Telecom/1996-04-telecom-walnutcreek.iso/back.issues/1992.volume.12/vol12.iss701-750

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Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 13:09:33 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #701

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 12 Sep 92 13:09:33 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 701

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Working Assets Long Distance (John Higdon)
    Re: Working Assets Long Distance (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Working Assets Long Distance (Fred R. Goldstein)
    Re: Cell Phones in the Air (Andrew C. Green)
    Re: New "Call Completion" from Cinci Bell (Mickey Ferguson)
    Re: AT&T 'Buying Back' Customers (Ken Levitt)
    Re: How Can I Splice Telephone Wires Without an Overkill? (Pat Turner)
    Why 'Die Hard II' Used Pac*Bell Pay Phones (Paul Robinson)
    Re: Radios in Die Hard (Ehud Gavron)
    Re: Information Wanted on GTD-5 Centrex (Kevin W. Williams)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 02:04 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Working Assets Long Distance


Rob Woiccak <[e-mail]> writes:

> They advertise their long distance rates as "guaranteed to be lower
> than AT&T, MCI and Sprint."

Don't you believe it. It is surprising how few people, including those
that hang out on this forum, realize that if one digs deep enough, he
can find much cheaper arrangements from the major carriers than those
advertised to the masses. None of these arrangements are available
through resellers such as Working Assets.

> There is a mention of up to 15% off on volume discounts and a 20%
> discount on calls to other Working Assets subscribers.

These are chump-change discounts. Unless a carrier is talking 40-50%
off "normal" rates, it is wasting my time.

> - 100% fiber-optic sound
> - Convienent "dial 1" calling

Who does not offer this?

> - Low, competitive rates

What does that mean?

> - Volume discounts
> - 24-hour operators
> - Free calling cards
> - Direct international dialing
> - Friendly customer service

Well, I have certainly never heard of these things before! These are
supposed to be unusual features? Or is it trying to sound "real"?

> On the surface, it doesn't *look* like a bad deal and the idea of
> having 1% of your phone bill going to a good cause (they contribute to
> Planned Parenthood, Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, Oxfam
> America, Amnesty Inter- national, National Coalition for the Homeless,
> and Fund for a Free South Africa among others) is a nice one.

Au contrare. The best statement you can make is with your pocketbook.
This is precisely why I keep my charitable, artistic, business, and
personal transactions separate and distinct. When I contribute to
charity, PACs, and artistic organizations, they know who is
contributing the money. My contribution is a statement of my support.
Granted, it may be conscience-soothing for someone who normally does
not make these contributions to think about that 1% of the phone bill
going to "good causes".

But if I am doing business with a long distance company, I want to
reserve the right to deal directly with the actual entity providing
the service. Is Working Assets in the telephone business or in the
Politically Correct business? If you have highly technical problems is
someone at WA going to be able to discuss them with you? And on the
other side of the coin, if you have a problem with a facet of Planned
Parenthood, do you think you can convince WA to take up your problem
with that organization -- up to and including the withholding of
funds?  (I use Planned Parenthood as an example because I do
contribute directly to the organization.)

> wonder how much the rates are raised to defray the operating costs
> after the contributions are made. I'd be interested in hearing from
> any other subcribers as well.

Does it matter? If you go with this operation you are doing one-stop
shopping: telephone service and political action conscience-relief
with one easy payment. My advice is this: if you want telephone
service, do business with a company that provides telephone service.
If you feel the need to express yourself through contribution, then
pick and choose among the hundreds and hundreds of lobbying and
political action organizations and hand over your money directly. This
usually entitles you to also express yourself to other members and you
are pinpointing the focus of your donation.

> Environmentalists will be happy to know that WALD says they use 100%
> recycled paper and soy-based inks (when possible) for their bills and
> that they plant 17 trees for every ton of paper used.

I think if I hear much more about the selling of the environment in
the form of "environmentally correct" use of resources, I will puke.
If you really believe that the world will be a better place because WA
uses soy-based inks (when possible, of course), or that those reps
will weigh all the bills going out the door and when the scale tips
one ton, go out and plant seventeen trees -- then by all means go out
and save the world and use WA for long distance.

As for me and my house, we will use AT&T, MCI, and Sprint. And with
the real money saved we will make contributions to those causes we
really believe in. And answer this: I can talk to technicians at AT&T;
can you do the same at Working Assets? Do you think there will never
be problems?


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Working Assets Long Distance
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 09:25:58 GMT


It is my understanding that Working Assets Long Distance is run by
Sprint on the technical end i.e. calls are handled on the regular
Sprint network.  Since WALD doesn't appear to have their own 10XXX
code, I'd bet that it is just Sprint's standard 10333 with the billing
handled specially.

I spoke with a friend that has had Working Assets Long Distance for
some time, and he said that he's been really satisfied with the
quality of the service.  The calls are indeed carried by US Sprint,
and by checking the 1-700-555-4141 number from his line, it says
"Welcome to Sprint's long distance services", so the PIC is just
Sprint's standard 10333.  His calling card access number is different
from the regular Sprint FONCard access number, though.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Fred R. Goldstein)
Subject: Re: Working Assets Long Distance
Organization: Digital Equipment Corp., Littleton MA USA
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 21:51:15 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, Rob Woiccak <REWOICC@ERENJ.
BITNET> writes:

> I received a mailing from Working Assets the other day advertising
> their services.

Working Assets Long Distance underwrites some programming on our local
NPR affiliate, WBUR.  This "non-commercial" has got to be the silliest
attempt at using 800 numbers, though.  They ask you to call them at:

1-800-CITIZEN-WITH-AN-X  !

Never mind that there's no Z on the dial, and that's 14 digits instead
of seven.  It's just silly.  (And after a few weeks, it dawned on me
what their real 800 number might be, but it wasn't immediately
obvious, and I'm not going to dial it.  On principle.)


Fred R. Goldstein   [e-mail]
k1io             or [e-mail]   voice:[phone]
Standard Disclaimer:  Opinions are mine alone; sharing requires permission.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 11:39:12 CDT
From: Andrew C. Green <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Cell Phones in the Air


Anthony Clifton ([e-mail]) writes:

> The reason that you can't use a cell phone on an airplane is so you
> can't call for a rescue team to save you from the food.  =-)

> Although, it WOULD be fun to order from Dominos while in the air.

I did! I've been holding off on posting this until I got the bill, in
order to see what sort of detail is included.

I was returning to Chicago on American Airlines on a gorgeous August
late afternoon. I noticed as we passed over the city that our approach
would take us over the northwest suburbs. I had been staring at the
AirFone in the seatback in front of me for the whole trip, and
finally, fortified by a beer, I popped out the phone with my AmEx card
and dialed our local Domino's. Call quality was very good, sounding
pretty much like a standard land-line. As the conversation proceeded,
I could see heads turning in my direction. When they asked my address,
I said, "Do you hear a plane overhead?" :-) Scattered laughter heard
on board.

At that point I wimped out and directed them to our house, where my
wife took the delivery. Oh, well, it was good for a laugh.

The AmEx bill arrived yesterday. The billing party was GTE AirFone in
Oak Brook, IL; the only detail in the charge was the called number and
"FROM AMERICAN ... FOR INQUIRY 800", which looks like some sort of
truncated toll-free customer service number. Including a $2 "setup"
charge, the total was "003 MINS $08.24". Extra sauce was free.


Andrew C. Green
Datalogics, Inc.      Internet: [e-mail]
441 W. Huron          UUCP: ..!uunet!dlogics!acg
Chicago, IL  60610    FAX: [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 11:48:51 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Mickey Ferguson)
Subject: Re: New "Call Completion" from Cinci Bell
Organization: Rolm


In TELECOM Digest V12 No. 696 (item 9) Alec Isaacson <AI4CPHYW@miamiu.
acs.muohio.edu> writes:

> I was listening to the radio last night and I heard a commercial from
> Cincinnati Bell offering a service called "Call Completion".  The
> commercial went on to say that if you call 555-1212 (rather than 411)
> for directory assistance you can hit a touch tone 1 after the number
> is looked up and be connected to that number.  (Then it went on to
> rave about how you will never need to fumble for pen and paper again :)
> The verbal "fine print" said this service cost $0.35 a pop, fee waived
> for busy numbers, not available in certain areas or on rotary phones.

One question about this service, though.  What is the cost for calling
information?  Around here in Pac Bell land, I think the service costs
$0.50 per call to information.  Is the $0.35 an ADDITIONAL fee?  If
not, sounds like you may not have the initial charge for info like we
do.


Mickey Ferguson -- Rolm -- FergusoM at scrvm2 -- [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 06:40:41 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Ken Levitt)
Subject: Re: AT&T 'Buying Back' Customers


[e-mail] (Justin Leavens) writes:

> Strangely enough, this was a real check for $40 made out to me, marked
> 'Endorsement indicates your acceptance' or something like that. Anyway,
> I guess the deal is that if you cash the check, you agree to switch over
> to AT&T.

Joe Trott writes:

> Are you sure this is a bona-fide _check_, and not a voucher?  AT&T was
> offering a number of switch-back programs, but so far the only ones
> I've heard about involved them "paying" in _future_ long distance
> service discounts; not actual cash.

I have a business line which has what New England Tel calls "Remote
Call Forwarding".  This means that my business number is permenantly
and forever forwarded to another number.  That phone number only
appears in the CO.  Since there can never be a phone connected to it,
it would be impossible to ever make an outgoing call on it.

When I established service, NET insisted that I pick a long distance
providor.  I tried explaining to them that this was not necessary, but
in the end, I gave up and picked Sprint.

A few months back I received one of the AT&T chechs in the mail that I
could cash if I was willing to switch this line to them.  I cashed the
check and allowed them to switch this line to AT&T.  A few weeks
later, I received a letter from AT&T thanking me for switching.

I guess if I ever made a LD call and charged it to that number, it
would be billed through AT&T, but I am not likely to do that.


Ken Levitt - On FidoNet gateway node 1:16/390     UUCP: zorro9!levitt
INTERNET: [e-mail] or [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 07:58 EDT
From: rsiatl![e-mail]
Subject: Re: How Can I Splice Telephone Wires Without an Overkill?


> While I have no idea what method was used to splice each
> pair of wires...

Usually Scotchlock UR's are used around here.  Contel used to use
UY's, but now SCB, old Contel, and GTE all use URs. Scotchlocks are
petroleum jelly filled plastic connectors that will splice several
wires to together, three in the case of UR's.  Two connectors are used
per pair.  AT&T and others, including 3M, make connectors that will
splice the whole pair, but they don't see much use in the SE US.

I have seen Scotchlocks in Rat Shack's catalog if you want to buy a
few at some exorbitant price.  Digi-Key carries them as well.  While a
special tool is nice for crimping them, slip-joint plires or Channel
Locks work quite well.

Buried and aeral splices are sealed in an enclosure.  Ground level
splices are just left in the ped, as the jelly protects them from
moisture.


Pat Turner KB4GRZ   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92  04:07:45 EDT
Subject: Why 'Die Hard II' Used Pac*Bell Pay Phones


In earlier messages, people were talking about the errors in {Die Hard
II} and one in particular -- I noticed it myself -- was the {Pacific
Bell} pay phones at "Washington Dulles Airport."

I think they would have had to use Pacific Bell phones or nobody would
have believed the film at all.  Dulles Airport is not located within
Washington DC, it is located 40 miles away in Dulles Virginia, at the
edge of Fairfax County.  It is within the local calling area for
Washington DC and vicinity, the local carrier is not the one for the
rest of the area, C&P Telephone Company (of VA/DC/MD) but Continental
Telephone Company of Virginia.

I am not sure, but I think part of this organization was sold to GTE.

Would anyone believe that someone could actually {use} phone service
provided by GTE?

In which case people would *know* the whole movie was a fake!  :)

Opinions not necessarily those of the owner of this account.


Paul Robinson, [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: What a low blow! What a rude thing to say!  :)
When the movie first came out I asked someone what it was about and
they told me it was about a guy who had a heart attack and died during
sex.  :)  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Ehud Gavron 602-570-2000 x. 2546)
Subject: Re: Radios in Die Hard
Date: 12 Sep 92 16:16:00 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: ACES Consulting Inc.


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (John
Gilbert) writes:

> My favorites from the Die Hard movies were:

> In the first movie where the portable two-way radios talk to the bad
> guys inside the building, but when taken to the roof talk to the
> police on the same frequency. (These are those fancy full-duplex
> two-way radios). Not a very good choice of frequencies by the bad
> guys, or very wise placement of voting receivers by the police.

The radios in mention are Kenwood TH45AT 70cm (400MHz band) transceiv-
ers, which most amateur radio operators (hamsters) are familiar with.
Police bands exist in the 70cm band and also in the 2m band (150MHz)
as well as others.

I searched through my frequency directory and cannot locate which
bands the FCC allocates for Bad Guys (tm).  Therefore using Bad Guys
Logic (tm) I assume they can use any band as it becomes convenient.

Never forget though -- the police accused our hero of being on CB
Channel 9.  No respectable ham radio does CB*, and it is no crime to
blabber on channel 9 yelling for help.


Ehud Gavron  (EG76)   [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Kevin W. Williams)
Subject: Re: Information Wanted on GTD-5 Centrex
Organization: gte
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 15:32:09 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, Joseph.Bergstein@p501.
f544.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Joseph Bergstein) writes:

> Would like to know if anyone has any information on a GTD-5 Centrex
> Central office switch?  Believe manufactured by G.T.E.?  In particular
> need information on processing S.M.D.R. data from such a switch.  If
> anyone has information or knows where to obtain it, please respond.

Luckily, the manufacturer is on the Internet. Unfortunately, for
historical reasons (the great Higdon/Williams/Baker Flame War of
1992), I would rather not take up discussion of the GTD-5 on the
telecom bulletin board, and the reply address has been mangled by the
Digest. Send me email with an address, and I'll reply privately.


Kevin Wayne Williams   UUCP : ...!ames!ncar!noao!enuucp!gtephx!williamsk

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #701
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #702

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 12 Sep 92 18:00:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 702

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Kauai Communications Out (John Higdon)
    Re: First ESS Was Not in Morris (David Farber)
    Re: First ESS Was in New Jersey (was Illinois Bell Now Allows) (Jack Adams)
    Re: A/A1 Answer Supervision (Lyle D. Kipp)
    Re: A/A1 Answer Supervision (Jack Winslade)
    Re: USWest - Helloooo, is Anyone in There? (Tim Russell)
    Re: USWest - Helloooo, is Anyone in There? (Don Ford)
    Re: Here We Go Again :-( (Jack Adams)
    US West Offers Minitel-Style Directory Assistance (Charlie Mingo)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 11:05 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Kauai Communications Out


After being hit by hurricane Iniki (admittedly comparable to Andrew),
the Hawaiian island of Kauai has been cut off from the outside world
because of damage to a GTE microwave tower. Redundancy? Hah!

So I wonder how the residents of Kauai will be able to contact
Thousand Oaks to get repair service :-) And I wonder how many tickets
will be "cleared" before someone checks it out :-) :-)

Seriously, we may find that the devastation on the Garden Island will,
ounce for ounce, exceed that in Florida or Louisiana for several
reasons. First, there is little else there other than "beachfront"
property. That is the nature of a small island. Second, key components
of Hawaii's hurricane tracking system were never repaired or replaced
after failing some time ago. In other words, the storm was somewhat of
a surprise. And third, hurricanes generally go to the south of the
islands, so the people do not prepare for them in any way. The last
one was ten years ago and was classified "category 1". It did major
damage. This one was a category 4 (same as Andrew).

When we finally get reports out of the area (probably no thanks to
GTE), we will undoubtedly find that things are not well.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !


[Moderator's Note: John, I *really* don't think GTE is quite as bad as
you make them out to be; and certainly the events in Hawaii during the
past day would be a severe challenge for any telco -- Bell, GTE or any
others.  Here's hoping we get some accurate information from readers
in Hawaii who are close enough to get first hand accounts.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (David Farber)
Subject: Re: First ESS Was Not in Morris
Date: 12 Sep 92 08:10:18 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania


The Morris machine was in many ways more of an ESS than the production
ESS. It was indeed gas tubes and was an end marked network that also
required new telephones with tone ringers rather than bells. The
memory in the software controlled computer that ran the morris system
was barrier grid tubes and flying spot program stores.

It was an experimental machine that was started in the early 50's.  I
joined the systems group in 56 and it was still getting defined.

The rapid advance of storage technologies as well as the extreme costs
of replacing phones led to the development of the next generation
machine that was trailed in Succasunna NJ.

Point of info, there was a thought of trialing it in NYC in the
exchange that serviced Macy*s. It was planned to start trial in Nov.
The thought of having a trial near xmas changed the site.


David Farber; Prof. of CIS and EE, U of Penn, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6389 Tele:
215-898-9508(off); 215-274-8292 (home); FAX: [phone];  Cellular:  302-740-
1198 "The fundamental principle of science, the definition almost, is this: the
sole test of the validity of any idea is experiment." -- R. P. Feynman

------------------------------

From: vixen![e-mail] (26070-adams)
Subject: Re: First ESS Was in New Jersey (was Illinois Bell Now Allows)
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 11:59:03 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(david.g.lewis) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> the TELECOM Moderator
> <[e-mail]> writes:

>> [Moderator's Note: IBT has always been considered a very progressive
>> and advanced company. After all, ESS started here, in Morris, IL back
>> in the 1960's ...

> Sorry, wrong answer ... "The first application of electronic local
> switching in the Bell System occurred in May 1965 with the cutover of
> the first 1ESS switch in Succasunna, New Jersey." [EOBS, P413]
>

Well, to get nit picky, You are both correct!  The Morris switch that
Pat refers to was a "trial" application.  The Succasunna (Perhaps the
better known and later instance) switch was the first "commercial"
instance.


Jack (John) Adams        | Bellcore NVC 2Z-220
(908) 758-???? {No dial tone yet}|
[e-mail]    | [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Lyle D. Kipp)
Subject: Re: A/A1 Answer Supervision
Organization: UIUC Center for Supercomputing Research and Development
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 11:43:49 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: Multi-line phones were first in use in New York
> City in the middle 1920's. Does anyone remember the old three line
> phones with six buttons? There was a hold button for each line. I
> think they were manufactured by Automatic Electric in the 1940-50
> period. GTE used them for multi-line business customers back then.  PAT]

Normally a lurker, I just couldn't let this one go by ...

I remember the three line/six button phones, and I wasn't even born
until 1964.  In 1972, my parents opened a department store in my home
town in southern Illinois.  Our service was indeed from GTE, and the
phones were manufactured by Automatic Electric.  The store had two
phone lines and used the third button for an intercom.  The phones
were still in use in 1990 when my parents leased out the building.  I
think the phones were returned to GTE at that time.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 11:13:06 CST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Winslade)
Subject: Re: A/A1 Answer Supervision
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


In a message dated 07-SEP-92, <tmetro> writes:

> [e-mail] (Leonard Erickson) writes:

>> [e-mail] (Dave Grabowski) writes:

>>> I recently obtained a telephone that was used on a private Centrex
>>> system. It has a sticker on the back : "Caution: For use only on
>>> business lines or risk of electrical short circuit"...

>> It's probably set up to do A/A1 answer supervision. That means that
>> when you take it off hook, it *shorts* the second pair of wires
>> together.

> What is the purpose of shorting the second pair of wires? It sounds
> redundant to the information you can get by monitoring the loop
> current.  Could you explain the purpose of A/A1 answer supervision?

I'm sitting here looking at an AT&T 2500 series desk set with a
similar admonition to use only on 'business' systems.  I just
unplugged the modular connector on the back of the set and noticed
that it only has TWO contacts, thus precluding any A-lead control.

I suspect it's primarily to discourage the growing of legs. ;-)

Speaking of these new 'lightweight' sets, when we got them a few years
ago, nobody seemed to like them.  First of all, they are very light
and can easily be pulled from a desk by the tension on the handset
cord.  Some of our people added weight using various items.  Another
thing was the chirper-style ringer.  In the lab area with the old
bells, there was a good sense of directionality to the bells, but with
the chirpers it seems like they all sound the same, and it's difficult
to tell whose line is ringing.  Some of us acquired some of the old
brass-gong bells and reinstalled them (with the appropriate capacitor,
of course) in the new sets.  A couple of people have gotten a bit
creative in customizing the ringer sound so that they can identify
their own line.  One guy bought an add-on chirper that makes the MOST
OBNOXIOUS sound I have ever heard.  Another has a bell with no gong
that makes kind of a woodpecker sound.


Good day.        JSW
Ybbat (DRBBS) 8.9 v. 3.14 r.1an  (1:285/666.0)

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Tim Russell)
Subject: Re: USWest - Helloooo, is Anyone in There?
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 14:18:15 GMT


[e-mail] (Andrew Burt) writes:

> Today I just read in the {Rocky Mt. News} that it will be $15/month +
> $.15/minute for -- are you ready -- nothing more than an on-line
> phonebook.  (You get software, or for $300 flat or $12/month more, a
> simple terminal.)  Supposedly just unveiled for Minneapolis.

> Excuse me, but have we entered the 1970's yet?

    Obviously US West hasn't ... $.15/min was pretty much a standard
rate for a lot of things on CommunityLink here in Omaha as well, and
it bombed bigtime, rightfully so.

    When US West first brought in CommunityLink, they gave our ACM
chapter a demonstration of the features.  We were impressed -- finally
something to get telecommunications and useful computers into the
hands of the masses!  We envisioned the French Minitel thing all over
again, here.

    Then US West priced the whole damn thing completely out of range
of all but the richest users, and anyone that rich also has a good
change of being PC-literate and will see the system for what it is,
the computer version of 1-900 or 976.

    The /lowest/ fees on the system were $.05/minute, and that was
charged for services like the Joslyn Art Museum's calendar, which I
could read at the building for free or call a telephone touchtone
system and get for free.  More standard were rates like $.10 or
$.15/min.

    As if this weren't bad enough, we were expected to do this while
reducing our SVGA displays to the equivalent of a Timex-Sinclair ZX81.
Or worse yet, pay money for a Minitel terminal which wasn't even able
to call other systems decently.

    Looks like they're at it again!


    Tim Russell   Omaha, NE   [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Don Ford)
Subject: Re: USWest - Helloooo, is Anyone in There?
Date: 12 Sep 92 15:46:36 GMT
Organization: U S WEST NewVector Group, Inc.


The service being offered in Minneapolis is "Community Link
Service"(R).  This is a MiniTel look alike, well somewhat anyway and
is certainly more than just "online directory assistance", although it
may start out that way. I don't know anything about pricing, but I do
know that this service has been very popular where it has been
offered. It seems to be tailored for the computer non-literate. The
subsidiary that markets it is "Information Provider/CLM Associates."
CLM Associates is a joint venture with France Telecom. Their main
number is [phone] if anyone wants truly accurate info. :)


Don Ford   U S WEST NewVector Group, Inc      [phone]

------------------------------

From: vixen![e-mail] (26070-adams)
Subject: Re: Here We Go Again :-(
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 13:31:57 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, Jack.Winslade@ivgate.
omahug.org (Jack Winslade) writes:

> Well, gang, it's HWGA time.  Will U.S West EVER Learn ??

> Tonight, one of the stories on TV news (KETV, ABC affilliate) was US
> West starting Yet Another electronic yellow pages service (with other
> information services coming Real Soon Now) in Minneapolis.  Yes, they
> are using that Minitel 'High-tech French method'.

About three career moves ago, I worked for a very large firm who was
determined to introduce Videotex services in the US (Much to the
consternation of the American Newspaper Publisher's Association ANPA).
Fortunately, we cut our losses and left what some people still call an
"industry" (Videotex).  During our period of financial hemoraging, one
of our really top officers (Name witheld to prevent a personal
vendetta against me) returned from a trip to Paris and promptly
requested a full blown inquisition into why the French are successful
with this and we were not.  I'll spare you the 40 some viewgraphs of
meaningless market data and get to the punch line(s).

The impetus of the French minitel and its supporting system was the
completely horrid state of the French directory services in the
sixties.  Paper directories were hopelessly inaccurate (when you were
privileged to have one).  Information operator services were severly
under traffic engineered (Might have something to do with the state of
the directories ;-).

Thus arose a system where individual subscribers could (with a FREE
Minitel by the way) access the same database that information
operators used and viola: Videotex became a household word in France.
Over time, Information Providers (specifically those that deal in
material which would never fly in the Bible belt) found a ready market
for "blue" information.  Can you say "French Postcards"?  Moreover,
the French telecom offered a 50/50 split on the revenue THEY obtained
from these subscribers accessing such services with the service
providers. Not a bad deal, eh?  By the way, in case someone feels that
I am completely naive, the FREE minitel terminal cost was adequately
recovered in their equivalent of a tariff.

Among the "softer" market factors was the French propensity for prose
and the like.  Much like netnews, many people simply enjoyed sharing
their written thoughts with others.  I must conclude that we had one
hell of a time convincing our fearless leader that "Videotex won't
play in Paduca".  To his credit, he managed to disengage our involve-
ment with Videotex shortly thereafter.

The bad news (As Jack and Dave point out) is that this idea keeps
popping up every so often.  I guess whenever the latest bunch of MBA's
get off the boat, a few of them try to beat this dead horse all over
again.  Oh well, those who fail to learn from the mistakes of history
are doomed to repeat them.


Jack (John) Adams        | Bellcore NVC 2Z-220
[phone] {Voice}        | [phone] {Facsimile}
[e-mail]    | [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Charlie Mingo)
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 13:32:13 -0500
Subject: US West Offers Minitel-Style Directory Assistance


[e-mail] (Andrew Burt) writes:

> Today I just read in the {Rocky Mt. News} that it will be $15/month +
> $.15/minute for -- are you ready -- nothing more than an on-line
> phonebook.  (You get software, or for $300 flat or $12/month more, a
> simple terminal.)  Supposedly just unveiled for Minneapolis.

I agree with you that the pricing is odd.

The following three objections are all part of the same idea:

> Reason #3: Videotex.  Blech!  I think MS-windows and X have proven
> that even non-computer-geeks can read decently small size fonts on
> screens; we don't need to regress to the middle-ages here with 40
> character wide screens (which the picture showed; or is it 32?).  (As
> for the "transmission speed" argument, I'd rather it be just a
> straight ASCII text interface; either that, or use it as grounds to
> justify ISDN for homes.)

> Reason #4: Another Propietary Program.  Presumably we won't be able to
> dial in with Procomm, or telnet in via the internet.  Bag it right
> there.  It'll be too limited for real use (as they always are), buggy,
> clunky ...

> Reason #5: Limited access.  How are folks in LA going to look up my
> phone number in Denver?  They can telnet or dial into our public
> library card catalog for free, mind you.  [telnet pac.carl.org]

> My recommendations are:

> 2) Use modern methods of connection, such as telnet or a simple
>    dialup; or use X.  If you want to offer videotex, offer the others
>    first.

    Why not use X?  Well, X requires at least a 14400 connection, and
really needs 56000.  Not too many users have that.  X is also an
high-end communications format, found mainly on expensive
workstations.  Getting X running on your average PC would cost users
$100-200 (plus the cost of whatever communications link you use).
I've never seen a freely distributable X program for a personal
computer.

    Why not have telnet access?  Well, about 0.1% of the general
population has telnet access.  (PSI charges me $39/month for 2400
telnet access.  14400 access would cost much more) It would cost a lot
to establish telnet access, and almost no one could use it.

    Why are you so confident that LA users won't be able to check
Colo.  phone numbers?  Right now, I can use Minitel to check French
phone numbers (at $.17/minute) from the US, so I presume US West can
have the same kind of connectivity.

    I'm amused when you describe the minitel foramt as "Another
Propietary Program."  In fact, the protocol is publicly available.  In
fact, there are freely-distributable minitel programs floating around
(check the telecom archives).  In fact, many Mac terminal programs
provide Minitel emulation as a standard mode (eg, Smartcom).

    The advantages of videotex are:

    - there are free videotex programs for most personal computers.

    - it works well with 1200 or 2400 modems (which is all the vast
      majority of the public have)

    - it works with a dial-up phone line, and does not require a
      special connection to Internet, found only in universities and
      a few companies.

    - The videotex format is easier to read than a straight text
      format.  (Have you actually used Minitel?)  Most BBS's use
      ANSI-PC emulation in preference to straight vt100 (ANSI-PC
      provides color and the use of IBM graphics characters).  I
      think the BBS experience is a good referendum on whether
      most users "prefer" straight text or graphics.

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #702
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #703

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 12 Sep 92 19:03:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 703

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Phone Number in "Sneakers" (Bob Izenberg)
    911 For Everything (was 911 on Jerry Springer Show) (Michael Schuh)
    Telephone Pioneers Accepting New Members (Bob Blackshaw)
    Automatic Fax/Modem Switches (Jeff Cooper)
    Why Non-Authorized Cellular 911 Works. Maybe. (Paul Robinson)
    Query re AV Telecom Standards (Jesse Chisholm)
    Looking For a "Cordless Ringer" (Steve Gaarder)
    Re: Information Calls Direct to Desired Party ([e-mail])
    OK What Exactly Does IRC Stand For? (H. Shrikumar)
    Wanted: Info on Bell Atlantic AIN Trials (Bryan J. Petty)
    New Mailing List For Telecom Engineers (Jon Solomon)
    Shedding the Past (Jim Haynes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Bob Izenberg)
Subject: Phone Number in "Sneakers"
Organization: The Fortress of Ultimate Dorkiness
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 12:27:18 GMT


    A few friends and I saw the movie "Sneakers" recently ...
Toward the end, River Phoenix's character asks for the phone number
of a female NSA agent.  One of our group remembered her number, and
saw fit to hit us all up for the two and a half dollars or so that the
call cost.

    Alas, there was no seductive gun-toting NSA agent to be yanked
away from the dinner table.  The film industry's normal flawless
attention to telecom detail :-) failed it here: [phone] is now
in area code (510).  I don't know what would have been said (at least
on the side of the call in our town!) had someone answered, but the
matter is academic.  The number has not been assigned in that area
code.  At least, as far as we know. Would we have been rattled if
the phone rang right back when we hung up?  Maybe just a little.

    I can't say what would make a herd of movie-goers zoom in on
this one particular item, unless it's the insatiable lust for film
trivia.  In any case, it is not for me to question, because, when all
our change was returned, I was thirty-five cents ahead.  :-)


Bob      WORK: [e-mail]  HOME: [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Michael Schuh)
Subject: 911 For Everything (was 911 on Jerry Springer Show)
Organization: Motorola, Mobile Data Division - Seattle, WA
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 20:34:28 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Marc T. Kaufman) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Ron
> Heiby) writes:

>> We have been told, through the town newsletter, that we
>> should use 911 *any* time we want fire/police/ambulance dispatch.

>> [Moderator's Note: Continue arguing that 911 is *only* for dire
>> emergencies when immediate police intervention is required.  PAT]

> 911 is for whatever the local agency says its for.

> [Moderator's Note: You are incorrect in saying '911 is for whatever
> the local agency says it is for ...'  In Illinois at least, the state
> legislature passed the '911 Enabling Act' many years ago which
> directed local municipalities to install 911 as promptly as possible
> in cooperation with the local telco using available technology. The
> Act went on to define the purpose of 911 as a method of communicating
> EMERGENCY circumstances to the appropriate EMERGENCY RESPONSE agency
> or agencies within the community. A stolen car or a home which was
> burglarized several hours previous to being discovered are not what I
> would term emergencies.  PAT]

Did the Illinois act *limit* 911 traffic to "emergencies"?  In
Seattle, the fire and police departments have specifically stated that
911 is to be used for any intitial call to them.  I was once directed
to call 911 as part of a burglary followup, being told to tell the
operator that I was following up on a burglary report.  When I did, I
was immediately transferred (in what seemed like a routine manner) to
someone else.

The 911 system serves as a first point of contact for just about
anything that is "abnormal" in our urban environment.  In Seattle,
this includes oil spills (which get forwarded to both the Seattle fire
department and their small fleet as well as to the Coast Guard and
EPA), downed traffic signs (which go to the engineering department
*and* to the police if a traffic problem is created), hackers
intruding into local UNIX sites, and just about anything else.  Give
the public *one* number to call and then train the operators to sort
out the calls.  This is probably more efficient than scattering
trouble calls across several phone numbers (with some number of calls
going to the wrong number) and a multitude of agencies.  (And remember
that one person's mild complaint is another person's emergency.  If
the various calls are brought together, then similar calls from an
area can be correlated with each other, giving a better picture of the
situation.)  At any rate, it seems to work rather well.


Mike Schuh   [e-mail]
Motorola Mobile Data (I think that's what we're called this week...)


[Moderator's Note: I do not think it said that *only* emergencies
could be called in to 911, but based on how our police authorities in
Chicago are always saying that 911 is overloaded with calls causing
delays in answering real emergencies at times, it would seem the
intent is to limit it in that way.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: cos![e-mail] (Bob Blackshaw)
Subject: Telephone Pioneers Accepting New Members
Organization: Corporation for Open Systems
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 13:45:43 GMT


This is an enquiry that I received following my post on Pioneer auto
tags. A young man contacted me regarding the chance for people in
telecom related companies for joining the Telephone Pioneers. It
sounded reasonable that since the divestiture that membership should
be opened up somewhat.

I am a life member through 33 years service with Bell Canada, but am
not active here in the U.S. In any case, I wrote to the President of
the Pioneers and posed that young man's question.

The answer is that the Pioneers are open to any company whose telecom
business is "at least 50% of their revenues are derived from two-way
switched telecommunications service."  The company must be prepared to
provide some financial support, manpower support, floor space,
computer support, etc.

In 1988 they changed the Pioneer constitution to allow employees
actively involved in Pioneering to be considered for regular
membership. He did not state which employees, but I guess this means
employees of companies supporting the Pioneer movement. Oh yes, the
service requirement was reduced from 21 to 15 years in 1989.

The COO of TPA is:
    William M. Germain, Jr.
    P.O.Box 13888
    Denver, CO 80201-3888


Bob Blackshaw [[e-mail]]

------------------------------

From: plains![e-mail] (Jeff Cooper)
Subject: Automatic Fax/Modem Switches
Date: 12 Sep 92 16:09:37 GMT
Reply-To: plains!midkemia![e-mail]
Organization: North Dakota Higher Education Computing Network


I'm looking to buy one of those fax/modem switches that can be used on
a single phone line to switch the incomming call to the apporiate
device.  The setup I'm trying to get it working on is this:

I have an answering machine and a modem on a single line, I would like
to be able to take incoming modem calls without giving up the use of
the answering machine (i.e. if it's a voice call it should end up
ringing the phone and eventually on the answering machine, but if it's
a data call it should go to the modem), but the modem must be able to
make outgoing calls at any time (for my UUCP feed).

Is this even possible?  I've tried two switches sofar, the one Radio
Shack sells and one made by a company called ACCO.  The one by ACCO
works (part of the time, every other call seems to get in) Does anyone
else have any other recommendations of other types/makes of switches?

Thanks for any help!

Jeff Cooper    [e-mail]
NeXTMail: [e-mail]   [phone]

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92  23:15:17 EDT
Subject: Why Non-Authorized Cellular 911 Works.  Maybe.


In all the discussions over Cellular Phones being connected on calls
to 911 even if the phone is not authorized for service with that
carrier, I think I know why.

Every telephone in every state (every one that gets a bill, that is!
:) ) is being assessed a surcharge ranging from 2c to 25c a month for
911 or Enhanced 911.  This money is collected as a tax on all
telephone lines.  This tax goes to the state or the local emergency
service area for the purpose of providing 911 service for an area,
depending on how the laws are set up in that state.  (And I wouln't be
surprised if the amounts spent on 911 service and equipment, and the
amounts collected, especially in some cash-starved states, do not
match, and we can guess which of the two amounts are smaller.)

My guess is that since the tax is (1) used to pay for the 911
equipment and (2) to pay for the incoming trunks and ANI service, that
most likely whoever carries a cellular 911 call gets the airtime fee
from the emergency service center.  Which is probably why they even
let non-authorized callers make calls on 911 because it's acting as a
'caller pays all charges number' and 911 is probably also paying for
the airtime too.

Anyone know anything different?  It's the only thing that makes any
sense for a service provider to allow a cellular phone to make *any*
call without them being a paying subscriber; I figure *someone* has to
be paying for the service, and it's probably the 911 system.  (Which,
to encourage calls to 911, is what it should be.)


Paul Robinson

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jesse Chisholm)
Subject: Query re AV Telecom Standards
Date: 12 Sep 92 18:39:41 GMT
Organization: Altos Computer Systems, San Jose, CA


I am looking for any and all information on ISO H221, which I think is
supposed to be a standard on video teleconferencing.

Thank you.


Jesse Chisholm          | Disclaimer: My opinions are rarely understood, let
                        | tel: [phone] | alone held, by this company.
[e-mail]   | fax: [phone] |-----------------------------
======== This company has officially disavowed all knowledge of my opinions.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 13:43:35 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Steve Gaarder)
Subject: Looking For a "Cordless Ringer"


We are looking for a wireless device that can be set up to beep
whenever the phone rings.  A cordless phone would do the job, but it
is too bulky and doens't quite have the range needed in our building.
What I want is something the receptionist can put in her pocket and
carry around with her so she can tell when the phones ring when she's
not at her desk.  I suppose a short-range beeper system could be used
if it could be triggered by a ring signal.  Any ideas?


Steven Gaarder           Network and Systems Administrator
[e-mail]       A C Technology, Ithaca, N.Y., USA

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 00:39:37 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Information Calls Direct to Desired Party


Alec Isaacson writes:

>  I was listening to the radio last night and I heard a commercial from
>  Cincinnati Bell offering a service called "Call Completion".  The
>  commercial went on to say that if you call 555-1212 (rather than 411)
>  for directory assistance you can hit a touch tone 1 after the number
>  is looked up and be connected to that number.  (Then it went on to
>  rave about how you will never need to fumble for pen and paper again :)
>  The verbal "fine print" said this service cost $0.35 a pop, fee waived
>  for busy numbers, not available in certain areas or on rotary phones.

And as a side-effect, by not fumbling, you've neglected to write down
the number, so can pay 35 cents the next time, as well ...

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 01:13:28 -0400
From: [e-mail] (H.Shrikumar{[e-mail]})
Subject: OK What Exactly Does IRC Stand For?
Organization: University of Massachusetts, Amherst


In article <[e-mail]> is written:

> TRT = Tropical Radio Telegraph, one of the oldest International Record
> Carriers (i.e. telex companies).

   Question: Is an IRC "equivalent" to a telex company ?

   I've come to know and understand the term "Internationaal Record
Carrier" by rote, to be almost synonymous with "long distance" carrier
you could make peer-peer networking arrangements with.

   Whats the formal definition?


shrikumar ([e-mail])

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Bryan J Petty)
Subject: Wanted: Info on Bell Atlantic AIN Trials
Date: 12 Sep 92 06:06:53 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh


I'm looking for any references, info, etc on Bell Atlantic's Advanced
Intelligent Network (AIN) field trials .  I will post a summary if I
receive enough responses.  Thanks in advance.


Bryan Petty       University of Pittsburgh
[e-mail]  Telecommunication's Department
Compuserve: 73210,1150

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 18:20:48 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: New Mailing List For Telecom Engineers


I have just created telecom-engineers, a list devoted to just the
engineering point of view of telecommunications. If you want to be
added, send mail to [e-mail]. If you
want to send material, send it to [e-mail].
If something fails, send mail to me.

The list is a digest, and sends out automatically when there is enough
data in the inbox. I won't be doing much screening unless there is a
problem. The idea is that if you want to discuss between developers of
hardware and software, you can do it ideally on this list.  Discussion
of how the phone works, differences between carriers of a technical
nature, and also, differences between switches (pbx, etc) and
differences in dialing instructions overseas and nationally can be
discussed here. Political and social implications should be discussed
on the regular telecom list moderated by Patrick Townson of Chicago.

In any event, I hope that the new list will offload the telecom list
and that should mean different and more effective traffic there.  Feel
free to post things to both lists, but try to keep the technical
material down on telecom.


jsol     ([e-mail])


[Moderator's Note: Long time readers know that Jon Solomon was the
founder of TELECOM Digest back in 1981, and after a hiatus is active
once again on the net. As Jon points out, his list should be reserved
for the more technical stuff, although it is still welcome here also.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jim Haynes)
Subject: Shedding the Past
Date: 13 Sep 1992 00:38:40 GMT
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz


This appeared in a posting at MIT:

> [0679] [e-mail]  Amusing_Thoughts  09/07/92 14:48 (20 lines)
> Subject: Finally, shedding the past ...
> Newsgroups: misc.consumers
> From: [e-mail] (Charles Packer)
> Subject: News from the "Press 1 now" front
> News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.4-b1
> Nntp-Posting-Host: amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov
> Organization: Dept. of Independence
> Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1992 15:13:00 GMT

An item appeared in the "Metropolitan Diary" column of the {NY Times} a
couple of weeks ago reporting that when you call Casio's hot line at

  800-762-1241

  the recorded voice says (and I confirmed it),

     "...if you are calling from a touch tone phone, press "1"
     now. If you are calling from a rotary-dial telephone,
     please call back on a touch-tone telephone."

And then a little later ...

[0684] [e-mail]  Amusing_Thoughts  09/08/92 14:36 (4 lines)

Subject: Re: Finally, shedding the past...

Well, now it gives you a 201 number to call (9am-5pm EST, even though
we're in EDT now :-) if you're on a rotary dial phone. (They've
probably gotten *so* many calls since that hit the NYT -- my *mother*
heard of it :-)


[e-mail]    [e-mail]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #703
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #704

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 13 Sep 92 09:47:24 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 704

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (NAB/CFA Press Release via N. Allen)
    INTEROP Volunteers Wanted (Ole J. Jacobsen)
    Octel Purchases Tigon From Ameritech ([e-mail])
    How do YOU use "Break" Signals? (Toby Nixon)
    US Phone System in 1971 (as Portrayed by Hollywood) (David E.A. Wilson)
    Cellular/Government NPAs in Washington DC (Paul Robinson)
    USA to Ten Digits (Andrew Klossner)
    ISDN Newsgroup (Timothy R. Wilhite)
    VOICE and BUSY Detection (Was V.25bis, or: Are CCITT) (Charlie Mingo)
    Book on S.W.Asian Telecom Systems; Experts Needed (Imran Anwar)
    MCI Telemarketing (Dave Niebuhr)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: <[e-mail]>
Subject: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 18:40:58 EDT


Here is a press release from the National Association of Broadcasters
and the Consumer Federation of America.

 NAB, Consumer Federation of America Comment on Final Congressional
Action on Cable TV Bill
 Contact: Eddie Fritts, president, National Association of
          Broadcasters, 202-429-5350,
          or Gene Kimmelman, legislative director,
          Consumer Federation of America, 202-387-6121

   WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 -- The following was released today by the
National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Federation of
America:

   House and Senate conferees reached agreement on a final cable TV
bill Wednesday night.  The bill, which has been debated for more than
three years, should come before the House and Senate for final passage
the week of Sept. 14.  Once Congress approves it -- which is expected
 -- the bill will be sent to President Bush.  The president has
threatened a veto, but both the House and Senate passed their original
cable bills by veto-proof margins earlier this year.

   The Bill:

  The bill combines consumer protection features -- including
regulation to curb rates that have risen three times faster than
inflation, customer service standards, prohibitions on unfair sales
practices and more -- with reforms to promote competition.  The latter
includes one provision that will enable over-the-air television
stations to compete more fairly with cable systems, and a second that
will allow home satellite and other alternative delivery systems to
offer cable programming at competitive prices.  (See attachment 1).

   Cable's Distortion Campaign:

   The conference committee's quick work is yet another sign of the
overwhelming bipartisan support in both houses for cable legislation.
Two weeks ago the cable industry launched an unprecedented
multi-million dollar advertising and grassroots campaign against the
bill.  Their campaign, which has been widely criticized by the press
and members of Congress for its numerous distortions, has failed to
slow momentum for the bill's enactment.  (See attachment 2).

   The cable bill is supported by a broad coalition of consumers,
senior citizens, labor, rural and local government organizations, as
well as by cable's competitors.  The only opponents of the bill are
cable companies and cable associations.

   For more information about the cable bill contact Eddie Fritts at
202-429-5350, or Gene Kimmelman at 202-387-6121.


              KEY PRO-CONSUMER/PRO-COMPETITION ELEMENTS
                 OF THE CONFERENCE REPORT TO S. 12:
    THE CABLE TV CONSUMER COMPETITION AND PROTECTION ACT OF 1992

   Rate Regulation

   -- The FCC and franchising authorities are authorized to ensure
that rates for basic service are "reasonable" where cable systems do
not face effective competition.

   -- The bill allows citizens, local government and other public
organizations to file petitions to the FCC challenging rates for all
other tiers of service.

   Equipment Prices

   -- Allows the FCC to ensure that prices for installation, remote
control, converter boxes and other equipment used to provide basic
service shall be "reasonable."

   Customer Service

   -- The bill requires the FCC to establish enforceable customer
service standards addressing concerns such as outages and service
calls, system office hours and telephone availability, and information
on billing and refunds.

   -- The bill allows local governments to establish additional
standards.

   Encouragement of Multiple, Competitive Cable Franchises

   -- Franchising authorities may not award exclusive cable
franchises, and may not unreasonably refuse to award additional
competitive franchises.

   Municipal Operation of Cable Franchises

   -- Municipalities are explicitly authorized to operate cable
systems.

   Prohibition on "Buy Through" Requirements

   -- After a ten-year transition period to allow cable operators to
upgrade their systems, operators will be prohibited from requiring
subscribers to purchase expanded service tiers to be able to buy pay
services such as HBO and Showtime.  Additional waivers are available
to avoid hardship to cable systems.

   Customer Privacy

   -- Customer privacy laws are strengthened to restrict access to
cable systems' information about their customers.

   Prohibition on Negative Option Billing

   -- Cable systems are prohibited from charging subscribers for
services or equipment that they have not explicitly requested.

   Consumer Equipment Compatibility

   -- The FCC is directed to adopt regulations to ensure that
subscribers' investments in cable-ready televisions, VCRs, remote
controls, and other capabilities are not made obsolete by
incompatible cable system technologies.

   Program Access

   -- Cable programming services in which cable operators have a
financial interest will be restricted in their ability to deny these
programming services to cable's competitors.  Limitations on
exclusive contracts expire in 10 years.

   Retransmission Consent Option

   -- Local television stations may opt for must-carry protections, or
may elect to negotiate with local cable operators over the terms and
conditions of carriage on cable systems.

   Leased Access Channels

   -- The FCC is directed to set maximum rates for channels set aside
for leasing by competitive programming services, and to set standards
for local systems' access terms, conditions and billing for these
channels.

   Cable Integration Limitations

   -- The FCC is directed to establish reasonable limits on the
maximum number of cable subscribers a single company can control, and
reasonable limits on the number of channels on a system that can be
programmed with services in which the system operator has a financial
interest.

           THE CABLE TV INDUSTRY'S DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN

   The Cable Industry's Tactics Include the Following:

   -- Thirty-seven million bill-stuffers in subscribers' monthly
statements.

   -- Television ads on cable networks and systems across the
country, radio ads, and full-page print ads in newspapers nationwide.

   -- An "800" telephone number.  Advertisements instruct consumers
to call the 800 number and have messages sent for free to their
members of Congress.

   At least two consumer front organizations -- including one each in
Pennsylvania and Georgia -- called "Consumers Opposed to S.  12."
These organizations sent consumers telegrams claiming that S. 12 will
force cable rates up and asking them to actively oppose the bill.
Most of the people representing these so-called consumer organizations
have proven ties to the cable industry.  They include an executive
producer of a cable-owned sports network, a publisher of a newspaper
with a financial interest in a cable company, and an owner/operator of
a 24-hour cable channel.

   The Cable Industry's Message is Distorted

   The Cable Industry Claims: The bill will make rates go up, not
down.  Cable further claims that the U.S. Commerce Department
concluded that the bill "could mean increased costs of $23 to $51 per
year for each cable customer."

   The Truth is: The cable bill is a pro-consumer bill that will
regulate cable rates and help hold them down.  The so-called Commerce
Department figures actually came from reports given to the Commerce
Department by the cable industry.  {The Washington Post}, {The Wall
Street Journal}, and {The Charleston (S.C.) Post & Courier} all have
criticized these reports and said they made faulty assumptions or
measured costs that would not necessarily be passed on to consumers.

   Cable Industry: Newspapers, including {The New York Times}, and {The
Cincinnati Post} oppose cable legislation.

   Truth: NCTA published advertisements quoting these newspapers out
of context.

   {The New York Times} -- in the very editorial quoted by NCTA --
said "a 'yes' vote in the House would successfully conclude an uphill,
three-year battle."

   {The Cincinnati Post} -- also in the editorial quoted by NCTA --
said, "... Cable operators in most communities found themselves with
virtual monopolies. After the 1984 deregulation stripped local
governments of their right to control rates, the industry jacked up
prices by an average of 60 percent.  Along the way, many cable
operators earned a reputation for frequent breakdowns and poor service
 ... As long as cable companies maintain effective monopolies in their
services [sic] areas then, yes, they should be regulated."

   Cable Industry: The cable bill could force cable companies to pay
broadcast TV stations as much as $1 billion per year.  It will also
make cable viewers pay for their network programming.

   Truth: At issue is a retransmission consent provision that gives
local stations control of their signals and the right to negotiate
with cable stations who want to retransmit those signals.  The
provision does not require cable operators to pay broadcasters, nor
does it mandate a tax/surcharge to cable consumers.  It specifies only
local station, not network involvement.  It also directs the Federal
Communications Commission to take retransmission consent into account
to ensure that it does not adversely affect rates.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 16:10:31 PDT
From: Ole J. Jacobsen <[e-mail]>
Subject: INTEROP Volunteers Wanted

                        Call for Volunteers:

           The INTEROP Conference Assessment Team (CAT)

Interop Company is seeking student volunteers to serve as quality
control monitors for INTEROP 92 Fall, to be held in San Francisco,
California, October 28-30, 1992.  This is a unique opportunity for
students to attend the industry's premier networking conference and
tradeshow, while helping us improve the quality and consistency of the
conference.

As a CAT member you will receive:

* Complimentary conference registration for all three conference days;

* Complimentary conference notes (for your assigned conference, there
  are actually four conferences within a conference this year);

* Complimentary lunch all three days;

* Special INTEROP CAT T-shirts;

As a CAT member you will be asked to:

* Monitor preassigned conference sessions on one of the three
  conference days, by submitting written reports and acting as the "eyes
  and ears" of the conference organizers. We will provide you with a
  basic evaluation form to aid the preparation of the reports.

(You will be free to attend any conference session and the INTEROP
exhibition on your "days off.")

* Provide an accurate count of the number of people attending the
  sessions you are assigned to. ("Clickers" will be provided!)

Successful CAT candidates will be students currently enrolled in a
computer science or electrical engineering course at graduate or
post-graduate level. Applicants should have some understanding of (and
interest in) computer networking issues. All applications must be
received by October 1, 1992.

To apply, send e-mail to: [e-mail] with a brief biography and
relevant contact information.


Ole J Jacobsen, Editor & Publisher ConneXions--The Interoperability Report
Interop Company, 480 San Antonio Road, Suite 100, Mountain View, CA 94040,
Phone: [phone]  FAX: [phone]  Email: [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Octel Purchases Tigon From Ameritech
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 10:25:44 BST


Excerpts from an announcement to all employees, released 11 Sept 1992
 -- my comments in square brackets:

"Octel has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Tigon Corporation
of Dallas, Texas from Ameritech.  This acquisition is subject to
regulatory approval and is expected to close in mid-October.  Tigon is
the leading independent provider of voice processing services [by
number of mailboxes] in the United States.  The company was founded in
1983, was purchased by Ameritech in 1988, and now has over 200
employees and a network of systems covering selected major markets in
the US, with co-marketing partnerships in Canada, the UK, Australia,
Taiwan and Japan.

It is important to note that we are not purchasing Tigon to compete
with our distributors and VIS customers in their service provider
business.  Less than 20% of Tigon's business is in the traditional
telephone answering service bureau area, and less than 5% of Tigon's
customers are Centrex-based.  In the future, these segments are more
likely to be served by RBOCs, distributors and Compass [a small
company also purchased very recently] products.

Like Compass, Tigon will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Octel
and will operate as a separate unit ..."

There is also a press release which I can submit to the Digest if
anyone is interested.


Shaun  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: Toby Nixon <[e-mail]>
Subject: How do YOU Use "Break" Signals?
Date: 12 Sep 92 17:17:18 EDT
Organization: Hayes Microcomputer Products, Norcross, GA


I am researching the current applications for the "break" (continuous
spacing) condition in start/stop (async) communications.
Specifically, I am trying to determine the importance of supporting
break (and preserving the length of the break) in various protocols
that carry async data across different environments.

Do you use break?  What for?  How important is it to you? Do you know
how long a break needs to be in your application for it to be
recognized? Are there any alternatives to using break, such that if
breaks were intercepted or not transferred, you could still make
efficient use of the application?

If you would like to respond, please do so by mail directly to
[e-mail].  If anyone is interested in a summary of the
responses, please let me know by mail.  Thanks very much in advance!


Toby Nixon, Principal Engineer      | Voice   [phone]  Telex 401243420
Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc.  | Fax     [phone]  CIS   70271,404
P.O. Box 105203                     | BBS     [phone]  AT&T    !tnixon
Atlanta, Georgia  30348             | UUCP uunet!hayes!tnixon  Fido   1:114/15
USA                                 | Internet                [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: David E A Wilson <[e-mail]>
Subject: US Phone System in 1971 (as Portrayed by Hollywood)
Organization: Dept of Computer Science, Wollongong University, Australia
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 00:23:53 GMT


Last night I saw a repeat of the first ever Columbo telemovie, dated
1971.  It's plot revolved around the use of the phone system (to give
himself an alibi, the murderer tricked the victim into phoning his
wife and telling her he was working late at the office [at which point
he was killed]). The murderer and victim were actually in San Diago in
the murderer's cabin. The telecom questions it raised in my mind were:

1) Did a station to station call differ in any way from an operator
assisted call?

2) The murderer had to stop the victim from using the operator to make
the call to Los Angeles, instead telling him to direct dial it
using the 213 area code. Was direct dial that new and unusual back in
1971?

3) Would any record of a direct-dial call be kept so that the police
could check the source of the victim's final call (knowing only the
destination) or could they have got it later on when they suspected
the murderer (and thus had a good idea of the source)?


David Wilson                (042) 21 3802 voice, (042) 21 3262 fax
Dept Comp Sci, Uni of Wollongong    [e-mail]

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: Paul Robinson<[e-mail]>
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92  04:19:37 EDT
Subject:  Cellular/Government NPAs in Wash.  DC (Paul Robinson)


According to the C&P Telephone White Pages (and some investigating),
the following exchanges in the Washington, DC LATA are of interest:

-Maryland- (all numbers are "Cellular System"):

Silver Spring:  301-502, 301-509, 301-518, 301-520, 301-580,
                301-807, 301-980
Bethesda:       301-919

The following are government centrex operated by GSA:
Federal WITS:   301-504

-District of Columbia-
                         202-288, 202-316, 202-374, 202-494,
("Cellular System")      202-679, 202-714, 202-716, 202-812,
                         202-957

The exchange             202-665
is listed as "Mobile Telephone Special charges apply."

Federal WITS:            202-205, 202-208, 202-219, 202-260,
                         202-401, 202-501, 202-619, 202-690,
                         202-708, 202-720

White House uses:        202-456
but some private numbers also have this exchange

House/Senate:            202-224

-Virginia-

Alexandria/Arlington:    703-407, 703-408, 703-517, 703-609,
("Cellular System")      703-795, 703-819, 703-850

Department of Defense:   703-692, 703-693, 703-695, 703-696,
                         703-697


Paul Robinson

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Andrew Klossner)
Subject: USA to Ten Digits
Date: 12 Sep 92 20:15:37 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Tektronix Color Printers, Wilsonville, Oregon


> Fred Gaechter at Bellcore has said he sees a similar future
> for the NANP: dialling ten digits for ALL calls irrespective of
> whether they're local, toll, or outwith your NPA. Do other
> Digest readers think this would be acceptable?"

Absolutely not.  But I didn't think switching from five to seven
digits for intra-exchange calls was acceptable either ...


Andrew Klossner  ([e-mail])
  (uunet!tektronix!frip.WV.TEK!andrew)


[Moderator's Note: The options would seem to be seven digits for local
(probably the majority of the) calls one makes and eleven digits for
all others or ten digits for everything since if an area code is
always required then the leading digit '1' could be dropped. I
personally prefer the current arrangement even if I do have to dial
1-708 for many of my local calls.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Timothy R. Wilhite)
Subject: Looking For ISDN Newsgroup
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix @ U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 92 13:09:28 GMT


I know that recently a newsgroup for ISDN was established.  What is the
name of the newsgroup?  Thanks in advance.

 -timothy r. wilhite


[Moderator's Note: Please email responses to Mr. Wilhite.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Charlie Mingo)
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 17:40:48 -0500
Subject: VOICE and BUSY Detection (Was V.25bis, or: Are CCITT)

[e-mail] (Leonard Erickson)

> Actually, there's another problem. Take USR modem. Put X5 in the
> Initialize string. Now call a Telebit that puts the PEP tomes first.

> Result? The USR reports a result code of VOICE almost immediately and
> hangs up!

> This was true of a USR dual standard bought a couple of years ago. I
> don't know if it is still true.

   That sounds like a problem more with putting PEP tones first than
with the USR, which has a pretty average VOICE recognition.  I just
tried it with my USR d/s (Oct 90 - round LED), with VOICE recognition
activated, calling a Trailblazer+ (non-v.32) and got a 2400 connect.

> So even if a modem answer, it has to answer in a way that the
> *calling* modem recognizes.

> Then you get into situations like the one I saw mentioned recently.
> Supposedly, US modems think that Australian ring signals are busy
> signals!  (Anyone know the truth about this?)

   It's certainly true that (West) German and Italian ringing tones
can fool a US modem into mistaking them as BUSY.  Of course, those
ringing tones often fool human callers from the US too!  (They sound
like "Barrrrp Barrrrp.")  The real problem is the lack of standardized
ringing/busy tones.  (Also, the phone system in Rhein/Main Germany
often starts to give you a ringing signal, then switches to busy - the
BUSY signal sounds like a British police siren.)

   The easy solution to this is just to use feature set X1 when
calling exotic locales (or modems!).

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Imran Anwar)
Subject: Book on S.W.Asian Telecom Systems, any experts on Kuwait,Iraq,Jordan, and BanglaDesh who can contribute chapters on these coutries?
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 14:42:36 GMT

Major part of a book on Telecommunications in South & South West Asia is
complete but some countries' systems are missing.

We are looking for any people with experience or knowledge of systems,
current state of the art, policy etc in Bangladesh, Iraq [pre-war or
post-war, possibly both] Kuwait [ditto], and Jordan [ditto].

Please email if you think you can contribute a chapter on one of these
countries.


Regards,

Imran Anwar

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 17:24:14 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: MCI Telemarketing


I had two calls from MCI this morning and and the person on the other
end wanted wanted me to switch to them via their Friends and Family
plan.

First of all, I hung up on the first person and then thinking about it
contacted my Telco (NYTel) to put a lock on my numbers (2) due to
fears about slamming.

The second call came in and after a few questions, determined that the
call was due to my number being on a list of numbers to call to get
switching of LD carriers.

I questioned that by asking how my number appeared on their list and
was told that there was a computer printout in front of her and that
was what she was using; no names/phone numbers givven to indicate that
I might be interested.

What is going to be interesting is if I receive the same call in the
future using my dedicated line that has a phone attaced to the modem
but is not advertised.

It seems that MCI is no better than a telemarketer.


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093


[Moderator's Note; You *were* talking to a telemarketer for MCI, not
the company itself.   PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #704
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #705

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 13 Sep 92 21:26:15 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 705

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Cellular Mobile Phone Use in Australia (David E.A. Wilson)
    Re: Question About PBX Phone (Tony Harminc)
    Re: Distinctive-Ringing Decoder (Robert Aaron Book)
    Re: Having to Dial 0 + 700 on Calls (John Wheeler)
    Re: Bad Connection to MCI (John M. Sullivan)
    Re: What Number am I Calling From? (Wayne D. Mullen)
    Re: Volume of Telecom Question (Paul Valin)
    Re: Strange MCI Problem (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: New Phone Number Intercept (Steve Forrette)
    Re: V.25bis, or: Are CCITT and PTTs Totally Bonkers? (Steve Forrette)
    Re: How do You Pronounce "#" (Andrew G. Minter)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: David E A Wilson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Cellular Mobile Phone Use in Australia
Organization: Dept of Computer Science, Wollongong University, Australia
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 23:35:04 GMT


[e-mail] (Fred Wedemeier) writes:

> Interesting statistics. .. Can you give us some typical fees, e.g.
> monthly service, roaming fees, per-minute cost?

Certainly. Here are the current Telecom rates (someone else can get
the Optus rates and post them). As we only had one mobile system up
until this year, I have never seen "roaming fees" mentioned. This may
or may not change with the introduction of Optus.

                    Flexi-Plan
            Std    130    80    20 (3)    10 (4)
 --------------------------------------------------------------
Access Fee per month    $40    $130    $80    $20    $10
Peak Call charges
    <=165km
    1st 30 sec    $0.29    (1)    (2)    $0.58    $0.87
    subs 30 sec    $0.19    (1)    (2)    $0.38    $0.57
    >165km
    1st 30 sec    $0.40    (1)    (2)    $0.80    $1.20
    subs 30 sec    $0.30    (1)    (2)    $0.60    $0.90
Off Peak Call charges
    <=165km
    1st 30 sec    $0.145    (1)    (2)    $0.29    $0.145
    subs 30 sec    $0.095    (1)    (2)    $0.19    $0.095
    >165km
    1st 30 sec    $0.20    (1)    (2)    $0.40    $0.20
    subs 30 sec    $0.15    (1)    (2)    $0.30    $0.15

Notes:
(1)    First $120 of calls are included in access fee. Any unused
    portion is forfeit. Any excess charged at Std rates.
(2)    First $52 of calls are included in access fee. Any unused
    portion is forfeit. Any excess charged at Std rates.
(3)    Flexi-Plan 20 user is also charged at Flexi-Plan Std rates
    when receiving calls. Caller is charged at standard rate.
(4)    Flexi-Plan 10 user is also charged at twice Flexi-Plan Std
    rates when receiving calls during peak period. No receiving
    charge during off-peak. Caller is charged at standard rate.

Other charges:

Initial connection                    $45
Retention of number following disconnection        $2/month ($6 minimum)
Reconnection after non payment of bill            $30
Calls to IDD, 008, 005 and operator assisted calls    10c/30 sec surcharge
Diverted calls within Australia                5c/30 sec

Calls to mobile phones    peak     <= 165km        25c/38.5 sec
                     >  165km        25c/77 sec
            off peak <= 165km        25c/24.6 sec
                 >  165km        25c/49.2 sec


David Wilson                (042) 21 3802 voice, (042) 21 3262 fax
Dept Comp Sci, Uni of Wollongong    [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 20:02:59 EDT
From: Tony Harminc <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Question About PBX Phone


[e-mail] (William Degnan) wrote:

> On <Aug 30 00:44> UUCP (Tony Harminc <[e-mail]>) writes to
> All:

>> The worst case is, as was mentioned recently, if a Princess phone with
>> lighted dial was installed at one time, and the dial light transformer
>> is still connected to the second pair.  Then you may have a fire.  You
>> could easily disconnect and tape the red/black leads inside the phone
>> to be safe.

> But red/black? Wouldn't yellow/black achieve the same purpose but
> allow the set to be used?

You forgot the smilie.  Here - I'll put it in for you :-)

Just in case anyone misses it: yellow/black are of course the wire
colours for line two (or the unfortunate AC supply for the dial
light).  I plead finger check.


Tony H.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Robert Aaron Book)
Subject: Re: Distinctive-Ringing Decoder
Organization: Rice University
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 02:01:01 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Harold Hallikainen) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> Alan TC Penn <[e-mail]>
> writes:

>> I am going for a distinctive-ringing decoder or demultiplexer. The
>> function of this device is to route the incoming phone message
>> directly to either an answering machine or a modem.

> Seems that the telecom device companies (modem manufacturers,
> fax machine manufacturers, phone manufacturers, etc.) ought to put the
> distinctive ringing decoder inside their machines.  It should "be just
> software".  Are there standards for distinctive ringing (standard
> cadence, etc.).  I guess we could handle some of it in software by
> watching the RI line on modems.

There is a $20 shareware program called WhatLine which purports to do
precisely this.  It has some limitations, but it may work.  I
dopwnloaded it a few days ago, but I have not yet tried it, so I can't
promise anything.  Your mileage may vary.

The program is available by anonymous ftp to wuarchive.wustl.edu, in
the directory mirrors/msdos/modem, Filename: whatl275.zip.  If you do
not have access to ftp, there are ways to access ftp by e-mail.  At
the request of the Moderator (only), I will post the uuencoded zip
file to this newsgroup.

If the software doesn't work for you, there is something called a
"LYNX line switch."  It is available in two-number and four-number
versions.  You plug the phone line in on one end, and two (four) phone
cords into the other.  Route one cord to your answering machine and
the other to your modem/fax/whatever.  It costs US$89, but may be
available cheaper in stores.  There is an address in the software
documentation telling you where to get it if you cannot find it
locally.  The address is:

                     Advance Systems
                     215 W Amosland Rd.
                     Norwood, PA  19074-1502

The two-number version is $89 and the four-line version is $149 US.


Robert Book    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: It would be better if you simply sent it out to
people asking for it rather than posting it here.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: John Wheeler <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Having to Dial 0 + 700 on Calls
Organization: Group One Ltd.; San Francisco, CA
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 00:01:24 GMT


[e-mail] writes:

> I tried to use the AT&T Alliance Conferencing service, whose number is
> 700-456-1000.  I dialed and got a "cannot be completed as dialed"
> message.  I tried 700-555-4141 to confirm that AT&T was still my
> default carrier, and it was.  It turned out that for the Alliance
> number, one must dial 0 + 700 ... even though the 0 is not necessary
> for 700-555-4141 call.  What's going on here?

Well, I haven't heard AT&T's new EasyReach 700 service mentioned here,
though I haven't been watching real closely ... I'm now a subscriber
to ER700, with a fantastic number (my name!) ...

0 + 700 is ALWAYS needed for ER700. I assumed that was because each LD
carrier can apparently can market/divide 700 services as they see
fit ... does this mean that different carriers can re-use the 700's?

BTW: is 555-4141 still working? I thought it had been discontinued.


John Wheeler  |Informix-4GL / SQL * Unix * Broadcast Audio Production
Group One Ltd.|WTBS Emmy award winner * Global Broadcast Events
San Francisco


[Moderator's Note: You are correct that each carrier can use the 700
number space as it sees fit. There can be (and are) duplication of
numbers there.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (John M. Sullivan)
Subject: Re: Bad Connection to MCI
Organization: Geometry Center, Univ. of Minnesota
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 19:52:38 GMT


Thanks to all who responded to my question about trouble establishing
MCI service.  In fact the most useful response was not posted, but
came as e-mail from an MCI supervisor in North Carolina, who confirmed
that "2ED" is the tag for MCI's switch in Minneapolis (Minnesota
junction 1), and apologized for their entry-level customer service rep
not recognizing this.

When I gave him the phone number in question, he was able to remove
the "block" on the line promptly.  It had evidently been placed so
long ago that the reason was no longer in the computer, but probably
another customer had unpaid bills.

I am still surprised that this was not found by MCI when my friend
first called to tell them about her new number, or when we called
later to report the problem.  It seems that if MCI regularly blocks
access from certain numbers they'd know to check this possibility.

I'm not sure exactly whether this block is what ATT's Al Varney called
a Selective Carrier Denial; he seemed to imply that the SCD was
something placed by the local telco, but this block was by MCI.  (And
I don't know what he meant by "FG-D access".)

Varney quotes me and responds:

>> (If I dial 10-xxx-1-700-555-4141 for a random choice of "xxx", I hear
>> a very long pause with some touchtones in the background, and finally
>> "doo-wee-dee Your call failed.  Please try again".)

> This is not consistent with your claim that 10288 and 10333 would
> complete ten-digit calls.  Nor is the announcement consistent with the
> selection of an invalid XXX value.  Maybe you picked XXX values for
> ICs that don't support "700-555-1212" identification.

Maybe my use of "random" was confusing.  I did get service with 10288
and 10333, and got MCI's "vacant code" with 10222.  I tried 10999, not
remembering that it would reach Metromedia.  So I just tried one more
code, that I chose randomly.  It may have been 10764, but I didn't try
to remember it, if that would reach anyone.  I'll try again when I get
home, since my experience didn't seem to be typical.  And this time
I'll have a copy of the TELECOM Digest list of codes.  By the way,
that night when I had the MCI problem, I was trying to call a local
number that had an invalid exchange, just to hear if USWest's message
would have a tag like "2ED".  Not having a phone book, I tried
999-9999.  I got a message "the number you have dialed, 341-9999, ...".
What happened there?


John Sullivan

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (WAYNE D. MULLEN)
Subject: Re: What Number am I Calling From?
Organization: University at Buffalo
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 03:49:00 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, CUNYVM!LYNCC.BITNET@mitvma.
mit.edu (Jahangir Momin) writes:

> I had a similar problem once, but then I wasn't in a 'hurry' to find
> out the number, and as I planned to use'that'phone 'frequently', I
> decided to place a call from that phone using my calling card.  The
> next phone bill dsiplayed 'that' number.

I missed the beginning of the thread, but here in Buffalo, dialing 990
will give you the number of the phone you're on.


Wayne D. Mullen, President        Internet: [e-mail]
Erie County Color Computer Club   (716)  649-1368  8-N-1  300/1200/2400
Buffalo, New York

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 14:14:00
From: Paul (P.A.) Valin <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Volume of Telecom Question


In article <[e-mail]> Dr. Ross Alan Stapleton
wrote:

> For a paper I'm writing on export controls and information, I'd like
> to present a quick summary of the growth of telecommunications over
> the past several decades.  I've seen some overview articles (there was
> a two-pager in the {Whole Earth Review} a few issues back), but could
> someone from this most august forum provide some referenced figures
> (or pointers to where I could find them) on:

>   - Growth in number of domestic calls completed (US);

>   - Growth in number of international calls (either with the US and
>     rest of the world, or total internationally, or both);

>   - Growth in bandwidth or calls completed to interesting places like
>     Moscow, or Cuba, or Iran, etc.

A couple of good references that are likely available at your local
library:

Statistics of Communications Common Carriers, FCC

 - published each year by the Federal Communincations Commission
 - will give numbers of domestic (US) calls and calls between US and
   rest-of-the-world (listed by country)
 - statistics are given for previous year (you'll have to get back
   issues to see any growth figures)

Yearbook of Common Carrier Telecommunication Statistics, ITU

 - published by International Telecommunications Union (Geneva)
 - more international in scope but less detailed than FCC book

Good luck.


Paul Valin    Tel: + 1 613 763 7394
Bell-Northern Research Ltd.   Email: [e-mail]
P.O. Box 3511, Station C    Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Y 4H7
                    'only my opinions'

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 01:04:41 CDT
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: Strange MCI Problem
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


In article <[e-mail]> vixen![e-mail]
(26070-adams) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] ( Bill
> Huttig) writes:

>> I had a strange thing happen to me tonight. I called my aunt and
>> after dialing heard nothing; no ringing or noise at all, so I tried
>> several more times. At first I thought it might be that the speed
>> dial lost the end of the number so I dialed it (well actually pushed)
>> the number manually ... still no luck

>> Is this what can happen with a SS7 problem? The ringing through but no
>> voice path getting opened?

> Not according to what I've read.  Call set up protocol with SS7 (By
> the way, I strongly doubt you were SS7 connected) currently utilizes
> "distant end" ring back which is a strong indication that all went
> well with YOUR LEC and MCI, but the ball was dropped by the distant
> LEC, when your aunt answered.  The good news is that since "cut
> through" did not occur, a billing record was never completed either ...
> whew!

   Jack, there's another SS7-related failure mode that can yield these
symptoms.  Since no MF tones or winks occur on an SS7 circuit, it's
possible to signal the called party, have them answer and trip
billing, without a working voice circuit.  The protocol provides for
what's called a Voice Path Assurance (VPA) test on some percentage of
the calls (0-100%).  Usually a facility failure ("backhoe fade", etc.)
triggers a Carrier Alarm, blocking the circuits from future calls
until cleared.  But if that mechanism was broken, and the VPA test
wasn't run on your particular call, or any of your re-attempts, ...
well, just check your bill.

   I can't comment on SS7 to ICs.


Al Varney - just MY opinion.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: New Phone Number Intercept
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 08:56:54 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> John Higdon <[e-mail].
com> writes:

> It was AT&T that (exclusively?) participated in this practice, and it
> began some years ago. It was put in place to prevent the practice of
> "black boxing" and also to protect itself from itself. It seems that
> many of the AT&T PBXes sold and installed by none other than AT&T had
> misprogrammed DID circuits that never supervised. Any call made to
> such lines was a "free" call.

> To my knowledge, the OCCs never bothered with this practice. And I
> believe AT&T is still doing it.

This has been my experience as well.  The case where this really hurt
was in cellular roamer ports.  It used to be that many of them would
not return answer supervision unless the call was actually answered by
the desired cellular subscriber.  This way, if you called the roam
port as a toll call (or from another cellular), you wouldn't get
billed for unanswered calls.  The cellular carriers had to make the
roamer ports supervise immediately when AT&T made this change in order
to allow AT&T long distance customers to use the roamer ports.

Although it is certainly not high on AT&T's priority list, it would be
nice if they would return to the old way for cellular prefixes.  I
would think that they could be reasonably assured that a cellular
carrier is not going to engage in any large-scale phraud scheme, and
they would know that regular DIDs won't be on the cellular prefixes.
Then the "proper" operation of the roamer ports could be restored.

As an aside, cellular subscribers who roam into areas where they must
bill long distance to calling cards might want to use a Sprint FONcard
for these calls.  The Sprint 800 access number won't return
supervision unless the call completes, so you aren't billed the
outrageous roam airtime for unanswered long distance calls.  If you
just 0+ the call, chances are it will default to AT&T, which returns
supervision at the "bong."


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: V.25bis, or: Are CCITT and PTTs Totally Bonkers?
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 09:03:28 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
writes:

> Then you get into situations like the one I saw mentioned recently.
> Supposedly, US modems think that Australian ring signals are busy
> signals!  (Anyone know the truth about this?)

Sometimes modems can be too smart for their own good when they try to
interpret things like this and do it poorly.  The modem at my parents'
house interprets the "Thank you for using AT&T" message after entry of
the calling card PIN to be a BUSY, and drops the call immediately.  I
finally figured out a way around this: append some commas at the end
of the dialing string so the modem doesn't start "listening" until
after the undesired sound is finished.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Andrew G. Minter)
Subject: Re: How do You Pronounce "#"
Organization: BNR Europe Limited, Harlow, GB
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 09:42:08 GMT


Just to confuse things even more:

The UK English voice on our wonderful NT Meridian VoiceMail system
refers to `#' as "square sign".


Andrew G. Minter            | Email: [e-mail]
Principal Research Engineer | Phone: [phone]
BNR Europe Limited          | Fax:   [phone]
London Road, Harlow         | ESN:   742-3165
Essex  CM17 9NA             | Telex: 81151 BNR HW G

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #705
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #706

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 13 Sep 92 22:02:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 706

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Cell Phones in the Air (Gordon Hlavenka)
    Re: Latest Cuba -- US Telephone Situation (John R. Levine)
    Re: Calling 911 From a Cellular Phone (John R. Levine)
    Re: Information Wanted on CPC Pulses (Jon Sreekanth)
    Re: Modem Noise on Line (Julian Macassey)
    Re: Disaster Reporting On Usenet (Joseph Malcolm)
    Re: Bell Science Series on Video (Martin McCormick)
    Re: Loading Auth Codes Into CO Switch (Vance Shipley)
    Re: Standardized Exchange Names (George L. Sicherman)
    Re: New Phone Number Intercept (Andy Jacobsen)
    Re: Information Wanted on CPC Pulses ([e-mail])
    Re: How do You Pronounce "#" (Steven P. Mazurek)
    Re: How do You Pronounce "#" (H. Shrikumar)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (gordon hlavenka)
Subject: Re: Cell Phones in the Air
Organization: Vpnet Public Access
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 21:51:53 GMT


> The only reason to be able to do uplink calls would be to call someone
> back after leaving a message or something similar.  Simply have the
> phone number of the Airfone change, and have that number be current
> only for that flight.  Phones from which calls are not made are
> totally inaccesable.  Several digit extensions would probably be
> needed to prevent someone from randomly dialing Airfone extensions and
> stumbling across an active line.

Not secure enough.  I suppose you could go to seven-digit "extensions"
(like a pager PIN) but for a _temporary_ use this would be easy for
the uplink caller to forget.  (We're talking Least Common Denominator
here -- not everyone takes notes and doesn't lose them!)

Also, with several thousand (not an unreasonable number) passengers
registered to receive calls it would be pretty easy to pick a number
at random and connect to _somebody_.  And that's precisely the
situation we need to prevent.

(BTW "Airfone" is a TM or some such.  Since I work for a different ATG
phone company, let's use a generic term like "Airplane Telephone."
Having people think of "Airfone" as a generic term -- like Jello -- is
_exactly_ what GTE wants to happen.)


Gordon S. Hlavenka   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Latest Cuba -- US Telephone Situation
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 10 Sep 92 17:50:28 EDT (Thu)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


> Enter Hurricane Andrew on the scene.  Andrew toppled AT&T's microwave
> tower at Goulds, FL, between Miami and Florida City, shutting down
> microwave connectivity to both the Florida City tropo station and the
> Florida Keys, ...

Florida City, which is next to Homestead, was right in the path of the
hurricane.  I'd be astonished if the tropo station itself weren't
badly damaged.

I saw a wire-service article in the papers last week about the
rerouting calls to Cuba via Europe, but it didn't say anything about
the shenanigans that gave Cuba a direct link to Italy.


Regards,

John Levine, [e-mail], {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Calling 911 From a Cellular Phone
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 13 Sep 92 17:42:14 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


> I do not know whether all carriers allow 911 even from a phone marked
> as bad.  I would suspect so, because of liability issues, and it's not
> likely that someone calling 911 is trying to engage in phone fraud.

And the Moderator Notes:

> [Moderator's Note: I don't see how there could be any liability issues
> in a total denial of service to a delinquent or non-existent account.

There could be plenty of liability issues if a telco refused a 911 call
from a phone whose ESN was marked bad by mistake.  Given that we seem to
be moving toward a national ESN data base updated by all umpteen hundred
cellular carriers, it's almost certain that some of the data will be bad.


Regards,

John Levine, [e-mail], {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl


[Moderator's Note: If the ESN is marked bad by mistake, then a problem
might exist if a call to 911 were denied. If the ESN is correctly
marked, then no liability would exist.  The same situation could occur
with landline service. If a phone is turned off in error, there could
be a question of liability, but if the phone is denied service due to
a credit problem or some previous misuse or abuse of the network then
telco has no liability.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jon Sreekanth)
Subject: Re: Information Wanted on CPC Pulses
Organization: The World
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 15:14:22 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Steve
Forrette) writes:

> retry the connection, you get a busy signal.  It would be nice to have
> the modem immediately reset when it sees the CPC indicating that the
> caller has gone away.  I've never seen this in any modem (not that
> I've looked very hard), and wonder why it is not a standard feature.
> It would seem to me that detecting loss of loop current would not be
> an expensive feature to engineer.  And if a line doesn't give CPC,
> then the modem would act as it does now anyway.

The Brooktrout multichannel fax/modem/voice cards (TR112, TR114) do
sense loop current, to the best of my recollection. On the other hand,
they pay lots of attention to their DAA design since they make various
country versions, and have DID front end versions. An $80 PC modem
probably cuts out the loop current sense opto for cost saving.

On this topic, if a modem actually did loop current detection, how
would it report it using the "Hayes" (AT) command set ? Would the
manufacturer pick a status code at random, like "DC ON", or is there
some organization that co-ordinates extensions to the AT command set ?


Jon Sreekanth
Assabet Valley Microsystems, Inc.      Fax and PC products
5 Walden St #3, Cambridge, MA 02140    [phone]
[e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Julian Macassey)
Subject: Re: Modem Noise on Line
Date: 13 Sep 92 14:41:52 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Julian Macassey)
Organization: The Hole in the Wall  Hollywood California U.S.A.


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Jeff Garber) writes:

> [e-mail] (Julian Macassey) writes:

>> The big question is "Why are people still doing installations
>> with quad wire?"

> Among other reasons previously cited, quad usually can be easily
> obtained in a beige jacket.

    Quad is usually supplied in cream (white), I have seen dark
brown/purple jacketed quad, but cream is the usual colour.

    Twisted pair is commonly supplied in beige This is actually
"artificial limb pink", but the telco calls it beige. The telco calls
beige almond. The rarer colour -- usually only obtainable from AT&T --
is grey. I prefer grey cable, it is often hard to find at distributors.
Graybar usually has it.

    So yes, I will concede, to match the light decor of many
residences, quad does the job. Yet another case of fashion holding
back technology. Maybe some enlightened cable manufacturer will start
supplying twisted pair in almond.


Julian Macassey, [e-mail]  N6ARE@WA6FWI.#SOCAL.CA.USA.NA
742 1/2 North Hayworth Avenue Hollywood CA 90046-7142 voice [phone]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Joseph Malcolm)
Subject: Re: Disaster Reporting On Usenet
Organization: SURAnet, College Park, MD
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 20:03:30 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> Tom Coradeschi <tcora@pica.
army.mil> writes:

> [e-mail] writes:

>> I am surprised that Usenet, as powerful a medium as it is, has not
>> been more widely used to coordinate disaster relief activities.  For

>> Are there any folks out there who have experience in creating a new
>> newsgroup, and are willing to moderate a discussion and run a vote for

> I'm not sure that this is such a great idea. The propagation delay
> thru Usenet (due to the nature of the beast) is such that news tends
> to travel rather slowly. Sure some very well connected sites (anyone
> hanging off UUNET, for example) will get news quickly, but many of the
> rest of us are in veritable backwaters. Not really the greatest way to
> get out timely or critical information.

That depends on what software you are running. With INN or a hacked C
News, propagation delays are typically less than two or three seconds.
News propagates through the de facto "backbone" quite quickly. I'd
estimate that news passing through darwin.sura.net probably hits a
hundred machines in at least a dozen states and and a couple of
foreign countries within a minute, and I suspect I am underestimating
things considerably.

It is true that those people a few hops off the fast propagation path
(or using uucp) will have delays on the order of hours or days, but
for quite a few sites that is no longer so.


Joseph Malcolm        [e-mail]
SURAnet Operations    [phone]

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Bell Science Series on Video
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 15:29:14 -0500
From: [e-mail]


When I was an electronics technician for O.S.U.'s Audio Visual
Department, We had a huge pile of 16-millimeter test films which got
their test status by having been chewed, burnt, or otherwise mutilated
by sick or poorly operated projectors.  Several of those films were
from the Bell Science series.  In one segment of the film about the
development of language, there is a brief shot of an experiment in
which the phrase "Never kill a snake with your bare hands," is
spectrally analyzed.  The spectrogram was placed on a piece of clear
plastic and run through another machine which produced a fairly good
playback of the sentence.

     This little segment always caught my interest because I happened
to have read about that very experiment while doing some research in
graduate school in 1977.

     According to Bell Labs "Benchmark Papers in Acoustics," the
scientists were studying the very nature of speech production and
understanding.  In 1951, they built a sort of reverse spectrograph
which took spectrograms and converted them back to audio.  The system
was elegantly simple, for its purpose, but worked quite well.

     It had a light source on one side of a rotating disk with a row
of photo-cells on the other side.  There were bands of holes drilled
in the disk so that they interrupted the light beams at a rate
corresponding to the desired frequency.  When the disk was spun at the
right speed, each photo-cell could produce a tone whose frequency was
harmonically related to all the other tones which could be produced.
By blocking the light to groups of photo-cells, one produced many
tones of different harmonic composition.  The hardware was physically
built so that the bands of holes corresponded to the center
frequencies of the channels of the spectrum analyzer.

     When running a spectrogram through the system, those parts of the
film which corresponded3to sound were clear while the quiet parts were
opaque.  All one had to do to get sound was to run the spectrogram
between the light source and the photo-cells at the same speed at
which it was originally recorded.

     The researchers wrote that it was possible to obtain good speech
quality from this system if the spectrogram was automatically produced
by a spectrum analyzer, but that attempts to create speech by manually
painting certain parts of a film produced very poor results.  It seems
that the human brain is not very good at interpreting a visual
representation of a sound.

     The "Bench Mark Papers on Acoustics" are just full of interesting
experiments like the one just described and show that Bell Labs was
trying to do new things with telephony right from the start.


Martin McCormick WB5AGZ   Stillwater, OK
O.S.U. Computer Center Data Communications Group

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Vance Shipley)
Subject: Re: Loading Auth Codes Into CO Switch
Organization: SwitchView Inc., Waterloo, Ontario
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 23:16:19 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Morris Galloway Jr.) writes:

> We have 700 to 1000 authorization codes to turn down each spring, then
> new codes to be turned up in the fall when students arrive.

> Since these codes are in an on-campus computer, I do _not_ want to
> print them out and have our local telco key them back in.  Nor do I
> want to key them in to the telco's system myself.

I think you should tell telco that you DO want to key them in
yourself.  When they have given you access use a scripting language to
send them up.

Or hire me and I'll do it :).


Vance Shipley   [e-mail]
[e-mail]   ..uunet.ca!xenitec!vances

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 21:56:07 EDT
From: [e-mail] (George L Sicherman)
Subject: Re: Standardized Exchange Names
Organization: Save the Dodoes Foundation


By request, here are the old exchange names from the Buffalo area.
The explanations are fallible ...

22    BAiley        Bailey Avenue
23    BEdford        Bedford Avenue
24    CIrcle        generic
25    CLeveland    president from Buffalo
26    AMherst        Amherst Street
27    BRidge        Grand Island Bridge
28    ATwater        generic
29    CYpress        generic

32    FAirview    generic
33    DElaware    Delaware Avenue
34    FIllmore    Fillmore Avenue
35    ELmwood        Elmwood Avenue
37    FRanklin    Franklin Street
38    EVergreen    generic
39    EXport        generic

42    GArfield    generic
43    IDlewood    generic
46    HObart        generic
47    GRant        Grant Street
48    HUmboldt    Humboldt Park

52    JAckson        generic
53    KEystone    generic
54    LIncoln        generic
58    LUdlow        generic

62    MAdison        generic
64    NIagara        Niagara Street
66    MOhawk        Mohawk Street
69    OXford        generic

72    PArkside    Parkside Avenue
73    REgent        generic
74    RIverside    Riverside Park
75    PLaza        generic
76    SOuth        South Park
77    SPring        generic
78    SUmmer        generic

82    TAylor        generic
84    VIctoria    generic
86    UNiversity    University of Buffalo
87    TRiangle    generic

92    WAshington    Washington Street
94    WIndsor        generic
96    WOodlawn    Woodlawn Avenue


Col. G. L. Sicherman    [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 13 Sep 92 20:23:00 PST
From: Jacobson, Andy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: New Phone Number Intercept


I believe ye olde Bell System did have a specific message for
numbers-to-be.  It went something like (This was before the tri-tone
era):

The number you have reached, NNX-XXXX, has not yet been connected.
Please try your call again later.

IBT used to have that recording on between order and due dates.  Now
that was service.


A. Jacobson     <[e-mail]>

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Information Wanted on CPC Pulses
From: [e-mail] (morpheus)
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 05:50:02 EDT


[e-mail] (Steve Forrette) writes:

> Here's a question of my own: Are there any modems that detect the CPC
> signal?  A common problem with our Hayes Ultra 9600's that we have for
> dialup are that if the 9600 bps negotiation fails for some reason such
> that "NO CARRIER" is returned instead of a fallback to 2400, the modem
> at the host end is apparently still trying to negotiate, and remains
> offhook for another 30-45 seconds.  This means that if you immediately
> retry the connection, you get a busy signal.  It would be nice to have
> the modem immediately reset when it sees the CPC indicating that the
> caller has gone away.  I've never seen this in any modem (not that
> I've looked very hard), and wonder why it is not a standard feature.
> It would seem to me that detecting loss of loop current would not be
> an expensive feature to engineer.  And if a line doesn't give CPC,
> then the modem would act as it does now anyway.

I *believe* US Robotics modems do this.  My Dual Standard (sup v 3.0)
seems to.  If I call the modem and wait until it picks up before
hanging up the telephone, the modem instantly reports "NO CARRIER".

All in all, I must say I have found the US Robotics modems to be of
very high quality.  Things like touch-tone decoding and MI/MIC appeal
to the hacker in me ;-) (now just if it did A/A1 closure!).

No, I don't work for 'em.


[e-mail]  /\/\/\/  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Steven P. Mazurek)
Subject: Re: How do You Pronounce "#"
Organization: Ameritech, Hoffman Estates, IL
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 12:46:08 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(The Virtual Kid) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> disk![e-mail]
> (tony) writes:

> Oh, I always thought the "#" sign was an abbrivation of the word
>  -number- after all, some address books say "phone #:".

In at least on document I've seen it referred to as an "octothorpe",
but I've never found a dictionary with this word.


Steven P. Mazurek             | Email : {...,uunet,bcr,ohumc}!ameris!smazu
Ameritech Services            |         [e-mail]
Hoffman Estates, IL USA 60196 | Phone : [phone]


[Moderator's Note: An octothorpe is the term you see used here in the
Digest frequently.   PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 15:42:22 -0400
From: [e-mail] (H. Shrikumar)
Subject: Re: How do You Pronounce "#"
Organization: University of Massachusetts, Amherst


In article <[e-mail]> is written:

>>> The # sign?  The POUND sign!  <grin>>

> quite popular.  It is called the "pound sign" because it has been used
> for centuries as a symbol for pounds avoirdupois (as opposed to pounds
> sterling).  You can probably find it marking the weight of many large
> shipping boxes.

   My DEC keyboard has the symbols # and the Pound Sterling on the
shift-3 key. That, and also I have heard so too, that in the UK they
use the same ASCII code space as the # for the pound-sterling is
probably a reason why its called the pound sign.

   Sometiome back, (was it?) IEEE spectrum has a box on this
controversy, and concluded that "hash" is the best alternative, since
it needs least literacy, and is easiest to guess if you did not know
already, not only among the keys of the impoversished Keypad, but also
a QWERTY (or AZERTY :-) keyborad.

Amen!


shrikumar ([e-mail])

------------------------------

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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #707

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 13 Sep 92 22:31:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 707

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Why Four-Digit Carrier Identification Codes? (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: Why Four-Digit Carrier Identification Codes? (Ron Dippold)
    Re: When Did France go to Eight Digit Numbers? (John R. Levine)
    Re: Fax-> Email, Fax-> Fax Services Anywhere? (Mark D. Wuest)
    Re: AT&T 'Buying' Back Customers (Justin Leavens)
    Re: Vermont Payphones (John R. Levine)
    Re: Vermont Payphones (David G. Lewis)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: Why Four-Digit Carrier Identification Codes?
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 00:00 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> sequent!islabs!fasttech!
[e-mail] (Bohdan Tashchuk) writes:

> Several recent messages have mentioned there will soon be a change
> from three-digit to four-digit long distance carrier identification
> codes.  Why is this change necessary?

> I've only ever had a use for three different codes: 10222, 10288, and
> 10333.  I'm sure that sophisticated users need many more than this,
> but are four digits really necessary? Is there a reluctance to re-use
> old codes freed up because of mergers, bankruptcy, etc?

