Telecom/1996-04-telecom-walnutcreek.iso/back.issues/1992.volume.12/vol12.iss851-900

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Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 23:58:43 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #851

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 15 Nov 92 23:58:45 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 851

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    AT&T to Offer a 900 MHz Cordless Phone (Brent Whitlock)
    AT&T ISDN Buffoonery (David E. Martin)
    Third Party Billing (Richard McCombs)
    Book Review - Two Books About Telegraphy (Jim Haynes)
    InterOffice Trunk Help Needed (Bill Garfield)
    Severe Combinet Problem (David E. Martin)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Brent Whitlock)
Subject: AT&T to Offer a 900 MHz Cordless Phone
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 18:27:12 GMT


I saw a post in another group saying that AT&T will be offering a
900MHz cordless phone soon.  I was wondering if anyone else has more
information about this.  I apologize if this was already discussed
here; I haven't read this Digest for a while, and I don't have access
to any archives (at least none that I am aware of.)  Thanks.

 --- INCLUDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS ---

 From: [e-mail] (Victor Grund)
 Newsgroups: misc.consumers
 Subject: AT&T to offer 900Mhz Cordless Phone
 Date: 13 Nov 1992 05:15:57 GMT

This evening I asked about 900Mhz cordless phones at my local AT&T
Phone Store.  I learned that AT&T indeed has developed a 900Mhz model
but has delayed introduction due to last minute changes in the FCC
rules for the new frequencies.  Look for an AT&T version in January,
priced at approximately $280.  They also claim a 1-2 mile range.
Yeah, right.  I'd like to see that in writing!  They didn't know if
the AT&T model would be standard analog, like the Panasonic, or
digital, like the VTECH Tropez.


Victor D. Grund        | [e-mail]
IBM Cleveland Mktg Ops | [e-mail]
RISC System/6000 & AIX | DETVMIC6(VGRUND)
[phone]         | FAX: [phone]

 --- END INCLUDED MESSAGE ---

    * * * * * * --> DISCLAIMER:  I speak only for myself. <-- * * * * * *
Brent Whitlock        Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology
[e-mail]    Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
            University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign


[Moderator's Note: You have access to the Telecom Archives, where all
back issues of this Digest (eleven year's worth!) are stored. You can
use anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Then 'cd telecom-archives'.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (David E. Martin)
Subject: AT&T ISDN Buffoonery
Date: 15 Nov 92 18:41:07 GMT
Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory,  Batavia, IL,  USA
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I have had ISDN into my home since April.  I use it to tie into the
Fermilab network from my home PC.  When I first had the service
installed, I thought I might need to my some out-of-LATA ISDN data
calls.  Therefor, I called AT&T and asked what the rates would be.
Unfortunately, no one at AT&T could give me a rate schedule, and
supplying area codes and exchanges produced widely varying prices.
Finally, I gave up and prefixed a circuit-switched data call with
10288 and decided to wait for the bill.  The calls never showed up on
my Illinois Bell bill and I forgot about it.

Today in the mail I received a bill directly from AT&T for the three
calls that I made using 10288 in April (Nothing like timely billing!).
The interesting part of the bill:

NO    Date    Time    To Place    Area-Number  *  Min   AMOUNT
1.    Apr 22    1110AM    Batavia  IL    708-840-xxxx D    10.3    4.22
2.    Apr 22    1211PM    Batavia  IL    708-840-xxxx D      .5     .30
3.    Apr 23     635AM    Batavia  IL    708-840-xxxx N      .5     .25

I called the customer service number listed on the bill (800-544-6514)
and asked for an explanation.  The woman I spoke with said they had no
access to billing information, but if I faxed my bill to her (she has
an 800 number for her fax) she would explain the bill.  I asked if I
could just get a rate chart, and she said the only one she had was put
out in February and was out of date.  She said that call cost was
based on time and distance (in air miles).  I asked to speak to her
supervisor.

I got Phil Huntley, who said I needed to fax him my bill before he
could help at all.  When pressed, he said that all calls in IL are
charge at $0.20 for the first half-minute and $0.004 for each
additional six seconds, regardless of distance or time.  When I said
this didn't agree with my bill or the woman I first spoke with, he
demanded that I fax him the bill and he would call me right back.  I
faxed him the bill and half an hour later yet another woman called me
back and said they are investigating and will call me next week.

Anyone know how to beat a Switched 56/64 rate chart out of AT&T?


David E. Martin
National HEPnet Management                      Phone: [phone]
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory           FAX: [phone]
P.O. Box 500, MS 368; Batavia, IL 60510  USA    E-Mail: [e-mail]

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

Subject: Third Party Billing
From: [e-mail] (Richard McCombs KB5SNF)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 21:02:28 CST
Organization: The Red Headed League; Lawton, Ok


I work at a motel and I just had confrontation with a customer because
I would not allow her to charge a call to her home phone. She became
verbally abusive and I almost didn't get to explain to her that when a
call was charged to a third party unless it was verified at the time
of the call that when that party's bill came they could say that it
wasn't their call and it would be put on her bill.  (That is maybe a
run-on sentence but I'm still upset with the tone she used with me.)
At the end I said "If you don't like it get a Calling Card."

Why don't people get Calling Cards?

Why don't they understand that if they are here and nobody is home
then how can anyone tell if they are charging it to their own phone,
or their enemy, or something they pulled out of the air?

The real question is why do the phone companies continue to allow
third party billing?

I guess it is because they can always stick someone with the bill.


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: Why didn't you suggest that she use the payphone
and place the call? Why didn't you let the telco operator handle the
matter and avoid the hassle for yourself? If the number she billed it
to was the number shown as her home phone on her registration card at
your motel, and you saw some form of identification from her when she
checked in, I'd think that would be adequate protection for the motel.
In addition, Calling Cards are quite phreakable; I presume if she had
a phalse Calling Card number that could have posed a problem also.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jim Haynes)
Subject: Book Review - Two Books about Telegraphy
Date: 15 Nov 1992 09:15:22 GMT
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz


Review - Two Little Books about Telegraphy

1. Collectors' Reprint of Bunnell Student's Manual of 1884.
   privately printed by L. A. Bailey, 909 S. Evergreen Ave.,
   Clearwater, FL  34616.  48 pp. $8.00 ppd.

2. Railroad Telegrapher's Handbook, by Tom French.  Artifax
   Books, Box 88-D, Maynard, MA  01754. 60 pp.  $11.95 ppd.

I found these books advertised in "Dots and Dashes", the quarterly
newspaper of the Morse Telegraph Club, Inc. (subscription $7.00 per
year to R. A. Iwasyk, 12350 W. Offner Rd., Manhattan, IL 60442)

The "Student's Manual" is a beautiful reproduction of the 1884
original, including the gray cover.  J(esse) H. Bunnell & Co.  was a
leading manufacturer of telegraph instruments in the 19th century and
remained in business, doing a lot of contract manufacturing for
Western Union, until, I guess, the 1960s or later.  In contrast to the
reality reported by Edwin Gabler this booklet suggested excellent
employment prospects existed for telegraph operators.  The first topic
covered is the technical explanation of the telegraph, consisting of
battery, line wire, transmitting key, and sounder.  The battery
described in the wet gravity cell, containing copper sulphate and a
zinc "crowfoot" electrode.  Line wires are usually made of iron, for
cheapness and strength; while copper insulated with silk or
gutta-percha is used inside buildings.  The earth is used as one
conductor, so that a single wire may be used per circuit.  They key
and sounder are described next.  Earlier practice was to use a
register to record signals on paper tape. After several years of
practical telegraphy operators discovered they could read the
characters by the sound of the instrument as easily as by looking at
the marks on the tape; so registers fell into disuse.

Next the student is instructed in detail how to set up and care for
the battery and connect and adjust the instruments.  Then he or she is
to practice alone sending, practice sending and receiving with a
companion, and practice sending and receiving with the companion in
another room, or in another house.  Several pages are devoted to
details of learning the code.  This is followed by examples of
messages and discussion of common abbreviations and telegraph office
practices.  The popular amateur radio signal '73', now usually
rendered as "best regards", was in use in that day as "accept my
compliments."  Then there is a discussion of how to construct private
lines, and the need for a lightning arrestor.  It is noted that the
total resistance of the sounders should nearly equal the total
resistance of the line wire, showing that the maximum power transfer
theorem was known (whether by theory or by trial-and-error) in that
day.  The book concludes with a catalog of instruments available from
J. H. Bunnell, and page of testimonials to the excellence of Bunnell's
keys.  Keys, sounders, batteries, etc. are all illustrated.  The back
cover shows the appearance of Bunnell's store and factory at 112
Liberty Street, New York.

The Railroad Telegrapher's Handbook is a newly-written (1991) book
that tells all about how Morse telegraphy was used on railroads until
nearly the present time.  (An article in Dots and Dashes reproduces a
train order that was received by Morse in 1982, on the
Burlington-Northern, and may have been the last train order so
transmitted.)  Lists of operating rules are given, presumably taken
from the rule books of actual railroads, along with sample train order
messages.  Railroad telegraphy is a lot more complicated than the
ordinary Western Union office.  Railroad messages are critical to
safety; some messages are not complete until they have been repeated
back to the sender, delivered to the addressees, read and signed by
the addressees, and the signatures transmitted back to the sender.
Most require multiple copies.  A railroad operator would write with a
stylus on thin, translucent paper, using double-sided carbon paper.
Semaphore signals and the hooks for delivering messages to the crews
of moving trains are described.

Wiring diagrams are given for an operating table connected to several
lines, and for a Morse repeater.  There is a map of the New Mexico
Division of AT&SF, showing how various offices are connected to
several line circuits.  A selector system is described, which allows
calling up a particular telegraph office without requiring operators
to listen constantly for their office call letters.  (Most circuits
were "way" operated, meaning that several offices were connected by
the same circuit and sounders at all responded to all the traffic on
the line.)

The book is made all the more enjoyable with reproductions of
advertisements that appeared in trade magazines: typewriters,
telegraph instruments, Vibroplex keys, swivel chairs, shorthand
instruction, and an attachment to enable a bicycle to be ridden on the
railroad rail.  The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad was
advertising for operators "able to copy Morse at 25 words per minute,
and should be in good physical condition."  as recently as 1954.  Of
considerable interest in this day when we hear so much about
repetitive motion injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome, there is an
advertisement for Telegrapher Liniment, which never fails where
directions are followed implicitly.  "Operator's Paralysis or Writer's
Cramp comes like a thief in the night, and almost before you are aware
of it you find it impossible to send any kind of readable Morse."
Another advertisement is for the "Operator's Friend" a massage or
exercise device whidh "prevents and cures telegrapher's paralysis and
writer's cramp."  The front cover reproduces an artist's illustration
from the front cover of a 1904 telegrapher's magazine, showing a young
man clad in white shirt, high collar, and vest working at his key
while a uniformed trainman waits at his elbow for orders.  There are
two pages of railroad slang and two pages of bibliography.


[e-mail] [e-mail]

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

Subject: InterOffice Trunk Help Needed
From: [e-mail] (Bill Garfield)
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 20:13:00 -0600
Organization: Ye Olde Bailey BBS - Houston, TX - 713-520-1569
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Bill Garfield)


Background:

I have two MITEL SX2000SG 3-cabinet PBX's side-by-side in my office.
Southwestern Bell service arrives via 44.736 Mbps (DS3) fiber
terminating in Rockwell equipment.  The PBX's are digital, The trunks
are digital. There is no channel bank equipment at my end.  Network
synchronization is derived from SWB.  Span status logs indicate *NO*
frame slips, *NO* bit errors and no CRC errors. Everything is in sync,
fat, dumb and happy.

Two CO's across town (near a business associate) I have another MITEL
three-cabinet SG.  Just coincidentally, this machine is served by the
same CO as my business associate (about more later).

Only the PSTN service from SWB and my IXC feeds (USS) are non ISDN.
All the MITELS derive network sync from one of the machines here at
the corporate office, which in turn derives its sync from SWB.  We've
tried different sync sources, even let 'er go freerun without any
change in the problem. Zero suppression is AMI -- throughout the
network ... I've checked.

The problem: For a _very_ long time now I have been having fits trying
to RELIABLY receive 9600 bps FAX transmissions from a very large
business associate across town. (Two central offices away). The brand
of fax machine in use at either end has no bearing, as we've both
tried several brands, multiple machines on multiple extensions.

In desperation, I installed a copper POTS line (from SWB) direct to
ONE of my 170 fax machines (yes, 170!).  This works SWELL, but doesn't
address the central issue of the business associate being unable to
reliably send long, multiple-page fax messages from any of his 75 fax
machines to any of the other 169 machines at my corporate office.  In
answer to the obvious question, neither we nor the business associate
are experiencing any fax problems with anyone else that we know of.

Testing and research: A few nights ago, the business associate & I
attempted sending nearly 100 fax images from his location to mine via
the SWB PSTN. As it was off-peak, all my PBX's were basically idle, so
I was able to busy out selected DID T-1's, thereby effectively
"steering" his inbound fax calls from SWB onto specific individual
T-1's, and recording the span and channel number being seized.  I
thought I was going to find a bunch of bad trunks. I didn't. What I
found was that whenever a specific trunk WOULD pass his fax image to
me flawlessly, the next time the SAME trunk got selected the fax would
fail. We tried these same tests on nine different SWB DID T-1's,
busying out eight spans and leaving one span of 24 trunks open.

The failure rate was nearly identical. Five of these spans are served
by a 5AESS and the other four by a 1A, but that too seems not to
matter.  When things failed, as they did at an alarming rate of 50% of
the time, the fax machines would experience difficult link
negotiations and then sync up at 4800 or 2400. The received image
captured from a marginal link contains SERIOUSLY misaligned pixels --
it looks like a noisey image, but at close scrutiny, it isn't noise,
as no "extra" gibberish is present.  The desired image was there, but
with literally thousands of "holes" in it from "missing" pixels. The
missing pixels are all there, but are scattered about the page,
appearing as noise dots.  The received image is so mutilated as to be
virtually unintelligible.

Brainstorm!  I took an unused DID number on my downtown PBX (near the
associate) and "routed" it via my internal ISDN trunks to send the
call to the same fax machine on the same extension, cable and pair,
but using my internal trunks instead of Bell's.  This WORKS! - So WHY
can't ma bell give me usable fax circuits over her PSTN?  What's
different?  I strongly suspect inter-machine trunk trouble between the
National and Clay central offices, but how do I prove this and how do
I get through to the teledroid at repair service that we're
experiencing this problem on ALL 216 DID trunks?  Profound thoughts
and ideas are welcomed.


Ye Olde Bailey BBS    Houston,Texas
Node 1: 1 713 520 1569  yob.sccsi.com

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

From: [e-mail] (David E. Martin)
Subject: Severe Combinet Problem
Date: 15 Nov 92 18:24:25 GMT
Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory,  Batavia, IL,  USA
Reply-To: [e-mail]


!!!!!!WARNING TO THOSE USING COMBINET ISDN-ETHERNET BRIDGES!!!!!!

There is a severe problem with Combinet's ISDN bridges.  In the event
that the internal table of 1500 ethernet addresses gets filled up, the
bridge echoes local LAN traffic back onto the LAN.  This can cause
massive problems in a large network.  In fact, the Fermilab network
experienced almost total outage until the problem was traced to the
Combinet bridge.

If your network has more than 1500 ethernet devices, you are
susceptible to this problem. A quick fix is to set the aging time to a
small value (like 60 sec).  Combinet is working on a fix.


David E. Martin
National HEPnet Management                     Phone: [phone]
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory          FAX: [phone]
P.O. Box 500, MS 368; Batavia, IL 60510  USA   E-Mail: [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #851
******************************










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Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 02:16:59 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #852

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 16 Nov 92 02:17:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 852

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Dialing Changes in New England Tel Land (Scott Fybush)
    New Area Code Blitzes Cell Phone User (Mark Earle)
    Transcontinental ISDN Project (TRIP '92) (Nigel Allen)
    MCI MAIL Announces "Full Support" of Internet Gateway (Randy Gellens)
    Dial Tone on CATV (Randy Gellens)
    Help With Locating DSP Expertise ([e-mail])
    British Telecom Profits ([e-mail])
    Dumb Question About LATA/Toll (Bill Hofmann)
    NEC Electra-16/48 (Martin Zimmerman)
    Internet Conversion Document (Paul Robinson)
    Cross-Over Switch With RJ14C (Charlie Rosenberg)
    Source Wanted For Area Code Information (Daniel Furnier)
    'Allo 'Allo; Paris, France Included in the New Los Angeles Area (R.Gellens)
    Measure Twice, Cut Once ... (David Lesher)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Scott Fybush)
Subject: Dialing Changes in New England Tel Land
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 19:51:38 -0500 (EST)


New England Tel is getting ready for the introduction of NNX-style
NPAs in a few years.  This morning's papers announce that the end of
1-NNX-XXXX dialing for long distance within area code is imminent.
NETel is replacing it with NNX-XXXX, which IMHO is a mistake, since
there are some rather expensive calls that can be made within NPAs
here, and the telecom-illiterate will have no easy way of knowing
whether the NXX-XXXX they're about to dial is around the corner or 100
miles away.  I would have preferred 1-NPA-NXX-XXXX, but I'll have to
live with what they've chosen (and for me in 617 there are only about
a dozen NXX's that will change anyway).

The announced phase-in dates are:

February 1993:  Westfield, Russell, and Monson MA (413-562, 568, 572;
                 413-862; and 413-267).

by December 1993: all of 413, 401, 603, and 802.

by 1994: all of 207, 508, and 617.

Accompanying this change in 508 will be a revision of dialing
procedures for local calls which cross state lines.  Consumers now
dial just seven digits; henceforth they'll dial 1-603 or 1-401, as the
case may be.  Presently calls dialed with 1-603 or 1-401 are carried
by an IXC and billed at toll rates; presumably NET will intercept
those calls in the switch and carry them themselves.  Anyone really
wanting to pay toll rates will presumably be able to dial 10XXX first.

No word on whether calls in the other direction will have to use
1-508, or whether seven digits will continue to be used.

BTW, all the local media did a good job reporting the story
accurately, noting the way the change will make 640 new NPAs
available, and even mentioning that New England Tel will be able to
add new NXX-style exchanges (although it obviously was not phrased
that way).  If anyone heard the version of the story that aired on WBZ
radio Friday morning 11/13, I'd welcome comments ... I wrote it and
tried to make it both telecom-accurate and accessible to the
non-telecom listener.  I hope it worked :-)


Scott Fybush -- [e-mail]
These are not the opinions of WBZ radio or Group W.

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

Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 14:56:32 CST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: New Area Code Blitzes Cell Phone User


This last weekend (November 7) a friend and I were in Houston
attending a conference. He is from San Antonio, which the week prior
had officially cut over to area code 210 (from 512). He dutifully went
and had his portable cmt reprogrammed, and reports calls in and out
worked fine all week while in San Antonio.

Upon arriving in Houston, he tried to make some calls, but got
constant reorder -- no message. Upon checking with customer service,
it turns out that GTE Mobilnet hadn't updated "something" and believed
his phone number and esn not to match the data base, and thereby
denied him service. He was unable to use his phone the entire weekend.
No one in CS seemed to be able to do anything for him; it "might" be
fixed by Monday, they said.

Seems like, with over a year's advance notification of the exact date,
and all the publicity, *someone* at GTE Mobilnet would have considered
this and done whatever updates were required.

Oh well. At least my phone (on the same carrier as my friend's,
Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems) worked, since my home area, Corpus
Christi, did not change with the new A/C.


[e-mail] (Mark Earle) [WA2MCT/5]-=  +
FidoNet at       Opus 1:160/50.0
Bitnet           [e-mail]1
Internet  [e-mail]

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

From: Nigel Allen <[e-mail]>
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 19:00:00 -0500
Subject: Transcontinental ISDN Project (TRIP '92)
Organization: Echo Beach


Many telephone companies, including Bell Canada, will be offering
ISDN demonstrations in connection with the Transcontinental ISDN
Project (TRIP '92) next week.

TRIP '92 will focus on three major elements - demonstrations of
actual applications of ISDN, national interconnectivity of ISDN
through the interexchange network, and a series of activities
centered in the Washington area.

For information about Bell Canada's participation in TRIP, call the
Communications Seminar at  [phone] in Toronto,
[phone] in Ottawa or [phone] in Montreal.

For more information on ISDN demonstrations in your area,
call the Corporation for Open Systems International (COSI) at
1-800-759-COSI voice or 703-848-4572 fax, or the ISDN manager
at your local telephone company.

A message from Bell Canada follows:

The week of November 16-20, 1992 has been chosen as it coincides
with the industry's most extensive event of the year - the
Transcontinental ISDN Project 1992 (TRIP '92). TRIP '92 heralds the
arrival of National ISDN-1, the first ISDN service based on standards
accepted by all vendors in North America.

The week-long program includes a number of two-hour tours
scattered throughout each day, three or four per day, starting
Tuesday, November 17 through Friday, November 20. Each tour will
be hosted by numerous live demonstrations of the latest ISDN
applications. Each day, except Friday November 20, will end with a
one-hour Video Dial-up multipoint demonstration, between 5-6 PM
and cocktail reception, sponsored by Canadian distributors of
videoconferencing equipment.

The program will be held simultaneously in the three Bell
Communications Seminars located in Toronto - Bell Trinity Square,
Ottawa - Place Bell Canada and Montreal - Place Victoria.

As this is certain to be a busy week, please confirm your attendance
by calling the Communications Seminar, listed below, and reserve for
this most exciting event.

 Toronto : 416-581-2400
 Ottawa: 613-785-2020
 Montreal: 514-875-2511

We look forward to seeing you there.


Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044

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

From: MPA15AB![e-mail]
Date: 15 NOV 92 04:00
Subject: MCI MAIL Announces "Full Support" of Internet Gateway


A flier in this month's MCI MAIL bill announces "Full support of MCI
MAIL's gateway to the internet!" and notes that the connection was
"previously experimental."

I know when I've complained in the past about mail never arriving, MCI
MAIL told me the gateway was experimental.  I assume this announcement
means it is now supported.

Randy Gellens                [e-mail]|
A Series System Software                 if mail bounces,  forward to|
Unisys Mission Viejo, CA                         [e-mail]|
Opinions are personal;   facts are suspect;   I speak only for myself|


[Moderator's Note: I'll be happy if they can manage to deliver this
Digest on a timely basis to our fifty-plus subscribers on that network
without dumping the whole thing undelivered back to me. Hopefully part
of their 'full support' includes compliance with Internet standards
for delivery of mail.   :(   PAT]

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

From: MPA15AB![e-mail]
Date: 15 NOV 92 04:03
Subject: Dial Tone on CATV


With all the talk about cable companies wanting to compete with LECs
for local dial tone, I started wondering: how can a cable company
offer dial tone, when their cable runs out from their office, with
houses strung off it (instead of LEC wires, which form individual
local loops with houses)?  How can they keep everyone's calls
separate?  I guess they could put everyone on a different frequency,
but that would probably use up all of the cable, and then some.  Don't
they want to leave room for TV?


Randy Gellens                [e-mail]|
A Series System Software                 if mail bounces,  forward to|
Unisys Mission Viejo, CA                         [e-mail]|
Opinions are personal;   facts are suspect;   I speak only for myself|

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

From: [e-mail] (Tretech Solutions Inc)
Subject: Help With Locating DSP Expertise
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 15:05:32 GMT


I have a client in need of some expertise in Digital Signal
Processing.  They are developing algorithms for modem chips.  They
have specific needs for folks with V.FAST, V.32, or V.17 standards
experience.  There is an excellent career opportunity available with
our client for the right person.  Does anyone have any suggestions
where I can find this expertise?

Please E-mail response to: [e-mail].


Thanks in advance,

Frank

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

Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 15:34:44 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: British Telecom Profits


Hello,

I recently noticed this on teletext (textual information sent with the
TV picture -- I don't remember the technical name!):

British Telecom (BT) recently announced pre-tax profits of 1.027bn
pounds (sterling) for the six months up to 30 September, this being
36.2% down on last years figure of 1.61 bn.(NB 1 bn = 100,000,000).
This (apparently) works out at about 65 pounds profit a second
(compared to last years 102 pounds). BTs voluntary redundancy program
has led to a loss of thousands of jobs from the company and a
reduction in profits due to their payments.

With these sorts of figures, it is not surprising that BT is facing
stiff competition from other providers (CATV). Perhaps due to this
and/or excessive profits BT has charge all calls within the UK on
Sunday afternoon/evening at local rates for two of the last Sundays.
Maybe they are listening to their customers?? I don't suppose so!


Cheers.

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

From: [e-mail] (Bill Hofmann)
Subject: Dumb Question About LATA/Toll
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 17:47:16 GMT


It truly is a dumb question, probably a definitional one.  Are all
intra-LATA calls non-toll, and all inter-LATA calls toll, by
definition?

Following on to that, can anyone suggest some good basic documents
about the structure of telecom in the US, so I don't ask these
questions again?  Also, various people have posted LATA information.
Is information about what prefixes of a given NPA are in a given LATA
(if there's > one LATA per an NPA) available, and if so, from whom?
What's a good first phone number to call with questions like this?


Inquiring minds need to know.

Bill Hofmann ([e-mail])


[Moderator's Note: LATAs are the geographic territories each telco is
allowed to serve. It could sort of be compared to their 'franchise'
territory. Usually you'll see one telco per LATA, but not always.
LATAs can be and frequently do cover a wide geographic area. In such
cases, there will probably be toll calls between various intra-LATA
points. On the other hand, two communities which sit on opposite sides
of some boundary line (such as a river, or a state line dividing an
urban area in two parts) may well have a different LATA (and possibly
a different telco) on each side of the boundary -- yet calls between
the two sides will be treated as 'local calls' by mutual agreement
between the telcos if there happen to be two of them. I guess it would
be safe to say that with the exception of places right along the edge
of a LATA, inter-LATA calls would in most cases be a toll call; not
because of the different LATAs, but because of the mileage involved.
Does anyone know the exact rule by which LATAs were drawn up?  PAT]

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

Date: Sun 15 Nov 92 16:04
From: [e-mail] (Martin Zimmerman)
Subject: NEC Electra-16/48


Our office just moved, and with our new building, we got a new phone
system.  Well, it isn't exactly "new", but it is newer than the one we
had before.  It is an NEC Electra-16/48.

I am still new to all this PBX talk, and it is a bit of an annoyance
that I have yet to discover how to program and use this thing, let
alone any of it's capabilities.  We have one manual called
"INSTALLATION SERVICE MANUAL" which is rather cryptic. It assumes
that you know all the PBX lingo and what you are doing.  On top of all
that the local telco no longer supports this beast so we have to get
someone from a differnt company in to make any changes to the wiring
or programming. We develop software and hardware here, so this is all
right in line with the technical capabilites of myself and a few other
employees.

How do I do anything with this? Where can I find out more information?
Does anyone still manufacture options for this? (The manual is dated
1983).

All I have to do is learn, so where do I look first? Hopefully
comp.dcom.telecom is the place to start.


Cheers,

Camz.


[Moderator's Note: You've come to the right place. If anyone knows,
the readers here will know.   PAT]

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992  21:57:15 EST
Subject: Internet Conversion Document


I have sent to the Telecom Archives a combined document describing the
correlation between Internet domain names, Telex Answerback codes,
Country telex numbers, and international telephone numbers.

This document is titled "internet.txt".  I have submitted it also to
the Internet RFC Editor, Jon Postel, for inclusion as an Internet RFC,
and as such, it should be published there in about one month.

Here's a sample from the first few lines:


                                Telephone        TELEX
                                 Country   COUNTRY  ANSWER   Internet
   Name of Area/Country/Item      Code     CODE      BACK    Domain

 Abu Dhabi (UAE)                    ----    949       EM      AE
 Academic Internet clients          ----    ---       ---     EDU
 Adeli Land                         ----    ---       ---     ---
 Adv. Res. Proj. Agc. - US DOD      ----    ---       ---     ARPA
 Afganistan                           93    930       AF      ---
 Ajman (UAE)                         971    949,958   EM      AE
 Alaska (USA)                       1907    ---       UA      AK.US



Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]
These opinions are mine alone.


[Moderator's Note: This is now available in the Telecom Archives and
is accessible using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu, then 'cd telecom-archives'.
My thanks to Paul Robinson for sending it along.  Other new files
in the archives are revised Zone 7 and Zone 8 IDDD city codes and a
file on MCI Mail interconnections throughout the world. Thanks to all
who have donated files in recent days.  PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 19:23:33 PST
From: Charlie Rosenberg <[e-mail]>
Subject: Cross-Over Switch With RJ14C


I am looking for a cross-over switch with modular phone connections.
I currently have a tee attatched to both jacks of a two line phone and
from those tees, one line goes to a fax and the other to a modem.

I often need to swap those lines to make a long distance call on one
device or the other.  I am open to other scenarios to achive the swap,
anything that avoids the unplugging of phone cords all the time.

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

Subject: Source Wanted For Area Code Information
From: cccbbs![e-mail] (Daniel Furnier)
Date: 15 Nov 92 06:48:00 GMT
Organization: Cincinnati Computer Connection BBS-Cincinnati,OH - 513-752-8248
Reply-To: cccbbs![e-mail] (Daniel Furnier)


I am a AT&T System 75 Administrator, I also run two predictive dialing
systems.  Does anyone know where I can find out each time a new area
code comes out?  The phone company never notifies me and I usually
find out a few weeks after the fact by my phone operators.  And a lot
of the time, I am not sure if the areacodes I am dialing are correct
or if someone made a data entry error.


Thank you,

Dan Furnier

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

From: MPA15AB![e-mail]
Date: 15 NOV 92 20:22
Subject: 'Allo 'Allo: Paris, France is Included in New Los Angeles Area


This is from {Computergram} (Nov 5 & 6, '92)

+            'ALLO 'ALLO: PARIS, FRANCE IS INCLUDED
                IN THE NEW LOS ANGELES AREA CODE

Strange but true -- telephone users in Los Angeles have been trying to
dial local numbers, only to find themselves put through to France. A
slip of the finger? Apparently not -- Joshua Greenbaum, a freelance
writer based in Paris has received eight different calls in the last
month from callers in Los Angeles who dialed a local number. The final
twist -- which propels the affair into the Twilight Zone -- came when
a Los Angeles-based acquaintance tried to dial the facsimile machine
on the desk next to him and found himself talking to his Paris-based
buddy.

The next day a call appeared on Greenbaum's answering machine, a
recorded conversation in which a Pacific Bell operator explained to
Greebaum's Los Angeles chum that she had just tried to call the
number, had got no connection and that anyway "it is absolutely
impossible to dial a seven-digit number in Los Angeles and get
connected all the way to Paris, France". The problem seems to be a
glitch in the implementation of a new Los Angeles area code: all of
the callers who mistakenly got through to Greenbaum were trying to
call a number within the new Los Angeles 310 area. The code for Paris
is +331. Will the tangled tale ever get sorted? In the words of the
immortalised PacBell operator "Well, sir, I'll just have to check into
this."

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

From: David Lesher <[e-mail]>
Subject: Measure Twice, Cut Once ...
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 21:51:46 EDT
Reply-To: [e-mail]  (David Lesher)
Organization: NRK Clinic for habitual NetNews abusers - Beltway Annex


ClariNet/UPI reports that AT&T's cable from Japan to Point Arena,
California came up six miles short.

Oops ...

    Hey boss...
    Suppose we yank hard and pull up the slack?


[e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #852
******************************










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Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 21:08:45 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #853

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 16 Nov 92 21:08:40 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 853

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Cable & Wireless Announces Major Alliance With BCE (Nigel Allen)
    Announcement: Short Course on MPEG Compression (Steve Haigh)
    AT&T Language Line -- A Practical Query (Will Martin)
    Testing Long Distance Connections (Tom Holodnik)
    Looking For Three-Slot Coin Phone (John Simpson)
    NovAtel Cellular Systems (Gregory Youngblood)
    Nicad "Memory Effect" (was Cordless Phone Newbie Question) (Paul Cook)
    What Equipment is Required For Switched 56k? (Monty Solomon)
    Broadcasting Towers (Hector Salgado-Galicia)
    Dimension 2000 Guru Wanted (Patrick M. Landry)
    Telephone Lines Being Disconnected; Question (Paul Robinson)
    "Porthole" For Routing Cables Through Walls? (Don Jackson)
    They Love to Tell the Story (Mark Brader)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Nigel Allen <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 19:00:00 -0500
Subject: Cable & Wireless Announces Major Alliance with BCE
Organization: NDA


Here is a press release from Cable & Wireless.  An employee of the
U.S. subsidiary of Cable & Wireless posted it in the MDF echo on
Fidonet.

      CABLE & WIRELESS ANNOUNCES MAJOR ALLIANCE WITH BCE

London, 11 November 1992 -- Cable & Wireless today announced the
formation of a major alliance with BCE whose principal subsidiaries
provide a full range of telecommunications services and systems to
almost three quarters of the Canadian population.

The new alliance is to be supported by BCE acquiring a 20 percent
shareholding in Mercury for 480 million pounds and Cable & Wireless
investing 30 million pounds into BCE's UK cable TV interests.

Announcing the alliance, Lord Young, Executive Chairman of Cable &
Wireless, said: "This advances the strategy of both Cable & Wireless
and Mercury.  Our partnership with one of the leading
telecommunications companies will give us access to understanding
research and development facilities.  We look forward to working with
BCE across the world, especially in Europe.

"Our investment in BCE's cable TV interests will greatly enhance our
ability to access residential customers and small and medium sized
businesses reinforcing Mercury's role as the second force in UK
telecommunications."

BCE, Canada's largest company, recorded turnover of 10.4 billion
pounds and profit before tax of 1.3 billion pounds in the year ended
31st December 1991.  Its core business is in the provision of
telecommunications services and the manufacture of telecommunications
equipment.  The corporation's principal subsidiaries include: Bell
Canada, Canada's largest supplier of telecommunications services;
Northern Telecom, one of the world's leading suppliers of fully
digital communications systems; and Bell-Northern Research, Canada's
largest research and development organization and a world leader in
the design of advanced telecommunications systems.

BCE's President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. L.R. Wilson,
commented: "This alliance represents a major step in BCE's strategy of
expanding our global interests in our core telecommunications
business.  Cable & Wireless is one of the largest and most broadly
based international telecommunications companies and is a strong
partner.  BCE's investment in Mercury will significantly enlarge our
earnings base and open opportunities for further international
investment in partnership with Cable & Wireless."

The net cash to be generated from these transactions will be applied
in reducing Cable & Wireless' gearing.  Mercury will be substantially
debt free after the transactions.

Cable & Wireless will maintain management control of Mercury.
However, BCE will have management involvement including the right to
appoint two directors to the Board of Mercury and have a senior
executive appointed to the company's Chief Executive's Committee.

The Cable & Wireless investment in BCE's UK cable interests of 30
million pounds of long term capital will be a combination of equity
and convertible securities.  Cable & Wireless will have an initial
shareholding of 12 percent, rising to 20 percent on full conversion.

BCE has two major investments in the UK cable industry: an 80.4
percent interest in East London Telecommunications Limited and a 30.7
percent interest in Videotron Holdings Limited.  Together the two
companies hold 14 franchises in Central London covering approximately
60 percent or 1.6 million of London's homes, as well as franchises in
Winchester and Southampton covering 200,000 homes.  The franchise
areas also give access to an estimated 120,000 small to medium sized
businesses.

Agreements covering the acquisition of the interests in Mercury and
BCE's UK cable interests are expected to be signed shortly.
Completion, which will be subject to the fulfillment of certain
conditions including regulatory approvals, is expected in January
1993.

Cable & Wireless has been advised by Lazard Brothers & Co., Limited
and Lazard Freres & Co., Limited.


Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Haigh/VDSP)
Subject: Announcement: Short Course on MPEG Compression
Organization: Cypress Semiconductor/San Jose, CA
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 20:01:44 GMT


Part 1: MPEG video. 9am - 5pm, Nov 30th -Dec 2nd 1992. $600.

Part 2: MPEG audio and systems. 9am - 5pm, Dec 3rd - Dec 4th 1992. $500.

Parts 1 and 2: $1000.

At the Techmart. Great America Parkway, Santa Clara, California.

This short course is designed for engineers, managers and
professionals seeking an overview of the key concepts and techniques
in video and audio compression for entertainment, communications and
multi-media applications.  The presentation will not dwell on complex
mathematical proofs and no prior knowledge of video techniques or
digital signal processing is assumed.  Instead, the course will lead
participants through a descriptive and substantive review of video and
audio compression without getting mired in complexity.

Presented by Steve Haigh, Director of video DSP, Cypress Semiconductor.

Part 1 introduces transform based video coding and the draft ISO
standard MPEG video compression algorithm.

Day 1:

o Applications for video compression.
o Overview of spacial, temporal and entropy coding.
o Motion video coding for MPEG and Px64 (h.261).
o Transform based coding of images.

Day2:

o Motion estimation and compensation of moving picture sequences.
o Entropy coding.
o Quantization, rate buffer control and encoding techniques.
o Performance requirement for real time coding and decoding.

Day3:

o MPEG 1 bit stream syntax.
o MPEG 2 work in progress.

Part 2 introduces MPEG audio compression layers 1 through 3 and the
MPEG systems layer.

Day 1:

o Psychoacoustics.
o Quadrature mirror filters.
o MPEG audio layers I and II.
o MPEG audio layer III.

Day 2:

o MPEG audio bit stream syntax.
o Performance requirement for real time coding and decoding.
o MPEG systems overview.

Attendance is limited to 30 people. Payment can be made with Visa,
Master Card or American Express.

Call 408 943 2904 for more details and registration.

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 8:47:41 CST
From: Will Martin <[e-mail]>
Subject: AT&T Language Line -- A Practical Query


There's been some mention in recent Digests about the AT&T Language
Line service, and I've seen ads for it in various law-enforcement
magazines.  While the people who've used it and reported on it here
have given clear descriptions of how it works, I am still confused by
one aspect of using it. While it is pretty obvious how one can set up
a conference call when one knows what language interpretation will be
needed, how does it work in the opposite situation -- when a call
comes in to you in an unknown language?

I usually see these ads in the context of something like 911 service,
where a non-English-speaking individual is calling in an emergency
situation.  It has never been explained just how the caller's unknown
language is identified.

For example, suppose you are a 911 dispatcher for an agency that
subscribes to AT&T Language Line. You get a call from a
frantic-sounding individual and what you hear sounds like "Deegle
bangle skoov YAWP!". What do you do if your inquiries in English (or
any other languages you know) get no intelligible responses? After
all, you have no idea if this is Uzbek, Tamil, Xosa, or whatever (and,
face it, the average US native knows zilch of foreign tongues).

Does the AT&T LL have some sort of "Identification Service" where you
can patch in a person trained to recognize different languages who
will then route the call to the proper interpreter? If so, how do you
make clear to the individual on the other end that they have to wait
and hold on while this conference call is set up? Considering that the
caller is in some form of emergency, it is not unlikely that limited
English-language skills may have deserted him due to the emotional
state he is in. How long does this call set-up process take, anyway?
(I can't see putting the caller on "hold" and then expecting him to
still be there when the emergency center and the LL people come back
on-line ...)

I've never seen this situation addressed in any of the AT&T LL ads
I've seen, so I suspect it might be an insoluble problem, or at least
one they have not yet been able to cope with. Yet it would seem to me
to be one of the prime reasons a government operation like a 911
dispatch center would subscribe to an LL-like service. Anybody know
just how this situation is handled by AT&T LL?


Regards,

Will   [e-mail] OR [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 10:57:32 -0500 (EST)
From: Tom Holodnik <[e-mail]>
Subject: Testing Long Distance Connections


Is there a way I can test a particular modem over a long distance
line, without travelling long distance?

The things I'd like to test are:
    - whether a particular modem is sensitive to noise unique to long
distance connections.
    - whether a particular modem works better over one long distance
carrier than another.

The gist of this is that I'd like to know, per long distance carrier,
how to set up a long distance loopback.  Is this possible?  Would I
need to enlist the aid of another party somewhere?


Thanks (much),

Tom Holodnik    Network Development    Carnegie Mellon University

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

From: [e-mail] (John Simpson)
Subject: Looking For Three-Slot Coin Phone
Organization: University of Oregon Network Services
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 17:54:25 GMT


I've always enjoyed the sound of the coin bells inside the old
three-slot payphones.  I would like to own one for myself to use
inside my residence.

Of course I would want a coinbox key!  I have two big questions,
first, is it kosher to have a coin phone on a private residential
line? Second, where can I buy one of these beasts?


John Simpson   Voice    [phone]
               Fax      [phone]
               CIS       74106,2203
Internet  [e-mail]

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

Subject: NovAtel Cellular Systems
From: srcsip!tcscs![e-mail] (Gregory Youngblood)
Reply-To: srcsip!tcscs![e-mail]
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 14:46:05 CST
Organization: TCS Consulting Services


I'm trying to compile a list of cellular networks that use the NovAtel
cellular system.  It should be noted that Northern Telecom bought
NovAtel in July or so of this year.  I know NovAtel systems, and am
hoping to find a job with one of these people.

If anyone can help out with this I would greatly appreciate it, and so
would my wife. :)

Thanks in advance.


Greg
TCS Consulting Services   P.O. Box 600008   St. Paul, MN  55106-0008
 ..!srcsip!tcscs!zeta                ..!src.honeywell.com!tcscs!zeta
 .   [e-mail]                 tcscs![e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 22:00 GMT
From: Proctor & Associates <[e-mail]>
Subject: Nicad "Memory Effect" (was Cordless Phone Newbie Question)


In a recent TELECOM Digest, [e-mail] (Elizabeth Schwartz)
writes:

> 4) Is this thing supposed to be left in the base or can I bring it
> outside and wait for it to ring? Does it have to stand up in the base?

[e-mail] (Bill Pfeiffer) responds:

> No need to keep it in the base, except for charging.  However, it is
> best NOT to keep charging and recharging. Better to use the batteries
> until the battery-low light comes on.  Continued short charges can
> cause the battery to aquire a short-memory, and begin to lose it's
> ability to stay charged for a full term.

Actually, the "memory effect" myth about nicad batteries has been
pretty well debunked.

Turns out that a memory effect can only be demonstrated under very
carefully controlled lab conditions, where the cell is slightly
discharged hundreds of times to exactly the same discharge point.
Otherwise it does not exist.

The most damage done to nicad cells by the memory effect is when users
attempt to fully discharge the cells to avoid the mythical effect, and
then drive it into reverse polarity, damaging the cells.

Sorry I don't have references with me on this.  There was an article
in the past year in QST (a ham radio magazine, published by the
American Radio Relay League) about this, and a few years back there
was an item in QST Technical Correspondence from a battery engineer at
Gould explaining that memory effect in nicads does not exist.

The myth is quite popular though.  I have seen ads for fancy
microprocessor controlled nicad charges that carefully do a deep
discharge before each charge.


Paul Cook                        206-881-7000
Proctor & Associates        MCI Mail 399-1080
15050 NE 36th St.           fax: [phone]
Redmond, WA  98052-5317   [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 18:31:08 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: What Equipment is Required For Switched 56k?


We have several sites around the country that we want to connect via
TCP/IP using something like switched 56k service.

What equipment is required at each location?  What are the typical
startup and recurring charges for this level of service.

What other alternatives are available besides switched 56k service?

Several of the sites are in the greater San Francisco area.  What kind
of services and rates does PacBell offer?


Thanks.

Monty Solomon / PO Box 2486 / Framingham, MA  01701-0405
[e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 19:43:31 -0500 (EST)
From: Hector Salgado-Galicia <[e-mail]>
Subject: Broadcasting Towers


A friend of mine is doing research for a group of clients. They want
to keep communications towers away from their neighborhood. Could
someone comment on regulations at the City, State or Federal level
that could be employed to support their case?


H. Salgado    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Patrick M. Landry)
Subject: Dimension 2000 Guru Wanted
Organization: The Center for Advanced Computer Studies
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 01:47:58 GMT


If there is anyone out there who is very familiar with ATT's Dimension
2000 PBX and wouldn't mind answering a couple of questions I would
love to hear from you. Please e-mail me as I do not read this group.
Thanks!!


patrick    [e-mail]

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992  00:19:43 EST
Subject: Telephone Lines Being Disconnected; Question


Several people have commented about alarm systems being cut and other
such things.  (I deleted the message I had from a gentleman in South
Africa; I replied to him about telephone reliability).  Other people
have spoke about "pinging" lines and so on.

In the original Die Hard (the one that started all of the competitors
including Die Harder, Under Siege, Passenger 57, and so on) the
opening scene involves a group of criminals intercepting certain phone
lines with a briefcase sized device that apparently generated a tone
on a certain frequency, probably to simulate a circuit being active
for alarms that are triggered if cut.

The other member of the group then cut all the phone lines for the
building by running a chainsaw through the four conduits which are
about as thick as a man's arm, cutting off everyone's phone service.

I notice that in the first film, one of the people had either a
cellular or older wireless telephone in a suitcase to call 9-1-1 with
(looked like a cellular handset) but it was very large.

I'm not sure if cellular has gotten much more popular recently than it
was before, but then again most people don't have cellular phones at
their desks when they have a fully working centrex system.

In the second film several cellular phones were used, including some
trick shots, like calling UP to a plane radiotelephone, nice try but
not yet available.

Question: Does anyone on here have a personal 800 number that shows
ANI, and called it from a cellular phone, as well as a cellular phone
on a plane, to see what phone number showed up on the ANI list?  Or
tried calling that special ANI id number on AT&T's private phone
network (someone remember, it's a number in Atlanta on a special 10xxx
exchange?)


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]   These opinions are mine alone.



[Moderator's Note: Cellular phones have gained a lot of popularity
here in Chicago in the past few weeks because of several vicious
attacks on motorists traveling alone on the highway who have been
murdered by people who stopped to 'help them get their car going',
etc. To Caller-ID in Chicago, a call from a cell phone registers as
'outside'; with 800 ANI, in the case of Ameritech Mobile, those calls
show up with a phone number in the Illinois Bell CO in one of the
soutwest suburbs. Try calling back to that number and you are told the
number xxx-xxxx is not in service for incoming calls. Do a name and
address check on the number and you are told it is listed to "Eye Bee
Tea Co." at an address on West 87th Street in one of the suburbs which
happens to be the street address of the CO.   PAT]

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

Subject: "Porthole" For Routing Cables Through Walls?
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 21:41:03 PST
From: Don Jackson <[e-mail]>


This is one of those "not really telecom, but some folks on this
list will know the answer" questions:

I have converted the closet in my study to be my "machine room".  But
I need to feed a number of cables through the wall (esp monitor and
keyboard cables).  I am looking for some sort of porthole or flange
that I can mount in the sheetrock on the wall between my closet and
study to satisfy the following requirements:

1) Looks better than a gaping hole;
2) Provides some sonic insulation (rubber gaskets?).

Does anybody out there know of anything I can buy for this?

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Brader)
Subject: They Love to Tell the Story
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 17:28:46 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: Oh dear me! This story has been around *so long* --
> it has appeared in this Digest at least a half-dozen times over the
> past ten years. ...]

And, I think, including on every occasion the assertion that there is
such a place spelled "Winnepeg" and that it is in Ontario.  At least
this shows that people are generally repeating it the way they got it
rather than adding new distortions!


Mark Brader, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, utzoo!sq!msb, [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Yep, "Winnepeg, Ontario" always goes with it! :)  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #853
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #854

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 16 Nov 92 21:58:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 854

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: San Jose Mercury Again (Robert Lenoil)
    Re: San Jose Mercury Again (John R. Levine)
    Re: San Jose Mercury Again (John Higdon)
    Re: Help Needed With DTMF Tones (John W. Lydic, Jr.)
    Re: Help Needed With DTMF Tones (H. Peter Anvin)
    Re: Help Needed With DTMF Tones (Joseph T. Malloy)
    Re: Help Needed With DTMF Tones (Paul Cook)
    Re: Dumb Question About LATA/Toll (William H. Sohl)
    Re: Dumb Question About LATA/Toll (John Adams)
    Re: Dumb Question About LATA/Toll (Johnathan Rosenberg)
    Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal? (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal? (John Adams)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Organization: Catalogic, Mountain View, California [Voice: 415-961-4649]
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 03:44:47 -0800
From: Robert Lenoil <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: San Jose Mercury Again


> So how about it, Bay Area folks? If you are tired of the {San Jose
> Mercury} constantly calling you at the dinner hour, why not "call the
> cops"? For those of you who think this is a bit drastic, remember that
> I have already done the following:

[laundry list omitted]

> Any other ideas?

Yes. Hang up when they call and go on with your life. I can't imagine
this being worth all the trouble. Are you on a special hit list with
the Merc?  I've been at the same (listed) number for six years and can
count the calls from them on two hands.

> [Moderator's Note: Because you acted so strongly against this
> originally, I have to wonder if the latest call(s)? were deliberate or
> made in error by a new person or were due to an error in the software.
> They surely could not be so willful as to deliberatly start the calls
> again. Why not make some copies of your earlier correspondence and
> send them by registered mail or courier to the telemarketing firm and
> ask them what happened ... did something go wrong in their system,
> etc, as you can't belive they are *willfully* violating your request.  PAT]

Although I don't agree with John that this is worth expending the
energy that he obviously is, PAT's point is not really relevant. Of
course the newspaper didn't *willfully* call John - they have nothing
to gain from that but a migraine headache. The point is that if a firm
has been repeatedly warned, then they are at fault for not
implementing the proper systems to avoid calling numbers where they
are not wanted. If a judge had issued a restraining order barring the
Merc from calling John, you can bet that they would have been found in
contempt for calling him even if it was the result of an "error by a
new person or ... in the software." Pleading employee ignorance or
equipment failure does not release a company from liability for its
actions.


Robert Lenoil

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

Subject: Re: San Jose Mercury Again
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 16 Nov 92 13:33:47 EST (Mon)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


> [Moderator's Note: Because you acted so strongly against this
> originally, I have to wonder if the latest call(s)? were deliberate or
> made in error by a new person or were due to an error in the software.

Given their previous behavior, I'd expect that the only way to make
them upgrade their equipment and procedures would be to put the
principals of the company in jail until they do so.


Regards,

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


[Moderator's Note: You might expect that if you wish, but it won't
happen that way. John explains why in the response which follows.   PAT]

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 02:40 PST
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: San Jose Mercury Again


On Nov 15 at 23:44, Robert Lenoil writes:

> Yes. Hang up when they call and go on with your life. I can't
> imagine this being worth all the trouble. Are you on a special hit
> list with the Merc?  I've been at the same (listed) number for six
> years and can count the calls from them on two hands.

I have sixteen phone lines in my home. I realize that you may not see
any need for me to have those lines, and probably feel that if I am
going to be so silly as to have that many numbers that I probably
deserve whatever I get. However, as a person who can count the calls
from the Merc on two hands, how do you feel entitled to judge the
actions of someone who has endured literally hundreds of these calls
 -- sometimes ten in one evening.

And on more than one occasion, I have done as you suggested and been
called right back and had the person issue verbal abuse. And on one of
THOSE occasions, the person was not satisfied with that and called
back repeatedly, hanging up each time I answered.

You should realize that whether your number is listed, unlisted, or
whether you have had the number for two days or two decades, or even
if you already take the paper, none of this influences whether you are
called. The numbers come from a psuedo-random number generator.
Supposedly they run a "reject list" but I had submitted my numbers not
thirty days previously.

On Nov 16 at 13:33, John R. Levine writes:

> Given their previous behavior, I'd expect that the only way to make them
> upgrade their equipment and procedures would be to put the principals of
> the company in jail until they do so.

It is a "square one" situation. The Mercury has changed telemarketing
contractors. The new firm, Metro News, apparently did not inherit any
of the reject lists from the previous nuisance company. There were
profuse apologies and assurances that this would not happen again.

When I threatened them with the cops, several people called back over
the course of two days. There were promises and assurances to beat the
band. This time I took it easy and only gave out the numbers that
actually ring telephones in my house rather than giving the company
every single phone number that appears here. I figure that if these
people want to hear various flavors of modems screech at them, they
are welcome to it. And who knows? Maybe one of the telesaleslime can
sell a subscription to one of the ignorant animals that populate my
"party line".


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (lydic)
Subject: Re: Help Needed With DTMF Tones
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 00:15:45 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> Alistair Grant <100032.525@
CompuServe.COM> writes:

> I have a program that creates the average of these tones for the
> corresponding number but when I put it to the phone nothing happens.
> Can you tell me what is going wrong? I have the tones last for 0.5 of
> a second and seperated by 0.1 of a second. If you can shed any light
> on the subject that would be cool.

I think the averaging situation has been adaquately covered by the
rest of the net.  The standard durations for MF and I believe also for
DTMF are .070 on and .070 off (yes - 70 milliseconds).


John W. Lydic Jr    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (H. Peter Anvin N9ITP)
Subject: Re: Help Needed With DTMF Tones
Reply-To: [e-mail] (H. Peter Anvin)
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 07:24:53 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> of comp.dcom.telecom,
Alistair Grant <[e-mail]> writes:

> The response about DTMF tones was great. Every one says I need
> both tones, not the average -- ok -- but my physics book says that
> when two pure frequencies are emitted then the resultant frequency and
> frequency only is the average.

> Anyway with just one speaker how do I emulate two tones so as to
> fool the phone? I have seen watches that dial telephone number; how do
> they do it?

They do it by feeding the sum of two sinusoids to their single
speaker.  It is just that the phony square wave generator of the PC
only can generate 0's and 1's, which is not good enough.

Your physics book is correct, with a reservation.  It all is due to
the equation:

   cos(f1) + cos(f2) = 2 * cos((f1+f2)/2) * cos((f1-f2)/2)
                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                           Average freq.    Difference freq.

If the difference between the two frequencies is significantly smaller
than the average, the waveform looks like the average frequency
*modulated by the difference frequency*.  These two frequencies are
called _carrier_frequency_ and _beat_frequency_, respectively.

I'd suggest putting this equation in a spreadsheet model and plot out
the graph.  It will be very clear, but do it over enough periods so
the pattern is clear.  Then go out and get a synthesizer board,
preferrably one which handles digitized sound.  Then all you need to
do is compute the equation above and feed it to the DAC.


hpa
INTERNET:  [e-mail]   TALK:      [e-mail]
BITNET:    HPA@NUACC     IBMNET:    16331@IBMX400
HAM RADIO: N9ITP         NeXTMAIL:  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Joseph T. Malloy)
Subject: Re: Help Needed With DTMF Tones
Organization: Hamilton College - Clinton, NY
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 16:03:48 GMT


DTMF requires both tones, no question there.  But my ancient physics
memory recalls that when two waves are combined, the resulting output
is (unless filtered) four tones: the original two, another that is the
sum of the first two, and a fourth that is the difference between the
original two.  Do I have this wrong?


Joe    [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 22:02 GMT
From: Proctor & Associates <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Help Needed With DTMF Tones


Alistair Grant <[e-mail]> writes:

> Can you tell me what is going wrong? I have the tones last for 0.5 of
> a second and seperated by 0.1 of a second.

koos![e-mail] responds:

> Mark and Space times (On and Off) need to be of the same length
> (>=0.5 sec) to be recognized as valid.

For DTMF signalling, the tones do NOT have to be the same length as
the quiet time, and the time does NOT have to be greater than 1/2
second.  Most DTMF receivers will test down to an on-time or an
interdigit time of 40 ms or less, although most claim a time of 50 ms.

If the tones and quiet time had to be the same length in order to be
valid, can you IMAGINE the complexities of manually dialing a
touchtone phone?


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] (sohl,william h)
Subject: Re: Dumb Question About LATA/Toll
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 13:34:00 GMT


> Does anyone know the exact rule by which LATAs were drawn up?  PAT]

As near as I can recall, LATA's were determined using population
centers called SMAs.  An SMA was a S(not sure what the S stands for)
Metropolitan Area.  I think the goal was to have a limited number of
SMAs in any one LATA.  Additional considerations were the existing
geographic and political boundaries, existing telco service areas,
etc. The intent was to indeed make all inter-LATA calls served by an
inter-LATA carrier.  The practicality of that lead, however, to
numerous exceptions such as, NJ Hudson River communities and NYC,
Camden, NJ and Philadelphia, etc.  Those special exemptions allowed
for existing non-toll calling that was handled by the two local
exchange carriers to continue.  There are something like 160 LATA's.


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]


[Moderator's Note: The /S/ is either 'Statistical' or 'Standard'.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (adams,john)
Subject: Re: Dumb Question About LATA/Toll
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 14:45:45 GMT


> Does anyone know the exact rule by which LATAs were drawn up?  PAT]

The Lata Design Requirements according to the Modified Final Judgment,
Section IV, 9.1-4 (A sure cure for insominia):

Any area may encompass one or more contiguous local exchanges serving
common social, economic, and other purposes - even where such
configuration transcends municpal or other local-government
boundaries.

Every point served by a BOC within a state will be included within an
exchange area.

Any area that includes part or all of one Standard Metropolitan
Statistical Area (SMSAs are geographic areas defined by Uncle Sam for
gathering and reporting various federal statistics), or a Standard
Consolidated Statistical Area (SCSA) in the case of densely populated
states, needs Court approval to include a substantial part of any
other SMSA or SCSA.

Except with Court approval, no exchange area located in one state may
include any point located within another state.

This last point has received a number of "limited corridor"
exceptions.


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

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

From: Jonathan Rosenberg <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Dumb Question About LATA/Toll
Organization: Bellcore
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 02:57:00 GMT


I believe that the original LATAs were drawn up by AT&T at divestiture
(submitted to Judge Greene for approval, of course.

I saw a list recently of the rules that were used.  There were only a
few & if memory serves correctly, they were:

1) Any LATA that includes part of one "Major Metropolitan Area" may
not include part of another.  [I know the term in "" ain't the right
term for what I want, but it's something like that.  The term
describes the major metropolitan areas as defined by the Gov't.]

2) No LATA may cross a state boundary without court approval.

There may have been another rule, but I can't recall it now.  I'll
check when I get to the office tomorrow (where I have the source).


JR


[Moderator's Note: Actually, John Adams did a good enough job of it;
thanks anyway.   PAT]

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 07:10:25 CST
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal?
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


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

> While trying to make a credit card call to a persistently busy number
> recently, after typing in the card number for the n-teenth time, I
> wondered if SS7 protocol would allow the calling exchange to "look
> ahead" at the called number and inquire if it is (at that instant)
> busy, before prompting me for the card number.  Of course, I might
> still get a busy if either the line became busy after I keyed in the
> credit card number, or if the response to the query didn't make it
> back to the originating exchange in time. The advantage (to me) would
> be not having to repeatedly pound in the billing.  The advantage
> (small) to the carrier would be not having to do the credit card
> verification, and perhaps getting the line on which I'm calling free a
> bit quicker.  If the call in question were third party bill, or
> collect, the savings could be a lot greater.

   Brief answer: It's possible.  SS7 supports a "primitive" query of
'distant line status'; the response indicates busy/idle and some other
information.

   However, there are problems with this mechanism.

1) Only very recent standards changes support such queries over IC SS7
facilities (that is, between LATAs).  Since your call probably would
reach IC operator facilities on the larger ICs, this isn't a huge
issue, but until such standards are implemented, ICs that use the LECs
for operator services would have a problem.

2) There is currently no standard for "billing" an IC or LEC for the
query, unlike the billing mechanism for queries about LEC calling
cards and 'static' line information (e.g., line does not accept
collect calls).  If the query were billed similarly to the calling
card database, it would likely cost more (in access charges) than the
cost of attempting to complete a call to the line.  It's true that
when real operators are involved, the early query might save the IC
some operator time and reduce costs.  The current implementation at
least slows down the number of uncompleted call attempts you can make :-).

3) Customer confusion about the meaning of "busy" during dialing.
Today, such a tone usually means you mis-dialed the call.  I would bet
there would also be hundreds of "auto-dialing" systems confused by the
tone.  If the response to such confusion is to re-try the call, the IC
has gained nothing.  Such repeated attempts cost the IC a small sum,
but generate no revenue.

(Such auto-dialing systems might include "smart" coin phones, PBXs,
credit-card POS units, etc.  All this "smart" CPE causes lots of
problems whenever the telephone network is changed in very small ways
 -- much of it was developed by trial and error using a few leased
lines for testing, and it does not adapt as easily as humans to
changes.)

  The obvious solution to repeated busy tone is also possible with
SS7.  The 'automatic recall' or 'repeat dialing' CLASS capability
would permit one to request the network to call you when the line is
available.  This should work for most non-PBX and non-coin telephones
when the 'query via IC' standards become widely implemented.

   For PBX and coin lines (most coin stations do not have CLASS), the
solution is to "complete" the call even when the line is busy.  The
more obvious solutions are either voice mail, pagers, call waiting, a
portable DTMF generator containing your credit card number (RISKY?),
or a LEC/IC mechanism that provides for automatic repeated message
delivery.  Only the last two methods require no action on the part of
the called party.


AL Varney - just MY opinion.

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

From: [e-mail] (adams,john)
Subject: Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 13:23:05 GMT


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

> While trying to make a credit card call to a persistently busy number
> recently, after typing in the card number for the n-teenth time, I
> wondered if SS7 protocol would allow the calling exchange to "look
> ahead" at the called number and inquire if it is (at that instant)
> busy, before prompting me for the card number.

The protocol will allow this.  Whether it ever comes to pass is
another matter.  Currently, line busy is returned from the distant
office for a variety of reasons.

> Of course, I might still get a busy if either the line became busy
> after I keyed in the credit card number, or if the response to the
> query didn't make it back to the originating exchange in time. The
> advantage (to me) would be not having to repeatedly pound in the
> billing.  The advantage (small) to the carrier would be not having to
> do the credit card verification, and perhaps getting the line on which
> I'm calling free a bit quicker.

This approach has merit, but would involve modification of OSPS or
TOPS or whosever operator services system you are using and a
corresponding change in the TRs which govern their functions.  Another
aspect of all of this is that "Carrier Connect Time", the period of
time between your LD company accessing the distant (originating works
pretty much the same way) LEC, is revenue for the LEC (The LD company
pays) regardless of whether the call ever completes!


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

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #854
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #855

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 16 Nov 92 22:46:50 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 855

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Dial Tone on CATV (Marvin Sirbu)
    Re: Dial Tone on CATV (Marc Unangst)
    Re: No Caller ID in Texas (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: No Caller-ID in Texas (Dennis G. Rears)
    Re: Telco Handling Of Cable Cut (David G. Lewis)
    Re: Telco Handling Of Cable Cut ([e-mail])
    Re: AT&T's COLOR Videophone With Motion (Karl Denninger)
    Re: BC Tel Pay Numbers (John Higdon)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 23:11:18 -0500 (EST)
From: Marvin Sirbu <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Dial Tone on CATV


Excerpts from netnews.comp.dcom.telecom: 15-Nov-92 Dial Tone on CATV by
[e-mail]

> With all the talk about cable companies wanting to compete with LECs
> for local dial tone, I started wondering: how can a cable company
> offer dial tone, when their cable runs out from their office, with
> houses strung off it (instead of LEC wires, which form individual
> local loops with houses)?  How can they keep everyone's calls
> separate?  I guess they could put everyone on a different frequency,
> but that would probably use up all of the cable, and then some.  Don't
> they want to leave room for TV?

Modern cable TV systems run fiber optic links out from the head end to
an optical network interface (ONI) serving a neighborhood of 500 -
2000 homes.  A community of 50,000 homes only requires 25 such fiber
runs, so the added cost per household is cheap.

Based on typical residential calling patterns, even 2000 homes would
require no more than 400 voice channels at the peak hour.  To provide
dialtone, one can use frequency agile RF modems at each household
which can select any one of 400 channels.  Even allowing a generous 30
KHz in each direction for carrying a voice channel, 400 channels would
occupy only 12 MHz or two TV channels worth of capacity for each
direction.  If the ONI serves only 500 households you can dedicate the
frequencies and use cheaper RF modems.

Some schemes assume Time Division Multiplexing: instead of 400 RF
channels, a smaller number of carrier frequencies each handle multiple
voice channels using TDM.

At the optical network interface the voice circuits are connected to a
channel bank and backhauled digitally over an extra pair of fibers to
the headend.  From the headend they may be further multiplexed to
higher digital rates and either delivered to a carrier for switching
(e.g an IEC) or switched by the telco with its own switch.


Marvin Sirbu    Carnegie Mellon University

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

From: [e-mail] (Marc Unangst)
Subject: Re: Dial Tone on CATV
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 03:09:57 GMT
Organization: The Programmer's Pit Stop, Ann Arbor MI


In article <[e-mail]> MPA15AB!RANDY@TRENGA.
tredydev.unisys.com writes:

> for local dial tone, I started wondering: how can a cable company
> offer dial tone, when their cable runs out from their office, with
> houses strung off it (instead of LEC wires, which form individual
> local loops with houses)?  How can they keep everyone's calls
> separate?  I guess they could put everyone on a different frequency,

Assuming that they use some sort of digital transmission on the coax
(which is not altogether unreasonable), it would not be difficult at
all to separate calls.  I would be more concerned about the fact that
anyone else on the same coax segment would be able to tap in and
listen to your calls, unless they use some sort of encryption.


Marc Unangst, N8VRH     [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 07:21:06 CST
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: No Caller ID in Texas
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Sean Malloy) writes:

> The law that prevents the adoption of the service predates the
> development of Caller ID (The No. 5 ESS?) and prevents anyone outside
> law enforcement and some businesses from using trap-and-trace devices.

   Caller ID (and most other CLASS features) were invented for and
first implemented on the 1A ESS(tm) switch in the early 1980's, using
CCIS 6 (pre-SS7) signaling.  Most trial areas did not allow Caller ID
into customer hands because of all the un-resolved 'privacy' issues.
(Harrisburg, PA was one of those areas.)


Al Varney

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 9:28:01 EST
From: Dennis G. Rears <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: No Caller-ID in Texas


Jerry Blackerby writes:

> Maybe if people in Texas would find out the phone numbers of the PUC
> (Public Utility Commission) members and everyone start calling each of
> them at "odd hours", they might decide there could be a reason to have
> Caller-ID.

   This is great.  The PUC does or does not something thet Jerry
likes, and he suggests harassing all the members by phone.  Depending
on the extent of the harassment it is illegal.

  If that happens I suggest the telephone company traces those calls
and cut off service to the harassers.  If you can't use a phone
responsibly, it should be taken away.

  Caller ID will not prevent harassment from determined individuals;
it might stop the casual person but that's it.


dennis

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

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: Telco Handling Of Cable Cut
Organization: AT&T
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 22:50:30 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> vixen![e-mail]
(22475-adams) writes:

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

>> First, let me clarify exactly what I meant.  The point I was making is
>> that a switch need not know that anything has happened.
>> ...
>> I an fairly certain that supervision on the trunk will not be lost
>> during the interval that the trunk is being rerouted.

> The previous post (this issue) from Al Varney about signaling on DS1
> indicates a very short (less than 125 us) interval needed to maintain
> supervision.  Protection switching operates with switching times of at
> least two orders of magnitude higher. As such, it is highly unlikely
> that individual circuit supervision will survive such a switch.

I missed Al's article, but I don't think the time needed to maintain a
trunk in the active state is that short.  Notes (BOC Notes on the LEC
Networks -- 1990, SR-TSV-002275 -- the pfabulous repfrence with the
pfunny name), Section 6.21, Carrier Group Alarm, says:

"After a carrier failure occurs but before CGA trunk conditioning
begins, it is desirable to maintain the same supervisory states on
each trunk that existed before the failure.  If the carrier cannot be
restored in a reasonable time (for example, 2.5 seconds), trunk
processing should be initiated to remove the trunks from service.
However, since there is no fixed maximum in this case, the time could
be longer or shorter than the 2.5 seconds given above.  The time
should be long enough to maximize the possibility of restoring the
carrier before trunk processing begins, but short enough so that the
customers using the facility are not more annoted by the effects
caused by the delay in processing the failure than they are by the
effects of the carrier failure ..."

"Typical intervals between carrier failure and the beginning of trunk
processing vary from 300 ms to 2.5 seconds ..."

("Trunk processing" refers to the application of on-hook to clear the
call and stop charging, followed about ten seconds later by an offhook
to prevent the trunk from being selected for a call.)

So if a protection switch occurs in less than 300ms (not 125us), it is
virtually guaranteed to occur prior to any trunk conditioning; a
protection switch accomplished in less than a second is very likely to
not cause trunk conditioning.

> Moreover, in current digital facilties (FT3 comes to mind), this
> protection switching is built in to automatically switch to a spare
> line when the BER exceeds 10-6(?).

I don't know the FT3, but most new fiber optic systems that use
protection switching will switch on a BER threshold crossing or a loss
of signal, or potentially other parameters.

>> Do any telephone companies actually use this for voice circuits?  I
>> don't know, but my point was that it could be done if they wanted to.

> Now that we've beaten this to death, I reiterate that I know of NO
> telephone companies (this doesn't mean that none exist!) that use this
> approach.

Increasing the cost of trunking by a factor of two is not a popular
thing to do.


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

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Telco Handling Of Cable Cut
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 20:01:29 CST


>> Equipment to do this DOES exist.  I work for a railroad, in the
>> telecommunications department (although not the switched network
>> group), and we have equipment (I can't remember the name - I'll refer
>> to it as a DACS, although that is not really an accurate name) that
>> does this.

> If railroad signaling (I'm a RR wannabe as a hobbyist) is what is
> carried, it is natural to have protection switching (What the telecom
> industry calls its schemes to maintain reliable transmission
> facilities) in place for safety reasons. In the public switched
> telephone network (PSTN), the consequences of dropping a connection
> are not as severe.

Agreed.  I remember a quote from some telco engineer after a fairly
major outage (not sure which one) who said words to the effect of "We
can make the telephone network as reliable as you want, but you'll
have to pay for it."

Actually, I believe it is being used for data circuits (important to
the business, but not for safety - there are other protection methods
for safety related stuff such as dispather radios, but that is
irrelevant here), and I think the plan is to put voice trunks (PBX
tie-lines) on it at some point (maybe) ... the point is it could be
done.

>> I an fairly certain that supervision on the trunk will not be lost
>> during the interval that the trunk is being rerouted.  If it was,

> The previous post (this issue) from Al Varney about signaling on DS1
> indicates a very short (less than 125 us) interval needed to maintain
> supervision.  Protection switching operates with switching times of at
> least two orders of magnitude higher. As such, it is highly unlikely
> that individual circuit supervision will survive such a switch.

I don't know what the requirements to maintain supervision are, but
this equipment is better described as a packet switch, rather than a
DACS.  The voice signals are packetized and sent.  (No packets when
the line is quiet, supervision sent only when it changes, etc), and so
the receiving end would (I believe) tolerate a second or two of no
packets without dropping supervision.  (Again, this is general info
only - I am not the engineer in charge of this project). In this case,
there would no NO loss of supervision (for any period of time).

> Now that we've beaten this to death, I reiterate that I know of NO

True.  This is the last I'll say on this topic.  Its certainly
possible that NO telcos use this method.

> telephone companies (this doesn't mean that none exist!) that use this
> approach.

(Well, at some point, you will probably be able to add the railroad's
switched network "mini telco" (but bigger than some real telcos) to
the list that do this).


Brett

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

From: [e-mail] (Karl Denninger)
Subject: Re: AT&T's COLOR Videophone With Motion
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 23:18:04 GMT
Organization: Macro Computer Solutions, Inc., Chicago, IL


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

> In article <[e-mail]>, Tansin A. Darcos & Company
> <[e-mail]> writes:

>> To put it into perspective, we think that SEVEN frames per second is
>> terrible and we are trying to eventually get to THIRTY frames per
>> second.  Thirty frames per second is the same as the number of
>> animation stills they use in cartooning.  Supposedly, one cannot tell
>> the difference between live video and thirty frames per second video.

> In the US, broadcast video is 30 fps.  Elsewhere it's 25 fps.  Cartoon
> animation is never done at 30 fps, even by Disney.  8 or 12 is
> typical.  Motion pictures usually run at 24 fps.

Frame rates are important for interactive video (like videophones).

Below 12-15 fps you can see visible "flicker" or "jump" in the image.
This is perceptable at 20fps if you're real sensitive to it.  I have
>serious< problems with image flicker; more than an hour or so of it
and my eyes complain profusely.

Now, at REAL slow frame rates (5fps and below) its just annoying to me
and doesn't give me headaches and the like.  Its the median amounts
that are troublesome for me.

Most motion pictures are 24fps, as above.  Broadcast video is 1/2 the
line rate normally (30fps interlaced in the US, 25fps where power is
50Hz).

However, if you run a high-res short-persistence display at 30fps you
WILL see flicker in the image.  The sharper the picture the worse the
problem.  This is why newer monitors for computer systems tend to run
72Hz non-interlaced displays (no flicker AND no "beat" or even
multiple with the 60Hz beat of office lighting).


Karl Denninger ([e-mail], <well-connected>!ddsw1!karl)
Data Line: [[phone]] Anon. arch. (nuucp) 00:00-06:00 C[SD]T
Request file: /u/public/sources/DIRECTORY/README for instructions

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 09:21 PST
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: BC Tel Pay Numbers


[e-mail] (Andy Sherman) writes:

> It must be wonderful to be so perfect and smug and sanctimonious.  You
> moan and groan about the upsurge in crime, and about the downsurge in
> people taking responsibility for their own actions.  Yet you
> consistantly excuse criminals who prey upon an unsuspecting public
> with tricks such as this and the beeper scam.

Methinks you are being a wee bit harsh on our Moderator.
Responsibility is responsibility and demanding it from one group does
not excuse the actions of another. If I have locks on my doors,
cooperation from my neighbors, and a state-of-the-art security system
to attempt to hang on to my toys, this is not a statement of approval
of the actions of burglars. Rather, I would consider it an adjustment
to the real world.

Anyone who owns or rents a pager has already progressed to a plateau
above the buck-novice telephone user. There are people who use pagers
in lieu of an answering service or secretary (or even a smart
answering machine) and these people have the responsibility to
determine the nature and charges for the return calls they make. I
carry a pager. Do I blindly return calls to every number that appears
in the display?  Absolutely not. And I have a better-than-average
knowledge of the prefixes and locations in my region.

And concerning systems that dial out such as BBS verification: how
dare anyone fail to put restrictions and limits in the system, leave
everything wide open, and then whine and moan about being bitten by a
scam artist. Really, Andy, what would you say to someone who had an
EasyHack (r) DISA on a PBX and then cried to your former employer to
have the $22,000-worth of charges removed? And what makes that
situation different from the BBS operator? Is the BBS operator
"excused" because he is "just a little guy"?

And how can any of these observations be construed to be approval of
crooks and scammers? The fact is that they are out there and must be
dealt with AT THE PREVENTION LEVEL first and foremost. Demanding more
laws and punishment is akin to the passage and enforcement of laws
proscribing the monitoring of cellular frequencies. Crooks and scam
operators are bad guys; on that point there is no disagreement. But
concerning the matter of responsibility: It is still ultimately in the
hands of the customer.

I have a toy "partyline conference" which is free to anyone who calls.
It connects a number of people together on multiple lines. It is not
designed to allow anyone to have access to the dial tone on another
line. BUT, since nothing is perfect including hardware and certainly
my software, I have taken just a few precautions. The lines are all
ground start, absolutely preventing a stuck connection from returning
wide open dial tone to a caller. They all have billed number screening
for third-party and collect calls. The account is passworded. There
are even a few other precautions that are not public.

Taking these preventative measures is not a statement, explicit or
implicit, that I approve of the actions of dishonest people. And
because I take this responsibility seriously, I can scarcely remember
a time when any of the nightmares described on this forum have become
a matter of personal expense or inconvenience. But it is slightly
irritating to have people excused from responsibility when scum
inevitably strike.

Rather than demand that "something be done" about crooks by law
enforcement, it is more realistic to encourage citizens to avoid
becoming victims.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #855
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #856

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 17 Nov 92 00:24:15 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 856

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: British Telecom Profits (Martin Baines)
    Re: Phone Harassment (a New Solution?) (Will Martin)
    Re: Third Party Billing (Paul Houle)
    Re: Listing of CLLIs (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: Source Wanted For Area Code Information (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: Dialing Changes in New England Tel Land (John R. Levine)
    Re: Fax Back From DTMF - Summary (Michael Rosen)
    Re: Airfone -- Phooey (Gordon Hlavenka)
    Re: New Area Code Blitzes Cell Phone User (Carl Moore)
    Re: Equal Access Codes: How To Find Them (David Leibold)
    Re: Cordless Phone Newbie Question (Tony Pelliccio)
    Re: Telephone Headsets and Cordless Headsets ([e-mail])
    Wanted: Cordless Headset (Mark R. Jenkins)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Martin Baines)
Subject: Re: British Telecom Profits
Date: 16 Nov 1992 12:44:20 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems Ltd
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In article [e-mail], [e-mail] writes:

> I recently noticed this on teletext (textual information sent with the
> TV picture -- I don't remember the technical name!):

Teletext is the correct technical name: CEEFAX is the brand name of
the BBC service ORACLE the brand name of the service on ITV and C4,
SKYTEXT for that on Sky TV etc.

> British Telecom (BT) recently announced pre-tax profits of 1.027bn
> pounds (sterling) for the six months up to 30 September, this being
> 36.2% down on last years figure of 1.61 bn.(NB 1 bn = 100,000,000).
> This (apparently) works out at about 65 pounds profit a second
> (compared to last years 102 pounds). BTs voluntary redundancy program
> has led to a loss of thousands of jobs from the company and a
> reduction in profits due to their payments.

N.B. 1 Billion = 1,000,000,000 in this context.

> With these sorts of figures, it is not surprising that BT is facing
> stiff competition from other providers (CATV).

I agree that the competition is a "good thing", but why does everyone
think profits are such a bad thing? Profits represent how much
business has grown not how much money has gone into greedy
shareholders pockets. The dividend payed by BT is fairly modest
(around 5% per share in line with most UK blue chip companies), not to
mention the 33% Corporation Tax paid to the government on the proits
(thereby reducing all our tax bills). The rest will be put back into
the business for things like modernising the network and other
investment for the future. BT is the largest company in the UK, so
everything about it will be hugh.  This does not mean that its profits
are excessive.

> Perhaps due to this and/or excessive profits BT has charged all calls
> within the UK on Sunday afternoon/evening at local rates for two of
> the last Sundays.  Maybe they are listening to their customers?? I
> don't suppose so!

Or maybe they think that there can be a win-win situation: the
promotion increases calls so that they make more money than on a
normal Sunday; the customer gets to call cheaper as well. Not to
mention taking some market share back from Mercury: I certainly didn't
use Mercury to call my Mum yesterday :-)


Martin Baines, Sales Support Manager,
Sun Microsystems Ltd, 306 Science Park, Cambridge, CB4 4WG, UK
Phone: [phone]                 Fax: [phone]
JANET:     [e-mail]    Other UK:  [e-mail]
Internet:  [e-mail]
X.400:     g=martin s=baines prmd=sunir admd=mci c=us

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 8:26:20 CST
From: Will Martin <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Phone Harassment (a New Solution?)


> Moderator's Note: Illinois Bell will put a trap on a line to catch
> the person involved, but only on one condition: you must first give
> them a written okay to turn their evidence over to the police and
> agree to prosecute the offender ... no exceptions. IBT won't get in
> the middle of it; it could be a total stranger, some sick person or
> perhaps someone you know -- a relative or a 'friend'.  IBT won't do a
> trap and play detective for you just to satisfy your curiosity.

I understand how this attitude would prevail in the old Bell System
days, but I find it hard to understand the telco maintaining this
position in the current climate. Why won't IBT just do it and charge
you for it? After all, every other telco "service" or "feature" is now
viewed as a money-making opportunity these days, from Directory
Assistance to wiring maintenance. Why not just figure out what it
costs to do this, and then charge double or triple (or more! :-) for
doing it on a completely private basis, not inolving law enforcement.

After all, this is really no different than Caller-ID, so if the telco
is in a state where the local authorities have approved Caller-ID,
then there should be no legal hassle to the telco in selling this
service.

Sure, I can see them not doing it on a no-charge basis unless you
agree to follow-up with a criminal complaint. But if the customer
wants the telco to put a trap-and-trace on his own line, and is
willing to pay for it, why not just do it for the bucks?


Regards,


Will   [e-mail] OR [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: The difference is that with Caller-ID, the calling
party usually can use *67 to avoid registering his call on the called
party's device. On the other hand, with 'trap and trace', no one is
able to avoid detection. So by collecting the information and selling
it to the called party, Caller-ID and Name/Address information is
being provided by a backdoor method. If the called party has no valid
reason for the information, evidenced by his refusal to prosecute the
caller, then the caller could claim *his* privacy had been violated
and that normal procedures in effect to protect his privacy, i.e. *67
to block the Caller-ID display, had been circumvented.  Telco is
saying that if you expect *them* to put their neck on the chopping
block you will begin by signing off on the whole thing and having
*your neck* out there also. This is much like asking a police officer
who did not personally witness a crime to arrest someone you claim
committed a crime. The cop says if you are willing to sign a
complaint, he'll arrest the person, not otherwise ... no fool is he
when it comes to false arrest charges. Nor will telco put itself in
a postion to have ugly charges and lawsuits brought against them.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul Houle)
Subject: Re: Third Party Billing
Organization: New Mexico Tech
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 15:29:39 GMT


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

> Why don't people get Calling Cards?

> Why don't they understand that if they are here and nobody is home
> then how can anyone tell if they are charging it to their own phone,
> or their enemy, or something they pulled out of the air?

> The real question is why do the phone companies continue to allow
> third party billing?

> I guess it is because they can always stick someone with the bill.

    Plus with the proliferation of alternative operator services,
it has become very easy to abuse third party billing.  I've heard
stories of AOSes billing calls to drug abuse hotlines, police
stations, telephone company test numbers and just about anything else.
One time, a phriend of mine used an AOS to bill a call to a tone
sweep, and the operator said to "Hold on for a minute so we can verify
this ...", but it seems that she never did verify it since she let the
call go through (after waiting a minute).

    It's just really disgusting to see how COCOTS and AOSes not
only degrade service to honest people, but also allow dishonest people
to sock anybody with the expense of a call.

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 08:32:26 CST
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: Listing of CLLIs
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


In article <[e-mail]> Cliff Sharp <clifto@indep1.
chi.il.us> writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> vixen![e-mail]
> (22475-adams) writes:

>> I'm not sure whether having a complete list of Common Language
>> Location Identifier codes (CLLI) would be of much help in what you are
>> trying to do.  If your user is an average telephone subscriber, he/she

> Actually, I'm cross-referencing one file against another by a
> common field (not exactly relational database but similar idea); the
> field could just as well contain ABCDEFGH as CHCGILCA but the latter
> might come in handy some day.

   The CLLI(tm) and other such identifiers under the Common Language
(rg.tm) are owned/managed by Bellcore, and are available in a myiad of
formats, usually under a License agreement.  For information about
prices/services, contact:

    Bellcore Language Standards Division, [phone]

   Any other source is likely to be out-dated, but cheaper.

   For switches, the CLLI is usually formatted as four-char city,
two-char state, two-char/number building and three-char/number entity
ID.  Most switches have a two-character type and a one-digit sequence
number (e.g., CG1 for the second 1/1A ESS(tm) switch in the building.)
This was the scheme published in pre-divestiture documents -- Bellcore
is free to change the rules.


Al Varney - just a some-times customer of Bellcore documents ...

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 08:52:52 CST
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: Source Wanted For Area Code Information
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


In article <[e-mail]> cccbbs!daniel.furnier@
uceng.UC.EDU (Daniel Furnier) writes:

> I am a AT&T System 75 Administrator, I also run two predictive dialing
> systems.  Does anyone know where I can find out each time a new area
> code comes out?  The phone company never notifies me and I usually
> find out a few weeks after the fact by my phone operators.  And a lot
> of the time, I am not sure if the areacodes I am dialing are correct
> or if someone made a data entry error.

   You can find out officially the same way others do: Subscribe to
Bellcore's NPA/NXX Activity Guide.  Available on paper or DOS floppy
(1.44MB, 3.5 inch) for $250/year, it lists new NPA or NXX schedules,
etc.

   Contact Bellcore's Traffic Routing Administration, [phone].


Al Varney

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

Subject: Re: Dialing Changes in New England Tel Land
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 16 Nov 92 14:18:28 EST (Mon)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


> NETel is replacing [1+NNX-XXXX] with NNX-XXXX, which IMHO is a
> mistake, since there are some rather expensive calls that can be made
> within NPAs here, and the telecom-illiterate will have no easy way of
> knowing whether the NXX-XXXX they're about to dial is around the
> corner or 100 miles away.

One can always look it up in the phone book, since all NET phone books
have complete prefix listings for the local NPA.  Agreed, some
intra-NPA calls can be expensive, particularly in Vermont. (From
Burlington it's cheaper to call Los Angeles or Montreal than to call
Brattleboro.)  But I can say from experience in New Jersey that people
live without 1+ for toll perfectly well, and there is a definite
convenience factor in not having to remember what needs 1+ and what
doesn't.

I might also point out that due to the screwy local rates around here,
from here in Cambridge on weekends it's cheaper for me to call
Nantucket which is a 1+ toll call than it is to call Lexington which
is allegedly local.  But on my other phone line, calls to Lexington
are free because I have "metro" service.


Regards,

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

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Rosen)
Subject: Re: Fax Back From DTMF - Summary
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 05:56:20 GMT


Intel has such a "Fax-Back" service available by calling
1-800-525-3019.  I believe you can have up to five documents faxed to
you concerning Intel's products.


Michael Rosen    Tau Epsilon Phi - George Washington University
[e-mail]
[e-mail] or @lambada.oit.unc.edu

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

From: [e-mail] (gordon hlavenka)
Subject: Re: Airfone -- Phooey
Organization: Vpnet Public Access
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 04:51:42 GMT


> ... but I find the process of setting up a call to be a bit
> counterintuitive at best.

Excuse me?  You remove the handset from the holder, look for the green
LED to come _on_, telling you a line is available.  Then you run your
credit card through the reader.  Then you wait for the dial tone.
Finally, you dial the area code and phone number.  A bit long, but not
confusing.

The only two flaws of the Airfone system are that it's completely
analog, and that all signalling is in-band.  (That's the "beeps and
boops.")


Gordon S. Hlavenka    [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 9:14:00 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: New Area Code Blitzes Cell Phone User


What do you mean, "cut over" to 210?  The archive file history.of.
area.splits has only the PERMISSIVE dialing in effect now, meaning San
Antonio could still be reached in 512.  You're saying that 210
couldn't be reached from some other place in Texas?

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 23:35:51 EST
From: David Leibold <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Equal Access Codes: How To Find Them


The 10xxx+ 1 700 555.4141 seems to work for some of the codes, but
certain carriers might not bother with such an announcement. I don't
think there's even a guarantee that they won't try to soak a huge
900-style message charge from 700 555.4141 (700 is used by some
carriers for special premium services such as conference calling, or
900-style numbers).

The official 10xxx and 950.xxxx assignments may be found in the
Bellcore's Telephone Area Code Directory, which I purchased last year
for USD$30 (plus any incidental charges). Not only are various places
listed with their area codes, but an appendix contains the Carrier
Identification Codes (CIC) which are at the heart of 10xxx and
950.xxxx numbers. Even the various Domino Pizza numbers (950.1430 is
one of them) are listed.


[e-mail]   [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 13:44:36 EST
From: Tony Pelliccio <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Cordless Phone Newbie Question

RE: William Pfieffer's post about the Sony SPP-75 Cordless Phone:

Your tip about recharding is correct for MOST cordless units which use
NiCd batteries but not the Sony. They use a Lead-Acid Gel Cell in that
unit and recommend leaving the phone in the charging stand at any time
when it's not in use. Here's how it breaks down in time:

A) Standby mode can be left active for seven days before the battery
   completely discharges.

B) Talk time is 12 hours.

In my opinion this is MUCH better than NiCd.


Tony Pelliccio   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Telephone Headsets and Cordless Headsets
Organization: University of Saskatchewan
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 09:04:53 -0700


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

> I'm seeking recommendations on telephone headsets.  I have in mind the
> kind that replaces the handset on a typical telephone.  I'm also
> curious to know if anyone makes a cordless telephone headset.

Radio Shack sold a cordless headset phone, with FM radio! :) for about
$400 last year or the year before.

I use a DUoFONE 119 headset at work and it's great.  I bought it for
about $50.  It has volume control and I installed a mute switch.


[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark R. Jenkins 619.458.2794)
Subject: Wanted: Cordless Headset
Date: 16 Nov 92 11:17:05 PST
Organization: Science Applications Int'l Corp./San Diego


I would *really* like to find a cordless headset.  I have an old
Plantronics LiteSet(tm) which underwent 'destructive testing' by some
individuals apparently interesting in its operation.  Plantronics
apparently no longer sells the LiteSet.

I don't need fantastic range -- my office is only 10'x12'.  Does
anyone know of any source for a cordless headset?


Mark Jenkins <[e-mail]>| My views do not necessarily match yours.
SAICnet Logical Network Manager    | My opinions are not necessarily SAIC's.
Science Applications
International Corporation          San Diego, CA   USA  [phone]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #856
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #857

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 17 Nov 92 02:24:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 857

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Broadcasting Towers (John Higdon)
    Re: A New DMS-100 in Town (Todd Lawrence)
    Re: What Equipment is Required For Switched 56k? (Robert Lenoil)
    Re: Dial Tone on CATV (Paul Robinson)
    Re: Very Weird Telephone Problem (Cliff Sharp)
    Re: Music on Call (Cliff Sharp)
    Regulating Cellular (David Gast)
    PP 2000 and USWest (Roy M. Silvernail)
    Is Caller-ID an Illegal Trap and Trace? (Paul Robinson)
    Junk FAX (Nigel Allen)
    Wanted: Information on Personal 800 Numbers (Burt J. Guillot)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 22:17 PST
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Broadcasting Towers


Hector Salgado-Galicia <[e-mail]> writes:

> A friend of mine is doing research for a group of clients. They want
> to keep communications towers away from their neighborhood. Could
> someone comment on regulations at the City, State or Federal level
> that could be employed to support their case?

The trendy approach is to claim "potential health hazards" from the
EMR.  After working in the broadcast business for many years around
very high-powered transmitters, someone decided that it was
"dangerous" to be exposed to radio frequency energy. Based upon
inconclusive tests on animals and on some nifty sounding theories, the
Federal government adopted the ANSI standards regarding "safe" EMR
exposure.

Harm based on "evil, mysterious forces" is in vogue. Even if science
or reality is not on your side, it should be no trouble to convince
governmental authorities that placement of communications towers in
populated areas will produce a strain of mutants.

BTW, you realize that we are all going to die of cancer from using our
cellular phones, do you not?


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 think if I were going to make objections to a
tower, the objections would be based on esthetic considerations and
also on the difficulty of receiving radio signals other than those of
the nearby tower due to the dense radiation it was emiting. As an
example, I am thinking of the towers for WBBM (780-AM) and WGN (720-AM)
in one of the western suburbs of Chicago. As we drive down the street
within about a half-mile of either tower, the signal from each tower
completely overwhelms our car radio. No matter where we tune on the AM
dial, all we get is WBBM ... then a short distance later WGN overloads
the radio in the same way. People living in the area have to have
filters on their phone lines.

In the northwest corner of Indiana, the residents of North Hammond get
WYCA-FM in their telephones, on their computer speakers and everything
else. The transmitter and antenna of WYCA-FM (Northern Indiana
Christian Broadcasters, Inc.) is only four blocks away, in a large
empty field in Burnham, Illinois. For more information on what living
near a radio station transmitter/tower can do to disrupt your normal
telephone, radio and television listening habits, see the article
"Praise the Lord and Pass the RF Filters" in a 1989 issue of this
Digest. Maybe I should reprint it.  PAT]

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

Subject: Re: A New DMS-100 in Town
From: [e-mail] (Todd Lawrence)
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 17:30:18 CST
Organization: (What? Organized??) - Mythical Computer Systems


[e-mail] (Richard D. Mccombs) writes:

> We have a new DMS-100 in town, is there anything in particular I
> should know?

DMS-100 is A Northern Telecom switch, the notes I have specify that it
is a ISDN compatible "LOCAL" switch that has the capacity to serve
1500-100,000 customers, it can also handle an average of 350,000 calls
per hour. (FYI) - DMS-200 is a tandem (TOLL) switch that has the
capacity to function as a local switch as well and can serve
400-60,000 trunks.  "PROTEL" is the switch programming language (if
you wish to impress your local CO tech!). I had the opportunity to
have DMS when I was in connectictt, and had no complaints with it
whatsoever.


Todd Lawrence
LOD! Communications     internet : [e-mail]
IMF Acquisition Group   uucp     : uunet!valinor!todd

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

From: [e-mail] (Robert Lenoil)
Subject: Re: What Equipment is Required For Switched 56k?
Date: 17 Nov 92 06:46:37 GMT
Organization: Catalogic, Mountain View, California [Voice: 415-961-4649]


> What other alternatives are available besides switched 56k service?

Are your connectivity needs bursty or relatively constant? If you only
need 56k at certain times of the day and *nothing* most of the time,
then you should investigate dialup IP routers. Models like the Telebit
NetBlazer offer inverse multiplexing, carrying traffic between two
LANs over several dialup lines for effective baud rates of 56k and
higher. The box makes connections transparently based on IP address,
so all you see is a brief delay when the initial call is made. This
solution will be exceptionally cost effective for your sites within
local phone call distance from each other.

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992  02:21:52 EST
Subject: Re: Dial Tone on CATV


In TELECOM Digest 12-852, on "15 NOV 92 04:03" Randy Gellens
<MPA15AB![e-mail]> writes:

> With all the talk about cable companies wanting to compete with LECs
> for local dial tone, I started wondering: how can a cable company
> offer dial tone...I guess they could put everyone on a different
> frequency, but that would probably use up all of the cable, and
> then some.   Don't they want to leave room for TV?

I'm not a hardware engineer but the answer seems -- to me -- to be
quite obvious.  One TV channel takes 6MHZ of bandwidth.  One telephone
channel takes up about 10KHZ of bandwidth if I remember correctly.
This implies that if you separated each channel by an equal amount of
spacing (to make it easy) that you can put 300 telephone calls on a
single channel, simply by raising or lowering the frequency inband on
that particular channel.

For receiving telephone calls, it's really simple; there can be a
dedicated channel that does nothing but send out the equivalent of
Cellular phone "MIN/ESN" signals, telling a local phone to (1) ring
(2) select a certain channel as the place where the call is
originating from (3) start a "guard tone" while the call is in
progress at a certain frequency above the regular channel.  In fact, I
suspect that a number of features used in cellular telephones may be
useful for use in running telephone calls over cable TV.

To make outgoing calls requires some synchronization, i.e. you could
have a "guard tone" in the empty space between calls as an indicator
that a channel is empty.  The dial unit listens starting at a certain
channel for a guard tone and if it finds one, climbs up by 10KHZ to
the next channel, until it either finds an empty channel or reaches
the top of the band.  When it gets to the top of the band, it starts
over at the bottom until it recycles.  Assuming that a full search of
the entire band of 300 channels can be done in, say, three seconds, if
it can't find an open channel, it doesn't give a dial tone.

Now, once you find an open channel, you send a guard tone and in that
band a signal to request a dial tone by sending your id code.  (Funny
this is sounding more-and-more like cellular).  If you get your code
back and dial tone, you know you've siezed an outgoing trunk and can
proceed to dial; you pass the dial tone on to the telephone.  If you
don't get your code back, then someone else has simultaneously grabbed
the line; if the line does have dial tone now, you know that another
party has the line because they got it first, so you go back and climb
"up" the channel list looking again.

There are other options, such as assigning a specific channel to a
specific line and thus when the user sends a guard tone or whatever
signal is used to indicate "off hook" he gets a dial tone if there are
dial-tone senders available.  What can be done is on the pole, they
could reserve a whole coaxial cable - all 50 channels or so, which
would allow 15,000 simultaneous telephone calls -- to run from the
general location to the cable company's hub end.  So what can happen
is something like this:

1.  Your phone is assigned a certain frequency on your wire.
2.  When you pick up the phone, your "network interface block"
    sends a guard tone along that frequency's signalling band
    to request a dial tone.
3.  The local sender converts your channel into the open slot
    for this area from the 15,000 open channels available.
4.  The hub end sees if you're authorized and returns a dial
    tone.
5.  You get the dial tone and dial a number.

All of this happens within about one or two seconds from the time you
pick up the phone.

An article I read about four or five months ago in {Forbes} stated
that for cable companies to offer telephone service, they would
probably have to spend as much as $500 per subscriber to install the
necessary equipment.  On the other hand, the same article claims,
using ordinary single pair, the phone company could run as many as
three TV channels.  I find it hard to believe that someone could run
18MHZ of signal through a pair of wire, or even two pair.


Paul Robinson   [e-mail]   These opinions are mine alone.

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

From: [e-mail] (Cliff Sharp)
Date: Tue Nov 17 00:03:04 1992
Subject: Re: Very Weird Telephone Problem


In article <[e-mail]> phaedrus@unkaphaed.
gbdata.com (James Hartman, Sysop) writes:

> According to recent FCC blurbs, it is illegal for a radio station to
> broadcast your voice unless you've either been asked and said OK, or
> if you call as part of an obvious phone-in portion of a program.

   Seems that way around here.  There's a program I like to listen to
when I get up early, "Murphy in the morning", that does all kinds of
whacky things to/with/for/by people, and whenever they contact someone
by phone you never hear the voice of the callee until they've been
asked if they can be put on the air.  (Most say it's okay.)  The fun
happens after they agree ...

> Follow-ups to rec.radio.broadcasting.

   Sorry, not only didn't I know that newsgroup existed (though I'm
going to get it as soon as I can), I have no access to it so thought
I'd answer here.  Not to get a discussion started, but then that's why
this is a moderated group.  (I can be reached as [e-mail]
for netmail followup.)


Cliff Sharp   [e-mail]   OR  [e-mail]  WA9PDM

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

From: [e-mail] (Cliff Sharp)
Date: Tue Nov 17 00:15:44 1992
Subject: Re: Music On Call?


In article <[e-mail]! [e-mail]
(Cliff Sharp) writes:

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

>>> I came home recently to find a strange message on my answering
>>> machine: Several minutes of music.  There was no voiceover anywhere in

> "Hello?  Hello?"  and end-of-message.  Someone told me that several
> companies are using a gadget that basically calls you and says a
> canned message like "Hello, this is the X corporation.  We'd like to
> discuss something with you; please stay on the line and a
> representative will be with you shortly.", then music, then somebody
> appears on the line expecting a human.  Their initial message seems to
> be shorter than my outgoing one, so I never hear that part.

> [Moderator's Note: The use of those dialers to pre-connect calls
> before anyone is ready to talk to you is the height of rudeness. I
> always disconnect instantly when one of those things calls me. I'll
> gladly hold for a few seconds *if* you are already talking to me and
> have a incoming call-waiting. I won't wait when you had no intention
> of being available immediatly when you dialed.   PAT]

   I agree wholeheartedly!  I got two in a row one day when I was
screening calls.  The first was the canned music followed by the usual
"Hello?"  The second was the canned music followed by silence, then
the remark "Cute."  and a disconnect.  Apparently he believes to this
day that someone figured out a way to detect and deter his machine
calls.

To this day I don't know who did it, but since I've moved to another
town I don't get those calls any more.  (Maybe a collection agent? 1/2 :)
Can't afford Caller ID and the associated hardware right now, and
since the offending calls have stopped I can't say more.  But had
Caller ID been available at the time I would not have winced at
pinching pennies and eating beanie-weenie stew for a few weeks just
for the pleasure of finding out.  (Then again, they've probably found
a way to automatically block that; we in Illinois Bell territory have
per-call blocking.)

   Question to the knowledgable: Incoming 800 service has ANI which can't
be blocked.  Does outgoing 800 service give a caller ID, and/or ANI?


Cliff Sharp   [e-mail]   OR  [e-mail]   WA9PDM


[Moderator's Note: Usually outgoing WATS calls are inter-LATA, so they
produce a response of 'outside' on a Caller ID display unit.  These
lines can produce various responses, depending on how they are wired,
but rarely will they cause a Caller-ID box or ANI to give the right
answer. It would not that often be ANI, since outgoing WATS lines
can't call into 800/900 type service that I know of.   PAT]

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

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 14:31:26 -0800
From: [e-mail] (David Gast)
Subject: Regulating Cellular


I don't believe anyone else has posted anything on this topic, so I'll
take a stab at it.  A couple weeks ago, the {LAT} reported that the CA
PUC is considering regulating cellular rates because cellular remains
too expensive.  Representatives of the cellular industry said that
cellular is priced at market, not cost.  They also maintained that
lower rates would increase demand and result in higher prices.

The article noted, as I recall, that hardware prices have fallen 90%,
but air time has not really changed at all over the last eight years
or so.

Could it be the real intent is to increase the number of cullular
carriers beyond two?  Of course, the PUC cannot do that directly.


david

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

Subject: PP 2000 and USWest
From: [e-mail] (Roy M. Silvernail)
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 21:43:46 CST
Organization: Villa CyberSpace, Minneapolis, MN


I have now received two phone bills since my California trip, and the
charges for my Public Phone 2000 calls have yet to appear.  The other
calling-card charges I made were on the last bill.  It will be
interesting to see when (or if) they do finally appear.

Also in my USWest bill is a notice that, under the orders of the
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, tiered service rates are being
discontinued, in favor of a modified single rate structure.  Being in
a formerly Tier I location, my basic rate increases from $14.17 to
$14.59.  Tier II saw a $0.03 reduction, Tier III was reduced $1.08 and
Tier IV (which, I believe, is only far outlying suburbs of Minneapolis)
was cut by $3.31.

The enclosure noted old vs. new rates for business and residence
service in all four tiers.  Curiously, the business rates are all
exactly three times the residential rates, plus or minus a penny.


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

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992  01:27:28 EST
Subject: Is Caller-ID an Illegal Trap and Trace?


I would like to point out something that I noticed more than a year
ago when I was wading through the Electronic Communications Protection
Act, the law that (it is claimed) makes it illegal to intentionally
listen to a cellular phone.  I noticed another thing which I noted,
and no one seemed to dispute.

According to the ECPA, a "trap and trace device" is a device that is
used for the purpose of picking up someone's phone number who is
calling the line the T&T is on, is illegal without a court order.

If this is a correct interpretation, it means that the decisions in
various states about Caller-ID are all irrelevant since this Federal
law has made any caller ID box illegal (except for calls which are not
"in interstate commerce.").

I'm waiting for some slick attorney who has a client who was caught
with a Caller-ID box raise ECPA to not only have the evidence of calls
excluded, but have the victim charged with a civil suit of violating
the ECPA for installing an illegal trap and trace device without a
court order, which if I remember, ECPA allows civil damages as high as
$10,000.

Not fun.


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]
These (uninformed) opinions are my responsibility alone, no one
else is (stupid enough to be) responsible for them.

