth more. > We're used to inflation where the dollar declines and that benefits > borrowers. And that -- together with similar deflationary cycles every few decades in the 19th century -- was one of the source of the notion that it is inherently evil to be in debt, which is still reverberating among some personal money management gurus. The Great Depression was the last deflationary cycle because we fundamentally changed the way the money supply is controlled. Going back to the gold standard, as some people advocate, would bring back the deflationary cycles. ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 20:01:50 EDT Subject: Re: What's This Telephone Related Item? In a message dated 22 Aug 2006 13:35:27 -0700, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com writes: > At the rate things are going pay phones will be gone eventually. One > factor is everyone having a cell phone. Another factor is that local > calls are cheap people will let you use their business lines; years > ago that'd be too costly. Businesses very commonly allowed customers and passersby to use business phones. Some even had telephones out on the counter or in some other convenient locations for customers to use, even though the telco tariffs prohibited this. Telephone calls were measured rate only in a small part of the United States, and there was little or no incremental cost for a customer to use the phone in the vast part of the U.S.A. that had flat rate service. > Years ago employees were forbidden from using employer lines for > personal calls, an edict strictly enforced. In those days large > workplaces often had payphones on every floor as well as banks in > the lobby. Today the lobbies of fancy businesses have house phones > offering free local calls. The reason for prohibiting employees from using employer lines, then as now, is primarily because the loss of productivity when the employee carries out personal activites when he or she is supposed to be doing the employer's business. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #312 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Aug 25 14:41:38 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 5C3F221CA; Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:41:38 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #313 Message-Id: <20060825184138.5C3F221CA@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:41:38 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:44:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 313 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson FCC Questions Verizon, Bell South Regards Internet Fee (Reuters News Wire) US Supercomputer Doubles its Speed (Duncan Mansfield, AP) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 25, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Call for Sessions Proposals: World Congress on Engineering WCE 2007 (imecs) Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force (Lisa Hancock) Re: Train Station Pay Phones Mostly Removed (Anthony Bellanga) Re: What's This Telephone Related Item? (Lisa Hancock) Re: Fasten Your Seatbelts and No Cell Phones Please (jared) Re: Some Things Never Change: 350 Lines Tapped in NYC (2manyheadshotz) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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. 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Geoffrey Welsh =========================== See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 12:53:25 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: FCC Questions Verizon, Bell South Regards Internet Fee Verizon Communications and BellSouth Corp. will be asked by U.S. regulators to explain a new fee on high-speed Internet customers that replaces a government surcharge that ended this month, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Verizon and BellSouth, the No. 2 and No. 3 telephone carriers respectively, will be sent "letters of inquiry" to see whether the new charge complies with Federal Communications Commission rules that require "truth in billing," the source said on the condition of anonymity. The companies no longer have to pay a part of their high-speed Internet revenue into the Universal Service Fund (USF), which subsidizes communications services to schools, lower-income households and rural areas, as of August 14. They had passed that USF cost onto their customers. An FCC decision a year ago phased out the USF fee for the telephone companies' high-speed Internet service known as broadband. However, Verizon said it would impose a new monthly surcharge of $1.20 or $2.70, beginning August 26, which it said was to help subsidize connection costs. BellSouth said it has continued charging $2.97 a month, equivalent to the old USF fee. Verizon had charged digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet customers a monthly fee of $1.25 or $2.83 to cover the USF contribution, depending on connection speeds. AT&T Inc., the largest U.S. telephone company, was not expected to receive a letter from the FCC, the source said. Letters of inquiry are typically the first step in an agency investigation into whether enforcement action is warranted. A spokeswoman for the FCC declined to comment. Verizon spokesman Brian Blevins declined to comment while a BellSouth spokesman had no immediate comment. AT&T has agreed to buy BellSouth and needs the FCC to approve the transaction. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am glad the government noticed that Verizon intends to continue sticking it to their customers, but I hope with this 'truth in billing' thing, the feds at least require Verizon to quit claiming 'the government is making us collect it from customers.' But, getting truth out of Verizon; that would be something new and novel, wouldn't it! PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 12:56:19 -0500 From: Duncan Mansfield, AP Subject: US Supercomputer Doubles its Speed By DUNCAN MANSFIELD, Associated Press Writer The most powerful supercomputer available for general scientific research in the United States has doubled its speed, officials said Friday. The 54-cabinet Cray XT3 supercomputer at Tennessee's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been upgraded from 25 teraflops to 54 teraflops, or 54 trillion mathematical calculations per second, they said. "It is probably the fifth-fastest machine" in the world, said Thomas Zacharia, associate laboratory director. "It is clearly the fastest open science machine in the U.S. today." The supercomputer, dubbed "Jaguar," was ranked 13th fastest before the upgrade. A list of the 500 most powerful computers in the world is compiled by scientists at the University of Mannheim in Germany, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of Tennessee. "The list is a very simple measure, and it is a good thing, obviously," Zacharia said. "But the real winner in these things are the scientists who are running these machines. "(They) have been very pleased at the initial performance of this upgraded machine," he said. "It is a terrific scientific instrument." The overhaul was the first step in a multiyear, nearly $200 million contract between Seattle-based Cray Inc. and the U.S. Department of Energy to increase Oak Ridge's supercomputing capability to 1,000 trillion calculations per second, or one petaflop, by 2009. The current world leader is the nearly six-times-faster 280.6 teraflop IBM Blue Gene/L deployed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and used for national defense purposes. The Department of Energy has committed to make Oak Ridge's Jaguar available for unclassified peer-reviewed research at least 80 percent of the time. DreamWorks Animation is interested in using the machine to develop new algorithms for duplicating the effects of light and shade called "ray tracing" in 3-D animation, Zacharia said. The results could show up in the company's animated feature films or in medical and occupational training. Boeing Co. is hoping the supercomputer will lead to lighter, more energy-efficient airplanes, and General Atomics Co. wants to do fusion energy research, duplicating the power of the sun to light homes. Another 68 cabinets will be added around November to double the supercomputer's speed again to around 100 teraflops. A year later, the installation of new processors should push capacity to 250 teraflops. The lab is expected to swap out Jaguar for the next-generation Cray supercomputer, currently code-named "Baker," in late 2008. At 1,000 teraflops, Baker would be roughly three times faster than any existing computer in the world. On the Net: Oak Ridge National Laboratory: http://www.ornl.gov/ Cray Inc.: http://www.cray.com/ Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I had thought the computer at University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana was the fastest anywhere. Did this change? PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 25, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 11:41:13 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For August 25, 2006 ******************************** Belgacom Pays Vodafone 2 Billion for Full Control of Mobile Arm Proximus http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19530?11228 Belgium's biggest telephone company, Belgacom SA, said Friday that it has agreed to buy Vodafone Group Plc's 25 percent stake in Proximus for 2 billion (US$2.6 billion), giving it full control of the mobile operator. Belgacom said it expected the deal would add 6 to 7 percent to next year's earnings citing ... Norway's Telenor, Britain's The Cloud Team Up on 8,000 Wireless Hotspots in 4 Countries http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/19528?11228 Norwegian telecommunications group Telenor ASA and Britain's The Cloud on Friday announced a wireless hotspot partnership for four countries. The deal covers 8,000 wireless hotspots in Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Britain, a joint statement said. The companies said that includes 800 new hotspots to be built in Sweden and 500 in... Survey Shows Mobile Phones Outstrip Fixed Lines Among European Households http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/105/19525?11228 More European households have cell phones than fixed lines, according to a survey released Friday by the EU. Eighty percent of households in the European Union have at least one mobile phone, compared with 78 percent of homes with a fixed telephone line. About 18 percent rely only on their cell phones, having no fixed line. That ... Lucent, Alcatel Seek U.S. Approval http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19523?11228 Lucent Technologies is moving to the next phase in the approval process for it to become part of France's Alcatel. The latest: A request to start the deal's approval process in the United States has been filed with the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS). "We expect the U.S. government agencies to do a ... PT Takeover Update: Regulator May Force Landline Sale http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19520?11228 In what would be a surprise ruling, Portugal's Competition Authority (AdC) could force Sonae to divest Portugal Telecom's (PT) wireline assets if Sonae is successful in its $12.85 billion hostile takeover bid for the Portuguese telecom giant, according to rumors circulating in the country. Such a ruling would leave Sonae ... Case in Point-to-Point http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/19517?11228 With the advent of WiMax, municipal mesh networks, and other forms of 'ubiquitous' wireless broadband coverage, it might seem that the 'last mile' problem, for years the bugaboo of enterprises wishing to connect to fiber-optic rings in metro areas, is already a thing of the past. That's not true for ... Ericsson in $1B Bharti Expansion http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19515?11228 With its mobile subscriber base growing at more than 1 million new signups every month, Bharti Airtel Ltd. has awarded Ericsson AB a monster $1 billion network expansion contract. Under the three-year deal, Ericsson will design, deploy, and manage additional network capacity across 15 regions for India's ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: imecs___2007@iaeng.org Subject: Call for Sessions Proposals: World Congress on Engineering WCE 2007 Date: 24 Aug 2006 22:17:24 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Call for Special Sessions Proposals From: IAENG: International Association of Engineers http://www.iaeng.org Engineering Letters http://www.engineeringletters.com World Congress on Engineering 2007 2-4 July, 2007, London, U.K. http://www.iaeng.org/WCE2007 The organizing committee of the WCE 2007 invites proposals for the congress. Or, the researchers are also welcome to join the existing conference committee. The interested scholars are welcome to send their proposal and the brief C.V. to publication{at}iaeng.org. The session organizers will have the discretion of editing selected papers into books or special journal issues. The sessions will be held on the same date and venue as the congress. The WCE 2007 is organized by the International Association of Engineers (IAENG), a non-profit international association for the engineers and the computer scientists. The conference has the focus on the frontier topics in the theoretical and applied engineering and computer science subjects. The WCE 2007 is composed of 15 conferences (all will be held at the same location and date). The WCE conferences serve as good platforms for our members and the entire engineering community to meet with each other and to exchange ideas. THE WCE conferences are formerly parts of the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists (IMECS). The last IMECS 2006 has attracted more than four hundred participants from over 30 countries. Our IMECS committees have been formed with over one hundred and sixty workshops co-chairs and committees members who are mainly research center heads, faculty deans, department heads, professors, and research scientists from over 20 countries. The conference proceedings will be published by IAENG (ISBN: 978-988-98671-5-7) in hardcopy. The full-text congress proceeding will be indexed in major database indexes so that it can be assessed easily. The Technology Research Databases (TRD) of CSA (Cambridge Scientific Abstracts), DBLP and Computer Science Bibliographies have promised to index the print proceeding in advance of its publication. And after the publication of the proceeding, print copies will also be sent to databases like IEE INSPEC, Engineering Index (EI) and ISI Thomson Scientific for indexing. The accepted papers will also be considered for publication in the special issues of the journal Engineering