   Well, I only use a hand full of NPAs, but that doesn't mean we
aren't running out of them :-) The change is needed for the obvious
reason: Most XXX codes are already assigned, and (unlike
electromagnetic spectrum) the FCC doesn't want to limit the number of
competitors in "telecom" by limiting a resource (the XXX codes).

   Prior to divestiture, the original Carrier Interconnect
requirements specified provisions for 100 ICs (00 to 99) -- no one
really thought there would be more companies than this actually
running cable/fiber and buying switches, etc.  Late in the
requirements phase, the Carrier Access Code went to three digits.
There was an explicit binding of 950-WXXX and 10XXX numbers to the
same carrier.

   So what happened?  Are we lousy planners?  Well, maybe.  Several
factors have emerged to change the "IC" marketplace, and "use up" the
XXX codes -- (I'm sure Bellcore (as the NANP Administrator) could give
you even more reasons!):

  1) An IC doesn't have to own switches or networks or anything other
than an XXX code, some billing system and (maybe) some trunks -- they
can get an XXX code, contract with a "real" IC for service, and hope
to profit from the IC's "bulk" rates or other discount arrangements.
While this was mentioned as a possibility in discussions, I (and
others) didn't believe there would ever be enough economic leverage to
make this a "common" practice.

  2) It was imagined that regional carriers could exist and that XXX
codes could be assigned on a regional basis -- 10999 could be New
England Oil and Telephone Co. in one area and Southern Beer and Telco
in another.  The reality was that no carrier would ever want to
restrict itself to one region -- what if it were wildly successful
(wants to grow) or not (junk bond candidate for non-regional
takeover).  No one wants to share what might be a valuable asset (an
XXX code).

  3) The "interim-only" access via 950-WXXX was tariffed in a way that
attracted non-ICs (other Service Providers, etc.).  This used up a lot
of XXX values.  Those XXX values couldn't be shared with a 10XXX-only
carrier, because the 950 customer didn't want to share either.

  4) Several ICs have requested multiple XXX codes, to allow service
identification based on the code.  This was partly the result of a
failure to develop another means of service identification and the
means to assign "generic" service codes and simultaneously allow
carriers to invent new services without negotiating service codes in a
public arena (and thus divulging the service to the competition
early).  Bellcore's position is that neither NPAs nor XXXs should be
used for identification of services or facilities -- but the
alternative mechanisms appear to be either inadequate or inconvenient.

  5) Mergers/buy-outs don't result in freeing up of XXX codes -- the
customer base doesn't want to change their dialing habits or PICs, the
rates might vary by XXX code (even though a single IC carries the
traffic), and again -- why give up an asset?  Use it or LOSE it!

> How soon will this change occur? Will it be in an upward-compatible
> fashion?  Will I still be able to dial 10ATT when I need to avoid AOS
> scum?

   Short answers:  1995, of course, sure -- but maybe not forever.

   If you're really interested in the details (as in willing to part
with $35), Bellcore's TR-NWT-001050 has specifics on the transition
capabilities to be supported by switches.  The Carrier Liason
Committee and it's sub-committees (NOF, ICCF, etc.) have planned a
mid-1995 deadline for deployment of the expanded "capability" in
RBOC/GTE switches.  That's early enough to meet the worst-case needs
for accessing the first XXXX carrier.  When customers will actually be
able to "dial" that carrier will depend on the actual need.  The TR
supports a phased approach in XXXX assignment that allows for growth
to 2970 XXXX codes, and later (if needed) to 10,000 codes.

   Note that prior to this capability, TR-TSY-000698 had already been
updated to allow FG-B signaling and 950-access to support 10,000
FG-B-only carriers -- that is, 950-XXXX was supported with only the
original 950-0XXX and 950-1XXX ranges having a "transition to FG-D
signaling" capability.  This was in place around mid-1991.

   Briefly, for FG-D signaling and 10XXX access, the phases are:

1) Deploy switches, databases, operations systems, billing systems,
etc.  the support XXXX codes in all the internal communication paths
(switch output messages, AMA records, SMDR, SCPs, etc.)

2) Convert inter-switch trunks (EO to AT, EO/AT to IC for
International) to signal four-digit XXXX codes where-ever three was
used before.

3) Enter the "permissive" dialing phase, where 10XXX still works for
XXX values other than 1XX.  For other codes, 101XXXX becomes the
Carrier Access Code.  This period may last for a LONG time (my
opinion).  1010XXX also works to reach the old three-digit carriers.

4) Enter the "post-permissive" dialing phase, where 101XXXX must be
used to access all FG-D carriers.  Carriers with old XXX codes will
automatically receive 0XXX codes.  Only at this point will Bohdan and
others be required to dial "1010288" in place of "10288".


Al Varney -- this is my opinion today -- I might change it tomorrow!

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Ron Dippold)
Subject: Re: Why Four-Digit Carrier Identification Codes?
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 08:49:23 GMT


sequent!islabs!fasttech![e-mail] (Bohdan Tashchuk) writes:

> Several recent messages have mentioned there will soon be a change
> from three-digit to four-digit long distance carrier identification
> codes.  Why is this change necessary?

Here's a list of some of the codes -- not all are available from all
locations, most require an account to use.  This is the most complete
table I've found, but it's not complete. It's getting crowded!  The
list is long, but interesting.  No guarantees of accuracy implied,
etc.

001     MidAmerican LD (Republic Telecom)
002     AmeriCall LDC
003     RCI Corporation
007     Tel America
011     Metromedia Long Distance
012     Charter Corporation (Tri-J)
013     Access Services
021     Mercury
022     MCI Telecommunications
023     Texnet
024     Petricca Communications Systems
028     Texnet
030     Valu-Line of Wichita Falls
031     Teltec Saving Communications
033     US Sprint
036     Long Distance Savers
039     Electronic Office Centers of America (EO/Tech)
042     First Phone
044     Allnet Communication Services (LDX, Lexitel)
053     American Network (Starnet)
056     American Satellite
057     Long Distance Satellite
059     COMNET
060     Valu-Line of West Texas
063     COMNET
069     V/COM
070     National Telephone Exchange
080     AMTEL Systems
084     Long Distance Service (LDS)
085     WesTel
088     Satellite Business Systems (MCI)
089     Telephone Systems
090     WesTel
093     Rainbow Communications
095     Southwest Communications
099     AmeriCall
122     RCA Global Communications
137     All America Cables and Radio (ITT)
142     First Phone
146     ARGO Communications
188     Satellite Business Systems
201     PhoneNet
202     ExecuLines
203     Cypress Telecommunications (Cytel)
204     United Telephone Long Distance
206     United Telephone Long Distance
211     RCI
212     Call US
213     Long Distance Telephone Savers
214     Tyler Telecom
215     Star Tel of Abilene
217     Call US
219     Call USA
220     Western Union Telegraph
222     MCI Telecommunications (SBS)
223     Cable & Wireless Communication (TDX)
224     American Communications
227     ATH Communications (Call America)
229     Bay Communications
232     Superior Telecom
233     Delta Communications
234     AC Teleconnect (Alternative Communication)
237     Inter-Comm Telephone
239     Woof Communications (ACT)
241     American Long Lines
242     Choice Information Systems
244     Automated Communications
245     Taconic Long Distance Service
250     Dial-Net
252     Long Distance/USA
253     Litel Telecommunications
255     All-State Communications
256     American Sharecom
260     Advanced Communications Systems
263     Com Systems (Sun Dial Communications)
268     Compute-A-Call
276     CP National (American Network, Starnet)
284     American Telenet
286     Clark Telecommunications
287     ATS Communications
288     AT&T Communications
298     Thriftline
302     Austin Bestline
303     MidAmerican LD (Republic Telecom)
311     SaveNet (American Network, Starnet)
318     Long Distance Savers
321     Southland Systems
322     American Sharecom
324     First Communication
331     Texustel
333     US Sprint
336     Florida Digital Network
338     Midco Communications
339     Communication Cable Laying
343     Communication Cable Laying
345     AC Teleconnect (Alternative Communication)
350     Dial-Net
355     US Link
357     Manitowoc Long Distance Service
362     Electronic Office Centers of America (EO/Tech)
363     Tel-Toll (Econ-O-Dial of Bishop)
369     American Satellite
373     Econo-Line Waco
375     Wertern Union Telegraph
385     The Switchboard
393     Execulines Florida
400     American Sharecom
404     MidAmerican LD (Republic Telecom)
412     Penn Telecom
428     Inter-Comm Telephone
432     Lightcall
435     Call-USA
436     Indiana Switch
440     Tex-Net
441     Escondido Telephone
442     First Phone
444     Allnet Communication Services (LDX, Lexitel)
455     Telecom Long Distance
456     ARGO Communications
462     American Network Services
464     Houston Network
465     Intelco
466     International Office Networks
469     GMW
472     Hal-Rad Communications
480     Chico Telecom (Call America)
488     United States Transmission Systems (ITT)
505     San Marcos Long Distance
515     Burlington Telephone
529     Southern Oregon Long Distance
532     Long Distance America
533     Long Distance Discount
536     Long Distance Management
550     Valu-Line of Alexandria
551     Pittsburg Communication Systems
552     First Phone
555     TeleSphere Networks
566     Cable & Wireless Communication (TDX)
567     Advanced Marketing Services (Dial Anywhere)
579     LintelSystem (Lincoln Telephone LD)
590     Wisconsin Telecommunications Tech
599     Texas Long Distance Conroe
601     Discount Communications Services
606     Biz Tel Long Distance Telephone
622     Metro America Communications
634     Econo-Line Midland
646     Contact America
654     Cincinnati Bell Long Distance
655     Ken-Tel Service
660     Tex-Net
666     Southwest Communications
675     Network Services
680     Midwest Telephone Service
682     Ashland Call America
684     Nacogdoches Telecommunications
687     NTS Communications
700     Tel-America
704     Inter-Exchange Communications
707     Telvue
709     Tel-America
717     Pass Word
726     Procom
727     Conroe-Comtel
735     Marinette-Menominee Lds
737     National Telecommunications
741     ClayDesta
742     Phone America of Carolina
743     Peninsula Long Distance Service
747     Standard Informations Services
755     Sears Communication
757     Pace Long Distance Service
759     Telenet Communication (US Sprint)
760     American Satellite
766     Yavapai Telephone Exchange
771     Telesystems
777     US Sprint
785     Olympia Telecom
786     Shared Use Network Service
787     Star Tel of Abilene
788     ASCI's Telepone Express Network
789     Microtel
792     Southwest Communications
800     Satelco
801     MidAmerican LD (Republic)
827     TCS Network Services
833     Business Telecom
839     Cable & Wireless Communication (TDX)
847     VIP Connections
850     TK Communications
852     Telecommunicatons Systems
859     Valu-Line of Longview
872     Telecommunications Services
874     Tri-Tel Communications
879     Thriftycall (Lintel Systems)
881     Coastal Telephone
882     Tuck Data Communications
883     TTI Midland-Odessa
884     TTI Midland-Odessa
885     The CommuniGroup
888     Satellite Business Systems (MCI)
895     Texas on Line
897     Leslie Hammond (Phone America)
898     Satellite Business Systems (MCI)
910     Montgomery Telamarketing Communication
915     Tele Tech
933     North American Communications
936     Rainbow Commuinications
937     Access Long Distance
938     Access Long Distance
951     Transamerica Telecommunications
955     United Communications
960     Access Plus
963     Tenex Communications
969     Dial-Net
985     America Calling
986     MCI Telecommunications (SBS)
987     ClayDesta Communications
988     Western Union Telegraph
991     Access Long Distance

------------------------------

Subject: Re: When Did France go to Eight Digit Numbers
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 13 Sep 92 18:06:31 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


> Fred Gaechter at Bellcore has said he sees a similar future for the
> NANP: dialling ten digits for ALL calls irrespective of whether
> they're local, toll, or outwith your NPA. Do other Digest readers
> think this would be acceptable?

I expect we'll end up with two choices for dialing: NXX-XXXX for
numbers within the same NPA, and 1-NXX-NXX-XXXX for numbers anywhere
in the NANP.  Here in New Jersey this is already the rule -- I can
dial local calls with 1-609 and they complete normally.  There has
never been any "dial 1 for toll" here.  They went directly from never
requiring a 1 for any call to having it indicate that an area code
follows.  New Jersey still avoids duplicating prefixes near NPA
boundaries, so all local calls can still be dialed with seven digits,
even when they're into a neighboring NPA (except, for some reason,
from pay phones.)  Along with the fact that 609 is two LATAs, this
means that from a phone in Princeton or in Barnegat, a seven digit
call can be local intra-LATA, local inter-LATA, toll intra-LATA, or
toll inter-LATA.

Particularly with the increasing number of cellular phones and the
advent of "overlay" area codes like 917 in New York, it's practically
mandatory to allow people to dial the area code, since often it'll be
difficult to tell the NPA of the calling phone.


Regards,

John Levine, [e-mail], {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (mark.d.wuest)
Subject: Re: Fax-> Email, Fax-> Fax Services Anywhere?
Organization: AT&T
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 12:14:44 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Simon
Streltsov) writes:

> I'm looking for a service; someone who can receive my fax and route it
> to me by e-mail as a TIFF file or after running a character
> recognition program.

I'm not sure what they'd charge, but a fax/modem for my NeXT is under
$500 (PeeCee stuff is actually a tad cheaper) and the software does
just this -- provides a TIFF.  It also makes for an inexpensive
scanner (only 150 dpi, tho).


Mark Wuest       *MY* opinions, not AT&T's!!
[e-mail]   [e-mail] (NeXT Mail)

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Justin Leavens)
Subject: Re: AT&T 'Buying' Back Customers
Date: 13 Sep 1992 08:33:44 -0700
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA


> In article <[e-mail]> I wrote:

>> 'You may already have won').  Strangely enough, this was a real check
>> for $40 made out to me, marked 'Endorsement indicates your acceptance'

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Gerald Ru\derman) writes:

> I got one for only $20 earlier in the summer. Since I did not switch,
> you are the beneficiary of them increasing the amount. No if you
> hadn't switched the next check would have been for $80 and then if ...

Several c.d.t. readers have informed me that checks up to $100 have
been issued in this promotion, the amount of the check depending on
your long-distance usage patterns. I guess I finally have something to
thank my old roommates for.


Justin Leavens     University of Southern California

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Vermont Payphones
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 13 Sep 92 16:07:41 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


> 1) I didn't see a single COCOT.  Are they illegal in the state?

> 2) A very high proportion of NETel payphones had rotary dials.  Tone
> service was clearly available to residence and business customers,
> but I didn't see a single payphone with keypad in Stowe or surrounds.

Stowe had a four-digit SxS until a few years ago, so there wouldn't
have been much point in putting in tone phones.  In places where
they've had modern exchanges longer, e.g. Burlington or Woodstock,
most of the pay phones are touch.  The old Stowe exchange wasn't equal
access, either, making it harder to install COCOTs.  I've seen COCOTs
in Vermont, albeit not as many as in more urban states.

> 3) The NETel payphones seem to have several different default LD
> carriers.  I would have thought the LEC would sign up with a single
> carrier for all its phones.  Sometimes the default was AT&T for both
> 1+ and 0+ calls; in other cases it was AT&T for 1+ and (say) USSprint
> for 0+.

Every telco pay phone in the US sends 1+ calls to AT&T, because
they're the only ones set up to handle inter-LATA coin paid calls.  It
is my understanding that the 0+ carrier is chosen by the owner of the
premises where the phone is placed, or the town for phones on the
sidewalk.

> So who was right?  Should my Bell card number work with Sprint?
> Do US LEC cards work with Sprint?

It should have worked, and US LEC cards do work for Sprint calls.  But
the US and Canadian data bases seem to be separate with a gateway
(e.g., when I used my NET card in Nova Scotia a live operator cut in
and said to wait a minute for the validation) and I can easily believe
that Sprint has trouble going through the gateway.


Regards,

John Levine, [e-mail], {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: Vermont Payphones
Organization: AT&T
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 13:06:21 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> Tony Harminc <TONY@VM1.
MCGILL.CA> writes:

> 3) The NETel payphones seem to have several different default LD
> carriers.  I would have thought the LEC would sign up with a single
> carrier for all its phones.

LECs were obligated (by, I believe, the FCC) to presubscribe 0+ long
distance from payphones to IXCs in a ratio that was comparable to the
presubscription ratios for their (residential or residential+business)
customers.  Since only AT&T has the capability to handle
coin-sent-paid traffic, AT&T is the presubscribed IXC for 1+ traffic.

[Long story about difficulty using calling card from a phone PIC'd to Sprint
deleted.]

> I dialed 10288, told AT&T all about it, and was connected in a few
> seconds.

If I were a marketing type, I'd say something clever like "it's just
not worth it ...", but I'm just a techie, so I'll leave well enough
alone ;-)


David G Lewis    AT&T Bell Laboratories
[e-mail] or !att!houxa!deej     Switching & ISDN Implementation

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #707
******************************










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Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 23:44:47 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #708

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 13 Sep 92 23:44:39 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 708

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: GTE Community Involvment (John Higdon)
    Re: GTE Community Involvment (Laird P. Broadfield)
    Re: How to be Listed in the Internet White Pages (Robert L. McMillin)
    Re: How to be Listed in the Internet White Pages (David Horvath)
    Re: The Emperor's New Figleaf ([e-mail])
    Re: AT&T 'Buying Back' Customers (Marc T. Kaufman)
    Re: Vermont Payphones (Andy Sherman)
    Re: Information Wanted on GTD-5 Centrex (John Higdon)
    Re: When Did France go to Eight Digit Numbers (Robert L. Ullmann)
    Re: Cellular Frequencies (Randy Gellens)
    Re: Cellular Frequencies (B. J. Guillot)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 00:30 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: GTE Community Involvment


[e-mail] writes:

> Well Mr. Higdon you failed to check your facts on that one.

I beg your pardon. What facts are you talking about? GTE does not even
have a business presence in this community. How in the hell is it
supposed to do community involvement? It is a mystery company that
hides out at the end of an 800 number.

> For years GTE has supplied its people to work with the LA Raiders on
> its Food Day game. Each year well over 500 GTE people are at the GTE
> sponsered GTE West Golf Classic which is used to support a shelter for
> battered wives.

Not around here it doesn't. Oh, I forgot. Northern California does not
count, even though there are a number of communities here that are
"served" by GTE.

> It sponsers Public TV programs and many other local community events
> in its service areas. If you were to contact your area public affairs
> office they could tell you more.

What do you call a "service area"? Do Morgan Hill, Los Gatos, and
Novato not qualify as "service areas"? You cannot even pay your bill
in person in those towns at a GTE office because there are none.

> We were also involved with over 1000 volunteers in the 1984 Olympics
> in LA. We were at the Super Bowl in Pasadena and will be there again
> for public service. 'GTE People' is not very well known.

And what will happen when GTE up and moves its puny presence, such as
it is, out of southern California? Where are these volunteers going to
come from? Florida? North Carolina? Texas? That IS dedication. It is
also ridiculous.

> Maybe we should blow our horns more often, but we are more
> interested in just doing our community service and not caring if
> anyone really knows about it since we do and that is all that really
> counts.

What a cheap shot. Pac*Bell does not "blow its horn". I am aware of
its involvment because I, myself, am involved in community service and
I happen to bump elbows with Pac*Bell people. I have yet to bump any
elbows with GTE people. The last time I even saw anyone who worked for
GTE is when I made a service appointment a week in advance.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !


[Moderator's Note: It so happens that GTE has been a benefactor of the
Lyric Opera here in Chicago in the past; in the Illinois communities
where they operate they have been involved with school educational
programs; and Automatic Electric did a number of community-oriented
things in the northwest suburban area here.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: GTE Community Involvment
Date: 13 Sep 92 18:13:07 GMT


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:

> Well Mr. Higdon you failed to check your facts on that one.
> For years GTE has supplied its people to work with the LA Raiders on
> its Food Day game. Each year well over 500 GTE people are at the GTE
> sponsered GTE West Golf Classic which is used to support a shelter for
> battered wives. It sponsers Public TV programs and many other local
> community events in its service areas. If you were to contact your
> area public affairs office they could tell you more.

These poor GTE guys, they can't win for trying.  :-)

Steven, I don't know what John would agree with me, but I'm not
particularly interested in whether or not GTE (or PB) support the
Great Horned Wombat Extinction Drive, or whatever other silly causes
they're spending revenue dollars thay got from *me* on.

What's significant is that PB can provide quality service and support,
24 hours, seven days, midnight on Christmas Eve if you like, and
*still* perform "good works."  First, provide a quality product;
*then* be a "good citizen."

Perhaps if those 500 people (and oodles of dollars) were spent in
support of *customers*, you'd hear fewer quality complaints.


Laird P. Broadfield     [e-mail]    ...{ucsd, nosc}!crash!lairdb

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 12:50:04 -0700
From: rlm@ms_aspen.hac.com (Robert L. McMillin)
Subject: Re: How to be Listed in the Internet White Pages


Paul Robinson <[e-mail]> writes:

> For persons wishing to make their Internet address public, you may
> register it with the "Internet White Pages" which are maintained by
> the Network Information Center (NIC), the same people who register and
> assign Internet domains.

[details omitted]

> The address to E-Mail requests to be listed in the NIC "Internet White
> Pages" is:    [e-mail]

The people at that address said that they only register the names of
people who are network points of contact; they wouldn't register me!
What gives?


Robert L. McMillin                     | Voice:    [phone]
Hughes Aircraft/Hughes Training, Inc.  | Fax:      [phone]
Los Angeles, CA                        | Internet: [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 13 Sep 92 11:06:36 EST
From: David Horvath <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: How to be Listed in the Internet White Pages


There have been some posts that suggest that the NIC will register
general Internet users in a "White Pages" directory. According to the
following, that just isn't so:


*** Forwarding note from SMTP    --PENNSAS  09/11/92 10:27 ***

 Subject: Re: Internet white pages
 To: [e-mail] (David Horvath)
 Date: Fri, 11 Sep 92 10:27:15 EDT
 Cc: [e-mail] (Confirm Role)


> Please send me information on adding this address to the white
> pages. I'd also like information on accessing the white pages
> through e-mail or FTP.

Hello,

It has been the NIC's policy to only register Internet users who are
points of contacts for domains, networks, hosts, and gateways.  We
appreciate your patience and look forward to assisting you with your
networking needs in the future.


Sincerely yours,

Network Information Center

------------------------------

From: Doctor Math <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: The Emperor's New Figleaf
Organization: University of Notre Dame
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 05:10:00 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Robert Horvitz) writes:

> Adrienne Voorhis recently asked readers of the TELECOM Digest:

>> Could someone please explain how the federal government can allow
>> you to legally monitor [mobile radio] broadcasts but can stop you
>> from disclosing what was heard?

> The Communications Act of 1934 allows you to receive any radio signal
> that comes to you.  But when you aren't "authorized" to receive it,
> you cannot tell others what you heard or exploit the content for
> "gain" (courts usually interpret "gain" as "financial gain").

Entirely hypothetical:

Suppose I'm hearing something really interesting on my (illegally)
modified scanner. The cellphone is in a parked car, so I can remain
"locked in" on the frequency that has been assigned it for this cell.

1. Someone else is in the room with me. Do I tell them not to listen?

2. I call my friend who lives around the corner (within range of the
   transmissions) and tell him to listen to XXX MHz.

3. Noticing that the conversation is between my friend's boss and the CEO
   of the company,  I call my friend and tell him to listen to XXX MHz.

In each of these scenarios, I did not actually disclose the nature of
the communications. In two and three, I inform someone else that the
communications are in progress and tell them where they might listen
to them. In three, there is some possibility of "gain" (my friend can
perhaps advance his career with some "inside information"; logically
this translates into a raise, so the "gain" could be considered
financial).

Did I break the law?

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Marc T. Kaufman)
Subject: Re: AT&T 'Buying Back' Customers
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: CS Department, Stanford University, California, USA
Date: 13 Sep 92 20:06:47 GMT


[e-mail] (Ken Levitt) writes:

> I have a business line which has what New England Tel calls "Remote
> Call Forwarding".  This means that my business number is permenantly
> and forever forwarded to another number.  That phone number only
> appears in the CO.  Since there can never be a phone connected to it,
> it would be impossible to ever make an outgoing call on it.

> A few months back I received one of the AT&T chechs in the mail that I
> could cash if I was willing to switch this line to them.  I cashed the
> check and allowed them to switch this line to AT&T.  A few weeks
> later, I received a letter from AT&T thanking me for switching.

> I guess if I ever made a LD call and charged it to that number, it
> would be billed through AT&T, but I am not likely to do that.

I have such a line, and a calling card attached to the number.
Whenever I use the calling card, AT&T calls me a few nights later and
asks me if I want to switch.  I always say yes, and get my $20 in
vouchers, or whatever.

What makes this so much fun, is that the originating CO (in my case)
does not keep a record of a 1+ carrier for the forwarding entry, so
every time AT&T checks they discover that the 1+ carrier is NOT AT&T.
So they call me again and offer to give me $20 to switch.  I think I
currently have a net credit on long distance charges.

Attempts to explain the situation to the marketing droids are not
successful.  So I figure I have done my due dilligence and cash the
voucher.


Marc Kaufman ([e-mail])

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Andy Sherman)
Subject: Re: Vermont Payphones
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 16:21:24 EDT


On 11 Sep 92 00:30:10 GMT, [e-mail] (Tony Harminc) said:

> I spent a few very pleasant days of vacation in Vermont, and noticed a
> couple of curious things making calls from payphones:
> 3) The NETel payphones seem to have several different default LD
> carriers.  I would have thought the LEC would sign up with a single
> carrier for all its phones.  Sometimes the default was AT&T for both
> 1+ and 0+ calls; in other cases it was AT&T for 1+ and (say) USSprint
> for 0+.

As I recall, payphone equal access was part of the orderly process of
dismantling the Bell System.  The LECs were required to spread the 0+
business for the LEC-owned payphones around among the carriers,
approximately in proportion to their share of PICs at the time of the
conversion.  Thus, even in as small a state as Vermont (no slur
intended) the LEC could not cut a package deal with a single 0+
carrier.

1+ is a different animal entirely.  As you noticed, only one carrier,
AT&T, had the 1+ business.  That's because only one carrier, AT&T,
offers the service of collecting coins in payment for an interexchange
call.  I assume there's not enough profit in it for the other
carriers.

In the past, I've made that statement in this forum and been severely
flamed by a couple folks from the anti-AT&T crowd.  Their argument was
that the rules are stacked in AT&T's favor, making it impossible for
anybody else to enter the coin-paid market.  My counter argument is
simple: the OCC's, especially MCI, have never been reluctant to go to
court for the right to offer a service providing huge profits.  If
there was oodles of money to be made in coin calls (as opposed to bits
of money and a tradition of full service to uphold), you can bet that
big bad Ma would be having her drawers sued off over coin calls.

On a related note, anybody know whatever happened to the attempt by
some carriers to get the FCC to ban AT&T's CIID calling cards?


Andy Sherman  Salomon Inc  -  Unix Systems Support  -  Rutherford, NJ
[phone]  -  [e-mail] or [e-mail]
"These opinions are mine, all *MINE*.  My employer can't have them."

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 13:26 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Information Wanted on GTD-5 Centrex


[e-mail] (Kevin W. Williams) writes:

> Luckily, the manufacturer is on the Internet. Unfortunately, for
> historical reasons (the great Higdon/Williams/Baker Flame War of
> 1992), I would rather not take up discussion of the GTD-5 on the
> telecom bulletin board,

I will have you know that I have stopped bad-mouthing the GTD-5. I
find a much more effective way to respond to inquiries about that
equipment. I simply point out that Los Gatos is service by GTD-5
switches, then I invite the person to contact ANYONE in that town and
ask him or her for an opinion of the telephone service.

All the venom I could spew could not do a more effective job of
getting the message across! The GTD-5 is its own best (worst?)
advertisement.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Robert L Ullmann)
Subject: Re: When Did France go to Eight Digit Numbers
Organization: The World in Boston
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 02:53:05 GMT


Richard Cox <[e-mail]> writes:

> Fred Gaechter at Bellcore has said he sees a similar future for the
> NANP: dialling ten digits for ALL calls irrespective of whether
> they're local, toll, or outwith your NPA. Do other Digest readers
> think this would be acceptable?

Actually, the dial plan I want is just the full number. International
number. I dial 11 digits most of the time anyway -- 1 + NPA + 7 -- to
get from NPA 617 (where I live, [phone]) to NPA 508 (where I
work, and my parents live.)

If I could pick up the phone and dial the full number, with none of
this "you must dial 1/you must _not_ dial 1" bull manure, that would
suit me just fine. Overall, it would mean _fewer_ keypresses. (never
hitting 011, no 9-1 or 9-011 from PBXs. Ever forgot you were at home
and dialed 9-1-something with a double bounce on the '1'?
Embarrassing.)

Think about traveling in foreign countries and being able to pick
up any phone and just dial the same number you use from anywhere
else? (The Phone Company discovers FQDNs ... :-)

Now _that_ is _real_ international standardization.


Robert Ullmann        [e-mail]    [phone] x226

------------------------------

From: MPA15AB![e-mail]
Date: 14 SEP 92 04:33 GMT
Subject: Re: Cellular Frequencies


Pat, our Moderator, notes:

> One 'problem' (smirk!) reported by people who illegally monitor cellular
> conversations via their scanner is that one never gets to hear the *entire*
> conversation from start to finish. The scanner will be cycling -- searching
> for something -- and lock in on a conversation in progress. As one listener
> put it, " ... about the time the conversation started to get juicy -- really
> interesting to listen to -- the vehicle moved out of range and the tower
> dropped the call, giving it to another tower somewhere. I tried stepping
> quickly around the band manually, but never could find it. "

Pat, I don't imagine this would be too big a problem if one were to
live in an area with frequent traffic congestion, say near a
California highway or resort town.  In such a case, it would be far
more likely for the vehicle to stay put, while the occupant carries on
a nice long chat.


Randy Gellens            [e-mail]
>>>>>>> If mail bounces, forward to [e-mail] <<<<<<<<
Opinions are personal; facts are suspect; I speak only for myself


[Moderator's Note: Well the same situation exists here in Chicago
during the past few years; traffic during the day and early evening
moves at a snail's pace on the main roads and highways ... but some
people tend to stay on the cell phone a long time, I guess, especially
if someone else is footing the bill for them, i.e. local politicians
with cell phones here who charge it off to government paid expense
accounts.   PAT]

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Cellular Frequencies
From: unkaphaed![e-mail] (B.J. Guillot)
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 15:11:27 GMT
Organization: Unka Phaed's UUCP Thingy


> Ahhh -- too bad! It is illegal to listen to cellular calls, period. It
> is also quite easy to do the mods required on most scanners with 800
> megs capability to bring those frequencies in. Some Radio Shack
> dealers sell the PRO-34 scanner (my model) with a straight look on
> their face then on your way out the door hand you a crudely photocopied
> sheet of paper with pictures of the circuit board telling you to pull
> diode D-3 and D-4 to recover the full band ... but only to be done
> when the scanner is being exported outside the USA, of course ... of
> course!  PAT]

Ah, ... but what might have to be done, if say, I wanted to take my
PRO-37 scanner from Radio Shack out of the country to pick up that
band uninterrupted?

I looked in the new 93 and the older 92 catalog and couldn't find any
reference to PRO-34.


[e-mail] (B.J. Guillot)
Unka Phaed's UUCP Thingy, [phone] in Houston, Texas
1200/2400/9600/14400 v.32bis/v.42bis


[Moderator's Note: I dunno about the PRO-37. I've not seen it in
operation or looked at the innards. You might *carefully* pull D-4 and
see what happens. Be prepared to reinsert it if necessary. Did I
mention that on the PRO-34 at least, pulling those two diodes also
causes you to *lose* 30-50 megs, but who cares about that territory
anyway. In return, in addition to full 800 coverage, the scanner
acquires a new range from 68 to 88 megs, apparently a territory used
in Europe. Around Chicago, there is very little in 30-50. Almost
everyone in the metro area has migrated to VHF, UHF and T-Band.

One very interesting thing about the 68-70 megs area is that you can
sometimes get your neighbor's cordless phones and baby monitors there
by using a technique in scanning called the 'magic number': take the
intermediate frequency of the unit (the 'IF'), double it precisely and
add that value to the desired frequency, then tune to the new number.
For example using approximate numbers, if a cordless phone is on 49.1
megs and your scanner's IF is 10 megs, you add (10*2 = 20) to 49.1 and
tune the scanner to 69.1 (assuming the mods were done, etc). You won't
hear as well as actually at 49.1, but you will hear stuff if you have
anyone close by using a cordless phone on that frequency. And some of
the Regency direct entry scanners are a gas: due to a programming
error in the ROM, if you enter the decimal point *first*, you can get
them to scan in all sorts of otherwise inaccessible areas.

Does anyone remember the old *tunable* (tuning knob and hairline
guage) VHF receivers?  I built one from a Heathkit about 35 years
ago and listened to all the exciting stuff on VHF in those days.  PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #708
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #709

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 14 Sep 92 00:18:18 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 709

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Here We Go Again :-( (Roy M. Silvernail)
    Re: USWest - Helloooo, is Anyone in There? (John R. Levine)
    Re: Voice Message Service (Dave Levenson)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Lauren Weinstein)
    Re: Phone Number in "Sneakers" (Adam M Gaffin)
    Re: Phone Number in "Sneakers" (Laurence Chiu)
    Re: Kauai Communications Out (John Higdon)
    Re: AT&T 'Buying' Back Customers (Mark W. Schumann)
    Re: How do You Pronounce "#" (Mark W. Schumann)
    Re: How do You Pronounce "#" (Rich Mintz)
    Re: How do You Pronounce "#" (Donald B. Burton)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Here We Go Again :-(
From: cybrspc![e-mail] (Roy M. Silvernail)
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 23:45:36 CDT
Organization: Villa CyberSpace, Minneapolis, MN


[e-mail] (Jack Winslade) writes:

> Here's the good part.  There's a $.15 per minute charge to use the
> service.  IMAO, I can't see why anyone would pay a per-minute charge
> to look up info on a system when they can simply flip through the good
> (??) old-fashioned tree-wasting, bicep-building, landfill-clogging
> yellow pages, now available in two competing editions.

Oh, it gets better ... I got to talk to a USWest droid at the State
Fair a couple of weeks ago:

The software is a Minitel emulation, but it's proprietary.  You can't
use a generic Minitel package to access it.  The software is $15 to
$25.  They rarely give it away free.

Your calling card is your Account ID, and all charges are billed to
it.

I count 29 offerings in the user guide.  The prices range from free
(for pay-your-bills-online) to $0.62/min for "over 500
business-oriented French services".  There are several Minitel
services available, as though everyone in Minneapolis needs to look up
phone numbers for Nice.

Oh, and here's a nice one ...

Service ID: EXP
Information services for the hearing-impaired.
$0.15/min.

"Express provides fast, powerful and economical communications.  Chat,
E-mail, conferencing and bulletin boards."

Not bad for ... $9/hour?  Bwa-ha-ha-ha!  Even CompuServe is a better
deal than that!  And you're not stuck with that rotten Minitel
interface.

> I sure wish Ma Bell would cure herself of this case of anal-cranial
> inversion and realize that it would be MORE PROFITABLE in the long run
> to offer the service to consumers for free and save the
> money/trees/effort it takes to print and distribute directories.

I told the droid that they should give the software away if they
expect it to catch on.  I got the most amazingly vacant stare.

> For some reason, I can't imagine people are gonna beat down the doors
> of US West in anxious attempts to use this service.

Let's just say I didn't take up the offer of an introductory software
package for $14.95.


Roy M. Silvernail |+|  [e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: Re: USWest - Helloooo, is Anyone in There?
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 14 Sep 92 00:10:56 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


> The /lowest/ fees on the system were $.05/minute, and that was
> charged for services like the Joslyn Art Museum's calendar, which I
> could read at the building for free or call a telephone touchtone
> system and get for free.  More standard were rates like $.10 or
> $.15/min.

This sounds very much like the gateway service that New England Tel
tried a year or two ago.  The price was very high and nearly
everything was available elsewhere cheaper, often for free.  People
who tried it tell me that no matter how fast your modem was, data
arrived at 1200 bps.  When they discontinued it NET whined that it was
because they weren't allowed to provide content.

Now they have a Minitel-based directory service but they haven't
publicized it much.  People who've tried it say it's laughably bad,
and probably mostly exists so NET can try to get services
grandfathered in case the regulators sensibly continue to regulate
them out of the content business.


Regards,

John Levine, [e-mail], {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Dave Levenson)
Subject: Re: Voice Message Service
Organization: Westmark, Inc.
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 04:25:52 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (John
Higdon) writes:

[ regarding COCOTS which provide message store and forward services ]

> There have been COCOTs doing this in some areas for well over two
> years. Of course, they are only able to do this on long distance calls
> since the COCOT operator has absolutely no local access other than
> dial tone. The LEC has interim access and can manipulate the call,
> local or not.

There are some COCOTS in the Hoboken, NJ, railroad station which
provide message store-and-forward on local calls.  How do they do
this?  Apparently, the store and forward is done entirely within the
telephone set.  I sent myself a message, and when it was delivered two
hours later, the Caller*ID that accompanied the delivery was the
number of the COCOT I had placed the original call from.

The telephone sets are the ones with yellow LCD displays just below
the coin-slot that display the price of a call after you've dialed it,
and then suggest that you might want to leave a message, if you get a
busy signal, or if you hang up without getting answer supervision.


Dave Levenson        Internet: [e-mail]
Westmark, Inc.        UUCP: {uunet | rutgers | att}!westmark!dave
Warren, NJ, USA        Voice: 908 647 0900  Fax: [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 10:23:01 CDT
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
writes:

>> Fred Gaechter at Bellcore has said he sees a similar future
>> for the NANP: dialing ten digits for ALL calls irrespective of
>> whether they're local, toll, or outwith your NPA. Do other
>> Digest readers think this would be acceptable?"

> Absolutely not.  But I didn't think switching from five to seven
> digits for intra-exchange calls was acceptable either ...

   When my home-town exchange went non-SXS last year, they lost the
ability to use four-digit local dialing -- even though the switch
could have supported the town as a Centrex group with four digits.
But things change ...

> [Moderator's Note: The options would seem to be seven digits for local
> (probably the majority of the) calls one makes and eleven digits for
> all others or ten digits for everything since if an area code is
> always required then the leading digit '1' could be dropped. I
> personally prefer the current arrangement even if I do have to dial
> 1-708 for many of my local calls.  PAT]

   Fred's comment (in a published "planning guide") was not individual
opinion, but that of the "North American Numbering Plan
Administration", headed up by Fred.  You have to view the comment in
context with the REASON for the comment.

   The guide assumes a time 20-30 years hence, when the use of overlay
NPA's will cause a lot of "local" calls to require dialing of another
NPA.  In such cases, the callers from those numbers will have to
(usually) dial "1+" on a majority of their calls.  All callers will
have to remember to check the NPA of any neighbor's or business phone
they use, to determine if 1+NPA is needed.  Also, in 30 years, many
calls will be made from phones that have the intelligence to do
dialing from other stimulus (voice, etc.).  Thus, requiring ten-digit
dialing will not be "onerous" and will permit calling any party
without the need to first know from where one is calling.  And it will
"free up" the leading "1" for other uses, perhaps in aiding the
conversion to 4-digit NPAs in the far-distant future -- if the first
such NPAs are 1XXX, they could be easily differentiated from the "old"
NXX-XXX-XXXX numbers.


Al Varney  - just MY opinion.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 12:02 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Lauren Weinstein)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits


Greetings.  I for one would welcome the ability to dial all ten digits
on local calls.  Where I sit here in the L.A. area, where the actual
city of L.A. has three different area codes, I can dial *local* calls
in all three codes.  It is becoming an ever increasing mess when
people assume you're in the same code they are (because, after all,
you're local) and don't bother giving you the area code.

If everyone dialed ten digits routinely, and gave out all ten digits
to everyone when giving out a number (I certainly do the latter,
regardless of where they are) it would be much more consistent.  What
irks me is that even if I *want* to dial all ten for local calls I'm
not permitted to, forcing once again the silly situation of dialing
seven digits for some local calls and 11 (1 + ten) for others.

Another advantage of a move to ten digit universal dialing would be
the ability to help avoid area code splits and the disruptions those
splits cause (especially to businesses).  For example, as population
density increased in an area, a new area code could be assigned that
would exist right alongside the old one in that same area.  Of course
this would require dialing all ten digits even for local calls.  But
the technique of just adding a mass of new numbers to an area, rather
than disrupting all the current numbers by area code splits, makes a
great deal of sense.

The way to accomplish this all is pretty clear.  Step one, allow
people to optionally dial their own area code on calls within their
code.  Encourage people to use all ten digits, always.  After a
suitable span of time and appropriate publicity, start adding new
codes and requiring ten digit dialing.

I think that most people wouldn't object to this in the long run if it
were explained to them that this could avoid the hassles of having to
change their area code whenever they're "split out" of an existing
code.  With so many metro areas undergoing *multiple* splits, this
would make a good deal of sense.

Hey Bellcore -- you can count on my public support if you want to give
this plan a try!


 --Lauren--

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Adam M Gaffin)
Subject: Re: Phone Number in "Sneakers"
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 02:40:04 GMT


The movie is also flawed in its otherwise highly entertaining press
kit.  Unlike all other movies, which have old-fashioned paper press
kits, this one only has one on a computer diskette.  The graphics are
very nice and colorful and fun and all that.  But in a section about
hacker history, that big AT&T long-distance collapse a couple years
back was blamed on information stolen by the Legion of Doom from
BellSouth's 911 system (rather, than, say, software problems at
Bedminister, NJ)!  Fortunately, movie critics don't tend to care about
such stuff, so I doubt you'll see that "factoid" in print anywhere.


Adam Gaffin    Middlesex News, Framingham, Mass.
[e-mail]  Voice: [phone].
Fred the Middlesex News Computer: [phone].

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)
Subject: Re: Phone Number in "Sneakers"
Organization: GCS Limited, Wellington, New Zealand
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 01:56:58 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Bob Izenberg) writes:

> Alas, there was no seductive gun-toting NSA agent to be yanked
> away from the dinner table.  The film industry's normal flawless
> attention to telecom detail :-) failed it here: [phone] is now
> in area code (510).  I don't know what would have been said (at least
> on the side of the call in our town!) had someone answered, but the
> matter is academic.  The number has not been assigned in that area
> code.  At least, as far as we know. Would we have been rattled if
> the phone rang right back when we hung up?  Maybe just a little.

I haven't seen the movie yet but I am surprised. In almost all movies
I've seen (or TV shows for that matter) where a phone number is
identified, it's invariably 555-nnnn. This I presume is an invalid
number always except perhaps for n=1212 so to avoid telephone phreaks
calling the number to see who's there and annoying some poor soul who
just happens to possess that number.


Laurence Chiu    [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 01:43 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Kauai Communications Out


On Sep 12 at 17:59, TELECOM Moderator notes:

> [Moderator's Note: John, I *really* don't think GTE is quite as bad as
> you make them out to be; and certainly the events in Hawaii during the
> past day would be a severe challenge for any telco

Well, I will grant you that a hurricane may be special circumstances,
but GTE is as bad as all of that. Notice that all telephone
communications with the island have been cut. One would assume that a
link as important as that would be backed up just a little bit. For
instance, an undersea fiber cable to Oahu would not be out of line.
And it would be immune to storm damage. But that would have required
planning and intelligence, something in very short supply in the GTE
family of telcos.

I really do hope that considering the anguish of relatives and the
actual suffering of island residents that GTE manages to rise to the
occasion and restore telephone service in a timely manner. And then
maybe someone can look into why all communications to and from the
island were able to be knocked out in the first place.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 01:31 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Mark W. Schumann)
Subject: Re: AT&T 'Buying' Back Customers
Organization: Akademia Pana Kleksa, Publi Access UNI* Site


[e-mail] (Joe Trott) writes:

> [e-mail] (Justin Leavens) writes:

>> I received a mailing
>> from AT&T, and I was immediately annoyed by this check-looking thing I
>> saw inside (it looked like one of those things that are usually marked
>> 'You may already have won').  Strangely enough, this was a real check
>> for $40 made out to me, marked 'Endorsement indicates your acceptance'
>> or something like that. Anyway, I guess the deal is that if you cash
>> the check, you agree to switch over to AT&T. I'll take $40 over my MCI
>> totebags and Sprint AM/FM radios anyday ...

> Are you sure this is a bona-fide _check_, and not a voucher?  AT&T was
> offering a number of switch-back programs, but so far the only ones
> I've heard about involved them "paying" in _future_ long distance
> service discounts; not actual cash.

Yep, it's a real check.  I'm trying to figure out how to cash the
check without triggering the switch-back.  Crossing out the fine
print?  Nah ...


Mark W. Schumann/3111 Mapledale Avenue/Cleveland, Ohio 44109-2447 USA
Preferred: [e-mail] | Alternative: [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 01:33 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Mark W. Schumann)
Subject: Re: How do You Pronounce "#"
Organization: Akademia Pana Kleksa, Publi Access UNI* Site


"Octothorpe."  Digital calls it that so it must be right.  :-)


Mark W. Schumann/3111 Mapledale Avenue/Cleveland, Ohio 44109-2447 USA
Preferred: [e-mail] | Alternative: [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Rich Mintz)
Subject: Re: How do You Pronounce "#"
Organization: California State University, Chico
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 21:58:30 GMT


Based on my experience living in the U.S., in the great majority of
cases "#" is pronounced here in one of two ways, depending on the
context.

(1) "number", when it's an obvious substitution for that word, and (2)
"pound", when identifying the matching symbol on a standard DTMF
keypad or when used with computers.

Without exception, all voice mail systems I've ever encountered refer
to it as "the pound key", but most follow with "located in the bottom
right corner of your touch-tone keypad" to avoid possible confusion
because of its not-so-standardized name.

I lived for a year in Spain, and I remember one guy looking my laptop
computer's keyboard over and saying he had never seen the "#" before,
and asking me what it was (it's shift-3 on most U.S. keyboards, I
believe).  They don't have touch-tone-dialing there, so he wouldn't
have seen it from a telephone keypad, and he had nil computer
experience so wouldn't have recognized it from that kind of exposure
either. [Spanish phones do have keypads for dialing, but each button
just produces the appropriate number of pulses on the line to simulate
rotary dialing.]

I guess what you call it depends on where you are. 8-)


Rich -> [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: uflorida!novavax![e-mail] (Donald B. Burton)
Subject: Re: How do You Pronounce "#"
Date: 13 Sep 92 18:25:46 GMT
Organization: Nova University, Fort Lauderdale, FL


# is commonly called the pound sign or the number sign ... and less
commonly the crosshatch, the tic-tac-toe ... and even octothorpe.

MCI started using it to indicate you want to continue a second call on
the same billing.  Now AT&T and Sprint also use them.

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #709
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #710

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 14 Sep 92 00:48:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 710

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: MCI Telemarketing (John Higdon)
    Re: MCI Telemarketing (Paul Wallich)
    Re: Why Do Several Answering Machines Hang Up Early? (Richard Nash)
    Re: How do YOU Use "Break" Signals? (Jeff Sicherman)
    Re: 911 For Everything (was 911 on Jerry Springer Show)
    Re: 911 Emergency Service Instead of 999 (Laurence Chiu)
    Re: How do You Pronounce "#" (Bryan J. Petty)
    Re: Working Assets Long Distance (Graham Toal)
    Re: Automatic Fax/Modem Switches (Graham Toal)
    Re: US Phone System in 1971 (as Portrayed by Hollywood) (John Higdon)
    Re: VOICE and BUSY Detection (Was V.25bis, or: Are CCITT) (H.Shrikumar)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 10:31 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: MCI Telemarketing


[e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr) writes:

> I had two calls from MCI this morning and and the person on the other
> end wanted wanted me to switch to them via their Friends and Family
> plan.

I have a rather effective way of handling these calls. Rather than
just hanging up, I express interest in establishing a secondary
account.  Most telemarketing contractors have no idea what this is.
Since they are not programmed to accept this information, that usually
ends the session.  And even if they are, what is the harm in having
ANOTHER long distance account? (Many people, including reps of the
company, will try to insist that various plans are not available to
non-PIC customers. This is usually not true.)

I have no PIC on some of my lines and AT&T on the rest and have a
secondary account with Sprint that dates back to the old US Telecom
days. I gave up on my MCI secondary account after months of bogus
billing and other errors -- not to mention some really data-poor
connections. The company was given a great deal of slack, but it could
never get the problems resolved.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Paul Wallich)
Subject: Re: MCI Telemarketing
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 18:24:47 GMT
Organization: Trivializers R Us


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
writes:

> I had two calls from MCI this morning and and the person on the other
> end wanted wanted me to switch to them via their Friends and Family
> plan.

> First of all, I hung up on the first person and then thinking about it
> contacted my Telco (NYTel) to put a lock on my numbers (2) due to
> fears about slamming.

> The second call came in and after a few questions, determined that the
> call was due to my number being on a list of numbers to call to get
> switching of LD carriers.

> It seems that MCI is no better than a telemarketer.

> [Moderator's Note; You *were* talking to a telemarketer for MCI, not
> the company itself.   PAT]

FWIW, I got a call from MCI last week and was favorably impressed by
the change in their telemarketing strategy. Last year this time one of
their slime called, identifying himself initially as being with the
local phone company and wanting to verify some information on my phone
bill; only after he started the pitch, and after sustained questioning
did he eventually identify himself as MCI. This time, just a short
intro, a pause to let me get a word in edgewise, and{ a polite hangup
after I said I wasn't interested.

Of course it's a sad day when you're thankful that people who invade
your house uninvited are at least polite about it.


paul

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 09:32:07 -0600
From: [e-mail] (Richard Nash)
Subject: Re: Why Do Several Answering Machines Hang Up Early?


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail].
lockheed.com (Jeffrey R. Millar x7047) writes:

>> I have two answering machines which hang up on callers. The problem
>> apparently began in May ... but we didn't notice it because it
>> manifested itself as intermittent loss of the latter part of messages.

> I had *exactly* the same problem with once of these fancy new
> Audioline answering machines (forget the number) here in the UK. On
> some days the machine recorded for longer than others. Interestingly,
> I discovered that if I disconnected the answering machine and let the
> line ring for a really long time (1-2 minutes) and reconnected the
> machine it worked perfectly for several hours. British Telecom visited
> three times (we got a young engineer who proudly told me he had just
> joined the company and finished the training course). Eventually they
> gave up, insisting that the machine must be faulty.  However, thanks
> to a helpful retailer, we tried several identical machines with same
> result.                ^---------------------------------^
                                          |
                        This is a good clue! There are two obvious
                        reasons why the same result;

 i- the problem has absolutely nothing to do with the answering machine and
    is external to it.

ii- Being identical machines, if a design flaw, the problem would most
    likely manifest itself in an identical fashion.

Therefore, the above test cannot be used to afix blame on either the
answering machine, or the telco's equipment.  Additional tests would
have to be performed.

> After a couple of weeks of messing around (and losing messages) I gave
> up and spent some more money on a really nice Panasonic. I get the
> impression that Panasonic address a global market and assume that
> their machines will be connected to antique phone systems with really
> lousy lines. At any rate, our machine seems to be bomb proof!

These statements would suggest that the problem was in the design of
the previous answering machine, *NOT* the telco equipment.

Losing tail end of a message suggests that the answering machine had a
difficult time determining when the callers message was complete.  Any
of the more modern answering machines have voice detection circuitry
that allows variable message lengths to be left by the caller.
However, the circuitry has to decide when the voice information is no
longer there and terminate the recording. A simple method is to
average measure the power in the signal and compare it to a threshold
level. If the level is below the threshold for greater than a delay
period, the recording will be terminated.

Also, a good answering machine will boost a weak callers voice and
lower the level of a caller who is excessively loud so that a proper
level may be recorded, AGC (Automatic Gain Control). However, there
are limits to what the AGC can boost or duck. As suggested above, the
location that the answering machine is at, probably has very old
cabling from the CO.  A poor intermittant connection in any one of the
splices along the way could cause the pair to react in the manner
described above.  Since the loop resistance has increased
substantially, the power measured decreases and may be lower than the
threshold level, causing premature termination of recording the
callers message.  Whereas, if you let the phone ring for a while, the
poor conenction will temporarily heal itself. (Honest!)  This is a
phenomena that a good experienced but now unemployed line tester would
know about:) :) :)

The easiest solution is to demand a completely new pair.  Obviously it
is still a gamble since the pair would more than likely be in the same
cable. Alternatively they can re-terminate each splice (if possible).
Note that this phenomena will appear to allow the phone to ring no
problem, but will cause the transmission to fade as the message
progresses.  Testing with a regular phone may not cause the problem as
the loading resistances can be different to that of the answering
machine. Any obvious noise on the line such as hissing or crackling
could be used as additional ammunition to sway the telco into trying
the pair exchange.


Richard Nash           Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
UUCP:                  trickie![e-mail]
Amatuer Radio Packet:  VE6BON @ VE6MC.AB.CAN.NA
                       VE6BON.ampr.org [44.135.147.206]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 15:29:15 -0700
From: Jeff Sicherman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: How do YOU Use "Break" Signals?
Organization: Cal State Long Beach


In article <[e-mail]> Toby Nixon <tnixon@hayes.
com> writes:

> I am researching the current applications for the "break" (continuous
> spacing) condition in start/stop (async) communications.
> Specifically, I am trying to determine the importance of supporting
> break (and preserving the length of the break) in various protocols
> that carry async data across different environments.

  Uh oh, looks like they're getting ready to patent another
pre-existing in-band signalling technique.

1/2 :-)


Jeff Sicherman

------------------------------

From: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 911 For Everything (was 911 on Jerry Springer Show)
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 22:36:50 EDT


In Toronto, 911 is only for emergencies. If you want a police car
dispatched for a non-emergency situation (for example, an automobile
accident in which nobody was injured), you are supposed to call the
Metro Toronto Police switchboard at 324-2222 and ask for "Police
Radio".

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)
Subject: Re: 911 Emergency Service Instead of 999
Organization: GCS Limited, Wellington, New Zealand
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 01:43:30 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
writes:

> John Perkins writes:

>>  It's been possible to dial 999 from almost any telephone in the UK to get
>>  emergency help since at least the 1940's (when I was a kid).  I've often
>>  thought it would have been nice if this had been adopted as a world-wide
>>  standard and it puzzles me why AT&T chose to use 911 when they must have
>>  been aware of the UK system.

> Well, you'll get an embryonic World standard when Europe adopt a new
> code, 112, to replace the UK's 999 and all the other country
> variations in Europe.

> Will Bellcore follow suit?  I doubt it.  112 is one of the easiest
> codes to MISdial ... a very bad choice made for what may be political
> reasons.

Well in New Zealand the code is 111. We adopted the UK standard 999 in
position on the rotary dial but since our dials are numbered
(clockwise) 0123456789 and the UK and US is 0987654321 then their 999
became our 111.  I always thought it had to do with blind dialing 0
i.e. you could feel the left-most hole and move your finger up one
hole.  111 on the Uk/US dial or 999 on the NZ dial is too easy to dial
-> wrong numbers.  With pushbutton dialing all this is no longer
germane. How can 112 be any easier to misdial than another number
sequence like 445 or 779?


Laurence Chiu    [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Bryan J Petty)
Subject: Re: How do You Pronounce "#"
Date: 14 Sep 92 02:54:49 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh


I learned in a C programming class that the correct name for the
'#' sysmbol is "octothorpe'.


Bryan

------------------------------

From: Graham Toal <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Working Assets Long Distance
Organization: The IBM PC User Group, UK.
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 20:25:29 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail].
dec.com (Fred R. Goldstein) writes:

> 1-800-CITIZEN-WITH-AN-X  !

> Never mind that there's no Z on the dial, and that's 14 digits instead
> of seven.  It's just silly.  (And after a few weeks, it dawned on me
> what their real 800 number might be, but it wasn't immediately
> obvious, and I'm not going to dial it.  On principle.)

It takes me two seconds to assume they meant CITIXEN but I'm not going to
dial it either (for different reasons).

------------------------------

From: Graham Toal <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Automatic Fax/Modem Switches
Organization: The IBM PC User Group, UK.
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 00:06:30 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> plains!midkemia!cooper@
uunet.UU.NET writes:

> Is this even possible?  I've tried two switches sofar, the one Radio
> Shack sells and one made by a company called ACCO.  The one by ACCO
> works (part of the time, every other call seems to get in) Does anyone
> else have any other recommendations of other types/makes of switches?

Have you considered not using a switch at all?  Set your answering
machine to answer on four rings, permanently.  Get your
modem-answering program to set ATS0=0 and use ATA to pick up the line
from the RING report; tell all your modem callers to ring once or
twice, hang up, and call again.  Write software to ignore the first
set of rings, and pick up on a second set within a short interval.

Real callers will go straight through to the answering machine.

Modem callers who are aware of your system will get your modem on the
second call.

Modem callers who aren't aware of your system will probably redial
anyway and get your modem on the second attempt.


Graham

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 10:54 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: US Phone System in 1971 (as Portrayed by Hollywood)


David E A Wilson <[e-mail]> writes:

> 1) Did a station to station call differ in any way from an operator
> assisted call?

"Dialed" has always been distingished from "operator-assisted" calls
on telephone bills. It was in the late sixties that "dialed" calls
carried a lower rate than "operator assisted" ones which has continued
to this day. Back then it made sense; today it is a scam.

> 2) The murderer had to stop the victim from using the operator to make
> the call to Los Angeles, instead telling him to direct dial it
> using the 213 area code. Was direct dial that new and unusual back in
> 1971?

Yes and no. Direct nationwide dialing was introduced in the early
fifties but it caught on slowly. When I lived briefly in southern
California in 1956-1958 with my family (I was, after all, a kid), DDD
was completely unknown (we were served by GTE, or "General" as it was
known then). When we moved to San Jose in 1958, our phone could dial
nationwide (what a fun toy!) and that service had apparently been
available for a couple of years.

DDD did not become widely available in the US until the mid-1960's.
After many decades of using operators to complete long distance calls,
it is understandable that even in 1971 DDD was still a slight novelty.
But the main thing here is the importance to the plot. The murderer
wanted a record of a "dialed" call that would prove that the caller
had indeed made the call from the cabin outpost.

> 3) Would any record of a direct-dial call be kept so that the police
> could check the source of the victim's final call (knowing only the
> destination) or could they have got it later on when they suspected
> the murderer (and thus had a good idea of the source)?

The billing records are always available to law enforcement. This is
one reason Germany and other countries claim to have no billing
detail: to prevent government snooping. In the plot of the movie, you
will recall that the murderer made a followup call from a paystation
to account for that call from the cabin to the victim's wife.
Remember, the murderer claimed to have been the one to make the dialed
call.  The whole point was to establish that the murderer was
supposedly a hundred miles away at the time of the crime.

No records are kept of INCOMING calls to telephones. This has only
been recently technically possible, but even so it is not done at this
time.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 11:40:58 -0400
From: [e-mail] (H.Shrikumar)
Subject: Re: VOICE and BUSY Detection (Was V.25bis, or: Are CCITT)
Organization: University of Massachusetts, Amherst


In article <[e-mail]> Charlie.Mingo@p4218.f70.
n109.z1.fidonet.org writes:

>> Actually, there's another problem. Take USR modem. Put X5 in the
>> Initialize string. Now call a Telebit that puts the PEP tomes first.
>> Result? The USR reports a result code of VOICE almost immediately and
>> hangs up!

> That sounds like a problem more with putting PEP tones first than
> with the USR, which has a pretty average VOICE recognition.  I just


  Of course, so we know what modems to switch to when the telcos start
using their wonderful neural networks :-) (Instead of using their
neurons ? :-0 ;)


shrikumar ([e-mail])

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #710
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #711

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 14 Sep 92 01:47:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 711

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Alternate NON-TELCO Local Phone System Tested (Wash Post via Paul Robinson)
    Comments on NON-TELCO Dial Tone (Paul Robinson)
    Switch Names (Paul Robinson)
    Exchange 516-711 (Dave Niebuhr)
    Eddie Argo, Where Are You? (Lost Book) (Scott Butler)
    AT&T Mail's Phone Number (Paul Robinson)
    Telecommunications Directory From Gale Research Inc. (Nigel Allen)
    Recourse on Cordless Eavesdropping? (Alan Millar)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: Paul Robinson, Contractor <[e-mail]>
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92  21:02:03 EDT
Subject: Alternate NON-TELCO Local Phone System Tested


Alternative Local Phone System Tested
{Such Networks Could Eventually Compete Directly With Baby Bells}
[Washington Post, September 11, 1992, Page F1]
By Paul Farhi and Cathy Skrzycki
Washington Post Staff Writers

   Brian Roberts made a phone call to London yesterday.  In the
process, he made a little bit of history - and may have opened a
window on the future.

   Roberts' call, initiated from his office at Comcast Corp in
Philadelphia, was transmitted to London via an unusual network, a
patchwork consisting of fiber-optic phone wires, wireless cellular
connections, a satelite relay and even Comcast's cable TV lines.  But
what was most significant about the call what was {not} used to
complete it: the conventional phone network owned by the local phone
company, Bell Atlantic Corp.

   The call was set up by Comcast, the fourth-largest U.S. cable firm,
to demonstrate what could be an important telecommunications
development of the 1990s.  Through a combination of technologies,
companies like Comcast and others are moving closer to establishing
duplicate local phone systems to compete directly with the regional
Baby Bell telephone companies that hold monopolies over local service.

   This competition, not possible a decade ago before the breakup of
the old Bell System, has already begun in fits and starts for business
customers.  Industry analysts say it could start to become available
for residential customers in a few years.  If so, it would spur price
competition among local phone service providers, much as the advent of
MCI Corp., Sprint Corp. and other alternatives to AT&T set off price
wars in the long-distance market.

   To foster this kind of development, the Federal Communications
Commission is expected next week to rule that conventional phone
companies must make their sophisticated equipment and lines available
to outside competitors, thereby enabling these upstarts to expand
their networks.

   These companies, known as alternative access carriers, now are in
the business of ferrying calls among offices and businesses along a
limited network of private lines.  If the FCC rules in their favor
next week, they will be able to lease Bell companies' phone lines and
use their switching systems.

   Royce Holland, president and chief executive of Metropolitan Fiber
Systems, Inc., which has an extensive fiber-optic network in the
Washington area, said that if the commission lets companies like his
tap into the local phone companies' systems, "It's D-Day.  It's the
Normandy invasion.  We've established a beachhead."

   Comcast's demonstration yesterday showed that access to these
switches may not even be necessary; Comcast bypassed the local phone
system by jury-rigging a network in conjunction with a satelite
company, and its own cellular, cable and alternate access businesses
to route a call to four locations, ending up in Britain.

   Comcast is one of many companies that are experimenting with
adapting cable television lines to carry telephone conversations via
an emerging wireless technology called personal communications
services.  (The Washington Post Co. is conducting a PCS trial in the
Washington area.)

   The seven regional phone companies publicly say they welcome
competition.  But in return for opening themselves up to this rivalry,
they want major concessions, such as more flexibility on rate
increases and permission to own and program cable TV systems.  They
also want their phone competitors to bear the same burden for
providing universal service to customers, the least profitable part of
the phone business, instead of being allowed to serve high-paying
business customers.

   Referring to the cable industry's interest in providing phone
service, Stuart Johnson, president of regional services for Bell
Atlantic, said, "One company or one industry should not continue with
monopoly status while we are regulated," Bell Atlantic owns the
Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Cos., which serve the Washington area.

   But while the battle is being fought over who should be allowed to
be a phone company, a larger war looms over how far federal and state
regulation will allow real competition to go.

   "There is no question that all of this stuff can be reconfigured
any way people want to do it," said Norman Black, a spokesman for the
Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association.  "The challenge is
whether regulators can deal with the reality of competition and
technology.  There is no doubt we're in for a collision" between
governmental bodies and nontraditional phone companies.

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 92  22:34:09 EDT
Subject: Comments on NON-TELCO Dial Tone


Comments about the alternate local phone system article:


The article I copied from the {Washington Post} spurred me on
a little bit toward some ideas I had.

Over the last two weeks I have been seriously considering going into a
head-to-head conflict with the local telephone company.  By doing the
one thing the local Telco has generally had the exclusive right to do:
provide wireline dial service.  (Sometimes referred to as "hauling
dialtone".)  By buying trunk lines from C&P, running telephone wire on
PEPCO's electric poles, and then selling it to whoever would buy it.
(Whether I could get away with it is another matter.  I think I
could.)

My only real concern was raising the financing to do this.  What I had
decided to do was buying or renting a PBX, buying a block of telephone
numbers and running phone wire wherever people wanted to have other
(less expensive) phone lines installed. These rates do not include
what the electric company would charge to lease space on their
telephone poles, nor whether the county would require paying a charge
to cross street right of way (I am assuming that hanging wire on the
Electric Company's poles would preclude being charged for county
right-of-way fees.)

I looked up the current rating structure.  DID trunks run about $20
apiece per month; the phone numbers are 20c apiece ($4 per block of
20, a whole exchange of 10,000 numbers would run about $2,000 a
month.)  Outgoing trunks are also about $20 each.  (This is for phones
in Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in Maryland; the rate in DC
and VA is $1 per phone number per month, in blocks of 20).  So if we
assume the average figure is 15 trunks per 100 phones, an exchange of
10,000 estimated phones would require 1,500 incoming DID circuits and
1,500 outgoing trunk lines, plus 10,000 phone numbers.  This would
cost $62,000 per month to have the equivalent of 10,000 phone lines.
Oh my, I forgot the $3.50 per trunk charge, or add another $5,250, for
a total of $67,250 per month to have the equivalent of 10,000 phone
lines.  Which means the base cost (without any profit to me) would be
$6.83 per line.

The base cost for a residential measured service line is $5.05 per
line and 9c per completed outgoing call.  Therefore a competing
telephone company cannot compete on price in the lowest class of
service.  Except that the local telco is allowed to impose on all
phone lines a $3.50 "Federally mandated subscriber line charge," which
while they try to make it look like a tax, it's a way of charging
AT&T, MCI and Sprint less for their lines to be connected in order to
push the charge back onto the customers.  This essentially sets the
lowest cost rate for a residential telephone line at $8.50 plus tax
from C&P Telephone.

C&P's installation cost is around $35 per trunk line, plus the
installation of the DID station (telephone) numbers.  After the first
20 lines are installed, the numbers cost $4 per 20 additional numbers.
The first 20 numbers, to be installed, however, cost $750.00.

That means -- on a large scale -- to install a whole exchange and
allow connection to it, means that it would cost (not including the
PBX), about $108,000 for installation, or $11 a line plus $68,500 a
month for the service.

Even if I go with something smaller, the numbers are the same.  Let's
say I go with 200 phone numbers and 30 trunks each way.  To install 60
trunk lines will cost $2100 and the 200 phone numbers will cost $800
to install, for a total of $2900 or almost $11 per line.

The monthly service charges would be 60x$23 or $1380 for the trunk
lines and $40 for the phone numbers or $1420 for 200 phone lines or
$7.10 per line.

The one way to make money at this is to reduce the number of circuits
going to the telephone company.  If I figure 10 and 10 per 100, then
the numbers are as follows:

    10,000 phone numbers          200 phone numbers

Incoming  1000 x $20.  $40000       20 x $20.  $400
Outgoing  1000 x $20.   20000       20 x  20.   400
Phone #  10000 x  .20    2000      200 x .20     40
Line chg  2000 x  3.50   7000       40 x  3.50  140
 Total                  49000                   980
 Per Line        4.90                     4.90

If the charge only applies to outgoing trunks, knock off about $.35
per line.

Assuming that the electric company charges, say, $5 per pole and the
numbers come out that for hauling traffic I need to allocate $1 per
line for renting pole space, the cost comes out to be $5.90 per line
as the charge for me to provide the service.  On the other hand, I
might be able to use the space owned by the cable company for less,
perhaps.

Current minimum rates for business phone lines are $18 per line per
month.  This is the only place an alternative carrier can compete on,
since I could conceivably offer the same service as the phone company,
for $9 a month, charge the same rates per local call, and make a
profit.

The only thing that would otherwise be a problem is the installation
costs which are part of setting up the system, and paying for the PBX.
If I rented a PBX the cost should not be astronomical, I hope.
(Someone once mentioned a rule of thumb to me of $1,000 per line to
buy and install a PBX.  Perhaps if I rented a PBX I could do this
cheaper, or buy a used one.  (Anyone know what a used DMS-100 (or
equivalent) sells for?  That's about the size needed to handle 10,000
lines.  :) )

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail], [e-mail],
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92  05:26:35 EDT
Subject: Switch Names


In TELECOM Digest 12-685, John Palmer <[e-mail]> and Pat
talk about exchange names:

[John Palmer:]

> In Detroit, we live in an area where the exchange name used to be
> TUXedo...I used to think that the CO name was the name of a street
> on which the CO was located (or a street near the CO), but there
> isn't a TUXEDO in that area.

[Pat:]

> [Moderator's Note: But here in Chicago we had a 'true TUXedo' as in
> 889. The CO's here were variously named for the street they were
> located on or the neighborhood; sometimes an historical person or
> event (i.e. HAymarket [riots]; [Mayor Carter] HARrison.  PAT]

I'm not sure what they are doing here.  We have several offices in the
(unnamed) government agency I work out of (as a contractor, not as a
federal employee) in which we cross two different switch zones of C&P
Telephone.  One of them is called 'Bethesda' for the office in
Bethesda, Md., and the other one is a few miles up the road in
Rockville, Md., and is located on Montrose Ave., and that switch is
called 'Montrose'.

"If I or any user of this account are caught making opinions, the
secretary will disavow any knowledge of them ..."

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 18:21:04 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Exchange 516-711


I just finished checking the Verification Test Number for several
Hicksville, New York (Long Island) exchanges and found that 711 is a
valid exchange in the 516 Area Code.

New York Telephone hasn't announced via their directory that it is
being used and I have absolutely no idea as to why the test number
recording would state that it is an exchange along with several
others.

I tried this several times and each try had the same results.


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Scott Butler)
Subject: Eddie Argo, Where Are You? (Lost Book)
Date: 13 Sep 1992 19:28:07 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Scott Butler)


Perhaps some kind soul in NetLand can help me out.

Years ago I read a piece of fiction about a guy (I think that the
character's name was Eddie Argo) who was a computer programmer for the
city of Buffalo NY.  The character fakes his own death, steals a van
and a computer, and becomes a hi-tech Robin Hood, travelling around
the country hacking into systems to "steal from the rich and give to
the poor".  I've been looking for the book the past couple of years
but am a little bit hamstrung by the fact that not only can't I
remember the name of the book, I *also* can't remember the name of the
author.

Can anyone help me out?  I'd like to find out (at least) the name of
the book and the authors name.  The publisher and publication date
would also really be helpful.


Thanks a lot!

Scott   Butler

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: 13 Sep 92 08:40:50 GMT
Subject: AT&T Mail's Phone Number


In TELECOM Digest 12-678, TELECOM Moderator noted:

> [Moderator's Note: You know who else is still giving out a wrong 800
> number? ATT Mail ... 800-555-1212 still cannot come up with a number
> for them most of the time; when they do, it is some totally irrelevant
> (to the public) office.  And the AT&T corporate HQ switchboard acts
> like they never heard of ATT Mail either ... pitiful.    PAT]

When I wanted to try AT&T Mail to see how it compares with MCI Mail, I
just called 1-800-222-0400 and asked {them} for the number.

The following comes from the signup package for AT&T Mail:

The two phone numbers for AT&T Mail are:

To call for inquiries and questions:  1-800-MAIL-872
To call up to pick up messages:       1-800-MAIL-123
(You can also use 950-1ATT from many locations).


Paul Robinson
[e-mail]  (or)  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Telecommunications Directory From Gale Research Inc.
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 3:55:28 EDT


If you would like your telecommunications-related company,
association, government agency or periodical to be listed free of
charge in the {Telecommunications Directory}, contact:

 Mr. John Krol, Editor,
 {Telecommunications Directory},
 Gale Research Inc.,
 835 Penobscot Building,
 Detroit, Michigan 48226-4094, U.S.A.
 telephone [phone]  or [phone],
 fax [phone]
and ask him to send you (or someone else in your organization) a
questionnaire for the directory.

The previous edition was published in 1991. Your local public or
university library may have a copy.

Here is the questionnaire that you can fill in and return to the above
address (not to me), together with any literature that you think the
editors might find helpful:

 Organization name:__
 Address:__
 Specific system or service:__
 Name of head of system or service:__
 Person's job title:___
 Phone number:___
 Year founded:____
 Staff (indicate number in each category:
 __ Total (__ management; __ technical;  __ sales & marketing;
 __ clerical; __ other)
 Related Organizations and Their Specific Affiliation:__
 General Description:__
 Geographic Areas Served: __
 Rate Structure: (if unable to supply specific charges, please provide a
 general rate structure)__
 Publications/Documentation:___
 Clientele/Availability: (Please list primary types of clients, any
 limitations or restrictions)___
 Key Features Summary:___
 Contact Person: ___
 Name and title of person completing questionnaire:___
 Telephone number:___
 Toll-free telephone number:___
 Fax: ____
 Telex: ____
 Electronic mail address (include system name(s) and your code or address)___

------------------------------

Subject: Recourse on Cordless Eavesdropping?
From: Alan Millar <[e-mail]>
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 12:28:11 PST
Organization: The Bolis Group, San Jose, CA


I have just learned that the security guard at our mobile home park
has been using some sort of ten channel scanner to listen in on
cordless telephone conversations.

One of the residents witnessed this, and the guard even showed him how
it worked.

I hear that it is not currently illegal, but it is of course quite
sleazy.  Our resident's association is sending a letter to the park
management demanding that it stop immediately.

Does anyone know what recourse we have to deal with this?  Can anyone
share any experiences or suggestions?  Thank you.


Alan Millar   [e-mail]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #711
******************************










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Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 01:34:55 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #712

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 15 Sep 92 01:35:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 712

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Dialogic Corporation VCS Demo lines (James VanHouten)
    Line Noise: Help Needed Tracking it Down (Mark Marino)
    Information Wanted: DID and NT Norstar (Lloyd Buchanan)
    Why Hide the Test Numbers? (Marc Unangst)
    Information Wanted on Call-Forwarding in 416 (Ian Evans)
    A Chat With US Sprint (Mark A. Holtz)
    Mitel Telecom Questions (Adam Ashby)
    Bell Canada Applies to Charge Most Directory Assistance Calls (D. Leibold)
    An Interesting Advertisment (Juergen Ziegler)
    CIS Perestroika: ATS-2 System Opened to Public Access (David Leibold)
    Caller-ID Support in SupraFaxModem (Monty Solomon)
    CCITT V.35 Interface (York Lam)
    Problem With Mail on Telecom Engineers List (Jon Solomon)
    Re: New Mailing List For Telecom Engineers (John Butz)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (James VanHouten)
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 00:16:09 -0500
Subject: Dialogic Corporation VCS Demo lines


The following numbers are Dialogic Corporation demo numbers for their
Voice Recognition Technology Demonstrations.

I have tried all three and they are impressive.  I recommend the last
number on this list (Continuous-Word Recognition Demonstration).

Here they are:

+1.214.404.9405  Alphabet Recognition Demonstration

+1.214.490.1210  Connected Recognition of Digits in English
                 and Spanish

+1.214.490.0767  Continuous-Word Recognition Demonstration

Give them a try.


James Van Houten, Vice President    | Voice:   +1.301.248.3300 CIS  72067,316
Metropolitan Security Services, Inc | Fax:     [phone] WN   55:4004/0
P.O. Box 502                        | Data:    +1.301.967.7220 FIDO 1:109/544
Temple Hills, MD   20757-0502       | Internet: James.VanHouten@f544.n109.z1.
USA                                 |           fidonet.org

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mark Marino)
Subject: Line Noise: Help Needed Tracking it Down
Organization: Open Software Foundation
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 00:39:02 GMT


I'm having a problem tracking down CRC errors in a new phone line.

I had a second phone line installed in my new apartment for use with a
modem.  The second line uses the same wiring as the first line (but
the opposite two wires black-yellow, green-red).

I'm using a Zoom V.32turbo modem hooked up to the comm2 port on my
Gateway 2000.  I'm using DOS5.0 and Telix v3.15.

I used to be able to get about 1350 cps at my old apartment virtually
error free.

Now, however, I'm getting tons of CRC errors and I can't figure out
why.  File tranfers have dropped to around 1000 cps (from 1350) and I
get random CRC errors roughly every 30kbytes of the transfer;
sometimes the modem drops the line.

I can only assume it's because of line noise.  But I don't know how to
track down where the noise is coming from (i.e. is there a shorted
phone cable somewhere in the house or is the problem elsewhere).

How can I track down the line noise problem or even better, is there
some device that will improve line quality enough to eliminate the
errors?

Barring that, can the phone co. check the line quality of my lines?
I'd like to solve this without having them come in at $50/hour to
diagnose it.


Thanks,

Mark Marino              | [e-mail]         | uunet!osf!omar
Open Software Foundation | 11 Cambridge Center  | Cambridge, MA 02142

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Lloyd Buchanan)
Subject: Information Wanted: DID and NT Norstar
Organization: Axe Core Investors, Inc.
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 00:15:14 GMT


My company just moved from a huge castle served by a Rolm 9751 PBX
into a small office served by a NT Norstar system.  In order to retain
our phone numbers, we moved our DID service with us. (same CO)

In general, I am a highly satisfied customer of the Norstar/Startalk
system.

One little question though:

Callers to our DID lines hear a brief dial-tone-like tone, followed by
a pause, followed by a ring.  Where does that dial-tone come from?  Is
this bad programming of the Norstar?  CO? What is "wink start" mean?

Somebody once posted an excellent description of how DID service
works, which I lost.  If anyone has that, I would greatly appreciate
it.


Thanks in advance.

Lloyd Buchanan               [e-mail]
Axe Core Investors           uupsi!axecore!lloyd
580 White Plains Road          [phone] (phone)
Tarrytown,  NY  10591-6834   [phone] (FAX)

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Marc Unangst)
Subject: Why Hide the Test Numbers?
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 03:56:10 GMT
Organization: The Programmer's Pit Stop, Ann Arbor MI


I realize that the pseudo-numbers for ANI read-back, test tones, etc.
vary from CO to CO.  But why do the telcos try so hard to hide
information about them from the ratepayers?  It's impossible to get
the magic numbers from the telco just by asking, operators refuse to
read back the number you're calling from and deny the existence of
such magic numbers; you practically have to beg the telco installer to
tell you the magic number for ANI readback.  What's the point of all
this?  Is there a legitimate reason to hide all this?  Are the telcos
afraid of people using them to troubleshoot problems by themselves?
Seems that it would be easier for all involved if they would just
print the numbers for each exchange at the beginning of the telephone
directory ...


Marc Unangst     [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Ringback, readback and test tones are not tariffed
offerings from telco. Those are intended only for authorized employees
to use. I don't think they are so much afraid of you diagnosing your
own problems as they are of you tying up resources their own employees
need to use.   PAT]

------------------------------

Subject: Information Wanted on Call-Forwarding in 416
From: [e-mail] (Ian Evans)
Date: 15 Sep 92 00:30:00 GMT
Organization: Baudeville BBS - Toronto, Canada 416-283-0114 2000+ conferences
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Ian Evans)


I'm looking for some call-forwarding services in Toronto that will
extend my calling area so that people in nearby cities can call my
service without LD fees.  Any suggestions?  Rates?


CompuServe ID: 73117,545 UUCP: bville!ian.evans| Message created while
INTERNET:[e-mail]              | basking in the joy of
OTHERS: [e-mail]                   | living in Scarborough


[Moderator's Note: In general, unless all points along the way are
untimed local calls -- and then, not if the calls are counted and
charged for -- linking two or more local lines together with call
forwarding for the purpose of defeating tolls will not save money for
anyone. Rarely does a toll call cost more per minute than two or more
local links connected together. You'd be better off using local area
800 service if such is available.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mark A. Holtz)
Subject: A Chat With US Sprint
Organization: Sacramento Public Access Unix
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 04:55:44 GMT


Well, today, as I was filling out the check to pay my long distance
bill to US Sprint, I discovered an error on my bill: My place of
residence was listed as at #794 ... kinda impossible since I still
live at home. While talking with the service rep, she offered me a
"free" program in which the number I call the most during a billing
period will be deducted 20%. In addition, any US Sprint customer that
I call also gets 20% discount. I said okay. She then said that, unless
I object, that the people I call who are not customers would be
contacted. I, of course, objected. She noted it.

Now comes the wait and see part. I wonder what the reaction would be
of the telemarketer of the "non-Sprint" customer being a modem.  ;)


UUCP: PacBell.COM! -> mholtz!sactoh0   ucbvax!csusac!
Internet: [e-mail]   Fidonet: Mark Holtz@1:203/90.1701

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 00:29:18
From: Adam Ashby <[e-mail]>
Subject: Mitel Telecom Questions


Hi PAT,

A couple of questions for your Canadian audience here ...

1) What products are Mitel producing these days?
2) Where (geographically) are their markets?
3) Are they making any money?
4) Who bought BT's share?
5) Why - on the London market anyway - are Mitel's shares so high?  They
   are currently around 100p having languished around 40p for years.
6) What goes on in the (newish) Mitel building in Slough?
7) Is the Caldicot factory still up and running?

And lastly, but by no means leastly, does anyone (Mitel/Newbridge)
know the whereabouts of Dr. Don Mills, one of Terry's erstwhile
partners in many ventures, including the hotel in Wales, who could
talk the hind legs off a donkey -- whatever that means!

My coffee mug has prompted this curiosity -- it celebrates Mitel's
first $100,000,000 year in 1981.  I'll bet they could do with a few of
those again!!


Adam

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 10:32:06 EDT
From: David Leibold <[e-mail]>
Subject: Bell Canada Applies to Charge Most Directory Assistance Calls


CFRB radio and {The Toronto Star} report Bell Canada's application to
the CRTC to charge for most directory assistance calls, including long
distance information (ie. 555.1212 calls), plus local 411 calls
chargeable even for new number listings or changed numbers. There are
a few exemptions to charges which include calls from payphones,
non-published numbers, listings not found, emergency numbers and some
others. A 25 call allowance is proposed for the handicapped, the
illiterate, those over 65. Per call charge would be 50 cents, which
would be a reduction from the current 60 cent rate for calls to find
numbers in the phone book.

Bell Canada claims "losses" of CAD$80 million, and states the ability
to find the number on Bell's directory assistance, then place the call
on a competing reseller or carrier, as justification to charge the
extra rates for directory assistance. A statement from the Consumers
Association of Canada rep David Simpson declared "Ma Bell is on the
warpath" linking the proposed tariffs to an anti-competitive attitude.

I don't have the official text of the application from the CRTC yet,
but file numbers, etc should be available. Perhaps those Digest
readers in the U.S. familiar with the charging for 555.1212 calls
might want to list the arguments used for and against charges to long
distance information calls, and perhaps shed some light on whether 411
calls for new or changed numbers should be chargeable.


[e-mail]    [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 00:12
From: Juergen Ziegler <[e-mail]>
Subject: An Interesting Advertisment


Hi TD readers,

I read the following ad in the German {Forbes} 8/92 issue on page 117:

Free Phone
Weltweit kostenlos telefonieren  = worldwide tollfree calling
Mediumvalue Ltd.
Mannheimerstr. 22
6836 Ottersheim
06202/51509
                           ----------

A lot of the older TD readers will probably remember the same type of
advertisment same 20 years ago when "telephone consultants" sold their
customers inexpensive telephone services.

History seems to rerun again. Actually TELEKOM, the German telephone
operator has tremendous problems with phreaking. Just recently there
was a report on TV about this problem. TELEKOM estimates the the total
damages (loss) is around 20 millions DM ($15 million) a week.
Esspecially their toll-free customers are reluctant to offer toll-free
numbers to their foreign offices, since such numbers could be used for
fraudulent theft of service and I could easily happen that those
companies would be liable for those calls, since TELEKOM has no
reliable method of detecting phreaking.

There is an intersiting article about "blue boxing" in the November
1990 issue if {IEEE Spectrum}. Very informative and very interesting
to read. ("The great blue box phone frauds" by David Flory)

Disclaimer: I have no intention to get big trouble for stupid phone
            calls I do not need. So this message does not encourage
            anybody to get the services of the mentioned company. I am
            not affiliated with that company either.


Juergen

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 21:18:07 EDT
From: David Leibold <[e-mail]>
Subject: CIS Perestroika: ATS-2 System Opened to Public Access


A Reuters article by Fiona Fleck reports that the ATS-2 telephone
network, a parallel system to the domestic network in the former
Soviet Union, is now available to anyone who wants to pay for it.
While the existing domestic Russian network can be quite bothersome to
work with, the ATS-2 guarantees connections within 10 seconds, whether
inside or outside the CIS.  The network is run by the Federal Agency
of Government Communications and Information (FAPSI), and was
originally a secret Communist party network set up by Stalin in 1931.

Radio links, underground cables, satellites are all used in the
network, which provides for high survivability ie. one link goes down,
it is easily replaced with another route. 300 experts work on the
parallel system.

Cost of a regular ATS-2 line is billed at CAD$450 (equiv) per year; a
broadband circuit throughout CIS and eastern European states costs
CAD$4500 per year.

There is a directory assistance feature on ATS-2 which even gives out
Boris Yeltsin's phone numbers at the Kremlin, the parliament, and his
home.


[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 17:21:55 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Caller-ID Support in SupraFaxModem


Here is an excerpt from the Supra Technical Support Bulletin which
discusses the upgraded v.32/v.32bis ROM (1.2G).

The complete text can be found in INFO-MODEMS Digest, comp.dcom.modems,
or on the Supra BBS at [phone].

Implements Silent Answer (allows voice/fax determination):

  When the phone rings, the modem will start monitoring the telephone
  line after the 2nd ring.  If it detects a fax tone, it will do one
  of two things:

  1.      If S-Register S0 - 0, the modem will immediately answer the
          phone and attempt a fax connection.

  2.      If S-Register S0 = 0, the modem will quickly issue up to 9
          RINGS messages, expecting the fax software to issue an ATA.

  This eliminates the need for a $150 voice/fax black box.

NOTE:   DO NOT plug the answering machine into the telephone jack on the back
  of the modem.  The modem should be plugged into the answering machine.

  This also also works if a telephone is in the circuit before the
  faxmodem.

NOTE:   This mode must be supported by the fax software.

Implements Caller ID

This is a feature is only available in some areas of the country.  In
between the 1st and the 2nd ring, the phone company will send
information on who is calling you.  If you ere in terminal mode and
had told the modem to answer on the third ring, you would see:

                RING

                DATE = 0321
                TIME = 1405
                NMBR = 5039672400
                NAME = SUPRA CORPORATION

                RING

                CONNECT 19200

        To enable CALLER ID:

                AT#CID=1        Enables Caller ID in formatted format
                AT#CID=2        Enables Caller ID in unformatted format
                                (ASCII printable hex numbers)
                AT#CID=0        Disables Caller ID


Monty Solomon / PO Box 2486 / Framingham, MA  01701-0405
[e-mail]

------------------------------

Organization: Ryerson Polytechnical Institute
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 00:42:32 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: CCITT V.35 Interface

I am looking for information regarding the recommended V.35 interface.
Especially information concerning the electrical characteristics of
the interface, for both the data and clock circuits as well as the
signalling circuits.  The CCITT V.35 interface and the 34 pin
Winchester connector as specified in ISO 2593 have become a standard
for modem interfacing with circuits operating at 48, 56, and 64kbs.

     Any information for regarding this interface would be greatly
appreciated.


York Lam    ([e-mail])

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 00:09:50 EDT
From: Jon Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Problem With Mail on Telecom Engineers List


If you sent mail to "telecom-engineers-request" and the message was
received and returned with the error "Can't create output" it means
that the mailer is not permitted to make a new file in a directory, so
it fails and returns the message.

I try to make sure there is an empty "requests" file (the one which
telecom-engineers-request points to) after finishing my run of
hand-editing the mailing list. This time I didn't and a few people
didn't make it through. Would those people please resend either to the
list or to myself. thanks.


jsol

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 10:10 EDT
Subject: Re: New Mailing List For Telecom Engineers


[e-mail] writes:

> I have just created telecom-engineers, a list devoted to just the
                                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                          (trouble brewing)

> engineering point of view of telecommunications. If you want to be
> added, send mail to [e-mail]. If you
> want to send material, send it to [e-mail].
> If something fails, send mail to me.

I've only been reading this list for about eight months now, but this
sounds like it could be the divestiture of TELECOM Digest!

Competition in the area of telecommunications discussion?

I can see it now.  Telecom Engineers starting a teleslime and slamming
campaign?  TELECOM Digest replying with a $40 check to bring us back?
Multimillion dollar advertising budgets, Regional Operating Digests,
Enhanced and Regulated Digests, new products and services, the
possibilites are endless.

Say ... haven't we seen this story played out somewhere before?


John Butz   [e-mail]   ER700 System Engineering   AT&T-BL

P.S.:   Pat, will you have Candis Bergen or Dan Quayle as your spokesperson?


[Moderator's Note: Cute. Actually, it would help to know a little of
the history around here. Jon Solomon began TELECOM Digest in 1981 and
at that time it was primarily a technical forum. I took over in 1988
when he was involved with other things for a few years. The Digest
gradually became a forum for a much wider audience of people
interested in voice telephony. We have split twice already: the first
split was to start the Computer Undergound Digest for the (original)
purpose of discussing hackers and phreaks. We then split again with
articles discussing telecom privacy issues going to their own list
moderated by Dennis Rears. Now Jon Solomon is offering to take just
the technical stuff for the readers here who only are interested in
the technical and engineering aspects. Those messages can still go
here also -- in other words, stuff should be submitted as always --
but many people will read Jon's new digest who do not want the extra
social issues items we have here. He'll be accepting only the
technical stuff. I'll continue to accept everything, including news
from the privacy and hacker/phreaker arenas for general discussion.  PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #712
******************************










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Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 02:23:42 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #713

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 15 Sep 92 02:23:43 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 713

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Robert L. McMillin)
    AIN Trial Information Request Address Needed (Jack Adams)
    Cellular Accessories Suppliers (Thomas E. Lowe)
    "Bonding" Protocol State Machines (Richard Lamb)
    NT EBS Information Request (N. Nackeeran)
    Allen Frischkorn: Untangling Telecom Regs (Wash. Tech via Paul Robinson)
    711 Reaches E911 Center (James J. Sowa)
    Request For "Phonejak" Information (Bob Shaffer)
    Utility Meter Reading Switch (Bruce Perens)
    Recorded Message About no Answer (Carl Moore)
    Tel Plus Wins Award (Wash. Tech via Paul Robinson)
    Need Recommendations For Cellular: Portable/Car/Hands-Free (Steve Pershing)
    112 (was 911 Emergency Service Instead of 999) (Mark Brader)
    19th Century Phone Numbers (Gabe M. Wiener)
    Touch Tone Decoding Projects: Mine Works -- is There Better? (A. Hightower)
    Commercial Service Addresses (B. Griggs)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 00:54:15 -0700
From: rlm@ms_aspen.hac.com (Robert L. McMillin)
Subject: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation


Nigel Allen <[e-mail]> forwarded a press
release from the National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer
Federation of America that supports the Cable TV Consumer Competition
And Protection Act of 1992.  Granted, cable is a mess: in fact, since
I have moved, I haven't bothered to get cable, preferring the
disinformation I get from the {Los Angeles Times}, National Public
Radio, or Westinghouse Broadcast Group.  My experience with cable TV
operators (Paragon Cable, specifically) would seem to imply that the
words "customer service" don't exist in their dictionaries: I have
lost service so many times that I stopped counting.  And forget about
contacting them to fix anything within a day.  Repair technicians come
out within a week, if that.  Apathetic phone representatives take it
as a given that no matter how long you are kept on hold (typically 10
minutes or more), you can't do anything about it anyway.  Shut up and
like your monopoly.

But that doesn't mean that Congressional re-regulation will solve
these problems.  In fact, I expect them to worsen as a result of this
bill.