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

From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Junk FAX
Date: 16 Nov 92 05:35:37 GMT
Organization: Echo Beach, Toronto


[Moderator's Note: The original message for this did not appear in the
telecom newsgroup.  PAT]

In article <[e-mail]> anton@analsyn.
gts.org (Anton J Aylward) writes:

> If some promotion company uses an autodialer and tape message to
> keep calling me, soliciting for support for tax reform, to think of
> just one subject I have been harassed by, I can call Bell and
> complain, and eventually get something done.

> How about FAXes ?

> I am getting faxes sent in the early hours to my home number from:

>    Mark Muchnick
>    World Computers Ltd
>    Seattle, WA

> Not only is this information of no interest or relevance to me, but it
> comes a couple of times a week between 4am and 6am.

If a legitimate business is sending you unwanted faxes, the best way
to get the faxes to stop is to ask the company to stop.

This will work quite well if the company is spending the cost of a
long-distance call to get the fax to you.

On the other hand, one Toronto-based company that operates several 976
numbers likes to send out faxes promoting those numbers. It seems to
ignore requests to remove fax machines from the junk fax list.

But in your case, a one-paragraph letter sent by fax should work quite
nicely.

The same thing applies for local travel agencies, computer dealers and
office supply dealers, who don't generally want to annoy people
unncessarily.


Nigel Allen

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

From: [e-mail] (Guillot, Burt J.)
Subject: Wanted: Information on Personal 800 Numbers
Date: 16 Nov 1992 14:30 CST
Organization: University of Houston


I'd like to know what companies offer personal 1-800 numbers, the
rates, etc.  Does someone already have a list with this data?


[Moderator's Note: Readers, please reply direct to this.  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #857
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #858

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 18 Nov 92 01:23:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 858

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Apartment Callbox Ties in With Telco Line Annoyance? (Dave Tse)
    Fake Call-Waiting Product (Dave Levenson)
    Old British Callboxes (Ken Wheatley)
    Call Boxes (was Telephone Lines Being Disconnected; Question) (Carl Moore)
    MCI Service Outage (Ron Dippold)
    Collect Calls From County Jail: Which County? (Peter Kaplan)
    IBT Raises Pay Phone Rates to 30c "Temporarily" (Phydeaux)
    Lack of Dial Tone When Programming PC Fax (Thomas K. Hinders)
    Advice Needed on Wide Area Networking (Jeff Wasilko)
    Phone Customers Face Dialing Changes (Boston Globe via Monty Solomon)
    Washington Post and Caller-ID (Paul Robinson)
    Ring...Ring...Ring...If You Wish to Make a Call (David Lesher)
    "rrrringg-BOOP" (Steve Kass)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Tsui Ting Debbie Pang)
Subject: Apartment Callbox Ties in With Telco Line Annoyance?
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 13:15:14 GMT


I live in an apartment complex which uses a callbox at the front door
and it rings thru on my phone line (primary line). But there are some
times when it has problems:

1. When I am using modem, disable call-waiting won't work if someone
rings my call box, since I can't disable their stupid tie-in to the
PBX.  Luckily it doesn't happen much in my case.

2. When I am on a phone call, and someone rings my call box, I could
'flash' to the call box, and open the gate/door, but can't flash back.
The other side was hung up when I flash to the call box!

Is there any way for the apartment management to improve the hardware
of the PBX to make it nicer?

Call-waiting is called call-alert in B.C., which took me a while to
get used to, having used to the term call-waiting when living in
California.  Also they charge CDN$0.75 extra per month for cancel-
call-waiting!

Before I have the V.32bis/V.42bis modem, my dial-in to the site I am
using now has lots of line noise, now it doesn't but sometimes I got
hung up after a few hours.

My friend in San Diego was on his modem and has his call-waiting
cancelled, but got broken thru from my long distance call, which never
happened to him before. Later I had the same experience from a long
distance call.  For him, I had to dial many times before I got the
break-thru.

Any answers? Thanks to any answers to the above.


David Tse


[Moderator's Note: In your questions above, (1) put your modem on your
second line, if you have one. Suspend call waiting is not supposed to
override front door intercom service. (2) The control unit for the
front door must be out of order, because flashing is supposed to work
the same way as with 'regular' call-waiting; it is supposed to put the
central office on hold while you respond to the door. Is the common
equipment on the premises of the apartment complex or is it in the
telco central office? (Both versions are in use.) Regards suspend
call-waiting being overridden by a long distance call, this is a
mystery to me. I'd think when the LD call is handed over to your local
CO for delivery, it would be treated like any other call and passed
through on call-waiting or bounced back to the sender if the line was
busy.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dave Levenson)
Subject: Fake Call-Waiting Product
Organization: Westmark, Inc.
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 13:37:57 GMT


A Mr. David H. Schmidt has invented a product called "Gotta Go".  You
can buy it for $14.95 and plug it into your telephone.  When you've
got someone on the line who won't let you go, you push the button and
it makes a click-beep that sounds like a Call Waiting signal.  You can
then use that as an excuse to bring the unwanted conversation to an
end.

That's what it says in this morning's {New York Times}!

It may well work with the general public.  The telecom-literate, of
course, will realize that the beep is only heard by the party who is
receiving the call-waiting, not by the far-end.  (Yes, with the 1ESS
and 1AESS both parties get a click, but only the party receiving the
call-waiting gets the beep.  With the 5ESS, the party who is not
receiving a call hears only silence while the other party gets a
beep.)  It should be easy enough to differentiate between a real
call-waiting interruption and a fake created by the party who is tired
of talking to us, and is embarrassed to say so.


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

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

From: UXBAHA![e-mail]
Date: 17 NOV 92 10:15
Subject: Old British Callboxes


Someone recently mentioned the old coinboxes in the UK that had
'buttons A and B', and said he wouldn't go on to describe them as he
was sure someone more knowledgable than himself would do so.  That
hasn't happened, so I'll start the ball rolling with my (non-expert)
memories of them.

They were black enamelled boxes with a bakelite headset connected via
a twisted cloth-covered cord.  On the top were slots for coins -- when
in common use they took (pre-decimal) pennies, threepennies and
sixpences.  On the front was a large silver push-button labelled 'A'.
On the right-hand side was another button (B) that had to be pushed
away from you (i.e it actually slid).

To use the 'phone you lifted the receiver and inserted some money (For
a long time four old pence).  These fell into the box with a
satisfying clunk.  You then dialed the call.  When the called party
answered you pressed button A, the money dropped, and you were
through.  If the call failed, or the wrong person answered, you
replaced the receiver and pushed button 'B' to get your dosh back.
Until you pressed button A the called party couldn't hear you.

I only remember them in pre-STD days, when the 4d (old pence) local
call was unmetered.  Trunk calls had to be made through the operator
who told you how much money you had to insert for a three-minute call.
When your time was up you got discreet 'pips' on the line and would
eventually get disconnected unless you deposited more money (i think
the time unit after the initial three minutes was one minute).

These disappeared in urban centres in the 1960s, but I was surprised
to read that the last such box (in a remote Scottish village) was in
use until THIS SUMMER.  Does that mean they didn't have STD?

I hope someone 'in the know' will fill me in on more details of these
devices from a gentler age!


Ken Wheatley, Unisys, Citygate, London     [phone]
(Unisys) E-Mail 7747, A-Mail <KW@UXBAHA>     Net2 731-6283

       **All opinions are either my own or plagiarised**

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

Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 11:07:35 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Call Boxes (was Telephone Lines Being Disconnected)


Re PAT's note about cellular phones on Chicago-area highways: Some
highways (including the interstate highways in Delaware) have call
boxes, although I've seen it written up somewhere that you might not
end up right at a call box.  Maryland does not have this, and when my
previous car broke down there with what turned out to be a blown head
gasket, I had to wait on the shoulder for the state police who were on
routine patrol.


[Moderator's Note: The problem here is that it very unwise to get out
of your car and wait by the side of the expressway. For example, on
the Dan Ryan expressway, which runs next to several housing projects
on the south side of Chicago has roaming maruders on it quite often
who set upon stalled motorists, assaulting and robbing them, etc. Even
when your vehicle is moving, they fire at you with assault rifles and
the like from the buildings along the side of the expressway.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ron Dippold)
Subject: MCI Service Outage
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 20:31:29 GMT


As I type, MCI long distance out of San Diego is sporadic.  Apparently
their cable up to LA has been damaged (no word on why), and their
backup cable can't handle the load.  No word on service resumption.

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

From: [e-mail] (Peter Kaplan -Yodh)
Subject: Collect Calls From County Jail: Which County?
Date: 17 Nov 92 21:02:37 GMT
Organization: Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter, U. of Penn.


Recently my father-in-law was killed in his home.  Amongst the varied
horrors of dealing with this situation, a telecom question has cropped
up.

We are now collecting messages remotely from his answering machine in
San Antonio, Texas.  There are many messages which are the first few
words of a recordings announcing something like "This is a collect
call from the county jail. To accept this call  ..."

But the message doesn't say WHAT county the "county jail" is in.  We
can not actually answer the phone; it's a thousand miles away.  Is
there any way to find out where (or who) the calls are from?

Many thanks,


Peter ([e-mail])


[Moderator's Note: Our thoughts are with you in your grief. If any of
those calls were actually answered by someone who accepted them, then
they will eventually show up on the phone bill and that will identify
the location of the correctional institution. Is there any way to have
the phone put on call forwarding so it will ring direct to your line?
If so, then you could answer the next such call personally. Under the
circumstances, telco would probably set up the forwarding for you in
the CO without someone having to go there to physically use the phone
to set it up.   PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 14:36:15 PST
From: [e-mail] (Phydeaux)
Subject: IBT Raises Pay Phone Rates to 30c "Temporarily"


I just heard on the radio that Illinois Bell plans to raise pay phone
rates by 5c to 30c until they raise 30 million dollars. I forget what
they "need" the money for, I think it was to pay for something they
did that they shouldn't have.  After they raise the money they "plan"
to lower the rate back to 25c.


reb
-- *-=#= Phydeaux =#=-* [e-mail]  or  [e-mail]
ICBM:  41.55N 87.40W  h:828 South May Street  Chicago,  IL 60607  312-733-3090
w:reb Ingres 10255 West Higgins Road Suite 500 Rosemont, IL 60018 708-803-9500


[Moderator's Note: It was NOT to 'pay for something they did they
shouldn't have ...'; it is to compensate for the dizzy ruling from a
judge here saying that taxes have to be collected on pay phone calls.
Since pay phones cannot accept pennies and there is a tax on local
phone calls courtesy of our city council, IBT had been spreading the
pay phone portion of the tax -- being unable to collect a penny or two
from each pay phone user -- among all subscribers. All of us pay City
of Chicago tax on our phone bills; it was perhaps ten or fifteen cents
per month more than it would have been had pay phone users been paying
the tax also. IBT had to refund several year's worth of pro-rated taxes
collected from subscribers (I got, I think, fifteen cents per month
refund covering several years of service) as a credit on the phone
bill back in September. At the same time, pay phone calls were raised
five cents so the tax could be collected.  PAT]

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

Date: 17 Nov 92 13:03:17-0800
From: /PN=Thomas.K.Hinders/OU=CCMAIL/O=CHAN.IS/PRMD=MMC/ADMD=TELEMAIL/C=US/@sprint.com
Subject: Lack of Dial Tone When Programming PC Fax


I a trying to program a PC-Fax board to dial using my calling card.
The problem I encounter is that the LD carrier uses voice/bong prompts
that aren't "recoginzed" by the fax modem.  I use Hayes ",,,'s" to
delay the srting, but the response of the LD is so variable that often
the Fax/modem is too early or late.

We have the same complaint from our travelling types. They say that
trying to use the laptops to connect to corp computer resources while
on the road is difficult. We haven't had much success with pre-
programming the laptop modems either.

Do the LDs offer some sort of "data" or modem-compatable connection
service?  Would it be possible to have the carriers issue a "short"
burst of dialtone between entries, so one could program a FAX/modem
with a "w" command?

Has anyone else figured out a way around the lack of dialtone?

Thanks in advance.


       Thomas K Hinders
Martin Marietta Computing Standards
     4795 Meadow Wood Lane
      Chantilly, VA 22021
703.802.5593 (v) 703.802.5027 (f)

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

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Wasilko)
Subject: Advice Needed on Wide Area Networking
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 21:37:19 EST
Organization: Univ of Fnord; Roslyn's Cafe Div.
Reply-To: [e-mail]


We need to connect our two offices (which are about five miles apart)
together. We run a mix of TCP/IP and Appletalk. The remote site will
have three or four NCD Xterminals, a couple of printers (hung off the
NCDs) and five or six Macs. The Macs will be doing light work over the
remote connection (printing, opening and saving small docs to the
fileserver, email, etc). We could eventually end up with six or so
Xterminals and ten Macs.

A 56kb line is the same installation cost as a T1, and the monthly
difference is only $250/mo ($250/mo for a 56kb line, $500/mo for a
T1). What kind of demands does X place on the network? Will a 56kb
line be sufficent, or should we jump to the T1? Our X users are using
them as terminal replacements, and they're also running WordPerfect
and Lotus on our Sun.

I'm also looking for suggestions for routers. I'm familiar (by
reputation only) with cisco (or is it Cisco this week?). What else
should I consider?  Is bridging worth considering, too? What should I
look for in a good CDU/DSU? Are the all the same, or are there large
differences from manufacturer to manufacture?


Thanks in advance,

Jeff
Jeff's Oasis at Home.   Jeff can also be reached at work at:
                                         [e-mail]

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

Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 02:06:35 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Phone Customers Face Dialing Changes


 From {The Boston Globe} 11/13/92.

Taking steps to replenish the depleted supply of area codes, New
England Telephone Co. said yesterday it would begin phasing in several
dialing changes in February.

The changes will eventually permit phone companies to use area codes
that don't have "0" or "1" as their middle numeral, freeing up 640 new
possibilities nationwide.  The additional area codes are needed to
create new telephone lines, which are in scare [sic] supply bacause
[sic] of the rising use of computers, facsimile machines, pagers and
cellular phones.

But for that central reprogramming to work, customers will have to
learn new dialing habits, New England Telephone said.

Today, callers dial some calls in their area codes with seven digits,
while other calls require "1" plus the seven digits.

But by 1994 area residents won't have to add a "1" before before [sic]
making a call in their own area code.  Customers will still have to
add that digit when making calls to other area codes.

That change will take effect Feb. 2, 1993, in western Massachusetts
exchanges of Wesfield, Russell and Monson.  Next year the new
procedure will spread throughout the 413, 603, 802, and 401 area
codes.  In 1994 residents in 617, 508, and 207 will hear the calling.
New England Telephone provides phone service in every New England
state except Connecticut.

The switch won't change local calling areas or rates.  "A toll call is
still a toll call," Cronin said.

Another change over the next couple of years will include a shift in
the dialing for operator-assisted and calling card calls.  Under the
new plan, customers will have to dial "0" plus the area code and the
number even if they are dialing within the same area code.

New England Telephone said that its effort to establish a uniform
dialing pattern for all its customers coincides with similar programs
elsewhere in the nation.

By 1995, besides the new area codes, the changes will free up an
additional 152 local exchanged codes within existing area codes.  It
will increase the supply of available phone numbers nationwide from 1
billion to 6.3 billion.

                            End of article.

One problem with this change is that callers won't automatically know
that a call is a toll call at the time that they place it.  For
example, any non-local call which I dial within area code 508 yields a
recording which states:

    "Sorry we cannot complete your call as dialed.
    To call beyond the local area you must dial 1 first.
    Do not dial 1 when dialing a local call.
    This is a recording."

I always know that I will incur toll charges when dialing an inital 1
for calls within my area code.

Unfortunately, I can't easily distinguish between calls dialed to area
code 617 which are included in my calling plan at no additional charge
and those that incur toll charges since I always have to dial 1 617 to
reach them.

Cellular One/Boston doesn't require the dialing of an inital "1" for
calls within the same area code.  They route the call to their closest
point of interconnect and it ends up usually being a local call.
Often it is cheaper for me to use my cellular phone than to use my
land line.


Monty Solomon / PO Box 2486 / Framingham, MA  01701-0405
[e-mail]

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992  02:57:25 EST
Subject: Washington Post and Caller-ID


A point that was made about a year ago was that before Caller-ID was
available either from or to telephones located in the District of
Columbia, the {Washington Post} was running articles about the horror
stories of bad happenings due to Caller-ID being available.

When C&P Telephone of Washington DC was allowed to offer Caller-ID,
the {Washington Post} had it included along with the new telephone
system they installed.  The Post never told anyone that it had
installed Caller-ID.  It wasn't until {The Washington Times} (a
competing newspaper in DC) broke the story that anyone knew what the
Post had done.


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail] (These opinions are mine alone.)


[Moderator's Note: It is not unusual for people in the media to
consider themselves so Special and Different that the editorials they
print each day would agree with John Bunyan's description of his own
life: " ... what I say, and what I do in real life are often two ..."
Channel Two in Chicago (WBBM - CBS affiliate here) constantly takes a
pro-gun control stance; yet their camera crews always have a weapon in
the van when they go to the scene of disasters and other news worthy
events in 'certain neighborhoods' (read: black ghetto areas). And talk
about hypocrisy! My competitor {The New York Times} takes a pro-gun
control stance, yet whenever Arthur Oakes Sulzberg deigns to come into
the city to his office in his chauffer-driven limousine, he always
carries a handgun. I guess what they mean is *you* should not be
allowed to have Caller-ID or handguns; its okay for the lawyers,
politicians and media mogels though; they Know What is Best For Us.
Kay Graham with her {Washington Post} and News Weak is no different.  PAT]

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

From: David Lesher <[e-mail]>
Subject: Ring...Ring...Ring...If You Wish to Make a Call
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 23:12:21 EST
Reply-To: [e-mail]  (David Lesher)
Organization: NRK Clinic for habitual NetNews abusers - Beltway Annex


Over the last decade or so, it seems that rather than getting dumped
into reorder, or SIT / voice intercept, you get what I titled this
article ...

Now this strikes me as a real pain and pointless. Why should I have to
wait for three ring cycles to go by before getting told that the
switch has lost my call? [Hey, *I* know I dialed it correctly ...]

About the only reason I can think of for this deliberate misdirection
is just that -- deliberate misdirection. Have the LEC's done this just
to foil COCOTs and Demon Dialers?


[e-mail]
pob 1433    20915-1433

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

Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 21:56 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: "rrrringg-BOOP"


When I am using my IBX work phone and someone calls, I hear a tone,
and the caller hears "rrrringg-BOOP rrrringg-BOOP ..." I know that at
least some callers from outside our switch hear the BOOP, but I'm
wondering how far it extends.  I had always thought that the ring
signal was generated locally, and if that's true, then my switch must
be passing some signal for "phone in use, but call waiting ringing,"
to which the caller's switch generates the "rrrringg-BOOP."  I think
it would be a nice thing to have nationwide so I knew the difference
between a ring/phone-on-hook and a ring/interrupting-a-call.

Can someone in the know fill me in on the technical details of
"rrrringg-BOOP" ?  We own our own switch here, but I don't know what
kind it is.


Steve Kass/ Dept of Math and CS/ Drew U/ Madison NJ 07940
[e-mail]                          201-514-1187


[Moderator's Note: Actually, if you listen closely, when the called
party answers you will hear a certain kind of click on the line if you
interuppted them on call waiting which you won't hear if you did not.
A few PBXs using Direct Inward Dialing have the special ring signal
you describe when cal-waiting interupts an extension user.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #858
******************************










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Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 02:10:29 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #859

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 18 Nov 92 02:10:30 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 859

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Is Caller-ID an Illegal Trap and Trace? (Ben Harrell)
    Re: Broadcasting Towers (Dave Niebuhr)
    Re: Broadcasting Towers (Richard M. Greenberg)
    Re: Broadcasting Towers (Ted Hadley)
    More Tower Jive (John Adams)
    DBASE Program to Convert Area Codes (Paul Robinson)
    Any Advice For Large Move Order? (Christopher J. Ambler)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Ben Harrell)
Subject: Re: Is Caller-ID an Illegal Trap and Trace?
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Ben Harrell)
Organization: Computers and Technologies Theme Program-NCSU-NC
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 00:59:37 GMT


[e-mail] writes:

> I would like to point out something that I noticed more than a year
> ago when I was wading through the Electronic Communications Protection
> Act, the law that (it is claimed) makes it illegal to intentionally
> listen to a cellular phone.  I noticed another thing which I noted,
> and no one seemed to dispute.

> According to the ECPA, a "trap and trace device" is a device that is
> used for the purpose of picking up someone's phone number who is
> calling the line the T&T is on, is illegal without a court order.

> If this is a correct interpretation, it means that the decisions in
> various states about Caller-ID are all irrelevant since this Federal
> law has made any caller ID box illegal (except for calls which are not
> "in interstate commerce.").

Trap and trace laws generally (in the great majority of states) and in
the FCC have been interpreted to mean that a device is illegally
"tapped" into a line, usually without the knowledge of the party whose
line is being tapped, for the purpose of "trapping" originating dialed
digits and "tracing" terminating calls to their originating directory
number.

CLASS CLID, ISDN CLID, and 800/900 ANI do not fit this definition
because 1) there is no "tapping" with illegal devices going on (it is
an inherent network capability), and 2) it is always done with the
full knowledge and consent of the telephone company and the
terminating service subscriber in the form of a "payment for service
rendered", and 3) the legality of the ANI delivery by AT&T, MCI, and
Sprint to 800/900 customers (which they have been doing for several
years) on inter-LATA calls has NEVER been questioned.

I do understand that ANI is technically the "billing" number, whereas
CLID is technically the "originating" number, but for most residential
and single line business customers these two numbers are one and the
same.

Also, I would like for someone to explain to me the conceptual
difference between someone calling me and someone knocking on my door.
Unless I know who is on the other side of that door, I'm not likely to
answer it, and if I do I'm going to be very careful about it.  In the
entire history of telephony, I having had that capability.  But now
with CLID, I do.  I understand that battered spouse shelters,
undercover policemen, etc. need protection, but for the average person
or business, why is CLID any different "personal privacy" wise to my
going and knocking on my neighbors door.  Why would I expect him/her
to answer that door, if he doesn't recognize me or my voice?

I know that I don't have to tell him/her were *I* live, but I just
don't see the difference and don't understand what people get so upset
about with CLID.  Maybe I'm just dense.


Ben Harrell
[e-mail] ...........<business>
[e-mail] ...<personal>

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

Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 06:51:19 EST
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Re: Broadcasting Towers


John Higdon <[e-mail]> writes:

> Hector Salgado-Galicia <[e-mail]> writes:

>> A friend of mine is doing research for a group of clients. They want
>> to keep communications towers away from their neighborhood.

> The trendy approach is to claim "potential health hazards" from the
> EMR.  After working in the broadcast business for many years around
> very high-powered transmitters, someone decided that it was
> "dangerous" to be exposed to radio frequency energy. Based upon
> inconclusive tests on animals and on some nifty sounding theories, the
> Federal government adopted the ANSI standards regarding "safe" EMR
> exposure.

> [Moderator's Note: I think if I were going to make objections to a
> tower, the objections would be based on esthetic considerations and
> also on the difficulty of receiving radio signals other than those of
> the nearby tower due to the dense radiation it was emiting.

A similar problem occurred not long ago when the National Weather
Service wanted to put one of its new Doppler Radar systems in a
community about 15 miles from my house.  Naturally, there was a large
hue and cry about all of the associated EMR problems and the local
congresscritter (18 years seniority and bounced on Election Day just
like his checks) took up the call.

After a lot of wrangling and posturing, the new system is going to be
installed at Brookhaven National Lab, about 20 miles away which is
where it should have gone in the first place.

Some people just don't think.  These people live about 25 miles from
the defunct Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant and BNL has two working
reactors right now.  Some of the protestors even work at these two
places.

Sheesh!  What hypocrites.


Dave

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

From: [e-mail] (Richard M Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Broadcasting Towers
Date: 17 Nov 92 20:18:41 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA


> [Moderator's Note:

> telephone, radio and television listening habits, see the article
> "Praise the Lord and Pass the RF Filters" in a 1989 issue of this
> Digest. Maybe I should reprint it.  PAT]

Please do.


Rich Greenberg      Work: [e-mail]
N6LRT               Play: [e-mail]
What?   Me speak for Amdahl?  Surely you jest....


[Moderator's Note: I am greatly overloaded with messages, but maybe I
will soon.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ted Hadley)
Subject: Re: Broadcasting Towers
Organization: Cylink Corp.
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 20:49:48 GMT


Hector Salgado-Galicia <[e-mail]> writes:

> A friend of mine is doing research for a group of clients. They want
> to keep communications towers away from their neighborhood. Could
> someone comment on regulations at the City, State or Federal level
> that could be employed to support their case?

In Sunnyvale, CA, my neighbors and I successfully got CellularOne to
not place a tower by involving the entire neighborhood. I read the
technical specs filed with the city, which were full of errors
indicating the one who filed was inept. I used the facts against them.
We had a geologist from the USGS (my neighbor) report on seismic
issues and safety due to collapse, and one other neighbor got a friend
who was a real-estate broker to comment on property value impact with
specific examples from other cities. We also had a petition signed by
150 residents opposing the tower. We then showed up in force at the
preliminary City Planner's hearing. CellularOne was _Blown Away_ by
the action, research, and the facts we presented. The city immediately
rejected the plans. It takes planning & effort, but it worked for us.


Ted A. Hadley [e-mail]
Tertullian Cylink Corporation, 310 N. Mary Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086
USA 408-735-5847 All opinions expressed are my own, and probably not
liked by my employer.

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

From: [e-mail] (adams,john)
Subject: More Tower Jive
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 16:15:57 GMT


Having just read John Higdon's response to the current EMI is causing
my tomato plants to glow thread, I came across the following item in
this morning's Bellcore Information Research Center report:

INTELLECT: THE DAILY INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - PRODUCED BY BELLCORE'S IRC

BOONTON TWP. PURSUES EXPERT ADVICE ON TOWER Star Ledger:Newark-NJ 11/17/92 P 64

Last night, the Township Committee of Boonton, NJ, directed its
attorney to seek experts who can give testimony on whether a proposed
NYNEX communications tower will affect the health of the township's
residents.  NYNEX would pay the township $25,000 per year for 10 years
for the tower, which would be built on municipal land to relay mobile
telephone transmissions. NYNEX would also allow the township the use
of the tower for police communications. Some residents are fearful
that microwave transmissions could pose a health risk. A citizens'
group has requested that the Township Committee seek expert opinion on
the matter.

                     Copyright (C) 1992 Bellcore.
                         All Rights Reserved.


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

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992  20:43:04 EST
Subject: DBASE Program to Convert Area Codes


There are a lot of places using DBASE or its clones to handle database
work, so I thought I'd include the program I use to convert our
organization's database whenever an area code splits.  It's generic
enough that I can run it against our database and update all changed
records.  I thought other people might be able to use it.


Paul Robinson


The following is a procedure in DBASE that I wrote to convert
telephone numbers from one area code to another.  Some people on the
list may be able to use it, so here it is.  This was created for a
government agency so it is in the public domain.


     --- File CONVPHN.DBF --- Cut here ---

* DBASE III PROGRAM TO CONVERT TELEPHONE NUMBERS
* WHICH ARE CONVERTED FROM AN OLD AREA CODE NUMBER TO THE
* NEW ONE.  ALSO CHECKS THAT STATES LISTED FOR SPECIFIC
* ADDRESSES ARE VALID. INACCURATE NUMBERS ARE NOT CHANGED.
*
* REQUIRES THE PRE-CREATED "PHONETAB" DATABASE FILE WHICH
* CONTAINS ALL THE PREFIXES WHICH ARE CHANGING.  THIS IS
* A DBASE FILE CONSISTING OF THE OLD AREA CODE AND PREFIX
* AND THE NEW AREA CODE AND PREFIX REPLACING IT.  THE PREFIX
* MAY BE THE SAME OR IT MAY BE DIFFERENT.
*
* BASED ON ORIGINAL PROGRAM BY PAUL W. ROBINSON, 8/9/90, 9/11/90
* WHICH CHANGED NUMBERS IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL AREA AND IGNORED
* NON 703 VIRGINIA NUMBERS
*
* THE NEED FOR THIS PROGRAM OCCURRED WHEN AT&T ANNOUNCED AN
* IMMEDIATE CHANGE TO CERTAIN TEXAS AND NEW JERSEY AREA CODES,
* AND THUS PHONE NUMBERS IN SOME EXCHANGES NEEDED TO BE CHANGED
* THIS WILL ALSO BE OF USE WHEN THE NEW 410 AREA CODE COMES INTO
* EFFECT IN MARYLAND.
*
* THIS REQUIRES YOU MAKE A DATA BASE LISTING THE OLD NUMBERS BY
* OLD AREA CODE AND PREFIX, AND THE NEW NUMBERS REPLACING THOSE BY
* AREA CODE AND PREFIX.  THIS CAN BE DONE WITH A SIMPLE TEXT
* FILE MERGED INTO A DATA BASE USING THE IMPORT FUNCTION.
* THIS FILE MUST BE CALLED 'PHONETAB', IT CARRIES 3 FIELDS:
* 'OLD', 'AC', 'PFX'  AND MUST BE INDEXED ON 'OLD'
* TO FILE 'AC'.
*
* IT IS ASSUMED THE FILE TO BE EDITED 'HOME' IS INDEXED USING
* 'NAME', AND CONTAINS THE FIELD OF 'STATE' AND 'PHONE' WHERE
* PHONE CONTAINS 12 DIGITS NPA-NXX-XXXX IF THE NUMBER IS OUT
* OF THE AREA CODE.
*
* PAUL W ROBINSON  E-Mail: [e-mail]   6-MAY-1991
* This program is in the Public Domain.
*

CLEAR
STORE .F. TO DEBUG
SET TALK OFF
SET ECHO OFF

SET PRINT OFF
STORE         '$MDDCVATNALAKAZARCACOCTDEFLGAHIIDILINIAKS'   TO STATES
STORE  STATES+'KYLAMEMAMIMNMSMOMTNENVNHNJNMNYNCNDOHOKOR' TO STATES
STORE  STATES+'PARISCSDTXUTVTWAWVWIWYCZ' TO STATES
* NOTE: TENNESSEE (TN) MUST APPEAR EARLY BECAUSE OTHERWISE IT
*       WILL BE ERRONEOUSLY FOUND BETWEEN MONTANA (MT)
*       AND NEBRASKA (NE)

* ADD OUR OWN ABBREVIATIONS FOR SPECIAL CASES
STORE  STATES+'**Z1Z2Z3Z4Z5Z6Z7Z8Z9' TO STATES

SELECT 3
USE PHONETAB INDEX AC
GO TOP
SELECT 2
USE HOME INDEX  NAME, XPHONE
GO TOP
DO WHILE .NOT. EOF()

* CHECK THAT THE STATE NAME IS OKAY.

    STORE TRIM(STATE)      TO S
    STORE TRIM(HOME_PHONE) TO P
    STORE '   '            TO NPA
    STORE '   '            TO NXX
    STORE '    '           TO XXXX
    STORE '      '         TO L
    I = AT(S,STATES)/2
    IF I<>INT(I) .OR. I<1
      IF .NOT. DEBUG
         SET PRINT ON
      ENDIF
      ? '***BAD STATE NAME:'
      DISPLAY
      SET PRINT OFF
    ELSE
* STATE NAME IS OKAY, CHECK AREA CODE
     IF LEN(P)=12
       STORE LEFT(P,3) TO NPA
       STORE SUBSTR(P,5,3) TO NXX
       STORE RIGHT(P,4) TO XXXX
       STORE NPA+NXX TO L
       SELECT 3
       GO TOP
       FIND &L
       IF .NOT. EOF()
          STORE STR(AC,3)  TO NPA
          STORE STR(PFX,3) TO NXX
          STORE NPA+'-'+NXX+'-'+XXXX TO P
          SELECT 2
          IF .NOT. DEBUG
             SET PRINT ON
          ENDIF
          ?  '  CHANGING RECORD '
          DISPLAY
          REPLACE HOME_PHONE WITH P
          ?  '  TO '
          DISPLAY
          SET PRINT OFF
       ENDIF
     ENDIF
   ENDIF
   SET ECHO OFF
   SET TALK OFF
   SELECT 2
   SKIP
ENDDO
CLOSE ALL

   --- Cut here

The following shows the format of the DBF file PHONETAB.  After
creating this file, you will need to do "INDEX ON OLD TO AC" in order
to index this file to make the above procedure work.

 . display structure
Structure for database: C:phonetab.dbf
Number of data records:     376
Date of last update   : 11/16/92
Field  Field Name  Type       Width    Dec
    1  OLD         Numeric        6
    2  AC          Numeric        3
    3  PFX         Numeric        3
** Total **                      13

Now the first three and last three records of the PHONETAB.DBF file.

    OLD  AC PFX
 301205 410 205
 301208 410 208
 301221 410 221

 - Circa 370 records deleted

 301996 410 996
 301997 410 997
 301998 410 998
 301999 410 999

The following is the complete set of codes which have changed
from Area Code 301 to 410.

List of Prefixes changed from 301-xxx to 410-xxx

  205  208  221  222  224  225  226  228  232  233  234  235  237  239
  242  243  244  247  250  252  254  255  256  257  260  263  265  266
  267  268  269  272  273  275  276  278  280  281  282  284  285  287
  288  289  290  291  296  298  307  312  313  316  319  321  323  325
  326  327  328  329  332  333  335  337  338  339  342  343  346  347
  348  351  352  354  355  356  357  358  360  361  362  363  364  366
  367  368  370  374  376  377  378  379  381  382  383  385  388  389
  391  392  393  396  397  398  425  426  429  430  433  435  437  438
  440  442  444  446  448  450  451  452  455  456  457  458  461  462
  465  466  467  471  472  476  477  479  482  483  484  485  486  488
  489  494  515  521  522  523  524  525  526  527  528  529  531  532
  533  534  535  536  537  538  539  541  542  543  544  546  547  548
  549  550  551  553  554  556  557  558  560  561  562  563  566  569
  573  574  575  576  578  581  583  584  586  591  592  594  597  602
  605  612  613  623  624  625  626  628  631  632  633  634  635  636
  637  638  639  641  642  643  644  646  647  648  651  653  655  658
  659  661  664  665  666  667  668  669  671  672  673  674  675  676
  677  679  682  683  684  685  686  687  691  692  693  712  719  720
  721  723  726  727  728  730  732  734  740  741  742  744  745  747
  748  749  750  751  752  754  755  756  757  758  760  761  764  765
  766  768  771  775  778  780  781  783  784  785  787  788  789  792
  793  795  796  798  799  808  820  821  822  823  825  827  828  830
  832  833  835  836  837  838  841  848  849  850  857  859  860  861
  866  867  873  875  876  877  879  880  882  883  885  886  887  889
  892  893  896  906  920  922  923  928  931  938  939  941  943  944
  945  947  955  956  957  960  962  964  965  966  968  969  971  974
  978  979  987  988  991  992  993  995  996  997  998  999


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]
#INCLUDE <Standard\disclaimers.h>

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

From: [e-mail] (Christopher J. Ambler, Phish)
Subject: Any Advice For Large Move Order?
Organization: Fantasy, Incorporated: Reality None of Our Business.
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 13:29:00 GMT


I, and two of my three roomates will be moving on 1 January, and will
have the following order to place:


old house                  --> new house

a. 2 measured in circ hunt --> (change billing)
b. 2 measured in circ hunt --> (change billing)
c. 3 flatrate              --> (change billing)
d. 2 flatrate              --> (same billing)
e. ISDN (2B2D-BRI)         --> (same billing)
f.                         --> add 1 new flatrate custom number
g.                         --> add 700 link to 1 of the 3 flatrates (c)
h. keep 2 existing in old house

All lines are residential. a-e are MOVE orders, f and g are new
installs.  By change billing, I mean that they are currently in the
name of the fourth roommate who will be staying and keeping the last
two existing lines (as in h), and I want them changed to my name.

Question is, is this an unusually large order for Pac*Bell? Should I
expect trouble? How early should I call it in? Any tips or suggestions
in placing the order (other than get ready to pay for it dearly)?


[e-mail]    [phone]/ISDN

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #859
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Telephone Quotations


Remember the request the other day for telecom quotations?  Here is
the results.


PAT

  From: [e-mail] (Ed Campbell)
  Subject: Telephone Quotations : Summary
  Date: 17 Nov 92 22:14:55 GMT


> Do  you know of any quotes concerning the telephone, that you are
> willing to share , eg "Do you know who I've always depended on?. Not
> strangers, not friends. The telephone. That's my best friend" -
> Marilyn Munroe.

Another well-known one is
[picks up phone, not-ringing]
"Hello! What! Yes!" [hangs up phone]
Eric Morecombe, The Morecombe and Wise Show.
(I think you have to see the show).

THANKS FOR ALL THE REPLIES I RECEIVED. A list follows.  First here are
some I found while rummaging through Dictionaries of Quotations in the
local library

They (wives) are people who think when the telephone bell rings,
it is against the law not to answer it"  --- Ring Lardner , 1923


"La servitude. C'est ca, le telephone. Il sonne: tu accours.
Ou bien tu n'accours pas, mais tu te ronges les sangs de regret
ou de curiosite insatisfaite"
--- Gabrielle Roy


"Le telephone ne convient pas aux amoureux!
Dans leurs conversations c'est le regard qui joue le role principal."
 --- Robert Hollier


"You cannot settle the problems of Europe by long-distance telephone
calls and telegrams. Round the table we must get ... "
--- Ernest Bevin 1945.


"Well if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone"
--- James Thurber


"Mr. Watson , come here, I want you"
--- Alexander Graham Bell ( first telephone message)
(obviously didn't have a good sense of occasion,... or a scriptwriter))

"It (the telephone) will unmake our work. No greater instrument of
counter revolution and conspiracy can be imagined"
--- Josef Vissarvonovich Stalin

"Hello, Neil and Buzz. I'm talking to you by telephone from the
Oval Room at the White House, and this certainly has to be the
most historic telephone call ever made"
--- Richard Milhous Nixon ,20 July 1969,
speaking to first men to land on the moon.


From: Rob Knauerhase <[e-mail]>

Here are a few.  The attribution is all the source I have, but I assume they
are accurate.

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a
 means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."
    -- Western Union memo, 1877

"Well-informed people know it is impossible to transmit the voice over
 wires.  Even if it were, it would be of no practical value."
    -- Boston Post 1865

"The FTS2000 10-digit number will match the commercial number.  In other
words, your FTS2000 number will be the same as your commercial number."
    -- a USA-CERL bulletin on updates to the Federal phone system
       (USA-CERL is the Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering
        Research Labs)

From: [e-mail] (Tony DeSimone)
Sender: [e-mail] (Tony DeSimone)

"Communism must be like one big phone company."
                            Lenny Bruce
                            as quoted on "All Things Considered" 10/8/91

"The possibilities of a private home telephone system throughout the
country is out of the question.  Almost the entire working population
of the United States would be needed to switch cable."

    unidentified NY telphone financier, 1887

quoted in C. J. Cain in vol 35 of the Fiber Optic Reprint
Series, from Information Gatekeepers INC.

"Well-informed people know it is impossible to transmit the voice over
wires.  Even if it were, it would be of no practical value."

                                               - Boston Post 1865

 "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings
  to be seriously considered as a means of
  communication. The device is inherently of
  no value to us."  -Western Union memo, 1877
--
"According to Judge Greene, "Despite AT&T's argument that Bell Labs was
[a] leader in invention and innovation, and despite excellence and
`scientific genius' of the Labs, they have produced few products of
practical value."

From: [e-mail] (Jim Haynes)

"It is my heart-warm and world-embracing Christmas hope and aspiration
that all of us - the high, the low, the rich , the poor, the admired,
the despised, the loved, the hated, the civilized, the savage - may
eventually be gathered together in a heaven of everlasting rest and
peace and bliss -- except the inventor of the telephone."
    Mark Twain, 1890


From: John Boteler <[e-mail]>
Organization: Express Access Public Access UNIX, Greenbelt, Maryland USA


Operater: "Are you havin trouble with an operator in Virginia?"
Frank: "I'm havin trouble with the tephone cumpny, PERIOD!"


From: "Terry Kennedy, Operations Mgr" <[e-mail]>


  A quich grope, errr... grep through my 20,000-plus item cookie file yields
the following:

Button: I don't mind being in touch with reality, so long as I don't have to
    pay the phone bill

Automatic calling unit - teenager with a telephone
            -- Data communications glossary

Hollerith - what thou doest when thy phone is on the fritzeth
            -- Data communications glossary
%%
One good reason why computers can do more work than people is that they never
have to stop and answer the phone.
%%
We don't care.  We don't have to.  We're the Phone Company.
%%
As you know, birds do not have sexual organs because they would
interfere with flight.    [In fact, this was the big breakthrough for
the Wright Brothers.  They were watching birds one day, trying to
figure out how to get their crude machine to fly, when suddenly it
dawned on Wilbur.  "Orville," he said, "all we have to do is remove
the sexual organs!"  You should have seen their original design.]  As
a result, birds are very, very difficult to arouse sexually.  You
almost never see an aroused bird.  So when they want to reproduce,
birds fly up and stand on telephone lines, where they monitor
telephone conversations with their feet.  When they find a
conversation in which people are talking dirty, they grip the line
very tightly until they are both highly aroused, at which point the
female gets pregnant.
            -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every
               Teen Should Know"
%%
Ask not for whom the telephone bell tolls... if thou art in the bathtub,
it tolls for thee.
%%
Atlanta makes it against the law to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole
or street lamp.
%%
For three days after death hair and fingernails continue to grow but
phone calls taper off.
                    -- Johnny Carson
%%
People who are funny and smart and return phone calls get much better
press than people who are just funny and smart.
                    -- Howard Simons, "The Washington Post"
%%
Real Users know your home telephone number.
%%
Telephone, n.:
    An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the
advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance.
                    -- Ambrose Bierce
%%
There were in this country two very large monopolies.  The larger of
the two had the following record: the Vietnam War, Watergate, double-
digit inflation, fuel and energy shortages, bankrupt airlines, and the
8-cent postcard.  The second was responsible for such things as the
transistor, the solar cell, lasers, synthetic crystals, high fidelity
stereo recording, sound motion pictures, radio astronomy, negative
feedback, magnetic tape, magnetic "bubbles", electronic switching
systems, microwave radio and TV relay systems, information theory, the
first electrical digital computer, and the first communications
satellite.  Guess which one got to tell the other how to run the
telephone business?
%%
To understand this important story, you have to understand how the
telephone company works.  Your telephone is connected to a local
computer, which is in turn connected to a regional computer, which is
in turn connected to a loudspeaker the size of a garbage truck on the
lawn of Edna A. Bargewater of Lawrence, Kan.

Whenever you talk on the phone, your local computer listens in.  If it
suspects you're going to discuss an intimate topic, it notifies the
computer above it, which listens in and decides whether to alert the
one above it, until finally, if you really humiliate yourself, maybe
break down in tears and tell your closest friend about a sordid
incident from your past involving a seedy motel, a neighbor's spouse,
an entire religious order, a garden hose and six quarts of tapioca
pudding, the top computer feeds your conversation into Edna's
loudspeaker, and she and her friends come out on the porch to listen
and drink gin and laugh themselves silly.
            -- Dave Barry, "Won't It Be Just Great Owning Our Own
               Phones?"
%%
"Here at the Phone Company, we serve all kinds of people; from
Presidents and Kings to the scum of the earth..."
%%
BUG [from telephone terminology, "bugs in a telephone cable", blamed
   for noisy lines; however, Jean Sammet has repeatedly been heard to
   claim that the use of the term in CS comes from a story concerning
   actual bugs found wedged in an early malfunctioning computer] n. An
   unwanted and unintended property of a program.  (People can have
   bugs too (even winners) as in "PHW is a super winner, but he has
   some bugs.")  See FEATURE.
                -- From the AI Hackers' Dictionary
%%
Hokey Dial, n. (also called Pseudo-Leased).  A means of connecting
terminals over a switched-line network (usually the public telephone
system), when the terminals concerned are designed to work only on a
permanently connected ("leased") line.  What happens is that the user
manually dials the connection and then starts the communications, and the
hardware at each end hopefully cannot detect the difference.  Used as
emergency fall-back in some cases where the dedicated lines fail; also used
as a cheap substitute for proper lines.  National communication authorities
do not always approve.
            -- from the IBM Jargon Dictionary

%%

MSG, v.  (message) To communicate via a computer-transmitted message,
rather than by telephone.  Usage: "MSG me when you are ready to go to
lunch".
            -- from the IBM Jargon Dictionary
%%
    To the habitual reader, reading is a drug of which he is the
slave; deprive him of printed matter and he grows nervous, moody, and
restless; then, like the alcoholic bereft of brandy who will drink
shellac or methylated spirit, he will make do with the advertisements
of a paper five years old; he will make do with a telephone directory.
                    -- W. Somerset Maugham, "The Bum"
%%

Here at the Phone Company, we serve all kinds of people; from
President's and Kings to the scum of the earth...
                    -- Lily Tomlin
%%

Now, telephone companies are not stupid, at least for large values of
'stupid'.
                    -- Michael O'Brien (Mr. Protocol)
%%

A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, a big TV with a hi-fi VCR and a nice
stereo, a full fridge, a microwave, a UNIX system, two phone lines, a
high speed modem, and thou.

%%

In recognizing AT&T Bell Laboratories for corporate innovation, for
its invention of cellular mobile communications, IEEE President
Russell C. Drew referred to the cellular telephone as a "basic
necessity."  How times have changed, one observer remarked: many in
the room recalled the advent of direct dialing.
                    -- The Institute, July 1988, pg. 11
%%

This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered
as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to
us.

%%

"You know you have answered too many Tech Support questions when your
Pavlovian response to a ringing phone is to throw it out a window"
        -- [e-mail] (John 'Fast-Eddie' McMahon)

%%

An agent is a vampire with a telephone.
                    -- Any Editor
%%

I once met a lassie named Ruth
In a long distance telephone booth.
    Now I know the perfection
    Of an ideal connection
Even if somewhat uncouth.
%%
A mathematician named Hall
Has a hexahedronical ball,
    And the cube of its weight
    Times his pecker's, plus eight
Is his phone number -- give him a call..
%%
I'm too shy to express my sexual needs except over the phone to people
I don't know.
                    -- Gary Shandling
%%
DOLL: operate a telephone.  "Jes doll me up sometime!"
            -- Texan Dictionary
%%

Maybe Hamton's right. Maybe Buster is shy about inviting me to the
prom. Maybe he's waiting until the last minute to call me. Maybe I
should run home right now and sit by the phone like a drooling maniac
so I don't miss his call! No, I'm way too cool for that. BUT I CAN'T
TAKE THAT CHANCE!!!
                    -- Babs Bunny
%%
    [ring ring] "Hello?"
    "Hello, Babs. This is the President of the United States."
    "Get off the line, Mac! I'm waiting for an important call!!!!"
                    -- Babs & George Bush
%%

If you want to understand your government, don't begin by reading the
Constitution. (It conveys precious little of the flavor of today's
statecraft.) Instead, read selected portions of the Washington
telephone directory containing listings for all the organizations with
titles beginning with the word "National."
                    -- George Will
%%
In an attempt to kill a fly I drove into a telephone pole.
%%
%%

Last Words of Advice: If you pay your taxes and don't get into debt
and go to bed early and never answer the telephone -- no harm can
befall you.
                    -- Professor Charles P. Issawi
%%

Parkinson's Telephone Law: The effectiveness of a telephone
conversation is in inverse proportion to the time spent on it.

%%

The honeymoon is over when he phones that he'll be late for supper --
and she has already left a note that it's in the refrigerator.
                    -- Bill Laurence
%%

The phone will not ring until you leave your desk and walk to the
other end of the building.
                    -- Linda A. Lawyer
%%

The telephone pole was approaching fast, I was attempting to swerve
out of it's path when it struck my front end.

%%

Utility is when you have one telephone, luxury is when you have two,
opulence is when you have three -- and paradise is when you have none.
                    -- Doug Larson
%%

Thoughts on Programming, Number 41:
    I know it.    I know what needs to be done - but every time I try to tackle
    a technical problem, some bloody fool wants me to make a decision about
    trucks - or telephones - or some damn thing.
            -- Robert Heinlein, "The Man Who Sold the Moon"
%%

"Just for today"
    I'll do something I have been putting off for a long time.
    I finally write that letter, make that phone call, clean out that closet
    or desk or straighten out those drawers.
            -- Abigail van Buren  (a.k.a. "Dear Abby")
               from the annual "The New Years Resolutions list"
%%

From: Richard Lucas <[e-mail]>

     Don't know if this is quite what you're looking for, but as a
former and still occasional telecom consultant who has worked on local
rate cases it was always one of my favorites (at least with regards to
U.S. domestic situations):

     "Where is it somewhere embedded in the Constitution that the
price of local telephone service should never be greater than the
price of a big pizza?"
     - Prof. Alfred Kahn, ex-New York Public Service Commission & ex-CAB
chief.
    (found in _Teleconnect_, 2/88, p. 154)

     Ever since then I've compared local phone rates to pizza prices -
and he's right, there isn't much difference between local phone rates
and large pizza prices. Rather frightening in a way...


     (Don't have the exact quote on my #2 comment, which I heard some
time after the AT&T Divestiture split and the open market sale of
telephone sets. One writer somewhere commented that the new
lightweight sets just didn't feel right; if the handset wasn't heavy
enough to be used as a murder weapon, it wasn't really a proper
telephone.)


Ed.











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Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 01:06:31 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #860

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 20 Nov 92 01:06:30 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 860

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Praise the Lord and Pass the RF Filters (Digest Reprint from 6/22/89)
    Re: Broadcasting Towers (Marc T. Kaufman)
    Re: Broadcasting Towers (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Broadcasting Towers (Doug Zolmer)
    Re: Broadcasting Towers (Alan Boritz)
    Re: Headsets, etc. (Cliff Sharp)
    Re: AT&T's COLOR Videophone With Motion (Cliff Sharp)
    New Version of History.of.area.splits (Carl Moore)
    Excuse my Error, Please (TELECOM Moderator)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Praise the Lord and Pass the RF Filters
Date: Thursday, November 19, 1992


[Moderator's Note: This article first appeared in TELECOM Digest on
Thursday, June 22, 1989. (Volume 9, Issue 208). I thought newer
readers would enjoy seeing it and older readers might enjoy a repeat
as part of the thread on Broadcasting Towers.  Since this was written,
most of the problems have been corrected.  PAT]

                         -----------

Indiana Bell service in the northeast section of Hammond, IN has gone
to hell, but the telco says its not their fault, and they are trying
to work with the people involved to correct the problem.

For instance, consider the case of Steve Gescheidler, a resident of
north Hammond, living just a few blocks from the Illinois/Indiana
state line: he shares a party line with Jesus. When he picks up his
telephone, a voice will often be on the wire reading from Ephesians,
or bellowing at him to repent before he Burns In Hell forever.
Sometimes the voice is trying to sell him spiritually enlightening
audio tapes -- Visa and MasterCard accepted, of course.

His neighbor around the corner, Judy Maruszczak, has a heavenly
instrument also: When she tries to make a phone call, it will often
times be drowned out by hand-clapping gospel music. Her VCR also likes
to preach to her.

The Hammond legal firm of Efron and Efron owns a pious dictaphone
machine.  When the secretary is in the midst of transcribing legalese,
threats of fire and brimstone suddenly are heard on the tape. In
addition, their phone system is electronic, and when they put calls on
hold, as often as not a few seconds later the hold is broken and the
call is lost. Several times per day the phone will ring, and no one is
on the line at all.

Linda Reynolds, another resident in the area said her television, her
VCR and her cordless phone all began urging her down the righteous
path last fall. She said sometimes at night the cordless phone begins
ringing by itself, and going off hook for no reason, tying up their
wire-line.

Nine year old Tommy Kotul learned how to find salvation while he was
trying to play 'Sports Baseball', an Atari game cartridge. He also
said that one day in school, a choir started singing hymns over the
school's public address system, which is in the form of speakerphones
connected to the intercom phone on each teacher's desk.

Although the sanctified interference shows up in the damndedest ways,
on all sorts of electronic gizmos, it invariably is on the phone lines
of the good (and presumably by now, God-fearing) residents of North
Hammond, an Indiana community which straddles the Illinois state line
with the communities of Burnham and Calumet City, Illinois to the
south and west, and Chicago at it's northwest tip on the state line.

So people began asking Indiana Bell, "what the heck is this, anyway?"...

WYCA-FM Christian Broadcasters, Inc. ... that's what it is ... this
religious station, operating at 92.3 on the dial, licensed in Hammond,
IN, with transmitter facilities in Burnham, IL is the culprit.
Operating with an antenna height of 500 feet, and 50,000 watts of
radiated power, the folks at WYCA-FM Christian Broadcasters, Inc. are
literally *saturating* a two mile area around the northern end of the
Indiana/Illinois state line, 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

Gescheidler lives about four blocks from WYCA's transmitter. He first
began noticing the sanctified interference last fall, and it became
louder and louder as the months went on, always on his end. "It seems
like when I am in the middle of an important conversation, some
preacher always comes on and tells me I'm going to Hell," he said,
adding that the phone lines had already gone to hell, and no one
seemed to give a damn about it.

After complaining several times to Indiana Bell, Gescheidler and his
neighbors complained to the Federal Communications Commission, the
Indiana Utilities Regulatory Commission, and finally to the radio
station itself.  No one, he realized, least of all the radio station,
was willing to take any responsibility for the problem.

WYCA isn't breaking any broadcasting rules according to Paul Gomell,
an FCC Chicago office technician whose duties include periodic
examination of WYCA's equipment. "The home equipment is probably not
adequately filtered," he said.

"The problem has nothing to do with Indiana Bell's equipment," said
Delores Steur-Wagner, Indiana Bell's community affairs manager for
Hammond. "If there are complaints, they should go to the FCC."

Chris Alexander, Dallas-based Vice President-Engineering for WYCA-FM
Christian Broadcasters' parent corporation said, "The signal is so
strong, you expect this kind of interference in devices that are not
well-shielded. We try to advise people as best we can, and we have
worked closely with Indiana Bell and Illinois Bell to resolve
complaints."

In November, 1986, the station raised its antenna to 500 feet from 400
feet, and increased its power from 30,000 to 50,000 watts, Alexander
said. "We made these changes only after receiving permission to do so
from the Federal Communications Commission."  Alexander said that this
change in power and antenna height created a so-called 'blanketing
area' -- an area of about 1.7 miles in any direction of the
transmitter and antenna -- where the signal is so strong and so
permeating, it is literally everywhere, in everything.

"Indeed this is the case," said one neighbor five blocks from the
site.  "I have gone for early morning walks in the open field where
the antenna is constructed. In the crisp, early morning air, you can
almost feel the signal; smell that ozone; sense the corona."

Alexander said, "We operate completely within the law. We observe all
FCC regulations at all times." He noted that one condition for the
change in antenna height and power output being granted by the
Commission was that WYCA was ordered to assume responsibility for
correcting certain types of radio interference in an area 1.7 miles in
any direction of the station for a period of *one year* afterward.
Alexander said during that time they worked closely with the telcos
involved and "....anyone who complained about interference was given
free of charge the filtering devices they needed ... some of our
people helped install them ... just what the FCC said we had to do, we
did it, in the geographic area required, for the length of time
required...."

Alexander noted one of the first complaints about the increased power
came when prosecutors in a federal drug trial in Hammond tried to play
wiretap evidence for the jury: instead, the tape recorder offered up
hymns and homilies.

Paul Gomell of the FCC noted that they have received complaints about
the station relating to answering machines, speed-dialing equipment,
cordless phones, cheapie phones, hold buttons, Touch-Tone service, and
VCR's. These appurtenances and others -- like the preaching Atari game
 -- lend to the appearance that God is everywhere, at least in Hammond.

One Indiana Bell service representative spoke, on the condition that
she could remain nameless, saying that the telco had handled over 130
WYCA-related problems in the past year, but Bell spokeswoman
Steur-Wagner said the company does not keep track of such things and
she had no way of confirming this report.

The next step to reduce the interference -- with no guarentees that it
will completely end -- is to have all the interior phone wire shielded
in steel casings, said Tim Timmons, Indiana Bell's regional
maintainence manager for northern Indiana, "...plus of course have
good filtering where the phone lines come into the building..."

"What a deal!", said Gescheidler. He recently priced the job at $300
per phone from an independent contractor. "Indiana Bell said *maybe*
they could do it a little cheaper for us ... but they say it is not
their obligation to resolve the problem any further."  He mentioned
that, "...one day some guy from WYCA came here with a phone man; they
had some cheapie looking filter they plugged in ... it didn't seem to
do any good."

Although the parent corporation of WYCA in Dallas may have good public
relations, the neighborhood says local staff at WYCA-FM Christian
Broadcasters, Inc. isn't at all concerned any longer. "They have heard
so many complaints I guess they quit listening to them any longer,"
said a neighbor. "When I called one day -- one day when it seemed like
they were much louder than usual -- and asked them in a nice way
couldn't they modulate their signal a little better, a lady there told
me I was being blasphemous. She told me it was anti-religious to
complain. She said I should be thankful that I was able to hear the
Word of God, and she hoped I would someday realize I would Burn In
Hell without accepting Jesus as my Savior. That's the last time I
bothered calling *them* to complain. Now the FCC and Indiana Bell say
*they* can't do any more either?"

No madame, they cannot. As Chris Alexander, VP-Engineering has
explained time and again when asked, the Corporation follows all FCC
rules at all times. "We ALWAYS do exactly what the government tells us
to do," he said.

And Indiana Bell brings the wire to the drop by your house. They say
the line is as clean as it can be at that point. You do the rest.

An old folk-prayer says, "My Lord ... nothing is going to happen that
You and I can't handle together. Amen." But one can have too much
togetherness, as the residents of North Hammond will attest.

Said Steve Gescheidler, "On the radio, they are praying for me.
Meanwhile, I am praying for a phone line I can talk on without being
disrupted by the choir and the organist."


Radio Station WYCA-FM
Studios and Executive Offices
6336 Calumet Avenue
Hammond, IN 46301
92.3 on FM dial throughout northern Illinois and northern Indiana.


[Moderator's Note, appended 1/1/91: Shortly after this article
appeared, tbe FCC instructed WYCA to intensify their efforts to
resolve the problems of the Hammond residents. 'Better' RF filters
were devised and technical help was given in their installation. For
about a month, WYCA was required to announce over the air at intervals
that assistance would be provided freely on request to anyone within a
1.7 mile radius of the transmitter experiencing problems. There have
been no recent complaints, so I assume things are better now.  PAT]


[Moderator's Note: Several people requested this reprint in recent
days. When WYCA first went on the air in the late 1950's, not that
many people in Hammond had FM radios. WYCA's solution was to announce
that you could also hear them 'quite well' on your television set by
setting the dial to channel 6 and running the fine tuning upward a
distance ... of course, channel 6 comes in around what? 80 megs or so;
the old television sets of the era could be warped up enough to reach
92.3 ... that's how eager they were to be heard, praise the Lord! :)  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Marc T. Kaufman)
Subject: Re: Broadcasting Towers
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: CS Department, Stanford University, California, USA
Date: 19 Nov 92 17:55:57 GMT


[e-mail] (Ted Hadley) writes:

> In Sunnyvale, CA, my neighbors and I successfully got CellularOne to
> not place a tower by involving the entire neighborhood...

I hope you don't have or use a cellular phone.  To do so would be
hypocritical, since the towers are necessary to cellular phone service
and have to go *somewhere*.  The same comment applies to your
neighbors ...


Marc Kaufman ([e-mail])

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Broadcasting Towers
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 08:57:35 GMT


> Hector Salgado-Galicia <[e-mail]> writes:

>> A friend of mine is doing research for a group of clients. They want
>> to keep communications towers away from their neighborhood. Could
>> someone comment on regulations at the City, State or Federal level
>> that could be employed to support their case?

I wish they *would* place a Cellular One tower near my neighborhood so
that I could decent cellular service near my home! :-)


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 13:37:00 +0000
From: Doug (D.W.J.) Zolmer <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Broadcasting Towers


This is a little off-topic for telecom, but the stories about people
complaining about broadcast towers reminds me of a similar situation
in the city of Kanata, a small suburban city west of Ottawa (Canada's
capital city).

Some high tension power lines were proposed about 100 metres from the
backyards of a new subdivision.  For two years people whined and
complained.  After the environmental study showed there would be no
problems, the power lines were installed.

Almost immediately, complaints about health problems and other
mysterious goings-on (such as television interference, and appliances
turning on and off by themselves) started appearing.  The interesting
things is that these complaints preceded the time (by about four
months) when current was actually flowing through those power lines.

Sheesh!


Doug W.J. Zolmer  Disclaimer: My opinions only, not BNR's
7N61 - Service Control Point - Number Services Design
Voice [phone] or ESN 393 8217

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

Date: 19 Nov 92 06:58:35 EST
From: Alan Boritz <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Broadcasting Towers


[e-mail] (Hector Salgado-Galicia) writes:

> A friend of mine is doing research for a group of clients. They want
> to keep communications towers away from their neighborhood. Could
> someone comment on regulations at the City, State or Federal level
> that could be employed to support their case?

Very few, as long as it's structurally sound.  It's foolish to go on a
"witch hunt" just because you don't like who's moving into the
neighborhood.  Communications towers are good for the local economy,
since they bring in additional public-sector revenue and provide an
additional business opportunity that wouldn't necessarily exist
without it.  Unless if someone's planning on pushing megawatts (no
joke) of VHF or higher frequency RF power, there's not likely to be
even a slight possibility of hazardous RFR exposure, as far as modern
science can suggest. The "harmful non-ionizing radiation" story is an
old sick joke used by immature idiots and ignorant fools to promote a
hidden agenda.


Alan Boritz    [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: Headsets etc.
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 1:27:34 CST
From: Cliff Sharp <[e-mail]>


In article <[e-mail]@acuson.com (Jeff Bier)
writes:

> I'm seeking recommendations on telephone headsets.  I have in mind the
> kind that replaces the handset on a typical telephone.  I'm also
> curious to know if anyone makes a cordless telephone headset.

   Years ago, I was searching for one myself.  After trying on several
dozen types, from Radio Shack (like having my head in a clothespin;
hurt after just a few seconds) to Plantronics (heavy, similar to large
stereo headphones which cover the entire ear and shut out all outside
noise, sweaty and generally uncomfortable ... at least the ones I could
find up to $300), I happened to walk into a Heathkit store and found
something not in the catalog.  This little gem by Nady Systems
(unfortunately, address and other info unknown) had a headset similar to
foam-pad walkman-type headphones, VERY comfortable, small control box
inserts between handpiece and phoneset and is switchable to use either
handset or headset.  Best of all, it was just under $40.

   I've seen a cordless headset (with DTMF pad) in one of the
DAK/Damark type catalogs at around $200; they're out there.

  If anyone knows where I could get another Nady Systems headset, I'd
enjoy knowing, since this one is years old and may not last too many
more decades ...


Cliff Sharp   [e-mail]   OR  [e-mail]  WA9PDM

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

Subject: Re: AT&T's COLOR Videophone With Motion
Date: Thu 19 Nov 92 1:33:05 CST
From: Cliff Sharp <[e-mail]>


In article <[e-mail]![e-mail]
(Daniel Drucker) writes:

> All video is 30fps.

   All right, let's put the whole thing in perspective.  The PAL and
SECAM systems in use in other parts of the world use a (roughly) 50 Hz
FIELD rate, or 50 fps, which equates to 25 FRAMES per second, or 25
Fps.  The NTSC system in use in the US, as broadcast, is regulated
strictly by the FCC and goes like this:

   The color subcarrier frequency is 3,579,545 Hz.
   The horizontal scan frequency is 2/455 times the color subcarrier freq.
   The vertical scan frequency (field rate) is 2/525 times the horizontal
scan frequency.  This makes the field rate right around 59.94 Hz.  The
frame rate is 1/2 that, or roughly 29.97 Hz.

   Now, go videotape a movie that was originally on film, or a Bugs
Bunny cartoon, or something like that.  In most cases, if you go
"frame by frame" (actually field-by-field on most VHS VCRs), you'll
notice that the film frames are shown something like this; film frame
1, three TV fields; film frame 2, two TV fields; repeat 3/2/3/2 to try
to approximate 24 film frames per second (60/2.5 = 24; since they
can't show 2-1/2 fields each time, they run 3,2,3,2).  Because of the
difference between 59.94 and 60 Hz, there's a correction factor that
the film chain inserts every so often, but what it is and how often I
haven't deciphered yet.

   Now, tape a Saturday-morning Hanna-Barbera cartoon and you'll find
they usually run about four to five different pictures per second (or
per 60 fields, or presses of the "frame advance" button on your
remote).  If you have an old-fashioned wind-up watch (most of which
tick five times per second), you can listen to it, watch the picture
and note that the watch ticks more often than the picture changes at
full speed.


Cliff Sharp    [e-mail]   OR  [e-mail]  WA9PDM

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

Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 15:41:28 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: New Version of History.of.area.splits


Just installed in the Telecom Archives today, with the following
changes:

In list of areas which have N0X/N1X prefixes, I have shifted
212/917/718 and 512/210 to present tense.  I already had a note about
813 having N0X/N1X prefixes, so I added that the instructions also
apply to 305,407,904.  For the 416/905 full cutover, I previously had
Jan. 1994 with no exact date available and I now have 10 Jan. 1994.

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

Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 00:24:15 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <telecom>
Subject: Excuse my Error, Please


I got his name wrong yesterday. It is Arthur Ochs Sulzberger. I stand
corrected and apologize for the error.


Patrick Townson

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #860
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #861

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 20 Nov 92 01:36:15 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 861

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Telecom Quotations (Mark Brader)
    Re: Telecom Quotations (Richard Cox)
    Re: Telecom Quotations (Rich Greenberg)
    Re: Telecom Quotations (Eric Weaver)
    Re: Telecom Quotations (Bart Z. Lederman)
    Re: Advice Needed on Wide Area Networking (Doug Faunt)
    Re: Advice Needed on Wide Area Networking (Lars Poulsen)
    Re: Advice Needed on Telephone Security Systems (Todd Inch)
    Re: Advice Needed on Telephone Security Systems (Gordon Burditt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: Telecom Quotations
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 23:37:51 GMT


> "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a
>  means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."
>     -- Western Union memo, 1877

This one is on the list three times!


[Moderator's Note: Yeah, but it is the best one of all! I deliberatly
did not edit it out. I should have left it in three more times! :)   PAT]

> BUG [from telephone terminology, "bugs in a telephone cable", blamed
>    for noisy lines; however, Jean Sammet has repeatedly been heard to
>    claim that the use of the term in CS comes from a story concerning
>    actual bugs found wedged in an early malfunctioning computer] n. An
>    unwanted and unintended property of a program.  (People can have
>    bugs too (even winners) as in "PHW is a super winner, but he has
>    some bugs.")  See FEATURE.
>                 -- From the AI Hackers' Dictionary

The document is properly called the Jargon File these days in its
online form; in print it has been The Hacker's Dictionary and now The
New Hacker's Dictionary.  The version above is quite an old one is,
but the expanded current version mentions telephony even less.  FYI:

:bug: n. An unwanted and unintended property of a program or piece
   of hardware, esp. one that causes it to malfunction.  Antonym of
   {feature}.  Examples: "There's a bug in the editor: it writes
   things out backwards."  "The system crashed because of a hardware
   bug."  "Fred is a winner, but he has a few bugs" (i.e., Fred is
   a good guy, but he has a few personality problems).

   Historical note: Some have said this term came from telephone
   company usage, in which "bugs in a telephone cable" were blamed
   for noisy lines, but this appears to be an incorrect folk
   etymology.  Admiral Grace Hopper (an early computing pioneer better
   known for inventing {COBOL}) liked to tell a story in which a
   technician solved a persistent {glitch} in the Harvard Mark II
   machine by pulling an actual insect out from between the contacts
   of one of its relays, and she subsequently promulgated {bug} in
   its hackish sense as a joke about the incident (though, as she was
   careful to admit, she was not there when it happened).  For many
   years the logbook associated with the incident and the actual bug
   in question (a moth) sat in a display case at the Naval Surface
   Warfare Center.  The entire story, with a picture of the logbook
   and the moth taped into it, is recorded in the `Annals of the
   History of Computing', Vol. 3, No. 3 (July 1981), pp. 285--286.

   The text of the log entry (from September 9, 1945), reads "1545
   Relay #70 Panel F (moth) in relay.  First actual case of bug being
   found".  This wording seems to establish that the term was already
   in use at the time in its current specific sense --- and Hopper
   herself reports that the term `bug' was regularly applied to
   problems in radar electronics during WWII.  Indeed, the use of
   `bug' to mean an industrial defect was already established in
   Thomas Edison's time, and `bug' in the sense of an disruptive
   event goes back to Shakespeare!  In the first edition of Samuel
   Johnson's dictionary one meaning of `bug' is "A frightful
   object; a walking spectre"; this is traced to `bugbear', a Welsh
   term for a variety of mythological monster which (to complete the
   circle) has recently been reintroduced into the popular lexicon
   through fantasy role-playing games.

   In any case, in jargon the word almost never refers to insects.
   Here is a plausible conversation that never actually happened:

   "There is a bug in this ant farm!"

   "What do you mean?  I don't see any ants in it."

   "That's the bug."

   [There has been a widespread myth that the original bug was moved
   to the Smithsonian, and an earlier version of this entry so
   asserted.  A correspondent who thought to check discovered that the
   bug was not there.  While investigating this in late 1990, your
   editor discovered that the NSWC still had the bug, but had
   unsuccessfully tried to get the Smithsonian to accept it --- and
   that the present curator of their History of American Technology
   Museum didn't know this and agreed that it would make a worthwhile
   exhibit.  It was moved to the Smithsonian in mid-1991.  Thus, the
   process of investigating the original-computer-bug bug fixed it in
   an entirely unexpected way, by making the myth true!  --- ESR]

   [1992 update: the plot thickens!  A usually reliable source reports
   having seen The Bug at the Smithsonian in 1978.  I am unable to
   reconcile the conflicting histories I have been offered, and merely
   report this fact here. --- ESR.]

ESR is Eric Raymond, the current editor.


Add to the list this one, which I use as one of my signature quotes:

       "I can direct dial today a man my parents warred with.
        They wanted to kill him, I want to sell software to him."
                                          -- Brad Templeton

In one of Arthur C. Clarke's novels there's a beautiful throwaway line
about the historic abolition of long-distance charges on January 1,
2001, or some such date.  It's quoted in a recent nonfiction book of
his which I've been meaning to review for Telecom; I'll find the quote
if I remember.


Mark Brader, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, utzoo!sq!msb, [e-mail]

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

Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 15:49 GMT
From: Richard Cox <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Telecom Quotations
Reply-To: [e-mail]


>>  "Hello, Neil and Buzz. I'm talking to you by telephone from the Oval Room
>>  at the White House, and this certainly has to be the most historic
>>  telephone call ever made."

And probably the most expensive.  There was a rumour that he called
collect!


Richard Cox

Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, Wales CF4 5WF
Voice: [phone]      Fax: [phone]      VoiceMail: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]     Not diallable on 511 in mainland USA

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

Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 08:06:50 PST
From: [e-mail] (Rich Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Telecom Quotations
Organization: Hatch Usenet and E-mail.  Playa del Rey, CA


> We don't care.  We don't have to.  We're the Phone Company.

This should be attributed to the late Lilly Tomlin.


Rich Greenberg      Work: [e-mail]
N6LRT               Play: [e-mail]
What?   Me speak for Amdahl?  Surely you jest....

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

From: [e-mail] (Eric Weaver)
Subject: Re: Telecom Quotations
Organization: SONY Advanced Video Technology Center San Jose, CA USA
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 17:54:24 GMT


> "Mr. Watson , come here, I want you"
> --- Alexander Graham Bell (first telephone message)
> (obviously didn't have a good sense of occasion ... or a scriptwriter))

I believe the occasion was that Bell had just spilled battery acid in
his lap, and the message sounds fairly appropriate under the circs.


Eric Weaver  Sony AVTC  677 River Oaks Pkwy, MS 35  SJ CA 95134  408 944-4904
& Chief Engineer, KFJC 89.7 Foothill College, Los Altos Hills CA 94022

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

Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 13:28:55 EST
From: B. Z. Lederman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Telecom Quotations


    I missed your original request for telephone quotations.

    One of my favorites comes from the "Two Ronnies", an English
television show where they used to do a pseudo news reading.

    "So many people have written to complain about the telephone
service that the Post Office is actually going to show a profit this
year."


Bart Z. Lederman    System Resources Corp.

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

Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 07:41:41 -0800
From: Doug Faunt <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Advice Needed on Wide Area Networking


It's cisco if you've been around a while, or Cisco if you believe the
marketing people.  You can send mail to [e-mail], and your message
should be forwarded to the proper people.


73, doug

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

From: [e-mail] (Lars Poulsen)
Subject: Re: Advice Needed on Wide Area Networking
Organization: CMC Network Systems (Rockwell DCD), Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 16:17:31 GMT


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

[Some questions about how to connect two offices five miles apart with
TCP/IP (X terminals) and Appletalk.]

> We could eventually end up with six or so Xterminals and ten Macs.
> A 56kb line is the same installation cost as a T1, and the monthly
> difference is only $250/mo ($250/mo for a 56kb line, $500/mo for a T1).

> What kind of demands does X place on the network?
> Will a 56kb >line be sufficent, or should we jump to the T1?

If you have enough money in the budget to easily afford the bandwidth,
go for the T1. While your average traffic will probably fit in the
56Kbps line, there will be times when you are waiting for the line.

The performance needs of X terminals depend enormously on the
applications. Some applications transfer enormous amounts of data to
support what looks like modest displays. I recently saw an X dialog
editor, which transferred about 250 KB before turning the window on.
It had a lot of widgets and menus that were set up even though they
were not going to be displayed anytime soon. We were working on
evaluating whether X terminals could usefully be employed over a
V.32bis link, and this application could not: It took almost two
minutes from application launch for the window showed up, and users
(even the programmers who knew the program) were killing and
restarting the program over and over because their patience ran out.
On a 56kbps link, this would take about 45 seconds to start.
Uncomfortable but survivable. On the T1, about 3 seconds: No problem.

Most applications won't be this hungry. But you have to try it before
you know what YOUR applications will be like.

With a T1, you can load your X terminals over the link, and you can
painlessly remote-mount file systems. With a 56K, that is kind of iffy.

With a T1, you may consider getting a pair of drop/insert muxes and
pulling a couple of voice channels out, so that you can tie the PBXs
together and save a couple of outside lines. This may pay for the
increment in line costs.

> I'm also looking for suggestions for routers. I'm familiar (by
> reputation only) with cisco (or is it Cisco this week?). What else
> should I consider?

It is indeed Cisco these days. Cisco is the flagship of the industry,
enjoying the kind of name recognition that IBM used to have in
corporate computing. They are also enormously profitable, and have
adopted IBM attitudes. They don't participate in comparative
evaluations by magazines, and they don't participate in industry
interoperability test labs any more. I don't like that attitude.

There are about 50 manufacturers of bridges and routers in the market,
and most of them are okay for your application.

> Is bridging worth considering, too?

Yes. Your network management will be much easier with bridging: There
is just one LAN. Bridges are much less expensive.

> What should I look for in a good CDU/DSU?  Are the all the same, or
> are there large differences from manufacturer to manufacture?

CSU/DSUs are commodity items these days, and even different brands
usually work together. If you choose to mix voice and data on the
line, the multiplexer is the CSU (channel service unit) and the DSU
(Data Service Unit) is a channel card that plugs into the mux.

Don't buy the DSU until you have selected the router, because you need
to order DSU and router with matching cable interfaces. There are
actually about five standards for that connection. V.35 is becoming
the most common, though RS422 (MIL-188) is probably better. RS232 is
also often used for 56kbps.

One thing to look for in the DSU if you decide to multiplex is whether
the DSU card produces a "smooth clock" or a "gapped clock". Most DTEs
don't mind a gapped clock, but some do (although I have only seen
specific problems with video gear) and why invite problems.

Have fun. Did you go to InterOp to look at equipment? Next chance will
be in March in Washington, DC.

And no, the routers that my company makes, do not (yet) connect to
synchronous lines, so I am a somewhat neutral observer. There is,
however, a decent product made by another Santa Barbara company,
called Advanced Computer Communications.


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] (Todd Inch)
Subject: Re: Advice Needed on Telephone Security Systems
Organization: Maverick International Inc.
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 16:46:59 GMT


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

> c) Why were cable connections cut?

The four-conductor underground phone cable I've seen looks a LOT like
coax, especially underground coax.  Assuming that most thieves are
pretty stupid, it's easier to just cut all the cables just to make
sure.

One thought that came to me while reading this for a "cut phone wire
detector" is to simply add another piece of underground phone cable
from the demarc down into the ground a few feet.  This dummy cable
could then be connected directly to your alarm, either as an open loop
or closed loop (or, better yet since you have four conductors, one of
each) depending on how you terminate the stub in the dirt.  If this
gets cut, you KNOW someone is tampering with your phone cables.  I
suppose you could use any unused pairs in your actual phone cable as
open-loop detectors, but someday the phone company will use them or
short them or something and give you a false alarm.

Of course real cut-line-detectors measure the voltage across the line,
but those can be spoofed by carefully connecting a power supply of the
right voltage to the demarc prior to cutting the wire.  I would expect
that most monitoring/alarm companies can install one of these at your
request.  Of course, most theives would rather find an open door or
break a window than learn to pick locks, so a typical thief won't drag
a variable battery-operated supply and voltmeter to the side of your
house.

If this type of problem goes on a lot in your area it might be worth
setting up a "neighborhood watch" where everybody has a battery-backed
CB walkie-talkie tuned to the same channel (9?) and left on all the
time with the squelch turned up.  You could always rig up a tape
recorder and the push-to-talk button to your alarm to announce the
situation and your address.  This would work best if you have some
reliable retired or otherwise home all the time people in your
neighborhood.  Just gotta keep the kids from playing "practical"
jokes.

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

From: [e-mail] (Gordon Burditt)
Subject: Re: Advice Needed on Telephone Security Systems
Organization: Gordon Burditt
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 06:41:37 GMT


Has anyone considered a telephone line alarm?  This thing would go
between your house wiring and the phone company's demarcation point.
It sounds an alarm (although you probably wouldn't want this to
directly call the police) when:

(1) The line is disconnected (loss of battery).  Might misfire during CO
    cutovers -- or maybe you wanted to detect them.

(2) The line is shorted.  Might also detect a flooded CO.

(3) If the line goes off-hook from OUTSIDE your house, but not inside.
    This may signal a lineman or phone service thief connecting a butt
    set into your line to make free phone calls, or a neighbor who found
    this extra live pair run into his house, or an incompetent cop
    or private detective installing a wiretap.

Naturally, the alarm has to tolerate incoming and outgoing calls
without false alarms.

An optional function when the alarm detected (3) would be to jam the
line by going off hook and sending a test tone to jam dialing.  (What
would happen if you jammed pulse dialing by sending a sequence of 15
pulses, timed just like dialing "0" but more of them?  Would
technicians at the central office get mad?) This you would need to
turn off if you reported trouble and expected tests and/or repairs
done on your line.


Gordon L. Burditt    sneaky.lonestar.org!gordon

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #861
******************************










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Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 02:26:04 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #862

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 20 Nov 92 02:26:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 862

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    950-0666 Becomes, Well, 950 (Brad S. Hicks)
    Privacy Has an Ed Tel Price-Tag (Richard Nash)
    Foreign Exchange Installation Alternatives? (J.L. Gomez)
    GE Quick*Net Gateway? (Alan Boritz)
    If it's Wednesday, it's NYTel Ad Day (Dave Niebuhr)
    Bellcore ADSI Specification? (Richard W. Desaulniers)
    Latency in Current Analog Phone Lines? (James Kempf)
    Cordless Phone Users Gain Some Privacy Rights (Jerry Leichter)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: mc/G=Brad/S=Hicks/OU=[e-mail]
Date: 19 Nov 92 16:10:49 GMT
Subject: 950-0666 Becomes, Well, 950


Here at MasterCard, we received the following piece of
incomprehensible bureaucratese from the office of Bellcore's Wendy K.
Messer, NANPA Administration, LCC 1B231, 290 West Mt. Pleasant Ave.,
Livingston, NJ 07039.  I'm forwarding it both because the content may
be of interest and as an example of Bellcore's dealings with
end-users.  (Any typos or misspellings are almost certainly mine.)

For those of you who really are interested in the content, I've
affixed an attempt at a translation at the end.  As you read this,
remember that this memo as addressed to our Director of Operations
Administration, a management, not engineering, position.

 - - - - - - - - - -

North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA) is responsible
for the assignment of Carrier Identification Codes (CICs) to entities
(interexchange carriers and end users).  NANPA maintains records of
the assignments and issues reports to the FCC and industry as
required.  Our records show that one or more CIC(s) have been assigned
to your company.

NANPA is contacting you via this certified letter in connection with
the industry project to expand CICs from three to four digits, which
is outlined in the Industry Carrier Compatibility Forum (ICCF) CIC
Administrative Guidelines.  The first phase affects FG B and is
scheduled for 1Q93.  At that time, two things will occur First, CICs
will be split into two separate pools, one for Feature Group B (FG B)
and one for Feature Group D (FG D).  After this split occurs, any
entity wishing to purchase both FG B and FG D access will have to
request separate FG B and FG D CICs, and there is no guarantee that
the CICs assigned for FG B and FG D service will be the same.  Second
those existing three-digit CICs which are designated as FG B CICs,
i.e. CICs which are used in the carrier access code 950-WXXX (where
the assignee has selected the W digit as 0 or 1), will be expanded to
four digits by prefixing the three digit CIC with the selected W
digit.  New CICs will be assigned as 4 digits.  FG D CICs will remain
at three digits until FG D expansion, which is currently scheduled for
1995.  At that time, they will be expanded by prefixing a 0 to the
three-digit FG D CIC.  Existing CIC assignments will be designated as
FG B or FG D based on type of access as of 1Q93.

Thus, FG B CICs will be expanded as follows: CIC XXX with W = 0
(950-0XXX) will become FG B CIC 0XXX.  Likewise, CIC XXX with W = 1
(950-1XXX) will become FG B CIC 1XXX.  If the CIC is currently in use
for FG D, the entity will retain the assignment of the three-digit CIC
for FG D.  Usage will be determined from the quarterly usage reports
submitted to NANPA by the local exchange carriers.  If the CIC is not
currently used for FG D, the CIC will be made available to another
entity for FG D.

The attached sheet lists the CIC assignment(s) on record for your
company, as well as the type of use, i.e. FG B and/or FG D.  It also
lists your assignment(s) as they will look after FG B expansion
occurs.  Please check the information for accuracy, make any changes
necessary, sign it, and return it to NANPA at the address indicated.
If the information is correct, please sign the sheet and return it to
NANPA also.  If you believe the information is incorrect, please
explain why.  Your reply must also be returned by the date indicated
or else we will proceed with the information as listed.  You are also
responsible for notifying NANPA if there are any subsequent changes to
the information.

New CIC assignment guidelines have been developed by the industry
through the ICCF.  These guidelines, which cover the transition from
three-to four-digit CICs and assignment procedures for four-digit
CICs, seek maximum industry cooperation in this important effort, and
we ask that you help us accordingly.  Copies are available on request.

If you have any questions, please call Jim Deak on 201-xxx-xxxx or me
on 201-xxx-xxxx.

Thank you,
(s) Wendy Messer

 - - - - - - - - - -

Did you make it through that?

TRANSLATION: Right now if a company owns both a 950-0nnn (or 950-1nnn)
code AND a 10-nnn-0 code, the "nnn" is the same.  Bellcore is breaking
this so that they have more slack in the 950-nnnn pseudo-exchange ...
and while they're at it, they're expanding the 0/1 after the 950 to
any digit, so they can assign numbers like 950-7448 or 950-3825.

So if you're at a company called (for example) Hellcore, and you own
"FG B" number 950-0666, but you're not a long-distance carrier with
the 10-666-0 prefix, then after early next year if somebody wants to
start a long-distance carrier, say, "Ma Hell," and use 10-666-0 as
their access number, then they can.  If this confuses telecom-literate
customers who are used to relating the 950-0nnn and 10-nnn-0 codes, so
be it.  Oh yeah, and some time in the 1995 (for example) Ma Hell's
10-666-0 will probably become 10-0666-0, too.

As our in-house telephone guru put it when the memo finally got to
him: "Why didn't they just =say= that?"


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.

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

Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 21:42:52 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Richard Nash)
Subject: Privacy Has an Ed Tel Price-Tag


 From the {Edmonton Sun}, Nov 18, 1992 Comment section page 11
By Sun columnist Donna Marie Artuso

Selective Call Blocking (SCB) seem to be the very latest in a series of
wondrous developments that have delivered us from the days of black,
rotary dial telephones and party lines (ah, the good old days) into
the era of touch-tone phones that look like Mickey Mouse, take your
messages and forward calls to anywhere in the world.

SCB allows telephone customers to prevent their number from being
known by people who subscribe to another technological wonder, the
Call Display feature.

It is particularly desirable for folks with security concerns. For
example, victims of family violence who are in hiding from their
attackers, and medical professionals who wish to keep their numbers
confidential from the patients they counsel after hours - by phone
from their homes.

         C O N C E R N S  A B O U T   P R I V A C Y

Consumer groups too, have voiced concerns about the right to privacy
of seniors and other shut-ins who shop by phone.

Yesterday, Ed Tel president and CEO R.H. David appeared at a meeting
of the city's utilities and public works committee in support of Ed
Tel's request to extend the SCB service for the not-so-modest service
charge of $17.70 per customer.

Perhaps recognizing that many people who need SCB might not be able to
afford the fee, David did allow that it would be provided free of
charge whenever there was demonstrable need, such as when an
individual has a restraining order against someone who has threatened
them from the past.

Ed Tel's fee-for-service rationale also included some reference to a
"deterrent" factor which led David to distinguish between "legitimate"
requests for SCB and requests from abusers, or those thousands of
people who, every year, get on the horn to make threatening and
obscene calls.

It was an especially weak argument considering that such wierdos are
now far easier to detect, thanks to a technology known as Call Trace
which is available to everyone free of charge.

Abusers, who have their calls connected by the 411 service, can now
also be traced quite readily.

Besides, if $17.70 was going to deter anyone from making an obscene
phone call, we'd have licked the problem a long time ago.

It was Ald. Tooker Gomberg who raised the subject of other telephone
companies and their SCB strategies.

He should be interested to know that AGT supplies Selective Call
Blocking to any customer who asks for it, absolutely free of charge.

Explains AGT product manager and spokesman Laurie Schultz: "We didn't
want to have to make privacy decisions for our customers. We didn't
want to have to play the role of judge and jury and decide who had a
good reason for getting it free and who didn't."

AGT was the first company in Canada to introduce call display and call
blocking.  They were first tested in Red Deer in 1990.

         R e s p o n s e   t o  R e s i s t a n c e

Says Schultz: "Like all telephone companies, we were new to privacy
impacts.  But we found there was some resistance to call display, so
we minimized it by providing call block for free."

As is the usual proceedure in these matters, Ed Tel's request will be
considered by city counsil at its next full meeting.

There, aldermen will have to decide whether or not their constituents
will have to pay for the privacy that, arguably, is their right.

Charging for SCB, of course, would have the effect of raking in a
little more dough for the city-owned corporation which last year
reported a net profit of $270 million.

It sure sounds as though Ed Tel has someything to learn from its
country cousins at AGT.

And on Monday, city manage Richard Picherack revealed that he was
eyeing Ed Tel's cash reserves to help retire the city's deficit.

    Hello?  Hello?

end of article:

Ed Tel is a wholly owned corporation of the City of Edmonton.  AGT
Ltd., a private share holder owned company, is the Alberta provincial
provider of long distance service, and also all local services
excluding the City of Edmonton.


Richard Nash           Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
UUCP:                  [e-mail]
Amatuer Radio Packet:  [e-mail]
                       VE6BON @ VE6MC.AB.CAN.NA
                       ve6bon.ampr.ab.ca [192.75.200.15]

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

From: [e-mail] (JL Gomez)
Subject: Foreign Exchange Installation Alternatives?
Organization: Arizona State University
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 23:06:25 GMT


Is there any alternatives to having a phone line installed in a
different area code in which you live in?

I've called my PacBell representative and they offer foreign exchange
installation for a hefty initial installation fee and heavy monthly
fee.

One alternative someone mentioned is to use call forwarding but that
will involve putting the line in someone else's home.

What about a 900 phone number?  By the way, this is for a friend's
BBS.  Thanks for the info.


[e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: He could put in a 900 line and set the charge for
calls to ZERO.  The caller would pay nothing, but your friend would
still have to pay the carriage fee to whichever provider he got the
service from, and at 25-30 cents *per minute* this probably would not
be any less expensive than FX. If he wants to use call forwarding, the
phone could always hang on a wall in an answering service; he'd have
to pay the service some fee (maybe $10 or $15 per month) to leave it
there. If he goes with call forwarding, make sure the line doing the
forwarding gets *untimed, unmeasured local service* to the BBS; if
not, then this alternative will turn out to be more expensive than
planned also.  There is also a telco service in many places called
Remote Call Forwarding. This amounts to a line terminated in the
distant CO which is set to permanently forward calls at the DID rate
in effect. But these are rarely if ever tariffed for residential use,
and if it is a business line then the chances of having unmeasured
local service outboound from it is not too likely. Personally, I'd
stick with FX if he insists he wants to pay the phone bill for his
users, or else go with an 800 number, and pay those rates. There is no
inexpensive way to do what he wants; telco *always* gets their money
regardless of your configuration.   PAT]

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

Date: 19 Nov 92 07:02:25 EST
From: Alan Boritz <[e-mail]>
Subject: GE Quick*Net Gateway?


Would anyone know of Internet or Compu$erve gateways to GE Quick*Net?

And while I have your attention ;), would you also know of gateways
into Sprint's public x.400 system (perhaps it may be the remains of
the old Telemail system?).  I have a few friends with mail accounts on
both of those systems (which talk to each other) and was wondering if
they accept mail from the rest of the world (yet).  Thanks.


Alan Boritz    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: In the latter case, '[e-mail]' will get
you where you want to go.   PAT]

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

Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 13:03:58 EST
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: If it's Wednesday, it's NYTel Ad Day


It seems that every Wednesday, NYTel takes out ads concerning upcoming
services for various products.  This week's entries are:

 1. Directory Assistance Call Completion (the telco does the dialing
    for $0.35 US per call;

 2. Clarification of Text for Restoral Charges;

 3. Tariff Filing for the Introducion of Digital Automatic Call
    Distribution (ACD) Prime Service;

 4. Tariff Filing for Blocking Service (more options) (970, 976,
    etc. numbers).

Nothing earth shaking but interesting to read and to keep informed.


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

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

Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 11:58:59
From: [e-mail] (Richard W. Desaulniers)
Subject: Bellcore ADSI Specification?


I would like to get in touch with anyone out there who know anything
or knows of a Bellcore contact who knows about the Analog Display
Service Interface (ADSI) specification that Bellcore is supposedly
developing.

According to our sources Bellcore is trialling this in the US and
Canada.  As we understand it this is a specification for telephone
sets or terminals equipped with programmable displays.

Example: in the case of voice messaging, menus would be downloaded to
your phone showing what keys to press for which function.

Please contact me directly via e-mail if possible.


Richard W. Desaulniers   InterNet: [e-mail]  MPR Teltech Ltd.

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

From: [e-mail] (James Kempf)
Subject: Latency in Current Analog Phone Lines?
Date: 19 Nov 1992 00:13:49 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Does anybody have an idea what the approximate latency is in current
analog phone lines? By "latency" I mean the time between when you send
off a signal down the wire and when it gets to the other end. Most
useful would be if this could be categorized by transport medium (e.g.
local wire, national microwave, satellite, cellular, etc.), but a
rough figure will do.

Please reply to me directly, since I don't regularly monitor this
group. Thanks.


jak

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

Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 11:26:21 EDT
From: Jerry Leichter <[e-mail]>
Subject: Cordless Phone Users Gain Some Privacy Rights


Cordless telephone users, whose conversations have been easy prey for
electronic eavesdroppers, finally won a degree of privacy in a federal
appeals-court ruling.

The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a criminal case, said that
when such phone users reasonably expect their conversations to be
private, the government can't listen in.  But the court said the
Fourth Amendment privacy right must be evaluated case by case,
depending on such factors as whether the phone user had sought privacy
by purchasing devices intended to foil eavesdroppers or by using
phones known to be more difficult to tap.

The ruling is apparently the first in which a federal court has
allowed cordless-phone users any privacy rights.  Previously, other
appeals courts have said the phones are so easy to eavesdrop on --
with an AM/FM radio or even with another cordless phone -- that any
expectation of privacy was ridiculous.

The Eight U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the late 1980s that
eavesdropping was allowed, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to
review the decision.

The New Orleans court noted that the previous opinions are all several
years old, and that the technology has since advanced in the $1.39
billion cordless-phone market.  Some phones on store shelves now, for
instance, come with scrambling devices made to combat high-tech
eavesdroppers.  Other phones work within shorter ranges, so their
frequencies can't be as easily intercepted as they were in the past.
More than 18 million cordless phones are expected to be sold this
year ...

"The reasonableness of expectations of privacy for a cordless phone
conversation will depend, in large part, upon the specific telephone
at issue," the court said.  It declined to spell out the technological
features it considered most relevant.

[The actual drug conviction, based on information recorded by a
neighbor, was upheld since no evidence about the phone had been
introduced.]

Privacy-rights lawyers applauded the broader ruling, which they said
is a step toward preventing eavesdropping by private citizens as well
as police.  The lawyers noted that cellular-phone conversations
already are protected [though technically they are as easy to
intercept.] ...

[N]ow that cordless phones are more secure, they should be treated the
same as cellular phones, Ms. [Janlori] Goldman [of the ACLU] said.
"People who use these different kinds of phones do not make these
kinds of distinctions," she said.  "One circuit is willing to
recognize that this might be an absurd distinction." ...

[For those interested, the case citation is U.S. vs. David Lee Smith,
Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, New Orleans, 91-5077.

Can we expect future Willie Horton's who beat the rap to get hired by
the maker of their phone to tout it as "private -- and a court agreed?"]


Jerry

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #862
******************************










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Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 23:16:59 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #863

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 21 Nov 92 23:17:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 863

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Administrivia: Article/Subject Headers (TELECOM Moderator)
    Need Information on Aggregator (One Stop Financial) (Jeff Wasilko)
    Only One Phone Works ... Help! (Andy Wolf)
    International Dialing (Nigel Allen)
    Lilly Tomlin (Rich Greenberg)
    Apologies to Cisco (Lars Poulsen)
    Cisco's Participation (Bing Liao)
    Moving and Trying to Keep Phone Number (Dave Borden via Monty Solomon)
    High-Quality Voice Over POTS (Robert M. Hamer)
    FYI 215 NXX Additions (Cody M. Ries)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 22:26:14 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Administrivia: Article/Subject Headers


Lately I've been receiving a lot of items from people who reply to the
newsgroup rather than send their submission via email. Then there are
people who send articles via email, but reply to the subject rather
than construct it correctly.

For example: "Re: TELECOM Digest V12 #850" is <<not>> an acceptable
title for an article.  Neither are blanks where the subject is left
out entirely.  Since I don't have time for anything except a brief
screening of articles, I will just skip over those that don't have
subjects from now on.

Likewise I am getting tired of people cross posting to a dozen other
groups as well as telecom, and a variety of other articles which come
here totally unedited, rambling on and on, etc.

If there is no subject header, or the subject simply refers to an issue
of the Digest, it won't get published.

If the article comes to me from 'news@wherever' (meaning someone tried
to post it to comp.dcom.telecom and it got caught and sent to me in
multiples), then it won't get published. I am arranging my filtering
program to take articles like these and dump them unread.

I don't need a hundred plus articles daily to go through and not be
able to arrange them by subject because the writer did not bother to
include one.

The one and only way to submit articles here is by addressing them in
email to '[e-mail]' AND including a valid subject header
which either matches an earlier one with a 'Re:' in front, or by
creating a new header entirely.

I've got a couple dozen articles waiting for review now with no
subject and my solution is to toss them out. This also applies to
articles where the person simply captured the entire Digest as part of
their reply, leaving me to yank a couple hundred lines out with my
editor after reading it all to see what part he was replying to, etc.


Thank you.

Patrick Townson

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

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Wasilko)
Subject: Need Information on Aggregator (One Stop Financial)
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 22:51:36 EST
Organization: Univ of Fnord; Roslyn's Cafe Div.
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I got a call from a company called One Stop Financial. They claimed
that they could save us an additional 29% on our AT&T 800 service.

 From the good folks in the TELECOM Digest, I knew he was an
aggregator before he even started his sales pitch (thanks everyone!).

He faxed me some info, and they seem on the up and up. Here's what it
said:

    o 29% off from dollar one;
    o discounts appear as line items on AT&T bill;
    o No time/volume committments;
    o letter of agency allows me to continue to deal with AT&T
      for service problems/changes;
    o They claim to be insured by ACI (American Credit Indemnity,
       a D&B company) against "cases of insolvencies and slow
       pay by AT&T/One Stop Financial telecommunications end-users";
       (from ACI letter to One Stop Finanical that was faxed to me).
    o Payments still go directly to AT&T.

They take 30% of the savings as their fee, billed quarterly. They
claim to have Merril Lynch, ADP, Airborne, Cigna Insurance, Roadway
Package Systems, and The NY Mets (and lots others) among their Fortune
500 clients. They also offer a 31% discount on 1+ service (but we're
on with MCI now).

For example, on a $1,000 800 bill, the normal AT$T discount is $80.
Their additional discount is $210. They charge $63 for the month.

I realize AT&T has other discount plans. They are pushing me for a
15%-off term plan, with either 18 or 36 month committment. With
portability on its way, I'd rather not be tied to any carrier right
now.

Has anyone dealt with them (they're located in Little Falls, NJ). What
should I look at as we consider using an aggregator? I intend to check
references and with the BBB in NJ. I'm also going to check their
insurance policy out.


Thanks in advance,

Jeff
Jeff's Oasis at Home.       Jeff can also be reached at work at:
                                             [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Andy Wolf)
Subject: Only One Phone Works ... Help!
Organization: Milton S. Hershey Med Ctr / Penn St College of Med / Hershey,PA
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 02:28:55 GMT


I have a problem in an apartment that I recently moved into.  There is
a phone jack in the kitchen that I have been using with a Panasonic
phone/answering machine with no problem.  There is a phone jack in the
third bedroom that had been plugged in to a standard honest-to-god
Western Electric tan 2500 set (everybody has one, right?).  This phone
I assumed worked correctly since I had used it to talk to someone at
the same time the kitchen phone was in use talking to the same party
(we have one line).

However, my wife told me that she could not dial out on that line, and
sure enough, she's right.  If I hit the buttons, I hear the DTMF, but
I still get dial tone no matter how many numbers I hit.  To further
complicate matters, there is a phone line in the wall between the
master bedroom and the second bedroom.  Right now, this line extends
into the second bedroom and is tied in a loose knot.  It is not
terminated in an RJ-11 (some might say six-pin modular jack), it was
just cut.  The phone in bedroom three also rings on incoming calls.

    Now the questions.

1. Why doesn't the phone in bedroom three work?  Bad phone cord?  Is
is because of the mess with the other line?  Could it be the
(bulletproof) phone?

2. In a rental situation, is it typical that the apartment company
should fix this problem, or do I have the burden?

3. If I properly terminate the other cord (I am capable of doing this
since I work with data communications) might this problem go away?

4. If it is my responsibility and I want the phone company (tm) to fix
this (charging at the 1/4-hour interval, of course), should I first
put the $2.00/month line maintenance service into effect, then not
have to pay the big bucks, then remove it next month?

My guesses are:

#1 faulty wiring in the apartment, or the patch cord to the phone;

#2 It is probably up to me to fix this;

#3 only a factor if the lines are shorting;

#4 the maintainence fee will eliminate the problem of the $$$ payout
to fix the problem.

Thanks for your time.

Please mail your thoughts to   [e-mail]

    T H A N K   Y O U ! !


Andy Wolf                Internet    [e-mail]
The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center    BITNET    awolf%cit.hmc.psu.edu@PSUHMC
Penn State College of Medicine        Phonenet    717.531.5825
Hershey, PA  17033            Footnet        C5756A


[Moderator's Note: Have you tried other instruments in BR-3 to see if
they work on the line? If so, then your problem is in the phone. Even
if you are hearing tones, they could be out of frequency. Have you
tried the phone in BR-3 in the jack in the kitchen to see if it works
there? The fact that you can talk on the BR-3 phone on the same call
as the kitchen phone suggests the line is okay and the phone is also
okay with the exception of the touch tone pad. Don't worry about the
loose wires in BR-2 for the moment. If they were shorting out or
crossed somehow, then you'd not be able to use the other phones at
all. I'd begin with a different phone in BR-3 and see what happens.

The landlord does not have to fix the problem.  Telco is not as easily
chiseled out of their fees as you suggest. Most telco maintainence
plans require at least a few months on the plan in order to be
covered. Much like insurance policies, telco maintainence plans may
not always cover pre-existing problems. But I strongly believe your
trouble is simply in the phone itself.   PAT]

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

From: Nigel Allen <[e-mail]>
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 19:00:00 -0500
Subject: International Dialing
Organization: Echo Beach


The following information from Stentor Canadian Network Management,
the consortium of major Canadian telephone companies, was distributed
through the Canadian Department of Communications' Terminal Attachment
Program Advisory Committee as TAPAC bulletin 92-13.

Advance Notice of Change in the Maximum Length of International
Telephone Numbers:

Beginning midnight December 31, 1996, CCITT Recommendation E.164 will
be implemented.  This recommendation allows the expansion of
international telephone numbers from 12 to 15 digits.  Although the
North American Numbering Plan will not change, some foreign
administrations may assign numbers up to 15 digits long to
subscribers. Therefore, terminal equipment originating calls to these
subscribers must be able to handle the additional digits.

For more information on this change, please contact:
 Marion Norman
 Stentor Canadian Network Management
 410 Laurier Ave. West, 8th Floor
 P.O. Box 2410, Station D
 Ottawa, Ontario    Canada  K1P 6H5
 telephone [phone]    fax [phone]


Note from NDA: I think the "international telephone number" in this
context includes the country code but excludes the access prefix, such
as 011 in Canada and the United States.

Readers in the United States should presumably contact the North
American Numbering Plan Administration at Bellcore rather than
Stentor.


Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044

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

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 13:17:17 PST
From: [e-mail] (Rich Greenberg)
Subject: Lilly Tomlin


Pat,

I have been advised by three other Digest readers that Lilly Tomlin is
not "the late...".  I thought I had heard of her death a while ago but
I may well be wrong.  My apologies to Ms. Tomlin if I am indeed wrong.


Rich Greenberg      Work: [e-mail]
N6LRT               Play: [e-mail]
What?   Me speak for Amdahl?  Surely you jest....