Letters. Some participants may also be invited to submit extended version of their conference papers for considering as book chapters (soon after the conference). The following conferences are held as parts of the WCE 2007: ICAEM'07 The 2007 International Conference of Applied and Engineering Mathematics ICCIIS'07 The 2007 International Conference of Computational Intelligence and Intelligent Systems ICCSDE'07 The 2007 International Conference of Computational Statistics and Data Engineering ICCSE'07 The 2007 International Conference of Computer Science and Engineering ICDMKE'07 The 2007 International Conference of Data Mining and Knowledge Engineering ICEEE'07 The 2007 International Conference of Electrical and Electronics Engineering ICFE'07 The 2007 International Conference of Financial Engineering ICIE'07 The 2007 International Conference of Information Engineering ICISIE'07 The 2007 International Conference of Information Security and Internet Engineering ICME'07 The 2007 International Conference of Mechanics Engineering ICMEEM'07 The 2007 International Conference of Manufacturing Engineering and Engineering Management ICPDC'07 The 2007 International Conference of Parallel and Distributed Computing ICSBB'07 The 2007 International Conference of Systems Biology and Bioengineering ICSIE'07 The 2007 International Conference of Signal and Image Engineering ICWN'07 The 2007 International Conference of Wireless Networks ========= Submission: WCE 2007 is now accepting manuscript submissions. Prospective authors are invited to submit their draft paper in full paper (any appropriate style) to WCE{at}iaeng.org by 6 March, 2007. The submitted file can be in MS Word format, PS format, or PDF formats. The first page of the draft paper should include: (1) Title of the paper; (2) Name, affiliation and e-mail address for each author; (3) A maximum of 5 keywords of the paper. Also, the name of the conference that the paper is being submitted to should be stated in the email. ============= Important Dates: Proposals for special conference sessions and tutorials deadline: 30 December, 2006 Draft Paper Submission Deadline: 6 March, 2007 Camera-Ready papers & Pre-registration Due: 30 March, 2007 WCE 2007: 2-4 July, 2007 It is our target that the reviewing process and the result notification for each submitted manuscript can be completed within one month from its submission. More details about the WCE 2007 can be found at: http://www.iaeng.org/WCE2007/index.html More details about the International Association of Engineers, the journal Engineering Letters and the IAENG International Journal of Computer Science can be found at: http://www.iaeng.org/about_IAENG.html http://www.engineeringletters.com http://www.iaeng.org/IJCS/index.html ******** It will be highly appreciated if you can circulate these calls for papers to your colleagues. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force Date: 25 Aug 2006 07:03:48 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com mc wrote: > And that -- together with similar deflationary cycles every few > decades in the 19th century -- was one of the source of the notion > that it is inherently evil to be in debt, which is still reverberating > among some personal money management gurus. The Great Depression was > the last deflationary cycle because we fundamentally changed the way > the money supply is controlled. Going back to the gold standard, as > some people advocate, would bring back the deflationary cycles. What terrifies me is inflationl, esp what we had in the 1980s. Inflation is basically a tax, a very unfair tax. It discourages savings and encourages wasteful consumption. There are many who do like inflation for various selfish reasons because their particular segment of the economy is strengthened; but at the expense of everyone else. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:41:28 -0600 From: Anthony Bellanga wrote: > NJ Transit will move 22 pay phones from its Trenton RR station. > Three phones will remain in a different location. The old phones > were located as a battery along the wall of the concourse. They > were flush mounted panel style, with no separations between them. > The remaining phones are in a different spot. Removal is part of > station reconstruction. I'd like to get a picture of the phone > bank since that kind of thing will not be scene (sic) again, but > the cops in the station are very fussy about picture taking. If your cellphone has a camera, use that. "They" can't necessarily prove that you are taking pictures, since you could always claim that you were simply looking at the display screen of your cellphone to scroll down the list of stored phone numbers, or the list of recent incoming/outgoing calls. I take all kinds of pictures that way! ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: What's This Telephone Related Item? Date: 24 Aug 2006 14:02:25 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Wesrock@aol.com wrote: > Businesses very commonly allowed customers and passersby to use > business phones. Some even had telephones out on the counter or in > some other convenient locations for customers to use, even though the > telco tariffs prohibited this. Telephone calls were measured rate > only in a small part of the United States, and there was little or no > incremental cost for a customer to use the phone in the vast part of > the U.S.A. that had flat rate service. I could understand in a small town where people could come in and use the phone, especially when it didn't cost anything. But small town life is different than city life. In the downtown of a large city there were too many people going by and you needed some controls. If you allowed anyone to come in and use the phone it would be always tied up and you'd pay a fortune for it. While I agree that a "vast part of the U.S. had flat rate service", I wonder if that's more a function of land size rather than population. I'm not sure how big a city had to be to get measured services. In other words, I suspect a much larger part of the population of the country, esp postwar, was served by measured rate lines. Smaller towns may have had flat rate service, but they were also party line oriented. I remember seeing old small town directories and almost all lines -- business and residential -- had a party line code on them. That meant sharing the line and the need to keep it open for other parties to use it. Another factor in small towns was that the local area -- your free calling option -- was very small. Anywhere beyond was long distance. The toll might be only a dime or 15c, but still a toll. In contrast, the local zone in a city could encompass a million people. > The reason for prohibiting employees from using employer lines, then > as now, is primarily because the loss of productivity when the > employee carries out personal activites when he or she is supposed to > be doing the employer's business. That was part of it, but the cost and tie-up of a line was a big part of it. It was common for companies to have pay phones in hallways of each floor for employees to use. That meant an employee had to leave their work station to use the phone which was a longer loss of worktime than making a call from their desk. In constant dollars, the cost of a local city call would be about $1.00 today back in the early 1960s and more before. If many employees are making calls frequently, that would add up to some serious money plus tie up lines and trunks which weren't as plentiful as today. (Many companies had internal private intercoms or PABX within the workplace.) In Philadelphia, a separate phone company, Keystone, offered businesses flat rate lines and was popular for that reason. As discussed here, the cost of too many phone calls as late as 1971 warranted a plot line in a TV sitcom where the parents put in a payphone for the gabbing kids. That plot line would be mysterious today since every kid has his own cell phone with hundreds of hours of talk time. But back then message units added up to serious money, and even more so as you go backward. Local phone rates did go up over time, but not as much as inflation. In the early days of manual phones, according to the NYT, there was an moderately enforced 5 minute limit to calls. Somewhere they developed timed message units to go on the meters. Of course toll calls, even short distance ones, were timed. I wonder how long talkers were handled in the older days. I don't know what the tarffis were. Manual operators in small towns would see it quickly. In automated offices, if trunking was a problem they'd be watching and catch it. Trunks were expensive in those days and limited. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 21:58:24 -0600 From: jared@netspacenospamnet.au (jared) Subject: Re: Fasten Your Seatbelts and No Cell Phones Please > "People are in a confined space. People tend to not want to get into > long and involved cell phone discussions with people sitting around > them. I think it will be more people sending texts," he told > reporters. Obviously the loud ones heard in an airport waiting area don't mind. Same behaviour during the periods before the airplane pushes back or after it lands. So there will be a new headache for air travel. ***** Apparently one technology is to have a 'pico cell' on-board. The pico cell can be set by the air crew to enable text, voice or whatever. The theory is that the passenger mobile phones will connect to the pico cell rather than boosting power to reach a ground cell. Must be a risk that, one way or another, there is a ground connection, increasing the potential for on-board RFI and incidentally avoiding what ever the airlines' call charges may be. ------------------------------ From: 2manyheadshotz@gmail.com Subject: Re: Some Things Never Change: 350 Lines Tapped in NYC Over Two Years Date: 24 Aug 2006 21:30:18 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I also suggest you look at: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff179818.htm hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > In the recent controversy over wiretaps of suspected terrorists, I > found an article in the New York Times describing the outcry over > wiretaps. Seems that 350 phones were tapped by police over two > years -- back in May 1916 -- 90 years ago. The article said wiretaps > started in 1895 -- 110 years ago. > The article dealt with the issues of wiretaps, who paid for them, what > they were used for, etc. > Other articles of that time frame dealt with charges that phone rates > were too high or too low. Politicians claimed too high, the phone > company claimed too low to meet service demands. There were constant > valuation studies going on with rate reductions ordered. > In 1916, it appeared the rate was roughly 5c for each local call, plus > line rental. That's worth at least $1.00 today, probably more. Some > sections could get unlimited residential service. > There was an apartment house rate: "for telephone switchboards of the > Monitor type [Monitor was capitalized] which are used extensively in > small apartment houses a rate of $132 for a switchboard of two > stations and one trunk line for 2,400 local calls per year, yielding > about 5.5c a call. There was considerable pressure to drop this > particular rate to 5c a call to match other rates. I presume this > arrangement was where a tennant used a phone on a pay-as-you-go basis. > The New York Times was filled with articles on telephone rates and > complaints about them in 1916. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #313 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Aug 26 17:21:04 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 75B4521D8; Sat, 26 Aug 2006 17:20:25 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #314 Message-Id: <20060826212025.75B4521D8@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 17:20:25 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sat, 26 Aug 2006 17:22:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 314 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Poor Walmart Had Troubles Friday Night (TELECOM Digest Editor) Bell South Agrees to Drop Bogus DSL 'Fee' After FCC Threat (Reuters News) Man Gets Three Years in Prison for 'Botnet' Attack on Computers (AP News) Feds Just Can't Hack It (Daily News Editorial) Widow of Tombaugh 'Shook Up' by Decision (Tim Korte, AP) Telecom Update #543 (John Riddell) Re: Fasten Your Seatbelts and No Cell Phones Please (Ron Kritzman) Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force (mc) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Poor Walmart Had Troubles Friday Night Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 16:29:45 EDT From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Here in Independence, we had a very badly needed rain storm Friday night, and more rain is expected Saturday night as well. What we did not need however were the excessively strong winds which caused a very major power line to fall down next to the Walmart Supercenter on West Main Street. About half the town remains without power as I write this on Saturday afternoon. Walmart had to do the unthinkable, and close their store, leaving it in darkness. Normally our Walmart is 24/7. All of us, even us on the east side of town were in the dark with no air conditioning or refrigeration for several hours, however about 5 AM this morning, Westar/KGE got _some_ of us back on line, but they were blunt in saying 'residences, hospitals, old people's home, etc will come first, then _business places_ last. It was pretty dire around here over night and I lost close to a hundred dollars worth of refrigerator/freezer food during the eight hours I was without power. (7:30 PM to about 5:00 AM). I guess they re-wired some of us through the Coffeyville Power and Light Company facility, but ... residents on the far west side of town were still out as of this writing, including Walmart and the businesses in that area. Walmart is going to stay closed over the weekend in order to restock all their frozen grocery items, and when Raymond (my household/personal helper these days due to my illness) drove over there about 10 AM his report was that Main Street where it meets the highway is totally blocked off to all except local traffic, police steering people away from the area, and Westar is out there with a crane and other tools, uprighting and reinstalling the downed and dangerous power line. Plus, there are a large number of trees down all over town. So, that's the news from here in Independence this week! PAT ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 14:20:34 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Bell South Agrees to Drop Bogus DSL 'Fee' After FCC Threat BellSouth Corp., the No. 3 U.S. local telephone company, on Friday said it will immediately drop a $2.97 monthly fee for high-speed Internet service after U.S. communications regulators threatened to investigate the charge, and punish them for imposing it. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission had been poised to send a letter of inquiry to BellSouth asking the carrier to explain the new fee, which replaces a surcharge for a government subsidy program, FCC officials said. Most customers would see the change on their bills within a week, but it could take up to six weeks, BellSouth said. It added that customers charged the fee dating back to August 16 would receive a credit. However, the FCC's enforcement bureau on Friday did send a letter to Verizon Communications, the No. 2 U.S. telephone company, for information on its own new charge instituted to replace the fee for the government program. "The bureau is investigating whether Verizon's practices are consistent with the obligations set forth in the commission's Truth-in-Billing rules," said the letter, which requires a response within 20 days. The FCC could seek enforcement action, including fines, against the company if any regulations have been violated. As of August 14, providers of high-speed Internet service, known as broadband, are no longer required to contribute part of that revenue to the Universal Service Fund (USF), which subsidizes communications services to schools, lower-income households and rural areas. The carriers had passed that USF cost onto their customers, but an FCC decision last year phased out the USF fee for the telephone companies' high-speed Internet service. Still, BellSouth continued charging its nearly 3.3 million high-speed Internet customers $2.97, and Verizon said it would impose a new monthly surcharge of $1.20 or $2.70, beginning August 26, which it claimed was to 'help subsidize connection costs'. Verizon had charged broadband customers a monthly fee of $1.25 or $2.83 to cover its USF contribution, depending on connection speeds. "When the FCC phases out a fee and a major broadband provider rushes in to replace it with a new company surcharge, consumers get burned," said FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat. "Pulling a fast one like this won't fool consumers and I don't think it will fool the commission either." Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe said the company received the FCC letter and would respond. He also said that Verizon informed customers about the fee, the reasons for it and posted a notice on its Web site. A spokeswoman for the FCC declined to comment. AT&T has agreed to buy BellSouth and needs the FCC to approve the transaction. AT&T Inc., the largest U.S. telephone company, did not impose a replacement fee and the FCC did not send the company an inquiry letter. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 14:23:48 -0500 From: Associated Press News Wire Subject: Man Gets Three Years in Prison for 'Botnet' Attack on Computers A man was sentenced to three years in prison Friday for launching a computer attack that hit tens of thousands of computers, including some belonging to the Department of Defense, a Seattle hospital and a California school district. Christopher Maxwell, 21, of Vacaville, Calif., was also sentenced to three years of supervised release when his prison sentence is finished. He pleaded guilty in May to federal charges of conspiracy to intentionally cause damage to a protected computer and conspiracy to commit computer fraud. U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman said the crime showed "incredible self-centeredness" with little regard for the impact on others. She said the prison time was needed as "deterrence for all those youth out there who are squirreled away in their basements hacking. " Defense attorney Steve Bauer had sought probation and community service, noting his client had no prior criminal record and saying Maxwell did not intend his robot virus program to spread as far as it did. Maxwell and two juvenile co-conspirators were accused of using "botnet" attacks -- programs that let hackers infect and control a computer network -- to install unwanted Internet advertising software, a job that earned them about $100,000. Three victims testified at Maxwell's sentencing: a representative of Seattle's Northwest Hospital, damaged in February 2005; a representative of the U.S. Defense Department, which reported damage to hundreds of computers worldwide in 2004 and 2005; and a former system administrator for the Colton Unified School District in California, where more than 1,000 computers were damaged over several months in 2005. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines daily from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 14:26:23 -0500 From: Daily News Editorial Subject: Feds Just Can't Hack It By all indications, our nation's most sensitive data and computer systems have woefully poor protection against hackers, thieves and terrorists. Scandal could turn into national tragedy if the Department of Homeland Security doesn't get its act together pronto. It has been more than a year since Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff promised to name an assistant secretary devoted to cyberspace security but the job remains unfilled. There are few takers for the job -- in fact, three cybersecurity officials resigned -- because the White House decided to put the chief of information security in a low-ranking slot, without daily access to Chertoff. This bureaucratic foolishness and paralysis comes more than three years after the White House published a 60-page National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, which noted that "in the past few years, threats in cyberspace have risen dramatically ... We must act to reduce our vulnerabilities to these threats before they can be exploited." Computers and the Internet are used to control and coordinate airports, radio stations, electric utilities and radio communications between first responders. Imagine how much worse the panic and death toll on 9/11 might have been if New York were left without electric power, without access to computers and without working phones, radio, television or traffic lights. A cyberattack could plunge all or part of the nation into chaos. Still, federal bureaucrats have their heads stuck in the sand. In May, red-faced officials at the Veterans Affairs Department acknowledged that sensitive personal information on more than 26 million veterans -- including names, addresses and Social Security numbers -- had gone missing. The data wasn't lifted by hackers: it was stored, uncoded, on a computer taken home by a government official whose last security background check took place 32 years ago. It gets worse. The head of the VA acknowledged he wasn't even informed of the data theft until two weeks after the fact. And while the computer eventually turned up with no harm done, Pedro Cadenas, the agency's cybersecurity chief, quit -- telling Government Executive magazine that "the department has no interest in doing the right thing," and that he'd only met the Veterans Affairs secretary once, at a social event. The laxity of the Veterans Affairs Department isn't an isolated case; several federal departments - including Defense and Homeland Security - have received a grade of F for the past few years on a Computer Security Report Card issued by Congress. The government's overall grade is D-plus. Every day, according to a recent report in The Washington Post, hackers make more than 2,000 attempts to crack the Department of Agriculture's computers -- and apparently succeeded a few weeks ago, leading the agency to announce that personal data on more than 26,000 contractors and active and retired employees may have been stolen. Last year, an unknown intruder got into a computer at the National Nuclear Security Administration, a division of the Department of Energy that monitors the safety and reliability of military nuclear weapons. Information on more than 1,500 agency workers and outside contractors was stolen. Incredibly, the security breach wasn't reported to senior officials; it was buried with more than 830 other incidents the agency experienced last year. Hiding such breaches is common, according to government auditors. Years before the 9/11 terrorist attack and the destruction of New Orleans, federal officials were warned about grave danger, and did too little to prepare for it. Chertoff has got to do better -- before it gets worse. Originally published on July 25, 2006 All contents copyright 2006 Daily News, L.P. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 14:29:58 -0500 From: Tim Korte, AP Subject: Widow of Tombaugh 'Shook Up' by Decision By TIM KORTE, Associated Press Writer The widow of the astronomer who discovered Pluto 76 years ago said Thursday she was frustrated by the decision to strip it of its planetary status, but she added that Clyde Tombaugh would have understood. "I'm not heartbroken. I'm just shook up," Patricia Tombaugh, 93, said in a telephone interview from her home in Las Cruces. Clyde Tombaugh was 24 when he discovered Pluto while working at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., in 1930. He spent months meticulously examining images of the sky, looking for a planet observatory founder Percival Lowell theorized was affecting the orbit of Uranus. Lowell was wrong -- Pluto is too small to affect giant Neptune's orbit -- but Tombaugh found it anyway. Tombaugh, who died in 1997, was the only person in the Western Hemisphere to have discovered a planet in our solar system until Thursday, when the International Astronomical Union separated it from the eight "classical planets" and lumped it in with two similarly sized "dwarf planets." Tombaugh had fought off other attempts to relegate Pluto, but his widow said this time he probably would have endorsed the change, now that other planetary objects have been discovered in the Kuiper Belt, the belt of comets on the edge of the solar system where Pluto resides. "He was a scientist. He would understand they had a real problem when they start finding several of these things flying around the place," Patricia Tombaugh said. She added that her husband had been resigned to the change. "He knew it was on the way," she said. "Before he died, they were going around and around. Of course, he was disappointed. After 75 years of seeing it one way, who wouldn't be?" Planetary astronomers at Lowell Observatory expressed disappointment. Director Bob Millis said he preferred a rejected proposal that would have added three planets to the solar system instead of dropping Pluto. Closing the door to additional planetary discoveries is "not exactly motivational to young planetary scientists and astronomers," Millis said. At New Mexico State University, where Clyde Tombaugh worked from 1955-73 and founded the research astronomy department, the news about Pluto was received somewhat glumly. "To come up with a new classification shows science is not static. It's good to show that to the world," said Jim Murphy, an associate professor and department head. "I suppose our reaction is more emotional. I don't want anyone to think anything less of the discovery by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930." Tombaugh's legacy is visible across Las Cruces, where an observatory, a campus street and an elementary school bear his name. Murphy said Tombaugh's discovery was ahead of its time because it took 60 years for stronger telescopes to locate another object with an unusual orbit like Pluto's, and 73 years before scientists discovered a bigger object in the area. He said the declaration won't change Pluto's importance to science. "Pluto didn't cease to exist," Murphy said. "It didn't lose or gain any atoms. Its physical characteristics haven't changed a bit because of this. It already was perceived to be a member of a larger group of objects." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: When our power came back on Saturday morning, the Independence High School cable TV station had a program on interviewing one of the astronomy teachers who noted that "all the textbooks we have used in my memory have included Pluto as one of 'our' planets. (Flashback showing a classroom scene, with a textbook open to pages discussing Pluto.) I guess new textbooks will revise all that." PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: Telecom Update #543 Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:32:44 -0400 From: John Riddell ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group=20 http://www.angustel.ca Number 543: August 25, 2006 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous=20 financial support from: ** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/ ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca/home/Home_Business.page=20 ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/=20 ** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca ** MICROSOFT CANADA: www.microsoft.com/canada/telecom/ ** MITEL NETWORKS: www.mitel.com/ ** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: www.necunifiedsolutions.com ** ROGERS TELECOM: www.rogers.com/solutions=20 ** VONAGE CANADA: www.vonage.ca ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** CRTC Asked to Enforce VoIP 9-1-1 Procedures ** Bell Fires Salvo in Broadband Wars ** AOL Privacy Breach Leads to Dismissals ** AT&T Sues Brokers over Customer Information ** Mitel Upgrades Mobility Portfolio ** NEC Adds Managed IP Telephony ** Avaya Upgrades Call Centre, Teleworker Software ** Founder Raises Bid for Inter-Tel ** IBM Buys Security Company ** MTS Offers High-Definition TV ** Telehop Net Income Rises ** Correction--Rogers Home Phone ** Feelings Mixed on Anytime Connectivity CRTC ASKED TO ENFORCE VoIP 9-1-1 PROCEDURES: 9-1-1 call centre providers in eight provinces have told the CRTC that most of the 9-1-1 calls forwarded by VoIP providers reach them over administrative lines not designed for emergency use, creating "a safety risk for the public." ** The 9-1-1 agencies ask the Commission (1) to tell VoIP service providers to adhere to the call routing provisions of Telecom Decision 2006-5 and Telecom Order 2006-168 and (2) to tell Local Exchange Carriers to include this requirement in contracts with VoIP providers. (See Telecom Update #515) http://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2006/8663/8663_06.htm#200610312 BELL FIRES SALVO IN BROADBAND WARS: Bell Canada is rolling out its 16 Mbps Sympatico Optimax Internet access service across Toronto. The service debuted in Montreal last month. Price: $100 per month; a 10 Mbps version can be had for $75/month. (See Telecom Update #542) AOL PRIVACY BREACH LEADS TO DISMISSALS: AOL has announced the resignation of its CTO and