The first warning bells go off with the use of inflammatory prose:

>    Cable's Distortion Campaign:

Now, I grant you that I have heard some wild tales from the cable
operators as a result of this bill making the rounds in Congress.  But
nothing in this proposed legislation makes me feel any easier about
dealing with the people running the cable companies.  To wit:

>    Rate Regulation

>    -- The FCC and franchising authorities are authorized to ensure
> that rates for basic service are "reasonable" where cable systems do
> not face effective competition.

>    -- The bill allows citizens, local government and other public
> organizations to file petitions to the FCC challenging rates for all
> other tiers of service.

Can you say, "GTE"?  If anybody ever needed an example of how badly a
regulated utility can be run and still operate in the purported
"public interest", this has got to take the prize.  Anybody
unfortunate enough to have GTE California knows what I mean: surly
technicians, overpriced service (substantially higher than Pac*Bell),
and a business office that operates only during the day -- when I am
at work.  Rate regulation would protect cable operators' profits at
the expense of its customers.

>    Equipment Prices

>    -- Allows the FCC to ensure that prices for installation, remote
> control, converter boxes and other equipment used to provide basic
> service shall be "reasonable."

Wanna bet the cable business finds some foxes to guard the "reason-
able" chicken house?

>    Customer Service

>    -- The bill requires the FCC to establish enforceable customer
> service standards addressing concerns such as outages and service
> calls, system office hours and telephone availability, and information
> on billing and refunds.

What could "enforceable customer service standards" mean?  Who knows!
At this point, any improvement in service after passage of this bill
would allow its sponsors to crow about how much they've done to help
the situation, no matter how tiny a fix.  So they've cut your wait on
hold from fifteen minutes to ten.  Whoopee.

>    Encouragement of Multiple, Competitive Cable Franchises

>    -- Franchising authorities may not award exclusive cable
> franchises, and may not unreasonably refuse to award additional
> competitive franchises.

Why do I smell a rat?  Refer, if you will, to the section in which we
are told that regulators will ensure "reasonable" prices where no
effective competition exists.  The chief reason we now have monopolies
is because there is big money to be had from the cable business for
reelection chests.  Reason is, after all, in the eye of the beholder.
The city councilmen et al. responsible for the present monopolies will
no doubt find some very good and reasonable excuses to continue the
allotment of exclusive operating contracts.  In large cities like Los
Angeles which have several large cable contractors, eliminating
regional monopolies would be even harder: after all, the city's
satraps may say, each operator competes to keep its share of the cable
business.  In practice, though the franchisees may be pitted against
one another for an occaisional show, real competition based on price
and quality of service doesn't happen.  People still live in a Century
Cable neighborhood or a Paragon Cable neighborhood.

The only real, effective way to make the present arrogance from cable
operators go away is competition.  If the experience with local dial
tone is any guide, regulation won't cut it.


Robert L. McMillin                     | Voice:    [phone]
Hughes Aircraft/Hughes Training, Inc.  | Fax:      [phone]
Los Angeles, CA                        | Internet: [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: vixen![e-mail] (22475-adams)
Subject: AIN Trial Information Request Address Needed
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 13:21:01 GMT


In attempting to reply to the University of Pittsburg poster
requesting info on the Bell Atlantic AIN trial, I got the following
addressing error message.  Would the orginal poster contact me
directly, as I have most of what he/she needs.

   ----- Transcript of session follows -----

While talking to icarus.lis.pitt.edu:
>>> RCPT To:<[e-mail]>
<<< 550 <[e-mail]>... User unknown
550 lis.pitt.edu!st5... User unknown


Jack (John) Adams        | Bellcore NVC 2Z-220
[phone] {Voice}        | [phone] {Facsimile}
[e-mail]    | [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (thomas.e.lowe)
Subject: Cellular Accessories Suppliers
Organization: AT&T
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 14:34:33 GMT


I need to purchase accessories for my Panasonic EBH30 handheld phone.

Can anyone suggest any discount accessory supply houses for cellular
accessories?


Thanks!

Tom Lowe    [e-mail]   attmail!tlowe     201-949-0428
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Room 2E-637A
Crawfords Corner Road,  Holmdel, NJ  07733

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Richard Lamb)
Subject: "Bonding" Protocol State Machines
Organization: XtcN Ltd
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 16:15:22 GMT


Where can I find this specification? Preferably something off the net?
I know it is a spec for inverse-multiplexing (taking many low speed
lines to make a single high speed one).  We are doing something like
this but it would be nice to stick to some standard instead.


Thanks,

Rick Lamb
XtcN Ltd, [e-mail], Tel:[phone], FAX:[phone], Telex:6504829720
11 Roxbury Ave.,Natick MA 01760,4425 Butterworth Pl.N.W.,Washington D.C. 20016

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (N. Nackeeran)
Subject: NT EBS Information Request
Organization: NEC-AM TDD, San Jose, California
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 20:34:56 GMT


Can anyqone send me the datails of EBS (Electronic Business Service)
provided by Northen Telecom. It is supposed to be using P-Phone. I
would like to know the feature and the typical usage.  Please e-mail
to '[e-mail]'.


Thanks,

N.Nackeeran

------------------------------

Reply-To: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
From: Message Center <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992  18:59:01 EDT
Subject: Allen Frischkorn: Untangling Telecommunications Regulations


Andrew Jenks, {Movers} Washington Technology Magazine
September 10, 1992, Page 33

[Sidebar:Photo of Frischkorn above address:
         Allen R. Frischkorn, Jr., President
         Telecommunications Industry Association
         2001 Penn. Ave. NW, Suite 800
         Washington, DC 20006
         [phone]
]

   As the revolutionary court decision that split away the seven Baby
Bells enters its second decade, demonopolization, far from reaching
completion, is only now entering its most critical juncture: lifting
the three major provisions that now prevent the seven from entering
information services, long distance service, and manufacturing.

   Charged with mediating the competing interests of manufacturers is
Allen R. (Mike) Frischkorn, president of the Telecommunications
Industry Association, a leading voice for equipment manufacturers.

   But speaking with one voice for a group of 500 firms covering 95
percent of the telecommunications market is no easy task.  An ongoing
battle between TIA's board of directors and an insurgent group of
smaller members has split the association over how and if to allow the
Bells into manufacturing.

   On one side of the debate is AT&T; on the other a group of small
companies.

   "There is a small group of companies that do support the Bells
getting into some aspect of manufacturing," admits Frischkorn.  But,
he adds, "85 percent of our members oppose the Bells getting into
manufacturing."

   Still, Frischkorn admits that relaxing at least some of the
restrictions could open up much-needed financing for smaller
companies.  So TIA is entertaining a shift in position.

   Frischkorn envisions three scenarios:

   -  Allowing the Bells to fund other companies and take back
      royalties.
   -  Permitting joint ventures between the Bells and others.
   -  Allowing the Bells to do R&D on their own and contract out
      with companies to do actual manufacturing.

   "You can never satisfy everyone," he says.  "You have to strive for
consensus."

   But Frischkorn adds that perceptions of dissent over the
manufacturing issue have been inflated by intense lobbying from the
Bells.

   As for his sense of the political winds, Frischkorn sees "total
legislative gridlock."

   Resistance from the powerful Jack Brooks, D-Texas, has rendered the
Bells' once-promising legislative trump nearly useless.

   "The RBOC strategy has shifted to the courts," says Frischkorn,
noting that in the area of information services in particular the
Bells have made huge strides in the courts.

   But Frischkorn is not opposed to change, and he realizes that
sooner or later the Bells will enter most of the restricted markets.

   "Safeguards [preventing monopoly abuses] are expensive and
ineffective," says Frischkorn.  "There are two ways to prevent
discrimination.  Complete structural separation [of lines of
business].  Or let the RBOCs manufacture when they no longer have a
local-loop monopoly."

   Frischkorn says competition in local services is the best guarantee
of fair-play in manufacturing.  "They will have to buy equipment at
the best price to survive -- just like AT&T in long distance."

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 17:10:45 EDT
From: [e-mail] (James J Sowa)
Subject: 711 Reaches E911 Center
Organization: AT&T


We just had a strange experience at home that I thought is worth
mentioning.

My four year old tried call me at work and dial the 713-xxxx number
then said "Oops I dialed wrong".  After she hung up the phone rang. My
wife answered and was informed that it was our local police department
and that they had a 911 call and a hangup.  They asked if everything
was OK, and asked why we called.  My wife said no one called, then the
dispatcher asked if we had small children and that she should talk to
them about not calling in non-emergencies.

My wife was talking to my daughter about it and they both heard sirens
so my daughter got really scared that she would be hauled off to jail.
When I got home I heard the whole story. I believe that my daughter is
smart enough to know a seven from a nine so I started wondering about
how the misdial could have happened.  I asked my daughter why she
thought she misdialed.  She said she dialed two ones.

I began to wonder and then I tried dialing 711 ... well it started to
connect and then it was answered by the 911 center.  I informed them
that I had dialed 711 and the dispatcher informed me that Illinois
Bell has turned up 711 to test the 911 routing since we have/are going
from basic 911 to enhanced 911.

Well, I still don't think my daughter believes me the call was not her
fault.


Jim Sowa    att!cbnewsc!jjjs   [phone]


[Moderator's Note: I just now dialed 711. It started ringing
immediatly and after a few rings an intercept came on and said the
area code of the number dialed had been changed to 708 ... please hang
up, dial 1-708 and the number again. ???  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Bob Shaffer)
Subject: Request For "Phonejak" Information
Organization: University of Delaware
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 15:02:29 GMT


I have just been given an advertisement showing a "Phonejak" which
"turns an outlet into a phone jack!" being manufactured by Phonex.
Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with this device, its
reliability, safety, accordance with FCC rules, etc.?  Any information
will be appreciated.


Robert K. Shaffer  -  CNS User Services
                      University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716
                      Phone: [phone]  -  Fax:  [phone]
                      internet: [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Bruce Perens)
Subject: Utility Meter Reading Switch
Organization: Pixar -- Point Richmond, California
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 18:09:59 GMT


Yesterday, I spent a few minutes an electric utility trade show in San
Francisco.

Every one of the exhibitors was showing something related to power
meters. Most interesting from a telecom standpoint was a company that
sold a data switch similar to a Voice-Fax-Modem switch, but for use to
share a voice telephone line with a data-collecting power meter.

These data-collecting meters are used by utilities that bill
differently for peak and off-peak usage. The switch connects to the
phone line before the telephone instrument. When the utility wishes to
read the meter, they send DTMF down the phone line _without_ringing_,
and the meter picks up the line. They need a special arrangement with
the telephone company to do this. The meter downloads its data, and
can also be _programmed_. If a telephone instrument is picked up or
the CO has a call for that line, the data connection is dropped
immediately and re-attempted later on.

This sounds like the old "Harmonica Bug". It's interesting that COs
can provide such a facility -- a voice path to a particular line
without ringing. The potential for abuse is obvious -- it would be
trivial to send dial tone down such a connection and provide "Trojan
Horse" phone service.  There's also the potential for very detailed
records of electricity use on a minute-to-minute basis and the use of
such records for surveillance.

The data-collecting meters can also be manually read. They have a LED
and photodetector behind the glass seal, and the meter-reader uses a
hand-held computer with a similar optical transceiver to read the
meter. This provides an intermittent-use connection with reasonably
high bandwidth that is not vulnerable to contamination from liquids
and grit. I wonder if these meters are vulnerable to power-factor
abuse, or if the internal computer can detect such abuse.


Bruce Perens

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 15:52:12 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Recorded Message About no Answer


I just now called 9-1-800-xxx-xxxx, and eventually got the recorded
message that my (called) party is not answering and (sorry) the call
is now being disconnected.  I have seen previous notice of this (such
as call-ins to Larry King show).  Although I was in Maryland, I got
"215 4T" at the end of the message; is that a function of the carrier
and/or the place I am calling?

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: Message Center <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992  18:54:37 EDT
Subject: Tel Plus Wins Award


{Corporate News} Washington Technology Magazine,
September 10, 1992 Pg. 31

Tel Plus of Fairfax, Va. has won a contract from the General Services
Administration to provide telephone equipment to federal agencies.
The one-year contract is worth $1.25 according to GSA estimates.


[Moderator's Note: This surely must be a typographical error. Even the
phones at Radio Shack are worth a dollar, twenty-five cents.   PAT]

------------------------------

Subject: Need Recommendsation For Cellular: Portable/Car/Hands-Free
From: questor![e-mail] (Steve Pershing)
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 00:00:15 PDT
Organization: Questor|Free Usenet News|Vancouver, BC: [phone]


I am posting this for a friend without net access.  He is looking for
a decent small portable cellular phone which he could also use
hands-free in his car.

On-air transmit time while in his pocket (or on his belt) is
relatively unimportant.  An hour or so would do.  Cost, size and ease
of use in carrying it and taking itin and out of his vehicle are the
more important points.

Any suggestions as to the merits of various units on the market would
be very much appreciated.

Also, where would one look in order to get a good used unit at a low
price?

Thanks in advance for any help.


        Steve Pershing, System Administrator, The QUESTOR Project
  FREE access to Environ, Sci, Med, & AIDS news, and more.  [also UUCP]
        on a ZyXEL-1496S v.42bis, v.32bis, v.33, up to 16,800bps.
    POST: 1027 Davie St., Box 486, Vancouver, B.C., Canada  V6E 4L2
    Fones: (+1 604)  Data: 681-0670  FAX: [phone]  Voice: 682-6659


[Moderator's Note: I'd be careful about buying used cellular phones.
Like used cars, you are buying someone else's problems often as not.  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 01:58:00 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Mark Brader)
Subject: 112 (was 911 Emergency Service Instead of 999)


Laurence Chiu ([e-mail], emphasis added) writes:

> How can 112 be any easier to misdial than another number
> sequence like 445 or 779?

In New Zealand, it isn't.  In almost all of the rest of the world, 112
has only four dial-pulses, and could be generated accidentally by
interfering with the motion of a rotary dial, or merely by flashing
the hook.  In New Zealand, 998 would be a bad choice for the same
reason.


Mark Brader, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, utzoo!sq!msb, [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Gabe M Wiener)
Subject: 19th Century Phone Numbers
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 04:26:11 GMT


I recently looked at some issues of the {Columbia Daily Spectator}
(our campus paper) from the 1890's.  I noticed that some of the ads
for local businesses had phone numbers such as 178 Morningside.

Was it common in the 19th century manual exchanges to put the exchange
name at the end?  When I looked at issues from about 1920 or
thereabouts, the numbers were in the form of Morningside XXXX.

Does anyone know the history of phone numbers in New York?  Obviously
at some point an extra digit had to get in there.  Anyone know when
this happened?


Gabe Wiener - Columbia Univ.   [e-mail]
N2GPZ in ham radio circles     72355,1226 on CI$

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Aaron Hightower)
Subject: Touch Tone Decoding Projects: Mine Works, is There Better?
Date: 14 Sep 1992 23:13:41 -0500
Organization: Texas A&M University, College Station


I have a unit that I built entirely on my own that:

* Is able to amplify and output preamp audio (from computer);
* Is able to detect touch tones;
* Is able to detect telephone ring signals;
* Is able to determine status of phone call (did they hang up et al);
* Is able to be controlled via my own language.

The problem is that out of the $21.56 in parts, $7.18 is just for two
audio-isolation transformers ...

Can someone tell me more about how to make a good DAA that will
conform to FCC part 68 for $7.18 or less (IE: not an entire DAA, but
providing simply "two to four wire conversion" aka "hybrid circuit".)

I have heard rumours about preassembled hybrid transformers for use in
phones.  Does anyone know a good source of these?  Maybe someone would
like to donate a sample so that I might buy many many in the future?

If anyone needs info on how to get what I have working, I might have
the inclination to put something together for you.  ;-)

Email me if you have a solution!


Thanks,

  Aaron Hightower     College of Engineering
  Texas A&M University    College Station, TX  77840

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 10:27 CDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Commercial Service Addresses


Does anyone know if Telnet addresses exist for the following services?

Portal - I understand that this service will offer free, unrestricted
access to all who logon through Internet.

Delphi?


B Griggs
[e-mail]     (Waiting for our domain name...)


[Moderator's Note: I do not believe you can truely telnet to either of
those sites. It's a lot like 'telnet mcimail.com': it says you got
there, but you *really* wind up at the site serving as the gateway and
where the name 'mcimail.com' is aliased.  I think Portal and Delphi
are the same way.  PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #713
******************************










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Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 02:49:47 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #714

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 15 Sep 92 02:49:51 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 714

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Harold Hallikainen)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Ron Heiby)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Rich Greenberg)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Ed Greenberg)
    Re: Kauai Communications Out (Laurel Indalecio)
    Re: Kauai Communications Out (Kevin A. Mitchell)
    Kauai Phones Back (Scott Fybush)
    Re: education.tele.com (Nigel Allen)
    Re: education.tele.com (Dave Quinn)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Paul Schmidt)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Joe Trott)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 05:36:56 GMT


    As I've suggested before, I think the system should allow for
any number of digits terminated by a # key or a time out.  If I want
to call my second line here, I could call 1 805 541 0201 # (using the
current country code), or I could just dial 1 #, which would assume
all the leading digits are the same as the originating numbers.  This
would get rid of all this access code stuff where we try to use
leading digits to tell how many digits follow.


Harold

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 08:20:48 CDT
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Lauren
Weinstein) writes:

> Greetings.  I for one would welcome the ability to dial all ten digits
> on local calls.

   {Deleted reasoned rationale for the ability to use ten-digit
    (or 1 + ten-digit) dialing everywhere in the USA}

> Hey Bellcore -- you can count on my public support if you want to give
> this plan a try!

   Actually, Bellcore (or Bellcore acting as the NANP Administrator)
isn't just proposing your request, they are RECOMMENDING it.  But
Bellcore doesn't run the RBOCs; it can only recommend.  For example,
in the "guide" I've mentioned before, they say:

   Sec. 3.3.4 -- "Numbering planners have long considered it
        good practice for switches to accept and attempt to
        complete any call originated with a valid 10-digit
        address, including home area calls for which 7-digit
        dialing could suffice. ... Step-by-step switching technology
        forced rejection of home area calls not conforming to
        recommended dialing practices.  Such blanket treatment
        need not be continued with common control."

   Sec. 5.7 -- "The traveling public is particularly subject
        to confusion by the differing dialing plans used throughout
        North America. ...  It is also recommended that format-based
        call rejection associated with toll alerting be limited
        to 7-digit toll calls."
        {In other words, 10-digit calls would never be rejected
         because they happened to be "local".}

   Sec. 7.1 -- "It is strongly recommended, as a short-term goal,
        that the dialing of 10-digits, when only 7-digits are required,
        not result in a call failure.  The implementation of a full
        10-digit dialing plan requires user awareness that a 10-digit
        number is always acceptable and does not necessarily connote
        a toll charge."

   So we're just waiting for the RBOCs to implement the these
recommendations!


Al Varney - just MY opinion.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Ron Heiby)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Organization: Motorola Computer Group, Schaumburg, IL
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 15:46:10 GMT


[e-mail] (Lauren Weinstein) writes:

> It is becoming an ever increasing mess when people assume you're in
> the same code they are (because, after all, you're local) and don't
> bother giving you the area code.

If I called them, then I already know their area code, so they should
not have to tell it to me, unless it's different from the one I called
to reach them.

If they called me, then they already know my area code, so they should
not have to tell theirs to me, unless it's different from mine.

I don't see the problem.


Ron Heiby, [e-mail]    Moderator: comp.newprod

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Rich Greenberg)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Organization: Hatch Usenet and E-mail.  Playa del Rey, CA
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 17:32:13 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> our Esteemed Moderator
notes:

> personally prefer the current arrangement even if I do have to dial
> 1-708 for many of my local calls.  PAT]

For the benefit of Pat and others who, like me, make frequent local
calls to different area codes, I would like to pass on a household
hint for the finger-weary ... :-)

I had some free memory buttons on my desk phone, so I set four of them
to: "1213", "1818", "1714", and "1800".  The memory buttons are "One
Touch", so I just have to hit one button and then dial the seven-digit
number.


Rich Greenberg - N6LRT - 310-649-0238 - [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Ed Greenberg)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 18:11:08 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Alan L
Varney) writes:

> When my home-town exchange went non-SXS last year, they lost the
> ability to use four-digit local dialing -- even though the switch
> could have supported the town as a Centrex group with four digits.
> But things change ...

When your hometown was SxS, I'll bet you had to dial 1 before the
prefix of any out of town exchange that was in your area code.

Now that you have more modern telephone service, you should be able to
dial anything in your area code without a 1, and anything outside your
area code with a 1. This is the way things are supposed to work in
order to allow N[10]X prefixes and NXX area codes in the future.

If the telco was to maintain four digit dialing in town, they'd
logically require you to dial 1 to make a call outside the "centrex."
Maybe even a 9 :-)


Ed Greenberg         | Home: [phone] | [e-mail]
P. O. Box 28618        | Work: [phone] | DoD#: 0357
San Jose, CA  95159    | Fax:  [phone] | KM6CG (ex WB2GOH)

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 23:33:37 HST
From: Laurel Indalecio  <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Kauai Communications Out


This little tid-bit about the communications situation on Kauai
following Hurricane Iniki's devastation was in the Sunday paper here
in Honolulu:

Hawaiian Telephone Co. emergenmcy crews hope to have basic
communications restored between Kauai and the rest of the world today.

     Two mountaintop telephone microwave relay towers on Kauai were
physically intact but were "twisted and skewed" out of alignment by
the raging winds, said Hawtel president Warren Haruki.

     While crews worked to repair the towers, major damage was
discovered in another crucial link in the chain: A microwave dish on
the roof of the phone company's central office in Lihue had been hit
by flying debris and is inoperable.

     "We've been in touch with Kauai Electric and together we are
estimating that 89 percent of the utility poles on this island are
lying on the ground," Norman Ahu, island manager for the telephone
company said.

     He estimated that it would take "at least a week, probably closer
to two weeks" before local telephone service is restored to the bulk
of the individual homes on Kauai.

     Hawtel spokesman Mark Doyle said the company was trying to fly a
portable microwave dish to Kauai last night.

     A barge with emergency equipment, including two mobile
coin-operated phone banks and two cellular phone "gopacs," was loaded
and ready to leave Pier 24 yesterday afternoon, Haruki said.

     Once the microwave system is back in operation, Kauai residents
can make free inter-island calls through Sept. 20, said Haruki.

     The phone company plans to have undersea fiberoptic calbes
linking the phone systems of all islands in place by the middle of
next year.  The cable system is not susceptible to wind damage.

     Norman Ahu, island manager for the telephone company, estimated
that about 11,000 of the 30,000 telephones on Kauai had partial
service.

- A portion of the front page article of the Sunday edition of the
  {Honolulu Star Bulletin & Advertiser}

(typed by) [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: So who told us the telco there was GTE-owned? Is
HawTel part of GTE?  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 09:49:50 CDT
From: Kevin Mitchell <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Kauai Communications Out


[e-mail] (John Higdon) writes:

> Second, key components of Hawaii's hurricane tracking system were
> never repaired or replaced after failing some time ago. In other
> words, the storm was somewhat of a surprise.

'Scuse me, but I knew from the Weather Channel that the storm was
approaching Hawaii, where landfall was expected, and where there were
warnings. How could it have been a surprise in this day of weather
satellites? Do they get the Weather Channel in Hawaii?

I knew all about it, and I live in _Chicago_. In fact, a family friend
was on his honeymoon in Honolulu (some honeymoon, huh?), and we'd
heard news of what was going on by phone.


Kevin A. Mitchell      [phone]
Datalogics, Inc        Internet: [e-mail]
441 W. Huron           UUCP: ..!uunet!dlogics!kam
Chicago, IL  60610     FAX: [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 17:55 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Scott Fybush)
Subject: Kauai Phones Back


The phones are back on Kauai.  I tried calling at about 3 AM eastern
time (9PM Sunday night Sep. 13 there) and got a message saying
facilities were down.  About three hours later, calls were getting
through OK.

The situation there is bad ... phones are back up, but power won't be
for another month.  There's no running water, thousands are homeless,
and information isn't getting out to would-be aid recipients because
the local radio stations are off the air.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Re: education.tele.com
Date: 14 Sep 92 21:24:14 GMT
Organization: Echo Beach


In article <[e-mail]> rogue@chezrob.
pinetree.org (Marc Scott) writes:

> I've just recently left high school and I was interested in furthering my
> education concerning telecommunications at a higher level, college or
> university. Could someone suggest a some suitable choices.

Your local library will have copies of course calendars from many
different colleges and universities. For information about programs
offered at Ontario colleges and universities, see the book Horizons,
which is available free of charge from:

 Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities
 Communications Branch
 8th Floor, Mowat Block
 900 Bay Street
 Toronto, Ontario
 Canada  M7A 1L2
 telephone [phone]
 fax [phone]

The Telecommunications Research Institute of Ontario is located in the
Ottawa area, but is a research association, rather than an
undergraduate school.

You may want to talk to the electrical engineering department at a
nearby university to get a better idea about undergraduate coursework
in telecommunications.

You may also want to see if your local public or university library
receives telecommunications-related magazines. Even though you may
find some of the technical articles fairly difficult, you should get
something out of reading them.


   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  bbs.oit.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (quinn)
Subject: Re: education.tele.com
Date: 14 Sep 92 03:11:00 GMT
Organization: Texas A&M University


In article <[e-mail]> Nigel.Allen@
bbs.oit.unc.edu (Nigel Allen) writes:

> You may want to talk to the electrical engineering department at a nearby
> university to get a better idea about undergraduate coursework in
> telecommunications.

Here at Texas A&M University, there is a specialized field of the
Engineering Technology degree plan which is directed toward
telecommunications.  As I am not involved in this degree plan, I do
not have other information on it, but try 800 directory for Texas
A&M ... call up and find out who to talk to.


Dave

------------------------------

From: tijc02![e-mail] (Paul Schmidt)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Organization: Advocates for Self-Government - Davy Crockett Chapter
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 13:30:59 GMT


[e-mail] () writes:

> Here is a press release from the National Association of Broadcasters
> and the Consumer Federation of America.

[Long press release about price regulation for cable companies.]

It was disappointed to see so much effort going into a bill that
won't, IMHO solve the problem.  I got very tired of the government
protected monopoly that our local cable company maintains so I put up
an antenna and save $22/mo.  There is a problem but price control will
only fix a symptom, not the problem.

I want to get the best price for cable service.  This is not acheived
through government decree of "fair" prices.  The Soviet Union tried to
control prices so that they would be "fair" and lost the automatic
pricing controls of the free market which contributed to much
suffering.

The problem is that cable companies can achieve monopoly status by
government decree.  This government enforced monopoly doesn't allow
the price lowering incentives of competition.  The bill proposed does
not do anything to solve this major problem.

Price regulation generally does increase costs.  The government could
never require a cable company to lose money.  Therefore, it would need
to decide what would be a reasonable profit for a company.  With a
monopoly and a mandated price with a guaranteed profit, cable
companies do not have to compete, innovate cost cutting measures, or
increase quality for their customers.  This system also favors the
bigger established companies, while the small struggling companies
would suffer.  For proof that this does occur, call any broker and ask
them about mutual funds for utilities.  They will likely tell you that
utilities are a very good investment.  They are stable and have good
yields.  Why?  Because the government controls their rates and
guarantees them a profit.

This problem will not be solved by more regulations.  The regulations
that have already given them monopoly status has raised them enough.
If a little alcohol gives you a hangover, you don't try to get rid of
it with even more alcohol.


Paul Schmidt: Advocates for Self-Government
Davy Crockett Chapter President
706 Judith Drive, Johnson City, TN 37604, [phone]
uunet!tijc02!pjs269

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Joe Trott)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Organization: U.S Dept. of Transportation
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 15:40:28 GMT


Uh oh ...

Looks like the government that was chartered to secure individual
rights is once again going to violate them by initiating the use of
force ...

If you don't like cable rates, *DON'T BUY CABLE*.

Admittedly, the proposal contains some sections that open up
competition and prevent _others_ from initiating the use of "force"
(in this case fraud/deception).  This bill is a grey area.  Like any
grey area, it is _by definition_ made up of black and white.  The
black must be weeded out so that we can accept only the white.

In other areas, cable rates may very well be held down, but the costs
of regulation will raise government spending by at least as much, so
we'll pay for it anyway in the form of addition government extortion.

My emphasized statement stands.  If you don't like ...!


JTT

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #714
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #715

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 17 Sep 92 01:14:48 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 715

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Phone Cell Satellites (sci.space via Ben Delisle)
    Cellular Phone Cell Manufacturers (Gerald Ruderman)
    USWest's Real Motives (was Helloooo...? [and] Here We Go Again) (A. Burt)
    Centrex Vs. PBX (Mike Miller)
    ROLM Announces New PhoneMail SPS (Mickey Ferguson)
    Unitel Announces its Canadian Long Distance Offering (David Leibold)
    Scanner Modification Help Wanted (Mike Miller)
    Help Needed With DOS to Unix File Xfer (S. Norton)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Ben Delisle)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Originally-From: [e-mail] (Nick Szabo)
Subject: Phone Cell Satellites
Summary: Iridium, Globalstar out to change the space biz
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1992 06:30:15 GMT


[Moderator's Note: This was passed along by Ben Delisle. Thanks Ben.  PAT]


PHONE CELL SATELLITES

Current cellular phones use a network of thousands of ground-based
towers each projecting a radio "cell" a few miles across.  Service is
largely limited to cities in developed countries.

Phone cells can greatly expand this service, while developing the
critical technology of miniature spacecraft components for the 21st
century.  The biggest markets are travellers and wealthy third
worlders, who number tens of millions despite being a small % of the
total -- in Russia, India, China, Brazil, Mexico, Iran, Indonesia,
Thailand, Turkey, Eastern Europe, etc. that have no cellular service.
Cellsats can also usefully serve international air and ocean lines.
At least initially, it won't compete with existing cellular service.
The market is universally (well, globally :-) available cellular
service, at a higher cost.  How much higher depending on how many
people sign on ... the old chicken and egg story.  If everybody signed
on, it would actually be much cheaper than the current local cell
system, but these companies do not count on that to happen initially;
the systems can pay for themselves by opening new niches.

The cost of the most publicized system, Iridium, is projected at $3
billion.  If one out of every five thousand people on our planet make
$300 worth of phone calls a year for ten years, the system pays for
itself.  Initially this would be mostly business, not personal use (as
was the case for city cellular when it started out).  For this market
the price will be about twice as high as the current city cellular.
If the market expands well beyond 1/5,000 of the world population, the
price can go below that of current urban markets, supplanting the
thousands of towers with a more efficient set of radio cells projected
from space.  Concievably, with an expanded set of satellites the price
of cellular service could drop well below the price of current
international long distance, replacing GEO satcoms altogether for this
$10 billion/year market.  Initially, the technology will be quite
properly marketed at the 90% of the Earth's surface currently without
cellular service.

IRIDIUM

Here are the Iridium specs.  Note that the constellation has been
redesigned for larger satellite and cell size, reducing the number of
satellites from 77 to 66:

satellite: 386 kg
user handset: 3 lbs
voice,data,fax
digital and encryptable
global digital switch network
markets:
- general aviation and business aircraft
- maritime communications
- rural, Eastern Europe & Third World locations
$3/minute
- 1/2 to local providers
- 1/2 to Iridium members
370 mi. dia. cell * 37 * 11 * 7 (100K mi.^2)
66*4 cross-link antenae, each 20 Ghz
adjacent planes move in opposite directions

Some tasks the Iridium people are working on:

* Building the satellites.  Since the scale is small, new technology
can be incorporated and tested with small risk.  Thus, there is no
need to stick with old electronic technology used in the larger GEO
satcoms.  Lockheed will be in charge of developing the satellite bus
and choosing the launcher.  Motorola will develop the communications
payload and make and market the cellular phones.

* Choosing a launcher capable of boosting test and replacement
satellites into their unique orbits for less than $10 million, as well
as a launcher for the main satellites, from one to seven at a time,
for less than $8 million apiece.  Currently Pegasus costs $10 million
and fits the first bill, although with only one good launch under its
belt it needs to prove its reliability.  Delta or Atlas launching
Iridium in groups of six could fit the second bill, and a rumored
Russian competitor to Pegasus might be able to launch singlets for
less than $8 million.  OSC needs to finish the Pegasus' hydrazine
stage to improve the orbital insertion accuracy.  The development of
Pegasus' low entry-level-cost capability was a main driver behind the
inspiration and genesis of Iridium and several other emerging small
satellite industries.

* The Iridium Consortium must obtain a set of frequencies in all the
countries in which it wants to market its service.  Phone cell
satellites have obtained frequency from WARC and now each proposal
must compete at national government levels.

* New members must be added to the Iridium consortium; Motorola and
Lockheed probably won't pay all the $3 billion on their own.  The
finance folks are busy talking to people like AT&T, NTT, and dozens of
other deep pockets.  Whoever puts in the most money could very well
gain control over the world's cellular phone industry.

GLOBALSTAR

This information is from Klein Gilhousen of Quallcomm, Inc., which is
teamed with Loral and several European companies on Globalstar:

There will be 24 satellites in LEO (750 nm) in the initial deployment
with coverage optimized for the U.S.  Later, when international
agreements are in place, the constellation will be expanded to 48
satellites, providing global coverage and improved coverage and
capacity over the U.S.

The system uses NO intersatellite relays.  (I believe that these
relays are a prime cost driver of the Motorola approach and that they
would solve a non-existent problem.  The problem is to connect mobile
users into the network.  Period.  Global routing of phone calls is
something that we already have.)  By virtue of have no crosslinks, the
satellite is significantly smaller and cheaper than the Iridium
system.

Total launch mass of one satellite is 262 kg.  Eight satellites would
be stacked and launched at once by a Delta, Ariane, or other standard
launch vehicle.

Airtime charges are projected to be in the same range as cellular
service.  According to the filing, initially, the airtime would be
$0.31/minute with a monthly access fee of about $24.  Later on,
charges would fall to about $0.22/minute.

The mobile phones will be based on CDMA digital cellular phones with
RF adaptors to make them work in the L and S bands of the satellite
system.  Thus, the cost would be that of a CDMA cellular phone, plus
maybe ten to twenty percent for the adaptor.

The system would offer call capacity comparable to that of the Iridium
system's satellite network with many fewer and less costly satellites
through the use of the CDMA technology.  Because a much smaller
investment is required, the service cost will be correspondingly
smaller.

CONCLUSION

Thinking small -- thinking at the optimum economical scale of
technology, instead of the idealistic scale of technology -- is one of
the major paradigm advances of phone cell satellites.  The Iridium and
Globalstar breakthrough is a good example of why industry is needed to
set the standards for space technology, instead of government
dictating to industry.  Private industry is far more in tune both with
the advance of technology and the needs of people.  Government
civilian programs have practically ignored -- spent less than 1% of
their budgets on -- the technology needed for this lucrative market.
Private industry is putting up its own money to fill this gap.


[e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Gerald Ruderman)
Subject: Cellular Phone Cell Manufacturers
Organization: Rational Systems, Inc.
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1992 16:47:57 GMT


A friend is researching a problem and would like to get some
information on who makes cellular phone cells. (Is that the right term
for the radio stations and their associated equipment?)


Thanks,

Gerald Ruderman    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Yes, that is the right term, and the answer is
everyone makes cellular calls ... or at least a large and growing
percentage of the population. All sorts of people use cell phones
including myself.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Andrew Burt)
Subject: USWest's Real Motives (was Helloooo...? [and] Here We Go Again)
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 92 14:11:09 GMT


After some checking around here, and talking to some inside sources,
and I think I have a handle on the whole thing now.  Save this as an
FAQ for when this abomination comes to your town ...

It looks like the electronic directory via videotex/etc. is not
expected to be a viable service, and USWest knows it.  In fact, they
apparently are only doing it because of some slip-up in the
regulations which will be closed if the Brooks Bill passes in Congress
 -- so they want to create an information service, not matter how lousy
it is, so they can further their position as an information provider
(which of course the regulations are out to prevent).

I'd guess anyone who says "it's a great service" is either ignorant or
just spewing the coporate line; but even the insiders I've talked to
agree it's garbage.  They wanted quick'n'dirty.

Apparently, also, the initial idea was to make this free (not
$.15/minute) but between regulations and the French, it wound up being
charged for.

Oh, BTW, the server is in France.  (Regulations prevented one server
in the US since LATA boundaries would be crossed.)

So, it all comes down to this being a tactical maneuver, not a real
service we're expected to like or use ... Sigh.


Andrew Burt   [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: 16 Sep 92 14:57:55 GMT
Subject: Centrex Vs. PBX


I would like to get some facts on buying a PBX or buying Centrex.  I
would like to know what you like about Centrex and what you don't like
about it.  The same goes for the PBX.  I myself am biased in favor of
the PBX, but with Centrex prices dropping, there seems to be a cause
for Centrex.  I will publish my findings if this doesn't make the
thread.


Mike Miller

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Sep 92 18:04:49 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Mickey Ferguson)
Subject: ROLM Announces New PhoneMail SPS
Organization: Rolm


      ROLM TARGETS LOW-END MARKET WITH NEW PHONEMAIL SPS,
                 ENHANCES PHONEMAIL SOFTWARE

   SANTA CLARA, CA, Sept. 15, 1992 ROLM, a Siemens Company, today made
two announcements aimed at meeting the voice processing needs of
small-to medium-sized businesses and also unveiled software
enhancements for PhoneMail and PhoneMail SP systems.

   ROLM intrucduced PhoneMail SPS, a feature-rich, cost-effective, 4-
to 12-channel product recommended for small businesses.  The company
also reduced the list price of its PhoneMail SP product by 15 percent
and increased its capacity to 12 channels, creating a more flexible,
cost-effective offering for customers requiring more complex
applications.

   The new software features introduced for PhoneMail and PhoneMail SP
include a strong s4et of multi-vendor offerings and advanced system
management and security features, as well as PhoneMail Plus, a set of
integrated messaging solutions.

   PhoneMail SPS, which carries a list price of $10,700, is a 4- to
12-channel system that integrates with ROLM Redwood, Siemens HCM 200,
Siemens SATURN, Northern Telecom and Centrex switches.  PhoneMail SPS
supports the PhoneMail Network Option and can be upgraded to PhoneMail
SP as customer application needs change.

   PHoneMail SP, introduced in June 1991, is designed primarily for
use with ROLM's 9751 CBX Model 10 but integrates with all ROLM CBXs,
as well as most non-ROLM PBX and Centrex systems.

   "The PhoneMail SPS extends the rich set of PhoneMail solutions to a
wider range of businesses," said James R. Mackey, DIrector,
Information and Voice Processing.  "And the lower price and expanded
number of channels on PhoneMail SP make it even more attractive for
users wanting the full spectrum of PhoneMail features but not needing
more than 12 channels.

   The new software features increase ROLM's multi-vendor support
capability with:

   - AMIS Analog Networking Option, through which PhoneMail can be
networked with non-ROLM voicemail systems meeting the AMIS analog
specification;

   -Digital integration of PhoneMail with AT&T PBXs to provide a wide range of
features and superior voice quality;

   - PhoneMail Information Exchange (PIE), which provides two-way
message notification between PhoneMail and virtually any electronic
mail system.

   With the new Export Data feature, PhoneMail data can be sent in
ASCII format to a report generator that creates customized reports.

   With system security being a top priority for businesses today,
ROLM has added the Default Password Check and Transfer Restriction
Tables features, which reduce the chance of unauthorized mailbox
access and unauthorized transfer from PhoneMail.

   PhoneMail Plus solutions extend ROLM's voice processing power by
functionally integrating with other communications offerings to
deliver Fax, TDD, call center and electronic mail support.  This
approach lets customers add capabilities, leverage investments in
existing systems and get the highest functionality in each
application.

   ROLM, a Siemens Company, is a leading supplier of
telecommunications products and applications.  With PhoneMail, ROLM
pioneered integrated voice messaging and is a leader in developing
digital telephones and switches, Automatic Call Distribution and
integrated voice/data technologies.

   The Siemens family of companies employs more than 30,000 people in
the United States and has annual U.S. sales of more than $4.5 billion.

ROLM and PhoneMail are registered trademarks of ROLM.  SATURN is a registered
trademark of Siemens.  CBX and TDDisplay are trademarks of ROLM.

                         -----------

Mickey Ferguson -- Rolm -- FergusoM at scrvm2 -- [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Sep 92 22:09:38 EDT
From: David Leibold <[e-mail]>
Subject: Unitel Announces its Canadian Long Distance Offering


Unitel's limited competing voice network will be offered to the public
starting 19th October. Service will initially be offered in Toronto,
Montreal and Vancouver, likely by means of a local number port (FG A?)
plus the need to dial the number and a billing code. An appeal of the
CRTC ruling opening up long distance competition prevents Unitel from
having equal access (10xxx) or default dialing operations, and
alternate 800 number services are also prohibited until the appeals
launched by the incumbent telcos (Bell Canada, BC Tel, etc) are
cleared up.

Olympic medalist Silken Laumann was on hand to place the first public
voice call on Unitel's network ... this was to another olympic rower in
Victoria BC.

Unitel expects to offer a discount of 15% on incumbent telco long
distance rates, while offering up to 40% off on certain business
packages. There is a goal of 25 000 residential customers by Christmas
and 2-3000 small to medium sized business customers.

Unitel won't exactly be the first on the block to offer the general
public standard voice long distance access. A resale company called
Smart Talk Network has been making the BBS rounds to offer its network
goodies, including U.S. 800 number access at about 49 cents/min (ie
for those U.S. 800 numbers not reachable from Canada, STN offers
bypass).


[e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: 16 Sep 92 05:14:03 GMT
Subject: Scanner Modification


Pat,

I have a Bearcat 210 scanner.  Do you know how I can "enhance" my
scanner to monitor the 800 mh freqs?


[Moderator's Note: No, I don't know about this particular radio, and I
want to remind everyone who has written me with similar questions that
it is illegal to modify any radio unless you are a licensed technician.
I picked your letter out from several received as typical, not to just
single you out or harass you.

If the radio has some 800 range to it, then it can probably be brought
around to include the cellular area. If it only goes to 512 megs, then
I would have my doubts if it could be done conveniently or inexpensively
at all.  I've seen radios which through tricks of one kind or another
were able to be programmed into the 800 range (which otherwise did not
include that band as built in the factory); they would sit there and
scan, but not actually receive any signals they could deal with.

To receive 'forbidden frequencies' within a range of the spectrum the
radio is otherwise designed to receive is as trivial as cutting a
trace here and there and adding a couple jumpers to make selected pins
on the chip go high or low (or to ground) as desired. Maybe a diode
has be pulled out. But if you get into a whole new range of frequencies
the radio was not tuned for, then problems of broadbanding the unit
come up ... and I am not sure I would want to tackle it myself
although an exacto-blade and a little solder don't bother me at all.
If you even *touch* those cores in there without knowing what you are
doing you will be sorry! If anyone knows about Mike's radio, perhaps
they will write him direct.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Help Needed Wtih DOS to Unix File Xfer, HELP
Date: 17 Sep 92 16:21:29 -0700
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: BC Systems Corporation


I'm currently running Kermit as a DOS terminal emulator and file
transfer software, accessing a Unix mini.

We are starting to transfer fairly large files and are having some
problems with the speed in kermit.  Some transfers are taking 20
minutes plus.

I'm using ATI 9600 baud modems, but the bottle-neck seems to be
Kermit.

Does anyone know of a public domain file transfer package I can use
between a DOS pc and a unix mini.  I intend to continue with Kermit
for terminal emulation, but would like something faster I can run
under kermit for the actual file transfer.

If you have any suggestions please respond via mail, to
[e-mail].

I appreciate the help.

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #715
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #716

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 17 Sep 92 07:37:49 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 716

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    DSN Circuit Survives Andrew (Government Computer News via Paul Robinson)
    Phantom NXX Codes (was Bad Connection...) (Jack Winslade)
    SS7 Connections to IC (Carl Knoblock)
    Microlog Sells VMX Systems (Washington Times via Paul Robinson)
    Comsat Buys Stake in Plexsys (Washington Times via Paul Robinson)
    SWB in Texas Proposes CALLID Tariff (Greg T. Stovall)
    Manuals Needed For Toshiba Strata VI (John J. DiLeo)
    Telecom Frequent Flier Programs (Rolando Vinluan)
    Full Page Pacific Telesis Ad (John Higdon)
    Telecom-Engineers List Still Gathering Names (Jon Solomon)
    SS7 Job Opening in NJ (Tretech Solutions Inc)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Sep 92 02:02 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: DSN Circuit Survives Andrew


DSN Circuit Survives Hurricane Andrew
{Government Computer News, September 14, 1992, Pg. 6}
By S.A. Masud, GCN Staff

   By the time Hurricane Andrew had finished flattening Homestead Air
Force Base, Fla., a solitary four-wire Defense Switched Network
circuit was the only working communications link between the base and
the outside world.

   An AT&T Co. official who visited the base just after the storm said
Andrew's fury ripped away an air-conditioning system and part of the
roof of the building housing the base's AT&T system 85 switch.

   James Orefice, AT&T's account manager for the Air Force, said he
saw the switch standing in water and covered with debris.

   Before Andrew's pre-dawn attack, a microwave connection was set up
from Homestead AFB to BellSouth Corp., the Regional Bell operating
company in that area.  Mounted on a trailer, the switch became the
base's link to the outside.

   Orefice said more than 100 phone lines, including about 48 DSN
circuits, now have been established for the base.

   For all the havoc wrought by Andrew, effects apparently were
negligible on the government-wide FTS 2000 system, supplied by AT&T
and Sprint Corp., and on the Defense Department's Defense Commercial
Telecommunications Network, which is also supplied by AT&T and
supports the DSN.

   "I'm absolutely satisfied with FTS 2000," said William Cunnane, the
General Services Administration's deputy associate administrator for
FTS 2000.  "We did not have any switching nodes go down.  The vendors
performed very well.  They responded to all our expedited requests by
getting in service when we needed it, and they continued to keep us
updated on any service impacted in that area."

   Jack Tozier, head of Sprint's integrated management center for the
company's Government Systems Division, said Sprint took no unusual
precautions other than putting in emergency generators to augment
battery backup at key network sites.

   Sprint's FTS 2000 services are part of the company's nationwide
network made up of 42 DMS-250 Northern Telecom Inc. switches, including
one in Orlando for Southern Florida.  AT&T's FTS 2000 network has 18 of
its 5ESS switches, one of which is located in Miami.

   Tozier said the Small Business Administration and a number of other
agencies sent in priority orders for expedited service.

   An AT&T official said the Federal Emergency Management Agency put
in about 3,000 priority orders with long-distance and local carriers
because of Andrew.

   James Jackson, manager for AT&T's FTS 2000 network center, said
FEMA asked for 96 lines the day Andrew hit Florida.  The request was
made about 7:15 p.m. and by 11 a.m. the following day, FEMA had
service between the BellSouth central office in Miami and the FTS 2000
network.

   Jackson said the Energy Department asked that its 800 service be
moved from the New Orleans area to Texas.  The service was moved to
two separate locations in Texas over a two-day period at the agency's
direction, Jackson said.

   If Andrew had taken a different route in Louisiana, both AT&T and
Sprint were prepared to route traffic from the Agriculture
Department's National Finance Center in New Orleans to the Recovery
Operations Center, an alternate site in Philadelphia.

   Jackson said AT&T maintains contingency plans that range from what
the company can do for particular agency in an emergency to what needs
to be done if there is a problem in the network itself.  For instance,
as soon as AT&T officials saw a problem in southern Florida, they
immediately shifted some of the traffic from FTS 2000 to AT&T's
commercial network in order to maintain communications so long as
there was local service in Florida.

   "When customers lost connections, we were aware of what was
happening because we were monitoring these locations very closely,"
Jackson said.  "The management system allows us to gather all the
alarm data from all network components."

   Both AT&T and Sprint officials said that extensive use of optical
fiber cabling, combined with rerouting, has made networks robust
enough to withstand Hurricane Hugo and the California earthquake in
1989.  On the other hand, the end links that deliver services to
customers are far more vulnerable.

   One end link that Andrew did not affect at all was mobile phone use
with cellular service, AT&T officials said.  On the Homestead base,
the Air Force used microwave equipment to restore communications, they
said.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Sep 92 11:32:50 CST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Winslade)
Subject: Phantom NXX Codes (was Bad Connection...)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


In a message dated 13-SEP-92, John M. Sullivan writes:

> would have a tag like "2ED".  Not having a phone book, I tried
> 999-9999.  I got a message "the number you have dialed, 341-9999, ...".
> What happened there?

For various reasons, the phone companies will occasionally assign two
(or more) central office codes to the same physical switch and group
of lines.

Here in Omaha there have been a number of cases of this.  The first
one I remember was (I was told why this was the case from someone at
TPC) with Union Pacific's home office.  They were on an old stepper
PBX with DID off of the 402-271 prefix.  However, their main
switchboard number was always listed as 402-281-xxxx.  At the time,
dialing 271-anything and 281-same-anything would reach the same line.
I was told that this was because they wanted the high volume of
non-DID dialed calls to come through certain trunks and not to clog
the trunks used for the DID calls.  What was really strange was that
the main number (281-xxxx) was a seemingly normal four-digit number,
not x000 or xx00.  I assume this may have been the number they had
before DID and simply added the DID and kept the original.  When UP
ash-canned the stepper, 402-281 went with it. ;-) It no longer shows
in the NXX lists.

There was a short-lived 'choke' prefix here in Omaha used for a
weather line and maybe a few others.  It was 402-894 and it was first
an alias for 402-344 and later for 402-444.  It was discontinued many
years ago.  (Omaha's new choke prefix is 402-962.)


Good day.        JSW

Ybbat (DRBBS) 8.9 v. 3.14 r.1   (1:285/666.0)

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Sep 92 14:50:36 CST
From: [e-mail] (Carl Knoblock)
Subject: SS7 Connections to IC
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Inns of Court, Papillion, NE


I don't rememember who asked, but yes there are SS7 connections from
LECs to ICs already.  The only one *I* know of is in Omaha, Nebraska,
where we have SS7 to MCI.  AT&T is scheduled to go SS7 soon.  Omaha
has had local SS7 and CLASS services for about two years now.  U S
WEST is also actively promoting "PC Phone" (ISDN) services here.  The
relaxed regulatory climate in Nebraska is largely responsible for our
advance ahead of the rest of U S WEST area.  Tarrifs are automatically
in affect a short time after filing, if not challenged, so new
services can be rolled out in short order.

Of course I could be wrong ...


Carl Knoblock - Omaha Nebraska   [e-mail]
Ybbat (DRBBS) 8.9 v. 3.13 r.3
inns.omahug.org   [phone]   (1:285/27.0)

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1992  22:24:42 EDT
Subject: Microlog Sells VMX Systems


{Washington Times}, September 1, 1992, Page C2

   Microlog Corp, a Germantown [Md.] communications-products firm,
said GTE Telephone Operations of Irving, Texas has agreed to buy
Callstar 1000 and 2000 systems worth $1 million over the next year.

   Callstar is a voice-mail and automated attendant system.  The order
consists of various port and storage capacities, spare kits, and
optional software packages.


USA Digital Radio Test a Success

   USA Digital Radio, an Arlington high-tech venture, said it
successfully tested its over-the-air AM digital audio broadcasting
system after receiving an experimental license from the Federal
Communications Commission.

   The FCC awarded licenses to USA Digital Radio -- a partnership
formed by Gannett Broadcasting, CBS Radio and Group W Radio -- to test
its over-the-air AM and FM digital audio broadcasting systems.

   The AM test was conducted Aug. 26 in Cincinnati.  An FM test by the
same partnership is expected soon.

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1992  22:30:50 EDT
Subject: Comsat Buys Stake in Plexsys


{Washington (DC) Times} September 4, 1992, Pg. C3

   Washington-based Comsat Corp. acquired a 20 percent equity interest
in privately held Plexsys International Corp., a firm that makes
cellular network systems mainly for rural regions. Terms were not
disclosed. Plexsys, based in Naperville, Ill., has installed its
cellular systems in 15 countries.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1992 07:30:00 +0000
From: Greg (G.T.) Stovall <[e-mail]>
Subject: SWB in Texas Proposes Caller-ID Tariff


Southwestern Bell in Texas has proposed a tariff for Caller ID
services.  While there is some concern over conflicts with Texas
privacy and wiretapping laws, the tariff is expected to be approved.

Services are:

Caller number:            $6.50
Caller name:               6.50
Caller name and number:    8.00
Call Block rejection       3.00 (if ordered separately from CALLID.
                                 $1.00 if ordered with other services)

Since other optional features here in Texas cost about $3.10,
(although SWB is raising the price on Call Waiting to $3.85 due to
popularity), these new tariffs seem rather steep.

I am looking for some information on pricing structures in other
states; any direction would be helpful.


Gregory T. Stovall        [e-mail]
Bell-Northern Research    Richardson, Texas, USA   [phone]
My opinions are not necessarily endorsed by BNR.

------------------------------

From: John J. DiLeo <[e-mail]>
Subject: Manuals Needed For Toshiba Strata VI
Date: 16 Sep 92 16:12:42 GMT
Organization: Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity


HELP!

   I have obtained a used Toshiba Strata VI key system (posted for
sale here recently), but it did not come with manuals.  As the cost
for new manuals from a supplier is rather extreme, I hope that someone
out there can help me.  I would be willing to purchase the
configuration and programming manuals for a reasonable price, or would
pay for photocopying and shipping, if you like.


Thanks,

John DiLeo   [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: Rolando Vinluan <[e-mail]>
Subject: Telecom Frequent Flier Programs
Organization: Cornell University, CS Dept., Ithaca, NY
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1992 16:40:18 GMT


>> MCI is pretty incompetent, in my experience. If they didn't
>> have that Northwest tie-up, I'd never have gotten them. As soon as
>> AT&T starts offering a competitive Frequent-Flyer program (their
>> current one is still lousy), I'll definitely switch back.

> What is AT&T's frequent flier offerring?  I didn't know they
> even had one.

> Ralph

        Well, I don't remember exactly what the details of AT&T's
offer was. Last month, I just got this mailing; all I remember is that
it wasn't much compared to MCI's Northwest deal.

        I think it was a one-for-one thing, though: For every AT&T
dollar, you get one bonus point on your favorite FF program. If I'm
mistaken, then at the very best it must have been a one-for-two offer.
Because if it was one-for-three, I'm sure I would have given it
serious thought.  (Just *thought*, mind you ... I'm so cheap that
doubtless I'd have stuck by MCI's one-for-five offer [for NorthWest,
which has so far given me no reason to change airlines]).

        BUT HERE'S NEWS:

        I just got a call from Sprint a few hours ago, and they're
matching MCI's international and domestic rates, *and* has a
one-for-ten (!) FF offering. I'd have changed right then and there,
but I wanted to stick to MCI a month more just to make *sure* they and
Northwest credit my past bonuses [Northwest's WorldPerks center moves
so slow...].  Gee, one-for-ten, and then I have my Amex miles (a
one-for-one thing).  At this rate, I'll surely have a free trip by
December!

        When an AT&T operator asked me my reasons for changing
carriers, I suggested that you have should have a FF program, too. I
guess AT&T was listening, and to people who don't go on long trips or
make a lot of long-distance calls, it might be just as attractive as
the competition.  But for people like me, though, not to take
advantage of the competition's offerings would be unwise. I don't need
clearer lines *that* badly! :-)


Randy

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Sep 92 14:10 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Full Page Pacific Telesis Ad


 From the back of the second section of the 9/16/92 {Chronicle}:

(quoting ad)

IF THE CONGRESSMAN FROM TEXAS GETS HIS WAY, CALIFORNIA WILL BE OUT
179,000 NEW JOBS.

Evidently, Representative Jack Brooks (D-Texas) thinks economic growth
can wait a few years.

His proposed bill would prevent the regional Bell companies from
producing new products and service and expanding their networks for
years to come.

That means much-needed jobs that could be created, won't be. Experts
estimate it could mean a loss of one and a half million new jobs
nationally. And 179,000 new opportunities in California. Gone.

It's not too late to act. Call our toll-free number, and we'll see
that a mailgram opposing the Brooks bill is sent immediately to your
Congressional Representative. At no cost to you.

Or do nothing, and before long you might see a lot more American
workers doing exactly that.

Stop the Brooks bill. Call 1-800-999-7998.

Pacific Telesis

(End quoted advertisement)

So do you think that Pac*Bell would be willing to set up this same
"free" service (paid for by ratepayers) so that supporters of the
Brooks bill could make THEIR feelings known to Representatives? I
thought not.

This is the most blatant appeal to emotionalism through distortion of
facts that I have seen yet from the RBOCs. Of course there is no
mention of how many independent information and equipment providers
will be put out of business or how much extra the public will pay when
the RBOCs have their information and equipment de facto monopolies
created.

Just what we really need: more of the old Bell System.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !


[Moderator's Note: Did the advertisement *specifically* say that the
ad was being paid for by ratepayers? If not, perhaps it was paid for
by stockholders. How do you know?  IBT runs political commentary ads
sometimes but they are paid for by the company stockholders and say so
in the ad itself in small print somewhere.  PAT]

------------------------------

Subject: Telecom-Engineers List Still Gathering Names
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 92 09:14:37 -0400
From: Jon Solomon <[e-mail]>


It's still new. I haven't sent out one Digest (and I have gotten only
a small amount of input); only requests to be added (about 250).

When I receive more input, I will send out a digest. Please send all
input to "[e-mail]" thanks.


jsol

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Tretech Solutions Inc)
Subject: SS7 Job Opening in NJ
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1992 05:11:46 GMT


Tretech Solutions Inc, is a NJ based consulting firm, servicing the
computing and engineering needs of Fortune 500 companies. We offer
highly competive compensation, a full line of benefits, and will
sponsor.

Immediate Consulting Position in Central NJ:

Software test tools developer for SS7 communications development lab:
Must have experience programming in UNIX, C. Knowledge of voice/data
communications protocols including SS7, knowledge of emulators such as
Tekelec.  Work experience required.

Qualified candidates only, FAX your resume immediately to
908-946-4175, and follow up with either Email copy or DOS compatible
floppy (with paper copy) to Tretech Solutions, Inc., PO Box 44,
Holmdel, NJ 07733.

Tretech saves all paper resumes for future consideration. We currently
do not save emailed resumes.

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #716
******************************










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Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1992 08:07:30 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #717

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 17 Sep 92 08:07:34 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 717

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Cellular Frequencies (Richard McCombs)
    How Can I Tell if Call is LD or Local? (Otto L. Miller)
    Caller ID Arrives in New York (Dave Niebuhr)
    Caller ID and Security Codes (Dave Niebuhr)
    PBS Videoconference Announcement (Tom Flavell)
    What Does a DS-3 Circuit Terminate at? (Kevin W. Mullet)
    Users Claim AT&T Charges Higher Rates For Identical Services (J. Bergstein)
    More Norstar Comments and Questions (Jeff Wasilko)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Cellular Frequencies
From: [e-mail] (Richard McCombs KB5SNF)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 92 21:44:21 CDT
Organization: The Red Headed League; Lawton, Ok


Jeff Garber <[e-mail]> writes:

> I'm wondering if it is illegal to listen in on these frequencies. In
> other words, does the law say it is illegal to listen in on cellular
> calls, or does it specifically mention 869-894 MHz.  Why isn't 895-920
> MHz blocked on scanners since you can overhear cellular?  Also, why
> would the party on the other end of a cellular call sound stronger
> than the cellular user?

Pat says:

> Ahhh -- too bad! It is illegal to listen to cellular calls, period. It
> is also quite easy to do the mods required on most scanners with 800
> megs capability to bring those frequencies in. Some Radio Shack
> dealers sell the PRO-34 scanner (my model) with a straight look on
> their face then on your way out the door hand you a crudely photocopied
> sheet of paper with pictures of the circuit board telling you to pull
> diode D-3 and D-4 to recover the full band ... but only to be done
> when the scanner is being exported outside the USA, of course ... of
> course!  PAT]

I don't disagree with what Pat says, with the exception that I didn't
get a copy of the MOD sheet when I bought my PRO-34 which was over two
years ago but that's not the reason for me responding.

Jeff is probably receiving cellular calls by tuning to the image
frequency.  I probably at this point should explain the operation of
super-hetrodyne receivers, but I'm trying to keep this short.  The
point is the PRO 34 has such poor image rejection that when I took my
unmodified PRO 34 to a city in which the Police, Fire and other city
communication was on 800 MHz I couldn't listen to the city without
getting interference from cellular towers.

So with the PRO 34 sometimes you can here the cellular calls even when
you aren't trying.


Internet: [e-mail],      [e-mail]
UUCP: ...!rwsys!ricksys!rick,   {backbones}!ricksys.lonestar.org!rick
BITNET: bo836%cleveland.freenet.edu@cunyvm  Fidonet: Richard McCombs @ 1:385/6


[Moderator's Note: The legal catch is, you aren't trying. That's why
there is the loophole in FCC regulations about hearing something
versus deliberatly tuning; and repeating what you hear, etc. The
nature of radio waves being as they are, you can't help what you hear
sometimes. Thus, no law against hearing something on the radio, just
in benefitting from it or telling others.  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 17 Sep 92 07:30:08 EDT
From: Otto L. Miller <[e-mail]>
Subject: How Can I Tell if Call is LD or Local?


G'Day all,

I have a problem and I suspect someone out here knows the solution!  I
have a list of NPA-NXX, given a pair from the list how can I tell
wheather it is a LD or local call?  Does pair order make a difference?
I know in MOST cases if the NPAs are different then it is a toll call,
however, in the Wash D.C. area (where I am) this rule does not hold
true.  Are there any programs, lists etc. that will define this for
me?  Any help will be appreciated.  Thank you all in advance!  I hope
this has not been a waste of bandwidth.  In addition, Please e-mail me
direct.  I have not been on the net in a while due to an OFFFFFF net
location.


Regards,

Otto L. Miller   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 17 Sep 92 07:52:19 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Caller ID Arrives in New York


New York has announced the availability of Call ID (their term) for a
selected area of the state starting in November, 1992.  This area
includes Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Kingston, Beacon and the surrounding
mid-Hudson area, Rockland, and in parts of Nassau, Suffolk, Brooklyn,
Queens and Staten island.

It will be available to those subscribers whose exchanges are equipped
to handle Phone Smart(tm) which is Call Return, Repeat Dial, etc.

Two types of restriction will be given: per-call and all-call with all
phones set to per-call initially.  Two changes are allowed in the
first six months and it will be $5.00 after that for each change.

It goes on to explain just what is involved with Call ID and the
potential for an unlisted number to be displayed if care is not taken
with the select code (*67) or call restriction option.

I called the business office to get more information but the person I
talked to didn't have that much more information; therefore, I can't
give any further particulars on this.


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 17 Sep 92 08:23:36 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Caller ID and Security Codes


An interesting question was posed on a newsgroup where I work
concerning security codes and Caller ID.

My employer requires the use of security codes stored in a database
that allow callback when a certain number is dialed and another code
is entered.

Therefore, my question is: Will the callback number be displayed on a
Caller ID display unit?


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093


[Moderator's Note: Not if the dialing string commences with *67 it
won't ... or if the modem lines have per-line blocking, if that
feature is available.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject:PBS Videoconference Announcement
Date: 16 Sep 92 18:39:01 EDT
Organization: PBS:Public Broadcasting Service, Alexandria, VA


Please check with your local PBS station Education Services Director
to see if this will be broadcast in your area:

TELECOMMUNICATIONS: BRINGING THE WORLD INTO THE CLASSROOM, a
professional development videoconference for educators and school
boards will be presented on October 22, 1992, from 2:00-4:00 PM
Eastern Time by the National School Boards Association's Institute for
the Transfer of Technology to Education, the PBS Elementary/Secondary
Service and the National Foundation for the Improvement of Education.
This live, interactive videoconference will investigate issues in
telecommunications use in schools from a variety of perspectives --
from policymaker to practitioner.  The videoconference will feature
NFIE's 1992 award-winning Christa McAuliffe Educators, who employ some
of the most innovative applications of technology in schools today,
such as:

*Connecting Students from Around the Globe Via Lumaphones and
slow-Scan-Video: Voice and picture messages are carried over telephone
lines from Michigan to Japan connecting students and teachers in the
Garden City Public Schools with their Japanese contemporaries.

*Teaching About Cultures Close to Home: Technology is being integrated
into multicultural curriculum programs in Little Wound School in South
Dakota to educate and instill value of traditional native American
customs.

*Achieving Real Life Studies of Our Earth: Students in Arlington,
Virginia are taking part in the National Geographic Kids Network to
share current information in an international telecommunications-based
science and geography curriculum studying acid rain.

*Opening Up the World of Science: Students are utilizing a variety of
technological tools including computers, video disc, scanners,
telecommunications, and robotics to complete classroom assignments and
discover the world of science.

*Creating a Global Perspective, Community, and Classroom: Students in
Covina, California are being introduced to Prodigy and E-mail and
other educational technology to engage students in collaborative
efforts to examine worldwide problems.

By offering this videoconference, educators in your area will learn
how (and be able to ask questions of) these innovative teachers are
applying telecommunications-based programs in exciting ways.

Questions? E-mail [e-mail] or call Tom Flavell at PBS at (703)
739-5402. Or write: Tom Flavell;PBS;1320 Braddock Place; Alexandria,
VA 22314.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Kevin W. Mullet)
Subject: What Does a DS-3 Circuit Terminate at?
Organization: University of North Texas
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1992 07:49:09 GMT


I need to find out what's needed to route IP,IPX and possibly
Appletalk over a DS-3 circuit to our local net.  We're a site based on
Cisco AGS+ routers, and I'll ultimately need to terminate on one of
them.

Here's what I think I know. Please take the liberty of correcting me
if this isn't correct.  A DS-3 line, otherwise known as a T-3, is the
equivalent of 28 T-1 channels and operates at 44.736 Mbps.
Physically, it is implemented as fiber.  At the link level, my choices
seem to be SMDS, BISDN, Frame Relay and 802.6 DQDB.

I think a few outfits like ADC Fibermux, Network Equipment
Technologies, and Newbridge Networks make T-3 multiplexers that will
bridge between T-3, Ethernet and Token ring.  Has anyone used any of
these boxes?

The T-3 Backbone of the Internet/NSFNet runs on IBM's RS/6000-based IP
routers -- does anyone know if IBM is selling these commercially yet?
If they are, the idea of IP tunneling the IPX, and scrapping Appletalk
is pretty interesting.

What I need to know is what plugs into what to funnel a DS-3 circuit
down to a campus Ethernet network in a way that uses the most
available trunk bandwidth possible within a somewhat conservative
budget.

As always, please reply to me via electronic mail, and I'll post a
summary to the net.


Kevin Mullet    University of North Texas   [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Joseph Bergstein)
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1992 01:35:47 -0500
Subject: Users Claim AT&T Charges Higher Rates For Identical Services


 From {Information Week}, 9/14/92, p.46

"Billing, 1 Service, 2 Prices"  by Mary E. Thyfault

"Users claim AT&T charges higher rates for identical services"

It happens all the time.  You find what appears to be the same item
with two different prices.  If you ask why this is, sometimes the
clerk just shrugs, or tells you about a difference that appears
insignificant.

Five corporate users claim that is precisely what AT&T has been doing
for years, unlawfully charging two to three times as much for
identical service.  Charles Schwab & Co, Inc. Japan Air Lines'
American Region, Quotron Systems Inc., Texaco Inc., and TRW
Information Systems' Group Credit Data Division have lodged a formal
complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, seeking to
recover $1.4 million in alleged overcharges.

"There may be hundreds of users affected by this," says Henry Levine,
a partner in the Washington law firm of Morrison & Foerster, which is
representing the five organizations.  "We have no way of knowing. They
might not notice because it is only a difference of $100 to $200 a
month.  But over time, that can add up."  Levice estimates that AT&T
has overcharged business customers between $50 million and $150
million since divestiture.

The petitioners discovered wide differences in pricing when Telecom
Services Ltd. West Inc. in San Francisco, a telephone bill auditor
that list all five as clients, check their charges.

At issue is Tariff 11, the private-line service AT&T offers customers
who want to connect two different local locations.  AT&T can either
directly connect the two sites, know as "prem-to-prem," or, for two to
three times the price, run the private line through one of is own
offices on the way to the second location, called "prem-pop-prem."

An AT&T spokesman argues "the two choices are clearly stated in the
tariff.  Customers are all charged in accordance with that tariff.  We
believe the FCC will agree with us."

The users charge that AT&T did not initially tell them about the
options.  "AT&T simply installed the more expensive one," says Levine.
"but to the user, and sometimes even to AT&T, it appears to be the
same service."

According to a sworn affidavit by Ernestine McClelland, a regional
service center manager for Quotron, AT&T initially told Quotron it was
billing prem-to-prem circuits at an incorrect, higher rate.  In 1985,
AT&T "corrected" the pricing on about 300 circuits, but continued to
bill about 60 circuits at the inflated rate.

After user complaints, AT&T justified the higher cost of prem-pop-prem,
saying it can better monitor the offering.  However, actual
maintenance of both services is performed by the local phone company,
not AT&T.  And, the users add, the more expensive service is less
reliable, with more points of possible failure."

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Wasilko)
Subject: More Norstar Comments and Questions
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 21:28:44 EST
Organization: Univ of Fnord; Roslyn's Cafe Div.
Reply-To: [e-mail]


> My company just moved from a huge castle served by a Rolm 9751 PBX
> into a small office served by a NT Norstar system.  In order to retain
> our phone numbers, we moved our DID service with us. (same CO)

> In general, I am a highly satisfied customer of the Norstar/Startalk
> system.

So are we. We just bought one and cut over last Friday. We've got 60
ports (34 station, 12 CO lines, eight DID trunks and six OPXs). It's
got the feel and features of a much bigger switch.

> One little question though:

> Callers to our DID lines hear a brief dial-tone-like tone, followed by
> a pause, followed by a ring.  Where does that dial-tone come from?  Is
> this bad programming of the Norstar?  CO? What is "wink start" mean?

First, be sure that you are using DR4 software, as it is the first to
support real DID trunks -- maybe someone hacked something together
under an earlier SW release. When someone calls our DID numbers, they
do not hear dialtone -- just a pause, a clunnk and the call starts
ringing (call me at 203-834-2322 to hear what it sounds like). There
was also a new DID module under DR4 I think, so if you don't have one
then something is definitly wierd.

However, we found that for some strange reason that the Norstar is
putting dialtone on the DID trunks. If we put a butt set on one of the
DID trunks we get dial tone. We can then outpulse three digits and get
connected to a station. Both the WilTel installer and the SNET tech
thought this was very strange. Is this normal for a Norstar?

Also, the Norstar can simulate a DISA port over a DID trunk -- make
sure that feature is off, or you might be getting dialtone from
this.

> Somebody once posted an excellent description of how DID service
> works, which I lost.  If anyone has that, I would greatly appreciate
> it.

As I understand it, DID maps a range of numbers (such as 834-2300 to
834-2399) to a few dedicated trunks. When a call comes in on one of
the DID numbers, the CO switch grabs one of the dedicated trunks and
sends the last few digits of the dialed number to the PBX. So if you
call my DID line (834-2322) the CO grabs one of our DID trunks,
outdials 322 (the last 3 digits) and then our PBX returns either
ringback or busy.

As for wink start, I'd like a definition, since that's what our DID
trunks are.

Also, there is very low-traffic list specially for Northern Telecom
switches. Mail submissions to [e-mail] and
[e-mail] for subscription requests.


Jeff
Jeff can also be reached at work at:   [e-mail]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #717
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #718

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 18 Sep 92 02:07:36 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 718

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Scanner Modification (Mike Peyton)
    Re: Scanner Modification (J. R. Pendleton)
    Re: Scanner Modification (Paul Cook)
    Re: Scanner Modification (Michael A. Covington)
    Re: Scanner Modification (Mark Walsh)
    Re: Scanner Modification (Rich Greenberg)
    Re: Scanner Modification (Gary W. Sanders)
    Re: Scanner Modification (Jim Rees)
    Re: Scanner Modification (Bruce Taylor, IV)
    Re: Scanner Modification (Michael Ardai)
    Re: Scanner Modification (Ed Greenberg)
    Re: Cellular Phone Cell Manufacturers (Andrew Klossner)
    Re: Cellular Phone Cell Manufacturers (Seth Breidbart)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Re: Scanner Modifications
From: epiwrl!wireless![e-mail]
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 92 00:36:50 EDT
Organization: Center for Wierd Wireless Studies


[Moderator's Note: I guess it was one of those days ... I'd have been
better off going to bed early and getting some sleep at night for a
change. The following responses were selected from ** 74 ** received in
the mail today all saying mostly the same thing.  PAT]

[e-mail] writes:

> Pat,

> I have a Bearcat 210 scanner.  Do you know how I can "enhance" my
> scanner to monitor the 800 mh freqs?

> [Moderator's Note: No, I don't know about this particular radio, and I
> want to remind everyone who has written me with similar questions that
> it is illegal to modify any radio unless you are a licensed technician.
        ^^^^^^^?           ^^^^^^^

False, the above is only partically true, even for transmitters.
ANYONE can work on virtually any receiver.  It is even still legal
(though admittedly up to some interpetation) to add cellular
frequencies to a scanner.  It IS illegal to LISTEN to cell phone
calls.  Congress is currently trying to make it illegal to manufacture
a radio with cell frequencies, but as far as I know it hasn't passed
yet.

In fact much to the disgust of those of us in broadcasting at the
time, The FCC dropped most technicican licensing requirements back in
the early 1980's.  It was the old "deregulate industry, industry will
police itself, and consumers won't listen to distorted station"
routine.  I do have to admit that there hasn't been as much
interference and problems, as had been predicted.  ** stepping off
soapbox **

PS: It is true that even though it is legal, it doesn't mean you won't
kill yourself :-)


Mike Peyton     [e-mail]   or   wireless![e-mail]
                     equals  uunet!epiwrl!wireless!mike


[Moderator's Note: Speaking of killing yourself, or almost killing
yourself, did I ever mention the time I picked up an old 11 meter
linear amplifier in a trade? A nice unit with a 100 watt output, but
it needed a couple minor repairs (loose solder connection, a burned
out lamp illuminating the dial, a tube to be replaced, etc.). Usually
I have enough wits about me to first probe around inside things with a
screwdriver with a plastic handle which I touch from capacitor to
ground from time to time -- I enjoy seeing the look on people's faces
when one of those big boogers discharges the stored up juice and
shoots fire with a loud defiant bang at whoever is watching me work :)
But one time I forgot to discharge those caps first ... hee hee ... it
was *not* funny then when I got knocked on my keister ... although I
laugh about it now. If you like electroshock therapy, you'll love
sticking your hand inside old radios and televisions which haven't
been properly discharged first.  :) But read on ...  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (J. R. Pendleton)
Subject: Re: Scanner Modification
Date: 17 Sep 92 18:12:51 GMT
Organization: Employer not involved in this.


Mr. Townson -

I was rather intrigued by the above note.  With the exception of the
celluar frequencies and certain other parts of the spectrum, I was
under the impression that it was legal for anyone to build recieving
devices.  The statement that I have to be licensed Radio Tech to
modify a reciever makes felons out every kid who every put togather a
crystal radio set or every ham who modified his own gear.

I'm not flaming, and mayhaps you know more than I, but could you
justify the above statement?


Many thanks,

J. R. Pendleton, who does not speak for Key Computer Labs or Amdahl Inc.
 uucp: [e-mail]  Voice : [phone]  Amateur : KC6RTO

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 17 Sep 92 19:16 GMT
From: Proctor & Associates <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Scanner Modification


Anyone can build or modify a radio receiver.  There are no licensing
requirements.

There are still Part 15 requirements for certification that a device
does not radiate excessively, but these are for manufacturers of mass
produced products, and nowhere in Part 15 does it restrict
modifications to the radio receiver.

The FCC used to license technicians who work on transmitters, but
under the "Reagan FCC" this was derregulated.  The commercial phone
FCC license isn't even required for engineers at broadcast stations
anymore.

The Bearcat 210 doesn't even tune much above a half GHz, so there
aren't any diodes to clip to "unblock" cellular frequencies, since it
doesn't operate anywhere near this band.


Paul Cook                            206-881-7000
Proctor & Associates            MCI Mail 399-1080
15050 NE 36th St.               fax: [phone]
Redmond, WA  98052-5317       [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Michael A. Covington)
Subject: Re: Scanner Modification
Organization: University of Georgia, Athens
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1992 19:20:37 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: No, I don't know about this particular radio, and I
> want to remind everyone who has written me with similar questions that
> it is illegal to modify any radio unless you are a licensed technician.

Falsch.  There has never been any law requiring a license to build or
modify any type of _receiver_.  (Maybe you didn't catch the fact that
he was talking about a receiver.)

There used to be an FCC regulation allowing only licensed technicians
to adjust and repair certain kinds of _transmitters_, but my
understanding is that the requirement has been dropped (the FCC feels
it is sufficient to require the transmitters themselves to meet
specifications, regardless of how they get that way).

Cellular eavesdropping is, of course, illegal, as are various other
_uses_ of radio equipment to violate people's privacy.


Michael Covington - Artificial Intelligence Programs - U of Georgia - USA
Unless otherwise noted, these are private opinions, not official statements.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mark Walsh)
Subject: Re: Scanner Modification
Date: 17 Sep 92 23:41:03 GMT
Organization: Optilink Corporation, Petaluma, CA


Whoa, since when?  I know that it is illegal to modify type accepted
equipment (e.g. CB's) without a radiotelephone license, but since when
has been illegal to modify our own equipment?  Hams not only modify
their own equipment, they even build it in some instances.  Also,
while it has always been illegal (at least since 1934) to divulge the
contents of just about anything (other than broadcasters, hams, and
CB'ers) heard over the air, the prohibition on the mere monitoring of
cellular phone transmissions came from the 1986 ECPA (Electronic
Communications Privacy Act).


Mark Walsh (walsh@optilink) -- UUCP: uunet!optilink!walsh
AOL: BigCookie -- Amateur Radio: KC6RKZ@WX3K -- USCF: L10861

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Rich Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Scanner Modification
Organization: Hatch Usenet and E-mail.  Playa del Rey, CA
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1992 03:21:02 GMT


Pat, I beg to differ with you on this.  I am an FCC "licensed
technician" (1st class phone for 20+ years) and there are no licensing
requirements to do whatever you want to a RECEIVER.  If its a
TRANSMITTER, then yes, the license is required for most transmitter
work.  There are some exceptions, mainly for Hams (amateur license is
required however) and CB (license?  We dont need no steenken licenses.
 ..).  :-)


Rich Greenberg - N6LRT - 310-649-0238 - [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 17 Sep 92 13:58:52 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Scanner Modification
Organization: AT&T


The radio is question was a receive only scanner and it is
not illegal to make changes/mods to a receive only radio. No license
is required. It is LEGAL to own a radio that covers 800mhz including
cellular. It is as we all know (and ignore) illegal to listen in
on cellular calls.


Gary W. Sanders (N8EMR)      [e-mail]
AT&T Bell Labs   614-860-5965

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jim Rees)
Subject: Re: Scanner Modification
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: University of Michigan IFS Project
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1992 14:23:13 GMT


I'm a licensed tech myself (FCC First Class Radiotelephone, or
whatever it's called now, and Amateur Advanced Class), and I think
you're wrong.  You need a licensed tech to do transmitter work, and
certain other kinds of work (like nav/comm radios in airplanes), but
anyone can work on a receiver here in the US.  Laws in other countries
may vary.

I'm not even sure it's technically illegal for an unlicensed person to
work on a transmitter.  Doing so violates the type acceptance of the
transmitter, which is not in itself illegal.  Putting such a
transmitter on the air after having worked on it is almost certainly
illegal, even if the transmitter otherwise meets all the appropriate
specs.

There are even some classes of transmitters that anyone can work on
without a license of any kind.  An example of this is the low-power AM
& FM wireless mics.  Anyone can build one of these, although there are
limits both to the power output (input?) and the antenna size.

It's illegal to listen to cellular phone calls.  I don't know whether
it's legal to modify an existing radio to receive cellphone
frequencies.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1992 10:47:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: Bruce Taylor, IV <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Scanner Modification


  There is no law against random individuals modifying radio
equipment, in the USA.  There are rules regarding *transmission* from
modified radio equipment, excepting licensed amateurs in their ranges
of frequencies.

  On the other hand, the Electronic Communication Privacy Act
restricts the ability to listen to certain frequencies and
transmissions, including Cellular.

  Somehow I thought this'd been run into the ground already ...


Bruce Taylor   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: You are right. After this issue, it has been run
into the ground unless something interesting comes along.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Michael Ardai)
Subject: Re: Scanner Modification
Organization: Teradyne, Inc. Boston MA
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1992 15:40:16 GMT


Actually, you can do whatever you want with a receiver.  You must be a
licensed tech to do any repairs/mods on a type-accepted transmitter.
A ham may do any mods on transmitters that work only in the ham bands

> If the radio has some 800 range to it, then it can probably be brought
> around to include the cellular area. If it only goes to 512 megs, then
> I would have my doubts if it could be done conveniently or inexpensively
> at all.

If the scanner will pick up 400-512, you can use a block shifter that
will image the 800 MHz band down to 400 MHz.  This device sits between
the antenna (or preamp) and the radio.

> To receive 'forbidden frequencies' within a range of the spectrum the
> radio is otherwise designed to receive is as trivial as cutting a
> trace here and there and adding a couple jumpers

This will only work if the radio is designed/programmed to allow it
(which most scanners that have the 800MHz range are).  In this case,
the mod is usually very simple for someone with minimal electronics
experience and doesn't require retuning the radio.

Please remember that it is illegal to listen to cellular phone calls,
either with a modified scanner, down converter, TV with channel 80-83,
or anything similar.  The cellular companies don't want their users to
realize they are talking on an open channel :-)


Michael L. Ardai  N1IST   Teradyne EDA    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: I think the manufacturers are getting heat about
this situation -- where the pins on the chip can be diddled to bring
in 'unauthorized' frequencies -- and are changing the way they do
things. I know Motorola had to quit using a chip called the 02-A in CB
radios for this reason when the feds started getting after them. Now
everything seems to be in ROM. Either it is a frequency you are
supposed to use or the radio just won't operate, period. It used to
be you could disconnect the tuning knob (usually a big gang switch
with lots of connections on it) from the chip and install a device
called a 'Digi-Scan' in its place and go all over the 10/11 meter
band. Getting the radio to *actually oscillate* way up in 10 meters
was another story; but brave souls would turn those cans until either
it worked (rarely) or they messed the radio up totally (usually). Then
it was up to me to sadly inform them they sounded like pooh ... PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Ed Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Scanner Modification
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 92 16:34:11 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)


Hi Pat,

I hate to jump on you again, but I think you've slipped a fact.

This is the USA.  It may be illegal to USE A MODIFIED TRANSMITTER in
most services, but last time I looked, it was certainly legal to
modify a receiver.  In fact, here in the land of the free, etc., we
are even allowed to BUILD radio receivers without a license.

Now, it may be illegal to monitor cellular calls, and it may even be
illegal to sell radios that can, but the blanket statement that it's
illegal to modify a radio receiver is just plain false.


Ed Greenberg         | Home: [phone] | [e-mail]
P. O. Box 28618        | Work: [phone] | DoD#: 0357
San Jose, CA  95159    | Fax:  [phone] | KM6CG (ex WB2GOH)


[Moderator's Note: I thought there was still a legal objection (by the
FCC) to doing things which might cause the IF to stray on a reciever.
I remember as kids how we would take old-fashioned tube style AM
radios and divert the IF from normal use, sending it up an antenna and
radiating somewhere around a quarter of a watt of power all over the
neighborhood. Tuned to 1620 or 1630 kc we'd then walk for a couple
blocks in all directions listening to our 'radio station'. One day we
got the bright idea of attaching the IF to one side of a telephone
pair. It made no difference on the phone line (the RF just coasted
along on the 'antenna') and I think we went almost a mile away,
holdiog a little pocket radio up to telephone poles and hearing our
signal. Even with a regular antenna, we could hear the quarter-watt of
IF nearly a mile away when we stood next to electric or telephone
poles although we had to strain to hear it through the hash. The
aluminum flag pole in the park six blocks away made an excellent
receiving antenna to listen to our 'radio station'. I assumed in my
earlier -- obviously in error -- posting that the FCC was still
opposed to people tinkering inside radios at all for reasons such as I
describe above.  At least none of you guys objected to my warning
against messing with the trim pots or turning the cans! :) PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Andrew Klossner)
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 92 12:53:44 PDT
Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Cell Manufacturers
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Tektronix Color Printers, Wilsonville, Oregon


[e-mail] (Gerald Ruderman) said:

> A friend is researching a problem and would like to get some
> information on who makes cellular phone cells.
                                           ^
You replied:

> ... the answer is everyone makes cellular calls ...
                                             ^
Apparently you read an 'a' where Gerald wrote an 'e'.


Andrew Klossner  ([e-mail])

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1992 11:50:15 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Seth Breidbart)
Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Cell Manufacturers


Pat,

I think you misread something.

Seth        [e-mail]


Subject: Cellular Phone Cell Manufacturers
                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

A friend is researching a problem and would like to get some
information on who makes cellular phone cells. (Is that the right term
                                         ^
for the radio stations and their associated equipment?)


Thanks,

Gerald Ruderman    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: As I said at the start of this issue, I think
yesterday was not a good day. I think I should have gone to bed early
instead of putting out a Digest. Maybe I got distracted thinking about
my birthday next week and how I shall commit Hari-Cari or some other
unmentionable act at 5:27 PM on September 24.   PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #718
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #719

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 19 Sep 92 12:09:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 719

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Kauai Phones Back (Mark Walsh)
    Re: Kauai Communications Out (Mark A. Cavallaro)
    Re: Kauai Communications Out (Jack Adams)
    Re: Kauai Communications Out (Gary Morris)
    Re: Kauai Communications Out (John Rice)
    Re: Kauai Communications Out ([e-mail])
    Re: Kauai Communications Out (John Higdon)
    Re: Kauai Communications Out (Brian K. Uechi)
    Hurricane INIKI Update (Stan Schey)
    Re: Disaster Reporting On Usenet (Dr. Math)
    Re: Phone Number in "Sneakers" (Tim Tyler)
    Re: Phone Number in "Sneakers" (James Zuchelli)
    Re: Phone Number in "Sneakers" (Rob Hansen)
    Re: Scanner Modification (Christopher Wolf)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mark Walsh)
Subject: Re: Kauai Phones Back
Date: 19 Sep 92 20:18:23 GMT
Organization: Optilink Corporation, Petaluma, CA


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail].
ma.us (Scott Fybush) wrote:

> The situation there is bad ... phones are back up, but power won't be
> for another month.  There's no running water, thousands are homeless,
> and information isn't getting out to would-be aid recipients because
> the local radio stations are off the air.

It should be pointed out that within a few hours of the disaster,
amateur radio operators were passing message traffic from the island
using both voice and packet on 20 and 40 meters (7 and 14 MHz).  I did
a bit of listening, and their throughput was truly commendable.


Mark Walsh (walsh@optilink) -- UUCP: uunet!optilink!walsh
AOL: BigCookie -- Amateur Radio: KC6RKZ@WX3K -- USCF: L10861

------------------------------

From: Mark A Cavallaro <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Kauai Communications Out
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 10:25:52 PDT


Pat, you asked if HTC is a GTE company. I spent three years as a
defense contractor on OAHU.  I worked with HTC, and AT&T to upgrade
the Navy EAS.  YES, HTC is a GTE company. But this only interferes
with services on tariff issues, and policy. When it come to disasters
of this kine, GTE policy is largely ignored.  The technical ability of
the average HTC employee is far better than I typically find in the
mainland US.  There are many frustrations when dealing with HTC,
particularly if they perceive you as a potential rival. Their
political clout is unmatched. After all, it is a community of islands,
and VERY clannish.  I could go on for hours on that subject; nough
said.


Mark Cavallaro

------------------------------

From: vixen![e-mail] (22475-adams)
Subject: Re: Kauai Communications Out
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 12:50:42 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail].
Hawaii.Edu (Laurel Indalecio) writes:

> This little tid-bit about the communications situation on Kauai
> following Hurricane Iniki's devastation was in the Sunday paper here
> in Honolulu:

> Hawaiian Telephone Co. emergency crews hope to have basic
> communications restored between Kauai and the rest of the world today.

> - A portion of the front page article of the Sunday edition of the

Insert smirkey, ;-) above^.  Honestly, the Hawaiian Telephone folks,
based on my experience with them (An emergency circuit provisioning
exercise in 1989) are top drawer.  Since I have personal friends who
live near Princeville, Kauai (north side of island) I am especially
thankful for their yeoman efforts at restoring service.  Of course, as
my patron Saint, Jimmy Buffet says ... Changes in latitude, changes in
attitude ... also applies to GTE in the Garden Isle.


Mahalo mui loa HawTel,

Jack (John) Adams        | Bellcore NVC 2Z-220
[phone] {Voice}        | [phone] {Facsimile}
[e-mail]    | [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Gary Morris @pulsar)
Subject: Re: Kauai Communications Out
Organization: TeleSoft, San Diego, CA, USA
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 01:00:06 GMT


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Laurel Indalecio) writes:

> Hawaiian Telephone Co. emergency crews hope to have basic
> communications restored between Kauai and the rest of the world today.

> [Moderator's Note: So who told us the telco there was GTE-owned? Is
> HawTel part of GTE?  PAT]

According to an article in Clarinet News (clari.nb.telecom), cellular
phone service (they don't mention the provider) was restored in Kauai
on September 13th.  It goes on to state that regular phone service is
provided by "GTE Hawaiian Telephone", which is bringing in phone vans
to allow residents to call out.


Gary Morris                     Internet: [e-mail]
Ada Software Development        UUCP:     uunet!telesoft!garym
TeleSoft, San Diego, CA         Phone:    [phone]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Kauai Communications Out
Organization: Teradyne Inc., Telecommunications Division
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 03:10:45 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (John
Higdon) writes:

> I really do hope that considering the anguish of relatives and the
> actual suffering of island residents that GTE manages to rise to the
> occasion and restore telephone service in a timely manner. And then
> maybe someone can look into why all communications to and from the
                                  ---
> island were able to be knocked out in the first place.

Got to disagree with John on this one. Ham radio operators were
communicating quite reliably from Kauai to Oahu, continuously
throughout the course of the storm and continue to do so.


John Rice        K9IJ     |  "Did I say that ?" I must have, but It was
                          |   MY opinion only, no one else's...Especially
                          |   Not my Employer's....
[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 06:54:46 -0500
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Kauai Communications Out
Organization: University of Hawaii at Manoa


> [Moderator's Note: So who told us the telco there was GTE-owned? Is
> HawTel part of GTE?  PAT]

Yes.  HawTel is, as the local commercials have so ingrained in my
head, short for GTE Hawaiian Tel -- our local BOC equivalent.


[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 10:35 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Subject: Re: Kauai Communications Out
Organization: Green Hills and Cows


> [Moderator's Note: So who told us the telco there was GTE-owned? Is
> HawTel part of GTE?  PAT]

I did. Yes, it certainly is a part of GTE. As a matter of fact, most
GTE employees assume that it was brought into the fold so that the
Stamford executives would have a nice place to visit (officially) once
in a while.

According to an ex-employee, GTE/Hawaiian Tel is the Guinea pig for
new procedures and equipment.

Honestly, I am surprised that you were unaware that GTE owned Hawaiian
Tel. One only has to experience the look and feel of the company to
realize this. Haven't you been to the islands?

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
writes:

> 'Scuse me, but I knew from the Weather Channel that the storm was
> approaching Hawaii, where landfall was expected, and where there were
> warnings. How could it have been a surprise in this day of weather
>satellites? Do they get the Weather Channel in Hawaii?

According to sources on Oahu, Hawaii's independent hurricane tracking
system has been crippled for several years because its repair has
become a political football in Washington. In this particular case,
The Weather Channel called it correctly. But some on the islands are
highly annoyed that their own system has suffered neglect.