[Moderator's Note: As Mark Twain would say, the rumors of her death
are greatly exaggerated!  :)  I don't know either way. If you say so.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Lars Poulsen)
Subject: Apologies to Cisco
Organization: CMC Network Systems (Rockwell DCD), Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 21:30:04 GMT


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

> It is indeed Cisco these days. Cisco is the flagship of the industry,
> enjoying the kind of name recognition that IBM used to have in
> corporate computing. They are also enormously profitable, and have
> adopted IBM attitudes. They don't participate in comparative
> evaluations by magazines, and they don't participate in industry
> interoperability test labs any more. I don't like that attitude.

My basis for this was a recent comparative evaluation of router remote
manageability by SNMP, I believe it was in {Data Communications}
magazine; it came out during InterOp week. The article stated that
despite repeated requests, Cisco had declined to participate.
Unfortunately, I have purged my magazine shelf. Certainly, Cisco chose
not to participate with 15 vendors in the PPP interoperability
demonstration of routers at InterOp.

On the other hand, Cisco did in fact show up for the PPP
Interoperability Consortium's test lab the week before InterOp to
check out the new (not yet released, I believe) PPP option for their
new terminal server (CS-500 ?).

In other words, my statement was overly broad, and I apologize.

Every vendor must balance the benefit of what can be learned from test
labs against the expense, and also must balance the benefit of a good
review against the risk of losing credibility through a possibly
ill-informed negative review. When you are in a leadership position,
the risk can be significant.


Lars Poulsen - eating crow at Rockwell ...
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]


[Moderator's Note: I've received another comment on this subject as
well, and it is included next.  PAT]

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

From: Bing Liao <[e-mail]>
Subject: Cisco's Participation
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 13:06:40 MST


> It is indeed Cisco these days. Cisco is the flagship of the industry,
> enjoying the kind of name recognition that IBM used to have in
> corporate computing. They are also enormously profitable, and have
> adopted IBM attitudes. They don't participate in comparative
> evaluations by magazines, and they don't participate in industry
> interoperability test labs any more. I don't like that attitude.

This is absolutely not true. We participated in Bradner Performance
Tests, and Datacom Lab Tests just very recently. Results are published
elsewhere. We did not participate in INTEROP Fall. '92 this year
because we had done similar tests before at INTEROP.

We will never adopt the IBM attitude if it means we are alienating our
customer base.

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

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 14:57:02 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Moving and Trying to Keep Phone Number


[Moderator's Note: Monty passed this along from another newsgroup. PAT]

 From: [e-mail] (Dave Borden)
 Subject: Re: Moving and Trying to Keep Phone Number - Need Advice
 Date: 19 Nov 92 18:57:10 GMT
 Reply-To: [e-mail]
 Organization: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA,  USA


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

> I'm trying to find out if I have any options for keeping my current
> phone number if I move out of town.  My situation is: I live in
> Central Square, Cambridge.  I really want to find another apartment,
> and it has to be cheap, which makes it harder to find something in
> Cambridge.  I have a freelance business (I play piano), and there are
> hundreds of flyers and cards out there with my Cambridge phone number
> on them.  I need to keep this number active in some sense, for an
> indefinite period of time, maybe permanently.  New England Telephone
> will only put a message on the number for a few months, then they
> recirculate the number; to get a Cambridge number in anyplace other
> than Cambridge is extremely expensive.

> So the question is: does anyone know a way to keep a phone number
> without maintaining a residence?  Thanks in advance for any help you
> are able to give.

I've been able to answer my own question since I posted this.  In case
anyone is interested, here's the answer: There's a service offered
through New England Telephone's business service office (737-7000),
which is also available to residential customers, called Remote Call
Forwarding.  This allows one to keep one's old phone number without
the phone line, and have the calls forwarded to a new phone number,
any number you want.  You pay $41.54 for installation, $16.97 per
month for the service, and for the phone line usage, whatever the call
would normally cost, from your old number to your new number.  For
example, if you Cambridge to Somerville, as I might do, and someone
calls you at your old Cambridge number, you would pay the local
message units charge on their call.

Hope this is of use to someone out there.


Dave Borden    [e-mail]

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

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 11:27 EDT
From: Robert M. Hamer <[e-mail]>
Subject: High-Quality Voice Over POTS


A local public radio station stated recently that due to a lack of
funds, they were changing their methodology with respect to interviews
in which the interviewee was out of town.  Their previous practice was
to have the interviewee go to a local station and interview that
person via satallite.  They said the replacement methodology would be
simple telephone, and that listeners would notice a decline in voice
quality of the interviewee.

Shouldn't it be possible to digitize and compress the voice with the
proper equipment, and uncompress and reconstruct it at the station,
producing quality comparable to satallite?  Is it that POTS still has
too little bandwidth to handle digitized and compressed voice?  Is it
that the long distance companies already digitize and multiplex the
signal they pass so much that it can't handle signal that is already
digitized and compressed?  Is it just the practical consideration of
getting the equipment to the site of the interviewee in time (although
any of the express companies ought to be able to get it there
overnight)?  We use various compression schemes with modems via long
distance companies, don't we?

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

From: Coby M. Ries <[e-mail]>
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 13:31:07 EST
Subject: FYI 215 NXX Additions


The following is taken from a letter that I received from our local
bypass carrier(Eastern Telelogic):


"Several new NXXs have been introduced into the 215 area.  You may
need to have these NXXs programmed into you PBX.

    NXX        LOCATION        EFFECTIVE DATE
    ---        --------        --------------

    239        Norristown        12/15/92
    305        W. Conshohocken        12/15/92
    306        W. Conshohocken        12/15/92
    413        Philadelphia        12/20/92
    619        Ambler            12/10/92
    815        Norristown        01/01/93
    819        Philadelphia        12/01/92
    916        Leesport        12/28/92

These are not the first NXX exchanges to go into affect in the 215
NPA.  About a month ago my boss came into my office telling me he
couldn't reach his wife's car phone at a 215-816-XXXX number.  I am
assuming other NXXs may have been added at that time (approximatly two
months ago).  I am also going to call Eastern Telelogic and request a
copy of the "Updated NXX List".  I post anything that looks relatively
new/interesting.

I also heard from my Bell of PA rep that 215 will be splitting some
time in the near future.  This was according to a Bell of PA internal
letter.  I think he said 810 was the new NPA.  Any truth to this?


Coby Ries, [e-mail], Voice [phone]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #863
******************************










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Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 00:07:54 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #864

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 22 Nov 92 00:07:50 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 864

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Network Design Algorithm (Stephan Weber)
    Phone Harrassment (Rajesh Kumar Singh)
    Recommendations For Modems + Terminal Server Rack? (Shobhana)
    Characters on International Phone Keypads - Compilation (Andy W. Lafleur)
    Roving Laptops and Automatic Phone Number Conversions (Michael A. Shiels)
    Internships in SF Bay Area? (Neil Kruse)
    Telephone Costs? (Chris Bengtsson)
    Info Wanted on SNET Rate and Service Change (Seng-Poh Lee)
    Conference Calls (J. Philip Miller)
    714fix: A Conversion Program For 714/909 Area Code Split (Paul Eggert)
    Ten Digit Dialing in Oregon (Leonard Erickson)
    A New Wireless Phone From Japan (New York Times via Monty Solomon)
    Any Free Calling Cards Left? ([e-mail])
    How Do *You* Use ISDN? (Tom Perrine)
    Clarification Regarding BBS\APL (Paul Robinson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 09:40:58 +0100
From: Stephan Weber <[e-mail]>
Subject: Network Design Algorithm
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, University of Berne, Switzerland


Help Wanted For Network Design Algorithms !!!!

I am working on a project to design telecomunication networks. I found
in the book "Data Networks " by Dimitri Bertsekas and Robert Gallagher
(1987) the description of the Capacity Assignment Problem. There are a
formal Description and a heuristic algorithm given.

Now I have a question. Do you know other papers or books which
describe this kind of problems (Design of Backbone - Network based on
traffic matrices).  Also I would like to get in concact with people
working in thies area to discuss problems and questions.

My interests are specially in people working with operation research
methods and on the other side with artificial intelligence methods. My
question is, how these two techniques can be used to design in a
efficient way cost-effective telecommunication networks.

I appreciate all the information you can provide me. Thanks a lot.


Stephan Weber
Institut fuer Informatik und angewandte Mathematik
Universitaet Bern  Laenggassstrasse 51  CH - 3012 Bern
Telephone:  ..[phone]   TeleFax    ..41 31 65 39 65
eMail    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Phone Harrassment
Organization: Makalu Mountain Hermitage, Mt Makalu, Nepal
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 05:31:12 GMT


A friend of mine (well, my friend's roomie) is getting life
threatening phone calls, but the police won't do anything until actual
harm is done ... they are keeping a log of each call.  This is in
State of Missouri.

The callers DON'T know the dorm or room number or phone number.  The
operator has been asked to NOT TO give the phone number/address to any
callers.

HOWEVER, this university has a peculiar system that a student can call
the operator and ask to be connected to "John Doe" and if John Doe is
a student, the operator WILL put the call through.  Thus, even though
the number is not to be given out, the abuser is able to connect.

So far, the abuser is trying to get the friend and my friend's
roommate to DIVULGE address/number, but my friend and my friend's
roommate have been very careful.

My feeling is that something is fishy about an operator connecting to
people based on a name only, but what do you all think?  Especially,
I'd like to hear from anyone from Missouri that knows about the local
telephone company policies.


Rajesh Kumar Singh   E-mail: [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: You are not dealing with 'local telco policies' in
this case; you are dealing with how the university chooses to operate
its telephone switchboard. Actually, most people would be pleased with
the idea of getting calls through to them where the caller only knows
the name but not the correct number. I can understand your friend's
anxiety over the calls, but has he considered asking the university
switchboard to NOT put the calls through?  What happens when he just
hangs up immediatly on hearing the first word from the harasser? The
fun goes away fast when no one is there to listen and be abused. You
say 'they' are keeping a log of each call. Who is 'they'; your friend,
the police, the university operator? Has the university switchboard
supervisor been tipped off that this problem exists and asked to try
and derail the caller?  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Shobhana)
Subject: Recommendations For Modems + Terminal Server Rack?
Date: 21 Nov 1992 01:29:00 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway


We need to have dial-up connectivity at our facility here -- we'll be
looking to provide about 50 lines. Given that our facility has a
TCP/IP based network with workstations connected over ethernet, what
configuration you would recommend for a modem + terminal server rack?

Is there any way to avoid using 50 modems? What about PBXes? Would
they be useful?

I would appreciate E-mail responses since our site tends to lose news
sometimes. Please reply to [e-mail].


Thanks in advance,

Shobhana

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

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 15:44:00 -0500 (EST)
From: Andy W Lafleur <[e-mail]>
Subject: Characters on International Phone Keypads - Compilation


I need to internationalize a product which contains a phone keypad.
From the research I have been able to do so far, it appears that a
twelve key, four row * three column arrangement is pretty typical of
keypads in various countries, and looks like:

  1 2 3
  4 5 6
  7 8 9
  * 0 #

There is, however, a lot of variation between countries as to whether
alphabetic characters are also present with the numerals on these
keypads; and where the alphabetic characters exist, there is much
variation in the placement of different characters. CCITT Recommen-
dation E.161 indicates that such variation is permis sible, however, I
would like to determine what exactly these variants are. (There has
been an ongoing discussion thread in comp.human-factors on this
subject for those who are interested.)

I'd like to survey telecom readers in different countries to compile
these differences, and will post the results for any other people
interested. So if you co uld take a minute to fill in the
questionnaire below, it would be much appreciated. Please email reply
to [e-mail].

                        -----------
Country:______

1) Do typical phoneset keypads in this country depict alphabetic
characters associated with the keypad's numeric keys?

2) Are these characters actually used for a purpose?

   If so, in what way? (For example, the characters could:

    - be part of the country's dialing plan -- i.e., some people's
      phone numbers have a "D" in them;

    - or, they could be used for mnemonic dialing, so that phone
      'numbers' are more easily remembered as strings -- i.e., dial
      1-800-NO-FLAME;

    - or, the characters are typically used to configure or modify
      non-connection features -- voice mail, etc.;

    - or, other (describe).

3) What is the relationship between the numeric keys and the different
characters? Please indicate below, underneath the examples given. If
an indicated character does not apply to your national language,
please overtype it with a space character. If you need to indicate a
hard-to-display character like a diacritical, just add a notation to
that effect. If your keypad characters are laid out the same as one of
the examples, please indicate which one.

Examples:
                A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
                - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CCITT Rec E.161 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 0 7 0 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9
US Variant 1    2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7   7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9
US Variant 2    2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 9
US Variant 3    2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 0 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0
US Variant 4    2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 1 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 1

Your keypad:
                A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
                - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Thanks in advance.


Andy Lafleur    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael A. Shiels)
Subject: Roving Laptops and Automatic Phone Number Conversions
Organization: MaS Network Software and Consulting
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 07:05:55 -0500


Is it possible to automatically edit a phone number (assuming it
includes full area code information) based upon the user saying where
they are now?

I know here in area code 416 it was difficult during the change over
where we went from just dialing 1-xxx-xxxx for long distance to
1-416-...

How can you find out which area codes require dialing long distance as
1-areacode and which only use the 1?

Thanks!


Michael A. Shiels                    | [e-mail]
MaS Network Software and Consulting  | [e-mail]

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

Date: 21 Nov 92 06:47:00 +0600
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Internships in SF Bay Area?


My brother is a graduate student in Telecommunications Management at
Golden Gate University.  He was wondering if any telecommunications
companies in the San Francisco bay area offered any sort of
internships or college co-op programs, or entry level positions.  Any
lead would be greatly appreciated.


Neil Kruse   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Chris Bengtsson)
Subject: Telephone Costs?
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Chris Bengtsson)
Organization: U s e U S, Sweden
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 15:03:01 GMT


In Sweden, the telephone company charges nearly US$30 to give the
taxing-meter reading, inbetween billing periods.

Does anyone know of a (cheap) device that can monitor taxing, allowing
me to continually know what my telephone bill be, as well as
controlling my telephone bill.

I make a lot of overseas calls and hate the suprise of my telephone
bill. (In Sweden the telephone company bills every three months.)


Thanks in advance for any response!


Chris Bengtsson
voice/fax:  [phone]
email:  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Seng-Poh Lee, Speedy)
Subject: Info Wanted on SNET Rate and Service Change
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 11:03:29 -0500 (EST)


I am interested in the recent rate and service change that SNET in
Connecticut has just submitted to the CPUC.  Apparently, it is
supposed to equalize the rate businesses pay for service, compared to
residential service (from 3:1 to 2:1).  It also changes the basic
local calling areas for most towns.

I am more interested in the change in local calling area. SNET is
proposing an Extended Calling Area (for about double the current
cost). I'd like to know if the proposed basic rate keeps the current
calling area, at a slightly raised cost, or whether the new rate cuts
down on the current local calling area. Also, I'm interested in how
wide an Extended Calling Area SNET is proposing for most towns.


Thanks,

Seng-Poh Lee    <[e-mail]>

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

From: [e-mail] (J. Philip Miller)
Subject: Conference Calls
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 08:32:07 -0600 (CST)


We frequently have the need to set up conference calls involving 10-15
individuals scattered through the US.  We have generally been using
AT&T, but I had never looked carefully at the charges.  We just
finished talking with the Atlanta conference center.  They charge
$10.00/party plus $.49/minute/party for each call.  It does not matter
where the call originates or what conference center it is made from.
This is about double the rates of standard long distance connections
from each participant to Atlanta (or whichever center is being used).

A 60 minute phone call will cost $39.40/person, no matter where they
are located, so that a 10-15 person conference will cost $400-$600.
Our local switchboard cannot support conferences of this size.  Are
there alternatives which we should be looking at that will give us
good quality connections at a more economical charge?


  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] (Paul Eggert)
Subject: 714fix: A Conversion Program For 714/909 Area Code Split
Organization: Twin Sun, Inc
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 21:20:28 GMT


Here's '714fix', a Unix Bourne shell script that reads standard input
and writes standard output, converting telephone numbers to adjust for
the split of California's 714 and 909 area codes on 15 November 1992.
You can apply this program to arbitrary text: it modifies only the
affected telephone numbers.

There is NO WARRANTY with this program.  This program is derived from
data supplied by GTE, and it probably contains errors.  Use it at your
own risk.

#!/bin/sh

# Read argument files (or standard input if none), and write standard output,
# adjusting telephone numbers to account for the 714/909 area code split.

#    $Id: 714fix,v 1.1 1992/09/15 07:53:17 eggert Exp $

# Please send corrections (with justifications) to [e-mail].

# The source is:

#    GTE CA 5706C phone bill insert

# The following prefixs are duplicated in both 714 and 909 area codes,
# so they are not included in the list below.

#    555    long distance info
#    561    reserved for future emergency use
#    853    time
#    950    long distance carrier access
#    976    info providers

# area codes
 from=714
to=909

# Compute the sed commands from the area codes and prefixes to be changed.
sedsed='{
    s@#.*@@
    s@[     ]@@g
    /^$/d
    s@.*@s/\\([^0-9]\\)'$from'\\([-).     ][-).     ]*&[-.     ]\\)/\\1'$to'\\2/g@
}'
sed_commands=`
    sed "$sedsed" <<'EOF'

        # prefixes in $from that should be moved to $to
        24[2-7]
        27[2-9]
        30[1-47-9]
        33[5-8]
        34[13]
        35[0-9]
        36[09]
        37[01]
        38[1-46-9]
        39[0-9]
        42[0-8]
        43[19]
        46[0-9]
        47[3578]
        48[1-8]
        58[45]
        59[0-9]
        60[3-57]
        62[0-9]
        65[2-9]
        67[246-9]
        68[1-9]
        69[4-9]
        710
        73[4-7]
        76[35-79]
        78[0-57-9]
        79[02-9]
        82[02-59]
        84[59]
        86[0-24-9]
        87[2-8]
        88[0-9]
        899
        92[02-9]
        93[013]
        9[48][0-9]

EOF
`

# Run the sed script.
exec sed '
    /'$from'/{
        s/^/ /
        '"$sed_commands"'
        s/^ //
    }
' ${1+"$@"}

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

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 19:48:57 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Ten Digit Dialing in Oregon


My new US West phone directory has the following buried inside on page
A23:

NEW DIALING PLAN COMING TO OREGON

Oregon's traditional seven digit dialing within the 503 area code will
be phased out beginning July 10, 1993.

Starting then, you will need to dial 1 + 503 + the seven digits for
all long distance calls within the 503 area code.

This change is necessary because of telephone growth in Oregon. The
new dialing patterm will allow these [sic] numbers currently reserved
for area codes to be used for local prefixes, and make available more
combinations when assigning telephone numbers. It will also allow you
to know When [sic] a charge applies to your calls.

After July 10, 1993, you will get a recording telling you how to dial
if you have not dialed 1 + 503 + seven digits on long distance calls
within the 503 area code. Local calls are not affected by the change.

    ----------

I note several things of interest here:

1. There's no apparent provision for a period where both methods will
work. (I tried 1-503-NXX-XXXX and got an error recording).

2. It makes no mention of the *current* dialing method, which requires
a 1 on long distance inside 503.

3. Unlike the other states mentioned in the list, we get to keep seven
digit local calls. (And thus, a way to avoid inadvertant LD charges!)

I understand that they've already done this with the 206 area code in
Washington. In the same way ...

Must be a "left coast" right coast" difference!


uucp: uunet!m2xenix!puddle!51!Leonard.Erickson
Internet: [e-mail]

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

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 01:50:58 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: A New Wireless Phone From Japan


From the {New York Times} 11/18/92.

Japan is experimenting with wireless telephones that are cheaper and
possibly closer to availability than the latest versions under
development in the United States, according to Japan's second-largest
long-distance carrier.

Dr. Sachio Semmoto, senior vice president with the DDI Corporation,
said yesterday that his company was developing a new system called
"personal handy phone."  The Japanese phones may be commercially
available as early as next year, he said.  Equivalent United States
phone systems called personal communications services may be three or
more years away from market.

Despite manufacturing most of America's cellular telephones, Japan has
had until recently a fledgling domestic market for wireless telephone
service.  High service prices have discouraged all but the corporate
customer.  There are one million cellular subscribers in Japan
compared with 10 million in the United States, which has a population
double that of Japan.

Japanese cellular phones, which can only be rented, cost the
equivalent of $100 or more a month for access charges and $1.60 for
three minutes of air time.  By contrast, DDI's personal handy phones
are expected to cost only $16.26 a month in access charges and 24
cents for three minutes of air time.

Personal handy phones would resemble American cordless telephones,
which operate on different radio frequencies from cellular.  The
Japanese phones, however, would use the same frequencies contemplated
for American personal communications services.

The handy-phone network would cost only one-hundredth as much as a
cellular network to build, and the prices for service would be sharply
lower than that for cellular, Dr. Semmoto, who has a doctorate in
electrical engineering, said.

Cellular "base stations" of radio transmitting equipment that make
cellular service possible cost as much as $3 million; stations for
personal handy phones might cost as little as $30,000.

Personal handy phones, designed to weigh about half the smallest
cellular phones, could be used only within 1,000 feet of the base
station and could not be operated in a car or on the street.

But because of common technical standards, Japanese users could
operate their handy phones from building to building.  Base stations
could be installed in homes, office buildings, supermarkets,
department stores and other buildings.

"Our concept is to attack the consumer market, rather than the
business market," Dr. Semmoto said.  "But our ultimate goal is for
this technology to spread around the world, especially to the United
States and Europe."

Dr. Semmoto is visiting United States companies to discuss the
technology so they might consider adopting it.  He said he had met
with regional Bell companies, cable-television companies and
long-distance carriers like the MCI Communications Corporation, which
recently proposed building a national network of small wireless
phones.

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 02:40:45 -0500
Subject: Any Free Calling Cards Left?


Are there any calling cards left that don't charge an initial fee?  I
remember Telecom*USA had one for a while, but I also remember hearing
MCI took them over.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am living in a hotel for
the next few months.


Ron    ([e-mail])

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

From: [e-mail] (Tom Perrine)
Subject: How Do *You* Use ISDN?
Date: 21 Nov 92 02:24:19 GMT
Organization: Logicon, Inc., San Diego, California


After hearing about how ISDN is going to "save us all", and seeing
people in this group mention, "using my ISDN phone I ...", I have been
wondering:

Just what are the mechanics of establishing a data connection via an
ISDN phone?  I am in southern Pac Bell land, where ISDN is completely
unknown, and I have never even *seen* an ISDN desk set.

I know that you can use ISDN to connect a home machine to a LAN, but
how do you *do* it?

How would I establish a connection between two "home computers" in
parallel with a voice call to the same person?

Enquiring minds (and a victim od ISDN-envy :-) want to know!


Tom E. Perrine (tep)     | [e-mail]       |Voice: [phone]
Logicon, Inc.            | sun!suntan!tots!tep   |  or : [phone]
4010 Sorrento Valley Blvd|                       |  FAX: [phone]
San Diego CA 92121-1498

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

From: [e-mail] (Tdarcos)
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 00:26:30 -0500
Subject: Clarification Regarding BBS\APL
Reply-To: [e-mail]


There was a BBS in Baltimore called "APL" which was siezed by federal
authorities for the unlawful distribution of copyrighted software.

There is a BBS in Silver Spring, MD, called the BBS\APL which deals
with issues involving the APL Programming language.  That BBS, which
is called at [phone], is operated by Dick Holt and has no
connection whatsoever with the "APL" BBS that was raided.


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]
These opinions ARE those of the owner of this account.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #864
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #865

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 22 Nov 92 02:11:45 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 865

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    New NPA 210 Prefixes (Moving From 512) (David Leibold)
    CompuServe and Hutchison Provide Access From Hong Kong (Daniel K. Cheng)
    Dom Tuffy Tapes (Paul Migliorelli)
    Caller ID Devices For RS-232 Wanted (W. Gregg Stefancik)
    Caller ID in Area Code 516 (Dave Niebuhr)
    Cellular NPA-NXX List? ([e-mail])
    Tariff Comparisons Wanted (Richard Cox)
    ATT Boing: What is it? (Argun Tekant)
    Ringing My Own Phone (Ross Hayden)
    Distinctive Ringing Devices (Mike Bray)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 01:29:09 EST
From: David Leibold <[e-mail]>
Subject: New NPA 210 Prefixes (Moving From 512)

With the new area code 210 in effect, splitting the Texas 512 area
(currently in a "permissive" dialing mode, where both 512 and 210 may
be used for a while), I finally dug up some information on what exchanges
are changing from 512 to 210. I did not have a chance to check and sort
out what's staying in 512, but that might be an Archives file for later.

[e-mail]

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

Area Code 210 Texas (22 November 1992)

The following exchanges are in the new 210 area code (Texas, San Antonio
and area), following the split from NPA 512. Any other exchange in 512
such as in Austin remains in 512 if not listed here.

NPA NXX Place
--- --- -----------
210 202 Harlingen      210 203 San Antonio     210 208 San Antonio
210 212 San Antonio    210 213 San Antonio    210 220 San Antonio
210 221 San Antonio    210 222 San Antonio    210 223 San Antonio
210 224 San Antonio    210 225 San Antonio     210 226 San Antonio
210 227 San Antonio    210 228 San Antonio    210 229 San Antonio
210 230 San Antonio    210 231 San Antonio     210 232 Frio Canyon
210 233 Los Fresnos    210 234 Barksdale    210 235 San Antonio
210 236 Westloff    210 238 Hunt        210 239 Range
210 240 San Antonio    210 246 San Antonio    210 248 San Perlita
210 249 Boerne        210 254 Karnes City    210 257 Kerrville
210 260 San Antonio    210 262 Edcouch        210 270 San Antonio
210 271 San Antonio    210 277 Charlotte    210 278 Uvalde
210 283 San Antonio    210 290 Harlingen    210 291 Harlingen
210 298 Del Rio        210 299 San Antonio    210 304 San Antonio
210 308 San Antonio    210 313 Del Rio        210 315 San Antonio
210 316 Edinburg    210 317 San Antonio    210 318 Edinburg
210 324 Sisterdale    210 330 Edinburg    210 333 San Antonio
210 334 Pearsall    210 336 Kenberg        210 337 San Antonio
210 340 San Antonio    210 341 San Antonio    210 342 San Antonio
210 344 San Antonio    210 347 Lyford        210 349 San Antonio
210 350 Brownsville    210 351 San Antonio    210 359 San Antonio
210 361 San Benito    210 363 D Hanis        210 365 La Pryor
210 366 San Antonio    210 367 Ingram        210 372 Seguin
210 373 Fowlerton    210 374 Crystal City    210 376 Batesville
210 377 San Antonio    210 378 Millett        210 379 Seguin
210 380 Edinburg    210 381 Edinburg    210 382 Edinburg
210 383 Edinburg    210 393 Floresville    210 395 Vinegarroon
210 399 San Benito    210 401 Seguin        210 402 Wetmore
210 405 Brownsville    210 407 Harlingen    210 408 Shavano
210 410 San Antonio    210 412 Harlingen    210 414 San Antonio
210 415 San Antonio    210 417 Dolores        210 418 Laredo
210 419 Laredo        210 420 Marion        210 421 Harlingen
210 423 Harlingen    210 424 Leesville    210 425 Harlingen
210 426 Hondo        210 427 Harlingen    210 428 Harlingen
210 429 Somerset    210 430 Harlingen    210 431 San Antonio
210 432 San Antonio    210 433 San Antonio    210 434 San Antonio
210 435 San Antonio    210 436 San Antonio    210 437 Cost
210 438 Bulverde    210 457 Big Wells    210 464 Donna
210 466 San Miguel    210 468 Asherton    210 470 San Antonio
210 481 San Isidro    210 484 Poth        210 485 Sullivan City
210 486 El Sauz        210 487 Rio Grande City    210 490 Wetmore
210 491 Wetmore        210 492 Shavano        210 493 Shavano
210 494 Wetmore        210 496 Wetmore        210 497 Elm Creek
210 498 Babcock        210 500 Rio Grande City    210 504 Brownsville
210 506 San Antonio    210 507 Brownsville    210 509 Culebra
210 513 Medical Center    210 514 Mercedes    210 518 San Antonio
210 519 Mission        210 520 Culebra        210 521 Culebra
210 522 Culebra        210 523 Culebra        210 524 San Antonio
210 525 San Antonio    210 530 San Antonio    210 531 San Antonio
210 532 San Antonio    210 533 San Antonio    210 534 San Antonio
210 535 Pine Creek    210 536 San Antonio    210 537 Sabina
210 538 Castroville    210 540 Saturn        210 541 Brownsville
210 542 Brownsville    210 544 Brownsville    210 545 Wetmore
210 546 Brownsville    210 548 Brownsville    210 549 Brownsville
210 551 Brownsville    210 554 San Antonio    210 557 Seguin
210 558 Babcock        210 561 Babcock        210 562 Tarpley
210 563 Brackettville    210 565 Mercedes    210 567 Medical Center
210 569 Pleasanton    210 570 Brownsville    210 579 Campbellton
210 580 Mission        210 581 Mission        210 582 Nixon
210 583 Kenedy        210 585 Mission        210 587 Smiley
210 589 Medina        210 590 Fratt        210 591 Uvalde
210 593 Medical Center    210 597 Camp Wood    210 598 Granite Shoals
210 599 Fratt        210 605 Edinburg    210 607 Edinburg
210 608 New Braunsfels    210 612 Lasara        210 613 Medical Center
210 614 Medical Center    210 615 Medical Center    210 616 Medical Center
210 617 Medical Center  210 618 McAllen        210 619 Fratt
210 620 New Braunsfels    210 621 Sandy Hills    210 622 Jarratt
210 623 Indian Creek    210 624 Oak Island    210 625 New Braunsfels
210 626 Thelma        210 627 Buena Vista    210 628 Palo Alto
210 629 New Braunsfels    210 630 McAllen        210 631 McAllen
210 632 McAllen        210 633 Southton    210 634 Center Point
210 635 Elmendorf    210 636 Santa Rosa    210 637 Fratt
210 638 McAllen        210 639 Kingsbury    210 640 Garven Store
210 641 Babcock        210 642 Lasara        210 644 Stonewall
210 646 Fratt        210 647 Culebra        210 648 Foster
210 649 Sayers        210 650 Fratt        210 651 Bracken
210 652 Universal City    210 653 Fratt        210 654 Fratt
210 655 Fratt        210 656 Fratt        210 657 Fratt
210 658 Universal City    210 659 Universal City    210 661 Martinez
210 662 Martinez    210 663 Devine        210 665 Waelder
210 666 Martinez    210 667 St Hedwig    210 669 Doss
210 670 Lackland    210 671 Lackland    210 672 Gonzales
210 673 Lackland    210 674 Lackland    210 675 Lackland
210 676 Artesia Wells    210 677 Montgomery Bexar210 678 Lackland
210 679 Potranco    210 680 Culebra        210 681 Culebra
210 682 McAllen        210 683 Rocksprings    210 684 Culebra
210 685 Willow City    210 686 McAllen        210 687 McAllen
210 688 Geronimo Creek    210 689 Raymondville    210 690 Babcock
210 691 Babcock        210 692 Babcock        210 693 Marble Falls
210 694 Babcock        210 695 Helotes        210 696 Babcock
210 697 Babcock        210 698 Leon Springs    210 699 Babcock
210 702 Pharr        210 703 Del Rio        210 717 Laredo
210 718 Laredo        210 720 San Antonio    210 721 Laredo
210 722 Laredo        210 723 Laredo        210 724 Laredo
210 725 Laredo        210 726 Laredo        210 727 Laredo
210 731 San Antonio    210 732 San Antonio    210 733 San Antonio
210 734 San Antonio    210 735 San Antonio    210 736 San Antonio
210 737 San Antonio    210 738 San Antonio    210 739 Kerrville
210 742 Poteet        210 743 Stillman    210 744 Laredo
210 745 Kosciusko    210 748 Rio Hondo    210 751 Medina Lake
210 755 Balcones    210 757 Eagle Pass    210 760 Harlingen
210 761 Port Isabel    210 762 Lacoste        210 763 Laredo
210 765 Zapata        210 769 Jourdanton    210 772 Lytle
210 773 Eagle Pass    210 774 Del Rio        210 775 Del Rio
210 779 Lavernia    210 780 Karnes City    210 781 Pharr
210 783 Pharr        210 784 Christine    210 787 Pharr
210 789 Gillett        210 791 Laredo        210 792 Kerrville
210 796 Bandera        210 797 La Feria    210 799 Dolores
210 803 San Antonio    210 804 San Antonio    210 805 San Antonio
210 807 San Antonio    210 820 San Antonio    210 821 San Antonio
210 822 San Antonio    210 824 San Antonio    210 825 Round Mountain
210 826 San Antonio    210 827 San Antonio    210 828 San Antonio
210 829 San Antonio    210 831 Brownsville    210 833 Blanco
210 839 Rocky Creek    210 841 San Antonio    210 842 McCook
210 843 McAllen        210 845 Hargill        210 848 Falcon Heights
210 849 Roma        210 861 San Antonio    210 864 Harper
210 866 Mountain Home    210 868 Johnson City    210 871 Fratt
210 875 Luling        210 876 Carrizo Springs    210 879 Cotulla
210 885 Smithsons Valley210 895 Kerrville    210 896 Kerrville
210 899 Cranes Mill    210 904 Smithsons Valley210 905 Cranes Mill
210 906 Hancock        210 907 Sattler        210 921 San Antonio
210 922 San Antonio    210 923 San Antonio    210 924 San Antonio
210 925 San Antonio    210 927 San Antonio    210 934 Knippa
210 935 Hancock        210 943 Port Isabel    210 944 Port Mansfield
210 945 Universal City    210 947 Sutherland Spgs 210 948 Encinal
210 951 San Antonio    210 954 San Antonio    210 961 Weslaco
210 962 Weslaco        210 963 Weslaco        210 964 Sattler
210 965 Dilley        210 966 Utopia        210 968 Weslaco
210 969 Weslaco        210 971 McAllen        210 974 Weslaco
210 976 [976 Service - external billing based in San Antonio]
210 977 San Antonio    210 978 San Antonio    210 979 San Antonio
210 980 Bulverde    210 981 Balcones    210 982 Brownsville
210 986 Brownsville    210 988 Sabinal        210 989 Medical Center
210 995 Comfort        210 996 Stockdale    210 997 Fredricksburg
210 999 Catarina    -------------------     ---------------------

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

Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 05:51 GMT
From: Daniel K. Cheng <[e-mail]>
Subject: CompuServe and Hutchison Provide Access From Hong Kong


Just released by CompuServe: Hutchison Information Services will start
providing local CompuServe access from Hong Kong starting from
December 1st. Network surcharge under this access option will be
US$15/hr (vs. INFONET's US$50/hr previously).


  ***************** Welcome to CompuServe Hong Kong ***************
       a Service from Hutchison Information Services, Ltd.

We are pleased to introduce "CompuServe Hong Kong" to our members in
Hong Kong. Beginning December 1st, on behalf of CompuServe
Incorporated, Hutchison Information Services will provide you with
many new benefits to your current membership.

CONVENIENT ACCESS VIA THE COMPUSERVE NETWORK

After December 1st, you will be able to access the CompuServe
Information Service through CompuServe's local node in Hong Kong.
This node will support access up to and including 9600 bps.

To logon to CompuServe Hong Kong via this CompuServe node using
CompuServe Information Manager (CIM), just modify the phone number
field to 304-1332, and select the "CompuServe" network option.  To
access the service using another communication software package, type
GO LOGON to obtain logon information.

COST EFFECTIVE RATES

All your CompuServe Hong Kong charges will be translated into H.K.
dollars by Hutchison at a rate of 7.8.  The total communication
surcharges for the CompuServe Hong Kong Service using the CompuServe
access number listed above will be $15.00 (US) per hour.  This is in
addition to the standard connect rates of $12.50 (US) per hour,
monthly fees for any billing option you may choose, and premium
surcharges.  Also, your monthly International Handling Fee of $10.00
(US) will be replaced by a $80.00 (HK) monthly handling fee beginning
with your December billing.

For a complete explanation of these rates, contact CompuServe Hong
Kong Customer Service, or type GO RATES once online.

LOCAL CUSTOMER SERVICE & SALES

CompuServe Hong Kong offers friendly and convenient customer support
and sales.  Your current membership and billing information will be
transferred to them.  You can call them Monday through Friday (9 am to
6 pm) and Saturday (9 am to 12 pm) or send them a Feedback message (GO
FEEDBACK once online) for assistance.  Please contact CompuServe Hong
Kong after December 1st for all your support needs.  They will also
have membership materials available for sale at the Sales telephone
number listed below.

           Customer Support      867-0102
           Sales & Inquiry       867-0118

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

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 10:34 est
From: [e-mail] (Paul Migliorelli)
Subject: Dom Tuffy Tapes


Do any of you out there remember the Dom Tuffy Tapes?  They were a
number of skits poking fun at New York Telephone security, and such.
I've been trying to find complete and good quality copies.  Can any of
you help?  Any response via email would be appreciated.  Thanks.

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

From: [e-mail] (W. Gregg Stefancik)
Subject: Caller ID Devices For RS-232 Wanted
Organization: Clemson University
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 21:19:49 GMT


We just got Caller ID here in SC.  I understand that there are a
variety of devices which can deal with Caller ID available.  I am very
interested in a device which would turn the Caller ID info into
something my computer could use (RS-232 data).  So I would be
interested in a list of sources for various Caller ID devices.  Please
respond via e-mail.  I will compile my responses and post.


W. Gregg Stefancik    [e-mail]

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

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 13:55:20 EST
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Caller ID in Area Code 516


Caller ID was deployed in the 516, 718 and 914 Area Codes on Monday,
November 16, 1992.  I decided to take the list of exchanges that have
that capability and derive some sort of figures concerning the
breakdown of Area Code 516.

Total Exchanges: 483
Nassau County:   191
Western Suffolk: 114
Eastern Suffolk:  41
Caller ID Avail: 209

The balance of exchanges are special cased (Telco, Cell Services,
Time/Weather, etc.)

I noticed that exchanges bordering the Nassau-Suffolk Counties and the
Nassau-Queens Counties borders do not, in a majority of the cases,
have Caller ID.  This non-availability seems to be fairly solid going
about two Central Offices away from the borders.

Another interesting thing is that if a portion of an exchange is taken
by a major employer, CallerID is not available (516-282 and 516-341
are good examples).  My employer has 5,000 of the former and 100 of
the latter).


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


[Moderator's Note: I don't think the key here is if the subscriber is
a 'major employer', but rather, the type of phone system the
subscriber has, and of course large firms tend to have large and
elaborate systems.  I think what you are experiencing is a large block
of numbers used for DID, centrex or other purposes where the software
is not presently compatible with what is needed to do Caller ID.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (HGR)
Subject: Cellular NPA-NXX List?
Date: 22 Nov 92 05:22:51 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.


Are there fixed sets of npa-nxx from which cellular numbers are
allocated (disjoint from non-cellular npa-nxx)? If so, is such a list
available thru some source (electronic/paper)?

Any help appreciated


Raghib


[Moderator's Note: The cellular companies get their number assignments
from the local telco. Whatever they are, they are. Is there a complete
list of the prefixes used in cellular service available by area code?  PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 21:38 GMT
From: Richard Cox <[e-mail]>
Subject: Tariff Comparisons Wanted
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I am researching into the variations in telco tariffs across the USA
and Canada.  It would be a considerable help if readers of this digest
could Email me as much detail of *their* *local* tariff as they can
manage.

The sort of detail I need includes:

Different rates of line rental - does it matter what the line terminates on?
What are the charges for ISDN lines, where they are available?
Are ISDN calls charged at different rates?
Calls within a LATA - when are they chargeable?
800 calls - how are these charged: do 800-portable numbers cost more per call
700 calls - ditto.

Particular interest in calls that for whatever reason access carriers
via the less usual channels ... is it Feature Group D on 950 numbers?

I am trying to establish the width of the variation, not the average!
(I want to include the material in a conference presentation in London
soon, dealing with equal access, numbering, tariffing and billing.
The stories in this Digest on carrier billing, 900 scams, etc have all
been very helpful).

All information will be gratefully acknowledged - but the identity of
sources will remain confidential unless they request otherwise!


Richard Cox

Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, Wales CF4 5WF
Voice: [phone]      Fax: [phone]      VoiceMail: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]     Not diallable on 511 in mainland USA

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

From: [e-mail] (Argun Tekant)
Subject: ATT Boing: What is it?
Organization: BC News and Mail
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 21:22:47 GMT


This is probably a FAQ (Do we have a FAQ?), but can anyone tell me the
frequency or function or whatever for the AT&T Boing?


Thanks.

Argun Tekant


[Moderator's Note: The telecom FAQ is in the Telecom Archives and is
available via anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. (frequent.asked.questions)  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ross Hayden)
Subject: Ringing My Own Phone
Date: 21 Nov 92 20:47:36 CST
Organization: Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY


I'm new to this newsgroup, and know very little about telephony techno
stuff.  I do hope to learn more here, though.

My question is this: Is there a way to find out a number I can dial
that will make my phone ring (other than calling a friend and asking
for a callback)?

In the city I used to live in, you could dial 959-XXXX, where XXXX is
your phone number suffix, do a little dance on the switchhook by
hanging up three or four times quickly, and, viola, the phone would
ring after the final hangup.

I've since moved to another city, and the operators here don't seem to
know what I'm talking about, and 959-XXXX doesn't work.


Thanks in advance for any help!

Ross Hayden   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: This changes from one town to the next, and
sometimes the same telco may change it every two or three months.
There is no standard. Perhaps someone familiar with Bowling Green will
write you with details.  PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 16:37:30 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Mike Bray)
Subject: Distinctive Ringing Devices


A while back someone graciously volunteered to collect data on the
various "distinctive ringing" or "Ident-a-ring" boxes.

Would that person kindly post their results?  (or contact me)


Mike Bray     [e-mail]   (or)   ...!apple!camphq!mike

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #865
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #866

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 22 Nov 92 02:57:30 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 866

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Headsets etc. (John Adams)
    Re: Headsets etc. (Tom Coradeschi)
    Re: "rrrringg-BOOP" (Dave Bonney)
    Re: "rrrringg-BOOP" (Bob Yazz)
    Re: "rrrringg-BOOP" (Thomas Brown)
    Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal? (Vance Shipley)
    Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal? (Richard Nash)
    Re: Looking For Three-Slot Coin Phone (John Adams)
    Re: Looking For Three-Slot Coin Phone (Todd Lawrence)
    Re: Fake Call-Waiting Product (Ed Greenberg)
    Re: Fake Call-Waiting Product (Jeff Wasilko)
    Re: Need Widget to Connect Two Faxes or Modems Together (Todd Inch)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (adams,john)
Subject: Re: Headsets etc.
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 12:53:48 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> Cliff Sharp <clifto@indep1.
chi.il.us> writes:

> If anyone knows where I could get another Nady Systems headset, I'd
> enjoy knowing, since this one is years old and may not last too many
> more decades ...

That goes for me too.  Perhaps someone can help us all out on locating
this.  Domo Arigato!


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

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

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 11:18:17 EST
From: Tom Coradeschi <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Headsets etc.
Organization: Electric Armts Div, US Army ARDEC, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ


Cliff Sharp <[e-mail]> writes:

> If anyone knows where I could get another Nady Systems headset, I'd
> enjoy knowing, since this one is years old and may not last too many
> more decades ...

Surprisingly enough, I'd suggest that you start at your nearby
motorcycle dealer! Nady is (big time) into wireless communication
systems geared toward folks riding in groups. Ought to get you their
address/phone, at the least.

Better yet: a quick ftp check on the rec.motorcycles ftp site
<cerritos.edu>, grab the "yellow pages" and ...

Nady Systems
510-652-2411
6701 Bay St.
Emeryville, CA 94608
catalog free  accessories--electronics


tom coradeschi    <+>    [e-mail]

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

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 17:27:58 PST
From: [e-mail] (Dave Bonney)
Subject: Re: "rrrringg-BOOP"


In <[e-mail]>, Steve Kass, [e-mail]
wrote:

> When I am using my IBX work phone and someone calls, I hear a tone,
             ^^^
> Can someone in the know fill me in on the technical details of
> "rrrringg-BOOP" ?  We own our own switch here, but I don't know what
> kind it is.

As you indicated.  It's probably an 'IBX', manufactured by 'Intecom'
near Dallas, Texas.

> I had always thought that the ring signal was generated locally, and
> if that's true, then my switch must be passing some signal for "phone
> in use, but call waiting ringing," to which the caller's switch
> generates the "rrrringg-BOOP."  ...

False.    You've got your terminology backwards.

In the current (normal) environment, the 'Ring-Back' signal is
generated by the switch local to the called (ringing) telephphone, not
the caller's switch or CO. (Unless of course it is a local call within
the same system.)

On the Intecom IBX (and TELARI) systems, the ring-back audible signal
is controlled by matrix parameters in both the originating (trunk
group in this case) and terminating (station) 'Class of Service' (COS)
and 'User Group'.  There are (literally) pages of parameters that can
be altered to fit the needs of the system.  (Users or administrators
as the case may be.)  Maybe you want a 'Priority Ring' (a triple
[three short] ring)?  No problem.  It can even be altered to provide
no ring at all.

[Note: Kind of hard on the users though.  :-)    ]

> We own our own switch here, but I don't know what kind it is.

See above.  It's probably an IBX.

> [Moderator's Note: Actually, if you listen closely, when the called
> party answers you will hear a certain kind of click on the line if you
> interuppted them on call waiting which you won't hear if you did not.

Not on the IBX.

> A few PBXs using Direct Inward Dialing have the special ring signal
> you describe when call-waiting interupts an extension user.   PAT]

Called, for some strange reason, 'Call Waiting Ring-Back'


[ A Telecommunications Professional Now Unemployed In Westford MA ]
[No Employer, No Disclaimer.    Just My Own Thoughts.          ]
[  Inquiries To MCIMail 422-4552 or Internet <[e-mail]>  ]
[    or a guest account at <[e-mail]>  (really!)      ]
[        Telephone [phone]              ]

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

From: Bob Yazz <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: "rrrringg-BOOP"
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 03:07:13 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: Actually, if you listen closely, when the called
> party answers you will hear a certain kind of click on the line if you
> interuppted them on call waiting which you won't hear if you did not.

If you phone someone on a DMS switch that has certain older software
revisions installed, there is a subtle difference in how you hear
ringback tone if you've come in as a call-waiting beep.  The first
ring that you hear is short; that is, you come into the ring cycle at
a slightly different spot.

I regret that this feature was removed in later software revisions;
what with Caller ID and all, I can't imagine how this would constitute
an invasion of privacy.  Does anyone know what Northern Telecom's
rationale was for this change, or why a BOC like Pac Bell would
request it?

The same short-first-ring occurs with error recordings generated by
the local switch, which I think is a 5ESS (619/587).  If you listen
carefully, these error ringback tones also waver in pitch slightly,
like a slightly off-center record.


Bob Yazz

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

From: Thomas Brown <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: "rrrringg-BOOP"
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 20:26:04 GMT
Organization: Lehigh University


You have an Intecom IBX switch; the ring-boop indicates that someone
on the called line is on the phone.  They receive a single or double
ring once to indicate that someone is calling them from on-site or
from off-site, respectively.  If someone calls from outside, they only
hear the normal ring (without any "boop").

The only other exception is a three-ring signal if someone returns a
callback when you are on the line.


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] (Vance Shipley)
Subject: Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal?
Organization: SwitchView Inc., Waterloo, Ontario
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 21:27:29 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail].
com (adams,john) writes:

> Another aspect of all of this is that "Carrier Connect Time", the
> period of time between your LD company accessing the distant
> (originating works pretty much the same way) LEC, is revenue for the
> LEC (The LD company pays) regardless of whether the call ever
> completes!

Is this true of regular calls or only operator assisted?


Vance Shipley
[e-mail]         [e-mail]         [e-mail]

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

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 19:14:33 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Richard Nash)
Subject: Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal?


Peter Capek writes:

> While trying to make a credit card call to a persistently busy number
> recently, after typing in the card number for the n-teenth time, I
> wondered if SS7 protocol would allow the calling exchange to "look
> ahead" at the called number and inquire if it is (at that instant)
> busy, before prompting me for the card number.  Of course, I might
> still get a busy if either the line became busy after I keyed in the
> credit card number, or if the response to the query didn't make it
> back to the originating exchange in time. The advantage (to me) would
> be not having to repeatedly pound in the billing.  The advantage
> (small) to the carrier would be not having to do the credit card
> verification, and perhaps getting the line on which I'm calling free a
> bit quicker.  If the call in question were third party bill, or
> collect, the savings could be a lot greater.

Unfortunately in a basic call setup message, 0+ wants to first secure
the billing method before determining the state of the called party
line.  Yes, it would be possible to determine the line state of the
called party first, but this would require actually connecting to the
called party first, playing out an announcement to advise them to wait
while the billing information was secured, and then either advising
them that the calling party will be with them or that the calling
party's credit check has failed.

  Correct me if I am wrong, but SS7 does not have a 'prober' style
message that asks the far end to return information of the busy/idle
status of a line.  In fact, it is telco optional as to whether or not
the treatment will actually be returned back to the originating end.


Richard Nash              Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
UUCP:                     [e-mail]
Amatuer Radio Packet:     VE6BON @ VE6MC.AB.CAN.NA
                          VE6BON.ampr.org [44.135.147.206]

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

From: [e-mail] (adams,john)
Subject: Re: Looking For Three-Slot Coin Phone
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 12:47:38 GMT


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

> I've always enjoyed the sound of the coin bells inside the old
> three-slot payphones.  I would like to own one for myself to use
> inside my residence.

> Of course I would want a coinbox key!  I have two big questions,
> first, is it kosher to have a coin phone on a private residential
> line? Second, where can I buy one of these beasts?

Yes. Of course it will only function as a normal instrument ... it
won't collect or reject coins without a coin service line from the
phone company.  My friend, Ken LaFreniere (AT&T Coin Telephone Product
Manager), told me about three small companies who specialize in
refurbishing (mechnically and electrically) old coin phones from
Western Electric, Automatic Electric, Northern, etc.  I have called
for their catalogues and will be purchasing one of the old WE 233
multislot units as a present for a retiree!  The names and telephones:

    PHONECO            608-582-4124
    RUSSELL PATE        407-777-1759
    A.W. MERRELL & CO    407-655-5417


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

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

Subject: Re: Looking For Three-Slot Coin Phone
From: [e-mail] (Todd Lawrence)
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 23:07:08 CST


[e-mail] (John Simpson) writes:

> I've always enjoyed the sound of the coin bells inside the old
> three-slot payphones.  I would like to own one for myself to use
> inside my residence.

> Of course I would want a coinbox key!  I have two big questions,
> first, is it kosher to have a coin phone on a private residential
> line? Second, where can I buy one of these beasts?

John,

Installing a coin-phone on a residential line should pose no legal
problems whatsoever, however it will have to be used as a
"residential" type phone, you will not unfortunately be able to use it
as a coin station from your residence for two reasons (you may already
be familiar with this but anyway ...) 1) a coin station is defined as
such to the local switch software and you can not have coin/resident-
ial on the same line. (you could bypass this problem by installing a
second line though). 2) the software that is responsible for tallying
the coin insertion (ACTS it's called), would no longer recognize the
bell tones as coin deposits. However I know of several folks who have
these things in their homes and they do make great phones. I believe
they got them at antique stores, I'll ask them and see if I can find
any more information for you and anyone else interested in em.


Todd Lawrence
LOD! Communications     internet : [e-mail]
IMF Acquisition Group   uucp     : uunet!valinor!todd

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

From: [e-mail] (Ed Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Fake Call-Waiting Product
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 21:45:52 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Dave
Levenson) writes:

> It may well work with the general public.  The telecom-literate, of
> course, will realize that the beep is only heard by the party who is
> receiving the call-waiting, not by the far-end.  (Yes, with the 1ESS
> and 1AESS both parties get a click, but only the party receiving the
> call-waiting gets the beep.  With the 5ESS, the party who is not
> receiving a call hears only silence while the other party gets a
> beep.)  It should be easy enough to differentiate between a real
> call-waiting interruption and a fake created by the party who is tired
> of talking to us, and is embarrassed to say so.

I heard this demonstrated by the inventor on Marketplace (American
Public Radio) last night.  I couldn't tell the difference between it
and traditional click-clunk call waiting.  You don't heard a beep,
just a click-clunk.

You'd have to be really literate and know what kind of switch is on
the other end in order to get wise to this.


Edward W. Greenberg  | Home: [phone] | [e-mail]
1600 Stokes St. #24  | Work: [phone] | DoD#: 0357
San Jose, CA  95126  | Fax:  [phone] | KM6CG (ex WB2GOH)

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

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Wasilko)
Subject: Re: Fake Call-Waiting Product
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 20:48:34 EST
Organization: Univ of Fnord; Roslyn's Cafe Div.
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Regards [e-mail] (Dave Levenson)'s article in the TELECOM
Digest:

> A Mr. David H. Schmidt has invented a product called "Gotta Go".  You
> can buy it for $14.95 and plug it into your telephone.  When you've
> got someone on the line who won't let you go, you push the button and
> it makes a click-beep that sounds like a Call Waiting signal.  You can
> then use that as an excuse to bring the unwanted conversation to an
> end.

I heard a demo on the radio this week (apparently the inventor is from
Connecticut).

The box simulates what the other party hears on a 1AESS or 1ESS --
just the clicks. From what I heard on the radio, it sounds just like
the real thing.


Jeff
Jeff's Oasis at Home.         Jeff can also be reached at work at:
                                               [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
Subject: Re: Need Widget to Connect Two Faxes or Modems Together
Organization: Maverick International Inc.
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 17:11:00 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Proctor & Associates) writes:

> Randolph J. Herber, [e-mail] writes:

>> A friend wants to connect two fax machines together via their telco
>> connections so that the machines could be used as copiers.  Also, she
>> wants to connect a fax modem equipped PC to a fax machine so that the
>> fax machine could be used both as a scanner and as a printer.

>> She would like a small and inexpensive piece of euipment with two
>> modular telephone jacks with just enough "smarts" to supply a dial
>> tone and appropriate ringing signals.

I have successfully connected two modems with ONLY a modular cable.
You have to force them to go on-line, but once the connection is
established it works fine.  For two phones or speakerphones to be used
as an intercom, I use a nine-volt battery in SERIES with two modular
jacks to provide the talk battery current -- this doesn't provide
ringing.  Line powered devices may require a few more batteries.

Depending on how "dumb" your fax/modems are and whether the software
really insists on dialing and waiting for ringing, you might get away
with one of these solutions.  I suspect that it depends on your
specific machines, but it would probably be worth trying before you go
out and plunk down a few hundred bucks.

Instead of the line simulators, which seem a bit pricey to me, I've
often wondered if it wouldn't be more cost-effective and versatile to
get a small PBX that supports single-line devices, such as the
Panasonic 308, which should cost about $300 to $500 from someone in
Telecom Gear magazine (write me for more info) and would allow up to
eight devices to interconnect or connect to real phone lines as
needed.

In fact, I sold a PBX myself for this very purpose (well, testing
modems, actually, but it was bought instead of a line simulator.)

Even an AT&T Partner 206 module is only about $400 new, retail and
will connect six devices and (if you choose) two phone lines.  These
have the modular jacks right on the side so you don't even have to
know how to do phone wiring to use them.  Depending on the size of
your office, it might double as a fax/modem "courier" and the office
phone system at the same time.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #866
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #867

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 22 Nov 92 03:27:30 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 867

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Lightning Protection on Telephone Lines (Barton F. Bruce)
    Re: Lightning Protection on Telephone Lines (Kris Harris)
    Re: Lightning Protection on Telephone Lines (Pat Turner)
    Re: Lightning Protection on Telephone Lines (Joel Upchurch)
    Re: Help With Keyline System (Todd Inch)
    Re: InterOffice Trunk Help Needed (Steve Forrette)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Barton F. Bruce)
Subject: Re: Lightning Protection on Telephone Lines
Date: 21 Nov 92 19:48:15 EDT
Organization: Cambridge Computer Associates, Inc.


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Richard
Thomsen) writes:

> I live in the mountains, where lightning and my location are
> synonymous.  I have lost telephone equipment several times.  Once,

Add your OWN premium telco CO grade protection at the service
entrance.  Add arrestors to your power service entrance. Bond both
grounds (as you have done) together with substantial guage wire
without any sharp bends.

That done you have a erected a first wall of defense, and by bonding
the grounds have tried to limit the potential difference seen between
ANY wires from ANY service within your equipment.

Put some MORE protection, ideally on both power and phone line, at
your equipment to clip anything that gets through the front line. This
latter protection may well not be located where you can get a
substantial ground (the 'green' ground wire in branch circuits is a
joke in this situation). At least be sure both phone and power
protection grounds are again connected together in this last ditch
protection. Again you are trying to limit the voltage between any of
the different wires entering your equipment.

Some protection products contain both power and phone protection in a
common package sharing a ground. This is goodness in theory, but most
companies do one type of protection much better that the other. Most
of the el-cheapo protected power strips are a joke, and the ones with
fax or phone jacks, too, are hardly much better.

Bare minimum for the outside phone block is a three electrode gas tube
unit - NOT two of the two electrode gas tube assemblies. The three
electrode design clamps BOTH sides of the line to ground on any arcing
between any two of the three electrodes. Cook and TTI (or is it TII)
make such devices. A common shape is a black log with three wires or
lugs protruding. These come loose to add on top of some earlier design
protector, or in a plastic or metal outdoor housing designed for one,
two, or six, or even twelve units.  Graybar, Anixter, AlTel, North
Supply all carry these, but may not sell to you as an individual. Call
from work.

Inside, you can use even better hardware. CO grade protectors, also
used in higher pair count situations such as office building
entrances, use plug in modules. The are available in MANY grades. The
cheap ones use carbon gaps. Better ones use two electrode gas tubes.
Even better are the three electrode models. Beyond that there are
premium units that take a three electrode gas tube and add fast diodes
and sneak current fuses or heat coils. There are also some
'electronic' units that are very fast but that probably can't hack the
blast a good gas tube can. If you get Porta System's "DELTA" series
modules (three electrode gas + diodes + sneak current) you will be
going VERY well. The diodes are very fast and protect til the gas tube
fires. Diodes alone would get fried too easily.

The DELTA modules we use are # 95BCDXN 230, and are rated for COs with
electronic switching systems. This is the proprietary Porta Systems
shape, but they also make an industry standard slightly less compact
version that plugs into NTI (Cook), ATT, and Reliable blocks. All
those vendors make some similar product. The normal blocks are 25, 50,
or 100 pair! but there are some 6 and 10 pair units that can mount
like a 66 M block.  Something like this in the cellar just inside the
entrance and VERY solidly grounded will nip off whatever the telco
protector misses.  Same supply houses as above.

For home use, the power service entrance protector need not be the
very expensive units you may have seen. GE makes a little grey fist
sized blob that mounts in a standard 1/2" KO on your panel. Other
companies like Delta, whose products are often found at deep well
submersible supply or local electrical supply houses for well under
$40 are very good, and you are not paying $10 or $20 more for the GE
name. These may be silicon carbide units.

At your equipment, there are folks like TripLite with their IsoBar
filters that do a good job on the power, but won't be in the league
with Porta System's CO grade phone protection with their integral
phone line protection in their IsoTel combined unit. OTOH Porta
Systems makes a "Six Pack +" that is a six-pair block to take the
plugin protectors (get the Delta series not their lesser units) and
that has a power protector built in. The power part may snub well but
lacks the additional filtering of the TripLite units. The Six Pack +
has open 66 type punch clips and is designed for WALL mounting, not
for dangling behind your desk. It really targets small keysystems -
power and phone lines together, and additional phone only blocks can
be grounded to it for larger systems needing more than six-pair.

The real bottom line is that there is NO ONE GOOD UNIVERSAL product.
And protection at just one place in the fairly FAT guage power line is
NOT enough. The Delta class phone protection may be enough at just one
location, but more is better.

Catching and dumping to ground as much as possible at the entrance is
very desirable. Spit and polish cleanup of anything left on the lines
can then more safely be handled by typically poorly grounded
protection AT the equipment needing protection. This latter protection
at least clamps ALL wires entering your box to be within modest
voltage of each other -- reguardless of how many volts are between
there and outside ground, or of which service's wires are guilty of
carrying in the danger.

If you have a direct hit, all bets are off. But anything further out,
even a few poles away, and you have a good chance of being able to
handle it.

You spoke of driven rod grounds. No city water lines? Any well
casings?  Good wet earth? or rocky dry sandy soil? Sometimes an array
of driven rods spaced some feet apart can help.

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Lightning Protection on Telephone Lines
Organization: Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 02:20:29 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Richard
Thomsen) writes:

> I live in the mountains, where lightning and my location are
> synonymous.  I have lost telephone equipment several times.  Once,
> about three feet of my telephone cord exploded, separating the wires
> in the modular cable, and removing the copper in one wire.  (It arced
> to my X-10 controller, which did not do so well with the arc.  There
> was a black spot inside where the circuit board said "F1" should be  :-)).

> Does anyone know where I can get some *good* gas discharge tubes or
> any other suggestions for protecting my telephone wiring?  I live in
> Contel (now GTE) area, so I am not sure how much good it would do to
> call them.  Other people in my area have come home to find pieces of
> telephone all over their living room, so this is not an isolated
> situation up here.

Well, this may be an expensive option, but may get GTE's attention:

GTE will be more than happy to RENT you telephone equipment and
provide an inside wire maintainance agreement.  That way, nothing is
your problem.  Every month, you will bring your melted phones in for
exchange, and the maintainance agreement should cover jacks and such.

Just a thought ...


Kris Harris - P.O. Box 2410 - Des Moines, Iowa  50311-0410 - [phone]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 19:16 EST
From: rsiatl![e-mail]
Subject: Re: Lightning Protection on Telephone Lines
Reply-To: [e-mail]


> It seems to be arcing between the telephone lines and the electrical
> system.  The telephones themselves are not hurt, unless they are
> plugged into the house wiring or touching something that is plugged
> in.

This is indicative of common mode surges, which is usually the case
with lightning induced surges.  The surge is between Tip and Ring and
ground

I would get some good AT&T or Reliance five-pin surge protectors such
as the AT&T 3C1SC.  They can either be mounted in a Small Pair Count
Protector, or soldered to the individual wires.  Connections to the
Small Pair Count Protector are made with 110 blocks, but the grey
"push like hell" caps are included, which will do the job if you don't
own a punchdown tool (doesn't everybody :-)) six and 25 pair models
are available and they can be had empty, or already populated with
protectors.

Protectors such as they AT&T model mentioned above should fail with
tip and ring shorted to ground.  Additional protection can be had by
ataching them to your demarc with 26 or 28 ga wire to act as a fuse.
You could also use a spark gap on the CO side of the protector, or use
a common mode choke if you desire.

Make sure the protectors are well grounded and avoid sharp turns in
the lead.  Bond all your grounds (CATV, telco, the protector and the
lead from your power pannel, which should bond your neutral and power
groung together.  You may want to consider using multiple rods well
bonded together.


Pat Turner KB4GRZ   [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: Lightning Protection on Telephone Lines
From: upchrch![e-mail] (Joel Upchurch  )
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 18:01:29 EST
Organization: Upchurch Computer Consulting, Orlando FL


[e-mail] (Richard Thomsen) writes:

> years ago, so they do not seem to have done much good.  Last weekend,
> I wired the telephone ground line outside to the electrical ground
> outside (the copper rod driven into the ground just under the
> electricity meter), and I hope that this will help some.

I suspect that the phone company may take a very dim view of anybody
fiddling with the ground lines on their protectors. I wouldn't be
surprised if any damage happened to their equipment they might hold
you liable. From what I understand the wire only belongs to you after
it comes off the protector. If you aren't happy with the phone
company's ground it might be a better idea to call them and see if
they'll change it. Does anybody know more about this?

(If your mail bounces use the address below.)
Joel Upchurch/Upchurch Computer Consulting/718 Galsworthy/Orlando, FL 32809
[e-mail] {uiucuxc,hoptoad,petsd,ucf-cs}!peora!joel [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
Subject: Re: Help With Keyline System
Organization: Maverick International Inc.
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 00:45:02 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> infmx![e-mail]
(Jack Stephens) writes:

> I'm about to move into a house that is currently outfitted with an
> older phone system ("key line", I think). It uses older phones and
> five lighted push buttons connecting to some sort of central trunk.

In phone system lingo, "key" means "button" or "switch", so a key
telephone system has buttons to select features and lines.  A "line
key" would be a button to select a particular line.

If yours has the "a little longer than single line" phones with the
huge 1/2" diameter cables and the 25 pair (50 conductor) connectors,
it's probably a 1A2 system, which was very popular and reliable.
These usually have a Key Service Unit (KSU) under a big beige housing
bolted to the wall with a grey power supply and lots of model 66
connection "punchblocks" nearby.

I have done a little work on these and installed one in my home.

Some "gotchas" are: How/where to find the cable and 25 pair
connectors.  I usually scrounge these.

In one case, I was able to remove the 25 pair cable from an office
where they had modular adapters plugged in their ends and replace them
with cheaper three-pair cable and proper modular jacks which I
purchased.  I calculated that if I had to buy all the cable and
connectors to wire my house, I could have bought a small PBX phone
system for the price and used cheaper wire and jacks!

Whenever possible, leave the connectors attached to the cable ends.
The older connectors solder on, which you can do with a solder iron,
but it's a lot of work.  The newer ones use insulation displacement/
piercing connections which are supposed to use a special tool but can
be done manually with pliers/screwdriver if necessary, but you have to
be very careful and it also takes time.

Another gotcha: The 66 punch blocks, usually white with 25 rows of
little metal clip/fingers.  If there are five columns, all five of
each row are internally interconnected.  If there are four columns,
the left two are probably separate from the right two- - wiggle them
and see if the entire row wiggles.

DO NOT spread apart the metal fingers to insert wire or shove anything
into the clip cracks other than the wire.  You should really buy the
special tool for this -- the cheap ones are about $25.

If necessary, you can shove the wires in by straddling the clip with
needle-nose pliers.  Don't strip them first, the clip will rub the
insulation out of the way and make contact with the conductor.  I'd
highly recommend powering down the system when making connections
unless you have the proper punch tool -- it's too easy to short the
rows of clips together.  A sharp wood chisel (that you aren't
particularly fond of) can be used to trim the wire beside the clip
after shoving it in.

If you are adding an extension, you can just split off an existing
jack, except if you have individual intercom numbers to buzz/ring
individual phones you will either have both phones on the same
extension, have to disconnect the bell or buzzer in one phone, or have
to wire the bell/buzzer of phone phone onto a non-standard unused pair
and connect it to an unused intercom ring pair back at the KSU.

I REALLY prefer to run a separate "home run" to each jack directly
from the punch-blocks because it makes wiring so much easier than
trying to splice and increases flexibility.  Example: I'm running
serial RS232 over some unused pairs of some jacks, but use those same
unused pairs for the VCR remote control at other jacks, and run audio
between speakers and the amplifier at other jacks.

Also, if you try to run too many phones off one cable the lights keep
getting dimmer as you add phones and the brightness depends on how
many lights are lit, etc.  It's asthetically unpleasant if one line on
hold flashing on-off causes another line in-use to flash dim-bright.
It looks like there's a photon shortage or something.

If you have to, you can run some 50, 100 or 200 pair wire into a
closet halfway between the jack and KSU and install more punchblocks
there (if, say, you can get a bunch of cables with ends but they
aren't quite long enough.)  In fact, I'll give you some of this cable
(got a nice hunk of 400 pair about 100 feet long out of a dumpster) if
you want to pay shipping -- I keep tripping over it in the garage.

Remember -- the bells (or ringing phone lines) are operated by about
100 volt dc pulses which will wake you up (on the wrong side of the
bed) if you aren't paying attention.  And, these voltages are present
on those uncovered 66 block and the connectors -- don't let small
children (or coerce your delinquent teenagers to) put their fingers in
them.

The following accessories might come in handy.  They are available from
places like Graybar, or maybe try a local small business phone
installer:

- Two-way splitters for 25-pair connectors.
- Extension cables with male and female connectors on opposite ends.
- 66 punch blocks with connectors built into their sides.
- Phone jacks (25 pair connectors) inside little boxes that mount on
the wall and have the 66-type clips inside for connection to the cut end
of a cable.

Send me e-mail if you have specific questions or need names/numbers of
suppliers of used phones/equipment.  You can even buy used 66 blocks.

Now you know why the phone company will charge you so much.  :-)

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: InterOffice Trunk Help Needed
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 08:38:43 GMT


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

[description of problem deleted]

> I strongly suspect inter-machine trunk trouble between the
> National and Clay central offices, but how do I prove this and how do
> I get through to the teledroid at repair service that we're
> experiencing this problem on ALL 216 DID trunks?  Profound thoughts
> and ideas are welcomed.

Last summer I was having a lot of problems with my home POTS service
from Pacific Bell.  Often when I would try to dial, I would get a
reorder.  Also, callers to me would report that my line had been busy
when I know it was not, and sometimes callers would get reorder when
calling me.  This was happening on all of my lines.  Since I was
served from a brand new 5ESS Remote that had been cut over just
recently, I suspected a lack of facilities problem between my CO and
the one that it was slaved off of.

My first call to Repair Service resulted in my cordless phone being to
blame, or perhaps my tone generator in my phone was broken, or perhaps
any number of causes that were not Pacific Bell's responsibility.
While I was on the line with Repair, they checked my line and reported
that it was fine (their line test of course would not show a lack of
inter-office facilities problem).  I went along with the program,
filed my trouble report, and was promised resolution by "5pm
tomorrow."

When the same problem happened a few days later, I called back Repair,
and entered another report, since the first one had been cleared.
When it started happening again, I called Repair again, and this time
insisted to be allowed to talk to someone technical, since I had
followed all of their suggestions (such as unplugging my cordless
phone, using separate instruments, etc.), and they just kept clearing
out the tickets without fixing it.  I again posed the possibility of
inter-office lack of facilities, and asked the Repair operator if they
have access to reports that would indicate times when all facilities
were full.  She said "no," and I then said "Well you can't rule that
out then, can you, since you don't know!"  I was polite but firm, and
they finally agreed to have a technical person call me back.

The next day, I got a call from an obviously technical CO person, who
had obviously not been through the "telephone manners" training that
the normal reps go through.  Not that he was rude, but it was obvious
that this person's primary job was not to talk to customers on the
phone, which is exactly the kind of person I needed.  I could discuss
the technical details, and suggest what I thought the problem was, and
he understood and agreed with my suggestions.  He called back the next
day to tell me that this was exactly the problem -- my switch had way
too few trunks to the switch it was slaved off, and there were frequent
times when no facilities were available.


He thanked my profusely, and said that by being persistant, "You have
saved Pacific Bell millions of dollars" in lost revenue and problems
in the future.  Perhaps a bit of overkill, but he could not thank me
enough, and within a week, the problem went away.

The moral to the story is to go with the regular Repair Service
program for a couple of cycles, and after the ticket gets cleared a
couple of times with no resolution, be polite but firm and insist that
your problem be escalated and that you be allowed to talk with the
level of person you need.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #867
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #868

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 23 Nov 92 00:11:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 868

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Panasonic and Tropez 900 MHz Phones (Wayne Sung)
    FCC Wants Comments on Area Codes (Bart Z. Lederman)
    Unitel LD Service and Data (Ian Evans)
    Seven-Digit Repair Service Numbers (Robert S. Helfman)
    Can I Use a US Modem in Switzerland? (Radu Hambasan)
    Help on Settling an Argument About Leased T1 Lines (Mark C. Tucker)
    Information Providers Seek Monopoly (Omni Magazine via Christoper Schmidt)
    Not Your Typical Telecom/Radio Station Story (Roy M. Silvernail)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 21:56:52 -0500
From: Wayne Sung <[e-mail]>
Subject: Panasonic and Tropez 900 MHz Phones


I recently had the chance to use both the Panasonic and Tropez 900 MHz
phones.  Here is a quick comparison. Note that these are subjective --
I didn't try to make any measurements.

Range: Tropez gives almost three times the range outdoors, a small
amount extra indoors. I can get two houses down the street with the
Panasonic, more than six with the Tropez. Indoors, I cannot get from
my desk to my machine room with the Panasonic (less than 100 ft but
through several walls). The Tropez makes it, although there are some
dead spots. As long as it rings, I can always take it into another
room to answer.

Fidelity: Panasonic sounds better than Tropez, although both are very
good.  In particular, under some circumstances the Tropez audio will
have a low level clicking to it. There is also some gating noticeable
on the Tropez in a noisy room. Neither had any static (49 MHz phones
do not work at all in my machine room - all they do is buzz). Dropouts
are quite abrupt on both, i.e. near the range limit the audio will
come and go rather than have increasing noise.

Convenience: Panasonic is smaller, and has a belt clip. It is smaller
because the mouthpiece folds, and also the antenna is shorter. The
clip that holds the mouthpiece looked flimsy, though. Also, Panasonic
supplies two batteries with the phone. There is a charging slot in the
base for the spare pack. No wires are used in the Panasonic packs, the
Tropez pack has a pair of wires and a connector. The Panasonic can be
switched totally off, the Tropez is always in standby (even though
there is an off button).

Operation: The Tropez has a dial in the base, the Panasonic does not.
Both have page/intercom. The Tropez further allows the handset to
prevent the base from conferencing into a call. Normally a tone
indicates that the base has been added. When out of range, the Tropez
will start beeping as you exceed range whether a call in in progress
or not. The Panasonic only indicates during a call. Both allow you
time to get back in range before disconnecting.

The Tropez has a problem (perhaps only with documentation) with the
out-of- range signal. The manual says press any key to stop this
signal. Pressing 'off' does _not_ stop it, nor does pressing any of
the function keys. Only the main pad keys do it. Also, if you stop the
out-of-range signal and then attempt to get a line while still out of
range, the phone seems to buffer up the line button: press line, no
dial tone, press again (maybe a few times).  This can result in the
phone beeping several minutes (a fast beep, different from the
out-of-range signal).

Also if you disconnect the base to move it, you will cause the
security code to change in the base but not necessarily the handset.
You will have to put the handset in the base for maybe half a minute
for them to resync. Otherwise you get either no response or a lot of
noise. There are three pins that connect the base to the phone -- two
carry DC and the third is a data link. The line is answered upon
removing the phone from the base, no separate switch is required. The
Panasonic necessarily requires opening the mouthpiece to answer.

Misc: Both phones state that they run at maximum power allowed for
their respective types of operation, but that maximum range may not be
attainable in actual oeration. However, neither one specifically says
what range to expect. There is also no mention of battery operation
time. Tropez doesn't even say how long the warranty is.

I would judge the Tropez to be the more capable phone, especially
since the voice is digitized. However, it is quite a bit less costly
than the Panasonic even considering I saw the Panasonic at two
discount stores and the Tropez at a phone store which normally has
everything priced higher.

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

Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 12:50:56 EST
From: B. Z. Lederman <[e-mail]>
Subject: FCC Wants Comments on Area Codes


I don't think I've seen this discussed here, though it ought to be of
interest.

According to an article on page 29 of the November 9, 1992 issue of
{Network World}:

"The FCC has kicked off an inquiry into a massive overhaul of the way
in which telephone numbers are assigned in North America, a change
that may have a substantial impact on users."

It talks about the limitations of the "1 and 0" limit on area codes,
that switches have to be re-programmed, that there are few numbers
reserved for country-wide numbers and that the only such numbers now
(976, 555, 520) were originally for diagnostic use, and so on.

More important: there are 60 days for users, carriers, and other
interested parties to offer suggestions and comments.

So keep those cards and letters flowing in!


Bart Z. Lederman
System Resources Corp.
Burlington, MA (working on contract for the U.S. DOT, hence the mail address).


[Moderator's Note: Something seems strange here. The plan to begin
using area codes with assorted digits in the middle space has been
known about for years. Did the FCC just now find out about it?  Do the
activities of Bellcore fall under the jurisdiction of the FCC?  PAT]

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

Subject: Unitel LD Seervice and Data
From: [e-mail] (Ian Evans)
Date: 23 Nov 92 00:40:00 GMT
Organization: Baudeville BBS - Toronto, Canada 416-283-0114 2200+ conferences
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Ian Evans)


Anybody here from Canada using Unitel's long distance service?

How are they in handling data calls?  I'm thinking of getting the
'black box' service, as the thought of adding all those access codes
to the dial string gives me the willies.


CompuServe ID: 73117,545 UUCP: bville!ian.evans| Ian Evans - Sysop
INTERNET:[e-mail]              | Baudeville BBS - Toronto
OTHERS: [e-mail]                   | 416-283-0114 (v32bis/HST)
* DeLuxe2 1.26b #5896 * Baudeville BBS - The Economical Email Emporium

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

From: [e-mail] (Robert S. Helfman)
Subject: Seven-Digit Repair Service Numbers
Date: 22 Nov 1992 21:30:15 GMT
Organization: The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA


Last week, I was in Washington, D.C. and called home to collect
messages from my answering machine. The machine seemed to have gone
off-hook, then suddenly I got a telco message that they were "unable
to complete your call as dialed". When I called again, my line was
busy, and stayed that way for at least 20 more minutes -- much longer
than could be ascribed to the answering machine finishing its cycle.

Normally, I would have assumed that my answering machine had died, but
in this case, the fact that I got a telco-generated message made me
think the switchgear was doing something wierd.

I wanted to call repair service for my CO but of course, I surely
couldn't dial 611 in Washington, D.C. and expect to get repair service
for a CO across the country. I in fact have a seven-digit number for
the repair service guys at my CO (I have needed it before when
reporting my home number from my office) -- but it was in my office in
L.A.

I called AT&T LD information for L.A. and asked for a seven-digit
number for repair service (giving them my home prefix). It turned out
that the number they gave me is for a PacBell center in San Diego, but
they took the information and must have cleared the line, because 30
minutes later I found my line worked AND a message had been left on my
machine by my local CO. In the message they gave me THEIR seven-digit
number, which needless to say, I've enshrined in my briefcase in case
this happens again.

Moral: All you children should get your seven-digit repair service
number from 611 NOW so that you can report your home phone when you're
away.  It would save a real hassle.

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

From: [e-mail] (Radu Hambasan)
Subject: Can I Use a US Modem in Switzerland?
Organization: Cornell Information Technologies
Date: 22 Nov 92 07:41:58 GMT


Does anyone know if there is any reason why a modem made for use in
the United States would not work correctly in Switzerland?

The Swiss government says you must use modems that are "homologue"
(approved) by the PTT, the Swiss postal/telecom authority. However
such modems cost hundreds of dollars more and I am skeptical as to
whether there is any functional difference -- it seems more like a
form of economic protectionism.

Then there is the problem of jacks: Swiss phones apparently do not
plug into the wall via the tiny plastic connectors used here, but use
much larger connectors that would never find room on the back of a PC,
much less a modem card.

I would appreciate it if anyone could tell me, from experience or
otherwise, if Switzerland uses a different voltage in its phone lines,
if touch tones are of the same frequency as here, and where I could
get the appropriate connectors, or would simply patching the wires be
OK?

Thanks in advance for your help. (I'd rather not pay $500 for an
"approved" 2400 baud modem!)


Radu Hambasan   -->   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark C. Tucker)
Subject: Help on Settling an Argument About Leased T1 Lines
Organization: Philips Laboratories, Briarcliff, New York
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 20:12:09 GMT


A colleague and I were having an argument about leased T1 lines.
Perhaps some experts can settle this issue for us.

Let's say I lease a T1 link from the LEC. So I have 24 DS0 TDM slots
going to the the LEC's CO. My data has to go across two CO hops to our
downtown site where again we have 24 contiguous DS0 slots being
delivered from the terminating CO to our downtown building. Now, the
question is whether the contiguity of the original 24 DS0 TDM slots
will be maintained across the links between the originating and
terminating CO's.  In other words, will a dedicated T1 link (or a
fixed T3 slot) be allocated to me and my individual DS0 slots never
demultiplexed at the originating CO? Or will my 24 slots be chopped up
and carried over separate portions of the inter-office T3 links, only
to be reassembled at the terminating CO and delivered as one chunk of
24 DS0's again?

Do the answers change if I lease T1 circuits from an IXC and go
directly to their POP instead of going through the LEC's CO ?

Please help us resolve this issue.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,


Mark Tucker            email:    [e-mail]
Member of Research Staff    tel:    [phone]
Philips Laboratories        fax:    [phone]

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

Subject: Information Providers Seek Monopoly
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 15:00:15 EST
From: Christopher Schmidt <[e-mail]>


           INFORMATION PROVIDERS SEEK MONOPOLY

"Today's fat cats, like the robber barons of old, get ready to carve
up cyberspace -- and your future."

                     by Tom Dworetzky
            Contributing Editor, Omni Magazine

[This editorial originally appeared in the August 1992 issue of {Omni
Magazine}.]

Trolleys were electric trains, clean running, as environmentally sound
(or sounder than) buses.  Years later, I find out that the
disappearance and destruction of the country's trolley systems was the
result not of free-market forces and consumer preference, but of a
callous, monopolistic deal to crush the trolleys nationwide.  To make
their deal secure, the industrialists paved over trolley rails from
coast to coast.  Now the land is carved up with highways; trolley
cars, if you can find them at all, exist only in museums.

As we head into the Information Age, we'll soon find ourselves in a
parallel situation.  Two great technologies now battle it out for the
transport of information: telephone and cable companies.  Recently,
matters came to a head when the Baby Bells started a push to change
their original deregulation mandate and offer information services.
Newspaper companies across the continent swelled with indignation.
Turns out most cable in the United States is owned by media elephants
such as Time Warner.  While busy on the one hand reporting on the evil
phone companies' attempts to crush newspapers and other information
organizations with monopolistic muscle, these media companies with
their other hand have been shoveling hundreds of millions of dollars
into a race to beat the local Bells at the information business.

In fact, 30 cable companies have reportedly obtained federal licenses
to construct wireless phone networks that will employ cable wiring and
cellular phones as an alternative to the standard phone company.

Back when the country was new and the frontier's bounty stretched
forever, rails and roads competed for profits from the transport of
grain, steel, cattle, and oil -- the fruits of the blossoming
industrial revolution.  That was, or seemed to be, good: It brought a
surge of development and wealth that fed, housed, and clothed us all.
Unfortunately, a century later, we find the frontier despoiled and
spent, plundered by the greedy and reduced to the present economic and
environmental morass.

As we enter the Information Age, let's look at the war shaping up
"between" cable/newspaper and phone giants.  Are their interests ours?
Are they really concerned about our information needs?  Or are they
just colluding to provide us with a Hobbesian choice between two
lesser evils? -- between one overpriced, moderately bad system and
another.  Just because they own the patents, do they have the power to
carve up the future between them and squeeze out any newer, fairer,
cheaper, more-useful technologies that might actually serve us all and
make for a better information landscape?  Look at your phone bill,
then ask yourself: If they all start delivering information, as in the
electronic workplace, won't the bills run hundreds of dollars a month,
and won't we have to pay them?  And won't that be a sort of hidden
tax, the price of entry to becoming a worker in the Information Age?

The resolution won't be the flurry of proposed legislation in DC to
block, free, or regulate the move of data carriers into the
information businewss.  I don't know what the answer is.  But I do
know that if you listen quietly, you can hear the metallic whisper of
knife edge on sharpening stone as today's fat cats, like the robber
barons of old, get ready to carve up cyberspace -- and your future.

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

[Moderator's Note: The author's comments are worth thinking about. One
minor error was his reference to 'trolley tracks': Streetcars ran on
tracks, while trolleys ran on the street with regular rubber tires on
their wheels. Both methods of transportation used overhead wires to
draw their electrical current through a 'catenary', or pole hoisted in
the air above the vehicle.  PAT]

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

Subject: Not Your Typical Telecom/Radio Station Story
From: [e-mail] (Roy M. Silvernail)
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 23:32:47 CST
Organization: Villa CyberSpace, Minneapolis, MN


[Moderator's Disclaimer: The article which follows contains language
which may be offensive to some readers. Although it *is* funny, it is
a little out of character for the Digest. This is the final article in
this issue, and if an excessive amount of profanity or vulgar
expressions would offend you, then you should quit reading this issue
at this time.  PAT]

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

Many of the telecom/radio stories on the Digest have a technical theme.
Not this one ...

I was going through some old tapes from my radio days, and dug out a
little gem I obtained years ago in Nome, Alaska through a very strange
route.  An ex-staff member hailed from Providence, Rhode Island, and
had returned after his stint was over.  A few months later, the
station got a letter from him, with a little enclosure.  100 or so
feet of tape, wrapped around a piece of cardboard.  There was a note
on the cardboard ... "It will be worth it."

We laboriously wrapped the tape onto a reel, and threaded it onto a
deck in the production studio.  We found a hilarious parody of a New
York Telephone commercial, obviously done at the same session with
some legitimate spots.  (radio pros already know that we passed these
things around a lot ... ask anybody with a copy of a PAMS Christmas
party).

The spot isn't anywhere near politically correct.  I'm including a
copy with this article, but I leave it to PAT's discretion whether
this belongs in the Digest or the Archives.  (but if you divert it,
PAT, please try to summarize :-)

New York Telephone Parody Commercial:

New York City ... it's still a hell of a town.

(music in and up. The girls sing "New York Telephone, mmm mmm mmm...")

At New York Telephone, we know that getting a malicious or obscene
phone call can really piss you off.  If you get such a call, fuck it!
Hang up immediately.  In most instances, that's enough to stop the
caller from becoming a pain in the ass.

Too often, though, people unwittingly encourage the caller by talking
back.  Don't be a prick!  You can't argue with a sick mind, so don't
try!

If hanging up quickly doesn't work, for shit's sake, don't panic.
Just call our business office.  You'll find the number in the front of
your telephone directory. In persistant cases, our Annoyance Call
Bureau takes over to try and trap the fucker.  Working with the
police, our Annoyance Call Bureau has been responsible for 844 arrests
and 54 abortions.  And defendants have learned that a 10 cent phone
call can cost them as much as thousand dollars and jam their ass in
prison for a year.

At New York Telephone, we're in business to give you service ... and
part of our obligation is to see to it that no mother fucker abuses
that service!  After all ... the service we give you is obscene
enough.

(Music up, the girls sing again, and out.)


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


[Moderator's Note: Blush.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #868
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #870

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 23 Nov 92 01:21:19 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 870

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Is Caller-ID an Illegal Trap and Trace? (Andy Sherman)
    Re: Is Caller-ID an Illegal Trap and Trace? (Jack Decker)
    Re: No Caller ID in Texas (Sean Malloy)
    Re: MCI Service Outage (Bob Yazz)
    Re: At NYNEX, CNID is Coming Before E911 (Bob Turner)
    Re: Only One Phone Works ... Help! (Marc Unangst)
    Re: Only One Phone Works ... Help! (Michael Heggen)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Andy Sherman)
Subject: Re: Is Caller-ID an Illegal Trap and Trace?
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 12:49:55 EST


> [ Description of section in the Electronic Communications Privacy
> Act that makes trap-and-trace devices illegal without a court
> order. ]

> If this is a correct interpretation, it means that the decisions in
> various states about Caller-ID are all irrelevant since this Federal
> law has made any caller ID box illegal (except for calls which are not
> "in interstate commerce.").

Do note that the decisions about Caller ID in the various states
*only* apply to calls which are *not* in interstate commerce, since
the state utility agencies and courts have no jurisdiction to allow or
disallow Caller ID on interstate calls.

> I'm waiting for some slick attorney who has a client who was caught
> with a Caller-ID box raise ECPA to not only have the evidence of calls
> excluded, but have the victim charged with a civil suit of violating
> the ECPA for installing an illegal trap and trace device without a
> court order, which if I remember, ECPA allows civil damages as high as
> $10,000.

First off, since Caller ID is only available for in-state calls, the
slick attorney would need a dunce for a judge to succeed.  But
further, anybody who used a Caller ID service which was tariffed by
the phone company and approved by the state would have the defense of
having in good faith acted in accordance with state and local law.

Meanwhile, I'm surprised you don't mention a potential conflict
between 800 number ANI delivery by inter-exchange carriers and the
ECPA.  Since the FCC has approved the service I assume that delivery
of the calling number to the party accepting a collect call (which is
the legal description of ANI delivery to an 800 subscriber) does not
constitute trap and trace since the party getting the number is the
party paying for the call.

Pat, I suspect that it's time for this thread to move to the privacy
list, but, hey, you're the editor. :^)


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."


[Moderator's Note: Every once in a while, an article on Caller-ID and
'privacy' comes along; I should know by now there is never going to be
any consensus. We'll have two more replies, then that's it.   PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 11:29:24 EST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Decker)
Subject: Re: Is Caller-ID an Illegal Trap and Trace?


In message <[e-mail]>, [e-mail].
ncsu.edu (Ben Harrell) wrote:

> Also, I would like for someone to explain to me the conceptual
> difference between someone calling me and someone knocking on my door.
> Unless I know who is on the other side of that door, I'm not likely to
> answer it, and if I do I'm going to be very careful about it.  In the
> entire history of telephony, I having had that capability.  But now
> with CLID, I do.  I understand that battered spouse shelters,
> undercover policemen, etc. need protection, but for the average person
> or business, why is CLID any different "personal privacy" wise to my
> going and knocking on my neighbors door.  Why would I expect him/her
> to answer that door, if he doesn't recognize me or my voice?

I think where your analogy falls flat is that Caller ID is delivered
to ALL users of that service when you call them, not just those you
want to have your number.  Let's think about your "person at the door"
analogy a bit more.  Consider the case of a stranger at the door: You
have the right to refuse to answer the door if you don't know the
person there, but you don't really know anything about him or her,
certainly not their address.  But let's suppose that the door in
question is not the front door to your home, but rather the front door
to a place of business.  Let's suppose, just to make things
interesting, that it's an insurance agency that sells auto, life, and
health and accident insurance.  Let's suppose that you walk by and see
a sign that says "Low rates on Auto Insurance - Inquire Inside" (the
equivalent of a yellow pages ad?) so you attempt to enter.  But, you
are met at the door by a greeter who says that you cannot enter,
cannot ask a question, or cannot talk to anyone there about anything
until you have provided your name and current address.

Now, I don't know about you, but at that point I'd probably start
thinking that once they have my name and address, they can come to my
door and harass me about my need for various types of insurance, and
if they can't give me a estimate on their "low auto insurance rate"
without giving me the third degree, I'll take my business elsewhere.
Or, alternately, I might consent to give the information, but at least
I've given it with my full knowledge and consent.

In the case of Caller ID, the information (my phone number) is just
taken from me and given to selected people that I call, but I have no
way of knowing who's getting my number, nor do I get a chance to
pre-approve the giving of that information (unless per-line blocking
is available, and I gather that's what you object to).  Generally, if
I call another residential customer, I don't really mind them knowing
that it's me calling (though there may occasionally be exceptions).
But what I REALLY object to is the giving of my number to businesses
that may capture it and then use it later on for unsolicited "cold"
sales calls.

Just as you don't normally identify yourself when you walk into most
places of business, I do not want my phone number automatically
provided to businesses that I call.  If they request my phone number,
I may well give it to them, but *I* want to make that decision.

By the way, some have asked how come folks don't object to ANI
information going out on 800 number calls.  I think it's partly
because folks don't realize it's happening, and partly because folks
who do realize it's happening also understand that when you are paying
for the calls, you need to know where the calls are coming from in
order to avoid fradulent billing.  But if I'm paying for the call, or
if it's a local call, that argument falls flat, because Caller ID data
is never used for billing verification.

> I know that I don't have to tell him/her were *I* live, but I just
> don't see the difference and don't understand what people get so upset
> about with CLID.  Maybe I'm just dense.

You're not dense, but you possibly haven't considered that Caller ID
data is delivered to both businesses and residences, and you don't
even know that it happens.  It's a different situation with the
stranger at your door ... if you choose to answer your door, you still
don't know their home address unless they tell you, and if you're a
business owner you probably aren't going to demand their home address
when they walk in your door!


Jack Decker, via the Great Lakes Internet <=> FidoNet Gateway
Internet: [e-mail]
    UUCP: ...!umich!wsu-cs!royaljok!154!8!Jack.Decker

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

From: [e-mail] (Sean Malloy)
Subject: Re: No Caller ID in Texas
Date: 22 Nov 1992 06:00:26 -0600
Organization: Texas A&M University, College Station


Well, the Nov 17, 1992 {Houston Chronicle} has an editorial supporting
the recent PUC decision to not allow Caller ID in Texas.  I won't
include it here (I didn't call to get permission) but I will quote a
paragraph or two ... grammar is theirs, spelling is mine.

"It is true that Caller ID would offer a measure of convenience to
those residential customers receiving unwanted telephone calls.  But
that would come at the price of changing long-held public notions of
rights of privacy.  The identifier's potential to put callers in
life-threatening situations has led to opposition from groups such as
the Texas Council on Family Violence.  Law enforcement agencies have
also opposed Caller ID on the grounds that it would make those who
want to remain anonymous - who do not wish to be identified through
their telephone numbers - less willing to cooperate with authorities
in crime-solving efforts.  These concerns override any "service"
[Quotes theirs] Caller ID may offer customers."

They also continue to say that the choice is one of privacy v.
gimmickry and that the PUC has "wisely chosen to uphold Texans'
privacy rights."

The editorial doesn't mention that the PUC is composed of three
members.  One declared it illegal, another said it's legal, and a
third said that it's legal, but only for some businesses under current
law.

I called my local GTE office, and also talked to a SW Bell
representative who said that tracking a number can currently be done
by means of a "Call Trace" service, which costs $10 (US) per trace.
The (somewhat more informed) SW Bell rep also said that the results of
the trace can only be turned over to their "Security Department" and
not to the customer.  GTE did not say this, but my understanding is
that this is because of state law, and not a Telco policy.

Why am I not surprised that a newspaper that uses telemarketers to
drum-up subscriptions is opposed to the adoption of Caller ID?

Anyone wanting to send a letter to the {Chronicle} should send a fax
to {Viewpoints} at [phone].  Include Name, full address and phone
number.


Sean C. Malloy  -  Texas A&M University  -  [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Enough already!  No more Caller-ID pros and cons.
This will never be resolved.  PAT]

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

From: Bob Yazz <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: MCI Service Outage
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 02:49:56 GMT


[e-mail] (Ron Dippold) writes:

> As I type, MCI long distance out of San Diego is sporadic.  Apparently
> their cable up to LA has been damaged (no word on why), and their
> backup cable can't handle the load.  No word on service resumption.

It's a day or two ago now, but where I work here in San Diego, we
couldn't use AT&T either.  Most calls were blocked, both in and out.

Unfortunately, our phone consultant has yet to reprogram the company
switch to permit 10xxx dialing, so we couldn't even try other carriers.

We did get an AT&T operator who explained that "one of the other
carriers" was having a problem (likely cable cut) but that the Pacific
Bell office couldn't handle things.  Seems to me they should have been
able to.


Bob Yazz

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

From: [e-mail] (Bob Turner)
Subject: Re: At NYNEX, CNID is Coming Before E911
Organization: Univ. of Dayton, School of Engineering
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 02:55:24 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Joshua
E. Muskovitz) writes:

> To their credit, the rep understood everything I said, but pointed out
> that in this area, at least, we do not have enhanced 911 and so I must
> dial *67 911 in order for them to be able to find me.  She claimed
> that the delay in setting up E911 ("we've been working on it for three
> years") is from the post office -- they have to convert all the Rural
> Route addresses and such to street addresses before an E911 system can
> be installed.

> Personally, I don't believe it.  Why not simply install it now for the
> more urban addresses, and update it for those addresses when they are
> converted?

Oh you better believe it!!! And thank god they are not putting a E911
system up without address rectification.

This is a difficult problem that my company and my joint venture
partner deal with on a daily basis. There is nothing worse then an
E911 system that cannot be trusted. Waiting for the post office is a
typical problem, eavne worse with the current round of lay-offs. In
Kentucky, a big market for us, the addressing support person in
Louisville was "early retired" on Sept 15. So for addressing support
your on your own in Kentucky.

Address rectification is only one aspect of putting a E911 database
together.  And it has to be done. The phone company records are
inaccurate (at best).  This usually isn't a problem because the
addresses they have are for billing purposes not Location ID.

However the legal and operation ramifications are tremendous. Try to
convince your Emergency crews to kill themselves to get to an address
that the ALI computer spitout. Especially when the past performance
has been less than 45% (Actual occurance). Plus the liability
potential is horrendous.

> [Moderator's Note: If she told you 'you must dial *67-911 in order for
> them to find you' then I would question how much she understood about
> what she was saying. *67 usually toggles the status of CLID delivery,
> but in any event it *never* affects the 911 display (if there is one;
> some older 911's don't have it.)  PAT]

Correct. E911 is driven off the billing systems for calling number
delivery.  Thats why the trunks going into a PSAP are generally CAMA
or TSPS. CNID and CLASS don't have anything to do with this.


Bob Turner                                    Senior System Engineer
513-434-2738                           [e-mail]
CommSys, Inc.     77 West Elmwood Drive, Suite 101, Dayton, OH 45459

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

From: [e-mail] (Marc Unangst)
Subject: Re: Only One Phone Works ... Help!
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 20:33:25 GMT
Organization: The Programmer's Pit Stop, Ann Arbor MI


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Andy
Wolf) writes:

> 1. Why doesn't the phone in bedroom three work?  Bad phone cord?  Is
> is because of the mess with the other line?  Could it be the
> (bulletproof) phone?

This sounds like tip and ring are reversed in the BR3 jack.  Most
newer phones have a rectifier circuit so they are polarity-immune, but
older phones can be polarity-sensitive.  DTMF tones not breaking
dialtone is a symptom of a polarity reversal.  To fix this, just take
the jack off the wall and reverse the connections of the red and green
wires.


Marc Unangst, N8VRH    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: But he said he could hear the tones. In the old
style phones where polarity mattered, if tip and ring were reversed
the CO could not hear the tones, but then, neither could you.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Heggen)
Subject: Re: Only One Phone Works ... Help!
Organization: /etc/organization
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 00:05:00 GMT


[e-mail] (Andy Wolf) writes:

> I have a problem in an apartment that I recently moved into.  There is

[stuff deleted]

> 2. In a rental situation, is it typical that the apartment company
> should fix this problem, or do I have the burden?

> [Moderator's Note: Have you tried other instruments in BR- to see if

[stuff deleted]

> The landlord does not have to fix the problem.  Telco is not as easily

With all due respect to the Moderator, I would suggest that Andy Wolf
check his rental agreement as well as the landlord-tenant law in his
state. In Oregon telephone service can fall under the portion of the
landlord-tenant law regarding maintenance of necessary services.  This
is sort of a grey area, as I discovered with a somewhat senile (but
definitely obnoxious) landlady at a previous residence. I had had a
second line installed. The apartment complex was wired using
multi-pair cable (8-pair? Don't remember ...) and there were twelve
units in the complex. The phone guy just found an unused pair and we
hooked that up as the yellow-black pair on our regular jacks in
apartment. After a few weeks, I started getting noise on the line and
it degraded to the point that you couldn't hear dialtone. I spoke to
my landlady about it and she said that it was her responsibility to
keep the wiring maintained, so she would pay to have it fixed if it
was determined that that was where the problem was. Great!

So I called the phone company (Pacific Northwest Bell) who came out
and determined that the problem was probably at a junction somewhere
in between the first and second floors. They also discovered that all
the rest of the unused pairs were just as bad as mine was (if not
worse) and that the wiring was really awful (complex was probably
wired by a independent contractor during construction). It would
require that they go into several other apartments, etc. and would run
a couple of hours time in all (in addition to the $90 already spent to
track down the problem).

Now the fun starts: my landlady claims that the installation of a
second line was "an unauthorized modification" to the apartment. She
claimed that it was "tampering" and therefore in violation of the
lease. She claimed that her responsibility was only for my first line
and that she would not pay for the repair service (any of it), nor
would she allow repairs to be made.

End result: I had to disconnect my second line and pay a $90 repair
bill (the phone guys -- yes, there were two of them) were nice enough
to knock an hour's time off the bill, but it was still $90.  And, I
had no data line.

Storal of the mory: get it in writing from your landlord beforehand.


Michael Heggen <[e-mail]>

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #870
******************************










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Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 00:40:45 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #869

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 23 Nov 92 00:40:45 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 869

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Telecom Quotations (Mark Brader)
    "How the World Was One", by Arthur C. Clarke (a review) (Mark Brader)
    Internet Question (Richard Budd)
    Internet Services in Former USSR (Richard Budd)
    Encrypted Cordless Phones: How? (Randy Sales)
    Re: New Area Code Blitzes Cell Phone User (Mark Earle)
    Re: Microsoft/Intel Team up on Video for PCs (Richard Nash)
    Re: Who Are the Major Players in CT2 Phones and Equipment? (David Tse)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 21:48:00 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: Telecom Quotations


I have one more quote, from the same book.

> In one of Arthur C. Clarke's novels there's a beautiful throwaway
> line ...

Found it.  I'll give the context where I found it, because I think
it's interesting too.  He quoted himself in a short 1988 speech, which
he then printed in his new book "How the World was One".  He first
talked about how the British post office, by converting to a flat-rate
system for domestic mail, was able to adopt in 1840 a postage rate of
only 1d, with immeasurable benefit to commerce and society.  Then:

   I'm sure you'll see what I'm driving at, and because I can never
   resist an opportunity for a commercial, I'd like to end by reading
   to you a paragraph from my *latest* last book:

      "...In the beginning, the Earth had possessed the single
      super-continent of Pangea [sic], which over the aeons had
      split asunder.  So had the human species, into innumerable
      tribes and nations; now it was merging together, as the old
      linguistic and cultural divisions began to blur....  With the
      historic abolition of long-distance charges on December 31,
      2000, every telephone call became a local one, and the human
      race greeted the new millennium by transforming itself into
      one huge, gossiping family."
                              ("2061: Odyssey Three", Chapter 3)

Here are a few more quotes from "How the World was One".  Clarke
prints in the book a speech he gave at the United Nations on World
Telecommunications Day, May 17, 1983.  It begins:

   There is always something new to be learned from the past,
   and I would like to open with two anecdotes from the early
   days of the telephone.  They illustrate perfectly how
   difficult -- if not impossible -- it is to anticipate the
   social impact of a truly revolutionary invention.

   Though the first story is now rather famous -- and I must
   apologize to those of you who've heard if before -- I hope
   it's unfamiliar to most of you. ...

   When news of Alexander Graham Bell's invention reached the
   United Kingdom, the chief engineer of the British Post Office
   failed to be impressed.  "The Americans," he said loftily,
   have need of the telephone -- but we do not.  We have plenty
   of messenger boys..."

   The second story I heard only quite recently, and in some
   ways it's even more instructive.  In contrast to the British
   engineer, the mayor of a certain American city was wildly
   enthusiastic.  He thought that the telephone was a marvelous
   device and ventured this stunning prediction:  "I can see the
   time," he said solemnly, "*when every city will have one*."

And from his speech on the occasion of the Intelsat agreement:

   For today, gentleman, whether you intend it or not -- whether
   you wish it or not -- you have signed far more than yet another
   intergovernmental agreement.

   You have just signed the first draft of the Articles of
   Federation of the United States of Earth.

Then there's this one; this isn't Clarke writing, but an electric
engineer named W. E. Ayrton.