has fired two other employees in connection with the recent posting on the Internet of three months' worth of search queries by 650,000 customers. The query sequences, which included intimate and sometimes identifiable data, were widely reposted and discussed on the Net. AOL says it is taking action to prevent a recurrence. AT&T SUES BROKERS OVER CUSTOMER INFORMATION: AT&T has sued 25 data brokers for fraudulently setting up thousands of online billing accounts using the identities of the telco's customers. The accounts can be used to obtain and sell the customers' calling histories. MITEL UPGRADES MOBILITY PORTFOLIO: Mitel Networks has announced a "second generation" enterprise mobility portfolio that gives softphones and teleworker devices encrypted access to the PBX's voice, presence, secure IM, and Web collaboration features, without using a Virtual Private Network. ** Mitel also now offers Quick Conferencing, an 8 to 32-port SIP-based audio conferencing bridge. NEC ADDS MANAGED IP TELEPHONY: NEC Unified Solutions now offers Managed IP Telephony, consisting of its Univerge IP-PBX platform plus maintenance and management services, for a monthly fee. "Essential" and "Comprehensive" options provide differing levels of data network support. AVAYA UPGRADES CALL CENTRE, TELEWORKER SOFTWARE: Avaya has released version 7.1 of its Interaction Center product, which adds a new software development kit. ** Version 2.0 of VPNremote for IP Phones adds support for Cisco and Juniper VPN environments. FOUNDER RAISES BID FOR INTER-TEL: An investment group including Steven Mihaylo has raised its offer to buy Inter-Tel to about US$615 million. Mihaylo is founder and former CEO of the Arizona-based business communications systems manufacturer. IBM BUYS SECURITY COMPANY: IBM Corp. has agreed to acquire Atlanta-based Internet Security Systems, which provides enterprises with managed security services, for US$1.3 billion. MTS OFFERS HIGH-DEFINITION TV: Manitoba Telecom's TV subscribers can now receive up to seven High Definition channels for $4.99 a month (forgivable for customers on contract) plus $349 for equipment and an installation fee. TELEHOP NET INCOME RISES: Telehop Communications, a Toronto-based long distance carrier, reports a profit of $483,785 for the six months ended June 30, four times as high as during the same period last year. Revenue edged up 3.9% to $10.2 million. CORRECTION -- ROGERS HOME PHONE: Telecom Update #542 incorrectly reported that Rogers had added residential phone service to several small cities in Ontario using cable telephony. In fact, Rogers is providing the expanded coverage with circuit-switched lines. FEELINGS MIXED ON ANYTIME CONNECTIVITY: A Korn/Ferry International survey of 2,300 global executives found that 81% have their communications devices on all the time. 77% say the devices enhance their work/life balance, but more than a third (38%) believe they spend too much time connected. HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web late Friday afternoon each week at http://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 2006 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca. 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. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:11:56 -0500 From: Ron Kritzman Subject: Re: Fasten Your Seatbelts and No Cell Phones Please Michael Smith wrote: > Overhead "no smoking" signs will be replaced by "no cell phones" signs > on some planes next year when technology is introduced to make it safe > for passengers to use cell phones mid-flight.... Great timing. You'll be allowed to use cell phones in flight but you won't be allowed to carry them on board. - Ron Emoveray ethay Igpay Atinlay otay eplyray ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: Dial Conversion - Depression Labor Force Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 23:12:26 -0400 wrote in message news:telecom25.313.5@telecom-digest.org: > mc wrote: >> And that -- together with similar deflationary cycles every few >> decades in the 19th century -- was one of the source of the notion >> that it is inherently evil to be in debt, which is still reverberating >> among some personal money management gurus. The Great Depression was >> the last deflationary cycle because we fundamentally changed the way >> the money supply is controlled. Going back to the gold standard, as >> some people advocate, would bring back the deflationary cycles. > What terrifies me is inflationl, esp what we had in the 1980s. > Inflation is basically a tax, a very unfair tax. > It discourages savings and encourages wasteful consumption. > There are many who do like inflation for various selfish reasons > because their particular segment of the economy is strengthened; but > at the expense of everyone else. Right. That, of course, is the case with *unexpected* inflation. If inflation is expected and fairly constant, interest rates and long-term plans will incorporate it and people will be back where they started, mostly. Unexpected inflation makes it easier to buy a house (by paying it off in smaller dollars) and makes it easier to pay off student loans (which is probably going to be a big issue in 10 years, when a lot of the population will be burdened with them). But it is basically a tax on the *middle* class. The upper class has investments that are inflation-proof. The lower class doesn't have savings. Inflation attacks people who are building up savings and are on the threshold of achieving some financial security. See Ben Bernanke's book, _Inflation Targeting_. He argues that (1) there should be measurable goals of monetary policy (so we can tell whether policies are successful), and controlling inflation is the most obvious one; (2) deflation is worse than inflation, but neither is very good; (3) to avoid deflation, and for another reason I'll get to, the CPI inflation rate should be about 2.5%. The other reason is that the Consumer Price Index doesn't take account of shifts in lifestyles. Typically, when some goods become more expensive while others become cheaper, people change what they buy. E.g., we now buy a lot more telecommunications, and less fancy clothing, than people did 50 years ago. The Consumer Price Index does not take these lifestyle shifts into account, at least not very rapidly, so Bernanke argues that 2.5% CPI inflation equals no real rise in cost of living. This is the first time we've had a Fed chief who came with documentation, so to speak. Prior to taking office, Bernanke had already written books saying exactly what he thought out to be done. I wish all politics worked this way. ObTelecom: How about an FCC chief? ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * 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 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ 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. 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 V25 #314 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Aug 27 23:24:08 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id D56DD21C9; Sun, 27 Aug 2006 23:24:07 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #315 Message-Id: <20060828032407.D56DD21C9@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 23:24:07 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sun, 27 Aug 2006 23:25:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 315 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Man in Texas Stops Burglary in UK via Web (Reuters News Wire) Different Area Codes, Same Rate Area, and LNP, Could This be Kept (Filpo) Re: Cellular Roaming Tariffs (Raqueeb Hassan) Re: Widow of Tombaugh 'Shook Up' by Decision (mc) Re: Widow of Tombaugh 'Shook Up' by Decision (support@sellcom.com) Re: Feds Just Can't Hack It (Wesrock@aol.com) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 17:31:00 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Man in Texas Stops Burglary in UK via Web An American helped foil a burglary in northern England whilst watching a Beatles-related webcam over the Internet, police said on Friday. The man from Dallas was using a live camera link to look at Mathew Street, an area of Liverpool synonymous with the Beatles and home to the Cavern Club where the band regularly played. He saw intruders apparently breaking into a sports store and alerted local police. "We did get a call from someone in Dallas who was watching on a webcam that looks into the tourist areas, of which Mathew Street is one because of all the Beatles stuff," a Merseyside Police spokeswoman said. "He called directly through to police here." Officers were sent to the scene and three suspects were arrested. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headlines and news, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: ivan.filpo@gmail.com Subject: Different Area Codes, Same Rate Area, and LNP, Could This be Kept? Date: 26 Aug 2006 19:51:38 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I am very anxious about transferring my local phone number to Vonage because I am worried that users that can call me for free now, will no longer be able to. I live in the border line of two area codes, 225 and 985, I can call my friends 985 number locally, no long distance charge, with my 225 number. However, since the number that vonage temporatily assigned to me is considered long distance to this town, I am scared that even though my current phone is local it might become a distant number. According to what I have read about LNP, when porting numbers from one telco to another, you should remain in the same physical area; meaning that I should be able to still call my friends without the need to dial 1 and viceversa, as one would for long distance numbers. However, I do not want a mistake like porting my number from local to long distance to happen, and therefore, feel very anxious about this step and I am for confirmation that what I understood is right and that according to FCC rules it should remain local. Currently Vonage gave me a temporary phone line, but since I guess low requests in this area since most people dont have internet, they were not able to give me a local number, and therefore cant receive calls unless callers dial 1. However, something else tells me that by porting my current phone vonage will gain or have access to a phone line in this area and should keep it local, at least that is what common sense tells me, but just need to confirm since I cant afford to make this mistake. I understand that if exchanging local carriers the number should remain as local, but Vonage is over the internet and does not seem it would remain local, but it could with third party exchange carriers. Finally, should I be completely sure that my line will port and that will remain local? Thanks for reading and all your help. Ivan ------------------------------ From: Raqueeb Hassan Subject: Re: Cellular Roaming Tariffs Date: 27 Aug 2006 08:57:30 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Michael D. Sullivan wrote: > On 8/22/2006 4:40 PM, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > > rbc310@gmail.com wrote: >>> Can anyone direct me to a PUC tariff on inter-carrier cellular roaming >>> charges? >> Is there even such a thing as PUC "tariffs" anymore on wireless >> services? I thought they were completely deregulated and charges were >> based on your personal contract with the carrier. >> I know my own contract with my carrier (which is old) offers different >> roaming areas and charges than newer contracts do of the same carrier. >> The PUC has nothing to do with it. > That is correct. State PUCs are explicitly deprived of jurisdiction > to regulate cellular rates by Section 221(b)(3) of the Communications > Act, 47 USC 221(b)(3). This is true of both the carrier-consumer > rates, such as the ones governed by various contracts that may charge > different rates from contract to contract, and of the > carrier-to-carrier rates, which are governed by roaming agreements > between carriers. Well, I guess that applies in US within, what happens in other part of the world? I'm interested on the inter-carrier cellular roaming charges by the regulators in Asia. Raqueeb Hassan Bangladesh ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: Widow of Tombaugh 'Shook Up' by Decision Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 18:17:02 -0400 ; "AP" wrote in message news:telecom25.314.5@telecom-digest.org: > By TIM KORTE, Associated Press Writer > The widow of the astronomer who discovered Pluto 76 years ago said > Thursday she was frustrated by the decision to strip it of its > planetary status, but she added that Clyde Tombaugh would have > understood. Yes ... It should have been evident, almost as soon as Pluto was discovered, that it was not the Planet X predicted by Percival Lowell (who left funds to continue the search, leading to Tombaugh's discovery). Pluto is much smaller than a planet in the Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus-Neptune sequence should have been. I wonder if other Kuiper Belt objects could have been discovered from the Lowell Observatory photographic plates if the search had continued. Presumably so. With the change in nomenclature, Tombaugh becomes the discoverer of the first Kuiper Belt object, which is arguably more important than being discoverer of just one more planet. ------------------------------ From: support@sellcom.com Subject: Re: Widow of Tombaugh 'Shook Up' by Decision Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 20:52:07 -0400 Organization: www.sellcom.com Reply-To: support@sellcom.com [Default] Tim Korte, AP said on that big USENET thingie: > The widow of the astronomer who discovered Pluto 76 years ago said > Thursday she was frustrated by the decision to strip it of its > planetary status, but she added that Clyde Tombaugh would have > understood. Some people have too much time on their hands ... Steve www.sellcom.com for firewood splitters, ergonomic chairs, office phone systems, "non-mov" surge protection, Exabyte, CA, Minuteman, Brave Products, Fisch, TMC, Panasonic and more Check out http://www.guardian.name ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 19:06:06 EDT Subject: Re: Feds Just Can't Hack It In a message dated Sat, 26 Aug 2006 14:26:23 -0500, Daily News Editorial writes: > By all indications, our nation's most sensitive data and computer > systems have woefully poor protection against hackers, thieves and > terrorists. [ ...Remained deleted... ] What "Daily News" is this? There are many papers across the country called "Daily News" and which one it is would appear to be a significant factor in assessing the credibility of the story. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It was the New York Daily News, of July 25 and the author was their columnist Errol Louis. Sorry about that, and I am reprinting it here below. PAT] Feds just can't hack it By all indications, our nation's most sensitive data and computer systems have woefully poor protection against hackers, thieves and terrorists. Scandal could turn into national tragedy if the Department of Homeland Security doesn't get its act together pronto. It has been more than a year since Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff promised to name an assistant secretary devoted to cyberspace security -- but the job remains unfilled. There are few takers for the job -- in fact, three cybersecurity officials resigned -- because the White House decided to put the chief of information security in a low-ranking slot, without daily access to Chertoff. This bureaucratic foolishness and paralysis comes more than three years after the White House published a 60-page National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, which noted that "in the past few years, threats in cyberspace have risen dramatically ... We must act to reduce our vulnerabilities to these threats before they can be exploited." Computers and the Internet are used to control and coordinate airports, radio stations, electric utilities and radio communications between first responders. Imagine how much worse the panic and death toll on 9/11 might have been if New York were left without electric power, without access to computers and without working phones, radio, television or traffic lights. A cyberattack could plunge all or part of the nation into chaos. Still, federal bureaucrats have their heads stuck in the sand. In May, red-faced officials at the Veterans Affairs Department acknowledged that sensitive personal information on more than 26 million veterans - including names, addresses and Social Security numbers - had gone missing. The data wasn't lifted by hackers: it was stored, uncoded, on a computer taken home by a government official whose last security background check took place 32 years ago. It gets worse. The head of the VA acknowledged he wasn't even informed of the data theft until two weeks after the fact. And while the computer eventually turned up with no harm done, Pedro Cadenas, the agency's cybersecurity chief, quit -- telling Government Executive magazine that "the department has no interest in doing the right thing," and that he'd only met the Veterans Affairs secretary once, at a social event. The laxity of the Veterans Affairs Department isn't an isolated case; several federal departments -- including Defense and Homeland Security -- have received a grade of F for the past few years on a Computer Security Report Card issued by Congress. The government's overall grade is D-plus. Every day, according to a recent report in The Washington Post, hackers make more than 2,000 attempts to crack the Department of Agriculture's computers -- and apparently succeeded a few weeks ago, leading the agency to announce that personal data on more than 26,000 contractors and active and retired employees may have been stolen. Last year, an unknown intruder got into a computer at the National Nuclear Security Administration, a division of the Department of Energy that monitors the safety and reliability of military nuclear weapons. Information on more than 1,500 agency workers and outside contractors was stolen. Incredibly, the security breach wasn't reported to senior officials; it was buried with more than 830 other incidents the agency experienced last year. Hiding such breaches is common, according to government auditors. Years before the 9/11 terrorist attack and the destruction of New Orleans, federal officials were warned about grave danger, and did too little to prepare for it. Chertoff has got to do better -- before it gets worse. Originally published in NY Daily News on July 25, 2006. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html *** 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, For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #315 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Aug 28 17:34:28 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 29E2821FA; Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:34:27 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #316 Message-Id: <20060828213427.29E2821FA@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:34:27 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:36:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 316 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Google Wins e-Bay non-USA Ads (Eric Auchard) Google Expands From Search and Advertising to Business Software (Auchard) Call for Papers: IAENG International Conference on Bioinformatics (ICB) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 28, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) EchoStar to Pay $100M in Retransmission Dispute (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: Cellular Roaming Tariffs (Michael D. Sullivan) Re: Different Area Codes, Same Rate Area, and LNP (Rick Merrill) Re: Different Area Codes, Same Rate Area, and LNP (Lisa Hancock) Re: Different Area Codes, Same Rate Area, and LNO (John Levine) Re: Widow of Tombaugh 'Shook Up' by Decision (Lisa Hancock) Re: Feds Just Can't Hack It (Lisa Hancock) Re: Poor Walmart Had Troubles Friday Night (Lisa Hancock) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 14:46:25 -0500 From: Eric Auchard Subject: Google Wins e-Bay non-USA Ads By Eric Auchard Web search leader Google Inc. will supply online auctioneer eBay Inc. with Web search advertising outside the United States, and the two will join forces on "click-to-call" ads that link online shoppers to vendors, the companies said on Monday. Paid search advertising lets marketers bid for ad space next to keyword search results. EBay, whose shares were up 3 percent, said that for international online text advertising, it will rely exclusively on Google instead of Yahoo Inc. which in May struck a parallel deal to handle eBay's U.S. ads. The eBay contract is part of a string of deals for Google this month. It also plans to begin testing an ad-supported Web video syndication system with Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks, and it has struck a deal to supply ads to MySpace users and other Web properties of News Corp. The deal with eBay "is the most important of these areas," Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in a phone interview. "You can now see Google's strategy in each of these new markets," Schmidt said of MTV Web video, the MySpace community, and eBay e-commerce partnerships. "These are very large businesses for us." Separately, on Sunday, Google said it was moving beyond search and advertising into the business software market, starting with a set of Web programs for e-mail, scheduling and communications. It plans to add additional programs later. The eBay partnership indicates that "Google continues to grow not only through rapid innovation, but also through partnerships with premier online properties," Oppenheimer & Co. analyst A. Sasa Zorovic wrote in a research note. Financial terms for components of the deal involve revenue-sharing, but the companies did not disclose details. EBay said it did not expect the agreement to have a material impact on its financial results in 2006 or 2007. Analysts said the deal was also unlikely to have a material impact on Google during that period. EBay increasingly depends on paid search advertising to drive bidders to its auctions and sales. Its new pacts seek to make it easier for buyers to search for items for sale on eBay, while being careful not to offend sellers with competing ads. Through its deal with Yahoo, eBay has already begun testing ads that appear when U.S. customers fail to locate what they want on an eBay auction search, eBay CEO Meg Whitman said. The Google pact expands this to international sites. If and when eBay sellers become more comfortable seeing ads alongside their listings, eBay plans to expand the number of pages where Yahoo or Google ads may appear, she said. PHONING WEB CUSTOMER SERVICE The companies said they will jointly offer "click-to-call" advertising using the instant message and Web phone-calling services of two companies -- eBay's globally popular Skype and Google's nascent Google Talk service. Click-to-call is where advertising merges into e-commerce. It allows potential buyers to click on Web-phone ad links and talk directly to sellers or their representatives. The technique is seen as a promising way to reach merchants or advertisers who may not have a Web site, or who rely on potential customers using Yellow Pages phone directories. "The vast majority of businesses still serve customers via the phone," Whitman said in a joint interview with Google's CEO. "This is the online equivalent." EBay has signed up more than 100 million users worldwide for its Skype message and Web phone-calling service. EBay said it would soon offer Skype users the option to download the Google Toolbar, which has quick links to Google services, especially Web search. The two will explore making Skype and Google Talk work together for text chats and to help make users aware when users of the other service are online. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 14:51:36 -0500 From: Eric Auchard Subject: Google Expands From Search and Advertising Into Business Software By Eric Auchard Google Inc. is making a concerted move beyond search and advertising into the business software market, starting with a set of Web programs for e-mail, scheduling and communications, it said on Sunday. The online search leader said it has created a software platform to run basic business activities -- based on programs it already offers separately. The move marks a stepped up challenge to rival Microsoft Corp. as the software giant prepares to upgrade its Windows and Office franchises. The free set of Web-based programs for small businesses, universities and nonprofit businesses goes by the mouthful "Google Apps for Your Domain" (http://www.google.com/a). Later this year, Google said it will offer a "paid, premium" version with the option of being ad-free and more administrative control and compliance features to meet the demands of bigger corporations and government agencies. Pricing for this more advanced version is not yet available, it said. Google will host the applications relieving companies of the need to maintain or install software on individual PCs -- support tasks often more costly than software itself. "If we do it right, we get the best of both worlds -- very consumer-friendly software, but also low-cost business applications," said Dave Girouard, general manager of Google's enterprise division, which sells search software to companies. Individual office workers can sign on to Google Apps -- short for applications -- through their Web browsers. Initial apps are Gmail Web e-mail, the Google Talk instant message and Web phone-calling service, group scheduling on Google Calendar, and Google Page Creator for Web page design. "It really is intended to be a platform," Girouard said. "One of the fundamental benefits of the software as service approach is that you can just turn on new features over time." The Writely word processor and Google Spreadsheet are candidates for future inclusion in Google Apps, Girouard said. SOFTWARE CHALLENGE Google's main appeal is to consumers of its popular Web search and advertising systems. By packaging a set of software for businesses, Google is responding to demands by corporate network administrators who prefer to manage a standard set of software inside organizations. Many are cracking down on the spread of individual consumer programs within their networks. Sue Feldman, an analyst with market research firm IDC, said Google Apps moves the company into open competition with Microsoft in the business software market. Anticipating Google's moves, the world's biggest software maker has responded with Windows "Live" -- Web-based software for small business and consumers. But Microsoft's unwillingness to deliver its software until it is "fully baked" gives Google an opening to win adherents to its approach, the analyst said. "There is simplicity and there is s-i-m-p-l-i-c-i-t-y," Feldman said. "If you are used to using Microsoft Outlook, you may need many more features and you will want to use them whether you are connected to the Internet or offline." Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst with Global Crown Capital of San Francisco, says Google's bid to host business software may give pause to companies mulling when to upgrade to new versions of Microsoft Windows, Office and Outlook due in the next year. "For all the complexity of Microsoft software and how long Vista has taken, a lot of corporate executives are going to be wary: Do you update to the complexity of Vista or would you be better off just using something simple like Google Apps?" he said. Vista, the first major upgrade of Windows in five years, is due out later this year or early next. IBM, Oracle Corp. and SAP AG also are racing to offer their software as Web-based services in order to make it easier to use and to cut costs, following the lead of pioneer Salesforce.com. Google's latest move makes them both competitors and potential partners. Girouard underscored that the Google Apps platform is not designed to replace Microsoft's core software. Many businesses are likely to run Windows and Office programs alongside Google Apps on office workers' computers, he said. "This platform isn't by any means an alternative to Windows," Girouard said. "We are not really out there to eliminate any applications. We are looking to introduce new ways to solve problems people have been having for years." "There is a lot of open territory," he said. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/internet-news.html ------------------------------ From: imecs___2007@iaeng.org Subject: Call for Papers: IAENG International Conference on Bioinformatics Date: 27 Aug 2006 23:19:56 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com CFP: The IAENG International Conference on Bioinformatics ICB 2007 From: International Association of Engineers The 2007 IAENG International Conference on Bioinformatics 21-23 March, 2007, Hong Kong http://www.iaeng.org/IMECS2007/ICB2007.html The conference ICB'07 is held under the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists 2007. The IMECS 2007 is organized by the International Association of Engineers (IAENG), and serves as good platforms for the engineering community members to meet with each other and to exchange ideas. The last conference in 2006 has attracted a total of over four hundred participants from over 30 countries. All submitted papers will be under peer review and accepted papers will be published in the conference proceeding (ISBN: 978-988-98671-4-0). The abstracts will be indexed and available at major academic databases. The accepted papers will also be considered for publication in the special issues of the journal Engineering Letters, in IAENG journals and in edited books. Important Dates: Draft Manuscript submission deadline: 12 December, 2006 Camera-Ready papers & Pre-registration due: 2 January, 2007 ICB 2007: 21-23 March, 2007 Submission: ICB 2007 is now accepting manuscript submissions. Prospective authors are invited to submit their draft paper in full paper (any appropriate style) to imecs{at}iaeng.org by 12 December, 2006. The submitted file can be in MS Word format, PS format, or PDF formats. The first page of the draft paper should include: (1) Title of the paper; (2) Name, affiliation and e-mail address for each author; (3) A maximum of 5 keywords of the paper. Also, the name of the conference that the paper is being submitted to should be stated in the email. The topics of the ICB'07 include, but not limited to, the following: Sequence analysis Sequence alignment Sequence database Sequence profiling tools Sequence motif Genome annotation Gene finding Computational evolutionary biology Gene expression analysis Protein expression analysis Analysis of mutations in cancer and other diseases Structure prediction Structural motif Preserving biodiversity Modeling biological systems Software tools And other applications ICB Conference Co-Chairs and Committee Members: Dr. Qingfeng Chen (co-chair) School of Information Technology Deakin University, Australia I-Jen Chiang Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of Medical Informatics, Taipei Medical University Adjunct Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taiwan Wallace Choy (co-chair) Research Ass. Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Jui-chien Hsieh (co-chair) Assistant Professor, Department of Bioinformatics Chung Hua University, Taiwan Hsueh-Fen Juan Assistant Professor, Department of Life science National Taiwan University, Taiwan Xueliang Li Deputy Director and Professor Center for Combinatorics, Nankai University, China Alejandro Murua (co-chair) Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Montreal, Canada Associate Editor, International Journal of Tomography and Statistics Dr. Dat Tran Senior Lecturer in Computing, School of Information Sciences and Engineering, University of Canberra, Australia Lin-Yu Tseng (co-chair) Professor, Department of Computer Science National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan Jer-Shyan Wu (co-chair) Associate Professor, Department of Bioinformatics Chung Hua University, Taiwan Cheng-Hong Yang Professor, Department of Electronics Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, Taiwan More details about the IMECS 2007 can be found at: http://www.iaeng.org/IMECS2007/index.html More details about the International Association of Engineers, the journal Engineering Letters and the IAENG International Journal of Computer Science can be found at: http://www.iaeng.org/about_IAENG.html http://www.engineeringletters.com http://www.iaeng.org/IJCS/index.html It will be highly appreciated if you can circulate these calls for papers to your colleagues. ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 28, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:49:23 -0400 (EDT) ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For August 28, 2006 ******************************** Motorola and Nokia Experience Problems in Russia http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19555?11228 Motorola said last week that it would not seek compensation for the destruction of mobile phones worth US$2 million. In March this year, 167,000 Motorola mobile phones (worth about US$17 million) were impounded by police at a Moscow airport as evidence in a contraband case. In April, police charged that the phones posed a danger to ... One-Touch Keypad Finds a Home http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/19551?11228 As everybody knows, most alphanumeric keyboards designed for mobile devices are little more than a cruel joke. Tiny keytops and cramped layouts make any attempt at rapid, long-term typing frustrating and potentially painful. Back in 2002, Lexington, Mass.-based Digit Wireless unveiled its FasTap keypad. The device was designed to ... Sprint Aims to Simplify Business Mobility http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19549?11228 Sprint Nextel introduced Sprint Advanced Wireless Solutions, a program designed to provide business customers with an all-inclusive mobility solution. Sprint intends to act as the single point of contact for its business customers, while handling contract negotiations, and solution configuration and integration for its customers. ... Frontier/Citizens Seek Broadband Deregulation http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19547?11228 The incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) operations of Frontier and its parent Citizens Communications have asked the federal government to free their broadband businesses from rules and regulations the latest chapter of what is becoming a growing trend among major U.S. telcos: Seeking light-touch treatment. Forbearance petitions ... Laptop vs Smartphone: No Contest http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19545?11228 Executives at smartphone manufacturers like Palm Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) need only look at their own products to understand why, even as the devices gain popularity across different job functions and levels, the penetration among all mobile workers remains a fraction of the total potential user base ... Nokia Siemens Names More Execs http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19543?11228 Nokia Corp. and Siemens Communications Group have ironed out more details of their carrier infrastructure joint venture, Nokia Siemens Networks, naming the heads of its business and regional divisions. The new company will combine Nokia's Networks Business Group with the carrier-related operations of Siemens ... Mobile Video Industry Will Begin to Shape up in 2008 http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/19541?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The market for long form mobile/portable video content (video content of greater than 30 minutes) is currently in an experimental phase, and will likely remain at this stage for at least two years, reports In-Stat. By 2008, however, the industry will begin to gain traction and demonstrate its long-term ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 12:40:57 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: EchoStar to Pay $100M in Retransmission Dispute USTelecom dailyLead August 28, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/enpwfDtusXbkdhUVbp TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * EchoStar to pay $100M in retransmission dispute BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Wireless carriers fend off rivals in spectrum auction * Telstra to offer stock deal to current shareholders * XO gets into wireless broadband mix * Analysis: Microsoft's unified communications plan could face hurdles USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * CALEA Compliance, Telco IPTV & ROADM -- Now Free On-Demand HOT TOPICS * Cisco buys Arroyo * AT&T inks U-Verse deal in San Antonio * Analysis: Sprint Nextel faces uphill climb * Verizon, BellSouth to add new surcharge to DSL bills * Supreme Court justice lets EchoStar ruling stand TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Mobile ads look to dial up consumers * Google, eBay in global text-ad deal REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * BellSouth scraps DSL surcharge * Editorial: California PUC vote a solid move * Wireless carriers seek priority treatment to ensure speedy repairs during emergencies DIVERSIONS * In Transylvania, a Count Invites You to His Castle * Read Between All Those For-Sale Signs * Bargains Are Near; Just Keep Waiting * In Paris, a Feast of Art and History, in Bite-Size Pieces * Like Packards? Ask the Man Who Owns 33 of Them ------------------------------ From: Michael D. Sullivan Subject: Re: Cellular Roaming Tariffs Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 07:11:07 GMT On 8/27/2006 11:57 AM, Raqueeb Hassan wrote: > Michael D. Sullivan wrote: >> That is correct. State PUCs are explicitly deprived of jurisdiction >> to regulate cellular rates by Section 221(b)(3) of the Communications >> Act, 47 USC 221(b)(3). This is true of both the carrier-consumer >> rates, such as the ones governed by various contracts that may charge >> different rates from contract to contract, and of the >> carrier-to-carrier rates, which are governed by roaming agreements >> between carriers. > Well, I guess that applies in US within, what happens in other part of > the world? I'm interested on the inter-carrier cellular roaming > charges by the regulators in Asia. This is governed by national and, in some cases, sub-national laws. My response above pertains only to the U.S. Given the generally deregulated nature of wireless services in most countries, the same analysis may apply. But there is no guarantee of that. Only a specialist qualified to analyze your country's laws and regulations can answer your question on a country-specific basis. Michael D. Sullivan Bethesda, MD (USA) (To reply, change example.invalid to com in the address.) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:03:18 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: Different Area Codes, Same Rate Area, and LNP ivan.filpo@gmail.com wrote: > I am very anxious about transferring my local phone number to Vonage > because I am worried that users that can call me for free now, will no > longer be able to. I live in the border line of two area codes, 225 > and 985, I can call my friends 985 number locally, no long distance > charge, with my 225 number. However, since the number that vonage > temporatily assigned to me is considered long distance to this town, I > am scared that even though my current phone is local it might become a > distant number. > According to what I have read about LNP, when porting numbers from one > telco to another, you should remain in the same physical area; meaning > that I should be able to still call my friends without the need to > dial 1 and viceversa, as one would for long distance numbers. However, > I do not want a mistake like porting my number from local to long > distance to happen, and therefore, feel very anxious about this step > and I am for confirmation that what I understood is right and that > according to FCC rules it should remain local. > Currently Vonage gave me a temporary phone line, but since I guess low > requests in this area since most people dont have internet, they were > not able to give me a local number, and therefore cant receive calls > unless callers dial 1. However, something else tells me that by > porting my current phone vonage will gain or have access to a phone > line in this area and should keep it local, at least that is what > common sense tells me, but just need to confirm since I cant afford to > make this mistake. > I understand that if exchanging local carriers the number should > remain as local, but Vonage is over the internet and does not seem it > would remain local, but it could with third party exchange carriers. > Finally, should I be completely sure that my line will port and that > will remain local? > Thanks for reading and all your help. > Ivan YOU will have free LD, but you are correct that your friends calling you might have to dial and pay LD rates. I have heard from other folk to whom this happened. I would call Vonage support for your area and ask for a supervisor to explain exactly how it would work -- give them your friends phone number for an example. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Different Area Codes, Same Rate Area, and LNP Date: 28 Aug 2006 09:00:26 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com ivan.filpo@gmail.com wrote: > I am very anxious about transferring my local phone number to Vonage > because I am worried that users that can call me for free now, will no > longer be able to. I live in the border line of two area codes, 225 > and 985, I can call my friends 985 number locally, no long distance > charge, with my 225 number. However, since the number that vonage > temporatily assigned to me is considered long distance to this town, I > am scared that even though my current phone is local it might become a > distant number. Before I answer, you should know I am not a big fan of VOIP. IMHO it is overhyped and there are many technical details (like 911 connectivity) to be worked out. IMHO (and personal experience) many of the sales people often give out incorrect information and do not have adequate resources to serve customers correctly. Thus, you may be promised something that doesn't come to be. I also live in a border area as you describe and I have found outsiders -- like long distance carriers -- do not understand the arrangement. Long distance companies have billed me for local calls over the line and it was a fight to get the charges off. I am afraid VOIP are spread too thin to understand these subtle arrangements and your concerns are completely valid. That is, you will end up with a number that is long distance for others to call you. ------------------------------ Date: 28 Aug 2006 21:18:30 -0000 From: John Levine Subject: Re: Different Area Codes, Same Rate Area, and LNP In-Reply-To: > I am very anxious about transferring my local phone number to Vonage > because I am worried that users that can call me for free now, will no > longer be able to. The rate that people pay to call your number depends ONLY on the rate center your number's prefix (the first three digits) is assigned to. Vonage may or may not be able to port your number, but if they can, it won't affect who can call if for free. > According to what I have read about LNP, when porting numbers from one > telco to another, you should remain in the same physical area What that really means is that the new telco must offer service in the LATA to which the number is assigned. LATAs are service areas that were created at the time of the Bell breakup. Sometimes they match area code boundares, but more often they don't. R's, John ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Widow of Tombaugh 'Shook Up' by Decision Date: 28 Aug 2006 09:04:03 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com The story in the Newark Star Ledger reported that only a small number of scientists actually voted in the official survey; that is, the majority of scientists at the conference did not participate in the vote. That makes me wonder if the vote was fair. While the scientific evidence to downgrade Pluto is strong, the decision still bothers me none the less. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Feds Just Can't Hack It Date: 28 Aug 2006 11:52:05 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Daily News Editorial wrote: > Computers and the Internet are used to control and coordinate > airports, radio stations, electric utilities and radio communications > between first responders. Imagine how much worse the panic and death > toll on 9/11 might have been if New York were left without electric > power, without access to computers and without working phones, radio, > television or traffic lights. > A cyberattack could plunge all or part of the nation into chaos. There IS cause for concern, but the risk varies greatly from one application to another. Also, "cyberattack" has many different meanings. Much of it simply could be a traditional physical attack on infrastructure, such as putting an explosive down a utility manhole or blowing up a computer room. How much protection does critical power substations have against being bombed? Many networks are very vulnerable to viruses. For example, an email virus could cripple everyone's desk top with a flood of emails. That might have nothing to do with an application, but if one's desktop is down, can one still control an application? For critical control points, such control units should be fully isolated except for their dedicated function. Operators shouldn't be emailing their girlfriends or surfing the net from such computers. Critical applications should not be controlled through the Internet at all. That is way too risky. It's all right for an applicaton to use Internet protocols within itself, but it should be completely isolated from the Internet. That is direct lines between control and the field, with secondary backup lines. > Still, federal bureaucrats have their heads stuck in the sand. In May, > red-faced officials at the Veterans Affairs Department acknowledged that > sensitive personal information on more than 26 million veterans -- > including names, addresses and Social Security numbers -- had gone > missing. This turned out to be much ado about nothing. The laptop was stolen for itself, not for the data on it. I suspect almost all such thefts are for the physical item, not the data. (We do need far better controls on protecting information, though.) In this day and age the existence of sabotage viruses and the like is inexcusable. The sabotage isn't by James Bond type figures climbing down the skylight. A great many people are skilled enough to make viruses, they just choose not to. The Internet should be far more secure. It's like using a bathroom door lock to protect the gold at Fort Knox. We'll probably need a national or international body to control the Internet and eliminate the numerous weakspots in it, kind of like the way the FCC and intl bodies allocate radio frequencies and telephone signal protocols. This business of hijacking unprotected servers is ridiculous. Although this is blasphemous to say so, we'll probably need border controls on Internet traffic entering the United States just as there is on physical goods. Or quarentine borders around countries that create malicious viruses, phishing, etc. I still insist the term "virus" is very misleading. It implies it's something we can't really control very well, like the common cold. But that's false. It's sabotage, not naturally from nature, but specifically created by people. Maybe if the headlines read "ABC BANK HIT BY SABOTAGE, 3RD ATTACK THIS WEEK" people would take notice and demand action. [public replies, please] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Poor Walmart Had Troubles Friday Night Date: 28 Aug 2006 11:59:02 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: > I lost close to a hundred dollars worth of > refrigerator/freezer food during the eight hours I was without > power. (7:30 PM to about 5:00 AM). Some say food will last a good number of hours if the doors are not opened. I don't know what the cutoff time is. Obviously it depends on the insulation quality of the fridge and the room temperature. > Walmart is going to stay closed over the weekend in order to restock > all their frozen grocery items My neighborhood power relability is not so good. One local restaurant got a generator and the police have a generator for the traffic light. If storms are predicted, these generators are pulled out to be ready. The local convenience store has to dump all its perishables which is a lot of food (frozen and deli items of which it sells a lot). Seems to me they should get a generator for their frig/freezers to save their stock. Even if the store has to close due to no lights at least they can reopen immediately when the lights come on. However, the generator needed for powering commercial grade and size freezers and refrigerators may be very large and too big to be practical. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Now that the weekend is over and things are back to at least a semblence of normalacy, we here (the Townson household) have found have found that much of what we considered to be 'ruined' in fact unthawed a little but is mostly okay. I kept the refrigerator/freezer doors closed entirely the entire night except once for a jug of icewater and cola to drink. An informal audit taken of some of the restaurant business places around town (such as Dairy Queen where we ate Saturday night) said Friday night was a real bummer, having to clean up/close up in the dark Friday night, but they managed to get by. Microtel and Super Eight (two motels along that West Main Street strip as well as Walmart are still trying to get things back to normal as of today, Monday afternoon. All the businesses along there now have generators, compliments of Westar Energy. They even gave a couple generators to the handful of residences still affected out there, and told them all to _carefully_ ration the power among themslves. Walmart -- not to be outwitted -- has a couple of large, noisy generators sitting in their parking lot, which is otherwise taken over by Westar/KGE trucks and equipment. The main road into Walmart has police cars with officers waving everyone away, so Walmart fixed things up so if you wish to get into their store, there is a little tiny road several yards west which terminates in their parking lot (otherwise occupied by large, heavy, very specialized trucks and other units, but Walmart kept about one row of spaces for their customers, which is being shared with Walmart's own freezer trucks and a mechanical fork lift truck which someone drives around getting things out of the freezer trucks. Most of the store is still dark; the generators cannot light the entire place as Walmart would like, and although they say they are 'open for business' when we went by there this morning, 'business' amounted to perhaps two or three customers around some taped off registers and most of the store sort of a gray color from the skylights which were letting in sun light and the few overhead lights the generators were able to deal with in addition to serving the computers, the phone system and the freezers. Who I really feel sorry for out there is Dr. Epp and his veternary clinic/hospital. The poor animals must have really suffered in the heat over the weekend, although I saw a generator parked in _his_ parking area this morning; but a sign said 'kennel is closed at this time, elective surgery (i.e. getting your dogs and cats 'fixed') is cancelled, please re-schedule; emergencies only at this time. And the local animal shelter is a couple blocks away. They are also categorized as a 'business' which put them sort of low on the totem-pole of the Westar emergency repairs. :( Over here on the east side of town, we sit here in relative ease and comfort today. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * 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 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ 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. 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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. 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 V25 #316 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Aug 29 14:50:49 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 307A8220B; Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:50:48 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #317 Message-Id: <20060829185048.307A8220B@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:50:48 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:52:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 317 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson FCC Speeds Up Bidding in Wireless Sale (Jeremy Pelofsky, Reuters) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 29, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) EPIC Alert 13.13 (Monty Solomon) EPIC Alert 13.14 (Monty Solomon) EPIC Alert 13.15 (Monty Solomon) EPIC Alert 13.16 (Monty Solomon) EPIC Alert 13.17 (Monty Solomon) Re: Widow of Tombaugh 'Shook Up' by Decision (John Hines) May 1966 - Customers Angry at Switch to Message Units From Toll (L Hancock) Developer to Raze Bell Labs Holmdel Facility (Neal McLain) Ever Want to Throw Away Your Mobile Phone? (Anna Ringstrom, Reuters) Verizon Offers Free Online Games (USTA DailyLead) NY Times Reporter Seeks Info on History of SIT Tone (davidk) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 12:45:30 -0500 From: Jeremy Pelofsky Subject: FCC Speeds Up Bidding in Wireless Sale By Jeremy Pelofsky The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday accelerated the bidding in its auction of licenses for advanced wireless services, which has already raised almost $13.6 billion after 14 days. The agency added two rounds of bidding per day to bring the daily total to six rounds and cut the time of each round in half to 30 minutes, an effort to complete the sale as companies vie for 1,122 licenses around the country. The auction continues until there are no new bids, withdrawals or other activity. After 54 rounds, T-Mobile USA, the No. 4 U.S. wireless carrier and a unit of Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG, provisionally had the highest bids for 121 licenses with offers of $4.2 billion. Analysts predicted the company would be an aggressive bidder because it does not have as many airwaves as its larger competitors. T-Mobile has the highest bids for several large regional licenses as well as ones that cover smaller areas. No. 2 wireless carrier Verizon Wireless is second in the bidding, with provisionally winning bids of $2.8 billion for four licenses. While traditional wireless companies have largely dominated the auction, a group that includes the major cable television providers and No. 3 wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. is in third place based on provisionally winning bids. That group, SpectrumCo LLC, includes Comcast Corp., Time Warner Inc. and Cox Communications and has the highest bids for 133 licenses with offers of almost $2.3 billion, according to FCC data. Analysts have predicted the sale could raise up to $15 billion, which would be a record if there are no successful legal challenges or bidders that failed to pay. The FCC did raise $17.6 billion in a 2001 auction, but that sale was later voided when the Supreme Court ruled the licenses up for auction were wrongfully taken from a company in bankruptcy protection. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 29, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 11:45:26 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For August 29, 2006 ******************************** EU Study Reveals Need for More Competition, Finds Mobile Households Exceed Fixed http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/105/19584?11228 The European Commission's efforts at forcing incumbent telecoms operators to open up their infrastructures to competition received a boost last week. A new study released on Friday (25 August) found that greater competition and streamlined European rules encouraged greater investment and ... FCC, Wireless Industry Unhappy with New FAA Directive http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19582?11228 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the wireless industry have criticised a new directive from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to introduce more checks when companies site new antennas or make modifications to existing ones. The FAA had in June proposed plans to modify and expand the scope of its Part 77 rules ... Uncovering Revenue Leakage Problems in Broadband and Data Services http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19577?11228 Given today's tight margins and competitive landscape, most providers now understand that revenue assurance needs to be a proactive element of every service rollout. In this article, we will look at a configuration-based approach to fighting revenue leakage in flat-fee services that are delivered over packet-switched ... Get Real with Wireless Price Points http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/19574?11228 Unless they come to the party with deep pockets, the major winners in the AWS auctions that begin next month will have to secure financing for network buildouts. Companies with big plans for WiMAX operations are faced with the same challenge. To be successful, they will need to convince investors with business models that show they ... Tests and Tools Heed the VoIP Call http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/19572?11228 While VoIP (voice-over-IP) service reaches deeper into millions of homes and businesses, and its place in the triple play bundle rises to near-must-have proportions, the testing of the service's tricky nuances and complexities is entering the mission-critical stage. For the most part, the status of VoIP testing is at best a work ... MobilePro Helps RCN Make a Quadruple Play http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/19568?11228 RCN Corporation and MobilePro forged an agreement to sell wireless services, which will enable RCN to become a quadruple-play provider. The deal marks the first time wireless will be offered to RCN customers. The companies plan to work together to roll out an initial trial in September, offering a range of monthly plans aimed at ... Rumor Du Jour: France Telecom Could Enter PT Fight http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/19565?11228 With Portugal's Competition Authority (AdC) now expected to rule by the end of the week favorably -- albeit with major stipulations -- on Sonae's hostile takeover bid for Portugal Telecom (PT), rumors out of Europe say France Telecom is about to step into the fray and will, together with a clutch of Spanish banks, help fund more... WiFi Gets High http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/19562?11228 As questions continue to arise about large-scale mesh WiFi deployments in big cities, the technoscenti have begun to ask: Is there a better way? The answer is yes, according to Jerry Dix, chairman and CEO of 5G Wireless Communications Inc., which supplies 'cellular-style' WiFi for outdoor and indoor networks. ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:23:23 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EPIC Alert 13.13 ======================================================================== E P I C A l e r t ======================================================================== Volume 13.13 June 30, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Washington, D.C. http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_13.13.html ======================================================================== Table of Contents ======================================================================== [1] Government Program Probes Financial Records [2] EPIC Opposes Photo ID Requirements for Voting [3] Lawmakers, Industry, Call for Federal Privacy Law [4] FTC Calls for Open Access to WHOIS [5] Experts Find Wiretaps Weaken Security [6] News in Brief [7] EPIC Bookstore: Vernor Vinge's "Rainbows End" [8] Upcoming Conferences and Events http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_13.13.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:23:23 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EPIC Alert 13.14 ======================================================================== E P I C A l e r t ======================================================================== Volume 13.14 July 13, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Washington, D.C. http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_13.14.html ======================================================================== Table of Contents ======================================================================== [1] Georgia State, Federal Courts Halt Photo ID Requirement for Voters [2] EPIC Supports Supreme Court Review of DNA Databases [3] British ID Card Plan Stalls [4] FBI Proposes Wiretap Law Expansion [5] Defense Department Monitored Student Email [6] News in Brief [7] EPIC Bookstore: John Battelle's "The Search" [8] Upcoming Conferences and Events http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_13.14.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:23:23 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EPIC Alert 13.15 ======================================================================== E P I C A l e r t ======================================================================== Volume 13.15 July 27, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Washington, D.C. http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_13.15.html ======================================================================== Table of Contents ======================================================================== [1] Courts, Congress Ponder NSA Surveillance Issues [2] EPIC Testifies on WHOIS Privacy and Phishing [3] House Committees Hold Joint Hearing on E-voting [4] House Nears Vote on Data Breach Bill [5] D.C. Council Approves Temporary Expansion of Camera Use [6] News in Brief [7] EPIC Bookstore: Yochai Benkler's "The Wealth of Networks" [8] Upcoming Conferences and Events http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_13.15.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:23:23 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EPIC Alert 13.16 ======================================================================== E P I C A l e r t ======================================================================== Volume 13.16 August 10, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Washington, D.C. http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_13.16.html ======================================================================== Table of Contents ======================================================================== [1] Key Congressman Doubts DHS Privacy Officer's Qualifications [2] Non Commercial Users Urge Privacy for WHOIS before IGF [3] $50 Million Verdict for Violating Drivers' Privacy in FL [4] GAO: Current Laws Don't Protect Info Held by Data Brokers [5] RFID Passport Hacked [6] News in Brief [7] EPIC Bookstore: Steve Posner, "Privacy Law and the USA PATRIOT Act" [8] Upcoming Conferences and Events http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_13.16.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:23:23 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EPIC Alert 13.17 ======================================================================== E P I C A l e r t ======================================================================== Volume 13.17 August 25, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Washington, D.C. http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_13.17.html ======================================================================== Table of Contents ======================================================================== [1] Federal Court Finds NSA Wiretaps Illegal [2] AOL Releases Users' Search Queries [3] DHS Inspector General: More Security Needed for RFID [4] Government to Require Cars Warn of "Black Box" Recording [5] DHS Seeks Expanded Access to Travelers' Data [6] News in Brief [7] EPIC Bookstore: David Lazer's "DNA and the Criminal Justice System" [8] Upcoming Conferences and Events http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_13.17.html ------------------------------ From: John Hines Subject: Re: Widow of Tombaugh 'Shook Up' by Decision Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 10:26:01 -0500 Organization: www.jhines.org Reply-To: john@jhines.org > Editor's Note: When our power came back on Saturday morning, the > Independence High School cable TV station had a program on > interviewing one of the astronomy teachers who noted that "all the > textbooks we have used in my memory have included Pluto as one of > 'our' planets. (Flashback showing a classroom scene, with a textbook > open to pages discussing Pluto.) I guess new textbooks will revise > all that." One of the reasons why IMHO they should have grandfathered Pluto in as a planet. Now if the Walt Disney Co would do a short showing Pluto(c) as the leader of the Knuiper band of objects, we could teach the solar system in 3 to 5 minutes. Silly sig to prevent isp ad ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: May 1966 - Customers Angry at Switch to Message Units From Toll Date: 28 Aug 2006 14:46:14 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com May 1966 -- NYT -- Suffolk County Long Island telephone subscribers were angry at a change in billing practices. NY Telephone switched to a message unit system instead of itemized toll charges for calls outside one's calling area on Long Island. With "message units", the bill only shows a gross number of units rather than individually itemized calls. The units charged per call vary by distance and time. Business people said they needed itemization for tax purposes. Others complained they had large bills but no way to figure them out. The phone company said the switch saved customers 20% in bookkeeping costs. From the phone company's point of view, it is much simpler than listing on a bll a slew of 5c and 10c toll calls. The above refers to Suffolk County on suburban Long Island (still mostly rural in 1966). The rest of NYC and adjacent suburbs went to message units -- along with direct dialing -- around 1950. I don't know how the phone company recorded charges back then. According to the Eng & Sci history, AMA tapes included message unit calls, so detailed records were available even if not shown on the customer's bill. But message units could also be easily recorded on the same meters used to track local calls, just incrementing the counter as needed per call. AMA was developed with No 5 crossbar in 1948 so it was theorectically available for NY. Could anyone elaborate on this process? Message units or measured service is still used today in places. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 20:54:58 -0500 From: Neal McLain Subject: Developer to Raze Bell Labs Holmdel Facility Developer to raze Bell Labs Holmdel facility, birthplace of the cellphone. Engadget July 5, 2006 The facility in question, one time Holmdel, New Jersey home to Bell Labs -- one of the most prolific technology innovators of the 20th century -- was owned by Lucent technologies until a recent round of asset liquidations. Barely 40 miles out of New York City, in its heydey the six-story, two million square foot campus, employed over 5,600 people who toiled away in its bowels; it became home to the work of numerous Nobel laureates, and has long since been cemented in the annals of tech history as the birthplace to some of the most important communications technologies ever conceived. And it'll soon be torn down. Full article: http://tinyurl.com/pm2wo Back in my college days in Ann Arbor in the '60s, I once wrote a term paper about Eero Saarinen, the architect. Here are links to two publicity photos that the Bell Labs PR folks sent to me at the time: http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b85/Cable77422/3.jpg http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b85/Cable77422/2.jpg I've been told that the water tower is supposed to look like a transistor, but I think that's sort of stretching the imagination... Neal McLain ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 22:00:32 -0500 From: Anna Ringstrom, Reuters Subject: Ever Want to Throw Away Your Mobile Phone? Finn takes gold at mobile phone throwing contest By Anna Ringstrom Anyone wanting to throw away their mobile phone can do it in style and may even win a medal -- at the Mobile Phone Throwing World Championship, Finland's latest contribution to offbeat athleticism. Originally a local event in this small town close to the Russian border, the seventh annual contest on Saturday, August 26, drew some 100 throwers from as far afield as Canada, Russia and Belgium. Founder Christine Lund describes the event as a good source of light exercise with an environmentally friendly twist. "There are a lot of mobile phones on the second-hand market, and we are recycling them (before they become toxic waste)," she said. The inventive Finns had already given the world the Sauna World Championships and the Wife Carrying Competition before coming up with a new way to make mobile phones even more mobile. This year's gold medal went to Finland's Lassi Etelatalo, who flung a scrapped Nokia unit a forceful 89.00 metres. "I prepared by javelin throwing, I haven't really practised throwing mobile phones," Etelatalo told Reuters. In the freestyle event, Dutchman Elie Rugthoven's phone landed outside the designated area, but he still won silver thanks to a phone juggling performance that impressed the judges. Lund says competitors all have their favorite throwing brand. "People choose by size, by color or by how it fits in the hand ... Some believe a heavy model will ensure a long throw, some want a light one." Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 12:08:15 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Verizon Offers Free Online Games USTelecom dailyLead August 29, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/enzQfDtusXbnaSTfwJ TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Verizon offers free online games BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * AOL relaunches music product * Verizon expands Microsoft alliance * Skype a key factor in eBay-Google alliance * Teens may not want their MTV online * Report: IPTV could reach 34M subscribers worldwide by 2010 USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * What you need to know about IPTV TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Wi-Fi Alliance to certify "Draft N" products * The coming mobile Web * Australia's developers sweeten housing deals with fiber-optic offers REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Report: Maine trails U.S. in broadband subscriptions DIVERSIONS * That Final Resting Place, Reimagined * BMW's Custom-Made University * The Original Bali Hai * Kander Without Ebb? Start Spreading the News * Find the Soul of Love and Paris. You Have Five Minutes. Go! Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/enzQfDtusXbnaSTfwJ ------------------------------ From: davidk Subject: NY Times Reporter Seeks Info About History of the SIT Tone Date: 29 Aug 2006 11:25:42 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com My name is David Kocieniewski, I'm a New York Times reporter researching a story about the development and history of the special information tone. If anyone has any info about this topic, please contact me at my office (609) 292-5174 or by email : davidk@nytimes.com (please cc to davidkocieniewski@verizon.net because the Times' voracious spam filter sometimes gobbles up friend as well as foe) Thanks. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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! 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #317 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Aug 31 14:49:01 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id A460921B9; Thu, 31 Aug 2006 14:49:00 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #318 Message-Id: <20060831184900.A460921B9@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 14:49:00 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 31 Aug 2006 14:50:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 318 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson AT&T Inks Wi-Fi Deal With Illinois City (USTelecom dailyLead) California Senate Approves Statewide Franchise Bell (USTelecom dailylead) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 30, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - August 31, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Research on History of Automated Operator Services (AOS) (Denise C) Re: Widow of Tombaugh 'Shook Up' by Decision (support@sellcom.com) Re: Different Area Codes, Same Rate Area, and LNP (Sam Spade) Re: Ever Want to Throw Away Your Mobile Phone? (Matt Simpson) Re: May 1966 - Customers Angry at Switch to Units From Toll (D Burstein) Re: May 1966 - Customers Angry at Switch to Message Units (Sam Spade) Re: NY Times Reporter Seeks Info About History of the SIT Tone (L. Hancock) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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