And in case you are unaware, our satellite capability in re:
hurricanes is in serious trouble. Normally there are two GOES series
satellites, one positioned over the Pacific and the other over the
Atlantic. A couple of years ago, the Pacific satellite died so the
Atlantic one was repositioned over the central US. This has severely
restricted the hurricane watching capability over both oceans. In
addition, the remaining GOES satellite has passed its design life span
and could fail at any moment, virtually blinding our weather
forcasters.

The next launchings (GOES-NEXT) are scheduled for mid-1994. I leave it
to you to see the potential trouble.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !


[Moderator's Note: No John, I have never been 'to the islands'. I have
been as far away as Stony Island Avenue on the south side of Chicago
however, and to Goose Island, a little body of land completely
surrounded by water (the Chicago River) which is part of Chicago. PAT]

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Kauai Communications Out
From: [e-mail] (Brian K. Uechi)
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 04:34:04 GMT
Organization: VeriFone, Inc.


Yes, HawTel is owned by GTE.  I see the HawTel name less and less
(some trunks have GTE in large letters and HawTel in small).  I
suspect the HawTel name will eventually disappear.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: 19 Sep 92 17:12:00 UT
Subject: Hurricane INIKI Update


GTE employees are working nonstop to restore telephone service on the
Hawaiian island of Kauai which last Friday was devastated by Hurricane
Iniki, a Category 4 hurricane.

Damage to and restoration of telephone network:

The telecommunications network on Kauai suffered major damage, but
only minor damages were sustained on Oahu.

Offers of help have been pouring in from other GTE companies.
Currently, portable digital microwaves are being flown in from
California and the Northwest; VSAT radios are coming from GTE Spacenet
and a radio system is coming from the Northwest.

As of Tuesday morning, approximately 50 percent of the
telecommunications network on Kauai had been restored to service, with
an extensive continuing restoration effort under way by GTE Hawaiian
Tel.

GTE Hawaiian Tel air-shipped portable phone banks for use by island
residents, many of whom remain without phone service.  They were set
up at the Lihue Shopping Center and in Kapaa next to the company's
switching center.  For those on Kauai able to use their telephones,
and for those using the coin-free phone banks, GTE Hawaiian Tel is
providing free interisland calling through Sunday, September 20.

------------------------------

From: Doctor Math <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Disaster Reporting On Usenet
Organization: University of Notre Dame
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 03:57:25 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:

> The National Headquarters of the American Red Cross in Alexandria VA
> seems to be on the Internet as: red-cross.org

Indeed:

> set q=any
> red-cross.org
Server:  bind.nd.edu
Address:  129.74.250.100

Non-authoritative answer:
red-cross.org   nameserver = CURLY.RED-CROSS.ORG
red-cross.org   nameserver = SIVA.RED-CROSS.ORG

Authoritative answers can be found from:
RED-CROSS.ORG   nameserver = CURLY.RED-CROSS.ORG
RED-CROSS.ORG   nameserver = SIVA.RED-CROSS.ORG
CURLY.RED-CROSS.ORG     internet address = 162.6.5.5
SIVA.RED-CROSS.ORG      internet address = 162.6.6.2
> red-cross.org siva.red-cross.org
Server:  siva.red-cross.org
Address:  162.6.6.2

red-cross.org
        origin = siva.red-cross.org
        mail addr = root.siva.red-cross.org
        serial = 1
        refresh = 10800 (3 hours)
        retry   = 3600 (1 hour)
        expire  = 604800 (7 days)
        minimum ttl = 86400 (1 day)
red-cross.org   nameserver = siva.red-cross.org
red-cross.org   nameserver = cross.red-cross.org
siva.red-cross.org      internet address = 162.6.6.2

sanger 209# finger @siva.red-cross.org
[siva.red-cross.org]
No one logged on

ess = 162.6.6.2

sanger 209# finger @siva.red-cross.org
[siva.red-cross.org]
No one logged on

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Tim Tyler)
Subject: Re: Phone Number in "Sneakers"
Organization: UMCC
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 19:34:13 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Laurence Chiu) writes:

> I haven't seen the movie yet but I am surprised. In almost all movies
> I've seen (or TV shows for that matter) where a phone number is
> identified, it's invariably 555-nnnn. This I presume is an invalid
> number always except perhaps for n=1212 so to avoid telephone phreaks
> calling the number to see who's there and annoying some poor soul who
> just happens to possess that number.

   They ought to use 976 numbers, so that the genetic wonders that
decide to call for the hell of it will learn a lesson.


Tim Tyler   Internet: [e-mail]  MCI Mail: 442-5735  C$erve: 72571,1005
P.O. Box 443     Packet: KA8VIR @KA8UNZ.#SEMI.MI.USA.NA
Ypsilanti MI  48197-0443    PADI, USPA, AFCEA, INEOA, P226, VFR700, etc.

------------------------------

From: claris!qm![e-mail] (James Zuchelli)
Subject: Re: Phone Number in "Sneakers"
Date: 19 Sep 92 19:18:49 GMT
Organization: Claris Corp


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Laurence Chiu) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
> (Bob Izenberg) writes:

>> Alas, there was no seductive gun-toting NSA agent to be yanked
>> away from the dinner table.  The film industry's normal flawless
>> attention to telecom detail :-) failed it here: [phone] is now
>> in area code (510).  I don't know what would have been said (at least
>> on the side of the call in our town!) had someone answered, but the
>> matter is academic.  The number has not been assigned in that area
>> code.  At least, as far as we know. Would we have been rattled if
>> the phone rang right back when we hung up?  Maybe just a little.

> I haven't seen the movie yet but I am surprised. In almost all movies
> I've seen (or TV shows for that matter) where a phone number is
> identified, it's invariably 555-nnnn. This I presume is an invalid
> number always except perhaps for n=1212 so to avoid telephone phreaks
> calling the number to see who's there and annoying some poor soul who
> just happens to possess that number.

I called the number (in area code 510) and the phone rangh a few times
and then switched and rang somewhere else.  The person who answered
the phone said the number I reached was for the IRS. The person said
the number I reached was not the number dialed (273-4196.)

I guess someone wants to play a joke on the IRS?

________DISCLAIMER_________
The above does not represent the opinion of Claris Corp or my employer.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Rob Hansen)
Subject: Re: Phone Number in "Sneakers"
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 11:59:40 PDT


[e-mail] (Bob Izenberg) wrote:

> A few friends and I saw the movie "Sneakers" recently ...
> Toward the end, River Phoenix's character asks for the phone number
> of a female NSA agent.  One of our group remembered her number...

Well, I guess I'll admit that I also made a note of the number, and I
think you got it wrong.  It was 415-273-xxxx, which when translated
into 510 rings into an "unassigned" voice mailbox.

The recording says the number is unassigned, but then goes on to say
"if you'd like to leave a message, please wait for the tone."  Then,
presumably because of the movie, you're told that user can't receive
any messages at this time (meaning their box is full).

Sounds like an NSA front to me...!  ;)

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (CHRISTOPHER WOLF)
Subject: Re: Scanner Modification
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 11:13:03 EDT


Is it illegal to listen to "cellular calls" or to listen in at the
"frequencies of" cellular calls?  I ask merely because someone
suggested shifting the cellular frequencies down to where a scanner
could more easily pick it up, and I wondered how the law would be
worked on that particular case, in which you would be listening in on
the content, but not at the frequency.


Christopher Wolf    Electrical Engineer    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: It is illegal to listen to cellular calls,
regardless of how you manage to do so.  PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #719
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #720

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 19 Sep 92 13:03:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 720

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Calling 911 From a Cellular Phone (Jeff Hibbard)
    Re: Calling 911 From a Cellular Phone (Andrew Klossner)
    Re: Why Non-Authorized Cellular 911 Works. Maybe. (Jeff Hibbard)
    Re: Why Non-Authorized Cellular 911 Works. Maybe. (Don Ford)
    Re: Cellular 911 Equivalent in Chicago (Jeff Garber)
    Re: AT&T Mail's Phone Number (Darrin Robinson)
    Re: AT&T Mail's Phone Number (Correction) (Fred E.J. Linton)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Jack Decker)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Carl Moore)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Joseph Bergstein)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Lauren Weinstein)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Richard Cox)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (John Higdon)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Steve Gaarder)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Hibbard)
Subject: Re: Calling 911 From a Cellular Phone
Organization: Bradley University
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 06:50:18 GMT


[e-mail] (John R. Levine) writes:

> There could be plenty of liability issues if a telco refused a 911 call
> from a phone whose ESN was marked bad by mistake.  Given that we seem to
> be moving toward a national ESN data base updated by all umpteen hundred
> cellular carriers, it's almost certain that some of the data will be bad.

Yes, especially if my carrier (United States Cellular Corp.) is
allowed to update it (and I presume they are).  At the rate I'm going,
I will soon be on their deadbeat list, but it's not because I haven't
paid *EVERY* legitimate bill from them *ON TIME*.  These people are
just confused beyond all belief.  They are also very slow to post
payments, and occasionally lose one altogether.  After routinely
getting dunned for not making payments on time, despite mailing them
sufficiently in advance, I started driving to their office every month
and paying in person.

The first time I did this, they hit me with a late charge.  When I
called to question this, they said "We ALWAYS post payments the day we
receive them, and we didn't receive yours until <a date four days
after I personally delivered the payment to their office and received
a receipt proving such> ... it must have been delayed in the mail."
The office of the clerk claiming she didn't get my payment for four
days is literally about 20 feet from the person who accepted the
payment.  Even since I've been paying in person, more months than not
I've received disconnect warnings for not paying ... always postmarked
AFTER I personally delivered the payment in question.

I am currently disputing a $160+ error which should be obvious to any
non-moron examining my bill.  The person I've been working with
acknowledges that they massively overcharged me, but the process of
putting a credit through takes MONTHS, during which time there is no
mechanism for stopping the ever-escalating warnings about what they'll
do to deadbeats like me who won't pay this $160.  Personally, I'm
surprised my phone still works these days.


Jeff Hibbard, Peoria IL

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Andrew Klossner)
Subject: Re: Calling 911 From a Cellular Phone
Date: 19 Sep 92 00:29:00 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Tektronix Color Printers, Wilsonville, Oregon


Our Moderator writes:

> If the ESN is marked bad by mistake, then a problem might exist if a
> call to 911 were denied. If the ESN is correctly marked, then no
> liability would exist."

This ignores the fact that, in today's litigious environment,
liability is whatever a jury of twelve people say it is.  I'd love to
be the lawyer filing a wrongful death suit against a cellular carrier
who denied 911 service.

Regardless of whether liability *ought* to exist in this case, a cell
carrier would be truly stupid to block 911 calls from any phone, for
any reason.


Andrew Klossner  ([e-mail])
 (uunet!tektronix!frip.WV.TEK!andrew)

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Hibbard)
Subject: Re: Why Non-Authorized Cellular 911 Works. Maybe.
Organization: Bradley University
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 05:37:35 GMT


Paul Robinson <[e-mail]> writes:

> Every telephone in every state (every one that gets a bill, that is!
> :) ) is being assessed a surcharge ranging from 2c to 25c a month for
> 911 or Enhanced 911.

2c to 25c?  I pay 80c for each of the multiple lines in my house here
in Peoria IL (Illionis Bell territory).  And we don't even have
Enhanced 911 yet because the county and all the cities in the county
can't agree on who gets to run the dispatch center(s).

> [assumption that 911 air time comes out of the 911 line tax]

Dialing 911 on a cellular phone around here connects you to the state
police, who are not involved in POTS 911 and its finances, so I doubt
your assumption is correct.  My guess (and that's all it is) is that
cellular companies provide 911 for free for good will and/or (more
likely) because they perceive it as being cheaper than getting sued by
the heirs of someone they didn't allow to make a critical 911 call.

Incidentally, some system south of here (probably Springfield IL, but
I was between cities and it's hard to know for sure) will not complete
cellular calls to 911 at all.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Don Ford)
Subject: Re: Why Non-Authorized Cellular 911 Works.  Maybe.
Date: 19 Sep 92 15:26:18 GMT
Organization: U S WEST NewVector Group, Inc.


Paul Robinson ([e-mail]) wrote:

> 'caller pays all charges number' and 911 is probably also paying for
> the airtime too.

Nope, we class 911 calls as unbillable. 911 is allowed to go through
for reasons of public 'good will.'


Don Ford    U S WEST NewVector Group Inc.  [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 04:34 GMT
From: Jeff Garber <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Cellular 911 Equivalent in Chicago


In article <[e-mail]> John Perkins wrote:

> It's been possible to dial 999 from almost any telephone in the UK to
> get emergency help since at least the 1940's (when I was a kid).  I've
> often thought it would have been nice if this had been adopted as a
> world-wide standard and it puzzles me why AT&T chose to use 911 when
> they must have been aware of the UK system.

Possibly because 999 is a regular CO exchange number in many places in
the U.S. Here in 714-land, it is (and has been for a long time) an
Anaheim (CA) exchange. I've noticed that most of the pay phones inside
Disneyland are 714-999-99xx.

As a bored teenager, I used to call the Disneyland payphone at
999-9998 (located in Tomorrowland, I believe, but still a local call
for me) and ask whoever answered how they were enjoying their day at
Disneyland, what rides they've been on, where they were from, etc ...
Surprisingly, most people would go along with me and answer my
questions without asking who I was! If I had been smart about it, I
suppose I could have made a carreer of it and sold the resultant
demographic, customer interest, and satisfaction data to Disney
execs ...


Jeff Garber <[e-mail]>  My opinions are just that.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Darrin Robinson)
Subject: Re: AT&T Mail's Phone Number
Date: 19 Sep 1992 17:49:20 GMT
Organization: Brown University, Providence RI 02912


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:

> When I wanted to try AT&T Mail to see how it compares with MCI Mail, I
> just called 1-800-222-0400 and asked {them} for the number.

> The following comes from the signup package for AT&T Mail:

> The two phone numbers for AT&T Mail are:

> To call for inquiries and questions:  1-800-MAIL-872
> To call up to pick up messages:       1-800-MAIL-123
> (You can also use 950-1ATT from many locations).

Paul tried the "universal" AT&T approach ... AT&T's consumer and
business centers (1-800-222-0300 and 1-8000-222-0400 recpectively)
will have the information for you.  AT&T went to a ONE number for all
problems methodology back in 1989.


Darrin E. Robinson (DER31)   Hamnet     N1LLV  146.700-, 146.880- MHz
DCNS Sysstems Programmer     Internet   [e-mail]
M.I.T.                                  [e-mail]
Cambridge, MA 02139          SPAN(et)   PGGIPL::ROBINSON (Node 7132)
AT&Tnet: [phone]      Nasamail   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 19-SEP-1992 00:45:30.83
From: Fred E.J. Lnton <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: AT&T Mail's Phone Number (correction)


In <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Paul Robinson)
cites 1-800-MAIL-872 as the phone number for AT&T Mail inquiries and
questions.  In fact, 1-800-MAIL-672 works; as for ...-872, I dunno --
never tried it.  [The other numbers he cites do work for me.]


Fred E.J. Linton  Wesleyan U. Math. Dept.  649 Sci. Tower  Middletown, CT 06459
E-mail:  <[e-mail]>     ( or  <fejlinton@{att|mci}mail.com> )
Tel.:         + 1 203 776 2210 (home)      or     + 1 203 347 9411 x2249 (work)


[Moderator's Note: My point was, why can't 800-555-1212 come up with
the number for AT&T Mail? That is the standard way to go about finding
800 numbers from directory assistance.  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 18 Sep 92 16:28:57 CST
From: Jack Decker <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits


In message <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Ed
Greenberg) writes:

> When your hometown was SxS, I'll bet you had to dial 1 before the
> prefix of any out of town exchange that was in your area code.

> Now that you have more modern telephone service, you should be able to
> dial anything in your area code without a 1, and anything outside your
> area code with a 1. This is the way things are supposed to work in
> order to allow N[10]X prefixes and NXX area codes in the future.

Who said that things are "supposed" to work that way?  Here in
Michigan, the telephone companies are REQUIRED to make you dial a "1"
in front of any toll call.  I think you guys out in California are
just used to it being the other way, so you don't want it to change,
and frankly, I feel the same way about our system.  The NICE thing
about requiring a "1" on toll calls is that I can never accidentally
make a toll call by dialing what I thought was a local prefix (and if
I choose to buy a toll restriction device, I can use one that simply
looks for a leading "1", rather than having to buy a more expensive
unit and then trying to program in all the toll/non-toll exchanges).

I *would* support full ELEVEN digit dialing ("1"+area code+number) on
ALL toll calls, including those in your home area code (as is now
required in the 313 area code around Detroit), and even PERMISSIVE
dialing of all 11 digits on local calls.  But I would definitely fight
any effort to make it possible to dial a seven digit toll call (no
leading "1"), and indeed, some consumer groups have fought it in the
past when Michigan Bell proposed doing it that way.

I guess folks on the left coast must have money to burn, if the
possibility of making inadvertent toll calls doesn't bother you, but
that thought seems to bother a lot of folks here in the midwest!


Jack Decker   [e-mail]   FidoNet 1:154/8

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 18 Sep 92 16:20:59 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits


Last year, I wrote of making a call (charged to a major credit card, I
believe) from an airplane in flight.  As I recall, the call was made
with just area code + seven digits (no leading 1); since all calls
from that phone required area code + seven digits, the leading 1 was
superfluous.

Another case where the leading 1 is omitted would be on a sequence
call (after the # sign to terminate preceding call) when charged to a
calling card.  That is:

0-xxx-xxx-xxxx
<bong> (and enter calling card number);
# (you can now dial another call which can be handled by that carrier);
xxx-xxx-xxxx (probably required if you are in an area which has
programmed for N0X/N1X prefixes; if not, you still have [until late
1994?]  just N0X/N1X for area codes and NNX for prefixes)

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Joseph Bergstein)
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 15:24:51 -0500
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits


In a message from Lauren Weinstein, he writes:

> Where I sit here in the L.A. area, where the actual city of L.A.
> has three different area codes, I can dial *local* calls in all three
> codes.

> What irks me is that even if I *want* to dial all ten for local calls
> I'm not permitted to, forcing once again the silly situation of
> dialing  seven digits for some local calls and 11 (1 + ten) for others.

I would also support full ten digit dialing for ALL calls in the NADP.
Here in the Washington D.C. metro area, we have ten digit dialing for
local calls between DC, Virginia, and Maryland.  In MD where I live
ten digit dialing for local calls is accepted for calls within my AC.
This really helps when we're passing around files with local BBS
numbers, which don't have to be edited based on which jurisdiction you
live in.

Most businesses have accomodated the change and advertise the A/C.  A
few "haven't gotten with the program yet", and still omit their A/C in
print and radio advertising.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 11:24 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Lauren Weinstein)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits


Greetings.  Ron Heiby ([e-mail]) asks why area code
confusion would occur when a party needs to know the area code to call
the other person in the first place.

The problem is that many people have grown very sloppy about area
codes, and it *still* hasn't sunk in that you can make local calls in
multiple area codes.  Especially when you get numbers from people in
person or on forms (even where area code is explicitly requested) many
people tend to leave it out if they think of you as "local."  What's
really depressing is the number of people who are still confused about
which area code they're in (or simply give out the wrong one), long
after a split.  And they're now talking about *another* split, this
time of the new 310 code, within less than ten years.

The whole concept of area code splitting is just falling apart under
the impact of the massive increase in number usage.  The original
plans didn't take into account this kind of usage, and it's time to
bite the bullet and look at the ten digit universal dialing
alternative.

I'm glad to hear that Bellcore is actively pushing this!
Unfortunately, I don't have much faith that the local operating
companies will be rushing to go along with such recommendations!


 --Lauren--

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 11:26 GMT
From: Richard Cox <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Al Varney writes:

>> Actually, Bellcore (or Bellcore acting as the NANP Administrator) isn't
>> just proposing your request, they are RECOMMENDING it.  But Bellcore
>> doesn't run the RBOCs; it can only recommend.  For example, in the
>> "guide" I've mentioned before, they say:

>> Sec. 7.1 -- "It is strongly recommended, as a short-term goal, that
>> the dialing of ten digits, when only seven digits are required, not
>> result in a call failure.

>> The implementation of a full ten digit dialing plan requires user
>> awareness that a ten digit number is always acceptable and does not
>> necessarily connote a toll charge."

And he's missed the point! The ability to dial all ten digits - with
or without the "1" - is not the issue (we've had the equivalent
facility here in the UK for some time now) although I understand that
if you haven't got the ability to dial ten digit numbers for your
local calling area, getting that far would certainly be a priority.
What Bellcore are now suggesting is that the seven digit format be
made unacceptable - i.e. ten or eleven digits will soon have to be
dialed for ALL calls !

The psychological unlinking of ten digit dialing from toll charging is
not for the benefit of the customer.  Telcos in many countries are now
serving most customers from switches that are outside their local
calling areas, by providing local concentrator muxes.  The cost to the
telco of a local call has become exactly the same as the cost of a
(shorter) long distance call.

It is only a matter of time for customers to forget which "codes" are
charged at the local rate, and which are long-distance ... and for the
"local" charge rate to be gradually subsumed into a standard call
charge irrespective of the distance of the connect !  (I think this
benefits the telco !)


Richard Cox

Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, Wales CF4 5WF
Voice: [phone]      Fax: [phone]      VoiceMail: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 10:31:04 CDT
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


Here's a brief response to three articles enclosed:

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Ed
Greenberg) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Alan L
> Varney) writes:

>> When my home-town exchange went non-SXS last year, they lost the
>> ability to use four-digit local dialing -- even though the switch
>> could have supported the town as a Centrex group with four digits.
>> But things change ...

> When your hometown was SxS, I'll bet you had to dial 1 before the
> prefix of any out of town exchange that was in your area code.
  ^^^^^^


PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE: "1+" and "*67" are PREFIXes; the NXX codes are
called "central office codes" or just "office codes".  The term PREFIX
is used to imply that the digits are part of a dialing plan, but NOT
part of the telephone number.

Aouthwestern Bell says you have to dial "1+" for all non-local calls,
period.  So, 1+ is STILL required for any out of town exchange.

> Now that you have more modern telephone service, you should be able to
> dial anything in your area code without a 1, and anything outside your
> area code with a 1. This is the way things are supposed to work in
> order to allow N[10]X prefixes and NXX area codes in the future.

   I agree -- but that isn't the way the dialing plan works there (at
least when I discussed it with a TELCo employee two years ago).  And
interchangeable NPAs do not prevent the continued use of "1+" for
ten digit intra-NPA calls -- it only requires the removal of "1 +
seven digit" intra-NPA calls.

> If the telco was to maintain four digit dialing in town, they'd
> logically require you to dial 1 to make a call outside the "centrex."
> Maybe even a 9 :-)

   But all calls "outside" already require "1+"; the town looks a lot
more like a Centrex group than an entire exchange anyway.  Every
four-digit number began with 33XX, 34XX or 35XX.  The number part of
the directory (business and residential) is four 5x7 pages, with lots of
white space.

   For many years, Southwestern Bell maintained dozens of towns with
five-digit local numbers (NOT SXS).  In areas that require 1 + Home
NPA for "non-local" calls, I don't see any technical reason one should
dial more than the minimum number of digits to uniquely identify the
desired party.  Of course, I don't support "1 + Home NPA means Toll"
anyway.

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Harold Hallikainen) writes:

> As I've suggested before, I think the system should allow for
> any number of digits terminated by a # key or a time out.  If I want
> to call my second line here, I could call 1 805 541 0201 # (using the
> current country code), or I could just dial 1 #, which would assume
> all the leading digits are the same as the originating numbers.  This
> would get rid of all this access code stuff where we try to use
> leading digits to tell how many digits follow.

But what do we do with the extra digits (if any), and how are
mis-dialed calls (not the reader, those other folks) detected?  With
length prediction from the initial digits, the switch can often
connect your call before you can hit the "#" key.

And I don't believe dialing your own country code (as in "011 +
country code") is permitted (for direct dial).  It's obviously
excluded from "01 + country code" operator access.

In article <[e-mail]>,>From: [e-mail]
(Ron Heiby) writes:

> [e-mail] (Lauren Weinstein) writes:

>> It is becoming an ever increasing mess when people assume you're in
>> the same code they are (because, after all, you're local) and don't
>> bother giving you the area code.

> If I called them, then I already know their area code, ...

> If they called me, then they already know my area code, ...

Nice to hear from you again, Ron, but you should really get out more.
You know, meet some folks face-to-face, exchange seven digit telephone
numbers, guess the NPA.  You know -- PARTY!!

 <smile>


Al Varney - just MY opinion(s).

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 10:29 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Organization: Green Hills and Cows


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Ron
Heiby) writes:

> [e-mail] (Lauren Weinstein) writes:

>> It is becoming an ever increasing mess when people assume you're in
>> the same code they are (because, after all, you're local) and don't
>> bother giving you the area code.

> I don't see the problem.

Well, this is even a problem when there are no local calls involved. I
wish I had a nickel for every time a message was left on my machine
from someone I never heard of leaving a seven-digit phone number that
was either in 415 or 510 rather than 408. Prefixes in all three area
codes are being added so fast that even I am having trouble keeping up
with them. This is a pain in the neck.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 02:14:26 -0400
From: anarres![e-mail]
Subject: Re: USA to Ten digits


Andrew Klossner ([e-mail]) writes:

>> Fred Gaechter at Bellcore has said he sees a similar future
>> for the NANP: dialing ten digits for ALL calls irrespective of
>> whether they're local, toll, or outwith your NPA. Do other
>> Digest readers think this would be acceptable?"

> Absolutely not.  But I didn't think switching from five to seven
> digits for intra-exchange calls was acceptable either ...

I agree.  I think Mr. Gaechter's proposal reflects an urban bias.
Lots of us live where even seven digits is more than we need.  *You*
try explaining to a long-time rural resident whose switch just went
from step to digital why he or she now has to dial all seven digits
when the old system only required four or five!

I suppose if we adopted the # key as terminator for all calls, it
could be set up so you could dial any number of digits, with the
missing ones assumed to be at the beginning and the same as those in
the calling number.


Steve Gaarder   [e-mail]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #720
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #721

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 19 Sep 92 13:26:45 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 721

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Phillip Dampier)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Tim Russell)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Andrew Klossner)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Michael A. Covington)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Kevin A. Mitchell)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Tom Olin)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Phillip Dampier)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 06:18:51 -0500
Subject: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation


In a message by: rlm@ms_aspen.hac.com (Robert L. McMillin)

>>    Rate Regulation

>>    -- The FCC and franchising authorities are authorized to ensure
>> that rates for basic service are "reasonable" where cable systems do
>> not face effective competition.

>>    -- The bill allows citizens, local government and other public
>> organizations to file petitions to the FCC challenging rates for all
>> other tiers of service.

> at work.  Rate regulation would protect cable operators' profits at
> the expense of its customers.

This is simply untrue.  I, like hundreds of other home satellite dish
owners and cable subscribers, have been working closely with Senator
Al Gore (D-TN) and John Danforth (R-MO) to bring some competition to
the cable television industry.

The language in the current legislation has been designed specifically
to avoid court challenges by the revenue rich cable television
companies.  Since the Reagan and Bush appointments, legislation
relating to business has to be carefully crafted because the last two
administrations have resulted in increasing corporate rights at the
expense of consumers.

The current cable legislation provides first for increased
competition.  As you'll see in a moment, that is not as easy as it
sounds, and is of key importance to a lot of players in the cable
playground.  Where competition does not exist, the regulatory
approaches kick in.

Cable itself has begun to advertise itself as "as necessary as power
or telephone," and where there is one operator, they should be
regulated as such.

>>    Equipment Prices

>>    -- Allows the FCC to ensure that prices for installation, remote
>> control, converter boxes and other equipment used to provide basic
>> service shall be "reasonable."

> Wanna bet the cable business finds some foxes to guard the "reasonable"
> chicken house?

The history of this segment of the legislation came about because some
cable operators were charging up to $700 for a lost/damaged cable
converter box, even if the box had normal wear and tear over its life.
Since most cable operators are owned by large MSOs, they order in
quantity, and most pay no more than $120 for the most sophisticated
boxes out there.

On the installation question, several cable operators have gouged
consumers with obscene installation charges when cable subscribers
want "economy basic" service.  This generally consists of channels
2-13 (local broadcasters, C-SPAN, public access).  Cable operators in
Alaska and Minnesota were caught charging up to $800 (!) for
installation of this tier of service, while giving away or charging
less than $30.00 for their standard basic service.

The FCC has recently called for all cable systems to offer an "economy
basic" and cable operators discourage this tier by charging sometimes
massive installation fees.

Some cable operators REQUIRE you to rent their remote control device,
sometimes costing up to $3.00 a month.  This is a hidden rate hike,
considering the charges continue to rack up over the life of your
subscription, not just until the remote has been paid for.

The FCC is quite intelligent and informed about the true costs of
doing business.

> What could "enforceable customer service standards" mean? Who knows!

Suggested standards are included as part of a committee report and by
Congressional offices.  In fact, several cable legislation proponents
want the National Cable TV Association's own standards enforced as
law.  If it comes from cable's own trade association, you know it's
reasonable and enforceable.

> At this point, any improvement in service after passage of this bill
> would allow its sponsors to crow about how much they've done to help
> the situation, no matter how tiny a fix.  So they've cut your wait
> on hold from fifteen minutes to ten.  Whoopee.

NCTA standards call for all calls to be answered in much less time
than that. Most cable operators agreeing to these standards are aiming
for 30 seconds or less, and many are open 24 hours a day for repair.

>> Encouragement of Multiple, Competitive Cable Franchises

>>    -- Franchising authorities may not award exclusive cable
>> franchises, and may not unreasonably refuse to award additional
>> competitive franchises.

> Why do I smell a rat?  Refer, if you will, to the section
> in which we are told that regulators will ensure "reasonable" prices
> where no effective competition exists.  The chief reason we now have
> monopolies is because there is big money to be had from the cable
> business for reelection chests.  Reason is, after all, in the eye of the
> beholder.

This is totally wrong in 90% of all cases.  Since cable was
deregulated in 1986, few city franchise authorities have much of any
role to play in cable television operations.  The municipality
language in the original deregulation bill specifically was designed
to remove such influences.

Unfortunately, the language written was far too broad, and today, most
cities recognize that failure to renew a cable franchise will bring
about a lawsuit where the cable operator claims their First Amendment
rights are being deprived.  The cable operators virtually always win.

TCI has had a history of going further than that, engaging in threats
of financial ruin through lawsuits against city officials in Jefferson
City, Missouri.  They were found guilty in court, and that is the
subject of a challenge by several consumer groups against TCI being
involved in the small dish satellite services (DBS).

The REAL reason we have a lack of competition has been documented in
several General Accounting Office reports, brought out in testimony in
more than a dozen hearings, and common knowledge to all in the
industry:

Cable operators have realized they have been granted a de facto
monopoly and have indirectly agreed to not compete with one another.

John Sie from TCI, admitted to Congress that cable operators needed to
be reigned in!  (He was quickly moved to TCI's new mini-pay service
Encore when it started -- angry stockholders probably).

In the early 1980's fledgling MSOs tried a few test cases of
competition, and the incumbent operator retaliated by "overbuilding"
(competing in an existing cable franchise) into the aggressor's own
territory.

By the mid-1980's cable operators engaged in documented shakedowns
with cable programmers to assume control or partial interests in
almost every single cable network.  The end effect has been a
documented study showing that cable networks refuse to sell their
programming to competing cable systems/ multichannel technologies (TNT
to name one example), or charge up to 800% (GAO study, 1988, National
Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, et al.) more for basic cable
networks being sold to dishowners and wireless cable than they charge
cable operators.

Since under the Reagan Administration, the Justice Department wouldn't
know antitrust if it bit them on their hinnies, nothing was done to
stop this despite 13 Attorneys General from states all over the
country taking their own action against cable operators.  The State of
Texas sued several cable operators for antitrust and rate fixing.

> The only real, effective way to make the present arrogance from
cable operators go away is competition.  If the experience with local
dial tone is any guide, regulation won't cut it.

I agree completely that competition is the best solution to this
problem.  But cable operators have become so entrenched and vertically
and horizontally integrated, just passing legislation that the Bush
Administration wants (let the telcos in with no restrictions on them),
is only going to result in a massive buyout of the cable industry by
phone operators using creative accounting to get ratepayers to submit
the capital.

Then you have an 800 pound gorilla that has had 70 years of practice
at being a monopoly versus the current cable industry, which has had
about seven years.

S.12, the current cable legislation, will lay the critical foundation
necessary to open up the multichannel marketplace to new technology,
including, perhaps, carefully regulated entry by telcos.

Here is what the legislation will do that is critical:

1) Where cable operators OWN or CONTROL cable networks (that's
virtually EVERYTHING), they must not be permitted to continue to deny
competitor access to the programming on unreasonable terms.
Independently owned cable networks are exempt.

Alternate technology (satellite, wireless, possibly telcos) should
also have access.  The primary reasons are the exclusive arrangements
that have been made with program suppliers, notably in the pay
television arena, to lock out films from competitors, thus making any
new start up services operate with a significant disadvantage.

2) Cable operators must not impede competition lest they find
themselves regulated.  In a rich multichannel marketplace, several
operators could co-exist in a rate regulation free environment.

The legislation also paves the way for competition between telcos and
cable for fiber optic cable/telephone service, as it generates a race
between competitors for the best possible service and offerings.

In less than 50 cities, there are more than one cable operator. In
those places, one generally pays about $8.00 for a 60 channel+ basic
service, $5-6 dollars for movie channels, and service calls answered
on the same day.

Passing S.12 makes it possible for the rest of America to enjoy the
chance to get something similar.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Tim Russell)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 13:12:45 GMT


tijc02![e-mail] (Paul Schmidt) writes:

> The problem is that cable companies can achieve monopoly status by
> government decree.  This government enforced monopoly doesn't allow
> the price lowering incentives of competition.  The bill proposed does
> not do anything to solve this major problem.

    I'm having trouble understanding where you get this idea, since
there is a specific clause forbidding exclusive franchise contracts in
this bill.  Additionally, the bill will also put a stop to cable's
unfair practices that are making it difficult if not impossible for
systems that will compete with cable to start up, such as DBS.  Cable
companies are attempting to unfairly deny programming to these systems
to hobble them.


Tim Russell   Omaha, NE    [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Andrew Klossner)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Date: 19 Sep 92 00:59:40 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Tektronix Color Printers, Wilsonville, Oregon


> Local television stations may opt for must-carry protections,
> or may elect to negotiate with local cable operators over the
> terms and conditions of carriage on cable systems.

This can be painful.  For Santa Barbara CA, the nearest CBS affiliate
is in Santa Maria.  It's closer than the affiliate in Los Angeles, but
it constantly preempts network programming for locally
originated,shows, commercial messages, and religious broadcasts.
Under the must-carry protection of a decade ago, the Santa Barbara
cable system had to carry this channel.  They didn't carry the Los
Angeles channel (no bandwidth for two different CBS signals), and so
much CBS programming was unavailable via cable.

I hate to see this state of affairs return.


Andrew Klossner  ([e-mail])
  (uunet!tektronix!frip.WV.TEK!andrew)

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Michael A. Covington)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Organization: University of Georgia, Athens
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 05:09:00 GMT


Having your own TV antenna is now impossible in many places because of
real estate covenants.  Ask any ham radio operator.

Meanwhile, in sci.electronics, we regularly (perhaps every six months)
hear from people who are apparently _unaware_ of the existence of TV
broadcasting; they ask if there is "any way to get TV without cable"
or words to that effect.

And if such people exist among net users, I wonder how many there are
among the general public.

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Joe
Trott) writes:

> If you don't like cable rates, *DON'T BUY CABLE*.

I would like to see a law overturning real estate covenants that
forbid all outdoor antennas.  The covenants are supposedly voluntary
agreements, but in practice the customer has little choice.  Their
effect is to create monopolies for cable TV companies.

Remember that only small parts of the US have acceptable TV reception
from indoor antennas.  Big-city dwellers tend to forget this.


Michael Covington - Artificial Intelligence Programs - U of Georgia - USA
Unless otherwise noted, these are private opinions, not official statements.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 10:30:40 CDT
From: Kevin Mitchell <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation


[e-mail] (Joe Trott) writes:

> If you don't like cable rates, *DON'T BUY CABLE*.

But the problem is that there are things on cable people want, and no
competition on how to get them. If I want/need milk, I can choose
between the local convenience store, drug store, gas station, or large
supermarket chain. The lack of monopoly keeps the price of milk down.

If I want CNN and the Weather Channel, I have to deal with the one
cable company that handles my town.

And, I live in a condominium building that has an aging MATV system
that only receives 5 of 13 broadcast channels in Chicago. That's all
there were in 1967 when the building was built.

To my cable company's credit, you can order basic service, which is
around $2/month and includes all broadcast and public access channels
(i.e. what they don't have to pay for -- "Standard" service channels
like CNN et. al. cost the cable a certain price per subscriber-month).
I'd bet that THIS is the rate that would go up by 50% if the
broadcasters could charge retransmission fees.

Not that I'm for those fees. The broadcasters get advertising rates
that are based on their audiences. If those audience counts don't
include cable customers, they should. I don't see what the difference
is between me raising an antenna on my own roof, or paying the cable
company to use their antenna. At the least, I'd demand that if I'm
paying extra for broadcast channels, they could supply a landline to
the cable company.


Kevin A. Mitchell                [phone]
Datalogics, Inc                  Internet: [e-mail]
441 W. Huron                     UUCP: ..!uunet!dlogics!kam
Chicago, IL  60610               FAX: [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Sep 92 08:14:11 EDT
From: adiron![e-mail] (Tom Olin)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Joe
Trott) writes:

> If you don't like cable rates, *DON'T BUY CABLE*.

I used to make this same argument.  However, as others keep reminding
us, regulated monopolies such as cable TV and local telephone service
are businesses with an unnatural advantage.  That is, they are
guaranteed profits and no competition by various government bodies.
Now, I don't know about you, but no government guarantees *me* any
profit.  As long as certain companies are going to benefit from such
government protection, they should be kept on a short leash -- i.e.,
their rates should be subject to review and restraint.

I agree with those who argue that competition is the correct answer.
However, I've always thought that phone and cable exist as regulated
monopolies in order to avoid the problem of N different competitors
stringing N different systems of wire all over the place.  I know that
there are a few places in the country where there *is* real
competition for either phone or cable service.  How did those places
resolve the wiring problem?  If those places ignored the issue, how
*should* we resolve the wiring problem?  And are there any other
logistical obstacles to opening up these industries to competition?


Tom Olin    [e-mail]    uunet!adiron!tro    [phone] Ext 638
PAR Technology Corporation * 220 Seneca Turnpike * New Hartford NY 13413-1191

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #721
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #722

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 19 Sep 92 14:32:56 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 722

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Comments on NON-TELCO Dial Tone (John Higdon)
    Re: Information Calls Direct to Desired Party (Richard Nash)
    Re: GTE Community Involvement ([e-mail])
    GTE Intercept: What Number Are You Calling? (Kevin Alexander)
    Re: Vermont Payphones (John R. Grout)
    Re: How do You Pronounce # (Tim Gorman)
    Re: OK What Exactly Does IRC Stand For? (George Mitchell)
    Re: A/A1 Answer Supervision (Vance Shipley)
    Re: Fax-> Email, Fax-> Fax Services Anywhere? (Robert Aaron Book)
    Re: Cellular/Government NPAs in Washington DC (Carl Moore)
    Funny Spellings in 800 Numbers (David Bernholdt)
    Another Big Overflow of Messages (TELECOM Moderator)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 09:54 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Comments on NON-TELCO Dial Tone


Paul Robinson <[e-mail]> writes:

> My only real concern was raising the financing to do this.

I can think of another concern you had better have. How are you going
to provide service reliability? What happens when one of your cable
pairs fail? What happens when your switch goes down? What happens when
your interconnection to the LEC goes haywire?

One of the biggest complaints against all of the alternate local dial
tone providers is the attitude toward service reliability. This is
something that the traditional LECs (except, of course, GTE) take very
seriously. There is redundancy in the CO switching equipment; there is
excess cable capacity to handle spot outages; and there is a
twenty-four hour maintenance crew.

Cable companies, cellular providers, and others seem to take a very
laid back stance when it comes to the importance of providing
uninterrupted service. Cable outages can be caused by electric utility
failure and cellular service is constantly punctuated with "cell site
repairs" and switch maintenance.

Until all of the local service pretenders get a clue concerning the
importance of having that telephone work twenty-four hours a day, day
after day, non-stop, no-kidding, this whole idea of "local
competition" will end up being so much hot air.

> Current minimum rates for business phone lines are $18 per line per
> month.  This is the only place an alternative carrier can compete on,
> since I could conceivably offer the same service as the phone company,
> for $9 a month, charge the same rates per local call, and make a
> profit.

Other than the fact that you have made not one speck of provision for
G&A, labor, promotion, or rent, I guess you will be making a fortune.
Do you intend to do this all yourself AND be on call twenty-four hours
a day?  Also, since you will only be competing with business service
(as I suspect all other players would desire to do), you will simply
drive residential rates from the LEC through the roof, at least
temporarily.

Make no mistake. I am a fan of LEC competition. But the transition
period of weenie, half-baked, cream-skimming schemes such as your
proposal will be hard on us all.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 09:47:06 -0600
From: [e-mail] (Richard Nash)
Subject: Re: Information Calls Direct to Desired Party


Alec Isaacson writes:

>> I was listening to the radio last night and I heard a commercial from
>> Cincinnati Bell offering a service called "Call Completion".  The
>> commercial went on to say that if you call 555-1212 (rather than 411)
>> for directory assistance you can hit a touch tone 1 after the number
>> is looked up and be connected to that number.  (Then it went on to
>> rave about how you will never need to fumble for pen and paper again :)
>> The verbal "fine print" said this service cost $0.35 a pop, fee waived
>> for busy numbers, not available in certain areas or on rotary phones.

> And as a side-effect, by not fumbling, you've neglected to write down
> the number, so can pay 35 cents the next time, as well ...

This service offering is quite old (about two - three years). More
than likely, Cincinnati Bell was waiting on Northern Telecom to
finally release BCS 34 ( Buggy Coded Software:) :) :) ) for their
DMS200 TOPS (tm) which addressed the billing problems associated with
call completion.

One simple example is:

  Question: Is the calling customer accountable for toll charges if
the directory number listed is out of the local (free) calling area?

  One Answer: If the telco policy is to allow toll call completion,
(thus making the caller accountable), some customers will get very
upset when some unauthorized person calls Directory Assistance (DA)
and elects to automatically complete the call.

(Do most PBX's restrict access to DA?) Conversely, if the policy is to
inhibit toll call-completion, then customers will have the confusing
situation whereby some DA requests can be offered for call completion,
and other seemingly similiar requests won't be offered.

The above is just one of the many issues regarding call-completion
that BCS34 had to adderess.

Perhaps the TELECOM Digest readers would be interested in hearing from
anyone who has experienced positive/negative benefits from using the
call-completion service?

Standard Disclaimer: I see nothing, hear nothing, know nothing and my
remarks are not necessary the view of my employer, and I certianly
don't speak or represent them here!


Richard Nash     Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
UUCP:         trickie![e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: 19 Sep 92 15:09:00 UT
Subject: Re: GTE Community Involvment


They are active in northern California. We have people in helping out
in the schools in the area as well as Red Cross among other community
activities.

I say 'blowing our horns' since PacBell has been running ads for the
past couple of months; I see nothing wrong with it. I guess GTE does
not feel that the public would be interested. Also they are a major
sponser on PBS.

On putting our money and effort towards better service, believe me we
are. I know it does no good to try and get anything to Mr. Higdon
since he feels GTE will never be any good because he has had a few
problems in the past as have his friends. Well, a lot more people have
good things to say. Also service is being restored in Hawaii.  Service
to most of the damaged island has been restored and service to the
rest will be shortly as will the link to the world. The microwave was
damaged, but I believe there is a fiber link in service or ready for
service.

Many GTE people are in Florida right now and we are moving people from
California and other areas to help. Within a few days many techs will
be there. A few from our group were asked and will go. I would except
I have a family here and at this point that is more important.  I
worked seven days a week, ten hours a day in 1971 when Sylmar was hit
by the quake and just can't handle that right now.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Kevin Alexander)
Subject: GTE Intercept: What Number Are You Calling?
Date: 19 Sep 1992 10:44:24 -0500
Organization: Texas A&M University, College Station


Within recent months I have been calling some local numbers around the
College Station area (we're serviced by GTE -- I'm not sure what kind
of switching equipment GTE uses), and I have been getting an operator
who'll say, "You have reaached an intercept.  What number were you
dialing?"  When I tell her she'll say, "The new number is xxx-xxxx."

We are able to get call-waiting, three-way, forwarding, and all that
good stuff, so I'll assume we have some ESS type switching (is this an
accurate conclusion?) and usually if a number has been changed we can
get the "Beep Beep Beep.  The number you dialed has been changed.  The
new number is..."

My question is this: Who did I connect to?  An operator?  How does the
switching system handle the call?  Why does the operator answer the
call instead of the automated "... number you have dialed has been
changed ..." message normally received?


Kevin Alexander    Texas A&M University

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (John R. Grout)
Subject: Re: Vermont Payphones
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: UIUC Center for Supercomputing Research and Development
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 15:45:45 GMT


[e-mail] (John R. Levine) writes:

> Every telco pay phone in the US sends 1+ calls to AT&T, because
> they're the only ones set up to handle inter-LATA coin paid calls.  It
> is my understanding that the 0+ carrier is chosen by the owner of the
> premises where the phone is placed, or the town for phones on the
> sidewalk.

What about the telcos which got permission to provide limited
inter-LATA services?  For example, New Jersey Bell provides inter-LATA
service from certain areas in North Jersey to New York City and from
certain areas in South Jersey to Philadelphia.

I'm sure that NJB can handle coin-paid calls (references were made to
payphones in their advertising of their access code, 10NJB) ... but I
don't know under what circumstances (if ever) their inter-LATA service
is primary ... but it would make sense to route calls from one's own
payphones over one's own inter-LATA service, wouldn't it?


John R. Grout     INTERNET: [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 19 Sep 92 13:27:46 EDT
From: tim gorman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: How do You Pronounce #


uflorida!novavax![e-mail] (Donald B. Burton) writes in
TELECOM Digest V12 #709:

> # is commonly called the pound sign or the number sign ... and less
> commonly the crosshatch, the tic-tac-toe ... and even octothorpe.

> MCI started using it to indicate you want to continue a second call on
> the same billing.  Now AT&T and Sprint also use them.

Lest anyone get the wrong idea, the # was used as far back as 1979, I
believe, by AT&T for sequence calling via its operator system. It was,
therefore, not a use started by MCI.


Tim Gorman - SWBT
*opinions are mine, any resemblance to official policy is coincidence*

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (George Mitchell)
Subject: Re: OK What Exactly Does IRC Stand For?
Organization: Test Systems Strategies, Inc., Beaverton, Oregon
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 17:35:14 GMT


[e-mail] (H.Shrikumar{[e-mail]}) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> is written:

>> TRT = Tropical Radio Telegraph, one of the oldest International Record
>> Carriers (i.e. telex companies).

> Question: Is an IRC "equivalent" to a telex company ?

My understanding (from context) is that an International Record
Carrier is a telegraph company.  For telegrams crossing international
boundaries, unlike voice calls, users have had a choice of carriers
almost since the service came into existence: RCA, ITT, Tropical Radio
Telegraph are probably the oldest providers around.  But I believe
that Western Union never handled international traffic.

When telex came into use, apparently everyone thought it was similar
enough to telegraphy that everyone in the telegraph business got into
the telex business, too.  (I'm not sure of my facts here, though.)


George Mitchell ([e-mail])

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Vance Shipley)
Subject: Re: A/A1 Answer Supervision
Organization: SwitchView Inc., Waterloo, Ontario Date:
Sat, 19 Sep 1992 04:48:54 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> the Moderator notes:

> [Moderator's Note: Multi-line phones were first in use in New York
> City in the middle 1920's. Does anyone remember the old three line
> phones with six buttons? There was a hold button for each line. I

These were known as 1A1 key systems.  There was no KSU as such but
there was a master set.


Vance Shipley
[e-mail]   [e-mail]   ..uunet.ca!xenitec!vances

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Robert Aaron Book)
Subject: Re: Fax-> Email, Fax-> Fax Services Anywhere?
Organization: Rice University
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 05:50:03 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(mark.d.wuest) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Simon
> Streltsov) writes:

>> I'm looking for a service; someone who can receive my fax and route it
>> to me by e-mail as a TIFF file or after running a character
>> recognition program.

> I'm not sure what they'd charge, but a fax/modem for my NeXT is under
> $500 (PeeCee stuff is actually a tad cheaper) and the software does
> just this -- provides a TIFF.  It also makes for an inexpensive
> scanner (only 150 dpi, tho).

You can get a fax/modem for a PC for $69.  Maybe less.  If you still
need to e-mail the fax, you could write a batch file that would take
the incoming fax, convert it to TIFF (if necessary), uuencode it, dial
using the modem part of the fax card (almost all fax cards include a
modem), and e-mail the result.


Robert Book   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 9:14:39 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Cellular/Government NPAs in Wash. DC


Doesn't the Department of Defense (Pentagon, area 703 in VA) also have
545, 602, 614 and 746?  The 614 prefix is the replacement for 202-694,
which (due to 703-694 being in use at Stuart, VA) could not be moved
as is to the 703 area.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 14:03:48 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Funny Spellings in 800 Numbers


The discussion of World Assets Long Distance's 1-800-CITIXEN reminds
me of something that happened in Chicago in about 1983.

The radio station WFMT runs a week long fund raising drive for the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (which runs a deficit of several million
dollars each year), if they have an 800 number for out-of-town folk to
call to contribute.

That year they had requested 1-800-CLASSIC, but someone messed up
(WFMT blamed Illinois Bell) and they got 1-800-CL1SSIC.  They tried to
explain this several times, but eventually just started pronouncing
it:

 one eight hundred kluh-one-sick.

Fans of the Anti-Digital Dialing League would also be proud of WFMT
because they used to (in the early/middle 1980s at least) try to use
exchange names instead of numbers in advertisements read on the air.
I haven't been in the Chicago area much since 1986, so I don't know
what they're doing lately.


David Bernholdt        [e-mail]
Quantum Theory Project    [e-mail]
University of Florida   Gainesville, FL  32611  904/392 6365


[Moderator's Note: What has basically happened with WFMT in the past
decade is they have been abandoned in droves by a large number of
listeners who have tuned to WNIB instead. Many of their announcers
were (and some are still) such primma-donnas that people grew tired of
them. The use of exchange names versus numerical digits long after the
names had been abandoned and largely forgotten was one such example of
what happened. Advertisers bought time, included a 7-D phone number in
their message and the announcers would read it as a name instead. When
no one called on the phone the advertisers would get sore. Some of
their music is very far out and inappropriate for the time of day it
is played.

For a long time they largely ignored listeners and went around in
their own orbit oblivious of anything going on in RealWorld.
Perfectly good and enjoyable classical music would not be used if they
had some grudge against the artist or organization involved. They were
very snooty and snobbish. It finally caught up with them. Tiny little
WNIB with a staff of about five people and virtually no connections in
the very snobbish clique which makes up 'the fine arts' in Chicago has
been ahead of them for more than a year in the radio ratings, playing
classical music from 5 AM to midnight daily, and around the clock on
Saturday and Sunday nights. The guy who brokers the midnight to 5 AM
slot Monday through Friday has some time left on his contract; once it
runs out they will probably go classical full time.  When WNIB first
went ahead of WFMT in the ratings, the fine arts crowd in Chicago was
absolutely shocked, because prior to that time they assumed no one but
no one listened to WNIB ... a lot they knew! I listen to WNIB most of
the time, only tuning occassionally to WFMT.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Another Big Overflow of Messages
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 14:00:00 CDT


Once again, you reader/writers have responded by blowing me away here
with messages. Over two hundred messages have been dumped from the
queue due to my inability to even come close at catching up. Thanks to
all who have written in the past week that won't be used.  Remember, I
do not pick and select here based on personal agreement with the
messages or the writer. I try to simply present a wide cross-section
of stuff and REplies to those which seem to draw the most interest.
In the past I've tried to put out ten or more issues of the Digest
over the weekend to catch up with the backlog, and three or four
issues each day. I don't think that serves anyone very well, least of
all me. If your message was not included this past week and you really
feel it should have been, send it to me again via 'telecom-request@
eecs.nwu.edu' and ask that it be reconsidered.   Thanks.  PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #722
******************************










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Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1992 14:38:56 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #723

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 20 Sep 92 14:39:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 723

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Data Hut - DONT! (Chad Burr)
    Sent-Paid Coin Calls (John R. Levine)
    Re: Recourse on Cordless Eavesdropping? (Carter Gregory)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (John Higdon)
    Re: GTE Community Involvment (John Higdon)
    Re: Kauai Communications Out (John Rice)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (John R. Levine)
    Re: AT&T Mail's Phone Number (Daniel K. Cheng)
    Need Information on Telecommunications School (Park Yunjo)
    What is This Instrument? (Michael A. Covington)
    More LATA Nuttiness (John R. Levine)
    Another Look at Cliff Stoll's Book (TELECOM Moderator)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (chad burr)
Subject: Data Hut - DONT!
Organization: Cybernet BBS, Boca Raton, Florida
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1992 05:37:34 GMT


This is a PUBLIC WARNING ABOUT DATA HUT.

Advertised in:  PC Sources
                Computer Shopper

Reason for Warning: false advertising
                    being untruthful
                    poor customer service
                    unorganized personell

Note: The above mentioned magazines probably have no idea of the
shoddy quality of the merchandise sold by Data Hut. Therefore I DO NOT
hold the above magazines responsible in any way. Both are GREAT
publications and are respected.

In late November I had a Bar Mitzvah. As most of us know large gifts
are usually exchanged at the Bar Mitzvah. After that night I decided to
do a little shopping for my computer (Tandy 1000 HX). There in the
DataHut Ad was a 2400 bps internal modem and an internal 720k disk
drive kit for the HX too!

I immediatly called and ordered the mentioned objects.  The modem came
with what looks like a home built adapter cable for the HX that fit
right but worked about as good as painting your house and then burning
it down.  I tried their so called "TECH line" which just kept ringing
 -- by the time I got a chance to speak to a tech and get an RMA
number, my 90 day period was up. I could no longer get a refund (the
disk drive did not perform either). I had to take a credit. Again I
reordered the modem and again got the shoddy adapter and my modem --
nevertheless it still DID NOT WORK. I promptly returned the item
(after trying the Tech Line again with no luck) and requested a refund.
 -- No dice -- I had to take a credit.

The only thing these complete morons did not screw up on was when I
had them ORDER a phone routing switch (they did lie to me and tell me
they had ordered the box two weeks before they actually did) from
Damark International . They also told me that they had to use a
personal credit card because Damark would not take a credit card order
from them.  It was now early into 1992 -- I have recieved my calling
box and it is the only thing I got from them (through them) that I
actually enjoy the use of.  This was my first time ever mail ordering
anything and I was very disappointed. Since then I am STILL at 1200
baud but I did get the internal 720k from another company.

Steer clear of Data Hut!

Data Hut
#6 N. CT. St.
Owingsville, KY  40360
Fax- 606-674-3917
Other - Local - 606-674-3916
Other - Order - 1-800-487-3488


Thank you.

C. Burr

------------------------------

Subject: Sent-Paid Coin Calls
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 19 Sep 92 23:21:45 EDT (Sat)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


I wrote:

> Every telco pay phone in the US sends 1+ calls to AT&T, because
> they're the only ones set up to handle inter-LATA coin paid calls.

John Grout asks:

> What about the telcos which got permission to provide limited
> inter-LATA services?  For example, New Jersey Bell provides inter-LATA
> service from certain areas in North Jersey to New York City and from
> certain areas in South Jersey to Philadelphia.

Funny you should mention that.  I was at the Philadelphia airport the
other day and called home on a regular Bell of PA telco panel type
payphone using 0+ to make a calling card call.  The dialing sounded a
little strange -- listening carefully, it was clear that the phone was
buffering the digits I dialed and then outpulsing them when I was
done.  I presume that the reason was so that in case the call was it
could prefix their 10xxx in case the call was into the part of south
Jersey to which Bell of Pa. is allowed to carry inter-LATA traffic.
I've never seen a BOC payphone do COCOT-like digit munging, but a
little experimentation showed that the only calls that got fudged were
ones to the waiver area not dialed with a specific 10XXX.  Is it a
technical or legal limitation that a phone line can have only a single
1+ long distance carrier so the phone has to do this sort of nonsense?
And do they really have to reprogram every pay phone in Philadelphia
when NJ Bell adds a new prefix in Camden?  (Yes, I know that they can
probably do it remotely.)

I didn't try 1+ to see who asked me for money -- I presume Bell of PA
would send those calls to themselves since like any telco they're
already set up to handle intra-LATA sent-paid calls.

NJ Bell does the same thing going the other way -- the instruction
card clearly states that NJ Bell handles toll calls where authorized,
otherwise it's the normal LD carrier.  There's a map in the
Philadelphia phone book of the waiver areas on both sides of the river
and they're suprisingly large -- reaching all the way to Pemberton on
the NJ side (near Fort Dix) and covering most of the Philadelphia
suburbs on the PA side.


Regards,

John Levine, [e-mail], {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 16:22:35 cdt
Subject: Re: Recourse on Cordless Eavesdropping?
Organization: U of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering
From: [e-mail] (Carter Gregory)


In article <[e-mail]> Alan Millar <amillar@bolis.
SF-Bay.Org> writes:

> I have just learned that the security guard at our mobile home park
> has been using some sort of ten channel scanner to listen in on
> cordless telephone conversations.

> Does anyone know what recourse we have to deal with this?  Can anyone
> share any experiences or suggestions?  Thank you.

I have an EASA-PHONE which if you go out of range of the base and do a
channel change, it will scan for any available signal, and usually I
can pick up people having some conversation somewhere.

I thought each channel had its own security code?  Well, maybe its an
IS a problem.


Greg

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 17:36 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation


[e-mail] (Michael A. Covington) writes:

> Having your own TV antenna is now impossible in many places because of
> real estate covenants.  Ask any ham radio operator.

I did. Several of them. It was universally agreed among them that real
estate covenants and city ordinances CANNOT prohibit the construction
of antenna arrays for amateur radio service. The ham bands are
Federally regulated (as are all radio frequencies) AND are considered
to have importance concerning public service. So ...

If you want to put up an antenna, become a ham and put up your
multiband array. Do you think that any of the property police dweebs
will be able to identify a TV antenna hiding out with your 40 meter
beam?

And regarding this "lack of competition" nonsense, Kevin Mitchell
<[e-mail]> writes:

> If I want CNN and the Weather Channel, I have to deal with the one
> cable company that handles my town.

No, you are perfectly free to do what many have done and buy a TVRO
dish and have access to those and all the other "cable" channels. And
you will be dealing directly with the program service providers who
typically charge less than your cable company does.

TVRO too expensive? Then maybe cable is not such a bad deal after all.
But do not say there is no competition. Maybe the problem is that you
do not feel that you should have to pay for the things you enjoy.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 18:08 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: GTE Community Involvment


[e-mail] writes:

> They are active in northern California. We have people in helping out
> in the schools in the area as well as Red Cross among other community
> activities.

Oh really? I have lived here for about thirty-five years and have yet
to see it. But I will take your word for it. So tell me then, why does
GTE have no BUSINESS presence in northern California? If the company
can do all these good works for the community, why can it not provide
acceptable telephone service?

> On putting our money and effort towards better service, believe me we
> are. I know it does no good to try and get anything to Mr. Higdon
> since he feels GTE will never be any good because he has had a few
> problems in the past as have his friends.

No, I am sorry I do not believe you. The proof is in the product as it
were, which is sorely lacking. And do not try to dismiss my comments
and observations with that glib "because he has had a few problems"
male cow excrement. I am, and have been for over a quarter-century, a
telecommunications professional. I have made a living dealing with
telephone companies worldwide. My dealings and experience with the
telecommunications industry has been anything but casual.

So with that said, let me make something perfectly clear. Of the many
telcos I have done business with, GTE is the absolute worst and way
ahead of what might be considered second place (NYNEX, in case you
were wondering). EVERY SINGLE transaction has been deficient or
undesireable in some way. I think it is safe to say that anyone with
the proper credentials will agree with my stance on GTE. You may feel
(as I know the people at GTE do) that by attempting to discredit me
and/or my remarks that somehow the company will become acceptable to
customers.

> Also service is being restored in Hawaii.  Service to most of the
> damaged island has been restored and service to the rest will be
> shortly as will the link to the world.

Well, I should hope so. It has been quite a few days since the storm
past.

> The microwave was damaged, but I believe there is a fiber link in
> service or ready for service.

It will not be ready for some months. The microwave link is being
repaired with parts flown in from the mainland. Don't you listen to the
GTE newsline?

But this is straying from the issue. My complaint about GTE is not how
fast it fixes major outages (like whole islands) or even how much it
contributes to the community. The beef centers around how the company
does in providing day to day telephone service. On my scoresheet and
on many others' in the same position and occupation as myself, it
rates a big, fat "F". If the company would finally admit that it is
lacking and start doing significant things to change the situation, it
would have no greater supporter than myself.

But when all it does is whine about how everything is someone else's
fault, or that the customer is just a complainer; or even when it sits
back and does absolutely nothing, content to let apologists such as
yourself defend the indefensible, it deserves its reputation as a
third-class hack.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Kauai Communications Out
Organization: Teradyne Inc., Telecommunications Division
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 92 17:09:05 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: So who told us the telco there was GTE-owned? Is
> HawTel part of GTE?  PAT]

Yes, Hawaiian Telephone Company was bought by GTE in the late 60s.


John Rice        K9IJ    "Did I say that ?" I must have, but It was
                         MY opinion only, no one else's...Especially
                         Not my Employer's....
[e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 19 Sep 92 22:43:02 EDT (Sat)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


> Who said that things are "supposed" to work that way?  Here in
> Michigan, the telephone companies are REQUIRED to make you dial a "1"
> in front of any toll call.  I think you guys out in California are
> just used to it being the other way, ...

It's not just California.  Here in New Jersey, 1+ has never meant
toll.  For a long time, you never had to dial a 1+ at all, and it
ignored it if you did.  When the 201 area filled up and they had to go
to NXX, the dialing went to 1+ for ten digits.  From where I sit, all
calls within 609 are dialed with seven digits, whether they be local,
intra-LATA toll, or inter-LATA toll.

> I guess folks on the left coast must have money to burn, if the
> possibility of making inadvertent toll calls doesn't bother you, ...

Personally, I only dial calls when I want to communicate with someone,
don't particularly care if it's going to cost eight cents or not, and
find it really annoying to remember what's supposed to be 1+ and what
isn't.  At home in Boston, there are so many different billing plans
that the distinction between local and toll is meaningless.  I have
two phone lines at home with different classes of service and a call
that is free on one line can cost three cents/minute on the other,
even though the call is nominally "local."  And I do have to dial 1+
to call a few parts of the 617 area, for "toll" calls that don't cost
much more than "local" ones.  And due to crufty old switches, there
are a few towns where you have to dial 1+ for calls that are classed
as local (but may not be free.)  Fooey -- if I wanted a phone that
told me how much a call was going to cost, I'd buy one.


Regards,

John Levine, [e-mail], {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 20 Sep 92 17:11 GMT
From: Daniel K. Cheng <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: AT&T Mail's Phone Number


> [Moderator's Note: My point was, why can't 800-555-1212 come up with
> the number for AT&T Mail? That is the standard way to go about finding
> 800 numbers from directory assistance.  PAT]

Yes, you can certainly find the number of AT&T Mail with 800-555-1212.
But you just have to ask for the right department. There's no
department under AT&T named AT&T Mail, as AT&T Mail is a service
provided by AT&T Easylink Services.


Regards,

Daniel Cheng

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (PARK YUNJO)
Subject: Need Information on Telecommunications School
Organization: State University of New York at Albany
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 92 04:29:55 GMT


Hi everyone!

I am currently admitted from the U of Pitts and U of Colorado at
Boulder in the telecommunications program. I have questions if you can
help me:

1) Is the telecommunications program that being taught in school (U of
Pitts and U. of Colorado) really relevant to the work you are involved
in now?

2) How's the job prospects?

3) I am an undergraduate computer science major. Is it advisable to
pursue telecommunications in graduate school rather than studying
computer science for an MS?

I am looking forward to hear from experienced people like you.

Thanks in advance.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Michael A. Covington)
Subject: What Is This Instrument?
Organization: University of Georgia, Athens
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1992 18:34:40 GMT


What is a "Sierra 860A Phase Jitter Test Set"?  I picked one up at a
hamfest and am wondering what it's used for.  It is apparently an
audio oscillator plus some kind of analysis of the signal (sent
through an amplifier, or cable, or something).

Assuming I turn out not to have a use for it, I would sell it for any
offer substantially higher than the value of the parts and enclosure.
It appears to be in working order.

Many thanks to anyone who can assist.


Michael Covington - Artificial Intelligence Programs - U of Georgia - USA
Unless otherwise noted, these are private opinions, not official statements.

------------------------------

Subject: More LATA Nuttiness
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 92 14:36:19 EDT
From: John R. Levine <[e-mail]>


While perusing a local map, I found that the Ocean County NJ, where I
am currently camped out at my beach house, is in three different
LATAs: the northern half is in the North Jersey (201/908) LATA, the
southern half is in the Atlantic Ccity LATA (a little bit of 609) but
New Egypt a/k/a Plumstead Township, is in the Camden/Trenton LATA (the
rest of 609.)  Between New Egypt and anywhere else in the county it is
a fairly pricey inter-LATA toll call, though I expect they can call
adjacent points in Monmouth or Burlington counties for free.

Are there any other counties so divided?

While we're looking at pointless LATA statistics, the Atlantic City
LATA appears to be the smallest one in the country based on the number
of prefixes, of which it only has 64, and probably number of
subscribers.  Are there any other smaller ones?  It may also be the
smallest in land area, since it takes only an hour on the Parkway to
drive from Barnegat at the north end to Cape May at the south end.


Regards,

John Levine, comp.compilers moderator
[e-mail] or {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl

------------------------------

From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Another Look At Cliff Stoll's Book
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1992 14:00:00 CDT


If you are not a regular subscriber to Computer Underground Digest you
may wish to look at the current issue which is devoted entirely to
articles discussing Cliff Stoll's book of a couple years ago detailing
his efforts to identify the German hacker who was breaking into
various compuiter systems in the USA. The articles are good and tempt
me to re-read his fascinating story. Computer Underground Digest had
its origins here in TELECOM Digest a few years ago, and I am pleased
at how well it has developed and prospered on its own merits.  For
information about Computer Underground Digest and to start your own
subscription, contact the Moderators:

                   [e-mail].


Patrick Townson

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #723
******************************










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To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #724

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 21 Sep 92 00:35:27 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 724

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Antenna Regulation (was U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation) (Paul Schleck)
    Omega IV Phone System (James VanHouten)
    List of Satellites Wanted (Dan Odom)
    1+ Information (was USA to Ten Digits) (Bill Hofmann)
    Replacement Telephone Wiring Into Multi-Family Buildings (Ed Gilbert)
    Re: Vermont Payphones (NJB Now) (Douglas Scott Reuben)
    Re: Atlantic City LATA (Smallest) (Douglas Scott Reuben)
    Re: New "Call Completion" from Cinci Bell (Andrew M. Dunn)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Michael A. Covington)
    Funny 800 Number Spelling (Tony Harminc)
    Re: Another Look at Cliff Stoll's Book -- Correction! (Chip Rosenthal)
    Coin Phone Numbers and Collections in the Past (TELECOM Moderator)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Paul W Schleck KD3FU)
Subject: Antenna Regulation (was Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation)
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1992 23:16:29 GMT


[e-mail] (John Higdon) writes:

> [e-mail] (Michael A. Covington) writes:

>> Having your own TV antenna is now impossible in many places because of
>> real estate covenants.  Ask any ham radio operator.

> I did. Several of them. It was universally agreed among them that real
> estate covenants and city ordinances CANNOT prohibit the construction
> of antenna arrays for amateur radio service. The ham bands are
> Federally regulated (as are all radio frequencies) AND are considered
> to have importance concerning public service. So ...

That's not completely true.  FCC PRB-1 (Private Radio Bureau) provides
licensed amateurs with LIMITED federal pre-emption of state and local
law (zoning regulations, safety rules, etc.).  However, as you might
guess, sometimes city councils say, "so, sue us!" requiring a lot of
time, money, and motivation to win your case in court.  The FCC also
hasn't explicitly stated what is acceptable tower height and offset
from your property, so pre-emptive relief will vary greatly from case
to case.

Covenants attached to deeds are considered private contracts (even
though they are de-facto laws in some areas) and are not covered by
PRB-1.  It's a maddening situation for many hams.  The courts are not
prepared to overturn these private agreements (a BIG DEAL, legally)
like covenenants of days past which banned sales to blacks and Jews
because, although amateur radio is indeed very worthwhile, the
practice of it is not a constitutional right.


Paul W. Schleck, KD3FU  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (James VanHouten)
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1992 21:50:44 -0500
Subject: Omega IV Phone System


 * Forwarded from "CFORSALE"

Still looking for a vendor of this phone system, made by Iwatsu.

Need programming manual, and expandability options, and voice mail
capability.

Please call, write or fax to:

        Fred Chambers
        c/o Stow-Glen Retirement Village
        4285 Kent Rd.
        Stow, Ohio 44224
        [phone]
        [phone] FAX


Regards,

Fred Chambers
Internet:  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Dan Odom)
Subject: List of Satellites Wanted
Date: 20 Sep 1992 18:41:46 -0500
Organization: Kansas State University


   Is there any list of all commercial and amateur communications
satellites?  Ideally, such a list would include name, model, owner,
location, etc, etc.


Please respond via email.


Dan Odom   Peon   Kansas State University    [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Bill Hofmann)
Subject: 1+ Information (was USA to Ten Digits)
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1992 18:16:55 GMT


OK, I'm a newcomer to this group, and to most of the jargon.  But I
have a question.  I'm working on a communications product which needs
to know, based on where the user is, how a number should be dialed.
What this means, at least in the US, is that I need a fairly complete
list of "dial 1 + seven digits when you're here dialing there,
otherwise dial seven digits, otherwise dial 1 + AC + seven digits"
etc, kind of rules.

The question is, where does one get this information in a complete
form, and, with that one answered, how often does it change.  Post or
mail, I'll summarize if desired.


Thanks!

Bill Hofmann

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1992 15:38-0400
From: Ed Gilbert <[e-mail]>
Subject: Replacement Telephone Wiring Into Multi-Family Buildings


I live in a condo complex in Watertown Massachusetts (a near suburb of
Boston). We have ten buildings with 11 apartments in each building.

New England Telephone (NYNEX) is running new wires along the streets
and into the buildings. I got some information indirectly, (from the
NET project manager through the telecomm non-literate complex manager
to whom I gave scripted questions.) Two things trouble me:

- We will not be given individual demarcation blocks with modular
jacks, the reasoning being that those are only for single-family
dwellings. My concern is that without demarcation blocks, phone
troubles can more easily be blamed on subscribers. Without the blocks,
I could maybe stumble around the patch blocks and connect my phone,
but most of our residents couldn't.

- The panels supplied by NET are in unrestricted areas of the
buildings, (the laundry rooms) but they cannot be locked. The
reasoning is that if most residents of the buildings wanted to steal
dial tone, they wouldn't be knowledgeable enough. I'm not concerned
about most residents, but about the single one who may be
knowledgeable, and happens to be dishonest. (Not me, of course!)

My expectations are obvious from the above descriptions, but am I
being reasonable? If I am being reasonable, how might I pursue this?

I realize that these are somewhat contradictory, in that demarc blocks
in locked cabinets are useless to subscribers, while having them in
unlocked cabinets would make it that much easier to steal services.


Ed Gilbert   Standard disclaimer, I suppose
[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 20-SEP-1992 16:50:17.14
From: Douglas Scott Reuben <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Vermont Payphones (NJB now)


[e-mail] (John R. Grout), on 19 Sep 92, notes:

> I'm sure that NJB can handle coin-paid calls (references were made to
> payphones in their advertising of their access code, 10NJB) ... but I
> don't know under what circumstances (if ever) their inter-LATA service
> is primary ... but it would make sense to route calls from one's own
> payphones over one's own inter-LATA service, wouldn't it?

Payphones in Newark Airport (NJ) and other high-volume areas where
many Calling Card calls are placed to NY will (as noted before)
capture the digits, check to see if New Jersey Bell can handle the
call, and if so, dial the call over NJBs calling card system. You can
of course use 10288 to override this and force the call over AT&T,
which is helpful if you are an ROA Calling Card Option customer. 1+
calls are also handled by NJB, and the rates are somewhat lower for 1+
calls as well.

NYTel does not seem to do this (although I haven't ever been to the
Port Authority Bus Terminal since this started, so I'm not sure).
Additionally, you can NOT dial 10NYT+0-201-xxx-xxxx from New York.
Thus, even though you can call 10NYT+1-201-314-xxxx and have the call
billed via NYTel, you can not dial 10NYT+0-201-314-xxxx to use your
calling card, as the call is generally rejected. If you are using
NYTel's (pathetic!) Calling Card system, and try to make a sequence
call to NJ, your call will be blocked, but a customer using NJB's
Calling Card system can generally make calls both within the LATA in
New Jersey as well as to the New York "waiver" areas.


Doug    [e-mail]  //  [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 20-SEP-1992 16:52:28.33
From: Douglas Scott Reuben <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Atlantic City LATA (Smallest)


John R. Levine <[e-mail]>, on Sun, 20 Sep 92, noted:

> While we're looking at pointless LATA statistics, the Atlantic City
> LATA appears to be the smallest one in the country based on the number
> of prefixes, of which it only has 64, and probably number of
> subscribers.  Are there any other smaller ones?  It may also be the
> smallest in land area, since it takes only an hour on the Parkway to
> drive from Barnegat at the north end to Cape May at the south end.

I haven't checked the "LATA List" which was posted here a while back,
but I think Fisher's Island, NY is smaller, assuming it is a LATA.

All calls to and from Fisher's Island (516-788) are handled by an IXC.
The two nearest BOCs, NYTel and SNET (again, not a "true" BOC) will
not handle any sort of traffic to and from the Island. (NYTel used to,
AT&T or whatever IXC does now).

Anyhone know more about this? Is the Island indeed a very small LATA?


Doug    [e-mail]  //  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Andrew M. Dunn)
Subject: Re: New "Call Completion" from Cinci Bell
Organization: A. Dunn Systems Corporation, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 92 14:47:41 GMT


> In TELECOM Digest V12 No. 696 (item 9) Alec Isaacson <AI4CPHYW@miamiu.
> acs.muohio.edu> writes:

>> I was listening to the radio last night and I heard a commercial from
>> Cincinnati Bell offering a service called "Call Completion".  The
>> commercial went on to say that if you call 555-1212 (rather than 411)
>> for directory assistance you can hit a touch tone 1 after the number
>> is looked up and be connected to that number.  (Then it went on to
>> rave about how you will never need to fumble for pen and paper again :)

Of course not.  If you used pen and paper you'd never use their
service again, and they wouldn't get their nice juicy $0.35 any more.


Andy Dunn ([e-mail])  ({uunet...}!xenitec!mongrel!amdunn)

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Michael A. Covington)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Organization: University of Georgia, Athens
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1992 02:23:54 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> John Higdon <john@zygot.
ati.com> writes:

> [e-mail] (Michael A. Covington) writes:

>> Having your own TV antenna is now impossible in many places because of
>> real estate covenants.  Ask any ham radio operator.

> I did. Several of them. It was universally agreed among them that real
> estate covenants and city ordinances CANNOT prohibit the construction
> of antenna arrays for amateur radio service. The ham bands are

Not quite.  The FCC, in PRB-1, forbade _local governments_ from
banning ham antennas.  But covenants are (supposedly) _voluntary
contracts_ and the FCC is not presently empowered to overturn them.
This question comes up repeatedly in rec.radio.amateur.policy.


Michael Covington - Artificial Intelligence Programs - U of Georgia - USA
Unless otherwise noted, these are private opinions, not official statements.


[Moderator's Note: But even with the 'voluntary' nature of covenants,
there are still some things we cannot 'voluntarily' agree to do. We
cannot agree among ourselves to exclude blacks or Jews as an earlier
message noted. I think courts will consider public policy in deciding
which 'voluntary' agreements can be upheld. But as the earlier message
pointed out, ham radio operators are not a legally protected category,
however public policy may be that ham radio operators provide valuable
services and should be permitted to have antennas as needed. I think
most of these things get settled case by case in court don't they?  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 21 Sep 92 00:41:00 EDT
From: Tony Harminc <[e-mail]>
Subject: Funny 800 Number Spelling


Bell Canada advertises (800) 668-BELL as the general service number
for things like Call Management Services (CMS aka Caller*ID), and
similar services.  In light of the coming long distance competition,
perhaps they should point out that it can also be dialed as (800)
NOT-BELL.


Tony Harminc

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Chip Rosenthal)
Subject: Re: Another Look At Cliff Stoll's Book - Correction!
Organization: Unicom Systems Development, Austin, TX
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1992 04:32:59 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> TELECOM Moderator
<[e-mail]> writes:

> If you are not a regular subscriber to Computer Underground Digest you
> may wish to look at the current issue which is devoted entirely to
> articles discussing Cliff Stoll's book [...]

This issue -- and all other issues of the CuD -- may be found in the
Usenet comp.society.cu-digest newsgroup.

> For information about Computer Underground Digest and to start your own
> subscription, contact the Moderators:

Please don't if you can obtain the CuD through one of its many
distribution mechanisms.  (Besides, I think you published the personal
email address of the editors and not the CuD address.)

The following information from the CuD masthead provides full details
on availability:

| Cu-Digest is a weekly electronic journal/newsletter. Subscriptions are
| available at no cost from [e-mail]. The editors may be
| contacted by voice (815-753-6430), fax [phone]) or U.S. mail at:
| Jim Thomas, Department of Sociology, NIU, DeKalb, IL 60115.
|
| Issues of CuD can also be found in the Usenet comp.society.cu-digest
| news group; on CompuServe in DL0 and DL4 of the IBMBBS SIG, DL1 of
| LAWSIG, and DL0 and DL12 of TELECOM; on Genie in the PF*NPC RT
| libraries; from America Online in the PC Telecom forum under
| "computing newsletters;" on the PC-EXEC BBS at [phone]; and by
| anonymous ftp from ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4) and ftp.ee.mu.oz.au
| For bitnet users, back issues may be obtained from the mail server at
| [e-mail]
| European distributor: ComNet in Luxembourg BBS (++352) 466893.

                         -----------

Chip Rosenthal  512-482-8260
Unicom Systems Development
<[e-mail]>


[Moderator's Note: Please note I earlier gave the address:
   [e-mail]
         ^

It is preferred that we use instead: tk0jut2.mvs.cso.niu.edu, as per
the note from Chip.                        ^

And if you can access Usenet, then the newsgroup may be a better way
to read CUD.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Coin Phone Numbers and Collections in the Past
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1992  00:00:00 GMT


[Moderator's Note: Reprinted below are excerpts from a thread which
first appeared in TELECOM Digest in January, 1988 under the title,
"Enterprise Numbers and Other Funny Phone Numbers". I thought you
might enjoy seeing it again.   PAT]


 Date: 7 Jan 88 22:39:45 GMT
 From: decvax!ima![e-mail]  (John R. Levine)
 Organization: Not enough to make any difference
 Subject: Re: Enterprise Numbers and other funny phone numbers

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:

> OTHER MORE OR LESS STANDARDIZED PHONE NUMBERS IN THE 1930'S - 1950'S:
> ...
> Coin phones always began with a 9, as in 9xxx. This was universally
> recognized ...

Well, not quite universally. My phone number is -9650 and as far as I
can tell hasn't been changed since the house got dial service, other
than changing the prefix from UNIversity to the equivalent 864. (I'm
not that old, but the number came with the house.) I note that -9649
is indeed a payphone in a nearby bar. -9950 used to be the local
business office, causing a certain number of strange calls.

My understanding is that they put special relays on pay phone lines
that bounced when they connected, making a distinctive ticky-ticky
sound that the operator could recognize.

For that matter, when you make a toll call from a payphone, how does
the long distance company know that it's a payphone? Special trunks?
Special bits in ANI messages? Only AT&T does anything interesting with
direct dialed calls from payphones, but the other LD companies at
least know to block them.

John Levine, ima!johnl

           ------------------------------

 Date: 8 Jan 88 05:32:22 GMT
 From: ptsfa![e-mail]  (R. Perlman)
 Organization: Pacific Bell Marketing
 Subject: Re: Enterprise Numbers and other funny phone numbers


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John R. Levine) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:
>> OTHER MORE OR LESS STANDARDIZED PHONE NUMBERS IN THE 1930'S - 1950'S:
>> ...
>> Coin phones always began with a 9, as in 9xxx. This was universally
>> recognized ...

> Well, not quite universally. My phone number is -9650 and as far as
> I can tell hasn't been changed since the house got dial service, other
> than changing the prefix from UNIversity to the equivalent 864.

Actually you are both right!  In step-by-step offices the 4 and 9
levels were ofter tied together when all line thousands groups were'nt
needed.  A non-coin would be assigned the number -4xxx and a coin
-9xxx, in fact it didn't matter whether you dialed a 4 or nine, you
get the same number.

BTW, Operators have listings by area code showing all the NNXs
(actualy NXXs) that have coin stations.  Usually only 1 code per CO
has coin lines.  If a number (for 3rd number or collect calling) is a
-9xxx & is in a coin NNX then the Operator checks with Rate & Route
for a "coin check" to see if the number is indeed a coin box.


Richard Perlman

            ------------------------------

 Date: 8 Jan 88 16:59:14 GMT
 From: codas!ablnc![e-mail]  (Robert Maxwell)
 Organization: AT&T, Maitland, Florida
 Subject: Re: Enterprise Numbers and other funny phone numbers


>> Coin phones always began with a 9, as in 9xxx. This was universally
>> recognized ...
> Well, not quite universally.

Back in the days before the TSPS operator positions, the operators had
an indexed list at their positions that they used for identifying area
codes that listed almost every city or exchange in the USA.  One of
items also listed in this index was the pay phone number series in any
exchange that used a special group of numbers. It has been a few years
since I last saw one, but I do remember the numbers for pay phones
could be anything from an exchange + 1 digit (ie: 321-9) to a group of
numbers (ie: 321-7800 to 321-8299). As I remember the instructions
with the list, this was a group to be checked for possible pay phone,
not necessarily an absolute list.

I don't consider myself very old, but I can remember when the phones
were so automatic, you didn't have to turn a dial or push buttons, you
would just speak the number you wanted into the mouthpiece and the
connection would be made. :-)

> For that matter, when you make a toll call from a payphone, how does the long
> distance company know that it's a payphone? Special trunks? Special bits in
> ANI messages? Only AT&T does anything interesting with direct dialed calls
> from payphones, but the other LD companies at least know to block them.

With ESS offices, the programming takes care of handling special needs
for a given line. It is reasonably simple to prevent charging LD calls
to a given line, no matter which company you use for LD. The same
basic technique that gives you 1+ dialing to your LD company can
control how the calls are accepted from a pay phone.



Bob Maxwell    Maitland, FL

            ------------------------------

 Date: 12 Jan 88 06:43:03 GMT
 From: portal!cup.portal.com![e-mail]
 Organization: The Portal System (TM)
 Subject: Re: Enterprise Numbers and other funny phone numbers


Perlman points out a method of detecting coin service which is
correct.  If in fact the receiving number is coin; and if the caller
insists on making the call collect, and provided some fool on the
receiving end agrees to accept the collect call then he has to deposit
the money as if he were making the call. The only problem is, the
distant operator cannot supervise the collection properly. The
operator tells called party to hang up and wait a minute ... she calls
inward in the city in particular, and asks for assistance from a local
operator <in that town> in manipulating the coin collection table;
assistance in dumping the coins in the box, collecting for overtime,
etc. The local operator calls the coin box, gets the money and
connects the parties.

Does anyone on here remember when coin phones had <three slots> on the
top for nickles, dimes and quarters AND had no trap door on the coin
return AND had regular -- not armored -- cable to the handset?

As little kids we rarely paid for calls. We either applied ground to
the line through a tiny pin hole in the handset cord (which we put
there, of course) or we used a coat hanger bent in a funny way which
we stuck up the coin return. We would deposit the money which fell on
the table inside. The process was the operator would apply the tip and
ring one way to throw the table and toss the money in the box or would
apply it in reverse to throw the table in the direction of the return
slot, to give the money back if there was no answer, etc.

To make long distance calls, we would use the same quarter(s) over and
over. The operator would ask for two dollars -- in would go two or
three quarters (clung clung clung) ... "just a minute operator, I am
looking for more change! ..." and that coat hanger would go up the
return slot and trip the table, sending our quarters down the chute
and back to us ... "Ok operator, here is the rest of the money ..."
and if we were fast enough, or the operator was not suspicious, the
coat hanger could be used to retrieve the three quarters <a second
time>. Some operators immediatly collected when there was an answer,
especially if they suspected hanky panky on the other end ... some
would not wait for the full collection, but grab the coins as they
came in, hitting that ring key over and over knowing the brat-child on
the other end of the line had been thwarted in the process ...

Some of the older exchanges in downtown Chicago years ago had to have
the assistance of a special "trunk operator" to return the money if a
call was not complete. Your operator would give up on completing the
call and tell you to hold on ... after a few seconds and a click,
someone would answer "Wabash trunking" ... and your operator would say
something like "return on circuit 5096"... and the phone would clatter
and your coins would fall back out to you. And there was also
(downtown) the Franklin Coin Central Office which handled nothing but
pay phones in the downtown area.

                           ---------------

[Moderator's Note: And that is something we talked about four and a
half years ago in this Digest.  Have a nice week ahead.   PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #724
******************************










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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 20:55:34 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #725

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 22 Sep 92 20:55:37 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 725

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Bargain COCOT - Flat Rate LD! (Frank Prindle)
    CFP: IEEE Special Issue on Extending Telecom Systems  (Nancy Griffeth)
    V&H Report 10/92 (David Esan)
    Stop the Presses, Call the Police! (Risks Digest via David Miller)
    Static-y Noise on Local Loop (Peter Capek)
    Telephone System For a Cooperative Residential Development (Steve Gaarder)
    What Causes This Intercept? (Steven S. Brack)
    AT&T Announces Encryption Security Device (Willis H. Ware)
    LD Transmission Quality Comparison (John R. Ruckstuhl, Jr.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Frank Prindle)
Subject: Bargain COCOT - Flat Rate LD!
Organization: Extended Bulletin Board Service
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 13:26:10 GMT


I just happened upon a COCOT in a restaurant the other night which,
for any 1+ LD call dialed (at least PA-NJ and PA-CA) would announce
"please deposit 45 cents for nine minutes".  The phone was very well
made and bore a prominent AT&T etched into its chrome front panel -
lower right; also it did not exhibit the "second dial tone" bug common
among el-cheapo COCOTs.  In short, the phone was no dud.  How they
make a profit on $.45 calls is beyond me (perhaps they didn't have to
 -- after all, dinner for two was over $80), but it's certainly
refreshing to see a COCOT that isn't out to rip you off. Incidentally,
no information on who the 0+ carrier and/or AOS was appeared on the
phone (thought that was required), nor did I have time to explore
this.


Frank Prindle   [e-mail]

 The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
   North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
      Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
         internet:  bbs.oit.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Nancy Griffeth)
Organization: Morristown Research and Engineering
Subject: CFP: IEEE Special Issue on Extending Telecom Systems
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 14:32:50 GMT


       Call for Papers for Special Issue of IEEE Computer

Extending the functionality of telecommunications systems will be the
theme of the August 1993 issue of IEEE Computer.  Manuscripts
surveying or reporting original research, design and development, and
applications are sought immediately in:

 . Classification of the kinds of problems raised by extending the
functionality of telecommunications systems;

 . Modelling, reasoning, and testing techniques for detecting feature
interactions between different software components of a
telecommunications system;

 . Techniques for dynamic resolution of conflicts arising because of
interactions between users or software components of a
telecommunications system;

 . Software platforms and architectures for preventing or resolving
interactions between different software components of a
telecommunications system;

 . Tools and methodologies for promoting software compatibility and
extensibility.

 . Environments and automated tools for related problems in other
software systems.

 . Solution techniques used for actual telecommunication systems.

A 300-word abstract should be submitted by October 1, 1992.  Fourteen
copies of each full manuscript must be submitted by November 15, 1992.
Notification of decisions is set for March 1, 1993, and the final
version of each manuscript is due April 15, 1993.

Direct submissions and questions to Nancy D. Griffeth, Bellcore MRE
2L-237, 445 South Street, Morristown NJ 07962-1910, phone
[phone], e-mail [e-mail], or to Yow-Jian Lin,
Bellcore 2Q-277, 445 South Street, Morristown NJ 07962-1910, phone
[phone], e-mail [e-mail].

Instructions for submitting manuscripts: Manuscripts should be no more
than 32 type-written, double-spaced, single-sided pages including all
text, figures, and references.  Papers must not have been previously
published or currently submitted for publication elsewhere.  Each of
the 14 copies submitted should have a title page that includes the
title of the paper, the full name, affiliation, address, e-mail
address, and telephone number of all authors, a 300-word abstract, and
a list of keywords.  The final manuscript should be approximately
8,000 words in length and contain no more than 12 references.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (David Esan)
Subject: V&H Report 10/92
Date: 22 Sep 92 13:06:11 GMT
Organization: Moscom Corp., Pittsford NY


Once a quarter I receive the BellCore V&H tape.  Using this
information I can total the number of exchanges in each area code.
The twenty most populous area codes are listed below.  After the
written text of this article I have included the count for each of the
area codes, one sorted by NPA, the other sorted (in reverse) of the
number of exchanges in a given NPA.

The tape is dated 15 October 1992.  I am not responsible for the
information supplied in this tape.

I have not included the following in my counts of exchanges:

  - NXX's that are not dialable by a standard user (ie nxx's that begin
    with a 1 or 0).

  - Mexican exchanges in the 52? series of area codes.  I've got them,
    you can dial them with 011, but they're not really NPAs.

  - Exchanges that are non-dialable in the 88? series of area codes.  I've
    got those also, but you can't dial them, so I'm not including them.

This tape includes information for the new NPA's 909 and 210.  905 in
Toronto, and 810 in Detroit have not appeared yet.

The fields are:
                        ------------ rank last in January, 1992
          213: 736 (1, 7)
  area code --^^^  ^^^     ^------- number of new exchanges
                    |-------------- total number of exchanges

301: 744 (1, 28)    416: 674 (8, 19)    206: 635 (14, 35)   703: 603 (16, 27)
404: 737 (4, 29)    313: 668 (10, 21)   602: 632 (11, 18)   501: 590 (??, ??)
512: 701 (6, 31)    919: 660 (9, 13)    713: 617 (17, 45)   503: 571 (??, ??)
212: 697 (5, 12)    714: 654 (13, 49)   708: 609 (18, 38)   216: 571 (20, 17)
205: 676 (7, 19)    215: 649 (12, 37)   403: 604 (15, 7)    604: 569 (19, 5)

Of the top 20 we know:

1. 301 - split in progress.  Number should be reduced by split.
2. 404 - split is complete.  Number should be reduced in next tape.
3. 512 - split in progress.  Number should be reduced by split.
4. 212 - split in progress.  Number should be reduced by split, and the
     movement of the Bronx to 718.
6. 416 - split in progress.  Number should be reduced by split.
7. 313 - split in progress.  Number should be reduced by split.
9. 714 - split in progress.  Number should be reduced by split.

Given all of that,  the NPA that is largest and is not splitting nor has
plans (at this time) to split, is 205 in Alabama.