   There is no doubt that the day will come, maybe when you and I
   are forgotten, when copper wires, gutta-percha coverings, and
   iron sheathings will be relegated to the Museum of Antiquities.
   Then, when a person wants to telegraph to a friend, he knows
   not where, he will call an electromagnetic voice, which will
   be heard loud by him who has the electromagnetic ear, but will
   be silent to everyone else.  He will call "Where are you?"
   and the reply will come, "I am at the bottom of the coal-mine"
   or "Crossing the Andes" or "In the middle of the Pacific";
   or perhaps no reply will come at all, and he may then conclude
   that his friend is dead.

Mr. Ayrton said this at a lecture at the Imperial Institute ... in
*1897*.


Mark Brader, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, utzoo!sq!msb, [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 23:00:00 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Mark Brader)
Subject: "How the World Was One", by Arthur C. Clarke (a review)


In another item which I expect Pat will run in the same Digest
as this one, I gave several quotes from Arthur C. Clarke's latest
book.  Here's the full description ...

  "How the World Was One: Beyond the Global Village", 1992 Bantam
  hardcover, approx 300 pages.  US price $22.50.  ISBN 0-553-07440-7.

I think this book will be of considerable interest to many Telecom
readers, although those who are voracious Clarke fans may find that
they've read considerable parts of it before.

The book contains five main parts.  The first and longest one tells
about the early history of submarine telegraph cables, culminating
with the tribulation-filled laying of the first successful cable
across the Atlantic; and the second part rapidly takes the story
forward to transoceanic telephony and radio.

Most of this material was taken from Clarke's 1958 book "Voice Across
the Sea", but I had not read that one, and I found it fascinating.

Perhaps the most interesting thing was the many kinds of technical
difficulties encountered in the early days.  Cables were too light,
too heavy, too short; they broke, they leaked; they even sabotaged
themselves (no, I won't explain that one!).  And then there were
people problems -- wrong assumptions about technology went untested
until after they had been embedded in thousands of miles of cable.

On one of the cable-laying attempts, two ships started out in the
middle of the ocean and sailed in opposite directions with the two
ends of the cable, each paying it out as it went.  Their only
communication with each other was by telegraph through the cable
itself.  At one point the connection broke and the ships returned to
their starting point -- and each hailed the other with "How did the
cable break?"  Something had happened on the seabed, and they never
did find out what.

Then when the first cable was finally laid and the technology finally
tested, it hardly worked: after 12 days of trying to adjust the
instruments, the operators still needed over 16 hours to transmit a
99-word official telegram.  Depending just how they timed their
Morse-like code, I figure that the transmission rate must have been
somewhere between .05 and .1 baud!

The remaining three parts of the book do not really tell a continuous
story as do the first two; there are many distinct essays and speeches
and even a few pieces of fiction.  I had read several of the pieces
before, and some of them overlap to some extent.  So for these reasons
I didn't enjoy the second half of the book as much as the first; but I
still found it well worth reading.

The third part deals with Clarke's own involvement in the early
development of communication satellites.  As most of you will know, he
invented the idea of using the geostationary orbit for comsats --
though it didn't occur to him then that they might be unmanned!  This
part puts the idea in context of what he was doing at the time and of
what had already been invented by others, and includes the short story
"I Remember Babylon" where he anticipated some less savory uses to
which comsats might be put.

The fourth part concerns the impact of comsats as it has turned out in
fact, and Clarke's thoughts on where how they should develop in the
future; and the short fifth part is about the renaissance of submarine
cables with the appearance of fiber optics.

The thesis of the book is simple, and one with which most of us on
Usenet will agree.  I know *I* do.  Better communication unites
societies, reduces ignorance, and generally benefits everyone; and it
is, accordingly, something on which the expenditure of time and money
is well worthwhile.


Mark Brader         "... There are three kinds of death in this world.
SoftQuad Inc., Toronto          There's heart death, there's brain death, and
utzoo!sq!msb, [e-mail]      there's being off the network."  -- Guy Almes

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

Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 13:09:12 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: Internet Question
Organization: CSAV UTIA


Since arriving in Prague, Czechoslovakia, I have had to improvise many
times from previous habits while using the facilities of the Czech
Academy of Sciences.  Among them was routing Internet messages through
a different mailer than the one where it would normally be sent.  In
the case I described below, the message would have been sent through
SMTP at INTERBIT at the Universitaet Wien, but instead I addressed it
to City University of New York on BITNET.

As I learn more about telecommuications and the Internet, I wonder if
explanations I previously have made were correct, or if I had just
attributed a phenomenon to another cause.  If the explanation I gave
my friend was incorrect, could you set me onto the right course.
Thanks.

         ------------Original Message----------

You can select the computer path from which to route messages, if the
default link is not available.  From Marist, email messages normally
route through University of Connecticut (UCONNVM) or Yale (YALEVM).
However, you can specify a machine at another campus by writing the
destination node as userid, percent sign, node; and then write "at"
sign and the node whose mailer you want to use.  For example, if you
wanted to send a message through CUNY's machine rather than Yale's,
you would address the note as follows:

[e-mail] (you would probably drop .bitnet)

By specifying cunyvm or maristb as the mailer of choice, it got me
around the problem with SMTP/INTERBIT at the University of Vienna.
You may want to try it sometime.  I may want to write to the TELECOM
forum to learn more why it works.

            ------------End Message---------

Let me know if there is a different explanation for this.

If readers are interested, I can write something on the calling cards
available in Prague for making long distance phone calls from local
booths.


Richard Budd  | USA  [e-mail]    | CSFR  [e-mail]
              |      139 S. Hamilton St.    |       Kolackova 8
              |      Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 |       18200 Praha 8

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

Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 12:42:34 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: Internet Services in Former USSR
Organization: CSAV UTIA


There was a question several days back about Internet Facilities in
the former Soviet Union and whether WorldNews was being received
there.  An excerpt from a recent article written for the RIPE
Connectivity Working Group could answer that question.

My apologies for being unable to reproduce the original posting in
TELECOM Digest, but I probably erased it sometime back.

                          -----------

The 9.6 kbit/s leased line from Moscow to Copenhagen, Denmark which
used to connected the EARN node in Moscow to the EARN/BITNET network
has been replaced by a dial-up link to Stockholm due to funding
problems.

A considerable effort undertaken by the RELCOM networking organization
has brought e-mail connectivity to several thousands of sites all over
the former Soviet Union.  The growth of the network was several 100% a
year.  RELCOM has been operating some IP links in the Moskow and St.
Petersburg areas and in other communities (Novosibirsk Barnaul in
Altai). Other national IP connections are expected to connect Ukraine,
Siberia, St. Petersburg, Soviet Far East, and other regions to setup a
kernel of a nation wide IP backbone.  The whole network has about 60
regional centres, some of which connect more than 500 sites.  RELCOM's
international traffic is split over two dial-up lines, one to the
Finish EUnet backbone and one into the central EUnet node in
Amsterdam. Both operate as gateways on application level. The rapidly
growing volume of international mail traffic makes the need for a
medium speed IP channel to Europe urgent.  Part of the international
traffic is carried by the filtered IP line to AlterNet.

The first EARN node started its operation in Moscow late in 1991, but
the increasing availability of EARN services is still expected.  An
e-mail gateway now exists between RELCOM DEMOS and SUEARN.  SUEARN
also provides international mail relay services for FREENET, a
national research IP network which interconnects some 45 institutes of
the Academy of Sciences mostly in the Moskow area with international
connections to Jaroslavl and Baku.

The current situation has been badly affected by the split of RELCOM
into two independent entities (RELCOM RelTeam Ldt. and RELCOM DEMOS).
Each of them holds a part of CIS network users and part of their
international connectivity. While RELCOM RelTeam Ldt. has inherited
the RELCOM's membership in EUnet, RELCOM DEMOS seems to position
itself as a partner of AlterNet in CIS. Negotiations are still
underway to find a cooperative approach to national and international
connectivity.

Contact persons:

Valery Bardin <[e-mail]>           - EUnet - RELCOM
Misha Popov <[e-mail]>           - EUnet - RELCOM Demos
Andrej Mendkovich <[e-mail]>   - CIS EARN director
Nickolay M.Saukh <[e-mail]>        - EUnet - RELCOM
Igor Sviridov <[e-mail]> - EUnet - Ukraine contact.
Oleg Tabarovsky <[e-mail]>   - EUnet - RELCOM
Dima Volodin <[e-mail]>            - EUnet - RELCOM Demos

Prague School of Economics  e-mail : [e-mail]

I have the whole article on file.  It is a survey of network
connections and services available in every country in Central and
Eastern Europe.  It is quite a long article - over 900 lines.  Pat may
have to put out a special issue of the Digest to accommodate it.


Richard Budd  | USA  [e-mail]    | CSFR  [e-mail]
              |      139 S. Hamilton St.    |       Kolackova 8
              |      Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 |       18200 Praha 8

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

From: [e-mail] (Randy Sales)
Subject: Encrypted Cordless Phones: How?
Organization: Vpnet - Free Usenet access
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 05:00:18 GMT


I am interested if someone could tell me generally how they are
encrypting these cordless phones I have seen by Motorola and Phone
Mate.  The Phone Mate one says it helps with interference and cross
signaling. It seems like a good idea for also keeping the scanners
from listening in and if it is digital I could see how it could help
with noise.

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

Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 21:21:45 CST
From: [e-mail] (Mark Earle)
Subject: Re: New Area Code Blitzes Cell Phone User


No, I'm saying, despite it being permissive, the SA cellular providers
made a deadline, and told everyone to get their phones re-programmed.

Then, aparently, the GTE mobilnet switches in Houston were not updated
in a timely manner -- we later found out the ESN of my of my friends
phone was declared "bad" because it no longer matched the data base
entry.

Regular land line type non-cmt phone companies are, thankfully, doing
better than GTE Mobilenet.


mwe
[e-mail] (Mark Earle) [WA2MCT/5]
FidoNet at       Opus 1:160/50.0
Bitnet           [e-mail]1
Internet  [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 19:28:58 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Richard Nash)
Subject: Re: Microsoft/Intel Team up on Video for PCs


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

> Microsoft and Intel are putting together a combined software and
> hardware package to allow people to work with video, including editing
> and retrieving video footage into documents, thus allowing a PC to
> etc.....

> Note: The article -- either because the writer thinks it's dead, or
> because he's never heard of it -- fails to say anything about the
> Video Toaster that has been out for the Amiga for two years and
> already does this stuff.

As usual the Amiga is not recognized by the PC media. Is it really
free unbiased reporting or rather the extreme ignorant mentality of
the industry that refuses to acknowledge the exceptional work of Steve
Jobs' Next or the Amiga from Commodore that even today the PC MS
Windows crowd is trying to mature above?


Richard Nash  Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
UUCP:      [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Tsui Ting Debbie Pang)
Subject: Re: Who Are the Major Players in CT2 Phones and Equipment?
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 11:48:32 GMT


CT2 has been testing in Hong Kong for a while, but handheld cellular
is by far still most popular.


David Tse

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #869
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #871

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 24 Nov 92 01:31:25 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 871

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Administrivia: Closing For the Holiday (TELECOM Moderator)
    Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal? (John Adams)
    Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal? (David G. Lewis)
    Re: FCC Wants Comments on Area Codes (Jonathan Rosenberg)
    Re: FCC Wants Comments on Area Codes (Arthur Rubin)
    Re: Headsets etc. (Julian Macassey)
    Re: Headsets etc. SUMMARY (Jeff Bier)
    Re: Looking For Three-Slot Coin Phone (Jim Rees)
    Re: Looking For Three-Slot Coin Phone (Andreas Meyer)
    Re: Telecom Quotations (Richard Cox)
    Re: Can I Use a US Modem in Switzerland? (Keith Bechard)
    Re: High-Quality Voice Over POTS (Robert Eden)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 01:24:22 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Administrivia: Closing For the Holiday


I'll be taking a few days off to enjoy the Thanksiving Day holiday
this coming weekend, so the remainder of this week will be spend
emptying the queue of the many articles waiting for publication.

** Please do not send any further articles to telecom until Monday,
11-30.  I'll put out an issue or two early Monday if I can, or
sometime Monday at the latest. **

If there are any urgent messages which must go out, someone will be
attending to it for me.

Thanks, and happy holidays to all.


Patrick Townson

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

From: [e-mail] (adams,john)
Subject: Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 13:03:15 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Vance
Shipley) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail].
> com (adams,john) writes:

>> Another aspect of all of this is that "Carrier Connect Time", the
>> period of time between your LD company accessing the distant
>> (originating works pretty much the same way) LEC, is revenue for the
>> LEC (The LD company pays) regardless of whether the call ever
>> completes!

> Is this true of regular calls or only operator assisted?

In a word, yes.  Bellcore's TA-NWT-000394 Switching System
Requirements for Interexchange Carrier Interconnection Using the
Integrated Services Digital Network User Part (ISUP) provides lots
more details on this.  Briefly, the elapsed time for Interexchange
Carrier equal access billing ($$ that IXC's pay LEC's) is determined
by the total of the "Carrier Connect Time (CCT)" - the "Disconnect
Time (DT)"equal.  Note that this works with Feature Group D - Circuit
Associated Signalling as well as SS7.

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Richard Nash) writes:

> Peter Capek writes:

>> <An idea which definately has merit, although not likely to be
>> implemented soon>

> Unfortunately in a basic call setup message, 0+ wants to first secure
> the billing method before determining the state of the called party
> line.

Correct!

> Yes, it would be possible to determine the line state of the
> called party first, but this would require actually connecting to the
> called party first, playing out an announcement to advise them to wait
> while the billing information was secured, and then either advising
> them that the calling party will be with them or that the calling
> party's credit check has failed.

Not entirely correct.  See example below. The only case where an
actual *CONNECTION* would be required to the called number would be in
the case of collect billing.

> Correct me if I am wrong, but SS7 does not have a 'prober' style
> message that asks the far end to return information of the busy/idle
> status of a line.  In fact, it is telco optional as to whether or not
> the treatment will actually be returned back to the originating end.

You stand corrected.

For instance, consider the CLASS (SM of Bellcore) Automatic All Back
Service, when the distant office cannot support called line scanning,
the AC feature is implemented by the originating office via a query
sent to the terminating office containing the number of the distant
subscriber (among other things).  The distant office performs a
busy/idle test on the called number and returns the results to the
originating office in a response to the query.  Therefore, it is
technically feasible to extend this method to the case the original
poster proposed.


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

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

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal?
Organization: AT&T
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 14:42:03 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Richard Nash) writes:

> Peter Capek writes:

>> While trying to make a credit card call to a persistently busy number
>> recently, after typing in the card number for the n-teenth time, I
>> wondered if SS7 protocol would allow the calling exchange to "look
>> ahead" at the called number and inquire if it is (at that instant)
>> busy, before prompting me for the card number.

> Unfortunately in a basic call setup message, 0+ wants to first secure
> the billing method before determining the state of the called party
> line.  Yes, it would be possible to determine the line state of the
> called party first, but this would require actually connecting to the
> called party first, playing out an announcement to advise them to wait
> while the billing information was secured, and then either advising
> them that the calling party will be with them or that the calling
> party's credit check has failed.

> Correct me if I am wrong, but SS7 does not have a 'prober' style
> message that asks the far end to return information of the busy/idle
> status of a line.  In fact, it is telco optional as to whether or not
> the treatment will actually be returned back to the originating end.

Not exactly correct.  SS7 TCAP supports a "query" message.  No
connection attempt is needed; one switch sends a TCAP query to the
other switch asking for line status.  This is how the (pick your
favorite name) Auto Recall service works (call someone, get a busy
signal, enter a *XX feature code, get a special ring when the far end
goes idle, pick up the phone and automatically place the recall).

0+ calls just aren't designed to work that way.


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

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

From: Jonathan Rosenberg <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: FCC Wants Comments on Area Codes
Organization: Bellcore
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 13:46:45 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: Something seems strange here. The plan to begin
> using area codes with assorted digits in the middle space has been
> known about for years. Did the FCC just now find out about it?  Do the
> activities of Bellcore fall under the jurisdiction of the FCC?  PAT]

Seems strange to me, also, since as you point out, this plan has been
around for quite a while.

And to answer your last question: yes, Bellcore's activities in number
administration fall under the FCC's jurisdiction.


JR

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

Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 08:56:41 PST
Subject: Re: FCC Wants Comments on Area Codes
From: [e-mail] (Arthur Rubin)
Organization: Beckman Instruments, Inc.


> According to an article on page 29 of the November 9, 1992 issue of
> {Network World}:

> "The FCC has kicked off an inquiry into a massive overhaul of the way
> in which telephone numbers are assigned in North America, a change
> that may have a substantial impact on users."

> It talks about the limitations of the "1 and 0" limit on area codes,

> So keep those cards and letters flowing in!

What's the docket number?  Considering all the "modem tax" rumors
going around, the FCC probably won't see any letters without a
specific docket number; the staff will count them but file them under
"crank letters".


Arthur L. Rubin:   [e-mail] (work)
Beckman Instruments/Brea [e-mail] [e-mail]
[e-mail] (personal)
My opinions are my own, and do not represent those of my employer.  My
interaction with our news system is unstable; please mail anything
important.

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

From: [e-mail] (Julian Macassey)
Subject: Re: Headsets etc.
Date: 23 Nov 92 04:25:55 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Julian Macassey)
Organization: The Hole in the Wall  Hollywood California U.S.A.


In article <[e-mail]> Cliff Sharp <clifto@indep1.
chi.il.us> writes:

> If anyone knows where I could get another Nady Systems headset, I'd
> enjoy knowing, since this one is years old and may not last too many
> more decades ...

    I have never seen NADY phone headsets that I recall. I do know
that Mr Nady was interested in producing them. I once had a rather
strange meeting with him about this. His company "NADY Systems". Was
based in Oakland, California. His product line when I met him
consisted of wireless microphones and Infra Red headsets. All his
stuff was produced in the Far East.

    There are various companies in the U.S. that specialise in
headsets. Here is one that comes to mind. There are many others.

    Communitech Inc.
    110 Gordon Street
    Elk Grove Village
    Illinois 60007

    Phone: [phone]

    They carry headsets by Plantronics, UNEX (Not UNIX), ACS, GN
Netcom (GNT), and VXI.


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

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

Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 10:34:20 PST
From: [e-mail] (Jeff Bier)
Subject: Re: Headsets etc. SUMMARY


I recently posted to comp.dcom.telecom, asking for sources of corded
and cordless headsets.  Below is an edited summary of the responses I
received.  Just about everyone suggested contacting "Hello Direct,"
which I did.  I got a copy of their catalog about two days later, and
they carry both corded and cordless headsets.

***
 From: [e-mail] (Jeff Wasilko)

Hello direct has cordless headsets. They're not cheap--around $300 or
so. You can get them at 800-HI-HELLO.

I'm also looking for reccomendations, so I'd appreciate a copy of
replies you get.

Jeff

***
 From [e-mail] Mon Nov 16 08:43:10 1992

Radio Shack sold a cordless headset phone, with FM radio! :) for about
$400 last year or the year before.

I use a DUoFONE 119 headset at work and it's great.  I bought it for
about $50.  It has volume control and I installed a mute switch.

***
 From [e-mail] Mon Nov 16 10:42:44 1992

I STRONGLY recommend Plantronics headsets.  I have no connection with
Plantronics, but you may wish to consider:

    1. They're considered the leader in the field
    2. AT&T and local bell subsidiaries use Plantronics
    3. Plantronics stuff is very rugged; we exclusively
        use their product lines on our switch.

Jeff Bennington

***
 From [e-mail] Tue Nov 17 11:46:34 1992

Jeff,

'Hello Direct' sells a Cordless headset (product name Hello Set
Cordless) for $369.00.  Their telephone number is 1-800-444-3556.

I believe it is 900Mhz type and has 32 channels.

    Max Torneros

***
 From fernwood!uunet.UU.NET!mtndew!friedl Wed Nov 18 05:14:14 1992

Hi Jeff,

     AT&T makes/sells some nice ones, but be aware of some options
that may make a difference.  The cheap ones literally do replace the
handset, which means that you have to find some way to muck around
with the switchhook to pick up/hang up a call.  You end up having to
flip a switch (to select handset -vs- headset) AND mess with the
switchhook to take a call.  This is a hassle and often confusing.

     The better units have a switch that completely controls the
switchhook, and are much less confusing.  You just punch the button to
pick up or hang up the phone, and the handset just stays in the
cradle.  These almost always cost more, and often specific to one
particular kind of telephone instrument, but are much nicer.

     Good luck,
     Stephen

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

From: [e-mail] (Jim Rees)
Subject: Re: Looking For Three-Slot Coin Phone
Date: 24 Nov 1992 02:18:10 GMT
Organization: University of Michigan CITI
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Todd Lawrence) writes:

> Installing a coin-phone on a residential line should pose no legal
> problems whatsoever, however it will have to be used as a
> "residential" type phone, you will not unfortunately be able to use it
> as a coin station from your residence for two reasons ...

That's true in the strictest sense, but I would expect the phone
itself could be rewired in such a way that the dial and transmitter
don't get cut through until you insert a coin of some kind.  This
would obviously be for fun rather than profit, but would certainly
lend some authenticity to the phone, and might work well enough to
fool visitors.

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

Reply-To: [e-mail] (Andreas Meyer)
Organization: Meyer residence, Dunellen NJ
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 05:46:18 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Andreas Meyer)
Subject: Re: Looking For Three-Slot Coin Phone


[e-mail] (John Simpson) writes:

> I've always enjoyed the sound of the coin bells inside the old
> three-slot payphones.  I would like to own one for myself to use
> inside my residence.

Damark is advertising a three-slotter replica on page 37 of their 1992
Holiday Issue catalog. Item # B-6008-322936 is Thomas model #PP8 and
sells for $59.99

The ad says "... It even accepts quarters, nickles and dimes with a
brass bell jingle, but it doesn't require money to make a call.
Features push button dialing disguised as a rotary dial and locked
change storage compartment ..."

(My only association with Damark is as an occasional customer).


Andreas Meyer, N2FYE      [e-mail]     "Been there. Did that."

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

Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 12:22 GMT
From: Richard Cox <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Telecom Quotations
Reply-To: [e-mail]


[e-mail] (B. Z. Lederman) writes:

>> "So many people have written to complain about the telephone
>> service that the Post Office is actually going to show a profit this
>> year."

To fully understand this, you need to know that, at the time that was
broadcast, the telephone service in the UK was *run by* the Post Office!


Richard Cox
Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, Wales CF4 5WF
Voice: [phone]      Fax: [phone]      VoiceMail: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]     Not diallable on 511 in mainland USA

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

From: [e-mail] (Keith Bechard)
Subject: Re: Can I Use a US Modem in Switzerland?
Organization: U S WEST/Advanced Technologies
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 14:19:10 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Radu Hambasan) wrote:

> Does anyone know if there is any reason why a modem made for use in
> the United States would not work correctly in Switzerland?

I had the same problem in Germany this summer. Supposedly, any modem
used in Germany must be approved by the German PTT. However, I was
using a PowerBook 170 with an integral modem and it worked fine.

The biggest problem I had was that Germany doesn't just use one type
of plug -- there must be about five different types!! So, I went to
the local electronics store and bought as many adaptors as I could
find. I would use those whenever I could. However, there were still
situations (especially in hotels) where I could not match the adaptor.
In that case, I had a four wire modular plug with just the four wires
sticking out of one side. I could then use wires with alligator clips
to connect to tip and ring. A little messy, but was flexible and
worked.

The other problem was with my fax or modem software. The European dial
tones do not correspond with the US. So any software looking for dial
tone before it will dial out will not work. So make sure your software
has a mechanism to dial immediately.


Keith Bechard    U S WEST/Advanced Technologies
[e-mail]   [phone]

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

From: Robert Eden - 0491 <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: High-Quality Voice Over POTS
Date: 23 Nov 92 09:31:17 CST
Organization: Texas Utilities, Glen Rose TX


In article <[e-mail]>, Robert M. Hamer
<[e-mail]> writes:

> A local public radio station stated recently that due to a lack of
> funds, they were changing their methodology with respect to interviews
> in which the interviewee was out of town.  Their previous practice was
> to have the interviewee go to a local station and interview that
> person via satallite.  They said the replacement methodology would be
> simple telephone, and that listeners would notice a decline in voice
> quality of the interviewee.

When I saw a radio station using a remote setup in College Station, TX
(about seven years ago) they had a box that provided the necessary
bandwidth by using two POTS circuits.  I doubt the expense is
justified for interviews.  They were spinning the music at this
remote.


Robert Eden    817-897-0491                       Glen Rose, TX
Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station  [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #871
******************************










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Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 20:56:02 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #872

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 24 Nov 92 20:56:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 872

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    International Premium Teleservices (Niall Gallagher)
    *69 in NJ Bell Land (John J. Butz)
    Paging in 708/312 (Bob Frankston)
    Email to Prodigy (Louis Schmittroth)
    SMDS DXI Local Management Interface (LMI) (Myron Hattig)
    CPC Detection and Purpose (Edwin Slonim)
    Integrating PBX's With Voice Mail (Michael D. Corbett)
    Information Wanted on Allied Telecom Corp. (ATCO) (Stu Labovitz)
    Telemarketing Again (Syed S. Haider)
    Searching For Simple Two-Line Patch (Jerry Black)
    Use Coins For Your Next Call? (Carl Moore)
    800 Privacy (Andrew Klossner)
    Intercepts and Verifications (Paul Migliorelli)
    From Our '...' Department (Paul Robinson)
    Administrivia: Closing For the Holiday (TELECOM Moderator)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 11:03:00 +0000
From: Niall Gallagher <[e-mail]>
Subject: International Premium Teleservices


There have been a couple of postings recently on the topic of
international premium services -- how do the telco and the service
provider make money?

I came across this tidbit from Australia ...

"OTC, the international business unit of AOTC, is already in the
business, known generically as audiotex, but its information is only
accessible from outside Australia. Information provided on OTC's World
Info service includes a weekly message from the Pope and soft porn for
the Italian market from Maurizia, billed as Italy's newest X-rated
movie star. According to the {Sydney Morning Herald}, hundreds of
thousands of people in 25 countries, mostly European, call the service
every week to hear a host of messages from soft porn to horoscopes.
The SMH said the service was highly lucrative for OTC.

OTC cannot charge premium rates for calls to its World Info service,
nor can it bill callers. It makes its money because the call is a
normal international call which would not otherwise be made, and the
usual cost component for domestic termination of the call is not
present. Information providers are paid a commission on the income OTC
receives."
                     ---------------

For your information, OTC's major international gateways are in Sydney
and Perth.  The international access code for Sydney is +61-2, Perth
is +61-9.

So now you know!


Niall Gallagher   [e-mail]

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

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 11:31:08 EST
From: [e-mail] (John J Butz [phone])
Subject: *69 in NJ Bell Land


Here's a puzzler:

The Return Call Class feature (*69) offered by NJ Bell will call back
the number of the last person to call your phone. (When used to
screen calls can be considered a poor man's Caller ID).

When my friend Ali calls me from his home across town (intra-lata),
*69 after his call will ring his phone, as expected with $.75 applied
to my bill.

When my parents call me from NY (inter-lata), *69 after their call
will play an announcement that says, "You cannot activate this
feature, since the number is outside the class calling area." No bill
is generated for this call.

When I place a call from an intra-lata payphone to reset the
"register," *69 from my home phone will ring the payphone.

However, when I place a call from an intra-lata payphone using a
calling card, *69 will give me the inter-lata "... cannot active this
feature ..." message?  Go figure.

Return Call also does not work on my Centrex-ISDN phone in the office.

Does anyone (Bellcore folks perhaps) know the complete specs for the
operation of this feature?


J Butz     ER700 Sys Eng   [e-mail]   AT&T - BL


[Moderator's Note: The same service is available here in Chicago, but
we pay a flat monthly rate with no additional charge per use other
than paying for the phone calls generated in return. We sometimes get
a message saying, "I'm sorry, you cannot use this feature with the
number you are calling."  This will typically be if the number is
outside the Chicago 312/708 area, but also included are DID and centrex
numbers (sometimes).  Also, there seems to be only one buffer used for
both the Return Last Call and Automatic Redial features. If you get a
call and *place an outgoing call* prior to returning the received call,
the response is "I'm sorry, that number has been forgotten", or words
to that effect. Calls which cannot be repeat dialed or auto called
back likewise cannot be identified with Caller-ID nor blocked with
Call Screening. And oddly enough, when trying to add certain numbers
to the Call Screening list (such as from places with DID) a response
will be "I'm sorry, that number is temporarily unavailable. Please try
again in a few minutes to add it to your list." The trouble is, those
numbers never become available; you are always told to 'try again in a
few minutes'. ???    PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Paging in 708/312
Date: Tue 24 Nov 1992 11:52 -0400


Perhaps our Moderator would know more about this.  I just returned
from a few days in Chicago.  I have a pager number that works when I'm
in the area -- it is on the 312-365 exchange.  Within 312 it is a free
call. But from 708, it seems to be a $.35 call?  Or is that an
artifact of the particular pay phone I was using. The reason I was
using a pay phone was that the hotel phone could not reach the pager
 -- dialing 8-1-312-365 etc got me a recorded message telling me that
my access code did not allow me to make the call.  I presume there
either an error in the hotel's PBX exchange tables or that there is a
bug in the billing protocols.  Does anyone know more about this?


[Moderator's Note: Where were you in Chicago when it was a 'free'
call? And by 'free' do you mean the pay phone did not ask for any
money, or you only saw a local unit on your home phone, or what?
There are lots of places in 708 which are toll charges to 312 and
vice-versa. Then too, it could have been the COCOT you were using.
There is no special rate to call pagers that I know of. All cellular
phones in 312 cost 25 cents from a payphone in 312 regardless if they
are on Ameritech or Cellular One; but a cellular phone with a 708
number costs more from a payphone in 312 and vice-versa.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Louis Schmittroth)
Subject: Email to Prodigy
Date: 24 Nov 92 16:56:11 GMT


I want to find out if Prodigy offers service to Alberta, and if so is
there a email address of an administrative unit of Prodigy where I can
find out what the rates are?


Louis Schmittroth [e-mail]
NW 1/4 18 67 21 W4 Alberta.

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

From: kentrox![e-mail] (Myron Hattig)
Subject: SMDS DXI Local Management Interface (LMI)
Organization: ADC Kentrox, Portland OR
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 00:26:52 GMT


Hello,

Does anyone know of Router or DSU vendors that support Local
Management Interface (LMI)?  I'm building a LMI test bed.

LMI is an SNMP-like scheme to network manage a DSU through a router.
LMI does not require an Ethernet or Slip connection to the DSU. LMI
uses the SMDS DXI interface between the router and the DSU.

I would appreciate all e-mail responses coming directly to me, just to be
sure I get them.


Thanks in advance,

Myron Hattig  [e-mail]  Phone: [phone]  FAX: [phone]
ADC Kentrox,  14375 NW Science Park Drive, Portland, OR  97229

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

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 09:35:10 PST
From: Edwin Slonim <[e-mail]>
Subject: CPC Detection and Purpose


My Panasonic KXT30810 PABX system at home has programmable settings
for CPC on each CO line.  I think CPC is Call Progress something ...

How can I detect if my exchange(s) support CPC?  What are the benefits
of CPC?

What default should I set if I am unsure whether CPC is present?

I have two lines to a digital exchange, and one to an old crossbar.


Thanks,

Edwin Slonim, Connectivity & Systems Software,
Intel Israel, PO Box 1659, Haifa, 31072 Israel
voicemail [phone], [e-mail]
phone (011)[phone], fax [phone]


[Moderator's Note: CPC = Called Party Control. This means the called
party detirmines when the connection is broken by hanging up the
phone. In older systems the connection would stay up at least awhile
longer if the calling party did not disconnect. Your answering machine
can be set so it will disconnect immediatly when there is a loss of
the battery on the line (which is caused when calling party hangs up.)
The reason you might not want to use this feature is because call
waiting causes the same reaction from your answering machine which
will disconnect when it senses the battery is gone, which is what
happens for just a second when you get a call waiting tone. So you set
the switch on all the time and leave it that way *unless* you have
call waiting on the answering machine line and are likely to have the
answering machine get 'call-waited' and disconnect on someone trying
to leave a message. On the old crossbar system you mention it does not
matter either way; on the newer exchanges it does matter.  Experiment
with it both ways and see which works best for you.  PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 14:21:52 -0800
From: Michael D. Corbett <[e-mail]>
Subject: Integrating PBX's With Voice Mail


Greetings TELECOM Digest readers.  I have been reading the Digest for
over two years and finally got real access to the internet and thought
I should submit something.

I work for a company called Applied Voice Technology located in
Kirkland WA.  We produce PC based Voice Mail, Automated Attendant etc.
system called CallXpress.  I personally am responsible for writing
integration software which provides the Voice Mail system with
calling/called party ID, setting and clearing of Message Waiting
Indicators, in some cases transfers.

I thought some of you might find a description of one of our latest
products interesting.  It involves integrating both a Northern Telecom
Meridian PBX and NT Norstar Key System with our Voice Mail system.

We produce a hardware card (called an NTDIU for Northern Telecom
Digital Integration Unit) which plugs into the bus of a PC (for power)
and emulates NT digital phones.  The NTDIU has a jumper, so it is
setup to emulate either a NT 2008 handset in the case of the Meridian
PBX, or an M7310 in the case of the Norstar.  Both the Norstar and the
Meridian are ISDN (with minor variations) and they were close enough
to use the one card to emulate either phone type.  Each NTDIU can
emulate four digital phones.

By properly programming the PBX i.e. into a hunt group with
appropriate class of sevice etc. you have four ports of integrated
voice mail.  The analog audio portion of the signal is passed into
industry standard cards made by Dialogic and they are used for the
actual digitization and compression of voice in both integrated and
non-integrated systems.

The key to the whole setup is the LCD display on the 'phone'.  The
scenereo goes something like this:

A trunk call comes into VM (Voice Mail).  The display is read by the
NTDIU, and the trunk group, id etc. is passed to the integration
software via RS-232. I pass the trunk id, VM port number etc. to the
VM system.  VM knows there is an external trunk call and plays the
annoying chimey audio trademark.

Now picture the display on a forwarded internal call i.e.  Bill X333
calls Sally X334 but X334 is forward all to VM.  The display in the
NTDIU will have the calling and called party ID, which again is passed
via RS-232 to the integration, and on to the VM.  The first spoken
prompt in this case is the personal greeting recorded by Sally to
leave a message <beep> ... Bill however, _hates_ VM and hangs up,
*grin*, the display in the NTDIU goes back to time date, the
integration gets a digital on-hook from the NTDIU, which is passed to
VM and a nearly instantaneous on hook condition is achieved for the VM
port.  It actually works quite nicely.

I hope this description is clear enough and that I have not used terms
too loosely.  You have to understand that before 1988 I literally
didn't know what DTMF meant, and now I routinely program PBX's.  Let's
just say there was a bit of a learning curve. :) I still can't keep up
with some of the CO jargon and acronyms.

Please apply trademarks liberally to CallXpress, Norstar, Meridian,
Northern Telecom, Dialogic and anything else I may have forgotten.  As
is customary, my opinions are soley mine and I do not speak for my
employer.


Mike Corbett     Applied Voice Technology
11410 NE 122nd. Way     Kirkland WA 98083   [e-mail]

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

Subject: Information Wanted on Allied Telecom Corp (ATCO)
From: [e-mail] (Stu Labovitz)
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 18:40:15 CST
Organization: (What? Organized??) - Mythical Computer Systems


I have just received a brochure from Allied Telecom Corporation (ATCO)
of Cranston, Rhode Island, attempting to sell me discount long
distance service.  To be honest, I probably would have tossed it right
away, except I noticed that the return address on the envelope was
that of an old grade school/high school classmate.  This gentleman
seems to now be one of ATCO's marketing reps.

The marketing sheet that I received claims that ATCO provides 100%
digital fiber optic service.  The example daytime rates that they show
on the sheet (most likely selected to best demonstrate their rates)
indicate that they enjoy an average price advantage of 23.5% over AT&T
(MTS and Pro WATS), MCI (Prism and Preferred), and SPRINT (Basic and
Plus).

To give my old friend the benefit of the doubt, I am posting this
request for information on and experiences with ATCO.  If you have
anything to share, please post to this newsgroup or mail it to my
account (in which case I will submit a summary to our esteemed
moderator at a later date).  Many, many thanks in advance!


Stuart L Labovitz        home:  [e-mail]
(insert standard disclaimer here)   or uunet!valinor!stu

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

From: allegra![e-mail] (syed s haider)
Subject: Telemarketing Again
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 21:40:56 GMT


Last Sunday's {Parade} supplement carries an article on telemarketing.
One item caught my eye. Basically, it stated that many come-ons give
you an 800 number making you think that the call is toll-free.  But
after you call you're switched to a 900 number and get a hefty bill
the following month.  Is this possible?  I was under the impression
that 800 calls are toll-free no matter what.


[Moderator's Note: They are free unless an unethical person answering
the call patches you through to a 900 number in the process of
answering you. It is not the 800 part to be concerned about -- those
are free. It is the resulting 900 number to which the 800 number has
been forwarded. We covered this in detail several months ago here. You
might want to look for the "USA Today" and "Mystic Marketing" threads
in the Telecom Archives (ftp lcs.mit.edu).   PAT]

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

From: Jerry Glomph Black <[e-mail]>
Subject: Searching For Simple Two-Line Patch
Organization: E. Power Biggs, et al.
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 10:40:14 -0500


I'm facing a situation where I'll have two phone lines, one with
decent dial-out capabilities, another with none.  I want to be able to
call in to the latter, be patched to the former, and be able to dial
out on the capable line using tones generated by my distant handset.
This patching is preferably triggered by keying some security code.

I vaguely remember seeing a fairly cheap box (Radio Shack? Hello
Direct?) which would do this task. This weekend I checked both
catalogs, and found nothing like this.  Please post answer, and email
to [e-mail]


Thanks!

Jerry Black


[Moderator's Note: E. Power Biggs has been gone about ten years now,
but I liked him, so I left your 'organization' line intact. You know
how it is with we Moderators and our arbitrary editing of things.
Virgil Fox he wasn't, but he was okay. Fox has been gone now for
about a decade also  :(  Between them, I've got a couple hundred
recordings; in Fox's case, even a couple 78's (the 1933 stuff he did
at the Chicago World's Fair) and the very early 1947-49 stuff recorded
on 33 rpm for Columbia Records at Riverside Church. I've got the 1949
recording that Biggs made at Columbia University also. Meanwhile, in
these United States, the people have elected a president who is
actually *younger* than I am.  I need a vacation.    PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 12:36:04 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Use Coins For Your Next Call?


This is from a leaflet from TeleCoin Communications Ltd.  (Keystone
Commons, 525 Braddock Avenue, Turtle Creek, PA 15145; tel.
412-825-6006), found in a service area along the Pennsylvania
Turnpike.

Use COINS to place your next call and SAVE up to 50% over calling
cards.  Call the 48 States; deposit $1 for 3 minutes for calls outside
this calling area.

The TeleCoin Difference...

 --Discount Coin Calls:  Save up to 50% by using coin to make calls out
   of this calling area--$1 for 3 minutes.
 --Resaonable Rates for all other calls.
 --Full access to all long distance carriers.
 --24-hour operator assistance
 --Courtesy phones at selected Marriott Plazas.
 --Facsimile machines at selected Marriott Plazas.
 --Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf (TDD) at selected Marriott Plazas.

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

From: [e-mail] (Andrew Klossner)
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 15:36:30 PST
Subject: 800 Privacy
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Tektronix Color Printers, Wilsonville, Oregon


John Higdon writes, regarding real-time ANI on 800 lines:

> For some reason, it makes the "privacy" activists very happy
> to have business customers the only entities than can have
> caller number delivery."

This is a misrepresentation.  We privacy nuts are not at all happy
about 800 ANI.  But we concede that the person paying for the phone
call deserves the information, so we make our 800 calls from behind
PBXs.


Andrew Klossner  ([e-mail])

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

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 02:42 est
From: [e-mail] (Paul Migliorelli)
Subject: Intercepts and Verifications


I'm aware that for certain parts of New York Telephone, (areas 212 516
914 and 718), the 9901 suffix is used for digital switch verification
readouts.  Do any of you have such standard numbers for other areas of
the country that might be interesting to hear?  What about for other
parts of New York where 9901 doesn't do this?  A very funny one that
was passed on to me was for Carmel.  It's 408-624-0624.)


[Moderator's Note: In Chicago, many exchanges have a funny tone signal
on xxx-1xxx. Try 312-332-1332 and 528-1528 as examples. This is not
the case on every exchange, but on quite a few.  PAT]

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992  20:25:18 EST
Subject: From Our '...'  Department


"From our 'If it's not on TV it didn't happen/doesn't exist' dept."

Monday's {USA Today} notices an advertisement for a Sony TV in front
of the Grand Canyon.  A small child goes by and doesn't realize where
he is at UNTIL the TV set goes on where it is showing the exact image
of 10 feet behind it.  The child then says (at the TV set) "Look!
It's the Grand Canyon!"


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail] - These opinions are mine alone.

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

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 01:24:22 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <telecom>
Subject: Administrivia: Closing For the Holiday


I'll be taking a few days off to enjoy the Thanksiving Day holiday
this coming weekend, so the remainder of this week will be spend
emptying the queue of the many articles waiting for publication.

** Please do not send any further articles to telecom until Monday,
11-30.  I'll put out an issue or two early Monday if I can, or
sometime Monday at the latest. **

Thanks, and happy holidays to all.


Patrick Townson

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #872
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #873

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 25 Nov 92 02:49:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 873

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Moscow and Data Compressors (Hank Nussbacher)
    Police Officer Impersonators Running Scams in Virginia (Nigel Allen)
    LAN Capable Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf Info (Gene Cartier)
    Question About Strange Recording on Answering Machine (Yonsook Enloe)
    Cellular One TV Commercial (Hey, Mom, That's Me!) (Anthony E. Siegman)
    AT&T Telephone 764 and Canadian Caller ID Question (Alex Leyn)
    ** Attention Internet Radio Journal Subscribers ** (Bill Pfeiffer)
    Accessing Internet to Bitnet Addresses (Paul Robinson)
    Comm Software/Protocol (Chou Sui Lin)
    Re: Ringing My Own Phone (Todd Lawrence)
    Re: Ringing My Own Phone (Daniel Drucker)
    Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left? ([e-mail])
    Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left? (John Murray)
    Administrivia: Closing For the Holiday (TELECOM Moderator)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Organization: Bar-Ilan University Computing Center, Israel
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 11:37:14 IST
From: Hank Nussbacher <[e-mail]>
Subject: Moscow and data compressors


> There was a question several days back about Internet Facilities in
> the former Soviet Union and whether WorldNews was being received
> there.  An excerpt from a recent article written for the RIPE
> Connectivity Working Group could answer that question.

> The 9.6 kbit/s leased line from Moscow to Copenhagen, Denmark which
> used to connected the EARN node in Moscow to the EARN/BITNET network
> has been replaced by a dial-up link to Stockholm due to funding
> problems.

After reading in the network about Moscow's disconnection from EARN
due to increased line costs, ILAN has decided to donate a set of data
compressors for use on a 9.6kb line that can effectively run up to
four 9.6kb virtual lines.  This will allow various networking
organizations in the Moscow area to share a single 9.6kb line to
Denmark and run IP as well as EARN traffic over the same line -- each
at 9.6kb speed.  The data compressors are already in the mail to
Moscow and Denmark.


Hank Nussbacher    ILAN - Israeli Academic Network   Tel-Aviv, Israel

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

From: Nigel Allen <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 19:00:00 -0500
Subject: Police Officer Impersonators Running Scams In Virginia
Organization: Echo Beach, Toronto.


(Since this deals with Western Union's money transfer services, I
though Telecom readers might want to see this.)

Here is a press release from the Virginia State Police.

Police Officer Impersonators Running Scams In Virginia
Contact: Information Office, Virginia State Police, 804-674-2016

   RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 23 -- Col. Carl R. Baker said today that the
Department of State Police has received reports concerning various
scams involving individuals posing as police officers.

   In one scam, a person claiming to be a state trooper indicates he
or she is raising funds for the Virginia State Police.  In another,
persons identifying themselves as state troopers or police officers
call local businesses requesting money for an accident victim who is
known to the person called.

   The scam involving accident victims has been reported throughout
Virginia, according to State Police.  Police have received reports of
this scam from Pennsylvania, California, Arkansas, New York and
Missouri.  In one case, Virginia investigators traced a telephone call
to Atlanta.

   A person claiming to be a state trooper or police officer calls a
local business requesting money for an accident victim.  The caller
explains that a relative, friend, or business associate has been
involved in an accident and needs money wired as soon as possible.
The amount of money is generally between $250 and $500 and is said to
be needed for auto repairs or charges for minor treatment at a
hospital.  The victims are told to go to a nearby Western Union office
and to instruct that office to waive identification of the person
picking up the cash by using a test question or password rather than a
name.

   The callers usually call collect and primarily target businesses,
although the type of establishment varies.  In most cases, they ask to
speak with whomever is in charge, claiming that the company president
or chief officer is the accident victim.  The callers are professional
con men and control their delivery; they have familiarized themselves
with background knowledge such as the names of the victims' coworkers
and the roads nearby the victim's place of business.

   State Police said that several intended victims have thwarted the
callers' efforts by asking for additional identification and telephone
numbers through which they can verify the request.


Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044

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

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 08:23:27 EST
From: Gene Cartier <[e-mail]>
Subject: LAN Capable Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf Info


In order to comply with the new Disabilities Act we are looking for a
Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) that is LAN capable. They
will be used mostly by our hearing customer support staff.  The ideal
device would be one that could have and audable ring, a visual screen
"RINGING" signal and be answered by any workstation on a small customer
support LAN.  Even better would be a TDD that could configured via
software to use a defined LAN workstation so that person could be the
"TDD Operator of the Day".  Our current basic environment for customer
support are IBM Token Ring LANS running OS/2.

If no products exist then any suggestions on how to "tweak" existing
products to gain the same capability will be appreciated.

Please respond direct to the list or to me and I will combine the
answers and post them back.


Gene Cartier    Systems Research & Applications Corp
Arlington, VA   [e-mail]   [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Yonsook Enloe)
Subject: Question About Strange Recording on Answering Machine
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 8:40:51 EST


Hello!

I have had the same two or three very strange recordings on my
answering machine at home this last month.  When I play back the
recorded message, I hear a phone ringing, then the phone gets picked
up and a recorded message there says, "Your number cannot be completed
as dialed.  Please check the area code ..." How is it possible to get
this message on my answering message?  No one was home so no one could
have dialed out on my telephone line.

I'd appreciate help on this.


Thanks.

Yonsook Enloe    <[e-mail]>


[Moderator's Note: You might want to check out the messages on this
same topic from earlier this month. Back issues of TELECOM Digest are
available using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.  It is possible someone
called you and upon hearing the answering machine decided not to leave
a message and go on to their next call instead. They flashed very
rapidly and got a conference dial tone by accident. They dialed their
number, but did so incorrectly and disconnected. For a couple seconds
there would be a three way connection between your answering machine,
the calling party and the distant intercept message. That is one
possibility.  PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 12:53:33 PST
From: Anthony E. Siegman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Cellular One TV Commercial (Hey, Mom, That's Me!)


   Wasn't it pop artist Andy Warhol who said that in this world
everyone -- even lowly telecom lurkers -- gets 15 minutes of fame?

   You may soon be seeing a Cellular One TV commercial showing a
aerial view of a yuppie type in a red convertible, top down, talking
on his car phone while descending a steep cliffside road above the
Pacific, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

   The yuppie's not actually me (a professional stunt man, in fact);
but the gorgeous classic '67 Mustang he's driving -- that's my baby!
(rented for a couple days by the ad agency).

   If anyone happens to catch this on videotape, well ... (I don't
happen to own a TV set myself; just reading comp.dcom.telecom is
enough).


[Moderator's Note: Ah, that's nice of you to say that!  :) Yes, Warhol
said everyone gets fifteen minutes of fame. Your fifteen minutes will
be an aggregation of many three or four second glimpses over the
several weeks the commercial will be running. Mine was the same way:
about thirty years ago a local television station here made a homebrew
version of the Star Spangled Banner for use when they signed off the
air at night. The Marshall Field and Company Choral Society (a group
of several dozen employees of the downtown Chicago department store
who enjoyed singing as a group) sang it with an orchestra, and the
television people superimposed a couple dozen still photos of
Chicagoans onto the film. One photo was of myself and a friend
standing in the entrance of the old Greyhound Bus Station downtown.
Four seconds of fame once a day at 2:00 AM for a few years until the
station started using another film version of the anthem. And I looked
*so awful* in that picture.  The MF&Co. Choral Society disbanded years
ago; the bus station was torn down five years ago at the urging of the
City Fathers, and the president of these United States is younger than
I am.  :( :(   I need a vacation.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Alex Leyn)
Subject: AT&T Telephone 764 and Canadian Caller ID Question
Organization: R-node Public Access UNIX Information System (416-249-5366)
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 01:23:02 -0500


I have recently come into possesion of a fancy new AT&T 764 phone.
This phone will boil, broil, and flip your eggs for you.  However, the
most useful features use the Caller ID (aka Call Display) service.  I
know that there are differences between the US and Canadian standard
for Caller ID.  Strangely enough, the 764 does not work in Canada.

Does anyone know if there exists an official (AT&T sponsored) or an
unofficial patch, workaround, or upgrade to allow this phone to work
with the Canadian Caller ID service.  I have not opened the phone up
yet, but if that is required, I have no qualms about modifying the
internal microcontroller code -- if I have the source and if the
microcontroller is something relatively widely available.

As a side question: The differences between the Canadian Caller ID
message format and the US equivalent is very small.  From the specs,
it appears that a Caller ID receiver could easily determine which
format the incomming message is in and make appropriate decoding/
processing.  To increase market exposure, why would AT&T and other
manufacturers not add this simple code as a standard feature?  Am I
missing some logical or marketting issue here?


Thanks for all replies,

Alex Leyn   MaySoft Engineering    Internet: [e-mail]
[e-mail]   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Bill Pfeiffer)
Subject: ** Attention Internet Radio Journal Subscribers **
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 15:27:29 -0600 (CST)


A massive disk crash at my host mailing system for the Internet Radio
Journal (the e-mail echo of rec.radio.broadcasting) has rendered my
mailing database almost two months out of date.  The last backup of
data was October 11, 1992.

Anyone who has subscribed, or cancelled a subscription, since then
should re-submit their request again.  The last issue of the journal,
before the system was backed up, was 202.

All issues have been sent, but the file of addresses is way out of
date.  Please re-send if you fail to get issue 223, or if you GET 223,
even though you have cancelled your subscription.  The address is
[e-mail].


Thanks,

William Pfeiffer
Moderator  - rec.radio.broadcasting - Internet Radio Journal


[Moderator's Note:  Now you know why backups are so important. I've
got this mailing list backed up along with all my software; and it is
duplicated on other sites where I have accounts.   PAT]

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

Reply-To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992  16:10:33 EST
Subject: Accessing Internet to Bitnet Addresses


In TELECOM Digest 12-869, Richard Budd ([e-mail]) writes
that he has trouble getting through from Internet addresses.

I submitted to the Telecom Archives a conversion chart between
Internet Domain names (two, three and four character), telex
answerbacks (two or three) and telephone and telex country codes.

I submitted this same document to Jon Postel for inclusion as an
Internet RFC.  When Mr. Postel wrote back, he stated that two entries
I had, .UUCP and .BITNET were invalid because they are NOT INTERNET
DOMAINS.

Bitnet is a separate network that has gateways to and from Internet
but is not a part of the Internet.  Therefore unless one is on a
system that is on both networks, one MUST either send to a gateway to
get from BITNET to Internet, or if on Internet and sending to a Bitnet
address, go through the gateway.

Mr. Budd is wrong on one point.  He is already _on_ BITNET, he should
only need to address someone directly, i.e. as in [e-mail]
(some will even allow BUDD@CSPGAS11).

His use of an address such as [e-mail] isn't needed
because he's already ON bitnet.  Only someone on Internet who wanted
to reach a BITNET ONLY address would need to do this, and they would
use the full internet routing.

Also, there are two routings:

   [e-mail]
              and
   [e-mail]

So you would use:

   [e-mail]
                or
   [e-mail]

(Most of the BITNET lists I get on MCI come through Princeton.)


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail] - These opinions are mine alone.

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

From: [e-mail] (Chou Sui Lin)
Subject: Comm Software/Protocol
Date: 24 Nov 1992 09:51:31 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway


Hello netters:

We're looking for way of doing remote printing over a X.25 connection
connecting to a packet-switched network from a remote PC with a
printer attached to our Sun SPARCserver. The remote PC will run a
terminal emulator (vt100) and run our application. We would like to be
able to do background printing while the remote user is on-line. We've
tried using the vt100 printing escape sequences. It worked but not
reliably especially when the printer is off-line or switched off.
Either the PC got hung or an DOS abort message returned.

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

Subject: Re: Ringing My Own Phone
From: [e-mail] (Todd Lawrence)
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 92 00:04:25 CST


[e-mail] (Ross Hayden) writes:


> My question is this: Is there a way to find out a number I can dial
> that will make my phone ring (other than calling a friend and asking
> for a callback)?

> [Moderator's Note: This changes from one town to the next, and
> sometimes the same telco may change it every two or three months.
> There is no standard. Perhaps someone familiar with Bowling Green will
> write you with details.  PAT]

Also, In every NPA I ever had the privilege to be in, I've simply
called the operator (TSPS/OSP/ETC..) and asked the ever popular: "Can
I have a ringback please ..."


Todd Lawrence
LOD! Communications     internet : [e-mail]
IMF Acquisition Group   uucp     : uunet!valinor!todd

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

Subject: Re: Ringing My Own Phone
From: mertwig![e-mail] (Daniel Drucker)
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 16:23:49 EST
Organization: Odd Parity Hacker's Group


[e-mail] (Ross Hayden) writes:

> In the city I used to live in, you could dial 959-XXXX, where XXXX is
> your phone number suffix, do a little dance on the switchhook by
> hanging up three or four times quickly, and, viola, the phone would
> ring after the final hangup.

Try 660-XXXX. Thats what works here.


Xyzzy T. Plugh           mertwig![e-mail]
Daniel Max P. Drucker, the 14 year old networks wizard.

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

Organization: Penn State University
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 16:40:44 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left?


> Are there a ny free calling cards left?

I just got a SPrint FonCard, and it costs me nothing.  No initial fee,
no yearly or monthly charge either.  COurse, it's $.75 each call, PLUS
the LD fees. SO I have yet to actually USE the thing ...  :)

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

From: [e-mail] (John Murray)
Subject: Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left?
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 17:00:17 EST
Organization: University of Michigan Engineering, Ann Arbor


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

> Are there any calling cards left that don't charge an initial fee?  I
> remember Telecom*USA had one for a while, but I also remember hearing
> MCI took them over.

Aren't the calling cards issued by local phone companies usable for
this purpose? I've used mine in a variety of situations without a
problem. In fact, the card number is just your own phone number plus a
four-digit code, from PacBell and Ameritech anyway. (Not sure about
use with foreign telcos directly, but one can call AT&T Direct from
lots of places and use the card then.)  Which reminds me -- isn't the
AT&T card also free, provided you use it once in a while? And since
it's a credit card and separate from a phone account, it would be
usable by someone who did not have a phone at home to charge the calls
to, right?


Hope this helps,

JM, Univ. of Mich.

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

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 01:24:22 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Administrivia: Closing For the Holiday


I'll be taking a few days off to enjoy the Thanksiving Day holiday
this coming weekend, so the remainder of this week will be spend
emptying the queue of the many articles waiting for publication.

** Please do not send any further articles to telecom until Monday,
11-30.  I'll put out an issue or two early Monday if I can, or
sometime Monday at the latest. **

Thanks, and happy holidays to all.


Patrick Townson

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #873
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #874

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 26 Nov 92 00:24:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 874

Index To This Issue:                   Happy Thanksgiving Day, Everyone!

    AT&T Smart Phone 2100 (Steve Diamond)
    Article: The Numbering Crisis in World Zone 1 (K. M. Peterson)
    COCOM Limit Fibre (Terence Cross)
    Strange Busy Signal (Bob Bracalente)
    Canadian LD Carrier Numbers Needed ([e-mail])
    Need 486-Based Customer Support Environments With ANI (Ralph Hyre)
    New England Tel Plans to Drop 1+ Dialing For Local Area Toll (T. Pelliccio)
    Caller ID Modification (Joe Smooth)
    Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN? (Matt Holdrege)
    Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN? (Fred R. Goldstein)
    Re: Fake Call-Waiting Product (Mark D. Wuest)
    Re: 950-0666 Becomes, Well, 950 (Richard Cox)
    Re: FYI 215 NXX Additions (Carl Moore)
    Re: Ten Digit Dialing in Oregon (Carl Moore)
    Re: Advice Needed on Telephone Security Systems (Jack Winslade)
    Re: ATT Boing: What is it? (Andrew Little)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Steve Diamond)
Subject: AT&T Smart Phone 2100
Date: 25 Nov 1992 21:02:50 GMT
Organization: SunSoft, Inc.
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In the April 20, 1992 issue of {Fortune Magazine}, the AT&T "Smart
Phone 2100" which apparently incorporates "DSP technology" and a large
soft key LCD screen, is pictured with the caption "Smart Phone 2100
with touch-sensitive screen for access to banking and information
services (AT&T, $499)."

What's the status of the Smart Phone 2100?  Is it available anywhere?
Have any of you used it?  With special services or standalone?


Steve Diamond
SunSoft, Inc., 2550 Garcia Ave, M/S MTV08-221, Mountain View, CA 94043
uucp: [e-mail]     The opinions expressed are my own.

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

From: [e-mail] (K. M. Peterson)
Date: 25 Nov 1992 13:48:55 EST
Subject: Article: The Numbering Crisis in World Zone 1


{The Sciences}, a magazine published by the New York Academy of
Sciences, has an interesting article this month (November/December
1992) called "The Numbering Crisis in World Zone 1" which talks about
the scarcity of phone numbers.  Being a somewhat infrequent follower
of this list, I was filled in on some of the history of the numbering
plan here in North America, with some additional insight on [very]
basic telephone switch theory.

An entertaining article that I'd like to recommend.  I'm sure the
contents are not new to PAT, but I did get a better feeling for some
of the topics discussed here.  Also, good to send along to others you
might know as a primer on some of the North American switching/naming
issues.

{The Sciences} is available on newsstands for $3.50, and is recommended
in general.

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

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 92 14:00:16 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Terence Cross)
Subject: COCOM Limit Fibre


I found this in a news item.

Isn't it a little bit paranoid, by the west, limiting fibre in Russia?
After all cheap communications helps democracy to flourish.

I suppose COCOM are just trying to save their own jobs.

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

COCOM TO RELAX RESTRICTIONS. The Coordinating Committee (COCOM) for
establishing export controls on Western technology to the former East
bloc has revised its regulations, Reuters reported on 24 November.
Countries currently subject to restrictions may apply for exemptions
for next year if they apply by year-end 1992 and pledge specifically
not to re-export or use sensitive technology for military purposes. It
is not clear, however, how far COCOM is now willing to relax
restrictions; it is still insisting that it will make judgments on a
country-by-country basis.  Although there has been some relaxation
over the last few years, COCOM technology embargoes still handicap
significant projects in the region, including the Trans-Siberian fibre
optic communications line.


from: Hal  Kosiba & Charles Trumbull

The RFE/RL Daily Report is produced by the RFE/RL Research Institute
(a division of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.)  with the
assistance of the RFE/RL News and Current Affairs Division (NCA).

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

Terence Cross                            [phone]
Software Engineer                           ECN: 830 1498
AXE Operations & Maintenance Committee
Ericsson Systems Expertise Irl. Ltd.     [e-mail]
Athlone, Ireland                         [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Bob Bracalente)
Subject: Strange Busy Signal
Organization: Gandalf Data Ltd.
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 14:22:30 GMT


I live in southern NJ, and my LD carrier is Sprint.  Last night, I
tried to place a call to Philadelphia via Sprint.  The call didn't
connect, and I heard a "high-pithched" slow busy signal (not a
reorder).  I called a Sprint operator, and she got the same results
when she placed the call.  Next, I tried to dial the call using New
Jersy Bell's "Pensy-Link" service (10652 - some kind of intra-LATA
lines between NJ and PA that I don't really understand), and got the
same results.  When I placed the call using good old AT&T (10288), I
received a normally pitched slow busy.

When I tried again a few hours later and actually got connected, it
turns out that the party I was calling was in fact on the phone during
the time I called.  So why did I get this strange busy from Sprint and New
Jersey Bell?

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Canadian LD Carrier Numbers Needed
Organization: Laurentian University
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 14:55:49 GMT


Could someone email me the telephone numbers for the new long distance
carriers in Canada?

Thanks.

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

From: cinpmx!cdid![e-mail]
Date: 25 Nov 92 15:05:42 GMT
Subject: Need 486-Based Customer Support Environments With ANI


I'm looking for information on 486-based packages that assist with
Customer Support tasks in a Direct Marketing environment.

The usual scenario is as follows:

Customer receives product information, calls an 800 number to order or
further inquire about products.  Calls go to an Automatic Call
Director (ACD), where they are queued for a Customer Service Rep (CSR)
to become available.

It is desirable to capture the caller's number (ANI) in real-time to
bring up the appropriate customer record on the chosen CSR's PC.  (I
belive American Express and Mac Warehouse do something like this
today.)

The technical environment envisioned involves an AT&T Definity PBX,
with quasi-ISDN AT&T instruments. (Believed to be 7400-series phones
with a Data Stand (serial port that can send PBX data to the user's
PC)).

DOS or 486/Unix packages are acceptable, although DOS/Windows is
preferred.  (If the Unix product is a multi-user system, then it
should scale to a user community of around 100 users on networked
PC's.)  A nice-to-have feature would be the ability to interface with
the ACD to influence the choice of CSR's with the ANI information (so
that the same customer has a chance at getting the same CSR each time
they call.)

Would also appreciate lists of trade publication with ads and other
information on these type of products.

I will summarize responses back to telecom.  Thanks (in advance) for
your help.


Ralph Hyre ([e-mail])

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

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 92 14:50:56 EST
From: Tony Pelliccio <[e-mail]>
Subject: New England Tel Plans to Drop 1+ Dialing For Local Area Toll


An article in the November 23, 1992 {Providence Journal-Bulletin}
states that as of June 1993, New England Telephone will be dropping 1+
dialing for toll calls within Rhode Island. Here are some notes about
it though:

1) 1+ dialing will still work for three months after the changeover;

2) They plan to adjust customer bills for at least six months after the cutover
   because of possible mistaken toll dialing.

All in all, it seems pretty fair to me. And it won't be that difficult
to figure out what's toll and what's not. It's a small state. I feel
sorry for places that have a wider toll area though.


Tony Pelliccio     PJJ125 @ URIACC.URI.EDU

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

From: Joe Smooth <[e-mail]>
Subject: Caller ID Modification
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 22:47:40 GMT


Is it possible to modify a Caller ID box somehow to let you receive
the numbers that are calling you with *69 and call blocking?


[Moderator's Note: No it is not possible. You can't get blood out of a
turnip, as 'they' say, nor can you get information out of a Caller-ID
box which was not sent by the CO. Did you mean *69 (call back last
call received) or did you mean *67 (block ID)? In any event, if the
calling party blocks his identification, either by default on the line
or by *67, then the CO will not pass the information to you, regardless
of what tampering you may have done with the box. The box is only a
receiver of what is sent: nothing sent, then nothing received.   PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 92 19:49 GMT
From: Matthew Holdrege <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN?


> Just what are the mechanics of establishing a data connection via an
> ISDN phone?  I am in southern Pac Bell land, where ISDN is completely
> unknown, and I have never even *seen* an ISDN desk set.

I wouldn't say that ISDN is unknown in So Cal. In fact one of the
largest ISDN users in the country is in Pasadena. JPL has (I've read)
thousands of BRI lines.

The problem here is that California has no single line tariffs. You
have to order at least two-line Centrex service to get ISDN. That
unfortunate situation should change by next summer (I hope.) Ideally
Pac Bell and GTE will price BRI connections the same as Ameritech has.
About $35 per month and $6 per hour of connect time. Or they could go
really far and price it cheaper. 8-)

> I know that you can use ISDN to connect a home machine to a LAN, but
> how do you *do* it?

There are a lot of methods for connecting to a LAN. Bridges, routers,
and terminal adapters are all available. One method I used last year
was to connect the NT1 to a Gandalf Terminal Adapter which connected
to a Vitalink WAN bridge. This effectively utilized both B channels as
one 128K WAN link. I expect that you could do it cheaper now.

But I have another question. I would like to use one B channel for
data and one for voice. I would like to connect the voice channel to
our Rolm PBX. Does anyone know of a slick way to do this? I guess that
I need an adapter to split the B channels, run the data channel to a
bridge/router and the voice to ?????


Matt Holdrege  [e-mail]  714-229-2518

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

From: [e-mail] (Fred R. Goldstein)
Subject: Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN?
Organization: Digital Equipment Corp., Littleton MA USA
Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 03:04:46 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Tom
Perrine) writes...

> Just what are the mechanics of establishing a data connection via an
> ISDN phone?  I am in southern Pac Bell land, where ISDN is completely
> unknown, and I have never even *seen* an ISDN desk set.

> I know that you can use ISDN to connect a home machine to a LAN, but
> how do you *do* it?

Well, it's all up to how your ISDN Terminal Equipment does it.
Generally, there's no point to using an "ISDN Telephone" at home,
unless it's a home office.  And certainly not for data ... I am right
now using a Gandalf Premier 5510 LANLine personal ISDN bridge.  It
takes Ethernet and maps it over ISDN, but it currently requires a big
multiport bridge arrangement to dial into (at the LAN end).  That'll
change soon, I suspect.  And there are similar bridges made by other
vendors such as Digiboard (Minneapolis) and Combinet (Sunnyvale).

On the Gandalf, a front panel three-button panel lets me initiate and
terminate calls.  I can also use my async port into a control port on
back of the bridge.  Digiboard and Combinet don't have front panel
controls.  THey can (like Gandalf) be programmed to dial when they see
LAN activity and hang up on prolonged inactivity.  Or they can be
controlled via a serial port.  Digiboard's IMAC lets you talk to it
using RSHELL, which is nice for Unix weenies if not readily available
on DOS or OS2.

Or you can get an integral ISDN card. There are a number of them out
there; in this case, the driver has some kind of control program.
Some are (too) modem-like, other LAN-like, or can be used either way
depending on the software.

And some workstations (like the DEC3000) have integral ISDN jacks.
I've played with that one; it has a cute X-windows control panel that
paints a fancy phone on your screen.


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

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

From: [e-mail] (mark.d.wuest)
Subject: Re: Fake Call-Waiting Product
Organization: AT&T
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 14:07:01 GMT


[device which simulates the "click/chunk" a 1ESS makes for call waiting].

If you're on a 5E, you can just use the "mute" button many phones now
have.

"Wow, it's <momentary silence> already?  Oops, got another call."  ;-)


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

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

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 92 12:22 GMT
From: Richard Cox <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 950-0666 Becomes, Well, 950
Reply-To: [e-mail]


mc/G=Brad/S=Hicks/OU=0205925@m (better known as J Brad Hicks!) writes:

> Oh yeah, and some time in the 1995 (for example) Ma Hell's 10-666-0 will
> probably become 10-0666-0, too.

Now I thought (from previous Digests) that 10-666-0 was going to
change to become 101-0666-0.  Which is right?  I had understood that a
simple change to 10-0666-0 would make it difficult to trap misdialing?


Richard Cox

Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, Wales CF4 5WF
Voice: [phone]      Fax: [phone]      VoiceMail: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]     Not diallable on 511 in mainland USA

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

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 92 10:23:16 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: FYI 215 NXX Additions


810 already appears in history.of.area.splits as coming into use in
1994 in split of 313 in Michigan.  910 is unassigned.  Given that 610
and 710 and N11 are not available as geographic area codes, the last
resort (before NNX area codes become available -- deadline 1 Jan 1995)
would be to use 200,300,400,500,600 as area codes.

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

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 92 10:34:16 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Ten Digit Dialing in Oregon


OK, so this means that Oregon has to prepare for N0X/N1X prefixes,
although the system has to be ready for NNX area codes by Jan. 1, 1995
anyway.  As noted, 206 in Washington state already has this, and I
noticed that 509 is to get this when it's time to get ready for the
NNX area codes.

> Unlike the other states mentioned in the list, we get to keep seven
> digit local calls. (And thus, a way to avoid inadvertant LD charges!)

What does this mean?  Local calls within own area code are seven
digits (no change in this method), and you have to inquire locally
about local calls to a different area code.  Using 1 + NPA + 7D for
within-area long distance does have the advantage of retaining
"leading 1 = toll call", because the alternative would be to remove
the leading 1 from 1 + 7D, as happened in area 215 in Pennsylvania.

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

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 92 20:49:28 CST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Winslade)
Subject: Re: Advice Needed on Telephone Security Systems
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


In a message dated 15-NOV-92, Dave Ptasnik writes:

> Several people have asked me about the telco feature that notifies
> alarm monitoring compaines that your line has been cut, so I called US
> West to get a few more details:

> US West offers the service under the name Scan Alert.  Installation is

I wonder if I didn't stumble on this about a month ago without knowing
what it was.

For the local Computer Faire sponsored by the Omaha User Group
Association, we rented the gymnasium at a local high school.  They
gave us permission to borrow all phone lines in the building for those
displays that needed modems, so I and another volunteer (you listening
in there, Splice ;-) rigged up some temporary connections to what
appeared to be a stone-age house cable.  (It was an ancient
double-cotton insulated cable multipled umpteen times between the high
school, a tunnel under the street, and the elementary school across
the street.)  A Merlin system and who knows what were connected to one
of the junction boxes.

After the event took place we pulled out all of our temporary wiring,
checked all of the local phones to make sure they worked, and split.
About 15 minutes later I got paged by the school custodian who got a
call from the alarm company saying that their fire alarm was showing
as being disconnected from the line.  I went back, poked around a bit,
and paged my cohort who knew more about how those alarms are hooked
up.  To make a long story short, it turned out that one of the old
conductors had broken and become intermittent.

I also remember the night before when we were setting up, hearing some
tones on one of the lines while checking them out with a butt set.
This was maybe a burst of 1.5-2 kHz tones.

I figure that there is one of two ways the alarm company can know it's
off line, and that is to have the alarm dial the alarm company every
so often, or some kind of a special arrangement.

Anyone know for sure?


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

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

From: [e-mail] (Andrew Little)
Subject: Re: ATT Boing: What is it?
Organization: BALR Corporation, Oak Brook, Illinois.
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 22:39:51 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Argun
Tekant) writes:

> This is probably a FAQ (Do we have a FAQ?), but can anyone tell me the
> frequency or function or whatever for the AT&T Boing?

 From Notes on the Network (an older copy - I don't think its changed):

Automatic Credit Card Dialing - Prompt Tone

Frequencies               Temporal Pattern         Levels

941 + 1477                 60 msec                 -10 dBm/frequency at
followed immediately by                            -3 TLP
440 + 350                  940 msec (exponentially
                           decayed from -10dBm per
                           frequency at -3 TLP at
                           time constant of 200 msec)


Enjoy,

Andy Little    [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #874
******************************










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Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 02:53:58 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #875

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 26 Nov 92 02:54:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 875

Index To This Issue:                  Happy Thanksgiving Day, Everyone!

    Closing For the Holiday (TELECOM Moderator)
    Re: Seven-Digit Repair Service Numbers (Eli Mantel)
    Re: "rrrringg-BOOP" (Thomas E. Lowe)
    Re: Paging in 708/312 (John Gilbert)
    Re: Telemarketing Again (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Help on Settling an Argument About Leased T1 Lines (Richard Nash)
    Re: *69 in NJ Bell Land (Tom Coradeschi)
    Re: At NYNEX, CNID is Coming Before E911 (Kevin Herrboldt)
    Re: Encrypted Cordless Phones: How? (Vance Shipley)
    Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal? (Laird Broadfield)
    Re: Email to Prodigy (David Baird)
    Re: Searching For Simple Two-Line Patch (Jim Rees)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 01:24:22 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Closing For the Holiday


I'll be taking a few days off to enjoy the Thanksiving Day holiday
this coming weekend, so the remainder of this week will be spend
emptying the queue of the many articles waiting for publication.

** Please do not send any further articles to telecom until Monday,
11-30.  I'll put out an issue or two early Monday if I can, or
sometime Monday at the latest. **

Thanks, and remember, wherever you are today, and whatever you are
doing; whatever circumstances you may find yourself in, you have lots
of things for which to be thankful.


Patrick Townson

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

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 92 22:22:19 -0500
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Seven-Digit Repair Service Numbers
Organization: University of North Carolina Extended Bulletin Board Service


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

> I called AT&T LD information for L.A. and asked for a seven-digit
> number for repair service (giving them my home prefix). It turned out
> that the number they gave me is for a PacBell center in San Diego, ...
> this happens again.

> Moral: All you children should get your seven-digit repair service
> number from 611 NOW so that you can report your home phone when you're
> away.  It would save a real hassle.

Getting a seven-digit phone number for repair service or for any local
phone company function (e.g. business office, customer complaint
bureau) is not necessarily going to enable you to reach them.

This is because at least some of the phone companies have designated
special prefixes, for exclusive use by the phone company, which
provide for toll-free access from within their service area.  Outside
of their service areas, these special prefixes are absolutely,
positively, not dialable.  Worse (in my experience), when you call
long distance directory assistance, these numbers come up on the
operator's screen as if they were perfectly valid numbers, and the
operator may or may not be smart enough to advise you of this fact.

As an example of how this works, here in Raleigh, North Carolina,
served by Southern Bell, the white pages listing for Southern Bell
lists 780-2355 as the number for the business office.  If I take a
trip to Durham, NC, served by GTE, there is no way to reach that
number.  OTOH, if I travel to Charlotte, NC, which is in another area
code but is served by Southern Bell, the 780-2355 number will get
through.

BTW, when calling 611 from any Southern Bell area in North Carolina,
you will always reach the same office in Winston-Salem, NC.  If you
call the business office number, you may reach any of several offices.


Eli Mantel ([e-mail])

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

From: [e-mail] (thomas.e.lowe)
Subject: Re: "rrrringg-BOOP"
Organization: AT&T
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 14:22:33 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: Actually, if you listen closely, when the called
> party answers you will hear a certain kind of click on the line if you
> interuppted them on call waiting which you won't hear if you did not.

Not always true ... I can't tell any difference at all when call
waiting is in effect at my home.

I just tried calling someones car phone in Atlanta (404-403-xxxx) and
got the rrrrringggg-BOOP.  I assume they are on their phone, but I
don't know if they have call waiting or not.


Tom Lowe   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Here in Chicago, if I call someone and they are
already on the line, when they flash to bring me in, there always
seems to be a couple extra 'click click' sounds in the second or two
before they say hello, as they are flashing.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (John Gilbert)
Subject: Re: Paging in 708/312
Organization: Motorola, Land Mobile Products Sector
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 05:43:47 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: Where were you in Chicago when it was a 'free'
> call? And by 'free' do you mean the pay phone did not ask for any
> money, or you only saw a local unit on your home phone, or what?

I have seen paging telephone numbers that are free from Illinois Bell
payphones.  For example, pagers in the 708-881-XXXX exchange seem to
work this way. If the paging company equipment simply didn't return
supervision, IBT would still ask for the coin, but should then return
it.  IBT never wants coins when calling pagers in this exchange.  This
exchange appears to act like a "local" 800 number, so it must be set
up by IBT. Any ideas how is this done?


John Gilbert    [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 92 23:34:05 -0800
From: Steve Forrette <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Telemarketing Again
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> allegra![e-mail]
(syed s haider) writes:

> Last Sunday's {Parade} supplement carries an article on telemarketing.
> One item caught my eye. Basically, it stated that many come-ons give
> you an 800 number making you think that the call is toll-free.  But
> after you call you're switched to a 900 number and get a hefty bill
> the following month.

> [Moderator's Note: They are free unless an unethical person answering
> the call patches you through to a 900 number in the process of
> answering you. We covered this in detail several months ago here.

How this was technically accomplished was never explained.  Assuming
that the IXC, and not the information provider, is generating the
billing data for the 900 service, I don't think we ever figured out
how this was actually accomplished.  Can someone elaborate?

If the IP used the standard "call forwarding" feature, then the ANI
for the final leg of the call to the 900 number would show the IP's
billing number, not that of the original caller.  Also, as far as I
know, it is not possible to place a call to a 900 number via dedicated
trunks to the IXC.  So, how was this done?  Would anyone who got stuck
by the Mystic Marketing ploy care to comment on whether the 900 charge
was billed from one of the major IXCs, or was it from an AOS type of
outfit that perhaps would allow the IP to submit the billing data for
calls to the 900 number?


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: By the way, the company changed its name, or
perhaps it merely has a new subsidiary called Myriad Marketing, also
based out of Reno on the same office phone numbers as Mystic.   PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 20:43:00 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Richard Nash)
Subject: Re: Help on Settling an Argument About Leased T1 Lines


> A colleague and I were having an argument about leased T1 lines.
> Perhaps some experts can settle this issue for us.

> Let's say I lease a T1 link from the LEC. So I have 24 DS0 TDM slots
> going to the the LEC's CO. My data has to go across two CO hops to our
> downtown site where again we have 24 contiguous DS0 slots being
> delivered from the terminating CO to our downtown building. Now, the
> question is whether the contiguity of the original 24 DS0 TDM slots
> will be maintained across the links between the originating and
> terminating CO's.  In other words, will a dedicated T1 link (or a
> fixed T3 slot) be allocated to me and my individual DS0 slots never
> demultiplexed at the originating CO? Or will my 24 slots be chopped up
> and carried over separate portions of the inter-office T3 links, only
> to be reassembled at the terminating CO and delivered as one chunk of
> 24 DS0's again?

Multiplexing/demultiplexing only serves a purpose when something is to
be gained in maximizing bandwidth.  For no obvious reason could I see
the telco wanting to slice and dice a T1 only to have to reconstruct
it back into one contiguous stream.  The telco's aren't exactly noted
for their ambitious nature.  All of the wiring necessary to effect
what is described above would require a very warped self flagilation
attitude.

> Do the answers change if I lease T1 circuits from an IXC and go
> directly to their POP instead of going through the LEC's CO?

At a higher multiplexed rate (T3) yes, but why would they bother for a
lower rate?


Richard Nash             Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
UUCP:                    [e-mail]
Amatuer Radio Packet:    [e-mail]
[e-mail]   ve6bon.ampr.ab.ca [192.75.200.15]

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

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 92 8:08:00 EST
From: Tom Coradeschi <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: *69 in NJ Bell Land
Organization: Electric Armts Div, US Army ARDEC, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ


<[e-mail]> writes:

> The Return Call Class feature (*69) offered by NJ Bell will call back
> the number of the last person to call your phone. (When used to
> screen calls can be considered a poor man's Caller ID).

> [Moderator's Note: The same service is available here in Chicago, but
> we pay a flat monthly rate with no additional charge per use other
> than paying for the phone calls generated in return. We sometimes get
> a message saying, "I'm sorry, you cannot use this feature with the

NJ Bell gives us the option of flat-rate monthly or per-usage billing.
The per-usage kicks in if you choose not to subscribe to the monthly
plan (I opt for per-usage, myself). Sorry I can't help with the original
question.


tom coradeschi    <+>    [e-mail]

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

From: kksys!mpls911![e-mail] (Kevin Herrboldt)
Subject: Re: At NYNEX, CNID is Coming Before E911
Organization: City of Minneapolis
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 15:14:48 GMT


[e-mail] (Bob Turner) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Joshua
> E. Muskovitz) writes:

> Address rectification is only one aspect of putting a E911 database
> together.  And it has to be done. The phone company records are
> inaccurate (at best).  This usually isn't a problem because the
> addresses they have are for billing purposes not Location ID.

> However the legal and operation ramifications are tremendous. Try to
> convince your Emergency crews to kill themselves to get to an address
> that the ALI computer spitout. Especially when the past performance
> has been less than 45% (Actual occurance). Plus the liability
> potential is horrendous.

We have E911 here in Minneapolis, but it is SOP for our 911 operators
to ask the caller for the address to verify what USWEST sends us.  The
major benefit to E911 is for those calls where someone dials 911 but
is unable to talk or if the line gets cut.


Kevin Herrboldt           mpls911![e-mail]
Emergency Communications Center   City Hall Room B-911,
Mpls, MN  55415   [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Vance Shipley)
Subject: Re: Encrypted Cordless Phones: How?
Organization: XeniTec Consulting, Kitchener, Ontario, CANADA
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 17:53:07 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Randy
Sales) writes:

> I am interested if someone could tell me generally how they are
> encrypting these cordless phones I have seen by Motorola and Phone
> Mate.  The Phone Mate one says it helps with interference and cross
> signaling. It seems like a good idea for also keeping the scanners
> from listening in and if it is digital I could see how it could help
> with noise.

The Motorola unit INVERTS the analog audio signal.


Vance Shipley      [e-mail]
[e-mail]   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal?
Date: 25 Nov 92 19:31:15 GMT


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

> Not exactly correct.  SS7 TCAP supports a "query" message.  No
> connection attempt is needed; one switch sends a TCAP query to the
> other switch asking for line status.  This is how the (pick your
> favorite name) Auto Recall service works (call someone, get a busy
> signal, enter a *XX feature code, get a special ring when the far end
> goes idle, pick up the phone and automatically place the recall).

Will there be a way (legitimately) for an end user (perhaps an ISDN
user?) to issue SS7 messages?  For example, could I take my ISDN card
and send these "query" messages and receive the responses?

(All this assumes I move out of PatheticBell territory, so I can get
ISDN at all ...)


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

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

From: [e-mail] (David Baird)
Subject: Re: Email to Prodigy
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1992 21:37:23 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail].
athabascau.ca (Louis Schmittroth) writes:

> I want to find out if Prodigy offers service to Alberta, and if so is
> there a email address of an administrative unit of Prodigy where I can
> find out what the rates are?

The last I knew the people who ran Prodigy were not hooked into any
other network, nor were they going to be in the future. It seems that
either one was on Prodigy to communicate with a Prodigy user, or one
did not communicate with the Prodigy user using Prodigy's service. Or
to put it another way, there are no gateways between Prodigy and
Compu$erve or the InterNet.

Give Prodigy a call and complain about this situation. It is one of
two primary reasons why I never signed on to Prodigy.


            David Baird                   [e-mail]
        University of Chicago               [e-mail]
   University Computing Organizations           [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jim Rees)
Subject: Re: Searching For Simple Two-Line Patch
Date: 25 Nov 1992 22:52:18 GMT
Organization: University of Michigan CITI
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I didn't know you were an organ fan.  I heard E. Power Biggs play the
tracker organ at Harvard a few years back and was much impressed.  I
too have some of his stuff on 78.

I helped restore a theater organ once, about 15 years ago.  My job was
to clean the relays.  At that time, I wondered if it would be possible
to use telephone switching gear to reduce the amount of wiring needed.
Relay systems tend to want to switch an entire manual (59 wires) to an
entire bank of pipes (30-100 wires).  I reasoned that if you could
somehow multiplex the 59 wires, you could then switch the whole thing
with a telephone crossbar.  The resulting system would be much more
flexible than the hard-wired relay system, since any manual could be
switched to any rank easily.

These days, the switching is all done electronically, just like in an
ESS. I still find the parallels between pipe organ wiring and telephone
wiring quite interesting.


[Moderator's Note: There have been experiments such as you describe,
but I don't know of any which were taken to completion. One that comes
to mind was the renovation/restoration of the instrument at the Mormon
Tabernacle in 1948. I don't remember ever reading/hearing why they
decided against it, although Alexander Schriener had some comments on
it at the time. The Chicago Temple also considered it when they did
repairs and restoration around 1960 at a cost of about forty thousand
(1960) dollars. The idea was advanced back in the 1920's by Henry
LeMare during his tenure as municipal organist for the City of
Atlantic City, NJ. He did not refer to it as 'crossbar' but he made
analogies to 'wiring in the style of a modern telephone exchange ...'
Virgil Fox also commented on the 'virtual telephone exchange driving
the mechanicals at Riverside ...'

Not *all* switching is done electronically; in the newer organ
installations, yes, but my interest is more in the older (circa
1910-1930 era) installations of E.M. Skinner and those from the later
merger with Aeolian.  Such is the instrument at the Chicago Temple,
there from the building's opening about 1925. The strands of wire from
the console to the pipe chambers on the second and third floor form a
bundle as thick as my wrist. The relays are very sensitive to dirt and
dust; the pipes to changes in humidity. The relays are noisy, and they
tend to stick at inappropriate times, unless you think in the middle
of a 'sing along Messiah' is an appropriate time for a cipher; the
cipher started near the end of one of the choruses and stuck until the
end of that piece, and the only way the organist got rid of it then
was by cycling the power (with the resulting 'whoosh' as the wind
pressure started rising again) for a few seconds before starting the
next part.  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #875
******************************










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Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 14:13:59 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #876

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 26 Nov 92 14:14:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 876

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Romania Joins BITNET (Richard Budd)
    LD Costs, ANI, Modems etc (John Pettitt)
    Re: Two Cellular Phones on the Same Number (George Goble)
    Re: LAN Capable Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf Info (Kevin Barth)
    Re: Police Officer Impersonators Running Scams In Virginia (Michael Heggen)
    Re: Computerized Sales Call "Locked" My Line (Steve Hutzley)
    Re: CPC Detection and Purpose (Irving Wolfe)
    Re: Telecom Quotations (Jack Winslade)
    Re: Seven-Digit Repair Service Numbers (David W. Tamkin)
    Re: Info Wanted on SNET Rate and Service Change (Nigel Allen)
    Re: Characters on International Phone Keypads - Compilation (Carl Moore)
    Re: Roving Laptops and Automatic Phone Number Conversions (Carl Moore)
    Re: Telemarketing Again (John Higdon)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 26 Nov 92 17:50:46 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: Romania Joins BITNET
Organization: CSAV UTIA


This message came this morning from the Czech Technical University
(where I may soon be working in telecom coordination).  It is to
announce the connection of Romania, namely the University of
Bucharest, to BITNET.  (EARN is its European equivalent).  I
especially want to address this to TW Hinders, who asked me off-line
about IP in Romania.  Unfortunately, I lost his email address (it was
misplaced in the deluge of mail that came from the CIS posting) and
was not able to send him the whole article personally.

So now Bucharest has something else from the West to savor besides
Michael Jackson.

     ================Original Message===========

This information (sent by Mr. Rastl, the Austrian EARN director)
may be of interest:

 Date:         Fri, 20 Nov 92 18:00:11 MEZ
 Reply-To:     EARN Board of Directors <[e-mail]>
 Sender:       EARN Board of Directors <[e-mail]>
 From:         Peter Rastl <[e-mail]>
 Subject:      EARN connection to Romania

I'd like to inform you that the EARN connection to Romania (leased
line 9600 bit/s connecting ROEARN with AEARN) is operational as of
today.  The announcement of the Romanian EARN nodes will be effective
with the new tables on Dec 1.


[Moderator's Note: Readers are also referred to the special mailing
from TELECOM Digest Thursday discussing Eastern European connectivity
in more detail.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (John Pettitt)
Subject: LD Costs, ANI, Modems etc
Date: Thu, 26 Nov 92 9:54:58 PST


    I'm putting together a business plan for a new venture.  One
of features of the service we will be offering is going to involve
lots of phone lines and LD calling.  What I need to know is what sort
of price can I expect for national calling if I get a T1 (probably
several) from one of the LD companies?  We will be making one to five
minute calls at close to 100% duty cycle on as many as 100 lines once
this thing starts rolling.  Numbers would be useful for fixed cost and
cost per minute (with billing increment). Is is sensible to use the
same cost numbers 800 service inbound or do they charge on a different
basis for this?

Second, does anybody know of a modem `channel bank' that will give me
ANI `in band' with the modem data from an 800 service.  I would like
the caller number to appear in the form "CONNECT 9600 from 415 967
8682" or some such.  If this is not possible then I can live without
it. (N.B.  Caller ID wont do it because A) You can't get it in CA and
B) until everybody gets SS7 it does not work nationally).

Thanks in advance.


John Pettitt    Mail: [e-mail]
Voice: +1 415 967 UNIX   Fax: [phone]

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

Date: Thu, 26 Nov 92 09:21:57 -0500
From: [e-mail] (George Goble)
Subject: Re: Two Cellular Phones on the Same Number


Pat, I know this goes against everything said so far, and the current
"fraud detection" schemes, but some GTE Mobilnet Agents in Indiana are
talking about offering the service in December.

I talked to a couple of engineers I know at the switch, and here is
what I came up with:

1) GTE Mobilnet Indianapolis just cut over to ATT switches/cell sites
for Indy, Lafayette, and of much of the rest of the state.  (The
switch runs UNIX :).  They had been using Motorola equipment, which
was mostly assembly language.

2) They have more software capabilities now.

3) The new switch has the software capability of having multiple ESNs
(you have to register them) of being associated with one MIN (phone
number).  This doesn't interfere with fraud detection, since the ESNs
are pre registered.  Fraud detection has now speeded up to where it
can be done during call setup, and the call is dumped before it is
connected on bad ESNs.  Older switches allowed ONE call to make it out
before red flagging the ESN/MIN as bandit.

I asked what happens when both phones are on and an inbound call comes
in, and "which one rings?".  I was told the one which responded first
would "ring", and the other call [phone] would be dropped.  This was
not stated, but this may mean they will BOTH RING, and the first one
to answer would get the call, and the other one would drop.  [It would
obviously not be a "party line" with multiple portables answering].

Also, they stated, that it might not be limited to just two phones,
but maybe three or four may be possible, for office "work groups"
which have a person "on call" (three or four phones), and any one of
them can take the call.

Also [two phone case], I asked them if one tried to call the "other"
phone, and they thought it would work OK, since the switch would know
YOUR ESN was originating the call, and would ring the "other" ESN.

Lots of my friends, and I am sure on TELECOM Digest have wanted this
feature (spare phone in the car for emergency use only, but don't want
to pay for another full blown account).  I don't even want to think of
the ramifications of all this when roaming (follow me roaming?) happens.
I bet some switches get mighty confused.


ghg

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

From: [e-mail] (Kevin J. Barth)
Subject: Re: LAN Capable Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf Info
Organization: Workstations at Maryland, University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 03:05:08 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> Gene Cartier <cartierg@
sra.com> writes:

> In order to comply with the new Disabilities Act we are looking for a
> Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) that is LAN capable. They

> If no products exist then any suggestions on how to "tweak" existing
> products to gain the same capability will be appreciated.

TDDs, by and large, are simple terminals with no capability to
interface with anything except, in some cases, a printer.  On the
other hand, TDD-compatible modems are available from a number of
sources.  Your solution seems to be to attach such a modem to a PC,
write a driver (which would have to do code conversion, since TDDs use
Baudot code rather than ASCII) and connect the PC to your LAN.

A sample of code (in C) to handle to conversion can be downloaded as
BAUDOT.C from the HEX BBS, whose phone numbers are given below.  I
notice we're both in the DC area, so this should impose no problems.


HEX - the Handicapped Educational Exchange BBS
301-593-7033 (TDD and 300 baud ASCII
301-593-7357 (300-2400 baud, ASCII only)

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Heggen)
Subject: Re: Police Officer Impersonators Running Scams In Virginia
Date: Thu, 26 Nov 992 00:07:59 GMT


Nigel Allen <[e-mail]> writes:

> Police Officer Impersonators Running Scams In Virginia

> The scam involving accident victims has been reported throughout
> Virginia, according to State Police.  Police have received reports of
> this scam from Pennsylvania, California, Arkansas, New York and
> Missouri.  In one case, Virginia investigators traced a telephone call
> to Atlanta.

I might add that the exact same scheme has been used in Oregon
recently as well, according to a recent article in {The Oregoninan}
newspaper. In all cases, the money was wired to a Western Union office
with a code word to release it to the "proper" person.


Michael Heggen <[e-mail]>

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Hutzley)
Subject: Re: Computerized Sales Call "Locked" My Line
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 02:42:23 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Ray
Jones) writes:

> In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes,
> quoting others:

> I too had this problem several years ago in San Jose, CA.  I waited
> and left my phone number and address.  They called the next day and I
> set up an appointment -- but -- insisted that they come to my house at
> 5 PM on Friday.  That time assured that the salesman would spend at
> least two hours on the freeway.  When the salesman did show (late as
> expected), I told him I was NOT interested in his product (solar hot
> water heater) I just wanted them to get my name OFF the call list.
> You take my time -- I take yours.

Ahh yes ... one time at about 2:30am the phone rang. Fearing the worst
with older parents 600 miles away, I jumped from the bed, just to hear
"Hello, My name is Tom, I'm a computerized messaging service ..."

 ... WHAM!, I slammed the phone down. Now in retrospect, I wish I
would have stayed on the line to find out who owned TOM. The only
thing I can figure is that the boss told the intern to have the
machine start calling at 2:30, and not realizing it, told the machine
02:30, not 14:30 (like computers think). Now YOU try to go back to
sleep.!


Steve

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

From: [e-mail] (Irving_Wolfe)
Subject: Re: CPC Detection and Purpose
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Happy Man Corp., Vashon Island, WA 98070-7399
Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 03:18:53 GMT


Okay, since PAT stepped into this with more information, let me also
expand the question about CPC.

Aspect 1: What _exactly_ is going on, and how does this differ between
modern CO switches and the older ones some of us are forced to endure?
Does the service depend on the switch?

Aspect 2: More advanced phone systems allow one to set a time in
milliseconds for CPC reaction, without explaining anything about what
this means or how to decide.  I guessed that this was a way of having
the phone system dump a dead call, since CPC wouldn't carry through to
an answering machine beneath the (Panasonic 1232) phone system;
failure to dump a dead call results in the CO line being held active
at our end and we eventually get either a nobody-there when someone
answers or else the answering machine gets a message from the local
"telco" saying "your call could not be completed as dialed".

What on earth is the time referring to, and can I set it, somehow, to
eliminate the dead calls from caller hangups that we aren't letting go
of fast enough?  Or is my understanding all wrong?


[e-mail]      Happy Man Corp.  206/463-9399 x101
4410 SW Pt. Robinson Rd., Vashon Island, WA  98070-7399   fax x108

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

Date: Thu, 26 Nov 92 12:21:50 CST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Winslade)
Subject: Re: Telecom Quotations
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


In a message dated 19-NOV-92, Eric Weaver writes:

>> "Mr. Watson , come here, I want you"
>> --- Alexander Graham Bell (first telephone message)
>> (obviously didn't have a good sense of occasion ... or a scriptwriter))

> I believe the occasion was that Bell had just spilled battery acid in
> his lap, and the message sounds fairly appropriate under the circs.

However (comma) taking a trip to the real world <big snotty grin> we
would find something more along the line of this for the first
telephone call:

'Oh $#!+, *^&$%#$ Watson, come here, throw me a rag, I just spilled this
 &$%#ing acid all over the &$%#ing place.  Owww. ^&$%#.  Hurry, this
 $#!+ is eating the %^#$ out of my &*($^%$^.  ($^$#@$%^%% !!!'  ;-)  ;-)

Somehow, I think the history writers have cleaned it up just a bit.
;-) I still like the version of it that appeared in {MAD} a while
back.

Bell: Mr Watson, come here, I want you.

Phone: Boop-boo-beep  We're sorry, you have not reached a working number.

Of course, I took the liberty of adding the SIT tones.  ;-)


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

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

From: [e-mail] (DWT)
Subject: Re: Seven-Digit Repair Service Numbers
Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 01:33:59 GMT
Organization: Contributor Account at ddsw1, Chicago, Illinois  60657


[e-mail] (Robert S. Helfman) wrote in what became <telecom12.
[e-mail]> of volume 12, issue 868:

> Moral: All you children should get your seven-digit repair service
> number from 611 NOW so that you can report your home phone when you're
> away.  It would save a real hassle.

It might not be so easy.  Of the two landline providers here, Centel
freely admits in its directory that 611 translates to 708-698-9955
(and they give an 800 number as well) so that you can report a problem
with a Centel line from outside their satrapy.  On the other hand,
Illinois Bell personnel disavow any knowledge of a way to get to their
repair service other than dialing 611; they say that if you're outside
Illinois Bell's service area, you should travel into it or call
someone with a working Illinois Bell line and ask him or her to report
the problem.

On the other hand, if you're reporting a problem with a Centel line to
Centel repair but they're backed up and can't answer your call right
away, their recording while you're on hold will tell you that if
you're trying to report trouble on an Illinois Bell line, you should
call Illinois Bell repair at 312-509-2510.


David W. Tamkin   Box 59297   Northtown Station, Illinois  60659-0297
[e-mail]    CompuServe: 73720,1570    MCI Mail: 426-1818

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

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 18:44 EST
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Re: Info Wanted on SNET Rate and Service Change
Organization: Echo Beach, Toronto


[e-mail] (Seng-Poh Lee, Speedy) writes:

> I am interested in the recent rate and service change that SNET in
> Connecticut has just submitted to the CPUC.

In general, regulated companies that apply for a rate increase will
supply a copy of their application free of charge to anyone who asks
for one.  Simply contact the company's regulatory department.  As
well, the application may be available for inspection at the company's
business offices or storefront locations.

I routinely receive copies of applications to the Canadian Radio-Television
and Telecommunications Commission from Canadian telecommunications carriers.


Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario    [e-mail]

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

Date: Thu, 26 Nov 92 14:47:23 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Characters on International Phone Keypads - Compilation


In the U.S. (and Canada, too?) phone numbers were commonly expressed
as two capital letters followed by five digits (and in many earlier
cases as three capital letters followed by four digits), but this has
been replaced by ANC (all-number calling).  The number/letter mapping
I know to be on U.S. dials is "U.S. variant 1", which has no
representation for Q and Z (thus, when someone ran a telephone poll
regarding the major U.S. vice-presidential nominees in 1988 and told
callers to hit B for Bentsen or Q for Quayle, the poll failed for lack
of the letter Q).

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

Date: Thu, 26 Nov 92 14:54:42 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Roving Laptops and Automatic Phone Number Conversions


The history.of.area.splits file in the telecom archives describes the
changes made to dialing instructions because of the coming of N0X/N1X
prefixes in many areas, which is why 1+7D for long distance within 416
gave way to 1 + 416 + 7D.  An ideal which is not in universal practice
is that you should be able to dial ANY call within country code 1 as
1+NPA+7D, since the system should be smart enough to capture the
particular area codes and prefixes which signal a local call, and I
believe Washington DC and its suburbs have such a system in place now.
I don't have a list of dialing requirements for other areas, but it
doesn't take that much to know what the possible requirements are.

I got tripped up recently when I had to place a 0+ long distance call
within area 804 in Virginia; 0 + 804 + 7D failed, and I forgot that I
was calling within 804 and thus had to use 0 + 7D, which is still in
use there.

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

Date: Thu, 26 Nov 92 08:54 PST
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Telemarketing Again


Steve Forrette <[e-mail]> writes:

> So, how was this done?  Would anyone who got stuck by the Mystic
> Marketing ploy care to comment on whether the 900 charge was billed
> from one of the major IXCs, or was it from an AOS type of outfit that
> perhaps would allow the IP to submit the billing data for calls to the
> 900 number?

If memory serves, this was done by none other than good ole AT&T. It
involved a special arrangement for both the 800 and 900 service and,
of course, used dedicated trunks. At the time of the original
broohaha, you had AT&T spokespersons piously decrying such sleazy
tactics simultaneously with marketing reps pushing customers to the
new, lucrative billing scheme.

It all seems to have faded into the background now. But I vividly
remember AT&T people intoning on the media that this practice "struck
at the heart of public confidence in the toll-free 800 service." And
all along it was AT&T who was offering the scam.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #876
******************************










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Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 13:22:49 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Internet Connectivity in Eastern Europe


Richard Budd sent this along before the holiday and I thought you
might enjoy seeing it.

PAT

  Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 10:43:25 EDT
  From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
  Subject: Internet Connectivity in Eastern Europe
  Organization: CSAV UTIA

This is the article from Milan Sterba for the RIPE Connectivty Group
containing information about the state of international connectivity
in the nations of East and Central Europe.  I have edited the article
to try to make it easier for American audiences to read without taking
away the meaning Professor Sterba is trying to express.  Any comments
or corrections, please forward to me.  Professor Sterba would also
appreciate any updates or comments you may want to make.  His address,
repeated several times in the article, is <milan.sterba.vse.cs> on
Internet.  The article was not copyrighted, and can be reprinted.  Out
of courtesy to the author, please leave his name and address on the
header.

Common abbreviations: ECE=East and Central Europe
                      IP=Internet Protocol
                      RIPE=Regional Internet Protocol Orgnization (I believe)
                      EARN=European version of BITNET

                                    Richard Budd
                                    U.S.A.  <[e-mail]>
                                    C.S.F.R <[e-mail]>


draft version 5
September 1992


  An overview of East and Central European networking activities

           Milan Sterba

    <[e-mail]>


     1. Introduction

     This paper  is based  on work  of the  RIPE Connectivity  Working
Group.  It summarises the main issues of international connectivity of
East and Central European countries (ECE).  It is based on reports and
information  gathered by  network  representatives of these countries,
who have been present at the meetings or contacted on other occasions.

     Thanks are  due  to  all  those  who  helped  us  to  gather  the
information.   Some  countries  however, are  not represented in  this
report, due to lack of information.  Please contact the author if  you
have amendments or suggestions.

     This report  contains lists  of people  who are  responsible  for
international networking in each of their  countries and a map of  the
current situation in IP  networking in the those  countries.  The  map
doesn't show all existing international  lines of those countries  but
it seeks to be  complete for IP lines  and other leased lines  without
usage restrictions for the academic and research communities.

     This    report    has    been    written    by    Milan    Sterba
<[e-mail]>   and  it does  not  necessarily  reflect  the
opinions of the authors of the national reports nor those of the  RIPE
community.


     2. Present situation

     This chapter gives  as detailed  as possible  description of  the
various network activities in the East and Central European countries.
The  sections for  particular  countries  will  be subject to  regular
amendments or changes.

     Considerable progress has been  made during the  last year in  IP
connectivity of ECE countries. Czechoslovakia and  Poland have today
several  hundreds of connected hosts each and are the  most advanced
ECE  countries with respect to  IP connectivity.

     Bulgaria, Estonia and Hungary also have IP connectivity today
and have several tens of connected  hosts each. By the end of 1992 IP
connectivity will probably also reach Latvia and Lithuania through
NORDUnet and maybe also Romania and one of the CIS republics.

     In all the connected countries the initial capacity of
international lines has rapidly become insufficent and an upgrade of
existing lines and set up of reasonable backup solutions is being
sought.  Internetworking  is  rapidly  spreading  and   good  IP
connectivity   is considered as  the first  priority by  the national
academic  network organisations.

     All the countries considered have at the present time some (often
more than one) connection to international networks. Certain countries
have  only  a dial-up  e-mail  connectivity,  others  have  low or
medium speed leased lines.  The present state of international leased
lines to ECE countries is represented on the map in Appendix A.