The three smallest NPA's are:

906: 116 - Michigan's Upper Peninsula
807: 105 - Westen Ontario (Just north of the UP)
917:  64 - The new NYC NPA

A new statistic that I have added to this report is percentage growth.
I have taken the difference between the number of exchanges in January
and October, and divided by the number in January and multiplied by
100.  In math notation that would be:

      ((October # - January #)/January #)*100

The top ten are:

706: 57.6%  (Growth of new Atlanta NPA)
718: 20.4%  (Added the Bronx from 212)
310: 20.1%  (Expected growth after 213 split)
510: 11.7%  (Expected growth after 415 split)
302: 10.5%  (Delaware is among the smallest NPAs.)
708:  9.9%  (Chicago suburbs, urban flight?)
714:  9.3%  (Orange County.  High growth area)
818:  8.9%  (Los Angeles.  High growth area)
214:  8.9%  (Dallas.  High growth area)
713:  7.6%  (Houston.  Must finally be growing again)


All the NPAs and the number of nxx's in each are listed below:

301: 744    803: 549    913: 439    502: 358    918: 320    518: 265
404: 737    314: 543    201: 432    406: 358    702: 316    315: 263
512: 701    214: 538    515: 428    701: 357    915: 315    709: 261
212: 697    809: 537    614: 425    605: 356    819: 312    309: 261
205: 676    813: 526    601: 415    914: 354    815: 307    909: 258
416: 674    619: 526    407: 415    519: 354    805: 298    608: 253
313: 668    904: 523    402: 415    801: 351    409: 298    509: 250
919: 660    817: 518    907: 412    704: 350    613: 295    603: 241
714: 654    203: 508    415: 408    204: 350    218: 294    901: 227
215: 649    305: 503    410: 408    504: 349    208: 294    308: 207
206: 635    804: 498    818: 403    207: 347    609: 293    417: 203
602: 632    718: 495    617: 402    908: 344    706: 290    707: 192
713: 617    514: 494    716: 397    419: 343    812: 285    802: 181
708: 609    717: 491    616: 393    510: 342    712: 285    506: 178
403: 604    414: 490    213: 390    304: 342    903: 276    607: 173
703: 603    513: 469    508: 389    912: 340    202: 276    719: 169
501: 590    312: 469    210: 386    318: 339    606: 274    307: 165
503: 571    816: 466    516: 385    319: 338    507: 273    401: 139
216: 571    310: 459    316: 374    618: 334    705: 272    413: 133
604: 569    317: 456    219: 368    517: 331    808: 270    302: 126
405: 562    306: 450    217: 368    408: 331    902: 269    906: 116
615: 555    916: 449    418: 366    505: 325    814: 268    807: 105
612: 554    412: 441    209: 361    715: 323    806: 266    917:  64
303: 552


David Esan      [e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: Stop the Presses, Call the Police!
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 21:29:30 -0500
From: [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: David Miller passed along the following to us which
first appeared in RISKS.  PAT]

 From: RISKS Forum <[e-mail]>
 Date: Wed, 16 Sep 92 17:52:51 PDT
 Subject: RISKS DIGEST 13.80

 Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 07:53:35 GMT
 From: [e-mail]
 Subject: Stop the presses, call the police!

[From the Dutch national paper "De Volkskrant", September 3, 1992:]

On Saturday morning, August 29, the presses at the local newspaper "De
Gelderlander" went down, causing delivery to be delayed. Many
subscribers called the newspaper at its phone number 650611.  The
telephone exchange at the newspaper got jammed. One of the
consequences was, that when people tried to call the newspaper, often
only the last four digits, 0611, came through.

Now it happens that 0611 is the national emergency number in the
Netherlands. So the police was swamped with calls from people,
informing about the delivery of their newspaper, jamming the emergency
number. In a reaction, the PTT said that they would be careful with
giving numbers ending in 0611 to large companies.

Frans Heeman, CWI dept. of Interactive Systems, Kruislaan 413, 1098 SJ
Amsterdam  P.O. Box 4079, 1009 AB Amsterdam   [e-mail]
phone: [phone]


Best regards,
David M Miller     Internet:    [e-mail]
PO Box 695         CompuServe:  100032,341
Hornsby NSW 2077   Australia

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 01:30:44 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Static-y Noise on Local Loop


A few months ago, someone posted here a list of things which might
cause static either on the local loop, or on in-house wiring.  I think
one of the comments involved use of the wrong kind of wire.  I'd
appreciate a repeat posting, or a private note to me giving this
information.  Thanks.


Peter Capek


[Moderator's Note: Will someone please grep the back issues and send
this along to Mr. Capek please?  Thanks.   PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 02:16:24 -0400
From: anarres![e-mail]
Subject: Telephone System For a Cooperative Residential Development


I am involved with a cooperative housing development project here in
Ithaca and, of course, have been starting to think about the telecom
possiblities involved.  The project is to build five or six co-housing
communities on a large parcel of land.  This is not the place to
discuss the details of what a co-housing community is (email me if you
want to know); for this purpose, it suffices to say that it involves a
cluster of 20 to 30 townhouses and a "common house."

Now we could just put in all the necessary wiring so that each house
could have direct lines from the local telco (NY Tel), but I am
wondering if there might be some advantages, financial or otherwise,
in setting up our own pbx system or systems.  I've heard of this being
done in apartment buildings, usually as a way for the owner to make a
profit (which is NOT something we are interested in).  Some basic
requirements:

1.  A line on such a system needs to be no more expensive than one
obtained directly from the telco.  Whatever we do, we must maintain
getting a telco line or lines as an option for everyone.

2.  Full equal access to all LD carriers.

3.  Direct inward dialing.

We would clearly need a suitable switch or switches (if centralized,
we're talking several hundred lines) and a number of DID and outgoing
trunks.  Would we be better off with one switch for the whole village
or one for each neighborhood? Does anyone have a feel for how many
trunks we might need (in terms of the number of stations)? Since this
is a residential setup, can we get residential rates or are all such
trunks automatically classed as businesses? What happens if a few of
the stations are in businesses? Also, what about billing -- is there
software and such available for this sort of system, or would we have
to concoct our own? And then there's the legal angle - are we
competing with the telco and/or reselling dialtone? Does it make a
difference if each neighborhood, owned cooperatively by the residents,
has its own system?  I'm interested to hear any comments or ideas.
This should be a fun subject!


Steve Gaarder      [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 22 Sep 1992 16:36:53 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail] (Steven S. Brack)
Subject: What Causes This Intercept?


    I dialed a number in 419-537, the university centrex here, and
got this intercept:

    "The number you have dialed, <number>, has been temporarily
disconnected.  Please try your call again later."

    Any ideas?


[Moderator's Note: Usually, if the phrase 'at the customer's request'
is heard before 'the number you have dialed' or following the word
'disconnected' then the temporary disconnection means they have put
the phone on suspension while out of town on vacation or similar. This
used to be a common arrangement but is not done as often these days.
If the phrase 'at the customer's request' is missing then what you are
usually looking at is a credit disconnect due to an unpaid bill. The
strange part in this case is you mention it being part of the
university centrex system. Are you sure the university is the only
customer on that exchange? If so, its hard to believe their bill is
not paid, so it may be misprogrammed.   PAT]

------------------------------

Subject: AT&T Announces Encryption Security Device
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 16:05:21 PDT
From: Willis H. Ware <[e-mail]>


With a press release dated Sept 10, AT&T announced its "bump in the
cord" security device for ordinary phones.  The Model 3600 is slightly
larger than a hand-held calculator, requires a 115V power connection,
and connects between the handset and the phone base.  It uses a
proprietary analog-digital voice sampling and prediction algorithm
[said to provide superior voice quality and probably a linear
prediction approach] and also an "advanced encryption alogrithm" to
protect the digital stream.  It was to be shown publicly first at the
American Society for Industrial Security seminar in San Antonio.  It
is portable and can be used with any analog or digital phone.  Current
price is $1195 per desk set -- takes two to talk but at $2400 per
connection, it's still inexpensive if one really needs encrypted
voice.

The press kit is very sparse on technical information.  It does not
say how key is handled, whether the encryption algorithm is
proprietary or a variation on DES, etc.  Nor does it say whether it is
exportable and usable overseas.  Another item in the press kit
references a line of key generators for stream encryption to two
megabits per second and notes that it was developed by the Gretag Data
Systems of Regensdorf, Switzerland.  Perhaps the encryption algorithm
originated in the same place; and if so, it is likely to be
proprietary and not related to DES.

If all the algorithms are indeed proprietary, then AT&T has a lock on
the market for the moment unless it licenses other vendors.  Given
where the device plugs into the phone set, it would appear not
workable for data transmission, although there might be a data port on
the device itself.

There is one technical issue that is not addressed and some phone
users are going to get surprised.  An encrypted digital data stream is
continuous; it never has gaps even though the underlying conversation
does.  Thus the gaps in speech which multiplexors exploit to put more
than one conversation on a circuit are going to be upset and possibly
not function properly.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (John R Ruckstuhl Jr)
Subject: LD Transmission Quality Comparison
Organization: EE Dept at UF
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 23:26:37 GMT


Will you please comment?

Anecdote 1: A few years ago I had trouble communicating from Colorado
Springs to a BBS in Texas.  I'd connect at 1200 bps and be online for
less than a minute, enough to get the first page or so of login
banner, then be mysteriously cut off.  After many such attempts, I
overrode the default carrier MCI and dialed via AT&T.  Viola!
Success!  I tried MCI and AT&T a few more times to convince myself
that MCI was indeed the problem.

Anecdote 2: A while back (years?) Mikel Manitius (sp?) posted a
technical explanation of quality problems that he'd traced back to
MCI.  Remember?

Anecdote 3: I just saw a posting in another newsgroup -- someone had
trouble reaching a BBS somewhere, and had symptoms like I'd had in
anecdote 1.  I suggested that he try AT&T, and he replied that my
suggestion worked!  It turns out his default was Sprint.

Can I safely extrapolate -- AT&T LD quality is superior ?

Well, I'd guess that is too general a statement, but under what
conditions are there obvious signal transmission quality differences,
and, how often (in time, or in space -- geographically, that is) are
these conditions met?

Thanks for your comments.


Best regards,

John R. Ruckstuhl, Jr.            [e-mail]
Dept of Electrical Engineering    [e-mail], uflorida!ruck
University of Florida             [e-mail], sphere!ruck

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #725
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #726

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 22 Sep 92 22:24:30 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 726

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Problems With OP Station Over SLC-96 (Jeff Wasilko)
    Nigel Allen's List of U.S. Telecom Industry Periodicals (Nigel Allen)
    Laguna Beach to Replace Operator With Voice Mail (Randy Gellens)
    CD-ROM Directory Ships (Ken Jongsma)
    Interesting Old Books (Jim Haynes)
    Credit Cards Accepted in Hotel Room (Carl Moore)
    What is the Purpose of the Tri Tones? (Joseph Bergstein)
    Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System (Randy Gellens)
    _The_Round_Table_ (Randy Gellens)
    Denied Telephone Service (H. Peter Anvin)
    Short International Calls From USA (Simon Streltsov)
    Question About TA/TR (Yee-Lee Shyong)
    Pay Phone on 717-529 (Carl Moore)
    Postalized Rates For Phone Service (Joseph Bergstein)
    Storing Phone Numbers (J. Philip Miller)
    GSM Launch in Sweden (Bill Wicks)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Wasilko)
Subject: Problems With OP Station Over SLC-96
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 22:25:08 EST
Organization: Univ of Fnord; Roslyn's Cafe Div.
Reply-To: [e-mail]


We're trying to get six Off-Premises-Extensions working off of a
Northern Norstar. The OPXs are coming off the Norstar via ATAs (analog
terminal adaptors) since the Norstar doesn't support analog line
cards ...

The OPX circuits go thru a SLC-96 in a remote CO. The problem we are
seeing is the SLC seems to be eating ring voltage. We get dial-tone
and can make calls from the remote phones, and if a call is placed to
a remote extention a talk-path is established (it just never rings).

SNET (who is now close to GTE in getting stuff done right in my book)
tested the circuits from their test center. They can send out ring
voltage from the CO to the OPX, and we get it fine (101 volts). Ring
voltage sent from our PBX to the CO makes it there (90 volts). When
the ATA sends out ring (two short bursts since it's an internal call),
nothing happens.

SNET is saying it's our problem. I disagree, since it's obvious the
SLC is what's eating the ring voltage. I've asked for six copper lines
(instead of the SLC-d ones), but they say that they only give copper
to alarm companies -- the rest of us must suffer.

The only concrete suggestion I've heard from SNET is to try reversing
tip and ring going to the CO. They think this might keep the SLC from
munching our ring. I'm going to try this tomorrow. After that I'm
going to lock WilTel and SNET into the switch room and leave them
there until it works (:

Any suggestions would probably keep a few hard-working telephone guys
from starving.


Thanks,

Jeff
Jeff's Oasis at Home.    Jeff can also be reached at work at:
                                          [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Nigel Allen's List of U.S. Telecom Industry Periodicals
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 22:15:18 EDT


Here is a list of some U.S. telecommunications industry newspapers and
magazines.

If your company or organization wants to announce something related to
telecommunications, you may want to send a press release to each of
the following publications (and you may also want to post a message
about it in this newsgroup).

 Telephony
 attn: News Editor
 55 East Jackson Blvd., Suite 1100
 Chicago, Illinois 60604-4188 U.S.A.
 telephone [phone]
 fax [phone]

 Telephone Engineer & Management
 attn: Robert E. Stoffels, Editor
 233 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 2423
 Chicago, IL 60601
 telephone [phone]
 fax [phone]

 Telecommunications Directory
 attn:  Mr. John Krol, Editor
 Gale Research Inc.
 835 Penobscot Building
 Detroit, Michigan 48226-4094, U.S.A.
 telephone [phone]
 fax [phone]

 CommunicationsWeek
 attn: News Editor
 600 Community Drive
 Manhasset, N.Y. 11030 U.S.A.
 telephone [phone]
 fax [phone]

 Telecommunications
 attn: Editor
 685 Canton Street
 Norwood, MA 02062
 U.S.A.
 telephone [phone]
 fax [phone]

 Communications News
 attn: Curt Harler, Editor
 12936 Falling Water
 Strongsville, OH 44136
 U.S.A.
 telephone [phone]
 MCI Mail: 489-8359

------------------------------

From: MPA15AB![e-mail]
Date: 22 SEP 92 00:02
Subject: Laguna Beach to Replace Operator With Voice Mail


The {L.A. Times} reported in Friday, 9/18/92's Orange County Edition
that the city of Laguna Beach, California will replace its switchboard
operator with a voice mail system to save money.  (In response to
recent budget shortfalls, the state is keeping a larger percentage of
local property tax revenue than before.  Laguna Beach will lose about
$30 per person.)

The article notes that now is a good time, since the city's regular
switchboard [I assume they mean PBX -- RCG] operator quit, and
currently has a temporary one.  The city will spend about $25,000 to
install the voice mail system.

The article quotes the city's fire services secretary, Carrie Joyce,
who supervises the switchboard, as saying that people don't like voice
mail systems.  The city currently uses a machine to take calls during
lunch and breaks.  "I've had many complaints about it," Joyce said,
"I've had many people say they don't like having to listen to that
message and they never know if they're hitting the right button for
the right extension.  It's confusing to many people."


Randy Gellens            [e-mail]
>>>>>>> If mail bounces, forward to [e-mail] <<<<<<<<
Opinions are personal; facts are suspect; I speak only for myself

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 10:39:07 EDT
From: Ken Jongsma x7702 <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: CD-ROM Directory Ships


According to {Infoworld}, a national business directory on CD-ROM is
now available:

ProCD Inc. began shipping last week ProPhone-National Directory
Edition, a collection of 3 CD-ROMs containing names of 7.5 million
businesses that can be searched by name, business type, or Standard
Industrial Classification codes. The directory retails for $349, but a
special introductory price is set at $179.

ProCD's phone number is [phone].


Kenneth R Jongsma         [e-mail]
Smiths Industries     73115,[e-mail]
Grand Rapids, Michigan          [phone]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jim Haynes)
Subject: Interesting Old Books
Date: 22 Sep 1992 20:35:00 GMT
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz


Found in the library, among a whole shelf of Bureau of Census tomes on
the 1900 U.S. Census, "Special Reports - Telephones and Telegraphs -
1902" Besides statistics there are lots of historical text and
pictures, and descriptions of technical developments.

Another book I found "The American Telegrapher" by Edwin Gabler is a
history of the social/labor relations aspect of telegraphy 1860-1900.
There are some pictures of the operating room at Western Union
headquarters, 195 Broadway, NY.  I know next to nothing of the history
of NYC; but 195 Broadway was formerly the site of AT&T headquarters,
before they moved to the present Philip Johnson building in the
1960s(?).  And Western Union was at 60 Hudson St.  Does all this
relate to the period when Western Union and AT&T were effectively
merged, and then were forced by the courts to separate?


[e-mail] [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 17:37:41 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Credit Cards Accepted in Hotel Room


At Mechanicsburg, Pa. near Harrisburg:

"For your convenience, Sprint handles AT&T calling cards as well as
the following cards:

Telco Calling Card        Visa
MasterCard            American Express
Discover            Diners Club International
Carte Blanche            JCB Cards
Bell Canada            AT&T"

The only emblem appearing on "Telco Calling Card" (not a proper name,
just referring to your local phone company) and Bell Canada was that
of Bell.

But I got the (Sprint?) operator when I tried to use my AT&T card number.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Joseph Bergstein)
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 14:41:12 -0500
Subject: What is the Purpose of the Tri Tones?


In a message from Andy Jacboson he mentioned "tri-tone" ...

> I believe ye olde Bell System did have a specific message for
> numbers-to-be.  It went something like (This was before the
> tri-tone era):

> The number you have reached, NNX-XXXX, has not yet been
> connected. Please try your call again later.

I've been curious for some time.  Do the tri-tones on various
intercepts serve any special technical purpose?  Are they just a
distinctive tone much like the Emergency Broadcast System on radio, so
that callers will know to listen for a special message? Or is the
tri-tone processed or handled in some way be TELCO or IXC switches? If
so, for what purpose?

------------------------------

From: MPA15AB![e-mail]
Date: 22 SEP 92 18:43
Subject: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System


This is reposted (with permission) from an internal newsletter:

             UNISYS ADDS SPEECH RECOGNITION TO
                TELEPHONE MESSAGING SYSTEM

Automatic speech recognition is being added to the Unisys telephone
messaging system to enable callers who do not have access to
Touch-Tone service to speak, rather than key-in commands.  ASR will
become available through a new technology partnership between Unisys
and Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products of Belgium.

ASR will enable the advanced services provided by the Unisys Network
Applications Platform to be offered in areas where Touch-Tone
telephones are not yet in general use.  NAP manages voice and data
communications, including voice mail and caller-interaction and call-
control services such as Touch-Tone credit card validation and call
screening for routing 911 emergency calls.

The initial ASR implementation with NAP -- voice mail -- will be ready
next year and will have a vocabulary of more than 60 words plus
continuous number recognition, enabling users to interact naturally
with the system.  Word spotting, which filters out extraneous words
and unwanted sounds, and echo-cancelling, which allows the user to
override machine prompts, will provide greater recognition accuracy
and ease of use.  Unisys will be offering a number of language options
to meet the needs of its customers around the world.

Unisys chose Lernout & Hauspie as its partner for this project because
of the company's experience in advanced speech technologies.  The two
companies will work together to incorporate ASR into NAP, including
the human-to-machine dialogue features.  L&H is also a leader in the
design and development of text-to-speech and speech-coding systems.

 - - - - - - - - - - -    END OF QUOTED TEXT    - - - - - - - - - - - -

I've been told that this is currently marketed only in Europe, where
the use of touch-tone phones is much lower than in the U.S.


Randy Gellens            [e-mail]
>>>>>>> If mail bounces, forward to [e-mail] <<<<<<<<
Opinions are personal; facts are suspect; I speak only for myself

------------------------------

From: MPA15AB![e-mail]
Date: 22 SEP 92 18:07
Subject: _The_Round_Table_


Saw the pilot of the new series _The_Round_Table_ last Friday.  In one
scene, someone in Georgetown (in the Washington, DC area) makes a call
from a pay phone.  The pay phone was clearly a GTE style phone, not a
Bell type, even though the DC area is served by C&P, a Bell company.


Randy Gellens            [e-mail]
>>>>>>> If mail bounces, forward to [e-mail] <<<<<<<<
Opinions are personal; facts are suspect; I speak only for myself

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (H. Peter Anvin)
Subject: Denied Telephone Service
Reply-To: [e-mail] (H. Peter Anvin)
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1992 00:39:16 GMT


Hello netters,

Since sometime between Friday and Saturday (it is now Tuesday night)
my telephone service, which is handled through my university by billed
by AT&T's ACUS system, has been shut off.  Calling ACUS only gives me
a recorded message saying they have imposed a credit limit on my
account of TWO CENTS (the normal minimum credit limit is $250), and
that there are $0.10 outstanding charges (not overdue, or even billed,
by the way).  Talking to a customer service representative only gives
me a "I am sorry, we cannot access your account -- our computer system
is unaccessible since we are doing billing on your university.".

The first service rep claimed the system would be available in 24
hours -- that was Sunday.  Today, another CSR said "call back in a few
days".  I would like to know if there is anything I can do about this,
in terms of complaining to the FCC or similar entity.  After all, I am
being denied phone service for no reason than an AT&T mistake, which
they *refuse to correct* due to circumstances *under their control*
(they were the ones who constucted such a brain-damaged system).  It
should be noted that we are not allowed to choose any other phone
company for our telephone service.

Any input would be appreciated.


H. Peter A, Northwestern University

INTERNET:  [e-mail]   TALK:      [e-mail]
BITNET:    HPA@NUACC     IBMNET:    16331@IBMX400
HAM RADIO: N9ITP         NeXTMAIL:  [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Have you tried asking someone from Northwestern's
telecom department to look into the matter and intervene? They'd
probably be able to get ahold of their contact at AT&T.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Simon Streltsov)
Subject: Short International Calls From USA
Date: 23 Sep 92 02:09:15 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Simon Streltsov)
Organization: Boston University


Does anybody know about long-distance carriers, who charge in less
than one minute increments for long-distance and international calls?

Also, are there companies, who are cheaper for international call
than ATT's Reach-Out-World, Sprint-World, etc?

Thanks in advance.


Simon Streltsov,  [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 17:50:17 CST
From: [e-mail] (Yee-Lee Shyong)
Subject: Question About TA/TR


How can we get the answer when we study the TA or TR from Bellcore?

Is there any bulletin board or e_mail address exising for solving the
problem of TA/TR?


Thanks!

Apollo

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 10:04:38 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Pay Phone on 717-529


I looked up a pay phone on the Kirkwood, Pa. (717-529) exchange, and
found a few interesting things:

970 (no more digits after it) and 596-xxxx (where 596 is far away;
it's next door to N.Y. state), got the message "cannot be completed as
dialed", with the end of the recording saying "717-786", which is the
neighboring Quarryville exchange!

529-xxxx and 932-xxxx (932 being Oxford, Pa., in the 215 area) got
fast busy signals, as I had not deposited money.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Joseph Bergstein)
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 00:21:30 -0500
Subject: Postalized Rates For Phone Calls


In a message of 19Sep92, Richard Cox writes:

> Telcos in many countries are now serving most customers from
> switches that are outside their local calling areas, by providing
> local concentrator muxes.  The cost to the telco of a local call has
> become exactly the same as the cost of a (shorter) long distance call.

> It is only a matter of time for customers to forget which "codes"
> are charged at the local rate, and which are long-distance ... and for
> the "local" charge rate to be gradually subsumed into a standard call
> charge irrespective of the distance of the connect !  (I think this
> benefits the telco !)

AT&T and Sprint (and I assume MCI) have introduced business billing
plans with "postalized" rate structures, i.e. distance insensitive.
Typically there is one rate for regional calls (e.g. all states
surrounding origination point), and another rate for all calls to
48-states + D.C.

I'm curious what TELECOM Digest readers think of "postalized" rates,
and whether they should/will be established for residential as well as
business customers.


[Moderator's Note: I imagine like all attempts at averaging out fees,
those folks whose calls normally cost more will like it and those
whose calls normally cost less will not appreciate the arrangement.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (J. Philip Miller)
Subject: Storing Phone Numbers
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 23:58:46 CDT


A question which was raised the other day while "blue skying" about
all the neat new features that the phone company offers that requires
the switch to store a list of phone numbers (e.g. quick call, call
blocker, priority call).

How is the list of numbers physically stored by the switch? Is it
stored as a string of ASCII characters (one character per digit) or is
some more efficient storage utilized?  Is the area code always stored,
or not?  You get the idea.  Perhaps the SS7 standard has a cannonical
form that is used for interswitch communications and thus is a natural
format for phone number storage.  Perhaps it is propriatary and each
switch vendor does it differently and how they do it is a secret :-*
In any case, if I wondered about it, I expect others have as well and
I cannot recall it being discussed here.


     J. Philip Miller, Professor, Division of Biostatistics, Box 8067
     Washington University Medical School, St. Louis MO 63110
     [e-mail] - Internet  [phone] [362-2694(FAX)]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Bill Wicks)
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 12:47:31 -0500
Subject: GSM Launch in Sweden


Motorola, Siemens and Comviq commercially launched the first GSM
cellular system in Sweden on the 1st of September.  Motorola providing
the BSS equipment and OMC and Siemens the switching equipment.  The
service covers the three major cities of Stockholm, Goteborg, and
Malmo.


Bill Wicks   Motorola, Inc.
Cellular Infrastructure Group
System Integration and Test

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #726
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #727

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 22 Sep 92 23:58:49 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 727

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    AT&T Wants $3 For International DA (Gabe M. Wiener)
    Telcos in Carolina (Philippa Morrissey)
    Wanted: Device to Record Keypad Numbers as ASCII File (James Deibele)
    Modem <-> Digital Telephone System (Eric Jacksch)
    Where is Country Code 952? (Jan Richert)
    Looking For Public USENET/Mail Sites (Robert L. McMillin)
    Please Suggest a Good Voice Mail System (B.G. Mahesh)
    Some Questions About Telecom Service (Yee-Lee Shyong)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Ed Greenberg)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Bill Sohl)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (John Gilbert)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Richard Nash)
    Re: 711 Reaches E911 Center (Mike Morris)
    Re: 711 Reaches E911 center (John Desmond)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Gabe M Wiener)
Subject: AT&T Wants $3 For International DA
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1992 02:46:59 GMT


I called AT&T for Vienna directory assistance tonight and got a shock
when I was told it would be a $3 charge.  I always remember
international DA being a free service (after all, chances are that
you're gonna place the call after you get the number).

A quick 10777-0, and over to Sprint who gladly put it through gratis.
Only difference was that the Sprint operator not only had to look up
the country code for Vienna, but also the *country*.

I guess AT&T must use the $3 to pay for their operators' geography
lessons.


Gabe Wiener - Columbia Univ.   [e-mail]
N2GPZ in ham radio circles     72355,1226 on CI$


[Moderator's Note: The three dollar charge for international directory
assistance has been in effect for about a year, maybe longer. The main
reason the charge was implemented was because both Sprint and MCI were
never interested in providing the service -- only in skimming the
cream on expensive and well-traveled international routes. It was very
customary for both Sprint and MCI to advise their international
callers to 'dial 10288-0 to make the enquiry ... it is free ... then
use Sprint (MCI) to make the call itself.' International DA has always
been a loser. A five minute holding time waiting for the foreign
operator to respond, take the details, look up the number, then reply
is not uncommon in Middle East/Far East countries, fifteen minutes
spent connecting to the other end and getting the information is not
unheard of during busy periods like late Sunday night in the USA which
is Monday morning and the start of the business week over there. They
are not, shall we say, as rigid in their service requirements as AT&T
or even GTE :)  Once AT&T started charging, it got rid of lots of the
non-revenue traffic from people who were going to use Sprint (MCI)
anyway to place the call, and forced those two companies to either pay
the freight via AT&T or start their own money-losing international
directory services.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Philippa Morrissey)
Subject: Telcos in Carolina
Organization: AOTC - CSSC
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1992 00:12:11 GMT


Can anyone help with information about local telcos in Carolina.  In
particular I need to know names and what the specialty of the Telcos
are. I really want to know what it is that the telcos have a
reputation for doing well -- whather it be quality of service or
innovation in the Intelligent Network arena.

Hope someone can help.


Philippa Morrissey - AOTC      |MHSnet: [e-mail]
Advanced Network Products      |Snail : 320 Pitt St, Sydney 2000.
Customised Software Solutions  |  or PO Box A226, Sydney South 2000, Australia.
     Centre - Sydney           |Phone : [phone]   Fax: [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Well, there are two Carolinas: North and South.
They are separate states; each has a number of small independent
telcos operating in them.  Which did you have in mind, or both?   PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (James Deibele)
Subject: WANTED: Device to Record Keypad Numbers as ASCII File
Organization: TECHbooks of Beaverton Oregon - Public Access Unix
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 20:29:26 GMT


I'm looking for something to do the following:

User calls, enters one number (account number), enters a "#" sign or
waits a few seconds, enters another number, enters a "#" sign or waits
a few seconds or hangs up.  If they don't hang up, they will repeat
the cycle as many times as needed.

What I want from this: an ASCII file with each number on a separate
line.  It would be nice if the device could be "scaled" to handle more
than one phone line.  It would be fabulous if there was some sort of
programming language so that numbers could be validated against a list
of valid numbers.

Application is sending information to clients.  First number is their
account number, then report numbers.  I want to use ASCII file to
mail-merge reports.  Each page can be marked "prepared specially for
 ..." with the database supplying the account information.  It would
be nice if the client was told right away that the report number was
invalid (either because they screwed up or because that report is
out-of-date).

Device needs to give voice prompt --- "Hello.  Please enter account
number" -- take number, then prompt "Please enter report number".  It
would be nice if the device could read back the number and report that
it was valid or not.  Device should handle hangups gracefully.  Voice
mail would be a nice addition, but not a requirement.

"Device" could be just about anything.  Price is a consideration to
some degree at this point.  I've sent away for info on different
boards that I've heard of, like Watson and Big Mouth, but would like
to hear what people think would be the best solution.

Thanks for your help.

------------------------------

Subject: Modem <-> Digital Telephone System
From: [e-mail] (Eric Jacksch)
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 12:30:37 -0400
Organization: Insomniacs' Guild, Toronto, Ontario, Canada


Thanks for the number of replies I received.  For anyone else who may
be doing the same, I got it working.

We have electronic key set telephones; the four wire ones which plug
into RJ-11 jacks and allow you to select from a set of lines, an
intercom, etc.  After playing around trying to build an acoustic
coupler, I connected a small audio amp to the line and found that the
black and yellow were used for digital communication between the
telephone and our switch, while the red and green carried analog
audio.

I bought a modular splitter (plug into wall and you have two jacks), a
modular-to-modular cable, and a 1:1 audio transformer, all availible
from radio shack for aprox $15.  I cut the cable and spliced the audio
transformer into the red and green lines and left the black and yellow
disconnected.

Plug the phone into one side of the splitter, and connect the modem
using the modular cable with the audio transformer in it.  Select a
phone line on the keyset phone, tell the modem to dial, and you're in
business.

It didn't seem too great at 14.4 kbps, but it seemed completely
reliable at 2400 bps.  You could probably connect the modem direct
without the audio isolation transformer, but I didn't want to risk it.
My full time job is not in the computer field; my boss wouldn't
understand if I blew something up! <Grin>


Eric Jacksch   [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jan Richert)
Subject: Where is Country Code 952?
Date: 22 Sep 92 12:02:31 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Jan Richert)
Organization: Krefcom UUCP Server, Krefeld, FRG


Hi!

Could anyone check which country I reach by dialing +952? This country
code is not on my list, but I know a number within +952.


Greets,

Jan Richert (NIC-ID: JR482)   | Internet:   [e-mail]
Krefeld, FRG                  | BTX:        02151399843-0001
Voice & FAX: [phone]  | IRC-Nick:   jrichert


[Moderator's Note: The nine series is generally in the Middle East
region of the world. There is no '952', however '95' is assigned to
the Union of Myanmar, which was formerly known as Burma. Within '95',
city code '2' is assigned to Mandalay. So you would dial 011-952-local
number which may be where your confusion arises. According to the AT&T
International Communications Guide, the point is not dialable, but in
another source, it is listed as available through direct dial.  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 06:41:15 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Robert L. McMillin)
Subject: Public USENET/Mail Sites Wanted


Can anyone get me information on public access USENET/mail sites,
preferably in Southern California?


[Moiderator's Note: Well, in central California, Portal Communications
is avazilable. It is located in San Jose.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (B.G. Mahesh)
Subject: Please Suggest a Good Voice Mail System
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: SETT, Inc.
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 01:18:50 GMT


Please suggest me a good voice mail system (cost*performance).  Please
respond by email only.


Thanks.

B.G. MAHESH        Email : [e-mail]
Software Engineer  Frederick, MD
SETT Inc. (Affiliated to EVB Software Engineering, Inc.)

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 16:11:38 CST
From: [e-mail] (Yee-Lee Shyong)
Subject: Some Questions About Telecom Service


What's the difference of telephone service (such as POTS, UVG, etc)
between North America and Europe standard?

The DLC standard in North America is BellCore Transmission System
Generic Requirements, What's the System Requirements in Europe?

What's On-Hook Transmission in telephone service ?

Can a pair of CEPT/E1 DLC (COT & RT) connect with 5ESS in North
America?

Does anyone know the signalling type of "Transmission Only Mode"?

Why does the DLC need the Pulse Metering Detection (12kHz, 16kHz)?

What's the "Direct Inward Dialing" capability?

Why does not the DLC system use the ADPCM technique to improve the
pair gain in subscriber loop?


Thanks!

Apollo


[Moderator's Note: Perhaps readers with expertise in the topics
mentioned above will correspond direct with our reader in Taiwan.  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 10:57:09 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Ed Greenberg)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)


Nope.

John, the FCC's PRB-1 decision forbids laws from prohibiting ham
antennas, but there is nothing the FCC can do about covenents, which,
despite being inescapable, are considered voluntary agreements.


Ed Greenberg      Home: [phone]
[e-mail] P. O. Box 28618     Work: [phone]
DoD#: 0357 San Jose, CA 95159      Fax: [phone]
KM6CG (ex WB2GOH)

------------------------------

From: dancer![e-mail] (22501-sohl)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 18:30:56 GMT


In reference to FCC pre-emption of deeded restrictions, Mike Covington
wrote:

> The FCC, in its PRB-1 ruling, forbade _local governments_ from
> banning ham antennas.  But covenants are (supposedly) _voluntary
> contracts_ and the FCC is not presently empowered to overturn them.
> This question comes up repeatedly in rec.radio.amateur.policy.

And Moderator PAT noted:

> [Moderator's Note: But even with the 'voluntary' nature of covenants,
> there are still some things we cannot 'voluntarily' agree to do. We
> cannot agree among ourselves to exclude blacks or Jews as an earlier
> message noted. I think courts will consider public policy in deciding
> which 'voluntary' agreements can be upheld. But as the earlier message
> pointed out, ham radio operators are not a legally protected category,
> however public policy may be that ham radio operators provide valuable
> services and should be permitted to have antennas as needed. I think
> most of these things get settled case by case in court don't they?  PAT]

While I, as a ham, would applaud the courts if they followed PAT's
logic, the reality is that they have not.  At this time, I am unaware
of any court case which has thrown out an antenna deed restriction
because it was in the best interest/public policy area regarding ham
radio operators as providing a valuable service.  Almost every case
that has eliminated a deeded restriction has been based on other
factors such as: (1) Selective enforcement by the home owner's
association or a neighbor, (2) Abandonment of enforcement, etc.

If anyone knows of a case where the court threw out a deed restriction
on the basis suggested by PAT, please let us know.


Standard Disclaimer- Any opinions, etc. are mine and NOT my employer's.

Note - If email replying to me with an automatic addressing process
bounces, manually address the resend using one of the addresses below.

Bill Sohl (K2UNK) BELLCORE (Bell Communications Research, Inc.)
Morristown, NJ             email via UUCP      bcr!dancer!whs70
201-829-2879 Weekdays      email via Internet  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (John Gilbert)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Organization: Motorola, Inc. Land Mobile Products Sector
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 22:34:54 GMT


I saw the ad from the cable industry on tv and called the 800 number
that they listed.  A guy answered and asked me for my name, etc to be
put on their petition.  I asked him for more information, and he read
me the script that was just on TV telling me nothing of substance.  I
asked if he could send me more information and he said NO.  It sounds
like they don't want to answer any questions -- just sign up people
who believe what they are told.


John Gilbert   [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Richard Nash)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 23:00:00 GMT


> [e-mail] (Michael A. Covington) writes:

> And regarding this "lack of competition" nonsense, Kevin Mitchell
> <[e-mail]> writes:

>> If I want CNN and the Weather Channel, I have to deal with the one
>> cable company that handles my town.

> No, you are perfectly free to do what many have done and buy a TVRO
> dish and have access to those and all the other "cable" channels. And
> you will be dealing directly with the program service providers who
> typically charge less than your cable company does.

No, you are perfectly free to do what many have done and buy a long
distance telephone company and have access to all the inter-carrier
benefits. You will be dealing directly with all the other carriers who
typically charge less than your PIC does.

> TVRO too expensive? Then maybe cable is not such a bad deal after all.
> But do not say there is no competition. Maybe the problem is that you
> do not feel that you should have to pay for the things you enjoy.

Telephone company too expensive? Then maybe using the services of one
of the existing carriers is not such a bad deal after all. But do not
say that there is no competition.  Maybe the problem is that you do
not feel that you should pay for the things you enjoy.


Richard Nash    Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
UUCP:        trickie![e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mike Morris)
Subject: Re: 711 Reaches E911 Center
Organization: College Park Software, Altadena, CA
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 07:55:51 GMT


[e-mail] (James J Sowa) writes:

> We just had a strange experience at home that I thought is worth
> mentioning.

(Story about child misdialing 713-xxxx as 711 and getting 911 dispatch)

> I began to wonder and then I tried dialing 711 ... well it started to
> connect and then it was answered by the 911 center.  I informed them
> that I had dialed 711 and the dispatcher informed me that Illinois
> Bell has turned up 711 to test the 911 routing since we have/are going
> from basic 911 to enhanced 911.

When 911 was installed in Los Angeles it was implemented as 811.  But
that won't happen again -- 811 is now a reserved prefix for Pacific
Smell state-wide -- for example 811-2000 gets you the same Customer
Disservice from anywhere in the state.

But it's better than GTE - the Great Telephone Experiment.


Mike Morris   WA6ILQ  818-447-7052 evenings
PO Box 1130   Arcadia, CA. 91077
All opinions must be my own since nobody pays
me enough to be their mouthpiece ...

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (John Desmond)
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 00:40:19 -0600
Subject: Re: 711 Reaches E911 Center


> I began to wonder and then I tried dialing 711 ... well it started to
> connect and then it was answered by the 911 center.  I informed them
> that I had dialed 711 and the dispatcher informed me that Illinois
> Bell has turned up 711 to test the 911 routing since we have/are going
> from basic 911 to enhanced 911.

> Well, I still don't think my daughter believes me the call was not her
> fault.

> [Moderator's Note: I just now dialed 711. It started ringing
> immediatly and after a few rings an intercept came on and said the
> area code of the number dialed had been changed to 708 ... please
> hang up, dial 1-708 and the number again. ???  PAT]

  It is not uncommon to grab a code for temporary testing use.  What
probably happened in this case was that the telco is testing from one
of the CO's and not the other at the moment.  When Illinois Bell is
done testing the E911 features they will probably shut off the 711
code there and go on to the next CO.  This of course could be
happening in more than one CO at a time too.

   It is rare that these test codes are used for testing.  Most new
services and new office codes are pretty routine to add so you are not
to likely to see this a lot.  Probably only for "special projects"
where the telco has some extensive testing to do will you see codes
installed like this.  It would probably be pretty disruptive to test
this on the regular 911 system.  :)


John Desmond  K0TG
[e-mail]   or   [e-mail]
* SLMR 2.1a *
* Origin: HAM>link< RBBS 612/HAM-0000 Saint Paul, MN (K0TG) (1:282/100)
The Dark Knight's Table BBS [phone]
9600 V32bis V42bis HST  Minnetonka, Minnesota
Domain: [username]@tdkt.kksys.com  UUCP: ...!umn-cs!kksys!tdkt![username]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #727
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #728

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 23 Sep 92 00:41:20 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 728

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Justin Leavens)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Chris Arndt)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (John Higdon)
    Re: Utility Meter Reading Switch (Mike Morris)
    Re: GTE Intercept: What Number Are You Calling? (Jack Adams)
    Re: List of Satellites Wanted (Dan Odom)
    Re: Why 'Die Hard II' Used Pac*Bell Pay Phones (Gordon D. Woods)
    Re: More Norstar Comments and Questions (Brent Capps)
    Re: Funny 800 Number Spelling (Jeff Woolsey)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 16:30:21 CDT
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
writes:

> Al Varney writes:

>>> Actually, Bellcore (or Bellcore acting as the NANP Administrator) isn't
>>> just proposing your request, they are RECOMMENDING it.  But Bellcore
>>> doesn't run the RBOCs; it can only recommend.  For example, in the
>>> "guide" I've mentioned before, they say:

>>> Sec. 7.1 -- "It is strongly recommended, as a short-term goal, that
>>> the dialing of ten digits, when only seven digits are required, not
>>> result in a call failure.

>>> The implementation of a full ten digit dialing plan requires user
>>> awareness that a ten digit number is always acceptable and does not
>>> necessarily connote a toll charge."

> And he's missed the point! The ability to dial all ten digits - with
> or without the "1" - is not the issue (we've had the equivalent
> facility here in the UK for some time now) although I understand that
> if you haven't got the ability to dial ten digit numbers for your
> local calling area, getting that far would certainly be a priority.

   And that (the ability to dial all ten digits for ANY number,
"local" or not, WAS THE POINT of the original question.  One can not
dial 1+local-NPA in some areas of the country, and in others dialing
1+local-NPA fails if the call is "local" (non-toll).  The quoted
section is Bellcore's recommendation to remove the restriction and
allow 1+local-NPA on any destination number.

> What Bellcore are now suggesting is that the seven digit format be
> made unacceptable - i.e. ten or eleven digits will soon have to be
> dialed for ALL calls !                             ^^^^

    Not true -- Bellcore is suggesting that TELCos plan for a future
time ( >30 years from now) when the number of times you will dial a
seven-digit call will be so low that it makes sense to convert every
call to ten-digit format.  There is no suggestion that 1+ -means-toll
would be eliminated, if the TELCo wants to keep this mechanism.
(Another section does recommend that TELCos using 1+ -means-toll
investigate another mechanism for "toll alerting", such as a warning
tone for toll calls.  But there is nothing in the "guide" that
suggests that the "dual" usage of 1+, and it's confusion, will be
eliminated any time soon.)

> The psychological unlinking of ten digit dialing from toll charging is
> not for the benefit of the customer.  Telcos in many countries are now
> serving most customers from switches that are outside their local
> calling areas, by providing local concentrator muxes.  The cost to the
> telco of a local call has become exactly the same as the cost of a
> (shorter) long distance call.

   I can't comment on this issue, except to note that some areas of
TELCo business provide incentives to the TELCo to save money (they get
a piece of the savings) and others do not (any savings is just a lost
piece of the rate base).  Are you suggesting you prefer the latter,
and it's incentive to bloat equipment?

> It is only a matter of time for customers to forget which "codes" are
> charged at the local rate, and which are long-distance ... and for the
> "local" charge rate to be gradually subsumed into a standard call
> charge irrespective of the distance of the connect !  (I think this
> benefits the telco !)

   Actually, the issue of ten-digit dialing and the "unlinking" of
"ten digit" from "toll call" is a result of Bellcore's plan to stop
splitting NPAs due to growth, and go with "overlay" NPAs.  Twenty
years later, there will be a mix of NPAs and NXX codes that will be
"local" to a given telephone, but those that don't match the NPA of
the phone you happen to use will have to use 1 + NPA, even for a
"local" call.  In such an environment, those that favor 1+ -means-toll
will be DEMANDING that all "local" calls be dialable via NPA +
seven-digit (no leading 1+) and 1+ be required for others.  If 90% of
your calls are 1 + NPA, what's the advantage in retaining 1+ as a
"toll" indicator?  Thus universal ten-digit dialing will allow you to
RETAIN the indicator, not lose it.

   And the extra cost of intercepting all those calls that didn't have
1 + NPA because the caller thought the telephone was associated with a
different NPA would be eliminated if seven-digit dialing disappeared
over time, many years from now.

   I think you are taking the universal ten-digit issue and trying to
argue it is a TELCo plot to do away with 1+ -means-toll.  They are
different issues and, in fact, universal ten-digit supports your
desire to retain the toll indicator.

   Whether or not there will be such a thing as a "local" call 30
years from now is a totally different issue, one that will probably be
answered by LEC "competition".


Al Varney - just MY opinion.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Justin Leavens)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Date: 22 Sep 1992 16:43:58 -0700
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA


In article <[e-mail]> Jack Decker <Jack@myamiga.
mixcom.com> writes:

> I guess folks on the left coast must have money to burn, if the
> possibility of making inadvertent toll calls doesn't bother you, but
> that thought seems to bother a lot of folks here in the midwest!

How could you "inadvertantly" make a toll call? I mean, if you keep a
white pages near each phone and look up the prefix you're calling in
the rate tables each time you pick up the phone to make a call, it's
darn near impossible to make a toll call without knowing it's going to
cost you. Of course, if you don't want to lug that phone book around
with your cordless phone, you could simply dial the operator first
before making each call and check with the rate operator how much your
call will cost :*) ...

(The first solution was suggested to me by a Pacific Bell rep when I
called about my first phone bill in Los Angeles about seven years ago.)


Justin Leavens    Microcomputer Specialist   University of Southern California

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Chris Arndt)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 18:36:11 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Alan
L Varney) writes:

> PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE: "1+" and "*67" are PREFIXes; the NXX codes are
> called "central office codes" or just "office codes".  The term PREFIX
> is used to imply that the digits are part of a dialing plan, but NOT
> part of the telephone number.

Then why does my brand new, just delivered Pac*Bell directory, list
"Prefix Locations", and list all of the "NXX" numbers and the areas
they are for?

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 23:10 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits


[e-mail] (John R. Levine) writes:

> And due to crufty old switches, there
> are a few towns where you have to dial 1+ for calls that are classed
> as local (but may not be free.)  Fooey -- if I wanted a phone that
> told me how much a call was going to cost, I'd buy one.

As you will recall, there was a considerable go-round on this topic.
Many (including my business partner) feel that the '1' should be a
toll indicator. The '1' originated as a routing prefix and some telcos
maintain that function. But when I steadfastly insisted that it was
never used as a toll indicator, it became necessary to dine on my own
words. There are a few telcos that indeed appear to imply to customers
that '1' equals "toll call".

I agree with you that having to remember what numbers require a '1'
and which ones do not is a major bother. And you are quite right in
pointing out that the difference between "toll" and "local" is
somewhat fuzzy. If you have measured service in California and you
make a "local" call, there is a first-minute charge and a lessor
charge for each subsequent minute. If you make a toll call, there is a
first-minute charge and a lessor charge for each subsequent minute.
Can someone tell me the difference between the two?

If you say "the amount of the cost", would you not agree that expecting
the '1' to be a call COST indicator to be a bit much?


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]
    [e-mail]      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mike Morris)
Subject: Re: Utility Meter Reading Switch
Organization: College Park Software, Altadena, CA
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 08:12:13 GMT


(story about power meters at trade show)

> These data-collecting meters are used by utilities that bill
> differently for peak and off-peak usage. The switch connects to the
> phone line before the telephone instrument. When the utility wishes to
> read the meter, they send DTMF down the phone line _without_ringing_,
> and the meter picks up the line. They need a special arrangement with
> the telephone company to do this. The meter downloads its data, and
> can also be _programmed_. If a telephone instrument is picked up or
> the CO has a call for that line, the data connection is dropped
> immediately and re-attempted later on.

> This sounds like the old "Harmonica Bug". It's interesting that COs
> can provide such a facility -- a voice path to a particular line
> without ringing. The potential for abuse is obvious -- it would be
> trivial to send dial tone down such a connection and provide "Trojan
> Horse" phone service.  There's also the potential for very detailed
> records of electricity use on a minute-to-minute basis and the use of
> such records for surveillance.

> The data-collecting meters can also be manually read. They have a LED
> and photodetector behind the glass seal, and the meter-reader uses a
> hand-held computer with a similar optical transceiver to read the
> meter. This provides an intermittent-use connection with reasonably
> high bandwidth that is not vulnerable to contamination from liquids
> and grit. I wonder if these meters are vulnerable to power-factor
> abuse, or if the internal computer can detect such abuse.

Depends on the sensor.  Southern California Edison has a experimental
embedded processor meter that uses the regular spinning-disk sensor
that is just as easy to abuse.  Sounds like the one you saw was
interrogated via an infra-red unit.

SCE's meter is an addressible meter that listens and responds to a
150mhz radio channel.  As I understand it they can read the meter and
re-program the rate table.  They were talking about putting shutoff
switches in the meters so the power could be turned off and on
remotley, but the standard residential meter package is a little small
for a meter and a large contactor...  The new meter is hard to miss -
the little readout dials are missing and replaced by a large LCD
display.

As I understand it the newer gas meters can also contain a gate valve.
Don't pay the bill?  <Clunk>.  No Gas.  Talk about the potential for
abuse ... or revenge on someone.

Fortunately Southern California Gas isn't putting these in yet  ...


Mike Morris   WA6ILQ  818-447-7052
PO Box 1130   Arcadia, CA. 91077
All opinions must be my own since nobody pays
me enough to be their mouthpiece...

------------------------------

From: vixen![e-mail] (22475-adams)
Subject: Re: GTE Intercept: What Number Are You Calling?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 13:51:38 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Kevin Alexander) writes:

> Within recent months I have been calling some local numbers around the
> College Station area (we're serviced by GTE -- I'm not sure what kind
> of switching equipment GTE uses), and I have been getting an operator
> who'll say, "You have reaached an intercept.  What number were you
> dialing?"  When I tell her she'll say, "The new number is xxx-xxxx."

> My question is this: Who did I connect to?  An operator?  How does the
> switching system handle the call?  Why does the operator answer the
> call instead of the automated "... number you have dialed has been
> changed ..." message normally received?

You no doubt are dealing with a manual intercept operator.  In the
early seventies, the Bell System introduced the Automatic Intercept
System (I worked on the initial system tests at Bell Labs), which took
the ANI information from calls to "vacant codes" and forwarded them to
an AIC, Automatic Intercept Center, where an assortment of 1, 101, and
2ESS equipment, some marvelous (for the time at least) disk file
subsystems, and recorded announcement systems (Yes, 96 tracks of
prerecorded phrases) put together the message "The number you have
reached, NNX-XXXX, has been changed, the new number ...".

I suspect that the office your calls are terminating on do not have
the ability to outpulse the ANI to an AIC, or maybe GTE just doesn't
have that service in your area.  Even in the Bell System's AIS, there
were provisions for ONI (Operator Number Identification) since not all
offices were so equipped.

To be historically correct, Southwestern Bell and IBM actually put
together a Semi-Automatic Intercept System a few years before the
fully automatic Bell Labs version.  The SWBT/IBM arrangement still
required operators to interrogate for the dialed number, but the look
up and voice response parts were automated.


Jack (John) Adams        | Bellcore NVC 2Z-220
[phone] {Voice}        | [phone] {Facsimile}
[e-mail]    | [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Dan Odom)
Subject: Re: List of Satellites Wanted
Date: 22 Sep 1992 09:02:02 -0500
Organization: Kansas State University


   Arrgh!  Would the guy who sent that list send it again?  Or would
anybody, for that matter? I'm having mailer problems (a lot like your
keyboard problems :-).


Dan Odom   Peon   Kansas State University   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 12:34:03 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Gordon D Woods)
Subject: Re: Why 'Die Hard II' Used Pac*Bell Pay Phones
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] wrote:

> Dulles Airport is not located within Washington DC, it is located 40
> miles away in Dulles Virginia, at the edge of Fairfax County.

I hope they didn't rename Chantilly, VA during my absence!  The
airport was originally called (Before it even opened.)  Chantilly
Airport, after the town in which it was built.  However,
Congresscritters couldn't stand such a tacky sounding name (The Big
Bopper song Chantilly Lace was still fresh in their minds.) so they
chose Dulles.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Brent Capps)
Subject: Re: More Norstar Comments and Questions
Organization: Open Communications Forum
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 17:19:21 GMT


Under normal circumstances you should never get dial tone on a
wink-start trunk; it's redundant.  You can think of dial tone as a
proceed-to-outpulse signal meant for a human; wink-start is the same
thing meant for another switch.  If you are getting dial tone on this
circuit you've probably got a "dial tone to trunks" feature turned on
by accident (or by design) somewhere on your switch.  Unless you're
running a tandem application you probably don't need this feature.

There are several start-dial protocols used on analog DID circuits,
with the most common being wink-start and immediate-start.  Wink-start
is used in situations where your DTMF/MF receivers are pooled rather
than dedicated to particular trunk circuits.  When the CO signals the
PBX for an incoming call, the PBX goes off and finds an idle receiver,
then it returns a wink (momentary off-hook) to the CO to tell it to
start dialing.  Immediate start is used when you've got a dedicated
receiver on the DID circuit.  The CO signals an incoming call and just
starts dialing immediately.  This signaling method is often used when
connecting DID circuits to PC-based voice/fax whatchamallits,
typically using Dialogic/Natural Microsystems/Promptus/Mitel/what-have-you
telephony cards, which have built-in DTMF receivers.


Brent Capps      [e-mail]    [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Woolsey)
Subject: Re: Funny 800 Number Spelling
Organization: Microtec Research Inc., Santa Clara, CA
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 22:30:04 GMT


While we're on the subject of 800-number spelling, my two favorites so
far are 1-800-ABCDEFG for a learn-to-read program I'm sure everyone is
sick of the commercials for (if you can't read, how are you going to
convert that into a dialable phone number?), and 1-800-BABY999 (which
looks more complicated to dial than it really is) for a pregnancy
counseling service.


Jeff Woolsey            800 950 5554    [e-mail]
Microtec Research, Inc.         [phone]    [e-mail]
Nothing like a three-address mailer....        [e-mail]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #728
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #729

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 24 Sep 92 01:45:35 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 729

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Antenna Regulation (was U.S. Cable Television) (Robert Woodhead)
    Re: Antenna Regulation (was U.S. Cable Television) (Mike Morris)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (John Higdon)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (John Rice)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Mark Allyn)
    Re: Telcos in Carolina (Pat Turner)
    Re: Telcos in Carolina (Philippa Morrissey)
    Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System (John Higdon)
    Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System (Carl Moore)
    Re: V&H Report 10/92 (Norm Soley)
    Re: V&H Report 10/92 (Carl Moore)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Mark Brader)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (David E.A. Wilson)
    Re: GTE Intercept: What Number Are You Calling? (Steven S. Brack)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Robert J Woodhead)
Subject: Re: Antenna Regulation (was U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation)
Organization: Foretune Co., Ltd.
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1992 06:24:23 GMT


[e-mail] (Paul W Schleck KD3FU) writes:

> Covenants attached to deeds are considered private contracts (even
> though they are de-facto laws in some areas) and are not covered by
> PRB-1.  It's a maddening situation for many hams.  The courts are not
> prepared to overturn these private agreements (a BIG DEAL, legally)
> like covenenants of days past which banned sales to blacks and Jews
> because, although amateur radio is indeed very worthwhile, the
> practice of it is not a constitutional right.

I'm surprised nobody has made a "free-speech" argument here.


Robert J. Woodhead, Biar Games / AnimEigo, Incs.    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: That's because this is not one of those Socially
Responsible newsgroups they have on Usenet.  :)  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mike Morris)
Subject: Re: Antenna Regulation (was U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation)
Organization: College Park Software, Altadena, CA
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1992 07:00:07 GMT


[e-mail] (Paul W Schleck KD3FU) writes:

> That's not completely true.  FCC PRB-1 (Private Radio Bureau) provides
> licensed amateurs with LIMITED federal pre-emption of state and local
> law (zoning regulations, safety rules, etc.).  However, as you might
> guess, sometimes city councils say, "so, sue us!" requiring a lot of
> time, money, and motivation to win your case in court.  The FCC also
> hasn't explicitly stated what is acceptable tower height and offset
> from your property, so pre-emptive relief will vary greatly from case
> to case.

> Covenants attached to deeds are considered private contracts (even
> though they are de-facto laws in some areas) and are not covered by
> PRB-1.  It's a maddening situation for many hams.  The courts are not
> prepared to overturn these private agreements (a BIG DEAL, legally)
> like covenenants of days past which banned sales to blacks and Jews
> because, although amateur radio is indeed very worthwhile, the
> practice of it is not a constitutional right.

Rule #1: Don't buy a house with covenants.

Rule #2: Know your legal rights. Be careful with PRB-1.  It is a
useful way to bluff your way into a ham radio antenna (and there might
be a TV antenna and a scanner antenna below it on the tower), but it
is not all good news.  The American Radio Relay League will be quite
happy to provide you with a decent legal package to get you started on
a battle to put up your ham radio antenna, but that package will
include only case histories of those cases where the ham won.  What it
doesn't have is any case histories where the ham lost! It would be
quite useful to know about those cases, and why the ham lost, and how
to prevent losing the same way.

Instead the data package pretends that there have never been any
losses -- this handicaps the ham's attorney because the city will have
the entire list and will cite those cases in court.  I saw the package
sent to a fellow ham who is fighting the city of Paramount right now,
and I saw the list of cases put together by his attorney where the ham
lost even after citing PRB-1.


Mike Morris   WA6ILQ   818-447-7052 evenings
PO Box 1130   Arcadia, CA. 91077
All opinions must be my own since nobody pays
me enough to be their mouthpiece ...

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 09:54 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation


Sometimes attempts at sarcasm result in arguments that are exceedingly
silly and off the mark. To wit:

[e-mail] (Richard Nash) writes:

> No, you are perfectly free to do what many have done and buy a long
> distance telephone company and have access to all the inter-carrier
> benefits. You will be dealing directly with all the other carriers who
> typically charge less than your PIC does.

This is not such an outrageous idea. If you make any substantial
amount of calls, becoming your own long distance company makes a lot
of sense.  In fact, most very large companies do this to some degree
or another.  The costs are not as bad as one might imagine and there
are benefits that go beyond getting merely cheap long distance.

>> TVRO too expensive? Then maybe cable is not such a bad deal after all.
>> But do not say there is no competition. Maybe the problem is that you
>> do not feel that you should have to pay for the things you enjoy.

> Telephone company too expensive? Then maybe using the services of one
> of the existing carriers is not such a bad deal after all. But do not
> say that there is no competition.  Maybe the problem is that you do
> not feel that you should pay for the things you enjoy.

This is where it all falls apart. Comparing the cost of a $2,000 TVRO
dish to setting up or buying a telephone company is straining
credibility. Why is it that people must go to extremes in an attempt
to prop up an attitude?

And let us put this all in perspective. The telephone is essential to
the continuation of my personal and business affairs. If my cable was
disconnected today forever, the only probable effect would be that I
might get more work done.

The telephone is a utility; cable TV is entertainment. Try to keep
that in mind the next time you make very silly analogies.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Organization: Teradyne Inc., Telecommunications Division
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 13:59:09 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (John
Higdon) writes:

> [e-mail] (Michael A. Covington) writes:

>> Having your own TV antenna is now impossible in many places because of
>> real estate covenants.  Ask any ham radio operator.

> I did. Several of them. It was universally agreed among them that real
> estate covenants and city ordinances CANNOT prohibit the construction
> of antenna arrays for amateur radio service. The ham bands are
> Federally regulated (as are all radio frequencies) AND are considered
> to have importance concerning public service. So ...

The courts have held that 'covenants' are a legal contract and in
regard to antenna restrictions, prohibitions are enforcable.


John Rice        K9IJ     |  "Did I say that ?" I must have, but It was
                          |   MY opinion only, no one else's...Especially
                          |   Not my Employer's....
[e-mail]

------------------------------

From: sleepy![e-mail] (Mark Allyn)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Date: 23 Sep 92 19:54:13 GMT
Organization: Boeing Computer Services, Seattle


Regarding the discussion about cable TV:

If you dont like the price, just dont subscribe to it!

I have personally done *without* cable TV or **any** TV for that
matter for the last 15 years!

I had a chance to get cable tv for free for a trial period. I gladly told them
I did not need it.

There are many things to enjoy in life without the tube. Disconnect
the cable TV. Tell them to stuff it; trash the TV set itself. You will
not regret it!

Entertainment is riding a bicycle loaded down with ham radio eqiupment
five miles in the rain to the opera! Certainly beats TV!


Mark


[Moderator's Note: The cable people have tried for a couple years to
get me to sign up ... I refuse to. We keep our television mainly so
the little one (three years old in December) can watch the *nice*
programs on public television. The rest of us listen to WNIB or
watch Channel 11 (public/educational television) sometimes.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 19:57 EDT
From: rsiatl![e-mail]
Subject: Re: Telcos in Carolina
Reply-To: [e-mail]


> Can anyone help with information about local telcos in Carolina.  In
> particular I need to know names and what the specialty of the Telcos
> are. I really want to know what it is that the telcos have a
> reputation for doing well -- whather it be quality of service or
> innovation in the Intelligent Network arena.

I can tell you one to avoid: Centel.  Calls made from pay phones take
up to 15 seconds to complete.  My Telebit T-3000 normally does 1600
cps conecting to a Trailblazer in Atlanta with Z-Modem over either
AT&T or Sprint.  In Hickory, NC I am luckly to get 400 (avg = 293 at
one time).  I have been told by a resident that phone outages are
common.  The only good think is that Centel uses gray (in color)
payphones.  The Southern Bell style COCOT's stand out like a sore
thumb.  Even a "GTE" COCOT wouldn't be as obvious.

Southern Bell offered to buy them a few years ago, but Centel turned
them dowm.

The biggest LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) is Southern Bell.  They are
quite advanced in their ISDN offerings.  Research Park Triangle, NC is
in fact home to one of the first BISDN trials.  Special Service
installers in the areas I have worked in are also quite good.

I suspect GTE is a pretty major player in the Carolinas as well.  I
will refrain from farther comments on this as I have had much better
experence with GTE in Alabama than most CDT readers.


Pat Turner KB4GRZ   [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Philippa Morrissey)
Subject: Re: Telcos in Carolina
Organization: AOTC - CSSC
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1992 05:50:25 GMT


I have in mind both. I work for an Australian Telecommunications
Company.  Next year I may be travelling to Carolina to study.
Information on the telecommunications industry in this area (or even
further afield) would help me persuade work to let me go. So I'm
looking for things done over there that we haven't done here -- ie what
I can learn.

Thanks for the replies recieved so far.


Philippa Morrissey - AOTC      |MHSnet: [e-mail]
Advanced Network Products      |Snail : 320 Pitt St, Sydney 2000.
Customised Software Solutions  |  or PO Box A226, Sydney South 2000, Australia.
     Centre - Sydney           |Phone : [phone]   Fax: [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 00:24 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System


MPA15AB![e-mail] writes:

>              UNISYS ADDS SPEECH RECOGNITION TO
>                 TELEPHONE MESSAGING SYSTEM

As an indication as to how well this will all work, it probably should
be noted that Unisys is the vendor for [drum roll] -- Pac*Bell's
Message Center. We certainly know how functional and reliable THAT
system is!


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 12:04:34 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System


Speaking of speech recognition:

I called those Dallas-area voice recognition phone numbers recently
published in the Digest.  I had at least two cases of "seven" going
through as "two".


[Moderator's Note: Any idea what caused the malfunction? Did you
report it to anyone?  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Norm Soley)
Subject: Re: V&H Report 10/92
Organization: Digital Equipment of Canada
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1992 04:47:35 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (David Esan)
writes:

> This tape includes information for the new NPA's 909 and 210.  905 in
> Toronto, and 810 in Detroit have not appeared yet.

I'm feeling contrary today so I'll point out that Toronto is not
getting 905. Toronto keeps 416 and the rest of the current 416 gets
905. Picky, picky, picky.


Norman Soley, Specialist, Digital Integrations Services,  ITC District
Digital Equipment of Canada                   [e-mail]
Opinions expressed are mine alone  and do not reflect those of Digital
Equipment Corporation or my cat Marge.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 11:07:47 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: V&H Report 10/92


We have not yet reached the publicly-announced dates for the 512/210,
416/905, 313/810, 714/909 splits.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1992 18:52:00 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada


> And you are quite right in pointing out that the difference between
> "toll" and "local" is somewhat fuzzy. If you have measured service in
> California and you make a "local" call, there is a first-minute charge
> and a less[er] charge for each subsequent minute. If you make a toll
> call, there is a first-minute charge and a less[er] charge for each
> subsequent minute.  Can someone tell me the difference between the
> two?

Clearly, if you have measured service, there *is* no such thing as a
local call, and therefore you should be required to dial 1 before
*all* calls. :-)


Mark Brader, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, utzoo!sq!msb, [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (David E A Wilson)
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Organization: Dept of Computer Science, Wollongong University, Australia
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1992 04:56:27 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> Jack Decker <Jack@myamiga.
mixcom.com> writes:

> I guess folks on the left coast must have money to burn, if the
> possibility of making inadvertent toll calls doesn't bother you, but
> that thought seems to bother a lot of folks here in the midwest!

I take it that this means that the US phone system gives you no
feedback as to the local/toll status of the number you have dialed.
Here in Australia we get a "pip pip pip" after the called party
answers, alerting both parties to the fact that this call is being
charged on duration. This means that even though most calls within an
area code are local (at least in metropolitan areas), those that are
not are identified.

Although it is not recommended, I am sure that dialing your own area
code before a local number works as if you had omitted it (I just
tried it, so unless the office PABX deleted the area code then the
AOTC network can handle it).


David Wilson              (042) 21 3802 voice, (042) 21 3262 fax
Dept Comp Sci, Uni of Wollongong  [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 23 Sep 1992 15:25:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail] (Steven S. Brack)
Subject: Re: GTE Intercept: What Number Are You Calling?


In article <[e-mail]> is written:

> Within recent months I have been calling some local numbers around the
> College Station area (we're serviced by GTE -- I'm not sure what kind
> of switching equipment GTE uses), and I have been getting an operator
> who'll say, "You have reaached an intercept.  What number were you
> dialing?"  When I tell her she'll say, "The new number is xxx-xxxx."

One time I've seen that done is in the case of a heavily used number,
like a pizza parlor's delivery line being reassigned to another
subscriber.

The intercept operator in that case generally asks what party you were
trying to reach.

Also, in some Centrex-style systems, calls to vacant extensions are
routed to the attendant.

Anothwer possibility is that a prefix has been reassigned, in which
case operators work from reference lists, rather than programming an
intercept for each affected line, or, if the vacated exchange is put
into use, as when a PBX gobbles up another 1000 numbers.

Depending on what specific scenario is occuring, the switching system
handles it differently.  Some exchanges have "fake" phone numbers that
access the recordings needed, or access live intercepts.  With the
signalling systems in place, operators are already aware of many of
the specifics of the call before you utter a word, so detecting that
you arrived as an intercept may not even require seperate operators,
just a flag on the call so the operator knows to treat it as an
intercept.


Steven S. Brack         [e-mail]
2021 Roanwood Drive     [e-mail]
Toledo, OH  43613-1605  [e-mail]
+1 419 GR4 1010   MY OWN  OPINIONS  [e-mail]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #729
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #730

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 24 Sep 92 02:53:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 730

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: What is the Purpose of the Tri Tones? (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: What is the Purpose of the Tri Tones? (Jack Adams)
    Re: Recourse on Cordless Eavesdropping? (Bill Sohl)
    Re: Cellular Phone Cell Manufacturers (Andrew M. Boardman)
    Re: Question About TA/TR (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: Telephone System For Cooperative Residential Development (Ed Greenberg)
    Re: LD Transmission Quality Comparison (John Higdon)
    Re: AT&T Wants $3 For International DA (Cristobal Pedregal Martin)
    Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police! (Carl Moore)
    Re: Why 'Die Hard II' Used Pac*Bell Pay Phones (Chris Moore)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 12:32:09 CDT
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: What is the Purpose of the Tri Tones?
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


In article <[e-mail]> Joseph.Bergstein@p501.
f544.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Joseph Bergstein) writes:

> In a message from Andy Jacboson he mentioned "tri-tone" ...

> I've been curious for some time.  Do the tri-tones on various
> intercepts serve any special technical purpose?  Are they just a
> distinctive tone much like the Emergency Broadcast System on radio, so
> that callers will know to listen for a special message? Or is the
> tri-tone processed or handled in some way be TELCO or IXC switches? If
> so, for what purpose?

   Hmmm, "curious for some time" must have not included last April
when I wrote a C.D.T. article on the subject.

   The tones (called SIT) serve a technical purpose, but they are not
involved at all in any switch operation -- that is, their presence or
absence is not noticed by any switch.  And in most cases, they are not
there for subscribers (other than as an attention-getting mechanism).
Instead, their primary purpose is to provide quick feedback to
equipment that evaluates call completion within the telco and IXC
networks.  Such equipment has largely replaced the previous Service
Observing mechanism of the past that relied on real people listening
to the first few seconds of a call.  This allows a much larger
fraction of calls to be "evaluated" for completion, without any person
overhearing a call.

   The major roadblock to automating the evaluation of calls was the
fairly new mechanism of providing an announcement to specify the
reason for a failed call, rather than "fast busy".  The tones at the
beginning of a call failure announcement was the answer.  There are,
in the USA, seven of these "special" tone patterns assigned to
identify a broad category of call failure.  These, together with the
standard "busy" and "fast busy" (usually a No Circuit condition) are
the tones that identify a failed call.  Any unanswered call without
one of these tones is classified as an "abandon", meaning the caller
ended the call, typically after listening to audible ring for a while.

   Note that this mechanism does not detect the rare case of a call
failure when the call goes nowhere -- unless the evaluation system can
also detect audible ring and time the call duration.  Statistics from
the evaluation systems are used to "index" the level of service
offered within a voice network.  And the index can affect one's
paycheck in some way.

   CCITT has (in Q.35/E.180) documented the use of a general SIT to
preceed an announcement, or to indicate call failure without an
announcement.  This is needed because an announcement in a language
foreign to the caller is confusing -- the international SIT is an
unambiguous method of saying "your call failed -- call your operator
for further information".  Speaking of operators, CCITT also suggests
the use of a manually-triggered SIT from an operator that cannot
understand the caller's language.

   So for international callers to the USA, the SITs serve as an
indication of call failure (except for "busy" and "fast busy"), even
if they can't understand the language of the announcement.

 ---- Repeated material from April article in comp.dcom.telecom ----

   The official name for the "tri-tone" is Special Information Tone
(or SIT).  Bellcore (in "Notes on the BOC Intra-LATA Networks - 1986",
TR-NPL-000275) uses the word "Special" because the tones aren't there
for subscribers.  The original use was to allow automated call
detection devices to easily classify call failures by type (Service
Evaluation Systems, for example).  There are seven SIT sequences
defined by Bellcore, using the CCITT-defined (see Q.35) combination of
two low tones, two middle tones and one high tone, each of either a
short (274 msec) or long (380 msec) duration.

   The SIT tones are assigned to categories called Reorder, Vacant
Code, No Circuit, Intercept and Ineffective Other.  Each specific
announcement or tone-generating condition is assigned to one of those
categories.  For Inter-LATA calls, there are IC versions of Reorder
and Vacant Code that attempt to distinguish whether the condition is
due to LEC or IC problems.

   For example, All Trunks Busy from an AT to the IC should get the
IC-version of No Circuit SIT, with the announcement "We're sorry, all
long distance company circuits are busy now.  Will you please try your
call again later?"  But All Trunks Busy from EO to AT (LEC engineered)
will get the LEC-version of No Circuit SIT, then "We're sorry, all
circuits are busy now.  Will you please try your call again later?"
Of course, if the latter announcement ISN'T provided, you just
overflow to generic Reorder tone (120 IPM).


Al Varney - just my opinion


[Moderator's Note: Some European countries are using these tones with
variations. I got one the other day where the tones were heard *three
times* before the message (dee-dee-dee; dee-dee-dee; dee-dee-dee; then
in very crisp English 'this is a Telee-kom Services announcement, the
number you dialed, etc') followed by the tri-tone *four more times
around* and the same announcement before disconnecting. They seem to
know when the Americans are calling and play an English version of the
intercept message. My favorite comes from down in Panama where there
are no proceding tones, but they play a few bars of music in the
background as the woman tells callers to get their act together and
try again. It never seems to disconnect until you do; you can sit
there and listen to the catchy little tune being played while the lady
scolds you over and over in Spanish.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: vixen![e-mail] (22475-adams)
Subject: Re: What is the Purpose of the Tri Tones?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 12:53:56 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, Joseph.Bergstein@p501.
f544.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Joseph Bergstein) writes:

> In a message from Andy Jacboson he mentioned "tri-tone" ...

>> I believe ye olde Bell System did have a specific message for
>> numbers-to-be.  It went something like (This was before the
>> tri-tone era):

>> The number you have reached, NNX-XXXX, has not yet been
>> connected. Please try your call again later.

> I've been curious for some time.  Do the tri-tones on various
> intercepts serve any special technical purpose?  Are they just a
> distinctive tone much like the Emergency Broadcast System on radio, so
> that callers will know to listen for a special message? Or is the
> tri-tone processed or handled in some way be TELCO or IXC switches? If
> so, for what purpose?

Special Information Tones (SIT), as defined by the CCITT consist of a
sequence of three precise tone segments whose specific frequency and
duration are of technical importance.  Detailed information on SITs is
available in CB 154, "Specifications for Special Information Tones
(SIT) for Encoding Recorded Announcements," Issue 3 (Bellcore, June
1983).  These tones are used by automated call-detection devices to
identify call attempts terminating in announcement systems.  Typical
among the causes for these announcements are as noted above: The
number you have reached, NNX-XXXX, has not yet been connected ... is
the Vacant Code (VC) SIT.  There are currently eight SITs; five
originate from your local exchange company, two originate from your
long distance company, with the last one reserved for future use.  In
your particular case, the VC SIT consists of:

    380 ms of 985.2 HZ followed by 30 ms of silence followed by
    274 ms of 1370.6 Hz followed by 30 ms of silence followed by
    380 ms of 1776.7 Hz followed by the above captioned announcement.


Hope this helps,

Jack (John) Adams       Bellcore NVC 2Z-220
[phone] {Voice}       [phone] {Facsimile}
[e-mail]  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: dancer![e-mail] (22501-sohl)
Subject: Re: Recourse on Cordless Eavesdropping?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 18:44:24 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> Alan Millar <amillar@bolis.
SF-Bay.Org> writes:

>> I have just learned that the security guard at our mobile home park
>> has been using some sort of ten channel scanner to listen in on
>> cordless telephone conversations.

>> Does anyone know what recourse we have to deal with this?  Can anyone
>> share any experiences or suggestions?  Thank you.

Without taking a position on the ethics of the situation, as far as I
know, there is no law (federal) that prohibits such listening.  There
may be a state law, but you'd best check with state authorities.  The
practical aspect is that as long as people transmit unencrypted voice
(eg. cordless phones) the possibility will exist that someone can be
listening. NOTHING can change that.  Even with a law prohibiting
eavesdropping (such as the ECPA which prohibits cellular listening,
but not cordless) the reality is there is little that anyone can do to
prohibit someone actually listening.

There is the "lunatic element" that would, if they could, outlaw all
radio equipment that can receive certain types of transmissions, but
here again, unless you outlaw ALL radios, it is trivially simple to
build a converter that could pick-up the "banned" frequencies and
convert them to a lower frequency range that could be received by
radio equipment that wasn't banned.  There has been a push in Congress
to outlaw the future manufacture and sale of radios (ie. scanners)
that can receive cellular.  But even if that becomes law, there still
exists thousands of scanners that are already owned that can receive
cellular.  The proposed new law would not outlaw (nor should it) the
ownership of existing equipment.

So, again, not taking a particular slant on things, I'd suggest you
look into getting some type of secure cordless if you have concerns
that someone is routinely picking up your phone converstaions.


Standard Disclaimer- Any opinions, etc. are mine and NOT my employer's.
Note - If email replying to me with an automatic addressing process
bounces, manually address the resend using one of the addresses below.

Bill Sohl (K2UNK) BELLCORE (Bell Communications Research, Inc.)
Morristown, NJ             email via UUCP      bcr!dancer!whs70
201-829-2879 Weekdays      email via Internet  [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 24 Sep 92 02:24:57 EDT
From: andrew m. boardman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Cell Manufacturers


Aside from flippant comments about a misreading on the part of our
humble Moderator, did anyone ever send either of you any factual
information on this?


andrew    [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 12:56:30 CDT
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: Question About TA/TR
Organization: AT&T


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail].
org.tw (Yee-Lee Shyong) writes:

> How can we get the answer when we study the TA or TR from Bellcore?

> Is there any bulletin board or e_mail address exising for solving the
> problem of TA/TR?

    The easy answer is NO, there is no general e-mail address for such
questions.  Nor would Bellcore have the staff to answer such
questions.

   However, every TA has a cover letter with the name, address and
telephone number (usually) of a contact for discussion of "technical
issues" regarding the TA.  Also, the address and date for responses
from those wishing to comment on the TA is enclosed.  The disclaimer
page of the TA also has a contact for technical issues -- but it may
not be as accurate as the cover letter.

   Once a TR is released, the proper technical-issue contact is noted
on the disclaimer page.  Usually this is a generic address for all
related issues, without a telephone number.  Calling Bellcore on their
standard line [phone] can get you to a person that MIGHT be
willing to talk about a TR.  The best approach is to WRITE a letter
detailing your concern(s) and send it to Bellcore.

   It is only during the TA review phase that Bellcore has technical
folks assigned to the document and prepared to discuss technical
content.  Once published, I don't know that a technical person
continues to be assigned any responsibility for the TR.  But the best
approach is to put something in WRITING, and be prepared to continue
the discussion via mail (or maybe FAX).

   You might want to consider asking a real customer of any potential
product about the TA/TR as well.  Building something to conform to
Bellcore TRs does not mean your product will be useful to anyone with
money to spend.  Nor does it mean it will inter-work with the public
telephone network.  Maybe it will -- but the TRs are just consensus
recommendations by Bellcore, not written specifications of any
purchasing organization.


Al Varney - the above represents MY opinion.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 11:22:04 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Ed Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Telephone System For a Cooperative Residential Development
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)


While this would doubtless be a fun system to design and install (the
chance to play telephone company appeals) I think you're looking for
trouble.

- Most PBX installations tie together people with a common
communications need such as workers in a single corporation, people on
a school campus, etc.  This gives them "intercom" services over a wide
area.  Your residents are like as not to have more communications
needs OUTSIDE the system(s) than inside.

- Most PBX installations of quality are managed by highly paid
professionals. Your PBX(s) would likely be administered by amateurs.

- In order to provide reliable telephone service, a sizeable
investment must be made in equipment, troubleshooting, backup, etc.

- How would you bill toll calls? How would you handle equal access and
carrier selection?

- Your organization would have to pay for business lines, where the
individuals would be able to get residential lines.  No flat rate for
your customers.

I guess that the bottom line is that I'd love to play with a PBX,
especially with a captive audience, but I'd hate to be a customer of
the arrangement you describe.  I'll take my line from the telco, thank
you.


Ed Greenberg         | Home: [phone] | [e-mail]
P. O. Box 28618        | Work: [phone] | DoD#: 0357
San Jose, CA  95159    | Fax:  [phone] | KM6CG (ex WB2GOH)

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 22:10 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: LD Transmission Quality Comparison


[e-mail] (John R Ruckstuhl Jr) writes:

> Can I safely extrapolate -- AT&T LD quality is superior ?

Regarding modem communications, apparently the answer is 'yes'. I have
six modems that are communicating with modems around the country and
occasionally overseas around the clock. Each day I send and receive
tens of megabytes over long distance circuits.

Every so often, I find that a better rate can be had from MCI or from
Sprint by using some plan or another. Each time I have started routing
calls over anyone other than AT&T, all hell breaks loose. I find
failed conversations aplenty. UUCP sends me messages right and left
peppered with 'LOGIN FAILED' or 'CONVERSATION FAILED' or 'LOST LINE'.
Frequently, throughput falls from 1400 CPS to something like 300-400
CPS. And invariably, my overall bill goes WAY up. Why? First there is
the lower throughput. Then there are the billing errors.

The "other guys" are fine for very casual residential voice use. MCI
and Sprint can even sometimes be useful for very specific business
applications (who have their own accounting systems and can check the
carriers' accuracy in billing). But for heavy duty residential data
calling, there is none other than good ole' AT&T.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   | [phone]  |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | +0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: AT&T Wants $3 For International DA
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 11:56:46 EDT
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In telecom 12 (727) Gabe M. Wiener remarks that AT&T charges $3 for
international DA.  Funny, I remember it being $1.50 when it ceased to
be free.

I've used international DA a few times; I've found the service
excellent. I concur with the Moderator: it often takes upwards of five
minutes.  AT&T people have been nice and helpful; on occasion they've
asked whether I'd prefer to do the talking with the remote DA.

I also was frustrated that non-customers were using the service at the
expense of customers (like me). So, the question for the wizards at
AT&T: is it expensive to do a lookup and see if the caller is a Dial
1+ customer?  Then AT&T could go back to the nice free international
DA for those, and politely inform the rest that they'll be charged a
fee.

On the other hand, if Sprint is free now ... :-)


Cristobal Pedregal Martin     [e-mail] (internet)
Computer Science Department   UMass / Amherst, MA 01003


[Moderator's Note: The same gentleman's voice on the intercept I heard
the other day is used in the message France plays over and over for
callers to Directory Enquiry who must sit in a queue for five minutes
waiting their turn: 'Telee-kom Services ... we're trying to extend
your call.  Please stand by,' followed by two or three bars of music.
This ten second blurb followed by five seconds of silence plays over
and over to callers in the queue for directory, about four times per
minute for 20-30 recitations before the French operators deign to
respond and look up the number requested. ("Oui, Pittsburgh? I'm soo
sorry that mademoiselle waited ten minutes then got cut off without an
answer, and had to dial again and wait five more minutes.")  If the
AT&T IOC has any production quotas for their operators, overseas DA
will blow it every time.  It is a big money loser, even at $3.00.  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 10:56:24 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police!


To summarize: 650611 in the Netherlands (at Amsterdam?) got a lot of
calls, and on many of them only the last 4 digits got through, causing
many calls to reach police at the 0611 emergency number.

What kind of exchange is it that strips some leading digits off and
processes the remaining digits, within what is apparently only the
local phone number?

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 13:17:18 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Why 'Die Hard II' Used Pac*Bell Pay Phones


Chantilly, Va. is still around.  The airport was called Dulles after a
former U.S. Secretary of State.

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #730
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #731

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 25 Sep 92 01:49:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 731

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Consultants Directory - Questionnaire (Nigel Allen)
    Octel to Purchase Tigon ([e-mail])
    Ardis and Cellular Modems (Jim De Arras)
    Info Requested on Packeted Mail Methods ([e-mail])
    Hurricane Iniki Repair Efforts (Timothy K. Hong)
    Information Listing Access Thru Internet? (Steven Glinberg)
    Wireless Communications Symposium (Chris Ray)
    Reference Books on Telecom Interfaces (Thomas E. Lowe)
    800 Numbers Restricted by NYTel? (Henry Mensch)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Consultants Directory - Questionnaire
Date: 25 Sep 92 02:14:36 GMT
Organization: NDA


 (If you are a consultant or run a consulting company, you may want to
get listed -- free of charge -- in the Consultants and Consulting
Organizations Directory. Fill out the following form and return it to
the address shown, not to me.)

Complete this form for FREE listing in:
CONSULTANTS AND CONSULTING ORGANIZATIONS DIRECTORY
A Reference Guide to Concerns and Individuals Engaged in Consultation
for Business, Industry, and Government. Published by Gale Research Inc.

Return questionnaire to:
 Consultants and Consulting Organizations Directory
 Editorial Services Limited
 P.O. Box 6789
 Silver Spring, Maryland 20916
 telephone [phone]
 fax [phone]

Name of Firm or Independent Consultant:

Address (list branch offices at end of questionnaire):

Telephone:                        Year Founded:
Fax:                     Toll-free:           Other:
Principal executives (names and titles):
Number of staff (total):
Number of staff (consulting professionals):
Annual consulting revenues (omit, if not for publication):
Description of consulting services:

Industries served:
Indicate the appropriate description of your firm:
 [] large business  [] small business
 [] minority-owned  [] women-owned  [] serves government
Geographic area served:

MAJOR SUBJECT SECTIONS
Each company is listed in one major subject section. Check the box of
the one subject that best reflects the activity of your organization.
  [] Agriculture, Forestry and Landscaping
  [] Architecture anfd Interior Design
  [] Art, Graphics and Communications Media
  [] Business and Finance
  [] Computer Technology, Telecommunications, and Information Services
  [] Education and Personal Development
  [] Engineering, Science, and Technology
  [] Environment, Geology, and Land Use
  [] Health, Medicine and Safety
  [] Human Resources Development
  [] Management
  [] Manufacturing/Industrial/Transportation Operations
  [] Marketing and Sales
  [] Politics and Social Issues

Recent publications or videos by your organization and/or its principal
executives (provide full bibliographic information for each title):

Seminars/workshops (List titles and topics of programs sponsored or
presented by your organization):

Computer and Special Services (include descriptions of unusual computer
hardware, software, systems, or data bases used in consulting work, as
well as any other special services not covered above):

The following information is very important.
Branch offices: List complete street address, P.O. Box, city, state or
province, country, zip or postal code.

Attach additional sheets if necessary.

Prepared by (name, title and date):



   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  bbs.oit.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Octel to Purchase Tigon
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 92 11:08:57 PDT


[Moderator's Note: Two weeks ago I printed a summary of this
information here. There have been various requests for the entire
press release which Shaun had sent along -- here it is.   PAT]

All typos come from my overworked fingers.

Other last minute info:

 - Octel now supports CCITT SS7 on our Sierra voicemail systems
   (Sierra are our real big boxes typically used by COs to provide
   voice messaging.)

 - Sierra now supports GSM Short Message Service for voice message
   notification.

 - Octel voice processing products now network with Northern Telecom,
   VMX, Centigram and Digital Sound products using the AMIS analog
   network protocol.


I can post some or all of the press releases associated with the above
items to the list if anyone is interested.

Shaun.

 --- snip snip snip ---

Conact:
Barbara Burdick                Michael Brand
[phone]                [phone]
Octel Communications           Ameritech

Jill Boeschenstein
[phone]
Tigon

                   OCTEL COMMUNICATIONS TO AQUIRE TIGON;
                      To cooperate with Ameritech in
                     Information Services Development

Milpitas, CA -- September 11, 1992 -- Octel Communications Corporation
today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to aquire The
Tigon Corporation from the Chicago-based Ameritech.  Tigon is a
leading independent voice messaging service provider headquartered in
Dallas, Texas.  The terms of the proposed aquisition, which is subject
to regulatory approval and is expected to close in mid-October, were
not disclosed.  Tigon will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Octel and retain its existing management structure and distribution
channels.  Continued support of Tigon's existing customers' service
arrangements is a key commitment of Octel, Tigon, and Ameritech.

     Separately, Ameritech has agreed to purchase voice processing
services from Tigon to supply residential and business customers in
its five-state Midwest region.  These services will be supported on
Octel's voice information processing systems.

     "The aquisition of Tigon allows Octel to better serve the full
range of our customers' connectivity, messaging, and information
services needs on both a domestic and international basis," said Doug
Chance, Octel president and CEO.  "Octel also will work with Ameritech
to jointly develop new voice information services and markets."

     Chance said Tigon's voice mail service offerings and network
capabilities will provide full messaging connectivity for
multi-national customers with office sites of any size.  Working with
existing channels of distribution, Octel will be able to offer global
voice messaging connectivity with full network services support.

     "Longer term, this aquisition supports Octel's commitment to
develop new products and services in the areas of network hubbing,
information services, network management, administration and technical
support for our customers, RBOC's and distributors," Chance said.

     "Tigon's efforts to achieve its full potential clearly were
constrained by ongoing MFJ* limits on Ameritech's business
activities," said Louis J. Rutigliano, Ameritech vice chairman.  "We
look forward to working with Tigon and Octel to fully satisfy our
customers' needs for voice messaging services in the future.

THE TIGON CORPORATION

     Tigon, a leading voice messaging service provider, connects users
in 13 countries on three continents.  Tigon has extended its presence
in the international marketplace by establishing relationships in
Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Taiwan, and Japan.  Based in
Dallas, Tigon has a presence in most major U.S. metropolitan areas and
provides voice processing services to many Fortune 500 corporations
throughout the world.

AMERITECH

     Ameritech is the Chicago-based parent of the Bell companies
serving Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, as well as
several other information-related subsidiaries, both foreign and
domestic, providing mobile communications, directory publishing,
audiotex services and lease financing.

OCTEL COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION

     Octel Communications Corporation (NASD:OCTL) designs,
manufactures, services and markets a complete line of voice-processing
servers and software.  These systems solve a range of communications
problems by allowing callers to access multiple information sources --
voice, image, and data -- during a single touch-tone telephone call.
Octel's systems and services are available in North America, Europe,
and the Pacific Rim to Fortune 1000 customers, multi-site
corporations, telephone companies, cellular service providers and
small businesses.  Founded in 1982, Octel is headquartered in
Milpitas, California.

                               # # #

* Modified Final Judgement (by the Justice Department in 1984)

   --- end snippage --- cut-n-save ---


[e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: In related news, Ameritech announced recently that
the voicemail service described above was being transferred from the
control of Ameritech to IBT beginning in October. The service will
henceforth be known as "Voice Mail From Illinois Bell". In addition,
they have decided it was too expensive; beginning in October the price
will be *reduced* to $7.10 per month (it was $9.80 which included the
required 'transfer on BY/DA' feature in the CO and the 'stutter dial
tone' the CO used to announce messages-waiting). New enhancements in
October will include the ability to change passwords at will and save
more messages for a longer time. I think it will also be set up so
that when possible (call not blocked and number otherwise available)
it will automatically stamp each incoming message with the phone
number of the caller as well as the time and date.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jim De Arras)
Subject: Ardis and Cellular Modems
Organization: Hand Held Products, Inc.
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 02:05:20 GMT


Folks,

 I need sources for info on the Ardis system and Cellular modems ASAP.
Any and all responses welcomed!

Email to [e-mail].


Jim De Arras            | The opinions expressed herein are
Hand Held Products, Inc.| not necessarily those of Hand
804.784.3090 voice      | Held Products, Inc., and may not
804.784.3147 FAX        | even be mine. Use at your own risk.

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1992  22:44:49 EDT
Subject: Info Requested on Packeted Mail Methods


I would like to obtain any information anyone has on any of the
following:

1.  QWK Off-Line mail packeting, including specifications
    of the information supplied, file formats, special features
    etc.

2.  Compression and archival methods.  I am looking for information
    about the TAR and COMPRESS archiver methods used on UNIX
    boxes (and sources that can create and extract files which
    are either .TAR or .Z format.

3.  File transfer methods; I have specifications for KERMIT and
    ZMODEM, I'm looking for others which are useful in this
    type of circumstance.

The purpose of this is to document the methods used to read and
respond to electronic mail on BBS systems.  I want to document this
for the purpose of submitting it as an Internet RFC.


Please send replies to [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: 25 Sep 92 04:11:00 UT
Subject: Hurricane Iniki Repair Efforts


To all you GTE bashers out there, here is a brief update on the effort
that GTE Hawaiian Tel is making to to help its Kauai customers:

-   As trunking is restored at each central office, GTE Hawaiian Tel set
    up emergency phone banks.  All local and long distance calls from
    these phone banks are free until October 15.

-   Interisland calls made from any working phone on Kauai are free
    through September 27.

-   Customer Service Centers were established at the seven FEMA Disaster
    Assistance Centers.

-   All Kauai customers will receive credit for one month's billing.

-   The GTE Foundation made its largest disaster relief grant to the
    American Red Cross Hurricane Iniki Relief Fund.

Also, teams of GTE Hawaiian Tel employees were and still are being
flown to Kauai from the other islands to assist in the restoration.
Many of these teams flew in on military flights early Saturday
morning, September 12, and haven't been home yet.  Employees on Kauai
were out early Saturday morning after Iniki hit, attempting to cut
their way through all the debris.  It took some of them two days to
make it back to the Lihue Baseyard.

I have been reading a lot of negative comments about GTE.  Everyone is
entitled to their own opinions, and I won't disagree with any of them.
However, after a major disaster such as Hurricane Iniki hitting Kauai
and parts of Oahu, I think that GTE Hawaiian Tel has done an excellent
job in restoring telecommunications to the islands.  In times like
this, the whole State will pull together like one big "Ohana"
(family).  GTE Hawaiian Tel is a part of that "Ohana", like all the
other businesses in Hawaii.


For example, after Iniki, banks on Kauai were opening (if they could)
for longer hours to allow people to access their money.  Almost
everything was on a cash only basis.  Both local airlines offered
their planes to shuttle relief supplies and people to Kauai.  Even
Hawaiian Electric Company sent over several shipments of poles to
assist in restorations (Kauai Electric is owned by a mainland firm).


Mahalo!
Timothy Hong  -  OSP Eng Sys
GTE Hawaiian Tel -- "Beyond The Call"
Internet: [e-mail]   GTEMail: T.Hong

Usual Disclaimer - I do not represent my company, only myself.  All
statements and opinions are strictly mine.  The accuracy of this
information is questionable, as is everything else I write.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Steven Glinberg)
Subject: Information Listing Access Through Internet?
Organization: University of Wisconsin, Madison -- Computer Sciences Dept.
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 04:13:38 GMT


I'm curious if there is a known way to ftp or telnet to a place with
an information type listing in order to find somebody's phone number
without calling information.  This may be a stupid request, I'm not sure.

If you could tell me something about this topic I would really
appreciate it!


Thanks in advance,

[e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: The amount of data to be stored in such a project
is HUGE. I don't know of any non-commercial site which has it. You can
get millions of residential listings through the GO PHONES service on
Compuserve; but in addition to CIS rates, you must pay a surcharge to
the Information Provider/Broker who is doing this through Compuserve.
It is comprehensive and allows wild-card style searches using
addresses and matching parts of names, etc.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Chris Ray)
Subject: Wireless Communications Symposium
Organization: Balr Corporation
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 04:44:34 GMT



    *********                        @@
    ******---                      **/\**
    ****-----                     ***||****
    ***-----*     IEEE COMMUNICATIONS SOCIETY    @*(*||*)**@
    ****-----                     ***||****
    *****----         Chicago Chapter          ******
    *********                        @@


          WIRELESS  COMMUNICATIONS  SYMPOSIUM


          Location:  University of Illinois at Chicago


          Date:  Thursday  October  29th,  1992



    Agenda:

    8:30AM - Morning Keynote
        Dr. P.M. Chung - Dean Engineering  UIC

    9:00AM - Wireless Access Technologies and Wireless Communication
        Systems - FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, Cellular, Airfone, PCN, PCS
        Dr. Jeffry Gluck - UIC

    10:00AM - U.S. Standards - AMPS, TDMA, IS54
        Mr. Ken Smolik - DMTS AT&T Bell Labs

    Coffee Break

    11:00AM - International Standards - Wireless PBX, GSM, etc.
        Mr. Ken Sander - V.P. of Sales and Marketing Ericsson

    12noon - Lunch (Provided)

    1:00PM - Afternoon Keynote
        Mr. Jim Caile - V.P. of Marketing  Motorola Inc.

    1:30PM - Cellular Networking - IS 41, IS 45
        Mr. Jim Naumann - Assist. Dir. Network Planning
                Ameritech Mobile Communications

    2:30PM - The Ameritech PCS Trial
         Mr. Ken Hallman - Supv. Wireless Services  Ameritech Corp.
        - PCS & the Intelligent Network
         Mrs. Debbie McCann - Mgr. Network Applications Platforms Planning
          Ameritech Services

    Coffee Break

    3:30PM - Authentication and User Privacy
        Mrs. Mary Beth Flanders - Staff Engineer  Corp. R&D Motorola

    4:30PM - Tour of UIC Research Labs


        Registration Fees:

        $95 IEEE Members and Students ::  $120 after  10-15-1992

        $125 Non-Members ::  $150 after  10-15-1992

        Check, VISA, MasterCard, American Express

        FEES INCLUDE ADMISSION, NOTES, AND LUNCH

        SORRY,,, NO REFUNDS AFTER OCTOBER 1st. 1992


Pre-Registration (netnews) form

Name             Business Phone            Company/Org


Room/Mail Stop        Street Address            City/State/Zip



IEEE Membership #      []Check  []MC  []VISA  []AMEX      Amount

(Please make checks payable to "Chicago Chapter of the Communications Society")


CC Account #        Exp Date        Signature          Date



E-mail


Please Fax or E-mail to:


Wireless Symposium Registration
c/o Ken Smolik
AT&T Bell Labs
1000 E. Warrenville Road
Naperville, IL.   60566
PH: 708.713.1455
FAX: [phone]
E-mail: uunet!ihlpf.att.com!kfs

Corrections to this form - E-mail to  [e-mail]
Bruce Altmann - Chapter Sec.  92-93


Chris Ray  [e-mail]       BALR Corporation

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (thomas.e.lowe)
Subject: Reference Books on Telecom Interfaces
Organization: AT&T
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1992 16:23:17 GMT


I am in need of some good reference books on the physical telephone
interfaces and signaling used in many of the countries around the
world (i.e. E1, R1, ISDN, etc.), including Switch to Switch and Switch
to End-User interfaces.

If you know of any good books, please let me know.

Thanks,


Tom Lowe   AT&T Bell Labs
908-949-0428   [e-mail]   or [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Henry Mensch)
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 92 09:52:40 -0700
Subject: 800 Numbers Restricted by NYTel?
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Last week I was in New York City's West Village when I got this urge
to call home for messages ... I have a personal 800 number (with
Sprint) that I know to work in NYC.  I go to a public phone on the
street and dial the number ... imagine my surprise when I got an AT&T
intercept asking me if I needed help.  I said "No, I don't need help;
I dialed an 800 number," hung up and tried again ... same effect.
Several tries on several NYTEL phones later, an intercept operator
said that the phone was restricted from placing 800 calls.

Now I just don't understand this.  Why on earth would a public phone
on the street be restricted from placing 800 calls?  Any clues?


# henry mensch / booz, allen & hamilton, inc.  / <[e-mail]>

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #731
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #732

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 26 Sep 92 11:57:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 732

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Richard Nash)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (John Higdon)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Tom Brusehaver)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Joshua Putnam)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Bob Frankston)
    Re: Cable TV Re-Regulation (Mark Allyn)
    Re: AT&T Wants $3 For International DA (Charlie Mingo)
    Re: AT&T Wants $3 For International DA (Jim Rees)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 16:10:50 -0600
From: [e-mail] (Richard Nash)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation


> Smetimes attempts at sarcasm result in arguments that are exceedingly
> silly and off the mark. To wit:

> [e-mail] (Richard Nash) writes:

>> Thanks John, for specifically targeting my comments! I have been
>> very interested in following your tireless responses and attacks on
>> anyone who opposes your view.  I honestly enjoy and appreciate reading
>> from the mind of someone who is fearless in expressing their ideals
>> and challenging those of us that are still learning...

Ok, where is my flint and torch ... Hiss ... Flick, flick,, kaBOOM! ...
Whoosh! ! ! :) :) :) Ouch! Ouch! :)

>> No, you are perfectly free to do what many have done and buy a long
>> distance telephone company and have access to all the inter-carrier
>> benefits. You will be dealing directly with all the other carriers who
>> typically charge less than your PIC does.

> This is not such an outrageous idea. If you make any substantial amount
> of calls, becoming your own long distance company makes a lot of sense.
> In fact, most very large companies do this to some degree or another.
> The costs are not as bad as one might imagine and there are benefits
> that go beyond getting merely cheap long distance.

So if this is so realistic, why haven't I heard about the J.H. Telco
and Auto Repair Kompany? :) :) :)

>>> TVRO too expensive? Then maybe cable is not such a bad deal after all.
>>> But do not say there is no competition. Maybe the problem is that you
>>> do not feel that you should have to pay for the things you enjoy.

>> Telephone company too expensive? Then maybe using the services of one
>> of the existing carriers is not such a bad deal after all. But do not
>> say that there is no competition.  Maybe the problem is that you do
>> not feel that you should pay for the things you enjoy.

> This is where it all falls apart. Comparing the cost of a $2,000 TVRO
> dish to setting up or buying a telephone company is straining
> credibility. Why is it that people must go to extremes in an attempt to
> prop up an attitude?

Yes, you may accuse me of straining my credibility with my sarcastic
parroted remark, but perhaps the spirit of the remark may have evaded
you.  That is, unless the lottery ticket wins substantially, I doubt
that most can or will ever be able to afford the satellite dish, the
legitimate subscription fees, and additional start up and maintenance
costs to support a TVRO. My landlord sure won't let me put up a dish!
Satellite TVRO is NOT an option that everyone can select. High density
housing does not allow this option.  Cable companies know that they
have a captive audience and treat us so, providing the same poor
service that you claim to receive from your telephone company.

> And let us put this all in perspective. The telephone is essential
> to the continuation of my personal and business affairs. If my cable
> was disconnected today forever, the only probable effect would be
> that I might get more work done.

As you well know, in this age of being constantly bombarded with life
and death drama as played over television screens all across this
nation, television is not an insignificant medium. It feeds upon the
weaknesses of the socially repressed and strengthens the
misrepresentations of political parties. Witness the significance of a
completely fictional character (Murphy Brown) having the slightest
influence in directing the thoughts of the masses to evaluate the
correctness of a presidential hopeful.

What is essential, is very much confined to the perspective of each of
us in our own present circumstances.  Since my cable delivers
information that I constantly use for my personal and business
affairs, (stock market, electronic news, entertainment, current global
social perspectives, etc), this flow of information is essential.
"Information is power!!" someone said.

> The telephone is a utility; cable TV is entertainment. Try to keep that
> in mind the next time you make very silly analogies.

Yes, cable TV is a medium used to deliver entertainment, but is much
more that just a mental escape hatch. You won't agree that the nations
children are partially educated by TV, and that most of it is
delivered via cable TV? Or that nations' leaders use television to
gauge the public reaction to their exploits?

Or that large corporations rely upon successful advertising campaigns
delivered into the homes of between 70-80 percent of all American
homes via cable TV? Perhaps your income and the continuation of
personal and business affairs is tied to their business success? They
lose, you lose.  Nope, both are utilities and have a very similar
monopolistic structure.  In fact I do believe that cable TV wants to
enter the telephone biz and provide dial tone on their delivery
systems?


Richard Nash     Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
UUCP:         trickie![e-mail]

------------------------------

From: zygot![e-mail] (John Higdon)
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 02:06:10 PDT
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation


On Sep 25 at 16:10, Richard Nash writes:

> I honestly enjoy and appreciate reading from the mind of someone who
> is fearless in expressing their ideals and challenging those of us
> that are still learning ...

Thank you. I accept that as a compliment.

> So if this is so realistic, why haven't I heard about the J.H. Telco and
> Auto Repair Kompany? :) :) :)

For the simple reason that the my phone company exists under another
name. Oh, are you surprised that I practice what I preach? I have been
in the long distance business for some time. Unlike many on the forum,
however, I do not solicit business or promote my services in any way
on the net. So instead of an Organization: line that reads 'Hayes' or
'IBM', it reads 'Green Hills and Cows' which is definitely NOT the
name of any of my companies or DBAs.

> Yes, you may accuse me of straining my credibility with my sarcastic
> parroted remark, but perhaps the spirit of the remark may have evaded
> you.  That is, unless the lottery ticket wins substantially, I doubt
> that most can or will ever be able to afford the satellite dish, the
> legitimate subscription fees, and additional start up and maintenance
> costs to support a TVRO.

But this is precisely what my remark was addressing. In other words,
by your own admission there IS competition to cable; it just is not
priced as reasonably. So the issue is not competition but rather
REASONABLY PRICED competition. Hence, it would seem that cable is not
the Bad Deal that many are making it out to be. It is, in fact, the
most reasonably priced alternative, no?

> Cable companies know that they have a captive audience and treat us
> so, providing the same poor service that you claim to receive from
> your telephone company.

Actually, I receive exceptionally good service from Pacific Bell. It
is GTE that stinks. Which indicates that even under regulation,
different companies will provide different levels of service. GTE even
costs more than Pac*Bell. Both are highly regulated monopolies. Why
the differences? How would regulation change anything with cable? (For
the record, my cable company -- TCI, the Evil Empire -- provides first
rate service to my home. Outages are unheard of and everything except
bonafide premium channels are in the clear and not scrambled.)

> As you well know, in this age of being constantly bombarded with
> life and death drama as played over television screens all across this
> nation, television is not an insignificant medium. It feeds upon the
> weaknesses of the socially repressed and strengthens the
> misrepresentations of political parties. Witness the significance of a
> completely fictional character (Murphy Brown) having the slightest
> influence in directing the thoughts of the masses to evaluate the
> correctness of a presidential hopeful.

That is actually a good reason why television should be ignored,
which, by the way, is what a genuinely well-informed person should do.
TV has blurred the distinction between fantasy and reality.
Docu-dramas, "fact-based" programs such as "Unsolved Mysteries", and
even news magazines such as "60 Minutes" spread more misinformation in
one week than was ever accumulated in the first half of this century.
Television has single-handedly done a superb job of dumbing down
America.

And, of course, all of the above is simply my opinion. But from that
point of view, I can hardly consider the availability of TV on the
same plane as the availability of telecommunications.

> What is essential, is very much confined to the perspective of each
> of us in our own present circumstances.  Since my cable delivers
> information that I constantly use for my personal and business
> affairs, (stock market, electronic news, entertainment, current global
> social perspectives, etc), this flow of information is essential.
> "Information is power!!" someone said.

And, of course, there are other sources for all of this information.
Which means that your cable company is already competing for your
dollar.

> Yes, cable TV is a medium used to deliver entertainment, but is much
> more that just a mental escape hatch. You won't agree that the nations
> children are partially educated by TV, and that most of it is
> delivered via cable TV? Or that nations' leaders use television to
> gauge the public reaction to their exploits?

Unfortunately, this is very much the case. Television has become a
surrogate parent, teacher, playmate, and reality for children who
would rather waste away watching an average of 7.5 hours of TV a day
instead of building, creating, learning about reality, or interacting
with peers. Sometimes I wonder if the occasional programs of value or
interest are worth the monstrous mind-numbing infrastructure that
carries them.

> Or that large corporations rely upon successful advertising
> campaigns delivered into the homes of between 70-80 percent of all
> American homes via cable TV? Perhaps your income and the continuation
> of personal and business affairs is tied to their business success?

Actually, I am more radio oriented. Cable is the competition. I
consider TV advertising to be aimed at a much lower power spending
demographic than the print medium or even radio. The businesses whose
economic health concerns me are definitely not TV advertising-driven.

> Nope, both are utilities and have a very similar monopolistic
> structure.  In fact I do believe that cable TV wants to enter the
> telephone biz and provide dial tone on their delivery systems.

If cable goes into competition with Pac*Bell, I am free to use it or
not. If it is not as good or more expensive, I will just stick to what
I have. That is the beauty of a free market. As I pointed out above,
regulation does not guarantee anything. GTE is crap and Pac*Bell is
very good; both are regulated by the same entity. So it will be with
cable. Regulation will accomplish nothing. Some cable providers will
do a good job and some will not. It will be the luck of the draw.

I believe our differences of opinion, sarcasm aside, center around the
importance of television. I not only consider it not important, I
consider it to be a liability and a hazard to the social well-being of
our nation. On a personal level, I grew up in a house without
television. I am also mostly self-taught. By the time my eight-year
younger brother came along and reached the impressionable years, he
watched more TV than I would have considered possible. And pushing 40,
he is still trying to decide what to do with his life. (None of this
is offered as scientific reasoning, but rather to acquaint you with
some of my prejudices.)

Just now, in closing, I caught the fact that you reside in Canada. We
are talking on two different levels here. You have REAL television; US
TV is garbage. I have seen the calibre of Canadian TV via satellite.
None of my comments apply to your TV industry. In essence, we disagree
because we are each in a different universe.


 John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
 [e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 13:51:28 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Tom Brusehaver)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation


Ouch!!!

> [Moderator's Note: The cable people have tried for a couple years to
> get me to sign up ... I refuse to. We keep our television mainly so
> the little one (three years old in December) can watch the *nice*
> programs on public television. The rest of us listen to WNIB or
> watch Channel 11 (public/educational television) sometimes.  PAT]

The story goes, I let my kid watch the "good" stuff on TV.  The
reality is you are giving your kid a habit to watch TV, there is some
good stuff on it, a little bad won't hurt.  Take the TV away before it
is too late.  I am trying to wean an 12 year old, and a 10 year old
because they have the TV habit.  Give them something to do that is
more fun, and potentially more educational to replace it, though.

Here in Minnesota, there are only a few months of good weather
outside, you find many kids hanging around in the house watching TV.
This isn't good for them.  We take the TV away in the summer.

Good Luck.


[Moderator's Note: I would like to mention that Minnesota Public Radio
is one of the finest airwave resources I know about. We gets lots of
MPR stuff here via either WBEZ (the NPR outlet here) or sometimes WNIB
does some MPR stuff. At our home we keep his television watching under
control. Other than channel 11 programs, he gets to watch the Three
Stooges and *selected* Saturday morning cartoon shows. I think I have
bought at least a hundred of the Little Golden Books for children for
him and we read those instead (or his mom and dad read to him.)   PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Joshua_Putnam)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Happy Man Corp., Vashon Island, WA 98070-7399
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 16:35:58 GMT


>>> Having your own TV antenna is now impossible in many places because of
>>> real estate covenants.  Ask any ham radio operator.

I've heard of covenants that prohibit outdoor antennas, but that still
leaves the possibility of indoor antennas.  My TV antenna is in the
attic and works just as well as it did outdoors, but now it doesn't
get soaked in salt spray all winter so the antenna does not corrode
away and the signal amp required in our marginal reception area does
not go bad every year like it used to.

(Your construction practices and building codes may vary, so obviously
this is not a universal solution.)


[e-mail]    Happy Man Corp.  206/463-9399 x102
4410 SW Pt. Robinson Rd., Vashon Island, WA  98070-7399  fax x108
We publish SOLID VALUE for the intelligent investor.  NextMail OK
Info free; sample $20: Send POSTAL addr: [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Date: Fri 25 Sep 1992 16:27 -0400


Just because some TELECOM Digest readers are too elitist too tolerate
cable TV doesn't mean it isn't vital and useful.  Just because the
{National Enquirer} is not my idea of a vital information source
doesn't mean that the {New York Times} or the {Economist} aren't
useful and, perhaps, vital (ignoring their contributions to
landfills).

Current cable TV is a seriously flawed defacto monopoly.  While there
is useful programming selected by the local operators, there is much
else available that I cannot access. The cable system is also one
option for wide bandwidth communications.  I'm not sure how to expand
on the potential for cable but just dismissing it as mere mindrot is
missing the point.  Just like those who dismissed the telephone
because it was more polite to walk over to your neighbor rather than
telephoning.


[Moderator's Note: You mention the {National Enquirer}, but IMHO, they
do not hold a candle to {World Weekly News} which is the one I read
for the honest and thorough reporting missing in my competitor Kay
Graham's two ragsheets {The Washington Post} and News Weak.  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 08:10:22 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Mark Allyn)
Subject: Re: Cable TV Re-Regulation


There is a decent article about this mess in the Thursday Sept. 24
edition of the {Wall Street Journal}.


Mark

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Charlie Mingo)
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 21:03:56 -0500
Subject: Re: AT&T Wants $3 For International DA


> [Moderator's Note: The same gentleman's voice on the intercept I heard
> the other day is used in the message France plays over and over for
> callers to Directory Enquiry who must sit in a queue for five minutes
> waiting their turn: 'Telee-kom Services ... we're trying to extend
> your call.  Please stand by,' followed by two or three bars of music.
> This ten second blurb followed by five seconds of silence plays over
> and over to callers in the queue for directory, about four times per
> minute for 20-30 recitations before the French operators deign to
> respond and look up the number requested. ("Oui, Pittsburgh? I'm soo
> sorry that mademoiselle waited ten minutes then got cut off without an
> answer, and had to dial again and wait five more minutes.")  If the
> AT&T IOC has any production quotas for their operators, overseas DA
> will blow it every time.  It is a big money loser, even at $3.00.  PAT]

    Now that AT&T is charging $3 and taking 15 minutes to come up with
a French phone number, may I remind people that Minitel Services Corp.
will find any number there in seconds for $.17/minute.

    There are free Minitel emulators available for Macs and Pee Cee's.
I don't know why AT&T doesn't try using Minitel, since that's how the
French look up numbers.

    Anyone interested can email me for details.  (No connection to
Minitel except as a customer.)


[Moderator's Note: Well in fairness it is not *usually* fifteen
minutes, but four or five minutes is not uncommon. And at least it is
not like some places in Central America where I have heard the
operator put the phone down; go somewhere to look in books and come
back to the phone a couple minutes later to check on the spelling of
the requested listing; then walk away again and return sooner or later
to say the number still could not be found. Australia, New Zealand
and the UK have a real class act where directory is concerned. Their
operators answer quite quickly, and in the case of the UK, the operator
types it in the computer and you hear a voice response within seconds:
"The number you require is xxxxxx; I repeat, the number you require,
etc ...".  Like the USA, once it is found, the operator leaves the
line and the robot takes over.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jim Rees)
Subject: Re: AT&T Wants $3 For International DA
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: University of Michigan IFS Project
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 15:03:54 GMT


Why doesn't AT&T just use Minitel for DA on calls to France?  Surely
they do enough volume to justify the cost.


[Moderator's Note: I dunno. Maybe they have to give a cut or a piece
of the action to France's Telecom, or maybe they have a deal with them
on DA given out in this country to callers from France.  ??   PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #732
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #733

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 26 Sep 92 12:43:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 733

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System (Shrikumar)
    Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System (Carl Moore)
    Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System (D.A. Griffiths)
    Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System (Randy Gellens)
    Re: 800 Numbers Restricted by NYTel? (Robert Cohen)
    Re: 800 Numbers Restricted by NYTel? (J. Butz)
    Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police! (Eugene R. Schroeder)
    Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police! (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police! (Peter Knoppers)
    Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police! (Hans Mulder)
    Re: AT&T Wants $3 For International DA (Gabe M. Wiener)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Arthur J. Byrnes)
    Re: The Round Table (Paul Robinson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 25 Sep 92 23:22:10 -0400
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System
Organization: UMass, Amherst, MA / Temporal Sys & Comp Net, Bombay, India.


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] wrote:

> I called those Dallas-area voice recognition phone numbers recently
> published in the Digest.  I had at least two cases of "seven" going
> through as "two".

  And my Asian/Indian-accented "two" was always consitently read as a
"zero". It did get my two correct when I deliberately put on the best
American accent I could manage.

  Seven as a two, two as a zero ... !? Even the number of syllables,
phonemes, allophones ... (whoever you count) differ!


shrikumar ( [e-mail], [e-mail] )

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 25 Sep 92 17:23:08 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System


I have just now called the firm, and ended up leaving a message on a
machine or on voicemail.  In the demos which I had called, the firm
gave its address and phone number as:

Voice Control Systems
14140 Midway Road, Suite 100
Dallas, TX 75244
214-386-0300

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Darren Alex Griffiths)
Subject: Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System
Organization: Open Systems Solutions Inc.
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 21:33:34 GMT


[e-mail] (John Higdon) writes:

> As an indication as to how well this will all work, it probably should
> be noted that Unisys is the vendor for [drum roll] -- Pac*Bell's
> Message Center. We certainly know how functional and reliable THAT
> system is!

I believe that's only partly correct.  It's my understanding that the
system is composed of products from a number of vendors.  An
accquaintance of mine was one of the managers in charge of setting the
system after he left a company called Digital Sound in Santa Barbara
and I believe that much of the equipment used was from Digital Sound.


Cheers,

Darren Alex Griffiths         [e-mail]
Open Systems Solutions Inc.   [phone] x139
Fujitsu Ltd.                  Fax: [phone]
6121 Hollis Street            Emeryville, CA 94608-2092

------------------------------

From: MPA15AB![e-mail]
Date: 26 SEP 92 04:24
Subject: Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System


[e-mail] (John Higdon)writes:

> As an indication as to how well this will all work, it probably should
> be noted that Unisys is the vendor for [drum roll] -- Pac*Bell's
> Message Center. We certainly know how functional and reliable THAT
> system is!

Pac Bell's Message Center has suffered some very unfortunate outages.
But they are far from the only major installation of this equipment,
and I have not heard of any significant problems at any other site.  I
have been told of some reasons for Pac Bell's troubles, and they do
not implicate the system itself.

The Unisys system is really very exciting -- it is a platform which
runs on a very wide range of code-compatable mainframes, ranging from
very small to room-filling.  By using this platform, telephony
applications can be purchased or written (including by the 4GLs
available).  This opens up the power, security, reliability, and
flexability of the mainframe environment for telephony.  Multiple
applications can be running at the same time, and new development can
coexist with production systems.  Advanced data management systems
(including semantic models), fully-featured operating systems (with
very easy multi-tasking and very flexable memory management), and a
productive, mature software environment combine to make it easier to
create complex systems.

I'm surprised that John Higdon is so down on this system -- I would
have expected someone with his experience, imagination, and spirit to
conceive and create his own NAP applications, going beyond what is now
available, and marketing them.  I would have thought that he would
have lept at the chance to make money off such an interesting
environment.  Instead he points to some problems experienced by one
application at one customer, and paints the entire system as bad.

Please note that, although I work for Unisys, I do not work on NAP; I
have no direct knowledge of NAP or Pac Bell's Message Center, and I am
not speaking for Unisys.


Randy Gellens            [e-mail]
>>>>>>> If mail bounces, forward to [e-mail] <<<<<<<<
Opinions are personal; facts are suspect; I speak only for myself

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Robert Cohen)
Subject: Re: 800 Numbers Restricted by NYTel?
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 09:40:24 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)


Henry Mensch ([e-mail]) wrote:

> Now I just don't understand this.  Why on earth would a public phone
> on the street be restricted from placing 800 calls?  Any clues?

Henry,

Could this be a new 'revenue enhancement' scheme?  If 800's are
restricted from the phone, then the phone is more available for
revenue producing calls.  What'll they think of next?  :=) (I'd be
curious to hear a comment from a NYNEX person on this!)


Robert Cohen   [e-mail]  <- preferred
[e-mail]    tel.[phone]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 09:35 EDT
Subject: Re: 800 Numbers Restricted by NYTel?


[e-mail] writes:

> Now I just don't understand this.  Why on earth would a public phone
> on the street be restricted from placing 800 calls?  Any clues?

Phones block 800 service for a number of reasons.  AOS's do it because
800 calls do not generate any revenue.  AOSs don't want callers using
their resources to make free calls, when they typically charge $3 to
$4 for a three minute local call.

Blocking 800 is sometimes done for fraud prevention.  One example is
street drug dealers.  They often use payphones as their "office
phones."  Clients usually contact their dealers through a pager, and
paging companies often use 800 numbers.  This may not be a big issue
any longer, since most pagers display the caller info.  Payphones in
high crime areas often have both calling card blocked, and 800
blocked, about the only thing callers can do is to drop in coins or
call collect.

Also, blocking 800 is one way of preventing the caller from reaching
the long distance carrier of their choice.  Blocking LD access codes
is the other method.  Although the practice of denying the LD carrier
choice is illegal, it is not uncommon to find phones that block the LD
access code.

There are probably a whole slew of other reasons for 800 blocking that
a facilities or operations type person would know about.  War stories
anyone?


J Butz            ER700 System Engineering
[e-mail]    AT&T-BL

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 25 Sep 92 17:29:57 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Eugene R Schroeder)
Subject: Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police!
Organization: AT&T


In article <[e-mail]> Carl Moore (VLD/VMB)
<[e-mail]> writes:

> To summarize: 650611 in the Netherlands (at Amsterdam?) got a lot of
> calls, and on many of them only the last 4 digits got through, causing
> many calls to reach police at the 0611 emergency number.

> What kind of exchange is it that strips some leading digits off and
> processes the remaining digits, within what is apparently only the
> local phone number?

My guess is that the switch was overloaded to the point that there was
significant dial tone delay, and the callers (like many people) didn't
check for dial tone before dialing, and thus the first few digits were
missed.


Gene

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police!
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 00:08:45 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (VLD/VMB)
writes:

> To summarize: 650611 in the Netherlands (at Amsterdam?) got a lot of
> calls, and on many of them only the last 4 digits got through, causing
> many calls to reach police at the 0611 emergency number.

> What kind of exchange is it that strips some leading digits off and
> processes the remaining digits, within what is apparently only the
> local phone number?

This was probably caused by people who pick up the phone and start
dialing, without waiting first for dialtone.  If the switch is heavily
loaded and delays giving you dialtone for one or two seconds, it is
easy to see how the first few digits could be lost.  Many people I
know don't check for dialtone before dialing -- they just pick up the
handset, dial, then place the receiver to their ears.

Do you remember when the Yellow Pages had all sorts of helpful
messages scattered about in the unused areas of the page, such as
"Always listen for the dialtone before dialing" and "Call before you
dig?"  All the books I've seen in the past few years have gotten rid
of those, in favor of messages that tell you how wonderful it is to
buy advertising in the Yellow Pages.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Peter Knoppers)
Subject: Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police!
Organization: Delft University of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 15:45:46 GMT


Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]> writes:

> To summarize: 650611 in the Netherlands (at Amsterdam?) got a lot of
> calls, and on many of them only the last 4 digits got through, causing
> many calls to reach police at the 0611 emergency number.

This was not in Amsterdam. All numbers in Amsterdam that start with
the digit 6 are seven digits long. The national 0611 number is for all
kinds of emergencies, not just the police.

> What kind of exchange is it that strips some leading digits off and
> processes the remaining digits, within what is apparently only the
> local phone number?

A plausible way to achieve this type of error is when the number is
busy and you redial it repeatedly without checking for the dial tone.
If dial tone happens to appear right after the second digit: bingo!
(Dial tone may not appear at once, especially when the exchange is
heavily loaded, as was the case.)


Peter Knoppers - [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 15:37:49 +0200
From: [e-mail] (Hans Mulder)
Subject: Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police!


Carl Moore writes:

> To summarize: 650611 in the Netherlands (at Amsterdam?) got a lot of
> calls, and on many of them only the last 4 digits got through, causing
> many calls to reach police at the 0611 emergency number.

Yes, that's what happened.  Except it wasn't in Amsterdam, but here in
Nijmegen.  Local numbers in Amsterdam grew to seven digits last year.

> What kind of exchange is it that strips some leading digits off and
> processes the remaining digits, within what is apparently only the
> local phone number?

An overloaded one.

I guess the same phenomenon could happen in the US if some concert
ticket sales outlet used 234-5911 and the switch got overloaded to the
point that dial tone only arrived after the customer dialed the 5.  Or
has TPC managed to convince customers that dialing is pointless if
there's no dial tone?


Hans Mulder  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Gabe M Wiener)
Subject: Re: AT&T Wants $3 For International DA
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Gabe M Wiener)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 15:18:33 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:

> AT&T people have been nice and helpful; on occasion they've
> asked whether I'd prefer to do the talking with the remote DA.

When I called via Sprint 10777 + 0 for Vienna DA, the dialogue went
somewhat like this:

    Operator:  What is the name of the party you need the number for?

    Me:       I need the number for the Doblinger-Musikhaus on
           the Dorotheergasse.

    Operator:  Excuse me, the *what*?

    Me:       The Doblinger-Musikhaus on the Dorotheergasse.

    Operator:  Uh ... I think I'll let you ask for it.

> [Moderator's Note: The same gentleman's voice on the intercept I heard
> the other day is used in the message France plays over and over for
> callers to Directory Enquiry who must sit in a queue for five minutes
> waiting their turn: 'Telee-kom Services ... we're trying to extend
> your call.  Please stand by,' followed by two or three bars of music.

The Vienna tape is QUITE annoying.  It repeats in three
languages: German, English ("Here is Vienna [!], hold the line
please"), and French ("Ici Vienne, attendez s'il vous plait"),
followed by a G major arpeggio, and then the whole thing repeats again
and again.

> This ten second blurb followed by five seconds of silence plays over
> and over to callers in the queue for directory, about four times per
> minute for 20-30 recitations before the French operators deign to
> respond and look up the number requested. ("Oui, Pittsburgh? I'm soo
> sorry that mademoiselle waited ten minutes then got cut off without an
> answer, and had to dial again and wait five more minutes.")

More than once, I sat with that message for five minutes and then got
a reorder.


Gabe Wiener - Columbia Univ.   [e-mail]
N2GPZ in ham radio circles     72355,1226 on CI$

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 16:05:53 -0400
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation


Mr Higdon seems to have a large knowledge base on the telephone
subject, but on other communications subjects he is mis-informed.

He replied that real estate covenents do not affect Amateur Radio
antennas.  This is very wrong!  The FCC has said that since these are
private contracts, they will not get involved.  Yes, the FCC has
pre-empted local regulations on but not the covenents.

The other subject concerns TVRO (home satellite dishes).  The reason
so many of us home dish owners are supporting the cable bill is
because the cable companies control the program providers.  This
artificialy drives the costs of alternative programming to a higher
level then cable.  The purpose of the bill is to "Level The playing
field", to be sure that the alternative distributors can get the
programming at a market price rather than a monopoly price, which is
the case now.  Cable in most places is a monopoly, because the
alternative providers (wireless cable, sat dishes) have to buy
programming from sources controled by the cable companies.  Cable in
other areas is a monopoly because the companies know that rates in
areas where the consumer can choose from more than one company are
lower, so they won't build.


Arthur J. Byrnes

Disclaimer; These views are those only of the author, Arthur.


[Moderator's Note: I read a book the other day, but I forgot the
arthur's name, Author.  PAT]

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992  16:33:12 EDT
Subject: Re: The Round Table


In a message of <22 Sep 92> by Randy Gellens, he notes that:

> Saw the pilot of the new series {The Round Table} last Friday.  In
> one scene, someone in Georgetown (in the Washington, DC area) makes a
> call from a pay phone.  The pay phone was clearly a GTE style phone,
> not a Bell type, even though the DC area is served by C&P, a Bell
> company.

Does the term, "Slimy COCOT Operator" come to mind?  :)

Seriously, it's just another example of Hollywood's slavish devotion
to absolute accuracy.  I didn't see that part but I noticed something
else.  A District of Columbia police car takes a murder suspect in for
booking.  The back of the police cruiser rolls off, and we can see the
license number, a standard white DC license plate with blue lettering,
consisting of the letter "H" and four digits.

There are two things wrong with this picture.  First, in the District,
police cars have special all blue license plates with white lettering,
which say "POLICE DEPARTMENT" on them; they are not standard license
plates.

Second, the "H" series plates always have five digits after them.
They have to.  They're for taxicabs.


Paul Robinson   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Your implication is there are at least 10,000 taxi
cabs in Our Nation's (drug, murder and random violence) Capitol; thus
five digits needed to provide a unique number for each. That seems odd
since Chicago has only 4800 licensed cabs. The state license plate
number is the same as the cab number painted on the vehicle.   PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #733
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #734

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 26 Sep 92 15:20:39 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 734

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Problems With OP Station Over SLC-96 (cbnewsl![e-mail])
    Re: Problems With OP Station Over SLC-96 (Jeff Wasilko)
    Re: Problems With OP Station Over SLC-96 (Andy Sherman)
    Re: Utility Meter Reading Switch (Michael Brinkman)
    Re: Utility Meter Reading Switch (James J. Menth)
    Re: Storing Phone Numbers (Paul Robinson)
    Re: Modem <-> Digital Telephone System (Shrikumar)
    Re: Wanted: Device to Record Kepad as ASCII (Paul Robinson)
    Re: What Does a DS-3 Circuit Terminate at? (Maxime Taksar)
    Re: Bargain COCOT - Flat Rate LD! (Ron Newman)
    Re: LD Transmission Quality Comparison (Joseph Bergstein)
    Re: Recourse on Cordless Eavesdropping? (Martin McCormick)
    Re: Phone Number in "Sneakers" (Mike Stump)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: cbnewsl![e-mail]
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 08:50 EDT
Subject: Re: Problems With OP Station Over SLC-96


[e-mail] (Jeff Wasilko):

> We're trying to get six Off-Premises-Extensions working off of a
> Northern Norstar. The OPXs are coming off the Norstar via ATAs (analog
> terminal adaptors) since the Norstar doesn't support analog line
> cards ...

Do you happen to know the type of Channel units used in the SLC96?
They have numbers like WP42 or SD7C035. It's possible that the ringing
bursts are too short to be detected. There may be channel units that
are more suited to your needs. I'll check around to see how this
service is normally provided.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Wasilko)
Subject: Re: Problems With OP Station Over SLC-96
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 92 20:09:07 EST
Organization: Univ of Fnord; Roslyn's Cafe Div.
Reply-To: [e-mail]


> We're trying to get six Off-Premises-Extensions working off of a
> Northern Norstar. The OPXs are coming off the Norstar via ATAs (analog
> terminal adaptors) since the Norstar doesn't support analog line
> cards ...

I ended up switching up tip and ring on the circuits, and they started
to work ... what is it about a SLC card that would make it sensative
to the polarity of the line?

Thaks to everyone who wrote with suggestions!


Jeff
Jeff's Oasis at Home.    Jeff can also be reached at work at:
                         [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 12:37:50 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Andy Sherman)
Subject: Re: Problems With OP Station Over SLC-96
Organization: Salomon Inc


On 23 Sep 92 03:25:08 GMT, [e-mail] (Jeff Wasilko) said:

[ Description of problem connecting off premesis extensions from
  NT Norstar via ATA to lines multiplexed by a SLC-96 ]

> SNET is saying it's our problem. I disagree, since it's obvious the
> SLC is what's eating the ring voltage. I've asked for six copper lines
> (instead of the SLC-d ones), but they say that they only give copper
> to alarm companies -- the rest of us must suffer.

> The only concrete suggestion I've heard from SNET is to try reversing
> tip and ring going to the CO. They think this might keep the SLC from
> munching our ring. I'm going to try this tomorrow. After that I'm
> going to lock WilTel and SNET into the switch room and leave them
> there until it works (:

The SLC will always eat your ring voltage.  The question is whether or
not it will regenerate it on the far end.  It will never pass it
through.  Think about what a SLC does.  It digitizes your voice path
(with or without compression) and trunks it over a T1.  Ring is a
signalling function and handled in different bits in the DS1
superframe from the digitized voice.  At the far end, the Remote
Terminal regenerates ring voltage from its own power source.

While you've said that the Norstar and ATA are generating ring voltage
that is within spec, has anybody looked at ring duration?  Are the
rings in the two ring bursts long enough to trigger the ring detection
circuitry in the SLC?  I strongly suspect that this is the problem,
especially if outside (single ring) calls ring through the SLC.

You might put all your telephone techs together and suggest that they
compare ring voltage and duration specs required by the SLC (and a lot
of other ring detectors, like answering machines) against the ring
voltage and duration specs for what the Norstar and ATA are producing.


Andy Sherman
Salomon Inc  -  Unix Systems Support  -  Rutherford, NJ
[phone]  -  [e-mail] or [e-mail]
"These opinions are mine, all *MINE*.  My employer can't have them."

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Michael Brinkman)
Subject: Re: Utility Meter Reading Switch
Date: 26 Sep 92 21:14:48 GMT
Organization: Georgia Tech, UPI National Champs


The reason they came out with these glass meters that use infared to
communicate is for one they connection are protected but the main
reason is that no electrical conection has to be made.  So if there is
a gas leak, you don't have to plug a wire in and possibly make a
spark.  The units respond to commands by a light detector where you
can give commands by covering a spot and blocking the light or by the
IR spot.  A small IR sender reciever clamps onto the outside.


Cheers,

Michael (Beelz) Brinkman
Leave Mail at this Site or Internet: [e-mail]
Beelz a.k.a. Brinkman, Michael G.  a.k.a. [e-mail]
Georgia Institute of Technology

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (james.j.menth)
Subject: Re: Utility Meter Reading Switch
Organization: AT&T
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 12:49:24 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail].
ca.us (Mike Morris) writes:

(story about power meters at trade show)

> As I understand it the newer gas meters can also contain a gate valve.
> Don't pay the bill?  <Clunk>.  No Gas.  Talk about the potential for
> abuse ... or revenge on someone.

> Fortunately Southern California Gas isn't putting these in yet  ...

OTOH, if there was a fire at a house equipped with such a meter the
response of the gas company to turn off the gas would be quicker (as
long as the loop hadn't melted yet) :-)


Jim Menth -  [e-mail]

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992  07:27:43 EDT
Subject: Re: Storing Phone Numbers


In a message of <22 Sep 92> by <J Phillip Miller> said:

> How is the list of numbers physically stored by the switch?  Is it
> stored as a string of ASCII characters (one character per digit) or is
> some more efficient storage utilized?

I worked for a switch company as a temporary for a week (Pacific Bell
after they bought Northern Telecom's Southern California sales
office.)  One of the sales people informed me that a switch is nothing
but a computer with phone lines; all the work is done through the
software, and that the software is the only difference between a DMS-1
used in a telco central office and the one used as a PBX.

I remember once, seeing on a photo or a cover or something, a piece of
code related to the programming of a switch (the comments said so).
The item I saw had to do with AT&T (possibly it was one of their
stockholder's reports).  The code was clearly written in the "C"
language.

I have been programming since 1976; professionally since 1978 and I
know that if you have a number, you have a number of ways to store it
internally.  In fact, for most operations you cannot work with a
number in ASCII, it has to be in internal binary.

If the number is to be saved to trip relays, where the actual digits
need to be saved individually, it could be in packed decimal which
uses two digits per byte.  If they can simply deal with the telephone
number as a number itself, in binary a four byte integer can hold 2^32
or around 4.1 billion which is large enough to hold a seven digit
number, plus the area code (NPA) if it's compressed into one of the
160 current prefixes.

If it has to be stored as separate parts, the number can be kept as
three 16-bit integers.  So a number can be stored as a three 2-byte
integers, or as a 5-byte packed decimal number, or as a 16-bit integer
prefix and a 32-bit integer number (also six bytes) or in other ways.
But it would not be stored as ASCII because the hardware would not be
able to manipulate it.

Not knowing the internals of switches I cannot absolutely guarantee
that I am right, but knowing the insides of several different
computers from the CDC Cyber, IBM 370, Univac 90/60, and Itel AS/6
Mainframes, PDP 11/70 Minicomputer, and PDP 11/03 and IBM XT
Microcomputers, that I know from programming these how they work, and
in general DISPLAY is useless for anything but displaying numbers.
For working with them you have to convert them to an internal code.

These opinions are nobody else's responsibily except mine.


Paul Robinson    [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 17:34:59 -0400
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Modem <-> Digital Telephone System
Organization: UMass, Amherst, MA / Temporal Systems &CN, Bombay, India.


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
write:

> We have electronic key set telephones; the four wire ones which plug
> into RJ-11 jacks and allow you to select from a set of lines, an
> intercom, etc.  After playing around trying to build an acoustic ...

> Plug the phone into one side of the [modular] splitter, connect the modem
> using the modular cable with the [1:1] audio transformer in it.  Select a
> phone line on the keyset phone, tell the modem to dial, and you're in
> business.

> It didn't seem too great at 14.4 kbps, but it seemed completely
> reliable at 2400 bps.  You could probably connect the modem direct

How did it work?

The modem needs to switch loop current on and off to simulate on and
off hook. (Ok I assume you use tone dialing, so at least dialing can
go thru the 1:1 ;)

And if the 1:1 was *parallel* to the line, how do calls get
disconnected at all?

Or am I missing some crucial wisdom about key telephones?

I have two lines at home ... now if only I could put together some
similar $10 in parts and have the answering machine on one line answer
calls on both lines, (while both lines are separate for all other
purposes.)

The simplest I can think of is a ring detector, with some logic to
diplex the two lines into the ans machine. But thats uses active parts
and not a five minute job to tie together.


shrikumar ([e-mail], [e-mail])

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992  07:43:32 EDT
Subject: Re: Wanted: Device to Record Kepad as ASCII


James Deibele, on <9/22 at 20:29 GMT> writes:

> I'm looking for something..user calls, enters a number, "#" or
> waits ... what I want from this: an ASCII file with each number

There was a company which made a device called the "Watson" which for
around $125.00 was a 1200 baud modem and a touch-tone decoder and
generator, one of the uses was to be able to interrogate a DBASE file
on an IBM-PC.  It was a plug in card for the IBM.

They has a demonstration once on an 800 number.  They were located in
Massachusetts, (Boston, I think) and I think the name of the company
was Natural Microsystems.  If you can find them and they're still
around, you might want to look into this.


My Opinions don't necessarily reflect anyone else's.

Paul Robinson   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 15:06:11 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Maxime Taksar)
Subject: Re: What Does a DS-3 Circuit Terminate at?


In article <[e-mail]>, is written:

> I need to find out what's needed to route IP,IPX and possibly
> Appletalk over a DS-3 circuit to our local net.  We're a site based on
> Cisco AGS+ routers, and I'll ultimately need to terminate on one of
> them.

I'm almost positive that Cisco's now got, or will soon have, what
you're looking for.

> The T-3 Backbone of the Internet/NSFNet runs on IBM's RS/6000-based IP
> routers -- does anyone know if IBM is selling these commercially yet?

Nope.  The NSFnet runs on IBM PC/RT machines.  Yes, the horribly old,
relatively slow machines of years past.  This is the biggest
Internet-related scandal you can imagine: these routers couldn't
possible handle DS3 speeds.  In fact, when everything works, you're
lucky to get DS1 speeds.  However, the routers frequently fall back to
their T1 links anyway.

> What I need to know is what plugs into what to funnel a DS-3 circuit
> down to a campus Ethernet network in a way that uses the most
> available trunk bandwidth possible within a somewhat conservative
> budget.

Talk to Cisco.  If they don't have what you're looking for, they can
almost certainly point you in the right direction.

I don't have any vested interest in Cisco, I just think they make a
very good product.


Maxime Taksar   KC6ZPS   [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Ron Newman)
Subject: Re: Bargain COCOT - Flat Rate LD!
Date: 26 Sep 1992 17:04:30 GMT
Organization: Bolt, Beranek & Newman, Inc.


In article <[e-mail]>, Frank.Prindle@lambada.
oit.unc.edu (Frank Prindle) writes:

> I just happened upon a COCOT in a restaurant the other night which,
> for any 1+ LD call dialed (at least PA-NJ and PA-CA) would announce
> "please deposit 45 cents for nine minutes"....
> ... it's certainly refreshing to see a COCOT that isn't out to rip you off.

In the Boston area, it's common to see COCOTs advertising long
distance calls to anywhere in the U.S. for a coin deposit of 25
cents/minute.

While this is more expensive than a direct-dial call from home, it's a
lot cheaper than the standard New England Telephone/AT&T coin rates,
especially for short calls.


Ron Newman    [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Joseph Bergstein)
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 01:43:01 -0500
Subject: Re: LD Transmission Quality Comparison


> Will you please comment?

> Anecdote 1: ....  After many such attempts, I overrode the default
> carrier MCI and dialed via AT&T.  Viola!  Success!  I tried MCI and
> AT&T a few more times to convince myself that MCI was indeed the
> problem.

Wasn't MCI's original name Microwave Communications Inc.?  Until a
year or two ago, MCI still ran portions of their network on microwave.
Some was digital; but, yes, there was still some analog microwave.
Several years ago I worked for a firm whose fax, modem and voice calls
from California to Pennsylvania failed every time it rained out west.
MCI admitted that these calls had been routed from Omaha to Sacramento
on one of their last analog microwave routes.

> Anecdote 3: I just saw a posting in another newsgroup -- someone
> had trouble reaching a BBS somewhere, and had symptoms like I'd had
> in anecdote 1.  I suggested that he try AT&T, and he replied that
> my suggestion worked!  It turns out his default was Sprint.

Although Sprint was first to complete 100% digital fiber backbone, in
many locations their POPs where quite far end users and they
contracted for local service via TELCO tandems.  So although you may
have been using Sprint digital fiber backbone, a fair amount of
distance may have traversed non-Sprint facilities (the infamous "last
mile").

> Can I safely extrapolate -- AT&T LD quality is superior ?

In general this is probably true, although at an often higher cost.

{Data Communications Magazine} runs a survey each year with users
rating the various LD carriers on data transmission.  AT&T is usually
on top!.

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Recourse on Cordless Eavesdropping?
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 08:48:02 -0500
From: [e-mail]


Since there is no law against what the security guard is doing, the
only other recourse is public education.  If it is at all practical,
let all your neighbors know what this jerk is doing.  Give them a
physical description.  Just remember that you want to win the battle
and the war, as well.


Martin McCormick WB5AGZ   Stillwater, OK
O.S.U. Computer Center Data Communications Group

------------------------------

From: Mike Stump <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Phone Number in "Sneakers"
Organization: Kithrup Enterprises, Ltd.
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 01:41:08 GMT


Ah, kinda interesting: My AT&T operator told me they had picked up the
phone, but then it started to ring again, like an extension.  The IRS
office was probably closed when I called so after seven rings at the
`extension' I told the AT&T operator I would try again later ...

So yes, whoever got the phone forwarded may not have a job tomorrow,
but nice touch!

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
Laurence Chiu) writes:

> I called the number (in area code 510) and the phone rang a few times
> and then switched and rang somewhere else.  The person who answered
> the phone said the number I reached was for the IRS. The person said
> the number I reached was not the number dialed (273-4196.)

I guess someone wants to play a joke on the IRS?

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #734
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #735

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 26 Sep 92 16:13:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 735

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Administrivia: Issues 732, 733, 734 (TELECOM Moderator)
    Re: Telcos in Carolina (Gerald Ruderman)
    Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police! (Richard Cox)
    Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police! (Juha Veijalainen)
    Re: Nigel Allen's List of U.S. Telecom Industry Periodicals (D. Ingram)
    Re: AT&T Announces Encryption Security Device (Greg Andrews)
    Re: USA to Ten Digits (Shrikumar)
    Re: What is the Purpose of the Tri Tones? (Shrikumar)
    Re: 800 Numbers Blocked by NYTel? (Douglas Scott Reuben)
    Re: Please Suggest a Good Voice Mail System (Mike Seebeck)
    Re: Distinctive-Ringing Decoder (Carl Neihart)
    Re: Funny 800 Number Spelling (Rich Mintz)
    Re: Funny 800 Number Spelling (Ron Dippold)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 15:25:41 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Administrivia: Issues 732, 733, 734


This machine, delta.eecs.nwu.edu was up and down all day Saturday. The
sysadmin was doing some work and the machine seemed to lose track of
where the directories were located, and my home directory. Then it got
restarted and the machine was up a few minutes and down again.

I am unsure what happened with issues 732, 733 and 734. I am hoping
everyone got at least one copy of each. Chances are likely some people
got two or three of each  :(.


PAT

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Gerald Ruderman)
Subject: Re: Telcos in Carolina
Organization: Rational Systems, Inc.
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 22:44:41 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> rsiatl![e-mail]
writes:

> I suspect GTE is a pretty major player in the Carolinas as well.  I
> will refrain from farther comments on this as I have had much better
> experence with GTE in Alabama than most CDT readers.

I believe that the local carrier for Research Triangle Park is GTE. I
was not impressed with GTE's local service in Durham/RTP when I lived
there from 86-89.


Gerald Ruderman    [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 18:37 GMT
From: Richard Cox <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police!
Reply-To: [e-mail]


[e-mail] asks:

> What kind of exchange is it that strips some leading digits off and
> processes the remaining digits, within what is apparently only the
> local phone number?

Well, Strowger exchanges had a penchant for doing this.  The common
setup was for the first two digits to "route" the call to the required
local exchange, often called a satellite unit, and the last four
digits to be the party's real number.  On calls within the same
satellite unit, the leading digits were 'absorbed' by the switch.

Of course it wasn't presented to the customers that way - they were
just given standard six figure numbers.  Routing the call from the
main (or tandem) to the satellite unit, meant seizing a junction relay
set from a selector level, and extending the digit train.  Once
extended to the relay set, the connection was usually held backward
from the relay set to the earlier selectors.  But, sometimes the
holding earth from the relay set was late in arriving (slow or sticky
relays, etc) and the selector train dropped out (returning the caller
to dial tone from the first selector) before the hold arrived.  Of
course, the caller didn't know anything about this and just kept
dialling -- straight into the first selector, which then routed on the
last four digits.  If those last four digits were sufficient for a
connect, the caller got that connect.

Hope that explains how it happens on Strowger -- other "mechanical"
systems may adopt a similar approach if the path is held from the
outgoing trunk or junction relay set.


Richard Cox

Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, Wales CF4 5WF
Voice: [phone]     Fax: [phone]    VoiceMail: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: FNAHA![e-mail]
Date: 26 SEP 92 10:09
Subject: Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police!


Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]> wrote:

> To summarize: 650611 in the Netherlands (at Amsterdam?) got a lot of
> calls, and on many of them only the last 4 digits got through, causing
> many calls to reach police at the 0611 emergency number.

> What kind of exchange is it that strips some leading digits off and
> processes the remaining digits, within what is apparently only the
> local phone number?

Maybe the problem was not in the exchange, but somewhere else.  Since
many people were trying to call the number, many of them probably got
a busy signal.  So they redialed -- and maybe they did not wait long
enough for the dial tone.

This is what happened in Finland last year.  Tens of thousands of
people were trying to call a 9700 (entertainment, services etc.)
number to enter a competition.  Usually they had to redial several
times and many used redial-buttons on their phones.  A significant
percentage did not wait for the dial tone, so 97 was stripped from the
beginning.  Those calls were routed to numbers beginning with 00 --
emergency numbers in Finland!

Several areas were without emergency phone service during the phone-in.


Juha Veijalainen       4GE / A-series system analyst
Unisys Finland         phone [phone], fax [phone]
Internet (business):   [e-mail]
         (private) :   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 21:44:06 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Darren Ingram)
Subject: Re: Nigel Allen's List of U.S. Telecom Industry Periodicals


Nigel Allen  wrote:

> Here is a list of some U.S. telecommunications industry newspapers and
> magazines.

> If your company or organization wants to announce something related to
> telecommunications, you may want to send a press release to each of
> the following publications (and you may also want to post a message
> about it in this newsgroup).

They may also wish to send them to Darren Ingram Media Services, 184
Brookside Avenue, Coventry CV5 8AD UK Tel [phone] Fax: +44 203
717 418 Telex 94026650 DBRIG or e-mail [e-mail]

DIMS serves a number of titles including Mobile Europe (with its
American Eye and Far Eastern Eye columns), Communications News, Mobile
& Cellular, Telecommunications International, Card World, Financial
IT, Cable & Satellite Communications International, Data Broadcasting
News, International Broadcasting and TELE-satellit, as well as
publishing Satnews.


Best regards,

Darren Ingram

IMS (newsdesk mailbox)([e-mail])   - Views expressed do
84 Brookside Avenue, Whoberley, Coventry CV5 8AD UK - not automatically
el:[phone]/Fax:[phone]/Tlx 94026650 - represent those of
News, features, PR, consultancy & network services* - DIMS or its clients

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Greg Andrews)
Subject: Re: AT&T Announces Encryption Security Device
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 20:56:34 GMT
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)


In article <[e-mail]> Willis H. Ware <willis@iris.
rand.org> writes:

> With a press release dated Sept 10, AT&T announced its "bump in the
> cord" security device for ordinary phones.

 <comments on construction, encryption algorithms, etc., deleted>

> There is one technical issue that is not addressed and some phone
> users are going to get surprised.  An encrypted digital data stream is
> continuous; it never has gaps even though the underlying conversation
> does.  Thus the gaps in speech which multiplexors exploit to put more
> than one conversation on a circuit are going to be upset and possibly
> not function properly.

Are there muxes that rely on silences like that?  If so, they would
have severe trouble with modems.  Modems do precisely the same thing
as this encryption device does -- transmit a constant signal level
without pauses.

If a customer's telephone line can handle modem traffic, then I would
expect it to handle the encryptor traffic also.


Greg Andrews   UUCP: {amdahl,claris}!netcom!gerg  Internet: [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 03:58:25 -0400
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: USA to Ten Digits
Organization: University of Massachusetts, Amherst


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] wrote:


> Clearly, if you have measured service, there *is* no such thing as a
> local call, and therefore you should be required to dial 1 before
> *all* calls. :-)

  Then can I choose my Equal Access Local Carrier ? :-)

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 00:10:03 -0400
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: What is the Purpose of the Tri Tones?
Organization: University of Massachusetts, Amherst


In article <[e-mail]> vixen![e-mail]

> In a message from Andy Jacboson he mentioned "tri-tone" ...

>> Special Information Tones (SIT), as defined by the CCITT consist of a
>> sequence of three precise tone segments whose specific frequency and
>> duration are of technical importance.  Detailed information on SITs is
>> available in CB 154, "Specifications for Special Information Tones
>> (SIT) for Encoding Recorded Announcements," Issue 3 (Bellcore, June
>> 1983).  These tones are used by automated call-detection devices to
>> identify call attempts terminating in announcement systems.  Typical

   Now, if only some of those nifty modems decoded these tones ...

   Oooops, did I let the cat out of someone's bag ?


shrikumar ( [e-mail] )

------------------------------

Date: 26-SEP-1992 06:10:59.74
From: Douglas Scott Reuben <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 800 Numbers Restricted by NYTel


On 24 Sep 92 16:52:40 GMT, [e-mail] (Henry Mensch) wrote:

> I have a personal 800 number (with Sprint) that I know to work in
> NYC.  I go to a public phone on the street and dial the number ...
> imagine my surprise when I got an AT&T intercept asking me if I needed
> help.  I said "No, I don't need help; I dialed an 800 number," hung up
> and tried again ... same effect. Several tries on several NYTEL phones
> later, an intercept operator said that the phone was restricted from
> placing 800 calls.

Utter nonsense ... (BTW, are you SURE it was an AT&T recording, or
NYTel?)

NYTel may NOT restrict 800 calls from ITS payphones. Thus, if you are
sure (as you seem to be) that the payphone involved WAS a NYTel phone,
you have a right to place the 800 call. (I believe this is even true
for COCOTs in NY as well.)

Right away if you have difficulty just dial 0 (or 0# for faster
service), and a NYTel operator will dial the number for you, and wait
on line until she hears ringing.

Then, the next day, call 611. Report the payphone and the problem.
Since this is NYNEX, there is a 70% chance they won't fix it.

Day after that, call the NYTel President's Helpline, at 800-722-2300.
Tell them your EXACT problem, the phone you tried the 800 number from,
the 800 number, and a callback number. There is about a 50% chance
they won't fix it. You may want to mention to them that if it is not
fixed in 5 days (or however long you are willing to wait) you will
call the NY Public Service Commission. This generally helps if you
slip it it politely - they get VERY concerned when "The PSC" is
mentioned.

If the helpline doesn't get anywhere in the given number of days, do
NOT call them back and waste more time, just call the PSC at
800-342-3377. Tell them the EXACT problem (again ... :( ). This will
VERY likely get results.

I had a similar problem -- a NYTel payphone in Roslyn, NY
(516-621-9803) was BLOCKING all 10xxx calls, so you could only place
0+ calls with NYTel or ITI. No one at NYTel could do anything about
it, even though the people at the President's Helpline pretended as if
they had some idea of what was going on.  After three weeks, lots of
calls to 611, the Helpline, and the Payphone Business office, I just
called the PSC. Within *one* hour, I received call-backs from three
execs at NYTel, who got the information from me, and the problem was
fixed the same day.

I would still advise you to try 611 and the Helpline, as these are the
channels you are SUPPOSED to go through prior to the PSC, although I
guess you can just call the PSC directly and SAY you called 611, etc.

Finally, it MAY be that the payphone in question was due to be
disconnected, and left in service as a "public convenience" (read:
NYTel was lazy). Although NYTel must provide access through
soon-to-be-removed phones as well, the PSC will just say "Oh, our
records show that it will be disconnected, so no sense trying to 'fix'
it now ..." Of course NYTel can just have incorrect records, as I know
of a couple of NYTel papyhones which still block 10xxx access (or
rather the DMS-100 is blocking it for those lines) which were SUPPOSED
to be disconnected half a year ago. However, they are still in
service, and are still blocking. I haven't bothered the PSC about
these yet, ie, told them "Hey, these have been around for six months
since YOU told me they are to be disconnected soon ...".

BTW, anyhone live near Milton, Mass? If so, go to the NYNEX/NETel
payphone opposite the Baybanks, number 617-698-8643. For *two* years
it has been blocking non-AT&T 800 numbers, at least 800-899, 800-989,
800-966, 800-275, and more. I think I've called NETel about 30 times
regarding this, and of course, nothing has been done. (It is run off a
DMS-100 ... so is Roslyn, NY. Is this some sort of DMS problem??)

Isn't NYNEX just SO competant? And some people say GTE is bad ...:)


Doug    [e-mail]  //  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mike Seebeck)
Subject: Re: Please Suggest a Good Voice Mail System
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 13:57:38 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:

> Please suggest me a good voice mail system (cost*performance).  Please
> respond by email only.

This is not a good way to select a voice mail system.  Voice mail
comes in many sizes andlevels of technology.  Before asking what voice
mail to use you should analyze what you expect the system to do for
your business.  What are the traffic requirements, how much storage,
what features are important, what applications will you run on it?
Does a single platform system to which you can add FAX, e-mail, or IVR
make sense?  Will a system which is based on a PC and is therefore
limited to asingle CPU capable of providing for your needs?  Do you
need a queue or traffic information for traffic analysis and
management?  f you purchase a system what kind of cost benefit can you
expect?  Voice mail systems save time and therefore money.  They make
financial sense but are they right for your clients?  Who will program
the system?  Will the voice mail interface be viewed by your clients
as an aid or as a hinderance?  The combination of system features and
programming will decide if the system helps your business or hurts it.


michael

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Carl Neihart)
Subject: Re: Distinctive-Ringing Decoder
Organization: Gerber Alley Technologies
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 14:59:14 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, Chris Schmandt <geek@media.
mit.edu> writes:

> I am going for a distinctive-ringing decoder or demultiplexer. The
> function of this device is to route the incoming phone message
> directly to either an answering machine or a modem.

I have purchased such a unit from Home Automation Lab, 1-800-HOMELAB

I am very happy with it.

They also have lots of other neat gadgets for the home telephone, such
as Friends Only, where only those people you authorize can call you


Regards,

carl neihart

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Rich Mintz)
Subject: Re: Funny 800 Number Spelling
Organization: California State University, Chico
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 18:42:52 GMT


I don't remember what the product or number was, but I can remember a
couple of years ago seeing a commercial that used an eight-letter word
as an easy way to remember the part of the phone number after the "1
800". The gimick relied on the customer being dumb enough to dial the
eighth digit, corresponding to the eighth letter, which would be
ignored by the equipment processing the call (it stops listening and
starts putting the call through after the "1" + ten digits).


Rich

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Ron Dippold)
Subject: Re: Funny 800 Number Spelling
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 17:44:45 GMT


The icing on the cake has to go to a number for one of those late
night ripoff chat lines, you know, the ones with models in lingere
lounging around the furniture in their house, trying to make you
believe that they have nothing better to do than spend their evening
talking to lame-o party line callers.  It's a 900 number, but close
enough ... 1-900-FUN-DUCK.  Take a look at that "3" key ... I wonder
how that one got by.

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #735
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #736

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 26 Sep 92 17:12:55 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 736

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    AT&T Introduces New Definity System (AT&T Announcement via Mike Miller)
    Funny Phone Behaviour (Shrikumar)
    How to Call Cheap From France to US? (James S. Vera)
    Yangon Residents Clamor For Phones (Ang Peng Hwa)
    Dialers That Also Store Numbers (Christobal Pedregal Martin)
    New Cards Telephones in Ontario, Canada (Henry Troup)
    Full Listing of Telecom Signaling Tones Wanted  (Thomas Brown)
    PC-Based Voicemail Systems ... (Henry Mensch)
    Two-Line Switching Device (Jim Morton)
    Sigh! Telecom Engineer's Digest on Hold For Now (Jon Solomon)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: 25 Sep 92 18:55:17 GMT
Subject: AT&T Introduces New Definity System


[Moderator's Note: Mike Miller passed this along to the Digest.  PAT]

SUBJECT:  DEFINITY(R) COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS GENERIC 3s ANNOUNCEMENT
SALES BRIEF:  BCSYS-92-182             CUSTOMER BRIEF:  CUSTR-92-182

AT&T INTRODUCES NEW DEFINITY(R) SYSTEM FOR SMALL BUSINESS CUSTOMERS

     San Diego, CA - To meet the growing needs of small businesses
worldwide, AT&T today introduced a new version of its flagship
communications system that offers many advanced features previously
available only on larger systems.

     The DEFINITY(R) Communications System Generic 3s is the latest
and smallest version in AT&T's line of digital switching systems.  The
new switch is designed to meet the communications needs of businesses
with 40 to 200 lines.

     "The DEFINITY System G3s offers all the same sophisticated
applications and technology as our larger DEFINITY systems," said Jon
Wiese, Key/PBX markets vice president for AT&T's communications
products group.  "We are delighted to offer these features and
benefits to a whole new range of small business customers."

     AT&T said the DEFINITY System G3s offers smaller businesses
several distinct advantages.  For example, since the DEFINITY System
G3s uses the same universal software as the larger DEFINITY System G3i
and G3r PBXs, the multi-location customer can standardize features,
telephone sets and business applications across all its locations,
regardless of size.  This saves the time and money required to retrain
employees on how to use and manage different systems.

     Another key benefit is the DEFINITY System's powerful networking
capability.  Networking allows many systems to act as one and lets a
systems administrator manage multiple locations from a single site,
which also saves time and money.

     AT&T said the new DEFINITY System G3s is also ideally suited for
single-site or growing businesses, because it can be easily upgraded
to AT&T's larger DEFINITY Systems.  Should telecommunications
requirements expand beyond 200 lines, businesses can migrate to the
DEFINITY System G3i or G3r PBX and re-use telephone sets, circuit
packs, power supplies, cabinetry, and system wiring.  This offers
significant cost savings and protects the customer's original
financial investment.

     AT&T said it offers two versions of the DEFINITY System G3s so
that customers can choose the exact level of technological
sophistication they need to meet their business goals.  Companies can
purchase a basic communications package and add applications, such as
voice messaging or computer-telephone integration, as their needs
expand.

     In addition, AT&T said it planned to market the DEFINITY System
G3s in more than 40 countries worldwide.  "This product is designed to
meet the growing communications needs of our international customers,"
said Wiese.  "It can be easily adapted to individual foreign markets,
simply by adding software to the system."

     The DEFINITY System G3s also offers new features, such as:

     - an advanced memory-storage capability, Flash-ROM, which stores
all the system's back-up programming information on a unit the size of
a credit card.  This new technology provides DEFINITY System G3s
customers with faster system start-up and higher reliability.

     - a new control cabinet that supports additional circuit packs,
and provides a 60% improvement in the existing cabinet capacity.

     "Many small businesses have sophisticated communications
requirements," said Wiese.  "What's important is that now any business
can find the right DEFINITY System solution to help them win in their
markets, whether it's a 10,000 line reservations center or a
40-station car dealership."

     The DEFINITY System G3s, which is being demonstrated at the
TeleCommunications Association (TCA) exhibition in San Diego this
week, is available immediately.  A typical 40-station system
configuration costs approximately $40,000.

                      Product Backgrounder
                    AT&T DEFINITY System G3s

     The DEFINITY System G3s, the latest addition to AT&T's family of
digital switching systems, is designed to help small businesses with
40-200 lines take advantage of the same sophisticated communications
capabilities previously available only to larger companies with
expensive, more complex communications networks.  It can support many
sophisticated applications, including voice processing, telemarketing,
inbound customer service, order entry, ISDN compatibility, data
networking, and hospitality.

     The system uses an Intel 80386 processor, which delivers real
economic and performance benefits for high-volume telemarketing and
call center applications.  The processing power enables the switch to
handle complex applications, such as computer-telephone integration
and voice processing.

     AT&T offers small businesses two versions of the DEFINITY System
G3s: the Advantage Business Package and the Premier Business Package.

     o The DEFINITY System G3s Advantage Business Package offers
customers optional software feature packages, including: system
management, basic call center, automatic call distribution and system
management, voice mail, automatic route selection and authorization
codes.  With Advantage, customers can choose from a variety of
features and can mix and match packages directly targeted at their
applications.  AT&T can install and administer these features
remotely, and customers can easily add capabilities as their needs
change.  In addition, businesses can easily upgrade from the Advantage
Package to the Premier Package.

     o The AT&T DEFINITY System G3s Premier Business Package provides
a full range of sophisticated features, including call vectoring,
look-ahead interflow, and CallVisor(tm) ASAI, which are particularly
important for businesses with call center applications.

     The new DEFINITY System G3s uses a new Flash ROM memory storage
capability.  With this, all the system's memory can be stored in a
unit the size of a credit card.

     The DEFINITY System G3s uses the same universal software found in
the larger DEFINITY System G3i and G3r PBXs, offering businesses many
advanced features, including:

     World Class Routing - The DEFINITY System G3s provides a
     networking feature offering customers total control of their
     outbound calling.  The PBX can screen outgoing calls up to
     18-digits in length, based on customer-designated locations
     or numbers.  This is a key element both in battling toll
     fraud and in preparing businesses for the new North American
     Numbering Plan.

     Security Violations Notification - The DEFINITY System G3s
     offers an alarm feature that alerts the system's
     administrator when an unauthorized attempt is made to gain
     access to network facilities through the switch.  The system
     actually places a call and delivers a warning on the
     administrator's display terminal.

     Voice Messaging Capabilities - The new system also supports
     AT&T's AUDIX(tm) Voice Messaging family of integrated voice
     mail systems, including the DEFINITY AUDIX System.  The
     DEFINITY AUDIX System is installed directly into the switch
     and eliminates the need for an adjunct processor.

     AT&T Hacker Tracker(tm) - Hacker Tracker is a software
     product that connects to AT&T's Call Accounting System (CAS
     Plus Version 3).  It uses information gathered by the call
     accounting system to continually monitor all incoming and
     outgoing telephone calls and alerts security or system's
     administrators when it detects abnormal calling activity that
     may signal toll fraud. All of AT&T's DEFINITY Systems,
     including the DEFINITY System G3s, support call accounting
     and Hacker Tracker.

     AT&T also plans to market the DEFINITY System G3s in more
     than 40 countries around the world.  Like the larger DEFINITY
     Systems, the DEFINITY System G3s is specially designed to meet the
     growing communications needs of international customers.
     Businesses need only install nation-specific software to meet the
     individual country's technical and electrical specifications.


ACTION:

For more information about the DEFINITY System G3s, please contact
your AT&T account representative.  Note: Account teams may refer to
ELIB Sales Brief, BCSYS-92-182.


EFFECTIVE DATE:  SEPTEMBER 22, 1992
EXPIRATION DATE: ONGOING

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 00:23:54 -0400
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Funny Phone Behaviour


Hi,

  I just had my second line installed and was trying it out with and
old and slightly moody EASA-PHONE (It works, but the speakerphone mode
is crackly with noise etc.)

  When my modem picks up the line, the EASA-Phone dies out ... ie.
becomes totally dead. When the modem drops the line, the Easa-phone
gets alive again. This happens for both speakerphone and handset use.
(Modem and phone are on same line, via a duplex adapter).

  Ok, so the Easa-phone does not like the extra drop on the line,
obviously!

  [That was an important backgrounder, BTW. Read on ...]

  Ok ... now the funny part ...

  If I dial my other number, and let the answering machine (a taiwan
make) pick up the call, strange things occur. The EASA-phone recieves
loud and clear the ring-back tone all the while till the machine picks
up the call,and then its total silence till the machine drops the
call. The phone just goes dead ... no recieve, no sidetone, and no
transmit my voice either.  The moment the machine drops the call .. my
Easa-phone gets crackling alive again, with sidetone and all.

   If I pick up the handset on the same answering machine, then this
does not happen. ie. all works well. (Ok the taiwan machine cum phone
puts different load on the line for the two cases.) If I pick up the
cordless (a good Sony) on that line too, then all is fine.

  Now,

  1. My Easa-phone needs a higher loop voltage, that we know.

  2. Can the kind of the remote instrument affect my loop voltage?
     How can it? Drat!!

If it helps, I am served by New England Telephone. Both phones are
served by (413)-549, come to the same punchdown in the basement, and
got to be on the same exchange.

BTW, could someone tell me what the ANI readback number is in my area
 ... Amherst, MA (413)-549?  I need it very desparately, since each
time I switch instruments and lines it gets confusing.


shrikumar ( [e-mail], [e-mail] )

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (James S. Vera)
Subject: How to Call Cheap From France to US?
Organization: Program Analysis and Verification Group, Stanford University
Date: 26 Sep 92 05:14:27 GMT


I'm going to France for a coupla weeks and am going to want to be
calling my sweetie here in CA.  Whats the cheap(est) way to be making
these calls.  Are there COCOTs in France to look out for?


James S. Vera              Internet
Stanford University  [e-mail]
+1.415.723.1089       FAX [phone]


[Moderator's Note: The cheapest calls between the USA and France are
directory assistance calls. They can go on for several minutes and
only cost three dollars!  :)   PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 17:57:22 SST
From: Ang Peng Hwa <[e-mail]>
Subject: Yangon Residents Clamor For Phones


The following report is from UPI (looks like it's still around):

A huge traffic jam developed in front of Yangon's (formerly Rangoon)
post office on Monday morning as several hundred people jostled for
telephone application forms from a narrow window of the building.

The forms are for a telephone connection in the city for a lump-sum
payment of US $1,100, according to an ad in the government-run {Working
People's Daily News}.

Private telephone connections have been suspended for many years.
Demand has risen considerably with the mushrooming of Myanmar
(ex-Burma) and foreign businesses and the increase in the city's
population, estimated at four million.

Demand has been so strong that there have been reports of installed
telephones being sold by the original subscribers for huge profits,
even though such sales are forbidden by the Myanmar postal
authorities.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Dialers That Also Store Numbers
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 9:21:22 EDT
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Greetings. I am looking for sources to buy one of those pocket
diallers that look like a small calculator (they usually include one),
can store numbers (with associated alphanumeric info) and can
tone-dial those numbers. I have seen some (now discontinued) Sharp
models and recently a Seiko Instruments.

This particular one looked suitable: 150 16 or 20 digit numbers with
16 or so chars per number, plus other features like a passwd to lock
it, alpha-search, IXC prefix, calling card storage, etc, and it sold
for $40.  But the store ("The Good Guys") had only a broken demo left
and I was just visiting so I couldn't buy one.

I also remember seeing a Radio Shack one; I think it was worse (less
capacity, features, and bulkier) but am not sure.

It's interesting that there seems to be a large number of devices that
only _store_ the numbers, but few that actually dial them; at the
stores I checked they said there used to be more of those but most
were discontinued.  Strange, isn't it?

I'd appreciate pointers to mail-order stores where I can get one of
these (or even places in W Mass, Boston, NYC), as well as
recommendations or comments about particular models/brands. Of course,
if you own one of these and are willing to sell it to me, please let
me know.


Cristobal Pedregal Martin     [e-mail] (internet)
Computer Science Department   UMass / Amherst, MA 01003

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 10:53:00 +0000
From: Henry (H.W.) Troup <[e-mail]>
Subject: New Cards Telephones in Ontario, Canada


Bell Canada has disabled international calling card calls from
payphones for some time.  Now, they are starting to deploy significant
numbers of payphones with magnetic card readers, LCD displays, etc.
Presumably these will permit international calls -- I haven't used one
other than for local calls yet.

Recently I saw the first in an outdoor booth. (For Ottawa locals in
was near the Baskin-Robbins in the plaza at Highway 16 and
Meadowlands.)

They're all Bell Canada owned and operated.  Is there anything that it
would be useful to check or try out?

Special disclaimer: I work for a company partly owned by BCE, which
owns Bell Canada. I own stock in BCE.  This is not an official
statement, nor a commercial announcement.


Henry Troup - [e-mail] (Canada) - BNR owns but does not share my opinions

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Thomas Brown)
Subject: Full Listing of Telecom Signaling Tones Wanted
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 15:14:06 GMT
Organization: Lehigh University


I'm doing some research on the full set of single and multi-tone
signaling frequencies currently used in telecommmunications systems
in order to prepare for the design of a single chip to accomidate
this.  I know all the standard DTMF tones (0-9, #, *, A-D), and the
2600 Hz tone, dialtone, ringing tone, etc., but I don't know what some
of the older trunk activation tones, coin phone pulse tones, and other
test tones are (in terms of signaling frequencies and durations).
Could somebody please point me in the right direction (via E-mail, to
limit the traffic on the net)?


Thanks much,

Thomas Brown, KA2UGQ          Internet: [e-mail]
Lehigh University UC Box 855  UUCP: ..!uunet!lehigh.edu!twb0
Bethlehem, PA  18015          AX.25: [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Henry Mensch)
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 10:05:26 -0700
Subject: PC-Based Voicemail Systems
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I've been charged with looking into PC-based voicemail systems ... the
cynic in me doesn't believe they really work, but they seem to be
fairly popular ... can someone speak to the usefulness/featurefulness
of these devices?


henry mensch / booz, allen & hamilton, inc.  / <[e-mail]>

------------------------------

From: applix![e-mail] (Jim Morton)
Subject: Two-Line Switching Device
Date: 26 Sep 92 14:21:15 GMT
Organization: Applix, Inc., Westboro, MA


What I'm trying to do: Install a FAX machine so incoming calls are
answered on an outside telco local number, but outgoing calls from the
FAX machine use an internal PBX line/trunk which goes through a T-1
and gets much cheaper long distance rates. I would need some type of
box that when it sees an off-hook request switches to the internal
line and busies-out the external line (no need to busy-out the
internal line when off-hook from an external call-in).

Can anyone think of a good way to do this? I have a NT SL-1 switch,
but cannot think of a way to do this with private-line (PVL) class
trunks...so I'm looking for some kind of "black box" to do this.


Jim Morton, Applix Inc., Westboro, MA  ..uunet!applix!jim  [e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: Sigh! Telecom Engineers Digest on Hold For Now
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 16:36:57 -0400
From: Jon Solomon <[e-mail]>


I am forced by my situation to put the Telecom-Engineers Digest on
hold.  Perhaps someone else wants to start this up?

I can't afford the phone bill to dial uip and do the Digest.


jsol


[Moderator's Note: It sounded like a great idea, Jon. I'm sorry you
can't complete the project.   PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #736
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #737

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 26 Sep 92 17:45:39 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 737

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Online Access to Federal Information (James Love)
    About the Internet White Pages (Paul Robinson)
    Info Requested About the Facilities of Off-Line Mail (Paul Robinson)
    Pac*Bell Phone Directory (Was: USA to Ten Digits) (Darren Alex Griffiths)
    Info Needed About "Nationwide Long Distance" Company (Rupa Schomaker)
    Michigan Bell Announces Shop-at-Home Info Service (Jim Rees)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 15:13:17 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Online Access to Federal Information


                              MEMO

 From:     James Love <[e-mail]>
           Taxpayer Assets Project

 Re:       HR 5983, legislation to provide online access to
           federal information
           (Sucessor to Gateway/WINDO bills)

 Date:     September 23, 1992, Washington, DC.

     On Wednesday, September 23, the House Administration Committee
unanimously approved H.R. 5983, the "Government Printing Office (GPO)
Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of 1992."  The bill,
which had been introduced the day before, was cosponsored by committee
chairman Charlie Rose (D- NC), ranking minority member William Thomas
(R-CA) and Pat Roberts (R-KA).  The measure was a watered down version
of the GPO Gateway/WINDO bills (S. 2813, HR 2772), which would provide
one-stop-shopping online access to hundreds of federal information
systems and databases.

     The new bill was the product of negotiations between
Representative Rose and the republican members of the House
Administration Committee, who had opposed the broader scope of the
Gateway/WINDO bills.  Early responses to the new bill are mixed.
Supporters of the Gateway/WINDO bill were disappointed by the narrower
scope of the bill, but pleased that the legislation retained the
Gateway/WINDO policies on pricing of the service (free use by
depository libraries, prices equal to the incremental cost of
dissemination for everyone else).  On balance, however, the new bill
would substantially broaden public access to federal information
systems and databases, when compared to the status quo.


     WHAT HR 5983 DOES:

The bill that would require the Government Printing Office (GPO)
to provide public online access to:

     -    the Federal Register
     -    the Congressional Record
     -    an electronic directory of Federal public information
          stored electronically,
     -    other appropriate publications distributed by the
               Superintendent of Documents, and
     -    information under the control of other federal
               departments or agencies, when requested by the
               department or agency.

The Superintendent of Documents is also required to undertake a
feasibility study of further enhancing public access to federal
electronic information, including assessments the feasibility of:

     -    public access to existing federal information systems,
     -    the use of computer networks such as the Internet and
          NREN, and
     -    the development (with NIST and other agencies) of
          compatible standards for disseminating electronic
          information.

There will also be studies of the costs, cost savings, and utility of
the online systems that are developed, including an independent study
of GPO's services by GAO.


     WHAT HR 5983 DOESN'T DO:

The new bill discarded the names WINDO or Gateway without a
replacement.  The new system is simply called "the system," a
seemingly minor change, but one designed to give the service a lower
profile.

A number of other features of the Gateway/WINDO legislation were also
lost.

-    While both S. 2813 and HR 2772 would have required GPO to
     provide online access through the Internet, the new bill
     only requires that GPO study the issue of Internet access.

-    The Gateway/WINDO bills would have given GPO broad authority
     to publish federal information online, but the new bill
     would restrict such authority to documents published by the
     Superintendent of Documents (A small subset of federal
     information stored electronically), or situations where the
     agency itself asked GPO to disseminate information stored in
     electronic formats.  This change gives agencies more
     discretion in deciding whether or not to allow GPO to
     provide online access to their databases, including those
     cases where agencies want to maintain control over databases
     for financial reasons (to make money off the data).

-    The Republican minority insisted on removing language that
     would have explicitly allowed GPO to reimburse agencies for
     their costs in providing public access.  This is a
     potentially important issue, since many federal agencies
     will not work with GPO to provide public access to their own
     information systems, unless they are reimbursed for costs
     that they incur.  Thus, a major incentive for federal
     agencies was eliminated.

-    S. 2813 and HR 2772 would have required GPO to publish an
     annual report on the operation of  the Gateway/WINDO and
     accept and consider *annual* comments from users on a wide
     range of issues.  The new bill only makes a general
     requirement that GPO "consult" with users and data vendors.
     The annual notice requirement that was eliminated was
     designed to give citizens more say in how the service
     evolves, by creating a dynamic public record of citizen
     views on topics such as the product line, prices, standards
     and the quality of the service.  Given the poor record of
     many federal agencies in addressing user concerns, this is
     an important omission.

-    S. 2813 would have provided startup funding of $3 million in
     fy 92 and $10 million in fy 93.  The new bill doesn't
     include any appropriation at all, causing some observers to
     wonder how GPO will be able to develop the online
     Congressional Record, Federal Register, and directory of
     databases, as required by the bill.


     WHAT HAPPENED?

The bill which emerged from Committee on Wednesday substantially
reflected the viewpoints of the Republicans on the House
Administration Committee.  The Republican staffers who negotiated the
new bill worked closely with lobbyists for the Industry Information
Association (IIA), a trade group which represents commercial data
vendors, and who opposed the broader dissemination mandates of the
Gateway/WINDO bills.

Why did WINDO sponsor Charlie Rose, who is Chair of the House
Administration Committee, give up so much in the new bill?
Because Congress is about to adjourn, and it is difficult to pass
any controversial legislation at the end of a Congressional
session.  The failure to schedule earlier hearings or markups on
the WINDO legislation (due largely to bitter partisan battles
over the House bank and post office, October Surprise and
campaign financing reform) gave the republican minority on the
committee enormous clout, since they could (and did) threaten to
kill the bill.

Rose deserves credit, however, for being the first member of congress
to give the issue of citizen online access to federal information
systems and databases such high prominence, and his promise to revisit
the question next session is very encouraging.


     PROSPECTS FOR PASSAGE:

The new bill has a long way to go.  It must be scheduled for a floor
vote in the House and a vote in the Senate.  The last step will likely
be the most difficult.  In the last few weeks of a Congressional
session, any member of the Senate can put a "hold" on the bill,
preventing it from receiving Senate approval this year, thus killing
the bill until next legislative session.  OMB and the republican
minority on the House Administration Committee have both signed off on
the bill, but commercial data vendors would still like to kill the
bill.  There's a catch, however.

Rose's staff has reportedly told the Information Industry Association
(IIA) that if it kills HR 5983, it will see an even bolder bill next
year.  Since IIA was an active participant in the negotiations over
the compromise bill, any effort to kill the bill will likely
antagonize Rose.  Of course, some observers think that an individual
firm, such as Congressional Quarterly, may try to kill the bill.  Only
time will tell.


     IS THE GLASS HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL?

Despite the many changes that have weakened the bill, HR 5983 is still
an important step forward for those who want to broaden public access
to federal information systems and databases.  Not only does the bill
require GPO to create three important online services (the directory,
the Congressional Record and the Federal Register), but it creates a
vehicle that can do much more.  Moreover, HR 5983 would provide free
online access for 1,400 federal depository libraries, and limit prices
for everyone else to the incremental cost of dissemination.  These
pricing rules are far superior to those used by NTIS, or line agencies
like NLM, who earn substantial profits on the sale of electronic
products and services.

     WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Urge your Senators and Representatives to support passage of HR 5983,
quickly, before Congress adjourns in October.  All members of Congress
can be reached by telephone at 202/224-3121, or by mail at the
following addresses:

     Senator John Smith            Representative Susan Smith
     US Senate                     US House of Representatives
     Washington, DC  20510         Washington, DC  21515


The most important persons to contact are your own delegation, as well
as Senators George Mitchell (D-ME) and Bob Dole (R-KA).

For more information, contact the American Library Association at
202/547-4440 or the Taxpayer Assets Project at 215-658-0880.  For a
copy of HR 5983 or the original Gateway/WINDO bills, send an email
message to [e-mail].


James Love, Director      voice     215/658-0880
Taxpayer Assets Project   fax       call
12 Church Road            internet  [e-mail]
Ardmore, PA  19003

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992  18:19:20 EDT
Subject: About the Internet White Pages


For those who attempted to register their Internet address with the
NIC, and were refused, I need to make a slight correction.

I listed the address "[e-mail]" as the address to submit
a listing for the Internet White Pages.  The correct address is
"[e-mail]".

Also, under the specific note in RFC 1202, on page 12 it clearly
states that the registrar is to accept ANY internet address for
listing in the white pages.  The only reference it has to site names
is that only people who are site administrators will be queried for
any changes in their listing; everyone else must send in corrections
to NIC.

I know that they accept anyone; I registered when my only Internet
address was [e-mail] and I was just a
user on a BBS.


Paul Robinson    [e-mail]

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992  09:29:48 EDT
Subject: Info Requested About the Facilities of Off-Line Mail


I am attempting to document, for the purpose of submitting the
technical specifications as an Internet RFC, the means to perform
off-line mail processing.

This is a means, currently done mostly on micros, where the user tells
the system having mail to send it to him as a "packet" in compressed
form.  His own computer unpacks and displays messages one at a time.

I would like anyone who has any information about any of the following
to forward responses to me at the address [e-mail].  All
information will be used for the purpose of creating the set of RFCs.

1.  Methods of file transfer which provide for reliable
    data transfer and can keep file name and date information.
    Currently only ZMODEM and Kermit are the only ones I know
    of that handle these (ZMODEM will implement YMODEM too.)

2.  Methods of compression of text files and archiving of them
    into a single archive file.  I have specifications for
    ZIP; and I think I can figure out ZOO (and I have Rahul
    Dhesi's address, anyway), what I want to figure out is
    the methods for the TAR archiving system and for the
    COMPRESS compression package.  I'd also be interested in
    ARJ, LHA, and LBR archivers and SQ/USQ compressors as
    well as any others which are publicly documented and
    might be accessible on other systems.

I will appreciate any assistance I can get in this matter.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Darren Alex Griffiths)
Subject: Pac*Bell Phone Directory (Was USA to Ten Digits)
Organization: Open Systems Solutions Inc.
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 05:10:25 GMT


[e-mail] (Chris Arndt) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Alan
> L Varney) writes:

>> PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE: "1+" and "*67" are PREFIXes; the NXX codes are
>> called "central office codes" or just "office codes".  The term PREFIX
>> is used to imply that the digits are part of a dialing plan, but NOT
>> part of the telephone number.

> Then why does my brand new, just delivered Pac*Bell directory, list
> "Prefix Locations", and list all of the "NXX" numbers and the areas
> they are for?

Your brand new, just delivered Pac*Bell directory also has Hannibal
Lecter, of "Silence of the Lambs" fame, listed under the psychologists
section in the Yellow Pages.  I like to think that Dr. Lecter is not
living in San Francisco, particularly since his prefix is used for the
Mission District where I live.  At the same time, walking around
Mission and 17th Street after dark is quite an experience so the
addition of one more crazed cannibal may not be noticed.

Before anyone asks, I do have better things to do with my time than
read the Yellow Pages and, even though friends and co-workers may
disagree with my judgment, I feel no need to consult a psychologist
and I was not looking for one.  I came across the entry through a
friend who is definitely in need of medical assistance.  The number is
[phone] (censor if you wish Pat) and of-course I couldn't
resist calling.  An answering machine picked up informing me that the
owner of the phone was going to be out of town until December.  I
suspect he will have a few messages when he returns :-).


   Cheers,

Darren Alex Griffiths        [e-mail]
Open Systems Solutions Inc.  [phone] x139
Fujitsu Ltd.                 Fax: [phone]
6121 Hollis Street           Emeryville, CA 94608-2092

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Rupa Schomaker)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 20:36:00 -0600
Subject: Info Needed About "Nationwide Long Distance" Company


About three hours after my new line was hooked up, I got a call from
"Nationwide Long Distance" offering me an irresistable offer (which I
could refuse for the time-being).  Here is what they told me:

- 100% fiber optic;
- NOT leased lines (they own their own network -- or so they say);
- optional PIN for long distance calls;
- $48 of free LD calls.

The telemarketer then took extra pains to point out that they have an
800 number and 1+ dialing (there are still LD companies that don't?).

They also try to push a "free" cellular phone (a "400" dollar value!).
After pushing it turns out to be a trasportable and you have to sign
up with GTE Mobilnet.  They evaded the question about whether it would
have to be a one year contract or if it could be month-by-month (but I
suspect the former).

In addition you get a free car alarm valued at $150.  After further
questioning you have to get it installed by the vendor which is $69.

So, anyone know anything about this company?  Do they have quality
lines?  Good service?

Oh, and how did they know about my phone number almost immediately
after the lineman hooked it up?