     RIPE broadly  contributes to  this rapid  evolution by  technical
advice and by coordination efforts.


     2.1 Albania

     Curently  an  electronic  mail  connection  exists  between   the
University of Tirana and the Internet.  The gateway and relay function
resides at CNUCE, Pisa, Italy.

Contact Persons:

Maksim Raco <[e-mail]>               - University of Tirana
Francesco Gennai <[e-mail]> - CNUCE, Pisa, Italy


     2.2 Estonia

     Estonia works in close co-operation  with NORDUnet in setting  up
external IP links.   Currently  a  64  kbits/s IP  satellite  link  is
operational between Tallin and Stockholm, and between  Tartu and
Stockholm. These lines connect  the Baltic  backbone network (BaltNet)
to the rest of the Internet. Another 19.2 kbit/s IP line is operational
between Tallin and Helsinki.

     Inside Estonia IP links are currently planned between the Institute
of Cybernetics and the University of Technology in Tallin and the Tartu
University.

  Contact persons:

  Ants Work <[e-mail]>          - Institute of Cybernetics, Tallinn



     2.3 Latvia

     An international 14.4 kbit/s IP line connects the Institute of
Informatics and Computer Science of Latvian University in Riga to the
Institute of  Cybernetics in Tallin, Estonia. This line is part of the
Baltic backbone network (BaltNet). Other networks active in Latvia have
only dial-up connections (FidoNet to Tallin and Helsinki, RELCOM to
Moscow).

    Inside Latvia X25 services are available from the public X25 network
Latpak and Sprint, UUCP services are available from JET and Versia, who
are the Latvian partners of RELCOM-EUnet. FidoNet also is very active.

Contact persons:

Guntis Barzdins <[e-mail]>  - BaltNet
Ugis Berzins <[e-mail]>  - BaltNet
Sergei Rotanov <[e-mail]>  - Institute of Electronics
Sergey Dmitrijev <[e-mail]>  - JET (RELCOM Riga)

(Note from RB: Egons Bush <[e-mail]> and his father,
Harlis <[e-mail]> have been very much involved in
bringing the Internet to Latvia.  The elder Mr. Bush is advisor to the
President of the Bank of Latvia and was instrumental in putting an
IP node in that institution.)


     2.4 Lithuania

     A dial-up EUnet  connection exists between  Vilnius and  Helsinki
(Finland).  A 9.6 kbit/s X.25 link, used for X.400 electronic mail and
sponsored  by  Norwegian  Telecom, exists  between  Vilnius  and  Oslo
(Norway).

Contact persons:

Laimutis Telksnys <[e-mail]>
                                  - Institute for Mathematics, Vilnius
Algirdas Pakstas <[e-mail]>
                                  - Institute for Mathematics, Vilnius

     The Baltic states are coordinated  within the BaltNet body  which
plans to build a backbone connecting  Baltic states with NORDUnet.   A
LISTSERV mailing list exists for this purpose at
([e-mail]).



     2.5 Bulgaria

     A switched international X.25 connection connects the Bulgarian
EARN  node in Sofia to Linz  (Austria).   A  dial-up connection over
public  X.25 connects  the  Bulgarian EUnet via the  backbone node in
Varna to  the Internet  via  the  EUnet node  in Heraklion (Greece).
This connection will be converted to IP/X25 and will be the first IP
connection in Bulagaria. Coordination between both projects, resulting
in  a shared fixed IP connection,  is under study.

     Several  tens  of EUnet  sites  are now connected  over dial-up
links to the national EUnet backbone.  A public X25 service is available
to  a  limited  extent.   EARN  services  have  been  opened recently at
Sofia University  but no gateway  exists between the  two services yet.

Contact persons:

Daniel Kalchev <[e-mail]>    - EUnet backbone manager  BG,
                                      contact for BG. top level domain
Anton Velichkov <[e-mail]> - EARN president for Bulgaria
Alexander Simeonov <[e-mail]> - Center for Informatics, Sofia

     2.6 Commonwealth of Independent States.

     Dial-up connections  between  Helsinki, Finland  and  Amsterdam,
Netherlands on the one  hand, and Moscow on  the other hand  connect
the RELCOM network in Russia and a few other former USSR republics  to
the Internet. Currently the  services consist of electronic mail  and
Network News. A medium speed IP line to Amsterdam is planned in the near
future. Recently another 14.4 kbit/s IP link has been put between
Moscow and AlterNet (USA). On this link only SMTP traffic is allowed. A
4.8  kbit/s leased line between  Moscow and DESY in Hamburg, Germany,
supporting  IP, delivers  HEPnet services  to two  research institutes
in  Moscow. Low  speed links  between  Moscow  and  ESOC (Germany) and
CNES (France) serve the space physics community.  All existing IP links
to CIS have full connectivity only to the European part of  Internet.
The 9.6  kbit/s leased  line from  Moscow to  Copenhagen, Denmark which
used to connect  the  EARN node in  Moscow  to  the EARN/BITNET
network has been replaced by a dial-up link to Stockholm due to funding
problems.

     A  considerable  effort undertaken by the RELCOM networking
organization  has brought  e-mail connectivity  to  several thousands
sites all over the  former  Soviet Union.   The growth  of  the  network
was 400%  a year.  RELCOM  has been operating some IP links in
the Moscow and St. Petersburg areas and some other places (Novosibirsk,
Barnaul in Altai). Other national IP connections are expected to connect
Ukraine, Siberia, St. Petersburg, Far East and other regions in order
to set up the kernel of a nationwide IP backbone. The whole network has
some 60  regional centres,  some of  which connect  more than  500
sites.  RELCOM's international traffic is split over two dial-up lines,
one to the Finish EUnet backbone and one the central EUnet node in
Amsterdam. Both operate as gateways on  application level. The rapidly
growing volume of international mail traffic makes the need for a medium
speed IP channel to Europe urgent.  Part of the international
traffic is carried by the filtered IP line to AlterNet.

     The first EARN node started its operation in Moscow late in 1991,
but proliferation of EARN  services is still expected. An e-mail gateway
now exists between RELCOM DEMOS and SUEARN. SUEARN also provides the
international mail relay services for FREENET, a national research IP
network which interconnects some 45 institutes of the Academy of Sciences
mostly in the Moskow area with international connections to Jaroslavl
and Baku.

     The current situation has been badly affected by the split of
RELCOM into two independent entities (RELCOM RelTeam Ldt. and RELCOM
DEMOS). Each of them holds a part of CIS network users and part of
international  connectivity. While RELCOM RelTeam Ldt. has inherited
RELCOM's membership in EUnet, RELCOM DEMOS seems to position itself as a
partner of AlterNet in CIS. Negotiations are still underway to find a
cooperative  approach to national and international connectivity.


Contact persons:

Valery Bardin <[e-mail]>           - EUnet - RELCOM
Misha Popov <[e-mail]>           - EUnet - RELCOM Demos
Andrej Mendkovich <[e-mail]>   - CIS EARN director
Nickolay M.Saukh <[e-mail]>        - EUnet - RELCOM
Igor Sviridov <[e-mail]> - EUnet -
Ukraine contact.
Oleg Tabarovsky <[e-mail]>         - EUnet - RELCOM
Dima Volodin <[e-mail]>            - EUnet - RELCOM Demos



     2.7 Czechoslovakia

     A 64 kbit/s  IP link  between  Prague and  Linz  (Austria)  is
operational today.   The line is full IP carying general IP, EARN and
Czech EUnet traffic. A second link, 14.4 kbit/s between Bratislava and
Vienna is shared  between EUnet  traffic and  general IP  traffic and
IXI.

(Note from RB, The IP link out of Prague was transferred from Linz to the
University of Vienna in November, 1992.)

The upgrade of this link to 64 kbit/s is planned for the near future.
Both links connect into the upcoming national academic backbone networks
CESNET (Czech Educational and Scientific Network) and SANET (Slovak
Academic Network). Both networks are interconnected with IP links with
the aggregate capacity of 28.8 kbit/s (19.2 kbit/s IP link between Prague
and Banska Bystrica and 9.6 kbit/s Prague-Bratislava).

     Both CESNET and SANET are now setting up national backbone
infrastructures  connecting major academic towns in the country. 64
kbit/s lines are used  wherever available and considered necessary, 19.2
kbit/s on all other links. The first protocol supported is IP.  Connected
to the backbones are appearing metropolitan networks in major cities.

    The major coordinating bodies are CESNET and SANET where universities
as well as Academy of Sciences, EARN and EUnet are represented. A good
cooperation exists between both separately funded projects as well as
between ACOnet, EARN, EUnet, WIN, INRIA France and others.


Contact persons:

Jaroslav Bobovsky <[e-mail]> - SANET
Gejza Buechler <[e-mail]>  - EUnet backbone manager CS
Karol Fabian <[e-mail]> - SANET
Jan  Gruntorad  <[e-mail]> - EARN director for Czechoslovakia
                                       and CESNET coordinator
Vladimir Kassa <[e-mail]>      - SANET
Jiri Orsag <[e-mail]>            - CS NIC and EUnet Prague
Peter  Pronay  <[e-mail]>  - president of EUnet
Czechoslovakia
Pavel Rosendorf <[e-mail]>  - contact for .CS top level domain
Ivo Smejkal <[e-mail]>             - CESNET - user services
Milan Sterba <[e-mail]>   - author of this report, CESNET



     2.7 Hungary

     Hungary is connected  to EARN  by a  9.6 kbit/s  IP line  between
Budapest  and  Linz (Austria).   For the time  being the same line  is
used also for  the Internet and  EUnet connection.   It is planned  to
upgrade this  line to  64 kbit/s  in 1992.   The  High Energy  Physics
community has access to HEPnet services  via a 9.6 kbit/s leased  line
between Budapest and CERN, Geneva  (Switzerland) which is now  running
IP.

(Note from RB, I believe the Internet connection out of Budapest has
also been transferred from Linz to Vienna.  Also many Internet addresses
in Budapest originate within the <uni-wien.ac.at> domain.)

     Hungary has a good  operational public X25  network which is  the
base of  Wide  Area Networking  between small and medium sized  sites.
Currently there are about  250 X.25 access points  in the country. A
high speed national IP backbone (called HBONE) will come into production
in  1993 to provide a country wide IP connectivity and access to EBONE
services.

     In Hungary a  national program under  the title "R&D  Information
Infrastructure  Program  (IIF)"  is  responsible for the research net-
working.  The "HUNGARNET"  co-ordinates the networking  activities  of
different  user groups,  such  as  "HUNINET" (Universities  and   high
schools),  "AKANET"   (academic   research institutes),  and the  user
group of  public collections  (libraries, museums),  meanwhile part of
the funding goes through IIF.


Contact persons:

Peter Bakonyi <[e-mail]>            - President of IIF Exec Com.
Laszlo Csaba <[e-mail]>     - EARN director for Hungary
Piroska Giese <[e-mail]> - HEPnet
Nandor Horvath  <[e-mail]>       - EUnet backbone  manager,
                                            domain contact for HU
Balazs Martos <[e-mail]>          - HBONE project manager
Ferenc Telbisz <[e-mail]>      - HEPnet
Istvan Tetenyi <[e-mail]>   - EARN deputy director
Geza Turchanyi <[e-mail]>         - HUNGARNET CRIP
Laszlo Zombory <[e-mail]>          - EARN president,
                                            chairman  of HUNINET


     2.8 Poland

     The main external  connection consists of  a 64 kbit/s  satellite
link between Warsaw and Stockholm, Sweden.  The link is an IP one and
carries all Internet, EARN  and  EUnet traffic. A new 64 kbit/s IP link
is being set up between Warsaw and Vienna with the objective to establish
an Ebone Bondary System in Warsaw. A 9.6 kbit/s IP connection is in place
between  Krakow and  CERN  in Geneva, Switzerland for HEPnet services.

     Public  X.25 services have only started in 1992. Thus connections
at national level can  only be implemented on switched  or leased lines.
The country already has an infrastructure of leased lines, shared
between EARN and IP  traffic operting at speeds between 9.6-64 kbit/s.

     The Polish network is coordinated by an organization called  NASK
(National Academic  and  Research  Network) which  also  includes  the
Polish part of EARN. Realistic plans exist to substantially  extend IP
connectivity over the territory in 1992 using 64 kbit/s lines on their
national backbones wherever possible and economically viable. A National
Network  Operation and Monitoring Center has been set up in early 1992
which  operates the whole national and international infrastructure. A
system of network user training and support has also been put in
place.

Contact persons:

Daniel J.Bem <[e-mail]>        - Polish academic network(NASK)
Jerzy Gorazinski <[e-mail]>   - Polish State Committee for
                                            Scientific Research
Krzystof Heller<[e-mail]> - contact for PL domain
Tomasz Hofmokl <[e-mail]>      - EARN director for Poland
Rafal Pietrak <[e-mail]>          - IP within NASK
Jerzy Zenkiewicz <[e-mail]>   - Polish academic network(NASK)
Andrzej Zienkiewicz <[e-mail]> - Polish academic network(NASK)



     2.9 Romania

     International connectivity is now provided by a switched X25 link
to EARN in Austria.  A  9.6 kbit/s leased line is planned before the end
of 1992 between Bucharest and Linz, Austria.  This line will be able to
carry  both IP  and EARN/NJE/BSC traffic.

     Romania has poor internal networking infrastructure. A government
project  of  building  a  public  X25  network  is   under commercial
negotiations and  should start  to offer  some services  in 1993.

     In  Romania  the  emerging  networking  activities  seem  to   be
coordinated by the National Council for Informatics and the Polytechnic
Institute of Bucharest.

Contact persons:

Florin Paunescu <[e-mail]>    - National Council for Informatics
Paul Dan Cristea <[e-mail]>
        - Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest


     2.10 Slovenia

     Slovenia is  connected  over a  64  kbit/s IXI  access  point  in
Ljubljana to the IXI  backbone.  Over this  connection an IP link  via
NIKHEF, Amsterdam  (Netherlands) provides  Internet connectivity.    A
PSDN X25  connection connects  the  main EUnet  node in  Ljubljana  to
EUnet.  Another IXI access point, also located in Ljubljana,  connects
Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina to IXI over the JUPAK PPSDN.

      Currently Slovenia  have achieved a well spread-out branching
of their national networks due to the existence of a wide spread public
X.25 network. There exists as well a developed X.400 service.

In Slovenia the Academic and  Research Network of Slovenia (ARNES)
is coordinating network activities. In Croatia the coordinating
organization is CARNet and both organizations cooperate.

Contact persons:

Leon Mlakar <[e-mail]>          - EUnet backbone manager YU
Borka Jerman-Blazic <[e-mail]>
Marko  Bonac  <[e-mail]>     - ARNES Executive Director
Denis Trcek <[e-mail]>       - ARNES

     2.11 Serbia and Montenegro

     Serbia has had a 9.6 kbit/s leased line between Beograd and Linz
to carry EARN traffic.  Currently this line is cut after a decision by
the Austrian government to cooperate with the UN embargo on Yugoslavia.

Contact persons:

Jagos Puric <[e-mail]>      - EARN director for YU

(Note from RB: Because of those same UN sanctions and the US Government's
support of those sanctions, it is illegal under federal law to have
commercial contacts with Yugoslavia.)



     2.12 Macedonia

     The University of Skopje, Macedonia recently was made the lead
organization for the country by the Ministry for Science and Technology
for inaugurating networking activities in the country.  They joined CEED
and are planning soon an IP connection.

      Currently Macedonia  has achieved  a good  degree of capillarity
of their national network (DECNET) due to the existence of the public
X.25 network, which is a part of JUPAK PPSDN.

Contact persons:

Marjan Gusev <[e-mail]> or <[e-mail]>
           - Faculty for Natural Sciences, Gazibaba, Skopje
Aspazija Hadzisce <[e-mail]>
    - Ministery for Science and Technology, Skopje


     3. Evolution

     All the ECE countries are very interested in European as well  as
world  wide  IP connectivity.   In Czechoslovakia, Hungary and  Poland
there has been rapid growth of connected IP networks and hosts in  the
academic  community.    Their  existing  international  leased   lines
infrastructure is now shared by EARN, EUnet and raw IP services.  Linz
University and ACONET  in  Austria  have become important concentrating
points for networking in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia,  Hungary as well as
Poland and Romania.

     The  financial  resources  dedicated   to  networking  in   these
countries are limited.  The sharing of the existing national and
international leased lines between EARN, EUnet and other IP traffic as
well as between academic and starting commercial traffic is thus a very
important issue. Lightweight but robust IP gateway solutions (over
dial-up lines, leased serial lines or X25 networks) are of great concern
in this respect  and are continuously studied and further developed
(e.g. COPERNICUS).

     By the end of this  year the Budapest-ACONET  link at least will
be operating at 64  kbit/s.  It is probable that new  IP lines will be
operational at this  time (Bratislava-Vienna, Moscow-Amsterdam).

     At the same time the national infrastructure of the countries will
continue to evolve.  We can expect an increase in national coverage in
countries with working public X25  networks and in Czechoslovakia and
Poland as well as strong increase in IP connectivity within the CIS.


     4. International Initiatives

     Several international support initiatives  have been launched  in
the  past  by  different  bodies  to  improve  international   network
connectivity  of  the  Central and  Eastern European countries.   The
following list presents some of them :

     The Ebone 92 consortium has shown itself very supportive during
1992 by  allowing traffic of ECE countries to pass freely over the Ebone
and letting so the ECE countries traffic cross Europe. This situation
changes in 1993 when Ebone will adopt a more formal financial model.

     RIPE and the RIPE NCC have widely  contributed to the rapid
integration of new ECE networks into the global Internet. RIPE has acted
to initiate a common coordination effort of academic networking
organizations in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.  The first
meeting to coordinate its initiatives was held in February, 1992 in
Prague with successful cooperation since then, continued at the 3rd Joint
European Networking Conference in Innsbruck, where RARE has proposed to
be the coordinator of ECE integration into European Academic
networking, formalized in Prague in August, 1992. [e-mail] is now
the discussion group and has the mailing list on common ECE networking
issues.

     Also both EARN and EUnet have widely contributed to the successful
start of international networking in ECE countries, by placing the first
network nodes in these countries, supporting the activity of these nodes
both financially and through extensive know-how transfer.

     Despite this expressed willingness to cooperate (RARE, RIPE, EARN,
EUnet etc.) some support efforts are still not coordinated, which
sometimes leads to the waste of limited resources.  An EC SHARE project
dedicated  to extend  the former COSINE  IXI project to  Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and  Romania has started this year.
Medium speed 64 kbit/s lines have been ordered between
Amsterdam-Prague-Budapest-Bern and between Aarhus-Warsaw-Bern. These
lines, initially financed by the EC, should provide connectivity from ECE
countries to the planned European Multiprotocol Backbone (EMPB).  It
should also provide access points to X.25 as well as IP services.
Unfortunately the coordination with RIPE and Ebone as well as with the
academic networking organizations in the countries involved has to date
experienced poor results in eliminating redundancy in the use of scarce
infrastructural resources in ECE countries.

     Austria is the major relay point between ECE countries and Western
Europe (and beyond).  The Austrian  government is very supportive and
either covers fully or contributes in a significant manner to the costs
of international connections to these countries.  In February 1992 ACONET
has made an even greater proposal, offering  these countries (Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary  and  Poland)  double  connectivity to both
Vienna and  Linz. Each of these  countries should  have one  link to
both places,  thus permitting line backup.   The Vienna-CERN line has
been upgraded in October 1992 to 256 kbit/s and the Linz-CERN line (64
kbit/s) is being replaced by a Linz-Amsterdam line (128 kbit/s) in order
to accomodate traffic increase from these countries and offer  a real
backed-up connectivity to Ebone. The ACONET proposal for Ebone 93 to
place  an EBS to Austria seems well justified from the point of view of
the connectivity of ECE countries.

     CERN plays also an important role  in the IP connectivity of  the
new countries.  It houses actually  a 9.6 kbit/s line from Krakow  and
another HEPnet  9.6  kbit/s  line  from Budapest.    Due  to  lack  of
resources CERN prefers not to house a lot of low rate lines from every
country but rather to house  a higher rate line concentrating  traffic
from several countries.  This is  in fact in perfect conformance  with
the ACONET proposal.

     The German DFN network has launched several regional  initiatives
to  connect  sites   in  geographical  proximity   of  Germany   (e.g.
Dreilaendereck  project connecting Liberec in Czechoslovakia,  Wroclaw
in Poland and Zittau in Germany  using leased links based on X25  with
further connectivity to DFN). DFN also provides X400/SMTP gateway for
Slovenia.

     The Italian government has financed in 1990 and 1992  successfull
network workshops  (NetSchool) to  which  about 50 network specialists
from  ECE  countries  have  attended.   A  second extended edition  of
NetSchool has taken place in April 1992  with participation of network
specialists  from  RIPE  and  attendees from ECE countries, some South
American, Asian and African countries.

     A similar event has been organized by NORDUnet for network  users
and operators from the Baltic states.

     The French government has expressed  its willingness to help  the
integration  of new  countries to the world of academic networking  by
launching in  cooperation with  INRIA  a project  called  Copernicus,
which aims to  improve network connectivity  of several Eastern
European Countries.  One of the first results of this project has been
the cooperation on design and implementation  of the academic IP
backbone CESNET-SANET (Prague - Brno - Bratislava  ... Banska Bystrica
- Kosice) in Czechoslovakia.  The project consists of transfer of
network management and administration know-how, common development of
tools and some software and hardware donations.   Similar activity is
starting now with Romania.

     IBM  is  also  present  in  these  countries  with  its  academic
initiative, in   which   IBM   mainframes   have   been   offered   to
Czechoslovakia, Hungary  and Poland.    IBM and  EASInet act  also  as
sponsors  for  the  T1  US   link  usage  for  academic  networks   in
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia.

     Strong support for the integration of ECE countires into the global
network also comes from the United States.  The National Science
Foundation has always been very supportive to academic networks in ECE
countries by promptly helping them to solve global connectivity problems.
Many projects aiming at improving local, national, and international
infrastructure, know-how transfer and mission-oriented network
applications are now in progress.

(Note from RB: Steven Goldstein <[e-mail]> Internet or <goldstei
@nsf> BITNET, is the contact at NSF.  He contributes to many of the East
European discussion groups.)

     The assistance of countries  with developed networking  shouldn't
be uniquely oriented to basic network connectivity.  A lot of work needs
to be done  in the  ECE countries to  offer and  improve higher  level
network services like e-mail, teleconferencing, archive services,
online  databases  and  library catalogues  etc.,  as well  as  in
basic network concepts, user  information services  and advanced
networking know-how transfer.  That's why new EC projects proposals are
now  oriented not only on infrastructure but also on higher level
services (e-mail, electronic directory, user information and training.)
The lack of funds puts ECE countries at a disadvantage and the exchange
rates with the West still make it difficult for ECE network experts to
attend international networking exhibitions.


     5. Technical issues

     As already mentioned,  distributing international network  access
over the  local  territory  is  a  major  problem  for  the  countries
considered.  While it is relatively easy  and cheap to set up a  local
TCP/IP network, it is more  difficult to  connect it  to the  national
access point.  Generic  router solutions are  rather expensive on  one
side and not  completely free of  administrative exportation  problems
for all countries involved.

     The solution to these problems are software routers based on PC's
or workstations and public domain or easily available software.

     A low cost capillarity of  networks being of great importance  to
ECE countries, good  dial-up IP solutions of both industrial and public
domains, which  are  under  study  and  evaluation  in  EUnet,   RIPE,
Copernique, NetSchool and others, are of great interest as well as low
cost IP solutions on synchronous lines (X25 or PPP) and low cost
solutions for network monitoring and management.

    The technical speed limitations for international leased lines seem
now to become less restrictive than in the past. For Czechoslovakia,
Hungary and Poland, international links of up to 2 MBits/s are now
feasible.

    With basic connectivity problems for the most part overcome,
network services are now becomming major issues in the most advanced ECE
countries.  PC's remain the most spread technical basis, thus network
solutions based on platforms (routers, mail, news, archive and
information servers and clients) based on either UNIX or MS DOS are of
major concern today.


     6. Organizational issues

     The  starting  period  in   international  networking  is   often
characterized by a fuzziness in the organizational structure  together
with a lack  of information about  the people actually responsible and
working  in  the  area.    The  situation  is  nearly  stabilized   in
Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia, where national
academic networking groups  have  been  founded   and  are coordinated
with   EARN/EUnet activities.  This  coordinated  effort  tends  to
build  nation  wide multiprotocol academic network infrastructures.  A
similar effort  is underway  in  Bulgaria  (UNIKOM,  EARN and  EUnet
Bulgaria). These countries seem also to have found a stabilized position
in international network organizations (EARN, EUnet, RARE, RIPE). The
situation is more complicated in other countries where international
contacts are for various reasons much more scarce.

======================================================================
Prague School of Economics  e-mail : [e-mail]
Computing Center   tel : [phone]
nam. W. Churchilla 4   home: [phone]
130 67 Praha 3    fax : [phone]
Czechoslovakia
======================================================================










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Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1992 23:29:18 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #877

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 29 Nov 92 23:29:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 877

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Good News From the ITU (Carl Malamud via Roger Fajman)
    911 and Cellular Phones (Karl Bunch)
    Ground Loops With Custom Ringing Switches (Bill Campbell)
    Whatever Happened to Britain's Telegraph Poles? (Nigel Allen)
    Shomer-Tec Phone Gadgets (Subversive!!) (Rob Boudrie)
    DigiBoard PC/8e Fails Under Xenix (Dick Flanagan)
    Re: CPC Signals ([e-mail])
    Re: Seven Digit Billing/Repair Service Numbers (Robert S. Helfman)
    Re: Seven Digit Billing/Repair Service Numbers (Joe Bergstein)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Roger Fajman <[e-mail]>
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1992  23:25:52 EST
Subject: Good News From the ITU


[Moderator's Note: This was forwarded to us by Roger.  PAT]

 From: Carl Malamud <[e-mail]>
 To: [e-mail]
 Subject: Good news from the ITU



                                  ITU PRESS RELEASE/92-23
                                          6 November 1992


   WIDE RANGE OF ITU* DOCUMENTS NOW AVAILABLE ON-LINE:
  ITU STANDARDS TO BECOME ELECTRONICALLY ACCESSIBLE IN
                       EARLY 93

An electronic document distribution service providing remote access to
ITU documents - TELEDOC - became operational last week.

Aimed at providing fast and timely access to ITU information to the
world telecommunication and networking community, TELEDOC is a
database containing at present:

   * CCITT and CCIR administrative documents
   * lists of contributions (substantive input/proposals)
     to CCITT and CCIR study groups
   * lists of CCITT reports and Recommendations
     (i.e. standards)
   * summaries of CCITT new or revised Recommendations
   * CCITT and CCIR meeting schedules and other
     information concerning Study Groups structures
     and activities.

As from early next year, the full texts of all new and revised CCITT
Recommendations (i.e.  all standards approved after the publication of
the Blue Book in 1988) will also be available from TELEDOC. In line
with ITU publications policies, it is envisaged to expand TELEDOC
information base according to identified needs and available
resources.

On TELEDOC's first day of operation, ITU Secretary- General Pekka
Tarjanne stated: "The impact of the changing telecommunications
environment makes it imperative that the ITU develop new approaches to
the standardization process and find new ways to improve the
efficiency of our work, new ways to disseminate the output of our work
throughout the world.  The implementation of TELEDOC", he said, "is
undoubtedly a right step in this direction. Our ultimate goal is to
make available on-line an entire library of ITU documents for a broad
and transparent information exchange with all categories of interested
users".

TELEDOC is based on a X.400 document server which processes requests
sent in by electronic mail.  The TELEDOC Auto-Answering Mailbox
accepts messages from the two most widely used E-mail systems: X.400
and Internet.  Users without direct access to X.400 or Internet mail
can use gateway services provided by major service providers (e.g. MCI
or Compuserve). The electronic mail address of TELEDOC Auto-Answering
Mailbox (TAM) is:

                 X. 400   S=teledoc
                          P=itu
                          A=arcom
                          C=ch

                Internet  [e-mail]

Document formats which are planned to be made available include ASCII,
Microsoft RTF, Word for Windows, Postcript and CCITT ODA/ODIF.

TELEDOC will be available on request, on a trial period of one year,
at no access cost.

For more information or to obtain a copy of the user's guide, please
contact:

Mr. Robert Shaw              Miss Antoinette Bautista
TELEDOC Project Coordinator  EDH - CCITT
Information Services         CCITT Secretariat
Department                   International  Telecommunication
International                Union
Telecommunication Union      Place des Nations
Place des Nations            1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
                             TEL: [phone]
TEL: [phone]    FAX: [phone]
FAX: [phone]         X.400:             G=antoinette;
X.400: G=robert; S=shaw;     S=bautista;   A=arcom;    P=itu;
A=arcom; P=itu; C=ch         C=ch
Internet: [e-mail]  Internet: [e-mail]

* The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was founded in 1865
and as such is the oldest inter- governmental organization.  In 1947,
it became a specialized agency of the United Nations and has a
membership of 174 countries (4 November 1992). It is the international
organization responsible for the regulation and planning of
telecommunications worldwide, for the establishment of equipment and
systems operating standards, for the coordination and dissemination of
information required for the planning and operation of
telecommunications services and within the United Nations system for
the promotion of and contribution to the development of
telecommunications and the related infrastructures.

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

Date: 29 Nov 1992 16:12:46 +0000 (GMT)
From: [e-mail] (Karl Bunch)
Subject: 911 and Cellular Phones
Organization: Think Tank Software, Norwalk, CA


Can anyone tell me why the 911 systems can not detect at least a
approximate location of a cellular caller?

My wife and I were involved in an incident were somebody threw
"something" (not sure what but it really made a BANG when it hit) at
our car.  We called 911 and had to (of cource) explain our heading
etc. etc.

That might be a tad hard, but, what about the person on the side of
the road that can just barley dial after being SHOT?  Is guess they
are out of luck?

It seems at least the "servicing" cell site could be transmitted so
the police could at guess.  With a little help from a "neighboring"
cell cite couldn't they calculate a postion?

Also, has anyone thought about the "potential" for 911 abuse on a cell
phone?  With no accountability a person could make all sorts of false
reports.


Thanks,


Karl Bunch            UUCP: ..!uunet!cerritos.edu!ttank!karl
Think Tank Software   INTERNET: [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Bill Campbell)
Subject: Ground Loops with Custom Ringing Switches
Organization: Celestial Software, Mercer Island, WA
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1992 21:22:38 GMT


The other day I used one of my computer lines for an outgoing voice
call and noticed that the line was pretty noisy.  This line has three
custom ringing numbers with a Telebit WorldBlazer, Trailblazer+, and
Everex 24/96D fax modem on the first three positions.  The noise would
go away if I unplugged the switch entirely from the line (Lynx
RingDirector) or if I unplugged one of the devices, but not always the
same one :-).

I called Lynx for support and they said that this was caused by ground
loops (I had forgotten about this since my early stereo days).  He
recommended several possiblities including repositioning the devices
so they weren't piled on top of each other, but the one that worked
was to only connect the center two wires on the modular connectors
minimizing the possiblities for interference.  I just pulled the
outside two contacts out of RJ-11 connectors and crimped them on the
three cables to the modems and the problem went away (not to see if my
transfer rates get better).


Bill
INTERNET:  [e-mail]   Bill Campbell; Celestial Software
UUCP:   ...!thebes!camco!bill   6641 East Mercer Way
             uunet!camco!bill   Mercer Island, WA 98040; [phone]

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

From: Nigel Allen <[e-mail]>
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1992 19:00:00 -0500
Subject: Whatever Happened to Britain's Telegraph Poles?
Organization: Echo Beach


Whatever happened to Britain's telegraph poles?

In Canada, most railway lines have a line of telegraph poles
paralleling the railway. You can tell that the poles were built to
handle more lines than the few strands they now support.  (Remember
that a lot of business messages were once sent as telegrams, and both
Canadian National and Canadian Pacific had significant telegraph
departments, which later offered telex and other telecommunications
services.)

However, most railway and commercial telecommunications traffic was
moved off the "open wire" plant a long time ago, first to microwave
and now in some cases to fiber optics cables that parallel the railway
lines.

When I visited Britain several months ago, I travelled by train a lot,
and realized that something was different: no telegraph poles, or at
least none that I noticed. Presumably the cabling that British
Railways uses for signalling and its internal telecommunications
traffic is buried or lies at the side of the tracks, rather than being
suspended from telegraph poles. (Of course, the telegraph system in
Britain was run by the post office until it was privatized as British
Telecom, and I think survives only as one telegraph office in Coventry
that you can reach by dialling 190 from anywhere in the United
Kingdom.  I don't know whether the British post office ever ran its
cables parallel to railway lines.)


Canada Remote Systems   Toronto, Ontario
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044

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

From: Rob Boudrie <[e-mail]>
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 92 19:31:12 -0500
Subject: Shomer-Tec Phone Gadgets (Subversive!!)


A catalog a local law enforcement officer loaned me includes several
neat telecom toys, one of which is a "hold invader".  This $99 gadget
puts the other party on "phantom hold" where he thinks he's on hold
(the sound going "hold dead" which I believe is different from what
the other party would hear if the mouthpiece were merely
disconnected).  The idea is that the line remains open, so that the
other party will (hopefully) "freely converse with his associate"
during such things as price negotiations, thinking he is "on hold" and
cannot be heard.

My questions to the net:

  (a)  Does anyone have schematics for such a gadget?

  (b)  Any comments on legality or ethics also welcome  [ comments
       on ethics of using this against salesmen should be difurcated
       into "car" and "other" ].

As a word of warning, this catalog also contains:

  "Answering machine intruder" - "This machine can access any answering
  machine which uses a 1, 2 or 3 digit security code"

  "Super Converter" - "The super converted gives you scanner access to the
   good stuff" inclusing cellular telephone calls"  (it warns that
  eavesdropping on cellular calls iis generally illegal and recommends
  consulting an attorney first)

  "Cellular Telephone Modification Handbook" - $79

  "Telemonitor 2000"  - remote bugging via phone line

  "Telepmonitor 2001" - similar to above

  "The X phone" - doubles as phone and monitoring device.  Will
  call you when it hears activity.

  Also - "Telephone Budgsmasher", "voice Safe Telephone SCrambler",
  "Audio Jammer", "Transmitter Detector".

This company requires law enforcement credentials only for a few items
(locksmithing supplies, tear gas grenades, etc.).  All of the above is
for sale to anyone with the $$.

In case the Moderator will let such "dangerous, subservice" information
on the net the company is Shomer-Tec at [phone].


rob b.

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

From: [e-mail] (Dick Flanagan)
Subject: DigiBoard PC/8e Fails Under Xenix
Date: 29 Nov 92 20:56:01 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Dick Flanagan)


I have a DigiBoard PC/8e serial card that is not recognized by
DigiBoard's SCO/Xenix driver.  To make the problem more confus- ing,
if I boot the system from a DOS diskette, the board passes all of
DigiBoard's own DOS-based diagnostics.  When booting Xenix, however, I
receive the following message:

***WARNING*** No memory at 00E00000 for PC/Xe at port 00000320, check
switch settings.

Needless to say, all switch settings have been checked as well as many
alternate settings tried, all with the same results.  A second
identical board was installed, but, again, with the same results.  I
have contacted DigiBoard Customer Support ("Ron") and they have
written it off as a "compatibility problem."  8-|

The system is a 386/25 with OMTI chipset, AMI BIOS and 8-MB of memory.
An ancient True Blue monochrome display controller (with built-in
parallel port), two standard serial ports and ACB 2320 ESDI disk
controller round out the system.  I am using SCO Xenix/386 2.3.3 (with
xnx296a/UFN update) and DigiBoard's V4.7.4 SCO driver.

I am at a complete loss.  The system runs DOS and Xenix without any
problems.  The board passes DOS diagnostics, but their own Xenix
driver can't work with it.  I've tried dual-ported memory addresses
both above and below 1-MB and with any number of different I/O port
addresses, all to no avail.

I =really= need this board to work.  DigiBoard can't help.  Can
someone?!?


Dick Flanagan    [e-mail]   Voice/FAX:  [phone]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: CPC Signals
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 92 16:28:14 CST


> [Moderator's Note: CPC = Called Party Control. This means the called
> party detirmines when the connection is broken by hanging up the
> phone. In older systems the connection would stay up at least awhile
> longer if the calling party did not disconnect. Your answering machine
> can be set so it will disconnect immediatly when there is a loss of
> the battery on the line (which is caused when calling party hangs up.)
> The reason you might not want to use this feature is because call
> waiting causes the same reaction from your answering machine which
> will disconnect when it senses the battery is gone, which is what
> happens for just a second when you get a call waiting tone.

I don't think CWI (Call Waiting) generates a battery interruption on
fully digital switches (#5ESS (tm) and the like) where the DC voltages
and the analog audio stuff is totally separate.  (At least it didn't
trip up my answering machine when I was on a digital switch).

Reference another post about how to use CPC -- The telco generates a
CPC signal when the far end (i.e. who ever you are calling or whoever
called you) hangs up so your equipment (answering machine, PBX, etc.)
can detect this.  Perhaps someone knows how long the spec says a CPC
should be.


Brett  ([e-mail])

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

From: [e-mail] (Robert S. Helfman)
Subject: Re: Seven Digit Billing/Repair Service Numbers
Date: 29 Nov 1992 22:51:39 GMT
Organization: The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail].
unc.edu writes:

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

>> I called AT&T LD information for L.A. and asked for a seven-digit
>> number for repair service (giving them my home prefix). It turned out
>> that the number they gave me is for a PacBell center in San Diego, ...
>> this happens again.

>> Moral: All you children should get your seven-digit repair service
>> number from 611 NOW so that you can report your home phone when you're
>> away.  It would save a real hassle.

> Getting a seven-digit phone number for repair service or for any local
> phone company function (e.g. business office, customer complaint
> bureau) is not necessarily going to enable you to reach them.

> This is because at least some of the phone companies have designated
> special prefixes, for exclusive use by the phone company, which
> provide for toll-free access from within their service area.  Outside
> of their service areas, these special prefixes are absolutely,
> positively, not dialable.

That IS true for SPECIAL prefixes, but the number I have for my CO is
in fact a 290- prefix and my home numbers are both 291-, served out of
a switchgear building I can see about a mile away. And I know that
number works outside my area, because I've called it from area code
310 (the new 'other'-side-of-LA area) where my office is located.

Your comment concerning the business office numbers and such is
correct, but my CO repair guys have even left their number on my
answering machine.  It's usable and they intend for customers to use
it. It's actually a big plus to call them direct, because dialing 611
normally connects me with their center in San Diego - where, although
they have the ability to test my line remotely, they don't know shit
about the local cable layout.  When I call the 290- number, I can
leave messages for the individual repair guys. For example, when one
of their good-old-boy techs found I had an inside-wiring short, I sent
him on his way so I could isolate it myself. When it turned out to be
TWO exterior phone jacks that had BOTH become a water-saturated mass
of spider egg-sacks after a particularly heavy rain, it was so strange
I just had to call him back to tell him about it.

One of my lines regularly shorts out when the underground vault in the
street floods. It had happened often enough that when I called the CO,
I was SURE that was the problem. This ONE time it was an inside
problem.

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

From: [e-mail] (Joe Bergstein)
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1992 00:08:16 -0500
Subject: Re: Seven Digit Billing/Repair Service Numbers


In msg. on Wed. Nov. 25, Eli.Mantel writes:

> Getting a seven-digit phone number for repair service or for any
> local phone company function (e.g. business office, customer complaint
> burea is not necessarily going to enable you to reach them.

> This is because at least some of the phone companies have
> designated special prefixes, for exclusive use by the phone company, which
> provide for toll-free access from within their service area.
> Outside of their service areas, these special prefixes are absolutely,
> positively, not dialable.  Worse (in my experience), when you
> call long distance directory assistance, these numbers come up on the
> operator's screen as if they were perfectly valid numbers, and
> the operator may or may not be smart enough to advise you of this
> fact.

I often had this problem attempting to reach Pacific Bell Business
offices from out of state.  As Telecom. Mgr. for a nationwide company
I had to contact Pac Bell business offices regarding billing errors
and service orders etc. for firm's office in CA.  Well the invoices
from PacBell indicate to call the business office, one should dial
811-XXXX, which are dialable (as indicated in Eli.Mantel's) message
only from the service area.

When calling LD Directory Assistance, I was told one must ask for the
"10 digit DDD cross reference" number for the 811-XXXX number to reach
the business office from out of state.

I noted that it wouldn't be very hard for PacBell's programmers to
modify the billing programs so that on bills which had an out of state
zipcode, that the "10 digit DDD" number be listed instead of the
811-xxxx number.  On several occasions, I asked the CSR to submit a
request to PacBell's MIS department, but of course nothing ever
happened.

BTW, the best billing and business office contact listings were, I
believe, on US West invoices which provided an 800 number to contact
business office from out of state.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #877
******************************










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Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1992 00:13:59 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #878

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 30 Nov 92 00:14:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 878

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal? (Jack Winslade)
    Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal? (Richard Nash)
    Re: Email to Prodigy (Steve Steinberg)
    Re: Distinctive Ringing Devices (John R. Levine)
    Re: AT&T Smart Phone 2100 (Macy Hallock)
    Re: Conference Calls (John R. Levine)
    Re: ATT Boing: What is it? (Barton F. Bruce)
    Re: Advice Needed on Telephone Security Systems (Mike Riddle)
    Re: Internet Connectivity in Eastern Europe (Nickolay Saukh)
    Re: Telemarketing Again (Richard Nash)
    Re: Phone Harrassment (Carl Moore)
    Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left? (John R. Levine)
    Re: Cellular One TV Commercial (Hey, Mom, That's Me!) (Dave Levenson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 29 Nov 92 01:49:06 CST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Winslade)
Subject: Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal?
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


In a message dated 23-NOV-92, David.G.Lewis writes:

> While trying to make a credit card call to a persistently busy number
> recently, after typing in the card number for the n-teenth time, I
> wondered if SS7 protocol would allow the calling exchange to "look
> ahead" at the called number and inquire if it is (at that instant)
> busy, before prompting me for the card number.

This reminds me of a strange quirk I noticed years ago on 'dial tone
first' coin phones connected to the early #1 ESS <tm> offices.

Normally, when dialing a local number without depositing any coins, a
recording 'The call you have made requires a 10 cent deposit ...'
would be returned.  (This also shows you how long ago this was.)

However, when dialing a BUSY number within the same ESS switch as the
coin phone, a busy signal would be returned immediately instead of the
intercept recording.  I remember using this a couple of times when
trying to get through to a persistently busy number.  When the busy
condition cleared, the intercept was presented, and I would simply
deposit the dime and redial.


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

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

Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1992 09:53:35 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Richard Nash)
Subject: Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal?


Laird P. Broadfield  writes:

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

>> Not exactly correct.  SS7 TCAP supports a "query" message.  No
>> connection attempt is needed; one switch sends a TCAP query to the
>> other switch asking for line status.  This is how the (pick your
>> favorite name) Auto Recall service works (call someone, get a busy
>> signal, enter a *XX feature code, get a special ring when the far end
>> goes idle, pick up the phone and automatically place the recall).

> Will there be a way (legitimately) for an end user (perhaps an ISDN
> user?) to issue SS7 messages?  For example, could I take my ISDN card
> and send these "query" messages and receive the responses?

SS7 is used to operate the telephone network.  Only through indirect
user interaction with some service feature will you generate these
messages.  After all, one motivation for the conversion to SS7 was to
remove the possiblity of blue-boxing prevalent in the MF days.  ISDN
protocols are network access protocols used to connect the user to the
network. Quite possibly ISDN protocols contain a mechanisim to "pass"
the far end line status back to the terminal equipment?


Richard Nash              Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
UUCP:                     [e-mail]
Amatuer Radio Packet:     [e-mail]
VE6BON @ VE6MC.AB.CAN.NA  ve6bon.ampr.ab.ca [192.75.200.15]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Steinberg)
Subject: Re: Email to Prodigy
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1992 16:49:55 GMT
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (David
Baird) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail].
> athabascau.ca (Louis Schmittroth) writes:

>> I want to find out if Prodigy offers service to Alberta, and if so is
>> there a email address of an administrative unit of Prodigy where I can
>> find out what the rates are?

> The last I knew the people who ran Prodigy were not hooked into any
> other network, nor were they going to be in the future. It seems that
> either one was on Prodigy to communicate with a Prodigy user, or one
> did not communicate with the Prodigy user using Prodigy's service. Or
> to put it another way, there are no gateways between Prodigy and
> Compu$erve or the InterNet.

> Give Prodigy a call and complain about this situation. It is one of
> two primary reasons why I never signed on to Prodigy.

Prodigy _is_ planning an Internet gateway that should be available by
the end of the year.  Evidently they will demand $20/mo. for the
priviledge of e-mail. I have no idea of what their Internet address
is now. Did you try [e-mail]? Maybe info or admin or
postmaster??


=== Steve Steinberg   ==  [e-mail]  == {cmcl2,apple}!panix!ss ===

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

Subject: Re: Distinctive Ringing Devices
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 29 Nov 92 21:56:07 EST (Sun)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


> A while back someone graciously volunteered to collect data on the
> various "distinctive ringing" or "Ident-a-ring" boxes.

It was me.  Unfortunately, nobody sent me any reports at all.  I'd
still be happy to collect a summary.

So let me state clearly: if you have a "ring leader", a box that
listens to a distinctive ring and connects one of several devices,
please drop me a note and let me know what it's called, how much it
cost, and what you think of it.

I'm also trying to collect all the cockamamie names the telcos use for
the service.  NYNEX calls it RingMate, Bell Atlantic calls it
IdentaRing, the others remain a mystery to me.


Regards,

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

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

Date: Sun, 29 Nov 92 11:08 EST
From: fmsys![e-mail] (Macy Hallock)
Subject: Re: AT&T Smart Phone 2100
Organization: F M Systems, Inc.  Medina, Ohio  USA


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

> What's the status of the Smart Phone 2100?  Is it available anywhere?
> Have any of you used it?  With special services or standalone?

Huntington Bank in Columbus Ohio is using these in field trial of the
technology at this time.  Several public demonstrations have been held
and I'm told that there are quite a few units being used in the field
now.

The administrator of the trial is net.connected (his name escapes me,
its at the office). He presented the technology and program in a
recent Ohio State Univerisity CAST roundtable (which I managed to
miss).


Macy Hallock  +1.216.723.3000  Fax [phone]  [e-mail]
F M Systems, Inc.  150 Highland Drive  Medina, OH USA     [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: Conference Calls
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 29 Nov 92 22:23:49 EST (Sun)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


> [AT&T charges] $10.00/party plus $.49/minute/party for each call.

That's pretty high.  AT&T's Alliance system charges 25
cents/min/person plus toll charges from the conference center plus a
small setup charge, a dollar or so.  Call 0-700-456-1000 from a tone
phone to use it, voice menus will prompt you for number of members and
numbers to call.  Assistance and info are at 800-544-6363 for
questions or if you want their operator to set up the call.  Their
conference centers are in White Plains, Chicago, Dallas, and Reno.
Voice quality is excellent; it's all digital.  This service is
different from regular conference operator, by the way.

Sprint's conference service is 44 cents/min/person plus $3/person.
Call 800-FON-CONF.  Also excellent digital voice quality.

MCI has a new conference service that I haven't tried.

Setting up an Alliance call yourself doesn't necessarily save any
money since with the operator setup calls, charging shouldn't start
until everyone is on the phone.


Regards,

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

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

From: Barton F. Bruce <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: ATT Boing: What is it?
Organization: Cambridge Computer Associates, Inc.
Date: 29 Nov 92 04:00:22 EDT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Argun
Tekant) writes:

> This is probably a FAQ (Do we have a FAQ?), but can anyone tell me the
> frequency or function or whatever for the AT&T Boing?

It includes the number to knock off any tone to pulse converters that
may be on the line. I think that other than that, it is just distinctive
for humans to recognize.

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

Date: Sun, 29 Nov 92 07:31:26 CST
From: [e-mail] (Mike Riddle)
Subject: Re: Advice Needed on Telephone Security Systems
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Inns of Court, Papillion, NE


> Several people have asked me about the telco feature that notifies
> alarm monitoring compaines that your line has been cut, so I called US
> West to get a few more details:

JW> I wonder if I didn't stumble on this about a month ago without knowing
JW> what it was.

JW> [ describes very old, cotton-insulated demarc, with Merlins attached ]

JW> After the event took place we pulled out all of our temporary wiring,
JW> checked all of the local phones to make sure they worked, and split.
JW> About 15 minutes later I got paged by the school custodian who got a
JW> call from the alarm company saying that their fire alarm was showing
JW> as being disconnected from the line.  I went back, poked around a bit,
JW> and paged my cohort who knew more about how those alarms are hooked
JW> up.  To make a long story short, it turned out that one of the old
JW> conductors had broken and become intermittent.

JW> I also remember the night before when we were setting up, hearing some
JW> tones on one of the lines while checking them out with a butt set.
JW> This was maybe a burst of 1.5-2 kHz tones.

Happened to watch a rerun of Thunderbolt and Lightfoot last night,
complete with references to the "telegraph company" monitoring the
alarm panel.  And from the age of the installation you mention, this
could be it.

Many older alarms use a full-period circuit and a DC loop.  Part of
the monitoring is watching the DC current.  It goes way up when the
alarm condition sounds, and disappears if the loop is broken.  You can
get a first approximation of trouble or alarm by looking at the loop
current.

Now in most cases, your response will be the same, paranoid that you
are :-) and will institute a security or fire response, since fires
can open lines and crooks can cut wires.

Fifteen minutes sounds about like the time for the alarm monitor to
see the open, call the custodian to verify, and have you paged.

Another option is a full-period circuit with periodic "I'm okay"
interrogation and response.  This is probably what your tones were.

I think others have beaten to death the stories about fallback
cellular systems, et cetera.  It usually comes down to economics:
which is the most cost-effective solution to your requirement, based
on your threat analysis: full-period circuits, dial-up with cellular
fallback, or just plain dial-up.

          <<<< insert standard disclaimer here >>>>
[e-mail]        |  Nebraska Inns of Court
[e-mail]        |  [phone] (Data)
Sysop of 1:285/28@Fidonet          |  3/12/24/9600 V.32/V.42bis

Maximus 2.00   Riddle Law Office (1:285/28)

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

From: Nickolay Saukh <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Internet Connectivity in Eastern Europe
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1992 00:57:53 +0300


Some corrections for xSU:

>      The current situation has been badly affected by the split of
> RELCOM into two independent entities (RELCOM RelTeam Ldt. and RELCOM
> DEMOS). Each of them holds a part of CIS network users and part of
> international  connectivity. While RELCOM RelTeam Ldt. has inherited the
> RELCOM's membership in EUnet, RELCOM DEMOS seems to position itself as a
> partner of AlterNet in CIS. Negotiations are still underway to find a
> cooperative  approach to national and international connectivity.

RELCOM in its former state (and EUnet/Relcom now) was present in whole
USSR, including Baltics and other republics, which are not members of
CIS.

As for two new entities, they are:

a) EUnet/Relcom, which officially exists since 1 October 1992, with
more then 100 nodes over xSU. Each node is legally independent
enterprise.  Moscow node is operated by Relcom Corp. Internal
structure and relations of EUnet/Relcom defined by bilateral
agreements between each node and Relcom Corp. Under this agreements
Relcom Corp. authorized to present interests for EUnet/Relcom in EUnet
and other parties.  We going to provide exact information about the
network and subscribers as soon as possible.

b) unnamed entity, operated by small enterprise Demos/+ (which is not
cooperative Demos) with no public defined structure and relations.

Since April, 1992 there is also exists an enterprise RelTeam Company
Ltd, which independent of EUnet/Relcom and Demos (in any of it's
forms). It is aimed at R&D in networks and system integration
projects.  It serves as SU domain coordination team and IP
coordination unit under RIPE auspices.

> Contact persons:

> Misha Popov <[e-mail]>           - EUnet - RELCOM Demos
                                              ^^^^^
As I know there are no relations between EUnet and Demos/+.

> Dima Volodin <[e-mail]>            - EUnet - RELCOM Demos
                          ^^^^^
See comment for Misha Popov.

Contact persons for RelTeam Company Ltd:

Valery Bardin <[e-mail]>
Nickolay Saukh <[e-mail]>

Hopes this corrections make your report more accurate.

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

Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1992 09:31:50 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Richard Nash)
Subject: Re: Telemarketing Again


> In article <[e-mail]> allegra![e-mail]
> (syed s haider) writes:

>> Last Sunday's {Parade} supplement carries an article on telemarketing.
>> One item caught my eye. Basically, it stated that many come-ons give
>> you an 800 number making you think that the call is toll-free.  But
>> after you call you're switched to a 900 number and get a hefty bill
>> the following month.

> How this was technically accomplished was never explained.  Assuming
> that the IXC, and not the information provider, is generating the
> billing data for the 900 service, I don't think we ever figured out
> how this was actually accomplished.  Can someone elaborate?

The technical issue of delivering the calling parties number from what
was once a 800 dialed number to that of a 900 number has probably
several possible explanations.  A couple of simple possiblities are:

    o-  remote call forwarding
    o-  800 SCP database returns a 900 number

A very real problem for telcos, remote call forwarding presents all
kinds of hassles. If you lived in Washington and dialed a long
distance 800+ friend who had their Remote Call Forwarding (RCF)
activated to another number, the actual number (CLID) delivered to the
far end would be YOUR telephone number, not the friends.  This is
intentional.  Therefore if your friend happened to RCF to a 900
number, guess what could be used for a billing number?  TR-394 allows
the delivery of this number to the IXC?  One would hope that these
possiblities have been regulated out of existance?


Richard Nash              Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
UUCP:                     [e-mail]
Amatuer Radio Packet:     [e-mail]
VE6BON @ VE6MC.AB.CAN.NA  ve6bon.ampr.ab.ca [192.75.200.15]

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

Date: Sun, 29 Nov 92 14:40:47 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Phone Harrassment


As for putting a call through when a name is known but not a room
number: You can reach someone you know in a hotel that way, and I have
occasionally gotten calls that way myself.  A well-known person would
have to check into a hospital, hotel, etc. under an assumed name to
block calls like this.

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

Subject: Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left?
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 29 Nov 92 17:51:41 EST (Sun)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


>> Are there any calling cards left that don't charge an initial fee?

> Aren't the calling cards issued by local phone companies usable for
> this purpose?

Right answer, wrong question.  No calling card, at least none I've
ever seen, has a fee when it's issued nor a yearly fee.  (Well,
there's the AT&T Universal Card but that's really a Master Card or
Visa with a calling card conceptually stapled onto it.)

The question is whether there is a card that doesn't charge an initial
surcharge each time you use it.  For most cards, when you use them you
pay between 40 cents and $1.25 plus what the direct dial rate for the
call would have been.


Regards,

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

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

From: [e-mail] (Dave Levenson)
Subject: Re: Cellular One TV Commercial (Hey, Mom, That's Me!)
Organization: Westmark, Inc.
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1992 22:31:18 GMT


Our Moderator, in more than one recent posting, mentions ...

> ... and the president of these United States is younger than
> I am.  :( :(   I need a vacation.  PAT]

Pat, unless you are a lot older than I think you are, this statement
is not true ... yet.  Come January 20, well that's next year!

For today, we have a President-Elect who is the same age as this
writer ... and perhaps a few years behind our Moderator.


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


[Moderator's Note: Well alright, make it the President-Elect then. And
yes, he is a few years 'behind' me.  My vacation ended too soon and
was not nearly long enough. I need another one!  We'll see if I can
make it for a month without another three day weekend.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #878
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #879

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 30 Nov 92 21:48:30 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 879

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Email to Prodigy (James S. Vera)
    Re: Email to Prodigy (Ed Ravin)
    Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal? (John Adams)
    Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal? (Maxime Taksar)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (Bob Turner)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (James M. Rendt)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (Bob Frankston)
    Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left? (John Higdon)
    Re: Seven Digit Billing/Repair Service Numbers (John Higdon)
    Re: Ten Digit Dialing in Oregon (Randal L. Schwartz)
    Re: Use Coins For Your Next Call? (John R. Levine)
    International Premium Teleservices (Carl Moore)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (James S. Vera)
Subject: Re: Email to Prodigy
Organization: Program Analysis and Verification Group, Stanford University
Date: 30 Nov 92 06:42:39 GMT


[e-mail] (Steve Steinberg) writes:

> Prodigy _is_ planning an Internet gateway that should be available by
> the end of the year.  Evidently they will demand $20/mo. for the
> priviledge of e-mail. I have no idea of what their Internet address
> is now. Did you try [e-mail]? Maybe info or admin or
> postmaster??

prodigy.com is a registered domain but it doesn't seem to have an
address or mail handler.  Info: (from whois)

Prodigy Services Company (PRODIGY-DOM)
   445 Hamilton Avenue
   White Plains, NY 10601

   Domain Name: PRODIGY.COM

   Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
      Welch, Dave  (DW215)  [No mailbox]
      [phone]


James S. Vera       |         Internet         | Voice: +1.415.723.1089
Stanford University |  [e-mail]  | FAX:   [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ed Ravin)
Subject: Re: Email to Prodigy
Organization: Prodigy Services Co.
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1992 17:53:02 GMT


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

> The last I knew the people who ran Prodigy were not hooked into any
> other network, nor were they going to be in the future.

No longer true -- Prodigy is setting up an Internet email gateway even
as we speak, which will be online in the next few months.  The gateway
address will be <prodigy-user-id>@prodigy.com.

Disclaimer: I work as a telecommunications programmer for Prodigy, not
a spokesman.


Ed Ravin- [e-mail]    [e-mail]
           [phone]    my opinions, nobody else's

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

From: [e-mail] (adams,john)
Subject: Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 17:06:06 GMT


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

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

>> Not exactly correct.  SS7 TCAP supports a "query" message.

> Will there be a way (legitimately) for an end user (perhaps an ISDN
> user?) to issue SS7 messages?  For example, could I take my ISDN card
> and send these "query" messages and receive the responses?

> (All this assumes I move out of PatheticBell territory, so I can get
> ISDN at all ...)

I am *definetely* not speaking for BELLCORE (Or any of the Regional
Exchange Companies) when I say that I see no "OPEN ARCHITECTURE"
access to SS7 messages in the near future.  No one knows what such
bodies as CONAP (Committee on Open Network Architecture Policy) might
be able to achieve, but the prospect of customers being able to launch
queries and receive responses appear rather bleak.

For openers, the fundamental design of Common Channel Signaling (CCS)
or Signalling System 7 (SS7) does not *CURRENTLY* support the concept
of a subscriber's customer premises equipment (be it ISDN compliant or
not) functioning as a Signalling End Point (SEP).

SEPs are:

 Switches (Be they local, tandem, IXC, etc);

 Signalling Transfer Points (STPs which bear many similar
 characteristics to packet switches); and

 Service Control Points (SCPs can be viewed as sophisticated
 databases).

Don't get me wrong, SS7 does "come close" to the ISO/OSI model (A few
levels/functions combine at levels 4-7) and thus is extensible to that
which you propose.  As a matter of fact, the D channel signalling
information is continued between ISDN switching offices at an
application level known as ISDN User Part (ISUP for short), which sits
on top of the bottom three layers (Message Transfer Part or MTP) of
the SS7 protocol.

Oh yes, lest I forget, Network Security and individual rights might
also auger against the capabilities you suggest (I personally think it
would be neat however ... but then again I voted for Perot!).


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

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

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 16:37:39 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Maxime Taksar KC6ZPS)
Subject: Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal?


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

> This reminds me of a strange quirk I noticed years ago on 'dial tone
> first' coin phones connected to the early #1 ESS <tm> offices.

> Normally, when dialing a local number without depositing any coins, a
> recording 'The call you have made requires a 10 cent deposit ...'
> would be returned.  (This also shows you how long ago this was.)

> However, when dialing a BUSY number within the same ESS switch as the
> coin phone, a busy signal would be returned immediately instead of the
> intercept recording.  I remember using this a couple of times when
> trying to get through to a persistently busy number.  When the busy
> condition cleared, the intercept was presented, and I would simply
> deposit the dime and redial.

Entertainingly enough, this trick still works on the 1AE that serves
my parents' home.  I'll therefore make the wild assumption that all
Pac*Bell coin phones served off of 1AEs will behave the same way.

I haven't had a chance to try this out on any of the local 5Es, but I
will.  I'll post my findings unless John beats me to it :-)


Maxime Taksar   KC6ZPS   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Bob Turner)
Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones
Organization: Univ. of Dayton, School of Engineering
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1992 17:19:51 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Karl
Bunch) writes:

> Can anyone tell me why the 911 systems can not detect at least a
> approximate location of a cellular caller?

Ugly question, ugly answer. Yes and no. Yes, especially newer switches
can narrow it down (still not precise). However with most of the 911
equipment in PSAPs there is no way to get it there anyway. About all
that can be determined is that it is a cellular call.

> It seems at least the "servicing" cell site could be transmitted so
> the police could at least guess.  With a little help from a "neighboring"
> cell cite couldn't they calculate a postion?

Getting the information to the police: As far as determining location
someone with more cellular background can answer that.

> Also, has anyone thought about the "potential" for 911 abuse on a cell
> phone?  With no accountability a person could make all sorts of false
> reports.

It looks bad on the surface. However, at dispatch centers that have
software to allow history look ups based on calling number, the
dispatcher can get a handle on problem individuals.


Bob Turner                                    Senior System Engineer
513-434-2738                           [e-mail]
CommSys, Inc.     77 West Elmwood Drive, Suite 101, Dayton, OH 45459

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

From: [e-mail] (James M Rendt)
Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones
Date: 1 Dec 92 00:50:28 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh


On the abuse note, I have a question. If your cellular phone is
stolen, can the thief call 911 after it's reported? A cellphone
without a owner and only free calls to 911 could pose a damage to the
system. Or worse yet, if they arrest you for that persons abuse being
that you "own" the phone or something ... you may laugh, but stranger
things have happened even here in America ...


James Rendt -- [e-mail] - Send Encrypted Mail: Finger for PGP.

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones
Date: Mon 30 Nov 1992 16:15 -0400


This past weekend I tried *SP which gets the State Police in
Massachusetts while driving in the Bronx in NY.  When that didn't work
I tried 0 and they connected me to the appropriate people for
reporting traffic problems.  Alas, the person taking the call hadn't
heard of I-95.  I tried to explain to her where it was ...

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

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 01:15 PST
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left?


[e-mail] (John R. Levine) writes:

> The question is whether there is a card that doesn't charge an initial
> surcharge each time you use it.  For most cards, when you use them you
> pay between 40 cents and $1.25 plus what the direct dial rate for the
> call would have been.

Someday this scam may disappear. Since no operator is involved with
most calling card calls, there is no extra cost to the carrier when
one is placed. It is all handled automatically in the same billing
system that prepares your monthly dialed-calls statement. The carriers
charge this extortion because they can and so far the public lays down
for it.

Another carrier bamboozle is the concept of quantity discounts when
applied to customers who have dedicated access. Normally a carrier is
charged an "access fee" by the LEC when a call is made, regardless of
whether the call is completed or not. This access charge is factored
into the rates. In the case of dedicated access, the access charges
are picked up 100% by the customer, so all of the call charge is kept
by the carrier. In essence, every call charged for by a carrier from
dedicated trunks is gravy; money the carrier did not have before. But
these slimeballs still have all these complex quantity discount
pricing structures, primarily to disguise what the bottom line rate
really is.

For the past several weeks, I have been actively shopping for bulk
long distance. I feel as though I have been shopping for an
automobile. The last thing a salesman wants to tell you is the bottom
line per minute cost of his service. Instead, he asks, "What are you
currently spending on long distance?", or "where do you call the
most?", or "which plans are you currently using on ____?"

If I could get in-band non-ISDN realtime ANI delivery from AT&T I
would be done with all of this and just place the order with Mother
herself.  When all is said and done, it usually turns out that AT&T
has the best rates anyway.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Mother always did have the best rates. MCI's early
success was based in large part on their fraudulent misrepresentation
of their rates as they applied to the 'bottom line' costs for telephone
service. They sold their service in the early days (1974-77 period) by
telling large companies their long distance bill would be X percent
less.  Of course they neglected to point out that (in those days) all
calls had to go through their dialup gateways, and there would be a
local message unit charge from telco for each and every LD call via MCI,
whether or not the distant end answered! MCI really suckered a lot of
corporate executives back in those days who should have known better.
So LD costs went down X percent and local call charges went up at
least as much, offsetting the so-called savings and as often as not
making the 'bottom line' for a company's telecom costs higher than
they had been. At least in the old days, AT&T and the local telco gave
you a free ride to the nearest toll switch; yes, they factored all the
costs into their rates, but it was transparent to the telephone user
and no one made any false claims about 'cheaper LD rates'.  So MCI
still recruits used car dealers as sales representatives, eh John?  PAT]

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

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 00:05 PST
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Seven Digit Billing/Repair Service Numbers


[e-mail] (Joe Bergstein) writes:

> I often had this problem attempting to reach Pacific Bell Business
> offices from out of state.  As Telecom. Mgr. for a nationwide company
> I had to contact Pac Bell business offices regarding billing errors
> and service orders etc. for firm's office in CA.  Well the invoices
> from PacBell indicate to call the business office, one should dial
> 811-XXXX, which are dialable (as indicated in Eli.Mantel's) message
> only from the service area.

Not quite true. While what I am about to reveal does not help you from
out of state, Pac*Bell's '811' numbers are reachable from virtually
any telephone in the state of California, not just from the service
area involved and not just from Pac*Bell phones. '811' numbers can be
called from GTE and Contel areas without difficulty.

> I noted that it wouldn't be very hard for PacBell's programmers to
> modify the billing programs so that on bills which had an out of state
> zipcode, that the "10 digit DDD" number be listed instead of the
> 811-xxxx number.  On several occasions, I asked the CSR to submit a
> request to PacBell's MIS department, but of course nothing ever
> happened.

Oh, you are intimately familiar with Pac*Bell's billing programs? And
you believe that asking a rep to have something as fundamental as
company-wide billing software changed will result in some kind of
action? Since you are so familiar with the billing software and its
capabilities and limitations, why don't you just call one of your
friends in MIS and get it done? :-)

I would suggest that perhaps you might call DA, get the 800 number and
then write it down. As an in-state Pac*Bell customer, I enjoy the 811
numbers. They are easy to remember, calls to them complete instantly,
and for those few customers such as yourself out of state, the slight
inconvenience of finding an alternate number is not of much concern. I
had to go 'round Robin Hood's barn trying to get a number to reach a
rep at Illinois Bell the first time I called. But I finally got an 800
number and wrote it down. No problem, and I did not ask the rep to have
the billing software rewritten to accomodate my special needs.

> BTW, the best billing and business office contact listings were, I
> believe, on US West invoices which provided an 800 number to contact
> business office from out of state.

 From what I hear about US West and some of its tariffs, that may be the
only thing good about its bills.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Randal L. Schwartz)
Subject: Re: Ten Digit Dialing in Oregon
Organization: Stonehenge Consulting Services; Portland, Oregon, USA
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1992 00:59:40 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (VLD/VMB)
writes:

> What does this mean?  Local calls within own area code are seven
> digits (no change in this method), and you have to inquire locally
> about local calls to a different area code.  Using 1 + NPA + 7D for
> within-area long distance does have the advantage of retaining
> "leading 1 = toll call", because the alternative would be to remove
> the leading 1 from 1 + 7D, as happened in area 215 in Pennsylvania.

We don't have "local calls to a different area code" anywhere around
here.  Thus, it was probably simpler to retrain people to "add 503 for
in-state long distance" than it was to say "1 now mean area code
follows".

And in this forum, I argued a while back that "1" should continue to
mean long distance so I don't inadvertently go blabbering when I call
an in-area-code number that is toll.

But now that my modem programs can't tell when to send "1" or not, I'm
beginning to see why everywhere *but* the Pacific Northwest has
probably done it right with "1 means area code follows". :-)


Just another portable computer user (and native Oregonian for 31 years),

Randal L. Schwartz / Stonehenge Consulting Services [phone]
[e-mail] (semi-permanent) [e-mail] (for newsreading only)

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

Subject: Re: Use Coins For Your Next Call?
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 30 Nov 92 22:37:26 EST (Mon)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


> Use COINS to place your next call and SAVE up to 50% over calling
> cards.  Call the 48 States; deposit $1 for 3 minutes for calls outside
> this calling area.

Hey, many of the COCOTs around here charge 25 cents/minute for
interstate toll calls.  That's quite competitive with AT&T's dial day
rate for calls across the country.  It eats a quarter a minute, you
can put in up to four quarters ahead, and it says it'll give back the
ones it hasn't eaten at the end.  It charges 25 cents for five minutes
or so for a local call, which is not great since real payphones only
charge a dime.  0+ calls are supposed to be charged at AT&T rates, but
the bong is from someone else so I haven't tried to find out what the
real story is.

But they without a doubt offer the the best deal I've ever seen from a
COCOT.


Regards,

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

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

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 0:01:10 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: International Premium Teleservices


It would be interesting to see what phone numbers in Australia are
used. As I write this I recall there was some blurb in this Digest
a while ago which included a phone number?  Other cases appearing in
the Digest were:

1. a gay party line in the Netherlands Antilles (the number was
+599-6868).

2. some numbers on the 609-490 exchange (Hightstown, NJ) advertised
overseas but reachable from within country code 1.

3. some numbers advertised on +1-610 (country code 1 has no area code
610).

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #879
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #880

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 30 Nov 92 22:35:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 880

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Two Cellular Phones on the Same Number (Larry P. Stoa)
    Re: CPC Detection and Purpose (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: *69 in NJ Bell Land (John Adams)
    Re: Intercepts and Verifications (Dave Niebuhr)
    Re: Searching For Simple Two-Line Patch (Paul Cook)
    Re: Telemarketing Again (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Ringing My Own Phone (William C. DenBesten)
    Re: ATT Boing: What is it? (Tim Russell)
    Re: Characters on International Phone Keypads (Jeffrey Jonas)
    Re: Whatever Happened to Britain's Telegraph Poles? (Tony Pelliccio)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 12:15:39 EST
From: [e-mail] (Larry P Stoa)
Subject: Re: Two Cellular Phones on the Same Number
Organization: AT&T


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (George
Goble) writes:

> I asked what happens when both phones are on and an inbound call comes
> in, and "which one rings?".  I was told the one which responded first
> would "ring", and the other call [phone] would be dropped.  This was
> not stated, but this may mean they will BOTH RING, and the first one
> to answer would get the call, and the other one would drop.  [It would
> obviously not be a "party line" with multiple portables answering].

Both phones are paged and the first phone to respond to the page will
be served and only that phone will alert/ring.

> Also [two phone case], I asked them if one tried to call the "other"
> phone, and they thought it would work OK, since the switch would know
> YOUR ESN was originating the call, and would ring the "other" ESN.

No this won't work since the phone is marked busy waiting for answer
based on the MIN.  The ESN is used for fraud detection And not much
else.

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

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 11:26:33 CST
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: CPC Detection and Purpose
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


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

> Okay, since PAT stepped into this with more information, let me also
> expand the question about CPC.

> Aspect 1: What _exactly_ is going on, and how does this differ between
> modern CO switches and the older ones some of us are forced to endure?
> Does the service depend on the switch?

   Some switches, because of their design, provide varying intervals
of open circuit (no current) on loop-start lines when a calling party
disconnects (no current at called end) or when the called party
disconnects beyond the "timed-disconnect" interval of 10-12 seconds
(no current at calling end).  This interval might vary with intra- vs.
inter-switch calls and might (or might not) appear depending on other
factors.  For answering machines, the interruption in current after
calling party disconnect is commonly called CPC.

   Note that CPC, if/when it exists, was a side-effect of design, and
not a requirement on the CO switch.  After all, CO switches were
designed to work with "smart" people using tones for call progress
information.  The more recent use of "smart" CPE on loop-start lines
and the use of DC signals by the CPE was not factored into the switch.
Only the most recent versions of Bellcore's LSSGR have added a
requirement to interrupt line current for about 800 msec. on most
forms of far-end disconnect.  This won't magically change the way most
existing COs work.

   This is why, in Bellcore's SR-TSV-002275, "BOC Notes on the LEC
Networks - 1990", the following paragraph appears:

     The network currently provides no system-standard release
     signals on loop-start lines.  Even in switching systems
     that do provide loop current interruption as part of the
     permanent signal treatment, range-extension equipment will
     block this signal from reaching the terminal.  Therefore,
     a terminal for loop-start service SHOULD NOT BE DESIGNED
     TO DEPEND ON LOOP CURRENT INTERRUPTS IN PERMANENT SIGNAL
     TREATMENT FOR USE AS PRIMARY DISCONNECT SIGNALS.
     (emphasis mine)

   Keep in mind that SR-2275 documents how the network works today --
you can't depend on CPC.  The LSSGR documents how NEW CO equipment
should work -- so that the 800 msec. interruption will become more
common.

> Aspect 2: More advanced phone systems allow one to set a time in
> milliseconds for CPC reaction, without explaining anything about what
> this means or how to decide.  I guessed that this was a way of having
> the phone system dump a dead call, since CPC wouldn't carry through to
> an answering machine beneath the (Panasonic 1232) phone system;
> failure to dump a dead call results in the CO line being held active
> at our end and we eventually get either a nobody-there when someone
> answers or else the answering machine gets a message from the local
> "telco" saying "your call could not be completed as dialed".

> What on earth is the time referring to, and can I set it, somehow, to
> eliminate the dead calls from caller hangups that we aren't letting go
> of fast enough?  Or is my understanding all wrong?

   You might want to discuss this with your Phone Company; they might
be able to arrange your lines for added disconnect processing (longer
opens during some incoming or outgoing calls).  This will depend on
your switch and type of line.  If you really want a better interface
to a PBX-like switch, also look into the use of "ground-start" lines.
These are designed to eliminate most of the problems with the
CO-to-CPE interface, including provision for current removal when the
CO disconnects from the far-end party.  Loop-start lines are marginal
at best for a "smart" CPE interface.  Ground-start is better, and ISDN
is better still.


Al Varney - just MY opinion.

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

From: [e-mail] (adams,john)
Subject: Re: *69 in NJ Bell Land
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 18:41:56 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John
J Butz [phone]) writes:

> Here's a puzzler:

> The Return Call Class feature (*69) offered by NJ Bell will call back
> the number of the last person to call your phone. (When used to
> screen calls can be considered a poor man's Caller ID).

> When my friend Ali calls me from his home across town (intra-lata),
> *69 after his call will ring his phone, as expected with $.75 applied
> to my bill.

> When my parents call me from NY (inter-lata), *69 after their call
> will play an announcement that says, "You cannot activate this
> feature, since the number is outside the class calling area." No bill
> is generated for this call.

> When I place a call from an intra-lata payphone to reset the
> "register," *69 from my home phone will ring the payphone.

> However, when I place a call from an intra-lata payphone using a
> calling card, *69 will give me the inter-lata "... cannot active this
> feature ..." message?  Go figure.

> Return Call also does not work on my Centrex-ISDN phone in the office.

> Does anyone (Bellcore folks perhaps) know the complete specs for the
> operation of this feature?

Having just spoken with John Butz (Whom I had confused with an old
friend, Jim Butz), allow me to offer a plausible scenario:

Automatic Recall (AR), as it officially designated in TR-TSY-000227
(Bellcore Requirements) for this CLASS (sm) feature, requires SS7
interoffice connectivity end-to-end in order to function on
interoffice calls.  In the first case (John's friend calling
intra-lata to him), AR works: A) Because both John and his friend are
served by the same office or B) Because of Bell Atlantic's high (>95%)
deployment of SS7 interoffice trunking.

In the second case, John's parents calling inter-lata to him, AR
didn't work because SS7 interconnection does not currently exist
between NJBell and AT&T.

The third and fourth cases are examples of public telephone (Coin)
call handling.  When calling intra-lata, or inter-lata for that
matter, using coins at a pay station, the local end office completes
the intra-lata call using inter-office (most likely SS7) trunks.
However, when attempting a call using a calling card (known as 0+
dialing), the call is routed to an office (usually a tandem) with
Operator Services functionality (OSPS or TOPs or ...) to establish
calling card validity and call routing (completion).  Now for the
hypothesis ... I suspect that not all of that particular TANDEM to end
office trunks are SS7.  Thus, the connection is completed via Multi
Frequency trunks without the ANI being passed.

The good news is that interconnection of LECs and IXCs is progressing
nicely and that FCC Docket 86-10 will hasten the full deployment of
SS7 within LECs.  In the mean time, anomalies such as John observed
will occur.

I have to pass on why AR doesn't work with the Holmdel 5E ISDN/Centrex
line.  Could it be that Holmdel is among the <5% MF trunks in NJBell
land?  Any NJBell ESAC folks on the net want to comment here?


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

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

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 08:29:49 EST
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Re: Intercepts and Verifications


In TELECOM Digest Volume 12 : Issue 872 [e-mail]
(Paul Migliorelli) writes:

> I'm aware that for certain parts of New York Telephone, (areas 212 516
> 914 and 718), the 9901 suffix is used for digital switch verification
> readouts.

One thing that should be pointed out is that not all exchanges in the
516 Area Code respond to the 9901 number.  Some of the responses I've
received are:

"We're sorry, the number you are trying to dial cannot be reached ..."
"We're sorry, the number XXX-9901 is not in service at this time ..."
"We're sorry, the number XXX-9901 has been disconnected ..."

These responses were for valid exchanges when I attempted to obtain
the appropriate CO.


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

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

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 19:45 GMT
From: Proctor & Associates <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Searching For Simple Two-Line Patch


Jerry Glomph Black <[e-mail]> writes:

> I'm facing a situation where I'll have two phone lines, one with
> decent dial-out capabilities, another with none.  I want to be able to
> call in to the latter, be patched to the former, and be able to dial
> out on the capable line using tones generated by my distant handset.
> This patching is preferably triggered by keying some security code.

> I vaguely remember seeing a fairly cheap box (Radio Shack? Hello
> Direct?) which would do this task. This weekend I checked both
> catalogs, and found nothing like this.  Please post answer, and email
> to [e-mail]

I think the devices that Radio Shack and Hello Direct sold would
answer a ringing line, and then autodial a pre-programmed number on
the other line.  This was a rudimentary form of call-forwarding, and
could be remotely re-programmed.

For what you are trying to do, Proctor has the 46300F3 version of the
Secured System Access Line.  Instead of requiring a security code
before ringing forward into a modem (like the F2 version of this
product for modem security, discussed in previous issues of TELECOM
Digest), this one answers on the first line and requires a DTMF
security code, then seizes an outgoing line, and also provides an
internal voice-frequency repeater.  When the outgoing line is seized,
the caller can dial forward.  It can also be set up with dialback
security.

Contact Proctor & Associates via any of the routes below for more
info.


Paul Cook                        206-881-7000
Proctor & Associates        MCI Mail 399-1080
15050 NE 36th St.           fax: [phone]
Redmond, WA  98052-5317   [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 14:49:33 -0800
From: Steve Forrette <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Telemarketing Again
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Richard Nash) writes:

> The technical issue of delivering the calling parties number from what
> was once a 800 dialed number to that of a 900 number has probably
> several possible explanations.  A couple of simple possiblities are:

>    o-  remote call forwarding
>    o-  800 SCP database returns a 900 number

> A very real problem for telcos, remote call forwarding presents all
> kinds of hassles. If you lived in Washington and dialed a long
> distance 800+ friend who had their Remote Call Forwarding (RCF)
> activated to another number, the actual number (CLID) delivered to the
> far end would be YOUR telephone number, not the friends.  This is
> intentional.  Therefore if your friend happened to RCF to a 900
> number, guess what could be used for a billing number?

But 900 billing is not based on Caller ID; it's based on ANI.  This is
one of the big answers to the question "what's the difference between
Caller ID and ANI?"  For a forwarded call, Caller ID will show the
number of the originating party, but ANI will show the number of the
forwarding party.  So, if someone forwards their number to a 900
number, either through regular or remote call forwarding (as offered
by LECs), the forwarding party gets the bill for the 900 call.  This
rules out your first possibility above. From what John Higdon said in
a previous response to my original message, it looks like the second
possibility above is the answer, courtesy of our friends at AT&T.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (William C DenBesten)
Subject: Re: Ringing My Own Phone
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh.
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1992 23:46:02 GMT


[e-mail] (Ross Hayden) writes:

> My question is this: Is there a way to find out a number I can dial
> that will make my phone ring?

TELECOM Moderator noted:

> [...There is no standard. Perhaps someone familiar with Bowling Green will
> write you with details.  PAT]

I came in late, and the original article had expired ...

In Bowling Green, Ohio -- (419)-352, (419)-353, (419)-354 -- you
simply dial your number, listen to the "You have dialed a party on
your own line ..." mesage and hang up.  Your phone will ring back
moments later.


William C. DenBesten is [e-mail] or [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Tim Russell)
Subject: Re: ATT Boing: What is it?
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1992 00:02:55 GMT


Barton F. Bruce <[e-mail]> writes:

> It includes the number to knock off any tone to pulse converters that
> may be on the line. I think that other than that, it is just distinctive
> for humans to recognize.

    No, I don't know what the tones are, but while installing a
friend's new Practical Peripherals 14.4k modem, I noticed that an "@"
sign in the number to dial instructs the modem to wait for the credit
card bong.  I would say that it definitely has a set tone and
duration.


Tim Russell   Omaha, NE   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: I've got a Telebit T-1600 modem (9600 baud) and one
of the response codes on it is 'NO BONGTONE' or something similar.  PAT]

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

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 20:07:20 EST
From: [e-mail] (jeffj)
Subject: Re: Characters on International Phone Keypads


> I know to be on U.S. dials is "U.S. variant 1", which has no
> representation for Q and Z (thus, when someone ran a telephone poll
> regarding the major U.S. vice-presidential nominees in 1988 and told
> callers to hit B for Bentsen or Q for Quayle, the poll failed for lack
> of the letter Q).

It took me a while to realize why all the chatter about where the
letters are on a phone dial.

a) There is a Meridian voice system that asks you to type in the
letters of the person's name.  Unless the system knows what country
you're calling from, the mapping will go astray.

This certainly shields Mr. Quayle from any calls!  (The system
collects only as many digits as necessary to distinguish the names).

b) If my phone number is (212) JEFFREY, then it's possible that "E"
maps to a different number is another country.  Someone calling me
from abroad may not know the correct all numeric phone number.


Jeffrey Jonas   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Sorry if this causes Danforth to receive a few
extra phone calls, but I thought most voicemail systems allowing alpha
searching of names say to 'use the digit 1 for Q or Z ...'    PAT]

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

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 13:42:00 EST
From: Tony Pelliccio <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Whatever Happened to Britain's Telegraph Poles?


I believe the wires are still there, just ALL buried. I know here in
Providence if you walk along the railroad tracks there are all these
big orange no-dig markers with AT&T logos on them. :) Nothing like
telling someone who wants to wreak havoc with the LD network where the
cables to cut are!


Tony Pelliccio    pjj125 @ uriacc.uri.edu

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #880
******************************










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Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #881

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 1 Dec 92 02:37:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 881

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    More Than You Wanted to Know About Distinctive Ringing (John R. Levine)
    Rights/Laws Regarding 900 Numbers (John Palmer)
    RCF + 800/900 Delivers What to Who? (Laird Broadfield)
    The "GTE" in "Mobilnet" (John Higdon)
    Cellular RJ-11 Jacks (James M. Rendt)
    10-NJB (Jeffrey Jonas)
    OBT and an Interesting Sales Pitch (Rob Knauerhase)
    701-582 Gone? (Carl Moore)
    Looking for Outdials (Andrew B. Haigh)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: More Than You Wanted to Know About Distinctive Ringing
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 19:12:15 EST
From: John R. Levine <[e-mail]>


Lots of responses this time, as well as finding some old messages I'd
lost.  There are a few ??? still to be filled in.

 -- What is Distinctive Ringing?

It is a telephone service that assigns several different phone numbers
to the same line.  Its true name is "Multiple Directory Numbers Per
Line With Distinctive Ringing".  Each number rings in a different
cadence (single, double, and triple ring) so you can tell which number
the caller called.  The maximum number of numbers per line varies by
telco, but can be as high as four.  You can think of it as a party
line where all the parties are you.

The price is usually quite low: around here it's $3/month for the
second number and $2/month for the third.  You generally have the
option of listing the extra numbers or not.  (Note to Massachusetts
customers: NET orignally said I had to pay extra to have them
unlisted, but the DPU persuaded them that they were mistaken.)

 -- What is it good for?

All sorts of things.  One use is for people with home businesses, so
you can answer one ring "Hello" and the other "Thank you for calling
Bagel-tronics."  Another is to share a single line among several
devices such as faxes and modems.  For this use, you'll want a ring
leader, below.

It is also useful as a way to defeat Caller ID.  The C-ID number sent
on outgoing calls is always the first number so you could assign the
first number to your modem, or let an answering machine pick up calls
to the first number and tell your friends to call the second number.

Some allege that it's useful to distinguish between calls to parents
and calls to teenage children, but given the way teenagers use the
phone (call every possible number where a friend might be and talk for
hours) it's no substitute for a second line.

 -- Can I use it as a fax switch?

That's what I use it for.  I find it works better than the usual fax
switches.  It doesn't depend on answering the phone and listening for
fax tones which not all faxes generate, so it never guesses wrong.
Besides, you get a separate fax number which looks much more official.

 -- What happens if I also have call waiting?

When a call comes in, the beep is in the same pattern as the ring, so
you know which number it is.  At least, that's what's supposed to
happen.  Apparently, they sometimes forget to set up the beeps right.

 -- How do I order it?

You call up the business office, of course.  For some reason, each
telco gives it a different name.  The ones I know are:

NYNEX        Ring Mate
Bell Atlantic    Identa Ring
Southern Bell    Ring Master
Ameritech    ???
SW Bell        Personalized Ring
US West        Custom Ringing
Pac Tel        not available, see below
GTE        Smart Ring

Technically, distinctive ringing can be installed on 1A and newer AT&T
exchanges and other modern units.  A software upgrade is required
(it's almost but not quite the same as a party line) so there are many
areas in which it's still not available even though the exchange would
seem to support it.

Note for Pac Bell customers: Pac Tel has a service which they call
"distinctive ringing" which is completely different.  Their service is
a home centrex which rings differently for inside and outside calls.
If you try to order distinctive ringing, be sure you know what you're
getting.

 -- Can I automatically connect to different devices for different
rings?

Yes.  That's what a "ring leader" does.  It is a box that has a
modular cord that plugs into the phone line and several modular jacks
into which the devices plug.  When the phone rings, it listens to the
first ring cycle and then connects to one of the devices depending on
which ring pattern it was.  The ring leader itself never answers the
phone -- it just connects to a phone, fax, modem, etc., which answers
the call normally.

For outgoing calls, ring leaders act as exclusion units and only let
one of the devices connect to the line at a time.  Excluded devices
hear either a busy signal or a silence.

Many vendors sell ring leaders.  Here's a summary of the ones I know
about, along with the names of the people providing reports.

I have an Autoline Plus fro ITS in Endicott NY. [phone].  It
connects up to three devices.  Mine has been entirely reliable.  I
paid about $80 but the price is more like $120 now.  (John Levine
<[e-mail]>)

Misco now has a unit that will do just that.  It is called the Ring
Decipher (misco part #fl-3622).  The only other identification in the
ad is "ASAP RD-4000".  I'd like to know who makes it, and alternate
sources.  Supposedly, it will provide a standard ring signal on any
one of the four outputs determined by the incoming ring pattern.
Price $99.  (Bill Petrisko <[e-mail]>)

My first Lynx Automation box didn't work but their beta replacement
worked.  Four pattern model.  I bought another one that my brother had
problems with but I haven't hooked it up here yet so I dunno.  I
notice that Lechmere [local discount department store] is selling the
two line Lynx at a nonoutragous price ($69 or $79 which is about what
Lynx charges direct.  (Bob Frankston <[e-mail]>)

I use a ASAP RD4000 Ring Decipher made by Command Communications Inc
of Aurora CO.  It cost $100 at a trade show.  It decodes four
different patterns.  When one of the devices has the line, the other
devices get a busy signal if they try to access the box.  It has
worked flawlessly for the last nine months.

I had a bad experience with a box called RingMaster made by Lucas
Technologies of Beacon NY.  It failed repeatedly and the maker
wouldn't do anything about the problems until I cornered them at a
trade show and made a large noise.  They bought the box back for $100.
I had only paid $80!  That was the only good experience with Lucas'
RingMaster.  (John Adams <[e-mail]>)

The call route box (avail from Home Automation Lab at 1-800-HOMELAB)
or the RD1000 from mailorder (this is the one I have) doesn't even
pass ring voltage to the connected lines until after the end of the
first ring and it has determined which number was called; therefore,
you never even hear the phone ring unless they are calling the
authorized number.  (Carl Neihart <[e-mail]>)

Black Box's September 1992 catalog lists a product called DRD-4 that
automatically routes distinctive ring services from one incoming phone
line to up to four devices. $ 139. Phone [phone].  (Marc Kozam
<mlksoft![e-mail]>)

 -- Can I build my own ring leader?

Probably.  Several people expressed interest in coming up with a
design, but nobody's told me about one yet.

Thanks to:

[e-mail] (William Petrisko)
[e-mail] (Paul Barnett)
[e-mail] (Lars Poulsen)
[e-mail] (Rich Greenberg)
[e-mail] (William Petrisko)
[e-mail]
[e-mail] (John Adams)
[e-mail] (Terry Kennedy)
[e-mail] (Ted M A Timar)
[e-mail] (Carl Neihart)
[e-mail] (Michael Masterson)
"Wm. Bryant Faust, IV" <[e-mail]>
[e-mail] (Carl Neihart)
mlksoft![e-mail]
Steve Forrette <[e-mail]>


[Moderator's Note: All those names can be confusing. Ameritech
(Illinois Bell, at least) says 'distinctive ringing' is when your CO
has been advised of up to ten telephone numbers which, when they call
you are to be given the red carpet; ie, they, and they alone are to
cause your phone to ring with a special cadence to let you know (for
example) the boss is calling, or your parents, etc.  On the other
hand, 'Multi-line' is the service discussed in John's article where
more than one number is assigned to a single line with different
ringing cadences as appropriate.  'Starline' is IBT's 'home centrex'
service which provides a different ring for calls from within and
without your premises.  I use my 'Multi-line' service as a way for
my 800 numbers to ring in. The two short rings tell me it is my
nickle paying for the call.  :)    PAT]

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

From: tygra![e-mail]
Date: Mon Nov 30 02:14:17 1992
From: [e-mail] (John Palmer)
Subject: Rights/Laws Regarding 900 Numbers
Organization: CAT-TALK Conferencing System
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1992 07:13:18 GMT


My nephew, a four-year old, got hold of my brother's telephone and ran
up $150 in 900 bills. Michigan Bell, upon hearing this, removed the
charges.

Now the sleazebag 900 company turned the matter over to a collection
agency.

Question: Can they legally collect this? Does my brother owe this
money to them? What is the (federal/Michigan) law regarding 900
numbers?

I'd appreciate pointers to laws which regulate this.

They wrote the collection company telling them that no authorized
person made the calls, but the collection agency is persisting and is
threatening to report them to TRW, etc. This is no good as they will
be applying for a mortgage soon.


Thanks in advance.

John Palmer    [e-mail]

E-MAIL: [e-mail]  CAT-TALK IS BACK as a FREE
SYSTEM!! 313-882-2209 300-14400 V.32/V.32BIS/TurboPEP
Anon-UUCP: System: tygra, Login: nuucp, no pw


[Moderator's Note: There is good news and bad news. The rule that 'a
subscriber is responsible for the use of his instruments' only applies
to the subscriber's relationship with telco ... not with third party
vendors. So telco has no claim on your brother, nor does the third
party vendor, in this case an information provider. The information
provider's claim is against the person who availed himself of the
'information' provided, in this case, a minor. A contract does not
have to be written on paper; a contract can exist only by a verbal
exchange between parties. A contract can exist when a sign is hanging
on a wall and someone sees the sign but continues the transaction. As
the 'Private Citizen' man (Bulmash) points out, if I advertise that I
intend to charge you for my time spent conversing on the telephone and
you go ahead and call me, then I can charge you and force you to pay.

Since the information provider provided his services, he is entitled
to payment from the person who used his services. Since he is entitled
to receive payment, he is entitled to use the services of a collection
agency to effect payment if that is his choice. But his claim is
against a four year old minor child. It is not impossible to bind the
parents of a minor to obligations incurred by the minor, but it is
quite difficult. Usually contracts entered into by minors are considered
unenforceable. The exceptions are when the merchandise delivered or
services rendered are necessary for the minor's well-being. If your
child -- without your knowledge or permission -- eats in a restaurant
or stays in a hotel (and cannot pay), then you are responsible for the
bill, because food and shelter are necessary for your child's well-being.
If your child -- without your knowledge or permission --  buys clothing
then you are sometimes responsible since clothing is necessary in our
lives. If your child purchases a 'luxury item' i.e. a television set
or a computer, then on legal challenge, the merchant loses. You are
obligated under the law to provide food, clothing and shelter for your
child; you are not obligated to buy him a computer or television. Nor,
I might add, are you obliged to provide your child with '900 type' phone
services as part of your obligation regards his well-being. An expensive
fur coat versus a cloth coat? ... school books versus comic books? A
month in an elegant hotel versus an overnight stay in the YMCA? This
is the stuff of which lawsuits are made; a judge will listen and decide
the degree to which the contract is enforceable against the parents. I
doubt your brother's case would even get that far. And as for TRW,
tell him not to worry, it is quite unlikely this will be recorded, and
even less likely that a mortgage lender would care.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: RCF + 800/900 Delivers What to Who?
Date: 30 Nov 92 14:45:12 GMT


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Richard
Nash) writes:

[...how did Mystic et al. bill a 900 from an 800...?]

> A very real problem for telcos, remote call forwarding presents all
> kinds of hassles. If you lived in Washington and dialed a long
> distance 800+ friend who had their Remote Call Forwarding (RCF)
> activated to another number, the actual number (CLID) delivered to the
> far end would be YOUR telephone number, not the friends.  This is
> intentional.  Therefore if your friend happened to RCF to a 900
> number, guess what could be used for a billing number?  TR-394 allows
> the delivery of this number to the IXC?  One would hope that these
> possiblities have been regulated out of existance?

Wait, what?  First off, isn't CLID *purely* a SS7 feature, and that
should read "ANI"?  Secondly, does the above say that if I RCF a POTS
number to an 800, the ANI delivered will be the original originator,
not the line that is RCF'ed?  That's worth the 800 service right
there, particularly for those of us whose PUC's aren't CLID-friendly.
This goes against a lot of what I thought about how RCF works, can
somebody verify?  (My 800s don't have realtime delivery, so it would
take me a while to check it myself.)

(I really didn't mean this post to be acronym-soup (TLA-soup?)
intentionally, I swear!  Really, I didn't.  TTFN!)


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

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

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 08:33 PST
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: The "GTE" in "Mobilnet"


I just had my first altercation with GTE Mobilnet, indicating that its
GTE parentage is finally showing through. As you know, I have been
most satisfied with my cellular service from the company and have been
convinced that it must be a maverick GTE company since it provides
good service and accurate billing.

But GTE must be clamping down. I have two accounts (phone in truck;
handheld in pack). Each month on the twenty-fifth I write a check for
the sum of the two statements, write the amount paid for each number
on each stub, then enclose and mail in one envelope. This past
October, however, the minimum-wage help in the envelope opening
department credited the entire check to one account.

Then the GTE mean machine cranked up. Just after the twentieth of
November, I got a computer-generated letter telling me that my
"payment has not been received". A call to the business office reveals
the problem and I am assured that it will be straightened out. Then
day before yesterday I get a very sternly-worded letter telling me
that unless I pay up immediately, my service will be disconnected.

Another call to the business office assures me that everything is in
order. But what about that threatening letter? "Oh, we have no control
over that. It is generated by computer." I strongly suggested that
they take back their business from The Computer. (I have computers;
they are tools. They do not RUN my business.) I then suggested that it
would be a shame to lose a customer of over five years because of a
rogue computer and was supersilliously told that "it is handled by
another department and we have no control". The company is run by
aliens from Andromeda?

Anyway, it turns out that GTE Mobilnet's "Thousand Oaks" is Dallas,
TX.  Apparently, as in its telco counterpart, only incompetent boobs
are employed there guaranteeing constant screwups. Think I am kidding?
Last week's rep suggested that in the future I should mail my payment
to the nearby Pleansanton office rather than Dallas if I wanted proper
credit.  She suggested that the droids in Texas have a problem with
anything out of the ordinary such as one check paying two accounts.

Sounds like GTE to me.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (James M Rendt)
Subject: Cellular RJ-11 Jacks
Date: 1 Dec 92 00:57:58 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh


I noticed in a laptop magazine that there is a new device to plug your
pocket modem into one end, and the other into the 'expansion' jack on
handheld phones (a picture of the Fujitsu Pocket Commander's adapter)
was included in the photo. They claim they retail at about $300.
Sounds pretty nice to have a jack for an RJ-11 there. Does anyone have
more information about the adapter, or a pin-out for my Oki 900 so I
could rig a warranty-destroying method of my own <grin>.


James Rendt -- [e-mail] - Send Encrypted Mail: Finger for PGP.

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

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 20:04:36 EST
From: [e-mail] (jeffj)
Subject: 10-NJB


In Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 874, Message 4 of 16 bbracal@
gandalf.ca (Bob Bracalente) posted:

> I tried to dial the call using New  Jersey Bell's "Pensy-Link" service
> (10652 - some kind of intra-LATA lines between NJ and PA

10-652 is 10-NJB (New Jersey Bell).

As previously discussed in TELECOM, the RBOC (Regional Bell Co.) may
cross state lines, even a river if there's some reason for that area
to be considered local.

In northern/central New Jersey, 10-NJB allows me to call parts of NY
(212 and 718 area codes) via New Jersey Bell at about $0.09/min (as
compared to AT&T's Reach Out America at $0.11/min at night rates).
Apparently, 10-NJB allows calls from NJ to PA for particular areas
too.

It's hard enough to use least-cost routing at home, but what about a
portable computer with an auto dialer for both voice and data lines.
Is there any hope of creating and maintaining a table of least cost
routes, or is that too customer and account specific (ex: what AT&T
Reach Out Plan is in effect, time of day, anticipated duration of
call, etc.)?


Jeffrey Jonas    [e-mail]

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

From: Rob Knauerhase <[e-mail]>
Subject: OBT and an Interesting Sales Pitch
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 11:15:02 CST


While home for Thanksgiving, my mother asked me some questions about
her phone bill.  As we were going through it, I noticed a curious
extra page of "Important Information" from Ohio Bell.

For background, OBT's areas are still mainly (totally?) charged at a
flat monthly rate for local calls.  However, they are always pushing
one or another metered plan, no doubt both because of revenue and
hopes of eventually doing away with flat-rate since "there's so little
demand."

The chart they provided on this extra page (between local charges and
LD charges, not a separate insert) was tailored for this phone number.
There was a brief paragraph saying how many calls and minutes were
spent locally, and the chart which I quote:

    MONTHLY LOCAL COMPARISON FOR 614-XXX-XXXX

If you had:        You would have been    That is a difference of:
            billed:
CALL PLAN 30        $19.94            $11.39 more
(charges based on number of calls you make)
FLEXIBLE CALL PLAN    $20.03            $11.48 more
(charges based on when and where you call, and how long you talk)
MINUTE LINE CALL PLAN    $15.26            $6.71 more
(charges based on time of day and how long you talk)

My mom's comment was something like "Well, even I can see that I shouldn't
switch."

I don't know whether to congratulate OBT on being honest in their
dealings or whether to chastise them for not hiring a programmer smart
enough to add an if-clause and not talk about all these other options
if each would result in a dramatically higher bill for the customer.
While my family's usage might be atypical, my intuition says that it
probably isn't _that_ far away from the norm.  [However, it occurs to
me that when/if OBT files to get rid of flat-rate local service, pages
and pages of bills bragging "$11.39/month more" might make a good
argument to the PUCO ... :) ]


Rob Knauerhase           University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
[e-mail]       Dept. of Computer Science, Gigabit Study Group

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

Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 0:01:05 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: 701-582 Gone?


I thought there was a 701-582 prefix in Golva, North Dakota, but it
didn't exist when I checked AT&T.  I called directory assistance and
found that the post office there is on 701-872 Beach.  (Golva was
called to my attention because of the presence of present or former
prefix 406-589 "West Golva", Montana.

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

From: [e-mail] (Andrew B Haigh)
Subject: Looking for Outdials
Date: 30 Nov 92 06:13:17 GMT
Organization: The University of British Columbia


    I am interested in compiling a list of available outdials. If
you know of any please email me. Thank you.


[e-mail]


[Moderators' Note: Outdials for *what*? What sort of service? Do you
mean for data networks, voice networks?  Or did you mean 'dialups'?
There are literally thousands of 'dialups', 'outdials' and 'indials',
many of which are private and restricted. If you are just looking for
numbers where you can call in then patch yourself out on someone
else's nickle to circumvent toll charges, you asked in the wrong
forum; you need to pose your question to more Socially Responsible
congregations than mine; certain .talk newsgroups come to mind. But in
the event I am misunderstanding your request, please tell us your
application so we might respond.    PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #881
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #882

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 2 Dec 92 00:58:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 882

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (J. Robert Burgoyne)
    Re: CPC Detection and Purpose (Harminc
    Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN? (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Ringing My Own Phone (Rob Knauerhase)
    Re: Ringing My Own Phone (in Area 716) ([e-mail])
    Re: ATT Boing: What is it? (Jim Rees)
    Re: ATT Boing: What is it? (Ed Greenberg)
    Re: Email to Prodigy (Rob Boudrie)
    Re: Cellular RJ-11 Jacks (Jim Rees)
    Re: CPC Signals (Jon Sreekanth)
    Re: *69 in NJ Bell Land (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Three-Slot Coin Station (Todd Lawrence)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (J. Robert Burgoyne)
Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1992 16:15:15 GMT


[e-mail] (Karl Bunch) writes:

> Can anyone tell me why the 911 systems can not detect at least a
> approximate location of a cellular caller?

As I understand it there are two types of systems, landline and
wireless.  Your outgoing call does not necessarily get dialed out from
the nearby cell site. That is how you get such a wide local calling
area without tolls.

For example, here in Baltimore/Washington, if you are in DC and you
dial Baltimore it's a local call. I assume the call is transported to
a site in Baltimore, then connected.

> My wife and I were involved in an incident were somebody threw
> "something" (not sure what but it really made a BANG when it hit) at
> our car.  We called 911 and had to (of cource) explain our heading
> etc. etc.

When I've called 911 from my home, they were able to address me by
name.  That's super-duper Caller-ID. But from my car phone they needed
all the information, including the phone number of the car phone.

> That might be a tad hard, but, what about the person on the side of
> the road that can just barely dial after being SHOT?  Is guess they
> are out of luck?

I guess so.

> It seems at least the "servicing" cell site could be transmitted so
> the police could at guess.  With a little help from a "neighboring"
> cell cite couldn't they calculate a postion?