UUCP -> [e-mail]     FidoNet ->  1:106/1024

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jim Rees)
Subject: Michigan Bell Announces Shop-at-Home Information Service
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: University of Michigan IFS Project
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 15:14:35 GMT


Michigan Bell has joined the mad rush to provide "information
services" (subsidized by local rate payers) by announcing a
shop-at-home service.  You pay $12 a month and get a phone with an
attached bar code reader and credit card reader, and a separate paper
catalog of things you can buy.  You make a phone call, swipe the bar
codes of the things you want to buy, swipe your credit card, and the
items are delivered to your door.  They have an agreement with Kroger
(big local food supermarket chain) and are working on others.  It also
lets you pay bills.

Seems pretty low-tech to me, with the data base on paper and the
requirement to physically insert a credit card into the machine, but
the local newspapers seem to think it's hot.

I think I'd rather save the $12 and do my shopping in person, but I'm
sure someone will find this useful.

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #737
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #738

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 26 Sep 92 19:38:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 738

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    From Europe How Can I Dial a Modem to a Machine in the US? (Tim Fredrick)
    Info Needed on Vitalink and Network Systems (Cliff Coombs)
    Help Needed Using FTP Correctly (Paul Thompson)
    Vendors of SS7 Software Wanted (John Zafiris)
    EUUG Address? Help Please (Mary Anne Walters)
    ANI and Caller ID Specs via FTP (David Rivkin)
    1+ Dialing and Data Calls (Leonard Erickson)
    EBS Attention Signal (John Gilbert)
    New Egypt Local Calling Area (George L. Sicherman)
    1+ 7D Dialing (was USA to Ten Digits) (Steven S. Brack)
    Please Explain BORSHT Functions (Yee-Lee Shyong)
    Modem Recommendations For Developing Nations Installation (David Davidson)
    Thanks For All Your Replies (Philippa Morrissey)
    Thoughts About WFMT Versus WNIB/WNIZ (graphics![e-mail])
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Timothy Fredrick)
Subject: From Europe How Can I Dial a Modem to a Machine in the US?
Organization: Ntl Center for Atmospheric Research, Atmospheric Chemistry
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 20:25:35 GMT


We have a user with a Mac PowerBook running Versaterm (standard Hayes
compat. terminal emulator) who wants to use his machine to dial home
from major European cities such as Paris or London.  Our machine here
can be dialed via an 800-number.

Given that, can you recommend how to set up a dial string so that he
can dial home?  Can he use TOUCH-tone in Europe (ATDT ...)?  How about
PULSE-tone?  (ATDP ...)?  I understood there were numbers in major
European cities that would tie into 800-number service (USA Direct).
Can he set up a modem string that would call such a service, enter a
credit card number, and dial the machine in the US, all without having
to pick up the receiver and talk to an operator?

Any other recommendations would definitely be appreciated -- as you
can tell, I was at a loss to know how to advise this person.


Thanks in advance.

Tim Fredrick
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307-3000

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Cliff Coombs)
Subject: Info Wanted on Vitalink and Network Systems
Date: 26 Sep 92 16:54:12 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.


A friend my mine recently interviewed for a position with Vitalink.
 From the interview he said they had recently merged with Network
Systems.  He was really excited about the position and asked me to try
to get more info about the company, it's products and it's people.

Please respond via email.


Thanks,

Cliff Coombs                        Voice [phone]  Fax [phone]
Campus Network Administrator                          [e-mail]
Kean College of New Jersey                             [e-mail]
Disclaimer: "I know noth-ink" -Schultz (Hogan's Heros)   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 10:26 CDT
From: Paul Thompson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Help Needed Using FTP Correctly


Greetings,

I have run into problems FTPing files which contain multiple periods
(i.e. READ.ME.FIRST) into a VAX system which only appears to accept
the FILENAME_AND.EXTENSION;VERSION format typical of VAXs.  Is there
some FTP command which I am not aware of which will convert
incompatible file nameing schemes on the fly?


Thanks,

Paul

[Moderator's Note: We have many files named that way in the Telecom
Archives and your question had never occurred to me before. Have you
tried using some little script with the FTP commands and their
arguments inside single or double quotes to see if you can trick the
system into sending along the whole thing?  Other ideas anyone?   PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (John Zafiris)
Subject: Vendors of SS7 Software Wanted
Organization: Gagme Public Access UNIX, Chicago, Illinois.
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 21:55:55 GMT


I'm looking for vendors which provide SS7 or C7 software; specifically
vendors who can supply MTP and TUP.  SCCP, ISUP, and TCAP would be
nice too.

Any leads would be very much appreciated.

Please call me at [phone] or post to this newsgroup rather than
replying directly to me by email.


Thanks,

John

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mary Anne Walters)
Subject: EUUG Address? Help Please
Organization: MITRE Corporation, McLean VA
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 17:57:29 GMT


I got an address for EUUG of [e-mail].  I emailed, asking for
the list of European Internet sites, but the mail bounced.

Does anyone have the correct address so I can try again?


Thanks,

Mary Anne

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (David Rivkin%Kollman)
Subject: ANI and Caller ID Specs via FTP
Organization: Computer Graphics Laboratory, UCSF
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 18:30:16 GMT


Does anyone have or is there an FTP site for the specifications on ANI
services and Caller ID services?  I need the real details (like
tariffs), not the basics.  If different RBOCs have different specs,
(like one uses MF, another DTMF, one uses Wink, the other after pick
up - for ANI) then can you include the different areas as well.


Thanks all,

David Rivkin   UCSF   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 10:04:38 PST
From: [e-mail] (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: 1+ Dialing and Data Calls


One group of people that *needs* something like "1-" means long
distance are members of any Fidonet technology network.

Nodelist updates get processed automatically on most systems, so
unless they configure their system to not dial "unknown" prefixes,
their systems will cheerfully dial long distance calls instead of
waiting until late night, or routing the message some other way.

I suspect other computer systems may have similar behavior. It would
be *much* better to require a 1 before toll calls.

BTW, note that here in Oregon, not even *businesses* can be forced to
get measured service. So the measured service argument doesn't hold.

John Higdon's comment about routing data call via AT&T reminded me
that *all* the "sample setup" files for Fido mailers that I've seen
have "1-" aliased to "10288-1-" if they've been written in the US!


uucp: uunet!m2xenix!puddle!51!Leonard.Erickson
Internet: [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (John Gilbert)
Subject: EBS Attention Signal
Organization: secure_comm
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 18:57:40 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> Joseph.Bergstein@p501.f544.
n109.z1.fidonet.org (Joseph Bergstein) writes:

> I've been curious for some time.  Do the tri-tones on various
> intercepts serve any special technical purpose?  Are they just a
> distinctive tone much like the Emergency Broadcast System on radio, so
> that callers will know to listen for a special message?

The tone you hear during an EBS test is more than just an attention
signal. It is a precise signal that can be used to set off decoders
listening to a broadcasters audio.

The tone is specified in the FCC rules (47 CFR 73.906) as 853 Hz + 960
Hz for 20-25 sec. The signal must be transmitted at 40% of the maximum
system level.  This signal can be used for decoders at broadcast
stations so that secondary broadcast stations can decode the EBS
messages of higher power primary broadcasters.


John Gilbert   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 15:13:49 EDT
From: [e-mail] (George L Sicherman)
Subject: New Egypt Local Calling Area
Organization: AT&T


In <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] writes:

> While perusing a local map, I found that the Ocean County NJ, where I
> am currently camped out at my beach house, is in three different
> LATAs: the northern half is in the North Jersey (201/908) LATA, the
> southern half is in the Atlantic Ccity LATA (a little bit of 609) but
> New Egypt a/k/a Plumstead Township, is in the Camden/Trenton LATA (the
> rest of 609.)  Between New Egypt and anywhere else in the county it is
> a fairly pricey inter-LATA toll call, though I expect they can call
> adjacent points in Monmouth or Burlington counties for free.

Between New Egypt and the rest of Ocean County stands the Pinelands, a
huge wooded area populated mainly by squirrels and an occasional dead
racketeer.  The only local calls from New Egypt are northward and
westward to Bordentown, Fort Dix, and Pemberton in Burlington County,
and Allentown in Monmouth County.  I doubt that any trunks run through
the forest.  If there's any emergency phone service in the forest,
it's probably provided by running lines from the Pemberton C.O.  I
have a map of local calling areas in 609, written in "pic", which
anybody may have by writing to me.  (I will translate it to PostScript
on request.)  It shows a big hole in an otherwise cohesive network.

As for sparse LATAs, you ought to check Texas.  Doesn't Texas boast
the least populous county in the U.S.?


Col. G. L. Sicherman   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 26 Sep 1992 19:10:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail] (Steven S. Brack)
Subject: 1 + 7D Dialing (was USA to Ten Digits)


In some cases, 1+7D versus 7D does even stranger things than it
seems a telco would set up.

For instance, here in NW Ohio, served by Ohio Bell, 1 856 XXXX rings
an intraLATA LD number in 419 856.  Dialing 856 XXXX, however, rings a
local number, but in 313 856.

So, in Toledo, you must dial a 1 to place some calls in your own NPA,
but you must *not* dial 1 to place calls to an adjacent NPA.

How does BellCoRe suggest that situation be handled?

Also, how does the interop between Ohio Bell and Michigan Bell operate
such that 313 and 419 numbers near the border are dialable as local.
Does the government consider tham both IXCs for short-haul calls in
that area?  It is, as the King said, a puzzlement.  8)



Steven S. Brack          [e-mail]
2021 Roanwood Drive      [e-mail]
Toledo, OH  43613-1605   [e-mail]
+1 419 GR4 1010    MY OWN  OPINIONS  [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 10:11:10 CST
From: [e-mail] (Yee-Lee Shyong)
Subject: Please Explain BORSHT Functions


What's the BORSHT functions for telephone service in central offices?

I read some articles which present two type of Subscriber Line
Interface Circuit(SLICs).

    1. 2-wire <-> single-ended
    2. 2-wire <-> 4-wire
    Why? What's the difference between them?

Why can not subscribers use the single-ended circuit to communicate
with local exchange if the first coversion is available?


Thanks!

Apollo

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (David Davidson)
Subject: Modem Recommendations For Developing Nations Installation
Organization: Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 03:17:18 GMT


I work in a group involved in technology transfer for developing
nations.  Our current project is in East Europe. Sorry for any hurt
feelings about calling this region "developing".

I am putting in some IBM RISK 6000s into Czechoslovakia (CSFR) which
will have an internal modem. I have been warned that the phone lines
are incredibly noisey and inside cities "switched" so that short
interruptions are common. Can anyone recommend either a brand of modem
or some suggestions of specs that I should look for? I require a very
robust modem 2400 or 9600 baud, and preferable internal.

I would prefer if you would reply to me directly, and I can then post
a summary of the replies for others interested.

Please accept my thanks in advance,


Regards,

David    [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Philippa Morrissey)
Subject: Thanks For All Your Replies
Organization: AOTC - CSSC
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 06:14:00 GMT


I wanted to thank everybody who sent me info on telcos in Carolina,
especially Keith Harrison. The info really helped me present a
convincing arguement to management. Thanks again.


Philippa Morrissey - AOTC      MHSnet: [e-mail]
Advanced Network Products      Snail : 320 Pitt St, Sydney 2000.
Customised Software Solutions    or PO Box A226, Sydney South 2000, Australia.
     Centre - Sydney           Phone : [phone]   Fax: [phone]

------------------------------

From: graphics![e-mail]
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 00:58:11
Organization: The Graphics BBS (2D,3D,GIF,Animation) +1 908/469-0049
Subject: Thoughts About WFMT Versus WNIB/WNIZ


[Mr. Townson's remarks about WFMT and WNIB/WNIZ deleted.]

[Moderator's Note: I will attempt to answer some of the questios and
comments made here as the article progresses.   PAT]

My only problem with WNIB was WNIZ in Zion (hey, when I lived in
Marengo and worked for Follett in McHenry, 'NIZ was the only
decent signal I could get, and it was quite bad, especially
going over "Hamburger Hill" (aka Ill 120 between McHenry and
Woodstock.)  At times, I could barely pull WNIU when I made my
forays from Rockford to McHenry.)

[Moderator's Note: I do not know about WNIU. W <N>orthern <I>llinois
<B>roadcasters is unique in the Chicago area since they simulcast at
all times at both 96.9 FM (WNIZ, Zion, IL) and 97.1 (WNIB, Chicago).
They frequently mention that they can be heard over a very wide area
by your choice in tuning: northern Indiana and Illinois south suburbs
north to Chicago's north side, tune 97.1. Northern suburbs going north
to Kenosha, WI tune 96.9. From where I sit, I can hear them equally
well at both frequencies.  PAT]

As for 'FMT's announcers, where I came from when I moved to Illinois
in 1986, and where I returned after leaving Illinois last year, they
are, on a par, MUCH better than WITF-FM in Harrisburg, PA.  (With the
exception of the music director at 'ITF, who is, like myself, a
musicologist, their on air staff has become increasingly worse since
the late '70's.

[Moderator's Note: Everything is relative. I am sure WFMT's announcers
are better than others in some places. Not better than WNIB however.
That is my subjective opinion of course.   PAT]

Unfortunately, the only other classical station in the area, WMSP,
(which was run by Market St. Presbyterian Church), went dark over
three years ago.  It's now occupied by a "moldy oldies" format
station.  Now that WHYY-FM in Philadelphia went "news/talk", one
doesn't have a choice on where to listen for classical music
(Baltimore's WBJC and WJHU, and DC's WETA don't come in too well
around here).

[Moderator's Note: Do you realize *how many* stations -- even on the
AM band -- *used* to be classical music but are no longer? Many
stations nationwide have abandoned their classical music format over
the past 20-30 years. They feel there is no money to be made in
accomodating this select taste. Fortunatly, in Chicago we still have
two full time, and others on a part time basis.  PAT]

Besides, where else does one turn if you want to listen to the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra, Music of the Baroque, The New Oratorio Singers
(with whom I performed with all too briefly -- two weeks, -- no thanks
to the overload of work I put up with at Follett), and the Lyric
Opera, as well as the Met (when I was out WNIU's listening area)?

[Moderator's Note: But if you like Karl Haas, and several other
symphony orchestras and at least two complete operas each week then
you must tune to WNIB. I'm glad both stations are around.  PAT]

Why did 'NIB's morning drive man (I forget his name offhand) move to
'FMT?

[Moderator's Note: Jay Andres began his classical music radio career
in about 1950 on WBBM (780-AM) with a program called "Music Til Dawn"
sponsored by American Airlines and syndicated to stations all over the
US including WWL in Cincinnati and KOA in Denver. When his contract
with (I think it was WGN) ran out, he *applied for* and got the job at
WNIB. He apparently only intended to use it as a stepping stone to
WFMT. WNIB did not, so far as I know, go looking for him. When a
position came open at WFMT on the afternoon shift, he applied for it
and WFMT took him thinking they would grab the audience he had at
WNIB. The trouble is, people listening to WNIB tolerated him, they did
not *love* him. He lasted only a few months at WFMT and they canned
him. Not, mind you because he was bad or could not handle the job, but
only because an organization called 'Friends of WFMT' was in the
process of filing suit against the station for their imagined grievances
and they *hated* Jay Andres. So about three months after he started he
was gone. He went over to WNIB and asked the owner (Sonia Florian) for
his job back. She laughed and said "No".  Then she hired a fellow from
WFMT named Carl Grapentine, and she *did* pull his listeners with him. PAT]

Also, what the devil was the problem with 'NIB's dog?  Every time I
ever tuned in, you could hear him barking in the background!  Such
antics remind me of Hoople, ND WOOF, the radio station of the
University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople, which may be fine for a
comedy act like Schickele's, but certainly has no place on a
professional classical music station in a major market!

[Moderator's Note: WNIB has a dog and five or six cats living at the
station. The dog only barks when someone comes to the door he does not
recognize.  A couple of the cats have jumped on the turntable in the
middle of records, however.   PAT]

I've also noticed a LOT of sloppiness in engineering on the part of
'NIB's on air personalities.  When I worked in radio from 1977-1980
(at Indiana University of PA's 1kw outlet as classical music
coordinator/production engineer and on air announcer), I was reputed
to run the tightest board ANYONE in that station has EVER seen
(granted there were many times that John Cage's 4:22 was programmed,
ESPECIALLY when I was subbing on a Jazz or Alternative Music program,
due to Nature's Calling).  Granted, there are times that dead air is
unavoidable, but something like this on a commercial station
consistently is unexcuasble!  If this sounds like it's gone on for too
long and I sound like I'm rambling, it's probably because it's 2:00 AM
EDT, I haven't been able to get a good night's sleep for a few days,
and you touched a part of me that is still rather raw.

[Moderator's Note: When WFMT was *live* all night the combination
announcer/engineer fell asleep one night, and awakened some twenty
minutes into dead air.  You may recall an overnight personality on WGN
radio named Franklyn McCormack. He had a heart attack and died on the
air while talking about a sponsor's product. At WNIB I can recall only
three instances of dead air, although I do not listen 24 hours per
day.  On one occassion, an overnight man on the weekend went out to
his car to get something and locked himself out of the building. It
took about 45 minutes for someone to get there and let him in, with
about 30 minutes being dead air. On another occassion, another long
term announcer (Bruce Duffie, twenty plus years) was working overnight
and had an appendicitis attack about three in the morning. He worked
in dreadful pain for about two hours until someone came in to take
over. Then perhaps twenty years ago, back in the days when they
brokered Sunday morning to church services to pay the bills, the
announcer had a habit at 10:57 AM of saying "Now we will have church
services for an hour ... I'm going to the corner for breakfast and
will be back with more classical music at 12:15."  He took a little
radio with him so he could detect any problems, none of which ever
happened before, but one week the phone line to the church went down
while he was sitting a block away eating pancakes.  That resulted in
four or five minutes of dead air while he hustled back and got things
running again.  On the other hand, WFMT is now on tape all night long
(they record bits of speaking all day; the person on duty overnight
intersperses the taped speaking with the music it calls for) and some
nights they bungle it badly, wrong selections of music versus what the
'announcer' (really a tape made earlier) says will be playing, etc.
Believe me, WFMT has *their* problems too, but they have a large staff
to cause/cure the problems versus all of five or so full time
employees at WNIB/WNIZ which operated out of Sonia's home for the
first several years and now is in an old warehouse.  PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #738
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #739

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 26 Sep 92 23:06:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 739

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: PC-Based Voicemail Systems (John Higdon)
    Re: Info Needed About "Nationwide Long Distance" Company (John Higdon)
    Re: What Does a DS-3 Circuit Terminate at? (Peter M. Weiss)
    Re: What Does a DS-3 Circuit Terminate at? (Syd Weinstein)
    Re: 516-711 Exchange (Carl Moore)
    Re: 516-711 Exchange (Dave Niebuhr)
    Re: Kauai Communications Out (Charlie Mingo)
    Re: Hurricane Iniki Repair Efforts (John Higdon)
    Re: Bargain COCOT - Flat Rate LD! (Bob Frankston)
    Re: 800 Numbers Blocked by NYTel? (Henry Mensch)
    Re: 711 as 911? (Jon Cereghino)
    Re: education.tele.com (Sean Malloy)
    Re: Commercial Service Addresses (Charlie Mingo)
    Re: Cellular Frequencies (Charlie Mingo)
    Re: Funny 800 Number Spelling (John Higdon)
    Remote Access Call Forwarding Available in Houston (A. Alan Toscano)
    AT&T AUDIX System Info Wanted (Dave Davis)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 17:26 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: PC-Based Voicemail Systems


[e-mail] (Henry Mensch) writes:

> I've been charged with looking into PC-based voicemail systems ... the
> cynic in me doesn't believe they really work, but they seem to be
> fairly popular ... can someone speak to the usefulness/featurefulness
> of these devices?

I have news for you. PC-based voicemail systems are the wave of the
future. My own personal belief is that mainframe platforms such as
those praised by Randy Gellens and others are vestiges of the past and
will eventually go the way of all dinasours. Admittedly, since I do
not feel the future of mainframes is very bright, no time has been
spent looking into them.

My business partner and I created a complete billing center
incorporating ACD, voicemail, auto-attendant, conferencing, and
accounting using nothing more than a handful of networked
garden-variety PCs. The hardware cost was shockingly low and the
performance of the system is most impressive (even to those who
created it :-).

I believe that you will find that the PC-based voicemail systems are
more capable than you think.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 19:41 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Info Needed About "Nationwide Long Distance" Company


[e-mail] (Rupa Schomaker) writes:

> So, anyone know anything about this company?  Do they have quality
> lines?  Good service?

At this juncture in the scheme of things, I would probably not use any
long distance carrier other than "the big three" unless someone who
was personally known to me gave a specific first-person endorsement
thereto. And this person would have to be someone who had sufficient
credentials in the telecom business. Now that every dog and his owner
can become a long distance company, one has to be very careful.

> Oh, and how did they know about my phone number almost immediately
> after the lineman hooked it up?

I would be willing to bet that it was coincidental.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

------------------------------

Organization: Penn State University
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 18:53:16 EDT
From: Peter M. Weiss <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: What Does a DS-3 Circuit Terminate at?


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Maxime
Taksar) says:

> In article <[e-mail]>, is written:

>> The T-3 Backbone of the Internet/NSFNet runs on IBM's RS/6000-based IP
>> routers -- does anyone know if IBM is selling these commercially yet?

> Nope.  The NSFnet runs on IBM PC/RT machines.  Yes, the horribly old,
> relatively slow machines of years past.  This is the biggest
> Internet-related scandal you can imagine: these routers couldn't
> possibly handle DS3 speeds.  In fact, when everything works, you're
> lucky to get DS1 speeds.  However, the routers frequently fall back to
> their T1 links anyway.

According to the _Link Letter_ March/April 1992 - Vol. 5 No.1, lead
article "T3 Network Nears Full Production":

      "Merit obtains NSFNET backbone services from ANS which
      provides a major national network that operates at T3 speeds
      using circuits provided by MCI and central networking
      technology based on the IBM RS/6000 (TM)."

The three-page story was written by Ellen Hoffmaan, Mark Knopper and
Pat Smith of Merit/NSFNET.  Frequent references to these efforts can
be found in the IETF Internet Monthly Reports.

Feel free to use anonymous FTP nis.nsf.net and cd newsletters.  Lot's
of info.


Pete [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 18:54 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Syd Weinstein)
Subject: Re: What Does a DS-3 Circuit Terminate at?


In comp.dcom.telecom is written:

>> The T-3 Backbone of the Internet/NSFNet runs on IBM's RS/6000-based IP
>> routers -- does anyone know if IBM is selling these commercially yet?

> Nope.  The NSFnet runs on IBM PC/RT machines.

I beg to differ.  The T-1 backbone of the NSFnet runs/ran on PC/RT's,
the T-3 backbone is on RS/6000's.  An it uses special boards for the
network side that I don't think IBM is selling yet.  I do know they
were changing out the FDDI and Ethernet boards a bit recently due to
some upgrade problems.


Sydney S. Weinstein, CDP, CCP          Elm Coordinator - Current 2.3PL11
Datacomp Systems, Inc.                 Projected 2.4 Release: Oct 1,1992
[e-mail] or dsinc!syd      Voice: [phone], FAX: [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 9:41:52 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 516-711 Exchange


Because of the recent messages regarding 711 being among a list of
prefixes recited on a recording for the Hicksville (516 area, N.Y.)
exchange, I did some testing from Newark, Delaware, with default
carrier MCI:

1-516-938-9901 got that same recording.

1-516-711-9901 and 10288-1-516-711-9901 could not be completed as
   dialed.  They got the respective carriers' intercepts.  A side
   note: the AT&T message, as I have received at least once before
   recently, was from "410-1T" and not from 215.  (Newark is next
   door to Maryland but has no local service to Maryland.)

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 14:24:41 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr, BNL CCD, 516-282-3093)
Subject: Re: 516-711 Exchange


> Because of the recent messages regarding 711 being among a list of
> prefixes recited on a recording for the Hicksville (516 area, N.Y.)
> exchange, I did some testing from Newark, Delaware, with default
> carrier MCI:

> 1-516-938-9901 got that same recording.
> 1-516-711-9901 and 10288-1-516-711-9901 could not be completed as
>   dialed.  They got the respective carriers' intercepts.  A side
>   note: the AT&T message, as I have received at least once before
>   recently, was from "410-1T" and not from 215.  (Newark is next
>   door to Maryland but has no local service to Maryland.)

Based on Carl's information, I have a very funny suspicion that 711 is
a telco number and not in general use.


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Charlie Mingo)
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 15:55:27 -0500
Subject: Re: Kauai Communications Out


[e-mail] (John Higdon) writes:

> And in case you are unaware, our satellite capability in re:
> hurricanes is in serious trouble. Normally there are two GOES series
> satellites, one positioned over the Pacific and the other over the
> Atlantic. A couple of years ago, the Pacific satellite died so the
> Atlantic one was repositioned over the central US. This has severely
> restricted the hurricane watching capability over both oceans. In
> addition, the remaining GOES satellite has passed its design life span
> and could fail at any moment, virtually blinding our weather
> forcasters.

> The next launchings (GOES-NEXT) are scheduled for
> mid-1994. I leave it to you to see the potential trouble.

   A minor correction, as John seems to have forgotten that countries
other then the US also have satellites:

   The last functioning GOES is positioned over the West Coast of the
US, where the Hawaiian islands are just within its coverage.  The
approaches to the Hawaiian islands are not, allowing them to be
blindsided by a storm that comes up from the "wrong" direction (like
Iniki).

   The East Coast is served by a French Merisat satellite, which
replaced the GOES that died.  The French have a substantial excess of
weather satellites, and are happy to lease them out.  It is expected
that the US will lease another French satellite if the West Coast GOES
dies before its replacement is ready.

   (The French satellites aren't quite as good as the GOES they
replace, as they do not have "sounders" to measure wind direction and
speed, which makes it harder for them to predict where the hurricane
will go.  Simplicity does have its virtues, however, as the GOES-Next
birds are grounded by malfunctions in their sophisticated circuitry.)

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 10:20 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Hurricane Iniki Repair Efforts


[e-mail] writes:

> In times like this, the whole state will pull together like one big
> "Ohana" (family).  GTE Hawaiian Tel is a part of that "Ohana", like
> all the other businesses in Hawaii.

I could not agree more. But this is "Hawaiian Telephone" showing
through and, IMHO, is the case in spite of the GTE influence. Long
before GTE entered the picture, islanders have been very proud of
their telephone company and that pride remains even today.

Having worked and played in the islands, I have many times felt the
frustration at being an outsider. It seemed that all rules and
regulations were aimed at protecting the locals. But whatever
responsiveness may be observed during the cleanup and repair after
hurricane Iniki is to be credited in major part to the Hawaiian spirit
and tradition.

I cannot credit GTE for actions that result from the strength of the
Hawaiian people.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Bargain COCOT - Flat Rate LD!
Date: Sat 26 Sep 1992 19:52 -0400


Last year (or before?) I sent in a number of messages on the local
COCOT that trying to compete on price with NET.  Their frustration is
that they can't compete on local calls since NET charges $.10 for the
calls but COCOTs can't get that rate.  This appears to be a legitimate
attempt to compete.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Henry Mensch)
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 92 10:13:00 -0700
Subject: Re: 800 Numbers Blocked by NYTel?
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Douglas Scott Reuben <[e-mail]> wrote:

> Utter nonsense ... (BTW, are you SURE it was an AT&T recording, or NYTel?)

Absolutely ... unless some other company answers its phones "AT&T; may
I help you?". This was part of the surprise.

Finally, it MAY be that the payphone in question was due to be
disconnected, and left in service as a "public convenience" (read:
NYTel was lazy).

This was four public phones over several blocks; I'm pretty certain
this phenomenon was not limited to a particular phone.


henry mensch / booz, allen & hamilton, inc.  / <[e-mail]>

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 25 Sep 92 11:02:14 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Jon Cereghino)
Subject: Re: 711 as 911?


The number 711 was used as a test number in the Santa Clara County
area a few years ago when E911 was being installed. At the time,
however, dialing 911 would route you to intercept because 911 was not
operational.

The Santa Clara County area is slated to receive upgrades to the
present E911 system within the next two years. It is possible the new
system (components or upgrade) will be also be tested using the 711
number.


Jon    [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Sean Malloy)
Subject: Re: education.tele.com
Date: 26 Sep 1992 03:22:20 -0500
Organization: Texas A&M University, College Station


>> You may want to talk to the electrical engineering department at a nearby
>> university to get a better idea about undergraduate coursework in
>> telecommunications.

> Here at Texas A&M University, there is a specialized field of the
> Engineering Technology degree plan which is directed toward
> telecommunications.  As I am not involved in this degree plan, I do
> not have other information on it, but try 800 directory for Texas
> A&M ... call up and find out who to talk to.

The person you want to contact at Texas A&M University is Pierre
Catala.  I'd give out his office phone number, but I don't think
that's a wise course of action without checking with him first.  He
can be reached at [e-mail] or you can call 409-845-4741
(Texas A&M General Information Number) and get the number for the
Department Of Engineering Technology.  In case you need to know for
some reason, Telecom is three levels deep in the hiearchy, which goes
Engineering Technology -> Electronics -> Telecom.

Also, I'm sure that Dr. Catala would love to hear from persons wanting
to donate equipment to the program as well ;-)


Sean C. Malloy      [e-mail]   Texas A&M University

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Charlie Mingo)
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 04:14:57 -0500
Subject: Re: Commercial Service Addresses


[e-mail] writes:

> Does anyone know if Telnet addresses exist for the following services?

> Portal - I understand that this service will offer free, unrestricted
> access to all who logon through Internet.

> Delphi?

> [Moderator's Note: I do not believe you can truely telnet to either of
> those sites. It's a lot like 'telnet mcimail.com': it says you got
> there, but you *really* wind up at the site serving as the gateway and
> where the name 'mcimail.com' is aliased.  I think Portal and Delphi
> are the same way.  PAT]

   Portal is certainly accessible through Internet: telnet to
nova.unix.portal.com and choose 'online' as your service.  As for the
"free, unrestricted access" -- well, the telnet connection won't cost
you anything, but getting any access to Portal costs $15/month (you
can sign up at the prompt).

   As for Delphi, it's a little unclear.  There is a delphi.com, but
that is actually BioTechNet, a molecular biology information service.
Delphi Information Systems has an internet address (192.77.14.0), but
I can't telnet in there.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Charlie Mingo)
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 14:55:23 -0500
Subject: Re: Cellular Frequencies


[e-mail] (Richard McCombs KB5SNF) writes:

> So with the PRO 34 sometimes you can hear the cellular calls even when
> you aren't trying.

> [Moderator's Note: The legal catch is, you aren't trying. That's why
> there is the loophole in FCC regulations about hearing something
> versus deliberatly tuning; and repeating what you hear, etc. ...]

   I think the Moderator is confusing his loopholes.  The FCC
regulations about "deliberately tuning" or "repeating what you hear"
relate to the Communications Act of 1934, which govern unauthorized
interception of radio transmissions generally.

   The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 only makes it a
crime to "intentionally intercept[ or] endeavor to intercept" a
cellular call.  Thus, unintentional cellular intecepts could never be
punishable.

   I don't know whether tuning to a band where you know cellular calls
will improperly be broadcast would count as "intentional"
interception, or just "knowing" interception.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 16:55 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Funny 800 Number Spelling


[e-mail] (Ron Dippold) writes:

> It's a 900 number, but close enough ... 1-900-FUN-DUCK.  Take a look
> at that "3" key ... I wonder how that one got by.

I know of no number-issuing entity, LEC or IEC, who will refuse to
give out any number you want if it is available. I have several
clients who have the last four digits '3825' for the very spelling you
are implying.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: 27 Sep 92 02:53:16 GMT
Subject: Remote Access Call Forwarding Available in Houston


Remote Access to Call Forwarding (RACF) becomes available in Houston
on Monday, 9/28. Southwestern Bell is charging residential customers
$1/month in addition to standard Call Forwarding charges. Custom
Calling features carry an installation charge of $2.70 for one feature
ordered, or $5.40 for two or more features ordered at the same time.

RACF is often confused with Remote Call Forwarding. The latter,
provides a telephone number in one city, which forwards all incoming
calls to another PREDETERMINED number in a distant city, without
providing an actual subscriber loop. The "line" exists only in the
central office. SW Bell markets Remote Call Forwarding as
"TeleBranch."


A Alan Toscano, Houston, TX <[e-mail]>

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (dave davis)
Subject: AT&T AUDIX System Info Wanted
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 03:22:41 GMT


Our location has recently installed AT&T's AUDIX voice mail system
(I'm an end user).  I've requested info on the system capibilities
from the local folks, but they're just learning the operation
themselves.  The "help" sheet I have refers to the system as AUDIX
Release 1 Version 5.

 - I'm curious about menuing capabilities (i.e., can I direct callers
to multiple informational messages based on their responses?), and any
other "advanced" features that are available.

 - Do we have the latest version of the software?  (The system appar-
ently sat for about a year before being installed -- it's probably out
of warranty.)

Any information or pointers to information on this system would be
appreciated.


dave davis   [e-mail] (preferred)
[e-mail]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #739
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #740

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 27 Sep 92 21:30:30 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 740

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    AT&T Public Phone 2000 (Roy M. Silvernail)
    Global Cellular Phone Usage ([e-mail])
    Telco Notes From Maryland (Dave Niebuhr)
    Durham Phone Service (Paul Robinson)
    Unusual Busy Signal (John Schmidt)
    Quick New York Telephone Repair (Sort of ...) (John Schmidt)
    NYTel Problems (Dave Niebuhr)
    New Pac*Bell Radio and TV Commercials (Darren Alex Griffiths)
    What it Costs to Have the President Over (J. Philip Miller)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: AT&T Public Phone 2000
From: cybrspc![e-mail] (Roy M. Silvernail)
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 12:01:32 CDT
Organization: Villa CyberSpace, Minneapolis, MN


On a trip to California last week, I had the chance to try out an AT&T
Public Phone 2000.  This is the one with the terminal screen and
keyboard, and a swipe-reader for your calling card.  Pretty nifty
gadget.

I was able, after reconfiguring the terminal parameters, to call my
home machine and check my e-mail.  The VT-100 emulation seems solid,
although I didn't test it exhaustively.  It'll be interesting to see
what the bill looks like.  The posted rate is $2.50 for the first ten
minutes.  Not altogether out of line, since I didn't have to carry
along a laptop.  There is an RJ-11 jack, in case you want to use your
own computer.

One thing I noted is that, although the phones (in Salt Lake City and
Los Angeles) were among collections of USWest pay phones, the
swipe-reader generated an "Invalid Card" message when I tried to use
my USWest calling card.  The list of acceptable cards, shown after
mine was rejected, included Southwestern Bell cards, but nothing for
USWest.  Yet, when I entered my calling card number manually, the call
went through without incident.

One thing to note with this unit is that the terminal parameters will
always start out at 1200 bps, 7E1.  It appears primarily intended to
check your AT&T EasyMail.  The ergonomics could use some study, too.
Many of the units were set into the stand-up mini-kiosks, where the
keyboard was uncomfortably low for standing use.  In the Salt Lake
City airport, they were also available in the sit-down kiosks, but
those were canted toward the entrance (at the same angle as a standard
pay-phone), which made the keyboard awkward to use.  None offered a
place to set your laptop, should you choose to use it.


Roy M. Silvernail |+|  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Global Cellular Phone Usage
Organization: Atlas Telecom Inc.
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 16:11:03 GMT


I am sorry if this is an FAQ, but I wanted to know if a cellular phone
purchased domestically and being serviced by GTE MobileNet, would work
overseas, in Europe and Asia. I looked through several issuess of
Telocater but did not find any reference to the above question. From
what I hear, UK, Canada and Mexico are the only places where one could
use a U.S. cell phone.

On another note, I was told by a local cell phone vendor that GTE is
putting in a new switch this weekend and this would cause all the
cheaper cell phones like "Diamondtel", "Uniden" etc. to stop
functioning. They also said that Cellular One will be putting in new
switches in a year and then these cheaper phones will not work
withCellular one as well. Is this true, if it is what is going to
happen to folks who have bought these phones.

Thanks for the info.


Sameer

P.S. If ther is an FAQ on Cellular issues, I would appreciate getting
the address.


[Moderator's Note: The salesman was, is, and probably ever more shall
be a bald-faced liar. So what else is old? Nothing will happen to the
phones you mentioned.  The Telecom Archives has some cellular files,
and there is also an FAQ. To access the archives, use anonymous ftp
lcs.mit.edu.  Login anonymous, using your name@site as password. When
logged in, then 'cd telecom-archives'.  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 08:36:54 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Telco Notes From Maryland


I've just returned from spending a week in the Columbia and Laurel, MD
areas while attending a school and stayed at the Maryland Inn (Best
Western) in Laurel, MD.

The in-room phone service was decent with the following noted:

Default LD carrier was AT&T.  Dialing out was 8-1-NPA-number with the
cost added to the room charge + 25 cents.

Equal access was provided via 8-10XXX-NPA-number.

LD carrier via 8-0-NPA-number was Property Technologies, LTD; 6505
Dickens Place; Richmond, Va. 23230.

There was a 50 cent charge for local calls (8-1-number).

800 calls were free.

The payphones in the motel were owned by C&P and I noticed that most
of the payphones in the area were owned by them also; I'm not sure
about the latter since I saw only one that wasn't and it was in
downtown Laurel.

Payphones on the New Jersey and Delaware turnpikes were owned by the
respective major phone companies (NJ Bell and C&P respectively).

The payphones in the school (Sun Microsystems, Inc.) were C&P owned
and followed the same rules as the payphones as in the motel.
Unfortunately, I didn't note them since they were in a high traffic
area leading to the motel's bar and restaurant.  In the school, I was
too busy between classes to take the time and the phones were in use
anyway by other students.

Overall, the telco costs that I ran up on two days (Sunday and Friday)
amounted to $7.00 (US) mostly due to no one being home when I called
and these incurred charges of $0.88 (US) each.  I didn't mind spending
the money even if it incurred charges since I was calling home and
spending other money on things I don't remember buying now.


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Paul Robinson)
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 04:52:54 -0500
Subject: Durham Phone Service
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In TELECOM V12 #735, Gerald Ruderman said:

> I believe that the local carrier for Research Triangle Park is
> GTE. I was not impressed with GTE's local service in Durham/RTP
> when I lived there from 86-89.

Could that be where that famous old song, "I've gotta leave old
Durham Town ..." have come from?


Paul Robinson    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Cute. I've actually heard of companies which felt
their phone service was so bad they moved out of the area -- on that
reason alone, the phone service. To me, that seems incredible, and I
have worked in a few large phone installations in my lifetime.  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 00:33:13 EDT
From: JOHN SCHMIDT <[e-mail]>
Subject: Unusual Busy Signal


With all the discussion here of unusual intercepts, busy signals not
recognized by modems, etc., has anyone else here ever called a busy
number in Botswana?  You get a recording, in Tswana accented English,
which says "The Botswana telephone you have called is busy, please
call again later."  Very polite, but your modem or fax machine is
going to be rather confused.  By the way, Botswana has a pretty good
telephone system, mostly digital switches and a digital microwave
backbone.  They have been adding lines at a substantial rate, but
there is still a significant backlog of service requests.  When I
visited there in 1990, there was a trade fair in Gaborone, where they
had a booth, complete with examples of old style phones they used to
use.  I asked them about the unusual "busy signal", and they indicated
it was controversial, because of the modem etc. problem, but recent
calls there prove to me they still use it.

They have a pretty decent phone book, about 1" thick, includes white
and yellow pages, printed from opposite ends of the directory, upside
down from each other.  You flip the directory over vertically to
switch from white to yellow pages!  Does anyone know anywhere that
does this?  The directory also includes the usual Government listings,
a directory of fax machine numbers (surprisingly long) a numeric
(reverse) directory for every exchange, a directory of every post
office box in the country (unfortunately arranged in PO box order!),
road maps of the country and most of the major towns and cities, a
history of the country, a description of major points of interest,
tourist information, etc.  Very complete and well organized (except
for the PO boxes being in numeric order).  I am told subscribers have
to buy their copies, I don't know how much, but since the one I just
saw ('92 edition) was in the apartment of a Botswana student here, it
can't be outrageously expensive.  BTW, this is published by Botswana
Telecom, not a seperate organization.


John H. Schmidt, P.E.         Internet: [e-mail]
Technical Director, WBAU      Phone--Days     [phone]
Adelphi University                   Evenings [phone]
Garden City, New York 11530   Fax-------------[phone]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 00:56:59 EDT
From: JOHN SCHMIDT <[e-mail]>
Subject: Quick New York Telephone Repair (Sort Of ...)


Some years ago, about 22 I think, we moved WBAU into a new building
here at Adelphi.  At that time we rented many "dry pair" radio lines
across the campus to feed Carrier Current transmitters, PA systems,
etc.  (Adelphi owns the cable now, so we dont rent them anymore, we
own them :-)

Anyway, NYTel had to move one end of all these circuits to a new
building one summer.  When we went to connect them back up to our
equipment, they all worked, except one pair, driving a PA system in
the theatre used for "background" music in the shop, office, etc.
That pair had telco battery on it, and when momentarily grounded,
produced dial tone.  Aha, crossed with a pay phone says I, as I called
the installation supervisor to ask them to fix it.  No problem says
them.  A week later it still had the same problem.  After a moments
thought, I called them and reported the problem again.  This time I
added the "fact" that the people in the theatre were listening to all
the phone calls on the PA system.  (unlikely, but they didn't know).
Within ONE hour, a crew shows up to fix the line!  About a half our
later they come back and say "all fixed, should be ok now".  It was.

AND NOW THE REST OF THE STORY:

About two weeks later a student who worked at the station says to me
"John, there's this pay phone on the second floor of the Science
Building that you get the radio station on when you pick it up.  You
don't even have to put a dime (correct, 22 years ago) in!"  Boy did I
get a good laugh.  We left it that way, waiting to see what would
happen.  It never got fixed!  About six months later they took the
phone out (luckily without shorting the pair).  I guess it wasn't
collecting much money:-].


John H. Schmidt, P.E.        Internet: [e-mail]
Technical Director, WBAU     Phone--Days     [phone]
Adelphi University                  Evenings [phone]
Garden City, New York 11530  Fax-------------[phone]


[Moderator's Note: I'm one of those people who when they see or
experience a pay phone out of order actually calls it in to repair
service. It is interesting to go past a week later and see how many of
the called in repairs have actually been done and how many of the pay
phones are still out of order.  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 07:49:11 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: NYTel Problems


In TELECOM Digest, Volume 12, Issue 735 Douglas Scott Reuben
<[e-mail]> writes:

> On 24 Sep 92 16:52:40 GMT, [e-mail] (Henry Mensch) wrote:

> Then, the next day, call 611. Report the payphone and the problem.
> Since this is NYNEX, there is a 70% chance they won't fix it.

Let's make that 90% as per my experience.

> Day after that, call the NYTel President's Helpline, at 800-722-2300.
> Tell them your EXACT problem, the phone you tried the 800 number from,
> the 800 number, and a callback number. There is about a 50% chance
> they won't fix it. You may want to mention to them that if it is not
> fixed in 5 days (or however long you are willing to wait) you will
> call the NY Public Service Commission. This generally helps if you
> slip it it politely - they get VERY concerned when "The PSC" is
> mentioned.

Better yet; don't tell NYTel that you are going to contact the PSC and
then just do it and let them get surprised.

> I had a similar problem -- a NYTel payphone in Roslyn, NY
> (516-621-9803) was BLOCKING all 10xxx calls, so you could only place
> 0+ calls with NYTel or ITI. No one at NYTel could do anything about
> it, even though the people at the President's Helpline pretended as if
> they had some idea of what was going on.  After three weeks, lots of
> calls to 611, the Helpline, and the Payphone Business office, I just
> called the PSC. Within *one* hour, I received call-backs from three
> execs at NYTel, who got the information from me, and the problem was
> fixed the same day.

I wish NYTel would get off it's collective rear-ends and fix my
billing problem (incorrect charging to one exchange in the 516 area
code).  It has been one year this month since I first reported the
problem and the higher-ups are never around to answer my questions
including those made by letter.

> Isn't NYNEX just SO competant? And some people say GTE is bad ...:)

NYNEX/NYTel is USELESS!


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Darren Alex Griffiths)
Subject: New Pac*Bell Radio and TV Commercials
Organization: Open Systems Solutions Inc.
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 20:38:26 GMT


Recently Pac*Bell has put forth some new commercials that basically
consist of sentimental goop.  There is a rather sensuous female voice
saying stuff like "AT&T sucks, buy Pac*Bell Centrex instead because
our systems are more like bikinis, fit today but not tomorrow".  I'm
not sure I agree with the comparison, but the logic probably is
correct, I never seem to find myself starting lustfully at a phone
switch.  In any case, I have a question, the sensuous female voice
sounds a lot like Susan Sarandon, does anyone know if this is correct?


Cheers,

Darren Alex Griffiths          [e-mail]
Open Systems Solutions Inc.    [phone] x139
Fujitsu Ltd.                   Fax: [phone]
6121 Hollis Street             Emeryville, CA 94608-2092

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (J. Philip Miller)
Subject: What it Costs to Have the President Over
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 17:52:41 CDT


Tomorrow President Bush is scheduled to give "an important policy
statement on drugs and community involvement" and our church is
playing host in our parish hall for this event.  Friday there were at
least 14 SWBT trucks there, they dropped two 300 pair cables to either
the parish hall or to the school gym which will serve as the press
facilities.  Even today (Sunday) there have been at least ten trucks
working all day providing the appropriate jacks, etc.

I have only heard rumors about the bills associated with all of this,
but it sure seems clear that some combination of the Bush/Quail
organization and our tax dollars are shelling out real money for a 20
minute speech.  Anyone got any idea how much the campaigns spend on
throw away work like this?


     J. Philip Miller, Professor, Division of Biostatistics, Box 8067
     Washington University Medical School, St. Louis MO 63110
     [e-mail] - Internet  [phone] [362-2694(FAX)]


[Moderator's Note: Quite a bit of money is spent and inconvenience is
endured by people whenever the president comes through town. Whenever
Bush comes to Chicago the rest of us have to put up with numerous
streets closed off, massive traffic jams on the streets still open,
and delays in getting phone installation/repairs for two or three days
before the visit and a couple days afterward while all the phone techs
are assigned to install all sorts of stuff which will be gone two days
later. We had the same thing with Reagan, Carter and Nixon. Personally
I wish those guys would stay away. I don't have any interest in seeing
them personally and I'd much rather be able to follow my normal routes
of transportation, etc. I wish someone could tell me why ten percent
of the phone stuff which gets installed wherever he goes wouldn't be
adequate. Taxpayers certainly do not owe free phone service to the
members of the press. Let them put quarters in pay phones like the
rest of us.  PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #740
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #741

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 27 Sep 92 22:20:30 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 741

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Funny Phone Behaviour (Shrikumar)
    Re: Funny Phone Behaviour (Syd Weinstein)
    Re: Help Needed Using FTP Correctly (Steve Cavrak)
    Re: Help Needed Using FTP Correctly (Syd Weinstein)
    Re: Two-Line Switching Device (Jon Sreekanth)
    Re: Two-Line Switching Device (William Degnan)
    Re: AT&T Wants $3 For International DA (Scott Fybush)
    Re: 800 Numbers Restricted by NYTel (David Lesher)
    Re: Modem Recommendations For Developing Nations Installation (Shrikumar)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 17:50:18 -0400
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Funny Phone Behaviour ... restatment of problem.


Hi,

  Just a day ago I had narrated my "funny phone problem" involving and
Easa-phone one one line and an answering machine on the other.

  Evidently I did not communicate correctly, (tho' I guess PAT did
understand me right, for otherwise he too would have thought this was
yet another "silly" wiring problem and punted to saving net-bandwidth
mode ;)

   Many thanks for the following replies ...

> From jartel!xenon!bongo![e-mail]:

> You could have A lead problems. Check the answering machine and modem
> for A/A1 lead control switches.

> From [e-mail]:

> 1) Check ... duplex adapter ... could be an "answering machine
> disconnect".

> 2) Re-terminate your inside wiring.  I have had the same symptoms here
> in GTE due to intermittment opens in the loop caused by poor

No, that's not it.

 I am a "electroniker" myself, so I am quite sure that the duplexer in
each case is just a parallel of wires three and four (ring and tip).
In fact both duplexers parallel all four wires (A/A1 also) but I am
also sure that none of the devices in question use A/A1 in any way.

Also the wiring is not at fault, and it is a few dry capacitors in the
Easa-phone thats making the noise. This too I am sure.

 Guess I was not prespicous enough in my earlier post. Situation is ...

1. Line one (NXX-0661) has this Taiwanese phone + answering machine and
    a Sony cordless in parallel.

2. Line two (NXX-8484) has this old, cranky Panasonic Easa-phone
   and the archaic 300/1200 modem in parallel.

When I dial from Easa-phone into the University LAT servers, and
switch the modem into "Data" (I told you the modem was archaic :-),
the Easa-phone goes dead (low loop voltage due to additional load on
line two).  [In this line one is *not* involved].

When I call from the Easa-phone on line two into line one, all works
well if either the handset on the machine is picked or the Sony
cordless is picked up (note: both there on line one).

But if neither is picked, I hear side-tone (when I speak) and the
ring-back tone from the other end ... till the answering machine picks
up the call (note: on line one). Then my Easa-phone (note: on line two)
goes dead till the answering machine gives up and hangs up (note: on
line one) ... then the Easa-phone (note: on line two) comes alive again,
with side-tone when I speak.

Evidently what's on line two seems to affect my Easa-phone on line one
(which being finicky about line voltage is able to detect it ;.)

That's funny ... I though the SLICs in the exchange would isolate each
line, and in modern electronic switches only voice signal is switched
via PCM etc. and no DC connection is made between lines.

And, since it might probably help, both lines are on 413-549 exchange.

(I'll get hold of a voltmeter tomorrow and check my loop voltage for
different called parties and see if there is any correlation between
line two instrument and line one voltage.)


shrikumar ( [e-mail], [e-mail] )

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Syd Weinstein)
Subject: Re: Funny Phone Behaviour
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Datacomp Systems, Inc.  Huntingdon Valley, PA
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 13:20:52 GMT


[e-mail] writes:

> Ok, so the Easa-phone does not like the extra drop on the line,
> obviously!

Actually, its easier than that.  The Easa-phone is line powered, and
Panasonic admits that if there are other things on the line, the line
powering may not be enough, which is why there is an AC adapter jack
on the back of the phone.  They recommend running the phone off the AC
adapter to avoid just those problems.

Easa-phones, especially the older ones, are very marginal on being
line powered, they draw just a bit too much power.


Sydney S. Weinstein, CDP, CCP          Elm Coordinator - Current 2.3PL11
Datacomp Systems, Inc.                 Projected 2.4 Release: Oct 1,1992
[e-mail] or dsinc!syd      Voice: [phone], FAX: [phone]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Steve Cavrak)
Subject: Re: Help Needed Using FTP Correctly
Organization: University of Vermont -- Division of EMBA Computer Facility
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 20:22:14 GMT


From article <[e-mail]>, by Paul Thompson
<[e-mail]>:

> I have run into problems FTPing files which contain multiple
> periods (i.e. READ.ME.FIRST) into a VAX system which only
> appears to accept the FILENAME_AND.EXTENSION;VERSION format
> typical of VAXs.  Is there some FTP command which I am not
> aware of which will convert incompatible file nameing schemes
> on the fly?

Since FTP is not native to VAX/VMS, third party vendors offer FTP
programs with a variety of ideas about what is the correct way to do
this.

One way is to try the "get" command in the form:

    ftp> get "remote.file.name" (as) "local-file.name"

i.e., explicitly stating the local file name for every file.  (I know,
"boring.")

The other is to look at what comes out -- the Wallongong product takes
the first period and then "quotes" each of the following into the file
extention.  This gives you a second opportunity to rename the files by
some nice scheme.

It's going to be fun to watch how this behaves in Open/VMS.


Ciao,

Steve

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Syd Weinstein)
Subject: Re: Help Needed Using FTP Correctly
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Datacomp Systems, Inc.  Huntingdon Valley, PA
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 13:25:50 GMT


Paul Thompson <[e-mail]> writes:

> I have run into problems FTPing files which contain multiple periods
> (i.e. READ.ME.FIRST) into a VAX system which only appears to accept
> the FILENAME_AND.EXTENSION;VERSION format typical of VAXs.  Is there
> some FTP command which I am not aware of which will convert
> incompatible file nameing schemes on the fly?

No new command is needed, the get command will do just fine, you just
need to give it two file names ... get remote-file-name  local-file-name.

It just defaults local and remote to the same name if only one is given,
so:

get READ.ME.FIRST README.FIR

will do just fine.  Otherwise all us UNIX folks would find getting the
file README.FIR;2 from a VAX site a pain. (the ;2 would drive us nuts,
as the ; is the shell delimiter for end of command.)


Sydney S. Weinstein, CDP, CCP          Elm Coordinator - Current 2.3PL11
Datacomp Systems, Inc.                 Projected 2.4 Release: Oct 1,1992
[e-mail] or dsinc!syd      Voice: [phone], FAX: [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Thanks also to Frank J. Wancho and Christopher Wolf
for messages providing almost identical information.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jon Sreekanth)
Subject: Re: Two-Line Switching Device
Organization: The World
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 18:39:16 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> applix![e-mail] (Jim
Morton) writes:

> What I'm trying to do: Install a FAX machine so incoming calls are
> answered on an outside telco local number, but outgoing calls from the
> FAX machine use an internal PBX line/trunk which goes through a T-1
> and gets much cheaper long distance rates. I would need some type of
> box that when it sees an off-hook request switches to the internal
> line and busies-out the external line (no need to busy-out the
> internal line when off-hook from an external call-in).

Products like this exist for adapting a single-line phone to two
lines.  For example, I have an old J&R Music World catalog
(800-221-8180 or 718-417-3737) which lists an "Arista 241445 Two-Line
Console" for $19.95. The picture shows a small box with three buttons
and four LEDS.  The third button is for hold, presumably holds the
line currently not in use. Two leds per line, one red, one green, to
indicate active and hold, presumably.

Your fax users would have to remember to switch back to the incoming
line after finishing a transmission, or else they'd lose faxes.  So
it's somewhat accident-prone. I don't know if there is an automatically
switching gadget like this.


Jon Sreekanth

Assabet Valley Microsystems, Inc.      Fax and PC products
5 Walden St #3, Cambridge, MA 02140    [phone]
[e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (William Degnan)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 13:01:16
Subject: Two-Line Switching Device


26 Sep 92, Jim Morton writes:

> What I'm trying to do: Install a FAX machine so incoming calls are
> answered on an outside telco local number, but outgoing calls from the
> FAX machine use an internal PBX line/trunk which goes through a T-1
> and gets much cheaper long distance rates. I would need some type of
> box that when it sees an off-hook request switches to the internal
> line and busies-out the external line (no need to busy-out the
> internal line when off-hook from an external call-in).

The Siemon Company makes exactly the device you are looking for. I
don't have the product info handy today but you have described its
application.

Try your local supply house or call Siemon at 203 274-2523.

(Disclaimer: I've talked to them on the phone before. That's it.)


* Origin: Private Line - Fidonet<>uucp for Central Texas (1:382/39)
William Degnan,  Communications Network Solutions
-Independent Consultants in Telecommunications and Technology-
P.O. Drawer 9530       | [e-mail] | [e-mail]
Austin, TX 78766-9530  | ![e-mail]  | Voice [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 23:21 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Scott Fybush)
Subject: Re: AT&T Wants $3 For International DA


[e-mail] writes:

> In telecom 12 (727) Gabe M. Wiener remarks that AT&T charges $3 for
> international DA.  Funny, I remember it being $1.50 when it ceased to
> be free.

> I've used international DA a few times; I've found the service
> excellent. I concur with the Moderator: it often takes upwards of five
> minutes.  AT&T people have been nice and helpful; on occasion they've
> asked whether I'd prefer to do the talking with the remote DA.

I have similar compliments for AT&T International DA.  I spent an
entire morning at work a few Fridays ago trying to track someone down
across Czechoslovakia.  It required at least five calls to DA there.
AT&T's operators were extraordinarily patient, waiting in one case for
ten minutes for the Czech DA operator to connect!

The Czech DA people were nice also ... their English was easy to
understand, and they handled a weird request like "the main number for
the Slovak government in Bratislava" with ease (I'll spare you the $3
 ... it's [phone] :-) The people who answered the phones in
Czechoslovakia also had excellent command of English ... with only one
exception (you'd better know Czech if you try to call the Town Hall in
Brno!), everyone I talked to was willing to help me in English.

I think AT&T's service on International DA is well worth the $3, given
the amount of time the operators are willing to spend on a single
request.

> I also was frustrated that non-customers were using the service at the
> expense of customers (like me). So, the question for the wizards at
> AT&T: is it expensive to do a lookup and see if the caller is a Dial
> 1+ customer?  Then AT&T could go back to the nice free international
> DA for those, and politely inform the rest that they'll be charged a
> fee.

Or install a 900 number and a 700 number, and make the 700 number free
to customers able to access it as 1-700-ATT-INFO rather than using
10288 to get there?

Or allow us to dial + country code 555 1212 to get to DA ourselves?  I
know this works with a few countries, but it didn't for Czechoslovakia.

> On the other hand, if Sprint is free now ... :-)

How long do you think that will last?

One more note ... the Czech phone system has an interesting intercept
that I encountered multiple times that morning ... it's a recording
without a tri-tone that says "International Exchange, Prague.  The
[something] you have [something] is [something]."  I heard the
recording at least a dozen times, and I still didn't quite get it.
Anyone else hear it?


Scott Fybush -- [e-mail]
Westinghouse/Group W are not responsible for my opinions.  They are, however,
responsible for a huge phone bill for international DA and overseas calls.
I'm glad it's them and not me :-)


[Moderator's Note: Maybe you heard about the spy who was arrested
recently in Prague. In his possession was a secret letter which he
managed to swallow so it would not fall into the enemy's hands. The
news was reported in the papers with the headline "The Mail is in the
Czech."  :)   PAT]

------------------------------

From: David Lesher <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 800 Numbers Restricted by NYTel
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 2:41:50 EDT
Reply-To: [e-mail]  (David Lesher)
Organization: NRK Clinic for habitual NetNews abusers - Beltway Annex


> NYTel may NOT restrict 800 calls from ITS payphones.

{if they do ... then}

> Day after that, call the NYTel President's Helpline, at 800-722-2300.

> just call the PSC at 800-342-3377.

I'm clear on the concept, but seem to be having a BIT of trouble with
one MINOR detail of the implementation ...  ;-}


[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 11:52:18 -0400
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Modem Recommendations For Developing Nations Installation
Organization: UMass, Amherst, MA + Temporal Sys & Comp Net, Bombay, India


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]

> I am putting in some IBM RISK 6000s into Czechoslovakia (CSFR) which
> will have an internal modem. I have been warned that the phone lines
> are incredibly noisey and inside cities "switched" so that short
> interruptions are common. Can anyone recommend either a brand of modem
> or some suggestions of specs that I should look for? I require a very
> robust modem 2400 or 9600 baud, and preferable internal.

   The Trailblazers do very well under similar circumstances
you mention.

   They use a PacketEnsemble Protocol, which ping pongs packets
between the two ends, in a very fast training half duplex mode.  With
auto-retransmits on error and ARQ.  So they are inherently rugged
against "dropouts" in the lines.

   Also they split the spectrum into 512 carrier, each is QAM
modulated. Naturally, each little carrier does not have a very large
bandwidth, which also leads to a conclusion that they'd also be fairly
tolerant of spikey noises that stay for a very short period of time.
Also, they can turn off selective sub-carriers so that noise with very
strong spectral lines (most third world type telephone noises) does
not affect connection.

   We used Trailblazers very effectively during the first inceptional
stages of the ERNET network, the academic network that brought E-mail
networking to India. And believe me, they worked under lines with such
bad noise and (worse) echo conditions, that even 2400 bps MNP modems
gave up under. I believe several Trailblazers are doing very good
service in India now. We were getting consistent 7.1Kbps on the
connections, which compares with figures that JUnet had obtained in
their early stages on dial-up lines.

   I'd not know much about the RS/6000, but I guess they are not PC
ISA architecture. However, I wonder if internal modems would be
feasible. External will surely do.

> I would prefer if you would reply to me directly, and I can then post
> a summary of the replies for others interested.

   BTW, can anyone give me pointers to any patents that cover the
Trailblazer technology. I'm sure that the documentation would mention
numbers, but I don't have them handy, so I'd appreciate patent numbers
if someone has them (thanks in advance). I can look up the patents in
our library.

   If someone on the list has some more insight into the patents
covering the Trailblazer, I'd welcome that also.


shrikumar ( [e-mail], [e-mail] )


[Moderator's Note: In closing this issue, permit me to extend my best
wishes to our many reader/participants in the Digest of the Jewish
faith as another New Year begins. I believe I speak for all members of
the Digest family in sending my kind regards.  PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #741
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #742

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 27 Sep 92 23:07:42 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 742

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: New Cards Telephones in Ontario, Canada (Eric M. Carroll)
    Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police! (Jack Decker)
    Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System (Graham Toal)
    Re: LD Transmission Quality Comparison (Jack Decker)
    Re: Commercial Service Addresses (John R. Levine)
    Re: Thoughts About WFMT Versus WNIB/WNIZ (John Higdon)
    Re: Need Information on Telecommunications School (Jim Graham)
    Canadian Politician Sends Out "Junk Faxes" (Nigel Allen)
    Email to Serbia (Yugoslavia)?? (Joel M. Hoffman)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Eric M. Carroll)
Subject: Re: New Cards Telephones in Ontario, Canada
Organization: UTCS Campus Access
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 16:11:57 -0400


> Bell Canada has disabled international calling card calls from
> payphones for some time.  Now, they are starting to deploy significant
> numbers of payphones with magnetic card readers, LCD displays, etc.
> Presumably these will permit international calls -- I haven't used one
> other than for local calls yet.

While on a recent trip to the US I noticed that AT&T has deployed a
truly wonderful new payphone -- the AT&T Public Payphone 2000 -- in
most Hyatts. This phone has the usual card stripe reader and glass
advertising, but also includes a keyboard! Deep in the menus is a
"Place call in VT100 mode" entry, so I was able to call back to pick
up my mail, and charge it all to my calling card. And it was even
reasonably priced too. I was tickled pink -- Bell Canada has no such
equivalent.


Eric Carroll  University of Toronto Computing Services  Network Development

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 14:28:45 CST
From: Jack Decker <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Stop the Presses, Call the Police!


In message <[e-mail]>, Carl Moore (VLD/VMB)
<[e-mail]> wrote:

> To summarize: 650611 in the Netherlands (at Amsterdam?) got a lot of
> calls, and on many of them only the last 4 digits got through, causing
> many calls to reach police at the 0611 emergency number.

> What kind of exchange is it that strips some leading digits off and
> processes the remaining digits, within what is apparently only the
> local phone number?

Maybe one that is so clogged up that it doesn't give dial tone for two
or three seconds, during which time customers who don't bother to
listen for the dial tone have already dialed two digits?

It's also possible that, if it's an old step-by-step exchange, a
leading "5" might be "absorbed" for some reason (for example, if a
neighboring exchange had numbers that all started with "52" and
another adjacent exchange had numbers starting with "53", a leading
"5" might be "absorbed" and only the second digit used to route the
call).  Thus, if a customer dialed the "6" before the dial tone was
present, and the "5" was absorbed, then only the "0611" would be seen
by the switch.

Those are two likely possibilities.


Jack Decker    [e-mail]    FidoNet 1:154/8

------------------------------

From: Graham Toal <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System
Organization: The IBM PC User Group, UK.
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 19:14:29 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
writes:

> And my Asian/Indian-accented "two" was always consitently read as a
> "zero". It did get my two correct when I deliberately put on the best
> American accent I could manage.

Got my Scots accent 100% no problem.  Mind you I always have said
we're the only country who speak the Queen's English properly :-)

But seriously, I was impressed.  It's the best recognition system
*I*'ve ever used.  However at the price of a call from Britain I
wasn't going to call their 'further info' number to get prices etc.
Anyone have the rest of their details online?


G

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 14:29:31 CST
From: Jack Decker <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: LD Transmission Quality Comparison


In message <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (John R.
Ruckstuhl Jr) writes:

> Can I safely extrapolate -- AT&T LD quality is superior?

Not necessarily.  I've seen situations where folks had noise on AT&T
and got better quality by using another carrier.

What I think you can deduce is that something is not hooked up right
at one end or the other. Most likely it's either a problem of
inadequate volume levels, or clock slip (all systems not synchronized
to the same master clock). The thing is, the problem will never be
fixed if no one reports it. The other problem is that very few of the
carriers OR the local telcos are equipped to deal with trouble reports
 from knowledgeable customers. I would suggest writing a letter
describing the problem, and send copies to the long distance carrier,
BOTH local telcos, and maybe the Public Utilities Commission in both
states.  I would think that it would be primarily the responsibility
of the interexchange carrier to (the long distance company) to fix the
problem (or arrange to get it fixed), but putting the telcos on notice
that there is a problem couldn't hurt.

One thing that really bothers me is that now that everything is
digital, volume levels on many calls seem a lot lower than they used
to be, regardless of carrier used (and I've noticed this in several
cities, using several different types of phones including
telco-provided public phones).  Usually calls within the same exchange
are of adequate volume (though not always!) but toll calls (or even
local calls to different exchanges) are often of lower volume.  I
really think that some agency (the FCC, perhaps?) needs to set some
standards for minimum acceptable volume level at the receiving end
(and if there currently IS a standard, it needs to be increased!).

I also wish there was a simple add-on circuit for phones that would
increase the receiver volume level WITHOUT increasing sidetone.  Most
"amplified" handsets can raise the volume of a long distance call, but
when you talk you blast yourself in the ear!  I'd LOVE to see a phone
with both adjustable receiver volume AND adjustable sidetone ... would
that be too much to ask?


Jack Decker   [e-mail]    FidoNet 1:154/8


[Moderator's Note: I've always wondered about this also. I have
various amplified handsets around and if I get a call with very poor
transmission I turn the volume up ... all I wind up getting is lots
more sidetone and very little increase (if any) in the voice on the
other end.  PAT]

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Commercial Service Addresses
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 27 Sep 92 18:46:32 EDT (Sun)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


> Delphi?

Delphi users can telnet to DELPHI.COM and log in just like the dialed
direct to one of the local numbers in Cambridge or Kansas City.
There's no communication surcharge like there is for Telenet (excuse
me, Sprintnet) or Tymnet.  I found it very convenient over the summer
when I was down in New Jersey and had access to a Cisco box on the
Internet.

Delphi is a commercial service and you need an account.  The cheapest
accounts give you four hours/month for $10, or 20 hours for $20.  I
find it particularly useful for Travel-by-Modem, an excellent on-line
travel agent.  They now have Internet mail access too, which they
claim will cost extra but so far does not.


Regards,

John Levine, [e-mail], {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl
or, I suppose, [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 21:29 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Thoughts About WFMT Versus WNIB/WNIZ


On Sep 26 at 19:38, TELECOM Moderator writes:

> [Moderator's Note: Jay Andres began his classical music radio career
> in about 1950 on WBBM (780-AM) with a program called "Music Til Dawn"
> sponsored by American Airlines and syndicated to stations all over the
> US including WWL in Cincinnati and KOA in Denver.

Both KNX, Los Angeles, and KCBS, San Francisco, had an American
Airlines "Music Til Dawn", but the programs were locally produced at
each station. In the late sixties, I had occasion to make several
automobile trips to Provo, UT. Travelling late at night, it was
possible to listen to KNX for most of the trip. For the life of me, I
cannot remember who the announcer was.

Ken Ackerman was the host for the San Francisco version, which
outlived the Los Angeles counterpart by several years.

> [Moderator's Note: When WFMT was *live* all night the combination
> announcer/engineer fell asleep one night, and awakened some twenty
> minutes into dead air.

Some years ago at a local station, the late night DJ decided to go
down to the parking lot to do some kind of shady deal. Not wanting to
have ID on him, he left his wallet in the studio. Unfortunately, the
paper he stuffed under the door to keep it open gave way and his "card
key" was in his wallet. He had to walk to a payphone down the street.
I got the first call and refused to come down to let him in. He ended
up calling the program director and did not remain too long with the
station after that.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 18:33:49 CST
From: Jim Graham <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Need Information on Telecommunications School


I don't know how I missed the original post on this topic ... good
thing someone else did catch it! Anyway, I'll include a few more
details here that might help out a bit, as well as some of the
highlights (IMHO) of the program.

[e-mail] (Sean Malloy) writes:

> The person you want to contact at Texas A&M University is Pierre
> Catala.  I'd give out his office phone number, but I don't think
> that's a wise course of action without checking with him first.

I'm 99.99999% certain he wouldn't mind, but since his number doesn't
forward to the main office when he's not around, there is a better
number to call if you don't know when to reach him directly. More on
that in a second.

> He can be reached at [e-mail]

Folks on BITNET can also use pjc3151@tamvenus ([e-mail]
for Internet users) --- this all goes to the same machine as the above
address does, so other than any limitations on which addresses you can
mail to, they're all the same.

> or you can call 409-845-4741 (Texas A&M General Information Number)
> and get the number for the Department Of Engineering Technology.

Here's a better number:  409-845-4951. This is the main ET office
number. There is also a number for the EET office downstairs, but
that went in just before I graduated, and 4951 was already deeply
embedded into my brain by then.  :-)

> In case you need to know for some reason, Telecom is three levels
> deep in the hiearchy, which goes Engineering Technology ->
> Electronics -> Telecom.

I'm not absolutely certain on this, but I believe, right as I was
graduating, the EET program itself became ABET approved, and can be
referred to specifically as EET (if I remember correctly, everyone
graduating the semester after I did got a diploma that read EET,
instead of just ET).

Also, for those who might be mislead by the Engineering Technology
label, which has many varying degrees of meaning depending on where
you see it, the program is most certainly not a technician-level
program. The primary difference between the telecom program at A&M
and EE-based telecom programs is the emphasis on system/network design,
as opposed to, say, designing muxes, etc.

Some of the courses (highlights) that were around when I was there (and
I know Pierre has added a lot since then) included:

   *) Digital Telephony (T-1, T-3, etc., ISDN, and so on)
   *) Data Communications (protocol-level --- mainly lower 3 or 4
      OSI layers)
   *) Transmission Systems (microwave, satellite, cellular, etc.)
   *) Implementing Private Networks
   *) Telecom Testing Techniques
   *) Senior Project (usually a project sponsored by outside companies,
      and may be system and/or equipment design, depending on their
      needs from the project)

Where possible, courses in both the electronics and telecom programs
(remember, telecom is a specialty in the electronics program) have a
lab associated with the course.

In addition, there are often one or more trips (usually to service
providers' sites) associated with various courses, as well as an
annual Symposium on Information Transfer (held in January). Recent
topics have included Signalling System 7, Personal Communications
Services, etc.

There is also now a Masters Degree, which is in cooperation with the
business school at A&M.  I have no info on this handy, but I'm sure
Pierre would be happy to give you lots of info ... :-)

> Also, I'm sure that Dr. Catala would love to hear from persons wanting
> to donate equipment to the program as well ;-)

Don't take the above statement too lightly. Pierre is always glad to
get donations for the telecom lab (when I was there, one small room
 ... now two fairly good sized rooms). Computer equipment, telecom
test equipment (voice, data, line testing, etc.), network equipment,
switches, muxes, and just about whatever else you can imagine may very
well find a very nice home in the lab.

Enough for now --- I need to get back to other things here. Later ...

jim
#include <std_disclaimer.h>                                 73 DE N5IAL (/9)
INTERNET:  [e-mail]  |  [e-mail]  |  [e-mail]
ICBM:  41.70N 87.63W                    UUCP:  gagme!n5ial![e-mail]
AMATEUR RADIO: n5ial@n9hsi (Chicago.IL.US.Earth)    AMTOR SELCAL:  NIAL

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Canadian Politician Sends Out "Junk Faxes"
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 23:36:35 EDT


Anyone who has a fax machine in Toronto (at least one that's listed in
the Business Connexions directory of fax numbers published by
Telinfomatic Inc.)  has gotten used to receiving "junk faxes"
promoting 976 numbers and fax supplies.

Dennis Mills, the federal Member of Parliament for the Toronto
constituency of Broadview-Greenwood, has discovered the joys of junk
faxing.

I have in front of me a fax from him dealing with the Canadian
constitutional referendum scheduled for October 26th. I suspect that
every Toronto-area fax machine listed in Business Connexions will
receive the same message from Mr. Mills.

I think the fax was probably sent out using the facilities of DFD
Telebroadcasting, a 976-number company that uses junk faxes and
automatic dialing and announcing devices to promote its 976 numbers.
Mr. Mills has also used automatic dialing and announcing devices to
promote himself.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Joel M. Hoffman)
Subject: Email to Serbia (Yugoslavia)?
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 21:34:45 GMT


It seems the BITNET link to Belgrad Univ. (in Serbia, Yugoslavia) was
disconnected as part of the embargo.  Is there still anyway to get
e-mail through?  Some people have mentioned X.25 links.  Is there
anyway to bounce mail off of a cite in Europe to these X.25 links, and
then get the mail back to Internet/Bitnet.  Yugoslavia has an internal
network, but I'm not sure how to reach it.

I'm not sure what X.25 means, but I gather it's a private Internet-
like world-wide network.  I would even be interested in any sites that
relay mail from Internet to X.25 for a fee.

On a related note, email was the country's last source of independent
news, and if there is any procedure for trying to re-establish the
link, I'd be interested to know about it.

BTW, telephone calls and regular mail are both still going through, so
I don't understand why email should be a problem.  Sigh.


Many thanks.

Joel

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #742
******************************










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Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 00:09:57 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #743

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 29 Sep 92 00:10:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 743

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Last GTE Cord Board Removed (John D. Gretzinger)
    Digital Cable Radio (was Thoughts About WFMT vrs. WNIB) (Brad S. Hicks)
    Intelsat to Buy New Satelites (Washington Technology via Paul Robinson)
    Radio Shack Voice Scrambling Phone (Shawn Herzinger)
    A Hypothetical Question :-) (Joseph Blough)
    Telecom in the Midwest (Randy Gellens)
    FCC Actions Reported (Randy Gellens)
    "I Need a Wabash"? (Andrew C. Green)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 28 Sep 92 22:28:00 UT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Last GTE Cord Board Removed


The following article is from the GTE California internal news
letter that I thought might be of interest.

  ------<< cut here >>-------

California Pulls the Plug on the Last Remaining Cord Board

When customers dial "0" for operator, the friendly voice offering
assistance is the same, but the technology that brings them that old
familiar service has gone through some changes.

An era will come to an end when GTE California's last cord board is
removed from Thousand Oaks Special Operator Services Traffic (SOST)
office by the end of the year.  The significance of its removal goes
back to the beginning of telephony itself.

The first commercial telephone cord board was placed in service in New
Haven, Conn., in January 1878, creating the first exchange.  It served
21 telephones and consisted of a series of switches mounted in a way
that allowed interconnection of various customer lines.  The early
exchanges served few customers, and calls were completed manually by
the operator using names instead of numbers.

The basic cord board method of placing calls has gone through a series
of modernizations but has changed little in 100 years.  A light
indicates that a customer is waiting, and the operator picks up the
customer by plugging a back connection plug into the board.  The
operator acknowledges the customer's needs and places the call using
the front cord connection plug.  The call is manually ticketed and
timed and held on the board by the operator until it is completed.

"We had 17 pairs of cords on our board and we were always working to
get that board filled up," said Anna Jean Leoffler, a retired GTE
operator services supervisor who began working with cord boards in
1947 for Southern Bell, in Memphis, Tenn.  "It could get quite hectic.
Why, once a supervisor was assisting me with a call and almost plugged
my finger into the board!"

The cord board was not replaced until 1976 when GTE California began
its conversion to Traffic Services Position System.  TSPS brought many
advantages to the customer.  The system distributed the calls to
operators automatically, permitting automated calling card and
coin-paid call handling.

To the company, TSPS advantages included shortened call handling time
and reduced the number of calls that had to be manually ticketed and
timed.  GTE California was completely converted to TSPS by 1984.

However, TSPS could not handle every type of call.  Certain calls,
such as ship to shore, air to ground and mobile calls, required
special handling and were routed to a SOST operator who placed the
call using the old cord board equipment.

"The SOST board came about as a result of mechanization.  When we went
to TSPS, there were certain calls that required special handling.
Today those calls get routed to a SOST operator," said Mary Caproni,
Operator Services Manager - Thousand Oaks.

In 1988, Operator Services Position System (OSPS) began replacing
TSPS.  This conversion enabled GTE to meet the growing needs of our
customers.  In addition, OSPS positioned the company to compete as a
full-service provider.

"The system distributes calls evenly to all operators and provides
automatic coin telephone service, mechanized calling card service and
an operator reference data base," Caproni said.

There are currently four GTE California OSPS offices with a work force
of 595 employees.  More than 84,000,000 calls a year are handled by
OSPS operators, with an average call taking 24 seconds.  The average
cord board call would take one minute nine seconds.

Many operators will miss working the cord board.

"I remember when I started as an operator in 1969, we had two rooms
full of cord boards," said Betty Gerdeman, a 23-year veteran operator.
"I have worked cord boards, SOST, TSPS and OSPS.  There has really
been a dramatic change in technology.  Today there are no cords, no
tickets or manual look up of information -- everything is
computerized.

"The biggest change is that everything on the cord board was done by
sound and you had to constantly question the customer for information.
Now, it's all visual.  Calls automatically drop into the operator's
position and computer icons give the operator information on the call
being placed."

The number of SOST calls has decreased greatly due to the technology
of OSPS, the AT&T take-back of calls and the activity of cellular
telephones.

In an effort to find a more economical way to process the
non-mechanized calls that SOST currently handles, an employee
involvement task team was formed.  The E.I. team developed alternative
methods of handling the SOST functions which will eliminate the need
for the cord board and increase call efficiency.

The remaining SOST operators who have been providing assistance for
unique customers will bring a long history of personal services with
them as they join the OSPS operator team.

   --------<< cut here >>--------

All typos are property of the submitter and were absent from the
original.

John D. Gretzinger   Internet: [e-mail]
                     CI$:      73020,267
Standard disclaimers apply - my employeer has no opinions on anything

------------------------------

From: mc/G=Brad/S=Hicks/OU=[e-mail]
Date: 28 Sep 92 21:54:16 GMT
Subject: Digital Cable Radio (was Thoughts About WFMT Versus WNIB/WHIZ)


Seeing the discussion of various classical-format radio stations over
the past few days has finally given me an excuse to rave to all of you
about something I've been raving about to my friends for months now:
Digital Cable Radio.  I have no financial interest in any cable
company or in DCR, I'm just one =very= satisfied customer ... as in, I
cannot imagine life without it anymore.

Digital Cable Radio is a service provided to CATV providers; it uses
unused channels on the coax to deliver:

 * 29 channels, expected to expand to up to 100 in the next year, of
 * CD-quality sound, taken straight off of CDs and delivered straight to
   their conversion box in a digital format at the same bit-depth and
   sampling rate, plus
 * stereo simulcast of about five common CATV channels,
 * 24 hours a day by seven days a week, with
 * NO INTERRUPTIONS ... no DJs, no commercials, and
 * a 24-hour toll free number to call to get the current selection and the
   two previous selections on any of the channels, listing artist, selection
   title, CD title, and publisher.

I'm writing this from work, so I don't have my cheat-sheet with me,
but from memory they've got two classical channels (one of which plays
full length symphonies and operas off and on throughout the week), one
children's interest, one "world beat", one alternative rock, two jazz
(classic and modern, and the modern channel has several "new age" time
segments), two oldies' stations (one covers big band to VERY early
rock, the other what is now called "classic" rock), one channel for
contemporary Latin music, one easy listening, one country, one just
for love songs, one for "urban beat" that seems to be about equal mix
rap, R&B, and hip-hop, and about a half-dozen other rock music format
channels.

 From talking to one of Cencom's engineers, I gather that this is all
run out of a studio (I think in Texas) and provided to the CATV
providers on a scrambled satellite channel.  (He was also telling me
that they have a similar and older system in Japan that currently
provides around 200 channels!)  They then pump it out on unused CATV
channels to a converter box that they provide you.  Where I'm at, it
adds $8 per month to your cable bill, including rental of the
converter box and a remote.

I've had it since right after Cencom started offering it, and after a
scant month or so I found that the sound of a radio commercial, or
even more so some DJ mouthing off with his halfwit opinions about the
music (or Gods forbid, some subject he knows even less about) to be
unspeakably loathsome.  Several months later, I can scarcely imagine
life without it.  And I've discovered some nice music by calling their
toll free number to see what that was I was listening to!

I'm telling you, if what you want to listen to is music, this is THE
thing to get; if your cable company doesn't provide this, call them up
and bug them about it.  I will warn you, though, that some of you who
have really cheap, low-capital CATV vendors may not be able to get it
for technical reasons; by definition, it requires unused channel space
on the coax and I've heard of single-pair systems where they had
already used up everything from 2 up to 40 or so.


J. Brad Hicks   Internet: mhs!mc![e-mail]
X.400:    c=US admd=ATTmail prmd=MasterCard sn=Hicks gn=Brad

I am not an official MasterCard spokesperson, and the message above does
not contain official MasterCard statements or policies.

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992  21:58:53 EDT
Subject: Intelsat to Buy New Satelites


Intelsat to buy new satelites.
{Washington Technology} September 24, 1992, Page 43

   Intelsat's Board of Directors has approved the procurement of new
satelites and launch services.  The cooperative will buy two Intelsat
VIIIs and an Intelsat VII-A.  Bidders for the new hardware include:
Arianspace, China Great Wall Industry Corporation, General Dynamics,
Rocket Systems Corp., and the Russian Space Agency/Salyut Design
Bureau.  Intelsat Director and CEO Irv Goldstein said a decision could
be reached as early as December.

Hawaiian firm wins PCTN award.

   Intelsat just gots its first real taste of competition.  Columbia
Communications Corp. of Honolulu will be the satelite provider for the
DOD's Pacific Consolidated Telecommunications Network (PCTN).

   As a member of a team bid including Sigcom, a little-known [SBA
Minority/Disadvantaged Business] 8(a) company of Whitesett, N.C., and
MCI, Columbia will be sharing the $100 million contract.  Three of the
six bidders for the contract planned to sub to Columbia because of its
highly competitive rates -- 30 percent less than Intelsat.  The other
bidders, including AT&T, went with the traditional carrier.

   The contract represents a clear victory for Columbia who spent
years fighting a hydra of regulations, court battles, and Intelsat
itself to gain an FCC satelite license.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Shawn Herzinger)
Subject: Radio Shack Voice Scrambling Phone
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 22:17:10 GMT
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC


I haven't seen any posts about this phone yet, so I will assume that
most do not know it exists.

In the 1993 Radio Shack catalog on page 3, they offer a "Voice-
Scrambling Cordless Telephone". It appears to be a typical 10-channel
49 MHz cordless phone with the addition of a simple frequency
inversion circuit.  The price is $159.95.  For those who care, the
model no. is 43-565.  I knew that cheap chipsets for frequency
inversion have been available for some time, but this is the first
consumer cordless that I have seen that takes advantage of them.  Of
course, frequency inversion is easily un-inverted :-) but, this
product should be of interest to those who believe their cordless
conversations are being monitored by neighbors with scanners.


Shawn M. Herzinger   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 13:00:50 CST
From: [e-mail] (Joseph Blough)
Subject: A Hypothetical Question :-)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


A while ago there was quite a discussion about the fact that telephone
directories were no longer copyrightable, at least that is what I
think the end result was.

What would be the problem (other than the phone company not liking it)
of starting a service that goes as follows:

Obtain telephone directories from most major cities and many smaller
ones.  Use a page scanner and OCR software to create a database of
literally millions of names, addresses, and telephone numbers.

Then offer a variety of services from this information, such as custom
reports based on various criteria, searches for various individuals,
etc., and even such things as checking for listings for certain
numbers.

This could even be on line (on a subscription basis, or, God forbid,
on a 900 line) for interactive queries.

Does anyone see any substantial legal problem with this?  I know some
may consider this a privacy issue, but all of the information is
already out there available to the public.


Thanks and Happy Hacking.          JB
Ybbat (DRBBS) 8.9 v. 3.14 r.1    (1:285/666.0)

------------------------------

From: MPA15C![e-mail]
Date: 28 SEP 92 01:08
Subject: Telecom in the Midwest


Last week, the {L.A. Times} had a several-page story on the growth of
telecom related business in the midwest.  The article said that farm
communities were being wired with fiber, and companies were relocating
or establishing businesses such as customer service, order taking,
reservation taking, and telemarketing in small farm towns.  It said
the companies loved the low wages and dramatically increased
productivity, and the employees (a lot of farmers' wives and other
family) liked the extra money unrelated to farming, and the health
benefits.

The {Times} reported that new companies were searching out more
isolated areas, as the existing ones were saturated, with no available
workers.


Randy Gellens         [e-mail]
I speak for myself only                or [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: That has been the case for many years. Even twenty
years ago, Tulsa, OK was considered an ideal place for telemarketers
as was Omaha, NB. Why?  Because they had the least-expensive WATS
costs of anywhere in the USA. After all, the most you can go in any
direction from Tulsa is 2000 miles or less, unlike being located on
the coasts where calls to the opposite coast travel 4000 miles and
cost considerably more.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: MPA15C![e-mail]
Date: 28 SEP 92 01:23
Subject: FCC Actions Reported


In a September 18 story headlined "FCC Moves to Increase Competition
Among Local Phone Service Providers," the {L.A. Times} reports on some
recent FCC actions.  It said the FCC took "sweeping steps" to allow
companies with fiber networks to connect to the local phone companies,
thus competing with them in offering long-distance to local
businesses.

It said the FCC also proposed to increase this competition in the
future, to include small business and consumers.

{The Times} quoted FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes as saying the ruling is
historic because it opens up "one of the last monopoly reserves" of
the Baby Bells and other local phone firms to competetion.

The story also said the FCC voted to change the prices that local
phone companies charge the long-distance providers for connections,
but the new prices won't go into effect for at least a year.

{The Times} also reported that the FCC issued new telemarketing rules,
which it said did not go as far as some consumer groups and members of
Congress wanted.  Under the new rules, telemarketers can only call
between 8 am and 9 pm, use of computer dialing is restricted, and
companies must not call people who ask not to be called.  But such
no-call orders must be done on a company-by-company basis; there is no
central registry.  Failure to honor such a no-call request could lead
to civil prosecution in state courts and a $500 fine.


Randy Gellens         [e-mail]
I speak for myself only                or [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 12:23:25 CDT
From: Andrew C. Green <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: "I need a Wabash"?


I was watching a recent episode of "Rescue 9-1-1", featuring a
reenactment of an emergency in Naperville, Illinois where a small
child was calling 9-1-1 after his babysitter collapsed.  The dialogue
was of the original tapes of the call, so all they had to do was
lip-synch to the original soundtrack off the Police Department tapes.

Following several fruitless attempts by the dispatcher to get the
small boy to recite his address properly (apparently they haven't got
enhanced 911 in Naperville), she had him read his phone number to her.
At that point she turns to her supervisor or assistant and says, "I
need a Wabash on this number: xxx-xxxx".  Obviously it was a
reverse-directory search for the address of the phone number. I'm
curious about the "Wabash" reference; does this date to the old days
of The Telephone Company?


Andrew C. Green
Datalogics, Inc.      Internet: [e-mail]
441 W. Huron          UUCP: ..!uunet!dlogics!acg
Chicago, IL  60610    FAX: [phone]


[Moderator's Note: There is, or was at one time a "Wabash Publishing
Company" which specialized in reverse number (or 'criss-cross') style
directories. Their territory consisted of hundreds of small towns all
over the USA unlike Haines, Donnelly, Polk and City Publishing, all of
whom seem more geographically based. Maybe that is what she meant. The
old version of the Customer Name and Address Bureau here, prior to the
start of 312-796-9600 about twenty years ago was nicknamed "two-oh-
eight-oh". Two-oh-eight-oh got its name from the fact that the cross
references were handled on an exchange by exchange basis, with the
numbers xxx-2080 and xxx-2081 in every exchange terminated on the desk
of the Chief Operator for the exchange. She had a numerical listing of
all the subscribers on that exchange. Callers to the number (the
public was welcome to call) heard the response 'two oh eight oh'. They
would pass the requested number and get the answer. It worked the same
way that 312-796-9600 does now for the 312/708 areas. If the number
was non-pub, then they would not give it out.  We had 2080 for about
fifty years I guess; it went away when the consolidated version began
sometime around 1970.  PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #743
******************************










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Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 01:05:13 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #744

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 29 Sep 92 01:04:55 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 744

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Political Telecommunications (Declan B. McCullagh)
    What LD Carriers Pay Local Carriers (Gerald Ruderman)
    Modular Connector Details Wanted (Eight-Wire) (Henry H. Schmidt)
    Brooklyn Bridge Phone Episode (Randy Gellens)
    N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (wariat![e-mail])
    Phone Books (was Unusual Busy Signal) (David E.A. Wilson)
    X.25 Connections From Commercial BBS's? (Joel M. Hoffman)
    AccessLine by AccessPlus (Sharon Kroo)
    Select Ringing Call Director Needed (Paul Schauble)
    Delphi via Telnet (Bill Huttig)
    Local Battery (Randy Gellens)
    TASI (was AT&T Announces Encryption Security Device (Bill Sohl)
    My Favorite Intercepts (Phillip Dampier)
    ANDREWS in Chicago; Information Needed (Michael Englund)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 12:14:27 -0400 (EDT)
From: Declan B. McCullagh <[e-mail]>
Subject: Political Telecommunications


Our Moderator notes:

> [ ... Taxpayers certainly do not owe free phone service to the
> members of the press. Let them put quarters in pay phones like the
> rest of us.  PAT ]

It is my understanding that campaigns often foot the bill for
on-the-road expenses, but then charge news organizations for what they
and the campaign deem appropriate percentages (of course, an incumbent
president often can avoid paying for many travel costs.)

For instance, if a candidate rents a plane to fly from Santa Monica to
San Francisco and takes a half-dozen travelling press members with
him, each of their news organizations will reimburse the campaign for
the cost of a first-class SM-SF plane ticket. In fact, having a good
number of travelling press with a candidate helps pay for much of the
cost of his or her travel.

It's interesting to note how telecommunications advances have
permanently changed the national political scene. Jerry Brown's
1.800.426.1112 phone number (which was actually run by Comp-U-Call, an
outside service in downtown LA) was at first ridiculed, then taken as
a mantra by Brown supporters, then finally embraced by his detractors
as an effective way to raise money.

In July, many 800 numbers were in evidence at the Democratic National
Convention on floor signs and campaign buttons. The Clinton/Gore 92
campaign now uses 1.800.325.9992, though they haven't pushed it nearly
as much as Brown did. After last month's hurricane, Bush read the
American Red Cross' 800 number on national television.

More recently, Knight-Ridder reported on 9.25 that, "After filling
requests for a quarter million" copies of "Agenda for American
Renewal," the Bush camp "disconnected the phone" at the advertised
800-number. According to the news service, those who still want copies
should call their local GOP or Bush-Quayle HQ. Perhaps the response
was higher than projected?

On 9.21, Clinton began airing a commercial which alternated between a
shot of the Arkansas governor at a desk and on-screen text. The
advertisment mentions Clinton's 800 number. {The New York Times} on
9.21 said that, by offering the 800 number, Clinton "seeks to give the
impression [he] has a meaty, workable plan."

Candidates also seem to be turning to computer networks as ways to
reach their supporters. During the last days of the primary season,
the Brown campaign headquarters used MCI Mail and GEnie to talk to
their candidate when he was on the road and not near a fax machine.
Both Clinton and Brown have used GEnie and Compuserve conferences or
roundtables to interact with voters directly.

Of course, this use of computer networks is only the latest data point
in a trend designed to prevent potentially harmful media analysis of
candidate remarks or positions. By going to the public directly,
candidates can avoid that possible negative slant.