The servicing site may be a long way from where you are. Also, you may
be very close to a site, but have your call routed through another
site because site one is overloaded, out of commission, etc.

I'm just glad 911 from the car works. I've stopped to help many people
broken down on the side of the road and they are glad too.


Robert Burgoyne

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

Date: Tue, 01 Dec 92 00:58:39 EST
From: Tony Harminc <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: CPC Detection and Purpose


[e-mail] (Alan L Varney) wrote:

> Some switches, because of their design, provide varying intervals
> of open circuit (no current) on loop-start lines when a calling party
> disconnects (no current at called end) or when the called party
> disconnects beyond the "timed-disconnect" interval of 10-12 seconds
> (no current at calling end).  This interval might vary with intra- vs.
> inter-switch calls and might (or might not) appear depending on other
> factors.  For answering machines, the interruption in current after
> calling party disconnect is commonly called CPC.

> Note that CPC, if/when it exists, was a side-effect of design, and
> not a requirement on the CO switch.  After all, CO switches were
> designed to work with "smart" people using tones for call progress
> information.  The more recent use of "smart" CPE on loop-start lines
> and the use of DC signals by the CPE was not factored into the switch.

Curious.  Many many years ago, before answering machines were common,
indeed before customer provided equipment was common, the 1Ax key
systems knew enough to take a line off hold when that drop in loop
current occured.  So when you put someone on hold and forgot about
them and they eventually hung up, the light would not just keep
flashing forever.  Now someone in Bell Labs or Western Electric or
whoever designed the 1A1/1A2 must have known about this feature of CO
lines, and it must have been common enough to be worth implementing
support on key systems.

I must confess that I am familiar only with the Northern Telecom (or
more accurately Northern Electric) versions of these key systems.  But
I believe they were exact copies of the US systems, from those dim and
distant days when NT licensed most of its stuff from the Bell System.


Tony Harminc


[Moderator's Note: You are correct, and furthermore, you could not
just put dialtone on hold ... there had to be an actual connection
established. And although the ringing signal on those old key units
came from an independent source in the control unit (all it took was
one spurt of ringing voltage sent from the CO; the key unit control
box relay would take over and generate several more rings), after
awhile it would time out and stop, but not necessarily when the
calling party disconnected. Sometimes they'd have been gone for
several seconds and the key unit would continue to buzz and wink at
you only to greet you with dialtone when you went off hook to answer.  PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 1 Dec 92 00:23:19 -0800
From: Steve Forrette <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN?
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


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

> The problem here is that California has no single line tariffs. You
> have to order at least two-line Centrex service to get ISDN. That
> unfortunate situation should change by next summer (I hope.) Ideally
> Pac Bell and GTE will price BRI connections the same as Ameritech has.
> About $35 per month and $6 per hour of connect time. Or they could go
> really far and price it cheaper. 8-)

Even though Pacific Bell requires a minimum of two BRIs, they cost
only $29 per month, and data calls are the same as voice calls, which
means that a local data call costs only $.60/hour or so.  So, let's
NOT encourage Pacific Bell to price their data calls like Ameritech!


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: Rob Knauerhase <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Ringing My Own Phone
Date: Tue, 01 Dec 92 23:50:56 CST


William C. DenBesten writes:

> TELECOM Moderator noted:

>> [...There is no standard. Perhaps someone familiar with Bowling Green will
>> write you with details.  PAT]

> In Bowling Green, Ohio -- (419)-352, (419)-353, (419)-354 -- you

I don't know if PAT will want to start a thread to compile all these,
or if someone (not me!) wants to volunteer to collect and submit
something to the archives.

However, in case anyone cares, here is a "pseudo-standard":

For Columbus (Franklin County) OH, ringback numbers are 95x-yyyy where
x is [0-9] and yyyy is the last four digits of the phone you are on.

For Champaign/Urbana (Champaign County, IBT areas only) IL, ringback
numbers are 57x-yyyy, same provisos as above.

In both instances, calling the number will result in a new dialtone.
Dialing numbers at this point will not break the dialtone.  Flash the
switchhook (briefly) and you'll get a constant tone.  At that, hang up
and your phone will ring back.

The procedure empirically works for 1AESS and DMS-100 switches in the
areas mentioned above.  I suspect that it does NOT work for 5ESS as it
quit working in (614) 876 when the local suburban paper reported a
"switch upgrade" for the Hilliard area.

If anyone knows precisely why this works, i.e. what purpose the telco
has in implementing it, I'd be very interested in hearing.  Also, if
there is any rationale for the choice of exchange (I suppose "first
three digits" is more accurate in this case) I'd like to know it.  In
the meanwhile, it serves nicely as an in-home intercom and as a parlor
trick to impress people when you're standing near a pay phone. :-)


Rob Knauerhase           University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
[e-mail]       Dept. of Computer Science, Gigabit Study Group


[Moderator's Note: We had a thread on this, oh, maybe a couple years
ago. If someone wants to compile a national list, go to it.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Rob B.)
Subject: Re: Ringing My Own Phone (in Area 716)
Organization: University at Buffalo
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1992 15:34:00 GMT


Does anyone know how I can ring my own phone in area code (716)?
Thanks for the help.


Rob     [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jim Rees)
Subject: Re: ATT Boing: What is it?
Date: 1 Dec 1992 15:17:22 GMT
Organization: University of Michigan CITI
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Tim Russell) writes:

[ regarding the "bong tone" ]

>> It includes the number to knock off any tone to pulse converters that
>> may be on the line. I think that other than that, it is just distinctive
>> for humans to recognize.

>   No, I don't know what the tones are, but while installing a
> friend's new Practical Peripherals 14.4k modem, I noticed that an "@"
> sign in the number to dial instructs the modem to wait for the credit
> card bong.  I would say that it definitely has a set tone and
> duration.

Someone else already posted the exact frequencies and duration, but
neglected to explain them.  The "bong" is a DTMF "#" followed by
decaying dial tone.  The "#" will indeed disable pulse converters that
are equipped to recognize it.

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

From: [e-mail] (Ed Greenberg)
Subject: Re: ATT Boing: What is it?
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1992 00:04:15 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Tim Russell) writes:

> No, I don't know what the tones are, but while installing a
> friend's new Practical Peripherals 14.4k modem, I noticed that an "@"

The tones are written up in the Telecom Archives, and I believe were
posted here.  Based on that post, I made up a .WAV file for windows
that makes a good approximation of the bong.  I made this digitally
rather than recording it.  It sounds spiffy.  I'll send it to the
archives if encouraged to do so.


Edward W. Greenberg  | Home: [phone] | [e-mail]
1600 Stokes St. #24  | Work: [phone] | DoD#: 0357
San Jose, CA  95126  | Fax:  [phone] | KM6CG (ex WB2GOH)


[Moderator's Note: Sure, send it along to me here for posting in the
archives.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Rob Boudrie)
Subject: Re: Email to Prodigy
Organization: Center For High Perf. Computing of WPI; Marlboro Ma
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1992 16:13:14 GMT


> No longer true -- Prodigy is setting up an Internet email gateway even
> as we speak, which will be online in the next few months.  The gateway
> address will be <prodigy-user-id>@prodigy.com.

> Disclaimer: I work as a telecommunications programmer for Prodigy, not
> a spokesman.

A few questions :

 (a)  Will all Prodigy subscribers be reachable, or only those who
      sign up and pay a surcharge?
 (b)  What will send and recieve costs be for Prodigy users?
 (c)  Will Prodigy censors check incoming/outgoing mail to make
      sure none of it is "not in the best interests of Prodigy"?


rob boudrie    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: So the Prodigy email ruckus awhile back is still
leaving a bad taste in some people's mouths, I see.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jim Rees)
Subject: Re: Cellular RJ-11 Jacks
Date: 1 Dec 1992 15:44:26 GMT
Organization: University of Michigan CITI
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (James M
Rendt) writes:

> I noticed in a laptop magazine that there is a new device to plug your
> pocket modem into one end, and the other into the 'expansion' jack on
> handheld phones...

This nifty device is made by Spectrum Cellular and is called an
Axcell.  We got one of the early production models (the manual was
photocopied and had big holes where the illustrations should be) and
have been very happy with it, although it is a bit pricey.  It comes
in various models for different phones.  I use mine with an OKI 900.

The device generates its own dial tone and ring voltage and decodes
DTMF.  It's very small and light, and runs on a nine-volt battery.
The combination of OKI 900, Axcell, and Microcom pocket modem is about
700 grams with batteries.

The device is patented.  I think the patent is actually held by
Tellular, who makes a similar device for larger phones.  I'm amazed
that you can patent the idea of putting an RJ-11 jack on a telephone.
Maybe I should patent the idea of putting a plug on an electric
appliance?  Actually, I think it is patented in England, where
appliances come without the plug and you have to install it yourself.

There is also something called an Axsys, which doesn't do DTMF or ring
voltage (to get around the license fees?) and connects to a special
modem rather than providing a plain RJ-11.

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

Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1992 11:08:12 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Jon Sreekanth)
Subject: Re: CPC Signals


X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 877, Message 7 of 9

> Reference another post about how to use CPC -- The telco generates a
> CPC signal when the far end (i.e. who ever you are calling or whoever
> called you) hangs up so your equipment (answering machine, PBX, etc.)

What about DC interruptions on an outgoing call? I put in loop
current detect on a certain circuit, intending it to hang up on an
incoming call CPC. It would trip every so often during an outgoing
call instead. I found DC interruptions just after dialing the number
(heard as a click in the handset), sometimes when the remote called
party picked up, sometimes when calling a PBX number and the call got
transferred to the person's voice mail. Also, of course, there is
"real CPC", when the caller hangs up.

Is there any logic to this, or are these just artifacts? (the non-CPC
type of dc loss, I mean)?


Jon Sreekanth

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

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: *69 in NJ Bell Land
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1992 21:27:05 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(adams,john) writes:

> The good news is that interconnection of LECs and IXCs is progressing
> nicely and that FCC Docket 86-10 will hasten the full deployment of
> SS7 within LECs.

Within the past few weeks, I've noticed that call completion times
from my home via AT&T are incredibly fast now, a result of what I can
only assume is an SS7 interface with the LEC on both ends.  I can call
from my home phone in Seattle to my parents in northern California,
and the call is set up in about 1.5 seconds.  The first time I called
after the improvement, I was sure that I had reached an intercept.  I
then compared the setup time for the same call on the other carriers.
MCI took four seconds, and Sprint took eight.  BTW, the end offices on
both sides of the call are 1AESS.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: One file on my desk at the present time involves a
client of our firm in Australia. For the past month or so, I've
noticed that my calls to 10288-011-613-xxx-xxxx# go through *super*
fast. How fast? His phone is ringing about two seconds after my finger
leaves the # key.  PAT]

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

Subject: Re: Three-Slot Coin Station
From: [e-mail] (Todd Lawrence)
Date: Tue, 01 Dec 92 00:02:07 CST


A few weeks ago a gentleman on the Digest posted a message with a
question on how to obtain one of the old "three slot" coin stations.
After a bit of digging about, I have found a supplier. I believe
(actually, I'm quite sure) that these are copies but they look fairly
fancy. Also, another person was asking about a headset; these guys
sell those also:

        USAir gift folio
        [phone]

coin/payphone cat# 6810022  $79.95
headset       cat# 6810019  $79.95

Give these folks a call, I'm sure they will send you some information.


Todd Lawrence
LOD! Communications     internet : [e-mail]
IMF Acquisition Group   uucp     : uunet!valinor!todd

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #882
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #883

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 2 Dec 92 02:36:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 883

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left? (Joel B. Levin)
    Re: The "GTE" in "Mobilnet" (Steve Glaser)
    Re: 10-NJB (John R. Grout)
    Re: International Premium Teleservices ([e-mail])
    Re: DigiBoard PC/8e Fails Under Xenix (Dick Flanagan)
    Re: Headsets etc. ([e-mail])
    Re: Looking For Outdials (Andrew B. Haigh)
    Re: 10-NJB (Jeffrey Jonas)
    Re: Paging in 708/312 (Bob Frankston)
    Re: Help on Settling an Argument About Leased T1 Lines (Bruce Sullivan)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left?
Date: Tue, 01 Dec 92 11:23:10 -0500
From: Joel B Levin <[e-mail]>


Our Moderator adds to Mr. Higdon's discussion:

> [Moderator's Note: Mother always did have the best rates. MCI's early
> success was based in large part on their fraudulent misrepresentation
> of their rates as they applied to the 'bottom line' costs for telephone
> service. ...  ...  and there would be a local message unit charge
> from telco for each and every LD call via MCI,

In many areas, including all of mine in this period, did not charge
message units or had plans available with no message units.

> but it was transparent to the telephone user and no one made any
> false claims about 'cheaper LD rates'.  So MCI

MCI has been talking in its TV ads about cheaper LD rates for years.
What I think is amusing in all this is that even in its own ads, AT&T
admits MCI is cheaper.  (It goes on to say of course that it's not
cheaper by much and you get "dependable AT&T Service".)  So not even
AT&T can characterize MCI's claims as "false".


JBL (who remains a Sprint customer for now)
Internet: [e-mail]    USPS:  BBN Systems and Technologies Division
UUCP:     [e-mail]           Mail Stop 6/5A
Telco:    [phone]           10 Moulton Street
                  N1MNF           Cambridge, MA  02138


[Moderator's Note: Of course now that equal access makes it possible
to have various carriers for one-plus dialing purposes, there is no
longer the requirement for a local call to the carrier's switch, thus
my complaint that MCI neglected to mention this extra charge to their
early customers is no longer timely. But I do disagree with your claim
that many/most places had unmeasured or 'free' local calls in those
days. In the early/middle 1970's, MCI served business customers only;
they had no residential service. Furthermore, they served only the
very large, highly profitable routes such as along the east coast and
between Chicago and points east. Their service was not universal.
Chicago has always had measured 'unit charges' on local calls for
business customers; likewise New York City, another MCI favorite for
cream-skimming and big profits in the early days. And your claim that
'even AT&T does not characterize MCI's claims as false' is itself
false. For several years during the 1980's they were suing each other;
each claiming the other used false advertising tactics.   PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 1 Dec 92 11:46:17 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Steve Glaser)
Subject: Re: The "GTE" in "Mobilnet"


My favorite similar story involved New England Telephone.

I have multiple residence lines.  New England Telephone insists on
billing each one separately (with it's own envelope, stamp, bill
inserts).

I used to send back a single check for the total along with the return
stub for each line.

They would always get it wrong, crediting everything to one line,
transposing some digits so I got dunning letters for $0.32, etc.

The worst one was when they somehow cashed my check for exactly twice
what I wrote the check for.  The bank honored it at twice what was I
wrote.  The OCR stuff on the bottom of the check was doubled as well.
Since NET credited me double and the next bill was already due, I
didn't push it with the bank, but it might have been fun.

Lately I send them three checks, each stapled to the corresponding
bill.  I've found that by making them do more work (undoing the
staple), they seem to pay enough attention to the rest of the bill to
get it right.

Actually, now that the bank charges me per check, I think I'll try
again to convince NET to give me one bill.  That way I could spread my
long distance calling plan across all lines (or at least that's what
AT&T claims they can do).  Other phone companies don't seem to have
this problem.


Steve Glaser        Digital Equipment Corporation
[e-mail]    550 King Street LKG1-2/A19
[phone]        Littleton, MA 01460-1289


[Moderator's Note: IBT bills my two lines together, and IBT customers
are allowed to combine usage on all lines for whatever benefits may
accrue from volume usage, etc.  Likewise I only have to pay AT&T for
one 'Reach Out' fee each month since IBT does their billing for them
and there is only one bill sent out. Best of all though is IBT's 'Pay
by Phone' option. They'll set it up so all you have to do is place a
call to the IBT computer once a month and after entering your password,
instruct the computer to send a debit to your bank. From the bank then
each month, I get just a line item on my statement entitled IBT autopay
and the amount. The debit does not take place unless you call each
month and authorize it in the IBT billing computer. The credit on your
phone bill and corresponding debit appear within 24 hours.    PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (John R. Grout)
Subject: Re: 10-NJB
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: UIUC Center for Supercomputing Research and Development
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 92 17:31:54 GMT


[e-mail] (jeffj) writes:

> In Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 874, Message 4 of 16 bbracal@
> gandalf.ca (Bob Bracalente) posted:

>> I tried to dial the call using New  Jersey Bell's "Pensy-Link" service
>> (10652 - some kind of intra-LATA lines between NJ and PA

> 10-652 is 10-NJB (New Jersey Bell).

> As previously discussed in TELECOM, the RBOC (Regional Bell Co.) may
> cross state lines, even a river if there's some reason for that area
> to be considered local.

Yes... and No.  There is _a_ reason for considering this to be "local"
service... but it isn't the usual reason... New York City is in its
own LATA (with Westchester, Rockland, Nassau and Suffolk counties) and
Philadelphia is in its own LATA also.

> In northern/central New Jersey, 10-NJB allows me to call parts of NY
> (212 and 718 area codes) via New Jersey Bell at about $0.09/min (as
> compared to AT&T's Reach Out America at $0.11/min at night rates).
> Apparently, 10-NJB allows calls from NJ to PA for particular areas
> too.

New Jersey Bell has a waiver to offer inter-LATA service between some
North Jersey counties to NYC (_not_ the other parts of the NYC LATA)
and some South Jersey counties to Philadelphia.  I believe this
service predated divestiture, so they were allowed to keep it.


John R. Grout        [e-mail]
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Center for Supercomputing Research and Development

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: International Premium Teleservices
Date: 1 Dec 92 15:44:09 GMT
Organization: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem


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

> It would be interesting to see what phone numbers in Australia are
> used. As I write this I recall there was some blurb in this Digest
> a while ago which included a phone number?  Other cases appearing in
> the Digest were:

> 1. a gay party line in the Netherlands Antilles (the number was
> +599-6868).

> 2. some numbers on the 609-490 exchange (Hightstown, NJ) advertised
> overseas but reachable from within country code 1.

> 3. some numbers advertised on +1-610 (country code 1 has no area code
> 610).

A colleague from Israel with an MCI phone card accidentally dialed the
access number to the MCI operator in the States (177-150-2727)
incorrectly and reached some company in the United States. He was
intrigued and randomly picked four of the last digits and was
flabbergasted to find that there were dozens of unlisted international
toll-free numbers. Has anyone ever heard of this?

Does MCI have a master list of these international toll-free numbers?


Josh   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: We touched on this a couple weeks ago. There are
lots of '0800 style' numbers in other countries which ring into some
number in the USA and vice-versa, with '800 numbers' here which wind
up terminating in another country. Although traditionally, 800 service
is a domestic offering, internal to the country where it is located,
there is no reason it can't go anywhere. If the customer wants to
receive international calls on his nickle, that's fine with telco. And
no, there is no master list for public consumption. I guess they
figure its none of your business; if a company wants your international
reverse-charge phone call, they'll see to it you see their advertising
or other notices, etc.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dick Flanagan)
Subject: Re: DigiBoard PC/8e Fails Under Xenix
Date: 2 Dec 92 03:53:19 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Dick Flanagan)


> I have a DigiBoard PC/8e serial card that is not recognized by
> DigiBoard's SCO/Xenix driver.  To make the problem more confus-
> ing, if I boot the system from a DOS diskette, the board passes
> all of DigiBoard's own DOS-based diagnostics.  When booting
> Xenix, however, I receive the following message:

> ***WARNING*** No memory at 00E00000 for PC/Xe at port 00000320,
> check switch settings

Well, the board now works just fine, but I don't know exactly why.
(Doncha just love it?!?)

In response to suggestions I received from Chip Rosenthal, I
endeavored to eliminate the ADB 2320 ESDI disk controller from the
equation.  I made a boot floppy, removed the ADB 2320 and installed a
borrowed floppy-only controller.  I booted from the floppy and LO! the
DigiBoard initialized without error!!

I then reinstalled the ADB 2320, removed the hard drives from the CMOS
configuration and again booted a floppy-only system.  Again, the
DigiBoard initialized without error.  "Ah HA!" sez I.

I redefined the hard drives in the CMOS configuration and again booted
just from the floppy.  The DigiBoard initialized without error.

Finally, I removed the boot floppy and attempted to boot from the hard
drives.  This, the original failing configuration, would confirm I was
on the right track.  The DigiBoard initialized just fine, thank you
very much!  8-|

Apparently, all of the disk controller moving and cable yanking fixed
something that had caused grief only to the DigiBoard driver.  I had
moved and reseated and cleaned the DigiBoard several times, but this
time I had concentrated on the disk controller.  A dirty edge
connector?  Open INT line?  Unseated chip?  I doubt I'll ever know,
but neither DOS, DigiBoard's DOS-based diagnostics nor the Xenix OS
had taken any notice of it.  In any case, =something= affecting the
ESDI controller had caused the DigiBoard to fail.

Needless to say, I am deeply grateful for the outpouring of help my
query elicited from the net.  I hope I can someday repay the help I
received.


Dick Flanagan               libelle![e-mail]
Voice/FAX:  [phone]             [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Hans)
Subject: Re: Headsets etc.
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation - DECwest Engineering
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1992 19:33:53 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> Cliff Sharp <clifto@indep1.
chi.il.us> writes:

> In article <[e-mail]@acuson.com (Jeff Bier)
> writes:

>> I'm seeking recommendations on telephone headsets.  I have in mind the
>> kind that replaces the handset on a typical telephone.  I'm also
>> curious to know if anyone makes a cordless telephone headset.

>   .... After trying on several dozen types, from Radio Shack (like
> having my head in a clothespin; hurt after just a few seconds) to
> Plantronics (heavy, similar to large stereo headphones which cover the
> entire ear and shut out all outside noise, sweaty and generally
> uncomfortable ... at least the ones I could find up to $300) ...

Plantronics makes *many* different types of headsets, most much
lighter than what you describe.  Anyone who's worked around PBX's
knows Plantronics.  They've been in the telephone headset business
longer than just about anyone.

I like the Startset II series myself.  The quality (sound, comfort,
service) of the Plantronics Starsets is unmatched by any headset I've
ever tried.  All the others I tried had poor sound quality, blow out
your ear drum with dialtone, have problems with the other end hearing
you, and break too easily.  But you *pay* for a good Plantronics
($150-200 US.)  When mine broke after six years of constant use, they
repaired it (actually just sent me a new one) for $40.

I should mention that until recently, their Startsets required
sticking a plug in your ear, which some people find uncomfortable.  In
the last few years they came out with a version of the Startset which
doesn't have the ear plug, but instead has a small speaker which rests
comfortably against your ear.  Also, I believe they have come out with
some cheaper models to compete with the wannabe's, but I imagine you
get what you pay for since they're still selling the good ones.

I spent the last eight years on the telephone doing customer support.
If I were going to spend any amount of time on the telephone I
wouldn't use anything but a Startset.  You couldn't pay me to use
anything else.  "They'll only get it if they pry it out of my cold
dead hands."  This is an unpaid endorsement, I'm just an overly
satisfied customer.


Hans-Gabriel Ridder <[e-mail]>
DECwest Engineering, Bellevue, Washington, USA
Any opinions expressed are not those of my employer, honest.


[Moderator's Note: Is it a Startset or StarSet?   PAT]
                               ^
------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Andrew B Haigh)
Subject: Re: Looking For Outdials
Date: 1 Dec 92 19:41:20 GMT
Organization: The University of British Columbia


    What I am looking for PAT, are freely accessible dialout ports
that I can reach through telnet. I would like to use my internet
access to do some long distance modemming without having to pay the
long distance rates. If such things are not restricted and freely
accessible then I would like to know about them. I have no wish to
take advantage of a restricted service, just to make as much use of my
network access as I can.

    So I ask again,I would like to compile a list of
non-restricted, freely accessible dialout ports that can be reached
through telnet. If anyone knows of such service please email me and I
shall post the results.


Thank you.
[e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: I don't think there are any which are open and
useable by all comers via telnet. The Bad Guys have pretty much
destroyed the trust which used to prevail between users at one site
and administrators at another. I know that here at my site, eecs.nwu.edu
keeps the gandalf servers locked up tight. With an account on this
actual site, you can call in (to your account) and then telnet or
rlogin wherever, or 'cu' for that matter. But you can't call in via
the Evanston (708) or Chicago (312) dialups, then from the terminal
servers scoot off to mit.edu or berkeley.edu or wherever and jump
off that end into an outdial, at least not without passwords on
both ends. Those days are long gone, at least where legit, god-fearing
users are concerned. ('god' = root or admin at the site). I think the
best deal for what you are seeking would be PC Pursuit, a service of
Sprint/Telenet. With thousands of telephone exchanges throughout the
USA available for local connections to PC Pursuit, and a few dozen
cities you can connect to for outdial local service, it is really a
good plan at $1 per hour, with a $30 (I think) minimum per month.
Since you are in Canada, you'd have to use something like Canada
DataPak to connect with a Telenet gateway; then your PC Pursuit
account would take over. Telenet's number is 703-689-6000 for more
information. There are places on the net which invite telnet
connections on an anonymous basis, but these usually are for local
programs on that site; outdials are not usually part of the deal.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (jeffj)
Subject: Re: HELP Needed on JPEG Standard!
Date: December 01, 1992  22:20 EST


> JPEG has very little to do with telecom.  It's a scheme for
> compressing digitized photographs.

Au contraire, it may have a lot to do with TELECOM.

a) there are many non voice tranamissions, such as FAX.

They use sophistocated methods of data compression and encoding that
impact the demand on the telephone networks.  There are dedicated
discussion groups for FAX and modems where this is discussed in
greater detail so those interested should move the discussion there.

b) the picturephone, videophone and other video conferencing devices
attempt to transmit full images in real time.  Even if JPEG
compression is not used, something similar is used.

A product was just announced in TELECOM that's a combination phone
(cellular or wire), pager, fax and graphics tablet.  How long do you
suppose before it becomes a remote PC I/O device capable of multimedia
(stereo sound, high resolution color graphics, etc.).  Shoving all
that data over a transmission line in real time requires advanced
compression.  High resolution digital TV is depending on that.

Here's another piece to the puzzle: General Instrument (GI) Corp. and
Toshiba will cooperate in mass producing digital video cassette
recorders for high definition television starting at the beginning of
1996.  GI is currently working with MIT to develop standards for HDTV.
GI's Jerrold division is most known for their cable tv converters.

The telephone industry will obviously want a piece of the action
particularly since they're interested in competing with the cable
companies.  Wanna guess how long until we have get pay per view
sensurround stereo HDTV Cinemax/HBO via my cellular phone to my
laptop/palmtop computer?  If there's a buck to be made, it'll happen.

AT&T "hobbit" microprocessor is rumored to be used in a pentop
computer that'll handle FAX and stuff.

I foresee a lot of interdisiplinary engineering in the future.  TV
transmissions via the the phone network is already happening as the
RBOCs try to get into the cable TV business.

I was just going through old newspapers and in the Thursday August 13,
1992 {New York Times}, section C there is a review of one person's
experince with the AT&T videophone 2500.  "A New Place to see and be
seen: the phone" by N.R. Kleinfield.  He humorously details his field
trial at home with the corresponding unit at a friend's house and how
they used the phone to its fullest.


Jeffrey Jonas  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Paging in 708/312
Date: Tue 01 Dec 1992 16:18 -0400


I don't know about paging companies in general, but Pagenet calls are
free at least within an area code. i.e., my 617 pager is free from
within 617.  By free, I mean I can walk up to a payphone (at least an
NET one) and place a call without a coin.  There is no charge to
receive the page either.  This is also true in other area codes where
I have pager numbers.  I'm not surprised that there was a charge from
708, though one would like to think that the area code splits
shouldn't affect billing.

To be precise, the free 312 call was from the Museum of Science and
Industry and the 708 call was from a hotel is Skokie.

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

Date: Tue, 01 Nov 92 17:44 GMT
From: Bruce Sullivan <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Help on Settling an Argument About Leased T1 Lines


> Let's say I lease a T1 link from the LEC. So I have 24 DS0 TDM slots
> going to the the LEC's CO. My data has to go across two CO hops to our
> downtown site where again we have 24 contiguous DS0 slots being
> delivered from the terminating CO to our downtown building. Now, the
> question is whether the contiguity of the original 24 DS0 TDM slots
> will be maintained across the links between the originating and
> terminating CO's.  In other words, will a dedicated T1 link (or a
> fixed T3 slot) be allocated to me and my individual DS0 slots never
> demultiplexed at the originating CO? Or will my 24 slots be chopped up
> and carried over separate portions of the inter-office T3 links, only
> to be reassembled at the terminating CO and delivered as one chunk of
> 24 DS0's again?

I don't see where there'd be an advantage to the LEC to break it up. I
think there'd be more overhead in managing it. I *have* had a similar
experience however when leasing a *fractional* T1. The IXC sees it as
a series of DS0s (where we, having a T1 CSU, treat it as a T1).
Therefore, they have not engineered it as contiguous bandwidth. This
is transparent to us until such time as they have a failure somewhere
that affects a single DS0 which takes us out altogether.


Bruce J. Sullivan ([e-mail]) ([e-mail])

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #883
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #884

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 3 Dec 92 01:50:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 884

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    AT&T 3430 NAM Programming (Robert Berger)
    Stolen Calling Card Number (Alan Malkiel)
    Touch Tone Menus (Steve Stacy)
    CT2 Public Services (Juha Veijalainen)
    One Solution to Answering Machine Problem (John W. Shaver)
    Dacon Tapes (John Holman)
    Rebilling Services Pros/Cons? (Jim Jacobson)
    CDS v.32 Trellis Useful? (Maxime Taksar)
    Other Bitnet Servers (Paul Robinson)
    Larry King Knows of Disconnect (Carl Moore)
    Lightning Protection of Telephone Lines (Richard Thomsen)
    Pac*Bell and Equipment Vending (John Higdon)
    Medic Alert Advise Needed (Anver Meghji)
    German FAX Machine "Category"? (Scott Roleson)
    Monitor Frequency Wanted For Baby Room Unit (Kevin Calmes)
    Historical Note on Telecom Privacy (Jim Haynes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Robert Berger)
Subject: AT&T 3430 NAM Programming
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1992 16:06:28 GMT


I just bought an AT&T 3430 transportable phone, bundled with a Bell
Atlantic activation here in Pittsburgh. I would like to register the
second NAM with a Cellular One company in another city I visit often.

My friend's GTE phone lets the user program the phone # and system ID
into a NAM, but my AT&T manual claims only an AT&T dealer can change
mine.

Is there an undocumented key sequence I can use to progam the NAM
info, or will I have to get the phone number from Cellular One, and
then go back to an AT&T dealer to have it entered?

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

From: [e-mail] (Alan Malkiel)
Subject: Stolen Calling Card Number
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Ericsson Network Systems, Inc.
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1992 16:24:36 GMT


Well, it had to happen.

My wife and I were in the DC area over Thanksgiving, using our calling
card number from public phones.  I took the usual precautions, mostly
due to reading this newsgroup, but my wife apparently was not so
cautious.

Last night, AT&T called us to inquire about the unusual calling
activity to Far East being billed to our card.  It took about a
millisecond to figure out what the problem was.  They took great pains
to remove all the fradulent calls from our bill and assign a new PIN
number.  Good fast work on their part.  And in the future, my wife
will keep her hand over the keypad.

So, be alert.  Someone is trying to copy your calling card number
while you dial!


Alan Malkiel | e-mail [e-mail]  | Ericsson Network Systems
alt.  [e-mail] MS - C06
| memo - EXU.EXUALAN PO Box 833875 | phone - [phone]
Richardson, TX 75083-3875

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Stacy)
Subject: Touch Tone Menus
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1992 05:52:40 GMT


I would greatly appreciate any information concerning the following
question.

    I would like to obtain a phone menu type system.  Where callers
can select an option on touch tone phones to receive different
recorded messages etc.

Can this be done by a personal PC ?


Thanks.

Steven M. Stacy    Purdue University
[e-mail]     [e-mail]

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

From: FNAHA![e-mail]
Date: 02 Dec 92 09:11
Subject: CT2 Public Services


Tele has launched a marketing campaign to promote their 'Pointer'
service in Finland.

They offer Motorola Silverlink 2000 CT2 phones, public service in
major cities and an automatic answering service.  Tele has also
advertised that similar services are available in England, Germany,
Holland, Singapore and Hongkong (if my memory serves me right).

Now I wonder why USA (or any country in the Americas) is not
mentioned?  Are these CT2/CAI systems tested or used at all over
there?


Juha Veijalainen   4ge system analyst
Unisys Finland     phone [phone], fax [phone]
Internet mail:     [e-mail]

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

Date: 02 Nov 92 07:23:16 MST
From: Mr John W Shaver <[e-mail]>
Subject: One Solution to Answering Machine Problem


Pat,

One of the elderly ladies in our community was having a problem with
their ATT answering machine similar to that discussed in V12 #873.
Funny recordings were left which she did not understand. She was told
by the person at the ATT 800 troubleshooting number that the tape
mechanism in the answering machine needed to be cleaned. Use alcohol
and q-tip (possibly copyrighted) swab. The lady claimed that it worked
for her. I have not tried it out. The theory is that the tape
mechanism ties up the telephone line and appreciably delays the
machine hangup routine.


              John W. Shaver
     602 538 7622 // DSN 879 7622 // FTS 658 7622
     FAX [phone] // DSN 879 0656_// FTS 658 0656

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

Date: Wed, 302 Dec 1992 09:00:24 CST
From: [e-mail] (John Holman)
Subject: Dacon Tapes


We are in the process of replacing a Dacon 46 automatic call sequencer
and are limping along with one last functional casette tape.  I have
contacted the manufacture only to find out they no longer have tapes
for the unit.  If anyone knows of a source for the 8 track type tapes
I would greatly appreciate a reply.

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

From: [e-mail] (Jim Jacobson)
Subject: Rebilling Services Pros/Cons
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Jim Jacobson)
Organization: Project NORTHSTAR, Dartmouth College
Date: Wed, 02 Dec 1992 16:54:05 GMT


I'm asking this for a friend ...

Does anyone have any experiences or opinions about carriers in the
"switchless rebilling market".  In particular, a friend is looking at
becoming a representative for Phoenix Network which claims to be a
leader in this market.

They basically buy large volume long distance services from AT&T, MCI,
and so on and bill these services to small customers at lower rates
than the big guys. The end customer stays with the same wires and so
on.  AT&T (or whoever) sends computer tapes to Phoenix (or whoever) at
the end of the month and then Phoenix generates the bills.

Thanks in advance for anything you might have to say.

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

Date: Wed, 02 Dec 92 12:27:11 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Maxime Taksar KC6ZPS)
Subject: CDS v.32 Trellis Useful?


My company recently cleaned out our offsite storage area, and it looks
like there were a few potentially useful goodies ... two of which are
these old modems.

They're both labelled "Concord Data Systems V.32 Trellis".  Does
anyone know if these are proper v.32 modems?

I played around with one, but couldn't get it to connect to a T1600.

Any Digest readers recognise this beast and have any hints?

(I'll happily describe it's ports, buttons, das-blinkenlights
and features as best as I've been able to figure out without
documentation, if anyone is interested.)


Maxime Taksar   KC6ZPS     [e-mail]

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Date: Wed, 02 Dec 1992  19:03:40 EST
Subject: Other Bitnet Servers


I wrote:

> In TELECOM Digest 12-869, Richard Budd ([e-mail]) writes
> that he has trouble getting through from Internet addresses.

Some responses have informed me that there are several internet
gateway servers for Bitnet.

To reiterate, the access to bitnet from internet is to use the
internet form:

   user%system.bitnet@gateway

as the general method of routing.  For example, richard budd's address
could would be reached via:

   [e-mail]

I originally listed cunyvm and princeton as gateways, but for that
particular system, i've heard that the preferred MX for that site is
uga.cc.uga.edu.

The following is a list of bitnet<->internet gateways:

brownvm.brown.edu.  cunyvm.cuny.edu.    cornellc.cit.cornell.edu.
mitvma.mit.edu.    pucc.princeton.edu.   ricevm1.rice.edu.   uga.cc.uga.edu.
uicvm.uic.edu.  vtvm1.cc.vt.edu.

Thanks to those who supplied the information.


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail] -- These opinions are mine alone.

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

Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 10:52:17 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Larry King Knows of Disconnect


Late last night or this morning, I heard someone ask Larry King, the
radio talk-show host of note, if they would be charged if the phone
rings and rings and then the operator comes on and disconnects the
call due to its not being answered.  Mr. King said no.


[Moderator's Note: Readers may recall that Larry King's abusive use of
the phone network was the main reason AT&T started doing auto-disconnect
on unanswered connections still up and ringing after 3-4 minutes. He
was telling callers to his radio show that they would avoid paying
long distance tolls of 30 minutes or more (29 minutes on hold, one
minute or so on the air) by 'just letting it ring' until the show was
ready to take their call instead of being answered and waiting on hold
as is the more normal way of producing talk shows. AT&T finally got tired
of having large amounts of common equipment in the CO tied up on a
non-revenue producing basis for the couple hours his show was on the
air each night. Once the new policy was started, King blasted AT&T on
the air and told people to start using Sprint when they called his
show. AT&T's unofficial response (they made no official response) was
they were glad to get rid of such a troublesome, expensive situation.
Someone said, "He's telling people to put their non-revenue producing
traffic on Sprint for a change instead of us? ... GREAT!"  PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 10:55:50 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Richard Thomsen)
Subject: Lightning Protection of Telephone Lines


Thanks to all who responded to my request for information on how to
protect my telephone lines from lightning.  I have been away for two
weeks, and am beginning to digest all the answers.

I really do not know if it is comming in on the telephone lines or the
power lines, but there is definitely a difference in potential between
the two.  The ground line I put in should take care of some of that.

Joel Upchurch pointed out that I might be liable for telco equipment
if I connect their ground to the power ground.  Does anyone know
anything about this?  Both have wires going into the ground: I just
connected the two ground wires together using #10 guage wire.  I
cannot tell if it has done any good, as most of the storms are in
spring/summer.

Again, thanks to all.  I think I will try to get some of the equipment
mentioned, and perhaps put in a punchdown block into the basement.
Then I can put in the special equipment there, wired directly to power
co.  ground and water pipes, on my side of the telco interface.  This,
however, is not simple (nothing is when trying to modify wiring inside
walls).  But maybe I can work out something.  Guess I better talk to
Contel/GTE also.

For those who are interested, I live in the Jemez Mountains in
northern New Mexico, in a small private association (about 110 lots)
in the Santa Fe National Forest.  There are no city services.  The
telco wiring is underground.  The power is above until it gets to the
pole at the base of the hill on which my house is built - then it goes
to a transformer on the pole, and underground to the house.  The water
is from an association water system, using plastic pipes to the house,
and copper inside.  There are no CATV or other services.

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

Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 09:50 PST
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Pac*Bell and Equipment Vending


Today I received a call from someone at PacTel Meridian Systems, the
equipment sales division of Pacific Telesis. He was pushing his phone
systems and the hook was, "Is your current equipment 'Caller-ID'-ready?"

I explained that Pac*Bell had not officially even declared that it
would offer CNID. His response was, "Oh it will be offered sometime in
the next year."

One of two things is happening here. Either the salesman is pure slime
and he is selling on false pretenses. Or, being associated with the
company that is actually providing dial tone, he has inside informa-
tion concerning the utility's plans.

Either way it is less than ideal. But the latter case is particularly
disturbing. It is just one step away from a situation where the
telco's vending arm provides unique equipment and services that are
only available if one buys from the "telco approved" vendor.
Admittedly, CNID is not that service since it follows Bellcore
standards. But at some point (and mark my words), Pac*Bell will
quietly provide some sort unadvertised signaling or handshaking that
will be utilized by systems offered by PacTel Meridian and the specs
will not be made available to other vendors, nor will the signals be
"orderable" by them.

Anyone still think that telcos should be allowed in the equipment
vending business?


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Anver Meghji)
Subject: Medic Alert Advice Needed
Date: 2 Dec 92 18:26:31 GMT
Organization: BT North America (Tymnet)


My mother-in-law, recovering from a recent angioplasty, will be
convalescing in our home for the next couple of months.

We are concerned about her during weekdays when she will be alone, and
are considering renting a Medic Alert device/system.

Would appreciate the fruits of your collective wisdom both on the
technical and logistical viability.

You can email me at [e-mail].

Thanks in advance for your help.


Anver

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

Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 11:01:13 -0800
From: Scott Roleson <[e-mail]>
Subject: German FAX Machine "Category"?


Does anyone know the origins or rationale behind the German
description of "Category A" and "Category B" FAX machines?

These categories are described in the standard "FTZ 18 TR 53", a.k.a.
"Conditions for the Approval of Gr. 3 Terminal Equipment for the
Telefax Service."  Reading this standard tells me what it is, but not
why.  In short, "Category A" machines have a long list of mandatory
features, while for "Category B" these features are optional.  But
that's it.  Nothing about why, or if there are any penalties for being
A vs. B, etc.

As near as I can determine, it doesn't matter if a FAX machine is
"declared" as A or B.  Does the German FAX consumer look for one or
the other category, or just shop on price and listed features?

Hope this question isn't too esoteric!  Any takers?


Scott Roleson                     |   Internet: [e-mail]
                                  |   UUCP: uunet!ucsd!hp-sdd!hpsdde!scott
Mail Stop 60U2                    |   Telephone: [phone]
Hewlett-Packard Company           |   FAX:  [phone]
16399 W. Bernardo Drive           |   Amateur Radio:  KC7CJ
San Diego, CA  92127-1899  U.S.A. |   Any opinions are my own, not HP's.

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

From: Kevin Calmes <[e-mail]>
Subject: Monitor Frequencies Wanted For Baby Room Unit
Organization: Southeastern Louisiana University
Date: 1 Dec 92 12:50:28 -0600


I have a Gerry monitor that I keep in next to our baby crib.  I want
to use my scanner as an extra receiver but I don't have search mode on
it to find the frequency.  If anyone know the frequency for this baby
room monitor, please e-mail it to me.


Thanks,

Kevin Calmes - [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jim Haynes)
Date: Wed, 02 Dec 92 21:31:47 -0800
Subject: Historical Note on Telecom Privacy


Apropos of all the talk on FBI wiretapping, cellular eavesdropping,
etc., I found this passage in "Old Wires and New Waves"; Alvin F.
Harlow; 1936.  He's writing about unscrupulous telegraph operators in
the early days.  They would use information in telegrams for personal
gain, or delay messages or news for personal gain, or sell news
reports to non-subscribers of the press association.

    "Pennsylvania passed a law in 1851, making telegrams secret,
    to prevent betrayal of private affairs by operators.  When,
    therefore, an operator was called into court in Philadelphia
    a little later, and ordered to produce certain telegrams which
    would prove an act of fraud, he refused to do so, saying that
    the state law forbade it.  The circuit court, shocked at this
    development, proceeded to override the law, saying:

       It must be apparent that, if we adopt this construction
       of the law, the telegraph may be used with the most
       absolute security for purposes destructive to the
       well-being of society - a state of things rendering
       its absolute usefulness at least questionable.  The
       correspondence of the traitor, the murderer, the robber
       and the swindler, by means of which their crimes and
       frauds could be the more readily accomplished and
       their detection and punishment avoided, would become
       things so sacred that they never could be accessible to
       the public justice, however deep might be the public interest
       involved in their production.

    The judge therefore ordered the operator to produce the telegrams."

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #884
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #885

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 3 Dec 92 02:36:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 885

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Ringing My Own Phone (Tom Kloos)
    Re: Ringing My Own Phone (in Area 716) (Rob Boudrie)
    Re: Ringing My Own Phone (Ken Stox)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (Gregory Youngblood)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (Dennis Mitchell)
    Re: Headsets etc. (Gary W. Sanders)
    Re: Headsets etc. (Dr. Math)
    Re: Headsets etc. (Alan L. Varney)
    Re: Email to Prodigy (Ed Ravin)
    Re: Email to Prodigy (Bill Rubin)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Tom Kloos)
Subject: Re: Ringing My Own Phone
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems Inc.
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 92 06:17:43 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> (Rob Knauerhase) writes:

[several ringback number examples deleted]

> In both instances, calling the number will result in a new dialtone.
> Dialing numbers at this point will not break the dialtone.  Flash the
> switchhook (briefly) and you'll get a constant tone.  At that, hang up
> and your phone will ring back.

At the new dialtone push 1 2 3 ... 0.  You should then receive two
short tones.  Dialtone is *not* broken.  This is the DTMF test mode.
Flash the line and you'll go into ringback mode as Rob describes.

> The procedure empirically works for 1AESS and DMS-100 switches in the
> areas mentioned above.  I suspect that it does NOT work for 5ESS as it
> quit working in (614) 876 when the local suburban paper reported a
> "switch upgrade" for the Hilliard area.

For US West in the Portland area it also works on 5ESS switches.  I
suspect that they may have changed the magic "prefix" in your case.
When they converted an exchange from a 1 to a 5 that my folks are on,
the ringback prefix stayed the same.  (and yes John Higdon ... the
5ESS delivers a raspy sounding dial tone at a lower level than the
1ESS did!!  :-( )

US West appears to pick semi-random prefixes that are not in the free
calling area (but may be used elsewhere in the same area code) for the
ringback number.  The magic prefixes also appear to be different for
each real prefix off the same switch.  ie.  244, 246, 293, and 452 are
all off the same 1A and each has it's own ringback prefix.  Dialing
the wrong one gives a busy signal even with the correct last four
digits.

Ringback on "GTE of the Northwest" switches in the area appears to be
accomplished by dialing your own number then hanging up although I
haven't personally confirmed this.


Tom Kloos, WS7S, Sequent Computer Systems, Inc.,
Beaverton, OR  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Rob Boudrie)
Subject: Re: Ringing My Own Phone (in Area 716)
Organization: Center For High Perf. Computing of WPI; Marlboro Ma
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1992 18:54:35 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail].
buffalo.edu (Rob B.) writes:

> Does anyone know how I can ring my own phone in area code (716)?
> Thanks for the help.

Yes.  Dial one of the following four numbers:

    981-xxxx
    982-xxxx
    983-xxxx
    984-xxxx

One of these will get a dial tone (I think that you use 981 if the
last digit of the exchange is a 2-3, 982 if 4-5, 983 if 6-7, or 984 if
8 or 9 but I'm not sure).  One will give you a dial tone.  Flash the
switchhook and hangup.  Wait for ring.

Also : 511 := readback of own number:
       223-9996 := Sweep tone; does not return supervision (may be obsolete)
       711 := Don't know what it is but it rings.

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

From: [e-mail] (Ken Stox)
Subject: Re: Ringing My Own Phone
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Ken Stox)
Organization: Ministry of Silly Walks
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 15:46:54 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Rob
Knauerhase) writes:

> If anyone knows precisely why this works, i.e. what purpose the telco
> has in implementing it, I'd be very interested in hearing.

I was under the impression that this was a test line. It is used to
check the installation of a new phone. If memory serves correct, at
the point you would hang up, instead, depress all the keys on the
touch tone pad in order. There will be a "bong" on the line which
indicates that the DTMF tone produced are in spec. Then hang up, and
you get a callback.

One thing I have noticed, the exchange I see for this line always
consists on numbers in different columns on the touch tone pad. Could
it be that the selection of exchanges was made to insure that calling
that test line would fully exercise the touch tone pad.


Ken Stox     Consultant to A.C. Nielsen    [e-mail]
#include <std_disclaimer.h>

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

Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones
From: tcscs![e-mail] (Gregory Youngblood)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 02 Dec 92 13:05:35 CST
Organization: TCS Consulting Services


[e-mail] (Karl Bunch) writes:

> Can anyone tell me why the 911 systems can not detect at least a
> approximate location of a cellular caller?

911 systems usually get the address from the telco and that is based
on the physical location the call originated from.  From the telco's
standpoint, all cellular calls are originated from the switch that
connects the cellular to land line.

If the cellular works with the 911 coordinator and the cellular system
has the resources, then this can be narrowed down to even smaller
areas.  I have set up three different systems where I had to route 911
to special numbers depending on which cell site the cellular call was
placed on.  When cellular systems are set up this way, then the 911
center can determine approximate locations.

The biggest problem comes from rural areas which use a single tower to
cover large areas of territory (30 mile radius and more in some cases)
and if the tower covers part of two 911 emergency center areas.  the
911 coord.  from the telco and the cellular company have to work
together to determine which of 911 center should be called if 911
calls originate from that tower.

I set up another system where the telco was able to 'flag' the
circuits out of my switch as being cellular, which caused a message on
the crt of the 911 operator.  This was nice as the operator was then
able to ask the right questions and be more effective.

Either method requires more training for 911 operators.  A lot of
times the 911 operators (especially for the early days of when 911 and
cellular were meeting each other) were not willing to listen to the
people calling from cellular that much because they would give an
address or lcation different than what was on their display.

With cellular and new technology coming more popular, the 911
operators will have to be trained to handle it.  I would think in your
situation a little more training on how to deal with cellular would
have helped your problem a bit, and if the cellular company worked
with them as well, that would have sped up response.

> Also, has anyone thought about the "potential" for 911 abuse on a cell
> phone?  With no accountability a person could make all sorts of false
> reports.

The police could subpeona the cellular phone company's records for all
911 calls and be able to track down the offending cellular phone.  If
the phone was a bandit or a fraud then that would make things
difficult, but if the phone used was an active phone, then that person
would have just got in some serious trouble.  Almost every cellular
company allows ANY cellular phone to dial 911, whether programmed,
active, bandit, or anything else.  This can increase the potential for
abuse, but the cellular company can still track this information and
use it to attempt to narrow down the offending party.  With any system
there will be a potential for abuse.


Greg
TCS Consulting Services   P.O. Box 600008   St. Paul, MN  55106-0008
..!srcsip!tcscs!zeta                 ..!src.honeywell.com!tcscs!zeta

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

From: [e-mail] (Dennis Mitchell)
Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 1992 02:24:39 GMT


In Hawaii (where I lived till recently), Honolulu Cellular did have a
contingency plan for just this sort of service.  Many local boaters
didn't bother with marine radios, they just took their cellular
portables with them.  That's fine if you want to call home, but if you
want to call the Coast Guard for help, they can't use radio direction
finding to locate you!

Honolulu Cellular had a capability to report the servicing cell site
to the Coast Guard if they requested assistance.  They could also do a
rough triangulation based on signal strength at adjacent sites.  It
was done at least once (they bragged about it in their monthly
newsletter).  The service did require human intervention at the
cellular service, so it wasn't a candidate for easy automation and
interconnect to enhanced 911 services.

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

Date: Wed,  2 Dec 92 14:13:26 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Headsets etc.
Organization: AT&T


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

> In article <[e-mail]> Cliff Sharp <clifto@indep1.
> chi.il.us> writes:

>> In article <[e-mail]@acuson.com (Jeff Bier)
>> writes:

> I should mention that until recently, their Startsets required
> sticking a plug in your ear, which some people find uncomfortable.  In
> the last few years they came out with a version of the Startset which
> doesn't have the ear plug, but instead has a small speaker which rests
> comfortably against your ear.  Also, I believe they have come out with
> some cheaper models to compete with the wannabe's, but I imagine you
> get what you pay for since they're still selling the good ones.

    I have used the Plantronics headset telephone at the office
for about five years. The style I have has a 1 ear walkman type
headband with mic. The problem I have had is the unit is showing its
age and I would like to replace it. The current plantronics models I
have seen show only two types of headsets now. The in the ear or the
micro speaker you place across your ear. Neither are usable with an in
ear hearing aid. Does anyone know if the old style walkman headset are
still available? The only problem I have with the 1ear walkman headset
is it cut out most outside noise in that ear, which for most is not an
issue, but considering I am deaf in the other hear I have a choice of
listening to nothing while waiting for calls or take off the headset
and listen to the activity in the office. Does anyone know of a bone
conductive headset? One that would rest behind the ear?


Gary W. Sanders (N8EMR)    [e-mail]
AT&T Bell Labs   614-860-5965

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

Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 18:16:12 -0500
From: Doctor Math <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Headsets etc.


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

> Plantronics makes *many* different types of headsets, most much
> lighter than what you describe.  Anyone who's worked around PBX's
> knows Plantronics.  They've been in the telephone headset business
> longer than just about anyone.

> I like the Startset II series myself.  The quality (sound, comfort,
> service) of the Plantronics Starsets is unmatched by any headset I've
> ever tried.

I have a couple of these which were OEM'd by Plantronics for Mother
Herself.  They were used in a 1A2 key system in pre-divestiture days
at a place my mother used to work.  The 1A2 went away, and the
headsets languished in a dusty old drawer for several months; my
mother found them and brought them home.  I picked up another at a
flea market which came complete with a set of different size earplugs
and a blue vinyl bag with the old Bell System logo in white on the
side. At one time I even had one wired up to a modified 2500 set, but
this stopped working after I moved out of my parents' house and I'm
not sure why; my guess is that the phone service there had loop
current to spare.

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

Date: Wed,  2 Dec 92 12:20:56 CST
From: [e-mail] (Alan L Varney)
Subject: Re: Headsets etc.
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


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

> In article <[e-mail]> Cliff Sharp <clifto@indep1.
> chi.il.us> writes:

>> In article <[e-mail]@acuson.com (Jeff Bier)
>> writes:

>>> I'm seeking recommendations on telephone headsets.  I have in mind the
>>> kind that replaces the handset on a typical telephone.  I'm also
>>> curious to know if anyone makes a cordless telephone headset.

>>   .... After trying on several dozen types, from Radio Shack (like
>> having my head in a clothespin; hurt after just a few seconds) to
>> Plantronics (heavy, similar to large stereo headphones which cover the
>> entire ear and shut out all outside noise, sweaty and generally
>> uncomfortable ... at least the ones I could find up to $300) ...

> Plantronics makes *many* different types of headsets, most much
> lighter than what you describe.

> I spent the last eight years on the telephone doing customer support.
> If I were going to spend any amount of time on the telephone I
> wouldn't use anything but a Startset.  You couldn't pay me to use
> anything else.  "They'll only get it if they pry it out of my cold
> dead hands."

   I've been with AT&T for 22 years, and have done some form of
customer support for most of that time.  Note that AT&T uses a LOT of
Plantronics gear.  However, while I like some of the Plantronics, the
"in-your-ear" versions are not good for me (ear problems).  When we
went to AT&T ISDN 7506 "telephones" about two years ago, we also
bought several dozen headsets from UNEX, Inc.  of Chelmsford, MA, in
particular their Ventel V Operator amplifier, also called their ETH
(Electronic Telephone Headset) amplifier with the VB-type headset.
This will work with a wide variety of "electronic" handsets (with some
DIP switch adjustment).

   They have headsets with traditional earplugs, foam "earbud"s,
single and double earmuff (for noisy areas) and a version with
ultra-light earmuffs (single/double) that look/feel just like the
typical "phones" that come with a Sony Walkman(rg.tm, I'm sure).  The
microphones are noise-cancelling.  THEIR customer support number is
508-256-8222.  I've never needed to call, however.

>This is an unpaid endorsement, I'm just an overly satisfied customer.

    Ditto for me.


Al Varney

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

From: [e-mail] (Ed Ravin)
Subject: Re: Email to Prodigy
Organization: Prodigy Services Co.
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1992 15:50:34 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Rob
Boudrie) writes:

[regarding future email gateway to the Prodigy service]:

> (a)  Will all Prodigy subscribers be reachable, or only those who
>      sign up and pay a surcharge?

I don't know.

> (b)  What will send and recieve costs be for Prodigy users?

Again, I don't know the exact details.  Prodigy charges 25 cents now
for each email message over the monthly free quota of 30 messages per
household- the charges for Internet mail will be on the same scale,
except that there will be surcharges for longer messages.  I think
this is similiar to the way incoming/outgoing Internet mail is metered
on CompuServe.

> (c)  Will Prodigy censors check incoming/outgoing mail to make
>      sure none of it is "not in the best interests of Prodigy"?

Please bury this already -- it's illegal to interfere with electronic
mail in this manner, and Prodigy does not (and never has) censored
private mail between individual users.  Their well-deserved bad
publicity is because of the way they "moderate" the service's public
bulletin board areas.  But private mail on Prodigy has always been
free from interference, and mail to and from the Internet will be no
exception.

Disclaimer: I ain't no Official Prodigy Spokescritter, so everything I
say is my own imagination.  For official Prodigy opinions, try calling
the public relations staff at [phone].


Ed Ravin- [e-mail]   [e-mail]
           [phone]   my opinions, nobody else's


[Moderator's Note: If I am not mistaken, I believe Prodigy either
cancelled the accounts of some users or otherwise disciplined those
users for their use of email in writing large quantities of email on
'unwelcome topics' to other users. I believe this occurred when the
users in question started using email to discuss what they were no
longer being permitted to discuss in the public forums. Am I correct
or do I stand corrected?   PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 12:29:31 EST
From: Bill Rubin <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Email to Prodigy


Rob Boudrie writes:

> A few questions :

>  (a)  Will all Prodigy subscribers be reachable, or only those who
>       sign up and pay a surcharge?
>  (b)  What will send and recieve costs be for Prodigy users?
>  (c)  Will Prodigy censors check incoming/outgoing mail to make
>       sure none of it is "not in the best interests of Prodigy"?

> [Moderator's Note: So the Prodigy email ruckus awhile back is still
> leaving a bad taste in some people's mouths, I see.   PAT]

a)  I would have to imagine only those who sign up and pay the surcharge
    since I have to assume that incoming mail will be charged for as well
    as outgoing.  However, this is just speculation on my part.

b)  These have not been announced and I doubt that the Prodigy employee
    who posted here would either know or if he did be willing to say.  I
    am very curious to know where an earlier poster got the $20/month fee
    from.  I have not heard anything along those lines.

c)  Prodigy does not, has not and never will look at incoming private mail
    on their own.  It WILL look at private mail when the subscriber
    complains that offensive material has been sent to them, but only
    then.  It only screens (ok, censors) public postings to their bulletin
    boards and may reject them for a number of reasons including that they
    are considered offensive and they have even become much more lenient
    in that area of late.  I don't understand what they did to piss so
    many people off at them who have never used the service.  Certainly
    not to the extent that people like Rob continously bring up these
    ridiculous "urban legends" which have no basis.  Rob, have you ever
    been on Prodigy or is this only what you have "heard"?


Bill Rubin

Disclaimer: not an employee of Prodigy, only a happy user.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #885
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #886

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 5 Dec 92 23:59:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 886

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet (Jeffrey Jonas)
    Using a US Modem in the Philippines (Mark Maimone)
    AT&T Public Phone 2000 and Billing (Ole J. Jacobsen)
    Local versus Long-Distance Line Quality (Jerry Glomph Black)
    Corrections (David G. Lewis via John Adams)
    Residential ISDN? (Dr. Math)
    Help: I Need Wall Brackets For MITEL Keysets (Robert Patrick MacKin)
    Transatlantic Meditation (Doug Hughes)
    KA9Q Packages Wanted (Mitsutaka Ito)
    Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN? (David E. Martin)
    Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN? (Matthew Holdrege)
    Re: Whatever Happened to Britain's Telegraph Poles? (Martin Harriss)
    Re: Whatever Happened to Britain's Telegraph Poles? (Andrew Emmerson)
    Re: Ringing My Own Phone (in Area 716) (Malcolm Slaney)
    Re: Ringing My Own Phone (in Area 716) (Andy Turnquist)

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

Date: Sat, 05 Dec 92 20:02:12 EST
From: [e-mail] (jeffj)
Subject: The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet


I am looking through the Hammacher Schlemmer catalogue (est. 1848).
[phone] [they sold executive toys and top of the line
appliances way before the Sharper Image was in business].

The "call screening identifier" not only displays the Caller-ID number
but displays the matching name for 300 names, does call screening and
stores 50 calls.  $170.


Jeffrey Jonas    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Maimone)
Subject: Using a US Modem in the Philippines
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 1992 06:48:11 GMT


    A friend is having difficulty connecting her US modem to her
home phone in the Philippines.  Her phone line has three wires rather
than four (and it's a party line); is there anything she should worry
about with that third wire?  Finally, is there a good way to determine
which line is which without a multimeter?  The home phone has no
adapter, she's going to have to jury-rig it.


Mark Maimone              phone: [phone] - 7698
Carnegie Mellon Computer Science  email: [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: If her service is on a party line, she should not
have the modem on there *under any circumstances*. I can't think of
anything less considerate of her party line neighbors than to have
them need the phone for urgent business and be unable to get anyone's
attention on her end because the modem is on there blasting some big
download in one direction or the other. Plus which, if her party line
neighbors *do* go off hook, it is almost certain her data will get
corrupted in the process -- and the modem may well just drop the
connection at that point as well. What does the Philippines telecom
administration have to say about her modem?  Or do they know it is
there?  Urge her to be cautious, one of the party line neighbors may
turn her in.   PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 5 Dec 92 15:58:57 PST
From: Ole J. Jacobsen <[e-mail]>
Subject: AT&T Public Phone 2000 and Billing


As has been pointed out before in this Digest, the new fancy AT&T 2000
public phones are nifty things, especially those with keyboards. On a
recent trip to Dallas I used one several days in a row to read my
e-mail back in California. I used my (new style) AT&T calling card.

This week the bill arrived, a bill I have never seen the likes of
before.  It comes from "AT&T Services" and lists only calls made via
the Public Phone 2000. (Other calls were billed through my Pac*Bell
account as usual.)

A call to AT&T Services reveals that "the LECs are unable to billing
for our new Public Phone 2000, hence the separate bill".

Is this really progress?


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: Jerry Glomph Black <[e-mail]>
Subject: Local versus Long-Distance Line Quality
Organization: Durufle', Vierne, and Messiaen
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 92 09:56:35 -0500


When I call from the Concord, MA (508-369) exchange to my office in
Lexington (617-981), my v.32bis modems will not work above 9600 baud,
presumably because of line quality.  What's interesting is that I can
reliably make 14,400-baud connections to an identical modem in Oregon
from both home and office.

So this morning I did an experiment: I called from Concord to
Lexington using my Sprint FONCard, using the 800-877-8000 access, just
like a real long-distance call ... and it worked flawlessly at 14,400!

The bottom line is (?) that long-distance inter-exchange connections
are higher bandwidth than local ones ... (Concord and Lexington are
adjacent exchanges, a local call, relic of the 617 split into 617 and
508.)

My understanding is that the POTS only guarantees 4800-baud service,
so can I expect NE Telephone to do anyting for me?


[Moderator's Note: 90 percent of my modem calls these days are from
home or office to the Northwestern dialups. I get excellent data
connections at 9600 baud all the time. My occassional LD modem calls
go through at 9600 okay also. I'm using a Telebit T-1600 in one place
and a US Robotics Sportster 9600 in the other.    PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (adams,john)
Subject: Corrections
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 92 15:16:18 GMT


Dear newsgroup (including Patrick),

Dave Lewis (Bell Labs) took the time to contact me directly concerning
a correct a couple of points in one of my recent postings which I
think deserve wider dissemination.  Thanks Dave, for helping my
omissions, etc.


 From: [e-mail] (David G Lewis)
 Subject: Re: *69 in NJ Bell Land
 In-Reply-To: <[e-mail]>
 Organization: AT&T


In article <[e-mail]> you (Jack Adams, that is)
write:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John
> J Butz [phone]) writes:

>> Here's a puzzler:

>> The Return Call Class feature (*69) offered by NJ Bell will call back
>> the number of the last person to call your phone. (When used to
>> screen calls can be considered a poor man's Caller ID).

>...lots of stuff deleted...

> In the second case, John's parents calling inter-lata to him, AR
> didn't work because SS7 interconnection does not currently exist
> between NJBell and AT&T.

Nor between NJBell and MCI, Sprint, Cable & Wireless, LDDI, or Joe's
Long Distance, for that matter.  You could probably count the number
of SS7-NI interconnections in the US on the fingers of one hand -
especially in BAtl land, where my 800 friends tell me the plan of
record for 86-10 compliance is to ensure that EO-AT/SSP signaling is
SS7, and AT/SSP-IXC signaling will remain EAMF.  BAtl believes that
this will keep their median setup times below the FCC-mandated amount
(five seconds median, I believe).

> The third and fourth cases are examples of public telephone (Coin)
> call handling.  When calling intra-lata, or inter-lata for that
> matter, using coins at a pay station, the local end office completes
> the intra-lata call using inter-office (most likely SS7) trunks.
> However, when attempting a call using a calling card (known as 0+
> dialing), the call is routed to an office (usually a tandem) with
> Operator Services functionality (OSPS or TOPs or ...) to establish
> calling card validity and call routing (completion).  Now for the
> hypothesis ... I suspect that not all of that particular TANDEM to end
> office trunks are SS7.  Thus, the connection is completed via Multi
> Frequency trunks without the ANI being passed.

Correct, sort of.  The EO may have SS7 connectivity with the tandem,
but operator services signaling doesn't exist over SS7.  Therefore,
every EO has to have some number of CAMA/OSPS/whatever MF trunks to
its subtended tandem which provides operator services to signal the OS
calls.

An additional terminology quibble - ANI is passed from the EO to the tandem;
that's the whole point of CAMA trunks.  CPN is not passed, however, and all
the CLASS (SM) services use CPN.

> The good news is that interconnection of LECs and IXCs is progressing
> nicely and that FCC Docket 86-10 will hasten the full deployment of
> SS7 within LECs.  In the mean time, anomalies such as John observed
> will occur.

> I have to pass on why AR doesn't work with the Holmdel 5E ISDN/Centrex
> line.  Could it be that Holmdel is among the <5% MF trunks in NJBell
> land?  Any NJBell ESAC folks on the net want to comment here?

I don't know for sure; I suspect it's more likely to be a Class of
Service issue than a technical issue.  The 5E is a genuine CO
providing ISDN Centrex, and ISDN Calling Line ID works, so there's SS7
connectivity.  I suspect it's just that the Centrex equivalent of Auto
Callback isn't enabled for the HO centrex lines.


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

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

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

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

Date: Sat, 5 Dec 92 17:55:10 -0500
From: Doctor Math <[e-mail]>
Subject: Residential ISDN?


Of all the ISDN rates I've seen in this Digest and elsewhere, the
telco charges some rate for connect time.  How is this justifiable
given the current situation of flat rate or "unmeasured" lines? An
analog voice call made from a flat rate line to some location in my
local calling area doesn't result in a per-minute charge, but the same
call carried over ISDN facilities would cost some amount for each
minut of connect time. Somehow this doesn't seem reasonable given that
ISDN is supposed to be the POTS of the future. Why aren't the telcos
offering flat-rate "residential" BRI which would be the equivalent of
today's flat-rate residential POTS?

I'm not saying that ISDN is a Bad Thing; I'm saying that the pricing
should be in line with the current pricing structures wherein
flat-rate service is available over a local calling area for
residential customers.  Of course, given the lack of consumer ISDN
applications, it's not much of an issue (yet).

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

From: [e-mail] (Robert Patrick MacKin)
Subject: Help: I Need Wall Brackets For MITEL Keysets
Organization: University of Western Ontario
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 1992 15:31:10 GMT


I am looking for wall brackets for a Trilluim TalkTo 308.  The same
bracket is used for all Talk To sets, all Panther, and the Mitel
Superset I,II or III (but not IV, they are very different.)  If you
know of a place where I may locate some, please EMAIL or call me 519
472 7194 (London, Ontario).


Thanks,

[e-mail] (Robert Patrick MacKin)
Western Business School  --  London, Ontario

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

From: [e-mail] (Doug Hughes)
Subject: Transatlantic Meditation
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: GE Aerospace - VF
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 1992 17:03:19 GMT


I've got some questions here that someone out there should be able to
answer.  I've been in a discussion recently with some people about
transatlantic communication.  We were wondering:

1) Is it cheaper to rent a Satellite channel? Copper trunk piece or
fiber trunk piece assuming you are renting the same bandwidth (say
224Kb).

2) Would it be cheaper to BUY/INSTALL/LAUNCH a satellite with all the
relevant ground station and comm stuff, an fddi cable across the
Atlantic, or a copper cable across the Atlantic?

3) Do these things change much if we do this say, across a smaller
body of water ... say, between two islands in Indonesia?

4) Over land, which would be cheaper (in the U.S.) fiber or microwave.

I realize that these things could depend upon many variables, I'm just
looking for some general horse-sense on the matter.


Doug Hughes   Software Developer - GE Aerospace (M&DSO), Valley Forge, PA
[e-mail]    or    [e-mail]

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

Subject: KA9Q Packages
Date: Sat, 05 Dec 92 09:59:46 +0900
From: Mitsutaka Ito <[e-mail]>


I would like to have KA9Q source and documents.  Please inform me the
IP address of ftp sites.  If there is no ftp service of KA9Q, please
inform me other method.

Thank you in advance.


ito

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

From: [e-mail] (David E. Martin)
Subject: Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN?
Date: 5 Dec 1992 15:42:45 GMT
Organization: Fermi National Acclerator Laboratory, Batavia, IL, USA
Reply-To: [e-mail]


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

> Even though Pacific Bell requires a minimum of two BRIs, they cost
> only $29 per month, and data calls are the same as voice calls, which
> means that a local data call costs only $.60/hour or so.  So, let's
> NOT encourage Pacific Bell to price their data calls like Ameritech!

Ameritech has finally seen the light.  As of September 14, all B
channel data calls in the Chicago LATA are charged at the same rate as
business voice calls.  This has decreased my monthly ISDN bill from
about $150 to $50.


David E. Martin
National HEPnet Management                     Phone: [phone]
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory          FAX: [phone]
P.O. Box 500, MS 368; Batavia, IL 60510  USA   E-Mail: [e-mail]

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

Date: Sat, 5 Dec 92 18:31 GMT
From: Matthew Holdrege <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN?


Steve Forrette ([e-mail]) writes ...

> Even though Pacific Bell requires a minimum of two BRIs, they cost
> only $29 per month, and data calls are the same as voice calls, which
> means that a local data call costs only $.60/hour or so.  So, let's
> NOT encourage Pacific Bell to price their data calls like Ameritech!

Sorry. I should have said that Ameritech provides FREE local ISDN
calls.  Local meaning within the same CO. Inter-CO calls cost $6 per
hour. This means that you can have free unmeasured 128kb WAN service
for a small monthly charge (about $35.) This information is from 1991
and the prices may have changed.

But I will also be happy if California's single line BRI tariff is set
at 60 cents per hour. As long as the long-distance-intra-lata costs
are not too high.


Matt Holdrege   [e-mail]   714-229-2518

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

From: [e-mail] (Martin Harriss)
Subject: Re: Whatever Happened to Britain's Telegraph Poles?
Reply-To: bdsgate![e-mail] (Martin Harriss)
Organization: Beechwood Data Systems
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 92 21:49:15 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Nigel Allen) writes:

> Whatever happened to Britain's telegraph poles?

Most of the circuits were moved off open wires some time ago, maybe 20
or 30 years ago.  The circuits were all moved to buried cables.  For a
long time it was common to see trackside poles with no wires, or with
obviously unused wires.  (Broken, hanging, etc.)  I guess that some
time in the recent past there was a project to remove the unused
poles.

Note that most of Mercury's (fiber) network is buried by the side of
British Rail tracks.  Maybe the poles were removed when the fiber was
laid?


Martin Harriss   uunet!bdsgate!martin

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

Date: Sat, 5 Dec 92 18:18 GMT
From: Andrew Emmerson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Whatever Happened to Britain's Telegraph Poles?
Reply-To: [e-mail]


A few telegraph poles are left but yes, most have disappeared. Trunk
phone lines belonging to BT (British Telecom, former Post Office) are
mainly buried alongside roads (or on microwave!), whilst British Rail
places its cables in concrete troughing at the side of the tracks.
Quite a few preserved steam railways retain proper overhead pole
routes, though.

       If you want to see old-style heavy British pole routes (both
Post Office and railway), just go to the Republic of Ireland. They're
all still in use there, following exactly the same design rules (well,
they _were_ British until Ireland seceded!).

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

From: [e-mail] (Malcolm Slaney)
Subject: Re: Ringing My Own Phone (in Area 716)
Date: 6 Dec 92 00:43:38 GMT
Organization: Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, CA


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

>> Does anyone know how I can ring my own phone in area code (716)?
>> Thanks for the help.

Pat, can't we declare a moratorium on these questions and answers?
They are inherently local, often change, and operators are always glad
to ring you back.  Perhaps it is time to spin this discussion off into
it's own mailing list :-).

Thanks for a great job (but hold the ringbacks.)


Malcolm


[Moderator's Note: Even though I have pointed out several times that
there is no universal standard and that each CO does its own thing,
and often changes the number frequently, still the question keeps
arriving: what number do I call, etc.  Most of the time I toss it out,
but every six months or so I run it for the benefit of new readers. Of
course, I ask the new subscribers to read the FAQ also; I am not sure
how many bother doing it.      PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Andy Turnquist)
Subject: Re: Ringing My Own Phone (in Area 716)
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 1992 14:04:20 -0500 (EST)


I would also be interested in ringbacks for 716, particularly in the
Rochester area including 716-377 and 716-475.


Andy Turnquist   [e-mail]    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Anyone with the answer should write to Andy.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #886
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #887

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 6 Dec 92 02:29:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 887

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    NYTEL Service Sacrificing (Paul Migliorelli)
    Ethernetted Office Phone Systems? (Graham Toal)
    FMR (No) Airtime Charges (Douglas Scott Reuben)
    Help Wanted: Network Applications Engineer (Mitch Wyle)
    GTE Guarantees its Service: Chapter 11, Here They Come (Paul Robinson)
    Sprint Dis-Cards (Shrikumar)
    Organization Warns Lawyers Against Using Cellular Phones (Paul S. Sawyer)
    GTEMobile Net (Gloria C. Valle)
    Getting the Number I'm Calling From (ANAC?) (Morgan Schweers)
    How Can One Reduce Ring Current Crosstalk? (Dave Mausner)
    Attention Derek J. Neufeld (Michael Rosen)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 00:59 est
From: [e-mail] (Paul Migliorelli)
Subject: NYTEL Service Sacrificing


A few weeks ago, a friend of mine wanted to order NYNEX PhoneSmart
services which had just arrived on the scene on November 1.  It was
necessary for him to discontinue his IntellaDial service.  It seems
that if you have normal Custom Calling features, PhoneSmart isn't a
problem, but there was no way that it could be had in conjunction with
the enhanced service.

Earlier this week, I placed an order for Voice Messaging Service.  A
short time later, I got a call from the rep telling me that the VM
service wouldn't work hand in hand with the two additional RingMate
numbers I already have.  I guess the various software is just not able
to handle many strange curves we toss out at it when we want many
combinations of things.  And so it goes.  I gave up the RingMate for
the Voicemail.


[Moderator's Note: Paul's message arrived truncated at this point, but
that's okay, I will respond to what there is. Like the situation he
notes, I had to give up my Starline (IBT's home centrex) service to
install the additional custom calling features of Call Screening and
Return Last Call. According to IBT, they would not work together. I do
have voicemail working with (what he calls) Ringmate however, and this
works fine. I think he should ask further about this. Calls to my main
number go to voicemail (as appropriate; no answer after three rings or
line is busy, etc), but calls to the Multiline Ringing (Ringmate)
number just ring through, and keep on ringing, regardless of the setting
of call forwarding or voicemail.  I think telco sometimes says certain
services are not compatible when what they mean is they might not in
combination have the results the customer wants. But if the customer
knows the results and can work with them, then that's fine ... the
customer should be (and usually is) able to  order them.

In one case where I attend to the phones for someone else, there are
two lines in a hunt group with the first hunting to the second. No one
ever calls the second number direct, nor are they aware of the number.
All they know is the first line.  I had Call Screening put on the
first of the two lines, mainly so that anonymous and abusive calls (of
which there were many; this information service gets 500 calls per day
of one or two minutes each in length, answered by a computer with a
provision for making selections from a menu, etc) could be manually
rejected from further calls by an operator entering *60 #01#, which in
Call Screening means reject further calls from the last call received
whether or not the number is known to the called party. IBT insisted
this would not work if the incoming call rolled over to the second
line; they insisted the Call Screening software came *after* the CO
made a decision to 'hunt' or roll the call to the second line. They
were wrong on this. It sits *before* the decision to hunt to another
line. All calls to the main number first are 'call screened', then
they move to the line in question and hunt the second line if the
first one is busy. It would not work of course if the calling party
knew the second number in the hunt group and called that line instead.
So the operator who is monitoring hears an abusive party on the first
line (which is where the majority of the calls come in) and responds
by pressing a key to drop the caller. Then immediatly the operator
goes off hook on the line and dials *60#01#. The acknowledgement tone
advises it has been recorded. If the abuser is on the second line, the
operator still drops the connection and waits; he'll be back on the
system in a few seconds (they always call back to continue their har-
assment) and sooner or later he'll be on the first line. Bingo, the
operator dumps him and blocks him, all in five seconds. After that,
the caller never even gets near the machine; his CO tells him 'the
party you are calling does not wish to receive your calls right now.'
It works like a charm, and has cut abuse to a minimum at that site.  PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 05 Dec 1992 19:40:55 GMT
From: Graham Toal <[e-mail]>
Organization: Current Science Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Subject: Ethernetted Office Phone Systems?


My workmate Andrew Witbrock and I were chatting today when I was
telling him about the 'phone' program on Suns which lets you use voice
over your Ethernet. (No new technology -- I remember a classmate
implementing this when I was at Edinburgh University in 1980.)

However, we were wondering ... has anyone ever built actual
*telephones* for use in a building with local ethernet that used
tcp/ip?  If not, there's a tremendous market there: You can program
your phone with your extension, and take it with you when you move
office without reprogramming the exchange (a trivial point but one
that would be useful in *our* office where we're always bloody moving
 :-( ) but more importantly you only need to run one ether trunk round
the whole building to cover all possible present and future phone
*and* network needs.

There would be an exchange which gated the ether-phones to the real
phone system outside.

I don't know if anyone has done this, but if they haven't I'm
publishing the idea here as public information so that if someone does
come up with hardware to do this, we can claim prior art. (No, I don't
want to patent it.  I want to *stop* people patenting it :-)) I'm
worried that someone might patent this idea with the effect that
similar systems implemented in software (eg sun phone) would then be
unusable.

Please add some ideas about how a ordinary-looking phone with
thin-ether tap on the back would be implemented; what features it
could have over ordinary phones; and whether it would catch on
commercially.  Or indeed, does such a thing already exists?


Graham

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

Date: 5-DEC-1992 17:55:09.93
From: Douglas Scott Reuben <[e-mail]>
Subject: FMR (No) Airtime Charges


Question about Follow Me Roaming and Nationlink:

When FMR (or Nationlink, but I'll just say FMR) is activated, it sets
up some form of forwarding in your home switch. FMR seems to set up
"immediate call forwarding", while Nationlink/Roam America seems to do
either immediate call forwarding (usually *72) or "No Answer Transfer"
(usually *71).

Thus, if I have a GTE Mobilnet account in San Francisco, and I
activate FMR and then come back to SF, I can use Call Forwarding for
the day even if I don't have that as part of my "feature package". The
same holds true for Nationlink in your home system, at least until it
deactivates automatically, after which you will no longer be able to
use whatever form of forwarding.

Most systems that I am familiar with charge airtime for call-forwarding,
yet they seem able to distinguish between an FMR call and a regular
call. That is, if I activate FMR is Dallas, the switch in SF basically
does a *72 to the psuedo-number I am assigned to for that day in
Dallas. Calls sent to Dallas do NOT accrue airtime charges, even
though they are forwarded; only the tolls to Dallas are billed.

Yet if I fly back to SF the same day, and punch some other *72 number
into the system while in GTE/SF, I *will* be billed airtime, even
though I don't normally have Call Forwarding as a feature.

My question thus is: How does the switch "know" that *I* entered the
new number and not the FMR system? Can it discern numbers entered
manually by customers, or is some code sent along with the FMR
forwarding request to tell the switch "Hey, no airtime on this
forward...!". Or does the home switch know all the ranges for the
psuedo numbers in other cities and thus knows not to bill airtime for
calls to those numbers?

(BTW, some systems DO bill home airtime for FMR/Nationlink, as well as
tol charges and foriegn roamer charges, so be careful. Cell One/Boston
supposedly does this; I've never tried it myself.)


Doug    [e-mail]  //  [e-mail]

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

From: Mitch Wyle <[e-mail]>
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 1992 15:09:58 -0800
Subject: Help Wanted: Network Applications Engineer


I am desperately trying to hire someone for an exciting development
position that involves full text retrieval and wide area networks.

I would very much appreciate your sending the following position
description to anyone you know who might be interested in the job.


Thanks,

Mitch

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

Applications Engineer, Network and Computing Services

1. Role and Responsibility

This position is chartered with:

o  Organizing, procuring, developing, and maintaining a suite of
   information retrieval application systems that provide world
   class electronic customer support and connectivity to Synopsys;

o  Systems administration tasks associated with the hardware and
   telecommunications infrastructure associated with the information
   retrieval project;

o  Developing and maintaining a data classification system for use in the
   project;

o Identifying and articulating key customer issues for improving the
  systems.

Success in the job during the first year will be measured in terms of:

o Quality of work on the project;
o Degree of dedication and energy invested in the project;
o Dedication to the improvement of the system and to customer support;
o A willingness to tackle tougher issues and broaden knowledge as the
  year progresses;

o Acquiring analytical capabilities necessary to identify key customer
  issues.

The Applications Engineer will report to the Manager of Network and
Integration Services.


2. Professional Background and Experience:

The most appropriate candidates will have:

 .  Software development experience from previous work;
 .  MSEE and one year of work experience or BSEE and two years of
    work experience;
 .  Supported customers in some capacity or have teaching experience;
 .  Some exposure to full text retrieval and distributed bulletin board
    systems (WAIS, c-news, electronic mail subscription services).

Additional positive qualities for which we are searching include:

+  Outstanding written and verbal communications skills;
+  Very strong team player;
+  Strongly motivated to help people;
+  Motivated by quality and excellence in all work;
+  Strong interest in learning and growing;
+  Japanese language abilities.

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Date: Sat, 05 Dec 1992  18:49:16 EST
Subject: GTE Guarantees its Service:  Chapter 11, Here They Come


I suspect either someone there is reading this newsgroup or they have
a general idea about their service.

Today I had to go through Washington DC's Union Station, and in front
of the Amtrak gates was a notice about the phone service provided on
the trains.

It stated that the service, provided by GTE Mobilephone, is guaranteed
or your money back.  Apparently, if your call fails or is unsatisfac-
tory, you dial a code to tell the operator, then dial a 1-800 number
when you get to a land phone, and they will credit you for the bad
call.

So here's the opportunity to {legally} make free calls: Use the GTE
phones provided on the train, then call up their office to tell them
the honest truth about the connection!


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]
These (uninformed) opinions are mine alone; no one else is (stupid
enough to be) responsible for them.


[Moderator's Note: Sorry Paul, where your fraud -- and that is what is
really is  -- fails is in your continued use of the 'unsatisfactory'
service. If the service was so bad, why did you continue using it? And
if you were able to receive or deliver your communication through the
use of the service, then how unsatisfactory could it have been, given
the obvious differences between landline and radio-telephony? I am
sure there are limits on how much they will refund to a customer on
any given call and how many calls they will consider refunds for.  PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 5 Dec 92 21:36:52 -0500
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Sprint Dis-Cards
Organization: UMass, Amherst MA + Temporal Sys & Computer Networks Bombay India


These phone calling cards are practically next to useless!

Well, I agree thats a very strong statement, but that sums up my
emotions from my experience of the last few days.

The Thanksgiving week had me logging some 22K miles, on a hectic
trip to India (BTW on telecom related business), and touching NYC and
DC on the way back. Soon on landing at JFK I used my Sprint cards to
call up friends in Washington DC to arrange to meet me and pick me up
etc.  (I was very careful to cover my hands as I typed in the numbers,
and once I refused to spell out the number verbally to a Sprint
operator from a payphone etc. so I am pretty sure my number was not
compromised).

Within an hour of those three calls, a very ominously named "Sprint
Investigation Deptartment" had put a hold on my FONCards, to protect
me they claimed, as they noticed unusual activity on the cards. Calls
to Sprint confirmed that the only thing unusual they'd noticed was
those three calls I'd made.

Well, true I don't "usually" call from JFK :-). When I call from home,
I use my dial-1 line. Only when I travel do I use my card, and when I
do travel I can't avoid JFK, and am even more likely to call from
there, during the long waits for international flights.  And soon as I
do, Bammo ! ... the Sprint Algorithm for Customer Protection will term
that "unusual" and will leave me high and stranded.

Sprint was kind enough, and reactivated my other card. During the four
hours that this took ... I took recourse to my ATT calling card, which
I had also ordered quite whimsically. Moral: always carry cards from
two different companies.

I think I should order up some 200 FONcards, since the first time I
use one, Sprint is going to cancel it for me. I'd rather call this the
Sprint Dis-Card ! :-)

ATT Calling cards are also not really better ... they seem quite
convinced drug dealers make calls from the fax machine in the Computer
Science Department in the nice small university town called Amherst,
MA. :-). So they would not let me place calls to India from that number
with my ATT calling card, unless I am literate enough in mysteries of
ATTs operator procedures, and *I* ask for "The Card Protection Agency"
to verify me.  Half the ATT operators don't know this can be done!.

I sincerely appreciate the concern of the phone companies in
protecting me from fraud, but I think they'd find some better way to
make the cards work!

I am curious ... does someone know the actual magnitude of fraud that
occurs with calling cards, that makes the phone companies so paranoid?


shrikumar ( [e-mail], [e-mail] )


[Moderator's Note: Fraud with calling cards is very bad, believe me.
It runs millions of dollars a year, but that is no excuse for AT&T to
be as abusive as they are toward citizens of middle east countries
(and/or citizens of the USA who come from those countries). AT&T just
does bald-faced redlining of certain inner-city urban areas and
refuses connections from payphones in those areas to middle east
countries via their calling card. The practice is totally illegal and
they've been reported time and again because of it. How do they placate
the customers who make a royal stink?  Why, they blame it on a 'new
and inexperienced operator' of course ... 'who had not been properly
trained ...'  or sometimes they blame it on the Telecom Administration
in the other country, saying 'Israel will not accept our calling
cards', which of course is a crock. Then they give the complainer a
few of their cheesy gift certificates to shut him up. Now some of the
complainers are suing AT&T on false advertising charges; their printed
literature plainly says to/from which countries the calling card can
be used -- it says nothing about pay phones in the Chicago-Edgewater
or Chicago-Rogers Park offices being an exception to the rule. But
complain all you like: AT&T doesn't bat an eye.

And as for Sprint, they were sued by the parents of a sixteen year old
boy who had been assaulted and left stranded by some creep in the New
York Port Authority Bus Terminal. All he had was a Sprint calling card
his parents had given him for his first trip away from home on his own
and Sprint would not honor it. 'Too much fraud from the bus station
pay phones, you know ...'. Sprint settled out of court but they're
still very arbitrary about where and when they will honor their own
card. They should be sued repeatedly until they quit the abuse.   PAT]

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

Subject: Organization Warns Lawyers Against Using Cellular Phones
Date: 5 Dec 92 11:52:40 EST (Sat)
From: [e-mail] (Paul S. Sawyer)


The following is submitted without comment (very difficult on my part :-).

{Foster's Daily Democrat}, Dover, N.H., December 5, 1992:

  Organization warns lawyers against using cellular phones
  --------------------------------------------------------

    CONCORD (AP) - The New Hampshire Bar Association has a warning
  for lawyers who use cellular phones: someone may be listening.

    The association's Ethics Committee has said lawyers shouldn't use
  cellular phones, portable phones or other forms of mobile communications
  to talk with or about clients unless the clients approve.

    The committee said there is a chance the conversations could be
  intercepted either on purpose or accidentally.

    Lawyer Lee Nyquist, president of the Manchester Bar Association,
  said lawyers need cellular phones.

    "In our day and age, with the volume of work and the necessity of
  fast responses, the need to be in constant contact with clients and
  use cellular phones is significant," said Nyquist.  "I'm not sure a
  lawyer can compete today and not be allowed to speak with clients
  (on cellular phones)."

    But lawyer Ovide Lamontagne said he thinks the bar association is
  simply telling lawyers to be careful to limit such calls to ordinary
  conversations.

    "The implication is that you can still use the car telephone, but
  anything that's said with a criminal client, for example, you have to
  be conscious that someone may be hearing it, and it could be introduced
  as evidence," he said.

    With that in mind, most lawyers limit their car phone use to ordinary
  calls, Lamontagne said.

    Eavesdropping on radio communications isn't easy to do, but it
  can happen.

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

Paul S. Sawyer    - University of New Hampshire CIS - [e-mail]
Telecommunications and Network Services             - VOX: [phone]
Durham, New Hampshire  03824-3523                   - FAX: [phone]


[Moderator's Note: The only thing wrong with that story is the last
paragraph: Cellular eavesdropping is quite easy to do and is does
happen a lot.     PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: 5 Dec 92 21:21:00 UT
Subject: GTEMobile Net


I hate to have to agree with John Higdon, but when I had the service
the billing was a major problem. I would have to go steps up to as far
as the President of MobileNet in one case. About a year ago they
dropped out of the Southern California market and left us to PacTel. I
could never complain about the service in either company. From my
understanding they have moved most of the people (MobileCom) to
Atlanta and Contel's former HQ. I don't know how the service is or
will be, but if you do get the right person it will get fixed.

Right after the 714/909 area code split no one could reach anyone with
a new 909 only cellular number. It appears someone somewhere forgot to
program it in and it was not just GTE as we could not reach it from
PacBell areas either.


[Moderator's Note: Once again, get.sprint.com people, please give me a
name for your articles other than Gloria Valle.  Thanks.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Morgan Schweers)
Subject: Getting The Number I'm Calling From (ANAC?)
Organization: McAfee Associates
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 1992 21:05:06 GMT


Greetings,

    Where I used to live (NY) if you picked up the phone and dialed
958, it would tell you the phone number you're calling from.  Now I'm
living in Sunnyvale, CA (408 Area code) and I've occasionally got to
futz with the outside phone lines of my house, with twelve phone
lines.  Can ANYONE tell me what the equivelant number to the '958'
service out here is?

    One person already suggested that it was '760', but 760-WHAT?  760
expects another four digits before it will answer.  It DOES seem like
a test exchange, but I can't figure out how to use it for what I need.
(And the person who suggested 760 just shrugged and said that they had
heard it somewhere ...)

    Any help will be much appreciated.


Morgan   [e-mail]     [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Like the 'how do I ring my phone' question, the
above is a frequent one in my mailbox. Readers should answer direct to
Morgan.  PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 05 Dec 1992 16:58:53 CST
From: Dave Mausner <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: How Can One Reduce Ring Current Crosstalk?


My home is wired for two lines with standard indoor four-wire cable,
NOT twisted-pair and NOT shielded.  I am NOT able to replace it.
Recently my modem on line two began disconnecting when an incoming
call rang line one.  I assume some characteristic of the ring signal
has been changed at the exchange, so that it induces crosstalk which
the modem regards as an interruption.

Would netters please suggest electrical/electronic remedies?  I am
willing to fiddle with the quality of line one which is voice-only, if
it will resolve the problem on line two.


Thanks,

d.l.mausner ([e-mail])

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Rosen)
Subject: Attention Derek J. Neufeld
Organization: University of North Carolina Extended Bulletin Board Service
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 1992 09:50:41 GMT


Sorry to waste bandwidth with this, but I lost Derek's address and
this was the newsgroup where he responded to a post of mine.

Derek, please reply.  Thanks.

Mike

   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:  laUNChpad.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #887
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #888

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 6 Dec 92 03:51:18 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 888

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Proposed Australian Number Changes 1994-1998 (Christopher Vance)
    "If You Didn't Call Us, Please Press 1" (Andrew C. Green)
    Wanted: Help With Multi-Tech/Courier Modem Problem (William Petrisko)
    Add to History.of.area.splits (Carl Moore)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Proposed Australian Number Changes 1994-1998
Organization: Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Australia
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 03:04:48 GMT


These tables cover geographic services only and are excerpted without
permission from the AUSTEL reports dated October 1992.  Formatting and
representation are my responsibility.

SUMMARY

The Australian regulatory organization in charge of the Australian
telecommunications is intending that all phone numbers in Australia
change over the next few years, ending up with only four area codes
and uniform eight digit phone numbers within each area.

ROUGH OUTLINE

New area code:    Supercedes old area codes:    And local numbers become:
02        02                9XXX XXXX
        04X                4XXX XXXX
        06, 06X                6XXX XXXX
03        00X                6XXX XXXX
        03                9XXX XXXX
        05X                5XXX XXXX
07        07                3XXX XXXX
        07X                7XXX XXXX
08        08, 08X                8XXX XXXX
        09, 09X                9XXX XXXX

In most areas, the old area code (without the leading zero) becomes
the beginning of the new local number; in Sydney and Melbourne, the
local number usually gains an initial 9; in Brisbane, an initial 3.

Each change will take a period of nine months.  During the first six
months, either the new or old number will be usable (the new number
within the new area code, the old number within the old area code);
during the last three months, a message will appear on the old number
referring the caller to the new number.

The leftmost position of each number in the tables indicates the start
of the change period.  Some periods are quoted with explicit months,
others with `early', `mid' or `late'.  The marker used to indicate the
period of change indicates which (<-----|--> or <<<--||>>>).  For
timescale representation, I have arbitrarily decided that:

    `early, mid, late'     means    Feb-Aug-Nov;
    `mid, late, early'    means    May-Nov-Feb; and
    `late, early, mid'    means    Aug-Feb-May.

There is no sanction to any particular division of local numbers into
groups of digits.  I have chosen divisions solely for clarity.

Ambiguous entries in the tables are resolved by applying the most
specific rule present.

Note for non-Australians: Australian area codes are always quoted with
a leading zero.  Dialing from overseas requires omitting the leading
zero.  Some confusions exists because in the existing scheme:

    city        national number        international dialling
    Sydney        (02) XXX XXXX        +61 2 XXX XXXX
    Sydney        (02) XX XXXX        +61 2 XX XXXX
    Hobart        (002) XX XXXX        +61 02 XX XXXX

DOUBLY CHANGED NUMBERS

A small subset of numbers (about 1% of the total) change twice.  For
these numbers, the first change is to prevent ambiguity during the
second change.  The first change affects only the local number; the
area code does not change until the second change. This second change
occurs concurrently with the change for all the other numbers in the
area and follows the same rules (but applied to the intermediate
number).

TABLE 1: Change from current to intermediate number for numbers
changing twice.

This table lists only numbers which change twice.  The timing of the
second change is also marked.  The specification of the change is in
Table 2.

              |Jl Oc 95 Ap Jl Oc 96 Ap Jl Oc 97 Ap Jl Oc 98 Ap Jl Oc
New 02 area   |       <<<--||>>>                          <<<--||>>>
(043) 43 XXXX |       44 XXXX
(046) 46 XXXX |       48 XXXX
(048) 480 XXX |       440 XXX
(048) 481 XXX |       441 XXX
(048) 482 XXX |       432 XXX
(048) 483 XXX |       443 XXX
(048) 484 XXX |       444 XXX
(048) 485 XXX |       445 XXX
(048) 486 XXX |       446 XXX
(048) 487 XXX |       447 XXX
(049) 49 XXXX |       44 XXXX
(063) 63 XXXX |       60 XXXX
(065) 65 XXXX |       67 XXXX
(066) 66 XXXX |       61 XXXX
(067) 67 XXXX |       60 XXXX
(068) 68 XXXX |       64 XXXX
(069) 69 XXXX |       60 XXXX
              |Jl Oc 95 Ap Jl Oc 96 Ap Jl Oc 97 Ap Jl Oc 98 Ap Jl Oc
New 03 aread  |       <<<--||>>>              <<<--||>>>
(002) 62 XXXX |       60 XXXX
(003) 63 XXXX |       67 XXXX
              |          <<<--||>>>              <<<--||>>>
(051) 51 XXXX |          54 XXXX
(052) 52 XXXX |          58 XXXX
(053) 531 XXX |          541 XXX
(053) 535 XXX |          542 XXX
(053) 536 XXX |          546 XXX
(053) 537 XXX |          548 XXX
(053) 539 XXX |          549 XXX
(054) 541 XXX |          570 XXX
(054) 542 XXX |          572 XXX
(054) 543 XXX |          575 XXX
(054) 545 XXX |          577 XXX
(054) 546 XXX |          578 XXX
(054) 547 XXX |          579 XXX
(056) 56 XXXX |          58 XXXX
(057) 570 XXX |          540 XXX
(057) 571 XXX |          541 XXX
(057) 572 XXX |          544 XXX
(057) 573 XXX |          543 XXX
(057) 575 XXX |          545 XXX
(058) 580 XXX |          520 XXX
(058) 581 XXX |          591 XXX
(058) 582 XXX |          590 XXX
              |Jl Oc 95 Ap Jl Oc 96 Ap Jl Oc 97 Ap Jl Oc 98 Ap Jl Oc
New 07 area   |       <<<--||>>>  <<<--||>>>
(077) 7X XXXX |       6X XXXX
              |          <<<--||>>>              <<<--||>>>
(074) 74 XXXX |          40 XXXX
(075) 75 XXXX |          85 XXXX
(076) 76 XXXX |          79 XXXX
(079) 79 XXXX |          71 XXXX
              |Jl Oc 95 Ap Jl Oc 96 Ap Jl Oc 97 Ap Jl Oc 98 Ap Jl Oc
New 08 area   |          <<<--||>>>  <<<--||>>>
(085) 85 XXXX |          95 XXXX
(086) 86 XXXX |          76 XXXX
(089) 89 XXXX |          99 XXXX
              |          <<<--||>>>              <<<--||>>>
(091) 914 XXX |          919 XXX
(097) 972 XXX |          970 XXX

TABLE 2: Change to final number, including change of area code.

This second table lists all changes to a final number.  The second
change for numbers which change twice is listed here under the
intermediate number.  If some of the numbers in an (old) area have
undergone a first change, the time of this is marked, and the
transformation recorded in this table occurs to the intermediate
number.

              |Jl Oc 95 Ap Jl Oc 96 Ap Jl Oc 97 Ap Jl Oc 98 Ap Jl Oc
New 02 area   | <-----|-->
(02) 99X XXX  | (02) 9999 XXXX
(02) 99X XXXX | (02) 999X XXXX
              |             <-----|-->
(02) 9XX XXXX |             (02) 99XX XXXX
              |                         <-----|-->
(02) 2XX XXXX |                         (02) 92XX XXXX
(02) 3XX XXXX |                         (02) 93XX XXXX
(02) 3XX XXX  |                         (02) 913X XXXX
(02) 4XX XXXX |                         (02) 94XX XXXX
(02) 4XX XXX  |                         (02) 914X XXXX
(02) 5XX XXXX |                         (02) 95XX XXXX
(02) 5XX XXX  |                         (02) 915X XXXX
(02) 6XX XXXX |                         (02) 96XX XXXX
(02) 7XX XXXX |                         (02) 97XX XXXX
(02) 8XX XXXX |                         (02) 98XX XXXX
(02) 8XX XXX  |                         (02) 918X XXXX
              |                                           <<<--||>>>
(042) XX XXXX |                                           (02) 42XX XXXX
(043) XX XXXX |       <<<--||>>>                          (02) 43XX XXXX
(044) XX XXXX |                                           (02) 44XX XXXX
(045) XX XXXX |                                           (02) 45XX XXXX
(046) XX XXXX |       <<<--||>>>                          (02) 46XX XXXX
(047) XX XXXX |                                           (02) 47XX XXXX
(048) XX XXXX |       <<<--||>>>                          (02) 48XX XXXX
(049) XX XXXX |                                           (02) 49XX XXXX
(060) XX XXXX |                                           (02) 60XX XXXX
(06) 2XX XXXX |                                           (02) 62XX XXXX
(063) XX XXXX |       <<<--||>>>                          (02) 63XX XXXX
(064) XX XXXX |                                           (02) 64XX XXXX
(065) XX XXXX |       <<<--||>>>                          (02) 65XX XXXX
(066) XX XXXX |       <<<--||>>>                          (02) 66XX XXXX
(067) XX XXXX |       <<<--||>>>                          (02) 67XX XXXX
(068) XX XXXX |       <<<--||>>>                          (02) 68XX XXXX
(069) XX XXXX |       <<<--||>>>                          (02) 69XX XXXX
              |Jl Oc 95 Ap Jl Oc 96 Ap Jl Oc 97 Ap Jl Oc 98 Ap Jl Oc
New 03 area   |           <-----|-->
(03) XXX XXXX |           (03) 9XXX XXXX
              |                               <<<--||>>>
(002) XX XXXX |       <<<--||>>>              (03) 62XX XXXX
(003) XX XXXX |       <<<--||>>>              (03) 63XX XXXX
(004) XX XXXX |                               (03) 64XX XXXX
              |                                  <<<--||>>>
(050) XX XXXX |                                  (03) 50XX XXXX
(051) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>              (03) 51XX XXXX
(052) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>              (03) 52XX XXXX
(053) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>              (03) 53XX XXXX
(054) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>              (03) 54XX XXXX
(055) XX XXXX |                                  (03) 55XX XXXX
(056) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>              (03) 56XX XXXX
(057) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>              (03) 57XX XXXX
(058) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>              (03) 58XX XXXX
(059) XX XXXX |                                  (03) 59XX XXXX
              |Jl Oc 95 Ap Jl Oc 96 Ap Jl Oc 97 Ap Jl Oc 98 Ap Jl Oc
New 07 area   | <-----|-->
(07) 2XX XXXX | (07) 32XX XXXX
(07) 3XX XXXX | (07) 33XX XXXX
(07) 4XX XXXX | (07) 34XX XXXX
(07) 8XX XXXX | (07) 38XX XXXX
              |                   <<<--||>>>
(077) XX XXXX |       <<<--||>>>  (07) 77XX XXXX
              |                      <<<--||>>>
(070) XX XXXX |                      (07) 70XX XXXX
(079) XX XXXX |                      (07) 79XX XXXX
              |                                  <<<--||>>>
(071) XX XXXX |                                  (07) 71XX XXXX
(074) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>              (07) 74XX XXXX
(075) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>              (07) 75XX XXXX
(076) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>              (07) 76XX XXXX
(079) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>              (07) 79XX XXXX
              |Jl Oc 95 Ap Jl Oc 96 Ap Jl Oc 97 Ap Jl Oc 98 Ap Jl Oc
New 08 area   |        <-----|-->
(088) XX XXXX |        (08) 88XX XXXX
              |          <<<--||>>>
(089) XX XXXX |          (08) 89XX XXXX
              |                      <<<--||>>>
(080) XX XXXX |                      (08) 80XX XXXX
(08) 2XX XXXX |                      (08) 82XX XXXX
(08) 3XX XXXX |                      (08) 83XX XXXX
(08) 4XX XXXX |                      (08) 84XX XXXX
(0848) 31 XXX |                      (08) 8553 1XXX
(0848) 22 XXX |                      (08) 8553 2XXX
(0848) 23 XXX |                      (08) 8553 3XXX
(0848) 35 XXX |                      (08) 8553 5XXX
(0848) 33 XXX |                      (08) 8553 7XXX
(0848) 28 XXX |                      (08) 8553 8XXX
(0848) 29 XXX |                      (08) 8553 9XXX
(0848) 36 XXX |                      (08) 8559 2XXX
(0848) 93 XXX |                      (08) 8559 3XXX
(0848) 94 XXX |                      (08) 8559 4XXX
(0848) 96 XXX |                      (08) 8559 6XXX
(0848) 37 XXX |                      (08) 8559 7XXX
(085) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>  (08) 85XX XXXX
(086) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>  (08) 86XX XXXX
(087) XX XXXX |                      (08) 87XX XXXX
(089) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>  (08) 89XX XXXX
              |                                  <<<--||>>>
(090) XX XXXX |                                  (08) 90XX XXXX
(091) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>              (08) 91XX XXXX
(096) XX XXXX |                                  (08) 96XX XXXX
(097) XX XXXX |          <<<--||>>>              (08) 97XX XXXX
(098) XX XXXX |                                  (08) 98XX XXXX
(099) XX XXXX |                                  (08) 99XX XXXX
              |                                     <<<--||>>>
(09) 2XX XXXX |                                     (08) 92XX XXXX
(09) 3XX XXXX |                                     (08) 93XX XXXX
(09) 4XX XXXX |                                     (08) 94XX XXXX
(09) 5XX XXXX |                                     (08) 95XX XXXX



Christopher

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

Date: Sat, 05 Dec 1992 17:06:01 CST
From: Andrew C. Green <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: "If you didn't call us, please press 1"


I have had the usual experiences with crossed-wire conversations over
the years (where you can hear other conversations going on in the
background of your own call), but this one I had just now takes the
cake. The quotes below are from memory ...