In fact, Perot never even tried to go on the traditional campaign
trail, instead limiting his appearances to occasional rallies and the
talk-show circuit (on Larry King Live, for example, where he launched
his non-campaign and is expected to do so again tonight).

1996 should be rather interesting.

DISCLAIMER: I was on Jerry Brown's national campaign staff.

Declan / [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Gerald Ruderman)
Subject: What LD Carriers Pay Local Carriers
Organization: Rational Systems, Inc.
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 00:53:42 GMT


How much to long distance carriers pay local carriers (in the US) for
completion of long distance calls?

Do they pay the originating local carrier as well as the terminating
one?

Does it vary by time of day or anything else?

How much do business using bypass save when they use Metropolitan
Fiber or similar companies?


Gerald Ruderman    [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Henry H. Schmidt)
Subject: Modular Connector Details Wanted (Eight-Wire)
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Henry H. Schmidt)
Date : Monday 28 Sep 92 18:15 EDT

Does anyone know the connection scheme of a eight-wire modular phone
plug?  This plug looks like a grown up four-wire modular plug and
belongs to a modem for a card-reader (about five to ten years old).  I
found this stuff in the "service-technician-knocked-out box" at an
electronic surplus shop.  The colors of the wires are: blue, orange,
black, red, green, yellow,red, grey.  A sticker is placed there
(modem) with the recommendation:

Ringer Equivalence: O.OB
Required connector: US OC RJ11C, RJ11W, RJ12C RJ12W, RJ13C, RJ13W,
RJ41S,RJ42S,RJ45S,RJ47S

Any ideas ... almost any.:-) how this stuff was connected ?


[Moderator's Note: The wires are paired from the inside out. The
red/green in the center is pair one; the yellow/black are pair two;
usually blue/white are pair three (but you say it is another red
wire?) with orange/grey is pair four. I've used these long ago on a
two line phone with a turn button (for selecting lines) where the turn
button also could be depressed as a signal button to buzz the other
end. The fourth pair was for the lighted dial.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: MPA15AB![e-mail]
Date: 28 SEP 92 20:52
Subject: Brooklyn Bridge Phone Episode


On Saturday's episode of Brooklyn Bridge, the central family finally
gets a telephone (big argument on where to have it installed).  (They
gave the phone number as "KLondike-5 xxxx").  The family tries to
arrange a code with the grandparents, who live downstairs: when the
family should go down to the grandparents, the grandparents are to
call, hanging up after the second ring.  This is to avoid a toll.

I thought a charge for a local call was something new, made possible
by new technology which could meter all calls.  Is this not true?
Were local calls charged for in the fifties (I think this is when the
show is set)?  Or were the characters confused about local vs toll?


Randy Gellens            [e-mail]
>>>>>>> If mail bounces, forward to [e-mail] <<<<<<<<
Opinions are personal; facts are suspect; I speak only for myself


[Moderator's Note: No indeed. We've had measured service in Chicago
for a half-century; so has New York City. Until the past few years
they could not tell you *exactly what number* you dialed ... just
that you did.  If you protested, the next month they'd put a pen
register on the line to keep track of it for you.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: wariat![e-mail]
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 19:48 EDT
Subject: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing
Organization: Akademia Pana Kleksa, Publi Access UNI* Site


Within area codes which contain N0N or N1N exchanges, is it always
required to dial all ten digits of numbers within the area code?  If
not, how can the switching network distinguish between (for example)
the following two calls made from Manhattan:

1-818-xxxx (In-area, calling 818 exchange);
1-818-www-xxxx (Calling 818 area code).

I don't see how this distinction is possible without a ten-digit
dialing requirement.


[Moderator's Note: I think the 1+ is always required, however the
system can wait for a time-out, then interpret everything it recieved
at once; i.e. seven or ten digits, etc, sort of in the way that 72#
does the same thing as 72 (stop dialing); but the former takes less
time and executes your call forwarding request immediatly, not ten or
fifteen seconds later.  The difference between '0' for the local
operator and '00' for the long distance operator is handled by a time
out unless you dial it as 0#, then it processes immediatly.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: David E A Wilson <[e-mail]>
From: [e-mail] (David E A Wilson)
Subject: Phone Books (was Unusual Busy Signal)
Organization: Dept of Computer Science, Wollongong University, Australia
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 02:37:29 GMT


JOHN SCHMIDT <[e-mail]> writes:

> They have a pretty decent phone book, about 1" thick, includes white
> and yellow pages, printed from opposite ends of the directory, upside
> down from each other.  You flip the directory over vertically to
> switch from white to yellow pages!  Does anyone know anywhere that
> does this?

Yes -- Australia. For all but the capital cities (Sydney & Melbourne
have grown so large that they have four books (A-K, L-Z in white and
yellow)) the telephone book is as you describe. In Wollongong we have
280 pages of white and 848 pages of yellow -- the spine is for the
yellow pages section.


David Wilson               (042) 21 3802 voice, (042) 21 3262 fax
Dept Comp Sci, Uni of Wollongong   [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Joel M. Hoffman)
Subject: X.25 Connections From Commercial BBS's?
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 02:43:55 GMT


Does anyone know if there are commercial BBS's (like CompuServe, etc.)
that provide outgoing X.25 connections?  If so, what are the typical
fees?  I would think it's cheaper for low-volume usage than requesting
X.25 service from the local telco.  Anyone have specific information?


Thanks.

Joel   ([e-mail])

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 25 Sep 92 10:22:24 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Sharon Kroo)
Subject: Accessline by Accessplus
Organization: Bell Northern Research Montreal, Canada.


I just heard of a new service called "ContactLine" that BAMS (Bell
Atlantic Mobile Systems) will introduce on September 24.  Apparently
this service is based on an Accessplus product-Accessline.  There have
been several trials in the Baltimore/Washington area this summer
(BAMS) and in the Seattle area (McCaw Cellular).

Brief description of the service:

 -Assigns users a single telephone number (eliminating the need for
multiple numbers like for car, home, office).

 -Remote call forwarding provided to the subscriber. Also there is a
possibility of the subscriber controlling the schedule of call
forwarding; ie. in business hours the calls will be forwarded to the
office while at night the calls will be forwarded to the home.

 Has anyone out there tried this service?

Did anyone receive any promotional material from BAMS about the
upcoming service implementation?

Please e-mail me directly at [e-mail].


Thanks.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Paul Schauble)
Subject: Select Ringing Call Director Needed
Organization: Bull HN Information Systems, Inc., Phoenix Product Division
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 22:17:02 GMT


I'm looking for a call director that can direct a call to various
devices based on selective ringing. I'd like to find a device that can
attach three or four devices. Sources?


PLS

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] ( Bill Huttig)
Subject: Delphi via Telnet
Date: 28 Sep 92 18:56:03 GMT
Organization: Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne USA


I can't seem to find the article but PAT wrote that delphi was not
telnetable ... well it is from my site at delphi.com ...


Bill

------------------------------

From: MPA15C![e-mail]
Date: 28 SEP 92 01:02
Subject: Local Battery


In a local-battery phone, how was the battery charged?


Randy Gellens         [e-mail]
I speak for myself only                or [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: dancer![e-mail] (22501-sohl)
Subject: TASI (was AT&T Announces Encryption Security Device)
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 13:51:27 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Greg
Andrews) writes:

> Are there muxes that rely on silences like that?  If so, they would
> have severe trouble with modems.  Modems do precisely the same thing
> as this encryption device does -- transmit a constant signal level
> without pauses.

I don't know about today, but in the past there was.  A system called
TASI was used on international cables to make use of the slices of
silence in each direction.  I suspect it has long since been abandoned
as circuit capacity has expanded tremendously since the time it was
used.  The acronym TASI was something like: Time A????? Speech
Interpolation I think.


Standard Disclaimer- Any opinions, etc. are mine and NOT my employer's.

Note - If email replying to me with an automatic addressing process
bounces, manually address the resend using one of the addresses below.
Bill Sohl (K2UNK) BELLCORE (Bell Communications Research, Inc.)
Morristown, NJ             email via UUCP      bcr!dancer!whs70
201-829-2879 Weekdays      email via Internet  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Phillip Dampier)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 12:26:51 -0500
Subject: My Favorite Intercepts


[e-mail] (Scott Fybush) wrote:

> One more note ... the Czech phone system has an interesting
> intercept that I encountered multiple times that morning ... it's a
> recording without a tri-tone that says "International Exchange,
> Prague.  The [something] you have [something] is [something]."  I
> heard the recording at least a dozen times, and I still didn't quite
> get it.  Anyone else hear it?

Yes.  It formerly said something like "International Exchange, Prague.
The number you have dialed is not connected.  Please contact your
operator."  There was another verson like this. Now, the recording has
become quite mangled.  I can make out "direction engaged."  Perhaps it
is their version of a reorder, although I suspect it is, in reality,
supposed to be a non working number intercept.  The recordings within
Czechoslovakia itself are different.  These messages are provided for
international calls.

The intercepts with the most class, in my opinion, are the general
intercept messages from Japan's KDD International Telephone Office
complete with a little tune, New Zealand's "the Wellington number you
have reached is now seven digits," and South Africa's invalid areacode
intercept.

Japanese recordings don't use the tri tones at all.  If you get past
the KDD International intercept, the local recordings are quite
creative.  They use chimes and/or musical tunes.  The intercepts that
repeat the number you dialed back to you are nothing less than bizarre
sounding to me, but then again, I don't understand Japanese.

The most boring intercepts are those from Germany (right to the
point), the French outer territories (which always seem to be running
on the winner of the wow and flutter tape unit award), India, which
barely makes it out, and the old British standby, the long tone, which
doesn't allow us to hear anything at all. :-)

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Michael Englund, T-TDT, x0996)
Subject: Andrews Company in Chicago; Information Needed
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Ericsson Network Systems, Inc.
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 20:57:20 GMT


I heard about a company called Andrews, which is supposed to be based
in the Chicago area. They sell satellite dishes and HF cable etc.
Does anybody know more about this company? Do they have a phone
number, address etc.? What else do they do?


Michael L. Englund
Ericson Network Systems, Software Verification Techniques
Richardson, TX  75081, USA
Internet:  [e-mail]   phone:  [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Have you tried 312/708-555-1212 to see if they have
a telephone listing?   PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #744
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #745

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 29 Sep 92 02:20:34 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 745

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000 (Mike Riddle)
    Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000 (Tony Harminc)
    Re: What it Costs to Have the President Over (Michael J. Graven)
    Re: What it Costs to Have the President Over (Marvin Hoffman)
    Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System (Richard Nash)
    Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System (Morpheus)
    Re: LD Transmission Quality Comparison (John Higdon)
    Re: Global Cellular Phone Usage (Douglas Scott Reuben)
    Re: Why 'Die Hard II' Used Pac*Bell Pay Phones (Bob Prehn)
    Re: Durham Phone Service (Gregory G. Woodbury)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 07:17:02 CST
From: [e-mail] (Mike Riddle)
Subject: Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Inns of Court, Papillion, NE


In a message dated 27-SEP-92, Roy M. Silvernail writes:

> One thing to note with this unit is that the terminal parameters will
> always start out at 1200 bps, 7E1.  It appears primarily intended to
> check your AT&T EasyMail.  The ergonomics could use some study, too.
> Many of the units were set into the stand-up mini-kiosks, where the
> keyboard was uncomfortably low for standing use.  In the Salt Lake
> City airport, they were also available in the sit-down kiosks, but
> those were canted toward the entrance (at the same angle as a standard
> pay-phone), which made the keyboard awkward to use.  None offered a
> place to set your laptop, should you choose to use it.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I can "explain way" all of Mr. Silvernail's
concerns by referring him to the relatively new, and only now becoming
effective, Americans With Disabilities Act.

The Act has one complete section devoted to Telecommunications.  This
is the part that mandated the Relay Services we've read about in the
digest some time ago, where an operator relays messages between the
TDD system and voice callers.

Another part of the Telecommunications section of the ADA requires TDD
terminals in pay phone installations of some size > X.  If The Phone
Company is allowing for equal access to the TDD, the possibility of a
wheelchair customer might explain the low keyboard height and the
slantex keyboard.

Disclaimer: I've not personally seen one of these new payphones yet,
and also I recognize the increasing marketing attractiveness of some
computer connection to a payphone.  But what I've heard, and the
timing of their appearance, suggests to me that these phones were
driven by the ADA.  Perhaps ongoing market research into who uses them
and how will lead to increased availability of computer communications
capability for business travelers as well.


Ybbat (DRBBS) 8.9 v. 3.13 r.3
inns.omahug.org   [phone]  (1:285/27.0)

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 01:33:56 EDT
From: Tony Harminc <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000


> While on a recent trip to the US I noticed that AT&T has deployed a
> truly wonderful new payphone -- the AT&T Public Payphone 2000 -- in
> most Hyatts. This phone has the usual card stripe reader and glass
> advertising, but also includes a keyboard! Deep in the menus is a
> "Place call in VT100 mode" entry, so I was able to call back to pick
> up my mail, and charge it all to my calling card. And it was even
> reasonably priced too. I was tickled pink -- Bell Canada has no such
> equivalent.

You'll be tickled even pinker when you don't get the bill.  I wrote
about an encounter with the AT&T 2000 back in February 92, and I still
haven't got a bill.  I believe there is simply no protocol for
exchange of "miscellaneous billing items" between AT&T and Bell
Canada, unlike US LECs where the long distance carrier has its own
page with whatever charges and services it likes.

We'll see how long it lasts ...


Tony Harminc

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 23:21:18 CDT
Subject: Re: What it Costs to Have the President Over
From: [e-mail] (Michael J Graven)


Pat notes:

> [Moderator's Note: Taxpayers certainly do not owe free phone service
> to the members of the press. Let them put quarters in pay phones like the
> rest of us.  PAT]

That was the case at Bush's visit to Motorola in Schaumburg, IL on
Friday.  The main camera platform had available several IBT
"Charge-a-call" desk-set phones.  They were not coin-capable; just
card and collect dialling.  There were line audio mults available, but
I didn't notice radio telco ties.

One of the political analysts from Channel 2, BTW, was extremely
amused by AT&T's automated collect call system.  Thought it was the
greatest thing since sliced bread.  Called his wife on it twice, just
for kicks.

Of course, this was all sort of moot, as there was probably a higher
concentration of radiotelephone and radio paging devices there than
any other place in the city at the time.  Fully 90% of the working
press were wearing Bravo pagers, and about half of those had
cellphones as well.


Michael    [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Marvin Hoffman)
Subject: Re: What it Costs to Have the President Over
Organization: APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 07:37:25 GMT


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:

> Tomorrow President Bush is scheduled to give "an important policy
> statement on drugs and community involvement" and our church is
> playing host in our parish hall for this event.  Friday there were at
> least 14 SWBT trucks there, they dropped two 300 pair cables to either
> the parish hall or to the school gym which will serve as the press
> facilities.  Even today (Sunday) there have been at least ten trucks
> working all day providing the appropriate jacks, etc.

Material deleted regarding costs and who pays ...

Personal story:

When I was in graduate school at the University of Georgia, the senior U.S.
Senator from Georgia, Richard B. Russell, died.  Senator Russell was a very
powerful Senator, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, over 30
years in the senate, etc.  His funeral brought nearly the entire Senate
membership as well as President Johnson.  Press coverage in the Atlanta
Constitution noted that telephones were installed along the route every
quarter mile between Atlanta and Winder, Georgia (approximately 25 miles)
for emergency use by the President and Secret Service.  Further, 600 telephones
were installed in Winder for use by the media.


Is this still done?

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 10:35:22 -0600
From: [e-mail] (Richard Nash)
Subject: Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System


> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] wrote:

>> I called those Dallas-area voice recognition phone numbers recently
>> published in the Digest.  I had at least two cases of "seven" going
>> through as "two".

> And my Asian/Indian-accented "two" was always consitently read as a
> "zero". It did get my two correct when I deliberately put on the best
> American accent I could manage.

>  Seven as a two, two as a zero ... !? Even the number of syllables,
> phonemes, allophones ... (whoever you count) differ!

Yeah, I tried them too.:) :) :) Saying 'yup' instead of 'yes' dosen't
work at all. My guess is that these voice recognition phone numbers
are actually being recorded, (sampled) and analyzed by the company
(Dialogic?) to improve their technology. You may be assisting them
unwittingly :) :)

Compare the 'yes' and 'no' word recognition from these systems to
those from the telecos Automated Alternate Billing System. "You have a
collect call from Joe Smith, Do you accept the charges? Please say yes
or no."  Can you distinguish the differences in recognition accuracy
between them?  If this technology was useful to you, how reliable
would it have to be?

Arnold Schzwartz the Law and Order Robot:
          "You are under arrest!"
          "Stop or I will shoot you!"
          "Do you understand? Please say yes or no."

Bad Foreign Guy: "Noze!"

Arnold Schzwartz the Law and Order Robot:

         "You did not respond yes or no"
          "Hasta la vista, eat lead!"

Arnold's Equalizer: "Ratta-tat-tat"   :) :) :) :)


Richard Nash   Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
UUCP:       trickie![e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Speech Recognition Added to Telephone Messaging System
From: [e-mail] (morpheus)
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 12:30:07 EDT
Organization: the pickle factory at Langley, Virginia


Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]> writes:

> Speaking of speech recognition:

> I called those Dallas-area voice recognition phone numbers recently
> published in the Digest.  I had at least two cases of "seven" going
> through as "two".

Intrestingly, I had multiple occurances of five being recognized as
seven.


[e-mail]  <->  [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 01:03 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: LD Transmission Quality Comparison


Jack Decker <[e-mail]> writes:

> I also wish there was a simple add-on circuit for phones that would
> increase the receiver volume level WITHOUT increasing sidetone.  Most
> "amplified" handsets can raise the volume of a long distance call, but
> when you talk you blast yourself in the ear!  I'd LOVE to see a phone
> with both adjustable receiver volume AND adjustable sidetone ... would
> that be too much to ask?

The simple passive hybrid used in most telephones would be incapable
of providing sufficient transhybrid loss to be acceptable for use with
an amplified earpiece. Sidetone is simply the leakage from an
imperfect hybrid and is not something that can be adjusted. To do
that, one would have to use an adaptive hybrid and then intentionally
and adjustably feed transmitter audio into the receiver. The best
adaptive hybrids are executed in the digital domain, something that is
out of the question for use in a simple telephone.

The usual workaround for an amplified handset is to employ a noise
cancelling transmitter. This cuts the ambient noise pickup and the
resultant sidetone distraction.

> [Moderator's Note: I've always wondered about this also. I have
> various amplified handsets around and if I get a call with very poor
> transmission I turn the volume up ... all I wind up getting is lots
> more sidetone and very little increase (if any) in the voice on the
> other end.  PAT]

An effective trick is to put your hand over the transmitter. This
blocks the ambient noise pickup. It is surprising to see people on the
telephone in a noisy environment putting a finger in the opposite ear
in order to hear the caller on the line more clearly. It is a much
more effective practice to cover the mouthpiece. The brain can
differentiate signals that come in through separate ears with little
difficulty, so what you want to do is to reduce as much as possible
the distractive noise coming into the same ear as the distant caller.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

------------------------------

Date: 28-SEP-1992 06:43:16.29
From: Douglas Scott Reuben <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Global Cellular Phone Usage


On Sun, 27 Sep 1992 16:11:03 GMT, [e-mail] wrote:

> On another note, I was told by a local cell phone vendor that GTE is
> putting in a new switch this weekend and this would cause all the
> cheaper cell phones like "Diamondtel", "Uniden" etc. to stop
>f unctioning.

*Which* GTE Mobilnet company are you (planning to sign up) with?

It is true that SOME older Uniden cell phones and SOME Mitsubishi
phones will be partially incompatible with newer switches. This is
frequently a problem with Ericsson switches, although I have heard the
same is true of Autoplex II switches from AT&T. Usually what happens
is that your phone won't ring. I've been told that this is due to the
phone's inability to support "autonomous registration", which many of
the newer switches use to reduce network congestion. I never checked
this out myself, though, as I don't have either brand of phone. If the
phone can't register autonomously, then the switch can't generally
"find" it, and thus it can not ring the phone.

> They also said that Cellular One will be putting in new switches in
> a year and then these cheaper phones will not work withCellular one as
> well. Is this true, if it is what is going to happen to folks who have
> bought these phones.

Again, which Cell One are you talking about? McCaw Cell One outfits
(NY is a good example) will replace the phone for you with one which
can receive calls.  Cell One/NY even went as far as to work out a deal
with NJ and CT for customers in THOSE markets who come to/roam in NY
to get new phones, although I believe the customers dealt with Cell
One/South Jersey and Metro Mobile/CT, not with Cell One/NY.

Find out what sort of switches GTE and Cell One are getting (ie, call
them and ask). Ask them if the phone you intend to get will have
problems. (Or, don't, and then sign up for an annual contract plan and
they will probably give you a better phone after the switch change! :))

But yes, in this case, the salesman MAY have been somewhat correct,
although you need to get more info as to the specific type of phone
and the specific type of switch to be sure.


Doug    [e-mail]  //  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Bob Prehn (@ The Right Choice))
Subject: Re: Why 'Die Hard II' Used Pac*Bell Pay Phones
Date: 28 Sep 92 15:24:10 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Denver


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] writes:

> Chantilly, Va. is still around.  The airport was called Dulles after a
> former U.S. Secretary of State.

I may have missed an earlier article stating this but;

Die Hard II was filmed at Denver's Stapleton International Airport.


Robert Prehn   AT&T Bell Labs
Room  1F50    11900 North Pecos   Denver, Co  80234
drutx!rlp    [phone]

------------------------------

From: wolves![e-mail] (Gregory G. Woodbury)
Subject: Re: Durham Phone Service
Organization: Wolves Den UNIX
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 16:08:59 GMT


In TELECOM V12 #740, Paul Robinson replies to:

> In TELECOM V12 #735, Gerald Ruderman said:

>> I believe that the local carrier for Research Triangle Park is GTE.

It is, but it's under a wierd arrangement. The RTP exchanges are local
to Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and a whole number of other exchanges
that are not local to each other.  This requires that four LECs have
to work together to handle the local coordination for RTP.

GTE South finally went and upgraded the RTP switch a few years ago so
that there are several CO numbers assigned to the Park now, instead of
the ONE that it had for years.

> Could that be where that famous old song, "I've gotta leave old
> Durham Town ..." have come from?

    Heck, depending on you point of view, Durham is heaven or hell
telephone wise.  I read all the horror stories that Higdon et al tell
of GTE and wonder if I'm using the same company.  I've had to "push" a
time or two to get GTE to give me information, but I've consistently
found the Durham GTE folks easier to deal with than the Raleigh and
Chapel Hill Southern Bell folks.

> [Moderator's Note: Cute. I've actually heard of companies which felt
> their phone service was so bad they moved out of the area -- on that
> reason alone, the phone service. To me, that seems incredible, and I
> have worked in a few large phone installations in my lifetime.  PAT]

    Before GTE upgraded the switch, the PUC was considering the
radical move of allowing LEC competition in the RTP!  Companies were
locating outside of the RTP proper so that they could get the
telephones they needed but still be in proximity to the action.  IBM
nearly left RTP because GTE couldn't give them more lines.

    For those interested: Research Triangle Park is a special
creation of the NC Legislature.  It isn't a city, but it isn't allowed
to be annexed by any city either (Raleigh was threatening from the
east, Morrisville from the south, and Durham from the north and west.)
Phones in the RTP COs are limited to companies physically in the RTP.
Durham gets stuck with providing water, sewer and other services,
without being able to annex the properties for property tax purposes.

    There are some other interesting differences in the phone
service in the area as well.  For example, SBT customers can get a
true flat rate extended calling plan (unmeasured), while GTE folks can
only get measured service on the extended calling area plan.  (Hmm,
perhaps I need to check the tariffs!)  FTX lines are still popular in
the area because of the problems.


Gregory G. Woodbury @ The Wolves Den UNIX, Durham NC
UUCP: ...dukcds!wolves!ggw   ...duke!wolves!ggw           [use the maps!]
Domain: [e-mail]  [e-mail]  [e-mail]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #745
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #746

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 29 Sep 92 23:59:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 746

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (John R. Levine)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Thomas J. Roberts)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (John Higdon)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Carl Moore)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Don Lynn)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Jim Rees)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (David G. Lewis)
    Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000 (Steve Kass)
    Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000 (Eric M. Carroll)
    Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000 (Roy M. Silvernail)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 29 Sep 92 23:57:18 EDT (Tue)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


In article <[e-mail]> is written:

> Within area codes which contain N0N or N1N exchanges, is it always
> required to dial all ten digits of numbers within the area code?  If
> not, how can the switching network distinguish between (for example)
> the following two calls made from Manhattan:

> 1-818-xxxx (In-area, calling 818 exchange);
> 1-818-www-xxxx (Calling 818 area code).

In New York and New Jersey, you dial 1+ before an area code.  Calls
within the area code are dialed without a 1.  In the 212, 718, and 917
areas, all calls within and among 212, 917, and 718 happen to be local
(or at most message units) so there's no issue of 1+ for toll, and in
fact you dial 1 + 718 + number to make a local call from Manhattan to
Queens, or 1 + 917 + number to call a beeper or fax machine within
Manhattan.

You always dial the area code on a 0+ call, though there's not much
reason to make an operated assisted local call.

As has been noted here before, in parts of New Jersey, calls within
the same area code may be local, intra-LATA toll, or inter-LATA toll
(609 is two LATAs.)  The dialing plan makes no distinction among the
three types of calls.  Depending on your point of view, this is either
a great convenience because you don't have to memorize what prefixes
are where, or an evil plot to trick us into making unwitting toll
calls.  Again, all 0+ calls require the area code.

In some other areas, e.g., Atlanta and Toronto, you have to dial 1+
the local area code for toll calls within the same area code.  It's
not clear to what extent this is to preserve 1+ for toll and to what
extent archaic switch equipment requires it.


Regards,

John Levine, [e-mail], {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 09:28:03 CDT
From: [e-mail] (Thomas J Roberts)
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing
Organization: AT&T


In article <[e-mail]>, by wariat!catfood@
usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu:

> Within area codes which contain N0N or N1N exchanges, is it always
> required to dial all ten digits of numbers within the area code?  If
> not, how can the switching network distinguish between (for example)
> the following two calls made from Manhattan:

> 1-818-xxxx (In-area, calling 818 exchange);
> 1-818-www-xxxx (Calling 818 area code).

> I don't see how this distinction is possible without a ten-digit
> dialing requirement.

My home phone number in area code 708 is 406-XXXX. There is NO PROBLEM
 -- any phone I have ever used within 708 could reach it using only
seven digits -- NO +1. Outside of 708, I need to dial 1-708-406-XXXX
(actually, there may still be some old exchanges which don't want that
initial "1" preceeding the ten-digit address). Note that the initial
"1" is the "country code" for USA/Canada/parts-of-the-Caribbean; in
some literature it is called an "access code", but outside North
America it is clearly a country code. Within 708, I doubt there will
ever be an office code corresponding to a nearby area code (708, 312,
815) -- the confusion would be too great.

People who think that an initial "1" indicates "toll call", or "long
distance call" are people who have never lived near an area code
boundary, or people who have not kept up-to-date. An initial "1" now
indicates "an area code other than the one of this telephone", no
more, no less. Some "area codes" are really "service codes" (e.g.
700,800,900,710, ...), and do not correspond to any geographical area.
Some old exchanges may not yet interpret the initial "1" this way, but
it clearly the way things are going.

By permitting N0X/N1X office codes within an area code, the number of
addresses within the area code is increased by 25%. Given that there
are only a handful (three?) of unassigned area codes left, and given
the fact that many areas are exhausting the available address space,
this is the only way to avoid running out of telephone addresses while
keeping old equipment operational (many old North American switches
have VERY limited dialing-plan capabilities).

The initial "1" is strictly a dialing plan issue; billing is
completely separate. Again, some old exchanges may not yet interpret
things this way.


Tom Roberts    att!ihlpl!tjrob        [e-mail]
AT&T Bell Laboratories        (I do not speak for the company)

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 01:49 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing


wariat![e-mail] writes:

> Within area codes which contain N0N or N1N exchanges, is it always
> required to dial all ten digits of numbers within the area code?  If
> not, how can the switching network distinguish between (for example)
> the following two calls made from Manhattan:

> 1-818-xxxx (In-area, calling 818 exchange);
> 1-818-www-xxxx (Calling 818 area code).

Your fallacy is in the use of the '1' with the seven digit number. In
area codes that contain "informal" exchanges (N1/0X), the '1' becomes
the clue to the CO that what follows is a ten digit number.  Before
informal prefixes, Manhattan, as well as the entire metro area did not
require a '1' for any long distance. (At least my uncle's phone in
North Tarrytown did not in 1967 when I visited.) When the informals
came in, so did the '1', which was required before dialing an area
code.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 9:17:29 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: N0X/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing


Notice that I changed N0N/N1N to N0X/N1X in the subject header.

[Moderator's Note: And note that I changed it back only so that Carl's
message would stay in continuity with the rest of the thread.  PAT]

You cited "1-818-xxxx, in-area, calling 818 exchange)" for Manhattan.
That is not the published calling method for this call.  Omit the
leading 1 and just use 818-xxxx.  The leading 1 is what notifies the
system that 818 is being used as an area code, not as an exchange (as
in 1-818-xxx-xxxx).

There is some discussion of dialing instructions at the head of the
archive file history.of.area.splits. The history.of.area.splits file
lists a case where the 1-818-xxxx vs. 1-818-xxx-xxxx scenario is
possible.  Such case is not in New York City but in Lancaster County,
Pa. (Denver and Adamstown).


[Moderator's Note: Carl Moore maintains the 'history of area code
splits' file in the Telecom Archives. (anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu).  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 13:05:58 PDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing


wariat![e-mail] writes:

> Within area codes which contain N0N or N1N exchanges, is it always
> required to dial all ten digits of numbers within the area code?

I guess you haven't been reading the Digest long enough to have seen
the lengthy N0N/N1N discussions.  But to summarize:

Los Angeles (213) was the first to go to N0N and N1N exchanges.  From
the first day that "dial 1 first" was implemented in Los Angeles
(which was many years before the N0N/N1N exchanges), it always meant
"an area code follows".  It never meant "a toll call follows".  So the
1 first always distinguished areas codes from exchanges.

However, dial zero first is a different can of worms.  Dialing zero
before a phone number always meant you wanted assistance from an
operator (or a mechanized one), not that you were necessarily going to
dial an area code.  So area codes and N0N/N1N exchanges have always
been distinguished on zero-first calls in Los Angeles by timeout.
Dial zero, seven digits and wait awhile.  Of course if the second
digit after the 0 is non-zero/one, the timeout becomes unneeded, but I
don't know if all dialing equipment in use here is that smart.
Besides, timeouts will be necessary in this case in the future when
area codes start using non-zero/one second digits.

This has not always been the way it is done throughout Pac Bell land.
Dial-1-first in 714 (which adjoins 213, and includes many suburbs of
Los Angeles) for many years meant "a toll call follows".  A big public
education campaign was held many years ago in 714 to announce the day
the policy changed to dial 1 means "an area code follows".  Pac Bell
told us that this inconvenience was necessary to allow more exchanges
in 714.  I still have not seen a N0N/N1N exchange in 714 though.

The fact that Pac Bell went to the effort to standardize dial-1-first
policy leads me to believe that they have no plans to change to a
dial-ten-digits-always scheme, as is used in some areas.


Don Lynn

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jim Rees)
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: University of Michigan IFS Project
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 20:31:50 GMT


My cellphone is in 313-600, and I can dial seven, ten, or eleven
digits.  This works because cellular switches always know how many
digits you dialed.  The phone doesn't send the number to the switch
until you press the "spend" key.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 17:55:25 CDT
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


> I don't see how this distinction is possible without a ten-digit
> dialing requirement.

   You are correct for areas where 1 + seven-digit dialing exists.
Note, however, the "standard" method of determining intra-NPA from
inter-NPA calls is the presence of "1+".  Thus, from ANY telephone in
(say) NPA 212:

A   818-xxxx     (intra-NPA, national number is 212-818-xxxx)
B 1-818-www-xxxx (inter-NPA to national number 818-www-xxxx)

   The "non-standard" method, where "1+" is required for all toll
calls, uses either 10-digit dialing for "toll" calls, or the timing
after the 1+7-digit call that PAT mentioned.  Timing in considered a
misuse of the caller's and the switch's time and resources, so it's
only used in unusual cases.  For the "1+ for toll" areas, the patterns
are:

C   818-xxxx     ("non-toll" intra-NPA, national number is 212-818-xxxx)
D 1-212-818-xxxx ("toll" intra-NPA, national number is 212-818-xxxx)
E 1-818-www-xxxx (inter-NPA to national number 818-www-xxxx)

   With this method, you have to know:

1) the telephone number you are calling from (or at least its NXX code)

2) whether the call to 818 from your NXX is a toll call Otherwise, it
might take two attempts to complete the call, using patterns C and D.
Bellcore says that D should be valid everywhere within your NPA, even
from "non-toll" calls), but it hasn't been implemented very widely.

   Also, with "1+ for toll", support for ten-digit "non-toll" calls
requires that "818-www-xxxx" be allowed from adjacent NXXs in another
NPA without the "1+", or that the "www" NXX be accessible via
seven-digit dialing.  The latter forces ten-digit dialing to the "www"
exchange within the NPA, if it exists.  All-in-all, it gets confusing.


Al Varney

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing
Organization: AT&T
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 15:05:31 GMT


> I don't see how this distinction is possible without a ten-digit
> dialing requirement.

> [Moderator's Note: I think the 1+ is always required, however the
> system can wait for a time-out, then interpret everything it recieved
> at once; i.e. seven or ten digits, etc ...

Several ways.

1.  The 1+ can be required for 10-D calls, and required to be absent
for 7-D calls.  The 1+ is therefore the indicator to the switch to
expect ten following digits.  This is called the "prefix method".

2.  The 1+ is "optional" from a dialing point of view (e.g. is used to
indicate local/toll).  A four-second Final Digit Timer is started
after seven digits are received.  If this timer times out, the switch
interprets the number as 7-D; if a digit is received before the timer
times out, the switch expects a 10-D number.  This is called the
"timing method".

3.  The 1+ indicates local/toll, and the switch examines the three
digits following the initial 1.  If they are an N0/1X which is not
assigned as a CO code in the NPA, they are interpreted as an NPA code
and seven more digits are expected.  If they are an N0/1X code which
is assigned as a CO code in the NPA, a Final Digit Timer is started
after four more digits are received, as in the timing method.  If they
are an NNX code, only four more digits are expected.  This is called
the "hybrid method".

Bellcore recommends the prefix method as the standard dialing
procedure.


David G Lewis                              AT&T Bell Laboratories
[e-mail] or !att!goofy!deej     Switching & ISDN Implementation

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 11:12 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000


In Issue 745, Tony Harminc <[e-mail]> writes:

> You'll be tickled even pinker when you don't get the bill.

I made two short calls on a 2000 in late August, using my AT&T Calling
Card.  To my surprise, I received a bill from AT&T instead of a charge
in the AT&T section of my NJ Bell bill.  So far as I can tell, my
Reach Out America charges did not apply to the long-distance charge
portion of the bill.  I almost tossed the letter, thinking it was an
ad for some new service, until I noticed the first class postage.

Also worth noting was that I was charged $2.50 for terminal use (the
charge for one up-to-ten-minute period) even though I made two
separate calls.  I don't remember if I sequenced them with # or a New
Call button.


Steve Kass/ Math and CS/ Drew University
Madison NJ 07940/ 201 514 1187/ [e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 11:31:02 -0400
From: Eric M. Carroll <[e-mail]>


>  You'll be tickled even pinker when you don't get the bill.

Well, I can verify that. I just got my Bell Canada bill, and lo! no
extra data use charges. I was wondering what had happened to them.


Eric Carroll    University of Toronto Computing Services
        Network Development

------------------------------

Subject: Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000
From: cybrspc![e-mail] (Roy M. Silvernail)
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 14:07:41 CDT
Organization: Villa CyberSpace, Minneapolis, MN


[e-mail] (Mike Riddle) writes:

[regarding my article about the AT&T Public Phone 2000]

> Maybe I'm wrong, but I can "explain way" all of Mr. Silvernail's
> concerns by referring him to the relatively new, and only now becoming
> effective, Americans With Disabilities Act.

> Another part of the Telecommunications section of the ADA requires TDD
> terminals in pay phone installations of some size > X.  If The Phone
> Company is allowing for equal access to the TDD, the possibility of a
> wheelchair customer might explain the low keyboard height and the
> slantex keyboard.

Perhaps I should have stated this explicitly ... a Public Phone 2000
is distinctly different from a TDD phone.  In both airports, I saw
TDD-equipped pay-phones in addition to the Public Phone 2000
installations.  These were, indeed, placed to make wheelchair access
easy.

With that in mind, the ergonomics of the PP2K (if I may coin a noun)
still need work.  At the stand-up kiosk, the keyboard would be a bit
high to be comfortable for a wheelchair-bound user.  The user would
have to peek over the top of the keyboard to see the available keys,
and crane the head awkwardly to see the screen.  This may be a moot
point, since the PP2K cannot communicate with TDD units, only with
standard 3/12/2400 bps modems.

In the sit-down kiosk, the wheelchair isn't a consideration, since the
opening wouldn't admit one.

> Disclaimer: I've not personally seen one of these new payphones yet,
> and also I recognize the increasing marketing attractiveness of some
> computer connection to a payphone.  But what I've heard, and the
> timing of their appearance, suggests to me that these phones were
> driven by the ADA.  Perhaps ongoing market research into who uses them
> and how will lead to increased availability of computer communications
> capability for business travelers as well.

Certainly, TDD installations are likely driven by the ADA.  I think,
though, that the PP2K is more driven by the growing electronic
communications market, in combination with the American preoccupation
with gadgets.  The PP2K is flashy looking, with an attraction mode
screen display on unused units.  It also offers access to translation
services and a few other options I didn't have time to explore.  The
PP2K will probably be used mostly by business travellers, as they need
to keep in electronic touch more than mere mortals.

Now, if AT&T and the airports were to join some forces, perhaps we
might see a PP3K that includes TDD access along with the rest of the
fancy features.


Roy M. Silvernail |+|  [e-mail]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #746
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
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To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #747

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 30 Sep 92 00:40:30 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 747

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Local Battery (Lars Poulsen)
    Re: Local Battery (Gabe M. Wiener)
    Re: Digital Cable Radio (was Thoughts About WFMT vrs WNIB) (John Higdon)
    Re: Digital Cable Radio (was Thoughts About WFMT vrs WNIB) (H. Pierpont)
    Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation (Robert L. McMillin)
    Re: What Does a DS-3 Circuit Terminate at? (Maxime Taksar)
    Re: Info Needed About "Nationwide Long Distance" Company (Bill Berbenich)
    Re: Internet White Pages (Paul Robinson)
    Re: Reference Books on Telecom Interfaces (Brent Capps)
    Re: Telephone System For a Cooperative Residential Development (B. Capps)
    Re: 800 Numbers Restricted by NYTel? (Laird P. Broadfield)
    Re: Funny 800 Number Spelling (Stephen Friedl)
    Re: Unusual Busy Signal (David Barr)
    Re: TASI (was AT&T Announces Encryption Security Device) (Jane Fraser)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Lars Poulsen)
Subject: Re: Local Battery
Organization: CMC Network Systems (Rockwell DCD), Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 18:25:31 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> Randy Gellens (MPA15C!RANDY@
TRENGA.tredydev.unisys.com) writes:

> In a local-battery phone, how was the battery charged?

Imagine, if you will, a five pound dry cell battery, about 9" high, by
7" wide, by 2.5" deep, rather oval when looked at from above.  The
battery would last for years and years, with normal usage.

When I was a kid, on a farm in Denmark, we had service from a manual
exchange. Good old-fashioned cordboard, with an operator, in whose
house the board was installed. Natural curiousity and an ear for
gossip (and the ability to mostly keep it to yourself) seemed to be
part of the requirements for the job. My mother once was talking to a
friend, who cautioned her not to tell any secrets "because Ellen at
the exchange is listening". "Oh no, she's not!!" came the outraged
comment from Ellen.

The telephone set had a coal grain microphone, and a hand crank for
signaling. You would crank both to start a call and to close it down.
The battery was on the wall under the desk, in a black plastic case.

Around 1960, KTAS (Copenhagen Telephone) went from operator-served to
"self-service" long distance service: When you needed a long-distance
call, you would mention the destination city, and wait for the next
operator, then repeat the procedure until you got to either the
destination, or (if the destination was in an automated area) to an
operator who could dial the call for you. It was quite interesting to
note how the same call could be routed differently depending on line
availability.

About 1963, everything went automatic. New wiring was installed
(underground instead of the old overhead cables) and new instruments
(Ericsson desk sets, the European equivalent of the 500 set) handed
out to everyone. We were quite excited about the high technology of
direct dial calls in our rural community. Of course, the drawback was
that we lost the operator-implemented "call forwarding" and "call
waiting" functions that we had previously enjoyed at no additional
charge!


Lars Poulsen, SMTS Software Engineer    Internet E-mail: [e-mail]
CMC Network Products / Rockwell Int'l    Telephone: [phone]
Santa Barbara, CA 93117-3083        TeleFAX:   [phone]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Gabe M Wiener)
Subject: Re: Local Battery
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Gabe M Wiener)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 15:03:41 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> MPA15C![e-mail].
unisys.com writes:

> In a local-battery phone, how was the battery charged?

It wasn't.  When you found that you started to have difficulty hearing
the calling party, you opened up the phone and replaced the battery.


Gabe Wiener - Columbia Univ.    [e-mail]
N2GPZ in ham radio circles      72355,1226 on CI$

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 01:39 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Digital Cable Radio (was Thoughts About WFMT vrs WNIB)


mc/G=Brad/S=Hicks/OU=[e-mail] writes:

> * a 24-hour toll free number to call to get the current selection and the
> two previous selections on any of the channels, listing artist, selection
> title, CD title, and publisher.

The system on my cable provides the current selection information
(title, composer, artist, record label and number) right on the remote
control in real time.

> (He was also telling me that they have a similar and older system in
> Japan that currently provides around 200 channels!)

Actually, it is over 400 channels. But many of them are not exactly
music. They are "environments". Birds tweeting, streams rolling, wind
chimes, and whale farts.

> Where I'm at, it adds $8 per month to your cable bill, including
> rental of the converter box and a remote.

Mine is $9.95, but apparently has a more useful remote. You also have
the option of buying the box and then paying only $4.95/month.

> And I've discovered some nice music by calling their toll free
> number to see what that was I was listening to!

That little remote information display has sent me to the record store
many times, which brings up an interesting point. The record companies
go into cardiac arrest whenever records are "played" for the public
with decent fidelity since they claim that it hurts sales. IMHO, the
opposite is true. And, I might add, that I STILL buy the CD even
though there is a digital output on the converter box that allows me
to record from the cable directly onto my DAT recorder. Of course, a
DAT tape costs as much as a CD and you do not get the liner notes!


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 09:40:19 PDT
From: 29-Sep-1992 1242 <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Digital Cable Radio (was Thoughts About WFMT vrs WNIB)


Brad Hicks mentions Digital Cable Radio and give a glowing review.  I
am involved with both Cable TV work [user and advisor] and with Public
Radio [consultant]. I am very interested in DCR.

He mentions:

> I'm writing this from work, so I don't have my cheat-sheet with me,
> but from memory they've got two classical channels (one of which plays
> full length symphonies and operas off and on throughout the week), one

Can you send me a copy of the "Cheat sheet"? Where are you located?
Any added information?


Thanks,

Howard Pierpont P.O.Box 937 Dayville CT 06241-0937 [phone] Home
Digital Equipment Corp. 77 Reed Road, Hudson MA 01752 Work
While this is partly related to my job, I seldom get to speak for them...

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 09:21:37 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Robert L. McMillin)
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation


In response to a missive by [e-mail], our Moderator
notes:

> [Moderator's Note: You mention the {National Enquirer}, but IMHO, they
> do not hold a candle to {World Weekly News} which is the one I read
> for the honest and thorough reporting missing in my competitor Kay
> Graham's two ragsheets {The Washington Post} and News Weak.  PAT]

Having seen this, it surprises me that nobody else has mentioned
similar possiblities for the National People's Radio Weekend Edition
program -- namely, "Weakened Edition", which it frequently is.


Robert L. McMillin                     | Voice:    [phone]
Hughes Aircraft/Hughes Training, Inc.  | Fax:      [phone]
Los Angeles, CA                        | Internet: [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Bravo!  I like it and shall remember it.   PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 11:51:08 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Maxime Taksar)
Subject: Re: What Does a DS-3 Circuit Terminate at?


In article <[e-mail]>, Peter M. Weiss <PMW1@psuvm.
psu.edu> writes:

> According to the _Link Letter_ March/April 1992 - Vol. 5 No.1, lead
> article "T3 Network Nears Full Production":

>       "Merit obtains NSFNET backbone services from ANS which
>       provides a major national network that operates at T3 speeds
>       using circuits provided by MCI and central networking
>       technology based on the IBM RS/6000 (TM)."

I stand corrected.  Aparently my information is outdated and ANS has
now upgraded to rs/6000s.  In any case, I'm certainly glad to hear it!


Maxime Taksar   KC6ZPS   [e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Info Needed About "Nationwide Long Distance" Company
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 16:36:40 EDT
From: Bill Berbenich <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I am very satisfied with Cable & Wireless (10223) and have had them
for almost a year now.  Data connections are always good and voice
quality is on a par with the "big three."

Some caveats -- they don't take residential customers generally, but
can be persuaded to do so.  There is a $5/month fee for smaller
customers, but my savings offset that.  Call setup times are
noticeably longer than for the "big three," but no more than an
additional second or two at the very most.  They also offer a
"no-surcharge" calling card, but the per-minute rate is a bit higher
than for the companies that do levy a surcharge.

Call Cable & Wireless and inquire.  They'll be happy to send you an
informational packet in the mail.  I've been very happy with having
switched.


Bill Berbenich, School of EE, DSP Lab    Georgia Tech, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
uucp: ...!{backbones}!gatech!eedsp!bill  Internet: [e-mail]

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992  20:36:31 EDT
Subject: Re: Internet White Pages


[Moderator's Note: I received a few others like this regards the
Internet White Pages message. The information is repeated below.  PAT]

[e-mail] (Ian Evans) wrote:

> I'm sorry, I missed your original posting on this.  Could you please
> send me the (corrected) information.

RFC 1202 states that ANYONE with an Internet Mail address is entitled
to have that address listed in the Internet white pages, provided they
send in an application to the registrar with their E-Mail address.

The address to send a response to is [e-mail] and give
the following information:

 Name:
 Internet Mail Address:
 Organization (if any):
 Address:
 City:
 State:
 ZIP / Postal Code:
 Country:
 Telephone:

Optionally, you may include telex and fax numbers if you have them.

Then send this information to [e-mail] and they should
issue you a code and list you in the WHOIS Internet White Pages.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Brent Capps)
Subject: Re: Reference Books on Telecom Interfaces
Organization: Atlas Telecom Inc.
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 21:38:27 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(thomas.e.lowe) writes:

> I am in need of some good reference books on the physical telephone
> interfaces and signaling used in many of the countries around the
> world (i.e. E1, R1, ISDN, etc.), including Switch to Switch and Switch
> to End-User interfaces.

> If you know of any good books, please let me know.

I'm assuming you're aware of CCITT Q.310-Q.490 and the G.700 series.

The only decent one I've found to date is:

   Attachments to Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN);
   General technical requirements for equipment connected to
   an analogue subscriber interface in the PSTN.

   European Telecommunications Standards Institute
   B.P. 152
   F-06561
   Valbonne Cedex
   France
   TP [phone]
   TF [phone]

   Price: 149 ECUs

However, it covers only line-side European analog POTS.  For DID,
ground-start and interoffice signaling, there is no such animal that
I've found after several years of looking.  I've had to amass a
library by contacting each and every PTT individually as I needed
info.  There is no royal road to signaling.


Brent Capps            | I am not responsible
[e-mail]   | for the views
[e-mail]  | of my employer.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Brent Capps)
Subject: Re: Telephone System For a Cooperative Residential Development
Organization: Atlas Telecom Inc.
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 20:33:11 GMT


Suggest you check out Solid State Systems/Cortelco of Kennesaw, GA.
They make a "relatively" inexpensive PBX/ACD system with a Residential
Resale package that is designed for applications like yours.  You can
either contact them directly at [phone], or you can go the
cheaper route of trying to find a used one thru {Telecom Gear}, etc.
I've worked on a lot of switches large and small, this one's pretty
good (and flexible).

Good luck.


Brent Capps            | I am not responsible
[e-mail]   | for the views
[e-mail]  | of my employer.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: 800 Numbers Restricted by NYTel?
Date: 28 Sep 92 18:54:08 GMT


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:

> Blocking 800 is sometimes done for fraud prevention.  One example is
> street drug dealers.  They often use payphones as their "office
> phones."  Clients usually contact their dealers through a pager, and
> paging companies often use 800 numbers.  This may not be a big issue
> any longer, since most pagers display the caller info.  Payphones in
> high crime areas often have both calling card blocked, and 800
> blocked, about the only thing callers can do is to drop in coins or
> call collect.

Wandering a little from the subject, but I'm confused by this.  Who
exactly is being "defrauded"?  The 800 carrier gets paid by the paging
company, which is happy to do so because they are paid by the paging
customer for the service they provide.

I'm missing something here ...


Laird P. Broadfield     [e-mail]    ...{ucsd, nosc}!crash!lairdb

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Stephen Friedl)
Subject: Re: Funny 800 Number Spelling
Date: 28 Sep 92 20:29:28 GMT
Organization: Steve's Personal machine / Tustin, CA


Ron Dippold writes:

> It's a 900 number [phone sex lines], but close enough ... 1-900-FUN-DUCK.
> Take a look at that "3" key ... I wonder how that one got by.

John Higdon writes:

> I know of no number-issuing entity, LEC or IEC, who will refuse to
> give out any number you want if it is available. I have several
> clients who have the last four digits '3825' for the very spelling you
> are implying.

There are valid reasons for getting 3825.  A company, Etak Inc, up in
the Bay Area makes mobile navigation systems that show a current map
on a display, letting you know where you are (pretty cool stuff).
Their phone number is nnn-ETAK, which coincidently maps to nnn-DUCK
and at least one other less fortunate word.


Stephen J Friedl | Software Consultant | Tustin, CA |     [phone]
3b2-kind-of-guy  | I speak for me ONLY |   KA8CMY   | uunet!mtndew!friedl

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (David Barr)
Subject: Re: Unusual Busy Signal
Organization: Telecom Research Labs, Melbourne, Australia
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 23:07:32 GMT


JOHN SCHMIDT <[e-mail]> writes:

> They have a pretty decent phone book, about 1" thick, includes white
> and yellow pages, printed from opposite ends of the directory, upside
> down from each other.  You flip the directory over vertically to
> switch from white to yellow pages!  Does anyone know anywhere that
> does this?

Telecom Australia does this for the phone books of area codes with
smaller populations.  For example, the phone book for (002) southern
Tasmania (The triangular shaped island below the Australian mainland).


David Barr
Telecom Research Laboratories   Internet: [e-mail]
M5/770 Blackburn Road           Phone:    [phone]
Clayton  VIC  3168  Australia   Fax:      [phone]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jane Fraser)
Subject: Re: TASI (was AT&T Announces Encryption Security Device)
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 12:42:32 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> dancer![e-mail]
(22501-sohl) writes:

> I don't know about today, but in the past there was.  A system called
> TASI was used on international cables to make use of the slices of
> silence in each direction.  I suspect it has long since been abandoned
> as circuit capacity has expanded tremendously since the time it was
> used.  The acronym TASI was something like: Time A????? Speech
> Interpolation I think.

It's either Assignment or Assigned.  If you really want details I'll
ask my father, John Fraser, who worked for Bell Labs for 35 years and
invented much of TASI.


Jane Fraser
Certified Bell Labs Brat


[Moderator's Note: Jane, we haven't heard much from you lately. Are
you still coordinating the telecom seminars at the University? You
used to send us announcemets of forthcoming events all the time.  PAT]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #747
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #748

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 30 Sep 92 01:29:18 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 748

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    SWBT Leaves St. Louis (J. Philip Miller)
    Cable Companies and Dial Tone (John Higdon)
    Additional Thoughts About Voice Mail Systems (John D. Gretzinger)
    Cellular Phones With Deals Attached (Paul Robinson)
    The Smallest US Telephone Company (Paul Robinson)
    1 vs. 1xx in Call to Motel? (Carl Moore)
    Information Wanted on Diskfax (Shrikumar)
    Cellular Interception in Private Talk (Fernando Fuentes)
    British Call Waiting (was My Favorite Intercepts) (Alan M. Gallatin)
    Re: My Favorite Intercepts (Sue Miller)
    Re: Why 'Die Hard II' Used Pac*Bell Pay Phones (Robert S. Helfman)
    Re: Why 'Die Hard II' Used Pac*Bell Pay Phones (Claude Zinngrabe)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (J. Philip Miller)
Subject: SWBT Leaves St. Louis
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 6:12:38 CDT


The big news of yesterday (other than Bush's visit :-) was that SWBT
corporate offices are moving from St. Louis to San Antonio.  Stated
reasons include the fact that SWBT gets 60% of its income from Texas
and to be closer to Mexico where it now has a significant ownership in
the phone company.

Maybe others closer to the action will wish to provide more
information, but according to the paper about 500 folks will move (out
of over 10,000 SWBT employees in St. Louis) and many of them were
unaware of the move until it was announced.


     J. Philip Miller, Professor, Division of Biostatistics, Box 8067
     Washington University Medical School, St. Louis MO 63110
     [e-mail] - Internet  [phone] [362-2694(FAX)]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 04:18 PDT
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Cable Companies and Dial Tone


Here is a good case in point to illustrate why I do not feel that
cable companies will be much of a threat to traditional LECs, at least
for awhile.

This morning as I was pleasantly listening to my DMX (cable radio) and
finishing up some software features for a client, the music died with
a bang. All thirty channels of the box were dead. All seventy-plus TV
channels were dead as well. The time: 3:30 AM. So I called TCI Cable
repair. I was informed that there was "maintenance" being performed in
my area and that the cable would be out for several hours.

Again, a word to all of you pretenders to the throne for local dial
tone service: this does not wash for telephone users. The cable lady
tried to placate me by saying that it was assumed that very few people
would be watching TV at this time of night. But when was the last time
your telephone went dead for several hours for "maintenance", even in
the middle of the night? Not even GTE does this!

Cable service may be expendable, but telephone service is not. If
cable companies think for one minute that any telephone service they
provide can even approach the unreliability of their entertainment
product, then the traditional LECs have nothing whatsoever to fear.
People live and work around the clock. No utility (and cable companies
are not utilities--yet) can presume to interrupt service, even during
the wee hours, to perform maintenance.

Side note: Our so-called electric utility in northern California,
Pacific Gas & Electric, does indeed turn electricity off IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE DAY to do maintenance. My electric service on Mt. Loma Prieta
has been turned off for hours in the middle of the day dozens of times
for routine maintenance. So here you have a monopoly, supposedly
regulated by the PUC, that provides worse than third world service.
My home telephone system and computers are all on a UPS, otherwise I
would be disconnected frequently. To call PG&E the GTE of electric
utilities would be an insult to GTE.

My point is this: either there are no minimum service standards for
electric utilities or (as I suspect) regulatory bodies are limited in
the influence they can exert to force a utility to provide acceptable
service. If cable companies or anyone else enter the dial tone
business, you had better be very careful. Nothing and no one can
guarantee minimum service levels.

The "Cable Bill" passed, but I hope no one really expects much to
change.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]


[Moderator's Note: I am reminded of MCI's service shutdowns in the wee
hours of the morning back in the late seventies and early eighties.
Those were the days when you had to dial some seven digit (not 950)
number, get their dial tone and place your call. As often as not,
about 1:00 AM, calls to their switch would ring open for an hour or
more. No explanation, no nothing. Asking MCI got me nowhere; I finally
sent an informal complaint to the FCC which required MCI to respond to
them with a copy to me: "Well", said MCI, "we have to shut down to do
our billing and routine maintainence work each day ... ". My followup
query to MCI/FCC was I wonder what time of day AT&T shuts down their
network to do billing and maintainence?  No answer, of course.   PAT]

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail] (John D. Gretzinger)
Date: Monday 9/28/1992  4:53 pm
Subject: Addtional Thoughts About Voice Mail Systems
From: [e-mail] (John D. Gretzinger)


I thought I would add some details to the Voice Mail discussions
currently underway.

Most (I used to say all, but after talking to John Higdon have to
revise that) PC based voice servers require the system to be brought
out of service when any service is required.  This includes backup of
data, retrieval of billing information, replacement of components,
etc.

Many also require the system to be managed only through the locally
attached keyboard.

For a service bureau with equipment at client sites, this causes a lot
of problems.  Remote diagnostics and administration is limited.  Also,
if management reports are required it is necessary to down the system
to retrieve the reports, and then put it back into service.

Stand alone machines are better in these areas, but costs are almost
always higher.  Their advantages include remote diagnostics,
(depending on the vendor) centralized management reporting, hot change
of components, management reports produced in background to voice
processing, etc.

GTE uses a mixture of machines in it's COs, but the primary machine is
from Digital Sound Corportation.  DSC is not interested in small
sites, and thus does not have a machine for the small business.  Also,
their IVR capability is severely limited at this time.  They have
announced capabilities for next year that other players have available
now.

If I had my choice, I would buy anything else.  My first choice would
be Centigram, then Octel.  I really like Centigram's approach to
business, machine management, and IVR development tools.  This is not
to say Octel is not real close.  Simply my impression and choice.

If you currently want to do IVR with DSC, you need to be very good
with low level C code, 'cause that's what you got now.


John D. Gretzinger       Internet: [e-mail]
[phone]           CI$:      73020,267
[phone]
Standard disclaimers apply - My employer had no opinions on anything.

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992  20:02:04 EDT
Subject: Cellular Phones With Deals Attached


On page B5 of today's (9/29) {Washington Post}, a place is offering a
cellular phone for a low price provided you take a one year contract
with Cellular One.

In the fine print it notes that "installation and antenna not
included, must be installed by" the selling company.

The current price is $9.95 for the phone.

I know that in places like California and North Carolina, tie-ins like
this are not permitted so phones sell at list price.

I'm not interested in getting a cellular phone, but just for inquiry,
does this seem reasonable if you were planning to use the particular
carrier anyway (I know the carrier gets you by offering a kickback to
the seller to get a customer on the assumption the customer will run
up charges with the carrier.)

Second, for anyone that has an answer, what is the maximum number of
nams you've seen for a single telephone.  Because of roaming and dual
carriers, I saw an ad in the {Los Angeles Times} which showed a cell
phone with QUAD nam capability.


Paul Robinson    Opinions not necessarily that of the owner of this account


[Moderator's Note: Cellular One here in Chicago is always running
deals like you mention. The other day an ad in the paper offered a bag
phone for a penny (yes, one cent!) provided you signed a contract with
Cellular One for some period of time. The most nams I have seen in a
phone was four. That seems to be about the practical, if not
theoretical limit.    PAT]

------------------------------

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992  20:09:33 EDT
Subject: The Smallest US Telephone Company


Here's a note I read once from before the breakup of AT&T.  Since I
don't know if it's been mentioned before I think I will anyway.

The smallest independent telephone company in the US is Buena Vista
Telephone Company of Florida which has only 34 subscribers.  33
Subscribers plus Walt Disney World.  The article didn't say so, but
the name "Buena Vista" makes me suspect that it's owned by the Disney
organization anyway.


Paul Robinson  [e-mail]    Opinions not necessarily anyone else's.


[Moderator's Note: We've discussed Buena Vista here before, and yes,
it is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Disney organization, mainly
intended to provide phone service at the Florida operation. It is not
the smallest phone company however. There is (or was) a guy in
Colorado who owned a telco with *eight* subscribers. Does anyone
remember the name of that one?    PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 11:02:33 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: 1 vs. 1xx in Call to Motel?


Recently, I wrote of a motel in Mechanicsburg, PA; the room phone had
a list of charge cards which supposedly were accepted on the phone.

I had called that motel earlier for a reservation.  Instead of getting
a person, I got a menu where I would hit 1 for a reservation (this got
the front desk) or the room number to call a room.  At that motel, I
saw some rooms (apparently not meeting rooms?) which were numbered
1xx, which seems to indicate a timeout resolution if I am indeed
calling the front desk.  The motel is the Comfort Inn at 717-790-0924.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 19:53:12 -0400
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Information Wanted on Diskfax


Hi,

   In a recent (24 Sep) issue of {Financial Times}, a certain Peter
Burton, ALpha Systems, UK, claims that their company was first (two
years ago) and not a recent Japanese introduction as reported earlier.

   The product he's talking about "takes a computer disk and send it
as a fax" or somesuch thing.

   Whats this thingummy? Anybody used it?


shrikumar ( [e-mail], [e-mail] )

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Fernando Fuentes SCC)
Subject: Cellular Interception in Private Talk
Organization: Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 23:02:33 GMT


Maybe this is not of interest in this group, but I'm very curious
about something. Last month, here in Chile, a senator had a private
conversation by a cellular phone. A day after, someone appeared on TV
who exposed to the people that conversation. A lot of controversy
have been happening since then.

Part of the controversy is related to the possibility of listening to
cellular conversation. I figured out that it is possible, but the
answer is how easy is it; what are the technical problems; can the
conversation be followed between cells?  I will appreciate an answer.


Fernando Fuentes
SECICO     Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Vicuna Mackenna 4860, Santiago, Chile    [e-mail]


[Moderattor's Note: We have touched upon this several times recently.
Cellular calls are quite easy to intercept on a scanning radio which
covers the 800 mh range of frequencies. The 'technical problems'
consist of sometimes having to make a small modification in the radio
itself. Conversations cannot easily be followed between cells.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Alan M. Gallatin)
Subject: British Call Waiting (was My Favorite Intercepts)
Date: 30 Sep 92 05:45:55 GMT
Organization: Duke University; Durham, N.C.


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
writes:

> The most boring intercepts are those from Germany (right to the
> point), the French outer territories (which always seem to be running
> on the winner of the wow and flutter tape unit award), India, which
> barely makes it out, and the old British standby, the long tone, which
> doesn't allow us to hear anything at all. :-)

The British have won my award for best call waiting handling anywhere.
A week or so ago, I was talking to a friend who lives outside London.
In the middle of our conversation, she got what she thought to be a
call-waiting beep (this was the first time she encountered
call-waiting over there ...) -- anyway, I hear her say "hold on"
followed by a click.  A few seconds later, I hear (in a VERY proper,
English voice), "I'm sorry, but the other person is temporarily
engaged on another call.  Please hold the line."  This cycled a few
times with a good ten seconds between repeats.  The recording got
interrupted by another click and my friend returning to the line.

I, for one, hate call waiting (I got it under protest, but enough
pepole that I talk to insisted that I get it).  I despise the idea of
making someone wait.  However, if you're going to do it, at least do
it with style!


Alan M. Gallatin <[e-mail]>
Duke University School of Law; Durham NC


[Moderator's Note: At one point Illinois Bell was considering music on
hold for the held party in a call-waited conversation. Nothing ever
came of it, but it might have been a pleasant addition, and certainly
one that IBT could have charged another dollar a month for!  :)   PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Sue Miller)
Subject: Re: My Favorite Intercepts
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 14:23:52 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
writes:

> The most boring intercepts are those from Germany (right to the
> point), the French outer territories (which always seem to be running
> on the winner of the wow and flutter tape unit award), India, which
> barely makes it out, and the old British standby, the long tone, which
> doesn't allow us to hear anything at all. :-)

The long tone took me aback when I was in England this summer.  I am
used to hearing some sort of diagnostic recording.  Luckily someone
explained it to me.  I also encountered another puzzling intercept
when I called someone in London from Boston.  "The line is parked" in
a wonderful fingers-up-the-nose accent.  I wasn't quite sure what that
meant, so I called the ATT international operator.  She didn't know
either, but obligingly rang up BT to ask.  As we suspected, it did
mean that the line was engaged.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Robert S. Helfman)
Subject: Re: Why 'Die Hard II' Used Pac*Bell Pay Phones
Date: 29 Sep 1992 15:46:26 GMT
Organization: The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Gordon D
Woods) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] wrote:

>> Dulles Airport is not located within Washington DC, it is located 40
>> miles away in Dulles Virginia, at the edge of Fairfax County.

Dulles is 16 miles west of the Beltway, so it is nowhere near 40 miles
from DC. (The mileage sign will be seen immediately after exiting the
Beltway, headed for Dulles. The problem with driving to Dulles is that
one never knows what kind of traffic will be encountered between DC
and the Beltway, so I always find myself leaving too much time.  Then
I end up driving those 16 miles at the slowest possible speed, since
the comfort -- and FM -- in the car always exceeds that found in the
now-overcrowded Dulles terminal!)

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Claude Zinngrabe)
Subject: Re: Why 'Die Hard II' Used Pac*Bell Pay Phones
Date: 29 Sep 1992 14:15:55 -0700
Organization: University Computing Services, Los Angeles


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Bob Prehn
(@ The Right Choice)) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] writes:

>> Chantilly, Va. is still around.  The airport was called Dulles after a
>> former U.S. Secretary of State.

> I may have missed an earlier article stating this but;

> Die Hard II was filmed at Denver's Stapleton International Airport.

No, it wasn't, the airport interior sequences were filmed at the Tom
Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.
That's why _PacBell_ pay phones were everywhere.  The snowy exterior
sequences were filmed at Dulles, and everything else was filmed at
20th Century Fox's lots in LA -- dirving production costs through the
roof because artificial snow ain't cheap.

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #748
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #749

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 1 Oct 92 01:43:00 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 749

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    CAST Roundtable Schedule, Columbus, OH (Jane Fraser)
    A Good Way to Play a Micro Tape Over the Phone? (Gail M. Hall)
    BU Phone Rates Go Up -- Advice Sought (Dipesh Navsaria)
    Sidetone (was LD Transmission Quality Comparison) (Hans Ridder)
    Need Information About PM and FM Actual Applications (Benjamin M. Garcia)
    Automatic Transfer of Calls (Carl Moore)
    New 540 Scam (Stan Krieger)
    Broken Phones (Randy Gellens)
    Question About Air Phones (Paul Robinson)
    Followup on X.25 Comments (Paul Robinson)
    Will a UK FAX Machine Work in New Zealand? (Peter Willis)
    Re: Internet White Pages (Henry Mensch)
    Re: Internet White Pages (Paul Robinson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 15:14:45 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: CAST Roundtable Schedule, Columbus, OH


CAST Roundtable Schedule for Autumn Quarter, 1992:

CAST, the Center for Advanced Study in Telecommunications, at The Ohio
State University, holds Roundtables every other week during the school
year for informal presentations and discussions.  If you are planning
to be in Columbus for one of these dates, please join us.

CAST Roundtables are every other Wednesday from 4:30 to 6 in Room 115
of the Ohio Legal Center, 33 West 11th Avenue.

 -- October 7 - John Dimmick, Department of Communication, OSU, on
"Telephone gratification and personal telephone networks." Professor
Dimmick will report on the results of two studies, one in Columbus and
one in Ohio.  Using the data from these studies, he (1) measured the
gratifications or utilities that underlie telephone use and (2)
developed a typology of personal telephone networks.

 -- October 21 - Stephen Williams (from Dayton) on his new company
that is working to provide turn-key Local Internet Gateway (LIG)
access systems for commercial and private use.

 -- November 4 - Robin Snyder on MetroComm, a local bypass operator
in Columbus.

 -- November 18 - John Fulton on Huntington Bank's Smartphone.

 -- December 2 - David Landsbergen (Department of Public Policy and
Management, OSU) on economic development and telecommunications.

Parking is available in the parking garage just north of the Ohio
Union on N. High St.  From the garage, walk south on High Street (past
the Union and the Law School) and turn right (west) onto 11th.  The
Ohio Legal Center will be on your left.

Reports on the CAST Roundtables are carried in our newsletter, the
CAST Calendar, available in printed or electronic form at no charge.
Send email to [e-mail]-state to subscribe (specify printed or
electronic form).

For more information, call Jane Fraser at 292-4129 or Sue Brown at
292-8444.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Gail  M. Hall)
Subject: A Good Way to Play a Micro Tape Over the Phone?
Date: 30 Sep 1992 20:30:32 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Gail  M. Hall)


Here is the situation.  I have a call-in dictation system that doctors
can use to call in to dictate their reports for me to type.

However, some doctors still like to use their little dictating
machines that they can carry in their pockets and would like their
secretaries to play the tape over the phone into my system.

Normally this is a very unsatisfactory process because the machine
they use is very "low-fi" and then with the relatively low fi from the
phone line, what we end up with is a mess.

I have seen those little gadgets in stores that can attach to the
phone line and that you can attach a recorder to to record a
conversation over the phone.  What I am wondering is:

1.  Can you reverse that little gadget to go through the phone line
by PLAYing it instead of on record to play the tape from the office
in order to avoid room noise, etc.?

2.  If not, is there somewhere an INEXPENSIVE gadget that will do the
same thing?  My dictation system dealer does not know of such a
product.  They make the little hand-held machines, the transcribers,
and the phone-in dictation systems, but not a thing like I am
interested in.

This would need to be an inexpensive item.  Doctors are not going to
want to pay big bucks for this as they have enough big bucks expenses
to worry about.

When doctors can use the phone my setup works very nice.  There are
some, though, that would really rather use their hand-held machine and
let the secretary send the whole tape via phone at one time.

Thanks for any good suggestions.


Gail M. Hall   Internet:   [e-mail]
Bitnet:     aa571%cleveland.freenet.edu@cunyvm    FidoNet: 1:157/2.4

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Dipesh Navsaria)
Subject: BU Phone Rates Go Up -- Advice Sought
Date: 30 Sep 92 21:05:58 GMT
Organization: Boston University


Over the summer, Boston University had contracted with New England
Telephone to modernize BU's phone system.  The results of the deal
were as follows:

  o No matter which option you pick, (Measured, Metropolitan, etc.), you
    receive "free" call waiting, three-way calling, speed dialing, touch-
    tone, ring-back, and service on your lines.

  o You must use AT & T as your long distance carrier with the special
    ACUS program which has been set up.  The supposed discounts are only
    in effect at certain times which many students find inconvenient.

  o Calling plans can no longer be used ... calling cards, however, still
    work.

   While the long distance portion of the changes did not affect me to
a great extent, I was annoyed at the new rates they've set up.  It
cost me $9.88 a month over the summer for basic measured phone service
and touch-tone, and now for that same service (plus the supposedly
"free" features which I don't want nor need), I'm being charged over
14 dollars.

   I called New England Telephone and discovered that their measured
service rate has _not_ changed ... but since I am a BU student, my
dorm phone service is now more expensive.  (I have lived in the same
room through the summer and into this academic year, and therefore
have had the same phone number.)

   I ask, what sort of ludicrous mess is this?  I absolutely refuse to
pay extra to help subsidize these uneeded services or the modernization
 ...  it appears BU has a habit of making massive changes without
consulting the people who will be paying for it in the end.

   New England Telephone should realize that students, most of all,
should be given a break instead of being forced to foot a bill like
this ... I am aghast at their actions.  I will not pay a cent more
than regular subscribers in Boston pay.

   I invite comments/thoughts/experiences from the readers of these
newsgroups.  I intend to send a strongly-worded letter to New England
Telephone, AT&T, and BU's Telecommunications Office soon.

   Now someone already flamed me for grousing over a few dollars when
tuition is already so much.  I won't go into my full reply here, but
it's more a matter of principle, considering that NET changed my
existing "normal" phone service into their new BU phone service
without _any_ notification ... I only heard of this from other
students and when my phone bill showed up and I called to inquire.

   The person who suggested that I post here said that I should check
and see if this billing scheme is permitted under tariff ... could
someone tell me how I would do that?

   Someone else suggested that requiring us to use a particular long
distance carrier may be illegal and suggested that I send a copy of my
letter to the state regulatory commission and the FCC.  Can anyone
shed any light on that?

   I appreciate any help ... I'll try to keep up with this newsgroup,
but I'd appreciate direct e-mail.  Thank you!


Dipesh Navsaria    ([e-mail])

------------------------------

From: Hans Ridder <[e-mail]>
Subject: Sidetone (was LD Transmission Quality Comparison)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation - DECwest Engineering
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 21:53:23 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> John Higdon <john@zygot.
ati.com> writes:

> Sidetone is simply the leakage from an imperfect hybrid and is not
> something that can be adjusted. To do that, one would have to use an
> adaptive hybrid and then intentionally and adjustably feed transmitter
> audio into the receiver.

I seem to remember reading (in an ITT manual, I believe) that the
sidetone was generated by *intentionally* unbalancing the hybrid
transformer.  Also, a friend of mine once had a phone with a "broken"
hybrid which produced *no* sidetone at all (or at least very little).
This always annoyed me as it fooled me into thinking the phone had
gone dead.

Lesse ... ah here's something.  In {Understanding Telephone
Electronics} by Howard W. Sams & Co.  Chapter 2, under Sidetone: "For
the hybrid used in the central office exchange, the balancing network
is adjusted so that no transmit signal appears at the receive
terminals and no receive signal appears at the transmit terminals.
However, for the induction coil [earlier explained to be an historical
name for the hybrid in a telephone set - hgr] arrangement in the
telephone set, the balancing network is intentionally unbalanced
slightly so that a small amount of the transmit signal is also fed to
the receiver of the talking phone.  This signal is called sidetone."

Admittedly, this isn't the most authoritative book ever printed on the
subject of Telecommunications, but it was handy.  Is it wrong?


Hans-Gabriel Ridder      Digital DECwest Engineering
[e-mail]      Bellevue, Washington, USA
{pacbell,pyramid,uunet}!rust.zso.dec.com!ridder

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Benjamin Millan Garcia)
Subject: Need Information About PM and FM Actual Applications
Date: 1 Oct 92 03:39:52 GMT
Organization: Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Queretaro


Hello, we are students and we would like to know about pulse and
frequency modulation, because we are coursing a lab in the University,
where they ask for this information. We will thank any help on these
topics.


[e-mail]     [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 17:26:58 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Automatic Transfer of Phone Calls


I have called the {Wilmington (Del.) News-Journal} sports-results line
(i.e., recorded info) at 302-324-2828 a few times recently.  I hear
about one or two seconds of some "on-hold" recording (music or a
spoken advertisement) and then get transferred automatically to the
sports- results recording.

302-324 is a New Castle prefix, reflecting the suburban location of
the {News-Journal} offices (they were formerly downtown).

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 07:40:42 EDT
Subject: New 540 Scam
Organization: Summit NJ


I just heard the following (7:20am 9/30/92) on WCBS radio (New York
City).

Arrests have been made in a 540 scheme that bilked a number of
businesses.  What would happen is that a "messenger" would show up at
a business to pick up a package or letter, and when told there was
nothing for him or that there must be a mistake, he would ask if he
could use the phone to call his boss.  After making the call, he would
apologize for the mixup and leave.  But the call itself was to his, or
his employer's, 540 number, with a $225/minute charge.

The scam itself wasn't discovered until NY Telephone sent out monthly
bills and started receiving complaints.


Stan Krieger                 All opinions, advice, or suggestions, even
UNIX System Laboratories     if related to my employment, are my own.
Summit, NJ   [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: MPA15AB![e-mail]
Date: 30 SEP 92 02:37
Subject: Broken Phones


> [Moderator's Note: I'm one of those people who when they see or
> experience a pay phone out of order actually calls it in to repair
> service. It is interesting to go past a week later and see how many of
> the called in repairs have actually been done and how many of the pay
> phones are still out of order.  PAT]

Once, I was driving in Philadelphia and had to make a phone call.  It
was hard enough finding any pay phones, but every one I did find was
broken in some way.  When I finally found one that worked, I reported
as many as I could remember.  Either no one reports broken phones, the
telco doesn't fix them, or people break them faster.


Randy Gellens            [e-mail]
>>>>>>> If mail bounces, forward to [e-mail] <<<<<<<<
Opinions are personal; facts are suspect; I speak only for myself

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Tdarcos)
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 12:44:00 -0500
Subject: Question About Air Phones
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In a movie I saw last night on TV, a woman wanted to call someone and
saw an airplane telephone.  She "swiped" her credit card through the
mag card reader, removed the card, then took the handset away.

Is this correct?  She ended up with both the handset and the credit
card (she did put the handset back).  I thought that the base unit
required that it retain the credit card to prevent someone from
(accidentally or intentionally) walking off with the handset.

These opinions ARE those of the owner of this account.


Paul Robinson

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Tdarcos)
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 14:14:08 -0500
Subject: Followup on X.25 Comments


In response to the question about network access to Slovakia, X.25 is
a packet switching method, and has nothing to do with the network it's
on.  It's like ZMODEM being used as a file transfer method.


Paul Robinson  -- [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: Peter Willis <[e-mail]>
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 16:29:01 BST
Subject: Will a UK FAX Machine Work in New Zealand?


A colleague of mine wants to take his UK group 3 FAX machine to New
Zealand.  He wants to know if it will work in New Zealand and if he
will have to modify it in any way. For example what is the mains
voltage in New Zealand? What type of telephone line connector will be
required? Will MF4 dialing work?


Thanks in advance,

Peter Willis,  [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Henry Mensch)
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 10:00:19 -0700
Subject: Re: Internet White Pages
Reply-To: [e-mail]


extracted from RFC 1202:

Network Working Group                                            M. Rose
Request for Comments: 1202       Performance Systems International, Inc.
                                                           February 1991


                      Directory Assistance Service

Status of this Memo:

   This document defines a mechanism by which a user-interface may
   access a textual DAP-like interface over a TCP/IP connection.  This
   is a local mechanism.  This memo provides information for the
   Internet community.  It does not specify any standard.  Distribution
   of this memo is unlimited.


The second to last sentence is important: "It (this RFC) does not
specify any standard."  Nobody is obliged to do what is written in
RFC1202.

Furthermore, the content of RFC 1202 doesn't even mention "Internet
White Pages," or how to register.


# henry mensch / booz, allen & hamilton, inc.  / <[e-mail]>

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992  17:26:30 EDT
Subject: Re: Internet White Pages


[e-mail] (Henry Mensch) writes:

> The second to last sentence is important: "It (this RFC) does not
> specify any standard."  Nobody is obliged to do what is written in
> RFC1202.

> Furthermore, the content of RFC 1202 doesn't even mention "Internet
> White Pages," or how to register.

My apologies.  I had the RFC number wrong.  The statement is on page
12 of one of the FYI RFCs. It could be 1252, 1302, or 1352.  I had an
accident with some industrial solvent splashed in my eye and as a
result I make some mistakes reading some items.

The term "White Pages" is not used in the RFC I was thinking of.  (I
have read it elsewhere.)

The RFC that I was thinking of, allows anyone with an Internet
accessible E-Mail address, to register their name, mailing address and
other information such as telephone number, along with registering
their E-Mail address with the NIC center at [e-mail].  I
saw it clearly stated in the RFC and I'll go back and look.  (It's
probably a 1300 series since I have all of those on my computer.)

I will get the exact RFC number, and page number, and send it to you
and the Digest.  My apologies for this mistake, I will see to it that
it is not repeated.


Opinions not necessarily anyone else's.

Paul Robinson   [e-mail]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #749
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: "\\telecom"@eecs.nwu.edu
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #750

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 1 Oct 92 09:41:39 CDT    Volume 12 : Issue 750

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Tony Harminc)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Scott Fybush)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Henry Mensch)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Roger Fajman)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Gary Wells)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Steve Forrette)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Dave Niebuhr)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Bob Goudreau)
    Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing (Charles McGuinness)
    Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000 (Edwin G. Green)
    Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000 (Richard Jenks)
    Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000 (Henry Mensch)
    Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000 (Steve Forrette)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 19:55:29 EDT
From: Tony Harminc <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing


[e-mail] (david.g.lewis) wrote:

> 1.  The 1+ can be required for 10-D calls, and required to be absent
> for 7-D calls.  The 1+ is therefore the indicator to the switch to
> expect ten following digits.  This is called the "prefix method".

> 2.  The 1+ is "optional" from a dialing point of view (e.g. is used to
> indicate local/toll).  A four-second Final Digit Timer is started
> after seven digits are received.  If this timer times out, the switch
> interprets the number as 7-D; if a digit is received before the timer
> times out, the switch expects a 10-D number.  This is called the
> "timing method".

> 3.  The 1+ indicates local/toll, and the switch examines the three
> digits following the initial 1.  If they are an N0/1X which is not
> assigned as a CO code in the NPA, they are interpreted as an NPA code
> and seven more digits are expected.  If they are an N0/1X code which
> is assigned as a CO code in the NPA, a Final Digit Timer is started
> after four more digits are received, as in the timing method.  If they
> are an NNX code, only four more digits are expected.  This is called
> the "hybrid method".

> Bellcore recommends the prefix method as the standard dialing
> procedure.

There seems to be a fourth method which avoids all the problems, as
far as I can see: simply avoid using for CO codes any NPA codes that
contain locally-callable numbers.  I believe this is exactly what is
going to be done when 416 splits to 905 next year.

So (from a 416 number):

486-nnnn                 a local call within 416
905 477-nnnn             a local call to a 905 number
1 905 468-nnnn           a toll call to a 905 number
905 468-nnnn             recorded warning - "please dial 1 first"
905-nnnn                 no such number - times out to recording
416-nnnn                 no such number - times out to recording
1 416 234-nnnn           a toll call within 416 (actually there won't be any)
212-nnnn                 a local call within 416
1 212 456-nnnn           a toll call to a 212 number

No timeouts (ugh!) are necessary.  1+ means "toll call", which many
people like (I don't want to reopen that whole argument).  The telco
can (and I think should) allow 1+ for local calls too without problem.

Now if 416 splits again in a few years, and (say) new style NPA code
260 is assigned and some numbers within 260 are a local call from 416,
then the only numbering restriction is that 260 must not be assigned
as a CO code within 416.  This can be planned for a long way ahead.

260 439-nnnn            a local call to a 260 number
1 260 687-nnnn          a toll call to a 260 number

How many area codes (even with overlays) can be within the local
calling area of one city?  Five is pushing it.  Ten is almost
certainly not going to happen within the life of the NANP.
Restricting a handful of CO codes from assignment seems a pretty small
penalty to pay for consistency.


Tony H.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 21:17 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Scott Fybush)
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing


The 1+ can be VERY ambiguous near an area code boundary.  Take the
example of Lowell, Mass., if you will.  Lowell is in NPA 508.  About
20 miles away, 508-635 is Acton, MA ... intra-LATA toll.  Adjacent to
the Lowell exchange, but just over the state and LATA line, is
603-635, Pelham NH.  Pelham is a local call from Lowell.

Here's what happens with various combinations of 1+ and NPA when
calling from Lowell:

635-XXXX   call connects over New England Tel to Pelham NH as a local call.
1-635-XXXX call connects over NETel to Acton MA as a toll call.
1-508-635-XXXX not allowed
1-603-635-XXXX call connects to Pelham as a toll call through chosen IXC.

I cannot imagine this making sense to someone who's never been in
Lowell before.

The same situation applies at the other end of 508, where Fall River.
MA has local calling to 401-635, Little Compton, RI.

When NETel had the opportunity to start things fresh in 1988, they
made sure that local calls across the 617-508 line (and there are many
of them, especially for suburban Boston customers with Metropolitan
Service) must always be dialed 1-508-NXX-XXXX.  As I write this, I'm
at home (617-891) logged on to a modem in 508-651, a local call.
Although there's no 617-651, I'm not allowed to dial seven digits to
508-651.  My dialing string must always begin ATDT*701508651 ...

I'm glad it's that way.  Kludges like the NH-MA and RI-MA ones just
add unnecessary confusion to an already complex dialing system.  They
also violate the Bellcore precept that one must always be able to dial
1-NPA-NXX-XXXX on any call, since 1-603-635-XXXX from Lowell does not
offer the same local call billing that 635-XXXX offers.  (To NETel's
credit, they DO make this clear in the call guide section of the phone
book.)


Scott Fybush -- [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Henry Mensch)
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 09:42:14 -0700
Subject: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing
Reply-To: [e-mail]


[e-mail] (John R. Levine) wrote:

> and in fact you dial 1 + 718 + number to make a local call from
> Manhattan to Queens, or 1 + 917 + number to call a beeper or fax
> machine within Manhattan.

I'm interested to see how they're going to enforce this last bit ...
how can the phone company control where fax machines appear on the
network?


# henry mensch / booz, allen & hamilton, inc.  / <[e-mail]>

------------------------------

From: Roger Fajman <[e-mail]>
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992  19:12:26 EDT
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing


Here in the Washington, DC, metro area we have three area codes (202,
301, 703) with local calls between area codes.  The dialing
requirements are as follows:

Local calls within area code:  seven digits;
Local calls between area codes:  area code + seven digits (no leading 1);
Toll calls:  1 + area code + seven digits (even within your own area code).

Dialing 1 + ten digits is generally allowed for local calls.

So it is possible to maintain the "1 means toll" idea without
timeouts.  It just means that you can't have an exchange that is the
same as one of your local area codes, which would probably confuse
people anyway.


Roger Fajman                    Telephone:  [phone]
National Institutes of Health      BITNET:     RAF@NIHCU
Bethesda, Maryland, USA          Internet:   [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Gary Wells)
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing
Organization: Percy's mach, Portland, OR
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 19:41:27 GMT


Washington just switched to N0N/N1N exchanges.

I can't say _for sure_ how it is implemented in the switching centers,
but the practical result is that you had better dial all ten digits on
every call.  Failure to do so has resulted in either a wrong number,
or a "sorry" message.

Get used to it, people.  Phone numbers have always been ten digits
long, we just got to take shortcuts.  Mostly due to truely stupid
equipment (remenber when you could dial another number in the same
exchange with only three or four digits?).  We just don't get anymore
free lunch.

Still working on _natural_ intelligence.


[e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 02:21:16 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:

> My cellphone is in 313-600, and I can dial seven, ten, or eleven
> digits.  This works because cellular switches always know how many
> digits you dialed.  The phone doesn't send the number to the switch
> until you press the "spend" key.

A couple of years ago, most of the cellular carriers on the west coast
went to the "1 means toll" scheme, although a leading 1 is never
required from a cellular phone because of the technical reasons you
mention above.  It used to be that you could dial long distance as seven
or ten digits -- now a leading one is required.  You can still dial ten
digits if the call is local, and 1+ is allowed for local calls if you
choose to dial that way.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 09:25:02 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing


In TELECOM Digest Volume 12 : Issue 746 [e-mail]
(John R. Levine) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> is written:

> In New York and New Jersey, you dial 1+ before an area code.  Calls
> within the area code are dialed without a 1.  In the 212, 718, and 917
> areas, all calls within and among 212, 917, and 718 happen to be local
> (or at most message units) so there's no issue of 1+ for toll, and in
> fact you dial 1 + 718 + number to make a local call from Manhattan to
> Queens, or 1 + 917 + number to call a beeper or fax machine within
> Manhattan.

Not quite correct.  Area code 516 which adjoins area code 718 does not
require 1+ dialing for any type of call.  It's N0X/N1X-NNX-XXXX for
out of area code and NNX-XXXX.


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 12:00:20 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Bob Goudreau)
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
writes:

> However, dial zero first is a different can of worms.  Dialing zero
> before a phone number always meant you wanted assistance from an
> operator (or a mechanized one), not that you were necessarily going to
> dial an area code.  So area codes and N0N/N1N exchanges have always
> been distinguished on zero-first calls in Los Angeles by timeout.
> Dial zero, seven digits and wait awhile.  Of course if the second
> digit after the 0 is non-zero/one, the timeout becomes unneeded, but I
> don't know if all dialing equipment in use here is that smart.
> Besides, timeouts will be necessary in this case in the future when
> area codes start using non-zero/one second digits.

Not unless your telco continues to botch this.  Southern Bell already
gets it right (at least in the Raleigh area): *no* eight-digit dialing
is ever needed or supported.  All direct long distance calls,
regardless of whether they cross an area code boundary, must be dialed
as 1-NPA-NXX-XXXX.  All operator-assisted calls (LD *and* local) must
be dialed as 0-NPA-NXX-XXXX.  (Direct intra-NPA local calls continue
to be dialable as NXX-XXXX.)  No ambiguities are possible, so no messy
timeouts are needed (other than the usual one after the initial "0" in
operator-assisted calls).


Bob Goudreau        Data General Corporation
[e-mail]    62 Alexander Drive
[phone]        Research Triangle Park, NC  27709, USA

------------------------------

From: Charles McGuinness <jyacc![e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 9:53:11 EDT
Subject: Re: N0N/N1N Exchanges and 1+ Dialing


In Vol 12 Issue 744, wariat![e-mail] coments:

> Within area codes which contain N0N or N1N exchanges, is it always
> required to dial all ten digits of numbers within the area code?  If
> not, how can the switching network distinguish between (for example)
> the following two calls made from Manhattan:

> 1-818-xxxx (In-area, calling 818 exchange);
> 1-818-www-xxxx (Calling 818 area code).

The first gives me a fast busy, the second goes through.  Of course,
Manhattan is a bad example, as all calls in 212 are "local"*, and 1+
is only to be used to precede an area code.

* There is no such thing as "unmeasured" service, just untimed in
Manhattan.  All calls cost at least 10.6 cents, minus time of day
discounts.


Charles

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 08:58:34 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Edwin G Green)
Subject: Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000
Organization: AT&T


[e-mail] (Roy M. Silvernail) writes:

> [regarding the AT&T Public Phone 2000]

> Now, if AT&T and the airports were to join some forces, perhaps we
> might see a PP3K that includes TDD access along with the rest of the
> fancy features.

The Public Phone 2000, when equipped with a keyboard, can be (and
almost always is) a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD).


Edwin G. Green    AT&T Bell Laboratories     Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
INH 1E-506        317-845-3659     [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Richard Jenks)
Subject: Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 13:36:16 GMT


That's my only real complaint -- it was great to have a place to plug
my modem into!


Rick Jenks, Staff Member       | Voice1   505-667-0912
Los Alamos National Laboratory | Voice2   503-493-2212
Mailstop K551                  | FAX      [phone]
Los Alamos, NM  87545  USA     | Internet [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Henry Mensch)
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 09:45:47 -0700
Subject: Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000
Reply-To: [e-mail]


[e-mail] wrote:

> In Issue 745, Tony Harminc <[e-mail]> writes:

>> You'll be tickled even pinker when you don't get the bill.

> I made two short calls on a 2000 in late August, using my AT&T Calling
> Card.  To my surprise, I received a bill from AT&T instead of a charge
> in the AT&T section of my NJ Bell bill.  So far as I can tell, my
> Reach Out America charges did not apply to the long-distance charge
> portion of the bill.  I almost tossed the letter, thinking it was an
> ad for some new service, until I noticed the first class postage.

Also worth noting: I tried to use one of these devices at JFK last
year (and was not successful; despite apparent correct configuration,
it would not talk to my true Hayes or Telebit modems here) ... six
months later I got a bill for $11.00 which I've written them about: "I
won't pay this bill because the device did not work." They keep
sending bills, but they don't get antsy or urgent about it ...


# henry mensch / booz, allen & hamilton, inc.  / <[e-mail]>

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 01:44:42 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> cybrspc![e-mail] (Roy
M. Silvernail) writes:

> On a trip to California last week, I had the chance to try out an AT&T
> Public Phone 2000.  This is the one with the terminal screen and
> keyboard, and a swipe-reader for your calling card.  Pretty nifty
> gadget.

> It'll be interesting to see what the bill looks like.  The posted
> rate is $2.50 for the first ten minutes.

The bill for the call comes in two parts: One for the call, which
appears on your regular calling card bill, and a separate bill for the
terminal rental.  This bill appears to come from a division that bills
just for this purpose.  It seemed like a waste of resources to me to
send out a separate bill, especially in my case where my rental fee
was under $10.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #750
******************************