My wife called me from her downtown office (a (312) 269 exchange) to
me at mine (at (312) 266). When I answered, my wife was already in
giggles over a surprisingly loud background conversation in Spanish
between two women. After a couple minutes of the (total of) four of us
trying to speak in two languages to each other, the Spanish women
realized the problem and hung up. My wife and I chatted a few more
minutes, during which the line was quiet, until all of sudden, quite
loudly --

"Thank you for calling Illinois Bell's Automated Customer Assistance
Line.  If you are calling from a TouchTone phone, please press 1 now!"

Oh, boy, we thought (telepathically)! This oughta be interesting to
eavesdrop on! Silence. O.K., I'll jump in. I pressed 1 on MY phone.

"Please enter your 13-digit account number, which is found on the
upper left corner of your bill."

Hmmm. I punched in a random collection of digits. I could hear my wife
giggling quietly in the background as the computer read back my digits.

"We're sorry, we cannot process your account number. Please stay on
the line and an Account Representative will be with you shortly."

Heeheehee! Boy, will they be surprised! I had all kinds of grand plans
in mind at that point -- maybe ordering eight-zillion line features
for whoever our line got crossed with, or loudly insisting that I
would not pay my bill and Illinois Bell can just get stuffed ... I was
in full ten-year-old bozo mode by then, trying to think of what sort
of mischief I could get into, when suddenly --

HMM-HMM-HMM-HMMMMMMMMMM ... Sound of a flashed switch-hook dialtone,
and the fun was over. After about ten seconds of dialtone, it cut off
and I was left with nothing but my wife's laughter in the background.
Oh, well, it brightened the afternoon!


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


[Moderator's Note: 312-269 used to be the Chicago Public Library
centrex until about a year ago when the new library opened and all the
phones were moved to 312-747. Was your wife on it before this year?  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (William Petrisko)
Subject: Wanted: Help With Multi-Tech/Courier Modem Problem
Date: 5 Dec 92 15:07:10 MST
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: University of Arizona, College of Engineering and Mines, Tucson


A few months ago, I was given the task of finding a decent 14.4 modem
with callback security.  After searching awhile, I came across the
Multi-Tech MT1432BA.

The problem I am having is when trying to connect with a Courier
2400e. Here is the normal procedure: (1) Call Multi-Tech modem, enter
two passwords and hang up; (2) Set your modem to auto-answer;
(3) Multi-Tech modem calls your modem back at the predetermined phone
number.

Here is the problem: Steps 1-2 work fine, but when the Multi-Tech
calls back a USRobotics Courier 2400e, the 2400e answers the phone,
give the answer tone, but the Multi-Tech DOES NOT RESPOND AND CONNECT!
After three callback attempts, it gives up.

Here is the baffling part:

Either modem can call the other directly (ATDTxxx) with no problem.
We have tried both on-premise extensions and outside lines.  The
Multi-Tech callback works with other modems (we tried five different
brands/all different speeds.)

We have tried TWO different Multi-Tech modems, and THREE different
Courier 2400e's.  This leads me to believe that it is not a hardware
problem.

When we use our Courier and call Multi-Tech's Tech-Support modem, it
will call back and connect with no problem.  This is a long-distance
phone call.  We have verified ALL settings on their end, but still
cannot get it to work properly on ours.

Is it possible that the local telephone lines are affecting the
signal, whereas the long-distance has *some* difference that would
account for the weird behavior?

I apologize for posting this to the net, but we have been beating our
heads against the wall for the past few weeks; and multi-tech's
tech-support is only open so many hours a day ... I'm curious if
anyone else has ever had a similar problem.

FYI:  Multi-Tech's ROM: MT1432BA/A;  vs. 1.02A;  Date: 08/14/92
      Courier's ROM: 1988  1016013; SP256-B   40CB; 071488  27C256


Thank you.

William Petrisko
City of Phoenix   Phoenix Public Libraries
[e-mail]
aka n7lwo    ...!uunet!4gen!warlok!gargle!omnisec!thumper!bill


[Moderator's Note: Is there an initialization string in the callback
function? Try setting your Multi-Tech modem to do *no* error checking
of any sort and *no* data compression when it calls back. I have a
Telebit T-1600 modem which talks to everyone with no complaints except
it would not talk to US Robotics, with the very same symptoms you
described. The USR would answer, my modem would say it was connected
and the speaker would turn off. No matter how much I pounded the return
key they would never talk to each other, and I would just stare at a
blank screen. Sometimes I would get gibberish on the screen like the
stuff you get from mismatched baud rates: ~~~ and similar. Although
your S-registers may have different numbers, I set S-180 (Error
Control Request) = 0 to disable it and S-181 (Error Control Fallback)
= 1 for 'if no error control, use buffered mode'. It might help to set
S-190 (Data Compression Enable) = 0 to disable it also. USR seemed to
do their own thing for many years. I assume they thought they could
corner the market and make everyone buy their modem. The USR offices
and Fido BBS are only down the street a few blocks from where I live
(they are in Skokie). For the life of me, I could not connect with
their BBS at 9600 baud with just the conditions you describe. Of
course maybe you want error control for your other callers; I don't
know what to tell you. Maybe a different initialization string for
when you call the USR people?  You might make sure in the callback
function there is not a new initialization string being given which is
messing around with Error Control that you don't know about. :(  This
is just a suggestion; it might not be the answer for you.  PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 5 Dec 92 17:35:29 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Add to History.of.area.splits


I have added the following lines to the next version of
history.of.area.splits to be submitted for the archives.  Please send
me feedback as to the date for 714 getting N0X/N1X, because the list
sent to telecom for the new 909 area does have N0X/N1X, but 714 didn't
have any at the time of the 714/619 split ten years ago:

714, California, 1992?
 (7D on all calls within it)
 (now 714/909)
503, Oregon, 10 July 1993
 (1+NPA+7D on all toll calls)

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #888
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #889

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 6 Dec 92 12:51:52 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 889

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: German FAX Machine "Category"? (Mickey Ferguson)
    Re: German FAX Machine "Category"? (Christof A. Neumann)
    Re: German FAX Machine "Category"? (Lars Poulsen)
    Re: Lightning Protection of Telephone Lines (Dick Rawson)
    Re: Lightning Protection of Telephone Lines (Tom Kloos)
    Re: Email to Prodigy (Ed Ravin)
    Re: Email to Prodigy (Alan Boritz)
    Email to Genie (Gary W. Sanders)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (Jeff Hibbard)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (Tony Pelliccio)
    Legal Cites Needed Regards BBS Sysops (Michael Benjamin Chernoff)
    Re: Shomer-Tec Phone Gadgets (Subversive!!) (Randy Gellens)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 07:18:38 PST
From: [e-mail] (Mickey Ferguson)
Subject: Re: German FAX Machine "Category"?
Reply-To: [e-mail]


> Does anyone know the origins or rationale behind the German
> description of "Category A" and "Category B" FAX machines?

> As near as I can determine, it doesn't matter if a FAX machine is
> "declared" as A or B.  Does the German FAX consumer look for one or
> the other category, or just shop on price and listed features?

I spoke with some of my German friends at Siemens at Munich, and the
major difference is that with Category A, the German Bundespost will
guarantee, with a certificate, that the device can send and receive
fax messages correctly.  Category B does not come with such a
guarantee.  In terms of quality, I'm not sure there really is much
difference.  But here's a major distinction: Germany produces an
official fax telephone book, and a user can be listed in this book
only if the device is a category A device.  To the home user, this is
probably not a big deal, but to a business, it probably is.  I would
imagine this is sort of like being listed in a "fax yellow pages" or
something like that.


Mickey Ferguson -- Rolm, a Siemens Company

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

From: [e-mail] (Christof A. Neumann)
Subject: Re: German FAX Machine "Category"?
Organization: Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Germany
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 10:12:33 +0100


In article <[e-mail]> Scott Roleson <scott@
hpsdde.sdd.hp.com> writes:

> Does anyone know the origins or rationale behind the German
> description of "Category A" and "Category B" FAX machines?

> Does the German FAX consumer look for one or the other category, or
> just shop on price and listed features?

Well, I'm not too familiar with Fax techno stuff, but as a "German FAX
consumer" I never heard of that kind of category. What I know about
fax classes are the different groups (1 to 4), mainly characterized by
transmission speed: Group 3 is the mostly used one now (9.600 bit/s),
group 4 is standard for ISDN networks (64.000 bit/s).

Even the product infos on fax machines sold by the German telco (DBP
Telekom) don't mention any "Category A" or "Category B".


Best regards,

Christof A. Neumann     Institut fuer Informatik
der Technischen Universitaet Muenchen
Postfach 20 24 20, 8000 Muenchen 2, Germany
Tel [phone]    Fax [phone]
[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Lars Poulsen)
Subject: Re: German FAX Machine "Category"?
Organization: CMC Network Systems (Rockwell DCD), Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 03:07:54 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> Scott Roleson <scott@
hpsdde.sdd.hp.com> writes:

> Does anyone know the origins or rationale behind the German
> description of "Category A" and "Category B" FAX machines?

I think that category A applies to equipment attached to the public,
switched network for general use, while category B equipment may be
attached behind PBXs. Only category A equipment may be offered for
sale to the general public.

If so, this would be similar to the US FCC clasification of computing
equipment for electromagnetic interference. Class A equipment may only
be used in a "professional" office environment, while equipment sold
to the general public must comply with the much stricter class B
requiements. Class A equipment may not be offered for sale to the
general public, and may not be advertized in publications primarily
read by the general public. In other words, if I build a cheap
fileserver out of PC-clone parts, but don't get the resulting box FCC
certified for class B compliance, I may not advertize it in {Byte},
but if it passes a class A evaluation, I may advertize it in
{Datamation} or {Computer Technology Review}.


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]

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

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 10:27:20 PST
From: [e-mail] (Dick Rawson)
Subject: Re: Lightning Protection of Telephone Lines


> Joel Upchurch pointed out that I might be liable for telco equipment
> if I connect their ground to the power ground.  Does anyone know
> anything about this?  Both have wires going into the ground: I just
> connected the two ground wires together using #10 guage wire.

I believe that the National Electric Code (NEC) recommends or requires
that different grounding electrodes be bonded (standardese for
connected) together.  I would not expect a telco to object.


Dick

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

From: [e-mail] (Tom Kloos)
Subject: Re: Lightning Protection of Telephone Lines
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems, Inc.
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 03:57:31 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Richard
Thomsen) writes:

> Joel Upchurch pointed out that I might be liable for telco equipment
> if I connect their ground to the power ground.  Does anyone know
> anything about this?  Both have wires going into the ground: I just
> connected the two ground wires together using #10 guage wire.  I
> cannot tell if it has done any good, as most of the storms are in
> spring/summer.

An additional piece of info here ... the NEC (National Electrical
Code) specifies that ground for various things in a residence be
common and that they tie to the power grounding electrode serving the
structure.  It's in section 810.  The bonding jumper wire size is also
specified if more than one grounding "electrode" is used.  I seem to
remember 6 AWG or larger.  The importance (from a safety standpoint)
of tying all the grounds together is something that most miss.  The
reasons are explained in the "Handbook" version of the NEC.  It will
be interesting to see if the '93 NEC expands on the requirements.

The adoption of this in the '90 NEC caused our local cable company to
redo many customer's drops. The only acceptable ground point is now
considered to be the power company service entrance.

When I added a phone line about a year ago, the installer redid the
protector ground for the existing line and moved it to the *metal*
conduit leading to the power company drop weatherhead.

But -- in a slightly different twist -- a leaflet in a recent water
bill was discussing lead and other heavy metals in drinking water.  It
suggested that water pipes should *not* be connected to the
"electrical ground" to help prevent electrolysis which might put more
metals into the water.  Yet, the city electrical inspector I called
said they still require metallic plumbing to be bonded to the power
service entrance ground (acceptable power grounds are a rod or metal
foundation reinforcements).


Tom Kloos, WS7S, Sequent Computer Systems, Inc., Beaverton, OR  [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: This poses an interesting conflict. Our water pipes
in Chicago are very bad; full of all kinds of gunk. We have to let the
water run a couple minutes before drinking it which certainly does not
help the water bill any.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ed Ravin)
Subject: Re: Email to Prodigy
Organization: Prodigy Services Co.
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 17:38:18 GMT


[ on the topic of Prodigy and email, PAT writes: ]

> [Moderator's Note: If I am not mistaken, I believe Prodigy either
> cancelled the accounts of some users or otherwise disciplined those
> users for their use of email in writing large quantities of email on
> 'unwelcome topics' to other users. I believe this occurred when the
> users in question started using email to discuss what they were no
> longer being permitted to discuss in the public forums. Am I correct
> or do I stand corrected?   PAT]

You stand corrected, Pat -- it was not the content of their email that
got those folks in trouble, but that they were mailing their letters
unsolicited to nearly everyone on the service, and some people
(especially commercial clients) complained about the harassment.

I don't want to disparage the issue those folks were upset about -- of
course there are numerous legitimate complaints about the way Prodigy
runs the service, and I've seen signs that the company has learned
much from their past errors.  I just wanted to clarify that though
Prodigy can be faulted for many other things, censoring email is most
definitely not one of them.


Ed Ravin- [e-mail]     [e-mail]
           [phone]     my opinions, nobody else's

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

Date: Sun, 06 Dec 92 02:18:22 EST
From: [e-mail] (Alan Boritz)
Subject: Re: Email to Prodigy


[e-mail] (Ed Ravin) writes:

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

>> The last I knew the people who ran Prodigy were not hooked into any
>> other network, nor were they going to be in the future.

> No longer true -- Prodigy is setting up an Internet email gateway even
> as we speak, which will be online in the next few months.  The gateway
> address will be <prodigy-user-id>@prodigy.com.

It's fairly well-known that Prodigy actively censors conference and
email between Prodigy users.  Would you know if they intend to
continue that practice with inbound and outbound Internet mail?


Alan Boritz     [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: As Ed points out in his reply to me earlier in this
issue, the issue at hand was the users sending large quantities of
*unsolicited* email to other users -- not the content of the letters --
although I imagine some of the complaints from the recipients of the
letters were generated on their dislike of the email's content as
well. So it is NOT 'fairly well-known that Prodigy censors email'. I
do think a far better solution would be a utility in their email which
allows users to screen out unwanted mail/subjects in the same way we
Usenet readers can screen unwanted things out of arriving news. That
would leave Prodigy in a neutral position. How they run their confer-
ences is their own business of course.  PAT]

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

Date: Sun,  6 Dec 92 14:02:05 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Email to Genie
Organization: AT&T


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Rob
Boudrie) writes:

>> No longer true -- Prodigy is setting up an Internet email gateway even

I just saw a note that Genie is setting up internet trials.  Big catch
is it will cost to allow internet access then cost per 5k of outbound
or INBOUND messages. I would bet that paying for inbound messages is
going to be an interesting issue for many. I am forced to pay for mail
I didn't request, hmm. Don't like some Genie user? How about FTP mailing
them the X11 sources ...


Gary W. Sanders (N8EMR)   [e-mail]
AT&T Bell Labs   614-860-5965


[Moderator's Note: Compuserve also charges for mail on their network,
but they do give an allotment for the month as part of the service
fee. Since they have no way to collect mail charges from other
networks, they bill their own users 'collect'. But each user has an
option to accept or not accept collect mail from the internet. If the
user does not wish to accept it collect, then it is returned to the
sender. If the user does agree to accept collect charges on mail from
the internet, then much of it is covered by the monthly allowance so
they don't see any extra charges. I should imagine GEnie and Prodigy
would work on the same basis.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Hibbard)
Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones
Organization: Bradley University
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 09:58:19 GMT


[e-mail] (J. Robert Burgoyne) writes:

> I'm just glad 911 from the car works. I've stopped to help many people
> broken down on the side of the road and they are glad too.

Reporting roadside emergencies would seem such an obvious use for
cellular phones.  As if to underscore this point, the second day I had
a phone in my car, I watched somebody in front of me roll her car, and
was able to notify the police almost before the car stopped moving.
Fortunately, this happened in my home system (Peoria IL), where 911 on
a cellular phone connects you to the state police.

My second attempt at reporting an emergency was in a rural area within
range of the Springfield IL system.  Dialing 911 didn't connect me to
anything, and I eventually sprung for roaming and long distance
charges to call the state police back in Peoria, who said they could
notify officers in the appropriate district.

Just a few weeks ago in the city of (and cellular system of) Decatur
IL I tried 911, and again got nothing.  I tried 611 (which is answered
by a human 24 hours per day back home in Peoria) to ask them what I
should do, but I only got a recording telling me what time the
business office would open the next morning.  I just happened to have
a Decatur phone book with me, so I looked in the front cover for a
seven-digit number to call, but it just said "911" ... big help.  Then
I looked in the white pages under "Decatur, City of".  The listing
there also said "911".

What am I supposed to do?  How common is this, anyway?  I've only
tried 911 while roaming twice.  Does it work most places, and I was
just incredibly unlucky?


Jeff Hibbard, Peoria IL


[Moderator's Note: The law in the State of Illinois which established
and mandated 911 service on all telephone exchanges as soon as it was
technically possible states that all emergency agencies must also have
and publish seven-digit administrative numbers. Sometimes locating
these can be confusing, but they all seem to be there if you know
under what listing in the phone book to look for them.  Check simply
the word 'Police' or 'Fire' as it would appear alphabetically in the
white pages. In the regional directories for northern Illinois with
hundreds of communities listed in them, the alphabetical listing of
'Police' is then followed by indented listings with dozens of town and
village names. You can also check listings for "(town name), City of"
in the alphabetical listings to find cross listings.  Of course you
have to know *what* town or village you are in; this is not always an
easy task when driving down the interstate highway.   PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 06 Dec 92 13:38:02 EST
From: Tony Pelliccio <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones


There was just an article in the {Providence Sunday Journal} about the
states Enhanced 9-1-1 service and how it's become a model for other
sites. They say that cellular callers are routed to the nearest state
police barracks to be dispatched by simply dialing 9-1-1 from a
cellular phone. I think that's actually a fairly good idea since you
really can't get a precise location of a cellular phone without some
very good radio direction finding equipment.


Tony Pelliccio    PJJ125 @ URIACC.URI.EDU

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

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 02:11:24 -0500 (EST)
From: Michael Benjamin Chernoff <[e-mail]>
Subject: Legal Cites Needed Regards BBS Sysops


Question:

I'm looking for recent articles or court cases dealing with the
liability of BBS Sysops over the content posted on their boards.  This
includes both civil and criminal cases.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Michael    [e-mail]

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

From: MPA15AB![e-mail]
Date: 06 DEC 92 03:23
Subject: Re: Shomer-Tec Phone Gadgets (Subversive!!)


In Telecom 12.877.5, Rob Boudrie <[e-mail]> writes:

> A catalog a local law enforcement officer loaned me includes several
> neat telecom toys, one of which is a "hold invader".  This $99 gadget
> puts the other party on "phantom hold" where he thinks he's on hold
> (the sound going "hold dead" which I believe is different from what
> the other party would hear if the mouthpiece were merely
> disconnected).  The idea is that the line remains open, so that the
> other party will (hopefully) "freely converse with his associate"
> during such things as price negotiations, thinking he is "on hold" and
> cannot be heard.

This sounds to me like a simple mute button, a feature common on many
phones.  A friend of mine who used to work in customer service for a
large company told me that when he put a caller on hold (which worked
like mute), he often heard them making comments to their associates,
often containing quite rude remarks about him.


Randy Gellens                [e-mail]
A Series System Software                 if mail bounces,  forward to
Unisys Mission Viejo, CA                         [e-mail]
Opinions are personal;   facts are suspect;   I speak only for myself

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #889
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #890

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 6 Dec 92 13:40:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 890

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Residential ISDN? (John R. Levine)
    Re: Residential ISDN? (Marc Unangst)
    Re: Residential ISDN? Really Flat Rate Calling Politics (David Lesher)
    Re: Looking For Outdials (Paul Houle)
    Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal? (Tom Adams)
    Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal? (John David Galt)
    Re: Cellular RJ-11 Jacks (Jerry Bass)
    Re: Microsoft/Intel Team up on Video (Andrew Emmerson)
    Re: Can I Use a US Modem in Switzerland? (Andrew Emmerson)
    Re: 10-NJB (John Adams)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Re: Residential ISDN?
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 6 Dec 92 11:40:13 EST (Sun)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


> Of all the ISDN rates I've seen in this Digest and elsewhere, the
> telco charges some rate for connect time.

Here in Massachusetts, ISDN voice calls are charged the same as POTS
voice calls, which can be free if you have the appropriate residential
calling plan.  Data calls are charged as business calls, which means a
minimum of 1.6 cents/minute.

Sensible people will make all their local data calls as "voice".  They
only guarantee 56Kb, but at the price, I wouldn't complain.  Note that
the free local calls will apply to nearby calls in other COs once they
start to support inter-CO ISDN.


Regards,

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


[Moderator's Note: For so much of what needs to be done, I'd think 56
Kb was quite adequate. Paying for more would be an overkill.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Marc Unangst)
Subject: Re: Residential ISDN?
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 16:46:44 GMT
Organization: The Programmer's Pit Stop, Ann Arbor MI


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Doctor Math) writes:

> Of all the ISDN rates I've seen in this Digest and elsewhere, the
> telco charges some rate for connect time.  How is this justifiable
> given the current situation of flat rate or "unmeasured" lines?

Unmeasured service is a mistake the telcos made years and years ago,
when it was much more difficult to do usage accounting.  Since
residential customers didn't use the phone as much as businesses (this
is, after all, the basis of residential vs. business rates), it was
therefore cheaper to just charge residential customers a flat rate.

With the advent of computerized switches, it's much easier to keep
track of how much service each line is using.  But the telcos can't
get rid of unmeasured service because people are used to it (although
some are trying; take a look at what Ameritech is doing in Illinois
and Michigan).  So their only real option is to leave unmeasured
service in for existing services, but leave it out of the tariffs when
they add new services (such as ISDN).

And as much as I hate it for increasing my phone bill, usage-based
billing is fairer to everyone.  Any sort of flat rate means that the
low-usage customers wind up subsidizing the high-usage customers.  My
only beef is that the charges have nothing to do with how prices are
typically calculated in other lines of business -- take your cost for
the product/service, add a markup to cover your overhead and profit,
and charge that price.  If the telco did this, non-peak use would be
free and peak use would be expensive.  All calls would be charged for
based on distance between COs.  Things are done this way in the LD
world, but not in the local-calling world; why else does a call from
Ann Arbor (SE Michigan) to Houghton (Upper Penninsula) cost more than
a call of the same length, at the same time of day, from Ann Arbor to
California?

Of course, since the telcos are making ISDN service more expensive
than an equivalent POTS line, they will have trouble switching people
over to it who don't need ISDN for data-transfer reasons.  Why pay
$29/line plus usage charges when you can pay $15/line and get
unlimited calls?


Marc Unangst, N8VRH    [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 10:41:22 -0500
From: David Lesher <[e-mail]>
Subject: Residential ISDN? Really Flat Rate Calling Politics
Organization: NRK Clinic for habitual NetNews Abusers - Beltway Annex
Reply-To: [e-mail] (David Lesher)


Dr. Math asked a very valid question. Why do the LEC's in those
{enlightened ;-} areas with flat rate voice calling, charge you by the
[bit,second] for It Still Does Nothing? After all, each ISDN BRI call
takes virtually the same size bit pipe as your digitized 56kb voice
call.  (Yes, you get two, but let's not digress...)  In some ways, all
they've done is gotten out of doing the A/D conversion, and left that
up to you to do, if you want to:-}

The reason is the same one as why you can't have two cellphones on one
number assignment -- money and politics.

The LECs have been trying for decades to dump any and all flat rate
calling tariffs. In some places, such as the Left Coast and the
Moderator's home of Daleyville, they have succeeded. But in others,
such as Ohio, Florida, Minnesota, and other, they have not. In
Washington DC metro, for example, there was such a general revolt at
the suggestion, I'm told, that the topic is deeper buried than the
truth about those space aliens in the deep freeze at the Hangar 18 ;-]

So the LEC's, frustrated in the direct approach, have been using the
old Statue of Liberty play. They offer few or no new services with
flat rate. Instead they push (HARD) all new subs toward quote OPTIONAL
endquote metered calling. Sometimes this includes a trapdoor -- if you
bite and switch to a non-flat rate plan, you cannot switch back,
period.  If you're a new install, flat rate is not available, period.
(I think this is the case in Michigan or was it Indiana, now. I invite
correction on this point.)

Often they throw the issue in when waters are already muddy with some
other shark. I recall the Bell South droid at a Caller-ID hearing. He
proposed that those M.D.'s and Public Defenders that wanted (but could
not get) blocking might be able to get a second residential line WITH
METERED CALLING that they could use for outgoing calls to the public.
This struck me as interesting -- at that time Florida did not have any
metered calling RS tariff.

I also agree with Dr. Math regarding the success of ISDN. If it's
going to fly, it needs to be cheaper than what it portends to replace.
Right now, if I needed to move data from {oh say} Langley, VA to
Laural, MD [who could possibly be in THOSE places, readers?-], places
within the local calling area, I'd get a line at each end and a pair
of modems.  If I needed more bandwidth, I'd duplicate the above and
get inverse muxes. If it took more, I'd see about getting DID service
at the T1 level -- then I'd never have analog to deal with at all.

In short, don't ever confuse technical viability with political
reality. What really matters is if the vested power structure can make
a bigger profit.


[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul Houle)
Subject: Re: Looking For Outdials
Organization: New Mexico Tech
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 18:01:05 GMT


> What I am looking for PAT, are freely accessible dialout ports
> that I can reach through telnet. I would like to use my internet
> access to do some long distance modemming without having to pay the
> long distance rates.

    I am aware of several such ports, but I don't know if the
institutions that run them care if people from outside use them.  Many
of them are not passworded, but in the existing legal situation today,
one can't use this as a defense if the people at the site decide that
you are stealing service.  Mind you, some of these sites either do
allow long distance calls or (according to a "phriend") can be very
easily fooled into allowing them.

    For instance, I am aware of a modem bank that was operating at
one of the UC schools that was public access as of six months ago.
Only local calls are allowed, but they probably get measured service,
so you are costing them something (although not much) by using the
line.  If the place still is publicly accessable, and I posted the
number here, there would be hundreds of people using the modem bank.


I assume that most of them would be honest, and only want to download
porno files from local BBSes and all that stuff, but I am sure that
many of the denizens of the computer underground ranging from
well-meaning to just plain mean would also use the lines for all sorts
of things.  <And almost every modem bank that my "phriend" has seen is
open to a *VERY* wide range of abuse: one can, say, change the
parameters of the modem on some systems and then call the dialout
number with a PC and keep the modem seized and then let them dial out
on another modem and the hacker gets to watch the whole session, steal
passwords, etc.>

The way these things work, even the large number of honest people who
would call such a modem bank from all over the world could get it
closed down due to congestion and local phone charges (These can add
up; phone company security never bothered a phriend of mine who
programmed his computer to call all the phone numbers in Manchester,
NH on a line with measured service.  His parents just got a bill for a
few cents each for 60,000 calls.  Sure, some school won't notice or
care if one person from outside uses the modem bank, but anyone who
posts this kind of information is only going to ruin it for himself
and others.

> best deal for what you are seeking would be PC Pursuit, a service of
> Sprint/Telenet.

    BTW, I don't think that people save very much in the way of
money and/or aggrevation with PC Pursuit.  Not only does it often bill
people for calls that never completed, but it is still hacker prone
after all these years (and just like Telenet, the ratio of hackers to
legitimate users is probably 3:1) -- Spoofing and other techniques can
be used to tap connections, so that not only is your PC Pursuit
password unsafe (no matter what it is), but so is the password to any
service that you call with it).


[Moderator's Note: I was unaware that PC Pursuit was all the problems
you say it is. I used it for many years (actually, I started with it
back in 1983 I think; I know it was the first month the service was
in operation) and found it quite a bargain. The way they avoid
charging for unanswered calls is by not starting the meter until the
second full minute. That way, if you bail out after a minute of no
response from the place you are calling, there is no charge for the
connection via PC Pursuit. It is the gimmick all the OCCs used before
they got equal access. And $1 per hour (plus local message units if
any, but we have a *very* local Telenet dial up here by me) is less
expensive than any other long distance service I've seen. I recommend
PC Pursuit highly to long distance BBS users.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Tom. Adams 529-7860)
Subject: Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal?
Organization: Southwestern Bell Technology Resources, St.Louis, MO
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 23:23:48 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(adams,john) writes:

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

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

>>> Not exactly correct.  SS7 TCAP supports a "query" message.

>> Will there be a way (legitimately) for an end user (perhaps an ISDN
>> user?) to issue SS7 messages?  For example, could I take my ISDN card
>> and send these "query" messages and receive the responses?

>> (All this assumes I move out of PatheticBell territory, so I can get
>> ISDN at all ...)

> I am *definetely* not speaking for BELLCORE (Or any of the Regional
> Exchange Companies) when I say that I see no "OPEN ARCHITECTURE"
> access to SS7 messages in the near future.  No one knows what such
> bodies as CONAP (Committee on Open Network Architecture Policy) might
> be able to achieve, but the prospect of customers being able to launch
> queries and receive responses appear rather bleak.

Summa 4, a small "open" switch vendor, has a new product called
Portico, which maps TCAP messages into TCP/IP (actually UDP) packets,
using their (documented) format. I believe the product is intended as
a firewall between corporate telecommunications users and IEC's.
Summa is located in Manchester NH (603).


Tom  Adams    [e-mail] [e-mail] 314-529-7860

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Does SS7 Support Early Busy Signal?
Date: Sun,  6 Dec 92 11:10:08 PST


Peter Capek writes:

> ... The advantage (to me) would be not having to repeatedly pound in
the billing.

I don't know what telco you're using, but out here in Pac Bell land,
you can retry the number just by hitting "#" and dialing the ten digit
number again.  Of course, your tries may be several minutes apart (you
didn't say); in that case, have your modem do the dialing!  That's how
I do it.


John David Galt

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

From: [e-mail] (Jerry Bass)
Subject: Re: Cellular RJ-11 Jacks
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 19:50:52 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (James M
Rendt) writes:

> I noticed in a laptop magazine that there is a new device to plug your
> pocket modem into one end, and the other into the 'expansion' jack on
> handheld phones (a picture of the Fujitsu Pocket Commander's adapter)
> was included in the photo. They claim they retail at about $300.
> Sounds pretty nice to have a jack for an RJ-11 there. Does anyone have
> more information about the adapter, or a pin-out for my Oki 900 so I
> could rig a warranty-destroying method of my own <grin>.

Motorola has what is probably a similar device called The Cellular
Connection.  It plugs in between the phone body and the handset, is
powered by the phone, and provides an RJ-11.  It basically emulates a
wall jack and any device that you would normally plug into the wall
will connect.  We us it to connect our transporatables to our mobile
PBX to provide cellular " trunks."  I believe the price was about
$250.


Jerry Bass    [e-mail]    The MITRE Corporation     Bedford, MA

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

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 18:18 GMT
From: Andrew Emmerson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Microsoft/Intel Team up on Video
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Well, on a global basis, the original author probably is right! The
Video Toaster is a nice gadget but little more. Its designers were too
idle or incompetent to devise a version for the rest of the world that
doesn't use NTSC, with the result that others have since designed
comparable products that _do_ work in PAL and SECAM _and_ NTSC as
well! Since The Video Machine, the most sophisticated of them, is
based on a standard IBM-type PC, it can be expected to have a grand
future.

       They say nobody ever got fired for buying IBM and anyone
intending to design a computerised video accessory might as well
recognise this. If it works with a PC it's future is assured. If it
works with an Amiga or any other computer perceived (however
ignorantly) as a "toy", it can never make it in the corporate market.
That is why the Philips MSX2 never took off, even though it was fully
genlocked and had impressive video digitising capabilities.

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

Date: Sun,  6 Dec 92 18:18 GMT
From: Andrew Emmerson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Can I Use a US Modem in Switzerland?
Reply-To: [e-mail]


> The European dial tones do not correspond with the USA.

Well, you could turn it around and say the USA does not correspond
with Europe. But fortunately, this is not so. All western European
countries are now installing exchanges which produce dial tone to the
worldwide agreed CCITT specification, which is identical to the USA
"precise" dial tone.  Whilst you may encounter non-conformant tones on
older exchanges, they will increasingly disappear as new equipment is
installed.

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

From: [e-mail] (adams,john)
Subject: Re: 10-NJB
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 13:05:10 GMT


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

> [e-mail] (jeffj) writes:

>> New Jersey Bell has a waiver to offer inter-LATA service between some
>> North Jersey counties to NYC (_not_ the other parts of the NYC LATA)
>> and some South Jersey counties to Philadelphia.  I believe this
>> service predated divestiture, so they were allowed to keep it.

Technically, this pre-divestiture service was known as Estended-Area
Service and recognized in the MFJ waiver process which set up what is
now known as "corridor service".


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

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #890
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #891

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 6 Dec 92 13:16:30 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 891

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    T1-Speed Internet Backbone Passes Into History (Ellen Hoffman via T. Lapp)
    Anyone Have a Creative Way of Dealing With Crank Calls? (David R. Zinkin)
    800 ANI Notice (Steve Forrette)
    Information Wanted on GSM Terminals (Lars Kalsen)
    Pay Phone Gives Away Free Calls (Tony Pelliccio)
    Possibly Off the Subject, But .. (Jack Winslade)
    Re: Larry King Knows of Disconnect (Will Martin)
    Re: Pac*Bell and Equipment Vending (Jeff Wasilko)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (Bob Turner)
    Re: *69 in NJ Bell Land (Dave Levenson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 18:21:39 EST
From: Thomas Lapp <[e-mail]>
Subject: T1-Speed Internet Backbone Passes Into History


(Note: This was received on the HSPNET-L BITNET mailing list with the
note: Originally From: [e-mail].  I do not know
who the author of the press release is, but wouldn't be surprised if
it didn't originate with someone at Merit, since they are in Michigan.
Tom)

         ----------Original message----------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 2, 1992
National Science Foundation Network achieves major milestone
T-1 NSFNET now part of Internet history

(Wednesday, Dec. 2) Like it's predecessors, the ARPANET and the 56
Kbps National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET), the T-1 NSFNET
passed into history today when the last router was moved to connect to
the T-3 backbone service. As of 12:01 a.m. EST on Wednesday, December
2, the T-1 NSFNET backbone is no more -- its circuits are turned off
 -- marking the beginning of a new networking era.

When first implemented just over four years ago, the T-1 (1.5 Mbps)
NSFNET backbone was state-of-the-art for the Internet, deploying new
levels of speed and management. With improvements in routing
technology, the Internet moved from an experimental service to a
production commodity. Demands for higher speed services and increasing
backbone traffic led to the T-3 (45 Mbps) backbone service implemented
over the Advanced Network & Services, Inc. Network (ANSnet) that has
replaced the older T-1 NSFNET technology. The growth of NSFNET
promoted a global internetworking industry estimated as generating
billions of dollars in annual revenues.

In five years, the communications capacity of NSFNET has expanded
almost 700 times through the implementation of leading-edge
technologies, growing from 56 Kbps to T-3. Today the network's
backbone service carries data at the equivalent of 1,400 pages of
single-spaced, typed text per second. This means the information in a
20-volume encyclopedia can be sent across the network in under 23
seconds!

Today every major research, graduate, and four-year university is tied
together through NSFNET, along with private and federal research
institutions and industries.  Over 700 colleges and universities are
connected representing 80 percent of the nation's student population
and 90 percent of the nation's federally sponsored research. Further,
NSFNET provides access to hundreds of high schools, libraries,
community colleges, and smaller educational institutions.  With over
1,000 public and private research and education institutions, NSFNET
links an estimated 10 million users. As the commercial Internet has
grown, links are expanding between education and business communities
which are promoted through expanding connectivity.

Access to the network over the past five years has surpassed the most
optimistic visions projected for it. The National Science Foundation's
1987 solicitation for NSFNET said, "It is anticipated that over the
next five years NSFNET will reach more than 10,000 mathematicians,
scientists, and engineers at 200 or more campuses and other research
centers." After five years, these numbers have been more than exceeded
and network growth continues to be exponential.

A reflection of that growth is network traffic. Total NSFNET traffic
grew from 195 million packets in August 1988 to almost 24 billion in
November 1992, a 100-fold increase in four years. During November, the
network reached its first billion-packet-a-day mark. Network growth
increases an averages of 11 percent per month. The total number of
connected networks grew from fewer than 200 to over 7,500, of which
one-third are outside the United States. Today NSFNET makes it
possible to reach educators and researchers in over 75 countries
around the world. Recent surveys show over a million host computers
are connected to the Internet, with an even greater number of
individual users accessing those computers.

Meeting the challenges of building the central infrastructure for this
high-speed data communications network has been the focus of a joint
government, academic, and industrial partnership for the past five
years. Merit Network, Inc., in association with Advanced Network &
Services, Inc. (ANS), IBM, MCI, and the State of Michigan, has led
pioneering efforts to put in place a national network service through
a 1987 cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. The
partnership deployed the T-1 network on schedule in July 1988, and
began the T-3 network service implemented over ANSnet in late 1990.

"The T-1 NSFNET project has been a remarkable adventure," said Stephen
S. Wolff, director of the National Science Foundation's Division of
Networking and Communications Research and Infrastructure (DNCRI).
"It's an experiment whose success goes far beyond even the highest
hopes we had for it. Because of this program, it's now conceivable
that the U. S. can implement a network connecting every student and
teacher in the country -- from kindergarten to post-college -- before
the end of the century, revolutionizing education and research. Five
years ago, this seemed only a very distant dream."

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

internet: [e-mail] (home) <> [e-mail] (work)

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

From: [e-mail] (David R Zinkin)
Subject: Anyone Have a Creative Way of Dealing With Crank Calls?
Organization: UB
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 19:24:48 GMT


I imagine that this subject has probably been discussed already, but
I'd like to get readers' opinions on how to deal with crank callers.
I've been getting calls -- usually around 3 or 4 am, but often at
other times of the day as well -- from someone who claims to be looking
for a certain person, presumably a friend of hers.  The first couple of
times, I assumed that it was merely a wrong number, and the next couple
of times, I figured that maybe the caller had the number programmed into
her auto-dialer and forgot to change it.  Now the number of calls is
in the high twenties.  If I refuse to answer the call so that my
answering machine can get it, the caller simply hangs up and calls
back repeatedly until I answer.

I checked with New York Telephone as to whether or not anyone else by
the intended call recipient's name has ever had my number; it turns
out that this is not the case.  When I asked the New York Telephone
representative if there was any recommended way of dealing with crank
callers, her answer was that I should move to Manhattan so that I could
get Call ID.  (This, sadly, is the level of service I've come to
expect from New York Telephone.)

Taking the phone off the hook is feasible at night, but during the
day I really do have to be able to get my calls, as I'm a medical
student and one of my professors was rather upset the last time he
tried to get me and couldn't.  I'd agree to a call trace except that
I haven't the time to deal with the paperwork and with the local
police.

So, I'm asking fellow TELECOM Digest readers: *please* tell me what
suggestions you can offer!  Anything involving the PHONESMART (sometimes
called CLASS in other cities) services is out; Buffalo is the last
city on New York Telephone's list for getting Call ID, Call Trace,
and related services, with a projected date of "early 1994".

Thank you!


Dave


[Moderator's Note: You should not have to move anywhere, nor should
you have to leave your phone off the hook. Since the automated
services are not yet available, and you say you do not have the time
to bother with more traditional approaches to the problem, then I
guess you are out of luck ... you'll just have to put up with it. You
may find however the paperwork is minimal and well worth the few
seconds at best required to sign your name a couple places on forms
that telco will supply. You sign off agreeing that telco should supply
the results of their trap to the local police; you sign a complaint
form the police give you, then roll over and go back to sleep. Let the
calls comes in; within a week or two, telco will advise you that they
have completed their work and turned over the results to the police.

The police will notify you that they are prepared to deal with the
matter and once you sign their form a couple officers will go to the
person's residence, read them their rights and lock them up. That
simple. **Only after you have agreed to prosecute, and have signed off
on the criminal complaint will you get the name/address of the person
making the calls.** Neither telco nor the police will act as your
personal investigative agency.  You go to court on the day specified
and stand up when called. The evidence will be presented to the judge
(telco printouts); you'll be asked to confirm that you received the
phone calls; if the offender is new in the system, the judge will
admonish them to refrain from further contact of any sort with you or
be held in contempt if the contact continues. If not a new offender in
the system, they may get a fine or probation (with its own penalties
for violation of terms, etc).

When we had to take that approach three years ago with a Bad Lady
(actually a very sick lady) who got attracted to our phone number, we
filled out a form telco send through the mail, and signed a form a
police detective brought to our door. We spent longer driving to the
court (30 minutes) than we did in court (15 minutes) or in front of
the judge (possibly three minutes). The judge's message was very blunt
and to the point: "Lady, if you are brought back here again for
bothering people on the phone, you're going to be locked up."  The
calls ended for us; they always do because people like that hate the
exposure you gave them.  If you are too busy to bother with the
paperwork, then how do you find time to answer the phone everytime she
calls?  :)   PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 01:22:31 -0800
From: Steve Forrette <[e-mail]>
Subject: 800 ANI Notice


Here's an item that was in my current Pacific Bell billing insert:

CALLS TO 800 NUMBERS

When you call an 800 number, your phone number may be disclosed to
whomever pays for the 800 service.

Many phone companies provide callers' phone numbers to 800 number
subscribers to verify billing information, just like for collect
calls.  If you call one of them, your number many be listed on their
bill.

At this time, we're unable to block your number from being displayed
to 800 number subscribers when you call their numbers.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Lars Kalsen)
Subject: Information Wanted on GSM Terminals
Organization: DKnet
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 09:53:00 GMT


Hi,

GSM is the new european digital cellular telephone network and it
offers according to the specifications data transmission.

Does someone have information on terminals for this? Then please
E-mail the information to me.


Lars Kalsen, MIS-Manager
SONOFON, Skelagervej 1, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark
[phone] (tel), [phone] (fax), E-Mail : [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 06 Nov 92 13:26:14 EST
From: Tony Pelliccio <[e-mail]>
Subject: Pay Phone Gives Away Free Calls


Talk about bizarre payphone behavior! Here in Rhode Island, some of
the payphones in mostly the East Providence area (it's a newer NT
switch) let you call for free! Uh huh ... I remember trying to punch a
calling card call up and punching 0+ the seven digits. Instead of the
boing I got ringing and the party answered. This has happened on
several occasions and only in that area. Heh ... I wonder how much money
New England Telephone is losing on these phones?


Tony Pelliccio     PJJ125 @ URIACC.URI.EDU


[Moderator's Note: Several years ago, IBT opened a new exchange in the
downtown area and put a lot of payphones on it. Due to a programming
error those phones gave away free calls to the exchange my home phone
is on. After about a month, it was corrected. IBT has an 'auditing
unit' which literally matches every characteristic on every line with
whatever the paperwork says should be (or not be) there. They seem to
work their way through the entire system once every two or three years
and then start over again.  The idea is, catch as many mistakes as
possible and start billing for previously undetected services. They
never back-bill, but they insist on starting the billing when they
find something wrong. Payphones are audited the same way since the
'subscriber' in those cases is IBT itself.   PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 06 Dec 92 01:48:50 CST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Winslade)
Subject: Possibly Off the Subject, But ..
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


In a message dated 30-NOV-92, Ed Ravin writes:

> Ed Ravin- [e-mail]    [e-mail]
                                            ^^^^^

I've just become aware that addresses in the form of ...
[e-mail] will no longer work when the message is
sent via SMTP to the site uunet.uu.net.  Apparently the name uunet is
still valid as a UUCP site, but the address relay1.uu.net should be
substituted ([e-mail]) when using uu.net as the
Internet domain address.

I did not hear this officially, but I found it out when tracing a
message to one of our sites that seemingly got routed to
[e-mail].  The relay1 variation DOES work.


Good day.   JSW    ([e-mail])


Ybbat (DRBBS) 8.9 v. 3.14 r.1   DRBBS  (1:285/666.0)


[Moderator's Note: Thanks for the hint. I've had to change some names
in the Telecom mailing lit recently doing just what you suggested.   PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 9:02:45 CST
From: Will Martin <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Larry King Knows of Disconnect


[Recap of longtime Telecom topic - Discussion of calling on AT&T and
letting unanswered phone ring for many minutes when calling talk show.
AT&T began cutting off such callers. King told listeners to use Sprint
instead. AT&T was happy with that.]

Back when the alternate carriers began to appear, one of the main
differences between them and AT&T was that AT&T could provide "answer
supervision" (if I am getting that term right), so that a call that
was just ringing with no answer for some time would not be billed for;
billing would only begin when the called party picked up. Sprint and
MCI and the others did not have this, and basically determined whether
a call was answered by a timing mechanism. After a period of time, say
45 seconds or so, calls would be billed, even though it might still be
ringing, and if the caller hung up on an unanswered call, he would
still get billed for a one or two minute call, however long he let it
ring.  [Long-term Telecom readers will recall we discussed this quite
a lot.]

So in this situation, King would be doing his listeners no favor by
telling them to use Sprint -- they would have been switched over from
a non-billed AT&T everlasting-ring call to a billed Sprint everlasting-ring
call. :-) Those that eventually got through would be billed for the
total time they were holding on the line, including the many minutes
of ring. Others would be billed for the minutes of ring even if they
never got through.

So has this now definitely changed, and has this change been
implemented nationwide? Do ALL alternative LD carriers now have
"answer supervision"?  Or are some of them, or in some areas, still
billing based on call timing?

And as a separate question: was AT&T monitoring the calls to Larry
King numbers specifically, and cutting off the everlasting-ring calls
ONLY to those numbers, or did they install software that detected
everlasting-ring calls to any and all numbers, and cut off all such
calls? What time limit did they pick to let the calls ring?

Thanks for info!


Regards,

Will    [e-mail] OR [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Don't Sprint and MCI both have call supervision now
along with equal access?  It was only a few years ago that King got
whacked by AT&T. Equal access was already in place, and I assume, call
supervision. I don't think they did it to single him out, but AT&T
people do listen to (and participate in) radio talk shows; he made no
effort to hide his 'toll-saver techniques'.  I think calls are allowed
to ring about three minutes or so. Previously on Larry King's show,
the calls had been ringing 30-40 minutes on a busy night.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Wasilko)
Subject: Re: Pac*Bell and Equipment Vending
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 09:37:03 EST
Organization: Univ of Fnord; Roslyn's Cafe Div.
Reply-To: [e-mail]


[e-mail] (John Higdon) wrote:

> Today I received a call from someone at PacTel Meridian Systems, the
> equipment sales division of Pacific Telesis. He was pushing his phone
> systems and the hook was, "Is your current equipment 'Caller-ID'-ready?"

Hmm, he was probably doing it because the next release of the NT
Norstar Meridian (DR5) will support line cards with integral modems
(to capture CNID). I also hear that they will also be supporting
direct termination of a T1 (not bad for a key system!). The Norstar
already suports a CNID-like protocol for internal calls.

> standards. But at some point (and mark my words), Pac*Bell will
> quietly provide some sort unadvertised signaling or handshaking that
> will be utilized by systems offered by PacTel Meridian and the specs
> will not be made available to other vendors, nor will the signals be
> "orderable" by them.

I doubt it. It's taken NT a while to get this far. Why would they
custom design a new CNID spec just for one BOC?

> Anyone still think that telcos should be allowed in the equipment
> vending business?

Nope. That's why we didn't buy from SNET. Actually, if PacTel Meridian
Systems is like NYNEX Meridian Systems, then it's actually a
partnership between the BOC and Northern Telecom.


Jeff
Jeff's Oasis at Home.      Jeff can also be reached at work at:
                                            [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Bob Turner)
Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones
Organization: Univ. of Dayton, School of Engineering
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 19:36:43 GMT


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

> [e-mail] (J. Robert Burgoyne) writes:

>> I'm just glad 911 from the car works. I've stopped to help many people
>> broken down on the side of the road and they are glad too.

> Reporting roadside emergencies would seem such an obvious use for
> cellular phones.  As if to underscore this point, the second day I had
> a phone in my car, I watched somebody in front of me roll her car, and
> was able to notify the police almost before the car stopped moving.
> Fortunately, this happened in my home system (Peoria IL), where 911 on
> a cellular phone connects you to the state police.

> My second attempt at reporting an emergency was in a rural area within
> range of the Springfield IL system.  Dialing 911 didn't connect me to
> anything, and I eventually sprung for roaming and long distance
> charges to call the state police back in Peoria, who said they could
> notify officers in the appropriate district.

I would be intrested to know who your home system is. In Ohio,
(Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus) Ameritech has all 911 calls from
cellular phones going to the nearest Ohio State Patrol Post. IMHO I
think this is the best policy for handling 911 from cellulars based on
my knowledge.  (Which says the locator technology that people want
isn't there, yet.)

> What am I supposed to do?  How common is this, anyway?  I've only
> tried 911 while roaming twice.  Does it work most places, and I was
> just incredibly unlucky?

In my experience, its typical not the exception. I had a similar
experience about six months ago driving through Covington, KY on I-75
South. A car had broken down in construction and was blocking a lane.
So I call 911 expecting the KSP and I get the Ft. Thomas, KY Police
Dispatcher. He was completely flabbergasted as to how I got Ft.
Thomas, and gave me the 7-Digit number for Covington. I later talked
to my 911 contacts in Cincinnati and we surmised that the Ameritech
switch is located in Ft Thomas and they were dumping 911 calls to a
local trunk, although this a guess.

Like I said earlier, I think 911 calls from cellulars should go to the
State Police. Why, because the location cannot be readily determined
(therefore crossing jurisdictional boundries) the State police should
be left to sort out the situtation.


Bob Turner                                    Senior System Engineer
513-434-2738                           [e-mail]
CommSys, Inc.     77 West Elmwood Drive, Suite 101, Dayton, OH 45459

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

From: [e-mail] (Dave Levenson)
Subject: Re: *69 in NJ Bell Land
Organization: Westmark, Inc.
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 14:32:55 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail].
com (adams,john) writes:

[after a very complete description of how *69 (Return*Call) works]

> I have to pass on why AR doesn't work with the Holmdel 5E ISDN/Centrex
> line.  Could it be that Holmdel is among the <5% MF trunks in NJBell
> land?  Any NJBell ESAC folks on the net want to comment here?

When I get intra-LATA calls from Holmdel, they deliver Caller*ID.
When they originate from within the ISDN/Centrex group at the Bell
Telephone Laboratores Holmdel Location, the Caller*ID information
includes the centrex extension number (908-949-XXXX).  I take this to
mean that SS7 connectivity is available between Holmdel and Millington
(and probably the rest of the 201-908 LATA).  I haven't tried to use
*69 after receiving a call from BTL.

Could it be that the centrex group has a *69 restriction?  Did the
original poster refer to a different centrex group in Holmdel NJ?


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

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #891
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #892

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 6 Dec 92 16:02:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 892

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Email to Genie (Andy Finkenstadt)
    Re: Headsets etc. ([e-mail])
    Re: The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet (John Murray)
    Cellular Service Providers (D.C.): Which One Better? (Andrew R. D'Uva)
    Re: Touch Tone Menus (Jarrod Staffen)
    Re: Clean Room Phone Equipment Information Request (Howard Pierpont)
    Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left? (Bob Stratton)
    Re: Characters on International Phone Ke Emmerson
    Re: Other Bitnet Servers (Jim Rees)
    Re: Legal Cites Needed Regards BBS Sysops (Andrew Blau)
    Re: ATT Boing: What is it? (Maxime Taksar)
    Re: Whatever Happened to Britain's Telegraph Poles? (Stephen Wood)
    Re: GTE Guarantees its Service: Chapter 11, Here They Come (Steven Lichter)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 15:28:55 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Andy Finkenstadt)
Subject: Re: Email to Genie
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Gary Sanders at AT&T Bell Labs writes:

> I just saw a note that Genie is setting up internet trials.  Big catch
> is it will cost to allow internet access then cost per 5k of outbound
> or INBOUND messages. I would bet that paying for inbound messages is
> going to be an interesting issue for many. I am forced to pay for mail
> I didn't request, hmm. Don't like some Genie user? How about FTP mailing
> them the X11 sources ...

How responsible!  Don't like someone, run up their bill and flood
their mailbox, causing all sorts of heartache and extra work for
people not even associated with your intended harrassee.

Actually this exact subject has been discussed at length between GEnie
users and the administration at GEnie and the summary of the sometimes
heated (and worried) discussion was that GEnie would follow its
standard billing policies, which INCLUDES investigation into any
"billing complaint" and make the appropriate fair-for-all-parties
adjustment as needed.

While I don't and can't speak for GEnie in this regard, I've been
involved in helping GEnie support their Internet product and have been
impressed at the friendliness of GEnie and its members with regard to
the Internet gateway and its pricing.  In addition much of the mail
that I answer in my duties on GEnie (see .signature) thanks us for
making this low-cost service available for the one or two times they
have to send mail per month.

I dare say that the majority of comp.dcom.telecom (digest) readers
have more internet experience than the average GEnie user; but GEnie's
intended market is not the internet power user, in my opinion.

> [Moderator's Note: Compuserve also charges for mail on their network,
> but they do give an allotment for the month as part of the service
> fee. Since they have no way to collect mail charges from other
> networks, they bill their own users 'collect'. But each user has an
> option to accept or not accept collect mail from the internet. If the
> user does not wish to accept it collect, then it is returned to the
> sender. If the user does agree to accept collect charges on mail from
> the internet, then much of it is covered by the monthly allowance so
> they don't see any extra charges. I should imagine GEnie and Prodigy
> would work on the same basis.   PAT]

GEnie offers a much more liberal electronic mail policy than either of
CompuServe or Prodigy: $4.95 per month covers ALL the GEnie Mail you
can eat, plus access to 100 other of the Basic services.  Internet
mail, according to a recent Newsbytes article quoting Pam Angelis, a
product manager for GEnie, was the MOST requested feature in a recent
survey.

As I said above, GEnie's billing department has always tried to do its
best to treat its customer right.

Disclaimer: I manage the Unix area on GEnie, which is one of the
bastions of Internet information on GEnie.  (Yes, Unix is not
Internet, Internet is not Unix, but we're part of the best there is.
In my humble option. :> ) I don't speak for GEnie, and they don't know
what I'm typing today from home.


Andrew Finkenstadt, Vista-Chrome, Inc., Homes & Land Publishing Corporation
GEnie Unix RoundTable Manager, [e-mail], [e-mail].
Join GEnie, call 800-638-9636/301-251-6415.  Join Unix, CASE, and Desktop
Oracle RDBMS Database discussions, send mail to [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Headsets etc.
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, McLean VA 22102
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 19:23:56 GMT


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

> In article <[e-mail]> Cliff Sharp <clifto@indep1.
> chi.il.us> writes:

>> In article <[e-mail]@acuson.com (Jeff Bier)
>> writes:

>>> I'm seeking recommendations on telephone headsets.  I have in mind the
>>> kind that replaces the handset on a typical telephone.  I'm also
>>> curious to know if anyone makes a cordless telephone headset.

(stuff deleted)

> I like the Startset II series myself.  The quality (sound, comfort,
> service) of the Plantronics Starsets is unmatched by any headset I've

> [Moderator's Note: Is it a Startset or StarSet?   PAT]

 From {Call Center Magazine}, October 1992, P.O. Box 40706, Nashville
TN, 37204 Reprints 1-800-999-0345 in an article titled "What's New?"
by Madeline Bodin beginning on p. 49 she reviews:

HEADSET MANUFACTURERS
ACS: Contour LX, Orator, Elation; 800-995-5500
Allen Tel: Onyx; 714-546-3522
GN Netcom: MPA Carbon Amp; 800-826-4656
Nady Systems: TH-50; 510-652-2411
Plantronics: StarSet NC, Mirage NC; 800-544-4660
Starkey Labs: ;800-328-8605
Unex: Protocol, Proset; 508-256-8222
VXI: Gold Series, "Desk" Adaptor; 603-742-2888
Wicom/Weiser: Daystart 2RJ, Walk N' Talk; 800-942-6601

A list of 34 headset distributors is also in the article.  I am not
associated with the manufacturers or the magazine (except as a
satisfied reader).  -DW "standard disclaimer"

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

From: [e-mail] (John Murray)
Subject: Re: The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet
Date: Sun, 06 Dec 92 11:43:04 EST
Organization: University of Michigan Engineering, Ann Arbor


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

> I am looking through the Hammacher Schlemmer catalogue (est. 1848).
> [phone] [they sold executive toys and top of the line
> appliances way before the Sharper Image was in business].
> The "call screening identifier" not only displays the Caller-ID number
> but displays the matching name for 300 names, does call screening and
> stores 50 calls.  $170.

I need a Caller-ID box that will not just display the incoming call
identification, but will also differentiate between calls which have
been purposely blocked and those from locations which do not have the
facility available. Also, it should automatically dial the code for
blocking my number on outgoing calls, everytime I unhook the phone.

Any ideas??


John Murray    Univ. of Michigan

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

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 15:26 EST
From: Andrew R. D'Uva <[e-mail]>
Subject: Cellular Service Providers (D.C.):  Which One Better?


Well, I've finally taken the cellular plunge and purchased a handheld
cellular telephone for use in the Washington, D.C. area.  (It's a
"Technophone" and I paid about $490 for it: 2" x 6.4" x .62" - .6
watts, very nice!).  Surprisingly, I did not need to commit to a given
service provider to obtain the phone for this price.  I am now trying
to decide which provider would better serve my need.

Here in Washington, D.C. we are served by two providers: Cellular One
and Bell Atlantic.  Bell is the "B" carrier.  Their service rates are
about the same, as far as I can tell.  Friends tell me that although
Cellular One has a larger service area, Bell has better connections
and transmission quality (and numerous calls to *611 seem to bear this
out!) around the area.

All other things being equal, is one company preferred (for roaming,
etc.) over the other?  Oh, in case anyone is interested, these are the
rates I have been quoted by the two companies (I am told that these
are low, and probably due to my employer):

                    Cell One                Bell Atlantic
Monthly Access      $15.00                  $12.95
Peak/Off Peak $     $0.37/$0.17             $0.39/$0.19

Activation Fee      $25.00                  $0 (waived)
No Answer Transfer  $1.50/mo                $3.50/mo
Non-cell calls      additional $.10 per call $.10 per call

It does seem that Cell One has a better roaming scheme in Chicago and
Boston.  True?

Any and all help appreciated!  Thanks!


Andrew D'Uva
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jarrod Staffen)
Subject: Re: Touch Tone Menus
Date: 6 Dec 92 05:20:57 GMT
Organization: U S WEST NewVector Group, Inc.


Steve Stacy ([e-mail]) wrote:

> I would like to obtain a phone menu type system.  Where callers
> can select an option on touch tone phones to receive different
> recorded messages etc.

> Can this be done by a personal PC ?

This may not be much help, but what the heck ... about a year ago, I
saw such a feature for the PC in the DAK catalog.  I believe it ran
around $150 or so.  I don't have their number, but you can call
818-555-1212 and ask for DAK in the San Fernando valley.


Jarrod Staffen      [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 03:16:21 PST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Clean Room Phone Equipment Information Request


As part of a program to build a new semiconductor FAB facility, I have
been asked to locate sources for telephones to be used in Class 100,
Class 10 and Class 1 clean rooms. We are interested in handsfree and
well a touch membrane keypads as well a "standard style POT" that fit
the requirements.


Howard Pierpont        I seldom have opinions, I usually am looking
Digital Equipment    for advice.
77 Reed Road  Hudson MA 01749   508.568.6165

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

From: [e-mail] (Bob Stratton)
Subject: Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left?
Date: 6 Dec 1992 05:35:10 -0500
Organization: InterCon Systems Corporation


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(John R. Levine) writes:

> The question is whether there is a card that doesn't charge an
> initial surcharge each time you use it.  For most cards, when you use
> them you pay between 40 cents and $1.25 plus what the direct dial rate
> for the call would have been.

My Cable and Wireless card is $.33/minute and no per-call charge.
They've also phased out the feature group D access (950-1xxx) in favor
of 800 numbers only.

This is still one of the most winning travel cards out there, because
you can get 20 number speed dialing with it.


Strat

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

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 18:18 GMT
From: Andrew Emmerson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Characters on International Phone Ke
Reply-To: [e-mail]


> US dials have no representation for Q and Z.

Perhaps not now but there are still plenty of American dials around
with Z on the digit zero. It was used for trapping calls to "Zenith"
numbers, e.g. in California. Q was provided on some Canadian dials,
though nobody is quite sure if any numbers were implemented actually
using this Q.

       In Europe, Q was implemented on the zero position in France and
Britain and France also puts the Z here (we in Britain never had a Z
on our dials.) Also in Europe letter O is on the zero, to prevent
people confusing the zero and the letter O.

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

From: [e-mail] (Jim Rees)
Subject: Re: Other Bitnet Servers
Date: 6 Dec 1992 14:53:59 GMT
Organization: University of Michigan CITI
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In article <[e-mail]>, Paul Robinson
<[e-mail]> writes:

> To reiterate, the access to bitnet from internet is to use the
> internet form:

>   user%system.bitnet@gateway

If the bitnet systems would bother to register a domain name with an
MX record, then we wouldn't have to go through these contortions.  If
registering is too much trouble for them, the least they could do is
put a valid return address on their outgoing mail (foo.bitnet is not a
valid Internet address).

If both these options are too much trouble, then I have to question
whether they really want to communicate with us.


[Moderator's Note: In the above example, '[e-mail]' works
just fine from here at Northwestern.  PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1992 16:28:23 -0500
From: Andrew Blau <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Legal Cites Needed Regards BBS Sysops


In TELECOM Digest V12 #889, Michael Chernoff asks:

> I'm looking for recent articles or court cases dealing with the
> liability of BBS Sysops over the content posted on their boards.  This
> includes both civil and criminal cases.

I would suggest you contact Shari Steele, an attorney on the EFF staff
who has been specializing in these issues for us here at EFF's
Washington office.  Shari can be reached at [e-mail].  She also
writes a legal column for BBS Caller's Digest, which may offer some
guidance.


Andrew Blau                Electronic Frontier Foundation   202-544-9237(v)
Associate for              666 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E.      202-547-5481(f)
Telecommunications Policy  Washington, DC  20003            [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 11:33:25 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Maxime Taksar KC6ZPS)
Subject: Re: ATT Boing: What is it?


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Tim Russell) writes:

> No, I don't know what the tones are, but while installing a
> friend's new Practical Peripherals 14.4k modem, I noticed that an "@"
> sign in the number to dial instructs the modem to wait for the credit
> card bong.  I would say that it definitely has a set tone and
> duration.

> [Moderator's Note: I've got a Telebit T-1600 modem (9600 baud) and one
> of the response codes on it is 'NO BONGTONE' or something similar.  PAT]

Yes.  The T1600 uses the "$" character in its dial string to indicate
"Wait for billing prompt".  The response code it can give is "NO
PROMPTTONE".

I assume that most modern v.32 modems have something similar.

(The T2500, incidentally, does *not* have this feature)


Maxime Taksar   KC6ZPS    [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 15:52:34 PST
From: Stephen Wood <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Whatever Happened to Britain's Telegraph Poles?
Organization: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Nigel Allen) writes:

> Whatever happened to Britain's telegraph poles?

I didn't know they had disappeared but then I haven't seen them for 30
years or so.  Seems Sherlock Holmes could calculate the speed of his
train by counting the seconds taken between adjacent poles so they
obviusly existed from Victorian times.

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

From: [e-mail] (Steven H. Lichter)
Subject: Re: GTE Guarantees its Service:  Chapter 11, Here They Come
Date: 6 Dec 1992 14:16:22 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)


That is true, they do guarentee the service. All the telephone
operations companies now do, but if a person continues to request a
refund I'm sure it will get noticed after a bit. We have had it in GTE
California for a while and I'm sure if anyone has tried it enough they
got caught.  Service has improved a lot dispite what others keep on
spilling out.


Mad Dog (Steven)              -=-  Sysop: Apple Elite II -- an Ogg-Net BBS
UUCP: [e-mail]     -=-  [phone]  1200-2400 bps 8N1
Internet [e-mail] (Steven H. Lichter)

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #892
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #893

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 8 Dec 92 20:27:20 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 893

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Anyone Have a Creative Way of Dealing With Crank Calls? (Dwight Johns)
    Re: Anyone Have a Creative Way of Dealing With Crank Calls? (David Zinkin)
    Re: Anyone Have a Creative Way of Dealing With Crank Calls? (Eldon Barber)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (Dwight Johns)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (Mark V. Miller)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (Craig S. Williamson)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (Tony Pelliccio)
    Re: Organization Warns Lawyers Against Using Cellular Phones (J. Upchurch)
    Re: Organization Warns Lawyers Against Using Cellular Phones (Mike Rosen)
    Re: The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet (Steve Forrette)
    Re: The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet (Vance Shipley)
    Re: Proposed Australian Number Changes 1994-1998 (Bob Goudreau)
    Re: Cellular RJ-11 Jacks (Dwight Johns)
    Re: 800 ANI Notice (Steven H. Lichter)
    Re: Looking For Outdials (John Higdon)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Dwight Johns)
Subject: Re: Anyone Have a Creative Way of Dealing With Crank Calls?
Date: 8 Dec 92 22:38:49 GMT
Organization: U S WEST NewVector Group, Inc.


If someone is calling your number and asking for someone that doesn't
live there, well, this may sound a bit cruel, but you could always
just tell them that the person that they were looking for has died.
That should stop the calls anyway.  If you only want to stop the calls
for the day, I guess you could just tell them that their friend was
too drunk to come to the phone.


Dwight Snake Doward Johns  [e-mail]  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (David R Zinkin)
Subject: Re: Anyone Have a Creative Way of Dealing With Crank Calls?
Organization: UB
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 23:55:42 GMT


In a previous message, our Esteemed Moderator notes:

(comprehensive description of phone trace -- with some key differences
from what NYTel told me -- deleted for brevity)

> If you are too busy to bother with the paperwork, then how do you
> find time to answer the phone everytime she calls?  :) PAT]

When I asked a New York Tel rep about tracing calls, I was given a
description similar to yours, but with one extra bit of information
(now MISinformation, I guess): New York Tel told me that I'd have to
be in the house waiting for the person to call so that I could tell
the police to trace it.  And if the person didn't call within 24 hours
(this doesn't *always* happen, even though it *usually* does), they
would drop the matter and I'd have to pay a fee.  Furthermore, I was
told that the paperwork usually takes "several hours to complete and
verify".

So, Patrick, it appears that I've been misinformed; thank you for
straightening the matter out.  (At least I *think* you have; I
seriously hope that the New York Tel rep was wrong!)  I'm definitely
going to reconsider the trace, but I'd love to know who it was who
misinformed me.  (I've never been able to get a name out of one of
those reps ... :-) And I'd still appreciate any other tips from fellow
readers.


Thanks again,

Dave


[Moderator's Note: Well, IBT is not NYT. I called the Annoyance Call
Bureau one day and the trap was in place later that evening. They did
say a form was coming in the mail and if I did not sign it and return
it with 'a few' days, the trap would be pulled off and subsequent
requests for service from the Bureau would be 'subject to review
before implementation' or similar words. IBT said an answering machine
or voicemail could do as good a job of answering as a real human; they
said 'things work better' if there is an actual connection made although
the trap-daemon sets busily about its duties as soon as there is ringing
voltage on the line. Apparently someone got off the hook legally once
by saying since no one had answered the phone, therefore no obscene or
annoyance call could have occurred ... it takes two to tango and all.

Never let a telco service rep tell you to 'just change your number'.
You don't have to do any such thing. My numbers have been assigned to
me for a couple decades; I have no intention of inconveniencing myself
or friends trying to find me. Finally, ** NEVER BUT NEVER TELL ANYONE **
there is a trap on the line; not even family members or 'close friends'.
Sadly, a large number of these calls come from a family member, an in-law,
former or current lover, next-door neighbor or co-worker. Only a small
number come in a totally off-the-wall way from a stranger.  In the
case last year where the president of American University in Washington, DC
was arrested for making harassing and obscene calls, the female victims
were affiliated with the university as employees or students.   PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 18:42:59 -0800 (PST)
From: Richard Eldon Barber <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Anyone Have a Creative Way of Dealing With Crank Calls


> I'd like to get readers' opinions on how to deal with crank callers.
> I've been getting calls -- usually around 3 or 4 am, but often at
> other times of the day as well -- from someone who claims to be
> looking for a certain person, presumably a friend of hers.

Six months ago {Popular Communications} had a helpful article on
dealing with crank callers.  The auther was actually able to get a
conviction from his technique of fooling the callers.  He would unwire
the microphone disc from the handset of his phone.  When the call
would come in he would just pick up the phone and listen.  On the
caller end it sounds like the ringing stops, no click happens that
sounds like your phone has been connected, the ringing just stops, no
noise no nothing.  The caller then becomes confused and starts talking
with other people in the room.


rick


[Moderator's Note: I think most of these people are alone when they
call. I can't imagine they'd act out their illness in front of other
people; it is not an activity they share with other people.  Generally
they are ashamed of what they are doing.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dwight Johns)
Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones
Date: 8 Dec 92 21:29:40 GMT
Organization: U S WEST NewVector Group, Inc.


On most cellular networks 911 will put you in touch with the state
police, and if you do receive a roaming fee for calling 911, speak
with your carrier, most will be more than happy to credit those fees
away.  The last thing we need to do is discourage anyone from
reporting an emergency.


Dwight Snake Doward Johns  [e-mail]  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 15:25:48 PST


[e-mail] (Jeff Hibbard) writes:

> Reporting roadside emergencies would seem such an obvious use for
> cellular phones.

> My second attempt at reporting an emergency was in a rural area within
> range of the Springfield IL system.  Dialing 911 didn't connect me to
> anything ... .

> Just a few weeks ago in the city of (and cellular system of) Decatur
> IL I tried 911, and again got nothing.

> What am I supposed to do?

I do (after having repeatedly been told to do so by my Ma (Bell)
herself) what I was told when but a child of tender age in grade
school and finding myself in need of a friendly police/firePERSON,
i.e., dial 0 for <O>perator.  (Of course, times HAVE changed.)

Explain the situation, allowing him/her to contact the appropriate
authority, and possibly you will not get charged for airtime.


[e-mail]

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

From: Craig S. Williamson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones
Date: 8 Dec 92 18:46:52 GMT
Reply-To: Craig S. Williamson <[e-mail]>
Organization: NCR E&M Columbia, SC


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Tony
Pelliccio) writes:
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 889, Message 10 of 12

> There was just an article in the {Providence Sunday Journal} about the
> states Enhanced 9-1-1 service and how it's become a model for other
> sites. They say that cellular callers are routed to the nearest state
> police barracks to be dispatched by simply dialing 9-1-1 from a
> cellular phone. I think that's actually a fairly good idea since you
> really can't get a precise location of a cellular phone without some
> very good radio direction finding equipment.

I've noticed little signs on most major highways that you can call the
Highway Patrol with *HP.  I would think that that would be how to call
911 at least near major highways.


Craig Williamson     [e-mail]
[e-mail] (home)

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

Date: Tue, 08 Dec 92 20:20:50 EST
From: Tony Pelliccio <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 911 from Cellular Phones ... Non-Functioning in Decatur


I'm an amateur radio operator and always have a two meter radio in the
car with me. I also have autopatch priveleges through a local repeater
that I'm a paying member of. So if I see something happening I radio
through to the state police direct through a seven digit number. For
some reason, the people at New England Telephone are too stupid to put
"PLEASE VERIFY LOCATION - MOBILE AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR" on the 911
information display like they do in other places so 911 is locked out.
I can only guess how many times police and fire apparatus were sent to
the site of the repeater. And here's the REALLY funny part: The
repeater is on the same tower as the local police department's tower. :)

I guess what I'm trying to say here is there should be some
standardization for dialing emergency numbers but I also agree that
they should also STILL publish the seven digit numbers for local
emergency agencies instead of just 911. I know here in RI they do
prefer you dial the direct number if you know it and only dial 911 if
it's a dire emergency (ie, you're having a heart attack and don't have
the time to dawdle) or you're not sure what your location is.  Scary
part is that they're saying our E911 system is a model for the rest of
the country. Yeah ... right.

Oh ... on another subject: Anyone out there know when New England
Telephone is gonna get with it and offer Caller-ID to Rhode Island?
I definitely could have used it last night ... and NET is next to
useless when it comes to tracking obscene callers and such. The local
PD's don't want to get involved soooo ...


Tony Pelliccio   N1MPQ @ ANOMALY.SBS.RISC.NET    PJJ125 @ URIACC.URI.EDU

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

Subject: Re: Organization Warns Lawyers Against Using Cellular Phones
From: upchrch![e-mail] (Joel Upchurch  )
Date: Tue, 08 Dec 92 17:27:42 EST
Organization: Upchurch Computer Consulting, Orlando FL


[e-mail] (Paul S. Sawyer) writes:

> {Foster's Daily Democrat}, Dover, N.H., December 5, 1992:

> "The implication is that you can still use the car telephone, but
> anything that's said with a criminal client, for example, you have to
> e conscious that someone may be hearing it, and it could be introduced
> as evidence," he said.

I'm a little unclear on this part. How could a cellular phone
conversation be introduced in court unless it was part of a legal
court ordered wiretap? If it is the product of an illegal wiretap,
then I would think that they would be inadmissible and would get
whoever did them a nice trip to a federal prison. Also are attorney
client conversations admissible evidence even if obtained by legal
means?

I could see the possibility of a unscrupulous investigator using
information gleaned from an illegal wiretap to develop other evidence
while hiding the place he got the leads from.


(If your mail bounces use the address below.)

Joel Upchurch/Upchurch Computer Consulting/718 Galsworthy/Orlando, FL 32809
[e-mail] {uiucuxc,hoptoad,petsd,ucf-cs}!peora!joel [phone]


[Moderator's Note: I don't think it is so much an issue of something
heard being introduced in court as it is the planning of strategy in a
criminal case by the lawyers involved if they are aware of the strategy
planned by the other attorney. They need not (in court) say "defendant
said such and such, I heard it on your cellular phone ...", they need
only act on what they have secretly heard by 'just coincidentally'
(prove otherwise!) getting their hands on the same evidence or witness,
etc.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Rosen)
Subject: Re: Organization Warns Lawyers Against Using Cellular Phones
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 05:55:52 GMT


[e-mail] (Paul S. Sawyer) writes:

> "The implication is that you can still use the car telephone, but
> anything that's said with a criminal client, for example, you have to
> be conscious that someone may be hearing it, and it could be introduced
> as evidence," he said.

Is this an accurate statement?  Since it is illegal to eavesdrop on
cellular calls how can they be introduced as evidence?


Michael Rosen    Tau Epsilon Phi - George Washington University
[e-mail]  [e-mail] or @lambada.oit.unc.edu


[Moderator's Note: See above. They would not be introduced as evidence,
they would simply be benefitted from. I hear you and your attorney say
that Mrs. So and So was a witness to the crime; I rush to Mrs. So and
So before you get to her.   PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 17:28:20 -0800
From: Steve Forrette <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In an article, a TELECOM Digest participant writes:

> I need a Caller-ID box that will not just display the incoming call
> identification, but will also differentiate between calls which have
> been purposely blocked and those from locations which do not have the
> facility available. Also, it should automatically dial the code for
> blocking my number on outgoing calls, everytime I unhook the phone.

[Warning: flame follows]

So, you want to be able to identify people that call you, and
especially those who purposely block their numbers, but you want all
of YOUR outgoing calls to be automatically blocked?

[End of flame]

I don't want to single out the person who asked the question, but it
seems like they want to have their cake and eat it too.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail], "just my opinion"

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

From: Vance Shipley <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet
Organization: SwitchView Inc., Waterloo, Ontario
Date: Tue, 08 Dec 1992 05:00:44 GMT


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

> I need a Caller-ID box that will not just display the incoming call
> identification, but will also differentiate between calls which have
> been purposely blocked and those from locations which do not have the
> facility available. Also, it should automatically dial the code for
> blocking my number on outgoing calls, everytime I unhook the phone.

I have a TAI model 450 CLID display.  It is sold exclusively through
the Canadian telcos.  This unit purports to store up to 99 numbers or
up to 50 numbers and names (when name service becomes available).  I
found that it tops out at 64 numbers (names come next spring).

Calls from the SPS switch in town display OUT-OF-AREA.  Calls from the
US (and others) display L-OUT-OF-AREA (L for Long Distance).  Local
calls display NXX-XXXX and long distance calls from SS7 connected CO's
(Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Kitchener, etc.) display L-1-NPA-NXX-XXXX.
Local calls which blocked CLID with *67 display PRIVATE and long
distance calls from SS7 connected COs display L-PRIVATE.

TAI also have a telephone which incorporates the same display
features.


Vance Shipley
[e-mail]         [e-mail]         [e-mail]

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

Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 15:44:26 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Bob Goudreau)
Subject: Re: Proposed Australian Number Changes 1994-1998


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

> New area code:  Supercedes [sic] old area codes: And localnumbers become:
> 03          00X                   6XXX XXXX

You mentioned that this conversion table covered "geographic services
only," so am I correct in inferring that free-phone (008) numbers will
not map into the new three zone?  Presumably.  some new 0X code will
supersede 008; any idea what it will be?

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

From: [e-mail] (Dwight Johns)
Subject: Re: Cellular RJ-11 Jacks
Date: 8 Dec 92 21:54:19 GMT
Organization: U S WEST NewVector Group, Inc.


Many of the newer cellular phones out there have (oh, what's a good
politicaly correct term) less than fully functioning RJ-11 jack on
them.  Most of them will not produce a dial tone, and you can't dial
through them with a modem, but if you're using a laptop in your car
all you have to do is change the X register so that the modem doesn't
detect a dial tone, and dial through the cellular phone, not the modem
and it works fine.  I have this setup in my car and I'm doing it all
on an Audiovox Gold Series.  Now my only complaint is that I can't go
over 1200 baud on a cellular connection and that I drop carrier
whenever I handoff.


Dwight Snake Doward Johns   [e-mail]
[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steven H. Lichter)
Subject: Re: 800 ANI Notice
Date: 8 Dec 1992 22:11:47 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)


I have an 800 number from ATT for my BBS (my private use) and each
month I get a complete listing of all incoming numbers. I get a lot of
wrong numbers and I'm told by ATT they are hackers looking for an
outdial.  When I first got the service they did not offer ANI, but a
few months ago started. It is very helpful. I have had them block a
few areas since if the total use goes over a set time I will get
charged.

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

Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 14:37 PST
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Re: Looking For Outdials


On Dec 6 at 13:40, TELECOM Moderator writes:

> And $1 per hour (plus local message units if any, but we have a
*very* local Telenet dial up here by me) is less expensive than any
other long distance service I've seen. I recommend PC Pursuit highly
to long distance BBS users.  PAT]

Ironically, if the tariff that Pac*Bell has before the CPUC is
approved as constituted, the cost of the local call to PC Pursuit will
end up being higher than the cost of the data transport over the
greater distance. Currently, day local rates are $0.05 for the first
minute and $0.01 each additional. The new tariff calls for the
"additional minute" rate to double to $0.02 per minute, making the
local call $1.20 per hour.

To put this in perspective, I only pay four times that to call
anywhere in the state of California with my particular WATS service!
And that $1.20/minute rate applies to any local call; across the
street or across town if it is still in Zone 1.

This should start making things very attractive for competing dial
tone providers! Pac*Bell's greed will eventually be its undoing.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #893
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #894

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 8 Dec 92 21:57:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 894

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Residential ISDN? (Fred R. Goldstein)
    Re: Residential ISDN? (Shrikumar)
    Re: Residential ISDN? (Rob Boudrie)
    Re: Residential ISDN? Really Flat Rate Calling Politics (A. E. Mossberg)
    Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN? (David E. Martin)
    Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN? (Matthew Holdrege)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (Joe George)
    Re: 911 and Cellular Phones (Mike Baptiste)
    Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left? (Kirk Blackburn via [e-mail])
    Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left? (John R. Levine)
    Re: KA9Q Packages (Fred R. Goldstein)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Fred R. Goldstein)
Subject: Re: Residential ISDN?
Organization: Digital Equipment Corp., Littleton MA USA
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 23:02:00 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Marc Unangst) writes:

> And as much as I hate it for increasing my phone bill, usage-based
> billing is fairer to everyone.  Any sort of flat rate means that the
> low-usage customers wind up subsidizing the high-usage customers.  My
> only beef is that the charges have nothing to do with how prices are
> typically calculated in other lines of business -- take your cost for
> the product/service, add a markup to cover your overhead and profit,
> and charge that price.  If the telco did this, non-peak use would be
> free and peak use would be expensive.>

A common myth perpetrated by the phone companies, always looking for
more monopoly revenue.  But only a monopoly would even attempt to
change its price structure to something customers don't want that is
NOT cost-based!  Cost-based pricing works for everyone.  Monopoly
fictions don't.  And usage-based local rates are a FICTION!

I've seen the studies.  In most places, the PEAK cost to the telephone
company is well under a penny a minute.  Yet measured rates are almost
always much higher.  They're just a means to make money.

Analogy: Would it be fairer if your landlord lowered your rent by half
but charged you 1/30 the original rent every time you walked in the
front door?  Sure it's "fairer", as you're using up doorjamb oil!  Or
the grocer charging you more for food if you were a good cook.

Most residential lines don't pay their own frieght because the monthly
rate is below cost.  Toll and measured-use charges make it up.  It's a
subsidy program.  Let's admit it.

Now WRT ISDN, data use IS free in some cases, in areas where the
telephone company doesn't charge for business local calls.  But those
are relatively few.  In the meantime, we have "data over speech" at 56
kbps.


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

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

Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 12:42:32 -0500
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Residential ISDN?
Organization: UMass, Amherst MA + Temporal Sys & Computer Networks Bombay India


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

> Unmeasured service is a mistake the telcos made years and years ago,

> And as much as I hate it for increasing my phone bill, usage-based
> billing is fairer to everyone.  Any sort of flat rate means that the
> low-usage customers wind up subsidizing the high-usage customers.  My

 Well I don't know if thats entirely correct.

 My understanding is that business phones are forced to be under a
"measured business rate" and this forms a cross subsidy to keep the
flat residential monthly rates lower than actuals. Further the amount
of this subsidy is higher for senior citizens etc. I hope this is in
fact true, else my faith in fairness in the world is about to be
shattered :-)

  It is assumed that businesses are so much more heavy users, and
hence drawing distinctions between light home users and heavy home
users is not very significant. I think thats the model on which
current tarriffs are built.

 [ Would anyone here know approx the number of minutes per month a
business phone is busy for voice, fax, data, and long-distance and
corresponding numbers for light, heavy home users and BBSs ? ]

 BTW, while we are on the topic of cross subsidies, I have heard one
rather interesting observation. In the west, the saturation of phones
is close to one for every two people, and almost everyone has access
to a phone. So any tarriff structure that charges businesses to
subsidise residential service is fair. The business would recover the
money eventually from sales revenue, and thus in a convoluted people
with more spendable income are effectively subsiding those with less.

 Now in a country like India, where even after the currently projected
major expansion plans, when there would be about 20 million phones (in
10 years), for a population of 850 million (this is now, dunno what it
will be in a decade :-), things go upside-down.  Only the richer have
residential phones service, which is subsidised by business metered
phone revenue. The business, say a soap manufacturer, builds this
expense into the retail price of the soap ... and of course, everyone
including those who dont have phones, buys soap.... in the process
subsidising the residential phone of the soap company executives. :-)
(I haven't looked at hard numbers yet to see if this in fact bears
out, but its a interesting thought nevertheless, but it is a fact that
nominal residential rates are a very small fraction of the telco per
line expenditure.)

 Aside: There is a three year or longer waiting list for such a
residential phone service.  People who cant wait that long can get a
phone connected in a few months if they coughed-up an interest free
deposit which is of same order of magnitude as telco's per line
investment, and a practically instant connection (read a few days to a
week) for a deposit of about five times that amount. Some fairness
here.


shrikumar ( [e-mail], [e-mail] )

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

From: [e-mail] (Rob Boudrie)
Subject: Re: Residential ISDN?
Organization: Center For High Perf. Computing of WPI; Marlboro Ma
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 22:16:48 GMT


> low-usage customers wind up subsidizing the high-usage customers.  My
> only beef is that the charges have nothing to do with how prices are
> typically calculated in other lines of business -- take your cost for
> the product/service, add a markup to cover your overhead and profit,
> and charge that price.  If the telco did this, non-peak use would be
> free and peak use would be expensive.  All calls would be charged for

Other lines of business don`d do this.  The procedure is more like:

  Find out profit maximizing price at which "units_sold*(price-cost)-
fixed_costs" is highest, while paying attention to the dynamic
interaction between price and units sold.  Also, long term market
development needs to be considered, as well as canibalization (taking
away from existing business by offering a new product).

  There are only a few ways cost relates to price:

  - If customers won't buy at an acceptable profit, the firm leaves
    the business.
  - A competitor may be willing to sell at a lower price which effects
    your demand curve.
  - Government regulation may limit your profits, in which case the
    game is maximixe profits within current law, while not being so
    greedy as to "wake the sleeping dog of regulation" (which is
    exactly wha tthe cable industry did!).

  Example: When you have a house to sell, what you paid for it has
NOTHING to do with the price you will ask -- you will try to get "full
market", even if you bought at a fraction of that price.

> based on distance between COs.  Things are done this way in the LD
> world, but not in the local-calling world; why else does a call from
> Ann Arbor (SE Michigan) to Houghton (Upper Penninsula) cost more than
> a call of the same length, at the same time of day, from Ann Arbor to
> California?

Regulations, tarriff, and inertia.  Back in the really old days, similar
pricing disparities existed with railroad shipping.

> Of course, since the telcos are making ISDN service more expensive
> than an equivalent POTS line, they will have trouble switching people
> over to it who don't need ISDN for data-transfer reasons.  Why pay
> $29/line plus usage charges when you can pay $15/line and get
> unlimited calls?

It will be interesting to see if the price ISDN for short term profit
maximization, or for market development where it would be nearly as
ubiquitous as call waiting.


Rob Boudrie   [e-mail]

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

From: symbi1!%miavax.ir.miami.edu.aem (a.e.mossberg)
Subject: Re: Residential ISDN? Really Flat Rate Calling Politics
Date: 8 Dec 1992 07:57:09 -0500
Organization: Symbiosis Corporation, Miami, Florida  [phone]
Reply-To: symbi1!%miavax.ir.miami.edu.aem


[e-mail] (David Lesher) writes:

> So the LEC's, frustrated in the direct approach, have been using the
> old Statue of Liberty play. They offer few or no new services with
> flat rate. Instead they push (HARD) all new subs toward quote OPTIONAL
> endquote metered calling. Sometimes this includes a trapdoor -- if you
> bite and switch to a non-flat rate plan, you cannot switch back,

Actually, around the beginning of the year I switched to metered
calling, since my phone use made it possible to save an average of
$5/month that way. After the hurricane, I ordered the CO answering
machine service, and the *rep* recommended that I switch back to flat
rate.


andrew mossberg  systems specialist   symbiosis corporation
[phone]   fax [phone]   miami, florida 33166-6202
[e-mail]  uunet!symbi1!aem    SPAN: UMIGW::AEM

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

From: [e-mail] (David E. Martin)
Subject: Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN?
Date: 8 Dec 92 15:42:45 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Fermi National Acclerator Laboratory, Batavia, IL, USA


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

> Even though Pacific Bell requires a minimum of two BRIs, they cost
> only $29 per month, and data calls are the same as voice calls, which
> means that a local data call costs only $.60/hour or so.  So, let's
> NOT encourage Pacific Bell to price their data calls like Ameritech!

Ameritech has finally seen the light.  As of September 14, all B
channel data calls in the Chicago LATA are charged at the same rate as
business voice calls.  This has decreased my monthly ISDN bill from
about $150 to $50.


David E. Martin
National HEPnet Management                     Phone: [phone]
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory          FAX: [phone]
P.O. Box 500, MS 368; Batavia, IL 60510  USA   E-Mail: [e-mail]

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

From: Matthew Holdrege <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: How Do *You* Use ISDN?
Date: 8 Dec 92 18:31:00 GMT


Steve Forrette ([e-mail]) writes ...

> Even though Pacific Bell requires a minimum of two BRIs, they cost
> only $29 per month, and data calls are the same as voice calls, which
> means that a local data call costs only $.60/hour or so.  So, let's
> NOT encourage Pacific Bell to price their data calls like Ameritech!

Sorry. I should have said that Ameritech provides FREE local ISDN
calls.  Local meaning within the same CO. Inter-CO calls cost $6 per
hour. This means that you can have free unmeasured 128kb WAN service
for a small monthly charge (about $35.) This information is from 1991
and the prices may have changed.

But I will also be happy if California's single line BRI tariff is set
at 60 cents per hour. As long as the long-distance-intra-lata costs
are not too high.


Matt Holdrege   [e-mail]   714-229-2518

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

Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones
From: willard![e-mail]
Date: Tue, 08 Dec 92 07:03:49 EST
Organization: Willard's House BBS, Atlanta, GA -- [phone]


Tony Pelliccio <[e-mail]> writes:

> sites. They say that cellular callers are routed to the nearest state
> police barracks to be dispatched by simply dialing 9-1-1 from a
> cellular phone. I think that's actually a fairly good idea since you
> really can't get a precise location of a cellular phone without some
> very good radio direction finding equipment.

Atlanta's Cellular carriers have the same service, and I'd suppose
that other cellular service companies do have/will have this service.
Each cell site in the area will automatically forward '911' to the
police dispatcher for the city (or county) where the cellular tower is
located.  I had the opportunity a few months ago to report a drunken
driver doing close to 100 mph on a local expressway, and in three
calls to 911 to report his location, I got three different city's 911.
Very handy, I think.  Also, if you call 911 from a cellular phone,
it's good etiquette to give them your cellular number, the systems
here do not provide ANI (Caller ID) to the 911 dispatcher, if you
provide them with your number right off the bat they're less likely to
think you're a crackpot (depending, of course, on the type of request
you have) -- that tidbit of advice comes from a friend of mine married
to a 911 dispatcher here intown.


[e-mail] (Joe George)   gatech!vdbsan!willard!jgeorge
emory!uumind!willard!jgeorge
Willard's House BBS, Atlanta, GA -- [phone]

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

Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 13:20:00 +0000
From: Mike Baptiste <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 911 and Cellular Phones


With all of the talk about getting to the State Patrol when dialing
911, I've seen a number of signs along Interstates and on some smaller
highways that tell people a specific *XX number to dial to get the
highway patrol directly (It's usually *HP) I'm curious what would
happen if you dialed 911 in one of those areas, were they smart enough
to default that to the same place as *HP for people who didn't see the
signs? And if so, is that the smart thing to do?


Mike Baptiste              Phone: [phone]
Bell-Northern Research     Net:   [e-mail]
Research Triangle Park NC  Opinions expressed are my own,
                           not necessarily those of BNR

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

Subject: Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left?
Date: Tue, 08 Dec 92 20:42:49 CST
From: [e-mail]


   The following just came by on rec.travel.marketplace; it's short on
detail, but sounds intriguing nonetheless:

 Newsgroups: rec.travel.marketplace
 From: [e-mail] (Kirk Blackburn)
 Subject: Save 50% on calling card costs
 Organization: World Telecom Group
 Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 00:13:50 GMT


Hi, all:

I have just become an account representative with World Telecom Group.
As an independent rep, I can now sell one of the most exciting
products I have ever been involved with: The AmeriVox calling card!

Just in time for Christmas gift giving and travel. If you would like
to save up to 50% or more on long distance phone calls while away from
home, please read on. The $10.00 cards would make a meaningful
Christmas present for very little money.

AMERIVOX FACTS:

Amerivox is one of the most exciting and innovative developments in
the history of telecommunications. The AmeriVox card has been
available for about seven months. The parent company, World Telecom
Group, Inc. was founded in July of 1991. It is a fully integrated
telephone company with its own digital central office switches,
company employed operators and independent sales agents in all fifty
states. World Telecom Group is associated with Phone Club USA, Inc. a
California corporation whose carrier network system is the fourth
largest in California and eighth largest in the US.

There is not another product like the Amerivox card. It outdates and
replaces all other calling cards. Use it immediately from any touch
tone phone in the United States.

  * NO NEED TO CHANGE YOUR CURRENT CARRIER
  * NO SURCHARGE, EVER
  * NO WAIT TO USE. NO CREDIT CHECK
  * PREPAY TO SAVE UP TO 50% OR MORE OVER OTHER CALLING CARDS
  * COMPLETE SATISFACTION, MONEY BACK GUARANTEE

CALLING CARD COMPARISON *

                AMERIVOX      AT&T     MCI    SPRINT
                --------      ----     ---    ------
SURCHARGE        *NONE*       $.80     $.75    $.75    *PER CALL*
RATE/MINUTE       $.249**     $.25     $.239   $.249
3 MINUTE CALL     $.75       $1.55    $1.47   $1.59
PERCENT SAVINGS    --          52%      49%     50%

*Based on 1,000 mile call (8am to 5pm)
Intrastate calls are even less. Good anywhere in the US

Cards can be purchased in $10.00, $20.00, $50.00, $100.00 $250.00 or
$500.00 amounts. You can renew time on a card in chunks of $20.00 or
$50.00 at any time, or, you can have re-order done automatically,
using a Visa/Mastercard. If not *absolutely* satisfied, refunds will
be make on the balance of the card.

If you would like to order one (or more), send a check (or money
order) in my name, for the denomination(s) you want, plus $1.00 per
card for postage to:


Kirk Blackburn
9833 West Brandt Place
Littleton, CO 80123

I will send out your card the same day.

Sincerely,

Kirk Blackburn    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: I wish Mr. Blackburn had told us *how* to use the
cards for calling.  Does one dial 10 (something) plus zero plus and
send the call over World Telecom/Phone Club circuits?  He says they
have their own operator staff; are they leasing their circuits from
one of the Big Three or do they actually have their own network? Do
they issue a little plastic card like the other carriers with a number
and a pin?  Is the procedure that when you make a call on their network
that your credit balance with the company is decremented by whatever
the call cost? Perhaps Mr. Blackburn or some other representative of
the company will address these questions in a reply to us. I am
curious also why payments are made payable to Mr. Blackburn instead of
the company. Let's use discretion and prudence, but if anyone decides
to find out what all this is about, please share with the group.   PAT]

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

Subject: Re: Any Free Calling Cards Left?
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 8 Dec 92 22:50:28 EST (Tue)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


I wrote:

> The question is whether there is a card that doesn't charge an
> initial surcharge each time you use it.  For most cards, when you use
> them you pay between 40 cents and $1.25 plus what the direct dial rate
> for the call would have been.

[e-mail] responds:

> My Cable and Wireless card is $.33/minute and no per-call charge.
> They've also phased out the feature group D access (950-1xxx) in favor
> of 800 numbers only. This is still one of the most winning travel cards
> out there, because you can get 20 number speed dialing with it.

Hmmn, 33 cents/minute.  My Sprint FON card, which I can use either
with 10333 or 800 number access, costs 75 cents plus the direct dial
rate which is a maximum of 25 cents/minute day rate, 12.5 cents/minute
night rate in the continental US.  MCI is about the same, AT&T a
little more, give or take the usual zillion special billing plans,
e.g. Sprint Plus takes 10% off the rates above given my calling
volume.

So for really short calls, the C&W card wins.  Sprint always wins for
calls of more than seven minutes, for shorter distance or weekend
calls Sprint wins after three minutes.

Back when I was an SBS subscriber, they charged ten cents/minute for
intra-state or adjacent state calls via 950-1088 regardless of whether
you were calling from home or elsewhere.  What a deal that was,
cheaper than putting a quarter in a payphone.  No wonder they lost
their shirts and were eventually folded into MCI.


Regards,

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

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

From: [e-mail] (Fred R. Goldstein)
Subject: Re: KA9Q Packages
Organization: Digital Equipment Corp., Littleton MA USA
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 23:08:03 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Mitsutaka Ito) writes:

> I would like to have KA9Q source and documents.  Please inform me the
> IP address of ftp sites.  If there is no ftp service of KA9Q, please
> inform me other method.

Main distribution point: ucsd.edu.  Look in the /pub area.  Lots of
variants, too, to keep you confused!


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

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #894
******************************










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Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 22:41:30 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: HoHoCon '92 : Updated Announcement December 4, 1992


Passed along FYI.

PAT

  From: [e-mail] (dFx International Digest)
  Subject: HoHoCon '92 : Updated Announcement #2 : 12/4/92
  Organization: South Coast Computing Services, Inc.
  Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 11:20:59 GMT

[Updated Announcement #2 - December 4, 1992]


dFx International Digest and cDc - Cult Of The Dead Cow proudly present :


                              The Third Annual

                               X M A S C O N

                                    AKA

                               H 0 H 0 C O N

                             "G0T ANY K0DEZ?!!"

Who:   All Hackers, Journalists, Security Personnel, Federal Agents,
               Lawyers, Authors and Other Interested Parties.

Where:                         Allen Park Inn
                             2121 Allen Parkway
                           Houston, Texas  77019
                                   U.S.A.
                            Tel: [phone]
                            Hou: [phone]
                       Fax: [phone], Ext. 350

When:      Friday December 18 through Sunday December 20, 1992

Fee:                  Five Dollars (Optional Donation)


                          Two Weeks And Counting!
                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's starting to creep up on us...  HoHoCon '92 is right around the
corner and it looks like we're going to surpass our attendence
expectations in a BIG way. We figured we were going to lose a lot of
people when we had to change hotels, but such was not the case. All
the designated HoHoCon rooms at the Allen Park Inn were called for by
the third week of November.  Luckily, the hotel opened up another wing
for us. That means it's not too late to reserve a room and make plans
to attend. Another big plus for everyone is that the airlines are
engaging in a price war again which will hopefully help some people
make it.

This update contains some of the new conference revelations as well as
general information from the last announcement. Believe it or not, we
are still in the process of getting everything finalized so we're not
able to give every exact detail of the conference as we don't know
them all yet. If you need additional information or a question
answered, just contact us and we'll try to help you out.

Which brings me to something. Unfortunately, our voice mail system
automatically deletes messages on a three day basis so we weren't able
to get back to some people who wanted us to call them. Before anyone
had a chance to write the phone numbers down, the messages were
erased. If you left a message asking us to call you and you haven't
heard from us yet, please call back again.

On with the new info...


          Will HoHoCon Get Raided Like PumpCon & The 2600 Meeting?
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've not only been asked this a million times, but I've recently seen
messages across Usenet and smaller bbs nets from people stating they
wouldn't be attending to HoHoCon because of the recent happenings on
the east coast. Those who say they're not coming because they know the
fEdZ, Secret Service, bUnk0 sKwaD, CIA, SPA, Twinkie Police, CERT and
Sha Na Na are planning to arrest everyone in attendence, are not only
stupid but also the ones who'll be missing out as the feds are not
coming to take anyone away. You can believe what you wish but the
following is taken from a conversation we had with a fairly high
ranking federal computer crime investigator (a.k.a the FeDs
themselves) -

"There's a big difference between your conference and what was going
on up North. First of all, the 2600 thing was handled by mall cops,
not the government and the PumpCon people attracted attention to
themselves by doing some really stupid stuff and not thinking. There
was no pre thought in that anyhow.. nobody drew up a game plan
beforehand to sweep the hotel.  Plus, those were private little
meetings where the people really didn't have the means of fighting
back even if they thought the interruptions were unjust. Hopefully,
nobody within this organization is going to be stupid enough to break
in the doors of a very well known public meeting of 400 potential
witnesses, a nice percentage of whom are the two people feds hate most
 -- Journalists and Lawyers. And we do know about the ones who are
going to be there waiting for us to show up, guns in hand. They'll be
waiting a while. You're talking about the weekend before Christmas, if
I'm not at the mall, my wife's gonna kick my ass. You can tell your
people to sleep easy, we're not coming."

Direct from the source.

                                  Speakers
                                  ~~~~~~~~
The big question on people's minds seems to be "Who will be speaking
at the conference?"  There are currently twelve speakers slated for
Saturday, and that number is undoubtedly sure to increase within the
next two weeks. We have a number of proposed speakers who are still in
the "trying to make it" stages. Definite speakers at this time include
Scott Chasin (Doc Holiday) and Chris Goggans (Erik Bloodaxe) of
LoD/Comsec, John Draper (Cap'n Crunch), Ray Kaplan, Byron (Louis
Cypher), Mike (Bootleg), Steve Ryan (Brian O'Blivion), and a host of
others including representatives from a fair share of today's computer
underground related publications.

Hardly anything is etched in stone, and some of the speakers are still
deciding exactly what they're going to talk about. Proposed topics at
this time include "The Federal Government Taught Me How to
Counterfeit", "The Computer Underground of the Former Soviet Union",
"The Implementation of a System and Network Security-Related Incident
Tracking and Vulnerability Reporting Database", and, of course,
"bLiNKeEZ!"

We are still entertaining offers from anyone who would like to speak.
Please contact us if you wish to do so.


                       Will Bruce Sterling Be There?
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We've received a few dozen letters from people asking if Bruce would
be attending and speaking (and if he'd also sign their books). The
honest answer is nobody knows. I haven't heard a definite answer yet.
Bruce did speak last year and he does live in Austin, so there is a
decent chance he may attend. Although.. a few people think he may be
wary of coming due to the fact that he was hit in the head with a
flying 'partyball (tm)' last year. Karl says "Sorry about that Bruce."


                       Who Was That Guy On Dateline?
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don't ask me why, but we've also received a large number of letters
from people asking this particular question. The social engineering
extrordinare was Scott Chasin and, yes, he will be attending and
speaking. A few of you asked us some other questions about Scott that
were very odd. As far as we know, he is from Earth and has never been
abducted by aliens. You may want to ask him yourself though.


                             A Conference Fee?
                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, but not exactly. There is no designated cost to attend, but we
are gladly accepting donations. We talked to a number of the people
coming and everyone seemed to agree that five dollars ($5) was a
reasonable figure to ask for. Of course, this is completely optional,
but there will be definite benefits to those who donate such as better
seats, better service, cheaper shirt prices, and... prepare
yourself... raffle tickets. That's right, a raffle! It'll be more fun
than bingo with Granny! Everyone who donates five dollars gets a
raffle ticket, and anyone who donates over that will get more. We'll
hold the raffle during the last part of Saturday's conference.  Anyone
wishing to donate prizes (or really stupid items) for the raffle
should just let us know or bring it with you. Prizes at this time
include shirts, an autographed copy of Bruce Sterling's 'The Hacker
Crackdown', autographed copies of Steve Jackson's 'Hacker' and 'Gurp
Cyberpunk' games, an autographed Comsec brochure (woo!), Chris
Goggans' UofH parking sticker, SunOs 4.1.3 on CD, a year's
subscription to Mondo 2000, some screwdrivers, a photocopy of Omar and
E.T., and other assorted gOOdeez.

Anyone planning on selling shirts, buttons or other items should also
plan on giving up two of each item. One to myself and one to the
raffle.

                          Where Does The Money Go?
                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A reasonable and expected question. Some people don't realize how much
time, effort and $money$ it takes to put on a conference of this size.
It's no secret that hotels will sometimes increase conference room
costs in December because so many businesses hold their Christmas
parties in them. Given that, and the fact that we had to practically
call every hotel in town and haggle like hell to house the con after
HoJo's backed out, you can rest assured knowing we're dropping a nice
amount on the conference room. Anyone doubting this should feel free
to call some hotels in their area and inquire as to what their room
rental is for the same weekend. The going rate in town is about $300.

We've also spent a bit of money on calling not only the media and
speakers, but everyone else who requested we call to answer questions
or fax information to them. Other people wanted us to mail the
information to them.  Mail needs stamps. Stamps cost money.

Then there is the fact that immediately after we released the first
announcement, our local Unix site (the only local free site) changed
over to a pay-per-minute scale. We're still receiving and sending
endless letters regarding the conference. We were finally able to set
up our own site last week, but the previous charges still remain.

The only possible way for all of us to be compensated for what we
spent in time organizing this whole thing would be to charge what some
other security conferences do... about fifty times what we're
suggesting.

                                Transcripts
                                ~~~~~~~~~~~
Those not able to attend have inquired about obtaining transcripts of
the conference. Written transcripts would not only be huge, but next
to impossible to produce and audio transcripts would take up too many
tapes.  So, we will be offering "HoHoCon '92 : The Movie" starting the
first week of January. The conference footage will be shot and edited
with professional equipment and will include not only what happened on
Saturday, but Friday and Sunday as well.

You can also get the official HoHoCon '92 T-shirt even if you can't
make it.  The shirts are black and have the following on the back:

                             dFx & cDc Present:

                                HOHOCON '92

                               December 18-20
                               Allen Park Inn
                               Houston, Texas

There is a keen, elite message on the front that we're waiting to
unveil at the conference. The shirts will be available at the same
time the video is.  Anyone needing additional information or wishing
to purchase either item should contact us (e-mail is best).

                              How You Can Help?
                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some folks, most from the Houston and Austin area have offered their
services and we've had a hard time thinking of exactly what we needed.
The following is a list of items we are currently in need of :

A *large* TV for use in the conference room, a tripod, blank Hi-8 and
VHS tapes, volunteers to help work the door on Saturday morning,
interesting items for the raffle, and countless other things I can't
recall.

We're also looking for someone in Houston who may wish to spend a day
with the infamous Cap'n Crunch (John Draper). John is arriving a day
early and needs a place to stay on Thursday night. I can guarantee
you'll hear many interesting stories about the very early days and
telecom and phreaking.  You'll probably pick up a few swell exercising
tips too!

                               Starting Time
                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday's conference will not start like last year where we opened
the doors and everyone sort of piled in. The door will be open at
approximately 10 a.m. at which point you can sign the conference
registrar, make a donation if you wish and enter the conference room.
The conference starts promptly at 11 a.m. (no renditions of SummerCon
please). Plan for this in advance as we won't be moving the starting
time like last year.

                                Ending Notes
                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything after this paragraph is taken from the last announcement.
If anyone wants it in full just mail us and we'll send it to you. The
"Howard Johnson's Story" is attached with it in CuD 4.45. If, for some
reason, you can't get CuD and want to read about, we can send that to
you too. That should just about wrap everything up. You know what to
do if you need anything else. Hopefully, we'll see you at the con!


 dFx of cDc
 ----------

                          What Exactly Is HoHoCon?
                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HoHoCon is something you have to experience to truly understand. It is
the largest annual gathering of those in, related to, or wishing to
know more about the computer underground (or those just looking for
another excuse to party). Attendees generally include some of the most
notable members of the "hacking/telecom" community, journalists,
authors, security professionals, lawyers, and a host of others. Last
year's speakers ranged from Bruce Sterling to Chris Goggans and Scot
Chasin of Comsec/LoD. The conference is also one of the very few that
is completely open to the public and we encourage anyone who is
interested to attend.


                           Hotel Information
                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Allen Park Inn is located along Buffalo Bayou and is approximately
three minutes away from Downtown Houston. The HoHoCon group room rates
are $49.00 plus tax (15%) per night, your choice of either single or
double. As usual, when making reservations you will need to tell the
hotel you are with the HoHoCon Conference to receive the group rate.

Unlike our previously chosen joke of a hotel, the Allen Park Inn is
not situated next to an airport and this may cause a small
inconvenience for those of you who will be flying to the conference.
The hotel is centrally located so you can fly in to either
Intercontinental or Hobby airport but we are recommending Hobby as it
is 15 miles closer and much easier to get to from the hotel. Here's
where it may get a little confusing -

If you arrive at Hobby, you will need to take the Downtown Hyatt
Airport Shuttle to the Hyatt, which departs every 30 minutes and will
cost you $6.00. When you get to the Hyatt, get out of the shuttle with
your luggage (for those who may not of figured that out yet) and use
any of the nearby pay phones to call the Allen Park Inn (521-9321) and
tell them you need a ride. It's just like calling Mom when you need a
ride home from glee club!  The hotel shuttle will be around shortly to
pick you up and take you to the aforementioned elite meeting place,
and that ride is free. If all this is too much for you, you can always
take a cab directly to the hotel which will run you about $20.

If you arrive at Intercontinental, you will need to board the Airport
Express bus and take it to the Downtown Hyatt ($9). Once there, just
follow the same instructions listed above.

Check-in is 3:00 p.m. and check-out is 12:00 noon. Earlier check-in is
available if there are unoccupied rooms ready. Free local calls are
provided, so bring dem 'puterz. I don't know if cable is free also, so
those who wish to rekindle the memories of yesteryear may want to
bring their screwdrivers. The hotel has both 24 hour room service, and
a 24 hour restaurant, The Nashville Room. Call it a wacky coincidence,
but the hotel bar is called the ATI room and like most of Houston's
similar establishments, closes at 2 a.m. Good thing Tony still works
at Spec's...

                                 Directions
                                 ~~~~~~~~~~
For those of you who will be driving to the conference, the following
is a list of directions on how to get to the hotel from most of
Houston's major freeways that bring traffic in from out of town:

I-45 North or South: Exit Allen Parkway on the inside (left side) of
the freeway. Take the Studemont/Montrose exit off Allen Parkway, then
make a U-turn at the bridge and head back towards downtown. The hotel
will be on the right hand side.

290: Take 290 to 610 South, then take I-10 East towards downtown. Exit
Studemont. Right on Studemont, left on Allen Parkway. The hotel will
be on the right hand side.

I-10 West: Exit Studemont. Right on Studemont, left on Allen Parkway.
The hotel will be on the right hand side.

I-10 East: Take I-10 East to I-45 South and follow the same directions
from I-45 listed above.

US-59 North or South: Take US-59 to I-45 North and follow the same
directions from I-45 listed above.

Call the hotel if these aren't complete enough or if you need
additional information.


                             Conference Details
                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HoHoCon will last 3 days, with the actual conference being held on
Saturday, December 19 in the Hermitage Room, starting at 11:00 a.m.
and continuing until 5 p.m. or earlier depending on the number of
speakers.

We are still in the planning stages at the moment, primarily due to
time lost in finding a new hotel and getting contracts signed. We have
a number of speakers confirmed (yes, Goggans will be speaking again)
and will try to finalize the list and include it in the next update.
We are definitely still looking for people to speak and welcome
diverse topics (except for "The wonders and joys of ANSI, and how it
changed my life"). If you're interested in rattling away, please
contact us as soon as possible and let us know who you are, who you
represent (if anyone), the topic you wish to speak on, a rough
estimate of how long you will need, and whether or not you will be
needing any audio-visual aids.

We would like to have people bring interesting items and videos again
this year. If you have anything you think people would enjoy having
the chance to see, please let us know ahead of time, and tell us if
you will need any help getting it to the conference. If all else
fails, just bring it to the con and give it to us when you arrive. We
will also include a list of items and videos that will be present in a
future update.

If anyone requires any additional information, needs to ask any
questions, wants to RSVP, or would like to be added to the mailing
list to receive the HoHoCon updates, you may mail us at:

                            [e-mail]
                       [e-mail]
                           [e-mail]
                            359@7354 (WWIV Net)

                           or via sluggo mail at:

                           Freeside Data Network
                             Attn: HoHoCon/dFx
                             11504 Hughes Road
                                 Suite 124
                               Houston, Texas
                                   77089

We also have a VMB which includes all the conference information and
is probably the fastest way to get updated reports. The number is:

                                713-866-4884

You may also download any of the conference announcements and related
materials by calling 713-492-2783 and using the user name "unix",
which is unpassworded. The files will be in the "/pub/h0h0" directory.
Type "biscuit" if you wish to gain an account on the system. You can
find us there too.

Conference information and updates will most likely also be found in
most computer underground related publications, including CuD,
Informatik, NIA, Mondo 2000, 2600, Phrack, World View, etc. We
completely encourage people to use, reprint, and distribute any
information in this file.


                Stupid Ending Statement To Make Us Look Good
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HoHoCon '92 will be a priceless learning experience for professionals
and gives journalists a chance to gather information and ideas direct
from the source. It is also one of the very few times when all the
members of the computer underground can come together for a realistic
purpose. We urge people not to miss out on an event of this caliber,
which doesn't happen very often. If you've ever wanted to meet some of
the most famous people from the hacking community, this may be your
one and only chance. Don't wait to read about it in all the magazines
and then wish you had been there, make your plans to attend now! Be a
part of what we hope to be our largest and greatest conference ever.

Remember, to make your reservations, call [phone] and tell them
you're with HoHoCon.













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Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1992 01:01:06 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #895

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 9 Dec 92 01:01:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 895

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Omaha May Get Second Dial-Tone Provider (Omaha World-Herald via J Winslade)
    Clinton Appoints Transition Official For Telecom Policy (Nigel Allen)
    Com Daily Article on FCC Transition (Mark Boolootian)
    Ameritech PCS Digital Phone Update (Andrew C. Green)
    Stolen Telephone Cable in San Antonio, Texas (Star-Telegram via Len Elam)
    Need Help For MNP Protocols (Levent Turkmen)
    Cellular Tinkering? (Craig Evans)
    Taco Bell is Not the Mexican Phone Company (Wash Post via P. Robinson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 08 Dec 92 09:06:21 CST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Winslade)
Subject: Omaha May Get Second Dial-Tone Provider
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


Some material taken from {Omaha World-Herald}, Sunday, Dec. 6, 1992.

According to the {Omaha World-Herald}, some telephone customers in the
Omaha area may be able to choose their dial tone provider in the near
future.

'In recent weeks, Teleport Communications Group of New York has been
setting up operations in Omaha.  It is building a fiber-optic network
and plans to compete with US West, Nebraska's regional telephone
company, for some local business phone services.'

The article reports that the parent company of Cox Cable, Omaha's
cable television franchise, is the majority shareholder of Teleport.

'Cox has wires going into 60 percent of the homes in Omaha.  The
relationship between Cox and Teleport, therefore, opens up the
possibility of competition.  Those wires are capable of carrying two-
way voice transmissions and information as well as television
programming.'

Dwight Wininger, executive secretary for the Nebraska PSC was quoted
as saying '.. it's the future, and it's apparently much closer.'
Wininger also stated that if Teleport competes for dial tone customers
with US West, it likely would mean lower prices for consumers in
Omaha.  'In areas outside Omaha, however, it may have the opposite
effect.  US West might increase prices in rural areas to help pay for
competition in Omaha.'

Teleport stated that it currently plans only to compete for business
customers, but they 'do not rule out competing for other local phone
services.' ... 'Teleport initially will attempt to pick off some of US
West's high-volume business customers -- telemarketers and businesses
that transmit data -- by offering to connect them to long distance
companies for less than US West's local access charges.'

The article stated that US West has indicated that this may raise
prices for residential customers.

A sidebar stated that Teleport is currently constructing a fiber-
optic 'ring' around the area.  Businesses could use this either to
communicate directly or to access LD providers.  Service will begin in
January to some customers.

JSW's notes ({WH} would never say this stuff): Among the cable
subscribers I know (we do not subscribe to cable -- not enough time to
watch free TV very much), the opinion of Cox Cable ranges from
reasonable satisfaction on the high end to unprintable on the low end.
I've heard frequent complaints of slow service, interminable times on
hold, long lines at their offices, service disruptions, and arrogance
befitting someone who holds a monopoly and knows it.  The tone of
their ads (since the cable re-regulation -- some coincidence) has
changed to indicate that they are working on their consumer relations
problems.

I must admit that telephone service in Omaha is the best I have ever
been aware of, although a bit pricey when compared to other markets.
Although 15 years ago I thought otherwise, in the past 10 years their
customer service has been good as well.  The few technical problems
I've had have been resolved quickly and conveniently.  Should dial
tone competition come to Omaha residents, I would probably not
consider switching unless the other company(ies) offered a significant
savings over Ma Bell.

I just hope this does not lead to another 'duopoly' with the hype and
creative pricing that runs rampant in the cellular industry.  I can
hear the commercials now.  'Sign up today for telephone service from
us and get a FREE cheapie-chirper phone and FREE call waiting.
Activationrequiresacommitmenttofiveyearsserviceatfiftydollarsaweekwith
aminimumoftwohourslocalservicetimeperdayat75centsperminutewith40per-
centsurchargeduringpeakhoursnootherdiscountsmayapply.'


Good day.       JSW

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

From: Nigel Allen <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 19:00:00 -0500
Subject: Clinton Appoints Transition Official For Telecom Policy
Organization: NDA


There has been some criticism of Ronald Plesser, the Washington lawyer
appointed by U.S. President-elect Bill Clinton as the transition
official in charge of telecommunications and broadcasting policy
issues.

{Communications Daily} (December 7) reports that some public interest
groups, such as Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility and
the Taxpayer Assets Project, are uncomfortable that a lawyer who
represented the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and the Information
Industry Association (IIA) was named to the policy position.


Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044


[Moderator's Note: This story is reported in more detail in the next
article in this issue, submitted by Mark Boolootian. The apparent
position of the CPSR, that a lawyer who at one time or another
represented one interest in the industry cannot possibly do a
professional job of representing another theoretically opposing
interest now is ludicrous.  First, I don't know that DMA/IIA are
necessarily bad guys (thereby ethically requiring Plesser to recuse
himself from the transition effort if he is unable to separate his
responsibility to old clients from that of his new employer); and
second, my personal impression of Plesser, while limited to reading
some of his remarks and hearing him speak on one occassion, is that he
is a competent professional, unlikely to confuse the old and new. No
doubt the CPSR's dislike of some positions he will espouse will be
attributed by the Socially Responsible Ones to 'bias' by Plesser.

But lest you, dear readers, labor under the impression I am pleased
with the direction the wind is blowing in Our Nation's Capitol --
sometimes known as the <D>istrict of <C>rime -- these days, be assured
I am watching with baited breath as all the Clintonistas begin to
assume their duties. Mr. Clinton's campaign played on the hopes and
aspirations of many forgotten and/or ignored Americans. Does anyone
*really* believe he will keep even a third of the promises he made? In
a few months, when all the Clinton-daemons have been installed will we
find we have simply swapped one bunch of cronies for another?   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Boolootian)
Subject: Com Daily Article on FCC Transition
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 08:25:19 -0800 (PST)


The following was posted to the comp-priv mailing list and I thought
it might be of interest to the readers here:


     *    Communications Daily article on Clinton transition
          appointment for Federal Communications Commission
          (F.C.C.)

The following article, written by Art Brodsky (202/872-9202, x252), is
reprinted from the December 7, 1992 issue of Communications Daily,
with permission.  Communications Daily is published by Warren
Publishing, Inc., 2115 Ward Court, N.W.  Washington, DC 20037.

`Far End of Spectrum'

            PLESSER TRANSITION APPOINTMENT DRAWS FIRE

     Public interest groups Friday criticized naming of Washington
attorney Ronald Plesser to head up communications issues for Clinton
transition effort (CD Dec4, p1).  Groups said Plesser, partner in
Washington office of Baltimore law firm Piper & Marbury, represents
clients that characterize Washington special interests.  As might be
expected, Plesser's appointment was defended by Clinton confidants.

     Plesser will head one of two groups in science and technology
transition section led by ex-astronaut Sally Ride.  Other group in
Ride's section will evaluate hard science agencies such as NASA and
National Science Foundation.  Those transition groups were established
to assess policies and agencies, not to make appointment
recommendations.  Personnel matters for permanent jobs are to be
handled by ex-S.C. Gov. Richard Riley (CD Nov 20 p1).

     Clinton confidants praised Plesser's designation.  "He's the
right guy," we were told.  "He'll take a snapshot of the agency,"
covering budget needs, personnel and similar matters.  Transition team
"will look to Ron for insights.  He's the guy."  Referring to much
speculation in press about what Clinton has in mind and who his
appointments might be, source said: "I wonder what on earth motivates
some of this stuff ... most of which is wildly inaccurate."

     Most criticism of Plesser centers on his advocacy on behalf of
Direct Marketing Assn. (DMA) and Information Industry Assn.  (IIA),
particularly for advocating private sector control of databases
constructed by public agencies.  Taxpayer Assets Project Dir. James
Love said Plesser "himself is the architect of the basic privatization
policies that came about in the Reagan Administration."  Plesser, he
said, is "most ferocious opponent of librarians, citizen groups and
the research community, who want to broaden public access to
government, taxpayer-supported information systems.  He's the devil
himself when it comes to government information policy."

     Similarly, Marc Rotenberg, Director of the Washington office of
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR), said that
"while there is personal regard for Ron Plesser, there is not
happiness about this decision."  Rotenberg said that Plesser's clients
have great deal at stake at FCC, including decisions on 800 number
portability and automatic number identification (ANI) that affect
direct marketers, as well as on video dial tone and access to
networks.  Plesser represents "a far end of the spectrum in the policy
debates," Rotenberg said.  He said CPSR's main concerns are in areas
of privacy protection, public access to government information,
communications infrastructure.  In each of those areas, "Ron has been
 from our viewpoint on the opposite side of the issue."

     Rotenberg said that if transition effort is merely to be brief
fact-finding exercise, Clinton team could have sought out "someone
with less bias," perhaps in academic community.  Jeff Chester, co-dir.
of Center for Media Education, said his group is "very concerned"
about Plesser because "of the special interest lobbying baggage he
carries with him."  Chester said his group believes that Plesser's
appointment "places an extra burden, a double duty on the Clinton
Administration, to find people for the FCC and other
telecommunications policy positions who don't come with any kind of
lobbying baggage and reflect the kind of public interest concerns the
Commission definitely needs."

     Transition team still having difficulty deciding how to apply its
proposed tough ethics requirements for Presidential appointees (CD Nov
5 p1).  There's still been no decision as "to how deep the five-year
restriction will be applied," we're told.  That means, according to
sources, restrictions -- when they finally come out -- may not go
below Cabinet level.  As for FCC appointees and top staffers (such as
bureau chiefs) brought in, it hasn't been decided whether attempt will
be made to extend period they couldn't practice or lobby agency to
five years from one year.  Proposal has been roundly criticized by
Democrats who are know to be, or expect to be, in line for top jobs in
Clinton Administration.


Mark Boolootian        [e-mail]        [phone]

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

Date: Tue, 08 Dec 1992 11:21:31 CST
From: Andrew C. Green <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Ameritech PCS Digital Phone Update


Here's an update on our long-term test of Ameritech's Personal
Communication Service (PCS) telephone. Regular readers will recall
that my wife and I were approached at the local train station by an
Ameritech representative to participate, along with several hundred
other users, in an 18-month test of their new digital portable
telephones. Several unrelated items today:

1) I noted in the past that Ameritech has studiously avoided calling
this a "cellular" phone, although the network resembles a cellular
system. The term of choice, to judge from their literature, appears to
be that it's a "wireless" telephone system.

2) The little phone has developed a few minor bugs, though none
interfere with its operation to any noticeable degree. On about rfour
occasions when I had the Pager mode switched on (required to field
incoming calls via an existing pager network), I heard a little warble
come from the phone. A quick inspection showed it had abruptly
switched its Pager mode off for no apparent reason.  On a couple of
other occasions, switching the phone off (you must leave it on when in
Private mode in order for the base unit to ring it as an extension)
would also switch off the pager, which is not supposed to happen.
Finally, on a few occasions, a quick glance at its display when the
phone was not in use showed the "Phon" indicator blinking merrily away
as if it was seeking a transceiver for a phone line. This is normally
supposed to happen only when you punch the green button to start a
call. Punching the green button and closing the phone (to cycle it on
and off) reset the indicator without problems.

3) The test program is apparently swimming in money for incentive
payments. The phone arrived with an initial offer of $10 cash for
making 10 calls in the first 10 days. This was followed by a $25
incentive to get four different people to page you 10 times in 10
days, and a trip to Hawaii to be awarded in a drawing from a list of
everyone who sent their monthly surveys in on time. The latest offer
came last week: in exchange for carrying the phone everywhere I go for
two weeks, something I do anyway, they'll send me a check for $75. I
am not complaining. ;-)

4) Billing is another test area of the program. We were informed that
our particular bill would be calculated on the basis of three
cents/minute of air time. Again, I am not complaining.

5) We are kept very well informed about the program; it seems like
hardly a day goes by without some piece of mail from them.  Someone at
their office has apparently got hold of some screaming-flourescent
stationery and a PostScript printer, and used it to mail out all sorts
of bulletins. Our favorite was an urgent missive, with a full 29 cents
of first-class postage on it, containing nothing but a single
flourescent-blue page announcing that some people were putting the
batteries in backwards in their base units.

6) The phone has proved to be a great conversation piece. It's
universally described as "cute" by everyone who sees it. A couple of
cellular phone salesmen we ran into all but drooled on it, with great
excitement over the fact that they had heard so much about the PCS and
finally got to see one. I personally have yet to bump into ANYONE else
who has one.

7) They called me yesterday to ask if I'd like to speak to a reporter
this week from the {Detroit Free Press} who's doing a story on the PCS
system. I must say, this is getting to be rather fun!

Disclaimer: No connection to Ameritech other than as a satisfied
PCS trial participant.


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

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

Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 13:11:30 CST
From: [e-mail] (Len E. Elam)
Subject: Stolen Telephone Cable in San Antonio, Texas


I saw this in the morning edition of the Friday, December 4, 1992
{Fort Worth Star-Telegram} on Section A, Page 27:

   --------News-article-follows--------

  SAN ANTONIO: Phones were working again yesterday after Southwestern
Bell repaired lines damaged when thieves took 500 feet of cable from
Lady Bird Johnson Park.  Service was disrupted early Wednesday for
about 1,000 customers, including several schools and a fire station.

  The copper in the cable was hardly worth the thieves' effort bacause
of the cable's makeup, San Antonio scrap dealers said.  "There's no
real practical way to sepatate it," one dealer said.  "It's probably
worth at most four to five cents a pound."

  The paper-wrapped cable is composed of 1,000 copper wires smaller in
diameter than a pencil's lead.  Workers repairing the damage had to
splice together each of the 1,000 individual wires.

  Because copper theft is common, state law requires salvage companies
to get the signature, driver's license, vehicle license number and
address of anyone selling more than 50 pounds of copper.

   --------News-article-end------------


Who Am I?: Len E. Elam              | Disclamer:
Email: gdfwc3![e-mail] |  I speak only
   or           [e-mail] |   for myself.

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Need Help For MNP Protocols
Organization: Cleveland State University
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 20:52:54 GMT


Is there anybody who knows where I can get the algorithms of MNP 4 and
5 protocols? Is there a book concerning those? Thanks in advance for
your replies.


Levent TURKMEN

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

From: [e-mail] (Craig Evans)
Subject: Cellular Tinkering?
Date: 9 Dec 92 01:04:38 GMT
Organization: Harvard University, Office for Information Technology


I own a Nokia 101 cellular hand-held phone.  As of now their is no car
adapter for this model (that I know of).  I want to muck about with it
a bit.

There are six gold-colored contacts on the bottom.  I believe that two
of them are for charging.  That leaves four for ... say ... external
mike, speaker, antenna, etc.

Q: Can anyone tell me what these contacts do?

Q: Is this a standard config of some kind?

Q: Are there third party devices for this config?

Q: Can anyone recommend magazines, books, FTP articles on this
   subject?

I am interested in a headset for the phone especially for long trips
(I would get a kick out of making my own -- but would purchase if I
had to).  I prefer the idea of headset over speakerphone and visor
mike because I assume the sound would be better. (Can anyone comment
on this?).

Thanks for your help.


Craig

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 08 Dec 1992  20:09:27 EST
Subject: Taco Bell is Not the Mexican Phone Company


One of the more humorous tag lines used on some messages is the phrase
"Taco Bell is not the Mexican Phone Company."

True.  Telmex ("Telefonos de Mexico") is.  They just ran an ad on page
A34 of the {Washington Post} of 12/8.  Here are the highlights of the
advertisement (1/2 page vertical along with a full page on other
aspects of Mexico.)

Claims made by Telmex's advertisement:

- In 1990 Telmex had labor problems and old equipment.  The Mexican
Government sold 20% of the company to Grupo Cargo (a mexican
manufacturer), Southwestern Bell, and France Telecom's Cable & Radio,
for $1.76 Billion; 4.4% was sold to the telephone workers' uinion and
and most of the remainder was placed on the Mexican and international
stock markets.  The government now owns "less than 10%" of Telmex.

- Telmex has a six year monopoly on the providing of telephone service
provided it upgrades its equipment.

- They installed 826,857 new lines (14% increase); total capacity is
almost seven million lines; a new $260 million fiber optic cable is
being installed by AT&T, Indetel-Alcatel & Ericcson of Sweden, along
the railroad rights of way. They expect 65 digital by end of 1994.
Northern Telecom of Canada is installing 38 operator centers and a new
system which will "nearly double an operator's efficiency from 22 to
40 long distance calls an hour."

- They are also putiting in a $400 million transatlantic cable
to connect 7500+ miles from Cancun, West Palm Beach, St. Thomas
US VI, Canary Is., Spain, Madeira, Portugal and Palermo Italy,
with 58 companies in 41 countries.  This system, called
"Columbus II" begins construction in August.  It will have
232,000 channels and be able to handle 90,000 calls at high
speeds.

- Mexico has 20 VSAT (Very Small Aperature Terminal) networks at 86
sites, including the government oil monopoly PEMEX and the two Mexican
Stock exchanges.

- Mexico has two satellites, "Morelos I and II," with 12 international
earth stations and 239 local ones.  They run 573 telephone, 525 telex
and 5 television channels from Mexico to 27 countries.  Hughes
Aircraft will launch "Solidaridad I and II" which will provide four
times the capacity.  The two new earth satellites will cost $182
million.

- American Mobile Satellite Corporation will be able to then provide
mobile users with phone service, including the ability for a Mexican
mobile phone user to continue their conversation even when they cross
into the U.S., and vice versa.  (Implies international Roaming on
Cellular, but the word "cellular" isn't used.)

- They are going to implement paging in 18 cities via Mtel Internation-
al of the U.S.

- Since January, they will have installed 1.5 million lines and
"replaced 281 million 500,000 analogue lines that had been in use for
60 years to digital ones."  (Gee I wonder what the charges are for a
phone line in use for 60 years is!)  4,000 rural communities have been
added.

- 100,000 cellular users in 25 cities.

- "Integrated Digital Network" has 541 national and international
companies as subscribers, with 36,254 lines.  It also gives them
videoconference capability to "1,000 meeting rooms in 32 different
countries."

Conflicting Claims:

- A lower ad states they will put 1420 digital operator positions at
39 traffic centers; above it says they are installing 38 operator
centers.

- The lower ad claims the Columbus II underwater fiber optic cable
will have "a capacity of 32,000 telephone channels and 1000 telephone
circuits" while the upper ad says "fully operational by December 1994,
the 232,000-channel system will simultaneously transmit up to 90,000
calls at high speeds" (the ad says 500 megabits per second.)


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]

These comments are summary of the opinion of "Telefonos de Mexico
(Telmex)" about itself and do not represent the opinion of this
account's owner, and may not represent mine.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #895
******************************










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Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1992 01:52:56 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #896

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 9 Dec 92 01:53:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 896

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    AT&T Replacing Motorola (John Higdon)
    Block Block Blocking? (John R. Levine)
    Go Anywhere Roaming Grid (Radio Communications Report via Leroy Donnelly)
    IEEE Communications Special PCS Issue (Monty Solomon)
    Eveready Batteries / Madame Olga ([e-mail])
    MAGNAPhone Suppliers? (Thomas Richers)
    BT Meter Pulsing (50Hz Longitudinal) (Bashar Nuseibeh)
    Wanted: Information on CCIR Reports (Vitenberg Eugene)
    Cellular Packet Data Networks ([e-mail])
    Giant Voice Bridge Needed (David E. Martin)
    "Obscene Profits of Utility Companies?" NOT! (Paul Robinson)
    Help! I'm Making My First Phonecall! (Tom Streeter)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 18:53 PST
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: AT&T Replacing Motorola


As I am sure someone has mentioned, GTE Mobilnet is replacing all of
its Motorola switches with AT&T. Some time ago, GTE gave Motorola the
word: get your act together or we will go elsewhere. AT&T is the
"elsewhere".

This is a perfect example of the difference between the GTE operating
companies and GTE Mobile Services (of which GTE Mobilnet is a part).
Since Mobilnet is not a regulated monopoly with a guaranteed rate of
return, it cannot have the attitude, "We don't care. We don't have to.
We're the Phone Company", as, for example, GTE of California certainly
does.

If GTE of California had to compete in the real world, those rotton
GTD-5 excuse-for-a-switch abominations would be so much scrap. But
since it can literally extort whatever it needs to make its guaranteed
rate of return from ratepayers, those featureless, clunking, cheap
monstrosities will probably be disserving unlucky customers for years
to come. At least until "dial tone competition". I cannot wait to hear
GTE squeal.

Oh, and by the way, Gloria, this is not a personal attack upon the
fine men and women who make a living cranking out GTD-5s. Everyone has
to do something.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

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

Subject: Block Block Blocking?
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 23:35:07 EST
From: John R. Levine <[e-mail]>


I notice that when you block delivery of Caller-ID, the sending switch
still sends the calling phone number but sets a "no display" bit.  The
number can't be displayed with Caller-ID, but is still useful for Call
Trace and Call Block, CLASS services useful for identifying and
stopping annoying or harrassing callers.

But in some states the state regulators have told the telcos not to
provide blocking.  I'd think that it'd be technically straightforward
to reprogram an exchange to disregard the blocking bit to carry out
the regulatory mandate to provide the caller's phone number on every
call whether the caller likes it or not.  Since the FCC hasn't, to my
knowledge, said anything one way or the other about Caller-ID, this
would probably even be legal.

Has this possibility ever been broached in a Caller-ID regulatory
argument?


Regards,

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

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

Date: Tue, 08 Dec 92 17:39:16 CST
From: [e-mail] (Leroy Donnelly)
Subject: Go Anywhere Roaming Grid
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


 From the December 7th issue of {Radio Communications Report}:

           CTIA CALLS FOR 'GO ANYWHERE' ROAMING GRID
                        by Jeffrey Silva

    Need to reach a cellular-toting jetsetter pronto on the Los
Angeles freeway when you are in Manhattan, or say Little Rock, Ark.?
No problem: By next summer a national cellular roaming network should
make those calls reality.

    The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, buoyed by a
key Justice Department finding, is looking for the company that can
build a backbone signaling network to enable mobile telephone
subscribers to be called automatically anywhere in the country.

    "With this seamless roaming network, we're not talking about
programming telephones for call forwarding or anything like that,"
said CTIA President Thomas Wheeler in a press statement Nov. 18.

    "Were talking about true, automatic, call delivery," explained
Wheeler.  "Your phone calls will reach you no matter where you happen
to be.  The customer won't need any new equipment and won't face any
new charges."

    CTIA last month begin soliciting bids from companies to develop a
Signaling System No. 7, or SS7, national network that would link
switches -- computers that serve as the central nerve center of
cellular systems -- based on a uniform industry technical standard.
The standard, IS-41, allows switches made by different manufactures to
talk with each other.

    Today, local and long-distance telephone companies already use or
moving toward implementation of SS7, said CTIA spokesman Norman Black.
The result will be a seamless national cellular network and the
fulfillment of one of industry's biggest goals since its inception in
1983.

    The high-speed data transmission network used to set up cellular
calls also will help curb fraud -- a major industry problem -- and
provide other functions.  The cellular switch in the territory where a
subscriber has roamed will instantaneously verify his or her identity
with the home switch as well as find out the customer's preferred
long-distance company and pre-subscribed options like voice mail and
call waiting.

    The Justice Department in October gave its blessing to the use of
the IS-41 standard by cellular operators affiliated with the seven
regional Bell telephone companies.  IT concluded the automatic call
delivery function does not constitute inter-exchange, or long-
distance, service the Bells are prohibited from offering.  That ban
came under the 1982 AT&T consent decree that prefaced the 1984 court-
ordered breakup of the corporate behemoth.

    Currently, there is no smooth mechanism in place to route calls
automatically to roamers -- cellular customers who travel outside
their home market into another carrier's territory -- even though
cellular subscribers have no trouble reaching anybody in the world
from there own phones.

    "Our industry is ready to have a national network," said CTIA's
Black.

    Black said bids are due Dec. 23.  The winning contractor selected
in February will have 180 days to activate the nationwide cellular SS7
network.  That puts the turn-on date sometime next August.

    CTIA's board deferred until later a resolution of questions
regarding project cost, who will pay for it and who will oversee the
national cellular roaming network until after proposals are submitted
and a contract is awarded, he said.

    The association, noted Black, expects to receive bids from a host
of firms.  They range from the big three long-distance telephone
companies -- American Telephone & Telegraph Co., MCI Communications
Corp. and Sprint Corp. -- and large manufacturers such as
International Business Machines Corp., Northern Telecom Ltd. and
Digital Equipment Corp. to medium and small companies with, for
example, software and systems applications expertise.  The later will
be considered despite their lack of network facilities since they
still could lease network capacity.

    Solicitations of bids initially went out Nov. 13 to 42 companies
identified as having interest in setting up a national cellular
roaming network.  The association expects to receive even more
interest in the project now that it has been publicized, Black said.


Ybbat (DRBBS) 8.9 v. 3.14 r.1   DRBBS   (1:285/666.0)

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

Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 00:53:45 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: IEEE Communications Special PCS Issue


The December 1992 issue of {IEEE Communications Magazine} is a special
issue on the second generation of personal communications.

"This issue presents an update on personal communications.  The
articles summarize the current status of research and development in
this fast-growing field and offer a look into the future at potential
technologies and applications."

Here is the table of contents:
    Implementation of PCNs Using DCS1800
    Implications of Mobile Cellular CDMA
    Cordless Personal Communications
    The Universal Mobile Telecommunication System
    A Portable Multimedia Terminal
    Microcells in Personal Communications Systems
    Modulation Methods for PCNs
    Wireless Network Access for Personal Communications
    Network Control for Wireless Communications
    And the Walls Come Tumblin' Down
    1992 Index of Articles

Coming in the January 1993 issue:
    Optimizing Communications Solutions
    The Evolving Role of Telecommunications Switching
    Document Image Processing Using the Telephone Company Network
    Future Switching System Requirements from a Network Perspective

Single copies of "IEEE Communications Magazine" are available for
$10.00 for IEEE members and $20.00 for nonmembers from:

    IEEE Service Center
    445 Hoes Lane
    Piscataway NJ  08854-4150
    [phone]
    800 678 IEEE


Monty Solomon / PO Box 2486 / Framingham, MA  01701-0405
[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Eveready Batteries / Madame Olga
Date: Tue,  8 Dec 92 16:59:45 PST


In case you've seen the recent "Madame Olga" commercials featuring the
Eveready (nee Duracell) bunny, and noticed the 800 number given for a
fraction of a second at the end, it may satisfy your curiousity to
know the number just gives a short message then hangs up.  The number
is 800 729 0730.  I didn't try throwing all three-character
combinations of TT digits at it, because I figured that would be a
waste of time :-)

Did you catch the recent "Digital Voice Changer" article in
{Radio-Electronics}?  I've got big plans for that little device :-)

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

Subject: MAGNAPhone Suppliers?
Date: 8 Dec 92 09:28:44 GMT (Tue)
From: [e-mail]


I remember reading about satellite telephones, but I don't know where.
They communicate with INMARSAT satellites and are very expensive.

Friends in Italy would like to know which U.S. company produces a type
of satellite telephone called MAGNAPhone MX 2020. Does anyone know
their name and address?


Thanks in advance.

Thomas Richers

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

From: [e-mail] (Bashar Nuseibeh)
Subject: BT Meter Pulsing (50Hz Longitudinal)
Date: 8 Dec 1992 11:52:46 GMT
Organization: Imperial College, Dept. of Computing


BT Meter Pulsing (50 Hz Longitudinal)

- What is the duration of pulses?
- How many pulses make up one chargeable unit (4.2p)?
- How can we detect the pulse?
- What is the frequency of pulses in relation to call charges?
- Any other info?


Thanks in advance,

Bashar Nuseibeh   Dept. of Computing   Imperial College

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

From: [e-mail] (Vitenberg Eugene)
Subject: Wanted: Info on CCIR Reports
Date: Tue, 08 Dec 92 00:30:00 +0700
Organization: TV MIR
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Please, can anybody tell me where can I find these documents:

" CCIR XVI (sixteen, not xvi :-) ) Plenary Assembly. Report 951-1.
Data casting systems: signal and sernce quality, field ... theoretical
studies, 1986, XI.1, p.93-136 "

and

" CCIR XVI Plenary Assembly. Recommendation Teletext systems, 1986,
XI.1, p.59-83 "

Is there any ftp or organization which can post it to me by mail or
E-mail ?

Please, reply by E-mail to:


[e-mail]

Thanks a lot.

Gennady F. Afanasyev

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

Organization: Penn State University
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 16:44:54 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Cellular Packet Data Networks


Help!  I'm doing a paper on cellular packet data networks.  I would
appreciate any information on: cellular transmission, celluplan II, or
any other related information.  Please respond ASAP.


Thank you, so much!

Sheila

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

Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 17:39:15 -0600
From: David E. Martin <[e-mail]>
Subject: Giant Voice Bridge Needed
Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, IL, USA


I am working on an application where I need to have about 500 people
call in to listen to a presentation.  The talk path only needs to be
uni-directional, from the speaker to the dial-up listeners.  Can
anyone point me to a commercial service that can do this?  Each
participant would pay the long-distance charges to call the bridge,
but I want to keep the cost for renting the bridge down to a minimum.


David E. Martin
National HEPnet Management                     Phone: [phone]
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory          FAX: [phone]
P.O. Box 500, MS 368; Batavia, IL 60510  USA   E-Mail: [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: You might want to consider a one time use of a 900
number out of a service bureau set up to handle a huge number of calls
at one time into their voicemail unit, etc. 900 calls can be set up
for billing so the cost to the caller is zero; you'd arrange with the
service bureau to issue one billing for the entire process. All your
people would dial into the 900 number at the appointed time(s).
Depending on the length of time needed for the connection, and the
fact that (I presume) you'd be paying with a government purchase
order, it might be quite easy to negotiate with the service bureau for
a very inexpensive single rate covering the whole thing. Even if the
cost were a bit more than you wanted, bear in mind you'd have no worry
with installation of the bridge, the assorted phone lines, etc.   PAT]

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 08 Dec 1992  18:52:11 EST
Subject: "Obscene Profits of Utility Companies?"  NOT!


Before anyone talks about "obscene profits" of utility companies,
listen to this story:

I live in the Washington, DC area.  My sister complained about the
excessively high phone rates at her apartment building in Alexandria,
Virginia.

Based on questioning some of the other people in the office, seeing
phone bills and asking the phone company, I discovered the following:

In Montgomery County, Maryland, the tax on phone bills is about 2%.
Same for the District of Columbia.  In Arlington County, Virginia,
there is no "tax" on phone bills but there is a "surcharge" of 1.3%.
(Yeah, right and 'revenue enhancement' wasn't a way of making people
pay more to the Federal Government.)

Notice I haven't mentioned Alexandria yet.  I want to mention
something about the rules imposed on C&P Telephone with regard to the
amount it's allowed to make.

By the current rules of the areas, C&P Telephone is allowed to have a
rate of return of from 18-21.5% (depending on the jurisdiction.)  I
explained to my sister that the limit on how much the phone company is
allowed to make is based on the idea that since the phone company is
given a monopoly (the exclusive right to offer phone service) it is
given a maximum amount that it is allowed to make.

Oh yes, about Alexandria, VA: Remember DC and Montgomery are 2%,
Arlington is 1.3%.  What is Alexandria?

               ------    25%    ------

I kid you not!  My sister had a phone bill in which the base bill was
$40 and the {taxes} were another $10!  The clerk at the phone company
told me the taxes are the highest in the area.

So realize that the City of Alexandria, VA gets to take a higher
profit off phone service than the phone company does.


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]    These opinions are mine alone.

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

From: [e-mail] (Tom Streeter)
Subject: Help! I'm Making My First Phonecall!
Organization: University of North Carolina at Asheville
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 20:02:35 GMT


I was at a dinner party last night when the host couple's young son --
who had not previously shown much interest in telephones -- came out
and announced he'd made his first phone call:

"We called 9-1-1 and somebody answered!"

Apparently young Ben was showing off for a couple of the younger kids
who were there.  Ben's mother went white as a sheet and his father
went to the phone he knew would be ringing in just a moment.  Sure
enough, the dispatcher called back to see if everything was OK and to
give the "please teach your child 911 isn't a toy" lecture.  David,
Ben's father, promised he would do just that, but I think he was
really considering using the swing set we'd spent the day erecting (in
30 degree weather without the wind chill) as a gallows.  It was Ben's
sixth birthday and the liklihood of seeing his seventh wasn't looking
good.

Of course what actually happened is that they took Ben back to his
bedroom and gave him a long talk about how serious a thing he had done
(as did the parents of the other children who were involved).  Those
of us who don't have kids sat around and took the opportunity to (a)
be thankful *we* didn't have to deal with this one, (b) speculate if
we would have done such a thing if 911 had existed when we were his
age and (c) wonder how Ben was going to handle his first urge to take
a drive.  We concluded that leaving him alone around idling police
cars was probably a bad idea.

This topic has been touched on in this forum before, but this little
incident really illustrated for me the dilemma parents face when
socializing their kids to technology.  As I said before, Ben had shown
little interest in telephones before -- his usual practice is to get
real shy and not say anything -- so it never occurred to anyone to
warn him about 911 (and with him, telling him not to do something is a
pretty good way to make sure he'll do it).  Now that the incident has
happened, his parents have to walk the line between impressing on him
that 911 should never be called and making sure he knows he can call
if there's an emergency.

I have suggested to his parents, btw, that they get 900 blocking
before Ben makes his next telecommunciations discovery.


Tom Streeter                                [e-mail]
Dept. of Mass Communication                 704-251-6227
University of North Carolina at Asheville   Opinions expressed here are
Asheville, NC 28804                         mine alone.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #896
******************************










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Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1992 03:01:01 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #897

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 9 Dec 92 03:01:00 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 897

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    DECnews/Digital Announces TeMIP Software For Telecom Industry (M. Solomon)
    First Phone Factory Demolished (Brantford Expositor via Dave Leibold)
    Crippled Phones Defeat Tone Generator (Steve Kass)
    HDLC Simulator (Riendeau Jean-Francois)
    Request For Voice Mail Information For E-Key (Syd Weinstein)
    CSU/DSU That Will Accept V.25bis Dialing Commands? (Jesse W. Asher)
    Offhook Chirp (Lance Neustaeter)
    Looking For DSU Vendors (Todd Nussbacher)
    US Sprint's PC Pursuit (Marc Kozam)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: DECnews/Digital Announces TeMIP Software For Telecom Industry
Date: 8 Dec 92 16:42:47 GMT


||||||  DECnews for Press and Analysts  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
                                              Digital Equipment Corporation
                                          Maynard, Massachusetts 01754-2571

Editorial contact:
Jayne Chace   [phone]


                  DIGITAL ANNOUNCES TeMIP SOFTWARE
                INTEGRATED NETWORK MANAGEMENT FOR THE
                     TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY


MAYNARD, Mass. -- December 8, 1992 -- Digital Equipment Corporation
today announced TeMIP, a software product that enables telephone
companies to manage their multivendor networks more efficiently.
Developed by Digital, TeMIP provides unique integrated fault manage-
ment capabilities and a framework for adding new applications to
extend its functionality. TeMIP collects and processes event and alarm
information from multiple devices, enabling operations personnel to
monitor and control all network elements with a single system.

     TeMIP represents the first commercially available implementation
of ISO Fault Management standards 10164-x, 10165-x and associated
CCITT X.73x recommendations. TeMIP also supports OSI/Network
Management Forum and ANSI T1M1 trouble ticket formats.  TeMIP
constitutes a milestone for the industry with its leading-edge object
oriented architecture and its unique compliance with the latest
network management standards. Through TeMIP, Digital demonstrates its
strong and unmatched focus towards the telecommunications industry.

     The standards-compliant TeMIP works with virtually any vendor's
telecommunications equipment through custom-developed interfaces.
"TeMIP answers fixed wire and mobile/cellular network service
providers' needs for improved control over their increasingly complex
networks," said Ernst E. Wellhvner, Vice President of Digital's
Telecommunications Business Group. "By integrating data from diverse
network devices, TeMIP lets operations staff more readily identify and
correct transmission and switching problems within their network."

     "TeMIP demonstrates Digital's commitment to delivering strategic
solutions that will serve the telecommunications industry today and in
the future," continues Wellhvner. "Our support for international
standards ensures that Digital solutions can be used by any service
provider or equipment manufacturer anywhere in the world."

              A FLEXIBLE FRAMEWORK FOR CUSTOM SOLUTIONS

     Six key vendors across the globe have adopted TeMIP as the basis
for custom network management solutions they sell to Telecom service
providers. These initial companies include SEMA Group, a software
house based in the UK and France; Netman, a joint venture between
Digital and NKT of Copenhagen, Denmark; MPR Teltech of Vancouver
Canada; BBN Communications of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sandwell Inc.
of Calgary Canada and Steria, a software house in Velizy-Villacoublay,
France.

     "Steria is supplying a TeMIP-based network supervision and
maintenance system for Sociiti Frangaise de Radio Tiliphone (SFR), the
private nationwide mobile radio telephone operator in France."
reports Pierre Desprez, Telecom Division Manager, Steria. "Basing
SFR's network management system on Digital's TeMIP gives us a head
start in providing a fully integrated solution that meets our
customer's needs," said Desprez.  "TeMIP simplifies the process of
creating a network management system that 'talks' to different
elements in the network, which is fast becoming a requirement in
today's telecommunications environment."

              STANDARDS-COMPLIANT, ARCHITECTED APPROACH

     The key to TeMIP's flexibility lies in its adherence to Digital's
standards-compliant Enterprise Management Architecture (EMA).  "TeMIP
is extremely well suited for the supervision of telecommunications
networks, thanks to its architecture, its interfaces and its
functionalities," states Genevieve Charpin, Marketing and Technology
Consultant from SEMA Group. "We consider TeMIP's adherence with
CCITT's TMN recommendations as very important. A product such as TeMIP
allows us to better control development costs and delays, while
guaranteeing an excellent level of overall quality. In effect, TeMIP
enables us to dedicate most of our time and efforts to satisfying our
customers' specific requirements."

     Vince Holloway, Director Software Systems Division of MPR Teltech
Ltd. adds, "With the combination of DECmcc and TeMIP, and Digital's
commitment to support the TMN standards, MPR Teltech is committed to
working with Digital to develop applications for the telecommunications
environment."

              COMPREHENSIVE FAULT MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

     TeMIP's initial functionality addresses telecommunications fault
management functions, including event logging, alarm handling, and
trouble ticketing. TeMIP's OSF/Motif-based graphical user interface
provides an iconic map of alarm conditions, simple "point-and-click"
functionality, windowing capabilities, and a consistent "look and
feel" across all management functions.

     Flemming Buchholt, General Manager of NetMan reports, "NetMan has
selected TeMIP as the platform of choice for the management of SDH
networks. We believe that TeMIP is unique in today's market in terms
of functionalities and potential for rapid delivery of SDH network
management solutions. TeMIP's most important feature resides in its
ability to adapt to and integrate any type of network element," states
Buchholt, "an especially critical capability in today's ever changing
world of communication networks."

                    Open Development Environment

     TeMIP includes a published application programming interface that
facilitates the creation of new applications and interfaces to
TeMIP-based management systems. New modules can be "plugged in" to
TeMIP without disrupting operations. "TeMIP protects customers'
equipment investment because it works with the network elements and
management systems they currently have in place. It also lets them
keep their options open for adding new technologies in the future, so
they will be able to deploy new services more rapidly and
efficiently," Wellhvner said.

     "Digital and Sandwell have combined their strengths to provide
network management solutions which meet customers' immediate needs and
can evolve to meet a customer's expanding future requirements."
states Rick Schmaltz, Director, Sales and Marketing Sandwell. "By
interfacing Sandwell's existing network management products to TeMIP,
Digital and Sandwell are able to provide proven performance today and
a migration path to a complete open solution for the future."

     Digital Equipment Corporation, headquartered in Maynard,
Massachusetts, is the leading worldwide supplier of networked computer
systems, software and services.  Digital pioneered and leads the
industry in interactive, distributed and mutlivendor computing.
Digital and its business partners deliver the power to use the best
integrated solutions -- from desktop to data center -- in open
information environments.


                               ####

Note to Editors:  DECmcc, DECstation, DECsystem, TeMIP, ULTRIX,
               and the Digital logo are trademarks of Digital
                  Equipment Corporation.

               OSF and Motif are registered trademarks of the
                  Open Software Foundation.

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

Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 00:45:22 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Dave Leibold)
Subject: First Phone Factory Demolished


{The Toronto Star} recently had an obituary on the building in
Brantford, Ontario, Canada where the first telephone was made. Thanks
to some intellectual super-heroism on the part of the city of
Brantford bureaucracy, a demolition permit was issued to area
businessman Ton Payne, who wanted to replace the Wharfe Street
building with a loading dock and parking lot.

Despite a picture and description of the historic site in a city
brochure, it seems Brantford's heritage committee didn't notice that
the old factory site was in danger and didn't object to the
demolition.

A 1960s plaque indicating the historical significance of the site was
removedapproximately six years ago and went to the Brant County
Museum.

ref: "Heritage committee dials B for blunder", by Jim Beatty,
originally printed in the {Brantford Expositor}, reprinted in {The
Toronto Star}


Dave Leibold - via FidoNet node 1:250/98
INTERNET: [e-mail]

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

Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 11:56 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Crippled Phones Defeat Tone Generator


NYTel tells me the payphones I try to use in Manhattan aren't crippled
any more, but they are, and worse that I thought.

I hoped my buying a Radio Shack programmable tone generator would
solve my problems, both with Calling Card number theft and with
crippled phones.  No such luck.  Somehow, NYTel cuts me off after
about 20 tones, whether they are generated via the keypad or by my
tone generator.

Phone crippling has been ridiculed here in the past by those
suggesting that tone generators would get around it.  They don't.

So this afternoon, I'll make a few more calls to NYTel and the NY PUC.
What's unfortunate is that none of this crippling is illegal, but
perhaps the PUC needs to consider regulating that sounds of whatever
nature must be allowed over the phone lines unimpeded.

If none of that works, I may start using COCOTs.  If they'll let me
dial 1-800-CALL-ATT and then use my tone generator, I'll be happy.


Steve Kass/ Department of Mathematics and Computer Science/
Drew University/ Madison NJ 07940/ 201-514-1187/ [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Riendeau Jean-Francois)
Subject: HDLC Simulator
Organization: Universite de Montreal
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 18:16:34 GMT


I'm writing a HDLC protocol simulator between two UN*X processes.
Things are going fine, but I'm stuck somewhere, and I'm sure somebody
could tell me just a hint about how I can resolve this.  Suppose your
window size is N, and that you have sent N-1 frames without having any
of them acknowledged.  Before sending another frame, you've got to
have at least one of them acknowledged, yeah?  Is there a simple way
to solve this?  I've tried many approaches but they all seem so
complicated to program ... by the way, it's written in C, and the mode
is ARM.  Thank you!


Jean-Francois Riendeau              AKA: Gemillon the Jolly Bard
E-MAIL: [e-mail]   UUCP: wolfpak.cam.org!ambre!gemillon

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

From: [e-mail] (Syd Weinstein)
Subject: Request For Voice Mail Information For E-Key
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 23:16:52 -0500 (EST)
Reply-To: [e-mail]


We run several voice lines here at Datacomp, and I am tired of dealing
with multiple answering machines, and their limited life.  I don't
like the phone companies voice mail option, so I am wondering, anyone
know of a relatively low cost voice mail option, perhaps one that can
run on a pc (we could easily dedicate one to the task, after all
leftover pc's from projects are cheap :-) ) that can work behind an
e-key system?

Requirements:
    handle four phone lines;
    answer on n'th ring (after all, its an e-key system);
    programable outgoing messages a plus;
    remote access (hopefully well protected).

Please e-mail me, I will summarize if there is interest.


Sydney S. Weinstein, CDP, CCP          Elm Coordinator - Current 2.4PL13
Datacomp Systems, Inc.                 Projected 3.0 Release: ??? ?,1994
[e-mail] or dsinc!syd      Voice: [phone], FAX: [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jesse W. Asher)
Subject: CSU/DSU That Will Accept V.25bis Dialing Commands?
Organization: Varco-Pruden Buildings
Date: Tue 08 Dec 1992 20:23:23 GMT


Anyone know of any CSU/DSUs that will accept V.25bis dialing commands?
We'd like to use switched digital lines between our locations, but our
routers (Telebit Netblazers) will only use V.25bis for dialing.
Anyone know of such an animal?


Jesse W. Asher                           [phone]
              Varco-Pruden Buildings
   6000 Poplar Ave., Suite 400, Memphis, TN  38119
Internet: [e-mail]   UUCP: vpbuild!jessea

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

Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 17:34:39 PST
From: [e-mail] (Lance Neustaeter)
Subject: Offhook Chirp


   I've recently purchased a very cheap phone (the kind that sound
like a cricket when they ring).  There's only one thing which annoys
me about it: Whenever an extension goes off hook, this phone gives off
a little chirp.  There are no switches or controls on the phone and
there are three wires connected to the piezo (?) speaker.  How can I
stop the annoying off hook chirp?


Via DLG Pro v0.995

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

Organization: Bar-Ilan University Computing Center, Israel
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 08:55:08 IST
From: Hank Nussbacher <[e-mail]>
Subject: Looking For DSU Vendors


I am looking for names (addresses, phone numbers, product names) of
various CO DSU vendors.  Among the products I am looking for:

- D4 channel bank cards and equipment
- ISDN local loop test equipment


Thanks,

Hank Nussbacher    [e-mail]

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

Date: Tue,  8 Dec 92 01:33:56 EST
From: mlksoft![e-mail]
Subject: US Sprint's PC Pursuit


    Having used PC Pursuit since 1986, I second PAT's comments.
If you understand the limitations of packet networks, it works
admirably for applications as diverse as interactive dialup,
asynchronous DECnet, and UUCP.  At $30 for 30 hours of non-prime
time, it is a good deal, especially if your usage isn't exclusively
file transfers.

    I am not aware of any password problems that are specifically
related to PC Pursuit.


Marc Kozam    UUCP: {media,mimsy}!mlksoft!kozam
        Internet: mlksoft![e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Some people may be expecting a lot more of PC Pursuit
than it is intended to be. It probably is not a good deal for someone
doing massive amounts of file transfers. It is good for someone who
likes to call BBS lines all over the USA and/or services such as Portal
Communications. Even for file transfers, assuming the rate is slower
than desired, the least expensive long distance service will cost
about $6-7 per hour. PC Pursuit may be slow *sometimes -- depending on
network traffic and other considerations*, but it is not that much
slower.  In a worst-case scenario, if throughput was only a third of
the anticipated speed, that would still be half or less of what a call
on the voice network would cost. They only start running the clock
when you connect to a specified point, and then there is a one-minute
grace period to allow for a distant modem being out of order or the
distant system you are calling not answering or having all lines
busy, etc. During that minute you can break out back to the Telenet
prompt '@' at no charge. And there never is a charge while sitting at
the network prompt '@' typing in your commands. The '@' should be
considered like a 'dialtone'; the network is waiting for your next
instruction. $1 per hour is a very inexpensive long distance rate,
regardless of other shortcomings.

Their password security problems a few years ago stemmed from the
ability to connect with network addresses which were indials, then sit
on one side of the indial watching people login on the other and
spoofing them into thinking they were entering their password when in
fact they were printing it out for the hackerphreaks to read. When
that got resolved, many problems went away. I strongly recommend PCP
for the casual modem user who desires long distance modeming at a very
low cost, particularly if the user has a nearby local dialup as is the
case in thousands of phone exchanges around the USA. They operate a
BBS of their own (Net Exchange BBS) for questions and answers about
their service. ( @C PURSUIT ).  Besides, they've distributed TELECOM
Digest as a regular feature to PCP customers for several years now,
and for that I am grateful. For information, 703-689-6000.  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #897
******************************










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Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1992 02:35:36 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #898

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 10 Dec 92 02:35:30 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 898

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    CCITT Docs Available via Email (Tom Coradeschi)
    Call For Papers: Hot Interconnect Symposium (Kathleen Nichols)
    Privacy of Unpublished Numbers ([e-mail])
    Iridium Global Satelite Mobile Communications Network (Matt McConnell)
    Restricting 900- on PBX (Paul S. Sawyer)
    What is a 1A ESS Master Scanner? (John Boteler)
    Wholesale/Tariff Loophole Lines ([e-mail])
    Alleged Prodigy Email Censorship (Arthur L. Shapiro)
    Re: Clinton Appoints Transition Official For Telecom Policy (G. Mitchell)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 9 Dec 92 17:00:39 EST
From: Tom Coradeschi <[e-mail]>
Subject: CCITT Docs Available via Email
Organization: Electric Armts Div, US Army ARDEC, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ


Forwarded from Info-Nets.

                tom coradeschi    <+>    [e-mail]

           -----------Original message---------


                                  ITU PRESS RELEASE/92-23
                                          6 November 1992


   WIDE RANGE OF ITU* DOCUMENTS NOW AVAILABLE ON-LINE:
  ITU STANDARDS TO BECOME ELECTRONICALLY ACCESSIBLE IN
                       EARLY 93

An electronic document distribution service providing remote access to
ITU documents - TELEDOC - became operational last week.

Aimed at providing fast and timely access to ITU information to the
world telecommunication and networking community, TELEDOC is a
database containing at present:

  * CCITT and CCIR administrative documents
  * lists of contributions (substantive input/proposals) to CCITT and CCIR
    study groups
  * lists of CCITT reports and Recommendations (i.e. standards)
  * summaries of CCITT new or revised Recommendations
  * CCITT and CCIR meeting schedules and other information concerning
    Study Groups structures and activities.

As from early next year, the full texts of all new and revised CCITT
Recommendations (i.e. all standards approved after the publication of
the Blue Book in 1988) will also be available from TELEDOC. In line
with ITU publications policies, it is envisaged to expand TELEDOC
information base according to identified needs and available
resources.

On TELEDOC's first day of operation, ITU Secretary-General Pekka
Tarjanne stated: "The impact of the changing telecommunications
environment makes it imperative that the ITU develop new approaches to
the standardization process and find new ways to improve the
efficiency of our work, new ways to disseminate the output of our work
throughout the world. The implementation of TELEDOC", he said, "is
undoubtedly a right step in this direction. Our ultimate goal is to
make available on-line an entire library of ITU documents for a broad
and transparent information exchange with all categories of interested
users".

TELEDOC is based on a X.400 document server which processes requests
sent in by electronic mail. The TELEDOC Auto-Answering Mailbox accepts
messages from the two most widely used E-mail systems: X.400 and
Internet.  Users without direct access to X.400 or Internet mail can
use gateway services provided by major service providers (e.g. MCI or
Compuserve). The electronic mail address of TELEDOC Auto-Answering
Mailbox (TAM) is:

                 X. 400   S=teledoc
                          P=itu
                          A=arcom
                          C=ch

                Internet  [e-mail]

Document formats which are planned to be made available include ASCII,
Microsoft RTF, Word for Windows, Postcript and CCITT ODA/ODIF.

TELEDOC will be available on request, on a trial period of one year,
at no access cost.

For more information or to obtain a copy of the user's guide, please
contact:

Mr. Robert Shaw                        Miss Antoinette Bautista
TELEDOC Project Coordinator            EDH - CCITT
Information Services Department        CCITT Secretariat
International Telecommunication Union  International Telecommunication Union
Place des Nations                      Place des Nations
1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland            1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland

TEL: [phone]              TEL: [phone]
FAX: [phone]                   FAX: [phone]
X.400: G=robert; S=shaw;               X.400: G=antoinette; S=bautista;
A=arcom; P=itu; C=ch                   A=arcom; P=itu; C=ch
Internet: [e-mail]            Internet: [e-mail]

                 _______________________________

* The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was founded in 1865
and as such is the oldest inter-governmental organization. In 1947, it
became a specialized agency of the United Nations and has a membership
of 174 countries (4 November 1992). It is the international
organization responsible for the regulation and planning of
telecommunications worldwide, for the establishment of equipment and
systems operating standards, for the coordination and dissemination of
information required for the planning and operation of
telecommunications services and within the United Nations system for
the promotion of and contribution to the development of
telecommunications and the related infrastructures.

                ----- End Included Message -----

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

Date: Wed, 9 Dec 92 16:26:13 PST
From: Kathleen Nichols <[e-mail]>
Subject: Call For Papers: Hot Interconnect Symposium


                        Call For Papers

                 Hot Interconnects Symposium

    Sponsored by the Technical Committee on Microprocessors
     and Microcomputers of the Computer Society of the IEEE

                Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
                      August 5 - 6, 1993

     ================================================================

            Program Co-Chairs:
            ------------------
    Dr. Paul Borrill        Prof. Anoop Gupta
    [phone]            [phone]
    [e-mail]        [e-mail]

            General Chair:
            --------------
    Professor Hasan AlKhatib, Santa Clara University

     ================================================================

This symposium will focus on the architecture and implementation of
high-performance interconnects.  It will include a broad technical
program focusing on basic technologies, hardware, and software for
interconnects of all different scales, including processor-memory
buses, multiprocessor networks, local- and wide- area networks.  Like
the Hot Chips Symposium, this symposium will focus on real solutions,
either products or research prototypes and their performance.  We
expect the benefits to attendees to include an increased awareness of
solutions to problems requiring high-performance interconnects and in
allowing professionals from the above somewhat disparate communities
(e.g. the multiprocessor interconnect and the local-area network
communities) to share experiences and solution methodologies.  The
symposium is expected to attract both software and hardware engineers
who are either designing or requiring use of high-performance
interconnects.

Hot Interconnects is conveniently scheduled just prior to the Hot
Chips Symposium, which will be held August 9 and 10, allowing out of
town participants to attend both symposia and enjoy a weekend in the
San Francisco Bay Area or attend tutorial sessions.

The technical program will consist of both contributed and invited
papers.  Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

- Processor-memory interconnects
- Multiprocessor interconnects
- Local Area Networks
- Wide Area Networks
- Implementation technologies
- Chip sets and building blocks
- Processor-network interface issues
- Flow control and routing algorithms
- Workload characterization
- Benchmarking/Performance evaluation
- Operating systems issues
- Scalability issues

We expect the symposium program to include both exciting product
descriptions and more traditional technical papers, thus have two
formats for submission.  For product/prototype descriptions:

    1) Submissions should consist of an abstract of 3-5 pages describing
       the product and why it is interesting.

    2) The symposium proceedings will include a copy of the overheads
    from the presentation.

For regular technical papers:

    1) Submissions should consist of an extended abstract of about
     5000 words.

    2) Full length papers will be limited to 8000 words.

    3) The symposium proceedings will include a copy of the final submitted
       paper.

All submissions will be reviewed by a combination of the program
committee and external reviewers.  All submissions should include the
name, title, address, phone number, fax number, and electronic mail
address of the presenter.  In the case of unannounced products, if the
information is to be kept confidential, please indicate.  Every effort
will be made to maintain confidentiality.

    Important Dates
    ---------------

  Deadline for Submissions:    March 15, 1993
  Notification of Acceptance:    May 1, 1993
  Final Copy Due:        June 30, 1993

Submissions may be made via electronic mail or in hard copy mailed to:

    Linda Bohn
    Program Committee Administrator
    SUN Microsystems
    2550 Garcia Avenue, MS 23-206
    Mountain View, CA 94043-1100
    Tel: [phone]
    FAX: [phone]
    e-mail: [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Privacy of Unpublished Numbers
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 92 16:12:55 EST
Organization: NetExpress / The Chaos Bobs


Hello everyone ... I am considering switching my home service from a
published number to an unpublished.  The Telco wants $2.35 a month for
this "service". I am trying to avoid some harrassing calls that have
been coming into my phone for awhile. It's the same story: the Telco
won't do anything until the caller actually threatens something, which
has not happened so far. *69 and CID have so far been unsuccessful, so
I'm thinking I just want an unpublished number.

If I do this, how secure is the new number? Will this other party have
any way to get this information through outside sources? If so, is
there a way to protect the new number from getting into those sources?
It seems silly to change the number and tell only the people I want to
know about it, only to have this Bozo get the new number. Please
e-mail me and I will be glad to summarise if there is interest.


JC


[Moderator's Note: You can have the old number set to intercept with a
message that it has been disconnected ... period.  Or you can have it
set to say the number has been changed to a non-published number. Or
you can have the new number non-pub but still have the intercept on
the old number make reference to the new one. If you choose the first
or second option, then that is the end of telco's participation. They
will give nothing further, and calls to directory assistance will be
told your number is non-pub.  But bear in mind that Bozo may quite
possibly be someone you know and someone you will unwittingly give the
new number to. :(  Most times, Bozo is not a total stranger to the
people he harasses on the phone.  :(   Unless you feel Bozo knows your
name (and thus would get the new number from directory assistance),
you might want to just disconnect the old number and have a new
published number so your friends can still find you, but Bozo will get
sidetracked when he finds the old number disconnected and has no idea
what your name really is. You'll have to decide the circumstances.  PAT]

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

From: Matt McConnell <[e-mail]>
Organization: Idaho State University
Date: 9 Dec 92 23:18:44 MDT
Subject: Iridium Global Satelite Mobile Communications Network
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Whatever happened to the Iridium satelite network?  I seem to recall a
proposed operating date sometime in '93.  Is Motorola still working on
this?  What is the progress, if any?  Anyone else doing this kind of
thing?

Was it configured to operate over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans,
Antartica, the North Pole?  If I remember they decided to reduce the
number of birds but, still keep coverage in the same way that a
cellular network operates.


Thank you,

Matt McConnell    <[e-mail]>

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

Subject: Restricting 900- on PBX
Date: 9 Dec 92 13:18:34 EST (Wed)
From: [e-mail] (Paul S. Sawyer)


Many of us have some form of restriction on 900- numbers in our PBX's.
Some PBX's treat 900-555-xxxx differently, i.e., using the rules for
NPA-555-xxxx (generally "directory assistance" type calls) so that
calls to, for example, Borland, and the ever popular USA Today, may
succeed when you do not expect them to.


Paul S. Sawyer   University of New Hampshire CIS - [e-mail]
Telecommunications and Network Services - VOX: [phone] Durham,
New Hampshire 03824-3523 - FAX: [phone]


[Moderator's Note: But even 'regular' 555 is not free any longer. You
are getting billed 50-65 cents for each of those also. Why not screen
those calls out as well?   PAT]

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

From: John Boteler <[e-mail]>
Subject: What is a 1A ESS Master Scanner?
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1992 13:11:54 -0500 (EST)


When our ring plant decided not to ring the phones every so often, the
switch guru for our ESS#1A said "We rebuilt the master scanner and we
haven't found a lick of trouble since."

Would someone who actually has working knowledge please describe a
master scanner? Is it software or hardware? If it's hardware, how do
you effectively "rebuild" it without disrupting service?

I am most curious.


[e-mail] (John Boteler)

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: 9 Dec 92 12:20:25 GMT
Subject: Wholesale/Tariff Loophole Lines


I thought sending this directly to John Higdon since he loves GTE ...
anyway ... The lines mentioned below, I believe have something to do
with GTE.  John???

Has anyone ever heard of "Wholesale Lines" or lines that are refered
to as "Loophole Lines"

These intrastate/intralata lines carry no monthly charge.  Install
charges range from $200 to $500 for the first line and $40-$80 for
additional lines. Again, no monthly charge, and .03 to .04 per minute
accumulated in 1/10 of a second increments with no MATR.

These lines are not available in all areas (New England Tel Area Not
Avail) but I know for a fact that they are in parts of Bell of PA and
some parts of OH.

The information I have is limited, and the LEC's that I have spoken to
deny all knowledge of any such monkey.


Thanks!

Dave    attmail!dquist
Opinions/comments/suggestions/ideas are all my own, not my employer's.


[Moderator's Note: This sounds to me like another name for WATS (Wide
Area Telephone Service) lines. Go back and ask telco about the cost of
WATS lines; see if that is not what you are seeking.   PAT]

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

From: MPA15C![e-mail]
Date: 09 DEC 92 12:42
Subject: Alleged Prodigy Email Censorship


It has been pointed out that Prodigy does not censor private Email.
Permit me to suggest that an even stronger statement is merited.

Some time back, I was the apparently-random recipient of quite a few
pieces of private Email which, as they say, were "uttlerly without
redeeming social importance".  Obviously some birth-control failure
was acting his age.  I notified Prodigy (and the sender's "A"
usercode, which I assumed would be his father), and gave Prodigy
explicit permission to look in my private mailbox and examine the
messages in question.  Back came the response that it was IMPOSSIBLE
for Prodigy to read someone's Email; the capacity simply was not built
into the software.

Given my password, obviously those folks could have logged on, but
they strongly resisted receiving it.  I ended up sending the messages
hardcopy (hmmm ... interstate transportation of obscene materials --
could I have been arrested?) and Prodigy rapidly remedied the
situation.  The father, too, responded very apologetically, so the
issue never continued.  So while it's easy to fault Prodigy on various
issues, security and integrity of private mail isn't one of 'em.


Arthur L. Shapiro        [e-mail]
Software Engineering     (Prodigy GKJK26A)
Unisys Corporation       Speaking as a civilian, rather than for
Mission Viejo, CA        Unisys, unless this box is checked: [ ]


[Moderator's Note: And hopefully, this final message in the thread
will put to rest the topic of Prodigy and censorship .. not really
what this forum is intended for anyway. Thanks for writing.   PAT]


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

From: [e-mail] (George Mitchell)
Subject: Re: Clinton Appoints Transition Official For Telecom Policy
Organization: Test Systems Strategies, Inc., Beaverton, Oregon
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1992 16:56:30 GMT


Our Esteemed Moderator tells us:

> I am watching with baited breath as all the Clintonistas begin to
> assume their duties.

Please give us all the details of this new fishing technique!  We're
all waiting ... with bated breath ...


George Mitchell ([e-mail])

[bated = archaic form of abated; i.e. we're holding our breath]


[Moderator's Blush: Would you believe me if I told you I spelled it
that way on purpose in order to see who all would catch it?  No, I
didn't think you would.  :)  Keep on abating your breath until I come
back this way tomorrow, okay?  :)   Good day, all.     PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #898
******************************










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Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 11:22:31 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #899

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 12 Dec 92 11:22:30 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 899

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Other Perspectives on Clinton FCC Transition Pick (CommDaily via A. Blau)
    International Internet Access (Fred Zimmerman)
    Nintendo Gameboy Link Protocol (Richard Lamb)
    Wanted: List of Active and Proposed Undersea Cables Worldwide (F. Vance)
    Canadian Cellular Privacy Crackdown (Dave Leibold)
    TCP/IP and Airphones (Peter Honeyman via [e-mail])
    PCN Equipment Used by Ameritech in Chicago PCN Trial (David Lemson)
    Optical Line? What?? ([e-mail])
    Pocket Auto-Dialer? (Andreas Meyer)
    914-243-9901 (Carl Moore)
    Users and SS7 (Randy Gellens)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 13:46:00 -0500
From: Andrew Blau <[e-mail]>
Subject: Other Perspectives on Clinton FCC Transition Pick


TELECOM Digest V12, #895 reprinted an article from {Communications
Daily} by Art Brodsky on the FCC transition.  Here's a follow-up
article that fills out the picture a bit, by the same writer. It
appeared in the December 9, 1992 issue of {Communications Daily}.  I
am posting it here with permission.  Communications Daily is published
by Warren Publishing, Inc., 2115 Ward Court, N.W.  Washington, DC
20037.

                Copyright 1992 Warren Publishing, Inc.
                        Communications Daily

                    December  9, 1992, Wednesday

SECTION: Vol. 12, No. 237; Pg. 2

HEADLINE:  Plesser  Praised;
CLINTON TRANSITION TEAM STARTS REVIEW AT FCC

 BODY:

   Transition team for Clinton Administration paid first visit to FCC
Tuesday, meeting with Chief of Staff Terry Haines. FCC transition team
currently is composed of eight persons and its charge has been
described as effort to take "snapshot" of operations at agency, rather
than go into great policy detail or make personnel recommendations.
"Their mission is to come up to speed with what's going on at the
Commission and report back to superiors," we were told.  Team has been
assigned office space on 5th floor of FCC hq.

   Composition of team makes clear that effort is being made to work
closely with Congress, even before Clinton takes office. About half of
team members are congressional staffers. Senate Commerce Committee is
represented by Antoinette (Toni) Cook (who has been mentioned often as
possible FCC chmn.)  and John Windhausen, while House side is
represented by David Leach from Commerce Committee and Gerald Waldron
from Telecom Subcommittee. (Telecom Subcommittee staffer Larry Irving
also will be working on telecommunications infrastructure issues for
another part of transition). Transition team at FCC also includes
Howard U. Prof. Clay Smith, ex-chmn. of Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (husband of Patti Smith, who is deputy dir. of policy and
planning for FCC associate managing dir.) and Prof. Henry Parrett of
Villanova U. Others will be named later.

   Transition team leader is attorney Ronald Plesser of Washington
office of Baltimore law firm Piper & Marbury. His appointment was
strongly criticized by public interest groups (CD Dec 7 p1), who cited
his positions on policy issues and suggested conflicts of interest in
his representation of clients Information Industry Assn. (IIA) and
Direct Marketing Assn. (DMA).  Plesser met Tues. at FCC with Haines.
Later, Haines met with bureau and office chiefs and commissioner aides
to inform them what is going on, and asked them to give full
cooperation.

   However, others in public policy sector praised Plesser, who was
strong supporter of ACLU's Information Technology Project and who once
worked for consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Cathy Russell, counsel for
Senate Technology Subcommittee, said Plesser was "sensitive to privacy
considerations."  While acknowledging he's "strong advocate for his
clients," she said Plesser understands privacy concerns and works to
"bring clients to the table with the ACLU to hash things out."
Plesser, she said, has been "very reasonable with us" and she was
surprised that public interest groups "would attack him on that."

   Similarly, Jerry Berman, head of Washington office of Electronic
Frontier Foundation, called Plesser "one of the leading advocates of
the Freedom of Information Act, and a supporter of making an
electronic Freedom of Information Act."  Plesser has brought IIA "much
further toward recognizing public access to information than they
[IIA] originally were doing, and brought DMA to the table in signing
off on some privacy rights," Berman said. "I don't think that's an
accurate description [to say he is out of mainstream]. [ Plesser]
makes a great effort to balance interests." Sheryl Walter, gen.
counsel of National Security Archive, said Plesser did significant pro
bono work on case for her group on Freedom of Information Act on
behalf of reporter Raymond Bonner, who was working on book about
Philippines Pres.  Marcos. In terms of experience with Archives,
"we've found him to be very supportive of government disclosure."

   OMB Watch Exec. Dir. Gary Bass said it "makes good sense" to have
Plesser and others familiar with issues involved. Bass said he would
like to see more public interest sector representation in transition,
but said critics of Plesser are "reacting because of his institutional
role." If Plesser were "the sole person deciding policy, I would have
a real problem with that," Bass said, but transition team focus is
narrower.

   James Davidson, former staff dir. for House Judiciary Committee and
ex-Senate staffer who wrote much of Privacy Act in 1974, said of
Plesser: Ron Plesser has won more cases upholding freedom of
information than any litigator in the country. Davidson added: "There
is no more good advocate for good information policy" than Plesser.

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

From: [e-mail] (Fred Zimmerman)
Subject: International Internet Access
Organization: Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Date: 12 Dec 92 14:04:25


I am interested in learning more about the problems involved in
establishing Internet access in developing nations throughout the
world.  I am hoping that individuals from various nations will
volunteer to help me answer some of these questions.  If you are
knowledgeable about the situation in your country, please post or send
me e-mail.

I am looking for two basic kinds of information.

1.  Names of organizations and individuals who are knowledgeable and
enthusiastic about providing Internet access for users in the
developing world.

a)  Is there an organization that has taken the lead in this role in
your nation?
b)  What is the current status of Internet access?
c)  What are the activities in development?
d)  What are the roadblocks?

2.  Information about the typical computing environment in
your nation.
For example:

a) People to computer ratio
b) ratio of machines 286, 386, 486.. other
c) pc vendor of choice
d) software Dos? which version?
e) modems?
f) file server?
g) Where do you get machines from
h) how much do you pay?
i) How long does it take to get an order?
j) If the ratio of people to computers is low.. who gets to use them?
k) do you have a fax machine?
l) who supports your machine when it breaks?


Fred Zimmerman     [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Richard Lamb)
Subject: Nintendo Gameboy Link Protocol
Organization: XtcN Ltd
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 20:19:27 GMT


Anyone know what it is or how I could find out?  I'd like to connect
two gameboy's remotely over some kindaof modem bridge thingie.


Thanks,

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: Frank Vance <airgun![e-mail]>
Subject: Wanted: List of Active and Proposed Undersea Cables Worldwide
Date: 12 Dec 92 17:12:36 GMT
Organization: Western Geophysical, Div. of Western Atlas Int'l, Houston, TX


 I am looking for a list of all the intercontenental undersea cables,
both active and proposed.  I would like to know such things as
capacity, ownership, and where the cable terminates.

 If no one has such a list, I will try to put one together.  I have
been looking through the telecom archives already, and have access to
a few data-comm trade journals, but would appreciate any further hints
for places to look.


Thanks,

Frank Vance  +1.713.963.2426    Western Geophysical
[e-mail]    10001 Richmond Avenue
Fax: [phone]        Houston, TX 77042   USA

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

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 02:02:54 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Dave Leibold)
Subject: Canadian Cellular Privacy Crackdown


There will be stricter regulations regarding radio scanners and
cellular phone calls in Canada. According to reports such as a brief
story tonight on CBC Prime Time News, there will not be a ban on
listening in on cellular calls as is the case with the U.S. ECPA
legislation. However, there are reported to be penalties in the works
for divulging or otherwise making use of intercepted cellular calls.
Cellular phone companies will also be required to provide audio
scrambling equipment to customers who request such facilities.

One forgotten aspect of all the cellular monitoring controversy is
that a "secrecy of communications" clause has been in the Canadian
Communications Act for years. This clause prohibits the acting on or
the divulging of any intercepted communications. Such things as
broadcast or amateur radio transmissions are exempt from the secrecy
of communications provisions, though. What would seem to be in the
works, though, is stricter enforcement of this; a news media outlet,
for instance, may not be able to report on intercepted cellular calls
(and in fact this may be technically illegal in any event, owing to
the aforementioned "secrecy of communications").


Dave Leibold  -  via FidoNet node 1:250/98
INTERNET:  [e-mail]

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

Subject: TCP/IP and Airphones
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 08:57:09 -0800
From: [e-mail]


I received this article by a pretty obscure path and thought the
Telecom readers might be amused.  I asked Peter Honeyman for
permission to send this to the TELECOM Digest and he approved.  Enjoy.


Malcolm

 From: peter honeyman <[e-mail]>
 Subject: Airfone Slip Experiences

This message is being composed with mh/comp running in an x11r5/xterm
on an IBM PS-2 model l40-sx running mach 2.6, on Northwest flight 181,
which departed Detroit at 9:30 and is due in San Jose at 14:45. It
will be delivered with smtp as soon as I get a chance, probably when I
reach Tahoe City. [I was able to send it from the San Jose airport.]

I brought up slip over GTE Airfone with a Konex Koupler model 203
acoustic coupler and a Telebit Qblazer running at 300 baud.

The acoustic coupler is a good match for the airfone -- I was able to
make a very snug coupling. I buried the mated pair under pillows.

The Microport 4232 modem was uncooperative, and started complaining
about a low battery before I was able to establish a connection.

With the Qblazer, I was unable to connect to the remote Worldblazer at
high baud rates, but I did get a 300 baud connection going, whereupon
I brought up slip. Here are some representative ping times:


  hone:; ping doom
  PING doom.citi.umich.edu (141.211.128.207): 56 data bytes
  64 bytes from 141.211.128.207: icmp_seq=0. time=46139. ms
  64 bytes from 141.211.128.207: icmp_seq=1. time=50240. ms
  64 bytes from 141.211.128.207: icmp_seq=2. time=52320. ms
  64 bytes from 141.211.128.207: icmp_seq=3. time=55670. ms
  64 bytes from 141.211.128.207: icmp_seq=4. time=57120. ms
  64 bytes from 141.211.128.207: icmp_seq=5. time=59330. ms
  64 bytes from 141.211.128.207: icmp_seq=6. time=63930. ms
  64 bytes from 141.211.128.207: icmp_seq=8. time=63820. ms
  ^C
  ----doom.citi.umich.edu PING Statistics----
  75 packets transmitted, 8 packets received, 89% packet loss
  round-trip (ms)  min/avg/max = 46139/56071/63930

You get the picture -- 90% packet loss and 60 second round trip times.
I'm guessing that the packets spent all that time in the v.42 layer,
although I did not see the error correction light flashing.

I tried to get smtp and telnet sessions going, but they timed out.

In summary, it was something of an accomplishment to get slip running
and packets bouncing from 30,000 feet, but a limited success at best.

I found 117v (the flight exhausted my batteries) and an RJ-11 jack in
the San Jose airport, where I have a lengthy layover.

Peter

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

From: David Lemson <[e-mail]>
Subject: PCN Equipment Used by Ameritech in Chicago PCN Trial
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 22:34:18 GMT


I know that Ameritech is using the Motorola flip-style phone/pager
units for their Chicago-area trial, but does anyone know what
equipment they are using for the base stations, including who
manufactures their transmitters/radios?


David Lemson                                                [phone]
University of Illinois NeXT Campus Consultant / CCSO NeXT Lab System Admin
Internet : [e-mail]                UUCP :...!uiucuxc!uiucux1!lemson
NeXTMail accepted                                  BITNET : LEMSON@UIUCVMD


[Moderator's Note: Perhaps Andrew Greene will respond, since he is
using the system now as a beta tester.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Boot Trax)
Subject: Optical Line? What??
Date: 12 Dec 1992 05:59:05 GMT
Organization: Basement Software Products


  I am in need of a 14.4 modem and recently saw the ATT - Paradyne
14.4 modem.  One of the selling points for this device was the OLI
(Optical Line Interface).

  There was no pictorial or any definition of this OLI.  I don't have
time to play phone tag at ATT and have to get a modem quickly. Does
anyone know what this OLI is, if it's useful, and if it works.

 To my best guess it's just a fiber line interface for interoffice
traffic.

 Please mail me a response, since I don't frequent usenet news that
often.

 Thanks in advance.


[e-mail]   Basement Software Products
             'Keeping my opinions to myself'

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

From: spatula![e-mail]
Subject: Pocket Auto-Dialer?
Organization: Meyer residence, Dunellen NJ
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 07:05:43 GMT


Does anyone know where I can get a small memory dialer?  Something
about the size of Radio Shack's mini tonepad would be good, and I only
need a maximum of a dozen memories.

Reply by e-mail, and I'll summarize.


Thanks,

Andreas Meyer, N2FYE   [e-mail]

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

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 11:10:52 EST
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: 914-243-9901


914-243-9901 is one of those "readout" numbers where you get a list of
prefixes (via recorded message, so you don't bother a person when you
call it).  But here, I got a list of prefixes covering more than one
exchange area: 243,245,248,424,878,962.  243 is a relatively-new prefix;
the other prefixes are:

245, 962 Yorktown Heights
248 Lincolndale
424 Garrison
878 Patterson

(in other words, an area straddling the Westchester-Putnam county line
in New York state.)

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

From: MPA15AB![e-mail]
Date: 12 DEC 92 01:40
Subject: Users and SS7


The December 7 issue of {Network World} reports that AT&T plans on
offering a service ("Intelligent Call Processing") that lets users
link their computers to AT&T's SS7 network.  The article was short on
technical details, but it seemed to me to be saying that when someone
picks up their phone and dials an (800) number carried by AT&T and
owned by a customer using ICP, the first AT&T switch to get the call
would hold it while sending an SS7 query to the customer's computer,
which would tell AT&T where to deliver the call.  This would be useful
to distribute calls to different agents at different centers.


Randy Gellens             [e-mail]
A Series System Software             if mail bounces,  forward to:
Unisys Mission Viejo, CA                      [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #899
******************************










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Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 12:42:10 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V12 #900


TELECOM Digest     Sat, 12 Dec 92 12:42:10 CST    Volume 12 : Issue 900

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    New VideoPhone (Half Price) (Ang Peng Hwa)
    Call Detail Records (Bonnie J. Johnson)
    NTT Science (or Science Fiction?) Venture (Dave Leibold)
    GTE or Cellular One? (Rudolf Usselmann)
    X.400 Name Parsing (Brad S. Hicks)
    Compressed Videocon Switched 56 (David Walker)
    Pacific Telesis Breaks UP (John Higdon)
    Re: The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet (Jeffrey Jonas)
    Re: The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet (Dave Niebuhr)
    Re: The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet (John Murray)
    Re: Email to Genie (David Tamkin)
    Re: Email to Genie (Michael Nolan)
    Re: Email to Genie (Henry Mensch)
    Re: Email to Genie (Andy Finkenstadt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 18:31:07 SST
From: Ang Peng Hwa <[e-mail]>
Subject: New VideoPhone (Half Price)


I just returned from an exhibition of telecom equipment for the
end-users here in Singapore. And the equipment arm of Singapore
Telecom is marketing a videophone that they say will be marketed in
the USA for US$750, half the price of the current AT&T videophone.

It is produced by GEC-Marconi, of English origin. The salesdroid in
clipped English said it had full-motion video-defined at ten frames
per second.

The LCD screen is small; all you see can fit within your name card.
But it is better than AT&T's in that it has a picture-within-a-picture
so you can see how you would appear and position yourself. Image
quality, I feel, was worse than AT&T's but I couldn't do a
side-by-side comparison.

They said the videophone, called Visual 2000, is universally
compatible, meaning that it can hook up to any normal phone jack. But
you have to get one at the other end.

There are the ususal features expected of such a phone: secrecy (where
you can stop the other party hearing or seeing you temporarily) and
privacy (where you stop the other party seeing you).

Other features: contrast control, gain control, white balance -- all
for the video.

The retailers have a special offer: the first 100 buyers who buy a
pair will get a special price and they will ship one of the units free
by courier anywhere in the world. I wonder if they will do that when
they market in the USA.

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

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 08:59:45 EST
From: Bonnie J. Johnson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Call Detail Records


I have yet to see this subject on the Digest but admit I have only
been a reader for a year.  How long do your schools keep CDR tapes?
Does anyone know what the law is and whether the law varies from state
to state?  Does it vary depending on whether or not the schools own
their own switch or whether the switch is owned by the local operating
company?  Any thoughts you can send my way will be compiled and I'll
post the findings to the group.


ty, bj

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

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 02:10:38 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Dave Leibold)
Subject: NTT Science (or Science Fiction?) Venture


The Dow Jones news service (by way of {The Globe and Mail}) reported
that a Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) subsidiary, Advanced Film
Technology, will offer a $725 000 (USD) science kit that purports to
be an apparatus for "cold fusion" experiments. The kit comes complete
with vacuum chamber, sensing equipment, and a how-to guide on making
your very own cold fusion experiments.

NTT researcher Eiichi Yamaguchi claims to have successfully set up a
"cold fusion" reaction last month. Theoretically, a workable cold
fusion process will generate vast amounts of energy using cheap raw
materials.


Dave Leibold - via FidoNet node 1:250/98
INTERNET: [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Rudolf Usselmann)
Subject: GTE or Cellular One?
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 11:33:49 GMT


Which one to choose? I got my phone two months ago and got it
activated with Cellular One. However I keep on seeing the promos from
GTE:

 - $ 100.- off ($20.- in April, $30.- Aug. $50.- Oct. )
 - $ 39.95 / month + free detailed billing (1y contract)

So the pricing of GTE is 15% lower than Cellular One, how about the
quality of service?  Any comments?

I'm located in the SF bay area.

Thanks in advance! And Merry Christmas!


rudi

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

From: mc/G=Brad/S=Hicks/OU=[e-mail]
Date: 12 Dec 92 00:55:09 GMT
Subject: X.400 Name Parsing


The X.400 specification has several name fields, including surname"
and given name.  Note that this is =not= last and first name, as
anybody who's been following the latest dust-up in RISKS can explain.
The idea is supposed to be that (for small organizations) surname is
sufficient qualifier to find one person, which is why surname is on
the mandatory fields list.

In some Latin American countries, the order of the names is usually
written <given name> <surname> <mother's maiden name>, so if the name
is Juan Rodriguez Pastor, then Rodrigues is definitely what goes in
the surname field.  So what goes in the given name field?  And if you
have to reconstruct full name from surname and given name, how do you
do it?  (There is an initials field, but it is optional and may be
insufficient, anyway.)


J. Brad Hicks   Internet: 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.

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

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 05:11:25 PST
From: David Walker <[e-mail]>
Subject: Compressed Videocon Switched 56
Organization: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada


I have just installed a Mitsubishi 8100 CODEC in the videoconference
room.  I am also looking for educators who are actively using
compressed video for training or other purposes, to link up visually.
Here in Canada I have been having a problem going overseas to
Australia and Great Britain compressed due to the telcos who are not
processing switched 56 outside of North America.  I have yet to get
Australia on the screen. The USA there does not seem to be a problem
overseas but here in the north it is another matter.


David    The Commonwealth of Learning
#1700-777 Dunsmuir Street, Box #10428,
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada  V7Y 1K4
Tele: (604 ) 660-4675  Telex: 04507508 COMLEARN  Fax: [phone]
Videoconference Room (H.261 Compatible) [phone]/9569

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

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 03:11 PST
From: [e-mail] (John Higdon)
Reply-To: John Higdon <[e-mail]>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
Subject: Pacific Telesis Breaks UP


Moments ago, the board of directors voted to split the regulated
Pac*Bell from the other divisions of Pacific Telesis, in effect making
two separate companies. Reason: to relieve the unregulated side of the
restriction that apply to the utility.

My question: What will they do without all of that "free"
ratepayer-base money?

The split is subject to regulatory approval.


John Higdon  |   P. O. Box 7648   |   [phone]     |       FAX:
[e-mail] | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | [phone]

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

From: jeffj (jeffj) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet
Date: 12 Dec 92 01:02:12 GMT
Organization: TELECOM Digest


I am looking through the Hammacher Schlemmer catalogue (est. 1848).
[phone] [they sold executive toys and top of the line
appliances way before the Sharper Image was in business].

The "call screening identifier" not only displays the Caller-ID number
but displays the matching name for 300 names, does call screening and
stores 50 calls.  $170.


Jeffrey Jonas    [e-mail]

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

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 08:46:55 EST
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Re: The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet


In TELECOM Digest V12 #892 [e-mail] (John Murray) writes:

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

>> I need a Caller-ID box that will not just display the incoming call
>> identification, but will also differentiate between calls which have
>> been purposely blocked and those from locations which do not have the
>> facility available. Also, it should automatically dial the code for
>> blocking my number on outgoing calls, everytime I unhook the phone.

Actually, this can be a two-pronged attack.  My AT&T 85 CallerID box
displays the status of each call: Display the number, show out-of-area
for those exchanges that don't have CallerID, Private for blocked
calls.  I bought this from AT&T for about $80 US.

As for per line blocking, call the telco and have them set that up for
you.  Both versions (per line and per call) are free in NYTel land.

It also has a provision built in that will display who the number is
assigned to; I don't have any idea how this feature would work if the
calling number is unlisted.


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

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

From: [e-mail] (John Murray)
Subject: Re: The Most Advanced Caller-ID Box I've Seen Yet
Date: Sar, 12 Dec 92 17:09:58 EST
Organization: University of Michigan Engineering, Ann Arbor


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

> In an article, a TELECOM Digest participant writes:

>> I need a Caller-ID box that will not just display the incoming call
>> identification, but will also differentiate between calls which have
>> been purposely blocked and those from locations which do not have the
>> facility available. Also, it should automatically dial the code for
>> blocking my number on outgoing calls, everytime I unhook the phone.

> So, you want to be able to identify people that call you, and
> especially those who purposely block their numbers, but you want all
> of YOUR outgoing calls to be automatically blocked?

> I don't want to single out the person who asked the question, but it
> seems like they want to have their cake and eat it too.

I was the poster of the request for an automatic blocking device.
Several people mailed me with similar comments to Steve's one above.
At the risk of sounding like a flamer, here are several thoughts on
the issue. (They SEEM somewhat well reasoned to me, so apologies in
advance if they come across as unmitigated flames:-))

* Unlike some locations, my local telco does not offer me the option
of per-line blocking. A unit which automatically issues the block code
would provide me with that function. Just like someone who has
per-line blocking, I could disable the unit if I found that Great-Aunt
Mildred preferred to see my number before answering.

* If we take Steve's analogy to cake, then yes, I'm prepared to pay
the monthly charge (plus equipment cost) for whatever incoming
Caller-ID data my local telco can offer. And yes, I'm also prepared to
pay additionally for the equivalent of per-line blocking. One is not
predicated upon the other however. Indeed, the only reason the telco
has to offer per-call blocking for free is because they'd otherwise be
withdrawing a service (privacy of my residence phone) and then selling
it back to me.

* The Caller-ID vested interests (telcos, businesses, etc.) have very
successfully confused the issue of residence vs. business access to
the information. Residence lines can be treated differently, given
different defaults, etc. As I pointed out in my deposition with the
Calif. Public Utilities Commission some years ago, the assertion that
the same class of facilities has to be offered to ALL customers on
technical grounds is nonsense. If that were the case, then the phone
companies would not be able to charge different rates for different
lines. (Unfortunately, many other opponents of per-call blocking there
did not understand the technology very well, and consequently made
rather poor presentations.)

* Even my having the cake won't benefit me all that much. The source
number presented by large corporations can be that of the main switch
rather than the actual internal extension. Telemarketing companies can
locate in areas where the service is (perhaps purposely) not
available, so I'll still not know if it's an incoming foreign call or
not. Most of my calls are to local businesses and dealerships of one
kind or another.  Why should I have to put up with them calling me
back every few weeks to tell me of yet another closing-out sale?

In summary, it seems to me that the technology is flexible enough to
provide everyone with their individual needs, and the one-size-fits-all
solution shouldn't really be necessary. That way, we all can have our
cake and eat it too!


John Murray    Univ. of Michigan

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

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 11:10 CST
From: [e-mail] (David Tamkin)
Subject: Re: Email to Genie
Organization: Contributor Account at ddsw1, Chicago, Illinois  60657


PAT replied to Gary Sanders's <[e-mail]>:

> [Moderator's Note: Compuserve also charges for mail on their network,
> but they do give an allotment for the month as part of the service
> fee. Since they have no way to collect mail charges from other
> networks, they bill their own users 'collect'. But each user has an
> option to accept or not accept collect mail from the internet. If the
> user does not wish to accept it collect, then it is returned to the
> sender. If the user does agree to accept collect charges on mail from
> the internet, then much of it is covered by the monthly allowance so
> they don't see any extra charges. I should imagine GEnie and Prodigy
> would work on the same basis.   PAT]

It's not exactly that way on CompuServe either.  To the best of my
knowledge, a CompuServe customer does not have the option of rejecting
all Internet mail.

However, CompuServe charges only for reading (displaying, capturing)
Internet mail, not for receiving it.  If a customer deletes mail that
came across the Internet without reading it or lets it expire unread,
there is no charge against (nor beyond) his or her email allowance for
that month.

Thus a customer can look at the senders, sizes, and subjects of wait-
ing mail and decide whether to read it (and pay for it if it came
through the Internet gateway) or not.

Contrarily, I believe that GEnie does charge for all inbound Internet
mail delivered, whether it is listed (their word for "read") or not.
For the record, the GEnie address that used to be in my .signature has
been invalid for nearly two years.  A GEnie customer does have the
option of dropping gateway service.


David W. Tamkin   Box 59297   Northtown Station, Illinois  60659-0297
[e-mail]    CompuServe: 73720,1570    MCI Mail: 426-1818

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Nolan)
Subject: Re: Email to Genie
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Tailored Software Services, Inc.
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 15:09:48 GMT


[e-mail] writes:

> Don't like some Genie user? How about FTP mailing them the X11
> sources ...

> Gary W. Sanders (N8EMR)   [e-mail]
> AT&T Bell Labs   614-860-5965

I'm not an attorney, nor do I play one on the net, but since letter
bombing someone like this would likely require either forging the ftp
request or deliberately inserting a Reply-To: header, it would seem
that it might leave a 'smoking gun' which could be used in a CRIMINAL
prosecution.

One possible criminal charges would be 'Theft of Service' (from
GEnie), and I think this would fall under the Nebraska 'computer
crime' statutes.

I don't know if the Nebraska laws would have jurisdiction, but other
states have similar laws these days.  Since interstate telephone lines
would be involved, it could also get the FBI into the case.  Wire
fraud, perhaps?

Cliff Stoll may have had a lot of problems getting people interested
in his 75 cent theft; I don't know if someone ftpmailing the X11
sources would be so 'lucky'.

Further, if the actual sender could be verified, actions against that
person's site could be taken by the Backbone Cabal.


Mike Nolan   [e-mail], [e-mail]
(Disclaimer -- I am the Database RoundTable SysOp on GEnie, and an assistant
on the Unix RT, which provides a lot of support to GEnie's Internet users.)


[Moderator's Note: But what about a situation where there is no
forgery and is no attempt to hide the originator of the mail? In other
words, suppose I go to the ftp site, pull all those files, bring them
back to my site and prepare them as email to you. I then mail one or
more items of mail (as the size limitations of the network permit) to
you -- on GEnie, or CIS or wherever you get mail and have to pay for
it -- with a cover note saying, "Mike, I thought this was some very
interesting stuff and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did ..."

There has been no theft of service -- anyone can use an anonymous ftp
site and pull to their heart's content. There has further been no
theft of service since GEnie/CIS/whoever and the Internet have an
agreement for the exchange of email. As an Internet user, I get it
free without any requirement that I ask permission before availing
myself of the service; therefore by definition I can't 'steal' it.
There has been no false representation as to the sender since I signed
my name correctly and let the email software correctly identify me as
it passed my 'correspondence' to you through the networks involved.
How would this be stopped without banning all 'unsolicited' email,
which would be a catch-22 since then no one could write anyone without
that person writing them first, an 'illegal' activity?  :)  Or would
there be some standard of value against which the email was measured?  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Henry Mensch)
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 10:15:37 -0800
Subject: Re: Email to Genie
Reply-To: [e-mail]


[e-mail] (Andy Finkenstadt) wrote:

> ....  In addition much of the mail that I answer in my duties on
> GEnie (see .signature) thanks us for making this low-cost service
> available for the one or two times they have to send mail per month.

You've not been paying attention to the others who point out that the
pricing is *way* out of proportion with other similar internet-based
services.

> GEnie offers a much more liberal electronic mail policy than either of
> CompuServe or Prodigy: $4.95 per month covers ALL the GEnie Mail you
> can eat, plus access to 100 other of the Basic services.

Compuserve has a similar monthly-fee-for-many-services-and-email
scheme.


# henry mensch / booz, allen & hamilton, inc.  / <[e-mail]>

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

From: [e-mail] (Andy Finkenstadt)
Subject: Re: Email to Genie
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 14:04:36 -0500 (EST)


Henry Mensch said in a letter:  [Moderator's Note: Excerpts above. PAT]

>> ....  In addition much of the mail that I answer in my duties on
>> GEnie (see .signature) thanks us for making this low-cost service
>> available for the one or two times they have to send mail per month.

> you've not been paying attention to the others who point out that the
> pricing is *way* out of proportion with other similar internet-based
> services.

No sir, I know GEnie has been paying attention and I have been paying
attention. I know that such considerations are being evaluated. GEnie
stated such the Monday before Thanksgiving in the usual place.

>> GEnie offers a much more liberal electronic mail policy than either of
>> CompuServe or Prodigy: $4.95 per month covers ALL the GEnie Mail you
>> can eat, plus access to 100 other of the Basic services.

> compuserve has a similar monthly-fee-for-many-services-and-email
> scheme.

Not to sound like a walking (typing) GEnie ad ... but ...

GEnie offers access to about 100 other basic services including
unlimited GEnie mail.  CompuServe offers access to around 30 services
including previously-free services like the Practice forum, and the
electronic mail is limited to a budget of about $9/month.  Access
beyond the basic services (into what GEnie calls Value Services) is
also below the cost for CompuServe access around the clock at all
connect rates.


Andrew Finkenstadt, Vista-Chrome, Inc., Homes & Land Publishing Corporation
GEnie Unix RoundTable Manager, [e-mail], [e-mail].


[Moderator's Note: This exchange of correspondence closes the thread
on GEnie, Prodigy and Compuserve email, none of which is more than
barely within the charter of this group anyway.  Thanks.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V12 #900
******************************